Chapter Text
“Hongjoong… You know, that we are doing this for your own good, right? You’ll be a lot safer here than if you were staying with us…”
“Ah, and that’s why you are breaking off contact with me? No meetings, no phone calls? Yeah, right, awesome, you can leave already.” Hongjoong turned his back away from his parents. “Hurry up, or else someone is gonna see you with me. This would bring you even more problems.”
After a moment of hesitation, the sound of steps moving away emerged. Hongjoong could barely conceal his laughter. He got used to this kind of treatment from his family a long time ago. Ever since last year, when his powers first appeared, his relatives would assure him that they still ‘loved’ him, but their faces showed only fear and disgust. It’s not like Hongjoong could blame them for that. After all, they were just a normal family that didn’t want to go to jail just because their child suddenly became a dangerous freak.
But it wasn’t so bad with Hongjoong! His powers didn’t affect his appearance in any way, so it wasn’t too difficult to hide. That is, until one event. Two weeks ago, he accidentally attacked one guy who wanted to steal his laptop. Hongjoong really didn’t mean to drain air out of his lungs! (But, he had to admit that when it happened, he felt really satisfied). It lasted only for a moment and everybody could mistake it for a sudden asthma attack or lung cancer or something, but his parents somehow found out. And that’s how his studies and pretending to be normal ended.
His parents have always told him that he could live with them as long as he didn’t use his powers. Well, he couldn’t turn back time to prevent the accident, and that’s why he was now standing in a suspicious district of the city (The news always discouraged visiting this place, because it was full of freaks. Almost like Praga district in Warsaw), outside an old detached house which once belonged to his great grandmother. It didn’t look too appealing but at least it was now his. He was lucky that his parents brought him here and gave him some money instead of throwing him out on the street.
The house wasn’t in the best shape but was a lot bigger than he expected. There had to be at least four rooms, two bathrooms and a huge kitchen connected to a living room. He nodded his head in approval.
If only there was less dust… Wait. Now that he didn’t have to hide, he could experiment with his powers. He focused on the air around him. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. Five seconds later, he sighed in frustration. Last time it seemed easier. Maybe because he was angrier back then. He squinted and looked at a particularly large pile of dust lying on the table. He cursed it in his mind and held his hand out. He felt something strange inside his body and for a moment he thought that he was going to succeed, that his enemy would be defeated and… he sneezed loudly. He whined and buried his face in his hands.
“Next time I’m gonna defeat you.” He looked at the pile of dust with hatred.
Hongjoong’s power wasn’t controlling the air. Which, of course, made no sense to him. What other skill could he have? He could literally suffocate somebody with his willpower. Oh, and a few days ago he even managed to create stairs made of air to reach the highest shelf in his room. (Which he didn’t really need, cause he was tall enough! He was just training his powers.) But there was one event that made his brain take a screenshot.
One rainy day, when he was coming home from work (which he took, because he didn’t want to use his parents money), the door wouldn’t open. Even though he unlocked them with a key, they wouldn’t budge. He kicked them with all his strength, but nothing happened. It was cold, and earlier, not too pleasant conversations with customers in the shop he worked in, made everything piss him off even more. Frustrated, he leaned on the door.
Everything in this house seemed to hate him. He started to seriously wonder if the ghost of his great grandmother hated him. He had never met this woman in person, but surely she wasn’t too happy that an abnormal child lived in her mini mansion. Undoubtedly this was her way of showing him that he wasn’t welcomed.
Hongjoong bumped his head against the door. Every minute in those rain soaked clothes brought him closer to catching a cold. He had to somehow get inside. He began to annalise his options. Every window was closed. He could break one, but that would come at a cost of replacing it later which would bring him even more problems. If only he could make the door open somehow, or make himself pass through them as if they were just air…
He screamed in shock, when he stopped feeling the solid wood before him. He lost his balance and fell onto the floor… inside his house. He turned quickly. The door stood firmly in the right place, with no sign of any damage. His jaw dropped. He has passed through them. He looked at his hands. He accidentally made the door change its density.
“So cool!” He couldn’t stop the smile and warm feeling that appeared in his chest. Using his magical abilities gave him more happiness than he expected. He regretted hiding them for such a long time.
The door was definitely not air, so Hongjoong decided that he would classify his power as controlling the space around him from now on.
The next few weeks looked very similar. Hongjoong went to work, ignored the dust on the furniture and trained his power by walking on air and trying to pass through walls. (He didn’t want to admit how many times he fell down and how many bruises he acquired during failed attempts). In general, he was doing better and better. But the real test of his abilities came on random friday.
After finishing his work, he planned to go back home and enjoy his weekend, but, obviously, it’s never this easy. He heard a scream for help and a sound of a gunshot. People around him ignored both of those things. After all murders were nothing strange in this part of the city. Hongjoong would probably be better off doing the same but he had a strange feeling and couldn’t ignore the sounds.
In a dark alley laid a dead body. Two people were fighting. The main attacker was a short man with a gun. He seemed amused by the situation, even though his bullets were somehow dogged by the other man, who was holding only a sword. After a moment he aimed at the second man’s head.
Hongjoong, who had just run into the alley, looked at the situation in horror. If he did nothing, he would witness a murder. He held his hand out in front of himself and prayed that his powers would work. The gun went off. The bullet was deflected by an invisible wall of air, positioned a few centimeters before the face of the man.
“What the fuck?!” Said the man with a gun and looked at his weapon as if it was possessed by a spirit.
This moment of carelessness allowed the bearer of the sword to attack. The gun owner screamed in pain, when the blade cut his chest. However, to Hongjoong’s confusion, he still was capable of turning back and running away as if he wasn’t almost lethally injured. Hongjoong shook his head and only then he realized he was being watched by the other man.
Now that he could get a better look at him, Hongjoong noticed that the man was slightly taller than him. He had long, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. He wore a white shirt, black pants and something that looked like a corset, but Hongjoong wasn’t too sure. The man held a long sword with a silver sigil. Hongjoong has never seen a person who looked like an angel and a demon at the same time before.
“You saved my life. I am indebted to you.” He said while his eyes shone like real stars.
Hongjoong, not knowing what to say, only nodded. His eyes fell involuntarily on the body lying on the ground. It had a gunshot wound to the head. Death of this person probably occurred in a split second.
“Did you know this boy?” He finally asked.
“No. I heard a scream for help, but before I was able to do anything, he was already dead”
That was their sad reality. Not every life could be saved.
Seonghwa, because that was the name of that man, turned out not to be a normal person. Just like Hongjoong, he noticed changes in his surroundings a year ago and concluded that he was a witch. Yes, a witch. Hongjoong wasn’t sure what it exactly meant, but Seonghwa was able to cast some spells and manifest other things, or something.
He started seeing Seonghwa more and more. Or, rather, he started to notice him more often in the crowds of people. When they saw each other, they would stop what they were doing and chat.
After a few months of this, Hongjoong allowed himself to think that they had become friends. The presence of another magical being made him feel at peace and, even though he didn’t want to admit it, he was looking forward to every meeting. He blamed his loneliness for such thoughts.
One day he learned that Seonghwa didn’t have a house and lived on the street. It was shocking information, because he didn’t look like a homeless person. His clothes were always in a perfect condition, his hair always ideally styled… It was all probably done thanks to his powers.
Seonghwa, on the other hand, always said that he didn’t use his magic to change his appearance. Hongjoong would only shake his head. He wouldn’t believe in this, because he knew that his own mind wouldn’t create such a perfect image of a human being. There had to be some sort of magic at play. Hongjoong wouldn’t be fooled that easily.
That day he invited Seonghwa to his house. It was late autumn and it was really cold during the nights. He didn’t want his friend to freeze on the streets, while he was warm in his great grandmother house…
“What a mess you have here!” Said Seonghwa right after entering.
Hongjoong’s jaw dropped. The audacity!
“I invite you here out of the goodness of my heart and you say things like these?!” He inhaled outraged.
Seonghwa laughed, and that instantly made Hongjoongs anger vaporize.
“Sorry, it’s just…” Seonghwa thought about his next words. “I think if I had my own home, I would prefer to have everything cleaned up. Untidiness reminds me of the streets.” He shrugged and approached the table. He quietly casted a spell which made all the dust immediately disappear.
Hongjoong stared at Seonghwa and was mesmerized by his actions.
Seonghwa lived with him during the whole winter. Hongjoong didn’t let him go back to the streets, even when Seonghwa told him that his spells wouldn’t let him freeze. After a few minutes of discussion, Seonghwa realized that he wouldn't be able to persuade Hongjoong, so he just gave up and stayed.
Next day, after coming back from work, Hongjoong almost didn’t recognize his house. Everything was clean. There wasn’t even a tiniest sign of the huge piles of dust. Seonghwa was sitting at the table, smiling nervously.
“I was bored and wanted to do something… I hope that you don’t mind.”
“You are awesome.” Hongjoong smiled fondly at him.
Days stopped being boring and repetitive after Hongjoong knew that someone was waiting for him at home. His friendship with Seonghwa was developing. They were watching cheesy movies, arguing which character is the best, talking about their old families and how awful they were. The warm feeling bubbling inside Hongjoongs chest, which used to appear only when he used his powers, was never leaving him, when he thought about his friend.
Few weeks later Hongjoong found Seonghwa sitting on a couch in the living room, holding a giant, crumbling book.
“Hongjoong!” Said Seonghwa and his eyes shone in excitement. “Where did you get this book?”
“I don’t know. It must have belonged to my great grandmother.”
“She must have been a witch! I’ve never seen so many accurately described spells and rituals before.” He turned a few pages and started reading out loud something about herbs.
Hongjoong blinked in surprise. There were more magical beings in his family? His great grandmother was a witch… He immediately felt more like home at this old mansion. Maybe her ghost has never hated him. After all, it was because of that unmoving door that he found out more about his powers. Maybe his great grandmother wanted to help him all along.
Seonghwa immediately started using the knowledge from the book. The following morning he tied together some pieces of plants that looked a bit like mint, with a string. (Hongjoong was sure that none of those things were here yesterday. But he wasn’t sure how Seonghwa got them, not leaving the house at all).
“What are you doing?” Asked Hongjoong, approaching his friend slowly.
“Incense. You told me you sometimes have nightmares, so I’ll try to cast out bad spirits. If there are any, that is.”
It was true that falling asleep has gave Hongjoong some problems, but he always blamed it on his insomnia. He mentioned it to Seonghwa once, but he didn’t expect him to remember. Hongjoong placed a hand on his cheek, feeling unnatural warmth there.
“Why do you squeeze it so hard?” He asked, seeing how Seonghwa was tightly gripping the pieces of mint.
“The basis of any good witch is an incense that is well tied and dense, because if you are unable to chase the spirit away with the smoke, you can always beat the fuck out of them.” He said seriously.
“Fair enough.” Hongjoong laughed.
The spring was approaching, and Hongjoong would usually happily welcome it, but this time he felt differently. It was getting warmer and warmer and his excuse to keep Seonghwa living with him was no longer appealing to the situation, but… Hongjoong wanted Seonghwa to stay.
The thing was, he didn’t know how to tell him. It’s not like Seonghwa would break contact with him, if he said something wrong, but still, Hongjoong was nervous thinking about their future conversation. Hongjoong didn’t know what was happening to him. He’s never been a shy person!
Seonghwa was the one who started that conversation. He said that he’ll have to move out soon, not to disturb Hongjoong any further. Hongjoongs heart stopped when he heard that. He’s been planning what to say in this situation, but right now there was nothing inside his head. He gulped loudly.
“I want you to stay.” He said honestly, not thinking too much and letting his words freely escape his mouth. “You’re the only friend I’ve got and your presence makes me really happy. I…can’t imagine going back from work to an empty house again.”
Seonghwa hugged him. Hongjoong, not knowing what to do, embraced him hesitantly. He usually didn’t like to be hugged, especially by his family, but this situation was different. Seonghwa was an exception. Hongjoong could let him do anything. Hwa could even beat him up, and he would thank him for that.
“I’d really like to stay.” Said Seonghwa. “If I really am allowed…”
Hongjoong hugged him even tighter. Seonghwa will stay with him. Amidst this cruel world, they will never be alone again.