MAGIC SHOP. minsung [✓]

chapter three

minho doesn't see jisung again until the mage's wand is fixed.

when he does finally see him again though, jisung seems to be filled to the brim with more energy than minho knew was possible. minho decided that, perhaps in some cases, the folklore about a mage's wellbeing being directly linked with their wand's was likely true after all. when a wand this powerful was feeling its best, the wielder was bound to feel a weight lifted from their shoulders.

jisung stroked the wand with his fingers as if he were delicately petting soonie, the orange kitten with a white nose that had once been a rock brought into minho's shop by jisung. 

"it looks prettier than it ever has before, shiny and glowing and so pretty!" jisung had commented on its appearance, tracing over the small ridges in the wood and admiring each and every flaw that gave the wand its natural beauty.

jisung was right about how much prettier the wand would be when minho was finished. now that it wasn't broken, the magic flowing through it gave the wand a bright blue glow that quickly turned a light shade of pink while in jisung's grasp. minho then wondered if everything jisung touched turned to pink (and was proven partially right when the aura of his venus flytrap seemingly blushed in jisung's presence).

the mage pounced around the emporium happily to keep minho company while practicing old spells and skimming through (reading, as jisung so insistently told minho he was doing despite never letting his eyes linger on a page for more than three seconds before groaning and flipping to the next one) each book in minho's collection.

minho was happy that jisung continued to stick around even after his wand was fixed, his friend was healed, and he required nothing else. if it meant such a pretty boy was hovering by his side throughout the day, then he was perfectly content with letting his personal space be invaded.

if hyunjin knew what minho was thinking in that moment, he wouldn't be hearing the end of it. he would be putting a hand to his forehead and fretting over whether he was feverish or not. ("does he feel warm to you too, changbin?  i mean, he hardly even lets me breathe in his direction without threatening me. there's no way he's in his right mind if he's letting this boy he barely even knows practically snuggle with him!" )

 minho scoffed at imaginary-hyunjin. hwang hyunjin wasn't han jisung; while he had known the former longer, it felt like he had known the latter for much longer. he didn't dislike hyunjin—while he could be a pest, minho knew it was all jokes. he was extremely kind with a periwinkle aura to match.

every aspect of jisung, however, was extremely appealing and admittedly very attractive to minho.

there was no other human on earth, not even his own mother, that made minho want to actually put effort into appearances before meeting. he made sure he was always putting on chapstick—not that minho thought jisung necessarily wanted to kiss him (because that would be insane), he just didn't want jisung to look at his lips and think "oh man! those sure are some chapped lips!"—and started wearing nicer clothes despite knowing that jisung would be his only visitor for the day. his efforts paid off one day.

jisung teleported into the shop like usual that day; he was getting better at it each time he performed the spell, tripping over his own feet less often and landing accurately in the spot he chose more often. he opened his arms wide, as if to say ta-da!, and approached minho with perhaps the widest smile he had ever seen on jisung.

"guess what!" the mage said while he hopped up onto one of the bar stools minho had placed by the counter just for jisung to use as he worked. "wait- minho hyung, were you baking? you smell... fruity!"

minho raised an eyebrow but kept his attention focused on packaging jisung's order of lichen from their previous visit. "i smell fruity, huh?" he asked whilst folding the twine packaging neatly and placing it on the counter in front of the mage. "you wouldn't be wrong. it's probably the chapstick i'm wearing. i broke it on accident while i was trying to put it on and it melted all over everything." he sighed and met jisung's gaze, a wave of embarrassment washed over him. "i'm... still trying to figure out how to hold it."