Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“Be on your best behavior, Quanrui.”

Ricky stares up at the imposing building in front of him, a mixture of excitement and anxiety pooling in his stomach. He feels like a child being dropped off to his first day of kindergarten by his mother, except for the fact that Primrose Academy was the most prestigious magical institution in all of Korea, and the woman standing next to him is not his mother.

“Stay out of trouble, and don’t you dare let anyone find out that…ability of yours.” Du Hua says. “If I hear even a single word about you getting into trouble, you’ll be on a plane back home before you even know it.”

Ricky averts his eyes to the ground, biting the inside of his cheek to refrain from snapping back at Du Hua. He had heard her spiel plenty of times on their way to the academy, and probably a thousand times more while he was living back in China. He knows exactly what Du Hua expects of him while he’s at Primrose Academy. Ricky is supposed to lie low and stay out of trouble, to make good grades but not be too outstanding, to get along well with his peers but not become particularly close to anyone, and then graduate quietly almost as if he had never attended the academy at all.

He can’t fathom why Du Hua is allowing him to attend in the first place, but he wouldn’t dare ask and risk her changing her mind. Primrose Academy is Ricky’s first chance at freedom in years, which is why he nods along meekly as Du Hua continues to ramble instead of saying something that might set off her temper.

“And seriously, where is that headmaster of yours?” Du Hua huffs impatiently, glancing down at her watch.

“I’m right here!” A bright voice from behind them calls out.

Ricky startles easily, whipping his head around to see a young man smiling amicably at them. Ricky blinks in surprise. He had been expecting the headmaster to be someone who was at least Du Hua’s age, if not older, not someone who looked to be no more than ten years his senior.

“The rumors are true. You are just as odd as they say.” Du Hua says dryly, looking unimpressed.

“And the rumors are true, you are just as formidable as they say.” The headmaster laughs jovially. “I apologize for the late introduction. I had some business to take care of around the school grounds and lost track of time. Hwang Minhyun, headmaster of Primrose Academy.” Minhyun shakes Du Hua’s hand before turning to Ricky.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Quanrui– am I pronouncing that right?” Minhyun asks as he shakes Ricky’s hand.

“I go by Ricky.” He says quickly before Du Hua had the chance to interject.

Du Hua purses her lips into a frown, displeased. He preferred Ricky, a name he associated with simpler and happier times, but Du Hua had always insisted on calling him Quanrui despite his protests.

“Ricky, it is then.” Minhyun smiles kindly. “Shall we go on a tour of the academy, then?”

Minhyun leads them up the stairs to Primrose Academy. The academy itself was an enormous building, situated in the middle of nowhere, completely isolated from non-magic society. If Ricky was remembering correctly, the academy used to be the estate of a prominent witch family in Korea, although he couldn't quite remember which one.

Stepping into the academy, Ricky feels as though he’s stepping into a different world. It truly seems like something out of the fantasy novels he had when he was younger, filled with twisting staircases and mysterious doors, only illuminated by candlelight. Despite being in the middle of Korea, the interior has a distinct European look to it.

Ricky tries his best to keep up with Minhyun as he shows him the dining hall, the classrooms, the library, the common areas, and several other rooms that Ricky could barely remember the names of. He can already foresee himself getting lost in the maze of the school, its sheer size not helping in the slightest. Minhyun takes him outside as well, pointing out several fields for activities and the lake on the edge of the main campus.

“The campus grounds include the forest surrounding the academy, however,” Minhyun turns to Ricky with a smile. “I wouldn’t advise venturing too far into the woods, especially at night. Our entire campus is perfectly safe, of course, but students have a tendency to get lost in the forest.”

Ricky nods obediently, trying to ignore the eerie chill he felt run down his spine. The headmaster was smiling as he spoke, but Ricky felt like there was more than what he was letting on. In any case, he had no interest in exploring the woods in the first place. The tour ends when they reach the dormitories.

“This is your room!” Minhyun says, handing Ricky a set of keys. “Your roommate, Gyuvin, is in class right now, but you two should have plenty of time to get acquainted with each other.”

“I thought we discussed this, Headmaster Hwang,” Du Hua says sharply, looking displeased once again. Her sour expression hadn’t let up since they had set foot on the academy grounds. “I requested a single room for Quanrui.”

“Indeed, we did discuss this,” Minhyun remains smiling. “However due to the nature of Ricky transferring in the middle of a semester, all of our single rooms are no longer available. You seemed to have some concerns about Ricky adjusting to communal life, but I can assure you that Gyuvin is a good student, who I have no doubt will help Ricky settle in just fine.”

“I don’t mind.” Ricky says quietly. “I don’t mind having a roommate.”

“Well I mind,” Du Hua sighs, raking a hand through her hair. “What family is he from? This Gyumin or Gyubeom or whoever.”

“The Kim family from Seoul, the one based in Apgujeong, if you’re familiar with them.” Minhyun says rather pleasantly considering Du Hua’s attitude. “They’re a long line of fire mages that actually have quite the deep connection to this–”

“That won’t do.” Du Hua cuts off Minhyun abruptly. “Quanrui is a water mage. I won’t have him rooming with a fire mage.”

“With all due respect, I wasn’t expecting you to subscribe to such an outdated philosophy.” Minhyun raises a brow. “Students of all affinities are encouraged to interact with each other at Primrose Academy, as I’m sure you’re well aware.”

Ricky knows that Du Hua doesn’t even believe what she’s saying. Minhyun is right, it is an incredibly outdated belief, but Du Hua is just saying whatever she can to get her way. He knows all too well that Du Hua isn’t used to hearing no, but Ricky really would like her to leave already.

“I already said it was fine.” Ricky says a little louder this time. “I don’t care that he’s a fire mage.”

Du Hua shoots him a scathing glare, but quickly adjusts her expression, remembering who is in their company. “Well, if Quanrui has no issue with it, then that’s that.” She says through grit teeth.

Minhyun gives Ricky an encouraging smile, gesturing for him to open the door. Twisting the key, Ricky pushes open the large wooden door to his room. The room itself is quite simple, with two twin beds and small desks set up on opposite sides of the room. One half of the room is clearly Gyuvin’s, blankets haphazardly thrown on the bed and various papers scattered on the desk. There was also a large window along one wall, sunlight streaming brightly into the room.

“It’s really nice.” Ricky quickly says, before Du Hua has a chance to make a comment about the interior.

He isn’t being insincere either. Sure, it probably wasn’t even half the size of his room back at Du Hua’s manor, but he would take pretty much anything besides being stuck with Du Hua.

“Well, I’ll leave now to let you get settled in. Du Hua-ssi, I’ll help show you the way out.” Minhyun offers.

“I’d like a few moments to send Quanrui off.” Du Hua says. “Alone.”

Minhyun’s eyes flit back and forth between Ricky and Du Hua for a moment before he smiles politely once again. Ricky wonders if Minhyun’s face hurts from smiling so often. “Of course. I’ll be right outside whenever you’re finished.”

Once Minhyun leaves, Du Hua whips her head around to glare at Ricky. She marches up to him and grips his arms tightly.

“Do you know how reckless you’re being right now, Quanrui?” She hisses. “What would you do if your roommate caught you using that kind of magic?”

“I’ll be careful, I promise.” Ricky insists. “I haven’t used that kind of magic in years. You made sure of it.” He mutters the last part under his breath.

“You can’t trust anyone here, but especially not your roommate. If you get too comfortable around him, you could slip up and–”

“I said that I wouldn’t.” Ricky interjects, starting to get irritated.

The entire reason he had lived with Du Hua all these years was to learn how to control his true powers. Over the years, the urge to use his forbidden magic had lessened so much to the point that Ricky couldn’t even remember the last time he’d wanted to use it. It was one of the main reasons Du Hua was allowing him to attend Primrose Academy now, when the plan had been to keep him homeschooled his entire life.

Du Hua studies Ricky’s face for a moment before sighing and letting go of his arms. “You’re all grown up now aren’t you.” She says wistfully. “I bet you can hardly wait for me to get out of your hair.”

It’s the truth but Ricky is still annoyed nonetheless. He hates when Du Hua acts like this, like she cares about him with some twisted sense of parental affection. He clenches his fists by his side. Ricky has spent years waiting for some semblance of freedom. The least he could do was endure Du Hua’s antics for a few more minutes.

“You could at least try to control your expression.” Du Hua scowls. “I know where I’m not wanted. I’ll leave now, but remember, be caref–”

“I know.” Ricky cuts her off sharply, feeling like a broken record.

“Always giving me trouble, up until the very end.” Du Hua huffs, exiting the room without sparing another glance at Ricky.

Ricky watches Du Hua’s retreating figure, the door slamming behind her with finality. Once Du Hua is finally out of sight, Ricky flops down on his bed with a sigh of relief. A small smile forms on Ricky’s lips.

He is finally free.

*

When all is said and done, Ricky has no idea to do with his newfound freedom. He has already unpacked his belongings, just some clothes and his books, before realizing he doesn’t have the slightest idea what he wants to do next. Since he had arrived in the middle of the day, Minhyun had told him that he had no classes for the day and to take it easy.

Ricky briefly considers exploring the campus on his own and maybe trying to socialize. From the window in his room, he can see students playing some kind of sport involving a floating ball on one of the fields Minhyun had shown him earlier. Sighing, Ricky shakes his head and walks away from the window. He doesn’t trust himself to remember the way around the massive campus, let alone strike up a conversation with strangers and try to play a sport he didn’t even know.

His eyes land on Gyuvin’s side of the room. Ricky can’t deny that he’s a little curious about his roommate. For the past eight years of his life, it had just been him and Du Hua, and the various tutors Du Hua had employed. He couldn’t remember the last time he had talked to someone his own age.

From the state of Gyuvin’s bed and desk, it seemed like he was a much messier person than Ricky. He peers closer at Gyuvin’s desk, looking at the papers strewn on it. Ricky tries to convince himself that he’s not snooping. It wasn’t like he was going through Gyuvin’s drawers or anything!

From the looks of it, it seemed like Gyuvin took his studies seriously. A textbook sat open on the middle of the desk, its margins filled to the brim with annotations. The papers similarly are covered from top to bottom with Gyuvin’s neat handwriting, along with some diagrams that Ricky can’t quite make sense of. Although no one is there to see him, Ricky’s face suddenly burns with shame.

He shouldn’t be standing there, sneaking glances at his roommate’s belongings, he should be getting a head start on his studies. Ricky had quite the unconventional education for the average witch attending Primrose Academy.

He had been homeschooled his entire life, which actually wasn’t all that uncommon for witches from prominent families. They took pride in educating their young with their values and style of magic, rather than trusting an outsider. Most young witches would receive education in a variety of subjects, laying the basic groundwork for how magic worked and how it was a part of the world around them.

But Ricky had never received this. Ever since his powers had manifested, his parents and Du Hua had focused on nothing but concealing his true affinity and molding him into the perfect water mage, which he very much was not. As a result, Ricky’s magic, aside from his true affinity, was quite weak. It wasn’t surely wasn’t at the level required to get into the most prestigious magic academy in Korea. He doesn’t know what kind of lies Du Hua had told about his education, but he’ll have to put in a lot of work if he wants to keep up with the other students.

Determinedly, Ricky marches over to his desk, sifting through his textbooks until he finds the one he’s looking for. His first class tomorrow is Magical Theory and Affinities, which Ricky had learned was typically only taught to first years. Again, Du Hua had probably pulled some strings behind the scenes, but Ricky was actually grateful for her interference. Even though it was an introductory course, Ricky knew he would still be lacking. He flips the appropriate textbook open to the first page, intently reading the introduction.

There are six main elements that exist in our world. Earth, wind, fire, water, lightning, and ice. Every witch has an affinity for one of these, and are often raised to master that respective element. However, with the proper knowledge of how each element works, it is possible to wield all of them. This text aims to cover the basics of each element and how to effectively wield them, regardless of affinity.

Ricky makes a small noise of understanding. It had never been explicitly laid out for him like this, but it made sense. After all, he had been born with a different affinity than his parents, yet they had still taught him how to use water magic nonetheless. He continues reading, intrigued.

Please note that this text does not cover the affinity for blood, as this element is considered obsolete and blood magic has been outlawed since the 19th century. For more information on this topic, please refer to The Seventh Affinity: A Bloody History.

Ricky stops reading, looking uneasily around the room, as if someone will pop out of nowhere and scold him. The phrase ‘blood magic’ had been forbidden in Du Hua’s house, the ice mage herself not even daring to utter the words. Ricky used to find it somewhat amusing that a witch as unflinching as Du Hua seemed to be afraid of saying a few words. But it wasn’t until Du Hua had scolded him once, reminding him of what blood magic had done to his parents, that he had stopped finding it funny.

Or to put it more accurately, she had reminded Ricky of what he had done to his parents. The truth was that Ricky had an affinity for blood magic, much to the horror of his parents. It was supposed to have been impossible, with the last lines of blood witches having been executed over a century ago, but there Ricky was, wielding blood magic at the ripe age of five.

His parents had tried to conceal as best as they could, drilling into his head that he must never use blood magic, nor let anyone else find out about it. Ricky had tried his best, he really had, but it was like using blood magic was an instinct. It came to him naturally, unlike water magic which took nearly all of Ricky’s concentration to use. He had no qualms about slicing open his own flesh and using his own blood for magic, something that had made his mother faint the first time she had seen him do it.

That was the main reason that blood magic was outlawed. In its purest form, blood magic required fresh blood, whether it be from the witch wielding the magic or from someone else. The more blood used, the more powerful feats of magic could be accomplished, which is why it was so dangerous.

As a child, Ricky had never really understood what all the fuss was about. His magic had always worked just fine with small amounts of his own blood, so it wasn’t like he had been hurting anyone. Ricky could heal himself easily with his magic, and in general used blood magic for healing. He hadn’t thought blood magic was dangerous at all, but everything changed when Ricky’s parents ended up dead at his own hands, covered in their own blood.

Ricky pinches himself hard on the palm. He had spent all these years trying to suppress his reflex to use blood magic, and dwelling on the past would do him no favors. He was at Primrose Academy for a fresh start after all. Taking a deep breath, Ricky tries to focus on his textbook again.

Surprisingly, the textbook is much more interesting than he had anticipated and works well enough as a distraction. The book starts off by explaining that while it is possible to do magic of every element, certain types of magic may be more difficult for witches to do depending on their affinity. For example, fire and water have traditionally been considered elements that opposed each other, so a fire mage may have trouble using water magic and vice versa. Ricky wonders if he’ll have luck with other types of magic besides water magic.

Ricky becomes so engrossed in reading that he hardly notices how much time has passed. The sun has nearly set, bathing the room in golden light, when the door to Ricky’s room swings open, revealing who he presumes to be Gyuvin.

The lanky boy strolls into the room before stopping abruptly when his eyes land on Ricky, frozen like a deer in headlights. Ricky is frozen as well, unsure as to why Gyuvin looks so shocked to see him there. Neither of them speak for several moments, instead staring at each other in awkward silence.

Ricky takes in the appearance of his roommate. Gyuvin is tall, probably taller than Ricky is, with soft-looking, chestnut brown hair. He has a small face and wide doe-like eyes. Ricky supposes Gyuvin would be fairly good looking if he wasn’t gaping at Ricky with his mouth wide open like a fish right now.

When it becomes clear that Gyuvin isn’t going to speak first, Ricky stands up from his desk, clearing his throat awkwardly. “I’m Shen Ricky, your new roommate. Did nobody tell you that I was coming today?” He asks. It’s the only explanation he can think of for why Gyuvin is acting so stunned.

“No!” Gyuvin exclaims, a bit loudly. Ricky startles, and even Gyuvin seems a bit shocked by his own volume, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “No, I knew you would be here today.” Gyuvin clarifies.

“I just didn’t expect you to be so…” Gyuvin trails off, scrunching his brow.

“You didn’t expect me to be so what?” Ricky prompts. He hopes his voice doesn’t betray how nervous he is. Despite Du Hua’s warnings, Ricky would like to be on good terms with his roommate at the very least, but it seemed like things had started off on a strange note.

“So…so tall! You’re almost as tall as me!” Gyuvin laughs awkwardly.

“Oh. Right.” Ricky replies. He gets the distinct feeling that Gyuvin isn’t telling the truth, seeing as he was sitting down when Gyuvin had walked in, but he doesn’t press any further. He doesn’t want to make things any weirder than they already are.

“I’m Kim Gyuvin, by the way.” Gyuvin finally introduces himself and shakes Ricky’s hand enthusiastically. “I’m looking forward to being your roommate this year!”

“Same here.” Ricky replies.

A brief silence hangs in the air. Ricky isn’t an expert on handshakes or anything, but he feels like they aren’t supposed to last this long. He isn’t even sure if he can call it a handshake at this point, considering that Gyuvin has almost stopped moving his hand entirely, simply holding Ricky’s hand in his. Ricky can feel his face heating up slowly the longer they stand there.

“Um.” Ricky says, glancing down at their joined hands.

“Oh! Sorry. Got lost in thought for a second.” Gyuvin quickly releases Ricky’s hand and walks over to his side of the room, plopping down on the edge of his bed. “So what brings you to Primrose Academy? Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to have you as my roommate, but we don’t really get transfer students at this time of the year, or ever really.”

Ricky has followed suit, sitting on the edge of his own bed so he is facing across from Gyuvin. “I was supposed to enroll at the beginning of this year, but because of some health issues I couldn’t enroll until now.” Ricky says.

It’s the lie that Du Hua had made him practice a hundred times. It wasn’t like Ricky could tell anyone at Primrose Academy that the reason his admission had been delayed for so long was because Du Hua was making sure he wouldn’t use blood magic anymore, but he felt a pang of guilt in his chest when Gyuvin’s brow furrowed in concern at the mention of his health. “I’m all better now, though.” Ricky tacks on hurriedly.

“That’s a relief.” Gyuvin replies, looking truly relieved. “Did they give you your schedule yet?”

Ricky nods and hands Gyuvin the piece of paper with his schedule. Gyuvin scans over his schedule, humming approvingly. “We have Cooperative Magic together,” Gyuvin says appreciatively. “It’s a fun class in theory, but the professor makes it a pain in the ass.”

Gyuvin goes through the rest of Ricky’s schedule, telling Ricky about the various professors and students in each class. Although they only share one class together, Gyuvin seems to know at least one person in every class Ricky has, assuring Ricky that he’ll introduce him to them. Ricky can only nod along, slightly apprehensive. Du Hua’s warning to not get too close to anyone is still ringing loud and clear in his head, but Ricky thinks it can’t hurt to be friendly with a few people.

“You’re in Magical Theory and Affinities, though.” Gyuvin frowns. “That’s a class for first years.”

“Oh, is it really?” Ricky tilts his head, feigning ignorance. He had secretly been hoping that Gyuvin wouldn’t comment on it. He was already sure that he would be getting plenty of stares in that class tomorrow.

Thankfully, Gyuvin doesn’t press the issue any further. “Well, it is a prerequisite for most classes here. I can introduce you to a couple of kids in that class.” He shrugs. “By the way, it’s nearly dinner time. Do you wanna head to the dining hall?”

Ricky nods quickly, eager to get out of their room now that Gyuvin is there to guide him. Gyuvin leads Ricky out of their room and down a maze of dimly lit hallways. Gyuvin rambles on about something Ricky can’t quite catch, as he tries to focus on memorizing the path they’re currently taking. Eventually they reach the dining hall, but Gyuvin stops outside of the large wooden doors instead of going inside.

“Hello? Earth to Ricky?” Gyvuvin waves a hand in front of Ricky’s face.

“Huh?” Ricky blinks in surprise.

“I was telling you about the friends I normally sit with. You don’t mind sitting with them, right?”

“Oh. Sure.” Ricky agrees, because he doesn’t really have any choice other than sitting by himself.

“They’re really nice, I promise,” Gyuvin assures him, pushing open the doors to the dining hall. “Gunwook may look scary, but he’s just a giant nerd.”

They get into line for food first, Ricky piling his tray high with food. He isn’t familiar with much Korean food, but he had been so anxious earlier that he had barely eaten anything. Ricky follows Gyuvin’s lead to one of the many long wooden tables in the dining hall.

Gyuvin stops in front of two boys and sets down his tray, gesturing to Ricky with a flourishing sweep of his arm. “Gunwook, Junhyeon, this is Ricky, my new roommate.”

Ricky bows slightly, a mixture of awkwardness and nervousness swirling in his stomach. Both of Gyuvin’s friends are silent for a moment, eyes flitting back and forth between Gyuvin, Ricky, and each other, before one of them turns to Ricky.

Ricky presumes this must be Gunwook, because like Gyuvin had described, he did look a bit intimidating. His dark hair is slicked back and he has an intense gaze that makes it feel like Ricky is being observed under a microscope. Despiste what Gyuvin had said, Ricky tenses up when Gunwook opens his mouth.

“I’m Park Gunwook!” Gunwook grins, revealing a gummy smile. “I’m a second year, too. I’m a lightning mage. It’s nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you too. I’m Ricky.” Ricky breathes out a sigh of relief he hadn’t even known he was holding. “A water mage.” The words feel heavy and unfamiliar on his tongue.

Gunwook reaches across the table to shake Ricky’s hand. The handshake is brief, unlike whatever odd thing he and Gyuvin had done earlier. Gunwook grips Ricky’s hand firmly and shakes it once before letting go. Ricky tries not to think of how long Gyuvin had held his hand for, or else his face might turn pink again.

Gyuvin’s other friend, Junhyeon, is slightly less welcoming. He narrows his eyes at Ricky, almost suspiciously, before glancing at Gyuvin. “Interesting…” Junhyeon mutters under his breath.

Gyuvin glares at Junheyon and the two of them seem to be having a silent conversation before Junhyeon sighs loudly. “I’m Kum Junhyeon. Second year. Also a water mage. Nice to meet you and all that.”

Ricky just nods awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to Junhyeon’s somewhat standoffish behavior. Gyuvin shoots another glare at Junhyeon before turning to Ricky and smiling sweetly, urging him to sit down and start eating.

The meal is awkward to say the least. Gunwook attempts to make friendly conversation, asking Ricky where he’s from and how he ended up at Primrose Academy, but Ricky can only give vague answers, not wanting to accidentally reveal something he shouldn’t. Gyuvin also tries to include Ricky in the conversation, but eventually the three friends end up talking amongst themselves while Ricky focuses on shoveling food into his mouth.

It’s clear that Gyuvin, Gunwook, and Junhyeon have been friends for a while by the way they joke around with each other. Ricky feels sorely out of place, not being able to contribute to the conversation at all. It’s not like he doesn’t want to get along Gyuvin’s friends, but he has no idea what to say or do.

“Gyuvin, can you stay after dinner to talk about our project for Potions?” Junhyeon asks through a mouthful of rice.

“No, I can’t.” Gyuvin replies. “I have to show Ricky the way back to our room.”

“You don’t need to.” Ricky says quickly. “I know the way.” He really doesn’t, but Ricky has been done with his dinner for a while now, sitting in front of his empty tray because he didn’t know the right time to make his exit.

“Are you sure?” Gyuvin asks, staring at Ricky with wide eyes.

Gyuvin looks so concerned that Ricky almost considers telling the truth, but he ends up nodding instead. Although Gyuvin doesn’t seem convinced, he doesn’t follow Ricky out of the dining hall, much to Ricky’s relief. He tries to ignore the odd feeling that had settled in his stomach since dinner as he attempts to navigate the way back to his room.

Ricky chalks it up to being overwhelmed. After all, he wasn’t used to interacting with this many people. It definitely wasn’t because he was envious of Gyuvin, Gunwook, and Junhyeon’s friendship. He had been just fine on his own for the past few years and he had already promised Du Hua that he wouldn’t get too close to anyone.

After turning another corner, Ricky realizes that he has no idea where he is. Somehow he’s ended up in a hallway covered in portraits of Primrose Academy alumni, a place completely unfamiliar to him. Very suddenly, he regrets turning down Gyuvin’s offer to show him the way back.

“Are you lost?”

Ricky jolts, turning around to see the owner of the voice that had startled him. A boy that looks a bit older than him is standing there, a knowing smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Ricky almost says no reflexively, not wanting to look clueless, but he has to get back to his dorm somehow.

“I was looking for the dorms in the east wing.” Ricky admits sheepishly.

“You’ve certainly wandered quite far.” The other boy grins. “Come on, I’ll show you the way back.”

He turns around, not even waiting for Ricky to respond, and stalks off down the hall. Ricky has no choice but to follow him. “I haven’t seen you around before.” The other boy says conversationally.

“I just transferred here today,” Ricky replies. “So I don’t really know my way around yet.”

“Ah, so you’re the new transfer student. I’m Zhang Hao, a fourth year student. I’ve been here for a while, so it was surprising to encounter an unfamiliar face.” Hao says, although he doesn’t look surprised in the slightest.

“I’m Shen Ricky, a second year.” Ricky says. “Was it that obvious that I was lost?”

“Well, that hallway is a dead end.” Hao chuckles. “It was just built to honor alumni, so students rarely go there, save for some clueless first years.” Before Ricky has the chance to ask why Hao was there then, Hao beats him to it with a question of his own. “Are you from Shanghai, by chance?”

Ricky tenses up immediately. He should’ve expected this question at some point, but he hadn’t expected to meet another student from China that would piece things together so soon. The Shen family was well known throughout China for their wealth and influence. Or at least, they had been, before Ricky’s parents passed away. Now they were known as a fallen house, where the heads of the family had died under mysterious circumstances and their remaining son had been whisked away to be raised far away from the public eye. Apparently Ricky’s relatives had squabbled over the title for head of the family, and the house had been run into ruin.

“Yeah, I am. I’ve been living in Beijing for the past few years, though.” Ricky replies, hoping that he sounds unbothered.

There was no point in lying, since which family he came from could be found out easily enough if anyone was really curious. However, that didn’t mean Ricky was comfortable with the scrutiny that came with it. He dreads Hao’s reaction, fearing that he’ll look at the older boy’s face and find pity or disappointment.

Instead, Hao’s expression remains perfectly neutral. “That’s nice.” He hums. “I’m from Fujian.”

The two of them walk in silence until they reach the east wing. “You can find the way back to your dorm from here right?” Hao asks.

Ricky nods and Hao gives him a small smile. “If you ever need help with anything, let me know. Don’t be a stranger.” And with that Hao disappears down the corridor.

Ricky finally arrives at his dorm, unsure of what to make of Zhang Hao. The upperclassman had seemed nice enough, but there was somewhat of an unreadable air around him.

Ricky has washed up and is sitting in bed reading one of his textbooks when Gyuvin finally returns to the dorm. The taller boy enters the room without a word, before flopping down face first onto his bed and groaning loudly. Gyuvin suddenly sits straight up, whipping his head around to look at Ricky in horror, as if he had forgotten that he had a roommate all together.

“Oh, Ricky. You’re here.” Gyuvin laughs awkwardly. It’s hard to see in the dim candlelight of their room, but the tips of Gyuvin’s ears look bright red.

“Well, yes.” Ricky replies dryly. “This is my room.”

“Right, that was a stupid thing to say.” Gyuvin says brightly. “By the way, I’m really sorry about Junhyeon. He’s usually not that rude but I think he’s just stressed out about assignments right now.”

Ricky doesn’t really think that’s the case, seeing as Junhyeon seemed to be just fine when talking to Gyuvin and Gunwook, but he appreciates Gyuvin’s attempt to comfort him.

“Again, I’m really sorry. I hope you didn’t feel uncomfortable.” Gyuvin glances at Ricky nervously.

“It’s fine.” Ricky assures him.

“Are you sure? You were pretty quiet at dinner.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’m just kind of a quiet person. And besides I–” Ricky cuts himself off abruptly. It was embarrassing to admit that he barely had any experience talking to kids his own age. “I’m not that good at Korean.”

It’s a half-truth. Ricky isn’t completely fluent, only having started learning the language a couple of years ago. It’s not something he’s really all that insecure about, but he hopes it’s a plausible enough excuse for why he acted so awkward.

“That’s not true!” Gyuvin exclaims, frowning at Ricky. “You’re really good at Korean, trust me. Even if you make a mistake, no one is going to make fun of you.”

“Oh…thanks.” Ricky replies shyly, a bit flustered by Gyuvin’s earnestness. “Sometimes there’s things I want to say but I can’t think of the right word in Korean.”

“You can always ask me for help!” Gyuvin offers eagerly. “Well actually, I don’t know that much Chinese.” He deflates slightly. “But if you know how to say it in English I can translate just fine!”

Ricky looks at Gyuvin with wide eyes. “You can speak English?”

“Yep! Went to an English kindergarten and everything.” Gyuvin says proudly.

“That’s cool. I used to live in LA so I know how to speak English too.” Ricky says without thinking. He immediately regrets the words once they’re out of his mouth.

“Really?” Gyuvin’s eyes sparkle with curiosity. “That sounds so cool! What was it like living over there?”

Fond memories of his childhood flood Ricky’s mind. He had moved to Los Angeles not long after his blood magic had manifested, so that his parents could work on their research. Or at least, that’s what they had told him at the time, but Ricky now suspects it was to keep him out of sight of their prying relatives back in China.

Aside from his parents trying to teach him water magic to no avail, Ricky had lived a relatively carefree life. His parents had bought a large house along the beach, and Ricky would spend his days sketching by the ocean or playing with his cat. He was perfectly content living in the small bubble that consisted of him, his parents, and his cat, until his parents passed away and he was suddenly forced to move back to China.

“Sorry, I don’t really remember much.” Ricky says with a sad smile. “I was really young when I lived there.”

“Oh, I see.” Gyuvin nods understandingly, thankfully not pressing any further. He gets up from his bed, stretching his arms above his head. The hem of Gyuvin’s shirt rides up ever so slightly, revealing a silver of his stomach. Ricky hurriedly averts his eyes, out of respect, of course. “I’m gonna go hit the showers.”

By the time Gyuvin comes back from showering, his hair dripping with water, Ricky has tucked himself neatly under his covers. Now that Ricky has the chance to look at him properly, he notices that Gyuvin really is handsome. Objectively speaking, of course.

After drying off his hair with a towel, Gyuvin settles into his own bed. Ricky closes his eyes, ready to drift off to sleep.

“Good night, Ricky.” Gyuvin says softly.

“Good night.” Ricky replies, his voice barely above a whisper.

*

After a dreamless sleep, Ricky wakes up bright and early the next morning. Gyuvin is still snoring softly when Ricky slips quietly into their shared bathroom to get ready for the day. He does his brief skincare routine before spending the next few minutes painstakingly gelling his blond hair into place. There’s something therapeutic about it, nearly distracting him from the sinking feeling in his stomach that had been present since he woke up.

By the time he steps out of the bathroom, Gyuvin is just sitting up in his bed, rubbing at his eyes blearily. Gyuvin takes one look at Ricky before his eyes widen comically. “You’re already ready?” Gyuvin glances at the clock and stifles a yawn. “Give me a sec and we can go to breakfast together.”

Gyuvin gets ready in a hurry and the two of them head to the dining hall together. It’s clear that Gyuvin isn’t a morning person. He isn’t nearly as talkative as he had been the day before, and every few sentences are punctuated by wide yawns. However Gyuvin doesn’t fail to greet nearly every person they pass by in the hallways, which seems to slowly wake him up.

Once they enter the dining hall, Gyuvin waves at Gunwook and Junhyeon, and then walks right past them.

“We’re not going to sit with them?” Ricky asks, hastily giving Gunwook and Junhyeon a small nod as they pass by.

“Nope! We usually just eat dinner together. For breakfast I normally sit with Hanbin hyung but…” Gyuvin glances around the room and frowns. “I don’t see him.”

Seemingly undeterred, Gyuvin walks over to an unoccupied table and sits down. “Guess it’s just you and me today.” He grins at Ricky.

Hesitantly, Ricky slides into the seat across from Gyuvin. Gyuvin has arguably been the most welcoming person Ricky has ever met, almost painfully so, but Ricky still felt clumsy talking to him. Luckily Gyuvin does most of the talking, seemingly content with Ricky nodding along and interjecting every now and then.

“Are you ready for your first class?” Gyuvin asks when breakfast is nearly over.

“I guess so.” Ricky shrugs, trying to appear nonchalant. In reality he has been trying, and failing, to ignore his nerves all morning. He has no idea of what to expect in terms of classes, and fears that his lack of skill may catch up to him very quickly.

“Professor Heo is really nice, so you shouldn’t have any trouble.” Gyuvin says as they walk out of the dining hall. He had offered to walk Ricky to his first class, which Ricky is more grateful for than he’s letting on, because he doesn’t want a repeat of the night before. “And I know some first years you can sit with.”

However, when they reach the classroom for Magical Theory and Affinities, Gyuvin’s first year friends are nowhere in sight. “Those kids are never early for class.” Gyuvin sighs and shakes his head in fake disappointment. “I have to get going to my class now, but look for Yujin and Ollie when they come in! They’re both giant babies, you won’t be able to miss them.” Gyuvin waves goodbye and Ricky tries his best to give him a reassuring smile.

He’s about to go and find a seat in the back when the professor calls out to him. “Ricky, a word before class starts, please?”

Anxiously, Ricky walks up to the front of the classroom and stands in front of Professor Heo, who has an imposing aura about her.

“It's nice to meet you, Ricky. I’ve heard a lot of things about you.” Professor Heo smiles kindly at him. “I’ve been informed that you’ve been keeping up with the material while you were homeschooled, but I just wanted to let you know that you can ask me for help with anything anytime. You are starting in the middle of the semester after all.”

“Oh, thank you.” Ricky says, slightly relieved. It seemed that Professor Heo really was nice after all.

“We’ve just started our water magic unit, so you shouldn’t have much trouble for now.” She says, trying to reassure him.

Ricky just nods weakly and slinks off to the back of the room. That’s right, everyone was under the impression that he was a water mage. He would have to find a way to improve his water magic, and quickly, if he wanted to make it seem believable. It seemed futile, though. After all, that was one of the main things Du Hua had been working on these past few years, without much success.

He’s so lost in thought that by the time class has started, he has completely forgotten about looking for Gyuvin’s friends. Professor Heo starts her lecture, and Ricky sits up straight, listening attentively.

“Last class we covered a brief introduction to water magic, and today we’ll be getting into more practical applications of it.” Professor Heo explains. “Now, don’t be discouraged if the spells we go over today don’t come naturally to you. Water magic is known to be finicky with those who don’t have an affinity for it.”

“Professor, it’s impossible for me! I’m a fire mage!” One of the students calls out. Several students snicker at the comment.

Professor Heo sighs exasperatedly. “Nice try, but I told you to abandon that line of thinking at the beginning of this semester. Yes, if you are a fire witch you may have more trouble with water magic and yes, if you are an ice witch water magic may be easier for you. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.”

She narrows her eyes and seems to pointedly stare at a student sitting in the front row. “And because I already know that someone will ask me, historically it was easier for witches who used blood magic to use water magic and vice versa. However, that's not relevant to this course, so you don’t need to worry about remembering it.”

Ricky stiffens in his seat at the mention of blood magic. Thankfully, it goes unnoticed by the students sitting around him. The boy in the front row that it looked like Professor Heo had been addressing raises his hand. The professor sighs again, but calls on him.

“It’s been said that blood magic is an offshoot from water magic. How are we so sure that there are no more blood witches? They could’ve just disguised themselves as water witches or something.” The boy asks.

A series of groans and whispers ripples throughout the room. “There he goes again.” Someone sitting near Ricky mutters.

“While this is more of a question for your history teacher, I’ll indulge you.” Professor Heo says, although her lips are pursed, clearly displeased. “Blood magic has been outlawed since the 19th century. At first, the prominent families of blood witches simply promised to stop using it, but there are always people who don’t follow the law. Eventually things got so out of hand that all of the blood witches ended up getting executed, regardless if they practiced blood magic or not.”

“But surely there were some who might have gotten away?” The boy in the front row presses further, unsatisfied.

“That may have been the case at first, but the Council was thorough. There hasn’t been a reported case of blood magic in Korea in the past fifty years, or in Japan or China for that matter. There hasn’t even been a single case of a child born with an affinity for blood to parents with different affinities, and if there were, things would be properly dealt with by the Council. Now that is enough out of you, Han Yujin.” Professor Heo says sternly.

The boy, Yujin, begins to open his mouth but quickly shuts it after a sharp glare from Professor Heo.

Ricky is out of it for the rest of the class. He barely pays attention, just going through the motions when Professor Heo guides them through a few basic water spells. Based on what Professor Heo had said, it really did seem like Ricky was an anomaly. He had no idea if he was truly the only case of blood magic occuring in the past fifty years, or if there were others who had hid like him, but either way it only made him more determined to never let anyone find out the truth. Ricky had no intention of finding out what being properly dealt with by the Council entailed.

Class finishes without any further incident, but instead of rushing out of class like everyone else, Ricky finds himself nervously approaching Professor Heo. He wants to find out some more information, albeit a bit more subtly than Yujin had.

“Excuse me, Professor.” Ricky says timidly to Professor Heo.

“Ah, Ricky. Can I help you with anything?” She replies with a pleasant smile.

“There was something you mentioned earlier that I was curious about…” Ricky hesitates before continuing. “You said that children can be born with different affinities from their parents. Isn’t that…kind of rare?”

Professor Heo’s face lights up, a stark contrast to how she looked when she had answered Yujin’s question. “That’s a great question, Ricky! Most kids here come from well-known, established families where all of their family members have the same affinity, so they’re under the impression that this phenomenon is rare. But it’s actually becoming more common nowadays.”

“Why?” Ricky asks curiously.

“Well…it’s complicated. It seems to be more common in less prominent families, where there’s less of an emphasis on witches marrying witches with the same affinity as them. It’s been suggested that the non-magic concept of genetics can be applied to this, but there’s not a lot of support for this theory. We tend to reject a lot of human science, so most research being done is looking for a magical explanation. ” Professor Heo smiles apologetically at him. “I wish I could give you a better answer, but it's something that’s still being researched right now.”

Ricky thanks Professor Heo and leaves the classroom, feeling slightly disappointed. It seemed getting answers would be more difficult than he expected.

When he steps out into the hallway, Ricky is surprised to see that Yujin and another boy are waiting outside of the classroom. Both of the boys perk up at the sight of Ricky, nudging and whispering to one another. Ricky contemplates whether he should wait for one of them to approach and see what they had to say, or if he should just pretend he doesn’t see them.

The latter option is seeming more appealing, however Yujin marches up to Ricky before he has the chance to make his chance to escape.

“Why are you in our class? You look too old to be a first year.” Yujin asks bluntly.

Ricky blinks, a bit taken aback by the younger boy’s directness. Yujin’s friend, looking exasperated, elbows Yujin in the side. “Yujin! You can’t just ask him that!” He hisses.

“Why not?” Yujin says stubbornly. “I’m curious!”

“It’s fine.” Ricky interjects before Yujin’s friend has a chance to argue back. “I’m a second year but,” Ricky shrugs. “I don’t know why I’m in this class either. I didn’t pick out the classes in my schedule.”

Yujin looks unsatisfied with his answer, but his friend speaks up instead. “By the way, I’m Ollie and this is Yujin! Sorry about Yujin, his curiosity just gets the better of him sometimes.”

“Oh, you’re the kids Gyuvin told me about.” Ricky says, belatedly making the connection.

“We’re not kids.” Yujin and Ollie say in unison, matching scowls appearing on their faces.

Ricky feels like it would be rude to mention that they look awfully childish right now, so he doesn’t. Before Ricky can say anything, a student passing by bumps into Yujin so hard that the younger boy stumbles a bit.

Instead of apologizing, the passerby turns back to sneer at Yujin. “Watch where you’re going, Han Yujin.”

“Hey, you were the one who bumped into him!” Ollie protests.

“You should be careful too, Ollie.” The student smiles mockingly. “If you hang around Yujin too much, people will start thinking you’re into blood magic too.” The student continues on his way, without sparing a glance back at them.

Ollie clenches his fists at his sides, while Yujin just rolls his eyes and sighs.

“Are you okay..?” Ricky asks hesitantly.

“It’s whatever.” Yujin shrugs, seemingly unbothered. It’s evident that Yujin is used to this, something that makes Ricky’s chest feel tight.

“Why are you so interested in blood magic anyway?” Ricky blurts out.

“I’m just curious about it, that’s all.” Yujin replies. “It’s hard to find books about it that are unbiased so I’ve been asking the professors, but they all just repeat the same things over and over again.”

“Which are…?”

“That blood magic doesn’t exist anymore, and it doesn’t exist for a good reason, so I should stop asking about it.” Yujin grumbles.

“And they’re right!” Ollie says exasperatedly. “Even if you’re curious, asking about it so publicly is gonna put a target on your back.”

“Oh please, things aren’t that bad. I can handle them myself.” Yujin scoffs. “And if they get too out of hand, Gyuvin hyung will beat them up for me.” He adds confidently.

Ricky has plenty more things that he wants to ask Yujin, but all of the sudden Ollie is glancing at his watch and hurriedly tugging at Yujin’s sleeve. “Oh shoot, it’s nearly time for class! We have to get going, but it was nice meeting you…uh…what was your name again?”

“Ricky. Shen Ricky.”

Ollie’s eyes widen slightly. “You’re—”

“Come on, Ollie. Professor Lee won’t go easy on us if we’re late again.” Yujin says impatiently.

“Right.” Ollie looks at Ricky almost apologetically. “See you around, Ricky hyung!”

*

The rest of Ricky’s classes are relatively uneventful, until Cooperative Magic, which is the class he shares with Gyuvin. The taller boy waves at him excitedly the second Ricky walks through the classroom door, gesturing for Ricky to take the seat next to him.

“How’s your first day been? Did you find all your classes okay?” Gyuvin asks.

“Everything has been fine.” Ricky replies, which is mostly the truth. He had almost gotten lost several times earlier that day, but that wasn’t important.

“That’s good. This cla–” Gyuvin abruptly stops mid-sentence.

A hush falls over the entire room the second the professor walks in. Professor Baek walks leisurely up to the podium at the front of the room, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Don’t stop talking on account of me. There’s still three minutes before class starts.”

Despite the professor’s words, the room remains completely silent. Ricky glances over at Gyuvin, bewildered at the sudden shift in atmosphere. Even Gyuvin, who usually talked to Ricky nonstop, sat there silently, stony faced.

It seemed that Professor Baek’s very presence put all of the students on edge, and Ricky was clueless as to why. He didn’t seem like a particularly intimidating man, but Ricky knew firsthand that looks could be deceiving. He had plenty of tutors in the past who had seemed nice at first, only for them to berate him harshly the second he made a small mistake.

After three painfully quiet minutes pass, Professor Baek starts class by taking attendance. He calls Ricky’s name last, his eyes lingering on Ricky as if he was sizing him up.

“As you probably have all noticed, we have a new student in class. Ricky, would you come up here and please introduce yourself?” Professor Baek asks.

Ricky stands up slowly, taken aback by the sudden request. A sense of dread creeps up on Ricky as he makes his way to the front of the class. He has a bad feeling about this.

Standing next to Professor Baek at the podium, Ricky tries his best not to show that he’s intimidated, even though everyone is intently staring at him. “I’m Shen Ricky, a second year. I came here from China and I’m a water mage.”

There’s a light smattering of applause before the room falls into silence once again.

“Now Ricky, if you could demonstrate some of your magic to the class.” Professor Baek prompts.

“My magic?” Ricky turns to Professor Baek, alarmed.

“Yes, your magic.” Professor Baek chuckles. “This is Cooperative Magic after all. You’ll be working with your classmates often, so it’s useful to give them an idea of what you’re capable of. The rest of your classmates gave similar demonstrations at the beginning of the semester.”

Ricky’s heart drops to his stomach. He’d been doing magic in his other classes all day, but he had never been singled out in front of the entire class. “Is there anything specific I should do or…?” Ricky looks at Professor Baek helplessly.

“I usually tell students to show whatever they think the best representation of their magic is but…” He looks at Ricky up and down before giving him a sharp smile. “If you’re having trouble making a decision, how about conjuring an animal out of water? That should be easy enough for a witch of your caliber.”

It should be something that Ricky is able to do easily, but he’s unsure. He’s never tried to do it before, and he’s sure that he’ll perform worse under the scrutiny of so many people. But it’s not like Ricky has any better ideas, so he gives Professor Baek a small nod before taking a deep breath and concentrating.

Closing his eyes, Ricky recalls everything that Du Hua and his countless tutors had told him. He continues to take deep breaths, attempting to enter a state of calm and relaxation, to let the water magic flow through him naturally. The image of a cat comes to Ricky’s mind, unsurprisingly, and he tries to direct the flow of his magic into the shape of one.

Slowly opening his eyes, Ricky can see that he’s conjured up a decently sized blob of water that has dim blue light surrounding it. This was good. If he just focused a bit more, he just might be able to shape it into a cat. He furrows his brows, trying to force the water into a different shape.

“What the hell is taking him so long?” What surely was meant to be a whisper is heard clearly by everyone in the otherwise completely silent room.

A jolt of anxiety runs down Ricky’s spine, and before he knows it, his blob of water is expanding rapidly and exploding right in front of his face. A few students burst into laughter, but Ricky can barely hear them over the hammering of his heart.

“What was that?” Professor Baek asks in disbelief. Ricky stands there silently, not daring to speak. Professor Baek clicks his tongue and shakes his head. “I expected more out of you considering the family you came from, but I see that I was mistaken. My five year old son could have done better than that.”

Though he has just been drenched in cold water, Ricky’s face burns hot with shame. It’s like he’s a child again, being scolded by Du Hua for not being able to produce a satisfactory result. He trudges back to his seat, eyes glued to the floor. Ricky doesn’t even look at Gyuvin once he’s back in his seat until the other witch casts a drying spell over him.

“Thanks.” Ricky mouths to his roommate gratefully. He can’t believe he had just walked across the classroom while sopping wet, like an idiot.

“I’m sorry.” Gyuvin mouths back, looking awfully apologetic.

Ricky furrows his brow, confused as to why Gyuvin was sorry. It was nobody’s fault but his own that he had made a complete fool of himself in front of the entire class. Gyuvin just shakes his head and gestures for Ricky to pay attention to Professor Baek, who has started lecturing.

However, Ricky does not hear a single word Professor Baek says for the rest of class. He can only replay his embarrassing moment in his mind, over and over again. Ricky knew that he had been taking too long, but he thought that as long as he managed to conjure an animal successfully, people might overlook it. Instead, his concentration had been broken easily by a comment that had reminded Ricky of Du Hua, who had never been patient with him.

After Professor Baek dismisses class, Ricky practically bolts out of the room without sparing a glance at Gyuvin. He knows he’s being rude, but he can’t stand being in that room any longer.

“Hey, Ricky, wait up!” Gyuvin calls out, catching up to him without much issue. “I’m really sorry. I should’ve given you a better heads up about Professor Baek.”

Ricky blinks. He vaguely recalls Gyuvin saying something about the professor for Cooperative Magic being a pain in the ass. “It’s fine. I was the one who messed up anyway.”

“Don’t let what he said get to you. Half of our classmate’s demonstrations ended up just like yours, if not worse.” Gyuvin shakes his head. “Professor Baek just likes to tear down students to boost his own ego. He even said the same thing about his son to Yujin. Which isn’t even true because he’s brought his son to campus before, and that kid’s powers hadn’t even manifested yet!”

Despite himself, a weak laugh escapes Ricky’s lips. “You don’t have to try so hard to make me feel better. It’s really fine.”

It’s another lie, but at least Ricky’s heart feels the tiniest bit lighter after talking to Gyuvin.

*

That night Ricky dreams of the day his powers manifested.

He’s back at his house in Shanghai, searching for his pet cat, aptly named Maomao. She is nowhere to be found, until Ricky finds that Maomao has knocked over a vase, and cut her paw on one of the glass shards.

“Oh no, Maomao!” Ricky exclaims softly, his tiny legs running over to the fluffy white cat.

One of Maomao’s front paws is bright red, soaked in blood. Panicking, Ricky calls out for his parents, but is met with silence. He knows that they’re in their lab in the basement, working on their research, but Ricky hesitates. They never like to be disturbed while they’re working, and always scold Ricky for coming into their lab, saying that it’s too dangerous for him to be there.

Maomao mewls in pain, snapping Ricky out of his thoughts. He places his hands on Maomao’s injured paw and scrunches up his face in concentration. Whenever Ricky got a cut or scrape, his mom would heal him using her magic. His mom always told him that he didn’t have magic yet, but maybe if Ricky really focused, he could help Maomao.

“Please, help Maomao!” Ricky pleads, squeezing his eyes shut.

He imagines Maomao’s wound closing up and a strange feeling washes over him. When Ricky opens his eyes, a silver light is engulfing Maomao’s paw. Somehow he feels that he can control the light, and the harder that he wishes that all of Maomao’s pain and blood would go away, the brighter the light glows.

The light looks a bit different then when Ricky’s mom heals him, but after a few seconds, the light fades away to reveal that Maomao’s paw is completely healed. There’s not even a trace of blood left, her white fur completely pristine.

Suddenly Ricky's mother appears behind him. “Quanrui, what’s all of this? Did you knock the vase over?”

“Mama!” Ricky turns to his mom excitedly. “Mama, Maomao cut her paw on the glass, but I fixed her just like you do when I’m hurt!”

“Is that so?” Ricky’s mom asks in disbelief, all thoughts of the broken vase forgotten. She crouches down to inspect Maomao’s paws before turning to Ricky with a proud smile. “That’s amazing, Quanrui! Your magic must finally be coming in!”

“Really?” Ricky asks eagerly. He had always felt envious watching his parents use magic.

“Yes, really.” His mom laughs, ruffling his hair. “I’m sure you’ll be a great water mage just like us.”

“But Mama,” Ricky frowns, slightly bothered by something. “When I helped Maomao, there was this silver light. It wasn’t blue light like yours.”

His mother’s hand stills in his hair. “What did you just say?”

“I said, there was a silver light!” Ricky repeats.

Ricky watches as the color drains from his mother’s face. “No, Quanrui. You never saw that.” It almost sounds like she’s trying to convince herself, rather than Ricky.

“But I did see that! I’m not lying, I promise!”

“I said, you never saw that!” His mother shouts.

Ricky awakes from his dream abruptly, clutching at his chest. He takes a few moments to catch his breath, his heart racing from the memory. Ricky hadn’t dreamed about his childhood in a while, and he would really prefer if he didn’t.

It was still the middle of the night, and thankfully Gyuvin was still fast asleep. After a few minutes, Ricky has calmed down enough to try and go back to sleep. He finally releases the tight grip he had on his shirt, frowning when he feels something wet coating his hand.

Holding his hand up to the moonlight, Ricky realizes that in his sleep, he has pinched his palm hard enough to draw blood.