*I heard this song and suddenly this story was born in my brain. It's so good y'all. This vibe is the vibe of this story.
*If not showing, it's No Good: Ruelle
The doors of the main guild house burst open. "Minho!"
The guild master sighed. "Here we go," he muttered under his breath.
Mage Jisung stormed into the main hall, fire trailing after his fingers as he approached the water mage sitting at a table enjoying his supper.
"That's Mage Minho to you," he said casually, moving to take another bite of the meat on his plate.
Jisung's hand jerked out and the plate disintegrated in a poof of smoke. "What the hell are you doing nosing into my jobs? I had that troll perfectly handled, yet when I went to take care of the problem the villagers told me a water mage already took care of it."
Minho leaned back, finally glaring up at the fire mage standing over him. "There are plenty of water mages out and about, you know."
"Right, lots of water mages that share your name. How could I possibly get confused?"
"Sarcasm doesn't suit you, darling."
Flames erupted along Jisung's shoulders and he barely stopped himself from strangling the mage in front of him. Instead he curled his hands into fists and let his fire burn along his knuckles. "You know damn well I claimed that job, and you went and stole it anyway."
Minho pushed to his feet, the look on his face so smug that Jisung wanted to burn it off. "I was just getting you back for that job in Ninth Port."
Jisung hated the way Minho seemed to tower over him, his multicolored eyes pinning Jisung below him. He jabbed Minho's chest. "That's because you sabotaged my mission just before that."
Minho's expression darkened and a cold smile grew on his lips. "I've told you not to touch me, darling."
Anger coiled in Jisung's gut. "Why you-"
"Alright that's enough!" An invisible force pushed between the mages, sending them stumbling back away from each other. The guild master, Chan, now stood a few feet away, glaring at his top mages. "After two years of this, I thought you would learn to deal with this like the adults you are."
Minho pointed at Jisung. "He's not an adult."
"I'm twenty, you son of a-"
"I said that's enough!"
The water mage and the fire mage looked down, not daring to cross their master's temper. Chan was scary when he was angry.
"Rivalry is not a big problem. It's healthy, even, but this has gone too far. I will not have you tarnish the honor of mages. You are part of the same guild, for crying out loud."
Jisung dared to look up. "If Minho can stop stealing my jobs, I will stop stealing his, and we can compete fairly." He glared at the water mage in emphasis.
Minho looked him up and down in that infuriating way of his. "Life isn't fair, little fire mage. I thought you'd know that by now, but I guess not."
I'm going to kill him. Jisung turned on his heel and stalked out of the main guild house. He needed to burn something, to destroy something before he accidentally destroyed one of his fellow guild members.
Mages were washed free of surnames the moment they were discovered to possess magic in order to promote a sense of privacy for their identity. Mages were involved in risky jobs, so they needed as much discretion as they could get. But even then Jisung never forgot who Minho was.
The day they met, Jisung was struggling against a team of bandits that took over a small rural village, and he was on the verge of being cornered when a flash of white sent the bandits sprawling.
Standing on the roof of a nearby butcher shop was a mage dressed in dark, plain clothing and armed with a short sword. "Need some help, darling?" was what he'd said.
Jisung was injured at the time with a knife embedded in his leg. He glared at the newcomer in question.
The water mage jumped to the ground, rolling into a crouch and bouncing to his feet smoothly. He was beyond handsome. Raven hair that reflected different colors in the sun, mismatched eyes, one a soft brown, the other a striking blue. He stepped over the three guys Jisung had already taken care of and proceeded to chase the bandits off completely.
The villagers praised him, gave him gifts and more money than they had originally offered for the job. All while Jisung was left unacknowledged, a weapon still lodged in his skin. He didn't complete the job, who would thank him?
When Jisung finally gathered the strength to remove the knife, he did so with a background noise of people chanting one name: Mage Minho. The water mage soaked it all up.
A day later, Jisung's blood boiled upon seeing Minho standing inside the dining hall of the guild shaking Chan's hand as he was welcomed into the Goldenspire guild.
And Minho so clearly recognized Jisung because he smirked the moment they made eye contact.
Even now, over two years later, Jisung wanted to burn away that image of Minho strolling into his life. He wished he gave the water mage a better beating than he did the first time they fought.
"Hey!"
Hell, this guy can't take a hint. Jisung kept walking, acting as if he didn't hear. He was headed for the bar located across the guild, in need of a strong drink after another failed job.
"Don't act like you can't hear me, Jisung."
"I can't hear you."
A wall of water rose up in front of Jisung, making him stumble back a step. He finally whirled on Minho, his glare made to kill. "Water kills me the same way fire kills you, now back off."
The wall of water only wrapped closer, effectively caging him toward the water mage. "If you used that pretty little head of yours sometimes, you would have given me some time to explain myself."
Jisung eyed the water around him cautiously, making sure it couldn't touch his body. Only water produced from magic could hurt him, and it hurt like a bitch. "There's nothing to explain, Minho. You stole another one of my jobs, simple as that."
Minho rolled his eyes and pulled a crumpled piece of paper from the black jacket draped over his broad shoulders. "The job was posted twice." He slapped the parchment into Jisung's hand. "You have the notice in your pocket, don't you?"
Wanting nothing more than to be petty, Jisung just glared at Minho for a long moment before finally giving in and searching his own clothes. Within seconds he found the original job posting, and he compared the two sheets of paper. They were identical, signed by the village chief in the same spot.
"What the hell? How did this get past Chan?"
Minho shrugged like it wasn't all that important. "I think he got a new assistant recently. They could have stamped both postings without realizing it."
Jisung's eyes narrowed. "How do I know you didn't have anything to do with this?"
"Why would I?"
"To mess with me."
Minho arched a brow, a smirk growing on those infuriating lips. "And if I did have something to do with it?"
Jisung lifted his chin. "Then I'll burn you to ash."
That smirk grew. "You've used that threat before, darling, and I'm still standing here, aren't I?"
"Fuck you."
Victory sparked in Minho's mismatched eyes, and he finally backed up a step, letting the water surrounding Jisung drop. "You should watch that mouth of yours before it gets you into real trouble one day."
The fire mage flicked his fingers up, and a fire ignited on Minho's shoulder. Jisung turned on his heel with a smug smile and walked away as the water mage cursed and patted at his clothes.
If Minho got in his way again, he wouldn't hold back on his threats.
✿✿✿
"And a pound of those," Jisung decided, pointing at the little blue fruits on the far left of the merchant's stand. The sun was beating down today, but Jisung wasn't affected by it. Perks of being born of fire.
"That'll be forty-two credits."
Jisung blinked. I need another job as soon as possible. I'm low on funds. It physically pained him to pay for the bag of food, but he managed it. "Thank you."
"Please return any time."
I won't, you're too pricey. "I will." Jisung walked away, easily avoiding the people bustling through the market. He was supposed to be enjoying a week off, but after Minho stole his last job, he no longer had that option. He'd avoided the guild for a few days, not wanting to risk killing Minho the moment he saw him. But at this point, he had no choice.
Jisung was a few blocks from his apartment when the back of his neck tingled with the feeling of being followed. Life as a mage could involve danger at any time, so he wasn't exactly surprised. He continued walking the way he usually did. He pretended to drop his coin pouch, and as he bent to pick it up he scanned the street behind him. A shadow moved out of sight at the end of the street.
Yes, I saw you. Idiot.
Jisung wasn't about to waste the food he spent so much money on, so after quickly stepping around a corner, he tucked the bag into a gap between buildings. He kept going, hands in the pockets of his black trousers, focused on the street behind him. As he neared the end of the street, he noticed movement from where he just came.
At the next turn, Jisung scanned the building beside him and quickly scaled the jagged stone ledges lining the wall. He balanced himself a decent height from the ground and pressed himself against the building as he waited for his stalker.
It didn't take long for a tall figure dressed in dark, old fashioned clothes round the corner. Their head frantically moved around, obviously looking for their target.
That's when Jisung decided to move. He dropped onto the stalker, and they rolled across the crooked cobbled street. He had them pinned immediately and he tore their hood off, revealing a man he'd never seen before with an ugly scar running down his cheek.
Jisung held his free hand above the man's face, letting fire dance across his fingers. "Who are you, and why are you following me? Detailed answers now."
The man's eyes were filled with fear. He pressed his head against the ground in an attempt to escape Jisung's fire. "Please- please d-don't hurt me!"
"You shouldn't say that to a mage you were just stalking. Now answer me before I lose my patience and add more scars to that ugly face of yours."
He frantically shook his head. "I'll talk, I swear."
"Then do it."
"Some guy hired me to follow you for the next few days. I don't know his name, I swear it."
Heat curled in Jisung's chest. Who would dare violate his privacy? "When was this?"
"L-last night. He was masked and paid me to do it without question."
"What's the reason for this? Did he ask you to report back to him?"
The man was shaking his head again. "My only instruction is to report when you take jobs."
That made Jisung pause. Then he let out a deadly, humorless laugh. "He was a mage, wasn't he?"
"I don't know, it was dark, he was in the shadows I couldn't see if he had a mark. Now please let me go, I answered your questions!"
Jisung rolled his eyes and pushed to his feet, nudging the man to get up. "Get out of here, and if I see you again I won't hesitate to scalp you."
"Y-yes!" The man ran off rather clumsily.
Jisung had a feeling he knew exactly who hired that stalker. And he was going to have a chat with him.
After rescuing his stashed food, Jisung made his way to his apartment, double checking his surroundings as he went. He stored his food and then left his apartment, being sure to lock it down completely before he made his way to the guild.
The main guild hall was fairly lively with members wandering around preparing for jobs or eating the fresh food served from the cafeteria. Chan was at one of the tables with a pile of papers and scrolls surrounding him. Jisung made a beeline for him.
"Are these fresh jobs?"
Chan glanced up at him with slightly raised eyebrows. "Aren't you off for a week?"
"I don't have enough funds. So these jobs?" Jisung picked one of the sheets off the table.
Chan snatched the parchment away. "Yes, they're new. I'm not done going through them, go choose one from the bulletin."
Jisung scoffed, crossing his arms. "Yeah, if I take one from there Minho will beat me to it again."
"He won't."
"He did last time."
"It was a mistake."
Jisung raised an eyebrow. "Did he tell you that?"
Chan gave him a questioning look, but Jisung didn't want to bother explaining anything.
"Never mind." He made his way across the room toward the large bulletin board placed at the far end of the guild hall. Jisung scanned the postings, dismissing most as not worth it and wondering if he would be able to succeed with others. Finally, he settled on a job asking for a mage to scare off or kill a pack of shapeshifters. Shapeshifters were nasty little tricksters that often disguised themselves as human children but were nothing more than scavenging little beasts.
As he pulled the job posting down, his gaze caught onto the windows off to the side facing the courtyard. Minho was leaned against one of the fountains, eyes on Jisung.
So you want to chat? Good, I have some things to say. Jisung tucked the job posting into a pocket on his thigh and made his way outside. It didn't take long to find Minho waiting in the same spot at the back of the guild hall.
"Shapeshifters, huh?" Minho said, not even turning to face the fire mage.
"So your little spy told you I was on the way so you could steal from me again?"
Minho slowly turned to face him, that stupid smirk already on full display. "I knew you'd spot him. He wasn't the sharpest knife."
Jisung's blood was already heated. "I've always hated you, but I've tolerated you for as long as I can. You've crossed every line imaginable. Does it make you feel better about your life?"
"Oh, I haven't crossed every line." Minho slowly stalked toward him, eyes shining mischievously. "I can assure you of that, darling."
"One more step and I will bite," Jisung warned quietly.
Minho's smirk broke into a grin as he took another deliberate step.
The switch flipped. Jisung's arm swung out, sending a wave of fire for the other mage. Steam exploded out across the courtyard as fire met water.
Blades flashed and met with a sharp ring, and the steam cleared just for Jisung's face to be inches from Minho's. Their blades were locked, one dagger, one short sword.
"Using your magic in a fight with another mage? Quite a low blow," Minho murmured smugly.
Jisung's eyebrow twitched up. "Just for you, honey," he hissed, voice condescending.
"Lucky me."
They moved at the same time, wrenching their weapons apart and whirling on each other. Jisung aimed for his throat. Minho lunged to the side, aiming for Jisung's legs. The attacks missed.
Fire erupted. Water met it, causing a change of pressure and sending both steam and mages flying back.
Jisung barely caught his balance when a wall of cold slammed into him. His body hit the guild hall, burning stings rising all over his skin from where the water hit him. Minho's figure moved through the steam, and Jisung aimed his next attack on him.
A hiss and a curse told him the attack was successful. More magic attacks disintegrated into steam before their blades were put back to use.
Dancing feet, whirling weapons. A blade ran across Jisung's chest. His dagger met Minho's arm in retaliation. Gazes full of hatred met.
Then both mages were pinned to the ground by a magic force. Jisung struggled against it to no avail, and he froze upon seeing Chan looming above them, eyes dark and beyond angry.
"What the hell happened to resolving things like adults?" he snapped, making both of the mages flinch.
"This is how we resolve things, sir," Jisung argued. "If you don't like that, look away."
"And you chose to do it on guild property?" Chan rubbed his temples. "You two will pay for that fountain."
Jisung craned his neck to see what his guild master was talking about. Sure enough, the main fountain of the courtyard was cracked and crumbling. He closed his eyes, biting back a curse.
The force holding them down slowly loosened up, allowing them to sit up and glare at each other.
Minho still looked smug. "I was only defending myself, sir. He made the first attack."
"I warned you."
"Both of you shut up while I try to think of what to do with you."
Jisung didn't like the sound of that, and he forced his eyes to the ground. He couldn't afford to be kicked out of Goldenspire. And he didn't want Minho to be the reason behind it. He could feel the water mage looking at him, but he kept his eyes down.
Chan stepped back. "Get patched up. You're staying in the dorms here tonight. I have some things to figure out with you."
Jisung finally met Minho's gaze as they both got their feet. The water mage blew him a kiss. Jisung flipped him off in return.
Chan was smart enough to put them in dorms on opposite sides of the building. Jisung was tempted to sneak home for the night, but his door was unfortunately guarded. And he didn't want to risk getting kicked out more than he'd already risked it.
Sleep was hard to come by, as his skin still burned and itched slightly from the water that managed to hit him. He cursed Minho for the entirety of the night.
By morning, Jisung was coming to terms with the fact he'd have to find another guild to join, and when he was summoned to Chan's office he went without a fuss. Minho joined him in the hall outside the office, giving Jisung a lengthy once over.
"My marks look good on you, darling."
Jisung's body heated with anger and... something else, and he tensed. "You know water burns, you asshole."
"Oh, you mean like fire? My back is killing me thanks to you."
Jisung smirked. "Good."
"Someone needs to tame you, Jisung darling."
"Stop calling me darling."
Minho's brow went up. "And if I don't?"
Jisung bit his lip to avoid spilling more threats. His job was already on the line, he couldn't risk anything else. At least, not right now.
Thankfully they reached Chan's office then, and the door was already open. Once they were inside, Chan closed the door behind them and slowly circled back to his desk.
"I would rather not lose my two top mages," he began, leaning back against his desk, "so this is what's going to happen."
Jisung held his breath. There was no telling what the guild master had in mind.
"I've had this job notice for some time." Chan dragged a small scroll that was on his desk closer. "A horde of goblins has taken over this town in the Amulet Mountains. It's a job that can't be done by one person."
Oh shit.
"So I'm assigning you two to take care of it. Together. If you can't work through this together, I will have no choice but to dismiss you both from Goldenspire."
Jisung and Minho stared at the guild master with matching looks of disgust and horror.
"You've got to be kidding me," Jisung growled.
"I cannot work with this brat. I won't," Minho argued.
Chan held the scroll up. "This job or the streets. You choose."
No one moved for a few tense moments. Minho and Jisung shared annoyed glares. The fire mage snatched the scroll.
"Fine."
-------------------- So I told myself I was going to only post the two stories I already have up until one or both of them are finished. But this story crashed into my brain and has taken a good amount of my attention. Now that I'm on a roll with it, I've decided to start posting it too cause why not?
Hope you enjoyed! I'm super excited for this book. Lots of spice, lots of action, all the good stuff that belongs in an enemies to lovers lol. Thanks for reading. :p