Chapter Text
Hongjoong presses a kiss to the side of Yeosang’s head as he passes by on his way towards the front desk of the bookstore. Yeosang is currently mixing a potion that requires all of his concentration, but he still leans in towards Hongjoong in the brief moment of contact, which makes them both blush and chuckle under their breath. Every time, even now…
When Hongjoong reaches the front desk of their bookstore-potion shop, he takes a seat and begins petting the books on hold (some of them get antsy waiting in that section, one particular book being known to bite if angered - Hongjoong has a couple scars to prove it). He looks over and sees Mingi hard at work shelving when he suddenly looks over at a customer who is browsing.
“Feeling lonely? There is a really great book that we just got in about a pirate crew that is more like a family then anything else - it’s pretty light hearted with tons of adventure. Sure to cure loneliness, if only for an hour or two,” Mingi says sheepishly, in the quietest of tones so as to not scare the customer away. The customer nods and Mingi brings them over to the section where the book is at.
Hongjoong smiles at the adorable interaction - one would think he would get used to it, but Mingi using his empathic magic to read someone’s emotions and help them find a book that suited them in the moment was still one of the sweetest things he has ever seen. He looks down at the gold bands around 3 of his fingers - his soulmate marks, the ones that emerge when you and your soulmate come in physical contact with one another for the first time. How did he get so lucky to have the most amazing soulmates?
He hears a crash and sees San flying through the doorway that leads from their upstairs apartment down to the bookstore. Of course San wasn’t using his magic - elemental manipulation of the air - to actually fly, but he definitely used it to catch himself from face planting. He catches Hongjoong’s stare and lets out a shrug and a laugh.
“Please be more careful, Sannie,” Hongjoong gently scolds him. San brushes off his shoulders and straightens his shirt.
“Of course, Joong. Is Yeo in the brewery?” he asks and Hongjoong nods.
San turns and heads through the doorway across the room to find Yeo stirring the cauldron three times to the left, muttering a spell under his breath. When he finishes the incantation, the cauldron starts to softly bubble, causing Yeosang to grin. He finally looks up and sees San.
“I love it when you get excited about a new potion,” San says.
“Nice to see you finally out of bed. Here is the list of herbs I need to restock - can you try and get them when you are out, today? I heard that a new plant shop opened down the street,” Yeosang says, handing a parchment to San, who takes it with a kiss to Yeosang’s cheek.
“Of course, darling,” San says with a bow, turning back through the doorway. With a quick hug and peck to both Hongjoong and Mingi, he heads out to start his day.
~~~
San walks with a skip in his step, relishing in the beautiful day. The sun was shining and he was enjoying the soft breeze, following wherever it was taking him. He tended to that most days - follow the wind. Some called him crazy, but as an air elemental, he knew that the wind held more stories and thoughts than most regular people did.
He turns onto the cobblestone street a couple of blocks from their bookstore and sees a plethora of plants peeking out from a window display and hanging in the doorway. Only a week ago, this storefront was vacant and now it held life and color, something that brought a smile to San’s face.
He pushed open the door, the soft bell ringing upon his arrival. He is immediately engulfed with even more plants - flowers, herbs, succulents - and strong aromas - sweet, fresh, tropical. The plants seem to notice him too, leaning towards him in greeting, excited at the prospect of a new friend.
“Good morning, sir! Welcome,” a voice says in the midst of all the plants. San looks and sees a man - or maybe a boy - he looks younger than San himself - standing behind the register.
“Thank you, and welcome to the neighborhood,” San replies. He notices the boy is wearing an apron with a name tag reading ‘Jongho’ and gardening gloves, and has a bright determination in his smile.
“You’re very kind. Anything I can help you with today? Or just browsing?” Jongho - San assumes is the shop owner- asks him. San finds a vine reaching out towards him and gently allows it to wrap around his finger, shaking it in welcoming.
“They really like you. Which is strange, considering they are normally hostile to new people,” Jongho adds. San lets out a laugh, wondering why the plants would be so inclined to him if they normally weren’t with others. He assumes Jongho is an elemental witch that specializes in plants, so he must be able to hear them saying how much they truly like San. He shakes his head, remembering his reason for coming, and focuses back on the task at hand.
He reaches into his jacket pocket with the hand not occupied by hostiley-turned-friendly vines and passes it to Jongho. He notices that despite the gardening gloves, Jongho also makes sure to not touch San’s skin at all. Of course, this wasn’t strange. In a society focused on soulmates finding each other through skin to skin contact, there was a wide range of responses when it came to regular interactions with other people - some were constantly trying to find their soulmates and used any excuse to brush against others, while some - like Jongho, it seems - were a bit more reserved.
“Do you have any of these herbs, perchance? My Covenmate is a Potion Master and was hoping to start ordering them fresh from here instead of from out of town. They always come late when delivered by owl and he swears they make the potions taste ‘manufactured’ when they come from those large farms. He was so excited to hear about a local plant shop opening in town,” San rambles, as Jongho looks through the list.
“I don’t have any of these right now, but I can start growing them and get them to you by the end of the week. And, I’ll make sure I have them in stock for your Coven from now on,” Jongho says after a bit, starting to jot down some information on his notepad. What are the odds, he thought . I just arrived and I’m already getting orders for regular deliveries with local Covens.
“Sounds great. Thank you so much. I’ll come by on Friday, or have someone else from my Coven stop by to pick them up too,” San says with a smile. Jongho hands the list back over to San when he finishes copying it.
“Looking forward to never having him mutter the phrase ‘manufactured pestilence’ ever again,” San says with a laugh. Jongho smiles.
“Me too, Mr. - er, what’s your name? For the order…” Jongho asks.
“No Mr., just San - from the Kim Coven up the street. We own the local bookstore and potions shop, in case you ever need anything,” San says with a smile and sends him one last wave. He finally wiggles the vine off his hand with a little pat and a whispered promise to return and heads out the door with one last deep breath of the freshness in the store.
He lets the wind continue to lead him on his next adventure of the day.
~~~
The wind brings him through the park, to the river that runs through town, to the edge of the forest. He is on his walk back into the town center when he feels the wind and something more calling him towards a local cafe. To San, it seems to have a gentle, calming aura to it with a simple wooden sign hanging outside reading “Welcome. I only have pies for you” with a little cartoon drawing of a pie.
San chuckles and heads in. Once inside, the calming aura intensifies. There are wooden floorboards with tables and chairs of different varieties all around. There are simple lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling sporadically and brick walls filled with mirrors, photographs, and paintings. He doesn’t know why but it feels like home.
He heads to the counter, where blackboards post the various cafe items one could order: from pastries to gelatos to extravagant coffees, the cafe is eclectic to say the least. He finally makes eye contact with the worker, who he immediately thinks is pretty and somewhat familiar .
“Welcome, what can I get for you?” the worker asks with a smile - one of the biggest and brightest San has ever seen. It feels infectious and soon he, too, is smiling. San reads his nametag - Wooyoung.
“Can I have a slice of ‘Pie Love You Berry Much,’” he says with a little laugh. These puns are out of control.
“With ice cream on top?” Wooyoung asks, walking over to the pastry counter to cut him a slice. San seems to hesitate and Wooyoung’s eyes sparkle. “Seonghwa is known for his ice cream - you have to try it.”
San nods and Wooyoung looks satisfied, handing him his plate of pie with a giant scoop of ice cream on top. San notices the craftsmanship of the plate - pure stone, but carved to create a light, ornamental disc, as well as the golden bands around two of Wooyoung’s fingers - of course the cute server would already have soulmates. San knew and loved his three soulmates, but he could never stop the feeling that the wind always had ulterior motives when it came to its journeys for him.
After paying, he thanks Wooyoung and heads to the back of the store in a corner with one of the comfiest chairs he has ever sat in. He takes a bite of the pie, making sure to get a dollop of ice cream on the spoon, as well, and can only describe the experience as life-altering. Wooyoung was right.
San continues to enjoy the treat when he hears a commotion from up front.
“Don’t play games, just tell me my future! Will the business deal work or not? Tell me!” a rough voice screams. San is immediately on his feet, heading towards the front of the store where he sees a middle aged man in a suit grabbing Wooyoung over the counter and trying to touch his hand.
Without even thinking, San jumps into action and grabs the man, shoving him away from the counter. He immediately uses the wind to blow the man out the door, dragging him across the street and shutting the door closed. When the angry man tries to come back, San continues to use the air to push him further and further away, until the man shakes his head, yells multiple curses at San, and stumbles away.
San turns back towards the counter and sees Wooyoung shaking, eyes wide from the confrontation, his hands trembling. San moves forward towards the boy.
“Hey, he’s gone. Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” San asks, wanting to reach out, but knowing that’s probably exactly what Wooyoung doesn’t need.
Wooyoung’s eyes are still misty and on the verge of tears; he opens his mouth to respond when someone runs in from the back door - presumably the kitchen. He is embracing Wooyoung immediately, and Wooyoung seems to calm in his presence.
“Get away from him. Now,” the new man hisses, his striking features beautiful but terrifying in their fierceness directed at San, who backs away with his hands up.
“N-no, stop, Seonghwa. H-he was just helping. The guy who - who attacked me is gone - he tried to make me tell him his future. This man, he- he helped,” Wooyoung stutters in response, his breath still heavy, eyes still misty, and voice much weaker than the infectious happiness he had earlier when he served San.
The other man - Seonghwa - hugs him tighter and continues staring daggers at San. Another man, tall with a concerned expression, also emerges from the back door and is at Wooyoung’s other side in a second.
“He and his Coven are no better when it comes to magical hierarchies. Thinking they can treat people however they want … force information from them … look down on those with non-elemental powers. You are part of the Kim Coven, are you not?” Seonghwa spits out. And, in that moment San freezes entirely - he realizes why they both look so familiar. A moment sparks from his memory…
It was a sunny day, not much different than today, when San was out at the park enjoying a picnic with his Coven. Yeosang was feeding Mingi strawberries and Hongjoong and San were tossing grapes across the blanket to try and score it in the other's mouth, unsuccessfully most of the time.
Amidst the calming, playful atmosphere, a ball flies through air and crashes into their cheese platter. Yeosang looks pleased, having a distaste for cheese, while the others cry out. San grabs the ball and looks around for its owners. A group of three individuals run over, looking apologetic.
The shorter of the three, a boy with a bright face and blonde hair, arrives first.
“We are so sorry - Yunho forgets his own strength sometimes and throws the ball way further than expected. Sorry about the cheese casualty,” he says, laughing a bit at the end. San shakes his hand and throws the ball back at him.
“No worries. If anything, Yeosang wants to thank you for decreasing his cheese consumption,” San laughs back. Yeosang fervently nods, making the short boy laugh, as the other two emerge. The tallest of the three has one hand behind his head, rubbing it apologetically and San assumes this to be Yunho. He catches a glance at the third and starts to acknowledge the beauty of the man when both he and Hongjoong immediately gasp and begin glaring at each other.
“Sorry about the ball - Oh, Kim. I didn’t know you lived here,” the attractive man hisses at Hongjoong. San turns and sees Hongjoong returning the glare.
“I could say the same about you, Park,” Hongjoong says with as much hostility as San has ever heard him utter. He looks to Yeosang and Mingi, who look just as confused as he does. And, the two others standing don’t look any better.
“Well, now that I know, I will make sure we never have any more interactions or run-ins from now on,” the man, Park was his last name, San deduced. San has never seen Hongjoong this angry at anyone, especially a randomly attractive man in the park. He starts racking his brain for possible answers as to who this is and his brain finally lands on one person - the one who caused Hongjoong so much trouble and hurt so many years ago - could this be Park Seonghwa - the man who -
“Perfect. We will do the same,” Hongjoong hisses. And with that, Seonghwa turns around and starts leaving. The other two give one last glance, San and the shortest boy catching eyes for a fleeting moment, before turning away to follow their Covenmate. When they are far enough away, Hongjoong finally lets out the breath he was holding and the trio are on him in a second.
San immediately realizes who he is standing in front of… whose cafe he is standing within. He has anger in him, from knowing the history between Hongjoong and Seonghwa, but he is even more distraught at the man now screaming baseless assumptions about him and his Coven right in front of him.
“I am part of the Kim Coven, but the things you are saying are lies. I’m sorry I came in here without knowing it’s your cafe, but I was only trying to help when that guy attacked your Covenmate. Don’t compare me to the likes of him,” San spat back at Seonghwa, who was still holding Wooyoung tight. San and Wooyoung catch eyes and Wooyoung seems to nod. In thanks? In apology?
“I don’t care what you have to say. Get out of here and tell your Coven to stay away from mine or else,” Seonghwa threatens San. San notices the apologetic glance Yunho gives him, but stays silent. Wooyoung tries to speak up again, but Seonghwa gives him a look that keeps him quiet.
San nods and storms out. Who does this Seonghwa think he is? Assuming I was the one who attacked Wooyoung and then comparing me to the real criminal?
He makes his way home, moving against the winds calling for the first time that day. The whole way, he can’t stop thinking about Wooyoung - from his bright expression, to his cheeky words to his misty eyes and trembling hands.
At least Wooyoung has his Covenmates, but San really hopes the boy is okay. He can’t stop the buzzing feeling under his own fingertips - the same feeling he had when he first met Yeosang, Mingi and Hongjoong.