The morning sun hits different in the mountains. Unfiltered. Raw. And loud with wildlife. One by one, Taehyung's senses stir. The world is bright and blaring. The witch had almost forgotten what birds sound like and it takes his mind a good minute to process the sensory triggers making his brain buzz. And his tummy rumble.

His head cannot seem to compute the smell of food but his body has no problem reacting to it and gets up in search of its source. Now if only Taehyung's eyes would open, it would help him navigate the cluttered living room without stubbing his toes in every broken pieces of furniture scattered about.

But his vision is not the only thing not working properly. His ears perceive chatter, which is odd because why would Jungkook talk to himself?

"Taehee?" he calls, stepping onto the sunlit patio, eyes squinting from the blinding morn rays.

He is welcomed with a smile, as if nothing was wrong with his sister drinking a cup of coffee outside the supposedly secret refuge of a rogue witch. "Morning sleepyhead."

"Morning' sis."

"You never told me your boyfriend made decent coffee. Definitely a keeper, this one."

Taehyung huffs. "I don't drink coffee."

He should also probably mention that they aren't boyfriends, but the vampire has obviously decided to tease as he greets him in turn with a peck on his cheek. "Your boyfriend knows that, which is why he made hot chocolate for you," he says, placing a warm mug in his hands.

"It's too early for pranks," Taehyung whines, grateful for the drink nonetheless.

"What prank," they both ask, watching the witch looking around for something he evidently cannot find if the chubby pout on his sleepy face is anything to go by.

"I smell food, but I don't see any. Why are you torturing me like that?"

Taehee promptly apologizes between two chuckles before retrieving a few stainless steel dosirak from her backpack. "I wasn't sure what porridge you preferred, so I got you abalone, beef, and pumpkin."

Taehyung could really kiss his sister right now. "You lifesaver. What are you doing here by the way?"

"I've come to feed the most famous defector in the country. Why else would I be here?"

"How did you find us?"

"Easy. You own a pet that needs water to thrive, and portals can only teleport you to places you've been. There aren't that many choices within a 60-kilometre radius from Seoul."

"I could have landed in Gwanghwa Island."

"Then you would have been a fool. I am pretty sure your pet is a freshwater dragon."

"You seem to know a lot more about Ash than I do."

"Ash? Cute name for an imugi. Hey. Don't look at me like that. Your dragon is the talk of the town. And if we play this right, it could make you."

"I have no idea what you are on about, Sis."

"Of that I am painfully aware. Which is also why I'm here. Do you remember that professor I told you about, with whom I trained? Well, I brought them to your victim for a full assessment."

"The hospital let you in?"

"Oh no. Jaewon was convalescing at SSB's HQ."

"What?"

Jungkook raised a hand. "My bad. I should have informed you I took the liberty to relocate him, but when I went to check on you at the library, you'd fallen asleep on a pile of dust."

"First of all, not sure Jimin would appreciate you calling his library dusty. Second of all, did you just admit to kidnapping Jaewon?"

"Jimin's appreciation is not what I'm after, pumpkin. Besides, I figured that when you'd find a counter spell, you'd like to try it on him right away. I did what I did for your convenience, babe."

The pet names are a distraction, and Taehyung is convinced they're just a ploy to soften his wrath. Do they work? Absolutely. "It seems you did a lot of things that day, while I was doing research."

Taehyung does not have time to dodge the peck that lands on his lips. "Did them for you, sweets."

What an unnerving little vampire. If only Taehyung could find the will to actually be angry at his cheeky antics. "Are you also planning to take the fall when they add hostage-taking to the long list of charges against me?"

"They won't. Jin hyung was most delighted to have a new patient around. When I left, he was having fun running tests on the guy to see what that purple ooze was made off."

It's not hard for Taehyung to picture the nurse getting excited over the mystery illness and its never-before-seen syndromes, collecting samples off of his distraught patient. Soft chuckles betray his amusement and light up heart-shaped sparks in Jungkook's gaze.

Taehee clears her throat. "Since we're on the subject, my professor has appraised the damage you've done and they've reached the conclusion that your spell is undocumented."

"What does that even mean?" Taehyung sighs.

"It is new, that's what it means. Do you realize how crazy this is?"

Jungkook sends a wink her way. "Told you he was talented."

"M'not," Taehyung whines. "It was a fluke. A mistake!"

"Jungkook also told me you would react like this."

Taehyung just notices something. Now that his stomach is sated, it appears he's regained full brain capacity, along with his eyesight, finally picking up on things he should have been aware of from the start. "You and Jungkook have been scheming behind my back, I see. Look at you both, wearing matching bracelets. Care to tell me how you discovered this hideout?"

He gets a shrug in response. "I've known since you began winning, something you couldn't do without cheating."

"Hey! There was no rule against it!"

"Anyway, no one believed me when I told them back then, except for Grandma." She stares at the bracelet, eyes swimming with thoughts. "I wonder..." she whispers.

Any considerations she might have had is soon brushed off with a dismissive hand. "In any event, you should be aware there are talks taking place as we speak. Talks of you, of course, and what it could mean for the community."

"What could it mean for me though?"

"Ah! Finally, some real questions. Well, if you play it right, you could be granted permission to form your own coven, Brother!"

This is clearly not what Taehyung had hoped for. "Why would I do that when I can't even cast decently? Besides, they've denied me magic before. I don't see why they would allow me access to it now, after all the trouble they went through to make sure I never got proper training."

Taehyung is stubborn in his negation. But bullheadedness is something that runs in the family, and Taehee has been blessed with plenty. "I have two words for ya: new spell."

"I was doing fine until now. Can't they just pretend nothing ever happened? Can't someone patch Jaewon up, clear his memory and we go back to where we left off two days ago?"

"Brother, you have no idea what you've started, do you? This is not merely about curing one guy. You were on the fucking news for crying out loud! Which means we are in the presence of a serious case of supercobweb. Pulling one string won't fix anything. In fact, the entanglement is such that they are considering transtemporal measures."

Jungkook is the one shaking his head now. "I don't like the sound of that."

"No one does. Not only are they very energy-consuming, time reversals wipe memories off."

"You seem to know a lot about the matter," Taehyung mentions.

"I did my homework before raising the alarm and alerting them. And being your blood relative convinced them I was best equipped to deal with you."

"They could've sent mother."

"Would you have listened to her?"

"No."

"Then I was the better choice, wasn't I?"

"You brought food, so yeah, I guess."

"If food is all it takes, then expect me here again soon with more. But do promise me this: if the witches summon you, please do not dismiss their invitation."

"What if they want to test me?"

"Then just show them what you can do."

"Which isn't much. So far, I've only managed to compensate for my lack of skills using a bunch of gadgets." Taehyung shakes his writs where multiple bracelets dangle before reaching for the chains around his neck. "Look at all this stuff. I'm nothing without those."

There are numerous pendants of various shapes, sizes and colours. Jungkook wouldn't know what they are for, but Taehee's sudden frown is concerning. "What's this?" she asks.

The locket is black and bulky, the make rather coarse in comparison with the other gems. "May I?" Jungkook gently takes the chain off before crushing the pendant with his bare hand. Broken pieces sprinkle the table with parts of something that even the vampire can tell is definitely man-made.

"No magic trinket would have shattered so easily," he points out.

"This is not magic made," Taehee confirms.

In the meantime, Taehyung's facial tone has drastically paled. "It was a gift. From Jaewon."

—

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