WHEN SEUNGMIN woke up to find minho nowhere in sight, his mind immediately jumped to the wore possible conclusion: hyunjin had murdered his friend in his sleep, and he was next. he began to hyperventilate, fear sinking in, until he saw a note that lay next to his pillow.

seungmin,
        you kept flailing while you slept and every time i tried to wake you up then you would try to punch me, so i got up early and went to the library.

seungmin winced internally. he had a tendency to move around in his sleep and would subconsciously react violently if someone tried to wake him up. he guessed it was a defense reflex and never really thought much about it since it wasn't often he slept in the same room with someone. apologies, minho, he thought before continuing the letter.

i'm writing this note because knowing you, you'd probably see that i wasn't with you and assume i was dead. come find me when you wake up so we can make a plan. bring the spellbook with you. don't forget it.
        —minho. 
(by the way, chan came by and set out a spare outfit for you on the table. you can take a bath and get changed a few doors down the hall. it's a bit more extravagant than you're used to, but i think it will look wonderful on you, so don't even think about not wearing it or i'll force it on you personally.)

seungmin chuckled a bit. he knows me so well. glancing over at the small table in the corner of the room, he saw a neatly folded pile of clothes sitting on top of it. he approached it hesitantly, minho's words ringing in his mind: it's a bit more extravagant than you're used to. seungmin never wore fancy garments and stuck to plain and basic ones instead. minho always urged him to design an elaborate outfit for himself, but seungmin constantly brushed him away under the guise that he didn't want to waste his materials on himself. but that was only half of the truth. the other half was that seungmin didn't want to stand out. he was so used to staying out of the spotlight that he had come to dread being the center of attention, and he knew that the moment he started wearing something elegant or fancy, he would be stared at. just the thought of it made him want to sink as far as possible into the white button-up he was wearing and hide from the world.

seungmin felt the fabric and gasped. the shirt was made from silk, immediately showing its class and worth. it was a maroon hue, similar to the beat-up chair downstairs, but its colour was much richer in comparison to the dullness of the piece of furniture. he picked it up and watched as it unfolded in front of him, his eyes widening at the sight. the shirt was long-sleeved and collared with a v-shaped cut in the middle that stopped just under where his chest would be. it was quite revealing- much more than seungmin would prefer- but thankfully it was held together by strings that crisscrossed over each other, going all the way down the opening. along the sides of the cut were chiffon ruffles lined with gold, and seungmin traced them in complete and utter shock. the hem of the shirt was also lined with intricate gold swirls, and buttons made of the same material lined the cuffs on the sleeves. all in all, it was extremely impressive, and seungmin couldn't help but wonder if he would be able to make something like that one day.

there's no way i can wear something like this, he thought, but if i don't, minho will probably kill me before hyunjin does. with a resigned sigh, he carefully picked up the pair of black pants that were left on the table (which, he noted, were made of very fine wool) and left the room to take a bath and change.

seungmin hadn't realized how much he needed a bath until he stepped out of the porcelain tub and onto the tiled floor feeling refreshed and renewed. his body, once caked in sweat and dirt, was now scrubbed clean, and he felt better than ever. to his surprise, the castle had what seemed like an unlimited supply of hot water, which was typically a luxury in seungmin's tiny home. he never had enough time to put on a fire to heat the water and he had no friends that knew fire magic, so he had to settle for cold water baths that, when combined with the chilly night air, felt more like an ice bath than anything. so, he relished in the warmth for as long as he could before exiting to get dressed.

as soon as he put on the shirt, seungmin wanted to take it off. even though the strings held it together, you could still see quite a bit of his chest through the slit in the shirt. he tried to pinch the fabric together but it was to no avail as the shirt seemed adamant about staying open. if only i had my emergency sewing kit, i could just patch this right up and be done with it! the tailor thought in defeat as he left the bathroom (slipping on his blue pendant at the last moment). he had to admit, though, that the clothes chan had brought fit his body perfectly, which was a pleasant surprise.

"minho?" seungmin called, opening the door to the library. he was met with silence. cracking open the door further, seungmin stepped inside and peered around at the numerous bookshelves that surrounded him. it was no wonder that minho had spent so much time in the library: it was amazing. books spilled out of the wooden shelves, laid in stacks on the ground, and were stuffed in just about every single nook and cranny in the (surprisingly large) room. it wasn't as large as the library in market chipping, but it was fairly obvious that the books it held were much more valuable and much rarer than any bookstore could ever have. seungmin wasn't an avid reader himself but couldn't suppress his amazement at everything that the room held.

snapping himself out of his reverie, seungmin cleared his throat and tried again. "minho? are you in here?"

again there was no response, and the tailor felt his anxiety from earlier resurface. he quickly shut the door to the library and ran downstairs, his mind racing. he paused when he heard a shout that sounded a lot like minho and peeked around the banister to see what was going on. are they hurting him? are they cooking him in a giant pot? why did he yell like that?

however, the scene before him was nothing like that. minho (who was wearing a new set of clothes, seungmin observed) was holding a fire poker threateningly at jisung, who was back in his demon form and trying his absolute best to avoid getting stabbed from his spot in the fireplace.. chan and felix were seated at the table eating bacon and eggs with another boy that seungmin hadn't seen before. the three of them were laughing with delight at minho and jisung; seungmin noticed that neither hyunjin and changbin were present, which was a great relief to him.

chan stopped laughing for a moment, but his grin stayed on his face. without looking once in the tailor's direction, he said, "don't just stand there, seungmin. come and join us!"

all of the eyes in the room snapped to his form that stood frozen at the bottom of the steps. minho gasped and dropped the fire poker before racing to his friend's side. "seungmin! you're finally awake! i see you heeded my warning and put on the clothes." he beamed and patted his shoulder. "and i see that i was right when i said that they would look wonderful on you! i'm so proud of you, seungie! you really stepped out of your comfort zone!"

seungmin chuckled tentatively. "i suppose i did. although i do feel rather exposed..." he gripped the cut in his shirt and tried to hold it together, but minho gently slapped his hand away.

"don't do that!" he said with a pout, "i told you, you look absolutely marvelous. doesn't he, chan?"

the silver-haired man nodded in agreement and minho gave the tailor a smug look. "see?"

seungmin rolled his eyes and fixed his gaze on chan. "um, i'd just like to say thank you for the clothes," he said, playing with his fingers nervously. "it was very kind of you to let us borrow them. they fit perfectly, by the way."

chan waved his hand. "oh, no, don't thank me. hyunjin was the one who picked them out. i just delivered them to your room. i'm glad you like them, though."

at the mention of hyunjin's name, seungmin tensed up. hwang hyunjin was the one who chose these for us? he thought incredulously. i would never expect someone like him to do something so...kind. unless he just likes to dress his prey up before he kills them. yes, that sounds more plausible.

"oh, seungmin!" felix jumped up from the table and tugged on the arm of the boy next to him. "i nearly forgot to introduce you to someone! this is jeongin, chan's b-" chan quickly shot him a deadly glare and felix gulped. "b...best friend! yes! they're the best of friends!" he chuckled nervously. "anyway, i just thought it would be good if you two got acquainted since, you know, you'll be staying here for a while and all..."

seungmin nodded. a while? more like for all eternity. "it's very nice to meet you, jeongin," he said with a small smile. the boy looked timid and frail- as if he were on the verge of passing out- and a look of nervousness crossed his pale face.

chan leaned across the table and whispered something into his ear, and instantly jeongin relaxed. "it's nice to meet you as well," he said with a quiet voice, his dark eyes never meeting seungmin's own but instead focusing themselves down on the table. the tailor immediately felt pity for him. he looked to be in such a sorry state. why is he living in a castle with these people?

"seungmin, did you bring namjoon's spellbook with you?" minho questioned from behind him.

seungmin gasped. "i completely forgot! hold on, i'll retrieve it now-"

"no need."

everyone's gaze shifted to the stairwell. dressed in a flowy white button-up, dark slacks, and a large pink jacket covered in blue diamonds, hwang hyunjin approached the group, the book in his hands. he stopped in front of seungmin and handed him the leather tome, his green eyes twinkling. "i went through your things and found this. i hope you don't mind."

"it's no problem," seungmin spoke warily. quickly turning away from the wizard, he said, "jisung, don't you need to be in your human form for this?"

jisung chuckled mischievously. "well, actually, while you were sleeping, i got to thinking."

"jisung can think?" felix whispered loudly.

"shut up! as i was saying," jisung hissed, "i was thinking about this whole thing when i realized that this is a one-way deal. i'm helping you without getting anything in return. that's a bit unfair, isn't it?"

"i suppose," seungmin said slowly, not liking where this conversation was heading.

"so, here's the bargain that i'm proposing: you help me break the curse that ties me to this fireplace, and i'll help you break the curse that ties you to hyunjin."

the room went silent. even hyunjin's eyes widened slightly at jisung's words. what he was proposing was, quite frankly, an insane offer. how could seungmin, someone completely ordinary and magicless, break a powerful curse that he knew nothing about? it was preposterous. it was impossible. it was-

"i'll do it," seungmin said, and everyone's heads whipped around to stare at him in shock.

"seungmin, what are you saying?" minho cried. "this could take you a lifetime to do, not to mention the fact that you have no powers!"

"well, then," he said, turning to his friend with a weak smile, "it's a good thing i have the rest of my life to do it, right?"

and that was the truth. the fact of the matter was that seungmin was stuck in hyunjin's castle for all of eternity, and there was nothing any of them could do about it unless jisung chose to help. it was seungmin's best bet at being able to break the curse. after all, where else could he go? as long as the curse was in effect, it would be impossible for him to leave, which meant that this was his only option. this was the only thing he could do.

"...alright," minho sighed, and seungmin could sense that the helplessness of the situation had finally sunk in for him. "but! as long as you're staying here, i will too. i'm not letting my friend stay in a place like this surrounded by a dangerous wizard, a warlock of darkness, an actual demon, a problematic apprentice, and whatever the hell chan is!" he paused and pointed at jeongin. "he's fine. everyone else is a recipe for disaster, and i should know. i'm a baker!"

"he's not wrong," chan mumbled as seungmin waved his arms frantically.

"you can't stay here, minho. you're not like me; you can actually have a life! you can be free from this place and be successful out there! don't force yourself to be in my position and give up everything that you already have."

minho shook his head with a small smile. "if i can't save my best friend, then everything i have is worthless to me. i told you i'd do whatever it took. now let me prove that to you."

seungmin opened his mouth to protest, but minho slapped a palm over his mouth before he could say anything. "don't even bother. you know that once i make my mind up about something, i'm not going to change it." he turned to jisung, who was flickering in the fireplace. "you've got yourself a deal, but only if i'm allowed to stay as well. got it?"

the flame stilled for a moment, and seungmin was almost positive that he was going to object. after all, there were already more than enough people in the castle; why take in another one when they didn't need to? the tailor was surprised enough that hyunjin hadn't interjected at all. it looked like he wanted to say something but refrained from doing so, his green eyes simply boring into jisung's small form expectantly. it felt like the whole room was holding their breath, waiting for the fire demon to speak.

and finally, he did.

"you've got yourself a deal."

seungmin had never felt so relieved yet so terrified in his entire life.