Archive of Our Own

Minho loved mornings like these.

Ones where he woke up before his alarm could jar him back to reality, and his body felt refreshed and relaxed. Loose-limbed, with nowhere to immediately be, he could take his time to himself out, and work out all the kinks and cramps that had settled into his joints and muscles with the stress of day-to-day life.

He hadn't even slept that much, but he'd woken up to an indigo sky, with his three mischievous little balls of fur curled up on the duvet beside him. 

Carefully moving to get out of bed, he rose and freshened up, not even feeling the need for a morning coffee- it felt like a mixed-berry tea kinda day. Crisp and clear, tinted faintly with the color of berries. He let the tangy smell of his berry-mix brew wake him up slowly while he moved around prepping breakfast for himself and his cats.

Fresh spring onions, little bits of mushrooms, and tomatoes went into the pan. They sizzled cheerfully while he set to work preparing the omelet mix and gathering ingredients for pizza dough- which he planned on making later that day.

Ah drat.

He was- they were out of chocolate chips.

Felix had been planning to bake cookies today, in honor of their return to the house- he should absolutely have the chocolate chips, decided Minho.

He turned off the stove and covered the pan with its glass lid, taking a mental stock of the things that needed to be bought now that there were people in the house.

Stopping to fill the cats' bowls, he prepared to head out. He pulled on his sneakers and a light coat, then grabbed a pair of well-loved headphones that had once belonged to Jisung and put on a bright playlist on a low volume. The faint thrum of the music mingled with the sounds of his still-sleeping neighborhood, an undercurrent of liveliness and excitement for what the day might bring.

It felt like he was in a music video, the sky expanded in front of him endlessly as he made his way down the street. It opened up to greet him, slightly overcast, the last dregs of winter waving at him cheerfully. The light was cool, bright, and pure as it streamed in patchy spotlights ahead of him. He wanted to bottle it up and drink it- missing the taste of it now that he remembered how he used to do it. It tasted cool and warm at the same time, tinged with colorful notes of ozone that never failed to replenish his magic.

He smiled wistfully. He'd lived well- and was hopeful that he'd continue to do so.

After all, who needed sunlight when the lights of his life had returned to him?

He remembered the first time he'd felt this warmth.

[SEUNGMIN]&[JISUNG] == lightheartedness, a bright end to his loneliness

Minho sighed, turning over in the grass again. His cheek was pressed at an uncomfortable angle on the crisp green blades and they tickled his nose but he couldn't bring himself to care much. He let his gaze wander about his surroundings, carefully avoiding the discarded spellbook he was supposed to be studying. (Hobi hyung was going to quiz him later- but Minho could probably make something up by then. Or stop procrastinating, whatever came first).

He glared at a dandelion, resting his legs up against the tree trunk. His neck hurt with the way he was twisting it, but he squinted on, bringing a small finger forward to poke at a ladybug that was climbing a stalk. Where could it be going?  He wondered idly. Its shell glinted ruby red in the sunlight as it crawled.

He watched as the ladybug finally reached its destination, lying fully on his stomach now, bare feet sticking up against the old tree. He could hear the nagging now, "Minho you hurt your feet again? Come on, let's learn a healing spell" or "Minho!! What have you done to your shirt?? Time to learn a cleaning spell-"

And on and on and on.

He knew that his hyungs were doing their best to teach him magic but he also knew that they were trying to keep him distracted, to prevent him from wandering off. They were all older than him, and having their constant care and attention was nice- but they didn't know how to talk to him sometimes, or how to treat him outside of their little brother, whom they must protect.

The ladybug had traveled quite far by then, it had reached the corner of Minho's spellbook. It crawled along the intricate silver designs embossed on the cover, hopping in and out of the little trenches. Minho watched it creep along busily until it reached the spine of the book, the highest point on the little mountain. And there, waiting for it, was a smaller ladybug, who was a bit yellower than Minho's ladybug. They met up and flew away, following a lazy, warm midday air current.

Minho wondered if they were soulmates.

Could ladybugs have soulmates?

He remembered Namjoon telling him about them yesterday during yet another lesson about life and magic. Those seemed endless when it came to his hyungs. He groaned and rolled around again, flopping onto his back. The sun attacked his eyes.

Like, yes they played with him, and learning spells was actually fun but there wasn't much else to do in the middle of the forest for a seven-year-old kid.

All Minho really wanted was a friend.

Even that ladybug had a friend.

He'd even be fine if it wasn't his soulmate- (according to Joon hyung they only showed up at their "fated time" or whatever and that Minho would just feel it, that it'd be warm like a sunbeam or something- which didn't make sense to Minho but okay)- though he'd also really like it if it was.

But how was he going to find them if he was stuck in the woods all the time? It wasn't fair, Yoongi hyung met Hobi hyung when they'd been four years old, at school- but Minho only studied at home.

All the bright light in the forest couldn't chase the slight ache in his heart at the thought. Guess he'd have to wait till they found him then.

He pulled the book towards him and started to read again.

About half an hour later, he startled awake, ripping the page that had gotten stuck to his cheek while he'd napped. Oh great - page mending spell, here I come- he thought, sitting up and trying to blink the bleariness away from his eyes.

A high-pitched shriek attacked his sleepy eardrums, followed by a soft thud and an indignant "Hey!"

"Jisung! Apologize to him right now!"

The voice was high and kind of nasally, nagging like Jin hyung would when Taehyung went too far with a prank.

He finally woke up enough to see a small brown-haired boy with huge doe eyes staring at him, like a deer caught in headlights. He was sprawled on the forest floor next to Minho, just like a newborn deer too. Minho snickered internally, feeling fond of him already.

"Ohmygoshi'msosorryireallydidn'tmeanto-"

"Huh?" Minho scrunched up his face, trying to understand the pile of words that had exploded out of the boy.

The other, slightly taller boy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, was he possessed by Jin hyung? Minho wondered, watching as he crouched down and placed a hand on the Nervous One.

"Hey Sungie, breathe okay? I'll handle it- he won't bite, probably."

Turning to Minho now, he said, "My friend here was trying to apologize for tripping over you," he said primly. Then, worried brows betraying a hint of nervousness, he added, "You wouldn't report us to the witches, would you?"

Jisung gasped and grabbed Seungmin's hand, staring at the page that was still stuck to Minho's face.

"He is a witch! Oh my gosh, he's going to turn us into bugs Seungmin!!" He shook Seungmin's arms violently enough to make the small boy stumble and crash onto him.

"That's not funny Jisung, don't you dare ask him to do that!" he yelled, but Jisung was unfazed. He looked equal parts scared and delighted by the idea and he turned to look at Minho with shiny eyes.

"But um, before you do that can you tell us your name? So that we're not strangers anymore," he said, jumping forward with a bright, heart-shaped smile and a bony hand extended toward Minho. (The other was still wrapped around a panicked Seungmin's wrist.)

Minho had been silent the whole time, trying to keep up with the chaos the duo was radiating.

And now, he stared at Jisung's outstretched hand for a beat, then burst out laughing. He couldn't help it, the whole idea was so ridiculous, it made him feel all warm inside- like a bit of the sun had settled itself into his chest.

And watching him, though not really sure why he was laughing, they joined in.

It was so much better than sunbeams.

Before he even realized it, his legs had carried him past the corner of his own street, and to an intersection. One path was the familiar, well-toiled street that he'd usually take while getting the groceries- but there was also a secret second option.

He smirked and shifted to his cat form, the perspective shift bringing him endless opportunities to explore the same space he'd merely been existing in with more vigor. He drank in the sights and sounds of the empty street, post-rain, and swiftly leaped onto the nearest rooftop.

He really hadn't been the type to go out of his way to explore things- this part of him was definitely Jeongin's doing, the little troublemaker.

[JEONGIN] == a bit of mischief, a bit of adventure

It was positively sweltering that day. 

And Minho's ice cream was splattered on the dirty ground.

He was trying to pretend that it was a mirage, and the heat was driving him insane.

He was also trying to pretend that the kid in front of him on the wrong side of the magic barrier was a mirage, but alas he had no such luck. In fact, judging by the blood rush in his ears and the feeling of familiarity when he saw him, the kid was another one of his soulmates. (If the fact that he was mostly unharmed and within the borders of his side of the forest wasn't enough of a giveaway).

When he voiced the thought about mirages out loud though, the fox-eyed boy scowled at him fiercely despite the tears clinging to his lashes. He was sitting in the middle of the narrow path, biting his lip hard in an attempt to prevent more tears from escaping over his skinned knees. 

It was kinda his fault though really, he'd crashed right into Minho while turning the corner and had sent them both sprawling. 

Minho sighed and stood up, offering a hand to the kid. 

"Hey kid, you okay over there? Can you stand?"

He scowled even harder at him in response, as if it was Minho that was ruining his day. 

"Alright fine, don't talk to me then-- but let me at least get you some bandages? My home's pretty close - I could even get you an ice cream?" He offered, hoping that the kid would accept. They were quite close to the edge of the forest, and not a lot of people took this path on a daily basis. He didn't think it was a good idea to leave this tiny kid here on his own while he called his hyungs, or someone the kid knew for help. 

(The sight of him crying made Minho's cold, dead heart twang painfully too, but that information was Classified.)

Unfortunately for Minho though, the second he had mentioned the word home - the kid burst into tears, burying his face in his hands.

Minho blinked rapidly in shock, unsure of what to do next. He wished Jin or Namjoon were here- or Jimin, they were all much better with crying kids. He wracked his brain trying to think of why the kid was crying- coming up blank. 

So first, a distraction- to buy him some time.

It wasn't a simple spell, but a fun one that came to mind- for molding objects into different shapes- kinda like sculpting but Minho wasn't very skilled. He crouched down next to his fallen ice cream cone (rip) and fashioned the melting ice cream blob into a lil blob monster, with two stubby legs and the tip of the cone as a hat. He also added a squiggly face using the sprinkles for good measure. 

He proceeded to march it over to the kid, making it colder and more solid with every step.

While Taehyung might've had something to say about his artistic choices and Yoongi might've been able to conjure a whole snow field for the kid, Minho was quite proud of his creation. The squiggly face was adorable if he did say so himself.

The ice cream figure poked the boy's leg with a frosty little arm.

He jumped, turning to stare at the blob in shock.

The blob started back.

And so they stayed frozen, boy and blob for a few tense minutes, with Minho watching them quietly, fondness blooming in his chest for the wonder in the little one's eyes. He carried on with his observation until Minho finally spoke up and asked gently,

"...do you want to go home? Is that why you were crying?"

Tear bright fox eyes bore into his, now with a glint of amusement.

"You're so weird, Hyung."

Minho spluttered and then let out a laugh.

"Yah! Is that any way to address a kind, well-meaning elder whose ice cream you just murdered you little brat?"

"Well I did call you Hyung, don't know what else you want from me," he shrugged, trying to act nonchalant, but a tiny dimple forming at the corner of his mouth gave him away. He quickly turned his attention to the ice cream blob that was still poking his leg, gathered it up in cupped hands and brought it closer to his face to inspect it.

"The name's Jeongin by the way," he said casually, standing up and nearly stumbling over again. Minho steadied him with a hand on his shoulder. He was barely affected though, continuing to stare at the blob in his hands.

"You mentioned something about ice cream? And going home?"

Minho chuckled. 

"Right, we can get ice cream, Jeonginnie," he said, leading the way back to the ice cream parlor in town. "We also need to have a talk about how you even ended up in the forest - and about following strangers."

Jeongin stuck his tongue out at him but let Minho lead him through the winding forest paths, back to his home, launching into an animated tale of how he'd been chasing a rabbit that had led him to the woods.

(Internally, Minho shook his head. Straight out of a fairytale, this one. He still hadn't asked for Minho's name by the time they reached his house after getting ice cream, nearly giving Jeongin's mother a heart attack. But as it turned out, the little brat already knew him, and that he was friends with Seungmin, who'd told him everything in advance. Including the part about soulmates, and him being a witch- describing him as, and Minho quotes- 'a silver-haired grinch'.

He was going to have words with him the next time he saw Seungmin.)

As time went on though, Minho would continue to discover the trouble maknae's wanderlust got him into- and would get him out of said trouble consistently from that point on.

But he wouldn't trade it for the world- just being able to glimpse Jeongin's brave, adventurous spirit was a priceless treasure to him.

He hopped off the roof of the florist's shop into the alley next to it and shifted back, stretching leisurely and strolling out, now nearing his destination. And thus, he carried on, past the snoozing storefronts and the bustling ones.

The perks of living in a neighborhood where most of the shop owners were rather old-fashioned meant that they'd been up for far longer than Minho had. He greeted the ones who recognized him as he made his way to the baker's shop - it happened to be the same one he first met Felix at.

Minho smiled at the memory.

[FELIX ] == someone to protect, someone who soothed his rough edges

He met Felix at that bakery on a day that seemed hell-bent on freezing his face off. It was the smack middle of winter, with snow piling up everywhere he went. It was starting to fall again too, settling gently on Minho's head as he walked into town. He'd escaped before someone had gotten to him with a beanie, having been roped into running an errand for Yoongi. Apparently, he was trying to get Jin to cook him something he'd been craving - and he'd agreed but getting the ingredients was something no one wanted to do.

So the responsibility fell to Minho. Normally he'd kick up a fuss at being woken up so early and being told to walk to town instead of just teleporting- (he was in his rebellious phase, according to Namjoon, which had earned the older a dirty glare from a half-awake Minho) - but this morning felt different.

He had initially jumped at the chance to go out, thinking that he could drop by Jisung's or Seungmin's places - only to realize that they were probably studying halfway to their street. He sighed, changing course to go to Jeongin's house instead- but the little rascal was already out somewhere and hadn't even told his mom where he went.

(If he didn't show up in a couple of hours Minho would go look for Jeongin- the kid's wanderlust was strong but his navigation was not.)

Finally, he trudged towards the convenience store at the edge of town that was furthest from the forest. He tended to favor that one because there was a bakery next to it with the cookies that Jungkook adored- not that Minho was going to bring some back for him, that wasn't happening at all, nope.

When he got there, the convenience store wasn't open yet- though there were people inside, setting up for the day. He sighed and dropped into one of the plastic chairs outside. The day could not get more inconvenient.

(Oh the irony).

Glancing around idly, he noticed a kid a few years younger than him trying to lift a huge bag of flour into the bakery from the delivery truck. Minho laughed a little at his determined expression and the way he ignored the concerned bakery employee next to him, who was trying to get him to hand the flour over. His chirpy voice carried over from where he was struggling with the sack.

"It's okay dude, I can unload this one! Plus I'm pretty sure I heard your timer go off for the bread rolls a few minutes ago-"

The employee vanished in the blink of an eye, and the kid carried on with a slight smirk- an expression that was quite a contrast to the innocent doe-eyed look he had on earlier when he was trying to convince the guy. Minho liked him instantly.

Minho continued to watch as the kid carried the sack of flour inside and came back out for a different sack, one that looked even heavier in his skinny arms. Minho had half a mind to go over and nag the kid himself- or at least help him inside at this point when the boy slipped on the ice.

Alarmed and forgetting all of his hyungs' recent warnings about using magic too openly- Minho sprung an arm out and cast a spell to make everything shoot three feet into the air, including the very startled freckled kid. He squeaked like a rubber duck when Minho came closer and slowly lowered him to the ground, plopping him down on a pile of snow and floating the sack over to the bakery's back entrance. Minho stifled a laugh at the sound and shushed him- he'd be in trouble if the bakery employee came back now.

Minho hovered over him with his hands on his hips, scanning him for any signs of injury. The kid looked thoroughly stunned, hands still clasped over his mouth from when Minho had shushed him. But there was no fear in his eyes- just shock, mingling with a child-like wonder. It was thoroughly endearing, Minho felt like he was looking at a small kitten and not a person for a second. Shaking his head to get rid of the fuzzy feelings overtaking his chest, he took one last glimpse at the kid. Determining that he was neither scared nor hurt- Minho turned to the delivery truck and emptied it in under a minute, before turning back to the kid- who was still sitting in the pile of snow, awestruck- to help him to his feet.

(Using magic of course- so he was showing off a little, but who was going to stop him? Yoongi? Namjoon? Hah.) (He didn't get why he had to hide anyway so screw that- what his hyungs didn't know wouldn't hurt them.)

But also because being near the boy was making Minho feel warm and cozy- as if he'd just had a hot chocolate full of marshmallows, and not like he was standing in the still-falling snow. He recognized the feeling for what it was- but decided to come back later, perhaps when his newest soulmate was a little less frazzled.

"Be more careful next time, kiddo," smirked Minho, starting to walk away. "And not a word to anyone else, yea?"

He ran into the kid again on his way back- Felix, it seemed had been conducting a  one-man stakeout, waiting for Minho to return. He'd given Minho a box of chocolate chip cookies- he also turned out to be the prodigious baker behind them. He'd also excitedly whispered to Minho about how the bakery employee thought that Felix had carried all the stuff in - and was impressed enough to allow him to do it tomorrow too!

Oh no.

Minho smiled and listened to his story- unable to bring himself to wipe that bright grin off his face. It had to be illegal for someone to be this sunshiney in the middle of winter- but Felix had evidently not gotten the memo. Minho silently swore to come back again to make sure Felix didn't break a bone or something. He ran off before Minho could explain the whole soulmate thing to him though, giving him another reason for him to return later.

Despite the fact that meeting new people usually exhausted Minho- and the fact that Felix seemed to be an expert at getting himself into trouble (like a few other whirlwinds he knew very well) - he felt warm all the way back home.

(And maybe, the next time Minho came around, Felix got mobbed by the full force of an excited trio of soulmates whom Minho had informed earlier. And maybe that made the lil sunshine smile even brighter.)

Minho walked out of the bakery, a shopping bag full of baking utensils hanging from his arm. (So maybe he'd gone overboard and bought more than just chocolate chips for Felix- he hadn't had anyone to spend money on for so long, sue him for being excited.) The old lady who owned the bakery had also been delighted to see him after so long, and had sent him back with a few extra pieces of cheesecake- Jisung would be over the moon.

As he passed the convenience store next to it, he spotted a banner announcing a sale on ice cream. The kids would like it, wouldn't they?

That was all the reasoning it took for him to change course and dig around in their freezer for everyone's favorites. All of which, he found easily- except for Changbin's beloved chocolate ice cream bar,  which was nowhere to be found. He settled for a chocolate ice cream cone instead, already anticipating the ruckus it would cause when he got home.

He feared for his eardrums already.

Although Changbin was quite sharp and put together under normal circumstances he'd always been quite loud, Minho thought fondly.

[CHANGBIN] == someone solid, a rock, a partner during rough times- and a partner in crime

1 am found Minho teleporting out of his room, directly in front of that One Wall at the very edge of the old apartment complex that he'd discovered earlier that week. It was covered fully in a beautiful mural, a fully abstract piece composed of streaks of vivid colors, and was right next to the forest- hidden away from prying eyes inside the complex. But it was perfectly visible from inside it, which is why Minho had found it.

He couldn't even explain to himself why he was so drawn to this mural- he just kept finding his way back here whenever he started to wander. He'd even tried to figure out who the artist behind it was, but it was unsigned. 

So, no Seungmin, he was not trying to stake out the location and wait for the artist to show up. It was pretty and Minho was simply there to observe. Was one not allowed to appreciate art without being attacked these days?

It felt like it was important though, and Minho was never one to ignore his gut feelings- especially not one that felt like a string attached to his chest, trying to pull him towards something.

(He had yet to find three of his soulmates, so it was a reasonable assumption to make).

Only, there was one issue. Whenever he came here, he got the distinct feeling of being watched- and under this particular cloudless night, the feeling was intensified to an uncomfortable extent. The back of his neck prickled. He was every inch a cat that was pretending not to pay attention to anything while being on high alert as he continued to stare at the mural.

Something shifted behind him.

Minho's ears twitched. He whirled around with his hands raised, ready to cast a spell to defend himself was there was a threat. Scanning the area, his gaze collided with that of a young man, who was a bit shorter than he was, sharp eyes rounded in shock. Minho glared at him, taking one threatening step forward. Where this would normally make any sane person back off, this guy stumbled, then took a step forward, puffing out his chest in defiance.

Minho flinched, waving a hand in an attempt to defend himself, freezing the boy's legs together.

"YAH WHAT DID YOU JUST DO-" he screamed, arms windmilling as he fell forward on Minho, sending them both crashing down onto the cold concrete.

Minho groaned loudly, pushing the still-struggling boy off him, heart pounding. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't this- warnings about dangerous people who attacked witches for having magic blared loudly in his head. Yoongi was so going to kill him if he got himself hurt for sneaking out in the middle of the night.

The boy didn't look too threatening though, thought Minho, taking a good look at the black-haired one in front of him. He had flopped around until he could support himself on his palms- essentially doing a plank as he glared back at Minho. Strangely, the longer he glared at Minho, the more at ease he felt- it felt like the start of a familiar story.

"I had my suspicions about you- what are you doing sneaking around this place in the middle of the night? And don't even try to deny that you're a witch- what do you want?" he demanded.

Minho groaned loudly. If he was wrong and this guy wasn't one of his increasingly chaotic group of soulmates, he was so dead. But for now, he was going to take his chances. 

Mural forgotten, he side-eyed the boy. "I could ask you the same thing- what on earth are you doing here in the middle of the night? How do you even know about witches? Are you part of a cult?"

The boy spluttered at his nonsense, unable to come up with a coherent response, so he yelled- "YAH!"

Minho preened internally at his reaction. This guy was very fun.

"I'm not a part of a cult??! What the hell, I should be asking you that-"

Minho's ears suddenly twitched, picking up the soft crunching sound of gravel being crushed under heavy boots.

Footsteps. There were footsteps heading in their direction.

Minho suddenly shushed the boy, slapping a hand over his mouth and dragging him into the bushes. His legs were still bound, but he was strong, so it was certainly a challenge.

"Shhhhh! Not another word or I'm turning you into a worm and dumping you at your mom's place, I'm sure you'll be taken care of," he hissed at a speed that Jisung would be jealous of. (Jisung did rap, and was in his highly competitive phase at the moment).

Not waiting to see the boy's reaction, though he had quieted down- Minho fixed his eyes on the wall. 

Was this the moment he'd been waiting for? Was he finally going to see the artist?

To his immense disappointment though, the footsteps belonged to a guard- who had come to see what the source of the ruckus was. Minho grumbled and cast a concealment spell over himself and his newly acquired soulmate, who was definitely the reason why he hadn't found the artist tonight, Minho was sure of it.

He felt like a cat who'd been cheated out of a particularly tasty treat.

(If that ain't a reflection of Minho and Hyunjin's dynamic tho XD)

Once the guard left, he finally turned to the black-haired boy, whose legs were now free again so he was sitting cross-legged, with his arms folded, staring hard at Minho.

"You're so weird."

Minho wanted to cackle. Yes, he hadn't found the artist but he had found one of his soulmates, a very fun to annoy one at that.

"And I think I've figured it out - you're looking for the person who made that mural, aren't you?"

Minho gaped at him, he hadn't expected to be found out so quickly. But his urge to groan was quickly overtaken by his curiosity.

"Yes I was actually- do you know who made it?"

The boy smirked. 

"I'm not telling you anything until you explain yourself- why are you looking for the artist?"

Minho was going to throttle him. The feeling was an indicator of an excellent start to a friendship though. They ended up talking for hours until dawn broke over their sleepy little town and Changbin had to go home if he wanted to sneak back before his mom caught him.

They did manage to exchange contact information though, and Minho explained the basics of what it meant to have soulmates and such. Although Changbin clearly had no prior experience with magic of any kind, he took to it surprisingly well. 

He even offered to show Minho another mural by the same artist, hidden away in another part of town. Coincidentally, he'd been looking for them too - further confirming Minho's suspicion that it might be one of their soulmates.

Sneaking around and meeting up every other night certainly wasn't necessary to find the artist- but they did it until Seungmin caught them doing it. 

Which naturally resulted in a very loud, chaotic welcome party with the six of them at the coven's house in the woods.

To this day, Namjoon shudders to think about it.

Thinking about Namjoon naturally turned into thinking about Chan, as Minho started the short walk back home.

Chan had always been the one Minho found it easiest to turn to, he was always the one reliably there for all of them, no matter what the circumstances. Even though he was human, Minho found that his problems always shrunk at the sight of his hyung.

Even when he couldn't believe in himself, and Chan didn't have a single memory of him- Chan's arms were the safest place on earth for Minho. On his gloomiest days, it was Chan's mere existence that was astronomically comforting to Minho. Chan could refer to himself as a stray or someone with a broken compass all he wanted, he was their North Star, their reliable shred of hope and direction when nothing else made sense.

[CHAN] == A lighthouse, bringing Minho a sliver of light on the darkest of his nights

Minho's head buzzed with static, a radio set to a frequency that only grated at his nerves. It roared at him, thoughts clanging about noisily inside his skull, rearing up in a cacophonous orchestra of anxiety. That was the effect the conversation with Namjoon earlier had brought.

He was sure that the elder had meant no harm- and was probably trying to explain it to him gently, but it had set him off badly.

Hobi was leaving for a month to pursue his love for dance, on a different continent, of all places- for a whole month. His Hobi hyung, who was the reason why Minho had learnt the joy of self-expression without uttering a word. Who had taught him everything he'd known about dance when he was younger, taught him how to let his magic and more volatile emotions come together in harmony. Who'd continued to be his brightest inspiration for it to this day.

Minho had been sure he'd always go with his hyung wherever he went for dance- they'd come to love it together after all - but apparently, this time he wasn't invited.

He was thrilled for his hyung of course, but it was the feeling of being left behind and the feeling of Hobi's absence that got to him.

The thought of not having him around left him free-falling from a trapeze- completely missing the swing that was supposed to take him back to safety. And the safety net was missing too, so he was frozen in that moment between exhilaration and sheer terror, unable to fall or fly. Hobi's absence had thrown him into a buzzing turmoil so intense, that he could scarcely move enough to breathe.

He'd often heard that 'life is motion'- and had applied it, breathing life into his dance, imbuing it with his every emotion that the world forced him to repress. Every movement, precise and powerful, had been a way of breathing for him.

So what did this frozen feeling make him?

Left for dead, at least that's what it felt like.

To escape such a fate, the only option was to move. Minho didn't care where he was going, or what time it was, he just dashed out of the house.

The cool night air greeted him when he ran out. It was nice for being the middle of May- normally, the air would've started to get musty by now. The streetlights had been turned on, but the little light pollution the village created was nowhere near enough to block out the stars. Or to block out the mind-numbing void that they existed in.

He sighed, trying to exhale all his burdens, but they clung to his lungs, like particles of poisonous smog. He shook his head, cheeks burning in embarrassment at the events of the evening, now that he was away from the argument physically.

(So maybe he'd yelled a little- he'd definitely get a talking-to later for that, but it was a problem for Future Minho).

It was a nice night to be upset though, he thought. 

The clouds swirled overhead, draping the moon in a haze of pale gold- much more soothing than its daytime counterpart. The clouds seemed to hold onto the moon in its lonely vigil over the sleeping town, as it made sure that the lonely streets weren't left to flounder in the dark. It was a comforting thought, bringing a little bit of air back into his lungs.

But it also brought a pang to his heart- he felt alone, too. He knew he had already found a few of his soulmates- but their bright presence got him used to the light, so the night felt all that much darker. The thought of reaching out to them now felt mortifying at that moment though, so he swallowed the static raging inside and kept walking.

He'd wandered far out at this point, past the winding streets that held the dozing shops, reaching the more dense residential areas. The buildings breathed quietly there too, loath to disturb the stillness of the night, the inkiness of the darkened windows.

Well, all except one window, it seemed.

Minho stopped under it and peered up, curiosity temporarily beating out turmoil.

A boy sat there, next to the open window with his desk lamp on- spilling light onto the street below.

The buzzing in Minho's head seemed to fade to the background- as if he was only overhearing the radio from the sound of someone's headphones now. The station switched from that awful, howling to whatever the boy was playing on his speakers on a low volume. It was a welcome guest, the music thrummed lowly in the background while the sounds of the village's nocturnal wildlife took center stage.

He didn't know how long he stood there and stared, drinking in the stranger's presence- a little mesmerized, a little ecstatic, because he knew, instinctively, who he'd found.

His lips quirked into a slight smirk in greeting when he met the boy's eyes- that widened in surprise at the sight of him, making him startle violently and fall off his chair.

The longer he'd stood there, the shallower that deep well of darkness that was threatening him became. It was suddenly obvious what the way out was- the boy's appearance had cast a spell that even Minho couldn't pull off, and pulled him out of his own head in one fell swoop. Like the moon shining through the inkiness of the night sky, a small speck of light makes the darkness seem mesmerizing instead of terrifying.

Bad mood forgotten, Minho tamped down the urge to laugh at what a dork his moon was, as he turned to make his way back home.

(Later, after Minho had gone back and made up with his hyungs, he got put on the late shift at the shop to make amends.

It didn't help with his cloud of gloom, which was still persisting, but a bit lighter now. Especially with the lack of one hyung who'd been the cause of this mess-- who had only laughed and ruffled Minho's hair at the story about his distress. Minho had glared when Hobi had hugged him goodbye, but it was a bit of sunshine he'd sorely needed.

A week or so later, when his mood had started to darken again, the curly-haired boy had dropped by his shop, his mere presence dispelling Minho's gloom.

And he was dragged in by no other than his little fox-eyed maknae, who looked very proud at having located Chan.

"You!" Chan blurted out. "I thought I was finally having visual hallucinations, you scared the crap of me the other night! What the heck man!?"

Minho took one look at his shell-shocked expression and burst out laughing, leaving Chan spluttering in confusion, before giving in to the humor in the situation and breaking into a laugh himself.)

And if Chan had been his moon, and a guide for the rest of the gremlins, Hyunjin was a kindred spirit. Minho had never felt the urge to protect as strongly as he did when he'd met Hyunjin. As if any pain the boy felt belonged to Minho as well. He was slow to open up, slow to say what he was thinking, and often at a loss for words because what he was feeling was so vivid, there were no words capable of getting his point across.

So like Minho, he had turned to art and dance. For him the two were a means to exist, without them, Hyunjin would feel as lost as Minho would without his magic or dance.

It was this passion that they shared, that had helped Hyunjin out of his shell when he'd come to Minho's brand new house- which had not yet been a home, not without Hyunjin.

[HYUNJIN] == a burning passion for life- colors on faded sceneries

Hyunjin kept painting sceneries. He hadn't left his room except to eat for three whole days.

He was quieter than Minho's other soulmates- preferring to sit quietly and draw instead of engaging in whatever chaos the others were conducting.

It had only been a week and a half since he'd moved in, and he'd fit in instantly, just like the others. Only, he was a bit more private, a bit slower to open up. It might've had something to do with the fact that Minho had met the others when they were much younger, so they'd had no trouble instantly becoming friends. Hyunjin was 15 but had readily agreed to move in with Minho the second he was given the chance.

Minho had found someone trying to break into his apartment and had promptly rushed to his aid. He hadn't even known that someone was living in that desolate corner of town- he'd been looking for Jeongin (again) and had felt a pull toward the old apartment complex at the edge of the village. He'd barely crossed the threshold, intending to go search on the roof when he'd heard the commotion. He'd cursed the man- and run out, taking Hyunjin with him with a hastily packed bag. Hyunjin hadn't revealed the identity of the man, and Minho hadn't pushed.

He'd just brought Hyunjin home and tried to make him feel as welcome as he possibly could. Without revealing that he'd been looking for him for months, and was already thoroughly enamored by his art.

Minho was a Pro, thank you very much.

(A Pro Tsundere, that is).

Which had led to the current scenario- with Hyunjin obsessively reading art books and painting. (Both of which were provided by Minho, who had been hoarding them for this particular occasion).

It wasn't a problem at first, not until Minho had given in and cast a spell on his paint box. Not that it was a particularly powerful enchantment, nothing like the one that Hyunjin had initially dug up and brought to Minho, his eyes gleaming with wonder.

That had been a curse of the darkest magic, that trapped people inside objects- and yes that included paintings or murals. Only to Hyunjin, that sounded like a dream- to be transported into the honey-glazed warmth of a painting made by an artist he admired and to actually experience it. Or to lose himself among the wealth of hues and textures and tones- and stories that paintings brought to life. He wanted to experience it with his whole being, (hence his aptitude towards dance,) and going inside a painting was the closest interaction he could have with an artist's work-short of melting himself physically into one.

Minho had taken one look at the book and then at Hyunjin's hopeful face and realized that he would do anything to keep that look of wonder that Hyunjin had for magic on his face, safe.

His hands didn't get the memo from his gooey insides though - he'd smacked the book out of Hyunjin's hands and gave him a thorough warning about the dangers of messing around with dark magic and went on his way.

Only, Hyunjin wasn't so easily deterred, he kept following Minho around, randomly bringing up his favorite art pieces and explaining them to Minho, and leading the conversation right back to the spell book.

"...Like don't you think it'd be convenient, hyung? Think of all the cats you could pet! And you wouldn't even have to go anywhere!"

"I have a better idea to cure your wanderlust Jinnie- why don't I put you in a cardboard box and mail you back to where your ferret ancestors came from? Maybe I'll send Jeonginnie with you, it'll do you both a load of good."

Hyunjin shuddered- he wasn't sure where ferrets originally came from but something in Minho's tone made him feel like he didn't want to find out. He'd have to find another way to get him to agree.

And so, Minho found himself plagued by his gangly menace of a soulmate- he was unexpectedly tenacious once he'd set his mind to something. After a few weeks of Hyunjin pestering him and Minho responding with every creatively worded threat he could come up with- while also spending every spare moment trying to find a replacement for the spell Hyunjin wanted that would act without corrupting his soul or cursing his bloodline or something- Minho finally found a solution.

He hoped it was a solution, at least.

He'd called Hyunjin to his study one day, which looked like a hurricane had swept through it, leaving an explosion of chalk and crystals and random potion ingredients strewn everywhere. And amidst the scattered ink splattered pages, stood the man of the hour himself- Minho, with a mad gleam in his eyes, silver hair sticking out vertically from his skull in some places.

Hyunjin wanted to bolt out of there immediately.

Yes, he'd known Minho for a while now, and he had moved his stuff into his room more and more since the day he'd found out that his soulmates were living in the woods- and he wasn't scared of his Minho hyung, not at all- but that look in his eye? Hyunjin would prefer to live, thank you- no death, natural or otherwise was on his schedule at the moment.

The unexpected summons to the study where no one usually went but Minho, paired with how much Hyunjin had been annoying the witch lately- it was a completely plausible fear to have, okay??

"Hyunjin-ah, come inside," said Minho, his voice loud and gleeful. Yep, Hyunjin wasn't walking away from this intact- he screwed his eyes shut tight- he should definitely scream for Chan-

The trapdoor snapped shut behind him, and Hyunjin stumbled forward, shaky legs giving in under him. His knees hit the floor as he sat, curling into himself. The carpet's corner came up and petted his ankle, making him jump a bit, but he didn't look up.

What if Minho cursed him? Like he'd cursed that guy-??

He squeezed his shut even tighter.

While Minho felt a bit lost, and a little bit...hurt? At the way that Hyunjin was cowering away from him.

Crap.

He'd messed up again, hadn't he? He'd just been so excited to show Hyunjin the alternative he'd found to the curse he'd naively wanted to experience, and Minho, in good conscience, could never cast on him. But he'd scared him somehow.

"Hyunjinnie?" he asked, gentler. "Are you alright?"

Hyunjin let out a muffled noise of affirmation. He didn't look up.

Minho frowned, shuffling over to him and crouched down next to him, reaching a hand up- and then pausing. "Are you okay with touch?"

A nod.

Minho petted his hair a bit, just until Hyunjin seemed to unfurl a bit. He peeked up cautiously from where he was hiding his face behind his knees.

He observed Minho carefully, worried eyes tracing over his features. And as he did, a sense of warmth settled into his bones.

Minho seemed genuinely concerned at his reaction- nothing like the intimidating witch he'd met earlier, nothing like someone who would hurt him. Hyunjin mentally shook himself for his reaction. He was safe now, and Minho was his soulmate for crying out loud, he'd never hurt Hyunjin. His panicked braincell didn't get the memo earlier though apparently.

"I'm alright hyung- just freaked out for a second there," he said with a tiny smile.

Minho only frowned harder.

"Are you sure? Is there something that made you uncomfortable?" he prodded, catching Hyunjin's nervous gaze. "Don't be scared to voice it out Hyunjin-ah, especially if it's something hyung can fix for you, okay? You can tell me anything, you'll always belong here just as much as any of us do- so let me know if there's anything you need from us, okay?"

Hyunjin nodded, shoulders finally relaxing. Something that had been setting him on edge finally settled down- Minho wasn't going to suddenly send him away, he wasn't going back to living on his own, rotting away in a dusty old apartment. Even if he annoyed Minho to the brink of explosion, he wouldn't hurt Hyunjin, and he'd never turn him out of the house either.

Because Minho said he belonged here, just like everyone else- like his soulmates.

What a wild concept.

What a fantastic dream to be living.

It wasn't the paintbox or the spell that he'd actually wanted, after all. Maybe he'd just wanted to see just how true Minho's words were - and here was the solid proof of sincerity.

Hyunjin lunged forward suddenly, grabbing Minho around the middle and pulling him into a tight hug. The witch made a slight oomph noise but didn't complain, he just brought up his arms to curl around Hyunjin, grumbling about how he'd never admit that this moment happened in front of the others, all the while gently caressing his back.

That went on until Hyunjin finally got curious about what Minho had called him in for, receiving a mischievous grin in return.

Minho couldn't bring him into the paintings but he could make the landscapes he painted sound real, and smell real. The ocean views Hyunjin painted would bring in a gentle sea breeze from wherever the painting hung, so they became quite popular within the household. Hyunjin was bombarded with requests for paintings, and he'd never been more delighted to paint before.

So yes, his constant painting was a problem, but it wasn't really a problem- his soulmates were all too willing to look out for him while he painted his heart out. It was a dream that surpassed anything his imagination could ever cook up.

By the time Minho finished walking down memory lane, he'd reached his doorstep again.

The door swung open to reveal an excited Jisung, who instantly pulled him into the warmth of his house, shoes, leaves in his hair and all.

(Apparently, he'd been standing at his own doorstep for longer than he'd initially thought- the tree had decided to shed on him. He wasn't sure if it wasn't the House's way of welcoming him yet, but he was about to find out).

He was unceremoniously pushed into the kitchen, where he was greeted with the sight of all of his soulmates in varying degrees of sleepiness, trying to get breakfast. They were piled around the table, with a zombified Chan cooking something while Seungmin, the early bird, read a recipe from his phone to guide him.

But what caught his eye the most were the mugs on the table- freshly washed and laid out for everyone to fill with their beverage of choice. A variety of sweet-smelling streams of vapor hung about the area, giving the kitchen a hazy quality in the rays of morning light that had crept past the blinds and into the kitchen. The scene was straight out of a fantasy, and Minho tried to take in every detail, committing it to memory.

He was snapped out of his reverie by Jeongin, who snatched the plastic bag of ice cream out of his hands.

"You brought ice cream?! I knew you were my favorite hyung, let's go eat these while the rest of these losers burn more toast," he exclaimed, (ignoring Chan's overly dramatic cry of protest), grabbing Minho with the hand that wasn't holding the ice cream and heading towards the living room.

Before he could move much though, his ears were attacked by Changbin's yell of betrayal and was near-instantly intercepted by a wailing Hyunjin. Jeongin dolphin screeched as he went down with his limpet of a soulmate, and kept in that position by Felix, who had decided to join the pile for morning cuddles. (It wasn't the most comfortable position, but no one had the heart to deny their sunshine anything).

Meanwhile, Jisung took the moment to steal all the ice cream from Jeongin, returning to Seungmin and gleefully showing him the spoils. Said Seungmin rolled his eyes, but high-fived Jisung anyway, eyes glinting evilly.

(Neither of them seemed to realize that most of the ice cream had gone quite mushy at that point from the heat of the stove- but no one really seemed to care either).

As for Minho, the ice cream didn't matter to him at all, their reaction was the best thing he'd seen all day. They'd all been working through the whole losing and getting their memories back thing slowly, which had led to some tense moments- but their moving back had also brought back enough joy to Minho's life that it didn't really matter.

He couldn't do magic anymore, but that didn't mean that it was all gone- and witnessing this whole scenario was like drinking bottled sunshine from a cloudy day for him. That is to say, it was instant euphoria.