celestial strings | h.js

three.

You startled Chan and Minho when you teleported straight into the hospital room.

It was, unfortunately, a force of habit. You spent most of your visits to Chan, which wasn't many, but he didn't need to know that, in the form of sneaking in and out of the hospital and the city. Being extra cautious that you wouldn't leave any magical traces behind made most of your visits brief. Not that there was much for you to do back then anyway; Chan was in a coma, and you were talking to a sleeping log. Supposedly, now that he was awake, you would no longer be in the vulnerable position you once were, and you should be able to walk the city freely. But, again, habitually, you have chosen to do a quick teleportation spell unannounced.

You raised a brow at how Minho immediately retreated his hand from Chan's. He jumped to stand away from the edge of the bed, looking nervous before he recognized you. Then he scoffed. You ignored him. "Was I interrupting something?"

"No."

"A little bit, yeah."

"You didn't interrupt anything. Don't listen to him," Minho reassured with a glare directed at Chan's boastful smile. He turned to approach you. Having deduced what happened after receiving information from his parents on the implication of Chan's awakening, there was much he needed you to fill him in on, but mostly he wanted to know if you were feeling fine. When he was within reach, he pulled you into an embrace. "How are you doing?"

You gasped inwardly. You hadn't anticipated this reaction from Minho, and it took you a quiet moment to feel his solid chest. His arms were grown and confident with strength, unlike Seungmin's, which were frail and comforting. With Seungmin, hugging him was like standing on common ground. Hugging Minho was being embraced and shielded by someone who knew more and better than you. They both felt safe, but for once, it was relieving to have an adult around to think for you.

"I'm fine. My friends are all fine, too," you replied.

"Your friends were involved?"

"They're all human, right?"

Minho released you to face Chan. "Technically, we all are."

"You know what I mean," Chan retorted before fixating his eyes on you. "Were your friends involved in what happened?"

You fiddled with your fingers. You wanted to be able to greet your uncle in a much lighter circumstance, but the timing was unfortunate. "They were," you said. "But they already know I can use magic! They won't say anything."

"It's more complicated than that. A councilman died–got murdered if we want to be specific." Minho hummed as he shook his head. "You did it. That was you?"

You shrugged, feeling accused. "Yeah."

Minho nodded with acknowledgment. There was no other display of emotions. But if he could, he would have been thankful that you killed the old man because that directly woke Chan up. His death broke the coma curse; it was his idiotic mistake for linking it directly to himself and not a vessel. "This is going to be investigated unless we intervene, and one little slip-up from any of your friends who saw what happened–"

"Nobody saw! I sent them all away to the hospital!" you exclaimed as you waved your hands. "Hyunjin was injured after a convenience store collapsed on us, so I sent him and everyone to the hospital! Nobody saw anything. Felix didn't see anything. I told Seungmin I–" you dropped your voice to a whisper–"killed someone, but he wasn't there to see it happen."

Minho nodded. "And Jisung?"

You look at him incredulously. You didn't think it was possible that Minho was talking about the same boy you saw at the hospital, but it seemed everyone had asked about him. "Why is everyone asking me about him?" you asked with a grimace. "I don't know him."