Smoke and Lies
I had just come out of Eden Hill, the restricted zone. And someone had seen me.
I couldn't tell who it was from the voice alone. At least it was definitely a woman.
If it was a student, that would be lucky, but the problem was if it was a teacher. I'd be hauled before the disciplinary committee for breaking the school rules and punished without mercy. Florence's disciplinary committee was infamous for having zero flexibility.
Or what if it was Ha Ye-jin? Then I could maybe talk my way out of it. If I begged nicely, she might let it slide.
In the worst case, it could be Yeo Min-seo. Then my school life from here on out would be a nightmare one way or another.
If things went south, I'd just hit her with a fainting spell and bolt.
Those thoughts flashed through my mind in the single second it took to pass.
Resigned, I turned my head to check the voice's owner.
"Oh."
But fortunately, it was neither Ha Ye-jin nor Yeo Min-seo.
The tension drained from my rigidly stiff facial muscles, and a smile formed naturally. I'd never been so glad to see her face.
"Ah, it's... you."
Kim Jin-seo looked at my face and spoke with obvious relief. Then she brought the cigarette wedged between her fingers to her lips and took a deep drag, inhaling the smoke fully.
The whole motion was so casual and natural. I wasn't exactly innocent myself, but that was way too brazen.
"You don't even put it out anymore."
Kim Jin-seo glanced at me for a split second before whipping her head away and continuing to smoke.
I wasn't sure, but she seemed a little pissed.
Kim Jin-seo was the type whose emotions never showed on her face, so it was hard to read her.
The smoke she exhaled scattered in the wind. It smelled like fragrant coffee.
Come to think of it, she always had this faint coffee scent about her.
I silently watched her smoke.
Only when the cigarette had burned down to a stub did I finally speak.
"Why are you—"
Click.
Kim Jin-seo pulled out another cigarette, stuck it in her mouth, and lit it with her lighter.
My words trailed off into the air and dissipated.
She clearly had no intention of listening.
And I had no desire to talk to someone plugging their ears.
I glanced around idly to calm myself. Moths buzzed against the streetlamps with a sizzling sound, and ants scurried across the ground carrying something.
This was one of the most remote spots in Florence—no one else around.
Huh, but that's...
"Isn't that Teacher Ye-jin?"
"Cough! Ugh... What?"
Kim Jin-seo hacked sharply and quickly tossed her half-smoked cigarette into the sewer grate. Impressively quick reflexes.
Then she whipped her head around. Her wide, startled eyes narrowed.
"Where?"
"Over there. She's coming."
"I don't see her."
"Of course not. I was lying."
Kim Jin-seo stared at me blankly, her face saying she couldn't believe it.
"What the hell?"
"Why keep doing something that's no good for you."
I flashed the most innocent smile I could muster. In situations like this, better to smile it off. You can't spit on a smiling face, after all.
"......"
As expected, she silently pocketed her cigarette pack without a word.
I wished I could confiscate it entirely, but I had no grounds for that, nor the position. I wasn't a teacher.
"Smoking on campus is grounds for expulsion."
So I shoved the school rules in her face instead.
Kim Jin-seo didn't flinch or panic. She fired right back.
"Trespassing in a restricted zone is expulsion too."
"Is it? News to me."
Expulsion just for sneaking into a restricted zone? I knew the rules were strict, but not this strict.
"Then let's both let it slide. But why are you here?"
I quickly changed the subject. Pushing the rules any further would only hurt me.
No matter how inflexible Florence's committee was, they wouldn't be that inflexible with the chairman's daughter, Kim Jin-seo.
Kim Jin-seo dropped her gaze to the sewer grate where she'd tossed the butt.
"Dropped my phone in there."
I peered into the grate. It was too dark to see anything. With the naked eye, I couldn't even tell if a phone was down there.
No way I could pry off the lid and fish it out like this. I couldn't even confirm if it was there or how deep the sewer went.
"Is that why you've been hanging around here?"
"Yeah."
Kim Jin-seo nodded.
If her phone fell in the sewer, she could just go home and ask her dad for a new one. Why sit here chain-smoking over it?
Sometimes she did things that made no sense. Stubborn, really.
"Anyway, lend me your phone."
Kim Jin-seo held out her hand to me.
I leaned back in surprise.
"My phone? Why?"
"Need to call home. Now."
"Now?"
"Now."
Her tone was firm. Her face was its usual blank mask, but she seemed a bit anxious somehow.
Her need to call home sounded legit.
I handed over my phone without hesitation. All the Voodoo-related stuff was hidden and locked anyway—no worries.
Kim Jin-seo dialed someone on my phone.
Vrrr—!
A vibration buzzed from somewhere nearby.
Kim Jin-seo calmly pulled her own phone from her pocket and ended the incoming call.
She'd called herself with my phone.
Kim Jin-seo handed my phone back.
"My number."
I was speechless.
"You... Earlier you said your phone fell in the sewer."
"Lie."
"But you said you had to call home."
"That was a lie too."
I took the phone back, feeling deflated. Words failed me for a moment.
The back of my head tingled.
"What the hell kind of lies are these."
"You told one too, just now."
She wasn't wrong.
I stared at her face. She stared back with those clear, emotionless eyes, same as always.
A faint coffee scent wafted over.
"So let's both let it slide. Right?"
"Huh?"
Kim Jin-seo said it with a smile as clear and bright as a cloudless sky.
It was the first time she'd smiled at me straight on. Or at least, that's how it felt to me.
The sunset deepened, slowly tinting her smile orange.
"Revenge."
She said.
I had no idea what she meant.
*
I headed straight home. My mood was weird for no reason—like my heart was floating, this odd sensation.
You got played.
Legba said it like he was mocking me. His tone rubbed me the wrong way.
"Played? By what?"
Admit it. Pride's getting in the way, huh?
"No, what am I supposed to admit?"
Oh ho, look at you getting pissy.
I ignored Legba and fired Voodoo Magic from my fingertips. I tried doodling a random spell circle to sort my thoughts, but it wouldn't come out right.
My head was a mess from all the swirling thoughts.
Too much had happened today alone. Stuff that could've unfolded over weeks crammed into one day.
Weird if I wasn't exhausted.
I flopped onto the bed and closed my eyes, but sleep wouldn't come.
I tossed and turned for minutes.
If you hate sleeping pills, how about a sleep induction agent?
Legba suggested slyly.
I shook my head. Same difference.
Fine. Sleep when you're dead, then. Sheesh.
Legba tsked his tongue.
It wasn't like I didn't want to sleep. I just didn't want to rely on drugs.
Then a brilliant idea hit me: Cast a spell on myself.
Hit myself with a fainting spell, knock out for exactly 30 minutes, then wake up refreshed. No more sleep deprivation. Whenever I got tired, just zap myself like a power nap.
"Why didn't I think of that?"
Because it's a stupid idea. Fainting and sleep are totally different.
"Are they?"
A little disappointing. I'd thought it was genius.
Separate issue: You can cast spells on yourself. Not that it's useful.
Legba's voice seeped in while I was lost in idle thoughts.
Casting on myself? First I'd heard of it. Not that I'd ever had reason to wonder.
Exactly. Useless.
"Then why mention it?"
That teacher you saw earlier. So Do-jin, right? The dark-circle guy with the sword.
Legba muttered like he was recalling.
Dark circles and sword? Had to be So Do-jin.
I nodded.
"Yeah. Why bring him up?"
He seemed to use blessings without drawing a Blessing Circle. Right?
I thought back. I'd never actually seen So Do-jin draw a Blessing Circle, not once.
Yet he always had top-tier physical abilities, like the blessings were constantly active.
"Yeah."
Learn to cast on yourself, and you could make spells flow through your body constantly, like him. If you get it right, you could even apply it to blessings.
"......Huh?"
Legba said it matter-of-factly. I blinked in confusion.
It didn't click.
I tilted my head for a while until Legba, sounding exasperated, spoke first.
I'm saying you could use So Do-jin's trick too.
(To be continued in the next chapter)