Chapter Text
The wind blows through the chimes hanging outside of a small, stone home and creates a soft melody in effect. Even from a distance the sound is captivating, yet it serves as no surprise for Jisung. Something of the sort was expected by him. He was going to a witch’s house, after all.
Sunlight filters weakly through the trees, leaving faint shadows dancing all around him as he walks through the damp grass. Jisung’s eyes are not keen on staying in one place as he paces forward. What could seem like shadows could be some spirit lying in wait.
Despite the possible dangers of coming out here; especially alone , Jisung still decided to get up first thing in the morning and make the trek. No prior knowledge about this place was stored in his brain besides the fact that a witch lived here on the outskirt of town. He knew the location of it and that it was kept in solidarity because no one dared to bother them for fear of being hexed.
Honestly speaking, Jisung didn't know where his courage to come here came from. His hands stay bunched up around his dark blue jacket in an effort to steel his nerves. It's a bit on the oversized side of the spectrum for him, making him seem extremely tiny. His bucket hat, too, goes a long way of hiding himself from view. It was as if he was trying to make himself look like a walking coat rack.
Flowers along with a great deal of tall native plants inhabit the space around the house. Herbs and vegetables sit in a small garden to the side of the house that is very loosely protected by a short wooden fence. One kick could surely knock the posts down. Jisung doubted it could keep even a rabbit out. Perhaps it was only meant for the aesthetics of it all.
Slow steps bring Jisung stopping in front of the small home and he notices the ivy wrapping around it beautifully. Suddenly he starts to wonder if the owner is even awake yet. Choruses of crickets chirping cam still be heard somewhere in the tall bunches of grass. How terrible would it be that Jisung not only came all this way to bother this witch, but also to wake them up? No doubt in his mind told him that he would get turned into a frog for the inconvenience.
Instead of knocking on the door immediately, Jisung takes time to step back and look up above him. Light puffs of smoke are visibly coming out of the chimney, but even that isn't enough proof to him that the witch is up and awake. Didn't that kind of stuff happen whether or not they were doing anything? That sounded like a typical witch house requirement. Not even that, but that was fairly common for any house.
A huff leaves Jisung’s mouth with his fluffy brown hair falling in front of his face. He's looking down at his hands that still haven't left their safehold of his jacket.
“Come on, you wimp. Things will never get better for you at this rate,” he berates himself with furrowing brows.
He's so lost in his own little world that he doesn't notice a cat coming up behind him and rubbing its head on the back of his leg.
“WHAT IS THAT?!” Jisung screams and leaps up in the air.
For safety reasons he catches himself on a post that was holding the front porch up, but not first without it creaking under his weight. Only a few seconds pass for him to register it was only a cat before it was scurrying away from him. His head falls again in dismay at the same time his body deflates against the post.
“Gosh… I can't even keep cats around me.”
The front door swings open without warning, sending Jisung shrieking from fright again. This time he loses his grip on the post and falls down to the earth underneath him with a heavy thud.
When he looks up, he sees a man that looks around the same age as him. No way could he be any older than late twenties. So much youth showed in his face, but at the same time it wasn't like a child’s.
At the sight before him, Jisung slowly starts blinking. Was he at the right house? Yeah, he had to have been. There was only one house like this on the outskirts of town. But the person in front of him didn't look like a witch at all.
First off, he looked too handsome to be a witch. Secondly, where was his defining witch hat? The person in front of him was dressed in clean black pants with a puffy, long-sleeved white shirt tucked into it. The front was cut in a small v-shape with a shoe-lace type weave, leaving two dangling cords on either side. But there was no hat.
“U-uhm…” Jisung stammers out as he tries his best to collect his words. “I-I’m sorry. I– I think– I think I'm at the wrong place.”
He's still sitting on the damp earth and grass and he's just so glad he decided to wear black pants today. It would do better in hiding the oncoming stains than his other choices.
The man in front of him cranes his neck out of the door and takes a look around. There really is no other house in sight besides his own. Chances were slim that Jisung could have mistaken this place so he raises his brow in obvious, but silent, question.
Finally Jisung finds it in him to rise to his feet and dust his butt off shyly. Now that he was standing, it felt just a tad less intimidating to be in this stranger’s presence and– property. Still, he feels the need to watch the palms of his hands as he slowly rubs the dirt off between them.
“You s-see, I was looking for the witch that… lives around here,” Jisung explained, his voice losing strength nearly at the end of his sentence. He really felt so ridiculous right now. Not only had he gotten startled by a cat, but he also intruded on whatever this person was previously doing before. He could only imagine how mad he might be coming off now for doing such a thing.
“That’s me,” the raven haired man finally spoke and Jisung was not expecting that voice. It was velvety and almost– enchanting ?
Jisung flinched on the spot. “Y–you?”
“Yes.”
It was a simple affirmation. Nothing more. Nothing less. The man’s eyes gazed upon Jisung easily but there was a hint of confusion behind those alluring, cat-like eyes. Jisung began to believe his word and wondered if maybe he was actually a cat.
Jisung’s mouth pulls into a thin, worried line as he tries to think of his next move. Already he had embarrassed himself in front of this witch. If he kept up his act, he really would get no help from him.
“I’m really sorry for the intrusion,” Jisung bowed apologetically. “I came here because– well, I… I thought maybe you would be able to help me.”
“Help you?” He sounded a bit skeptical and was already preparing himself to shut the door and lock it. Before people finally stopped bothering him, he would get requests upon bargains to lend people his magic for things such as revenge and spite. He purposely chose to live where he did for that reason.
“It probably sounds more stupid outloud than the problem inside my head, but… I’m kinda… I don't make friends well. I kind of feel like an outcast and I was hoping you'd have some sort of spell or potion to make me more likeable…”
Man, Jisung really did feel more and more like a loser now that he got that out. And to a complete stranger of all people. Why did he think this would work again?
Had Jisung had the courage to keep their gazes locked he would have seen the flash of surprise that passed through the other’s eyes. Whereas the man was previously preparing to shut the door on him, he now kept it stagnant.
The witch had to admit, this was a new one. He's heard of people wanting love potions to gain someone’s interest or even to steal them away from another, but nothing like this. He's never heard someone come asking for a best friend juice. This was quite interesting indeed…
Analyzing eyes moved all over the human before him as the witch attempted to figure him out. Nothing about Jisung’s stature told him that he was lying about his story. Or– even if he was , he didn't look like much of a threat. After another quiet moment of weighing his thoughts he was back to speaking.
“Okay.”
Jisung lifts his head up in an instant with widening eyes and quips out a confused, “what?” There's no way he could have heard that right.
But the witch opens the door and steps out of the way to grant him entry and prove his thoughts wrong. “I said okay. So come inside.”
Warily Jisung flexes his fingers to feel control of his body again. A gulp gets swallowed down his throat before his feet can make the first step. The next thing he knows, he's walking forward and into the witch’s house.