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Even after living more than a year away from his family - closer to a year and a half actually - Jungwon still felt awkward about a lot of things in life. He knew he was considered an adult witch now, especially after finding his speciality but still…
When a witch turned eighteen years old, they left their family’s coven as they enrolled into a university. There they got put into a new coven, though it really felt more like a simple dorm at the start. A witch’s first coven was the one they grew up in, their parents’ coven, the one that taught you how to be a proper witch and human being. A witch’s second coven was one consisting of other young witches at university. Usually, a coven like this started with three or four young witches who then ‘adopted’ a new young witch every year until they decided their coven was big enough.
Jungwon’s coven was created by Heeseung, Jongseong, Jaeyun and Sunghoon. From what he had heard Heeseung had been the youngest of a different coven but had chosen to join his friends’ to make sure they had a witch with a little more experience. Jungwon thought that had been very kind of him. A year later Sunoo had joined them and a year after that it was Jungwon. And now, a couple of months ago, Riki had become part of the coven.
They were seven now and Jungwon was pretty sure it was going to stay like that. Technically, the university would give them financial aid if they decided to accept any more members but Jongseong, Jaeyung and Sunghoon were going to graduate next year and there was no way they’d be able to give full support to any new members. It would mess up their coven dynamic.
Usually, when you started university, you only took basic lessons that anyone can benefit from - like reading auras or connecting with your power. Every witch had a specific power though, a speciality. Sometimes it took you a few months after turning eighteen to find it and sometimes years. It depended on what powers your coven members had, and what you learned from them. Sunghoon had known that he was an ice witch ever since he was little - or at least that’s what he had told Jungwon. It had come to no surprise to him when he had accidentally turned the water in his cup into ice for the first time. So it was possible to guess what your speciality was before you were an adult witch, but really not all that common.
Jaeyun’s speciality was astronomy as he was always in tune with the way the planets were moving. All of his rituals had to be scheduled at an exact time and he oftentimes calculated the movements of planets months before a specific ritual. Jungwon found it quite interesting but the calculations always made his head hurt just thinking about it.
Sunoo… Jungwon was the closest to Sunoo, probably since they were also the closest in age. They were what he would consider best friends, and they had been attached at the hip ever since they met. But Jungwon had never been able to connect to plants the way Sunoo did - which made sense since he wasn’t a green witch. Sometimes it seemed like Sunoo was friends with the plants. He’d talk to them, sing them lullabies and pet their leaves. It was quite endearing, but Jungwon had very quickly realised that he wasn’t a green witch. But Riki, who hadn’t found his speciality yet, had spent a lot of time with his best friend recently, making him suspect that maybe they’d have another green witch in their coven soon.
Heeseung and Jongseong on the other hand were complete opposites, maybe not personality-wise but speciality-wise. While Jongseong was a moon witch who gained his power from the moonlight and had over the years become more nocturnal, Heeseung was a sun witch with an opposite schedule. But just like the sun and moon they also complemented each other in the best way.
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If he was quite honest, Jungwon hadn’t expected to fall in love within his coven. It wasn’t unusual. Many witches fell in love with their other coven members. Jungwon just had never given much thought to love, so when he had realised that he was indeed starting to fall for Jongseong… it had been quite confusing and admittedly, it had hurt.
Don’t get him wrong. Jongseong was kind and gentle, he loved to bicker with the other members and he had never so much as complained about Jungwon’s teasing. But he was also very much in a relationship with Heeseung. Or at least that’s what Jungwon had figured after he had caught them kissing once, twice, multiple times. They weren’t hiding it very much but they had also never made any sort of announcement. Maybe the hyungs knew what was going on, but Jungwon was a little embarrassed to ask.
To make matters worse, Jungwon realised a couple of months ago that he was a sun witch as well, and had started spending much more time with Heeseung. No, that sounded wrong. He was excited to finally know his speciality, and he had admired the oldest member and his work for a long time. It was amazing to get to learn from Heeseung. But just as it was a fantastic opportunity, it was also Jungwon’s personal hell. To know that Heeseung got to be with the person he liked… God, and Heeseung really did deserve it, to be loved by Jongseong.
As much as Jungwon had tried to hate Heeseung, it just wasn’t possible. Heeseung had a pure soul that lit up their coven just as much as his magic did. It wouldn’t even be fair to dislike Heeseung just because he had fallen for the same guy as Jungwon - if anything it made them more similar. Except Heeseung got to kiss Jongseong and Jungwon didn’t. Yeah, there was that.
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“Jongseong’s birthday is coming up,” Heeseung said one day as he was watching over Jungwon cleansing his crystals. It was the middle of April, so Jongseong’s birthday was indeed coming up next week. It was all Jungwon had thought about for the past month. “What are you gonna get him?”
Jungwon frowned in confusion, not looking up from where his hands were hovering over the crystals. “I, uh, I got him a few new cups for his moon water. Why?”
With a hum, Heeseung nodded, not saying anything for a couple of minutes. Jungwon was preparing for a spell that was supposed to help him stay more concentrated during university classes. Ironically, Jungwon kept getting distracted so he had to restart all over. “I thought maybe you’d finally ask him out as a present.”
He froze, his throat suddenly feeling dry. Oh god, this had to be the most humiliating thing that had ever happened to him. “I- I don’t-”
Heeseung laughed quietly, one hand touching his shoulder gently. “You can’t hide something like that, not from me. Our magic is connected and I can feel how you react when he walks into the room.”
Oh. That was- well. Jungwon clenched his jaw. Since he and Heeseung shared a speciality they were more likely to actually feel each other’s magic move and react. He had felt Heeseung’s mood lift a lot of times, had felt when he got upset if they were in the same room. Stupidly enough he had never realised it was a two way thing, and that there was a chance his magic was reacting to Jongseong.
“I’m sorry,” Jungwon whispered, suddenly feeling so very ashamed. “I know he’s your boyfriend, I just- I’m sorry, I’ll dial it down, I swear.”
“Hey, hey, hey.” Heeseung wrapped an arm around him and nudged him gently. “I’m sorry for being so blunt about it, but you really don’t have to worry so much about it. Yeah, Jongseong-ie and I are kind of dating but… it’s more like an open relationship, we’re not exclusive.”
That was quite a lot to process, but Jungwon only ducked his head. “Yeah, well, it’s not like that automatically means Jongseong hyung would ever be interested in me and-”
Heeseung let out a snort, his hand moving to teasingly squeezing the back of Jungwon’s neck. “Well, my sources say, you’re wrong.”
“But I,” Jungwon stammered, struggling to wrap his head around the fact that Jongseong might actually like him back. “I’ve never- I don’t- hyung, I can’t-”
“Oh.” With a teasing coo, Heeseung smiled at him. “I see how it is. You’re worried because he’s such an experienced kisser now and he’s kissed me, a fellow experienced kisser. You think it’s gonna make you look bad.”
Frowning, Jungwon wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Heeseung wasn’t completely wrong. He was a little worried and embarrassed by his lack of experience. He didn’t actually think Jongseong would care much but it was an insecurity nevertheless.
When he stayed quiet, Heeseung reached out to softly pull on Jungwon’s ear. “I can teach you if you want me to,” he said quietly, so quiet Jungwon almost thought he had misheard. “How to kiss, I mean. I know how he likes it.”
Jungwon wasn’t sure what was more surprising: that Heeseung was offering to practice kissing with him or that Jungwon was actually starting to think that it was a good idea. Heeseung had a point after all, he had kissed Jongseong many times. How else was Jungwon supposed to learn if he didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Jongseong?
Wiping his sweaty hands on his shirt, he turned to look at Heeseung. “You’re not going to make fun of me, right?”
Heeseung smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind Jungwon’s ear, even though it fell into his face again just a second later. “I would never, Won-ah.”
“Okay, then…” He hesitated, feeling nervous in a way he hadn’t with Heeseung ever since they met. “How do we- uh-” His breath got caught in his throat when Heeseung gently cupped his face. Oh god.
Heeseung scooted a little closer, kneeling right in front of where Jungwon was sitting on the floor. “Tell me if you want to stop and I will.” Jungwon nodded and squeezed his eyes shut as if he was bracing himself to be hit in the face. Instead he could feel Heeseung’s breath against his lips and then the softest kiss.
His entire body relaxed as Heeseung’s free hand pressed against the back of his neck, pulling him closer. Heeseung chuckled when he felt Jungwon melt into him. At first, Jungwon wasn’t quite sure what to do, his hands sheepishly reaching out to hold Heeseung’s hips. This was what you did, right?
“You're so shy,” Heeseung mumbled against his lips, giggling when Jungwon’s grip around his hips got tighter. He tried to copy the way Heeseung moved his lips. This was practice after all.
Except.
Was it really just practice if Jungwon felt like this was the best thing that had ever happened to him? He had never thought he wanted to kiss Heeseung but now- how was he ever gonna stop thinking about it? How was he ever gonna forget the way his lips tasted? How was he gonna live with the knowledge that this was what Jongseong experienced every day?
Jongseong.
God, this was all meant for Jongseong. Why was he thinking about kissing Heeseung? He should be thinking about kissing Jongseong. And he wanted to kiss Jongseong but-
Jungwon let out a whimper when Heeseung’s teeth grazed his bottom lip. Was he even allowed to like two people like this? Was he allowed to want to kiss two people?
With a surprised gasp against Heeseung’s lips, he realised he could feel Heeseung’s magic. Usually, their magic was an aura, something you could sense, not feel. But for the first time, it seemed as if Heeseung’s magic was reaching out for him, caressing his face. Maybe this was getting too intense. Jungwon felt like his head was going to explode. How could he love Jongseong but enjoy this at the same time? What would Jongseong think? How could he-
“Hyung-ah, do you know where-'' Startled, Jungwon jumped when he heard the door opening. Jongseong was standing in the doorway, still wearing his pyjama pants. It looked like he had just woken up. His eyes widened when he caught the saliva glistening on both Heeseung and Jungwon’s lips. “Oh.”
“Hyung,” Jungwon exclaimed, his voice squeaky. “This is not- I mean-” Oh god, this was a disaster. Jongseong was going to get angry. Jungwon was kissing his boyfriend and even if they weren’t exclusive-
Jongseong smiled almost knowingly as he walked over to the bookshelf to grab a lighter. On his way out, he teasingly patted Jungwon’s head. “Don’t worry, practice makes perfect.”