AFTER GETTING a relatively good night's sleep, seungmin immediately left his house the next morning with plans to deliver his tailored pieces to their buyers so that he could finally have enough money to splurge on something special. it had been so long since he could spend money frivolously since most of the time he was barely getting by, but now he would be able to treat himself.

maybe i could buy a slice of cream cake from park jihyo's bakery in the market square, he thought to himself as he locked up his house and set off down the road. or maybe i'll get myself a piece of jewelry from a vendor on the street. who knows? the possibilities are endless!

by midday, seungmin had successfully delivered both articles of clothing to their clients and was paid quite graciously for the work that he had done. the woman who ordered the baby blue suit that he secretly despised even gave him a small basket of treats! the boy had already devoured about half the basket but regretted nothing— it was free food, after all.

seungmin hummed happily to himself as he walked, greeting various passerby and smiling at a few birds that chirped at him. he was undoubtedly in the best mood he'd been in weeks, and this day just seemed to get better and better. the sun was shining high in the cloudless sky; the trees rustled with a slight breeze; he hadn't run into the wizard hyunjin like he had feared might happen. everything was perfect.

until he almost collided with someone as he rounded a corner.

"woah!" the stranger yelped, hopping backward to avoid crashing into seungmin. "my sincerest apologies, mate! i didn't see you there!"

yeah, i could tell from the way you nearly trampled me over, was seungmin's immediate thought, but he felt pity after seeing the other boy's apologetic face. he was tall and had silver hair, a slit in his left eyebrow, and dimples that appeared as he frowned. his voice was thick with an accent— it was apparent that he was from another land. overall he didn't seem like a bad person to seungmin, much less one that would intentionally run someone over.

"it's alright." seungmin gave the stranger a small smile of forgiveness before beginning to continue his way down the street.

"w-wait!" the man cried, stopping the tailor in his tracks. dimple face (which is what seungmin decided to call him in his head) jogged up to him and pulled a piece of paper out of his coat pocket. (the coat, seungmin noticed, was blue and made of... is that denim? he thought in shock. what a bold fashion choice! i must take note of this for my future designs!) on it was a very detailed sketch of someone's face: he had black hair styled in an undercut, a sharp chin, and dark, glaring eyes. his expression chilled the tailor. how could a mere picture strike such fear into my heart? "have you seen this man anywhere? anywhere at all?"

seungmin shook his head, keeping his eyes on the photo. he felt as if he had seen the sketch somewhere, but he just couldn't figure out where. "i'm afraid i haven't."

dimple face sighed. "alright. thank you for your time." he then sprinted away, presumably to find other people to ask.

well, that was... odd, seungmin thought, but just shrugged the encounter off and made his way into the market square, where he immediately felt like a child in minatozaki sana's candy shop (which was conveniently right down the road from his house). he looked around at the various stalls in awe, his coin pouch just begging to be opened. a man was selling pink and blue candy floss; a woman was selling gemstones; and an old lady was advocating for her "illusion in a jar", which was seemingly popular judging from the crowd around her cart.

seungmin strolled around, eyeing the different stalls and seeing which ones were rip-offs and which ones were quality (he had seen a vendor trying to sell "rare golden thread"— upon closer inspection, it proved to be twine painted yellow). a stall that sold accessories at a cheap price caught his eye and he bought himself a blue teardrop pendant. excitedly, he slipped it on, and it seemed to brighten up his drab outfit almost immediately: a simple white button-up with dark pants. the woman who had sold it had even given him a pair of matching earrings for free! seungmin tried to politely decline the gift, saying that he didn't have pierced ears (which wasn't a lie), but the lady shook her head, adamant that he take it. when he mentioned that he didn't have anyone to give them to, she became even more persistent.

"a fine young man like yourself shouldn't be lonely," she exclaimed, "not when there are so many fish in the sea! when you find your true love, give these to them. they'll be more than happy to receive such a beautiful gift and even more so when they see what happens when they put it on." she winked and shoved a very confused seungmin away so she could serve another customer, calling out to him, "but remember! only give them to your true love!"

true love? sure, the tailor thought, mentally rolling his eyes as he continued walking around. people like that always say stuff like that to keep the customers coming back. there's no way it's true. he eyed the pendant and the earrings thoughtfully, watching how they seemed to glow in the sunlight. they're nice pieces of jewelry, though. i can appreciate that.

as he neared the end of the square, he heard a man's voice calling out to him. "hey, kid. wanna get your wish granted?"

seungmin paused and looked over to see a small figure standing next to one of the stalls. he had black hair styled in an undercut, a sharp chin, dark eyes, and a friendly smile. he wore a tattered black coat that, as soon as he laid eyes on it, the brunette was just itching to get his hands on so that he could fix it up.

"c'mon, kid. it'll only cost you a couple of coins."

now that was a tempting offer. seungmin didn't want to spend too much on anything else— after all, he was quite satisfied with what he'd already gotten— so after hearing that it wouldn't cost much, he approached the man (who was oddly familiar— where had he seen him before?). after all, it wouldn't hurt to spend just a couple of coins on something trivial, right?

the man (who seungmin was sure he had seen somewhere before, just not exactly where) grinned widely. "so you've got a wish, do ya? well, kid, you've come to the right place." he patted a chair that stood in front of his small stall. the stall itself was rather unattractive and poorly built, almost like it was made in a haste. seungmin sat down, feeling bad for the man. he must not get very many customers.

"yes, please," he said politely, reaching into his pouch to gather a couple of coins and handing them to the man, who sat across from him. "so... what exactly is it that i have to do?"

the man clasped his hands together in an excited manner. "well, just tell me your wish and i'll cast a spell over you to grant it!" he giggled a bit, and seungmin was slightly creeped out. "it can be anything— from riches to love, i can grant it all! just tell me what you want. but it has to come from deep within your heart, or else it won't work. and i'll be able to tell if you're lying! i am a very experienced wa— erm, wizard."

seungmin was slightly skeptical but went along with it. what do i really, truly want? like everyone else in the world, seungmin wanted to find love. he also wanted to be rich— that would help out a lot with his profession. he also wanted him and minho to be happy, but at the same time, he wanted them both to always stay by each others' sides, and he knew that the only way for himself to be truly happy was if—

the tailor gasped. "i know what i want," he declared.

the dark-haired man seemed surprised at his sudden statement, but quickly smiled and pulled a small crystal ball out from under the table they were sitting at. "all right. now, close your eyes and place your hands on the ball. concentrate, and make sure that what you're wishing for is from deep within your heart. i won't be able to do anything if it's not something you truly desire."

seungmin complied and thought of his wish, suddenly feeling nervous. his heart began thumping at a higher rate than before, and in an attempt to calm himself he focused on the coolness of the ball, unaware of what was happening around him at that current moment.

the mysterious man across from him stared intently at the crystal ball, waiting. waiting for something to happen that would prove that the wish his customer was making was a real one. he had been deprived of his powers for so long since he was confined in that wretched room for what felt like an eternity already (in reality, it had only been a couple of weeks), being tended to by that dreadful man with the dimples. hyunjin must have realized by now that he had gone missing, so if he wanted to escape from the castle forever, he would have to hurry and get money somehow from the people of this tiny town, or else he wouldn't be able to afford any form of transportation.

if this stupid curse weren't on me, i'd be a dimension and a half away from here right now! he mentally growled but stopped when he saw the crystal ball. it was turning a misty purple, a sign that the brown-haired man's heart was ringing true. it was also one out of two of the things he needed to use his magic.

he grinned devilishly and cleared his throat. "your desire has proven to be true to your heart. but, for the spell to work, i'm going to need your consent. it's just a thing that we...wizards...do occasionally." he left out the fact that consent to cast a spell was part of his curse. damn you, hyunjin. "so, do i have your permission to cast this spell and grant your wish?"

"yes, you may."

"okay. now please state your wish, and quickly— we don't have much time." before your heart loses its desire and the crystal ball loses its effect, he refrained himself from saying.

seungmin hesitated, and unbeknownst to him, the lavender shade of the crystal ball flickered ever so slightly. the person across from nearly screamed— partly out of frustration, partly out of fear.

why is he doubting himself now? he thought, and quickly said, "hurry, now— the spell must be cast! what is your wish?"

seungmin decided to throw any worries out the window and went for it. "i wish...to lead a life of adventure!"

the man stopped frantically tugging at his hair when he heard this. his wish...is an adventure? i could do so many things with that! a dragon attack, a plague, a—

he snapped his fingers. i know what to do. "one life of adventure, coming right up."

all seungmin could hear was the man's voice chanting at an insanely high speed, and the crystal beneath his hands seemed to get warmer and warmer. a booming sounded in the skies above. was that thunder? he thought worriedly. the town was bright and sunny just a few minutes earlier! what was going on?

"...and with these things, a spell has been cast! my magic will make this dark curse last."

the tailor's eyes shot open. "wait, curse?" he cried, tearing his hands off the crystal ball.

at that very moment, a crackle sounded, and a bolt of lightning shot down from the heavens, striking the ball that seungmin had his hands on just a second before. he looked up to the man across from him with wild eyes. "what was that? who are you?"

the man's previously kind smile turned sadistic. "seo changbin, the warlock of darkness. and you have just been damned to an eternity with the famed wizard himself, hwang hyunjin." he cackled, and thunder sounded behind him in a dramatic fashion that typically would've made seungmin laugh, but not here. not now.

"enjoy your life of adventure, sweetheart."