celestial strings | h.js

four.

You widened your eyes at him incredulously then, surprised by his suggestion. When the three boys turned their hopeful eyes at you, you only shook your head at them. "I can't do that," you said. "We don't have location spells like that."

"What? So what kind of location spells do you have?" Jisung asked, dropping his arms to his sides.

"The kind that finds people? Or the kind that finds places that don't have duplicated names like 'The Meow Café,' " You replied with faint disbelief.

"There is probably only one of those cafés around this area, [Name]," Seungmin pointed out.

You sucked in a breath and forced a smile at him. Seungmin was always so smart, but somehow he was never on the same page as you.

"Right, except the strings don't point out where it is to me so I can eliminate the places," you said. "They pull me towards the place, meaning that if there is one of these cafés down the other direction, I will get pulled towards two different places at once."

Seungmin sighed then. It was a somewhat disappointed sigh. "That's unconventional."

"Phone maps that don't work without an internet connection are also unconventional," you retorted. "At least my strings work anytime I need them to."

"Do they, though?" Seungmin questioned. "Because from my recollection, you said that magic has consequences. And from what I am seeing, your consequence can actually end your life at some point."

Seungmin was about to add to his point when Jisung clamped a hand over his mouth. There was a smile on Jisung's face, but his eyes possessed a glare. Part of him was happy that you and Seungmin's relationship had gotten to this point where you could bicker with him as much as he and Hyunjin would, but sometimes he thought how much more venomous you two were in comparison.

It may be the product of both of you being logical and pessimistic people. When you two argue, it is never like the silly arguments that Jisung has with everyone else. Jisung possessed a ridiculously unserious nature that you nor Seungmin did, thus making every friendly quarrel stupid banters. You and Seungmin were both stubborn and opinionated. It was not the best combination when it came to disagreement, but a deadly great one when it came to needing a solution.

Jisung urged Seungmin to shut up and made sure Seungmin would comply before he was released from Jisung's grip. Jisung turned back to stand by your side, giving Seungmin one last pointed glare to behave. Clearing his throat, Jisung gave everyone a brief look before he suggested, "How about we split up and look for it? If some of us arrive then they can't cancel our reservation."

"Finally, an idea!" Hyunjin exclaimed. "I'll go with Felix!"

Seungmin furrowed his brows as he looked at the two. When he realized he wasn't quite feeling like joining the chaotic duo, he turned to look over at you and Jisung. He frowned more because of the petty argument you two just had, and he grimaced as he took a few steps step.

"I'll ask around by myself," he said.

You looked away, not wanting to meet eyes with him. It was not because you felt wrong about what he said, but it was out of pure spite to act like you couldn't care less. The only reason you were willing to be petty about this was that you and Seungmin knew this wa less than what it seemed to be. It was just friendly hatred. Like siblings, a random question or an offering of food would fix the rigid tension.

You knew he would come around eventually, and you two would be chatting again in no time, so for now, you'd wither under all the spiteful actions you could muster and prepare to apologize to him later.

After the little searching parties were formed, you all went separate in different directions. You and Jisung continued to walk straight ahead while the others went on either side where the roads open up with more stores littered on the side.