To love and to Hate

6: Are you taking care of me?

Jeongin shook his hand. "No problem. I'm actually a mage as well, I just... haven't found the opportunity to leave this place yet."

Something twisted in Jisung's chest, an understanding. He'd once been trapped alone, surrounded by a frozen wasteland with no future ahead. "Well, maybe we can help you with that, too," he offered, giving a small smile.

Jeongin beamed, a wide smile that lit the air around them. "I would appreciate that. Let's go in now, it's cold."

Inside, Minho was already standing in front of the fire burning brightly in the small hearth, his bag left to sit on the badly deformed sofa right behind him as he warmed himself.

The front room was small, with only one chair accompanying the sofa. Through a small doorway to the left of the fireplace, a small kitchen area could be seen, once again with minimal furniture of a single chair and a very small table. Three closed doors sat on the far wall, presumably the bedrooms and washroom.

A familiar tightness filled Jisung's chest, and he slowly let out a breath, mentally counting down. The size and state of this little home was bringing him back to that place he'd escaped those years ago, and he sure as hell didn't want to drop into flashbacks while on the job.

Jeongin's voice thankfully interrupted the shadow looming over Jisung. "The washroom is that middle door, and the door on the left is the guest room. Feel free to use both as you need, and of course, warm up as much as you need to. I'm sure you were hit by that blizzard last night."

"We were, actually, so would you mind if we dried some of our things here by the fire?" Minho asked, his voice surprisingly polite.

"Not at all, make yourselves comfortable. I was just about to make some lunch, so I'll get started on that." Jeongin  dipped his head a little awkwardly but politely, and quickly made his way into the small kitchen across the way.

Jisung turned to Minho, who was already crouching and pulling some of his clothes out to dry in front of the hearth. "We have to get him out of here."

Minho didn't spare him a glance. "Why do you say that?"

"If you were nice for once and stayed back to properly introduce yourself, you would already know that he's a mage."

That made Minho finally pause his actions, looking up at Jisung with furrowed brows. "He is? I must have missed seeing the mark on his neck."

"Again, you weren't there to hear what he had to say. I think he's kind of stuck here, in a way. He hasn't had the chance to be officially signed as a mage because he hasn't even left this place." Jisung gestured around. "And who would willingly stay in a place like this?"

Minho studied him, those blue and brown eyes digging through his soul like a pirate digging through a treasure chest. It was like Jisung could physically feel his gaze, and he rubbed his arms.

Time to change the subject before Minho started spewing nonsense of some sort. "So who uses the washroom first?"

Gratefully, Minho went back to his task, shaking his head slightly. "I'll bet my whole life savings this place doesn't have running water."

"Okay, so-"

"So we should just share it."

An obnoxious laugh jumped out of Jisung's throat. "You really need to work on your jokes, Mage Minho."

The water mage was suddenly on his feet, now barely a foot away. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

Jisung's smile dropped at the sight of Minho's blank expression. "You can't be serious. You really are just a pervert."