Chapter Text
The sky was darkening as Hanbin left the school, the sun dipping behind the horizon and turning the clouds a bright orange.
He closed the classroom door behind him, and walked slowly down the dim hallway, his bag slung over his shoulder. The bag was packed with assignments and paperwork, and the weight of the day felt heavy in his chest as he made his way to the front of the school. He stopped by the janitor’s closet briefly to say goodbye, but found that she had already left.
Shuffling out of the school’s front door, Hanbin locked the door and let out a small sigh. It had been a long day.
He loved his job at the elementary school—it was a lot of fun working with the kids, and he loved knowing that he was making a difference in their lives. Truly, it felt like a dream come true most of the time.
He’d be lying if he said it wasn’t also difficult, though. Hanbin was not only a schoolteacher, but he was also close to the administration and frequently helped out with admin duties. Recently, he began volunteering to help out with running PTA meetings as well. There was a lot to do, and Hanbin was only one person—though he’d never complain, of course. He knew that his help was needed, and he’d feel guilty declining. Plus, he really did enjoy helping everyone out.
Now that school was officially out for the summer, Hanbin was working part-time at the summer daycare program his school ran. While continuing to help out with the administrative duties, of course. It hadn’t exactly been his plan, per se, but the school had needed extra teachers, and Hanbin had… a bit of trouble saying no sometimes. Especially if the help was needed.
But it was okay! Hanbin might have had a bit too much on his plate currently, and he might have been leaving work way too late considering his salary, but it was all for the sake of the kids. It wasn’t as if he was wearing himself too thin. It was a level of responsibility that Hanbin could probably handle.
Besides, there were plenty of things to look forward to outside of work.
Like tonight, for example. Hanbin checked his phone and smiled when his phone lit up with a message from his best friend Matthew.
Matthew: omw! class got out a little late so i’ll be at the cafe in 10!!!
Hanbin clicked at his screen to send Matthew a thumbs-up emoji. Then he pocketed his phone and strolled around the corner to head towards the cafe he was planning to meet Matthew at.
It was hot outside, sweat beginning to bead at Hanbin’s forehead. He could feel his cheeks heating up already, and he reached up to pat at his face.
The sun was now barely peeking over the horizon, streaking the sky with sunny shades of purple and pink. The birds chirped loudly as Hanbin rounded the corner and crossed over to the cafe, sitting down on the bench outside as he waited for Matthew. The heat felt as though it had wormed its way into Hanbin’s veins, sizzling underneath his skin. Absentmindedly, he pushed up the sleeves of his T-shirt.
He waited patiently for Matthew, even as the ten-minute mark passed. Matthew was taking university classes at some sort of community college nearby (Hanbin still wasn’t really sure on the details, Matthew had seemed a bit embarrassed by it), so it wasn’t unusual for him to be late from time to time. The heat was starting to get to Hanbin though…
Digging into his bag for a water bottle, Hanbin gazed out at the skyline. He could see the lights of the city begin to blink on in the distance. Another wave of heat passed over him, and he briefly felt his vision swim.
Blinking in surprise, he reached up to feel his forehead. He was burning up. As he took a swig of his water, he checked his phone and found that Matthew was currently twenty minutes late. Surely he’d get here soon, right?
Unfortunately for Hanbin, as soon as he glanced back up, he felt sweat roll down his temples and he suddenly felt very, very uncomfortable, almost suffocated by the heat. The skyline began to twist before his eyes, the colors of the sunset swirling with the silhouettes of the buildings and their twinkling lights. Hanbin stood up, and stumbled towards the entrance of the cafe.
This proved to be a mistake, because as soon as he stood up, dots of static began to cloud his vision. The overhead porch light flickered on as the sun finally dropped beneath the horizon, and then Hanbin’s vision went completely black.
*
Hanbin woke up to a pounding headache.
That was the first thing he noticed, the drumming behind temples, before he sat up and groaned, rubbing at his forehead. The second thing he noticed was that he was strangely cold.
…And the third thing that he noticed, as he swept his eyes across his surroundings, was that he was definitely not at the cafe he was planning to meet Matthew at.
Rather, he appeared to be in some sort of… Forest?
Hanbin was surrounded on all sides by tall, craggy trees that twisted up in the air and loomed over him like skeletons. The night air was chilly, and the sky was painted pitch black. There was not a cloud in sight, the moon hanging low in the sky, looking almost comically large. It was so bright that Hanbin felt he needed to avert his eyes.
There was a piercing crowing noise that cut through the still night suddenly, and Hanbin startled as a black bird flew through the trees and breezed past him, wings flapping so close to Hanbin that they nearly brushed against his ear. Heart pounding, he willed his breathing to even out, even as he felt panic begin to set inside him.
Where was he? Why was he here? Had someone suddenly kidnapped him…?
The trees that surrounded him looked menacing, as if they were ensnaring him from every angle. Somewhat frantically, Hanbin began to scan his surroundings, hoping there would be something to clue him in as to where he was.
When his eyes first passed over the castle, he nearly missed it.
There, in the distance, was a tall, tall cluster of towers, standing high above the trees, dark enough that it nearly blended in with all of the branches surrounding Hanbin.
It seemed to be the only building around, as far as he could see, as well as the only sign of life. It definitely appeared to be a castle of some sort, with elaborate turrets stretching into the sky and decorative arches protruding into the otherwise empty horizon. It was nothing more than a vast, black silhouette against the gray skyline, but Hanbin could make out its lighted windows, as well as the puff of smoke steadily rising from the castle’s singular smokestack.
Heart still racing, Hanbin slowly rose from the ground. His head still ached, but the sensation was temporarily dulled by the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
If he was going to head towards that castle, he’d have to be careful. He didn’t know where he was, nor did he know what he would come across inside. Not to mention, any potential wild animals he might encounter…
He had only taken a few hesitant steps forward, when the loud crunching of leaves made him freeze in his tracks.
It sounded like heavy footsteps. Heavy footsteps that were rapidly approaching Hanbin.
Hanbin suddenly found himself unable to move, frozen in place as the footsteps became louder and louder.
As the person (or the animal?) came closer, Hanbin heard a voice muttering in a low tone. He strained his ears to hear, unsure of what to do, feet stuck to the ground underneath him.
“I’m late, I’m late!” The mysterious voice said frantically. “Oh man, I really got too distracted!”
At that last sentence, Hanbin tilted his head to the side, confusion momentarily eclipsing his panic. That voice was familiar. It almost sounded like…
Someone slammed into Hanbin at that moment, and Hanbin felt himself go tumbling towards the ground for the second time that day.
Pain blooming behind his eyes again, he winced and squeezed his eyes shut on instinct. He had barely opened them, when—
“Hanbin?”
Hanbin stared up at the man who was looking down at him, with a perplexed expression that Hanbin was very, very acquainted with.
“...Matthew?” Hanbin said, blinking up at him.
“I—yeah,” Matthew choked out, looking positively bewildered. “What are you—oh God, are you okay?”
Hanbin groaned as Matthew gripped his arms and helped him sit up. His head was positively throbbing now, the strangeness of this entire situation only adding to his pain. Matthew gently set Hanbin against one of the trees nearby, and then sat down beside Hanbin, peering at Hanbin with a furrowed brow.
“Hanbin… how did you get here?” Matthew asked, looking equal parts concerned and wary.
The fear that had gripped Hanbin so intensely a few moments was still present, thrumming latently in his chest, but Matthew’s familiar face had helped slow Hanbin’s heart rate considerably. This was Matthew, his best friend since he was fifteen. Hanbin was certain that Matthew, of all people, wouldn’t have kidnapped him and taken him to a strange open field in the middle of their night. Besides, Matthew seemed just as confused as Hanbin. Confused, but with some knowledge of their surroundings.
“I don’t know,” Hanbin said finally, after a few moments of awkward silence. “I was waiting for you outside the cafe, but it was really hot, and I didn’t feel so well. I wanted to go inside, but as soon as I did… I guess I must have fainted?”
“Huh? You fainted because you were waiting for me?” Matthew said incredulously. Then, in a sterner tone, “Sung Hanbin! You should’ve gone inside as soon as you got there!”
Hanbin winced slightly. “I didn’t want to miss you! Besides, the workers there don’t like to seat you if you’re waiting for someone else to show up!”
Matthew lowered his head and let out a groan. “Dude, just because they don’t like it doesn’t mean you have to do it, especially if it’s, like, boiling outside.”
Hanbin just gave Matthew a sheepish grin, and Matthew let out one of his fake-exasperated sighs.
“Well, I’m glad you’re fine,” Matthew said, frowning slightly. “But the portal…”
“The what?” The reality of the situation came creeping back to Hanbin slowly.
And apparently it was coming back to Matthew too, because he pulled away from Hanbin for a second to peer over Hanbin’s shoulder. Hanbin followed Matthew’s gaze to a patch of empty grass that was framed by two particularly tall trees, and then he kept his eyes on Matthew as Matthew stood up and walked over to that area.
Matthew pulled something out of his pocket—which, upon further inspection, appeared to be a pen—and then leaned forward to… write something on the tree? Hanbin watched, puzzled, as Matthew scribbled something on the tree, and then his eyes immediately widened in shock at what followed next.
The two trees began to glow a brilliant, whitish-blue color, and the empty patch of grass was suddenly replaced by a sight that was familiar to Hanbin. The two trees had formed a sort of door frame, and instead of staring into an empty patch of forest, Hanbin was now looking at the entrance to the cafe he had been at earlier that evening. As if these trees were a door—a portal—to the cafe.
“What…” Hanbin felt himself asking before he could stop himself. “Is that… the cafe?”
Matthew whipped his head around and stared at Hanbin in shock. “You can see the cafe?”
“Well, yeah… Am I not supposed to?” Hanbin asked, unsure of what exactly the right answer was here.
“No!” Matthew exclaimed. “No, it’s not that you’re not supposed to, but… Well yeah, I guess you’re not supposed to.”
Matthew was pacing now, hand tapping on his chin as he furrowed his brow. Hanbin watched him for a few seconds, before standing up himself and walking over to where Matthew was. Staring into the portal in almost awe, the brightness from the trees illuminating the dark patch of forest surrounding the two of them, Hanbin felt his headache pang once again.
When Matthew showed no signs of acknowledging him anytime soon, clearly lost in thought, Hanbin hesitantly spoke up.
“Matthew? What’s happening?” he asked.
When Matthew didn’t answer at first, Hanbin was preparing to ask again, but then Matthew spoke up abruptly.
“Hanbin,” Matthew said, halting in place and turning to face Hanbin with an oddly serious expression. “Can you do something for me?”
“I… Yeah, sure, of course,” Hanbin said slowly. “But I don’t understand… Where are we?”
“I’ll tell you in a second,” Matthew replied, beginning to fish around in his pockets. When he didn’t find what he was looking for, he opened up the backpack he had slung around his back, and began sifting through the myriad of papers he had stuffed in there.
Having found what he was looking for, Matthew pulled out two crumpled pieces of paper and thrust them in front of Hanbin. Hanbin, confused, reached out and took them.
The confusion Hanbin was feeling was not at all abated when he saw what was on the paper. In the center of the paper was an inky black symbol of some sort, made up of a series of lines and swirls. Hanbin could see Matthew’s name scribbled in the corner.
Hanbin felt something brush against his fingers, and when he looked up, he saw that Matthew was pushing a pen into his hand—probably the same pen that Matthew had used earlier.
“Can you try and draw this?” Matthew said, gesturing to the other piece of paper Hanbin was holding. That one was blank.
Hanbin blinked at Matthew slowly. There was an odd expression on Matthew’s face—although he still looked mystified, there was a slight sparkle in his eyes, as if he was looking at Hanbin with anticipation.
Hanbin shifted his gaze back to the drawing. It looked a bit complex, but…
He nodded, figuring what the hell, why not, nerves buzzing lightly. He took the pen, a bit shakily, and began to slowly trace the same pattern onto the blank sheet of paper. He was worried that he was shaking so much it would mess up the symbol, but his hands were surprisingly steady. Matthew waited, silent, as Hanbin finished off the drawing with a flick of his wrist.
The two of them stared at the paper, and Hanbin glanced up at Matthew when nothing happened after a few seconds.
“Um, is something supposed to—”
The paper suddenly burst into flames, and Hanbin jerked his hand back in reflex. Wiping his hand on his shirt in order to dispel any flames, he watched as the paper fell to the ground and he promptly began stomping on it to put out the fire.
Matthew, meanwhile, was staring at Hanbin with wide-eyed wonder.
As soon as the flames had died down, the paper now merely charred scraps on the forest dirt, Matthew leaned forward and clasped Hanbin’s hands in his own. One glance at Matthew’s face and Hanbin could tell that his friend was simply ecstatic. For what, Hanbin wasn’t sure—considering he had no idea what on earth had just happened.
“No way!” Matthew exclaimed, eyes twinkling. “I can’t believe that worked!”
Hanbin blinked at Matthew, a bit awkwardly.
“What worked, exactly?” Hanbin asked.
Matthew grinned at Hanbin, smile blinding, as he threw an arm around Hanbin’s shoulders.
“The spell!” Matthew said, nearly jumping in the air with excitement. “Well, I guess something must’ve been kinda wrong with your rune, because it was not supposed to burn up like that, but still!” He hit Hanbin’s back affectionately. “You just did magic!”
Hanbin could only stare at Matthew when those words had left his mouth. That’s what the fire had been? That’s what the portal was? That was why Hanbin had somehow suddenly appeared in the woods, when he was really supposed to be at an ordinary cafe? Magic, the stuff of fairytales and storybooks?
Matthew wasn’t Hanbin’s best friend of nearly ten years for nothing, because he could clearly read the look of disbelief on Hanbin’s face.
“I’m not lying, I swear!” Matthew said, still smiling. He dropped his arm from Hanbin’s shoulder then, and pulled out another pen and paper from his backpack.
“Look, it’s really magic,” Matthew continued.
Hanbin observed carefully as Matthew began carefully drawing on the paper, another rune of some sorts. Matthew’s penmanship was careful and steady, as if this was something he’d practiced a hundred times over. Finishing with a flourish, Matthew pocketed his pen and looked expectantly over at Hanbin.
At that moment, the paper lifted itself up off of Matthew’s hand, and began floating in the air, a few inches above his upturned palm.
Hanbin, fascinated by what he was seeing, and feeling himself move on his own accord, reached out and touched the paper with a finger. The paper remained swaying in the air.
“Huh,” Hanbin breathed out, unsure what to make of it.
“See? I told you!” Matthew crowed happily. And with a snap of his fingers, the paper floated down and landed squarely back in Matthew’s palm.
“I really just did magic?” Hanbin said, head swimming with a myriad of emotions—amazement, disbelief, confusion.
“Yeah, man. If you don’t believe me… do you wanna try the spell I just did?” Matthew replied, offering the pen and another sheet of paper to Hanbin.
“I believe you,” Hanbin blurted. He trusted Matthew not to lie to him. “But I just…”
Hands shaking, head still ringing lightly from his headache, Hanbin accepted the paper once again. The light emanating from the portal illuminated the paper in front of him, and Hanbin found it easy to tune out the distant cawing of crows as he focused on drawing the rune to make the paper float. Recalling how steady Matthew’s hands had been, Hanbin tried to imitate the same way Matthew had drawn on the paper.
He must have done something right, because as soon as he’d marked down the last stroke, the paper began levitating off of Hanbin’s hand.
…Although he must have also done something wrong, because the paper didn’t just hover above Hanbin’s hand as it had with Matthew. Rather, it rose and rose in the air until it was completely out of grasp, rising so high that Hanbin couldn’t see it anymore.
Matthew burst out laughing at that, but pat Hanbin on the back affectionately. “It’s one of your first spells, it’s normal for things to go wrong.”
Hanbin just smiled sheepishly, staring at the pen in his hand in awe.
“So, if I can use magic,” Hanbin said slowly. “Does that mean I’m a…?”
“Yup,” Matthew responded after Hanbin had trailed off hesitantly. “You’re a witch, Hanbin. Just like me!”
There was a proud glint in Matthew’s eyes when he said the word witch, and he puffed his chest out a bit when he said it.
“Just like you? Are there other witches, too?” Hanbin asked.
Matthew grinned again, this time a bit mischievously. Reaching forward, he grabbed one of Hanbin’s hands and began tugging him forward as he walked away from the portal door, practically skipping with excitement. Hanbin, who had been unprepared, stumbled a bit as Matthew pulled him along the path.
“You see that?” Matthew pointed up towards the castle Hanbin had seen earlier with his free hand. “There are more witches in that building.”
Wind howling in his ears, Hanbin asked, “What’s the building?”
Matthew glanced over his shoulder to shoot Hanbin another blinding smile.
“That’s my university!”
*
“I just can’t believe it,” Matthew said as the two of them approached the castle together, nearly out of breath from how energetically he had been running. “Dude, you have no idea how excited I am now that I can talk to you about magic!”
This had been the majority of their conversation as the two of them had sped through the woods, led by Matthew and his knowledge of the path. Hanbin was still a bit unsure of how this whole magic thing worked, but he had gathered from Matthew’s comments that it was some sort of secretive thing. As for where in the world the two of them actually were, Hanbin still didn’t have any idea.
The two of them passed another dark thicket of trees, and Hanbin felt another line of sweat drip down his forehead. Practically running through the forest to keep up with Matthew had really kept him warm amidst the cool evening.
“Matthew,” Hanbin said breathlessly. “Is this seriously the university you’ve been telling me about all this time?”
Towering over Hanbin was the castle he had seen from afar, and it was much more breathtaking up close.
It looked less like a university building, and more like an ancient gothic cathedral. The exterior was covered in ornate pointed arches and decadent glass windows that Hanbin was sure would appear dazzling in the sunlight. There were twisting towers and turrets that stretched towards the sky, reaching out to touch the moon and stars with their peaks. The entire castle was cloaked in a soft golden light that streamed out of the windows, and Hanbin could just make out the shadows of figures bustling to and fro in the entryways. Washed in the glow of the moonlight, the university looked like it had sprung straight out of the pages of a mythical storybook.
“Pretty, isn’t it?” Matthew said softly, looking proud again as he took in Hanbin’s admiring reaction.
Hanbin got a distinct feeling that it wouldn’t be too difficult to believe in magic if these were the types of sights that awaited him.
“It’s beautiful,” Hanbin replied in wonder, before reaching over to lightly hit Matthew on the arm. “And this entire time you told me you were at the local community college!”
“I never said that!” Matthew protested. “That was just your assumption!”
“You never corrected me,” Hanbin scoffed teasingly.
“Well, I couldn’t tell you I was really studying here,” Matthew said. “As much as I wanted to…”
“You weren’t allowed to?” Hanbin inquired softly.
Matthew was quiet for a moment, surveying the university building in front of him.
“I wasn’t,” Matthew replied, sounding a bit sad. “But I promise I wanted to, man. You’re my best friend, I didn’t wanna keep all of this from you. It would’ve been impossible to convince you, though.”
“Impossible?”
“Humans can’t detect magic,” Matthew explained. “So even if I told you, there was no way you would’ve believed me, because there wouldn’t have been any proof for you to see.”
“I see,” Hanbin said. “Then… that’s alright. I don’t blame you for not telling me, either way. Even if I had been able to see magic, I’m sure that telling me would have been a difficult conversation.”
Matthew reached up to rub the back of his neck bashfully. “You’re too nice Hanbin, seriously.” Then, “You ready to go in?”
A gust of wind blew past Hanbin, and he felt himself shiver on instinct. The university was looming over him, and he suddenly found that his heart was beating erratically again.
Yet for all of his nervousness, the warm light pouring out from the windows and the distant laughter he heard coming from inside the halls beckoned to him. Letting out a deep breath, Hanbin turned to Matthew and nodded.
The two of them proceeded to walk down the twisting path illuminated by many glowing lanterns towards the grand front door. Engraved on the front of the door were the words The Lunar Institute of Magic and Research. Hanbin was unsure whether the tingling he felt in his nerves was due to fear or excitement.
Upon reaching the front door, Matthew reached out and placed his palms flat against the door, and the outline of Matthew’s hands glowed a brilliant white. A second later, the door creaked open.
Matthew nodded at Hanbin once, signalling to him that it was okay to step inside, before Hanbin carefully took a step forward.
The pair emerged into what appeared to be a main hall of the building, and it was just as stunning inside as it was outside. Decorative columns and statues lined the stone hall, with archways branching off from the main hall. The larged, arched ceiling vaults were dizzyingly high up, and a large, jewel-laden chandelier was suspended from the ceiling, its gems as clear and heavy as dewdrops. At the end of the hall was an enormous stained glass window detailing portraits of what appeared to be famous magical figures.
Hanbin could have spent hours looking around the room, but his staring was interrupted when someone walked up to where he was standing with Matthew.
“Matthew, do you have time to study tonight?” The voice belonged to a man who looked to be around the same height as Matthew, dressed in a tacky, brilliantly-colored sweater vest and wearing a circular pair of glasses perched on his nose.
“Oh, Taerae!” Matthew said, flashing him a grin. “Probably not, actually.”
Matthew gestured to Hanbin, who gave Taerae a smile of his own.
“Taerae, this is Hanbin! Hanbin, this is Taerae!” Matthew gestured between the both of them. “Hanbin just figured out he’s a witch, like, today, so I was thinking about enrolling him in magic classes!”
“Enroll me?” Hanbin couldn’t help but blurt out.
“Duh!” Matthew replied. “Don’t you wanna learn about how to use magic?”
Hanbin supposed that when Matthew put it like that, he was correct.
Taerae’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Oh my, is it really true that you’ve only found out about magic today?”
“Yes, it is,” Hanbin said politely, bowing slightly as a way of greeting. “I only found out about magic recently, but I’m eager to learn all about it.”
“Oh,” Taerae said, looking shocked. “And you’re already willing to enroll in classes? Wow, you must adapt quickly! Well, if you’re ever curious, I specialize in fortune magic. Let me know if you want your fortune read sometime.”
“Ooh, that would be so fun,” Matthew chimed in. “Taerae’s fortunes are crazy accurate! Dude, you have to get your fortune read by him.”
“Of course,” Hanbin said politely. “I’d love to, once I get settled.”
“Perfect!” Taerae flashed Hanbin a gummy smile and pushed at the glasses on his nose. “I’ll be off though, I have to study for an exam tomorrow. It was nice to meet you!”
“It was nice to meet you as well,” Hanbin replied, and then Taerae set off with a wave.
“Taerae’s great,” Matthew hummed as they watched him leave. “Seriously, there are so many cool people here. Aw man, and I get to be the one to show you around this time!”
Hanbin chuckled at that, knowing that Matthew was excited to be the one to help Hanbin out, when typically, it was the other way around.
“Anyway,” Matthew exclaimed. “I think we’ve gotta go to the student council president’s office first so he can help you fill out your paperwork.”
He grabbed Hanbin by the elbow, and began walking with him through one of the archways that branched off to another, smaller hallway. They passed by a gaggle of students who were laughing about one thing or another, and it reminded Hanbin of the kids at his elementary school. It sent a little pang in his heart.
When they approached what appeared to be the room that the student council president was in, Matthew began suspiciously peering through the blinds instead of knocking like a normal person. Hanbin raised an eyebrow at the behavior, but Matthew just giggled and assured Hanbin that the council president would be fine with it.
After a few seconds of Matthew’s very obvious and exaggerated peeking, Hanbin heard the person inside stand up and walk towards the door. When the door opened, there stood a tall, handsome man holding a book in his hand. The man lifted an eyebrow at Matthew, who straightened up and grinned at him.
“Jiwoong!” Matthew said excitedly.
“Matthew,” Jiwoong replied, with an air of fondness.
“I brought a new student for you,” Matthew chirped. “He’s my best friend, Sung Hanbin!”
Jiwoong glanced over at Hanbin then, and Hanbin quickly stuck a hand out so that Jiwoong could shake it.
As he did so, Hanbin said, “It’s nice to meet you! Like Matthew said, I’m Sung Hanbin.”
“It’s nice to meet you as well, Hanbin,” Jiwoong replied, giving him a welcoming smile. “Kim Jiwoong.”
When he’d let go of Hanbin’s hand, Jiwoong gestured to the room behind him.
“Would you like to come inside?” he asked Hanbin.
Hanbin nodded, and then followed Jiwoong into the office, with Matthew trailing behind him.
The office was small and quaint, its polished-wood walls lined with several jam-packed bookcases. The window towards the back of the room was open, a gentle breeze streaming in. The overhead lights were turned off—the only source of light was the piano desk lamp perched on the desk that was scattered with notebooks and sheets of paper.
Gingerly taking a seat on one of the upholstered chairs facing the desk, Hanbin waited for Jiwoong to sit down behind his desk. Jiwoong took his seat, and began pushing around some of the papers on his desk.
“That looks like a lot of work,” Hanbin said, motioning towards Jiwoong’s desk.
“Hm? Oh, all of this?” Jiwoong replied, pulling out a pen. “Yeah, it’s a bit much. I’m stepping down from student council president soon, so I have a lot of extra duties this month.”
Clicking the pen, Jiwoong pushed up the sleeves of his shirt and glanced up at Hanbin.
“So, you’re looking to enroll?” Jiwoong asked.
“Ah, yeah,” Hanbin said a bit awkwardly. “Well, if I’m honest, I only found out that I had these powers today, but Matthew trusts that this school will help me figure out how to use them.”
Jiwoong gave Matthew a surprised look. “What, do you mean you’ve been living among humans this entire time?”
“He has,” Matthew confirmed from where he was leaning up against the wall, fiddling with his sleeves. “I’ve had to keep magic a secret from him for years.”
“Really?” Jiwoong asked, almost incredulously. “Hanbin, no one in your family has magical powers?”
“No,” Hanbin replied. “Is that… normal?”
Jiwoong leaned back in his chair, surveying Hanbin as he tapped his pen against the table.
“The ability to conduct magic is usually genetic,” Jiwoong explained. “But in rare cases, a human like you can have latent magical powers.”
Hanbin turned around to look at Matthew. “Is your family…?”
“Yup!” Matthew said. “My mom, my dad, my sister… We’re all witches!”
Hanbin barely had the time to gape at Matthew’s confession before Jiwoong was back to questioning him.
“Has there been anything significant happening in your life? Maybe you’ve been under a lot of stress recently, or you’ve experienced something profoundly fortunate?” Jiwoong asked.
Hanbin pondered that for a second. Certainly, the stress he’d been feeling at work had been piling up lately. The backpack he still wore around his shoulders was a reminder of that very fact. And maybe he had spent the past week or so staying up until ungodly hours of the morning in order to scrape together program plans for the summer camp and lesson plans for the future school year. And maybe he’d cried himself to sleep once or twice over this, feeling overwhelmed.
Not that he would change any of that. It was for the kids—and besides, who was Hanbin if he wasn’t willing to lend out a helping hand whenever needed?
“I guess work has been a bit stressful lately,” Hanbin settled on saying.
“That might be it, then,” Jiwoong said, and began scribbling on a notepad. “It should be fine for you to enroll in classes, though. We teach at all levels at the Institute.”
“Alright,” Hanbin replied, leaning forward in his seat eagerly. “Is there anything I have to do to get enrolled?”
Jiwoong shook his head. “I can send these papers off to the headmaster tonight and have you enrolled by tomorrow. You’re welcome to spend the night in the dorms, if you’d like.”
“How does that work, exactly?” Hanbin asked. “I work part time in the summers, so I’m not sure how many classes I’d be able to attend.”
“You can attend classes as you please,” Jiwoong said. “And stay in the dorms as you please. We’re not a traditional university, so you can complete exams and classes at your own pace. Our focus is simply on training people in magic, so we don’t have a deadline for when you have to complete your degree. We offer evening and weekend classes as well.”
“And I can help you figure out how to use the portal to get back to the human world!” Matthew said enthusiastically.
Hanbin took a moment to consider the proposal.
He still had his responsibilities at the elementary school, and he still had a perfectly good apartment to complete his work in. He didn’t want to give those things up, and it would be difficult to juggle university life on top of his other tasks—much less a magical university.
But he also couldn’t deny the curiosity that tugged at his heart when he thought about what it would be like to learn more about these powers of his. He had created fire out of thin air, and made objects float not even two hours ago. It would be strange, indeed, for anyone to pretend this never happened, and to go back to living their completely ordinary life.
Not to mention the way that Matthew was looking at him with shining eyes, practically begging him to stay so that they could live out their magical university lives together. Hanbin’s best friend was here, effectively erasing any doubts or hesitance that he had initially felt when he’d stumbled into that dark forest earlier that evening.
“Alright,” Hanbin said finally. “I’d like to enroll, then. I’ll try my best to attend classes as much as my schedule allows.”
Jiwoong smiled at that, and Matthew let out a cheer. Hanbin felt Matthew throw an arm around his shoulders.
Fishing around in his desk, Jiwoong pulled out a key that he handed over to Hanbin.
“Here’s a key to one of the dorms,” Jiwoong said. “The room number’s written on the key. Like I said, you can use the dorms as much or as little as you’d like.”
“Thank you,” Hanbin replied automatically.
“No problem,” Jiwoong said. “I’ll send your paperwork to the headmaster’s. You should receive a call from them tomorrow morning, and you can hopefully start attending classes by the afternoon.”
Hanbin gave Jiwoong a small bow of appreciation, as well as another small round of thanks, before Matthew began not-so-subtly leading Hanbin out of the doorway.
*
As expected, Matthew was once again chattering away at Hanbin while the two of them went looking for Hanbin’s dorm room. Hanbin, unable to stop himself, let himself fall into the same excitement as Matthew, asking him a bunch of questions about the school.
(“Are classes difficult? What are they like?”
“They’re not too bad. Based on the spells you cast tonight, I’m sure they’ll be a piece of cake for you.”
“When did you start going here?”
“When I told you I enrolled in community college!”
“Did your parents go here too?”
“All of my family did!”
And so on and so forth.)
As they turned the corner into the hallway that Hanbin’s dorm was supposedly located in, Hanbin noticed a small reading nook nestled under the archway of a large window at the end of the hallway. Though they were a bit far away, Hanbin could see the figure of a person sitting in the reading nook.
When Hanbin and Matthew walked further down the hallway, Hanbin saw that the person in the reading nook was a man who looked to be around his age, reading a book that was splayed across his lap. He was tapping a pencil against his leg rhythmically as he read, and Hanbin found himself thinking that this man was quite handsome.
Was it a requirement for all of the people at this school to be super good-looking?
“Who is that?” Hanbin asked Matthew, nodding in the direction of the man reading.
“Oh, that’s Zhang Hao,” Matthew replied, before coming to a stop in front of one of the dormitory doors. “He’s, like, the smartest person in this entire school. Seriously, the dude’s a genius. He’s basically a hermit, though… Barely talks to anyone.”
A reclusive genius, huh…
For some reason, Hanbin found it difficult to draw his eyes away from Zhang Hao. He only managed to look away when Matthew stopped in front of one of the dorm rooms. Hanbin glanced up at the door in front of them, and upon seeing the room number match up to the one on his key, reached up to unlock it.
Inside, the room was simple, but still seemed befitting of a magical university. The walls were the same polished dark wood that had been in Jiwoong’s office, and there were antique table lamps placed on the bedside table and desk. It was a little dark, but it was cozy. Outside of the window, Hanbin could see the forest stretching across the landscape, and the moonlight shining down on the treetops.
Turning to face Matthew, Hanbin said, “Thanks for walking me here.”
“Anytime, man,” Matthew replied. “I hope you like it here!”
“I think I will,” Hanbin said with a smile, before feeling overwhelmed with a surge of affection for his friend.
He reached over to pull Matthew into a hug, and Matthew returned the gesture affectionately, lightly squeezing Hanbin’s shoulders.
Sending him off with a promise to show him around campus tomorrow morning, Matthew bid Hanbin goodnight and then left the room with that blinding grin of his.
Once the door had swung shut behind him, Hanbin slowly set down his backpack from earlier in the day. Flopping on the bed, Hanbin placed his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling.
Replaying the events of the day over in his mind, Hanbin briefly wondered if this was all a dream. Tomorrow, maybe he would wake up in his cramped apartment in the city, and rush to get a head start on his work as always. Matthew would text him about his very normal, decidedly non-magical community college classes, and that would be that. Hanbin would go to work as always, be stressed out of his mind like always, and try to convince himself that the smiles on everyone’s faces were worth all of his sleepless nights and ruminations.
The papers stuffed in his backpack that sat on the floor seemed to beckon to him at that moment. Hanbin felt the familiar adrenaline begin to pump through his veins when he realized how much work he truly had to do—especially now that he had decided to enroll in university again.
Moving almost automatically, Hanbin sat up in bed and then walked over to his new desk, plopping all of the papers in his backpack on top of it.
That was how he spent several hours of his first night at his new university—frantically working on paperwork, before he fell asleep slumped over his desk.