Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Jung Jinsol was attacked by a werewolf.”

Surely, this is a nightmare. 

There’s no other explanation for hearing those seven words in that order. The meaning behind that sentence, the implications… There’s no possible way, and yet–

“… doesn’t make sense… How do you know…”

“… powdered silver to stop the bleeding…”

“… was asleep, in my room…”

“… last seen with Jinsol, as testified…”

Siyeon and Headmistress Kwon’s voices sound so distant as Hyejoo observes the pair. Siyeon is still standing, gesturing at something unseen with one arm, and although she’s only a foot away, it might as well be an entire league with how far she feels. It’s like Hyejoo’s watching her through a painting or a picture or maybe even through the glass windows of the Slytherin common room, through the vastness of the lake.

Well, that makes sense, Hyejoo rationalizes. This is a nightmare, after all. 

Right?

Hyejoo is dimly aware of Headmistress Kwon asking her something, maybe an inquiry after her well-being judging from the concern in her eyes. The question doesn’t really register, but Hyejoo must have responded, for Headmistress Kwon gives a nod before continuing to speak. 

“… this might be your only chance… once the news—and rumors spread.”

“We’ll go now then.”

Like a puppet on a string, Hyejoo instinctively jerks to action when she hears the grind of wood against marble. She turns to see Siyeon pushing her chair back, and Hyejoo imitates the action, ready to follow. Headmistress Kwon’s parting words float around somewhere in her active conscience, but they sound tinny as though they’re bouncing around in a metal can, and Hyejoo looks forward to the early morning silence of the castle as she trails after Siyeon. 

Her nightmare then changes shape. 

Eyes upon eyes, stares upon stares… Hyejoo’s hope for a quiet escape is crushed under the heels of familiar scrutiny. Sure, nobody says anything to her, but Hyejoo hears the whispers, feels the judgment lining the halls on the way to who knows where. 

Weren’t we past this?

Wordlessly, Siyeon puts her arms around Hyejoo’s shoulders and pulls her closer. 

Hyejoo allows herself to be steered by her sister until they come across their destination: the Hospital Wing. There’s a small crowd gathered outside, and Hyejoo ducks her head before she makes eye contact with anyone. Unlike the murmurs from before, it’s deathly silent save for the creak of the door as Siyeon wrenches it open and pulls Hyejoo inside. 

Inside, to where Jung Jinsol lays. 

And suddenly, the nightmare is all too real. 

It’s too vivid, the starch white of the bandages peeking out from under her robes, crisscrossed over her neck. They’re a strange contrast to how pale the girl is herself, her skin lacking color, almost deathless in its pallor. Even her hair, usually a gleaming blonde, is dull and matted, though nothing drives the point home more than how Jinsol gives no signs of movement. 

Like a corpse. 

Hyejoo’s mouth goes dry, and the fact that this is reality hits her like a brick. 

“Jung Jinsol was attacked by a werewolf.”

The urge to curl up into a ball right then and there in the middle of the Hospital Wing seizes Hyejoo. It’s like a set of weighted chains– shackles have been clamped around her shoulders, and there’s only a split second before they’re dropped like an anchor into the ocean. Before she even finishes sucking in a breath, however, an angered shout and a flurry of footsteps cuts across the room. 

“I thought I said no visi– Oh, it’s you two.”

Madam Lee looks worse than Headmistress Kwon did, the fury in her eyes quickly dissipating to reveal a haggard, exhausted expression as she approaches the two siblings. Hogwarts’ matron rubs at her forehead wearily and mutters something to herself before making a valiant attempt to smile. 

She fails. 

“Miss Jinsol seems to be in a stable state for now,” Madam Lee says, in concurrence with Headmistress Kwon’s prior report. She glances at her patient and a sigh escapes her. “Hopefully it’ll stay that way.”

“Hopefully?” Siyeon echoes, her voice hollow. 

“This is uncharted territory,” Madam Lee points out, and it looks as though she’s in pain from having to admit as much. “There are no records of anyone being bitten before a full moon as opposed to during. Miss Jinsol showed no signs of transforming last night, but I don’t know if that’s because she is unable to or because she couldn’t, given the state of her health.”

Siyeon makes a strangled noise, somewhere in between a cough and a grunt. The stiffness in her jaw is easy to see, the tension in her jaw all too clear, and it spurs Hyejoo to speak up. 

“Is there…” Hyejoo clears her throat. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

Madam Lee shakes her head. 

“I don’t think so,” she says honestly. “We’ve reached out to your parents to see if they know anything, but otherwise… Of course, if either of you find out anything, please let me know.”

“Of cour–”

“You don’t think I did it?” Siyeon interrupts, and Hyejoo flinches. 

Madam Lee shows no such outward response. Instead, she fixes the older Son with an even, steady look. 

“Regardless of who did it, my only concern right now is providing the best possible care to my patient,” she states, and something about her words strikes a chord within Hyejoo. 

Madam Lee’s unwavering sense of purpose doesn’t seem to resonate as well with Siyeon. There’s still a stormy look on her face, countless thoughts no doubt swirling in her mind, and just watching her restarts the anxious jittering inside Hyejoo’s chest. Hyejoo quietly grabs the front of her own robes as if that would ease her heart, and she keeps her hand there when Siyeon turns to leave the Hospital Wing. 

Eyes upon eyes, stares upon stares… This time, Hyejoo has enough presence of mind to notice Minji flanking the doors with Prefect Yongsun like a pair of guards. The wall of black around them stands a respectful distance away, and it ripples outwards as Siyeon and Hyejoo step into the hall. The crowd fearfully parts for them, the students closest to them apparently too scared to even breathe, though Hyejoo can hear the gradual whispers building from further back. 

Siyeon returns her arm around Hyejoo’s shoulder and all but presses her to her side. Hyejoo swears she hears a derisive huff at that, but movement out of the corner of her eye grabs her attention instead. 

Why is there a helmet scooting across the floor…?

Hyejoo barely has time to notice little orange paws peeking out from underneath the helmet when the rest of the suit of armor rounds the corner, clattering loudly as it chases after its head. 

“Oh shoot, that’s our signal,” Siyeon gasps. She grabs Hyejoo’s hand and hastily tugs her away from the four-legged helmet, dashing towards a corridor in the opposite direction. Right on cue, the helmet takes a swerve towards the gathering of students outside the Hospital Wing, and pandemonium erupts as the suit of armor barrels after it. 

“Poor fellow.” A nearby portrait of some man who’s more beard than human clicks his tongue. “Could have sworn that a pair of Gryffindors decapitated him in the dungeons just the other day. Now, will you children stop screaming!?”

Naturally, nobody heeds his words, and Hyejoo is pretty sure that their escape has gone unnoticed as Siyeon drags her towards a griffon statue. Yoohyeon is wringing her wrists as she waits by it, and she heaves a sigh of relief when the two Sons come into sight. 

“Hurry, get in the butt,” Yoohyeon urges, waving towards the opened backside of the statue. She scans both Hyejoo and Siyeon’s faces as they enter, and her expression falls when neither even attempts to laugh at her wording. 

It’s silent as they crawl through the shortcut, and it’s silent as they emerge on a different floor. It’s silent as they slip behind a painting, and it’s silent as they sneak into the Clocktower Courtyard. It’s silent as they trek across the Wooden Bridge, and it remains silent by the sundial, even the sounds of birds and wildlife jarringly absent. It’s not as though Hyejoo has the courage to speak up though, so she’s relieved when a familiar figure finally breaks the quiet with her arrival. 

“Oh my god, Head Girl Bae nearly caught me,” Hyunjin wheezes as she ungraciously throws her very human body at the closest person, who happens to be Hyejoo. Hyejoo grunts as she catches her friend, and she’s secretly relieved when Hyunjin pulls back for a second to amend, “Actually, she did. She picked up the helmet but then screamed and dropped it when she saw that I was inside.”

“Yeah, right,” Yoohyeon immediately snorts. “Why would she scream? Head Girl Bae wouldn’t be scared of some random cat.”

“She did though, I swear!”

“Huh. Maybe it’s because you’re ugly…?”

“Hey! At least she didn’t call me a rat.”

“Wait, she called mini me a rat before!?”

“Guys…”

Hyejoo’s almost scared to look when she hears Siyeon’s exasperated sigh. She chances a glance, however, and it’s like a weight has been lifted when she sees her sister giving the faintest hint of a smile instead of glaring. 

“You’re both cute, alright?” Siyeon says appeasingly. “And our plan went off without anyone getting caught, so well done.”

Hyunjin straightens up to puff out her chest in pride, and Hyejoo takes the chance to escape from under her arm. 

“How’d you guys even know we needed a distraction?” she asks. 

Yoohyeon blows out a breath, her smile turning awkward. 

“We came back through the Hospital Wing, right?” she says. “There was a curtain up around one of the beds so we couldn’t see, but… Madam Lee said Siyeon-unnie needed to see Headmistress Kwon right away, so we figured something was up and came up with our plan on the fly. I mean the plan was basically ‘have Hyunjin do something crazy while the rest of us run away,’ but…” Yoohyeon grins at her partner in crime. “It worked!”

“People were saying weird stuff while we waited though,” Hyunjin frowns. Her eyes dart from Siyeon to Hyejoo, then back to Siyeon. “They’re saying that Jinsol-unnie was hurt. By a werewolf. But that’s impossible, isn’t it?”

And just like that, the heaviness returns. 

“… It’s true,” Siyeon confirms after a loaded pause. “Hyejoo and I saw her with our own eyes, and Madam Lee confirmed her wounds were from a werewolf.”

“Is she… Is she going to be okay?” Hyunjin asks, and the only answer she receives is a helpless shrug. 

Yoohyeon takes a step back in disbelief. 

“But how?” she says, and Hyejoo relates too much to that pleading twist to her voice, the way she’s practically begging for some explanation that isn’t going to upend everything they’ve known for the past half year, everything they’ve been protecting. 

Everything Hyejoo’s been starting to embrace as her new home. 

If that thought wasn’t foreboding enough, the sentence Siyeon utters next plunges Hyejoo straight into the iciest of waters.

“Honestly… I don’t remember what I was doing yesterday afternoon.”

No way. No way. There is absolutely no possible way. Hyejoo would rather sooner jump off a cliff than entertain the idea that her sister… It’s insane. It’s ridiculous. It’s unthinkable. 

… But what if–

“Pfft, no.” Hyunjin’s scoff breaks past the rapidly spiraling clouds brewing in Hyejoo’s mind. The second year crosses her arms, too busy pulling a face at Siyeon to notice Hyejoo’s expression. “Unnie, no offense, but are you dumb?”

“Excuse me?” Siyeon frowns, clearly taking offense despite the disclaimer. 

“Last I checked, you don’t sleepwalk,” Hyunjin states matter-of-factly. “Plus, whatever happened to Jinsol-unnie happened during the day. You only go all rawr during full moon nights.”

Hyunjin curls both hands into claws to illustrate her point, and Hyejoo is pretty sure she hears Yoohyeon cough to hide a giggle before the Hufflepuff speaks. 

“She’s right, you know,” Yoohyeon says, earnest as ever. She grabs one of Siyeon’s hands with both of her own as she continues, “Besides, unnie, you’re a softie! If you did hurt Jinsol for whatever reason, I’m sure you didn’t mean it.”

“Y– Yeah,” Hyejoo nods in agreement as she forces herself to find her voice. It’s easier to talk than it is to remember, after all. 

Flecks of spittle, glittering in the night. Sharp, jagged edges, ivory knives in the dark. A hulking mass, rabid and ravenous, tearing through a mansion and then shedding blood in the snow–

“It– It couldn’t have been you,” Hyejoo speaks rather roughly. She clenches her fist at the guilt that rises up when Siyeon’s gaze turns upon her, hopeful. “It just… It doesn’t make sense. Like Yoohyeon-unnie said, why would you do that? And like Hyunjin said, how?”

“But I don’t remem–”

“You were asleep,” Hyejoo points out, all too aware that she’s trying to convince more than one person here. “Do any of us ever remember what we’re doing when we’re sleeping?”

“Nope,” Yoohyeon and Hyunjin immediately chorus. 

“But…” Siyeon sighs, running a frustrated hand through her hair. “What else could have happened? I’m the only possible culprit here…  Unless one of you guys–”

Yoohyeon suddenly stomps her foot and plants her hands on her hips.

“Unnie, no offense, but are you dumb?” she scolds. She breaks character for a second to return Hyunjin’s high five before returning to her scowl. “Do you really think we’d hide something like that from you?”

“… Seriously, unnie,” Hyejoo shakes her head. Despite the morbid topic, there’s a slight tug on the corner of her lips. Yoohyeon and Hyunjin have been yanking on it ever since the four of them reunited, and Siyeon’s silly leap to the most wrong conclusion, not to mention Hyejoo’s own refusal to dwell on darker memories, is enough to bring a sliver of a smile to Hyejoo’s face. “No offense, but are you dumb?”

The running gag does the trick: Siyeon’s grimace cracks into a fond exasperation befitting brighter, lighter days. The familiar expression is reassuring to see, Hyejoo thinks, for it signals a step forward or at least a step away from the shadows threatening to swallow them all. 

Who knows, Hyejoo shrugs as a flock of birds passes overhead, momentarily blotting out the sun. 

Maybe all of this really is just a bad dream.

Know My Heart

This can’t be real. 

Kim Hyunjin knows people are fickle. From the facedown picture at her mother’s bedside and the unworn ring next to it collecting dust, to the childhood friends who would come and go once their parents’ business was complete, to the students that alternate between knowing and not knowing her in the halls… Hyunjin knows that people are fickle. Hyunjin knows this, and yet…

This can’t be real, she scoffs inside her head as she watches Slytherin’s locker room empty the very second Hyejoo enters it.

Granted, it’s only Jennie, Dahyun, and Sakura who left, the team’s captain and Seeker both running late for morning practice for whatever reason, but still. Hyunjin hauled her tired self all the way over here to keep up appearances and they’re going to leave, just like that? 

What happened to teamwork? Camaraderie? Friendship? Trust? Does spending several hours together each week suffering under the most rigorous training regiment in the world not mean anything these days?

They didn’t even give Hyejoo a chance to defend herself. 

“And here I thought they’d be happy you took out a third of their competition,” Hyunjin comments, keeping her voice glib to mask her irritation. 

Alas, Hyejoo doesn’t even dignify the joke with a glare. The most Hyunjin gets is a deepened frown (she’s willing to bet lunch that she’ll be seeing a lot of that in the near future), and she shoots Jinsol a silent apology for making light of her plight for nothing. Still, Hyunjin’s not one to be deterred as she pats the empty spot on the bench next to her. 

“… So.” Hyunjin clicks her tongue as Hyejoo deposits herself into the offered seat. “Where’s Chaewon? Think she forgot to set her alarm?”

Hyejoo snorts, and Hyunjin internally cheers. She’s not quite sure how or why the pair get along so well when she can barely hold a five minute conversation with Chaewon, but she has no qualms about invoking their relationship to distract Hyejoo. Indeed, it does the trick, Hyejoo’s frown receding as she tilts her head knowingly. 

“Chaewon doesn’t sleep in on mornings after the full moon,” Hyejoo says. “She likes to check on us, make sure we got back okay.”

Hyunjin blinks.

“Dang, I didn’t know that.”

“That’s because you pass out the instant you get back to our room,” Hyejoo deadpans. 

“Well, excuse me!” Hyunjin places a hand over her chest in mock offense. “Some of us need our beauty sleep after hanging around outside all night.”

“Oh, you need your beauty sleep, alright.”

Why does Hyunjin always make an effort for Ms. Grumpy Pants again?

“This is why Yeojin complains about you all the time,” Hyunjin concludes. As the elder, she chooses to diplomatically share her knowledge, unsolicited as it may be. “You don’t get enough sleep, and that’s why you’re so crabby all the time.”

“Crabby?” Hyejoo scrunches her nose in pure awe at Hyunjin’s impeccable word choice. “I’m only crabby when I’m stuck with people like you all day.”

“Hey! If we weren’t around, you’d be even more–”

The locker room door abruptly swings open mid-retort, and the rest of Hyunjin’s sentence vanishes like smoke as two people walk inside. To Hyunjin’s disappointment, neither of the people are Chaewon, and she doesn’t need to look to know that Hyejoo is feeling let down as well. Even so, Hyunjin glances over just to check, and bittersweet pride swells inside her when she sees Hyejoo squaring her shoulders before donning a mask of calm neutrality. 

“Captain,” Hyejoo, ever the polite child to anyone not named Siyeon, Yoohyeon, or Hyunjin, greets quietly as Captain Byulyi makes her entrance with Prefect Yongsun lingering by the doorway. 

“Captain,” Hyunjin echoes, and she keeps her voice similarly innocuous despite the part of her that wants their team leader to know how miffed she is at the rest of their team. 

To her credit, Captain Byulyi manages a wry smile. 

“Hey, kids. Listen…” The seventh year student runs a hand through her hair as she chooses her words. In the end, she takes the blunt route: “Practice is canceled.”

Well, okay. That was to be expected. Hyunjin’s no fool; annoyed as she is, she understands that their teammates need a bit of time to digest the news and come back to their senses. Captain Byulyi is charismatic and charming though, so she’ll probably be able to bring them back around by Wednesday’s session–

“Indefinitely.”

Hyunjin freezes and then scratches at her ear. Did she hear that correctly…?

“Indefinitely?” she asks, just to be sure. 

“Indefinitely,” Captain Byulyi affirms. She’s no longer smiling, her face rather wooden actually as she explains, “There are… safety concerns, you see, and my understanding is that it’ll take some time for them to be resolved. Apparently, they’re thinking of canceling the rest of the season altogether.”

Hyunjin opens her mouth, a cutting remark about how fast the school moves ready to fly out. Hyejoo shifts on the bench next to her though, the rustling of her robes reminding Hyunjin of her presence, and Hyunjin exhales slowly as she reconsiders what to say. 

“You’ll let us know when we can play again, right?” she settles for asking. 

“Of course.” Captain Byulyi musters a half smile that fades as she looks from Hyunjin to Hyejoo, then back to Hyunjin. For a moment, it seems as if she’s about to say something else, but the seventh year winds up giving only a small salute before turning around to leave the room. 

Prefect Yongsun is quick to follow her girlfriend like some sort of shadow. Like a bodyguard, actually, Hyunjin realizes, and as she catches sight of Captain Wheein and some Gryffindor appearing from the sides to flank Captain Byulyi as she walks away, Hyunjin comes to the second realization that those two were probably lurking nearby to make sure that Captain Byulyi came out of this conversation unscathed. 

So , Hyunjin thinks glumly. Even our captain. 

“Well!” Hyunjin declares loudly in contrast to her inner thoughts. “That was a waste of time.” She slaps her knees, using the motion to stand up. “Come on. Just ‘cause practice is canceled doesn’t mean we’re not allowed to fly.”

“Actually…”

Hyunjin sits back down. 

“I think we should head back to the castle,” Hyejoo says. There’s an apology in her eyes as she explains, “Siyeon-unnie and Yoohyeon-unnie should have heard something from Mother and Father by now.”

Hyunjin jumps back to her feet.

“Why, of course!” she agrees magnanimously, quickly yanking Hyejoo upwards before the first year can say anything else to reset Hyunjin’s momentum again. 

The two of them are halfway up the path back to Hogwarts when they come across the errant final member of Slytherin’s team. Hyunjin has to make an effort to keep her face blank when she notes how much their Seeker resembles an angry chihuahua; Chaewon is all frowns and glares this morning, and Hyunjin has the liberty to be amused since her ire is clearly directed at someone else. Two someone elses, actually, one of whom’s gripping Chaewon’s hood like some leash to hold the blonde from dashing off. 

“See!?” Chaewon gestures vehemently at Hyunjin and Hyejoo while glowering at Jungeun, her captor. “Hyunjin’s been alone with her and she’s perfectly fine!”

Hyunjin can’t tell if she was meant to hear that or not. Maybe not, judging by the way Jungeun responds in a displeased undertone. Jiwoo, usually loud and exuberant, likewise keeps her voice to an indistinguishable hush as she makes some sort of plea based on the angle of her eyebrows. 

Chaewon very pointedly glances at Hyunjin and Hyejoo before crossing her arms and returning her glare to Jungeun and Jiwoo. She tries to look down her nose at the two of them, the effect ruined by the fact that she’s decidedly shorter than everyone present, but her voice is no less imperious than a princess’s as she states, “Feel free to tell me ‘I told you so’ when you find my dead body lying in the woods, but until then–”

The rest of her sentence is lost in a shriek as Jungeun launches at Chaewon with a war cry. Hyunjin’s mouth turns into an ‘o’ in surprise and Hyejoo flinches next to her, but before Hyunjin can decide whether to join in or to just watch and cheer Chaewon on, Jiwoo leaps into the fray. With an expertise clearly born from experience in conflict resolution, the Hufflepuff pries her cousin and friend apart in record time.

“Kim Jungeun, you stop that this instant!” Jiwoo yells as she holds the two away from each other at arm’s length. “And Park Chaewon! Don’t even joke about something like that! Apologize!”

“Sorry,” Chaewon mutters, the sincerity of her apology called into question by the way she sticks her tongue out rather childishly. 

“Why you–!”

“I think we should just go,” Hyunjin whispers to Hyejoo over the sounds of the trio arguing again. 

Hyejoo quickly acquiesces with a nod, and the two of them start shuffling sideways around the continued squabble. Just when Hyunjin thinks they’ve made their escape though, Chaewon breaks away from her jailers and latches onto Hyejoo’s arm. 

“Hyejoo’s harmless, and I’m going to talk to her, and if you don’t like it, that’s your problem,” the blonde declares in one furious breath, and she makes no room for further objections as she forcefully tugs Hyejoo in the direction of Hogwarts. Jiwoo and Jungeun clearly recognize their defeat, for they let out synchronized sighs before grudgingly trailing after Chaewon, one of them stomping notably louder than the other. As she steps in line with the third years, Hyunjin counts to a grand total of eleven seconds until Chaewon whips around to pierce her royal guard with narrowed eyes. “Stop following me!”

Hyunjin blinks from next to Jiwoo. 

“This is the only path back to school though,” she points out.

“Whose side are you on!?”

Hyunjin is left at a loss for how to answer because of course she’s on Hyejoo’s side and hey, she needs to get back to Hogwarts too regardless of Chaewon’s feelings towards present company. Fortunately, Chaewon doesn’t actually want a reply based on how she turns back to Hyejoo and resumes dragging her forward. The pair start whispering to each other, and although she can’t hear from this distance, Hyunjin’s spirits sink as she realizes what they’re no doubt discussing. 

Indeed, Hyunjin can’t think of any other topic that would have Hyejoo’s shoulders drooping the way they are now. She’s suddenly reminded of that part of last summer she’d rather not remember, the bit before their return to school when everything seemed to be falling apart before it even started. Hyejoo had been morose then, quiet and withdrawn, and as understandable as it is given the repeated situation, Hyunjin finds herself praying that this time, they’ll all be stronger.

A burgeon of hope rises in Hyunjin’s chest when she notices Hyejoo absentmindedly rubbing the leather bracelet that was gifted to her on her birthday. 

Yes, Hyunjin tells herself as her own hand drifts to the pendant hidden under her clothes. We’re all stronger now. 

She repeats that thought in her mind like a mantra, a protective spell to help keep her head up and her shoulders squared. Alas, it’s as though she’s unintentionally tempting fate instead, for her strength is tested as soon as they step back into the castle. 

Evidently at the end of their indulgence, Jiwoo and Jungeun swiftly shepherd Chaewon away, though not before she mouths “I’ll talk to you guys later” over her shoulder. The trio vanish into a sea of bodies that easily dwarfs the crowd that had been at the Hospital Wing earlier, the stony stares astronomically harsher en masse. There are so many familiar faces—too many interspersed within the swarm, and Hyunjin could swear the morning air has never been so cold, not even in the dead of winter, when not a single person offers up even a hint of a smile.

Next to Hyunjin, Hyejoo lets out a very quiet sigh. Honestly, Hyunjin wouldn’t have noticed were it not for the fact that Hyejoo had been frozen like a statue until she let out that exhale, and her heart goes out to her friend when Hyejoo draws in another breath to brace herself. 

“Hyunjin,” Hyejoo calls out without looking away from those silently condemning her. “Can you go find Siyeon-unnie and Yoohyeon-unnie? I think… I think I’ll head to the lake.”

“Of course,” Hyunjin immediately agrees before frowning in concern. “Be careful outside, okay?”

Hyejoo nods with a gleam in her eyes. 

Hyunjin can’t tell if that shine is from determination or unshed tears. 

Eager to reunite their little crew, Hyunjin slips away from the public by employing a couple familiar shortcuts. She’s more accustomed to sneaking away from Headmistress Kwon’s office rather than towards it, but she still reaches the statue guarding the staircase in good time. She’s fast enough that Siyeon’s probably still talking to her parents, Hyunjin surmises, but before she can start guessing the password to reveal the way up, a very recognizable voice drifts her way.

“You cannot have justice without the TRUTH!”

Even if Hyunjin’s ears didn’t pick up that particular, deeper timbre unique to a certain someone, that vehemence, that conviction infused into that one line is a dead giveaway for the speaker. Hyunjin can’t think of anyone else who would make such a declaration as though they’re some ancient hero returned to life, and it wouldn't surprise her if she rounded the corner to see a Gryffindor posing majestically with no shame whatsoever.

Alas, Jeon Heejin is standing perfectly normally when Hyunjin catches sight of her.

Boring.

“C’mon, you guys know better than to believe Baek What’s Her Name whenever she starts telling her stories,” Heejin is entreating two of their classmates as Hyunjin walks up to them. 

Yeh Shuhua shakes her head, but she doesn’t disagree as she dryly says, “She sure does like to bend the truth. Bends it until it’s what we call a big fat lie.”

Yoo Jimin opens her mouth and Hyunjin hopes she won’t have to curse the girl based on whatever she’s about to say next, but that decision is taken out of her hands when their eyes meet over Heejin’s shoulder. Jimin hesitates for a second before murmuring something out of Hyunjin’s range, though she does give Hyunjin a small smile and wave before departing with Shuhua. 

Heejin turns around with her hands on her hips and a determined upturn to her head.

Hyunjin likewise crosses her arms. 

“Talking about Hyejoo, were you?” she asks calmly. 

“Yep.”

“And you were defending her.”

“Not quite.”

“No?”

Heejin lets out a long exhale during which her arms sag, but then she draws herself up and plants her hands squarely on her hips again.

“I, Jeon Heejin, am a defender of the TRUTH!” she states grandly, and Hyunjin can’t help but feel that if Chaewon were here, she’d have her face in her palms. “I might not know what the truth is right this instant, but I’m going to defend it.”

“The truth,” Hyunjin repeats. “The truth of whether or not Hyejoo attacked Jinsol-unnie.”

Heejin nods. 

“Hyejoo is a friend,” she says. “I want to believe in my friends, even if I’m not sure what to believe right now. All I know is that we can’t believe what Baek What’s Her Name says. She’s lied about Hyejoo before. Why wouldn’t she lie now?”

“So…” Hyunjin says slowly. “Would you rather be locked in a room with Baek Bitch One or Hyejoo?”

“Hyejoo,” Heejin answers so easily that Hyunjin blinks in surprise. Something flashes in Heejin’s gaze, and some little winged thing gives a flap inside Hyunjin’s ribcage when Heejin actually breaks out into a grin. “She’s been alone with you a thousand times and hasn’t jinxed you even once, so I think I’ll be okay.”

“Hey!” Hyunjin protests even as she fights her own returning smile. “So you don’t think she did it…?”

“I’m honestly not sure what to think, but… Maybe it’s just false hope, but my heart at least says no,” Heejin admits. “And you obviously don’t think she did it.”

“I don’t think,” Hyunjin corrects. “I know she didn’t.” 

“Then that’s good enough for me,” Heejin nods. “I believe in the you who believes in her! For now, at least.”

“For now,” Hyunjin echoes. 

Heejin suddenly punches her palm with her other fist and holds it there like a warrior proudly pledging their allegiance.

“I shall believe in the truth above all!” she announces before sweeping her arm to point to the ceiling. 

How cute.

“... Why are you staring at me like that?”

Hyunjin jolts out of her reverie. 

“It’s nothing,” she says hastily. “Anyways, you haven’t seen Siyeon-unnie or Yoohyeon-unnie come this way have you?”

“No,” Heejin responds, though her eyes are still narrowed suspiciously. “Actually, how did you get here without walking past us–”

“I’m going to go find them then,” Hyunjin interrupts before she’s further interrogated. “See you later,” she tosses quickly over her shoulders before speed-walking back to the entrance of Headmistress Kwon’s office. 

As she quite literally runs into Siyeon and Yoohyeon making their way down the spiral staircase right as she’s climbing up, a thought streaks through Hyunjin’s mind like a comet across a night sky, one bearing a name that starts with H. 

Despite the grim faces of her friends—despite everything, actually—Hyunjin smiles.

Maybe the four of them aren’t so alone after all.