Everything You Do Is Magic | seventeen au

Chapter 11: Bonding Experience

Minghao needed to find a job.

He had quit his old one just weeks before he got jumped up by Yaozu in that alley and almost died. Jeonghan reassured over and over again that there was no need for Minghao's apparent stress since the siren didn't need anyone else paying for the bills besides their weekly groceries.

Jeonghan could have bought a big mansion, a couple luxury cars, or even travelled all over the world with the family fortune he'd inherited when his parents died. Instead, he continued wisely investing the money to make sure half-creatures like Minghao could have a place to consider their home.

That fact made Minghao want to find a job faster (he also understood Seungcheol's want to contribute financially on a much deeper level now).

Minghao had his high school diploma, despite the frustration of going through mediocre education from a public school that did not acknowledge the existence of its half-creature students. Years later, it seemed that Minghao would have been in the same place regardless of a diploma or not. Most establishments who were hiring started looking the other way—either deliberately or subtly—once Minghao revealed that he was turned into a vampire.

Everyone was already having dinner by the time he got back from a day of job-hunting. Just by the look on Minghao's face, they could tell his attempts were a flop. "No luck, hyung?" Seungkwan frowned.

Minghao grunted like an old man as he sat next to Wonwoo. "A diner and a florist shop asked to have a copy of my résumé, but there's no interviews guaranteed."

"I'll get you your drink," Hansol smiled sadly, already halfway to the refrigerator. Jihoon wordlessly passed the remaining japchae and a bowl with chopsticks for Minghao.

"We could use your hand down at the farm," Jisoo suddenly said. "It's harvesting season soon. I'm sure ajumma would hire you on the spot once she knows we can put your super strength into use."

"I don't think he can," Wonwoo replied before  Minghao could reject the offer himself. The half-mermaid looked at Minghao as he continued, "They're under the sun hours at a time. You'll burn your skin off."

Minghao sighed, too tired to feel disappointed. "Minus the exaggeration, Wonu hyung's right. Thank you for the offer though."

Soonyoung had been violently slurping his own noodles, the sound already familiar enough to Minghao that it didn't bother him as much as it used to (Jihoon and Mingyu also had the habit of not giving a damn about manners whenever they ate). The dragon hybrid hummed, wanting to contribute to the conversation. "Do you dance? You could come down to the studio and audition. My co-instructor got pregnant and needs a few months off," Soonyoung said with hamster cheeks.  

"I was in my school's dance team." Minghao leaned back, letting himself reminisce briefly the days when he used to think dancing was just something he could do in his spare time. He never actually considered it as a career prospect. "What would I need to do?"

Soonyoung swallowed the remaining food in his mouth before facing his whole body towards Minghao who only begun to eat. "You'll need to audition with a three minute piece, doesn't matter what genre. It's this Friday, I'll take you to the studio myself. If you get the job, you'll hold dance classes depending on the schedule given by the manager. It's a minimum of four classes per week, the pay depends on how many students attend your classes."