"Man~ I didn't think I'd get found out right away," the mystery girl said, scratching the back of her head as she sat in front of Yena and Yuri.

"What exactly are you?" Yuri asked in a hostile tone, still suspicious of the girl. "You better have a good explanation, or I really will call the police."

"Yuri, just calm down," Yena said, trying to calm her friend down. "Besides, if we called the police, what would we even tell them? They wouldn't believe us even if we told them the truth."

Yuri remained silent. Indeed, she had a point. The police would probably think they were crazy if they told them that a stray puppy they had taken in had turned into a human girl.

"Fine... Just explain yourself."

"Ah, right. Ahem," the girl cleared her throat. "I'm Yujin. And, I'm a werewolf."

"A werewolf?!"

"Woah, that's so cool!" Yena's eyes lit up.

"Yena, that is NOT cool! And more importantly, how can you be so calm about all this?! How did you even figure out that she was the puppy?!"

"Hmm..." Yena looked up at the ceiling as she thought about it. "I dunno. I could just feel it when I looked in her eyes."

"And another thing, on that topic!" Yuri leaned forward from across the desk table. "If you're really a were-wolf, how come you can turn into a puppy dog?!"

"Oh please. You should see my true form," Yujin stood up, beginning to growl as if she was a wolf. "Rawr~ grah~ I can be really intense, grrr..."

Yuri leaned back. "She's crazy... This girl is crazy... Or maybe I really am going crazy."

"So werewolves are real, huh..."

"Yeah, but if you guys don't mind, can you keep this a secret from your mom and dad, Yena? Normal humans aren't supposed to know we exist."

"So why are you telling us?" Yuri asked skeptically.

"Because I trust you both! I overheard your conversation with Yena's parents last night!"

"W-what? You heard that?" Yuri's cheeks turned slightly pink.

"Don't worry, Yujin! I won't tell mom and dad!"

"Thank you, Yena~" Yujin hugged her, causing Yuri to suddenly feel a tightness in her chest.

She pulled the two apart, shooting a glare at Yujin.

"Yena, can we talk for a minute?" she then asked Yena. "Alone."

"Huh?" Yuri pulled her up from the floor, the two of them walking out of the room to the bathroom. "Yuri, what's gotten into you?"

"Yena, there is a girl who can somehow turn into a dog, calling herself a werewolf, in your house, and you aren't phased by this in the slightest?!"

"Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm just as surprised to learn that Yujin is a werewolf."

"Then why are you acting so calm about it?!" Yuri shook her shoulders.

"Well... 'cause it might be fun!"

"Fun? She could be dangerous."

"No way, Yujin isn't dangerous! I can feel it, in my gut! Plus, if she trusts us enough to tell us who she really is, then it just shows that fact even more. There's no way she'd hurt us."

"Again with that. Are you just going by instinct in this situation?"

"I mean, why not? Sometimes you just gotta go with what your gut feels."

"Yena... But--"

"I know, I know. It's really confusing, and shocking, but for now, let's just wait and see what happens next. Maybe having Yujin with us could be a good thing."

Hearing her words, Yuri just sighed.

"How can one girl be so optimistic?" she thought to herself. "Alright, alright... I'll trust you on this."

The two left and returned to Yena's bedroom, where Yujin was patiently waiting.

"Sorry for earlier..." Yuri apologized.

"Don't worry about it," Yujin said with a smile.

"Oh right! I bought a collar for you," Yena said as she took the dog collar out.

"Wow, it's really cute!"

"Won't it look weird to see a person wearing a dog collar?"

"Ahh, true... I know! How about we go shopping and find you a choker instead? Or maybe a dog-tag necklace?"

"Ooh, that'd be nice!"

"Let's do that, then."

...

"Uwaa~ this place feels like a haunted house," Hitomi said as she stepped inside Sakura's home.

"Well, it hasn't really been thoroughly cleaned in 18 years."

She guided her to the back of the mansion, where Minju was enjoying her tea while Chaeyeon was dancing with Nako.

"Ah..." Hitomi's eyes widened a bit as she recognized the dance they were doing. "It's Twice..."

"You know what that is?"

"Yeah, they're a pretty famous group even in Japan," Hitomi said, seeing Sakura's confused expression. "You don't know them?"

"No."

"Huh? Onee-chan? Hitomi-chan?!" They looked out as Nako ran up to them. "What are you doing here, Hitomi-chan?"

"Ah, that's..."

"A friend of yours?" Chaeyeon asked. Minju looked at Hitomi intently.

She grinned and said, "She's one of us."

"Huh?"

"A-ah, sorry! I guess I should introduce myself properly..." Hitomi shyly faced everyone. "My name is Honda Hitomi. I'm a witch in training."

"Ehh?!" Nako's jaw dropped. "Hitomi-chan, you're a witch?!"

"Yeah," Hitomi blushed.

"I happened to run into her and asked her to assist us," Sakura explained.

Minju hummed with curiosity as she approached Hitomi.

"Hmm, I see~ She definitely has strong potential. Still, we should hope this particular spell isn't too much of a strain on her physically."

"I'm confident in my endurance!"

"Alright then. Let's resume training, then!" Minju said excitedly. "Now that we have three witches, this should go by a lot more smoothly!"

Some time later...

Both Chaeyeon and Hitomi collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Magic energy was dimly sparking between Chaeyeon's fingertips and Hitomi's magic wand.

"Yabai... I'm so tired~"

"Even with the three of us gathered together, it still takes a lot of energy out of me..."

"Jeez, if you girls pass out while performing the spell, you won't be able to free me!" Azalea said as they flew over the two.

"Right~... I'll keep practicing..." Chaeyeon slowly sat up.

"Still, it's the first time I've ever heard of a vampire's soul being trapped in a book," Hitomi said.

"Do you think we'll actually be able to free you?"

"You better! If you don't free me from this book, then..."

Azalea's voice trailed off, catching everyone's attention.

"Azalea?"

"Sorry... I guess I'm just nervous. And a little scared," Azalea floated down to rest on Chaeyeon's lap.

"What are you afraid of, Azalea-san?" Hitomi asked.

"I dunno... Maybe I'm scared to get my memories back. I mean, what kind of person will I actually be? What if I turn out not to be related to your comrade at all? Or even... If I was a bad person?"

"Azalea, there's no way you could be a bad person," Minju said, comforting the book. "I've had you with me for almost 18 years now, and I know that whoever you might be, I'm sure you're a kind person!"

"Miss Minju..."

"I agree," Chaeyeon stated. "It'll be alright, I'm sure of it!"

"Yeah! We'll work hard and set you free, so you can get your memories back!" Hitomi said.

"Gosh, you're makin' me get all emotional," Azalea chuckled as the book floated back up. "Alright, I'm countin' on you girls!"

"Okay!"

...

"Not bad~" Yujin said as she admired the dog tag necklace she was given. One of the tags had a dog's paw print, while the second one had Yujin's name written in both Hangul and English.

"It turned out really well," Yuri said.

"So did these~" Yena showed off a charm bracelet she had on her wrist, as well as a matching one in her hand that she gave to Yuri. "C'mon, put yours on, Yuri!"

"Alright, alright," Yuri hooked the bracelet around her wrist.

As Yena and Yujin were chatting away, she then noticed a little girl with her mother holding a balloon. She felt her heart grow warm when she saw her bright smile.

However, a gust of wind came and blew the balloon out of her hand.

"Ah!"

Yuri's eyes widened as she watched the little girl run off to catch her balloon.

The mother cried out her daughter's name as she ran into the street, not noticing the stoplight had changed from green to red.

"Oh no!"

Yuri tried to get Yena and Yujin's attention, but they were distracted and already walking far ahead from her.

"Crap! I gotta do something!"

Hearing a car horn honk, she felt a shot of adrenaline go through her veins.

She felt her legs bolt against her will, her body running towards the little girl in a desperate effort to protect her, even if she got harmed in the process.

As she held the girl's body, she prayed for a miracle.

"STOP!!!"

....

Yuri felt her body tumble against the asphalt road, but other than that, there was nothing.

No metal crashing against her body. No pain, aside from maybe a scraped knee or elbow.

She slowly opened her eyes, confused to see that she was unharmed. However, she only became more perplexed as she looked around her.

The car that was moving forward towards her and the little girl. The balloon that was being carried away by the breeze. The mother and other bystanders who were witnessing the situation.

Everything around her had come to a stand still. Wherever she looked, nothing was moving. It was like pushing the pause button while watching a movie.

Even the colors around her seem to have faded while the world was at a standstill.

"W-what is this..?"

She looked at the girl embraced in her arms. She, too, was frozen, with the same confused and scared expression she had when she saw the car come towards her.

"Am I... the only one?"

Seeing that time was still unmoving, Yuri saw her opportunity to save the girl.

She grabbed the balloon from the sky and carried the girl back across the street into safety.

"Okay... Now, how to get time moving again?" Yuri began to ponder. After all, she can't restart time if she didn't even know how it stopped.

"Well, seems you've cast a powerful spell."

"Huh?!" Yuri's eyes widened, looking around. "W-who said that?!"

"Up here."

Yuri looked behind her, seeing a young girl floating in the air on what looked like a long wooden staff. She was wearing an unfamiliar school uniform, her jacket bearing a crescent moon shaped insignia.

"Who is she..? Is she floating?"

"I'm impressed. You must be a powerful witch if you were able to stop time completely."

"W-witch?! I'm not a witch!"

"Hmm~" the floating girl pouted her lips. "Huh... Then you must've only just now awakened your powers. That's even more interesting."

"H-hey... Who exactly are you?"

"Name's Chaewon. And you?"

"Yuri..."

"Well then, Yuri," Chaewon jumped down from her staff, the staff turning into a hand-sized pen. She then took a glance at her wristwatch. "It's almost 3 minutes. Let's hurry."

"Huh?" Yuri followed behind Chaewon as she began to walk quickly back to the other side of the street where she came from, "What do you mean?"

"The time freezing spell only lasts for three minutes," Chaewon explained as they made it back to where Yuri stood earlier. "Don't worry. No one notices whenever time stops. And you got that little girl out of harm's way. You should be proud."

"But... This is crazy! My parents are just normal people! What am I going to tell them?! What am I going to tell Yena?!"

"Who says you have to tell them anything?" Chaewon said with a sneaky smile. "After all, we witches are known for keeping secrets."

"But... Yena's my friend. And besides..."

Yuri stopped speaking however when she saw the color around her restored and time beginning to move again.

Everyone seemed a bit confused of what happened, the mother crying in relief when she saw her daughter was safe and unharmed.

Yuri let out an exhausted sigh, her body feeling tired from the amount of stress she just experienced in that short time frame.

"So, Yuri, you just found out you're a witch. What do you plan on doing now? Try to apply for magic school? Maybe work as a witch's apprentice?"

"Honestly... I have no clue what to think."

"Well, whatever you decide, I hope we can meet again someday. Bye!" Chaewon waved goodbye as she walked off.

"Yuri?! Hey, Yuri!" Yena called as she ran down to her. "Come on, what are you standing around for?"

"Yena..."

"Hey, what just happened?" Yujin asked as she also arrived, seeing everyone around them still confused.

She and Yena looked out into the street, seeing the mother and daughter hugging each other.

"Guys... You didn't notice anything happen, did you?" Yuri asked them.

"What do you mean?"

"Like... Time stopping, for example?"

"Time stopping?"

"Yuri, you look pretty shaken," Yena said in a concerned tone. "Are you alright?"

Yuri thought back to what the girl Chaewon said. Despite having never met the girl, the words she told her were eating at the back of her mind.

"We witches are known for keeping secrets."

Despite what she said, however, Yuri knew there was no way she could keep this from Yena. After finding out about Yujin, she couldn't.

"Because, Yena is my best friend..."

"Yuri?"

"Guys... We need to talk when we get home."

...

That evening...

"Alright, the moon is out," Sakura spoke as everyone stood outside, having finished the preparations for the spell. "It's almost time."

On the ground beneath their feet, they had drawn out a large magic circle, with Minju, Chaeyeon, and Hitomi standing at three points around the ring, and Azalea laid at the center of the trifecta.

"Woah... Now that we're actually doing it, I feel really nervous," Chaeyeon said, rubbing her hands together.

"Me too," Hitomi nodded.

"Don't worry, you girls practiced really hard," Minju said to comfort the two. "We can do this."

"Yes, I'm putting my faith in you, as well!" Azalea said.

"Right..."

As they were preparing, Sakura and Nako sat at the stone picnic table watching them, both Yuki-kun and Paprika resting near them.

"Do you think this'll work, onee-chan?" Nako asked Sakura.

Sakura gave her a serious nod. "It has to."

Hearing the certainty in her sister's voice, Nako felt herself at a loss for words. She just had to put as much faith as her sister and the others did that this would work.

"Alright, the moon is in position," Minju said, looking at the other two. "Let's begin."

The three witches began to draw out their magic. Chaeyeon's ring glowed and her body became surrounded by a blue aura.

Minju became surrounded by a bright pink aura, her hair even beginning to glow pink.

Hitomi held out her wand as a spark of yellow light began to shine from it. The aura surrounding her body was noticeably weaker than the other two, her expression showing her struggle.

"Hitomi-chan's struggling," Nako noticed, Sakura growing concerned as well.

Seeing the young witch struggle, Chaeyeon spoke up.

"Hitomi, you don't need to overthink it."

"Eh..?"

"Just let the magic come from what you're feeling right now."

"What I'm feeling..."

Hitomi closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she concentrated on what she was feeling in that moment.

"Right now... I want to help Azalea... I want to set their soul free!"

The next moment, the aura around Hitomi grew stronger. Her hair began to shine a golden blonde color.

Minju smiled, one eye open to see Hitomi's magic aura shining.

"I was right, she had strong potential, after all," she thought to herself before closing her eye again.

Their three auras traveled across the magic circle to the spellbook, forming a dome around it.

The book opened up, the pages turning rapidly as the words written on them glowed white.

The three felt a powerful force beginning to pull at their hands. It was as if the book was trying to suck them inside, as well.

"I can do this... I can do this!" Chaeyeon shut her eyes tighter, the magic aura around her beginning to spark with small jolts of lightning.

Just then, a flash of lightning sparked from the dome of magic around the spellbook. A small vortex opened up and a hand reached out of it.

Sakura's eyes widened. Beside her, Nako screamed, "What is that?!"

Chaeyeon slowly opened her eyes, seeing the hand reaching out of the book.

"No way!"

Minju and Hitomi also opened their eyes, seeing the hand.

"Is that... Azalea?"

"Quick! One of us has to step inside the circle and pull her out!" Minju said. "Chaeyeon, you do it!"

"What?!"

"Me and Hitomi will keep the vortex open! Hurry!"

"O-okay!"

Chaeyeon slowly walked across the line to the center of the circle. Each step she took, the gravity around her felt heavy, and magic lightning sparked with each movement she made.

She slowly reached her hand out, pushing against the incredible force of magic surrounding her, and grabbed the hand.

"Now pull!"

Chaeyeon pulled the hand with all the strength she had, doing her best to keep her feet firm on the ground so she wouldn't get sucked into the vortex.

However, she began to feel the strength in her arms give out, the vortex pulling her in.

"Chaeyeon!"

"Unnie!"

Before the hand left her grasp, Chaeyeon felt a strong embrace from behind. She looked and saw another hand holding the one from the vortex.

"Sakura?" she glanced over her shoulder, seeing Sakura hold onto her.

Behind Sakura, Nako was also grabbing onto both of them.

"We can't give up now," Sakura said. "Pull!"

Chaeyeon nodded, the three of them starting to pull the hand again. The lightning sparks of magic grew stronger as more of the arm got pulled out from the vortex.

"Almost..!"

Minju and Hitomi saw the lightning grow more intense. The vortex grew as more of the figure inside was being pulled out.

With one last strong pull, Chaeyeon felt a blast of energy knock her back. A bright flash of lightning blinding all of them as Chaeyeon, Sakura, and Nako crashed to the ground.

Hitomi coughed as the dust cleared, her hair returning to its brown color. Minju's did the same as she slowly uncovered her eyes.

"Are you girls okay?" she asked.

"Ugh, yeah..." Chaeyeon answered as she slowly sat up. As she did, she noticed a portion of her hair had turned white. "Woah... That's new."

"Itai..." Nako whined as she sat up. "That hurt..."

Chaeyeon turned around to check on Sakura. She saw her sitting there, her eyes wide as she stared at something.

She turned back around to see what she was looking at, and that's when she saw it.

Laying on the ground was a young woman, wearing a velvet robe.

"No way..." Nako gasped, tears welling in her eyes.

Chaeyeon saw Sakura run passed her and kneel down in front of the collapsed woman.

"Princess?"

"Who... who is she?"

Sakura began to cry out tears of happiness, smiling as she held the unconscious woman's head.

"Yokoyama-san..." she whispered with a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness... You're okay..!"

Chaeyeon's eyes widened. "That's Yokoyama-san?!"