Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dongheon was bored, to say the least. He fiddled with the pencil as he drowned out the teacher's voice. Why did he need supernatural studies when he had learned so much from his friends? His small friend group consists of five members, not including himself. It was made up of a good variety of magical beings: three witches (including himself), one werewolf, and two vampires. He began to monologue as if he was speaking to someone else.

All of the witches in the group were different from one another. Dongheon, himself, was a combat witch. The most common kind of witch that specializes in combat with spells that included, but were not limited to, setting things ablaze and freezing their opponent. The opposite of Dongheon was Hoyoung. Hoyoung is a herbal witch, the rarest kind of witch that specializes in making potions. Although to non-witches it seems like a very easy thing to do, making potions is the hardest thing for witches to do because of how concentrated their magic has to be. Next was Gyehyeon. He is a practical witch, someone that specializes in doing simple day to day useful spells such as repairing broken objects, cleaning spells, and teleportation spells. Lastly, there were dark witches but Dongheon had yet to befriend one. Despite their name, dark witches were not inherently evil nor dark. Dark witches specialize in hexes, curses, necromancy, and voodoo but the last two were highly taboo. Dark witches are highly coveted by the government as well as combat witches. Only dark witches could undo hexes and curses, something that is very valuable to them. Although combat witches were highly desired by the military and government and make a lot of money doing those jobs, Dongheon disliked the idea of fighting and wanted nothing to do with being a combat witch. Sometimes Dongheon wishes he was a practical witch. It would be useful to be able to clean his room in one swift motion but, unfortunately, in the witch world, the different kinds of magic witches possess don't overlap. This means Dongheon will never be able to make a potion, create a curse, or teleport.

Dongheon knew all about the witch world but he didn't know anything about werewolves or vampires until he met the others. Minchan, the only werewolf in their friend group, had taught him a lot about how werewolves worked since he had gotten to know the younger. Apparently, there was no rank system in their world, no "alphas," "omegas," or "betas." The only real hierarchy the wolves had was a pack leader. Something that the pack members voted on every year. According to Minchan, werewolves usually picked pack leaders based off of three aspects: loyalty, intelligence, and responsibility. The intelligence factor came as a surprise to the oldest as he would've thought that werewolves would desire strength more. But, as Minchan stated, "you know what kind of werewolves win fights? The ones that outsmart their opponent. Strength means virtually nothing if you are able to be trapped easily." Werewolves were more progressive and intelligent than he had originally thought.

More recently, Dongheon was able to learn about vampires thanks to their "twins” Yeonho and Yongseung. Although not actually related, the two were called twins by their classmates because of their similarity in species, the first letter of their names, and the fact that they are polar opposites of each other but work well together. The first thing that Dongheon learned was that there were two types of vampires: ones that drank animal blood and ones that drank human blood. It was the only ranking system vampires had as the ones that drank animal blood were not as powerful as the ones that drank human blood. Unlike witches, vampires could choose to drink either but once a vampire drinks human blood, they can never go back to drinking animal blood. Yeonho had once called vampires that drink animal blood "fletchlings." Apparently, they were called such in the vampire community. As to why they were called that, Dongheon had no clue and it seemed like the younger two didn't know either even though both were fletchlings. Most often blood drives would donate the bags of blood that they have to throw out to vampires. It was a peaceful agreement that was easy for everyone. It was partially because of this that Yongseung stated that vampires were now very independent and barely interacted with anyone, not even their own species. They had no reason to interact with humans because of this and as a result grew very reclusive and non confrontational. They would rather not fight, which made the eldest bring up a question that he had been dying to know the answer to: do werewolves and vampires have any beef? When he asked the question out loud, he heard Minchan and the twins burst into laughter. He received an answer of "why would our species fight? vampires don't drink werewolves blood and werewolves have no reason to go after vampires." He also learned that both werewolves and vampires only grew aggressive if you posed a threat to people that they cared about. They-

"Dongheon." The teacher raised their voice but didn't shout. "If you're paying attention so much, answer the question on the board." The first part dripped with sarcasm but the last bit made the teacher sound like a middle school bully.

He realized then that the whole class was staring at him. Suddenly feeling pressured, he took a quick glance at the board. "25"

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"25?!" Hoyoung laughed, "You answered 25 for the question: 'Where did the Salem Witch Trials begin?' It's literally in the name! Salem, Massachusetts! You're a witch, we get taught this at like 10!" The younger one laughed.

“Shut up! I panicked, okay?! I wasn’t paying attention.” Dongheon gave Hoyoung a light shove.

Their conversation died down once they had approached the table their friends had claimed. "-he was trying so hard to put it out but he couldn't so I just got to watch him frantically flail his arms around. It took a few minutes but eventually everything worked out." Yeonho enthusiastically retold an event that had happened to Gyehyeon and Yongseung, Dongheon and Hoyoung didn't understand but maybe, if they were there a minute earlier, they would.

"Hyung! Have you heard about the new kid?” Minchan quickly joined the other five at the table, setting down his lunch of almost completely raw steak.

“No? What are you talking about?”

“Yeah, I haven’t heard anyth-”

“Gyehyeon, since when do you pay attention to other people?”

“Hey! I pay attention to you guys!”

“Shut up and let me continue!” Minchan growled, frustratingly.

“Basically, there’s a rumor going around that there’s a new kid that’s a human.” Yongseung calmly stirred his cup of blood.

“HEY! I WAS GONNA TELL THEM” Minchan angrily threw his water bottle at him, the water bottle barely missing the younger’s face.

“Why do people think he’s a human?” Hoyoung asked curiously, getting up to grab the water bottle that was now laying on the floor.

“Because he doesn’t attend the same magic enhancement class as everyone else.”

Despite the excitement to inform them about the rumor, Minchan didn’t elaborate anymore and the group went on with the rest of the day normally.

For some reason, Dongheon couldn’t seem to get the thought of the human out of his head. It was bizarre, that is if the rumor was true. The rumor that a mere human was attending his school. It had never happened before. All of the students were strictly magical creatures: witches, werewolves, or vampires. No human has stepped foot on this campus and the school showed no intentions of changing that. That's why Dongheon truly had no clue if the rumors were true. He had simply heard it around after Minchan had already told them about it but he wouldn't believe it unless there was evidence to support it.

This school had let him learn so much about the world but he still couldn't fathom as to why, if they even did in the first place, let a human into the school. Everyone knew everything about the human world, it was the world they lived in, it was the world that was sometimes unfairly cruel to them but sometimes so caring and accepting. Humans were weird and finicky and often engaged in combat. Out of all the different species in this world, humans were the most violent. Something that surprised the eldest to no end. He didn't understand where the confidence and cockiness of humans came from, he didn't understand how they thought they were the "superior species."

Dongheon couldn’t stop the thoughts circling around in his head for the rest of the night.

Chapter Text

Eyeing the figure in the corner of the room, a boy the same age as him but younger by a few months. The boy was sleeping peacefully on the top bunk. His black hair falling into his face as he was laying on his side, facing the door. Kangmin felt the need to protect him. Even though he was the same age as Seongmin, he felt the need to be mature, someone that the boy could look up to. He wanted to be the big brother Seongmin never had. About to climb into bed, Kangmin stopped when he heard a muffled shout. The boy waited a little longer to make sure the younger was still sleeping before silently opening and closing the door. As softly as he could, he walked over to the kitchen, stopping a bit before the entrance, trying to gather information.

"It's hard. We either can't keep supporting your brother and nephew or we have to find a way to keep our jobs. I just don't know how…" the boy heard his mother speak with distress, fear, and exhaustion. He felt his heart break a little.

"... I don't want to have to actually suggest this but, we could use Kangmin."

"No! You're not using our son!" They exchanged harsh whispers and Kangmin now wondered if he should have listened to this conversation in the first place.

"Why not? Think of all the possibilities! He could work for the government and we'll get extra money! He won't even have to go to college or go through the pain of trying to get a job." His father suggested and he could hear his mother thinking about it.

"Give me some time to mull over it." Kangmin barely understood the words mumbled. Figuring he shouldn't stay any longer, he silently went back to his shared room with Seongmin. Laying down on his bed, he thought about the previous conversation.

It's been three years since that night and Kangmin wonders why he didn't turn down their offer. He should've run away then. He self-consciously thinks that maybe it was because he wanted to help his family. Maybe, it was the fact that he wanted to protect Seongmin. Seongmin was his best friend and cousin after all. They had grown up together and were basically inseparable. Maybe that's why he willingly gave himself up.

So, why was he finally deciding to do something now? Why did he suddenly decide to take his life into his own hands? Looking into the mirror, his singular amber eye stares back at his normal brown one. The eye doesn't belong there. It was once foreign to his body but now he has to accept it. His appearance mocks him, reminding him of what he has lost.

He looks at his backpack once more. There's not much- just two pairs of clothes, his wallet, and some bandages. He stares at his collar, a bright red flash reminds him that they can still track him as long as he has it on. The remote to take it off is in his hands, he mentally reminds himself to thank Seongmin if they ever meet again in the future before pressing the release button and leaving the collar on the bathroom sink. Kangmin walks back to his room and is about to open the window when he hears a noise from the hallway. Instead, he decides to lie down in his bed.

He suddenly feels cold, a familiar sensation. Going into the hallway, he sees that the sound is just Seongmin. Coming back to his senses, he sits up in bed. The door opens slightly and closes just after his cousin has stepped foot into the room.

"You weren't going to leave without saying goodbye to me, right?" The younger boy has a sad look in his eyes and Kangmin feels bad because that's exactly what he was going to do. He thought that saying goodbye would be too sad and that Seongmin was already asleep. He didn't want to burden his cousin even though Seongmin would insist he isn't.

"I'm sorry." He whispers, pulling Seongmin into a hug.

"Don't be sorry. I understand. Just please try to keep in touch with me if you can. Also, be safe. Please." He felt the younger tighten the hug and soon felt warm droplets fall on top his shoulder. Guilt pooled in Kangmin's stomach but he had to leave. It went out of hand and, if he continues staying there, he is sure that it will not end well for him or his family. They didn't really need him anymore. At least that's what Seongmin has been trying to convince him of, but deep down he feels like the younger one is lying.

It doesn't matter because Kangmin has already made up his mind and he feels like it's too late for him to turn back now. The only regret he feels is leaving Seongmin behind to suffer with his family because they are sure to freak out over his disappearance.

"Hey, stop crying... this isn't goodbye forever, right? I promise to come and see you whenever possible and I'll keep that promise til the day I die." Kangmin released Seongmin from the hug but the black haired boy held on for a while more before finally letting go. Kangmin could now see the heart break in his eyes but also the smile adorning the younger's face, happy that Kangmin will finally be free.

"You should go now or else you're not gonna get that far before your parents wake up." Seongmin laughed lightly and headed over towards the window, opening it for the older. "I'm gonna miss you but I hope you find a better place to be your home."

"I'll miss you too. Thanks again for everything. I'll see you later?"

"See you later." Seongmin gave him one last smile and wave as Kangmin wrapped a bandage over his amber eye, grabbed his bag, jumped out of the window, landed on the rough grass, and began running out of the neighborhood.

The sun was decently high in the sky as Kangmin walked down the street in a few towns over from his hometown. It has been a few days since he left and most shops were open by now. So far, everything was going according to Kangmin's plan. Stepping into the shop, the first thing that Kangmin noticed was the smell of shampoo and bleach.

"What can I do for you?" The girl at the front desk asked. Kangmin's eyes were immediately drawn to her red hair.

"How much will it cost to buy bleach and hair dye? Is it cheaper for me to do it myself or get it done?" Kangmin peaked into the back area of the shop where there were some sinks, mirrors, and chairs. He assumed they could cut and dye his hair here but the real question was how much would it be. Kangmin didn't have a lot of money so if he had to do it himself, so be it. Although he knows nothing about hair bleach or dye, he thinks he can figure it out.

"Do you know anything about hair? Not to be judgemental but you look lost."

It turns out that the girl, Mina, had a soft spot for him as she gave him a discount when he mentioned not having much money. She even gave him suggestions on what cut to do and what color would suit him best. Although he appreciated the thought, he decided to not cut his hair and just dye it. He couldn't spend all of his money at this place.

They ended up dyeing his hair strawberry blonde, a color that was natural enough for a school to not be upset about. Mina was nice and they chatted for almost the entire process of the bleaching. Apparently, Mina was a junior in highschool and had originally taken up this job so that she could see this musical that was coming to town but ended up liking it at the small shop. He found out that the owners of the shop were both friends of hers and that there were only three that ran this shop because of the lack of customers. Kangmin wondered how they were still in business until Mina explained that the two owners were witches and both had side jobs, ones that Kangmin could guess without further details.

With a small goodbye and wave, he walked out of the shop, noting that the sun was low in the sky. He had been there for quite a while, he made a mental note of where the place was so one day he could come back and thank Mina.