IC Date: August 31st, 2022

Blue in English, Red in Korean/ Dad speaks in Korean

Eun-ji still felt miserable when she woke up. Approaching a mirror with some hesitation, she carefully inspected her reflection. It was not good. Despite the ice treatments she applied previous night, there was a nasty bruise painted all around her neck. It wouldn't stay for long but it would get worse before it got better and she was leaving for Hogwarts TODAY. It was just her luck that they ran out of the bruise paste two days prior. The witch wasn't as worried about the scratch mark, where her cheekbone met the concrete yesterday. That one was easily explainable. People got scratched all the time and she had a cat. Mordred had never hurt her before but she could always say he did it accidentally...or that she simply didn't see a branch on one of her walks. The hand shaped collar however could very well raise suspicions and cause fake rumours around the school. She knew the conclusion some people might reach but that was not true at all. It was far more complicated and she really didn’t want to explain.

At first, the Ravenclaw tried to use her make up to cover the bruise but it was just not working. The concealer did not match the skin tone of her neck and it was too large of an area to fix. “Eun-ji, we are leaving!” Oh God...was it so late already? Huffing in frustration, the witch put on a beige designer dress she usually refused to wear. It was pretty but you were supposed to tie the collar around your neck and create a bow, which just felt uncomfortable and restrictive. Today though, that’s precisely what she needed. “Come on...we'll be late.” Her father was already waiting downstairs. He looks angry. The girl noted as she grabbed her suitcase and followed him to the car. The journey to the king's cross was spent in complete silence. It was not the good kind of silence either. The atmosphere was tense to say the least...like a dam waiting to be broken. It wasn't until they reached the parking lot that it finally did.

Edward hit the steering wheel in frustration, making his daughter flinch a bit. “What were you thinking? I told you not to go there!” He wasn't yelling per se but his voice was filled with anger and disappointment. Last time she got this kind of treatment from him was the day her grandma died. It appeared she was quite good at messing things up when it came to her grandparents. “Yes you did but you never said why. I know he doesn't remember me but other people had seen him so why couldn't I? You said he'd be overwhelmed by the prospect of suddenly having a granddaughter so I didn't tell him who I was. I just gave him my name.” The man next to her sighed. “Doesn't matter. You shouldn't have gone.” Yes...he said that a thousand times now. It still didn't answer her question. “Why? I just wanted to see him. I missed him that's all. Is that so hard to comprehend?” It was then that her father finally turned to meet her eyes and froze. It looked as if he’d seen a ghost. Following his gaze down, Eun-ji realised she unconsciously loosened the bow sometime during the long drive and her neck was exposed.

The man reached out as if to touch the bruise, perhaps confirm that it was real and he wasn’t merely dreaming but Eun-ji instinctively moved away. Damn it. He had heard what happened from the nurse of course however getting the information by phone and actually witnessing it first-hand probably hit different. Edward looked stricken by her reaction and let the hand fall down to his lap without further addressing the issue. “It's not that I didn't want you to see him. I just didn't want you to get hurt. I...” He sounded a bit choked up now. “I wanted to protect you...above all else.” It was sincere and his eyes were filled with worry but for some reason it only made Eun-ji angrier. “Well...where were you yesterday then? When the nurse called you? Do I look okay to you? Safe? Am I ever at this point?” Silence. It appeared she had won the argument but she wasn’t happy about it. Eun-ji didn’t want to be angry with her father. She also wanted to tell him it was okay and that she didn’t want to part ways like this but her body refused to cooperate. “I’ll be taking this, thank you.” She said instead as she grabbed his hoodie from the back seat. It was huge and she would get lost in it no doubt but it was a good cover up for her messy state.

By now, people were used to her being always put together, dressed in fancy clothes often going hand in hand with a cute hairstyle and perhaps a little bit of makeup. Today hardly any of it was present. Her dress was nice but mostly covered by the oversized hoodie and her long hair was loose, simply combed through and left to its own devices. She did apply some light make up but still looked somewhat tired and pale. Others probably wouldn’t recognise her if she walked fast enough and most of her friends would be at summer camp anyway. The vast majority of the students going to Hogwarts today would probably be freshmen and they wouldn’t dare to approach her. She saw her reflection in the side view mirror as she slammed the car door closed…she did not look friendly. Her father didn’t try to stop her either. “Disinfect the cut at least.” He called after her. Once again a doctor before anything else. He would not get a reply this time.

It wasn’t as easy as she thought but eventually Eun-ji managed to find an empty compartment. A few students stopped by the door but changed their minds about joining her rather quickly. She didn’t blame them to be honest. Once the train door closed, the witch let her cat loose and pulled a first aid kit from her suitcase. Can’t wait to learn Episkey this year. She thought as she took off the hoodie and sat back down, once more untying the bow and successfully loosening her collar. She didn’t really expect anyone else to join her at this point. Mordred wrinkled his nose upon seeing the disinfectant bottle. Like many others, he wasn’t very fond of the smell. “Fine, I’ll leave it. The nurse will magic it away at Hogwarts anyway.” She really hoped she could find them before dinner...

@Flash Holmwood

Blue in English, Red in Korean/ Dad speaks in Korean

“Eun-ji, I hope you don't mind if I join you.” Eun-ji’s heartbeat spiked in fear upon hearing the familiar voice. Usually it had the opposite effect and the melodic sound felt strangely soothing to her however this time that wasn't the case. This time, it filled her with dread. The Egyptian Mau must have sensed her distress because he swiftly jumped into her lap and buried his head into her stomach. That's where her heart resided for the moment too apparently.

None of this was Flash’s fault of course. Despite seeing him just a couple days prior, the Ravenclaw was already looking forward to reuniting with him again. Not like this though. He wasn’t supposed to see her like this. The witch wanted to slip back into that hoodie and drown in it completely so the boy wouldn’t notice a thing but it was too late and she didn’t want him to think he was undeserving of the same trust he had showed her ever since the last ball. No. Eun-ji didn’t want to lie to Flash. In fact, if there were someone she’d be willing to tell everything that's been going on in her life, it would be him. And yet…that very notion kept constantly clashing with the overwhelming need to protect him. That’s why she always ended up going for half-truths. Like with the Morgana incident. She did tell him the truth but made sure to omit the most gruesome details of it. She wasn’t sure how well she could dance around this one, considering she was a walking proof that no…everything was not in fact fine...but she was planning to try anyway.

And so despite everything, the girl raised her head with a hint of a smile no less. She had to make an effort to keep it together. She always did. That’s how her brain was wired and she didn't think it would change anytime soon. “Of course I don’t mind. Why would you even ask?” That one, she meant with all her heart. She couldn’t imagine a situation where she would actually throw the Slytherin out when he asked to stay. If truth be told, Eun-ji seemed to struggle with denying Flash almost anything as of late. She knew she could do it but she simply didn’t want to. Even now, she couldn’t bring herself to hurt him by saying she didn’t want him there. It would be a lie anyway. She did want him there.

After hearing her voice, Mordred finally turned his head in order to inspect the intruder. He would then hiss at him once he deemed the boy too close before the witch tapped his head to stop him. “No…that’s Flash. We like Flash.” She reprimanded her fury friend, who in turn sat up and looked at the Slytherin curiously. He’d sniff the air a few times inching his tiny nose a bit closer without actually touching him. He knew he wasn’t allowed to interact with humans first unless it was very clear both sides were okay with said interaction. Eun-ji was quite proud of her achievement. The cat used to be SO impulsive in the past. Now, he just meowed softly and laid back down, only this time he was facing their new companion. “Sorry…he is a little bit on edge right now. He wouldn’t actually hurt you I promise,” the young witch apologised to Flash, clearly embarrassed. This was all her fault. Mordred was on edge yes, but that was solely because of her own state of mind. Had they met under different circumstances, Eun-ji was sure her cat would react differently. She was almost certain he would take an instant liking to the boy like she did when they first met. Why did he always have to appear in her most vulnerable moments?

@Flash Holmwood

Blue in English, Red in Korean/ Dad speaks in Korean

[/b]As soon as Flash spoke to the cat, Mordred meowed back seemingly satisfied with his calm attitude. He waited until the boy made himself comfortable before jumping off Eun-ji’s lap. He then rubbed against the boy's legs gently before continuing towards the door where he lied down, playing a guardian for all involved. Now that he knew Flash was a friend, he probably took it upon himself to protect everyone in the compartment (the rat included). That’s more like it. Eun-ji smiled, hoping her furry friend fixed his reputation at least a little bit although she wouldn’t blame Flash if he stayed wary. After all, he said before that he had plenty bad experiences with cats prior to this. It was okay. They could take time to get to know each other better.

The witch was just starting to get comfortable when her friend finally addressed the elephant in the room. It took a moment, possibly because he, same as her, wasn’t someone to pry. Eun-ji appreciated that quality however, there were certain situations where one had to make an exception and she wasn’t surprised nor angry with him for doing so. In fact, she briefly considered breaching the subject first as not to place all the weight of said action on him but her voice refused to cooperate. She would feel sorry about that later…once she stopped feeling sorry for herself. “Yes,” the witch answered way too quickly. So quickly even she could hear the lie in it. It wasn’t really what she planned to say but it was her first instinct. “No?” She corrected herself. It wasn’t supposed to be a question either but that was the best she could do for now. Taking a moment to ponder where to go from there, her mind started slowly drifting away until Flash spoke once again.

“What?” The Ravenclaw blinked in surprise. “Of course I know. I trust you Flash. It’s just…” Perhaps for the first time ever, she sounded a bit panicked. While she wasn't necessarily eager to fill him in, she also needed him to know that none of this was because she didn’t think he’ll be able to keep it secret. She just didn’t want him to worry about her. “I was simply hoping to spare you...and well…everybody…the trouble. Let bygones be bygones?” That didn’t sound quite right but she wasn’t really trying to be a flawless rhetorician right now. “I was planning to find the nurse before the feast and fix everything before meeting anybody else.” Eun-ji then realised she was getting a bit ahead of herself. This must have been very confusing for the boy. Sighing and feeling far too exhausted to explain everything with words, she finally reached for the hoodie zipper. “I had an unfortunate run in with your tea leaves prophecy yesterday.” By the time she finished her sentence, the witch no longer wore her precious cotton shield. She wasn’t worried about the scratch on her cheek, people got scratched all the time. The focus most definitely wouldn't be there but rather on her colourful neck. It wasn not a pretty sight. “I’m fine though. It was my mistake and it won’t happen again.” Eun-ji was contradicting herself again but she elected to ignore it this time. “It’s my grandpa. The one in the hospital...but he didn’t know what he was doing at the time…I think?” For her that was honestly the worst part out of all this. Something was telling her that he did know and if that was the case, what did it mean? Eun-ji didn’t understand…she didn’t want to understand.

@Flash Holmwood

Blue in English, Red in Korean

It took a great courage to shed the hoodie and even bigger to finally take a peak at the boy's face. His expression was everything Eun-ji didn't want to see. He was clearly trying to stay as calm as possible for her sake but he couldn't hide his feelings completely. Just like she couldn't when he told her about his painful run in with Marion. I’m exhausted. This situation was really wearing her down. It was so easy to convince yourself you were fine when there was no one to dispute said belief. Facing Flash's reaction now, Eun-ji wasn't was so sure anymore.

Unable to hold his gaze any longer, the Ravenclaw looked down as she further fumbled with the explanation. She could feel the misery seep deep into her frangible bones. What was it that Bilbo Baggins said? 'He felt thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.' Yes...that was it. Some days she could take a deep breath and focus on all the good things in her life, others she couldn’t think of any and had to try hard to occupy her mind with something else. Today was one of those days but she was stuck in a train compartment left with nothing to do besides sharing her misery with somebody else. This was so far out of her comfort zone but if she was going to do it, she was glad Flash was the one sitting across from her.

“You do?” Finally, the boy’s words registered in Eun-ji's brain and she took a moment to recollect herself while he rummaged through his suitcase. What he eventually came back with looked beyond familiar. “Ah...good to see you my dear friend.” She said with great relief, recognising the substance instantly. It was exactly what she was looking for this morning. The Slytherin seemed hell bent on applying the mixture as soon as possible and she would not deny him for long. It was almost physically painful, watching his anxious movements. He paused only briefly, most likely to let her decide whether she'd prefer doing it herself and to be fair, Eun-ji did consider said option. She was used to being treated and she was a good patient but it was always her parents doing the job. This was...different. Had the situation been less dire, she might have blushed at the mere prospect of it. And yet here she was, pulling her hair out of the way and shifting ever so slightly towards the boy. “Would you...” Oh well, she told him there might come a day where she needed his help. “I can't really see what I'm doing.” It sounded sensible yet there was another reason for her request. For once, Eun-ji wanted to be selfish. She wanted to be the one being taken care of. “I'm truly sorry...” She added eventually, addressing the subtle feeling of guilt that kept gnawing away at her heart for putting Flash into such position when he already had so much to deal with. She didn't want to cause him so much distress but there was no way back now.

“You think way too highly of me.” At last, the girl addressed his previous words. “There are many people, who do not like me.” That much was true. Half of her family couldn’t stand her and there was nothing she could do about it. No matter how perfect she made herself look, she would never be good enough for them. Then there was Cassandra, who also despised her and the feeling was definitely mutual. Sam…well Sam probably didn’t hate her per se but she was definitely disappointed and hurt by her words. Betrayed even... There were most likely more but those were the first ones that came to mind. “You are wrong about this one though. My paternal grandpa was the one to gift me Morgana, he would support me and come to all of my performances even when nobody else would. He has a big heart but he is not well.” It felt strangely difficult to defend the old man today even though she believed it all to be true. “Like I told you last year, he suffered a brain damage and does not recognize me anymore. I was not supposed to see him but I went anyway. Patients with brain injury tend to be very confused, which leads to a great deal of unpredicted aggression. I was playing with fire and I got burned. It’s as simple as that. None of it was his fault, he is nothing like my maternal grandfather. He would never consciously hurt me.”

Her voice trailed away at the last part. She sounded far less confident than she’d like. Not because it was a lie but because it may have no longer been the truth either. If anything, yesterday’s incident made her realise how little she knew about the person her grandpa became after his accident. The brain was a powerful thing…just a little change and you could wake up with an entirely different personality. It was both fascinating and terrifying all the same. Mostly terrifying though.

@Flash Holmwood, Very briefly mentioning: @Cassandra Ironwoods and @Samantha Salwis

Blue in English, Red in Korean

Flash was gentle with her wounds. Almost too gentle in fact. It was breaking her heart a little. She didn't like the expression he was wearing and she hated the fact that she put it there. The Ravenclaw did her best to explain everything while the boy applied the paste. “Yes, I suppose that is true.” She was not looking for any kind of approval from the Hunts and she was indeed happy that they found her so disagreeable. It meant she was different than them, which suited her just fine. She would be far more worried if they did like her. It was a relief to hear that Flash wouldn't change his opinion of her based on other people’s perception though. Still it wasn’t quite enough. Eun-ji was scared that one day he might see all of her with all her flaws and sharp words and decide he didn't like her anymore. The witch didn't really want to think about that but she knew the fear would always be there. Afterall, there were times when even she didn’t like herself. In the last two years, she's been losing people left and right and she wasn't sure how much more she could handle.

Aside from the talking, the witch held perfectly still as Flash took care of her wounds. Once he was done however, she reached out to smooth his furrowed brow. She wasn't supposed to take care of him now but she simply couldn't stop herself in time. “Thank you. I feel much better already.” The smile she offered was barely there but it was sincere. The boy accepted her explanation and in turn gave his honest opinion on her grandpa's condition. No further question asked. Eun-ji was grateful for that. “Hmm...” she nodded thoughtfully, considering whether she should also share her thoughts on the matter. “I thought exactly the same until yesterday...” The girl paused for a moment. “...but it occurred to me afterwards that such fate wasn't as bad as it sounds as long as there was still someone who cared for you. Because that's just it, isn't it? He doesn't remember me, so he didn't really lose me. In his world I simply don’t exist. He doesn't miss me and once his health gets a bit better, he will start living again, creating new memories. I won’t be part of them but that won’t matter to him.” It was the same with death. The people that died were at peace. It was the ones they left behind that had to live with the aftermath. Missing someone alone was a terrible fate. She'd rather the forgetting was mutual.

When the Slytherin eventually stood up and chose to so beside her rather than in front of her, Eun-ji allowed herself to lean against him ever so slightly. Not confident enough to fall into his arms entirely for fear that she might finally break down or make him uncomfortable. She was vaguely aware of their pinkies touching as she moved her hand a bit to make it so. It grounded her as much as anything could in that very moment. “Oh...yeah,” she nodded again, glancing at her first aid kit for a brief moment. On the zipper, there hang a dog tag with Morgana's name on it. A bittersweet memento. “My father used to read them to me when I was little so it stuck with me.” She remembered the moments fondly although now it also reminded her of the very man and their last conversation. “God...I shouldn't have said those things to him.” The witch muttered under her breath. Technically speaking, all of it was true but it was still unfair of her. Her father did his best to protect her but he couldn't be there for her all the time. No...she shouldn't think about that now. Flash already worried plenty about her. “And? How did this little fella get his name?” She asked instead to keep the lighter conversation going. That and she was genuinely curious of course....As was Mordred if his constant glances towards the cage were anything to go by.

@Flash Holmwood