Archive of Our Own

The morning is Yeosang’s favourite time of day, at least when it comes to his work life. He has always been easy to wake, and he’s usually up by five-thirty so he has time to himself before heading to whatever school he’s working at presently. 

Yes, Yeosang is a morning person, but even he has limits.

Apparently, those limits involve getting up in the middle of the night to ensure he is showered and has absolutely everything packed so he can get to the taxi that will drive him into the city proper and to the train station. Those limits are further tested by not one, but two long train rides with multiple brief stops and the rush to get from one platform to another in between the two legs of the trip.

Everyone is quiet on the morning trains, but Yeosang has had trouble sleeping while people come and go ever since his sister gave up on their travels and settled down with a coven in Busan. Every time he starts to nod off it seems like someone else is settling into a seat nearby. So by the time he gets to Jeongeup and slides into a taxi, he finds himself asking the driver to wake him when they arrive at their destination.

Just under an hour later, Yeosang rouses to shouting, and as he blinks the last sleep he’ll get out of his eyes he nods and pushes himself out the door. The moment his bags are out the car peels away, and Yeosang knows the driver must be mundane and a little nervous of mages. That’s how they all are of course, or at least most of the non-magical people he meets. It’s easier when he can spend all his time in the little communities like the one he’s about to enter and away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the world. Or at least that’s what Yeosang tells himself.

Casting a quick charm with the wand he pulls from the case up his sleeve, Yeosang gets his bags floating behind him and starts up the path that will lead him into the more-secluded magical city that is hidden in Naejangsan National Park. Jipyeongseong is the name of the settlement, and the brief history he looked up says it is so called for the distance one can see out into the world from the summit of the mountain. 

Just beyond the gates, Yeosang comes across a group of mages who seem to be practicing charms of enhancement for their senses and speed. He can only assume they are military trainees, just as he had been not so many years ago now. That is confirmed when an older mage barks at the others to stop all while raising his wand in a rather hostile stance at Yeosang. “State your purpose, Assa.”

Yeosang is already tired, and he really isn’t in the mood to deal with people ostracising him for his life choices, but this isn’t exactly a new situation. He’s a calm person, though; a nice person, at that, so instead of growling back he bows appropriately to the officer and makes sure to get a glimpse of the badge on the way down. “My name is Kang Yeosang, and I have been summoned by the Board of Magical Education for a substitute teaching position, Jungwi,” he explains as he rises.

The air feels thick with hesitation, and for a moment Yeosang thinks that this uppity, low-ranking officer might arrest him until they look back at the group behind them. “Lee Yechan Chonsa!” The Lieutenant’s bark is just as harsh when calling out to the poor private, and the kid jumps into a salute as they’re called. “You will escort Kang Seonsaengnim to the school and immediately report back.”

“Yes, Jungwi!” Despite the energy of their reply, Lee Yechan is clearly shaking a little, probably because they’ve been picked out of the larger crowd for the task. Yeosang can’t help but wonder what sort of trouble the youth has gotten themselves into with their training officers to warrant this task.

Bowing to the party Yeosang taps his wand to get his bags moving behind him again and moves to meet Yechan further along the path. 

Out of the immediate line of sight of the officer, Yechan smiles shyly before they bow. “Hello, Seonsaengnim, and welcome to Jipyeongseong! Please don’t mind the lieutenant. I think he’s extra testy because the sensory enhancement drills haven’t been going too well. I mean clearly because none of us even realized you were standing there until we were called to attention,” Yechan admits shyly. Yeosang is honestly surprised by the friendly conversation that has been offered so freely, but he also remembers how welcome any break from basic training was in his own time of service.

“Oh! I’m Lee Yechan, by the way. Second son of my family, and courting the Hosu coven!” 

The suddenness of this somewhat unnecessary introduction leaves Yeosang chuckling fondly as he walks alongside Lee Yechan. “Pleased to meet you, Yechan-ssi. I am Kang Yeosang, substitute teacher, second child and only son of my mother -”

“-And not even being courted by a coven?” 

Rather than judgment, Yechan’s voice is filled with curiosity, and Yeosang finds that he is relieved by the difference between this young man and the commanding officer back on the training grounds. “Not even being courted, although I would turn down any coven that tried, to be frank. The short of it is that my lifestyle doesn’t really suit being tied to a single group of people for - well, forever,” he explains.

Yechan clearly doesn’t mean any insult, but his eyebrows scrunch up in a show of the serious thought he is giving the matter. “Aren’t there nomadic covens, though? Or is your schedule too unpredictable for that?” 

It isn’t quite the truth, but Yeosang nods anyway and lets Yechan believe what is easiest to assume. He doubts this is the last time he’ll have to explain why he is unbonded - Assa; Outcast, as people call folks like him - on that very day, let alone during his stay in this town.

Yechan takes Yeosang past the spelled gates that rest in a small valley between foothills and through the decidedly tourist-oriented streets of the front side of town. Even mundane people can visit these parts of town, although not many do, in Yeosang’s experience. When the path starts to climb, Yeosang realizes that Jipyeongseong is situated right on the side of the mountain, and he smiles as he looks up toward the still-distant summit. They make their way to a lift which Yechan allows Yeosang to board first and then they are carried over outcroppings of rock, a residential neighbourhood, and a shopping district before they are deposited at the other end near the peak that seemed so far off before.

The school is a massive structure, one of the largest Yeosang has ever seen, and Yechan holds his hands out in a grand gesture in front of it. “Welcome to the pride of Jipyeongseong,” he grins, and when Yeosang applauds Yechan lets out a heavy sigh. “Well, I guess it’s back to training for me. I wish I could teleport, but it’s not allowed while enlisted,” he groans.

Yeosang shakes his head and offers a sympathetic smile to Yechan. “You’ll be through before you know it, trust me, Yechan-ssi. Thank you for the warm welcome. I can’t say how much I appreciate that.” After all that, they part ways with a quick bow and Yeosang ascends the steps to the school, where the doors open before him. The heavy oak closes smoothly once he has crossed the threshold, and he looks around him to take in the entry.

Just to stand in the foyer of the school in Jipyeongseong is to understand the way Yechan had presented it with such reverence. There are at least four levels from which Yeosang can see where he stands, and a great number of students that are easily identified by the uniform scholar’s robes they all wear. What strikes him as unique is that these robes are a beautiful orange in hue. He has seen blue, red, black, and white robes with various colours of embellishment before, but never has he seen orange robes for students. They bring a brightness to halls that still hold onto the ancient mustiness of their construction.

The robes are another clue to the importance of this school in the town. They are clearly made with care and Yeosang cannot imagine that the intricately patterned silk comes with anything but a hefty price tag. He suddenly feels quite underdressed in his jeans and oversized black and white fleece sweater, despite the fact that he’s met plenty of employers in outfits not so different from this one.

Someone in a soft pink scholar’s robe rounds the corner ahead, and they smile before they bow slightly to Yeosang, who responds with a deeper bow of his own. “You must be our new sub for the astral divination post,” they suggest with a smile and Yeosang responds with a short nod. “Excellent. As you know the school year starts in two days, but the students here are attending preparation meetings and some are getting situated in dormitories.” 

The sudden launch into this explanation is a bit disorienting for Yeosang, but he can only assume it is because this person has barely been able to stop their own preparations for the year in order to greet him. “Come along, Gyojang Seonsaengnim is waiting in his office, and we should take you to drop your belongings off in your quarters before you meet him - that is, we assumed you’d be staying at the school based on your reputation.”

That word puts a sour taste in Yeosang’s mouth, but the other educator stops and turns around with a bit of a frown. “I’m sorry, that didn’t come out right, did it? I only meant that we did not see any relations in town on your record and noted that you had stayed in school quarters previously where they were available. I do apologize, ah, Kang Yeosang Seonsaengnim, right?” The sigh that accompanies Yeosang’s nod doesn’t seem unfriendly so much as it is touched with the exhaustion of his journey and the amusement he feels at the whole interaction. 

“Yes, that’s me. Thank you for coming to meet me here, Seonsaengnim,” Yeosang replies with the title alone as he still hasn’t learned his new co-worker’s name. 

“Oh! Oh I’m so sorry. It's always a little chaotic around here just before the term starts, but I don't usually forget my manners. Park Seonghwa, transmutation. I'm glad to meet you, Seonsaengnim. I can't wait to hear all about your many travels, but for now we really must get you to your quarters and then to the principal," Seonghwa insists, and Yeosang finds himself grateful for the slightly less formal use of his first name rather than his full or last name. He knows a friendly gesture like that can make or break the first few weeks he spends in a new place.

The living quarters for educators are spread out around the areas where the student dorms are in the interest of keeping the peace, Seonghwa explains, but Yeosang has a special room that comes as a perk of his position. His quarters, as it happens, are located on the top floor just down the hall from the cheonmundae. The more he learns about this place, the more Yeosang begins to forget his initial trepidation. In truth, he has never worked anywhere that they seem to value his field so strongly, and many places that he has worked ignore cosmic magics all together. The very existence of a dedicated tower and the placement of his quarters nearby is like something out of a dream.

In their hurry, Yeosang barely has a chance to haphazardly deposit his belongings - with the exception of his knapsack of personal effects - before he is being rushed off to meet the principal. Along the way Seonghwa somehow tells of his coven, his own school days, the classrooms they pass, and the school history all at once. It's a weaving sort of story where one topic leads directly into another tangent which is at once directly related and completely separate from whatever Seonghwa was sharing previously.

In just under ten minutes, Yeosang has come to know that Seonghwa is in a coven with six other men, some of whom he has known since his childhood and days at this school and few others who have come to them from outside Jipyeongseong. He also learns that the school was established some seven hundred years earlier, and while it has been modernized with new technologies, it is still a very sacred place. That leads Seonghwa into sharing about the various shrines, temples, and natural sacred places that can be found around their mountain city. The summit is the most honoured of these, and it is a place that is - apparently - especially sacred to cosmomancers, but the little city hasn't seen one in a few generations.

Yeosang can't fully appreciate the fact that Seonghwa instantly recognizes him for what and who he is, of course, because that conversation leads into a chat about all the kinds of mages who are a part of his coven and how they are one of the few in the whole city that hasn't got a single repeated talent among them.

"City?" Yeosang finally manages to ask after hearing Jipyeongseong referenced as such several times, and Seonghwa nods as quickly as he has been walking before he stops suddenly in front of what appears to be just another stretch of wall and turns to face Yeosang who is teetering as he tries to stop from crashing into his guide.

Placing a gentle hand on Yeosang's shoulder to help steady him, Seonghwa smiles in a soft, warm way that makes Yeosang melt a little. "I know what it looks like from the eastern gates, I do, and the part of the city before the school does look like more of a sizable tourist town than anything. Jipyeongseong stretches all the way down the southern side of the mountain, though, and we have several small magical settlements on the outskirts that send their children to our school. This place has grown, but it has been one of the largest mage cities in Korea for decades now. Not that the people around Seoul or Busan would have you know that. Jipyeongseong is a wonderfully kept secret, and frankly I enjoy the surprise on people's faces when they learn we aren't just simple, small town folk.”

The husky chuckle that follows doesn't come from Seonghwa. At first, Yeosang thinks it's coming from the blank stretch of stone wall, but soon he sees the remaining illusion fade as another educator - this one with a deep purple robe - steps out with his eyes crinkled by his laughter. "It is always entertaining when visitors come expecting to get a taste of the simple mountain life only to find themselves in the bustle of another city. No newcomer has stirred up quite as much chatter as you, though, Kang Yesang Seonsaengnim."

The principal's eyes open as his eyebrows raise, and Yeosang bows deeply with a light blush on his cheeks. "I don't know whether to be humbled or worried to hear that, Kim Gyojang Seonsaengnim," he admits quietly when he stands up again.

Seonghwa offers another of those incredibly comforting smiles when he steps back to clear the space between Yeosang and the principal. "Humbled, to be certain. As I said, we haven't had a true cosmomancer in these parts in generations, and our city is such a special place for your craft. My manners have left me again, though. Yeosang Seonsaengnim, please meet Kim Yonghwan Gyojang Seonsaengnim. I'll be leaving you in his capable hands now. Back to checking dormitories to make sure the right residents are settling into the right beds it is for me," he finishes with a tone that is a clear mockery of excitement, and he is gone as quickly as he came around the corner twenty minutes earlier.

"Come in, Kang Seonsaengnim. We have much to discuss and I’m sure you’ll want to make the lunch service in an hour,” Yonghwan invites. Yeosang follows his new boss into the hidden hall and up a set of stairs to a large but surprisingly simple office space. He takes the seat that is offered to him and pulls out his summons paperwork before he is asked, which makes Yonghwan smile.

“You know your profile shows that you’re more than experienced with this whole process, but I don’t have many new teachers that get straight to the paperwork. Thank you, of course, for bringing this. I’ll have Siyeon-ssi process your payroll forms and you’ll get an e-mail with the access link. Yes, the whole school has wifi access, so you don’t need to worry about this being one of those dreadful old places where you can’t connect with the modern world.” It seems like this speech is one that’s been given many times, and Yeosang adjusts his bag into his lap as he makes himself more comfortable while he waits for whatever the more important information is.

“So, I’m sure Park Seonsaengnim has already told you, but it has been a generation since there has been a practicing cosmomancer in Jipyeongseong. Many of the older folks around here have mentioned what an ill-omen it’s been for the mountain to go without a practitioner on the summit, but that seems to be the way of the world these days. I did notice that you’ve never actually been able to teach in your own talent field,” Yonghwan continues, and Yeosang finds that he is impressed with how deeply the school has looked into his credentials.

Yeosang sits up with a nod and offers a little of his own side of that story. “As uncommon as we cosmomancers are, the number of magical institutions that still offer astral divination courses has become quite slim, Gyojang Seonsaengnim. Even among mages, the field has fallen victim to the reputation of that mockery that is astrology both here in the East and in the West.” 

It’s a bit of a bitter subject for Yeosang. The thing is that there are aspects of the craft that astrologers have right, but all those things are based on the work of cosmomancers who are scarcely mentioned in mundane works. What’s more is that very few mages even understand the more intimate workings of astral divination anymore, and if there are cosmomancers being born, very few of them are working in their talent field. 

This is one of the downfalls of modernization. Covens like the one Seonghwa belongs to may have mages that have a variety of talents, but many of the members of those covens end up working in office buildings or in infrastructure or using their more generalized training in less personalized careers. 

Yeosang is a perfect example, too. His training was a part of every waking moment of his youth because his mother is also a cosmomancer. Even though he has always dreamed of finding a position where he can work with the magic that is a piece of his very soul, he has been stuck becoming a jack of all trades as a substitute for the past eight years. 

“You’re too right,” Yonghwan’s deep, rich voice calls Yeosang out of his own mind with an agreement. “Maybe this place is just special because of the long history and the sacred connection to your craft. Either way, there is not only want but need for your skills here, and not only for the sake of the school. I know it's just the first day, Kang Seonsaengnim, but I would be remiss not to tell you that, should all go well, there may be a permanent position available. I’d very much like for you to keep that in mind. And please don’t hesitate to ask any questions you might have along the way. I think that you’ll find I keep an excellent team of educators on the register here, and I hope you will prove to live up to the reputation that precedes you.”

The gravity of that offer sinks right into the core of Yeosang’s being, and he nods in understanding of it all. He can hardly process the schedule Yonghwan goes over with him or the offer to get a proper tour of the cheonmundae because all he can think is that this is why his reading from the moon divination ritual was so open-ended. There is too much about this situation that relies on personal choice, and Yeosang has never been very good at making decisions for himself.

“Thank you, Gyojang Seonsaengnim, but I think I’d like to explore it on my own the first time,” Yeosang manages to respond after a moment. “Is there anything else I should be aware of?”

Standing from his desk, Yonghwan shakes his head. “Not really. Please know that your street clothes are fine today and generally during any non-working hours, but at any time that you are directly responsible for students you’ll be expected to be in your robes. There are six sets in your quarters which were ordered according to the measurements you provided. As with everything else, just -”

“-Just ask if they don’t fit properly, of course, Gyojang Seonsaengnim. I will be sure to do that.”

With a low hum, Yonghwan frowns slightly. “I don’t much care for interruptions, even when they come from a place of distraction. Please keep that in mind. That is all for now, though, and lunch will be served in seven minutes. It will likely take you most of that time to get down to the dining hall and find your seat at the staff table. I’ll speak with you soon.”

Yeosang’s head is filled with thousands of possible opportunities now that some of the dots have been connected from his first annual moon divination ritual, but even those swirling multitudes cannot keep him from falling asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow after lunch. He sleeps right through dinner but finds a tray has been teleported to his still-empty desk once he sits up in his bed.

Food comes before anything else, but once his belly is full again, Yeosang wills himself to dig out his personal essentials and find his way to the ensuite. The shower turns warm quickly and Yeosang wastes no time in washing away the debris of his day of travel with his charcoal soap and his new rosemary scented shampoo. When he towels off he pulls his shoulder-length, white-blond hair into a ponytail and slips into his own set of special robes - ones embroidered with hundreds of tiny silver stars. 

Feeling dressed for the part, Yeosang takes not his wand, but the staff he carved with his mother when he turned sixteen and heads off to the cheonmundae.

In 28 years, Yeosang has only ever seen two of these in good repair. One is the famed tower in Gyeongju, and the other is at the summit of Taebaeksan and maintained by the mages of the small town further down the mountain. There are things about Jipyeongseong that remind Yeosang of that little town, although he already prefers the warmer climate this place seems to boast.

The door of the tower opens easily, and when Yeosang steps inside he can see that the tower reaches high up  beyond the rest of the structure of the school. In the early days, these towers were much smaller, but this structure would easily compete with the modern telescopes that mundane scientists have built around the world. Unlike those scientists, Yeosang does not need a massive telescope to measure the stars precisely.

That night, Yeosang satisfies his need for connection with the cosmos with the most simple ritual. He climbs up to the very top of the tower with a little help from a haste and stamina charm and finds the altar without any trouble. The soft white sand that fills the centre of the space responds beautifully to his staff, and soon he has etched a basic circle dotted by stars which begins to shine with the power he has imbued into it as soon as the last detail is complete.

The starsong is a familiar chant, and with each phrase that same twinkling glow in the etching begins to radiate from Yeosang’s body, as well, until he seems wrapped in a starlight all his own that reaches out to the cosmos themselves.

Through this ritual, Yeosang accesses the enhanced sight with which he was born, a sight that allows him to map the precise location of the stars, the moon, and all the cosmos within a certain distance, and beyond that to hear the melodies that predate human languages and tell of one’s fortunes.

These rituals can be performed by any mage, and as the practice of astrology has always shown, even humans without magic have some ability to read the position of the stars and their meanings. Only cosmomancers have the true sight, though, and only they can interpret those haunting songs.

Tonight the stars tell Yeosang almost exactly what he expects them to. It has only been five days since he performed the rites of the first moon divination of the year on the first full moon surrounded by a group of students and their families, and the thing about the cosmos is that they truly work in tandem.

Even though the message is familiar, Yeosang finds joy and comfort in receiving and singing out the song of the stars. He has arrived, they say, the future is always in motion, they remind him. There is still a lack of certainty around how long he will stay in Jipyeongseong, and even when he should next consult the cosmos on the matter of his place in the world. There is a new note in the song though, and it ultimately leaves Yeosang in a state of nervous excitement. Stay the course, the change in the melody tells him. 

When he descends the tower, Yeosang knows that he will continue to do what he has always done - he will follow the path set before him by the power of the cosmos, wherever it may take him, and he will remain his own, free soul in the world.

Three Months Later

Life in Jipyeongseong is honestly more delightful than Yeosang could ever have imagined. He loves the breadth of the city and its hidden nature despite that it is not intentionally kept a secret from anyone, mage or mundane. He’s made a decent friend of Seonghwa and developed a respectful relationship with Yonghwan, and he generally gets along with most of the other instructors that he has actually talked to beyond their first introduction. The school is big and busy enough that he doesn’t cross paths with everyone, but he’s shared drinks and stories with Kyungsoo and Jongin on a fair number of nights when he hasn’t been working or practicing for personal enjoyment.

Truly, there is almost nothing that Yeosang could want to change about this placement. He is so well-suited to the position that the full-time post has recently been offered to him and even the peers he isn’t so familiar with are practically begging him to stay on.

Still, there’s only almost nothing Yeosang could want to change about this. The exception comes in the form of a twelve-year-old boy named Jeong Intak.

On the very first day of class, Intak walked in twenty minutes late to a one hour lesson. When he was asked to stay after, he bolted out the door before Yeosang could catch him. Over the next week he showed up on time just once, charmed Yeosang’s shoes to squeak with every step he took, and set the entire back row of seats on fire.

Not all of Intak’s pranks are so extravagant. Yeosang has figured out that he was clearly reaching for attention at the beginning - or in point of fact he has always known, because the outlandish behaviour was entirely too familiar. Still, Intak loves a good prank. Outside of Yeosang’s classroom the kid has released a pack of mountain rock mice (which ate a hole right through one of the exterior walls of the school), set off a potent stink potion in the dining hall, and actually transmuted the portraits of principals-past to feature various additions of facial hair which appear to be drawn in heavy black ink.

Given that he struggles to keep students interested during the less exciting lecture portions of his class as it is, Yeosang finds that he cannot handle Intak’s antics. Sure, he set off his share of stink potions in his youth, but he would never have dreamed of, “desecrating the 300 year old orrery! Venus has breasts , Seonghwa-ssi! How did he give a planet breasts!?”

Despite Yeosang’s exasperation, Seonghwa only laughs as he casts another reversal on one of the transmuted portraits. “It sounds to me like you’re impressed, Yeosang. And really you should be - Intak is about as innovative as they come.” Clearly, he is missing the gravity of the situation, and as much can be heard in snort he emits when he looks at the next portrait. “You know, I’m tempted to leave this one….”

Yeosang shakes his head, but he also has to keep himself from looking for too long lest he fall into laughter as well. “At least he’s not a bully,” he sighs, and Seonghwa actually frowns at that and turns to face Yeosang once he finishes the reversal he’s working on.

“Far from it, in fact. Yeosang - you know - ah…. There are many things I could tell you but I think it’s fair that I start with this. Intak is the son of one of my coven-mates. His life is complicated - not that the lives of pre-teens aren’t all complicated, what with hormones and teen angst. Just - please try and see some of the good in him? I know I’m biased in this situation, but I don’t believe I would defend him if he truly had no redeeming qualities.

Again Yeosang sighs and thumps his head back against the wall lightly. “You are biased, but you’re also right. I’ve seen more than one good deed come from his hands - he helped some visiting under tens practice their incantations last week, he is always the first to offer Yoo Minah Seonsaengnim his hand in support when she’s coming down the stairs, and he even makes sure to check the bird feed every day. I think all of these tender moments only make the difficult ones more frustrating, though. Why is it that he can be such a kind and lovely person everywhere but in my class? Well -”

“Not everywhere,” Seonghwa chuckles as he taps his wand on another portrait. “I know it’s frustrating, but I believe he’ll come around, Yeosang-ah. Maybe if you would come to dinner with the coven like I’ve asked he’d have a chance to see who you are outside of class, too - he’d learn more of why you deserve his respect.”

Yeosang shakes his head at that, just as he has every time Seonghwa has offered. “I’ll say again that I appreciate the offer, I’m just not ready to meet your whole coven, especially all in the same place at the same time. You’re not as clever as you think you are, and I see you trying to woo another unique talent into your fold.” The words are half a tease, but Yeosang certainly feels some truth in them. There’s something in the way that Seonghwa’s voice softens and the informality he takes with Yeosang that sings of coven courtship. Meeting the others would only give Seonghwa a means and a reason to push harder, and Yeosang told himself many years ago that he would never make the mistake of completely entrusting his life and his well being to anyone but himself, his mother, and his sister.

The beginning of the fourth month of the term puts almost everyone at the school on edge. Yeosang rarely sees any of his friends around, not even Seonghwa, who is usually almost impossible to miss when Yeosang wants to see him least.

On the third day of the month, Yeosang finds a pair of old, smelly, runners tied with a lovely blue ribbon on his desk with a note in shockingly great penmanship. “A gift for you, Kang Ssaem,” the note reads, and Yeosang’s lip twitches with his fury at all of it. The informality of the address, the insult of the disgusting gift, and of course the terrible omen of being given shoes. Yeosang may not be a bride, but he has spent enough of his life running from one place to another to feel the weight of what the “gift,” means. Intak wants to be rid of his newest teacher, and despite the many other benefits of his current position, Yeosang is starting to think he might take the hint. There’s another full moon on the eighth, and if he can just hold out a little longer he can consult with the cosmos at their fullest power for a definitive answer.

In the meantime, Yeosang offers a strained smile to the class. “Well, where shall we begin today?” With a flick of his wand, Yeosang pulls up the projector and casts an image that was posted by a mundane scientist of the Bukduchilseong that morning onto the wall. “Now, who can tell me which constellation this is?”

A number of hands shoot up, just as they should, but it’s no surprise that Intak is slouching further into his desk and staring at something in his hands. Another student is called on for the answer and Yeosang looks around the room. “Good, good. Now, can anyone tell me which star is out of alignment?” It doesn’t take any magical skill to see which of the stars is just a bit north of where it ought to be, just a discerning eye that has practiced the way his students are supposed to. There are fewer hands this time, but those not jumping for the chance to answer are intently studying the chart - all of them except for Intak. 

Again the question is answered, although the child is off by a few degrees in how far the star is out of place. It is satisfactory for the level of their work, but Intak’s indifference is not, and Yeosang knows better than to simply call him out at random. 

“Alright, good work on that, we’ll continue practicing. Now. Who can tell me what this northern misalignment of the south-western star in Bukduchilseong means in the context of a yellow waxing moon?”

The class is silent at first, and then murmurs break out among students trying to find the answer. Again, all of them are engaged, checking their notes and readings, but none of them seem to be finding anything, and Yeosang knows it is because there is only one right answer and one way to the same, because Intak is still busy looking at whatever is in his hands and not his book, Yeosang clears his throat and catches the attention of the entire class.

“Jeong Intak. Since you clearly know the answers well enough to be… ah, I see, on your phone,” Yeosang hums as he holds out a hand. Intak glares at him, but Yeosang has been through much worse than dirty looks in this life, so he pushes his hand forward and stares right back until he feels the phone in his hand.

The only thing is that Intak doesn’t let go of the phone. Snarling, he practically growls up at Yeosang. “The northern position of the south-western star in the Northern Dipper is a sign of precarious situations. The star is not truly shifted, but the mage’s alignment with it is unsteady and such a reading means that the mage who performs it or the person the reading is performed for should try to stick to their routines as much as possible in the three days that follow the observation.” 

Every head in the class has turned to Intak, and the faces of the other students are a mix of open-mouthed shock and brow-furrowing confusion. Yeosang himself is struggling to keep his face neutral, but it isn’t because he’s confused by the answer.

Well, he is confused by it - but not because it’s nonsensical or too complex. Yeosang is baffled because Intak’s answer is spot on, and it’s also not anything that’s covered in the textbook or that he’s gone over in lectures. The details are the kind that are either a master cosmomancer teaches their apprentice - as his mother had taught him - or that one with the gift intuits from the song of the stars themselves. There is really only one plausible answer and the possibility is rocking Yeosang’s world.

“Detention,” Yeosang snaps, and his students gasp while Intak reels back and scoffs in reply. “Yes, detention, tonight. At the cheonmundae at eight.”

“For what!?” Intak is clearly infuriated by the discipline, and he pushes his chair back and stands up, doing his best to make himself look big next to Yeosang. To be fair, the kid is tall, but he’s not as tall as any grown adult just yet, and Yeosang was all too familiar with the way Intak was posturing.

Instead of responding with his own aggressive stance, Yeosang simply crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back a bit. “Insubordination. Seems like you’re pushing to make it detention all week instead of one night. Your choice, Intak-gun.”

Yeosang makes his way to the tower at seven-thirty to prepare the space. He’s still not sure what to think about Intak’s apparent cosmic intuition, but he doesn’t think that Intak is aware of any gifts he might possess. Seonghwa did say it had been a generation since a cosmomancer had lived in Jipyeongseong, but there had to have been indicators if Intak has a gift of sight.

Surprisingly, Intak is not only on time but early, and Yeosang is surprised until he sees Seonghwa holding the door. He nods to his friend, who sighs before he closes the door and leaves Intak and Yeosang to their business.

“I still don’t think I should be here. I got the answer right, didn’t I?” It’s the thing Yeosang hasn’t addressed, and it’s also the reason Intak is really there, so it’s probably about time. “Well? You called me out because you thought I wasn’t paying attention and I got the answer right, so why did uncle Hwa bring me down here himself?”

The familiar name makes Yeosang’s heart clench, and he can’t quite make sense of why. “You’re here because you weren’t paying attention, and don’t argue with me,” Yeosang scolds just as Intak opens his mouth to complain. “Do you even know exactly what I asked?”

Rolling his eyes, Intak slumps into a chair and glares across at Yeosang. “I don’t know, something about the Bukduchilseong? But why did you even say anything about the moon?  It doesn’t have any impact, does it?”

Yeosang sighs and reaches for his staff before crossing the room to the mechanism that opens the top of the tower. “It doesn’t have any impact at all. The thing is, I haven’t brought that up in lecture, and it isn’t in the text. Do you know where you pulled it from?”

Although Yeosang’s tone has shifted, becoming more calm and open, Intak still has his hackles up. “Does it matter? Look I just know? It was like. Like a record in my mind, playing the words, telling me when I looked at the image you had up on the screen. What, you think I secretly study ancient tomes for kicks or something? The only reason I’ve been to the library since I came here was to help Uncle Hwa gather some books for his class.”

Intak’s eyes shift slightly, and Yeosang doesn’t understand what it is that has him so uncertain until the smirk plays on his lips. “I mean, and to put a bird’s flight charm on some of the big encyclopedic tomes. You should have seen the way Chungha and Yerin ran when they tried to open it up to do some research.”

Yeosang legitimately has to fake a cough to hide his smile at the tale, because honestly he can appreciate the skill involved in a charm like that and perhaps in the idea behind the prank. He seems to recall that those two girls have a way of lording themselves over the other students with their good looks and intelligence. Perhaps it isn’t so bad to see them taken down a notch or two.

“You may not know how the answer came to you, Intak-gun, but I think I do. When I came here, Seonghwa Seonsaengnim told me that there hadn’t been a cosmomancer living in Jipyeongseong in a generation, but I think that he and everyone else have clearly missed the signs. That ‘record’ you heard, I think it was star song. I would like to start working with you to teach you about the craft, but not the way I teach the other students. Any mage can perform astral divination, but the art of cosmomancy is something special that only those born with the talent can practice. So, tonight it’s detention, but if it goes well I would be happy to continue working with you after the moonrise at least a few times a week.”

The lesson does go well. They don’t perform any rituals, no, because that takes time and practice and Intak has so much to learn. Yeosang had been practicing with his mother for six years by the time he was Intak’s age, and frankly he feels that Intak’s time has been wasted sitting around this city waiting for something that called to him to come along. It’s no wonder the kid has found so much trouble, he thinks. He’s bored, and boredom is almost as much a recipe for disaster as loneliness. 

For the rest of that week and twice in the one that follows, Intak shows up nightly for a lesson with Yeosang. They’ve covered the basics of what separates cosmomancy from astral divination, what the tools of the craft are, and what sorts of practices mages with their skill can partake in. By their fifth meeting, Yeosang begins teaching Intak his first chant in hopes that he might be able to partake in a ritual on the upcoming full moon. He’s filled with excitement at the prospect of being able to walk Intak through such an important moment and to see what a child born in this sacred place might be capable of even at the beginning of their journey.

On the third day of the week, though, Intak tells Yeosang that he won’t be able to make it for their lesson that night. Although he’s a little disappointed, Yeosang knows that twelve-year-olds have better things to do than sit in ancient towers and chant all night, so he writes it off and makes plans to call his mother and sister and see how they are each doing.

At around ten o’clock, just after he hangs up with his sister, Yeosang hears a clang from outside his room. Concerned by the disruption in his typically-quiet hall, he slides his feet into slippers and goes to check it out. Just as he’s opening the door, Yeosang both hears and feels what’s happening. It isn’t just wood splintering - he can hear the echo of cosmic song pouring out of the staff, song that he chanted into the wood, inscribed painstakingly with his mother so many years ago, and he can feel the ache of loss.

The emotion is so intense that Yeosang feels a physical jolt of pain in his body, and he can barely continue to push the door open. Anger floods him quickly after the initial shock, and that fuels him with the energy to go out and find the ones who have damaged something so sacred to him. 

As much as he hates to admit it after their recent time together, Yeosang knows there is only one person who can be responsible for this. There is only one person who knows that he isn’t in the cheonmundae as he had planned to be, and one person who knows what would hurt him most.

Yeosang feels his heart sink as he follows that train of thought, but it makes him that much more determined to catch the vandals in the act. Pushing the door open, he steps into the hall only to hear footsteps running and someone yelling. “Guys come on! That was really messed up, come back!” The voice is achingly familiar.

There’s a moment where Intak stops and looks back as he hears Yeosang step out into the hall. They stare at each other, well aware of who is responsible for this incident. Yeosang doesn’t bother to give chase, he just shakes his head while Intak turns and takes off down the hall after the other students whose faces Yeosang didn’t catch. As the betrayal sinks in, Yeosang starts to question the plans he had started making over the weekend.

Everything is so much worse after Yeosang finds his staff. It isn’t just cracked or carved into - it has been broken completely, almost in half, spilling all the dreams, songs, and prophecies Yeosang has created and explored with it over twelve years. He knows that there will be no repairing this, and he will have to begin the painstaking process of creating a new one as soon as possible. What he doesn’t admit to anyone when he expresses his frustration at the amount of work involved is that his deepest sorrow is having to go through the process alone. 

By the time his first class is done the next morning, Yeosang feels set in his path. He will, as always, consult the stars that night, but there’s no harm in preparing for the inevitable even before he confirms his choices with the cosmos. In the moments between classes, Yeosang begins to type a letter politely rejecting the full time position and requesting a replacement as soon as one can be found. For all of the wonderful things that have come from his time in Jipyeongseong, he knows that he will never be able to be in this space without mourning the memories he lost due to the carelessness - no, the direct and clearly intended emotional harm caused by Jeong Intak.

Despite his efforts to sequester himself away after the first meal of the day, Yeosang finds himself face to face with a very distraught Seonghwa around two o’clock in the afternoon. “What do you need, Park Seonsaengnim? I have things that need to be taken care of as soon as possible and more classes this afternoon.” He is stunned at the sheer force of will it takes not to react to the look of hurt in Seonghwa’s face.

“Things like writing your resignation letter? One of the students came to me privately about it, Yeosang.” Seonghwa’s expression falls further when Yeosang crosses his arms over his chest and stares back at him expectantly. “So that’s the way it is? My nephew makes a mistake - a big mistake, I know - and you just shut me out? Is this why you’ve really built such a resume for yourself, Kang Seonsaengnim ?” The formal address comes out with a bitterness that riles Yeosang up a bit. This is more familiar - he can respond to irritation much more easily than he can to sadness.

Huffing, Yeosang shakes his head. “A big mistake? Do you know what he did? I don’t think you understand, Park Seonsaengnim. Please wait here for a moment.” He doesn’t wait for any confirmation before he dips into his classroom and brings out the lock box in which he has stored the splintered remains of his staff. When he opens it, Seonghwa gasps, and Yeosang is surprised to find a deeper sadness reading through in his aura.

“I didn’t know it was completely broken. Y- Kang Seonsaengnim, I’m so sorry. Look I know you’re upset and you have every right to be, but you should know that he turned himself over to Gyojang Seonsaengnim this morning. He took full responsibility for breaking into the cheonmundae. I came here because I know Kim Gyojang Seonsaengnim is going to ask you to come and help determine the appropriate discipline, and I didn’t want you to walk in there with your letter of resignation before you had all the information.”

“What more information could I possibly need? And not that it’s any of your concern, but I don’t plan to submit any kind of anything until at least tomorrow. There are… certain matters that I’ll need to attend to first.” 

This feels a little too close for comfort to Yeosang. Although everyone he’s ever met has seen him engage in frequent rituals and divining sessions, he has never told any of them how much he depends on the songs of the cosmos to guide him in life. Only his mother and sister understand that Yeosang never does anything at all in life without first consulting the cosmos. So why is it that he feels so compelled to tell Seonghwa exactly how he goes about his life?

“Listen, if you want to be helpful, maybe you can let Gyojang Seonsaengnim know that I would prefer to have that meeting tomorrow. You do seem to be awfully close with him, Park Seonsaengnim.” Yeosang tries to keep some of the accusation out of his voice, but he can’t hold it back entirely. It’s something he’s noticed since the beginning. While they clearly don’t belong to the same coven, there is some kind of tie between Seonghwa and Yonghwan beyond their professional relationship.

Nodding, Seonghwa lets out a long, breathy sigh before he looks up to Yeosang again. “I won’t ask about what it is that you need to do, but I will ask you to really think before you decide to leave. I just… Of course I’d like to see you give Intak another chance, but I also feel - I really enjoy having you around, Yeosang Seonsaengnim. So I ask you to please consider the things that have perhaps been forgotten in your anger. That’s all.”

Seonghwa doesn’t even say goodbye or wish Yeosang a good afternoon before he turns and goes back toward the classroom core two floors below. 

Intak isn’t in class later that day, and Yeosang finds himself grateful for not having to face his disappointment, hurt, and anger. He hears students whispering throughout the day, of course, so at least something about the break in has gotten out around the school. He can only hope that things will stay quiet for long enough that he can consult the stars that night in peace.

The stars do not offer the comfort that Yeosang hopes for, though. Without his staff, he has to rely on his wand and incantations to enhance his eyesight, and he tells himself this is why the reading comes back the way it does. Just as the moon divination he performed on the first full moon of the year, the song of the cosmos tells him to stay the course. What’s more is that there’s an indication that something he has been waiting for is about to arrive, and Yeosang cannot imagine what in the world that might be. Two months ago, he thought the job offer was the answer to some of the open-ended nature of his readings, but this one would suggest that it was just an added perk - something, perhaps, the cosmos did not see for him specifically.

No, Yeosang is certain that something must be wrong because he is not as attuned with using his wand for true divination as he is with his staff, so he tells himself that he will just have to spend extra time in meditation, study, and practice before the coming full moon. 

All the same, Yeosang cannot bring himself to act in opposition to his reading, so he saves his resignation letter and doesn’t open it again. His meeting with Intak and Yonghwan is scheduled for five o’clock, and he tries to think about what exactly he should suggest for the situation. In truth, Yeosang doesn’t think he wants to see the kid every day as some form of reparation, but he knows that something of the sort will be expected by his superiors. Perhaps, he thinks, he can make sure Intak is assigned to the school patrol so that he no longer has free evenings and has to start cleaning up after the kinds of messes he’s so fond of making.  

None of the possibilities seem severe enough to make up for the loss Intak has caused in Yeosang’s life, so his mind swirls with them all for hours - to such an extent that he assigns his students to practical work during their lecture period and leaves them to it, saying he will review their work the next day.

When Yeosang heads out of his classroom to go to the dining hall, he runs nearly head first into someone. They’re tall, pretty solid, and although Yeosang has never met them before, there is something strangely familiar about their aura and even their face. 

“Uh, sorry,” they stammer and when Yeosang looks a little closer he finally figures out who it is. 

The nose is a little different, but Yeosang knows those high cheekbones, the prominent lower eyelid, and the thin upper lip the man sports. What’s more is that, the longer they stand there, looking at one another, the clearer the parts of the man’s aura that are tied to Seonghwa and Intak become. Unfortunately, Yeosang cannot remember the name he’s heard on numerous occasions for the life of him.

“Or maybe not - I mean - I am sorry, Kang Seonsaengnim,” the man bows politely, and Yeosang is pretty much incapable of not returning the gesture. “I just mean that I came here looking for you, and here you are, so. Jeong Yunho - I’m Intak’s father.” 

The way Yunho practically trips over himself to half apologize and half explain himself is kind of adorable. Yeosang wonders how a man that exudes so much overgrown puppy energy in the first thirty seconds after he’s met someone could raise a troublemaker like Intak. Then again, he can also recall a handful of times when Intak has pulled those big, soft eyes on the people around him, so perhaps, he thinks, the puppy act is just a good facade that has passed from one generation to the next.

“I see,” Yeosang replies. He should really say he is glad to meet this man, but the fact of the matter is that he’s not. All Yeosang really wants is to start distancing himself from this place and all of the people tied to it, and meeting a member of Seonghwa’s coven - Intak’s own father, at that - isn’t going to help matters. “Well, Jeong Yunho-ssi, I’m just on my way to get lunch, so you can -”

“May I offer to take you to lunch off campus?” 

The question catches Yeosang completely off guard. Although he has had his last class for the day, only a few people would know that. Granted, Yunho is closely connected with at least one of those people. “I’m not sure if that’s a great plan. I have a meeting in -”

“-In the afternoon with my son and the principal, yes, I know,” Yunho nods, and it’s only then that Yeosang notices he’s wringing his hands together. “Look, I know you don’t know me at all, but it would mean so much if you would take the time to speak with me, Seonsaengnim. Intak has found himself in plenty of trouble, especially over the past couple of years, but this whole - it’s not like him, I swear. I just want an opportunity to talk with you. It’s something I should have done months ago, and I’m sorry it took me so long to get here.”

There’s a sincerity in those big brown eyes that Yeosang cannot ignore. He is determined not to make new connections, but he can’t bring himself to turn Yunho away when he looks at him that way - as if all the most important things in the world depend on Yeosang’s willingness to have this little lunch meeting. 

Heaving a sigh of resignation, Yeosang nods. “Sure, okay, I can do lunch.”

Perhaps without knowing, Yunho gains points in his favour as soon as they arrive at the restaurant. At least, Yeosang doesn’t think he’s ever told Seonghwa how much he loves fried chicken, and they don’t have it often enough at school meals for him to have revealed his great weakness. 

Yunho gulps down half of his first beer in about five seconds, and when he half slams it on the table with a gasp, Yeosang realizes that he’s been staring. He does his best to hide it behind a smaller drink of his own, but it doesn’t seem like Yunho has noticed at all.

“So, Seonsaengnim, hyung says that Intak has been riling you up since the first day of school,” Yunho states in a loud, frank voice. “I know, I know!” He holds his hands up “I know he’s been a right pain in the ass, and I know that what happened the other night is frankly an unforgivable sort of sin, and I hate to tell you, but up until recently you weren’t exactly special.” 

At no point in time has Yeosang ever considered himself to be special. Well, that’s not entirely true. He is exceptional - he’s a cosmomancer, and he’s the only mage that he knows of who actively chooses not to join a coven, but he does not think that he’s an especially remarkable teacher. It’s just one of the only jobs that allows him to practice his craft easily and in peace. “Pardon? Yunho-ssi, I don’t believe I ever claimed to be special in any way.”

For some reason, that makes Yunho laugh, and it’s a throaty, shoulder-shaking sound that makes his nose crinkle. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean it like that, Seonsaengnim. I only mean that Intak has sort of a track record when it comes to new adults - especially authority figures - in his life. I can take some responsibility for that, at least. I love a good joke and pranking the people we love is something Intak and I do together. The thing is that I know he takes it to a different level at school, and it’s been getting worse lately.”

The more Yunho talks, the more worried he seems to get. Yeosang wonders if the laughter, the big smiles, and the seemingly carefree attitude are just fronts to keep him from becoming over-emotional. “I’ll say,” is the only response he gives before taking another drink, though.

Yunho sighs, but before he can explain any further the food arrives. Yeosang immediately dives into the meal, and it makes Yunho pause for a moment, so Yeosang covers his mouth enough to not be entirely rude and says, “you can keep talking, but I’m gonna eat while it’s hot.”

That makes Yunho laugh again, but this one seems more genuine, and the smile stays on his face for a moment while Yeosang practically inhales that first piece of chicken. 

“Right,” Yunho nods. “See - Seonsaengnim, I try, I really do. My coven, they’re a great help when it comes to Intak. I was just a kid when he was born, and his mother, after a few years, decided she didn’t really want to be a mother. She’s still in the picture, just kind of from a distance, but all of the responsibility falls on me, you know? And I think - I guess what I’m trying to say is that at some point Intakie went from mostly harmless pranks to doing things like setting a row of desks on fire. Yeah, I heard about that right away. I really am sorry for not coming to you then.”

Yeosang decides that this is clearly a time to listen, rather than to speak. Besides which there is a whole plate of delicious chicken in front of him, so there’s no reason for him to jump in with what he can admit, even in this circumstance, might be a hasty opinion.

Sighing, Yunho takes a moment to start in on his own meal, and the silence that stretches between them isn’t as uncomfortable as Yeosang might have thought it would be. 

With his mouth still half-full, Yunho starts to speak again. “I think what I actually mean is that,” he pauses to swallow his bite, “you weren’t special at first.” Yeosang is a little puzzled by that, but he gives Yunho the chance to take a drink before he continues. “Something about you must have struck a chord with him, though, because the shoes - that was really something else. I don’t know, Seonsaengnim. Honestly aside from the coven, Intak has had a lot of adults in his life come and go without much thought for him, and I think maybe he didn’t know how to deal with you being a consistent presence and has actual expectations for him.”

Guilt wraps around Yeosang’s heart like a vice, and suddenly the chicken is much too dry and the beer isn’t doing anything to ease the discomfort. It must show on his face, because Yunho reaches out and lightly touches his forearm. “You okay, Seonsaengnim?” The look of concern on his face does not make any of this easier.

How can Yeosang possibly tell Yunho what it is that has him so conflicted suddenly? At the same time, how can he lie when there’s been nothing but raw honesty shared at this table?

“Fine, I’m fine,” Yeosang says simply as he pulls his arm back into his lap in a pitiful attempt to protect himself from any further vulnerability. “I guess I just thought about that day and really saw how unfair I’ve been to Intak-gun. I mean, in part, at least.”

Yunho nods, but now he’s the one that busies himself with eating to give Yeosang a chance to talk. Since this is Intak’s parent, Yeosang knows he has to be careful with his words, and it’s not like that’s terribly difficult for him. “You know I didn’t really get any context around Intak, not even from Seonghwa Seonsaengnim, when he started acting out in my classes. All I knew was that he seemed determined to make things difficult and that there were incidents outside my own classroom that were similar. Then, as I settled in a little more, I started to see some of the really wonderful things your son has done.”

That comment makes Yunho smile, and Yeosang deliberately ignores the part of his brain that tries to fixate on how cute the image of Yunho’s stuffed cheeks turning upward is. “The thing is that seeing his better moments made the difficult ones that much more frustrating. And I - I have my own share of difficulties. I don’t know you well enough to share my life story, but suffice to say, I don’t take well to being told or asked to leave in any form. So that little prank gift sat differently with me than it might have with some other educators.”

“Right,” Yunho nods, and he sits back after he drains the last of his beer. “He told me you picked on him during class, but I also know he has a bad habit of not paying attention, so I don’t really have any hard feelings about it, Seonsaengnim.”

For some reason, Yeosang feels relieved to know how understanding and open minded Yunho seems to be about all of this. Of course, he does believe any good parent should be aware of their childrens’ strengths and faults in equal parts, but maybe it’s the deeply personal nature of the situation with Intak that makes him worry more.

“Yunho-ssi, did Intak-gun or Seonghwa Seonsaengnim tell you about what happened in class at all?” Something about all of this has left Yeosang feeling like no one has the full picture. It’s clear that Yunho knows about the staff, but Yeosang realizes that he never even told Seonghwa more than that Intak was doing some training with him in the evenings. Do any of them know what he discovered about Intak? Do any of them know why the betrayal hurts so much?

The slow shake of Yunho’s head and the look of uncertainty that crosses his face confirms it for Yeosang. “Ah. I didn’t think about that, you know - that he wouldn’t have told you all.” He wonders if it’s shame, fear, worry, or something else that has kept Intak from sharing the discovery.

Yeosang brings his hands back onto the table, folds his fingers together, and hangs his head before he takes a breath to ease himself into sharing this story without the irritation that had surrounded the day. 

“You may not know, but this is the first time I have actually been able to teach in my own field. It’s a great opportunity, but the text that was suggested isn’t very thorough, and there are some things that are difficult to reconcile - things that are innate to a cosmomancer that cannot be practiced by other mages. I tried to narrow in on Intak-gun with more general questions, but he had his head buried in his phone, so I decided to get particular and I asked about something that none of the students should have known. I asked Intak directly, and Yunho-ssi, he answered perfectly. I gave him detention, but it was really because I knew I needed to talk to him more and find out how he had come to that specific response. To sum up, I believe your son has the gift of cosmomancy.”

For a moment, Yeosang thinks that the look of shock on Yunho’s face might actually be stuck there. Then he starts to panic, starts to worry that this is the kind of news that Yunho doesn’t want to hear. Given the history of Jipyeongseong and the way Seonghwa has always treated him so well, Yeosang assumed that Yunho would be pleasantly surprised or at least welcoming of the idea of having a cosmomancer in the family, but there have been enough people who have turned him out in life that he really does feel concerned for Intak.

“My kid? My Intakie? My boy is - he’s a cosmomancer? That’s….” Yunho’s voice trails off, and with each word he says Yeosang feels a little bit of relief seep into him. This isn’t rejection, it’s awe. “No wonder he’s had such a hard time with some of the more foundational bits of magic,” he ponders out loud, his eyes clouded with memories no doubt of Intak’s younger years.

The concept tracks for Yeosang, who also had difficulty with material craft of any sort until he practiced it faithfully. It is said that cosmosmancers are ever shifting, just as the heavenly bodies that they commune with. It makes working with physical magic like teleportation, transmutation, and even elemental work more difficult to master. He finds that he’s able to see a different explanation for the severity of the fire, then. It wasn’t that Intak meant to set the whole back row alight. He was probably just trying to immolate his homework or something and it got out of hand.

After taking the time he needs to process, Yunho’s face turns serious and Yeosang thinks he sees some sadness there, too. “So he was starting to train with you, wasn’t he? And then… I think I understand Seonsaengnim. It felt more personal, didn’t it? Like the shoes. It isn’t just because the staff is important -”

Yeosang nods and inhales deeply. “Yes. It’s that he knew how important the staff is to me, and I thought just maybe that we were starting to connect in a way he needed - and so did I, honestly.”

The clock on the wall chimes, and Yeosang realizes that he really does need to get back to the school so he can make it to the meeting on time. “Will you be coming to the meeting this afternoon, Yunho-ssi?” 

“I was planning on it, yes,” Yunho nods. “I just wanted to meet you outside of that office, first. I’m glad that I did,” he explains, and it comes with a bright, warm smile. Yeosang can’t help but think that Yunho is the sort of person that was made for happiness and smiling. 

“Then let’s talk on the way back to the school. I think we will both be well-served by coming to Intak-gun and Gyojang Seonsaengnim with a plan in mind. If you’re agreeable, I think I may have an idea.”

Yeosang still isn’t sure that he wants to stay In Jipyeongseong, but in that moment he thinks about the message he read the night before and sees one possible interpretation. The thing he’s been waiting for may still be Intak - an apprentice. Maybe if he trains Intak and they work together to create a new staff he will be able to move onto the next place the cosmos takes him.

In the end, the adults decide for Intak that he will continue his training with Yeosang nightly, and that he will not only help Yeosang to gather materials and craft a new staff for himself, but that he will work to create one of his own. The staff is meant to be a right of passage, but knowing that their time is limited, Yeosang thinks that it’s suitable. He hopes that the process will help Intak to build his sense of responsibility, too.

Even with the meetings, things are a bit tense with Intak in the first few lessons. Yeosang tries - to an extent - to pretend that nothing has happened and they are simply a cosmomancer and his apprentice. He repeats some of the basics for Intak and brings out some of the old books he’s learned from to talk about some of the tools of their craft, especially since they have decided on a specific task.

Despite his best efforts, that approach doesn’t seem to help things much. On their fourth night of renewed lessons, Intak comes into the cheonmundae and lets his bag slide to the ground, but he doesn’t move toward his seat. Yeosang is curious, but he doesn’t want to pry, so instead he pulls himself up to sit on the work counter behind him and leans forward a bit to show that he’s ready to listen.

“Seongsaengnim, why did you agree to start teaching me again? I know I’m supposed to help you make a new staff, but do I really deserve to learn all this when I…” Intak frowns and looks away from Yeosang, and he worries his bottom lip with his teeth.

Sighing, Yeosang tilts his head up to the sky. Sometimes it’s easier to talk to people when you don’t have to look at them. “People make mistakes, Intak. Honestly, I was livid that night. I still am, sometimes, when I go to reach for my staff and it isn’t there. I wonder - did you hear all the songs as they rushed out of the broken pieces?” Having never been near a broken staff before, Yeosang isn’t sure if the sound only affects the one who crafted it.

Intak pauses at that question, and when Yeosang looks again he can see that he has let himself slump down onto the floor where he sits with his arms around his knees and pulling them toward his chest.

“Wasthworspart,” Intak mumbles into his knees, and Yeosang wants to ask him to repeat himself, but then he realizes that he can also hear a little sniffle mixed in with Intak’s breath.

The urge to comfort Intak is strong, but Yeosang’s experience tells him that close contact may not be especially welcome. They are still building their trust, and given that Yeosang knows how he felt at that sound, he can only imagine it must have been completely overwhelming for Intak. “It was pretty terrible, yeah. It’s why it took me so long to get out there - why I didn’t see any of the others.” 

Knowing that they shared in that pain feels like it builds a little solidarity between them, and then Yeosang thinks about something else. If Intak could hear the songs, then he could almost certainly feel the power in the staff, and if he had been able to feel it….

“It wasn’t you, was it?” Yeosang asks plainly. Intak looks up, but he seems confused more than anything else. “The staff,” Yeosang emphasizes with a little huff of impatience. He collects himself before he continues. “You didn’t break the staff - you couldn’t have done it. If you had touched it -”

“No.” The word comes out as a sob, and Intak shoves his face into his legs and Yeosang can see the whites of his knuckles as he grasps tightly at his jeans. That sorrow is enough to have Yeosang moving, so he pushes himself off the counter and crosses the room so he can crouch down in front of Intak. “I did hold it, Seonsaengnim! I picked it up and ran my hands over it - I just wanted to show them. Wanted -” 

Intak sobs again, so Yeosang reaches out carefully to hold his hands. They relax when Yeosang’s palms make contact, and then Intak turns them so they can be held, and then he’s holding onto Yeosang for dear life. “I wanted to show them the view,” Intak explains as he lifts his head and shows the tears streaming down his cheeks. “I thought they were my friends, you know? I didn’t think we had to dick around to have a fun time, but when we got in here they just - you know.”

Yeosang nods and squeezes Intak’s hands back. “I do know, Intak-gun. I bet you tried to distract them, grabbed the staff thinking maybe you’d lead them up and they’d leave the other things alone?” Intak nods slowly and Yeosang sighs. “Can you tell me how it happened?”

Intak can’t seem to look at him, but Yeosang understands that, he really does. “I ran up the stairs, but… one of them is really fast. They rushed past me and grabbed it, and I asked them not to but then they laughed and just - they said maybe we could get rid of you if we broke your ‘stupid stick.’”

Just from the way Intak says it, Yeosang can tell that those words belonged to his so-called friends. “Are you ready to tell me who did it?” Intak shakes his head vigorously, and Yeosang sighs again. “That’s alright, Intak-gun. It was pretty brave of you to go to Gyojang Seonsaengnim after it happened. I was really angry when it happened - I’m still pretty angry, but not at you so much anymore. Just at the loss,” he explains. “Even when Park Seongsaengnim told me you had taken the blame, I didn’t want to forgive you. Your friends were almost right. I did think that I was going to leave, but I couldn’t.”

Intak’s face is awash with confusion again, but his question isn’t the one Yeosang is expecting. “How do you decide? You know, when you leave or stay. Because I think if you just did what you wanted to, you might not be here, not if you were really angry, and I know you were angry - I could feel it when you looked at me.”

In all his years of teaching, no student or staff member has ever been intuitive enough to pick up on the fact that Yeosang does not just come and go as he pleases. Sometimes it seems random, he knows that, but the cosmos are never wrong, and they are ever shifting and changing and so is he. After another quick squeeze to Intak’s hands, Yeosang lets go and moves to sit next to him with his back against the wall.

When Yeosang looks up, so does Intak, and the stars shine brilliantly overhead. “I never make any decision in my life without consulting the cosmos. I live by that staff, by the rituals I perform, and by the whispers of the cosmic song. Any time I have a question, I turn to my craft. I do perform regular readings on the full moon and on special occasions, too, but really I turn to them most when I have a question. I knew I was coming here before I got the e-mail, you know that?”

Intak hums, but he doesn’t move his head at all. “I found out when I did my first full moon ritual of the year. I had it right down to the general coordinates, that’s how specific the stars can be. Usually I know exactly how long I’ll be in a given place, too. Jipyeongseong was an exception, though.”

“It was?” Now Intak is looking at Yeosang, and it feels right to be sharing this with someone who might also find themselves so influenced by the motion of the cosmos. “Why do you think that was?”

Yeosang can only shrug - even in the readings he has done since he arrived, there has been no indication of what his purpose here is or when his time will be done. “Honestly? I don’t know, but I’m starting to think it might be because of you. Because you need training and you’re too young to leave,” he explains.

“On that note, I think we should get to it, hm? We can have more heart to hearts after you’ve learned the five basic ritual chants, got it?” Intak groans, but he takes Yeosang’s hand when it’s offered and bows once they’re up. 

A couple of weeks into the second go at lessons, Seonghwa shows up at Yeosang’s quarters before class. When he answers the door, Yeosang bows and steps back, inviting Seonghwa into his space for the first time since they met earlier in the year. 

After leaving his shoes at the door, Seonghwa moves across the room and takes the seat across from Yeosang at his little dining table. “I can’t say I expected you to invite me in,” he admits, but Yeosang only shrugs. “You might just make me think we’re starting to become friends, Yeosang,” he tests, and again Yeosang shrugs, but this time his lips quirk up into a little smirk. 

“Friends go to dinner together sometimes, you know? And uh - they also come to meet their friend’s covens,” Seonghwa suggests. Yeosang should really have known it was coming, but in all honesty he doesn’t feel all that inclined to argue. It’s something he’s been thinking about anyway. 

“That’s true. Mentors also do well when they get to know as much as they can about their apprentice’s upbringings. So I’ve been thinking about it anyway, I guess.” Yeosang shrugs again, but Seonghwa is absolutely beaming. 

Leaning forward, Seonghwa raises his eyebrows suggestively. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with that thank you card over there, would it?” 

Yeosang pulls back much too quickly and shakes his head. “What? No. This has to do with the fact that Intak is really progressing and I think it would be beneficial to meet the coven. It will help me understand more about him and might give me some clues as to where to start him on gathering the resources for his staff.” The words come out much too quickly, but they aren’t a lie, really.

Seonghwa chuckles at that, but he leans back and gives Yeosang a little more space. “I don’t think you’re lying, but I do think you should know that Yunho has been asking me a lot of questions and doesn’t believe that I can’t answer them. I think you left an impression that day, Yeosang, so just be prepared. Tonight sound good to you?”

By the time five o’clock rolls around, Yeosang finds himself regretting that he agreed so easily to the suggestion. It’s not that he’s really opposed to meeting the coven and getting to know the people who have influence in Intak’s life - it’s that he’s meeting them in their covenstead.

Yeosang has only been into two of those since he was just a tiny child, and then it was to celebrate his mother and then sister formally bonding with their covens. He had not been an outsider, then, because his blood bond with his family was seen as being as valuable as that of the coven. Here, though, Yeosang has no blood bond, no courtship, and no real stake. He is a guest and a true outsider. 

The words of the lieutenant at the gate all those months ago echo loudly in his mind: State your purpose, Assa.

Seonghwa and Intak show up together, and for the first time Yeosang realizes that he has never even seen Seonghwa out of his work robes. He looks so different in his fitted black jeans, oversized black blazer, and tucked white t-shirt. He looks downright fashionable. Maybe Yeosang should have put the image together with the stylish way Seonghwa wears his hair, but somehow he has only ever pictured his colleague in school clothes.

The change is both a comfort and a reminder of where Yeosang stands. He has never seen Seonghwa in casual clothing, but Seonghwa saw him before he even had robes to adorn. He has never met five of seven coven members, but he’s well aware that every one of them knows his name, his craft, and the basics of his story. 

Everything about the situation has Yeosang feeling uneasy until the moment that Intak walks up and bows to him. “I’m glad you’re coming to meet my uncles, Seonsaengnim. I’m really proud to be a part of their family, and I think you’ll really like them.” It seems strange that the words of a child mean so much to him, but when he thinks back briefly, Yeosang realizes that his students have always been the people that mattered most. When everything else was wrong, if he was making a difference for his students, then he was doing something right.

Intak, of course, is right. Yeosang does - well he finds that he quite appreciates all the members of the coven. The seven of them are as different as can be, but somehow they make it work. Their aura combined is much more powerful than the pieces of it he has felt from Seonghwa, Yunho, and Intak. He picks up on the abundant fire, the crash of waves to soothe the flame, and the wind that clears away the smoke. 

Every moment of the night is chaotic, but it’s in a way that makes Yeosang feel warm and overflowing with something he can’t quite pinpoint. He’s watched Wooyoung shout and almost start a foodfight and shout some more until his partner, Jongho, kisses him quiet. He’s talked to Hongjoong at length about his spellcrafting - he’s one of the only crafters he has ever met who weaves his charms, scrolls, and other spells into textiles, and when Yeosang sees the clothing Hongjoong creates he’s simply in awe. 

When Intak first opens the door for his two teachers, Yeosang sees someone sitting on Yunho’s lap and the two of them laughing with their foreheads together. As soon as Seonghwa steps in the door, though, he sees the man - Mingi - leap practically across the room to wrap him up in a hug and a kiss. As much as Seonghwa has talked about the coven, he’s never talked about his partner, so the way they look at each other like everything has come together just because they’re in each other’s arms comes as a surprise. It’s a little something that Yeosang tucks into the back pocket of his mind for future conversations with his friend.

That’s the thing that really works its way into Yeosang’s head throughout the night. Seonghwa is his friend. Even though Yeosang has treated him miserably and tried to shut him out, even though he has held off on this visit for nearly six months, even though he practically abandoned his nephew, Seonghwa still thinks of Yeosang as his friend and he wants him to be around and know the people that matter most to him. Apparently he also talks about Yeosang enough that the others think of him as a friend, too, although they’re polite enough not to force it on him heavy handed.

“Ah, Seonsaengnim,” San slides into the seat on Yeosang’s left when the others have finally given him a moment of peace to work on serving the meal. “Hyung has told us that you have a unique way of seeing the world, you know? He says that you see what is there in the moment - maybe because you move so much. I think he’s right, but I sense an attachment to your past. It’s like a tether, but not one I think you want. I just wanted to say, though, that it’s okay to make new ties. Maybe they’ll help you move on from the old one.”

The group comes back before Yeosang can really react, but he feels exposed in a way he wasn’t expecting. He learned on the way there that San is clairvoyant, and he’s witnessed it first hand in the way he changes the mood with small touches, redirection of conversation, or inserting himself between people. Still, he didn’t expect to be read so plainly and left to think with it.

That, ultimately, is what sends Yeosang out to the patio after dinner. The covenstead is in a perfect location, and when he looks out he can fully appreciate the name of this town. The sun has mostly set, but there’s still a bit of light in the late summer sky to illuminate the view. He enjoys a few quiet minutes of reflection on the people inside, the relationships they’ve built, the impact they’ve had on Intak, and how it all compares to his own life. 

As if on cue, when Yeosang starts to wonder what his life would have been like if he’d stayed with his father, Intak comes quietly out the door and mimics Yeosang’s stance: forearms supporting his weight where he leans against the railing and eyes on the horizon.

“Seonsaengnim, I was wondering about something, but I think it might be really personal. Do you mind if I ask?”

The maturity that comes with seeking that kind of consent strikes a bit of awe into Yeosang. Intak is young and it shows in many ways at school, but again he wonders if this might be from the influence of the coven. “I don’t mind - I’ve had to face plenty of difficult questions before, Intak-gun.”

A comfortable silence stretches between them for a moment, one in which Yeosang knows they’re both looking to the cosmos, seeing a little beyond what the rest of the world can see even without a ritual to enhance their ability to read. It’s reassuring to have someone else experience that with him again after the years he’s spent away from his mother. 

A light turns off in the house down the hill, and that’s what Intak finds the words he’s been mulling over. “I was wondering - I’ve been wondering since the first day of class. Your aura is different. Uncle Hwa said it’s because you don’t have a coven, but I didn’t know that was possible. I thought that mages could only access the true depth of their abilities when they were in a coven, and that even having a partner you were starting a coven with made a difference. The thing is that you seem to - you’re pretty powerful, Seonsaengnim. Every time I look at you though, I feel it. Like there’s something missing there. I guess I was just wondering why, and how?”

Yeosang can’t say he hasn’t expected this kind of a question from at least one student since he arrived. He always hears whispers, but at least at the school no one has repeated what he heard from the lieutenant at the city gates. Still, he wonders whether some students have kept a little more distance because of how off putting his aura is. He knows that plenty of educators and families have kept him at arm's length for just that. He wonders if it isn’t a part of what has made him a target for the kids Intak got himself mixed up with. 

It doesn’t take Yeosang quite as long to respond as it did for Intak to ask, but there’s still another stretch of easy silence before he speaks. “Just tonight I learned that your dad and Seonghwa Seonsaengnim had committed to each other as founding members of a coven before you were born. I wonder, do you know many older students who have made the same commitment? Even though I am an exception, I don’t know many people who commit to a coven before they come of age.”

Intak thinks for a minute before he shakes his head, and Yeosang hums thoughtfully. “It’s interesting that you have grown up with people who are quite on the opposite end of the spectrum from me in their experiences with a coven. The truth is that I have never wanted to find that sense of belonging. Or rather - I have never wanted to be tied down in the way people in a coven are.”

That must not sit right with Intak, because his brow furrows and he turns toward Yeosang. “Seonsaengnim, are you - that doesn’t feel right.” Yeosang can tell he’s stopped himself short of the accusation of a lie, but he feels caught all the same. “You’re scared?”

Yeosang does not turn toward Intak - he doesn’t think he can. He laughs a little, but the tone should be telling enough before he speaks. “Intak-gun, my mother was not a teenager when she had me. She had been committed to her coven and her husband for years before my older sister was born, even. All the same, when she - ah, I’m not sure if you’re old enough to hear the details, I’m sorry.” He does look at Intak, then, who nods in acceptance. “What you need to know is that they cast her and both of her children out of the coven because they believed our blood was tainted and that our presence would be a curse. They cast us out, and my father chose the coven over his children. So when I think about this, about a family like the one you are so lucky to have in your dad’s coven, I only feel pain, really. So I suppose I am scared, but I also don’t think I’m in a rush to change anything about the way I live.”

The final stretch of silence is by someone clearing their throat by the door, and when Yeosang turns around Yunho has his thumbs hooked into his pockets and is looking at him. He seems to use Intak as an excuse to avert his gaze, but it comes with what Yeosang assumes was the reason Yunho came out here in the first place. “Alright kid, that’s enough interrogating your favourite teacher.”

Intak groans and mumbles his protest, and Yeosang turns away to hide his smile when he feels how true that might just be. “I know, but it’s a Wednesday night and you haven’t done an ounce of studying since you got home. So go do your work and I’ll check in before bed, alright?” 

The way Yunho looks at Intak reminds Yeosang of his own mother, but there’s something else there that’s entirely unfamiliar. He expects Yunho to follow Intak inside, but instead he just watches his son go in and closes the door before he takes over the space that is now empty against the railing.

Yunho’s frame is much larger than Intak’s, and larger than Yeosang’s, for that matter. He should be awkward and gangly leaning against the railing, but instead his feet are just placed a little further back, he bends forward from a different point, and he doesn’t let so much of his torso dangle over the edge. Yeosang is so caught up in taking all the details of Yunho’s side profile that he startles when he looks up to find eyes on him. 

That smile - that wide, slightly crooked, toothy grin that brings out dimples high in Yunho’s cheeks - it makes Yeosang want to scream. Instead he looks down to try and hide his blush and makes himself speak. “How long were you listening over there?”

Yunho laughs lightly, but he doesn’t push Yeosang about the staring. “Hmmm enough to know my kid is too intuitive for his own good sometimes. I’ve gotta say, though, it sounds like that isn’t something you’ve talked about with many people. So I’m wondering if it was something you needed, Yeosang-ssi.”

“And you said Intak-gun was the intuitive one,” Yeosang points out, but he’s just met with a softer, closed-mouth version of that same beautiful smile and he knows Yunho is perfectly self-aware. “You’re certainly not wrong, Yunho-ssi. To be honest, few people have ever taken the time to try to get to know me. As of next month, this will be the longest I’ve stayed in one place for over five years. I had a one year placement a while back, but most things in my life are very impermanent. I can’t say I blame people, though. It isn’t as though I invite questions from relative strangers.”

“I’ve never gotten the impression that you’re trying to keep people away, either, though,” Yunho admits, and that makes Yeosang’s heart rush a little. He isn’t sure how to respond without giving himself away, and he still isn’t sure of what it is about Yunho and this coven that makes him more open.

“Ah, let’s say that I find you all familiar. It’s probably because of my connection to Intak-gun as a cosmomancer and the time I’ve spent with Seonghwa-ssi,” Yeosang tries, and it feels both honest and safe at the same time. “I’m sure Seonghwa-ssi would tell you that I didn’t really jump at getting to know all of you, though.” Yunho nods, silently confirming that he’s heard as much, and Yeosang sighs. There’s a safety in the space where no one really knows him beyond the enigma of his craft, his lack of connection to his coven, and his travels. As long as he remains a mystery, there’s no risk. 

Despite his efforts to keep this coven at bay, though, Yeosang finds that he wants to talk to Yunho about this. For the first time, he thinks there might be some benefit to telling someone what happened with his mother. Maybe he wants to hear how another coven would have dealt with it. Maybe he wants to be told that he isn’t a curse or a burden. Maybe he just wants to get it all off his chest now that half of the truth is out there already. 

Whatever the reason, Yeosang lets himself meet Yunho’s gaze for a moment and begins to tell his story. “I was three when it happened. My mother has always told me that her coven was on the more conservative side, but I’ve heard of so few cases where a mage is fully cut out from the bond. I’ve certainly never heard of another modern coven casting children out for their parentage. I don’t really know all of their laws, but I know that one of them was to never use one’s gifts against the other members of the coven.”

It isn’t as though that is uncommon, in and of itself, but Yeosang believes that not all uses of power are equal. He also believes that some warnings should be heeded. “It wasn’t as if she did it on purpose. My mother was just performing her readings as usual, but the blood red of the moon and the position of the stars told her of death and betrayal. She said her husband begged her not to reveal what she’d read, but her conscience wouldn’t let her remain silent. So she confronted the coven member whose aura she associated with the reading, and two days later we were left with what we could carry and train tickets to Seoul. That man - the one she confronted? He assaulted their coven leader and committed more than one act of sexual violence. And do you know, Yunho-ssi? Not one of them has ever apologized to her, not even my father. I suspect that they even blamed her for it.”

These are words Yeosang has only ever shared with his sister. His mother asked him years ago to not bring it up because she has moved on, but his sister, at least, understands the pain of being turned out for something beyond her control. She spent most of her youth like Yeosang, but when he went to the military she met the person who would become her partner and decided to stay with them even after he came back. So he’s been on his own for some eight years, and it’s lonely. It’s more lonely than Yeosang has ever dared to admit.

Yunho doesn’t admonish Yeosang, though. He doesn’t defend the coven or say it’s foolish to assume all other covens are the same. He doesn’t try to appeal to Yeosang’s better nature or tell him that he’s letting a difficult beginning ruin his entire life. Yunho, after listening quietly, just reaches out his right hand and lets it rest over Yeosang’s left. The warmth seeps right into Yeosang and makes him feel safe. So much so that he stretches his fingers out and lets Yunho’s intertwine with them. “I can’t imagine how hard it would be to be turned away from everything I ever knew. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to raise Intak on my own,” he admits quietly.

There’s an invitation in that, and Yeosang lets himself accept it. “Was Intak-gun’s mother a part of your proposed coven before she left?” Yunho shakes his head and squeeze’s Yeosang’s hand, but he looks back out into the darkening night sky dotted with the lights of the mountain-city. 

“To tell the truth, she and I were hardly dating in the first place. We were horny teenagers and our protection failed. She was supposed to stay, but I couldn’t deny her the opportunity to find her own place in the world, and she has. Actually, kind of like you, she didn’t know if she was ever going to settle down with a coven,” Yunho explains, and Yeosang finds that the acceptance makes much more sense in that context. “I think it’s hard for Intak, but it would be harder if he didn’t have all these crazy uncles. Plus she’s there for him. It’s through letters, texts, calls, and a visit here or there a couple of times a year, but she’s in his life. She told me last night that she hopes she gets a chance to meet you at Chuseok. I hope it’s not too forward to say that I hope you’re still here, too.”

The only way for Yeosang to miss the pink dusting Yunho’s cheeks would be if he were looking away, but he hasn’t been able to do that since he was compared in some small way to Intak’s mother. It feels intimate. It feels like Yunho is telling him that he could have a place here, that he might belong, even if it’s just for a while. 

“I’d like that,” Yeosang responds, his voice barely above a husky whisper. He doesn’t bother telling himself that it’s only because it would be valuable to meet Intak’s mother. He knows that it’s because this is the first place he’s felt truly welcome in ages.

After that night Yeosang and Intak get serious about the stated goal of their lessons. Yes, Intak will need to learn about the craft of cosmomancy, but he must also have the tools of the trade. After meeting the rest of the coven, Yeosang realizes exactly what the most important components will be. 

“Intak-gun, when I see you now I see someone shaped by the people who love you. I see the care, chaos, and affection of your father’s coven in everything you do. I see the way your mother yearned for something more in the way you work to make something of yourself. Ah I know, you might not see it,” Yeosang holds up his hand to Intak who opens his mouth to interrupt, “but you do. You work to make friends, you work to help others, you’re working now to improve the skills of your craft. Her spirit is in you.”

When he hears the explanation, Intak leans back in his seat and sighs. Yeosang smiles and then finally unrolls the scroll that he’s been preparing for days now. “Now this is just a draft, and it’s spelled ink so we can adjust things as much as you want, but this is my base proposal for your staff.”

There are details that are incomplete but Intak seems to be in awe as he half stands from his chair so he can lean over the table to examine the base design. The instrument itself is just a basic staff - it will be changed once they have found the piece Intak wants to use for it. Along the side, though, there are suggestions. Colours? Is the first thing Intak looks at, and he smiles. “I’m still thinking about that, but possibly black and red,” he says excitedly. 

Yeosang chuckles quietly as the spelled quill lifts and begins to write out the colours on the scroll. Intak may not remember, but those colours were etched into his old staff, too. “What about this?” he asks and gestures to another set of notes.

Intak is fully out of his seat by then, and he pours over other details like shape and length and charms he might want before he finally reaches the list that has been Yeosang’s true labour of - well, affection, at least.

The more he reads, the more Intak’s mouth opens. He isn’t quite gawking, but Yeosang can appreciate the awe he seems to feel. “All of them?” Intak asks when he looks up at Yeosang. “You’ve included something from all of them. You think - would they do this? I like - I would like it very much, Seonsaengnim, but I don’t know -”

Sighing, Yeosang reaches out and places his hand over Intak’s. “Intak-gun, if you could see the way the people in your life look at you, or hear the way they speak of you, then you would know that they would not only do this, but they would be honored to take part in something so important for you.”

The way that Intak looks at Yeosang starts out fond, but it turns to a question, and then Yeosang feels more like Intak is looking straight through him. He feels his gut twist, but it isn’t unpleasant. No, it’s just that he feels exposed and he isn’t sure what will come of it at first. “Seonsaengnim, there’s a name missing here, though. Will you add something, too?”

The quill is moving, but Yeosang is still processing the request. He will naturally have a part in the formation of the staff, but he hadn’t considered that Intak might want him to add his own spelled component to the mix. He doesn’t quite know how to respond, but Intak is being perceptive again. “I wouldn’t even know what I am without you. I don’t really know what I would be doing if you weren’t here. It would mean a lot, if you’re okay with it.”

“Ahhhh, Intak-ah,” Yeosang croaks as he tries to shove back unbidden tears. “Of course. As everything comes together I will work on a finishing touch for this part, hmm? Thank you for thinking of me.”

The request doesn’t come up again between Yeosang and Intak as they begin their work. They are focused on finding the necessary physical components for the task. They start with things they can find in the school's stores - threads, scrolls, encasing, bonding materials. It’s after that is complete that they begin the adventure.

The first day they go out to the woods east of the city, the same that Yeosang met the training group in before he came. They’re long gone, now, of course. There will be another group in a month, but it’s just an imprint of a memory that lingers then. There are some good branches and leaves, but mostly they gather bark and herbs from the area because neither of them are drawn to a core piece there. 

When they return that day, Yeosang also finds the first gift on his desk. A little something to help rouse you on mornings after you’ve been up late working. - Yunho is what the note reads. Inside the soft, star-covered fabric bag are three types of coffee including a bottle of cold brew. It’s thoughtful, and Yeosang is glad he’s alone as he runs his hands over each of the labels and then the delicate fabric of the bag. He isn’t sure he wants to have to answer to anyone for the blush on his cheeks.

The outings continue, and so do the gifts. It’s at Seonghwa’s suggestion that Yeosang and Intak start to visit each of the shrines around the city. Because this place is so ancient there are half a dozen of them, and each of them takes hours to explore. They are instructed by the attendants in paying their respects and receiving blessings, they gather incense for their ceremony, spelled wandcore components, and knowledge of the city. Yeosang expects that Intak knew all of this before, but he finds himself charmed by this deeper knowledge. The legends of places where gods have touched the earth, where people gave birth to their craft in the region, and of how the city was built make him feel more and more like he belongs there, too. 

Most of the gifts are snacks to keep your stomach from rumbling when you miss meals, another note reveals. That tells Yeosang that either Seonghwa or Intak have been snitching, but they both claim innocence and proceed to grab bits from the stash as if he won’t notice.

One day, though, Yeosang comes back to a stuffed chicken drumstick and laughs so hard he almost misses the note altogether. So that you may dream of your favourite meal. The words have him laughing all over again, but he digs for his phone and sends off a text all the same. I’m getting mixed signals. I don’t know if you want me full or if you want me to wake up starving after dreams of chicken.

It takes Yunho under a minute to respond, and that alone makes Yeosang’s heart skip a beat. Or I can make all your chicken dreams come true if you’ll meet me for lunch tomorrow.  

So Yeosang does.

This little flirtation with Yunho is something Yeosang doesn’t know how to handle. He’s dated plenty, but for obvious reasons it’s never been serious. By the same token, his relationships - dalliances, really - have never been drawn out this way. It’s usually quick, to the point, and enjoyable for all parties. This is nice, but it’s different, and it’s a little scary in a mostly exciting way.

At lunch, Yeosang tells Yunho he isn’t sure where he wants this to go, and Yunho tells him it’s fine. He thanks him for showing up, for being such a wonderful influence in Intak’s life, and for giving him new reasons to smile. 

Yeosang didn’t realize that just the mention of Yunho’s smile could send him into a state, but it does, and then Yunho actually smiles and he’s lost. “Well that’s just not fair,” Yeosang grumbles as they walk back toward the school. Yunho chuckles but nudges him fondly with his shoulder as they go along. 

“I dunno, I kind of think the way your eyes sparkle like the stars you read when you’re excited is the thing that’s not fair here, but I guess I’m glad to know I’m not the only one suffering.”

The words repeat in Yeosang’s head all day, and it isn’t chicken he dreams of at all that night. 

One weekend morning, Intak meets Yeosang by a coffee shop on the trail to the summit. This is the last shrine, and it is unequivocally the most important of them all. This is the shrine of the cosmos, the one Soenghwa spoke of on Yeosang’s first day so many months ago. It is a place Yeosang has avoided despite its immense allure.

No. It is a place Yeosang has avoided because of that allure.

There is no more holding himself back from this place, though. Yeosang must travel here every bit as much as Intak must. A gut feeling tells him as much, but he’s taken a reading to confirm his suspicions, and the stars never lie. “I believe we may have all of our components after today, Intak-ah. All that will remain is to hold a ceremony with the coven to receive their gifts, and then we may prepare for crafting.”

Intak only nods at this, as if he expected to hear the news. It puzzles Yeosang for a moment until he realizes what it must mean. “Intak-ah, did you do a reading last night?”

In his surprise, Yeosang has stopped walking, but it takes Intak a moment to realize it, so he’s elevated above Yeosang’s height when he turns around with a silly grin on his face. “Seonsaengnim, have you been teaching me to read the stars so I can be a casual observer of their beauty? Here I thought you wanted me to learn the craft, but I must be mistaken,” he teases, and they both break out into laughter.

The joy is carried with them up the path, but they both fall silent when they reach the summit. A lone temple attendant bows deeply to them, and they return the respect before they pull off their shoes and equipment and follow the path set for them. The attendant chants and waves incense over them, causing the smoke to billow into their skin and nostrils and hair. As the chant goes on, Yeosang feels as if he is plunged into darkness, but soon he feels the comfort of the cosmos shining into his mind, heart, and soul. When the ritual is complete, he feels bound to this place. It’s what he feared, and yet he knows it is as the cosmos will it.

“I’ve been here before, but that’s never happened after the ritual,” Intak whispers nervously when he and Yeosang leave the attendant and head toward the summit proper. “I didn’t expect - Seonsaengnim, is it possible to really be incomplete before one knows their craft?”

Whether or not Intak knows it, he’s asking something more than what has come from his mouth. He says craft but Yeosang understands the deeper meaning, and it has a hold on him, too. “As I have come to understand it, little pieces of ourselves are revealed all throughout our lives, Intak-ah. I do not know whether what you experienced just now is a result of your age, of knowing that you are a cosmomancer, or of the training you have begun. I have never been to a shrine like this before, so it was new for me, too. I am proud to have shared it with you.”

Once again, Yeosang and Intak have stopped in their tracks, and Yeosang is smiling at his beloved student, with whom he has become ever closer since they started on the course of this task. “I am proud of you , Intak-ah. You have grown so much in a short time, but I want you to know that it was all there to begin with. Everything you are becoming was already a part of you. It is just that you have found an opportunity to let it bloom.”

The conversation doesn’t have to continue. Yeosang doesn’t think he would be able to continue down that train of thought without it ending in affectionate tears, and that’s just not something he’s prepared to do in front of Intak at the moment. There seems to be an understanding between them, though, so Intak bows and then they turn and continue on their way.

When they return from the summit, Intak is in possession of a black, curved root that seemed to have been severed by a lightning strike at some point. Yeosang, too, has found a body for his new staff. His is a long, sturdy branch of white and gray with spots of black. He knows he will hone part of it down, but it feels sure and steady in his hand, a departure from his previous staff, but the right fit for this point in his life.

Over the course of their journey, Yeosang has met with the coven a few times. Once they came to the school, once they all went out for a meal, and on a couple of other occasions he visited them in their covenstead.

Each time Yeosang has been invited to gather with them all, he has felt himself grow more attached to the seven mages he avoided when he first arrived in Jipyeongseong. Even more than the feelings for Yunho that he tries to deny have stubbornly taken root in his heart, the draw to the coven has left Yeosang conflicted.

Some of the fear comes from the threat of the unknown. Yeosang has lived a life of constant adaptation, change, and movement. He has never managed to belong because he has had to wear so many colours that they never really fade from one place to the next. He’s learned to keep people out and build walls around his heart and to give himself just enough pleasure and connection to keep himself sane. The thought of staying in one place is something he had never imagined in the past, and yet when he sees Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, San, Mingi, Wooyoung, and Jongho standing outside their covenstead on the night of Intak’s ceremony, he feels like something whispers one word down his spine.

Home .

The handshakes, laughter, and even hugs that follow build the fire behind the word in Yeosang’s heart, and he feels almost unstable before he has even crossed over the threshold. The concept of having one, constant home seems like too much to hope for. He has spent over twenty years thinking that he never wanted to bond to a coven, but when he looks at his friends, the thought of leaving them is almost unbearable. More than the thought of settling down had ever been.

They eat a quiet, light meal before Intak goes to prepare for his ceremony, and just as Intak is about to settle down on the couch, San clears his throat. 

“I’m afraid you don’t get to rest just yet, Seonsaengnim,” Mingi pipes up, and he’s wearing a grin that stretches across his entire face and makes him look for all the world like a child who’s just been given a puppy. 

“I think we’ve crossed the point of such formalities now, my friends,” Yeosang half mutters to cover the way his heart is racing when he realizes all seven of them are around him.

“We agree!” Wooyoung only seems to have one volume, but the way he shouts makes all of them laugh, even Yeosang.

“Friends show one another gratitude in many ways,” Seonghwa pipes in. “You have taken such wonderful care of our Intakie, Yeosang, and whatever else may come after the crafting is complete, we would like to do something to express our gratitude to you.”

Confusion wraps around Yeosang, who cannot understand for the life of him why they couldn’t discuss this another time. “I’ve told you all before, I have both a duty and a calling to go through this with Intakie. You don’t need to do anything to show me your gratitude.”

“We don’t,” Hongjoong steps forward, “but we also heard that you had planned wonderful components for Intak, but had only a touch of stardust you’ve carried for many years to use in your own staff composition.”

Yesoang furrows his brow, but then Yunho steps forward, takes his hand, and presses a robe into the other. “What you do with our gifts is up to you, but we, along with Intak, would ask that you take part in this ceremony, too. You are special to us, Yeosang, and we would like to do at least one thing to show our appreciation.”

The emotion is so overwhelming that Yeosang can barely look at them all, but Yunho quietly squeezes his hand and reaches over to wipe away a few tears, and when Yeosang does look up, he doesn’t feel so scared anymore. It isn’t a commitment. It’s just a gift, a gift with deep meaning and powerful possibilities. “Then, for this friendship and for Intak, I will accept.”

Although Yeosang headed up most of the planning around what Intak would need, the final gifts and the ceremony have been orchestrated entirely by the coven. It’s all a bit more formal than anything he had in mind, but then again Yeosang hasn’t spent all that much time around covens.

Thankfully, while it is a formal ceremony, the joy and laughter that have become so familiar around these men is still present as they take turns presenting their gifts to Intak and then to Yeosang. San begins the night with sharing a vision of two complete staves, a new beginning, and the connection between the mages and the instruments they will create. “Teacher and student will find new meaning in the ceremony of creation. New bonds will be forged, and the path of the cosmos will clear where it has been clouded.”

Yeosang has no real way of knowing what that means for Intak, but the message sends a shiver down his spine. He almost doesn’t remember what it is like to have a clear and certain message from the cosmos. He longs for San’s vision to be true. “I give you each a copy of this reading, so that you may always remember the days that led to your great work.” He sets a journal in each set of hands, and they place them in their offering circles as they were instructed before the ceremony began. 

Jongho goes next and gives them incense he has crafted for them to burn in place of the herbs Yeosang would usually ignite. Then Mingi brings them scrolls of enduring fire that will burn with not only the heat needed for crafting, but the warmth and passion of a loved one. Wooyoung presents them each with a gem - a small, rough, polished ruby for Intak and a larger, pyramid-like onyx for Yeosang.

The only gift Yeosang knew about before this occasion was Seonghwa’s as he offered to help them transmute their desired colour patterns into their staves, but he still offers the surprise of creating alternate forms so that they may carry their instruments more inconspicuously if needed. Hongjoong follows, and he presents them each with shimmering ribbons that can be affixed to the ends of their staves and carrying cases. Yeosang can feel the spells moving through the fabric, and Hongjoong explains that they are imbued with spells of protection, finding, physical binding, and durability. “I’d like to see anyone try to break these,” he challenges with a wink before he returns to his seat. 

Yunho comes last, and begins with the gifts sent by Intak’s mother. She has ground shells from the beach near her home and mixed them with the same crafting powder all mages use in the core of their wand or staff. Yeosang feels especially touched that a woman who has never met him sent him a gift, too, and he glances over at Intak for a moment, wondering at how one child who he thought would be the bane of his existence has brought him so many unexpected blessings. 

“My own gift is something that came to me at the beginning of the year on a dig. When I found this, I had the sense that I needed to hold onto it, but I didn’t know what it was for until you asked about components for Intak’s staff.” From a bag, Yunho produces two perfectly cut quarters of a small meteorite. He also brings out two small bags and sets them into Yeosang and Intak’s hands. “I wonder about the way my talents are opposite to yours. A terramancer, grounded and buried in earth and rock next to two cosmomancers with their eyes always wandering to the heavens. I hope that this meteorite will provide you with ritual components for the future, and that the dust I have created may keep you tied to the good things of the earth while you consult with the sun, the moon, and the stars.”

Yeosang doesn’t know when he started crying, but there are tears in his eyes as the members of the coven join hands around them and offer a final wish for success, for lifelong friendship, and for a clear night on the full moon to guide their ceremony.

In the days that follow, Yeosang finds himself a wreck of nerves and uncertainty. He plans every day to consult with the stars, but cloudy skies are followed by a rare starless night, and he worries that he has done something out of line. He thinks again about the coven and Intak, who have been constant companions in his mind. He has gone so far as to plan out different options, something he rarely does before consulting the cosmos.

There’s a version where he brings Intak with him, taking him on as a formal apprentice, and returns to Jipyeongseong three times a year so that Intak can be with his family. There’s another option, the original option, that involves saying his goodbyes and leaving this place and the memories he has created behind at the end of the year. That is the one thing he is practically certain of - lest the moon should disagree, Yeosang will finish the school year in Jipyeongseong so that he can continue to support Intak in his lessons.

The third plan is the one that makes Yeosang the most nervous, because it is completely out of his character. Somehow he doesn’t think the dancing feeling in his gut is a bad thing, though. It feels like excitement and opportunity, but he can’t help but lean into the fear that is tied to it. He can barely write out the words court the coven without panicking, so he keeps that plan mostly in his mind. It will be in the hands of the moon one way or another, so long as the full moon does rise above all these clouds.

The day before the crafting, Yeosang sits with Seonghwa grading papers and talking about his plans. “It would be uncommon to create a staff without the light of the moon and the stars, but not unheard of. I just worry about what kind of omen their absence might be, especially for someone young and starting out like Intakie.”

Seonghwa hums and marks off another paper before he sets his quill down and turns to Yeosang. “Have the cosmos left you before, Yeosang? Have they ever been absent in your time of need?”

There is a part of Yeosang that wants to point out how they are absent now, but he also doesn’t want to admit that he has been so anxious to consult with the cosmos about his decisions before he has completed the tasks he agreed to. “No,” he sighs, “not that I can remember, at least. Ultimately, when I have had a need, the stars have been visible in the sky, even if it is between the clouds of storms. It’s just that there are so many decisions coming up, and so many things that I worry hinge on that connection. I can’t help that I’m a little scared of what will happen, hyung.”

That familiarity, the closeness, it’s a part of what drives that fear. Yeosang can’t remember the last time he made real friends, but Seonghwa and his coven are just that. He knows that, no matter what happens, they’ll still be his friends, still offer him their support and love, and that a piece of them all will always be with him, and not just in the literal sense where their gifts are imbued into his staff. The only other people Yeosang can say as much about are his mother and his sister. He’s spent most of his life believing that he would never find a second family to call his own.

“I have faith in you and the forces that guide you, Yeosang, but I wonder - do you think there might be a reason for the cosmos to be obscured? I won’t pretend to know anything about the finer points of cosmomancy beyond what you have shared, but do you think….” Seonghwa’s voice trails off, and he sighs before he finally looks back up at Yeosang.

“Maybe, just this once, there is a decision you have to make on your own. So I wonder, what would you choose if you could not read the moon, stars, and sun for their guidance?” 

Although Yeosang hasn’t divulged the options he’s given himself, he can’t help but feel that Seonghwa knows. Is that what friendship is? More to the point - is that intimacy what defines the bond of a coven? 

“I think I do,” Yeosang admits. The dancing in his gut picks up, but all he can feel is joy.

The moon is high and the stars are shining when Yeosang, Intak, and Seonghwa gather in the cheonmundae to craft the staves. For the past week, Yeosang and Intak have been preparing their components. They have carved the shapes of their staves, and Wooyoung has visited to help create settings for the gems he gave them. They have made blends of herbs, ground binding paste, and prepared incantations for each step of the process. 

When Intak arrives, Yeosang stops him before he enters the cheonmundae and holds out a parcel. “I think we have enough ceremonies and rituals to perform in the coming week, so I figured I would give this to you now,” he smiles, and Intak gives him a look of confusion. “These are the formal robes of a cosmomancer. Hongjoong did the work, of course, but I helped him choose the appropriate designs. The door to my quarters is open, so go change and then meet me inside, okay?”

Yeosang doesn’t wait for Intak to express his gratitude because he doesn’t think he can handle the emotion of it just then. Instead he heads into the cheonmundae and checks their supplies once again before he opens the roof.

They begin their ceremony after the sun fades, leaving the dark of night and the light of the moon and stars to guide them. Piece by piece, Yeosang and Intak begin the ceremony of crafting their staves. They draw the circle with runes of crafting and connection to the cosmos. They light the incense and ask the cosmos for their guidance. They ignite the scrolls Mingi gave them, and then their work begins. A core is crafted and then the staves are split so that the core can be woven into the wood. Seonghwa takes each staff, one at a time, and crafts the colours and designs that are narrated by the cosmomancers into the wood. When he steps back they set the stones and attach the ribbon, and finally they seal their work with the meteor dust that Yunho so carefully prepared. Yeosang knows the cosmos have guided their work when the clock strikes midnight just as they raise their staves to the sky and call out to the cosmos.

It has been over ten years since Yeosang has felt the power of cosmic song weaving its way into a staff. The sound echoes in the cheonmundae, although he knows Seonghwa cannot hear it. Still, he seems to be moved by the wave of emotion that flows through both Intak and Yeosang, and all three of them are wiping away tears when the shaft of moonlight fades and the ceremony is complete.

Intak stares down at his staff in awe for a moment, and then he brings up his left hand to trace over the runes and decorations that mark the tool he has made. “Congratulations, Intak,” Yeosang calls out softly as he approaches. He’s just about to put his hand onto Intak’s shoulder when arms wrap around his waist and a head of dark hair is buried in his chest.

“Thank you, Seonsaengnim.” Intak sobs into Yeosang’s robes. The gratitude ripples through Yeosang, who happily wraps his own arms around Intak and pets his hair. “Thank you for believing in me.”

There is so much about the moment that Yeosang knew would be significant, but he hadn’t entirely counted on this. He understands why Intak would be grateful - he remembers what it was like to be a child that no one would look at beyond the trouble he found. He remembers what it felt like to be isolated from the others, to think no one would ever understand.

Yeosang understands it because that’s a feeling that never really left him until recently. When he thinks about it now, with his arms around Intak and the familiar light of the moon and stars shining through the top of the choenmundae, he is able to put it all together. “Oh Intakah, I think I have to thank you, too. Thank you for giving me a reason to stay and look beneath the sky and into the world around me. We have both grown and learned together, and I hope we can keep doing so for a long time.”

The full moon comes three days later, and is the final step in Intak’s journey as a novice cosmomancer. Although they have done base readings, the first full moon ritual with a staff is a special right of passage.

There is something special about forming the ritual circle with another cosmomancer. It is something Yeosang has done alone for years, but he grew up forming these circles with his mother. The depth of meaning behind sharing the experience with Intak is not lost on him. It is another way in which they will be bound together in the years to come, no matter what happens.

That night is full of new experiences for Yeosang, though. It is filled with a new voice joining in the repetition of the moonsong, with the warmth of companionship, and with the pride of a teacher whose student has truly blossomed in their abilities. Beyond that, though, it is the first time in his life that Yeosang approaches the moon not with the open ended wondering of where he should go, but with a specific thought for which he seeks confirmation. The song that fills him is the most beautiful he has ever heard.

When it is over, Intak packs up his staff and follows Yeosang down the long staircase that spirals along the side of the tower in silence. It’s only when the roof has been closed that he dares to speak his question out loud. “The song - when we read together, do we both hear the same songs?”

Yeosang nods, but he wants to give Intak the opportunity to voice his questions or observations on his own. “So you - you’re staying?” There’s so much uncertainty in Intak’s voice, but when he finally looks up to Yeosang, he’s met with a smile.

“What about you, hmm? Seems you’re going to be seeking some new friendships,” Yeosang replies, and Intak nods. “I’m glad. I know it can be hard, but you’ll find your place, Intakah. You don’t need to be friends with the coolest people, just the ones who care about you most.”

Intak laughs and follows Yeosang out the door. “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience. Are you - coming home with me, then?” 

The walk is filled with chatter about how Intak felt during the ritual and what questions he has for the future. They’ve changed out of their ritual robes and into casual clothing, and it’s possible that Yeosang held them up a little as he checked his hair and made sure his black and white button up shirt was tucked just right into the front of his fitted jeans. “I like the way the songs sound on their own. The moon is so clear and soft - like the whisper of a parent singing to their child.” Yeosang nods and shares about his first sun ritual, and soon they are on the doorstep of the covenstead.

“Oh!” Wooyoung smiles when he opens the door. “HE’S HERE! YEOSANG-HYUNG IS HERE!” he shouts into the house, and Yeosang squeezes his shoulder fondly. “I’m really glad you came,” Wooyoung says more quietly before he closes the door.

That night, Yeosang brings his own gifts for the rest of the coven. He helps in the last preparation of their midnight meal, serves the food, and joins in the ritual blessing of the meal. After Intak has gone to bed, he sits in the living room and gives each of the members of the coven a star charm that is filled with a pinch of stardust. “Seonghwa-Hyung asked me something the other night. I had been anxious about the clouds obscuring the cosmos, and he asked whether they might be so hidden from me because I was meant to make a decision on my own. It’s something entirely out of my comfort zone. I don’t know if I’ve said it, but since I was a child, I have lived every moment of my life by the guidance of the cosmos. It has always been a question of where they would have me go, rather than whether my own interests were worth pursuing.”

The coven is quiet as Yeosang speaks, but he feels the warmth of their presence, and just as when the moon sang to him, he knows that he is making the right choice. “Tonight, I brought the moon a plan. I told her that I had found a place where I felt the roots of belonging, love, and family. And in her song I heard your voices in a way I never had before. So this - this is a courting gift. I never thought that I would want to make ties to a coven, but if you’ll have me, I would be honoured to be bound to yours.”

Typically, the period of courtship for a coven lasts over a year. Hongjoong laughs when Yeosang points that out at Chuseok, and Seonghwa smiles conspiratorially. “Of course it does, but we don’t need a full year to know that you are our brother, Yeosang. Besides, we began courting you the day you arrived. So what’s a few weeks? The new year feels like the right time to seal the bond.”

Intak’s mother confirms that her boys , as she affectionately refers to the coven, have never been very traditional. They do their best to honour old traditions, but they also see the light of the future and move constantly toward it.

The bonding ceremony is not so unlike a ritual of the cosmos, but it is imbued with a piece of every member of the coven’s craft. There is a chant of welcome, a blood letting, and a solemn vow that is recited. Yeosang’s eyes well with tears as each of his brothers takes his hand and claims him as their own, to support and care for as long as they walk the earth. Hongjoong, as the leader, completes the ritual, and when it is done Yeosang feels renewed.

It isn’t like those stories of werewolves and vampires where they can hear one another's thoughts (although Yeosang has always wondered if those beings really have such an ability). It’s more that Yeosang can feel them all physically as a presence in his mind and soul. He can feel when Jongho leaves the room to go to the kitchen, and when Mingi decides to hug him Yeosang knows that’s coming, too. 

That intuition tells him that Yunho is coming out to the patio where they talked months ago long before the door opens. 

Warmth and joy fill the room inside, and the emotion spills out around Yeosang like a blanket in the cool January night. “It feels different now, you know,” Yunho says as he leans against the railing and looks out across the city. “We’ve always been complete. Even when it was just Seonghwa and I, we didn’t ever feel like we were actually missing anyone. It’s just that each person who has come to us has made our hearts create a little more room to fill with love. Now, though, with you. It feels -”

“-It feels like if anyone else came in, we would burst,” Yeosang completes the thought, and Yunho tilts his head over to look at him with a smile. “It’s like this was always where I belonged. I understand it now, much more than I did even when I asked to court the coven.” 

“Mmm,” Yunho nods. He looks back out into the night, and Yeosang feels all the questions that linger between them filling his heart. The gifts have continued, gifts that fall outside the traditions of coven courtship. There have been more lunches, more late night talks, and a couple of occasions when they’ve woken up on the couch wrapped up in one another’s arms. It’s always been one more thing, one more desire that Yeosang hasn’t been sure he can voice. Ultimately, he knew he wanted to commit to the coven before anything else came along. Now that they know his heart belongs to all of them, perhaps there is room to open it to something more.

“You will always be my family now, Yeosang. No matter what happens in this life, you will be my covenmate. But I - ah,” Yunho sighs and drops his head into his hands. Yeosang finds himself endlessly endeared by the way Yunho is so flustered, but his own heart is racing when he takes a step closer and puts his hand tentatively on Yunho’s shoulder. 

Yunho turns into the touch and covers Yeosang’s hand with his own. He stands up so he can fully face Yeosang and drags their hands down so that Yeosang is holding his waist. Then Yunho reaches out and tucks a stray hair behind Yeosang’s ear, and the hand that was covering his own moves up over his arm to his shoulder, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

“When I first saw you, all of my plans to lecture you about Intak and his needs flew right out the window. I was ready to lay into you right there, ready to have it out in the hallway and demand that you give my kid a chance. When I saw past the solitude and distance in your aura, though, I saw something that told me to take a step back and take my time with you. You are somehow everything I’m not, and from that very first day it has filled me with want. I want to be part of the reason you smile, Yeosang. I want, outside of my part in the coven, to be one of the reasons you stay.”

Yeosang feels breathless as Yunho speaks, but he can’t look away. Memories wander through his mind unbidden, memories of laughter over fried chicken, of deep conversations about family and growing up and loss and reward, of all the times they’ve almost said the words they refuse to speak but let them slip away.

Yeosang is done with letting the important moments slip away though. So he brings a hand up to Yunho’s jaw and caresses it softly. “You know you really do look like a puppy when you want something,” he teases, and Yunho’s head falls forward with his laughter. Yeosang takes a breath and pushes himself forward a little. “I like that. I like the way your smile seems to be a full body experience and the way you never stop moving when you’re excited.” It’s his own little confession, just a few of the things he thinks Yunho should hear not in jest, but from a place of affection.

“You don’t have to give me those eyes right now, though, Yunho. You don’t have to ask for that. It’s more than time for you to know that you are. You are one of my reasons for being here, and I’m excited to see where that next road takes us. I want to share with you the starsong when it confirms this choice, too. The choice of you.”

It feels silly, saying all these flowery words when it could be as simple as to say they want to properly date. It feels silly, but it’s worth it when Yunho’s smile grows and even his dimples turn pink with his blush. It’s definitely worth it when Yunho stops waiting and claims a kiss that feels long overdue. 

After a lifetime of following the constant motion of the cosmos, Yeosang is ready to watch their endless journey from the warmth of his home.