Chapter Text
Yoongi absently watched the embers in the cigarette flicker, its sparks of crimson and scarlet dancing across his vision. Briefly, he entertained the thought of pressing his fingertips against them, feeling the searing heat pressing into his flesh, hearing the sizzle as he smoldered out the flame. He brought the cigarette to his mouth again, breathing in a plume of smoke and letting his arm drape lazily across the bed. Tick. The fumes drifted through the small bedroom he had confined himself in, seeming to further clog up the musty, stagnant space. Tick. Yoongi sluggishly pushed his unruly, jet black hair out of his face. Tick. Closed his eyes. Tick. Felt the cool bed sheets underneath him. Tick. He exhaled slowly, momentarily lost in the nothingness created in his absence of vision and in the scent of smoke and in the feeling of just existing.
Tick.
When Yoongi opened his eyes again, subtle rays of light were beginning to seep through the window and the beginnings of a fuchsia gradient bled into the sky. Shit. A puff of smoke escaped his lips, and he imagined what the dark circles rimmed under his eyes must look like. Tick. He wondered if Namjoon would lecture him again this time, or just glance at him with that concerned, assessing look out of the corner of his eye when he thought Yoongi wasn’t paying attention-
Tick.
Yoongi suddenly felt a very strong urge to slam his fist into the dust- coated clock shoved haphazardly against the corner of his mahogany desk. Scowling, he opted to yank back the wrinkled sheets of his bed and search for his wand instead. After fumbling for a minute, he managed to locate the unassuming piece of polished wood, its black varnish glinting in the darkness. The cigarette had long been extinguished by now, leaving a thin, wispy strand of vapor in its wake. Yoongi vanished its remains with a quick wave of his wand and forced himself to sit up, having given up on attempting to fall asleep again. He waited for the sudden dizziness that overcame him to subside, the patches of black dissipating as quickly as they came. He pulled himself off the bed with some effort and drunkenly stumbled to the bathroom, cursing as he almost tripped over the ancient spells book he had been studying last night. Or this morning , he thought with a bemused huff.
Yoongi turned on the lights with a flick of his wrist, squinting as the brightness blinded him. A familiar purple tint under his eyes reflected back at him when he glanced in the mirror. He splashed cold water onto his face in an attempt to wake himself up and brushed his teeth, easily falling into his normal routine. The quiet noise of the coffeemaker brewing soon filled the vacant, large apartment and Yoongi relished in the aroma of promised caffeine. He picked up a forgotten newspaper laying on the coffee table and fingered through a few of the maroon-stained pages disinterestedly, patiently waiting as a steady rhythm of drips sounded in the background. He skimmed over the headlines- More Destruction Downtown, Sources Unknown. Spirits Suspected?
Knock. Knock.
Slowly tearing his eyes from the newspaper, Yoongi glanced at the apartment entrance. His mind filtered through who could possibly be at his doorstep at- Yoongi glanced at the clock- 5:47 in the fucking morning but came up with nothing. So lost in thought that he almost didn’t catch the three succeeding knocks, now faster and coming with a higher urgency, Yoongi threw the paper back onto the table, swiftly making his way over to the front door and throwing it open. He felt the shock of the crisp, autumn wind as it stung against his bare arms.
“Yoongi!”
Yoongi blinked in surprise, greeted with the image of Namjoon in a thick, wool jacket and dark slacks. His usually immaculate brown hair was messily pushed back from his face and covered with a gray cap.
“What, what’s wrong?” Yoongi asked.
“We’ve received a new assignment opportunity!”
Yoongi fixed Namjoon with an unimpressed look, still struggling to rid the remnants of sleep clouding his thoughts.
“And? We’ve been overloaded with those for weeks now, Joon,” Yoongi said, raising an eyebrow. Namjoon shook his head, unperturbed by Yoongi’s lack of enthusiasm.
“No, this isn’t our usual go settle that civil dispute between a witch and a Regular, or find out why that one guy’s plants won’t stop growing out of his window job,” Namjoon rambled. “This one’s straight from the governor.”
Yoongi stilled, now observing Namjoon with interest. “And you couldn’t wait until I came into work because…”
“He wants an answer now. If we’ll do it or not, I mean,” Namjoon sighed, running a hand through his already tousled hair.
“What do you mean? Did he come by our office?”
“Er, he said he was on his way?”
“So he could be sitting there right now? Alone.”
“I came here as soon as I got his call,” Namjoon explained breathlessly as Yoongi yanked a dark gray overcoat from his closet. Yoongi, for once, was glad he had fallen asleep mostly dressed last night.
“Why didn’t you just call me?”
Namjoon snorted. “Like you would have woken up.”
Refusing to justify Namjoon with an answer, Yoongi instead shoved a pair of black dress shoes on and hastily wrapped a scarf around his neck. He slammed the door shut behind him and followed Namjoon out of the apartment complex, leaving his freshly brewed coffee untouched.
Yoongi tugged his scarf higher over his face as the cold bit into his skin. The sky had barely lightened this early in the morning, ribbons of coral stringing together under the cream colored clouds. Daylight was just beginning to spill over the awakening city and Yoongi took a moment to observe the bustling shops littered along the street opening. Streetlamps gradually flickered off as he and Namjoon rushed to catch the departing tram. They lept on just as the vehicle began to make its way onto the main road. With the moving tram thrumming under Yoongi’s feet, he idly pondered what could be so urgent for the governor himself to show up unannounced. He sincerely hoped it wasn’t to reprimand him for not-so-subtly flipping off that one client he did a job for last week. Oh god, what if he had to go back and apologize? He grimaced with distaste at the sheer idea.
Yoongi was really missing his caffeine fix.
Less than twenty minutes later, they arrived at their stop and hurried down the crooked sidewalk until the department building loomed over them. He pulled open the glass doors, shrugging off his coat and hanging it on the rack as Namjoon rushed past him. He took in the dull, beige wallpaper of the waiting room and chestnut colored chairs pushed against the walls. In the next room, Yoongi spotted the devil’s ivy plant which he had placed on the corner of his desk. The glossy, emerald petals grew over the edge of the ceramic pot, just as he had last seen it the day before. Sheets of ivory- tinted documents sat on his desk, neatly sorted and seemingly untouched. Yoongi drew his attention back to Namjoon, who was now talking with a short, middle aged man seated at the end of the room.
“-My apologies for the long wait!” Namjoon greeted sheepishly. He raised an arm, gesturing towards Yoongi’s direction. “My partner and colleague, Min Yoongi.”
Yoongi straightened as he met the gaze of the state governor. “Bang Si Hyuk,” Yoongi smiled politely, reaching out his hand. “Sir.” Bang took Yoongi’s outstretched hand, shaking it firmly.
“Min Yoongi,” Bang greeted. “Your reputation precedes you.”
“Thank you,” Yoongi replied. “Though it’s mostly just busy work these days, I'm afraid.”
“In that case, I think you’ll find this assignment most interesting. If you’re willing to take it, that is,” Bang said with a small quirk of his lips.
“I’ll admit, my interest is piqued,” Yoongi said, his voice laced with amusement as he recalled how Namjoon had practically burst into his apartment less than twenty minutes ago. He opened the door connecting to his personal office, holding it open to allow Bang and Namjoon to pass. He took a seat on his worn leather chair and resisted the urge to prop his feet on top of the table. “What does it entail?”
Bang dropped a manila envelope onto the desk, the papers slightly splaying out from the action. “I need your assistance to investigate a few cases- involving demons.”
“Demons?” Yoongi leaned forward. “We’ve never dealt with-”
“Actually-” Namjoon started. Yoongi swiveled towards him. “I’ve studied them intensely during my Divine Creatures courses while I attended university.” He absentmindedly wondered what else Namjoon happened to have studied, which he was unaware of. Even after years of being paired to work with Namjoon and rooming with him while he attended university, Yoongi found the younger man to be somewhat of an enigma at times. He could see the gears in Namjoon’s mind already working to bring up any relevant information from the depths of his memory. Bang seemed unfazed at Namjoon’s apparent experience, shooting him a knowing look.
“Still,” Yoongi sighed. “I don’t see why you would specifically seek us out. Surely there are more experienced demon hunters and exorcists-” Bang cut him off with a weary sigh.
“We’ve already consulted dozens of them, to no avail. Every time we do manage to track this one down, it escapes. Exorcists can’t exactly match up against a demon’s powers, on a physical level,” Bang explained with a tilt of his head. “Usually, this wouldn’t be a problem since demons only possess humans, using them as a host, but this one seems to have come down in its own form.”
“You want us to fight it.”
“For lack of a better term, yes,” Bang replied. “I’m hoping that with your expertise in spellcasting and pyromancy, along with Mr. Kim’s knowledge on this specific case, we’ll be able to successfully quell the situation.” Yoongi shuffled through the papers in the envelope, coming across multiple photographs of ruined homes and destroyed shops. The soot- enveloped wreckage spanned across the entire street the photos had been taken from. He vaguely thought back to the newspaper sitting on his coffee table.
“Situation? You mean-”
“Ah, yes. You may have heard of it. The mysterious destruction happening across the city.” Anticipation thrummed through Yoongi’s skin as he skimmed across another report.
“Not that we aren’t honored to be requested for such an important mission, but we’ve recently been overloaded with various assignments from our manager-”
“I’ll have those transferred to a different department. It is of utmost importance that we stop this chaos.” Bang insisted, his tone pressing. He paused, composing himself again into the perfect image of a cool businessman. “You’ll be compensated accordingly, of course.”
Yoongi stared at Bang blankly, struggling to formulate a response. Honestly, he would be quite glad to be rid of the useless assignments that had been piled upon Namjoon and himself over the past month. As he mulled over Bang’s proposition, Yoongi found himself reminiscing over a younger version of himself, fifteen and exhilarated as he discovered how to draw a flame from his wand. However, when he glanced at the manila folder resting on his desk, an unexplainable feeling of apprehension gripped his insides, twisting into a knot and settling uncomfortably like a dead weight in his stomach. Fear of the unknown? Yoongi thought. Or maybe it was just the lack of coffee in his system.
“Yoongi?” Namjoon asked, startling Yoongi out of his trance. Yoongi steeled himself against the expectant gaze of Bang before offering him a languid smile.
“We’ll take it.”
Bang grinned, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “Excellent,” he breathed. “I’ll be sending over details later today for you to meet with our head exorcist.” Yoongi shook Bang’s outstretched hand, feeling as if he had finalized his decision by doing so. Bang briskly left the building, letting the door slam shut on his way out.
**********
And so, Yoongi found himself waiting outside Bang Si Hyuk’s office the next morning- far too early for his liking, may he add- running his fingers over the cool material of his wand and fidgeting with the loose button hanging from a thread of his worn coat. The sound of paper rustling and Yoongi’s shoe tapping against the lacquered floor consumed the otherwise empty room. Namjoon was seated next to him, attention focused on organizing his notes for the umpteenth time. Yoongi suspected he had even more materials tucked inside his jacket, perhaps shrunken with a charm to lessen the weight of multiple textbooks. Tearing his gaze from Namjoon, Yoongi allowed his eyes to sweep across the waiting room they had been ushered into upon arriving. Deep, navy blue coated the walls and the black, tiled floor shone with the residue of polish. Unlike Yoongi’s devil’s ivy, which he had given up on trimming after its leaves had grown back the next day, the plants in the waiting room were neatly clipped and aesthetically placed against the corners of the walls. Yoongi sucked in a breath, feeling the heavy weight of his watch against his wrist as another minute passed. If he listened close enough, he could make out the soft sound of the second hand moving. Always ticking.
The waiting room door suddenly slammed open, and Yoongi was alerted to the presence of an orange- haired man bursting through the entrance. A long, bright red jacket hung over his shoulders and his pinstripe dress shirt was left messily untucked. A thick cargo bag was slung over his shoulder, and Yoongi wasn’t sure he wanted to know what was inside. “AM I LATE?”
“Mr. Jung, how nice of you to join us,” Yoongi heard from behind him. With the distraction, he hadn’t even noticed Bang come out from his office.
“Sorry, I had a last minute errand to run,” the stranger shrugged, casually readjusting the strap of his bag, oblivious to Bang’s distressed sigh. He turned his attention to Yoongi and Namjoon, as if just noticing their presence. His eyes widened slightly.
“Min Yoongi and Kim Namjoon, right?” he greeted. His smile widened into a shape that reminded Yoongi of a heart. Yoongi stood up, brushing himself off in the process.
“Pleasure,” Yoongi said, the corners of his mouth lifting from Jung’s sheer presence. He offered his hand and Jung shook it enthusiastically, doing the same to Namjoon.
“The pleasure is all mine,” Jung chuckled, turning towards Yoongi. “Don’t think I haven’t heard about the missions you used to do. Anyways, I’m Jung Hoseok- feel free to call me Hoseok.”
“Of course,” Yoongi replied.
Bang led the three of them into his office, taking his seat behind the grand, wooden desk placed in the middle of the room. As Yoongi sat in his own seat between Namjoon and Hoseok, a brief sense of deja vu overcame him- except this time, he found himself on the other side of the table, feeling as if he were about to be interrogated instead of being the one asking the questions. He crossed his legs to keep them from restlessly tapping against the floor.
“As you know, I’ve gathered the three of you here today to discuss an important assignment,” Bang started, fixing each of them a leveled look. “And this information is not to leave the room. Understood?”
Yoongi nodded curtly, seeing Namjoon and Hoseok doing the same through his peripheral vision.
Bang unlocked his desk drawer using his own wand, which Yoongi thought was rather ugly. The crooked brown stick looked like it had been warped over its decades of use. Bang spread out a series of grayscale photographs across the table and unrolled a ink-marked map, the edges of the paper slightly crinkled. “These were the best photos we were able to obtain,” he continued. “However, we highly suspect that the demon is able to slightly alter its appearance in terms of hair or eye color.” Yoongi grabbed a photo off the table, inspecting the blurry figure captured in the granulated image. Not like we can tell what its color is from these blurry ass shots anyways, Yoongi thought, wanting to snort.
The demon appeared to be in the form of a young man, similar to Yoongi’s age if not a bit younger. Yoongi was just able to make out the long, wavy strands of hair strewn across its forehead, almost covering its eyes. It donned a casual turtleneck sweater paired with a long blazer and plain black slacks. Yoongi wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but he certainly didn’t think the demon in question would look so… ordinary. Human even. Might’ve even passed by it on the streets , Yoongi thought with a shudder. Struggling to pick out anything else useful from the photograph, Yoongi slowly set it back on the table.
“Other demon hunters have marked the locations in which they’ve sighted it,” Bang said, pointing to various markings across the map. Namjoon stirred from beside Yoongi.
“The file you left with us yesterday mentioned that the demon was able to apparate,” Namjoon pointed out, eyes still glued to the map. “How would we even get a hold of it?” Bang smiled.
“I trust that you know of the substances demons are vulnerable to?”
“Yes- silver, iron, white magic,” Namjoon began listing. “To name a few.”
“Min, how are your barrier charms?”
Yoongi flicked his eyes away from the map, realizing he had been addressed. “Ah, adequate enough I suppose,” he replied. Namjoon nodded silently, seeming to follow Bang’s train of thought even as Yoongi struggled to piece together how a few simple charms could prevent a demon from apparating away. “But most ordinary charms only work on mortals.”
“But if laced with white magic, or holy magic-” Bang started.
“Then they could possibly trap in an unholy spirit, like a demon. I never thought of it that way,” Namjoon finished. Yoongi furrowed his brow.
“How would we go about combining white magic with a barrier spell?” He wondered out loud. “Merging different areas of magic into a singular enchantment can be quite complex. Not to mention, I don’t even practice white magic.”
“And that’s where I come in,” Hoseok piped up from besides him. “You’d be surprised how much I had to read up on white magic to be able to exorcise all the demons I encounter.” Ah, right, Yoongi thought, remembering Bang’s visit to his office the day before. The head exorcist. “There’s a potion that will allow your spells to possess the holy qualities of white magic- I’m sure Namjoon will be a great help in preparing it.”
“It is an involved process,” Namjoon hummed. “Magic merging potions can take up to months to brew.”
“Which is why we need to start as soon as possible,” Bang urged, the sound of his drumming fingers playing in the background of their conversation.
“-Wait,” Yoongi interrupted, turning towards Hoseok. “As an exorcist, is it even possible to banish a demon that isn’t possessing anything?”
“I wasn’t aware that demons could hold their own form,” Namjoon added. “Aren’t they supposed to be extremely weak without a host?”
“That’s the thing,” Hoseok said, frowning. “This predicament hasn’t happened for centuries, and there are so few records of it occurring too. I suspect that instead of banishing it, we’ll need to kill the demon itself.” A chill ran through Yoongi’s bones at Hoseok’s words.
“Another thing,” Bang said carefully. “You’ll notice that every sighting location is quite populated. It’s too dangerous to possibly provoke a demon in these settings and risk civilians getting harmed.” Yoongi nodded along, slightly irked that he could never follow Bang’s train of thought. Bang paused for a moment, letting silence wash over the room. “Min.”
Yoongi met Bang’s calculating stare with a blank one of his own. “Yes?”
“I’ll be blunt. I’ve already gone through your records- you’ve demonstrated an admirable level of mastery in your magical abilities during your missions to the shores and from your university assessments. I’m confident that you’ll be successful in pulling off this task.”
Yoongi stiffened, gritting his teeth as his fingernails dug into the padded cushion of his armrest. “Sir?”
“In order for this case to be carried out as safely as possible, you’ll need to teleport the demon into a vacant area before casting the barrier spell,” Bang explained seriously. Yoongi reeled forward, uncrossing his legs in the process.
“Teleport?” he wheezed, blinking owlishly. Teleportation magic had been outlawed for decades, to the extent of knowledge. Not that he had ever paid much attention in his History of Magic classes anyways. “Not that I don’t understand the gravity of this assignment or anything, but is this really-”
“I’m afraid that this case may escalate into something more sinister if we do not solve it from the start,” Bang sighed. “Thus, I am willing to take the risks using teleportation magic brings. You have explicit permission from me to practice it, of course.”
But am I willing to accept the risk? Yoongi’s mind played through what could possibly go wrong- transporting himself into the exact location of an unexpected object and merging with it, or maybe landing himself somewhere deserted from the rest of humanity - on second thought, the latter might actually be quite enjoyable. With every passing second, he questioned his qualifications for the job. Bang took Yoongi’s silence as an opportunity to continue talking.
“I’m hoping that while Mr. Jung and Kim are at work brewing the necessary potion, you will be able to grasp the basics of teleportation. And perhaps brush up on your barrier charms,” Bang added. Yoongi almost laughed.
“I…” Yoongi huffed, the corner of his lips twitching into a tentative, dry smile. “I believe you’re putting quite a bit of trust in me, sir.”
“I’m aware,” Bang stated flatly. “However, trust me when I say I would not ask this of you unless I were positive you would be capable of accomplishing it.”
And why are you so confident of my abilities in a subject I’ve never studied? Yoongi wanted to protest. He leaned his head onto his hand and observed Bang through narrowed eyes. “So, how will we find this demon, exactly?”
“Leave that to me,” Hoseok answered with a grin. Yoongi’s gaze drifted back to Hoseok’s cargo bag, which he had plopped next to his chair, and decided not to question him.
“Alright. Hoseok will locate the demon and I’ll teleport it along with me to a designated location,” Yoongi hummed, leaning back into his seat and letting his grip on the armrest slacken. Bang nodded his head by a fraction. “Then what?”
“Since we cannot risk anyone else being near your teleportation destination, at the risk of an accidental splinch, Jung and Kim will be joining you shortly after you arrive,” Bang said. “Cast the barrier spell as soon as you complete the teleportation.”
“And then, I’ll have to fight the demon on my own?” Yoongi asked, trepidation dripping from his voice. Sensing his distress, Hoseok placed a reassuring hand on Yoongi’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be armed with protective runes and silver chains, all the works,” Hoseok said with an easy smile. “You know, to keep the demon from reading your thoughts and internally bursting your veins open with its mind. Should even the playing ground a bit.”
Yoongi paled, suddenly feeling very cold even in the temperature-controlled building.
“All you have to do is keep it occupied, maybe weaken it. Once Namjoon and I catch up with you, it’ll be up to us to banish it. Or kill it- we’ll find out then, I guess,” Hoseok finished.
“Well, that’s all,” Bang concluded, gathering the photographs into an orderly pile and rolling up the map. “I greatly appreciate your cooperation while we work on this rather... unorthodox case.”
That’s one way to put it, Yoongi thought wryly. He rose from his seat and looked to Namjoon, who had fallen uncharacteristically silent towards the end of the meeting. “We’ll be off then,” he said, bidding Bang goodbye- though not before Bang stacked a pile of ancient records detailing the arts of teleportation into Yoongi’s arms.
“Best of luck, Mr. Min.”
Hands now occupied with the stack of age-weathered books, Yoongi propped open the office door with his foot and left the room with a still quiet Namjoon in tow. His head throbbed with the new information Bang had left him to digest. The now glaringly bright afternoon sun did nothing to help Yoongi’s impending headache as he left the building.
“Namjoon! Wait!”
Yoongi’s steps faltered against the pavement as he twisted around to find the source of the voice. Hoseok bounded out of the double doors he and Namjoon had just passed through.
“Ju- Hoseok,” Namjoon quickly corrected himself.
“I’d like to start tomorrow, if possible,” Hoseok said. “We can meet at my place. I have a lab we can begin brewing the potion in.”
“Sounds good,” Namjoon replied. Hoseok rummaged through the inside of his jacket before pulling out a small notepad and pen. He flipped to a random page and scribbled something down, before tearing the piece of paper and offering it to Namjoon.
“My address,” he explained.
“Ah, thanks,” Namjoon said, accepting the note and tucking it into his own jacket. Hoseok looked over to Yoongi, who had wordlessly watched the exchange.
“I know you think Bang might be a bit… over his head right now,” Hoseok admitted with a sigh. Yoongi snorted at the understatement. “But you won't be alone, not really. You won’t be going into this blind- Namjoon and I will tell you everything you need to know. By the time the potion’s done, you’ll be prepared for anything. Even if you don’t quite believe us yet, just know I’m confident in you as well, Yoongi.”
Hoseok beamed at Yoongi, brilliant as the gleaming sun painting an outline of his silhouette from behind him. Hoseok’s tangerine- tinted locks of hair appeared even more radiant in the beams of sunlight washing over him. Yoongi sensed something so genuine, so grounding in Hoseok’s grin that he found himself smiling back unconsciously. With the wind blowing gently against Yoongi’s bare hands clutching the teleportation books, he decided to believe Hoseok’s words- if only for the time being.
“I’m glad,” Yoongi replied, his voice unflinching. He gestured toward the stack in his arms. “Because I’m definitely getting this down.”
**********
“God damnit!” Yoongi yelled to no one in particular, his voice absorbed by the walls of the empty room.
He, in fact, was not getting this shit down.
Yoongi gripped his wand tightly in his hand, slightly trembling from exertion. Again, he pushed himself. He focused on the hardwood floor beneath his feet, the slight draft blowing from the curtain- covered window to his right, the high walls encapsulating him in the living room. He burned his gaze into the end of the room, which was bare from when he had earlier vanished the furniture. Just a few feet. Yoongi tapped into the last of his magical energy reserves, and the familiar, pleasant pull of the molasses- like force settled under his skin. Now, he would usually pinpoint a spell to release his pent up anticipation into. He visualized himself appearing at the end of the room, trying out of sheer will to make his body move . However, Yoongi found his mind grasping at nothing, free falling into an endless, disorienting void as the comfortable warmth of his magic escaped from him.
Yoongi’s head hit the hard floor of his living room. The walls spun around him for a good minute as he winced from the impact. He laid his arm over his sweat- coated forehead, gasping in lungfuls of air. As he stared impassively at the ceiling, his vision gradually returned to normal. He observed every crack and crevice and crumbling bit of plaster sticking to the corners where it met the walls. Small, almost unnoticeable scorch marks lined the corners of the ceiling. When had that happened?
He turned his head to the right. The window was still in the same place he had last seen it. Groaning, Yoongi picked up an open book laying near his hand- one of the books Bang had given him. “Useless piece of shit,” Yoongi muttered to himself. “What the hell does transfer your consciousness mean?” Yoongi’s skin prickled with heat, and he seriously considered burning the book into smithereens with his bare hands. However, he had a feeling Bang would not appreciate Yoongi destroying one of the most ancient, not to mention outlawed, records he possessed.
And so, Yoongi reeled back the flames that were beginning to lick at the fine hairs of his arms. He didn’t remember exactly when he had begun to be able to perform wandless magic, but he had noticed it only happened with fire. Fire was accessible, something tangible he could rely on to manipulate into his own desires. Even when the flames ate away at his own skin, they were oddly comforting. Within his control.
Yoongi closed his eyes. The antique clock in the adjacent room ticked steadily. Namjoon had been here two hours ago, asking Yoongi if he had any ingredients to spare for the potion. Yoongi idly wondered if the potion was coming along any better than his teleportation skills. Probably, he thought, considering Namjoon’s on the case. The weight of his limbs pinned him to the floor and he began to feel rather lethargic. He didn’t attempt to get up.
“Yoongi!”
Yoongi’s eyes flew open. His living room was now engulfed in darkness and the frigid night air soaked the hardwood floor. Namjoon was leaning over him, shaking his shoulder gently.
“Mm,” Yoongi groaned, sluggishly pushing himself off the floor and sitting up. Namjoon watched him silently, lips tugging down into a troubled frown.
“When’s the last time you got a full night’s sleep?” Namjoon asked.
Yoongi didn’t answer him.
“You can’t keep overworking yourself like this. You’ll burn out,” Namjoon said, shaking his head slightly. When he was met with silence again, Namjoon sighed deeply, giving up on eliciting a response from Yoongi. He removed his hand from Yoongi’s shoulder and straightened himself so he towered over him. “Listen… I have something to confess.”
“What is it?” Yoongi asked, latching onto the change in topic. Namjoon bit his lip, shuffling his feet against the floor as he pulled at the cuffs of his sleeves. His eyes wandered aimlessly around the room.
“Maybe I shouldn’t be telling you this.”
“No, tell me,” Yoongi insisted. Namjoon let his gaze settle on Yoongi for a few more moments, assessing him. Yoongi met his eyes in an unwavering stare.
“I may have… sneaked out a few books on transportation magic while I was at university. And read them. And tried to teleport once or twice. Or more.”
“Jesus Christ, Namjoon,” Yoongi sputtered. “The straight- A student and class president stealing illegal writings? Who would have thought.”
“Never say I haven’t done anything rebellious,” Namjoon said with a raise of his eyebrow. “They were actually pretty hard to get a hold of- but anyways. The furthest I’ve ever managed to travel was from the dormitories to the bathroom. Not very far, I know.”
“Better than I can do,” Yoongi scoffed. “Bang should’ve picked you for the job.”
“You know there’s no way I could face off against a demon alone,” Namjoon said, laughing. “I’ll stick to potion brewing, thank you very much. Besides, I haven’t developed my magic storage capacities nearly as much as you- one of the many reasons I can’t teleport over long distances.”
“At least you can actually pull it off.”
“Well, you just have to analyze it from a different perspective, I suppose. It takes practice.”
“You’re really amazing, you know,” Yoongi said with a fond smile.
At that moment, a rather strong gust of wind blew through the open window, making Yoongi shiver in his thin undershirt. Ever so observant, Namjoon took his own jacket off and draped it over Yoongi’s shoulders. Yoongi pulled the cotton- lined fabric tighter against himself, sighing into the warmth still lingering from Namjoon’s body. Namjoon softly closed the window, and the curtains fell still without the constant breeze. Yoongi pushed himself off the floor and almost toppled over instantly as a wave of fatigue hit him. He grunted in surprise when he didn’t hit the floor, instead slumping against Namjoon’s arm. Yoongi leaned into Namjoon’s side as they made their way to the bedroom.
“I’ll help you learn it,” Namjoon said, breaking the silence.
“Real-”
“But only if you rest tonight. There’s no use in wearing yourself out this early into the assignment,” Namjoon said firmly. Yoongi hung his head, watching his feet as he put one foot in front of the other. One step at a time.
“...Okay,” he whispered, unsure if Namjoon had even heard him. Namjoon didn’t say anything else, only lifting the crumpled blankets of Yoongi’s bed and lightly pushing him to lay down. Yoongi curled into the sheets. Through his now blurry vision, he saw Namjoon soundlessly leave the room and close the door until only a sliver of moonlight escaped from the opening.
He forgot his jacket, was the last thing Yoongi remembered thinking before he succumbed to the inviting pull of sleep.
**********
Yoongi’s muscles protested as he dragged himself out of bed. He grimaced at the dull pain arising in the back of his head, and Yoongi briefly wondered if he had woken from a coma. However, his bone-deep weariness was now gone, leaving him with only a slight ache in his neck from the awkward position he had slept in last night. He grabbed his wand off his bedside dresser and pocketed it in his shorts. When he threw open the bedroom door, the blazing sun greeted him in its full glory. Yoongi curled his toes as he stepped into the rays.
Finally, he entered the kitchen. Yoongi methodically replaced the used filter cup and poured in one, two, three spoons of dark-roasted coffee. He basked in the aroma of the ground arabica beans, which were from a high-end brand Yoongi had discovered when Namjoon gifted it to him once. Even through lidded eyes, he was able to clip in the jar and flick the on button. He vacantly stared at the machine as coffee began to drip, and yawned.
“How’d you sleep?”
“Shit!” Yoongi snapped, flinching as he almost knocked the coffeemaker off the counter. He spun around to find Namjoon lounging on a linen-covered couch in the living room, browsing through the collection of transportation books Yoongi had left sprawled across the floor.
“Hello to you too,” Namjoon said, not looking very apologetic at all. He opted to continue flipping through the worn pages of the textbook instead of meeting Yoongi’s glare. Shaking off Namjoon’s sudden appearance, Yoongi silently waited for the coffee to finish brewing before pouring himself a mug. On second thought, he grabbed another mug and made a cup for Namjoon, adding a spoonful of sugar in his. Drowsiness now gone, Yoongi sunk into the soft cushions of the couch next to Namjoon.
“Slept like the dead, thanks for asking,” Yoongi muttered while peering over at the page Namjoon was reading. He offered the mug to Namjoon, who took it with a gracious smile. “Did you stay over last night?”
“Nah, I let myself in this morning. Went back to my place to get some extra reading material,” he answered, gesturing to the small stack of hard-cover books balancing precariously on the sofa arm next to him. “And I’ll say. It’s almost four in the afternoon.” Yoongi’s eyes lazily wandered to the clock across the room.
“Hm. Interesting,” Yoongi hummed into his mug. The acidic, bitter liquid burned against his tongue satisfyingly.
“You really needed it though,” Namjoon said, his tone softer this time. Another beat of comfortable silence passed between them as the sound of paper rustling filled the room. Yoongi melted into the cushions and sipped at his coffee.
“Where’d you get the couch? I vanished all the furniture yesterday.”
“Oh, uh,” Namjoon started, looking up. “I just transfigured it.”
“From what?”
“Your curtains.”
Yoongi looked down at the seat underneath him, now noticing that it was the same burgundy shade as his curtains. The window was left bare, allowing the sunlight to stream freely throughout the apartment. “Figures.”
“I’ll revert them whenever you decide to bring back your furniture,” Namjoon said. He slammed the book shut and placed it with the others on the floor, standing up in the process. “You know, when you think about it, vanishing and summoning spells are a lot like transportation magic.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it's essentially just the transportation of objects rather than human beings. Granted, they’re common spells that are much easier to cast,” Namjoon explained. “When you vanish an object, it doesn’t actually disappear- rather, it gets transported to another location, like a different room, the trashcan, and so on. In your case, I’m guessing you’ve moved your furniture to your storage room?”
Yoongi nodded his head in confirmation.
“Similarly, with summoning, you’re bringing an object from elsewhere to your location,” Namjoon continued. “And, the longer the distance, the more magical energy the spell consumes. Hence, most wizards use them for daily tasks because they use up such a negligible amount of magic.” Namjoon pulled out his own wand- made of oak wood and willow stems, Yoongi recalled. The stems were curled into each other, forming an intricate tangle of wood and wrapping around the firm, oak core. It fits him, Yoongi mused. Willow trees always reminded him of wisdom. Namjoon’s wand was pigmented with shades of tan and umber- unlike Yoongi’s, which reminded him of the color of coal.
Namjoon brandished his wand in front of Yoongi’s feet, and suddenly Yoongi’s coffee table reappeared. “And spells like that,” Namjoon said, storing his wand away. “Are done wordlessly- meaning, you just think about them, and they happen.”
“Higher energy spells require spell chanting,” Yoongi added, nodding along. He propped his feet onto the table now infront of him, glancing up at Namjoon. “You’re saying that there’s a spell word that triggers transportation spells.”
“Precisely,” Namjoon said with a grin. “I don’t remember it exactly, but it's gotta be in one of these books. I’m guessing you didn’t actually read through all of them before trying to transport?”
“I just thought it would be easier to learn it hands on,” Yoongi replied sheepishly. “Experiment with it.”
“I see,” Namjoon said with a small smile.
“Well, we better start going through these-”
“Wait,” Namjoon interrupted. “Before we do that, I wanted to give you a rundown on what to expect, regarding demons. That’s what I brought these books for.” He took the books from the sofa arm and laid them out across the coffee table. Upon closer inspection, the titles all related to Magical or Divine Creatures. “I thought I would explain while I was here, since I’m supposed to meet with Hoseok in an hour or so.”
“Right,” Yoongi said. He pursed his lips, reminded of the contents of the actual mission, which he was unable to ignore anymore by throwing himself into a havoc trying to learn transportation magic. “Is it a lot?”
“Most of the info I’ve studied probably won’t be completely applicable, considering this case’s anomaly,” Namjoon said, his shoulders slumping. “So, it would probably be best for you to spend more time refining your transportation skills. We’ll have to act quickly once the potion’s done. But!” he picked up a book and opened it to a bookmarked page. “That doesn’t mean you should fight a demon without any background knowledge. So let’s go over the basics today.”
“Okay, hit me.”
“Demons are divine creatures, like angels and spirits. They practice unholy magic. Conversely, angels practice holy magic. So, they’re able to detect their own, as well as angels, just from energy signatures. They can hold elemental powers, much like wizards do. In addition to that, they also have psychic powers. As you probably know from Hoseok, they can telepathically disturb your biological systems if you’re not wearing any protective devices. That includes…” Namjoon skimmed through a few pages. “Reading thoughts, rupturing arteries, stopping heartbeats, blinding and deafening their victims… you get what I mean.”
Yoongi gulped. “You keep mentioning these... protective devices. How exactly do they work?”
“Runes, for example, can be enchanted with protective magic. Keeping them in proximity to yourself can prevent many types of magic- such as unholy and psychic magic- from harming you. However, they usually can only be created by an advanced exorcist or wizard specializing in white magic- though I’m sure Hoseok will have no problem providing those.”
“He mentioned something about… silver chains.”
“Ah, yes. Demons, however powerful they may be, are still weakened by a number of elements. And that includes silver- that’s why Hoseok suggested wearing silver chains. I suspect you’ll also be wearing similar chains made of iron,” Namjoon explained. “Upon direct contract, they cause physical harm to a demon. When Hoseok and I arrive at your teleportation site, we’ll likely use these chains to restrain it as well.” Namjoon turned to a different bookmark. “Here, read this chapter. I’m going to look through my other notes.”
Yoongi took the book from Namjoon’s outstretched hand. The paper’s edges were pressed flat, and the only indication the book had even been read was from the slightly creased binding. He brushed his fingers over the glossed pages as he skimmed through the introductory paragraph. Demons reside in hell. Angels reside in heaven. Ok, got it. He flipped the page to reveal an image of a supposedly possessed human. Dark, vein- like lines crawled up the victim’s neck, and their fingers were tinged black. Yoongi turned his head as Namjoon stood up besides him.
“I’ve got to head off to Hoseok’s now,” Namjoon said, glancing down at his wristwatch.
“Oh, okay.”
Namjoon took his coat from where it had been draped over the back of the sofa and put on his cap. Yoongi accompanied him to the front door and leaned his elbow against the wall. “It feels kinda weird not going into the office,” Namjoon mused as he pulled his boots on. “There was always a new assignment popping up everyday.”
“Good riddance.”
Namjoon finished buttoning his coat and pulled open the door, letting in the chilly evening air. He slowed in his steps upon exiting the apartment, turning to face Yoongi. “Oh, another thing I wanted to add,” Namjoon started, his features blank and unreadable. “Demons are extremely manipulative. They’re created being incapable of processing certain emotions and possessing certain qualities. Pure ones like happiness, benevolence, love.” He paused. “Just be careful, yeah?” With a nod of his head, Namjoon turned on his heel and made his way down the stairs. Yoongi watched him leave, staring as Namjoon’s figure shrunk into the horizon.
Damnit. He groaned. I forgot to give him back his jacket.
By the time Yoongi closed the door, the sky had darkened to a deep shade of indigo. He pulled his wand out and turned on the lights in the living room. The forgotten mugs sat on the coffee table next to Namjoon’s books, their rims stained brown. Yoongi vanished them without a second thought before laying onto the couch. He opened the book he had been reading before Namjoon left, and silence engulfed the apartment once again.
It was while he was reading an absolutely riveting chapter on the hierarchy of hell when he heard it.
Or rather, he smelled it first. An acrid scent leaked through the walls, clashing unpleasantly with the lingering smell of brewed coffee. Yoongi dismissed it as a result of his unhealthy smoking habits. Then, a crackling sound alerted his attention to the chaos going on outside his window. “Wh-” Yoongi breathed. He threw the book onto the couch. Yoongi made his way over to the window and lifted it open, immediately regretting the action when a plume of smoke flew into his face. Violent coughs wracked his lungs as he snatched his wand off the table and pushed the fumes away, back out the window. He closed it tightly, turning the locks on the frame.
Yoongi ran to his apartment entrance and pressed his palm against the door, feeling the heat behind the wood warm his skin. Cursing under his breath, he rushed to the nearest closet and grabbed a wool scarf before wrapping it around his face, leaving only his eyes uncovered. He slipped on a random pair of shoes. Yoongi ran back to the entrance and braced himself before throwing open the door.
A wave of heat washed over him, saturating the atmosphere with a syrupy-thick humidity. A sea of blood-red flames crawled up the staircase, writhing and curling around the railings and charring the wood into an oily black. They moved at an unnatural pace, devouring and licking at the building’s supporting pillars in an attempt to bring the entire complex crumbling down. Yoongi flicked his wrist toward the fire threatening to tear the ground underneath his feet. The flames ceased. He tested his weight against the weakened floor panels, deeming it safe to walk on when they didn’t bend under his force. He managed to sprint down a singular flight of stairs before another flame suddenly flared up in his path. Yoongi expertly dragged his arm in a linear motion, extinguishing it with a single spell and leaving a thick stream of gas in its place. However, as he doused each flame, another seemed to spring up and replace the previous one tenfold. He swiped at the fire in a frenzy, beads of perspiration dripping down the back of his neck and soaking into his scarf. Suffocating clouds of smoke consumed the entire complex and fogged up his vision. The fire continued to grow, unrelenting and brutal as they reclaimed the staircase he had just descended from. Yoongi’s stomach twisted nauseously from the pungent odor of burning metal and wood mixing together.
In a fit of panic, Yoongi let out a burst of his own fire from his wand. His scarlet flames contrasted brilliantly against the darker ones that were tearing down the building when they met along the pillars. The offending fire seemed to recoil, then abruptly went out. Yoongi blinked, eyes watering from the smoke still drifting around him and adjusting to the change in lighting. The brightness of the raging inferno was gone, replaced with the pitch- black night. Only Yoongi’s own fire remained, lining the corners of the walls and flickering lazily around his feet. He quickly extinguished them and took the last few flights of stairs two steps at a time until he reached the ground floor. He waved away the vapors surrounding the entrance and almost cried out in relief as he was met with the full force of the wintery air. Yoongi tore the scarf off his face and leaned his hands onto his knees, desperately inhaling lungfuls of refreshing, clean air. When his coughing had subsided, he straightened and took in his surroundings.
A crowd had gathered around the firefighters, who were in the process of carrying out residents from the damaged building. The upper stories seemed mostly untouched, but the lower ones were reduced to an ash- like texture. He could see hints of a metal frame from where the walls were burnt off, the plaster crinkling unsettlingly as the last sparks of fire went out. A muted siren blared in the background as Yoongi’s fingers tightened around his wand.
“Oh fuck ,” he hissed, remembering the teleportation scripts he had abandoned in his apartment. He flicked his wand sharply, staggering back as he caught the books in his arms a second later. Yoongi flipped through the pages, sighing in relief when the paper didn’t disintegrate underneath his fingertips. He tucked his wand away in his pocket and clutched onto the stack. The crowd was beginning to disperse as the ambulances arrived, and Yoongi grimaced when he caught sight of the number of people being strapped to stretchers. He was about to turn away, and perhaps take a cab to Namjoon’s place, when a flash of red captured his attention. Yoongi tensed, thinking for a second that the flames had resumed their vicious agenda, before realizing it was a head of hair. The head belonged to a man standing faced away from him, busy observing the people in the crowd. This particular shade of red was unlike the angry fire, or even Hoseok’s annoyingly bright red jacket.
The man’s locks were tinted a rich shade of garnet, reminding Yoongi of a potent, full-bodied wine. As he moved through the crowd, the angle of light reflected off his hair shifted and revealed dark purple undertones in the strands. The color was so unnatural, so inhuman, that Yoongi could only stare, transfixed. Then, as quickly as he had spotted him, the man vanished from sight. Yoongi stood, rooted to the spot, mouth hanging slightly open.
“Yoongi!” Someone called out from behind him. He slowly turned around, forcing himself to tear his eyes away from the spot the stranger had disappeared from.
“Oh god,” the same voice- Hoseok- gasped. He lightly grabbed at Yoongi’s wrist, lifting his arm to examine every inch of his body. “We came as soon as we heard what happened from the radio. Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” Yoongi dismissed. Namjoon soon caught up to Hoseok, panting slightly as he jogged down the sidewalk. His brow was furrowed, taking in the smoking building and the soot clinging to Yoongi’s skin.
“Are you hurt?” Namjoon asked, already pulling out his wand.
“I’m fine, ” Yoongi insisted.
“You don’t look fine,” Namjoon scoffed. “Your nose is bleeding.”
When Yoongi reached up and brushed at his nose, his hand came away stained red. The adrenaline that had been fueling him was now wearing off, leaving Yoongi’s limbs heavy and drained. He didn’t protest as Namjoon healed his nose, also mending together the minor scrapes and burns he had attained on his arms and legs. The magic tingled pleasantly and left a soothing sensation running under his skin after the spells were completed. Satisfied with his work, Namjoon put away his wand and took the books from Yoongi’s arms, relieving him of their weight. “We’re lucky these didn’t get damaged,” Namjoon said.
“Yeah.”
Hoseok picked the forgotten scarf off the ground and wrapped it around Yoongi’s shoulders. Yoongi leaned into the fabric, not having realized how severely he had been shivering before.
“You can stay over at my place tonight,” Namjoon said, resting a hand on Yoongi’s shoulder. “But… I’ve been thinking. The potion will be well underway soon, so I’ll have to stay over at Hoseok’s to keep an eye on it.” He glanced at Yoongi’s ruined apartment complex. “We also can’t dismiss this incident as a mere coincidence, however much we want to. It’ll be safer to stick together from now on.”
Hoseok nodded in agreement, expression turned somber. “I’ll make arrangements for you two to stay in my guest rooms.”
“Sounds good to me,” Yoongi said, just wanting to get indoors again. He took out his wand again, summoning a few articles of clothing from his closet, and on second thought, Namjoon’s jacket, which he had left on his bed the previous night. “Now let’s catch a cab already. I’m freezing my ass off here.”
It wasn’t until Yoongi was sitting in the heated vehicle, watching the street rush past him underneath the soft glow of the streetlamps, that he was able to piece together what he had witnessed.
That night, he had seen a demon.