Archive of Our Own ^beta

i.

With a muted cheer, Jeonghan backed out of his closet, rumpled but triumphantly holding a pair of luridly orange socks he'd found between the layers of a folded scarf. He tossed them over his shoulder in the direction of his bed, startling when someone let out a yelp.

'Very trendy,' Jeonghan commented with a straight face as Joshua swiped the socks off his head. 'Hey, how come I didn't hear you come in?'

'Because you were busy crawling around in your closet. Also, I didn't knock,' Joshua said. He perched on the end of Jeonghan's bed, next to the pile of mostly useful miscellany Jeonghan had gathered. 'Is this all for the Music Bank recording tomorrow?'

Jeonghan pushed his closet door closed and slumped against it, sighing. 'Yeah. I'm pretty sure the socks were the last of it.'

'Poor Jeonghan,' Joshua said sympathetically, poking through the pile and emerging with a single elastic band hooked over his finger. 'But at least there's nothing too weird here. Remember that time you had to give Chiwoo-sunbaenim a dog leash when he didn't even own a dog?'

Joshua loved repeating that story without its perfectly tame conclusion, which was that the day after receiving the leash, Chiwoo unexpectedly had to look after his friend's dog, whose own leash was forgotten in the rush and chaos of the situation. He'd even sent Jeonghan a very grateful text about it afterwards.

'I don't remember that,' Jeonghan said now, out of spite.

'Well, I do! I still remember how red you were when you went up to him,' Joshua continued mercilessly. 'It was adorable. You got so shy when he—'

Joshua broke off, laughing heartily while Jeonghan thwacked him with a slipper. He rolled away to escape, but Jeonghan followed, only satisfied when he'd managed to hit Joshua again.

'I'm still going to be embarrassed tomorrow,' Jeonghan complained, pouting. He let the slipper fall to the floor and flopped heavily onto the bed. 'Look at those socks!'

Now lying on his stomach, Joshua contemplated them, squinting as though to shield his eyes from their orange glare. 'I guess they are pretty ugly. I wonder who's supposed to get them?'

'Probably someone with no taste at all,' Jeonghan muttered.

-

Early the next morning, Jeonghan came across Exveto's Kim Mingyu sitting in a stairwell in the KBS Broadcasting Hall. The gentle tingling in Jeonghan's fingers that had started at the top of the stairs stopped as soon as he laid eyes on Mingyu, which meant something in Jeonghan's bag was destined for him.

'Oh, Jeonghan-hyung. Hi.' Mingyu leapt to his feet and slipped his phone into his back pocket, giving Jeonghan his undivided attention. Even though they'd debuted around the same time and Jeonghan was close to two of Mingyu's groupmates, Mingyu was always painfully polite with him. It was probably a consequence of how awkward their interactions usually were, which— to Jeonghan's ongoing consternation— was generally his fault.

'Good morning, Mingyu,' Jeonghan said, sliding his hand into his bag as he spoke. 'How are you? Have you been here long? Not here on the stairs, I mean, but here in this building. For… recording.'

Mingyu's expression didn't change, but it didn't need to; Jeonghan was already cringing inside. What was it about Mingyu that caused all of Jeonghan's social skills to flee en masse? He had no issues regularly talking to complete strangers, but apparently the mere sight of Mingyu meant the loss of half his brain cells.

'Not too long,' Mingyu said politely. 'And you? Are you well?'

Deep inside his bag, Jeonghan's fingers closed firmly around something fuzzy. His heart sank.

'What's wrong?' Mingyu asked, alarmed. 'Are you sick?'

Jeonghan wondered how bad he looked for Mingyu to sound so worried. He plastered a wide smile on his face instead, hoping it conveyed "reassuring" more than it did "psychotic".

'No, no, no,' he said. 'I just remembered I have something for you.'

Mingyu's face was very expressive, Jeonghan realised. He could clearly delineate between each emotion that crossed it in the seconds between Jeonghan pulling out the pair of orange socks and Mingyu understanding they were intended for him.

Jeonghan launched into one of the handful of acts he'd scripted when he'd realised he was actually going to make it as an idol, and that he would have to maintain an essentially unremarkable, scandal-free image while going around giving people odd gifts.

'I hope you like them,' he said with wide-eyed earnestness. 'I saw them when I was out the other day. I'm not sure why, but they made me think of you.'

'Thank you?' Mingyu said uncertainly, like he wasn't sure if that was meant to be an insult. He turned the socks over in his hands, but there wasn't much to redeem them. They were just really orange socks.

This was usually the point when Jeonghan would make as dignified an exit as possible and avoid any questions he couldn't answer, but Mingyu looked so adorably bewildered. Jeonghan couldn't resist teasing him a little.

'Do you like them?' Jeonghan asked. 'You can be honest with me; I won't be offended.'

Mingyu hesitated, then rallied admirably. 'They're very unique. Thank you for thinking of me, hyung.'

'You're welcome!' Jeonghan said, eyeing the socks clutched tightly in Mingyu's hand. A peculiarity of Jeonghan's ability— his gift, his sometimes-curse— was that no matter what he gave away, the recipient themselves would eventually find a use for it. As far as Jeonghan knew, and his mom and grandma, and everyone before them who'd possessed the ability, that was just how it worked. It might take days or weeks or months, but the recipient always benefited directly from whatever they were given.

There was nothing to say Mingyu had to actually wear the socks, though, which Jeonghan was having trouble picturing. Maybe some time in the future, Mingyu was going to get lost in a forest and use them to signal for help. Or as kindling for a fire.

'Well,' Jeonghan began, then immediately faltered when Mingyu looked up expectantly at him. 'Good luck with your recording. I'm looking forward to seeing your performance. Your group's performance.'

Mingyu's mouth twitched in a way that made Jeonghan suspect he was holding back a laugh.

'Thanks,' he said as Jeonghan took a few quick steps back up the stairs, now going for a hasty exit rather than a dignified one. 'I look forward to seeing yours, too.'

;-;

ii.

Jeonghan was on the point of dozing off in the car ride back from a variety show recording when he heard a familiar voice coming from Seungkwan's phone.

'Are you talking to Soonyoung?' he asked sleepily.

Their car took a sharp corner, rattling the ice in Seungkwan's drink as he sipped at it. 'No, he's on Vlive, hyung. Want to watch?'

Jeonghan was too tired to concentrate on the little screen, but it was a good excuse to cuddle up to Seungkwan, who shifted obligingly and let Jeonghan get comfortable on his shoulder.

'I think they're rehearsing for something,' Seungkwan said. 'Vernon and Wonwoo-hyung were on before.'

'They're working hard,' Jeonghan said. His eyes drifted shut again as he listened to Soonyoung chatting with his viewers, the words blending into a soothing background murmur until Soonyoung's voice suddenly rose excitedly.

'Oh, look at this!' he said, laughing. 'Everyone, you have to see this. Mingyu, show them!'

'Show what?'

Jeonghan opened his eyes to see Mingyu pop into view on the screen beside Soonyoung. His face was half-hidden by a baseball cap tilted low over his forehead, but he took it off and ran his fingers carelessly through his hair. His sense of propriety dulled by exhaustion, Jeonghan stared at Mingyu's hands for longer than he cared to admit.

'The socks!' Soonyoung exclaimed. He grinned at the camera. 'Someone's probably told you all before, but the one thing the members fight about a lot are socks, because we're always losing them. Jeonghan-hyung— that's Yoon Jeonghan from Citrine— says there's probably something in our dorm eating them.'

'Why are you talking to Jeonghan-hyung about our socks?' Mingyu asked.

'We talk about everything,' Soonyoung said. He seemed oblivious to the explosion of viewer comments that prompted. 'Anyway, last night, Mingyu got really mad because he couldn't find his favourite socks and then he said if someone's stealing them, he's going to make sure they won't get to steal anything good again. Then he brought out these.'

Soonyoung made a grab for something below the camera, but his dramatic reveal was stalled when Mingyu put up a fight. They scuffled for a few moments until someone off-screen— it sounded like Seungcheol— yelled at them. Mingyu sighed heavily and let Soonyoung lift one of his feet high enough to be caught by the camera.

Jeonghan let out a surprised laugh.

'Are those the socks you gave him?' Seungkwan asked incredulously.

'I walked past Mingyu's room last night and I swear they were glowing in the dark,' Soonyoung said. When Mingyu scoffed, he added, 'I'm serious! I was scared.'

'Well, good,' Mingyu said. 'Maybe they'll scare away whoever or whatever is taking my socks.'

'And I thought our dorm was weird,' Seungkwan commented.

Sitting up in his seat and typing busily on his phone, Jeonghan didn't respond until he'd finished his message and sent it off.

'We're just weird about other things,' he said, leaning into Seungkwan's side again to see the live. 'Oh, look at Mingyu.'

While Soonyoung was answering questions about the mysterious sock disappearances at Exveto's dorm, Mingyu had glanced down at his phone, looking startled, then embarrassed. In response to Seungkwan's silent question, Jeonghan held his phone out, open to the message he'd just sent:

The socks look cute on you.

'Oh, my god,' Seungkwan groaned.

'What?' Jeonghan asked innocently. 'They are.'

'No, they're not. Even Mingyu thinks they're ugly. He's wearing them solely because they're so ugly no one would want to steal them.'

'He can think they're ugly, but it doesn't stop them being cute on him.'

'His feet look like big carrots,' Seungkwan said flatly.

That made Jeonghan giggle. 'Okay, I might be exaggerating a little. But Mingyu does make them look better than they would on most people.'

It was funny how even without looking, he knew Seungkwan was side-eyeing him.

'If you say so, hyung,' Seungkwan said, which was much milder than Jeonghan was expecting, and he didn't say anything more about it for the rest of the way home.

-

It was Mingyu who found Jeonghan during the next music show recording. He held a bottle of strawberry milk in front of him like a shield as he approached Jeonghan and Seokmin, who'd abandoned their crowded waiting room for a little sitting area down the hall.

'I'm sorry about what I said about the socks!' Mingyu blurted out the moment he was within earshot.

'Why? You didn't say anything that wasn't true,' Jeonghan said, genuinely surprised by the apology.

Mingyu seemed equally surprised by Jeonghan's words. 'You weren't offended?'

'No. Were you worried that I was?'

It would explain the lack of response to Jeonghan's text, though. He'd thought it was pretty straightforward, that Mingyu would take it for the lighthearted teasing it was meant to be, but when he thought about it, maybe they didn't really have that sort of relationship yet. Before the sock message, the last time Jeonghan had texted Mingyu was to ask whether Soonyoung was home, a good three months ago. Mingyu must have read Jeonghan's message as defensiveness about the socks rather than a joke.

He really should have added a winking emoji or something. At worst, Mingyu would have taken that as Jeonghan being a creep.

'Maybe?' Mingyu admitted. 'I wasn't sure.'

Seokmin was watching them with interest. 'What did Jeonghan-hyung say to you?'

'Nothing,' Jeonghan said firmly. 'Mingyu, don't worry. I wasn't angry or offended at all.'

'Yeah, Jeonghan-hyung hardly ever gets mad,' Seokmin said. 'Like he always tells us, there's no one in this world sweeter than him.'

The corners of Mingyu's eyes crinkled when he smiled. Jeonghan noticed it just as a tingle ran down the length of his fingers, gone as quickly as it had come.

'As an apology for stressing you out,' Jeonghan began, reaching into his bag while his mind worked frantically to guess what was coming, 'let me give you something.'

Mingyu was already protesting when Jeonghan whipped out a microfibre travel towel, tightly rolled and stuffed in a waterproof pouch. He handed it over as casually as he could as Mingyu practically radiated confusion.

'Oh, those are very useful,' Seokmin said immediately. 'You should bring it when you're on tour. It hardly takes up any space in your bags.'

Mingyu blinked. 'Okay… Did Jeonghan-hyung give you one as well?'

Outside of his family, Jeonghan had shared the secret of his ability with very few people. His members were part of the select group he wholeheartedly trusted with his life— because if his secret got out, it was his life at risk. His mom and grandma had taught him that as soon as he was old enough to understand. The things his family could do weren't normal, but their abilities were theirs for a reason, and they had to protect them.

Jeonghan had never had reason to regret his decision to tell his members about it, and over the years, they'd all gotten pretty good at helping him deflect attention from the strangeness of his unsolicited gifts. Seokmin was probably the best at it because he could spout the most nonsensical things with a completely straight face.

'He did,' Seokmin said, nodding. 'Can I tell him why, hyung? It's such a funny story.'

'Do you have to?' Jeonghan asked, pretending to be put out.

'It's funny!' Seokmin turned to Mingyu. 'Jeonghan-hyung likes online shopping, but he always forgets to read the item descriptions carefully. He wanted to buy three of these towels, but he didn't realise he was actually buying family sets, so he ended up with fifteen towels. He has to give them away just to get rid of them, which is why we all have one and now you have one.'

There was a pause while Mingyu took in this tale of Jeonghan's stupidity.

'He carries them around looking for people to give them to?' he asked doubtfully.

Seokmin slung an arm over Jeonghan's shoulders. 'Yes. Weird, huh? That's our Jeonghan-hyung!'

Jeonghan tried to project trustworthiness and sincerity in his smile. It didn't seem to do much except unnerve Mingyu.

'Thank you, then,' Mingyu said. 'I'll use it well.'

He looked at the towel, then apparently realised he was still holding the strawberry milk in his other hand. He gave it to Jeonghan, who accepted it without thinking and then felt as confused as every single recipient of his gifts probably had been. The bottle was still cold, like Mingyu had bought it and taken it straight to Jeonghan.

'It was supposed to be an apology,' Mingyu told him shyly, 'but I guess it can be a thank you present instead.'

He left before Jeonghan could even thank him. Seokmin looked at Jeonghan with raised eyebrows.

'Interesting,' he mused, and despite Jeonghan's best efforts, he refused to say what he was talking about.

;-;

iii.

'Look, it could be worse,' Jihoon finally said, breaking the awkward silence.

'How?' Jeonghan asked. 'How?'

'It could have an innocent explanation,' Joshua suggested. 'You know, like Chiwoo-sunbaenim—'

'—and the dog leash, yes, hyung,' Seungkwan interrupted. 'But that was only dirty if you had a dirty mind. We can't spin giving someone this.'

Jun cleared his voice, paused, then tried again. 'Maybe they're for balloons. Decorations for a party.'

'What kind of party would use these for decorations?' Jihoon asked, then answered his own question. 'A sex party. An orgy. That's all I can think of.'

Jeonghan sank onto his bed with a moan of despair, and the bulk box of condoms they were all staring at slid over into the dip he made. He couldn't even bring himself to shove it away.

'I'm going to look like a huge pervert,' he said. 'There'll be articles about me. Yoon Jeonghan, the pervert idol.'

'Oh, hyung.' Seokmin leapt onto the bed and hugged Jeonghan around the waist. 'It'll be okay. It always turns out okay.'

'He's right,' Joshua said, reaching out to squeeze Jeonghan's hand. 'This is the weirdest thing your ability has wanted you to give away, right? There has to be a reason for it, Jeonghan.'

Jun nodded. 'Yeah. Your gifts only ever help people, hyung, even if they find it strange at first. We have to believe this will end well, too.'

Their certainty was comforting, but Jeonghan still felt miserable as he packed his bag, following the gentle nudge of magic as it led him to a pair of silver hair clips he'd stored in a box labelled "fashion", then mechanical pencil leads and a sheet of stickers in his "stationery" box. He tucked them into his bag and accepted the hot cup of coffee Seungkwan had run into the kitchen to make for him.

'I double-checked our schedule for tomorrow,' Seungkwan said, tucking himself in close to Jeonghan's side. 'It really is just the rehearsal for the end-of-year stage with Exveto. We're going straight there and straight back, so whoever these things are for will probably be at the rehearsal.'

'There's still a chance it could be one of us,' Joshua said. He glanced over the rest of them. 'Any of you think you might need all these condoms?'

'Yes, I'm actually planning a party—' Jun said, and was quickly cut off by Seokmin untangling himself from Jeonghan and wrestling Jun onto the bed. Jeonghan couldn't help joining in on the laughter.

'Whatever happens, happens,' Jihoon said quietly, taking over Seokmin's spot. 'Don't worry too much about it before it does.'

-

Even haunted by the thought of the box of condoms in his bag, Jeonghan was looking forward to the rehearsal. The stage would be hard work, with the two groups totalling thirteen members and so many different personalities and performance styles in the mix, but their collaboration felt like it had been a long time coming. He knew members in both groups had tossed the idea around in countless interviews and fansigns.

There was no tingling in his fingers around his members in the morning, nor when their managers fetched them from their dorm. It came only when they arrived at the rehearsal hall, and he let it take him down a corridor to a line of changing rooms and to one specific, closed door.

'It must be an Exveto member,' Joshua whispered from behind him, scaring him half to death.

Jeonghan was starting to get a sinking feeling. Could it be…?

The door opened. Jeonghan and Joshua hurriedly moved aside to let a pair of stylists leave, and when they ducked back to the doorway, they found Mingyu, miraculously alone, looking curiously at them.

The tingle of magic stopped. Jeonghan took a deep breath and reached into his bag, completely unsurprised when the first thing he felt was the edges of a familiar box.

'Mingyu, I have something to give you,' he said, trying not to let his nervousness show. 'It's going to seem weird, but I promise I'm not some— some lecher.'

Joshua couldn't contain a snicker and Jeonghan elbowed him, making no attempt to be discreet.

'Okay,' Mingyu said, calmer than Jeonghan would have been if a near-stranger was babbling about weird gifts and lechery. It was what ultimately gave Jeonghan the courage to hand over the box and be done with it.

'I am so sorry,' he said sincerely.

Mingyu's face was inscrutable as he studied the box. He picked at a corner of the plastic packaging and peeled it back enough that he could open the box and check its contents.

'I'm confused,' he finally said. 'If this were coming from anyone else, I'd think it was a kind of creepy attempt to flirt with me. But I don't think that's your style, and you're apologising like you don't even want to give them to me. Is it a prank? Are you being blackmailed to do it?'

Jeonghan dearly wished he could use one of his usual escape tactics. 'I can't explain it except that you have to keep them because you're going to need them one day.'

Beside him, Joshua winced. 'He doesn't mean that the way it sounds. He's really not hitting on you.'

'I'm not!' Jeonghan rushed to confirm. 'I'm really not!'

Mingyu cracked a smile at that. 'The idea of being attracted to me is that horrifying, huh?'

'No, I didn't mean it like that! I think you're very handsome and very talented, and I would have no problem being attracted to you. It would be a privilege to be attracted to you.'

It was Joshua's turn to elbow him, and he did a lot harder than Jeonghan had, too. Jeonghan rubbed his side, frowning.

'I'm just teasing you, hyung,' Mingyu said, his smile widening. 'You're cute when you get flustered.'

Flustered, Jeonghan fell silent, leaving Joshua to speak for him.

'So you aren't offended by the condoms?' Joshua asked bluntly. 'Or weirded out by them?'

Mingyu shrugged. 'It's a bit weird, but they're just condoms. I'm not some kid who still gets giggly talking about sex. Plus the socks Jeonghan-hyung gave me came in handy, so I'll trust him when he says these will, too.'

'Hmm.' Joshua eyed him speculatively. 'This is very unexpected.'

'I'm a surprising person,' Mingyu said. He waved the box at Jeonghan and winked. 'Thanks, hyung. I'll keep these close, okay?'

'Sure,' Jeonghan said faintly. When did Mingyu get so bold? Was he... flirting with Jeonghan?

'Was he flirting with you?' Joshua asked as soon as they had left the room. One of their managers was at the end of the corridor, looking frantic; Jeonghan waved to get his attention, feeling guilty about disappearing without a word.

'I don't know anything anymore,' Jeonghan said with a sigh, and ran away before Joshua could press him on it.

;-;

iv.

The storm rolled in some time past midnight. Jeonghan had intended to go to bed early for once, worn out from a busy day, but that hope died with the first rumble of thunder. His ability was always restless during storms, as if they energised it; the fizzle of magic that usually made an appearance only when it was needed now kept him awake, sparking beneath his skin with each surge in the weather.

Jeonghan sat by his window for a while, scrolling through his social media accounts and watching lightning flash against the sky. One of the Exveto fan accounts he followed had made a meme out of a screenshot of Mingyu in his orange socks, and the replies to it made him laugh.

It reminded him of something that had been nagging at him for a while. The box of condoms was the third gift to Mingyu in as many weeks, and while it wasn't unusual for Jeonghan to give multiple gifts to the same person, they were generally spread out much further apart. Before Mingyu, the shortest time between two gifts to the same recipient had been about three months.

Was there anything significant about that? There was so much Jeonghan still didn't know about his ability. He wondered if he should ask his mom about it.

When the storm finally subsided, Jeonghan climbed gratefully into bed and under the covers. He fell asleep almost as soon as he closed his eyes, but a few hours later, he opened them again, tugged awake by his magic. He was so tired that he barely knew what he was doing as he unlocked his phone.

Much later, in the cool light of day, he found a purchase confirmation email in his inbox for a single keychain, a tiny yellowish glass sphere from the seller's solar system range. His magic had apparently thought it imperative that he buy a keychain of Venus at exactly six past four in the morning and pay express shipping for it.

The worst part of the whole incomprehensible thing was that he knew, without a doubt, it was going to go to Mingyu.

-

'Something important?' Seungkwan asked, passing Jeonghan a package marked as an express delivery. He was at the kitchen table, sorting through a batch of mail one of their managers had dropped off. The six of them— mostly thanks to the online shopping addicts among them— received so much mail that it was easier to leave everything at the lower dorm and parcel it out from there.

'It seems so,' Jeonghan replied vaguely as he tore open his package. The keychain was buried in multiple layers of bubble wrap and tape, which felt excessive considering the size and value of it. He held it up to the light and studied it. It was nice, but he'd checked out the other keychains on the seller's page, and there were far prettier options. The moon would have been Jeonghan's pick if it had been left up to him.

Seungkwan slid a box to a pile for Jun. 'Didn't you say you were meeting someone for lunch today?'

'Oh, right!' Jeonghan gathered up his rubbish and the rest of his mail and dumped it just inside his room, to be dealt with later. 'Seungcheol and Soonyoung invited me over. I think we're going to order in and watch a movie.'

'Sounds fun,' Seungkwan said, watching Jeonghan dash around for his shoes and bag. 'Have a good time!'

Jeonghan took the keychain with him to the Exveto dorm, even though there was no nudge of magic telling him it was needed yet, or even that it really was meant for Mingyu. But the strange urgency around it— the dead-of-night purchase, the expedited delivery— made him paranoid enough to want to keep it with him.

'Hi, hyung!' Soonyoung greeted him, flinging the apartment door open. 'Come in, come in.'

The Exveto members were divided between two apartments, just like Jeonghan and his members. Soonyoung shared his with Mingyu and Vernon, while Seungcheol was on a higher floor with Wonwoo, Minghao, and Chan. As far as Jeonghan could tell, glancing cautiously around as he slipped off his rain-damp shoes, Seungcheol hadn't arrived yet.

'Vernon's gone out and Mingyu's in his room,' Soonyoung said, making such an effort to sound casual that Jeonghan would have to be completely dense to miss it. He wished he were that dense, actually, because then he wouldn't have to worry about what Soonyoung was thinking and what he might have heard from Mingyu.

'Oh, that's nice,' Jeonghan said, also casually. 'Everyone has the day off, then?'

'Yes. No, wait, Mingyu has a schedule later. But it should only take a few hours.'

Jeonghan nodded. 'So. What's the plan for today?'

He and Soonyoung were already in the middle of ordering lunch when Seungcheol finally made an appearance, looking harried.

'Sorry, I was on the phone with my parents,' he said, dropping onto the sofa beside Jeonghan. 'Have you been here long?'

'Yes, about a year. Can't you see how I've aged?'

Seungcheol made a face at him. 'What, backwards? Why do you look younger every time I see you?'

'He's a witch!' Soonyoung said.

'Who's a witch?' Mingyu asked.

Jeonghan turned so quickly at the sound of Mingyu's voice that he swore he almost gave himself whiplash. His heart definitely did not skip a beat at the sight of Mingyu smiling at him.

'Jeonghan,' Seungcheol said. 'Does it seem like he's aging backwards to you, Mingyu?'

Jeonghan wriggled under the intense scrutiny. Mingyu seemed to light up at Jeonghan's discomfort, his smile taking on a mischievous edge.

'Not really,' Mingyu said. 'He looks his age, but I think he is getting more handsome.'

Oddly enough, neither Seungcheol nor Soonyoung seemed remotely surprised by the comment. Both of them joined Mingyu in staring contemplatively at Jeonghan.

'Stop,' Jeonghan ordered, covering his face with his hands. 'Are we getting food or not? Mingyu, are you eating with us?'

'Leave him alone. You're embarrassing him,' Mingyu said, laughing. He leaned over the sofa to peer behind Jeonghan's hands. 'I have to go so I can't eat with you, hyung. But have a good meal, okay?'

Seungcheol pried Jeonghan's hands away from his face while speaking to Mingyu. 'Is it the Elle shoot today?'

'Yeah. I should be back in time to leave with you guys for dinner, but go ahead if I'm not.'

'We have a group dinner tonight,' Seungcheol explained as Mingyu headed out. 'A really late birthday dinner for Minghao since we were too busy to have a proper celebration before.'

'Minghao doesn't like fuss; I think he was hoping it would never happen,' Soonyoung said.

The tingling in Jeonghan's fingers came on so abruptly that he didn't immediately register it as his magic, so used as he was to a gentle, gradual build-up guiding him to his next recipient. The keychain in his pocket suddenly felt ten times heavier; he touched the outline of it through his jeans, genuinely convinced something was happening to it, but it was still the same tiny, inexplicably important piece of junk.

He stood up, a strange anxiety starting to bubble in his stomach. 'Where's Mingyu getting picked up from? Out the front or in the parking garage?'

'We always leave through the garage to avoid attention,' Seungcheol said, staring at him. 'Why?'

'I need to give him something before he goes,' Jeonghan said. He ran for the door, not even bothering with his shoes. 'I'll be right back.'

He reached the elevator and slammed the down button just as it was on its descent from a higher floor. It was already occupied by an older man who glanced quizzically at Jeonghan's feet once, then politely averted his eyes until he exited at ground level. Jeonghan immediately closed the elevator doors once the man was out and waited impatiently for it to move again. His hand was almost vibrating with the force of his magic; he'd never, ever felt it as strongly as this before.

The second the doors opened, Jeonghan squeezed himself through and shot out into the dimly lit parking garage, frantically scanning it for any sign of Mingyu or his ride. A lot of the parking spaces were empty since it was the middle of a weekday, and Jeonghan quickly spotted a dark car with its lights just turning on. He made a run for it, slipping a little across the smooth concrete.

'Wait!' he called out, waving his arms wildly over his head. 'Please!'

The car jolted to a stop just outside its parking space, the driver's bewildered face looking out at Jeonghan through the windscreen. Jeonghan made a hasty bow of apology and ducked over to the side as the door slid open.

'Jeonghan-hyung? What's going on?' Mingyu asked, leaning out of his seat. He reached out, his hand hovering uncertainly by Jeonghan's face, like Mingyu didn't know whether to touch him.

'Sorry, sorry, I know this is completely crazy,' Jeonghan said, panting from his dash through the building. He pulled out the keychain and pressed it into Mingyu's palm, holding it there for a moment between their hands. The tingling in Jeonghan's fingers stopped, and all he could feel was the warmth of Mingyu's skin.

'For me again?' Mingyu said wonderingly. There was something about the way he said that that caught Jeonghan's attention, but he had no time then to dwell on it.

'I'm sorry,' Jeonghan said. 'It's important, otherwise I wouldn't have interrupted you like this.'

Mingyu's expression was soft. 'I know. It's okay.'

'Jeonghan-ssi, if everything's alright, I'm afraid Mingyu really has to go now,' the driver said.

Embarrassed and relieved all at once, Jeonghan nodded. He reluctantly let go of Mingyu's hand, leaving the keychain behind, its colours so dulled by the low light in the car and parking garage that it looked even more unimpressive, hardly worth even a fraction of the urgency Jeonghan had delivered it with.

'I'll call you later,' Mingyu promised. 'Wait for me, okay?'

Jeonghan nodded again. 'Take care,' he said, the words coming out unbidden. He slid the door closed and stepped back, feeling strangely alive as he watched the car go. He'd done it. He'd gotten the keychain to Mingyu, and whatever happened next, it would serve its purpose and keep Mingyu safe.

-

Seungcheol got the call exactly forty-six minutes later; Jeonghan knew because he'd checked the time when he'd gotten back into the elevator from the parking garage. It was clear from Seungcheol's expression that it was bad news, but Jeonghan remained calm, channelling the part of him that wasn't so calm into shredding a paper napkin.

'Mingyu's car was in an accident,' Seungcheol said as soon as he hung up.

Soonyoung's eyes widened. He jumped out of his seat, a pair of chopsticks dangling forgotten between his fingers. 'What? What happened?'

'I'm not sure. I think he's okay, but we need to go. I have to tell the others before they read about it online.' Seungcheol stood up, then faltered, gazing blankly at the containers of food and drinks spread out across the coffee table. He looked very young at that moment.

Jeonghan took charge, briskly matching plastic lids to their containers and stacking everything together.

'Go,' he told them both. 'Get your things and start calling your members. Is one of your managers coming to pick you up?'

'Yeah, he'll be here soon.' His shoulders tense, Seungcheol watched Soonyoung run into his room. 'Jeonghan, I'm scared.'

'Of course you are; it would be weird if you weren't.' Jeonghan stopped tidying to look at him. 'But Mingyu will be fine. Go with your members and see him. You'll feel better when you're all together.'

He parted ways with Seungcheol and Soonyoung outside their apartment door, giving each of them a quick hug and reassuring thump on the back. Then he went home, slowly processing the day's events.

'Did you hear about Mingyu?' Seungkwan asked as Jeonghan let himself into their apartment.

'Yes. How do you know about it?'

'I was hanging out with Vernon when Coups-hyung called him.'

'Ah.' Jeonghan sat down next to Seungkwan on the sofa and checked his phone. There were over a dozen messages waiting for him, some with links to news articles about the accident. He chose not to click on those. 'Is Vernon okay?'

'I think so. He was worried, but you know, he's not the type to get panicky before he knows exactly what's going on.'

'That's sensible. And are you okay?'

Seungkwan looked thoughtful. 'I wasn't, but when you came in so calmly, I felt better. Why are you so calm, hyung?'

It was harder than Jeonghan expected to explain his certainty that Mingyu wasn't seriously hurt. Seungkwan was familiar with Jeonghan's ability, but knowing about it was different to actually experiencing it, and Jeonghan knew the idea of a cheap keychain playing any useful role in the accident sounded ridiculous. He couldn't quite verbalise how his magic had felt in the minutes before and after he'd handed the keychain over to Mingyu, the desperation in the way it had urged him to get to Mingyu, the settled sense of peace as the car went out of sight.

'I hope you're right,' Seungkwan said, his brow furrowed anxiously. 'I hope we get some news about him soon.'

It was Vernon who ended up contacting them first, a brief message to say Mingyu was conscious and speaking, but banged up enough to warrant an overnight stay in hospital. Despite all his calm and confidence, that text eased a weight Jeonghan had refused to acknowledge.

He got a more complete picture of what had happened when Seungcheol called that evening, right after Jeonghan had finished showering. He slung his towel over his dripping hair and eagerly accepted the call.

'How is he?' he demanded.

'He's holding up well,' Seungcheol said, sounding exhausted. 'He's bruised pretty badly, to be honest, but it could have been much worse, so I'm feeling very thankful right now.'

Jeonghan let out a shaky breath. He was surprised by the sudden tears that blurred his sight. 'What happened?'

'A complete freak accident. It sounds like they were going through an intersection when someone tried to cross the road. Our manager-hyung swerved, lost control of the car because of the wet road, and they went right into a construction site.'

'Unbelievable,' Jeonghan said softly. 'And they both got away with nothing more than bruises?'

'Manager-hyung was in shock, but he's fine otherwise. Mingyu got the worst of it.' Seungcheol paused. 'I wanted to tell you something. The reason I said it could have been worse is because of what happened on Mingyu's side of the car.'

'What do you mean? Was it his side that hit something?'

'His side was the only part of the car that hit something. There was this unfinished building frame on the site and the car spun into it on Mingyu's side. Jeonghan, I saw a photo of the car— there was a steel bar going through his window. If he'd been sitting upright, I don't know what might have happened.'

Jeonghan didn't even want to think about it. 'He must be the luckiest person in the world,' he said instead.

'Is it luck?' Seungcheol asked, to Jeonghan's confusion. He sounded pensive. 'Mingyu wanted to thank you. He said it was the keychain you gave him that saved him.'

Jeonghan was silent for a beat too long. 'He said that?'

'Yeah. You know why he wasn't sitting up in his seat when the bar went through his window? It was because he dropped the keychain and it rolled to the other side of the car. He was leaning over trying to get it when the accident happened.'

So it was as simple as that. No longer caring about his hair or his sheets, Jeonghan fell back onto his bed and gazed at his ceiling, his phone held loosely by his ear. He felt an odd mix of elation and terror and gratitude. He didn't know how he was going to explain himself to Mingyu or to Seungcheol, who clearly suspected something, but he was positive his ability had saved Mingyu from something far worse than aches and bruises, and he was so thankful he wanted to cry.

'I just wanted to fill you in,' Seungcheol said gently, as if he could sense the state Jeonghan was in. 'Mingyu made a point of asking me to talk to you, too. I think… Well. I'll let him explain when you see him. He'll probably be discharged tomorrow and I'm sure he'll want to see you as soon as he can.'

'Okay,' Jeonghan said, and couldn't quite manage anything other than that.

'Okay,' Seungcheol echoed him. 'And, hey, Jeonghan? Thank you.'

;-;

v.

True to Seungcheol's word, Mingyu got in touch with Jeonghan the very next day. He sent a photo of his sleepy face, propped up by a mountain of pillows and watched over by a pink bear wearing surgeon scrubs.

It was a present from my members, he texted. Isn't she cute?

He forwarded pictures Minghao had sent him from their company building of all the balloon and flower arrangements from their fans. There were so many that it looked like someone had bought out an entire gift shop, and Jeonghan told him so.

Don't lie, Yoon Jeonghan! was Mingyu's reply. It's at least two.

The messages came steadily throughout the week. Jeonghan had to work, but he made sure to respond to each one as soon as he could. He knew Mingyu was bored and getting restless, cooped up at home and even worse, too achy to do much more than lie around. But as Mingyu said one night, there were worse places he could be lying in.

Jeonghan scolded him for that joke.

It wasn't until Mingyu felt like he could sit up for more than fifteen minutes without regretting it later that he invited Jeonghan over. It was raining again, and Jeonghan's umbrella turned out to be flimsy enough to be upturned by a gust of wind as he crossed the road from his taxi to the Exveto members' building. He was still dripping when he knocked on Mingyu's door.

'You look like something that's washed up from the sea,' Mingyu remarked, his smile blinding as he looked Jeonghan over.

'Is that the kind of line you use on your fans?' Jeonghan asked grumpily. He stayed in front of the doorway and eyed Mingyu sceptically. 'Hey, should you be standing?'

Mingyu rolled his eyes. 'I'm fine, hyung. I'm going to get you a towel. You can take your jacket and shoes off here if you're worried about dripping everywhere.'

No one else seemed to be home. Jeonghan left his wet belongings by the door and ventured further in, hovering awkwardly by the sofa while he waited for Mingyu.

'So I thought we were out of clean towels,' Mingyu called out, coming back into the living area, 'but look what I found!'

It was the travel towel Jeonghan had given him weeks ago. Beaming, Mingyu unrolled it and tossed it over Jeonghan's head. Jeonghan reached up for it, but he was forestalled by Mingyu's hands gathering the fabric into folds over Jeonghan's hair and working carefully to dry it. The intimacy of it was startling; Jeonghan felt his cheeks heat as Mingyu's fingers tentatively combed through his hair, untangling damp strands and brushing it away from his eyes.

'That's better,' Mingyu said softly, tossing the towel onto the coffee table. He tucked a wayward strand of hair behind Jeonghan's ear, and Jeonghan shivered at the faint scratch of his fingernails. 'Jeonghan-hyung?'

'Yes?' Jeonghan asked, resenting how breathless he sounded. Just from Mingyu drying his hair! God, he was pathetic.

'I swear I didn't ask you over for this, but I would really like to kiss you. Can I?'

If there was an answer to that other than an immediate, emphatic yes, Jeonghan hadn't thought of it. He tilted his face up towards Mingyu's and let Mingyu drag him into the sweetest kiss he'd ever experienced, so tender that it was as if Mingyu was afraid Jeonghan might shatter under his touch.

'You're so lovely,' Mingyu said, landing butterfly kisses on Jeonghan's cheek, his ear, his throat. 'I never want to stop touching you.'

Jeonghan's knees felt weak. He'd had no idea this sort of flattery was so effective on him. Maybe it was because Mingyu was the one saying it.

'Mingyu,' Jeonghan said as Mingyu's mouth on his throat became more exploratory, gentleness giving way to something hungrier. 'Ming— ah! Stop before you hurt yourself!'

Mingyu obeyed, which probably said a lot about the pain he must still be feeling, but he looked so frustrated about it that it made Jeonghan laugh. He patted Mingyu on the head, the one place he was pretty sure there were no bruises, and kissed him again, sneaking in a provocatively slow swipe of his tongue over Mingyu's lips as he pulled back. He was very pleased by Mingyu's reaction to that.

'Come sit,' Jeonghan said, taking Mingyu's hand and gently leading to the sofa. He took a couple of cushions piled high on a nearby armchair— how many cushions and pillows were there in this place?— and arranged them neatly for Mingyu to rest against.

'Thanks,' Mingyu said, closing his eyes briefly as he leaned back gingerly. 'I'm much better, you know. I've been resting and using so much bruise ointment I've just run out of it again, so I'm mostly sore now, and not in as many places as before. '

Jeonghan shrugged. 'Still. Let's be safe rather than sorry.'

'This is so unfair,' Mingyu sighed. He glanced at Jeonghan, curled up at the other end of the sofa. 'But I guess you're right. Plus, I did ask you over today to talk to you, not… other things.'

'Oh?'

'First of all, I want you to know that I'm not going to pry and I'm happy for you to deny you know what I'm talking about,' Mingyu said, in a way that suggested he'd rehearsed his speech. 'But… thank you for what you did for me. I've been joking about it, but I know exactly what could have happened to me if I hadn't dropped my keychain.'

Jeonghan reached over and rubbed his palm comfortingly over one of Mingyu's ankles.

'It's okay if you don't want to talk about it,’ Mingyu went on. ‘I'm just very glad you're a part of my life.'

It was a little funny that they'd both been preparing what they'd say when they saw each other. Jeonghan smiled, wanting to clear away the apprehension on Mingyu's face.

'I'm not going to deny anything,' Jeonghan told him, absentmindedly stroking his ankle, 'but I'm not ready to tell you everything yet. I'm guessing you and some of your members have an idea of what I can do.'

'Sort of,' Mingyu admitted. 'Or we have a good guess, at least. You've given a lot of things to us over the years.'

'That's true. Your group's had more evidence to work with than most people.'

Mingyu was quiet for a moment, evidently thinking hard. 'Can I ask you something? I think you've given me more things these last few weeks than in all the years since we met. Why is that?'

'I don't know,' Jeonghan said, which wasn't quite true. He had an inkling that had grown into near-certainty when Mingyu asked to kiss him, but— one revelation at a time. 'I think you must be special.'

'Really?' Mingyu grinned as if he'd never heard a greater compliment.

'Mm. In fact, here's more proof.'

There was only one item in his bag today, which was unusual enough that Jeonghan hadn't really been joking when he'd said he thought Mingyu was special. He held it out.

'Bruise ointment,' he said. 'You said you ran out?'

'That's amazing,' Mingyu said, delighted. He took the tube from Jeonghan and rolled it between his thumb and index finger, his expression turning sly. 'I've been waiting for someone to bring me more ointment, so I haven't been able to apply any today. Do you think you can help me, hyung?'

'You're not cute at all,' Jeonghan told him, lying through his teeth. 'Fine, but you better behave. I'm going to apply it like— like a doctor helping you out in a completely professional way, Mingyu.'

'We'll see,' Mingyu said, smiling.