Chapter Text
And so it begins:
Minho didn't realise he had been adopted by Bang Chan until it was too late. Apparently, this was pretty common.
It’s not like he needed adopting anyway. He was 187 for Terra’s sake, plenty old enough to look after himself. Yes, he’d been in the city for years now and it was slowly rotting his soul but that was his choice, he could go home any time he wanted to.
Minho first met Chan at a 24 hour cafe in the dead of night. He had been working late, using his natural strength and grace to get by as a backup dancer for some human idol group. Well, they were advertised as human at least.
Chan was sitting at a table, surrounded by papers and empty mugs, hair in disarray. Minho thought he looked a bit deranged typing furiously on his laptop and flipping through stacks of notes looking for information. One page made a bid for freedom as Minho walked past so he picked it up and handed it back to the harried boy with a warm smile. Chan took it, not quite meeting his gaze and muttered a quiet thank you.
Minho had made it 5 steps towards his table before the words sunk in. He spun back around and slammed his hand down on the table next to Chan’s current mug of coffee. “How did you know what I was?” he demanded.
“Huh?” Chan said, finally looking Minho in the eyes.
“You thanked me in elvish,” Minho hissed.
“Oh. Sorry?” Chan said. “Are you not? You just smelled like an elf and I thought it would be polite.”
Minho rolled his eyes and pulled up a seat next to Chan. “I am an elf,” he said. “But how did you know elvish? You’re certainly not one with a nose like that.”
Chan pouted and rubbed his nose self-consciously. “I’m a vamp. I learnt elvish from an old friend of mine so we could gossip in class.” He paused and stared into his cup as if the memories pained him. “I’ll not use it again since it offended you so much.”
“No!” Minho shouted, turning the heads of the weary employees. “No,” he said quieter. “Please, nobody’s spoken elvish to me in years.”
In hindsight, Minho realised that that early morning vulnerable confession was the moment Bang Chan decided to adopt him.
Chan stayed in the cafe all night, working tirelessly and ordering mug after mug of hot chocolate. When Minho questioned why he didn’t buy coffee Chan shrugged and said he didn’t need the caffeine. Minho should have left almost as soon as he'd arrived. He’d had a long grueling day and there was another ahead of him but he couldn’t stomach the thought of leaving Chan, the tiny glimmer of home in his mumbled accented elvish.
Just after dawn a trio of school kids burst through the doors, far too happy for that time in the morning. A girl broke off as they entered and barreled towards Chan.
“Hyung!!” she cried, jumping into Chan’s waiting arms.
Surely it should have been ‘oppa’ Minho thought.
“Morning, Innie,” Chan smiled the first real smile Minho had seen from him. “I like your hair.”
“I’ve been practicing,” the girl said proudly. She screwed up her eyes in concentration and Minho watched in awe as her blonde hair took on a pinkish hue. “See!” the girl said excitedly, holding one of her pigtails out to Chan. “I got it right down to the ends.”
The other school kids joined them and the taller of the two boys handed the girl a drink that seemed to be mostly cream.
“Hi, Hyung,” the other said. “Who’s your friend?”
Chan jumped as he realised Minho was still sitting next to him. “Boys, this is Minho. He’s an elf.”
Minho frowned. Your species wasn’t exactly something you just told strangers on the street. But he supposed Chan wasn’t really a stranger anymore and these kids seemed like family to him. Perhaps they were part of his clan.
“Minho, this is Seungmin, an imp, Hyunjin, a mer and Jeongin, a shifter,” Chan gestured to the boys in turn. Then again, perhaps they weren’t part of his clan.
Hyunjin smiled. “It’s nice to meet you Hyung. I’ve never met an elf before.”
“Says the merman in the middle of the city,” Minho replied.
“I was born in the Han river,” Hyunjin told him, still smiling.
Minho couldn’t help but pull a disgusted face. The city river was clogged with pollution. He couldn’t imagine even touching that water, let alone living in it.
Jeongin laughed. “Yeah, he’s a gross sewer boy,” he teased his friend. “We didn’t even realise he was this pretty until he’d been living with us a few weeks and finally washed off all the dirt.”
Hyunjin gasped. “You think I’m pretty, Innie?”
Chan snorted. “Literally everyone thinks you’re pretty, Jinnie.”
“Do you think I’m pretty, Minho-hyung?” Hyunjin asked. “I heard all elves are, like, super pretty.”
Minho pretended to scrutinise the boy but in all honesty even by elf standards Hyunjin’s delicate features were impressive. “I guess you’re ok,” Minho allowed.
Chan shooed the kids off to school once they were finished with their drinks. “Innie! Remember and change back before class!!” he called out as they left.
“You really shouldn’t yell stuff like that around so many humans,” Minho said glancing around the cafe for anybody that might have found the comment odd.
“It’s fine,” Chan said. “Humans tend to presume its a joke or a game and nobody likes butting into other people’s business in the city. They’d rather stare blankly through your face and pretend they can’t see you.” He lifted his mug and drained the last dregs before pooling all his papers together. “Anyways, it’s not like I said ‘Jeongin remember to shift back into your birth form before school so you don’t get marked as absent.’”
“Has that happened?” Minho asked, curious.
“More than once,” Chan sighed. “He’s lucky we have a witch who can erase memories.”
By Terra, how many mystics did this man know? In five years of living in Seoul Minho had only met a fae and a very grumpy sewer goblin.
“I should go now, while the smog is still blocking the sun,” Chan said apologetically. “If you want to chat again I'm here a lot and my friends and I run a shop down by the river 3RACHA, they can pass on a message if I'm not there myself.”
“Sure,” Minho said casually, not wanting to sound too desperate for this stranger's company. “It was nice to meet you.”
Chan waved at him once more from the door before being swept away by the morning rush. Minho checked the time and sighed. He just had time to go home and shower before he had to be back at work again.
Whipped at first sight:
3RACHA was a much odder shop in person than the website suggested. It was sandwiched between a laundromat and a takeout shop, with the black door painted with a giant red outline of a chicken. The creaking sign didn't even claim it to be a jewellery, only having another chicken outline and the word 3RACHA. Minho peered in the window to check he hadn't accidentally ended up at a chicken joint.
A boy with wide eyes and orange hair grinned back at him. Minho stumbled back in surprise, and fell to the ground as he tripped on the curb. The boy sat up and pressed his head against the glass, mouthing “are you ok?”
A different boy ran out of the door seconds later and helped him up before he could reply. When the boy pushed his blue hair away from his face Minho glimpsed that his ear was full of piercings and the hand that helped him up was covered in rings. Perhaps this was the right shop after all.
“I'm sorry about Felix,” the new boy rambled, dusting off Minho's coat. “We keep telling him not to study in the window but he likes to people watch.”
“It's ok,” Minho said, though it really wasn't. His ankle was throbbing and Minho really couldn't afford to be off work right now. Minho took a tentative step and his leg crumpled beneath him. He grabbed onto the boy for support before he fell again and bit his lip to stop the pitiful whine escaping his mouth.
“Frogskin, you're really hurt,” the boy exclaimed and wrapped Minho's arm around his shoulder, slipping his own arm around Minho's waist. “Come into the shop and I'll fix you up.”
The inside of the shop was mesmerising. Rickety wooden shelves lined every wall filled with bottles and books and boxes of feathers of every colour. There were jewels too, not displayed in a case but hung on silver wires to catch the light and split it across the room in muted reds and blues and greens. A large scarred table took up the middle of the shop and a heavy leather bound book lay open on it, surrounded by corked bottles and brassy weights were piled up at one side next to an old fashioned scale.
“Woah,” Minho said in awe. “This place is beautiful.”
“You think so?” the boy asked excitedly. “Hyunjin worked really hard to make it look right. I don't understand anything about that- I'd just leave everything on piles on the floor.” He lowered Minho onto a stool by the table and knelt down to gently remove Minho's shoe.
“Ah, Hyunjin did this?” Minho said, impressed at the school boy.
“You know Hyunjin?” the boy from earlier said, climbing out of the window display. He balanced precariously on a box before flipping lightly to the floor.
“I met him briefly the other day,” Minho admitted. “At that 24 hour cafe?”
The boy's face lit up and he bowed to Minho. “You must be Minho-ssi!” He said excitedly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I knew you tasted weird!”
The boy at Minho's foot glanced up apologetically. “Sorry, Felix's English is a work in process,” he said.
“No, Sungie, he really does taste weird.” Felix whined. “It's Minho-ssi, the elf Channie-hyung met.”
The boy's eyes widened. “Ah, you're the elf! Pleased to meet you, Minho-ssi. I'm Jisung, I run this shop with Chan-hyung and Binnie-hyung.” He grinned. “And since you're an elf I can just do this instead of messing about with plants.” Jisung cupped Minho's ankle carefully and Minho felt it start to itch and heat up as the boy muttered words under his breath. After a few seconds he stopped, swaying slightly and holding Minho's calf for support. Felix rolled his eyes at Minho and scooped Jisung up by the armpit, setting him down again on the stool next to Minho.
“This is why he should use potions instead of spells,” Felix told Minho as Jisung slumped against the table. “I'll be one minute,” Felix called and skipped out past a curtain on the back wall.
“Are you a witch?” Minho asked, prodding a chubby cheek to check Jisung was still awake.
Jisung mumbled incoherently and opened one eye. “Pretty cool right,” he said, smiling lazily and closing his eyes again.
Felix skipped back in and shoved a box under Jisung's nose. “Sungie-yah, chocolate,” he sang, wafting the smell to alert the boy. Jisung blinked once and opened his mouth, tongue sticking out. Felix placed a square on the tip and the tongue retreated.
“Now we wait,” Felix said, stroking Jisung's long hair back from his face.
“What happened? Is he ok?” Minho asked. Jisung's cheeks had become impossibly chubbier as he sucked on the chocolate square and Minho was mesmerized.
“Uh,” Felix said. “I don't know how to explain in Korean.” He admitted, rubbing his neck. “Magic takes his blood energy, makes him sleepy. He's fine, chocolate will make him better,” Felix said confidently. Jisung's tongue stuck back out, now lightly coated in melted chocolate and Felix gave him another square.
Minho flexed his ankle. He could tell it had been injured from the way it didn't quite move as fluidly as it should but it didn't hurt at all and there was no bruise forming. Perhaps Jisung had managed to heal it before he drained himself. Jisung's tongue stuck out once more and Felix let out a melodic giggle as he fed his friend.
“No more!” Felix laughed as Jisung's tongue reappeared not ten seconds later. Jisung's tongue waggled and Felix laughed, chastising Jisung in a language that sounded like chiming glass and water droplets. Jisung replied shortly in the same language and sat up, rubbing his eyes.
“Sorry for collapsing on you,” Jisung said, hiding a yawn. “It's been a while since breakfast and I forgot how much energy that takes.”
“It's not a problem,” Minho said hurriedly. “You shouldn't have if it takes that much out of you.”
Jisung waved him off and leant down to touch Minho's ankle. “Ah,” he said in annoyance as he focused. “I only sped it to a week, it's still injured.”
“Don't-!” Minho said, pulling his leg back.
“I wasn't going to,” Jisung smiled. “I don't have any blood sugar left.” He glanced at Felix who was perched on the table, nibbling some of the chocolate, then back to Minho. “Do you want to join us for lunch, Minho-ssi?” he asked. “I can fix your ankle afterwards.”
Minho couldn't say no. Something about Jisung pulled at Minho's focus more than anything else in his shop and Minho didn't know how to look away.
Not a fae:
“Oh, are you a fae?” Hyunjin piped up. Everyone else in the room tensed and Jisung laid a warning hand on Minho's thigh.
“No, he's not,” Felix said carefully like he was afraid to say the wrong word. Minho twitched a smile in his direction to show it was nothing personal.
“We have homework,” Seungmin announced suddenly, pulling Hyunjin from the room. “See you later, Minho-hyung!”
“You know it doesn't matter to us that you're an elf, Hyung,” Felix said quietly, sitting on the other side of Jisung. “Me and Seungmin weren't alive for the First Spell but it seems like it was a good thing it happened.”
“I think so too,” Minho said and Jisung linked their fingers together, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. “I'm just not fae, you know? I wasn't born there, neither were my parents. I don't even know what the Fairy Realm is like.”
“It's really beautiful, Hyung,” Felix breathed. “More alive than any forest here and the food is amazing. I can bring you some back next time I go if you want?”
It went against everything he had been taught growing up but Minho couldn't help be curious. And he was friends with fae now, what difference would eating some of the food do? It's not like he was trying to get into the Fairy Realm.
“That would be nice,” he said.
“Get wonderglion juice, Lix!” Jisung said, recovered from his magic use at the thought of food and clinging on to his friend. Minho mourned the loss of his hand.
“Oh! And strawberries!” Jisung continued. “Minho-hyung the strawberries there are so good. They make our ones taste like water. Can you go tomorrow? I really want strawberries now.”
“Have you got information to buy these strawberries with, Sungie?” Felix replied dryly.
“Uuuhhh,” Jisung paused and squinted hard like he was reading an eye exam printed on the sun. “Some people think the earth is flat?”
“We've used that one.”
“Carrots used to be purple?”
“No value. Everyone knows that.”
“I heard a kid on the bus say 'yeet’ as an old lady went flying when the bus braked?”
“That gets you 1 strawberry,” Felix said. “You've got to find something better if you want wonderglion juice.”
“You've met an elf?” Minho tried.
“That,” Felix said pointing at him, “is good information. Worth way more strawberries than I could carry. But I'm not giving that away, it puts all of us at risk from the batshit oldies who made the First Curse.” He leant around Jisung and sent Minho a more subdued version of his blinding smile.
Jisung pulled Felix down into his lap. “What batshit oldies?” he demanded, ducking down and pressing their heads together so Felix ended up cross-eyed trying to maintain eye contact. “Are they hurting my Lixie when you go home?”
“It's fine, Sungie,” Felix said, patting Jisung's cheek. “Some of the elders just aren't very friendly about people who leave the Fairy Realm.”
“Tell me the truth,” Jisung pouted.
Felix rolled his eyes. “That was the truth, Sungie.”
“The real truth,” Jisung pressed.
Felix sighed and pushed Jisung away. “They're racist, ok,” Felix said. “They call humans horrible names and they call me names for associating with this world. They'd never hurt me though because I'm still 'pure’ fae”. He made quotation marks in the air as he pulled a face. “They'd probably want the shit beaten out of me if they heard about Changbin being a dwarf but most fae are pretty chill about Truailleadh.”
Felix had made another chiming noise at the end of his sentence but Minho could almost hear the word underneath. “True-what?” Minho asked.
“Truailleadh,” Felix repeated and it was slightly clearer that time. “I guess you can hear that word because it's a name. It's what we call this world.”
“It mostly sounds like you're dropping chopsticks in a wine glass, but yeah I could hear it,” Minho admitted.
“You can't hear fae?” Jisung asked in confusion.
“Can't hear it, can't speak it,” Minho confirmed. “Didn't your parents teach you about the First Curse?”
Jisung scratched the back of his neck self-consciously. “Ah well, I actually thought I was 100% human until Chan found me a few years back. My parents don't know shit about mystics.”
Minho felt terrible. How could he have been so insensitive? “I'm sorry Jisung. I-”
“It's ok, Hyung.” Jisung cut him off. “Channie-hyung's taught me a lot and Felix and Minnie tell me stories about the Fairy Realm. I guess the First Curse isn't the kind of thing people want to bring up though.”
“Not really,” Felix said quietly, pulling his limbs back into himself to hug them tightly. “It was pretty fucked up.”
Minho reached over Jisung and tapped Felix lightly on the knee. When Felix looked up he opened his arms in invitation and Felix hurriedly crawled over Jisung's lap into Minho’s embrace.
“It wasn't you Felix,” Minho murmured into his hair. “And this world is not so bad, is it?”
Felix nodded and buried his face in the crook of Minho’s neck. Minho ran a hand up and down his spine in comfort, feeling the slight flex of Felix's wings under his palm.
He had forgotten how nice the casual touches he got at home were. Since moving to the human city Minho had grown used to almost no physical contact but it was like a dam had broken when Jeongin sat on his lap earlier and he couldn’t help return the affection he was given.
“I'm going to find you the best damn strawberries in the whole Realm,” Felix promised.
“I’ll hold you to that,” Minho replied jokingly, squeezing the fae boy tight.
IT’S SO FLUFFY:
When Minho woke up there was something soft and fluffy tickling his chin. Soft and fluffy and alive. For half a second he thought he was back home and Soonie had snuck in to bask in the shaft of sunlight that cut across his bed. There was no sunlight though, the only light coming from the hallway through the slight opening in the door. Minho leant back to get a better look at the animal and a long ear flicked him in the face.
“Sorry, sorry,” Minho whispered, settling back down and pressing his lips to the fur between its ears in apology. “I just wanted to see what you were but I'll stay still now.”
The animal chirped and turned to face him, pressing it's cold nose against Minho's. Large almond eyes blinked at him.
“Jeongin?” Minho asked. If he was wrong it's not like the fox (he was pretty sure he was a fox) could tell everyone of his mistake.
The fox chirped again and headbutted him before curling back under his chin. Minho guessed that meant he was Jeongin. Why Jeongin was a fox and in bed with him he didn't know but it probably had something to do with the 'Jisung-hyung's hogging Minho-hyung’ he heard yesterday. Now confident he wouldn't get bitten, Minho scratched behind Jeongin's ear and settled down to doze for a bit longer.
Minho was woken again by voices in the hall.
“I bet you 100 won i know where he is,” Hyunjin said, his voice getting louder.
“Jinnie, you can't just-” Jisung cut himself off as Hyunjin swung open Minho's door, blinking him with light from the hall. The fox barked angrily at the disturbance and jumped up to bite Hyunjin's heels. The mer boy just scooped him up, cooing dangerously close to sharp teeth.
“Sorry about him,” Jisung bowed to Minho slightly. “Hyunjin's allergic to personal space.”
Behind him there was a tussle and then Hyunjin was holding a very angry, very human Jeongin. Upside down.
“Why did you have to barge in, Minho-hyung was cuddling me,” Jeongin said, wriggling out of Hyunjin's grip. He fell in a pile of limbs to the floor and stalked off out the door, grumbling. Hyunjin followed, pouting ineffectively at the maknae's back.
The aftermath of Jisung finding his core and burning Minho's ankles
“I’m really sorry, Hyung,” Jisung said. “I never should have tried to heal you with raw magic. I’ve only made it worse every time.”
“That’s not true,” Minho said. “The first time you healed it. You just ran out of energy.”
“And now I have energy it’s so much better,” Jisung said sarcastically, throwing up his hands. Cracks shot across the ceiling. Minho felt his heart rate jump up and he tried not to be scared of Jisung’s newfound power.
“Ease away from it, Ji,” Chan called. “Let it go.”
“Just knock me out again, Hyung.” Jisung said dejectedly, frowning up at his work.
“You’re doing much better, Sungie,” Changbin assured him. “ You’ll have it under control in no time.”
“Please knock me out?” Jisung asked. “I’m so tired of holding it down.”
Jeongin licked his face and blinked soulfully up at the witch.
“You shouldn’t be so close, Innie,” Jisung told the fox. “I’ll explode you.”
The fox chirped and curled up in his lap again.
“Boom,” Jisung whispered into his fur as he pressed a kiss between the fox's ears. Static instantly stood the fur up on end making Jeongin impossibly fluffier.
Changbin cooed and pulled a protesting Jeongin into arms.
“If you guys are ok I'm going to head back upstairs..” Chan said and moved to get up. “I don’t want Hyunjin to be excluded.”
“Hyunjin’s alone upstairs?” Jisung asked scrambling to his knees to peer around in case the mer boy was hidden somewhere. When he confirmed that Hyunjin was indeed not with them he pouted. “Jinnie will be sad all by himself.”
There was a horrible cracking sound as the fissures in the ceiling got wider and dust rained down on them. The crack by the window grew larger, caving in on itself and there was a scream from above as Hyunjin fell through the hole. He thankfully landed on the couch, bouncing once, unharmed. The surprise of the floor suddenly opening up to swallow him had probably stopped him from tensing for the landing. Chan was immediately on his feet to catch the fridge that followed, deflecting it to smash into the coffee table instead of his child.
“Jisung,” Chan started, then he looked at the boy who was clinging to Minho’s arm, staring in shock at the fridge in a crater of debris. “Sungie, how can we help you?”
Gay panic:
Changbin sighed, won over by Jisung's puppy dog eyes. “Fine. But if you explode something again I'm knocking you out.”
“Is that a promise?” Jisung smiled holding out his pinkie.
Changbin frowned at the outstretched hand from across the room. “I don't want to promise to hurt you, Sungie,” he said.
“Promise,” Jisung insisted.
Changbin got up and crossed distance between them in two quick strides, ignoring Jisung's waiting hand and kneeling down to pull the younger boy into a tight hug. “Why can't I protect any of you, huh?” He cradled Jisung’s head into his chest. “I'm supposed to be your Hyung.”
“We're adults, Hyung,” Jisung said, slipping his hand out of Minho's grip to pat Changbin on the back. “We can look after ourselves.”
Minho thought that was doubtful considering the chaos caused by Jisung and Felix within the first 10 minutes of him meeting them.
“You're barely 19, Sung,” Changbin reminded him.
“Oh, Terra help me,” Minho thought. “He's basically a child.”
“You’re only just over legal for a dwarf too.” Jisung protested.
“I'm a decade older!”
“38-19 is not 10!” Jeongin piped up.
“Not helpful, Innie,” Changbin cooed. Jeongin pulled a disgusted face and Hyunjin giggled.
“If you want to use actual ages then Felix and Minnie are way older than you,” Jisung told Changbin, pulling back to grin smugly at him.
“That doesn't count, they don't measure time the same.” Changbin argued.
“Minho-hyung does,” Jisung said. Then his brain caught up to what he'd said. “Hyung?” he asked hesitantly.
“Hmm?” Minho answered, his eyes still shut.
“How old are you?”
“187” Minho said reluctantly.
“Years?” Jisung squeaked.
“No, watermelons.” Minho opened his eyes and sat up with difficulty, Changbin lending a supporting hand. “Yes years.”
Jisung avoided his gaze, chubby cheeks turning red and behind him the couch caught fire again, burning more fiercely than before.
“I can't believe Channie-hyung thought I was the risk,” Hyunjin grumbled, dragging Jeongin away from the flames. There was an ominous thud from inside the back of the fridge and Changbin nodded for the youngest two boys to leave.
“We’ll get Channie-hyung!” Jeongin called, as Hyunjin pushed him out the door.
“Great, he’s in full gay panic,” Changbin muttered to himself. The pallet ex-table under the fridge started smoking, vaporizing whatever the hell was leaking from the fridge cooling system. “Deep breaths aren't going to fix that.”
“This isn’t a gay panic!” Jisung said, clearly panicking. His shaking fingers were pressed against his chest, fluffy blue hair standing on end above piercing blue eyes blown wide.
“Looks like a gay panic to me,” Changbin retorted, stroking Jisung’s hair comfortingly only to have it spring back up the second he stopped. “Don’t worry about it, you’re both immortal he can’t be too old for you.”
The flames on the couch grew higher and the fridge door flew off at incredible speed, burying itself in the wall.
“I don’t think you’re helping, Changbin,” Minho observed.
“Well reason worked last time.” Changbin said, not shying away at Jisung's display of raw power. “Jisung’s gay panics aren't normally equipped with the power of a small sun.”
“Stop!” Jisung called out, clutching at his chest as if to stop the magic breaking free. “Stop, just stop!” He screamed, piercing like a bell and a force punched Minho, throwing him across the room.
When Minho looked up, Changbin and the fridge had also been relocated. A 2 feet clear zone now surrounded Jisung, the outline shimmering blue.
“I don't think it worked,” Jisung whispered.
How to Skinsing:
“When you're by the river can you feel the river even when you're not looking at it?” Minho asked. Jisung looked confused. “Or if you are looking at it can you sense how deep it is and how much water is moving even if you can't see the bottom or see any rapids?”
Jisung's eyes lit up. “Yes! I'm terrified of deep water!” He said excitedly.
Minho laughed. “That's not what I was getting at but at least you know the feeling.”
“Sensing the skin is kind of like that,” Minho explained. “It's the barrier to the Fae Realm which is massive and never stays relative to this realm but the skin's not quite a physical thing you can sense normally.”
“Woah,” Hyunjin said. “That's kind of trippy.”
“Hyunjin your legs dissolve and split into four when you're nervous,” Changbin retorted. “Your existence is trippy.”
“Your face is trippy,” Hyunjin shot back.
“My face will cut you,” Changbin challenged, jutting out his chin.
“So I have to feel for like a giant river hiding in the air?” Jisung said sceptically.
“Yeah,” Minho said apologetically. “It feels a bit like magic if that helps?”
“And then what?” Jisung asked “Punch it?”
“No!” Minho said. “That might make a Gate. You need a permit for that.”
“A license and a permit,” Chan clarified. “The council would arrest you immediately. Please don't make a Gate.”
“So not punching the skin?” Jisung asked.
“You have to grab it,” Minho told him.
“Grab the ghost-air-river?” Jisung asked.
“I told you it was hard. And you don't grab it with your hands, you grab it with your mind.”
“Of course!” Jisung cried sarcastically. “Changbin-hyung, I grab it with my mind!” he said dramatically, turning to the boy next to him for a reaction.
“The only logical solution,” Changbin agreed.
“Ok,” Jisung said, serious again. “Once I have grabbed the ghost-air-river with my mind, then what?”
“Then you sing in Fae to twist the skin to bring Felix’ and Seungmin's part of the Fae Realm closest to this part of this one. The twisting makes it just thin enough for you to speak through it to them.” Minho outlined the final step.
The theory was one thing but to actually achieve it took the first witches months. Minho didn't want to crush Jisung's hopes by telling him and as much as anybody else he wanted Felix and Seungmin to be home safe. They had gone to the Fae Realm for him and he couldn't face the guilt if anything happened to the bright young boys because of him.
“What should I be singing exactly?” Jisung asked, taking this surprisingly well.
“Sing about what the boys mean to you, what makes them unique. Your magic should do the rest.”
“What if I get the words wrong?” Jisung asked, clearly still shaken from his mistake with Minho's ankle.
“That won't matter so much this time,” Minho said. “It's a song not a command so your feelings are more important.”
“Can I rap?” Jisung asked, eyebrows furrowed in worry. “Instead of singing.”
“You want to rap?” Minho was dumbfounded.
“Yeah?” Jisung said nervously. The lightbulb above them flickered. “it's easier to freestyle a rap.”
Minho gaped at him, suddenly reminded that he had no idea what this boy was capable of.
“That's my boy,” Chan said dramatically, wiping away a nonexistent tear.
“It'll work,” Changbin assured Minho, smirking. “You should have heard his rap last week about cheesecake. It was like a Jane Austen novel on speed.”
“She had so much left to give this world!” Jisung wailed.
“Not that I would know anything about speed or Jane Austen,” Changbin quickly correctly as Chan sent him a withering look.
“I can’t feel shit, Minho-hyung.” Jisung growled, kicking at the table leg. He’d been focusing hard for a whole 5 minutes. “Are you sure there’s a river everywhere?”
“It’s not a river, it’s the skin,” Minho corrected.
“Whatever the fuck it is, I can’t feel shit!” Jisung yelled.
“Jisung!” Chan said sternly as the table spontaneously burst into flames “Control your anger.”
“FROG. SKIN.” Jisung yelled with aggressive attitude at him.
“You can swear this time,” Chan replied calmly as Hyunjin put out the table with his glass of water. “But channel your frustration into productivity.”
Water dripped off the table, filling the silence as Jisung took a deep breath.
“Fuck your fucking therapy talk, I’m trying to find a fucking invisible river with my mind that's apparently just floating about the place, defying the fucking laws of physics and holding two halves of the universe apart and I can’t even do fucking algeb- Oh I found it,” Jisung said, voice suddenly very small.
“Good job, Sungie!” Changbin cheered quietly.
Jisung stared blankly past him.
“Can you hold it, Sungie?” Minho asked gently. “Reach out with your magic.”
Jisung’s eyes closed and he reached out with his hand for something only he could see.
“It’s too slippery,” he said, changing tact from one hand to trying to trap the skin between his palms like a pesky fly.
“Not with your hands, Sungie,” Minho reminded him. “With your mind.”
“Try-” Hyunjin lifted a tentacle and stuck it to Changbin’s face. Changbin brushed him off, wiping at his cheek to no avail as a red welt bloomed.
“Mind suckers?” Jisung asked.
“Mind suckers.” Hyunjin confirmed, waving his tentacles in encouragement.
***
“Fuckity fuck fuck!” Jisung slammed the table as his mind suckers slipped off the skin once more.
“I’m just going to stab it next time.” Jisung said, holding his hands straight like knives to defeat his invisible enemy.
“Again, that would make a Gate, very illegal,” Chan reminded him.
“Just a light stabbing,” Jisung bargained, jabbing the air in demonstration.
“No.”
“But just like, really small. Baby stab.”
“No stabbing, Jisung.”
***
“Okokok, Min-hyung what’s next, quick!” Jisung said, body locked in place, eyes wide. Everyone perked up at his cry, the first he’d said anything in over an hour.
“Sing- I mean, rap- about Felix and Seungmin. Focus your energy into the skin,” Minho said.
“Shit,” Jisung said dejectly opening his eyes and lowering his hands. “I lost it.”
“You’re doing good, Sungie,” Hyunjin told him, pulling him into a tight hug. “The bestest witch I’ve ever met”
“That’s a lie,” Jisung said, hugging him back.
“No, you are the bestest,” Hyunjin said firmly and kissed his head.
Here to stay:
Minho told himself he kept coming back to 3RACHA after work for a number of reasons.
He didn't know the bus route straight to his flat yet.
Changbin needed help with the floor.
Seungmin wanted to test a theory he had about the curse.
He had a message to pass on to Chan.
But none of those reasons explained why he inevitably stayed for dinner and crawled into bed with whoever grabbed him first when it was time to go to sleep. Or why Jeongin now waited for Minho to help with his maths homework and Hyunjin added Minho's laundry to his without asking.
"Terra's breath, I've been adopted." Minho whispered into the darkness on the fourth night.
Changbin snorted from the other side of the room. "You've only just noticed?"
"I'm a grown adult- I don't need to be adopted." Minho said crossly defending his independence.
"That hasn't stopped Chan-hyung before," Jisung pointed out and nuzzled into Minho's t-shirt. Or rather, Chan's t-shirt that Minho was wearing. The action cooled Minho's frustration but his mind still strolled back down his memories, pointing out how little he had actually been alone.
"I've not been back to my flat in three days," Minho thought aloud, suddenly realising just how ingrained they were in his life. "I should go back."
Warm tendrils of Jisung's magic wrapped around Minho's limbs and pinning him to the bed.
"No," Jisung said firmly, slinging a leg over Minho's hip for good measure. "You're adopted. You can't leave now."
"I'm not leaving," Minho soothed him, patting the witch's head in a way he knew would calm him. "You can let go, I'm going anywhere."
Jisung's magic slowly retreated, letting him move again and Minho pulled the younger boy closer to fight the goosebumps on his skin. The magic warmth never left his chest though, pressing down on his ribs.
"Sungie, let me go," Minho growled lowly in Jisung's ear, not wanting to disturb Changbin's rest any longer with their antics.
*I'm not doing anything," Jisung whined quietly, pressing his hand against Minho's cheek without the familiar warm tingle he could still feel on his chest. "See, no magic."
Minho glanced down to see the faint outline of Jisung frowning cutely at him, chin stabbing into Minho's ribs. "You're definitely doing something," Minho whispered, pulling Jisung's arm across his waist and entangling their legs. "But this time it might not be magic."