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It would be a lie of Jeonghan said he wasn’t nervous, because he was. He was worried about failing, of not being a good mentor. Jeonghan himself had had a useless one during his apprentice days, but he had pulled through and got his witching license in one year. Not unheard of, but not too common. It mostly happened because his mentor was uncaring about Jeonghan’s process, had only really accepted to have an apprentice so he had help in running his potions shop.
It hadn’t taken long before Jeonghan had surpassed his mentor’s capabilities and had sweet talked his way into making the old man tell the school Jeonghan was ready to start the exams. Getting his witching license had been a symbol of freedom and he had never talked to the useless old man ever again.
The only thing keeping his nervousness in check was that he knew he at the very least would be better than that, even he couldn’t fail that badly.
But he was truly worried. Especially because his apprentice was a special case. Usually witches come into their magic between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, maybe up to twenty. Jeonghan himself had been a slightly late bloomer, his magic awakening at nineteen, but his apprentice had only discovered his magic at 21.
Definitely not a fun age to be ushered into a witch’s school, it being mandatory for anyone with magical affinity. To top it off, not only was he a late bloomer, he was also filled with immense power.
Jeonghan himself had less than average spell power, but he was extremely controlled and refined.
It was why Jihoon, Jeonghan’s former classmate and now a teacher at Seoul’s School of Magical Arts, had contacted him specifically.
(“He has so much raw power, but struggles with controlling it. I think you’ll be the perfect mentor for him.”
“I don’t know, Jihoon. Wouldn’t it be better for him to be mentored by someone with greater spell power?” Back in his time at the school, Jeonghan had been insecure about his low magical power, but now he knew his magical limitations enhanced his creativity. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to teach him what he needs.”
“Believe me, you’re the perfect choice.” It was quiet on the other end of the phone for a short moment. “And I know you like to take lost lambs under your wing, Seokmin needs a good hyung like you.”
It had tugged at Jeonghan’s heart. There was a reason why he had taken to both Jihoon and Seungkwan during his time at Seoul’s Magical Arts; they had needed someone and Jeonghan had so much love and affection to give.
“Okay, fine. Come by the shop and I’ll sign the mentorship papers.”
“Thank you, Jeonghan.”)
Knowing his friend was trusting him so much was both flattering and terrifying. Meanwhile his other friend, Seungkwan, had voiced his concern about Jeonghan being a mentor.
(“Hyung, I don’t think you should have accepted it. You’re already stretching yourself thin running this shop.”
“Having an apprentice means extra hands, if anything you should be happy.”
“It’ll still be extra work, especially in the beginning.”
“Which is why I’ve given Chan more work hours the first few weeks.” Jeonghan looked over at the younger witch whom stood in the middle of his little shop. He was wearing his work uniform, a gentle lavender robe signifying his position as a healer. “Why are you so against it?”
“I just worry about you, hyung,” Seungkwan admitted. “Especially since this guy apparently has a high amount of spell power, that can be dangerous.”
Jeonghan smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Kwannie.” His familiar, a white cat named Angel, had sauntered over to Seungkwan, bumping its head affectionately against his leg.
“I’ll try not to, Hyung.”)
He knew Seungkwan’s worry came from a good place, and it was always cute to see how his dongsaeng was caring about him.
“Someone’s approaching the shop.”
Jeonghan yelped, immediately turning to glare at the intruder whom had literally materialised from
thin air. “What are you doing here?”
“The little witch who accidentally summoned a demon is gonna be a mentor, of course I had to be here.”
The words sounded a little cruel, but Joshua had the uncanny ability of always sounding kind. And it wasn’t like Jeonghan was a saint himself, he had definitely made people cry due to his crass words.
“Just don’t scare the kid, Shua.” Jeonghan had no idea how the guy would react to his mentor being friends with a demon, but at least Joshua had a kind and sweet appearance. Witches could easily sense demons, so there was no point in hiding it.
“Of course not, Hannie.”
Just as the clock turned from 7:59am to 8:00am, the door to the shop opened and a slightly tall, skinny man entered the shop.
“Welcome!” Jeonghan put on his warmest smile, already feeling the way his heart melted as he looked at the young man. The doe shaped eyes filled with nervousness was nearly making Jeonghan coo from the adorableness. Any anxiety he had vanished and he could see why Jihoon was confident Jeonghan would immediately want to take care of Lee Seokmin. He had always been particularly weak for adorable boys he could baby and coddle. “Welcome to Little Shop of Healing.” He approached the slightly taller man and held out a hand, still keeping a warm smile. “I’m Yoon Jeonghan.”
The younger man’s lips stretched into a wide smile. “I’m Lee Seokmin. Nice to meet you.” He grasped Jeonghan’s hand firmly and shook it briefly.
Something heavy pressed on Jeonghan’s shoulder and it took the older witch half a second to realise it was Joshua’s chin. The demon had materialised right behind Jeonghan. “I’m Joshua, Jeonghan’s best friend.”
Seokmin’s eyes had widened even more, but there was no hint of fear, just confusion. “A demon?”
“Yeah.”
“You should always be wary around demons,” Jeonghan said. “But this one is alright. I promise.”
“This one?” Joshua pretended to be offended.
“Maybe you could be useful and stock some shelves while me and Seokmin complete the mentor and apprentice ritual.”
“That’s my cue to leave. Nice to meet you, Seokmin.”
“Ni- Oh.”
Joshua had left before Seokmin could say anything.
“He does that a lot,” Jeonghan grabbed his familiar and held him up against his chest. “Ready to complete the contract?”
Seokmin nodded.
It would be quick work and luckily not much magic would be needed. There would even be time to show Seokmin around the shop before the opening time at 9am.
-
Seokmin wasn’t sure how he had expected his newest mentor to be, but it definitely wasn’t someone so intimidatingly pretty yet so warmhearted and kind. Professor Jihoon only had praises for his ‘Jeonghan Hyung’, and Seokmin could already see why. All his nervousness about getting rejected (again) melted when the older witch had smiled welcomingly and not even the arrival of a demon had unsettled the security Seokmin felt in the warmth of this little shop.
He had only been here for three hours, but it already felt like a safe space.
The last touches of the contract had been a quick affair, with Jeonghan doing most of the work, then Seokmin had been showed around the store.
It was a neat little space, filled with herbs, ingredients, potions, and some common magical trinkets. Despite being small and the insides mostly made of dark wood types, the shop felt bright and cozy. Sunlight poured in through the windows, and the herbs, plants, and various magical flowers made the shop look colourful and pretty.
Seokmin already loved it here. Was confident his first day would go without a hitch.
But he had been naive.
Jeonghan had had to run to check on some potions he was brewing. apparently the hired help was running late due to the bus being delayed and Seokmin had stupidly said he could man the shop while Jeonghan was in the brewing room in the basement. Seokmin had worked retail before, so he wasn’t unfamiliar with the tasks.
Of course he couldn’t be so lucky and he had messed up with the cash register, causing the customer to accidentally pay twice as much. It was an honest mistake and Seokmin was going to rectify it, but he didn’t know which buttons to press and the impatient customer had started yelling.
The commotion must have made it downstairs.
“What seems to be the trouble?”
“Your incompetent staff made me pay twice the price for all my wares,” the middle aged man said, voice still filled with anger.
“I’m sure it was just a mistake,” Jeonghan didn’t speak in the typical retail worker voice, if anything his voice was devoid of any emotions. “And I’m sure there was no need to yell at my apprentice until he cried.”
Seokmin startled at the words, finally feeling the wetness of his own cheeks.
Oh.
“We’ll be fixing the mistake right now, sir. Please place your card in the card reader.” Jeonghan turned to Seokmin. “Okay, Seokminnie. I’ll show you how to return money. So just follow my instructions.”
Hearing the nickname from the older witch immediately brightened his mood and he was close to smiling as he pressed the buttons he was told.
“There you go, sir. It should be fine now,” Jeonghan had directed his attention to the customer again. “Please refrain from yelling at my workers in the future, I do not accept harassment in my shop.”
The middle aged man looked flustered, sputtering out an apology before grabbing his shopping bag and all but running out of the store.
Jeonghan let out a snort as the door closed. “He probably won’t ever come back.”
“Thank you, hyung,” Seokmin smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry you lost a customer because of me.”
“Nonsense,” the older witch was smiling kindly. “I don’t accept harassment from customers and neither should you. Plus, I have more than enough customers to run this place, losing one isn’t gonna hurt me.” He reached up with a hand and used the sleeve of his yellow sweater to wipe the wet cheeks. “Go in the back room and wash your face, Chan will be here soon so take a lunch break.”
Seokmin nodded with a bright smile.
Despite the hiccup, Seokmin was feeling even happier about today.
Professor Jihoon had been right claiming that Jeonghan was the mentor he should have had from the very beginning. This time he had a feeling things would work out.
Third time's the charm, as they say