Put A Spell On Me - Taegyu

A Ten of Cups for True Happiness

The sun had gone down hours ago and the clock was nearing midnight, and Beomgyu – holding a couple of glass bottles in one hand and Taehyun’s hand in the other – climbed up the narrow staircase to the rooftop.

“Why are we up here?” Taehyun asked as they emerged onto the night air, the stars sparkling and the moon shimmering above the two of them. He carried a small cloth bag with him.

This was the second time they had come up here together, and though the setting remained the same - flat concrete looking out towards the town and the starry skies - the mood was entirely different.

“Because I wanted to repay you for helping me heal,” Beomgyu said, leading Taehyun forward, “and I couldn’t think of anything nice to do for you that wouldn’t risk me getting hurt again.”

“Because a dinner date is more dangerous than sitting on a rooftop,” Taehyun scoffed, and Beomgyu let go of his hand to push him playfully.

“I know you’re not the biggest fan of social situations, you absolute dork,” Beomgyu returned, sitting himself down on the concrete near the edge and gesturing for Taehyun to follow. “And the last time we came up here, you went on that stupid rant about aliens and I was laughing too hard to enjoy the actual reason we came up here.”

Taehyun sat himself cross-legged beside Beomgyu . "Aliens are real, Beommie."

"Listen, just because you're a Star Wars nerd doesn't mean you have to shove it down everyone's throats like that."

"Star Wars isn't about aliens!"

"Close enough!" Beomgyu countered. "That wasn't even my point. I wanted to redo this." "Aren’t you scared of falling off the edge again?”

“Not anymore. At least I don’t think so. Here,” Beomgyu said, handing a bottle to Taehyun.

Taehyun took a glance at the label on the outside of the bottle before opening it to sniff the contents. “Soju?”

“To relax,” Beomgyu explained, opening his own and taking a sip. “I’ve never seen you tipsy. Besides, I thought we could make the most of this beautiful starry night. It’s a full moon too. Did you bring the stuff I asked for?”

Taehyun nodded and tossed the cloth bag at the other. Beomgyu caught it and opened it up carefully.

“Why did you need all of this?” Taehyun asked, watching as Beomgyu pulled out a bundle of colored candles tied together.

“Well,” Beomgyu said, untying the knot on the string and separating the candles by color, “Jihoon gave me a book of spells a while ago. Handwritten, so I assume he chose them himself.”

“He did that for you?” Taehyun said, smiling at the witch’s thoughtfulness.

Beomgyu nodded, a smile forming on his features, then pausing his task to pull a small book out of his pocket to show Taehyun. The cover was a faded pink cloth, with intricate designs in white thread sewn into it. Taehyun recognized the symbols for love, strength, and magic, as well as a few other more complex ones. He opened the cover and noticed Beomgyu ’s initials written carefully on the front, as well as a quick ‘Happy Birthday’ with Jihoon’s small signature. The papers were also threaded together, and Jihoon’s meticulous handwriting spelled out rituals and spells and charms.

“There’s a lot of love spells in here,” Taehyun mused out loud as he flipped through the pages, not noticing Beomgyu ’s sudden embarrassed reaction. “He put a lot of effort into this.”

“He’s caring. And he knew I was probably the only one in the coven without a Book of Spells. I don’t know enough magic to fill one up myself yet.”