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Ten arrives on a moonless night.
The wind is sharp and cold, rattling against the windows as it tries to get inside. Kun ignores it, ignores the gooseflesh that sweeps over his bare arms as he paces around the small room at the back of The Store. He’s used to the wind, used to it trying to sneak through the gaps beneath the doors and between the floorboards, used to it begging for his attention, trying to distract him.
But Kun has never let it impede him, and never will.
He steps back from his work, letting his eyes wander over the shape in front of him. A web of symbols, too archaic to be fully understood, spirals out from the centre of the room to finish at his feet. It has been hours since he first crouched down in the middle of the room and traced the enhancement into the floor.
The spell settles, against wind’s shrieking protests.
Kun wipes the remnants of the magic from his fingers as he does a final check of the spell. It’s full and rich. Kun can’t feel its weight in the air or taste it on his tongue, but it’s there grounding him in the room. If he were a prideful man, Kun might have even said it was his best.
He doesn’t notice Ten at first, too focused on the magic in front of him. It draws him in, strengthens and drains him at the same time, pulsing through his very essence as he makes the final tweaks to the spell in front of him. It’s only when the cat nudges him that Kun is alerted to his presence.
‘Hello,’ Kun murmurs.
It’s small, black as the night and watches Kun with eyes that are too wise. Kun doesn’t hesitate, runs a hand once along the length of the cat’s body as it purrs. He doesn’t realise what he had been missing, not until the magic settles into his bones and cartilage, into the fibres of his muscles and sparks fire across his nerves.
The wind stalls and falls silent.
The spell is long gone when Johnny walks into The Store. The chill of morning still clings to him, and he brushes it off in favour of Kun’s warmth. He stops in the entrance and inhales the residual magic.
‘A prosperity spell, really?’ Johnny says, ducking under sprigs of dried rosemary and juniper. ‘And a love one at that. I thought you were more principled, Kun.’
Kun sits behind the counter of The Store, flicking through a book of orders. He does not look up at Johnny. ‘The request was unselfish, so I agreed to cast it.’
‘When is a prosperity spell ever anything but selfish?’
‘This one was.’
His words are firm, and strong. The air is heavy with the Kun’s decree, pushing down on the space between Johnny’s shoulder blades. He lets out a small hum, barely loud enough for Kun to hear, as he paces around the room. It’s the only acknowledgement he makes that he will not argue with Kun on this.
‘Who is this?’ Johnny asks, and Kun looks up from the yellowed pages. He stands by the window ledge, scratching beneath the cat’s chin. He stretches into the touch, eyes half closed and Kun knows that he already likes Johnny.
Kun smiles and closes the book.
‘That’s Ten,’ he walks across the store, steps silent and soft so as not to disturb that magic that has settled like dust across the entire store, ‘my familiar.’
Johnny laughs. ‘It’s about time.’
Kun smiles at Ten, it is about time.
They watch as Johnny walks over to the front counter. They stay silent and watch as Johnny scratches his request into the book of orders. It’s only when Johnny leaves that Kun reads what the older man has written in the book.
The Store is located in the deepest, darkest corner of That Alley off Main Street. People who want to find The Store will wander until the sun has set, but never stumble across the grimy, glass door. People who need The Store, and the services of its owner, will find themselves at its doorstep without realising how they found it.
Once they enter, they are greeted with the smell of a candle that has just been blown out. They are greeted with a warmth that is just enough to be comfortable. They are greeted with the ring of a bell, pure and crisp, that originates from nowhere and everywhere, and a still silence that follows.
They can explore The Store because it will let them.
Ready-made spells and potions sit on counters, herbs hang from the ceiling to dry and books line shelves that labyrinth across the shop floor. They can peruse the items in front of them, and sometimes they will cluck and mutter about the dust that settles on the shelves and the wares and the floor. They will not realise that this dust is more powerful than they can understand.
If this is what they need, they will pick up the item they want and take it to the quiet man behind the counter. He will ring it up on his brass cash register and take their payment in money with a small smile.
They will walk out of The Store and they will forget the man, with the dark hair and the kind smile. And they will never come back.
But if they need more, they will walk down the aisles of The Store until they reach the quiet man and his brass register. He will pull out a book of orders, of wishes and dreams and tears and spite, that he keeps tucked away and out of sight. They will tell him what they want, and he will ask them to write it down.
Their intention will sink into the page because intention is more powerful than people know. He will ring it up on his brass cash register, and he will take their payment with a small smile. His cat, quiet and proud, will watch with piercing eyes, as they wander out of The Store and into the world again.
They are the ones who remember his dark hair, and his kind smile. They are the ones who will return.
Ten does not reveal his human form to Kun, not for fourteen days and nights.
‘I thought Johnny was a witch,’ Sicheng says.
‘He is.’ Kun sits at his counter, bent over the book of orders. It is old, at the end of its life and he knows he needs to start one before the year ends. Old means powerful, it draws him in closer the longer he spends bent over it. If Kun were anyone else, he might be afraid that he would fall in.
‘Then why did he come here for a spell, why didn’t he cast it himself?’
‘Why do you go to a barber to cut your hair? A barista to make your coffee?’ Kun asks, and when he looks up at Sicheng his face is soft and serious. ‘Sometimes you need someone else to do something for you.’
Sicheng is the closest Kun has to a brother. He is incredibly, beautifully ordinary.
Ten jumps up on the counter, a small meow that draws Sicheng’s attention from where he’s tending to the herbs. Ten likes Sicheng, Kun thinks, and Sicheng likes Ten. It’s better than Kun could have ever expected, as familiars tend to reject ordinary.
And Sicheng doesn’t usually like cats.
‘Will you fulfil his order?’
‘Of course,’ Kun’s eyes drift over to Johnny’s sharp, spiking handwriting, ‘he is a friend. And it is a simple request.’
Sicheng hums. He shakes out the dried bundles of herbs, contamination from the other spells falling onto the floorboards under Ten’s discerning eye. Kun trusts Sicheng with the task, his own magic is too strong to leave the herbs uninfluenced, but Ten is more careful, less trustful.
‘Will you tell me what he requested?’
‘Not today,’ Kun says, closing the book. ‘Not until I work out what spell will best suit his needs.’
‘Be careful,’ Sicheng says, and he walks down the dim aisle until he stands at the counter. He’s younger than Kun, almost by two years, and has always been a quieter, sweeter boy. The expression on his face isn’t hard, isn’t tired, but is soft and kind and altogether too sweet for what Kun deserves. ‘I know how important Johnny is to you.’
‘I will fulfil his request,’ Kun promises. ‘Nothing more, and nothing less.’
It seems to be enough for Sicheng, as he turns back to the herbs with delicate hands.
It is late in the evening, the sun beginning to dip below the horizon and casting a heavy glow over the streets. Kun will close The Store the moment the moon is alone in the sky, but until then he will wait and watch because only the most desperate of people come at the last minute.
Ten has since abandoned the window ledge, as the sun no longer reaches it, and the counter, as Kun has spread sheets of paper across the surface. He wanders around the shop floor, exploring the corners of The Store that not even Kun knows. Kun knows that when he rises and flips the sign in the door from open to closed, Ten will return to the centre of the shop floor, ready to go home.
But until then, they both wait until the last customer.
The sun has almost completely set, when the door opens and a clear ring echoes throughout The Store. Kun looks up, and in front of him is a desperate man.
His hair is grey, peeking out from beneath a beanie, and his eyes are large and round. Most people would first be entranced by his beauty, by the curve of his brow and the pout of his lips, but that is not what Kun notices. Kun sees the bags beneath his eyes, the nails that are bitten down and worn and the unsure tilt of his chin. He sees exhaustion, and desperation, and isn’t surprised that the man walks straight to the counter.
He pauses, in front of Kun, and doesn’t say anything for a long minute. Kun is used to this, most people do not know what to say, but he waits for the man to be the first to speak. Instead, he begins to pile his papers to the side and pulls out the book of orders.
‘Are you Kun?’
The man’s voice is lower than Kun expected.
‘I am.’
‘I was told that you might be able to help me with a problem,’ the man says, crossing his arms in front of him. ‘Johnny sent me.’
That is something new, but Kun doesn’t let his surprise betray him. Johnny is as capable a witch as Kun, and is less strict with his clientele. It is rare that Johnny will send someone to The Store, not when he is perfectly capable at casting a spell himself.
‘I will do my best to help you, provided that what you ask and offer is fair.’
The man nods, a single slow movement. If he knows Johnny, then he would know about the balance that ties with magic, and what Kun requires. Kun is not a curious man by nature, but his profession requires him to listen.
So, he does.
The two boys stumble in giggling.
Ten looks up, and hops of the counter, padding across the floor to look up at the two boys who stand in the doorway. One crouches down to pet Ten, and Kun decides he likes them immediately. The taller one of the pair looks at Kun, while the one crouching looks around The Store.
The taller boy approaches the counter, letting the protection herbs brush over his shoulders, he speaks quietly with his friend but his eyes dart from item to item in awe. Behind him, the smaller one walks with Ten in his arms as he navigates the shop floor, avoiding the herbs and the items that line the shelves lest his own magic rub off on them.
Kun can tell which is the one that needs him.
‘What can I do for you?’ he asks and the taller one casts a look over his shoulder. The shorter one nods, once, before Ten leaps out of his arms. Ten yowls and stalks through the aisles. The shorter one follows him, into the darkness and towards secrets between himself and Ten.
‘I was told that you can help people,’ the boy says, his smile charming and bright. ‘I was wondering if you would be able to help me.’
‘It depends on the help that is being requested,’ Kun links his fingers together in front of him.
‘I’ve been away for a while,’ the boy says, ‘and I’ve recently returned home. Everything is a little different to how it was before I left.’
‘Do you want things to return to how they were before? Because that is not an easy, or cheap, spell,’ Kun asks.
‘No,’ the boy shakes his head, his smile still broad and bright on the surface but quieter beneath, ‘the opposite, actually. I don’t want to return to that.’
‘What you’re asking is as much your determination as it is my magic,’ Kun warns. ‘I cannot guarantee that what you are asking for will be completely fulfilled if you do not put in as much, if not more, effort as I do magic.’
‘I understand, Donghyuck mentioned that it might be the case.’
‘The boy you are with?’
‘Yes.’
‘He will help stabilise the spell, and you.’
There is a touch of magic on Donghyuck, not strong and firm like Johnny’s or dark and rich like Kun’s, but something light and fleeting. Properly captured, this boy could be great but Kun will not be the one to draw him in and ask him to train.
‘Is that good?’
‘Very.’ Kun draws out the book of orders, placing it on the bench between himself and the boy. ‘I will need you to write your name, and what you are asking for me.’
‘The payment?’
A smart boy. Kun is surprised and delighted, and his smile grows on his face as he looks at the young boy in front of him.
‘Nothing too large, a fond memory from a bitter time. It doesn’t have to be your best, or your happiest, but fond nonetheless. I will give you tonight to dream of it, but then it will be fleeting and half-forgotten in the morning.’
The boy nods, and he takes Kun’s pen. In small, compact letters he writes Na Jaemin, and his desires soak into the page.
‘You will know when the spell has been cast,’ Kun says, taking the pen back from Jaemin. ‘But I assume that Donghyuck will be back, so you are welcome to come with him to get an update on the spell should you need it. Remember that you are as much a part of this spell as I, as long as you want things to change and grow then they will change. The moment you stop, so will the spell.’
‘Thank you,’ Jaemin says.
Kun does not receive any new customers before the full moon.
The moon hides behind clouds when Kun opens the locked door to the back room of The Store. It hasn’t been touched in the two weeks since Ten arrived, protected by sigils and a heavy iron lock that Kun does not touch during the day. He opens the door, and the magic it contains sweeps out and into the world like a wave. The magic will find those who need it: Johnny working on his own spells for the night, Donghyuck and the fledgling magic he possesses, the woman at the end of the street who is older than anyone on this earth.
Kun lets it ruffle at his hair, settle beneath his skin, before he steps into the room.
The spell that he was working on weeks ago is gone, having settled back into the ether, and a blank slate lies in front of him.
Ten pads in behind him, small head nudging at Kun’s shins to urge him forward.
The book of orders is tucked under Kun’s arm, begging to be opened and the magic released, but Kun places it down on a small desk as he finds the other ingredients that he needs.
A potion of patience, that he made a year ago and was never touched. Candles that will never burn out, no matter how long they stay alight for. Chalk that he has used for every spell since he reached majority, as rich with his magic as anything else he owns.
‘I think we should start with Johnny,’ Kun says, reaching for the book.
A hand grabs his wrist, where it settles on the pages and Kun looks at Ten for the first time.
Ten, as a human, is small and slim. His hair falls in his eyes, and his lips are turned into a little smile that spells dangers. He is both handsome and sweet, and Kun is left breathless for a moment because Ten is everything and nothing like Kun expected.
‘Not yet,’ he says, voice a little higher and a little louder than Kun’s. ‘Tonight, we will not cast a spell for Johnny.’
‘Why not?’ Kun is already pulling back from the book, it’s not a protest but just a question. He trusts Ten’s words and his decisions, despite the mere weeks that they have known each other.
‘It’s not time.’ Ten reaches for the book, and opens it himself, flicking to the page after Johnny’s. ‘The man, Taeyong. We should start with him.’
‘What do you suggest then?’
Taeyong, with his tired eyes and his beanie pulled over his eyes, had asked for more time. Time to sleep, time to rest, time to be the young adult that he was supposed to be. Kun had listened and accepted his request in exchange for Taeyong’s secrets.
‘His request was not a matter of needing more hours in the day, but needing to reprioritise,’ Ten murmurs, still clear and strong in the space between the pair of them. ‘We need to find him something more important to him than his education.’
‘Or something just as important, ordinary folk need these things.’
‘They think they do,’ Ten corrects, and he walks out of the storeroom onto the shop floor. As a cat, he moves silently and slinks in the shadows, but as a human Ten walks with purpose and grace. Kun cannot look away from him. ‘They never understand what they sacrifice until it is too late.’
He plucks a jar of dried hibiscus flowers from the shelf and walks back to press it into Kun’s hand.
‘I don’t cast love spells.’
Ten throws a look over his eyes, eyes narrowed into something that pins Kun to the spot.
‘Independence, confidence,’ he says, jumping up to sit on the desk. ‘You took his secrets. The reasons he is running so low on time.’
‘Give him strength and faith in return, so that he can do what he wants.’ Kun unscrews the jar, tapping a few of petals into a small burlap bag. Infused with different herbs and a bit more of Kun’s magic, this spell will be just enough to bolster Taeyong. ‘Not what most familiars would suggest in this situation.’
‘Are you saying you want me to be like normal familiars?’ Ten asks, too sweet and sharp in the silence of the room. It makes Kun smile, as he whispers the incantation into the herbs and ties it with a thin piece of twine. ‘One of those boring children with no imagination?’
‘Of course not.’ Kun isn’t surprised, that Ten is loud, firm and opinionated. He welcomes it, the small differences between himself and the familiar. His magic craves it, not that he would ever tell Ten that. ‘I’m just making a comment.’
‘You should be more mindful of what you say,’ Ten tsks with a smirk, pulling his knees up so that he looks at Kun over them. He looks like his feline self, a sharp smile and gaze, with magic dripping off him and Kun can already tell that he is trouble. ‘We wouldn’t want our relationship to deteriorate so early on. It is supposed to be one for life.’
It’s meant to be a threat, heavy like the spells that Kun needs to cast. But Kun just laughs, clear and bright before moving to the next spell. The one for Jaemin. It does not take long for Ten to take over that one, either.
Jaemin doesn’t need to pick up his spell. It dissipates by morning, the only trace of it being the smell of mint that permeates The Store as Kun opens the front door. He’s expecting Ten to have returned to his form as a cat, seeing as he spent two weeks prowling The Store as a feline without any desire to be human.
But Ten turns at the ring of the bell, settling on Kun’s form as he strides across the length of The Store.
‘We have an interesting day, today,’ he says, taking Kun’s half-drunk coffee and taking a sip from it. Kun can’t help the small snort of laughter, when Ten pulls a face and passes it back. ‘I assume that Taeyong is going to be back?’
‘Probably.’ Kun places his breakfast on the counter, careful not to drop any crumbs onto the floor, before shrugging off his cardigan. Ten seems to want to try that next, pulling it over his clothes and tugging on the wool. ‘But you’re not talking about him, are you?’
Ten looks up, small smirk. ‘Of course, I’m not.’
Kim Doyoung enters The Store twenty minutes into lunch. Kun almost drops his lunch, because he hasn’t seen Doyoung since they were twenty and headed their separate ways for university.
‘I thought it was you,’ Doyoung says with no preamble, eyes only falling on Ten for a moment before he stops in front of Kun. ‘I wasn’t sure, but I had hoped it would be you.’
‘It’s good to see you,’ Kun says, walking around the counter so that he could hug Doyoung. ‘It’s been a long time, old friend.’
‘Seven years,’ Doyoung shakes his head, ‘I’m sorry I never kept in touch.’
‘It was as much my fault, as it was yours,’ Kun assures him. He doesn’t comment that last time they had seen each other, Kun’s magic was wild and violent. His skin had itched at the constant presence of Doyoung in his life, and it was only with time and maturity that it began to settle around the presence of people who were ordinary. Doyoung knows, just as he knows how Kun is better now.
‘I’d heard whispers of a witch who worked around here,’ Doyoung says, as Kun settles behind the counter and brings out the book of orders. ‘Who might be able to help me.’
‘It depends on the request,’ Kun says, ‘but you already know that, don’t you?’
Doyoung smirks. ‘Of course, I do.’
‘What do you need?’ Kun asks, cleaning his lunch away so it will not disturb the pair of them. Ten wanders over, still silent and still unacknowledged by Doyoung. He hooks his chin over Kun’s shoulder, and Kun knows that his gaze, too intelligent and sharp, must be disarming to a weak man.
But Doyoung is no weak man, and he refuses to falter under Ten’s scrutiny.
‘My brother is getting married this weekend,’ Doyoung explains, and Kun allows himself to feel a moment of surprise because last he remembered Doyoung’s brother was struggling with university exams. Time is always tricky, and slips away so quickly that not even magic can catch it.
‘Do you want their marriage blessed?’ Kun didn’t think Doyoung was sentimental like that, but times had changed. ‘Confirmation that they would be together forever?’
Doyoung snorts, gummy smile wide as he looks back up at Kun. ‘I know that they’re going to be happy together. I’ve never met a couple more perfect. But what I am worried about is the wedding.’
‘The storm,’ Ten says.
Silence falls after his words, and the wind beats at the store for a long moment. Something creaks in protest of the spell that is already bubbling under Kun’s skin and in Ten’s voice. The wind does not like them, Kun has known this since the night that Ten first appeared, but it can do nothing.
‘The storm,’ Doyoung confirms, and his jaw is firm when he finally meets Ten’s eyes over Kun’s shoulder. ‘I will not have my brother’s day be ruined by rain.’
‘Write it down,’ Kun says. Doyoung takes the pen, and his words settle into the pages and into Kun’s core. ‘The payment will be your phone number, and a promise that our friendship will not deteriorate again.’
Doyoung laughs. By the time he has left the store, the forecast for Saturday has changed. They expect clear skies.
Ten minutes before the sun’s light has left the sky, Donghyuck returns to The Store. He’s wearing a black hoodie that is too large, shades him from view, and he shuffles into The Store. None of the confidence from his first visit is present, just a careful curl of his shoulders.
Ten has returned to his cat form. He lies on the counter, tail twitching just enough to break the stillness of the evening. Kun doesn’t need to look at him to know that Ten’s eyes have fixed on the boy, reading deep into the boy’s soul.
‘You're a witch,' Donghyuck says, into the silence of the store.
This close to darkness, Kun would ordinarily be worried for his patrons. He would shepherd them out, so that when the last ray of light had disappeared, he was alone in the store. But tonight he is not worried, and places the tome he was reading down on the table.
'So are you.'
'I'm not trained,' Donghyuck says. It's enough of an explanation. Witches are born with magic, grow with it, but they cannot learn to control it on their own. 'My grandmother was a witch, but she passed when I was young. All I have are her books.
'You've done well for yourself then.' Donghyuck walks with respect, not of the carelessness and laughs that younger witches are inclined to use when they first gain control over their magic. 'But I cannot train you.'
Kun is sorry, but not enough to bend under the flinch and nod of the boy in front of him. Kun cannot teach, has never been able to verbalise how he grasped the tendrils of magic that spilt out of him as a child and drew them in tight to the control that he has now.
Ten yowls, and turns to look up at Kun with unblinking, wide eyes. He stands and stretches, a languid movement, before walking across the counter to where the book sits. He places a paw on the cover and turns to look at Donghyuck.
When Donghyuck leaves, Ten goes with him. Kun struggles to resist the magic that laces through the pages, even after years of training. Donghyuck must be stronger than he looks, to not have fainted the moment his pen left the paper.
Johnny doesn't mention that Kun did not cast his spell.
He settles in the place next to the counter, resting his hip against the wood, and takes a slow, careful sip of his coffee. There's snow in his hair, and Kun banishes it as he combs his fingers through the fine hair on Johnny's head.
'I brought doughnuts. For breakfast,' Johnny says, dropping the bag on the counter in front of them. 'Did Ten want one?'
Ten looks up from where he's curled around Sicheng's ankle and then looks away. If Kun didn't know any better, he'd say that Ten doesn't like Johnny. But he knows the familiar is intrigued by Johnny, amused by Johnny. Johnny knows it too, because he just coughs out a laugh. They will be disastrous for Kun, when Ten decides to be human around Johnny.
'What about you, Sicheng?' Johnny asks.
Sicheng looks up from where he's moving the crystals, lining them up with delicate, careful fingers. He doesn't know what they mean, has never cared to ask that, but he follows Kun's instructions perfectly. If the stars had aligned differently, Kun thinks that Sicheng would have been a good a witch as any of them.
'I won't,' he shakes his head, 'but thank you.'
Johnny shrugs, and eats his doughnut.
Kun appreciates that about Johnny, that he doesn't push or beg or question. It is one of the reasons that Kun considers him one of the best men he knows. He doesn't say that, in the silence of the space between the four of them, but he does reach over to squeeze Johnny's hand once.
'What do you want?'
Kun laces his fingers together, rests his chin on top of them and smiles as sweet as he can. Kim Jungwoo swallows, where he's standing in front of the counter. He'd walked past The Store three times in the last few days, each time hesitating before continuing on. Ten had been the one to notice is, curled up in the front window as he paged through a book, and Ten had waited for Jungwoo to enter.
Ten's sitting on the counter, head tilted to the side in a façade of innocence that Kun doubts he should trust. He's getting used to humanity, Kun thinks, settled into his skin in a way that Kun would have been unable if their roles were reversed.
The boy hasn't answered Ten's question, but Ten doesn't push. He waits, and watches, and Kun watches him. He can see the spark of interest in Ten's eyes, the curiosity that drove him to wait every day until Jungwoo pushed open their front door and let the protection herbs brush over his shoulder.
'I'm...'
Jungwoo's voice is soft. It captures them, though, draws their attention to him. If Kun wasn't so incredibly sure that the boy in front of them was human, he might have thought that Jungwoo was a descendant of sirens. There's hesitation, but Kun finds himself waiting for more. He already wants to reach out, to give the voice the magic it deserves to thrive. But he waits.
'I'm not much,' Jungwoo says, and Kun already wants to reassure him and tell him he's everything, 'and I don't know if I'll ever be much. But I'd like to, if it were possible.'
Ten tsks, and slides off the counter. He is shorter than Jungwoo, but he does not look small in front of him. He looks up, with the tilt of his chin and rolled back shoulders. Most familiar wouldn't dare step forward, meddle with the business of humans, but that is not Ten. Kun appreciates the way brave and bold, fills the spaces that he leaves with a magic warm and determined.
'I think you'll be a lot more than much,' he hums, and Jungwoo's eyes fly from the ground to Ten's steady gaze. 'But if you think that you need our help, the book is here. You just need to write what you want, and your name. The spell will be cast at night, and you won't know when. We will require payment, the hours of the morning when you lie awake and think.'
'What?' Jungwoo asks.
Ten's smile lifts in the corners, 'Time, Jungwoo.'
There's a moment of hesitation, and then Ten opens the book. It's heavy, but he handles it with an ease that betrays the power and wisdom that he must contain. Kun cannot help but be impressed, as he watches Ten guide Jungwoo through the spellwork.
The man in front of them is beautiful. Most of the people the make their way through The Store are beautiful, but this man has smiling eyes and his lip sits quirked up in the corner. He spends a short moment to look at the potions, and for a moment Kun thinks he may be there for their stock alone, but then he places the bottle down and wanders to where Kun and Ten are sitting. Ten settles himself around Kun from behind, resting his chin on Kun’s shoulder, and Kun turns to see that Ten’s not looking at their customer.
Ten’s eyes are fixed on Kun.
Kun lets out a small laugh, squeezing Ten’s hand before letting himself focus on the man in front of him.
‘How can we help?’ Kun asks.
The man’s eyes dart to Ten a moment, before his smile grows back across his face again. He leans on the counter, looking up at Kun even though he is probably taller than both Kun and Ten. ‘I’m not too sure, I just thought I would come in and have a look around.’
‘Everyone who comes here needs our help,’ Kun leans back into Ten, who relaxes minutely at the movement, ‘even if they don’t know it.’
The man’s smile falters, and Kun loosens Ten’s hold around him. He reaches under the counter and draws out the book. He flicks it open, until he reaches the final few pages, and places a pen down on the counter. The man looks at the words and names, unable to feel the weight of the words that presses between Kun and Ten’s shoulder blades, but he must understand the significance of them because he takes the pen.
‘We’ll give you time.’ Kun rises to walk to the other side of the stall, to give him the space to think of what drove him to The Store. Ten follows, silent, and Kun squeezes his shoulder once in thanks.
The morning of the new moon, a month since Ten wandered into Kun’s life, two men walk into The Store. Kun is placing a few potions on the display, freshly made and untouched by any magic but his own, and Ten curls up asleep on an antique chair that appeared a few nights before. The bell rings, and when Kun turns to welcome the customers with a gentle smile he drops one potion.
The glass vial shatters, liquid seeping into the floorboards. Kun barely notices. Ten has leapt from the chair, cat one moment and human the next, placing himself between Kun and their customers.
A boy looks at them, barely into his adulthood, with wide dark eyes and a slightly agape mouth. The demon behind him smiles, sheepishly.
‘What is your reason for coming here?’ Ten asks, with that brisk harshness that speaks with threat and power. ‘What is your business in the human world?’
The demon sighs, and he does look sweet as he smiles up at Kun and Ten. Both of them know the dangers of a demon's smile, and Kun is vulnerable where he stands. Ten is so much smaller than the demon's body, but he stands ready and firm.
'Mark summoned me,' the demon jerks a thumb over his shoulder to the boy. 'Made a deal without understanding what it meant.'
Mark flushes pink, and he stutters out a little explanation, 'I didn't know what would happen, I was desperate.'
'You were dumb,' the demon corrects, but it’s fond. 'We want to break the deal, and for you to fulfil it.'
Ten hasn't moved an inch, but Kun rests a hand on the small of his back as he steps forward. He can't help surveying how they stand, the demon has shielded Mark from view in the same way that Ten has shielded Kun. He's never met a demon who has been fond before, not unless they have ulterior motives.
'You know as well as anyone that I cannot interfere with a demon's contract. Your magic is different from mine, binds him in a way that I cannot undo.'
Mark's eyes drop to the floor. 'Nothing?'
'Nothing.'
'There is something,' the demon starts, but Mark places a hand on his elbow and shakes his head.
'Jaehyun, we knew that it was a long shot. I can follow the terms of the contract, it's fine.'
Jaehyun turns to Mark, cupping his face and speaks in such a low tone that Kun almost can't hear it. He cares for the boy, as much as a demon can. 'I'm not going to let you burn in hell, not going to let you get anywhere near it. Especially for something as mundane as your finals this semester. There is another way.'
'What do you propose?' Ten asks.
Jaehyun turns to them, and for the first time Kun sees the sparks of hellfire and the shadows of The Fall in his eyes. He tips his chin up, looks less sweet and more determined. 'You may not be able to break his contract, but you can help invalidate it. Demon's contracts are held by the demon who sealed it.'
'Jae...'
'What would be the payment,' Jaehyun says, 'to make me human?'
Kun smiles.
The storeroom is too small, magic bubbling in the air as it waits.
There are six of them crammed into the room, three witches, two familiars and one ordinary person. It's the first time Kun has attempted this since he was an apprentice, so used to the solidarity of his store that he forgets that magic works best with other people.
'You've got some tricky ones,' Chenle hums, running a finger down the list of names and desires that need to be fulfilled. 'A demon who wants to be human, and a human that wants to pass his exams.'
'Connected,' Kun grunts, tugging a chest out from the corner of the storeroom. It's not the first time he's had to use arcane magic, but it has been a while and he blows the dust off the top of the chest before unlocking it. 'Demon was summoned to help the kid pass his exams, but then fell in love with the human. They're looking for a happily ever after, complete with humanity and passing grades.'
'Do you think you can do it?' Chenle asks.
'Of course he can't.' Renjun, the other familiar snorts. 'That's why all of us are here, to work as a coven.'
Renjun stretches as he stands, with the same liquid grace as Ten as he leaves Yukhei’s arms. The witch whines a little bit, but Renjun ignores him as he goes to sit with Chenle, inspects the spells that they will work on.
Kun hadn't been surprised, when Yukhei and Renjun arrived, that the two familiars knew each other. Ten had been quick to gather Renjun into his arms, despite the younger familiar's insistence that they not hug in front of his human. But he had been more surprised when Yukhei had greeted Ten.
He had thought that he was the first human Ten had spent time with.
Kun tries not to think about that spark of jealousy that sits in his stomach at that.
'I'm not a part of your coven,' Sicheng says, from where he's sitting on a crate. 'I don't know why I'm here.'
'You're a part of the coven,' Ten laughs. He hasn't moved from his perch on the desk, settles the magic in the room while Kun arranges the items they need for Jaehyun in the middle of the room. 'You may not have magic, but you bind us together. There's a reason Kun has kept you around as long as he has.'
Kun doesn't deny it, just flashes Sicheng a smile.
Ten already knows that Kun is grateful.
It's been a while since the five of them got together, and this is the first time since Ten arrived. It feels right, like a final piece has slipped into place and the balance has settled as it should be. There's no wind shrieking, no creaking of the floorboards beneath them. This is how it should be, how it should always be.
'Did it work?' Sicheng asks the next morning, shadows pulling under his eyes. Kun told him he didn't need to arrive, but he had been determined to come in despite the exhaustion. 'The one to make the demon human again.'
'They all did,' Kun says. 'Yuta's might take a little bit longer to kick in than the others, but Mark and Jungwoo's are complete.'
'How do you know?'
Sicheng has never felt magic in the way that Kun does. He feels the warmth on his skin when Kun casts a spell to ward off the cold, he feels the brush of air when Johnny walks into the store, he can see a spark of fire as it starts to burn. But he cannot feel it, at the deepest point of his gut and the centre of his heart, like Kun does.
Kun does not begrudge him for his questions.
'The same way I know that beyond that door is the storeroom, and that you will always walk in five minutes after you tell me you will,' he says, ignoring the way Sicheng rolls his eyes at the second statement. 'It's a fact, something that I know instinctively and with surety.'
'Do you ever wish that you didn't? That you were like me and you were ordinary?'
Kun's smile drops, just a little bit, and he runs his finger through the dust on the bookshelf that he's rearranging. 'Sometimes.'
Kun tries not to be surprised when Johnny’s familiar walks into the store. He has met Taeil before, when he has visited the flower shop that Johnny owns, but he has rarely seen the familiar alone.
Ten is uninterested, looks up at Taeil before curling back up to sleep.
‘You should not be so disrespectful, young one,’ Taeil murmurs, running a hand over Ten’s back. ‘There is a lot to learn about the human world, and you have barely scratched the surface.’
‘He’s learning,’ Kun laughs. He wanders around the counter, striding through the space of The Store to where Taeil is standing. ‘I am assuming you are here for a reason?’
Taeil levels Kun with an unimpressed look. ‘We both know that Youngho is too kind to ask. But it has been a month, since he wrote in your book and yet nothing has come of it.’
Kun bows his head, both in guilt and in apology. ‘Ten says it isn’t the right time for us to cast it. We’re waiting, although I’m not sure what for.’
Taeil’s eyebrow lifts. He is an ancient being, Kun knows this, a familiar so powerful that for him to choose Johnny as his witch was something monumental. It feels like a judgement from magic itself. ‘You trust him that much, already?’
Kun swallows. He has not felt like a child in many years, but Taeil has a way of making him feel small. ‘I do.’
Taeil looks at Ten, who is well and truly asleep. ‘I’m sure you have worked this out by now, but familiars have no magic. We are magic, an embodiment of it.’ Kun does know this, knows it from the way Ten will direct him, enhance him, but cannot cast any spells on his own. ‘We choose humans because they resonate with us, their magic matches us.’
Kun glances again at Ten.
‘He is the closest you will ever get to a perfect half. Just as Youngho is the closest I have to a perfect half. It is good that you trust him already.’
Kun knows this, knows it from the way Ten has settled into his life so perfectly and completely. They may not have talked about it, but he knows that Ten feels the same way. He can’t imagine his life without the familiar now, knowing that there is a sense of completion after having their lives intersect.
‘Taeil,’ Kun asks, looking back at the familiar. ‘Johnny’s request, he said that he was lonely.’
Taeil’s smile is sad, a slow exhale. ‘Johnny is old, just as I am. We have each other, and he has you, but I think that he needs more. Something that I cannot provide.’
The boy in front of him is the youngest ordinary person that Kun has ever had walk through his store.
‘And why don’t you ask Chenle to help you?’
Chenle pouts by the window, batting off Ten’s fingers as the man attempts to pinch his cheeks. He’s wearing his school uniform, and it’s a startling reminder that Chenle is a child. Kun sometimes forgets that, the life that his coven lives outside The Store. ‘He says he doesn’t trust me.’
‘He once blew up a computer in the labs because he thought he could cast a spell to make it run quicker,’ Park Jisung says.
Kun raises an eyebrow at Chenle. Ten is already dragging him away from the counter for a lecture about responsible use of magic, and Kun makes a note to thank him for it later.
‘Of course.’ Kun leads the boy over to the counter. ‘I can assure that Chenle is a very good witch, no matter what one might think at first glance.’
‘Yeah,’ Jisung shifts where he stands, ‘but you’re his teacher, aren’t you? He’s good, but you’re better.’
Kun can’t deny it. ‘What did you want me to cast for you? I don’t do love spells or anything of the like.’
The boy flushes pink, and his next words are stammered out with enough embarrassment that Kun almost feels accomplished. ‘No, it’s not that. I, uh,’ he glances in the direction that Ten and Chenle have disappeared. ‘I dance. A lot.’
Kun hums, the only encouragement he can offer in the space between them.
‘Dance, it’s hard on your body. I don’t want to lose it, ever.’
He’s young, painfully young, but looks so determined. Kun’s life as a witch has been set out for him, since the moment he first opened his eyes and wailed into the night. He can’t imagine choosing what he would become, can’t imagine choosing it with such clarity and determination at such a young age.
‘I won’t charge you,’ Kun says, ‘as this is a favour for Chenle. But I will ask you to appreciate him, to stay with him as things get difficult. Because they will.’
The boy doesn’t answer, not aloud. But his face stays just as determined, and Kun knows he can trust Chenle with this boy.
Donghyuck has taken to exploring their potions ingredients in his spare time. Kun suspects the boy just wants to spend time with other witches, wants to absorb as much as he can about this world that has been just out of his reach for so many years. Ten always complains when he arrives, but gravitates to him within minutes to discuss the spells that Donghyuck tries in his bedroom when the moon is high.
Kun suspects his magic will work best in the light of the sun, but he dares not bring it up.
The bell rings through the store, and all three look up to see a boy walk in. He’s handsome, in a classical way, but hesitant and his eyes dart from Donghyuck to Ten to Kun and back to Donghyuck.
‘How can we help you today?’ Kun asks, when it becomes apparent that the boy is not here to pick out a charm to hang from his bag, or a potion to ease his sleep. He stumbles forward, to the counter, and drops his school bag to the floor in a too loud sound for The Store.
‘I’m…’ he looks back around. ‘Not entirely sure.’
‘I provide a variety of services,’ Kun gestures to the space around them. Ten and Donghyuck return to their conversation, a low hum in the background that Kun ignores in favour of the boy in front of him. ‘What’s your name?’
‘Jeno.’
‘And what do you want? In life.’
The boy falters at the second half of the question, folding his fingers together. Kun is patient, careful not to push Jeno too much. He knows the answer will come, it is impossible to walk into the store and not leave without acknowledging the reason.
‘Someone,’ the boy blurts out.
‘A partner? A boyfriend, girlfriend?’ Kun’s eyebrow climbs, because his magic would not invite someone in if that were all they needed.
‘No,’ the boy shakes his head, ‘just … company.’
Kun reaches for the book of orders. Before he can, Ten’s hand grabs his wrist. He looks up, Ten smiles sweetly at Jeno and Donghyuck stands confused behind him.
‘Donghyuck,’ Ten says, ‘down the road and to the left there’s a florist. It’s owned by a man called Youngho, or Johnny. Kun won’t be able to help Jeno with his problem, but Johnny will.’
Kun stays quiet, while Donghyuck lets out an incredulous, ‘And?’
‘I want you to take Jeno down there, and speak to Johnny about his problem.’
Ten’s words are final. Donghyuck is hesitant but he gestures for Jeno to follow him, the two boys walking out of the store and into the dimming light of the evening. It leaves the pair of them alone, in the space of The Store.
‘I could have solved it. We didn’t need to involve Johnny.’
‘We’re not,’ Ten hums. His eyes haven’t left the glass door, watching the blurred outlines of the two boys as they make their way down the street. ‘All Jeno needs is a friend, they’ll be fine by the time they reach Johnny’s.’
‘Why Johnny’s?’
‘Donghyuck needs a teacher, and Johnny needs company.’ Ten smiles up at Kun, all-knowing and so sweet. Kun can’t help the small laugh because of course Ten would come up with something so perfect.
Ten walks around the counter, bringing the book of orders out. He flicks it open, but Kun doesn’t look. Instead, he leans forward, presses his forehead against Ten’s. ‘You are incredibly clever,’ he murmurs.
‘I know,’ Ten says, his eyes are wicked and kind. Kun isn’t sure when he fell in love. ‘That’s why I’m perfect for you.’ He grins, before slinking back into the shadows.
Kun glances down at the book, where Donghyuck and Johnny’s names once sat unmarked, lines have cut through the page. Their wishes complete.