Chapter Text
Hyungwon turned around to give his crush one last glance before teleporting to his aunt’s shop.
Son Hyunwoo, basketball team and swim team captain, was laughing at something with his other two jock friends Lee Hoseok and Lee Jooheon, famously known as the Lee brothers. They were cousins and were vice-captains. Jooheon of the basketball team and Hoseok of the swim team. So obviously they were best friends with his one love, Hyunwoo.
Hyungwon seriously disliked jocks. He had dated a few in his high school… Yeah, none of his relationships had ended well… or even been healthy.
Hormone crazed, almost plain human, imbeciles…
Like, he didn’t know if it was a thing, but most jocks were almost powerless. Well, when performing magic came into picture.
But not Hyunwoo, oh no. Hyunwoo was a pure blooded witch. Just like Hyungwon. And from what he had seen, he was rather powerful too.
Now Hyungwon wouldn’t say just like him because that would be boasting and well, he didn’t do that.
Also Hyunwoo was super nice! Unlike all those jerks he had dated back in school. Or that one jackass he had dated before he’d fallen head over heels for Hyunwoo in his first year. He was the type of guy who opened doors for people, kept them open till the people passed, no matter how many or how much of a hurry he was in. The kind of guy who helped everyone who asked him for help, unless he really couldn’t help them out.
Like many times, Hyunwoo was waiting with his friends for the bus to arrive. And many times got on the bus to go home as well. When he definitely didn’t need to.
The bus was for the people who were human, half-human or those witches who were pretty powerless AKA those who couldn’t teleport. Because the bus did the teleporting for them though Hyungwon thought it was rather messy. (He had tried it out once just out of curiosity AKA he wanted to spend more time around Hyunwoo.)
Powerless people as in the most they could do was make leaves grow, make the room warmer when the heater stopped working. Stuff like that which was akin to breathing to witches like Hyungwon. And Hyunwoo.
Hyunwoo could very well teleport. And he had heard the older didn’t even get nauseous over longer trips! Hyungwon was yet to achieve that!
So yeah, Hyunwoo was more powerful than him. Or he worked really hard on mastering his magic.
Either way, Hyungwon was in awe.
Not like he needed any more reasons to be so utterly completely in awe and in love with the older male.
But sadly, Son Hyunwoo never even glanced at him. Ever. Like.. he was purposely avoiding him. Or maybe it was Hyungwon’s imagination.
He sighed and turned away.
He closed his eyes and pictured the front of his aunt’s shop.
And he popped away from view, leaving a bit of glitter in his wake.
And he definitely didn’t see Hyunwoo look at him till he disappeared.
*
“Wonnie, I’ll leave now. I’ll be back in about three four hours. Mostly three. So take care of the shop till then. I closed the café upstairs. Here’s the key.” Aunt Hyojin handed him a bronze antique looking key which Hyungwon took from her and pocketed.
“Okay then. Take care.” Hyungwon nodded and his aunt teleported, leaving behind some glitter which dissipated.
Hyungwon leaned against the glass counter behind which he stood, loads of shelves behind him with different things. Things like potions which had different durations of effect, tattoos which helped in things like studies, luck, healing, immunity and some purely for just that, a tattoo, permanent and temporary.
The shop pretty much looked like an occult shop he’d seen in this movie called Dead Before Dawn but larger. It was kind of lame, now that he thought about it, but he still loved it! The movie, that is.
The main actor was super cute and honestly, it was pretty hilarious.
He walked over to the books section, randomly picking up a recipe book for cupcakes.
His aunt was seriously a multitalented, super powerful witch. Everyone in their town knew her and respected her.
She was also a busy woman. Almost everybody in town came to her shop or to the café upstairs. His aunt was a great cook too. Honestly, what couldn’t the woman do?!
Which was why Hyungwon worked for her part time everyday except on Sundays or when he had plans or had exams or any assignments pending.
Anyway, Hyungwon could use the extra cash and he generally did all his studying and homework in the shop hours. So it wasn’t all that much of a hassle.
What made his part time job exciting was when Hyunwoo came in to the shop to get something for his mom. Mainly for his mom anyway. Other times to get some tiny things for himself.
They even sold stationery, so sometimes for that too.
Hyungwon liked to think that out of all the shops in town, Hyunwoo came to his because Hyungwon worked there after college.
But who was he kidding. The guy probably came because his mom trusted his aunt Hyojin the most when it came to all things witchcraft and occult.
And also because Hyunwoo lived kind of close to the shop. Just some three blocks away.
So the shop fell in this path many times when he didn’t feel like teleporting or preferred teleporting from a place closer to his destination.
Like why would the great Son Hyunwoo come to his aunt’s shop to see him, Chae Hyungwon, practically a nobody. Compared to Hyunwoo anyway.
He was a nerd and jocks just used nerds to get their work done. Well, till high school anyway. People were too busy with their own life in college.
Anyway, Hyunwoo wasn’t that type.
Hyungwon flipped through the recipe book in his hands and turned the page to this one cupcake recipe. His eyes widened as he recalled Hyunwoo talk to his friends about how much he loved those but his mom was too busy to make them for him. So he had to buy it from outside his place and they didn’t sell it fresh there.
Hyungwon had been standing in queue during lunch when Hyunwoo had joined the line right behind him and he had heard.
Hyungwon was pretty decent at cooking. His aunt and mom had taught him well! Maybe he could bake these cupcakes for Hyunwoo and make them appear in his locker just when he opened it before lunch to keep his things in!
Yes, Hyungwon was definitely going to do that.
And maybe he could leave a little secret admirer type note…? Hyunwoo was strong enough to cast a simple spell to find out if the cupcakes were poisoned or not. He’d know it was safe and would eat it and.. he would eat Hyungwon’s cooking! That was enough for him! He’d see his reaction in the college cafeteria. If Hyunwoo enjoyed them, hopefully he would, he’d see the happiness on his face! And Hyungwon would be the cause of it!
The thought made Hyungwon giddy as he daydreamed Hyunwoo making that super cute face he made when he found something really delicious.
As he stood there daydreaming about Hyunwoo, the store’s tiny bell rang as the door opened.
Hyungwon shook himself from his thoughts and turned around.
And he dropped the book he was holding, eyes going wide because there stood Son Hyunwoo in front him, running a hand through his thick luscious hair, smiling at him.
Hyungwon’s heart pounded loudly as he waved his hand dismissively and the fallen book floated back to its place on the shelf.
Is he.. actually smiling at me…?
Hyungwon snapped out of his surprise and walked behind the counter and Hyunwoo walked forward to stand in front of it.
“Hi. What can I help you with today?” Hyungwon was proud of himself that his voice came out even and unaffected.
He hated that this man, this Son Hyunwoo, affected him so much. No other guy had managed that before him… Guys used to fall for Hyungwon, left, right and centre. After falling for Hyunwoo in his first year, Hyungwon had almost no idea who was flirting with him or asking him out or staring at him. Like, he didn’t remember well. Yeah, he supposed some people had approached him but he had rejected them all. None of them was Son Hyunwoo. So Hyungwon couldn’t have cared any lesser.
As usual Hyunwoo didn’t meet his eyes, at least not more than necessary. Hyunwoo was the customer, Hyungwon was the shopkeeper. That’s it.
But this time he didn’t know whether he was imagining it or not, whether he had finally lost it, but it looked like Hyunwoo was avoiding his eyes for a whole other reason. And if Hyungwon was seeing correctly, his mind fudging stuff up aside, Hyunwoo looked like he was blushing as he stared at the glass counter, at the things underneath, it seemed. Or something. He definitely wasn’t glancing around the store for what he wanted and not meeting Hyungwon’s eyes due to that.
It almost looked that like Hyunwoo was shy…
Yeah, Hyungwon had lost it.
“Uh… Could I get a…” Hyungwon waited patiently for the older to continue. Hyunwoo took a deep breath and looked up at him, the blush still on his face but eyes determined as he locked them with Hyungwon’s. “Could I get a love potion, please?”
Hyungwon’s eyes widened as his heart plummeted. His stupid heart shattered into a thousand pieces.
Hyunwoo was here, asking him, the guy who loved him more than anyone or anything else in the whole wide world, for a love potion, for someone else .
Hyungwon immediately schooled his face to neutral and his voice normal as he said, “Sure! Just a moment.” He turned around and looked through all the potions.
Love potions were generally the pink ones without any name labels on them. Just the directions of use and the durations of the effects were written behind on a white plain label. The ingredients were almost never mentioned anyway, except when someone might be allergic to something. Then a precaution appeared on it with some key ingredients that the owner might he allergic to.
Yeah, his aunt was awesome.
Hyungwon brought down the pink bottle on the second shelf along with two other versions with different durations of effect.
He turned around to place them in front of Hyunwoo on top of the counter.
“Here you go. This one is the one hour one, this one is the two hours one, and this lasts about six hours.” He glanced up to find Hyunwoo staring at him. He immediately looked away to look at the bottles Hyungwon had told him about.
While Hyungwon was telling his mind that he had imagined it. Why would Hyunwoo stare at him?! Unless he had something stuck on his face or teeth.. oh Hecate, let that not be the case!
“I’ll explain the directions of use now. It’s written at the back. I can still tell you.”
Hyunwoo nodded and Hyungwon went on, “You can drink it directly or mix it in food or drinks. But not too much, it’s pretty strong. The effects start immediately. It’s almost tasteless and in case the person does taste it, well, it won’t matter because they have tasted it and that’s enough for the effects to kick in. You just add one teaspoon and it’ll work for the duration it’s made for. And yes, do not forget to add a piece of your hair or your fingernail into the potion. It won’t work otherwise. The potion needs to know for whom the drinker or consumer is supposed to fall for. And don’t worry, like you probably already know, the nail or hair will immediately dissolve once added to the potion and it won’t impact the taste or lack of, that is.” He looked up from the bottles once he finished his long monologue to look at Hyunwoo. The older had his thinking face on. Again, super adorable expression. Goes without saying really.
Hyungwon took a moment to admire his handsome yet super cute features. His chubby cheeks, his magical eyes that made Hyungwon want to drown in them, the slope of his perfect nose, his beautifully shaped eyebrows, perfect hair, so thick and luscious that Hyungwon just wanted to, once in his whole life, run his fingers through it. And of course, his rose petal like lips, baby pink and full. That bottom lip especially thick and juicy looking.. Okay Hyungwon stop it.
Hyungwon stopped the checking out and locked eyes with the older who had definitely caught him staring like a creep.
Shit…
“Also!” Hyungwon started, to make Hyunwoo forget his shameless staring and because it was important information often not written in the directions and precautions. “In case, you want to fall in love with another person, that’s possible too. I know, it’s rare and probably never happens. But for that you need them to pass you the potion. You can add it to the food or drink on your own, obviously no need for your hair or nail then.” Hyungwon shrugged and Hyunwoo nodded, a serious expression on his face. “Then you just need to ask them to pass you the plate or glass in which the potion was added! You drink it and voila! You fall for the person who passed it to you! Be careful with that. It can be very.. uh.. undesireable…” Hyungwon added, after trying to come up with a word.
Hyunwoo nodded once and then smiled kind of sheepishly and said, “Could I get the one day one, please? Do you have that?” His arm shot up to lightly scratch at his hair as he looked away shyly.
Oh… one whole day huh Hyunwoo.. Who is the lucky person… Bet it’s a girl. God, one whole day with some ethereal girl… Am I not good enough for you? Wait.. he is bisexual right? Doesn’t matter.. he won’t like you anyway, Chae.
“Ah yes!” Hyungwon acted like his silence was because he was thinking about whether that version was available or not. “We do, in fact, have it! It’s in the backroom. I’ll be right back.” He bowed a little and went into the back room, the door of it next to end of the glass counter.
He shut the room’s door behind him and leaned against it, his chest heavy with sadness and jealousy.
Tears started to fill his eyes as thoughts and images of Hyunwoo giving someone a love potion and spending a whole day or more with them… going on dates, kissing or making love or whatever.
He blinked, letting a few tears trickle down his face.
Then he immediately wiped them with back of his hand.
He’d always known Hyunwoo wasn’t meant to be his. Now it had been confirmed kind of, and it was like rubbing the fact on Hyungwon’s face and punching a hole through his very being.
He sighed and moved away from the door.
He searched a few shelves on the steel cupboards around the room and finally found the one day one.
He took a few breaths and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
“Here you go! Your one day one…..” Hyungwon trailed off as Hyunwoo wasn’t anywhere in sight. Then he looked behind the counter as he heard an extremely soft thud.
And there on the floor was the most adorable baby Hyungwon had ever seen.
Sitting.. Wearing Hyunwoo’s clothes… which fit the little guy perfectly…
Oh shit…
The baby looked up at him and tears started pooling in its eyes. Hyungwon felt panic course through him as he hastily placed the potion bottle in his hand on the glass counter and rushed forward to pick up the baby which was ready to cry.
“Hey! Don’t cry! Come here!” He carefully picked up the baby and hoisted it properly and comfortably on his arm, his hands cupping it’s soft bum and back.
The baby let out a little hiccup and a tear rolled down its cheek. Hyungwon’s eyes widened as he immediately moved his body a little, swaying on the balls of his heels as he wiped the tiny tear away.
“Hey, little guy! Don’t cry! Hey! Who’s the good boy? Yes, that’s right! It’s you, you little cutie!” Hyungwon exclaimed in a baby voice and the baby immediately stopped crying. And gave him a wide smile, it’s little teeth visible. Only it’s two front teeth and a few molars here and there.
Definitely just a one year old toddler. He let out a sigh of relief and his heart melted into a messy puddle as he cooed at the baby and snuggled it closer. “Aww! Aren’t you the sweetest thing?!”
The baby let out a little giggle and Hyungwon went, “Awww! So cute!”
Hyungwon balanced the baby with one hand as he walked to the space where Hyunwoo had been standing.
There on the counter the bottle of potion was open, its lid lying next to it. And then he took a closer look. Extremely tiny purple balls floated in it, not visible to the plain sight, only revealed under deep scrutiny, unless you had a trained eye like Hyungwon’s. The trained eyes which had obviously failed today.
Hyungwon facepalmed himself. Shit… It was the new ‘Shrink to a Baby’ potion his aunt had made, which shrunk the person’s clothes too during the effect duration, which would go back to normal size along with the person after the stipulated time got over.
Which Hyungwon had forgotten to put a label on last night…. Which he had stupidly placed next to the love potions because that was the only space on the shelf left.
He turned the bottle around. The only label on it was the directions of use and duration one.
2 hours.
Great .
He looked at the baby - Hyunwoo - in his arms. Hyunwoo looked up at him curiously, with innocent big eyes and a made a little cute sound, “Aah..”
Hyungwon sighed as he gently patted the baby on its back.
He was stuck with caring for the baby version of his two years long crush while his aunt was out, busy with work.
He couldn’t handle four hours on this day, when he usually could… In a way he was glad, very glad, that it was Son Hyunwoo who had walked in and not some random dude who had wanted a love potion.. who would’ve changed into a baby he’d have to take care of… some random stranger baby… with whom he had no emotional attachment… So yeah, he was glad, though this situation was pretty messy.
But one thing he had heard through the years from many people: he was good with kids, especially the little ones.
At least he could handle baby Hyunwoo for two hours.
Hopefully.
*