Chapter Text
“Are you sure this is going to work?”
San turned to Yeosang at the question and shot him a smile before turning his gaze to the hourglass that sat in the middle of the moon circle they had made.
It was almost like the lunar phase charts that Seonghwa kept on his wall for decoration, but with the full moon in the center instead of around the circle with the rest of the phases. The hourglass was placed on top of the full moon drawing with San and Yeosang sitting across from each other with the object in the middle of them.
The dark-haired witch had no idea what compelled him to do research on the hourglass, but it led to him being motivated to find out what the ritual he found in one of Seonghwa’s library books meant. And San just had to drag Yeosang along with him.
San really loved how willing the blond witch was to try out new things with him – his partner came with perks –, but he really did try to assure Yeosang that he didn’t have to join in on this. There was no telling what would happen.
All San could find when he searched for anything about the mysterious hourglass was some strange ritual written in an ancient language that he could barely translate. The only things he could roughly make out were the instructions and the fact that it called the hourglass a Lunarglass. There wasn’t any evidence of another page or supplemental information that explained the results of the ritual, but San considered himself a magical explorer and loved experimenting with things like this.
He wasn’t even sure how he came across the hourglass in the first place.
One day it was there in his humble house, sitting on his table without any sign of someone entering and leaving it there. There was hardly a magical signature to trace either. He'd asked Yeosang why it was there and the blond just stared at both him and the hourglass in confusion. Even after asking Seonghwa and Yeosang -who were both very proficient in the subject of tracking magic- to try and figure out where it came from, they were only left with more questions than answers.
But if San was anything, he wasn’t a quitter. So he decided to take matters into his own hands and figure out what the deal was with the mysterious hourglass.
“I’m sure it’ll work,” the dark-haired witch gulped, “Just not sure what will happen.”
Yeosang rolled his eyes at the younger. “Tch, since when were you one to back down from a mystery?”
“I’m not,” San retorted with a pout. He made eye contact with his partner, searching his violet-tinted eyes for signs of worry.
He wasn’t one to back down, no, but he was one to worry about those he loved. San had no idea what was going to happen, and if the results were dangerous, he didn’t want Yeosang to get caught in the middle of it.
“Don’t worry about me.”
“I’m always going to worry about you, especially in this kind of situation.”
“You think I don’t worry about you every time you try some new experiment?” Yeosang asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
San took a deep breath, trying his best to calm his racing heartbeat. “You’re right. But really, if something feels off to you, please help me stop it.”
“Of course, honey.”
“Okay, no need for the pet names right now,” San responded with a laugh. He couldn’t help but feel endeared at the way Yeosang smiled at him. He reached behind him and grabbed the book with the written ritual in it. It wasn’t long, but it was still unfamiliar enough with the language that San would have to be careful with his pronunciation.
He quickly read over the instructions and turned back to Yeosang who was sitting patiently. The dark-haired witch noticed a black ball of fluff behind the other witch.
“Hey, Yeosang, can you move Wooyoung while I light the candles? I don’t want him to get in the way.”
Almost as if on cue, the black cat jumped onto Yeosang’s lap and nuzzled into the blond’s chest before stopping and turning to San to glare at him.
“Wooyoung, you’re literally my familiar!” San exclaimed in disbelief.
Yeosang only snickered and scratched the cat’s head. “Admit it, he loves me more than you.”
San pouted again, faking a broken heart and making Yeosang laugh more. Boy oh boy was that man’s laugh like music to San’s ears.
Before he could say anything else, the blond stood up with the cat in hand and moved to put him somewhere else. San recited a small spell under his breath and gestured to the candles that sat around the circle he’d drawn, all of them lighting.
He read over the lunarglass spell once more before closing the book and setting it aside. He was easily able to remember the incantation after the amount of time he spent mulling over the words, but he just wanted to be sure so he wouldn't mess it up.
After Yeosang sat back down, assuring San that Wooyoung was out of the way, the two of them got ready for the ritual.
“What’s this supposed to do anyway?” The blond asked.
San shrugged. “From what I’ve gathered from the incantation, it’s supposed to open some sort of gateway,” he explained, “A gateway to what? I have no idea. I only know that, and the fact that the lunarglass is important. Other than that, I’m just sounding out the words because I couldn’t find their exact meaning.”
The two of them gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment, San reveling in the support he felt from Yeosang.
Witches typically had some tint of color in their eyes that matched what magic they had an affinity for. Yeosang had an affinity for divination, which scared him at times, but San loved the purple color that his eyes held. His own were a little red due to his affinity for invocation magic.
Both types of magic were some of the rare and/or more powerful kinds, but they never really used their magic specifically to match their affinities like most witches did. The two found other areas of interest and tended to stick with those even if they didn’t click as well with them.
Regardless, the magic used for the ritual wasn’t specified, just that there needed to be magic energy present. San had explained it to Yeosang earlier, but all they had to do was concentrate their energy towards the hourglass and the incantation would take care of the rest.
Yeosang smirked at the black-haired witch. “Let’s begin, shall we?”
As they both held their hands out in front of them, directing their magic toward the hourglass, San began reciting the words from memory.
Dea de Luna
Rogamus te
Per hanc lunam vitrum
Aperi porta inter mundos
Accipe nos
Ad novum mundum
commutare animas nostras
Cum alteri qui indiget
San let out a deep sigh as he finished repeating the words and waited for something to happen.
They waited.
And waited.
Nothing.
Not even a flash of light or a small movement from the lunarglass.
He glanced up at the blond and gave him a nervous smile. “I don’t think it worked.”
“Well, no harm in it not working, right?” Yeosang clarified, resting his previously outstretched arms on his knees. San stood up and reached forward to offer the blond a hand to which the other quickly accepted and let San help him stand.
Letting out a sigh, San rested his hands on his hips and looked around at the markings on the floor. “Guess we should clean this up, but don’t let me forget to write down notes about his.”
"I doubt you'd forget about this. You've been obsessed for ages at this point."
Just as San opened his mouth to retort, they heard a loud mewl come from next to their feet.
San looked down and watched as Wooyoung gently prodded at the hourglass with one of his paws. The cat gathered some sort of grasp on the top of the object and pulled it down, succeeding in flipping the hourglass.
The dark-haired witch’s eyes widened as he felt a low surge of energy deep within him. He glanced at Yeosang, who wore a concerned yet confused expression on his face, before glancing back at the cat.
“Wooyoung…” he started hesitantly as Yeosang picked up the cat and set him away from the hourglass, outside of the circle.
Before San could continue saying anything else, the markings on the ground began to glow a brilliant white. His eyes snapped to the hourglass just in front of his feet and noticed the sand floating inside the glass glowing a bright blue color. The particles of sand seemed to increase in velocity as the seconds ticked by.
He reached forward and grabbed Yeosang’s hand.
“San?”
The dark-haired witch looked up into the other’s eyes and couldn’t help but see the worry and slight panic present, which most likely mirrored his own expression.
There wasn’t anything either of them could do before the magic energy in the room pulsed. San tightened his grip on the other witch and pulled him close, wrapping an arm around the other’s waist.
For a moment, things seemed to still as San looked around and saw what appeared to be the blue sand floating in the air around them, spread out and almost looking like a galaxy. He could only watch in amazement as the sand quickly hurdled back towards the lunarglass before a bright flash of white engulfed the room, blinding the witch before his body lost all of its strength and his vision faded to black.
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There wasn’t a single thing that Kim Hongjoong liked about his current daily routine.
All he does is get up at ass o’clock in the morning and quickly get ready, simply eating some toast or cereal, before heading to his job at an office doing what he had originally thought was going to be his dream job.
He loved art. He loved creating things and putting his imagination onto paper (or, technology in this case). However, it was kind of hard to maintain that love when he wasn’t allowed to do anything his style and he could only do things a certain way.
Hongjoong worked as a graphic designer for a company that created billboards.
Initially, he thought it would be a great way to get his style out there, but then he learned that he had to adhere to specific rules and follow very specific guidelines or they’d take him off of more and more projects that would lead to him being out of a job.
The redhead was stuck designing some stupid billboards for a stupid law firm for the time being.
So that’s where he’d be from seven in the morning until he finished whatever task he was supposed to complete for the day, and that usually lasted until three or four in the evening (sometimes later if he really wasn’t having a great “creative” day). After that, all he would do is leave the building, maybe stop by the convenience store to pick out a small snack to make himself feel better, and then go home where he would decide if he had the time and energy to do some of his own art or make some new songs he'd begun composing to help himself vent.
Then he would wash up and go to bed only to rinse and repeat the following morning.
It was a routine that made him feel as though he was dragging his feet everywhere he went.
He hated it.
He never really felt joy or satisfaction anymore.
Hongjoong wouldn’t just be able to quit his job because he needed the money, and he definitely didn’t have enough money to put himself through college again to focus on something different. Although he tried searching for different companies that needed a graphic designer (book publishers, game developers, etc.), nowhere he looked was hiring or they hired a different person after the interviews because no one wanted to hire a man who was losing his enthusiasm for his passion.
There were definitely many moments he wanted to give up and move to the countryside where he could potentially become a humble farmer, but his determined spirit didn’t let him think much further about that.
It wasn’t like his social life was any better.
The redhead definitely knew people, but they were mostly from work and hated their lives just as much as he did. All of the people he’d previously met in his life hadn’t really bothered to reach out or he’d simply lost contact with them. His family included.
He occasionally spoke to his brother over the phone, but it was only because the older kept asking Hongjoong how he felt about something of his parents being sold or given away. Hongjoong always said he didn’t care much about what his brother did with their parents’ assets as long as he got the portion of it set aside for himself. They never talked much other than that.
Even though he wanted to be a social person, it was a bit more difficult for him to maintain any sort of relationship for reasons unknown.
It wasn’t like he didn’t try to date in college; he most definitely did. However, through all of the people, he discovered that he, in fact, wasn’t romantically or sexually attracted to…anybody really. That never stopped his parents from hounding him to find a significant other (well, when they were around, at least).
So that definitely took away some of the chance of him having at least one stable relationship in his life that would in turn keep him stable.
Nothing was interesting to him anymore. Nothing was really keeping him…alive, so to speak.
That’s all he could think about on his way home one day.
There was always the debate going on in his head asking if it was even worth it anymore. He’d had a long day and the winter season only asked for shorter days that led to sunsets happening faster than he’d like.
Hongjoong exited the office building and noticed it was dark when he exited the building. That and the fact that it was sprinkling a bit – it wasn’t quite cold enough to elicit snow – only brought his mood down more.
He begrudgingly trudged down the streets toward his apartment complex, which was just a little too unkempt to be viably livable, and opted not to go to the convenience store this time. He made his way to the street he lived on, a side bag slung over his shoulder and across his chest to prevent it from falling off of his body.
Doing his best to ignore the mist that was falling from the gray sky, Hongjoong focused on the sound of his boots hitting the pavement with each step he took.
Something about the city sounds and the rhythmic tapping of his footsteps lulled him into some sort of trance as he made his way home (more like he zoned out, but usually zoning out felt different). His body moved on autopilot and Hongjoong had to force himself to stop once he realized he’d definitely turned down the wrong street at some point.
The walk to and from work wasn’t overly time-consuming, but if he kept making wrong turns he was going to end up in the rain for longer than he’d been hoping.
Letting out a sigh, Hongjoong pulled out his phone to figure out where he was and how to get home only to pause as he saw the reflection of the moon on his phone screen. He turned to look at the sky to see the real thing rather than the reflection.
It was a full moon, and it was a pretty one. He wasn’t sure how the clouds managed to perfectly surround it, but the glow it emitted was breathtaking and entrancing.
Hongjoong’s feet moved on their own.
After another minute of walking without knowing where he was actually going, he found himself at the mouth of an alleyway that made Hongjoong’s stomach flip with a sense of, not quite foreboding, but just the fact that it was unknown and gave off mysterious vibes made him feel…on edge.
He let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, watching the chilled air leave him and disappear into the cool night air.
The logical part of his brain knew that there was nothing good that came from suspicious alleyways at night, but something about the area tugged at his chest, making him want to follow the almost magnetic pull he felt. As if on impulse, he slowly walked into the alleyway and didn’t really bother to check if anyone sketchy was lurking in the shadows or behind the dumpsters.
Once Hongjoong reached the end of the main alley and saw what was a little alcove, his breath caught in his throat.
There in front of him was a blue, glowing hourglass that was just sitting on the ground. The light that came from the object illuminated the surrounding walls.
“Did I accidentally eat some sort of edible?” Hongjoong asked himself quietly, brows furrowing in confusion at the sight before him.
He took a couple of hesitant steps toward the hourglass, crouching in front of it to inspect the strange object as though confirming if it were real or not. Against his better judgment, Hongjoong reached out and touched the top of the hourglass.
Almost as if on cue, the redhead had to shield his eyes as the blue sand erupted from the hourglass. He opened his eyes and couldn’t help but stare in awe as the particles of sand appeared to be floating around him.
“Oh…I definitely ingested something .”
Hongjoong’s attention was grabbed away from the floating sand and to a black alleycat that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
The small animal traipsed toward the hourglass and rubbed against it as though it were asking to be pet. Hongjoong couldn’t help the panicked feeling that filled his chest as the cat did so. He felt he had to protect the hourglass from being knocked over and broken.
He lunged forward to shoo away the cat, but at the same time accidentally knocked into the hourglass, unintentionally flipping what was the top to the bottom.
Hongjoong, now on his knees, hourglass held in his hands, couldn’t help but let out a gasp as the sand grew brighter and brighter, turning white before blinding the redhead altogether.
A wave of panic filled his chest, making breathing become more and more difficult as the seconds dragged on. He wasn’t getting enough oxygen.
His day wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. He was supposed to have the most boring life known to man. He just wanted to walk home, shower, and curl up on his bed. When he said he wanted a change, this definitely wasn’t what he had in mind.
A burning sensation began under his skin causing him to curl around the hourglass he somehow still had grasped in his hands.
He let out a cry at the painful sensation before everything turned black and Hongjoong’s body and mind shut down.
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Hongjoong was never one to make lists of things that he never expected to happen to him, but he couldn’t help but think about how none of this was expected in the slightest.
An apparently magic hourglass.
Getting knocked out by blue, sparkly sand.
Waking up just before falling face-first onto a wooden floor.
A black cat hissing at him-
Okay, that one was a little more expected than the other things, but it was still strange.
Hongjoong let out a groan as he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, head hanging as he tried to assess his body and if he had any injuries. Well…life-threatening injuries at least. He was definitely going to have some bruises from that fall.
He had a hard time registering the hissing sound coming from somewhere near him and elected to tune it out. His head hurt and his ears were still ringing slightly from the impact with the wood floor.
Wait, wood floor?
Whipping his head up – and instantly regretting it due to the wave of dizziness he felt – Hongjoong noticed that he definitely wasn’t in his own apartment…his apartment didn’t even have wood floors. That should’ve been his first clue that something weird happened.
well, after the whole thing with the hourglass, of course.
He slowly moved to lean back on his hands, sitting on his butt and examined the room he had appeared in.
The dark wood floor was strange because it was real wood and not some laminate flooring. There were a couple of normal-looking sofas with a floral pattern and a warm light that lit the room giving it a comfy feeling. There were a couple of doors in the almost cabin-like walls and a hallway that led somewhere Hongjoong didn’t dare to explore.
There was also a window in the room, but it was covered by a curtain that only allowed small amounts of moonlight in.
Something sharp stung one of Hongjoong’s hands that were on the floor supporting his weight as he leaned back. He quickly retracted it and whipped his head to find the source.
A cat.
A black cat.
One that was making direct eye contact with Hongjoong giving him an almost judgemental look.
“What the he-”
A pounding coming from the other side of one of the doors made Hongjoong yelp before he could finish questioning the cat.
He definitely didn’t want to…answer the door, or whatever. That was just spelling out danger. He glanced between the cat and the door a couple of times and swore that the cat motioned its head towards the door as if telling Hongjoong he should open it.
The pounding (which did sound like knocking just much more impatient and aggressive) continued, this time accompanied by a loud, deep voice.
“Choi San what did you do?!” Hongjoong jumped at the yell and covered his mouth with his hands to stifle any sound he might make out of fear.
“San! Yeosang! Open this door right now!” A frustrated growl sounded from the person on the other side of the door. “I swear if you two somehow died-”
Hongjoong couldn’t help the scream he let out as the door burst open roughly revealing the owner of the intimidating voice.
There stood a man with undercut platinum blonde hair styled into a swoop on one side that sat just above his left eye. He had strong, almost angry eyebrows and a pointed nose with surprisingly full lips underneath.
He was beautiful in a handsome way.
The man before him wore a long, dark gray coat that was undone revealing a black turtleneck tucked into dark blue jeans secured with a black belt. Hongjoong couldn’t see the other’s shoes due to the angle he sat at in relation to one of the couches and the door, but if he had to guess, they were probably boots.
Hongjoong, not important right now!
He mentally smacked himself and tried his best to control his breathing.
Hongjoong’s eyes widened as he met the other’s startling green eyes that almost seemed to be glowing.
“Who are you?” The man asked, deep voice shaking Hongjoong to his core.
“I’m- I-”
“Who are you and what are you doing here?!” The man stepped into the room, not bothering to close the door behind him, and moved closer to Hongjoong.
In a panicked voice, Hongjoong shouted, “I don’t know! Please don’t kill me!”
At the redhead’s words, the other stopped in his tracks and tilted his head in confusion. “What? Why would I kill you?”
Before Hongjoong could respond, the cat…interrupted by jumping onto the couch in front of the man with the blonde swoopy hair and letting out a string of mewls that the man seemed intent on listening to.
It was just a cat, what-
“Wooyoung, you know I can’t understand you like this.” The man seemed frustrated. “Should I help you transform? Then you can tell me what the hell is going on.”
The cat nodded.
Hongjoong couldn’t help the small sound of confusion that escaped his mouth at the sight, regaining the man’s attention.
Letting out a sigh, the other man spoke up again. “I’m sorry, I probably scared you.” He started, tone much more delicate and soft than it had been previously. “It seems like you truly have no idea what is happening, and Wooyoung here hasn’t tried to attack you yet, so you must be harmless.”
He move so closer so he could step around the couch and get closer to Hongjoong.
He is wearing boots!
The man crouched in front of the redhead and smiled. “My name is Seonghwa. I’m a high mage who lives close to here,” he explained, only leaving Hongjoong more confused.
Before Hongjoong could ask questions, he watched as the cat, apparently named Wooyoung, jumped up and latched onto Seonghwa’s pants. The man let out a yelp as he smacked the cat off of him.
“Why are you like this, you demon spawn?” Seonghwa cursed with little venom in his voice. Hongjoong watched as the so-called mage moved one of his hands in a graceful swirl that was directed at the cat. A green glow emanated from both Seonghwa’s hand and around the cat.
Hongjoong’s head throbbed and his vision swam as he watched the scene unfold before his very eyes. Whether it was from him previously hitting his head on the floor, or the...magic, he had no idea, but what resulted left his mouth open and ready to catch flies.
What was once a small black cat was now a human sitting crosslegged across from the redhead.
“Hi, I’m Wooyoung,” the man who was previously...a cat...started, grin revealing sharper-than-normal teeth and cat-like eyes narrowing in amusement, “And boy oh boy do we have a lot to talk about.”