Chapter 1: An American Dokkaebi In Gwangju (2021)
Chapter Text
“Do you have everything?” his mother asked for what had to be the billionth time as she straightened his jacket.
He frowned, looking at his belongings, “I think so.”
“Bat?” his father yawned, eyes narrowed as dawn's early light hit his eyes. He answered by holding up the wooden baseball bat he’d been dragging around since he was able to walk. “Good man.”
“Sleep well on the plane and call us when you land,” his mother said sternly, “Moon Taeil will be there to make sure you get to the institute. Don’t give out your name when asked, only the name of protection we gave you. Faeries can be tricky. Wear your amulets always and don’t stare at others for too long. It’s impolite.”
He laughed a little at that, “I will, eomma.”
She nodded, giving him a hug and a kiss before they sent him off the plane, where he would be on his way to Korea to study at the same institute his parents both had.
He boarded the plane, letting out a long-held sigh as he bid his home farewell, turning off his phone and tucking it away into his pocket before making sure that the glamour surrounding the bat was still in place.
Upon landing, he gathered his things, the bat held tightly in his hand as he walked through to collect his checked baggage, looking around for any sign of the person who had been assigned to pick him up when he had it.
As it turned out, there were two people waiting for him. One was holding a sign with his name, barely stifling a loud yawn as he looked around for his charge. The other was distinctly more energetic, but had taken to hanging off of his companion at any given moment. Johnny walked over to them, bowing his head.
“Are you… Moon Taeil-ssi?” he asked, earning a tired smile and a nod in return.
The more energetic of the two seemed to fling himself forward, bouncing slightly as he stood between the two of them, earning a quiet yet stern “Hyuckie” in response. “You can call me Haechan.” He leaned towards Johnny, sniffing twices before frowning. “You smell like dokkaebi.”
“Because he is, Haechannie. Now stop sniffing him. He’s not used to your kind,” Taeil muttered, tugging on Haechan’s arm before addressing Johnny directly. “Welcome to Korea. We should get to the campus.”
Haechan pouted slightly, walking back over to Taeil’s side and rubbing small circles into his lower back. “My Taeillie’s tired. And you have to settle in.”
Johnny nodded, following them as they walked to a waiting taxi, not missing Haechan’s whisper of “He’s so tall, Illie!”.
Johnny had intended to be quiet throughout the ride, but, of everyone to fall asleep first, it was Haechan, his head on Taeil’s shoulder. Taeil pressed a kiss to the crown of his head before turning to Johnny.
“You look a lot like your parents. Your mother was my favorite pupil,” he hummed, “But she was very suspicious of my Hyuckie.”
“She used to tell me stories about how you were the greatest summoner she’d met. But she never mentioned him.” he nodded towards Donghyuck and Taeil gave a weak smile in response.
“He was a soul mage that got a little too ambitious. Hellhounds came for him and… He became one. He and I have been together for nearly one hundred years.” He smiled and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the seat. “He’s trouble.”
Johnny nodded, leaning his head against the window. “What’s even the dress code at this place? Like should I have paid more attention and learned how to dress in hanbok?”
Taeil laughed softly, trying not to jostle the sleeping demon. “They were strict about it back in my day, but things have changed since the 1920s. Just be comfortable and bring any magical items you have with you.”
The rest of the ride was rather uneventful, at least until they pulled down a particular street and the air was so charged with magic that Johnny could feel the static of it in the air. Taeil slowly seemed to come out of his own daze, shaking the softly snoring Haechan awake.
Eventually, the taxi came to a halt in front of an alley, Taeil giving a small smile to the driver as he paid while Johnny pulled his luggage from the trunk. The driver made no comment as he drove off and Haechan took off down the alley in a half-skip, bouncing slightly as waited for Taeil to catch up. Johnny followed close at his heels, looking around at… a dead end. Before he could even make a comment, Taeil shook his head, a glamour wearing off in what looked like a flurry of glitter, little dots of starlight appearing on his face and the tips of his ears revealing their points.
“Welcome to the Seo Grand Academy of Magic,” he announced, turning his back to the wall at the end of the alley with his arms spread wide and… Nothing.
Johnny raised an eyebrow as Haechan cackled.
“Illie! You didn’t take the glamour down!” He nudged Johnny in the side with a grin. “Spellcasters, am I right?”
Taeil shot him a look before turning back to the wall, a pale silver light forming at his fingertips as he waved his hands, revealing a large door. Donghyuck clapped his hands together before walking towards the door, taking Taeil’s offered hand as they pushed the door open for Johnny to walk inside.
The building was massive, looking somewhere between ancient and modern in its decor. There were stairs and doors and hallways all over, but, directly ahead, sat a glass case and a few old paintings, a young man examining them.
“Hey, Mork!” Haechan called out, breaking free of Taeil to run over to him, startling him. “New arrival from America!”
The young man, Mark, turned around to look at them, flashing them a smile before waving them over, just before he was nearly slammed into by Haechan.
Johnny almost hesitated in walking over. “Is he just like that with everyone?”
Taeil shrugged, “He has his favorite people. Mark is just his favorite person to annoy. Especially since we don’t have a lot of druid resources here.”
When they finally were close enough, Mark wiggled out of the headlock Haechan had been holding him in. He looked over Johnny carefully, something like realization hitting him as he blinked a few times, his grin finally returning. “Dude, this is awesome! You’re finally here! I’ve been waiting.”
“Sure you have, Jark,” Haechan scoffed, “You’re always staring at this stuff.”
Mark shrugged, turning back towards the small display. “I mean, it’s neat.”
The display consisted of two swords, a handful of common items of the Joseon era, and two paintings, the paper cracked in places. They seemed to be from the same painter, each one depicting a young noble, though one had been more delicate in its faded details. Something about them didn’t seem quite like the old Korean art he’d been shown.
“They’ll tell you the story at orientation, but these two? They were brothers of the Seo family,” Mark started, “They called the eldest brother Jun as his protection name, but the younger brother didn’t use one. His name was Minhyung, and he was the first headmaster of this place. It would have been his brother, but he died of demon’s plague. Like thirty years after, Minhyung figured out the cure for it. They still use that cure to this day.” He looked at Johnny with another grin. “Neat, huh?”
“I guess,” Johnny shrugged, but his eyes hadn’t left the more detailed of the paintings.
“They’re interesting, right? Word is that the elder brother had a lover from another country and that’s who painted them. No one knows if it’s true, though. But Jun is this one.” He pointed to the more detailed painting. “Kinda looks like you.”
Haechan groaned, “Stop talking out your ass, Markingtons. You’re just coming up with bullshit, now.”
“You can’t prove me wrong. Now let me show my new roommate the dorm. Jae is gonna lose his mind.” Mark looked delighted a moment. “We won’t need the step ladder to get the mugs down, now.”
Taeil, who had been slightly dazed again, slumped against Haechan, the sparkles on his cheeks dimming slightly. Haechan excused them, walking them off to what Johnny could only assume was Taeil’s room.
“Come on, dude. You must be tired,” Mark finally said, grabbing one of Johnny’s bag before running up some steps. “So like what kind of magic can you do?”
“I… I’m a chonggak dokkaebi,” Johnny answered. “Moon Taeil-ssi said you’re a druid?”
Mark nodded, “One of Canada’s best. I’m here to learn herbalism from the greatest masters. Like it’s not Minhyung, but… I mean that wouldn’t be possible. You’ll like Jae, and some of the other guys will be stopping in to meet you later.”
When they’d made it to the dorm room, Johnny was immediately hit by the musty smell of smoke, his nose wrinkling at it. Noting his distaste for it, Mark shrugged, muttering a “you’ll get used to that” before running Johnny’s bag to his room. Johnny followed, looking around at the empty space and finding a nice corner in his closet to hide his bat away. He sat on the edge of his bed after Mark explained which door led to the shower and shuffled off to the living room, closing the door behind him. After a moment to gather his bearings, he grabbed his phone from his pocket and turned it on, waiting a moment before calling his parents.
“You were supposed to have called us when you landed, Youngho,” his mother’s stern voice came through, clearly irritated. “What am I supposed to do with a son that doesn’t listen.”
He gulped slightly, “Sorry, eomma. But I made it here safely and I met Master Summoner Moon Taeil and his demon.”
The conversation lasted a while, and had ended only a few moments before Mark knocked on the door and poked his head into the room.
“Dude, you gotta come out here and meet everyone.”
Chapter 2: Team Building (2021)
Summary:
What could be better than a welcome party?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Johnny had taken a moment to steel himself for whatever was to come. Whatever was on the other side of the door wasn’t something he was prepared for, all things considered, but he decided to walk out of the confines of his room.
Okay, so he wasn’t really sure how they had managed to fit that many people into the dorm.
Mark cheered loudly, raising a red solo cup into the air, sloshing whatever was in it onto the man standing next to him, who was also whooping almost too loudly. Mark just wound up laughing loudly before pulling the man towards him. There was no doubt about the fact that Mark was drunk from the way he was stumbling and laughing through the crowded room.
“Good of you to join us!” he called out loudly over the noise of conversations and the thumping bass of whatever music was playing. “Lucas, this is my new dorm mate.”
Lucas stared at Johnny, almost sizing him up before he broke into a wide grin. “You look like a worthy adversary.”
Mark elbowed him slightly, “Dude, you can’t just say that to people you’ve just met.” Lucas just chuckled and leaned down, pulling Mark into a deep kiss that had him throwing his arms around Lucas’s neck and spilling what little was left of his beer down the back of his shirt.
Johnny averted his gaze before another voice came from nearby following a whoosh of air that seemed to knock the drink out of someone else’s hands. Or it could just have been the white wings that seemed to suddenly sprout from Lucas’s back. One of the two.
“Fuck! Lucas, we fucking talked about this!” The voice came from a young man with a handsome face that Johnny couldn’t help but stare at. It was ethereal and otherworldly and Johnny knew what he was looking at almost immediately.
“A fae?” Johnny mused, looking at the young man as he tried to clean up the spilled drink from the floor.
The young man looked up, flashing a dimpled grin. “Only half.” He looked back down at the mess of alcohol that had soaked into the decorative rug. “Can you get a towel? I’m gonna make that dumb bird-man clean this shit up when his tongue isn’t rammed down Mark’s throat!” He raised his voice towards the end, tossing the empty cup at Lucas’s leg and it landed on the floor with a small clatter. “I’m Jaehyun, by the way. Mind giving me your name?”
Johnny let out a laugh at that. “You can’t trick me into that shit. My name is mine. But you can call me Johnny.”
Shrugging, Jaehyun stood up. “Worth a try.” And with that, he walked off to grab some paper towels to throw on the floor.
It took some time for him to gather his bearings, grabbing a drink from the kitchenette before walking around to make small talk.
This was his first time surrounded by all magic users, and it was a little bit intimidating. America wasn’t particularly thriving with magical activity, so meeting witches and other dokkaebi was a new experience. He’d even met a gumiho named Taeyong, who had first walked into the room to warn everyone about the upcoming full moon, but had soon joined in the party, swaying to the music with a moon rabbit named Doyoung.
A group of dokkaebi entered the room when the party felt like it was dying slowly, bringing more beer and soju and a box of buckwheat jellies they’d brought with them to share with their newly arrived brother. He’d almost immediately taken a liking to Kai and Sehun, though they’d brought a witch along who only seemed to intensify the wild energy in the room.
“C’mere!” Kai called out to him, pouring out some unknown alcohol into a few shot glasses. “I got some sorghum baijiu to celebrate another dokkaebi at the school.” He slid one of the shot glasses towards Johnny before raising his own and knocking it back. About seven others looked at him expectantly, only following Kai’s lead after Johnny himself had, a chorus of loud cheers erupting from them as soon as they were all done.
Haechan had made an appearance, sans Taeil, which seemed to shock most people, but apparently his threshold had been met for the day. He didn’t stay long, but had managed to cause quite a bit of chaos when he was around the coven of young witches that seemed to be Mark’s good friends as well, before excusing himself after receiving a handful of mysterious texts.
He wasn’t sure what time it was when the party started to wind down, most of the partygoers leaving the space.
Lucas sat on one edge of the couch, Mark leaning against him as he took a long drag from a blunt that burned blue from the fox fire that lit it (by the kitsune, Yuta), offering it to Jaehyun before leaning his head back to blow the smoke at Lucas, who accepted the gesture with a smile.
Johnny had been pleasantly buzzed through most of the night, just enough to take the edge off the whole situation. He took the blunt when Jaehyun offered it, taking a short drag before passing it off back to Mark.
“This your normal thing or..?” he asked, watching as Lucas swiped the blunt from Mark before he could get any of it.
The kitsune padded over, snacking on a handful of crackers, climbing over the back of the couch to perch himself right on top of Jaehyun’s feet. “Nah,” he started, “Everyone likes a good party, though. Last time, Jungwoo nearly blew the ceiling off the dorm we were in during a game of beer pong. That kid’s magic.”
“We’re all magic, dipshit,” Jaehyun laughed, leaning towards him to steal a few crackers, causing the kitsune’s ears to twitch slightly. “Staying the night, Yu?”
Yuta shrugged, “Is the big lug staying over?”
“He is,” Lucas answered when Mark stole the blunt back from him.
The grimace that passed over Yuta’s face said a lot. “Hard pass.” He stood up and stretched his arms over his head, his shirt lifting to reveal two tattoos on his stomach and a shining navel piercing. “But, I have an extra bed for Johnny and a spot for you..” Nodding to Jaehyun, he winked. “...As the little spoon with me, if you two decide you need it.”
There was a deep laugh as Jaehyun allowed himself to sink further into the cushions of the sofa. “In your dreams, Yuta.”
“You know it,” he answered, leaning towards Jaehyun and sliding his hand into one of his pockets to withdraw another roach, setting it between his lips. “Offer still stands,” he mumbled, straightening back up to light it before handing it off to Jaehyun. “You know where to find me.”
As soon as Yuta left, it was just the four of them and the aftermath of a party. Johnny looked around at the handful of beer cans and soju bottles and red plastic cups that littered the floor, kitchen and coffee table.
“Should we clean the place up?” he asked, and Jaehyun shook his head.
“Nah, it’s Lucas’s turn to clean up since he was so fucking horny, he lost control of his wings. We made a deal. And he’s buying breakfast because he has a single and he’s staying here instead.” He nodded to the end of the sofa where Lucas had pulled Mark into his lap and was planting kisses along his jaw. He slid his foot across the cushions to kick Lucas’s muscular thigh. “Isn’t that right?”
There was a hum of affirmation in response, but Johnny wondered if it might have had something to do with the way Mark allowed his head to tip back as he breathed out the last of the smoke, allowing Lucas to latch on to his throat.
“I suggest you go to your room before they scar you for life,” Jaehyun sighed, taking a final drag of his blunt before snubbing out the flame to save it for later, “Which I know is a long ass time for both you and me. So we better run.”
Johnny decided not to question the advice too much, stumbling off to his room and getting himself ready for bed, climbing under the covers before picking up his phone to look at the texts from a few of his old high school friends calling him lucky for his move to Korea.
It wasn’t long before he could hear what Jaehyun had been warning him about through the walls and there was a small knock on his door. He got up and opened it, finding the fae on the other side, looking particularly annoyed, a thick blanket pulled tightly around his head.
“Do you know a spell of silence? That or could you puncture my eardrums?” he grumbled.
Johnny just stepped aside for him to enter, “My mom taught me a spell or two. Come on in.”
Jaehyun kicked the door shut after swishing the blanket inside before flopping onto the empty bed while Johnny muttered out the spell, a faint blue on his fingers before the sounds on the other side of the wall were muffled.
“My hero goblin man.”
There was (almost) silence as Johnny walked back to his bed, climbing under the covers. “Why didn’t you take Yuta up on his offer?”
“Gotta leave a man wanting.”
The quiet returned for a bit before Jaehyun spoke again. “Mark and Lucas are cool dudes. They just think they’re bein’ quiet and all. I’ve been hit in the face by a wing because he keeps forgetting to control them.” He snorted a laugh. “That was the weirdest black eye I’ve ever explained.” Another silence took over, Johnny allowing his eyes to close. He could hear rustling on the other bed as the fae tried to get comfortable. “It wasn’t overwhelming, right? The party? Because the dokkaebi squad heard you were gonna be living here and decided there needed to be a party and then Lucas just kinda rolled with it. Mark asked him to keep it chill.”
“It’s fine, dude. But I am jet lagged, drunk and high, so…I want to get some sleep.”
“Right, right.” He clicked his tongue a few times. “I saw your tattoo. A little sunflower? That’s cute.” Johnny went silent, lifting his arm to brush his fingers over the ink on his arm, but staying silent on the subject otherwise before Jaehyun continued. ”This is a normal weekend, by the way. Not always the party, but my man Mark getting absolutely railed over there…?”
“I’ve literally met you all like five hours ago,” Johnny groaned, “I don’t think I needed to know any of that.”
“Well, I guess it doesn’t help anything when this looks like the first time you’ve been around any magical beings apart from like.. I don’t know any American magical creatures besides like… whatever asshole invented McGriddles.”
Johnny didn’t really get the chance to sleep that day, but he still dragged himself out of his bed at dusk to make himself a cup of coffee, unpacking his french press and carrying it carefully to the kitchen. Lucas was cleaning up the mess from the party the night before, wearing a pair of sweatpants and not much besides that while Mark leaned against the counter of the kitchenette, sipping some tea, wearing an oversized band shirt and a pair of loose sweats.
“Morning,” he managed out, his voice sounding thoroughly wrecked.
Johnny, feeling particularly devious, went to boil some water and measure out coffee grounds, shooting Mark a curious glance. “You look like you’re about to keel over. Why don’t you sit down?”
A deep blush took over Mark’s face, the tips of his ears tinting a deep red. “I… Can’t.” He took a longer sip of his drink. “Sorry if we kept you up. Xuxi gets intense when he’s high.”
“Honestly, you two were nothing. Jaehyun just wouldn’t stop talking all night.” He poured the steaming water into his french press, setting a timer soon after and digging through the cupboards for a mug he could borrow. “How did you two meet, by the way?”
“He was my tutor!” Lucas called out, “I failed the class because I wanted to kiss his face so much that I didn’t study.”
Mark let out a slight laugh before the front door of the dorm was thrown open and Yuta stepped in with a coffee in each hand. He kicked off his shoes and carefully closed the door with his foot. Before he could even say hello, Mark was pointing to Johnny’s room and Yuta walked past them, directly into the room, muttering something along the lines of “my poor baby”. When Johnny walked into the room to grab his things for a shower, Yuta had climbed into the bed with Jaehyun, arms wrapped around his waist tightly, and was muttering something about coffee into his ear.
This became routine over the next few weeks.
Yuta would come over to their dorm early. Sometimes with Jaehyun in tow, oftentimes with a carrier of coffees. Mark would eat some kind of questionable breakfast on weekdays, wailing a bit when Yuta would sit on his legs or he’d just goof off until Lucas showed up, and then the two of them would be almost intolerable.
He learned a lot about them, such as Jaehyun’s mom had been a fae and his dad had been a powerful spellcaster, though he took after his mom more, and how Mark’s family was known for casting through instruments, but his had shown up as lyrical spells, generally culminating in his raps. They even both had familiars (Mark had a snake he called Steve, and Jae had a chameleon that he affectionately called Little Dude).
Weekends were for parties, though they weren’t always at their dorm. Whether or not Mark and Lucas were keeping the whole dorm up all night depended on how close they were to Lucas’s single dorm, and it kind of became familiar territory for him and Jaehyun to sit around and chat until about midday. Sometimes, Yuta was there, stretched across the floor, his fox tail swishing slightly as they chatted. Other times, he would scurry off before things got too loud, offering the extra space in his door and yelling something about using protection in the general vicinity of Mark’s room.
So it was on one Saturday, the three of them sprawled across Johnny’s room, with half-full containers of takeout spread across the floor and a couple bottles of soju between them, that Johnny finally started to feel like maybe this place was home.
“I can’t believe classes start this week,” Yuta grumbled, pouring another shot for each of them, “Like I get it, but I don’t want to write anything about the history of magic. And they put me in Conjuring this year because it was the closest thing they had to my fox fire.”
Jaehyun shook his head, scooping some noodles with his chopsticks. “I mean, I’ll be there too. I’m also taking Dokkaebi Studies because they’re still offering it as an elective, so you’ll have to get used to me, John.” He crammed the oversized bite into his mouth, mumbling something that no one could possibly understand around it.
“I transferred here because I was following my instincts. Be grateful I found you,” Yuta scoffed, “Your life would be dull, otherwise.”
Johnny looked between the two of them, the question that had been on the tip of his tongue finally coming out. “So like… Are you two dating?”
Jaehyun shook his head. “Nah, man. We’re rivals of love. But he’s going down.”
Yuta just huffed out a laugh, throwing his head back and nearly tipping over. “Oh my god, Jae! I have the upper hand.” He managed to catch his bearings for a moment before he finally drank from his shot glass. “And we’re only rivals because you insist we are, baby. We’re both just members of the Taeyong appreciation club. And the Si Cheng club, too.”
“That’s because Si Cheng is like… the sweetest and cutest guy in the fucking world,” Jaehyun grumbled, picking the meat from the noodles he’d been slowly eating for the past hour. “But now he’s off hunting demons with High Conjurer Kun until classes start back up. They wanted Master Summoner Taeil, but he would have had to send Donghyuck back into hellfire, and Taeil almost lost it in front of the entire council.”
“Shit,” Johnny breathed, abandoning his shot glass to take a swig directly from the nearly-empty soju bottle. “Why does the school keep him around if that’s the case?”
“Because it was the exorcist council,” Yuta shrugged, “Moonlight elves and all. But you might not be too familiar with them. He’s the only one who can do proper magic and not just flashy demon-murdery magic. He’s a fucking legend of being a shit in classes, too.”
“Because not just any bitch is gonna summon a whole demon during a beginner’s practical exam.” There was a pause before Jaehyun eyed Johnny. “Hey isn’t your mom a High Summoner?”
He shrugged, muttering a “yeah” in response.
“You should try summoning! I fucking bombed it last year. But, like, you’re half-witch. You should have a familiar!”
Yuta blinked a few times, a look of delight taking over. “We should move the beds together, then. For more space and equal opportunity cuddles.”
Johnny snorted, but he was fairly tipsy, and a bit of magic couldn’t hurt. Moving the beds together had been… interesting, with socked feet slipping on the clean wooden floors as they tried to slide them together. They finally managed after some struggle and a lot of laughter.
When that task was done, Johnny turned to Jaehyun. “How do I summon one?”
“I don’t know, dude.” Jaehyun was sprawled across the lovingly named megabed (which was the size of a double and no more, so it hadn’t even earned the title). “I bombed the class. Just google it or something.”
Yuta made a sound that Johnny guessed meant he was on the hunt, typing something on his phone. “Donghyuck owes me a favor.”
No one wanted to know what that was about, but it wasn’t long until there was a pinging noise to announce a text, a picture message showing the circle that needed drawn. When they all realized there was no chalk, Yuta tapped his chin. “Think we can make it with eyeliner? I have eyeliner.”
And so they tried, but when all that happened was a weak puff of smoke, they had all decided that they were too tired to function and needed to go to bed. Yuta decided to be in the middle, arms stretched out until the others laid down and he could pull them in close.
That night, Johnny dreamt broken pieces of someone he couldn’t quite identify. It wasn’t an uncommon kind of dream, especially after his 18th birthday when the tattoo had appeared on his skin suddenly. Every time he tried to grab onto small details, they turned into smoke and slipped through his fingers, fading away only for him to still try again and again.
He woke up to something heavy padding its way up his side, leaning in to loudly sniff at his face before letting out a tiny, high-pitched sneeze. He cracked open his eyes, narrowing them at whatever had broken into his room to provide probably the grossest version of lip smacking ASMR, only to be met by the very slightly cross-eyed expression of a curious Siamese cat, its nose maybe a little too close to his eyes.
Well, this was going to be an interesting day.
Notes:
Chapter 3: Familiars, First Days And Flekka (2021)
Summary:
This is the idea that started all of this, but...
Johnny learning more about the mystery cat, his first day of classes, forming friendships, and a trip to IKEA, finally.
Chapter Text
Early dusk had mostly been spent chasing around the mystery cat around the apartment, in some attempt to figure out what had even caused it to just… appear. Eventually, Johnny had managed to swipe the cat from the floor, lifting it into the air triumphantly, causing it to let out a disgruntled meow.
Lucas poked his head out of Mark’s room, blinking tiredly. “What’s all the noise?”
“I think I just caught a whole familiar.” Johnny answered, showing off the cat before cradling it to his chest almost protectively.
Lucas nodded a couple times, slinking back into the room and closing the door behind him with a loud yawn.
Returning to his own room, cat in tow, Johnny found that Yuta had curled around Jaehyun, wrapped around him tightly as his tail lightly thumped on the mattress. Johnny chuckled to himself, closing the door and setting the cat on the floor before walking over to grab a hoodie from his haphazardly organized closet, pulling it over his head and pulling the string from the hood to dangle it just out of the cat’s reach.
“It’s just you and me, little buddy,” he said softly, reaching out to pet the cat’s soft fur, only for it to be too riled up, sinking its claws and teeth into his skin. “Ow! That was rude.”
He wasn’t sure how long he was playing with the cat by himself before Jaehyun woke up, muttering out a “hey handsome” to Yuta, who just hummed before patting the other side of the bed shooting upright when he couldn’t feel Johnny next to him.
“Morning,” Johnny called out from his spot in the corner, the mysterious cat having climbed onto his lap, purring contentedly as he scratched its chin.
Yuta visibly relaxed a moment before his gaze landed on the cat. “Johnny. What the fuck is that?”
“A cat,” he answered with a shrug. “Woke me up. The spell might have worked last night and we might have been too fucked up to notice.”
“But…” Yuta started, brows furrowed in confusion while Jaehyun slowly sat up. “But there wasn’t a cat last night! How did he get in here?”
Johnny huffed out a laugh, “Had to be a spell. The door was closed, and this little guy doesn’t have thumbs.”
Nodding like Johnny had just said the single most sensible thing, Jaehyun pulled himself out of bed, nearing the cat and holding his arms out for it. “Can I see?” Hesitantly, Johnny agreed, handing the cat over. For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other intently, the moment ending when a paw came to rest on Jaehyun’s nose. “Well, he is definitely a familiar. And his name is Louis. He wanted you to know that.”
Johnny nodded, holding his hands back out for the cat to be returned to him. “Gimme my baby.”
With a roll of his eyes, Jaehyun dropped the cat back into Johnny’s arms. “He’s not a baby.”
“He doesn’t mean that,” Johnny muttered, scratching Louis behind the ears until he seemed to melt onto Johnny’s lap. “We need to get you some stuff, huh?” He looked to the others, still mindlessly scratching. “He’s probably hungry, right? We need cat food and a litter box.”
Yuta shrugged, standing up to stretch his arms above his head. “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind getting out of the dorms for a bit. We could grab something from Phoenix Fire or something. Celebrate our last night of freedom before classes tomorrow.”
“Don’t remind me,” Jaehyun grumbled, “But I need a shower, first. I smell like soju and old take out.”
Waggling his eyebrows, Yuta turned to him. “We could save water by showering together.” Jaehyun had only laughed in response, walking through the door and muttering out a “buy me dinner first”. At Johnny’s look of confusion, Yuta’s face scrunched up. “What?”
“Nothing.” Johnny immediately answered, turning away from him to look at the purring cat.
Mark and Lucas decided to tag along for their shopping trip and breakfast plans, walking with their hands laced together, swinging them slightly like any of the grossly in love high school couples Johnny had seen while growing up.
Johnny brought along his bat, glamouring it to look like an umbrella. More interestingly, he had seen each of his friends glamour something else away, but it was the first time he’d seen Yuta look… Human. It was odd to see him without the ears or the tail. Jaehyun’s eyes appeared dark brown, instead of the faintly purple ones he was used to seeing. Lucas’s hair and eyes darkened, and a few of the more prominent hickies on Mark’s neck faded into nothingness.
They went to the pet store first, with Johnny picking out the best items he could get his hands on for his new familiar. It was going to be a lot to carry, but as soon as they were walking on empty streets, he and Lucas made easy work of it all.
He’d expected to go directly home, but the other four unexpectedly swerved down a street he hadn’t been down yet, and he followed curiously.
“Where are we going, guys?” he called out, craning his neck to see past the box for the new cat tower.
“Phoenix Fire Kitchens!” Yuta answered, as though that actually meant anything to him.
Mark was the first to catch on. “Guys, he’s had the food, but I don’t think he’s actually been there.” Lucas gasped softly and Mark gave him a comforting pat on the arm. “It’s the best restaurant in Gwangju and they cater to people like us. The owners are super cool, too.”
“As cool as a couple of phoenixes can be,” Jaehyun chuckled, “Youngest one here’s buying.”
All eyes turned to Mark, who huffed in annoyance at the suggestion. Lucas cooed at his boyfriend’s pout, leaning towards him to land a loud kiss on his cheek.
“I’ll help pay, so don’t worry,” he muttered, pressing another kiss to his hair. Mark beamed a bit at that, walking a little bit closer so that their shoulders bumped with every step.
The restaurant was a small kind of hole-in-the-wall place. There weren’t many people inside, save for a couple of gumiho pouring over maps and schedules of the full moon (Taeyong was among them, muttering something between bites of dak-kalguksu that the others seemed invested in and both Jaehyun and Yuta swooned) and Donghyuck and Taeil, who were feeding one another small bites of jjolmyeon and existing in their own little world.
Mark waved at one of the two people who were poking their heads out of the kitchens for any sign of new customers, and the man tried to wave back, though his hands were weighed down by the dough he had been carefully pulling into noodles with practiced hands. “You know the drill!” he called out, “Take a seat anywhere! My wife will be right out.”
“Thanks, Dawn!” Mark called back, and the man shuffled back into the kitchen. They found a large table off to the side, and everyone took a seat. Lucas moved his seat closer to Mark, his arm thrown around the back of his chair. “They have the best noodles you’ll find anywhere.”
“That’s because Hyojong and I have had some time to practice,” a sudden voice chimed from beside the table. The woman looked around at them, her gaze finally settling on Johnny, eyes widening just a bit as she took him in before she schooled her expression into something more neutral. “You brought a new friend?”
Mark chuckled, “Yeah, this is Johnny. Johnny, this is Hyuna, one of the prettiest phoenixes in all of Korea.”
She beamed at the praise, looking to him with a knowing smirk as she twirled fiery red hair around her finger. “Are these mean boys making you pay again, Mark?” She laughed brightly a moment before turning back to Johnny. “It’s nice to meet you. Now, what can I get for you?”
They hadn’t been wrong about the noodles. Johnny had helped himself to a few servings of jjapaguri, laughing as his friends all recalled when they had orientation like he would the next day.
“Wait, so you and Yuta met because you tripped on his tail?” he chuckled and Jaehyun nodded, casually pulling the kitsune closer to him.
Yuta shrugged, leaning into it. “I mean, I wasn’t mad.” He used his hands to frame Jaehyun’s face. “I mean look. Anyone this handsome can trip on my tail or fall directly on my lap any day.”
Johnny laughed, but noticed one of the gumiho casting glances their way out of the corner of his eye. “I doubt mine will be that interesting.”
Lucas shrugged, rubbing gentle circles on Mark’s shoulder, “I wouldn’t count it out. Some of the new witches are… interesting. What classes are you gonna have?”
“Dokkaebi studies, magic theory, magical history…” he shrugged, “And then there’s that class for anomalous magic.”
Mark nodded, “You’ll be in that anomaly class with me and Jungwoo. The dokkaebi squad, too. That one’s taught by High Conjurer Kun. If you ever get into Conjuring classes, he teaches them as well. Dokkaebi studies is taught by Wonho. Magical Theory is Master Summoner Suho. He also teaches Beginner and intermediate summoning. The higher levels are split between Grand Summoner Heechul and Master Summoner Taeil. And then Magical history is run by Grand Caster T.O.P..”
“I have to retake Magical history, too,” Lucas chuckled, turning Mark’s face towards him with a finger, “I get distracted in that class.”
If there was a way to adoringly roll your eyes, Mark had mastered the technique, huffing out a small laugh before leaning in to kiss him. “Maybe I should stop participating in it.”
Yuta cleared his throat. “I’m going to lose my lunch because of them… But you’ll have Magical theory with me and Jae and I are both taking Dokkaebi studies. And not just because the professor is a sight to behold.”
Jaehyun tilted his head at that, “You’re taking that one, too?”
Nodding, Yuta stretched out to grab another bite of noodles. “I have to make sure you’re staying loyal to me.”
The rest of their meal passed by without much incident, and Hyuna discounted the price to make it more manageable for “her favorite customer”. He stuck his tongue out at Jaehyun and Yuta before Lucas snatched the bill from his hands and paid, snagging another kiss before he did.
As soon as they got back to the dorm, Johnny was busy setting up his space for Louis, finding the best places for the litter box and cat tree in the space. To his delight, Louis seemed to be pleased with his new things.
The rest of the night was spent making sure that he had everything prepared for classes and rolling his eyes at the way Jaehyun was half-laying on Yuta as they watched a movie on the living room couch.
He slept that morning at dawn, Louis curled up on his chest and awoke just before dusk, the feeling that something was just out of reach in his dreams clawing its way into the back of his mind. Still, it was about time for him to wake up, to get ready for classes again, so he went about his daily rituals.
After a shower, he dressed in a pair of nice jeans and a t-shirt that couldn’t be seen under the hoodie he pulled on over it, tucking the amulets his mother gave him under the collar. When he left his room, Yuta and Jaehyun were still on the couch, the kitsune’s tail wrapped around the both of them to keep them warm.
Johnny made himself a cup of coffee, quietly taking his time to enjoy it before leaving for orientation, his bag slung over his shoulder and his bat in his hand.
There weren’t a lot of brand new students like him, maybe eleven, not including himself. Most were dokkaebi, like himself, and he found himself nodding at them in recognition. They stood in front of the historical display, a tired professor tapping his foot as he counted the seconds before he’d begin.
“Welcome to the Seo Grand Academy of Magic. I’m Grand Summoner Heechul, and I’m here to introduce you to the history of this place and greet you. You’re a group of primarily chonggak dokkaebi, which is… New.”
This was something they all seemed to be acutely aware of. Dokkaebi hadn’t really been born for ages, and so the sudden number of them popping up meant something had happened. Something to cause a vacancy in magic that needed to be filled.
“How many of you know the history of this place?” Heechul asked, and Johnny was almost tempted to raise his hand, only to think better of it. “None of you. Alright. Well, the Seo Academy was started by the Seo brothers who are pictured behind me. The original plan of it was to create an academy for demon hunters to refine their magic. They had allies all over Asia, but when the academy was attacked, it’s said that no one came to their aid. The elder brother, known as Jun, was killed in an attack, leaving the younger brother, Minhyung, to build the academy. Minhyung’s descendants still run the school to this day. There was a protective spell to keep demons off the premises, but..” He was cut off by a bark of a laugh as Taeil came into view, a snickering Haechan trailing behind.
“But a particularly troublesome elf broke all the wards and seals,” Taeil sighed out as he stepped over to the Grand Summoner. “Sorry, Haechannie didn’t want to get out of bed. You know how he is. And last night was the ninety-third anniversary of our first grimoire being completed. I couldn’t bring myself to wake him.”
“Good of you to finally show,” Heechul sighed, “But yes, Moon Taeil was the one to break the seals that were in place for two hundred years. However, that has allowed us to help Gumiho and Dokkaebi and more infernal beings learn. Even if it comes with…” He loosely gestured to Haechan, who flashed him a brilliant smile.
“I don’t know what you mean, Heechul-ssi. I am a delight!” There was a particularly devious look on Haechan’s face before he turned to the new students. “My name is Haechan, and I’m the professor for Infernal Magic, Infernal Studies and Advanced Magical Theory. And this lovely thing…” He pulled Taeil to stand beside him. “Is the next Grand Summoner, when the old man over there retires.”
Taeil rolled his eyes with a similar affection to the way Mark did with Lucas, the little dots of starlight on his face brightening slightly as he blushed, a little smile pulling at his lips. “Hyuckie, stop it.”
“Why, though?” He sighed and looped his arms around one of Taeil’s, resting his chin on his shoulder. “He’s such a powerful summoner, he doesn’t even need a name of protection. I’m lucky he summoned me.”
Taeil’s embarrassment only seemed to grow as he nervously smiled at the group of new students. “Yep.” He popped the ‘p’ a little loudly, looking to Heechul to continue.
The rest of orientation went smoothly… Or at the very least however smoothly Haechan would allow.
First class: Anomalies in Magic
Professor: High Conjurer Kun
The class had been very structured. Johnny took a seat between Mark and Sehun, taking notes as the High Conjurer spoke. He tried not to focus too much on the handful of old scars on his arms, revealed by the way he’d rolled up his sleeves, or the way his waistcoat seemed to fit him just right, taking notes instead.
“So how many of you know about the last major anomalies in magic?” He looked around the room, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose and nodding when no one answered. “Anomalies occur when there’s a magical void to fill. There were a lot of them hundreds of years ago, when witch hunts were more common. There was one a hundred years ago that caused some interesting ripples in the foundations of the school. Even one of the school’s founders was considered anomalous. He’s considered the first Grand Summoner of the Seo Academy, even though he passed away before the school was truly set up.”
Jungwoo, who sat a few rows ahead of them, slowly raised his hand. Kun nodded to him. “Have there been many anomalies who don’t come from a magical family?”
Kun gave him a soft smile, “You’re actually talking to one. But your circumstances are different from mine, and we’ll get to that later. But to answer your question… Yes. There are many from the past, they’re just not quite as common anymore.”
Jungwoo nodded, beaming slightly at the new knowledge.
Johnny, however, could feel an odd sort of nervousness in the pit of his stomach.
Dokkaebi studies was next, with Yuta and Jaehyun sitting next to him in the class, passing each other notes and eyeing the incredibly handsome professor. But, then again, they were all chonggak dokkaebi. They were all incredibly handsome.
Magical Theory was interesting, with Master Summoner Suho starting the class with icebreaker games before starting off on his spiel about the different types and levels of magic.
As he learned, the different types of casts had different kinds of permanence, with vocal spells being the least and the dying art of ink magic being the most permanent.
“The old style of ink magic died out more than two hundred years ago, and it started with the disappearance of the eldest son of the Leechaiyapornkul family. There’s been a resurgence of people trying to bring it back, but no one knows the old spells or ink recipes that are still living. It was passed down with oral tradition, and so the most beautifully complex type of magic has been lost to us,” he sighed, “It’s a shame.”
Again, Johnny felt that weird kind of churning in his gut.
Last was Magical history, where he sat next to Lucas, who passed him the occasional note during the class, mostly to ask him how he was liking his classes and if he was famished, too. Besides that, he would look completely starstruck in the direction of Mark, and Johnny couldn’t stop himself from chuckling.
At the end of the day, they were all sprawled out across the living room, three pizza boxes on the table and all pleasantly numb from smoking weed, but Johnny couldn’t shake the feeling. He figured maybe he’d ignore it, but it kept building up over the next couple days in classes, like something was wrong or missing or…
He couldn’t put his finger on it.
It was Yuta who noticed first and, when he asked and Johnny fessed up to it, Yuta had suggested a day on the town. Johnny hadn’t been too keen on it, though.
“Come on!” Yuta whined, “I bet it’s because you’re homesick. When I was homesick, Jae and I used to go shopping until I found something to remind me of home.”
Jaehyun shrugged when Johnny gave him a slightly dumbfounded look. “What can I say. I’m a romantic.”
“Right, well, I don’t think that I’m going to find anything Chicago here,” Johnny sighed.
“So we go to like… I don’t know…”
Yuta tapped his chin, deep in thought. “IKEA! They’re all over the world, right? And the food’s pretty good. We might even find something for Louis while we’re out, so we should go!”
And so they had, managing to convince Kai to use one of his unique teleportation spells to get them there with a case of beer and buckwheat jellies.
It’s not like they actually needed anything from IKEA, anyways.
Honestly, whatever furniture they might need, Johnny could manage to get with a wink and a grin or Mark could conjure up with one of his fast-paced lyrical spells.
Yuta was right, however, and it was nice to walk through the places that were both familiar and considered “normal” by human standards, and so drinking iced americanos, Johnny, Yuta and Jaehyun wove their way through the displays of furniture, cackling at the poor attempts Jaehyun made at pronouncing the furniture names.
And yeah… Johnny was looking for a few nice things for his newly summoned familiar.
“Dude,” he started, setting down his glamoured bat for a moment to pick up a cat bed shaped like a couch. “Think Louis would like this?”
Jaehyun looked at it, eyes glimmering gold for a split second as he tilted his head. “I mean, we could probably find something cheaper, my man.”
“Yeah, but I think my boy might like a…” He paused, looking at the tag. “Lurvig.” The word felt clunky on his tongue, and it must have sounded odd because both Yuta and Jaehyun broke out into fits of laughter. “Shut up.” He continued examining it for a moment longer, eventually setting it in the cart with a satisfied nod, picking up his bat immediately after.
“You’re gonna spoil that chunky ass cat,” Jaehyun sighed heavily, pushing the cart forward. “If he even thinks about eating Little Dude, I’m going to steal his name, your name and that one band shirt I like… Watch me.” Yuta gently swatted his shoulder before stepping off to look at whatever had caught his eye, returning with a slight pout and muttering about how there were no fox plush toys.
Johnny rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to the selection of cat furniture. “You don’t even actually know my name, so good luck with that.”
“Yes I do!” Jaehyun huffed, deflating slightly to lean over the cart. “It’s.... John...athan?”
“Crowd says no,” he answered, now examining a cat dish, “Better luck next time. And before you ask, you weren’t even close.”
“Son of a bitch.” There was a long sigh as he deflated even further. “Soothe my soul by saying the names of more furniture. It’s hilarious.”
It was a simple, harmless request, and one Johnny easily agreed to as they walked through the furniture some more.
Maybe if they’d been paying more attention between the horribly pronounced jättelik and slattum, they would have noticed the subtle glow of the bat and the lilac flash in Johnny’s eye. If they had, maybe they could have stopped the flash of light from happening, a summoning circle branding itself into the tile floor.
When the flash of light died out, a young man stood in the circle, dark eyes narrowed. He clutched a stack of papers in his hands.
“What the fuck did you just summon me for?” he snapped, waving a few crumpled papers at them to scold them. “I am in the middle of a crisis! My cat went missing four days ago and I don’t have time for whatever bullshit prank you bratty little witches are planning.”
Johnny stared in shock at the man as the papers were swatted at him.
Okay if he was being honest, the guy was cute. Really cute.
Standing shorter than Johnny by several centimeters, he still managed to stare him, Yuta and Jaehyun down like he was the biggest man in the room. Lines of ink crept across every bit of bare skin that the loosely buttoned black shirt showed off.
“Sorry, but.. No one summoned you,” Johnny nervously chuckled, clearing his throat as he attempted to pretend he hadn’t allowed his gaze to linger on the wide holes in the man’s skinny jeans, revealing more of the winding patterns on his skin and he could have sworn he watched the pattern shift. “But… We can try to help with the cat problem, if you want.”
The man huffed in response, “This isn’t just a cat.”
Jaehyun carefully pulled loose one of the fliers from his hand, letting out a loud snorting sound when he took in the picture on it. Yuta craned his neck before a smirk pulled at the corners of his mouth with a similar amusement, though his laughter was held behind his hand.
“Holy shit. Johnny,” he wheezed, poorly trying to stifle and his loud guffaws of laughter. The unnamed man shot him a look with glowing blue eyes and the most stern expression Johnny had ever seen. “Dude, you fucking stole a demon’s fur baby!”
Chapter 4: Some Components Sold Separately (2021; 1912)
Summary:
Johnny went to protest, but Yuta had already started to lean over the table, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. The demon seemed fairly unphased, but soon turned his glare back to Johnny.
“What’s your name?” he asked, and the demon frowned.
“Ten, if you must know.”
“Well, Ten.” He tried flashing one of his blindingly beautiful smiles. “Are you going to finish those?”
Notes:
Well, we finally get to the reason why I've put the year into every chapter title! I'll try to be very clear about what year things are taking place in, but there are some things I wanted to show more than just tell, I suppose.
Chapter Text
Despite the initial anger (and the outburst that followed), the demon had calmed down enough to demand they buy his poor, kidnapped kitten a few more things as well as a decent lunch at the store’s food court.
And that was how Yuta, Johnny and Jaehyun wound up tightly packed onto one side of a small table, sitting across from a demon who was sending them glares between bites of food. After a minute, he paused, setting down the fork carefully and pushing the plate to the side.
“So what do you want from me?” he snapped, “I was enjoying Paris.”
Johnny raised an eyebrow. “Paris? You showed up all the way from Paris?” There was a long pause, Johnny taking in the details of the demon’s face with an appraising eye. He was definitely handsome, but something about him felt intensely familiar, like the weird feeling in his gut had been leading him up to this encounter. The demon raised an eyebrow, prompting him to continue. “Why?”
“The wine is better” was the short reply as he looked over his jet-black nails. “That and I can’t return to my home, so I’ve been travelling. Raising hell. You know the drill.” After another long moment, eyeing the half-empty plate, he finally asked. “Where am I?”
“Ikea?” Johnny answered, being cut off by Jaehyun and Yuta announcing that they were from the Seo Academy and would be returning there soon.
Tensing, the demon set his jaw, staring at his hands as he started to pick off the nail polish. “I have no desire to return to that place,” he breathed out.
“That’s where your cat is,” Jaehyun shrugged. “It took us a lot to even get here, and there’s a lot of nice, new stuff that your boy loves, so if you’re planning to just…” He fluttered his fingers, making a sound of a “poof” before dropping his hand to the table’s surface. “You have to come with us, because we’re not coming back.”
Johnny went to protest, but Yuta had already started to lean over the table, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. The demon seemed fairly unphased, but soon turned his glare back to Johnny.
“What’s your name?” he asked, and the demon frowned.
“Ten, if you must know.”
“Well, Ten.” He tried flashing one of his blindingly beautiful smiles. “Are you going to finish those?”
Ten looked startled for a moment before his eyes narrowed again, and he proceeded to finish the food on his plate with what could only be described by onlookers as an unsettling amount of eye contact.
Kai escorted them back to the Academy when they were done, with Yuta lowering the door’s glamour, only long enough for them to enter the building at the end of the alleyway. Ten tensed, steeling himself as he walked inside.
The moment he crossed the threshold, his gaze was set on the display directly before them, moving almost on impulse towards it, though he caught himself and swerved, stomping off towards a hall and calling out a “YOU SAID YOU’D BRING ME TO MY LOUIS, AND I DON’T KNOW WHERE I’M GOING” as he did.
Johnny laughed, jogging towards him, his arms laden with the new toys and bed for Louis, Yuta and Jaehyun following behind with their slow, measured steps and gentle comments to one another.
Ten hadn’t stopped storming his way around the place, huffing slightly, as though every dead end was personally offensive to him. Johnny shot a glance back to the others, both of whom looked fairly nervous about something as they all wove through the hallways. Ten suddenly came to a stop in front of a door, frowning.
“Infernal studies? Really?” He let out a long sigh, turning to the others. “Am I extra credit? Is that what it is?”
Jaehyun shook his head, motioning them to follow and keep quiet as they walked back down the halls. “That was too fucking close, guys. Headmistress Jea finds out about this and I’m gonna lose the prime real estate in the green houses.”
“Finds out about what?”
The voice was calm and cool, coming from a hall off to the side. The figure standing there held her head high, arms folded across her chest as she looked at them with narrowed eyes. Upon seeing the headmistress standing there, Jaehyun let out a sharp shriek, Yuta stepping in front of him and holding an arm out to protect him.
Ten, though, scowled slightly, stepping forward. “That they summoned me.”
She looked at him, tilting her head slightly. “Were you summoned within the walls of the academy?”
It was Johnny who cut in. “No. He was summoned at an Ikea.”
“Then I can do nothing about it,” she answered, shrugging. “Return to your dorms. We’ll sort out your… friend… Later.”
Ten continued to scowl at the whole ordeal, but followed everyone back to the dorm room, three of them groaning at the sight of Mark straddling Lucas’s lap, the two of them kissing desperately. Showing no interest in them, Ten ran over to crouch down next to Louis, who was sprawled out across the less impressive cat bed, looking content as he blinked slowly.
“Oh, my poor baby. You must have missed me, my sweet boy,” he cooed, lifting the cat off the bed. Louis looked a little disgruntled at first, but soon was purring up a storm, rubbing his face against Ten’s. “Paew missed you, too.”
Johnny couldn’t help but to smile as the demon, who had been yelling and scowling ever since his random appearance, was now sitting on the floor of his door, cooing and pressing little kisses to the furry head of the cat in his arms.
After being pried off of Lucas to take note of the situation, Mark had jumped to his feet and looked at the demon. “Holy shit. New guy,” he muttered, though Johnny could have sworn there was a glimmer of recognition in his eyes for only a moment. “I’m gonna call Yong about this.” He stepped off to the side, dialing a number on his phone while Jaehyun and Yuta cheered, though they’d taken up the opposite side of the couch from a slightly pouting Lucas, who reached out to hold his boyfriend’s hand, grumbling slightly when Mark stepped inside his room.
It was less than five minutes before there was a knock on the door and Jaehyun answered, the gumiho looking a bit taken aback by the way he leaned against the door frame. “What’s a cute fox like you doing in a place like this?”
Yuta huffed from behind him. “You never ask me that.”
“That’s because you’re not cute,” Jaehyun sighed, turning to look at him, “You’re sexy.”
Taeyong grimaced at the door, eventually pushing past them to see Mark, who had fallen back onto Lucas’s lap. “What’s the problem, Mark?”
“I told you there was a demon in the dorm,” Mark answered, gesturing to Ten, who was still cooing at the cat in his arms. “No one’s sure about what to do with him.”
Even if you couldn’t see clearly, the gumiho’s tails swayed from side to side as he neared him, crouching down. “Hello, my name is Taeyong.”
Ten looked up, blinking a few times as he continued to scratch behind Louis’s ears. He craned his neck to peer past him a moment. “Gumiho? I once knew a gumiho named Taeyong. He was… Well, a good friend of mine could summon him.” He set Louis down, brushing the cat’s pale fur from his dark shirt. “I’m Ten Lee.”
There was a passing look of amusement on Taeyong’s face. “I once knew a Ten back when I could be summoned.” A silence grew between them before Taeyong narrowed his eyes. “But that would be impossible, because he died more than two hundred years ago.”
“Did he now?” The look of amusement on Ten’s face seemed to grow. “Sounds like a shameful loss for you. Especially to come so soon after your summoner also died.”
Johnny, who had been watching the exchange, looked between them. “So you know each other?”
Taeyong nodded slowly, standing back up and pulling his phone from his pocket, sending a quick text. “This complicates things. Master summoner Taeil should take a look at this. Know who summoned him?” At the dumbfounded expressions in the room, Taeyong’s shoulders slumped. “Okay then… Explain everything that happened.”
“We were at Ikea and Johnny was saying the names funny,” Yuta answered, his arms wrapped around Jaehyun’s waist from behind as he rested his chin on his shoulder. “Then there was a fuming mad demon who was upset about his missing cat.”
“I wouldn’t have been so pissed off if you bastards hadn’t stolen him to begin with!” Ten yelled, clutching the now struggling cat to his chest.
“Look, we were drunk and trying to see if the big guy could summon a familiar. And then there was a cat. Didn’t really cross our minds that he summoned someone else’s familiar. Like I didn’t even know it was a thing that could happen,” Jaehyun shrugged, placing a hand over Yuta’s when he tightened his grip.
Taeyong seemed to tense upon seeing that, Yuta responding with a wink. “As far as I know, it shouldn’t be possible, but Master summoner Taeil should have some ideas on…” He waved his hand at the whole room. “All of this.”
Before Jaehyun could complain about bringing Taeil into the situation, there was a knocking on the door, which Mark answered this time, almost immediately being pounced by the almost too-delighted demon.
“Hyuckie!” Taeil groaned, stepping past them. “Just because he’s your coven-mate…”
“Our coven-mate, Illie.” Haechan looked to the others, still pinning Mark to the floor by sitting on his chest. “Don’t worry, He’s just upset because the text interrupted him getting-...”
“Haechan!” Taeil looked less angry and more in shock. “We’re here to help them, not tell them about our personal lives.”
Haechan pulled himself off of Mark, pouting a bit. “But baby… Our personal life's so much more interesting than whatever happened with them.”
“Baby,” Johnny repeated, a little dumbfounded.
Looking a bit taken aback, Taeil turned to look at the others before Haechan leapt to his feet. The expression he shared was a bit wild, an evil glinting in his eye. “Oh, right,” he chuckled, “You’re new here.”
Taeil frowned slightly, motioning to the demon in the corner, “This needs dealt with first, love.”
“And then I’m gonna brag about you.”
Taeil huffed out a laugh, “Right then… Can you speak with him? I’ll be trying to figure out the culprit from this end.” Haechan grinned before strutting over towards Ten and crouching down beside him. They spoke in hushed voices, in some language that made Johnny’s head spin when he heard it. Taeil turned to them, giving a smile that betrayed any of his earlier sternness towards his demon. “Don’t listen to them, your ears will bleed. Infernal tongue is… Not something anyone can get used to.” He hummed to himself, thinking about something before continuing. “Who all was there when he was summoned?” Sheepishly, Johnny, Yuta and Jaehyun raised their hands, and Taeil shook his head. “Hand down, Nakamoto. Kitsune don’t have the magic to summon a corporeal being.” Yuta shrugged, letting his hand drop as he buried his face in Jaehyun’s shoulder. “Who was playing with summoning circles?”
“No one,” Johnny answered, “We were shopping at an Ikea. Getting cat furniture for Louis. And I was messing around while saying the names. It wasn’t a big deal.”
Taeil looked taken aback after a moment, but tilted his head as his eyes shone silver a moment. “Anything yet, Hyuckie?” He tugged his oversized sweater sleeves so that they covered his hands for the most part, the little dots of starlight that dusted his cheeks sparkling in the low light of the apartment as the hellhound turned to him with a wide grin.
“I have a suspect, jagiya.”
“I might have one, too. What can you tell us?”
Haechan wiggled a bit, scooting around to face them. “Ten is like me. He didn’t start like this. He has soul lines.” Taeil nodded slowly, as though everything that was being said made perfect sense. “The one who did it bound him, too, but he doesn’t know it, and there’s only one person with the lineage for that.”
Taeil nodded, walking over to Haechan and smoothing stray hairs on the demon’s head with his fingertips. “I thought as much.” Haechan preened, leaning into the gentle caresses. “Suh, you and Ten will now be taking Summoning and Infernal Studies.”
“You’re lucky.” Haechan announced, “Illie and I teach those. And you’re gonna have to take classes together because he can’t leave your side.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Mark interjected, “You’re not always glued to Taeil-hyung’s side.”
Haechan looked taken aback by that, clutching his hand over his heart and leaning against Taeil’s leg. “Yes I am! You take that back!” He threw his arms around Taeil’s legs, causing him to stumble a bit.
“Yes, but we’re not bonded like that, Hyuckie. Ours is very, very different,” Taeil sighed before gesturing at Yuta and Jaehyun. “Like theirs.”
Taeyong’s lip twitched and Yuta lifted his head from Jaehyun’s shoulder to give an odd look. “We don’t have a bond,” he grumbled, “We’re just very good friends.”
The look of unamusement on Taeil’s face was only matched by the rolling of Taeyong’s eyes. “Right.”
Johnny, however, was still stuck on the idea that he was, in fact, the summoner, giving Ten a sympathetic look. “So wait, when you say he can’t leave my side..?” he finally asked, looking at Haechan.
“I mean he has to be within like… ten feet of you. Otherwise we’re talking bad things. Sprained deltoids and gout. Shit like that,” he answered, “Which is still better than my first week after being summoned. I was stuck in a circle and my Illie didn’t know how to complete the spell so I was stuck there. I almost gave him my true name right then and there just so I could take a bath or something.”
Taeil grimaced, “I still feel bad about that.”
“I don’t mind, baby, really. If I did, I wouldn’t have married you.”
Ten was the one who looked the most in shock at the announcement, inevitably schooling his expression back into its annoyed state. “Married? That archaic ritual?” He scoffed, letting go of the cat and lightly brushing his fingers through the fur.
“More ancient and archaic than that, actually,” Taeil replied, looking amused, “But no one really practices that kind of magic anymore. Actually,” he turned to Johnny, “Your parents were the last people to have completed it that we know of.”
“You don’t mean to tell me that a moonlit has a soulbond with a fucking demon,” Ten scoffed.
“That’s exactly what we’re saying,” Haechan answered, shooting a glance over his shoulder at Ten, their growing tense, which was easily dissolved by Taeil's fingers still playing in Haechan's hair. He reached out, grabbing something unseen between his fingertips and giving it a firm tug, Taeil’s left pinky finger twitching in response.
Johnny looked between the two, determining once more that they were an odd pair, before asking. "What the hell is a moonlight elf and how did this…" He gestured between the demon and the summoner wildly for a moment. "...Even happen?"
Donghyuck blinked a few times before looking up at Taeil, a wide grin on his face. "Well…"
Gwangju, 1912
Okay, so maybe this wasn't Haechan's most brilliant move ever.
He pressed his back against the nearest wall to catch his breath, carefully peering around the corners for the one pursuing him. Sweat had his hair stuck to his forehead as he clutched his grimoire closer. He just needed to make it back to the academy and then ask the librarians for their help.
When he determined the coast was clear, he sucked in a deep breath before breaking into a run to take the final steps to the academy’s protective barrier.
He could make it.
He was going to make it.
He could hear the snarling demon behind him, spurring him on to run even faster, raising his hands to lower the wards for himself, golden magic dancing at his fingertips. The demon swiped at him, but, before the hit could land, the demon’s hand met with sharp steel, two more figures stepping past the glamour that hid the building. He stopped running the moment he passed them, catching his breath as he watched the guardians defeat the beast.
Walking through the doors, he finally allowed himself to collapse onto the floor, catching his breath and letting the leather-bound grimoire fall before him. He looked at the display of historical artefacts set a ways before him, everything just slightly shifted to make space for the second Seo brother’s belongings alongside them. Those would be added later, however. For now, the portrait of an aged Minhyung sat upon a table near his brother’s things.
It had been months since the man died, bordering on a year, and still the loss of him felt fresh, especially to Jaemin and Jeno, who knew him best.
Haechan had been his final pupil before he allowed himself to succumb.
It took a moment before anyone approached him, one of the librarians crouching down beside him. The normally cheery expression had darkened as he stared at the book in front of him. “Another one, Haechan?” he sighed out, “They’re taking notice of you. You can’t keep doing this. This isn’t what Minhyung saw in you when he took you under his wing.”
Haechan looked up with a smirk, “But I figured it out.” He reached out to grab the book from the floor, dusting it off carefully before smoothing out his hanbok. “Jaemin, I figured it out.”
“Figured wh-...” The sudden realization hit Jaemin, his eyes widening. “Haechan, that was never supposed to..!”
The guardians stepped back inside after some time, masked and covered in the thick, black blood. The one holding the sword carefully removed the mask, examining the blade with a slight frown. “What seems to be the problem?”
Jaemin looked up, the lines of frustration slowly fading away at the sight of Jeno’s uncovered face. “Soul magic. He learned soul magic.”
Chapter 5: The Moon And His Sun (1923; 1928; 2021)
Summary:
“You have an idea of what you want to summon, Taeil?” Suho asked after a moment through a mouthful of rice, “I think I’m gonna stick with a familiar summoning, myself.”
Taeil shrugged, mindlessly picking at his meal, “I wanted to try a bigger summon, myself. Maybe a moon rabbit from my homeland or something.”
“That sounds so cute!” Baekhyun sighed, reaching over the table to pick up some kimchi. “I wish I was taking Beginners’ summoning.”
“You have to have a talent for summoning, first,” Chen sighed, fending off Baekhyun’s chopsticks as he tried to reach for some of the food from Chen’s plate. “Back off, gremlin.”
Notes:
This is a very heavily Haechan/Taeil chapter, just sayin'
Also it might be a bit longer on the next chapter. I won't be home for a while starting from April 3, but I'll try to work on things while I'm away. :)
Chapter Text
Gwangju, year 1923
The moon was on the rise, and, finally, Taeil felt like he could breathe easy. His books were carried in a satchel that was slung over his shoulder as he took larger steps to keep up with Suho’s quick pace. They were already running late for the exam, but Grand Summoner Heechul was lax with the rules on tardiness, so he didn’t understand why they needed to run anyways.
The door was opened just as they reached it, with Heechul gesturing to the both of them as they stumbled through the door.
“And that, dear students, was a demonstration on how to summon your classmates.” He turned to Taeil and Suho, both of whom looked particularly sheepish. “Take your seats, gentlemen. I’m about to discuss your practical exam, and just because one of you…” He gave Taeil a pointed stare, and he seemed to shrink further in on himself as he took a seat in front of his desk. “Seems to have a knack for this kind of thing, it doesn’t mean that you can slack off.”
It was no secret that Taeil’s summoning magic was beyond his level of study. An anomaly, especially among his own kind, but as far as everyone could tell, there had been no magical void to be filled at the time of his birth, so the fact that he wasn’t only a talented summoner, but also met the descriptions of a witch, was an oddity all on its own.
He sighed softly, opening up his satchel and grabbing his books from within as Heechul began his lesson.
“Alright,” he began, “With the practical exam, you’ll be asked to summon something in front of the whole class. This is generally a good time to summon familiars if you don’t already have one, but what you summon is up to you. I’ll also be asking general questions. Participation is key in this.”
Taeil seemed to zone out after that, thinking of all the potential things he could summon. He’d practiced in his dorm a few times, much to his roommate’s annoyance, generally summoning things such as the small moths that reminded him of his home.
He had a few other classes before it was time for a break to eat, he and his friends casting simple glamours to go to a nearby shop run by a phoenix where they could get food all night. He, Suho, Baekhyun and Chen surrounded the small table as they spoke in hushed voices about their upcoming exams.
“You have an idea of what you want to summon, Taeil?” Suho asked after a moment through a mouthful of rice, “I think I’m gonna stick with a familiar summoning, myself.”
Taeil shrugged, mindlessly picking at his meal, “I wanted to try a bigger summon, myself. Maybe a moon rabbit from my homeland or something.”
“That sounds so cute!” Baekhyun sighed, reaching over the table to pick up some kimchi. “I wish I was taking Beginners’ summoning.”
“You have to have a talent for summoning, first,” Chen sighed, fending off Baekhyun’s chopsticks as he tried to reach for some of the food from Chen’s plate. “Back off, gremlin.”
Huffing indignantly, Baekhyun went back to eating his own dinner.
Taeil had been the one to pay for dinner that time, and they’d returned to their classes after, each of them wishing the phoenix chef a good evening before they left, the young woman giving them each a nod in return.
It was hard to focus on classes, honestly. Summoning was something Taeil prided himself on, and so he found his thoughts too focused on that.
The next few weeks, he found himself staying up far past moonset to look over all the books and scrolls he could find on old summonings of every sort, even going so far as to pick up the dustiest of the old grimoires on the shelf, reading through the withering pages.
The day of the exam had come quickly, and Taeil had been surprisingly early to his summoning class, nibbling on whatever thing he’d managed to grab from Kun’s snack stash that morning (not without permission. Kun had told him weeks ago to help himself).
Heechul walked through the door to prepare for class, startling slightly when he noticed the elf flicking through the tattered pages of another grimoire, a golden sun gleaming on the leather cover, for any last-minute information he could glean from the pages before things could begin. “Odd seeing you here so early.”
Taeil looked up from the pages before smiling sheepishly, as had become normal for him when he was caught off-guard. He just nodded before returning to his last-minute studies, nearly jumping out of his skin when Suho dropped into his seat beside him.
“I couldn’t sleep,” he proclaimed, “I wanted to make sure I do this perfectly.”
Taeil snapped the borrowed grimoire shut and carefully stashed it away in his bag. “What do you hope your familiar will be?”
“It doesn’t matter. Familiars are supposed to be perfect for the person they’re bound to.”
His familiar had turned out to be a very tiny, very fluffy white kitten. Most other students had taken it upon themselves to summon their own as well, the whole room soon turning into a menagerie of different animals. When Taeil was called, he stood up, walking into the middle of the class and taking the chalk from the Grand Summoner to begin drawing out the circles.
He asked many questions about summoning as he wrote in the glyphs, each one more complicated than the next.
“Why are circles necessary for beginner summoners?”
“Because the incantations take too much focus and are too complicated for those just starting out. The runes and glyphs used to create the circles help in the casting.”
Heechul took note of the answer with a small nod. “Good. And what are we summoning today?”
“Not another animal,” Taeil sighed, drawing another glyph, “I want to summon a being. If I’m as good as everyone believes me to be, then this should be child’s play.”
This gave the Grand Summoner pause and he set his fountain pen down on his desk. “That’s risky, young master Moon. Do you know what a summoned demon is called?”
In a moment of pure rebellion, Taeil cast a glance his way. “Should we ask one?”
He placed his hand onto the circle, feeling his magic pour into it as he whispered the incantation, a bright light emanating from it before smoke and the heavy smell of brimstone filled the room. When the smoke cleared, there was a young man standing where the circle was once drawn, facing Taeil.
The young man looked around the room a moment, letting out an interested sound before turning his gaze back to the startled elf on the floor. Taeil swallowed as he looked into the too-dark eyes staring at him, allowing himself to take in the beautifully tanned skin, too-sharp canines and amused grin on the demon’s handsome face. He crouched down to be on eye-level Taeil, tilting his head slightly as he took him in.
“You the one who summoned me, cutie?”
Taeil hesitated to answer, looking on at the demon with a mix of awe and horror. A blush took over his skin, tinting the points of his ears red and causing the little dots of starlight to shine brighter on his face. The demon’s smirk faltered when he noticed them, his eyes widening.
“Moonlight elf..?” he muttered out, frowning slightly at the realization.
It was about this time that Heechul stood up. “That’s enough! Young master Moon! We’re taking a trip to see the headmistress right now! And bring your demon with you!”
The demon stood back up and made a move to step forward, yelping as he hit an invisible wall.
“Very well, then.” He turned to Taeil with a slightly amused look, “Follow me. Now.”
They walked in a near silence to the Headmistress’ office. Taeil watched his feet as he walked, rather than noting the amused glances of the Grand Summoner.
“I don’t condone demon summoning in my classroom,” Heechul finally said, “But that was a damn good cast. Still, as one of the Moonlights, I have to wonder why.”
A long silence passed between them, with Taeil refusing to look up. “To see if I could. I’m the only one of my people who could possibly summon one. Now I know I’m the only one who can.”
Heechul sighed, flicking his wrist as they neared the door, causing it to fly open.
The headmistress’s office seemed cluttered at first glance, with shelves of magical items, ancient tomes and books that most students at the school could only dream of getting their hands on. Around the room were scattered bits of paper covered in frantic brush strokes, floating lights of pure magic, spread cloths and tarot cards. Seated behind a large, ebony desk set with a crystal ball and other tarot cards, was Headmistress Jea, who set down her cup of tea to gesture at the seats across from her, silvery jewelry hanging from her fingers.
“I warned you, Heechul-ssi, did I not?” she hummed, her nails tapping on the inky surface of the desk, “Though, not even I foresaw it being one of the exorcists.”
Taeil went to speak, quickly thinking better of what he was about to say and closing his mouth, folding in on himself. He wasn’t exactly keen on his heritage being brought up on a normal day, but especially after having essentially just spat on their legacy like this… He shuddered at the thought of what they might do were they to learn about it.
“I’m not an exorcist, though. The magic I am capable of has already set me apart from them,” he finally murmured, keeping his gaze low, though he could still feel the intensity of the headmistress’s gaze on him. “With all due respect, headmistress, I was only pushing the boundaries set before me.”
She narrowed her eyes a moment, which he could feel rather than see, and she frowned. “My great-great grandfather built this school and set the wards that you broke today. While you did push the boundaries, we currently have a demon stuck in a classroom because you never bound it. I’ve informed Head Guardian Jeno, and the demon will be returned to hellfire, understood?”
Taeil’s head snapped up at that, his expression nearly unreadable. “You can’t.”
“But it’s done,” she answered, smiling softly as she reached for her still-steaming tea, just as there was a knock on the door. “That should be him with the news that the deed is done.” She leaned forward in her seat just a bit. “Come in!”
The door was pushed open and the three guardians stood there, with Head Guardian Jeno in the middle, his head held high and his blade suspiciously clean. “Headmistress,” he started, “There’s an unforeseen circumstance.”
The two who flanked him - Chenle and Jisung - looked to each other, matching smirks on their lips before they turned back to the scene in front of them.
Jea looked a bit troubled, “You didn’t complete the task?”
A pause before Jeno shook his head. “No Jea-ssi. He’s… This demon is a special case.”
“No hellhound is any kind of special,” she sighed.
“This one is,” Chenle snickered.
Jisung shrugged, “He knows one of the forbidden arts.”
“And he was once a pupil here,” Jeno added, “One of Minhyung’s remaining pupils.”
Heechul frowned, “I thought it was that meddlesome child, but I was hoping…”
“Well, we can’t just have a demon in the school,” Jea frowned. “I’m sorry, but it must be done.”
Taeil looked around a moment at the people around the office. While Heechul and Jea looked set in their decision, the three guardians looked fairly sombre in their expressions. They’d known him - maybe even been friends - and his own friendship with them spurred him into action. “Give me one week,” he finally announced. “Give me one week to figure out how to bind him to me. He’s sealed in the circle for now.”
Tensions seemed to rise in the room after that, with Heechul shaking his head. “It can’t be done. No one has figured out how to bind a demon in our three thousand year history.”
“But if a gumiho or a dokkaebi or a kirin can be bound, why couldn’t a demon?" There was a long moment where Taeil once more gathered his resolve. “I’m going to bind him, so let me do it. One week won’t kill you.”
Headmistress Jea sighed, massaging at her temples. “Fine. Your time starts now. He’s your problem until then.”
After that, he was sent back on his way, Chenle and Jisung trailing behind him, though Jeno had stayed behind.
“I would suggest you talk with him, Taeil-ssi,” Chenle finally said as they made their way back to the classroom. “He knows his stuff. Most of the grimoires Jaemin keeps in the library are his.”
“We thought he was dead,” Jisung added, “But there he is, sitting in Heechul’s classroom.”
There was a stretch of silence, with Taeil opening the classroom’s door, before he looked at the pair of them. “What happened with him? You said about forbidden magic, what did he do?”
“Merged with a demon, for starters,” the demon called out from his spot in the middle of the classroom. “Among other things.”
“Haechannie,” Chenle chuckled, walking over, “It’s funny seeing you stuck in one place. Heechul-ssi still thinks that you’re a menace, by the way.”
Jisung stood nearby, shaking his head. “But you always did give him plenty of reason.”
“I don’t know,” Haechan hummed, “I think that lovely elf might be giving me a run for my money.” Taeil huffed out a laugh at that. “Oh, he’s an angel after my own heart.”
Chenle shook his head, “He’s going to save your life. So just tell him how to bind you, and you’ll be free to wander.”
The easy smirk on Haechan’s face faltered as he shrugged. “What makes you think that demons can even be bound? I just knew how to summon them, which is how…” He gestured to himself. “This all happened.” He craned his neck to look at Taeil past the others. “I won’t be any help.”
Taeil shrugged. “There has to be something in the ancient books. The oldest grimoire discussed gumiho summoning and binding, and I doubt it could be much different. Someone, in all this time, has to have thought of something.”
There wasn’t much else to be said, and so Taeil bowed before exiting the room, making his way to the library. He had a lunch break, but that would now be spent poring over books on the subject of demonic bindings, two books floating nearby to hold their places as he flipped through the next in a large stack before him, when he was startled out of his studies by a satchel laden with books hitting the table.
“What have you done, Taeil?” a voice hissed out, and Taeil winced at the recognition of its owner.
Trying to maintain his cool, he continued to flip through the pages of the book. “Word travels like wildfire, doesn’t it?” He glanced up, giving Kun a small smile.
Taking it as an offer, Kun slid into the seat across from him, massaging his temples with a deep sigh. “Taeil… You, more than anyone else here, should know that demons are tricksters. What are you even studying?” He reached out to swipe one of the books out of the air, grimacing as he read the topic. “Binding!? Have you lost your mind?!”
“I would like to think that I am, in fact, perfectly sane,” Taeil sighed, snatching the book back from him to let it drift back in the air. “You’re the one who was always telling me that I needed to do something big to make my name in the world of magic. And you know as well as I that a demon is needed for grimoire writing.”
“Your family won’t understand your reasoning, Taeil. And frankly, neither do I.”
“There are plenty of things about me that my family will never understand. You were one of them, once.”
Kun slumped into the seat across from him, letting out a heavy sigh. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because,” Taeil started, carefully setting down his dip pen on the table’s surface, “He wasn’t a demon from the start. The guardians couldn’t bring themselves to…” He drifted off, frowning slightly. “I know you and I always talked about forming an exorcist duo, but there’s something about this one. They said he knows a forbidden art.”
“The guardian’s couldn’t..? That’s strange.”
“Much about this is.”
When classes had come to an end for Taeil, he had picked up dinner for two at the local eatery and dragged a heavy satchel into the Summoner’s classroom, where the demon had sprawled out on the floor, staring up at the ceiling as he counted something. Stepping closer, Taeil cleared his throat, startling Haechan out of his thoughts. He sat upright, eyes drifting to the food before slowly drifting up to the elf’s face.
“I thought you might be hungry,” he announced, taking a seat just at the edge of the circle, “I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I just ordered two kimchi fried noodles with extra pork belly.”
Haechan seemed to perk up at that, subconsciously licking his lips as he looked at the bag holding their dinners. “Is that from Phoenix Fire?”
Taeil nodded, and the demon reached out, grabbing at the air. “I haven’t had their food in so long.”
The reaction made Taeil laugh quietly as he handed a container full of food past the edge of the summoner’s circle, along with two cups of water and some metal chopsticks. “I’m sorry about all of this,” he said softly, opening his own lunch box to lightly pick at the noodles. “I wanted to write a grimoire and I felt like I had something to prove.”
Haechan nodded, looking delighted as he poked the yolk of the fried egg sitting atop the pile of noodles. “Because you’re a moonlight?”
“In part. Being the eldest son of the leader didn’t much help with that.” He watched quietly as Haechan stuffed a large bite of noodles and pork belly into his mouth, letting out a sound of pure delight as he chewed slowly, savoring it. “But, no other moonlights have magic like I do. They expect me to learn what I can while I’m here and then join the rest of them in eradicating the demon threats.” Sighing, he finally took a bite of his own food, glancing up when things were too silent, only to meet the demon’s eye.
“So why are you trying to save me?” he finally asked.
“We’ll call it a gut feeling, I suppose.”
Realizing he couldn’t get any more from him than that, Haechan shrugged and dug back into his dinner, keeping any following conversation lighthearted.
When dinner was finished, Taeil collected the metal lunch boxes before spreading out a collection of withering spellbooks and ancient tomes before him, though the grimoire with the golden sun sat squarely on his lap as he flipped through the pages.
“Which volume is that one?” Haechan asked just as Taeil found what he was looking for.
“Volume thirteen of seventeen,” Taeil answered, not looking up from the pages.
Haechan nodded. “Demon summonings, hmm?”
“Obviously.”
“You used a spell from page 87 in the drawing of the circle, didn’t you?”
There was a nod in reply. “I’m sure I can use a similar spell to bind you, since it’s demon-specific, though I haven’t really figured out how to translate it to what I want it to.”
The rest of the visit was spent mostly in silence, but Taeil came to visit with breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout the day, and conversation got a little easier with time, though the looming deadline was an ever-present threat.
On the fifth day, they both had sprawled themself out on the floor, staring at the ceiling as they discussed potential answers to the problem at hand.
“We could try blood-bonding,” Haechan suggested, and Taeil laughed.
“Don’t think I’m not aware of the dangers of demon blood,” he tittered, tossing a crumpled ball of paper at Haechan. “There has to be something.”
“Well, angel, if there isn’t, then thanks for all the food.”
“Someone had to feed you. But, I swear, if I have to break the seal and have you march around pretending to be bound to me, I’ll do it.” Taeil sighed, sitting up and stretching his arms above his head.
“That’s risky, Taeil-ssi. They probably have a way to check.”
He turned to look at the still sprawled out demon on the floor. Over time, Taeil had brought him books and puzzles and something comfortable to sleep on, which was more than Haechan had asked for. It was a temporary situation, but he hoped it made him feel more comfortable. “Well, I’m not going to let them exorcize you, Haechan. Is there anything we haven’t discussed?”
“Soul magic, darling.”
Frowning, Taeil went about focusing on a loose thread on his button-up shirt, tugging at it lightly. “Soul magic is only theoretical. No one’s ever made it work and it’s…” Realization dawned on him all at once. “It’s the forbidden magic you know, isn’t it?”
“Guilty as charged.” He looked a bit too smug about having kept it a secret for someone whose life might just depend on such a thing. “It made me a target, by the way, but also saved my life in a way. I mean I would have preferred to be a cooler demon, but the hellhound was right there and I thought that I was going to die so I might as well take what was offered.” He laughed to himself, tapping at the barrier, “I never thought that my own spells would be used against me and I really didn’t expect to meet someone so… very unique.”
Sitting upright, Taeil looked at him. “Do you think you could teach me how you merged with the demon? I want to know everything.”
Haechan had entertained him, and he hardly left over the next day and a half as they put together the pieces. It was an intricate puzzle, but Haechan was smart enough to see where the pieces Taeil had set out went.
On the final hour before Haechan’s fate was to be decided, they’d figured it out, and Taeil had smiled so brightly as the binding spell had been completed that the dots of starlight had glowed even hours later while they walked the halls of the academy together, making their way to the massive library, each of them loaded down with books.
The conditions of the binding were simple. Haechan would help Taeil write a grimoire, and, at that point, the deal would be ended and Haechan would be free to leave. Until then, most of his power would be locked away.
The librarians had eyed the scene carefully, with Jaemin eventually smiling. “Never thought I’d see you here again.”
Haechan snickered, “Well, even hellfire couldn’t keep me away from you, Jaem.”
The other librarian, Renjun, rolled his eyes with a slight laugh. “Just don’t make a mess of the place again.”
Jeno, who was sitting with them, shook his head, taking each of their hands in his to kiss their palms. “He wasn’t that bad before, loves.”
Renjun gave a fond smile before leaning in to press a kiss to Jeno’s cheek. “You never had to clean up after him. That’s Taeil’s job, now.”
Jaemin smirked at the two, watching them as Taeil went about returning the borrowed books to their homes on the shelves.
Gwangju, 1928
Haechan sighed to himself as he watched Taeil draw the diagrams in the book.
He supposed it had been inevitable. He’d never been one to do anything in half-measures, so when he noticed his heart fluttering every time Taeil smiled at him, he’d only come up with some way to prolong their time together. It should have only taken two years at the most, but now they were on the fifth year of working on the Moon grimoire, and he had run out of ways to keep stalling the project.
Taeil had been nothing but kind to him the entire time, keeping him fed and taking him on little shopping trips for new clothes, and if Haechan walked a little slower when they were out so that Taeil would take his hand and entwine their fingers, that was his business.
To state things simply: Haechan was in love.
It started when he saw him for the first time. Confused and wide-eyed as he stared at the demon before him. How could an elf like him have summoned him? How was he, of all things, summoned? But then he saw the thin, barely noticeable thread on his little finger, following the string to where it connected to his own. It was too thin to be definite, but the potential of it made him curious.
Taeil was his opposite in so many ways. He was the one who grounded him on the worst of days and had never once made him feel like he was too much to handle in any situation. He’d always been told he was a bit much, but never by Taeil.
He’d even stood up to his family for him.
Haechan was probably the luckiest demon in the whole world.
And now Taeil was working on the final pages of the grimoire, and that would be the end of their partnership.
Letting out a sigh, Haechan let himself memorize the look of concentration on Taeil’s face as he hunched over the book’s final pages, pausing on occasion to dip his pen into the pot of ink. After some time, he looked up, raising a brow as he noted Haechan’s dreamy-eyed stare. He looked away quickly, a blush rising to his cheeks to make the bright freckles stand out on his cheeks. “You’re staring, Haechannie.”
“It’s almost done,” Haechan muttered, “And then who knows what will happen to me. This is the first time something like this has been attempted, so I guess I just want to always remember the beautiful things in this world before I’m gone.”
Taeil frowned, looking up from the pages and giving him a sympathetic look. “Is there something you want to do… Just in case?”
He stared back, searching Taeil’s eyes and pretending he hadn’t heard the way his voice broke just a little bit. “You know what I want, Illie.”
“There would be an imbalance of power, you know that…'' He reached across the table with his empty hand, covering Haechan’s hands with it, his thumb stroking over them.
A long silence fell between them, neither of them saying much else on the matter. Both knew where the other stood, and while Haechan wore his heart on his sleeve, Taeil was more reserved.
Haechan sighed, moving his hand to lace their fingers together, giving Taeil’s a gentle squeeze. “Finish it, and we’ll see where we can go from there.”
Taeil chewed his lip a moment before leaning over the table to press a kiss to Haechan’s lips. Before Haechan could process what had happened, Taeil was back in his seat, turning back to the diagram he was finishing up. Haechan busied himself with kissing the back of Taeil’s hand, smiling to himself as he did.
After a while, he froze, the pen hanging over the paper. “When I write this last line, it’s done,” he mused, turning to look at Haechan with a saddened expression. “If you’re taken from me, I would summon you all over again.”
“And if I’m not?”
He smiled slightly, “Then we’ll see about that request of yours.”
Another tender kiss was pressed to his knuckles before Haechan spoke, his breath ghosting over Taeil’s fingers. “Finish it, then.”
As Taeil wrote the final line, his grip on Haechan’s hand tightened ever so slightly, as though willing him to stay put. As Taeil neared the sentence’s end, Haechan sucked in a deep breath.
“I’m Donghyuck, by the way,” he sighed out, causing Taeil to look up at him, thoroughly shocked. “I want you to know.” He steeled his nerves once more. “I’m alright, now.”
Taeil repeated his name ever so softly, and Haechan’s heart pounded in his chest with equal measures of fear and adoration. He turned back to his work, letting out a held breath as he finished the final line, blowing on the ink and closing the cover, a silver moon eclipsing a golden sun decorating the leather. Haechan sighed and let go of Taeil’s hand, taking a needle and pricking his thumb to let a single drop hit the cover, whispering a spell. The grimoire glowed, pages flipping as the writing flashed red, everything about it feeling heavy with magic. The book slammed itself shut at the end and Haechan could feel his power return full-force and he closed his eyes as tightly as he could as he felt the swell of infernal magic welling up within him.
When he opened his eyes again, much to his surprise, he was still in the small dining area of his and Taeil’s dormitory, the elf looking at him with concern lacing his expression. The concern gave way to relief, a wide smile taking over. “You’re still here.”
Haechan patted himself a few times, letting out a relieved laugh. “I’m still here.” Taeil walked over to him and Haechan cupped his face in his hands. “So now will you be mine?”
Taeil let out a laugh, “Buy me dinner first.”
Haechan shook his head, surging forward to finally kiss him in earnest, the elf giving into it almost immediately, his fingers tangling into his hair. He let out a sharp squeak when Haechan lifted him up, carrying him into their shared room and depositing him on the bed, the starlight freckles shining brighter than they ever had before.
He'd searched for every single one of those dots of starlight on his skin and mapped out new constellations for only the two of them to see. Taeil was something to be revered… To be worshipped, and Haechan had taken his time, delighting in the way his true name fell from his lips.
They fell asleep in a tangle of limbs, Taeil kissing away the tears that threatened to fall and nothing but whispered confessions between them.
Haechan had been the first one awake, fingertips caressing every inch of Taeil’s bare skin that the sheets left uncovered, burying his face in his hair. He pulled him in closer, letting out a deep sigh of contentment while Taeil let out a small grumble, curling up further into the mattress.
It took some time for Taeil to finally fully wake up, turning himself in Haechan's arms so that they lay face-to-face.
“Hey,” Haechan whispered, leaning in for a kiss, which was returned so very tenderly. “I owe you dinner, don’t I?”
The corners of Taeil’s mouth pulled upwards into a small smile. “I’ll settle for breakfast in bed.”
Haechan let out a laugh at that. “Should I go, now?” Despite the fact that Taeil looked like he was about to protest, the loud rumbling of his stomach made Haechan well-aware that he was famished. “I’ll go get us something.” He chuckled, climbing out from under the sheets and walking to the dresser to gather some clothes. Pretending not to notice the way that Taeil watched him, he quickly pulled on some pants. “Want me to drop off the grimoire with Jaemin and Renjun for it to be catalogued?”
“Could you?” he asked, looking quite comfortable as he pulled the covers up to his chin. “And don’t take too long. I’ll miss you.”
Haechan laughed quietly, pulling on his shirt before walking over to kiss him again. “I love you, Illie. I’ll be back as quick as I can.”
Taeil hadn’t let him go that easily, and it was another ten good minutes before he left the dormitory, the grimoire tucked under his arm as he walked first to the archives. Renjun was sitting at the large desk set in the middle of the room, sipping on tea while Jeno carried a stack of spell books that Jaemin was carefully returning to their rightful homes. He pulled three more from the top of the stack, allowing them to float up to their places upon one of the towering shelves. Haechan cleared his throat as he walked over to the desk, setting the book on the desk across from Renjun, who raised a brow as he looked away from his writings.
“How can I help you, Haechan?” he asked, eyeing the demon and then the book in front of him. “Where’s Taeil?”
“In bed, still. We finished the grimoire last night. I think he and I should do another one about demon bondings, now that we know more about it,” he sighed fondly, “But hurry up and catalogue it! Illie’s hungry and I can’t let the love of my life starve. We didn’t even eat dinner last night.”
Jaemin had stopped putting the misplaced books away to slide over to them, depositing himself directly on Renjun’s lap, waggling his eyebrows. “Worked up an appetite, did you?”
Grimacing, Renjun pinched Jaemin’s side, causing him to let out an indignant squawk. “Not everything is about that, Jaemin.”
“This most definitely was, though,” Haechan replied nonchalantly, much to Jaemin’s delight and Renjun’s disgust. “Come on, hurry up, I have to make my man happy.”
Almost in an instant, Renjun managed to push Jaemin from his lap, reaching across the desk to snatch the grimoire to hand it to Jaemin. “Here. I don’t want to hear about any of the details.”
Haechan shrugged, “Can I leave?”
Nodding, Jaemin flipped through the pages. “Your Moon is quite the summoner. This puts the Full Suns to shame, I hope you know.”
With another fond smile, he shrugged, “I know.”
He returned to the dormitory later than he had originally intended, laughing to himself as he found Taeil still in bed, wrapped only in sheets. He walked over and set the lunchboxes he’d gotten from Phoenix fire beside the bed, climbing in next to him. Absent-mindedly, he pulled on the red string connecting them that only he could see, smiling at the way Taeil’s little finger twitched before Taeil’s arms curled around his waist.
“Donghyuck,” he mumbled, tiredly yawning mid-way through, “Got a crazy question.”
“Alright, but breakfast is getting cold, aein.”
Tilting his head to look up at him, Taeil slowly blinked, “I want to soul-bind. With you. At some point.”
Haechan swallowed hard, searching his eyes for any sign that this was some kind of joke. When nothing was found, he gave a lopsided smile. “Like right now?”
“We don’t have to rush anything, Hyuckie. I just want to know that, no matter what happens, I’ll always come back to you.”
“I want that, too, Illie.”
Gwangju, 2021
“... He’s from a family of exorcists that live on the moon in a kingdom called Boleumdal, but he saved me from getting killed more than once,” Haechan finished. “He’s the full moon to my full sun.”
Taeil laughed softly, offering a hand to help Haechan upright, which he denied, clutching Taeil’s legs to the point where he almost crumpled. When he righted himself, he looked at Johnny. “As for your situation, I have to assume it’s because you're a half-summoner witch. Which means Hyuckie and I will be working with both of you.”
Johnny nodded, slowly trying to process everything that happened in the last handful of hours.
Taeil patted down his pockets, looking for a pen and paper, both of which Haechan pulled from his back pocket. Jotting down some things on the paper, Taeil let out a sigh, “This is my number and our address. If you have any questions, you can contact me through text. Please don’t show up at our house without notice, though. I have to look into a few things about this situation.”
And with that, Haechan unwrapped himself from Taeil’s legs, standing up and brushing off his pant legs before the pair of them left.
Chapter 6: Tiger Inside (2021, 1761, 1767)
Summary:
“Can we talk about the panic attack, now? Like if you’re not comfortable, we can see about meeting with them somewhere else or something?”
There was a long silence and Johnny wondered if he was going to get another round of the silent treatment, but Ten finally spoke. “This place holds a lot of memories of someone I lost… Someone I cared for.”
Time to learn a little bit about Ten.
Notes:
I'm back!
I took a short detour to write a birthday fic, but I hope you enjoy the update!
Chapter Text
Ten had found a corner of the dorm’s living room that he liked best, Louis curled up nearby and rumbling loudly. Johnny sat nearby, just within that 10 foot radius that Haechan claimed that they had. As thoroughly exhausted as Johnny was, he wasn’t about to approach the demon who was acting quite a bit like a cornered animal more than anything, so he hadn’t made the move to approach him and show him to what would now be his new bed.
The tension in the room was palpable, with Mark being the one to break it. “Well… Who’s hungry?” He slapped his hands on his thighs before standing up and walking to the refrigerator, where six takeout menus hung. “Yong, you staying for dinner?”
Taeyong, who had been watching Jaehyun and Yuta and the way they had curled up with one another, was shaken out of his thoughts. “Only if it’s someone else’s treat,” he shrugged, scooting just a little closer to Ten’s side.
It felt like there were things that needed to be said between them both, but they couldn’t speak with the others nearby. Eventually, though, curiosity got the better of all of them.
“So…” Lucas started while Mark took the menus to Taeyong to look though, “You look… Uncomfortable.”
Ten laughed bitterly, “I was just materialized into an Ikea while I was living my life in Paris. I only have the clothes I’m wearing and my cat and I’m bound to a dokkaebi who didn’t know he could summon until a handful of hours ago. Now I’m somewhere I never wanted to come back to, so today’s just going so fucking well, thanks.”
Lucas held up his hands in defeat, “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Johnny was the next to speak up. “You’ve said that before. Coming back… Were you a student here.. Like Haechan?”
“Not exactly.”
Gwangju, year 1761
They’d been called to a meeting of the highest ranking magical families, which had meant gathering a small assortment of his best guards to protect both himself and his cousin in case of any hopefuls trying to end his line or cut the ties with the demon that had kept their ranking in Siam quite high.
Ten sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, frowning as he watched his highest-ranking guard, Kunpimook, tug at his collar once more.
“They’re already making us travel all this way for the summit. Why should we have to wear these uncomfortable things as well?” he groaned, “They’re hot and uncomfortable and I don’t know how anyone could live in such things.
“Diplomacy. The others at the summit will be far more modest than we,” Ten answered, “And if we are to keep the alliances, we have to, unfortunately, abide by their rules.”
Pranpriya rode beside them humming a nameless tune as she looked around at the scenery. “He just doesn’t like when he can’t show that he’s the strongest man in the room,” she teased, before running her fingers along the designs printed on her arms. “But this is how things will be for, at the very least, two months. We’ll all just have to get used to it.”
Ten wasn’t a fan of the idea, either. The summit was proposed to strengthen ties between the next generation of magical leaders, but Ten’s own stance among them wasn’t as solid as others would think. He might have been the logical choice as the eldest of the leader’s children, but…
Sometimes ancient deals come back to haunt people in the worst way.
Ten was left to deal with the consequences of his ancestors’ actions with no way out.
Pranpriya was the next logical choice as the leader, and would spend her time with the other leaders to strengthen her own ties, so that the moment the call came and Ten was forced to answer, she would fill the vacuum of power that his sister could not, as she had inherited their mother’s magic and couldn’t perform the ink spells that were so very prized.
They made it to Gwangju in the middle of the night, the moon high in the sky. Guards had been sent out to greet them, and Kunpimook had stepped before them, his posture straight as a pin to make himself taller. “Lord Leechaiyapornkul and Lady Manoban of Siam,” he announced, and Ten bowed his head.
“Follow us to Seo manor” was the response they’d received.
The rest of the trip had been completed in relative silence, the only commentary coming from Pranpriya as she cooed at every cat she noticed, gasping at a breed she hadn’t come across before. They were all thankful, though, when they’d made it to the manor and had been shown their rooms. Ten and Kunpimook would share one, Pranpriya’s room and her handmaidens were to reside on the other side of the manor. They’d been given time to bathe before they would meet the other families.
“I hear the Wong family is sending their upcoming leader. And that the elves have decided to send someone as well,” Ten announced, pulling the khrui he’d packed away on. Knowing Kunpimook, he wouldn’t bother wearing any more than he had to.
The response to his announcement was a slight laugh, “If the elves sent an envoy… They usually don’t care for these types of things. When my father came to one of these, they were all in some kind of frenzy in preparation for an elf patriarch who never even bothered to show up.”
Ten shrugged, “Well, there’s a first time for everything, is there not?”
They were escorted to the hall after some time, Ten holding his head high as he and his cousin took their place in the hall. He had been right about Kunpimook’s fashion choices, as he had gone bare chested, his gaze firm as he scanned the room. Their place across from the Wong family’s prodigy child, a half-garuda witch called Yukhei, who looked perhaps a bit more out of place than Ten felt as he folded his legs to sit. Yukhei nodded his head to him, lifting a cup before taking a sip.
Looking around the room, he tried to name the other families in the room. There was the Kang family - a matriarchal house of witches who used fear and illusion to do their bidding - whose upcoming leader held her head high as she scanned the room, her soul-bond seated at her side as they spoke in hushed tones to one another. The Kim family’s magic was enchantments, which they used for magical weaponry. The Wong family was one of the spellcaster families whose luck had culminated in the new heir seated before him, his white wings awkwardly hitting the floor behind him. The Zhangs, descendants of dragons, seemed the most relaxed of everyone, the recently named head of the family leaning to one side and dressed like royalty. There were also elves, their faces dotted with specks of light, wearing pale blue silks and silvery jewelry.
Ten kept silent for the moment, only looking up when the arrival of the Lords Seo had been announced.
Two sons from two mothers, the eldest of which Ten could not draw his gaze from, stepped into the room surrounded by several guards and a young man whose nine tails swayed behind him, ears twitching at the slightest sound.
“Thank you for answering the call to this summons,” the elder brother announced, the room quieting down significantly, “As you well know, my father has plans to step down as family head in five years time, where I will be taking his place. You are the or will be the heads of the strongest magic families, and, as such, we would all benefit from becoming friends.” He looked around the room, his gaze settling on Ten for a moment. “We would first like to thank those who travelled to be here for this.” He looked around the room once more. “I, Seo Jun, would like to welcome the elves of Boleumdal, the Zhang dragons, the Kim family, the Wong family, the coven of Kang, and the illustrious Leechaiyapornkuls of Siam.”
Ten, who had been looking around the room, felt everyone’s eyes on him, and he straightened up once more, looking to Seo Jun once more as he bowed his head, not making a sound.
Nothing of consequence had been discussed at this first meeting, which Ten was glad for, because he was far too focused on Lord Seo Jun, future head of the Seo house and the most revered summoner of their time.
Gwangju, year 2021
Much to Johnny’s frustration, Ten hadn’t said much else about his time, other than the fact that he had started off as a human, just like Haechan, but that was where the similarities ended. Johnny had decided not to push him any further in the matter.
Dinner had been… Awkward, to say the least.
Besides the glares that Ten sent his way, there was Yuta and Jaehyun and… whatever thing was between the two of them that they both refused to acknowledge, culminating in a moment where Jaehyun got a tad too close to Yuta, gently swiping some sauce from his cheek with his thumb before sticking his thumb in his mouth and there had been an intensity in Yuta’s eyes as he had watched. Taeyong grimaced slightly, though he schooled his expression back into a neutral one, while Ten had just stared at the two of them, mildly horrified before deciding the most interesting and least offensive thing in the room was the bowl of coconut chicken soup in front of him. He barely ate any of it, just stared wistfully as he continued to pick at it unless Taeyong addressed him directly.
When it was time to sleep, Mark had swung a backpack over his shoulder. “I’m going over to Lucas’s place. Don’t call me unless it’s an emergency..”
Jaehyun pretended to gag a moment. “Thanks for sparing us!”
Mark shrugged, “Well, we kind of have an unexpected roommate.”
“How does that matter with him, but not us?” Johnny asked, a little dumbfounded.
Shrugging, Mark met Lucas at the door. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Lucas swung an arm around him, kissing his temple before they left.
Yuta hummed, clicking the lid in place on the remains of his dinner before realizing something that caused a frown. “Damn. Megabed might be out of commission.” He looked to Johnny. “You have a demon who won’t want to join in.”
Ten looked up, “Megabed?”
“We pushed two single beds together,” Johnny sighed out, “It’s just a slightly bigger bed.”
Taeyong grimaced again, turning to Ten. “You can stay with me if you need to, Ten. There’s a lot for us to talk about.”
Shaking his head, Ten sighed out heavily, “The big one and I are stuck together, otherwise I would.”
Johnny flashed an embarrassed smile, “I… Honestly didn’t know what I was doing. If it’s any consolation, I’m sorry.”
A glare was shot at him once again.
Taeyong left and Yuta and Jaehyun were left in charge of cleanup while Johnny tried to help Ten get settled in what would be a new home.
“I’ll get you some new clothes tomorrow, but these will have to do for now.” He held out a folded shirt and pair of sweatpants. “I know this shit sucks, but I really didn’t mean any of it. I was trying to summon my own familiar the first time, so I really don’t know why I got yours.”
Ten snatched the clothes from him and Johnny turned around for him to change, which he hastily did. He looked as though he was drowning in a sea of fabric, his frown only deepening when Johnny saw him. “You’re taking me to get something designer for this.”
Shrugging, Johnny dug through his closet for pajamas of his own. “I’ll live.”
The moment the curtains were shut and the lights were off, Ten rolled over in his bed, staring at a blank spot on the wall and pretending to be out in his sleep while Louis curled up at his side.
Gwangju, 1761
Ten had expected the discomfort at the style of dress they wore, but hadn’t expected the request to wear hanbok for any other meetings of all the families. While he didn’t appreciate the insinuation, he also couldn’t help but laugh at Kunpimook’s discomfort as he stood in the center of their shared quarters, gawking at the swathes of fabric that covered his arms as he moved them back and forth.
“Why would they impede the movement? There is so much that this could get caught in during battle! The whole thing is foolish!” he whined, pausing to rub the fabric between his fingers. “Were we to wear such things, we would die in the heat of our home!”
Ten, who had said nothing on the matter, merely chuckled. “It’s only for official business. I was assured that we wouldn’t have to wear these for sparring or other business we might have here. Apparently your bare chest gave one of the handmaidens quite a fright. Besides, think of all the knives you could hide on your person with sleeves like those.”
Pouting like a child, Kunpimook grumbled. “What’s the point of having knives on me if no one can see them to be intimidated?”
Having no answer for it, Ten merely shrugged.
If Kunpimook was annoyed by the sudden change of dress they were dealing with, then Pranpriya was downright furious. She walked over to them in the hall, huffing at the skirt she wore. “I can’t put my arms down flat!” she whined, “How do people live like this?”
Ten sighed at them, shaking his head as he looked around at the others. Lord Wong had been wandering off the path they had been taking through a nearby forest, apparently, and had returned with an armful of wildflowers, which he was speaking with the younger of the Seo brothers about them. Minhyung seemed excited about them for the most part, chatting excitedly about something that Ten couldn’t hear. Kunpimook had made his way to speak with other guards, specifically Jeno and Jaemin, the head guards of the Seos, and Pranpriya had made her own way to speak with the other ladies.
Ten had been one to keep his distance for the most part, holding back as the other leaders spoke while they walked. After a while, he could feel someone walking close by him.
“Apologies about the request to change your clothing,” the man to his right said, finally getting Ten to look up to him.
“I suppose it had something to do with the unfamiliar show of skin?” he answered.
Jun shook his head, holding his hands behind his back as he matched Ten’s gait. “The elves who are at the summit,” he began, “They are at war with demons… or perhaps on the verge of it.” Ten nodded slightly before he continued. “You have a demon’s mark on you. They might see it as a challenge. The neck of your robes did nothing to hide it, and so…”
“Am I to see this insult as you being my grand protector, Lord Seo?” he asked, a teasing lilt to his voice.
“Insult was not intended.”
Ten hummed and nodded, “So… Lord Seo, seeing as I apparently need a savior that only can be found in you, it goes without saying that I should know something of you.”
“What would you like to know?”
They talked for a while about nothing and everything, trailing near the back of the pack and keeping their steps slow. The man with the nine tails was the only one to walk behind them, his tails swishing in a slight annoyance.
“Who’s the fox?” Ten asked after a while.
Jun glanced back. “His name is Taeyong, and he’s a gumiho. My first summon and closest confidant.”
Glancing back to the gumiho, Ten flashed a rare but blinding smile. “Pleasure to meet you.” Taeyong nodded, giving a small yet suspicious smile in return.
“It’s unusual, you know,” Jun spoke after a moment, “You’re not a summoner, and yet your name…”
Ten bristled at that. “My name is not mine to give. It never has been.”
The pieces must have fallen into place, because Jun just nodded, looking a bit distant. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
For a while they walked in silence, Ten occasionally cautioning a glance to admire Jun’s handsome face.
Again, it was Jun who broke the silence, subtly gesturing to the group of women who were chatting and giggling. Pranpriya had been walking fairly close to a beautiful young woman who was also dressed in a hanbok, the luxurious colors suggesting a high rank. “It seems as though your cousin has taken a liking to my betrothed.”
Ten felt as though there was a rock that dropped his heart into his stomach at that moment.
Gwangju, year 2021
The new classes had been… interesting to say the least.
Infernal studies had been co-taught by Haechan and Taeil, though Taeil had been held up by something and was running a fair bit late. He and Ten had taken seats near the back, the demon determined to look annoyed the entire time as he scanned the room. Johnny caught himself watching him from the corner of his eye, watching as emotions kept crossing his face as he seemed to notice things within the room. When it was over, it was as though he couldn’t get out of the room fast enough, leaning against the wall just beside the door as he caught his breath.
Johnny stood nearby as he waited for Ten to calm down. “Can… Can I get you anything?”
Ten shook his head, slowly evening out his breath. It took some time before he righted himself. “I never wanted to come back here.”
“I know… You’ve said that, and I’m really sorry.” Taking the chance, he continued. “Do you need to talk about it?”
Ten shook his head, “I’ve done well enough without.”
The rest of the night’s classes were taken in stride, though Ten had something to say about the Leechaiyapornkuls that raised some brows as well as a few questions he refused to answer.
The shopping trip seemed like a welcome reprieve at the end of the day.
True to his word, Ten’s taste had been expensive, and he’d spent the entire time modelling for Johnny in the most uncomfortable of ways (though, maybe the whole situation could have been read a certain way without the demon’s interference). Johnny had been glad of the income his bangmangi easily brought in, and they managed to leave with a full wardrobe that probably cost more than the tuition of most of his friends.
At the end of the day, though, Ten was wearing the cheap hoodie and shorts to bed, wrapped up in layers of blanket as he texted Taeyong to “catch up” (or that’s what they both called it).
“Can we talk about the panic attack, now? Like if you’re not comfortable, we can see about meeting with them somewhere else or something?”
There was a long silence and Johnny wondered if he was going to get another round of the silent treatment, but Ten finally spoke. “This place holds a lot of memories of someone I lost… Someone I cared for.” He sucked in a deep breath before continuing. “That room used to be his, and it sickens me to see his room filled with demonic artefacts.”
“Should I ask them..? About moving the class, that is.”
Much to his surprise, Ten shook his head. “No. I can get used to the sight, I just… wasn’t prepared before.”
“Okay,” Johnny answered, “Tell me if that changes.”
“Thank you, I will.”
For the first time, the silence wasn’t filled with a sense of unease and Johnny decided to ask the other question on his mind. “So, did you have some kind of beef with the lost heir you had a lot to say about or..?”
At that, Ten laughed. Like a true, honest laugh. “I thought it would be obvious. They didn’t lose their heir at all. They sent him off to the slaughter in 1767.”
“What happened to him?”
Ten hummed, playing with the cuffs of his sleeves. “He had ignored the rules set on him and, instead of dying and joining the ones he lost, a demon merged with him. He’s spent almost three hundred years wandering… Hoping that he wouldn’t cross paths with his past.”
Johnny let out a long sigh, “That sounds lonely.”
“It has been,” Ten answered, “But I made my choices.”
Siam, year 1767
News of the attack had spread like wildfire, and he knew it was almost time.
It was what he had been born to do, so he didn’t understand the nervous lump in the back of his throat as he looked out at his homeland from the deck of his family’s home. The price of his home’s freedom was one he’d been created to pay.
He had already lost everything that meant something to him, anyways. He would fulfill his duty and, hopefully, that would be it. Maybe, if the gods were kind, they would be reunited.
There was a knocking at the door of his room before it was opened.
“It’s time.”
Carefully, he pulled himself to stand up, walking into the center of the room as servants of his family surrounded him, coating his arms and chest in winding patterns, the ink made to stain the spells into his skin, branding him in servitude to a demon.
He was taken to Koh Tao, the edge of which his escorts would not pass. He was on his own from there, handed a pouch of what he would need for the ritual as they all said their farewells. His parents remained stoic throughout, and so he spared them no second glance as he made his way to the spot where the ritual would commence, laying out his tools when he reached the clearing.
The air was still and the silence was deafening as he unfurled the roll of paper out in front of him, setting out weights to hold the corners and keep the paper from curling up on itself. He uncorked a bottle of thick, dark ink he’d made when news of the Burmese army reached him, picking up the brush he’d been sent with.
The spell came with years of practice, his hand moving of its own accord, painting the shapes into the paper before him as the chant fell from his lips.
Even though the night had been eerily still, the winds suddenly picked up, shaking the trees and nearly masking the low growl of the beast hidden within.
“So,” a voice called, the source hidden in the darkness, “Finally, my chosen has called to me.” There was another low growl, turning slowly into a deep laugh. “Tell me, boy, what is your name?”
“Ten,” he answered simply, staring ahead with dead eyes, the brush set down in front of him.
“Your real name, boy. You are already mine, there is no point in prolonging the inevitable.”
He lowered his stare slightly, finding a particularly interesting spot on the ground to focus on. He supposed the beast was right. He was chosen years ago, groomed to be the demon’s sacrifice until the time was right. And so he took a deep breath.
“I am Chittaphon, eldest son of the Leechaiyapornkul family, sole heir of my family’s ink magic.”
A dark chuckle echoed through the darkness, heavy steps nearing him until he looked up, his eyes landing on a great tiger. “And do you know why you are here?”
“I am the sacrifice you’ve called for. In return for my life, I ask only for you to protect my homeland,” he answered, staring the beast in the eye.
The tiger neared him, prowling around him. “You are no sacrifice,” it snarled, “Your soul, like your name, is not your own.”
Ten barely flinched, keeping his gaze fixed on a point on the ground. “And yet, I am the one you called for. If you are to kill me, then let it be done.”
The beast let out a dark laugh, “I cannot take a soul that is not yours to give…”
“A strange sentiment since I am not here willingly.”
“And yet you cast the spell instead of running.”
Ten grit his teeth at that, biting back an angry comment. It took him some time to finally respond. “What can I trade for my home, then?”
There was a long quiet, the rumble of the tiger being the only sound. “You’ll be my host, then.”
And then everything went black.
Chapter 7: Bloom In Space The Heart Allows (1745-2021)
Summary:
Shoulders slumping slightly, Mark pushed up his glasses and turned to look at him. “You’re never gonna pass your classes at this rate.”
“Another year here with you?” Lucas hummed, reaching out to brush his fingers over Mark’s cheek. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”
Title is taken from Two Roses by Michelle Faulkner
Chapter Text
Lucas watched quietly as Mark tossed a few herbs into his mortar, picking up his pestle to grind them into a fine powder. He only took up about half the space on the coffee table, the other half having been taken over by books and notes for all five of Lucas’s classes that semester.
He was supposed to be studying, of course, but the look of sheer concentration on Mark’s face, brows furrowed as he looked between the potion’s recipe and the ingredients, his readers sitting low on the bridge of his nose, had him enthralled.
“You’re staring again, Yukhei,” he sighed, marking notes on the parchment he was reading from, and Lucas felt his heart flutter at the use of his true name.
He leaned against the table, resting his head in his hands, a dopey smile on his face. “I can’t help it.”
Shoulders slumping slightly, Mark pushed up his glasses and turned to look at him. “You’re never gonna pass your classes at this rate.”
“Another year here with you?” Lucas hummed, reaching out to brush his fingers over Mark’s cheek. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”
Mark tried to shoot him a stern expression, but the past three years had taught him that his boyfriend wasn’t receptive to things like that, especially when he knew it wasn’t earnest. “I can go study back in my dorm, but I’m not gonna be the reason you fail again.” He made the move to get up, only for Lucas to tackle him to the ground, pinning him to the floor. “Dude, let me up.”
“No,” he grumbled, leaning in until their noses were touching, “Don’t leave.” Mark opened his mouth to protest, only to be silenced with a kiss. “Please don’t go. I’ll study. I just can’t get enough of you.”
“That’s sweet, babe, but I need to take a whiz.”
With a slight grumble, Lucas rolled off of him, hitting the coffee table as he did. Mark stood up, running to the bathroom with a muttered “thanks”, leaving Lucas with his thoughts.
Laying on his back and closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, following the train of thought as far as he could.
Gwangju, year 1745
The Wong family had been one of the strongest allies of the Seos for longer than Yukhei had even been alive. He had never been able to visit them with his parents until he was age seven, and they travelled in the dead of night to keep prying eyes away from his wings that he hadn’t fully grown into.
It takes time, his mother had told him, and Yukhei had merely whined something while asking just how long it would be in the typical way a child would. She’d laughed - a beautiful chiming sound - and gently combed her fingers through his hair as they made their way to the manor.
He’d poked his head out of the carriage, looking wide-eyed at the moon and claiming it had followed them from home.
The sun was on the rise when they finally made it to their destination, and the carriage was escorted as close to the manor as they were able. Even then, Yukhei had to be quick to make it past the gates, lest he be seen by some of the non-magic humans that lived in the town surrounding the manor. He was sluggish and tired, but excited to no longer be stuck within the carriage.
Before he could run around the gardens just within the gate, his father held his shoulders, keeping him still as a man and his two sons (one being about his age) walked towards him. He gave a toothy grin. The older boy gave a short nod while the other clung to his father’s leg, hiding behind it just to barely peek out at him. Yukhei had grinned and waved a little at him, his wings stretching out just a smidge.
After a moment, Lord Seo knelt down in front of him, flashing him a grin. “It’s good to finally meet you, young master Wong. Your father has told me a lot about you. You seem to be shaping up into a fine spellcaster. You’ll have to show me something when the negotiations have come to a close.”
Yukhei was a bit startled as he looked at the man before a wide grin spread across his face once more. “Yes, sir!”
Lord Seo gestured for his sons to step forward. “These are my children.” He motioned to the elder boy. “This is my eldest son, Seo Jun. And this.” He pulled the shyer of the two towards him, ruffling his hair a little. “This is Seo Minhyung. He’s about your age.”
Minhyung gave a small wave.
“I hope we can be friends.”
Gwangju, year 1751
Travels to Seo manor weren’t incredibly frequent, so when his father told him there was a meeting of the families that he’d be going to as well, Yukhei had immediately gathered everything he could for the travels and set it aside to be packed away before running to the family’s healer to see what kind of herbs and flowers he could take with him.
He wrapped his bounty in some cloth with wildflowers he’d left to pick, tying it neatly before setting it aside with his other things.
He still tripped over his wings a bit, but it helped that he was getting taller so that they didn’t drag quite as much and he could stretch them out properly. He still had much to learn, but it was getting easier, especially since he’d, at the very least, learned how to cast a proper glamour to hide his wings away this time, which meant walks through the village in the early morning light and the chance to run through the forest paths.
The trip was long, though he couldn’t help the excitement at getting to see his friends.
They had arrived in the early morning, but Yukhei still couldn’t find it in himself to be tired. The moment the carriage had been pulled to a stop, his father had stepped out, followed by his mother and brother, but he had run past the gates, rocking back and forth on his heels as he waited for his family to join him.
He waved at a couple of the guards in-training who had come to greet them, loudly calling out to them. “Hey! I’m back!”
Jeno had barked out a laugh at that, the noise having startled the guard in charge of their training. “I can see that, Lord Wong!” Jaemin had stopped his own tasks of cleaning up to wave at him, an easygoing smile on his face.
“Yukhei,” his father sighed out, placing a hand on his shoulder to keep him from greeting his friends. “You can speak with them later. We must be received by the Seos, first.”
He nodded, letting out a heavy sigh and allowed himself to be guided back over.
When it came to greetings, Minhyung had stopped joining them, focusing more on other things, such as studies. That being said, Yukhei always knew just where to find him.
Jun and his father were the ones to enter the garden, with Jun hiding a laugh at Yukhei’s excitement. At his current age of 16 years old, he’d been named a prodigy of summoning, having managed to surpass his own father’s skill set and was more than ready to pass the summoner’s trials (which Yukhei had been told usually were not even attempted by someone younger than age 20).
“It is good to see you again,” Yukhei announced, giving a respectful bow and earning an approving nod from his father.
Before he could speak again, Lord Seo let out a sigh. “He’s in the gardens.”
The air of formality dissipated while Yukhei’s father huffed slightly. “Heechul, he needs to learn the formalities that come with being a family head, and yet you dismiss him so easily.”
“Do not pretend that my father didn’t do the same for you,” Lord Seo replied with a shrug.
Yukhei gave his father a hopeful look before he was dismissed.
He tucked the cloth with flowers under his arm and took off towards the manor’s vast gardens.
Minhyung sat in front of some flowers Yukhei could never actually remember the name of, inspecting the growth as he wrote down some notes in a journal. Yukhei snuck over and plopped down beside him, fingers lightly playing with the tie of the bundle that was sitting on his lap.
Even as startled as Minhyung was, he merely let out a soft laugh instead of turning to the young man seated next to him. “You made it here safely.”
Yukhei puffed out his chest. “My father and I can protect the whole of our house,” he announced proudly before deflating. “Why don’t you ever come and greet us, though?”
“I’m not going to be the head of house.” The answer was simple, and yet Yukhei pouted. “Besides, you always find me.”
“Because you’re always here.” Yukhei answered before remembering the flowers and herbs. “I brought you some things that our healers allowed me to. Things you can’t get here.” He handed his present to Minhyung, delighting in the way his eyes lit up as he looked over the new ingredients he would have to work with.
“How long are you going to be here this time?” he asked, running his fingers over the wilted wildflowers.
“Father says about two weeks,” Yukhei answered, “He wanted to be present for your brother’s first attempt at the trials.”
Minhyung nodded, “He’ll pass it the first try. I know he will.”
No one was shocked when Minhyung had been correct and Jun had summoned a gumiho that people had claimed was terrorizing a small, outlying village, easily forming a bond with them.
The gumiho called himself Taeyong, and he didn’t speak much at first.
Between official duties, Yukhei and Minhyung (and a slew of guards) had gone to the markets and picked wild herbs for spells and potions that might be needed. Yukhei had done his best to make him smile, though he seemed in his own mind, especially after his brother’s success at his trials.
“You seem upset,” Yukhei finally asked one night. It was the day before he would be returning home, and so Jeno, Jaemin and he had snuck into Minhyung’s quarters for their own version of a farewell party. Both the in-training guards were snacking on sweets that he had brought, joking about something or other that had happened with their instructing officer.
Minhyung sighed a little. “It’s just that Yo-.... Jun… is this prodigy summoner and the future head of our house and the youngest to complete the trials. And I’m just an herbalist witch.”
“You’re not just anything,” Yukhei replied, “You’re gonna do something big.”
Minhyung gave a small smile at that, and Yukhei’s heart swelled with pride.
Gwangju, year 1755
Yukhei was glad for the letters he and Minhyung sent back and forth, otherwise the incredibly infrequent trips to Gwangju would have done nothing to maintain their friendship. From what Minhyung had told him, Jun had been betrothed to a cousin, but had made a point of finding new and creative ways to postpone the wedding. Besides that, Jeno was on his way to becoming his personal guard and Jaemin was working hard to become the new replacement for Jun’s.
For the first time, Yukhei was expected to make the trip on his own, seeing as his father had fallen ill and couldn’t join him on the journey. The notion unnerved him, but he was going to do right by his family’s name and their alliance with the Seos.
The trip was long, made even more so by the lack of conversation within the carriage, and so, when the trip finally ended and he could step out and stretch his legs, he breathed a long sigh of relief. Straightening up, he and his men walked through the gate to the manor’s grounds.
Minhyung was among those who came to receive them, which Yukhei was thankful for, as it quelled the itch to search for him in the gardens. Instead of Lord Heechul standing before him, though, it was Jun, looking properly regal if not a little bit mischievous as he greeted him.
“It is good to see you again, Lord Wong. I take it your journey was comfortable.”
Yukhei laughed under his breath. “As comfortable as I could be with my wings tucked behind me. How goes your betrothal?”
Jun grimaced slightly, quickly schooling his expression back into the mischievous smile. “It still goes.”
Minhyung let out a snort of laughter at that, rolling his eyes at his brother. “If he comes up with any other false situation, father will be onto his schemes. Last time, he and Taeyong went to hunt down a wanted criminal instead of attending his own wedding."
“It was very important that he be caught,” Jun answered, shrugging his shoulders, “And Taeyong had to feast on a liver, anyways.”
“And now, he’s planning a trip to see the Zhang family to secure their alliance with our family and he’s suggesting the negotiations might take up to a year or two,” Minhyung sighed. “My dear brother is incredibly transparent.”
“As is my betrothed.”
Yukhei watched as the brothers squabbled, letting out a soft laugh as he listened to them. “What’s that even supposed to mean?”
“It means,” Minhyung cut in, “That the other night, Jeno and Jaemin caught her in the arms of another. And it hasn’t been the first time.”
“She is entitled to her affairs,” Jun shrugged, “Neither of us particularly enjoy the situation.”
There was a slow nod from Yukhei in response before he turned to Minhyung. “How are your studies going? Herbalism is… Complicated, as I hear it.”
“They’re going well, actually. And I wanted to speak with you about your father’s condition, actually. Do you mind following me to the gardens?” There was a sparkle in Minhyung’s eye, though Yukhei tried convincing himself that it was merely because of the way the light reflected in them.
The walk was a familiar one, and Minhyung had asked a thousand questions about his family and whatever illness had taken his father. He’d grabbed a basket as they walked, carefully plucking flower heads, herbs and bits of root as they discussed things. Eventually, they found themselves on a small landing set with a large stone mortar. Minhyung added things into the mortar with a practiced hand, picking up the heavy pestle as he began to grind what he’d collected into a paste.
Yukhei found himself watching with an interest, smiling slightly as Minhyung’s brow furrowed in concentration. “As much as I enjoy your letters, Minhyung, I’ve missed this.”
Minhyung hummed, nodding slightly as he continued his work. “How long will you be here this time?”
“A month, as far as I’ve been let onto.” He let out a disbelieving laugh. “I’ve been prepared for this my whole life, and yet, now that it’s happening, I’m not sure what to make of any of this.”
“I hope you aren’t planning on breaking the alliance of our families or something rash.”
Yukhei laughed, loud and sharp. “If I do, Minhyung, then how will I see you again?”
The conversation seemed to wind down a bit from there, until they sat in silence as Minhyung pulled the stopper from a bottle and carefully added three drops to his mixture, pounding and grinding away at it until he finally stopped to scrape out the contents and scoop them into a small jar. When everything was cleaned up, Minhyung escorted him where he would be staying so that he could rest up before the meetings began.
It took very little time for Yukhei to decide that meetings were terrible, boring things made to suck the youth and enjoyment out of everything. This was especially true when they were being overrun by old men who had held their positions for too long because they lacked an heir. Those were the ones who droned on about things that had little to no meaning and one had even attempted to strong-arm him into a deal that didn’t benefit his family, all because they believed his youth to be ignorance.
And yet, he found himself in the gardens every night, sometimes in silence and other times while he and Minhyung talked about everything under the moon.
It was nice. Comfortable. Familiar.
It was no wonder when he noticed the way his heart sped up in Minhyung’s presence.
This time, returning home was much harder.
Hong Kong, year 1760
The news had spread rapidly of Lord Wong’s sudden demise.
Yukhei now stood as the new Lord Wong, and he felt the weight on his shoulders immediately.
He stared ahead with dead eyes, hardly registering as new people arrived to pay their respects. His mother had been holding herself together brilliantly, but he knew she was a hollow shell. Not even Minhyung and Lord Seo’s arrival could bring him much in the way of joy, though he seemed to understand. Even then, his presence had an effect on him.
Minhyung and Jeno stayed for a few weeks as Yukhei tried to piece his life back together.
When Yukhei didn’t want the company, Minhyung would busy himself with searching the grounds for things he couldn’t get from his own home, sometimes going so far as to explore the market of the nearby village. On his good days, when other tasks had been completed, Yukhei would join him and he would just bask in the easygoing smile and calming aura that Minhyung gave off.
Yukhei followed a few steps behind Minhyung as they traversed the gardens once more. Occasionally, Minhyung would make a noise of interest when he found something he hadn’t noticed before, sometimes asking Yukhei if he could pick his new finds for some kind of salve.
“I’ve told you that you can have anything in the garden that your heart desires,” Yukhei answered.
This seemed to spark something in Minhyung’s mind and he picked the latest small flower that had caught his attention before turning to look at Yukhei. “Anything in the garden..?”
Yukhei was suddenly all too aware of how close his companion stood, the tips of his ears burning as Minhyung’s tongue darted out to wet his lips, but he drew back after tucking the flower behind Yukhei’s ear with a hum, quickly returning to his search.
As much as he tried not to think about it, Yukhei could only think about how close he had been at that moment.
On days when grief was the worst, but he didn’t want to be alone, he and Minhyung could be found in his father’s study, where Yukhei could read over the correspondence with the other families and Minhyung could look through books on medicines he had never before heard of. Nothing much was said on those days, but when Minhyung noticed him crumbling, he would touch him reassuringly, going so far as to lace their fingers together.
While Jeno did as much as he was able, his mind was elsewhere, thinking about his promised soul-bond instead. Yukhei couldn’t hold it against him. For as long as they’d known each other, he and Jaemin had hardly ever been apart, so it only seemed to make sense.
Yukhei found that he hated when Minhyung had to leave.
Gwangju, year 1761
Meetings of the houses were usually boring affairs, but as the current meeting had been to facilitate relationships between new leaders, Yukhei wondered if he could leave this particular meeting with at least one new ally, just in case.
There were new people of course, but, as always, Minhyung’s presence was always a welcome distraction.
Minhyung, as it turned out, had taken a bit of a liking to the heir of the Leechaiyapornkul family, but mostly because they both had some knowledge of herbalism. While the Ten fellow was more cautious and reserved, he’d opened up just a bit in the presence of Minhyung’s energy, the two of them discussing the different uses of flowers for different spells.
If Yukhei felt a pang of jealousy, he pretended he never had.
Jun had pulled him aside one day, having noted Yukhei’s strange behavior, the two of them walking around the training grounds with Taeyong trailing behind them, weaving a crown of flowers while humming a gentle tune.
“Yukhei, I’m going to ask you something and I need you to be honest with me,” Jun finally began when they were far enough from anyone who might be listening. He received a nod in response before he continued. “Are you in love with my brother?”
The first response was to wince at the suggestion. “How could you tell?”
“You two have always been on the precipice of something, especially after…” He trailed off there, but Yukhei knew what he was hinting at. That loss was still fresh. “And then there’s the flowers and the glaring at Ten, which I’m not even sure you’re aware of.”
Sighing, he looked to the sky, noting the stars. “It’s been there, yes. Innocent at the start, but always growing and evolving into something more... Something stronger.” He sighed heavily, pulling his fingers through his hair. “I don’t mean to act like this…”
“Why not just talk with him about it?”
“I have to do what is right by house Wong.”
Jun laughed softly to himself. “I once held the same belief for my family, but… Someone might have caught my eye.”
Gwangju, year 1765
War was an inevitability as the demonic forces crept their dark path across the map. Lord Jun sighed heavily, massaging his temples as he looked to the newest collection of news brought to them from the elven scouts. Taeyong stood to his left and Lord Leechaiyapornkul stood at his right, occasionally pointing out different possibilities for the upcoming first battle. Jun easily listened to his suggestions, taking them into account.
When the battle preparations were made, Ten linked his fingers with Jun’s, pulling him away from the others.
Theirs was an open secret.
Ten was usually found at Jun’s side, helping him with plans, but never truly stepping out of bounds. As far as Yukhei knew, Lord Seo Heechul was uncertain of what to think of his presence, perhaps hoping it was a fleeting affair. And it did end.
Yukhei had been patrolling elsewhere when the summons came to fight, but he’d arrived too late. He’d witnessed Minhyung forgoing sleep to work on a cure for his brother, watched as Ten shook with the fear of losing the one he loved most, and inevitably watched as Jun gave up his fight.
Ten didn’t attend the funeral, hardly leaving Jun’s quarters at the manor upon returning. Taeyong had disappeared as well, carving a bloody path through the demons to exact his revenge. Jaemin, who had been Jun’s guard, had blamed himself, not discussing this with Minhyung on the off chance that he agreed that he had completely failed in his duty. He laid down his sword that day.
Minhyung had been empty, little more than a hollow shell, and his father had been so grief stricken that he stepped down too quickly, leaving his remaining son to flounder as he coped with the loss of his brother and the sudden onslaught of responsibility now on his shoulders.
The day that Yukhei was going to suggest a merger of the two houses was the day he learned of Minhyung’s sudden betrothal and that’s when everything seemed to fall apart.
Gwangju, year 1911
When Yukhei had gotten the news of Minhyung’s passing, he hadn’t been sure of what to think or feel. They had seen each other only months prior, but Minhyung had seemed in good health.
The letter had been hastily scrawled by Jaemin, though the one that had followed soon after from Jeno had given more details.
Died saving one of his descendants. Trading his life for someone else’s.
He had, of course, arrived at the funeral, feeling very out of place.
So many people had loved him. So many faces that Yukhei hadn’t been familiar with.
“Lord Wong,” Jeno had greeted with a bow and a sad smile.
“Please,” Yukhei answered, “call me Lucas.”
Gwangju, year 2017
Surely, he was far too old to go to an academy, and he was incredibly well-versed in casting spells, but something had kept drawing Lucas back to what had formerly been known as the Seo Manor. Maybe it was the need to cling to any remaining part of Minhyung there was left, but as he had long-since left the Wong family’s fate in the hands of his brother and nephews, he decided to take the chance to create new alliances for them and new experiences for himself.
He was glad that his memory was still sharp, easily recognizing Jeno and Jaemin and throwing his arms around them as he laughed. “I’ve missed you guys so much.”
In a moment of pure irony, he had decided on taking a class on magical history, and that’s where he had seen him for the first time.
Mark.
And his life was changed forever.
Gwangju, year 2021
Mark had walked back into the living room, sending a text with a slight frown.
“There’s going to be a coven meet,” he sighed out, “Tonight.”
“When can I join?” Lucas asked, leaning up slightly to peek at him over the coffee table.
“No coven leader. That went to shit when the old leader died without appointing someone else,” he hummed, “Why are you still on the floor, anyways?”
He flopped back onto the floor, lifting both arms up and grabbing at the air. “Cuddles.”
Letting out a resigned sigh, Mark walked over to where Lucas was laying, setting his phone on the coffee table before settling himself into Lucas’s waiting arms. He buried his face into the back of Mark’s head, humming in satisfaction.
There was a long silence before Mark finally spoke again. “Do you ever think about the what-ifs?”
“I used to… All the time, but… I have you, and that’s what matters.”
Mark wriggled around in Lucas’s grip to face him, “I should have kissed you so many times. Like in the garden…”
“Then take me to the rooftop and kiss me there,” he replied, kissing Mark on the tip of his nose. “The past wasn’t for us, Minhyung, but we have now.”
“It’s Mark, now, and you know it.” Another silence passed between them, as Mark seemed to be contemplating things, eyes searching Lucas’s before he finally spoke. “I know we have now, but… Wong Yukhei, I don’t want to waste any more time. We almost wasted 300 years. So, like…” Lucas gave him a look that was equal parts excited and expectant, causing Mark to pout a bit. “Stop looking at me like that, oh my god, I’m trying to say something important.”
“Sorry, go on.” Lucas bit his lips to try to force down the goofy smile that was threatening to take over.
“Just.. I’m trying to ask you to tie your fate to mine.”
All in a moment, Lucas tightened his hold around Mark. “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for you to ask.”
“I think I have some idea.”
Chapter 8: Beyond The Grave
Summary:
Ten just watched him for a moment longer, letting out a sigh, “Johnny, I’m married.”
Johnny looked about as in-shock at the news as Ten did at saying it. Whatever it was that Ten had planned on telling him, it certainly wasn’t that.
“Shit… and I took you away from them, too..?” Johnny dropped his chopsticks and covered his face in his hands as he tried to process. “How badly did I fuck up your life?”
Ten sucked in a breath. “It’s not like that… He died like 300 years ago.”
Y'all I'm sorry this chapter is gonna hurt a little (maybe a lot)
Fair warning: this discusses death about 4 times. One describes illness, the other 3 are very much not descriptive. Also this is not a happy chapter and I'm So Very Sorry.
I don't believe it'll be this angsty from here on.
Chapter title is because of the Victorian meaning of asphodel: "My love goes beyond the grave"
Chapter Text
No matter how many days passed, Ten couldn’t get over the discomfort of being back in that room… Jun’s room.
Johnny sat in the seat next to him, occasionally casting glances his way as though he would be able to catch the moment before Ten was about to break so he could help him keep himself from falling apart. Whenever he caught onto something, Johnny would slide Ten a folded note asking if he needed anything or if they needed to just leave and find a movie to watch.
He never pushed and he was just… Kind.
Johnny Suh, the giant oaf that had summoned him, was obnoxiously kind.
As it turned out, years of avoidance did nothing to quell the grief. It still came in waves and some days, it was bearable. He could sit in the room and just think on the memories of what took place there, but other days were damn near impossible and he was glad of the note that was slipped into his hands.
On the worst days, Ten would be so consumed in the memories that he couldn’t bring himself to cross the threshold, staring distantly into the room. Those were the days where Johnny would quickly send Taeil a text, explaining that they weren’t going to be making it, and then he would drag Ten outside the academy for a walk on the town to check out what all snacks they could manage from the street vendors they came across.
They had even once walked to a nearby pet store where Johnny had purchased only the best treats for Louis.
It was like the kind of perfect gentleman behavior that Ten could see himself falling for and he hated it.
Ten attempted to scowl when Johnny’s back was turned as he got them another treat from a vendor, turning back to present Ten with a little cone of chocolate ice cream. He took it, looking a little baffled at it.
“I hate you, you know,” he grumbled and Johnny had the audacity to smile in response, barely hiding it behind his own cone.
“Fine, but can you hate me and enjoy your ice cream at the same time?”
Ten scowled slightly, which took more effort than it was worth, as the moment he gave the cone a lick, he smiled. This seemed to satisfy Johnny, and the pair went about looking through other stalls and shops for other potential distractions.
Over the next few hours, Johnny had found two pairs of sunglasses that looked slightly ridiculous on the both of them, some snacks and then had taken him to the phoenix-run noodle shop at the end of their trip.
“If my eomma found out we had dessert first, she’d scold me for it,” Johnny had chuckled between mouthfuls of whatever it was that he’d ordered.
Ten just watched him for a moment longer, letting out a sigh, “Johnny, I’m married.”
Johnny looked about as in-shock at the news as Ten did at saying it. Whatever it was that Ten had planned on telling him, it certainly wasn’t that.
“Shit… and I took you away from them, too..?” Johnny dropped his chopsticks and covered his face in his hands as he tried to process. “How badly did I fuck up your life?”
Ten sucked in a breath. “It’s not like that… He died like 300 years ago.”
Spreading his fingers to peek at Ten through the gaps, Johnny blinked a few times, slowly lowering his hands. “Oh.. I’m sorry to hear that.” He picked up his chopsticks again and started picking at his food.
Gwangju, year 1761
In theory, sparring to know who everyone was dealing with was a brilliant idea. In practice, however…
Ten could feel the anticipation of getting to fight coming in waves from his cousin.
“Kunpimook,” Pranpriya started, looking past Ten to address their guard, “You should show them how swordplay is done.”
“I would, milady, but then there would be no guards left but me,” he replied, the two of them snickering before turning to the match playing out in the middle of the training grounds. “Perhaps you should consider going into the ring yourself. You could bring a thousand men to their knees. The both of you could.”
Ten nodded, though Pranpriya seemed absolutely delighted at the idea. She turned towards her handmaidens, giving a nod as they presented a small box to her. She held out her hands to them, smiling to herself as golden claws were placed on each of her fingertips, chains holding them in place.
“Pranpriya,” Ten warned, “we’re trying not to ruin budding friendships here, hmm?”
She clicked her tongue, waving him off. “These are merely decorative. And if I win my fight, cousin, you must spar with your new friend as well. Show him that you’re more than just a pretty face.”
When it was time, Pranpriya stepped into the center of the ring, arms spread wide as she walked the perimeter of the sparring grounds. “Any among you man enough to deal with the likes of me?” she called out, puffing out her chest.
There were a few chuckles dispersed through the crowd, and it wasn’t hard to see why.
Pranpriya looked as though if she were to fight a slight breeze, she would lose. She was small - far smaller than most of the lords and their retainers who were in attendance - but Ten knew her better than that.
With more goading, seven men decided they could stop her taunting, and Ten tried to cover his smile behind his hand.
She didn’t seem bothered by her odds, instead looking thoroughly unamused at the competition.
Almost too quickly, she had proven her prowess as a fighter, utilizing her small stature to her advantage. She had been caught off guard at some point, a man trying to hold her back, and so she calmly looked to Ten for approval. At his nod, she swiped her hands down her arms, the inked creatures disappearing from her skin to land in little puddles on the dirt floor.
Ten watched as Jun leaned forward in his seat slightly, watching as the puddles formed into the very beasts that had been on her skin, the inky wild cats taking down the man who held her with ease.
The moment she was released, she dusted herself off. When she was declared the winner, she whistled, causing the cats to return to their places on her arms. She nearly skipped back to her place at Ten’s side after giving Lady Jisoo a sly wink, the woman’s face flushing slightly.
“Your turn, cousin,” she hummed, holding out her hands for her handmaidens to remove her claws from his fingertips.
Kunpimook shook his head, “You’ve shown them enough, Pranpriya.”
“Then ask to fight without magic. Learn from each other. Stop acting so lovesick.”
“Pranpriya,” Ten hissed, “He’s betrothed. Nothing will happen, because nothing can happen.”
“Not with that attitude, it won’t.”
He pinched his brow, letting out a long sigh as he did. “Fine.”
Pranpriya clapped her hands together before placing a hand on his shoulder and giving a firm shove. He stumbled forward, casting a dirty look over his shoulder before stepping into the middle of the ring. He cleared his throat, bowing his head as he looked towards the Seo brothers. “It has been a request of my cousin’s that I challenge you to a match, Lord Seo Jun. No magic. No weapons.”
There were a few murmurs, but Ten held his head high, staring at the man he challenged.
Jun cleared his throat after a moment, standing up and looking him over as though he was sizing up the competition. Minhyung leaned forward in his seat, turning to mutter something to Lord Wong.
“Are you certain, Lord Leechaiyapornkul?” Jun asked, an amused smirk pulling at his lips.
“Very.”
Jun nodded and it was a moment before he stood across from Ten, dressed down from his usual nobleman’s garb. They circled one another, Ten licking his lips subtly as he allowed his gaze to wander. Just because the man was betrothed to someone else, it didn’t mean he couldn’t look.
He didn’t miss Jun’s stare, either.
The match began with Ten striking first. It must have seemed amusing to the crowd, but the bold move had not been one Jun had been expecting. He had been reluctant at first to actually fight, probably believing this was going to be an easily won wrestling match, but Ten had other plans and wasn’t afraid to be manhandled a bit, judging by the way he threw himself at Jun between dodges.
They were opposites. Jun was tall, muscular and controlled in his strikes while Ten was shorter, lithe and quick. Jun displayed greater upper body strength with every hit that landed, but Ten had managed to knock him to the ground using the strength of his legs.
Ten had him pinned as well as he was able, knowing full well that Jun could break free at a moment’s notice, but he just looked a bit dazed, breathing hard from the exertion. Barely leaning in closer, Ten searched his eyes for something, again his tongue darting out to wet his lips. That seemed to be a breaking point for Jun, as the positions were flipped, Ten landing on his back and swallowing hard as Jun hovered.
The sound of dispersed clapping broke them free of whatever bubble they had made for themselves and Jun quickly let him go, pulling himself upright and offering Ten a hand, which he accepted. He was easily pulled upright and set about dusting himself off to ignore the creeping blush that was certainly taking over his face.
With a bow, returned to his group, noting Pranpriya’s sly grin.
The rest of the time, he could feel Jun’s eyes on him.
It was nearing dawn when there was a soft knock on the door and Kunpimook had answered, soon turning to Ten.
“I believe it’s for you.”
When he walked over to see who could possibly be calling at this hour, he was surprised to see Jun standing there, shifting his weight from side to side nervously.
“Would you care to walk the gardens with me..?”
Ten raised a brow curiously, but didn’t see much harm with such a request and had followed him on a walk through the extensive gardens. Not much was said at first.
“These gardens are quite extensive,” Ten eventually commented to break the tense silence.
Jun nodded. “Minhyung’s mother keeps quite the garden. And my brother can be found here more often than not, too caught up with his own thoughts to notice what’s right in front of him.”
“And your mother..?”
“Passed away shortly after I was born. My father was devastated, but Minhyung’s mother is who raised me and she’s never treated me as any lesser for not having been born to her,” he answered.
Ten nodded, but his mind was elsewhere. He allowed his fingertips to brush over flower petals as they walked.
“Lord Lee-.”
Ten silenced him by holding up his hand, turning to look at him. “Just Ten. At least where no one else is listening.”
“Ten,” Jun breathed. There was something in his voice that sparked a feeling that Ten couldn’t place. “During the match...”
“If you felt anything, it was likely just shame. Most don’t take kindly to nearly being laid out by someone that looks to be about half their size.”
Jun laughed at that, shaking his head. “It was an honor to witness your skill up close.” Even as Ten walked through the gardens, he could feel that Jun’s gaze never left him. “Tell me something about yourself.”
“What would you like to know..?” Ten asked, trailing fingertips over the delicate petals of a flower that distracted them.
Jun followed just a few steps behind him. “Everything.”
Ten turned to look at him, walking backwards on the paved path. “Why?”
“Because I find you infinitely interesting. More so than any other person here,” the summoner answered smoothly.
Stopping his steps through the garden, Ten straightened himself up, standing as tall as he could. “And what of your Lady Jisoo? Isn’t she to be your wife?”
“For appearance’s sake, only. And because they wish for there to be a summoner heir, but, if it were to go through, it would be a farce. Jisoo has been enjoying her affairs too much to care if the marriage were to actually go through.”
Ten turned to look at some of the little white flowers that dotted the garden, sunrise covering them in a wash of warm colors. “Thank you for sating my curiosity. What would you know of me?”
“The demon’s mark… What happened?”
Usually, Ten wasn’t the type to air out the secrets of his family, but, in the early morning light and the presence of Jun, he had. Jun had taken the information in stride, the two of them making their way to a landing as they spoke. There had been no judgement in his expression or in his tone, even after Ten told him of his being promised to a demon and the agency he’d lost because of it.
Jun had just listened silently, looking sympathetic as Ten regaled him with the details, and when he suggested there must be some way for him to free himself from the deal, Ten had been so overwhelmed by something that he had surged forward to kiss him.
The rest, it seemed, was history, and Ten decided that day that there was nothing more beautiful than the sight of Jun under him.
He had tried to sneak out a good while before dusk, as to not arouse any suspicion, but Jun held him tight and his kisses had been oh so sweet that Ten couldn’t bring himself to leave until just before they knew the others would be awake, Jun sending him off with a kiss so intense that it made him feel a bit lightheaded.
It was just the first of many nights they spent together, and Ten couldn’t bring himself to regret a single minute of those encounters, even when Minhyung had caught him leaving.
Gwangju, year 1765
The attack had been sudden. There hadn’t been enough time to prepare for it and so, midday, the demons had attacked. Ten and Jun had been asleep in their shared tent, wrapped up in one another when the screeches were heard throughout the encampment. Minhyung had thrown open the entry for it, quickly informing them that he’d sent Lord Wong the news and Taeyong was doing his best to hold them back. He’d tend to the wounded, but there was only so much he could do.
Jun had jumped into battle without his armor and Ten had followed behind, ink dripping from his fingers.
They had stayed by one another, Taeyong doing his best to keep Jun safe as best as he was able with the overwhelming force, but, still, the demons managed to get past them.
All in a moment, Ten was nearly pounced by one of the damn beasts and Jun had managed to step between them before the attack landed. He’d managed to slay the thing, but the damage was done.
Two days later, he’d collapsed, and Ten had uncovered what he feared most.
Demon’s plague was a horrible way to go. It took weeks as it coursed through the body. Ten, Taeyong and Minhyung hardly left his side, determined to create a cure before he died. They’d managed to make it to the manor, though the look on Minhyung’s mother’s face spoke volumes about his condition.
He was limited on time, forgoing food and sleep for a chance that he could save him.
Nearing the end of their time limit, Ten had sent Minhyung to rest in his own room, as he was nearly asleep where he sat. Taeyong had hesitantly left with him, helping to keep him upright and sending a nervous glance at Jun as they left.
“Ten.”
His name was said so softly that Ten missed it as he crushed a handful of herbs in his mortar, wiping away tears as he made one last-ditch effort at something… Anything… To stop the spread of the demon’s curse now ravaging his lover’s body.
He didn’t have much time left unless, by the will of the gods, he stumbled upon a cure for the damn thing.
“Ten, stop.”
This time it came a little bit louder, and Ten quickly dabbed at the tears that were falling still before turning to look at him. “What is it, love?”
Jun lay on a bedroll, looking weaker than he had only a week prior. His face was a bit gaunt, now, but it still had the same care and compassion as it held before.
“Come here.”
Hesitantly, Ten left his workspace, carefully folding himself next to where his lover lay, taking one of his hands into both of his. “What do you need?”
“You at my side,” he answered, his voice rough from his incessant coughing, “I know my end is near, and whatever time I have left, I want to be spent with you.”
Ten’s gaze drifted to their clasped hands, “I’m going to find a cure, my love. You’re going to survive this and…”
“And we’ll spend our lives together until you’re given in service to a demon.”
Ten bristled at that, despising his birthright. If it wasn’t enough that he was born to be handed to a demon at the right moment, then the fact that the man he loved was dying from a demon’s magic was enough to make him hate everything about the deal.
“Don’t…” he whispered, the tears threatening to spill again, “I can’t watch you die. I can’t lose you.”
There were no comforting words he could share that would mend Ten’s breaking heart, and so he settled on reaching a weak hand to brush away his tears. Ten covered Jun’s hand with his own, leaning into the touch as his tears fell. Gently wiping at the tears with his thumb, Jun gave a weak smile. “I’m glad I had you, if even for a short while.”
Ten turned his head to press a kiss to his palm. “I could live a hundred lives, and this would be the only one worth having lived because I had you.”
This seemed to spark something in Jun’s mind. Carefully, he moved his hand so that his left little finger brushed against Ten’s, the two linking and Ten understood what he was getting at, grabbing his brush and a small pot of ink. “Are you sure you want this, Ten?”
Ten nodded, uncapping the ink and dipping his brush into it. “Are you..?”
“More than you know.”
It took a moment for Ten to roll up Jun’s sleeve, starting on the patterns for the spell. There was a clarity as he did so, starting with small, almost floral patterns on his wrist, because he always did love flowers. Their left hands were joined, fingers laced together tightly as he worked. “You know,” he said softly, “For this to work…”
“I have to give my name to you.” Again, Ten nodded and Jun managed a weak smile. “Youngho. My name is Seo Youngho.”
Ten kissed his knuckles, careful not to smudge the wet ink, whispering his name. “Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul,” he answered, drawing a twisting line from Jun- Youngho’s pinky to his own. He could feel the weak pulsing of his lover’s magic through the lines he’d marked across their skin.
“Chittaphon.” He was careful to pronounce it correctly, giving their joined hands a weak squeeze. “You burn so brightly, like the sun. Never lose that, and I will always find you.”
“Like a flower..?” Ten asked, painting images on his own wrist.
Youngho nodded slowly, coughing slightly as he did. “Like a flower.”
“That’s so very like you,” Ten mused, taking in a shaking breath. “You bring beauty and meaning with you wherever you go. Never change that, and I will try to bring out the best in you, too.”
There was a slight burning as they completed the spell - the feeling of their souls linking themselves - and for a moment, Youngho seemed brighter. Reluctant to let his hand free, Ten lay beside him, his head on Youngho’s chest as he listened to his breathing.
Youngho did not last through the night, and for three weeks, Ten could not bring himself to leave the room.
He’d heard that Taeyong had left in a frenzy, and there had been rumors that he had gone to face the armies on his own to exact revenge (and they wouldn’t be confirmed until centuries later).
They’d managed to meet each other many times in many of Youngho’s different lives.
In 1830, they’d met by chance on a train in Prague, and Ten had watched from the corner of his eye as recognition lit his face and he breathed out his name in relief. Ten had been ready for eternity, but consumption had gotten him in the end and Ten had dutifully waited for when they’d meet again.
That again turned out to be the 1860s in Venice. Ten had been the subject of many photographs that he still kept in a box in his Paris apartment. They’d kept flowers on the sills and a piano in the sitting room. They spent seven years together, but again it ended in tragedy… This time at the end of a blade.
In 1903, per Minhyung’s request, he had returned to Gwangju for a short time, turning over the Asphodel grimoire he and Youngho had finished in 1865. He’d noted the aging of his face and wondered why he didn’t just stop aging like so many other witches had chosen to, but he didn’t ask. Instead, he allowed Minhyung to regale him with tales of his life and the life of his unconventional family. Lord Wong came up only with a bittersweet tone. Ten had shared small details of his and Youngho’s lives together. (He might have taken more time to talk about everything, had he known that in less than a decade, Minhyung would be gone, too. No one had known to send the telegram to him and he hadn’t found out until two years after the fact.)
The last time he and Youngho met was in 1904. Ten had spent years admiring the crinkle of his eyes when he smiled and the way that flowers bloomed across his skin with each new life. Eight years passed before Youngho had gotten a telegram from his new life’s father that he was needed at home for a time. He’d broken the news to Ten over dinner before presenting him with a parting gift - a little siamese kitten that they’d named Louis - to keep him company before he returned.
(“But what if something terrible happens, Youngho..?” he’d asked so softly as they’d curled up in their shared bed the night before he would have to leave.
Youngho had run a hand up and down his back as soothingly as he could. “It will be fine, darling. I have it on good authority that this ship is unsinkable.”)
But the ship had sunk, and Ten began to earnestly believe they were cursed.
Gwangju, year 2021
Perhaps the most infuriating thing was that Johnny was actually nice.
It was almost obnoxious, actually, in the way he reminded him of someone he cared so deeply about. Even when he wanted nothing more than to hide away from the world and to not be perceived, Johnny would very carefully find a way to bring him food and something to drink. Not to mention, Louis adored him.
Case in point: This was the 23rd morning where Louis had migrated from Ten’s bed to Johnny’s while they were both sleeping.
“Traitor,” Ten whispered, laying on his side as he narrowed his eyes at the feline curled up nicely in Johnny’s arms. Carefully, he pulled himself out of his bed, walking to the closet to grab one of the many extremely expensive outfits that Johnny had paid for. He hummed, walking towards the bathroom and snagging a towel so that he could shower.
He was definitely more than ten feet away from him at this point, but…
Well he’d figured out that was a lie about two weeks after his sudden arrival. Plus, a movie night with Taeyong and a handful of Johnny’s friends where they’d watched Age of Ultron had taught him something important: Haechan was a little shit and a liar and he didn’t even come up with his own set of symptoms.
At the very least, it meant that Johnny didn’t have to sit outside the bathroom door any longer as he washed up. He could take his time without feeling any remorse, allowing the spray of hot water to wash over him.
Freshly washed, he towel-dried his hair, wincing slightly as he rubbed a little too hard on his ears. He looked into the mirror, scowling slightly as he saw the dark, furry ears peeking out through the damp, fluffy hair. Quickly, he cast a glamour on himself to hide them away, giving a nod of approval at looking more… human.
After dressing and checking to make sure he looked good enough to be seen by the public eye, he slipped on some socks and shoes and left the dorms, heading to the place he’s been drawn to the moment he set foot in the academy.
Instead of walking directly to the memorial display, he peeked around a corner to make sure the coast was clear, wincing slightly upon seeing Grand Summoner Heechul standing there, shoulders slumped.
Ten had seen him there nearly every day.
Like clockwork, Heechul straightened just before dusk, walking away from the memorials and making his way to what Ten could assume was his own room to change and go about his day.
For Ten, it had also become something of a daily ritual.
The paintings were the closest thing he had to remembering their faces, his memory frayed at the edges with time.
Reaching out, Ten allowed his touch to linger on the glass covering the painting of the elder brother.
“Hello, my love,” he sighed out, “I hope that, wherever you are, your life is going well and that you’ve had a good day.” He paused, withdrawing his hand. “I miss you, but… I can’t bring myself to look for you. Not again.”
The silence of the hall at midday was broken with the sound of slightly squeaking sneakers on the tiled flooring, the newcomer taking his place at Ten’s side, shaking drops of water out of his hair as he looked at the glass case where the two swords sat. Mark, of course.
“It’s funny, y’know?” he started, and Ten glanced at him a split moment before he turned back to the paintings. “Someone really thought your ngao was his sword, but the records say he was buried with his sword.”
Ten let out a scoffing laugh in response. “No historical records say that, so save your lies. I know who you are, Minhyung. You and your father even struck his true name from the records.”
Mark cracked a smile at that. “How long have you known?”
“You’re not as sneaky as you think, though it took me a while to figure out you remembered it all,” he answered, keeping his gaze on the elder Seo brother’s painting.
He shrugged. “Not even sure how I remember it all. But I saw you and it was like… Holy shit, we all thought he was dead! But you weren’t dead and you were right in front of me. And then I was like.. If only hyung could see you and remember.”
After a long, awkward silence, Ten sighed. “I don’t want him to see me. I don’t want to keep watching him die over and over. He deserves to be happy, and that can’t happen when we’re together.”
Mark sighed, looking at the paintings, a little smirk pulling at his lips. “Remember when you painted these? Mine was done in like twenty minutes, but you spent forever just studying the little details of his face and kissing him when no one was looking. I never understood that. I never understood how two people could be so obsessed with one another.” He laughed to himself, shaking his head. “The number of times I caught you sneaking out of his room in the middle of the day so that no one would catch you two… And then when I asked him about it, he freaked, man. He didn’t want anyone to mess with what you two had. I didn’t get it. I never thought I would, but that was a lifetime before I met Xuxi again.” There was another long stretch between them. “I didn’t get why he would give his life for yours. I didn’t get what the hell could be so reassuring about tying his fate to yours. But now I’m finally going to bind my fate to Lucas’s because I can’t imagine living another life without him, so I get it. What I don’t get is you.”
Frowning slightly, Ten vaguely gestured at himself. “Because I’m a demon. Like what killed him. When I drew the lines, I wanted to save his life. I wanted us to live out our days together. I didn’t realize that I was cursing him.” He took a shaking breath. “This damned curse is the reason he keeps dying and he deserves to be happy. So I can’t look for him because I need him to stay away from me.”
There was a scoff, followed by a snort and then a loud laugh, Mark shaking slightly. “That’s, like, the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Besides, fate must have other plans for you!” Ten made the move to ask, only for the laughing fit to grow louder. “Bro, he’s your roommate!”
The curiosity was intense and Ten found himself in need of proof. It didn’t fully hit him how badly he needed to know until it was almost morning back in the dorms.
He needed to be assured that the man currently seated at his desk, loosely sketching out summoning sigils on a piece of lined notebook paper, was not who Minhyung claimed.
Johnny turned the page of his notes, pausing to roll up the sleeves of his sweatshirt and Ten squinted at the small tattoo that sat high on his forearm, and so Ten did the only thing that made any logical sense in the moment.
Sucking in a deep breath, he placed his fingertips over the little sun that had appeared on his own arm several years back, pressing into it as he poured magic into it. If it was him, then he would be facing an uncomfortable itching soon enough. He momentarily felt relief wash over him, at least until Johnny placed his pencil down and began to scratch at his tattoo.
Ten narrowed his eyes at that. Maybe it wasn’t a fair trial, anyways, so he subtly slipped a hand into his shirt, pressing at the tattoo on his ribcage, giving it the same treatment. Again, Johnny seemed unfazed right until the moment after Ten had convinced himself that Mark had been lying, and then he’d react to something.
He sighed, grumbling under his breath as he sprawled out across his own mattress, staring at the ceiling, an expression on his face that was meant to make the heavens tremble with fear.
Eventually, Johnny stood up, walking around the room, teetering with exhaustion, and Ten found himself looking out the corner of his eye as Johnny pulled the hoodie over his head. For a split second, he could see tattoos that had been hidden by his shirt, and he grimaced.
“You have a lot of tattoos,” Ten noted, as though he was one to talk. He still had the ink lines from the ritual branded on his skin, and then there were the tattoos that were made to match the markings of his lost love’s reincarnations.
“Not tattoos,” Johnny answered nonchalantly, absentminded fingers brushing over the ink on his arm.
It didn’t take much for Ten to understand what he meant, cursing under his breath. “Soulmarks.”
Johnny nodded. “So, like... “ He rubbed at the sunflower on his arm, a bit harshly, Ten feeling the pressure in the sun on his own arm. “Somewhere out there, someone’s got the other pieces, but eomma wasn’t sure why mine are tattoos.”
Ten knew the answer.
The bond had been formed in ink.
“I saw flowers. How many of them are floral designs?” he asked instead, picking at the pills of his overused sweatshirt.
Johnny shrugged, “All of them. I think the sunflower is the newest of them, but it’s hard to tell. Eomma said it’s strange that I don’t recall anything about my past lives. I guess people tend to remember something, especially when they’re kids.”
Ten nodded slowly, trying to calm his nerves as he turned towards the dokkaebi. “Can I see them?”
Johnny yawned with a shrug, peeling off his shirt. Pulling himself upright, Ten stood to examine them, looking a little shaken as he did.
“They’re neat, right?” Johnny chuckled when Ten reached out to touch one of the elaborate floral patterns - the large one on his shoulder - but he pulled back just before his fingers met his skin.
“This one,” Ten began after clearing his throat, “I’m no good with faces, but artwork… That I won't forget.” There was a long pause as he finally connected his fingertips to Johnny’s shoulder, tracing the lines. “That one, you had back in 1912. We…” He shook his head, cutting himself off. “You were planning to return home to America, but the ship never made it there and… Well, neither did you.”
Johnny watched as he carefully drew away his hand. “Did you know me from any of the others?”
Ten walked around, finding a smaller flower on the right side of his chest. “We met by chance in the 1830s. You were excited about photography, which was very new at the time. When we finally reached our destination, you asked me to model for you and I couldn’t say no. You fell ill not long after and never got to take those photographs.”
“Any idea who has the matching set..?” Johnny asked, watching flashes of recognition at the other markings on Ten’s face before the demon drew away.
“Maybe.” After a moment longer, Ten walked away, returning to his bed and covering himself entirely with his covers. Trembling slightly, he pulled open his phone’s messenger, typing out a text for Taeyong.
To: foxy boy 🦊😘
it’s him
the dokkaebi oaf that brought me here
he’s jun
Chapter 9: Dream In A Dream
Summary:
“I think I should write a drama,” he announced one evening, startling Ten a bit as he brushed Louis’ fur.
It took Ten a moment to calm down the cat, resuming his brushing. “What about?”
“Just stuff based on these dreams, right? Like there’s one where two lords fall in love with each other but one of them gets sick after a fight and dies,” he explained, rolling his chair slightly closer to Ten.
Ten tensed, pausing in his brushing. “Don’t write that one.”
Notes:
It's been two months since the day I first posted this and I wanted to thank everyone for reading it! I really appreciate it!
Chapter Text
Ever since Johnny had been young, he’d had distant dreams, but nothing like how his own grandparents could recall a past life with such perfect clarity that he wondered if they truly had died before. The dreams always left him with an ache in his chest and the feeling that something was missing.
When he had turned 18, the soulmarks had surfaced, the colors vibrant on his skin. His mother had tilted her head as he presented them to her, brows furrowed in confusion.
“What does it mean?” He’d asked and she’d shaken her head.
“I don’t know. Usually someone who’s been reincarnated with a soulmark has at least some memory of their past life so that they know when they’ve found each other.” She examined them all closely, “You’ve had so many lives and remember nothing..? And they’ve appeared as tattoos? I’ve never heard of that before.”
It hadn’t been until a relatively vivid dream that he had decided to travel to the alma mater of his parents’, and from then on, his dreams only seemed to be even more frustratingly vivid and illusive.
It was only when he’d accidentally summoned Ten that things seemed a little bit clearer - like a movie playing in his head - where the characters looked like people he knew but it didn’t feel right.
“I think I should write a drama,” he announced one evening, startling Ten a bit as he brushed Louis’ fur.
It took Ten a moment to calm down the cat, resuming his brushing. “What about?”
“Just stuff based on these dreams, right? Like there’s one where two lords fall in love with each other but one of them gets sick after a fight and dies,” he explained, rolling his chair slightly closer to Ten.
Ten tensed, pausing in his brushing. “Don’t write that one.” There was an adamance in his words that Johnny hadn’t fully understood, but he didn’t press the issue.
A week passed, and he had been writing down summoning sigils absentmindedly, thinking about the latest of his dreams and how someone had loved a boy so desperately that they gave up something precious so they could be together. Ten had been staring at him when he thought he hadn’t noticed, eventually staring up at the ceiling. Deciding it was time to call it a night, he’d pulled his hoodie over his head. Ten had never seemed to notice or care before, so it was a bit odd for him when Ten brought up his tattoos (that had been itching all night despite the fact that they hadn’t actually ever been inked into his skin).
At his request, Johnny had removed his shirt and Ten was suddenly close enough that he could almost feel his breath on his skin. He kept an eye on his face, noting the subtle changes when he seemed to recognize something.
He had reached out to almost touch his shoulder, drawing back just before he touched him. “This one.” He cleared his throat. “I’m no good with faces, but artwork… That I won’t forget.” Suddenly, Ten’s fingers were on the design, lightly tracing over the pattern on his skin. Johnny almost forgot to breathe, listening as Ten told the story. He caught himself once, changing his wording, and Johnny knew there was more to the story than Ten was willing to share, no matter how desperately he wanted to know of the past lives he had somehow forgotten.
Ten had paused momentarily at a winding rose that sat near his heart, looking almost pained when he saw it before moving onto another one.
All too soon, he was finished, climbing into his bed and hiding under the covers. Johnny could hear the shuddering breath as he climbed into his own bed, closing his eyes and trying hard not to think too much on the way he could still feel the ghost of Ten’s touch.
The dreams that night were of bright laughter and dancing in the living room that morphed into breathy moans and desperate kisses against a piano.
He didn’t think too hard on how one of the voices seemed to sound like Ten’s.
It was only a few days later, over breakfast, that Ten had stopped eating mid-bite, dropping his fork on his plate. “I want to go back to Paris.”
There was a moment of disappointment at that announcement. Across the table sat the one person in the world that he knew had a link to his past lives, and he wanted to return home before Johnny got his answers.
The disappointment must have been evident in his expression, because Ten shook his head, “I want some of my things from there. Irreplaceable things. Plus the wiring isn’t the best, and I’d like to make sure it didn’t burn down.”
Johnny had no right to be relieved at that, but he knew he visibly relaxed. “How do you plan on getting there?”
“How far can your friend… Kai, I think it was..? How far can he take us? I can pay him in food and wine, but you’re helping me carry things.”
As it turned out, Kai could make a very far jump and was easily convinced to help when presented with the prospect of a free meal or two (Honestly, Johnny didn't know exactly how much Ten had promised. He was more preoccupied by the sly grins of Sehun and Baekhyun as they looked between him and Ten.
"Paris, huh?" Baekhyun finally asked, his smile reaching his eyes in an almost dangerously mischievous way.
"That's where his apartment is," Johnny grumbled.
Ten had easily ignored him, walking around the dorm to find any empty duffel bags to store whatever it was he wanted to bring back with them.
It wasn’t long until they were walking down the streets of Paris, Kai walking in time with Johnny as Ten led the way to his home, fishing a set of keys out of his pocket before handing Kai his wallet. “There’s a café just that way.” He pointed down the street and Kai gave Johnny a strange look.
“You sure you want to be alone with a demon..? In his home?” Kai asked quietly and Johnny pushed his fingers through his hair.
“I’ll be fine. Find out if the coffee’s good while you’re there.”
He nodded, glancing once more at Ten before heading off in the direction of the café. In the meantime, Ten had unlocked the front door and was holding it open for Johnny.
The apartment was on the second floor of the building and was decidedly larger and more old-fashioned than he was expecting of Ten. There were paintings of flowers hung on the walls, dead ones sitting in their vases, the brown petals having fallen off in Ten’s absence. There were plenty of things around the house for Louis, including a set of carefully placed walkways on the walls and ceiling, several towers and about a minefield’s worth of random toys. Johnny couldn’t help but smile.
Even with all its charms, something seemed off.
Only about half of the place seemed even remotely lived in. Half of the ancient sofa looked as though it had been completely untouched, dust piled up where he guessed Ten hadn’t managed to clean. He walked over to the piano that had been set near some tall bookshelves, letting his fingers dance on the keys slightly. Ten tensed a moment, turning to look at him.
“It’s out of tune. I can’t play and the one who did…” He let out a humorless laugh. “It hasn’t been played in ages.”
Johnny nodded slightly, withdrawing his fingers from the keys. “Who used to play..?”
Ten looked into his eyes, a split second of longing flashing in his expression. “My soulmate… Or a version of him.”
“Tell me about him..?”
Nodding slowly, Ten led him into the bedroom. Again, only half of the room looked lived in, everything remaining just so for years, down to the right side of the bed which looked almost pristine compared to the mess of blankets and sheets to the left. One nightstand was littered with random trinkets from throughout the years while the other had an old glasses case, a fountain pen and a leather-bound journal set atop it. Ten walked to the closet, pulling old shirts from their hangers to rub the fabric between his fingers before carefully setting them out on the used side of the bed.
“In his first life - the first one I knew him in - he was a wise leader and an incredible summoner. He knew what was destined to become of me and loved me despite it. We spent only a few years together before he died, but… I was his sun.. which was a weird sentiment for us creatures of the night,” he laughed dryly before folding up the shirts he’d set out. “And then his brother turned the manor into an academy and then Heechul put up the damn wards. I wasn’t really welcome back there… Well, except for the fact that Minhyung and I kept in touch.
“The next time we met was by chance. We were both on a train in Prague and…” This time his laugh had some mirth to it, his expression shifting slightly as he thought more on it. “It didn’t last. No matter what, our life together never lasted..” He tucked the shirts into one of the bags, looking distant. “He was a photographer in our third go around. We lived in Venice and he insisted that we get a piano. I didn’t understand why, but he played it so beautifully. Sometimes, he’d sing some song he’d heard, and we’d dance around our home.”
In the back of Johnny's mind, there were flashes of memories, still like a scene from a movie that he wasn’t quite familiar with, but the way that Ten kept glancing at him… Expectant… Even hopeful, maybe… He wasn’t sure of what to make of it.
When Ten had finished packing away the shirts that looked far too large for him, he returned to the closet, taking out an old trunk from inside. Opening it with such great care that he seemed to fear it turning to dust in his hands, Ten revealed a couple of old cameras. “These were his.” He reached into the trunk again, lifting out a box of photographs. “And these were what he took.”
Out of pure curiosity, he took the box of old photographs from Ten’s hands. There was only really ever one subject in any of them. There were photos of Ten in a pressed suit and no smile on his face, photos of him standing beside freshly finished paintings and… Several of him in varying states of undress or posing nude across rumpled sheets, revealing the full extent of the ink that covered his body.
Johnny cleared his throat at that, setting the box down. By now, a headache was starting to creep up on him and he closed his eyes, rubbing at his temples to try to alleviate the feeling. Vaguely, he registered Ten’s hand on his shoulder and a question about if he was okay.
Prague, year 1830
His protection name, this go around, was Jacob.
His face was much the same, which he had been happy for. It made it easier, just in case…
Well, he wouldn’t dare hope too much.
He’d boarded his train to head to the city, hoping for a decent job and maybe a better chance at finding him.
There hadn’t been many empty spaces left on the train, but he took the first one he could see, grumbling the question to a man whose nose was practically stuck to the book he was holding.
“This seat taken?”
The man hadn’t looked up from his book, acknowledging him with a short nod. “Go ahead.”
His voice had seemed familiar, but he hadn’t made the realization until he looked at him - really looked at him.
“Ten..?”
The book had been dropped the moment he looked up. “..Youngho?”
It came as no surprise that Ten was as beautiful as he remembered, with dark hair and almost feline eyes. He couldn’t help the smile that took over his face as Ten’s eyes widened in shock. “It’s me.”
It was by pure chance that they were heading to the same city, and pure luck that Ten had extra room in his apartment to board him (not that they needed much. It had been all too easy for both of them to resume their old sleeping habits). Youngho had gotten a job working long hours at a factory and Ten had started working as a painter.
Much like last time, he’d died from illness, suddenly and wrapped in the arms of his beloved, promising a better next time.
Venice, 1861
If he was going to find Ten again, it would be near art. He’d read books about it, studied it, lived and breathed it. Youngho had first searched Rome, but to no avail. Paris hadn’t, either. He’d gone to Venice on his parents’ dime, just to explore the sights the world had to offer, occasionally managing to take a picture of the bustling world around him.
Ten had been the one to find him, that time. He stepped in front of the lens and grinned so beautifully that Youngho could feel his heart melt.
“Miss me?” he asked when Youngho had lifted his head.
“Of course I did, darling.”
If he had to choose, this was probably one of his favorite lives.
Ten hadn’t started to become bitter from loss, just yet.
He’d demanded a piano, and Ten had been quick to gift him one when he was able. They’d kissed away from prying eyes, but the love they’d shared had been perfection. Youngho had taught him how to properly waltz around their living room and Ten had thrown his head back in laughter as he stepped on his toes. They’d even written a grimoire together, detailing their experiences as members of a soul-bond.
Asphodel, because their love did not end with death.
Despite the fact that the outside world wasn’t yet ready for them, he’d decided on it. A symbolic gesture.
And so, while he was out one day, he’d stopped by a local jeweler under the premise of getting a wedding band of his own for his “upcoming wedding”. The ring he’d settled on was several sizes too large for Ten, but that hardly mattered.
He’d almost made it home when it’d happened.
The details were a bit fuzzy, but he remembered a scared woman being backed into a corner and a knife when he tried to intervene.
The last thing he remembers of that life was thinking he was going to be late for dinner.
Paris, year 1912
He was reluctant to return to America, to say the very least.
Ten had lost him three times at this rate, and had hardly let him go when he needed to start making the venture to the ship’s port. He’d nearly given in, staying in bed with Ten and their new kitten, and maybe it would have been better had he not left.
“I can feel it, you know..” Ten had whispered the night before he left, “I can feel it when you die… The pain and then something snaps… And then I know you’re gone and I have to wait for you all over again.”
There hadn’t been much Youngho could say to that, softly stroking his hair. He understood Ten’s fear. “Is that why you’re starting to grow thorns, my beautiful rose?”
Ten had snorted a laugh at the nickname, rolling his eyes as he buried his face into his chest. “Well, Jack - which doesn’t suit you at all, by the way - you don’t seem to mind my thorns.”
The day he left, Ten had handed him a roll of items for his craft, giving him a quick kiss when there were no prying eyes, and chewing on his lip out of nerves.
And, by god, he should have stayed in bed with him.
The unsinkable ship had started to sink.
He would go down with the ship.
He would break his promise to come home again.
Perhaps that’s why he’d made the last-ditch effort, grabbing the roll and setting to work.
He doesn’t remember any of who he summoned, only that he’d traded something incredibly important for the chance to live with Ten for the rest of Ten’s unnaturally long life, and the offer had been accepted.
The next time he opened his eyes in a new life, he could, for the life of him, remember anything.
Paris, year 2021
Maybe it was his overactive imagination that was giving Johnny the strange idea that he knew everything that Ten had been telling him about his lost love. Everything seemed too close to the strange dreams he’d been having.
The headache had been slowly subsiding, allowing him to look up at a worried Ten.
“You alright..?” he asked, hesitantly.
Johnny nodded, putting on an easygoing smile to reassure him. “I mean… I’m pretty indestructible.”
Ten tried not to scoff, rolling his eyes and flicking him on the forehead. “I’ve heard shit like that before, and it’s always a lie.”
“Well, maybe this time it’s real.”
“For fuck’s sake, I was just trying to ask if you need Advil,” Ten groaned, loudly. “Not if you’re going to fucking keel over on me.”
In a moment of perfect clarity (or was it boldness? It was hard to tell.), Johnny had reached out, cupping Ten’s face in his hands. “I won’t.” The words came on a whisper and Ten’s eyes flew open for a moment. “I’m telling you, Ten, I won’t leave you behind.”
There was a look of distress that crossed Ten’s handsome features. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Johnny.”
Perhaps the first move had been clarity, because it was definitely boldness that had him closing the distance until his lips were only a hair's breadth away from Ten’s. “I’m not.”
Ten pulled back just slightly, searching his eyes for something - probably answers that Johnny couldn't give - and chewing at his bottom lip.
It didn't take much to finally bridge the gap, Johnny's thumbs gently caressing his cheeks as their lips met. It was light, barely there but still adamant. A passed moment before Ten recognized what was taking place, allowing himself to melt into the gentle kiss.
No, not just to melt.
He was kissing him back, tilting his head to deepen it and Johnny couldn't help feeling that this was right. That he was meant to be sitting on the floor of Ten's dusty, old apartment, pulling him to sit on his lap. Meant to be kissing him.
His hands had moved from cupping Ten's face to pulling him in by his waist, moving him closer and closer until there was no space left between them. Ten's fingers wove through his hair, tugging slightly as his grip tightened. Motivated by sheer desperation, Johnny left a trail of kisses down to Ten's neck, nudging the collar of his designer shirt out of the way to latch onto the skin there.
If he hadn't been convinced that the voice he'd been hearing in his dreams was Ten's, then the sound he made as Johnny left a mark was enough to wash away any doubt.
And all too soon, it was over.
Ten's hands were firmly placed on his chest, shoving hard enough that Johnny knew it wasn't playful as Ten pried himself out of Johnny's grip and scurried away to the bathroom, locking himself inside. He didn’t leave the safety of it for some time, finally returning with an armload of skincare and a bottle of cologne that was about three quarters used and looked almost as old as most of the untouched items around the place.
It was about an hour of more packing and Ten very pointedly ignoring Johnny before they were ready to meet with Kai for dinner, which was luxurious and expensive and… awkward. No matter how Johnny tried to alleviate the tense atmosphere between them, Ten wasn’t having it.
When they returned to the dorm, Ten had thrown some of his things into one of the duffels and disappeared for three days, not returning calls or texts.
(“He probably just needs time, dude,” Mark had sighed, packing away some of his things into a backpack for another extended stay at Lucas’s dorm. “Trust me, he’s working through a lot.”
“And he probably just wants to be all over Taeyong,” Yuta scowled, draped over the sofa as Jaehyun collected snacks from the kitchen.
“It’s not like that,” Mark interjected, almost too quickly, before catching himself and zipping his bag closed. He placed a hand on Johnny’s shoulder and looked up at him with a small smile. “He’ll be back. And, when he does, these two each owe me at least an hour’s worth of help in the green houses.”)
Surprisingly, megabed had not been put back together when it became obvious that Ten wasn’t about to come back. Instead, the floor of the room that had been Jaehyun and Mark’s had been covered with pillows and massive comforters (and likely a beanbag chair or two hidden beneath them) for the kitsune to curl up in (usually around Jaehyun).
Johnny decided he wasn’t much of a fan of being alone in his room anymore.
Three days passed before there was a knock on the door. Yuta and Jaehyun had buried themselves somewhere in the piles of comforters in their room, kept company by four bottles of soju and… Yeah, Johnny could definitely tell they were smoking. Reluctantly, he pulled himself from where he was studying on the sofa, walking over to answer the door, revealing Ten and Taeyong.
Ten nervously glanced at Johnny, which only caused Taeyong to shake his head.
“You two need to talk.”
Chapter 10: A (Not So) Wicked Fox
Summary:
But…” Taeyong pushed his fingers through his hair, “He doesn’t remember anything?”
“Doesn’t seem to, at least. This wasn’t a problem with any of his other lives. He always knew who I was like… the moment he saw me. But not this time.”
Carefully, so as not to give away that he was in the bath, Taeyong started washing his tails as he considered what it could mean. “Did you tell him? What you are to each other, I mean...”
Anyone interested to know how Taeyong's been handling things?
Chapter Text
Taeyong’s phone buzzed on the small, folding table beside the bathtub, shaking him out of his daze brought on from the steam rising from the water. He took a deep breath, reaching to grab it to look at the text that Ten had deemed necessary enough to send him, nearly dropping his phone into the bubbly water as he read it.
From: Tennie
it’s him
the dokkaebi oaf that brought me here
he’s jun
Instead of allowing an influx of more panicked texts to flood his phone, he hit the call button, turning his phone on speaker and setting it back on the table. Ten answered fairly quickly, his breathing suspiciously even for such a turn of events.
“You’re sure it’s him..?” he asked tentatively. Faintly over the speaker, he could hear the slight squeaking of the couch as Ten took a seat on it.
There was a heavy sigh, “I know that man. I know every soulmark on his skin. I mean… most of them. The sunflower is new.”
“But…” Taeyong pushed his fingers through his hair, “He doesn’t remember anything?”
“Doesn’t seem to, at least. This wasn’t a problem with any of his other lives. He always knew who I was like… the moment he saw me. But not this time.”
Carefully, so as not to give away that he was in the bath, Taeyong started washing his tails as he considered what it could mean. “Did you tell him? What you are to each other, I mean...”
He could hear as Ten sunk further into the couch cushions with a heavy sigh. “No… I mean… What are the odds, anyways? He summoned my familiar - the same kitten he gave to me the last time we were together - or maybe Louis was drawn to him? I don’t know…”
“Well, whatever the odds are, they seem to be in favor of you two finding each other again.” He sighed, scrubbing soap into the wet fur of one of his tails. “You should just talk to him, Ten.”
“I don’t want to talk to him. Not about this. God, I was trying to keep away from him for his own sake.. And now he’s right there and there’s a part of me that wants to climb into bed with him just to feel him next to me again.”
“You strange, little, monogamous demon man,” Taeyong mused as he carefully rinsed the one tail before starting on the next. “You’re the ones who did the ritual together. Just communicate.”
There was a long pause before Ten spoke again. “Can I come over..?”
“There’s a gumiho meet. Full moon coming up and all.”
Ten huffed slightly, “I guess I… I can pretend nothing happened.”
“Go to bed and approach it with a clearer mind.”
With a grumble, Ten hung up the phone and Taeyong finished washing himself, getting dressed and ready for meeting with the handful of other gumiho running about the academy.
Phoenix Fire would be closed for the daytime, so there was little chance of anyone overhearing anything that might put them in a precarious position. Hyuna and Dawn had kept things safe for them, which Taeyong was eternally grateful for.
He was the first to arrive, as usual, taking the table in the furthest corner while Hyuna skipped towards him. “You seem troubled, Yongie.”
Offering a weak smile, he sighed. “Did you know..?”
“Know what, darling?” she asked, taking the seat across from him.
“That Jun is back.”
She looked shocked a moment and then gave a sheepish grin. “And Ten… And Minhyungie is always around, too. He and Lord Wong really do make the cutest couple.” She hummed to herself, resting her chin in her hands. “Lord Heechul still checks in on Hyojong, too.”
There was a moment of shock as he registered it all. “So… They’re all..?”
She nodded. “?All of them.”
He let out a huff of a laugh before he turned somber. “Jun didn’t remember me, Hyuna. He didn’t remember me at all.”
“He doesn’t remember anything, Yongie.” She reached out and covered his hands with her own. “Hyojong and I helped raise him. I kept his mother’s wish and was there for him after she passed away. Hyojong raised him while Heechul grieved.” Giving his hands a squeeze, she managed a weak smile. “Whatever happened, he doesn’t remember the past. That’s something that we all have to come to terms with.”
Taeyong shifted his hand to hold hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Jun is just the only one who never saw me as a monster.”
Hyojong had stepped out of the kitchen, frowning as he carefully pulled the dough in his hands. “And what does that make Hyuna and I? Chopped liver?” The serious expression on his face gave way to a wide grin at his own joke.
There was an odd sort of affection in the way Taeyong scoffed. Ever since his summoning by Jun, Hyuna and Hyojong had become like surrogate parents to him, which is probably why they had been helping him with a particular problem for so many years.
“We’ve made a literal ton of kimbap. You think your friends would like some?”
Taeyong nodded. “You know they don’t complain when there’s food involved.”
It wasn’t much longer before a small handful of other gumiho and one chonggak dokkaebi stepped inside the small restaurant. The gumiho made their way over to the table where Taeyong sat while the dokkaebi, known as Leedo, bowed to Hyuna and Hyojong.
“Anything need moved around in the kitchens?” he asked, his voice still startlingly deep in comparison to his almost too-perfect face.
Hyuna grinned, standing up and nearly skipping to the kitchens with a gesture for him to follow, Hyojong trailing behind them with a huff of a laugh.
Taeyong waited until the others got settled at the table before pulling the folder from his bag and unfolding maps and newspaper clippings. Dongju and Dongmyeong, the youngest of their group and a pair of twin gumiho, looked to each other before Dongmyeong gingerly reached out to grab one of the newspaper clippings.
“Did you find enough for all of us..?” he asked softly, and Taeyong’s hardened expression softened. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Dongmyeong and Dongju were still counting the years of their life rather than decades or centuries like both himself and Hwanwoong.
“I found seven. Just in case we miss the chance at one of them,” Taeyong answered, “And we’re going to have to travel a bit this time… Humans are going to get suspicious.”
Hwanwoong shrugged, a rumbling coming from the back of his throat that was almost a snarl. “Humans always are.”
Taeyong had enough life experience to know he wasn’t wrong, but pushed that from his mind to focus on the task at hand. “I found a handful of candidates-...”
“Potential victims,” Dongju corrected. “Dongmyeong and I will go to this district.” His finger landed on the laminated map where several marks had been made with a dry erase pen. “We hunt better together and it’s good to have someone keep watch just in case. And if it gets dicey, we can always just split livers.”
“We always have,” Dongmyeong admitted quietly.
Hwanwoong nodded slightly. “Which district do you want, Taeyong?”
Considering the map, he went to point at another of the districts when he was interrupted by the sound of the bells on the door chiming, followed by an excited shrieking from Hyuna.
“Jessi!”
She’d run out of the kitchen and launched herself into the arms of her friend, who was covered in glittering gems and wore a heavy, fancy coat, her arms loaded down with gifts.
“Look at this! All my favorite people in one place!” She looked around and smirked. “Well, almost. Jaesang isn’t here, is he?”
Hyojong had walked out of the kitchen, brushing flour off his apron and shook his head, a wide smile on his face. “He’s been busy for a while. And you didn’t even let us know you’d be in town!”
Jessi grinned, waving at the gumiho at the table. “Can we lock up? This glamour is so uncomfortable.”
Hyuna ran to the door and locked it, making sure the blinds were all down before Jessi shook off her glamour in a shower of dark purple sparks, the ears and nine tails of a gumiho coming into view as she took off her coat.
Taeyong grimaced slightly as the others at his table followed suit and Jessi let out a small gasp. “Oh my god! Look at those little ones and their one tail each! I haven’t seen baby gumiho like this in forever!” She walked over to the table, her tails swaying with interest. “Baby gumiho like you are so rare! You can call me your noona!” The twins looked to one another before turning to her, but she had turned her attention to Taeyong, lightly ruffling his hair. “And look at you! You’ve grown so much since I last saw you!”
Taeyong gave a small nod and a weak smile, turning back to look at the maps on the table.
Jessi was a presence to behold and always had been.
Gwangju, year 1751
He’d been hiding for so long.
A monster.
That’s what they called him and perhaps they weren’t wrong.
He had spent the past several hundred years hunting to survive, eating the livers of his victims at the time of the full moon.
It didn’t come as a shock that people were after him. It was even less of a shock when he learned that the Min family hunters were the ones out to get him.
What did shock him was the feeling of a firm pull one day, followed by that of being torn apart and pieced back together before he was in a room surrounded by people, a young summoner standing before him with a look of astonishment.
“Well done, my son!” a lord cheered walking over to tug the teenager to his side firmly. “A gumiho, just like your dear halmeoni!”
The boy let out a shocked laugh, looking to his father with a wide grin.
Summoners.
Of course they were.
The boy who summoned him, as it turned, was named Seo Jun, and he was considered to be on track to be the greatest summoner of his time. He offered a home, meals, and the livers he needed every full moon with no questions asked, and Taeyong had allowed him to bind him.
It didn’t take long for him to learn that Jun was wise, even for someone so young, and he was immensely kind, permitting Taeyong to travel the entirety of the manor and its grounds while he spent his own time learning the ins and outs of being the next Lord Seo.
He found he liked the manor’s gardens the best, allowing himself to soak up the gentle moonlight as he watched the plantlife sway in gentle breezes. Sometimes, Minhyung would step out onto the landing with him, lantern in hand, to read the words of some great poet or storyteller.
If he wasn’t in the gardens, he would find himself in the small wing of the manor that was designated for the family’s summons. Hyuna and Hyojong were a pair that had been summoned by Lord Heechul and his late wife, the phoenixes hardly ever out of each other’s reach. Jaesang was a dokkaebi and the summon of the old Lord Seo, who had recently passed but the dokkaebi had become so loyal to the family that he couldn’t bring himself to leave.
And then…
And then there was Hyunjoo.
She was loud and ancient, from what Taeyong could tell, and a gumiho like him. She was loud and proud of what she was, the fur of her ears and tail was lush and well cared for.
Taeyong didn’t know what to make of her.
Even as years passed by, he still didn’t. How was she not ashamed?
Gwangju, year 2021
The rest of the plans were made, and Hyuna had taken to making sure that the boys were all fed as Jessi took it upon herself to lounge in the seat across from Taeyong. It wasn’t long before Leedo was pulled from the kitchen, still carrying two 20kg bags of flour over his shoulder when the young gumiho twins had initially dragged him out, to sit and eat with everyone else. Hyuna and Hyojong joined them, noshing on kimbap and ramyeon as everyone chatted away.
“Last I saw, Hyunjoo,” Hyojong began, “You were married to some wealthy man in America? What happened with him?”
“It’s Jessi now, Dawn,” she sighed, picking up another piece of kimbap. “And he died. It was horrible.”
Hyuna frowned, “I’m sorry, darling. What killed him.”
“Liver failure.” She sighed, leaning back in her chair with a dramatic huff to stare at the ceiling.
A look of sheer horror took over Hyuna’s lovely face, “You didn’t!”
There was a pause and then a wistful laugh, Jessi shaking her head as she continued to look up. “No! I liked this one! He was an alcoholic, though.”
Hwanwoong was watching her, looking a bit starstruck as she regaled them with tales of her past near-century of travel. Her stories were as wild as she was, her eyes lighting up as she discussed how she'd met her latest husband while on a job and the two had spent thirty years and many adventures together, which she spoke of as though it was a summer fling.
Taeyong found it unsettling.
Perhaps it was the fact that she had distanced herself from the mortality of humans, but he had never really been able to. Especially not after Jun took him in and had treated him like family.
Hyojong seemed to have picked up on his discomfort because he quickly changed the topic.
Less than an hour passed before the other gumiho and their dokkaebi decided to make the trek back to the academy, but Taeyong stayed behind, still picking at the leftovers on his plate.
Jessi leaned back in her seat, eyeing him curiously. “What’s going on in your head?” she asked, tapping her perfectly manicured nails on the table.
“Jun… I found out he’s back,” he answered, taking a bite of his now-cold rice.
She pursed her lips a moment. “You’re not still hung up on him, are you? When my summoner died, it was weird because we relied on each other, but she was mortal. They all are. They’re going to die at some point and we have to learn to cope with that.”
Taeyong frowned at that. “It’s not just that… It’s Minhyung and Ten and Yukhei and Heechul. They’re all there.”
Jessi reached across the table, snagging a piece of kkakdugi. “Not everyone. Hyuna, Hyojong, me…” She popped the bite into her mouth, crunching on it slowly as she thought of a few more. “Lady Jisoo and that one handmaiden whose name I’ll never remember.” She hummed to herself. “Must have sucked when I left. Everyone else was all paired off.”
“It was a little lonely, but Minhyung kept me company and Yukhei was busy when he became the new Lord Wong.”
“You need to find someone for yourself, babe.”
Hyuna walked over, clearing up some of the empty dishes. “He does like someone. A fae boy.”
Taeyong bristled at that, huffing slightly. “He’s in a relationship, Hyuna. I told you that, already.”
“And I’ve told you I’ve seen him and that other fox boy fawning over you every time you’re all three in here.”
“Another gumiho? Was it that little feral one?” Jessi asked, eyes lighting up at her own suggestion.
Taeyong seemed affronted by the thought. “No. Hwanwoong’s handsome, but, like you pointed out, he’s feral. Hyuna’s talking about this kitsune, instead. Honestly, if Jae wants a fox, then Yuta is all of the charm and none of the liver-eating.”
The curious expression on Jessi’s face turned into a frown. “Babe, you’re not still on that I’m a monster thing, are you?”
“You know he is,” Hyuna chipped in.
He frowned.
Gwangju, year 2016
It wasn’t that Taeyong wasn’t glad to be back at the manor, but everything was different. He didn’t know any of the people there, with the exception of Jeno, Jaemin and Heechul. Even then, only two of them had even bothered to greet him, much to his disappointment.
Heechul apparently was not one to cope well.
He’d been there for five years, carefully guiding those who had the potential to be summoned and occasionally talking about his experiences with the resident demon. (He was confused about that one. A demon under the protection of a moonlit? He’d seen few things that were stranger, but the way that Taeil and Haechan seemed to balance each other out so easily made him wonder if he might ever have what they have.)
He sighed and walked through the halls, peering around the corners as though he was some sort of spy on a grand mission.
Perhaps he was.
Today’s mission was about the new arrivals. There weren’t many, but there was a fairly diverse grouping of witches and magical beings.
That’s when he saw him… Or them, really.
The fae and the fox.
The fae was standing on the tips of his toes as he craned his neck to see what was happening better. He’d side-stepped a bit to get a better look, tripping over the two tails of the fox standing in front of him. He nearly fell, but the fox easily caught him, snickering as he helped him back upright.
It would be the first of many times he caught himself watching them.
The first time he spoke with Jaehyun was at the library.
He’d decided to settle himself at one of the tables, flipping through the pages of the Asphodel grimoire and smiling fondly at the notes written in the margins by one of the authors, detailing the daily life of one another. Sometimes there were little sketches of flowers and sometimes there were delighted little notes about something or another that took place.
After a while, someone’s shadow covered his lighting and the sound of someone clearing their throat shook him out of his thoughts. He looked up, immediately met by a handsome face with a beautiful, dimpled smile.
“This seat taken?” he asked.
Taeyong shook his head. “Go ahead.”
“Thanks.” He took a seat across from him, setting out notebooks across the table’s surface. “My name’s Jaehyun, by the way.”
“Taeyong.”
He kept his response short, uncertain of what to make of the newcomer, but Jaehyun only smiled again. It was a couple of hours of notetaking later that the two-tailed fox walked over with two cups of coffee and a dazzling smile. The second his sight was set on Taeyong, though, the other fox’s gaze became intense and Taeyong was even less sure of what to think of him.
There was no doubt that Yuta was stunning as well, but the problem lay in the fact that he was a kitsune, so there was no way that Jaehyun could ever be interested in Taeyong. All of the fox, none of the downsides.
So, even if he felt himself fall, he’d taken a step back to allow things to grow between Jaehyun and Yuta, even if it hurt to see it.
Gwangju, year 2021
Hyuna knew better than most just how Taeyong felt. She’d been the one to find him, hiding away from the world after nearly two hundred years of carnage. She’d been the one to bring him home and made sure he’d had a safe place to plan for the full moon.
As much as he had never openly admitted it, the people in the restaurant with him were the remains of the larger family he’d once had.
A few days passed before he heard from Ten again, with the demon frantically knocking on the door in the middle of the day. He looked a bit frantic.
“Can I stay with you for a little while..?” he asked, looking relieved when Taeyong nodded and stepped aside for him. He didn’t say much else for at least an hour, fiddling with the hem of his shirt as he sat on the floor. “I took Johnny home… Like the home Jun and I shared in Paris.”
Tilting his head, Taeyong took a seat near him. “Well, did he remember anything..?”
“I think..? It’s hard to know for sure. But then he kissed me.” Ten dropped his gaze to his hands. “I’ve been trying to keep my distance for his sake but then he goes and kisses me and the crazy thing is I kissed him back.”
“How is that crazy? You two have been committed to each other for nearly three centuries,” Taeyong groaned. “And I think the whole keeping away from him will save him stuff is just all in your head.”
“Like how you keep claiming you’re a monster who doesn’t deserve love?” He sighed and fell back to stare at the ceiling. “It was weird. It’s him. Definitely him. The love of my life. My soulmate. And then the second he gave me a hickey, I freaked out because I’m definitely what’s cursing him.” He let out a huff. “Fate is so stupid.”
“He what?”
With some complaining, Ten sat back upright, moving the collar of his shirt to reveal the mark. “I was so ready to just let him do anything but I came back to my senses, thankfully.”
“Gross.”
There was a long silence between them before Ten hummed. “Can I stay here a few nights? I need some time to clear my head.”
Taeyong had agreed, setting up a space in the living room for him to sleep. They would talk through the day for the most part, but Ten had started to ignore the texts he was getting from Johnny and would quickly change the topic to Taeyong’s love life (or lack thereof), at least until there were drinks involved.
He wasn’t sure what had started it, honestly.
Ten had started drinking and was suddenly laying on the floor, sobbing about the Titanic.
Again.
“I know that movie was based on him, but they got it all wrong! I was his Rose because that was the marking that appeared on his skin that life. And his protection name was Jack! But they had to go and make things heterosexual!”
Taeyong rolled his eyes at that, standing up to wrestle Ten’s drink from his hands, much to the demon’s disapproval. “Damn it, Ten! Just go and talk to him! Hiding in my dorm, drinking my beer and crying on my floor isn’t how you cope!”
Ten let out a wail at that, trying to make his entire body nothing but dead weight when Taeyong tried to pry him off of the floor. “Let me drown in my misery!”
“He’s literally just a few halls over and probably really fucking confused, Ten! So get up, sober up and get over yourself!”
It took Ten a while before he finally fulfilled the gumiho’s demands, dragging himself off the floor to shower and make himself even just a little bit presentable to the world. After a time, he leaned on the frame of the bathroom door, lightly gesturing with his toothbrush. “If I talk to him, Yong, then you try to talk to Jaehyun.”
“This isn’t up for negotiation, Ten.”
With a pout, Ten went about brushing his teeth, eventually being half-dragged to Johnny’s dorm before knocking on the door. Ten tried to squirm away, but the hand on his wrist was tight, Taeyong only letting go when the door was opened. Johnny looked tired, hair clipped out of his eyes so that it didn’t bother him as he studied, but his eyes were locked on Ten, something akin to confusion and hurt flitting across his expression. Taeyong only shook his head.
“You two need to talk,” He sighed out, reaching back to wind an arm around Ten so he could push him forward when Johnny stepped aside. Peering around the room, he noticed that one of the bedroom doors was closed and, besides the cat, the room was empty.
Perhaps it was for the best.
Timidly, Ten took a seat on the sofa as far away as he could from Johnny’s stack of books.
Taking the hint, Johnny sat on the other end of it, turning to look at Ten as Taeyong watched them with the eyes of a hawk.
“I’m sorry if the kiss was too much,” Johnny began, “But… why did you run..?”
Ten picked at his nails, keeping his gaze on the corner of the coffee table. “It’s not… I panicked because I thought you were remembering and I’m so damn weak when it comes to you, Youngho. I always have been.”
Johnny froze, staring at him in shock. “How… How do you know my name..?”
Visibly tense, Ten looked at though he’d stopped breathing with how still he went.
“Ten,” Taeyong sighed, in some attempt to get him to continue, “Ten, tell him.”
He sucked in a deep, shaking breath as he closed his eyes. “I know your name. I know the soulmarks on your skin. I know your past lives. I know your soulmate… I know almost everything, because… Because I’m the person who has the tattoos that go with yours.”
Realization dawned on Johnny at that, and he looked to Taeyong for some kind of confirmation. At his nod, Johnny turned back to look at Ten. “So why-..?”
“I watched you die over and over and… I know we’re cursed. I thought maybe if we didn’t… Maybe I could keep you from dying again… Maybe you could be happy. And it’s not like you remembered me in this life.”
“What did you do to cause that one..?” Johnny asked, a little hesitant.
Ten scoffed. “I didn’t. That wasn’t my magic, and neither was your being made dokkaebi. That was someone else’s work.” There was a long pause as Ten shrank into himself. “I… I didn’t want you to remember me, but knowing that you don’t… it hurts.”
Johnny continued to stare at him, uncertain of what to do, especially when it became increasingly evident that Ten was crying, his face held in his hands as he broke down. Taking the chance, he slid closer to Ten, hesitantly placing a hand on his back to rub soothing circles. Ten jolted at first, but eventually relaxed against him.
Taeyong watched the scene unfold, though there was still some uncertainty in Johnny’s expression, like he wasn’t sure of what to do with the information laid before him.
“He’s not the only one you’ve managed to forget,” Taeyong finally added when Johnny’s arms wrapped around Ten as some kind of reassurance. “Mark was once your little brother, Lucas was a close ally, I was your summon and close friend. Your first father is even here. Jaemin, the archivist here… he was your guard.” He watched for any sign of recognition. “Does any of this sound familiar..?”
“Not really.” Johnny answered, as Ten’s sobs slowly simmered down to little hiccups. “I mean there was something when I was in Paris with Ten. Something that made me tell him I wasn’t going anywhere and something that told me kissing him was exactly the right kind of thing to do.” He tried to back away when Ten was calm enough, but Ten gripped his shirt tightly instead, burying his face into Johnny’s shoulder. “This… this has been a lot to take in, and I don’t- I’m not sure where to go from here, Ten… But can you please come back to live in the dorm..? We can figure things out from there.”
Ten nodded, not saying anything aside from a mumbled “okay” as he curled up further against Johnny.
“You’re taking this surprisingly well,” Taeyong muttered.
Johnny just shrugged, the movement hindered by the way his arms had wrapped around Ten again. “I’ve kind of been preparing for the day my soulmate had a meltdown about me not remembering. Just… didn’t realize it’d be like this.”
Taeyong frowned, considering the emotional toll they might have just unloaded on him by telling him the truth. “I’m sorry.”
He nodded, carefully picking Ten up as he stood up. “I have to process this and.. I think he needs some time with Louis.” He fondly smiled at the soft “my baby” mumbled into his chest. “You can stay, if you want. Yuta and Jaehyun are in their room.”
Taeyong nodded slowly, watching as Ten was carted off to his shared room with Johnny, Louis following closely at his heels before he turned to look at the door.
It was closed, though not entirely, and a light push could easily open it, which he discovered when he knocked lightly.
The scene was both exactly what he thought he might see, but was also devastatingly unexpected.
Somehow he wasn’t all too shocked with the image of Jaehyun straddling Yuta’s lap, the kitsune mouthing along his collarbone to his neck, leaving the occasional mark in his wake between whispers of “just like that, baby” and the soft sounds that fell from their lips (Jaehyun downright looked like sin, but that was something for Taeyong to contemplate later).
No, what had his stomach churning in disappointment was the collection of pillows and comforters spread across the floor, everything about it set with a purpose.
Yuta had built a nest for Jaehyun, and Jaehyun had accepted it.
Silently, he closed the door and left, his glamoured tails dragging on the floor as he made his way back to his own dorm.
Chapter 11: Deeper Than The Ocean
Summary:
Haechan wrapped his arms around Taeil from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder. “Ohhh so it’s almost date night then.” He waggled his eyebrows. “I’ll have to wear something sexy to keep you interested.
Taeil threw his head back in a laugh. “You know that smock and gloves combination gets me all hot and bothered.”
Happy Haechan Day! I couldn't have planned it any better to have another Hyuckil chapter being posted today :>
Be warned there are some spicy elements (besides the gochugaru in the kimchi). They're not overtly explicit but it's more than I've written before.
Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter Text
“We’re going to need to go grocery shopping today,” Taeil muttered, looking at the nearly empty container of kimchi as he finished up making their breakfasts. “We’ve got enough for maybe two days, so we’ll have enough time to make up some more before it’s gone.”
Haechan wrapped his arms around Taeil from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder. “Ohhh so it’s almost date night then.” He waggled his eyebrows. “I’ll have to wear something sexy to keep you interested.
Taeil threw his head back in a laugh. “You know that smock and gloves combination gets me all hot and bothered.”
Haechan cackled before pressing a wet kiss to Taeil’s cheek. “I’ll just have to wear nothing but that, then.”
That caused Taeil to crack, amusement still sparkling in his eyes despite his frown. “If you think I’m letting you anywhere near my kimchi recipe like that, you’re dead wrong.” He wiggled out of Haechan’s arms before handing him some dishes to bring to the table. “And don’t forget that we have a coven meet tonight at midnight.” He glanced at the clock before frowning. “So in two hours.”
Breakfast was eaten mostly in silence, with Taeil’s familiar - a calico cat named Tteokki - making her home on one of the empty dining chairs. Taeil absentmindedly would reach out to brush his fingers through her fur between setting extra meat on Haechan’s bowl of rice.
Setting their glamours in place, they left the comfort of their home to make their way to the academy.
Coven meets were always an interesting affair. Everyone within the coven was some form of powerful caster in their own right.
Jeno and Jaemin were both powerful in their summoning abilities, though Jeno was the only who was qualified as a powerful exorcist anymore. Jaemin had put down his sword out of shame at the death of the man he served, instead dedicating himself to the pure knowledge of the texts and grimoires that were now kept in his archives. Renjun was seated at his side, the former god sipping at some tea while looking over one of the books that Jaemin had slid in front of him.
Besides the three of them, there were Chenle and Jisung, who were on their twentieth incarnations and were, by all accounts (meaning their own), the ones who had originally brought magic into the world and had been the creators of soul-bonding to begin with.
“You’re late,” Renjun announced, pointing to the seats across the table.
Haechan frowned and looked at his wristwatch, brows furrowing. “By one minute!” He dropped into his seat before looking around the table. “Oh, fuck off! Mark isn’t even here yet!”
Taeil shook his head, scooting his own seat closer to Haechan’s, placing a hand on his arm. “Haechannie.”
At the gesture, Haechan leaned towards his husband before giving him a featherlight kiss on the forehead. It was another seven minutes before Mark stumbled into the library, Lucas following behind, and Haechan felt the overwhelming need to stick his tongue out at Renjun.
“Nice of you to join,” Renjun sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Mark took a seat at the table. “Sorry, Lucas and I-...”
“Don’t want to know.” Cracking open a notebook, Renjun started looking through the itinerary for the coven’s meet.
“We have a new coven-mate is what I’m trying to say.”
Haechan had a glint in his eye that could only spell trouble as he looked between Mark and Lucas. “Minnie, are you saying you’re expecting..?”
“W-what..? NO!” Mark baulked. “No, I’m trying to say that we finally fucking…” He held up his left hand for Haechan to look at. Standing out against his pinkie finger was a delicate red thread that only Haechan’s soul-sight (or that’s what they called it, since it didn’t have a true name) could pick up on, winding its way to Lucas’s little finger as well.
Haechan’s lips curled into a smirk, “Oh, he’s right. And he didn’t even invite us, his own coven!”
A blush crept up Mark’s neck, tinting his ears as he dropped his hand to his lap and lowered his gaze to the table. Lucas cleared his throat loudly, avoiding everyone’s eye.
“Oh, gross.”
Taeil giggled softly, listening to the chorus of groans before leaning in to whisper in Haechan’s ear. “I don’t think we can judge, Hyuckie.”
Haechan shrugged slightly, “Yeah, but that’s us. Mark’s last life was my teacher.”
The coven meetings always started with the same vote: who should be the new coven leader? Since they hadn’t exactly had a leader since back in 1911, and a new one hadn’t been appointed, Renjun had quietly stepped into an unofficial leadership position, which he had kept for more than one hundred years at that point, but he hadn’t been voted into place because of Haechan’s absence, and then the vote was made even harder by Haechan’s refusal to vote for anyone other than himself or Taeil.
Upon Mark’s return, the voting only became more complicated. A few of the members wanted to see him return to his former life’s role as the leader of the coven, but as he had left them with no backup after allowing himself to die, there were some voices against him as well.
Again, there was a failure to reach a consensus.
Renjun frowned, looking to Jeno for some form of help, earning a nod and a gentle kiss on the cheek. “I’ll help you keep things together until we get things sorted, Injunie.”
The old god just nodded, continuing to work through the list of things they needed to cover. Throughout the whole meeting, Haechan was absentmindedly stroking his thumb over Taeil’s knee, occasionally squeezing when he had something to say about whatever issue they were discussing.
“What of the news of the surge in dokkaebi births? Anyone have any idea why it’s happening?” Renjun asked and Taeil subtly looked at Haechan, the grip on his knee tightening slightly as Haechan grinned.
“Still looking into it, boss. It’s weird, right?” He answered before looking around the table. “How much longer is this gonna be? Illie and I have some things to do.”
Taeil huffed out a laugh, “It’s kimchi night, Hyuckie, not the end of the world.”
“Kimchi night is my favorite night! Especially since it usually ends with-...”
Placing a finger over Haechan’s mouth, Taeil let out a nervous laugh. “Don’t finish that sentence or it definitely won't be happening, Haechan-ah."
There was a nod in response before Taeil withdrew his hand, slipping it over the one on his knee to tangle their fingers together.
The meeting didn't last much longer, with the two of them making their way home to work on a list of groceries. The task was soon forgotten as Taeil’s fingers brushed over a jar stored in one of the cupboards where they kept the rarely-used ingredients. Pulling it from its home, he frowned, holding it at eye-level to look at the swirl of shimmering blue within, faint images appearing and then disappearing.
“You need to find a better place to keep that,” he sighed, shaking the jar lightly to catch his husband’s attention.
Haechan frowned, gently prying it from Taeil’s grip before placing it onto their dining room table with as much care as he could manage. “Be careful with those, Illie. He’s suffered enough.”
“Can we just give one more back to him..? I know you can’t… not with all of them, but just one?” Taeil’s doe-eyed stare usually got him what he wanted, and Haechan was not one to deny his husband much.
Sighing heavily, he lifted up the jar up, tilting it slightly as he watched the images play. “Fine, but I’m picking an uncomfortable one to maybe help break the tension.” Turning the jar, he pouted. “I know there’s a memory in here of his soulmate railing him somewhere in here..”
Taeil winced at the suggestion. “Play nice with him, please.”
“I only play nice with you, baby.”
Letting out a snort of laughter at that, Taeil shook his head “Is that what we’re calling it now..?”
Haechan smiled fondly at the elf before turning his attention back to the jar.
The Titanic, year 1912
He’d only been attached to a demon for just under a month when he was first summoned.
The man had been oddly calm for kneeling on the floor of a sinking ship, though his expression was somber. “I’m not making it home, again,” he sighed out at Haechan’s curious look. “I have little to trade, but I’ve called you to make a deal.”
Haechan raised a brow, tilting his head as he leaned closer. “What makes you think I can help your case?”
The water was just barely creeping under the door, and the man shook his head. “I don’t have time for games, demon.” He let out a quivering breath. “My soul-bond… My husband is becoming bitter from loss. He believes we’re cursed to never live a full life together. I’m starting to believe it as well.”
It only took a moment to confirm, the scent of the curse was pungent and enveloped his very spirit, but it didn’t follow along the thread tied to his finger. “You’re cursed. Not the bond.”
“So it’s true… Can it be broken?”
Haechan sniffed at the air again, shrugging. “By one who cursed you, maybe. But there might be something I can do.”
There was a long pause as he contemplated his options. “What are you planning..? And what will it cost?”
Haechan mulled over the request, tapping his chin a moment as he walked around the man, water sloshing with every step. “Your soul is bound to someone else’s, so I can’t take it. You don’t have anything valuable to me, except…”
The man looked hopeful for a moment, “Except..?”
“If I do it… You’ll lose your memories anyways. So I’ll take them as payment. I’ll make sure you and your soulmate can live together until you get sick of one another or whatever.” He hadn’t understood the intricacies of soul-bonding at the time, and it would be more than a decade until he did.
The man frowned, looking at his hands, toying with the ring on his finger slightly as he looked up at Haechan from where he was seated on the floor. “The memories I have are how I always find him.”
“You have to choose what’s more important, then. Your memories or spending a long life with your soulmate. You have soulmarks and you’re connected strongly enough that you’ll find him. I can’t make that decision for you,” Haechan sighed, hopping up to sit on the desk within the room. “And you only have so much time.”
With a heavy sigh, the man nodded, “Do it, then.”
Haechan gave a sharp-toothed grin. “I need your name, then.”
“They call me Jack.”
A cackle bubbled from Haechan as he shook his head. “The name attached to your soul.”
“Youngho.”
“Well, Youngho… I can’t promise this won’t hurt, but I can make it quick. What’s the name of your soulmate..?”
There was a moment as Youngho hesitated, finally giving in. “Ten.”
He tried to give a reassuring smile. “Try thinking about him while you can.”
He placed his hands on the Youngho’s shoulders, gripping tightly. It must have been sheer luck that he managed to pull the only demon in existence with soul magic like his. Little threads of magic worked their way from his fingertips, weaving their way to the very soul of the summoner on his knees before him. The memories were hard for him to part from the soul, the threads carefully tearing away what they could. It wasn’t as clean as he might have liked, but then… This seemed like an old soul to begin with. When he managed to pry them loose, he let go of Youngho’s shoulders, the summoner gasping for air as he looked for a container to place the swirling blue mist into. He’d found a mason jar full of purified salt, carefully pouring the contents out before sliding the mist inside and securing the lid. Emptying a satchel that was hung on the back of a chair, he placed the jar inside, locating a second container before he fished the soul from Youngho’s body, encasing it in a small inkpot and placing it into the satchel as well.
The man was nothing more than a hollow shell, and Haechan left, grimacing at the sight of the dead-eyed stare.
Gwangju, year 2021
“Think about it this way, Hyuckie… If I were reborn and had no memory, save for one, what would you hope it was..?” Taeil hummed, winding his arms around Haechan’s waist and resting his chin on his shoulder.
“The moment you knew you wanted to spend an eternity with me.” The answer came easily, with Haechan turning his head to look at Taeil’s soft expression.
“You could give them that.” He craned his neck to press a kiss to the corner of Haechan’s mouth. “Just think about it.” And with that, he loosened his grip, Haechan turning around in his arms to kiss him properly.
“Baby.” He moved to press kisses along Taeil’s jaw. “How are you always so right..?” There was a quiet laugh in response as Taeil tried to pull away, Haechan only holding him tighter.
“Groceries, Hyuckie…”
With a grumble, he let Taeil go, if only so they could proceed with the task at hand.
As usual, it took longer to complete the task than it should have with the way that Haechan was determined to keep his hands on Taeil (which had led to him placing the elf on the counter to kiss him until he dissolved into a mess of giggles more than once), but eventually they made it to the store, returning with their collection of goods. They both nearly tripped over Tteokki as she wound her way around their ankles, squeaking meows sounding their arrival home.
Making kimchi with Taeil was something they’d started back when they’d first gotten a place together that was just their own - about two months after their soul-bond was complete - and Haechan still found the act heart wrenchingly domestic.
He donned his smock and a pair of plastic gloves, leaning against the counter in what was supposed to be a sexy pose, but Taeil’s head only tipped back as he laughed loudly.
“Oh my god, Lee Donghyuck! It has to be a crime to look so good and so ridiculous at the same time!”
There was plenty of prepwork to be done, and they settled into their usual tasks naturally, the occasional stolen kiss just being a normal part of how the well-oiled machine of kimchi night was run.
While grating the onion, his thoughts drifted back to the jar on the table and how nothing of his past had managed to separate the two of them, a faint smile on his lips.
Gwangju, 1926
Moon Taeil was a mystery.
He was an exorcist who refused to kill a demon, a summoner who had only ever done the task once, and, most importantly, a puzzle that Haechan desperately wanted to piece together. Unfortunately for him, the pieces of the puzzle always seemed just a little bit too difficult for him to understand.
They had found themselves once more holed up in the archives, Taeil focusing on another diagram on the pages of his book, his tongue peeking past his lips and brows furrowed as he concentrated on the lines. When he was done, Taeil placed his dip pen onto the table with a relieved sigh, looking at his work with a proud smile.
“Nearly halfway done,” he announced and Haechan could feel his heart melting at the look on Taeil’s face.
Just a crush, obviously, because there was no way an exorcist could refuse to kill a demon, then save his life and then fall in love with him. Haechan was lucky, but his luck never seemed to come in threes like that.
After a moment, Taeil picked up the pot of ink, holding it up to the light and frowning slightly. “I’m going to need more ink. I saw that you carry a little ink pot around all the time… might I..?” He held out his hand, looking just a little hopeful.
Haechan’s hand flew to the pocket where he knew the container was stored and corked, and he shook his head. “No!” He always carried the little thing around with him, as the soul inside the ink pot had been his one companion for a decade, and the jar of memories had been carefully stashed away in the back of his closet.
“Oh.” Taeil withdrew his hand. “I’ll ask Jaemin and Renjun then.”
There was an awkward stretch of silence between them before Taeil stood up and made his way over to the desk where Jaemin and Renjun sat. Casting a quick glance over his shoulder and deciding that no one would bother him much, he pulled the small ink pot from the inner pocket of his jacket, examining it slowly.
It was another three months before they spoke of it again.
It had fallen out of his pocket while he hadn’t been looking, the small, glass bottle rolling until it landed at Taeil’s feet. He bent down to pick it up, turning it slowly as he inspected it, brows knit together as he felt a slight pulsing from within.
“Is… Is that a soul..?” he asked softly.
Haechan felt his stomach sink, feeling frozen as he watched Taeil’s face. For what, he didn’t know. It took a moment for him to collect himself.
He was a demon, after all. It shouldn’t be surprising.
“It is,” he finally managed out, “I have a deal with him, so it’s only temporary. There’s a lot to get sorted…”
Taeil just looked at him, waiting for an explanation as he gently held out the ink pot. It took Haechan a moment to collect his thoughts, supposing it might be in his best interest to tell him, maybe to squash out whatever sparks seemed to burst every time he saw Taeil. He’d be disgusted and that would be the end of the crush.
And even when he spent the day telling him everything, Taeil had only offered to help him complete the task he’d set for himself and the spark became a flame.
Gwangju, year 1980
Taeil yawned, sitting upright in their bed as he stretched, the sheets pooling at his waist. Haechan snaked his arms around him, trying to keep him put for a moment longer, but to no avail.
“Donghyuck, come on…” he laughed, “We have things to do today.”
The demon grumbled, “Can’t I just keep you in bed all day..? I’d treat you so well, baby.”
Snorting, Taeil managed to pry himself free of his husband’s grip and pulling an oversized shirt over his head, though the loose collar of it did little to hide the smattering of small bites that marked his neck and collarbones.
“You know that today’s when my students try their major summons. I have to be there in case someone pulls shit like I did all those years ago…” he hummed, leaning down to kiss Haechan sweetly. “You should be there too. Come and meet them.” He wiggled out of Haechan’s attempt to keep him in one spot again, leaving the confines of their bedroom to make his way to the kitchen, the sounds of breakfast being made starting after a moment.
It took some time before Haechan pulled himself out of bed, gathered up some clothes for himself, took a shower and got dressed, taking a moment to admire the marks left on him by Taeil the night before.
True to form, Taeil was making breakfast, humming out a tune he’d heard on their radio as he cooked up a jjigae. He still looked a bit of a mess in his oversized shirt that reached about mid-thigh, the waist cinched by an apron.
“You sure we can’t just stay home..?” he asked again, and Taeil shook his head.
“We’re going.”
It wasn’t long before breakfast was finished and eaten, Taeil was showered and dressed and the two were making their way to the academy hand-in-hand.
As a rule, Haechan had attempted to distance himself from Taeil’s work life, seeing as they spent more of their time together in such close proximity, that he worried that Taeil would either get bored with him or lose himself in Haechan’s wild personality. Taeil, however, had made it his personal mission to get him to come with him to the summoner’s classes he taught.
It was about midway through the summoning trials when a young, human summoner had drawn a circle, whispering an incantation as a thick, tinted blue smoke rose up from the chalk outlines, dissipating to reveal a chonggak dokkaebi who bowed his head.
Perhaps the most strange part of it all was the pulsing from the ink jar he still kept in his pocket, far different from the gentle thrumming he was used to. This was almost reactive, and from then on, he watched the summoner and the dokkaebi closely from then on.
Gwangju, year 2021
They would have to wait before continuing with kimchi night, so they’d made themselves comfortable with hot chocolate and a movie, only to be interrupted by a knock at the door of their home. With a bit of an annoyed huff, Taeil got off the couch, walking to the door and returning with a teary-eyed Taeyong cradled in his arms. He shot a panicked look at Haechan, who immediately scrambled to make room on the couch.
“What’s wrong..?” he asked as they sat on the couch.
“Yuta nested for Jaehyun,” Taeyong grumbled, pulling his knees to his chest, “And he accepted.”
Haechan gently started petting at his hair, looking over to a confused Taeil. “Baby, you wanna go get the beer from the fridge? I think it’ll help some.”
Reluctantly, Taeil got back up, walking to the kitchen (where he nearly tripped on one of the large containers set out for their kimchi-making exploits).
“So… You’re sure he chose someone else?” Haechan asked softly, as though testing the waters.
Taeyong nodded, “It was kind of hard to mistake what’s been happening between them. And I walked in on them.”
“Like what kind of walked in on?” Taeil asked, finally returning with an armful of chilled beer cans that he set out on their coffee table, quickly cracking one open for himself. “Like walking in on them cuddling or walking in on them kissing or liked walked in on kind of walking in on?”
Taeyong tensed and Haechan craned his neck to look at his husband around their guest. “Babe.”
There was a pause followed by Taeil’s mouth dropping open to form an ‘o’, followed by him taking another long drink from his beer, averting his gaze to the cat tower in the corner where Tteokki was lounging, bushy tail swaying slightly as she watched them.
“I mean, are you sure it means the same for kitsune as it does for gumiho..? There are a lot of differences between the two of you.”
“Like how he doesn’t have to kill people every full moon..?”
Taeil frowned, Haechan shaking his head as he looked at him. “In this room, only one person has the right to judge anyone for killing people, and he’s still sleeping with me.”
Clearing his throat, Taeil awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, the points of his ears tinted red. “Don’t make me out to be some kind of saint, Haechannie.”
Gwangju, year 1991
It hadn’t taken Haechan long before he’d realized what the pulsing of the soul had meant.
He’d found the next person he’d be born to, as soon as Haechan let him out, but Haechan was hesitant. Maybe it was because he had been under Haechan’s care for so long, but he felt the need to approach things cautiously.
Not only that, but she needed to accept him, too.
She was Taeil’s most prized pupil, and she’d fallen in love with the dokkaebi she’d summoned. She hadn’t bound him and he hadn’t left, the two beginning an easy courtship soon after. The possibility of children was something they’d dreamt of, but they both knew it wasn’t possible.
When Haechan had brought up the possibility, they’d both been confused, but she’d found the prospect… promising. Even when he’d explained the situation to them fully, she’d accepted.
With great reluctance, he’d handed over the old ink jar and said his farewells as they left for America.
Then it was time for the final step: to upset the balance and create a void that only dokkaebi could fill.
“We have to kill a dokkaebi.” Taeil hardly looked shocked about the prospect, setting down his teacup on the table and pinching his brow.
“Not just any dokkaebi, Illie. We have to kill a powerful one,” Haechan explained, “One powerful enough that it causes ripples that will allow for him to be born into a stronger, less killable body. Preferably a horrible bastard of a dokkaebi, too.”
“And where are we going to find one of those?”
“Not sure, but we will. They get a kid, I fulfill my promise… Everything’s perfect.”
Taeil couldn’t help the smile that pulled at his expression. “Okay.”
It hadn’t really been easy to find one, both of them needing to pay Jaesang for information on a gae dokkaebi living in some mountains… and then they were off.
Gwangju, year 2021
Haechan shook his head with a deep sigh before turning the conversation back to Taeyong, “You’re not the monster you think you are, you know. You know I can see tainted souls and yours is just fine. No more than the average human.” He tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You’re a great guy, and if Jaehyun picked someone else, that’s on him.”
After a moment to process what was being said, Taeyong nodded. “I just… Maybe I want to have what you guys have.”
“Well,” Taeil sighed, facing them as he leaned against the couch cushion, “If you keep on denying yourself chances because you think you’re a monster, you’re going to wind up disappointed.”
Taeyong seemed to consider this, nodding slowly, “It still hurts.”
Nodding, Taeil reached to grab him a beer. “We have some pate in the fridge if you want. And you can help yourself to some beer. Heartbreak’s never easy… I remember it was awful when Kun and I broke up back in the 1920’s. And he and I lived together, so I went and lived with Suho and Chen for a while and ate nothing but noodles. But we’re friends now.”
He received some weird looks for that, Haechan shaking his head. “Not the point, baby…”
“A little the point, and things will work out with someone when he lets them work out.”
Taeyong didn’t stay much after that, leaving with a grocery bag full of beer cans and two containers of pate.
They’d continued on with their movie before starting to work on the kimchi once again, the smock and gloves and ridiculous smoulder back on Haechan’s face as Taeil started mixing things together in the correct ratios while Haechan did prepwork off to the side.
It was the kind of repeated task that they’d done enough times that they’d fallen into a kind of rhythm, so it was no surprise when Haechan’s hand came down on one of the cabbages with a wet smack. Taeil giggled when he did it again.
“Hey! Help me finish them and pack them away and then you can slap them.”
Haechan chuckled, leaning closer. “I’ll stop for a kiss.”
Taeil gave him a skeptical look, shaking his head, “How about you stop and we can do whatever you want later?”
All the smugness fell from Haechan’s expression and he swallowed hard. “You got it, boss.”
“Oh, is that where this is going?”
He still took the opportunity to slap the kimchi when it was done, patting it into place in the containers. Eventually, though, there was a knock on the door again.
“Why are we popular and why is no one texting us?” Taeil groaned. “I’m about to revoke visiting privileges.”
Haechan snorted, peeling off the plastic gloves and walking to the door, opening it to find Johnny standing there, looking nervous. Despite the obvious height difference, Haechan sized him up still, raising an eyebrow. “You ever make kimchi before?”
This only served to concern Johnny further. “Yes..?”
“Come in, then.”
Taeil was pouting a bit in the kitchen, raising a brow at the new visitor. “I thought I told you to text ahead.”
“Yeah,” Johnny sighed, pulling his fingers through his hair. “I just found out a lot of stuff. Like… Ten told me he’s my soulmate… Which I kind of guessed, but… I don’t know.”
“What do you not know..?” Taeil asked, peering around the dokkaebi to narrow his eyes at his husband, who was digging through the fridge, probably for another beer or a snack of some variety.
“Why don’t I remember anything?”
Haechan walked back over with a beer that he handed to Johnny. “Memory is complicated. Maybe it’s better that you don’t remember dying in the past. Like a little mercy that you don’t have to have those images in your mind for an eternity.”
“I guess, but Ten was crying.”
“That’s another thing about memories,” Taeil piped up, “You can always make more. But if you haven’t remembered everything so far, you have to come to terms with the possibility you might never remember.”
Johnny pulled a face at that. “That would suck.”
“Well, yeah. But who said that having a soulmate was going to be easy? Hyuckie and I still have to work through things and we’ve been married for almost a century. Communicate that you might not ever get those memories back and tell him that, if he still wants to work things out - and he probably will - he’ll have to get used to that.”
“And what if he doesn’t?” Johnny mumbled.
Haechan shrugged making his way into the dining room, where he had started to carefully tilt the jar of memories, looking for something in particular, “Then the fact that you don’t remember anything will be a bigger blessing, I guess.” After a moment, he made a delighted sound, and Taeil watched as he unscrewed the cap and carefully pulled a single thread of memory from within, letting the wispy thing float to the person it belonged to.
After a moment, Taeil frowned, looking Johnny over. “You don’t look well. Go home and sleep.”
It looked for a moment that Johnny was going to protest, but he gave a shallow nod before fumbling his way out of the house with a quiet “Thanks”.
“I gave him a good one, but that’s… one of the last ones I can. I have to keep something of the deal…” Haechan grumbled, grabbing another pair of plastic gloves to rejoin Taeil.
It didn’t take much longer before the kimchi was done and packed away (but not without a few stolen bites for quality assurance) and they settled in for a quick meal. They had leftovers to work their way through, anyways, and Taeil wasn’t keen on any other run-ins with anyone they knew that was looking for advice.
Didn’t matter much to Haechan, because it meant a shorter trip to their bed, Taeil straddling his hips the moment he fell back on it, his shirt being almost immediately discarded into a crumpled lump on the floor of their room.
Taeil let his fingertips travel over the expanse of Haechan’s chest, tracing over skin as though it were something new before he leaned in to press gentle kisses along a familiar path. He paused at the scarring on Haechan’s side, letting out a shuddering breath before he ran his tongue the length of it, looking into Haechan’s eyes intensely as he did.
It was hard to forget how he had gotten it.
Year 1991
Whatever they’d been expecting of the gae dokkaebi, it hadn’t been what they had walked into.
Haechan had taken a massive hit from the dokkaebi’s bangmangi, splitting his side open when he hit the cave’s wall, black blood oozing out of him. Taeil had tried to stop the bleeding, but to no avail, panic soon turned to vengeance as he focused on the beast gearing up to charge at them. The first cast was to create a protective bubble around Haechan, keeping him from further injury, followed by two summons in quick succession.
The first was a moon rabbit, dark ears tipped in pure white and a mallet for pounding medicine in his hands. He held his head high, finding why he was summoned rather quickly before starting on his healing spells, but not before giving Taeil an odd look for summoning aid for a demon.
“Tend to him, anyways!” Taeil had demanded, “I can’t lose him!”
The second summon took most of Taeil’s remaining strength, the smell of ash and smoke filling the cave, tongues of fire licking at the air before the armored warrior cleared the flames out with a single slash of his sword, scales creeping up the side of his neck.
A dragon.
Taeil nodded the way of the dokkaebi, eyes cold. “Kill him.”
The battle was hard-won, but the dragon emerged victorious, and the void needing filled by dokkaebi births was created.
Gwangju, year 2021
Haechan had pinned Taeil against the mattress, fingers laced and hands held above his head as they kissed, more tongue and teeth than anything else. Haechan’s phone had rung a couple of times, but, with the way that Taeil’s legs were thrown over his shoulders (paired with the sharp hiss of ”Don’t you dare answer that”) he didn’t much care to spite his husband. Not after date night had already been interrupted twice.
Especially not when he was folded nearly in half, fingers tightening their grip between Haechan’s own, the bed frame creaking with the movement.
He was so close. So close.
And then…
Another knock on the door.
“Don’t you dare stop, Donghyuck,” Taeil whimpered, and who was Haechan to deny him?
It wasn’t until Taeil’s legs had been carefully lowered back down and Haechan had collapsed onto the mattress beside him that they’d noticed the creaking of floorboards. With great reluctance, Haechan slipped out of bed and pulled on some clothes to face the intruder.
He could see him from the doorframe, the two-tailed fox gracefully perched on one of their armchairs.
“You need to find a better place for your spare key. I already knew where it was from the time you had me watch Tteokki, but under the mat? Seriously?” Yuta sighed, “I called about twelve times and texted even more than that. Couldn’t figure out why until I was in your house and by then I’d already made the trip so…”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Haechan let out a sigh. “Why are you here..?”
For a split second, Yuta looked uncertain, chewing at his lip before he regained his composure. “I need your help.”
Chapter 12: Fox Fire And A Camellia Tree
Summary:
Propping himself up slightly, Yuta allowed himself to hover. “Let’s start with this: I might be in love with you. I was content to be your friend and rival, but then last night happened, and…” He took a moment to collect his thoughts. “I want you to know where I stand, too. Unless what you were saying last night was all to get into my pants.”
Jaehyun reached up to brush Yuta’s hair from his eyes. “That your way of asking me to be your boyfriend?”
“Yes.” It was just about the first time that Yuta sounded confident in the conversation.
“Boyfriends, then,” Jaehyun affirmed.
Heads up: There is some spiced content in this chapter, too
Notes:
Ahhhh I'm sorry this update took so long! Things at work picked up in the worst kind of way and I didn't have any time to write. I was too tired to get anything done. I'm not sure when things at work will clear up again so next chapter might take a bit again before I have the next chapter up.
Thank you for your patience!
Chapter Text
Daylight streamed through the gaps between the heavy curtains, but Yuta and Jaehyun were still very much awake. Johnny had been sitting in the living room, working on studying sigils and summoning glyphs, working harder after Ten had scurried off to stay with Taeyong. Soft music played through a speaker in the corner of the room and Yuta found himself swaying to it, letting the music flow through him and guide his movements.
Jaehyun had sprawled himself across the mass of cushions, watching him for some time with an odd sort of intensity before holding up a newly rolled blunt. “A light?”
Yuta smirked and stepped over, plucking the blunt from his fingers and holding it between his lips before climbing over to sit on Jaehyun’s thighs. Wiggling his fingers, blue flames burst at their tips, which he used to light it, inhaling deeply before blowing out tendrils of the pungent smoke. He sighed, allowing the corners of his lips to tug upwards into an amused smirk before he took another drag.
Jaehyun reached out, letting his fingers brush a few stray strands away from Yuta’s eyes before he sat himself up to take the blunt from him, allowing himself to breathe in whatever smoke was blown his way. Yuta leaned towards him, barely an inch between them, looking into his eyes for some kind of answer to the unspoken question drifting in the air, the answer coming as Jaehyun closed the remaining distance between them.
What started off as slow and curious quickly ignited into something desperate and intense, Jaehyun's fingers weaving into Yuta's hair and giving a firm tug back to expose more of his neck. He gasped, a little smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth when Jaehyun's lips started to explore.
"Baby, be careful," he hummed when Jaehyun threatened to leave a mark. "I'll mark you up just as good and then what will Taeyong think of us?"
Jaehyun groaned slightly, latching more firmly, determined now. Yuta let out a whimper, reaching up to work his fingers into his hair. After a light pull, Jaehyun detached, looking satisfied with his work.
"What was that for?" Yuta purred.
"Wanted to for a long time." He ran his tongue along the mark that had bloomed on his skin. "Fuck, that's sexy."
There was a quiet laugh from Yuta, his hands holding Jaehyun’s face to tilt his head up so he could fit their lips together again. It was brief, but full of a fire that refused to be quelled. Yuta drew back to look over Jaehyun’s face, two tails swishing back and forth. “I thought you wanted to be with Taeyong, baby.”
“Maybe,” he started, “I want to be with both of you.” He leaned in to kiss him again, a gentle brush of lips this time, Yuta’s hands moving away from his face to hold the back of his neck. “Maybe I’ve been thinking about this for a while,” he muttered, pulling away just barely, his hands brushing up Yuta’s thighs to eventually settle at his waist, slightly moving the shirt upward to tease the skin there. “Maybe… I wanna be more than friends and maybe...” He leaned in a little closer to his ear, breath ghosting as he whispered, “I wanna ride you until you forget your own name.”
All at once, five years of tension seemed to snap, Yuta’s hands sliding down to grasp at the hem of Jaehyun’s shirt, pulling it over his head and tossing it aside before he was kissing a path down his neck, pausing to suck a mark into his neck to match the one on the junction of his own neck and shoulder. “God, you’re so pretty.”
They’d wound up a mess (though Yuta was a considerate lover and had cleaned them both up when he caught his breath), completely spent and wrapped up in each other as well as one of the comforters that had been on the floor. Sleep had claimed them not long after that, and the sky was dark by the time Yuta woke again, smiling against the bare chest of his lover.
Jaehyun laughed when Yuta pressed a gentle kiss to his throat, humming out an amused laugh of his own. “How the fuck did it take us this long..?”
“We’re idiots.” Yuta answered simply, lifting himself up to press his lips to Jaehyun’s. “We need to shower and maybe talk.”
There was a soft grumble from Jaehyun. “I don’t want to get up.”
Yuta hummed, “Well, then I’ll shower by myself and make breakfast or something.”
“Why not just stay here..?” Jaehyun grumbled in response, pulling Yuta a little bit closer to kiss him. “We can talk now if you want..”
Propping himself up slightly, Yuta allowed himself to hover. “Let’s start with this: I might be in love with you. I was content to be your friend and rival, but then last night happened, and…” He took a moment to collect his thoughts. “I want you to know where I stand, too. Unless what you were saying last night was all to get into my pants.”
Jaehyun reached up to brush Yuta’s hair from his eyes. “That your way of asking me to be your boyfriend?”
“Yes.” It was just about the first time that Yuta sounded confident in the conversation.
“Boyfriends, then,” Jaehyun affirmed.
Leaning forward, Yuta gave him a kiss, starting off gentle but quickly deepening with the slide of tongue.
It was another hour or so before they awkwardly shuffled into the shower, glad of the fortune they had in having a separate shower attached to their room. When they finally walked into the shared living space, Ten grimaced from where he stood in the kitchen, shaking his head.
“You guys are disgusting.” It was a loud proclamation, the suddenness of it startling the cat in his lap.
Johnny walked over from the kitchen, holding a coffee mug and peering around them “Is… Is Taeyong there? He seemed pretty determined to talk with you.”
Jaehyun raised an eyebrow at that. “When..?”
“I don’t know, some time while the sun was out?” Johnny supplied with a shrug.
“He didn’t speak with either of us, but…” Yuta cleared his throat. “We were a bit preoccupied.”
Ten snorted at that. “Oh. We know.” He pointed at the both of them. “You were fucking through the day and we got to hear all of that.”
Grumbling at the lip of his coffee mug, Johnny added. “It was like Lucas and Mark, but more dirty talk. Ten had to cover Louis’ ears because of you… And you started with that after Taeyong went to talk with you, so I guess we figured you three were working through some stuff.”
Letting out a long sigh, Ten picked up his phone. “I have to check on him, now.”
Johnny nodded a little vaguely, casting the occasional glance at Ten, looking like he was on the verge of saying something, but thinking better of it and turning back to swirling the coffee around in his mug. Ten gave a weak smile before slipping an arm around Louis to hoist him up as he climbed off the couch to walk into the other room.
“So…” Jaehyun started, making his way into the kitchen to grab a bowl and spoon, the milk and the half-empty box of cereal kept in the cupboard while Yuta took a seat at the kitchen table, “Ten’s back.”
“He is.” Lifting his mug to his lips, Johnny took a drink. “So, uh.. He’s actually my soulmate. Which he remembers and I don’t. Or… Uh… I remember pieces.”
“That’s intense…”
Shrugging, he took another long drink from his mug. “Apparently, I was a summoner, Mark was my brother, I knew Lucas and Taeyong was my summon. Also I knew some kid called Jaemin..?”
Both Yuta and Jaehyun looked more in shock at the revolution than Johnny did, at least on the outside. Apart from the way his fingers tapped on the ceramic of his mug, there didn’t seem to be any apparent signs of his uncertainty. After a while he shook his head. “So what happened with you two?”
“What can I say..? I got my guts rearranged by a kitsune…” The nonchalance of Jaehyun’s statement caused Yuta to snort out a laugh as he nudged a chair out for his boyfriend with his foot. Jaehyun sat down, fixing up his cereal before offering Yuta a bite, which was accepted. “Isn’t that right, baby?”
Yuta managed out something that was muffled by the crunching of the cereal he was munching on, Johnny looking between the two before huffing out a laugh.
“Baby..?”
Swallowing his bite of cereal, Yuta shrugged. “We’re boyfriends now.”
Johnny didn’t even seem remotely shocked by it, only reacting when Ten returned from the other room with a frown.
“He’s not doing well. Said he’s gonna go visit Taeil and Haechan and talk with them about it.” he sighed, flopping back onto the couch. It seemed as though he was trying to keep a fair amount of space between himself and Johnny while the latter was affording him the same courtesy.
“Makes sense. Those two know a lot since they’ve been around and together for so long.” Yuta leaned back in his seat, his hands behind his head. “Same with the archivists and the guardians.”
Johnny nodded, a little distantly as though he were considering something. “I’m gonna go to the archives or something.” Ten perked up slightly, craning his neck as he watched him grab his jacket and leave.
“Bye…” he called after him, but it was too late. With that, he flopped back to lay on the sofa, letting out a heavy sigh. “Love sucks. What do you do when you fall in love with a guy, practically marry him three times, lose him then you start falling for a guy and you feel like you’re cheating on the love of your eternity and then it turns out the guy you’re starting to feel things for is the same guy who is your soulmate he just doesn’t know it?”
Yuta stared at the sofa, unable to see Ten from where he was seated in the kitchen. “What in the K-drama hell..?”
Ten didn’t say much else, eventually gathering up the cat and standing up, walking to his and Johnny’s shared room to sulk for a bit. A moment passed before Jaehyun let out a long sigh. “I… We need to talk, huh?”
Letting out a laugh, Yuta dropped his hands to his sides. “We do, but that sounds ominous for not even a two hour old relationship.”
Jaehyun shook his head at that, mindlessly stirring at his bowl of cereal. “So we’re together… but I was serious about also wanting to be with Taeyong, if he’s up for it. I want to talk to him about it.”
He slipped his hand across the table, stopping between them and holding it there. “Let me first, baby. Fox-to-fox..”
Reaching out to link their fingers together, Jaehyun gave a firm squeeze. “You’re okay with that..? I don’t know if foxes get possessive.”
Yuta shrugged and leaned in to kiss him lightly. “I’m gonna talk to him about what you want. About what I want… Lay everything out on the table so he can decide what he wants.. Because now that I’ve got you, Yoonoh, I don’t plan on letting you go.”
Korea, year 1892
As a young fox, Yuta longed to explore, and so he’d snuck upon a ship one day and had found himself in Korea. It was beautiful, he’d discovered.
He’d kept to the forests surrounding busy towns, watching and wondering if one day he could experience the hustle and bustle on his own. He’d befriended other beasts of legend like himself, such as the ancient dokkaebi whose fire was so very much like his own.
He’d been curiously prowling around the edges of the forest, watching as the people of the nearby town celebrated, when he’d felt something stumble over his tail.
When he turned to look at whomever had tripped, he was met with a curious expression that morphed into a dimpled smile. “Didn’t know there was a gumiho lurking around here.”
Yuta took a moment to process what was said, shaking his head when he realized what he’d said. “Kitsune, not gumiho.” He reached out a hand to help the fae up, picking a leaf from his shoulder with a quiet smile.
It had started off awkwardly, the language barrier only dissolving with time. The fae was called Yoonoh, and Yuta had fallen hard. They would meet at dusk nightly, Yoonoh teaching him new words as they watched the people.
The next time the town had thrown a festival, Yoonoh’s hand had wrapped around Yuta’s wrist, dragging him towards the town and casting a spell that hid away their unnatural features. It was a dangerous game, but that was part of the thrill of it all. It had been fun to explore and be around the people they had watched for weeks, and they’d returned to their hiding place after trying one too many festival treats only for Yoonoh to give him the sweetest of kisses when they were hiding amongst the trees.
Yuta had loved him deeply, but both he and Yoonoh had thought something was missing from their relationship: A piece that left their puzzle incomplete. Yoonoh was remiss to form any form of bond while they wouldn’t be whole, and so they waited.
They travelled for a time, searching for that missing piece until they’d stumbled upon it one night where the moon was full and high in the sky.
A gumiho, blood dripping from clawed hands as he devoured the fresh liver he’d torn from a man now laying in a crumpled heap on the ground.
It had almost been an inherent knowledge that he was the one who’d complete them, but tragedy had struck before they approached him.
In an effort to expand, Yoonoh’s tree had been torn down for lumber, and he had died because of it. He’d promised they’d meet again.
Yuta had buried him, planting a camellia sapling over where he was laid to rest. He returned to Japan soon after.
Gwangju, year 2016
It had been a distinct pull calling him back to Korea. An instinct that he couldn’t ignore, much like the one he’d had when he’d seen the gumiho… The one that called him to meet Yoonoh.
There was a school for people like him, and so he’d curiously applied and had been accepted into the Seo Academy, leaving once more for Korea. He’d gotten a room of his own, quickly making himself comfortable in the space.
And then… Orientation.
He’d been minding his own business, looking at the paintings framed on the walls and trying to decide if either might look like someone he’d come across in his travels at all when someone had tripped over his two tails, and Yuta had caught him before he could hit the ground. He helped him back to his feet, taking in the handsome, dimpled smile and the nervous laugh. He looked so much like his beloved Yoonoh, but he knew that he wasn’t the same man even if his instinct was telling him it was.
Past lives were tricky. His soul wasn’t bound to Yoonoh’s when he died, and so he’d started over entirely. Yuta satisfied himself with their friendship and the chance to get to know the new life.
Of course he’d still fallen for him, finding their missing piece as well, the realization dawning on him as he saw him in the library.
It wasn’t long until Yuta had told Jaehyun everything. About how he reminded him of a love he’d had before and Jaehyun had listened with interest. Nothing had come of it except for an extreme closeness in their friendship.
That is.. Until years later…
Gwangju, year 2021
It hadn’t taken much more convincing for Jaehyun to agree to his plan, and it had taken him some time to gather his resolve to speak with probably some of the wiser people in the school for help.
He befriended Haechan rather quickly in his first year there and Taeil’s friendship was gained shortly after. He’d been the one to check on Taeil’s familiar when the two had been called away for emergency business where they’d spent three weeks trying to discern what to do with an accidentally summoned succubus at another school. He’d tried calling and texting, to no avail. Still, he’d arrived at their front door, knocking twice and waiting before retrieving the spare key from under the mat (he’d spoken with Haechan three times about this, but there it still sat).
He let himself in, peeking into the kitchen and noting the remnants of what was more than likely a quick kimchi night, which meant the two had more than likely migrated into bed together.
His suspicions were confirmed by the sounds coming past the open door and the trail of discarded clothes that marked a path to their bedroom. Grimacing, he took a seat on their sofa, looking at his phone a moment before sending Jaehyun a text to let him know he made it.
He’d gotten up to pet Tteoki, her bushy tail slowly flicking as she leaned into the caress, before returning to his seat. It was about then that he could hear an annoyed groan from the bedroom and some shuffling as someone got dressed and then Haechan was standing in the doorway.
“You need to find a better place for your spare key. I already knew where it was from the time you had me watch Tteokki, but under the mat? Seriously?” Yuta sighed, “I called about twelve times and texted even more than that. Couldn’t figure out why until I was in your house and by then I’d already made the trip so…”
Haechan looked far less than amused, pinching the bridge of his nose as he let out a long, heavy sigh. “Why are you here..?”
Gathering up his strength again, he finally spoke. “I need your help.”
Haechan raised an eyebrow, folding his arms over his chest. “Make your case quick and then go home. I have to take care of Taeil.”
Yuta bit back a comment at that, his lip twitching just slightly. “I need to talk with Taeyong and I need to do it alone. I can’t have him trying to avoid me because this is important.”
“What do you need to say to him..?”
“That’s between him, myself and Jaehyun.”
This caused some curiosity, but Yuta didn’t say anything else. “Okay. I’ll see what I can do. Now please get out of my house.”
He got up and flashed him a smile. "I'd owe you."
"You already do owe me for breaking in." He waved him off, turning back towards the bedroom when Yuta was making his way to leave.
It was a good four days later that he got a message from Taeil about a celebration of the new moon. A group message, which was expected because Taeil and Haechan always had their hands in the other's business, especially when Haechan was making devious plans.
Taeyong had been hesitant, but Haechan had managed to convince him that it would be fun and he could use a day of ritual when he was at his strongest. They’d make a day of it and then Yuta would be able to talk to Taeyong, hopefully.
“So…” Jaehyun began, watching as Yuta rummaged through his closet for an appropriate outfit. “Have you thought about what you’re going to say to him..?”
Yuta laughed to himself, “Of course I have. Don’t worry, okay?”
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Taeyong stood in front of the full length mirror on his closet door, frowning slightly as he tried to decide between the two before turning to the two men on his bed. “Which one?”
There was something akin to mischief in Ten’s eyes as he stretched across the mattress. “Yongie, you’re so nervous about your double date tonight. You’ll look great no matter what you wear.” Johnny chuckled just as Taeyong shot a poison stare the demon’s way. Ten merely smirked and maneuvered himself so he could rest his head on Johnny’s lap. Ten’s glamour had faltered, leaving his fluffy tiger ears in plain view, Johnny fidgeting with his hands in his lap as he fought the urge to touch them.
“It’s not a double date,” Taeyong snapped, his tails thrashing slightly, “We’re just third and fourth wheeling.”
Johnny raised an eyebrow at his insistence. “Good luck with that. What are you even doing tonight?”
“Dinner, going to some show he had extra tickets for, and then he insisted on going to Mudeungsan because it’s the new moon,” Taeyong shrugged, “And I guess they thought bringing a kitsune and a gumiho along would be fun.”
“Dude,” Johnny sighed, trying to hold back a grin when Ten stretched out, scooting a little closer to him. “Why did you agree to it?”
There was a pause as he picked out two different shoes to decide between. “They do spell rituals on the nights of the full moon and the new moon and wanted us to come along, especially me because I’m at my strongest the night of the full moon. No other reason.” He frowned slightly and held up the shirts for Johnny to give his opinion. “Black or burgundy?”
“Burgundy with the black pants and the polished leather shoes.” There was a long pause as Taeyong gathered the outfit up. “Yong, look, we’ve been sitting here for an hour while you’ve been picking out an outfit for this not date. Are you sure you’re not into the idea that it could be one?”
Taeyong opened and closed his mouth a few times, finally settling with the answer of “he’s in a relationship with Jaehyun”. Eventually, he shuffled off into the small bathroom of his single dorm, changing into the chosen outfit and frowning at his reflection. The shirt had been a bit too big from the start and now he looked like he was drowning in a sea of deep red. Shuffling out of the bathroom, he let out a defeated sigh. “I look ridiculous.”
Johnny tilted his head with a slight frown, patting Ten’s shoulder to gently coax him out of his relaxed state. “Ten, help him.”
Ten whined, grumbling under his breath as he carefully opened his eyes. “Roll up the sleeves and then make Tan France proud.” It was more of a mumble as he let his eyes shut, nearly falling asleep as Taeyong looked to him in hopes of a proper explanation.
“Tuck in just the front of your shirt and roll the sleeves up to your elbows,” Johnny answered, as though it was obvious. “We’ve been watching a lot of Queer Eye lately.”
“Right…” He followed the instructions, looking at his reflection again as Johnny started suggesting different accessories that would complete the look with an occasional mumbled comment from the half-asleep demon still sprawled out across his bed. After a while, Johnny excused himself, picking up now sleeping Ten and carefully carrying him out of Taeyong’s room.
“Look,” he sighed at the door, Ten nuzzling into his shoulder, “I know you’re convinced that you’re a monster or whatever, but like… You’re not, okay. And I know it’s gonna be weird doing this with Jae’s boyfriend, but… I don’t know… something great could happen if you let it.”
Taeyong let out a sigh, nodding in agreement before Johnny seemed satisfied enough to finally leave, carrying off Ten back to their room.
It was under an hour of Taeyong pacing his room before there was a knock at the door and he ran to answer it, socked feet sliding across the wooden floor.
It wasn’t Taeil or Haechan standing there, but Yuta standing just outside his door, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. Upon seeing Taeyong, he flashed a brilliant smile.
“You look good,” he hummed, allowing his gaze to rake over Taeyong’s figure. “Real good.”
With a roll of his eyes, Taeyong went to slip on his shoes, occasionally sneaking glances at the kitsune still waiting just past the threshold. Yuta’s dark hair had been pulled into a slightly messy half-ponytail, thin chains hung around his neck, just peeking from beneath the handful undone buttons of his short-sleeved shirt. He tried not to stare too long, or at least attempted not to get caught as he tried to cope with the fact that he was wearing dark wash skinny jeans. After he was done with tying his shoes, he straightened himself up, smoothing out his own shirt and grabbing his wallet before stepping out into the hall. “Where are the others?”
“They went to Phoenix Fire already to get us a table. Said to meet them there,” Yuta shrugged, holding out his arm for Taeyong, which he hesitantly took. Yuta allowed his two tails to swish back and forth while they walked, accidentally bumping into Taeyong’s glamoured away ones. At Taeyong’s annoyed stare, he merely shrugged. “I can’t even see where yours are, hyung. And I’ll cast the glamour before we leave this side.”
He’d kept true to his word on that, pausing before they entered Gwangju proper to cast the simple spell, his ears and tail fading until he looked distinctly human.
Phoenix Fire luckily wasn’t particularly crowded, because the usual older clientele would have been shocked at the way Taeil was practically draped over Haechan, the two crowding each other as though there was no space left in the almost empty building but each other's. Yuta had leaned in to make a snide remark about it, though Taeyong had been too distracted by Yuta’s breath tickling his neck as he spoke to actually pick up on what was said.
Haechan was the first to notice them, with Taeil carefully prying himself off of him with a careful smile.
It was weird seeing them without their more distinctive features. Taeil’s ears were no longer pointed to show he was an elf, his sparkling freckles faded away into nothing. Haechan’s eyes were no longer dark and his canines weren’t quite as prominent. They were an odd couple, but Taeyong had become friends with the demon for their shared experiences as summoned beings. He took a seat across from Taeil and picked up the menu to hide away from the kitsune sitting at a respectable distance beside him.
The conversation over dinner had been fun and easy. Haechan had made his jokes and Taeil had laughed at all of them. Taeyong had narrowed his eyes at Yuta twice when he’d gingerly dropped a piece of meat onto his bowl of steaming rice, the beef just barely seared (only enough to get a bit of a charred flavor) and exactly the way a gumiho might like it. By the third time, he was too caught up in some wild story Taeil was sharing about the school back in the 20s and 30s and just how much trouble Haechan had gotten him into to frown at the gesture.
After dinner, they walked to the nearby theater to see whatever movie Haechan had chosen. Taeyong and Yuta hung back a little, neither of them missing the way that Haechan’s arm was around Taeil’s waist, the two of them pressed together like their lives depended on being glued to one another.
“It’s a shame you couldn’t bring your boyfriend,” Taeyong muttered to his companion. It felt wrong, having dinner, seeing a film and then later walking through a park with someone else’s romantic interest, a pang of guilt hitting every time their hands brushed.
Yuta shrugged, staring straight ahead. “When I told Jaehyun that you’d been invited, he’d suggested it would give us time to talk… To get to know each other.” There was a pause where Taeyong stared ahead at the two walking ahead of them, and Yuta held back a snort as Haechan’s hand slipped lower until he had a decent grip on Taeil’s backside. “Oh my god. How bold!”
Haechan cast a cheeky grin over his shoulder at them, before Taeil swatted at him and they went back to whatever conversation they’d been invested in before (but his hand never moved).
The movie was interesting, though the amount of blood and guts made Taeyong feel queasy (as if there weren’t already an uneasy feeling at the fact that Yuta had slung his arm around his shoulder for the duration of the film).
The walk through the park, though, had been a welcome distraction at the end of the night.
The new moon had left the world washed in darkness, the twinkling stars standing out in the sky, their light too weak to brighten their paths as they walked. They all ran off the path, dodging trees and plants and allowing their glamours to dissipate (for the most part. Taeyong didn’t join in). Taeil seemed to glow, starlight freckles shining brightly as he ran from the demon who started chasing him.
Yuta, however, had taken Taeyong’s hand in his, eyes glinting with mischief as he dragged him alone. There was no path, but they could both still see where they went. With a snap of Yuta’s fingers, white-blue flames came to life in the palm of his hand.
Taeyong smacked his arm. “Put that out! You’re not catching this place on fire.”
Yuta laughed at that, closing his hand around the flames to snuff them out before turning to look at him, tilting his head slightly. “Why won’t you let anyone see you?” he asked softly, reaching out to put a few of Taeyong’s stray hairs back in place, his fingertips grazing over his hidden ear. “I bet your ears are so cute.”
“I don’t want people to stare because of what I am,” he answered, not missing the slight downturning of Yuta’s lips. “You know what I eat, right?”
“Jaehyun informed me, and I’ve seen a gumiho in action myself. He also said he’d willingly let you take his liver next.” That made Taeyong avert his gaze to let out a short laugh, though the chuckles died in his throat when Yuta lifted his chin to look him in the eye. “You don’t have to show me, but I’d like to see one day.”
Taeyong searched his eyes for a moment, before closing his eyes and letting out a prolonged sigh, the glamour lifting and fading away.
The silence that followed was almost defining, but he refused to open his eyes, not wanting to see whatever expression was on Yuta’s face. After a pause, he heard Yuta take in a deep breath, and he steeled himself for whatever was to come.
Yuta’s hand came to cup his face, a thumb stroking over his cheek and the word that came on his whisper threw him off more than anything anyone else had ever said to him before.
“Beautiful.”
The word snapped Taeyong back to reality, causing him to scowl. “Jaehyun wouldn’t be happy with that.”
The statement seemed to amuse Yuta, possibly more than it should. “Don’t presume to know what he wants. Even I learned that the hard way.” At Taeyong’s scoff, he continued. “You and I always manage to wind up on the wrong foot, don’t we? Jaehyun would have been here himself, but I felt the need to discuss this with you myself, so that when he approaches you, you don’t think he’s lying.”
“What are you talking about?”
Another moment passed, Yuta creating another small flame and cradling it to his chest so that the weak lighting made him look more serious. “Jaehyun likes you. Just like I do, but you seem to have a preference for him..” He smiled, amused for a moment. “He and I have talked extensively about this, but, if it’s something that you want, you can pursue a relationship with him. So long as you’re aware that I don’t intend to stop dating him.” He gave a short nod, when he felt his point had been made, turning around to start walking again, Taeyong following. “I’d like to court you, too… But I don’t know how you would feel about that. What happens with any of this is up to you, of course.”
Taeyong raised a brow at him, but continued to follow him to a camellia tree, watching as Yuta folded his legs to kneel before it. “And if I choose not to do anything with it?”
“That’s your prerogative.” He motioned for Taeyong to take a seat, waiting until he did before he continued. “This isn’t my first time in Korea. Years and years ago, I came here… Fell in love… We were together for so long, and then humans destroyed his forest. I buried him under this camellia tree, so I was surprised when Jaehyun had taken me here one day. He said our friendship was strong enough that he would disclose the location of his tree to me.”
“Jaehyun’s your lost love, then?”
Yuta laughed softly. “Yes and no. It’s the same spirit and the same face, but Jaehyun and Yoonoh are two very different people. Still, they both did have eyes for you. You claim to steal livers, but you’ve stolen his attention in two lives and his heart just in this one. You’ve managed to steal mine, too.. You were damn near feral the first time we saw you, and still, there was a feeling there. He and I had a fulfilling relationship, but it’s like seeing you… It was like we knew our relationship could be even more complete. I was surprised to see you again, but fate has its way with bringing people together, doesn’t it? We’ve seen it again and again.” Another silence passed and he conjured up more tiny flames to surround the tree, the little lights flickering a respectable distance from the tree and covering it in a haze of blue. “No decisions have to be made now.”
With a nod and the swish of his nine tails, Taeyong let out a held breath. “I’ll think about it.”
Chapter 13: Fire Within Your Bones
Summary:
Confusion flashed across Ten’s face, followed by a sudden realization. “What..” He paused to take a deep breath, still crowding Johnny’s space. “What did you remember..?”
Johnny chewed his lip a moment, eventually reaching for Ten’s left hand with his own, linking their little fingers together, lifting their joined hands.
A moment passed before Ten allowed his gaze to fall to them. There was no shocked stare... no dawning realization… He just reached out his right hand, lightly tracing where the patterns were once drawn onto skin, eventually lifting their hands to his lips to press a kiss to their joined pinkies. Letting out a shuddering exhale, he slowly looked back up into Johnny’s eyes.
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Title taken from a poem called That First Kiss by Nikita Gill
Notes:
I'm so sorry that it's taken so long for me to update this story!
A lot has been happening with life and work and not all of it has been great, but!!! I hope this has been worth the wait! I should be able to update this more regularly, but we are nearing the end!
Chapter Text
Gwangju, year 1764
It hadn’t been something they’d really expected. An uprising of demonic activity rarely was.
Jun sighed as he looked over the reports, seated across from his father at the large desk. “The news from the elven scouts doesn’t bode well, father. They think the demons are amassing an army.”
Lord Heechul raised a brow and held out his hand for the letter, looking it over the moment it was in his hand. “I suppose it has worked in our favor that you’ve been building relations between the houses, then.. Call for another meeting of the families. I know you’ve been seeking another excuse to see the young Lord Leechaiyapornkul.”
Letting out a soft laugh, Jun folded his hands in his lap. “I… Would not pass on the opportunity to see him again.. He’s…” He took a moment to organize his thoughts, settling on phrasing that did the relationship that had been building for the past three years no justice. “... A good ally.”
Lowering the letter, Heechul gave an amused smirk. “You can lie to the gods, the servants, your brother and yourself, Youngho, but do not pretend that you could ever lie to me. I’ve seen the way you look at him.” He shook his head. “Just guard yourself well, my son.. They’ve kept their power for an exceptionally long time without branching out like so many other houses have had to.”
The silence that passed between them stretched on for some time, with Jun finally letting out a heavy sigh. “I’ll send the messengers.”
Heechul nodded, “Ask Minhyung if he wants the honor of addressing Lord Wong. They’re far closer than you and the Wong family ever were.”
“Yes, father.” And with a bow, Jun left his father’s study.
It was some number of weeks before the families all gathered. The Leechaiyapornkul envoys had been among the first to arrive, much to Jun’s delight, and he had rushed to meet them, both Taeyong and Lady Jisoo scurrying after him.
They stood side-by-side, both Jun and Jisoo seeming a bit out of breath.
“My lady,” he finally started, giving an apologetic look to Jaemin, who hadn’t even had time to collect his sword before rushing to catch up .”I wasn’t aware you’d share an interest in the ink witches.”
She hummed, smoothing out her hanbok before giving him a gentle smile. “Lady Pranpriya has become a close friend with as often as we’ve ventured to see them and they’ve made the journey to see us. But surely not to the extent of your friendship with Lord Ten.” Her smile turned mischievous in an instant. “Do send him my love. I’m certain that this will be the only time I will actually get to see him.”
Jaemin snorted at that, fixing up his own appearance so that he looked a bit more proper while Jun huffed slightly.
The gates opened to reveal Ten and Pranpriya, Kunpimook trailing behind them.
“Esteemed guests…” Lady Jisoo began, giving a proper bow. “Welcome back. I hope your travels were comfortable.”
Ten tore his gaze from Jun to look at her, smiling brightly as he returned the bow. “Of course, my lady. We were greatly anticipating our return. It’s all Pranpriya could talk about when your envoy arrived.” He glanced back to Jun, cheeks flushing just slightly before he turned back to Jisoo. “Though I can’t say I was faring any better.”
Kunpimook snickered at that. “He was daydreaming so much that we had to rig our horses together so that we wouldn’t lose him…” He looked around a moment after that, giving a sheepish grin. “With all due respect, that is.”
Jisoo looked a bit like the cat that ate the canary at that, something devious sparkling in her eyes. “Lord Jun kept a count of the days until we’d all be reunited.”
Jun smiled at that, catching Ten’s eye before clearing his throat. “I’ll have you shown to your rooms. No doubt your journey was long and you could use the rest.” He swept his hand to the side, a few servants scurrying over to help move their belongings into their appropriate rooms, Ten stopping one of them to whisper something into his ear, the man blinking a few times before giving a nod.
Pranpriya smirked, gesturing for her ladies to follow the servants and stopping one of them to pluck a carved box from the stacks of luxuries she’d entrusted them with. Carefully, she hid it in the folds of her skirt, trying to keep what could only be assumed was a gift as secret as possible. She stepped over to Jisoo’s side, the two walking towards the manor as they spoke. Kunpimook followed behind, casting a smug look over his shoulder as he left Ten and Jun as alone as was possible.
They strolled the grounds, Jaemin and Taeyong following at a respectable distance behind them. Eventually, but cautiously, Ten reached out for Jun’s hand looking up to him with a content smile when he laced their fingers together tightly.
“Did you really keep count of the days until I returned, my dear Jun?” Ten finally asked, once he felt they were far enough away to thoroughly discuss things with one another.
“I did,” Jun answered, tightening the grip on his hand just slightly. “Though, my timing was off. I had you listed to arrive in four days' time.”
Ten hummed, stopping in his tracks before pulling Jun in for a long-anticipated kiss, loosening his hand from Jun’s grip to wind his arms around his neck, nearly knocking the gat off his head. Jun kissed him back just as fervently, parting his lips when Ten ran his tongue along the seam.
Eventually, they parted, Jun leaning down to rest their foreheads together a moment. “Rest,” he whispered, “I have duties to fulfil and you’ve had a long journey.”
Ten pouted at that, tilting his head up to steal a final kiss. “You’ll come to me at daybreak?”
“The very minute I can devote my entire person to you, I’ll be there.”
Ten gave a satisfied grin at that, his hands sliding down the length of Jun’s arms to grasp his hands. “Then I’ll leave you to it, my lord…”
Much to Jun’s dismay, the mountain of work he had to complete had only grown, and moonset was long behind him when Ten found him some hours later in his study, knocking twice before sliding the door open.
“Found you,” he teased, carefully stepping inside before sliding the door closed behind him. “Is it too forward if I take the liberty of moving my things into your room?”
Glancing up from his letter, Jun let out a gentle laugh, the corner of his lip quirking up in amusement. “I’m surprised they put you in another room from the start.” He set down his brush, careful to check that the weights would keep the paper from curling on itself, before motioning Ten over.
Ten hummed, walking over to sit beside him, resting his head on Jun’s shoulder. Taking Ten’s hand in his, Jun pressed a gentle kiss to his knuckles. “I hate when you are so far from me…”
“I’m here now,” Ten mused, tilting his head to better look at Jun. “I’ll be here as long as you want me.”
Jun shifted to kiss him, cupping his cheek in his hand, humming out a quiet laugh when he felt the tip of Ten’s tongue trace over the seam of his lips. He pulled away slowly, clearing his throat. “Later, love. I have work to do and you have things to move into my quarters.”
Leaning in to kiss Jun once more, Ten smirked. “It’s already done.”
“Then rest while I finish this. I’ll join you when it’s done.”
Another kiss was exchanged before Ten slowly pried himself away, slinking off to what would be their shared quarters.
Their courtship (or however their romance should be defined) was supposed to end after that first night three years past. And then the second night. And then after a month… a season.. A year.
A few hours passed before Jun was quietly making his way into his room, finding Ten curled up to one side of the bed roll, sleeping soundly, and dressing down to climb in next to him.
It wasn’t the first time he’d pulled Ten in close and caught himself thinking about just how perfectly Ten seemed to just fit in his arms… Almost like he was made to be there. Everything about him was just... Perfect. And there were times, when he allowed thoughts to drift, that Jun thought about how it would be to spend forever with Ten.
Every time he would allow those thoughts to drift, he’d catch himself and reel himself back in. Forever was a long time, and three years was hardly anything in the grand scheme of a witch’s lifespan.
Honestly, they barely even knew one another.
You had to be sure if you were going to spend an eternity together. It was why Minhyung and Yukhei were still dancing around one another, he was certain. It was why Jaemin and Jeno had taken so long to complete the spell, even after having known each other since they had begun their training as children.
Even then, as Ten shuffled just a tiny bit closer to him, slowly waking from his slumber to give a tired smile, he caught himself thinking once more that forever sounded like a good place to start.
Gwangju, year 1765
For a dying man, Jun hadn’t been at all demanding of what little time he knew he had left.
Everyone he loved was always within reach.
Ten and Minhyung hardly left his side, his father spent what time he could with him, reminding him of the stories of his youth with teary eyes. Hyuna and Hyojong had also taken to caring for him to allow Ten and Minhyung some rest, with Hyuna softly singing a song she used to when he was a child.
Even while resting, Ten was always nearby… always in reach, sleeping far enough to the side that others could care for Jun as he slept, but close enough that they could link their pinky fingers.
He knew his time was running short, not wanting to waste a single moment of what little time they had left on cures that wouldn’t work. He had already outlasted other cases of demon’s plague by days, and he would be lucky if he would last to see the next night.
He wished they’d had longer.
He wished…
He called Ten over, voice weak, just because he wanted nothing more than to study Ten’s face for what could be the final time. It wasn’t until Ten had told him that the life he was living - the one now causing him so much pain - would be the only life worth living because their time together, however short, that an idea once more sparked in his mind.
And so, in the dimly lit bedroom on his final night, he came to the decision that he, at the very least, should ask.. Soon, Ten’s soul… his very name.. Would be owned by another being, but… Maybe...
Maybe there would be a chance they could meet again.
It was wishful thinking at best. Ten would have to accept his offer, and being tethered to someone, especially a dying man, didn’t seem like something such a free spirit would want. Still, he offered the choice.
When Ten had accepted, he could almost breathe a sigh of relief, even as labored as it was, watching Ten intently as he painted winding images over their joined hands, each pattern more intricate than the last.
That night, when he fell asleep, he didn’t fear what lay ahead, because knew he would always find his way back to Ten.
Gwangju, year 2021
It had been such a strange dream. In fact, he’d been having the same, strange dream for nearly three weeks, the meaning of them sinking a little deeper with each passing night.
Johnny wasn’t entirely certain what had brought it on, but it felt less like the dreams he’d been used to and more like a tangible memory… Like one of the many pieces of his past life’s puzzle. Perhaps even the most important piece.
He rolled over in his bed, looking across the room to the Ten-shaped lump under the covers of the other bed, curled up in a very similar fashion to how he had in his dreams…
No, not dreams… Memories.
But he didn’t have those. Nothing clear like what he’d seen in his sleep, the same scenes playing every night in more detail. It was much like a film he was watching over and over again, hoping that the ending would change each time.
Even the memories he’d gotten from spending a day in Paris weren’t so clear, the voices muffled and images faded like an old film.
He sighed and sat upright, fingertips combing through his hair as he considered his dream once more.
After a moment to clear his thoughts, he stood up, walking over to Ten’s bed to carefully pull the covers over his shoulders and press a gentle kiss to his temple before going to the kitchen to start brewing his first cup of coffee for the day.
He took a deep breath, still thinking about the conversation he’d had with Donghyuck and Taeil and the memories that followed. It was strange, but he didn’t think much of it, supposing that it was always meant to be that way. He was always going to remember the bits and pieces of their lives as soon as they were back together.
The power of love or something.
He was shaken from his thoughts when the timer went off for his coffee, pouring half of what sat in his french press into his mug, leaning against the counter as he took a long sip, allowing his thoughts to drift back to his dreams for while before Ten stumbled out of their shared room, rubbing at his eyes, Louis hot on his heels before darting around him and hopping onto the kitchen counter to demand Johnny’s attention. He reached out to scratch behind his ears, a faint smile on his lips before he glanced at Ten.
“Tea?” he asked and Ten nodded.
Johnny set the kettle on to boil once again, pulling down the mug that Ten seemingly had a preference for, dropping a sachet of tea into it as Ten made his way over towards the fridge, rummaging around for anything decent to eat.
“I have a question,” Johnny began, almost cautiously.
Ten peered over his shoulder as he grabbed a container of marinated eggs. “What is it?”
“Have you looked for anyone else you lost?”
Frowning, Ten stood up, setting the container on the counter. “Such as? As far as I know, there’s no one left… Well, beyond the ones I’ve run into here.”
“Well, what about Pranpriya and Kunpimook? You three were thick as thieves.”
“Because they wouldn’t remember anythi-....” Suddenly catching himself off guard, Ten whipped around to look at Johnny, who was carefully pouring hot water into the mug for tea. “How do you know those names?”
Johnny froze, taking his time in setting the kettle back down as he organized his thoughts. “I’m… Uh… You must have…”
“I’ve never once told you of my late cousin and our childhood friend and guard in this life. Never. And they’re not named in the history books.” Ten took measured steps forward, slowly crowding into Johnny’s space as he narrowed his eyes. “How do you know their names?”
There was no lying. “I… I remembered a couple of things.”
Confusion flashed across Ten’s face, followed by a sudden realization. “What..” He paused to take a deep breath, still crowding Johnny’s space. “What did you remember..?”
Johnny chewed his lip a moment, eventually reaching for Ten’s left hand with his own, linking their little fingers together, lifting their joined hands.
A moment passed before Ten allowed his gaze to fall to them. There was no shocked stare... no dawning realization… He just reached out his right hand, lightly tracing where the patterns were once drawn onto skin, eventually lifting their hands to his lips to press a kiss to their joined pinkies. Letting out a shuddering exhale, he slowly looked back up into Johnny’s eyes.
“I haven’t really been keeping my promises, have I?” Ten muttered to himself, reaching out to touch the side of Johnny’s face, his hand stopping just centimeters away.
Johnny gave a short laugh at that. “Lucky for you, I always find you… even if you have lost a bit of your shine…”
“Even if you lost your memories.”
Leaning towards Ten just slightly, Johnny continued. “Guess we’re just lucky, then. Everything seems to pull us back together.” A tense moment passed between them, Johnny unlinking their little fingers. His next words came in a whisper, hands coming up to cup Ten’s face.
“I want to kiss you…”
Ten’s hand came to rest on the back of Johnny’s neck, eyes searching for a moment before he surged up, pulling Johnny down into what started as a gentle kiss. It quickly grew intense, Johnny pinning Ten against the counter of the kitchenette, lifting him to sit on it when their kisses grew more passionate. Ten’s fingers laced their way through Johnny’s hair, gripping firmly as Johnny explored his mouth.
Like before, it felt as though, no matter how close they were, it wasn’t close enough.
Kisses turned fierce as skin was revealed.. Touched.. Tasted..
Moving his hands to grip under Ten’s thighs, Johnny lifted him from the counter, stumbling his way to their room and kicking the door closed behind them.
Everything was both brand new and achingly familiar, even down to the way Ten’s nails dragged their way down his back and the way their bare skin felt, pressed together as close as they were able.
Perhaps it was too soon. Maybe it was all moving much too fast. But, if memory served, nothing about them had ever really been slow and steady.
They lay on the floor of their shared room, Ten letting out a soft laugh as Johnny’s fingertips traced over the winding patterns that covered his skin, pausing to kiss just over his navel.
“Was that what you were planning to do in Paris?” he asked absentmindedly, fingertips brushing Johnny’s fringe from his eyes.
“There was no plan in Paris,” Johnny answered, attempting his best shrug from where he hovered over Ten, “I just wanted to kiss you and then I never wanted to stop..”
A silence passed between them, with Ten finally letting out an amused huff as he lightly toyed with a few strands of Johnny’s hair. “Tea’s probably cold by now…”
“Definitely.” He lowered himself to capture Ten’s in another kiss, smiling into it as Ten tried to pull him down to rest his full weight on top of him. Slowly, Johnny ghosted a hand down Ten’s side, eventually guiding one of his legs to wrap around his waist. “It can wait a while longer, can’t it?”
“It can,” Ten hummed, holding Johnny’s face in his hands and brushing their lips together.
Just as Johnny had tipped his head down to capture Ten’s lips in yet another kiss, there was a knock on the door before it was opened. Jaehyun stood just outside the room, holding a yowling Louis, who was attempting to claw his way up to Jaehyun’s shoulder, finally managing the feat only to stand there on his shoulder for a moment.
“Alright, two things… One, feed Louis and play with him. He’s been yelling for a while. Two: Yuta and I aren’t going to be dealing with either of you calling us out anymore after all we just got to overhear.” He lowered Louis to the ground, grimacing slightly. “Yong’s coming over, by the way… So put on some clothes, maybe.”
As soon as the door had been closed, Johnny let out a groan, rolling off of Ten to lay beside him. “Fuck.”
It took Ten a moment to pull himself off of the hardwood floor, carefully wrapping himself around Johnny. “Do you remember much about Taeyong..?”
“Besides the fact that he was my best friend and only summon for a long time..? Not a lot of the other details,” he answered, one hand rubbing gentle circles on Ten’s back. “I still don’t remember a lot..” He paused, turning his head to look at Ten. “Does it bother you that I don’t..? That I might just… never..?”
“I mean, a little… A lot happened in the years we were together. A lot of good memories along with the bad that happened…” He took a deep breath, propping himself up to better look at Johnny. “It’ll take some getting used to, but… If this is what we have to work around to have a life together… I’d rather mourn the memories than mourn you again.”
“We’ll have time to make more, I promise. I made sure of it.”
Ten leaned in to kiss him once… twice… three times before he pried himself out of Johnny’s grip, walking over to Johnny’s closet to toss some clothes at him and pick out a shirt for himself. “I’m gonna take a shower.”
Propping himself up on his elbows, Johnny smirked. “Want some company?”
By the time Ten and Johnny had joined the others in the living room, Taeyong had arrived, nine silvery tails swaying behind him. He raised a hand, giving a small wave and a smile before nervously glancing between Yuta and Jaehyun.
Ten smiled up at Johnny, letting his hand go so he could make a fresh cup of tea and Johnny took a seat near the others, leaning back on the sofa.
“God, it feels like I haven’t seen those tails in centuries…” Johnny muttered, more to himself than anyone else, but the silence in the room made it incredibly hard for the words to go unnoticed.
Taeyong’s interest was piqued at that, shifting where he sat to better look at Johnny with his wide, curious eyes. “You remembered something?”
“Not much. I don’t think anything triggered it, either,” he answered with a shrug. “I just went to talk to Haechan and Taeil, got some advice, and then when I went to sleep I had these memories that I didn’t have before.”
Ten peered out from the kitchenette. “They didn’t say anything..?”
“I mean they said a lot of things, but it was mostly advice and then asking if I knew how to make kimchi.”
“Strange.” Ten sighed, leaning against the open counter and turning his attention to the two foxes and the fae. “What are you three up to?”
Taeyong shifted slightly, looking to his folded hands while Yuta leaned forward.
“Taeyong and Jaehyun are going on a date,” he announced, looking pleased. “And I get to start sending him courting gifts.”
Letting out a quiet groan, Taeyong covered his face with his hands. “Don’t you mean more courting gifts?”
The usual, devious look sparkled in Yuta’s eye. “No. Those were just friendly presents. Now I get to prove I’m an adequate provider.”
Jaehyun nudged Yuta just slightly, smiling fondly, “You didn’t do that for me.”
“Well, maybe I’ll have to fix that.”
“Maybe…” After a moment, Jaehyun stood up, holding out his hand for Taeyong. “You ready?”
Gingerly, Taeyong placed his hand in Jaehyun’s, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. “As ready as I can be.”
“Have fun, you two,” Yuta called out, smirking when Jaehyun leaned down to kiss him, the two of them leaving soon after. As soon as the door closed, Yuta turned his head to look at both Johnny and Ten, looking something past devious. “And you two did have fun. Is it that good old soulmate bond finally working its magic?”
“Something like that,” Johnny shrugged. “It’s hard to explain.” Ten came to sit beside him, nestling himself in comfortably, Johnny draping his arm around Ten’s shoulders.
Ten tilted his head to look at Johnny, taking a quiet sip of his tea. “Hey, how much do you remember about Minhyung? I feel like you need to talk with him.”
“Maybe we could have him and Lucas over for dinner? Order in and talk..”
Yuta leaned forward, sitting almost on the edge of his seat. “Any idea why you don’t remember anything?”
Johnny took a moment, chewing his lip. “I don’t know, but I know I gave up something important to something I summoned… Right before I…” His words tapered off, his expression a little distant before he shook his head. “I traded them.” Tightening his grip around Ten’s shoulders, he pulled him in a bit closer. “I think it might be why I’m a dokkaebi, now.”
Tapping his nails on the side of the mug, Ten watched as the vibrations caused ripples in the surface of his tea. Something unspoken was clearly in the back of his mind. “When did you first see the memories you have now..?”
“Dunno… Sometime after I visited Haechan and Taeil’s place..?”
“That so..?” After a moment, Ten set his half-finished mug of tea on the coffee table, “I’m going to run some errands,” Ten sighed, carefully pulling himself from where Johnny was holding him. “I’ll be back before dinner, so text Mark, okay?” He took a moment to press a kiss to Johnny’s lips before getting up, pulling on his shoes and leaving the dorm.
It wasn’t hard to find where Haechan and Taeil were, the hellhound always leaving something for Ten, or any other demon for that matter, something to follow. He wasn’t even sure that Haechan even knew he was leaving a trail.
They were easily found in the room for Infernal Studies, bile rising in his throat as he thought of what all it could mean. There were three people in the room - Taeil, an exorcist, and someone else who almost radiated a nauseatingly pure energy and had the ghost of nine glamoured tails swaying behind him - all of whom were speaking in hushed voices. He leaned against the wall beside the door, waiting for the others to leave before storming inside.
The moment the others left, Taeil took hold of the edge of his desk, one hand against his forehead and eyes screwed shut. The very second the door to a storage room in the back of the classroom slid open, he was standing upright and flashing his husband a bright smile, looking much better than he did only seconds before.
It was Haechan who noticed Ten walking towards them, eyes narrowing slightly, almost betraying his smile. “What can we help you with, Ten?”
His magic was rusty, years of avoiding using it making even the most simple spells hard to utilize. He didn’t really know why he’d stopped using his magic, only that there was some feeling that he’d lost control when he did. Despite that, it didn’t stop him from feeling the pulse of power running through his body to follow the paths of his tattoos, the tingling sensation unfamiliar but welcome.
And to think… He was once considered to be one of the most powerful witches of his time and the most powerful ink witch. Perhaps that was still true…
Perhaps it was time to find out.
“I have questions,” Ten announced, “Such as how Johnny suddenly remembered something important right after visiting you…”
“Lucky chance..?” Taeil answered nervously, his hand falling back to the desk to keep himself stable. When Haechan turned to him, he shook his head. “Just a little lightheaded, Hyuck.” After a second, he turned back to Ten. “We’d love to help you, but.. We can’t.”
“He thinks he traded his memories… for becoming a dokkaebi…” Ten hummed, “And I was trying to figure out just why he turned into one… And now that deal.. That sounds familiar.” He took a careful step forward, inching closer to Haechan, magic flooding through his system, the ink dripping with each bit of ground gained. “I’m not leaving until I have my answers, little hellhound.”
Taeil narrowed his eyes, stepping between them. “What are you doing?”
Despite his usual demeanor, Haechan seemed to shrink a bit more with every single step Ten took towards him. “Taeil, don’t… I don’t think that’s Ten anymore.” Even his voice was meek.
Taeil turned his head to look at his husband. “It’s the demon..?”
The second he looked back to Ten, he was met with daunting, blue eyes and sharp teeth. “Surprise.”
“Babe, get away from him,” Donghyuck warned, “You don’t know what he is. The ink.. Those were seals.”
“Giving away secrets, pet?” The demon clicked his tongue. “I didn’t set you loose on this world just so you could tell anyone what they’re dealing with.”
With slightly shaking hands, Taeil whispered an incantation, a silver circle appearing on the floor around Ten, casting a barrier between them.
“Oh, little hellhound…” The voice that came from Ten was not his own, more ink seeming to fall in chunks off of him. “This is not why I released my favorite pet.”
Taeil stood between them, silvery magic dancing at his fingertips and the circle on the floor glowing even brighter. “What do you want with him?”
“He’s my favorite pet! He was the only one to get what I sent him after.” The demon cackled, head tossed back. “I don’t want anything with my demon. I want him. The one he possessed...” He clicked his tongue, head lolling to the side until those startling blue eyes were on the both of them. “His magic.”
“Why?”
There was a pause as the captured demon straightened up, lifting a clawed hand to test the barrier he was trapped within. “I need it to get what I’m rightfully owed,” he stated simply. “I was promised the soul of a most powerful caster, and…” There was a growl in the back of his throat. “That little bastard split his soul and wound it together with someone else’s.” He pressed his claws further into the barrier, the magic giving way just slightly. “Silly little exorcist, doing the same with a demon… All your family’s spells rendered useless.” He pressed his hand firmer, the barrier shattering before he launched at them, Haechan trying to pull Taeil out of the way before claws could tear into flesh.
He had been too slow to keep him from all of the damage, though, inky black blood starting to seep from the wound.
But that wasn't right.
Moonlights had silvery blood. He had seen the drops of silver several times before when Taeil had cut himself while shaving. This was the ink black blood of a demon.
Taeil looked to Haechan, opening his mouth to explain, brows furrowed in almost an apologetic way, but the demon who was controlling Ten threw his head back in a laugh.
"You didn't tell him?" he sneered, "Oh dear."
"Tell me what..?" Donghyuck asked, looking at his husband, concern lacing his expression. "...Taeil?"
Taeil lowered his gaze, chewing on his lip as he held his jacket tightly to his stomach to try to stanch the bleeding. "Demon's plague," he explained, voice far too gentle for the danger they were both currently in.
The demon looked at his claws, examining the blood on them. “Late stages… Something that’s been slowly taking him over for nearly a century.. If I had to take a guess.” He gave a cruel grin. “Lucky for you, I know the cure… and I’ll share it if you help me get what I’m owed.”
Grabbing onto Haechan’s arm, Taeil shook his head. “Hyuckie, don’t.”
Haechan looked between Taeil’s face and the open wound across his chest, quickly deciding on running. Even if he took the deal, Taeil needed help sooner rather than later.
“You have three days to choose, hellhound!” the demon called out after them.
There weren’t many people who they could ask for help. Most healers were far away and had always been suspicious of their relationship. To see the black blood… It would only confirm suspicions.
Still, there was one.
As soon as they stood in front of his door, Haechan pounded his fist against it urgently, helping to keep Taeil upright.
Before Taeil could tell him to just get them home, the door was carefully opened, a mallet being the first thing Haechan could see.
Taeil tried to laugh, coughing instead, as Haechan held his hands up. “It’s just us. We need your help.”
Slowly, Doyoung lowered the mallet, giving Taeil a sympathetic look as he spared him a cursory glance. He took a deep breath, stepping aside before calling over his shoulder, motioning for them to come in. “Kun! Set up the guest room! I have a patient!”
Chapter 14: Rabbit, Dragon, Moth
Notes:
I'm so sorry this update took so long! I had a lot going on all at once.. mostly a lot of fests and I got super sick for a week at the beginning of the year (not covid!) and I'm still coping with some of it. Still, I said I'd be more consistent with updates and then didn't update for 5 months, so I apologize.
Anyways here's the update and I hope you enjoy <3
Chapter Text
Meetings of the exorcist council usually ran over on time, but even more so when the head of human exorcists left the meeting on urgent business.
Kun had found himself frowning through the better part of the meeting, knowing that he wouldn’t be home in time for dinner and would have to make it up to his partner later on.
They covered the usual topics, such as the next demon hunt, possible candidates from the students of three different magical academies to be trained as the next generation of exorcists and any potential concerns. When the meeting had been called to a close, Si Cheng stifled a yawn, stretching his arms above his head before he pulled himself out of his seat.
“I was planning on going to grab something from a convenience store,” he yawned, “I know you probably have something nice and home cooked, but-..”
He was suddenly cut off by one of the elves clearing his throat loudly. “High Conjurer Qian… A word.”
A few of the younger exorcists snickered as they cleared out of the chambers, until only Kun and Si Cheng remained, along with three of the elves, the youngest of which was cautiously casting glances around the room.
“Go get some dinner, Summoner Dong, and some rest. I’ll contact you soon.” Kun explained quietly. “I know Doyoung would love to have you over for dinner some time.”
With a cautious glance at the elves, Si Cheng picked up his bags, giving a respectful bow before leaving.
Kun turned to the council, tidying his papers and notebooks as he looked up at the elves. “To what do I owe this private audience of the Moon clan?” he asked, folding his arms over his chest.
The head of the Moon clan spoke first. “I wanted to speak with you about my son, as well as certain circumstances surrounding his…condition.”
Kun nodded in the direction of the youngest elf. “Seungmin’s right over there and he looks just fine to me.”
“Your loyalty to Taeil is commendable,” the elf sighed, trying to hide his mild irritation behind a stoic face, “But the truth of the matter is my son is allowing himself to be poisoned by that… thing, and he doesn’t have much time left..”
Raising a brow, Kun waited for something from the man. “... Were you perhaps hoping for some final farewell? Because I don’t think he’d like you calling his husband a thing.” He smirked a moment as he thought about how, only about a year back, Taeil had very loudly told the council exactly what he thought about it. “Or if you wanted to know about his condition, Doyoung said he’s outlasted every other case of demonic blood poisoning by a pretty wide margin.”
The head of the Moon clan nodded slowly, “He’s surviving somehow.. It’s likely he’s just stubborn. But I needed to speak with you about…” He took a deep breath. “About what happens after his imminent end.”
“And what is that?” Kun sighed.
There was a long pause. “When he’s gone, the contract he has with the moon rabbit, Kim Doyoung, ends. You’d be the most affected when we take him back.”
Kun’s eyes widened as he stared at the high elf, shocked by the announcement. “Why..?”
“He’s one of the greatest healers we’ve seen. His time among humanity has taught him many things…” He paused, only for a moment as he tried to gauge Kun’s reaction. “I wanted to forewarn you… I hope this doesn’t damage your devotion to the cause.”
Reaching out, Kun steadied himself against the table. “So you’ll take him from me… The one I’ve devoted nearly thirty years of my life to… And hope that I’ll stick around?”
“He belongs in Boleumdal… and we need him… once the contract is over,” the third elf - Byulyi - explained, managing to maintain a stoic exterior despite the way her voice tried to crack around the edges, “This isn’t an easy choice, Qian. I know how attached to you he’s become…” She took a deep breath before continuing. “You’re an amazing exorcist.. We could use you, but I can understand if this would… sour the experience.”
Kun exhaled a bitter laugh, shaking his head before he finished gathering his things in his arms. “It will.” Standing upright, he looked over the three of them, gaze landing on Seungmin a moment longer to watch as he worried his lip while he fixed his gaze on the floor. Looking back to the clan leader, he sighed. “If you’ll excuse me… I have to take every moment I have left with Doyoung.”
Seungmin glanced up a moment, opening his mouth to potentially ask a question before thinking better of it. Kun took the chance to leave, walking to his apartment.
There was something comforting about stepping inside their home, even if the terrible possibilities were playing in the back of his mind as he watched Doyoung pound herbs into medicine, two abyssinian cats watching intently. The bitter possibility of not coming home to the familiar scene caused bile to rise in his throat, which he quickly swallowed down when Doyoung turned his focus from the medicine he was working on to look at him.
A small smile pulled at the corner of his lips as he pushed his glasses up his nose. “Meeting run over..?” he asked, setting the pestle down before standing up, wobbling slightly as he tried to shake the pins and needles feeling from his legs.
Kun carefully set his things on the nearest surface before meeting Doyoung halfway and wrapping his arms around him, only lifting one hand for a moment to carefully move one of the soft rabbit ears out of the way to bury his face in his shoulder.
Mildly startled, it took a moment for Doyoung to wrap his arms around him, letting out a quiet sigh. “What’s wrong..?” he asked, pressing a kiss to the top of Kun’s head.
Considering his options, Kun lifted his head. “We may need to sit down for this.”
“Bad news..?”
“The worst.”
Doyoung let out a sigh, letting go of Kun to step out of his reach. “Grab the salve from the fridge. I’ll reheat your dinner after we take care of your burns.”
Kun nodded and followed his partner’s demand, taking the tin of bitter-smelling salve from within the fridge and walking over to the sofa, unscrewing the cap as soon as he sat down before handing the tin to Doyoung, who had shooed the cats from where they’d made themselves comfortable. Unbuttoning his vest and shirt, Kun quickly took them off to reveal the winding scars that covered his arms and shoulders.
Dipping his fingers into the salve, Doyoung scooped up a fair amount, working it between his hands to take away a bit of the chill before taking one of Kun’s arms into his hands, smoothing it over his arms as he hummed to himself. “Tell me what happened,” he said quickly, kneading the salve into the scarred skin.
Letting out a prolonged sigh, Kun watched as Doyoung massaged his arms, working up to the elbow. “The meeting was a lot like all the others. Jeno left, though, and Huang Zǐ never even arrived.” Doyoung nodded quietly, working his fingers a bit harder into the muscle as Kun continued. “I was called aside by the Moon clan after the meeting was over.” His words drifted as he reached out with his free hand to brush some stray hairs from Doyoung’s face. “They want to take you from me when Taeil’s gone. They say you belong in Boleumdal and that they need your medicine, but…”
Doyoung’s hands stilled, nearly having reached Kun’s shoulder, and he took the opportunity to look into Kun’s eyes. “Thirty years… Is that a long run for humans?”
“My parents lasted for almost seventy,” Kun hummed, cupping Doyoung’s cheek in his hand and running a thumb along his cheek, “They would have loved you.”
“Of course they would,” Doyoung chuckled, taking the opportunity to steal a quick kiss from Kun, “I’m hard to dislike.” Smiling to himself, he went back to massaging the salve into his arm. “Taeil’s case is complicated, but he’s too stubborn to give up… We have time to figure out how to save him.. I’m not going to leave you… Either of you.”
Kun nodded, melting into Doyoung’s touch.
Gwangju, 1992
Kun had never had a spell backfire like that before, the magical flames engulfing his arms and causing a pain so intense that he had fainted, awaking in an infirmary.
To his left, he heard a book snap shut, followed by the faux disinterest of Jaemin’s voice. “Oh good,” he started, “You’re awake.”
“What happened..?” Kun groaned, “I remember flames, but…”
“Your magic has a mind of its own,” Jaemin sighed, leaning back in his seat, “Every single anomaly - true anomalies, not just magical creatures who have been springing up at random or decently powerful magic users - has had some kind of magic that resonates with them the most. Jeno’s summoning is so powerful that he could pluck a god from their celestial throne if he wanted. And Haechan’s ability to create workable magic from the ramblings of an old man…” Setting down his book on the bedside table, he took a moment to look over Kun. “Your magic, though, doesn’t like fire, it seems.”
“That sounds like an understatement,” Kun groaned.
Taking a piece of paper between his fingers, Jaemin raised a brow at him. “So why did you do it?” The paper burst into flames and he raised his other hand to spin the smoke into a cup of steaming tea that he quickly took a sip from. “Why did you try to use fire during a demon hunt?”
The feeling of burning still flickered under his skin, causing him to wince in pain as it seemed to flare up. “There was a shifter child in danger. I couldn’t…” Sucking in a deep breath through his teeth, he made a valiant attempt to sit upright. “Shouldn’t Jeno be asking these questions?”
Jaemin’s smile curled around the rim of his cup before he lowered it. “He didn’t leave your side for five days, Qian. I sent him home because Injunnie was getting restless without him… And he needed to sleep in his own bed, so your interrogation comes from me today. So sorry to disappoint.”
Kun raised a brow, quickly hiding a wince as he shifted slightly, eventually settling on just sinking into his cot. “I used fire because there was a child in danger and there were too many demons and the summoner I was with couldn’t handle the stress… So I conjured the flames.”
“It was very admirable,” came a voice from where the door had been cracked just slightly, and Kun smiled, recognizing the voice of Taeil. He pushed the door open, walking into the room with a wide grin and two unfamiliar people - a man and a child, neither of whom were Donghyuck - trailing behind him. Grabbing a chair on his way over, Taeil sat at Kun’s other side. “The kid had to tell me all about it, by the way. He’s extra chatty, but it’s adorable.”
The child accompanying Taeil took a step behind him, flashing a sheepish grin.
Kun tried to maintain a smile as he moved a hand to wave at the boy, only for the other man who had accompanied Taeil to stop him, eyes narrowed.
“Stop. Moving,” he demanded, walking over to examine the burns.
Kun tore his gaze from the small child to look at the man, looking to scold him for being so rude, only to freeze as soon as he finally took a good look at him, gaze stuck on the soft-looking, black, floppy rabbit ears that stuck out from his head and landed on his shoulders, twitching slightly when he noticed something of interest.
“Kun,” Taeil began, a twinkle of mischief in his eye. “I would like you to meet Kim Doyoung. He’s my second summon, not counting my darling Tteokki, and is a very sought after healer on Boleumdal…” He paused for a moment, humming to himself. “I always did want to summon a moon bunny.”
Doyoung scowled at that, the gentle grip he had on Kun’s arm tightening until he realized what he was doing and let go. “Don’t call me that, Moon.”
“Rabbit. He’s a moon rabbit,” Taeil corrected, “He might be able to help with those burns and the kid wants to stick around, too.”
The boy leaned in to whisper into Taeil’s ear before Taeil nodded in Kun’s direction. Looking between them for a moment, the boy eventually stepped out from behind Taeil, staring wide-eyed at Kun. He barely looked to be about six, unsure of what to do with his hands as he stood beside the bed. “Thank you,” he whispered.
“You’re welcome,” Kun answered, “What’s your name?”
“Yangyang.”
Kun gave his best attempt at a smile, shooting a glare at Doyoung after he pressed too hard on one of his burns, sending a wave of pain shooting through his body. After a deep breath, his smile became a bit more strained. “Where are your parents, Yangyang?”
The boy looked around the room, eyes wide as he tried to think of his answer. “I… I don’t…” Before he could finish, his eyes were watering and Taeil reached out to place a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him.
Letting out a sigh, Kun glanced at Taeil, who caught his eye and gave a nearly imperceivable shake of his head. “Would you like to stay with me until we find them?” he finally asked, attention returned fully back to the boy.
Gwangju, 2021
Doyoung had reheated dinner, which Kun had eaten slowly, as if to savor every bite, occasionally tossing a bit of meat to only one of the cats, despite the other trying to demand some of his own.
“I swear, if you stay in cat form any longer, Yangyang, you’re going to get stuck in it,” Doyoung sighed, lightly swatting at Leon’s paw as he tried to get more food off of Kun’s plate, “And no more for you! Kun needs to eat, too!”
Letting out a huff, Yangyang hopped off the table, easily shifting back into a young man before his feet touched the floor. “I wouldn’t get stuck, Doie. I once had an uncle who stayed in the form of a jackal for two years and he walked away just fine.”
“Oh, he’s back,” Doyoung muttered, stirring his cup of tea, “Now keep your feet off the table. In all forms.”
“Yeah, yeah…” Yangyang answered, walking towards his room.
Kun picked at his food, setting down his chopsticks after a moment. “He’ll miss you if they take you, too.”
Doyoung frowned, reaching out one hand to cup Kun’s cheek. “Stop. They’re not going to take me… And if something happens and I’m gone learn how to summon me yourself.”
Huffing out a laugh, Kun leaned into Doyoung’s touch, turning his head slightly to kiss his palm. “I think I’m going to resign from the exorcists.”
“I won’t stop you if that’s what you want,” Doyoung leaned in, lips barely grazing Kun’s as he continued, “But I can’t pretend that I won’t enjoy having you around more often.”
Kun hummed, leaning in to close that final bit of distance when Doyoung pulled away, quickly brushing his hands in the direction of Leon, the cat meowing indignantly as he was once more stopped in his attempt to steal a bit of steamed fish from Kun’s plate.
Boleumdal, 1995
Over the years and many trips to the city of moonlight, Kun had come to realize one thing in particular: Boleumdal, much like the exorcists themselves, was a cold place. Everything seemed to glow with silver starlight, even the buildings themselves. Most of the elves drifted through the streets, wearing flowing garments of silver and pale blue, with glimmering silver jewelry. It all seemed at once ethereal and distant from the rest of the world.
It made Kun appreciate the few who were grounded and excitable.
Kun tapped his fingers on the table before him, Jeno seated by his side as he laughed at something Renjun had said. Council meetings in Boleumdal were a grand affair, but, much like the ones held at the human council, they were incredibly boring.
This meeting was no different.
His thoughts kept drifting to the man waiting for him in the mansion that they and the other exorcists that spanned the whole of the magical world were staying at.
Doyoung had rarely been away too long from Kun, providing the most intricate magical salves and potent tinctures to help with healing the nasty demonic scratches and the remnants of his magical burns. It had been by Taeil’s suggestion that Doyoung accompany him to Boleumdal, though Doyoung had made it seem as though it had more to do with the fact that Taeil had received a summons to the elf kingdom, but had been aggravated by the knowledge that Haechan could not accompany him on the venture.
”It’s devastating..” he had once told Kun, ”Being apart from him for too long. I keep worrying that they’ll send someone to destroy him if I’m not there.”
Kun wondered if Taeil was possibly right.
Before everyone, the Moon clan head and his two remaining children took their seats - Seungmin to his left and Byulyi to his right - eyes scanning the crowds before landing on the empty seat that had been reserved for Taeil.
As usual, the meeting dragged on after that, eventually coming to a close as young elves swarmed around Renjun, looking at him with starry eyes as they asked him questions about the celestial realm or if he would allow them to touch his pure white tails. Seungmin, though, had ignored the presence of the god before them and had made his way over to Kun.
“He didn’t come, huh?” the young elf sighed dramatically, “I can’t say that I blame him. I mean, we talk about how demons are going to kill us, but if I had to listen to the elders drone on for much longer, I would probably have just evaporated on the spot.”
Kun let out a laugh at that, grateful in the moment for the cheerful and bright energy Seungmin seemed to radiate. “It would be a shame to see you go.”
“Yeah, but it would be one hell of a thing, wouldn’t it?” He let out a laugh. “They wouldn’t be able to say anything after that.” He considered something for a moment before he opened his mouth. “Did Illie send anything for me?”
“Not with me, but the moon rabbit.. Doyoung… He asked him to come, so he might have something.”
Seungmin gave a mischievous look - one that was strikingly similar to his older brother’s - before leaning a little closer. “I don’t think he sent him for me. Or with anything for me.”
Kun let out a nervous laugh. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that when I’ve been able to see my brother these past three years and I’ve asked him about things with his summons - not including my brother-in-law, by the way - it’s come up that a particular moon rabbit prefers spending time with you,” Seungmin teased.
“Have you seen your brother when he’s with Haechan..? I don’t blame him,” Kun answered, “Just the other day I went to go talk with Taeil about his plans for changes to the summoning curriculum and… The things I’ve walked in on. And he’s lived with them since he was summoned.”
Seungmin snorted, “Gross.”
“Like you wouldn’t believe…”
Before anything else could be said, someone stepped over, the tinkling of thin silver chains following every step. Byulyi.
Despite being several centimeters shorter than either of the men she now stood before, her presence demanded the attention and respect of those around her as she held her head high, even more so as she was to take over as head of the clan. Delicate chains dangled from her ears, small gems that twinkled like stars hanging from them, but, unlike many of the others of her clan, a small golden sun was secured around her neck - a gift from her betrothed.
Kun bowed his head as soon as he noticed her, a move that she noticed but ultimately ignored.
Clearing her throat, she turned to her youngest brother. “Seungmin, stop bothering Conjurer Qian. He’s traveled a long way and needs his rest.”
Seungmin pouted, stepping over to her side with a sheepish grin. “Sorry, noona. He was just telling me about Taeil.”
Faintly, her lip twitched, as though the mention of her younger brother brought her a small amount of joy that was quickly hidden. “You’ll have to tell me one of these days,” she said, “But for now, you need rest, and we have duties to the clan heads.”
Kun nodded, “We’ll talk later, then.”
He returned to the manor as requested, finding Doyoung sitting on the balcony as he worked on grinding some herbs into a paste as he hummed a tune to himself. Kun gave a small wave upon seeing him, smiling as the wave was returned to him.
He soon joined him on the balcony, sitting beside him as Doyoung worked, helping to prepare the ingredients the Doyoung asked for.
After a while, he spoke. “It must be a relief to return home. It’s been a few years since Taeil summoned you… I can imagine that you must feel homesick.”
“At times, I do,” Doyoung began, twisting the pestle down on a particularly stubborn bunch of leaves. “But, like now, I almost miss the insanity of the academy and how warm everything seems. Boleumdal is beautiful, but… I would miss the world you live in.”
Kun smiled to himself, “And Yangyang?”
Letting out a stunned laugh, Doyoung looked at him. “Don’t tell him that, but yes… I’d miss him very much. And Taeil. And Haechan, though I hate to admit it.” He tore his gaze from him and started working again. “And I might… possibly… miss you, too.”
“Is it up for debate..?” he asked, hoping the teasing lilt to his voice would drive away any doubts from his own mind.
“No!” Doyoung replied, “No, not at all, I just…” There was a long pause before his shoulders slumped, seemingly in defeat. Kun watched him closely for any sign of the answer, startling when Doyoung let go of the pestle and suddenly pressed his lips to Kun’s.
It was only a second before he was back to work, leaving Kun thoroughly shocked he watched him, cheeks tinted pink.
Clearing his throat, Doyoung backed away just enough to look at Kun. “Does that answer your question?”
Kun gave a small grin at that, a slight laugh escaping him. “I suppose it does.”
Gwangju, 2021
There was a rapid beating of the door before Doyoung unwrapped himself from Kun’s hold, grabbing his mallet on the way out of their room. Kun listened, hoping it was someone dropping off a package for Yangyang, but those hopes were dashed the moment he heard Doyoung start yelling for him.
The guest room was easily set up with Yangyang’s help, though concern took hold of them both upon seeing just who the patient was.
Donghyuck held Taeil upright, hands shaking when he let him go so that both Doyoung and Yangyang could escort the elf to the spare room, with Yangyang whispering promises that they would fix up his uncle Taeil quickly and that he’d be alright soon enough, but Kun watched as his oldest friend was taken away with an unknown fate.
The second the guest room’s door was closed, Haechan fell against the door, letting out a loud sob, his hands and shirt covered in the ink-black blood.
Kun stood, almost frozen as he took it all in.
Doyoung had been working on slowly treating the plague, but the progression had been far worse than he could have imagined.
The first time he’d seen Taeil’s ink-blood, the man had laughed it off as though the plague wasn’t a death sentence.
Still, Taeil was stubborn and wouldn’t easily give up without a fight. He’d been fighting for Haechan since before they’d even gotten to know one another.
Grabbing a set of clean clothes from his room, Kun handed them off to Haechan.
“Go clean up.”
Gwangju, 2020
Taeil had nearly barked out a laugh as he looked over the summons one more time. “Don’t you think they’d have given up by now?” he snorted, “Honestly, I haven’t accepted these summons the last ninety years… Why should I?”
Frowning, Kun looked at his friend, eyes falling shut as he let out a disappointed sigh, rubbing at his temples. “They know, Taeil… They know that you’re sick… Apparently one of the visitors a couple decades back sniffed out the corruption of your blood.”
“Who..?”
It was a moment before Kun answered, clearing his throat before he did. “Byulyi.”
“Fuck,” Taeil grumbled, sinking into his seat, “And she obviously told everyone when she found out.”
“She did. Because she’s worried,” Kun replied, shifting where he sat just enough to make room for Doyoung to sit beside him. “I still think you should tell Haechan. He deserves to know.”
Taeil’s lighthearted smile suddenly faltered as he shook his head. “Hyuckie is my world, but he’s impulsive… and he’s smart. And I’m worried he’d do something stupid like blame himself for this if he knew.”
Kun’s frown deepened but Doyoung simply shook his head, placing a hand on Kun’s knee as he handed Taeil a small glass of dark liquid that smelled strong and distinctly herbal. Grimacing, Taeil took it from him and drank it quickly.
The summons wasn’t spoken of again until the day of.
Taeil had arrived at the meeting chambers, Haechan in tow. A few of the elves who were still milling about outside gasped when they saw the both of them.
Or maybe they were angered by the rather blatant decision by the clan head’s son to dress his demon husband in the silvers and blues of elven silks and adorned him in the glimmering silver jewelry that seemed so custom to them while he himself wore an oversized shirt that was poorly tucked into a pair of ripped blue jeans.
Kun stared in shock as he watched Taeil kiss his husband sweetly before walking into the room to stand before the council.
By then, what happened was a blur. There were raised voices by both the Moon clan head and Taeil himself and then there was a flash of light and the room filled with smoke, revealing an enraged dragon winding its way through the room as a threat to not say another word.
“Never threaten my husband again,” Taeil sneered, his hand still firmly placed on the ground. “... Or I will have no other choice.”
And with that he and his dragon left.
Gwangju, 2021
It felt as though hours had been dragging on.
Occasionally, from the other room, Doyoung would call for something that only Kun knew the location of, the man leaping to his feet to scour their pantry of dried and fresh herbs, only to be forced to sit across the coffee table from Haechan, who had taken to nervously chewing at his meticulously scrubbed clean nails. Hours ticked on with no word, only the shuddering breaths as Haechan threatened to crumble in front of him.
Deciding to end the stretch of silence, Kun cleared his throat. “What happened..?”
It took some time before Haechan collected his thoughts enough to properly answer. “What everyone was afraid of when Illie summoned me.” He nearly choked on a sob, holding his head in his hands as the dam broke. “There’s a demon running around… Inside the academy… that isn’t me…”
Kun raised a brow, leaning forward in his seat. “Tell me about this demon.”
Haechan caught his lip between his teeth, looking to Kun with watery eyes. “He’s stuck inside a stubborn witch, and he wants me to let him out. And he thinks I’m the one who can help him by tearing apart a soul bond.”
“No one can do what you’re suggesting,” Kun huffed, lifting a hand to pull his fingers through his hair. “Soul bonds are a different kind of magic.”
“They’re a subset of soul magic.” Haechan answered. “The spell is completed by giving a piece of your soul to someone and binding them together to tie your fates to one another.” After a pause, he sucked in a deep breath. “I can do it… by using my magic to tear the pieces of their souls from one another and returning them to the original owners… But there’s no telling what it would do to someone to be forced apart like that..”
Kun frowned, brows furrowing. “You haven’t done it before… Have you..?”
“Kind of.. I tore someone’s memories out one time and then put their soul in an ink pot that I carried around for decades. It was gruesome. He was just a hollow shell after it happened.” Haechan found a spot on the coffee table, narrowing his eyes as he focused on it. “He’s fine, by the way. I like to think he’s enjoying his new life as a dokkaebi. But he doesn’t remember anything from his past lives…” He paused, sucking in a deep breath in hopes of steeling his nerves.
A silence broke out between the two, with Haechan’s focus thoroughly on the spot until something clicked in his mind.
“I need you to be serious with me, Qian,” he started, lifting his head to look Kun in the eye, his voice small and quiet in comparison to his usual boisterous attitude. “Did you know that Illie’s been sick?”
There was a pause, then a sigh and finally a nod. “Yes. I… Doie and I both knew… He’s been stopping by for some form of treatment… If I’m being honest, it’s miraculous that he hasn’t died with how saturated his blood is. Humans don’t last this long and you could say it’s because he’s an elf, but..” He trailed off, trying to sort out the words in his head.
Haechan fixed his expression into a poison stare. “But what? I could lose him any minute and you both just… didn’t want to tell me?”
Kun sat back in his seat, lifting his hand from his lap as an Abyssinian cat leapt into his lap, quickly making itself comfortable. “I told him to tell you, you know… I’m sorry I didn’t get through to him before this happened.. But we were respecting his wishes… We know you by now. You’d do something absolutely moronic in the name of love..” He sighed and cast a glance towards the hallway that led to the guest room. “He’s one of my best friends, you know. We both stand to lose a lot if he…” The words caught in his throat as Haechan tried to piece together what he could mean. Lowering his voice, he cast a quick glance at the door, clearing his throat before continuing. “If anything happens to Taeil… His contract with Doyoung ends and the elves will take him back.” He paused. “Your bond… At least you know you’ll get him back.”
“Did they tell you as much?”
Kun nodded, “Earlier today.”
There was an almost eerie silence as Haechan sank into his seat, seemingly stuck between a fit of rage and nearly sobbing. Mostly, he seemed thoroughly exhausted, both of them unable to sleep until they knew something about Taeil’s condition.
Eventually, Yangyang crept out of the guest room, carrying a bundle of laundry wrapped in clean sheets. Stopping for a moment, he breathed out a shaky sigh. “The bleeding stopped, but we’re waiting to see… Doyoung thinks you need to call his other summon… Not Tteokki.”
Haechan’s spiteful gaze turned to a pleading look as he just about begged Kun to tell him he didn’t have to call for his husband’s dragon, but no help came. Instead, Kun simply looked expectant as he gestured for him to make the call.
Haechan whined loudly after, almost looking like a petulant child as he did. “Him? But he’s just so…”
“Cool?” Yangyang supplied, “I know, right? But he’s ancient and Doie thinks they might be able to figure something out.”
Kun knew there was no bad blood between the two, but their magic was similar, warped by unknown corrupting forces. Doyoung had once theorized that the reason behind Haechan’s dislike was more to do with feeling threatened by him.
Still, it wasn’t long before Haechan was making the call, gritting out a greeting and the address of where to meet them as though it physically pained him, and in under an hour, there had been a knock at the door.
Yangyang had opened the door to reveal Jiyong leaning against the door’s frame, something far too casual about the way he did. Haechan could hardly even muster up the energy to scowl his way. He walked inside, kicking off his shoes before he did, and dropped into a spare seat, lounging in it like he owned the place. As usual, his dark hair was styled to cover one eye, and you could still see some patches of iridescent green scales creeping from under the collar of his shirt, even in his human form.
He glanced around the room, his fiery red eye landing on a sullen Haechan.
“So… Anyone wanna tell me why I’m here?”
There were a few glances around the room before Kun got up to collect Doyoung, who was keeping watch over a sleeping Taeil. Looking up from Taeil, Doyoung met Kun’s eye with a sad expression.
“I didn’t know it had gotten this bad,” Doyoung whispered, still cleaning his hands with a damp towel that was now stained with black splotches, “We have to figure something out quickly.”
Kun nodded slowly, “Haechan is furious, but Jiyong is here.”
With a sigh that feigned relief, Doyoung dropped the towel on the floor and stood up, wrapping his arms around Kun for some small comfort. Kun held him, not wanting to let go, face buried against his shoulder.
“Come on,” Doyoung whispered, caressing Kun’s hair until he finally let him go and they returned to the others.
Without much in the way of ceremony, Doyoung cleared his throat, looking around the room. “Let’s jump right into it, now that everyone’s here.” He grabbed the back of the armchair he stood behind, looking into Jiyong’s eye. “Taeil is dying. Demonic corruption of the blood. I’ve spoken with everyone who might know of a cure for it, but nothing short of an exorcism could save him.”
“Then do it!” Haechan begged, “For the love of the gods, do it!”
Kun shook his head, “When Taeil was told, he told Renjun he would rather die… Because there’s no telling what would happen to you in the process. Your bond is strong, but it’s made in part by demon magic.. Which yours has become ever since you…” His words drifted for a moment. “He doesn’t want anything to happen to you. At all.”
Haechan sunk even further into the cushions of the sofa, “But I can’t lose him.”
Doyoung gave a solemn nod, “I know. That’s why we’re trying to figure out another solution.” He looked to Jiyong, expression tentatively hopeful. “Is there anything your four thousand years has taught you?”
“Let me tell you a story,” Jiyong began, relaxing further into his seat. “Once there was a dragon. Much like other dragons, he was a guardian of a river, bringing life with him wherever he went… One day, one of his brothers called him aside to show him something, and, although wary of his brother for being jealous, he blindly followed him until he was met with a poisoned knife in his back.” He paused for a moment, exhaling a smoke-filled breath, his visible eye glowing for a split second before he calmed down enough to continue. “Unwilling to give up, he allowed the poison to take its course, but it warped him. He became a dragon of fire to survive.” A smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth. “And now his river is polluted and catches fire every year… No idea why.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Haechan grumbled.
Jiyong sighed, “Magic is adaptable. Haechan, you proved that when he merged with a demon and survived… and I proved it when my own corruption changed my own nature, but adaptation means change.” He rolled his head to look at Haechan. “Are you willing to live with what he’ll become if he survives?”
Haechan nodded weakly. “I just… I can’t lose him.”
“Well, then…” Moving around in his seat until he was no longer lounging in it, Jiyoung suddenly carried the air of command, the scales shining in the room’s low light as he looked at Doyoung. “Our contracts with Taeil strain his magic. We’ll need to break them in order to give him the best chance of survival.”
The suggestion startled Kun, giving Doyoung a cautious look as Haechan’s mouth dropped open, though he quickly snapped it shut and gave the two a pleading look.
Despite the intentions of the elves once his contract was ended, Doyoung’s choice was an obvious one, always as a healer first. Kun knew it even before Doyoung had straightened his posture and stared directly into the red and gold eye of Jiyong. Panic set a lump in Kun’s throat and blurred his vision as he found a point in the distance to focus on as Doyoung answered.
“What then?” he asked, something of an eerie calm in his tone. “We break our contracts and then?”
“And then we wait… and hope that he’s as stubborn as we think he is.”
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