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Xu Minghao worked at a quaint little potions cafe that was situated right in the heart of South Korea’s biggest hidden magical city. At Moonwalker Cafe, he has already met all sorts of creatures and beings; from the shortest of fairies who couldn’t live without caffeine to the prettiest of elves even if they don’t take caffeine very well; from brute trolls who ordered creamy drinks to vampires who just needed a quick substitute. Things were, in one word, interesting.
The boy himself was a vampire, although he felt like he could pass for a wizard or at least an alchemist soon enough. His boss, Jeon Wonwoo, made sure he knew not just the classic coffee drinks that humans had, but also how these things could be elevated—with magic, of course. Minghao didn’t exactly have magic, but he did have Wonwoo’s stock of herbs and ingredients and pre-made potions that were always a big help.
“I’ll have the usual,” came the honey-like voice of Yoon Jeonghan, resident siren with a sweet tooth that usually left his throat sore.
Next to him was a boy Minghao hasn’t seen in the cafe before, but with pink hair that matched the siren’s own, so he figured they were probably of the same kind. The said boy gave Jeonghan a pointed look, one that could easily be interpreted as a judgmental one, eyebrows raised. He must know of Jeonghan’s tendencies as well, then, since the latter merely laughed when he caught the other’s stare.
“Relax, Jisoo, I know what I’m doing! This is a magic cafe for a reason. Right, Minghao?” He directed his last statement at the barista, who nodded immediately.
“Jeonghan orders his strawberry frappe with an added potion, crafted by Wonwoo himself. It soothes his throat with each sip and counters whatever effect the sweet drink has,” Minghao said dutifully.
“Right!” The siren said happily, turning to his friend once more. “I told you they were good. I can’t believe you’ve never checked them out before.”
His friend—Jisoo, Minghao figured—merely rolled his eyes, although there was an amused smile on his lips. A siren who doesn’t have his voice, huh? That was new, the Chinese boy thought to himself, as he busied himself with making the drink before he got too curious about the other boy and let it show. Sirens and beautiful voices went hand in hand; it was probably a sensitive topic, even if the other boy didn’t seem to mind.
“Here you go,” the vampire came back a few minutes later, complete with Jeonghan’s drink and an extra slice of cake, on the house since he dropped by so often. Jeonghan said his thanks and left, hand in hand with the other siren. Minghao wondered briefly if it was romantic in any way, but figured that was just another thing that peaked his curiousity that didn’t exactly need an answer.
Moonwalker Cafe was famous for a lot of reasons. Apart from selling their drinks and occasional pastries with potions and essentially being the only magical cafe around, it was one of the few spaces that was a safe haven for those like Minghao and more. Humans couldn’t see the cafe; thanks to Wonwoo’s wards, the spot where the cafe stood appeared as a mere brick wall to those without magical blood.
Nobody had to hide anything, really, which was one of the reasons he loved working there as well.
It was a rainy Friday night when Minghao found himself staying later in the cafe than usual, just a little past closing time. He had talked about making the cafe a 24 hour business with Wonwoo before, explaining that he could totally do it since it’s not like he slept much, but the older boy had said no. Nightlife in the magical realm hardly meant staying in cafes; plus that was extra money to spend on the wizard’s part.
During most mornings, Minghao also worked with a few other people. By the time the sun sets though, he was used to staying alone. It wasn’t completely in his job description, but he enjoyed sorting out Wonwoo’s various plants—even the ones that bit him now and then—and clean around. He would also make a mental note of which potions were running out so that he could tell the boss when to restock.
He was in the midst of wondering if he could somehow get Wonwoo to agree to paying him more when the door suddenly swung open.
A drenched figure immediately stumbled in, getting rain all over the floor that Minghao had just mopped, too. Irritated just a little bit, the vampire was about to try his best to calmly tell the customer that the cafe was closed half an hour ago can’t you read the sign outside, when he stopped in his tracks. He sniffed the air once, twice, as he watched the other boy finally get the hair out of his eyes.
Minghao’s eyes widened at the familiar scent, one he could find everywhere but inside the cafe.
A human?
“How did you get in here?” the raven haired boy asked immediately, as he inwardly panicked over the situation, but tried his best to appear calm. This has never happened before. It’s not supposed to be something that could happen. He was at least glad he was the only different being in the cafe at the time. Things would not have went well if the human arrived while the cafe was packed with sprites and sirens and dwarves alike. He didn’t even want to think about the possibility of there being a first generation vampire in the mix.
“I’m so sorry, the rain suddenly began to pour and I kind of just ran without really seeing where I was going,” the human said, looking genuinely apologetic that Minghao softened just a little bit. “I could have sworn I was headed straight for a wall, but I was basically blind earlier.”
Well. That explained things, at least. Minghao breathed out a sigh of relief that the human got in entirely by accident. He didn’t know how he was possibly going to bring up the topic that the illusion placed by one of the most powerful wizards of all time failed. Wonwoo would probably turn him into a frog for such an insult. Thoughts about frogs aside, Minghao regarded the still soaking boy and figured he could try and help, since there was no way the human could leave with the rain still pouring, anyway.
“It’s fine,” he replied. Minghao gestured towards the boy’s jacket, already thinking that he should still be able to get the hot chocolate machine to work. It depended on the machine’s mood, really. Wonwoo liked to experiment sometimes, and an animated machine just happened to be within his range. “You should get out of at least some of your wet clothes. I know most of your kind get sick easily when it comes to the rain.”
“Thank you so much,” the brunette said, already halfway out of his jacket, before he paused. “Wait, what do you mean by my kind?”
Oh.
Thinking quickly, Minghao shrugged as nonchalantly as he could, “the kind of people who run under the rain. You can sit down while you wait for the rain to die down.”
“I didn’t mean to,” the other boy said with a bit of a laugh, shrugging off the rest of his jacket and neatly folding it onto the nearest chair and taking the seat next to it. “My name is Wen Junhui, by the way. Thank you again for being nice about this. I’ll help clean the mess I made.”
“I’m Minghao,” the vampire introduced in response, wondering if he should take Junhui up on his offer to clean, before remembering that the human was still soaking wet. Any movement from the other boy created more of a mess than helped fix it, so Minghao decided not to say anything about it and left to create a drink. The hot chocolate machine thankfully cooperated, albeit a bit unsure why it was being used so late in the night.
There was something to be said about how Minghao was more used to gauging a machine’s feelings than having a human inside the cafe, despite living in a world that was filled with them, but he saved that thought for another day. Shortly after, he had a steaming cup of hot chocolate ready, with a few added drops of something that was meant to keep one’s body warm. He wasn’t sure if the effects of the potion would be the same or maybe even too much to take for a human, but figured a little wouldn’t hurt.
The brunette looked surprised when Minghao handed him the cup.
“Take it. It’s free.”
“You didn’t have to,” Junhui said with a hint of embarrassment in his voice, taking the drink regardless. His fingers brushed against Minghao’s for a moment, warm against the vampire’s own cold skin, causing the raven haired boy to pull back a little bit too quickly. Thankfully, the human didn’t seem to notice or at least chose not to comment on it, happily taking a sip of the hot chocolate.
He smiled brightly before stating, “this is the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had!”
“It should keep you warm,” Minghao said with a small smile of his own, meaning every word more than the human would know; he could feel the genuine joy practically radiating off of the other boy, which always made his job a little more worth it. He’s had his fair share of rude customers during his days as a barista, so he couldn’t help but be grateful to people who appreciated his service.
After a few moments, Junhui piped up again, “so, this is a pretty nice place. I don’t remember there being a cafe here before. I like the theme you guys have.”
“The theme…?” The vampire questioned for a moment before it hit him.
The cafe was definitely exotic when it came to the decor; some tables and chairs were made out of pure wood, most were of varying material. None of them had silver involved, after an incident with a werewolf back when the cafe first started. Some of the shelves actually had Wonwoo’s spell books, mixed in with the human literature that the wizard loved for some reason. The lights were usually dimmed to fit the surroundings, so at that moment it was just a dull shine.
It probably looked like it did jump right out of some fairytale.
“Oh, yeah,” Minghao said quickly, nodding all the while. “The owner is really into, uhm, all this.”
“It’s nice,” the brunette said simply.
“Really? You don’t find it weird or anything?”
Junhui shook his head as he smiled, taking yet another sip of the drink in his hands. Something about him just seemed so genuine that it kept catching Minghao off guard. The vampire has met a lot of humans in his time—he’s not that old yet, but he’s been around long enough to know that the world was slowly becoming a dangerous place for humans and magical beings alike. There was a reason Wonwoo decided to open Moonwalker at all.
Yet, here was a human, looking around the place in pure awe.
He probably wouldn’t have the same reaction if the place was packed with its usual customers though, Minghao mused, although a part of him was doubting that as well.
“I like that piece in particular,” Junhui said, pointing towards a cauldron that was situated near the corner of the store. Sometimes, whenever Wonwoo was up for it, he would put up a show for the customers to see him create his potions. Whenever there were kids around—doesn’t matter what kind of kids—he would even add in a few more special effects. He usually worked at home, but the cauldron remained there even when he wasn’t around.
Minghao couldn’t help but smile, “yeah, that’s a nice part of the cafe, too.”
“It reminds me of a witch’s cauldron or something like that.”
“Something like that,” the other boy agreed, hiding his amusement behind a small smile.
The brunette glanced around the store some more, before his eyes landed on Minghao. He hasn’t really looked at Minghao much since he sat down, but when he finally did, his eyes surprisingly lingered longer than the vampire expected. Junhui had the same thoughtful expression on his face, void of any hidden judgement, and for once Minghao allowed himself to be stared at by a human without feeling discomfort.
“You kind of blend in,” the human commented. “I like your outfit, too. Makes you look pale, like a vampire.”
His outfit?
Minghao looked down at what he was wearing just to check, before realizing that was pretty dumb since he almost exclusively wore just black, anyway. Sometimes red. Generic vampire colours for sure. That day, he dressed for the colder weather with a dark shirt over an even darker sweater. He could see why Junhui would think so, and it’s not like the other boy was wrong, either.
“Like a vampire, huh?” Minghao parroted back with a smirk, growing more and more amused by the situation. He didn’t usually care about humans, but this one was different. He was careful this whole time not to make his smile too wide and expose his fangs, but Minghao also couldn’t help but laugh a bit when he noticed Junhui’s flustered expression. The vampire could tell there was blood rushing to his cheeks.
The other boy finally looked away, muttering, “I meant it as a compliment.”
“It is a compliment,” the raven haired boy assured him. “Thank you.”
“I was thinking,” Junhui began to say after a few moments passed in silence once more; he finally finished the rest of his drink and was now fiddling with the edge of the cup. His complexion looked better than earlier, the colour returning now that the cold was leaving his body. His hair was drying faster than it should, too, which meant the potion worked fine. “I’ll order something next time I come over to make up for this free drink.”
“You don’t have to come back,” the vampire replied quickly.
There was no way Junhui could come back, anyway, even if Minghao definitely wouldn’t mind. He was still a human, after all. By tomorrow, or maybe even the moment he left the establishment, there was no way he would find himself back inside. Minghao was already planning on erasing his memory of going through the wall before he left the cafe, too, just to be sure he didn’t try and succeed again.
The way he said it must have given the human a different idea though, as a disappointed look quickly passed through his features before Junhui resumed smiling again. For some reason, the sight didn’t sit well with the vampire. The brunette’s smile was clearly a bit more strained than earlier, but his tone was still light as he spoke, “ah, alright. Thank you for tonight, regardless.”
“I mean,” Minghao found himself explaining before he could properly think about it. “You don’t have to come back for that reason. You don’t owe me anything.”
“So I can come back?” The human asked timidly. “I hope you say yes.”
The answer was definitely a no. Minghao knew this. The plants knew this. The hot chocolate machine knew this, too, and might even tell Wonwoo about what happened that night. Still, the vampire couldn’t help but notice the boy’s hopeful expression and just didn’t have the heart to see it gone. He technically didn’t even have a beating heart anymore to begin with, but logic seemed to no longer concern Minghao at that moment.
“Sure,” he ended up saying. That also meant he didn’t really think he could end up wiping away Junhui’s memories at this point, nor did he want to get rid of his own memories concerning how the human boy smiled brightly at his answer. Minghao has lived for a long time—long enough to know that he would be dumb to let a good opportunity go. Also long enough to know that he was gonna have to make sure Junhui didn’t visit during the day if he wanted to make this work.
He could feel Wonwoo’s magic around the cafe judging him, but that was a problem for another day.