Until We See Eye to Eye

"Refresher on the story of the hero who defeated Medusa," Hyunjin begins, setting up a deeper voice for story telling. "It happened ten years ago. No one knows what happened, but one day, a young beautiful boy started turning everyone to stone with just a look in their eyes. Dozens of townspeople were petrified by the boy, until the hero, Gong Jooin, turned them back to life as if by magic. They still see him as a hero, so I hope he can help us, too. We don't have to worry about the cursed man, however, he fled a long time ago."

Seungmin chuckles. "Meeting Medusa would be cool, I think. I'd like to hear his view of the story."

"Oh, do you think that if Jisung would meet Medusa, he'd get turned to stone? Or would his bad eyesight save him?" Hyunjin wonders out loud, turning his head to face Jisung.

"Don't talk like that, Seungmin-ah, Hyunjin-ah. We're not going there for Medusa. We're going to see Gong Jooin and he'll hopefully help us heal Jisung's eyes. That's it," Chan chides their friends. "Let's not get ourselves turned to stone, too."

Notes:

Hi guys!! I'm really excited to finally post this story :D It has been on my list for a long time and the Chk Chk Bang Fest has finally given me a reason to write it!!

Thank you to Chaeo for making a beautiful art piece to accompany this fic!!! Please go check it out @_Chaeo_ on Instagram and Twitter and give them some love <333

ENJOY!!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ᨒᨒ ོ ᨒ↟ 𖠰

"Who wants to hear the story about Gong Jooin and the cursed man with the common name? Nicknamed Medusa." Hyunjin announces, cheer sounding from his voice. Jisung's legs are already hurting from their long walk, and he could use some distraction from the bodily pains that are emerging.

"Me!" he announces, raising his free hand. The other one is occupied by Changbin's firm grip. The older friend tugs him to the side ever so slightly, so that he avoids something on the road. It must have been roots, because Jisung sees the shape of a tree when he looks back over his shoulder.

"Again?" Chan asks with a hearty laugh. Hearing that sound always manages to cheer Jisung right up. Chan has been pretty quiet the entire way to the next town over, and Jisung is concerned that he's getting in his head about matters that aren't his to carry.

"Yes, again, because I think you guys still haven't internalized this story. It has important lessons and warnings," Seungmin adds. Changbin comments how Hyunjin and Seungmin are always backing each other up in everything. "Yeah, it's called comradeship, Changbin hyung. I thought you'd know about that concept. Go ahead, Hyunjin-ah. Tell them."

"Okay, so let me first give you a refresher on the story of the hero who defeated Medusa," Hyunjin begins, setting up a deeper voice for story telling. "It happened ten years ago. No one knows what the exact truth is, but one day, a young beautiful boy started turning everyone to stone with just a look in their eyes. Dozens of townspeople were petrified by the boy, until the hero, Gong Jooin, cured them, and turned them back to life as if by magic. They still see him as a hero, a healer, which is of course why we're going to pay him a visit. We don't have to worry about the cursed man, however, he fled a long time ago, but he might still live close to the town, if rumors are to be believed."

"They say saying his real name could still summon him but that's horse poo. I've tried it at least a dozen times," Seungmin adds with a casual chuckle. Chan sends him a sharp look, and Seungmin holds up his hands. "But… I won't try it right now. I wonder how he got cursed, though. And how that hero managed to figure out a cure for the petrified people but not for the curse. Meeting Medusa would be cool, I think. I'd like to hear his view of the story."

"Don't talk like that, Seungmin-ah. We're not going there for Medusa. We're going to see Gong Jooin and he'll hopefully help us heal Jisung's eyes. That's it," Chan chides their friend. "We know he's a skilled potion maker, if he could heal all those people. And if it's true that the town still celebrates him, it has to be for a reason."

"Oh! That makes me wonder… Do you think that if Jisung would meet Medusa he'd get turned to stone? Or would his bad eye sight save him?" Hyunjin speculates out loud, turning his head to face Jisung, who shrugs. He has never met this cursed man, so he isn't sure what would happen. He can't really see people's eyes well anymore, though, so maybe he would be immune.

"I don't think we should try it," Changbin says, continuing to tug Jisung along with him. "Although… It would be cool if you were immune. How close do you need to be to see my eyes?"

"Really close, hyung. Like this—" Changbin turns to face Jisung and Jisung leans closer, closer, closer, until their noses almost touch. He can just make out Changbin's pupil like this, but only with one eye. "I don't think I'd ever willingly come this close to—"

He cuts himself off with a yelp when he trips over something and almost face-plants into the trunk of a tree. Changbin lets go of him and yelps too, stumbling forward. Jisung laughs, and Changbin, too, but Chan clicks his tongue and Jisung feels a gentle slap on the back of his head. "Watch where you're going! Changbinnie, I'm taking over. Jisung-ah, give me your hand, all right?"

"It wasn't Changbin hyung's fault," Jisung tells him with a giggle, but Chan doesn't make a sound. Jisung huffs, but then Chan takes his hand and speaks.

"I know. But you're all making me nervous with this talk about Medusa. We're going to visit this hero, that's our plan. All he needs to do is tell me what kind of potion to make and how to administer it to you so you won't go completely blind. We're not going to stay long and we're not going to visit the cursed man, okay?" Chan intertwines their fingers and squeezes Jisung's hand. Jisung presses his lips together.

Chan's protectiveness is a curse and a blessing in one. Jisung likes the caring side of it, the side where he gets to feel spoiled and gets to have Chan doting on him, but he doesn't like the parts where Chan gets stressed or overly concerned about Jisung. He doesn't want Chan to worry so much about him when there's nothing they can do about his eye condition.

"Okay. Well we still gotta travel a while, so let's hope we don't come across any thieves," Changbin says, and then he starts laughing, all boisterous and loud. Hyunjin cackles, too, which makes Jisung laugh as well. Even Seungmin makes a sound, but Chan stays quiet.

"Come on, now, hyung. It's funny because Hyunjinnie and Seungminnie are usually the ones making these roads unsafe. Or at least they know all the thieves and bandits who do," Changbin says, and Chan huffs in acknowledgement, but that's all he does. Jisung bumps their shoulders together.

"Loosen up, hyung-ah. We'll figure this out. And even if we don't, it only affects me. And I'm okay with that," he says, lowering his voice in an attempt to soothe his dear friend. Chan squeezes their hands together, tugging him a bit closer to his side. Jisung isn't sure if it was because there was something blocking their path or just because he wanted to, but Jisung will allow himself to think it was the latter.
"I'm not in pain right now. Your soothing potions are already a big help, and I know you're doing everything you can. Which is more than you should, probably. And everyone is… I'm so grateful they're here to help. You don't have to worry."

"Of course we're here," Seungmin says, betraying the fact that he heard them. Jisung isn't the only one with good hearing. "Adventure! Plus, I've always been curious about this town that is separated from us by these woods. I'm not going to lie about it, hyung. It's mostly to help Jisung, of course, but it's because of Medusa, too."

Jisung feels Chan shudder next to him, but Hyunjin voices the same opinion as Seungmin, as he so often does. "I agree! And perhaps we'll see some interesting books and shinies around."

"You two keep your grabby hands to yourself! I swear I'll strangle you if we get kicked out of town or shunned because of you," Changbin threatens them. Jisung huffs and points a finger at his friends.

"Yeah! I don't wanna see you two steal anything!" he says, snickering at himself. He hopes a joke about his bad eye sight will cheer Chan up. "Get it? Because I can't see shit?"

"Stop explaining the joke!" Seungmin complains, but Jisung can hear from his voice that he's smiling. Even Chan now sounds like he's amused. "God, of course Chan hyung laughs now. Finally, you old man."

"Shut your mouth, Seungmin! I'm not that grumpy, but we have somewhere to be, all right? Let's try to make it there before it gets too late," Chan says, sounding more calm now.

They walk and walk, until they arrive in the town when the sun is just past it's highest point. Leaving at dawn has it's perks, but Jisung is quite tired. During times like these, he's happy to have Chan taking the lead and doing the talking. He'd do it anyway, since he's the potion maker, but even if he wasn't taking the lead due to his knowledge in the subject, he'd help out anyway.

Chan, Changbin, Hyunjin and Seungmin ask around about where to find Gong Jooin, while Jisung clings to Chan. He's too shy to talk to strangers, because he can't read their expressions anymore. He can still sort of read their body language, but that's it. For a natural wallflower like him, it makes social interaction with strangers even harder.

They find Gong Jooin's place quite easily, so, thankfully, Jisung's interference isn't needed. The man doesn't open the door for them, even if the townspeople told them that he should be home at this time. He leaves them waiting for a minute or three before opening the door. He's taller than all of them, black hair tied up, away from his face, which Jisung can't read.

He's nervous, and his hand must be sweaty in Chan's hold. "Hi, Gong Jooin-ssi. My name is Bang Chan. We have come from the town across the woods to request your help," Chan begins, bowing his head in greeting. "If you'd spare a moment of your time to hear us out, that would mean a lot to us. It's a request for you to help me heal my friend. The others are here to support."

Jisung awaits the hero's answer with his heart up in his throat. "Come in," a gravelly voice eventually answers. "I don't have much time, unfortunately, but I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Jooin-ssi," Chan says with another bow. He tugs at Jisung’s hand to help him up a step in front of the entrance to the house, and the five of them follow the hero inside.

"Please, feel free to explain yourselves. Briefly, if you can manage, but if there's any details you feel I should know, don't hold back," Jooin tells them as he sits down behind a desk. It looks filled with books, plants and vials, much like Chan's room at home.

"My friend, Jisung, has an eye condition. It's something he's been dealing with for years. When he was young, his right eye almost went completely blind, but my grandfather managed to heal him. He never wrote down how he did so, however, and I was still too young to learn the recipe from him. He has now passed away and Jisung’s eyesight has begun to decline again. His right eye has gone almost completely blind and his vision is worsening. I am a potion maker myself and I have tried a lot of healing techniques, but nothing has helped him improve so far. I have only managed to ease the decline, and soothe any pains. So now I humbly request your aid," Chan explains.

In the meantime, Jisung looks around with pink cheeks, his lip between his teeth. He doesn't like hearing about his condition. He wishes it wouldn't bring so much worrying with it, but unfortunately losing your sight is not something he can brush away easily.
He sees that Changbin is keeping an eye on Hyunjin and Seungmin, but the latter two seem to be snooping around already. Jisung keeps his lips sealed, looks away from them, and hopes that Jooin won't notice.

"We can gather ingredients ourselves, and I've learned a lot from my grandfather, so I could mix everything myself, too, if you're too occupied to do so. All I require is to know what I need to help him," Chan continues. Jooin hums, and Jisung wonders what his expression is like. If he's thinking or if he's hesitant. If he's willing or troubled. If he's concerned or disinterested.

"What a predicament. An eye condition? Give me a second, perhaps I can figure out some way to help you out." The man stands up and Jisung lets out a breath of relief. Chan's hand comes to rest on the small of his back, a warm gesture.

He picks up a book, judging by the sound of rustling paper, and the man mumbles to himself, pacing around. At some point, he looks up. "Hey, what are you two doing? You can't go back there!" Jooin barks, startling Jisung.

"Apologies, sir. We were simply admiring your collection. You have proper taste," Seungmin says, in very formal language, as if it's the most natural thing to him. He even does a bow, as if he's honoring the man.

"Well, thank you for the compliment, but you're distracting me. Please wait outside, if you can. I need to concentrate," Jooin says with a sigh. Seungmin, Hyunjin and Changbin pull a sheepish expression, but they follow his orders and leave the house. Jisung briefly wonders if they actually dared to steal something from this man, but a tug from Chan's hand pulls him away from those thoughts.

"May I see your eyes for a second?" the man asks Jisung, and he quickly straightens himself and widens his eyes for Jooin to inspect. He isn't sure where to look, so he tries to focus on the man's eyes, just like when Chan examines how his eyesight is coming along. "Okay, I think I can help you out with this, but it's just a theory for now."

"Really?" Jisung blurts. That was quick. Chan has been trying out healing potions for weeks and this man manages to think of something with just a glance at his eyes? No further examination? No closer look or extra questions? He might really be in a hurry.

"I can't guarantee anything, but… I'll give you a list of ingredients you could try. You can find them out in the forest on the south side of town," Jooin explains, scribbling on a piece of parchment before handing it over. "I wish I had more time to help you properly, but this town is my priority, and I have many potions to finish with great urgency, so I wish you the best for now."

"Ah, thank you Gong Jooin-ssi, thank you for your time and efforts," Chan says, bowing his head as he lets go of Jisung's hand and accepts the list of ingredients. He does link their arms again to guide Jisung outside. Usually, Jisung doesn't need much guidance, but he appreciates Chan helping him out in an unfamiliar environment.

"Changbin-ah, we've got a list, do you think you have everything with you? Otherwise we can take a look in the forest south of town. He wrote down some directions to where to get the specific flowers," Chan announces, waving around the parchment as they exit the house. Changbin looks it over.

"I don't think I have everything that is on here. It looks like local plants and tree bark," he answers. Jisung doesn't mind. He's in for a little trip to explore, even though he doesn't think that he'll be able to help much.
"Time for more adventure, then!" Hyunjin says, his smile obvious in his voice.

They set off into the woods just south of the village. "So, Hyunjin-ah, Seungmin-ah, were you really just admiring his collection or did you nick a little something, too?" Jisung asks as they're walking along the dirt paths. Chan sighs as Hyunjin and Seungmin snicker.

"What do you mean, dear Jisung-ah?" Hyunjin asks, but Jisung can tell that he's grinning like an idiot. "Why would we steal? Aren't we sophisticated and law abiding citizens?"

"If you found something that could help us out with the potion, you should tell us. You know we won't snitch. That would only put us under bad light with Jooin, in case we need more of his help," Chan warns them, ever so serious despite them obviously joking around.

"Nah, you know we wouldn't keep it a secret if we found something that could help us—help Jisung-ah. We didn't take anything important," Seungmin assures him. Changbin makes an incredulous sound, and Seungmin laughs. "I'm not saying we took anything at all. I'm just saying we didn't see anything that could be of use to aid Jisung's eyes."

"Fine, keep your unimportant secrets," Jisung says, because he can tell that Seungmin isn't telling them everything. It feels like he's scheming something. "You two are going to help us find the ingredients, aren't you?"

"Yeah, of course! We'll make sure to cover a lot of ground and explore, too," Hyunjin assures him, coming closer and patting Jisung's shoulder. The touch would usually be nice and appreciated, but right now he's too curious about what Hyunjin and Seungmin are thinking.

"Good, but why aren't you telling us what you're exploring for? What's special about these woods?" Jisung pushes, his gaze focused on the blurry form of Hyunjin so much that Chan has to pull him away from a bush he's about to trample.

"You'll see, okay? First we gotta confirm our suspicions," Seungmin says with a chuckle. Changbin and Chan inhale simultaneously, about to say something, but Seungmin beats them to it. "We'll stay within hearing distance, don't worry, hyung. You two know better what we're looking for anyway."

"Fine. Stay safe, too, okay? I'd like us all to go home better than how we came here," Chan says, shrugging. Jisung shudders a bit. He doesn't think that Seungmin and Hyunjin would get them in trouble, because these woods seem pretty deserted, and they're not near any roads, but they might get themselves hurt, and he'd rather not have to worry about his friends.

"I'll stay with you, Chan hyung. Unless you can't forage well with me hanging off your arm," Jisung decides, gently rubbing his hand along Chan's upper arm. Chan huffs gently.

"It's no bother, you know I like having you close," he replies in that soothing voice of his. Jisung can't help but smile in response, his heart doing a little flip. If someone would ask about his relationship with Chan, Jisung would say that they're close friends, but he'd be lying if he'd try to claim that he doesn't feel something for the man.

It wasn't always like this, yet it feels like Jisung has been in love with Chan for ages. They've known each other for their whole lives, and somewhere along the way, between the two of them running around with Seungmin and Hyunjin, making music with Changbin, singing, dancing, writing and laughing together, Jisung fell for his gentlemanly caring personality and lovely dimpled smile.

It wasn't a big revelation—being in love with Chan—it came to him slowly but surely, as if it was inevitable. It feels right, and yet he doesn't know how to tell Chan. Change is scary, and with his eye condition on the front of both of their minds, he can't get himself to feel like he wouldn't be a burden to Chan.

He remembers when his eyesight was good enough to look Chan in the eyes. He used to like having Chan examine his eyes routinely, because that means having the man close to him. He could look at his face for minutes on end without it being weird, while Chan would touch his head, caress his skin, and whisper questions to him in that gentle tone of his.

Now, Jisung's sight has declined too much to make out Chan's dimples or his lashes unless he's pressing their faces together, but he still remembers every detail. He's afraid, though. He fears forgetting the exact places of Chan's moles.

He knows that even if he goes blind, Chan will be there for him. The others, too. They've been his friends for over twenty years as well, but Chan's family healed his eyes when he was too young to even remember much, and Chan has been such a precious person to Jisung.

"Here, you can pick these purple-ish plants. According to the list, we need the roots," Chan says, guiding Jisung's hand to the spiny plants sprouting from between the moss and the grass. Jisung smiles, relieved to be useful.

"Do you know what this is for?" he asks as he crouches and carefully pulls out the purplish blobs. He can feel what they should look like, but it's just a vague wash of color to him. His fingertips trace the purple velvet-like petals and the slightly rough stem, and he tries to imagine the details he can't see.

"No. Most of these ingredients… I've never used them. Not even something like them," Chan admits, he's a couple of steps away, gathering something else. "I know they're not poisonous, but that's about it. I'll have to experiment to see how these work."

"Okay," Jisung says. To him, Chan is the most skillful potion maker he knows, but hero should know his potions, too. Perhaps healing practices are different in this town than they're used to, because of the difference in flora—

Jisung perks up when he hears Hyunjin and Seungmin's voices. He can't make out what they're saying, but they sound excited. "Hyung. What's going on with them?" he calls out towards Changbin, who should be keeping them in check.

"Shit! That's what we need!" Jisung hears Changbin say. Then, he adds, "They found a garden! It's full of the plants we need!"

Jisung gasps and dashes towards Chan. "You hear that hyung? Is this good? Or…?" Or is it stupid? Jisung thinks, but he doesn't say it. A garden usually belongs to a house, and a house usually belongs to a person. They can't just break in, but he knows that Hyunjin and Seungmin won't have such objections.

"Shit. We gotta get them!" Chan says, and he grabs Jisung's hand to pull him along with him. He's grumbling to himself as Jisung stumbles after him. "What are they thinking? Entering someone's garden just like that? God I hope they're being responsible… Changbin-ah, wait!"

Jisung trips over his legs as Chan suddenly starts running and he falls onto his knees. Curse his bad sight and clumsiness! "Shit, sorry, Jisung-ah," Chan immediately stops to help him up. "Are you okay?"

"It's okay. I'm fine. Just go, hyung, I'll catch up," he assures him as he stands up and dusts off his legs. He flinches when he feels how his hands are slightly scraped. Chan lets out a breath.

"No, no, we'll go together," he insists for some reason. Jisung doesn't mind, but he wonders why Chan would be worried about him in such a situation. "I don't want you to—"

"Hyunjin-ah? Seungmin-ah? What the—" Changbin's loud voice sounds from just past a large greenish wall—a wall covered with plants?—a yell following before it's sharply cut off. Jisung's heart drops, and when they approach the wall, Jisung can tell the walls are hedges instead. Perhaps forming a fence around the garden Changbin mentioned.

"Changbin-ah? Hyunjin-ah? Seungmin-ah? Are you okay?" Chan calls out, a tremble to his voice. It stays eerily quiet, and Jisung doesn't like it one bit.

"Get out!" A different voice calls out from the garden, and Jisung has to see what's going on. He has an inkling that they're dealing with the cursed man, after all.

"Not without our friends!" Jisung announces, slipping away from Chan's hold. He sticks his hands into the hedge, finding branches to climb the hedge to enter the garden. Chan curses behind him, and he tells Jisung to stop it, but Jisung ignores him. If this is really Medusa, then he should be immune, right? Especially from a distance.

"H-Hey! Wait! Don't—! Close your eyes!" Jisung hears the man sputter as he lets himself land in the garden. He gasps when he sees the gray faces of his friends—they've been turned to stone. Lifeless, motionless, statues. Even Jisung can tell with his bad eyesight.

He looks at the man, who looks normal except for the colorful scarf wrapped around his head. When Jisung tries to see his expression, the man yells. "Wait—! H-Huh? What…?"

"Jisung-ah? Are you okay?" Chan calls out from outside of the garden. "I'm coming over there!"

"I'm fine, hyung! Don't come over! It's—You might be turned to stone," Jisung warns him, still looking at Medusa, who looks like he has frozen as well, but he's not gray like the others. He doesn't approach Jisung, and he's quite a bit away from him and his friends who are turned to stone.

"Why— Why are you not turning to stone?" The man stammers. He moves as if he's about to come closer, but he never starts walking.

"So you're really Medusa?" Jisung asks with a tilt of his head. He's both scared and really intrigued, but it seems like their distance is enough for Jisung to be safe.

"Well— My name is Minho. Lee Minho. Not Medusa. But I am cursed like the mythical character, yes," he answers, slowly, like talking too fast would somehow break the fragile state that prevents Jisung from turning to stone.

"I'm coming over there, Jisung-ah!" Chan announces from outside of the garden before Jisung can even process the man's name.

"No! No! Chan don't come in here! I'm fine!" Jisung tries, but Chan tells him that he's coming anyway. The cursed man—Lee Minho—gasps and starts to move. Jisung's heart drops and he inhales sharply, turning around and thinking of a way to stop his friend. He can't have Chan turn to stone. He needs Chan by his side to be comfortable and to have any hope of not going entirely blind.

"I'll— I'll be back in a bit, I'm putting on my glasses so you won't turn to stone," the cursed man says, dashing back into the house before Chan can climb over the fence. Jisung lets out a breath of relief, but he's still on edge when he hears Chan land next to him.

"Oh god. Oh no. Fuck! They're really—what the fuck happened?" Chan sounds completely distressed, but before Jisung sees him, he feels the man's hands on his shoulders. His loud voice startles Jisung when he yells, "Lee Minho! What did you do to them?! Turn them back!"

The cursed man reappears, now with something dark covering his eyes. He mentioned glasses—apparently he has something that obscures his eyes from everyone else, but allows him to see. "Hey! You guys are the ones trespassing in my lawn. I heard commotion and thought it were my cats, so I went out and looked. I wasn't prepared for people to be here!"

Jisung keeps frantically looking between Minho and Chan, to make sure Chan doesn't suddenly turn to stone anyway. "I— Those two came first," Jisung thinks the man is gesturing to Hyunjin and Seungmin, "and they said my name, then looked at me before I could process what was happening. Then the third guy arrived and I yelled in surprise, so he looked at me. Don't you know how long it's been since I—? God. What— What are you guys even doing here?"

"We were gathering ingredients for a potion. We— We came from the village to the east of the one bordering these woods," Jisung explains, ignoring the way Chan tenses next to him. Jisung thinks being honest is the best policy against someone like Minho, if they want to have their stone-turned friends back. "They saw the ingredients we need in your garden. I swear they didn't mean to steal or harm you. Please turn them back, Minho-ssi."

"I can't," Minho states, his voice sounding bitter and final. "If I could reverse it like that—" he snaps his fingers, "—then it wouldn't be a curse, would it? Except somehow you are immune to it…"

"Well, we can't leave without our friends," Chan replies, and Jisung agrees with that statement. He can't lose his friends like this.

"Well unless you can help me turn them back, I don't know what to say," Minho answers, crossing his arms. Jisung's stomach drops. "However… You said you were looking for ingredients for a potion, right? I have some experience with potion making—thanks to years of trying to cure my curse. Perhaps I could help. What kind of potion are you looking for?"

"It's a potion to heal my eye condition," Jisung explains when Chan stays silent about it. He gestures at his eyes as the cursed man slowly walks closer.

"Ah, so that's why you didn't turn to stone when you looked at me. You're… You're partly blind?" Minho asks, his head tilting. The scarf around his head bunches up on his shoulder, creating a colorful mess in Jisung's vision. Jisung can't help but shrink a little. People usually don't look at him so closely.

"Until there. Don't come closer," Chan warns the man, who stops, two steps away from Jisung.

"Correct. I can still see, but not very well," Jisung mumbles. "I only have vision in one of my eyes and it's deteriorating. Chan hyung is an experienced potion maker, but he hasn't managed to find something other than something that slows the infection or whatever it is."

Minho hums, his upper body leaning forward as he taps his chin. "And you're looking for ingredients here…? In these woods? Why?"

"We came to the town looking for help, we received a list from a fellow potion maker," Chan explains now, keeping his mouth shut about the hero, Gong Jooin. Minho must know him, since he saved the town from turning to stone, but it might be a touchy subject.

"Be careful of getting scammed. To me it sounds like you were sent here on purpose, if you weren't even warned about me living here," Minho points out with a scoff. "Either way, I'm willing to bet that that list of ingredients won't get you anywhere either, so I want to propose a deal."

"No way," Chan cuts in, without even hearing the man out. Jisung frowns and subtly elbows him, but Chan continues, "We're not making a deal with a stranger."

"Yet you trusted one to help you with the potion," Minho retorts, making a good point.

"He—That's different. Your reputation is quite different," Chan argues, although they have no idea why Minho got cursed in the first place. He might have been attacked or something.

"We should hear him out, hyung," Jisung whispers. It's not like they have a choice, after all. They could ask Jooin for help turning back their friends, but if Minho is right and the man intentionally made them go to Minho's house, it sounds like he wanted to get rid of them. Jisung isn't sure what to believe, but if Minho is really so evil and would have wanted them gone, he'd have turned Chan to stone already, right?

"If you help me undo my curse, I will help you with the potion for your eye condition. You can stay until your friends are turned back to normal," Minho suggests, and Jisung wants to accept the proposal, but Chan makes a noise of disapproval.

"No. We'll go back to the town and ask Jooin for help. He can turn our friends back," he states. Before Jisung can even try to say anything, Minho barks out a laugh and cackles, a bitter and harsh sound.

"You're going to ask that asshole for help?! Good luck trying to get the very man that cursed me in the first place to come here," he says, his voice sharp like a dagger. "I bet he's the one who sent you on this goose chase, hoping that I'd turn you to stone and he'd be rid of you!"

"He's the man that saved your town from you," Chan argues, but it's one man's word against another. They weren't here when it happened so they can't confirm the truth.

"Of course you wouldn't believe me." Minho sighs. "That fucker doesn't help anyone! He just creates problems to solve so he can pretend to be a hero, and you're walking right into one of his traps."

"Hyung, let's just… Let's try to make that potion first to see if it works. If it does, we can ask Jooin to turn them back," Jisung suggests. "Think about it. If we can help reverse the curse, then no one will have to turn to stone anymore. You're a good potion maker. And I can't be turned anyway because of my bad eye sight. We can do some real good!"

Chan stays silent. Jisung leans close to see his expression, it's tense. "I don't—It's—Where'd we even stay? How would I be able to help? He's—If even after so many years his curse still isn't undone, what could I do?" he mutters. His tone makes Jisung feel sad. Chan is usually so solution oriented, but he needs him to believe that they can fix this.

"You could stay here in my house," Minho offers with a shrug. "Or you could take your chances with Jooin again. Your choice. But don't blame me if he doesn't want to help. I don't think this man ever wants to see me again. That feeling is mutual."

"What do you think, Jisung-ah? Would you even be comfortable in a strange house?" Chan whispers, turning to face Jisung, his hands hovering around Jisung's elbows, fingers grazing his shirt.

"It's not like a strange inn would be better," Jisung replies. "I think we should do it. I don't think asking Jooin for help will be wise. It sounds like they hate each other. I don't want to cause him any trouble. And what if Hyunjin and Seungmin actually stole something from Jooin and he finds out while turning them back?"

Chan moves his lips but doesn't say anything yet. Jisung looks at him and tries to focus his vision on Chan's eyes. "Fine," Chan relents, releasing a breath as he slumps. "But we're not leaving until our friends are back to normal and Jisung's eyes are at the very least better than they are right now."

"Fair enough. It's a deal. But I gotta warn you about this curse. You really cannot take risks when it comes to looking me in the eyes. I'll wear these glasses to obscure them, but I'm not used to wearing these all the time and having people in my house, so please don't trust me to not make mistakes," Minho says, his voice firm like the rock Jisung's friends are now made of. "This holds for both of you, even if you can't see me well."

"Don't worry, I can tell that you're wearing dark glasses," Jisung assures him. Minho hums, and to Jisung, it really seems like he's trying not to turn people to stone. Jisung can't imagine why someone would want that, so he's inclined to believe Minho, although he does wonder why he got cursed in the first place.

Hyunjin and Seungmin's knowledge would come in handy right now. They know way more about the tales surrounding Minho than he and Chan do. It's okay, Jisung has faith that he and Chan will survive and get their friends back. For once, Jisung's bad eyesight gives him an advantage.

As long as he can't see Minho's eyes, he can't be turned to stone either, so now it's up to him to keep Chan safe and make sure they can bring their friends back.

Gathering the rest of the ingredients for the potion Jooin suggested is the first step they take. Minho helps them, but he voices his doubts about these particular plants being able to help. "I've been trying to make a potion to heal my eyes for years, too, yet the plants in the woods and in my garden have never quite done the trick. They're not common in healing potions for the eyes."

"Where do you look, then?" Jisung asks. If the materials around his house can't help him, then they're pretty hopeless in finding a cure for either of them.

"I have a whole inventory of ingredients inside," Minho replies. "My cousin visits every once in a while and brings me food and ingredients in exchange for vegetables, flowers, and extra bait to use for his shop."

"You're right about these ingredients not being common in healing potions, but perhaps there's a type of healing potion that we haven't discovered yet. A combination of unusual materials that combine to be helpful, you know?" Chan adds as he digs his fingers into the grass and grabs some more roots. "There, that should be it."

"Okay. I suppose that there's no harm in trying," Minho says, standing up from where he was kneeling on the ground. He dusts off his knees and guides Jisung and Chan into his house. Something walks past Jisung on the way inside and it startles him. "Oh, careful. That was Dori, one of my cats. The other two are around here somewhere, too. They're orange. If you see a white or black cat, those are not mine."

Minho laughs at his own words, but he quiets down when Jisung and Chan don't mirror the sound. Chan clears his throat and announces that he'll start working on this potion alone. Minho guides Jisung seating area in the very crowded living room and takes Chan to what Jisung assumes is the kitchen. "Fine. If you want to work alone, go ahead. There are some bottles and mixing supplies in the kitchen. I'll make some tea."

Jisung sits down near the low table, on a cushion, and takes a moment to look around. He sees colors everywhere, and what he assumes is glassware stacked around. It reminds Jisung a bit of Chan's place. He has books and potion bottles around everywhere, too. There are bookcases, cabinets with drawers and structures that might be for the cats.

It seems messy, but Jisung gets the feeling that there's a system to the disorderliness. The sound of running water pulls Jisung's attention back to the kitchen. He thinks Chan is washing the potion bottles in preparation of the mixing.

Jisung listens to the sound of the sloshing of the water, until the sound of a kettle overpowers it. A moment later, Minho appears with a pot and some cups of tea. He sits next to Jisung on the cushions on the floor and hands him his steaming cup. "It's oolong, I hope that's okay."

"Yeah, that's okay," Jisung replies, carefully holding the cup in his hands. "Thank you, Minho-ssi. I— My name is Han Jisung, by the way. And my friend's name is Bang Chan."

"Nice to meet you, Jisung-ssi," Minho says, nodding his head. The man suddenly chuckles, and Jisung wonders what's going on. "Woah. It's been a while since I've said that to anyone."

"Right. You were cursed ten years ago, weren't you? How—How old were you back then?" Minho sounds young, but Jisung isn't sure. "I'm twenty five, by the way. Chan hyung is twenty eight."

"I was seventeen when I was cursed," Minho says, proving Jisung's hunch right. He's still quite young. Jisung can't imagine why someone would want to curse such a young person and ruin his whole life. What action could be bad enough to justify that? "I'm twenty seven now."

"May I ask why you were cursed?" Jisung whispers, but Minho doesn't reply. Jisung waits and waits, but the man stays silent, and he keeps his gaze down. "Maybe we could help you cure it if we understand how it works. Someone turns to stone whenever they look you in the eyes, right? And if they can't see your eyes, they won't be turned."

"That's right," Minho confirms before taking a sip of his tea. "I can look people in the eyes indirectly, too. Through reflections, I mean, like through a mirror or the reflection of a glass pane, bottle, and such."

"Really? That's interesting…" Jisung hums and brings the tea cup to his lips to take a sip. It's still hot, so he only takes a tiny sip before continuing to speak. "What about side effects? Is there anything else affected? Do your eyes hurt or feel different?"

"No. My eyes don't feel different. When I got cursed, he slashed my nose with the thorn of a rose," Minho explains, his hand moving towards the area between his eyes. "There's a scar right on the bridge of my nose left from that moment. After that, he threw some kind of potion over me. Also, all of my hair is gone."

"Really? Is that why you wear the scarf?" Jisung wants to touch the colorful fabric to feel what it's made of, but he remembers that he shouldn't just touch a stranger's clothes without permission. He wonders why the curse would make Minho's hair disappear. That sounds quite arbitrary, since the curse makes it so that people can't look at him anyway.

"Keep your distance, Jisung-ah," Chan warns him, and Jisung flinches. He didn't realize that he was leaning closer to the cursed man. It's not like he can make out any subtle details on the man's face anyway, especially not with the dark glass covering his eyes.

"It's okay. He's wearing his glasses," Jisung assures him. Jisung thinks he would be fine even if Minho wasn't wearing them, but especially with something obscuring his gaze Jisung doesn't think he has anything to worry about.

"Am I allowed to talk to him? Gathering information about what you're trying to cure is important," Minho inquires, his voice showing a tinge of sarcasm bleeding through. Chan huffs audibly.

"Yes, you are. If you're intending to help us, that's only natural. I'm not trying to prevent you from figuring out what to do. I simply don't want to take any risks," he says, the dinging of glassware accompanying his words. It sounds like he's mixing already.

"How long have you had this eye condition?" Minho asks then, pulling Jisung's attention back to him.

"Since I was very young. Chan hyung's grandfather healed me back then, but he has passed and we haven't been able to find any documentation of his healing methods for my eyes. I had reduced vision in one eye ever since I can remember, but recently my eyes started to sting again and my vision began to deteriorate. Now I'm blind in one eye, as you can probably tell from looking at my face up close," he says with a chuckle. Minho hums and leans forward to inspect him, causing Jisung's neck to heat up.

Chan clears his throat, loudly. "Keep your distance, Minho-ssi," he warns him. Minho exhales and moves back.

"Apologies. I simply noticed that Jisung-ssi's eyes are kind of… hazy? As if there's a fog beneath the lens. What can you see, Jisung-ssi?" The man fixes his glasses on his face and waits.

"I can see shapes and colors. It's like if you unfocus your eyes, I suppose? I cannot see any detail or depth, but I can see that you're wearing a green, yellow and blue scarf around your head, that you're a bit taller than Chan hyung, that you're wearing dark glasses obscuring your eyes. Oh, and Chan hyung has a potion that slows the deteriorating, but if you'd like to know the ingredients he used, you'd have to ask him," he explains. He relaxes his eyes and then tries to focus them on Minho's features. He then holds up his hand and tries to focus on his fingernails. Almost. "I can still distinguish my fingers if I hold them close to my face."

"I see…" Minho mutters, and then he goes quiet, makes some more distance between them. Jisung's stomach sinks. Maybe his eyes are uncomfortable to look at. He has heard that his blind eye tends to stray and look crooked, so Minho might be put off by it. Chan has given him exercises to keep the muscles strong but it's difficult to control if he can't see anything.

"I'll get us some more tea," Minho says.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ᨒᨒ ོ ᨒ↟ 𖠰

Chan completes the potion as far as he can right now. Jisung and Minho have stopped talking, but he still keeps an eye on them, just in case. A cursed man must have done something to get cursed, and the last thing Chan wants is for Jisung to get hurt.

He has a bottle of his soothing potion at hand, too, just in case this one fails. He can't just pour anything into Jisung's eyes, after all. He does hope that Jooin pointed them in the right direction and that the potion will work, but he has never worked with some of these ingredients, so the mixing might be off.

"The potion is finished, I believe," he announces. Jisung looks up, his foggy gaze meeting Chan's one. To Chan, it still looks like Jisung can really see him, like they can properly look at each other. He hopes that it'll stay like this, and that he'll be able to prevent Jisung from going blind.

He knows that Jisung is okay with the prospect of losing his sight completely, and that he's not scared, which is good, but Chan knows that his life would be more comfortable if he could see. And Chan wants him to be comfortable and happy more than anything.

"Is it okay if I test it right now, Jisung-ah?" Chan suggests as he approaches the two on the cushions, soothing potion and new potion in his hands. Jisung hums in confirmation. "I have the neutralizer with me, too, so tell me if it hurts, okay? I hope it works, but I might have messed up the details."

"It's okay, hyung. I know you'll be careful," Jisung tells him in a soft and kind voice. It eases Chan's worrying heart a bit. He kneels in front of Jisung and places the soothing potion onto the low table.

Then, one of his hands gently guide Jisung to look up at the ceiling. Jisung knows what's to come, so he complies and keeps his eyes open wide. Minho is watching closely from behind his dark sunglasses, but Chan ignores him and slowly lets the potion drip onto Jisung's eyes, drop by drop.

Jisung blinks and a drop escapes his lash line. Chan uses his free hand to thumb away the stray drop and waits to see how Jisung reacts to the potion. He's blinking rapidly. The whites of his eyes are turning red. Uh oh.

"Ow— Ow! Shit!" Jisung squeezes his eyes shut and shrinks in on himself. Chan's heart drops in panic and he almost drops the flask in his hands. He quickly puts it down and moves his hands to Jisung's face.

"Are you okay? Let me see your eyes, Jisung-ah. Can you open them for me?" Chan tells him, trying to keep his voice calm, but he fears that his panic is seeping through the cracks. Jisung shakily blinks his eyes open, and they look irritated, but not in a way that looks like he's healing. That's not good. "Shit. Shit, this potion is not— It's not helping. Are you hurt?"

"Yes, but it's okay, hyung. Just—Just use the soothing potion," Jisung says with a strained chuckle. Chan exhales, and he turns to the table, centering his mind again. This is not the end of the world, he reminds himself.

"Right. Right, yes," he says, grabbing the soothing potion and carefully coaxing Jisung to tilt his head upwards. Jisung opens his eyes and lets Chan administer the soothing mix into his irritated eyes.

"It doesn't look good. I don't think this potion is able to heal," Minho mumbles, startling Chan with his proximity. Chan shields Jisung's eyes from Minho as much as he can. He doesn't like the man looking at him from up so close. Minho sighs from behind him, which makes Chan feel a tad bit bad, but he's too worried about Jisung turning to stone.

"How does it feel?" he asks, slowly letting his fingers glide along Jisung's cheeks and jaw as he lets go of him. Jisung straightens himself, but keeps his eyes closed.

"It stings, and my eyes are itching, so I'm resisting the urge to rub them," he replies with a chuckle.

"I'll check your lens," Chan says, waiting for Jisung to open his eyes for him. When he does, Chan spreads his eyelids to inspect his eyeballs and the lenses. They look fogged up as ever, and Jisung's blind eye is still not straight compared to the other eye. "Drat… Looks like this potion did absolutely nothing."

"I'm… I'm not surprised, if I'm honest, Chan-ssi. These ingredients aren't what I'd think of when it comes to curing ailments, especially not regarding the eyes," Minho says. Chan sighs and runs a hand through his hair. He wants to think that it's his skills that are lacking, or that Jooin simply made a mistake, but his instincts are telling him that these ingredients are quite arbitrary and don't inherently have any healing properties.

"However disappointed I am to admit it, I suppose you're right, Minho-ssi," Chan says, taking a deep breath as he inspects Jisung's eyes one last time. If anything, his eyes look worse. Irritated, yet not a pinch brighter than before. "Drat! And now we'll have to fix this without Changbin's access to ingredients, or their help. I'm sorry Jisung-ah—"

"Hey. Shh," Jisung says, his hands coming up to hold Chan by his jaw. He looks at Chan, and it feels like he's staring right into his soul. Chan will never understand how he does it, even when he's blind in one eye, and his eyes are visibly irritated. "What do I always say?"

Chan deflates a little, his neck heating up when he sees Minho looking their way through the corners of his eyes. "Not everything lies upon my shoulders, I know."

"Precisely! So don't beat yourself up for one mistake, hyung," Jisung adds, gently booping their noses together. "Sometimes we gotta accept that one way didn't work out and then move on. It's okay. Even if the others aren't here to help right now."

"I know. I know, thank you, Jisung-ah," Chan whispers, hoping to preserve a little bit of privacy with Minho in the room. He does appreciate Jisung's reminders, although he worries that Jisung isn't allowing himself to be sad about what happened so that he can cheer up Chan instead.

If circumstances were different, Chan would have taken Jisung into his arms and he would have taken his time to ask Jisung about how he feels. He would have made room for a moment to comfort the two of them, but he can't. He could, but with Minho in the room, it feels too vulnerable to do right now.

"My cousin Yongbok will stop by in a bit, probably, so I'm going to get some vegetables from the garden so we can eat later, all right?" Minho says, breaking the silence. "I'll go get some herbs from my garden, too. Do you two want to come along? I can show you what I have, apart from three extra statues."

"No. I'll work some more on the potion. Maybe there's another way," Chan decides. Seeing his lifeless friends will only put a damper on his already stressed mood.

"Wait, are our friends the only ones who've ever entered your garden and got turned to stone by accident?" Jisung asks, ever the curious man.

"No, but it's been a while. By now, everyone in town knows not to come here. Back then, I assume Jooin was still willing to deal with the statues. The townspeople would carry them out of here, so I'm not entirely sure what happened, though," Minho answers. Chan wonders if they can't do the same. Maybe they should do that—take the statues with them, to Jooin.

Minho turns to go outside, and Jisung stands up to follow him. "I'll come with you, Minho-ssi, but I might stand somewhere I shouldn't." Chan's heart drops, and he stands up in a swift movement.

"Wait, wait. Wait, Jisung-ah. Are you sure?" He reaches out for his friend, the urge to protect him sweeping him away like a sudden change of the tides. Jisung blinks, as if he's unsure what Chan means. "I… I don't want him to hurt you."

Minho scoffs. "If I wanted to hurt him, I'd have turned you to stone already and did whatever I want," he points out, a deep frown creasing the space between his dark glasses and colorful scarf. Chan swallows. He looks pissed.

"But you need me to help you with the curse," Chan retorts. His instincts are telling him to stay wary around this man. He's cursed for a reason, after all, and he wouldn't tell Jisung why. Who knows what he wants.

"Exactly. I want to get rid of this curse, so why would I want to turn anyone to stone? And why would I hurt him and get you on my bad side if I need your help? What would I gain from that?" Minho argues, crossing his arms. Chan deflates. He can't find the words to prove him wrong.

"Fair enough," he admits through gritted teeth. Jisung reaches out to take Chan's wrist.

"Come along, hyung. You'll be able to see what kind of herbs he has," he says, tapping his fingers on the outside of Chan's arm. Chan relents. He has never been good at saying no to Jisung, but he makes a genuinely good point, even if Chan has already gotten a look at the garden when they gathered ingredients from the list Jooin provided them.

Plus, he feels more comfortable not leaving Jisung alone. Jisung takes off his shoes and socks and holds his arm as they enter the garden and walk between the vegetable crops and herb plants, careful not to step on anything.

Chan recognizes most plants, but some are new to him. Minho is inspecting his crops and harvesting some that are ready. Chan watches him work. It's clear that he's got experience, and that he takes good care of his plants—

Jisung gasps, and Chan freezes. Jisung makes a sour face. "Ew… I think I just stepped on a snail. Blegh!" He squirms and shivers as he hold onto Chan's arm and shakes his leg. Chan snickers and he suggests to carry him so he doesn't have to deal with looking where he's stepping.

Jisung wordlessly climbs onto Chan's back and lets him carry him through the garden. Chan enjoys the physical affection while listening to Minho explain what he grows. After he's gathered the vegetables, a voice announces himself just outside of the garden.

"Minho hyung! Are you there? We're here! We heard you in the garden," the low voice says. It must be his cousin. Minho opens the garden gate to let two men inside. They're the same height as Minho, and they are carrying big bags with them. Both of them are wearing the same kind of dark tinted glasses as Minho is.

"Why are you wearing your glasses hyung? You know you don't have to when we're wearing them." They hug, and then they see the statues. "Oh goodness… What happened?" the man with the low voice asks. He looks around and spots Chan and Jisung. "Oh. Oh you have company! How rude of me. Apologies, my name's Lee Yongbok, this is my husband Yang Jeongin."

The two bow and Chan does the same, but lightly, because Jisung is still on his back. "I'm Bang Chan, this is Han Jisung. Those… Those statues are our friends," he explains. "We're here to try and turn them back."

"They trespassed. I thought it was Doongie entering the garden or perhaps a bigger animal climbing over the fence," Minho adds. "We're working together to fix it, but this happened only a couple of hours ago, so no progress yet."

"Hence the glasses, got it," Yang Jeongin says, nodding. "Is there anything we can do? We happened to have a good catch so we've brought extra fish, but is there something else?"

Minho hums. "I could stock up on some more ingredients from town, if that's possible. I can make a quick list of what I'm running out of," he answers. The three of them carry the rice and boxes of fish to the house, so Chan carries Jisung back inside as well.

"If you know anything that could help with eye diseases, that would be helpful, too," Minho says while gathering the vegetables into a bag. Jeongin helps him, and Yongbok stashes away the rice and fish.

"Eye disease? You mean something different than a curse?" Yongbok looks over his shoulder at his cousin. Minho looks at Jisung, and Yongbok follows his gaze, looking their way over the edge of his glasses. Chan fights the protective urge to stand in front of Jisung.

"That would be for me," Jisung says, timidly holding up his hand. "But it could also work for Minho-ssi, I suppose?"

"Okay. Of course. But I assume we should be subtle about it, still, right? I don't think the townspeople will appreciate us prying for information about eye conditions. Although we could try to see how they react," Yongbok replies with a sheepish expression. Minho sighs.

"Put your own well being first, Yongbok-ah, Jeongin-ah," he says. "I appreciate any bit of information you can uncover but I don't want it to be at the expense of your comfort. The last thing I want is you two getting chased out of town."

Chan feels like they're overstepping their welcome, so he decides to get out of the kitchen. Jisung follows him after a beat, leaving the other three to talk amongst themselves. Chan keeps his ears pitched just in case, but he doesn't hear them speak about anything suspicious.

Eventually, Yongbok and Jeongin leave, after helping Minho with dinner. They promise to stay longer another time, and promise bring whatever Minho needs. Chan takes Jisung to say goodbye to the two visitors before joining Minho at the low table for dinner.

Chan helps Jisung grab the food he wants and places them on his plate so he doesn't have to do it himself. He knows it has become hard for Jisung to do so now that he can't see depth anymore. In the low light of the evening, it's even more difficult for him to see.

Minho seems to realize what Chan is doing, and his eyes widen. "Ah, apologies. If you want, I can serve it on a plate for you in advance, Jisung-ssi," he says, moving the candle on the table closer to Jisung's plate and looking around for another one to light.

"It's okay! I mean, that would be nice, thank you, Minho-ssi," Jisung says, his neck a reddish color. Chan hopes that he isn't embarrassed for needing a bit more assistance, it only makes sense after all. There's nothing he can do to help his eye condition—Chan has been trying for months.

But as Chan keeps glancing at Jisung, he notices that he's struggling more than usual. Perhaps it's the lingering irritation of the potion Chan tried on him, but perhaps his vision is really declining despite Chan's best efforts.

Jisung is leaning forward, his face close to the plate as he uses the chopsticks to shovel the rice, vegetables and fish into his mouth. His face is red. He must be embarrassed about the way he's eating in front of Minho. Chan can tell that Minho is trying not to stare, but he's peeking up at him through his lashes every once in a while, and Chan can't blame him.

"Hey, you okay?" Chan asks under his breath, leaning closer to Jisung. Jisung blinks and nods, his cheeks a deep red.

"Yes. Yes, I'm okay," Jisung assures him, a tiny smile on his lips. "Don't worry about me, hyung."

"No need to be ashamed if you need help, all right? It's only natural," Chan says, putting his chopsticks down so that he can briefly reach out and touch Jisung's left hand. He caresses the back of it with his fingers. Jisung tilts his head and offers Chan a soft smile.

Chan can't help but touch his red cheek with the back of his hand, both to feel the warm skin and to hopefully assure him that he'll be there for him if he needs it. Jisung only has to say the word. "Thanks, hyung. I know you'd do literally anything for me, you softie."

Now it's Chan's turn to be shy, and he pulls back. He looks away from Jisung to find Minho watching their interactions. Chan feels his neck grow warm, so he focuses back on his food.

"Are you two an item, Chan-ssi, Jisung-ssi?" Minho inquires after a moment. Jisung flinches and almost dumps his head into his food, and Chan clears his throat.

"No. No, we're not together," Chan clarifies. He understands why Minho might think that, but he doesn't want Jisung to be uncomfortable. Chan loves Jisung more than anything, yes, and he'd love to kiss Jisung and show him just how much he cares, but the last thing he wants is for them to grow apart because Chan caught feelings. "We're just… We're close. We've known each other for a long time."

"Yes. We know each other well, but we're not a couple," Jisung adds in a low voice, eyes roaming around the room aimlessly.

"Okay, makes sense," Minho says with a shrug. "I was wondering since I only have one bed in this house. If we move the table there's room to sleep here in the living room, but you two could take the bed together if you want, and I'll take the floor. But if you're not comfortable with that, you could choose to take the floor. Either way's fine with me."

Chan looks at Jisung, who knows that Chan will let him have the bed if he only says the word. "Hyung, let's share the bed, okay?" Jisung suggests, and Chan lets out a breath, unable to hold back a smile. He's relieved that Jisung wants to share. That way, he's able to keep an eye on him.

"Of course," he replies. Then, he looks at Minho. He appreciates the man's concern for them, although he's still hesitant to trust him just yet. It's hard to read his expression when his eyes are obscured by dark-tinted glasses, but he's been a good host so far. "Is that okay, Minho-ssi? Will you be comfortable on the floor?"

"Yes, I'll have my cats to keep me company. I'll be okay," Minho assures him.

The day ends like that. Chan helps Minho clean up, and Minho shows him where he keeps his ingredients. Then, they wash up one by one, and retreat to Minho's room. It's a small room with a single bed, but the mattress is just wide enough for two. He thinks that he and Jisung will sleep just fine in there.

"How are you holding up, hyung?" Jisung asks when Chan does his routine inspection of Jisung's eyes at the end of the day. He grabs the soothing drops to administer them to Jisung.

"A bit better than before. I'm… I'm not happy about our situation and I don't know about Lee Minho yet," he admits, carefully letting the drops drip into Jisung's eyes. Jisung blinks as his eyes water. "I feel terrible that Jooin's ingredients didn't work. I… I don't know what to think. I had genuinely hoped that they'd be what we were looking for. Perhaps it wouldn't be the perfect potion yet, but at least I expected it to help somehow."

Chan puts the drops away and immediately afterwards, Jisung pulls him into a hug. "It's okay, hyung. It's not your fault it didn't work. We asked him for help and it didn't work out. Maybe he sent us on a wild goose chase, maybe he made a mistake and gave us the wrong list. Either way, we gotta figure out how to save our friends first. That's more important, isn't it?"

"That's true. It's just— Do you trust Minho? Do you think he genuinely wants to help?" Chan asks, deflating in Jisung's hold. Jisung gently rubs his hands along Chan's back, so Chan holds him a little tighter.

"I can't say I trust him, but I believe him. I think he's lonely and he wants to get rid of his curse. I think he needs our help just as much as we need his help," Jisung answers in a whisper. Chan's heart does a flip, and he pulls back a little so that he can look Jisung in his eyes.

"You're so sweet, Jisung-ah," he says with an elongated sigh. Jisung smiles, and his fogged up eyes still manage to gaze right at Chan.

"Hyung, you are sweet. Okay? You're the one taking way too much responsibility for something that's not your fault or your problem in the slightest. You always help and protect me. You care for me and our friends so much," Jisung replies, voice dripping with sincerity. It makes Chan feel bashful.

"And you're lucky I like being spoiled, but I don't want you to carry the burden alone," Jisung continues. He lies down and pulls Chan with him. They're a forearm's length apart, face to face. Chan tries not to stare too much, even if he knows Jisung won't notice if he does. "If I go blind, I don't want you to be more upset than me, okay? I know it's not quite there yet, I can still see your curls and I can tell when you blink, but if it ever gets that far, it won't be because you didn't do your best. Promise me you'll let it go, okay?"

Jisung gently rests his hand on Chan's cheek. Chan bites his lip. His heart is pounding in his throat, and it hurts. He doesn't want to think about Jisung going blind, but he will try to not let it get to him if it happens. "Okay. I'll do my best."

He leans forward to press a firm kiss on Jisung's forehead. The smile that grows on Jisung's face is always worth it, as is the kiss that Jisung places on his cheek in return. "Good. Sleep well, hyung. Tomorrow's another day."

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ᨒᨒ ོ ᨒ↟ 𖠰

Unfortunately, it's not easy to make progress on either the potion for Jisung or the cure for Minho's curse. Jisung feels a bit useless. All he can do is watch Chan and Minho work, and they're not even working together. Other than that, he can train his eyes—try to focus on some point far away, try to focus on some point closer—but he's getting tired of it. It's boring. He misses his friends and he wants something to do.

He doesn't even know what Chan and Minho are working on right now, but he bets that they're still doing their own thing, rather than sharing knowledge and trying to make something for the other. He's fed up. His eyes hurt from using them too much and he needs them to make progress instead of getting stuck in the same old loop.

"I can't do this anymore. My eyes hurt and I'm bored as heck. Are you still working separately?" he asks after finally gathering the courage to interrupt the two in their quiet business. The two look up, but he can't read their expressions. His eyes are tired and Minho's glasses and the red scarf around his head distract him.

Their silence tells Jisung enough. They're doing their own thing again, except next to each other, as if that somehow counts as working together. "No offense, hyung, Minho-ssi, but what's the point? I was under the impression we made a deal to work together and help each other, give each other a new perspective?"

"Well, I'd love to help you out, but I haven't been allowed to inspect your eyes," Minho comments dryly. Chan exhales loudly.

"I— I'm not… As I told you before, I'm not trying to hold you back, I am simply trying to be careful," he says, so Jisung gives him a pointed look. Usually, he is the careful scared person who doesn't want to take any risks, but his vision worsening has taught him that he can't afford to do that if he wants to live comfortably. He needs to step out of his comfort zone if he wants to adapt.

"But you're right. We're not… We're not making any progress like this. Let's switch our tasks. I'll work on the cure for your curse, and you'll try to see if you can help Jisung," Chan admits, although he does sound hesitant. Jisung thinks he won't be able to let it go completely, but at least he's trying.

"Thank you, Chan-ssi. That's a good idea," Minho says with a nod. He fixes the scarf around his head and cleans up what he's doing. "The last thing I want is to hurt the people whose help I need."

"I… I realize that. I'm simply afraid of mishaps or accidents," Chan explains in a low voice. The tone makes Jisung's stomach clench. Hearing Chan insecure is something he'd like to leave behind and never hear again.

Minho wordlessly gives Chan a book to read up on what he's tried so far while he suggests inspecting Jisung's eyes. Minho keeps his glasses on, even if Jisung thinks that it would be fine if he'd take them off. He's gentle as he spreads Jisung's eyelids to take a detailed look at his eyes.

"Chan-ssi was right. It looks like whatever infection or condition is messing up your vision is clouding up your lenses. I can barely see your pupil beneath the fogginess anymore," Minho mumbles, releasing Jisung's sore eyes. Chan hums from where he's reading Minho notes.

Jisung listens as the two start exchanging information, answering each other's questions about the curse and Jisung's eye condition. Jisung can even join the conversation a bit—not when they're talking about healing potions, but when Minho wants to know about his experience with the condition, he chips in.

Jisung is happy and relieved that Minho and Chan can comfortably talk to each other like this. There's been tension between them ever since they arrived here, and Jisung understands it. Minho seems to be forgiving towards Chan's defensiveness, but at the end of the day, they do need each other, so it's nice to hear them talk seriously and openly exchange experiences with each other.

The only thing is that Chan doesn't seem to look at Minho, even if the man has his glasses on the entire time. Jisung isn't sure if it bothers Minho, but if he's anything like Jisung, it would. But he might understand Chan's carefulness. He did tell them to be wary of mistakes, after all.

Still, Jisung can't help but smile as he listens. "Woah, you're quite the potion maker, Minho-ssi. I'm impressed by the amount of detail and care you've put into your research, considering that you've done it all by yourself," Chan says, a lining of wonder around his voice. Minho lets out a sound that's close to a giggle, and it startles Jisung, but in a good way.

"Don't try to flatter me, Chan-ssi," the cursed man says. He sounds serious, but Jisung wonders if he's joking. He tries to focus on Minho's face, and he thinks he sees a smile, but he can't quite tell. Chan makes a surprised noise.

"I wasn't, Minho-ssi. I'm genuinely impressed," he retorts, his hand reaching out for Minho in a gesture of apology, but he doesn't look at the man. Minho snorts and he waves Chan off.

"I know, I know, I was simply jesting," he explains. "Now, I'd like to see what kind of effect your soothing potion has on Jisung-ssi's eyes, if that's all right."

"Yes, that's okay," Chan says. Minho stands up and approaches Jisung. Chan explains how to administer the drops and Minho carefully follows his instructions. Jisung blinks the excess liquid out of his eye and lets the potion soothe his tired and painful eyes.

Minho looks at him through the dark glasses, and Jisung wishes he'd take them off so that he can see his face better. Even if it's blurry, Jisung likes the thought of being able to see his eyes properly. Minho leans closer, carefully, until their noses brush and the excess of the scarf around Minho's head drapes onto Jisung's shoulder. The proximity makes Jisung a bit shy.

"Hmmm," Minho hums, brushing away the end of his scarf. "It looks like this potion might… clean your eyes somehow?"

"Yes, I think it keeps them clean from dust and keeps them wet, so they won't dry out," Chan adds. "The potion also relaxes the muscles so they won't strain and cause him pain."

"Perhaps getting his blood flowing to his eyes will be beneficial. Is it okay if I try something that might sting?" Minho suggests, tilting his head as he faces Jisung. Jisung likes how the man always makes sure to face him when he talks to him, either with his body or his head. It makes him feel included.

"Yes, that's okay," he says, even if he's not looking forward to pain. He's not fond of pain, but if it'll help, he'll accept it and bite through.

"It'll just be water with some stimulating herbs," Minho explains, as if Jisung has any idea what it means. "I'll wash it out as soon as it starts working."

Jisung feels a hand squeeze his shoulder. It's Chan. He might be a bit hesitant, but he doesn't speak up about it. Jisung hopes it means that he trusts Minho a bit more now. Minho returns with a flask only a minute or two later, and he drips the substance into Jisung's eyes.

Immediately, a burning sensation settles behind them, and Jisung gasps. His eyes start watering and he blinks rapidly. He squeezes them shut, wincing when the burning won't stop. "Ouch. Ouch—Shit. That hurts."

"Shit. Shit, Minho-ssi! What did you give him? Isn't this too much? He was already in pain!" Chan exclaims, and through tears, Jisung can see that Minho is holding up his hands.

"Hey, I warned you! I think it might help!" he says, but Chan sighs. "Just— Let it work for a bit."

"He— You said might sting! Not hurt him so much he can't even keep his eyes open. Jisung, are you okay? Will you open your eyes and let me see them?" he orders, panic lining his voice, so Jisung tries his best to blink them open, but it hurts and his vision is blurred by tears that are trying to drive whatever Minho put in that potion out of his eyes. "God, he actually can't even open them! This is going too far, Minho-ssi."

"Respectfully, Chan-ssi, you're overreacting. Just wait it out," Minho tries, but Chan seems to be caught in a panic. "Or let me wash it out. It's just water."

"No, this is exactly what happened with Jooin-ssi's potion! I won't let you hurt him or use him as your guinea pig to experiment on. Jisung is in pain enough on the regular," Chan snaps, a harsh edge to his voice. "I'm going back to Jooin-ssi for help."

"Hyung!" Jisung exclaims, wiping tears of irritation away from his cheeks. Now his friend is going too far. He's reacting way out of proportion for the situation. "Yes, the pain is worse than Jooin's potion, and it sucks, but I trust Minho to want to help us! He actually needs us, and Jooin does not! He has no reason to care about us, and he might have even cursed Minho-ssi."

"Or Lee Minho has been lying to us," Chan retorts. He sounds out of breath, his tone scares Jisung. "The facts are that he's done something to get cursed and Gong Jooin has helped that town out of a pickle, and now there are no statues or people turned to stone left, thanks to him. Until a couple of days ago. Surely, he'll help us with our friends, and correct his mistakes."

"What happened to me being an experienced potion maker? Was this really all it took for your trust in me to be gone?!" Minho snaps, raising his voice. He sounds pissed, and Jisung flinches at the sharp tone of his voice. "If you want to go back to that horrible man, go ahead! I'll warn you, though, if you even do as much as utter my name he might chase you away and never let you step foot in that town again. He only cares about himself and his god damn reputation!"

Chan is silent and Jisung holds his breath. The tension in the room is thick, and at times like these, Jisung wishes he could read the room better. His eyes are still burning, but the pain is fading and he tries to see Chan and Minho's expressions, but his eyes are still watery and irritated, so all he sees is a blur of colors.

"My eyes are feeling better. Hyung, you can check if the potion Minho-ssi made did anything to improve how they look," Jisung breaks the silence, hoping that it'll distract them from the topic of Gong Jooin. Chan huffs. His hand brushes Jisung's shoulder as he trails it towards his chin.

"I'll— I'll let them rest a little more. I'm going to take a walk… get myself some fresh air," he says, and the words hurt more than Jisung's eyes do. He wants to stop him, but he knows that a break will do him good, so he stays put.

Jisung waits and listens to Chan's footsteps retreating and the door opening, then closing. Then, only the sound of him and Minho breathing is left. Jisung's throat feels tight and he wants to cry. He hates this. He wants to go home and have his friends back but he can't. He needs to stay strong and assure Chan that they'll be okay. They'll get through this together, right?

"I'm sorry, Minho-ssi," Jisung mumbles weakly. "He's not… He's usually very kind and patient. He's never this snappy towards friends or strangers."

And it's probably my fault, Jisung thinks. "He feels responsible for me and our friends, and I think he just needed to get that frustration out of his system."

"I understand. I turned your friends to stone," Minho replies under his breath. He sounds defeated, too. "I'm… I'm lucky you're still giving me a chance, even if it's just because you need me to get them back."

"That's not it, Minho-ssi," Jisung says, wrapping his arms around his knees and hugging them closer. "Well, I can't lie and say that's not a part of why we're here, but I do know what it's like to have people avoiding your gaze. I'm not cursed and people aren't afraid of me—I'm lucky in that aspect—but I can imagine what it's like to have to hide yourself all the time."

Minho is quiet. An orange blob passes by. It's one of Minho's cats. They're meowing to fill the silence. Jisung swallows and straightens himself a bit. "Minho-ssi? Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm… I'm all right," he says in a low voice. There's another orange cat in Minho's arms all of a sudden. The man sits down on the floor next to Jisung. "I hope he doesn't go to Jooin. I— I don't want to see him, and I don't want him here. I can't—I can't promise that I'll behave. And I know he doesn't want to see me either, not even after ten years. A lot could have changed in this time and I know I'm not that seventeen year old I was back then, but… The way he sent you here for those ingredients tells me that he hasn't started caring. He just wanted to get rid of you. There's no other explanation."

"How have you not bittered over these past ten years, Minho-ssi? It all sounds so unfair," Jisung says. He thinks he would go mad if he were in Minho's shoes, but then again, he still doesn't know what happened between him and Jooin for the latter to curse Minho.

"I have my cats. My lovely Soonie has been keeping me company for ten years, and Doongie and Dori came to me from the forest, after that. Also, Yongbok and Jeongin have been stopping by at least once a month, so it's not like I've become a total hermit," he explains softly. Jisung wishes that Chan would be here to hear it.

"I'm glad you have them," he replies with a watery chuckle. A cat meows from next to Jisung, and another answers from across the living room. Jisung can't tell what they're doing, but he does realize something. "Wait— Wait, your cats. Don't they… Aren't they in danger of turning to stone?"

"They're actually immune," Minho comments. He must be smiling as he's caressing the orange cat in his arms. "I'm not sure why, but the curse only seems to work on humans."

"Really? That's interesting… Although I wouldn't know what to do with that information," Jisung admits with a chuckle. Minho mirrors the chuckle, easing the atmosphere. Jisung flinches when the gray cat suddenly steps onto his lap.

"Don't be afraid. It's just Dori looking for a place to lie down," Minho assures him in a kind voice. "I'm holding Soonie, by the way. Doongie was just here but he's gone again. He might be exploring outside or raiding the cabinets."

Jisung giggles and relaxes, letting the cat walk around on his lap. He takes a moment to cuddle the cat and to let Dori bring him some comfort between the stinging of his eyes and his concern for Chan. He hopes that he'll come back soon. Jisung doesn't want to eat or sleep without him by his side, after all. He couldn't.

A more comfortable silence blankets them now, until Minho speaks up. "Thank you for being curious about me, Jisung-ssi. I appreciate it," he says lowly. "You're being quite positive for the situation we're in."

"I'm trying my best," Jisung admits with a shrug. His neck heats up, but he's relieved that Minho appreciates his questions.

"I'll go prepare us some dinner, all right? If you need me, you know where to find me. Or just yell for me and I'll come." Minho stands up, Soonie still in his arms. Jisung nods and decides to stay behind with Dori. A gasp pulls him from his cuddle session with the cat and he whips his head up.

"Oh— Oh, sorry, Chan-ssi, you startled me. I see you've met Doongie," Minho says with a startled laugh. Jisung immediately stands up, almost tripping over his feet with the speed he's moving.

"Hyung! You're back!" he says, steadying himself on the edge of the wall separating the kitchen and the living room. That was quick, or did time pass by faster than he thought? "Did you change your mind? It's not raining, is it?"

"No, I… I actually never left," Chan admits, an orange cat in his arms, mirroring Minho. "I went outside but then I saw this cat—Doongie, was it?—and he was chewing on a piece of cloth so I went to find some food for him. I overheard your conversation and I calmed down. I apologize for how I reacted just now. I think you might be right about Jooin. There's no reason for an experienced potion maker like him to send us looking for such specific ingredients without a proper reason. Even if he did just make a mistake, it would be unfair to you to force you to deal with him again."

"Yes, you've gotten your head straight on again, Chan-ssi! I'm glad," Minho sounds pleased. Doongie meows as if he's joining the conversation and then he jumps out of Chan's hold. Soonie follows soon after. "Now, I'd like to get started on dinner. Would you care to join? Both of you are invited to help out, though I get it if you decline, Jisung-ssi."

"I'd rather stay out of the kitchen. I'm not a fan of sharp objects…" he admits with a chuckle. He turns to Chan and grabs his arm, smiling as he remembers all those times Chan made him and Changbin meals. "But Chan hyung is a good cook!"

Chan snickers, a sound for sore ears. "Fine, I'll help out. But I do have one request for you, Minho-ssi."

"You name it," Minho says, sounding more and more confident. Jisung wonders if Chan's distrust was bothering him. It must have been. He sounds a lot lighter than just a couple of minutes ago.

"I would like you to tell us the truth about how you got cursed. It will help me think of a plan of action regarding the cure, and I think it would be fair for us all to be open to each other," Chan explains. Jisung's eyes widen, and curiosity bubbles up in his chest. He has been wondering about Minho's curse.

"You make a good argument. I will… I will tell you what happened ten years ago. I think you deserve to know," Minho admits after a beat of silence. Jisung lets out a breath in relief. He can't wait to hear about what happened.

Chan and Minho work quietly in the kitchen, and Jisung lies around in the living room, bored and anticipating the story Minho's about to tell. It must be personal, after all. Jisung hopes he can listen while eating, but his eyes do feel slightly better after Minho's potion.

Chan hasn't even checked them yet. Jisung supposes that his mind has been eased by hearing Jisung's and Minho's conversation earlier. It would be nice if it did, but Chan not being concerned enough to examine his eyes is a good sign.

"Okay, I'll tell you about the curse," Minho announces once they're all seated. Jisung's plate is stocked in advance so he doesn't have to go through the trouble of bringing the food to his plate and messing up.
Jisung notices that Minho brought him a plate that contrasts a bit better against the food than the ones Chan and Minho are using, and he can't help but smile to himself. Jisung's heart pounds in gratitude. Whatever he's going to say about how he got cursed, Jisung will continue to believe that he has become a caring person.

Minho takes a deep breath. "You know it happened ten years ago, right? I was seventeen. I was young and confident, and some—or maybe most—said I was beautiful. Not that it matters to me, but it matters for the story—It matters that I was admired for my beauty."

This makes Jisung even more curious about Minho's face. From the way Minho speaks, he wouldn't have personally guessed that he's somewhat of an adonis, but then again, looks don't necessarily reflect what's within.

"I can imagine," Chan says with a hum, "even if I haven't seen your eyes. Or your hair. You have… quite the handsome face."

Suddenly, Minho laughs, and it might be because of the curse—if Jisung remembers correctly, it made him lose his hair, which is why he wears the scarves. "I'll get back to that. The wrap around my head, I mean. Jisung already knows I have no hair, though."

Chan inhales sharply. "Apologies. I didn't know—"

"No need to apologize, I'm not offended," Minho assures him easily. "Let me get back on track. So, I was admired for my beauty, but I was young and not very… how should I put it…? I wasn't very proper, so to say. I tended to run my mouth and say whatever I felt like, so I wasn't popular, per say. Still, I befriended a boy and we got quite close. He wasn't the brightest but I liked him. His name was Sanghoon and he seemed so mature for his age, the polar opposite of me. I was naive, though, because I believed that he liked me for me, not for my looks. I don't know if he actually liked me, but… Anyway, we had some fun together, like young-ins do, but eventually… Let me keep it short. It turned out he was Jooin's man, and he was fooling around with me on the side."

Jisung's heart drops, and he loses a bit of his appetite. The words do manage to make him forget about his embarrassments while eating with his face up in his plate. "He cheated you? Cheated on Jooin, with you?" Chan asks, sounding just as upset as Jisung feels. "That's why he cursed you?"

"Not completely," Minho says. Jisung is on the edge of his seat, listening closely, his food forgotten for now. "I only found out he was Jooin's man when Jooin caught us outside together, flirting and such. He was outraged. I was, too, and I cussed out Sanghoon, but Jooin didn't believe me. He blamed me instead of Sanghoon. He blamed my looks, told me I must have bewitched Sanghoon to fall for me. I tried to warn him that it was Sanghoon who betrayed us both, but he couldn't accept that as the truth."
Minho's voice grows sharper as he continues, his breathing becoming heavier. "His story about me being a cheating, lying, prick who makes people betray each other with my bewitching eyes or whatever he told everyone, was believable enough for the town to be wary of me. One day, he came to me, telling me he wanted to apologize. Foolish naive me believed him after a while of him trying to convince me that he came to realize that Sanghoon is an ass and I let him in. He slashed me with a rose, threw a potion in my face, turned around, and held up a handheld mirror. He looked me right in the eyes through it while my nose bridge bled, and told me I'd never bewitch anyone ever again. He said I'd never look any person in the eyes again, that no one would ever come close to me anymore."

"Good lord," Jisung mutters, shuddering to himself. He scowls, stomach churning at the thought of something so unfair happening to Minho at such a young age. Jisung believes Minho, believes that he wasn't the one initiating the cheating. But even if he did know about Sanghoon and Jooin being an item, Jisung doesn't believe a seventeen year old deserves such a harsh punishment. "What an envious prick."

"I'd say that's an understatement," Minho says with a bitter chuckle. "I ran away and soon noticed that my gaze would turn people to stone. I was… I panicked, and so did everyone else in town. I smeared dirt in my eyes in an attempt to prevent me from doing any more harm, but it didn't work. I stayed inside and my hair started falling out by the chunk every day."
I was desperate, and I didn't dare to go out. I'd look out the window and see that the people who had turned to stone would be back to normal the next day, so I went out to investigate, this time with glasses obscured with dirt. It wasn't super effective because I couldn't see much, but I found out Jooin was curing the people. I begged him to reverse the curse, I would give him Sanghoon—I didn't want him anymore, anyway—but he chased me out of town and warned me to never come back, and many of the townspeople were quick to support him. That's how I came here. Yongbok and Jeongin helped me rebuild this abandoned shed into a livable house and they helped me find someone who could make these glasses."

"Thank goodness you had your cousin," Chan breathes out. Minho hums, a bittersweet sound. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Minho-ssi."

"Please, now that you've heard my life's story, drop the formalities," Minho replies softly, a small smile on his face. "Is that all right with you two? Chan-ssi, you're the oldest here."

Chan stays quiet for a moment, letting Minho's words sink in just a little further. "Yes, that is all right with me. Hyung is okay."

"Thanks for listening, Jisung-ah, Chan hyung." Jisung grins to himself, then he looks at the other two, thinks he sees them smiling. He hopes they are. In moments like these, he wishes he could see better and could read the room.

Suddenly, Chan looks at him. He leans closer, making Jisung a bit shy. Normally, Chan gives him a warning before staring at him from up so close. "Hey, your eyes look slightly more clear than yesterday. Did… Did the potion do something?"

"Did it?" Minho looks at Jisung from over the edge of his glasses, squinting. He has dark eyes, Jisung notices, but he makes sure not to let Minho lean too close, even if his heart is curious.

"It might have. My eyes don't hurt anymore and they feel kind of clear," Jisung admits, looking down at the leftovers on his plate. "I can see my food a bit better, even if the contrast still makes it hard to see if I've finished it all."

"That's— Shit. I should have been patient, Minho-ssi—Minho-yah," Chan mumbles, his fingers softly touching Jisung's jaw, signaling for him to look up again. He lets Chan examine him some more, until the latter twists his torso to Minho, who quickly pushes his glasses up his nose. "Do you think it'll work in combination with my soothing potion? Perhaps that'll be a less painful way to get his eyes to heal up a bit."

"Yes, that's a good idea, Chan hyung," Minho replies with an eager nod. Jisung's heart swells at the idea of Minho and Chan finally opening up to and even getting excited about the prospect of working together. "Let's pick this back up tomorrow, all right?"

At the end of the day, Jisung takes a moment to talk to Chan about what happened today. "Hyung, I'm concerned about you," he admits softly, tugging Chan onto the bed with him after they've washed up and changed into some more comfortable clothing. Chan makes a noise in the back of his throat, so Jisung elaborates, "Because of how you reacted to the potion Minho hyung tried. It… I know we haven't known him for long, but you're usually so calm and patient. Are you okay, hyung?"

"I…" Chan begins, but he trails off when Jisung pulls him closer. Chan sighs and lifts Jisung onto his lap for a big hug. Jisung smiles to himself, he doesn't fit in Chan's embrace as well as he used to when he was younger, but it's still nice. It still feels like home.

Jisung rests his cheek on Chan's shoulder and wraps his arms around his torso. Chan's fingers caress Jisung's arm. "I'm… I'm sorry. I startled myself, too, with the way I snapped at Minho. I think I've just been stressed."

"Are you sleeping well, hyung?" Jisung asks, because he knows about the man's insomnia. It gets worse when they're in a stressful situation, but Jisung hasn't noticed it so far. He's a heavy sleeper, so that isn't surprising.
Chan's silence tells Jisung enough. "Is there anything I can do to help? To ease your mind? Maybe—"

Jisung snaps his lips shut when the door to Minho's bedroom opens. Minho steps inside and freezes as his gaze points at Jisung and Chan, wrapped up in each other's arms. "Ah— Sorry. Jeez. I should have knocked."

"No problem, it's your room, after all," Chan assures him, unwrapping his arms slightly. Jisung does so, too. Not because he's ashamed of being affectionate with Chan in front of Minho, but because he'd like Minho to feel welcome in his own house. He doesn't want the man to feel alone or like he's interrupting. "Do you need anything? Do you want to sleep in your bed tonight?"

"No, I'm all right. I was simply looking for Doongie. He might be hiding behind the closet again," Minho explains. As if the cat heard them, a meow sounds from the corner of the room. Minho visibly grins as he walks over and grabs the orange cat. "I'll leave you be."

"One second, Minho-yah," Chan says, and Minho stops, turns around to face them. Jisung knows what Chan is about to say, because he's about to say the same. "Good night."

"Good night, hyung," Jisung adds, offering Minho a smile he hopes the man will return. Jisung thinks he sees a small one, but he isn't entirely sure.

"Good night, Chan hyung, Jisung-ah," he replies after a moment before quietly leaving the room. Jisung asks if Minho smiled, and Chan assures him he did. His voice sounds calm, so maybe having seen Minho helped Chan to see that he's not alone in this situation. He has Minho to help him out, and of course Jisung, too.

"Thank you for looking out for me, Jisung-ah," Chan whispers, slowly lying down and pulling Jisung with him, until the latter rests on his chest. Jisung can hear his heart beating. It's nice.

"Anytime, hyung," Jisung replies, easily, because it is easy. Caring for Chan is one of the things in his life that is simple. And being here with Minho, without their friends, is less complicated than he feared, too. "I hope you and Minho hyung can work together smoothly, now."

Chan chuckles, his chest vibrating against Jisung's cheek. "Yes. Yes, now that I'm clearer of mind, I can say that he's been a good host, so far. It hasn't been long, but up until now, he hasn't been the villain I pictured him to be."

"I agree. I believe him. And—And even if he's distorting the truth in his favor, I don't think this curse is a fair punishment," Jisung admits under his breath. "I'm glad it didn't bitter him. I'd understand if it did, but I'm relieved he didn't turn us to stone and instead asked us for help."

"I think that might have something to do with you, Jisung-ah," Chan says, the smile audible in his voice, but Jisung doesn't get what he means. "He can't turn you to stone. Not easily. I think that made him… hopeful, perhaps? Or maybe it simply forced him to think about what to do—how to make use of the situation."

"You're right, hyung. Maybe going blind is good for something!" Jisung jokes. Chan chuckles halfheartedly. "Kidding, kidding. Let's go to sleep, I'm tired from worrying about you, hyung. I don't know how you worry all day."

"I don't try to, but I can't help but care," Chan replies, rubbing a gentle hand along Jisung's back. It soothes him in a way he wishes he could return, but perhaps letting Chan do this already helps Chan. "Sleep well, Jisung-ah."

Chan presses a kiss onto the crown of Jisung's head. Jisung sleepily lifts his head to place a peck on Chan's cheek. He grins seeing Chan's ears grow pink, but he's too sleepy to tease him about it in words. Instead, he gently tugs on the warm shell.

Chan pushes his hand away with a snicker and wraps his arms around Jisung again, silently telling him to stop it and go to sleep. Jisung settles and closes his eyes, dozing off in the warmth of Chan's embrace.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ᨒᨒ ོ ᨒ↟ 𖠰

Chan doesn't know exactly what did it, but he's starting to see Minho in a different light. A less harsh light than he did before. He heard Jisung and Minho talk yesterday and it made him realize that he wasn't the villain he thought he was. He talked to Jisung kindly, in the same kind way he has talked to him during the past week.

Minho is smart and gentle, and the way he handles his cats is proof of that, too. And now they're finally getting to working on cures together as well. Jisung helps think about how they could work on reversing Minho's curse—he suggests they get a lock of Minho's hair that has fallen out, but that ends up not working.

Chan does like the way Jisung thinks about lifting this curse. He's focusing more on how to counteract how Jooin performed the curse in the first place rather than how to prevent the effects of the curse. The three of them brainstorm about different ways to approach the lifting of the curse whenever there's a free moment in the day.

Minho prepares another one of his spicy cleansing potions for Jisung's eyes, and it works in combination with Chan's soothing potion. Unfortunately, Jisung's eyes start hurting after a couple of hours, so it seems like the cleansing potion can only do so much. His eyes do look clearer than before, but Chan wonders if it's worth the pain.

"Sorry, Chan hyung, Minho hyung, I think I'm going to take a break," Jisung announces with a slight pout. Chan's heart clenches. Jisung has days where his eyes are more sore than others, but he had hoped that Minho's cleansing technique would help the pain as well.

"Do you think it's the potion I made?" Minho softly inquires, looking just as disappointed as Chan feels. Chan's stomach churns in empathy, but also a bit in guilt. He voiced his objections to Minho's potion quite loudly, but now he regrets that. Jisung's way of seeing Minho and trusting him, combined with Minho's story about his past, has really flipped over Chan's opinion on the man.

"I'm not sure… It doesn't feel like the stinging your potion causes," Jisung explains with a chuckle. His eyes are squinted, and his hands are raised, fingers twitching as if they're waiting to rub Jisung's already sore eyes. "Chan's soother should have eased it, I might have just overdone it. Or a fleck of dust got into it and I've rubbed it unconsciously."

"Can you show me?" Chan asks, tapping Jisung's chin to signal him to open his eyes if he can. Jisung does. It does look a bit red and irritated, as if he's been touching them. "Careful, Jisung-ah. Don't rub your eyes, even if they feel itchy."

"I know… I shouldn't touch them. Sometimes it's unconsciously, though…" Jisung mutters, though Chan didn't mean to scold him. "I'm just gonna lie down."

"Are you gonna take a nap?" Chan asks, caressing Jisung's back. Jisung shrugs, keeping his eyes closed. "That bad, huh?"

"I can make you something that'll help you sleep," Minho suggests, eyes flicking between Jisung and Chan. Chan softens, grateful for the offer. "Chan hyung, will you help me?"

"Yeah, of course," he replies. He knows a thing or two about sleeping potions. He feels more comfortable being there during the process because there's a real danger in making them too strong, but a sleeping potion that is too weak won't help, either. Jisung stays close as he waits, the frown on his forehead only deepening as the minutes pass by.

He gets less responsive as well, and Chan's concerns grow heavier. Jisung doesn't often have bad days quite this painful, but perhaps it's a delayed effect of the tiring days they've had. Jisung has been putting on a strong front so far, and perhaps he's reaping the consequences of it now.

"Go give him a hug, hyung. It's all right. I'll finish the mixing," Minho whispers, nodding his head towards the man leaning on his elbows with a sour expression. Chan touches Minho's shoulder in gratitude and sends him a smile before taking Jisung into his arms. He cards a hand through his hair, hoping to soothe him until Minho has the potion ready.

"Almost done," he assures him. Jisung hums.

"Thanks, Minho hyung, Chan hyung." He raises his head and smiles, even though it doesn't reach his eyes. Chan feels bittersweet about it. He loves Jisung. He loves him so much, he realizes once again, which means he worries about him and wants him to be happy all the time, even if he knows that can never be.

He forces himself to look away, but when his gaze lands on Minho, he sees a beautifully gentle expression. He can't see his eyes, which is a damn shame, because he's sure that it would tie off this expression with a bow. Even without the windows to Minho's soul visible, however, Chan can tell that he's endeared by Jisung, and that he's almost mirroring what Chan feels.

Chan has always found that Jisung brings out a person's caring side, and he seems to do that with Minho, too. This is not just a gaze that tells Chan that Minho has come to care about Jisung, though. This is a look that reminds Chan of his former self, of how fond he was of Jisung since the beginning.

It's such a lovely sight, that Chan almost wants to take off Minho's glasses so he can see it in its entirety. Maybe some day.

"Why did you go quiet?" Jisung asks, eyes squinted, startling both Chan and Minho from their staring. Shit. Chan's stomach churns. They can't get distracted like this. Not when Jisung is in pain. Chan's ears grow red and he clears his throat. Minho's ears are a cherry-like red as well.

"Apologies. The potion is ready, Jisung-ah," Minho explains, a slightly bashful look on his face. Jisung perks up and opens his eyes a bit more. He accepts the concoction and drinks up. Chan helps him to the bed so he can lie down and rest for a while.

When he returns, Minho is grinning at him like a cat. Chan exhales, the corners of his lips twitching up. "Don't look at me like that, Minho-yah. You were staring at Jisung, distracted, just like I was," he tells him with a fake exasperated scoff.

"And how did you know I was staring at Jisung?" Minho asks, satisfied with himself, for some reason. Chan feels a bit nervous, but not in a bad way. More in a curious or playful way. "Did you inspect me closely enough to know where I was looking, even through my dark glasses?"

"Well— Yes. And it was a sight for sore eyes. If Jisung would have opened his eyes to see, perhaps it would have helped him," Chan says, raising his chin to feign confidence. Minho lets out a startled laugh, a bright sound. He outright cackles, startling Chan and making him wince.
Minho is quite the odd guy, but he supposes that makes sense for someone who has been almost isolated for ten years.

"Apologies. I simply haven't had anyone flirt with me in a long time," Minho says, but he's still smiling. Chan's neck heats up at the accusation. "I thought the glasses were enough to prevent that. Or perhaps the curse and the rumors. Or Jisung."

"I wasn't flirting," Chan tries, but he sounds unconvincing even to his own ears. "Wait. What do you mean Jisung? What does he have to do with preventing flirting?"

"I meant your feelings for Jisung," Minho explains, as if it's a fact as obvious as the sky being blue or the grass being green. Chan lets out a sound in surprise, his ears growing even warmer. Was he that obvious? "Don't be shy about it, I do think he feels the same for you, but who am I to say that? I've only had my cousin and his husband and a couple of romance novels they brought me for reference these past years."

"You… How can you say this so easily?" Chan wonders out loud, the corners of his lips twitching upwards in curiosity. Minho shrugs.

"Why wouldn't I? Is it taboo to speak about? If so, then tell me. I'm not fond of unspoken rules," he explains. Chan can't help but chuckle. He likes this way of viewing life, even if it's not a way he could live.

"It's not taboo, per say. It's more something I'm hesitant to think about. My relationship with Jisung is something I treasure deeply, and I would not want to lose him over romantic feelings," Chan explains in a whisper. That's about as much he's willing to give Minho at this moment in time.

"Fair enough, although I do believe that people put too much emphasis on romantic relationships sometimes. Is it really such big of a deal you could ruin a lifetime of close friendship over?" Minho says, his voice lilting higher at the end of his sentence. Chan stays quiet, but Minho makes a good point. He knows all about it—He got cursed over being involved with a taken man, and got his life ruined.

He might have had friends who've shunned him or left him. Or who showed support until the rest of town turned against him. Or perhaps Minho pushed them away for their own safety. Either way, it must have been quite devastating, to be chased out of town, and to stop being able to look people in the eyes.

"What? Do you think it's bull crap or are you shocked something smart is coming from my mouth?" Minho chuckles, but there's a tremble to it. Chan quickly holds up his hands and shakes his head, hopefully assuring him that his silence didn't mean anything like that.

"No, no. No, I think what you said makes sense. It's just… hard. It's difficult to take the leap and trust that you won't crash," Chan admits, feeling a tad bit too vulnerable for his liking. He hopes that Minho will make the drop safe.
He isn't sure if he trusts Minho enough yet, because despite his kindness and Chan's heart becoming weak for the man, he has to keep in mind that he barely knows this man for two weeks. Time seems to slow down when you're in trouble, though, and he does think that the saying that adversity brings people closer is true in this case.

Still, he should stay vigilant and careful. It's about Jisung's well being and his friends' lives after all. He can't allow himself to start treating their lives lightly.

"Just something to think about, then," Minho softly adds. Chan looks at him, right where his eyes are supposed to be, were they not covered by his glasses. It scares him for a second. He shouldn't be so careless and try to see his eyes, but he finds himself desiring to see them.
The curiosity feels like burning embers on his skin, encouraging him to look, but whenever he's actually looking, so close to meeting Minho's eyes, the fire grows, slowly filling his chest.

"Thanks for looking out for Jisung," Chan says, averting his gaze and hoping that changing the subject somewhat will ease the blush creeping up his neck.

"Of course. Perhaps it's because he's always looking at me so intently, but it's nice to have someone trust me like that. I suppose that has made me fond of him," Minho admits, a soft smile on his features. "You've been doing better, too. With not avoiding my face. Thank you for that."

"I'm sorry about that. I haven't been patient," Chan mumbles. "I hope you can forgive me."

"No need to worry. Let's pause the sentimental talk and work on some potions, all right?" Minho tells him, waving his hand in front of his face. Chan agrees, he's getting a bit warm, after all. He notices a pink tinge to Minho's ears again, as they stick out against the light blue fabric of the scarf around his head.

They talk about possible ways to help Minho. Roses—no, Minho has tried it before. Asking Jooin—Never in his life. Not even Yongbok or Jeongin dare to ask the man for help. They've tried. Yongbok has tried reasoning with the man but being Minho's family makes him unwilling to hear him out.

"Since then, I've forbade them from talking to Jooin. They shouldn't give up their way of living for me. Jooin won't listen," Minho explains, a scowl on his face.

"He must have something about your curse, though, right? Something that tells us what was in that potion he threw on you. What if we sneak inside and steal something—?" Chan suggests, cutting himself off when he realizes Seungmin and Hyunjin have just the stealth and slight of hand they need.

"That would be a good idea, but who's going to do that? I could come along for distraction but it might just cause chaos." Minho purses his lips as he thinks about it. He sighs, rubbing his temples and the space above his ears, where the legs of his glasses are resting. "Urgh. I'm just going to take off my glasses for a bit. I'll keep my eyes closed."

"Yeah, sure," Chan says, unsure if he wants to take a peek at Minho's uncovered eyes or not. "I'd love to go through with the stealing idea, but Jisung and I aren't great at being subtle or quiet. Jisung, of course, can't read with how his eye sight is right now. Our friends—The ones who entered your garden without permission—they're more… grabby. They're pretty good at getting away with it, too."

Chan trails off as Minho takes of his glasses and turns his head. He can't help but shift to take a peek at his face, now completely revealed. Even with his eyes shut, Chan can imagine why Jooin would be jealous of his beauty. His lashes are long and his eyes seem big, an edge to them that complements his sharp nose.

"Well, we can't quite ask them for help unfortunately. Although— We could, but I doubt if they'll answer our questions," Minho says with his eyes closed, rubbing the sides of his head, right above his ears, revealing a bit more of his hairless head as he pushes the wrap up. The skin is red and looks irritated. The glasses probably aren't made to wear for such long periods of time.

"Maybe we should take it easy today, rest up, since you must be uncomfortable. I'll help you gather vegetables and cook," Chan suggests, feeling a bit bad for Minho having to cover up in his own house. It's for a good reason, but it must be uncomfortable, having to wear dark glasses all the time.

"Okay. Yeah, okay. Let's go to the garden." Minho puts on his glasses, tucking his headscarf under the legs this time, and guides Minho to the back of the house. They work together in comfortable silence and prepare some ingredients for next session of potion making, and afterwards, they prepare dinner.

"Do you see everything darker with those glasses?" Chan asks after a while. Minho shakes his head. He holds his head down, takes off the glasses, has his eyes closed and blindly holds them out for Chan to take.

"Take a look. It looks darker from the outside than it does from the inside. Pretty handy, huh?" Minho chuckles and Chan inspects the glasses. The darkness of the glasses changes depending on the orientation. These are some nifty glasses. And even his cousin and his husband have one.

"Wow. It must've taken some craftsmanship to make these," Chan says, frowning as he keeps trying different orientations to look through the lenses. He does so until Minho holds out his hands for Chan to return the glasses.

"It has. My cousin managed to find someone who could make and manipulate glass in all sorts of ways. Yongbok told the woman that a family member had a nasty eye infection which made it hard for people to look at him, and requested glasses that would prevent others from seeing his eyes, yet would still allow him to look through them," Minho explains with a smile, turning back to the food. He sprinkles some more herbs on the vegetables. "He still won't tell me how much he had to pay for four pairs. One for each one of us, and an extra for me so I'd have a backup pair."

"You're lucky to have him," Chan replies with a laugh. Minho keeps smiling. It looks good on him, and it eases Chan's mind.
He almost doesn't worry about Jisung anymore.
He does still want to protect Jisung no matter what, but Minho feels like less and less of a threat, and now that Jisung is asleep, Minho keeps Chan distracted from any concerns. "I'm also happy that despite not making much progress with the curse yet, we're making a bit of progress with Jisung's eyes. Although I wish it could go with a little less pain."

"Yes, that would be ideal… But you said he's not declining as fast anymore, is he?" Minho asks, reaching for the spoon at the same time as Chan. Their hands brush, and Chan quickly pulls back, but Minho doesn't. The man even grins, as if he's happy about Chan's slightly panicked reaction.

"He— He's not," Chan replies belatedly, neck growing warm. "In fact, I think he's improving a little, thanks to the spicy powder concoction. I would have never come up with that."

"That's what I'm here for," Minho points out happily, his tone making Chan laugh. "If you two can't eat my spicy food, then I gotta use it another way, right?"

Instead of replying, Chan keeps laughing, because Minho's words don't make any sense at all, yet he makes them sound like they do. He thinks Jisung would be able to joke along with him quite well. That thought makes Chan's heart do a little twirl, which he chooses to ignore for now.

Dinner's ready, and Chan wants to suggest waking Jisung up, but then he changes his mind. This might be an opportunity he can show that he trusts Minho more. He's nervous, because Jisung's eyesight has improved a little bit since they arrived here, but if Jisung's eyes still hurt, he won't be able to open them fully anyway, and he told Chan that it's still hard for him to see details of people's faces.

"Why don't you wake him up? I'll get the table ready and make sure Jisung's food is plated and easy for him to see," Chan tells Minho, elbowing him lightly. Minho looks surprised, eyebrows lifted and slightly knitted together. "Maybe he'll allow you to take off your glasses for a moment."

Minho gasps, taking a step back. "Who are you? You're trusting me to be alone with Jisung for two minutes, without my glasses?" he asks, voice full of wonder, lined with a teasing edge.

"I trust Jisung and you to be safe about it," Chan replies, correcting Minho with a playful finger. Minho purses his lips and quietly turns to walk towards his bedroom. Chan's heart pounds quicker when he starts putting the dishes on the table. He can't quite shake every bit of anxiety, but he knows that whatever happens, it won't be Minho's intention to turn Jisung to stone, not when Jisung is the only one who might be able to look at him without glasses.

He finishes before Jisung and Minho return, so he sneaks over to listen. "…That's so cool! How did they get the glass to do that?" he hears Jisung say. Chan smiles to himself—Minho is showing Jisung the glasses, too. He returns to the living room and waits until the other two arrive.

Jisung's eyes are small from sleeping, and he looks adorable. It makes Chan want to hug him tight and dote on him, squeeze his cheeks as a treat, perhaps. He shakes the thoughts away and instead asks him how he's feeling.

"A bit better now, but sleepy since I just woke up," Jisung replies, gently rubbing his eyes with the back of his fingers. They're eating, and Jisung is leaning close to his plate, again. Not as close as before, but Chan is still concerned that they might not be making enough progress. He also fears that Jisung might have to deal with a lot of pain if they can't think of a better way to increase the quality of his eyesight.

Dinner is comfortable, however. Chan feels like Minho and Jisung can take his mind off of his worries quite well. They can make him smile.

"I'm glad you two are finally getting along better," Jisung tells them after they've finished eating. He's grinning widely, but his eyes still look small. "I suspected so, but since I'm not quite good at reading body language anymore, your words had to convince me. And they did."

Chan feels a bit bashful and unsure what to say. If even Jisung notices, he must be quite obvious. Jisung's optimism and is nice, but when he asks for more of the chili potion, Chan becomes more anxious. He asks Jisung if he's sure, if he's not in pain. Jisung tells him that he'll only take a little bit, and that Chan's soother will help.

Minho helps him out with the potion, while Chan prepares the soother. They administer the mixes together, as if they've done it a hundred times.
When they're in bed at night, however, Jisung looks like he's in pain. Chan holds him close, but it doesn't calm his heart. He doesn't want to have to hurt Jisung in order to heal him.

It's not fair, and it's not ideal. He wishes there were a better way, but perhaps he and Minho will figure one out together.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ᨒᨒ ོ ᨒ↟ 𖠰

Jisung wakes up early, judging by the amount of light entering Minho's room. Chan is still fast asleep, thankfully. He tossed and turned all night, Jisung noticed, and even though he woke up because of it, he has slept well and enough, thanks to his nap the day before.

He takes a moment to look at Chan, his blurry form. He still can't see more than shapes, but he's starting to be able to make out Chan's nose again, which is a relief. He listens to Chan's peaceful breathing, and carefully tries touching Chan's cheek.

Chan stirs a little and Jisung flinches. "Stay asleep, hyung. Minho hyung and I will hold the fort today," he whispers, just in case he woke him up. Chan hums and moves a bit, perhaps getting comfortable. Jisung kisses his forehead before quietly getting out of bed.

He meets Minho for breakfast, surprised by how early the man rises. "You can take off your glasses for now, hyung. Channie hyung is still sleeping. He needs to catch up on some, I think."

"He isn't sleeping well?" Minho asks, slowly removing his glasses and putting them on top of his head, on top of his olive green head wrap. Jisung nods.

"It's not a new thing. He tends to ponder at night, and get in his head about things," he explains. Minho hums while putting some food in his mouth. "I told him that we will work on things today. I have some ideas we could try with a mirror and rose petals."

"Oh? Do tell," Minho says, visibly leaning closer. Jisung looks at his eyes, with his only working one. They are dark in color, just like Chan's are. They look pretty big, although it is hard to tell.

"I'm no potion maker, but since your curse was because of jealousy over a lover, and he looked at you through a mirror, I thought maybe we could make use of that." Jisung feels somewhat shy, speaking like this to an experienced potion maker like Minho, but as far as he can tell, Minho seems interested.

They eat, silently, but comfortably. Minho is humming to himself, and it's contagious. Jisung hums along all the way until they're in the garden. Minho brings a wide mirror which he lies down on the grass. It's big enough for the two of them to look into it next to each other. Jisung watches himself while Minho snips off some roses for Jisung to pick off the petals later.

He sees himself, but very blurry. It's strange. It's been a while since he's seen himself properly. He wonders how his eyes look. Chan is the only person who looks him in the eyes most of the time, but now Minho can too, just for a while. It's bittersweet, because he can only do it when Chan isn't around, but it's a small victory, and Jisung hopes that Minho likes it.

"The roses are ready for you," Minho whispers, a touch of his fingers to Jisung's shoulder. Jisung's heart speeds up. He kind of realizes how silly it is to think that laying rose petals on a mirror will reverse Minho's curse. It has nothing to do with Minho's eyes, but still, Minho was willing to go along with the plan, so Jisung proceeds.

"It probably won't work, will it?" Jisung says with a nervous chuckle. He takes a moment to smell the fragrant roses and look at their deep red color. The petals feels soft and silky in his hands.
He likes that flowers are still very easily enjoyable to him despite his declining vision. The fun of flowers are their smells and colors, plus how they feel. He can still enjoy all of that.

He starts scattering the petals around the mirror. "We're not even using a potion... I'm sorry, hyung."

"Don't be sorry. We are using a potion. Water," Minho says, handing Jisung a small bottle of clear liquid. Jisung blinks and reaches out to take it, but he almost hits it out of Minho's hand as he misjudges the distance. Minho gently takes Jisung’s hand and presses the bottle onto his palm. "Here you go."

"Thanks… But how will it work?" Jisung wonders out loud, a warmth creeping up his neck when Minho's fingers linger on his wrist.

"You'll pour the water over me with the right intention. Sometimes a mindset can bring something alive. Or so I've heard." Minho chuckles. Jisung thinks he might be lying to make Jisung feel better, but if he's willing to waste his time to try, maybe it's for a reason. "Go ahead."

Jisung empties the bottle of water over Minho face, then turns towards the mirror, leaning close. Minho blinks the water out of his eyes before leaning closer, too. Jisung tries to see his eyes through the reflection, presses his nose against the glass.

"Can you see?" Minho asks in a whisper, also leaning just a hair width away from the mirror. "Can you see me?"

Jisung does his best, strains his eyes and pushes his working eye to make him see sharp, and he sees the fuzzy shape of his iris, but not much more. "A little," Jisung replies softly, his breath fogging up the mirror under him. "Do you think we're doing anything?"

"I'm not sure… I'd think that together with my curse being lifted, the statues should turn back to life, but even that is something I'm not certain about," Minho explains, his voice low due to their proximity. Jisung raises his head towards where the statues should be, but they are still lifeless as far as he can tell.

"Thank you for entertaining me, hyung, and also for not… for looking into my eyes despite it not being so pleasant," Jisung tells him, slowly backing away from the mirror, heart pounding. Minho makes an incredulous noise.

"What are you on about? Have I ever said anything negative about your eyes?" he asks, making Jisung feel a bit self-conscious. There's no blame in his voice, nor is his tone harsh in any way, but he does point out Jisung's hidden assumptions.

"I suppose you haven't," he agrees softly, unconsciously rubbing his eyes. He quickly stops once he realizes what he's doing. He squeezes his lids shut, the familiar throbbing pain of having strained his eyes too much already appearing.

"I know what it's like to have people avoid your gaze constantly. There's nothing wrong with your eyes just because they're different," Minho says, a warm hand gently touching Jisung's shoulder. Jisung's heart speeds up again. He wants to be closer to Minho, wants to feel that he means it.
Jisung unconsciously shuffles closer, but he flinches when a sharp pain hits his eyes. Minho's fingers twitch and his voice is soft when he asks, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just… I tried a little too hard to look into your eyes just now," he assures Minho with a chuckle. Minho caresses his shoulder in a soothing motion. Jisung's cheeks are starting to feel warm, and he briefly wonders if he's dreaming. The situation simply feels so peaceful, and so gentle. Minho understands him, and he has never made him feel pathetic or different in a wrong way.

Jisung hopes that Minho knows that he appreciates it, and that he admires Minho for the amount of positivity with which he stands in the world, despite what happened to him. Jisung wouldn't blame him for being bitter, but instead, he manages to somehow find the strength to ask Jisung and Chan for help, and he gives Chan the chance to believe him, despite perhaps having lost hope that anyone would ever still believe him.

A small part of Jisung hopes it's because of his courage to jump into Minho's garden and look at him without fear. He wants Minho to know that if he could, he'd have looked at him through the mirror without fear, too. He'd have looked him straight in the eyes, if only his vision would allow him to.

"Ah, how foolish of me, I should get you some of that soothing potion, shouldn't I?" Minho says, low because of their continued proximity. If only Jisung could see his expression, he imagines it's quite pretty. Then again, he'd surely become shy seeing it.

"That would be nice, yes. Thanks, hyung. I'd help you carry the mirror but I'm afraid I'll drop it," Jisung says with a chuckle. Minho laughs out right.

"Don't fret about it, I'm strong enough to carry it on my own. If you wanna collect some petals and take them inside that would be nice, though." Minho gently hits Jisung's shoulder and stands up. He picks up the mirror and shakes off the petals over Jisung's head. "Flower shower!"

Jisung can't help but laugh when he feels the gentle touch of the silky soft petals land on his hair, face, shoulders, and arms. "That saves me some gathering, thanks," he says, gathering whatever he can see around him and on his lap before standing up and following Minho inside. Minho shows him where to put the petals before he stashes the mirror in a safe place.

"I'll go grab the soothing potion," Minho tells him, keeping his voice low. Jisung is unsure if it's because he's careful of waking Chan or if it's an excuse to be close to Jisung. Either way, Jisung likes the proximity, likes that he can feel Minho's presence next to him rather than just hear his voice. It adds a sense to the mix, and with Jisung, that means a lot.
He needs that feeling, or the scent of a person, because otherwise it feels so empty and disconnected from him. With someone near him, he can at least pretend that he can sense their body language.

Jisung smiles to himself as Minho leaves the room, embracing the warmth of having Minho treat him so kindly. It's been a while since he's made a new friend, let alone this quickly. He considers Minho a precious friend, now. He hopes that Minho considers him and Chan as friends, too.

Jisung keeps one rose petal in his hands, rubbing it between his fingers just because it feels nice—

A blood curling scream rips Jisung away from his rose colored thoughts. His stomach drops in panic. Was that Minho?

"Hyung? Hyung-ah are you okay?" Jisung trips over his own feet as he turns around and runs towards the bedroom. His heart is up in his throat and he feels nauseous with dread. Minho doesn't answer, and Jisung hears nothing until he enters the room.

"Hyung? Hyung what's wrong—?" Jisung stumbles into the bedroom, almost bumping into Minho's frozen body, his breath getting caught in his throat when he sees a gray body lying in bed, motionless.

Jisung's stomach lurches, the blood draining from his face.

"Chan hyung? Is he…?" Jisung stammers, his whole chest and throat constricting in disbelief. He touches Chan's stone turned face, as if the color wasn't enough to tell him what happened. He feels lightheaded.

"I'm sorry— I'm sorry Jisung-ah— I— I didn't think—" Minho's voice sounds broken, which only makes Jisung want to cry more. He turns around and sees Minho’s glasses still on top of his head. He must have forgotten to put them on, thinking that maybe Chan was still sleeping.

Such a simple and small mistake now means Chan is no longer conscious. Not until they figure out how to lift the curse. Without Chan's help. Jisung turns back to face the bed and sobs.

How will he be able to help now? He can't read or make potions. He doesn't know how to approach lifting a curse. Not without Chan.

Chan has always been by his side, a constant sturdy presence for Jisung to lean and depend on. He doesn't know how he'll handle having to live for days without him. Maybe even weeks, or months, or years.

The thought of never seeing Chan and his friends again breaks his heart, and he cries into his arms, hands touching the lifeless stone. Minho's continued apologies drive the knife even deeper into his chest, but he can't get himself to stop crying.

The sound of something clattering on the floor startles him. He twists himself around and blinks his tears away, trying to see what happened. He quickly wipes his tears when he sees Minho on his knees on the floor, something that looks awfully like a knife or dagger in his hands.

"No! No! What are you doing?" Jisung yells, throwing himself onto the floor in front of him, reaching out for whatever is in Minho's hands. Minho's grip is tight, and he jerks away from Jisung. "What is that? Hyung!"

"I— There's only one way to get rid of this curse, Jisung-ah. I have to—I have to get rid of the source of my and everyone's misery," Minho says, voice as sharp as the dagger in his hands. He raises it towards his face, Jisung panics and grabs at the blade. "Jisung!"

"Don't do it!" he begs, wincing as the blade cuts into his fingers. "Please, hyung. I—I don't know what you're going to do, but— But— This won't turn them back."

"It might. You don't know! At least—" Minho protests between heavy and labored breaths. His arms stay still, raised in the air. Jisung doesn't move either, blinking rapidly to keep his eyes clear of tears so he can see. "Don't— Just—Let go of the dagger, Jisung-ah. Your hands…"

"Don't do this. You made a mistake. We knew that could happen. There's no one left to turn to stone, though, right? And—And I need someone who can see. I need you, hyung. Please," Jisung pleads, tugging at the blade to make him let go. His vision is once again blurred by tears, but he tries to speak between ragged breaths. "I don't want you to hurt yourself, please. I need you to see. I need you to be okay."

Minho whimpers, yet after a moment, he relents and releases the dagger. Jisung does the same. "Okay. Okay, I'm sorry. I'm just so— Oh Jisung… Your hands! Oh dear. Why did you grab the blade?"

Jisung sniffles as he lets Minho take his bleeding hand. "Because you wanted to do something incredibly foolish! I hate sharp things like knives and daggers and swords and I hate pain but I hate seeing people I care for wanting to hurt themselves even more."

Minho's head hangs down as he exhales. Only his headscarf and glasses are now visible to Jisung. "Hyung… Minho hyung, please look at me. You are okay. I'm not—You can look at me. I can't see anything anyway but these tears make it even worse."

Minho chuckles halfheartedly. He reaches forward and touches Jisung's fingers. "Stop crying, Jisung-ah. It makes me sad," he says, finally raising his head to look Jisung in the eyes.

"I can't. Sorry," Jisung replies with a half sob half chuckle. "But I'll try to help you bring them back, okay? And I need you for that. I need you to cook for me because I am not going to handle a knife or anything with fire!"

Minho laughs full on now. He visibly softens. "You make a good point. I— It was a foolish idea of me… But I'm glad I'm needed. I think I can help you with your hands, too. Come with me."

Jisung hums and stands up on shaky legs. Minho holds his arm and follows. Jisung feels a bit dizzy, but Minho keeps him steady. "Okay, you know what? Sit down, I'll get some bandages, all right?"

"Thanks, hyung," he croaks out, his throat once again closing up as he sits next to his dear friend's stone body. Minho returns swiftly, much to Jisung's relief.

The man kneels in front of him and gently treats the cuts on his hand. "Next time, I request you to not hurt yourself for me," he says, looking up at Jisung with a slight pout, if Jisung sees it correctly.

"I think I will decide for myself whom I hurt myself for, thank you. This is way less permanent that cutting your eyes," Jisung replies between sniffles. Minho cackles, which makes Jisung laugh, too. Minho’s laugh is still bright and so contagious.

"I like your answer." Minho pats Jisung's hand, then turns it around and checks the bandages. Jisung feels drawn to him and his warmth, not only because he needs the comfort without Chan by his side, but also because Minho's presence and way of handling him invites him to.

"You're kind, you know that? You should know that. I think that's so admirable, after ten years by yourself, having to restrict yourself…" Jisung reaches out to touch Minho’s cheek, hoping that he can assure him the way he's doing in return. His skin is warm to the touch. "I was wondering why you didn't send us away, and why you gave us a chance to trust you and help you, despite Chan hyung's hesitations."

Minho chuckles. He binds off the bandage and asks Jisung if he can move comfortably. It hurts to stretch his fingers but not because of the bandage.

"You know, it's actually because of you," Minho admits. Jisung makes a noise in surprise. Even if Chan guessed it was because of him as well, it is still a bit hard to grasp. "Why I invited you in, I mean."

"Why?" Jisung tilts his head. Minho fixes his head wrap before pointing or gesturing at Jisung.

"Your eyes," he begins. "You just jumped into my garden and looked at me. I'd never experienced that before. You didn't seem scared, either, which was new. Even though I still had to wear those stupid glasses, I didn't have to be afraid. I wanted to be selfish for once and make use of the opportunity to meet someone new."

"That's not selfish," Jisung states. He can't imagine what Minho has been through. It doesn't matter why he let them in, it matters that he did. "As you know, my eyes weren't always this bad. Last year, I would have still been able to see your face clearly. I wouldn't have come here in the first place if my vision was still good, though. But even with my vision mostly intact, people didn't want to look at me. Not directly."

"They wouldn't? Because of the blind eye?" Minho seats himself on the floor, facing Jisung.

"It wasn't completely blind yet but it's been weak for as long as I can remember. I do exercises to keep it under control but these days it's pretty useless. It's been crooked for quite a while, though, which is unpleasant to look at for others," he explains. Minho scoffs.

"It's really not," he retorts, quite harshly. "Not if they stop being a wuss about it."

"Well… it was a reason for them to look away," Jisung shrugs. By now it's harder to tell if someone's looking at him or not, but it can become obvious from the tone of their voice.

"Fuck them," Minho states, facing him head on. Jisung tries a smile, but his lips won't cooperate. "Sorry, I get annoyed about this. You don't deserve that. You deserve respect. You've treated me with respect and I appreciate it a lot. It's partly why I've been doing my best to treat you right and give Chan hyung a chance, too. In hindsight, I'm very glad for you to have given me a chance to get to know him. You, too. And I am lucky that I can look freely at your beautiful face."

Jisung gasps, a lump forming in his throat, again. "Hyung. I thought you wanted me not to cry," he whines, cheeks reddening. "And I can't see your face well enough to return the compliment."

"I'm not saying it to hear it back, Jisung-ah." Minho pats Jisung’s knee. "I'm relieved that you won't tell me meaningless words, so no worries."

Jisung softens, his heart pounding a bit slower due to Minho's soothing voice. He still misses Chan, though, and his friends too. He hasn't spoken to them since they got turned to stone, and it really hits him now how much he misses them.

"I'd…I'd like to go outside and ask for some advice from my friends," he says, fingers tapping Minho's hand. Minho hums, loosely holding on to his hand as he straightens himself.

"I'll come along unless you want some privacy," he replies, tugging Jisung along to the garden.

"You can come. I don't want to accidentally stand on your plants. Or worse, snails." Jisung shudders at the thought of a slimy creature under his slipper or his bare feet and holds Minho's arm to stay close. Minho laughs softly, amused as always.

They safely maneuver through the garden until they encounter the statues. Jisung approaches and only now he notices that their clothing hasn't changed and is still flowing in the wind. It feels soft against his arms as he wraps them into an embrace one by one.

"Hi guys. I hope you are holding on in there. I miss you. I don't think you can hear me, but we met Lee Minho and I think you would love to hear about him. From him, even," Jisung says, patting their shoulders. "I have some bad news, though…"

He swallows thickly before continuing. "I— We are looking for a way to turn you back, but Chan hyung can't help us anymore. I miss him already, too. He did his best for you and for me. He's been so worried. You'd…You know how much I love him, right? I still haven't told him that, foolish me."

Jisung grows quiet, regret seeping into his chest, heavy and dark. He should have protected Chan better.

"I think he loves you, too, Jisung-ah." It's Minho's voice, soft yet confident and clear. Jisung whimpers, bites the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from starting to bawl.

He squeezes Hyunjin tight, bumping into his bag in the process. He hears coins clinking, which startles him, but it also makes him realize that Seungmin, Hyunjin, or Changbin might have something with him that could inspire them.

They always carry some of their stolen stuff with them, and perhaps they've seen something in the forest or in the town while Jisung and Chan were busy talking to Jooin. It could help them come up with ideas.

"Hyung! Hyung, can you come here?" he exclaims, hands patting Hyunjin's bag to find the opening. Minho gasps behind him and walks over to him, judging by the crisping of the grass.

"What is it?" Minho asks him, an edge of urgency lining his tone.

"Can you tell me what's in their bags? There might be something we could use or find inspiration from. Hyunjinnie and Seungminnie always bring books or whatever they've nicked. They might have something rare or valuable," Jisung explains, a peek of hope blooming inside his chest again. Minho inhales sharply.

"That's a good idea! I'll take a look," he says, starting with Changbin's bag. He names the items out loud, food, dried food, bandages, a pouch of coins, and a pocket watch. Not much to go on, but Jisung hadn't expected a lot from his pouch. Next is Hyunjin, who promises a bit more.

Brushes, dried fruit, nuts, a novel about history, a knife, money, and another pocket watch. The book could be useful, but Jisung can't read in this state, so Minho would have to be in charge of deciding that.

Seungmin's bag is last. A knife—this is why Jisung lets Minho look through the bags—dried food, coins, ink, loose bound paper what looks like a diary, and a book. Minho goes quiet, the book in his hands.

"Was that it? Did he steal anything?" Jisung squints at the book but there's no hope in make out any of the words. Minho flips through the pages, the rustling of paper accompanying his hurried action.

"Where— This is about me. Where did he get this book? Jooin?" Minho sounds out of breath, and for good reason. Jisung perks up.

"Are you for real? It's not funny if this is a joke," he says. More rustling, heavy breathing and mumbling of words.

"I am not kidding. I am serious. Did he steal this from Jooin?" Minho replies, tearing his gaze away from the book for a second. Jisung racks his mind. Visiting Jooin seems like a lifetime ago. Jooin sent them away because they were sneaking around in his house, right? They might actually have taken a book about Minho. They would, if they'd see one.

"He must have. He was talking about wanting to know the story from your perspective, and I'm sure he didn't have that book with him when he left," Jisung answers, heart pounding in anticipation. If only they'd have found this earlier!

"The sneaky bandit. I like it," Minho chuckles, and Jisung’s heart stutters in a bittersweet manner. He thinks Seungmin and Hyunjin especially, but also Changbin, would love to meet Minho. "God. How did he even find this?"

"They went somewhere in his house while Chan hyung and I spoke to Jooin. Jooin wasn't happy about it, but they said they were admiring his collection before he kicked them out. He didn't suspect them for stealing," Jisung explains, recalling that day and Jooin's words. If it wasn't for them getting caught eventually, Jisung wouldn't have known what happened.

He leans closer to Minho, trying to make out any details on the pages. "Is it useful? What does it say?"

"Right. It's some sort of notebook, written to keep track of his findings while creating my curse," Minho replies. Jisung inhales sharply.

"What? That's amazing! This—Does it say how to reverse the curse? Or how to bring the stone turned people back? It must, mustn't it?" He can barely hold back his excitement. Maybe Seungmin and Hyunjin have unintentionally saved themselves with their curiosity and grabby fingers.

"I— I hope so," Minho admits, sounding almost hesitant, as if he doesn't want to believe that they might have found a way to lift his curse after ten years. "I think so, oh my goodness. Wait, yes—"

Hurried rustling of pages flipping accompany Minho's excited shaking. "—I really think this will help us. Jisung-ah you're incredible!" Minho exclaims, pulling Jisung into a sudden hug.

"M-Me? What did I do?" he stammers, but Minho's embrace is warm. It makes him melt against the man's firm body.

"You asked your comrades for advice! Your kindness made us find this book!" Minho says, pulling away much to Jisung's disappointment, but he pats Jisung’s cheeks happily, which is so cute Jisung almost melts again.

"Hyung…" Jisung mumbles, his neck heating up. He wants to hide his face, but Minho's arms are in the way. Also, there's no time to be shy when they've got a curse to lift. "Okay, let's do it. See? There's still hope. Your eyes are valuable, hyung. Can I help you somehow?"

"Let's go inside and read it. I'll read it to you." Minho takes Jisung’s hand, but Jisung waits.

"Uhm. I'll give one more greeting to my friends," he says, hoping that it won't discourage Minho from taking his hand again in a bit. He lets go and assures the three statues that he'll return soon to help them.

He feels around for their cheeks presses a kiss on the cold stone, just because he can and they can't complain about it now. Minho waits for him, and Jisung holds out his bandage free hand when he's done.

Minho intertwines their fingers and guides them back to the house. "We should eat something first," Jisung says, coming to a stop in the kitchen. His knees still feel weak. "Is that okay? I think that would be good."

"Are you sure you want to wait? After all of these troubles I've brought you?" Minho squeezes his non injured hand.

"Trouble you've brought me? It was my friend's fault for trespassing and Jooin's fault for cursing you. If anything, I'm glad that I have met you, Lee Minho. Knowing you and how you've lived with the cards you were dealt, and how my condition allowed me to look at you, I don't think going blind is that bad anymore," Jisung admits in a low voice. He'd love to get his friends back as soon as possible, but he doesn’t think he minds spending time with Minho alone at all.

The realization settles after it leaves his lips. Going blind wouldn't be that bad anymore, partly in thanks to Minho and his curse. Minho has shown him that he's still a beautiful person despite what happened to him. Jisung doesn’t think he wants to leave him anymore.

Minho is frozen, their hands loosely linked in the quiet kitchen. Jisung's heart speeds up, anxious about Minho's sudden silence. "Hyung?"

"Sorry. One second to make sure I don't start crying," Minho replies with a watery chuckle. Jisung snickers and holds Minho's hand tighter.

"It's okay if you do," he assures him. It would probably make Jisung cry if Minho would start sobbing, but it would give him an excuse to hug him for a while longer.

"No, I'd rather not." Minho is stubborn as he chuckles. "I should be happy that I've met people like you and Chan hyung who are willing to help me out, who can even see something positive in a situation like this, where all your friends have been turned into a lifeless statue."

"Not all of them. You're still here," Jisung corrects him. Minho sniffles and lets out a watery chuckle.

"Stop it," Minho protests weakly. Jisung shakes his head and invites Minho into a hug by spreading his arms. Minho exhales long and steps into Jisung’s embrace.

"Respectfully, hyung. No," he replies, resting his cheek on Minho's shoulder. Minho laughs softly, rubbing a hand along Jisung's back. "We're close enough to be friends, right? Let me hug you because I need it, too. You're still warm."

"Yes, of course. Of course. You're… You are very dear to me," Minho whispers, and even with Jisung's eyesight he can tell that Minho's ears have colored red. Jisung must have similarly pink cheeks by now, and for a brief moment, Jisung wonders what it would be like to kiss Minho.

That thought feels like emotionally cheating on Chan for some reason, even if he knows that he still loves Chan more than anything, so he distracts himself from the pounding of his heart by telling Minho he'd really like some food now.

The tension seeps away. At least, to Jisung it does. He takes a moment to see Chan while Minho prepares something for the two of them. He tries his best to keep it together until he gets some food in his stomach, but seeing Chan like this is difficult.

Food helps, and so does Minho's presence, even if it muddles Jisung's mind with the confusing urge to attach himself to Minho's side. Afterwards, Minho helps Jisung with some of Chan's soother. It's the last bit, but Minho knows a bit about how to mix a new batch.

Then, Minho reads Jooin's book to Jisung. It's a kind gesture, especially because Jisung doesn't even need to know the contents of the book. He cannot help much, after all. He can't discern ingredients, he can't measure them, he can barely mix, and this book contains quite the negative view of a young Minho, yet Minho feels comfortable enough to read it aloud to him.

Jooin wanted to humiliate Minho, and he was envious of his beauty, that much is clear. It sounds like he was a bitter man, to Jisung. He can't believe the town would think he's a hero. Jisung thought so, too, until he met Minho and heard his side of the story.

"How miserable," Jisung bemoans with a pout, stretching himself out over the blanket on the floor, where the two of them lie side by side. Minho chuckles and bumps their shoulders together before continuing to read the notes. At some point, they reach the point where he makes the finished draft of his curse, where Jooin notes that reversing the curse would require the same ingredients, administered by someone stupid enough to look the cursed man in the eyes.

"Wait. We can do that, right? Could I do it?" Jisung perks up, flinching when he accidentally puts pressure on the hand with the cut. Minho hums.

"Perhaps. We need flowers from the village, however. I don't have those here," Minho explains in a mumble, his eyes flicking towards Jisung's bandaged hand. "My cousin can retrieve them for me, he should come by any day now."

"That's good. Will reversing the curse be enough to turn my friends back?" Jisung asks, alternating his gaze between his injured hand and Minho's face. He grimaces at the blood staining the bandage, and quickly fixes his eyes on Minho again.

"I hope so, but if it's not enough, there's still more notes. He must have a simple way to turn back stone turned people, because he had to return a lot of them, those first days," Minho replies. He continues reading, now reciting Jooin's musings on how he's going to be the hero of the town if he prepares a cure for the people who have been turned to statues. The more Jisung hears, the more he dislikes that Gong Jooin man.

Jooin describes a simple yet efficient potion to reverse the effects of Minho's gaze on others, but Minho notes that they need the same flowers from the village as for the reversal. This means that they cannot do much tonight, but the sun is almost setting anyway.

Minho prepares dinner before it gets completely dark so Jisung can still see, and he lights some candles for better visibility. Jisung feels bittersweet. Chan is not here, but Minho is caring as always. "How are your eyes? Any pain? How about your hands?"

"Yes, my eyes hurt, but it's manageable," Jisung replies softly, sending Minho a small smile. "My hand is a bit sensitive still, but it was worth it."

Minho hums, and he holds out his hand so he can inspect the bandage around Jisung's palm. "I'll put on a fresh bandage. You can sleep on the floor with me if it's too much sleeping next to the statue. I'm sure Chan hyung won't mind if we take the blankets and pillows, though."

"Yes, I would like that. I will gather the pillows and blankets after I wish hyung good night," Jisung replies, still eating the last bits of food. He can't seem to get rid of the flush on his cheeks whenever Minho makes these casually sweet comments. He was weak for them with Chan and he's weak for them with Minho, too.

Minho is so different from Chan yet he's similar in his caring ways. He needs Chan's advice on this, so when he enters the bedroom to get the blankets, he sits on the bed first and gathers some courage to talk to the stone form of his friend, just like he did outside with Changbin, Seungmin, and Hyunjin.

"Hi, hyung. I miss you already. We… We have found a possible cure for Minho hyung, and for you. Already. I'm… I'm glad Seungminnie and Hyunjinnie were stupid enough to steal from Jooin. I need to look at Minho hyung, though, so I am not sure if I can do it, but I hope we can get you back soon. We need some ingredients from town, but perhaps Yongbok and Jeongin can help us," he rambles, resting his bandaged palm on Chan's chest.
"I wish you were here to help. I think Minho hyung would like that, too. Even if we didn't need you for the potion and moral support, it would be great if you could be here. I don't want to think I can't live without you, but I wouldn't want to. I'm so… I'm genuinely so glad Seungmin and Hyunjin stole that book. I don't know if I could take it if we'd have to search for a cure for months without you."

Jisung's heart clenches at the thought. He takes a deep breath to calm himself. He kisses Chan's cold and hard cheek. "I love you, hyung. I'm a coward and I can only say it like this, but I love you. So much. I hope you know that. I have come to grow very fond of Minho hyung, too. I hope you don't mind, because I think you might like him as well. He's been so kind despite being just as broken by the fact that he turned you to stone as I am. He's a sweet man, just like you. So loving."

Jisung pauses, his heart still making a fuss despite his efforts to contain it. He wants to hold Chan's hands, but they're cold and not positioned right. "He can come with us, when we're done, right? We won't leave him behind, will we? I don't want to. It would break my heart if we never see him again."

As expected, Chan doesn't answer. He can't. It's a shame, but there's nothing they can do right now. He needs to be patient. "Good night, hyung. See you soon."

Jisung returns to the living room with blankets and pillows. Minho has laid out the futon, and some blankets for them to lie on. "How is he doing?" Minho asks in a whisper, helping Jisung make the bed.

"Same as before. I think he's holding on so far," Jisung replies with a chuckle.

"And you? Would you like something to help you sleep?" Minho inquires, and Jisung wants to shake his head, but he changes his mind. His eyes are getting tired and his hand hurts more than he wishes it would. On top of that, he isn't sure if he can get his thoughts to quiet down tonight.

"Yes, please. If it's not a bother," Jisung whispers.

"If I'm suggesting it, it's never a problem. Let me fetch it for you," Minho says, standing up with a touch to Jisung's arm. He's back with a potion before Jisung can clear his throat and find the words to say thank you.

Minho first changes the bandage around Jisung's palm, ever so gently. His soft skin and touch makes Jisung feel nice, it makes him forget about his worries, just for a second.

He feels a bit pathetic when he asks Minho for aid with the sleeping potion, but he can't see well in the dark and he doesn't want to spill. Minho agrees as if it's obvious that he would, just like Chan always does. "The cats might walk over you at night, by the way. They shouldn't do it much and the sleeping potion should prevent you from waking up, but just so you know."

Minho gently holds Jisung's jaw and helps him sip the liquid. Jisung swallows, cheeks warm. "That's all right," he answers when he finishes drinking.

Minho takes a swig of the potion, too. Jisung can imagine he needs some as well. It's been a rough day, for both of them. Jisung just hopes that Minho doesn't feel too guilty for making a mistake.

Side by side, the two of them get under the covers and Jisung inches as close to Minho as he can get. They whisper each other good night, and soon enough, Jisung drifts to sleep.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ᨒᨒ ོ ᨒ↟ 𖠰

Minho wakes with his arm slung over Jisung's sleeping form. Jisung is loosely holding his hand with his uninjured one, softly snoring away. Soonie, Doongie and Dori are waking up near Minho's feet. Minho slowly sits up, careful not to jostle Jisung.

He takes a moment to stare at Jisung's rosy cheeks, his slightly parted lips, his curled up body, and his messy hair. Minho thinks he's beautiful, and however much he wants to get rid of his curse, he would hate to see Jisung and Chan go.

At first, he thought that his affection for Jisung came from loneliness, and from the fact that he simply hadn't met anyone open to talking to him in a long time, but now that he's used to his and Chan's presence, he is quite sure that he would have grown fond of them no matter what the circumstances would be.

In fact, he's pretty certain that he has grown more than fond of the two. When Chan opened up, he saw that the man's caring nature extended to everyone, even him. Yet he doesn't fret over him like he does for Jisung, thankfully. Seeing the two care for one another has honestly made Minho fall for them, but he fears that Jisung's and Chan's hearts are both taken by each other.

He cannot help his feelings when Jisung looks at him with his crooked eyes, yet Minho can tell that he's trying so hard to see as much of Minho as possible. And when he could share his potion making process with Chan, as well as cooking, he actually enjoyed it.

He does enjoy gardening and potion mixing, but sometimes it feels like a chore. With Chan, he could tell that once the man opened up, he was excited to share his knowledge with Minho. Minho could see his passion, not only for his friends, but also for potion making.

He was so unlike Jooin. The complete utter opposite of him: humble outwardly, but genuinely altruistic. Just like Jisung, who, despite losing his eyesight, kept reassuring Chan that they should give Minho a chance. He doesn't think he can overstate how much that has meant to him.

Minho gets pulled from his thoughts when Jisung stirs and wakes up, his hand slowly slipping from Minho's fingers. He blinks his eyes open, as if he's really looking at Minho. "Good morning, Jisung-ah," he says. "How are you feeling?"

"Morning, hyung," Jisung mumbles sleepily. "I was out like a light. How did you sleep?"

"Same thing," he replies, barely holding back a smile at Jisung's slow blinking as he stretches himself much like a cat. "Are you hungry? Hurt?"

"Not hungry yet, but my eyes feel really dry. Is there any soother left?" Jisung lifts his hands up to rub his eyes but changes his mind at the last second. The bandage catches Minho's eye. It still looks good, but perhaps he should change it before eating.

"Yes, there is a little bit left, but I can make a new batch if Chan hyung still has ingredients left," he assures him. Jisung grins.

"He has enough ingredients to last me months, hyung. That's how crazy he is," he replies. Minho laughs. He should have expected that. Chan did bring a lot of bags with him. "You can add some of your cleanser, too, hyung. I think I'll need it to look at you for the reversal."

"You sure?" Minho asks, because it will mean pain. Minho would rather not hurt Jisung more than needed, but Jisung hums.

"I can handle it," he assures him, blinking up at Minho. His blind eye strays a bit until Jisung focuses it. Minho tears his gaze away to retrieve the cleanser.

Minho is secretly happy to be able to take care of Jisung like this. And he feels a tad guilty about it, but he's glad that he doesn't need to wear his glasses around Jisung. It makes moving around more comfortable, and it means he can see clearer.

It means he can pretend that Jisung is really looking into his eyes when he touches the man's chin to make him look up so that he can administer the potions. Jisung's gaze always seems to stray towards him, after all.

"Your hands are so soft, hyung. How is that possible?" Jisung wonders out loud, his head tilting as if he wants to lean into Minho's touch. Minho's heart pounds almost pathetically for him.

"I don't know. Maybe that was part of the curse—soft hands yet no one who'd let me close enough to feel them," Minho guesses, as a joke. There was nothing about soft hands in Jooin's notes.

"He failed to consider Chan hyung and me! The fool," Jisung huffs, shaking his head in disapproval. He blinks rapidly, stray drops of soother rolling down his cheeks. Minho uses a pinky finger to remove them.

A knock on the door forces Minho to step away, but he is relieved to see that Jeongin and Yongbok have arrived, wearing their glasses, food and plants brought with them. They immediately notice something is up when Minho opens the door without his glasses this time, and they ask about his guests. Minho explains the situation and the events of the past days as he welcomes them inside.

"Oh dear. Do you need us to help out in any way? We can stay over if you need." Yongbok hugs him tightly, while Jeongin stashes away everything they've brought. Jisung timidly says hello to the two, eyes narrowed and still glassy from the potions.

"No need to stay over, Yongbok-ah. I only need the right ingredients. I can't go to town as you know, and Jisung can't go either. Not by himself, at least. I'm so close to finally being free—I just need these purple stems and flowers from town," he says, ruffling his cousin's hair.

"I— Of course I can get those for you. I wish I could celebrate a little, though, with you," Yongbok sighs, a look full of bittersweet disappointment on his face.

"Later. When there's no statues in and around my house anymore," Minho promises. He looks over at Jisung involuntarily. He needs to find something better that works for Jisung's eyes, too. He gave Chan his word.

When everything is handled, then he can celebrate. Then he can rest.

He writes a list of things he needs, and how much. He makes sure they have enough for a number of failed potions and attempts, too.

"We'll bring it to you tomorrow morning, hyung," Jeongin promises. Minho bows deeply in gratitude, making his cousin and his husband laugh. "No need for all of that. You know we're happy to help anytime."

"I am thankful, though. Thank you," he says, because he doesn't say it enough. Yongbok hugs him again, quite tightly. Minho can only laugh at his adorably affectionate cousin. He pats Yongbok's back and whispers, "Give Jisungie a hug, too. He'll like it."

Yongbok perks up and approaches Jisung without a hint of hesitation. Jeongin is amused by the sight, too, but Minho's heart positively melts when he sees Jisung's eyes light up before he hugs Yongbok.

Afterwards, Yongbok and Jeongin leave. In the meantime, Minho changes the bandage around Jisung's palm and then he reads the notes again, even if doing so still fills him with old feelings of frustration. Just the mention of Jooin's name is a sore spot, although not as much as it used to be.

Ten years have passed, and he has stopped dreaming about revenge. Now, he simply dreams of a different life, far away from his curse. Not too far that he won't be able to see Yongbok and Jeongin anymore, though. Although he could always try to convince them to come with them.

Jisung rests, his eyes closed. He assures Minho that he's fine, but that he's bored. Minho closes his book and suggests going outside for a walk. The weather is nice, and he could show Jisung the old temple uphill, or the creek.

"That's all right with me, but I'll have to cling to your arm unless you want to pick me up from the forest floor twenty times," Jisung says with a grin.

"Unless you want to eat leaves and dirt for dinner, I'll gladly let you cling to me along the way," Minho pats Jisung's arm and helps him up. It almost becomes familiar to have Jisung by his side, but something—someone—is missing.

Chan should be here, he should be telling Minho to be careful, and he should be here making them smile with his way of speaking to Jisung. He's not here, though, so he simply enjoys being with Jisung, letting him tell Minho about the times he has gone searching for insects with Chan.

He claims to have become pretty good at recognizing most common insect sounds, and tries to listen for moths and cicadas and even some types of birds. Minho is more versed in plants than animals, but he loves listening to Jisung speak.

Their arms are linked the whole way to the hill top. The sun is cooled by the breeze, and Minho guides Jisung to sit next to him on a fallen over trunk. Jisung does a very dangerous thing by leaning his head against Minho's shoulder and cuddling against him..

His heart gets caught in his throat, yet his body melts against the other man. "I come here often. At least three times a week, if the weather allows me," Minho begins. "I haven't been, lately, due to a case of strangers and statues in my house, but I've seen this view a million times. It changes every hour, every day. Every time I come up here, I'm met with a different landscape."

"What do you see right now?" Jisung asks. "I see green. Bright in the sun, dark in the shadows. I can tell that we're overlooking a wide valley, full of trees or maybe bushes."

"Exactly. The sun is especially bright today, so the shadow cast by the leaves and pines of the trees are extra sharp. There's a large bird circling above the valley, because there's a small clearing just beyond. You can only see it when the leaves have fallen and the trees are bare," Minho whispers. He has never shown this place to anyone, not even Yongbok.

"Remember this and tell Chan hyung about it, all right?" he requests. Jisung hums, leaning further against Minho, much to Minho's heart's delight. Yet it feels bittersweet, because he's filling a temporary void.

"I will, but we can show Chan hyung together later," Jisung replies, stubbornly hugging Minho's arm a little tighter. Minho's ears grow warm.

"We should. It will be different, then, but that's all right," he admits. "I like knowing that life is unpredictable. That nature always changes. It means something good can become unpleasant, but also something unpleasant can become nice again."

"Do you ever wish you could control it more? Or that things were different? I mean, the things that are unpleasant or unfair," Jisung asks in a soft voice. Minho wonders if he's asking for himself, for Minho, or for Chan.

"Of course I do. But wishing I wouldn't have been cursed isn't going to undo it. It'll only make me miserable—And I know. I'm speaking from experience," he answers, heart clenching when he thinks back on those lonely days, years ago. "Nature will change. We can try to fight it or mourn it, or we can let ourselves be carried along with the flow, and work on the parts we can influence."

"That's… That is quite beautiful, hyung. I… I think you are so admirable for learning to live with this horrible curse. Genuinely." Jisung's voice sounds so sincere, it almost makes Minho feel like there's a spark of hope for him. "Would you ever consider leaving here?"

"Yes," Minho replies in a heartbeat. He's been here for ages. It's time for a change. A clean slate. Maybe even a change of profession.

The day slips away like that, until they return home and Jisung tugs Minho along to the bedroom to tell Chan about today. Minho feels bittersweet about it. Bitter, seeing Chan frozen in the exact moment he met Minho's eyes, but sweet hearing Jisung's recollection of today.

He makes Minho describe the way up and the view, and makes him repeat what he told Jisung about change. Minho doubts if Chan can hear anything, but who knows. Talking to him does help Minho get over his guilt and regret a bit.

But he still doesn't feel great. It pains him to see Jisung quiet down as they finish speaking to Chan—he might be in pain, or he misses Chan. Perhaps it's both, so Minho decides to work on improving his cleanser. In the back of his mind, he wonders if the flowers from town might help. If they can cure his cursed eyes, who knows what else they can do.

He'd prefer to have Chan's help, but hopefully he'll have him back soon. The day ends in hushed conversations with Jisung next to him on the futon bed on the floor. Jisung isn't shy when it comes to shuffling closer to Minho, still feeding the bud of feelings growing within Minho.

The next day, Jisung's hand only needs a very light bandage to protect the closing wound, which means it's healing well. Early in the morning, Yongbok and Jeongin arrive while Minho and Jisung are having breakfast. They've brought bags upon bags of flowers and plants, much to Minho and Jisung's delight. The latter seems to be enjoying the smell, because when Minho looks away to greet his cousin and husband, and then glances over his shoulder, he sees Jisung sticking his nose between the greenery.

Yongbok and Jeongin can't stay long, as they need to open their shop and get to work, but Yongbok never leaves without a hug and he doesn't skip Jisung, either, much to Minho's delight. It never fails to make him warm inside, seeing the two hug.

But as Yongbok and Jeongin leave, Minho realizes that they now have everything to start working on the reversal of his curse. His heart races as he gathers the ingredients. It's go time, but there's still room to change plans, must things not go as planned.

He decides to talk to Jisung first, see what he thinks. "Jisung-ah? How are your eyes feeling? Should we try the mirror and see if we can reverse the curse or should we bring Chan hyung back, first?"

"I… I think we should try the mirror. I don't know if the minimal improvement is enough, but I would like to try," Jisung replies, blinking up at Minho with his round and slightly foggy eyes. "Although…what if we don't know whether it worked or not?"

"If the statues don't turn back, I'll wear my glasses and we will turn Chan hyung back. He'll do the reversal with me," Minho says. Jisung nods slowly, eyes on Minho's face. "If you can stir this for me—gently is okay—I'll get us the mirror."

Minho takes Jisung's hand and places his fingers on the stirring stick so he can retrieve his mirror. He picks it up, brings it over, and leans it against the table so they can sit on the floor and look at each other comfortably.

"Ready?" Jisung asks, as if he can hear Minho's heart slamming against his ribs. Minho hums, and Jisung holds out his non injured hand, spreading his fingers to invite Minho to take it. "Here, so I can know how close you are when I splash you. And for good luck."

Minho can't hold back a smile, linking their fingers. His heart won't seem to calm down, not with Jisung touching him, looking at him. But he needs to get going, and not get distracted by Jisung.

First, they need to meet eyes through the mirror.

Jisung splashes a drop onto Minho's face and then they lean closer. It looks like Jisung is meeting his gaze, but Minho can't tell if he is actually looking him in the eye. "Do you see my eyes?" he whispers, breath fogging up the surface of the mirror.

"I see them, but not clearly," Jisung says, eyelashes fluttering. His cheeks are pink from concentration, and Minho's ears feel warm, staring at him like this.

Jisung huffs, turns to face Minho with a squeeze of their hands and splashes him in the face again, a welcome refresher reminding Minho not to get lost in Jisung's eyes. Minho splutters and Jisung giggles.

Minho wipes his face with his free hand, pushing his headscarf out of the way a little. Jisung looks at it, then at Minho's face again. "Do you think your hair will grow back? Would you prefer that?"

"I don't miss my hair but I wouldn't be bad to have it back. Mostly because I prefer not to get sunburnt," he says, patting his own head wrap. He doesn't necessarily long for having hair again, because he's glad to not have to take care of it himself, but he has gotten sunburnt on his head before and it is not a pleasant experience.

Jisung hums, eyes seemingly roaming along Minho's features. Minho allows himself to get lost for a while, with the excuse in mind that he's letting the reversal sink in.

Their hands are still linked, and Minho wonders if Jisung notices. He wonders if Jisung can sense that he longs to kiss him, even without seeing his expression properly. He keeps telling himself that it's the loneliness that makes him feel this way, but he has never felt like this with any of the handful of friends Yongbok has brought over throughout the years, nor with Jeongin before the man became Yongbok's boyfriend and then husband.

Jisung and Chan feel different somehow. Even if Minho knows that their hearts are reserved for each other, he still can't shake his feelings.

"Should we go see Chan hyung?" he whispers before he can get too lost and accidentally kisses Jisung. Jisung twitches as if he's startled by Minho's words. He must have been lost in thoughts, too.

"Yes." Jisung squeezes Minho's fingers and stands up, tugging him with. He doesn't let go of Minho's hand, not even when they enter the bedroom and find Chan still gray and lifeless. Minho's heart sinks.

"It didn't work? Or did the reversal not work on the statues?" Minho wonders, disappointed but not quite surprised. Jisung hums lowly, his lips turned down into a scowl. Minho lets go of Jisung's hand to rests one on his shoulder. "I'll prepare the potion to turn him back as soon as possible."

"I'll… I'll stay here for a moment," Jisung replies, finding Minho's hand and softly caressing it. Minho swallows and makes a sound in acknowledgement before leaving the room.

Jisung's bad eyesight is a blessing and a bummer at the same time, but at the end of the day, Minho thinks of it as mostly lucky for him. He hopes that Jisung will keep thinking that way, too, and that he's not too disappointed by not being able to help.

And who knows—maybe he did help. Maybe the reversal of the curse is separate from the reversal of the statues. Minho doesn't want to risk it, though, so he grabs his glasses along the way and prepares the potion to get the statues back the way Jooin describes it.

In the back of his mind, he keeps replaying his memory of Jisung and Chan cuddled up in his bed. That day when he walked in on them without thinking, he started to fall without realizing. He sees intimacy quite often between his cousin and Jeongin, but this hit him differently.

It's a sight he longs to see again. For selfish reasons, but also for Jisung and Chan's sake. The selfish part in himself wants to feel something, and wants to imagine himself caring for them, being part of that intimacy, and the less selfish part wants Jisung and Chan to smile and be happy with each other.

With those intentions in mind, he prepares the liquid, mixes the ingredients in their proper ratio, and creates the potion that will hopefully kick off the start of the end of his miserable curse.

"I'm here. Not sure if I mixed it quite right but it should do the trick," Minho announces softly as he enters the bedroom. Jisung looks over his shoulder from where he's leaning on the bed, arms resting on Chan's chest. He straightens himself, hums and holds out his hand once again. Minho can't help but smile as he takes it. "Here we go."

He drips the potion onto Chan's stone face, and a small amount on his hands, too. He keeps dripping, until the solution is gone. Jisung's hand is sweaty as he squeezes Minho's one, rhythmically, eyes fixed on Chan's unmoving body.

Minho's heart bounces in his throat. He takes deep breaths, keeping a close eye on Chan's face, barely blinking. He mixed the potion correctly, right? He should have—

Minho gasps when Chan's color starts returning. A twitch in Chan's cheek proves that Minho isn't imagining the gray fading away. "Jisung-ah—" Minho begins, cut off by Chan coughing.

"Hyung!" Jisung exclaims, letting go of Minho's hand as he all but jumps further onto the bed, his whole body spread out over Chan's. Jisung buries his face into Chan's chest dragging his shirt back and forth.

"A—Jisung-ah," Chan says, sounding majorly out of breath. The man's arms wrap around Jisung's waist, which brings a smile to Minho's face. Chan turns to face Minho, who panics for a second until he remembers that he's wearing his glasses.

"Are you okay?" he asks, touching his glasses to make sure they're there. He has never experienced any statues coming back to life, so he has no idea what it's like. Chan nods, but he looks tired.

"I missed you so much, hyung. I'm so happy you're back," Jisung says, voice muffled by Chan's shirt. He's hugging Chan as if he's trying to strangle him, but Chan is holding him just as tightly.

"Don't exaggerate, Jisung-ah. I heard you telling me that Minho took great care of you," Chan replies with a low chuckle. Jisung gasps and pulls away, his cheeks visibly reddening.

"You—You heard everything we told you while you were a statue?" he stammers. Chan nods, looking a bit bashful. Minho wonders what Jisung has told him, other than the things Minho was present for. "About our walk, too? And the book Seungmin and Hyunjin stole?"

"Yes. It… It felt a bit like a dream. I couldn't see or feel anything but I could hear you. I remember it," Chan explains, still sounding out of breath. Jisung presses his lips into a thin line. "I feel like I've been sleeping for days, though, so I'm a bit… disoriented."

"I suppose that makes sense," Minho says, and he wants to ask if he can get him some food, but he bites his tongue when he sees the way Chan looks at Jisung—something bittersweet in his eyes—combined with Jisung shy stature.

"So you heard everything?" Jisung mumbles, barely audible. Minho's heart jumps when he realizes what Jisung might have said. He has heard him say the same thing to his friends, after all.

"Did you tell him that you love him?" Minho blurts. His own ears grow red when he realizes that maybe he should have kept his lips sealed, but then again, he is pretty sure that they love each other. What's the worst thing that could happen?

Chan's face grows redder than cherry stains, eyes wide as saucers. "H-How did you know? You weren't here, were you?" he stammers. Minho exhales in relief, he was right and hasn't ruined any chances for them to say it themselves.

"I wasn't, but he told your friends in the garden when I was present," he explains, heart pounding in anticipation. His hands are sweaty, as if he's the one waiting for an answer to his confession.

"Ah. Okay. Okay, I—" Chan keeps stammering, adam's apple bobbing as he swallows. Jisung gently shushes him, eyelashes fluttering.

"No need to answer now, hyung. I don't want to rush you, or distract us from our more important issues," he says, waving his hands as if he's brushing away his emotions just like that. He glances Minho's way. "Right? We need to get Minho hyung's curse reversed."

"It's up to you. If you two need a moment together, or just a while to recover, I understand," Minho assures the two. Chan's expression is a bit hesitant for some reason.

"So your curse is still in effect?" he asks, eyes flicking to Minho's eyes, or perhaps it's his glasses he's looking at.

"We're not sure. Whatever Jisungie and I tried, it didn't bring back the statues. The reversal requires someone to look at me, though. Through a mirror should be enough," Minho explains softly. "The safe option is to try again with your better eyesight."

"That makes sense. I just—I would like a moment to get used to being aware and awake," Chan says, gently rubbing Jisung's arms as if he's soothing himself with the gesture.

"Do you want me to stay and talk?" Jisung asks, his fingers walking up Chan's forearm towards his shoulders. Chan swallows again, gaze roaming around the room before landing on Jisung.

"Do you really love me, Jisung-ah? I mean in a manner that is different from what we've been so far?" he asks, and Minho's heart jumps. He should probably leave them alone to have this conversation.

Jisung's laughter beats him to speaking up and asking if he should give them some privacy. "Of course I do, hyung. How could I not?" he admits in a low voice, forehead coming to rest against Chan's.

Minho hates to interrupt, but he can't be selfish right now. He clears his throat. "I should give you two some privacy," he announces, hand already reaching for the door.

"It's okay," Jisung and Chan assure him simultaneously, both taking a moment to look at him. Minho stays put, even if he wonders why they're letting him stay.

"And it's okay if you don't feel the same way about me, hyung. I simply needed to tell you because I… I thought I might have lost you for a while, you know?" Jisung explains, a tremble in his voice. "I'd have regretted never telling you, despite having felt this way for a long while."

"I— I— Goodness. I didn't know. And I don't— I love you so much, Jisung-ah. I do. Genuinely," Chan assures him, just like Minho knew he would. Minho senses a but coming, though he isn't looking forward to it.

Jisung chuckles, then quiets down, splays out his hands on Chan's chest as he looks down at them. "…But?"

"But I heard you speak to Minho, when he had just turned me to stone. And I heard what you said about him after you told me about your feelings," Chan whispers. Minho's heart feels like it's about to burst out of his chest. He really shouldn't stay and listen to this. "I don't want to withhold you from anything."

"Hey, now. What do I have to do with anything?" Minho interrupts, because this is going too far. However much he wants to be with Jisung—or Chan, for that matter—he's not going to let himself stand in the way of something that has been growing between the two for years.

"You're a friend of us, now, and I trust you, Minho, so it would be only fair to keep you in mind, wouldn't it?" Chan replies, not a trace of irony found in his tone, even though his words don't make any sense to Minho.

"Well, first of all, if I need to be part of this conversation, you gotta make me part of it. Second of all, I cannot even find space in my mind to think about this before my curse is gone. I'm—I need to leave. Apologies. You— You take your time." Minho's heart almost bounces right off his tongue, eager to join Jisung and Chan on the bed, but he can't voice his feelings if he can't look them in the eyes without a barrier between.

Jisung and Chan look at him with something in their eyes, but he can't read it. He leaves the room, despite the way his heart tells him not to. "I'll see you in a while."

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ᨒᨒ ོ ᨒ↟ 𖠰

Chan watches Minho's back recede out of the room. Perhaps it wasn't a great idea to bring up Jisung's words about him with him in the room with them, but he's been a bit dazed ever since he was woken up.

Jisung's slight pout means he isn't happy about Minho leaving, either. "Sorry, Jisung-ah," Chan says, his blush persistent on his face. He still can't quite wrap his head around Jisung's confession, but his words about not wanting Minho to leave hit him like a boulder, especially after having heard how Jisung prevented Minho from hurting himself.

He told Minho that he needed him, and even in his stone-turned state, Chan could feel how sincere he was. Jisung didn't just say it to stop Minho from doing something horrible to his eyes, he said it because he meant it. Chan knows he did.

"Don't be sorry, Chan hyung," Jisung assures him, gently booping their noses together. "While I'm upset that you are underestimating your own value, you have a point about Minho hyung."

"Do you fancy him?" Chan asks. He doesn't think that he will be upset if does. "It's all right if you do. I trust him. And I think he'd good care of you. I don't want to take away the opportunity for you to explore your feelings for him."

"You take good care of me, too, hyung. Both of you do. I think these feelings can coexist," Jisung mumbles, cheeks red. Chan can't help but touch them, feel the warm skin with the back of his hands. It's so nice to be able to feel again.

He notices the bandage around Jisung's hand, and refocuses his attention there, lifting the hand. It's probably a cut from when Minho tried to hurt himself. "How's your hand doing?"

"Hyung… Why are you deflecting?" Jisung asks in a low voice. He intertwines their fingers and forces Chan's hand down. "My hand is okay. Minho hyung has been making sure it heals well."

Chan would love to kiss Jisung, he genuinely would, but he isn't ready. His heart isn't ready quite yet. The idea of Minho joining, somehow being part of a relationship between the two of them, brings butterflies to Chan's stomach, much like the effect Jisung still has on him now, but he's feeling to dazed, and too far from reality to consider it as a real possibility.

"I need some time," he admits apologetically. Jisung exhales, feels for Chan's jaw and presses a kiss on his cheek. It's gentle, it's soft, yet it's close to the corner of Chan's lips, as if he's promising to wait for him, ready when he is. Chan's heart longs for Jisung, it's asking Chan to seal his confession with a proper kiss right now, but Chan can't do it.

Instead, he cups Jisung's cheeks and places a long and firm kiss on his forehead, then another on his nose, then his chin, just shy of his lips. "Thank you for understanding. Let's go reverse a curse, all right?"

"Yes. If you're feeling okay." Jisung waits for Chan to hum in confirmation before climbing off of him. He reaches out to Chan to help him up from the bed. Chan's joints crack from disuse as he stands up. "Come on old man, Minho hyung must be waiting for us."

Chan laughs and follows Jisung to the living room, where the smell of freshly cut and grilled vegetables greets them. Minho looks up and smiles, unfortunately still from behind his glasses. Chan barely remembers the glimpse of his uncovered face he saw before the world turned dark and his body still, and he longs to see it for longer, so he can take in all of him at once.

"Hi. I thought we could all use some food before continuing the reversal," Minho says, his smile genuine, yet Chan wonders if it reaches his eyes. He must be nervous, or thrown off by Chan's vague comment about Jisung's words about Minho.

Before he can utter a word, however, his stomach growls pointedly. The sound makes Jisung and Minho laugh, so although it is a tad embarrassing, he's glad that it can dissolve any tension leftover from just now.

The three have a simple meal, and Chan asks about the book Seungmin and Hyunjin managed to steal, as well as the reversal. Minho and Jisung tell him what they found in Jooin's notes and how they think the reversal of the curse works.

Minho also tells him how he measured and mixed the potion he used for the reversal of the curse and for bringing back Chan from being a statue. "I think my mixing was a bit off because I had to use a whole bottle to get you back, and I don't think Jooin made dozens of bottles of this. We have enough ingredients, but I'd like to have some left to use for the potion for Jisungie."

Chan's heart stutters at Minho's words. It seems like Minho has genuinely come to care for Jisung, and like he wants to continue to care for him even now that Chan is back. That realization makes his stomach flip. When he heard Jisung talk to him, he didn't think he'd understand Jisung's feelings for Minho, nor the way he was so dreadful to leave the man after they've got their friends back, but he does.

He doesn't only understand, but he is pretty damn sure now that he feels the same way about Minho. "Yes, I'll help you make a new batch. If it works, we could try mixing the same flowers with your cleanser for Jisung in different ways to see if it does anything good."

"Could I help somehow?" Jisung inquires softly, raising his head a bit from where he was hunched over his plate.

"Yes. You can make sure that Chan and I don't accidentally look each other in the eye directly again. There's a little more risk of me turning him to stone than me turning you," Minho says with a chuckle. "You could help us hold up the mirror, in that case."

"Okay." A small grin appears on Jisung's face, which is enough to make Chan feel at ease. He helps Minho clean up before they get to measuring and mixing the potion for the reversal of the curse as well as mixing three doses of the potion that brought Chan back, just in case they still need it.

Minho then carries the mirror outside, while Chan guides Jisung through the garden towards the statues. Jisung keeps close to Chan, much to the latter's relief.

Minho holds the mirror until Jisung takes over, sitting on a log and resting the mirror between his legs, hands making sure it stays steady. Minho and Chan kneel in front of it. Chan searches for Minho's eyes in anticipation.

"Okay, I'll take off my glasses. Do you have the potion ready?" Minho asks, fingers already resting on the legs of the glasses. Chan's heart speeds up. He swallows thickly, hands becoming sweaty—not because he's anxious, but because he's eager to get going.

"I have," he confirms, twisting the bottle between his fingers. Minho chuckles, a tremble in his voice, as if he's nervous.

"Should we hold hands? Jisung and I did so. It might help," Minho suggests, still not taking off his glasses. He does hold out his hand for Chan to take, and Chan doesn't hesitate to accept the offer.

"Of course he did." He smiles thinking about Jisung and Minho's linked hands, and he appreciates Minho's soft skin against his own. He takes a deep breath and drips a couple of drops of the potion on Minho's nose—only looking at him through the mirror—and then on Minho's hands.

Minho grins and finally starts taking off his glasses. Chan's breath gets caught in his throat when Minho's eyes appear. He has seen them before, once closed, and once open, but only for a second. Now that he sees them in their full mirrored glory, Chan gets lost—bewitched, almost.

Minho's eyes are big, dark, lined with dark long lashes, framing his already beautiful face. Chan can imagine that his beauty could make an already jealous man angry as ever, but Chan can only stare in awe.

"Don't gape at me like that, Chan hyung," Minho chides him with a laugh, squeezing their hands to pull him back to reality. "You look foolish, like a fish out of water."

"Apologies—I just… You are gorgeous," he blurts out dumbly. Minho laughs again, and slaps Chan's shoulder.

"Yah!" Minho complains for some reason, averting his gaze, but Chan can't stop looking. Minho huffs and meets Chan's eyes again, blinking a couple of times.

"I wish I could see both of your expressions right now, your ears are red," Jisung comments with a snicker. If even Jisung can tell, it's bad, but Chan doesn't have time to be embarrassed, he needs to focus and help Minho reverse this curse.

He's been stupid enough to look Minho in the eyes directly and he'll gladly do it again, knowing he'll be able to come back to a Minho without a curse. Now there's still the safety of the mirror between them, so he leans close and takes in the sight of Minho's full face in the light of the sun filtering through the foliage surrounding the garden.

Minho leans closer as well, his eyes growing into crescents as he smiles. Chan swallows thickly, hoping that his heart will finally calm down.

"How much longer do you think we'll need?" Chan whispers, eyes fluttering as he tries to hold eye contact with Minho's intense gaze. Minho hums.

"I suppose this will do," he says, slowly straightening himself and moving away from the mirror. Chan follows and takes a deep breath before following, letting go of Minho's hand and moving behind him. He keeps looking in the mirror as he gently cups Minho's chin and tilts his head upwards just like he'd always do when giving Jisung his soother.

Minho blinks, keeps his eyes pointed strictly to the sky so he doesn't risk looking at Chan. "Here we go," Chan warns him in the same voice he does with Jisung.

"Good luck," Jisung whispers, a tiny smile on his face. Chan has to look down at Minho as he drips the potion onto and around his eyes.

Minho blinks rapidly and closes his eyes as Chan finishes administering the potion. Even with his eyes squeezed shut he looks beautiful, Chan thinks, but more important than how he looks is if his eyes are rid of the curse.

A stray tear or two or perhaps drops of the potion escape Minho's eyes, so Chan uses his thumb to dab his cheeks dry. Minho is biting his lower lip, and exhales shakily.

"Don't cry, Minho," Chan whispers. Jisung lets out a noise, too, he looks uneasy behind the mirror, fingers gripping the edges so tight his knuckles go white.

"I'm not crying. It's the potion," Minho retorts stubbornly. Chan can imagine how long he's been waiting for this, how he has never had someone to dry his tears whenever he's feeling discouraged or lonely. The thought makes Chan's chest feel tight.

"Hurry up so I can give Minho hyung a hug," Jisung demands softly, bouncing his legs a bit. Minho chuckles.

"Yeah, yeah. We're done, so… Did it work? Are your friends back?" Minho asks, slowly lowering his head and wiping his own cheeks, eyes still closed. He slowly blinks them open but keeps them down, away from Chan's face. He does look at Jisung briefly as he stands up, but Jisung doesn't seem to notice.

Instead, Jisung and Chan simultaneously glance over their shoulders at the statues, which are as still and gray as they were before. "They're not," Chan admits, his stomach sinking in disappointment. Did they not succeed?

"Maybe the effects are separate? Maybe we have to use the potions anyway," Jisung guesses, a hopeful yet nervous tremble to his breathing. Chan wonders how they can test it without risking someone turning to stone again.

Although, they've turned him back once, so they can probably do it again. Chan taps Minho's hand. "Let's test it out. Look at me, Minho-yah."

"Are you sure?" Minho asks with a chuckle, eyes roaming everywhere expect Chan's face. Chan hums.

"Absolutely. I don't mind getting turned back to stone. We'll try as many times as possible until we get it right, won't we? You know how to get me back now," he says, with as much confidence as he can. He does believe in this, so it's not hard to be sure of his words.

"Okay." Minho takes a deep breath and lets his eyes fall onto Chan, meeting his gaze. Chan's breath feels stolen once again but before he can get lost again, Minho yells all of a sudden, incomprehensible. Chan flinches and Jisung yelps.

"What's going on? What happened? Are you two okay? I—Why—?" Jisung rambles, sounding out of breath. Chan's heart pounds in his ears, worry heavy in his chest.

"Yes. Yes, sorry, I—I just— Chan hyung is still here. He's— It worked! I think it actually worked! I'm looking at him!" Minho exclaims, all but vibrating in place, a beautiful bright smile on his face.

"Really?! Hyung! Don't scare me like that!" Jisung complains, still holding up the mirror. Chan smiles involuntarily, relief washing over him. He is alive, he can see Minho's eyes clear as day, without a mirror in between. Minho is free. It must be such an incredible relief for him.

"Unless Chan has gone blind or immune somehow, I think we can say it worked," Minho continues, holding up a finger and making Chan follow it to test his sight.

"I can see you clearly, Minho. Still beautiful," he says, pushing Minho's hand down. Minho scoffs and Chan grins at the way Minho's ears grow red, despite his act. Now that he can see Minho's eyes, he can read his expressions better, even when Minho is not looking at him.

"Stop flirting and please help me with the mirror so I can give you a hug!" Jisung chides with a soft whine. Chan blushes and scrambles over to take the mirror from him and safely bring it back into the house.

When he returns, he sees Minho and Jisung caught in a warm embrace, swinging each other from side to side. Jisung notices him and waves him over. "Come on, hyung. We did it!"

Chan laughs and gladly joins the hug. Jisung presses a firm kiss on Minho's cheek and then Chan's cheek, too. "I'm proud of you guys."

"You can be proud of yourself, too, Jisung-ah," Chan says, rubbing his hand along Jisung's back. Minho loudly agrees with him.

"No doubt about it. You suggested asking your friends for advice and you asked me to look through their bags, which is how we found the book," Minho says, rubbing Jisung's back. He returns the kiss, placing one on Jisung's temple.

He then looks at Chan and grins. "Thanks for trusting me, Chan hyung. Now accept your celebratory prize." Chan bashfully turns his head so that Minho can peck his temple as well. Now Chan feels like he can't stay behind, so he kisses Jisung and Minho's forehead as well.

He'd love to kiss them on their lips, but he won't bring that up now and threaten to dampen the mood. "Let's bring back your friends, now," Minho says, stepping out of the embrace and clapping his hands together.

Chan feels guilty for being a bit disappointed about getting their friends back so soon and not taking time to celebrate with the three of them, but he quickly shakes those thoughts away. He misses Seungmin, Hyunjin, and Changbin more than anything, misses their bickering and jokes and hugs, and he would like to have them back as soon as possible.

He knows that they'd absolutely go wild hearing their story of how they've spent the weeks with Minho and actually might have managed to reverse his curse now.

Chan and Minho retrieve the potions and work together to bring back Changbin, Hyunjin, and Seungmin, one by one. Jisung makes sure that they all get a hug, and a long tight one at that.

Chan follows suit, even when the three are talking their ears off with questions and comments. They've heard things here and there while being a statue, but they haven't been able to place anything in context and thus they demand to hear the whole story from the beginning.

"You guys can tell them, I'll use the huge amounts of food we got from Yongbok to make us a meal," Minho says, but Hyunjin immediately starts protesting.

"Nuh nuh nuh, we came all the way here and were turned to stone for weeks to meet you and hear your side of the story! Our skills got you the book you needed, we want to hear from you, too, Lee Minho-ssi," he demands, holding up his hand in objection.

"Precisely. You can make Chan hyung cook," Seungmin adds, always backing up his fellow thief. Jisung laughs and so does Changbin, as expected. Minho hums in thought.

"I suppose he knows his way around my kitchen by now," he says, sending a grin Chan's way. Chan will gladly prepare food while listening to the others talk, so he does exactly that.

Minho and Jisung tell Changbin, Hyunjin, and Seungmin everything from the moment they turned to stone to the moment they were turned back, only leaving out a couple of details about the confession Jisung made as well as their conversation surrounding it.

Seungmin, Hyunjin, and Changbin ask about a thousand and one questions, and Minho becomes slightly impatient answering them, but only in a friendly teasing manner.

"I wish I could have witnessed Chan hyung's acceptance of you, Minho-ssi, despite us being turned to stone and all," Hyunjin bemoans dramatically. Chan snickers. He thinks he wouldn't have heard the end of it if Seungmin and Hyunjin were there to see everything. "Oh and what about the—"

Hyunjin snaps his lips shut all of a sudden and turns to Jisung, tapping the man on his shoulder. He leans down whisper something in his ear. Jisung's eyes widen and he whispers something in return.

"What?! You two are fucking unbelievable—" Hyunjin hisses, not nearly low enough to be missed by everyone else in the room. Jisung pulls him back down to whisper more words.

Chan's ears grow red as he makes brief eye contact with Minho. Hyunjin must be asking about whatever Jisung said that made Minho aware of how the younger feels for Chan. He trusts Jisung to tell Hyunjin something that will satisfy him for now.

"Okay, so what about going forward? Minho-ssi is now not cursed but Jisungie's eyes are not quite where we'd like them to be, are they?" Seungmin asks. "It's getting closer to sunset and although Hyunjin and I can defend ourselves, we'd like to travel in the light if we are able to."

"Right. I am afraid that I do not have enough space in my house for the six of us, although we could try to make it work for tonight. I wouldn't want to send you all away so soon," Minho says with a tight smile. Chan's heart clenches. "I promised to help Jisung with his eyes, though. I cannot let you leave without upholding my end of the deal."

"If our help is not strictly needed, we can find a place to stay in town until we all go back," Changbin suggests, looking between the rest of the group with raised eyebrows.

"Sure. Sounds like a plan," Seungmin says with a shrug. He glances at Jooin's notes. "Also that book…I suppose it belongs to you, more than to us, its finders."

"Thank you. And, speaking of that absolute moron, you three should stay away from him and preferably not utter a word about me," Minho warns them, waving his hand around. "My advice to you, is to ask around for Lee Yongbok and Yang Jeongin, they'll help you with anything you need, and they might even welcome you into their house if you tell them what happened today."

"Your cousin! We'd be honored to meet him," Hyunjin says with a grin that looks suspiciously mischievous. Chan clears his throat sternly.

"No stealing. Absolutely none. Also no eliciting others to steal. Teaching is all right but teach them right," he warns them with a pointed look. Seungmin rolls his eyes.

"You're no fun, old man. We'll behave. We don't steal from respected people and people who need what they have," he says, waving Chan off. Minho only laughs at him, so thankfully he doesn't seem to be afraid of them misbehaving.

At the end of the night, Chan ends up in bed with Jisung again, with Minho on the floor in his kitchen, and Changbin, Hyunjin, and Seungmin sharing the futons in the living room.

He has only been back for a few hours, but he has missed Jisung's warmth. "I knew you'd do fine without me, Jisung-ah, but I'm glad Minho took good care of you."

"I might be able to survive without you but that doesn't mean I like it. Minho hyung is just as sweet as you are, but please don't think you are allowed to leave me again," Jisung complains as he's snuggling further into Chan's arms. His eyes are closed, and Chan just hopes that it means that is tired, instead of in pain.

"I wouldn't dare. You're too precious to me," he admits under his breath. He runs a hand through Jisung's hair, just to feel that he's alive and well. "And Minho is, too. I think we should talk to him about taking him back home with us."

Jisung sits up and opens his eyes. "Really? You think so, too?" Chan hums, heart speeding up. Jisung exhales and lies down again, cheek pressed against Chan's chest. "He told me that he'd leave this place in a heartbeat, so I don't think we'll need to do much convincing."

"I hope so. And I hope we can help you the way we helped him," Chan whispers, fingers playing with the hairs on the back of Jisung's neck.

"Unfortunately my condition isn't a curse we can cure. I would like to have perfect vision, but I'd be happy just improving it a little, too," Jisung admits under his breath. "If I could be able to see your expression, that would be lovely."

Chan hums and hugs Jisung a bit tighter. At the very least, they'll be able to keep his eyesight from declining at the cost of him being in pain a bit more often, but Chan hopes that they'll find something better, or at least something less painful.

He falls asleep with Jisung in his arms, and wakes up the same way. His heart pounds and he can't help but think about Jisung's confession. Jisung loves him, he loves him the way Chan loves him, even.

It's both hard to internalize as well as easy and natural somehow. Sleeping in one another's arms is nothing out of the ordinary, nor is talking about anything that bothers them.

Yet Chan still feels hesitant. He wants to protect Jisung more than anything, and he wants him to be happy, but wrapping his head around Jisung wanting him is difficult, although accepting and letting him be someone else's lover is not easy, either.

Either way, he delays any decisions or initiatives with the excuse of focusing on Jisung's eyesight and catching up with their friends before sending them off for a while.

"Hyung," Hyunjin whispers after breakfast, tapping Chan on his shoulder. His gaze is serious, which either means that Hyunjin is dying, that he read a heart wrenching book, or that Chan has done something very, very wrong. "Jisungie told you, right? About his feelings?"

Chan swallows thickly. "He did," he admits softly. He knows that whatever he says, Hyunjin will not be happy. He must have known how Jisung felt, and Chan has slipped a glimpse into his heart to him pretty often as well.

"Pray tell me why you're not kissing him silly? After all that longing for each other but being afraid to cross a line? You are such a fool! The line is gone, don't you realize that?" Hyunjin hisses, pressing a finger into Chan's forehead. "Don't you know that he won't make the first move? Not because he doesn't want to, but because he can't see how you're reacting. He can't read your face."

"I… I know that. I need to talk to him one more time, though. I just have this feeling that Jisung has grown quite fond of Minho, as well as the other way around. And I do trust him to treat Jisung well," he says, lowering his voice to make sure no one else hears. Hyunjin's eyes widen eyebrows rising.

"Oh. The fact that you of all people can admit that, makes me feel like you have grown fond of Minho-ssi, too. You wouldn't say this of just anyone," he says, inspecting Chan's expression. He can't deny that Hyunjin speaks anything but the truth. "Just promise me that you won't write yourself out of the possibilities, all right, hyung? Don't go deciding for others what they want or need. You should have this conversation with the three of you, since it concerns all of you."

"I suppose I should listen to you, as the romance expert," Chan sighs, because although Hyunjin himself isn't particularly lucky in love, he is one of the most genuine people Chan knows, and he feels strongly. He cares for his friends more than anything, too, and he would only want what is best for them.

"Damn right, you should." Hyunjin grins in satisfaction, and he opens his mouth to say something else, but before he can, Seungmin calls him to get his belongings so that they can leave.

Jisung and Chan give each of their friends another hug for good measure so they can send them off with a peaceful heart. Chan is sad to see them go, but he understands that Minho can't house so many people for a long time. He's already doing Chan and Jisung a big favor by letting them stay.

"So, should we get started on a potion?" Minho suggests, holding up a petal of the flower they need.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ᨒᨒ ོ ᨒ↟ 𖠰

Jisung sighs. Minho and Chan are back to work while he can only watch and listen or let his mind wander. He thinks of being able to see Minho, wondering what he looks like for Chan say that he's so beautiful. He thinks of seeing Chan's expression before the man kisses him.

He remembers his dear friend's fond expression well, and he longs to see it again, in a new context. Even if he doesn't gain back any of his eyesight, he'd like some way of knowing that Chan wants him.

And the same holds for Minho, although Jisung has never seen his face properly. He can sort of tell by the way Minho breathes what he's feeling—whether he's annoyed or happy—but knowing if Minho wants to kiss him or is fond of him is different. It's difficult.

He can tell that Chan and Minho like one another quite much by now, however. They're joking around while mixing potions and theorizing about possible solutions to Jisung's eye problems. They've already tried the same potion that ended Minho's curse, just because they knew it was safe to use on eyes, but it had no noticeable effect.

Everything else gets put to the test by first putting a drop on their skin, and then very carefully dropping a tiny bit into Jisung's eye, just like Chan always does with new formulas. A bottle of soother and water stands ready to use in case of any irritation or pain caused by a tester potion.

Jisung has been through it a hundred times, but usually he had something to do while waiting for Chan. Now all he can do is walk around by himself, which is quite boring, hum to himself or make music with what he's got, which is pretty much only his hands, the floor, and and the glass bottles he's scared of knocking over or breaking.

"Are you making any progress?" he asks once the mumbling and giggling has subsided a bit. "I don't want to bother you, but I'm bored. Is there anything I can help with?"

"We're actually done with another test version, would you like to try it?" Chan asks, holding up a bottle and wiggling it a bit. Jisung exhales in relief and reaches out to sense Chan's distance before weakly slapping him.

"Don't ask foolish questions. Of course I would," he retorts. He's been waiting for something to do, even if it's just accepting a potion to test on his eyes. Ideally, this potion would work wonders and they can go back home, and Minho would come with them, so they'd have him close by, but Jisung already knows it's not going to be quite as good.

He sits down and lets Chan guide his face to look up so he can drip just a drop of the new solution into his eye. Minho stands behind him, hands on Jisung's shoulders, acting as a grounding force for him to let the liquid into his eyes.

He blinks to let it sink in, and he feels… not much. It does feel like his eye and his vision is becoming clearer. "How does it feel?" Minho asks him. "Should we try a little more?"

"Yes," Jisung agrees, so Chan drips a little more potion onto Jisung's blind eye as well as his better eye. It still feels okay. He blinks to get the excess potion out of his eyes, and as always, Chan's gentle fingers come up to softly dab them away.

His vision goes blurry at first, but then it seems to clear up. Chan and Minho are leaning over him, inspecting his face from up close. He can't quite see their eyes, but he can tell that they're only a couple centimeters away from his head.

A blush creeps up Jisung's neck, and he licks his lips nervously before lowering his gaze, looking straight ahead again instead of up at the ceiling. Chan and Minho move with him, still staring at him. Chan holds his hand up in front of him, and moves it back and forth to help Jisung test his vision.

"Any better?" he asks in a low voice. Jisung swallows and nods. He feels like he can see more detail, can see the outline of Chan's lips somewhat, and can tell that Minho has equally plump ones. It's not a particularly great time to be focusing on that aspect of their faces.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think it's helping," he says, still hesitant to actually accept that his eyesight might be improving for real this time. The new features he can discern on Minho's face are proof of it, however. It's not much, but he hadn't expected to suddenly gain perfect vision after a tester.

He blinks rapidly, and tries to see Minho's face a bit more clearly, but Minho moves left and right, making it hard for Jisung to focus. "Hyung, stop moving," Jisung he says with a chuckle, reaching out to grab Minho's shoulders but it feels too intimate to do so, so he retracts his arms again. "Let me see your face so I can tell how much I've improved."

Both Chan and Minho snicker at him, but Jisung is quite serious about this. He wants to see Minho. He leans closer, and for a second, it feels like the world spins around him. It's a weird sensation, and he can't tell if it's the potion working on his eyes and sense of balance, but he's too focused on trying to get a clearer view of Minho to really put any thought into it.

He imagines what Minho could look like. His face is more square than Chan's, and his lips are more of a diamond shape rather than an oval, if Jisung can tell correctly. His eyes are bigger, and Jisung feels slightly frustrated that he can't quite see them well enough to read Minho's expression.

"Jisung-ah…?" Minho's voice feels distant to Jisung, and all he can think about is looking into Minho's eyes, to get that same reaction from him as Chan did. He can feel Minho's body heat, briefly flicks his gaze to Minho's red ears before focusing on his eyes again. All he wants is to see what he's feeling.

Their noses brush, but Minho doesn't pull away. Jisung's heart pounds in his ears, yet he hears Minho's breath hitching. Jisung isn't sure if he's to blame or if it's Minho, but he feels a soft touch against his lips. He gasps, realizing that it's Minho's lips against his own.

Minho inhales sharply, pulls back at the same time as Chan lets out a yelp and Jisung jerks away, falling over as he loses his balance. His heart is going into overdrive—Minho just kissed him? Or did he do that while he was lost in the man's eyes? Or was it an accident?

What's even worse is that Chan is right there, next to them. Jisung's stomach sinks, yet his lips tingle as if they long to connect with Minho's again, properly this time.

"Wh—O—Okay. Okay, I got the message," Chan says with a chuckle. Jisung sits up and blinks, examining Chan's form. His shoulders are raised, ears red, yet his expression is still a blur. "I'll—Should I—?"

"No! No, that was— That was an accident. Right?" Minho stammers, his head turning so he's looking between Jisung and Chan. Jisung opens and closes his mouth a couple of times, unsure what to say. The last thing he wants is to make Chan think that he'd choose Minho over him, but on the other hand, he'd be lying if he'd say that even that simple brush of lips didn't make his stomach fill with butterflies.

"It was." That's not a lie. At least, Jisung didn't mean to get so lost that he didn't even notice them getting as close as they did. Chan hums slowly, but he keeps his distance from them.

"Are you sure? I can give you some space," he says, because of course he would. He's always so quick to write himself off for the sake of others. Jisung is at a loss for words, heart pounding in something akin to panic, but Minho stands up.

"No way, Chan hyung. Why would you just accept me swooping in when I know that you two love each other and have loved each other for way longer than you know me?" he argues. "That would be quite unfair of me, wouldn't it?"

"I'd say it would be unfair of me to claim Jisung's heart simply because I've known him for longer," Chan says, shaking his head, yet shrinking in on himself a bit. Jisung sighs, scowling as his two hyungs are trying to convince each other of the other being somehow more suited to Jisung. He sits up and clears his throat.

"Maybe instead of fighting amongst yourselves about who deserves me more you could ask me what I want?" he points out, which effectively shuts the other two up.

"I think it's quite clear that you'd want Chan hyung, isn't that right?" Minho says, and while he has a point, it's not the whole story. He almost doesn't dare to say it. He doesn't even know if Minho feels the same, or if he's even interested in him and Chan in the same way he is. And he doesn't know what Chan feels, either.

He can piece together bits from their interactions and words, but he can't get used to not being able to see their faces, their eyes, or the details of their body language.

"Jisung-ah. You know I'd be okay with anything, right? You can change your mind," Chan assures him, finally taking a step closer and touching Jisung, a gentle hand on his shoulder. "All I want for you is to be happy. And I know Minho could make you happy."

"I know. I know I can, I just— And I know I just said you need to ask me what I want but I don't— What about what you two want? What if— I don't know," Jisung stammers. He can't find the right words to express what he means and he feels a bit foolish. He stands up, shaking on his legs. He fears that he's being incredibly selfish when he says, "Why can't the two of you be together? Or all three of us—?"

He cuts himself off when the floor suddenly feels like it's tilting under him. He grabs his head, a wave of nausea crashing into him. "Jisung-ah?" Chan is still next to him and is quick to stabilize him. Another set of hands joins his on Jisung's back. "Woah. Is everything okay?"

"Uhm— Just a little dizzy. I think I stood up too quickly," he admits, squeezing his eyes shut when the spinning won't stop. With his eyes closed, the vertigo subsides, but not completely. His ears are pounding, and his tongue feels heavy.

"A little? Are you getting sick?" Chan worries, his hand touching Jisung's forehead. The touch is a welcome distraction, and a grounding coolness. "You're not feverish… Is it a side effect of the potion we made? Is it making you dizzy?"

Jisung shrugs. "I— I think so," he admits, because he has no idea what else it could be. He sometimes feels dizzy or nauseous when he's hungry, but never this much. Plus, they just had a meal an hour ago.

"Shit, so that means back to the drawing board, huh?" Minho sighs, his hand a welcome weight against Jisung's shoulders. Jisung shudders a little, his heart sinking, but Minho's—or Chan's—hands are steady on the sides of his head as they guide him down. "Let's sit you down."

"I think it's okay. I can deal with a little side effect, if it's for better eye sight," Jisung mumbles, blinking as he tries to find his bearings. He looks up and even though he can't see the details of their expressions, he can tell that they are hesitant.

"Let's… Let's keep this recipe in the back of our minds in case we can't find anything better, all right?" Chan says, his fingers grazing Jisung's chin and holding his head steady. "I can't imagine that this is a pleasant side effect."

"And what if you just decrease the dose? You gave me quite a lot, right?" Jisung suggests, because if he's honest, he just wants this to be over. The room is still spinning, but the nausea is subsiding and he has to admit that having Chan and Minho care for him is nice.

Chan inhales, then lets out a long exhale. "I… I suppose we could try," he mumbles. The spinning is stopping, so Jisung can look at Chan better now. He thinks he can see the way his eyebrows knit together now. "If it really does help your eyesight, it's your choice."

"I do. I want to go home," Jisung admits. "I—I mean, I like it here, with the three of us, but I don't like having to wait around, not being able to help you. Don't get me wrong, I think you two are so sweet for helping me and caring for me, but I'd like to be able to return the favor."

"You already did. You've cured me, Jisung-ah. For all we know, our attempt at reversing the curse already succeeded when you and I tried it together. I know it sucks to sit and wait, but you don't need to feel like you owe me or anything. And if you don't want my help or if you want to go, you can leave at any time," Minho assures him, gently patting Jisung's leg. Jisung pouts. He wishes that there was an easy choice to make. The last thing he wants is to leave Minho behind. After everything they've been through, it feels like their bond has become much akin the one between dear friends who have known each other for years.

"I won't leave if you're not coming with us," he states, reaching for Minho's hand and squeezing it. "You told me you'd leave here in a heartbeat, right? Chan hyung agrees. We don't want to leave you."

"Y-Yeah, of course I'd come with you. I couldn't go back to my hometown even if I wanted to. And you already know how much you two mean to me, so I don't have to repeat myself, right?" Minho chuckles softly, turning to face Chan with a tilt of his head. Jisung's heart stutters in longing. "Maybe I can start a little restaurant. Take what I've learned in gardening and cooking and spread the joy of eating together or something. Use my adorable cats to lure people in, and then keep them inside with food."

Chan laughs, and it's a sound that fills Jisung with relief. "That would be so nice. I think old man Park was thinking about passing his place along, but his daughter has other passions, so I reckon he'd be eager to have someone else more willing to take over."

"Sounds good. But let's take it one step at a time. We'll try to get a better version of this potion while Jisung tries it in small amounts? Until we're satisfied and gather everything to leave?" Minho suggests, still holding Jisung's hand. His other hand is on Chan's lap, a sight that makes Jisung's stomach flip.

"Yes," he agrees, swallowing the words to ask about their earlier conversation. He still feels guilty for being selfish, and he isn't sure if he messed up by talking about a possibility of the three of them being together. Yet, he can't imagine that Chan and Minho aren't fond of each other. Perhaps not in the same way Jisung feels for them, but he'd hate to have to choose between the two people that have become so precious to him.

He doesn't end up gathering the courage to speak up again, but his eyes feel clearer and he's not in pain by the time the sun sets. Eating is less embarrassing, although he's gotten used to being himself in front of Minho by now.

"Should we switch it up? All sleep here on the futon? It'll be cozy," Jisung suggests after washing up, just because he doesn't want to make Minho feel like a third wheel, especially not after what happened today. He still isn't sure how he let it happen—how he accidentally kissed Minho while Chan was right there.

It wasn't a proper kiss. It was just a brush of lips, yet Jisung can't stop thinking about it. He never imagined that he'd ever want anyone other than Chan, but he's living it now. And yet, he's still not over Chan, either. Knowing that Chan loves him in the same way he loves him makes it all the more difficult that they just won't take that step towards something more.

And now that brush of lips might have pushed them even further from being together. He hopes that this—sleeping in the same room together, all three of them—will mend some of that damage.

Thankfully, Chan and Minho agree to all sleep on the futons in the living room for now. That gives Jisung enough courage to take things one step further. He offers his two hyungs a good night kiss. He'll keep it chaste and he decides to only peck their cheeks, but he encourages them to return the favor.

"Jisung-ah, what's this all about?" Chan asks with a chuckle, but he complies and kisses Jisung's cheek anyway. Jisung shrugs, his skin warm where Chan's lips just touched.

"Nothing much," he says, before turning towards Minho with a coy smile. Minho cups his jaw and places a peck on the side of Jisung's head. "There, now you two can't fall behind, can you? You should wish each other a good night as well."

Minho cackles. "Okay, whatever you say," he says, and he beckons Chan closer, but Chan stays a bit frozen. Minho sighs and pulls him closer with more force before kissing his forehead. Then, he taps his cheek for Chan to reciprocate.

Chan's ears are red as he briefly kisses Minho's cheek. "There, happy now? The both of you?" he says, sighing in fake exasperation, yet Jisung can tell that he's not upset in the slightest. He grabs Jisung and hugs him tight. "Good night, you affectionate mouse."

"He does look like a mouse, doesn't he? And you look like a… a big affectionate dog," Minho says with a chuckle. Jisung gasps.

"Exactly! Like a non-scary wolf. A huggable cute one," he agrees, excitedly pointing a finger at Minho. Chan giggles from where he's already lying down. The sound makes Jisung want to just throw himself onto his friend, but he holds himself back. He shouldn't get this worked up before sleeping, or else his mind will run on forever. "I don't know what you look like, Minho hyung, but your personality is like a cat. A big cat."

"Hmmm, he does look a bit like one. Big sharp eyes and all," Chan says, his voice low and smooth, like the calming sound of the ocean, pulling Jisung in to listen. "Feisty when he wants, affectionate on his own terms."

"I learn from the best," Minho replies, laughing at himself as he crawls over to Soonie and brings him over to them, perching him in his lap. Even in the dark, and even when Minho's headscarf obscures part of his face, Jisung can feel the fondness radiating off of him.

The man's love for his cats is not even something Jisung thought about when he compared him to one, yet he can imagine that living alone with his cats has caused Minho to take on certain traits from them. Or perhaps he has always been cat-like, which could be why he gets along with them so well.

Jisung's heart pounds quickly as he tries to go to sleep, but having both Chan and Minho near him helps. He's in between them, which is nice and warm, yet it simultaneously fills him with fantasies he doesn't quite dare to dream yet, where he doesn't have to choose, and they can make things work with the three of them.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ᨒᨒ ོ ᨒ↟ 𖠰

Minho prides himself in being able to keep his focus quite well. He's not easily distracted, usually, since he's gotten used to living in the forest. He knows the sounds of his cats, the animals, the wind, the rain, the insects, you name it. The one thing he's not used to is having people in his house.

He's also not used to having hair anymore, but it's slowly growing back, he has noticed. He hasn't shown Jisung and Chan himself without his head wrap, yet, because it's only a faint prickle on his still quite bald head, but he thinks he's getting it back. His hair is not nearly as much on his mind as the two friends in his house, however.

It has been weeks by now, but relationships change and Minho's feelings for his two guests seem to grow stronger by the day. Being able to look Chan in the eyes without the occasional darkness of his glasses in the way is making it hard not to stare.

Jisung's improving vision, combined with the excuse of having to examine his irises and lenses, make Minho all the more aware of the beauty of Jisung's gaze, too. Jisung's main activity while Minho is working on his potion with Chan has also become watching them, which means Minho is more prone to being distracted by his two guests.

Chan laughs at just about everything Minho says, and Jisung's expressions remind Minho of how it felt to have his lips against Jisung's ones. He tries not to look at Jisung too much, because he still feels guilty for letting that happen.

Staring at Chan isn't much better though, because that, too, fills him with urges to kiss that man's stupidly adorable lips. Especially when Chan's dimples appear or he gets embarrassed about something—in those moments Minho finds it hard to control the urge to stare and to come closer.

At least Jisung's vision is actually improving. It is at the cost of episodes of dizziness, vertigo and nausea, but those moments of experiencing side effects are quite brief if they keep the dose low and make sure to spread out the dose over the day. Minho doesn't like the side effects, but Jisung wants to keep going, as the results are more important to him.

Still, he and Chan work on a better solution, at least until Jisung's eyesight has improved enough for him to be satisfied—or until the potion stops working. They've tried a lot, and they've managed to optimize the mixing a bit, but as Chan is talking about more of his ideas, and Minho finds himself getting lost staring at him.

He likes when Chan's ears grow red, and the longer he gazes, the redder they get. It makes Minho feel satisfied with himself, and with the effect he has on him. Plus, whenever Chan meets his eyes, it reminds Minho of how far they've come together, and of how he doesn't have to be afraid anymore.

He can look him in the eyes freely, and Chan will be able to read his gaze—he might not notice the desire behind it, or he might pretend to be oblivious because of Jisung, but he'll know that Minho is anything but disturbed by him. He'd understand it if Chan doesn't engage because of his feelings for Jisung, but now that Minho can try to understand his expressions better, too, he notices that his own emotions are very much mirrored in the older man's gaze.

"I knew it," Jisung mutters, soft enough to be barely audible, yet Minho hears it, and it pulls him out of his mind. He's looking their way, eyes surprisingly clear.

"Huh? Knew what?" Minho asks, startling Jisung, judging by the way the latter's eyes widen and his lips part slightly. That only makes Minho more interested. He's not unfamiliar with talking to himself, but he wonders what Jisung has been thinking about.

"I— I had the suspicion that you two were being slow because you keep staring at each other, and now that I can see well enough to see where you're looking, it's confirmed!" Jisung says, a slight pink dusting his cheeks. Minho presses his lips into a thin line—Busted.

"Not—Not that it's a bad thing. I understand. Chan hyung is quite handsome, Minho hyung is apparently the most beautiful person to have ever existed, and Minho hyung can finally really see you and all. I think it's nice that you two like each other," Jisung explains quickly, holding up his hands as if he might have offended either of them. Minho's heart jumps. Is Jisung implying something, here?

"What do you mean? Of course we're friendly, now," Minho says, eyes flicking between a red faced Chan and a bashful Jisung.

"I don't mean just friendly," Jisung mumbles, blinking as he sends them a look full of… something like hope? "What I mean is—We've been avoiding this subject. I think we should talk about it."

"We could, but I can say this in advance: There are only three outcomes I will accept," Minho begins, because he feels the same as Jisung—they shouldn't delay this conversation any longer—but he's been careful not too meddle too much in Jisung and Chan's life and relationship. He wants them to be happy, though, so he wants them to be together already.

"The first is that we'll do nothing, which would be a shame, but I can't force you two to do anything, so…" Minho begins, heart speeding despite him trying to keep a calm demeanor. He checks Chan and Jisung's expressions, which are still curious more than anything else. "That being said, the second outcome I'll accept is one that you two have probably been waiting for a long time. I can tell how much you two care for each other and now that you know how you feel for each other it's almost unfair that you haven't allowed yourselves to be together yet."

"It's not… It's not that simple," Chan mumbles, yet he looks regretful. Minho knows that he's all for sacrificing himself for Jisung, but sometimes it's not necessary. Sometimes, he should be selfish, for the sake of himself and others.

"Is it not? Because of me?" Minho points out, because it can be simple as one plus one is two. He does have one more scenario he'd accept, though. Chan is looking a bit guilty, and so is Jisung. He's a bit nervous about this last option, but if he won't say it, then they still won't get anywhere. "Then I'll tell you the last option I'll be all right with. If you two for some reason want me involved, then I'll be okay if we're all together. All three of us. So either you two or all three, you hear me? I won't accept any other way."

"Really?" Jisung perks up, his eyes widening. Minho's heart pounds in his ears, but Jisung seems open to the possibility, which is what Minho had hoped when he brought up Minho and Chan liking each other. "You'd be okay with that?"

"Yes, that's what I just said," he confirms, his ears warm. His tongue feels heavy in his mouth, and he knows he should be more explicit about his feelings for them, but with their gazes on him, it's hard. He hasn't done this in over ten years. "I mean, if you insist on involving me somehow."

Jisung looks at Chan, his round dark eyes intense as if they're staring right into his soul. Chan swallows, his adam's apple bobbing. "I… I think that would be the best outcome. I hadn't allowed myself to really considered it, yet, but… We could, right?"

"Yes! Yes—I was afraid I'd get stuck between you two and I'd have to choose, but we all care for each other, right?" Jisung says, a slight tremble in his voice. He takes a deep breath and faces them with a coy smile. "Now that I can see you two better—your expressions and all—I feel more confident asking us to try this together."

"All in favor of the less common yet most fun outcome? The three of us together?" Minho asks, raising his hand. Jisung follows quickly, as well as a sunny smile taking over his face. Chan chuckles, dimples appearing on his cheeks. He raises his hand as well.

"All in favor. I… I have to admit that I'm a bit nervous, but not because of a lack of enthusiasm or feelings. I truly am fond of both of you. Jisung, for a longer time, and my fondness of Minho has grown a lot in a short amount of time, but I wouldn't want to hurt you," Chan says, stepping forward and reaching out for their hands. Minho holds it, and he holds Jisung's one, too. "We'll take it one step at a time, right?"

"We will. I will warn you that I'm a bit rusty after ten years of only interacting with cats and my cousin," Minho replies with a laugh. Jisung and Chan reward him with a smile, and then Jisung adds onto it with a kiss on their cheek, perhaps a promise for what's to come next. Minho's heart speeds up in anticipation. He's ready to dive in head-first, but he should probably hold back and not kiss them right on their lips immediately.

He would be lying if he'd say that he wouldn't be okay with some deep kissing right this second, but he promised that they'd take it one step at a time. They're kind of still in the middle of helping Jisung with his eye condition, after all, and it would be nice to be out of this house when he finally gets to show Chan and Jisung how much he has come to want them.

And so they keep things chaste for now, but Minho is quite sure that he can read the promise and desire for more in their eyes. It's only a matter of who takes the first step now.

Jisung's eyes keep improving, although his blind eye lags behind. Jisung can't quite see depth, and his blind eye stays slightly crooked, but his other eye begins to clear up almost completely by the end of the week. Chan and Minho have improved the formula and the mixing to cause less vertigo after each dose, but they're also able to administer less and less, as the potion reaches its limit in what it can do to help Jisung's vision.

"Hyung, you really are gorgeous," Jisung says, innocently blinking as he stares at Minho from not quite as up close as he used to do. Minho can finally see his pupils well, and even if his eyes are a bit crooked, he still thinks that Jisung is beautiful. "I understand why Chan hyung reacted like that."

"You know that there are a thousand other ways to convey that your eyesight has improved, right?" Minho tells him, booping Jisung's nose to distract him from his red ears. Jisung shrugs.

"This is more fun. And I think it's a good way to tell you that I think you've held your part of the deal by now," he says, a grin bunching up his cheeks. He looks so adorably satisfied with himself, the combination of his sharp jaw, round eyes, and pouty lips handsome as ever. Minho wants to kiss him so bad.

"Stop doing that or else I might kiss you before Chan hyung does," he complains with a sigh, hitting Jisung's chest. Jisung's breath hitches and his cheeks become deeper in color, making it ever harder for Minho to keep it together.

He leans closer, just to taunt Jisung a little bit. It's mean and it's selfish because really he should wait and let Chan and Jisung kiss first—they've been waiting for it for so long—but Minho finds it hard to be patient when he knows that Jisung would like it. He almost kissed Chan while cooking last night and he almost kissed him again this morning when he intended to greet him in the morning but Chan's sleepy expression looked to adorable to resist.

He's ready, and he oh so hopes that the overthinking Chan and nervous Jisung are, too.

"Hyung…" Jisung mumbles, hands resting on Minho's shoulder. "I think—"

Jisung's sentence is cut off by a knock on the door and Chan's voice. "Seo Changbin!?" Jisung perks up and so does Minho. It's probably Yongbok and Jeongin, bringing food and company in the form of Hyunjin, Seungmin, and Changbin. Perhaps they can help him pack and say goodbye to this place as well.

Minho feels bittersweet. This place has become somewhat of a home for him during the past ten years, but on the other hand he's ready for a new chapter in his life, ready to turn the page and go somewhere else.

After he greets everyone and lets them inside, he subtly pulls Chan to the side. "You should really get it together and kiss Jisungie sometime soon, all right? I'm getting impatient," he whispers, watching a blush spread on Chan's neck as his breath hits the shell of his ears. Minho's heart stutters and he can barely hold back a grin in satisfaction.

"You—You don't have to wait for us," Chan says, turning around and tugging at his red earlobe. Minho shrugs. He briefly checks if anyone's watching them, but he sees Jisung animatedly telling the guests about how his eyesight has improved over the past couple of days, while his friends put it to the test by holding up fingers and such.

He turns back to Chan and fixes him with a serious expression. "And you don't have any damn reason to wait, either, do you? I want you two to have your moment first. You deserve as much," he says, pressing a finger onto Chan's chest. "Plus, I'd like to close my own chapter here before I make a move on you two, even if it's hard to hold back when you two keep being all sappy and irresistible."

Chan barks out a laugh. "Okay. Okay, you've made your point. I guess I've been waiting for the right time. When Jisung's not dizzy or in pain, you know? I'd like us all to feel good," he admits. Minho should have known Chan would think like that, but that proves his selflessness and romantic heart once again.

"That's very noble of you. I'm glad you do have the patience to be romantic," Minho tells him, his fingers walking up Chan's chest towards his chin, coaxing him to raise his head and look Minho in the eyes. He simply can't get enough of this. Chan hums.

"You're a romantic, too, Minho-yah. You might not see it, but you are," he whispers, eyes a little lidded as he gazes at Minho from up close. Minho should probably take a step back or else he'll fumble and lose control, but then again, maybe he's selfishly waiting for Chan to do so.

Jeongin is the one who pulls them out of their bubble first, calling out for Minho and asking him if he needs help with something. Minho sighs and slaps Chan's butt, eliciting a squeak from the elder, before the two of them join the rest.

"Yes, I'm moving out and leaving this place to start a restaurant in one town over," he decides. "So any help with moving the belongings I want to keep would be lovely." Yongbok gasps, eyes widening.

"Really? I'm so happy for you, hyung! I can't believe this… I knew the day would come and now it's finally here!" His cousin claps his hands and then pulls Minho into a long and tight hug. "I'm so proud of you, hyung. And I am so thankful for the rest of you that you've helped him. And that you've managed to find something for Jisung's eyes… You three have become some sort of miracle trio!"

"Hey hey hey, give some credits to us knowledgeable thieves who procured the book for them," Seungmin says with a serious look. Jisung laughs and slaps his arm, but Changbin speaks up, too.

"And also for me, who uhm… I motivated you by being turned to stone together with the thieves," he says, looking way too satisfied with himself, but he manages to make everyone laugh. "Hey. I can help with moving. I'm quite strong, so as long as I don't have to go near the cats."

"Don't worry, I'll keep my kitties away from you," Minho assures him, a bright grin on his face as he grabs Dori from the floor.

They continue talking about what's next while Minho gathers the belongings he wants to take with him. He gathers as much of his gardening supplies and seeds as he can. His cat food, his clothes, and his cooking supplies. He gifts his potion making books and glassware to Chan, who will be able to make better use of it than he will.

He gifts some of his other books to Seungmin and Hyunjin, who will have more fun reading them than he will. The vegetables which are ready to harvest in his garden he gives to his cousin and his husband, as well as permission to keep up the garden or take the plants if he wants. He leaves behind everything that he took with him from his hometown. He won't need it anymore, and he's ready for a fresh start. He can always come back and get anything he misses or realizes that he needs, anyway.

It's not like anyone will want this house, after all. He picked it because it's remote, and he'd rather have everyone in his home town think that he still lives here. That'll be better for everyone.

With the eight of them, it takes one long day to get everything to a small place owned by Changbin's family, which is vacant for most of the year and is located near the edge of town. He can stay there until he arranges something else. The house is small but it's enough for now. What matters more is that it's close to Chan and Jisung's places and that he can take care of his cats.

"Dang, the sun has already set, but I want us all to celebrate tomorrow, so I'm expecting you all. Okay? No need to prepare anything, but we have to be proud of what we've achieved, right? We reversed a whole curse and we helped Jisung in not going blind! Yongbok-ah, Jeongin-ah, you can stay over if you'd like. As a thank you for your hospitality," Changbin says, apparently still full of energy even after carrying most of Minho's belongings.

"Of course! I think the miracle three deserve a celebration," Yongbok agrees easily, as Minho had expected. Minho is usually not for getting much attention, but ten years without it makes one crave a little anyway.

"Okay. If you're all up for it," Chan says, clapping his hands together. He looks at Jisung and places a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "You're okay with that, too?"

"Yeah, of course, hyung. I can see way better now. This will allow me to show off a little," he replies with a grin. Minho can't help but mirror the smile. It's really hitting him now that he's no longer that cursed lonely man in the woods. Not only is he rid of his curse, but he has also found people who care for him, who accepted him as he was and still accept him now.

This night alone will be difficult. He's become so used to having Chan and Jisung by his side, but it will be worth it in the long run. They'll be able to be together without the need to help each other or the deal to force each other's hands. They'll be able to do whatever they want now.

He is finally, finally, free.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ᨒᨒ ོ ᨒ↟ 𖠰

Chan wakes up without Jisung lying on top of him. It's strange, and it's colder than usual. He should have offered Jisung to stay with him last night, but it felt wrong when he couldn't invite Minho as well. Minho had to get his belongings sorted, and Chan knows that he wouldn't have minded them sleeping together without him, but Chan wants him to know that he's part of this, and that he's not just an afterthought for them.

It's early in the morning when there's a knock at the door and Chan sleepily opens it to meet a sleepy puffy Jisung and a bright-eyed Minho right in front of him. "Good morning~ Apologies if I have awoken you from your slumber, but I thought that we could have a little walk around town to wake up, this morning. As a thank you, I can prepare breakfast for you."

"I bet Jisung immediately agreed after you mentioned breakfast," Chan says with a chuckle. He yawns and stretches himself out while Jisung mutters something along the lines of Minho simply being a good cook. "I'll come along, too. I could use some fresh air and company. We'll introduce you to some people—the ones that are awake at this hour, that is."

Minho chuckles and rolls his eyes. "Don't be dramatic. The sun is up. But… Thanks, hyung. If you want to rest before the celebration, I'd understand, too."

"Nah, I'd rather spend a little more time with you two," Chan admits. Now that there's no need to painstakingly study or mix potions to try and cure a curse or an eye disease, he can finally take his time to really listen and spend a quiet morning with the two.

It's not completely quiet as they show Minho around town and have him meet some of the prominent people in town, including old man Park who runs the restaurant, currently. Chan is happy to see all of the townspeople again after so many months, and although Minho is shy at first, there's no need for him to be afraid that he won't hold up just fine with everyone.

Jisung is less quiet than usual, too. It seems that he's gained some confidence together with with eyesight improving. Chan's heart is at ease, seeing the sight. It allows him to realize that they've succeeded, and that, despite the scare of having their friends turned to stone, they've gotten what they went out for—Jisung's eyesight improved in one of his eyes, good enough to live a lot better—and they've also gained a very precious friend, and even a lover.

Some of the townspeople are a bit more hesitant, seeing Minho, and he gets some questions about the scarf around his head as well as why he suddenly decided to move, but Minho is smooth in answering that he likes the look of the scarf and that he made the choice to move here after meeting Chan and Jisung.

Once their walk around town comes to a close, Minho prepares breakfast with what he took with him from his house in the woods. "Thanks for coming with me this morning. I had a nice time, but I also have something else I want to… show you, I suppose," Minho says as he serves the food. Chan and Jisung both hum with a mouth full of rice.

Minho snickers. "Don't be scared, but I'm gonna take off this thing," he says as he grabs the green scarf around his head. Chan's eyes widen as Minho carefully unties the beautifully wrapped scarf and reveals a smooth head, covered in stubble darker in color than Minho's skin tone. "Do you think everyone will survive if I show my hair like this? Or will they pass out seeing such short hair?"

"Why would anyone die seeing your head uncovered?" Jisung asks, his expression adorably genuine. Chan and Minho simultaneously burst out in giggles.

"I mean would anyone think I look like a properly cursed man haunting their dreams?" Minho asks then, widening his eyes comically as he bares his teeth, pulling an ugly face on purpose. Jisung flinches and Chan shudders a little, which seems to please Minho.

"Of course you look fine. Of course it's different, seeing you without the scarf, but the shape of your head is fine, so if you want to take it off, you could," Chan tells him honestly. He chuckles and briefly makes eye contact with Jisung, remembering that day Hyunjin was done with his long hair and took a shaving knife to cut it all off. "It's just like when Hyunjin cut off all his hair that one day, except even shorter."

"It does feel nice, you wanna feel it?" Minho bends his upper body and offers his head to Jisung and Chan to touch. Jisung snickers and reaches out to place his hand on Minho's skull, gently rubbing along the top of it.

"Oh, it's less coarse than I expected. Chan hyung, feel it!" Jisung says, happily continuing to rake his fingers along the tiny hairs on top of Minho's head. Chan joins him, feeling the gentle prickle of young sprouting hairs. It feels different than facial stubble, indeed more smooth. It's a nice sensation.

"Ah, now I understand why cats like their heads petted," Minho comments with a chuckle. Chan can't help but melt a little, proud of how Minho manages to turn something that must be a point of insecurity into something lighthearted. "I suppose it won't be the end of the world to show a little stubble."

"It won't. Although I think it's going to be hard to hold myself back from touching your head the entire day," Jisung comments, still rubbing Minho's head even as the man straightens himself. Minho laughs and wraps an arm around Jisung's waist.

"I suppose I'll have a rat hanging off my head, then," he teases, mirth sparkling in his eyes. Jisung gasps and whines exaggeratedly, only making Minho laugh harder, as well as Chan, who wheezes in delight.

They finish breakfast and not much else before Yongbok already stops by to tell them that they'll be ready to celebrate in a couple hours. Chan, Jisung, and Minho briefly part ways again to get dressed and to wash up nicely. Chan wants to look his best for tonight, because it's a special occasion, and he'd really like to kiss Jisung and Minho to celebrate.

He's been thinking it over and over, repeating Hyunjin and Minho's words in his mind, and he thinks that this celebration would be the right time to finally take the next step. He realizes that he could have—and perhaps should have—done it earlier, but the next best time is right now.

He has been preparing something special after all. It's a small thing, but he hopes that Minho and Jisung will appreciate the thought behind it. It has been a secret work in progress ever since they gave Jisung the last dose of his remedy, and he hadn't put much thought into it at first, simply planning to keep something as a reminder of their time at Minho's house, but now he has decided that he'll gift it to Minho and Jisung.

So he combs his hair, he makes sure that his curls are in place, he picks his best outfit and he even seeks out his sister to help him adjust the fit so that he looks proper from head to toe—at least as much as he can without buying new outfits.

Arriving at Changbin's house, he happens to run into Hyunjin, who has dressed up nicely as well, as expected. Hyunjin looks at him with a Cheshire smile. "Look at you, hyung. Handsome as ever. I am looking forward to the romance, tonight~" he teases.

"Don't stare at me too hard or I won't do it," Chan retorts, raising his eyebrows at his friend. Hyunjin rolls his eyes.

"Fine, fine. You won't notice a thing. You know I'm the master of subtlety," he assures him with a wave of his hand. He then nods his head and opens the door for Chan, the latter of which is unsure if he broke in or not. Either way, Changbin won't mind, as long as Hyunjin doesn't break anything.

The rest have arrived by now, looking quite dapper. Jisung and Minho have dressed up as well, looking nothing short of gorgeous, in Chan's humble opinion. Minho doesn't look anything like a monster without his scarf—to Chan, he looks free, and he looks beautiful.

The scarf wasn't restrictive to Minho, as far as Chan knows, it seemed like nothing more than a necessity, or perhaps even a nice way to dress up—his wrapping was quite pretty, after all—yet the change in appearance fits the change in his life, Chan thinks. The same holds for Jisung, who has pushed his hair out of his face, his eyes on display without anything in the way.

Chan finds himself staring for a while until Jisung spots him first. As soon as Jisung's gaze lands on him, Minho follows. Jisung gasps loudly and he grabs Minho's hand to tug him along towards Chan. "Hyung, you look other-worldly beautiful! It's—It's been so long since you wore this!" Jisung says, grabbing Chan's hands.

"Same to you," Chan replies with a chuckle, his neck heating up. "You look great, too, Minho-yah. This way your eyes stand out even more. It's nice. And I— I have something to give you, but let's eat what Yongbok prepared for us, first."

"Hyung, that's unfair. I didn't have any time to get you anything," Jisung complains, his bottom lip sticking out in a pout. Chan can't help but smile and gently pat Jisung's cheek.

"You don't need to give me anything. You know that," he says, eliciting a sigh and an eye roll from the younger. Chan giggles and hugs him tightly, but Minho clears his throat.

"I agree with him, by the way. You didn't give us any time to get you something," he says, shaking his head in disapproval. He meets Chan's eyes and the corners of his lips are twitching, as if he's holding back a smile. He pokes Chan's forehead and clicks his tongue. "Think before you do something kind next time!"

Chan can't hold back a snort, but before he can respond, Yongbok already calls everyone over for food. It seems they've gone all out with preparing dishes for all eight of them, and Chan wonders how they've managed this all in a day.

"We've all gathered here to celebrate the reversal of a curse, the remedy of an eye condition, and the start of a new chapter! Before we eat… Chan hyung, Minho hyung, Jisung-ah, since you've done most of the work, do you want to say anything?" Yongbok smiles brightly, looking between the three of them. Hyunjin, Changbin, and Seungmin immediately start chanting for a speech from them.

"Okay. Okay. I've said it already, but I'll say it again," Minho begins, holding up his hand. He glances at Chan with a big grin. "Thank you to everyone here. All of you, but especially Jisungie and Chan hyung. I want to thank them for giving me a chance, despite me turning their friends into statues. Jisung rolled into my garden and he would have been turned to stone as well if it wasn't for his eye condition. Not to say that the eye condition is a good thing, but it is honestly an important reason why I asked you for help, because I knew I wouldn't be able to turn Jisung to stone. It gave me hope."

Minho pauses to smile at Jisung, the latter of which looks quite proud of himself. "He gave me a chance and convinced Chan hyung to do the same, and I'm so grateful for that. I think meeting these two has been the luckiest day in my life. The winning combination of a kind man immune to my cursed eyes and someone smart and protective enough to help me with those gosh darn potions."

Chan's heart makes a whole fuss about Minho's words, especially when Hyunjin and Yongbok start cheering for him. Seungmin calls out for Chan and Jisung to respond, a wide smirk on his face. Chan feels his neck heat up, but he does think Minho deserve a word in return.

"As you said, I wasn't fond of you at first. It wasn't necessarily you, but rather it was your curse I was worried about, and I was stuck in a mindset that you must have done something horrible to get cursed. More than anything, I wanted to protect my friends from harm. Once I saw that you didn't mean harm—the opposite, in fact—and that you were done so, so wrong with this curse, I opened my eyes and could see that all you were doing is trying to get help to reverse your curse. You were nothing but kind and caring," Chan says, looking directly at Minho, whose ears color a red visible even in the light of the sun setting. He pulls a bashful face, which makes Chan only fonder of him.

"But it's all thanks to Jisung that I gave you a chance. He saw the good in you, and I'm very grateful that he didn't give up, and that he allowed us to meet," he continues, finishing his speech with a little nod to Jisung. Jisung smiles sheepishly, and he subtly reaches out for Chan's hand to squeeze it.

Chan's stomach fills with butterflies. He has known Jisung for almost his whole life, yet he still manages to make Chan feel like he's falling for the first time, while Minho—who has only come into his life a couple of months ago—makes him feel like he's been harboring feelings for him for a long time.

"Jisung-ah, now you!" Changbin exclaims, clapping his hands for Chan. Jisung scrunches his nose and shyly glances at Minho and Chan. "Come on!"

"Okay! Okay. I don't know if I can say much more, but I can say that despite my eyesight declining a lot and the threat of becoming blind was quite high, the upside of that was that it made me able to look at Minho hyung without turning to stone. And I could relate to him, that way. Shared misery halves it, is what they say, right?" Jisung says, grinning at Minho, who is simply staring at Jisung with nothing but love in his eyes. The gaze is so sweet it makes Chan feel like he's melting.
Jisung then faces Chan, with a similar gaze. Their fingers are still touching. "But if it wasn't for Chan hyung, I couldn't have helped him. He made sure that everyone ended up safe and well. He made sure that we wouldn't hurt ourselves, and that I could be positive. If I could do it again, I'd let Seungmin and Hyunjin jump into Minho hyung's garden in a heartbeat."

"Hey!" Seungmin exclaims, laughing. "Well, I can't say I wouldn't do it again, either."

The speeches end and it's finally time to eat. Chan is not even that hungry. He thinks the butterflies in his stomach are filling up the space too much. Still, he eats and chats with the rest. It's such a relief to spend some time like this with the rest, and to get to know Jeongin and Yongbok properly, without anything to worry about. He has missed this.

He thinks he laughs more tonight than he has done the first weeks at Minho's house combined, and he sees Minho do the same. His bright, lovely, high-pitched laughter is like music to Chan's ears, and if the way Jisung stares at Minho is anything to go by, he feels the same.

Once he's done eating, and he notices that Jisung and Minho are, too, he approaches them, pulling them to a quieter part of the room.

Jisung's eyes are wide and curious, his cheeks flushed from just having had a hearty meal. Minho seems to be holding back excitement, perhaps because he senses what Chan is planning. He sits down next to Jisung, and with Minho on the other side of Jisung.

"I told you I wanted to give you something, didn't I?" he begins, reaching into the pocket on the inside of his jacket. He pulls out two little books, bound with leather. Each one has a name written on the cover. One for Minho, one for Jisung.

He holds them out for Jisung and Minho to take, which they do with curiosity twinkling in their gazes. "There's something inside. You know the flowers we used to reverse the curse and help your eyes?" Chan explains, motioning for them to open the notebooks. Minho does so and Jisung follows, revealing the dried flowers. "Once we were done, I thought I'd keep a couple just in case, but also as a keepsake. And then I realized I could gift them to you, too. I wasn't sure if it was too much of a reminder of your home, though, Minho-yah."

"No. No, these flowers involve happy memories. Don't worry. Thank you for the gift, hyung," Minho assures him, sending Chan that same look he sent Jisung earlier tonight. "Even if we couldn't prepare anything for you in return."

"And what is this writing? I can't read it in the candle light," Jisung asks, looking over at Minho's book to see if he has the same. Chan takes a deep breath, his face warm as Jisung and Minho look at him with such admiration in their eyes.

"It's just some of my thoughts. You can read it whenever you want. It doesn't have to be now. It doesn't have to be ever, if you're not interested. It's a bit… sappy, after all," he explains with a chuckle. Jisung's gaze is touched, while Minho looks at him with a bit more of a pressing expression. Perhaps now's the time to be brave.

He reaches out for Jisung's hand and intertwines their fingers. "There is something else I'd like to say," he whispers. Jisung's breath hitches—he must know what's coming, because Chan has been delaying it for too long. "I know you told me that you loved me, thinking I wouldn't hear, but you still said it to me. I'm grateful for that, and I've been leaving you waiting without a great reason."
He takes another deep breath, willing himself not to get too lost in Jisung's shining eyes yet. "I have loved you for so long, after all. I've always been afraid of messing up, and of getting in your way, but you've been so patient with me, and I'm glad that we've decided to try this with Minho as well. But first, I think we've both wanted this for a long time, so…"

"So stop talking and kiss me already, hyung," Jisung cuts in as Chan trails off, tugging him closer. Chan lets out a laugh in surprise. He uses his free hand to cradle Jisung's cheek, and he watches his eyes flutter. Chan would love to draw this out and take in Jisung's expression, committing it to his memory, but he's not that patient.

He's been waiting for long enough.

Chan leans closer, watching through his lashes as Jisung tilts his head and closes his eyes in anticipation, pushing out his lips. Chan finally kisses him. Jisung's lips are soft and taste sweet, just like he expected they would.

He parts for a second, just to see Jisung's pretty face up close. Jisung's eyes open only to draw Chan in again, unable to stop himself from kissing him properly now that he's gotten a taste. He pushes Jisung back from the force of the kiss, so he slows down and holds him by the waist instead, letting go of his hand to wrap his arms around him and keep him steady.

Jisung encircles his neck with his arms pulling Chan flush against him as much as he can. Jisung is shy with the kiss at first, mostly letting Chan take the lead, but he starts reciprocating, putting his feelings and perhaps his impatience into it, hungrily taking Chan's lips.

Chan feels like he's on fire, especially when he remembers that Minho is there, and he might be watching. Normally, he'd be embarrassed about someone watching, but if it's Minho, Chan thinks he might even like it. The thought fuels more passion into the kiss, goosebumps arising on his arms as Jisung makes a satisfied noise in the back of his throat.

He feels a bit like he's dreaming, but this is way more real than the many times he has dreamt about kissing Jisung's lips like this. Somehow, even though he can tell that Jisung is still inexperienced, it's even better than he imagined it would be, and he quickly gets addicted to the feeling of Jisung's lips against his own.

They kiss and kiss until Jisung parts with a gasp, inhaling deeply, and even still, Chan can't help but leave a couple more kisses on Jisung's red shiny lips while the latter catches his breath. "Hyung," Jisung says with a giggle, carding a hand through Chan's hair. Chan places another peck on Jisung's lips, even though they're spread into a smile. "I love this, but I can't breathe."

"Sorry," Chan apologizes, his face warm and flushed. Jisung purses his lips as his fingers run through Chan's carefully styled curls. Chan doesn't mind him messing them up at all.

"If you really can't hold back, there's someone else with very kissable lips like me," Jisung says, a playful grin on his face as he looks over his shoulder at Minho, who is not so subtly staring at the two of them. Minho's eyes widen when Jisung and Chan both redirect their gazes towards him.

"Well, I can't say he's wrong about that," he says, blinking much like a cat, a lopsided grin on his face. "As much as I had a lovely time appreciating the two of you, I have very kissable lips for you to appreciate, as well."

Chan laughs as he shares a look with Jisung, who urges him over with a wide-eyed expression. "Go, hyung! You heard him. I need a moment to catch my breath after you took it away," Jisung says, pulling him over so that he'll sit in between him and Minho. Chan's ears burn due to Jisung's sweet words. Maybe he needs a moment, too, but he decides not to argue, as any words die in his throat as soon as he sees Minho's anticipating eyes.

"Stop stumbling and come here. Don't you dare hold a sappy speech like you did with Jisung, you can do that another time," Minho sternly tells him, making Chan laugh again. Minho cups Chan's cheeks in return, and pushes them together a little as he pulls Chan closer. Chan loses his balance and falls forward, steadying himself with a hand on Minho's thigh.

Their noses brush, and any laughter fades away as he meets Minho's slightly lidded eyes. Chan lets his eyes fall shut as he closes the last bit of space separating their lips. Kissing Minho is a whole other experience—just as sweet, yet in this case, Minho decides the pace from the start. Even though he let Chan take the first step, he pulls him along for the rest of the way.

Minho kisses gently and caring, yet with an edge of impatience, seemingly unbothered by the ten years that have gone by since he has kissed anyone. Chan doesn't care either, even if he can tell that Minho is a bit rusty. All he wants is for Minho to kiss him without any barriers, and that's what he's doing.

And Chan is falling hard for him. For his passionate kiss, for the way he's holding Chan, for his humor and the way he opens himself up as he leads Chan along. Chan gets swept away, off his feet, and he loves it.

Chan's the one losing his breath now, but he isn't surprised given he's been kissing Jisung right before this. It's all so much, and the feelings overwhelm him. However much he would like to continue making out with Minho and showing him how much he has been craving this, he has to part or else he fears that he might burst at the seams.

"Hmmm, done already?" Minho whispers with a teasing tiny smirk, his eyelashes fluttering as he looks at Chan from up close, their noses still brushing. Chan presses another kiss onto Minho's lips in response.

"Not in the slightest, but I need a break or else I'm afraid I won't ever stop," he says in a low voice, caressing Minho's hips with his thumbs. Minho snickers, blinking those unfairly charming eyes of his.

"Never stopping doesn't sound too bad, but I'll move on and see if Jisungie has caught his breath by now," he says, gently patting Chan's cheeks. It's hard to sit back and put some space between them, but once he thinks about seeing Minho kiss Jisung like he just kissed him, it becomes easier.

"Not really, because—whoa that was sexy as heck—but I really really want to kiss Minho hyung, too," Jisung says, bashfully eyeing the two. Chan quickly makes space for him, and Minho welcomes Jisung with open arms, wrapping them around Jisung's waist as soon as Jisung sits next to him.

Minho pulls him closer and Jisung steadies himself with his hands on Minho's chest. Chan watches as they look into each other's eyes. He feels a bit shy, seeing them share such an intimate look, but it also makes him feel at ease.

When Minho finally leans closer and slots his lips together with Jisung's, Chan's heart stutters as if he's the one getting kissed. It's clear that they've both warmed up as they easily melt into each other's arms, kissing the other as if they've been apart for a while, and now they're finally back together, sharing a kiss conveying how much they've missed one another.

The way Minho's plump upper lip fits against Jisung's lower one does something to Chan's heart. He averts his gaze, just to allow for his heart to calm down a bit. He notices that the rest is eyeing them, but as soon as he sees them, they look away. Except for Hyunjin, who sticks out his tongue and nods in approval, mouthing something like an encouragement.

He looks back to see Minho and Jisung still kissing each other, slow and gentle. Jisung's hand is on Minho's neck, while Minho caresses Jisung's back. Chan couldn't have wished for a better outcome tonight—even when Minho and Jisung part, the smiles on their faces are bright.

The night ends like that, without a word or a question from their friends, although from their looks, Chan can tell that the questions will come. He appreciates the space tonight, though, because even if they've been ready for this a while, that doesn't mean it's not new. He wants to take it slow and make sure that it'll last.

It's hard to say goodbye to Minho and Jisung at the end of the night, but it makes him look forward to the next time he'll see them even more, especially when Jisung leaves the two of them a sweet kiss as a good night wish, and an extra head rub for Minho. Chan can't return home without kissing Minho good night as well, and he's glad to see that the latter is quite satisfied with it.

Chan retreats to his home with a heart that won't seem to calm down. He washes up and drifts to sleep with memories of Minho and Jisung's lips on his own, wondering what else is in store for them, how the three of them could perhaps have a little fun together, instead of waiting their turn. He shouldn't get ahead of himself, but imagining it can't hurt anyone.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ᨒᨒ ོ ᨒ↟ 𖠰

Ever since Jisung has gotten his eyesight back, he has enjoyed the delights of being able to read other people's expressions again, and he doesn't have to embarrass himself while eating anymore, although seeing depth is still a bit of a problem, given the bad vision in one of his eyes.

Most of it is simply a bit annoying, but his clumsiness is the same. Plus, he likes the way Chan and Minho look out for him this way. His bad sense of depth gives him an excuse to hold their hands and to stay close whenever they're going somewhere.

It also gives him an excuse to come close to inspect Chan or Minho's face. Usually he says that he thinks that there's something on their face he wants to help them remove, and then he comes close enough to see them sharply. More often than not, it also allows him to kiss them without worrying about bumping into them too hard or thinking he's closer than he is and falling onto their chest.

He's glad that he can eat without being ashamed of himself, though. That means he can enjoy Minho and occasionally Chan's cooking way better. They've made a habit out of eating together—the three of them. Jisung already used to eat with Chan every night, due to his aversion of the kitchen, which is mostly because of his eyesight, but now Minho has joined them as well.

Minho has also been working on taking over the restaurant, and has been trying out his dishes on Chan and Jisung, who both absolutely take delight in trying his food. Chan is a food enjoyer from head to toe, and he can eat a lot, while Jisung is simply head over heels in love with Minho and he loves being taken care of.
Plus, Minho's cooking is great. The only downside is that he can go quite heavy on the spicing of his food from time to time. Neither Chan nor Jisung's spice tolerance is particularly high, but Minho only seems to find it entertaining to seem their eyes water and their skins flush.

"So, how is it? Do you think I have a chance to woo the townspeople with my dishes?" Minho asks, pacing back and forth as he watches Chan and Jisung eat his food. "Also, I should probably wear something around my head, right? I'm not used to having hair anymore… I wouldn't want it to get in the food."

"Yes, yes, you're fine, Minho-yah," Chan assures him with a chuckle. "You've heard how much Jisung has moaned and complimented your food. He does so every time."

"Because it's good food!" Jisung retorts, his cheeks still stuffed full of rice. He moans in exaggeration just to make a point. Minho snickers, his eyes twinkling.

"If everyone eats it as happily as you two do, I think I'll have nothing to worry about, but I also feel like you two are a bit… in love with the cook and all," he says, gesturing around at them and then at himself, a smirk on his face.

"Being in love with the cook has nothing to do with enjoying his food. One time Jisung made ramyeon and it was quite awful," Chan says, giving Minho a serious look. Jisung hits him with a petulant pout, eliciting a giggle from Chan. "Hey, I'm being honest. I was definitely in love with you at the time, but I still wasn't fond of it."

"Okay, fair enough," Jisung says, because it is a good way to convince Minho that they're being genuine about his food. "The point is, Minho hyung, your food is great. I think everyone who'll come here will agree. And I think they're glad that they will still have somewhere to meet and eat together."

"For sure. They'll accept you as a proper friend and neighbor in no time," Chan tells him. Minho sighs and sits down on the floor, wriggling himself between Chan and Jisung at the table. He presses a wet kiss on either of their cheeks.

"Thank you for being hungry all the time," he says, happily patting their back. Jisung laughs, his heart jumping around in fondness for his friend. He has opened up so much more since moving here, and Jisung loves seeing his joking side. "And for helping me set this up. I think old man Park appreciates the free time and peace and quiet, too. I'm also grateful to you for always believing in me. It's—I'm still kind of realizing that I've found you and that there won't be a jealous and angry Jooin cursing me if I get caught with you two."

Jisung would do anything for Minho's food, and he likes that they're able to eat together so often because of Minho letting them try out his dishes. He does love him in the same way he loves Chan, and he hopes that Minho will forget about Jooin and the harm that he's done, and that he and Chan can have a peaceful life with him. It will probably take some time, but Jisung is willing to stay through the hard times—it probably won't be much worse than having Chan turned to stone and Minho about to stab out his eyes, after all.

"Okay, enough about the restaurant and enough sappiness for now. Tomorrow is nerve wracking enough with the opening and you guys know how fond I am of you two, so let's do something else now." Minho grins and boops each of their noses. Jisung melts a little, but he follows Minho upstairs to where he's living, with Chan right behind him.

Jisung's heart speeds up, because there's something in Minho's gaze that makes his stomach flip around like a madman. He's so incredibly relieved that he can now actually see what Minho and Chan are feeling, because although Chan was already doing a great job in talking to him, and although he's sure that Minho would do so, too, it's simply easier that he can see their expressions for himself, and that he doesn't have to keep asking about how they feel.

It's nice that he can share a look with Chan in anticipation, and that he can signal his excitement to Minho—Except he trips on the last step of the stairs. He yelps, and immediately, a set of hands grab his hips from behind. Minho whips himself around and steadies him by the shoulders.

"Don't get too eager," Minho teases him with a grin. Jisung's cheeks grow pink and he scoffs halfheartedly.

"Pfft. Eager for what? It's just my bad vision," he retorts, a bit embarrassed about his trip up. Minho softens and suddenly dips down to connect their lips. Jisung gasps, his eyes fluttering as he closes them and melts in Minho's hold. Chan is still behind him, too.

Minho kisses him deeply, overloading him with feelings all of a sudden. When Minho cups his chin with one hand to coax open his lips, Jisung can't help but whine involuntarily, a shudder running past his spine. Minho then pulls back already, and Jisung almost face-plants his chest.

Minho grins, unfairly handsome. "Eager for that," he whispers, and even though he's right about Jisung being eager, Jisung can see his red ears and the way his gaze keeps returning to Jisung's lips, betraying the fact that Minho wants this just as badly.

"Don't tease him so much, Minho-yah," Chan chides him, but his tone is soft and loving as he pats Jisung's butt and helps him upright. Minho clicks his tongue as he continues to his living room.

"He likes it," he responds with a wave of his hand. Jisung bites the inside of his cheek. His heart is pounding fast—he can't argue with that. Minho snickers. "And you like it, too, hyung. Come here."

Minho sits down on the floor and pulls Chan with him. He motions for Jisung to sit with them as well, but when he hesitates, Minho grabs his hand and tugs him down, so that he ends up half on Chan's lap. Chan snickers and wraps his arms around Jisung, but at the same time, Minho cups Chan's jaw to pull him into a kiss.

Jisung's heart jumps, his face heating up as his lovers kiss right next to him. He's still a bit unused to this—a relationship in general, but also navigating how to do this with the three of them—but he's getting braver. He begins by pressing a kiss on Chan's cheek, his hand touching Minho's one on Chan's jaw so he can estimate how close he is.

Chan's skin warms up under his lips, which makes Jisung smile. He loves it when his hyungs skins flush and show that they, too, get worked up about this.
Chan parts from Minho and inhales in that characteristic way he does before speaking, but before he can, Minho guides Chan's head to face Jisung, who can see the words die in his throat.

Instead, he leans in to kiss Jisung, all sweet and gentle, yet with an edge of eagerness. Jisung's stomach fills with butterflies once again, a blush spreading across his cheeks as he feels Minho's hand on his thigh and hears the sound of his lips against Chan's neck. Jisung can feel Chan's breathing hitch due to whatever Minho's doing, and feels his grip tighten on him.

He thinks he could kiss Chan for hours, perhaps because he's been longing for it for so long, but also because Chan is so patient, and it's easy to keep going without feeling like he gets impossibly lost in the feeling. With Minho, it feels more like an inferno is going off inside his chest—which is nice, but it's quite overwhelming at times, and Jisung is a bit scared of embarrassing himself.

Suddenly, he feels Minho take his hand. Then, the man kisses the back of it, then up to his wrist and the inner part of his arm. It sends tingles down Jisung's spine. He shivers when Minho reaches his shoulder, his collarbone, his throat and the side of his neck. It becomes hard to focus, but Chan doesn't seem to mind, and he keeps gently kissing Jisung's lips.

The evening passes like that, the three of them finding a comfortable rhythm to kiss and appreciate each other. At some point, Jisung has completely turned off his mind and has let Chan and Minho, as well as his own feelings take over for him.

He thinks that even if they'd have to deal with another curse, another illness or condition, they could get through it. He's quite sure that things won't be all happy sunshine and no problems from now on, but Jisung has always been confident in his bond with Chan, and now he has seen Minho at his worst, while Minho has seen him at his lowest point as well. By now, he trusts him with his life.

So whatever he has coming, he thinks that with the three of them they'll be able to face it head on. For now, he won't think about it and instead continue making out with the two men he loves the most.

Fin ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ᨒᨒ ོ ᨒ↟ 𖠰

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The end!! Thank you for reading :D
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