Archive of Our Own

Jaehyun is one-dimensional. After class, he usually either returns to the dorms to sleep or hang out with his best friend, Winter, wherever they fancy. Most times it’ll be at the dining hall in the Weeping Tower, or at the library. The location depends on which is stronger – Winter’s studiousness or Jaehyun’s stomach.

Today, even though he’s already walking further and further into the Wavering Woods on his own two legs, he doesn’t quite understand why he’s doing it in the first place. Some things are telling him he’s gone a bit off-kilter. For one, he’s going into the woods, something he rarely does. He wouldn’t even do it if he were made to choose between the Wavering Woods or the moat.

Two, there’s something hot inside his uniform. Jaehyun, without pausing in his confusing journey, takes a look at what he’s hiding in his blazer.

A plastic bag of what looks to be cat food.

His pace doesn’t falter, but…cat food? Why does he have a bag of cat food with him? Where did he even get this? Why can’t he remember a thing before this?

It’s…odd. How he’s going to the woods with cat food, still in his Watford uniform, and cannot remember what he did two minutes ago. And what’s even weirder is he doesn’t mind that he cannot understand what’s going on.

Taking the cat food out, he balances it in his palm and continues his way. The Wavering Woods is a little foggy, the surroundings more blurry than he remembers. He’s not sure if it’s meant to look like this, to feel like this – to feel like it’s not real. That every second that passes is not real. He’s a bit lightheaded, and when he looks up at the stream of sunlight beating down on him through the gaps between the tall trees, it makes him feel like a fish underwater.

Has his eyesight gone worse? But he made it a point to not read his academic books for too long to keep his sight clear. Jaehyun hates reading. He hates studying, only because he picks up lessons slower than the majority.

The sound of dry leaves and twigs breaking under his shoes distracts him, and he looks ahead again. He’s got a destination in mind, he feels it. But he doesn’t know what exactly.

And then there’s the third thing that establishes the fact that he’s not himself, not today –

He’s not alone.

Footsteps follow behind him. Unlike his certain gait, as if he wants to go to the Wavering Woods, the steps tailing him sound begrudging. Like whoever’s there with him doesn’t really want to have ‘hanging out with Jeong Jaehyun in the woods’ on their hot list.

Then why are they here, he wonders as he finally sees the clearing. Ah, so he – they are headed to the clearing. They are probably going to feed some stray cats, hence the cat food. When did Jaehyun become a fur guardian? His memory is so bad, he should probably go to the clinic.

When he stops at the clearing, the footsteps behind him slow down. The person doesn’t squat next to him when he starts pouring the cat food over the grassy land, waiting for its recipient. Well, he doesn’t expect them to.

He’s not sure what to do next. For the next five minutes, he looks around the clearing. How big is the cat anyway, and is there more than one? Will the food be enough?

He almost misses them if not for the soft meows that echo one after another. Jaehyun looks down as the two kittens paw at the food first and glance up like they’re asking for permission, before digging in. Merlin, they’re so tiny. Practically newborn. Jaehyun scoops the one with brown spots on its white fur to put it next to its companion. The other kitten has completely brown fur.

“Wow, slow down! Your stomach will hurt if you eat too fast. Is this enough? Should I get more?”

“And how are you planning to get more, Jeong? You basically stole that from Miss Ronan. Don’t lie to me. You have zero means to purchase expensive cat food.”

Oh.

He knows that voice. It’s…familiar. Cold, condescending, judgmental. Jaehyun huffs and keeps his eyes on the kittens.

“I can duplicate this.”

“With what?”

“Magic.”

A scoff. “As if. Make sure to keep the poor kittens away before you attempt it. You want to make them food, not make them your food.”

They go back and forth for a little more, with Jaehyun trying his best to keep his attention on the little kittens. They have finished their meal quickly, and are now playing around the dry soil.

When the kittens chase each other, sprinting away from Jaehyun, he assumes feeding time is over, and he has to get back to the dorms now. Or go to his next class. He’s got no watch, and he’s always been bad at telling time based on the height of the sun.

He turns around and finds that he’s alone.

“Taeyong?”

As soon as the name slips out of his mouth, Jaehyun is hit with confusion again, and it’s more intense. Why is he with Taeyong, of all people? He wouldn’t be surprised to find somebody else there, but it sort of makes sense how the voice sounded familiar to him.

Because he’s heard it everyday for eight years. They’ve been spitting fire at each other for eight years. He associates that voice with grumbles and grunts most of the time, especially when their fights downgraded to petty insults.

He and Taeyong have been roommates for eight whole years since the both of them came to Watford, and they’ve hated each other’s guts since day 1.

How could he forget?

Jaehyun calls his name again. Did Taeyong leave him alone? Why didn’t he say anything? Or maybe Taeyong meant to do that. To follow him here just to sneer and judge him for feeding stray kittens and then leave him alone because watching Jaehyun is too stupid for him.

Still, knowing that Taeyong has no good intentions in coming here, Jaehyun calls for him. Maybe Taeyong had wandered while he was talking to the kittens. The Wavering Woods is vast, stretching far and wide as far as Jaehyun knows. What if Taeyong got lost? There is not an ounce of friendship in their bones but Jaehyun feels like it’d be partly his fault if his roommate didn’t appear again.

Somehow, it sparks fear.

He looks down and sees a trail of footprints on the soil. Without thinking twice he follows it, promptly forgetting the kittens. Taeyong shouldn’t have gone too far.

Where does the trail lead? Back to the football pitch? To the Hills Beyond? Further into the clump of trees?

The growing darkness answers him. Here, deeper into the Wavering Woods, the trees are richer and their leaves are thicker, their branches extending left and right blocking the sun. Jaehyun cannot see the footprints any longer, and panic settles in.

Did he just get lost trying to look for his allegedly lost enemy? Jaehyun turns here and there, trying to spot Taeyong, until he glimpses something orange from a distance.

Fire. It sways to a hot dance, and before he realizes what he’s doing, he’s already heading in its direction. Jaehyun’s hands itch, his fingers tingle, and there’s something running through his veins the nearer he gets to the fire.

Magic. He can feel his magic course through his arms. It’s never been like this before. His magic has never acted out without his command, without him desperately and idiotically calling for it. His magic…senses something. But he cannot tell what it is. He cannot tell if it’s actually going to shoot out of his body.

Before he burns himself, he stops walking. The fire is hot, but not as much as he expects it to be. It’s as hot as his normal body heat, it’s almost nothing. Jaehyun’s about to put it away before it grows and eats the woods, when –

“Jeong.”

There Taeyong is. Standing behind the swaying fire smirking at him and gripping his wand, its tip emitting smoke as if he’s just cast a spell.

Before Jaehyun can open his mouth, he sees it.

A Chimera prowls towards him from behind Taeyong, its two heads – of a demonic lion and a sinister goat protruding from its back, drooling with hunger.

Jaehyun takes a few steps back, pulling out his wand. “Back off!”

The Chimera takes two steps closer, stance ready to leap over the fire.

It didn’t work. His magic refuses to cooperate. Of course, it refuses to. It never listens to him. Breaths coming out more shallow, from terror and disbelief. Even on the brink of death, his own powers will betray him.

“Back Off!” He tries again. The Chimera doesn’t even hesitate. The magic that has been flowing in his arms has become stagnant. Unmoving. Invalid. Jaehyun’s grip on his wand tightens hopelessly. “Bend over backwards! Naff off!”

Taeyong puts his own wand back in his blazer and runs a hand through his long, black hair. The orange fire sizzles excitedly in his steel eyes. “See you at the Catacombs, Jeong.”

And then he’s walking away, as the Chimera pounces on Jaehyun, jaws unhinging to rip his head off. 

Jaehyun wakes up with a start. He’s gasping, sweating bullets even though winter has just begun. His unfocused gaze darts around their dorm room and he lets out a loud sigh of relief, almost a groan, before grabbing a pillow to bury his face on it.

It was just a nightmare, thank Merlin! A nightmare he knows all too well, unfortunately. A lot of things in that horrible dream didn’t make sense, but a couple were definitely real. Like Taeyong, because his asshole of a roommate will always be an asshole be it in real life or in his dreams. Asshole is Taeyong’s default. Not once in their eight years of being roommates and classmates had Jaehyun received a bit of Taeyong’s kindness.

And then there’s the Chimera. Chimeras are real. They come out when they are summoned.

Taeyong summoned a Chimera once. In the Wavering Woods. Taeyong dragged him to the woods after class a few years ago to feed him to a starving Chimera. Before it could bite his head off, though, Taeyong took out his wand and made it vanish into thin air, as Jaehyun dropped to the ground with face covered in tears and snot.

Fuck him. Fuck his roommate. Taeyong is a devil incarnate. Jaehyun always finds it hard to fall asleep since then because of the nightmares that plague him nearly every night. And Taeyong is anything but apologetic or guilty, because he feeds off of making fun of Jaehyun, of nearly killing him.

Jaehyun lifts his head when the door to the bathroom opens and closes. His eyes, still heavy with sleep, follow Taeyong as the latter walks to the full-length mirror at the right side of the room, just three feet away from the foot of Jaehyun’s bed.

The two of them live at the topmost floor of the Mummers House, the men’s dorms. Their room is big, perks of being roommates with the son of Watford’s headmistress, but not big enough for them to pretend the other doesn’t exist.

Opposite their beds are desks, and one can easily tell who owns which. Taeyong’s desk is organized, his books piled neatly and his colored pens sit side by side in a light green cup. (Who even owns pens with assorted ink colors? Taeyong, of course. The bastard loves annotating his notes. The nerd that he is.)

Meanwhile, Jaehyun’s is just a mini dining table. Crumbs and morsels litter the surface, and sometimes, when Taeyong is feeling particularly irritable, he spells it clean. Jaehyun is secretly thankful, but he’ll never say it out loud. To hell with being grateful to the bloodsucker.

Oh, yes. Taeyong being a vampire is the cherry on top of a cake. It just intensifies Jaehyun’s hatred, as naturally, Magicians and Vampires are not meant to be in the same place at the same time. They are not meant to co-exist.

But here they are being roommates. Here Taeyong is, being a powerful magician and a vampire at the same fucking time. Jaehyun loathes his entire existence.

Their eyes meet in the mirror as Taeyong finishes tying that single, thin braid on the right side of his head with a red hairband. His vampire roommate typically leaves his hair cascading, but he pulls it up to a high ponytail today with some short strands framing his forehead.

“Done being asthmatic? Or are you being dramatic as always?”

Taeyong’s gaze drops to Jaehyun’s shirtless torso for a second before he looks away, his face pained. He either looks at Jaehyun in disgust or annoyance. Jaehyun doesn’t know what’s wrong with sleeping shirtless. It’s not like his body’s littered with sores or what. And if it was, Taeyong shouldn’t give him that look. It’s plain rude!

He takes a deep breath and huffs. “I don’t even have an asthma–”

“The way you were gasping could’ve fooled me. Stop breathing loudly, then. Your morning breath could kill a nation, if you’re not aware.” Tugging his tie in place, Taeyong then turns to grab his bag on his desk then proceeds to sneer at Jaehyun on his way out, slamming the door shut.

If the Roommate’s Anathema didn’t exist, Jaehyun would not let Taeyong leave their room until he’s done pummelling that twat’s pretty face. The Anathema is a rule that they cannot hurt each other inside their room, because once they do, they will be expelled.

Mumbling curses under his breath, and damn Taeyong for being slightly right about its smell, Jaehyun drops his weight down hoping to get some more sleep –

On the wall, the clock reads 45 minutes past 7.

15 minutes before his first class of the day begins.

“Fuck–”

Jaehyun shoots out of bed and turns around, unsure of what to do first, before hauling himself to the bathroom. Of fucking course, he slept through the waking bell and missed breakfast (missing a meal is a crime for Jaehyun), and his useless roommate didn’t spare a drop of sympathy.

As Jaehyun shoves Taeyong’s hundred bottles of hair products to get his own bottle of 2-in-1 shampoo, he prays that Miss Ronan doesn’t turn him into a frog for the whole duration of Magic Words class. His grades are already the worst in Watford’s history; the least he could do is be punctual.

Well, that’s not happening now. All thanks to Taeyong and his undying amusement in making Jaehyun suffer. Just a little bit more, and they’ll finally get rid of each other for real.

The bathroom still smells like Cedar and Bergamot, the scents that cover Taeyong from head to toe and most of his belongings. His pricey perfume must all smell the same, and even his football jersey is covered in those two particular scents.

Jaehyun rubs his nose the second he’s out of the shower. Quickly, eyes glancing at the clock, he puts on Watford’s school uniform. Since they’re in their last year, they wear a green blazer with white piping, a white shirt, a red jumper if they want, and a tie with green and purple stripes. Trousers, of course. Skirt or trousers for girls. Capes are optional, and Jaehyun hates them, but Winter will never be seen without wearing hers.

Taeyong rarely wears his cape. But when he does, it makes him look–

Just thinking about it makes Jaehyun stop breathing. Only because he wants to tear it and then tie it around Taeyong’s neck tightly. Like a rope! If things plummet to that, and the cape is unavailable, then Taeyong’s silky, shiny hair would do just fine.

Rushing out of the Mummers with his bag carelessly slung over his shoulder, Jaehyun plans to stop at the dining hall first. The Dining Hall and most of the classrooms are in the Weeping Tower.

He sprints through the green courtyard, hating how humongous the Watford School of Magic is for the first time.

When he first stepped foot in its vicinity when he was eleven, Jaehyun could hardly stop himself from gawking at its breathtaking beauty.

Watford is one of a kind. Literally. There are two branches of the School of Magic, and the main campus is in England.

In your first year, you are given a map to familiarize yourself with the grounds.  There are four gates, but the three are hidden, and Jaehyun has only opened one of them. Before you reach the inner gates, the one that is visible to all Mages, you will pass the Great Lawn where the red border fences cut through. The Ancient Yew Trees are found within the lawn as well as the football pitch which is right next to the Wavering Woods.

A drawbridge is connected to the inner gates and it lies over the moat where merwolves swim. Beneath the moat is another moat. Crazy. Then past the gates is the courtyard where a tall fountain is built just at the side. There’s the White Chapel (the Catacombs is down under) which is the center of Watford, the dorms – Mummers House for boys and the Cloisters for girls – the barn, where goats are taken care of.

Speaking of the Cloisters, Winter said that there is a hidden floor between the second and the third floors. Everything that happens at the topmost floor happens in that hidden floor a day later. Jaehyun doesn’t know how that works, and he will probably never know. Boys are forbidden to enter the Cloisters, as magic literally stops them, and it goes the same for the girls. Although Winter’s got some trick up her sleeves that lets her sneak into the Mummers House whenever she wants. Maybe it’s a privilege only given to Witches.

And last but not the least, is the Weeping Tower. It’s a tall building built with red bricks, as old as the White Chapel. It earned its name because of the vines that grow in every summer and crawl from the top to bottom. And because it’s been sagging over the years trying to imitate the Leaning Tower of Pisa, like it’s hunching in sorrow. Yet according to the Coven, it’s still wrapped with powerful spells, so there’s nothing to worry about.

The Watford School of Magic, suffice to say, was founded by the Old Families solely for Magicians. It sets apart the Mages and the Normals–humans born without magic. Normals remain unaware of Magicians until now, and if they look at the direction where Watford stands, spells serve to hurt their eyes, forcing them to look away and move along. To those who have heard of it, they think it’s an exclusive boarding school for the elite. Well, Watford is located in a remote area in the countryside so there is less chance of Normals discovering it, and only magicians get to open its gates. 

The Coven, first formed by the Old Families and now composed of their descendants, run the school. The current headmistress is Lee Haseon, Taeyong’s mother. If Jaehyun will be honest, he can say that the headmistress is fair but unapproachable. She exudes elegance and the air of superiority. Her words are the law, but all members of the Coven work as one to keep Watford in order.

That being said, it’s not just the Mages who occupy Watford and its surrounding land. There are the various magical creatures, too many to mention, but they all serve a purpose. To protect or to ruin, it depends on how they are approached, and what they are needed for.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

So he’s late. Ten minutes. Miss Ronan shakes her head in disappointment when he arrives, avoiding his classmates’ gazes. What’s important is he got to pocket a cold sandwich. He will try to eat it without their teacher catching him red-handed.

They are all in this class – him, Winter, and Taeyong. Miss Ronan teaches Magic Words, or the language to which one’s magic responds to. Not the language literally, but the words and phrases creatively put together to cast a spell. Besides, they have separate foreign language classes.

(And even there, Jaehyun has to deal with Taeyong speaking Russian, French, Romanian, Swedish, Modern and Medieval English, and Mandarin fluently, when Jaehyun can barely speak Korean without floundering for adjectives. Taeyong is evil.)

In Miss Ronan’s class, Mages are taught to widen their vocabulary, to allow them to speak magic naturally, so that it comes smoothly as well. When casting spells, one has to believe what they say, and to put their trust into it. To be confident with their power. Watford is not a stranger to suspending students who have a bad case of stutter because more often than not, it endangers the students if the spell is mispronounced.

An activity awaits the class. Miss Ronan asks them to find a partner and predictably, Jaehyun grabs Winter to a table at the back. Winter protests for a minute about going to the front, but Jaehyun hates being closely observed. Plus he cannot eat his sandwich in front.

Without listening to Miss Ronan’s instructions, Jaehyun starts eating his sandwich, pinching the bread and popping the chunks in his mouth. While doing so, he glares at Taeyong at the other side of the room and the girl he is partnered up with. In his eyes, it’s so obvious how Taeyong is showing off and probably flirting unknowingly as well if the girl’s moony look is anything to go by even if Taeyong seems to just be talking about the activity. Knowing Taeyong and how much the vampire hates working with another student, maybe he’s found his exception to the rule.

Jaehyun’s nostrils flare.

“What a git.”

“Can you please help me?” Winter snatches his attention, pushing the paper with printed instructions for them to follow towards him. “I can’t do everything. I mean I can, obviously, but your score is based on the output and I won’t let Miss Ronan give you an A if you don’t contribute anything.”

“But I’m not good at it…”

“At least try it, Jaehyun. Come on, there are 10 spells to cast to make the diorama. I’ll let you do three.”

Jaehyun’s brows furrow as his cheeks move with every chew. “Too many. How about one?”

Winter points towards the paper without looking away. “Three. Now start working.”

“Is there a problem at the back?” Miss Ronan narrows her eyes at Jaehyun. “Jeong Jaehyun, are you eating again? Shall I tell you to leave the room so you can enjoy your meal in the hallway?”

His classmates turn to him, snickering, but the slight arrogant curl of Taeyong’s mouth is what he hates the most, even though Taeyong is not looking his way. He knows his roommate is laughing at him like everyone else.

Sighing, Jaehyun tosses his half-eaten sandwich in the bin, not bothering to spell it away. He loves food. He probably loves food more than magic. It’s cruel of Miss Ronan to make him throw it away (indirectly!) when she knows he certainly missed breakfast.

Taking the paper, Jaehyun reads the instructions and inwardly whines. Half the spells must be invented so Winter can’t count on him for that. Even the basic ones they learned, Jaehyun dreads casting them.

Miss Ronan must have used her magic because Jaehyun cannot hear the spells his classmates cast. What a bummer. He could’ve used one or two from them to make his life easier.

Magic Words is his least favorite class because he’s not good with spells. He’s not good with magic. Everytime he calls for it, it either remains still or goes off like he’s a walking bomb. His vocabulary is garbage, his spelling needs more practice, he cannot express his thoughts soundly, and he talks with shrugs. He goes by with memorization, and that’s another reason why his magic disagrees with him, because he casts spells without feelings. He memorizes but does not understand. It only works when he summons the Sword of Mages, the only one in the world, with an incantation.

He sets shit on fire, misses the target. He’s the raging sun and not in a positive sense. Mages are supposed to control their magic, but it’s the other way around for him.

It totally sucks. Considering that words are like fuel to Mages, he’s surprised he’s not yet done for.

He’d get over the fact that he’s not talented if he were an ordinary wizard, but Jaehyun is far from that.

Even before he was born, he’s already in the books of Watford. A prophecy says that a powerful mage will grow up among Normals, left behind by circumstances, and this Mage, coined The Chosen One, will be the hero in the World of Mages once the worst enemy comes.

Jaehyun grew up in a care home, coincidentally (or was it fate?) found by Headmistress Lee. It need not be said that he’s the one the prophecy talks about, and the magician that will save the world from breakage. The Coven even had a discussion.

The moment he was enrolled into Watford, everybody knew who he was. Some of them address him as The Chosen One, but with a tone of mockery. There’s a reason why Jaehyun only has one friend. (Bless Winter’s soul.)

Yes, he’s powerful, he’s got so much magic in him, but he’s not good. Powerful is not equal to excellent.

Next to him, his partner scoffs. “I will tell Miss Ronan to not give you a score if you don’t –”

“Alright, alright. Merlin.” Taking out his wand, Jaehyun chooses the easiest spell to cast among the three he picked. His wand is made out of bone, the hilt wooden. Generously given by a member of the Coven whose relative passed away and had no heirs.

Taking a few deep breaths, Jaehyun internalizes and tries to block the noise as he stares at what Winter has already made.

Though poor at summoning magic, Jaehyun easily loses himself in it. And that’s the problem. Because the control escapes him, and the next thing they know, he’s going off.

Winter is the first one to notice as she’s the closest to him. Jaehyun’s magic smells like smoke, like something’s burning. So when she catches a whiff of it, she immediately stops what she’s doing, and then the whole class is watching them with barely concealed nervousness. Even Miss Ronan watches in concern, hoping this doesn’t inflict severe damage.

Anxiously, Winter grabs his shoulders. “Jaehyun, can you hear me? You’re going off. Please.” Gripping his jaw now, she turns his face to hers but his gaze is cloudy as the magic fills his head. “Jaehyun, stop right now –”

Sometimes, Jaehyun gets to prevent it before it’s too late.

Sometimes, everyone dislikes him even more.

Winter manages to whisper a protection spell, her ring gleaming as it responds, two seconds before it happens.

Light bulbs blast overhead, fire swallows their projects. Miss Ronan hastily opens the doors to let her students go in case Jaehyun’s episode of failure bears aftershocks. She will not cast anything while Jaehyun is in such a state, because Jaehyun is The Chosen One.

He’s powerful. He’s unpredictable. He’s dangerous.

And then it’s over as soon as it started. Heat leaves Jaehyun’s head and he gasps as his vision clears, letting him drink in the consequence of his carelessness. The top of the tables are black as flames continuously lick over them. The lights are broken. Some projects were burned to dust. Taking a step back, his body hits the wall.

Murmurs of his classmates ring outside. All of them are worried about their grades, moaning about hassle, followed by how much being classmates with Jaehyun inconveniences them.

“Make a Wish!”

Jaehyun looks to his left. When the last of the fire dissipates into dark smoke, he sees Taeyong stuffing his wand – made of ivory and leather – back into his blazer. His roommate’s face is unreadable, and Jaehyun finds that it bothers him more than the other’s expression of disgust and scorn.

This scene, of Taeyong standing behind the fire, reminds Jaehyun of his nightmare.

Yet despite that, Taeyong is the only one brave enough to counter Jaehyun’s magic, even if he knows it could hurt him.

When Taeyong walks out and leaves the scent of Cedar and Bergamot in his wake, Jaehyun drops to the floor and hugs his knees before burying his face on them. Shame embraces him.

He hears Miss Ronan enter through the other door, pouring her magic all over her tainted classroom. It’s nothing too serious; everybody can put out a fire and fix broken things back to their original forms, but not Jaehyun. It’ll take him a lifetime to be able to stop doing more harm than good at this point.

He feels sorry. He tried to be The Greatest Mage they expect, the talented wizard. He really did. But maybe he’s not meant for things as big as being The Chosen One. Maybe he’s not meant to be here. Maybe he’s not meant to have magic at all.

It’s just…when he was trying to gather up his magic, he saw Taeyong doing so much better, conjuring spells and making up phrases so easily like he was made for this. It set Jaehyun off, igniting his anger and deep-seated insecurity.

Stopping before him, Miss Ronan sits on her heels and gently taps his arm. She gives him an apologetic smile when he looks at her. “You’re not hurt?”

Jaehyun shakes his head. “Did I hurt any of you?”

“Don’t worry about us. And the room is fine now, see? Although I would have to cancel the class today. My students need to take a break, I suppose. Especially you.”

“…I haven’t even done anything remarkable.”

“Next time, you will be more careful.”

Next time. Jaehyun doesn’t want a next time.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

The dining hall buzzes with hungry students come afternoon. Because he didn’t even finish his pathetic sandwich, Jaehyun’s stomach wins over the library. Waiting for Winter to come back with their food, he sits at their table, slumped forward with his chin pillowed by his arms.

He’s been staring at the black stain on the table for too long, vision beginning to spin when his best friend returns with a tray of spicy chicken, sour cherry scones, and butter. Winter occupies the seat opposite his and starts to spread butter all over the scones – also known as the bestest food in Jaehyun’s dictionary.

“Why are you still sulking? You already said sorry to the class and they accepted it. They don’t hate you.” Winter hands him the plate of scones before murmuring Some like it hot! at her spicy chicken.

“Well, they hate me sooo much there’s just no room for more hate.”

“Stop being dramatic. Nobody got hurt. And I got to protect us, including you, before your magic fucked up.” Smugly, Winter wiggles her fingers as she flashes him her ring. “Thanks to this beauty.”

His best friend doesn’t have a wand. She’s got a ring with a huge purple stone, a family heirloom passed down from her great, great, great witch grandmother.

Wolfing down his first scone, Jaehyun shrugs. “You’re wasting your magic on me.”

“Shut up. Magic is meant to be used. And you’re my best friend. I’m not wasting anything on you.”

With a mouth full of scones, Jaehyun grins. “Thanks.”

Putting the pitiful incident this morning aside, Winter starts digging in. Deep inside she’s glad that Jaehyun’s stomach won today because the stress she’s been put through deserves to be placated with some good ass spicy chicken – that had to be spelled hot first, but that’s not important. “So you said you were really pissed off.”

So much for forgetting Jaehyun’s fuck-up. Shrugging again, he glares across the hall where Taeyong sits with his two football friends, Johnny and Yuta, not eating but listening to them as they boisterously chat. “Eh, you know.”

“Did Lee Taeyong do something again?” Spitting the bone out, Winter watches Jaehyun’s frown deepen. She dislikes Taeyong not because they’re academic rivals trying to snatch the top spot at the end of the school year, but because of how he used to hurt Jaehyun unprovoked.

Another shrug. Jaehyun forces himself to look away from his roommate, and then starts complaining about how his day went even before he woke up. “I had a nightmare. About the Chimera.” He continues as Winter gestures for him to go on. “It was exactly as it happened before. He led me into the woods before he summoned that demonic beast with two heads.” Thinking about it makes Jaehyun tremble. “But somehow, it’s worse in my dreams. Because it always starts like we went there together without fighting.”

“You mean like you were acquaintances.”

Shoving another scone in his mouth, Jaehyun nods as Winter wipes the butter off his cheek with a tissue. “Mm. And I fed kittens. We bickered, but it didn’t feel like we were trying to claw at each other’s face, you get me?”

His best friend nods, picking up another chicken wing. “Try to read fiction before you sleep. So your mind collects new thoughts other than Taeyong.”

Jaehyun almost chokes. “Are you implying I always think about him?”

“…Did you not realize why I made a rule that only 30% of our conversation will be about him? Because if I didn’t limit it to that, you wouldn’t stop talking about your roommate.”

“Why wouldn’t I? He tried to kill me in our fifth year!” He lowers his voice and hunches over when the student at the next table throws him a stink eye. “Who in their right mind would feed the person they hate to a Chimera?”

“It didn’t eat you.”

“Not the point. Even if I hate him, I wouldn’t do that to him. But we’re not the same, I guess. 'Cause he’s been plotting my death since our third year. Remember? He pushed me down the stairs and my nose was crooked for a while?” Jaehyun’s nose scrunches as if he could feel the phantom pain.

Winter rolls her eyes, licking the red sauce off her fingers. “Yes, I do remember that but I don’t think he’s plotting to kill you. Not anymore. I don’t like the guy but he just…dislikes you –”

“He hates me!”

“Okay, calm down. He hates you. But he’s just 18. His mother is the headmistress. He will not kill you. You’re paranoid and I understand that.”

Ignoring Winter and her arguments that are starting to sound reasonable, Jaehyun munches on his fourth scone. Sometimes, Winter wonders if he never really gets sick from eating so much of it. “I should go out and follow him when he feeds at night. See who he kills for dinner.”

“Stop stalking him, Jaehyun.” Winter sounds tired now. “You stalked him in our fifth year for six whole months because you wanted to prove your hunch that he kills people and drains their blood. Where did that get you? That’s probably why he tried to feed you to the Chimera.”

“That wasn’t stalking, Winter. That was investigating.”

“You tailed him everyday after class.”

“We are roommates –”

“You went to his violin practice thrice.”

Jaehyun becomes flustered. “I just passed by!”

“You watch his football matches even though you know jackshit about football.”

“I – that’s not - !” Stuttering, Jaehyun huffs and breaks his last scone in half. “He’s a vampire and he kills people. That’s…that’s illegal.”

“You don’t know that. Don’t you think he probably has it hard too? Being in Watford, surrounded by his enemies? You’re not his only enemy, mind you. Every single one of us here, even his stupid football friends may turn their backs on him one day. Because he’s a bloodeater. And magicians don’t like bloodeaters.”

Right. Mages despise Vampires down to the marrow of their bones. So when the Vampires infiltrated Watford 13 years ago and killed so many children, they were nearly obliterated the next day, and their remaining population never dared to breathe the same air as the mages ever again.

Unfortunately, Taeyong was in the nursery that night when the Vampires attacked. He died for a minute and then reopened his eyes. His mother couldn’t save him. He was turned. Now, his heart no longer beats, his skin is cold, and he drinks blood for dinner.  

The only reason he’s still in Watford is because of his mother. The Coven that used to adore him has no affection for him now.

“Yeah, we don’t like bloodeaters. So I’m not paranoid. It’s…it’s…”

“Justified?”

“Yep.”

Winter shakes her head slowly, lamenting her quickly disappearing chicken. “I don’t know, Jaehyun. Don’t follow him around again if you don’t want a repeat of fifth year. Even if what you’re suspecting is possible, don’t even try to stalk him. Don’t go courting trouble.”

It sounds unfair, to be honest. So are they supposed to just let it happen? What if Jaehyun is right, what about the families of those people that Taeyong kills? Don’t they deserve to know that their kids have become some vampire’s dinner?

“What, we’re just gonna let him be?”

Winter looks at him pointedly. “You let him be. Your obsession with Taeyong is unhealthy.”

Once again, Jaehyun gasps in disbelief. “I’m not obsessed with him! I just don’t get it. Why he’s a vampire, one of those sinister creatures, but he’s also…he’s also…” He gesticulates frustratedly, crumpling the tissue he used to wipe his mouth. “Um, admirable? Impressive? Vampires are supposed to be ugly, right? But no – Taeyong is so good looking. Yeah, he definitely looks like a vampire, like he’s gonna drink you dry, but when you stand close to him, and you look into his eyes? They’re abnormally gray, and there’s like a little bit of blue and green too –”

“Flecks of blue and green, yes. I saw his picture on the student profile.”

“Ahuh, and then he’s smart too. Always acing all of our classes since first year. All the girls and some boys go crazy over him even if he’s a snob. And the way he dresses? Who wears a dress shirt and trousers on weekends, Winter? So posh. Twice I saw him in a suit. A suit! With those floral patterns.”

The curl on Winter’s lips can pass off as a grimace, but only the Witch knows better. “Maybe he goes somewhere important.”

“Every weekend? Pffft. Then at night he wears those expensive pajamas and scowls at my trackie bottoms. So what if I only have sweatpants? I hate wearing shirts when I sleep. Do vampires even play the violin and get into a football team? Only him, I bet. So vampires are not supposed to be good looking and smart and cool.”

Jaehyun will die before he admits he admires those qualities of Taeyong.

“If I were him, I wouldn’t have time to pick fights with anybody because I’d just be focusing on myself. That git is full of himself but he still wants to hate on me. Just because I’m poor and I don’t have parents. Tsk. What an asshole. He will never say it but he’s jealous of me for being The Greatest Mage. He has everything but he wants to take that away from me too, that’s why he’s plotting to kill me.”

Whenever Jaehyun tells himself that, he’s easily convinced. It seems like the truth. It’s so easy to think that a powerful wizard like Taeyong can have anything he wants but the one thing he wants the most is already in Jaehyun’s hold. His hatred makes it so believable. But when he’s got an audience, like now, and his audience clearly doesn’t buy it, Jaehyun’s bubble of pretense pops.

Winter doesn’t know what to say anymore because everytime they’re together, they only talk about Taeyong, and the 30% of it is not being followed anyway as Jaehyun literally cannot stop. His world revolves around his roommate, ironically. His world revolves around his nemesis.

“—And his smell is all over the room but I can’t do anything about it because I’m scared of casting the wrong spell and getting expelled by the Anathema –” Noticing that his best friend’s attention is no longer on him but somewhere over his shoulder, Jaehyun turns his head, and then squints at Winter. “Karina Yu?” His eyes widen when Winter blushes. “You like her?”

“She’s so pretty, okay? You have eyes, right?” Winter frowns when he clicks his tongue in disapproval. “What?”

“You have eyes, right? Then why can’t you see that she and Taeyong are alike?”

He receives a grumble.

“How did you even conclude that?”

Jaehyun shrugs. “They’re both untouchable. And their presence is too strong, like you can’t ignore it, and there’s something in their gaze like they’re always plotting something. Like they know something you don’t. And their faces make you freeze up.”

Rolling her eyes so hard she fears it’ll get stuck, Winter throws her hands exasperatedly. “You mean they’re both so beautiful it’s stupefying. Alright, I see what you’re hinting at, but they’re not the same. Karina is nice. We exchange pleasantries everytime we see each other at the hallways in Cloisters. Instead of trying to convince me that my crush is a horrible person, why don’t you find a way to stop inserting Taeyong in everything? It’s Taeyong 24/7 for you.”

“And it’s Karina 24/7 for you?”

“No, because it’s just a silly crush. And you’re not denying it.”

“It’s hard not to when you live with a dead boy…”

And as if he has screamed it, Taeyong looks up, their gazes locking in the hall. Jaehyun goes rigid for a second before glaring, as Taeyong raises a thick brow, mouthing what is it, Chosen One?

Jaehyun’s jaw clenches.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

As their last class ends, Jaehyun comes back to their dorm to find it empty. Thank Merlin. He needs some time alone for himself because he always feels and thinks too much when Taeyong is around. A lot of his thoughts are the same old hate rant, and the rest he doesn’t wish to talk about. Mainly because it’s so uncharacteristic of him to think of them.

He invited Winter to just study there since she can sneak inside the Mummers House anyway, but she said she wishes to do her readings at her own room. Weird. Because she never passes up on the chance to sit on Taeyong’s bed out of spite. And her roommate, Ningning, raises a pet gecko, which is both gross – according to her, and forbidden in Watford. Maybe it has something to do with Karina.

So without his demonic roommate to dampen his mood, Jaehyun changes out of his uniform and leaves the heap on the floor, and tries to read the English fiction book that Winter checked out from the library for him.

He closes it after reading two pages, his head already hurting from mouthing words he doesn’t recognize. In his defense, Winter gave him something advanced, and he doesn’t have a dictionary around. Jaehyun glances at Taeyong’s desk. No, no dictionary. The nerd knows everything that he doesn’t need a stupid dictionary.

Speaking of Taeyong (again? said Winter’s voice in his head), his vampire roommate has football practice so Taeyong will most likely return later. Jaehyun realizes he’s got a few hours to kill by himself so he thinks of different ways to get back at Taeyong for not waking him up as he transfers to bed and lies on his stomach.

If laptops and phones weren’t considered illegal in Watford – although most students have successfully sneaked a gadget in anyway, he’d look up the best pranks of the year that will surely piss the hell out of Taeyong.

He’d practice some of the spells on Taeyong’s stuff, but he’s scared of misusing his magic again so he just gets up, rids his desk of pencil shavings and bits of Cheetos, and plops his body on Taeyong’s bed.

Leaving his scent there is a good enough prank and Jaehyun cannot wait to see Taeyong’s head shoot off his body from extreme anger, like a cork popping off the bottle when the champagne is shaken.

He spends an hour there trying to do his homework, rolling around, making sure that his scent sticks to the pillowcase and the sheets, until he grows bored of it. There’s only fifteen minutes left before the dinner bell rings so he tosses his stuff to his own bed and then goes down to the dining hall to meet Winter.

When there’s still no sign of Taeyong even after he returns with a full stomach, Jaehyun considers heading to the football pitch. But then Taeyong’s sports bag greets him at the foot of the vampire’s bed, confirming that practice is over. So there’s only one explanation as to why Taeyong is gone again. It’s dinner time. Of course, vampires gotta eat, too.

❈

It’s past curfew when Taeyong comes back, still in his violet football jersey. Lee 18, it says at the back, with Watford’s logo printed on the front. Jaehyun sits up in bed instantly, gaze flying over Taeyong’s shorts (the muscles in his legs flex at every step he makes, and Jaehyun thinks it is very evil), before tugging the covers down his nude torso. He was getting ready to sleep, alright.

Because his roommate doesn’t give a shit whether or not he’s already knocked out and the bright lights would disturb him, Taeyong turns them on. Vampires have superb vision even in the dark, so he knows that Taeyong merely did that just to give him hell, and Jaehyun feels his left eye twitch as Taeyong sits on the edge of his bed and starts removing his cleats.

“Where have you been? Football practice doesn’t extend past curfew.”

Jaehyun didn’t need to ask. He knows that Taeyong didn’t come straight from the pitch. He simply wants to hear the truth directly from Taeyong’s mouth.

Openly ignoring him, Taeyong stores his cleats in the closet. There are two, one for each of them, pressed side by side. Jaehyun takes the one on the right with his name scribbled on the door, his poor penmanship similar to a shaky five year-old's.

“Hey –”

“You lied on my bed.”

“What?”

Gray eyes burn holes on his unoccupied bed as Taeyong repeats his words. With a grin, Jaehyun sticks his nose in the air.

“No, I didn’t?”

“Then why do I smell your hideousness on it, you twat?” Fishing his wand out of his violet duffle bag, Taeyong spells his bed clean, then grits his teeth when he spots the heap of Jaehyun’s dirty uniform. “A place for everything, and everything in its place!”

The pieces of fabric shoot to the empty hamper with a soft thud and Taeyong finally slides his wand under his pillow, his perpetual frown yet to vanish. “You truly disgust the fuck out of me.”

“Oh really?” Jaehyun asks, bristling. “Why didn’t you wake me up this morning? I’m just getting my revenge. And me, disgusting?” Like it calls for him, his eyes drop down to the dot of red on the base of Taeyong’s throat. Blood. “When you drink human blood to live?”

Taeyong’s hardened expression eases to make way for a subtle flash of amusement as he tilts his head and swipes the blood away with his finger. “Huh.” Then he checks his jersey for more stains before spelling them away as well with a quick Clean as a whistle!

As if that’s nothing but a normal occurrence, which isn’t, because Jaehyun never saw blood on any part of him before when he fed, Taeyong just grabs his clothes from the closet before locking himself in the bathroom.

Sitting on his own bed, Jaehyun inwardly seethes and glares at the bathroom door.

“Did you eat people, dead boy?” He asks when his roommate steps out wearing those crimson, velvet pajamas. Cedar wafts throughout their room in a steam, tickling Jaehyun’s nose. Taeyong doesn’t respond to his question, so when the vampire sits down on his own bed  towel-drying his long hair, Jaehyun crumples the empty bag of Cheetos that has been stuck on the wall for two days and throws it, missing Taeyong’s cheek by an inch. It lands on the vampire’s feet.

Anyway, it successfully draws Taeyong’s attention back to him when his roommate whips around with a scowl.

“What the hell do you want?”

“Did you eat people? That was blood on your collarbone, right? Why were you out so late? How many did you –”

“Do you even hear yourself?” Taeyong cuts him off sharply. “Did you slip in the bathroom this morning and hit your head on the toilet trying to rush to class? Your insanity is getting tiring.”

Insane? Jaehyun is not insane! He’s indignant and he hates that his roommate didn’t have the decency to wake him up, that his roommate is a bloodeater, that his roommate tried to kill him twice, and that his roommate is most likely trying to kill him right now. He’s not insane; he wants to show Taeyong he’s not a pushover.

“Winter told me not to follow you anymore so I’m just gonna ask you, okay. You should be honest with me –”

Taeyong smirks, the fire in his eyes blazing. Like when he stood in the forest behind those flames. “Who do you think you are? Just because you’re The Chosen One doesn’t mean you have the right to tell me what to do. Go to sleep and stop bothering me before I steal your voice away.”

Jaehyun stammers in alarm, words exploding in gasps and shrieks of disbelief. “How dare you. Y-you’d do it…?”

“I don’t know. You tell me. You’re The Greatest Mage, aren’t you? Surely you can stop me before I get to freeze your tongue,” Taeyong says before chucking his towel in the laundry basket.

“You’re evil…”

“Tell me something I don’t know, or go to sleep. I’ll give you a cookie if you get to leave me alone.”

Jaehyun keeps his tightly closed fists on his lap as Taeyong slips under the covers and faces the other side. “No, thanks. Give it to yourself so you can stop draining people.”

Silence.

“Or will you go crazy if you stop drinking blood –”

He visibly flinches when Taeyong throws the covers to sit up. It’s kind of embarrassing when he’s actually trying to look fearless, to let Taeyong see he’s not that boy anymore that the vampire could easily push down the stairs.

“For a mage who cannot even cast one spell right in Magic Words, you sure talk too much.” Taeyong side-eyes Jaehyun’s desk. “That your homework?” And without letting Jaehyun speak, he grabs his wand and tears Jaehyun’s essay to a thousand pieces.

A few seconds pass without any of them saying anything. Jaehyun’s mouth moves like a fish out of water, and then he’s picking up a torn piece of his homework that flew to his side. “…What did you do?”

“You can put those back together, right?”

Sure, Jaehyun can. As you were is so basic that if he cannot cast that too, he’ll fling himself out the window. He can do it now, glue his papers back to the whole they were, but he’s so mad he can barely lift a finger. His hand hurt from writing that essay for hours and then it’s gone. Not permanently, but at the moment, it’s gone.

Lifting his gaze he meets Taeyong’s taunting one. His wand is hot in his grip when he fetches it.

Jaehyun takes a deep breath. He’s The Greatest Mage. He’s The Chosen One. He will give Taeyong a taste of his own medicine.

“You’re gonna sleep?”

“What –”

“And there was only one bed!”

His ass hits the cold, hard floor.

The two of them hold each other’s gaze for a minute, the silence ringing loud in their ears, and then Taeyong is doubling over in laughter.

Jaehyun stares in horror at the space where his bed used to be and only sees the prints that the frame left.

His bed is gone. He’s clutching the tip of his wand. He spelled his own damn bed gone. And he cannot reverse it without supervision, because reverse spells are sometimes fatal.

Laughter continuously bounces on the walls of their room. Taeyong watches him without a pinch of pity. “Be a boy scout and use your bag as a pillow. Spell yourself warm if you can. And don’t forget to hold the hilt, twat.”

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

The office and sanctum of the headmistress are at the very top of the Weeping Tower. To get there, there is a winding staircase that leads to a round foyer. Watford’s seal is painted on the marble floor, and on the domed ceiling is a mural of Merlin summoning magic.

“Do you know how many students flocked to the tower at five in the morning saying their beds suddenly disappeared?”

“Um…” Jaehyun clasps his hands behind him, glancing at Taeyong on his left who’s glaring at his feet before looking at the headmistress with guilt swimming in his eyes. “I honestly don’t know, miss…”

Headmistress Lee leans forward to her desk, planting her hands there as the chair squeaks softly beneath her weight. “There was a crowd. Property custodians just left when you got here. Reported that half of the beds in Watford vanished into thin air last night. That means half of the students did not have a good night’s sleep.”

“E-even in the Cloisters…?”

“It smelled like smoke when it happened,” she says. “I thought that you two might know something about it.”

Taeyong huffs, the very first outward reaction he showed since stepping inside his mother’s office. “So you know it was my roommate who made the mistake. Why am I here?”

The way Headmistress Lee tilts her head makes her look so much like Taeyong and it kind of makes Jaehyun feel weird. “Because a fight must have broken out between the two of you for him to cast your bed gone. Why would he get rid of his own bed? Am I right, Jeong Jaehyun?”

When the headmistress’ attention switches back to him, Jaehyun straightens up. “I’m sorry, headmistress Lee!”

She looks at the both of them before picking up a green fountain pen and opening a folder with a black leather cover. “We will try to return all the beds before the sun sets. If not, those without their bed shall be given a substitute. Will you two promise me to keep your disagreements to a minimum, and as much as possible, not use your magic for petulance?” 

Both boys nods their heads.

“Very well. Now, your punishment must be carried out.”

Taeyong steps forward, eyes wide. “Mom –”

“We are in Watford,” she corrects him.

“Headmistress Lee, I am a victim here –”

Jaehyun snorts. “You still have your bed.”

“And thank Merlin for that!”

Headmistress Lee quiets them down with a wave of her hand, a spell she can cast without a wand, and sighs. “You will go to the barns and help in cleaning and doing whatever is needed to do there. No buts. This shall teach you a lesson. Now go. I have already informed the goatherd.”

Jaehyun cannot believe this. He can believe the punishment because he deserves it, but he can’t believe he has to miss classes (not that he loves attending them!) and spend time with his nemesis. In spite of that, they both reluctantly head to the barn, with Jaehyun avoiding the glares that students are sending his way. Beside him, Taeyong is silent but anyone can tell that he’s irritated. The wind blows their way and slaps through the long strands of his roommate’s hair.

When they get to their destination, a woman that looks to be in her 40s steps out of the barn wearing a pair of moss green blouse and skirt that reach below the knee. Her feet are clad in black ankle boots with grass and hay sticking to them.

It must be the goatherd. She greets them with a smile that cancels out a few years of her age as it brightens her whole face. Nobody really cares about the barn so it’s their first time meeting her properly.

“Don’t worry about the beds, boys. They will return soon. We have magnificent mages in the Coven. My name’s Sora, an alumna.”

Jaehyun shakes her hand. “I’m Jaehyun –”

“The Chosen One.” Why does Jaehyun even bother? Even the merwolves know who he is.

“And this is –”

“The headmistress’ son.” Sora gives Taeyong a smile. “Well, we should start now, I suppose. And no dawdling, boys. I’m not the only one watching you.”

They turn into owls when they enter the barn, looking around the building. Pens are lined up on either side, and on the ground are scattered goat poop. Taeyong’s nose crinkles. “Can we not just use magic?”

Sora opens a closet filled with tools. “Well, we could. I always spell it away. But you’re here for a punishment so we will do this like how Normals do.” She hands them each a broomstick and a pan. “Clean each pen. After that we will distribute some hay, trim the grass outside and collect the goats. Chop chop!”

Taeyong goes to the pens on the right side, so Jaehyun takes the left. He enters the first pen, careful not to step on the poop and puffs his cheeks as he starts sweeping them into the pan. “It’s not smelly.”

“Goat manure is odourless. It doesn’t attract insects. Very good for the soil.”

“Where are the goats?”

“I released them to the hills. It’s not good to keep them in the pen all the time. Animals need to have some fun, too.”

“What kind of fun would goats even have? They’re just goats.”

Smiling as she leans against the side of the pen, Sora stares at him. “You don’t go to the library, do you?”

With a shrug, Jaehyun continues to scoop the poop. “We never had to do some research about goats.”

“I can’t believe they still don’t include the goats in lessons. You wanna know a secret? Actually, it’s not even a secret. It’s just not being taught in class and nobody finds the goats interesting.”

He stills for a moment. “Do the goats transform?”

Sora snorts and takes a cookie out of her blouse, eating it. The crumbs fall to her chest. “The goats are not just goats. They protect Watford. Everything here is magical, Jaehyun. We take care of the goats in return because they work very hard. If they leave, Watford will be gone.”

That sounds incredible, but – “I thought unicorns protect Watford?”

“Have you seen a unicorn before?”

“Yeah! Just one. It flew away. I think it came from…the barn…”

Her smile widens. “That’s not a unicorn. The goats have wings. And once they get lost, or fly away, Watford will get sick. So it’s my duty to always keep an eye on them.”

“You’re not keeping an eye on them right now, miss…”

“Sora is fine. Well, they’re not stubborn goats. I believe they still want to stay in Watford. Headmistress Lee’s son knows about them.”

Jaehyun scoops more poop, mumbling. “Of course, he does. He’s a nerd. He knows everything.”

His bitterness reaches the goatherd’s hearing. Sora lets them finish cleaning the pens, and then they start distributing hay in each pen for the goats to eat later. She makes it look easy, but Jaehyun sweats as he goes back and forth to weigh the hay then leaves them in the pen. Apparently, goats cannot eat too much. Their meals always need to be regulated.

After that, they are taught how to use the mowers. Once again, Taeyong walks away from them to complete the task by himself.

“Headmistress Lee’s son doesn’t want to hang with you.”

Jaehyun rolls his eyes. “Leave him be. He wants to show off.” When he chances a look at Taeyong, his roommate is already looking back with a smirk. Jaehyun ignores him and begins trimming the grass. “For how long are you gonna take care of the goats?”

“Until my bones can no longer support me.” They raise their voices as the mower whirs. “My love for the goats is as loyal as my love for Watford, you know.  I can never leave this place as long as I’m alive.”

“That’s nice,” Jaehyun says. “I love Watford too.”

“It’d be news if The Chosen One did not.”

Mowing the grass takes them longer. When they finish, they return the mowers to the giant closet and wash their hands. Sora invites them to her small house (almost everything is made of wood except for the kitchenware) next to the barn and makes lunch for the three of them, although Taeyong only takes the cookies sits on the couch, facing away.

The goatherd allows them an hour of break before they set off to the Hills Beyond to collect the goats. She needs to do something else, she said, so she cannot accompany them.

Through one of the secret gates with a drawbridge over the moat, they reach the hills. There are more or less 40 goats roaming around, and Jaehyun fails to spot one with their wings out. He supposes that’s a good thing.

“How are we gonna do this?”

“I’m not a goatherd. I’m a student and I’m supposed to be in class right now, making sure that Kim won’t be the top student by the end of the school year.”

Jaehyun gives his roommate a disgusted look. “Winter is gonna be the Valedictorian. And well, you’re not in class because you’re here with me, to herd goats, so you can obsess over your notes next time.”

A goat bumps its head on Taeyong’s leg. “I’m not gonna fight with you right now, Jeong.”

Shrugging once, Jaehyun turns on his heel to approach the nearest goat and gently taps its butt as he leads it to the tree. He decides he’ll gather them there before they bring them back to the barn so they won’t leave one behind.

Though this proves to be fruitless later on as the goats keep leaving their spot. Jaehyun looks at Taeyong who’s glaring at the goat trying to bite his shoe. Or the grass around his shoe. “Don’t scowl at them. They’re important to Watford.”

He gets that infuriating raise of brow and then Taeyong’s looking at the goat again as if in deep thought.

What a git. Jaehyun tries to get the goat on his right but it runs away in surprise. Seeing that they need to take all 40 of them back to the barn, Jaehyun dreads the possibility they might finish this task in the evening.

“Are you going home for Christmas break?”

The coldness on Taeyong’s face melts a bit when he looks at Jaehyun. “Of course. I’ve been doing that for seven years.”

“Well, I won’t. I won’t go back to the care homes.” Jaehyun continues since Taeyong won’t ask why. “No big reason, I just wanna stay here. ‘Cause we’re graduating soon.”

“Kim won’t take you?”

A shrug. “Winter’s family is big. She’s got little siblings. And I used to sleep in her room, which kinda sucks for her? Because we’re not kids anymore and she deserves to have her space for herself and spend time with her family for two weeks.” He shrugs again because it’s both a mannerism and his way of expressing himself. A shrug means he doesn’t want to think too much. “We’re always together anyway.”

His roommate is looking at the goat again and Jaehyun is slightly disappointed that Taeyong has nothing to say about what he just shared.

“You know how to sing?”

“Huh?”

“It doesn’t matter. If you know the lyrics to Mary Had A Little Lamb, we’ll get this done in no time.”

Jaehyun watches the other take out his wand, so he does the same. “But they’re not lambs? They’re goats?”

Taeyong scoffs at him. “This is why you don’t pass any test in Magic Words. You don’t understand what creativity means.”

And then he clears his throat.

‘ Mary had a little lamb
Little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
It's fleece was white as snow

Everywhere that Mary went
Mary went, Mary went
Everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go’

The goats look at them as if sizing them up. One by one, they head towards Taeyong. Jaehyun joins him in the song as they slowly make their way back, a long line of goats tailing them.

‘It followed her to school one day
School one day, school one day
It followed her to school one day
Which was against the rules

It made the children laugh and play
Laugh and play, laugh and play
It made the children laugh and play
To see the lamb at school’

Sing, they do. The song repeats so the spell won’t break as they walk over the drawbridge and the water splashes when the merwolf swims by.

‘Everywhere that Mary went
Mary went, Mary went
Everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go

Mary had a little lamb
Little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
It's fleece was white as snow’

Sora is beaming at them when they lead the goats inside their pens. “Good job, boys.”

“Thank you!”

“Who thought of the spell?”

“Taeyong did –” Jaehyun turns to the sound of a door being pushed wide open and he only glimpses Taeyong’s leg before the other disappears. Probably to head back to Mummers House since their punishment is over.

Good for him. Good for them! They did their best and the headmistress will let them go.

Still, Jaehyun feels that prickle of sadness because Taeyong didn’t even wait for him. And he doesn’t understand it.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Most beds are back in the dorms before the sun sets, including Jaehyun’s. As a lot of reversal spells are dangerous, the Coven must not want to test their magic’s limits lest it comes to haunt them.

Lying on his stomach on his bed he dearly missed, Jaehyun sketches a herd of goats on the last page of his notebook while Winter sits on Taeyong’s bed as she talks about having lunch with Karina. His roommate is out but his best friend won’t forget to get rid of her scent on the sheets before she leaves.

“So you didn’t have any test?” Jaehyun asks when Winter finally puts a period to her rambling. “And there’s no homework?”

Winter doesn’t mind that he has no feedback regarding her growing attraction to Karina. “You know that they will assign the activities on the last day before Christmas break.”

“They’re so evil.”

The witch snorts. “You say that when it’s been that way since the first year. Ever since Watford began.”

Jaehyun does his best to draw the horns on each goat. “And it’s not cool! The kids in my care home played and slept and ate during Christmas break. I had to play and sleep and eat and do my readings.”

“You make it sound like it’s the worst thing in the world. The worst has yet to come, remember?” Curious as to what he’s been doing, Winter cranes her neck to look at it. “It’s not a punishment if you like it.”

Jaehyun’s brows slightly furrow but he doesn’t stop sketching. “We didn’t do anything too hard. I guess if you took away the poop cleaning, it was actually enjoyable. And the goats were cute.” He finally looks at his best friend, the side of his hand stained with pencil lead. “You’re not gonna study?”

“I already finished my readings.”

“If that’s the case…” Closing his notebook, he jumps off the bed and leaves his stuff on the desk. “Let’s go to the pitch!”

Winter falls back with a groan, arms spread out on her sides. “Not another football game. Four years of watching Taeyong and you never understood a thing!”

“We’re not going there so I can learn how to play football. I have to know if he’s plotting. When he’s not around and I can’t see him, I get more nervous. I have to catch him in the act.”

She pushes herself off the bed with a grunt. “Seriously? And how is he gonna plot while playing?”

Jaehyun shrugs before walking over to his closet to rummage through his small set of clothes. Honestly, he has more school uniform than casual clothing. “He’s a powerful magician. And he’s a genius. All things are possible if he really wants to kill me.”

“And if he doesn’t really wanna kill you?”

“Let’s just go, okay? Here,” he says as he shortens their distance to loosely wrap a scarf around her. He only has one but his best friend needs it more than he does. “It’s cold outside.”

Winter sends him a soft smile and gives in, heading out of the Mummers.

“But let’s go to the dining hall first so we can get some snacks!”

It only snows or rains one to four times a month during winter in this part of the country, but it gets very cold. Maybe the first snow will fall during Christmas break as it usually happens.

Lights are turned on to illuminate the pitch as it’s already evening. When they reach the bleachers, Jaehyun carefully sits down with an armful of mint Aero. The students that came to watch are all dressed in trousers and jackets, and he’s the only one in sweatpants and t-shirt. His body can take the temperature drop; he wonders if the teeth of those football players aren’t chattering.

Except Taeyong, he doesn’t need to wonder about him. Taeyong is a vampire. Taeyong is physically cold.

The game just started when they arrived. Jaehyun doesn’t ask Winter what’s going on because he will not get it, but he keeps his eyes on Taeyong while eating his mint Aeros, almost never blinking.

His roommate runs here and there, from one side of the pitch to another. Jaehyun never tries to know what every move means because the only thing he has to focus on is Taeyong, and if he’s cooking up spells by kicking a stupid ball.

Said stupid ball is now stolen by Taeyong and he kicks it towards a teammate, his hair tied to a high ponytail to keep it away from his face. He’s the only one in the team with hair as long as that, and Jaehyun thinks he’s the only one who makes it look good anyway.

Winter leans close. “Does he look like he’s plotting?”

“If a bombing happens, it’s his fault.”

“Come on, that’s ridiculous.”

“No. You’ll see. When a bomb explodes, he will look this way and smirk because he knows that I know he did it. He knows I’m watching.” Jaehyun aggressively bites his mint Aero.

Winter abruptly stands up, trying to walk past him. “I don’t wanna stalk him with you –”

He tugs her back down. “We’re not stalking! We’re watching a football game!”

Mollifying her with a snack, Jaehyun gets back to watching Taeyong on the pitch. He squints when a referee raises a card and some of the players seem to be annoyed as they move away from the goal. Jaehyun doesn’t know why nobody’s stopping Taeyong as he takes the ball, but then Taeyong kicks it and sends it flying towards the goal, and then Jaehyun cannot stop the sudden fluttering in his stomach.

If Taeyong kicked him, he’d surely break a rib.

Jaehyun swallows.

The game continues, his thoughts of Taeyong plotting his death floating out of his mind the longer he drinks in the sight of his roommate being an incredible football player. When Taeyong’s team wins, he’s among the first ones to spring up and clap with his mouth hanging open.

Jaehyun stops clapping when Winter pinches his side. “Wha – ?!”

Yet his best friend merely gives him a strange look as she picks up the remaining mint Aeros that fell to the ground before walking out of the pitch. Jaehyun catches up with her. “Is this what you picked up from hanging out with Karina?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re starting to give me these looks like you know something that I don’t. What is it? Come on, tell me! Tell me!”

Winter keeps her mouth shut though the corner threatens to curl up in mischief. Jaehyun stomps.

They head back to their rooms, Winter returning to the Cloisters. Jaehyun takes his shirt off and hangs it on his chair before bringing his notebook to bed to continue sketching the goats. However, thoughts of Taeyong on the football pitch keep distracting him.

Taeyong is so… Taeyong looked so great out there, for the lack of a better word, because Jaehyun is so bad at adjectives. Taeyong really knows what he’s doing. Four years of being in the team turned him into one of their best players. Even if Jaehyun is a sports dumbass, he can say that Taeyong deserves his spot there.

His thoughts stray towards Taeyong’s strong legs. Jaehyun thinks it’ll hurt just as much, if not more, if Taeyong kicks him down the stairs.

He sits up immediately when the door opens and in comes Taeyong who didn’t even break a sweat because he’s a vampire, and vampires are evil because they cannot be cool but here Taeyong is being one.

His roommate drops his sports bag and raises a brow at him. One more of that brow raising and Jaehyun is going to commit a crime. “Snow. You got something to say?”

Jaehyun looks at the window and doesn’t see anything. Ah, Snow. The nickname he earned from Taeyong because according to his roommate, he’s got skin as white as snow. Taeyong only calls him that when it’s winter. Taeyong never calls him by his name – it’s either Jeong or Snow, and when Taeyong slips up, which has happened for only two times since first year, Taeyong pretends he didn’t.

The vampire rolls his eyes and takes his pajamas to the bathroom. Jaehyun doesn’t even know why he acknowledged Taeyong’s presence. Typically, they just either do their best acting like no one’s there, or sneer and make nasty comments until they’re both riled up and it’s time to sleep.

He was thinking of the game, and how amazing Taeyong was, and maybe he meant to tell Taeyong that. But the git likely already knows and he will just scoff at Jaehyun if he says anything before insulting his lack of football knowledge.

It’s only seven and Jaehyun skips dinner because he ate too much mint Aero and he thinks he’s going to puke. But just to make sure he won’t regret it if he gets hungry later, he opens his bag of chips.

He’s got crumbs on his cheeks when Taeyong finishes washing up. His roommate sits at his desk, rubbing his hair dry with a towel before draping it on the back of his neck and opening his notes.

Purposely eating loudly, Jaehyun stuffs five chips in his mouth. “We don’t have homework.”

“Some luck. But students who actually want to excel and be accepted in prestigious universities still study even when they don’t have to.”

Not having a response to that, Jaehyun simply huffs and continues eating, discreetly watching Taeyong as the latter’s lips move to mumble whatever  he’s writing on his notebook using different colored pens, sometimes attaching those little flag-like tapes on the edges.

“Do you have something to say or not?” Taeyong lifts his head and it’s too late to look away. “Why are you just staring at me? I know my study habits are great and my grades are amazing but you will never be a fan of those. Is it my face?”

Jaehyun splutters.

Taeyong doesn’t raise his brow but he smirks and it’s the same thing, and Jaehyun coughs. “You’ve been living with me for eight years, Jeong. You should be used to my marvelous, awe-inspiring looks by now.”

“Y-you’re not even that handsome!”

Taeyong shrugs before facing his notes again, obviously making fun of him. “Suit yourself.”

This bastard is so arrogant – is it my face? Jaehyun almost goes off from madness. Despite that, when he composes himself, he observes the way Taeyong’s hand moves as he writes, and how he seems to absentmindedly play with the ends of his hair.

To know one’s enemy better, you have to watch him. Always.

Jaehyun shoves more chips in his mouth, his munching getting louder, so he’s not surprised when Taeyong points the ivory wand at him to cast a Keep schutum! and the noises Jaehyun makes quiet down.

So it’s annoying, okay he’s at fault, but Jaehyun still shakes his head as if Taeyong’s the one that’s being a bother.

❈

Another hour passes by. Jaehyun is already facing the wall, lying on his side and pretending to sleep when he hears Taeyong go to the bathroom and then leave. He looks at the clock. Feeding time, perhaps.

Winter’s voice telling him to stop stalking echoes in his head. It dies down when he puts his shirt and shoes on.

He keeps his distance from Taeyong. No other students are outside since at this time of the evening, they should either be studying or getting ready to sleep. Jaehyun is pretty sure that magical creatures are lingering about in the courtyard, but nothing makes its presence known as he watches Taeyong head to the White Chapel.

His heart drums in agitation.

When Taeyong enters the chapel, Jaehyun wonders if the vampire doesn’t get hurt. He stops at the entrance, pokes his head in, and waits for a few minutes before entering.

Jaehyun heads to the altar, and opens the door behind the cross where Taeyong disappeared into.

Sconces are lit, the fire in them still as there’s not much wind blowing in. There is a short hallway in front of him and moving portraits of the deceased founders of Watford hang on the walls. It’s creepy in every sense of the word and this is not even The Catacombs yet. He’s got goosebumps, and the hair on his arms and nape stand. He’s not scared of the dark, though. He’s scared of not being alone in the dark.

There are hidden doorways behind hidden doorways that Jaehyun opens with spells he can do. It’s like a labyrinth. The further goes, the more deafeningly his heart beats.

And when he starts thinking that he’s never going to find Taeyong, he sees a spiral staircase behind the next door. More sconce, but he can’t even see the bottom of the stairs. Cracks and cobwebs litter the dusty bricked walls. Even from where he stands, he can hear the soft squeaking of rats.

Merlin.

Jaehyun has no idea how huge The Catacombs is. Or how far it goes beyond the earth, how many bodies lie there, how much blood spills whenever Taeyong feeds. Jaehyun puts his foot on the first step and pulls it back right away.

He’s mumbling the incantation before he even realizes it, and then he’s clutching his sword tightly in his right hand.

He’s terrified. Taeyong is down there, probably drinking the blood of the victims he trapped. No matter how much Jaehyun wants to finally catch him in the act, he doesn’t think he’s ready to witness something so grotesque. What if he passes out, and wakes up with Taeyong’s fangs about to sink in his jugular?

Never mind. This is enough. This is how far he will go today. For now, he has to gather courage to prepare himself for the worst.

He is The Chosen One. He is The Greatest Mage. He is powerful.

But Taeyong is talented, and a vampire. Mages and Vampires cannot be in one place at the same time.

Jaehyun turns around and makes his way back.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

The room isn’t pitch black when Taeyong opens his eyes but he knows it’s still too early to be awake. For one, his alarm clock hasn’t rung yet. He’s not supposed to be up now.

But the loud, slightly harsh breathing from the next bed is particularly heavier today. He knows that Jaehyun is a mouth breather (as he used to watch Jaehyun while he’s asleep all those years ago) and it proved to be quite disconcerting countless of times. So he tugs the covers over his head in annoyance, hoping to get back to sleep when a series of rapid footsteps and the door to the bathroom slamming open then followed by retching force him to sit up.

He listens to more retching, and when a choked sob interrupts that, he leaves the bed to check on Jaehyun.

Expectedly shirtless, Jaehyun sits on the bathroom floor and slumps over the toilet to empty his stomach, body heaving still even as no more vomit surges up his throat.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

He’s never dealt with sick people before but Taeyong is perfectly aware that this is no way to talk to a sick person. The thing is, this is his automatic reaction towards Jaehyun. To be aggressive.

Said sick person looks up at him with a string of vomit on his chin and brimming tears around his eyes. Hair so stiff and unruly. Face stamped with pinkish blotches. Terrible. The exact definition of pathetic. “Am sick…”

“Yeah, I can see that.” And he can smell that. Crowley. “But why are you sick?” Taeyong clicks his tongue irritatedly and enters the bathroom, hating the way Jaehyun jerks when he reaches over to flush the toilet. “Relax, I just don’t wanna see such a revolting sight.”

He has no plans to lay a hand on Jaehyun. Not today. Not ever again.

Gripping the other’s arm to pull him to a stand, Taeyong swallows a scathing remark as Jaehyun flinches yet again. Without a wand, because he’s the son of a stellar mage, he casts a Tidy up! for the vomit on the floor that missed the toilet before letting Jaehyun gargle his mouth clean. His roommate wobbles, transparently weak, so he keeps his hold on Jaehyun’s arm as he takes him back to his bed.

I’m touching his bare skin. I’m touching his bare skin. I’m touching his bare skin.

He’s sick.

I’m touching his bare skin.

Taeyong tosses his bottle of water to Jaehyun as a silent order for him to drink up. His brows furrow when the other only takes a sip with a grimace. “Do you have a fever?”

Now curled up in a fetal position, hugging the water bottle he didn’t notice is Taeyong’s, Jaehyun sighs. “I think so.”

Without a second thought, Taeyong presses his palm on Jaehyun’s forehead – because he’s a little greedy.

I’m touching him. I’m touching him. I’m touching him.

He’s sick.

I’m touching him.

“Yeah, you do. What else do you feel?”

“My stomach hurts, my head hurts. I’ve taken a dump twice while you were asleep. And I feel so cold…”

Jaehyun never gets cold. This human sun can walk outside shirtless and will not shudder even if he lies on a bed of snow.

His voice turns rougher. “What did you eat last night aside from the chips?”

It takes Jaehyun a few seconds to answer as if he had to dig through his memory first when he surely didn’t even do much yesterday. “Mint Aeros –”

Taeyong’s head pulsates painfully. “How many.”

“Can’t remember –”

“Aleister fucking Crowley, Snow. You ate a ton? Did you even check the expiration date?”

Jaehyun clutches the water bottle even closer as he does his best to glare up at Taeyong while rubbing his feet together for some warmth. “Not my fault! Why keep expired food in the dining hall in the first place?”

“Even if you knew it was expired, you would still eat it, wouldn’t you?” As Taeyong takes the bottle from Jaehyun who cried indignantly, making a mental note to talk to his mother about food storage, his roommate sniffles and finally lets those tears soak the pillow.

Jaehyun hiccups, looking at him like a terrified child would. “Am I going to die…?”

“You numpty. You’re not gonna die. You got food poisoned. But too much stupidity paired with gluttony is fatal.” Turning on his heel, Taeyong picks up one of his perfumes to spray it in the bathroom. He snoozes his alarm clock when it finally rings, and fishes his wand from its confinement.

“Get well soon!”

His roommate’s forehead is still hot but Taeyong can tell that the spell lightened the fever. All the other symptoms seem to still be there judging the way Jaehyun grabs the covers to wrap it around himself, but hopefully, Get well soon will live up to its name. Magic will never disappoint them.

“You have too many pains to be okay again instantly. I guess we’ll let your body purge the bacteria on its own.”

Jaehyun opens one eye and shivers. “We?”

❈

We is when the bell for the first class rings and Taeyong is still in their room. Although he’s washed up, he is in a light mocha dress shirt with the two top buttons open under a red, patterned blazer and ironed trousers of the same color – which is totally not the Watford uniform. Taeyong is not going to class, that much is obvious. Jaehyun stays still in bed, careful not to let Taeyong know he’s awake again as he fantasizes digging a hole through the vampire’s head to know what the heck is going on, and then call it evil.

Who even skips classes and stays in wearing that?

Though his body’s still in pain, his hackles are up throughout the day. Jaehyun cannot stop suspecting that Taeyong must be plotting something. His nemesis cares so much about grades, and for him to willingly miss another day convinces Jaehyun that something is definitely amiss. Now he’s even more paranoid. Sick and paranoid. Not a good combination. 10/10 will not recommend.

By midday, when he’s done showering and is told to lie down again, Taeyong spells him once more. The diarrhea is gone, he thinks so, but his fever is stubborn. He cannot eat a lot because his stomach hasn’t fully recovered yet so Taeyong brings him crackers and bananas from the dining hall. Three sour cherry scones would be nice, but Jaehyun’s not sure if that won’t make him sicker.

Oh he will be so heartbroken if his favorite food betrays him like that.

“Are you really so against going to the clinic? I won’t steal medicine for you.”

“Why are you even here?” Jaehyun peels his second banana, sitting with his back against the headboard. “I didn’t ask you to take care of me.”

Taeyong twirls the pen in his hand as he skims a book, his left leg crossed over the other and even that Jaehyun thinks is done deliberately. “I am not taking care of you, Jeong. I’m way above that. This is simply preventing you from dying in case the Anathema thinks I hurt you.”

“Y-you said I wouldn’t die!”

“Because I’m here, you twat. Now finish your banana and go back to sleep.”

For the next few hours Taeyong does his readings there as Jaehyun sleeps, missing the occasional glances thrown his way.

❈

“You think I will be fine tomorrow? Don’t wanna be sick on Christmas break…”

It’s past five in the afternoon. Winter barged in as soon as the last class for the day ended, demanding explanations to his absence. Taeyong has already gone to Violin practice.

He’s been in bed the whole day and his butt is getting sick of either sitting or lying down.

“A few hours to several days, but don’t worry. You said Taeyong cast spells so that should help. Pretty sure you’ll be okay again tomorrow. Stop eating so much,” Winter throws him a dirty look from Taeyong’s bed as she flips through his goat sketches, “and always check the expiration date before shoving any food in your mouth.”

Jaehyun petulantly kicks his legs under the covers. “It’s Watford’s fault!”

“You have to get better because no one’s taking care of you during the break. You’re not coming with me, remember? Be glad that Taeyong stayed with you.”

“He’s plotting.”

Not again, Winter thinks. “Nicks and Slicks –”

“I know, Winter! He’s plotting something! Why did he skip class? His mother is going to scold him! He’s plotting something and I have to know what it is.”

“He literally stayed behind to take care of you and you think he’s plotting to kill you?”

Huffily, Jaehyun buries half of his face on the pillow as he scowls at the water bottle he had hugged earlier. If he weren’t sick and his mind was clearer, he would never even think of touching that evil bottle. “He didn’t take care of me. He said so!”

Rather than arguing with him again, Winter shakes her head as he sits up and places a hand over him.

“You’re getting warmer!”

He feels Taeyong’s presence even before he wakes up. Jaehyun’s eyes crack open as Taeyong gently closes the door behind him after entering their room. The other doesn’t turn the lights on for some reason so Jaehyun can’t see if there’s blood on his shirt.

His voice is hoarse from sickness. “You went to The Catacombs?”

“…”

“Saw you there yesterday. You went there?”

Taeyong has a hand pressed to the bathroom door. Then he makes way to Jaehyun, pressing the same hand on his forehead. His fever has completely gone down. “I went to the deepest pits of hell where I belong. What is it to you if I did go to The Catacombs?”

Jaehyun pulls the covers up his shoulder, swatting the cold hand away from him. “Stop draining people.”

He’s met with a scoff before Taeyong goes to take a shower.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Jaehyun doesn’t understand a lot of things. Including the slight dismay he feels when he rises the next day and Taeyong is already gone, and only left the smell of Cedar and Bergamot as an evidence that it hasn’t been long since.

He shakes it off before leaving his bed and checking himself on the full-length mirror. He looks and feels a whole lot better compared to yesterday. Winter told him not to force himself to go to class today, and that she will be dropping by to hand him the activities they need to do over Christmas break.

He thinks his best friend expects him to stay in bed all day but Jaehyun feels like he will become a statue if he spends another hour lying down so he washes up, puts his uniform on because it’s still a school day, and heads out to the barn. Sweating it out will get rid of whatever bacteria is in his body in no time. He’s no doctor, but Jaehyun can come up with a lot of excuses if he really wants to.

Sora doesn’t ask why he’s there instead of in the Weeping Tower. They herded the goats back to the barn without singing because apparently, Sora has her own tricks to make the goats listen to her. Honestly, Jaehyun feels a little cheated. He was LSS-ed with Mary Had a Little Lamb.

After feeding the goats, he follows her to her house for some tea. Sora shoves blocks of wood into the fireplace and pours the drink into two tiny cups.

“Thank you,” Jaehyun tells her when she gives him his tea, and they sit on the floor by the fireplace. He has a hunch that Sora knows he doesn’t need the warmth, but he doesn’t say anything.

For a while, they content themselves with sipping the tea in silence while watching the fire dance and devour the blocks of wood.

“So you will be here in Watford during break?”

While herding the goats, Jaehyun, the inarticulate chatterbox that he is, told her his whole life story, and the reason why he’s celebrating Christmas in Mummers. Jaehyun licks away the tea that catches on the chipped rim of his cup.

“I have nowhere else to go.”

“Won’t you get bored? I doubt another student will be here for the next two weeks.”

Jaehyun shrugs. “They all have families to go home to. The teachers will leave us some stuff to do, though. So I won’t get that bored. Plus I can come here to talk to you if I want to.”

The woman smiles, handing him a plate of cookies. Jaehyun didn’t even notice it considering that food means the world to him. “Come here if you want to help at the barn. Maybe you can convince the headmistress’ son to return a day early so you two can take care of the goats. They liked you.”

“Really? Both of us?”

“They don’t like Vampires.”

It’s the first time someone else aside from him and Winter had openly talked about the open secret.

Jaehyun takes another sip of his tea just to wash away that twinge of discomfort. “Did he look like he enjoyed the punishment? And I don’t wanna ask him. We’re not friends. He hates me.” He tells her about Taeyong pushing him down the stairs in third year, but not the Chimera.

When he feels Sora’s eyes on him, he looks away from the fire to meet her gaze, then lets it drop to the nearly empty cup. “I got sick yesterday. Food poisoning.  And he skipped classes to…to check my temperature and stuff and give me food I was allowed to eat. He studied in our room instead.”

“That doesn’t sound like he hates you as much as you think he does.”

“Impossible. We’ve lived our lives testing each other’s patience. We did things – he did some really unforgivable things to me. That at 15, I thought – I knew that there’s a chance we’d die in each other’s hands.”

Sora makes a noncommittal noise. “You’re only 18. You shouldn’t think about death. Do you hate him too? As much as he hates you?”

“Yup!” Jaehyun straightens up and levels her with a serious gaze. “Because it should be mutual, you know? When it comes to me and Taeyong, things should be mutual. And I will get my revenge on him soon.”

“Be careful what you wish for, boy.”

“He didn’t take care of me, Sora.” Jaehyun finishes his tea and puts the cup down, squinting at the fire. “He must have poisoned those bananas and I’m already rotting inside, and I just don’t feel it yet.”

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Christmas break, D-Day.

With hands in his jeans’ pockets, Jaehyun walks Winter to the lot where a car is waiting for her. He bends a bit to see her father, greeting him with a toothy grin. “Hello, Mr. Kim! Merry Christmas!” He’s too early but unlike the previous years, he won’t be with the Kims to greet them personally on Christmas day.

The man greets him back as Winter buckles up next to him. “It’s a shame you won’t be joining us, but if you change your mind, you know where to go. You’re always welcome, Jaehyun.”

He knows that. But he tends to overstay his welcome. Jaehyun nods at him then turns to Winter. “Say hi to your siblings for me. And tell me everything soon.” Stepping back, he closes the door and waves at them as the car drives out of Watford.

When they disappear from sight, Jaehyun goes back, seeing families pick up their kids. He’s not sad. He’s never met his biological family so there’s nothing to miss.

Taeyong is still packing his things inside a dark blue suitcase when he enters their room. He walks over to his bed, sits on it, and the vampire never looks up to glare or scoff as a greeting. Jaehyun removes his shoes and lets them drop to the floor before browsing the fiction book he never got to finish. He doesn’t even know when it’s due for return.

He pins his gaze on the back of Taeyong’s head. His roommate’s hair is untied, with one side tucked behind Taeyong’s ear.

The Crucible drew their names together eight years ago and that’s how they became roommates. From the start, Taeyong doesn’t like him. Doesn’t like the dull color of his eyes, doesn’t like his unkempt hair, doesn’t like that he talks too much, doesn’t like that he eats too much, doesn’t like anything about him. At first, Taeyong was dead set on simply shutting him out, but it got worse in their third year. That was when Taeyong began his attempts to get physical with Jaehyun outside of their room. And Jaehyun has never one-upped Taeyong. Ever.

He once wished they would become friends, that Taeyong would get over his one-sided hatred. That he’d have someone other than Winter to hang out with. But then the hatred grew in his heart as well, and all hopes of getting along vanished the moment he fell down the stairs and Taeyong stood at the top, snickering.

“When will you be back?” Jaehyun asks when Taeyong zips the suitcase close.

Taeyong scowls at him for a long moment. “Before class resumes. What do you think?”

Can you go back earlier so we can herd goats again? Jaehyun shrugs.

“Don’t sleep on my bed. I will crush your windpipe.”

“You won’t!”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Taeyong rights his suitcase and pulls the handle. “Not in here, no.”

Jaehyun scoffs as he angrily flips the pages of the book, not even reading a single line. “How I wish you won’t come back again.” He watches Taeyong grab his violin case from under the bed through his periphery. “Bring something back for me. Anything.”

He earns a contemptuous chuckle. Taeyong makes his way to the door.

“You don’t deserve anything from me, Jeong. Have fun being a loner. Don’t let it get to you before I do.”

Jaehyun recovers from a spluttering episode and throws his pillow to the door when Taeyong closes it. He falls to the bed with his arms crossed and gets pissed that he doesn’t have a pillow so he stomps to get it, and aggressively lies down again. Curling up on his side, he looks at Taeyong’s empty, made bed.

Taeyong said not to let the loneliness get to him but the second it dawns on Jaehyun that Watford will look and feel like a ghost town for the next two weeks, he feels the sadness wrap itself around him with an iron grip.

This will only last for two weeks but graduation is not far from now. They only have a little over two months left. After that, then what? Where will Jaehyun go? What will he do? He’s too old for care homes. He doesn’t wanna go to a university.

Winter will surely be researching around the world with her parents, and Taeyong will have a hard time choosing which university to go to because he will get accepted everywhere.

Jaehyun glances at where his roommate’s sports bag is. He imagines that Taeyong will still be playing football in college. It’s hard to think he won’t do it professionally. He’s so good at it. Maybe Taeyong will do music, too. He plays the violin like a maestro.

Now that Jaehyun is alone, it’s easy to admit that he’s envious of Taeyong. His roommate seems to have his life figured out and here he is, pathetically curled up in bed, thinking of which spots in this room have been spelled with traps by Taeyong while he was out with Winter.

Here he is, realizing this is all he is about – about being the most powerful mage in the world of mages but not having the skills to showcase it, about being an orphan, about having one friend, about spending eight years of his life dodging Taeyong’s attempts to hurt him in various ways.

About leaving Watford without plans and then suddenly, the things he used to do and the paranoia that controls him will suddenly meet their end. Just like that. Without giving him a chance to adjust.

Imagining that now, Jaehyun thinks that without Taeyong who occupied his mind 24/7 since he was 11, his life is pretty much meaningless.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

It’s snowing in Seoul. Not heavily, but enough to coat the road on a thin layer.

The black, nondescript car goes over the smooth driveway and stops before the mansion. Taeyong doesn’t wait for the driver to open his door and gets out of the car as a butler rushes over to get his suitcase and violin.

Both of his parents came from extremely wealthy backgrounds. This house is just one of the couple of properties they own but Taeyong barely cares about any of that.

“Taeyong! Is that you?!”

He’s reached the top of the short staircase when a small but strong body barrels into his legs, encasing him in an embrace.

Peeling his brother’s arms off of him, Taeyong picks up the six year-old kid with a small smile. “Hey, little guy. You missed me?”

Jeno nods so fast and giggles when Taeyong holds the back of his head. “Yup! No one to play with!”

“I’ll play with you for two weeks, then,” he says and nods at the butler who has his things before giving his brother a kiss on the forehead. If there’s anything good in this unnecessarily huge house, it’s his sibling. Taeyong adores him a lot.

“You’ll be here for Christmas?”

“Yeah. As usual.” Taeyong enters the house, Jeno still in his arms playing with his single braid, and notes the still quietness of the mansion. Since he turned, it’s become dark and empty and depressing. Good thing that the 8-foot Christmas tree was already assembled. Some Yuletide decorations can counter the spirit of Halloween that never left the place.

“Mom will be home tonight,” he tells Jeno. “Where’s dad?”

Jeno looks up. “Office. You got something for me?”

“I haven’t even shopped yet. And you’re not supposed to know if you’re getting presents from me.” He heads to the main stairs and climbs the carpeted steps. Taeyong doesn’t look to his right where he knows a lady ghost that hangs by the ceiling. There’s a lot of them in the mansion. He never made friends with any of them, and hopefully Jeno hasn’t.

His room’s interior never changes, only cleaned biweekly when he’s in Watford. Bed sheets as dark as his soul, a mattress as heavy as the burden he carries on his shoulders, gargoyles on the posts to symbolize how demonic he is, and the canopy is to choke him in his sleep if it breaks and falls from an earthquake. Taeyong thinks he’s clever for designing his own room. Everything is black. Or deep red. Because he’s already dead and he’s cursed and will curse himself continuously until he can no longer feel that way.

After putting Jeno down, he takes his suitcase and puts it on bed, opening it. Time to unpack.

“Those are just books!”

“And dirty clothes. Here,” he pushes the violin towards his brother. “Don’t snap the string.” Then he starts taking out his dirty clothes to put in the hamper for a maid to get later, and arranges his books on the study desk. When he catches his reflection on the full-length mirror by the walk-in closet, Taeyong takes a break from his mental self-deprecation by admiring himself because that’s what his face deserves. Even without the vampirism, he’s simply gorgeous. “Have you been studying well?”

Jeno takes the violin out of its case and sits on the floor. “I’m just six…”

Taeyong meets his brother’s gaze through the mirror. “Have you been studying well, Lee Jeno?”

“Uh, sure! I wanna go to Watford too!”

“Everybody goes to Watford as long as they’re a mage. Five more years. But you still have to read your books and do your homework.”

Jeno scrunches his nose. “Mm. My tutor won’t let me play.”

“Your tutor is being paid to help sharpen your knowledge. If you want to play, you do that on weekends.”

“I get tutored on weekends…”

Taeyong turns around, brow raised. “I didn’t know that. Did that only start this school year?”

His brother sadly plucks the strings of his violin. “Dad said I should be better than everyone. Should be the best. So no playtime.”

Of course. Who else would subject their children to a stressful childhood? Taeyong scoffs and walks over to the window to shove the drapes aside and let more light in.

A light drizzling of snow greets him. “When did it start snowing here?”

“First week! So pretty, right? Can we build a snowman later?”

“Whenever you want,” Taeyong says dazedly.

He watches the soft snowfall and wonders if it’s already snowing in Watford too.

Snow. Instantly, Jaehyun’s face flashes in his mind. While he’s here for two weeks to tolerate his parents’ presence or hang out with his cousin if he’s not doing that, Taeyong can’t help but imagine how his roommate would get through the break.

Maybe Jaehyun would eventually grow bored out of his mind and go out, head to the city, but does he have enough money to last him ‘til class resumes? His meagre allowance comes from the government as he is an orphan. The kitchen won’t cook a lot as there are no students, and Taeyong doubts they would serve scones. Jaehyun better not be eating mint Aeros again.

Briefly, Taeyong considers asking his mother to tell the cooks to keep the dining hall open all the time in case Jaehyun gets hungry – which happens all the damn time. But Taeyong knows that his mother will only think him absurd. He could remind her again that if Watford gets in danger, Jaehyun will be the one to save them all. Jaehyun is the hero. And letting him eat scones is the least they can do for him.

We already gave him a scholarship. We already let him attend Watford. Does he need more?

He’s a mage. Of course he must attend Watford. But he grew up in a care home. You saw what kids there wear. He doesn’t have much.

The government gives him money. Taeyong, he’s The Chosen One. He doesn’t need anything fancy. He only needs his magic to save the world.

Well, that’s how it went the first time.

Sometimes, witnessing what they think of Jaehyun makes Taeyong feel like The Chosen One is just that – a name. Without the prophecy coming true, they see Jaehyun as this wizard who grew up with Normals, who learned how the world works as a Normal. Like he’s average.

Taeyong winces at the screeching of his violin and looks at his brother. “I’m gonna talk to dad. You better not break that.” Swatting the flap of his blazer, he pockets his hand and saunters to the other end of the hall where his father’s office is. There’s no bounce of excitement in his steps. He’s not looking forward to seeing him.

His parents have never accepted the fact that he’s a vampire now even though he was just a victim. They’re repulsed by his vampirism, at the knowledge that he consumes blood, that he never finishes his food when they eat together because his fangs grow and people don’t want to see that. Taeyong doesn’t want to show them. 

On top of that, he’s queer. He’s gay. He likes boys. That shouldn’t be a problem. Though to his father, being queer and a vampire are two of the worst things in the world.

He stops in front of the door to his father’s office, composes himself with a good old cold countenance that works all the damn time because he doesn’t wish for his father to know that he’s gone softer over the years, knocks twice, then enters after he’s permitted to.

“Dad.”

The man looks up from typing on the laptop as he settles on the seat before the oak desk. “You’re home.”

Taeyong fixes his blazer and crosses his legs. “Looks like it.”

“Will your mother join us tonight?”

“Running Watford is a demanding career but she comes home more frequently than I do.”

His father takes the hint and gives him a half-hearted smile. Taeyong thinks he should try a little harder. “I am also glad that you’re back. How are your grades?”

He takes a pen from a mug and twirls it just to have something to do because being in a closed space with his father can get unbearable. “If the headmistress has any problem, she will let you know.” He waits for anything, any kind of reaction, but his father has already gone back to typing. Maybe this is a fucked up therapy session and his failed attempts to be the perfect son is being recorded in that rectangular piece of shit?

Taeyong hates this as much as his father does.

“You look busy. I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Hmm.”

He gets up and makes way to the door, but before he leaves –

“Weekdays are for learning in school, and weekends are for resting. Jeno is just six. He doesn’t need to make you proud. He needs to be a child.”

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

His mother comes home just in time for dinner. When Taeyong is home for Christmas break, they make it a habit to dine together at the long, sad table being served by maids. He sits next to his brother, opposite his mother.

It’s disturbingly quiet and the only noises interrupting that being the occasional scraping of cutlery on plates made of glass. His parents occasionally chat in murmurs; he’s not paying attention to what they are talking about. Probably work. As if they don’t wanna know each other as spouses, as parents to two sons. Taeyong won’t say his family is broken without separation. If they don’t think about his vampirism, and his father forgets that he likes boys, they’re fine.

Right now, however, he would rather be at the noisy dining hall of Watford. He’d rather bear with his roommate’s stupid scowling from across the room, and his roommate’s stupid rambling about him. Taeyong cannot read minds but he doesn’t need to have such power to know that Jaehyun thinks he’s good looking, smart, talented, cool, and evil. He’s got superhuman hearing, and it greatly amuses him whenever Jaehyun rants to his best friend.

So The Chosen One thinks Taeyong is plotting to kill him? That he kills people for their blood? Let him think that way. It’s entertaining.

Taeyong slowly cuts the meat and gently stabs it with the tip of his knife before pushing it past his lips. He eats too little around people and binge-drinks in The Catacombs. In case his fangs pop out, he props an elbow on the table so that his hand covers his mouth.

Your obsession with Taeyong is unhealthy –

A chuckle slips out of him.

“Taeyong. Your mom and I are just talking about how you skipped classes the other day.”

He skipped classes before that, too. For the punishment. Glancing at his mother, he swallows his food. “My roommate was sick.”

“And so you played nurse?”

“We are roommates,” he turns his gaze to his father. “I helped him.”

The man raises a brow and Taeyong hates how much they look alike. “That’s kind of you, then.”

Taeyong looks down at his food and sighs. “Excuse me. I’m not that hungry –”

“Hold on,” his father makes him stay on his seat, “on Christmas eve, we’re hosting a dinner with some friends.”

“…You mean your friends.”

“Yes.”

“Can I invite Mark?”

His mother sighs.

“Sure. And if you have a female friend, bring her home.”

Taeyong clenches his fist. “I don’t have female friends.”

“Then just invite a female classmate.”

“I am never going to date a girl, dad.” Taeyong’s tone plummets to hell and beyond. He avoids looking at his mother in case she’s silently pleading he doesn’t talk back. “We’ve talked about this.”

His father gestures to him. “It’s just a phase. And it’s time for you to get over it –”

The chair scrapes loudly against the floor when he stands up, both hands lightly quivering from fury on his sides. His brother calls his name, unaware of what the tension is about and he feels sorry for Jeno for having a father like this one. “I’m not bringing a girl on Christmas Eve. And that’s final.”

“…Alright.”

Alright? That’s it? Taeyong resists scoffing and doesn’t spare his mother a glance before leaving the dining room. Nobody is going to check up on him so he leaves the house, ignoring the butler’s offer to drive him to wherever he’s going, and lets his feet take him anywhere.

❈

So anywhere, he goes. He doesn’t have an exact destination in mind. The only thing he wants is to unwind, to forget how much of a defect he truly is behind the person he maintains in Watford.

Bright lights flicker around the establishments in the livelier part of the city. Around him, couples huddle together for warmth, dressed in padded jackets and jeans and beanies, making him stand out in his posh suit.

It has stopped snowing.

Looking at his watch, he’s certain his family’s already done eating but he doesn’t go back just yet. Taeyong is looking at the flashy sign of a bar when his stomach rumbles. Cursing under his breath, he walks around until he finds a dark alley.

Not the best venue for dinner but The Catacombs is no different. As he steps on the tail of a rat to prevent it from running away, he takes out his wand.

“There’s safety in numbers! ”

Four more rats come out to join the one by his foot. Taeyong moves to the secluded corner before picking up a rat, breaking its neck, and sinking his fangs in its little body to suck its blood dry.

Safety in numbers? Hah. It’s ironic.

He hits an all-time low everytime he does this, but does he have any other choice? It’s rats or nothing. Rats have been his primary diet since fifth year and thank Merlin that The Catacombs hasn’t run out of them yet. He doesn’t drink a lot, only binging when he abstains for days.

When he’s done, he spells them gone and then cleans himself up. Looking at where he is, hidden away from Normals to feast on rats, he chuckles deprecatingly. Crowley. He hates himself more than anything in the world.

Swiping his tongue over his teeth to lap up the blood on his shrunken fangs, Taeyong leaves the alley to buy some water, a mouthwash, and gums from a convenience store. The girl behind the counter checks him out, and he tells her to keep the change – as an apology. Sorry I’m gay, and I drink rat blood to survive. Please make sure you don’t have a pet rodent.

Gargle, check. Chew some gum, check. Taeyong traces his way back, whistling a tune as he fishes out his phone (which he keeps at home and doesn’t bring to Watford), then snaps a picture of the cloudy night sky. He steps on melted snow on the sidewalk and is reminded of Jaehyun again.

The picture gets uploaded to Line with a caption: “虚无”.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Wearing a fluffy dark green robe, Taeyong exits the bathroom and sits on the edge of his bed to dry his hair with a small towel. An odd feeling settles in and he quickly realizes it’s because he’s sleeping alone again after a long time. There’s no paranoid Chosen One to watch his every move. He’s gotten so used to living with Jaehyun that being here feels like being in a stranger’s house.

Tossing the towel to the chair, he scoots back until he’s resting against the headboard and picks up his phone from the nightstand to log in on Instagram. He’s not very much into social media but he created a private account with a blank profile and no followers just to post random photos there with captions talking about his feelings – a very specific bunch of feelings that he cannot scream to the universe. He posts the cloud photo there too and he’s just typing the same caption when he gets a notification from Line.

He gets dressed first and slips under the covers before clicking on the bubble.

Needless to say, he’s surprised to see a comment from Winter Kim on his recent post. He opens it and reads the comment saying how beautiful it is, and notices something strange. Spelling errors. A sore in the eyes. Winter Kim is his academic rival so she will never commit such atrocity, and only one person is dumb enough to do that.

Taeyong starts a chat with “W”.

Why do you have Kim’s phone?

Huh?

Jeong. Why do you have Kim’s phone?

W takes a minute to reply.

TAEYONG?????

Does it not say on the contact name that I’m Taeyong?

Ur contact name is just an angry emoji. & she gave me her old phone. Plz dun tell ur mom! She gave it to me so I won’t get bored here… But why are u Line friendz?!?!?!

Taeyong quickly changes the contact name to “J”.

*Your. *Please. *Don’t. *You. *Friends. Line suggested her last year so I added her. Just because. We never talked.

Ooooh. Well. Itz menow. And stop correcting me

Then I’m going to block you.

No! Dun do that! It’s so boring here

So what do you propose?

I gues it won’t hurt to talk to u here. We can’t be phone-fighting

I don’t wish to talk to you. I’m way above that.

Stop being a prick for a sec, will u? Anyway, are u out? That’s such a nice pic btw

Taeyong’s not gonna lie, it’s sort of freaky that his roommate is talking to him so casually. Perhaps it’s because it’s easier to let go of the tension when texting. You don’t have to look the other person in the eye. Jaehyun must be dying from boredom that he’s talking to the one he deeply hates.

I was out.

Cool. Kinda evil but cool. I wish I could take pics of the sky too but I could be caught, u kno? *eye roll emoji*

Rather than having you talk to me in a civil manner, I’m more surprised that you seem to know how to use emojis.

I used to borrow some kid’s phone at the care home!

Soooo, what should we talk about

You’re the one that desperately wants to keep talking to me. I’m already in bed and I want to get some rest.

So early?? No, talk to me. Let’s play 20 questions

I’m not asking you 20 questions, Jeong. You don’t interest me.

Fuq u

I’ll ask u then *eye roll emoji* fave food?

No dun answer that I kno what it is. Yuck. Fave movie then?

Taeyong stops himself from flinging his phone to the wall.

Interstellar.

Whats that

Search it on Google?

Mkay. Ur rlly not gonna ask me back, r u?

Are you gonna leave me alone?

Lol ur not funny! My fave movie is lion king. We watched that a lot in care homes. Actually we watched lots of movie but that’s the only one I can really remember

My fave animal is a cat. Pretty basic. Probably why I dream about it a lot. In bad dream tho

He knows what those dreams are. He heard it at the dining hall.

That’s not basic. Cats are adorable. I don’t have a favorite animal.

Srsly? U seem to get along with a chimera pretty well if im not mistaken

Um

Sorry

Im not trying to fight!

This is the first time that his roommate apologized for provoking him first. Jaehyun must really be bored.

I can’t think of a lot of questions so I took some inspiration from google. My fave song is call me maybe. It’s so catchy

The Spanish Flu was catchy too but you don’t see me going around telling people I like it.

Stop being so rude?!?!?1

They exchange more texts and Taeyong doesn’t even notice that an hour has gone by. Jaehyun had asked him so many questions, bordering idiotic, replying immediately whatever he says like he’s got nothing else to do. (And that’s probably true).

Arite I gotta go

Btw, half-thanks for the other day. Even though I think u had bad intentions for doing that. U probably have! & I will find out soon *squinting emoji*

Beneath Taeyong’s mask of indifference, he nearly gets a heart attack – which is literally impossible because his heart is dead, when his presumptuous roommate sends him a shirtless selfie, the picture cutting just below the collarbone, with a tongue petulantly sticking out.

Taeyong does not bother replying. He stares at the photo for a minute before saving it.

There’s no one to judge him. If he reopens the chat and reads their conversation from the start, there’s no one to tell him he’s gone mad. If he uploads the photo to his Instagram, there’s no one to see.

He adds a caption.

“He talks too much.

He’s messy.

He uses a 2-in-1 shampoo.

He drools in his sleep.

He’s a mouth breather.

He’s obsessed with scones.

He can only throw me a punch but has never ever landed one.

He sucks at magic.

He’s the worst Chosen One that has ever been chosen.

But he’s a fighter.

He’s honest and brave.

He’s powerful.

He’s everyone’s hero.

He will be a hero.

He’s somebody.

He’s wonderful.

He’s beautiful.

And I’m hopelessly in love with him.”

Taeyong is in love with him.

Taeyong is hopelessly in love with him.

Terribly, devastatingly, and exceedingly so.

❈

Shootings, bombings, and other violent sound effects blare from the wide-screen television perched on the wall in the entertainment room. It’s half an hour past lunch and the clouds are crying cotton rain. Nothing too heavy that roads would flood with snow. Taeyong had messaged his cousin, Mark, this morning telling him to come over. Sure, he’s got his football friends but his house for people he truly connects with and Mark knows him better than anyone in Watford. Even Jaehyun is not aware of the WORST worst in him. Mark does.

A slow, cool smirk curves on his pale face when he sees his character on the way to claiming victory. His fingers calmly press buttons because winners do not panic. “I’m gonna bust your ass, by the way.”

Mark sits on the floor because Taeyong has rightfully claimed the huge, comfortable couch for himself. “You magic-ed the game, cheater!”

“We’re in my house but I’m never gonna do that to you, dear. Besides, I haven’t come up with a spell yet to compel these games into pleasing me.”

“Haven’t yet?”

“I’m coming up with ideas. Just ideas. Even if I don’t, you’re still –”Taeyong’s character shoots Mark’s point-blank and the latter dies right away, “ –a sore loser.”

Groaning, his cousin lies down on the floor releasing the controller. “This is hell. I win when I don’t go against you.”

“Too bad, I’ll be around for two weeks.” Taeyong toes his cousin’s side and restarts another game. “Mom is gonna be here too.”

“Didn’t stop me before.”

Mark is a mage. Born with pastel sprinkles of magic spilling out of his pudgy little fingers. But he doesn’t go to Watford. His mother, Taeyong’s maternal aunt, possesses a different outlook. She wants Mark to enjoy life without the pressure from the world of mages. Mark’s father feels the same way even though he and his wife both graduated from the School of Magic. Headmistress Lee doesn’t understand her sister. She never warmed up to her own nephew.

Tossing the controller back to his cousin, Taeyong snorts when it hits Mark’s chest. “Come on. You’re not gonna be here all day. Don’t you need to meet Haechan in an hour?”

“Yup!” Mark says with an obvious change in his tone as he sits up again and chooses a new character. “Got a date. I’ll be totes free tomorrow.”

He’s like Taeyong. In that they both like boys. The only difference is Mark got a supportive father. Mark met his boyfriend in a Normal school. Haechan has no ounce of magic in his bones, and he doesn’t know that Mark is a mage. Taeyong wishes he was incapable of envy.

“Sooo, tell me something about Watford.”

“You don’t wanna talk about Watford.”

“Busted. But you know what I mean.”

Taeyong huffs, glaring at the screen. “My roommate is still my roommate. Still as hateful as before.”

“I really don’t get it,” Mark comments before pausing the game, and ignores his hissing as he twists on the floor to look at him with curiosity. “He hates you, you said. So why do you even feel that way?”

Why does he love Jaehyun?

He puts the controller down and unfolds his body over the couch, pillowing his head with an arm. “I had no choice in this matter, dear cousin. I woke up one day on our third year and he was just there, drooling on his pillow looking so damn beautiful. What was I supposed to do? Not fall in love? He’s… With everyone else, he’s sweet. If you heard him laugh—and the twat even has dimples, you’d think an angel came down to earth. He’s charmingly innocent. And pure. And real. He just stands there being the most powerful mage, and you except him to be arrogant about it even though he has no fucking skills, but he’s – Crowley. I know eight languages, Mark. But there’s no way I can possibly express how much I fucking love stupid ass.”

There’s amusement in Mark’s voice when he replies. “But he thinks you hate him. You’re like a Tsundere.”

“What in Morgana’s name is that even? And I did hate him. I was a kid. I didn’t know better. He’s an orphan and he’s poor and that’s nothing to be hated for. He’s The Chosen One and I think that’s sexy. I did hate him until third year and I don’t know how to deal with these feelings, and I hated myself for having these feelings so I pushed him down the stairs –”

 Mark grimaces.

“He makes shit difficult for me – he snores, he’s generally an idiot, he’s clumsy, and he eats sour cherry scones with a mountain of butter. The boy literally had food poisoning for eating expired mint Aero. But he’s so beautiful and it infuriates me that he doesn’t even know what it does to me when he sleeps shirtless. Which is literally everynight.”

“Then don’t look at him –”

“That’s impossible. He watches me all the time and I just have to look back at him. You know what he sees when he looks at me? A sneer. Or a scowl. But you know what I see when I look at him? Me pushing him against the wall or him pushing me against the wall and us making out without a care in the world. Hot shit. Stuff like that. I’m 18 and I live with the love of my life but I can’t touch him. If we dated, it would be one hell of an erotic gropefest.”

His cousin gawks for a moment to process this revelation. “And you deal with these thoughts by being an asshole.”

Exactly. The first asshole thing Taeyong did when he found out he was falling for his roommate was write Jaehyun a letter that only contained “Get out of my school.” It got worse from thereon.

“I have a reputation to maintain.”

“Oh, boy.” Mark reclines against the couch and stares at their paused game. “You must secretly like that he’s obsessed with stalking you.”

“I don’t like it when he stalks me. But I like it when he comes to my football matches. All these people around the pitch and The Chosen has his eyes on me.”

“You tell me you like having his attention and then you go and try to kill him.”

Taeyong instantly sits up to grab the plate of chocolate chip cookies from the low, round table near them, offering it to the other. “I tried to kill him once. The stairs, I didn’t plan. With the Chimera, yes. Because at 15, I was beyond saving from my love for him and I thought I was gonna die a second time.

“But when I saw him so terrified, I just – I realized that without him, it’s meaningless. When I turned, my whole world stopped, blanked out, and everything held no value to me. Then I met him and for the first time in six years, I felt something. It was contempt, but I felt something. I felt alive. Two years later, I fell in love with him.”

His fangs pop out a bit as they touch the cookie.

“He brought me back to life. And I don’t wanna go back to being a bloodeater with a gray world. I want him to keep coloring it.”

“…Basically, he’s your life.”

“If there’s anyone dying between us, it’s me. And I’m dying in his hands. At 15, I knew that loving him would end up in flames. And it will. We will keep clashing and he’s going to swallow me whole because he’s the sun and he’s going to burn me.”

And he thinks that’s an attractive way to die.

Taeyong looks at the half-eaten cookie in his hand and remembers the day they worked at the barn.

His cousin asked something, and the idea of Jaehyun reciprocating his love is so absurd that Taeyong derisively laughs at it.

“I’m the villain. He’s the hero. We don’t match.”

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Days pass by mind-numbingly dull. On the 6^th day of Christmas break, Jaehyun feels like going off, setting their room on fire, or summoning his sword to challenge the merwolves to a battle. Thankfully he’s got Sora and the goats to distract himself from spiralling into madness. Still, this is better than being in the care homes. Moreover, there are other things too that make Jaehyun feel like he’s not too alone.

Standing in front of Taeyong’s open closet, Jaehyun looks at the row of old and new school uniforms with a sigh. He will definitely die from boredom and not from Taeyong. He touches the sleeve of a red blazer and snorts. His roommate always looks like he’s got a fashion show to attend. Jaehyun has never seen Taeyong in jeans. Ever.

He’s already taking Taeyong’s football jersey off the hanger and burying his nose on the fabric before his mind even registers the action. When the scent of cedar hits him, Jaehyun gasps and tosses the shirt back into the closet before snapping it close. He feels like a creep.

Horrified at himself, he sits on Taeyong’s bed and tries to understand why he did it. Perhaps, because the mixture of Cedar and Bergamot are getting fainter without Taeyong’s constant use of shampoo and detergent and perfume, Jaehyun feels like he’s slipping away. And he doesn’t want his enemy to slip away before he gets his revenge.

As if sitting on his bed without his permission is better, dumbass. Well, he’ll easily deal with that when Taeyong comes back. To max out his trouble, Jaehyun lies down with the side of his face pressed on the vampire’s pillow. He can still smell Taeyong, and this shouldn’t be creepy because it’s not like he could stop breathing. So he just lets it be. It’s less weird compared to smelling Taeyong’s jersey.

As he does so, the heaviness in his chest lessens somehow. He doesn’t want to think about it.

Jaehyun rolls on his back and fishes the contraband phone out his trackie bottoms, fiddles with it momentarily while contemplating whether he should text Taeyong, see if he’s up to talk. He was absolutely astonished to know that Winter had Taeyong’s contact all along and his best friend never said so, though maybe, it’s to be considerate of his feelings.

He pulls up the chat.

Chased one of the goats today & it almost fell into the moat

He waits. They’ve been chatting on Line and Jaehyun starts it everytime because homework suck and he can never concentrate on one thing, he cannot visit the goats all the time, and Winter is on a trip with her family. Even though Taeyong always sounds like he’d rather shove his head in an oven than talk to Jaehyun, he never ignores Jaehyun’s messages. At night, Taeyong takes a while to reply and he must be…feeding, and it’s fine. Because Jaehyun instantly forgets about the new missing people wherever Taeyong is when the vampire finally replies.

It almost feels like they’re getting along.

Did you not sing the song?

I did sing it. but that one goat was really playful. Had Sora help me hehe

Good for you.

What r u doing

You always ask me that. I’m watching my brother build a snowman.

U HAVE A BROTHER? Y DONDT I KNO THAT

?

Arite! I learned something new abt u today. Wow, 8 yrs of living w u & I didn’t kno u have a sibling. Younger?

He’s six.

Jaehyun imagines Taeyong being a doting brother. The picture doesn’t last long as it feels too unrealistic.

Oooh. Wish I had a brother too but when I imagine them acting like the kids in care home I get second thoughts

So what r u doing if ur not playing w ur bro? shopping for more suits? Shopping for more hair priducts?

Products***

Why don’t you call me shallow? Don’t be shy. I study when I’m not playing.

Why did I even ask

I should ask you that.

I did our homework too! Theyre not yet done but im almost there

Ask Kim for help.

Dun wanna bother her. Heyyy I get that u dun call me by my name because we’re like enemies but y dun u ever call winter by her name?

Because we’re not close. And technically, we’re also rivals.

That doesn’t count. U can call her winter or minjeong. She’d probably lose her marbles

Wow. An idiom. Didn’t expect that from you, Snow. Good job.

Piss off. So u call ur football friendz by their name?

I do. They have names for a reason.

?! k. so I have names too. Jay is my English name but u’d rather call me snow

I’d rather call you anything than your given name. Or your English name.

Come to think of it -

Congratulations!

Fuq ur so annoying

Anyway

All of us have an English name because of Watford. Even winter’s weird roommate with a pet gecko has one

And?

I nvr knew urs!!!

I will not tell you.

Cmon. U kno mine. It’s jay. Basic. Whats urs

Never telling.

I’ll ask ur football friendz

It’s futile, Jeong. Let it go.

Maybe it’s on ur student profile. Winter can access it

Is your English name on your student profile?

Nope

Dang it

Use your brain sometimes.

I use it all the time! It’s just not cooperating with me

Blowing his bangs away, Jaehyun turns on his side and grabs his bag of junk food to eat while texting.

Plus I grew up with other kids like me so I guess we all just didn’t get to grow like we’re supposed to

You’re not supposed to grow up like them. You’re a mage. Nevertheless, you should’ve befriended the smart ones.

Nah. For some reason I nvr really got close with any of them? Some didn’t stay long because they got fostered or adopted. Then when I enrolled in Watford, we just drifted apart

Care homes suck. Some kids picked on me and I badly wanted to show them what I really am but. U kno

A GIF of a laughing animated vampire gets sent to him. Jaehyun rolls his eyes.

U really suck

Tell me something I don’t know.

Hm? What was that? Is that bitterness, or was Taeyong taking it literally because he’s a vampire and he sucks blood? No, the first one can’t be. His roommate is the most conceited person out there and he’s probably proud of it.

I tried listening to music when I sleep so I wont get nightmares but youtube has ads and winter didn’t keep the songs she had here? And I gotta pay if I want new songs?

What are you implying?

Plz put your violin skills to good use

The other’s reply comes two minutes later.

Good night, Snow.

That’s it? Jaehyun purses his lips. He could try asking again, but well, they’re not friends. What kind of person would play a song for his enemy anyway?

---

He’s in his own bed, already drifting to sleep with a YouTube playlist playing on his contraband phone when a Line notification pings. Curious, Jaehyun checks it.

It’s a video of a garden, the shot as though taken from a window. Snow drizzles over the flowers and boxes of plants, as a soft violin tune plays in the background.

Jaehyun’s heart skips. Taeyong probably drinks the blood of talented people to be able to do everything so well.

He stays up until the video ends, and closes his eyes just as Watford receives its first pouring of snow.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

The mall is bustling with Normals shopping for the holidays. Thirty minutes since stepping foot into the building, Taeyong has already sensed three mages, all carrying shopping bags. It’s easy to detect who’s who. Mages are attracted to magic. They sense a tug in their gut when a wizard is nearby in a place filled with Normals.

Jeno wanted to come with him and Mark but Taeyong doesn’t trust his brother to keep quiet about the gifts he will buy. Not like he’s a fan of Christmas. He’s only doing this because it’s tradition, and even if his parents suck, he still wants to give them something.

What would make them stop hating my being a vampire? A new oven? A new two-door giant fridge that talks? Or a trip to Marseille? Will they say, ‘oh honey, our son bought us plane tickets. I guess he can let his fangs out at McDonald’s, at least’? Sounds fair.

They’re at the floor-wide department store as Mark chooses a present for his boyfriend.

“When did they say they’d deliver the items?”

“Tomorrow. I’ll drop by so we can wrap everything.” Taeyong follows his cousin around, glancing at the displays of bags, clothing, and whatnot. “Don’t let your mom tell my mom.”

“They barely even talk. What are they gonna tell each other?”

Humming in agreement, Taeyong sits down on a plush seat as they reach the men’s shoe section. He lets Mark roam around while rereading his conversation with Jaehyun this morning. The boy obviously liked the video but still told him the music sounded so evil. How Jaehyun even comes up with that conclusion everytime, it’s beyond him. Taeyong has just sent another animated vampire GIF when he remembers Jaehyun’s request – or order, since it sounded like one.

Pretty sure that his roommate is merely expecting some food, but there’s always food in Watford, and Jaehyun doesn’t have much clothes. The first time Taeyong saw him wear a school uniform on a Sunday, he had laughed so hard he’d actually produced a teardrop.

He looks up when Mark passes by, his cousin still empty-handed. “Come with me to Burberry once you’re done.”

“Burberry. What are you gonna do in Burberry?”

“Apply as a cashier, maybe.” Taeyong snorts and points Mark to a pair of shoes he thinks the other would like. “I’m gonna be a customer, of course. Jaehyun told me to bring something back. He’s got two faded jeans, and shirts with cartoon prints that you buy as a set online. Might as well give him a decent suit lest he wears Winnie the Pooh on Graduation Ball. He would wear Winnie the Pooh on Graduation Ball and act macho. Crowley.”

Mark simply shrugs as he checks the shoes and calls a salesclerk to ask for a different size. Once they’re done there, they soon head to Burberry, and Taeyong dismisses help from a clerk because he knows what will look good on Jaehyun.

He walks over to a row of blazers and starts checking.

“You guys still talking?”

Taeyong pulls out a navy blue blazer and pictures Jaehyun in it. “You expect me to stop talking to him? I’m indulging The Greatest Mage. So desperate for me to reply. If he dies there from boredom because I didn’t open his message, it’s gonna be my fault. Imagine the horror. A vampire killing The Chosen One. The world of mages will be thrown into absolute chaos.”

Mark shakes his head. “You can be honest with me, actually.”

“I’m selfish,” he says, pulling out another blazer. “I make backhanded compliments but I don’t want him to stop texting me. I want his attention on me even if we’re miles and miles apart. For the first time in eight years, we’re not trying to see who breaks down first.”

“One week left and then you’ll be back at taunting each other, though.”

“Nothing we haven’t done before.”

Finally, he sees the perfect gift for Jaehyun and so he calls for a clerk to order one with the specific measurement he requests, and looks around the store with a grin, poking the sitting mannequin’s bald head. “It feels like playing dress up with my lover, only that he’s not my lover, and I will never have him.” His laughter makes Mark bow at the clerks in apology. “My life fucking sucks.”

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Taeyong’s phone has never stopped pinging and now, he knows some of the most random and bizarre facts that Google can offer courtesy of Jaehyun. He wakes to Jaehyun’s texts, and sleeps after hours of talking to him. It feels like he didn’t leave Watford for Christmas break. Talking to his roommate makes his day and it helps to survive being in the mansion. He doesn’t even feel like shit anymore when his parents look at him like they’re thinking of what felony they ever did in their past life to deserve a monster for a son.

At the very least, his mother only looks half constipated when his fangs grow longer than they should.

Soft Christmas music fills the room and bright blinking lights decorate the arch of the front door. Below the Christmas tree are piles of wrapped presents waiting to be opened tomorrow. It’s Christmas Eve, finally, and guests are starting to arrive for the dinner his parents are hosting.

Standing by the stairs, and drinking a glass of wine because no one can stop him, Taeyong ransacks his brain trying to remember if he’s ever met these so-called friends of his father. Suspecting that business will be the main topic later, it already calls for the title of being the worst Christmas Eve ever. Tomorrow, they will meet their relatives for a reunion and he has to listen to every single one of them whisper to themselves asking if it’s safe to have him around.

He finishes drinking and walks into the kitchen to find Mark rummaging the fridge in his white suit. Taeyong’s wearing a combination of black and red, his hair loose and tucked behind his ear.

“If those puddings are gone before we eat, I’m not bailing you out of prison.”

“Because you’re getting jailed with me –”

Feeling his phone vibrate, Taeyong takes it out and doesn’t even have to check who the new text is from. An eye roll later, he takes a photo of the food on the long table before sending it to Jaehyun.

You’d do anything to be in my place, wouldn’t you.

He’s about to double-text when his father enters his line of sight, telling him to come outside and meet someone. Taeyong doesn’t like where this is going.

“Here’s my friend, and his daughter Emma. She goes to Watford and is a year level lower. Be acquainted.”

Taeyong raises a brow at him at his father’s seemingly innocent smile and lets the men talk about work, before turning to the girl. She’s dressed accordingly, and her brunette hair is tied into a pretty bun. Extending his hand, he plasters a smile he hopes creeps her out. “I’m already dead.”

The girl doesn’t show any outward reaction to being reminded that he’s a mage’s enemy. “I know.”

His forced smile turns into a sneer as he drops her hand. “Splendid. Be our guest.” Turning on his heel, Taeyong heads back to where Mark is and scrubs his hand with a paper towel.

❈

Dinner begins as soon as all the guests are present. The long table is filled, not one single chair unoccupied. Since he’s not allowed to use his phone, Taeyong turns it off. He’s got an elbow on the table again so his hand blocks their view of his mouth even though he’s not planning to have one bite of his food. Just to terrify them.

He’s not hungry. He had a cat earlier to make sure he’s not going to have to show his fangs around these strangers.

On his right, Mark is telling a story about Haechan so he just listens to avoid the eyes of that girl two seats down on the other side of the table.

“—glad that you got to bring Emma with you.”

At the mention of her name, he can’t help the knee-jerk reaction – he looks at her, their gazes meeting as she smiles shyly at whatever his father’s talking about. He simply raises a brow, because that’s one of his default responses to things that annoy him.

Taeyong is already telling Mark that he looks more beautiful than any woman when his father talks again, particularly louder as if done deliberately, and his body suddenly feels colder than it already is.

“If we want them to get married in the future, they have to start getting to know each other now. Meet as much as possible.”

There comes a squeeze on his knee under the table. Mark’s gaze at him is both worried and furious, and he taps his cousin’s hand before turning to his father with a small, sarcastic smile.

“A 17 year-old already eyeing marriage? Will this not make her feel like a child bride?”

His father dabs a napkin over his mouth. “You will not get married today, Taeyong. But this is preparation.”

“Well,” his mother cuts him off, “if it’s happening later, let’s just leave that on the table for now. They’re just kids. Plenty of things can change overnight. Marriage is…a major commitment.”

His mother didn’t know anything about this, either. Taeyong glances back at the man of the house, and then at the girl to check her reaction to his indirect but crystal clear rejection. She’s looking at her food, apparently uncomfortable by the turn of conversation.

Taeyong takes a few deep breaths just to make his hands stop shaking. This is not over. He can’t let this slide.

Throughout dinner he stays quiet, not even putting an effort to hide the disapproving frown on his practically deathly pale face.

The party is over. Mark has left, fury barely held in check and didn’t even bid his aunt goodbye.

Taeyong waits until everybody is gone, and Jeno is put to bed, before storming to his father’s office and cutting off the argument between his parents that has already started without him. They both turn their heads as he literally barges in.

Unlike Mark, he has no reason to hold his anger back. “You will not dictate how I should live my already dead life, and I will not marry any poor girl you drag in here! Do you even – do you really not have any semblance of respect for me? Because I’m a damned vampire? Because I like boys?!”

“Taeyong,” his father calmly starts, “I don’t want you to be alone for all your life. You need a wife. And children –”

“Damn having a wife and children! I don’t need those – if you don’t care about me, then respect whichever unfortunate girl you’re trying to marry off to me. You don’t want a vampire for a son, and no girl wants a vampire for a husband. Aleister Crowley, I’m just 18! If I had a child, how sure are you that it’s not gonna be a bloodeater too?”

The man at least looks like he’s got the wind taken out of his sails. “Well let’s pray that it doesn’t inherit anything from you –”

“Let him be!”

Taeyong’s mother chimes in before it gets too unbelievable. “You know you have crossed the line. You can’t tell your children who they should marry. If our son likes boys, then so be it. It shouldn’t offend you that you have to act like this.”

“You cannot fix my vampirism,” he quickly adds on. “You cannot fix the queer in me because liking boys doesn’t mean I’m broken. Leave me alone.”

The door slams behind him when he leaves the office, and when he enters his bedroom. Taeyong takes off his blazer and throws it on the bed, followed by his tie to the floor as he paces around. That’s how his mother finds him.

She sits on his bed, the frustration she had when arguing with his father gone from her lovely face. “Taeyong. I’m sorry for how your father acted.”

“I’m not sure if I accept that.”

“I don’t care who you choose to love.”

He stops pacing, and stares at her for a moment to weigh her sincerity before nodding. “Thank you. Because that’s how a mother should be.” Then he sits next to her with a sigh. “But you’ll never accept how –”

“Those vampires killed so many children, and replaced your blood with theirs,” she says as if telling him no, I cannot accept what you are. “No matter how we look at it, you’re one of them now, and the families of those children will always remember that night whenever they look at you, or hear about you. No matter what I do – keep you in Watford or let the Coven kick you out, there’s no magic in me that make them change their minds.”

Taeyong swallows the pain, because he refuses to be hurt by anyone other than Jaehyun. If anyone is going to be powerful enough to leave a hole in his heart, it’s going to be Jaehyun. “Yes, I’m one of them now. Maybe. But I’m still a mage. My magic never left me. It only got stronger. If The Chosen One weren’t around, you’d all make me your hero. Is that not enough?”

He actually already predicted the I’m sorry that comes out of her.

Leaving the bed, he stands by the window with his arms crossed over his chest. There’s no more fight left in him. “I’m going back to Watford tomorrow.”

“But it’s Christmas day –”

“You can get your presents under the tree. Five of those belong to Jeno.”

He doesn’t watch his mother leave.

Taeyong chuckles as he rests his head on the wall and looks at the frozen flowers.

He knew it. This is the worst Christmas Eve ever.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Taeyong arrives in Watford in the afternoon. He doesn’t know what to tell Jaehyun if the other asks why he’s back early, but he figured he doesn’t really have to say anything because, or not the truth at least, as he doesn’t owe Jaehyun an explanation. He’s back, and their little bubble of peace has popped.

When he enters their room, Jaehyun is not around but the lights are on and his roommate’s bed is a mess, and he can smell Jaehyun’s scent on his. Scowling, he spells it clean before depositing his suitcase there to unpack his stuff.

He’s just wondering if one of his jerseys grew a pair of wings and escaped his closet, because he still had a complete set before he left for Christmas break as far as he can remember, when his roommate comes in munching on a bar of mint Aero.

Taeyong’s gaze drops from Jaehyun’s wide eyes, down to the mint Aero, and then to his football jersey on his enemy.

Recovering from shock, Jaehyun blinks rapidly a few times before closing the door gently. “I didn’t know you’d be back so early –”

“Why the hell are you wearing my jersey?”

As if he just realized he’s actually wearing it, Jaehyun erupts into a mess of incoherent words.

He’s still pissed as hell from last night’s ordeal so Taeyong can’t stop the ire from simmering within him. It’s fine, he tells himself. You’re supposed to pretend to hate him again, his mind says. “Take it off so I can burn it –”

“NO—I just thought—but why are you burning—”

“What?” Taeyong hisses. “Use your words, Snow.”

“I—I—well, it looked comfortable and I ran out of shirts so I thought—”

A scoff. “Throw it away. Or better yet, burn it. You’re good at burning things. I don’t care what you do with it but get rid of it. And stop taking things that aren’t yours.” Taeyong grabs his violin and shoves it under the bed.

Jaehyun has gotten past the spluttering now, and so he’s feeling the beginning of an incoming irritation. Walking over to his side of the room, he puts his mint Aero down before taking off the jersey and chucking it to his hamper. He won’t burn it or throw it away. “Why are you back so early?”

“…”

“Hey –”

“Got sick of being at home.”

“What about your brother?”

Taeyong glances at his roommate once and brings his books to his desk to arrange them. “Don’t ask about my brother. You don’t need to know anything about him.”

A frown settles on Jaehyun’s face. “I was just – do you have a stick up your ass? It’s literally Christmas.”

Remembering the suit that he hid in his closet, Taeyong turns around and leans against the edge of his desk with a sneer. “So what if it’s Christmas?”

“You returned on Christmas Day. Christmas break is literally for spending time with your family on Christmas Day. You’re here. You got sick of being at home? You should be thankful you even have one…”

Be thankful? For what? For a homophobic father, and for a mother who can’t hide disliking the transformation he never wanted? Taeyong stands there, five feet seven inches of resentment as he reverts to the enemy that Jaehyun knew until two weeks ago. “My family is none of your business, Jeong. Just because you don’t have one doesn’t mean you should live vicariously through me and meddle in my affairs. Why are you even mad? Are you jealous?”

“Jealous of what?” Jaehyun sits on his bed, bristling. “I’m just saying that you have a wonderful family so you shouldn’t be saying that you—”

Taeyong doesn’t want to hear it. He tilts his head, raises a brow. “Wonderful? Tell me. What do you even know about having a family?”

His roommate opens and closes his mouth, struggling to come up with a clapback, before the frown on Jaehyun’s face deepens into something uglier. Even with a wrinkled face, Taeyong thinks Jaehyun is so beautiful. “Merlin, why are you so pissed?”

“If I say I’m sick of my family, I’m sick of my family. You shouldn’t get offended on their behalf. You’re an orphan. You never knew your family. Your advice is the last thing I’m gonna take on this matter.”

“…I don’t get it,” Jaehyun says, pressing his lips firmly like he’s trying not to cry. “We were fine. We were getting along—”

We will keep clashing.

“I only humoured you because I was bored. We will never get along. All of your messages? I deleted them.” Lies. He would print them out and have them framed and venerated.

Jaehyun’s gaze has gone glassy. He’s shaking in anger when he grabs his wand. “You gotta leave.”

“This is my room –”

“Get lost!”

Taeyong feels it hit him on the center of his chest. The burning magic. He smells it all over the room. He sees the smoke spill out of the tip of The Chosen One’s wand.

Jaehyun wants him gone. He sincerely wants Taeyong gone.

He lets the magic spread in his body, and before he knows it, he’s walking out of the room. He meant to leave anyway, even if Jaehyun didn’t cast a spell, but to be kicked out still stings a lot.

Well he deserves it. He’s an asshole. He’s the villain. He’s evil.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

He has no idea about how long that spell usually lasts as it differs from one mage and victim to another, but as soon as it wears off, Taeyong finds himself heading to the first bar he finds. Jaehyun made him walk from Watford to the damn city for hours, the moon has already hung itself in the sky. If he were a Normal, he would have collapsed by now. He wouldn’t even get to the city by his feet within that time frame.

18 year-olds are not allowed in bars. However, Taeyong doesn’t look 18. He looks like he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. And some bars don’t even care about your age as long as you pay. So he gets drunk because no one can stop him. (Spelled Dutch Courage! when the bartender’s not looking. It saves him money and gives him a bottomless glass of alcohol without having to steal.) He gets very, very drunk. Drunk out of his mind.

Because he hates himself for taking it out on Jaehyun again. Although ever since, that’s been the only way he knows how to deal with his emotions – by turning the fights he started the other way and blaming it on Jaehyun.

He’s so angry at himself, and at Jaehyun for not throwing a punch before kicking him out of their room, so angry at Jaehyun for knowing where to hurt him without meaning to, so angry at Jaehyun for being so good and so pure and so beautiful he cannot have him. Because Jaehyun will never see him past being an enemy.

Taeyong doesn’t give a shit if his parents hate him for being a vampire because no one will hate it more than him, for taking away his life, and for taking away the chance of Jaehyun loving him back.

I don’t even deserve him.

❈

Normals stir out of his way as he stumbles once on the sidewalk. He refuses help from a concerned stranger, afraid to accidentally spill things he shouldn’t. Lets his feet take him to where he remembers (in his pathetically drunk state) will lead him back to Watford.

He stops at the side of a bridge. Taeyong tries to check the time on his watch but the numbers blur and jumble so he gives up. Cars barely drive past, and there’s no one else but him. It must be deep into the night already; he’s not sure, he can’t tell.

Seeing that nobody’s going to record his drunk ass, Taeyong disturbs the night. He picks up rocks and throws them over the bridge, uncaring where they land, while cursing out his vampirism that’s causing him bad luck. Casts all the spells that break things because he’s feeling up to it. A deep but loud croaking rings in his ears and he looks around, bends over the railing to look at complete darkness.

“I should probably go back now, huh?”

A cab for hire heads his way. He flags it down and gets in, but not before upending a garbage bin over the bridge and flipping a finger at it. That’s him. A trash.

After getting drunk comes the hunger. Taeyong looks at the oblivious driver through the mirror and smirks as he takes his wand out.

“Hurry Up!”

The driver screams in horror as the cab picks up speed, going over the limit. Taeyong feels a little bad.

When he sees the gates of Watford, the driver muttering prayers under his breath with eyes shut tight, the cab automatically slows down to a stop. Normals can’t look at Watford’s direction without hurting their eyes, but still, he literally exposed himself to the man and he can’t let him tattle.

“That doesn’t ring a bell!” There. Memory wiped out.

Taeyong leaves a wad of cash on his seat before getting off the cab.

Alright. Time to feast!

He binge-drinks so many rats in The Catacombs until their blood tastes bitter. Taeyong counts – one, two, three…nine, ten -- then when he’s done quelling his hunger, he makes his way to the Mummers House without stumbling once and feeling quite proud of himself.

“Open Sesame! The door slams open as he makes a grand entrance because he’s a little shit, shocking Jaehyun awake.

Jolted out of sleep, Jaehyun rubs his eyes and turns the lights on, about to scold Taeyong for being over the top at an ungodly hour when he sees the huge bloodstain on his previously pristine white shirt. It’s not just a drop anymore. It looks like Taeyong poured it on himself. “I told you to leave and you went on a killing spree?”

Blinking twice, Taeyong looks down at himself and sneers. “I’m not usually this messy,” he says before spelling the shirt free of blood, and goes to the bathroom to escape Jaehyun’s glare.

“Damn vampire,” Jaehyun mutters as he lies back down and tugs the covers over his head. “I’ll get back at you. You’ll see.”

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Students are now coming back to Watford from Christmas break in a smattering amount. Jaehyun takes advantage of it by taking some snacks from the dining hall since the kitchen prepared a lot in anticipation of the students’ return. He makes sure to check the expiration date, scared of going through hell again before heading back to the dorms.

It’s 8am and though still considered early, he’s pissed that his roommate’s still in bed when he woke up twenty minutes ago. Even after washing up, Taeyong’s still immobile like a giant lump under the covers. Jaehyun is certain that he heard the other’s alarm ring, and even when there are no classes, Taeyong consistently rises on time.

That doesn’t seem to be the case today. So he’s annoyed at having to see his roommate snooze like he didn’t pick a horrible fight last night.

Taeyong’s sitting up in his bed, clutching his head in pain when Jaehyun returns to their room. Brows furrowing in curiosity, he briefly considers asking what’s wrong before remembering that he’s mad at his roommate.

“Crowley. Fuck.”

Jaehyun huffs as he stores his snacks in a stash box under his bed, watching Taeyong curse and lie down again. What a weirdo. He hasn’t even chewed on the cheese bread he’d gotten when said weirdo rushes to the bathroom, and soon their space is filled with sounds of retching. This feels like déjà vu, only that they have switched places.

Now, he’s a little concerned. Sock-clad feet pad over to the bathroom in, cheese bread forgotten as Jaehyun pokes his head in.

“What’s happening…?” Is this an aftermath of his magic? Nervous that he might have gone overboard, Jaehyun bites on his nail while Taeyong continues to vomit his insides. He’s not sure what to do because his roommate seems to be dying, but his anger keeps him from offering a helping hand.

Thankfully, the vomiting soon comes to an end. The toilet flushes everything into oblivion as Taeyong gargles at the sink with water and mouthwash, face still crumpled in pain.

“Hangover.”

“Hang—hang what? Why would you—” Here Jaehyun goes again with stuttering. “You went drinking? Weren’t you on a killing spree?”

“What the hell, Jeong?” Taeyong wipes his mouth with a paper towel before tossing it in the bin. “My skull is breaking in half. Stop talking garbage.”

Jaehyun steps aside before his roommate pushes him out of the way. “But the blood,” he says as Taeyong lies down again. “Or does drinking so much blood make vampires drunk?”

“Blood?” The way Taeyong says it sounds like he’s got air knocked out of his lungs. “I don’t—I didn’t drink blood—”

“Yes you did!”

There follows a moment of silence as Taeyong stares at nothing before shaking his head, and realizing he just made himself feel worse. “I can’t remember. I don’t remember anything after—I didn’t drink blood, okay? I went to a bar and had alcohol—”

Jaehyun gasps. “You’re just 18!”

“Well I do remember that!”

Then maybe the stain on Taeyong’s shirt wasn’t blood, but alcohol? And he was so drunk he poured it on himself? Frustratedly, Jaehyun scratches his head and sighs loudly. “Well, do you need anything?”

“I need you to shut up and let me sleep.”

“No, asshole. You’re not well. Uh—fine.” Tossing a glare at the vampire, Jaehyun decides that he will ignore Taeyong by lounging in bed all day by watching Japanese prank clips on his illegal phone and munching on the snacks he took.

As he chooses which video to watch first, he’s reminded of their Line chats, and that Taeyong deleted their conversations. It tempts him to do the same, to get rid of the video that Taeyong sent him even though he was just listening to it again on Christmas Eve. But he thinks better of it. The soothing violin was magic. It made him stop dreaming of the Chimera –

Taeyong sprints to the bathroom again to vomit for the second time within ten minutes.

If it was food poisoning for Jaehyun, maybe it’s alcohol poisoning for his drunkard roommate. He slams his phone down the second Taeyong plops to his bed again, hating how much it’s bothering him, hating how Taeyong is literally unwell yet he still looks better than him on a normal day.

“Spell the sickness away, prat.”

Silence. Just a series of incoherent grumbling.

This leaves Jaehyun no choice, then.

“Get well soon!”

Taeyong pokes his head out of the cocoon he made, glaring at Jaehyun’s wand. “What did you just do?”

“Helping you. What do you feel?”

“If I could chop my head off right now, I would.”

“…A Get well soon might be too weak for you, then.”

“Or maybe your magic doesn’t work again.” For someone whose skull is already breaking, Taeyong appears to be very willing to have it pummelled to pieces.

“It worked last night,” Jaehyun says smugly. “Let’s go to the clinic –”

“It’s just a hangover, Jeong. Leave me alone.”

“I’d leave you alone if I could, honestly. Move out of the Watford dorms. But I don’t have a family to go home to, remember?” Biting his tongue when the other doesn’t respond, Jaehyun grips his wand as he puts his shoes on, and heads out to the library.

He asks the librarian where he can find treatment books and wastes no time in browsing one, doing it manually after realizing belatedly that if his magic fails and he goes off, all of these books are going to turn into dust.

As soon as he sees what he’s looking for, Jaehyun checks the book out and hops on stairs two sets at a time on his way to the top floor of Mummers House.

“I got it!”

He’s met with a groan.

“Stay still, I got you.” He closes the door and stands beside Taeyong’s bed, reopening the book. Once he finds the cure again, Jaehyun grins at his roommate, Trust me his eyes say, and takes a few deep breaths to gather up his magic.

His belly warms. The heat surges up and flows into his arms, spilling out his fingers.

He can do it. He can feel it. He can cast it.

“Hair of a dog!”

His magic answered. The room smells like smoke.

However… Why the hell is Taeyong literally covered in dog’s hair?!

The vampire practically vibrates from fury. “WHAT. IN MORGANA’S NAME, DID YOU DO, SNOW?”

“I—!” Jaehyun shoves his face in the book, nearly getting cross-eyed before wilting and looking at Taeyong with a wide gaze of shame. “I… I miscast. There’s a step before I— don’t worry, I’ll get rid of it!”

“NO.” Taeyong looks at his state and vibrates yet again. “You go to the clinic and get me some medicine for my headache. Then bring the nurse back with you to cast As you were, PROPERLY.”

Extremely ashamed and annoyed at himself, Jaehyun does just that. But he giggles secretly as the nurse stared at Taeyong with unspoken judgment.

Then it turns out that they could’ve avoided the embarrassment because Jaehyun’s initial spell worked, only taking effect an hour later.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

They say the quiet ones are the most dangerous. Jaehyun has heard this saying a handful of times before. And as he and Taeyong continuously give each other the cold shoulder for days, he feels like this is just the calm before the storm. This quiet fighting will lead to something explosive, something flammable.

Even Winter who made the 30% rule gives the look because he hasn’t uttered Taeyong’s name since classes resumed. The extent of Jaehyun’s anger has shockingly surpassed her usually low expectations.

Although his vampire nemesis doesn’t say anything, and the typical scowl or sneer on his face are gone, replaced by disconcerting calm, Taeyong has been coming back from feeding with blood on his chin, throat, and the worst one yet was him opening and closing their door with bloodied hands – like he’s deliberately shoving it to Jaehyun’s face when he knows that Jaehyun despises seeing evidence of his ‘killing spree’ without any corpse to connect it to.

Out, out damned spot! has become a broken record in their room and Jaehyun is so sick of hearing it being cast every single night. He swears on Merlin that he will turn the tables one of these days.

❈

The opportunity of revenge knocks on his door when the new week comes, in the form of a rumor.

They’re at the library. Miss Ronan made the class look for journals, as their new activity is about concocting spells related to given topics. The new spells must be related to the journal they choose.

Jaehyun and Winter share a table while working on the activity.

“Have you made any new friends over the break?”

Jaehyun lets the words sink in and replays it a couple of times to make sure that Winter actually asked him that. “I was the only one here…”

She nods slowly, absentmindedly dog ear-ing a page of her chosen journal. “But I gave you my phone. Social media is the new club and park and bookstore.”

He gives a shrug. “You know I just talked to that git. Did you really not talk to him on Line?”

“No—what would I even say? Anyway—so no new friends? Then you will not tell anyone about this.” Her gaze sweeps around the library for an eavesdropper, before she leans in to whisper. “Three students are missing.”

Jaehyun gawks.

Winter appreciates him for being silently shocked. “Karina’s mother is in The Coven. They haven’t said anything about it yet because they’re not yet sure as to what their disappearance means. Besides, their roommates only reported it to the headmistress yesterday, and were asked to keep quiet so it won’t alarm the whole school.”

Scratching his chin, Jaehyun tries to process the information. He abhors analyzing. “Since when have they been missing?”

“One has been missing for three days, the rest disappeared two days ago. Different year levels. Like they went out and never came back.”

“What do you think this means?”

“Hmm. Watford tends to be suffocating. Remember Miss Devon from sixth year? She’s so strict she had me pulling my hair for a week—and I was the top student in her class. Maybe these missing students know each other and are staging a protest by leaving Watford.” Winter twists her magical ring. “Not far-fetched, is it?”

“Their parents should be saying something…”

“They must have already said something. But Watford doesn’t want a scandal breaking out.”

How terrible, Jaehyun thinks. He tells Winter not to worry and picks up his pen, ready to score at least 50% in this activity, when he sees Taeyong come from the shelves carrying a stack of journals.

The blood on Taeyong’s hands.

The missing students.

The quiet ones are the most dangerous.

Jaehyun’s heart drops.

Noticing that Miss Ronan is walking around to observe them, Jaehyun tears a page off his notebook and rapidly writes before passing it to Winter.

She’s been helping him with his homework long enough to not struggle anymore in understanding his penmanship. Her posture goes rigid.

“This is ridiculous—”

Jaehyun glances at Miss Ronan and shakes his head at her, opening his journal.

“Jaehyun,” Winter says his name seriously. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

He simply returns the gaze with a determined one, then it darts towards Taeyong who’s busy reading a journal alone at a table across the humongous library.

This is not stupid. His roommate must know something about the missing students, and Jaehyun will not let this vampire freely walk with them anymore.

As vampires and mages cannot be in one place at the same time.

Vampires infiltrated Watford once and killed so many children. If they still exist, they could do it again.

Taeyong has to be expelled from Watford.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

“Taeyong –”

Hearing his name, Taeyong stops on his way to the pitch for a drill to look at whoever called him, raising a brow inquisitively.

A student assistant, one that he remembers working for his mother squirms before his steely gaze. “Um, Headmistress Lee wishes to talk to you.”

His mother should know he has football practice today. Taeyong checks the time, and supposing he can spare a few minutes, makes a detour to head to the Weeping Tower.

What would this even be about? The only times he is ever asked to come to her office is whenever he and his roommate fight. They aren’t even talking to each other nowadays, and The Chosen One surprisingly doesn’t react to his provocations everynight with all that rat blood.

True to his suspicion, Jaehyun is there too when he enters his mother’s office. But seeing him there doesn’t answer why he was summoned. Taeyong stops beside his roommate, brows furrowing. Jaehyun better not have done something to involve him –

“Taeyong.”

“Headmistress,” he calls, voice devoid of affection as she has strictly wanted to keep a distant relationship in Watford, as she emerges from behind another door that leads to her private rooms. There were times he used to ask himself if this would still be their routine if he weren’t a vampire. “I have football practice.”

She takes her seat before them. “That, I can see,” – then proceeds to ignore his implication as she crosses her arms and looks him in the eye. “Watford seems to have a problem. There are three missing students.”

He keeps silent, head tilting to wait for her to elaborate.

“Have you heard about it?”

Has he heard about it? Yes, at the library this morning. Before he picked up the pile of journals he read for Magic Words. Taeyong side-eyes his roommate, gripping the strap of his sports bag. He’s got an idea as to what the hell this stupid mage just did. “If there are no announcements, then no student is supposed to have heard about it. Pray tell, headmistress, did this twat tell you anything?”

Jaehyun whips his head. “You’ve been coming back with blood all over you like—like you’re parading—“

“So you learned a new word and decided to use it against me.”

“You got something to do with it!” Jaehyun’s nostrils flare. “You don’t even deny it when I tell you you’re killing people for their blood—”

“Because it’s so stupid! I will not waste my breath on trying to dissuade you when you already convinced yourself I’m a killer—” Cutting himself off, Taeyong looks at his mother with disbelief in his eyes, his hands trembling. The way she gazes at her own son breaks his still heart. “You listened to him. You’re suspecting me.”

Headmistress Lee sighs. “I am not suspecting you, Taeyong. But a vampire attack is…plausible.”

Taeyong senses Jaehyun’s narrowed gaze on the side of his face.

“You know about the prophecy…”

“What does your being The Chosen One have to do with this?”

“I was chosen to defeat the greatest enemy that imposes a threat to Watford—”

Mouth slightly hanging open from incredulity, Taeyong chuckles as his gaze shifts between his roommate and his mother. “What. So you think I’m the Humdrum from the prophecy? The one that will attempt to ruin the world of mages?”

“Isn’t that what you’re doing,” Jaehyun immediately asks back. “Eating these students?”

Eating? Eating! He’s a cannibal now! He gotta give it to Jaehyun for looking so determined, though. “Crowley, Jeong. You don’t always like to be analytical, but when you do, you spew bullshit.” He turns to his mother. “Is The Coven suspecting me?”

Shaking her head, both as an answer to his question and being frustrated at the argument before her, she stands behind her chair and grips the back of it. “No one else has heard of Jeong Jaehyun’s claims yet.”

“If The Coven hasn’t told anybody yet about the missing students, how come you’re not questioning why this one next to me knows about it? That’s suspicious.”

Jaehyun spouts a mess of words. Serves him right.

“He’s The Chosen One. He’s not going to put Watford in danger.”

“…And you think I will?” Taeyong inhales a lungful of air to keep the hurt in. “Why haven’t you told The Coven yet?”

“I don’t want to cause panic. I immediately called for you because I wanted to hear your side.”

But that doesn’t mean you’d believe me, he wants to say. Instead, he glares at Jaehyun. “I cannot fathom your audacity, Jeong. You hate me so much that you’d frame me up with a heinous crime?”

Before Jaehyun can say anything, Headmistress Lee tells them to wait outside while she thinks of her next course of action.

They don’t need to be told twice. But as soon as the door closes, Taeyong confronts the other. “You’re unbelievable. Time and time, you prove to me that they made a mistake choosing you. How did you even come up with the idea that this is my fault?”

“The blood—”

“Yes, the blood! But even before these students disappeared, you’ve been finding blood on me. Does the timeline even match, Jeong? Or you can’t do something as simple as be logical?”

Jaehyun swallows, wringing his wrist. “It just makes sense, alright?”

Taeyong scoffs. “More than Kim’s guess? Is a protest more impossible?” His roommate’s eyes widen. “Yes, I heard you. I can hear whatever you say from across the room. Why didn’t you just listen to Kim—”

“Don’t drag her into this—“

Jaehyun winces as his back hits the wall. His uniform is crumpled within Taeyong’s hold that looks like it wants to tear the fabric off of him. Their faces are literally just an inch apart, and Taeyong’s hot breath fans over his parted lips. Grey eyes with hints of blue and green bore into his.

“Get your bearings, Jeong. I will not let you brazenly bring me to my demise just like that.”

Taeyong watches the boy before him redden, from fury or what, and stumbles quite a bit when he gets shoved back.

“The truth will set you free!”

He freezes up. Taeyong stands at the other end of Jaehyun’s wand, paralyzed. Such spell causes the victim to be completely honest about EVERYTHING, especially what the victim thinks about the caster.

For a second, Taeyong almost thinks his heart would beat again from fear he will be forced to confess his undying love for Jeong Jaehyun, but there seems to be no magic hitting him in the chest. And he cannot smell it.

Relieved, he instantly regains composure. Jaehyun gawks disappointedly at his wand.

“Do not let my mother see how useless you are.”

Five minutes (that felt like forever) later, they are called back into the office.

Headmistress Lee looks at them like she knows what went out just outside the door. “The Coven will have a meeting today. We will have this investigated right away—”

“I’m innocent, Headmistress Lee.”

“…We shall wait for the investigation to—”

“Do you even believe me?” Taeyong asks her. “Do you believe that I’m innocent, mom?”

He thought that would do the trick. To melt her heart with the reminder that they’re family.

“No, you don’t believe me. But let’s strike a deal, mom. I volunteer searching for these students. I want to clear the mess that The Chosen One brought upon my name.” Jaehyun’s eyes turn into slits. “Give me a day or two—if I don’t find these students, then feel free to let The Coven know you suspect the only vampire in Watford. You don’t want a scandal, right? Then I, myself, will give you that peace of mind.”

She slowly nods, gaze dropping. “…I will no longer be able to keep you here if they…if they think you have to leave.”

When it comes to him, the law in her words no longer holds any validity.

“Of course. Are you gonna let me do this?”

“If that’s what you want.”

Taeyong hums. “Then I have only one request. This guy,” he points to his roommate, “will have to come with me. I want him to be the first one to know of my innocence when we find these students ALIVE and kicking.”

“Um, I don’t think I should—”

“Go with him.”

Sneering triumphantly, Taeyong walks out of the office as soon as they’re permitted.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

He inevitably skips football practice. And since he only asked for a day, two at most to look for these students, he supposes they should start doing it now. The faster they solve this, the faster he’ll get to kick Jaehyun down the stairs. Oh, pushing him won’t do it anymore. He will kick Jaehyun like a ball and have him tumble down to the first floor.

And then play the hero that I’m not by swooping Jaehyun’s bloody ass into his arms and spell him back to health, score a kiss maybe before off-ing myself. Because I’m disturbed like that. Ask anyone.

Kissing Jaehyun will be the death of me.

Jeong Jaehyun will be the death of me.

Now back in Mummers, they find a folder on his bed, and a flapping bird perched on the windowsill.

“Are we really doing this now?”

“Hush.” Taeyong drops his sports bag and picks up the folder. Profiles of the missing students greet him. His mother must’ve asked the bird to deliver it to them. “These are all boys. My mother really had their roommates sew their mouths shut, huh?” Sitting down on his bed to read more, he doesn’t even chastise Jaehyun for sitting next to him.

He’s furious at this twat but he loves this twat, too. And he hates that he still loves Jaehyun right now even after the latter put him in this situation.

“Fourth, fifth, sixth years.”

“True colors!”

Rolling his eyes, Taeyong swats Jaehyun’s wand out of his face. “What color do you see? What color am I now? Blue is safe, Red is danger.”

Jaehyun angrily shoves the wand back in his uniform. “You’re not even glowing.”

Sighing, Taeyong turns back to the profiles. His voice is significantly calmer when he speaks his mind. “You know for yourself that I am innocent, Jeong. You just really wanna get rid of me.” When Jaehyun stays silent, either confirming it or he simply has nothing to counter that, Taeyong bites back a retort.

“We have to start somewhere. Look for a possible reason why these students were taken—IF they were taken.”

“Well you do that, genius.”

Taeyong purses his lips. The students began missing shortly after Christmas break. They all apparently come from wealthy families. And based on the photos provided, they all…dress like him. Not like he thinks that’s a significant detail, but it’s still odd. Like he’s looking at three other versions of him. It sort of creeps him out.

Closing the folder and putting it aside, he gets up to take clothes from his closet. “Get dressed, Jeong. We’re talking to their roommates.”

“Um…I’m already in my uniform? Can’t you talk to them in your jersey?”

“I’m doing this fashionably. And we are going out after. If we’re interrogating more people, and The Coven wants to keep this a secret, no one can know we’re from Watford, you numpty.”

Ten minutes later, when he steps out of the bathroom with hair untied since he wouldn’t be on the pitch anyway, Jaehyun frowns at him.

“What.”

“Really? A two-piece suit?”

“I’m wearing it as casually as possible. Look, I don’t even have a tie.”

“Don’t you ever wear jeans?”

Taeyong picks up his perfume and sprays it on himself a hundred times. “I DO wear jeans. Just not around you.” He turns to his roommate when the latter appears to choke for a second, and allows himself to give him a once-over. Jaehyun’s jeans are cuffed, his sneakers need some replacement, but thankfully the shirt under his jacket is plain. None of that Winnie the Pooh.

Looks like they’re good to go.

---

They’ve talked to the roommates, informed them that they’re part of the investigation team, or something like that. Surprisingly, they didn’t question Taeyong’s involvement with The Chosen One in this search (even though this is his idea, and Jaehyun’s just an extra baggage but they don’t know that). As for Jaehyun, well, they will never question the hero.

So they have gathered information. Literally everything is useless except for one similar detail that all the missing students share.

The three of them went to the city. On different days, of course. The sixth year had told his roommate he would be drinking.

Jaehyun shrieks asking why a sixteen year-old would be drinking, like the concept of a minor having alcohol never occurred to him – when he nearly lost his mind the day Taeyong woke up with a hangover.

Taeyong thanks the roommates for help, and leads the way out of Watford.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

The sun had set an hour ago by the time they arrived in the city. Since the sixth year student was said to come here for a drink, they think of searching clubs or bars and ask around if the patrons or the bartenders remember him. Jaehyun worries about the number of establishments, and their lack of IDs, but Taeyong first, Taeyong suggests narrowing down the places they need to go to.

“If that student wasn’t too careless, he would’ve gone to a magical bar instead of one meant for Normals. So we have to look for places that only accept mages and magical creatures.”

“Is there even a magical bar here?”

Taeyong looks around, lips pursed. “This is where I went when you kicked me out of our room, and I think I saw a magical bar.”

“Did you not go there?”

“I didn’t particularly care where I could get alcohol that night.”

Jaehyun’s brows furrow. “What if you got caught? How did you come back to Watford pissed drunk?”

“I said I don’t remember whatever followed after I got drunk, okay?” Irritation laces Taeyong’s tone as he pockets his hand, holding the pictures of the students there. They stand next to the lamp post while waiting for the light to turn red and let pedestrians cross the road. “Does it matter?”

Once the light changes, Taeyong beckons Jaehyun to follow him.

Jaehyun keeps his distance close to Taeyong as he looks around, taking in brightly lit establishments, and the music pouring out of them. He actually missed being around Normals, around those who have no idea how powerful he is and how he cannot control most of his magic.

“How do we know what a magical bar looks like?”

“There will be a symbol that will appear on their door if you look at it. Pretty sure it blocks Normals from looking at it the way Watford does.”

It doesn’t take them long to find the magical bar. From the outside, it’s nondescript, but true to Taeyong’s words, a symbol appears on the glass door when Jaehyun’s gaze lands on it.

Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks play comfortingly inside the bar, as Jaehyun steps inside first. Black, shiny tables are bolted to the polished floor on the right, forming an L with the leather seats attached to the walls, while the long bar and assortment of alcohol occupied the left side. The place isn’t full, but there are mages and magical creatures (wow, is that a Pixie? And a group of elves? And an actual goblin in human form? – some of these green beings can be really fit, Jaehyun thinks) drinking and chatting quietly.

“I’m going to the restroom first,” Taeyong says. “Go order a drink and see if you could talk to the bartender.”

“I don’t know what to ask—”

Slapping the photos of the missing students on Jaehyun’s hand, Taeyong nods to the bar. “Just ask if they recognize these kids. If they ask what your purpose is, just tell them these kids owe you money. Don’t say anything about Watford.”

Jaehyun huffs as Taeyong walks away, leaving him alone. Scratching his chin, he walks up to the bar and sits on a stool, folding and unfolding the pictures. He doesn’t see the bartender. And when he’s about to tap the goblin next to him on the shoulder to ask, a tree-person – a literal tree that looks like a person or a person that looks like a tree comes and serves a number of drinks, handing brimming glasses to customers using his…branches. It reminds him of Groot.

“Um, can I order—” What should he even get? Jaehyun doesn’t drink. “I’m a first-timer. What do you recommend?”

The tree-person, wearing the standard white shirt and trousers, gives him a once-over and Jaehyun internally panics thinking it would ask for an ID. But it prepares his drink and its limb / branch slides over to him a glass of something bright pink with a tiny umbrella.

Jaehyun takes a sip and grimaces. It’s not bad, so he keeps taking gulps, the next one bigger than the last.

“You didn’t ask, did you?” Taeyong stands between him and the goblin, resting on arm on the counter. “How was it?”

Jaehyun finishes his pink drink and puts it down with a shrug. “Don’t really know how to approach the subject. The drink is okay.”

Hm. It’s Taeyong’s fault he expected Jaehyun to be able to do this successfully. Taking back the student’s photos from Jaehyun, Taeyong asks for a simple cocktail. Might as well have something to drink while they’re at it.

The tree-person bartender looks at his way once, speaks into a tiny microphone clipped to his collar, and Taeyong thinks that’s odd. As if the tree-person just discreetly alerted security. And for what?

For the strong hold that suddenly grips his and Jaehyun’s shoulders, perhaps. “Come with me,” says the man with two heads and a horn on each that appeared behind them out of nowhere. Taeyong curses under his breath, shakes his head at Jaehyun as a warning to not panic and let his magic go off, before allowing the double-headed man to lead them to a room at the very back of the bar.

Made to take a seat there, the double-headed man leaves them alone without so much as a clue as to what’s happening. Jaehyun squirms in his seat as his eyes roam around what looks like a mini office. 

“We’re not gonna die, are we?”

“As long as they arrange a grand funeral for me, why not?”

The door opens, and in comes the bartender. It stops before them, its branches now hidden back inside its body. His two remaining limbs which resemble actual human arms are covered in brown bark with some leaves sticking out of its length. On his face, dark beady eyes squint at Taeyong.

“Vampires are prohibited here.” That’s one very deep voice, Taeyong thinks.

“How do you know I’m a vampire?”

“The eyes.

“Well, I got in.”

“Only I, the owner, can invite prohibited creatures. Or a powerful wizard must invite you in.” It turns its beady eyes to Jaehyun. “Who are you?”

Jaehyun blinks, opens his mouth, then closes it again.

“Speak, before I call someone in to spell the truth out of you and find out more than I should. Save yourself from humiliation. If you don’t tell me why a vampire is here, then I have no choice but to kill it.”

“I—I invited him in!” Jaehyun explains as he digs inside his jacket, ready to go against the tree-person if needed. “He has to be invited in magical places—”

“And how could you?”

“I’m The Chosen One,” Jaehyun introduces himself with a mixture of pride and self-doubt. “If you have heard of the prophecy. I’m The Greatest Mage.”

“We’re students of Watford,” Taeyong chimes in right away. “And we’re looking for some schoolmates. One of them had come to the city for a drink, and we thought we should visit magical bars and clubs to ask if you’d seen him.”

“The School of Magic lets vampires in?”

“My mother is the headmistress.”

Jaehyun slaps his shoulder. “I thought we couldn’t say that?”

“Shut up,” Taeyong tells him before handing the pictures to the bartender. “We’re looking for the sixth year student first, but if ever you recognize—”

The tree-person shakes its head and a leaf falls out of its hair. “I don’t recognize these two. But the sixth year student…he was here. He did have some drinks, but left an hour later.”

“Was he with someone? Did he leave with someone?”

“He came and left alone.” Tree-person returns the pictures. “You said these students are missing. I don’t know about the other two, but the sixth year boy left the bar obviously drunk. Before you blame me why I served him, I asked for an ID because he looked fairly young. It must have been fake. I didn’t see him get into a car.”

“Merlin,” Jaehyun gasps, “what if he was hit?”

Taeyong scoffs. “What kind of hero are you? Why are you so pessimistic?”

“I’m just worried—”

“Being kidnapped is more possible than—”

“Kidnapped?” The tree-person asks, little beady eyes widening a fraction. “There’s a bridge three kilometers away from here. I know where Watford is, and there’s only one route to get there. You have to take that bridge, correct?”

“That one long bridge, yes.”

“If he made his way back alone, then I’m afraid he was taken by Numpties. They are magical rock-like creatures that live under the bridge. Mages can easily overpower them as they are languid but since the student was drunk, he was probably not able to think clearly enough to fight back. Numpties are known to lure people. You should go look for him there, but you have to be careful.”

Nodding, Taeyong gets up and pockets the pictures. “I’m sorry, but we really ought to go. I have no evil intentions coming here.”

The tree-person extends one of its branches to the door to open it. “Forgiven. But you may not come back ever again.”

“Fair enough,” Taeyong says and turns on his heel. “Jeong, let’s go.”

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

They hail a cab to get to the bridge quickly. Caught in traffic, Taeyong casts “Make Way for the King!” and the cars before them free up a whole lane. Needless to say, he also had to wipe out the driver’s memory.

As the bridge leads to the countryside, it lacks pedestrians and motorists. Two lamps provide light on either side but they cannot reach beyond the bridge’s railing.

“How do we call for the Numpties? Or should we just stand here and wait for them to come to us since they like kidnapping people?”

The winter wind blows past them, fanning Taeyong’s long hair. “I’m not sure, Jeong.” Approaching the railing, he leans over and looks into the dark under. All of a sudden, he’s hit with a flashback of that night he got drunk. He sees himself leaning over the bridge too, after hearing some strange croaking. “I think…I think I was here.”

“What?” Jaehyun pats his hair down, walking towards him. “When you got drunk? You remember stuff now?”

“I’m not really sure if I’m remembering things right now or just imagining them. But I was here, and I heard a noise. Deep noise. Like it was calling for me.”

“Did you see the Numpties?”

“Maybe, maybe not? I can’t remember anything else. We should probably go down there. I’ll light the way.”

Taeyong jogs to the end of the bridge where they can slide down the slanted wall, his nose scrunching at the smell of garbage. A ball of fire grows over the palm of his hand.

Jaehyun’s eyes reflect the round flame. “Aren’t you flammable?”

“It’s my magic, Jeong. What it does is up to me.” Sauntering forward, the fire lights their way and exposes the dried up river beneath them. It’s all dry land now, with wild plants growing between cracks. Pieces of trash are found everywhere they look. There doesn’t seem to be any rock formations.

“Why did you drink?”

Taeyong looks over his shoulder but doesn’t meet Jaehyun’s eyes.

“It’s okay if you don’t wanna tell me—”

“My parents. It was true that I felt sick being at home. Because they can’t accept what I am. That I’m a vampire.”

“Oh,” Jaehyun softly says, now walking next to him. “I’m…. Then I’m sorry for snapping at you…?”

“Whatever. And they tried to set me up with this girl from seventh year.”

“From Watford? Do you—” Jaehyun clenches his hands into tight fists. He cannot imagine Taeyong with someone, genuinely liking them, smiling because that person makes him happy, and not sneering—not sneering or scowling!—and kissing someone. “Do you not like her?”

Taeyong scoffs. “I don’t. I don’t like her. I don’t like…girls.” Silence comes after it, and he looks at the surprised expression on Jaehyun’s face with a smirk. “Didn’t see that one coming, did you?”

A beat, then Jaehyun gives his usual shrug. “It didn’t really cross my mind. So you like boys?” It’s weird. This is weird. How they’re having a conversation about this. Enemies don’t talk about their crushes to each other.

“I do.”

“Do you like someone then? From Watford?”

Taeyong sighs. “I love someone. From Watford.”

It…bothers him. It bothers Jaehyun. There’s that influx of bitterness, not because Taeyong likes a boy, but because he doesn’t like whoever that boy Taeyong likes. And then he feels worse because Taeyong doesn’t just like them. Taeyong loves them. Who could this person be? Who would make this awful nemesis of his to feel something as great as love?

“Does he like you too?”

The ball of fire illuminates the softer curl of Taeyong’s mouth upwards. Jaehyun wants to punch him.

“He doesn’t. We don’t get along.”

“I see students practically throw themselves at you, though…”

Though he’s physically cold, and permanently at that, heat licks at Taeyong’s face. Both from the fire and the whirl of his feelings. “I don’t even talk to others if I can avoid it. If they’re not my teammates, we just don’t have enough conversation for me to say we don’t click. The other students don’t know what they feel about me.”

‘So who? Who is it’ struggles to be said.

“You’re the only one I talk to more than my football friends, idiot. You’re the only one I don’t get along with.”

“Well, you git, maybe if you didn’t—what?”

Jaehyun trips over a rock but thankfully catches himself because no matter how shockingly in love Taeyong is with him, the vampire won’t stoop so low to keep him from falling.

He opens his mouth but nothing comes out. His face is burning, his heart is beating wildly, there are fluttery things moving around his stomach

Taeyong is…Taeyong is in love with him. For whatever reason it is, his roommate, his enemy, the person that tried to kill him twice is…in love with him.

“You—how? Why? Since when?”

Taeyong tells Jaehyun what he told his cousin in a tone so bored Jaehyun would think twice about his confession, leaving out details he thinks would creep Jaehyun out.

Jaehyun’s pea-sized brain glitches, then whirs back to life, only to shrink to nothingness again because what the fuck. What the actual fuck. What in Morgana’s name did he just hear?

“All those times,” he sounds breathless as he looks into the most beautiful pair of grey eyes, “when we were screaming at each other, shoving each other in the hallways, when you put frogs on my bed—the stairs, THE CHIMERA…you were in love with me? Since third year?” His throat clogs. “You are in love with me?”

“I know it’s hard to wrap your head around it but it’s true. Do I look like I’m lying?”

“You lied about hating me—”

“So what?” Taeyong can’t help being defensive. “I said that the boy I love doesn’t like me back.”

Jaehyun watches Taeyong turn his back to walk again, to search for what they came down here for, but as he’s reaching out to wrap his fingers around Taeyong’s wrist, the ground violently shakes and they’re falling down a pit.

❈

It must have been a 6-feet drop. Jaehyun, luckily, was cushioned by bags of garbage. Three feet away from him, Taeyong curses loudly after having landed on damp concrete – not because he’s hurt, no—that vampire’s body is made of steel, but because his exorbitant suit is now ruined.

Quickly, Jaehyun climbs down the hill of garbage and pats his arms, squinting through the darkness. It’s so pungent down here. The blending of trash and dirty rainwater odor is hitting him harder than his magic ever did. “Taeyong?!”

“I’m fine! Though that was nasty, whatever that is I touched. Merlin. Fire burn and cauldron bubble!” A new ball of fire materializes over the palm of Taeyong’s hand. Then instantly, he’s turning Jaehyun around left and right, checking for injury. “Are you hurt?”

“Um, the garbage bags saved me. Where are we?”

Contented with the answer, Taeyong stretches his fireball around them, illuminating cracked, stone walls. “Seems like a sewer tunnel. An ancient sewer tunnel.” Curiously, he caresses the wall, finger tracing the line of cracks. “It just looks like rocks that were piled on top of each other ‘til a tunnel was born, though.”

Tugging down the hem of his shirt, Jaehyun’s gaze follows the traveling of Taeyong’s fingers. His heart has not yet recovered from the confession. It beats restlessly in his chest.

And for the second time, as he’s stepping closer to Taeyong, unsure of what to say or do, they are interrupted – by the walls trembling momentarily and then closing in in slow motion, like they’re slowly being trapped. The tunnel’s width is five-feet at most so if they could push themselves back up now, they’d have enough time to do it.

However, a figure emerges from the dark side of the tunnel and hinders them from moving. They hold their breaths as it walks with the pace of a sloth. Soon, a clump of rocks forming into a figure of a human is caught within the light of Taeyong’s fireball.

There’s at least four of them.

Numpties.

“It’s you,” the one at the front says with its low, gravelly voice.

The skin between Taeyong’s thick brows creases. “Who—me?”

“Finally…found you…” Their words are as slow as their movements. By now, the walls have stopped moving, as if respecting the presence of the Numpties.

“Why were you looking for me—?”

“Disturbed…peace…sleeping…”

Taeyong scoffs. What the hell are these creatures trying to tell him? Do they know him? Do they need something? What is it?

His brain, as if on cue, chooses to answer all those questions by giving him back the memory he lost the night he got drunk. Of him drinking more than he could take, of him going to the bridge and cursing the wind for his bad luck – for being a vampire and for his unrequited love, of him casting spells and upending a trash bin over the bridge.

The temperature plummets even lower, for him at least.

“Been looking…make pay…no face…only clothes…”

Jaehyun tugs on his sleeve frustratedly. “What are they saying?”

“When I got drunk, I stopped by the bridge and disturbed their peace. I might have cast ruination spells and now the walls in this sewer are cracking, the ground above is cracking, and I also threw garbage over them,” he recalls it so casually without any hint of dread that Jaehyun just gawks.

“And they wanted to make me pay but they didn’t know what I look like? They must have seen my clothes at least? How I dress, precisely.”

To his surprise, Jaehyun manages to realize what this means.

“The students! The missing students dress like you!”

“Bravo, Chosen One—”

“Three boys,” the Numpty croaks. “Coffin…”

Taeyong loses his composure. “You’re keeping them in coffins?!” His loudness startles the walls and they quiver again. “Alright, alright—I’m sorry I disturbed you and ruined your house, and I will compensate you for the damage I caused but we need the students back. I promise I will make it up to you. Where are they? Are they alive?”

“No you, no return…”

His breath hitches. A bargain.

Jaehyun tugs his sleeve again. “What is it?”

His throat bobs as their eyes meet. “…They will return the students, but only if I stay. Presumably to keep me in the coffin, too.”

“No—“ Glaring at the Numpties, Jaehyun takes out his wand. “You can’t take him! I won’t let you take him!” His anger rises to his head faster than the surge of his magic. If only Jaehyun could convert all his fury into spells, he would be melting these rocks around them by now with a single wave of his wand. “—this is kidnapping! I won’t—he won’t stay! Taeyong won’t—hey?”

He won’t stay? But…realizing that these students were taken because the Numpties couldn’t find him, isn’t it partly his fault? No—this is completely his fault. Taeyong played a part in their disappearance. He is to be blamed for getting drunk because he was so angry at his family, at himself, at all these feelings his dead heart can barely hold.

He is evil because he’s a vampire. He is evil for making Jaehyun suffer from his own personal issues. But he’s not going to be evil for making these students pay for his faults.

“I’ll stay.”

Jaehyun stops arguing with the Numpties. “…You’re kidding me.”

“I wronged them and they took the students because they couldn’t find me. I did this. This is my fault. You go, Jeong, you go and look for the coffins—”

“No! Are you crazy?!” The Numpties croak and start coming their way. Gripping the hilt of his wand so tightly his knuckles turn white, Jaehyun scowls at him before taking a lungful of air, desperately dragging up his magic. “Tell me what to cast.”

Taeyong shakes his head. “I’m staying here. Get the students--”

“SHUT UP AND TELL ME WHAT TO CAST!”

The fireball in his hand sways as if shaking from the anger spitting out of Jaehyun. He glances at the Numpties, at Jaehyun who’s starting to emit smoke, and if he doesn’t give what The Chosen One wants, this place will be possibly set on fire, and all of them will burn – including the three students.

“…Hell hath no fury.”

Jaehyun points his wand towards the Numpties. “Hell hath no fury!” His wand remains cold. “Another.”

“Jeong—”

“ANOTHER.”

Seeing that his roommate is not going to give up unless he goes off and roasts them all alive, Taeyong yields and fishes out his wand. “Fine. But this is not over.” Fuming grey eyes bore into the walking rocks. “Crash and burn!” Tiny balls of fire shoot out of his wand, hitting the Numpties. “Have a Break, Have a Kit-Kat!”

Cracks appear on their limbs, but the Numpties are not backing down.

“Rocks…” Jaehyun exhales, ransacking his brain for a solution. “What defeats rocks? Papers?”

“Papers—like rock, paper, scissors?”

Jaehyun practically beams. “Yeah! Do it! I can’t cast my magic—you can do it!”

Nodding once, Taeyong gathers up his magic and lets it flow into the wand. He truly hopes this works.

“Paper beats rock!”

Pieces of dry and wet paper from the garbage bags, around them and from aboveground, simultaneously fly towards the Numpties, covering them from head to toe. Once they’re completely wrapped without a sliver of rock exposed, they stop moving and their low croaks die behind the press of papers.

At the same time, the walls stop. Taeyong suspects that the house is actually an extension of their bodies.

“It worked…” Jaehyun mumbles breathlessly.

It did. The Chosen One came up with a spell on his own and it worked. “You made it work.”

“I learned something from Magic Words!”

Panicked, muffled cries interrupt their little moment of victory. They turn towards the opposite end of the sewer tunnel where the noises echo and carry over. “The students,” Taeyong says and they both run towards the source of the sound, with the fireball lighting their way.

Three coffins shake as their contents attempt to break out, pounding fists against the cover. Their wands were probably taken so they cannot magic their way out of it. Moreover, only powerful wizards get to use magic without a wand.

Jaehyun summons the Sword of Mages, tells the students to keep their hands to their sides before slicing the lids open. Louder cries fill the tunnel as they step out of their confinement. Taeyong recognizes absolute horror in their swollen eyes.

Quickly, they climb a steel ladder (the Numpties probably use it to climb out of the tunnel) and leave the sewer before the papers lose stickiness and the Numpties wake up.

❈

“Inform the headmistress in Watford that we have the students. All three of them. By the bridge towards the city. And that we need a ride. Quick.”

Taeyong lets the bird fly out of his hand and turns to where Jaehyun talks to the shaken students. His face gives nothing away as he watches The Chosen One rub one’s back soothingly, already looking a bit like the hero he will be.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

The students are immediately brought to the clinic to be checked, their parents alerted. Silence reigns in the campus. Three wizards were taken and brought back without anyone knowing what happened, a lack of momentum in what’s probably the most horrifying period of their life so far. They will get nightmares just like his roommate. Taeyong is sure of that. Watford is gaining three more mouth breathers.

“—asked for him instead if we wanted to save the students but that’s just not possible, miss. So we— we had no choice but to fight. I think the Numpties are still sleeping right now.”

“He fought them,” Taeyong clarifies. “The Chosen One did. There was no us.”

“Wha—? You cast the spell—”

“I cast the spell that you came up with.”

Jaehyun stares at his vampire roommate for a moment. While waiting for the ride and throughout their way back, Taeyong kept to himself and looked out the window, only humming when Jaehyun addressed him.

“No matter what,” Headmistress Lee says, “you two saved the students. I commend you for your bravery.  The Numpties are not powerless creatures.”

Taeyong keeps his eyes on the desk between him and his mother. “It had to be done.” Because it turned out that I’m not completely innocent.

“What are they gonna do with the students?”

“I will call for a meeting tomorrow. But the priority is to look after them for a while and allow them to rest either here or with their families if they wish. They are stressed and anxious, and forcing them to go back to class is not wise”

Hearing that, Taeyong internally winces at the possibility that he ruined these students’ mental wellbeing.

Jaehyun is relieved by that. Although, there is something else that he wishes to bring up, and he shifts his weight on either foot as both awkwardness and guilt cloak him. “Headmistress Lee, I think I should apologize. For suspecting your son. I—he didn’t have to do this but he had to because I got paranoid. So um, I’m sorry. If there’s a punishment for me, i—”

Taeyong scoffs, crossing his arms. “You did nothing wrong, Jeong. Like I said, it had to be done. You knew it had to be done, right?” You heard the Numpties. Everything is my fault. “Can we go now?”

His mother nods somberly. “Please. Go back and take a rest. You might be called in to join the meeting tomorrow.”

❈

Jaehyun expects to go straight to Mummers because he’s tired, and he knows Taeyong is tired too, but his exhaustion is replaced with confusion as Taeyong makes a turn to the direction of the White Chapel. Automatically, he follows.

“Stop tailing me, Jeong.”

“That’s not the Mummers House—”

“I am well aware of that. So why are you following me? No—you’re stalking me. And I don’t appreciate that. Go back and sleep.”

“Are you not sleepy?”

Taeyong chuckles, not once looking back at him. “I’m hungry.”

Something is definitely wrong with his roommate so Jaehyun keeps following him like a duckling. He lets Taeyong open the doors of the chapel. “Does it not hurt you?”

Finally sparing him a glance, Taeyong sarcastically dips his fingers in the sleeve of holy water by the pillar and ignores the burning sting as he makes the sign of the cross, sneering. “It hurts a ton, of course. And I would writhe if you weren’t watching me. But under it is the only place where I can find food.”

“Y-you’re going to The Catacombs—”

They go through the door behind the altar.

“Let there be light!”

Little flames fill the sconces on the wall.

Taeyong walks through the maze with a calm air around him like he’s merely entering his own house. If this was hell on earth, no one would even be surprised. “I usually don’t like it when I have an audience while feeding, but you’ve always wanted to catch me in the act of absolute evil, haven’t you? Would this stop you from accusing me of murder?”

Renewed guilt makes Jaehyun stiffen. “Are you…are you sure there are no people here…?” Still, he’s terrified of what he will find down under.

They reach the last door where a spiral staircase leads to The Catacombs. Taeyong opens it, lighting the sconces. “People?” He asks as he goes down with Jaehyun on his heel. “Well, they were people once.”

As coldness wraps around him the deeper they go, Jaehyun calls for his sword and holds his wand just in case. Even if he comes here everyday, The Catacombs will always be properly creepy and he will probably only change his mind if were evil. ‘

After what feels like a day and a half of climbing down, they reach the last step.

Skulls and bones, plenty of them, are stacked atop each other on the walls. There are probably at least a hundred of tiny, grinning skulls around them.

On the right, a faded wooden sign is nailed to two wooden beams.

Jaehyun gulps. “Where…what—?”

“Le Tombeau des Enfants. You know your French?”

“I suck at French. “

Taeyong spreads his arm as he stands before the skulls and the sign. “We’re with the children that died that night 13 years ago. Welcome to their abode.”

This is…these were those children? Vampires killed this many?

“It’s my place of Zen and peace. I love coming here to hang out with those kids I once played with because this is how it should be. We were all supposed to die. No one should’ve woken up again. I guess me being a vampire, half dead, is good enough. So, Jeong.” Taeyong smirks, twirling his wand. “Wanna see my diet plan?”

Jaehyun whips around, trying to find whatever that diet plan is when Taeyong casts a spell. Rats come out of their hiding and Jaehyun yelps as they pass through his feet before crowding around Taeyong. His roommate then sits down against the wall of skulls—of the skulls of the massacred children, and breaks one of the rats’ neck.

He sees the fangs before they sink into the rat’s body. “You—you’ve always been drinking rat blood? Just…rat blood? No people?”

Taeyong gulps three times before the rat’s dried up body drops to the floor with a thud and its friends scamper to climb over it. “Now you see why I’d been such a mess?” Swiping his tongue over the blood on his fangs, Taeyong picks up another rat and keeps his eyes on Jaehyun as he apathetically snaps its neck. The way it squeaks before dying gives Jaehyun chills. “I just wanted to annoy you. I never killed people. I’m a vampire, I’m evil, but I will never kill people—unless they give me a valid reason to. Look at me, Jeong. Keep your eyes on me. This is how your enemy falls from grace.”

The vampire before him, the boy he’s lived with for eight years, the boy who has secretly loved him for six binge-drinks like it’s his last meal, and Jaehyun finds it odd how he’s not running away. Shouldn’t he feel disgusted? He must have hit his head from the fall after all because despite the blood around Taeyong’s mouth, Jaehyun thinks this version of him – ungraceful and crude – is fascinating.

“I’m sorry,” he says as he lets his sword go, “for thinking that you—”

“Too late,” Taeyong tells him while wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his suit. Seems like he doesn’t care anymore as it was ruined already in the sewer tunnel. “Don’t forgive me. I can’t even forgive myself for what happened to those children. How dare me for coming here, wanting to be one with them, after turning into their murderer. I opened my eyes only to become their murderer. Maybe you’re right, Jeong. If The Coven is not going to punish me for the sins I carry as a bloodeater, then I just have to do it myself.”

“…What do you mean?”

Getting up, Taeyong spells the dead rats gone, and –

“It Cleans Your Breath While It Cleans Your Teeth!”

Jaehyun blinks. “Isn’t that a Colgate tagline?”

“I don’t have mouthwash with me and I’m not going back to our room.”

“Why? You’re done—where are you going?”

Taeyong drinks in the view of The Catacombs for a moment. Then as soon as he’s done committing each inch of dirt and grime and horror, he turns towards the stairs with Jaehyun in tow. “Is this what goes through your head everytime you watch me? Where am I going? What am I doing? Am I plotting to kill you?”

“Well—yes!” Jaehyun hops two steps at a time in fear of being left behind. “If I pushed you down the stairs and tried to feed you to a Chimera, wouldn’t you do the same?”

“No. I would make sure I die the first time you try to kill me.”

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

If Jaehyun thought terror ended the moment he stepped out of the White Chapel, he’s wrong.

Walking with Taeyong into the Wavering Woods like he did back in fifth year and in his nightmares transcends what he felt going down The Catacombs. “Why… You’re not gonna do it again, are you?”

If Taeyong noticed the slight quivering of his voice, he doesn’t let Jaehyun know. It rained shortly when they made their way back to Watford with the students and so the soil is wet, leaves stick to the soles of their shoes, and raindrops that hung on the branches of the trees land on their shoulders.

“I think you’re right, Jeong.”

Jaehyun stares at the back of Taeyong’s head as they walk further into the woods with the moonlight serving as their lamp. “About what?”

“The prophecy. Maybe I’m the Insidious Humdrum and I didn’t even realize that. In fact, no one did until you pointed it out. I’ve always been the enemy and my selfishness will bring the world of mages to its end.”

“What are you even saying?”

Taeyong hums softly, not once looking back. “If you were chosen to kill the Humdrum, then this is the perfect time to do so.”

Jaehyun’s heart stops beating for a second. “You’re drunk, aren’t you? Those rats are alcoholic.”

They stop walking once they’re far enough. At last, Taeyong faces him with exhaustion written all over his body. “I’m tired.”

No one says a thing for a while. Jaehyun looks at him, just him, because he’s still scared that if looks around, a Chimera is going to leap towards him with its unhinged jaws ready to tear his head off.

“Then…then let’s go back.”

“I can’t. I’m tired. Of the way I am. Of being hated when I didn’t ask to be this way. Do you understand it, Jeong? That I didn’t want to be evil?”

“If you say you’re not then you’re not—”

Taeyong chortles. “My father doesn’t approve of my preferences. My mother…she didn’t even believe when I said I didn’t take those students. I will be drinking rat blood for the rest of fucking life and I don’t even know for how long that’s going to be. This is tiring. You think I’m proud? I feel sorry for myself.”

Jaehyun gulps, wanting so badly to cover their distance, to stand close to Taeyong and hold him—since the confession, he hasn’t held him yet even once. “Are you…crying?”

There’s a blurry film before Taeyong’s eyes, certainly. But even through the light curtain of tears he thought he’d lost too when he lost his life, he thinks Jaehyun can put those fairies’ beauty to shame. “Are you amazed that someone like me can cry?”

No—Jaehyun’s not. This Taeyong before him is vulnerable and whatever is about to happen is making Jaehyun feel lightheaded. He walks away, just for a bit, widening the space before them because he’s too afraid of this, and stops to look at his roommate again. “I don’t wanna kill you. NO—not tonight, not anytime soon. I—I changed my mind. Nobody is dying right now.”

“Then all of this—eight years of hating each other will be for naught if none of us die. We knew, right? Without words we promised that someone is going to die, and I’ve always believed more often than not that you will be the death of me. This is your chance. Do you not want to? Come on. What are you afraid of? There is no Chimera.”

“Stop,” Jaehyun says, his calm waning. “You’ve gone mad!”

“I’ve always been mad,” is what Taeyong says before pointing his wand to a tree. “Burn, baby burn!”

Fire bursts from the top of the trees and quickly crawls down, dressing their trunks and branches and roots. It dawns on Jaehyun right there and then what Taeyong is going to do, what Taeyong is determined to do. Taeyong is flammable, and he wants his magic to burn him to dust.

With fire reflecting in Taeyong’s eyes, Jaehyun is reminded of his dreams, of the Chimera attack, only that it’s now his own life he fears for.

“If I can’t escape from me, I’d rather end it once and for all.”

As he blinks the blurriness away, Jaehyun feels tracks of wetness down his face. This cannot be happening. This is not how they’re going to end. This is not how he wants them to end. Clutching his wand shakily, he raises it.

“Make a Wish!”

It’s what Taeyong cast after he set the tables and projects on fire in Magic Words class. But unlike Taeyong whose magic lives and breathes with him, Jaehyun’s has a mind of its own. And right now, as fire surrounds them in an ominous circle like the eye of a storm, Jaehyun’s magic sleeps. Smoke fills his senses, but it’s not his.

“Make a Wish! Please!”

More tears roll down his cheeks as Taeyong sits down in submission to his demise, resting against an untouched tree. He hates it, he hates his defective wand, so Jaehyun tosses it to the ground before dropping to his knees in front of Taeyong.

“I can’t make it go away. Make it stop. You’re more powerful than me. You’re better than me…”

Tilting his head to the side, Taeyong watches the pearly tears fall off Jaehyun’s long lashes. He’s so, so beautiful that it hurts, and Taeyong wants to kiss him. “No one is better than you, Chosen One. You’re The Greatest Mage.”

“I’m not,” a choked sob, “I’m weak.”

A burning branch hisses as it hits the damp ground near them.

“I’m sorry for hurting you. I never deleted our conversations. I treasured every night I stayed up talking to you. If I could, I would play the violin for you again.”

“It’s fine, I don’t care about it—”

“Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun’s crying halts, although he hiccups once. Wide, hopeful eyes stare into hopeless ones.

“Would you have loved me back if I weren’t evil?”

He stares, and stares, and stares as the forest burns bright. The effect of his name rolling off Taeyong’s tongue is always the same – he freezes up, his heart lurches to his throat, and those things flutter in his stomach.

His gaze drops to Taeyong’s mouth as it smiles sadly.

“I knew it,” Taeyong says.

And then Jaehyun kisses him.

Kissing Taeyong is probably the best thing Jaehyun has ever done. Taeyong’s lips are cold and trembling and soft, and his tiny gasp makes Jaehyun’s heart soar.

Kissing Taeyong is also the worst because it made Jaehyun realize how much time he wasted. Should’ve realized his obsession meant more than just paranoia, that he has always felt something for Taeyong – something as strong as hate, something that makes him want to keep kissing his roommate. It makes Jaehyun realize that no matter how much Taeyong hurts him, he’s going to keep being drawn to the vampire like a moth to a flame.

Taeyong opens his eyes when Jaehyun pulls away, breath unknowingly held. “What—”

“Don’t die on me. Don’t you dare die on me.” Cupping the back of Taeyong’s neck, Jaehyun presses their foreheads together. “I—I like you. I want you. I—have me. Please have me.”

“Why…”

Because we’re both broken. Because we’re both tragic. Because we’re both meaningless without each other.

“Because we match.”

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Graduation Ball.

Jaehyun stands at the very back of the other graduates, listening as Winter gives a speech on the stage as the top student of the year. She already talked at the ceremony earlier, and gave a different but nevertheless empowering talk.

They’re done. The school year is over. They’re leaving Watford. Everything he thinks about it, his heart constricts. Watford is and will always be Jaehyun’s home.

Most likely, whatever he does in the future, he will still visit the School of Magic whenever the chance arrives. Just to walk through the courtyard and dip his hand into the fountain, see the renovations in Mummers House and if the Weeping Tower sags even more, grab a scone or mint Aero from the dining hall, and herd the goats with Sora. He might also go to the White Chapel even though he has nothing to pray for.

He will keep their uniform from first to eighth year. He will keep that one purple football jersey.

In these coming years, he wonders if the Insidious Humdrum will still come, and if he will be called to save the world of mages then. Jaehyun sincerely wishes it doesn’t happen—the arrival of the Humdrum, he means, because he is yet to awaken all the magic in him. He’s not yet skilled. He’s not yet talented. Passing Miss Ronan’s class was shocking.

Winter ends her talk with a wish for the alums to enjoy the night. Without a date to dance with, Jaehyun heads to the tables of food and taps his chin while pretending to choose from the wide array of goodness. In the end, since he can never replace it, he takes a plate of scones and butter, bringing it to his assigned table.

As he eats, he watches Winter be held in Karina’s arms, the two of them like glowing princesses in the middle of the hall.

It was the girlfriends who found them and put out the giant fire. Dating the daughter of a member of The Coven has its perks, as it seems. As soon as they heard the news that the students were already found, Winter dragged her girlfriend outside to look for Jaehyun. And that’s when they noticed the blaze in the Wavering Woods.

Two months passed by since Taeyong nearly self-immolated. It wrecked Taeyong so much he lost interest in school and eventually left, losing the chance to snatch Winter’s spot. He didn’t even come second.

Jaehyun dabs his mouth with a napkin. He normally wouldn’t, but he’s wearing Burberry and if he so much as drops a grain of sugar on it, he’s dead. He picks up a glass of water and drinks, letting himself admire everyone in their nicest attire.

This night would be ten times better if Taeyong were here. After Taeyong dropped out of Watford, they met at the mansion every weekend. At first, they didn’t know what to do with themselves. Headmistress Lee barely came home, and Taeyong’s father…well…Jaehyun is sure the man is avoiding him. Jeno is like a puppy that follows Jaehyun everywhere.

Talking felt forced. The topic of Wavering Woods is touchy. They didn’t know where they stood – until Jaehyun walked in on Taeyong changing. Things fell into place, then. Their relationship is…Jaehyun can’t put a name to it, but sometimes he still cannot believe that he’s now kissing the boy he used to fantasize beating.

Taeyong’s bed was made for kissing. And boy, do they kiss a hecking lot.

Jaehyun coughs as his thoughts go south and heads back to the food area to refill his plate. He also busies himself by popping grapes into his mouth since he’s already there.

“Hey, Jaehyun, do you wanna dance?”

Without looking at the girl, he waves a hand. Must be rude, but his stomach doesn’t care. “Sorry, I’m occupied.”

The music changes. Behind him, the mages sway in a slower dance.

“Eating alone in a ball is pathetic, Jeong.”

He nearly chokes on a grape as he whips around, eyes wide. “Taeyong—”

Taeyong is wearing a blue suit with floral print and pink shirt, his hair loose, and that tiny braid is tucked behind his ear. Jaehyun will go off. He offers his hand. “Shall we?”

Quickly chewing and swallowing the grapes, Jaehyun takes the vampire’s cold hand and awkwardly follows, with some of them looking in confusion. They were Watford’s resident cat and mouse. To see them dancing together is like seeing the merwolves grow wings and fly.

He doesn’t know where to put his hands, so Taeyong places them on his waist (that’s such a thin waist, Jaehyun’s head is swimming) before the vampire puts his around Jaehyun’s neck, already playing with the hair on the back of his head.

Taeyong makes no comment about his still 2-in-1 shampoo treated hair.

“I knew you’d look good in it.”

“How did you even know my size?”

“You sleep and walk around half-naked in our room everyday, Jeong. And I was—am in love with you.”

Jaehyun blushes furiously at the implication.

Chuckling fondly (Fondly! Merlin! He’s both charmed and scared), Taeyong thumbs Jaehyun’s cheek. “Skin as white as snow, it hides nothing.”

This is too much. Another minute under that cool gaze and Jaehyun will combust. He looks away and sees Winter grinning at them, and gets even more embarrassed. He thinks his best friend has always known, and wanted him to realize it on his own.

“I thought you wouldn’t come.”

“Didn’t wanna pass up on the chance to dance with you.”

“Let me guess. You went through the secret gate.”

“Even if I entered the main gate, no one would stop me. I’m the former student who nearly offed himself. Even a little, they should pity me.” Taeyong glances at Jaehyun’s mouth. “I want to kiss you.”

Right now? In front of everyone?

Jaehyun nods.

And then Taeyong kisses him.

❈

Getting on all fours, Jaehyun cages Taeyong against the mattress of his own bed and kisses him – his face, his lips, anywhere his mouth can reach; he hears nothing but the rush of his own blood and the incessant pounding of his own heart. Their clothed bodies press against each other, the fusion of fire and ice. He still doesn’t know what to do with his hands so he keeps them on either side of Taeyong’s head, clutching the pillowcase. A gasp tears through him when Taeyong’s icy tongue skims over his lower lip, and then he’s groaning as their positions are flipped.

Their mouths break apart, panting. Taeyong’s hair frames his head like silky black drapes.

“I told you that you can touch. Anywhere.”

“I—okay.” Glancing down, Jaehyun looks at Taeyong’s thighs bracketing his hips, and sighs before carding his fingers through Taeyong’s hair. Cedar and Bergamot battle with the air in his lungs. He takes the kiss being offered to him again, and though the vampire’s lips and tongue are cold, Jaehyun likes it. They part again when he wraps a hand around Taeyong’s throat. “I wish you wore a tie so I could tug you down and kiss you.”

“So scandalous,” Taeyong teases. “Show some decorum.”

“We’re literally making out in our room.”

When Taeyong gets off to lie next to him instead, Jaehyun feels even colder. Their bed in the dorms isn’t that big so they’re pressed together.

“If I bit your lip too hard while kissing you. I wonder if the Anathema’s going to kick my ass through the window. Wanna try?”

“We could, but we’re no longer students anymore. We’re…we’re no longer roommates.” Turning on his side, Jaehyun stares at the other’s side profile while gently tracing the slope of Taeyong’s nose down to his lips. Grey eyes flutter softly as they stare at the ceiling. “I have a question.”

“Hmm.”

“When did you realize you like boys?”

Raising a brow, Taeyong slips an arm underneath his head. “When a girl kissed me under the mistletoe when I was 11. Felt so disgusted I shoved a finger down my throat in the bathroom to throw up everything I ate. Then while I was throwing up, I found myself thinking maybe it wouldn’t be half as bad if a boy kissed me instead of a girl. What about you?”

“Me?” Jaehyun shrugs. “I never even—I never really thought about dating.”

“Are you gay?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what I am. I just like you.”

“Good.”

Jaehyun withdraws his hand. “Will your parents—will your dad ever stop avoiding me?”

“Will he ever stop being homophobic, you mean?” Taeyong scoffs. “I’ve long given up on waiting. If you want, tomorrow I will formally introduce you to them and I don’t care if my dad gets mad. I’m gay and I’m dating a boy, and I will bring this boy home no matter what. And we will make out in my bed because I want to. Some things don’t need closure, and I don’t need to fight for acceptance. This is me—I’m a gay vampire, and they will deal with it.” His expression softens when he looks back at Jaehyun. “I’m telling Mark to come over so it’s a triple threat.”

“Your cousin is gay?”

“Mm. And he knows all about you. He’s like my personal diary. Always listening to me pine over my stupidly hot roommate.”

Jaehyun feels his cheeks burn and looks away. “You’re nasty.”

“And it’s your fault.”

Looking around their room, Jaehyun hates how much it changed. His stuff is yet to be packed. Everything that is Taeyong’s went with him when he dropped out, and the first night without him was so much worse than being plagued with nightmares. But Taeyong never failed to send him a voice message, or a video of him playing the violin. Those helped Jaehyun sleep.

“Tell me more.”

“More of what?”

“More of…of what you thought about me. We’re together now, so maybe we can do whatever you want?”

Taeyong smirks. “Literally 100% of my thoughts about you is unspeakable and disturbing.”

“You’ve always been disturbing so tell me anyway. Do you think about drinking my blood?”

The question horrifies Taeyong so much that he immediately sits up, looking at Jaehyun like he did the worst thing ever. “Crowley. NO.”

Jaehyun blinks in confusion, clutching his blazer. “But you’re a vampire. I no longer think you’re evil and that you drain people.” Boldly, he tugs his collar down. “You can take a sip—”

“NO. MERLIN, NO. I will never drink from you. I don’t want to.”

“Really? Not ever?”

“Never.” Taeyong glares at him. “So drop it.”

Jaehyun huffs, crossing his arms.

“Are you disappointed?”

“I just think it’s sexy—”

Taeyong vehemently shakes his head. “I’ve never drank from anyone. And I don’t know if I can, if I want to because I don’t know if I can stop myself, okay? No more talking about this.”

“…Alright, I promise.” Jaehyun is full of reluctance. Maybe Taeyong will change his mind one day. Tugging Taeyong back down, he scoots even closer to rest his head on the other’s chest. “So what are you thinking if not that?”

A beat of silence.

“When I could juggle hating and loving you at the same time, I thought of spitting on your face, licking it off and then kissing you.”

“…I don’t know what to say—”

“You always don’t know what to say, Jeong.”

Jaehyun lifts his head. “You called me Jaehyun before.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did!”

Grinning, Taeyong pinches his chin. “No, I didn’t.”

Cool, soft lips press against Jaehyun’s for a while to appease him. Though happy to be kissed, he’s still a little irritated about Taeyong’s insistence to call him Jeong. Resting back on the vampire’s chest, he contentedly stays silent, watching stars through the window.

Taeyong pokes the crown of his head. “Penny for your thoughts?”

“Just…what I’m gonna do next. Winter won’t travel with her parents. She’s gonna keep studying. You’re also going to college. I don’t think I’m going to college. I’m gonna look for a job.”

“You’re destined to do better than that.”

“I don’t wanna do better. I wanna do what I want. Do what I think I’ll be happy doing.”

“Alright,” Taeyong sighs. “You sure you don’t wanna move in? That mansion is too big. My bed is too big.”

“Winter and I already found an apartment close to her college. You can just visit us…”

Idly playing with Jaehyun’s hair, Taeyong thinks it will be hard to keep leaving during those visits. He hopes Jaehyun doesn’t let him leave. “Come over if her girlfriend’s there. So you won’t get lonely while they smack lips.”

“Okay.” Jaehyun grips and crumples the front of Taeyong’s shirt before burying his face on the latter’s neck. Taeyong is cold, but he smells so good it’s addictive. “I don’t know if I can beat the Humdrum. I’m—I don’t wanna do it alone.”

Taeyong senses his trepidation, and pulls him in a comforting embrace. “You don’t have to do it alone. Being The Chosen One doesn’t mean you have to face it alone. You have Kim. You have me. I will always be with you.”

“Always?” The word comes out muffled then Jaehyun raises his head again, gaze insecure. “You won’t get tired of me? Taeyong, I don’t—M-maybe I’m gonna be really terrible at this, at being a boyfriend. I might—I might not always do my best, but I want this. I wanna be your terrible boyfriend. Forever.”

What’s probably the softest smile that ever graced Taeyong’s face appears, making Jaehyun’s breath hitch and the butterflies in his stomach lose their mind. “You know what I think? I think magic is not about power or casting spells or being able to defeat the greatest enemy.”

“What is?”

“This,” he says as he tugs Jaehyun over him, and kisses him like he deserves – like they deserve. “This is magic.”