Chapter Text
“And then, and then, she said that she forgot how to draw a purifying sigil!”
“ Seriously? Who even does that?”
“Right? The teacher looked at her like she was crazy, I did too! Like that’s the basics even my baby brother knows how to do that!”
“Yeesh- That must have been embarrassing-”
Jungkook lets the words wash over him and tries not to think too hard about their implications, the two girls look young, he sees from the corner of his eye, still dressed in their school uniforms and Jungkook guesses they’re highschoolers, not that much younger than he is, though somehow, Jungkook finds himself feeling much older.
It could be his aching bones.
Or twitching eyelid
Or the dark circles.
Whatever it is, Jungkook is too exhausted to figure it out. He stifles a yawn as he makes careful work clearing off the tables. He should be manning the register, but Eunji-noona called in sick today and their manager-nim couldn't find someone to help on such a short notice, Jungkook offered to take on the extra load for some over time. Looking back, Jungkook might have overestimated his own abilities, he’s stretched thin as it is, and when the little bell over the door rings Jungkook feels another tiny piece of his soul departing his overworked body.
He hurries to get behind the counter but Hoseok-hyung beats him to it, sending him a kind smile, the older man gestures at him that he’s got this. Jungkook’s shoulders loosen a bit, the ever present ache in his neck pulses and radiates all through his cranium.
He stifles another yawn and grins back at the man, he goes back to cleaning the tables, keeping an absent eye over the register, ready to jump in the moment Hoseok-hyung looks to be even slightly overwhelmed.
Unsurprisingly, that doesn’t happen. Hoseak-hyung is as efficient as he is graceful.
“So that will be a large iced americano with an extra shot of charisma?” He repeats the woman’s order with a pretty heart-shaped smile, and as the words are uttered the magic starts to happen. Literally.
The espresso machine starts, a shot glass settles itself neatly, waiting to be filled, a plastic cup flies to the counter and the ice cubes start an intricate dance in the air as they circle each other only to land with a sweet clink inside the cup. Once the shots are done brewing, they race to fill the cup, followed by the ice cold water and voila, an ice-cold americano is ready to be handed to the customer.
Hoseok-hyung holds the cup between both hands, he closes his eyes and lowers his head slightly, Jungkook can see his lips moving, a silent blessing, his hands glow golden and the light diffuses into the drink, it swirls and shimmers, a beautiful golden-brown until it finally settles and the glow fades.
Jungkook watches, eyes wide as saucers, as usual impressed by Hoseok’s mastery over his magic, by the liquid, fluid way everything moves around him, following his silent command without a hitch.
The woman, lets out an impressed giggle and clutches her takeaway cup close to her chest, she leans over the counter, gushing praises which Hoseok accepts with another heartbreaking smile, he laughs and tells her to visit again, which she promises to do, and Jungkook just knows that they gained a new regular.
Hoseok-hyung is very good at that, attracting new customers.
Jungkook can’t help but notice the generous tip the woman leaves in the tip-jar. He grins to himself and ducks his head down. He cleared off all the tables, the dirty plates are already stacked and waiting to be taken to the kitchen where he could start washing them.
He straightens up and his vision darkens, a sudden rush fills his ears, he stands still, letting the sensation pass, slowly, his vision returns and his ears clear, the episode barely lasts ten seconds with only vague pins and needles to show for it. He’s too used to those spells to worry anymore.
He shakes his head and gathers the cutlery more securely, he looks up only to find Hoseok-hyung looking at him an unreadable look on his face, their eyes meet and instantly, Hoseok-hyung’s face transforms into that of worry he gestures towards the kitchen and Jungkook closes his eyes, letting out a slow exhale.
He looks around for a convenient excuse, but the cafe is calm, the customers are all served and it doesn’t look like anyone will be needing them anytime soon.
Reluctantly, he heads to the back.
Hoseok is waiting for him, leaning over the far wall beside their industrial sink, his arms are crossed, he studies Jungkook with a steely gaze, silent.
Jungkook pretends he’s not intimidated and dumps his load into the sink, running the water, he promptly starts washing the plates.
The silence is heavy, so heavy that even the low thrum of ambient music and chatter that drifts from the cafe’s main room can’t penetrate it.
Jungkook breathes evenly. Concentrates on the rhythmic motion of washing, round and round and round and round.
“You still not sleeping well, Jungkook-ah?” He finally asks, voice pitching softly.
Jungkook rinses the plate, squeaky clean.
He shrugs.
“That’s really not healthy you know.” Hoseok adds, as if Jungkook doesn’t already know that.
“I’m doing alright, Hyung.” he says, nonchalant and light. He doesn’t raise his head,
“Hm.”
Silence.
“What do you think of potions?” Hoseok asks almost abruptly. He straightens up from his slouch and moves closer to Jungkook, he’s so close now, Jungkook can feel the heat emanating from his skin. He takes a deep breath, and then the words register.
“Potions?” He asks, confused. He… did actually consider potions. It was the first thing that came to mind when his little sleep issue became an issue. Potions are the standard cure to any ailment your mind could come up with, they’re scary effective and have zero ill-effects, they are practically the gold-standard of treatment in their modern society more efficient than medicine and generally, better received.
The only issue… well. Potions are fucking expensive.
As they should, Jungkook knows next to nothing about magic, but this he knows, potions have to be brewed by a single person as mixing different magical signatures into the brew would definitely ruin the whole process, add to that their rather short shelf-life and you have yourself a very labour-intensive process that is extremely hard to industrialize.
In fact, potion making is such an exhausting and inefficient process, the practice would have faded away by now if it wasn’t for it’s disturbingly efficient results.
Thus, potions. The scary-expensive golden-standard of cure that could render all his troubles gone in a second.
A cure that Jungkook can in no way afford.
Hoseok-hyung is speaking once more, so jungkook swallows and ducks his head lower, keeping his hands busy to keep them from trembling.
“Yeah. I have a friend, he could brew you a dreamless sleep for a reduced rate if I asked, that would definitely help.”
“Hyung I-”
“Listen, Kook-ah,” He interrupts, firm and a little scary. “- I don’t know what's going on with you, but you’re exhausted and it shows, Hyung is just worried.” He says, hand coming up to smooth Jungkook’s hair away from his eyes.
Jungkook’s mouth twists. He bites his inner cheek.
“I appreciate that Hyung. But I’m okay, I think I’ve just been drinking too much coffee-” that’s a lie, he hates coffee “-I’ll just cut down on that and I’ll be alright.” He ends with a very sincere grin.
Hoseok doesn’t look pleased. His lips are pursed in disapproval, his annoyed dimples make an appearance they make Jungkook feel small, and not in a good way.
Hoseok sighs, hands sliding down to squeeze Jungkook’s shoulder before taking a step back, relenting. “If you’re sure, Kook-ah”
Jungkook nods, jerky.
He can feel Hoseok’s gaze on his back throughout the rest of the shift. But Jungkook keeps himself busy, using all of his considerable willpower to act as energetic as possible. By the end of the shift he’s more exhausted than he’d ever been in his life, the constant scrutinization taking a toll on him, turning his movement clumsy.
He knows his Hyung means well, and he knows he can make life easier on himself by giving in and accepting help, but… Jungkook has been managing well enough alone for a very long time now, and he never had to accept anyone’s charity, he’s not about to start now. Plus, it’s only been like five days, he’s sure that soon enough his body will be too exhausted and he’ll end up crashing for 48 hours and then life will go back to normal.
He hopes.
But now that Hoseok mentioned it though, the idea refuses to leave his mind, it percolates deep in his head, he tries to wrap his head around the logistics of it, Jungkook lives on a very tightly controlled budget, he doesn’t have much leeway there, but maybe... Maybe if he dipped into his heating fund? He doesn’t really need heating does he?
His temples throb.
Jungkook ends up being close to useless the rest of the shift, and if he pretends not to notice when Hyung slips a business card into his coat pocket well… no one can prove that he did notice.
He stops by the pharmacy and buys some painkillers. He stands a worrying amount of time in front of the sleeping pills before firmly deciding against them the long list of side-effects are enough of a deterrent, and makes his miserable way home.
His feet drag behind him and his shoulders hunch against the wind, the thought of trying to sleep is tiring. It became such a daily struggle that he’s starting to dread the thought of going home.
Failing at something as basic as falling asleep is messing with his head.
Or maybe it’s the lack of sleep that’s messing with his head.
Jungkook is tired.
The apartment is cold and dark by the time he gets there. The night has already fallen a while ago, making the dark space look uninviting.
The apartment is tiny, a shoebox of a space, it’s only redeeming feature is the large window that takes over the wall opposite the front door. His bed is shoved against it, It's great ‘cause he never needs to use an alarm, the natural light waking him at dawn almost everyday… when he manages to sleep that is.
At the far right is a kitchenette with only a sink and a table top stove. A tiny counter to separate it from the sleep/living area.
The only other door leads to the bathroom, with its chipping tile and unreliable hot water. The pipes groan at night from the cold. Sometimes, in the dark, when his sleep deprivation is at its worst, they sound like a hulking monster rising from the depth of hell.
Jungkook swallows and switches on the light. It makes the room less oppressive, He toes off his shoes and starts to take off his jacket when he remembers.
The card is warm in his pocket. He’s not sure if it’s just his imagination or if it is charmed to remind the holder of its presence, either way, it is a distracting presence, his fingers hover over it, contemplating throwing it way, but-
He gives it a closer look, It’s small and cream colored. ‘The Cat’s Cure’ written in a pretty font in the center, the word Potioneer, written just below it and in the corner an address.
That’s it.
Jungkook turns it around, but it’s blank.
He places it on the kitchenette counter, and heads to bed. The card’s light color seems to taunt him as he tosses and turns all night, trying and failing to fall asleep.
He moves around so much snatching a few minutes of interrupted sleep every now and then, slowly the sky lightens and with it, his exhaustion, his eyes burn, his bones ache and if anyone touches him right now, he will break down crying. His skin feels tight and hypersensitive, every brush of the blanket feels like sandpaper. He feels… worse than he did the previous day.
Somehow, work is even more of a torture than it had ever been, Eunji-noona is back so Jungkook only has to man the register, but he feels so shaky and tired, he must be worrying the customers, this is the third time someone frowns at him this morning, and Jungkook genuinely feels like crying.
He gives in.
Surprise, surprise.
He corners Hoseok-hyung in the kitchen. The older man looks somewhat spooked, arms held close to his chest almost protectively. Jungkook can’t really blame him, he knows what he looks like, a wild-eyed maniac, his left eye has been twitching non-stop for the last two days and that coupled with the deep bruises under his eyes, is enough to unsettle anyone, let alone his scaredy-cat of a Hyung.
“Fine.” He says and he knows it sounds too aggressive if the way Hoseok’s eyes widen is any indication.
“F-fine?” He stutters out, eyes blinking rapidly.
“I’ll buy the potion.”
“Y-you will?” and the bewilderment is slowly fading away.
“But I’m not taking a discount, Hyung, I know how hard those things are to make.” He says urgently
“Kook-ah-”
“No, listen, Hyung, I can’t afford to pay for the thing upfront.” He says, soldiering through the shame, “but I can make a monthly payment, and-” He trails off, the previous bravado all but disappearing “Is that okay?” He ends hesitantly. It has to be okay, it has to.
Hoseok is giving him a soft smile.
“Yoongi-Hyung wouldn’t mind. I already mentioned the potion to him, he likes making things easy for his customers.”
And just like that, the wind is out of his sail and Jungkook slumps back exhausted.
“Good.”
Hoseok offers to accompany him to the shop, Jungkook refuses graciously, he knows that the older man has a dance class to teach in the evening, he wouldn’t want to inconvenience him, nor impose on what little free time he has.
Hoseok-hyung looks somewhat disappointed, but accepts anyway. The Cat’s Cure isn’t too far from the coffee shop, he starts heading there after his evening shift at the local supermarket. It’s cold and the sky is grey and heavy looking, he hopes it doesn’t rain.
It rains.
Because of course it rains the only night he forgets his umbrella at home. It just figures.
He’s hurrying like limping through the streets and not really looking too closely at where he’s going, the haze of exhaustion making simple navigation an ordeal, he must have made a wrong turn somewhere because he’s not sure where he is, the streets look unfamiliar, and there is a stirring of panic in the pit of his stomach, His phone died a couple of hours ago, so he can’t even use google maps. He stands still in the empty street and turns around himself, hoping a change in perspective will reorient him.
He blinks back frustrated tears and wipes the rain water away from his face, he’s soaking from head to toe, his hair hangs around his face like sad limp seaweed, he just wants to get this over with please-
And-
Oh!
There it is.
A shop front with magical artifacts displayed proudly. Jungkook startles, could have sworn that the space before him was empty, he takes a hesitant step towards it, eyes fixed on the fantastical nonsense behind the glass.
A crash of thunder reminds him that he still needs to go in, he shakes his head once and rubs at his eyes firmly, get it together, he tells himself and quickly walks through the heavy door.
It falls closed behind him with a heavy thud and instantly, everything feels so much more muted.
The Cat’s Cure is dim.
That’s the first thought that crosses his mind, he looks around blinking away the rain water and trying to get used to the low lights, there are hulking shadows looming over him, stretching towards him, their tendrils almost touching- he takes a step back, suddenly terrified, a small gasps escapes his throat, and then just as abruptly he realize they’re just shelves.
Shelves upone shelves upone shelves, filled to the brim with all sorts of magical artifacts, carefully sequestered away behind what he could only assume is charmed glass.
The realization leaves his knees weak, Jungkook shivers, hand coming up to support himself on the wall. He stays there leaning on the wall for what feels like ages, until his breath comes easy and his heart stops pounding.
Enough time for the strange fear to subside and his curiosity to rear its ugly head.
The shop is larger than what he assumed it would be- and it doesn’t look much like an apothecary.
Not that he’s been to many apothecaries before. But the few he’d seen were… less… inviting.
This one though, it’s fascinating.
There are luminescent plants crawling over the walls and tiny glinting planes that hover in the air and twirl around. There's a wooden counter in the back end of the room with another door behind it, the owner is nowhere in sight and he thinks he’s probably somewhere in the back.
Jungkook wonders where all the potions are. Maybe they’re all kept in the back, it makes sense if he's worried that they might be stolen.
Jungkook straightens, and takes a trembling step deeper into the shop, the sound of dripping alerts him to the fact that he’s leaving a puddle all over the floor.
Embarrassed, he mutters an apology into thin air.
Jungkook shivers and hugs himself tightly, trying to preserve what little warmth is left inside his body, no one has shown up at the front yet so Jungkook starts wandering around, needing to get his blood flowing.
Something glints in the corner of his eyes and he moves towards it, the middle of the shop is occupied with a low glass display case, curious, he moves closer, the case is lit up from inside, warm light glints over the many carefully polished jewels, beside each one is a tiny plaque that describes what the jewelry is used for, protection, luck, beauty, some plaques declare, others have nastier undertones: compulsion, Notice-Me-Not, fear. And some with no label at all. His fingers hover over the glass overcome with the powerful urge to touch.
Magic has always fascinated him, he’d always wished he could learn it properly, but he neither had the time, nor the resources to do so.
He looks back towards the counter and finds it still empty, as much as he would prefer to get this over with, to get the potion and go the fuck to sleep, he can’t find it in himself to mind the time he’s spending here, the shop is fascinating. There is something about the low thud of rain, the dim light and the faint fragrance in the air, there is a hum that floats around like a distant melody long since played with only it’s echo- it’s reverberation- left to fill the silence, something about that combination is… compelling.
It doesn’t hurt that the shop is warm, and he’s in no hurry to step back into the freezing rain.
He wanders with slow meandering steps, stopping every second to peer through the glass, the display cases are all very well lit and contrasting with the dimness of the shop, they make everything look all the more fantastical.
There are ancient books with crumbling spines written in languages Jungkook can’t even begin to decipher, newer ones with holographic images on the cover, others encrusted in metal and precious stones and Jungkook is in love.
His fingers are absently ghosting over the glass when they bump into something warm, he stills and glances over only to see a beautiful glass lantern with a thin brass handle. Only instead of the expected candle, inside stands a single white lily. Somehow it’s standing upright rather than leaning against the glass.
Jungkook hesitantly touches the glass once more, it’s warm, like it’s been placed in front of a stove for hours, he lifts it towards his face and absently runs his hands over it, trying to warm his cold fingers.
Something crashes deep into the shop and Jungkook startles so badly he almost drops the lantern; thankfully, he’s always had quick reflexes, he clutches the lantern closer to his chest his wildly beating heart reverberating through the glass and turns his terrified gaze towards the source of the noise. His over-tired brain coming up with all sorts of unlikely scenarios, ranging from curses to monsters, only to come face to face with- a man.
Jungkook lets out a ragged sigh. This is too much excitement for his body, he’s not sure he can handle any more- he just wants to get the potion and not think anymore.
The man is looking at him with something unreadable in his eyes, his silver hair is in a disarray, and he’s standing like he’s expecting to jump over the counter at any second.
“That’s not for sale.” He says, voice deep and steady, betrayed by the almost desperate way he’s gripping the counter as if it is the only thing keeping him from lunging at Jungkook.
Jungkook looks down, suddenly realizing he’s still holding the lantern, carefully he places it back on the display case, instantly feeling the loss as warmth no longer diffuses through his chest, a violent shiver makes its way through his body.
Jungkook swallows and tries not to think too much on what that meant, the glass is probably charmed to remain warm.
“I- uh, I’m sorry?” he says -asks- not sure what he’s apologizing for but thinks it’s probably the safe thing to do. He steps further away from the flower and with each step something seems to loosen in the man’s stance.
“I’m here for the potion.” Jungkook says, deciding to get this done with as fast as possible.
The man’s eyes seem reluctant as they peel away from the lantern and onto Jungkook.
“We don’t sell potions.” He says, puzzled.
“You- You don’t?” The concept seems almost foreign for his tired brain to process.
“No.” The man says.
“But-” and the realization hits. “This isn’t the Cat’s Cure is it?”
“No, this is Hauntings.” he says, grimacing at the name as if it physically pains him to utter.
Jungkook blinks. Suddenly lost, he was so prepared to get his potion to negotiate a monthly payment with the man that the sudden turn of events sort of… overthrows him.
“Oh.”
The silence stretches between them, and the man seems to squirm at the awkwardness. He shakes his head as if to dislodge an intrusive thought and marshes out from behind the counter.
“What sort of potion did you want, maybe you could find something here that would work just as well, and it would be much cheaper.” He says and Jungkook recognizes this tone, it's the customer service tone.
Jungkook blinks, unused to being on the receiving end of it.
“Uh- A Dreamless Sleep.” He answers promptly.
The man raises an eyebrow. “Nightmares?”
Jungkook shakes his head. “No. I just- can’t fall asleep, and a friend suggested Dreamless Sleep.” He says with a shrug.
“That’s… a bit intense I think, as a cure for insomnia.” The man says running a hand through his hair.
Jungkook opens his mouth to protest, feeling hounded, who is this man to judge how Jungkook decides to solve his issues? nevermind the fact that Jungkook himself wouldn’t have accepted the potion if he wasn’t desperate for some rest.
But before he could even think of speaking. the man talks over him.
“We have a nice selection of Dreams here at Hauntings. Usually, people use them to, you know, have nice dreams-” He says with a sheepish smile scratching at his cheek and Jungkook can’t help but notice the dimples. “-but they probably will work just as well to make you fall asleep. Come to think of it, the implications of that I don’t think-” his voice takes on a speculative tone and he seems to be getting lost in his own thoughts, words trailing off into silence.
It lasts, and lasts. finally-
“Um-Sir?”
The man startles and turns his dark, dark eyes to him. “Sir? Please don’t call me Sir-” He grimaces, “ -My name is Kim Namjoon.”
“Kim Namjoon-ssi, you said something about dreams?”
“Yes! yes, Dreams! People donate Dreams to us all the time here I have-” he wanders off, voice going fainter the further he disappears between the isles. “ a whole bowel-full.” Jungkook follows the man- Kim Namjoon- arms wrapped tightly around himself to discourage himself from touching anymore artifacts, a bit worried after the previous over-reaction.
Namjoon is crouching down, fingers hovering over the glass, there is no place for a key, nor are there any seams that would indicate the glass could move in any way and Jungkook wonders how the hell is he meant to retrieve anything from inside.
But there is a second of stillness and then the glass disappears.
That's one way to do it. He thinks faintly to himself, lips parting a bit in surprise. Namjoon carefully balances a wicker bowel over the glass, it’s filled to the brim with round colorful spheres, each the size of a ping-pong ball. Some of them are shimmering, others have what appears to be smoke roiling inside and Jungkook is fascinated. Almost without permission his hands reach out to touch.
Just before making contact, he hesitates. Fingers hovering, he looks at Namjoon, but the man is smiling softly, ”Go on then, choose one” He encourages.
Jungkook swallows and touches the first one he feels drawn to, the one with the silvery smoke that moves lazily inside the glass ball. It doesn’t feel any different, smooth glass, cold under his fingers.
He lifts it up, and he gets lost in the dancing wisps.
“That’s a good choice, the donor is rather- creative, we always get the best feedback with his Dreams.”
“Um- sure.” Jungook says, unsure of the correct response. “How do you, uh use this? And how much is it?” He quickly adds, frowning as he mentally calculates the amount he could spare.
If this thing is cheaper than a potion, then he’s willing to give it a try.
“The dreams are 5,000 won each. And using them is very easy. Just draw an activation rune on it and place it under your pillow. It will do the rest itself.”
5,000 won. He’s definitely buying it. But then- “Activation rune?” and a hint of anxiety creeps into his voice.
Namjoon peers down at him, his eyebrows knotting together.
“I’ll draw it for you if you want.” He ends up offering.
Jungkook is grateful that he doesn’t question him further, he knows that activation runes are one of the first things taught in schools, everyone knows how to draw them.
Jungkook nods, grateful. “Thank you… are you sure that it will help me sleep?” He asks. And hates how childish he sounds.
“Well-it’s not as good as a potion would be, but it will work well enough. And if not, you could always come back for a refund.” He says with a smile, dimples in full view.
He heads back towards the register and Jungkook follows, muscles protesting the movement. Bones aching with renewed vigour, as if now that he can practically taste sleep, his body decides to rebel.
Soon. he reminds himself.
He carefully watches as Namjoon takes out a black sharpie and traces precise lines over the surface, that done with, the rune gives a soft blue glow before settling back into black.
“There.” He says placing the glass ball into a paper bag and handing it over to Jungkook.
Jungkook fumbles inside his pocket for his wallet and finally hands the man his money.
“Thank you for shopping at Hauntings.” Namjoon says, customer service smile still firmly in place.
“Um, yes thank you.” he says, internally cringing at how awkward he sounds. He clutches the bag closer to his chest, turns on his heel and makes his way outside the shop feeling eyes on his back all the way. He resists the urge to shiver.
The rain has stopped, but there’s still a very uncomfortable chill in the air. It takes him a while to get back to his apartment, with his phone dead it’s a bit hard to navigate, but his wanderings end with him on a familiar street and from there it is easy to hurry back home.
He quickly shucks off the damp clothes, already drying uncomfortably over his skin, he takes a quick shower not even bothering to wait for the water to heat up, he’s excited, he realizes, his heart is beating fast and his hands are shaking- though that could be a symptom of exhaustion-
And before he knows it he’s done, he’s sitting on the bed, hands cradling the dream almost reverently, carefully, he places it under his pillow the rune flashes and Jungkook lies down, the blankets pulled high to his chin, he closes his eyes body thrumming, bones throbbing, eyes itching-
And he’s asleep.