The wonderful world of Lee Hyunbin

Today is Tuesday, and I am about to make history. It started out quiet enough. I binged four episodes of Gossip Girl, stole a ton of popcorn from the local movie theater and last but not least prepared the ingredients for Nevil, my fourteen year old alchemist protegé, to cast an illegal love charm. Now I know what you're going to say. "No Bartholomew, that's irresponsible. You can't let a preteen to cast a spell with an 85% failure rate. You haven't even mastered that spell in the first place. What could you be thinking?" Well, in saying that you would be absolutely correct. I am not thinking. To be honest I don't really give a crap what happens when, or if the spell blows up, because it won't. Nevil is the brightest mind alchemy has seen in over a hundred years, maybe even two hundred with the exception of me. I have utmost faith in him. Besides. even if something does go wrong, I can just forfeit responsibility and blame it on someone else. I have a ton of enemies. I even made a priority list on my iPhone. Anyways that's besides the point. I'm so much more interested in what will happen happen if the spell goes right. Love magic has been forbidden for a little more than 400 years. That's twice my lifespan and roughly six human generations. It's risky, it's unethical and totally kick ass. It's one of the the purer forms of power that taps into the all encompassing energy web that connects sentient and non-sentient life. Human, rock, animal plant. All of us are connected in an age old web that brings us to life and sings us to sleep. And today I'm going to watch my horny teenage grandson use it to get with a teenage girl who probably doesn't know he exists. Log 1: time- 6:09. One hour before the spell. "Ok, Nevil, how's the potion coming? You all psyched for the day some highschool broad gets the hots for you?" I say from behind the lens of my iPhone 6. I planned on recording the whole experiment. For science you know. "Geeze, Grandpa Bart, don't call her that. Her name's Selene and she's the love of my life." Nevil bent over to sniff the pot, then stared stirring harder. "Yeah yeah, whatever kid. You know just as well as me what love is." I goaded. It always made him so stubborn whenever I disagreed with him. I think it's because he wants to prove himself to me. "Its a chemical reaction in the brain. Nothing special. We alchemists should understand it better than anyone." "Yeah whatever." Nevil scowled and went back to his stirring. "Anyways grandpa, why do we have to say the incantation at exactly 7:09?" "I explained this to you already. It's because 7:09 is the moment equivalent to 6:69 if there ever was one, and we all know what the significance of that is." I turned the camera back at myself and made a face so the audience knew that the time thing was bullshit. Ancient texts read that the love spell had to be cast at any time of day. The only guidance was it had to be one after sunset and the time measurements made the caster think erotic thoughts. In my mind little Johnny over there had no problem getting a b***r at any time of the day, but if the "ancient texts" said so, then it was better to be safe not sorry. I turned the camera back, just in time to watch Nevil add Giant's toe into the mixture. The pot fizzled with undue anxiety. "Hey hey watch the mixture. It shouldn't be fizzing that much..." Log 1: (a continuation) time- 6:57. Twelve minutes before the spell. I stared unblinkingly at the scene. My eyes had been open for what felt like years. Serena Van Der Woodsen was crying again for what must easily be the 15th time this season. I had to hand it to her. Blake Lively was a hot piece of ass but the character she played was an overgrown mess. I loved it. I looked away from my laptop and picked up my phone which was lying beside me. "Hey Nevil how's the potion coming up." "It's fine Bart. Just one more step to go." Saying that he picked up the last ingredient. A strand of black hair. Usually the victim's DNA had to be a little more personal than hair, but in this case it had to do. I was all for bumping into her in a crowded hall and covertly sneaking a blood sample but Nevil had declined. Apparently that's 'unethical.' Like robbing the girl's freedom and forcing her to love you is any better. He dropped the ingredient into the potion. It made a fizzing noise as it dissolved. "Ok Nevil. Do you remember the incantation?" "Yes sir." "Good good." If he didn't that would be the end of that. "Ok so remember. You gotta start chanting at 7:05. The spell takes 4 minutes to complete. Right now it is... 7:05. Let's get going." With that Nevil raised his arms above his head and began the chant. At first the room was deathly silent, then the dust motes in the air started to whisper. With each word, a mist began to rise from the ashes at the base of the cauldron. Slowly, slowly, then faster and faster, like a magician pulling a multicoloured scarf from his sleeve. Nevil's voice changed frequency several times, ranging from baritone to alto as he coaxed the mist into a mold, condensing it until the blob resembled more a human being than a natural phenomenon. He looked back at me to take a breath and I smiled at him. The spell was halfway complete. Suddenly the camera screen went blank, and waves upon waves of light and power crashed into me, my grandson and the solid walls. We were in the basement, but the house vibrated like a magnitude 7 earthquake had grabbed the earth and wrung it's neck until it begged for mercy. Suddenly a crack split the floor, arcing between my legs and I couldn't keep my balance anymore. I dropped the iPhone, hearing it's screen crack on the concrete floor. I rolled to my knees to keep my balance. From the pot all that could be heard was an unearthly roar. And then, all that was left was darkness.