AFFINITY.

part 03 | penicillium digitatum | thirteen

Taehyung sighed as he turned around the corner, seeing the familiar stone wall leading all the way to Yoongi's apothecary. His stomach began to twist as he walked closer, crossing the road so he was now walking next to the wall. Taehyung remembered having been fascinated with it even before he learned about Yoongi's apothecary. He reached out, fingers drifting over the coarse rocks as he continued down the street, the odd magic of the area prickling in the tips of his fingers.

Taehyung wasn't sure what kind of magic that was hiding on the other side of the wall. It was just a weak tingling along Taehyung's skin from where he walked on the street, much like the Wild Magic Faculty felt like when you were approaching it from the lecture halls. Taehyung couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but it was definitely strong. Much stronger than any other wild magic Taehyung had ever encountered before. He could feel it even in Yoongi's shop, lurking and dragging him in. Half of Taehyung's accidents within the shop was because the strange magic that was pulling at his powers while he was too distracted by Yoongi's dazzling presence.

Being close to the wall and Yoongi's shop was a little like being connected to a battery for Taehyung. It was like someone unleashed his magic, making his already uncontainable magic even harder to keep under control.

It was like small sparks of electricity were jumping between him and the wall, the magic on the other side pulling at him, wanting Taehyung to come closer.

Taehyung always wondered if the rumors he heard on campus were true, that there was a garden on the other side of the wall, filled with plants people could only envy. He glanced up seeing a few branches peeking out from over the wall. It was mostly fruit threes but a few of them did indeed look rare. He had heard that there was a Blood Oak growing in the garden, its blood red branches visible from the street, but he had never seen it himself. He didn't feel it was right to go looking for something like that when it obviously belonged to someone else. Besides, if there was a garden on the other side it had to be huge. The wall looked never-ending and Taehyung hadn't really had the time to walk along the entire wall yet.

He was usually in too much of a hurry to get to Yoongi.

Taehyung sighed, feeling Bogum echo his mood on top of his hat. It wasn't just Taehyung who was feeling sad. Bogum was getting pretty miserable as well. His leaves were limp and a few of them were even beginning to get yellow around the edges. Taehyung had tried cheering the ivy up with both prima fertilizer and Careless Whisper on repeat. But it was no use.

Bogum was just as sad as Taehyung.

Taehyung didn't know what had happened. One day Yoongi had been fine, awkwardly grumbling at Taehyung like always and the next he had been cold and distant. Taehyung couldn't help but wonder if he had done something wrong. His stomach twisted at the thought that Yoongi might have figured out that Taehyung was in love with him.

The idea hurt, but it was like a stubborn pebble in Taehyung's head. No matter what Taehyung did he couldn't get rid of it, it just kept poking at him, its sharp edges boring into him constantly reminding him of his presence.

Taehyung couldn't come up with any other ideas that would explain why Yoongi was suddenly acting like this. Sure, Taehyung hadn't really had time to talk with Yoongi after the whole mess with the Sleeping Potion, but Yoongi couldn't have gotten mad about Taehyung having been busy with midterms and studying. It still mystified Taehyung because Yoongi didn't seem like the type to suddenly get mad at anyone, at least not without yelling the reason at their face first.

The shop came into focus, popping oddly out of the wall like it didn't really belong. An odd stray thought brought to life. The building itself was huge, stretching up above the wall, small window boxes filled to the brim with flowers hanging under most of the windows. The building was old, but it was so beautifully built that it was on several tourist maps. It was clearly western inspired with its many levels and brick facade, but its Korean origin was clear in the roof and the beautifully carved wood around the windows.