Chapter Text
The shop was down an alleyway, hidden in a little suntrap, with space for a little garden out the back. Plants of all kinds spilled from their pots along the shelves, with jars of other ingredients and recipe books on the shelves opposite. A desk to pay sat in one corner, the door to the garden behind it, and a table with some teacups stacked nearby in the cabinet.
Jungsu picked one out, and poured water into the teapot. He fished out some loose tea leaves, and muttered under his breath, before leaving it to brew and pacing up the spiral staircase to the second level. He sighed to himself at Hyeongjun's sleeping form - he'd nodded off in the late afternoon sunlight after terrorising the frogs. Seriously, one day they'd actually find a way to run away from him, and then Jungsu would lose one of his best selling ingredients. He reached out to stroke the cat's ears gently, then walked back downstairs.
Jungsu considered himself an entrepreneur. As a witch living in the modern world, one had to be creative. He took pride in his little shop - gardening for humans, potion supplies for supernaturals; though oftentimes the two would overlap. It didn't matter, a human could buy an enchanting crystal if they wanted. It wouldn't do any magic for them, but it would still look nice!
The tea would be finished by now. He rolled up the sleeves of his jumper - he did have robes, but they were so impractical - and began pouring two cups.
"Hyeongjun-ah" he called, and heard a meow in return. They closed at lunchtime on a Wednesday, giving him time to clean up midway through the week. And his friends to hang around, apparently.
"It'll get cold!" He called again, and heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
"It won't hyung, it's boiling water" Hyeongjun yawned, now in his human form, and took the teacup happily. His hair was slightly fluffy, and a little bit stuck up by his ear.
"I'll give it to Jiseok, just you see"
"Don't kid yourself, you've never been good at teleportation spells" the younger snickered, taking a sip.
Jungsu huffed, trying to keep his lips from twitching into a smile. To be fair, the shapeshifter was right, he'd never been good at magic involving spacial awareness. Teleportation, telekinesis, levitation, none came easily to him, it was more his cousin's forte.
Growing up as a witch was very similar to a human's childhood. Jungsu had matured at the same rate, had gone to school with human children, and then his magical blood had kicked in during his mid teens. His mom and dad were both witches, his whole family was magical. He was particularly good at nature magic and potion making, a strength he had inherited from his mom, though his charms were pretty good too, thanks to his dad. It was this shared childhood with humans that gave witches authority when deciding matters of supernatural and human nature, they acted as a bridge - not that humans knew about the existence of supernatural beings, of course.
Or that was what Jungsu had been told. Personally, he'd never been overly into Coven life, and he rather suspected it was because witches liked doing administration, rather than being elected as such. Nor was it due to power hierarchy. But it suited the other supernatural beings to let them be representative and do the admin for the community, so all was well. Jungsu thought their leaders were busybodies, but they were never too much of a problem.
"Can you believe their latest newsletter?" He ranted to Hyeongjun after a few sips of his tea "recruiting community leaders, fuck off"
"Saying it so they can seem inclusive, more like" the younger agreed "can't you unsubscribe?"
"Nah, the coven will get on my back if I do that" Jungsu sighed "it's fine, so long as they let me stay in business"
His phone lit up, and before he could even read the message, a figure appeared in front of them.
Seungmin was a mage, rather than a witch. A technicality, the coven included witches, wizards and mages. Seungmin fell under the latter through a combination of his blood and his style of magic. He had actually met the younger man at college, and had walked in on him doing a ritual sacrifice, but that was a long story. He was adept at magic, and one of his best friends.
"Hey hyung. Hey gorgeous" he winked at Hyeongjun from behind his fashionable glasses, hands stuffed in his pockets. Scratch what he'd said before, Seungmin was a menace to society.
"Seungminnie, texting just before you teleport doesn't count as warning" Jungsu deadpanned, as Hyeonjun squeaked and turned into a bird, fluttering upstairs. Seungmin had been flirting with him for as long as he'd known him, and it somehow still managed to get the shapeshifter flustered.
The mage shrugged.
"I tried. Anyway, I wanted to see you hyung" he reached out for a hug, which Jungsu gladly gave.
"I saw you 2 days ago"
"Which is a long time! ...by the way, do you have any worm's intestines?"
"Nope, and I won't, because I need them for my plants" He admonished "you can substitute them if you're making potions, ok?"
"Oh, good point. Vegetarian droughts and all that"
"Exactly" he nodded, letting him go. "Want some tea?"
"Sure. We should text the others, is Jooyeon free today?"
"Don't think so, but Jiseok will be by now"
"Perfect. Let's get dinner" Seungmin pulled out his phone and messaged their group chat. Jungsu wished the hearts surrounding Hyeongjun's name were a surprise.
Hyeongjun had apparently spent enough time ogling Seungmin from the air and soon came back in his human form, far more in control of himself. They debated options for dinner while waiting for Jiseok's reply, and continued to after he'd agreed. Jungsu had one last check of the shop, before locking up, and swinging by his apartment to get a jacket. They chatted idly as they walked to their chosen restaurant, waving at Jiseok when they spotted him across the street.
Not that it was particularly difficult to. Jiseok was a fellow witch, who's fairy blood made him particularly talented at growing things and levitation charms. His hair was, without fail, brightly coloured - currently it was half turquoise, half hot pink, and getting long enough to cover his eyes, had he not parted it.
Jiseok waved, pulling his headphones down round his neck, and quickly crossed the street, throwing himself at each of them in turn for a hug. Jungsu had seen him yesterday, and they had had a group night out Saturday, but they were clingy. It suited him, the eldest thrived on hugs.
"Hyung did you see the-" he started.
"Newsletter, yes, coven is boring as usual" Seungmin answered him before he could finish. "Don't get hyung started again"
"Rude"
"Point taken" Jiseok laughed, bumping the mage's side "what are we eating?"
"That Italian place that opened the other month, I saw a thing on tiktok" Hyeongjun replied.
"Since Jooyeon can't make it, it seemed like a good opportunity" Jungsu added.
"Mmm, sounds good"
"I'm sure it will be" Seungmin purred, looking directly at one man. Jungsu was embarrassed to go out with his friends sometimes.
They asked for a table for 4, and the seemingly human waitress seated them and handed them menus. Jungsu looked through the various options, and settled on a nice sounding pasta. Seungmin excitedly ordered garlic bread, of which Jugsu had eaten 4 slices of before his dinner even arrived.
"Don't tell Jooyeonie, but this is really good" Jiseok groaned as he began eating.
"Have you heard from him today?" Hyeongjun mused.
"I think he's sleeping, honestly" he shrugged. "You know how he gets"
"Fuck, speaking of sleeping, some of the kids fell asleep today" the shapeshifter chuckled. He taught guitar to children, while being a part-time music teacher at one of the local schools.
"How did you make electric guitar boring?" Jungsu laughed.
Hyeongjun shrugged.
"We went for acoustic today, but I'm pretty sure it's because they had a sleepover last night and stayed up"
"On a school night?" Jungsu asked, shocked, in unison with Seungmin making flirty comment to Hyeongjun about being kept up. Sometimes it was better to ignore them, he decided, though Jungsu often found himself tempted to slip them some truth potion and just be done with this dance. It couldn't be that immoral.
Dinner turned into drinks, which in turn became Jungsu dragging a tipsy Jiseok and Hyeongjun home after dropping off Seungmin, who lived in an apartment a few blocks away. They made sure Jiseok managed to open his door, then went into their shared apartment. Jungsu promptly nearly tripped over some twigs he'd left out, blearily watered the plants on their little balcony - they were very pernickity, non-magical plants - and collapsed into bed. Hyeongjun felt like sleeping as a human that night, and retreated to his own room. Once, Jungsu had woken up to a snake sitting in the sink. He denied any screams he may have let out.
"Hyung!" Jungsu heard an excited voice shout, before he was hit with a hug from behind.
As he had agreed, Jooyeon arrived at the shop to help out in the afternoon. He cut an intimidating figure, broad shoulders and silky raven hair that brushed them, though the illusion was ruined when he grinned sweetly, fangs poking at his bottom lip.
Vampires were somewhat of a rarity. Jungsu didn't know any aside from Jooyeon and his siblings, Hyunjin and Yeji. Jooyeon himself was a bit of an enigma, disappearing now and then for 'vampire stuff' as he called it. Jooyeon's age was...debatable. But he'd been turned when he was younger than any of them, and acted younger than any of them, so they treated him as their youngest. Really, aging was a weird topic for all of them, Jungsu always found it easiest not to worry too much about it. Especially Jooyeon, who joked he'd spent his first decade as a fledgling vampire out of his mind on a killing spree, so didn't count those years. However, most of the time he was lanky and happy, with a penchant for stealing blood bags and making chilled smoothies with them.
"Hey Jooyeonie" he squeezed him tightly "how are you feeling?"
Much better" he nodded, dropping his wicked fangs entirely for a moment, before retracting them. Once, they'd had a particularly pushy human customer, and between blinks he'd shown his teeth. She had backtracked quickly, to the sound of Jooyeon's giggles and Jungsu's scolding.
"Can you help reorder that shelf up there, its getting crazy" the witch motioned to one of the bookshelves. It was busy, things had been put back in the wrong place, and he didn't have time to leave the till to sort it out.
"Yup" he saluted, and glided over.
While the vampire helped sort, Jungsu got back to helping his customers. The majority were part of the magical community, and the humans could usually be picked out by their slightly mystified expressions. And identification spells had been made illegal years ago, so Jungsu wasn't risking the council knocking on his door. He waved to some of his regulars, as he addressed an older woman searching for a plant with purple leaves. They eventually found it, after searching through at least 20 varieties.
Jungsu was pretty certain it was an ingredient solely used in love potions, but who was he to judge.
They took a break partway through the afternoon, when a quiet moment came upon the shop.
"Would you like some tea, Joo? Or some blood?" He called; the man in question couldn't always stomach human food.
"Teas good" he nodded. "Do you have any cakes?"
"Baby, you haven't eaten in days, are you sure you're up to it?"
The vampire nodded, eyes wide. Jungsu sighed to himself, and decided if Jooyeon was throwing up later, that was his problem. He opened another drawer and took out his cake tin - charmed to stop any food going off, but it generally never lasted that long - and handed him a fairy cake.
"Jiseok and I made them the other day" he explained, nodding at the faint shimmer on them.
Jooyeon's dark eyes lit up at the mention of the smaller witch.
"Is he coming today?" He asked, failing to mask his hope.
"He probably would if you asked" Jungsu shrugged, setting down his teacup to go and help a customer who had walked in, and direct her to the frogs.
Jungsu meant it when he said they were one of his best selling items.
Jiseok couldn't make it, but the news that Jooyeon was back to his usual self quickly lead their group chat to make plans the next evening. With his garlic allergy, eating out with Jooyeon was a nightmare, but they worked around it. He, Jiseok, even Seungmin, had become rather adept at mixing cures for him, if need be, though the irony of the vampire jokes they'd get from waiters had worn off long ago. Jungsu promised he'd buy them all drinks if they came and helped him out for the afternoon, and they could leave afterwards.
Following a rather slow morning, Jungsu didn't feel he was actually in need of the help, but Seungmin materialised after lunch, with the others arriving at half hour intervals, give or take, until they were all there.
"How's your stomach Jooyeon-ah?" Jungsu asked, ruffling his sleek hair as he walked past.
"Ready for fucking food, hyung" Jooyeon whined. He hit him lightly.
"Don't swear when we have customers!"
They stayed open for the evening rush - many witches would be preparing for potions that needed to be brewed at night. Jungsu should check the lunar charts, there might be a good moon for it soon.
"Yes, have a nice evening" he smiled politely at the elderly fairy, then flicked his hand to put up the closed sign.
"Do you know when the next full moon is, Seungmin-ah?" He asked, wandering to the back of the shop where they were all resting.
"Not sure" he mused "I've not got any rituals planned, I'm out of the loop"
"No worries" Jungsu replied, pulling up Google.
"Speaking of full moons, have you heard Chan's pack are back in town?" The vampire added.
"Huh? How did you know that?" Hyeongjun laughed.
"My brother" he brushed some hair out of his face "hyung's got that thing with one of them, so they're all chummy"
"Aww, is baby brother jealous of big brothers cool friends?"
"Fuck off, he wishes"
"Oh it's soon, I'd better move down the wolfsbane" Jungsu hurried up the stairs to find his pre-made potion. For wolves who found transformations particularly painful, he'd sell it discounted near to the full moon - it was meant to ease things, though Jungsu obviously had never experienced it himself.
He put it carefully on his discount shelf, and when he returned to his friends, they had produced a bottle of wine.
"Seriously?" He deadpanned as Hyeongjun took a gulp from the bottle and passed it to Seungmin.
"Pregame, hyung" Jiseok shrugged.
"We're going out to dinner!" He protested weakly. In all truthfulness, it was been a long week, and Jungsu wouldn't mind a couple of drinks. He took the bottle when it was handed to him, and took a small sip, before heading over to his mini-fridge in the back to grab some blood for Jooyeon.
The younger had once described different kinds of blood as alcohol, when they'd asked him about preference. Animal blood was like white wine, human like red, certain magical creatures apparently like spirits. Jungsu always kept a little animal blood in case he wanted it, though he claimed human was his favourite.
It's just like drinking he had said simply I like vodka, for a fun night, but red wine is the nicest to drink
Not that Jooyeon didn't drink alcohol. He actually had decent tolerance, though they rarely tested it, since magic had the tendency to go a little crazy when one got drunk.
"Here" he poured some into a cup and handed it to him. Jooyeon grinned toothily, little fangs on display.
Jungsu was about to reply, when he heard a shout outside.
"Ok hyung?"
"Thought I heard something, I'm sure it's fine" he shook himself.
"I think it's hunger, when are we eating?" Jiseok added.
"We may as well go soon" Seungmin shrugged. Jiseok floated their coats over to them, clearly feeling lazy, and spotted some familiar looking cat fur on the mage's coat. He smiled to himself.
They filed into the restaurant, Jooyeon grinned handsomely when their waitress made a vampire joke, and Seungmin continued to flirt with their shapeshifter. Hyeongjun was in a particularly good mood, playing along and making a few jibes of his own. By some miracle, Jooyeon didn't touch any garlic - they all ordered food that was meant to come without it, and prayed. It wasn't until they'd paid the bill, and decided to go to a bar, that Hyeongjun realised he'd left his bag for work at the shop.
"Come on, we may as well get it" Jungsu sighed, linking arms with Jiseok as they wandered back. Moving away from the buzz of people out on a Friday night, and towards the quieter streets, their voices began to echo.
"Come to think of it, I think I left my blood on the table" Jooyeon whispered, as they unlocked the door and flicked on the lights. Hyeongjun flew up the stairs to get his bag, thankfully still in the same place, while the blood bag was indeed still out.
"I'll down it" he said, lifting it to his lips.
"No you won't" Jungsu took it out of his hands, and took it over to feed his carnivorous plants.
"Still up for drinks, beautiful?" Seungmin winked as Hyeongjun came back down the stairs.
There was a noise outside. Jungsu whipped his head round to see a man burst through his front door. Hair wet against his forehead, he breathed heavily, slamming the door behind him. As he stepped into the light, Jungsu noticed there was blood dampening his clothes, rather than rain.
"Help-" the man panted, clutching at his arm.
"Are you ok?" Jungsu asked, reaching out to help.
"-help-" he repeated, before his knees gave out and he toppled forwards.