Naoko - Grey ; Kaori - Maroon
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"Here, magic is very commonplace. There are of course schools that have just a basic education, but most have both. Ken-chan attended the Tokyo Mages Academy, which focuses on harsher spells such as alchemy and necromancy, and the exams are said to be very difficult. Kaori-chan attends a public school and I rather think it's better that way- academy mages can be so uncreative." Naoko explains. She finds it sad that magic is used to divide people in Korea, but she can't say she's surprised. People have tried to do that in Japan, as well, with little success. She's grateful Seongjae came all this way. She likes him, wants to teach him, wants him to be able to put his love and interest in magic to good use and perhaps, one day, become an accomplished mage. xx
"So, Kaori-san, what area of magic do you specialize in?" Naoko chuckles to herself and Kaori forces herself not to frown and portray the discomfort in that question. "W-well, truth is, I'm not actually that good at magic. My spells... blow up a lot." She says, fidgeting with a lock of hair. "I'm studying alchemy under obaa-chan right now, but most of the time my circles get overloaded, which ends with them either short circuiting and blowing up, or just breaking and not doing anything. I can reform stuff if it's small and... non-flammable. But I can't use the teleporter or anything like obaa-chan and Kenji can. And we're doing necromancy in school so I've learned a lot about it, but it's kinda boring just reading about it and not practicing it, so..." xx
"Hey, didn't you say Kenji helped? Or something? Earlier?" Kaori asks Naoko, who simply nods. Kaori frowns. "Seems weird and out of character. He doesn't like people, so don't take it personal if he like, never wants anything to do with you the whole time you're here. He doesn't even hang out with us except to eat dinner, so the chance of him making friends with a total stranger is pretty damn low." Venom seeps into Kaori's words, though she keeps a steady, matter-of-fact tone about the subject matter, and Naoko sighs. She looks between Kaori and Seongjae, wondering what's going through their heads. xxx
Sadly, Kaori is right- Kenji is closed off, distant, cold. He's formal even with her and the only time she really sees him is during family meals, which are really only dinners, with everyone's schedules being scattered. It may be a lot to hope for, but Naoko wonders if Seongjae's curiosity might drag her grandson out of the hovel he's holed up in since her husband's death. Maybe a little bit of stubborn curiosity is what will bring back the grandson her husband knew and loved. xx