The morning was never the best time of the day for Da-eun, the early morning sunlight was slowly filtering through the bedroom curtain as the fifteen-year-old girl lay in bed.
She was wearing pale-green pajamas and her messy, dark-hair was streaked with honey-blond. Her sharp sense of hearing could pick up the voices coming from downstairs, as feet hurriedly moved through the house.
"Ya! Da-eun, it is time for school!"
The loud voice of Ha-yoon the mother of the young girl could be heard, as her twin sister cut in, "Just let her be, whose fault do you think it is, that made her turn out to be the way she is?"
"Does being five minutes apart give you the right to talk to me that way? The choice I made about her education is not something you should criticize me for. Someone in this family has to succeed given the current economy."
Ha-eun could feel the heat rise from her cheeks from the harsh reprimand she received from her younger sister but chose to ignore her since she knew the struggles that the family was going through.
Upstairs in bed, Da-eun struggled to get up, the noise from her mother and aunt irritated her. Thundering steps could be heard climbing the stairs, as the girl braced herself for what was to come.
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One minute the door was there and the next, splinters of wood could be seen everywhere. A petite, dark-haired woman wearing purple pajamas stormed into her room. She looked to be in her mid-twenties.
"Da-eun, if you don't get up from that bed this instance, I will smack you silly."
"Mom! It is too early for this!"
The young girl kept the flowery green comforter over her head, only to have it yanked off.
"Get out of bed, now!"
Ha-yoon's face was red with anger from seeing how defiant her daughter was. The moment Da-eun saw her mum's face she flew off the bed, the raven colored eyes she saw were literally glowing.
"Not fair, you said we weren't allowed to use our powers!" she yelled before storming out of the room to prepare for school.
Once Ha-yoon got her temper under control, she slowly bent to pick up the now damaged door and place it where it originally was, releasing a bit of her mabeob "spirit energy" effectively restoring the door.
Shower time went by in a breeze as Da-eun dressed in a white cotton top and black slacks.
With her hair down and wearing light makeup, she walked toward the door to leave. Upon reaching for the doorknob, a familiar voice said, "Da-eun, make sure you get back before 7 pm, you know how your mum is about this time of the year."
She slowly turned her head, giving a slight bow to greet her aunt who was wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt and had chin-length messy dark hair.
"Aunt Ha-eun, there is a Halloween festival at Bongwonsa, I'll be going with Ji-a and Seo-yun. I will be back before curfew," she replied briskly.
Her aunt looked towards her, seeing the girl she watched grow up from a little baby walk out through the door, firmly closing it behind her.
Ha-eun felt pity for her niece, but the life of a Jikininki was to control the fate of humans and not to be involved with them. This rule her sister broke and which was why her niece was born.