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1.
“i want him.”
the ancient shop reeks of old magic, magic yeosang would never even dare to go near had this shop not been the only one selling familiars for miles around. granted, no one really bought familiars anymore, it’s a bit of an aged practice. these days, familiars come to witches of their own will, and they always get along from first glance.
and it’s not just the old magic that’s making yeosang a bit ill. it’s amplified by the single calico cat familiar curled up in a ratty old bed in front of him, the one baring its teeth and hissing at him. around the bed is a mess of shredded spellbooks and cat toys, along with a single uneaten bowl of dry cat food.
the old witch shopkeeper laughs. “him? dear, nobody wants him.” the cat hisses again, directed at the woman. she just laughs again, a creepy shrill laugh that makes yeosang’s spine chill. “he’s been bought a total five times this month, and he’s always been returned within a week.”
well. that’s promising.
yeosang has never needed a familiar. he’s always been able to handle his own workload, without need of help from an animal. and as a sun witch, it’s not like he engages in fights or anything. he draws his power from the sun, not animals.
but wooyoung got on his ass two days ago for being a ‘lonely-ass homebody’. “you can’t tell me you’re not lonely.” the exorcist had accused him. “you’re always inside, only going out for sun two hours a day.”
“i have you, jongho, and seonghwa-hyung.” yeosang had bit back. “it’s not like i need anyone else around to bug me.”
wooyoung’s face had then formed the biggest pout, and after a long negotiation (involving a compromise of a bundle of yeosang’s special sun-dried tomatoes from his plants and one of wooyoung’s enchanted weapons (“you don’t even use weapons.” “fuck you.”)), yeosang was coerced into getting a familiar.
yeosang studies the familiar, watching as his fur raises up and the tail twitches with annoyance. his fur is a patchwork of bronze, black, and white, and one eye has a black splotch of fur around it. the eyes themselves are bright, luminous green.
“and if i return him in two weeks?” he says, eyes still trained on the cat. the cat’s eyes narrow, making yeosang wonder if this cat understood what he was saying.
(and anyways, if he returns this cat, wooyoung will throw a fit.)
the old woman chuckles. “then he’s all yours, dear.”
seventy thousand won later, and a myriad of scratches beading blood on yeosang’s forearms, there’s a calico cat leaping up on the light blue linoleum counter of yeosang’s apartment.
he leans against the doorway to the apartment, watching the cat’s eyes flick around the space, tail swaying with what looks to be piqued interest.
“what should i name you?” he muses, watching the way the sunlight catches on the bronze patches of fur and makes the cat look like he’s glowing. “what about-”
crash!
yeosang stares, open mouthed, at the shards of porcelain, dirt, and a plant gone too soon littering his wooden floor. then he looks at the cat, who’s just licking his paws in disinterest.
“what if i call you little fucker -”
2.
yeosang does not name the cat “little fucker” because for one, he’s not an asshole (despite what his ‘beloved’ childhood best friend wooyoung might say), and two, he’s a closet softie for animals. no matter how many times the cat knocks over his potion bottles or claws at the fabric of his couch, he simply tsks and cleans up. he also finds that the cat turns his nose up at the dry cat food the old witch had handed off to him, and will only eat fish (he discovers this one day making dinner. the cat jumped onto his dining table and robbed him of a whole cooked fish that would have lasted him three meals. little fuc-).
he names the cat minsoo, after scrolling through his webtoon app, reading the latest update of an idol webtoon that has a character with sharp catlike features. he’s also a little bit of an asshole too, which reminds him of the cat. very heavily of the cat, he thinks as he watches the cat paw at an expensive solar crystal perched on a bookshelf.
yeosang manages to save the crystal before it topples by diving to the floor.
as he glares up at the cat, who just glances at him before turning to clean his paws, he really considers returning him.
but he can’t. he’s always been a little bit competitive. the old witch said he’d return the cat in a week or two, and he’s bound and determined to prove her wrong. and maybe he’s also a little bit bound and determined to make this cat fucking like him, or at least tolerate him. after all, he still needs the familiar to acknowledge a pact between them, one that would exchange something from yeosang for the help of the familiar.
he feels like the cat would rather eat dry cat food than help him. even though yeosang grits his teeth and treats the cat with utmost care , the cat is still a little fuc-
wooyoung, seonghwa, and jongho come over a week and a half after yeosang buys minsoo.
“i can’t believe you actually did it.” wooyoung marvels, watching enraptured as the cat sniffs his shoes. “he’s so cute! what did you say his name was?"
“minsoo.” yeosang says from his spot at his stove, where he’s mixing up a new potion for one of his clients. “but i prefer to call him ‘fucking asshole’.”
“cute name.” jongho remarks.
yeosang would punch the wizard if jongho wasn’t a thousand times stronger than him.
“i’m glad you have a companion now.” seonghwa says. he cooes, crouching down to rub a hand over the cat’s head. however, he retracts it once minsoo hisses, looking alarmed. “is he a companion…?”
yeosang snorts, brushing back a lock of blond hair that’s fallen into his face from the heavy amount of steam. “he’s as much of a companion as wooyoung is an angel.”
“hey.” wooyoung says, offended. jongho starts wheeze-laughing.
“the old crone said i would return him in a week or two.” yeosang continues, ignoring the overdramatized sobbing of his best friend. “i’m trying to prove her wrong.”
“for what.” seonghwa sighs, and yeosang can hear the exasperation in the garden witch’s voice. “yeosang, why would you get a cat that doesn’t like you?”
yeosang shrugs, still stirring the pot. “for fun?”
seonghwa sighs again, joining yeosang at the stove, leaving wooyoung and jongho at the entry way, wooyoung still performing an oscar-worthy crying performance. “yeosang,” he says quietly, “you don’t have to get a familiar just because wooyoung wants your tomatoes.”
“i-” yeosang looks at his hyung, who’s giving him a patented ‘disappointed parent’ look. seonghwa is the oldest of him, wooyoung, and jongho, making him the official parent whenever they get into trouble or need help. and yeosang loves seonghwa, really, but he can’t help but feel like he’s being scrutinized. “i just. i don’t know.”
like he said before, yeosang can handle the workload of being a self-employed sun witch. it just isolates him from his friends a lot, and he only sees them once every few weeks like this. seonghwa worries over him like he’s a son that left the country to go to college, it’s that bad.
but wooyoung’s goading, combined with minsoo himself, makes him wonder what having a familiar would be like. sure he could still do most of the work, but what could it be like to lessen the load? to make it so wooyoung and seonghwa don’t worry, to see them more often? what if-
his right arm starts to burn and yeosang hisses, yanking his arm away from the violet bubbles rapidly flowing out of the pot.
“yeosang!” seonghwa pushes him away from the stove. “yeosang!”
yeosang looks down at his arm, which is starting to blister and swell. he leans against the dining table behind him, swearing as the pain fills his head and lights his nerves on fire. “fuck.”
“shit, yeosang.” seonghwa looks around. “what was that potion?”
“anti-possession for a client.” yeosang manages to get out. since it was a potion meant to ward off negative events, of course the potion itself unfinished was dangerous.
“is it toxic?”
“no, my skin is blistering for fun.” yeosang hisses. “obviously. fuck, shit. get me the sunflower salve from the bathroom.”
“the what?” seonghwa starts to move, but suddenly a furry shape rubs itself against yeosang’s good arm.
it’s minsoo, holding a bright yellow glass bottle in his mouth, blinking up at yeosang with an emotion yeosang cannot name.
“is this it?” seonghwa holds out his hand, and minsoo obediently drops it into his open palm. “wow, what a good kitty you are!”
this time the cat nuzzles into seonghwa’s arm. seonghwa cooes again.
“hyung.” yeosang grits out. “bottle.”
“oh right.” seonghwa pours a bit of the salve onto his hand and starts to gently rub it into the inflamed skin. the gentleness does nothing to ease the sharp sting, and yeosang throws his head back, gritting his teeth.
but then he feels a nudge under his good forearm. he looks down to see minsoo, nuzzling into his side and meowing softly.
oh.
yeosang smiles a little, using his good hand to run a hand through the cat’s patchwork fur. to his shock, the cat doesn’t bite or hiss, it just continues to snuggle into his side. “you really are an asshole for doing this now.” he tells the cat, who ignores him.
“ok, that looks good.” seonghwa grabs a napkin from the table and wipes the salve off his hand. “you okay, yeosang-ie?”
the sunflower salve is one of yeosang’s favorite creations, using some of the yellow sunflowers from seonghwa’s plant shop and some of his favorite add-ins to create a healing salve for most cuts and burns. so it’s no surprise yes, he does feel okay, and his arm feels better despite the ugly red skin on his arm begging to differ.
but, minsoo is purring, rubbing against yeosang’s shirt, the first sign of friendliness he’s shown in a week and a half. and yeosang could give two shits about this burn right now, because the fucking cat was being nice to him and the old witch lady could suck a-
then minsoo bites down on his finger and yeosang’s brought back to reality.
“oh, you little-”
3.
after the potion mishap, minsoo becomes suspiciously nicer.
well, as nice as the little fucker could get.
he yowls whenever yeosang gets within two feet of the stove, as if the stove isn’t a crucial part of yeosang’s fucking job. he headbutts yeosang when it’s time for yeosang to smear salve on the nasty burn stretching along the length of his forearm, the headbutting getting increasingly agitated the longer yeosang pushes it back.
(he’s probably thinking ‘you stupid human!’, yeosang thinks, annoyed as minsoo continues to meow and headbutt his bicep.)
minsoo also (reluctantly) eats regular cat food, since yeosang’s right arm is out of commission and he’s not in a position to cook. seonghwa brings meals cooked by his faerie roommate, hongjoong, who yeosang barely sees, but seonghwa assures him hongjoong hasn’t laced the food with any fae magic. probably.
a week passes of minsoo being a helpful nuisance, and yeosang’s really starting to seriously consider discussing a pact with the cat. maybe he could appeal that the cat didn’t need to do too much, and that it was more of just a way to appease wooyoung, who wouldn’t stop gloating after the potion mishap.
“he was worried about yeo!” wooyoung had cooed, petting minsoo, who was soaking up the attention like the little fucker he was . “i told you this was a good idea, my dear best friend-”
“eat a toad.”
yeosang watches minsoo jump from the top of a precariously stacked bookcase and make his way over to where yeosang’s sitting on his sofa, tucking himself onto the top of the cushion at yeosang’s side.
“hey.” yeosang starts. he feels a bit silly talking to a cat, but forces himself to continue. “how would you feel about being my familiar?"
the cat looks at him, green eyes wide and head tilted in confusion.
“i just-” yeosang pauses, “you were helpful when i was an idiot and got burned. and i, well, my friends told me to get a familiar because i work too much and isolate myself.”
the cat is studying him, eyes trained on every nervous twitch of yeosang’s fingers. why the fuck is he nervous anyways? it’s a goddamn cat.
“and look,” he continues. “you might be in the top running for asshole cat of the year, but you’re nice to have around. it’s been a little less lonely having your antics in the background.
“you won’t have to do much. i’m used to doing a lot of my own work. but if you could just help me do some things, so my friends don’t feel like i’m pushing them away,” yeosang smiles a little. “it’d be really nice.”
minsoo is still looking at him. he actually looks like he’s considering it, well, enough for a cat.
“in return, i’ll cook you fish three times a week.”
yeosang chuckles when the cat leaps down into his lap and purrs, rubbing his head onto yeosang’s good arm.
“you really don’t change, do you?”
4.
having minsoo as a familiar turns out to be not that much different than having minsoo as a house cat.
minsoo is still a little fucker that knocks things over if yeosang doesn’t pay attention to him. he also still yowls if yeosang spends a little too much time at the stove. he now will not eat any dry cat food, so yeosang finds himself at the market buying enough fish to feed a small family.
but, now minsoo assists him with his work. yeosang gives him a dark green collar with a bell and a tube attached that he slips ingredient lists into. the first time minsoo went to the ingredients store, yeosang got a call from his friend and owner of the shop, taehyun, who proceeded to laugh his ass off at yeosang.
“oh fuck dude. beomgyu owes me ten thousand won now.”
“what the fuck did you guys bet on?” yeosang had rolled his eyes. “me having a familiar?”
“wooyoung told yeonjun who told soobin who told kai who told beomgyu who told me that he betted you weren’t actually going to get a familiar.”
“oh really now?”
yeosang then spent his evening relaxing on his couch while wooyoung’s loud bitching resonated from his walk-in ingredients cabinet.
“i’m not fucking organizing this!” wooyoung had yelled.
“well then you’re not getting out for a while!” yeosang had yelled back. minsoo had just glanced disapprovingly at yeosang (he liked wooyoung for some reason. maybe because they both made yeosang’s life hell.) and walked away to sit in his bed and glare at him.
yeosang then made it up to wooyoung with fried chicken and beer.
“you like fried chicken more than me.” wooyoung had complained.
“then it’s all mine.” yeosang had pulled the box away, but wooyoung grabbed it.
“suddenly i am no longer complaining.”
despite his friends being assholes about it, yeosang appreciates having minsoo around. minsoo watches his pots and somehow is smart enough to leap on the counter and stir the potions with a tail wrapped around a wooden spoon. he’ll also keep track of yeosang’s appointments by incessantly headbutting him ten minutes before.
it’s nice. it makes yeosang feel less lonely, especially since he has more time to go out with his friends. if he gets a text inviting him to go out, minsoo sits next to his phone and chirps loud enough for the entire apartment complex to hear. wooyoung thinks it’s hilarious. yeosang does not.
but yeosang also feels less lonely at home too. with minsoo around, the apartment feels less empty, his meows or gentle purrs filling the silence. he also likes to sit on yeosang’s paperwork when he needs to do it. once yeosang successfully shooes him off, he’ll settle in yeosang’s lap and purr as loud as a massage chair.
it’s...different than what yeosang’s used to. but he can’t say he hates it. minsoo is a presence he never thought he needed, and begrudgingly, he has to admit wooyoung had a point.
only in his head, of course. he’d never actually tell wooyoung that.
5.
witches have bad days too.
yeosang comes home from a client meeting feeling like punching something. the client had argued for a lower price, which yeosang simply could not accommodate due to the prices of the ingredients and also his own labor. after a fruitless back and forth, he’d simply gotten up and walked away.
minsoo perks up when he sees yeosang walk into the living area, but upon seeing the anger smudged onto yeosang’s face, his ears flatten back and he sniffs the air.
“don’t look at me like that.” yeosang huffs, taking off his dark blue blazer and throwing it onto the nearest chair. “you try dealing with an asshole like that and tell me how you feel.”
the cat just watches him from his perch on top of the dangerously teetering bookcase. it’s one of his favorite places to go, even though yeosang warns him against it citing bodily harm.
but of course, he doesn’t listen. even as yeosang sighs, looking at the cat. “i keep telling you to get down from there. one day you’re going to get hurt.”
yeosang turns around, walking towards his bedroom, knowing minsoo isn’t going to listen like he usually does. so you can imagine his surprise when he hears a soft thud behind him, turning to see minsoo quickly padding after him.
it lifts his mood a bit and he even laughs a little.
“you’re strange, you know that?” he says. “one day you’re running for worst cat of the year, and the next you’re being too nice.” yeosang flops down on his bed. minsoo follows, jumping to curl up on the pillow next to yeosang’s head.
“i don’t get it.” he continues. “customers fucking suck.”
minsoo meows a little and yeosang sighs. he extends his hand and minsoo leans against it, purring and rubbing against his fingers.
“i wonder what you’d be like as a customer.” yeosang chuckles. “would you be an asshole like the guy today, or would you be nice?” he thinks for a minute. “i think you’d be an asshole.”
minsoo moves his head back and stares at yeosang, before meowing so loud that yeosang cringes.
“okay, okay i get it.” he resumes the petting. “you’d be nice?”
the cat meows in agreement.
yeosang doesn’t know when he stooped so low as to have a conversation with an animal, but it’s not too bad. wooyoung and taehyun would be doubled over laughing at him right now, but it’s fine.
“want to take a nap?” he asks the cat, like he even needs to ask. “then we’ll wake up and have dinner.”
the cat meows again and settles its head against yeosang’s hand. yeosang smiles.
“you know,” yeosang says quietly, so quiet that he’s not even sure the cat can hear, “you’re really nice to have around.”
1.
yeosang doesn’t expect everything to change in an instant.
he’d sent minsoo out to get sugar and some plant seeds for a new potion he planned on adding to his repertoire earlier. now he was cleaning his kitchen, clearing out expired ingredients and throwing away stained bottles, when suddenly he got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was wrong .
you see, when witches make a pact with their familiars, they form a bond that goes deeper than just reciprocation. it locks into emotions, feelings, and yeosang knows what he’s feeling right now is danger .
he grabs his keys and rushes out his front door, barely locking the door in his haste. once he gets outside, he follows the route to the store he taught minsoo to take.
he’s about two minutes away when he passes by an alleyway and hears the sound of fighting.
quickly, he ducks behind a wall and peeks out from behind it. there’s several men, dressed in full black, holding enchanted weapons and just-cast spells. on the back of their jackets are skulls. yeosang covers his mouth. black skulls, notorious gang known for breaking the laws of magic and partaking in illegal, black magic.
they’re advancing towards a man with black hair holding two bags and there’s something yeosang can’t make out around his neck.
“we’ve got you now.” one of the men declare, raising an enchanted rope dart. “no more running away, pretty boy.”
the man shrinks back. “please!” he says, desperately. the voice tugs at yeosang’s heart. “i didn’t do anything to you!”
“precisely.” another man clad in black says. “you never gave us the money you owe us. it’s been two years. pay up.”
“i can explain!” the poor man scrambles.
“yeah, right.” the rope dart man raises the weapon to strike and yeosang gets a very, very bad feeling in his gut.
he lunges forward, quickly casting a blinding sun spell to affect everyone but him and the man. the others fall back, screaming about being blinded.
yeosang grabs the man, who looks terrified. “are you okay?”
“yeah, i-” the man looks up at him and freezes.
and yeosang sees why.
the thing around his neck is a collar. a green collar. with a silver bell and a tiny black tube.
oh god.
“you-” he starts, but some of the men have gotten up, and one of them takes a swing at them. yeosang casts a blast back, but minsoo (minsoo? is he even minsoo? who is he??) gets up, pushing yeosang back and standing in front of him.
“don’t hurt him.” minsoo says, “he has nothing to do with this.”
“we won’t hurt him if you cough up the money, choi.” choi? “we’ve been waiting for too long.”
“i don’t have the money.” minsoo grits out.
rope dart man laughs. “figures. get him!”
yeosang closes his eyes, braces for impact, summoning a shield spell in his hands, but nothing comes. he cracks an eye open to see- holy shit?
minsoo is apparently a martial artist or something like that, because he can fight . yeosang watches in awe as minsoo moves fluidly, knocking some of the men out and making others stumble back.
he moves a little like a cat. graceful, quick, and clearly practiced.
next to him, yeosang hears a yell, and turns to see a man charging at him, having gotten around minsoo. he charges a spell and tosses it, sending the man flying.
he does that a few more times, knocking out those who got by minsoo, and takes a breath to watch minsoo fight with the rope dart man. he dodges the weapon and tries to take swings, but obviously no match for an enchanted weapon.
yeosang charges up a sun blast, already feeling his energy sapping rapidly, and throws it.
he staggers a little. it’s been so long since he’s been in a proper fight with magic, and he’s so tired. he watches minsoo take down the last man and suddenly, it’s just the two of them standing several feet apart, panting from exertion and staring at each other.
it’s silent in the alleyway, unconscious men scattered around them, afternoon sunlight barely streaming in. yeosang can see the rays catching on minsoo’s hair, illuminating his outfit, which is just a worn sweatshirt and faded ripped jeans, no shoes. his heart tugs.
he opens his mouth, but minsoo beats him to it, breaking the incredibly loud silence.
“my name is choi san.” the man blurts out. “i’m- i’m not a cat, i’m not a familiar, i’m not minsoo, i’m a shapeshifter. and i’m really sorry about everything, this whole thing, i never meant to manipulate you or anything, i-”
yeosang doesn’t let him finish before pulling him into a tight hug, inhaling a scent he’s not used to that smells weird but also just so right at the same time. he thinks he hears san’s breath hitch. “i don’t care.” he breathes, “i don’t care , i’m just so happy you’re alive, you’re not leaving me-”
yeosang has never known a choi san before this day, this very minute, but somehow, everything that had seemed uniquely minsoo, seemed to also be uniquely san as well. he feels like he’s known san his whole life. and there’s a weird feeling pushing at the inside of his chest.
minsoo- san - buries his face into yeosang’s hair. “i’m not going anywhere. i’m your familiar, yeosang, i’m bound to you forever.”
for the first time in a while, yeosang falls, lets his tears fall, lets them stain the unfamiliar fabric of a worn grey sweatshirt, lets himself cry into a stranger who’s also someone he’d trust with his life. san’s arms tighten around him, and he allows himself to let it happen.
“god, san, i was so worried, i told you, get the stupid sugar and the stupid seeds, i didn’t tell you to get in a fight-”
“they recognized me.” san says quietly. “from a long time back. i had a debt to pay.”
yeosang looks up at san, who looks sad and regretful, and he gets this sudden urge to smother san in hugs and cuddles just as they did last night. well, even though san was minsoo, a cat, and they’re going to have to definitely unpack that at some point.
but for now-
“you have me.” yeosang responds, and san looks at him, confused. yeosang wants to laugh at how much it looks like minsoo’s confusion. “you have me.” he repeats. “i’ll, i’ll help you. i’ll help you get back on your feet, i’ll help you with anything. just please,” he pauses. it’s going to sound selfish. it’s going to sound like he doesn’t want san to live his own life that’s clearly been robbed from him for a good while. and he’s not an asshole, he really isn’t-
“please?” san repeats. is that hope on his face? “please what?”
yeosang exhales. the blood on his skin is starting to dry uncomfortably. he forces himself to focus on the curve of san’s mouth, the dark brown of his eyes, the light brown freckles on the side of his neck, the way his black hair falls over his face in a clearly untamed mess, even the fucking green collar around his neck. he presses his forehead into san’s shoulder.
“please.” he sucks in a breath, hyperfocusing on the loose strands falling out of san’s sweater. “please, please don’t leave me.”
he waits for san to get angry, to push him away, to scream at him, but none of it happens. instead, san gently lifts his head up so that their eyes lock, yeosang blinking slowly at the way san’s lips form a smile and reveal dimples on each side of his (pretty) mouth.
“i won’t.” he says softly. “i told you, i’m your familiar. i’m not going anywhere for a long, long time, yeosang.”
yeosang loves the way his name sounds falling from choi san’s lips.
“good.” he breathes out. san chuckles, hand reaching out to brush yeosang’s hair from his sticky post-crying face.
yeosang knows there’s more important things they should be doing, like calling authorities to come and arrest and identify these clearly illegal magic users, or going home to clean the numerous cuts and bruises on both of their bodies. but there’s a overwhelming part of him that doesn’t want to leave san’s arms.
would it be weird if i asked him to kiss me?
“what?”
yeosang blinks, then gasps, pushing away from san and stepping back. “fuck, sorry, did i say that out loud? sorry, fuck, ignore me, ignore that, let’s just go home-”
san’s standing where yeosang left him, mouth hung open and eyes wide. “yeosang-”
yeosang turns around, busying himself with collecting the fallen ingredients he’d sent san to get. “san, can you start picking up the bags? we should go-”
he hasn’t even picked up anything when san grabs his hand, turning him around so that they’re looking at each other. yeosang notices san’s cheeks are dusted pink.
san steps closer, closing the gap between them until they’re almost chest to chest.
“when you said it would be weird if you asked to kiss me,” san starts, quietly, “you didn’t have to make it weird.”
the tension is broken when yeosang snorts. “i made it weird by asking that, san.”
“what if i wanted to kiss you?”
when yeosang looks at san, he sees minsoo in the mischievous smirk on his lips, the glint in his eyes, and the cattish tilt of his head.
“you just don’t change.” he fondly says instead, reaching to rub a hand on san’s head. san instinctively leans into it, just like a cat.
“i’d appreciate it if you didn’t treat me like a cat when i ask to kiss you.” san laughs breathily.
yeosang pulls his hand away and san makes a little noise of complaint. “can’t not treat you like a cat when you always act like one.”
san huffs. “can i kiss you or not?”
he looks so much like a sulky minsoo that yeosang has to laugh, reaching back to pet san’s hair.
“yeah.” he smiles. “yeah, you can.”
when san finally kisses him, arms closing around yeosang’s waist to pull him impossibly closer, yeosang is finally able to identify the feeling he’s felt since the first time he’s met choi san. choi san the human, not minsoo the calico cat. sweet, handsome, killer fighter and shapeshifter choi san with the cutest dimples he’s ever seen in life.
it’s home.