Adore Me

The supernatural and the mundane intermingle at Pledis Magic School. The boys of seventeen are wizards. About half of them anyway. Jun is a vampire, Jeonghan an angel, Jihoon a potioneer, and Chan keeps summoning demons to his hyung's dismay. Mingyu is determined to make Wonwoo love him back.

Notes:

They are grouped into years by age. Those marked with a star are wizards.
Dorm Prefect: Seungcheol
Fourth Years: Jeonghan, Jisoo, Jun, Soonyoung*, Wonwoo
Third Years: Jihoon*, Seokmin, Mingyu*
Second years: Minghao*, Seungkwan, Hansol
First Year: Chan*

Chapter Text

Mingyu walked in circles in the kitchen, munching on crab chips. For the five hundredth time he pondered if it wouldn’t be better to simply confess his feelings. Just get it over with, collect the obvious rejection and move on with his life – after crying for a month, probably.

But then again, ever since he had realized that his feelings for his best friend were of a different nature than simple camaraderie, he had gone through every possible way to confess and nothing seemed appropriate.

Wonwoo deserved something better than a meek “Hey I think I’m kind of in love with you, please don’t hate me.”

There was one more option of course. Mingyu wasn’t a third year wizard for nothing.

For weeks he had entertained the idea. A love potion – there had to be such a thing, right?

He put his snack back in its shelf, resolute to see if there was a magical solution to his problem after all. Seungcheol would not approve, but he didn’t have to know.

The boy in a sand colored uniform stopped as he reached the door frame, turning around with a look of careful consideration on his masculine face. After a moment’s hesitation Mingyu retraced his steps, took the snack into his hand again and continued to eat on the way.

***********************************

Chan was parked on the sofa, shoulders hanging low. Seungcheol loomed over him like a hyena ready to pounce. The sitting boy stared at his shoes. With a weak voice he mumbled “You don’t know what it’s like to be the only first year in the whole dorm.”

“Well, I’m sorry the school’s rooming arrangements are not to your liking, but that does not excuse summoning a demon, Chan. A ****ing demon.”

“Hey!” Jisoo’s voice came from behind. “That’s a thousand Won for the swear jar, Cheollie!”

Seungcheol pointed behind him, his eyes not moving from Chan. The oldest student and dorm prefect looked positively threatening in his unique, all-black uniform.

“If Jisoo hadn’t been here with his goddamn rosaries, [That’s another thousand Won, yelled Jisoo] you could have been killed or… well, I guess that’s the worst option. Should not have been leading with that.”

After a deep sigh, the prefect’s voice grew softer. “Anyway, don’t meddle with powers beyond your level of control. And learn to draw a proper pentagram.”

The youngest student was visibly distraught at the scolding, trying to vanish into his baby blue sweater, still avoiding eye contact.

“And another thing-” Seungcheol continued.

Jisoo began to play his guitar in the background. It took about ten seconds for the dorm leader’s heartbeat to slow down. Ten more and his muscles relaxed as if he had entered a hot tub. Finally his anger was dissipated, replaced by serenity - and vague desire for chocolate.

“Jisoo, I’d appreciate if you wouldn’t interrupt my justified reproaches with your magic.”

“Sorry,” said the musical boy in a pastel pink uniform, but didn’t stop playing.

Seungcheol shook his head. The dorm’s very own musician seemed to sprout new rosaries every few days. Currently he was wearing five around the neck and three more on his arm.

All mundane humans had collected some odd behaviors, the leader realized long ago. Being around wizards made life’s strangeness seem a lot less weird. He wondered what his own quirks were. But more than that he asked himself why headmaster-nim thought he – a regular human guy – could keep a bunch of wizard boys in check.

The leader was ready to leave the two boys alone when the cleaning brigade returned from the ritual chamber.

Jun almost exploded into the room, moving with a speed just barely below superhuman. He came to stand beside Seungcheol with fewer steps than any normal person would have required to cross the distance.

The Chinese boy was neither mundane nor wizard. When the headmaster said “mundane and supernatural intermingle at this school” he really meant it. Jun was a vampire – a creature of pure darkness. Not that you would see it on his handsome, dorky exterior.

“All cleaned up, leader hyung. No more demon gore left.”

With amazing speed, the boy sat down on the sofa and grabbed a controller, handing the other to Chan.

Seungcheol was about to remind the maknae that he had no privileges until he swore to stop demon summoning, but was struck by lightheadedness as the school’s other supernatural creature entered, half walking, half hovering.

Jeonghan’s blonde hair flowed gracefully in a none-existent breeze as he perched himself on the sofa’s armrest with the poise of a monarch, a playful smile on his lips. With Jisoo’s background music adding to the atmosphere, the leader was once again awe-struck by the angel’s radiant aura.

“Hm, you know,” angel Jeonghan said to Jun, “it’s not fair to use your vampire reflexes against a human.”

Jun pulled on the angel’s fluffy pink sweater to get him down onto the sofa. “Fine, take a controller, team up with Chan. I can beat the two of you any day.”

Seungcheol had to leave the room. The angel’s presence was just too overwhelming. How the creature of light and the one of darkness could be friends was a top item on his long, long list of things he didn’t understand.

*******************************

Libraries in magic schools are supposed to be magnificent testaments to the capabilities of wizardkind. With endless corridors stretching into infinity, a ceiling that shows the night’s sky on alien worlds and shelves full of book as old as time that whisper to any passer-by.

Pledis’ school library was an inconveniently u-shaped room with lights that were a bit too bright and an unreliable AC. The books were perfectly mundane. Vampire romances (read a hundred times by Jun), comic books (not present, as a permanent loan to a certain maknae), at least ten bibles (a generous gift from a rosary loving boy) and all manner of school books (mostly untouched).

The one truly unusual item was the book on the altar in the back: the grimoire.

Mingyu knew that the ancient tome looked completely different depending on its observer. Where most students saw a gold or wooden volume with delicate carvings and shimmering gems forming intricate patterns, Mingyu saw a very dusty book with glitter and sparkly stickers, like a kindergarten girl’s first diary.

He had never told anyone about it, but he figured he saw the book’s most embarrassing version because he felt so awkward being a wizard. Not enough that his height made him stand out - no, he had to be a magical special snowflake, too. For once it would be nice not to have all eyes on him.

Next to the volume was what was left of Seungcheol’s attempt to create a table of content. The constantly altering grimoire made a comprehensive list impossible, leaving the leader’s list with endless corrections, additions and strikethroughs.

Mingyu opened the book and began to turn page after page. The first ten sheets could not be skimmed and had to be turned individually – it was simply not possible to move past them. They all contained warnings in increasing urgency of content and franticness of handwriting.

Finally, the tall boy reached the book proper and began to skim. He wondered if the book was in English to the others as well. He didn’t dare to ask. If he was the only one, they would know how much being a wizard was burdening him. The grimoire was supposed to reflect the reader’s psyche after all, and everybody knew his English wasn’t brilliant.

In the back of his head he heard the leader’s warning. “Every wizard needs to read the small print. No casting if there’s anything on the page you haven’t read yet. It’s probably a warning.”

Once again Mingyu mused that the mundane dorm prefect would be a better wizard than most of the magically inclined students.

The problem was that everything in the book was small print. And even a random sigil in the margins could be highly important. Matters were aggravated by the fact that the occult symbols everybody insisted to see in the book looked like scrawly emoticon faces to him.

Half an hour later the boy had seen every potion recipe twice, forwards and backwards, Google translate helping him unreliably through the text. He had to look at each of them individually and spend an embarrassing amount of time typing words into his phone.

At least he had seen them all now. Thought that wasn’t entirely true. The book grew more pages the longer it was used, but it wasn’t presenting him with anything useful.

As much as he dreaded the idea, Mingyu wanted answers, even if it meant… going to the source of all potion knowledge: A tiny, angry boy with pixy-pink hair.

*********************************

There was a direct way to the potion’s lab but Mingyu needed to inquire something else first.

So he happened across the corridor were Jisoo was strumming along with Jeonghan leaning on his shoulder humming gently. Mingyu felt the gradually rising desire for a Twix even before the guitar string sounds reached his ears.

The angel had his eyes closed and didn’t look up as Mingyu approached but smiled nonetheless.

“Hey,” Jisoo said, “where are you going?”

The younger boy stopped for a moment. “That depends. Have you seen Jihoon?”

“Nope. Woozles is still holed up as always.”

Mingyu shrugged. “Then I need to find someone first, who can tell me if it’s save to enter.”

Jisoo grinned and gave a quick thumbs up without letting go of his instrument’s neck. “Good luck. You must be desperate to go to such measures.”

The tall boy sighed, considering if he should confess his plan to the hyungs. Jisoo wasn’t actually a wizard but a simple human who happened to possess a magic guitar. Maybe it was that instrument’s effect, but Mingyu felt comfortable opening up a little.

“There’s something I really could use a potion for. Not for me… well, yes for me, but not to use on me. There’s someone who I… um, let’s say I’ve considered the mundane approach for long enough to know it won’t work.”

Jisoo looked up at him with eyes twinkling. “Ah, you have a torn and shattered heart. I can sense it.”

“I… guess so?”

The metal string’s sounds echoed for a moment after the boy stopped playing. “I know how to mend a broken heart,” he whispered.

“R-really? How? Please help me, hyung.”

“Chicken!”

“Wha-“

“Chicken would heal your heart.”

Uncertainty about any possible response delayed Mingyu’s reaction until an awkward silence befell him and the musician, who looked up at him expectantly. Before the awkward silence turned into an even more uncomfortable staring contest, the younger boy turned around and left without a word, continuing his path toward his original objective.

Chapter 2: Divination

Chapter Text

Wonwoo cuddled a mass of gold and black fluff, just as big as himself. Dogs scared Wonwoo, with the notable exception of this one. The boy and his canine companion laid on the game room floor, hand caressing fur, the ways he would never do with any other dog.

Huge, black eyes stared back at Wonwoo.

“You know, I really wish I could be a dog, too,” he said to the Labrador-Saint-Bernese-mix. “Even if I can’t get any other kind of magic, at least that would be nice.”

Always trying to wear as much black as his otherwise pink uniform allowed, the boy brushed a few stray animal hairs from his jacket where they were clumping up. The dog growled softly and put his head down into Wonwoo’s lap.

“I don’t know if I should tell you this,” whispered the boy, more to himself than his furry friend, “but I could really use some advice. You see, a little while ago I noticed that… well, I’ve always been friends with…- um, but now I’ve realized that my feelings go beyond that.”

Slowly stroking the long hairs of the animal’s coat, Wonwoo’s voice grew heavy. “It’s obvious he’s too good for me. I’m just a mundane and not a very interesting one at that. Half the time I feel like I don’t belong here. He’s never given me that feeling though. He was always so kind. That’s just how he is.”

Neither cuddle-buddy moved for a while. The comfortable silence making both sleepy. After a minute the boy could swallow the lump in his throat and continued. “There’s not much I can do. So I’ll just try to get over him. Anyway, I’m sure you have homework to do, and so do I, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for listening, Minghao. You’re a great friend.”

The heap of fur shifted back into human form as Wonwoo got up.

“Hey,” said the Chinese boy, “wanna play fetch?”

“Didn’t you- I just said I have homework.”

Minghao turned his head to the side in a decidedly canine fashion, tugging at his white sweater. “I can’t understand human speech when I’m shape shifted. Why, did you say anything important?”

“Um, no. Nothing. Thanks anyway. Let’s play fetch later. Bye.”

*********************

Mingyu’s head poked through the crack he had opened for himself, not daring to move the door farther into the room. The floor was littered with paper and he didn’t want to risk tearing or crumpling any of it.

In the center of the room, Hansol in his white second year uniform was sprawling on the bed scribbling yet another verse into one of the many notebooks he was surrounded by.

“Oh, Mingyu! Need anything?” The gold-chain-and-snap-back wearing boy gestured vaguely at the mess his poetic skills had turned the floor into. “If it’s about something I borrowed, it may take a while to find it.”

“Nope, just here to ask if you’ve seen the Woozler. Is it save to enter his lair?”

Hansol chuckled. “I’ve brought him food. He got less sleep than usual but his mood was peachy.”

“Jihoon in good mood? That’s hard to believe.”

“Some rare herb has started blooming. He’s enlisted Seokmin to help harvest. Better ask the man what you need to know before he’s too busy brewing again.”

*********************

Timidly knocking at the potion’s lab, Mingyu waited for a response that never came. The room was pretty small. There was no way Jihoon hadn’t heard him.

With a deep breath he gripped the handle… and entered.

“Hello Woozles… no, I mean Jihoon. I’ll be gone in a second, I just nee-“

The pink haired boy in a jumpsuit was sitting at his desk amidst walls of overflowing shelves, harboring all manner of plant life, and bubbling cauldrons. The desk’s table cloth moved slightly were he sat.

Jihoon whipped his head around with a startled expression. “Oh, hey. What a surprise.”

Before the tall boy could advance, Seokmin climbed out from under the desk, just where Jihoon was sitting.

Now Mingyu was the startled one. What had he been doing under there? Had they…? Could it be that…? Jihoon and Seokmin? In here the whole time and no one suspected that they…?

“I-I’m so sorry,” stuttered the blushing Mingyu, “I should have knocked harder, I didn’t want to barge in you two two while… um, not that it’s any of my business and-“

Jihoon’s looked at the much taller boy as if he was looking at an idiot.

“Barge in on what?”

How could he be so nonchalant about this? Mingyu could barely force himself to make eye contact.

The pixie haired boy turned back to his table. “And close the door, the light levels and moisture in here require a careful balance. Also if you’re already here, you might as well join Seokmin.”

The broadly smiling boy from under the table gestured at the desk. “Come on, Mingyu. It’s fun, I’ll show you what to do.”

The school’s tallest wizard was flabbergasted. Not only were the boys unconcerned he had discovered their dirty secret, they wanted him to join.

“L-look, I never meant to-“

Jihoon groaned. “Will you stop sputtering nonsense? If you’re not here to help us harvest, you might as well state your business and leave.”

“Harvest?”

“Yes. This herb only grows in total darkness, that’s why I put it under the table. What did you think Seokmin was doing down there.”

Mingyu swallowed hard. “Nothing! Absolutely nothing! I didn’t think anything. Why would I think? You know me, I never think.”

“Too true,” Jihoon said with a chuckle.

“Aww,” cooed Seokmin, “don’t be so hard on yourself. Well then, see you.”

The always smiling boy vanished back under the table, to pluck more of whatever potion master Jihoon was growing there.

Mingyu shook his head to clear his mind of those terrible thoughts.

“Alright, I’ll make it quick. Please don’t ask any questions but I need to know if there’s such a thing as a love potion.”

Slowly spinning in his chair, Jihoon looked over the shelves of herbs and phials. “You need to know that for an assignment? I don’t remember getting one like that. Do you, Seokmin? No? Oh, right you’re not a wizard.”

With all of their dorm’s third years in one room, Mingyu couldn’t make them think his intent was purely educational. They knew the curriculum as well as he did.

“No,” said Mingyu, by now so embarrassed, he wished he was short enough to hide behind something. “I want to know for myself. Please don’t ask, just tell me.”

“Fine, I’m telling you there is no such thing. Not that I know.”

Jihoon spend all his time holed up in this very room. He was obsessed with creating magical concoctions and often didn’t see daylight for a week or two. Many mixtures required constant attention and care, but took over 24 hours to craft. Usually, multiple wizards were supposed to work on one potion alternatingly, but Jihoon insisted he could live without sleep.

Mingyu let his shoulders droop, about to slouch out of the room. If Jihoon didn’t know of a love potion, it certainly didn’t exist.

“…However,” the tiny herbalist said slowly, “now that I think about it. There is a potion that I might be able to alter for the desired effect. It won’t make that person love you - it just doesn’t work like that - but it will make them like you a lot more.”

“Please!” Mingyu yelled without thinking. Jihoon might make him beg for a while but just the thought of Wonwoo seeking his presence more often made any humiliation worth it.

To his surprise the potion brewer answered without hesitation or demanding compensation. His mood had to be exceptional.

“The formula you need is for the heart mending potion. Its main ingredient is chicken. The rest I forgot. Jisoo knows more about it then I do.”

**********************************

His legs crossed on the kitchen table, Jisoo removed a broken string from his guitar. Soonyoung and Seungkwan were attempting to make a pot of noodles big enough to feed the whole dorm.

“You’re not saying it right,” complained Seungkwan to the blonde boy, putting as much dramatic emphasis into his voice as possible to underscore his increasingly unquenched hunger.

“How would you know?” Soonyoung countered, “You’re not a wizard. It would work if you wouldn’t interrupt my incantations every five seconds.”

“I’m hungry. If we had turned on the oven, the water would be boiling by now.”

“No, this is faster, now let me cast.”

“No, just use the oven!”

“Casting!”

“Oven!”

The boys struggled loudly as Seungkwan tried to wrestle the silver wand out of his hyung’s hand, the boys a flurry of white and pink.

Jisoo strapped a new string into his instrument just as Mingyu entered.

The tall boy ignored the tussle at the stove and went straight to his last hope, with his head hanging.

“Hyung? I owe you an apology. I didn’t take you seriously and for that I’m very sorry. But I’ve you would still help me, I’d be grateful.”

Jisoo looked back and forth between his guitar and the remorseful wizard, calibrating the string. “You’ve made a wise decision, my friend. I can’t be mad at you. Now, still interested in my recipe?”

“Of course. That’s why I’m here.”

Sparks illuminated the room as Seungkwan hit the wand against the pot. “Make the water hot. Work already you piece of…” he side-eyed Jisoo, “wood.”

“Stop!” cried Soonyoung, “You’ll break it. Give it back, you can’t use it anyway.”

Two pairs of hands pulled on the wand which sent sparks like a roman candle all over the room. The fighting boys dropped the wizard tool and took cover behind a table, while Mingyu jumped into the alcove between two cupboards. Tiny fireballs swirled across the place.

Jisoo casually opened the window beside him, anticipating the stench of ozone that stray magic produced.

“See what you’ve done you silly boy,” yelled Soonyoung.

But Seungkwan only had eyes for the soon-to-be-pasta-vessel. “Look, it worked, it’s boiling.”

Their hunger far out-prioritizing their ephemeral animosity, both boys jumped up and grabbed a noodle package each. Dumping the content into the bubbling water, they silently forgave all that was said and done.

Mingyu waited until Soonyoung safely tucked away his wand before reentering Jisoo’s reach. “Do you think you can find the recipe again by evening? I’d like to start-“

Jisoo pulled a neatly folded piece of paper from his back pocket. “Knew you’d come back to hyung.”

Half expecting the formula for a hearty broth, Mingyu unfolded the paper and glanced over the ingredients. Those were not things Jihoon had in store. Those he’d have to get himself. But first he had to ask the grumpy pixie for the alterations.

“Thank you, Jisoo. You’ve helped me greatly. If anyone needs me, I’ll be at the supermarket, buying chicken.”

Newly tuned guitar sounds accompanied the boy as he left Jisoo and the cooks, who had found a new reason to argue.

Chapter 3: Abjuration

Chapter Text

Too big to fit through the door all at once, the demon pried its way into the room, breaking pieces off the wall as if it was cardboard. It’s warty, purple tentacles blindly explored the space inside, inching in on the trapped students.

The first year wizard and his prefect had their back against the wall, their only exit on the other side of the room cut off by the moving mass of tentacles. Seungcheol considered if he could make the jump between the demon arms to reach the door, but it seemed impossible.

“How could it escape the ritual chamber?” Seungcheol yelled, using a broken floor lamp as makeshift spear to keep the tentacles at bay.

“Must have forgotten a spike on the pentagram or something,” confessed Chan as he hurled a lightning bolt at the nearest demonic outgrowth, his wandholding hand shaking in fear. The scorch mark barely registered with the hell spawn.

“How? How can you possibly-“

The leader ducked below the huge, glibbery mass that tried to crush him. The demon’s disgusting head forced its way in between the arms, dozens of eyes locating the fighting boys.

Not a moment too soon, the door burst open and Jun rushed into the room, his ornate Dadao high above his head. The weapon dug into the hellish flesh, making it sizzle on contact. Hacking the rapidly re-growing tentacles, he created a path for Jeonghan to enter behind him.

“Where’s the church boy when you need him?” asked the leader in the angel’s direction.

“Just left for church.” Jeonghan smiled despite the situation at hand.

“Then send someone to his room.”

“Already did. Hansol should be here any second.”

Despite Jun’s best efforts the youngest and the oldest boy were still trapped and the disgusting creature was getting further and further into the room, the whole area filling with the stink of sulfur and molten flesh.

The angel found an opening and spread his arms in a dignified motion. Warm, gracious light radiated off the long haired boy, rays of solid sunbeams hitting the demon in his many grotesque eyes.

A deafening scream like a cross between a wounded hippo and an enraged lion made the walls tremble. The demon jolted back and gave the way free for the boys to escape.

Hansol arrived with his arms full of rosaries just as Seungcheol rushed the maknae past the tentacles that were winding in pain.

The young rapper dropped all religious items and held up the biggest he had found, intending to throw it towards the still hacking and slashing Jun.

In a surprise move, the hell spawn broke into the room, ignoring the suffering the angel inflicted upon it. Seungcheol threw Chan to the ground the stabbed his lamp at the multiple ton bulk of flesh descending upon him. He was brushed to the floor by a huffing Jun, who knocked the air out of his leader.

Seungcheol lost his weapon but saw the tentacle swing across empty space where his head had just been a second ago.

In one swift motion the arm changed direction and aimed for the unprotected Hansol. The rapper lifted the rosary in front of his face as a shield, not knowing if it would affect the demon at all.

As the warty arm passed the ring of wood beads it disintegrated immediately like passing through a wood chipper, a gory mess of black and green blood spraying Hansol, together with chunks of rapidly disintegrating flesh. The white outfit turned black and slimy.

The boy sputtered to keep the blood off his lips, his eyes shut tight.

Jun drove his katana into the stump and twisted his way to the main artery. Like a firefighter hose, the blood vessels sprayed the ceiling as they burst, raining green slime onto the group.

At last the demon cried out his final scream and slumped onto the floor, still blocking the entrance.

“Oops,” Chan whispered.

Hansol had wiped the worst off his face. “If anyone is looking for me, I’ll be in the shower for the next five weeks.”

The supernatural beings collected the rosaries while Seungcheol finally got off the ground, slowly coming to his senses again. Gore dripped from the ceiling into his already disheveled hair.

“Chan? We need to talk.”

As he approached his younger, the angel began to glow ominously, facing the demon cadaver. Seungcheol knew he had to leave if he wanted to keep his focus. The gorgeous offspring of heaven itself already floated above the ground in his still pristine clothes. He looked as enchanting as ever.

“Come on, Chan, we’re holding a meeting,” said the leader as he grabbed the unhappy boy by the collar, ignoring the slime stains on the blue fabric.

Once all others were gone, Jun and Jeonghan spoke a quiet incantation. The rotting corpse fragmented, leaving only blood splatters and slime behind as the purple flesh vanished piece by piece.

The angel laughed for a reason the other non-human instinctively understood. How inconvenient it had to be for these mortals, to do everything by hand.

************************

Wonwoo wasn’t trying to be pretentious. He just so happened to be staring out the window in a forlorn and melodramatic fashion when leader-hyung found him.

“Stop sulking and join our meeting. Conference room, now.”

“I wasn’t sulking.”

“Brooding then.”

“No, I- fine, I’m coming.”

But he had been sulking and he knew it. It was an unfortunate situation. Being away from Mingyu let him distract himself from his feelings which made him happy, but it also made him miss his friend’s presence, which made him miserable. Yet, being near Mingyu – while making him excessively blissful – increased his longing for more.

Wonwoo’s mind was a leaking ship amidst a tempest out on the open sea.

Maybe he should talk it over with Seungcheol. The prefect had honest concern for everybody’s well-being and seemed to know clever tricks of all kind to keep the dorm from falling to pieces.

The meeting was a very official seeming get-together in the conference room – usually reserved for when headmaster-nim had an announcement.

Chan sat at the head table, looking crestfallen. Behind the deflated boy was the oldest student, his hand firmly on the maknae.

“I have called an all-mundane meeting because the wizards tend to be way too lenient in dealing with magical misbehavior. We are here to hold assizes in regards to this individual’s misdeeds.”

Wonwoo looked around. Hansol wore a bathrobe and his hair was wet as if he had just showered. In the middle of the day? Weird. Seungkwan munched on a bowl of noodles, certainly not his first. Seokmin had dark stains of dirt on his sand colored uniform, probably from the potion’s lab. And Jisoo… was absent.

Wonwoo raised his hand, making the leader’s train of thought derail. “Hyung?”

“What is it, Wonwoo?”

“If it’s an all-mundane meeting, where’s Jisoo?”

“He hardly counts. He may not be a wizard but guitar-hyung has an artifact. I don’t want him fiddling with my emotions right now. Or ever.”

“Iiiik!” shrieked Hansol, as he pulled something slimy form his hair. “I have to shower again.”

Without another word the rapper jumped off his seat and ran off. The prefect yelled after him to no avail.

Wonwoo was dumbfounded. The solution to his problem had been right in front of him the whole time. An artifact that adjusted people’s emotions for the positive. As far as he knew, no one had ever fallen in love due to Jisoo’s music, but if he could get his hands on an artifact of his own…

He didn’t have to get over Mingyu, he could just make him fall in love back. For the first time in who knows how long, Wonwoo didn’t feel hopeless about his crush.

“Sorry, I just remembered something. I have to go.”

Seungcheol tried to stare him into submission but the boy was already up. The leader groaned.

“Stay here. Damnit. You can’t just all **** off when you like. This is a meeting.”

Chan perked up and looked behind him. “I’m telling Jisoo you said that.”

****************************

Twelve rosaries. That’s how many Wonwoo counted as he walked up to his schoolmate.

“Wonwoo, Helloooo! What can I doooo. For yoooo.” Jisoo rhymed as he saw the boy of equal age approach. He was without guitar for once, sitting at a laptop, composing emails rather than songs.

“I was wondering if I could ask something. You might consider it a bit personal. I’m not sure.”

“Come through, Wonwoo. A conversation long overdue?”

“There’s a problem and I think I know a solution but I need more information that I think only you have.”

“Information tired and true. I shall supply to you. It’s good to know that you value. My angle of view. Wonwoo.

“It’s just… can you stop rhyming?”

“Um, sure. Wait, was that the personal question?

“No…”

The inquiring boy carefully turned the statement over in his head before speaking quickly. “How did you get your artifact and is there a way for me to get one, too?”

Jisoo looked off to the side, pondering something, his face showing great concentration. Was he trying to remember or just looking for a way to say it with a rhyme?

“Why would you need one?”

“It’s just that I see you put a smile on people’s lips all the time, so…” Wonwoo said, chastising himself for not having a better lie thought out in advance.

“No selfish motives then? You don’t intend to soil your flesh with carnality, do you?”

“Soil my…? No, no. What are you thinking? I’m Wonwoo the immaculate.”

“Let me tell you it was quite a journey. Everybody’s path is different. I don’t know if I can help with yours. Maybe start by casting a finding spell.”

Wonwoo pointed both thumbs at himself. “Not a wizard. Pure, boring mundanity.”

“You don’t need to be. Mundanes can support a wizard ritual. You need someone who loves to cast complicated charms.”

“…I know who you’re talking about. Thank you.”

“Always happy to give a clue. To you. Wonwoo.”

“O…kay. Bye.”

***************************

Minghao sprayed conjured dissolvent from his wand onto the ceiling, slowly removing the demon’s remains and returning the room’s roof to its former condition.

The slime dripped onto the wet floor where Seungkwan ran back and forth, shoving a mop in front of him. He had put on music and sang along as the room looked less and less like an otherworldly warzone.

Meanwhile the leader flipped through his personal notes, looking for the charms he needed Minghao to cast. The wall was still in pieces and the furniture was ruined. The Chinese boy knew all this expenditure would exhaust him, but he didn’t complain. For once everybody depended on him.

Headmaster-nim had been over to inspect the damage and offered to take care of it if the dorm’s inhabitants – represented by the prefect – didn’t feel up to the task.

Not that anyone would have expected differently, but Seungcheol wanted to appear in control even when the dorm was literally in shambles.

“So the wall repair will require three spells. One to gather the pieces, one to put them into place and one to mend the fractures. I guess we’ll have to paint it ourselves.”

Seungkwan interrupted his singing. “Not us specifically though, right? There are other boys in this building who are currently not helping.”

“Alright, I’ll build another team later. Minghao, you think you can shoulder all this casting? I’ll be scrubbing the chairs in the corner. Call me when you’re ready.”

A huge glob of goo dropped from above and splashed onto the sofa the leader had just cleaned. Minghao fought down a chuckle. Watching Seungcheol despair was way better than playing fetch.

Chapter 4: Attunement

Chapter Text

With an exasperated huff, the tall wizard threw his groceries down on the kitchen table. In hindsight it had been a terrible mistake to offer doing everybody’s groceries, but he had needed to take the trip anyway. What a surprising amount of love potion ingredients one could purchase at the local supermarket!

As Mingyu plucked his belongings from the pile of food stuff the others had requested, Seokmin entered, in search of a snack.

“Ah, Seokmin, good to see you.”

The classmate smiled brightly back at him. “I know, I know. Whatever I decide on preparing for myself, I’ll be sure to make one for you too.”

“No, that’s not what… actually, thanks, that would be great. But the reason I wanted to talk to you is that I need your help with a potion.”

“Oh? I’m mundane, how could I help?” asked the puzzled boy as he eyed the contents of their dorm fridge.

“One thing I need is a bottled ray of sunshine. Thought I could put one of your smiles in a flacon. Should work, from what I can tell.”

“If you say so?”

Mingyu pulled out his phone and opened the camera. Seokmin shot him the brightest grin he could muster and *snap* the picture was taken.

After sending the photograph to the printer, Mingyu grabbed an empty bottle from under the sink and left with one less worry.

Two more things left to procure.

***************************

Seungkwan was easily located. The boy’s natural aura attracted unicorns reliably, in spite of his mundane nature.

Poised with princely grace, Seungkwan rode the horned, shining white stead along the street, returning from his regular stroll. Passerby’s view was magnetically transfixed on the glowing, most noble creature – and the unicorn.

“Boo!” called Mingyu as the rider came into earshot.

“Yes, what is it hyung?”

“Um, this is a little awkward but you’re the best guy to ask. I need unicorn tears. Could you… I dunno.”

“Tears you say?”

Seungkwan forcefully swung himself off the animal and Mingyu feared for a second the boy might kick his entrusted unicorn to get results.

Instead the boy took a deep breath and stuck on a ballad, rendered over what felt like twelve octaves with enough feeling to make Mingyu’s vision blur.

As the listening boy blinked away his tears, he saw the unicorn shed a never-ending stream from its deep, dark eyes.

What a voice.

***************************

The ritual room was very big and very empty.

Most rituals required to get physical and enough space was an absolute necessity. The master of ceremony himself was prancing from corner to corner, forcing Wonwoo to wait awkwardly leaning in the doorframe out of fear he could interrupt something important.

Eventually Soonyoung noticed him.

“Ah, have you been standing there for long?”

Forever, thought Wonwoo. “Not at all, “he said.

The dancing boy finished his last spin and came to a halt in the middle of the room. “Anything I can help you with?”

“I was just wandering, if I needed to find something – something only a ritual can find – could I do it?”

Soonyoung put his hands on his knees, catching his breath. “Not alone, I suppose, but with a wizard’s help I don’t see why a ritual couldn’t apply to you, too.”

“Great. Would you?”

“Sure. Come in. What do you need to find. Keys? A pen? Glasses? I think I’ve seen you wear glasses before.”

Wonwoo cleared his throat and quickly mumbled “An artefact that’s not attuned to anyone so I can use it.”

Soonyoung’s eyes widened as his jaw dropped. “That’s…”

“Oh, alright,” Wonwoo turned around, “forget it. It was a dumb idea.”

“Wait! We can do it. Let me just…”

The ritual specialist picked a tattered notebook from a chair at the wall and flicked through the pages.

“I have to warn you, Wonwoo. This ritual is very OTL.”

“I’m prepared,” said the mundane boy, pointing down at his attire, which consisted of sweatpants and a thin shirt. He was ready to sweat if it got him a chance with Mingyu in the long run.

“Then, let’s begin. Can you do backflips?”

“What?”

“Very, very OTL.”

***************************

Increasingly bored, Chan turned page after page. To him, the grimoire was a very thick but otherwise non-descript book. A bit dusty, maybe somewhat scratched.

Perhaps, he would never have looked inside if he hadn’t known that it was a treasure trove of magical knowledge. On the inside it held all sorts of intriguing - and alarming - drawing and descriptions.

He wondered if this meant that he didn’t judge books by their cover or didn’t want to be judged by the cover himself. The grimoire had an odd way of interpreting the user’s psychology.

Right now he was looking for something to try. Something not related to summoning. He had promised that much and he took promises seriously. At least the ones he meant when he made them.

Most of the book’s content was far above his level. The rest was either boring or way to dangerous. Not dangerous in his eyes, but he knew Seungcheol would tell him to leave his fingers off stuff like duplication and teleportation.

Chan needed something subtle that could fly under the prefect’s radar.

As soon as he realized what he was looking for, the book responded. The dorm’s maknae could sense the pages shifting beneath the one he was currently looking at. Turning to the next one revealed what could become his newest hobby.

***************************

Timidly, Mingyu knocked at the door to Jihoon’s domain.

“Come in.”

Dragging a duffle bag along, the boy entered with a smile he couldn’t contain. Soon he would have his love potions. Well, technically it was going to be a like-an-awful-lot potion. Baby steps.

The tiny boy stood up from his chair, not gaining much height. Mingyu fought down the lethal urge to pet the pink, fluffy head.

“You got all ingredients?”

“I think so?”

“What did you bring for radiance?”

“A bit of Jeonghan’s shampoo.”

“Ah right. What did you bring for ambivalence?”

“Unicorn tears.”

“Interesting. And for fire?”

“I got Hansol to write me a rap.”

“That should work, I suppose.”

Mingyu handed over the bag with the three aforementioned items and several more. Sunshine in a bottle had the short boy chuckle. He personally would have asked Jeonghan, who could create actual sunshine on command after all, but Mingyu’s mind worked a bit differently it seemed.

Now all was missing were herbs from the school’s collection and a lot of patience.

***************************

Two sweat drenched boys collapsed on the PCV floor.

While gasping for air with a bone dry throat Wonwoo ran his fingers through his hair, trying to get the sweat greased mess back under control.

“Please...tell me…it’s over.”

Soonyoung, in a sitting position, looked down on his starfishly positioned co-dancer and smiled, his entire face lighting up. “That was fun, wasn’t it?”

“Please…”

“Yes, we’re done.”

“Heck yes.”

Wonwoo swallowed dry, turned from his back on all fours and crawled to the chair that held water bottles. After gulping down as much as a single breath allowed, he felt much less hot and generally better. Still thirsty, still grossly sweaty and every joint was begging for the sweet relieve that only a medically induced coma can provide – but better.

“I told you,” said the blond wizard, “that it’s very-“

“OTL. I know. Wait, did it even work? How do I know if it worked?”

Soonyoung closed his eyes and slowly turned on the spot, his arm stretched as if trying to feel out the air before him. “Yes, I can sense it.”

“Sense what? The artefact?”

“Something like that. It’s calling you to itself.”

“Great,” said Wonwoo, opening another bottle. “Does it have a number I can call it back on?”

“It wants you to find it.”

“Of course, nothing can be easy. Where is it and how vague are the directions?”

The ritual caster opened his eyes. “Exactly 6.24 kilometers to the north and 2.79 to the east from where I’m standing right now.”

“That… is surprisingly and unexpectedly helpful.”

Wonwoo opened the map on his phone and stood up on weak, shivering legs. He would travel there right away. After a long, long shower.

“Ready to take a long, long shower?” asked Soonyoung.

“That is exactly what I thought, like, half a second ago.”

“Let’s go then. I mooched some of Jeonghan’s heavenly shampoo. I think he actually gets it from heaven - haven’t seen it in stores anywhere.”

Wonwoo trailed after his yearmate, led by the arm. “I don’t want people sniffing my hair, though,” he mumbled.

“I’ll only use a little on you. Leaves more for me anyway.”

“Wait, we’re doing each other’s hair?”

“We have to. The shampoo instructions are very…”

“Oh no. No!”

“…OTL.”

***************************

“Seriously, Chan?”

The prefect was trying to be angry, he really was. But it was difficult. First of all he was too surprised by what was transpiring, secondly he was dead tired and lastly this whole thing was impressive. Even as a mundane guy with nothing beyond tangential knowledge in magic, he had to hand it to the rueful boy.

“Mind control in your first year? This is notoriously difficult stuff. How did you… How?”

Chan blushed and couldn’t hold back a grin, despite his best efforts to fake a remorseful façade, in hopes of propitiating the dorm leader.

“Well,” he hemmed and hawed. “It’s not even good psycho alteration.”

“Oh I can see it’s not good.” Seungcheol was getting his act back together, his eyes drifting to the latest victim of Chan’s juvenile overconfidence.

They all were standing on the school’s roof by the door the leader had just arrived from. The concrete was littered with the usual magical contraptions that sprouted from the ground like antennae. Someone else was with them – at least physically.

Boo Seungkwan was running in circles, flapping his “wings” while using his voice to imitate birdsong.

Seungcheol looked with increasing puzzlement upon the enchanted student. “How long will he think he’s a… what does he think he is?”

“A peacock.”

“Chan! Not in that tone. This is nothing to be proud of.”

“Sorry.”

“So, how long?”

“Um… those alterations can be…”

“Yes?”

“…Permanent”

“Chan!”

Behind them Boo Seungkwan had been climbing the railing. By now he stood right on top of the metal, his make-believe wings ready for flight.

The moment Seungcheol saw what was about to happen, he mumbled a fain “Boo, oh for fu-“

The bird boy jumped, a joyful melody on his lips.

Chan reacted with amazing speed, slicing the air with his wand as soon as the stick jumped into his hand. An exaggerated gesture and the flash of light it evoked later, the roof was filled with a thick, invisible blanket, like an oppressive avalanche of cotton that washed around the dorm leader as the sea around a rock.

With a heavy pull that was not felt physically, but clearly perceived by the boys, the gaseous blanket rushed down the building, speeding by the falling – yet gracefully flapping – Seungkwan.

The boys raced for the railing and gawked down.

Boo was safe and sound, gently deposited on the walkway’s asphalt. He hopped about, on the lookout for bread crumbs.

Oldest and youngest dorm member looked back at each other. Chan’s secure smile died down.

“…Sorry.”

“Just fix him.”

“Yeah, about that…”

Chapter 5: Resurrection

Chapter Text

Mingyu had thought the list of ingredients was long, but compared to the list of instructions it really was just a glorified grocery list. Some of the steps seemed outright impossible.

“Why is all of this so metaphorical?”

Jihoon tore the receipt from Mingyu’s long fingers. “What do you mean? It’s absolutely clear. Death of the moon refers to early morning, the silver utensil is a spoon and by water’s foe it means a Bunsen burner. Well, any fire source, but this is an ancient receipt. With my little modifications we can shave at least an hour off the whole process.”

“Wow, that’s about half a percent of the entire ordeal.”

The fun-sized potions master ignored Mingyu’s tone and began to add one liter of whale-milk to the concoction. One drop at a time.

The tall wizard was already bored out of his skull. It was entirely surreal. If this creation acted as advertised, he would soon be able to make Wonwoo share his feelings to some extent. Was that even okay? Well, no. But as soon as he thought of his longtime friend, he was assaulted by the familiar flurry of conflicting emotions.

He wanted Wonwoo. He wanted to be with him, by his side, but also in between him and anything he had to be protected from, and maybe with his hand entwined with the others.

And yet whenever they were alone, when the chance to confess was freely given, he was blocked by his cowardice.

Was he hoping Wonwoo would take the first step if his feelings became intensified? Was he hoping that the boy with the voice so deep it made Mingyu’s spine shiver would return his longing stares unashamed, provoking a previously unknown courage in him?

That was pretty much how all his fantasies ran their course. He worked up the nerve and in his head he was already halfway there, his words flowing out of his mouth with confidence and poetry. But then he saw Wonwoo’s face – or worse, his smile – and all valor was lost.

The kettle rattled with bubbles rising as Jihoon dipped a poisoned vine repeatedly into the constantly color-changing concoction.

Seokmin crawled out from behind a shelf, his shirt crusted with wet earth, having been on a journey to the back of the room. “Found the herb you needed, but the plant bit me twice.”

“You should have been more careful,” Jihoon simply stated, not even looking up from his pot.

“Well, I didn’t know it could bite.”

“Why do you think it’s called Man-eater rosemary?”

“All plants in this lab have weird names and when- Never mind, can I get a band aid?”

“I’m busy here. Mingyu, first aid is right by my desk.”

Mingyu focused. Once he had the potion he would figure out what to do with it. And what to do about his feelings. Finally, for sure.

***************************

The bus had taken Wonwoo to the location indicated on his phone. Still, there wasn’t much on the map that resembled a sign saying “free powerful artifacts here”.

He was at the outskirts, in a distinctly picturesque environment. Green rolling hills and ancient trees included. The settlement here was below suburban in density, mostly gardens and closed market stalls. On weekends there might be more happening.

The boy brushed his deep black hair from his forehead and sighed exasperated. Whoever could point him to the tool he needed to win his best friend over was not there – because no one was there. A long journey crammed between mildly gross passengers for nothing.

Wonwoo felt a tap on his shoulder.

As he turned, he found himself eye to eye with a monk in flowing robes.

“Jeon Wonwoo?”

“Y-yes? Do I know you? Do you know me?”

“The scrolls have foretold your coming,” said the bald man. “Please, accompany me.”

The monk gestured to a temple on top of a flat hill. Wonwoo’s heart was beating faster.

“Is this about the artifact?”

“All in due time,” the elder said with a laugh.

Seeing no better options, the boy followed. Was he going to get his object of desire and be on his way? By any chance it wouldn’t be that simple. But if it took a few hours of helping monk with… monk things, he would do so without complaint. Visualizing Mingyu’s face, glistening lips ready to lean in, was enough to make Wonwoo grin and bear pretty much anything.

As he entered the temple area via a little red bridge he blushed at his reflection in the pond below. In hindsight it had been a bad idea to go on a magical quest in his “I hate you” shirt, but it was so comfy.

He could only hope the monk couldn’t read English.

Past several men in similar gorgeously colored robes and into a pagoda off to the side, Wonwoo was glad that none of the others on the grounds seemed to give pay him much attention.

Inside the dingy, incense-stick-smoke filled room were three more monks waiting. The one who had served as a guide took the empty spot place, making them form a corridor from the entrance to the richly decorated gate at the back.

They all stared at the frozen boy with great anticipation.

“The prophecy has come true,” one said.

“The boy must complete the trials,” another added.

“The artifact has called for another master,” said the third.

“Walk without fear,” finally said the original guide.

“O…kay?” Wonwoo didn’t feel confident about this. In fact he very much wanted to tell them thanks-but-no-thanks and turn home.

But he had come so far. And those were monk. They weren’t going to pull out a weapon behind his back once he stepped into the dark room on the other side.

With more bravery than he actually felt he had, the boy walk up to the gate.

***************************

Seungcheol and Chan waved a tattered loaf of old bread, leading the bird-but-actually-boy down the corridor. Behind the mind control victim were Jun and Jeonghan occasionally looking threatening whenever their captive looked back, making sure he did not turn around and try to escape to the roof again.

This was the third try. Two times the bird named Boo had – under terrible screeching – attempted to flee and could only be brought down by Hansol. The rapper was dressed up in several jackets to make himself big and heavy. He held a towel to throw over poor Boo’s head to calm him down when he tackled him.

In the end the trick was to cover the windows in the corridor to make the bird-boy think it was night time and there was nowhere to fly.

Additionally they had enlisted Jisoo to play something a bird might find relaxing. His attempt to imitate warbling on the guitar was arguably successful but the prolonged exposer to the musician’s gift had the boy’s salivating with a growing lust for chocolate.

Hansol rushed forward and burst the door to the ritual room wide open. “Soonyoung! Help! Soony- Hello?”

The group made it inside, trapping the nervously mincing flightless Boo. But the ritual master was not present.

“Dang, he’s always dancing in here,” Seungcheol exclaimed. “Where can he be at this hour? Everyone else is present and accounted for so- Oh, right.”

***************************

“Good boy. Gooooood boy.”

Soonyoung rubbed the huge dog’s cheeks, getting drool on his hands. Finally the overexcited canine released the stick.

“You want it?” Waving the stick in front of the sniffing dog’s nose, Soonyoung took a step back ready to throw again.

The dog snapped his head around.

“Huh? What are you seeing?”

Dashing away, the pet disregarded the dancer’s shouts.

“Minghao, no! Minghao, stop! Leave that squirrel in peace. Minghao, you can’t climb a tree like that. You’re gonna get hurt.”

Looking through his pockets, Soonyoung fiddled for the pack of animal crackers. After helping Wonwoo, this break was well deserved but playing fetch was turning into an adventure of its own. Minghao’s fur would need brushing after this. If the shapeshifter turned back into a boy now, his hair would be a mess for weeks.

It looked like he wasn’t going to make it back to the dorm. Surely they could survive without him for a while.

Extending his hand to feed the returned dog, he mumbled. “Let’s get you cleaned up. They’ll live without me.”

***************************

“We’re dead without Soonyoung.”

Everybody nodded in agreement with their leader. Except Jeonghan who looked pensively upward.

“However…” said the angel.

“Everyone, be quiet,” instructed Seungcheol his already quiet members, “Jeonghan wants to say something. Please, my dear, speak your mind.”

“Well, there is one option we could explore.”

“Ha, how brilliant you are Jeonghan. We can always rely on you. Let’s do it.”

Hansol raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t we hear what his idea is before-“

“Poppycock! The angel has a firm grasp on what to do.”

Jeonghan smiled gracefully, as usual not fazed by the prefects affection. “Keeping Seungkwan away from the roof made me remember that the school uses inverted lighting rods to absorb and redirect ambient stray magic. With all what has been going on here lately there is certainly no shortage of energy we could re-redirect – back down.”

This time Jun interrupted, raising not just one but two eyebrows. “I see how it could theoretically work, but… You can’t seriously suggest-?”

“Yes,” the divine messenger said, “shock therapy.”

Jeonghan looked up at the ceiling to where the lightning rods above them would be. Everybody’s head whipped back and forth between the featureless ceiling and each other’s faces. Finally every student’s eyes drifted to Seungkwan who cooed gently in the corner.

Shock therapy it was.

Chapter 6: Restauration

Chapter Text

With the only light coming from small holes in the roof of the cave far above him, Wonwoo felt his way through the cavern in near complete darkness.

His hands gripped every protrusion in the rough rock, clutching tightly to the wall. His feet felt forward inch by inch, along the thin edge that ran along the wall.

How far was the other side? How deep was the fall? If he slipped would he be able to catch himself before vanishing into the abyss? What waited below? Spikes? A piranha infested river? The skeletons of previous artifact hunters?

Wonwoo kept himself from turning back by mumbling all the reasons he could think of that would motivate him to advance. “MingyuMingyuMingyuMingyuMingyuMingyuMin-“

The edge merged with solid ground. At last he had crossed over.

His hands tapped along the wall faster now, hoping to feel his way to the exit. “Nope, can’t feel anything here. Or here. Got no feel.”

At long last his fingers met some sort of plastic surface. Pressing down on it, revealed it to be a light switch. The cavern became illuminated by neon lights. There was no abyss. The edge had been an ornamental baseboard. The floor was right there.

No one had to know.

Wonwoo entered the cave proper.

***************************

“One mind repair ritual, coming up. Improvisations notwithstanding.”

Seungcheol had hurried back from the library, having transcribed the relevant part from the grimoire. He had not hurried too much, though. His hair was still styled well and his clothes were not the least bit sweaty. That fact that Jeonghan was present in the room had everything to do with it.

The others got up from the ground were they had been observing Seungkwan’s odd behavior.

“Alright,” Jun said, shoving Boo into the room’s middle. “We need to place the four elements in the four corners around the sacrifice. Sufferer, I meant sufferer! Sorry, old demonic habits are hard to break.”

With a grin that could have been apologetic as well as threatening, the vampire took his position in the north.

Hansol walked rounds, pacing back and forth to keep the warbling boy in line.

Jeonghan stepped into the southern corner of the imagined square on the ritual room floor. He floated slightly above ground, his hair untied, flowing in a non-existent breeze.

Jisoo sat down strumming in the east while Chan, glad to be of use, took his assigned place in the west.

From his position directly below the lightning rods, Seungcheol read once gain over the instructions.

“And this can’t go catastrophically wrong?” he asked into the room, his face displaying no emotion whatsoever. Not that he wanted to doubt or even question Jeonghan, but magic had a tendency to make bad things worse. At least when used by Pledis’ students.

Jun just flashed a quick smile. Jisoo kept playing undisturbed, getting really into it. Chan didn’t even dare to look his elder in the eyes.

So it fell to Jeonghan to respond. “Catastrophically? Perhaps not. Terribly, maybe. But what are you going to do? Tell headmaster-nim?”

“I suppose that would be a good-“

“No, please hyung.” Chan looked up now, eyes wide. ”They’ll kick me out.”

Seungcheol’s poker-face faltered. “Sorry Channie, I have to inform him anyway. This is just too much to keep quiet about. I have to think about Boo, too.”

The maknae hung his head low. He didn’t want to think about what that would mean for him. He had something to make right. He would deal with everything else when it came to it.

“Ready?” asked the angel.

Universal nodding.

The room darkened. Jeonghan shimmered like the reflection of sunlight on water. Jun’s aura simmered with iridescent power. The air cooled down. Seungcheol felt his neck hairs stand up.

He read the text aloud. A mundane like him could – presumably – channel the energy through him and into the square without being effected.

“Light of the north, darkness of the south, music of the east, magic of the west. By your powers combined I am captain defibrillation!”

Lighting is a lot brighter when it’s close. And when it rushes past you inches from your face it is a bit much for your eyes to get used to.

Seungcheol fell backwards as the explosion hit the ground between his feet, a flurry of sparks and particles bursting from the charred floor.

“This ritual was a bad idea,” the leader mumbled through the smoke. “Your beginners level spells are of a really poor quality.”

“What? I am best quality!”

“Seungkwan?”

“Who else?”

Universal cheer.

The prefect raised his hands in triumph, before sinking back to the floor. Could this all be over now?

***************************

The “T” didn’t fit and he had one “L” left over.

Wonwoo was beginning to doubt his own intelligence. A dozen wood carved Tetromino pieces were waiting for him to be arranged into a rectangle in the world’s least engaging game of Tetris.

Most annoying was the square. It blocked off too much on the sides but if put in a corner it left him with too many lined up spaces.

He was losing his temper, wondering if anyone would complain of he kicked the door open rather than solve this “puzzle”.

Already he had gone through more ridiculous “trials” than he cared to count. A talking statue had let him pass after getting distracted by a paradox. Not a paradox of Wonwoo’s making, mind you. The statue had simply blabbered along and confounded itself in the process. Magical vines blocking the next door had given way to the sound of a lawnmower quickly downloaded to his phone. The ghost who’s tortured past he was supposed to figure out he had simply walked through. Rooming with Jun on occasion had desensitized him a little.

If putting shapes into slots was what finally broke his winning streak he would have to punch someone.

Feeling pretty emo – not that he was in any way an emo – he let his hand slide lazily over the board, wiping the pieces to the side.

The square landed on the four center fields incidentally.

That he hadn’t tried yet. Could he arrange the rest around this equilateral nuisance?

He could.

The door unlocked for him.

***************************

The sun had long set but in their little laboratory, the trio didn’t know or care.

Softly bubbled the potion, changing its color with excruciating slowness to the desired final hue.

Mingyu was fighting sleep, as he had been for about two hours now. There just wasn’t much more to do other than wait and keep the mixture from thickening too much with the occasional swing of the spoon.

The other boys had left the task to him, preparing the flask in which the potion was destined to reside.

As Mingyu looked at his own reflection on the shifting liquids surface, once more considering his planned deeds. If he managed to intensify Wonwoo’s feelings for him would that make the boy love him back eventually?

Jihoon had been very clear that it was no love potion but enabled Mingyu to take the steps toward building a stronger bond. The rest would still be up to him. Would this be another opportunity he squandered?

The potion master himself returned, holding a color table to the kettle’s content.

A lovely soft pink. That was how the concoction had turned out. Mingyu couldn’t help but notice that it was eerily similar to Jihoon’s hair color. What did he use to dye it? He wouldn’t-?

“It’s finished!” Jihoon exclaimed proudly. “Not bad for a clumsy giant. Fill it up yourself. I’m going to bed. Seokmin, you should shower first, you got a nasty dose of Eternal Itch Thorn on your back when you were under that shelf …Guess I should have mentioned that. Don’t worry, it’s slow to take effect.”

Smiling less brightly now, Seokmin hurried outside. “Good night, friends. See you tomorrow.”

Jihoon glanced over his running experiments one more time and began to open the straps of his overall on his way to the door.

“Don’t forget to turn off the headlights.”

“I won’t. Thank you, Jihoon. You’re the best.”

“Yeah, right.” The shorter boy yawned.

“Really, I owe you.”

“Just don’t make a mess.”

“I won’t. Good night, cutie pie.”

Jihoon trudged through the door. “I’m not cute,” he said cutely, with a cute sleepy voice, too tried to put defiance in his stance.

Mingyu was left alone. With his potion, his hopes, his fears and his tired reflection staring right back at him from the still bubbling cauldron.

Chapter 7: Transformation