Archive of Our Own ^omega

“Thanks for picking me up.” Jisung grunted as he hauled his suitcase into the car, Changbin slamming the trunk shut after.

“No problem,” he grinned, gesturing for Jisung to get in the car. “We’re glad to have you over anytime!”

Distantly, a whistle sounded, a train departing from the platform and disappearing into the horizon as Changbin started up the car and turned on the radio. They chatted idly, Jisung tapping his fingers to the beat as he watched his surroundings turn into a blur.

Summer break was the only time Jisung got a break from schoolwork, though not really — even during his breaks, he’d be writing lyrics, sketching out melodies, thinking of beats… his brain was probably just on production mode, 24/7. 

That was how he had met Chan and Changbin in the first place. He had been sitting hunched over one of the desktops in the music building, tinkering with a beat into the late hours of the night when a pair of upperclassmen had approached him, expressing interest in his work.

The three of them bonded quickly, Jisung’s seemingly limitless ideas matching well with Chan and Changbin’s passion and intensity. Before long, the three of them formed a group, casually posting their music online for the world to hear. Even after the older two graduated, the three of them kept in touch, frequently texting or calling each other.

When Chan had casually brought up the idea of Jisung visiting them during his summer break, Jisung accepted enthusiastically, excited to see where the two of them had decided to settle down.

Chan had briefly told him about how the town they now lived in was somewhat different from the city life Jisung was used to, though he promised that Jisung would love it there. Jisung could see what he meant as Changbin drove through the town. It was busy, but not in the same way that the city was bustling with cars and flashing lights. Instead, the streets were mostly filled with people, natural colors from flowers and paints filling his vision.

“You guys live here?” Jisung gaped, watching a tan-colored stray fox run down the street, its tail waving in the air.

“Yep,” Changbin popped the ‘p’, letting out a huff of amusement. “Pretty nice, don’t you think?”

“Nice? This place looks amazing!” Jisung said in disbelief. “It looks like something straight out of a fairytale.”

“It feels like one too,” Changbin grinned. “Let’s put your stuff down first, then you can go off and explore. I can feel your excitement from over here.”

Jisung suddenly realized that he had been bouncing his legs, and he immediately stopped, shoving his hands under his thighs. “Sorry.”

“No worries,” Changbin waved him off. “Nothing wrong with being curious.”

Jisung shot him a grateful smile, then looked back outside, admiring the scenery. Before long, the car slowed to a stop in front of a quaint two-story house, tendrils of ivy climbing up one of the walls. “We’re here.”

As Jisung got off, about to turn around to fetch his luggage, the front door flung open, a pair of arms wrapping around him. “Jisung-ah!” 

“Chan-hyung!” Jisung hugged him back tightly, Chan leaning back just slightly to lift him off the ground for a moment. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you in person.”

“Finally, a proper 3RACHA reunion after three years,” Changbin commented from the side before Chan reached out, dragging Changbin into the hug. “How fitting.”

“Come on, kids,” Chan rocked them back and forth for a moment before letting them go. “Let’s go inside.”

Chan walked over to the car, taking Jisung’s luggage and rolling it in before Jisung even had a chance to move. “How was the trip here, Jisung?” Chan asked, Jisung following behind him like a lost puppy. “Everything went okay?”

“Mhm,” Jisung slipped his shoes off as he stepped into the house, bending down to arrange them properly next to the door. 

“Good, good.” Chan pushed his luggage next to the stairs before collapsing the handle. “How about we eat first, then you can go unpack? I made some japchae earlier; it should still be warm.”

“Okay,” Jisung agreed easily, sliding his backpack and headphones off and setting them atop his suitcase. 

“Dining room’s over there,” Changbin used his chin to point in a direction. “I’ll go get us bowls and chopsticks, you can go sit down first.”

“Wow, what is this, meal service?” Jisung joked, looking around the house as he made his way over. “I’ll give you guys 5 stars.”

“You’re a guest, of course we’re going to treat you well,” Chan called out from the kitchen. 

“Yeah,” Changbin set down a bowl and a pair of chopsticks in front of Jisung before moving onto the next chair. “If we don’t treat you well, how will we convince you to move here after you graduate?”

“You guys want me to move here?” Jisung’s eyes widened. 

“Well,” Changbin rubbed the back of his neck, feeling as if he had been a little too hasty. “That’s if you want to. If you want to stay in the city, that’s fine too! It would just be nice for all of us to be together again.”

“Of course I want to!” Jisung gasped in fake offense. “Trying to compose together over video call is such a nightmare.”

“Tell me about it,” Chan chuckled as he brought over a plate of japchae, setting it down on the table. “Careful, I warmed it up a bit, so it’s a little hot.” 

As the three of them talked over dinner, the sun outside started to dip beyond the horizon, coloring the dining room in warm hues. Jisung offered to wash the dishes, humming a random melody as he felt the warm water run over his fingers. 

“Changbin and I have work tomorrow,” Chan called out after bringing Jisung’s belongings upstairs. Though the three of them made their own music together, Chan and Changbin had also taken on a job of producing music for other artists. “You can go out and explore on your own if you want.”

“Sounds good,” Jisung replied as he turned off the faucet, drying his hands on a random towel. “Anything I should know or be careful of?”

Living in the city had made Jisung wary of exploring new places on his own. When he was younger, his mother had always warned him to be cautious of strangers, especially in places he wasn’t familiar with.

“Nah,” Chan ushered Jisung upstairs, turning off the kitchen lights. “It’s very safe here and everyone’s pretty friendly. If you’re really worried, you can call me or Changbinnie.”

“Mmkay.” Jisung flopped down onto his bed after Chan led him to his room, too lazy to unpack his stuff at the moment.

“Go sleep early, you’ve had a long day.”

“Okay, dad,” Jisung turned over, his limbs splayed out on the bed.

Chan just huffed in amusement, shaking his head with a fond smile. “Goodnight, Jisung-ah.”

“Goodnight!” Jisung called after him, turning his head so that he could rest on the pillow. 

After a few minutes of lazing around, he pushed himself off of the bed so that he could brush his teeth and get ready for the night. When he came back and crawled under the blankets, he fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit his pillow.

-

The next morning, Jisung woke to the sound of birds chirping outside. He had half a mind to open his window and chuck a rock at the trees so they’d shut up, but he was too lazy to get up at that moment.

It was only around an hour later that he managed to push himself out of bed, kicking the blankets aside and rolling off of the mattress. He groaned, dragging himself to the bathroom to wash up. 

By the time he came downstairs, he had noticed that both Chan and Changbin had left, a sticky note next to a plate of steamed buns saying that they’d be back in the evening. Jisung silently sat down at the empty dining table, dragging the plate closer to himself and taking a bite.

After eating, he returned upstairs to change into clothes he deemed “outside-worthy”, which basically meant a comfortable pair of pants and an oversized hoodie. His plan was to wander around the town a bit, then maybe find somewhere to focus on writing lyrics or composing. There was no way he wouldn’t be able to find inspiration in such a nice place, and he stuffed his bag with his necessities before leaving the house.

Not directly stepping into car-filled traffic was very nice, Jisung decided approximately two seconds after locking the door. Instead of the desolate pavement, he was able to walk alongside stretches of grass and flowers, the sight almost reminiscent of the Ghibli movies he’d sometimes watch in his free time.

Jisung turned on his headphones and shuffled a casual playlist as he wandered down a few blocks, arriving at what seemed like the heart of the town. There were a number of other people as well, some chatting with friends, others walking their dogs or just hanging out. Time seemed to flow slower here, compared to the city where people dressed in prim business suits would always be rushing down the streets, checking their watches or yelling angrily at their phones.

Some of the places that Jisung mentally noted to visit later included the little bakery that had ducks drawn on the chalkboard menu, the library that looked like it could double as an art studio, and the bar that Chan had mentioned the night before.

His footsteps slowed to a stop as he approached an open patch of grass, just off of the road that had led him there. The grass swayed in the breeze, bright under the sunlight. A few yellow and white flowers dotted the sea of green, and Jisung found himself veering off of the path to sit on the grass.

It seemed like he had reached a place that not a lot of people would pass by, so he settled down, pulling out his notebook from his bag so that he could gather his thoughts. He drummed his pencil on the paper, tapping out a rhythm. 

Like always, he ended up losing track of time, pages of lined paper scribbled with lyrics, rhythms, and melodies. However, unlike always, the warm sun had made him extremely sleepy, and he had ended up dozing off, his pencil rolling onto the grass as his grip on it loosened.

When he woke up, his headphones had slid off somewhat, music still playing faintly from where they rested around his neck. But the first thing he noticed wasn’t that. There was a black cat pawing curiously at his pencil, its eyes flicking up curiously at him when Jisung shifted.

“... Hey.” Jisung said the first thing that came to mind, his voice slightly hoarse from sleep. It was only after the cat blinked back at him that he realized he had just greeted the cat like it was a person.

Most cats that Jisung came across would run away as soon as he moved, but this one just flicked its ear as Jisung reached out, his fingers coming into contact with smooth fur. “Oh, aren’t you so cute…” Jisung cooed, gently petting its head.

“Are you a stray?” He asked, not really expecting a response as he reached further down to touch its neck, looking for a collar.

His fingers brushed against something stiff, but the second they did, the cat leapt back, tail straight up in the air. Jisung immediately withdrew his hand, eyes widening. “Wah, sorry… don’t run away, I won’t do that again.”

The cat’s tail lashed behind it, and Jisung gave it his best puppy-dog expression as he put his palm face up, setting his hand close to the ground. “Please…? I didn’t mean to scare you.”

He made a “come here” gesture with his fingers, the cat eyeing him warily for a few seconds before stalking forward. It sniffed his fingers, then looked back up at him, as if accepting his apology.

“You’re a strange cat, you know,” Jisung said, scratching its chin, the cat closing its eyes in contentment. “It’s like you can understand what I’m saying.”

The cat meowed in response, and Jisung laughed. “You see? Just like that.”

After giving it a few more scratches, Jisung took his hand back, the cat staring back at him indignantly. “Sorry, no more pets for now,” Jisung said apologetically, fumbling for his pencil that had fallen onto the grass. “I should probably go back before it’s too late.”

It seemed that it was already late afternoon, the sun past the highest point in the sky. Even though he still had some time before Chan and Changbin would return home, he still needed to eat something.

The cat sat down then, wrapping its tail over its paws as it watched Jisung pack away his things. It wasn’t until he brought the strap of his bag over his shoulder that the cat stood up, nudging his thigh with its head.

“What? I can’t take you home with me,” Jisung joked as he got to his feet, patting off his pants. “Wish I could, though.” 

A meow came from below as the cat started to circle him. Jisung smiled, bending down to give it one last pat before carefully stepping over it, walking back to the road. “Maybe I’ll see you around?” 

When he turned around, he saw the cat standing in the same spot that he had been sitting at, its head slightly tilted. Jisung lifted his hand in a little wave, then turned away, heading back to the town center so that he could find his way home.

-

“Yongbok-ah.”

“Hm?” Felix turned from where he had just put a test batch of muffins into the oven, glancing at the black-haired male that was sitting at a table, his upper body splayed over the surface.

“Did someone new move here?”

“Someone new…?” Felix pursed his lips in thought, tilting his head as he thought about it. “No, I don’t think so? I haven’t seen anyone unfamiliar recently. Why?”

“No reason.” The other just sighed, looking away.

“Oh…?” The blond broke into a smile, one that usually spelled trouble. “Has our great Minho-hyung finally taken interest in someone?”

“What? Minho-hyung likes someone?” A pair of fluffy fox ears poked out from around the corner, a third presence making itself known.

“No, I haven’t, I don’t,” Minho refused flatly, though the tips of his ears had already started to turn red. “I just met someone interesting today.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?” Felix grinned in delight, clapping his hands together. “Oh, tell me all about him! What’s his name? What does he look like?”

He thought about the boy that had fallen asleep in the grass, his head hung low as his breathing was steady. Minho had initially approached him out of curiosity, since he hadn’t seen the other before. It wasn’t like their town was big by any means; he knew nearly every resident. Of course, there were always visitors from other towns, coming for him or otherwise. But something was different about that person.

Short, messy hair and wide, innocent eyes made him seem completely harmless. Minho wished that he had approached the other in human form, just so that he could appreciate him a little better. It was quite hard to see normally while he was a cat, everything much larger than normal.

“It’s not the same thing. I don’t know his name. He wore… um, a hoodie? I think? I wasn’t paying attention.” Minho finally responded, using as little words as possible, wishing that they could just move onto some other topic.

Clearly, his two beloved friends thought differently, crowding around him at the table. “You didn’t even get his name? I didn’t know you were that hopeless, hyung!” 

“Aw, it’s okay, maybe next time! What was so important that you didn’t even think to ask him for his name or even pay attention to what he was wearing?”

“I was in cat form,” Minho closed his eyes, already knowing what was going to come next.

A second of silence settled between the three of them before it shattered.

“WHAT?!” 

“Minho-hyung, are you for real?!” 

Jeongin and Felix had slammed their hands on the table, staring at him with wide, shocked eyes. “Oh my god,” Jeongin turned toward Felix, one of his ears flicking. “Minho-hyung’s fallen for someone in cat form.”

“I’m not dreaming, right?” A few strands of hair fell in front of Felix’s face from the sudden movement he made. “You’re being for real?”

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Minho tried to calm them down, but it was already too late. He was just grateful that it was past the cafe’s closing hours, so there wasn’t anyone else in the store.

“Of course it is!” Felix reached further out this time, shaking Minho’s shoulders. “You never let people approach you in cat form! You letting someone even get close to you when you’re like that is nothing short of a miracle.”

“Minho-hyung letting someone get close to him and taking interest in him? What’s next, the sun’s gonna rise from the west?”

“You two are so insufferable,” Minho complained. “I’m never telling you guys anything again.”

“But you are,” Felix sing-songed. “Because you love us.”

“Not after this I don’t.”

“Not even if I give you the muffins I just made?”

Minho let out a long, suffering sigh, and Jeongin just laughed from his side. “Tell us more, hyung! Something was different about him compared to the others that try to catch you in cat form, right?”

“He didn’t go for the key, did he?” Felix suddenly sobered up, frowning slightly. “You know how some people act nice…”

“He didn’t,” Minho shook his head. “Well, at least not on purpose? I think he just wanted to check if I had a collar or something.”

“Okay, okay, that’s good,” Felix let out a breath. “But oh, this is so exciting! I’ve got to see what he’s like!”

A small, fond smile tugged at Minho’s lips as Felix excitedly talked to Jeongin, continuously voicing his excitement to see this mystery person. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he too wished that he could chance upon him sometime soon.

-

Felix tightened his half-ponytail before patting his hands down on his pants, crouching down to stare at the bread that was baking in the oven. The sun had risen an hour or so before, and he had just opened shop, the cafe pretty empty at this time of day. Sunlight filtered in through the large glass windows, casting rays of dust onto the wooden floors.

Minho had visited earlier, helping him with making some of the pastries before heading off to the bar. Even though it was called a “bar”, it was more of a potions shop during the day. It was also the reason that their town had gained popularity in the first place.

Although magic wasn’t uncommon outside of the bigger cities, there were rarely people who were as talented as Minho. His fame had spread beyond the nearby towns, and was the reason that people would travel to visit their little town in the middle of nowhere. 

However, with fame came envy, and there were many that coveted his power. Some tried attacking him directly, while others tried more roundabout ways. Ultimately, Minho had gotten fed up, and directly posted a challenge — anyone who was able to take the key from his cat familiar would be granted a portion of his power. With that power would also come part of Minho’s soul, although that part was not disclosed to the public. He would be bound to them forever, whether he liked it or not.

When Seungmin had raised the idea of using his power as a challenge, Minho had been against it, because what the hell, who said I wanted a soul-bond. But Seungmin had argued that the cat could just be a tactic to throw them off, and that he wouldn’t actually have to make the bond as long as no one caught him. With the pleading of his friends, he ultimately gave in, swearing that he’d never do anything for them again.

You and I both know that’s a lie, hyung. Seungmin said, not even looking up from where he had been writing the notice.

Minho hated that he was right.

Thus, a new wave of visitors had hit their town, magic users and non-magic users alike, hearing of the witch who had both looks and power. Obviously, as Minho was still very free and unfettered, none of them had succeeded. The cat familiar was hard to find and even harder to catch, the black cat seemingly liquid in their hands, slipping away before they had the chance to even realize what had happened.

People complained about how the cat liked to taunt them, always waiting for them to approach before disappearing at the last second, like it had never been there at all. Of course, none of the people in the town said anything, because it was an open secret among them that the cat “familiar” was none other than Minho himself. 

Even if it was common knowledge that Minho was more than proficient with potions and spells, not many knew that one of those spells included shapeshifting. He, as well as the kid he had helped raise, Jeongin, were both witches that had animal forms. The townspeople had never pressed for them to reveal why they never publicly disclosed that fact, and so it was kept as a secret amongst them. 

The bell at the door chimed, Felix snapping out of his thoughts. “Welcome!” He called before looking up, pausing in his step.

The person who had entered was unfamiliar, wearing a large, unzipped jacket over a graphic tee, a pair of black-framed glasses disappearing into his fluffy black hair. He was casting a curious glance around the cafe, giving Felix a small nod as he made his way over to the counter.

“What can I get for you today?” Felix immediately returned to his customer service mode, although he was quite interested in this person in front of him.

“Ah, hold on one second,” the customer glanced over at the clear display case, standing a little straighter when he spotted something. “Can I get an iced americano and a slice of cheesecake?”

“Of course!” Felix beamed. He had just perfected that recipe a few days ago with the help of Minho. “Can I get a name for the order?”

“Jisung,” the customer, Jisung, said as he focused on the little prompt on the screen, paying for his order.

“Well, Jisung, are you new here? I’ve never seen you before,” Felix said casually, taking a cup and writing Jisung’s name neatly on the cup. 

“Ah, yeah,” Jisung gave him a sheepish smile. “I’m just visiting for the summer; I got here a few days ago.”

“That would explain it!” Felix turned to press a shot of espresso into the portafilter, securing it to the machine before turning back to Jisung. “How do you like it here?”

“It’s really nice! Everyone here is very kind.” Jisung fiddled with the hem of his jacket, seemingly a little overwhelmed by Felix’s bright attitude.

“That’s good to hear,” Felix walked over to the display case next, grabbing a plate so that he could put a slice of cheesecake on it. “What brings you here, then? This place isn’t that well-known to people who don’t live nearby.”

Jisung brightened up at the question, and Felix tensed for a moment. Although Jisung seemed pretty innocent at the moment, there were many who had come with the sole goal of pursuing Minho. 

“Actually, my friends Chan-hyung and Changbin-hyung live here!” As Jisung spoke, Felix quietly let out a breath. “They invited me to visit, so I took them up on their offer.”

Felix slid the cheesecake over the counter to him, his smile more natural. “Oh, I see! I hope you’ll enjoy our little town then. If no one’s said it yet, then welcome!”

Jisung laughed at that, politely accepting the plate. “Thank you…” He paused, realizing he hadn’t gotten the other’s name.

“Felix!” He called out as he finished up Jisung’s drink, pouring the espresso shot into a cup of ice before filling it with water and giving it a mix.

“Thank you, Felix.”

“Of course!” Felix gave him a little wave as another customer called him over, the blond tightening his apron before heading over.

Felix mindlessly refilled the customer’s drink before he returned to the counter, glancing at Jisung once more. Jisung hit all the criteria that Minho had mentioned before — granted, it was only one, but still , they hadn’t had any visitors in a while. Felix suppressed a smile as he heard the oven ding, signaling that the bread was ready.

No wonder Minho had been captivated by him, Felix happily wiggled his body as he pulled on his oven mitts. Jisung genuinely seemed like a nice person, and he had come to the town to visit his friends, not because he had heard the rumors. And he had gotten his name before Minho did. He couldn’t wait to boast about it later.

-

The town center was bustling. It was a bright and sunny day, only a few wisps of clouds gathering on the horizon. Jisung curiously looked around, surprised by the amount of people and stalls that were out on the streets.

“It’s Market Day,” Chan explained as the three of them walked down the paved stone path. “It’s when people from other towns come in to trade, buy, or sell things.”

“Like an art fair?” Jisung tilted his head.

“Pretty much, although some people sell food and other things too.” Chan stretched before putting an arm around Changbin. “Do you want us to come with you, or do you want to just meet up later so you can meet up with us?”

“There’s a few spots that we hit up regularly, so we’ll be going to those first,” Changbin said, nodding toward one of the stalls. “Although it might be better for you to explore on your own since you’ve never been here.”

“Oh,” Jisung blinked in understanding. “Sure, I can just meet up with you guys later. I’ll text you guys?”

“Sure thing,” Changbin gave him a two finger salute. “We’ll see you later!”

Jisung waved before the two of them swiftly disappeared into the crowd, Jisung freezing in place for a moment, unsure where to go. People milled around him like water flowing in a stream, no one even sparing him a second glance. After looking left and right, he decided to walk to the right side, his eye caught by one of the booths that had canvases on display.

He glanced curiously at the art, his vision met with a splash of color. The paintings were mostly of flowers, vibrant hues stretching across the white canvas. Jisung suddenly frowned slightly, blinking a few times in succession. When he looked at it closely, it looked like the flowers were swaying, as if a gentle breeze was passing through.

“Hello!” A voice caused Jisung to jolt backward, and he lifted his head to see a person standing in front of him.

The person had fiery red, shoulder-length hair that was pressed in place with a headband, and he was looking curiously at Jisung. “Are you finding everything okay?”

“Yeah!” Jisung replied politely. “Did you paint all of these?”

“Mhm,” the artist nodded before pointing in a vague direction. “All done in my studio over that way. If you’re ever around, you’re free to come visit.”

“Actually, I’m here for the summer,” Jisung said. “Is the studio the one in the library?”

The artist perked up, his eyes widening. “Yeah, that’s the one! And you said you’re here for the summer? Is this your first Market Day, then?”

“Mhm,” Jisung answered both of his questions with one answer, giving him a small smile. 

“Oh, that must be fun!” The artist clasped his hands together. “By the way, what’s your name? I’m Hyunjin.”

“Jisung.”

“Nice to meet you, Jisung,” Hyunjin grinned before making the motions to shoo Jisung away. “And see you around; you should go check out the stuff other vendors have, since some of them have come from out of town. If you want to see my art later, you know where to find me!”

“Ah, alright,” Jisung slowly nodded after realizing that Hyunjin’s words made sense. “Nice to meet you too, Hyunjin.”

He was sent off with another wave, Jisung stumbling his way to another booth. He spent quite some time just looking around, not really finding anything that he really wanted to buy. There was a wide variety of items being sold, quite literally anything ranging from food to jewelry to decorations. A few of them made small talk to Jisung, although there wasn’t anyone who particularly stood out to him.

At one point, he encountered a stall that had a collection of vintage CDs, and Jisung spent a good amount of time rifling through it, ultimately picking out one or two to bring home. He couldn’t really member who the vendor was, although they were pretty nice to him. His purchases sat safely in his bag as he waded through the crowd. He thought he caught a glimpse of Felix, but when he tried to get a better look, he was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he had seen wrong.

Although it was probably unsurprising because the market was so big, Jisung hadn’t run into Chan or Changbin even once. He didn’t know if the two of them were still moving together, or if they had split up at some point. In the end, he continued on his own, feeling somewhat grateful that he didn’t have to slow Chan or Changbin down as he stopped every so often.

He had just started to feel hungry when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out to see that Chan was calling him, and ducked off to the side to pick up the call. “Hello?”

Jisung moved to lean against a tree as he heard the muffled sound of other people coming from the other end of the call. “...llo? Hello? Can you hear me?”

“Hi,” Jisung answered with a smile. 

“Hey, Jisungie,” Chan was speaking quite loudly so that his voice would be heard over everyone else’s. “You done looking around yet? Changbin’s getting hungry so I was wondering if you wanted to keep exploring or go get lunch with us. We can always bring you food if you want!”

“Jisung, come get lunch with us! We haven’t eaten lunch together at all yet!” Changbin’s voice rang out, Chan exclaiming something in the background that sounded something vaguely like woah, you scared me!

Jisung laughed, looking up and watching the crowd in front of him. “Actually, I was starting to feel hungry too. Should I try to find you guys or…?”

As he spoke, his line of sight fell on someone a short distance away, the other looking down at a table, his hand outstretched as he picked up a book. He had short black hair, some of it falling in front of his eyes, and a soft-looking beige cardigan draped over his shoulders. 

It was as if that person had felt someone’s gaze on him; he lifted his head, turning his head as he scanned the view in front of him, stopping as he saw Jisung. Jisung averted his gaze the moment their eyes met, color rising to his cheeks. Even though he only made eye contact for a second, he felt like the other’s feline eyes and sharp features had been etched into his mind.

“... Can you describe to us where you are? Jisungie?” Chan’s voice was faint, as Jisung had turned his head away from his phone.

“Oh, I think I’m at one of the sides of the market,” Jisung coughed lightly, trying to focus back on his conversation with Chan. “There’s a line of trees, and there’s a stall with a purple banner on display…”

“I think I see it!” Changbin yelled. “That way! Jisungie, just wait, we’ll be there soon!”

“Okay,” Jisung hummed, pulling his phone away when he heard the dial tone.

By the time he looked back again, the person he had spotted earlier had disappeared. Jisung sighed, not knowing if he was relieved or disappointed.

-

“Hey, you again,” Jisung smiled softly as the black cat hopped onto the park bench he was sitting on, headbutting his arm. By now, he had seen the cat a few times, though they were all at completely random occasions. He only saw it once every few days, but every time it would come to him and sit with him for a bit before leaving on its own.

The cat’s tail flicked behind it as it climbed into his lap, completely unconcerned that Jisung had been writing lyrics on the notebook that was now under its paws. He sighed helplessly as the cat circled on the paper, turning a few times before settling down.

“I need my notebook, little guy,” Jisung tugged at it, the cat refusing to move. “Ah, you can’t just not let me work!”

This time, he was actually working — Changbin had given him a demo track that he had started producing for another artist, saying that the artist had agreed to let him try his hand at writing lyrics. Since it was his first time writing for someone else, he wanted to put his best effort in.

The cat just meowed petulantly, staring at him with no remorse in its eyes. Jisung sighed, scratching its forehead with a finger. “How about this, let’s go somewhere that has a table, so you can sit in my lap while I work on the table. It’s a win-win for both of us.”

As if deeming that an acceptable answer, the cat slowly got to its paws, stepping off of his lap and back onto the bench. It watched him as Jisung folded his notebook shut, placing it into his bag. He stood up as he pulled the strap over his head, letting his bag fall against his hip. 

“Let’s go,” Jisung started to walk forward, turning back to make sure that the cat was following him. “We can find somewhere to go in the town center.”

It wasn’t until Jisung reached a road that he realized it was actually quite unsafe for a cat to just be out on the street. He stopped in his step, the cat looking up at him as he crouched down in front of it. “Why don’t I carry you in my bag?” Jisung offered, patting the material. “It’ll be safer that way.”

He opened up the bag, watching the cat obediently climb in and settle down, its head resting over the edge. Since his bag was made of a material that wasn’t extremely stiff, it bent under the cat’s weight. 

When he stood up, his bag nearly tilted forward, and Jisung scrambled to stabilize it, putting his hand under the bottom and in front of where the cat’s chest would be. “Oh god, that would’ve been bad,” he said to himself as he stepped out onto the road, quickly crossing.

Luckily, the cat didn’t move too much as he walked around, although it did suddenly pull its head back and hide in his bag as he approached the town center. Jisung thought about where to go, humming a random tune as he looked at his options. He could go to the bakery that Felix worked at, although it would be a bit strange for him to sit somewhere without buying anything to eat or drink. He wasn’t hungry at the moment, so that probably wasn’t the best option.

Food or drink places in general probably weren't too good, in case anyone had a cat allergy. There were some smaller stores as well, but those didn’t seem like they had any place for Jisung to sit and work. He ended up at the library that he had seen when he first arrived.

When he entered, he immediately spotted the long, wooden tables with two rows of chairs bordering it — a perfect place for Jisung to work. The interior had warm lighting, and rows of bookshelves stretched across his vision.

As he stood there, a person who looked like a librarian with fluffy, dark brown hair and an impassive expression walked over from the help desk, taking a cursory glance of Jisung. 

“Um… excuse me, are pets allowed in here?” Jisung asked softly, not wanting to bring an animal in without permission.

“Pets?” The other frowned. “Sure, as long as they don’t make too much noise. What kind of pet are you talking about…?”

“A cat,” Jisung slipped off one of the straps of his bag to reveal the black cat that sat inside.

The librarian looked at the cat, then back at Jisung, then back at the cat again. His expression changed to something that looked like… mild disgust?

“This one is not allowed.” He said bluntly.

“Huh?” 

“I said,” the librarian spoke as he reached his hand into the bag without hesitation, grabbing the cat by the scruff. “This one is not allowed.”

The cat wriggled intensely in the librarian’s grasp, hissing loudly and trying to scratch him. The librarian just ignored its thrashing as he opened the door, tossing the cat out and closing the door before it could come back in. Jisung just stared at him with wide, shocked eyes.

“What’s… what’s wrong with that cat?” Jisung asked slowly, still unsure of what had just happened. 

“Nothing. I just don’t like him.” The librarian sniffed, turning his head away and blatantly ignoring the scratching that was coming from the door.

At that moment, the door opened slightly, and the cat dashed in, meowing indignantly at the librarian.

“Who let your ass back in.” The librarian deadpanned.

Jisung turned to see where the door had opened, spotting Hyunjin, the art vendor from the market, standing at the entrance.

“Seungmin, why was- oh, hi Jisung!” Hyunjin shifted his gaze from the librarian to him, grinning as he walked in.

“Hi,” Jisung nodded in return.

“Did you come to visit the art studio?” Hyunjin asked curiously.

“Ah, not today,” Jisung shook his head. “I was looking for somewhere with a table of some sorts to work for a while…” 

“A table?” Hyunjin tilted his head.

“Well, this guy,” Jisung bent down to gently pick up the cat that had been clawing the librarian’s — Seungmin’s — pants off. The cat immediately became docile in his hold, although it still hissed at Seungmin from where it was in Jisung’s arms. “Wouldn’t let me work since he wanted to sit in my lap, so I thought…”

“That guy…?” Hyunjin repeated incredulously, turning to Seungmin with a questioning gaze.

Seungmin just shook his head and lifted his arms in a hell if I know gesture, and Hyunjin turned back to Jisung with a smile. “Well, it’s usually pretty quiet in the library, so it’s a good place to work. I’m sure Seungmin will let you keep the cat here.”

“Actually,” Jisung started to say, but Seungmin quickly cut him off.

“Yeah, sure, whatever.” 

It seemed that Hyunjin mouthed something to Seungmin because he snorted, Hyunjin also chuckling from behind him. “I’ll go up to the studio now then,” Hyunjin wiggled his fingers in goodbye. “See you guys later!”

Jisung gave him a wave before returning his hand to hold the cat which had finally stopped hissing. Seungmin just sighed, then gestured toward the tables that were in the middle of the library. “You can just sit wherever. Make yourself comfortable; you can just call me if you need anything.”

“Alright,” Jisung gave him a small smile, deciding not to question what had just happened. “Thank you!”

Seungmin walked away with a wave, though it seemed like his thoughts were elsewhere. Jisung let out a breath, running his fingers along the cat’s head. “What just happened?” He asked quietly, the cat just butting his head against Jisung’s chest. 

“Did he do something bad to you? He doesn’t seem like someone who’d do that…” Jisung mused aloud as he walked to a random chair, pulling it out and setting his bag on the table. 

When he sat down, the cat jumped onto his lap, quickly settling down before Jisung could even pull out his notebook. He scratched the cat’s cheek with his left hand as he twirled a pen in his right hand, focusing on the work in front of him.

-

“Sorry, what? ” Jeongin’s voice was shrill over the phone, and Seungmin let out another sigh, probably his tenth one in the span of half an hour. 

“I said, Minho-hyung came to the library with uh, what was his name again, Jisung? I think Jisung genuinely thinks Minho-hyung is just a cat.” Seungmin pressed his fingers against his temple. “I can’t believe hyung’s sacrificing his pride to try to win some boy’s affection.”

“Well I can!” Jeongin was cackling on the other end. “Oh man, I haven’t met Jisung yet! What’s he like? Lixie-hyung says he’s nice.”

“I don’t really know,” Seungmin shook his head. “I only talked to him for a few minutes. I was more shocked that Minho-hyung was in his bag.”

At that, Jeongin started laughing again. “I still can’t believe it.” 

In the background, a door opened, and Jeongin tried to contain his laughter, only for him to fail miserably. “Innie, what’s going on?” Felix’s voice sounded through the phone.

“Oh god, Lixie-hyung,” Jeongin was probably clutching his sides. “Imagine someone comes into your store and is like, ‘oh can I bring pets in here’ and you go okay, and he shows you that he brought Minho-hyung inside.”

“Minho-hyung?” Felix repeated dumbly. “That really happened?”

“Yeah, Seungmin-hyung said that just happened at the library. Here, let me put the phone on speaker mode.”

“Minho-hyung actually let someone carry him around?” Felix asked, surprised.

“Mhm,” Seungmin glanced across the room to where Jisung was still working, the tail of the cat that was sitting on his lap swaying back and forth. “Originally he was in Jisung’s bag, and then I tossed him out because like, what the fuck? And then Hyunjin accidentally let him back in. I think Minho-hyung was about to rip my pants into shreds but Jisung picked him up, and he instantly became calm. I’ve never been so freaked out in my life.”

“Aw, that’s so cute!” Felix cooed. “Jisungie — oh, I hope he’s our age so I can call him that — seems like such a good person.”

“Too good for Minho-hyung, clearly,” Seungmin rolled his eyes.

“Don’t say that!” Felix exclaimed as Jeongin laughed. 

“Hey wait,” Jeongin suddenly spoke up, finally processing Seungmin’s earlier words. “If Jisung thinks Minho-hyung is just a cat, does he know about the key…?”

“Now that you mention it,” Felix hummed. “He did say he was invited by Channie-hyung and Changbinnie-hyung. Didn’t they go to school in Seoul? Magic’s banned there, so they didn’t know that it existed before coming here…”

“So you’re saying that Jisung doesn’t know that magic exists, and he doesn’t know Minho-hyung is that cat that he’s been carrying around.” Seungmin squeezed his eyes shut, refraining from letting out yet another sigh.

“Probably not,” Felix agreed with his conclusion. 

“Isn’t that good though?” Jeongin cut through the silence that settled over them for a few seconds. “At least we know he actually doesn’t have any bad intentions with our hyung or anything.”

“That’s like the only good thing that we’re getting out of this,” Seungmin snipped.

“Well no,” Jeongin countered. “If Minho-hyung’s aware of that also, then you can basically bully him and he can’t do anything about it cause he won’t transform in front of Jisung.”

A smile tugged at the edge of Seungmin’s lips. “Now you’re speaking my language.”

-

“Let’s go out for drinks!” Changbin shut the refrigerator door with a slam, Jisung jumping in his seat.

Jisung had given his page of lyrics to Changbin a day after going to the library, Changbin grinning as he accepted the paper, waving it with excitement. That had happened a few days ago — just earlier, when they returned from work, Changbin had told Jisung that they’d wrapped up the song’s production.

“Right now?” Jisung looked up from his phone.

“When else?” Changbin set his hands on the kitchen island. “Besides, it’s a Friday; we should go out!”

“Where are we going?” Chan poked his head out from the second floor, where he had gone to put some stuff away.

“Why don’t we go to the bar?” Changbin called out in response. “It’s been a while since we’ve been there.”

“Sounds good to me,” Chan started to make his way down the stairs. “Jisungie, you haven’t gone yet, right? Why don’t we all go together?”

“We can celebrate your first official contribution to a song!” Changbin rounded the counter to pat Jisung’s shoulder. “Well, one that isn’t ours.”

Jisung just groaned as he pushed himself off of the chair he was sitting on. “Let me go change then, there’s no way I’m going out in this.”

He was wearing a random free t-shirt he had gotten a number of years ago, and a pair of athletic shorts that reached his mid-thigh. Chan took a look at his outfit as he came into view, laughing. “You could, honestly. No one really cares here.”

“Well I care!” Jisung huffed, heading toward the stairs.

Jisung hadn’t really planned for a summer where he would be going out a lot, so most of his clothes had ended up being pretty simple. In the end, he wore a slightly oversized graphic tee tucked into slacks, bringing a flannel along in case it got cold. 

“Looking good,” Chan gave him a thumbs up as Jisung put on his shoes, following them outside.

“It almost feels like we’re back in college,” Changbin nudged Jisung with his shoulder. “Ah, when was the last time all three of us hung out like this?”

“It’s really been too long,” Chan agreed. 

Jisung just smiled as he followed them, walking down the dimly-lit path. The three of them chatted for a bit before they finally reached the bar that Jisung had passed by multiple times, but had never gone into before. He really wasn’t someone who liked to go into new places himself unless he had to, so he was grateful that the other two were bringing him along this time.

Chan pulled the door open with familiarity, the view of the inside suddenly crossing Jisung’s vision. The bar was pretty busy, the entire place bathed in a warm light. Chan brought them directly to the counter in front of the shelves of alcohol. Jisung took a look around, seeing people engaging in conversation, their voices and laughter blending into the ambience of the place.

He turned to take a look at the shelves of alcohol that reached the ceiling, his eyes trailing down until he realized there was a bartender standing a short distance away from him, talking to another customer. Jisung’s eyes widened slightly as he realized that the bartender was the same person he had seen on Market Day, the pretty stranger with feline eyes. When he wasn’t smiling, he had this cold aura to him. But now, his features seemed softer, a little more approachable.

This time, Jisung tore his gaze away as fast as he could, willing his brain to forget the fact that he had just seen the most attractive person in his life wearing a white button-down and black vest. It didn’t help that the bartender had noticed the three of them then, coming over to them.

“Hey, sorry for the wait. What can I get for you guys?” The bartender had a gentle, melodic voice that was completely different from his distinct features, Jisung’s gaze still trained on the counter in front of him.

Chan and Changbin probably placed their orders, their voices reaching his ears, though Jisung didn’t process any of it. There were barely any thoughts in his head when he heard the bartender ask, “and what about you?” to a person that could only be him.

“I… uh…” Jisung looked up at the bartender, all semblance of words dying in his throat. His mouth hung open as he looked for words, suddenly looking everywhere except at the man in front of him.

Ultimately, he just read the first words he could make out on the menu that had been tossed off to the side. “Can I get a… uh… woo… woo?” Jisung trailed off with a question as he made a confused fist pump motion.

Changbin immediately burst into loud laughter, Chan barely managing to keep his in. The bartender in front of him just smiled slightly, letting out an amused huff. “Sure, you can get a woo woo,” he said, copying the little hand motion Jisung did.

Jisung contemplated the feasibility of him exploding on the spot. Luckily, the bartender turned away to talk to Chan, letting Jisung stew in embarrassment. 

“What was that?” Changbin teased, poking Jisung’s side. 

“Stooop,” Jisung whined, squirming away from him. “I haven’t gone out to a bar in forever. I usually just stay at home and watch anime!”

“You could’ve just ordered the same thing as me though; I know you like sweeter drinks,” Changbin mused.

“I couldn’t think straight,” Jisung mumbled. “Not when the bartender was staring at me.”

“Because of your anxiety or because of your gay panic?” Changbin raised his brows.

“Don’t say that so loud!” Jisung scrambled to make Changbin shut up, whipping his head around to make sure the bartender in question wasn’t in earshot. 

“I saw the way you looked at him.” A smile was tugging at the corner of Changbin’s lips. “C’mon now Jisungie, don’t lie to your hyung!”

Jisung groaned, pressing his head to the counter. “Why even ask when you know the answer?”

“I just like hearing you admit it,” Changbin nodded sagely. 

“Admit what?” Chan chose this moment to look over at the two of them. 

“That he- mmmf!” Changbin was in the middle of talking when Jisung hurriedly slammed his hand over the other’s mouth.

Changbin shot him an indignant glare, about to yank his hand off when he realized the bartender had come over with their drinks, looking at them curiously. “What’s going on here?”

“Nothing!” Jisung was close to combusting, hoping that Changbin wouldn’t run his mouth in front of the bartender.

The bartender traded a confused look with Chan, the latter shrugging. “Well,” the bartender didn’t push further, setting their drinks down on the counter. “Here are your drinks.”

“Thanks,” Changbin gave him a thumbs up, and the bartender gave them a nod, moving onto the next customer.

“What was that?” Jisung turned toward the other two, bewildered.

“What was what?” Chan frowned slightly.

“The glasses moved on their own!” Jisung gestured toward the glasses that were sitting in front of them.

He had seen it clearly; the bartender hadn’t touched the drinks with his own hands. He just simply tilted the tray down, and the glasses slid in front of them, not a single drop out of place. But no one had even batted an eye, so Jisung thought that he might’ve hallucinated the whole thing.

“Oh,” Chan blinked in surprise. “You don’t know? Magic exists here.”

“What?”

The world seemed to stop as Jisung stared blankly at Chan, not sure if he should believe what he just heard. Chan’s expression turned sheepish as he tried to explain. “We probably should’ve brought this up earlier, huh…”

“Well, yes!” Jisung shook his head in disbelief. “What do you mean, magic exists here?”

“Magic exists in this whole world, Jisungie. It’s just in populated places like Seoul, they’ve banned such magic, because it’s too powerful.”

“Okay…” Jisung said slowly, then narrowed his eyes. “You aren’t gonna tell me that you and Changbinnie-hyung can both use magic, right?”

Chan chuckled, shaking his head. “No, nowadays, the only people who can use magic are people who live away from cities. They don’t really come to cities unless they have to, so it’s pretty hard to just bump into a magic user on the street.”

Jisung sighed, his brows knitted as he leaned his head onto his hand. “And so you’re saying that they’re just everywhere here?”

“Here? Yeah, pretty much,” Chan pursed his lips as he thought about it for a second. “You said you’ve met Hyunjin, right? He uses magic in his artworks; he puts a bit of his life force into them after he finishes, and that’s how they look like they’re moving, even though it’s painted on a canvas.”

Jisung nodded, finding that even though it was absurd, Chan’s words seemed to make sense. Even though he told Chan and Changbin pretty much what happened every day, he didn’t seem to have picked up on the existence of magic. But once the two of them pointed it out, it suddenly seemed to be everywhere.

“Everyone has a specialty,” Chan said after Jisung fully accepted the reality of the world outside of major cities. “Except Minho, he’s pretty good at everything.”

“Minho?” Jisung tilted his head. The name sounded a little familiar.

“You called?” A voice caught Jisung by surprise, nearly causing him to jump out of his chair.

The bartender was standing in front of them, looking at them attentively. “Uh…” Jisung blanked, his brain suddenly ceasing function.

“We were just telling Jisungie how good you are at magic,” Changbin patted Jisung’s shoulder, grinning. 

“I’m nothing special,” Minho shook his head.

“That’s not what the people say,” Changbin raised his brows. 

“People like to exaggerate,” Minho shrugged before turning his attention toward Jisung. “By the way, I don’t think we’ve met before…?”

“Ah, no,” Jisung finally came to his senses. “Minho-ssi, right? I’m Jisung.”

“Nice to meet you, Jisung,” Minho gave him a smile, Jisung flushing slightly. “And just hyung is fine, no need to be formal.”

Jisung hesitantly nodded in response. “Okay… hyung.” 

Minho’s smile brightened at that, the corners of his eyes crinkling. Jisung thought that maybe one of Minho’s magic abilities was beauty enhancement. 

“Oh!” Jisung suddenly realized why Minho’s name had rung a bell. He quickly unlocked his phone, pulling up his gallery. “Do you help at Felix’s bakery sometimes?”

“I do,” Minho nodded.

“That’s why your name sounded familiar!” Jisung tapped on a photo of a tart he had bought from the bakery a few days ago. “Felix said you helped him bake this one. It was really good!”

Jisung’s eyes were bright as he looked up at Minho. “Ah, those? I’m glad you liked it,” Minho accepted the compliment gracefully. “It was a new recipe that I was trying. You like sweet food?”

Jisung nodded eagerly. “My favorite is the cheesecake, but Felix has me try some of the other pastries sometimes. Ah… wait, he was just having me be a taste tester, huh?”

Minho laughed at that, squeezing his eyes shut. Jisung let his hand fall to the table, captivated by the man in front of him. “Looks like he’s been caught.” 

“Hey, what is that?” Changbin’s curious question brought their attention to what he was pointing at, a picture on Jisung’s phone.

He seemed to have swiped when he set his phone down, a picture of the black cat showing up on the display instead. “Oh,” Jisung brought it up to show them. “There’s this cat that likes to follow me around sometimes.”

“Isn’t that, ow- what the hell!” Changbin’s voice suddenly rose in pitch as he flinched, a crackle of electricity shooting down his spine. He glared at Minho, who just gave him a serene smile in return.

“You’ve always been good with animals, huh?” Chan quickly stepped in, ignoring Changbin’s outburst.

“I guess,” Jisung turned his phone back to himself, the screen dimly illuminating his face. “But this one’s a lot smarter than normal cats, I think… I feel like sometimes it knows what I’m saying.”

As he spoke, he heard someone walking behind him, stopping at his seat for a moment. But when he turned to look, no one was there.

“Maybe the cat just likes you,” Minho suggested. “Cats are a good judge of character.”

“Maybe,” Jisung shrugged, smiling slightly at his phone before locking it, unaware of the glance that someone sent his way.

-

Jisung walked at a leisurely pace, pausing every once in a while to let the black cat catch up to him. He was taking a walk, feeling the afternoon sun warm his skin as he stepped out of the shadows casted by the leaves overhead. 

“Why do you follow me around so much?” Jisung thought aloud, not expecting any response. “Not that I don’t like it, but it’s not like I’m your owner or anything.”

The cat let out a little trill and ran in front of him, its tail waving in the air as it turned to look back at him. Jisung gave it a small smile, pausing for a moment and letting it run back to him. 

Just then, he heard the heavy footfalls of people running. Jisung frowned, trying to locate which direction it was coming from. 

“He went that way!” An unfamiliar voice called.

“I see him, he’s over there!” The voices were getting closer.

A moment later, a group of three to four men stood in front of him, staring him down. “You,” one of them said, pointing at Jisung.

Jisung copied his action, pointing at himself and raising his brows. “Me?”

“Hand that cat over.” He didn’t bother to answer Jisung’s question, directly moving his pointer finger to the cat by his feet.

“Huh?” Jisung looked at the cat dumbly. “Why? It’s just a cat.”

“Just a cat?” Another one of the men scoffed. “Surely you’re not unaware what kind of cat that is, no?”

“It’s a black cat…?” Jisung frowned. 

“Maybe he’s actually stupid,” a third whispered.

“Okay first of all, I heard that. Second of all, rude? I answered your question.” Jisung huffed.

“That cat,” the first man emphasized the second word. “Is the most powerful witch’s familiar.” 

“And…?” Jisung prompted. “What does the cat have to do with the witch?”

“The witch will grant you a portion of his power if you are able to get the key around his cat’s neck.” The first man answered, and Jisung let out a long ‘ohhh’ in response.

“Let me think about it,” Jisung said loftily, bending down to pick the cat up in his arms. 

He took a step back taking a look at his surroundings. The group of men seemed confused, watching Jisung intently. Jisung just looked at the cat in his arms, the cat staring back at him calmly, its tail swishing. 

“That just means the cat without the key is meaningless then, hm?” He mused. As he said that, the men started to clamor, rushing toward him and yelling for him to hand the cat over.

Jisung trailed his fingers down the cat’s head, hooking his fingers under the string that hung around the cat’s neck. He tugged on it lightly, humming as he realized it was a bit loose. Then, in one swift movement, he pulled it off of the cat’s neck, balling it in his hand.

“What are you doing?!” One of them shouted. They had almost closed in on him, but all Jisung did was take another step back.

“I was just thinking,” he said as he lifted his arm up, the other still securely holding the cat. “It would be a shame if the key was lost, wouldn’t it?”

There was a shout in alarm as Jisung chucked what was in his hand into the river behind him, a distinct splash sounding out before the water resumed its flow downstream. “The water moves pretty fast in this river,” Jisung shrugged as he moved his hand back to cradle the cat. “I’d suggest going after it soon.”

The four men paused, two of them about to continue rushing toward him when their presumed leader grit his teeth. “What are you waiting for? Go after the key!” 

The cat in Jisung’s arms was useless if it didn’t have the key, and so was Jisung. At least they were smart enough to realize that attacking Jisung wouldn’t bring any benefit; if anything, it would just give more time for the key to get away from them.

The second their attention was off of him, Jisung made a mad dash for the trees, his breaths short and fast as he ran with the cat in his arms, not daring to pause until he could no longer hear the flow of water. “Holy shit,” he said as he ran. “Hoooly shit.”

After a minute or so of running, he slowed to a stop under a large tree, panting heavily as he dropped down on a surface root, carefully setting the cat down. The cat meowed, butting its head against Jisung’s knee.

“I’m fine,” Jisung wheezed, catching his breath. “I didn’t think that would actually work.”

The cat tilted its head, letting out a confused “mmrp?” as Jisung reached into his sleeve, pulling out the key that he had “thrown” earlier. He had actually picked up a rock as he picked up the cat, letting the rope slide down his arm before throwing the rock, making it look like he had thrown the key instead.

Jisung carefully used both hands to put it back around the cat’s neck, the cat’s ears flicking as his palm brushed past it. He leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the cat’s forehead.

“Sorry for the scare,” Jisung murmured, the cat moving forward to nuzzle its cheek against his. “I know you don’t like people touching your neck.”

The cat just turned its head and licked his cheek in response, Jisung jolting backward and covering the spot with his hand before laughing. “Does this mean you forgive me?”

He got a meow in response, so he took that as a yes. Jisung scratched the cat under its chin, heaving a sigh as he stood up. “You should go home,” he said seriously. “Those guys might come back…”

Jisung frowned as he thought about it. “I’ll take you home,” he decided. “Just tell me how to get there, I’ll wait until your owner comes back to tell them what happened.”

The cat pressed its side against Jisung’s leg, purring softly before pulling away and leading Jisung further into the forest.

It wasn’t long before a house amid the trees came into view, Jisung blinking in confusion. He was pretty sure he had never seen it before, although he had been in this particular part of town many times in the few weeks that he had been there. But then again, he had just recently learned that magic existed, so he just decided not to question it.

There was a low fence that surrounded the yard, the cat directly leading Jisung up to it. “Should I just wait here…?” Jisung shifted his weight from foot to foot, not wanting to directly barge into someone’s property. 

The cat just pawed at the fence, the fence opening from the push. Jisung blinked twice, then pushed it all the way open, so that the two of them could enter. He followed the stone path to the door, the cat once again pawing at the door.

“I can’t just enter!” Jisung shook his head, knocking on the door instead.

There was no response, but Jisung was still hesitant to enter. This was someone’s house, after all. No one would react kindly to seeing a stranger in their house unannounced. The cat just meowed again, poking the door with a paw. 

Jisung contemplated it for another second. In any case, he could just defend himself by saying the cat was the one that told him to enter. The cat was in some way magical right? It had to be, since it was the most powerful witch’s familiar, or whatever. Jisung took a deep breath, pushing open the door.

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but the inside of the house looked… particularly normal. An entryway with a few pairs of shoes near the door, an open living room, a hallway that presumably led to the bedrooms. Jisung toed off his shoes, quietly padding toward the sofa that sat on the far end of the living room.

Although he was curious and wanted to look around, he felt that he had already been impolite enough by directly walking into someone’s house uninvited. He sat down on the couch, the cat quickly jumping onto his lap and settling down there, purring softly. Jisung idly petted it, trying to put his thoughts in order so that he could properly explain what happened to the cat’s owner.

As he sat there, the adrenaline from earlier started to wear off, the warmth of the afternoon sun starting to soak into his bones. Jisung struggled to stay awake, his eyelids starting to feel heavy. Just 20 minutes, he thought to himself as he curled up on the couch, his thoughts starting to slow. I’ll sleep for just 20 minutes.

In the darkness behind his shut eyelids, he felt the cat jump out of his arms, Jisung subconsciously whining for it to come back. He heard a quiet laughter, then a blanket of warmth was pulled over his body. Jisung sighed, drawing it closer to himself as he relaxed again, his consciousness falling into the deep abyss.

When he next opened his eyes, the first thing he registered was the reddish-orange hues that painted the sky beyond the glass windows. Oh fuck, he thought eloquently as he struggled to sit up. 

However, he forgot that he was in fact on a couch and not a bed, and consequently, he gracelessly fell off, the blanket serving as a cushion between his head and the hardwood floor. “Ow…”

He surveyed his surroundings, realizing that he could hear the sound of someone cooking in the kitchen. He focused his vision on the other end of the room, seeing the figure of a person moving about by the stove. When the person turned around to fetch something from the counter, Jisung cussed without thinking. “Oh, fuck.”

Minho paused in his movement, chuckling softly as he spotted Jisung laying on the ground, his hair in disarray as he stared at Minho with his back on the floor. “Good morning Jisung,” Minho quirked his brows up in amusement. “Or should I say, good evening?”

“Ah, Minho-hyung!” Jisung scrambled to sit up properly. “I’m so sorry for entering without permission, I… uh, earlier today—”

Minho just waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, I know,” he reassured Jisung. “Why don’t you sit there for a little? I’m almost done making dinner.”

“Nono, it’s okay,” Jisung’s eyes widened. “I’ve already troubled you enough…”

“Nonsense.” Minho turned away, pushing whatever was on the chopping board into the pot. “You saved my dear familiar today, at least let me repay you.”

Well. Jisung couldn’t argue with that. Thus, he got up and folded the blanket, setting it onto the couch before sending a text to Chan and Changbin that he wouldn’t be home for dinner. 

“I hope you like curry,” Minho said from the kitchen, setting two plates of curry onto the table as he walked over. A second later, a spoon dropped onto the table next to him.

“I do,” Jisung nodded, waiting for Minho to sit down before even picking up the spoon. 

Minho gestured for Jisung to eat first, Jisung awkwardly lowering his head to take a bite before his eyes widened. “Woah, this is like, really good,” Jisung mumbled around his food. “You made this?”

“Mhm, I like cooking as a hobby,” Minho said, Jisung humming appreciatively.

“What can’t you do?” He asked as he swallowed another bite of the curry. “You can cook, do magic… wait, you’re the most powerful witch?!”

Minho just smiled, not saying anything. Jisung nearly choked, curling his hand into a fist and thumping it on his chest. “Oh my god, I’ve been so disrespectful to you, ever since we met—”

As Jisung started to panic, Minho held his hand up to stop his rambling, Jisung looking at him anxiously. “It’s alright, I don’t mind,” Minho spoke calmly. “Besides, I’d prefer that you treat me like anyone else… I’m really not that powerful. I just know more than the average magic user, and I’m a little stronger than most.” 

“That sounds like a lie…” Jisung mumbled. 

“Well, I’m definitely not the most powerful witch in the world,” Minho shrugged. “Maybe just in the area.” 

“And I’m a person who can’t use magic at all. So any amount of magic is impressive to me!” Jisung huffed. 

“Right,” Minho laughed softly, flicking his hand and causing a bit of wind to mess with Jisung’s hair. Jisung yelped in his seat, glaring at him. 

Jisung quickly found out that Minho was quite easy to talk to, their conversation flowing smoothly, even if it was only the second time they had met. They shared similar interests, and if they didn’t, Minho would listen attentively as Jisung talked, their conversation only ending when Jisung realized that the sun had already set outside.

Minho sent him home with a wave, saying that he’d cast a protection spell on Jisung to make sure he’d get home safely. Jisung just laughed, but as the shimmery veil settled over his shoulders before disappearing, he couldn’t help but feel grateful for the other’s care.

It was only after he returned home that he realized he hadn’t seen Minho’s familiar the entire time he was there.

-

Jisung slumped over the table, watching Felix make his drink. The two of them had become friends quickly; it was hard not to when Felix was quite literally the most befriendable person Jisung had ever met. Felix was smiling as he walked over, setting the cup in front of Jisung. “What’s wrong, Sungie?”

“I may or may not have broken into Minho-hyung’s house yesterday,” he sighed. The reality of all that had happened yesterday finally processed after he had woken up in the morning, a mix of what the fuck and does he hate me swirling in his mind.

Felix blinked, his hand still hovering over the cup he had just set down. “Huh?”

“Okay, maybe not broke into, since I walked in through the front door, but like-” Jisung sat up, but Felix was still looking at him with that confused expression.

“No, wait.” Felix’s words caused Jisung’s voice to stop in his throat as the former cut him off. “You can’t just like… break into Minho-hyung’s house.”

“I know he’s the most powerful witch and it’s probably disrespectful and-”

“No, that’s not it,” Felix moved his hand away from the table to rest it on Jisung’s shoulder. “Well, maybe part of it. But Minho-hyung’s house is protected by complex magic that only he can undo. Even I can’t enter without his permission.”

“But I did?” Jisung knitted his brows. “His door was unlocked.”

“Unlocked…?” 

The two of them stared at each other, neither knowing what to say. Then Felix looked away, thinking about something. His mouth opened as he seemed to come to a realization, and he went “ahhh” as he nodded slowly.

“Maybe he had gone out for a little bit when you came,” Felix said, giving Jisung a bright smile. 

“Oh, that makes sense,” Jisung thought about it for a moment, pursing his lips.

Felix felt a little bad for lying to him, but with the way that Minho had been trying to hide his identity, Felix didn’t feel like it was his place to expose him. However, he would definitely hold this above Minho’s head later. Last time, when he had casually dropped the fact that he had gotten Jisung’s name, Minho had just shot him an indignant glare before pretending that he didn’t care. 

“... by the way, what exactly is Minho-hyung able to do?” Jisung asked, Felix’s attention snapping back to him at the last second.

“Oh, hm…” Felix hummed, tilting his head. “I guess things like item manipulation, like wind or water or other objects, though he mostly just uses it to move things around since he likes to be lazy… he mostly makes potions or casts spells for people. He’s really knowledgeable on that, which is why a lot of people go to him for help. But some of them want his power and knowledge to do bad things.”

Jisung made a noise of agreement as Felix continued. “The reason he’s called the most powerful witch is because people think he has more power than what he shows. His mom was extremely powerful too, so people are pretty sure that she passed her power to him.”

“But it’s never been shown or anything, right?” Jisung wondered. “What if he actually isn’t that powerful?”

Felix just laughed at that. “That would be funny, actually. Honestly, most of us here don’t really believe in it. Seungmin might’ve had a part in playing up this rumor also. But there’s no doubt that he’s really powerful. He can do some kind of temporary teleportation, too.”

“Huh?” Jisung made a face, not understanding at all. 

“Sometimes Innie or I might want something from the city, but it’s kind of far. So we ask Minho-hyung to get it for us, but he doesn’t really want to go all the way over there either, so he kinda… temporarily sends himself over there, buys the thing that we want, then comes back with it. It’s kind of hard to explain.”

What he didn’t say was that the wards set up around the larger cities was what restricted Minho from truly teleporting over. How ironic it was for them to ban magic by using stronger magic. But clearly, Minho was still able to worm his way in, so whether the magic on the cities was too weak or Minho was too strong was not really something anyone could determine.

“That sounds insane, actually,” Jisung blinked. “Maybe he’s the cause of the ghost stories.”

Felix grinned. “Who knows? I’m sure at least one person’s seen him appear or disappear.”

“What can’t he do, then?” 

“That… we don’t know,” Felix shrugged. “We don’t really ask him for too much, since trying some things can drain his energy or even injure him. Besides, Minho-hyung himself is pretty content with what he does now, so no one tries to make him do anything else. Well, I guess no one here does. But sometimes people who come from other towns try to make him do things that he normally wouldn’t.”

Jisung’s eyes widened slightly at that, but Felix just reassured him by saying, “What he does when they try to do that is temporarily turn them into a frog. You should see it sometime; it’s actually really funny.”

Jisung laughed in disbelief. “You’ve gotta call me over someday if that happens.”

“Of course!” Felix promised. 

At that moment, the door chimed, announcing the arrival of another customer. Felix quickly bid Jisung goodbye, heading back over to the counter. Jisung finally took a sip of his drink, nearly choking when he set his cup back down. A person had suddenly appeared at the other end of the table, a pair of sand-colored ears poking up from their short hair.

“Hi!” 

Jisung almost fell out of his chair. He swallowed hard, clearing his throat. “Um… hello?”

“You’re Jisung-hyung, right?” The fox-boy was grinning, and Jisung’s eyes darted around as he internally panicked.

“Um… yes? Is there something you wanted from me?” Jisung couldn’t tell if he should be wary of the boy in front of him, especially with what had happened yesterday.

“Innie! Don’t scare Jisungie!” Felix scolded the fox-boy from across the cafe, the latter’s ears flattening against his head.

“Sorry,” he ducked his head down, bowing slightly. “I’m Jeongin. Sorry for scaring you, I just wanted to meet you…”

“Oh, no, I was just surprised,” Jisung lifted his hands and waved them. “No one’s really approached me like this before, so it caught me off-guard. Are you friends with Felix?”

“Mhm,” Jeongin’s ears returned to their upright position as he brightened up. “I help him here sometimes! I also help Minho-hyung with his potions sometimes too.”

“You must be busy,” Jisung praised him, Jeongin just shooting him a smile.

“It’s not too bad, really,” Jeongin suddenly leaned forward, putting his hands on the table. “By the way, Jisung-hyung, do you like Minho-hyung?”

Jisung blinked in surprise. Was this Jeongin’s true intentions? But it wasn’t like there was anything to lie about, so he just spoke the truth. “Yeah, he seems like a nice person. Why?”

“Mm, not that kind of like,” Jeongin pursed his lips. “Like… would you date him kind of like.”

“Huh?” Jisung was taken aback by Jeongin’s straightforwardness. “Maybe…? I don’t know him well enough to have thought about that.”

Jeongin giggled as his tail waved behind him. “Please think about it,” he grinned. “Minho-hyung is single and very available, and from what I’ve seen, he’s- mmmf!” 

Jeongin’s expression suddenly changed as the words stopped coming out of his mouth. He looked indignantly at the space behind Jisung, Jisung about to follow his gaze when he heard the person behind him speak. “Jeongin, one more word and I’m silencing you for the rest of the day. Jisung, good morning.”

Jeongin’s ears twitched as he tried to say something in response, but all that came out was mmmm mm mmm! Jisung turned to see Minho standing a short distance away, a jacket folded over his arm. 

“Good morning, Minho-hyung,” Jisung gave him a smile. 

“How are you? I hope this little fox has not been causing you trouble.” He spoke with a pointed glare at the boy who just huffed in response, making an expression of what trouble? I would never cause trouble!

“I’m doing good! Jeongin hasn’t caused any trouble, don’t worry,” Jisung said, amused.

“That’s good to hear,” Minho said, flicking his finger upward. Jeongin coughed right after, smartly deciding not to say anything.

“What are you doing here though?” Jisung asked curiously. “I don’t normally see you here…”

“I was dropping something off for Yongbok,” Minho nodded toward Felix’s direction. “I was going to go back to work, but I saw you here so I came over to say hi.”

“Work?” Jisung looked at him with wide eyes. “Can I come with you?”

“Of course you can, Minho-hyung won’t mind!” Jeongin gave him a devilish grin before leaping out of his seat and running away, giggling with a Lixie-hyung!!! Save me!  

Minho just sighed, shaking his head fondly as he watched the boy dash away. He turned to Jisung with a smile as he spoke. “Sure, I don’t mind. We can leave whenever you’re finished with your drink.”

Not wanting to keep Minho waiting for long, Jisung quickly downed the rest of his drink before standing up, quickly passing a napkin over his lips and turning toward Minho expectantly. “Let’s go!”

“Hold on,” Minho stepped closer to him, Jisung freezing in place. 

Minho’s gaze lowered for a second before he reached out, using the back of his finger to brush the corner of Jisung’s lip. Before Jisung could even blink, Minho pulled away. “You missed a spot.”

Blood rushed to Jisung’s cheeks as he quickly swiped the back of his hand over his mouth, Minho’s eyes curving as he watched the younger. Luckily, Minho spared him from more embarrassment as he swiftly headed for the door, Jisung scurrying after him.

“What do you do for work?” Jisung asked as they stepped outside. Even though Felix had told him vaguely that he could make potions and cast spells, he was curious to learn more.

“Experiments, mostly,” Minho tugged Jisung closer to himself as a bike passed by. “I’m proficient in the things that I sell, like potions or spells, so there’s no need for me to really spend time on those. Experiments can lead to interesting results.”

“Like that teleportation thing?” 

“Oh, did Felix tell you about that?” Minho made a face. “Yeah, that’s just a spell that I managed to get to work. It’s not exactly perfect, but it works enough for me, so I haven’t really tried to make it any better.”

“As long as it works, right?” Jisung nodded along. 

Minho hummed as the two of them arrived at the bar that Jisung had just been at a few nights ago. However, this time, when the door was pulled open, he was met with an abundance of color, the open area with barstools and tables suddenly gone. Instead, plants covered the walls and books lay in neat piles on the floor.

“Isn’t this… Huh?” Jisung stood at the entryway, gaping at the sight in front of him.

Minho giggled, pushing Jisung forward so that the door could close behind him. “Welcome to the bar, also known as my workspace!”

“How… did you transform this?” Jisung turned to look at the decor, shocked by the drastic change.

“It’s technically a spell,” Minho hummed. “The space always exists here, but normal people can’t see it unless I let it be visible. So when I’m not here, it’ll go away.” 

“Does that have anything to do with you working at the bar?” Jisung wondered. It would  make sense for him to visit the place even at night, maybe just to check that no one was actively trying to summon his workplace into reality.

“Nah,” Minho moved a cushion off a shelf, letting it settle in front of Jisung for him to sit on. “I just like working there. Besides, making drinks is basically like making potions anyway, right? It’s not like anyone would know if I added something extra to it.”

“So that’s why the drink I got tasted extra sweet.” Jisung narrowed his eyes, playfully accusing Minho.

“What can I say? A sweet drink for a sweet person, hm?” Minho countered easily.

Jisung blinked in response, flustered. As he looked away to calm his mind, he suddenly realized something. “Oh, where’s your cat?” 

“My cat?” Minho repeated dumbly, the two of them looking at each other before Minho went ‘ah’. “It’s usually out during the day. I actually usually don’t see it at all because it’s off wandering around.”

Thinking about how the cat would just sometimes pop out of nowhere and follow him around, Jisung found that Minho’s words were pretty reasonable. He hummed as he settled down on the cushion, watching Minho start to experiment, explaining what he was doing to Jisung as he went. 

He really liked Minho’s voice, Jisung decided as he watched Minho combine a shimmery blue liquid that was supposed to “enhance the effects” of whatever he was making. He didn’t understand it at all, but he was willing to listen. The smiles that Minho sent his way made it all worth it.

-

“Hey.” 

It was a sunny day, the rays of light illuminating the entirety of the library. Jisung, who was working on something, turned at the noise, sliding his headphones off. Seungmin was standing next to him, an impassive expression on his face.

“Oh hi, Seungmin! Did you need something?”

Seungmin looked at him, sighing softly. “Can I ask you for a favor?”

“A favor?” Jisung was surprised. He wasn’t that close with Seungmin; over the past few weeks, the two of them had mostly only come into contact in the library. However, it wasn’t like he wasn’t on good terms with the other, so he agreed easily. “Sure, what is it?”

“Nothing major, I just need a bit of your time.” Seungmin pulled out the chair next to him, sitting down and turning toward him with his palm face up.

“Put your hand on top of mine, then close your eyes. I’m going to ask a few yes/no questions. Please answer honestly.” He spoke evenly, and Jisung just did as he was told.

“What is this for?” He asked curiously.

“Experiment.” Seungmin exhaled, Jisung unable to see the gold that flashed in his eyes for a moment.

“Question one: did you know of this place before being invited here?” 

Jisung froze. To be honest, he hadn’t really thought too much about where Chan and Changbin had gone after graduation. He knew they were still a travelable distance away; when he asked where they had moved to, they said the name, but Jisung just stared at them blankly until they said that it wasn’t too far, a place that he could still reach by train. That was enough for him, so he didn’t press any further. Thus, he answered truthfully. “No.”

“Question two: did you know of the existence of magic before?”

“No.” This was also the truth. Jisung nearly lost his mind the day he found out about it.

“Question three: do you wish to gain power regarding magic abilities?”

Jisung thought about that one for a moment. There didn’t seem to be too much benefit in having magic abilities, maybe besides moving things around like how Minho did. But when it came to his passion of creating music, he liked doing it himself and manually producing the fruits of his labor. Unless there was some cool magic that could let him instantly manifest food or somehow get 10 hours of sleep in the span of 2 hours, he didn’t care too much about it. “No.”

“Question four: do you harbor any ill intent toward witch Lee Minho?”

This was probably Seungmin’s main goal. But that question was easy to answer as well. “No.”

He only held admiration and perhaps something more toward Minho. They had an instant connection, and Minho was an easy person to be around. He was already very comfortable being around the other, but he had never really thought about trying to take Minho’s magic for himself, like those people he had met by the river. If anything, he’d rather watch Minho practice magic than have it for himself.

Seungmin squeezed his hand, Jisung sitting up a little straighter. Then, Seungmin let go, taking a deep breath. “Okay, thank you. You can open your eyes now.”

Jisung’s eyelids fluttered open, and he looked at Seungmin, who gave him a small smile. “I’m sorry if that seemed strange. Minho-hyung’s had a fair share of people who approach him with the guise of wanting to get closer to him, only to try to take advantage of him.”

“I get it,” Jisung shuddered, recalling his narrow escape with Minho’s familiar. “I promise I’m not one of those people.”

“I know,” Seungmin stood up, pushing his chair back in. 

“From the questions you asked?” Jisung asked, hoping he wasn’t pushing too far. He didn’t think that Seungmin could also use magic.

Seungmin hummed affirmatively. “Again, sorry if that made you uncomfortable.”

“Not at all,” Jisung shook his head. “I understand why you’re doing this. You and Minho-hyung must be good friends.”

“Sure, I guess,” Seungmin turned away. “He’s more of an annoyance than anything.”

Jisung just chuckled softly as Seungmin gave him a wave, turning back to focus on his own work. But as he put his headphones back on, his thoughts started to wander.

It must’ve been difficult for Minho to trust people, never knowing when or if they’d betray him. Even so, he was still so kind to people. Minho made potions or spells for practically everyone in the town, yet he never asked for anything back. He had never said it out loud, but Jisung knew that one of the reasons he lived in the forest and not in the town like everyone else was to keep them safe in case people attacked him.

Jisung felt the sudden urge to give something back; in the time that Jisung had known Minho, it was only Minho who had been showing him new things, letting him try his food, even letting him try to make a potion on time. He thought about it for a little bit before completely giving up on trying to get work done, packing his things and leaving the library.

The bag rested on his hip as he headed toward the woods, a little further than the normal outskirts of the town. He toyed with the strap of his bag as he walked, feeling strangely alone without the black cat following him around. Jisung had noticed that Minho’s familiar didn’t seem to appear in town, only showing up when he was surrounded by greenery, away from people.

Thus, it was no surprise that a rustle came from his side, the black cat blinking up at him as it nosed its way out of a bush. “Hey,” a smile automatically stretched across his face as he bent down, putting his palm up and scratching the underside of the cat’s chin as it stuck its head onto his hand.

“What are you doing out here, hm?” Jisung patted its head and stood up, the cat purring softly and rubbing its side against his ankle. “Shouldn’t you be with your owner? It’s starting to feel like you spend more time with me than you do with him.”

The cat just meowed in response. Jisung let the cat follow him as he continued walking into the woods, seemingly looking for something. Jisung hummed a random tune as they came across a path of wildflowers, Jisung grinning as he stopped in the middle of it, starting to pick some of them.

Jisung put one of the flowers on the cat’s head, the cat letting out a noise in confusion. Jisung giggled as he tapped the cat’s nose. “Don’t you look so pretty.” 

The cat leaned up to lick his finger, the flower falling down back into the grass. Jisung withdrew his finger in surprise, staring accusingly at the cat when its ear just flicked in response. 

They stayed in the field for a while, the afternoon sun bright in the sky as Jisung quickly amassed a handful of pink and white flowers. They were vibrant with yellow centers and thin stems, an explosion of color in the palm of his hand. 

“Ah, wait, I don’t have any ribbon or anything,” Jisung murmured as he looked around for some tall stalks of grass, pulling two and tying the stems of the flowers together, a little hemisphere of petals gathered in his hands. 

“Does this look good?” Jisung crouched down, presenting the flowers to the cat, the cat sniffing the flowers before looking up at him. 

“I’m going to take that as a yes,” Jisung gently set the bouquet into his bag, happily shaking his head side to side.

He put his hands on his knees, looking at the cat. “Can you bring me to your owner's house?”

The cat meowed, tail flicking in the air as he turned around, padding a few steps before looking back to see if Jisung was following. Jisung smiled, quickly getting up and trailing after the cat.

The walk to Minho’s house always seemed short, even though Jisung never knew its exact location. Before long, the familiar fence came into view. This time, he pushed the gate open without hesitation, walking up to the steps that led into the house. 

He pulled the bouquet out of his bag and set it down at the doorstep, sitting there for a moment as he also took out his notebook, flipping open to an empty page and scribbling a note before folding it and tucking it under the flowers.

“A gift for your owner,” Jisung smiled at the cat that was watching him curiously. “It’ll be a surprise, you know? From when he comes back from work.”

The cat purred softly, climbing into his lab and pressing its head close to his face. Jisung chuckled, leaning down to press a kiss to its head. “Be good and don’t tell him, okay?” 

Then, he gently removed the cat from his lap, the cat obediently staying on the steps as Jisung adjusted his bag on his shoulder, getting ready to leave. He wiggled his fingers at the cat as he followed the stone trail back out, closing the fence behind him.

The second Jisung disappeared from sight, there was a puff of smoke as Minho transformed back into human form, a fond smile on his face as he reached down to pick up the note Jisung left, quickly unfolding it.

Minho-hyung, thank you so much for spending time with me and showing me your cool magic! I hope these flowers can convey at least a portion of my thanks. Next time I’ll give you something better, I promise!

— Jisung

Minho then turned his gaze back to the small bouquet of flowers. He had seen Jisung pick the flowers himself, but he still cradled it gently in his hands. Jisung probably had no idea what those flowers were.

A piece of his heart.

Cosmos.

-

“Since when did you have flowers in your house, hyung?” Hyunjin was sprawled over Minho’s couch, his head on Jeongin’s lap.

Sitting on one of the wooden shelves of his home was a bowl with the bouquet of cosmos flowers, the petals shimmering in the light. It stood out, the vibrant colors a stark contrast to the neutral tones of the rest of his house. 

“Someone’s courting you?” Felix poked his head in from where he had just popped a batch of brownies into the oven.

“Oh?” Jeongin’s ears stood straight up. “Is it Jisung-hyung?”

Minho just sighed as he chucked the packet of snacks he had just spent the effort to grab from a big city’s market at Jeongin. “This feels less like a meetup and more like an interrogation.”

“Maybe because it is,” Seungmin said as he strolled in, a juice box straw in his mouth. “It’s not every day that someone who isn’t trying to steal your power comes around, you know.” 

“You used your ability on him?” Minho frowned, Seungmin meeting his gaze with a shrug.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Minho looked at him for a moment longer, then turned away. He knew Seungmin was just looking out for him, but it still left a bad taste in his mouth. 

“Aw, don’t feel sad, hyung!” Felix draped himself over Minho’s back, pressing his head against Minho’s neck. “We just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I know, Yongbok,” Minho ruffled Felix’s hair. 

“You didn’t answer the question though!” Jeongin called from the couch, looking up from his phone. “Did Jisung-hyung give it to you?”

Minho hummed affirmatively, Hyunjin gasping dramatically. “Oh my god, hyung’s actually being courted by someone?”

“It’s not a courting gift.” Minho frowned. “He hasn’t shown that kind of interest toward me.”

“But if it was, you’d accept it?” Jeongin smirked, his tail twitching behind him.

“It’s not, though. So it’s not a question.” Minho said stubbornly.

“Don’t say that, you never know!” Hyunjin piped up. “Besides, if you want, you can try courting him instead!”

“And why would I do that.”

“Because you like him, obviously?” Seungmin plopped down on the couch next to Hyunjin, leaning sideways onto him. “Anyone would have to be blind not to see that.”

Minho opened his mouth to speak, but Seungmin cut him off. “You actively approach him, even in cat form. When was the last time that you genuinely found someone you liked hanging out with that wasn’t us? Before you say that you don’t like being with us, we all know that’s a lie. You can’t lie to me, Minho-hyung.”

A silence settled over them, and before Felix could try to alleviate the mood, Minho murmured, “he’s only here for the summer.”

That meant that he’d leave after, and no one could be sure if he was coming back. From what he’d told them, he probably only had a month or so left before he had to go back to college, which wasn’t enough time for Minho ascertain Jisung’s stance on dating — hell, he didn’t even know if Jisung was single. 

There were too many variables, and Minho was afraid that messing one up would mess up their entire friendship. Something like pursuing a relationship was always a very daunting and risky move.

“So that means you should make your move soon!” Jeongin pointedly ignored Minho’s concerns, one of his ears twitching. “Come on hyung, you might not get a chance like this again!”

“I agree with Innie,” Felix hummed. “Besides, Jisungie likes you a lot too! He always tells me how cute you are when you’re in cat form.”

… And that was another problem. Jisung wasn’t aware of Minho’s cat form at all; he thought the cat was a completely different entity. Jisung probably didn’t even know the significance of his cat form. It would be probably some form of betrayal if he were to suddenly bring up the fact that he was the cat himself. He wasn’t ready to bear Jisung’s shock and disappointment if he were given that information.

“Worst case scenario, you could just give him the key in cat form. The rules do say that whoever has the key will get some of your power and your soul-bond.” Seungmin pointed out, raising an eyebrow. “That way you can have some other reason to ask Jisung out. Although I know you aren’t going to do that.”

“Well, these are just suggestions,” Hyunjin said after a long while, glaring at Minho. “If you don’t want to make a move, then don’t do it. But if you complain about it later, I’m not letting you live it down.”

As the others chimed in with a “me too” and “me three”, Minho glanced at the flowers on the shelf. It was clear from Jisung’s note that it was just a gift of appreciation. There wasn’t necessarily anything more to it, and he didn’t want to assume so. Even if he did wish to get closer to Jisung, he was afraid of pushing the boundary too far.

In the end, they dropped the topic for the rest of the day, leaving Minho to stew in his thoughts alone.

-

A knock at the door made Hyunjin look up from where he was sitting. “Coming!” He called, setting the paintbrush down and patting down his apron.

He wasn’t expecting any visitors today, so he paused for a moment before he opened the door. “Oh, Jisung! Hey,” Hyunjin’s expression cleared immediately as he recognized the visitor’s face. “Is something the matter?”

This was Jisung’s first time visiting Hyunjin’s studio. He had never gone up the stairs in the library before, and he was quite curious as to what it looked like. 

“No, actually, I just came to visit,” Jisung smiled, fumbling around in his bag before he pulled out a sketchbook. “I was wondering if I could paint a bit with you?”

Hyunjin’s eyes lit up. “Of course!”

He pulled Jisung in, quietly shutting the door before gesturing toward the room. “Welcome to my studio! Feel free to take a look around as I go get you some materials.”

Hyunjin scampered off, Jisung slowly turning his head to take in the view before him. It seemed that they had remodeled the upper floor so that it was one large room, windows lining one wall. One of them was open, allowing fresh air into the room.

There were a handful of easels set up with various paintings, most of them slightly duller than the normal paintings Hyunjin would put up in the market. Jisung stepped closer to one, studying it curiously. He could still see the pencil sketch on the canvas, a layer of oil paint tracing the grey marks.

A shuffling sound came from the other side of the room as Hyunjin pulled out an empty canvas, the frame covering his midsection. “Is a canvas this big okay?” He asked, showing it to Jisung.

“Yeah, that’s perfect!” Jisung flashed him a thumbs up, Hyunjin grinning back.

After he set up the easel and brought over a chair, Hyunjin patted the top of it, inviting Jisung to go over and sit on it. “It’s nice to have company,” Hyunjin sighed as he handed Jisung a few pencils and a palette of paints. “It’s usually just me here.”

“Really?” Jisung was surprised. Hyunjin seemed like the type of person to have a lot of connections, or at least someone who talked to many people.

“Yeah,” Hyunjin hummed. “Most of them are out working. The only one who has time to drop by is Innie, and he’s usually helping Lixie or Minho-hyung.”

Jisung made a noise of understanding. At first, they conversed as they worked on their paintings, but over time, they became more focused on their pieces, the room filling with a silence that was broken by pencil scratches or the sound of a brush tapping the edge of a cup.

Since Jisung had already drawn a simple sketch beforehand, it didn’t take long for him to copy it onto the canvas and switch to the paints. His palette was soon filled with a mix of greens and the faintest tinge of pink, the base coat quickly filling the white blankness of the canvas.

“Oh wow, you’re fast!” Hyunjin commented as he walked over, taking a look at the canvas. 

They had been working for an hour or so already, the sun high in the sky. Jisung stretched, lifting his arms above his head as he set his paintbrush down, taking a step back and looking at his work.

A layer of green covered most of the canvas save for the center, white spaces dotted throughout the background. “Is that a cat?” Hyunjin pointed at the circle in the center, seeing the telltale tail curled around the bottom.

“Mhm,” Jisung pulled out his phone to show Hyunjin a picture that he took. “I wanted to try drawing this.”

It was a picture of a black cat asleep in the grass, the metal key around its neck glinting on the ground. White clovers surrounded the cat, the flowers a stark contrast to the cat’s dark fur. 

“Isn’t that…” Hyunjin spoke slowly.

Jisung smiled as he pulled his phone back to his chest. “It’s Minho’s familiar!” He completely missed Hyunjin’s eyebrow quirking upward. “It likes to follow me around a lot for some reason.”

“Clearly,” Hyunjin chuckled. “Cats don’t usually sleep around people that they don’t feel safe around.”

“Is that so?” Jisung tilted his head. “Maybe it was just because it was warm that day.”

“Or maybe the cat just likes you.” Hyunjin subtly pushed the idea onto him, Jisung’s expression softening at that.

“Yeah, I think so too!” He laughed, recalling his moments with the cat. “He’s always purring and coming up to me… I rarely even see it around Minho-hyung. Maybe it secretly likes me more?”

“Mm, I think it does,” Hyunjin turned away, shaking his head to himself. “Why don’t we go out for lunch while we let your paint dry? It’s already noon.”

“Oh, already? Sure, let’s go!” Jisung quickly reordered his workspace so that everything was placed stably on the ground before following Hyunjin to where he had walked to the door. 

Hyunjin took one last look at the painting before shutting the door behind him, walking down the stairs.

-

“There’s no way they’re both that stupid, right?” Hyunjin wailed, putting his head in his hands as Felix patted his back.

“I’ve got some bad news for you,” Seungmin also heaved a sigh, leaning back in his chair and pressing the back of his hand to his forehead.

Jeongin was just laughing from his seat, enjoying what Hyunjin had just told them. The four of them sat outside a diner, under a red and white umbrella that cast shade over their seats. Minho was preparing to open the bar, so the four of them gathered at a random place instead, deciding to instead talk about the recent developments of his not-pursuit.

“What’s going on here?” A new voice caused all of them to look over. Chan had just walked up to them from the side of the street, his brows raised. Changbin was trailing behind him, watching them with an amused expression.

“Nothing,” Seungmin groaned. “Just the average discussion of Minho and Jisung’s totally not obvious mutual pining.”

“Oh, you guys know about it too?” Changbin piped up, grinning. “Please, fill us in.”

The two of them grabbed nearby chairs and joined them at the table, the place looking like a round table meeting.

“Where should we start?” Felix hummed. “I’m not sure what you guys know already.”

“You can just start from the beginning,” Chan waved his hand. “Jisung tells us some stuff, but I’m sure it’s not everything that you guys have seen.”

“We can start with the day Minho-hyung ran into Jisung-hyung for the first time!” Jeongin’s ears flicked atop his head as he spoke excitedly.

“Please, tell the story,” Seungmin dragged a hand down his face. “If I have to think about how stupid these two are for a minute longer, I’m going to lose all my brain cells.”

The six of them ultimately ended up talking for hours, loud exclamations and pointing and “I know right?!” sounding from their table every few minutes. By the time they finished, the sun had already begun to set, casting reds and and oranges onto the sky above them.

“Will… Will Jisungie be back next summer?” Felix asked as their discussion drew to a close.

“Probably?” Changbin frowned. “He’s graduating next year, so he might move here after. Of course, there’s a chance that he won’t, but I’ve invited him to come after if he wants to.”

“Really?” Felix’s eyes widened. “That’s good news, then!”

“Yeah, then Minho-hyung can stop having the dilemma of ‘oh no I’m never seeing Jisung again after he leaves at the end of summer’ or whatever,” Seungmin complained from where he had slumped onto Jeongin’s shoulder, completely spent.

“You can be more excited about it!” Jeongin lightly shoved Seungmin, jostling him slightly but not enough to send him off of his shoulder. “Hyung’s never been interested in someone like this before.”

“Oh yeah, does Jisung know about the thing regarding the key that Minho-hyung carries around when he’s a cat?” Hyunjin suddenly spoke up, recalling something. “I saw it in the picture that Jisung took of him, but he didn’t even say anything about it.”

“We’ve never told him about it,” Chan shook his head. “So unless he’s heard it from someone else, I don’t think he does?”

“How great…” Hyunjin mumbled. “He doesn’t even know what gaining the cat’s trust and affection even means.”

“That’s probably why Minho-hyung likes him so much, you know?” Felix pointed out. “Someone’s finally seeing Minho-hyung for who he is and not trying to get close to him for marriage or power or whatever.”

“Jisung wouldn’t do that.” Changbin frowned.

“I’m not saying that he would!” Felix quickly waved his hands in front of him, not wanting them to misunderstand. “It’s just Minho’s never had that good of luck with people, you know? Especially people who come here from out of town.”

As he spoke, Jeongin’s ears flattened slightly against his head. “Even before, too…” Jeongin mumbled. “Hyung couldn’t trust anyone, even if he wanted to.”

Seungmin exhaled softly, reaching up to ruffle Jeongin’s hair. “It’s okay now,” he said, strangely consoling. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

“That’s right!” Hyunjin tried to shake off the dark mood that had settled over their table. “We can just worry about how Minho-hyung thinks Jisungie doesn’t want him.”

“No way,” Chan gaped.

“Yes way,” Seungmin countered. 

“When Jisung saw Minho-hyung at the bar, he basically malfunctioned because he thought Minho-hyung was so hot,” Changbin laughed incredulously.

“I wish I was there to see it,” Felix lamented, trying to imagine the scenario in his head.

“So basically…” Chan said slowly, trying to line up all of the information he had learned. “Jisungie and Minho clearly like each other, but Jisungie’s too shy to make a move first and Minho’s too scared of ruining their relationship.”

“Sounds about right.” Hyunjin nodded, letting out a long sigh. “We tried convincing Minho-hyung before too, but it doesn’t seem like he’ll do anything anytime soon.”

The six of them exchanged glances before all coming to acknowledge that there was little to no chance that Minho and Jisung would get together before the summer ends, or even any time after that, with the way that they were acting with each other.

“I guess all we can do is watch from a distance,” Changbin said with a smile on his face. “Honestly, I personally don’t mind. It’s nice to see Jisungie finally coming out of his shell.”

“That’s how I feel about Minho-hyung!” Jeongin added on, nodding in Changbin’s direction. 

“Good for you guys, but if I have to see Minho-hyung pining for Jisung while being unable to do anything because he’s in his stupid cat form again, I’m actually going to throw him then myself out of a window.”

The street lights that lined the road beside them flickered on, their laughter echoing into the night.

-

The rest of summer passed fairly uneventfully. Jisung spent most of his time with Minho in the bar, with Chan and Changbin in their studio, with Hyunjin in the atelier, or with the cat somewhere outside. 

He had become much closer to Minho over the past few weeks, Jisung often sitting in the bar as he worked on his lyrics or just watched Minho mess around. There were a number of times where he had just fallen asleep at a table, waking up to see a homemade meal set next to him, Minho still busy with his work. 

Being with Minho was easy; they seemed to just know when the other’s energy level was high or low, and it was comfortable being in his presence, whether it was just the two of them working independently in the same space, or chatting about anything and everything. 

Jisung sighed as he thought about it. He’d definitely miss Minho a lot when he went back to college.

“You know, if you spent the time properly folding and putting your clothes away, you wouldn’t be suffering like this,” Chan said as he leaned against the doorway, watching Jisung stuff another shirt through the half-closed zipper.

“That’s so much effort for clothes that I’m just going to be tossing into my room once I go back to college,” Jisung complained, yanking the zipper shut. “Besides, it all fits in there anyway.”

Chan just shook his head fondly, leaving Jisung to pack the rest of his bags. He had only sat down for a few minutes when he heard Jisung go “oh, shit!” upstairs, his footsteps echoing in the hallway before he rushed out the door.

Jisung jogged out into the town before realizing that he didn’t even know where to go. He was looking for Minho’s familiar — in theory, he could go to Minho himself and ask him, but Minho was probably busy, so he didn’t want to bother him. 

He walked along the treeline, humming to himself as he followed the path, hoping he’d just somehow stumble into the cat on the road. Luckily, fate seemed to be on his side, as a few minutes later, a familiar meow broke through his thoughts.

“Oh, hey!” Jisung crouched down, watching the cat run over to him. “I was just looking for you.”

The cat meowed as Jisung brought his hands up to either sides of its cheeks, rubbing them in his palms. “I’m leaving today,” he murmured, scratching the cat’s head as he held its face in his hands.

It was only after a moment that it noticed that the cat had something else hanging around its neck this time. “A new key?” Jisung wondered as he looked at it, not wanting to touch the cat’s neck.

He blinked in surprise as the cat scooted closer, sticking its neck onto Jisung’s open palm. “You want me to take it?” He asked, unsure.

The cat’s ear flicked as it meowed, and when Jisung reached for the trinket, the cat didn’t draw away at all. He slowly pulled the string over the cat’s head, realizing that it had been looped over it twice. It unraveled into a necklace with a blue pendant that glittered in the sunlight.

“For me?” He asked again, the cat bumping its head against his knee in response. “Okay, okay, I’ll take it! I just wanted to make sure.”

Jisung turned it over in his hand, taking a closer look. The jewel was a deep, clear blue, encased in silver metal. “It’s so pretty,” Jisung murmured as he lifted it up to the sun, taking in how it refracted light.

He slipped it over his own head, letting the jewel rest against his chest. “Thank you,” he said as he leaned down, kissing the cat’s head. It had somehow become a habit for him, the cat purring in response whenever he did it. This time was no different, Jisung pulling back with a small smile.

“Is this from Minho-hyung? Tell him thank you for me,” Jisung scratched under its chin, feeling the vibration of the cat’s purrs against his fingers. “Also tell him that I left a gift for him with Hyunjinnie, okay?”

The cat lifted its head closer to his face, and Jisung kissed its nose one last time before standing back up. “I have to go now,” he said, a flicker of sadness in his expression. “Don’t miss me too much, okay?”

Its body rumbled as it pressed up against his ankle, almost a plea for him not to go. But Jisung could only stroke its head a few more times before taking a few steps back toward where he had come from. The cat didn’t follow him, Jisung feeling somewhat heartbroken that he couldn’t just stay there forever with it. 

He returned back to Chan and Changbin’s house, toying with the necklace. “Ready to go?” Changbin looked up from the couch. “I brought down your luggage already.”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Jisung walked over to the staircase, glancing over at his suitcase that was in the living room. “Let me just go check my room one more time.”

Jisung took his time doing a sweep of the room, although he didn’t think too hard about if he had actually left anything behind. Worst case, he’d just make the long journey over once more and pick it up.

“Let’s go!” Jisung poked his head out of his room, shutting the door behind him as he came back down to join Changbin.

“One second!” Chan opened their refrigerator door, pulling out a few boxes and shoving them into a cooler bag. 

“What is that?” Jisung asked curiously as Chan zipped up the lid.

“Gifts from Lix and the others,” Chan said as he unceremoniously dumped it into Jisung’s hands. “They were making it for you yesterday.”

“Oh,” Jisung’s eyes widened. “They didn’t have to…”

Chan waved his hand as they headed toward the door. “They wanted to, so just take it. Besides, it’s mostly sweets and other things; you’ll enjoy it.”

Jisung broke into a smile as he followed Chan out to the car, putting his bags down and settling down in the back seat. Changbin climbed into the passenger seat as Chan pulled open the driver door, turning back to look at Jisung. “Ready for another year of school?” Changbin teased.

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Jisung slumped into his seat. “I don’t want to go back.”

“Just one more year,” Chan hummed as he started to back out of the driveway. “You have any plans on what you want to do after? Maybe come join us here?”

“No plans,” Jisung sighed. “I’ll just freeload off of you guys until I can find a job or your company lets me in.”

“I’m sure they’ll let you in as soon as you graduate,” Changbin consoled him. “They loved the lyrics you submitted last time and wanted to take another look at your portfolio.”

“Really?” Jisung sat up, looking at Changbin in surprise. 

“Mhm,” Changbin grinned. “Don’t doubt yourself so much, Jisungie.”

The car ride to the station didn’t take too long, but when he stepped out, he was immediately attacked by an embrace, nearly bowling over out of surprise. “Sungie!!!” Felix sounded like he was about to cry as he wrapped his arms around Jisung’s waist, burying his head into Jisung’s shoulder. “We’re going to miss you!”

“Come visit us sometime,” Hyunjin joined their group hug, wailing dramatically.

“I’m not leaving forever!” Jisung laughed, running his hands down Felix’s back. “I’ll definitely come visit. I might move here after next year too!”

“Really?” Jeongin was hovering awkwardly at the edge of their group hug before he was yanked in by Felix. “Please do, we’re going to miss you a lot…”

The four of them stayed there for a moment before Felix let go so that Jisung could say goodbye to the others as well. Seungmin stood there, sighing as Jisung opened his arms, letting Jisung wrap his arms around him before patting him on the back. “Please don’t leave us for good,” Seungmin’s voice was significantly less emotional, but he had a smile on his face. “I can’t deal with their whining forever.”

“Please, why is everyone treating me like I’m going off to war? I’ll come back before you know it!” Jisung joked as he pulled back.

“It’s cause we’re going to miss you the second you leave!” Hyunjin called as Jisung looked at Minho with a shy smile.

“Hyunjin’s right,” Minho murmured as he pulled Jisung in, threading his hand into Jisung’s hair. “I’ll miss you the moment you go.”

“Don’t say that,” Jisung hummed, closing his eyes. “I won’t be long, I promise.”

“Okay.” He could hear the fondness in Minho’s voice.

“Oh, also thank you for the gift. I’ll treasure it.” Jisung suddenly remembered the gemstone necklace that he had received earlier.

“You can think of it as something to remember me by,” Minho drew back then, Jisung seeing the smile on Minho’s face. 

“As if I could ever forget you,” Jisung grinned back.

“Jisung! The train’s coming soon!” Chan’s voice sounded as he waved Jisung’s train ticket in the air. 

“Okay!” Jisung called back before looking at Minho one more time. “See you.”

“See you, Jisungie.” Minho reluctantly let him go, his eyes trailing after Jisung.

“You’re pathetic,” Jisung heard Seungmin comment off to the side.

Jisung let out a huff of laughter as he jogged over to Chan and Changbin. “I’ll text you guys,” Jisung said as he gave Changbin a sturdy handshake, Changbin dragging him in for a hug. 

“Give a call when you’re free also,” Chan walked over, pulling them both into his arms. 

“Okay, okay,” Jisung let out a contented sigh. “I’ll miss you guys.”

“We’ll send you lots of pictures here,” Chan ruffled Jisung’s hair. “Now go, before you miss your train.”

Chan sent him off with a gentle push, Jisung moving to drag his luggage onto the platform. He turned around for a moment, lifting his arm above his head and waving. “Bye, I’ll see you guys!”

A chorus of farewells came from the seven in front of him, and Jisung grinned before he turned away to board the train. The gemstone felt warm where it rested against his chest.

-

Jisung slumped over his desk, still in his outdoor clothes. He had just thrown his backpack off to the side, too tired to properly clean up. Even though classes had just started a few weeks ago, he was already so tired.

Classes meant talking to people or long lectures where he could barely pay attention, having to drag himself out to campus for a few hours before trekking home. But it also meant that he had to start taking care of himself again, which meant going out for groceries. Speaking of groceries, his fridge was practically empty since two or three days ago, and he had been surviving off of frozen meals and ramen. He was free now, which was probably a sign that he should go out and get some fresh food.

He groaned as he slowly pushed himself off of the wood surface, clumsily grabbing his necessities and shoving them into his pockets. He looked less than presentable, wearing a large hoodie over a loose pair of jeans. But it wasn’t like he was going that far anyway, so he didn’t try to dress up any nicer.

The grocery store wasn’t that far from the apartment complex that he lived in, so he just took two bags with him, hoping that it would be enough to hold all that he was going to buy. He quickly ducked into the store, walking through the automatic doors as he checked his phone for his grocery list.

He had written it down this time, since last time he had forgotten what he had and didn’t have in his fridge. Mindlessly, he grabbed what he needed and walked around, sometimes stopping by some snacks and deliberating on whether or not he should buy them. Jisung had just pushed his cart into the pastries section when he heard someone call out in front of him. “Jisung?”

Jisung looked up, not expecting anyone to recognize him in a random grocery store on a Tuesday afternoon. He was even more surprised when the person in front of him was none other than Minho.

“Hyung? What are you doing here?” Jisung blinked rapidly, making sure that he wasn’t hallucinating the other’s appearance. Surely there was no way he missed the other so much that he had just appeared out of thin air?

“Here to pick up some food,” Minho lifted a cup of pudding in his hands, then did a full sweep of Jisung’s appearance. “You don’t look so good, is everything okay?”

“Just tired,” Jisung mustered his best smile. He could tell that it wasn’t very convincing, but Minho didn’t push. “College is always so tiring…”

Minho peered into Jisung’s cart, frowning at the amount of instant food that was in there. “I can’t stay long,” Minho looked up, looking into Jisung’s eyes. “But try to take care of yourself, okay?”

“Okay, hyung,” Jisung’s smile became a little more natural. 

“I’ll come visit again,” Minho promised before he swiftly turned on his heel, presumably going to check out his food.

Jisung shook his head quickly after Minho left, still feeling that their encounter was somewhat unreal. He had completely forgotten that Minho could just… send himself over for a short while. Now that he thought about it, he did feel like the city was a little more… empty. Like something had been forcibly been cut off, not allowing nature to run its course.

However, seeing Minho lifted his mood significantly. He was able to finish up his grocery run, even having enough energy to put everything away when he got back. He even tidied a bit of his room, throwing all of his dirty clothes into the basket and changing into a large t-shirt. 

He shuffled a random playlist as he decided to make a simple dinner for the night. As he let the water boil, he pulled up his group chat with Chan and Changbin, texting them and asking how everything’s been.

Changbin replied first, saying that Felix and Hyunjin were particularly sad that he was gone, and Chan followed saying that everyone else also missed him. Jisung smiled as he chatted with them while making his dinner, his studio apartment suddenly seeming a little less lonely.

On the other end, Changbin looked up from his phone, slumped on the couch where he had been watching something on the TV. “Should we tell him?” He asked, glancing over at Chan.

“No,” Chan shook his head firmly. 

“But…” Changbin was about to protest when Chan fixed him with a look that read I don’t like it either, but it’s not our place to meddle , Changbin sighing and dropping the topic.

-

Over the weeks, Jisung would occasionally come back to a note and some food on his desk. It was always the same, the paper creased twice and the bottom left corner pressed under a food container. 

The first time it happened, he eyed it warily. The reasonable deduction would be that someone broke into his apartment. But who in their right mind would break into a place just to leave stuff there? In any case, he didn’t really have much to lose, so Jisung walked over, snatching the note from under the container.

Hi Jisungie, I hope this note doesn’t scare you too much. I asked Chan-hyung for your apartment’s location, so no, I didn’t stalk you or anything… heh. Last time I saw you, you weren’t looking too well, so I brought you some food! Please eat it, I spent a lot of effort making it and sending it here… By the way, Lixie and the others miss you a lot. 

— LMH

Jisung let out a huff of amusement as he reached for the container, bringing it over to his kitchen counter. He had been planning on going out to find something to eat, but it seemed that he no longer had to do that. He folded the note back up and dropped it in  his desk drawer, shutting it in a secure place. 

Well, not having to look for dinner meant he could spend more time finishing his assignment and then watching some anime in bed. He took a picture of the food with his hand holding up a peace sign in the corner, sending it into the group chat and telling them to thank Minho for him. 

It somehow became a regular occurrence, Jisung even starting to look forward to the food and notes left on his desk. Sometimes, the others would leave him messages too, their scribbles taking up the corners of the note. 

I helped make the brownies this time! Felix had written once, a little happy face accompanying it. 

One of the notes had I made Seungminnie write you a note this time heh from Hyunjin on one side, a no, he didn’t, I chose to write this myself. Hope you’re doing well, Jisung. directly under it.

The most recent one had Jeongin’s writing, a please come back soon hyung! It’s so boring here without you under the rest of Minho’s writing. 

Of course, every time, Jisung would clean the container and leave his own note, usually something along the lines of I miss you guys too! or some generic life update, which was quite rare as Jisung’s life had been relatively uneventful after coming back to college.

Jisung now had a box that had started to fill with the notes, the box tucked away in one of his drawers. But as he thought about it, he frowned slightly. Minho usually visited during Jisung’s busiest day, but he hadn’t come this week. Maybe he was just busy. Jisung didn’t want to seem too clingy, so he decided not to ask about it. Besides, it wasn’t like Minho was obligated to come visit him every week. 

He pushed it to the back of his mind, but for the weeks following that, Minho had never come by again. Jisung had asked Chan about it, but Chan just told him that Minho hadn’t been feeling well recently, so he couldn’t use his magic to visit Jisung, even if he wanted to. Jisung didn’t push, but something felt off. He toyed with the necklace in his hand as he read the text, hoping Minho could somehow feel his concern.

“This has to stop.” Seungmin stood in front of Minho, the latter slumped over his work desk. 

The plants that adorned the walls were overgrowing, and various unidentifiable liquids were strewn across the floor. Minho looked up, his eyes darker than normal. There was a red mark that stretched across his cheek, and bruises across his exposed arms.

“What can I do?” Minho mumbled, burying his head back in his arms. “They won’t stop coming after me. I’m only one person. No matter how powerful I am, I can’t just fight against countless others and always win.”

Seungmin sighed, pacing around the room. “It’s my fault,” he frowned. “For starting this entire thing.”

“No, it’s not.” Minho shook his head. “I’m just not as powerful as I used to be.”

“Because you isolated a part of your power and gave it to Jisung?” Seungmin raised his brows as he stopped, leaning against one of the walls. 

Minho’s silence and refusal to meet his gaze was enough of an answer.

“You could always withdraw it, you know. Jisung would understand.”

Minho whipped his head up and glared at him as he spoke. It was true that he had left a strong protection spell on Jisung and had to use a portion of his magic power to maintain it, but without it, people who tried to go after Minho’s power might go after Jisung instead. And Minho could not let that happen.

He had been careless. When he was around Jisung, he had let his guard down. And that had led to people noticing his sudden spike in activity, whether it was in human or cat form. Somehow, people had noticed that his familiar appeared when Jisung was out and about in the wilderness, and the forest was filled with an influx of people searching for him.

Minho was lucky that they had only started appearing after Jisung had left, but he had heard whispers of people saying to track down Jisung instead, since the cat seemed to appear most with him. The necklace that Minho had given Jisung originally just had a general protection spell, but after that moment, he had intensified its ability at the cost of his own power.

It was hard for him to even leave his workspace now; he couldn’t even go home without one or two people tailing him. Normally, they only stayed in the forest, but this time they attacked him in broad daylight, just on the outskirts of the town center.

They were armed with weapons and most of them were magic users, an extremely bad combination for Minho to go against, especially when he wasn’t at his peak. As skilled as he was, continuous attacks and the need to heal weakened him over time, and he had barely managed to escape, the bruises on his body stinging as he slammed the door shut. 

“You do know that Jisung’s been worried about you too, right?” Seungmin bent down to pick up one of the ointments that had fallen off the shelf and chucked it at Minho’s head. “He’s been texting Chan-hyung and Changbin-hyung. They’ve been saying that you just aren’t feeling well.”

“It’s not a lie,” Minho chuckled weakly, batting the bottle away as it flew at him.

Seungmin just looked at him with an unimpressed gaze as Hyunjin burst into the room, Felix and Jeongin hot on his heels. “Seungminnie, I just saw your text- oh…”

Felix immediately rushed over, lifting Minho’s head up so that he could assess the damage. “God, hyung…” 

The fur on Jeongin’s tail bristled immediately as he took in Minho’s appearance. “Hyung, what the hell? You said that they wouldn’t come after you anymore!”

“It’s okay, Iyen-ah,” Minho said softly, but there were already angry tears in Jeongin’s eyes as he stomped over.

“It’s not okay! What if I came here just to see that you were dead because you weren’t able to make it out on time? Were you just going to die without telling me?!”

Hyunjin immediately pulled Jeongin back, running his hands soothingly down his hair. “It’s okay, Innie. He’s okay. We have Lix here, and I can help him too.” 

Felix pressed his hands against Minho’s bruises, Minho hissing at the contact. “It’ll be better in a bit,” Felix promised, his hands warm on Minho’s arm.

Jeongin’s breathing was unsteady as he writhed in Hyunjin’s hold. “At least let me come with you next time,” he said, dejected. “Even if I’m not as strong as you, I can still fight.”

“No,” Minho rejected the idea immediately.

“Why?! I’m not a child anymore, hyung!” 

“I can’t risk you getting hurt because people want something from me,” Minho flexed his hand experimentally as Felix moved away. “This was a one-time thing. If it really gets worse, I’ll tell you then, okay?”

“Promise?” Jeongin’s voice was shaky as Hyunjin finally let him go.

“I promise.”

“I hate to break it to you,” Seungmin finally spoke up. “But it’s most definitely going to get worse. Now that they know that you’re weaker, there’s no way their attacks are going to let up.”

“I hate when you’re logical like that,” Minho clicked his tongue. 

“There’s one thing we can do, maybe,” Hyunjin murmured, the others looking at him. “It’ll be hard to maintain, but we can try setting up a veil. So that no one can enter or leave…”

“And how are we going to keep it up?” Minho glanced at him. “If it were so easy, I would’ve done it long ago.”

“I’ll help you,” Jeongin stepped forward, Minho blinking his eyes in surprise. “I’m not as powerful as you but I can at least help a bit, right? I’ll make up for the magic that you left with Jisung-hyung.”

“No, Iyen-ah-” Minho tried to dissuade him but Jeongin was persistent, not letting Minho finish.

“You’ve protected me my entire life,” Jeongin was practically begging as he bit his lip. “Isn’t it time that you let me protect you, too?”

Minho looked at him, holding his gaze for a long while before exhaling softly. He shifted his gaze away, to the wooden table beneath his arms. “Okay.”

-

“Do you have a girlfriend, Jisung?” A girl looked at him from across the table, sipping her drink.

“Ah, no…” Jisung smiled awkwardly. “I don’t think I’m interested in girls.”

“Oh? A boyfriend, then?” She didn’t seem surprised at all; there even was a teasing glint in her eye.

Jisung shook his head, his cheeks coloring. The girl seemed to catch on instantly, gasping dramatically. “You like someone, then! Oh my, who is it? Someone in our major?”

Their department had gone out for drinks to celebrate the end of the semester, the bar that they were settled in bustling with activity. He was lucky that the two of them were sitting a little distance away from everyone else, so no one overheard her exclamation.

“You don’t know him,” Jisung denied. “He doesn’t go here.”

“Aw,” the girl pouted, sighing. “Well, good luck! I’m sure no one will turn down someone as pretty and talented as you.”

“Thank you,” Jisung gave her a genuine smile as he lifted his glass. “What about you? Are you in a relationship or… you know?”

“Oh,” she blinked in surprise before grinning. “There’s this girl…”

The two of them chatted for a while before the girl left to join some of her friends on the dance floor, promising to update Jisung on her relationship. He waved her off with a smile before he turned to his drink, his thoughts beginning to wander.

It was only recently that he had realized his feelings for Minho. After Minho’s weekly letters had stopped coming, Chan had helped set up a group chat for Jisung to contact the others. It was mostly Jisung, Felix, and Jeongin chatting there, the other five responding every once in a while. Minho responded the least, although it wasn’t surprising given the nature of his work.

Thus, Jisung ended up shyly asking Felix for updates, a bit too scared to directly message Minho himself. 

“You’re awfully worried about him recently,” Felix had told him once when they were calling, amusement lacing his voice.

“Is that not okay?” Jisung had cradled his phone in his hand, biting his lip.

“Of course it’s okay!” Felix’s voice had been bright. “In fact, it’s more than okay. You’re like a worried little wife that’s waiting for her husband to come back from war.”

“Wh-” Jisung had sputtered, his face flushing almost instantly. “Lix!”

“What?” Felix hadn’t sounded sorry at all. “I’m right! ‘Oh, have you seen Minho-hyung recently? Oh, is Minho-hyung doing okay?’ You’re one second away from asking me to tell Minho-hyung that you hope he comes home soon!”

Jisung made a muffled sound as he buried his face in his hands, embarrassed. Felix had laughed it off, but his words stuck with Jisung for a while after that.

He had always known that his feelings for Minho were a little different than that for his other friends. He never really felt nervous when wanting to hang out with Chan or Changbin; he had never wanted to show off something small and silly to Felix in hopes of feeling his hands in his hair. Minho was always an exception. Jisung wanted to spend time with him and fall asleep on his lap. He wanted to watch Minho cook or work on his magic or do anything, really.

There was also Minho’s familiar that he had shown affection to more than once. The cat was quite similar to its owner, and Jisung had wondered more than once if Minho would react the same way if Jisung kissed him. He had pushed those thoughts away before, but now that they were separated by thousands of miles, they burst forth like a spring that had been suppressed for too long.

Jisung was also unsure of how Minho felt toward him. Felix and the others had complained to him many times about how Minho favored him and was so much worse now that he wasn’t there with them, but part of Jisung just wondered if they were just saying that. Minho just seemed cold to those who knew him; under that aloof exterior, he was playful and silly to all of his close friends. It could be said that Jisung had somehow wormed his way into that circle, but he didn’t want to take it as anything more.

The way Minho treated Jisung was a little different from the way he treated others. He was gentler, although he’d still tease and play around with Jisung. Their banter was quieter, and sometimes they’d just sit together in silence. Maybe it was because Jisung was an outsider, so Minho just didn’t quite know where exactly the boundaries of their friendship were yet. He had talked about it once, voicing his thoughts. Seungmin had overheard, berating Jisung as he yanked the phone out of Jeongin’s hand, saying that he didn’t believe Jisung could actually be that dense.

Jokes on Seungmin, because Jisung was quite literally that dense. He didn’t want to assume Minho’s feelings, especially because he could be wrong; he ended up saying that he’d rather wait until Minho confirmed that he liked Jisung back before doing anything that he might regret. Seungmin’s sigh was so loud that Jisung swore he could hear it come from the train station.

In any case, it wasn’t like he could do anything now, anyway. Minho was quite a far distance away, so Jisung was left to stew in his feelings in the middle of a busy city.

“What’s someone like you doing here alone?” A stranger’s voice caused Jisung to snap out of his stupor. He turned to see an unfamiliar face next to him, the guy slinging his arm over Jisung’s shoulder. 

“Do I know you?” Jisung asked, frowning.

“You can,” the guy raised an eyebrow, moving his hand down to grab at Jisung’s waist.

Jisung flinched then, his entire body tensing. Normally, he wasn’t adverse to touching, but that was reserved for his friends. He loved hugging them and playing with their hands, but this person was a complete stranger. All Jisung could think about was how this person wasn’t Minho, and how his grip was harsh and tight, unlike Minho’s warm and gentle touches. 

“No thank you,” Jisung waved his hand dismissively. Although he didn’t want to resort to violence, he made it very clear that he wasn’t interested in the man next to him.

“What, you’re taken?” The other man pressed on, smirking as Jisung didn’t respond. “If you’re single, why not give me a chance? You know, I-”

His voice was drowned out by a lighter, soft voice. “Oh hyung, there you are! I was looking for you.”

Jisung snapped his head to see one of his juniors standing on his other side, glaring at the unwelcome man. “Excuse me, who are you?”

“What’s that got to do with you?” The man sniffed. “You’re interrupting something.”

“Is that so?” the junior smiled, no mirth in his cat-like eyes. “Unfortunately, he has some other business to tend to. He’ll be coming with me.”

As he spoke, he pried the other man’s hand off of Jisung’s waist, tugging Jisung to his feet with a loose hold around his wrist. Jisung looked at him with wide eyes, the junior just giving him a small smile. Grateful for the diversion, Jisung followed behind him.

They were lucky that the stranger left them be, although not without a rude remark. His junior didn’t say much as he led Jisung out of the bar, only stopping to let him rest against a wall. Jisung only felt the alcohol hit after he took a step, the back of his head throbbing dully as he slid down the wall.

“My apologies,” The junior folded his hands politely in front of him, letting go of Jisung’s wrist. “I saw that he was making you uncomfortable.”

Under the streetlight, Jisung could finally make out who was in front of him. It was one of the younger students that Jisung had noticed in his class, Jungwon. Jungwon was one of the most talented students in their class, although what stood out to Jisung was his cat-like demeanor and appearance. Everything related to cats reminded him of Minho, and so Jisung’s first impression of Jungwon was how Minho would love to take in someone like him.

Jisung shook his head, offering Jungwon a small smile. “No worries, thank you for coming to help me. Although, if there’s any real business that needs me, I’m not in the best shape for that right now…”

Jungwon waved his hands, dismissing his worries. “I just thought that it would be good for you to get some fresh air; I saw that you had a lot of drinks. Maybe you should go home? It’s getting late, anyway.”

“That’s a good idea,” Jisung mumbled.

“Do you want me to wait here until someone picks you up?” Jungwon offered, tilting his head like a curious cat. Jisung had always thought that Jungwon was quite mature for someone his age. He looked very serious with his offer, though Jisung was not sure how to tell the younger that he didn’t have anyone who would be looking for him at this hour.

“That’s alright,” Jisung sighed, joking weakly. “Unless you’re here for some ulterior motive? Unfortunately, I’d have to turn you down if you’re interested in me like that.”

Jungwon chuckled, pulling out his phone. The screen was on, a few text notifications at the top. “You don’t need to worry about that; I’m sure my boyfriend would be quite disappointed if I suddenly told him I was interested in someone else.”

Jisung laughed at that, deciding that it would probably be for the best for him to go home. “Ah, thank you again, Jungwonie,” Jisung said as he reached out to pat Jungwon on the head.

“It’s nothing,” Jungwon just shook his head. “Get home safe, Han-ssi.”

Jisung wished him good night before letting Jungwon return to the bar, turning away and walking down the streets of the busy city. He shuddered as he recalled the stranger’s touch on his skin, wishing that he could go home to one of his friends so that they could rid him of the feeling.

He was so tired when he got home that he didn’t even notice the piece of paper on his desk, neatly folded into fourths.

-

“Congratulations!” Changbin yelled, thrusting a bouquet into Jisung’s arms. “You’ve finally graduated!”

Jisung was grinning as he stumbled away from the crowd of students, clutching his cap and the flowers in his hands. “Thanks, Changbinnie-hyung! Ah, it’s finally over…”

Chan reached over to muss Jisung’s hair, pulling him into a hug. “How does it feel, Jisung-ah? Four years of college, finally over!”

“It feels unreal,” Jisung confessed. “Ah, I wish my parents were here too.”

“We’ll take a lot of pictures and send it to them,” Changbin promised. “They can enjoy your graduation pictures all the way from Malaysia.”

As they chatted, Chan suddenly lifted his phone up, waving at the screen. “Hi, hi! Can you hear me?”

“Channie-hyung!” Hyunjin’s voice sounded from the other end, Jisung peering over Chan’s shoulder curiously. “Pass the phone to Jisungie already!”

Chan laughed as he handed the phone over, Jisung seeing Hyunjin holding his phone horizontally. “Hi, Jisungie! Happy graduatio- ahh!”

The phone shook as an arm was slung over Hyunjin’s shoulder, Felix’s face appearing next to his. “Happy graduation, Sungie! I wish we could be there in person!”

There was a bunch of shuffling as Jisung watched them fondly, the phone finally moving to show four of them in frame. “Jisung-hyung!” “Jisung!” Jeongin and Seungmin chimed in together, giving him a salute and thumbs up. “Congratulations!”

Hyunjin coughed as he took his phone back, bringing himself to the center while the other three crawled over him like little meerkats. “Jisung, are you moving here after graduation? I know we haven’t talked about it a lot, but…”

Jisung looked at Chan, who just tilted his head toward the phone with a you tell them expression. Jisung smiled, nodding. “I will! Channie-hyung and Changbinnie-hyung will be helping me move my stuff over after today.”

“Oh my god!” Felix yelled, shaking Hyunjin so hard that the entire pile fell over, the phone screen suddenly showing a blank ceiling. “We have to throw a party! It can be a joint party for Sungie graduating and moving here!”

“Maybe let’s first stop losing the phone,” Seungmin’s voice sounded as he picked up the phone, shaking his head fondly. 

Changbin was watching from Jisung’s side, laughing at the chaos on the other end. “They’re so excited to have you back,” he nudged Jisung with his elbow.

“I’m excited too,” Jisung responded, before realizing something. “Oh… where’s Minho-hyung?”

The four on the other end seemed to freeze for a moment, exchanging glances before Seungmin coughed lightly. “He has his hands full right now, unfortunately. He did tell us to wish you a happy graduation, though.” 

“Ah, okay.” Jisung gave them a small smile, although a part of him was a little… worried? Disappointed? 

He hadn’t exactly expected for them to call in the first place, but the fact that Minho wasn’t with the rest of them didn’t sit right with him. If not Felix, then Jeongin would normally be hanging around the older. But Jisung felt that it wasn’t the right place to push, so he just dropped the topic, letting them resume their earlier conversation about holding a party for Jisung when he came back.

His mind wasn’t completely on the conversation though, his brows furrowed just slightly. He thought about how the sapphire gem on the necklace that Minho had given him had seemed to lose some of its luster recently. Before, it would glow softly in the sunlight, the refraction of light glittering on the surface. But now, it was slightly dull, but had just pushed the thought aside, thinking that maybe he just needed to clean it up. 

Perhaps it meant something more than he had realized.

Before he could think more about it, he heard Chan telling the others on the call that they were going to go, as the students were starting to take their leave, flower petals and confetti following in their wake. Jisung mustered a bright smile, waving goodbye, the four on the other end yelling out their goodbyes as well.

The call ended with a click, Hyunjin slumping over. “Fuck,” he broke the terse silence. “What are we going to do about Minho-hyung?”

“What can we do about Minho-hyung?” Seungmin interjected. “I think what you should be asking is what we should do about Jisung.”

Felix bit his lip, thinking about something. “Minho-hyung might be able to wake up before Sungie gets here… when did Channie-hyung say they’re coming back?”

“Three days,” Jeongin lifted up his phone, showing them the group chat and the text message from Chan.

“Fuck.”

It was unclear who said that, but all four of them shared the same sentiment. Minho had been knocked out of commission just a few days ago, when Chan and Changbin had left for Jisung’s graduation. Normally, Jeongin and Minho, as well as the others, would keep up the veil, but they had let their guard down for just one moment, and it had left them with disastrous consequences.

The only good thing they got out of it was the knowledge that there was really only one person after Minho; it was the same person launching all of those attacks as of late. No one really knew what they had against Minho or why they wanted his power specifically, and they did not quite plan on finding out by watching. 

For better or for worse, the next three days passed uneventfully. Minho was still unconscious when Jisung returned with Chan and Changbin. The other four weren’t stupid enough to think that their attacker wouldn’t take this chance. 

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Jeongin had said before anyone else could even move, determination in his eyes. They allowed him to do so without a fight, Jeongin ducking away to stay by Minho’s bed.

It was already nighttime when Jisung finally finished unpacking, stretching his arms above his head. “You should stay inside tonight,” Changbin called from the living room. 

“Hm? Okay, I wasn’t planning on going out anyway,” Jisung responded, pulling out his phone to text the group chat. “I can see everyone else tomorrow, so it’s fine.”

He hoped that the ‘everyone else’ included Minho, because even though he wasn’t the most active texter, there hadn’t been any messages from him recently. His worries stayed with him even as he got ready for bed, checking his phone even though he knew there wouldn’t be any new messages.

Jisung pulled the blankets closer to himself, curling into a ball and hoping that the night would pass faster. All of the physical activity from the day had tired him out; he was out in the blink of an eye. 

In the midst of the feeling of being both conscious and unconscious, Jisung heard a sound from his side, something like a soft click. A moment later, something shifted beside him, and Jisung was barely able to register it before he drew it closer to himself. It was something soft, maybe just one of his plushies that he had accidentally moved in his sleep. Jisung grumbled sleepily as he adjusted his position, pulling it under the blanket before fluffing the sheet back out over his arm.

Unfortunately, it seemed that fate had not planned for him to sleep that night, because a moment later, a shout came from outside. Jisung could barely hear what the person was saying, but they were loud and annoying, Jisung groaning as he covered his ears. But even as he did so, the noise continued, Jisung letting out an annoyed sigh as he forced himself to get up and see what was going on.

The balcony door was slightly open, so it didn’t make much sound as Jisung slowly pushed it open, blinking away the blurriness in his eyes. There was a figure on the ground, their stature indistinct because of the moonlight that had been obscured. He could hear a man yelling something about ‘get out of here, I know you’re in there’ or something. But all Jisung could think about was how this guy was loud and disrupting his sleep, and that he wanted him to shut up. Even the people in the city weren’t this bothersome.

Normally, he would’ve just yelled at the guy and called it a day, but because he had been extremely tired from a day of traveling and unpacking, he was particularly grumpy, grabbing a random clay pot with some plant he had gotten last year and directly chucking it down below. It was one of the bigger ones, as all the small ones were placed on the other side of the balcony, set upon a little wooden table. “God, shut up already,” Jisung grunted, hearing the distinct shattering of the pot and the pieces clattering to the ground.

It was only after the cold night breeze hit him that he finally sobered up, realizing what he had just done with his arms frozen over the edge of the balcony. He brought his hands down onto the railing, peering over the edge and freezing at the sight below him. “Oh shit,” he muttered as he dashed back inside and down the stairs, haphazardly slipping into a pair of shoes and going to see the damage.

A person, clearly unconscious, lay on the ground beneath pieces of clay and clumps of dirt. “Uh… I didn’t just kill someone, did I?” Jisung panicked, wondering if he should go back in and wake Chan up or something.

Moments later, footsteps sounded from the distance, and Jisung immediately put his hands up in surrender. But the person who appeared was none other than Jeongin, the boy out of breath as he finally stopped in front of him. Hyunjin, Felix, and Seungmin were hot on his heels, varying degrees of concern on their faces.

“Jisung-hyung! Are you okay?” Jeongin’s eyes were wide as he looked around, Jisung just chuckling awkwardly at the audience in front of him.

“Uh… I think you should make sure if that guy is okay instead,” he adjusted his arms to point at the unmoving body. 

Jeongin looked at the ground for a few seconds, then back at Jisung with a confused expression. “I might’ve thrown a pot at him because he was being annoying?” Jisung offered as explanation.

He watched as Hyunjin bent down to poke the guy’s face to check if he was breathing, looking up at Jisung after confirming that he indeed was. “You’re quite something.”

“He was interrupting my sleep!” Jisung defended himself, Felix laughing behind Jeongin.

“I would’ve done the same, too.” Felix gave Jisung a thumbs up, Jisung grinning in response.

The five of them stared at the body for a little longer before Jisung turned to look at them again. “So… what are you guys doing here?” 

It was the middle of the night, and the house wasn’t exactly in the center of the town. There was no way the other four had rushed to his house just by some coincidence. Jisung wasn’t that stupid.

“Actually, we’ve been trying to catch this guy,” Seungmin gestured toward the man on the ground. “I’m honestly surprised you were able to knock him out like that, you know. Magic users are usually pretty strong.”

“I don’t think anyone usually expects a pot to drop on them out of thin air,” Jisung joked. “What did he do to incur the wrath of you four?”

As he spoke, the man started to regain consciousness, groaning softly from where he lay on the ground, his fingers twitching. All five of their gazes snapped to them immediately.

“I’ll deal with him,” Hyunjin gingerly picked up the guy’s wrist, looking like he was just going to drag him away like that.

“I’m coming too.” Seungmin moved to the man’s other side, exchanging a glance with Hyunjin. “You guys can explain to Jisung.”

The two of them moved before Jisung could fully process what was going on, Felix shooting them a bright smile and sending them off with a “have fun”!

Hyunjin had just narrowed his eyes and responded with “I’ll try”.

“No… wait…” Jisung paused with his hand in the air, half pointing at the direction the three of them had disappeared. “What…?”

Jeongin’s ears twitched on his head. “Seungminnie-hyung’s going to question him. Hyunjinnie-hyung will decide whether his life is worth keeping or not.”

“Hold on, what ?” Jisung’s face morphed into disbelief. “Jinnie’s going to kill someone?”

“Kind of!” Felix said, way too cheerily for someone talking about possible murder. “This guy’s been terrorizing us for months, so it’s what he deserves in return, you know?”

“That’s why we’re here,” Jeongin explained. “Minho-hyung, he… that person has been trying to go after him for months, and I was supposed to keep watch on Minho-hyung because he was unconscious — that’s why he wasn’t responding to your texts, by the way — but he ran away after that guy attacked me and I traced him to here.”

Jisung stared at him blankly. His brain was still working slowly because it was the middle of the night, but now he was just learning that one, Minho had been under attack for the past few months, two, Minho was unconscious for a number of days, and three, Minho was here ?

“Okay, two things,” Jisung spoke after a few moments of silence, Jeongin and Felix watching him attentively. “One, how the hell is Minho-hyung here? I haven’t even seen him. Two, why did no one tell me about this?”

“Minho-hyung didn’t want you to worry,” Felix said gently. “He told us not to tell you.”

“Why?!” Jisung’s brain could not think beyond the surface level of Felix’s words. Minho didn’t trust him enough to tell him, was that it? Because they had just met that summer, and that he wasn’t as close to Minho as the others were? Hell, he could even guess that Chan and Changbin were in on it. What was he to Minho—

“Calm down,” Felix frowned, stepping forward and pulling Jisung into a hug. Jisung involuntarily relaxed at Felix’s warm embrace, though his thoughts continued to race. “Minho-hyung just didn’t want you to worry. He didn’t tell us at first, either. He’s like that, you know? The more serious it is, the less he’ll tell it to the people he cares about.”

“If Minho-hyung knew that you were worrying about him, he probably would’ve collapsed a lot earlier,” Jeongin said from the side, stepping forward to touch Jisung’s arm. “He was worried about you, too.”

Jisung’s breathing was slightly labored, slowing down as Felix ran his hands along Jisung’s back. “We can tell you more about it tomorrow,” Felix promised. 

“Okay,” Jisung said, his voice subdued. He looked at the ground, blinking slowly. “Oh, is Minho-hyung still here, or…?”

He had just recalled Jeongin saying that he had tracked Minho down to his house. If he was indeed there, Jisung could just talk to him then, and there was no need to wait for the next day. But Jeongin’s eyes just widened, and he quickly shook his head when Felix sent him a look. “No, I think he’s left now… Lix-hyung, we should go find him.”

Felix nodded, then squeezed his arms around Jisung one last time before letting go. “Go rest, okay? We’ll answer all your questions tomorrow.”

Felix pushed Jisung back toward his house, giving him a reassuring smile and small wave, Jeongin bidding him a good night also before the two of them disappeared down the road, swallowed up by the darkness.

Jisung quietly shut the door behind him, kicking off his shoes and trudging upstairs as he tried to process all the information he had learned. He nearly jumped when he lifted his blanket up, seeing a black mass curled in the space that he normally slept on.

The motion caused the black mass to move, and it was then that Jisung saw two familiar, bright cat eyes. It looked up at him, tilting its head a little as if asking, where did you go?

“Hey, baby,” Jisung gave it a tired smile, bending forward to press his nose to the cat’s. “What are you doing here?” 

The cat meowed as Jisung slid under the blankets, nestling between the space of his arm and his head. It pressed its head against Jisung’s cheek, Jisung sighing softly as he pet the cat and felt the vibrations of its purring.

“I just learned that someone’s been attacking Minho-hyung and that he’s been unconscious.” Jisung mumbled, and the cat paused for a second, turning its head to lick Jisung’s fingers. “No matter how little you hang around him, you’re still his familiar, right? Is he okay…?”

The cat just opened its mouth to bite Jisung’s fingers, not putting any force into it but Jisung could still feel the sharp teeth. Jisung smiled, withdrawing them back into his palm. “Ah, I’m being silly. How can I expect a cat to talk?”

The cat then turned to lick Jisung’s nose, Jisung flinching backward as he made a noise of surprise. “Ack, don’t do that!” Jisung squirmed in his bed, clamping down on the cat’s side with the blanket over his arm. “Don’t play around anymore; let me sleep. I’m so tired.”

Luckily, the cat obeyed him that time, flicking its tail over its nose as it stopped moving, its back pressing against Jisung’s upper arm. Despite all of what had happened, Jisung fell asleep relatively quickly.

Maybe it was just one of his dreams, but he felt the fleeting press of lips against his forehead, and a murmured “thank you” as the muted moonlight started to fade.

-

“Morning, Jisungie.” Chan yawned, frying a few eggs on the stove as Jisung made his way down the stairs. “Did something happen last night?”

Jisung could feel the tiredness as he sighed, collapsing onto the dinner table. “I dropped a flower pot on some guy. Apparently Minho-hyung came for a visit. Hyunjinnie might’ve killed someone. I don’t know.”

“So that’s what that sound was,” Chan didn’t sound surprised, which in turn made Jisung surprised.

“You’re not going to question me any more?” Jisung asked, resting his cheek on his arm. 

“I took a look outside when everything was happening,” Chan said as turned off the stove, walking over to plate the eggs. “As long as you’re safe and nothing too big happened, then it’s whatever.”

“Mm…” Jisung gave him a noncommittal hum. 

When he had woken up, Minho’s familiar was already nowhere to be seen, Jisung inclined to believe that it was just a fever dream, though the strands of fur on his sheets quickly disproved that theory. His plan for today was to find Felix for answers, then to visit Minho.

Changbin had gotten up as Jisung was getting ready to leave, complaining about the loud noises last night. Jisung let Chan fill him in on the few details he had spared, pulling on his shoes and stepping outside.

It was summer again, so the morning air was pleasantly cool. Jisung checked his phone, which once again, was void of any text messages. Not that he really needed them to text; he could just visit Felix at the cafe, which was where he was headed.

The path into the town center was now quite familiar to him, and a small smile made its way onto his face as he admired the foliage along the road. Surprisingly, Minho’s familiar made its appearance as Jisung approached the cafe. It trailed after him, weaving in between his legs with its tail brushing against Jisung’s calves.

He was lucky that Felix’s cafe wasn’t too busy when he entered. Sunlight poured through the glass doors, glowing rectangles outlining the floor inside. The bells jingled as he pushed open the door, Felix looking over and greeting Jisung with a bright smile. “Hey, Sungie! You want some cheesecake?”

“Yes please,” Jisung walked over to a random table, pulling the chair out and sitting down. “Are you free now?”

The cat jumped into Jisung’s lap, Jisung petting the top of its head. Felix poked his head out from the display case, surveying the area around him. There wasn’t anyone else inside, so he responded with a “Yep!” before walking over with Jisung’s cheesecake, as well as a simple iced americano.

Right when Felix had placed the items down on the table, the door burst open with Jeongin and Seungmin running in. “I told him to stay at home today! I can’t believe he just ran off again and—” Jeongin was ranting, his tail fluffed up.

Jisung felt a movement on his lap as the cat blinked up at him, then jumped off, scampering out the still-open door. Jeongin’s head turned at an inhuman speed, tracking the cat with his eyes and dashing after it.

Seungmin watched them leave without moving, then turned back to the two that were frozen in the cafe, watching the whole ordeal. “Good morning, Felix, Jisung.”

“Good morning?” Jisung blinked in confusion as Seungmin joined them, pulling a chair over and sitting down.

“Morning, Seungminnie!” Felix looked like he was trying to hold back from laughing before turning to Jisung. “So, what questions do you have?”

Jisung was silent for a moment as he collected his thoughts. He had made a list of questions last night, although he had done it while falling asleep, and thus really couldn’t remember most of it. “Oh,” he said, finally remembering one of them. “Is… everything from yesterday dealt with? And can I visit Minho-hyung today?”

“Yes to the first one,” Felix glanced at Seungmin, who nodded in response. “For the second one… yes, if you can find him.”

“What?” 

This time, Felix really did start laughing. Seungmin sighed, taking over for Felix. “Minho-hyung’s house is in the middle of the forest, as you probably know. It’s difficult to get there without someone like Minho-hyung or Jeonginnie leading you there. Although what’s really the problem is that he keeps running off. He’s not completely recovered yet, but he keeps insisting on causing trouble.”

Seungmin sounded more like a tired parent than Minho’s friend with the way that he was frowning, massaging the space between his brows. 

“But Innie ran after Minho-hyung’s cat just now?” Jisung tilted his head.

Seungmin took a deep breath, letting out a long exhale. “Ugh, I can’t deal with this anymore. Jisung, please tell me that I don’t have to spell it out for you.”

“Spell what?” Jisung tilted his head.

“Listen, Jisung.” Seungmin let his arms rest on the table, directly staring at him with a deadpan expression. “Have you ever seen Minho’s familiar with him in the same room?”

“No…?” Jisung felt like he was missing something glaringly obvious, but he was just unable to see what it was. It was like a thin layer of gauze drawn over his eyes, the view right there, yet beyond reach.

Seungmin drew his fingers in to clench them into a fist before relaxing them. “I’m going to tell you something, and I’m going to ask you to use your brain to think about it, okay?”

Jisung nodded slowly, trying to ignore Felix who was very close to falling out of his chair from laughter. 

“Jeongin learned all that he knows today from Minho-hyung. Jeongin is a shapeshifter who likes revealing half of his fox form at all times. Please make a proper deduction.”

Jisung was extremely close to asking what is this, school again? before he processed Seungmin’s words. Felix was watching him closely, his eyes glittering with anticipation. Slowly, Jisung started to connect the dots, clawing away at the gauze.

If Jeongin learned how shapeshifting worked from Minho, that must mean that Minho also knew how to shapeshift. The gauze had been ripped away by now. If he knew how to shapeshift, it stood to assume that…

“Fuck, he’s the cat?!” 

“Congratulations,” Seungmin said, clapping as Felix started practically howling in the background. “You’re correct.”

“I… that…” Jisung stuttered as he was suddenly hit with everything he had done with and said to the cat. He could feel his face heating up at an impossibly fast rate as he buried his face in his hands. “Fuck…?”

He had said so many embarrassing things about Minho to the cat, to Minho , and oh god, Jisung didn’t know if he wanted to die on the spot or to run away and disappear forever.

“If you’re stressing about being embarrassing around him, don’t worry about it,” Seungmin’s voice broke through his thoughts, Jisung peeking through the gaps of his fingers. Seungmin scoffed, “I’ve never seen Minho-hyung act so pathetic around someone else before. He hates people touching him or even getting close to him in cat form, because that’s when he’s the most vulnerable. He’s also very rarely affectionate like the way he is with you.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Jisung mumbled, heat still pulsing from his cheeks.

Felix finally stopped making noises, gently prying Jisung’s hands away from his face. “What Seungminnie means is that your feelings for him aren’t unrequited.”

Felix had actually told him a while ago, but Jisung was reluctant to believe it, since Minho hadn’t said anything regarding his feelings toward Jisung. But now…

It was hard to ignore the times the cat had come up to nuzzle his face or just lay next to him, purring softly as Jisung worked on whatever he was doing. It was almost reminiscent of when he and Minho would exist together, simply enjoying each others’ presence.

“Also,” Seungmin raised his brows. “You now have the knowledge that Minho-hyung is his cat, but he doesn’t know that you know. Do what you will with that.”

Jisung turned to Seungmin with wide eyes before grinning. 

“Thanks for telling me that, Seungminnie.”

-

“So? What’d I miss?” Hyunjin finally dragged himself out of bed, groaning as he sat down on a chair.

“Sungie knows that Minho-hyung’s cat is him!” Felix said cheerily, Hyunjin gaping at his words.

“And I wasn’t there to see his reaction? Ugh, why didn’t you guys call me over?” Hyunjin moaned, tilting his head back.

“I practically had to spell it out for him,” Seungmin countered. “But he got it eventually.”

“So?” Hyunjin turned to look at the other two. “What now?”

“Hmm… we’ve basically dealt with the biggest threats for now,” Felix mused. “And Sungie is back, so now Minho-hyung can worry less… I guess we can just watch them get together in peace!”

“I’d rather not.” Seungmin immediately denied.

“Aw, why not? It’ll be fun,” Hyunjin reached out to poke Seungmin’s side. “Think of the amount of blackmail you’ll be able to get on Minho-hyung.”

“Oh, you’re so right.” 

-

All in all, Jisung took the news pretty well. There wasn’t particularly anything for him to take badly, per se. But it took him a while to stop flushing every time he thought about the little kisses he had given the cat or how he had asked the cat to keep something a secret as if Minho wasn’t literally the cat he was talking to. 

At least he could actually confirm Minho liked him back to some degree, if the cat’s presence said anything about it. He knew that the cat liked him more than others, and that it liked him more than other cats did. That, along with the knowledge that Minho didn’t yet know that he knew, gave him some sort of upper hand. 

He forced himself to act normal, sitting on a random park bench while scrolling on his phone. If it were like any other day, then Minho would show up soon, quietly jumping onto the park bench and settling down onto his lap.

Luck was on his side as not even a few minutes later, the familiar bundle of black had arrived, Jisung giving it a smile. “Hey, pretty boy,” Jisung teased, scratching the cat’s cheek. Since Minho couldn’t transform back without revealing that it was him, Jisung decided to take the chance to say whatever.

“How’s your owner doing, hm?” Jisung asked as the cat spun in a circle on his lap. “Didn’t Innie say that he was injured? Why were you out there with me instead of at your own home?”

The cat meowed, its whiskers twitching. Jisung smiled, running his fingers down the cat’s head. “Maybe you just like me more, is that it?”

With the concrete evidence that Minho really, actually, genuinely liked him, Jisung was finally bold enough to confess, even if it wasn’t to Minho directly. Well… in any case, it was close enough.

“Ah, too bad for you, I like your owner a little more,” Jisung pinched the cat’s cheek for a moment before letting go. The cat let out a little noise of confusion.

“I think he might like me a little too,” Jisung hummed aloud. “Do you think he’d get jealous over the fact that I’ve kissed his cat more than I’ve kissed him? I mean, if he kissed me I’d kiss back, you know. Ah, but he’s never done it before, so I don’t know if he wants to…”

The cat bit warningly on Jisung’s fingers, Jisung just laughing in response. “What, do you get jealous too? Come here, let me give you a kiss.”

Jisung tilted the cat’s face up, giving it a kiss on its nose before pressing his forehead to the cat’s. “There, does that make you feel better?”

He normally would never have the courage to act so brazenly, but he knew that this chance wouldn’t last long. He could tell Minho was probably trying his best to hold back, which made him all the more brave.

“Hm, I hope Minho-hyung gets better soon, too. Maybe then I can tell him how much I like him, you know? I thought about it a lot during the school year.” Jisung giggled, playing with the cat’s paws, the cat batting at his necklace in response. “Oh, it would be so embarrassing if he didn’t like me back… you wouldn’t tell him, right?”

The cat’s tail lashed in his lap, Jisung letting go in amusement. The cat stared at him, its eyes searching Jisung’s features. Jisung stood up, the cat watching him leave. “I’ll visit your owner soon, okay? Tell him to wait for me.”

Jisung left with strangely high spirits, finding it amusing yet also somewhat insane that he was able to pull that off. His own words echoed in his mind as he followed the path back home, his face heating up again. 

But it wasn’t like he regretted it; if anything, he hoped that Minho would give him a clear response to his feelings. He had accepted his feelings for the other a while ago, back in his lonely apartment. 

Of course, if Minho only wanted to be friends, Jisung would accept that too. A little disappointed, maybe, but there was nothing he’d be able to do about it then. Jisung walked back with a bit of anticipation — all he could do now was wait.

-

“Where are you going?” Jisung asked as Jeongin headed for the door.

“Leaving,” Jeongin said simply. “Hyung’s in his room, if you want to visit.”

True to his word, Jisung had asked Jeongin to take him to Minho’s house so that he could pay the elder a visit. He hadn’t seen Minho properly since he came back, and he was a mix of nervous and excited to see him again.

Jeongin had said that Minho’s recovery was going well — most of the damage was done to his magic reserves, and that was just something that would heal over time. But Minho was mostly staying home out of safety and so that he could recover faster, although his constant escapes were doing nothing but slowing that process down.

Jisung still wasn’t too sure why Jeongin was leaving the house, but Jeongin was already gone by the time he gathered his thoughts. Jisung blinked once, twice as he tried to mentally prepare himself to see Minho again. He turned his head, catching sight of the small bouquet of cosmos flowers that he had left for Minho the year prior, the colors still vibrant, almost seeming to glow softly in the afternoon light. A small smile formed on his face as he turned away, steeling himself and walking over to stand in front of the closed door.

He knocked twice, hearing a muffled “come in” from the other side. He slowly turned the handle, poking his head in before walking into the room. This was his first time properly entering the room, Jisung somewhat taken aback by the simple layout and decor.

Though, he didn’t have much time to think before he was backed into the door, the wood pressing up against his back. Minho was standing in front of him, hair falling into his eyes. One hand was pressed flat against the door, next to Jisung’s head. Minho stared at Jisung, his gaze intense. Jisung’s eyes were wide with shock as he brought his hands up to his chest, curling in on himself. 

“Han Jisung.” Minho spoke calmly, his tone betraying no emotion.

“...Yes?” Jisung responded with a timid voice, like a child that was about to be scolded.

Minho didn’t say anything for a moment, panic settling into Jisung’s nerves. “Are you mad at me?” He asked, his gaze suddenly shifting to look at everything that wasn’t Minho. “Sorry if I took it too far, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or- mmph!”

Jisung’s rambling was cut off by the firm press of Minho’s lips against his, Minho’s free hand moving to rest on Jisung’s hip. Jisung froze, the words caught in his throat. He relaxed into it a moment later, moving his hands to grasp the front of Minho’s loose t-shirt. 

When Minho drew back, Jisung instinctively chased after it, pouting up at him. Minho’s expression softened, and he gave Jisung another peck before speaking. “Who told you?” He asked softly.

Jisung paused, unsure what the consequences were if he were to tell. Minho seemed to sense his predicament, moving his hand from beside Jisung’s head to brush away a strand of hair. “I just want to know,” he reassured Jisung. “There’s only so many people who could’ve told you, anyway.”

“How do you know I didn’t figure it out myself?” Jisung asked in response, mostly out of curiosity.

“If you did, then it wouldn’t have taken you so long to make a move,” Minho teased, Jisung feeling heat rise to his cheeks.

“I wasn’t doing anything because I wanted you to make a move first!” Jisung whined, balling his hand into a fist and thumping it on Minho’s chest. “I didn’t dare think that the most powerful witch or whatever would like someone like me!”

“How about now?” Minho asked simply, Jisung tilting his head in confusion.

“Now… what?”

“Do you still think that?” Minho’s gaze dropped down to Jisung’s lips before flicking back up. “Or should I make my affections clearer?”

Jisung bit his lip, blinking up at Minho. He spoke, his voice was barely a whisper. “Maybe… maybe make it just a little clearer?”

Minho smiled, threading his fingers into Jisung’s hair and pulling him in. “Okay.”

Jisung inhaled sharply as Minho kissed him again, running his tongue along the seam of his lips. Jisung easily let him in, Minho crowding him even closer to the door as he deepened the kiss. Minho kissed him like he wanted to envelope Jisung, in a way that was overwhelming yet not aggressive, Jisung completely at his mercy.

He couldn’t tell how much time had passed before Minho pulled back, looking at Jisung for a moment before pressing his forehead against Jisung’s. “How about now?”

“I think I believe it now,” Jisung smiled. 

“Good.” Minho squeezed his hip. 

Jisung’s eyes traced over Minho’s features for a long while before he giggled, moving his hands to cup Minho’s face.

“What?” Minho asked, Jisung feeling Minho’s cheeks move under his palms.

“You’re so cute,” Jisung replied. “When you did all of that in your cat form…”

Minho’s ears started to redden, flushing down his neck. “I’m not good at words.” He admitted. “So I thought that with actions…”

Jisung laughed even harder, not shutting up even when Minho leaned in to kiss him again. “Who would’ve thought that you’re actually like this?” Jisung’s eyes were glimmering with mirth as Minho gave up, the redness spreading over his cheeks. “A witch who expresses his emotions in his cat form instead of human form.”

“Is it weird?” Minho looked a little startled, Jisung nearly cooing at the way that he looked almost exactly like how he did in his cat form.

“It’s weird.” Jisung confirmed, continuing on before Minho could say anything. “But it’s okay, because I like it.”

Minho just huffed, shaking his head. “And you’re normal? Confessing your affections to a cat instead of to a person?”

“At least I used my words and said it directly!” Jisung rebutted. “So yes, I’m normal.” 

“I like normal.” Minho murmured, bringing his hands up to cover Jisung’s before tugging them down and lacing their fingers together. “I like you .”

Jisung squeezed his hand before swinging them in the space between them. “I like you too… if that wasn’t clear enough already.”

Minho smiled, letting go of their hands to pull something off from his neck. “Here,” he handed it to Jisung, like it was a random rock he had found on the side of the road.

Jisung recognized it as the key that Minho always had around his neck in his cat form, the one that people had been after. If he remembered correctly, it was said that whoever got it could have part of his power… Jisung frowned. “I don’t want to take your power, though…?”

Minho just shook his head, turning Jisung’s palm over so that he could drop the cold metal onto it. “You already have some of it.” 

“Huh?” Jisung looked down at the key, then back at Minho. “What do you mean?”

Minho reached forward to tug the thin cord around Jisung’s neck, pulling out the sapphire gemstone that was resting there. “You put your magic in there?” Jisung asked, astonished.

“Mhm,” Minho didn’t look up as he plucked the key back out of his hand, closing his fist around both the gem and the key. 

There was a burst of light before Minho opened his fist again, the key completely gone, the sapphire glowing softly. “I gave you a protective charm. But because you were going somewhere far away, I just gave you some of my power instead so that it could protect you while I wasn’t there.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” Jisung accused, pressing his lips together. “Is that why you got hurt? Because you gave me a part of your magic?”

Minho shook his head, but Jisung wasn’t that dense. He jabbed a finger at Minho’s chest, unsure if he was angry or worried. “You should’ve kept it for yourself! I can handle myself fine, you know! It’s basically my fault that you got hurt, then!”

“It’s not your fault,” Minho frowned, wrapping his hand around Jisung’s finger. “I chose to do it myself. It’s all over now, anyway.”

“Still, you should’ve told me!” Jisung whined. 

“I will in the future,” Minho promised. “I’ll tell you everything.”

“Fine,” Jisung pouted. “But for the next month, you have to make me food every day! As payback. For lying.”

“Okay,” Minho agreed easily, huffing with amusement as he pressed a kiss to Jisung’s temple. “I’m sorry for not telling you.”

“It’s… okay, but not really.” Jisung drew his finger out of Minho’s grasp. “I don’t like that you got hurt because of me.”

“It’s not because of you,” Minho reiterated softly. “Don’t think of it like that. I would do it again if I had to.” 

“No, you wouldn’t!” Jisung retorted indignantly. “Because you’d tell me, and I wouldn’t let you!”

“Mhm, you’re right,” Minho changed his stance instantly, going with whatever Jisung wanted.

Jisung dropped his head to rest on Minho’s shoulder, looking at the sapphire that dangled from his neck. “You promise that you’ll tell me about things like this in the future, right?”

“I promise,” Minho reached up to play with Jisung’s hair. 

They stayed there for a moment before Jisung stood back up, holding the sapphire up curiously. “So what exactly did the key do?” Jisung turned it in his hand, the refractions in the gem were illuminated by the light.

“It holds a part of my power,” Minho said. “And a part of my soul.”

Minho tugged Jisung into his embrace before Jisung could freak out again , laughing as Jisung squirmed in his grasp. “It’s more like I formed a bond with your soul,” he explained. “It’s just a solidification of my affections for you.”

“Then why’d you say it like that!” Jisung huffed.

“Because I knew you’d react like that.” Minho let go of Jisung, laughing at the way Jisung’s cheeks were puffed up.

“Ah, seriously, you…!” Jisung crossed his arms over his chest. “Two months! You have to make me food for two months just for doing that.”

“I’ll make you food for the rest of your life,” Minho said, his expression fond as Jisung blushed, stunned into silence.

He opted to run away, twisting the door handle behind him and dashing into the hallway. But the moment he stepped into the living room, loud sounds came from all around him, a burst of color coming into view.

“Surprise!” Someone yelled, Jisung’s eyes wide as he stumbled backward.

At some point, a banner had been put up in Minho’s home, the white cloth reading congratulations on graduation and welcome back, Jisung! There was also a line messily scrawled at the bottom right that read also congratulations on finally getting together with Minho!!!

“What’s going on?” Minho asked from behind him, his hand naturally wrapping around Jisung’s waist as he pulled him a little closer, unsure of what the commotion was.

“A triple party for Jisung!” Felix yelled, jumping over the couch and nearly bowling Jisung over with the way that he wrapped him in an embrace. “We were going to hold a double party to congratulate him on his graduation and for moving back, but it’s a triple party now!”

“Congratulations on finally making a move,” Seungmin brushed stray pieces of confetti out of his hair, raising his brows as he looked at Minho. “I can finally stop watching your pitiful attempts at pining.”

“It was you, huh.” Minho narrowed his eyes at Seungmin who just shrugged in response.

“I’m happy for you, hyung,” Jeongin’s tail waved behind him as grinned, Minho reaching out to ruffle the younger’s hair. 

Hyunjin crossed the room with a silly party hat, putting it on Minho’s head before immediately withdrawing his hands so Minho couldn’t slap him. “Seriously though, congratulations.”

Minho just rolled his eyes, although he was smiling as well. 

Changbin walked over to where Jisung and Felix were, patting Jisung’s back. “I knew it would work out eventually,” he grinned before joining the hug.

“Our Jisungie’s all grown up now,” Chan sighed, watching them from a short distance away. 

Minho’s house was buzzing with activity as Jeongin unboxed the cake that Felix had baked, the eight of them settling around the coffee table as they exchanged stories of the past few weeks.

Jisung sat on the couch, nestled into Minho’s side as Minho fed him a few pieces of cake. Hyunjin was complaining about his progress in painting (or lack thereof), Chan told them about some of their music making updates, and Seungmin decided that it was a good time to embarrass Minho with the way he acted while he was in cat form. 

The interior of the house was bathed with a warm light, Jisung watching them for a moment longer before he leaned up to kiss Minho on the cheek. Minho turned to look at him, curiosity in his eyes. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Jisung smiled, pulling Minho’s arm closer to himself. “It’s just nice to be home.”