Work Text:
Tap, tap.
Tap, tap… tap, tap. Pause. Tap… tap… tap... Pause. Tap, tap, tap, tap… Pause. Tap.
Tap… tap, tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap, tap, tap…
Tap, tap, tap. Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap. Pause. Tap… tap, tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap, tap, tap… Pause. Tap… tap. Pause. Tap… tap… tap.
Soonyoung’s piercing eyes look fixedly on the long slender hands of his best friend. Following the tap, tap, tap sounds he is making whenever his pen meets the wooden table. His attention on the notes scattered in front of them is long gone but it isn’t because he is distracted by the rhythm his best friend is making— if anything, the tapping beats is relaxing. Unfortunately, he really just has an attention span of a 5 year old kid.
A sudden deep sigh breaks the silence, or more like it ruins the calmness of the tapping sounds he is following, then Junhui screeches, “I don’t think I can do this anymore. I feel like my brain will explode soon!”
“I doubt that you even have quarter of the lessons in your brain by now,” Wonwoo scoffs, putting a bookmark between the pages he is currently reviewing. “I saw you and Soonyoung just staring on nothing.”
“I was not!” he immediately argues.
“I stand corrected.” Wonwoo raises both hands as if to retract his statement, only to come out with, “You were staring at Jihoon’s hand.”
“Oh, was I distracting you?” Jihoon asks as he puts his pen down while Junhui’s remark doesn’t make anything better. “Ew, you have a hand kink?”
He instantly shakes his head, whining a “Nooooo!” for both questions.
“I think we all need to take a break,” Wonwoo says, standing up from where they are huddled in the small area on Junhui and Soonyoung’s shared room. “Who’s up for coffee?”
The three stands up altogether. However, Jihoon bids them goodbye once they went out the door and instead trudges towards his and Wonwoo’s room.
“Always such a hermit,” Soonyoung scoffs as they make their way to the other direction.
Half an hour has passed and Soonyoung, with iced coffees on both hands and a paper bag slinging on one of his arms that holds two sandwiches, marches down the hallway of their campus. It doesn’t take him long to reach his intended destination. Without knocking, he whispered under his breath, “ouvrir doa”, and so the door opens. And it closes on its own once he walked pass it.
Jihoon, splayed out on his comfortable bed, doesn’t even look away from the book he is reading. Well, not until he lounges himself beside Jihoon, an arm and leg automatically circling on Jihoon’s body. The food he has with him earlier is already placed on the bedside table.
“I brought us food,” he announces although it’s already obvious. “Take a break from studying, Jihoonie.”
Jihoon obeys, closing his book and putting it on top of his lap. Soonyoung spares a look on it, notices that he has never seen that book before and immediately takes an interest. He sits up and takes it from the other, examining the tattered hardbound cover.
“What is this?”
“An old book.”
He scans through the pages. “Jihoon,” he glances at the male with concern in his eyes and back to the book. “What kind of book is this? Or better yet, what kind of spells are these?”
“Apparently, those are spells that they don’t teach us here at university.”
“Apparently, these spells seem dangerous and forbidden, Jihoonie. Where did you get this?
“On father’s study room,” Jihoon answers nonchalantly.
“The one which he locks with ten spells because he doesn’t want us wandering inside?” he asks in disbelief.
“Surprisingly, it only has seven spells.”
“Oh, my Lord Azuth! You have stolen this from your father?! Like from one of the greatest mage in town?!” he shrieks, still disbelievingly.
“Shush, Soonyoung. He’s my father so I clearly am familiar with the spells he is using.”
“But still,” he waves the book in front of him. “Have you been learning these spells?”
“I was able to do one,” Jihoon responds with a pleased smile on his face. “You wouldn’t believe it, Soonyoung.”
“Which one? And hopefully, not the dangerous looking one.”
“The Portal.” Jihoon takes the book from him and opens it to the page where different universes where explained. “I was able to make a portal going to a different universe, the easiest one,” he says as he points to the word Earth. “I went there a few times. And like the book said, they don’t have our magic, poisons, spells and charms, Soonyoung. But the people, places and everything are interesting. Our forefathers really did use some of their works and brought them on our world.”
“Like the piano you love to use?” he asks as his eyes read the list of objects they obtain from them.
Jihoon nods.
“You really are a powerful wizard, Ji. But please be careful. It could be dangerous for you to travel back and forth.”
Tap, tap.
Soonyoung notices Jihoon’s new habit of tapping his fingers, his pen, a rock (when they had a picnic on the garden with their circle of friends), or anything that could make a sound against something.
Tap, tap… tap, tap. Pause. Tap… tap… tap... Pause. Tap, tap, tap, tap… Pause. Tap.
He watches Jihoon’s beautifully carved wooden wand getting drummed against his books that piles up on his table during their free time in class.
Tap… tap, tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap, tap, tap…
A classmate of theirs, Kim Doyoung, walks up to them and abruptly greets Jihoon before turning to him. “Hi.”
He responds a simple, “Hello.”
“I wonder if you would like to go on a group date this Saturday. We’re expecting to meet three seniors and there’s only me and Park Sooyoung.”
Tap, tap, tap. Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap. Pause. Tap… tap, tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap, tap, tap… Pause. Tap… tap. Pause. Tap… tap… tap.
Soonyoung glances at Jihoon, seeking for a response.
“You promised we’d go see the caladrius bird you happened to come across with,” Jihoon remind him.
“I’m sorry,” he says as he looks back at Doyoung. “Me and Jihoonie have plans already.”
Doyoung has this playful smile when he comments, “You could just tell me you two are dating already. I’m sorry for not asking that first.”
Then he has his back turned to them already before they could even have the chance to correct him.
The next day, Seungkwan greets them with the latest hearsay surrounding the campus, “Infamous friend of everyone in the university Kwon Soonyoung dating the greatest mage in campus, Lee Jihoon! How are you able to rise up the same tittle-tattle every year?”
“Stop with the dating rumor. Junhui told me they are married,” Minghao comments, rolling is eyes.
“You’re such a good Artemian,” Jihoon says in a hushed voice as he watches Soonyoung tame a caladrius bird. Its pure white feathers are nothing like Jihoon had ever seen. And it’s very rare to see one up close as they are very sparse in population, often hide in their homes at the top of the mountains and they always shy away when someone disturbs them.
It rubs its head against Soonyoung’s palm. “It runs in our family’s blood, Jihoonie. We even have three Kelpies back at home. I don’t even know how my mother managed to tame those water horse monsters. But they are beautiful. And they often help my father sail the sea when the storm is raging.”
He extends his other arm towards Jihoon. “Come and take a closer look.”
Jihoon takes the hand offered to him, clasping it tightly against his and he leans closer.
“The beak is stained with red,” he points out as he faces the bird on Jihoon’s direction. “Try offering your hand.”
Jihoon’s about to do as instructed and takes his hand away from Soonyoung but the latter just grip on it tighter.
“Your other hand, Jihoonie. You know I love holding your hands, right?” he teases, but he has always been very vocal about the things he likes and dislikes that Jihoon is aware of them all now.
Jihoon then lays his other hand in front of the snow-white bird which it accepted by pressing its head against the former’s palm. He strokes it as gently as he could.
“The beak has red on it which means it had recently taken away an illness from someone and he is on the process of healing on his own,” Soonyoung explains. “If you happen to fall sick, I’d search every mountain there is to look for a caladrius bird.”
The travel back to the main campus is uneventful aside from all the animals Soonyoung is attracting which follow them up until the border of the forest. He refuses to let go of Jihoon's hand all the way through it, much like as how they hiked going to the mountaintop earlier.
Tap, tap.
Soonyoung could feel the feathery light touches against his skin.
Tap, tap… tap, tap. Pause. Tap… tap… tap... Pause. Tap, tap, tap, tap… Pause. Tap.
He lets out a hum to let Jihoon know that he is awake. But the tapping continues. Then he remembers Jihoon’s recent hobby of tapping rhythms so he just lets him. None of them attempts to move away from their cuddle or to get up from the bed.
Tap… tap, tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap, tap, tap…
It took him an hour of lying still inside Jihoon’s embrace and a few more rounds of Jihoon’s gentle tapping against his arm before he realizes that it has the same patterns. Too long of a pattern but he has been observing it for a while to finally notice the same beats.
Tap, tap, tap. Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap. Pause. Tap… tap, tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap, tap, tap… Pause. Tap… tap. Pause. Tap… tap… tap.
“Wake up, lovebirds!” Jeonghan yells as he enters Jihoon’s room. A wave of his wand and the curtains are drawn to give way to the sunlight. “Soonyoung, might I enlighten you that you have your own room with Jun and that your parents are paying for it.”
“Jeonghannie hyung!” he whines.
“And Jihoon, where is the I-hate-it-when-people-touch-me-Lee-Jihoon?” Jeonghan waves his wand again and their blankets are thrown away on the floor, exposing the way Jihoon let Soonyoung pillows his arm and how that arm circles around Soonyoung.
Another sway of a wand and a bucket of water appears on top of them. Before Jeonghan could turn the bucket upside down and drench the two sleepyheads, Jihoon is already able to push the bed to the side of the room, dodging the water.
“Ah, as expected of the greatest mage in uni,” Jeonghan compliments.
“This is too early for too much magic.” Soonyoung complains as he sits up from the bed.
“What did I do to deserve a visit from the beautiful menace, Yoon Jeonghan?” Jihoon follows after him.
“Oh, thank you for calling me beautiful.”
“I also called you a menace.”
“All the more to be thankful,” Jeonghan has this angelic smile on his lips but his eyes reflect otherwise. “You see, someone whispered to me that you were able to open up a portal to Earth. I would like to travel with you to that universe.”
“Oh, my Lord Azuth! Who told you about that?” Jihoon questions. “Did Jun told you? Only Jun, Wonwoo and Soonyoung knows.”
“Nah,” Jeonghan answers with a shake of his head. “Seungcheol told me.”
“Huh?” A silence has passed with Jihoon getting more and more curious as to why Seungcheol knows. And Jeonghan doesn’t seem to have an answer.
“Uhmm,” he tries to speak up. “I’m sorry, Jihoonie. But I accidentally told Cheol hyung about it.”
Jihoon sighs and closes his eyes as he massages his head. “Soonyoung...”
“Since you can’t be mad at Soonyoungie,” Jeonghan interjects. “Can we please go back to the original topic at hand? You see, Joshuji is creating this poison from an old book we got a hold of. But is seems like our world lack one of the elements needed and it appears to be obtained from earth.”
Soonyoung gazes with awe at the way Jihoon is forming the portal. The symbols and characters written on the floor on a circular flow are unfamiliar. The incantation he recites sounds like from the forgotten language their forefathers used to communicate with but it glides through his tongue effortlessly. The black hole that levitates in the middle of the written signs on the floor whirls faster and faster until a piercing light from within it blinds them.
As Soonyoung opens his eyes, the black hole from earlier is long gone and now replaced with an entrance to a place he has never seen. He takes long strides to stand beside Jihoon, slipping his hand to hold the latter’s.
“This is my makeshift home,” Jihoon fills in. “It’s placed in the middle of a clearing but it only takes a few minutes of walking before we reach the border and into the public streets.”
Jeonghan nods. “After you, please.” He says as he gestures toward the portal.
“Please do stick with me to avoid trouble,” Jihoon orders.
And Soonyoung, despite clinging to Jihoon as soon as they slip through the portal, gets distracted with the way Jihoon’s home feels so simple yet warm. “Have you been going in and out of Earth that you have to build this home, Jihoonie?”
“It’s nice and quiet here so I often rest here, Soonyoung.”
Jeonghan snickers, “Awww, are you tired of Soonyoung’s loud mouth?”
He pouts at Jeonghan’s response, but soon replaced with a bright smile as Jihoon pokes his cheeks and whispers, “Never.”
Press, press.
Soonyoung watches from where he is seated the way Jihoon unconsciously presses his fingers delicately against the keyboard, pressing the same key over and over again.
Press, press… press, press. Pause. Press… press… press... Pause. Press, press, press, press… Pause. Press.
He closes his eyes as soon as he realizes it’s the same tapping sound he always makes. He tries to commit to memory the rhythm that resonates inside the four corners of the music room.
Press… press, press… press… Pause. Press… press… press… Pause. Press, press, press…
As soon as he learns it, he sits beside Jihoon, pressing a different key and trying to keep up the same beats Jihoon is doing.
Press, press, press. Pause. Press… press… press… Pause. Press… press… press… Pause. Press… press. Pause. Press… press, press… press… Pause. Press… press… press… Pause. Press, press, press… Pause. Press… press. Pause. Press… press… press.
“Do you want to attend the 13th full moon gathering with me?” he misses a beat as he asks.
“Soonyoung, I always celebrate the 13th full moon with you. There’s no need for you to even ask.” Jihoon reassures him. And unlike him, Jihoon never failed a beat in between the words he stated, the flow already learnt by heart.
Tap, tap.
Soonyoung drums his fingers against his thighs.
Tap, tap… tap, tap. Pause. Tap… tap… tap... Pause. Tap, tap, tap, tap… Pause. Tap.
“You’re catching Jihoon’s habit,” Jun remarks. “That’s what happens when you keep on following him 24/7.”
Tap… tap, tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap, tap, tap…
“Do I look okay with this suit and cloak?” He asks as he observes his self in front of the mirror. “Do you think Jihoonie would think I look good on this?”
“Your Jihoonie always think that you look fine,” Jun replies. “This is like your 10th time attending the 13th full moon together. I don’t know why you’re nervous as heck.”
Tap, tap, tap. Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap. Pause. Tap… tap, tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap, tap, tap… Pause. Tap… tap. Pause. Tap… tap… tap.
“We should move to the entrance hall now. Jihoonie and Wonwoo might already be waiting for us there,” Soonyoung says as he leads the way out with Jun following close after him.
“Jihoonie,” he gasps as he first laid his eyes on him that evening. “You look breathtakingly stunning tonight. Well, not that you don’t look pretty every day… It’s just, tonight is different! And, and, also on those 13th full moon we celebrated in the pass. You just, you always look extra stunning. And today is—“
“You’re blabbering,” Jihoon lets out an airy laugh and offers a hand to him. “You also look stunning, Kwon Soonyoung.”
“I— Thank you,” he answers sheepishly, taking Jihoon’s hand on his.
Jihoon guides him to where they are holding the banquet, all the while tapping his thumb against the back of his palms— that same tap, tap, tap beats Soonyoung has engraved in the back of his mind by now.
The night goes well like every other feast their university organizes for them. The university heads, professors, alumni and some infamous witches sharing an important speech with them. Soonyoung wouldn’t deny it though, it’s boring as hell.
As soon as dinner finishes, Soonyoung and Jihoon decide to ditch the gathering. They don’t have the patience to sit for another hour and listen to the same dull speeches they have been attending to every feast. They can’t be bothered with not witnessing the dances occurring under the full moon as well, it’s still the same old couples swaying and spinning.
Perhaps the 13th full moon would look better on the roof of their dormitories, closer to the skies and quieter than the crowds.
“The clouds are still hiding the moon,” Jihoon observes as they make their way to the center of the roof.
“They don’t want to share its beauty yet with us. It’s their prized possession,” Soonyoung rambles. “Like remember when I hid you from Wonwoo when we were kids.”
“So in conclusion, I’m your prized possession?” Jihoon teases.
But he responds with a nod. “Yeah, probably. I don’t want to share you with anyone until now.”
“But we have friends.”
“And I’m still the best friend!” he blurts out with confidence.
“Yeah, well, you’re not sure about that.”
“Jihoonie!” he gasps in disbelief, nudging him. “How could you?!”
Jihoon just cackles at his childishness and lets him cling into him again, like always.
“Should we dance under the full moon?” Soonyoung suggests as the clouds starts to clear the night sky and the stars’ glow become more visible.
“Should we make the place more elegant?” Jihoon asks as he withdraws his wand from his cloak. He sways it back and forth from above his head as the clouds unhurriedly reveal the moon little by little.
The rooftop becomes brighter and warmer as little balls of fire floats around them, nearby plants crawls on the railings and the ground, illusory petals falls from the sky and disappears instantly once it reaches the floor, and there’s a faint slow music playing on the background.
Soonyoung extends his hands towards Jihoon and as soon as their palms made contact with each other, the gigantic blue moon finally exhibits its fullness, gleaming from above them. But he still thinks the light that radiates from Jihoon’s eyes can still outshine it.
He places his other hand on Jihoon’s shoulder while the latter holds onto his waist. They sway their bodies from side to side slowly and rhythmically, eyes never wavering from each other’s deep gaze.
Everything’s relaxing and magical until Jihoon starts twirling him, giggling as Soonyoung almost lost his footing with the way he awkwardly try to level Jihoon’s height.
“Come on, Soonyoung. I thought you could dance well,” Jihoon teases.
He groans out a response, “It’s not my fault you’re smaller and I have to—“
“Yah!” Jihoon chimes in and he spins him right away.
“Hey!” Soonyoung shrieks, finally losing his support on his foot and stumbling a little. Jihoon’s able to hold him up though, both arms locking around his waist. He weakly hits his chest in protest, “You don’t dance like that with a partner!”
“I was able to keep you up though,” Jihoon retaliates, pulling him closer. “You’re the one who’s making unnecessary comment.”
“I just said you’re smaller—“
“Shut up!” Jihoon yells, removing his hand from around him and placing it on both his cheeks instead, squishing just so he could stop speaking. Soonyoung’s plump lips are now on full display in front of Jihoon. “Now, you look like a fish.”
“Ogu ~ ogu ~ ogu ~,” he mutters, imitating a fish poorly, heedless of what he currently look like.
“You look adorable,” Jihoon unconsciously whispers under his breath, staring at Soonyoung’s face.
“I know,” Soonyoung rumbles, giggling despite the hands pressing his cheeks.
But suddenly, Jihoon’s leaning forward, and Soonyoung releases a weird sound from his throat before he freezes. He feels Jihoon’s lips against his before his mind is able to process it.
Jihoon has just kissed him.
Full on the lips.
Without even hesitating.
He closes his eyes when it fully registers to him. He feels Jihoon’s hands on his
cheeks turning into a gentle touch. He almost feels disappointed when Jihoon’s lips disconnects from him. But barely a second passes by and their lips meet again. Jihoon, testing the waters, slowly moves his lips against his. And he counters it by pressing his lips harder.
They break apart when a blaring sound startles them. Several fireworks made up of magic shoots up continuously in the sky. It distracts Soonyoung so much that he doesn’t even notices Jihoon leaving if not for the latter whispering a sorry before disappearing together with all the little balls of fire, the plants, the flowers and the music. He’s almost left in dark if not for the blue moon’s gleam.
It takes Soonyoung a couple of days before finding Jihoon, the latter obviously avoiding him. He sees him on their campus cafeteria, sitting alone. Luckily for Soonyoung, there’s an unoccupied seat beside him, so he saunters towards the table and takes the available seat.
Jihoon instantly shoots up from his chair when he notices him but Soonyoung clutches his cloak and pulls him down.
“You have barely touched your lunch,” Soonyoung says. “Eat, Jihoonie.”
He is aware of how awkward Jihoon has become. He even tries not to look in his direction which he is unhappy about. He pulls out his wand from his carrier.
Tap, tap.
Jihoon watches Soonyoung’s wand makes contact with the table.
Tap, tap… tap, tap. Pause. Tap… tap… tap... Pause. Tap, tap, tap, tap… Pause. Tap.
He unconsciously follows every tap, the flow of the beat the same as the one he has memorized a few full moons ago.
Tap… tap, tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap, tap, tap…
He goes along with the tap, tap, tap sound— mind instinctively translating the same code he has interpreted for a fair amount of times. He keeps his hopes low, reasoning that Soonyoung is just imitating him.
Tap… Pause. Tap… tap… tap… Pause. Tap… tap… tap…
He stops as the flow becomes unfamiliar, different from what he used to do. And when Soonyoung stops tapping his fingers, Jihoon looks at him with wide eyes, unbelieving. Soonyoung has this adorable shy smile on his face.
“How?”
Soonyoung pulls out a book from his carrier, specifically the book he stole from Jihoon’s home when they slip through the portal. Secret Code for Kids, it says on the cover.
Soonyoung wakes up from his deep slumber, rolling back and forth on the bed and when he realizes that Jihoon is gone, he immediately rise up. He marches out to the common room and there, Wonwoo greets him.
“Good morning! Jihoon left a letter for you,” he says as he gestures towards the mirror, a sticky note posted on its surface.
He takes it straight away and lets out a groan as soon as he lays his eyes on it.
01010010 01101111 01101111 01100110 01110100 01101111 01110000
01001001 00100000 01101110 01100101 01100101 01100100 00100000 01101011 01101001 01110011 01110011 01100101 01110011