Chapter Text
**__Chapter 4__**
No one, and absolutely no one, had prepared Hoseok for Min Yoongi. “This is my new case?!” He thought incredulously. He would have to send a prayer to all the gods out there and maybe also SeokJin. From the file he had received, it seemed nothing like an open-and-shut case. It was not going to be hard to get Yoongi into the magic shop, as he was a nocturnal creature with the curious nature of a cat. That was the easy part. The hard part was to get him to break down the wall he had created around himself and help him get to a point where Misery could no longer get a hold of his heart. The man was stubborn and extremely logical – according to his notes. Min Yoongi had overcome the curve balls life had thrown at him to pursue his dream of becoming a writer, through determination and sheer willpower. He was still not completely sure of his strategy with this case if he was being completely honest. Hoseok did love a challenge. He was just a bit tired and the two week deadline was looming close.
Taehyung had volunteered to help him with the case. “If closing this case means we can all go get some time off, you will need all the help you can get.”, Taehyung had told him. He appreciated it a lot. The young wizard had the gift of Vision and it certainly did come in handy from time to time. He was also not surprised when the magic shop decided to look like a bar – Yoongi was a grad student, of course it looked like a bar. However, he was mildly impressed with the detailed vintage art deco style it was decorated in. “No wonder he is a writer! Look at this! The range of his imagination is big! Huge! And look at the details, I might steal this lamp for myself – dibs on being the bartender!!”, Taehyung waved his hands around happily. Hoseok had to agree with him, looked like Yoongi had good taste. Now all that was left was to get him in, solve his problem, send him on his way, close shop , and go for a well deserved vacation. Easy.
Except now they are in the middle of it and the man of the hour was in the bar, but holy hell – Hoseok could practically see the squiggly cartoon lines of hostility that were coming towards him from Min Yoongi. He had refused to look at Hoseok when he slid into the chair next to him, stubbornly looking everywhere but Hoseok. Taehyung had given him a Relaxation Elixir in the form of the cocktail he had ordered, but this man was anything but relaxed. Hoseok suppressed a groan and frantically tried to get Taehyung’s attention. At the same time, Yoongi decided to call for Taehyung too. Taehyung stopped in his tracks for a moment, his eye flashing – clearly seeing something Hoseok was not seeing yet. He would have to ask Taehyung about it later. Hoseok had already noticed the grey aura Yoongi was shrouded in. It was not looking great, two weeks might have been too little time for this.
Hoseok calculated his next move. While it had looked like Yoongi was about to open up to him, he has gone back to silently drinking. “Maybe he needs a bit of leverage?”, he mused. There was the other thing. Ever since he had met Yoongi’s eyes, he felt like a taut string on a violin – fully alert to the minor details on his new subject. At the same time a sensation of complete calmness washed over him. Hoseok could feel the magic shop was trying to tell him something, but he could not quite put his finger on it yet. He just needed to focus on helping Yoongi open up and decided to worry about this later.
He took a sip of his now-almost-warm coke and winced. “You know, Yoongi-ssi, if you are unsure, could I tell you a little story?”, he ventured. Yoongi shrugged noncommittally at his third glass of alcohol. “Do you know why this place is called 52?”, he peered at the man downing his alcohol with surprising ease. Taehyung appeared with his refill instantly. Yoongi nodded thanks and looked back at Hoseok, “No. But I have a feeling you’re about to tell me anyway.” Unfazed, he decided to push forward, “Did you know that whales communicate with each other by calling to each other? These whale calls are usually in a lower register – somewhere around 10-39 Hertz. But then one day, scientists found a whale calling out in a different register higher than the other whales.”, he took another sip and grimaced, “ Well, they said higher – but imagine a note just a litter higher than the lowest note of a double bass. And apparently, the other whales are either unable to hear him, or hear him differently from the actual frequency of his calls. So his calls essentially go unheard, no matter how hard he shouts.” He finished his drink, Taehyung had already left him with a refill. He wiped the dewdrops forming on the glass. Yoongi was eyeing him somewhat expectantly. He grinned softly, “The lonely whale calls out to the sea and whoever is listening at 52 Hertz. The owner of this place was thinking of creating a place where people like the lonely whale are heard, over a drink or two. Hence, 52.” He finished.
Yoongi scoffed. “Poor bastard, stuck alone in the sea for his life and has no idea people are romanticising his life and using it as a concept for a bar. This is how capitalism works, you know? What next, some idol group writing a song about him?”, he turned towards Hoseok, “How do you know this though? Are you the owner?” Hoseok chuckled, “No, but I know the owner. Consider me something of a regular here.”
Yoongi hummed at his drink, playing with the rim of the glass. Hoseok was praying to all the gods to find at least one opening in Min Yoongi’s barriers. Usually, the talk about the lonely whale was enough for people to open up. He could not get a read of Yoongi’s emotions though. It was weird – there was a familiarity in his stubbornness, some kind of comfort in the challenge he was posing to Hoseok – as if they have done this countless times before. Something was definitely up, and Taehyung’s knowing glances only confirmed that. He really needed to get it out of him soon.
Yoongi called out to him, breaking his reverie. “Yes?”, he looked back at him. “Tell you what,”, Yoongi turned towards him, chin resting on his hand, “You tell me a secret. I will tell you one in return.”
Gotcha.
Hoseok was ready for this. “What is it that you want to know? I’m an open book.” Yoongi laughed at this, showing his gums. “Hoseok-ssi, that is a lie. You’re not an open book. No one is. There must be something that you don’t like to associate with yourself, something that you’re not proud of. And you don’t show that to other people. I’m talking about a general ‘you’, not just, you –‘you’, you know what I mean?”, he met Hoseok’s eyes. “So, how about you tell me on of those secrets? Show me yours, and I’ll show you mine”, he smirked.
Ah, so this is how the other shoe dropped. Hoseok had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He was not sure how Yoongi knew, or if he actually knew anything, but he only had one secret that he had kept for a long time. He was ashamed of it and taking it to the grave seemed like a great idea. But it looked like this case was shaping up to be more demanding that he was ready for. He glanced at Taehyung. The young wizard was one of the few who knew about his secret; no point hiding it from a Seer anyway. Taehyung gave him an imperceptible nod.
Hoseok sighed and smiled sadly. He would just get it over with – like ripping open a band-aid. “Okay, you win. A secret for a secret then, deal?” he stretched his hand forward.
Yoongi shook his hand with a gleeful smile. Hoseok pointedly ignored the warmth spreading from his fingertip. This was going to be a long night.