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“And when you speak to me, it feels like the sun is caressing my cheek.”
— Lina A.
+++
Choi Seungcheol is cursed. He’s 100% sure of it.
He’s also 100% sure that the root of all his latest problems and mild annoyances is the antique wristwatch he purchased about a month ago— the very same one that now lays in front of him on the dining table. If looks could kill, it would’ve disintegrated five hours ago.
No matter how many times he’d tried to get rid of the damn thing (flung it out the car window, “accidentally” left it behind at a random bar, even tried flushing it down the toilet) it always reappeared on his dresser, no marks, no scuffs, no broken glass. Just like new.
He hates it. And he wants it gone, now.
And so, he resorts to his second-to-last option, opens Google and cringes as he types in “How to get rid of a curse quickly” and begins to scroll through a barrage of probable scams, unhelpful forums and blog posts, and dead links until he finds it buried in the third page of searches.
It’s a simple website: black and grey graphics and white lettering monologuing about Yoon & Boo’s Magical Emporium’s history, their mission and services. A bunch of astrology gibberish he can’t understand. But what really catches his eye are the flashing, red letters at the bottom of the page that read:
CURSED? CALL 010-890-CURSE FOR FREE NOW!!!!
His brows raise, eyes shifting between the number and the watch until the flashing starts to give him a slight headache; it could very well be another scam, but it’s already half-past-eleven and the stupid, petty curse somehow made him burn his ramen earlier, which was the cherry on this whole everything-going-wrong cake.
He picks up his phone and dials the number.
One ring. Two. Three. Four.
“Good evening. Thank you for calling the Curse Removal Hotline. How can I dispel your worries tonight?”
Seungcheol inhales sharply, the sweet, almost-drowsy voice coming from the other side of the line throwing him off kilter for a second or two. He’s not sure what he was expecting, but it sure wasn’t this.
He’s quick to recover, though, clearing his throat before speaking. “Uh, hi, um…I accidentally bought a cursed watch. Like, it’s been making everything go wrong for a whole month and I need it gone. Immediately.”
There’s a few beats of silence, some faint sounds of typing, and then the voice speaks again, “Hm. I see. Have you or anyone around you suffered any bodily harm? Any lapses of missing time? Seen any figures or heard any voices?”
Seungcheol’s brows raise so high they almost touch his hairline and he quickly glances at the watch before answering, “No. No, just making me burn my ramen, making me late for things…Mild annoyances really.” He picks at the skin of his cuticle impatiently.
“Ah, just a simple petty curse then. Nothing much to worry about.” More faint typing. A few low hums. “I believe a quick incense cleansing should do. Just make sure you cover the whole watch in smoke and to keep your intentions in mind throughout the whole process.”
Simple. Almost too simple. But then again, what does he know about curses and magic?
“That’s it?”
“I believe so, yes. Unless you have any more inquiries of the magical sort for us tonight?”
He bites the inside of his cheek, quickly switching the phone to his other ear; he’s not sure what it is about the voice on the other side of the line, but he finds himself not wanting to hang up at all. Maybe it’s just the fact that he’s alone, at home, at almost midnight, with a cursed item in front of him.
Yeah, that’s definitely it. Absolutely.
“Uh, no. No, that’s all. Thank you.”
“Alright, then. I wish you the best of fortune and a very blessed evening.”
The line goes dead before Seungcheol can answer with his own pleasantries.
_____
Seungcheol feels kind of stupid.
It’s been a week since he called the hotline and, despite all his skepticism, the incense cleansing had worked.
He should be happy, right? His life is back to normal— no more showing up to work late because his alarm mysteriously turned off, no more hot showers suddenly turning cold, no more soles of his shoes coming unstuck. So why the hell is he so disappointed about it?
He finds himself going back to Yoon and Boo’s Magical Emporium’s website multiple times that week, reading and rereading the blurb on the homepage so many times he’s sure he could recite it in his sleep by now; scrolling all the way down on the products section only to scroll up.
He finds they also have an Instagram page, which he spends the whole night perusing, overly cautious of not letting an accidental like slip through; it’s mostly pictures of the inside of the shop, all moody lighting and hanging plants and shelves and tables full of dozens of different crystals. There’s also flyers for different, long-passed activities and videos of who, going off of how different his voice is compared to the one on the phone that night, Cheol can assume is the Boo part of this strange equation.
No trace of Yoon though.
Seungcheol tries not to feel too anything about it.
He knows he’s failed miserably when he picks up the phone two days later and dials the hotline number again, wincing as he hears the first ring.
“Good evening. Thank you for calling the Curse Removal Hotline. How can I dispel your worries tonight?”
He presses his lips together, heart beating furiously behind his ribcage as shame warms the apples of his cheeks. Oh, this is so dumb. This is so, so, so dumb and ridiculous.
Fuck. “Hi, it’s, uh, it’s me! The guy with the cursed watch from last week…” He trails off, still unsure of what to say or why he even called again in the first place.
“Oh? Back so soon? What seems to be the problem this time?”
Seungcheol takes the opening, quickly looking around the living room for anything he can involve in his lie. “Yeah! Unlucky me,” he laughs awkwardly, feeling his stomach twist. “I think…I think there might be a ghost! In my apartment!”
A low, melodious hum. “A ghost?”
“Yeah, yes. My brother got one of those really old grandfather clocks from a garage sale recently and brought it home and I think we might have an accidental third roommate now.”
“Okay. Do you know how old this clock is? Or where exactly your brother might’ve picked it up from?”
“Well, it’s…old. Pretty sure it has mold on one of the back panels, I don’t know.” He bites the tip of his thumb nervously, hoping his lie sounds at least half-believable.
“Hm. Right. Has this spirit maimed you or your brother? Has it threatened you in any way, or put you in danger?”
He falters, not sure on what he should say next. He assumes from what he’s seen while looking through (stalking) the Emporium’s Instagram that saying yes would involve him having to take part in a possibly long-winded process of gathering materials and cleansing and who knows what else. He’s not really sure he wants his brother to walk in on him doing that.
So he settles for a simple, “No.”
“Then I believe a respectful, yet strict talking to should do. Let the ghost know that you acknowledge its presence and that you respect it, but that it is inhabiting your space and that you are willing to share it if it remains respectful, as well.”
It sounds absurd and honestly, if it wasn’t for his experience with the watch and the string of back luck it’d brought him, and Yoon’s help in breaking it, he would’ve dismissed all of it. But he has to admit that he’s a bit of a believer now. Just a bit.
He hums in fake relief, nodding his head even if Yoon can’t see him.
“Is that all for today? Or is there anything more you need my assistance with?”
“No, uh, yeah, that’s all…”
“Then I wish you the best of fortune and a very blessed evening, and please try not to get cursed again. Good night.”
Despite Yoon’s request, he finds himself calling the hotline often, always making up the most half-baked reasons (and even going as far as Googling stories of curses and hauntings and claiming them as his own while on the phone): his mirror shattered out of nowhere, the ghost won’t stop making noise at midnight, he accidentally stepped on a crack on the sidewalk and won’t stop having bad luck again. He walked under a ladder and saw a black cat.
Ridiculous. But well-worth hearing Yoon’s soft, low voice guide him through all the steps of breaking them, as petty and small and fake as they may be. He sounds knowledgeable and patient and Seungcheol thinks that he could just listen to him drag on forever and never get bored.
There’s a slight change of pace, a break in the routine one night, when Seungcheol calls with no real plan in mind, just wanting to hear Yoon’s voice.
Except it’s not him who answers the phone.
“Good evening. Thank you for calling the Curse Removal Hotline! What kind of magical hijinks can we help you get out of today?”
This voice is cheery and alert, a vast contrast to the sleepy drawl he’s used to. For reasons unknown to him, he’s dealing with Boo tonight, which makes his stomach twist anxiously.
He smacks his palm to his forehead, feeling like a kid who has been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
There’s some shuffling and the sound of a gasp before Boo cuts in again, unknowingly saving him from telling the most horribly constructed lie of his life. “Wait a minute, I know you! You’re Watch Guy! Glad we finally get to talk.”
“You…know me?”
“Of course, you’re the most consistent repeat customer we’ve had in years. Except for that one old halmoni who lived in Busan, poor thing— she’s doing well, though, so don’t you worry about her! Very much curse free!”
Seungcheol feels like he’s gotten whiplash with how fast Boo is talking and switching subjects. The fact that he’s called so often that they’ve even given him a nickname at the shop makes him feel a bit embarrassed, though, and he considers if he should lay off for a while. Maybe he’s been a bit too obvious.
But then again, neither Yoon nor Boo have called him out so far.
“Anyway, are you a Leo by any chance? I think that’s why you have so much bad luck. Personal opinion, though.”
Seungcheol is stumped. He moves his phone away from his ear so quick he almost drops it, looking down at it with furrowed brows and a perplexed expression before slowly bringing it back up.
“How’d you know that?”
Boo laughs, “Call it intuition. A hunch. Years of working in the magic business. Whatever. Anyway! What can I help you with today, Watch Boy?”
He bites the inside of his cheek then shakes his head, sputtering out a response, “Uh, no. No, it’s okay. I think I can manage.”
A beat of suspenseful silence before Boo interrupts it with a high-pitched hum and a whispered “Knew it” that Seungcheol would’ve missed it he didn’t have his volume up as high as he does.
“What?”
“Oh, nothing. Nothing.” Another hum and the faint sound of bells chiming come through the receiver. “Well, if that’s all, then I hope you have a very blessed evening! And see you soon!”
The line goes dead before he even has a chance to ask Boo what he means by that.
____
As per routine, Seungcheol dials the number, waits a few rings and rolls his shoulders back when he hears the tell tale sound of the phone being picked up.
“Hi—“
“Oh, you again. Tell me something, are you truly this unlucky or do you just enjoy wasting my time?”
Seungcheol blinks, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water as his cheeks flush in embarrassment. Why won’t the floor just open up and swallow him whole?
Then, a mischievous giggle comes through his speaker, much different from the soft, almost-monotone voice he’s used to and his world is flipped upside down once again.
“Just joking with you, Watch Boy—“
“Seungcheol,” he blurts out before he can think better of it. “My name is Seungcheol.”
Silence.
And then, just as he’s beginning to think that maybe he shouldn’t have done that, shouldn’t have given his name up on what’s supposed to be an anonymous hotline—
“Well, Seungcheol.” His name has never sounded more heavenly and he has to twist his mouth into odd shapes to stop his smile from growing. “I was just joking with you. You never waste my time.”
Damn it. So much for hiding his stupid smile.
“Oh.”
Another laugh. He has to stop himself from squealing like a schoolgirl at the sound of it.
“I’m Jeonghan, by the way.”
Jeonghan. Jeonghan. Seungcheol likes that name. Jeonghan.
“Nice to meet you, Jeonghan.”
He isn’t sure if there are any parameters of professionalism involved when it comes to anonymous magical hotlines, but if they exist, they’re long broken by now.
“Nice to meet you too, Seungcheol. Although…” He trails off, voice softening, rounding out at the edges. Almost like he’s talking to a stray kitten, scared that it’s going to run away any second. “It’d be nicer if we could do it in person.”
Error 404: Seungcheol.exe has stopped working.
In person. He wants to meet in person. Oh, my God. What does he even say to that? What is he going to wear? Should he cut his hair before they meet or should he keep it as is? Would Yoon— Jeonghan even care?
“Seungcheol?”
Right. Right, he should probably answer before starting to spiral.
“Yes!” His answer comes out a little bit too enthusiastically and Seungcheol can feel the blush warming his cheeks and the tips of his ears. He clears his throat and tries again, “Yeah. Yes, I’d like that, too.”
That familiar hum makes his insides melt.
“Alright…Does tomorrow work for you? Or would that be too presumptuous of me?”
“No, no, tomorrow works!” He can’t help the goofy grin that spreads across his face; his toes wiggle in excitement inside his socks and he feels like a schoolgirl having her first crush. He finds he’s not ashamed of it, though.
“Perfect. See you then, Seungcheol.”
And as he lays in bed that night, anticipation leaving him unable to get even a wink of sleep, he decides he never wants to hear anyone else say his name ever again.
____
Yoon and Boo’s Magical Emporium looks even more whimsical in person, and Seungcheol can’t help the smile that spreads across his lips despite all the nerves; it sort of feels strange hearing the sounds he’s heard so many times over the phone so clearly, almost like he’s stepped into an alternate universe.
The array of crystals on the shelves catch his attention, his fingers ghosting over the various different bowls and pillars and clusters.
“Hi! Welcome to Yoon and Boo’s Magical Emporium! Can I help you with anything?”
His breath hitches and he finds himself turning around so fast he’s surprised he doesn’t get a bout of whiplash.
He finds himself feeling dizzy anyway.
Yoon Jeonghan is the most beautiful person he’s ever seen. The reality of him is so much better than anything his mind could have conjured up during these last few months; his hair is blond and shoulder-length, the warm light in the shop making it shine like a halo that frames his face.
“Hi…”
“Hi, Seungcheol.” Jeonghan smiles at him, something sweet and bright and mischievous that makes his heart race in his chest. “Fancy meeting you here.”
Seungcheol chuckles, ears burning as he shyly averts his eyes and ducks his head. The fact that Jeonghan is looking at him with such warmness, like he’s everything he was expecting, isn’t helping either.
He decides to answer back with his own weak cheesy pick-up line— “So, you come here often?”— which earns him a genuine laugh from Jeonghan and he decides right then and there that he wants to hear that sound forever.
It’s quiet between them for a few seconds.
Suddenly, Jeonghan steps closer, eyes mapping out every feature on Seungcheol’s face, his voice low as he reaches up, “Sorry, you just have a—“
A loud crash makes them jump apart, heads whipping to look at the velvet curtains that hang in the far corner of the room. There’s a series of curses, more things knocked over, before a head of orange hair pops out and Jeonghan sighs in fond exasperation, pinching the bridge of his nose.
He turns to look at Seungcheol, “I am so sorry about him, he’s just—“
Before Jeonghan can finish, the new person gasps dramatically, brushing himself off and stepping over the mess of plastic boxes that spills from behind the curtains.
“Yoon Jeonghan, you didn’t tell me we had company!” He places his hands on his hips, rolling his eyes at Jeonghan. “Hi, Seungcheol! Nice to meet you! I’m Seungkwan!”
Seungcheol blinks once, twice, perplexed by the whole situation as he slowly extends his hand to shake Seungkwan’s, “Oh, hello…”
It’s clear that Seungkwan is trying his best to hide his giddy smile as he looks between them with a knowing glint in his eyes. He only snaps out of it when Jeonghan elbows him and clears his throat.
“Oh! Sorry, my bad! Don’t mind me, I’m just gonna…yeah, just gonna go back to my little corner. You won’t even notice I’m here!” Seungkwan giggles, slowly backing away as he gives Seungcheol a pointed look, his voice dipping into a teasing tone, “Told you I’d see you soon.”
There’s a moment of stunned silence that lingers for a few seconds before the pair of them burst out into laughter.
“I’m so sorry about him, again,” Jeonghan wheezes out between laughs, pressing his hands to his face. “He’s not all right in the head, sorry. Um, have you…have you perhaps had lunch yet?”
Seungcheol exhales one last chuckle, shaking his head in response to Jeonghan’s question; his stomach grumbles at the prospect of food, making his smile turn into an embarrassed grimace.
Jeonghan gives him a sideways smile, extending out his hand, “Lunch it is, then.”
Cheol lets him guide him out of the shop, turning back one last time to see Seungkwan peeking out from between his curtains, grinning like the cat who got the cream.