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"Yes! It fits."
"Wait, it's not quite there..."
"Just shove it in a bit further."
"Got it!" Jeno smiled and wiped the sweat off of his forehead, meeting gazes with Nana who sat across from the big oval object.
Standing up carefully, they both gripped the large frame and stood it on its end, observing the new sparkly glass that was now in the old mirror. They had even taken it into their own hands to polish the wooden frame, giving it a golden sparkle that seemed to lessen its age.
"It looks... strangely beautiful," Nana chuckled and rubbed a speck of dust off with his sleeve. Jeno nodded in agreement, then looking back to the younger with a smile.
"Shall we then?"
Nana nodded and pursed his lips, using all the strength he could muster to lift the heavy mirror. Jeno helped on the other end, carrying it out of the house and placing it into the back of his expensive car.
They both hopped in immediately, Jeno backing out of the garage and hitting the road. Nana didn't hesitate to turn the radio on, letting soft music fill the car as he kept the volume low. He turned his head to observe Jeno, keeping his stare there for a while without saying anything.
Jeno noticed this and raised an eyebrow. "May I help you?"
Nana smiled and shook his head cutely. "Nah, I just wanted to look at you."
Jeno turned his head and looked at the younger like he was on fire, trying to ignore the red tint heating up the tips of his ears. "Why?"
"Because you look handsome when you concentrate."
Jeno groaned and once again looked at the other like he was crazy. "That was so cheesy I think I can taste cheddar."
Nana snorted and whacked his arm, then proceeding to rant to Jeno about this new show he had been watching. Of course, Jeno had been watching it too but he still allowed Nana to have his fun with theories.
They reached their destination while jamming to a few songs that had come on, slowing down their weird car dance moves while Jeno put the car in park. The old antique shop looked over them, forcing them both to get out and grab the mirror from the back.
After struggling a lot, they reached the front door and knocked on it, waiting for a mere second before the old woman swung it open. Thank god the warmer weather had started coming in and that the skies were clear or else this job wouldn't have been as fun.
The old woman peeled through and toothily smiled at them, eyes scanning over the boys before spotting the mirror behind them. "My, what a surprise to see you two. I trust this means you solved everything?" The woman asked and raised an eyebrow, causing her head to wrinkle.
Jeno nodded, pulling the mirror inside with Nana's help. "We did it, thanks to your help. And your son's," Jeno added upon remembering Yukhei.
"Ah, so you finally met him," she chuckled and glanced at the mirror, eyes sparkling with admiration. "You fixed this up nicely, and it's nice that it is no longer a portal."
They both nodded and leaned the mirror on the wall where it previously stood. It looked like it belonged in this place among the other creepy objects. Placing it back where it came from and having gained instead of lost something valuable, really stamped the end to this journey. A warm feeling creeped in Jeno's chest as he faintly smiled at the mirror.
"Thank you so much for this. I still don't know how you are so knowledgeable about this, but thank you for helping me finally be free of that mirror," Nana said and gave a warm smile to the old lady.
The two of them stayed there and humbly talked to the old woman, probably thanking her about one hundred times.
But it still all seemed mysterious to Jeno how everything occurred. What if it wasn't him who walked up to the lady that day, the one who almost gave her begging money before being told off. And how was it that his monster knew everyone as well, from his boss to Nana. It was strange how everything seemed to connect and add up in the end, almost like he was purposely chosen by the old woman because she knew he was the one to get the innocent man out of the mirror.
But there's no way she could've known that, right?
Jeno shook his head and snapped himself back to reality, noticing that they had exceeded their stay and were about to leave. Nana had his hand held tight, probably subconscious to the other but Jeno enjoyed the small touch.
"You boys take care of yourselves now," the old woman said, then looking down at their hands and winking. Jeno didn't know whether to cringe or sweat drop from that creepy smirk she was giving them.
"You too!" Nana said cheerfully, glancing at Jeno and giving him a huge smile as they pushed themselves through the door.
Jeno nodded towards the old woman, feeling something in his gut nagging him to stay one more second, to ask a question that has bothered him since he first set foot in the mirror dimension.
Trying to push it down, the dark haired man continued his way to the car parked silently, watching as Nana climbed in the passengers seat. When he was about to climb in his, suddenly the feeling took over and Jeno found himself backing away.
"I'll be right back, Nana. I forgot to ask her a quick question," Jeno said loudly for the other to hear, earning a cute nod through the window of the car from the honey haired boy.
Jeno quickly walked back into the shop, catching the old woman in the middle of dusting some of her objects. Man she moves fast.
"Uhm, sorry, but can I ask you something?" Jeno huffed, not even realizing he was out of breath from speed walking back in there.
"What is it?" the lady asked and quirked an eyebrow, setting her duster down.
"When you gave me the mirror... only mere days after I was finding myself falling through the glass. I mean, of course people born in the mirror world can pass through at will. But when it came to me, I only needed Nana to touch the glass and I was let in, where he even told me that you couldn't get through when he did that. My only question is... how?" Jeno said, biting his lip after.
The old woman stared at him for a moment, then cracking a smile as she interpreted all the words.
"I guess I never did fully explain, did I? The closest I got was that one time you visited me a while ago."
Jeno nodded, vaguely remembering that conversation of everything being connected, or something like that.
"Well, have you ever heard of the term 'soulmates'?" Jeno nodded at the question, wondering what that had to do with anything. As far as he knew, that was just a myth made for romance novels and fanfiction.
"Well it's almost like that. The world tends to have a way to make everything work out in the end, and always knows what's perfect for you. But sometimes, to get to those people and that perfect ending, it has to break some rules. So let's just say, maybe it was fate that allowed you through that mirror," the woman smiled, grabbing her duster again and beginning to clean once more.
Jeno stood and stared for a moment, feeling his heartbeat increase. Was it really all a coincidence? Having a rough day at work and finding this mirror allowing him to rescue Nana, only to find himself falling for that honey haired man? It seemed too perfectly pieced together.
The dark haired man bowed without another word, speed walking once again back to the car. He quickly climbed in and slammed the door shut, buckling his seatbelt as he turned the engine on.
Nana looked at him with concern, gently placing a hand on his thigh. "You alright?"
Jeno looked towards the other, taking a good look at the person he's come to admire and treasure so much. Maybe things were left better unexplained, and what was important is to appreciate what you can see.
A faint smile plastered itself onto the dark haired man's face, reaching a hand upwards and ruffling the younger's hair.
"Yes. Everything's perfect."
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