digital heart | minsung | ✔

47

That night, I find myself in a small grass field near the stables of Nox. The sunset casts long shadows over our surroundings and bathes the scenery in a soft, orange light that seems to darken with every moment.

Meeting tonight accidentally became late at night, since the sophomores suddenly got reminded of a huge project they had to hand in before midnight. Right now it's just me and my two best friends, but the missing trio can appear any moment, according to the text Changbin sent Felix before we logged in.

Despite today being another hot summer day, tonight was rather cool. Goosebumps run over the exposed skin on my arms, and I hug myself in hopes to keep at least a bit of the warmth from leaving me completely.

"We should totally make a campfire," Felix suggests, seeming to be as bothered by the chilly air as I am.

"Brilliant idea, Lix," I agree, the idea of a warm fire very welcome. "Does one of us have stones and firewood?"

"I have wood," Seungmin announces, opening his inventory.

Soon, the cherry-haired boy is building a teepee of firewood, while Felix and I collect some rocks to surround the fire. It isn't long before the entire set-up is done, and there's only one thing missing.

An actual fire.

"Uhm," Felix mutters awkwardly, staring down at the now meaningless pile of wood. "I dunno how to start a fire, mate."

"Me neither," Seungmin adds.

"Minho can use magic," I muse, recalling the few times he used it in my presence. "Maybe he can also set things on fire."

"What should I set on fire?" a voice suddenly speaks up behind me, and I jump in surprise.

There's Minho, looking as beautiful as ever as the soft breeze sweeps his bangs over his forehead, typical grin present on his face. Behind him are Changbin and Chan, who are looking at our incomplete campfire excitedly.

"Lino!" I happily grin, greeting the raven-haired. "It's kinda cold, can you light up the campfire we made?"

"Aww, I missed being called Lino," he admits, slowly getting closer. "And sure, I never really used fire magic but I can try."

"Oh no, he never really used fire magic, seek shelter," Felix whispers, taking a few big steps and hiding behind Changbin.

"You can do it, Lino!" I cheer, even though I still step closer to Chan a tiny little bit.

I really missed calling him Lino as well.

Taking a deep breath, Minho steps towards the campfire. The palm of his right hand hovers over the pile of wood and his eyes flutter closed. An invisible force awakens, a sudden strong wind tugging on his clothes and hair as orange runes crawl over the bare skin of his right arm. The timber starts glowing, small sparks of a young fire whirling through the air when soon, the first flames awaken.

That's when Minho limply lets his hand fall alongside his body, breathing heavily as he staggers backward a little. Slowly, the intricate patterns fade into his skin, the last traces of magic disappearing from the air.

"I don't do this enough," he mutters, and I'm quick to appear behind him in case his energy dropped too low to keep him up properly.

"I mean, you did make a good fire, though," I tell him, pulling him down to sit in the soft grass with me. He eagerly complies, his body leaning onto mine heavily.

Indeed, the fire turned out really well, bright orange flames cracking softly and bathing the surroundings in a warm hue. The warmth that comes from it feels very welcome on my cold skin, and together with Minho's body warmth next to me, I feel beyond comfortable.