Chapter Text
When the words ‘witches’ come to mind, there are two images. Either a children’s storybook witch, ones that have a long proboscis like nose and warts. Maybe they cackle threateningly in the air, wear cone hats, and ride on uncomfortable looking straw brooms. That’s the first image. The second image, one that is becoming increasingly more common with widespread internet usage, consists of a ‘sexy’ looking gothic witch. A woman with kohl-lined eyes, a sultry whisper, crooning voices, black nails that beckon seductively, long tangled hair and maybe a pentagram necklace hanging around her neck.
It isn’t that these images are incorrect, per se, but it’s definitely a large part of the reason why the magical community have managed to stay undetected for centuries. Mostly.
The dull hum of the Recreational Vehicle’s droned on as the heavy set camping car drove down the highway. An occasional jostle as the wheels bumped over potholes shook the curtains, metal rings scraping against the railing as the cheap material swung up and down.
Just four normal human sisters on a road trip.
Right?
“Landon- I mean, Y/N-ah, it’s your turn to drive,” a girl sitting on the drivers chair called out. Her name was Valen Crowrage, and she was the third youngest of the four sisters. Landon, or Y/N to the people that knew her, shook her head without looking up, her fingers still tapping away on a phone rhythm game.
“It’s Austin’s turn,” she replied, referencing the oldest Crowrage sister who was currently using the toilet. “Besides I’m on Accident Duty.”
They had been insulted when Y/N had proposed the ‘Accident Duty’ job. (“Are you doubting my driving skills, Y/N-ah?”) But after the third near incident, it was very evident that Accident Duty was a much needed thing. Though Valen still thought it was a copout.
The oldest sister sighed, walking out of the small bathroom and plopping down on the passenger seat besides Valen, wiping her wet hands on her jeans. “Are you going to at least pull over so I ca-”
“Nope!” Valen cheerfully interrupted, letting go of the wheel abruptly and shooting to her feet. The RV swivelled, nearly crossing a lane over. Austin yelped, grabbing the steering and rushing to slide into the cracked leather of the driver’s seat. Valen stepped out from the front, cracking her neck and knuckles. She had been on drivers duty for barely two hours, and here she was, acting like she had been chained there for days with how loudly her groans of relief were.
“Y/N-ah!” Austin complained, hands digging into the wheel. (She didn't drive often.) “Why didn’t you warn me that Valen was going to do that? We could’ve gotten into an accident!”
Y/N rolled her eyes from her seat, seemingly unbothered by the brief derailment. “Yeah, but we wouldn't and we didn’t so we're fine.”
Their second oldest and last sister, Benjamin, seemed to have finally woken up from the spike in activity, judging by the sound of sheets shuffling and yawning from the back. She sat up, hair ruffled from sleep and eyes droopy. “What happened?”
“You tried to drive more hours by drinking one of Austin’s Power-Up Potions. Drank the wrong one. Catnap Concoction bottle. I had to drive,” Y/N clipped, definitely not one to waste time on extraneous words. She was immersed in her phone game, irises flicking around the blinking screen as her thumbs tapped to the beat of music. Benjamin nodded, her eyes squinting at the bright sunlight streaming through the windows before turning back over and going to sleep. The potions groggy effects lingering still in the young witch’s system.
Austin, the oldest sister, spoke from the driver’s seat, craning her neck around to face them. “We are going to be entering the Seoul area, where we’re going to change into presentable wear and explore. So please do your best not to expose that the Crowrage sisters have… for lack of a better word, flown the nest and are here.”
They all pointedly looked at Valen, the reason why their last visit to Incheon had been cut short. She sheepishly smiled, her natural ability as an Empath activating in an effort to smooth tensions. Against their will, Austin and Y/N started to feel incredibly sedated. The feeling was much like being hit with a low dose of tranquiliser serum.
The Crowrage family was highly respected in the magical community, not just in Asia, but globally as one of the top Covens. Renowned for their groundbreaking remedies and extraordinary range of highly sought after talents. Everyone who had a drop of Crowrage blood was sure to be talented. To put it bluntly, their abilities were rare, enforcing the fact that the Crowrage bloodline was incredibly gifted and heavy duty. They didn't play around.
Valen Crowrage, the third youngest of the four sisters, was an Empath. It was self-explanatory, and a relatively underrated talent. With a mere flickering thought, she could engulf you in fury or drown you in grief. As a child, she had been particularly difficult to handle. Her endless temper tantrums requiring expert behaviour and an iron will.
If it was known that The Four Crowrage Sisters had left the house to explore the continent… well, it wouldn’t seem very good on the Crowrage family’s part. Allowing such talented and dangerous abilities to roam freely? Yeah, it wouldn’t be good news at all. Not to mention the fact that their mother hadn’t even known they were going to take a ‘road trip’ before they had left. Unfortunate.
Meanwhile, Bangtan Sonyeondan, the rising Global Stars who had just released an international hit named ‘DNA,’ roamed around the streets of Seoul. Given how conspicuous they looked, it came as a great surprise how their presence had yet to be been recognised. From the long coats that covered their bodies or flamboyant colours that screamed ‘LOOK AT ME’ to the very obvious face masks with sunglasses, everything about them screamed 'CELEBRITY!'. Their loud voices and relatively futile attempts to hush their volume did not help them at all.
“Namj-” Hoseok laughed out loud, catching himself right before he revealed their presence. Not that they were doing much to hide it. “Namji-ah, you almost walked into that fire hydrant again!”
Namjoon flushed under their ricocheting laughter.
The other members around him attempted to stifle their laughs, all of them except for Seokjin and Jimin. The oldest member had no such inhibitions and settled for full on cackling, smacking ‘Namji’s’ arm. High pitched squeaky staccato bursts of laughter that had come to associate with Kim Seokjin erupted out of him. Jimin could not stop his giggling, tipping his head back into the air, his crescent shaped eyes just as mirthful under the rim of his black cap.
“Hyung– if you’re too loud, then ARMY is going to realise we’re here,” Taehyung mumbled in his low husky voice, leaning over to Seokjin’s ear to talk. The eldest tried to sober up, attempting to fix his presentation, but every time his gaze would fall on Jimin’s crescent eyes or Hoseok's pitiful attempts to hide his own chuckles sent another wave of laughter.
Accidentally, Seokjin let out a snort and that immediately sent the entire group in laughter again. Jimin hunched over, holding his stomach as he silently staggered on the plaza. Taehyung practically collapsed onto Jungkook’s shoulder, eyes squeezed shut and chest heaving with howls. The maknae was not much better. For some reason a case of the giggles had attacked the septuplet and they, for the life of them, could not stop laughing.
In fact, they had been laughing so hard that in the midst of things, Jungkook unknowingly stumbled right into someone in the wide open plaza, nearly toppling the stranger over. His shoulder knocked straight against his and they let out a squeak of surprise. The group tried and failed to subdue themselves in the presence of a stranger, suppressing their laughter and giggles as the cheerfulness died down.
“Ah, I’m so sorry,” Jungkook rushed to say, his eyes widening. “Are you okay?”
The girl looked back up on him, a twinkle in her eye. She was holding a hand against her mouth, trying to stifle her chuckling as well. “Yeah, of course I’m ok-”
“Valen! Stop laughing and look where you’re going!” Someone called out behind her, followed by light jogging against the pavement. An arm slung around Valen’s neck, slotting the shorter girl closer to her body. Y/N exhaled, a small playing on her lips as she looked fondly on her sister. It took about a second for her to finally glance up to see the faces of Bangtan Sonyeondan staring back at her.
Y/N was dressed in ripped denim jeans and a stylish mesh crop top, the netting allowing her black strapless bra to be seen strapped around her chest. (Some of the members eyes visibly widened in surprise at her relatively revealing fashion, flushing red or their cheeks tinting pink.) She had short hair that ended at her collarbone, and a mischievous regard in her eyes. At first, it wasn’t obvious that she was a foreigner. Though the longer they looked, the more details would subtly emerged, giving her status away. The slope of her nose, the shifting colour in her eyes, the shape of her soft lips.
It was no surprise that other passerbyers were staring at her scandalous wear; it was Korea afterall, and regular streetwear was still rather conservative. More so now that the seasons were starting to shift and summer was coming to a close.
No wonder the septuplet was eyeing her in surprise. However the female stood there, posture relaxed and demeanour unaffected by all the stares.
The thin frames of her golden glasses slid down the bridge of her nose as she scrutinised each one of them. And whether it was from the sunlight or not, they could’ve sworn that her irises seemed to glaze over, like fogging condensation misting against the shower wall.
She had no idea who they were, the wide brimmed bucket hats and assortments of accessories covered any noticeable features. Though they did look intimidating, dressed in expensive fashion and cloaked in recognisably high end named brands. Not to mention their bulky impressive stature. Even the shortest member was a good two inches or so taller than her.
They stood there awkwardly, clearly unsure of what to do with the two women in this situation. Hoseok made a move to walk past the foreign pair, but Y/N’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist– startling the members of the group. Instantly they moved into action, obviously protective over him, mouths opening to yell and make a scene, however her next words stopped them. Whatever dregs of merry that had sprouted up before her arrival withered and crumbled instantly.
“Wait- don’t go, you need to know.” She spoke quickly, glazed grey eyes unfocused and unseeing. Hoseok felt a shiver crawl up his spine in terror and the wrist she gripped felt cold. “One of you is going to die in the next year.”
A beat of silence passed as her echoing words sunk in.
The shorter sister yawned as if this was normal, and a sudden weary ache settled into their bones at the sight of it.
“Y/N-ah, can we go? Are you done?” Valen checked her phone for the time, the screen blinking to show a stamped ‘1:40pm.’ “Is that all?”
Y/N turned to her older sister and nodded. “Yeah, we can go to that store you wanted to see.”
In their surprise and moment of re-calibration, they almost allowed her to slip away. Seokjin made a move in her direction, the first to come to his senses. Y/N paused at that, surveying him. His hand stopped mid-air, his brow furrowed in confusion. He was clearly mulling the words over in his mind.
“Yes?” Y/N smiled politely, even though her eyes clearly said 'disinterest.'
Namjoon bit his lip at that. This stranger really seemed like she didn't know who they were.
“Wait, what did you just say? Is that a threat you’re making?” Seokjin’s jaw clenched as his teeth ground on his molars. “Do you know who we are?”
Y/N’s eyes flicked between all of them. There was something cold and calculative in her gaze, like she was weighing them in her mind. “No, I do not. Well, I suppose I did say that a little fast, so let me repeat myself. One of you is going to die in the next year, I’m not sure which one. For the time being it seems pretty inevitable. At least it’s not soon. Good luck!”
Successfully stunned a second time, they watched her slip a paper card in between Seokjin’s frozen fingers and waltz off, arm raising up to adjust the thin frames of her glasses.
“Call me when you decide to believe me!” Y/N called out, not once looking back. Despite her rather ostentatious attire, in a few minutes, it was like she had disappeared from the scene. Threading through the sparse couples until she had seemingly vanished from the site entirely.
“Hyung…” Jimin’s voice sounded unsure and a bit afraid, he was the first to speak after her quick departure, “do you think she was-"
“Don’t be ridiculous, Jimin-ah,” Yoongi snapped, interrupting the younger. As the corrosive and stony elder he was supposed to be assertive and sure of everything. His grumpy attitude practically dictated it. So it was his job to squash whatever brief moments of doubt that stranger had managed to plant. They had too many things to focus on for some random girls words to distract them. Especially now that they were growing international. "She’s probably just a crazy fan or something, messing with us. How would she even know?”
Jimin shakily laughed, brushing a hand through his hair. “Yeah, you’re right, hyung. Let’s go back to the building.”
Namjoon didn’t turn away from the direction the girl left, his lips pursed. His voice sounded distant when he spoke. “Either way... we should notify Sejin-hyung. A fan just possibly threatened us.”
They nodded and moved back to the waiting cars by the road, ready to take them back to the agency. But the girl’s unseeing eyes and breathy words do not stray from their mind. Though Yoongi-hyung’s moody persona and grumpily rational words do somewhat settle the younger ones words, the hyung line is not so easily comforted.
Possible death threats are not to be taken lightly.