Chapter Text
Taehyun poured coffee into one of his mugs—and sighed.
His coffee was purple. Bright purple. Unnaturally purple.
It had been a long night and it was already a long morning and Taehyun considered fucking it all to hell and just drinking the random ass purple liquid. It couldn’t be that bad. It still smelled delicious.
He was still weighing his opinions when a voice groggily called out—“I wouldn’t drink that if I were you.”
Beomgyu’s hair had been every color under the sun. So Taehyun was a little surprised to see that it was dark brown now. Not only that but Beomgyu was dressed…pretty normal.
Black jeans with holes in the knees. A white t-shirt and a blue-gray bomber jacket. He was also wearing a small black leather backpack that used to be the right size for him when he was eight.
Beomgyu probably could have upgraded his backpack by now. Taehyun was honestly surprised that he hadn’t. It was a long time to hang on to anything. Even if the backpack had been Taehyun’s first real—well…his first fully authorized—artificer infusion project.
Like the backpack, no Beomgyu outfit was complete without the toy squeaky hammer slipped into a loop on the side of the backpack. Another hold over from when they were kids. Though this one was of Beomgyu’s own making.
Beomgyu wandered into the kitchen and hooked his chin on Taehyun’s shoulder so he could get a better look into the mug.
Taehyun angled the mug towards him. “Any idea what it is?”
“Nope.”
At that Taehyun took one of the vials off of his belt and poured the mysterious purple liquid into it. Taking out a permanent marker from the same belt. He uncapped it with his teeth and wrote on the vile: BG #108
Beomgyu yawned as he picked up the half full mug and put the whole thing into his backpack. “Are your samples really in the hundreds now?”
Taehyun put the stopper in the vial and walked it over to the centrifuge that lived on his dining room table. “They probably should be at least double this amount but I only thought about cataloging them seven years ago.”
Beomgyu stifled another yawn. Zipping up his backpack and slinging it back around his shoulders. “That’s not very professional of you, Taehyunie.”
Taehyun let out a huff as he started the centrifuge. “Well…considering I’m not paid for any of this and was fifteen at the time I think I get a pass.”
The centrifuge whirled to life and Taehyun gave it a few seconds to make sure nothing exploded before he turned back towards Beomgyu.
“Let’s get breakfast. You’re buying.”
Beomgyu smiled. “Yeah. Sure.”
When it came to Beomgyu’s visits, Taehyun was never really sure what he was going to get. He could only extrapolate from the evidence presented to him. His hair was dark brown and a little longer than the last time he saw him. Today he was dressed like a normal, every day college kid.
Taehyun took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before he slipped on an oversized fluffy cardigan. If today was going to be awful, he at least wanted to be comfortable. He wasn’t sure what it meant that Beomgyu had decided today of all days to show up, looking the way he was looking. Maybe it meant nothing. Maybe it meant everything.
Taehyun slung his own backpack around his shoulders and did a customary check of all of his supplies before giving a short nod. Whatever happened today…this was as well prepared as he could possibly be.
“When did you get here?” asked Taehyun as he locked up his apartment.
Beomgyu hummed. “Midnight, maybe?”
“You could have come and said ‘hi’.”
Taehyun had still been up at midnight. Checking and double checking the calculations for his final project. He had finally passed out on the cot in his workroom at around three in the morning.
“I didn’t want to bother you,” said Beomgyu with a shrug.
“As opposed to all the other times you’ve bothered me.”
Beomgyu knocked his shoulder against Taehyun’s shoulder. “I have to keep you on your toes.”
Which was an utterly ridiculous sentence.
Beomgyu had been doing nothing but for almost as long as Taehyun could remember.
—
For a while Taehyun had only known Beomgyu as The Boy on the Bicycle.
Actually Taehyun hadn’t been sure if Beomgyu was even real or if he was just a figment of his overly active imagination. A figure conjured into reality by a lonely kid in need of a friend. Taehyun had fallen down a research hole for a few months trying to figure out if it was possible to make an imaginary friend real.
Taehyun had been a strange five year old.
Beomgyu had been an even stranger six year old.
Taehyun had moved around a lot as a kid. His parent’s research never kept them in one place for long. So it was suspicious…and a little bit of a relief when Beomgyu started appearing wherever he was.
He spent the summer after he turned five in Daegu. The Boy on the Bicycle would pass by the house they were renting once or twice a day. Sometimes in the mornings. Sometimes in the afternoon. And Taehyun only noticed because sometimes the Boy on the Bicycle was hard to miss.
One day he would be dressed in head to toe orange. The next day his hair would be bright red. The day after that he would be wearing cheap costume angel wings. And then the day after that…back to looking like a totally normal kid.
There was no rhyme or reason as far as Taehyun could tell. So…naturally he tried to find one.
He spent the whole summer cataloging his observations in a notebook. He never did manage to find a pattern. And was disappointed that he never would now that they were moving on to the next city.
Taehyun ended up in Busan next. In a small house by the sea.
And the Boy on the Bicycle was there too.
Taehyun did a double take. His brain wasting precious seconds to register what his eyes were seeing. He didn’t blame his brain. What he was seeing was so improbable it must have been close to impossible. When it finally did click Taehyun dropped the tools he had been fiddling with and bolted out of his house. Running and yelling at the Boy on the Bicycle to stop.
Years down the road Taehyun would ask why Beomgyu had stopped for him. This wild, feral looking child running at top speed and yelling at the top of his tiny lungs.
Beomgyu had laughed at him. “You were a cute kid, Taehyunie.”
Taehyun sighed. “If you say so.”
Regardless of the reason, the Boy on the Bicycle had stopped. The Boy on the Bicycle had waited for him to catch up. The Boy on the Bicycle had looked at him curiously as Taehyun stumbled up to him.
“How did you get here?” asked Taehyun in between gasping breaths.
“Um…by bicycle?”
“Why are you here?”
“Why are any of us here?”
“I’m here because my parents are here.”
“Oh. That must be nice.”
“My name is Taehyun.”
“Good for you.”
Taehyun…didn’t know what to think about the Boy on the Bicycle, but they started talking regularly after that. Not that the Boy on the Bicycle said anything meaningful or insightful or even specific. Not that Taehyun minded all that much. Not when it felt like he had made a friend for the very first time.
He had spent summer in Daegu cataloging observations in a notebook. He spent the fall in Busan committing things to memory.
The way the Boy on the Bicycle threw back his head and laughed. The way he nibbled at his snacks. Taking tiny bites as opposed to Taehyun who would shove handfuls into his mouth. The way that he talked. The way that he listened. The way he seemed to know so much and yet so little at the same time.
The way he seemed to hide his pain.
It probably wasn’t Taehyun’s place to chastise him, but he couldn’t help it when he found out that the Boy on the Bicycle had fallen off of his bike and scraped his knee and hadn’t done anything about it.
Taehyun rushed into his house and grabbed his first aid kit. He disinfected the scrape and picked out a cute cartoon bear bandaid to put over it.
“You were in Daegu before this,” admitted Taehyun as he carefully put the bandaid on the Boy on the Bicycle’s knee. “You used to pass by my window almost every day—sometimes twice a day. I was…sad when we moved because I didn’t think I would see you again. I…I don’t know why you’re here…but I’m glad.”
The Boy on the Bicycle studied him for a moment and Taehyun balled up the trash in his fist more to have something to do than anything else.
“Beomgyu.”
Taehyun looked up. “What?”
The Boy on the Bicycle smiled back at him. “You can call me Beomgyu.”
And Taehyun knew—with all of the conviction of a naive child—that Beomgyu would become an inconsistent and yet somehow also consistent part of his life.
And for a while it really was true.
Beomgyu followed Taehyun to Jeju Island and then Gwangju and Ilsan and Gwacheon then back to Daegu and Busan and finally Gangnam.
But as Taehyun eventually learned…
Not all things were meant to last.
—
Taehyun stepped out of his apartment building and blinked at the sudden bright sunlight and the sudden noise of the city. He had been working nonstop on his final Artificer project to the point where he was now practically nocturnal.
Soobin would probably gently chastise him or possibly yell at him for not getting enough sleep. Kai wouldn’t necessarily say anything—just make sad, concerned faces until the guilt ate Taehyun alive. Yeonjun would probably take one look at him and say something like, “A tired adventurer is a dead one.”
Beomgyu…
Beomgyu took his hand.
Taehyun gave his hand a grateful squeeze. “Tell me about where you’ve been.”
“Oh,” said Beomgyu excitedly as if this wasn’t the same question that Taehyun asked every time he saw him. “I think I went to the Plane of Shadows.”
Taehyun almost tripped. “You what?”
“Didn’t stay long,” mused Beomgyu. “It was kind of creepy.”
“Kind of?”
Beomgyu grinned back at him, clearly pleased that even after all this time he could still shock Taehyun with his stories.
Taehyun let out a long sigh. If he held onto Beomgyu’s hand a little tighter—well…Beomgyu didn’t say anything.
“Hopped around the Astral Plane for a bit. That’s always fun.”
Taehyun listened to Beomgyu talk about places that he would never see and beings that he would never meet. The universe was vast and unmeasurable. The idea of it—of all of those possibilities, of all of those unknowns—used to freak Taehyun out. Still freaked him out a little bit.
But sometimes Beomgyu would pop back into his life and sometimes he would bring a neat rock he found that glowed bright blue under the moonlight or he saved a piece of cake that for, whatever reason, tasted like a sunrise or maybe it would be a poem or a leaf or a piece of candy.
And Taehyun would be reminded all over again that the universe was full of endless possibilities and some of them were good.
And some of them were bad.
They walked down to the cafe where Soobin worked part time. The first time they had gone together Beomgyu had tried to pay with a legit gold coin. And instead of being told off, the owner had simply pocketed the coin and told them that whatever they wanted from there on out was free of charge.
A charming little bell rang as Taehyun pushed open the door. A not so charming chorus of shouting followed as Soobin and Kai and Yeonjun scrambled to their feet in order to greet Beomgyu.
Taehyun let go of Beomgyu’s hand so that he could jump into their arms.
—
Their first meeting had been a disaster.
Because Beomgyu had simply walked into Soobin’s apartment—a feat that should have been impossible considering all of the wards they had placed on it.
Kai had screeched. Soobin’s instincts were strong—but not very effective. He had thrown the pillow he had been holding before dropping into a defensive crouch.
It was Yeonjun who acted first. Launching himself off of the sofa. Shoving Beomgyu up against the wall and drawing one of his knives. Yeonjun’s great-great grandmother had been a kumiho and besides being a sweetheart and a total goof—Yeonjun could be damn scary when he wanted to be.
And before Taehyun could say anything, Beomgyu had swung his hammer—booping Yeonjun right on the head.
“Oh, fuck,” muttered Taehyun as he watched Yeonjun disappear in a puff of smoke and reappear as a potted plant. “Gyu-hyung!”
“Oh, hey, Taehyunie,” greeted Beomgyu brightly as he shouldered his hammer. He gave him a small finger waved as if this was a totally normal situation. And, sadly, it was.
“WHAT THE FUCK!” yelled Soobin—who was reaching under his couch—and that wasn’t good because that was where he kept his dangpa.
And Kai was reaching for—oh noooo—not Tobin.
Taehyun jumped out of his seat and held up his hands for all of his friends to stop. “Everyone—Kai—Soobin-hyung—this is Beomgyu-hyung.”
Kai frowned as he hugged Tobin close to his chest. “Your imaginary friend?”
Taehyun wanted to roll his eyes, but he was too busy trying to watch every shadow in the apartment—making sure none of them were…moving.
“For the last time,” said Taehyun as he gestured towards Beomgyu without taking his eyes off of a suspicious looking shadow near the coffee table. “He’s real—and this is him.”
Beomgyu waved again.
Soobin rose to his full height with his dangpa in hand. He grounded the trident but the threat was heavily implied. Taehyun figured it wasn’t a great time to tell him his dangpa would be useless against Beomgyu especially in such a small space. Beomgyu would dance circles around him. Maybe literally.
“Well your friend turned Yeonjun-hyung into a plant!”
“It’s fine,” said Taehyun as he picked up plant Yeonjun and went to drop him—
“What are you doing!” yelled Soobin.
“You have to break the pot to break the spell,” explained Taehyun. “Trust me. Okay?”
Soobin nodded but Taehyun didn’t miss the way he still glanced at Kai. Taehyun waited for Kai to give a short nod before he dropped the pot.
It cracked and with another poof of smoke Yeonjun appeared. Looking bewildered but no worse for wear. And actually he acclimated to not being a potted plant anymore pretty well—considering the speed at which he rose to his feet and the quickness that he drew two knives this time.
“Who the fuck are you?”
Beomgyu grinned back at him. “You made a very pretty flower, Yeonjun-ssi.”
“Oh, thank you—wait. What did you just—”
Taehyun stepped between Yeonjun and Beomgyu. Once again holding up his hands and yelling, “This is my totally real friend Beomgyu-hyung!”
Yeonjun at least stopped his approach. He still pointed an accusatory knife at Beomgyu. “How the hell did you get in here?”
“Oh,” said Beomgyu, perking up. He shoved the sleeve of his jacket up in order to expose his wrist. “I have this.”
The tattoo was stark black against Beomgyu’s pale skin. The image clear and instantly recognizable.
It was a key. Specifically, a bike lock key.
For the first time Yeonjun’s eyes left Beomgyu. He glanced at Taehyun. “I’ve always wondered about your tattoo.”
It was hard to miss Taehyun's own tattoo. The design was strange and striking for a magical tattoo. Taehyun always found it appropriate seeing as though it was Beomgyu who gave it to him. The tattoo was of a realistic looking U bike lock. The top of the U started on the backside of Taehyun’s right wrist. It curved around his forearms where they met a thick bar with a tiny keyhole.
“What is it?” asked Kai with a frown. “I’ve always wondered.”
“Old magic,” said Yeonjun with a displeased nose scrunch. He at least sheathed his knives. “The key ensures Beomgyu-ssi can go anywhere Taehyun is. The lock…can keep him out.”
“I've never heard of magic like that,” said Soobin as he shoved his dangpa back under the sofa. “Where did you learn how to do that?”
Taehyun shrugged. “From my parents' research.”
A chorus of, “Ahh.” went around the room and everyone left it at that.
And Taehyun waited until they had all settled back down, until all of his friends were distracted by the movie they were watching, before he slipped away with the excuse of making more popcorn. He pulled at Beomgyu’s sleeve as a silent request to follow him into the kitchen.
And it wasn’t until Taeyhyun had the popcorn in the microwave that he let himself well and truly freak out.
Taehyun gripped the counter until his knuckles turned white. “You hit him with your hammer.”
“I know—”
“We’re lucky he was just turned into a plant. What if he had been banished or struck by lighting or cursed or summoned a specter of death or—”
“I know,” said Beomgyu quietly. “I know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have hit him. But he was coming at me with a knife and—he’s part fox demon, do you know that?”
Taehyun smiled. “Yeah. I know.”
That seemed to be all Beomgyu needed to hear. He gave a nod. “I’m sorry, Taehyun. I’ll be more careful.”
Taehyun waved off the second apology. “You scared him and he scared you. I understand.”
“I’m still sorry.”
Taehyun let out a long breath as he let go of the counter and reached out to take ahold of Beomgyu’s hand. “I know.”
Beomgyu nodded obviously a little lost in thought and Taehyun held his hand a little tighter and Beomgyu glanced at him his grin wide and grateful and Taehyun was still terrified—of everything that had happened, of everything that could have happened, of everything that would happen—but mostly he was terrified of letting Beomgyu go.
And Beomgyu understood because he had always understood better than Taehyun ever had that—
The microwave beeped and they both jumped in surprise.
Taehyun let go of Beomgyu’s hand so that he could open the microwave and carefully dump the hot popcorn into a large bowl. Beomgyu hopped up on top of the counter as he watched Taehyun stir in the artificial butter.
“Your friends seem nice,” said Beomgyu as he picked out a few kernels and popped them into his mouth.
Taehyun laughed. “Yeah. They are.”
“They look after you,” added Beomgyu quietly. “That’s good.”
Taehyun hummed because it was good. He was never one to make friends. Beomgyu knew that better than anyone. It was a small miracle that he had managed to befriend three other people to such an extent.
“They’ll look after you too,” said Taehyun and when Beomgyu shot him a doubtful look he let out a small amused huff. “Eventually.”
“What’s taking so long?” complained Yeonjun as he walked into the kitchen.
“I’m sorry that I turned you into a plant, Yeonjun-ssi,” said Beomgyu without prompting.
Yeonjun paused. His hand on the refrigerator handle. Eventually he shrugged before he yanked the door open. “It happens.”
Taehyun dropped the bowl of popcorn into Beomgyu’s hands. “Can you give this to Soobin-hyung and Kai?”
Beomgyu glanced at the popcorn and then Taehyun before he gave a short nod. He hopped off the counter and walked back into the living room.
Taehyun watched him go as he asked, “Can you grab me a soda too, hyung?”
“Sure,” said Yeonjun as he grabbed a can for Taehyun along with his own.
Taehyun cracked open the can and took a sip. Waiting. Next to him Yeonjun did the same.
“His magic is unstable.”
It wasn’t a question. Taehyun nodded.
“He seems harmless—but he’s far from it.” Yeonjun’s eyes flicked away and then back again. “I trust you, Taehyun and—” He let out a short laugh. “And I do like Beomgyu-ssi. But if he ever comes at any of us with that hammer again I will gut him, do you understand?”
Taehyun swallowed. It was foolish to think that Yeonjun would be unaware of the dangers.
“I know. I already warned him.”
Yeonjun grinned. “Always one step ahead, eh?”
Taehyun sighed as he shook his head. “No…not always…”
—
Taehyun had been seventeen when Beomgyu put the bike lock tattoo on his arm.
He hadn’t really asked. He just said, “Can you hold something for me?”
And Taehyun had been in the middle of reading and not really paying attention and had just held out his hand and—Beomgyu had slapped the bike lock tattoo on his arm. It glowed warm and golden—like Beomgyu’s magic always did—before it settled onto his skin. The stark black design curving around his wrist and forearm.
“What is this for?” asked Taehyun as he examined the design.
“So that you can lock me out if you need to.”
Taehyun frowned. “Why would I need to?”
And Beomgyu looked a little sad as he ran his thumb across the tattoo. “Maybe you can’t think of a reason now. But…maybe one day…you’ll need to.”
Taehyun didn’t know what Beomgyu was talking about and he didn’t ask.
He really should have asked.