Chapter Text
Seokjin feels cold.
He always feels cold. But this time, this specific sort of freezing is something that has been absent since the day Namjoon found him all those years ago.
It grips his limbs and urges him to move, to follow his new master, to answer all his wishes, it is a cold that runs just below his skin like a million tiny worms that squirm and burrow deeper into his flesh, biting and invasive and cold .
The only reason he doesn’t go hurtling after the bunny-faced boy is the fact that he left the lantern behind, he was well within his rights to take Seokjin’s vessel along, if the amount of magic he poured out into the lantern is any indication, then there is nothing Seokjin could have done to stop him.
But the kid didn’t.
He spilled his magic carelessly into the lantern, a careless oil-spill that left a headache pounding inside his skull.
Seokjin swallows the nervousness that makes his hands shake and focuses his attention on Namjoon. The kid is kneeling in front of Seokjin’s lantern, pouring apologies like a waterfall. His eyes are wide and worried, his fingers hover over the glass ,never touching, never without permission, and Seokjin smiles to see how careful he is with his vessel.
It’s sweet.
Seokjin pushes away from the wall and walks closer to Namjoon, letting the illusion fall, he cards his fingers through the other’s hair, combing it back, Namjoon raises his head, his features are scrunched up in distress and despite the heavy sinking feeling in his chest, Seokjin can’t help the fondness that courses through him at the care the younger man shows him.
Namjoon seems to slump at the touch, kneeling at Seokjin’s feet, boneless, Seokjin continues running his fingers through the other’s hair, the motion soothing to the both of them, the silence hangs heavy over them, and despite himself, Seokjin can’t find it in himself to offer the other man absolution, or empty platitudes, he feels- slightly violated; always does after someone touches his vessel, and he is… tired.
Seokjin is so tired.
“Hyung- Hyung i’m so sorry.” Namjoon repeats, eyes wide and pleading, pretty lips bitten red and raw.
Seokjin closes his eyes, not wanting to see the other’s distress any longer, his fingers tighten in the other’s hair for barely a second, but it is enough for Namjoon to let out a tiny distressed sound, he quickly releases the silver strands, and runs his thumb over the other’s cheekbone apologetically.
It’s okay, he doesn’t say, because it is not.
Instead he grips Namjoon’s arm and tugs him up, the other man follows easily, always so pliant, so sweet.
“Hyung-”
“Joonie, it was an accident,” he allows. “And the kid didn’t take the lantern, we’ll just over-ride his claim.”
And the relief that floods his face is enough to make Seokjin feel better, the violating sensation of fingers rubbing all over his vessel, over his body , be damned.
“I can do that.” He says, eager to please.
“I know you can, Joon-ah,” He says, slightly amused and so very fond.
Namjoon reaches towards the lantern, but before touching it, he turns to look at Seokjin, asking for permission, Seokjin gestures at him widely, as if to say go for it.
Namjoon swallows and very carefully, he cradles the warm glass between his fingers, Seokjin suppresses a shiver, the feel of phantom hands touching his body insistent, slowly, he starts channeling raw magic into the lantern, the stream thin and controlled, a pale blue that flows from his fingers and coalesce inside the glass, and despite how careful Namjoon is being, the clash of two different magical signatures inside his vessel burns. He bites his lower lip suppressing the pained gasp that wants to escape, he leans back, hands holding onto the display case behind him for dear life, his knees buckle and it’s everything he can do to not fall down.
Namjoon’s eyes are narrowed in intense concentration, it takes so much effort, channeling raw purposeless magic.
Seokjin waits and waits for the burning to stop, for the sign that the kid’s magic has been overtaken, but it doesn’t come. And the longer the process takes, the worse Seokjin’s pain becomes, the deeper the frown etches itself on Namjoon’s face, a drop of sweat makes its way down his temple.
It burns. He breathes through it.
It burns. He tries to take a breath and promptly gasps.
It burns.
Seokjin slides down to the floor, knees finally giving out, He’s panting heavily, and his limbs shake, he feels nauseous, like he’s been running nonstop for hours.
At the sound, Namjoon whirls around, his magic coming to an abrupt halt and with it the pain, the sudden absence almost as jarring as the pain itself. Seokjin whimpers, hands coming up to clutch at his head.
“Hyung!” Namjoon cries out, worried, he slams down to his knees and crawls toward him, large hands cradling his neck. “Are you okay?” he asks, and Seokjin lets out a breathless laugh.
Their eyes meet and he knows the second they do that Namjoon realizes what’s wrong, Seokjin’s pupils will be ringed with a different color now, something other than Namjoon’s pale blue magic.
“The claim-”
“Still there.” he confirms, tired.
“Well… shit.”
Seokjin laughs.
*
Jungkook wakes up.
He wakes up and blinks and instantly his hand darts up under the pillow, looking for the Dream, he can’t feel the small sphere anywhere, he moves the pillow but there is nothing underneath it, nothing to prove that what happened wasn’t a strange sleep deprived hallucination, nothing if not for the fact that Jungkook just woke up for the first time in who knows how long, feeling refreshed. His body’s still stiff, but his eyes aren’t itching anymore and that deep bone pain that haunted him day and night is no longer an issue.
Jungkook is, once more, human.
“Oh my god.” he says, giddy and pleased and so fucking relieved it causes an actual rush, he has to get up and do some sit-ups to get the maniac smile off of his face.
Once that’s done, he thinks, what the hell, and starts exercising in earnest, he’s been ignoring his workout routine for a while now and he’s paying for it now, he’s able to do way less reps than he’s used to, he tries not to be too disappointed in himself and just tries to remember than a mere 24 hours ago, the very thought of of doing a single squat could have sent him creening into a blackout episode.
All in all, it’s a pretty productive morning , and he’s also early to his morning shift at the cafe.
Hoseok-hyung is waiting for him outside, a pinched look around his face that seems to lose its intensity the closer Jungkook comes to him, his stance loses some of its sharpness and a strange look washes over his face. Jungkkok is suddenly reminded of the fact that he was supposed to visit his Hyung’s friend for a potion, the sudden overflow of guilt is jarring.
He comes to a stop right in front of the older man, feeling uncharacteristically small, he keeps tugging at his sleeves and worrying at the cuffs, Hoseok’s eyes soften further.
“You look better.” Hoseok says, and Jungkook can’t help but notice how genuine he sounds.
He’s not sure why he expected those words to be barbed, Hoseok had never been anything but unfailingly kind to him.
“Um- Yeah. Listen, Hyung, I’m sorry, about the potion, I hope your friend isn’t too mad.” He ventures, the words feeling like acid in his throat.
Hoseok leans back at the wall and sends him a bright smile, he looks relieved.
“Hey, If things worked out without a potion then I’m happy for you,” He shrugs, “Besides, Hyung waited for you yesterday and when you didn’t come, he decided not to start the brewing process, said he’d want to meet you first.”
The guilt intensifies and it must have shown on his face because Hoseok straightens up, his hands coming up in a calming motion.
“And that’s totally fine-”
“He waited for me?”
“Uh- well-”
“I’m really sorry, I was going to go but I got lost.” He hurries to explain.
“Lost?” Hoseok asks, sounding amused.
“Uh-huh, ended up in a shop called Hauntings.”
“Never heard of it.”
“It was really cool, Hyung. They sell Dreams.” He says, awed and excited by the concept.
Hoseok raises an eyebrow, “Dreams?”
Jungkook nods eagerly, “Yeah, how come no one mentioned those things before, they sound so cool.”
“I genuinely have no idea what you’re talking about Kook-ah, How do they even sell dreams?”
And that causes Jungkook to come to a stop, he’s been opening up the front door, eager to start the day. Somehow, he never expected Hoseok to not know what he was talking about, he’d always seemed so attuned to magic, so knowledgeable about it. Maybe the Dream thing wasn’t common?
Jungkook licks his lips, “They had those small balls that the owner said were donated Dreams, you place them under your pillow and they help you sleep... I think.” He ends, frowning slightly, realizing that he has no idea how the Dream even worked.
Hoseok is arranging the tables and chairs but he pauses when he says, carefully, neutrally. “It’s… great that it worked Kook-ah,” He starts “But dream magic is… complicated, you know, you should be more careful with it.”
Jungkook frowns. The previous euphoria evaporating, Hoseok’s words arousing his anxiety. He bites his lower lip and tries to keep his hands busy.
“I don’t think it was anything… bad.” He ventures.
“Well, that’s... good, but be careful, okay Jungkook-ah?” the older man says and Jungkook swallows, he nods, eyes carefully trained on the floor.
The moment is broken by Eunji- noona who comes through the door yawning, she still looks a bit under the weather but she assures them that she’s totally good to work. After some mutual fussing, the first customer of the day arrives and soon enough Jungkook is too swamped in the morning rush to give the Dreams any more thought.
It doesn’t help that soon enough he realizes that something big must have happened, there is a general air of disbelief in the air, something heavy and charged that he learnt to associate with strong emotions.
Something was off.
“It’s horrible.” A young teen says, clutching her cellphone close to her chest. Her friend nods, “ the whole family, they say.”
“Why would- like I know that discrimination against non-humans was like a thing, but they tortured them.”
“Dad says we should have expected this, everyone knows the Park clan is Dark.”
“God I wish-”
A middle aged man comes up to the register to place his order and Jungkook is summarily distracted.
Something with non-humans then? Jungkok thinks distractedly, whatever it is, it’s garish enough that almost everyone is talking about it. And not all condemning either, he notes uneasily.
The second a lull hits, Jungkook leaves his place at the register, sure that Noona would call him if he’s needed and seeks out Hoseok-hyung, the older man is wiping the already clean counters, but the man is a bit of a neat-freak so Jungkook thinks nothing of it.
“What’s that about?” He asks, gesturing behind him.
“Hm?” Hoseok says, distracted.
“Everyone is talking about some crime?”
Hoseok straightens. “You didn’t hear?”
Jungkook shakes his head.
Hoseok sighs and gives him his full attention, his fingers compulsively wringing the cleaning rag.
“Park Sungho was arrested for murder, his wife and son are being charged as accomplices, the police is looking for the other son, they thing he was disowned but they still want to investigate him, see if he knew anything.”
So, a family of murderers? Like, that’s interesting and all but why is it such big news?
“And that’s got everyone wound up?” He asks, confused.
Hoseok’s eyebrows furrow.
“Kookie, He’s the head of the Park clan, a really powerful politician, and super respected in some circles, ‘course it’s big news.”
Jungkook is the first to admit that he doesn’t give politics as much attention as he probably should, but-
“How was he caught? If he’s such a powerful politician.” like, Jungkook is pretty sure if the man is as powerful as Hoseok implies, then the crime should have been swept under the rug.
“Someone tipped off the police. He was caught red handed. Apparently it wasn’t the first time either.” Hoseok says with a shudder, his bright eyes shadowed and an unhappy twist on his lips.
Jungkook swallows, unnerved.
“They were all non-human?” Jungkook asks.
Hoseok nods, shoulders hunching in discomfort.
They continue their shift in a somber silence, though they both are quick to put on happy faces for their patrons, it’s exhausting.
Maybe it’s the general atmosphere, But Jungkook feels colder, he tries to shrug off the feeling when he notices it.
Someone is staring at him.
Jungkook tries to ignore it, sometimes people do that, it’s usually pre-pubescent girls who gather in groups staring and giggling, it’s usually pretty harmless, Jungkook tries to ignore it but the eyes are boring holes into his back, Jungkook tries and fails to suppress a shiver.
He’s… not feeling too well, maybe he should take his lunch break.
The eyes keep following him and Jungkook keeps ignoring it, until he can’t anymore.
he glances around superstitiously, trying to find the culprit without being too obvious about it.
Once he does, he gapes.
He is gorgeous. Jungkook notes in amazement. Light blue hair that falls softly over his forehead, a very intense looking face, cold and unapproachable, an aura of power emanating from around him, the seats around him are all empty.
He’s also shameless, Jungkook notes, because when their eyes meet, the man’s gaze doesn’t waver, he keeps looking at him with a strange look in his unblinking eyes, it is so unnerving Jungkook is the one to look away first.
The defeat burns at his pride.
From the corner of his eye, he sees the man standing up and approaching Jungkook, for a second he’s tempted to duck and hide behind the counter, he’s too busy chastising himself for his cowardice that he doesn’t notice when the man finally stops in front of him.
“You used it?” He says, voice surprisingly deep.
“Um- what?” Jungkook blinks.
“You reek of me.” the man says and Jungkook reels back, disturbed, his lips twist in a grimace “ What?” he bites out.
“ What was it like?” the man continues his interrogation, unperturbed.
“Look, Sir, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Jungkook bites out as politely as he could, he squares his shoulder and tries to look intimidating, it probably would have worked if Jungkook was feeling a bit better, but his hands were worryingly numb, the cold was spreading fast through his chest and it sent his pulse racing.
“The Dream, you used one of mine, how was it?” the man asks, leaning over the counter eagerly bringing their faces closer together.
Jungkook leans back, unnerved, he stumbles, the motion catches Hoseok’s eyes who heads towards them, fingers flexing.
And oh, the owner, Namjoon, did say that the Dream donor likes feedback.
“Um- Look, Sir, I-”
“Was it a fun one? I think all the ones I give are fun but Jiminie says my definition of fun is skewed.” He says, pouting attractively.
Jungkook blinks, and blinks- suddenly everything looks blurry, he takes another shaky step back only to bump into a firm chest that he knows belongs to Hoseok, strong arms wrap around his waist keeping him upright.
“What’s going on here?” He says.
And Jungkook opens his mouth to answer, but just- can’t, his limbs feel cold and foreign and everything is becoming distant, he only registers the man’s wide-eyed look of horror and Hoseok’s panicked call before everything turns black.