Magic Shop

Part 1 - The Ancient Book

Jeon Jungkook exhaled in relief as he escaped from the hustle and bustle of the busy streets of his hometown. He had just entered his favourite bookshop, Lost Paradise. The boy breathed in the musty scent of ancient books and began to wander through the maze of shelves. He wondered how close he was to having read every single one of them. Passing a couple of women who were chatting quietly about the lovely weather that day, he reached the most dimly-lit corner at the very back of the shop and peered around, searching for something new. That was when a faint gleam of golden print caught his eye.

Jungkook's gaze latched onto a cracked green spine. He reached out to trace the shiny lettering with a forefinger, and carefully pulled the book from its place on the shelf, releasing a cloud of dust into the air above. Squinting at the worn-out cover, he could just make out the title: 'Into the Magic Shop'. Interesting, he thought. The young man opened the book at a random page. It was full of confusing writing and lines and arrows and diagrams which muddled his brain up like a difficult puzzle.

"Maybe one of my friends will understand it better," Jungkook mused silently, making his way back to the shopkeeper's counter.

The next morning was chilly, with the sort of light breeze that nips at your skin and turns your cheeks a healthy rose colour. Jungkook was sitting on a bench in the town square, which was empty except for he and a few pigeons. This particular bench was a regular meeting place for the young man and his six old school friends. They were all slightly older than him, so treated him as a little brother (which usually involved teasing him at any opportunity, but Jungkook didn't really mind). It was because of this that he looked to them to advice, and it was because of this that he needed their help to figure out the mysterious book. As he was gingerly leafing through it again, he shivered in the frosty air and rubbed his arms with numb fingers. He really should have brought a coat.

The moment after Jungkook thought this, however, a tingling sensation ran down his spine, and warmth filled his body. He felt as though someone was watching him from behind, willing him to turn and look at them. He was about to succumb to the persuasive feeling when he heard footsteps echoing down one of the narrow side streets that led to the square. He glanced up from the book and broke into a buck-toothed grin, instantly forgetting what had just happened. Three of his old school friends burst from the side street, disturbing the pigeons.

"Hiya, Kookie!" called Kim Seokjin, bounding over to his friend. "What'cha reading?" Seokjin was the eldest of the friends, but usually acted a lot younger.

"Oh, it's just something I picked up at Lost Paradise," the youngest replied as Seokjin sat beside him on the bench, back perfectly straight as always. Jungkook found this trait of his rather endearing – another one of his friends had told him that it was because of Seokjin's mother saying he could only have sweet things if he corrected his posture.

"Ooh, looks interesting," came Park Jimin's melodic voice from Jungkook's other side. He was a sweet young man, always ready to care for others. "Didn't you say you needed us to help you figure something out, Kook?"

"If you don't mind..." Jungkook answered shyly.

"Of course we don't mind!" assured Kim Namjoon from behind them. The youngest smiled up at him gratefully.

"Okay then," he began, opening the book again at the first page. "The practise of meditation," he read aloud. "Step One..." Suddenly he was cut off as more footsteps, accompanied by a chorus of loud giggles, resonated about the square. Their other three friends appeared, clattering noisily over the cobblestones and dispersing yet another group of pigeons in the same spot.

"Took you a while," Namjoon snickered as they came to a halt before the bench.

"Sorry!" gasped Kim Taehyung, the youngest other than Jungkook. He and Jung Hoseok exchanged a grin and almost collapsed into laughter again.

"Stop it, you two!" whined Min Yoongi, the second eldest, who was leaning on Hoseok's shoulder, seeming even more out of breath than the others. "It took enough effort to run all the way here – aren't you tired yet?"

"Never!" Taehyung shrieked happily; despite this, he flopped onto his knees beside Jimin's end of the bench and fell dramatically into the lap of the other man, who tutted fondly and patted his best friend's head. Yoongi and Hoseok crouched at Seokjin's side, still panting heavily.

"What were you up to, anyway?" Hoseok asked once he had caught his breath.

"We were reading Jungkookie's magical book!" Seokjin exclaimed, making jazz hands to emphasise the "magic".

"It's got stuff about meditation with super-confusing drawings," Jimin explained, now frowning over at the book's tattered pages. "We were just about to try it out!"

"Alright then, show us!" Yoongi urged.

"Okay," Jungkook began once again. "Step One: close your eyes." His friends obeyed. "Step Two: take deep, slow breaths in..." An inhale. "And out." An exhale. "Step Three, clear your mind of all thoughts. Imagine a clear night full of stars." Silence fell over the group as they fell deep into the limitless voids of their minds. "Step Four, relax every inch of your body until all you can feel is the air brushing against your skin. And there you'll find it – the galaxy inside you."

The young man closed the book as quietly as he could and followed the instructions himself until all he could hear was the shifting and breathing of his friends, which was gradually drowned out by the wind, although it never seemed to grow any louder. He kept on picturing an endless, pitch-black sky bejewelled with tiny pinpricks of light.

The galaxy inside you...

Suddenly the wind died, leaving silence hanging in the air. Jungkook could neither hear nor feel his friends beside him. Had they just taken off and left him there? He hesitantly opened one eye, and immediately squeezed it shut again to avoid the blinding light that was emitting from everywhere at once. Raising his hand to shield his vision, he squinted at first, then his eyes got used to the brightness and he could view his surroundings properly.

Jungkook was sat at a desk that one might find in an old-fashioned school. He was inside a classroom that had no door and no ceiling, and from a glance to his side he could tell that it was night outside. the park bench, along with all of his friends, had vanished into thin air. Strangely enough, he did not feel panicked, even when he looked closer at the wall opposite him to see a great, water-like surface instead of the usual blackboard and work displays.

Looking down at his oddly-steady hands, the young man noticed that they were pale and undetailed like plastic, yet his reflection in the windows looked perfectly normal. He craned his neck to look straight upwards as well, and only saw the night sky he had imagined during meditation. Deciding to explore a little, Jungkook got to his feet, pushed his chair back and wandered to the front of the classroom. His legs felt stiff, and his footsteps slow and heavy. he neared the wall, which displayed his reflection just as realistically as the windows had, and stretched out one cartoonish hand to touch it.

A flash of images zipped through his mind: Seokjin and Namjoon on trains headed in opposite directions; Taehyung on a tram-car which stopped for a waiting Yoongi; Hoseok standing in an old temple as he watched Jimin falling through the stars. Double-helix shapes of pink and purple spun round and round, and colourful ribbons twirled and streamed. Wheels clanked and chugged. The rippling mirrors drew closer. Jungkook's thoughts spiralled out of comprehension, and his eyes snapped open.