Magic Man, SeongJoong

꧁•⊹٭𝚆𝚊𝚒𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚎٭⊹•꧂

It wasn't just a blue light, it was a blue illuminated room. It was a simple room, nearly empty. It had one simple wooden door, and a window. Underneath the window was a bench, and by the door was one coat hanger which had a large brown coat hung on it. Hongjoong saw a table in the middle of the room, and a gun hung up. There was a tiny fire oven, and a stone bench beside it. It was so empty, yet held so much meaning to Hongjoong.

He couldn't explain the feeling in his heart, but he loved this place. It felt nostalgic and old to him, almost like he had been here before. The feeling was foreign to him, perhaps he was going a little bit crazy after the fall, but this place was speaking to his soul.

As he moved closer, he saw writing tools on the table. A quill and some ink to accompany it, and paper which had been written on. Books were here and there. Hongjoong checked his ring to see if this was the right place, he realised the orange line had faded completely. He looked around for a hidden Mingi, but there was no one in sight.

A scratching at the door got Hongjoong's attention, and Heen was there, telling Hongjoong to open the door. The man's curiosity got the better of him, and he opened the door to the random person's house. He walked outside, and his eyes were drawn to the many shooting stars which littered the sky. They looked extraordinary in their many different colours, and Hongjoong watched in awe. He watched one in particular as it seemed to shine the brightest.

As it fell and fell, Hongjoong realised it was going to hit the ground. When it did, the spot it hit lit up in a golden hue. It lasted a second before the shine was gone, and the darkness remained in its place. It happened once more, and Hongjoong felt a subtle sadness about the disappearing light.

Then, the light re-appeared once more. Even brighter than the last and Hongjoong turned to the sky to watch it as it fell from over his head. This particular star was so incredibly bright, it's shine stretched to the far end of the field all the way back to Hongjoong. In the shooting star's brightness, Hongjoong realised he was somewhere familiar. The flower field which was gifted to him by Seonghwa.

He also realised one more thing. A shadow on the far field. A young boy was walking the field, looking at the shooting stars. Hongjoong knew it was Howl. As a bright cluster of more fallen stars came closer, Hongjoong was staring at a young Seonghwa who was watching the fallen stars coming towards him on the field. Hongjoong was confused...he had entered the past? He wished it, but he never expected it to happen.

It was if something had snapped in place for Hongjoong. As he watched Seonghwa, everything came hurdling towards him. Everything he had been so blind about. The contract between Howl and Mingi. The words Mr. Suliman had said. What Jongho had said about Calcifer being Howl's heart. The rumours spreading around Hongjoong's town. All of this led to this moment.

Hongjoong realised that Calcifer is a fallen star.

He ran from the houses' front porch and down the stairs. He needed to get to Howl quickly, to stop whatever happens here, in this moment. He pushed forward in the fields heavy mud, even as his boots were sinking, he pushed forward.

This was Howl's childhood. His lonely childhood. Shooting stars were hitting the lakes by Hongjoong's side, and he watched as the shooting stars burst into flames on the water's surface, and the tiny translucent bodies ran and eventually burnt out in the water. Hongjoong thought it was ominous now that he understood this was personified in Seonghwa's future.

Hongjoong halted suddenly, surprising himself. Yet, a shooting star zoomed in between his feet, catching him off guard. He watched as the star sizzled out of light. The mud had almost taken over the soles of his boots, sticking him in the mud completely. Hongjoong was at a lost of what he could do. Howl was still so far away, beyond a lake, beyond reach.

Another extremely bright shooting star lit the whole fields, and Hongjoong eyes watched as it fell and fell. He was expecting another burst of light, yet the falling star didn't hit the ground at all. It found itself safely in the hands of a small boy. It landed in Seonghwa's hands, a flash of sparkles coming off in happiness. Hongjoong watched it closely.

Howl was taking to the star, and Hongjoong was too late. A deal had been struck. Hongjoong watched as the young boy lifted a tiny ball of blue towards his mouth, and digested the fallen star. The dazzling light around the young boy disappeared, and suddenly he was in pain. His hands clenched his chest, and eventually in the star's place was an orange flame.

Hongjoong truly acknowledged that the heart of Howl was indeed the flame of the castle. In that Mingi's contract, he needed Hongjoong to realise the wizard didn't have a heart because Calcifer was indeed the heart itself.

Hongjoong knew what he needed to do-

The floor caved in from under him, the ground was a whirlpool right beneath his feet. He heard a snap, and the ring on his finger was no longer there. He looked down to see darkness engulf his feet. It seemed as if time was moving slower as Hongjoong looked back at the young boy, and the fire in his hands.

He called out – hoping one last time, he could change what has happened.

"Seonghwa! Mingi!" Hongjoong saw as they tried to catch his voice in the wind, "It's Hongjoong! Wait for me! I promise I'll come back for you! Find me in the future!"

Hongjoong could only hope he had reached out in time, and that they heard his every word. The ground had swallowed him and the spy dog up, and in their place, it seemed to the young boy that something strange had happened, or nothing had happened at all.