on his way home that night, after tinkering with jisung's wand and carefully packaging the flower to take with him, minho stopped by his parent's place. if he wanted to get more of the flowers jisung was searching for, it was going to be ten times faster if his mom used her magic to get him there; she was wary though, and minho couldn't blame her, but the tension in her shoulders eased up a bit when she too noticed the charm placed on the flower.
"are you sure this mage isn't pretending to be clumsy and foolish?" she queried, tracing the cerulean petals delicately with the tip of her finger. minho watched in awe as he could almost see a shimmer chase after her finger before fading away. "this is an extremely difficult spell to cast, minho- even i am unable to cast it. either this kid isn't aware of his own power or is up to no good."
minho shook his head. even though he couldn't see jisung's aura, something in him told him that he could trust jisung with his entire being (though he didn't mention the lack of aura, as that would have only made his mother find the boy even more suspicious). "mom trust me- i've been around jisung for only ten minutes and that's more than enough time to find out that i don't think he's capable of planning anything in this detail." his mom smiled at that. "i doubt he interacts with anyone enough to know his own strength. it's probably how he broke his wand," minho grumbled to himself, deep in thought about blonde mages and pink dust.
minho apparently wasn't the only one to come to this conclusion.
once his mom finally agreed to help him get the cerulean cosmos the next evening and after he had slept poorly throughout the night, minho had to wake up earlier than he originally planned to get ready for his trip before heading to the monthly "very much required" lunch his old acquaintances from high school had set up (they were really just a way for chan to keep in contact with his old friends, and minho ended up tagging along because he happened to be in the room when the arrangement was made). chan usually ended up paying for him, but this time minho declined. he had at least a little bit of extra spending money thanks to jisung - but what he didn't expect was for hyunjin to impose on his privacy until minho had to throw jisung under the bus because there was "no way minho had that much money so suddenly!"
though it originally started with the others being upset that minho never told them about his shop, even though he was certain he had after hyunjin had complained about no good emporiums being open, the mage ended up being the chosen topic of conversation for that afternoon. and changbin had decided to vocalize his conspiracy theories about jisung - though much of it were just facts that seemed obvious to minho. hyunjin and felix disagreed though, so he ended up being overruled and forced to listen to things he could have told them already anyway.
"okay but hear me out-" changbin started, which seemed to catch felix's attention in the form of two raised eyebrows. "not that kind of hear me out, but hear me out! this jisung guy has probably only ever been taught how to control magic if you're a completely ordinary spellcaster, which obviously isn't going to go over as well with someone who is as powerful as he likely is, and that's why he keeps breaking his shit!" changbin slammed his hand on the table when he was done speaking, as if he had made some monumental discovery about the universe. felix and chan seemed to agree though, though one was nodding more fervently than the other.
minho picked his drink up to start chewing on the straw when hyunjin shook his head and started to speak up. hyunjin was usually the one speaking in exaggerated movements and recommending the craziest shit out of all of them - minho could only imagine what he could possibly come up with about jisung from what little he knew. "that could be true but what if jisung's a master of the dark arts? but like, using it for bad, y'know? what if jisung's evil?"
he nearly choked on his own spit. jisung and evil in the same sentence? minho knew he was insane to be speaking based on five minutes of interaction, but even felix huffed at hyunjin's dramatic theory - typically felix was the main person enabling hyunjin's antics, which caught minho off-guard for a brief second.
"alright, alright! no more talk about the mystery mage." chan glanced at minho apologetically. he only shrugged in return. "besides, minho can read auras, can't he? i'm sure if jisung had evil intentions that he would have been the first person to have noticed," the oldest mumbled while turning his attention back to the meat that he noticed changbin had started 'stealing' by transferring the bites to felix's already stuffed to-go box. hyunjin pouted but was quick to apologize in case they had accidentally made minho feel like they had underestimated his power.
minho just kind of awkwardly nodded his head in response, not really feeling the need to accept the apology when they didn't really do anything wrong, but still wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. he wanted to head out for the cerulean cosmos as soon as he possibly could; the sooner he got the flower jisung had requested, the faster he could finish fixing the mage's wand without having to stress himself out over the second half of the order.
and maybe (just maybe!) it would mean getting to see jisung earlier than what he originally expected.
minho stumbled over to the counter of his emporium where his mother was staring at him with almost an evil smirk. she was a powerful witch - there was no way one of her teleportation spells would be so unstable so suddenly, and minho was proven to be absolutely correct by her sudden burst of laughter and the flood of apologies that followed. he couldn't find it in him to be mad when the trek to finding what was now a beautiful bouquet of one of the rarest flowers in the world had felt just as easy as stealing small amounts of money from the fake emporiums nearby.
"the protection spell your customer casted was that powerful, huh?" minho's mom held her hand out until an empty vase had practically thrown itself across the room to let her hold it. it was empty, overwatering being a 'big no-no' for cosmos, and set the flowers inside for them to be displayed beautifully until jisung returned. "you came back with a greater batch of these things than the luckiest loser on earth could ever come up with."
minho straightened up and lifted his chin in a prideful manner, though the only thing he really did was pick flowers while jisung's spell warded off anything that attempted to approach him within a 25- kilometer radius. "of course i did. when have i ever half-assed anything?" minho lifted himself onto the counter in a comfortable sitting position and ignored the look his mom was giving him. "i mean- ignoring the fact that i didn't really have to do anything, did you really think i was going to let an opportunity to grab up some more pass me by?"
she shrugged and gently stroked one of the petals. minho had to admit; an abundance of the flowers were far more beautiful in person than any picture printed in the newspapers. they were a perfect balance of blue and white hues that shimmered ever so slightly under proper sunlight. minho would make sure to care for each flower in his care, including the one jisung had already enchanted with his magic. "i'll leave you to it then," his mom said, breaking him from his chain of thought about a cute mage (that may have been named jisung, but he wasn't about to tell you that). "and i know i didn't say this before, but i'm proud of you, honey."
the corners of his lips quirked up at her compliment. minho was proud of himself too. his hard work and patience were finally paying off. "thanks for helping me out, mom. love you."
"i love you more, min." she sauntered off to the front door and gave a quick glance back at her son, though minho's attention was now focused on the poor wand that had started to tremble sadly in front of him. "and make sure you really give that mage a special thank you for going through all that work to protect you, yeah?"
minho scoffed. as if she wasn't aware she raised a gentleman.
minho was always taught by his parents to expect the unexpected, but what he really wasn't expecting was to see jisung poof himself back into the shop so soon after accepting the order to fix his wand. it had only been two days since he had both left for and returned from his trip to retrieve the flowers, and the wand wouldn't be complete for another three days at minimum. before he could open his mouth to scold jisung though, the blonde held up one hand (minho just noticed that his fingernails were painted a lovely shade of black) to stop the shop owner from speaking before he could.
"watch this!" jisung exclaimed before setting a small stone down on the floor in front of. minho quirked his eyebrows at the younger, only to have a pouty mage whine at him about being patient. he held out one hand again, palm towards the stone, and whispered a soft spell under his breath that minho couldn't quite make out.
moments later there was a kitten mewling happily on the shop's floor, and minho was on the other side of the counter and crouched next to the small animal in half a second. he could hear jisung giggling elatedly behind him as he cradled the kitten in his arms.
"do you like him? i was practicing a few of the spells i could use without my wand and accidentally turned a tree stump into a dog so- i have a dog now, and i thought to myself..." the mage clapped his hands together. "well, you seemed like a cat person! do you-" minho turned to face jisung, the kitten kneading at his forearm, and watched as jisung stumbled over his words in an attempt to explain just why he decided to transform a rock into a living being. "the rock seemed sad on its own and you're the only person i know who i could trust to take care of it! i thought it would be difficult to just hand you a rock and ask you to keep it company, though."
minho blinked slowly at jisung, but not because he thought the younger boy was crazy. he understood what it meant to think even something lifeless like a rock could feel lonely; the kitten's aura had brightened an intense amount ever since he had carefully lifted him from the ground.
he ran his fingers through the kitten's fur while jisung watched nervously. was this a gift? minho watched jisung struggle for a few seconds longer before taking pity on the mage and smiling up at him from where he was still crouched on the floor. "thank you sungie, i'll make sure to give this little guy the best company ever, yeah?" jisung visibly relaxed at the other's words, though his cheeks were tinted a light shade of pink from the nickname. minho wondered if jisung's currently ill friend had ever called him the same nickname, if they had gotten the same reaction.
he kind of hoped not.
minho forced himself back into a standing position to let the kitten roam around the shop to explore as he pleased, and gestured to the crooked door at the back of the shop. (he had intended to fix it ages ago but it had never seemed as important as anything else in the shop.) "if you're not too busy would you like to have lunch with me? i was just about to start eating before you popped in."
jisung's eyes widened for a brief moment before crinkling from how widely he smiled. it was next to impossible to not pinch his cheeks in that moment. jisung's cheeks puffed out when he smiled and to minho it was extremely endearing. hell, all of jisung was endearing to minho, but there was no way he would ever admit to how quickly he became attached to the mage that just came into his life three days ago.
how dare jisung abruptly barge into minho's life and change his brain chemistry with every passing second?
"yes! i mean- no, i'm not too busy! yes. thank you. food. sorry." minho giggled (fucking giggled) while jisung placed both his hands on his head as if he had just witnessed the most atrocious crime, although to jisung it likely felt like he had just been the one to commit the crime. he let out a shaky laugh and closed his eyes. "if it's not too much of a bother to you, i would really like to join you. thank you."
"polite, are we?" minho queried with his head cocked to one side. he decided to spare the younger from his self-inflicted embarrassment and made his way to the small room that he dedicated to being a 'break room' despite not exactly needing it. still, it was a much more comfortable place to enjoy a meal or quick snack without having to worry about adding more mess to the already cluttered front desk. "nobody else will be showing up today, and i always have at least a little leftover, so i promise it won't be a bother to me."
jisung didn't verbally respond; minho assumed he probably nodded and forgot that the older couldn't see him no matter how close he was standing if he was behind him. "you have to pinky promise though, 'cos if you break a pinky promise with a mage i get to steal it and use it for my next concoction." he felt a light tap against his shoulder that he assumed was jisung's pinky.
minho laughed heartily at the reference to the urban myth - a tall tale told to all children to build upon the already existing rift between the magic and ordinary. minho had debunked it an early age when he watched his dad pinky promise to not eat the last slice of cake while his mom went to visit her parents and then proceed to break the promise five minutes after his mother left. both of his pinkies were still perfectly intact. "okay, a pinky promise it is. i pinky promise you're not bothering me by joining the meal that i invited you to join."
minho heard jisung let out a sigh of relief behind him. he turned to face jisung and held the door open for him with a bow that was much more formal than it needed to be. jisung looked both amused and extremely confused at the same time, but minho took it as a win when jisung uttered a soft 'thank you' as he passed by.
the break room was like an entirely different realm with the combined mixture of storage and various other trinkets that he liked to fiddle with whenever he needed a distraction from the emptiness that was the main shop. minho almost felt sorry for jisung as he watched the already flustered boy struggle to figure out if he was allowed to move the pile of books set on the only other chair.
jisung's perseverance (or whatever it was) to make sure minho's life was imprinted with his touch clearly won over in the end; the mess of books that was somewhat organized before was now scattered across the floor in a jisung's-clumsy-ass-was-here sort of way, and jisung had planted himself firmly in the seat.
"what's for lunch?" jisung asked while minho busied himself with heating up his meal, to which minho answered that they would be eating japchae and not much else - he didn't really give himself time to prepare anything else before he rushed over to start working on jisung's wand. every few glances that minho spared jisung's way found the other boy swinging his legs or calling the kitten over so he could scratch it behind the ears. "do you need fire? i can make fire!"
"no-" jisung was a very talented mage, he was sure of it, but minho absolutely would not trust him with fire. the shop had barely been back in business for a week, and he wasn't willing to risk the entire thing burning down. no thank you. "i appreciate the offer but i value my life."
"you're no fun," jisung muttered. the small pout that had started to form on his lips dissipated once minho set jisung's serving down in front of him. not that minho couldn't blame him. if there was one thing minho had to take pride in (after the goods and services his shop offered, of course) would have to be his cooking. "th-thank you, minho!"
minho settled into the seat across the table from jisung, who was still beaming at him through the steam of their warm food. "no need to thank me. you're kinda the only reason i'm not wallowing in self-pity right now." he stuffed a bite of far-too-hot food into his mouth to avoid having to elaborate further; jisung looked far too confused for minho to handle.
"self-pity? the 'almost-closing-up-shop' thing wasn't a joke?" jisung's face fell at the realization, his chopsticks frozen just above his food. the pout that minho so badly wanted to poke was back before he knew it. minho couldn't tell if the mage was genuinely upset or not; his aura was still completely empty. "i'm the only customer that's been here in a while, aren't i?"
minho swallowed the food in his mouth, still hesitant to explain or admit to any more than he needed to. "you are. i mean, my parents have offered on occasion, but my mom grows her own stuff and i would much prefer to gift them things for free instead of asking the people who raised me to spend money for it. but you-" jisung's eyes widened comically when minho started to talking about him and the older had to resist the urge to laugh. "i know that you're just here because the other emporiums are all much too overpopulated, but it still means a lot that you went beyond my expectations to make sure i was unharmed and also well-paid." almost over-paid really. jisung's enchanted flower had done all of the work and yet he still insisted on paying minho for the service.
jisung still had yet to start eating. he was focused on minho's words as if he were listening to the most important thing in the world (and maybe to jisung it was the most important thing in the world at that moment), leaning in over the table to study minho's expression intently. he must have found what he was looking for, because he nodded and leaned back with his arms crossed over his chest. "that settles it. if it keeps you from being sad, i'll make sure that this is the only place my friend and i buy from, and to protect you with silly little spells all the time!"
minho actively pretended like his cheeks weren't burning bright red from the mage's promise and nodded his head curtly. "and i'll make sure to keep fixing your wand whenever you break it, yeah?"
"more delicious food too?" jisung asked, waving his chopsticks just in front of minho's eyes with a small giggle.
"yeah," minho replied, a smile gracing his features as he tucked back into his lunch. "more delicious food."
whenever jisung just grabs his whole head i become absolutely devastated and i go feral but gently. gently feral