Magic Man, SeongJoong

꧁•⊹٭𝚅𝚒𝚎𝚠٭⊹•꧂

Hongjoong watched the mysterious man leave the abode. The door closed on itself, and the colour dial switched to a new colour. Little Yeosang looked at the old man beside him.

"What did you do?" He questioned softly.

Hongjoong too was confused on what had happened. He was only cleaning, after all, the whole place needed a deep clean. Then, Howl had made an appearance near the fire. Hongjoong wasn't going to let the fire go out, he just needed to clear away the ash. It was an accident.

"He's bullying me. You know, if I die, Howl goes with me." Mingi stated as he burned on some fresh logs.

Hongjoong found their bond was interesting, a mere fire in the fireplace was so deeply attached to the wizard somehow, to the point their deaths were connected. Even so, Hongjoong doubted that Mingi would simply just 'go out', he was a fire demon after all.

Hongjoong decided to clear his mind once and for all. More cleaning. After doing the main room for hours upon hours, he expected his body to be sore and achy, but there was a fire fuelling in his own heart. He picked up his bucket and mop, and made his way to the stairs. He was stopped quickly, by a short blonde boy. The said blonde boy had wide eyes, and panicked hands.

"No! Stop, you can't go upstairs yet!"

Hongjoong looked at Yeosang, and then smiled. He did indeed remind Hongjoong of Wooyoung's younger brother. He found it endearing, but nothing would stop his rampage of sudden cleaning. After all, he needed a reason to stay here long enough to figure out this contract between the wizard and the demon.

"Yeosang, if I were you, I'd put your precious things away in a hurry."

Yeosang jumped around and tumbled his way up the stairs and to his hidden room. Beyond the stairs was where Hongjoong had yet to venture. He knew nothing of what was beyond the stairs. He took a deep breath in and began walking up, with slight creaks sounding under his weight. Up the flight of stairs was an easy enough task, with nothing to clean, around the corner was another story. Neglect, with spiderwebs in every corner, wood being eaten away by insects.

Hongjoong's work was cut out for him.

He opened the first door in front of him. The strange enough house became 20x more strange. Inside was a bathroom. A dirty one, with paint and all sorts of spilt concoctions running down the walls. It was like a messy art studio, with bottles of strange liquids open and staining most of the floor. Paint like marks stained the toilet which seemed disorderly, and the bath and shower weren't much better.

He noticed a strange aroma, a mix of the cologne Howl wears, and something acid and toxic like paint and lemons. Hongjoong noticed the windows, and walked over to them and pried one open. A sudden gust of wind hit Hongjoong in the face. It was refreshing, and as he peered out of the window he noticed a sight which could dazzle anyone.

The castle was moving robotically up a mountain! The legs were working hard on the rocky surface to move the castle up and up, almost touching clouds. Hongjoong would've been nervous at the height, but he strangely trusted the old rustic castle run by the fire demon. Instead, the sun peering over the mountains in the distance was magical.

"Calcifer! Are you sure your moving the castle?"

"Yes, of course I am!" Hongjoong heard Mingi's deep voice reply.

"Mingi! Your amazing!" Hongjoong couldn't help but praise, it was quite a feat to move such a thing, and the views were such a reward. Hongjoong wished Mingi could see such a view too.

As Hongjoong skipped back to the window, Mingi was touched by the praise and made the whole castle let out steam, and decided to move the castle a little faster thanks to the sudden motivation Hongjoong had provided. Hongjoong closed the door to the bathroom and went further exploring up more staircases.

He came upon a single green door with a small square of window. Hongjoong's slightly hunched back could just see the blue skies beyond the outside and so he pried open the door. He was lucky to come across a terrace like balcony, where he could step outside freely, and feel the wind hit his whole body. It was freeing, and nostalgic. A complete contrast to the cramped hat shop Hongjoong was used to working in.

Beyond the mountain were hills and more hills, filled with pasture and farm animals. Even a few wild animals were roaming underneath his feet. They didn't run from the castle, and Hongjoong could tell the castle had been here many times over. Both Yeosang and Howl, had both had many opportunities to experience such freedom.

Yeosang jumped up on the balconies metal railings and looked far beyond the horizon with the old man. They stood for a few seconds enjoying the view, and the breeze which wafted through their hair. The closer they got, they noticed a large lake, one big enough for the Loch Ness.

Their nostalgic peace was interrupted by a clanking beside them. Yeosang climbed down and began to figure out what was making the noise. Hongjoong, as much as he didn't want to, decided to check it out too. The two of them noticed an unfamiliar piece of wood caught in the mechanics of the castle. It was jerking and clattering about between metal, where it didn't belong.

"Something's stuck in there." Yeosang muttered, and he squinted to try and figure out what it was.

"Oh, lend me a hand Sangie." Hongjoong huffed as he bent over the metal railings and reached out for the wood.

They pulled on it with both their hands and all their strength, till finally they heaved it up right with the help of the railings. In front of them stood the scarecrow which Hongjoong had found. He was clad in the same messy suit, and a blank face but defined features hidden.

"A scarecrow?" Yeosang questioned.

"Yeah. Let's call him turnip." Hongjoong suggested a name to easily remember him by. After all, that scarecrow was able to move and understand humans. A magic scarecrow deserved a name.

The scarecrow suddenly jumped to life, and made a massive leap from the balcony on top of the castle. Yeosang and Hongjoong looked at it in surprise, the movement having caught them off guard. Hongjoong realised the scarecrow had followed him after he couldn't fit through the door, he felt quite revealed seeing he was alright but confused on why the scarecrow had took a liking to him.

As Hongjoong had started teasing Yeosang, they noticed the castle was pulling to a stop by the start of the lake. As it came to a halt, all the turrets on the moving castle blew out a breath of relief and the whole machine lowered itself to the ground to give the metal legs a rest. 

Hongjoong also decided they would rest here for a bit.