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The sound of the huge, ancient knocker hitting the even huger and more ancient door reverberates in the dismal silence around the palace. Some crows cry into the cold morning air, startling Namjoon. The place looks desolated, there is debris scattered around the land surrounding the imposing construction, as if some kind of explosion had sent pieces of the stone wall flying in every direction. As if it was a warning.
It is most likely a warning.
Namjoon knocks again and feels stupid.
Who knocks the door of some eerie ruined castle inhabited by an evil sorcerer who had all the fires of hell waiting for whoever dared to come and try to rescue the beautiful princess he had kidnapped in the deepest room of the palace?
Kim Namjoon, apparently.
In his defense, it’s not his place to do the heroic entrance. He’s just an unfortunate servant. His master, who’s currently waiting at a safe distance in the surrounding forest, is the one who has to kick the doors open, or climb the walls, or sneak through a secret door, or whatever.
Namjoon is just the dispensable idiot sent to taste the waters. Who cares if he isn’t glamorous? He just hopes the sorcerer doesn’t kill him on the spot, that’s why he’s knocking. Being polite had to count for something, right?
So, he knocks again.
There’s no answer, of course. He didn’t expect one in the first place. His intention is to make his presence thoroughly known, so he can be stopped before doing anything stupid like sneaking in.
Namjoon is considering screaming hello when a little door opens right beside the huge, ancient ones. Namjoon is pretty sure that door wasn’t there when he arrived, but well. A Master of the Magic Arts lives in the castle.
What could be on the other side? Doubt flashes through his mind, along with all kinds of horrible scenarios. Death is a possibility, but why bothering opening the door if you’re just going to kill whoever you’re letting in?
Considering his situation, it doesn’t matter either way, he has no option, so he enters, hoping for the best but expecting… nothing, really. Extraordinary things rarely occur to common people like him, and if he dies, he hopes it’s instant.
The door closes behind him as soon as he has both feet inside and Namjoon finds himself in absolute darkness.
“Hello?”
Namjoon ventures a step further inside. The darkness is almost a palpable pressure on his eyes, whatever is coming to him, he most definitely won’t see it coming. Namjoon has a feeling that he’s not alone in the room and that’s making the hair at his nape stand up.
“You knocked.”
The deep voice comes from everywhere, soft but impossible to miss. It’s not threatening or malicious, and Namjoon feels oddly safe surrounded by it, even though it’s probably the last thing he’s going to hear in his life.
It wouldn’t be that bad, Namjoon thinks, he would like to hear it again actually. But the silence extends in the darkness until is another palpable presence in the space.
Maybe the voice is expecting an answer?
“Uh… yes?” Namjoon clears his throat, voice sounding rough after long hours silent travel. “I knocked.”
“Yes.”
The s sound is sustained for a few more seconds than necessary. Namjoon is starting to feel more awkward than afraid.
“Okay, enough.” The voice focuses a few meters in front of Namjoon. Two claps sound in succession and light flood the space to reveal a cozy room and a man sitting on a soft looking kind of chair. “You knocked, why? What the hell? That’s not how you start a rescue.”
“Um…” Namjoon finds himself at a loss for words.
Is this the sorcerer everyone fears? Evil, almighty Agust D’Sorcerer? The devil who, according to the people in the neighboring villages, eats everyone who dares to enter his palace and uses their bones to light his fire?
Judging by looks, Namjoon would’ve never guessed. His voice was intimidating, granted. But his delicate features and the dark fluff of hair that surrounds his head like a halo are nothing short of cute.
“So, what is it? You don’t seem to be armed or have any magical power, what do you want?” The biting tone reminds Namjoon of his situation like a slap.
If this is indeed Agust D’Sorcerer, the guy is about to kill him, cute or not.
“I-I’m a servant,” Namjoon says, very eloquently.
The sorcerer raises an unimpressed eyebrow. “So…?”
Namjoon clears his throat. He can do better than this. If he’s going to die soon, he’s not going to do it sounding like an idiot.
“My, master, Choi Sanhyun, is here to rescue Princess Park Jimin. He was promised her hand in marriage if he brings her back to her parents, bla, bla. I am nothing but the newest representative of the always thrown under the carriage working class.” Namjoon sighs. “Look, Agust, can I call you Agust? If you’re going to kill me, can you do it quickly and painlessly? I already came all the way here from the other side of the kingdom with my idiot master, slept on rocks, ate almost literally shit, and lost all my books a few villages back. I’ve had enough.”
The sorcerer just looks at him with a stone face for a few long minutes until he burst in a silent and shaky fit of laugh.
“Call me Yoongi, and I’m not gonna kill you. Take a seat.” He stands up and prompts Namjoon to sit in another chair, just like the sorcerer’s, that appears out of nowhere. Yoongi is looking at him with a gummy smile, shoulders still shaking a little with his silent laugh. “What’s your name, servant?”
Namjoon takes a moment to answer. He’s divided between relief and the almost physical need to coo. This sorcerer looks like an overgrown kitten when he smiles.
“I’m Kim Namjoon, and thank you, I guess?”
Yoongi nods, looking at the ground as if Namjoon’s words had made him shy.
“Please, make yourself at home,” Yoongi says and walks out of sight.
Namjoon sits on the chair and marvels at how soft and warm it is. He’s never sat on something like this, not even the chairs in his master’s palace look this comfortable. The wood is covered by a cushioned material, soft under his palms, like pelt, but Namjoon can’t think of an animal with this kind of coat. After he stops marveling at the chair, Namjoon takes a moment to look around the room and marvel some more. It has high ceilings, and an enormous round window with a view of the whole valley. Namjoon frowns. They must be in some type of tower, because they’re definitely a good dozen of meters above the ground. He shrugs it off easily. Magic. The room is warm even though there’s no fire in sight, and Namjoon is thankful, because the morning was cold, and his clothes are thin. Light comes from tiny candles floating all around, and apart from the chairs, there are many delicate-looking tables with strange looking artifacts on top.
"Kim Namjoon, be my guest,” Yoongi says as he comes back. He hands Namjoon a shiny looking bag and some kind of closed metal cup. “I don't have many." Yoongi laughs at his own joke and sits again.
When he notices that Namjoon is just frowning at the items, Yoongi chuckles and stands up again.
"Let me show you," he says and takes the metal cup from Namjoon’s hand. Yoongi pulls a little tap at the top of the metal container, which opens with a pop and a tss. "It's beer. A can of beer, from the future. And this..." He forces the top of the shiny bag until it opens too. "These are potato chips. Go ahead, enjoy."
Namjoon tries the offered food and looks at them incredulous. The beer is light and fresh, the perfect mix of cold and sparkly. The potatoes are heavenly. Crunchy, salty and glorious— Wait a second…
“From the future?”
“Yeah, kind of.” Yoongi makes a dismissive gesture with his hand and takes a sip from his own beer. Namjoon patiently waits for a more extended explanation, and the sorcerer complies. “It’s a spell I’ve been working on for a while.”
“Time… travel?” Namjoon doesn’t know much about magic but that sounds unbelievable.
“Again, kind of. I don’t understand very well how it works and I can only go forward. Every time I try, the places I go are completely different. As if the future was not set in stone yet, parallel realities or alternative universes, I don’t know.” Yoongi shrugs and drinks more of his beer.
Of all the things Namjoon expected to find when he left his village, a cute sorcerer talking about unknown, fascinating things never crossed his mind. Namjoon loves learning new things. He’s been a stable boy since he was twelve years old and wasn’t supposed to go any farther than that, but he has always yearned for knowledge. Understanding the world and how it works is his favorite way to pass the time. He taught himself how to read and ever since then, he has read every book that he could get his hands on.
“Alternative universes?”
Namjoon keeps asking and Yoongi keeps answering gladly. New cans of beer follow the first ones and all kind of strange, yet delicious snacks come floating from a nearby pantry. Eventually, Yoongi asks questions too. Namjoon tells him how the only thing he has in this world is his wish to learn. No family, few friends, no lovers. He tells Yoongi how his life feels meaningless and the only thing that feels worth the beat of his heart is discovering new things, and how even that is limited in his tiny village. Namjoon talks long about how this journey had been awful and a blessing at the same time, for him, who had never been out of a village he knew already too well. Yoongi listens and shares some of his own story, talks about his hard-earned status as a sorcerer and the loneliness it comes with. How he wouldn’t change a bit of his past regardless.
“Wait a second.” Yoongi stands up, swaying just a bit from all the beer. He looks through the window, squinting his eyes to see better. “That’s your master, isn’t it?”
Namjoon stands, not so stable too, and walks towards the sorcerer. In the distance, he can hear the voice of his master calling his name. When Namjoon reaches the window, he feels even more dizzy. They are really high, and far down there, in his colorful clothes and riding his gorgeous stallion, his master is looking for a way in.
“Yeah, that’s him.”
Namjoon looks at the man beside him. He notices he has a few inches on Yoongi and this close, the height difference is quite evident. His pretty features are also more striking. Yoongi is wearing black fitting clothes and some kind of dark, velvety coat. His eyes are cold as he follows the movements of the figure below, his demeanor changed from the relaxed one from before to something more intimidating, powerful. If it wasn’t because he has seen him smile, Namjoon would be scared of him. Maybe he should be. Agust D’Sorcerer has a reputation after all.
“Are you going to kill him?” Namjoon asks in a whisper.
“No.” The sorcerer turns to him frowning, but when he finds Namjoon’s eyes, the frown melts into something mischievous. “I’m going to kill you.”
*
“Choi Sanhyun.” Yoongi’s reverberating voice is back.
After reassuring an alarmed Namjoon that “no, I’m not going to actually kill you, you silly”, Yoongi opened a door that appeared out of nowhere. (“Is this your favorite trick?” Namjoon asked and got only a giggle for answer). The door led outside, most likely to a cobblestoned square right behind the huge entrance doors.
A strong wind opens the ancient doors forcefully, and Yoongi calls Sanhyun’s name again.
“W-what did you do with m-my servant?” Sanhyun’s voice breaks just a little, leading his horse inside slowly and looking around the ruined palace.
Despite being not too far across the square, it seems like Sanhyun can’t see them.
“Poor bastard died horribly, just like you will unless you turn around and leave.”
Namjoon looks at the man beside him, jaw dropping just a little. He killed him. Just like that. If his master decided to turn around and go back with his tail between his legs, Namjoon would be absolutely free to not return with him. He’s not bound to the Choi’s house in any way anymore.
Yoongi arches an eyebrow at him, like asking if he agreed. Of course, he did. It was fantastic.
Thank you, he mouths.
“Well, h-he died honorably for this noble cause. Now, I will proceed to liberate the princess and erase your evilness from this world.”
“Yeah, sure.” Yoongi’s voice loses some ominousness to irritation. “Good luck with that.” And then with his voice at a normal volume, he adds, “Let’s go, Namjoon-ah.”
Yoongi opens yet another spontaneous door, and they’re back at the cozy room in a step. He can hear the roars of a huge creature and the screams of his master— The screams of Choi Sanhyun in the distance.
“In case you’re wondering, it’s just an illusion. The beast. That’s usually enough to make the idiots turn back and run for their lives.” Yoongi snickers and fusses with one of the artifacts until a melody comes out of it.
Namjoon decides to question him about that later. “And what about the princess?”
“Oh, Park Jiminie. I met him during one of my travels. He didn’t want to be a princess anymore, neither he wanted to marry any of the idiots his parents promised him to. He was kinda cute, so I granted him his wish. He lives in one of those alternative universes now.”
“Oh.” Namjoon wraps his head around it more easily than he thought he could. It makes sense. He looks at Yoongi and finds a mischievous smirk on the sorcerer’s face.
“I could grant you a wish too, Kim Namjoon.”
*
Namjoon wakes up right before the alarm clock starts ringing.
He reaches for the device and deactivates it. Yoongi hates the glaring sound of it, only agreed to have one in their room because Namjoon likes to listen to the tick-tock sound to sleep.
After a whole body stretch, Namjoon rolls out of bed and puts on some warm clothes. He moves a corner of the curtains and peeks through the window. The sky is still dark, but it won’t stay like that for long.
He walks back to the bed and gently shakes the little mound of blankets that is Yoongi.
“Wake up, babe. It’s time.”
There’s no answer.
“Yoongi, you said the spell needs to be done at the break of dawn.”
He gets a grunt this time. Small progress.
Holding back an endeared smile, Namjoon pulls the covers down a little, just enough to uncover Yoongi’s face, cheeks a lovely shade of pink thanks to the warmth of their bed. He leans down and nuzzles Yoongi’s cheek.
“Wake up, sleepy head.”
He presses a kiss to Yoongi’s cheek for good measure.
“Mmno,” Yoongi drawls, searching the crook of Namjoon’s neck with his nose. “Let’s do it tomorrow. Come back to bed.”
Namjoon chuckles. “You say the same every new moon, and then we have to wait another month.”
He indulges Yoongi for a second and wraps his arms around him, makes him believe he convinced him. Yoongi immediately holds onto the front of Namjoon’s sweater, pulling him closer, but Namjoon has different plans. Ignoring his protest, Namjoon pulls Yoongi up until they’re both sitting on the bed. Yoongi whines and tries to escape, but Namjoon is already hauling him out of bed, holding back giggles.
“You’re evil, Kim Namjoon!” Yoongi pushes him away when he tries to kiss his cheek in apology, his face is all scrunched in a frown.
Sleepy Yoongi is really cute. Well, In Namjoon’s opinion, Yoongi is cute most of the time. He only stops being cute when he does cool sorcerer stuff, but he’s still a bit cute then.
A few years have passed since they met at the ruined palace that cold morning. Almost the same amount of time since Namjoon fell stupidly in love with the cute sorcerer. It took him like a day and half, so he can’t say it’s the same time.
Yoongi granted Namjoon a wish, and he can’t believe where it got them. He certainly had no clue that by asking Yoongi to take him as his apprentice, he was singing up for a life where the extraordinary was the norm. He didn’t foresee his heart falling captive of the most wonderful feeling he’s ever felt. Love is one of those extraordinary things Namjoon thought were not in a common person’s destiny. But well, he would gladly admit his mistake.
After a long time seeking, they found a place and a time to settle. The exact year doesn’t concern them, but they are definitely far into the future. At least from Namjoon’s period.
“Come on, weren’t you super hurried?”
Yoongi is frowning at him from the door of their room. He’s bundled in a fluffy scarf Namjoon knitted for him last winter, shoulders a bit hunched and arms crossed to keep his jersey closed.
Namjoon smiles at him and kisses his forehead when he joins him. With an arm around his Yoongi’s shoulders, Namjoon walks out of their room and then out of their little house. The morning is cold and humid, there’s fog swirling around the trunks of the trees that surround their home. They live in the deep of the woods, so it’s not uncommon.
They arrive at the spot they had selected for the spell with a bit of time in their hands. Yoongi said it had to be a place where all the elements combined, and Namjoon chose the top of a little waterfall he found in one of his walks. It’s high enough for the sun to wash over them as soon as it shows up, completing the four elements that are vital for the spell Namjoon is going to attempt.
“Are you sure?” Yoongi mutters, rubbing one of Namjoon’s hands between his for warmth.
They’re sitting near the agitated stream, very close together at a damp patch of grass. It’s uncomfortable but being one with the surroundings is another fundamental part of the spell.
“There’s no turning back from this...” Yoongi’s voice quiets by the end of the sentence and he bites his lip, hesitating before he adds, “I don’t want you to regret it.”
Namjoon lets out an incredulous chuckle.
“Why would I regret eternal youth?”
Yoongi shrugs, keeping his gaze stubbornly fixed on Namjoon’s hand. They’ve had this conversation. Many times. And they always arrive at the same conclusion.
“I want to be with you forever, Yoongi.” He softens the candid declaration by nudging Yoongi’s shoulder with his. “Can’t get wrinkles when you’ll have that cute baby face for good.”
Yoongi groans and returns the nudge.
“I don’t have a cute baby face,” Yoongi mumbles through a pout, which doesn’t help his case much.
Namjoon hides a smile behind his hand. “Whatever you say, oh tenebrous sorcerer.” He slips his hand out of Yoongi’s hold and hugs Yoongi to his side. With his other hand, Namjoon turns Yoongi’s face gently towards him so he can kiss his lips. “I’m sure, just so you know.”
Yoongi sighs. A thousand different shadows flash through his eyes before the warm adoration Namjoon is used to see settles in the bright hazelnut. Namjoon’s heart aches, Yoongi is so beautiful.
It’s the magic, Yoongi says every time Namjoon comments on it, your eyes will clear too as your magic grows. Namjoon never means his eyes only, but he already learned that Yoongi gets easily flustered when Namjoon calls him beautiful.
“Remember to relax your fingers in the flicks and pronounce the words correctly,” Yoongi says, grabbing his face suddenly and pressing another kiss to Namjoon’s lips. “You can do it.”
Namjoon only winks at him and gets ready for the break of dawn.
He used to think happy ever afters belonged only in tales. Maybe his life became a tale the moment he knocked the door of that eerie castle, that cold morning so long ago. Parallel realities or alternative universes, Yoongi would say.