Superstar 842

“Come in.”

Perhaps because she had done it once before, allowing the man to enter the house felt easier.

The man, who had been fiddling with the green thread bracelet around his wrist, carefully pushed the wooden gate at Claire’s words. He flinched for a moment, worried flames might flicker, but the magic stayed still.

Claire, who had been holding her breath and watching, was relieved to see the man enter without issue.

“Do you have clothes to change into?”

“…No. I don’t.”

“Then I’ll go buy some from the shop next door. Molly will show you where the bathroom is, so get cleaned up. You’ll catch a cold if you stay like that.”

As the man climbed the stairs, he turned to look at Claire, who stood holding the front door handle.

“Thanks, witch. I’ll repay you.”

“Hey, about calling me witch, now that you’re inside…”

Now that the man was allowed inside, even if only when it rained, Claire felt like it was time for proper introductions—but she paused.

The scenery visible over the man’s shoulder felt both unfamiliar and familiar.

Grass, trees, trees, and more trees. And a sky that had gone completely dark.

Even the sound of rain pouring had vanished.

Startled by the suddenly changed scenery, the man looked around. Instinctively, his nose twitched.

Instead of the city’s unique smell, the real scent of a forest hit him. It wasn’t illusion magic—it was real. The man looked at Claire with wide, surprised eyes.

“Molly!”

But Claire, startled by the changed scenery as well, didn’t notice his gaze and called out for someone who could explain. Yes. She should’ve asked about this first.

“What’s going on?”

Molly, who had been grumbling about letting a werewolf into the house, came running at Claire’s call. After giving the werewolf a sharp glare, she looked up at Claire.

“The outside keeps changing.”

“Ah.”

Looking at the outside, Molly wagged her tail as if it were nothing.

“It’s because there’s teleportation magic on this house. Margaret connected her homes all over the world. This is the Witch’s Forest.”

The Witch’s Forest.

Just hearing the name gave a clear idea of what kind of place it was.

As Claire glanced around the forest where the rain had stopped and stars twinkled in the night sky, she asked Molly,

“How do I get back?”

It was a breathtakingly beautiful view, but she couldn’t focus on it. She wanted to return home (meaning the city) first.

“Just hold the doorknob and say the destination.”

Following Molly’s instructions, Claire held the front door’s knob and whispered the name of the city where her house was. The scenery changed once more.

“Ha…”

Seeing the familiar cityscape, she felt a wave of exhaustion.

But there was still something she had to do. Holding an umbrella, Claire said to the man and Molly,

“I’ll go buy some clothes. Molly, show him where the bathroom is.”

“Got it. Be careful.”

It was just next door, so there was no need to say “be careful.”

Still, it felt nice to be seen off by someone.

Claire, smiling without realizing, opened the umbrella and stepped out the gate.

“What are you doing, mutt? Aren’t you coming?”

“…I’m coming.”

Molly, who had been walking along, paused with one paw lifted and looked back.

‘What the…?’

The growling beast from earlier had vanished, leaving a docile pup in its place.

‘Maybe it’s the thread bracelet.’

Molly tilted her head for a moment, then turned back.

Well, whatever.

Once inside a witch’s house, there was nothing a wolf could do.

“The bathroom’s this way.”

The man quietly followed Molly, who took the lead.

---

“Cut! Okay!”

With Director Wilma’s voice, today’s shoot was over.

Choi Taewoo, watching from a bit of a distance, quickly ran over to Seojun with a large towel. He moved faster than the staff who had been standing by.

“Let’s get you dried off, Seojun.”

“Haha. Sure.”

Rather than drying, it looked like he was wrapping him in cloth and rubbing, but Seojun simply laughed and lifted one end of the large towel to dry himself. He had acted soaked for the whole shoot, so the concern was understandable.

“I’ve seen this before.”

Haley Rosie laughed.

“This is how you dry big dogs.”

Now that she mentioned it…

People watching Seojun and his manager burst out laughing.

“Jun. Take a good rest tomorrow.”

Director Wilma said as she laughed along.

The weather had been moderate, and he was kept warm by a stove and towel during breaks, so acting soaked all day likely didn’t harm him—but it was best to ensure the actor’s condition for the remaining shoots.

“Okay. I will.”

Seojun nodded and looked at Taewoo, who was diligently drying him off.

Watching Taewoo meticulously ensure not a drop of water remained, Seojun figured he’d be plenty warm once he got home.

---

After resting well for a day,

Seojun resumed filming in perfect condition.

“Ready, action!”

Claire, who had bought clothes for the man, left them outside the first-floor bathroom and headed to the living room. Sitting on the sofa, she asked Molly, who was licking her front paws,

“Molly. About the teleportation magic. How does it work?”

Molly tilted her head.

“Like I said earlier, you just hold the doorknob and say your destination. Then the house will move to where you want to go.”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

Claire, boiling warm tea in the kitchen connected to the living room (it must be tea, right?), continued,

“I never said I wanted to go to the Witch’s Forest. But the house moved there.”

“That’s because of the keyword.”

“Keyword?”

“If you say ‘witch’ while holding the doorknob, it’s set to take you to the Witch’s Forest.”

Claire thought back.

Ah. So that’s why it happened the first time—and again.

“Did Margaret set it up like that too?”

“Margaret can move the house just by thinking. The keyword was set just for you.”

“For me?”

“Yeah. She wanted to show you the Witch’s Forest in case you didn’t believe she was a witch.”

Ta-da! The house has moved!

Like that.

“But that mutt called you ‘witch’ first, so the house moved, and I was so surprised.”

Molly grumbled.

“If you hadn’t come back, I was wondering how I’d get to the Witch’s Forest. It’s really far!”

Remembering what had happened earlier, Molly slapped the sofa with her tail, then looked at Claire.

“But how did you come back, Claire? You didn’t know how the teleportation worked, did you?”

“…Hahaha.”

Claire laughed and avoided Molly’s gaze.

“Uh, more importantly, are there other houses too?”

“Yeah. All over the world!”

Houses all over the world.

Claire felt like she had inherited something incredible.

“Do they all have keywords?”

If she said the wrong word, would she suddenly be transported somewhere?

“No. Only the Witch’s Forest does. If you want to go to other places, I’ll show you the address book later. If you want to set keywords, just add them to the address book.”

“I see.”

She was worried she’d have to be careful with every word when opening the front door—what a relief.

Then the man appeared from inside.

He seemed to have warmed up, as color had returned to his previously pale face. His wet hair was still rough but now completely dry. He had changed out of his smelly, dirty clothes into the clean new ones Claire had bought.

Claire, relieved to see him looking a bit livelier, said,

“Shall we sit on the sofa and talk?”

“Okay.”

Molly, who had been sitting on the sofa first, jumped into the seat the man was about to take as if declaring, ‘This is my spot. This sofa is mine. Mutt can’t sit.’

The man hesitated every time.

“Molly.”

“Heeng.”

At Claire’s call, Molly drooped her ears and curled up next to Claire—though she didn’t stop glaring at the wolf.

Finally able to sit, Claire placed a mug in front of the man and held her own.

The man carefully lifted the mug. Warm steam rose, and the soft scent of herbs tickled his nose. It was a mild herbal tea that anyone could enjoy.

“If you don’t like it, let me know. I have milk, coffee too. Water as well.”

“No, this is fine. Thank you, witch.”

The man, speaking gently, was a far cry from the one arguing with Molly earlier. He even stayed quiet when Molly acted up.

‘He keeps thanking me… Is he scared?’

As Claire sipped her tea and watched the man, she decided to finally introduce herself.

“I’m Claire Manning.”

She didn’t exactly hate being called a witch…

She knew she was one, but it didn’t quite feel real yet.

“I’m… Theo.”

The man—no, the werewolf—who had both hands wrapped around his mug said,

“Call me Theo.”

Theo.

As Claire silently repeated the name, Molly, who had been lying next to her, suddenly shot up. What was going on?

“Family name? Why aren’t you saying your family name, mutt?”

Molly’s yellow eyes glared sharply at Theo.

“Molly? What’s wrong?”

“Werewolves value their packs, Claire. When saying their name, they don’t hide which pack they belong to. If someone does…”

Molly stood protectively in front of Claire.

“Then they’re suspicious.”

Growling and bristling with fur, Molly—Claire’s familiar—changed the entire atmosphere in the house. Even someone like Claire, who didn’t know the first thing about magic, could feel it.

Something invisible filled the space, tightening around Theo like a noose.

This was magic.

This was a witch’s power.

In the tense, explosive moment, Theo raised his voice in panic.

“Rayfield! It’s Rayfield!”

As the aura—cozy, comforting, almost euphoric—filled the space, Claire, half-dazed, snapped out of it at his shout.

Molly, now on the table, narrowed her yellow eyes like a predator stalking prey, moving toward Theo.

Theo Rayfield stammered,

“I left my pack early, so I haven’t officially picked a family name yet. My old pack’s family name was Rayfield!”

Molly’s eyes narrowed even more.

“Suspicious…”

But maybe he wasn’t lying—because the magic that had filled the house slowly faded. Molly’s bristled fur calmed down too.

“The thread bracelet didn’t react, so I’ll let it go for now.”

With that, Molly gave Theo one last glare before hopping over to sit beside Claire.

So cool.

My cat.

Claire, who now fully accepted the talking, strange cat as hers, gave Molly a hearty pet.