Chapter Text
Prologue:
The young woman rubbed at her stomach, still flat and barely showing hints of swelling. What would her husband think? They couldn't afford another child, not when the son they had was still so young and they barely made enough to live in a small apartment in the middle of a smaller city in the country. Her husband was still earning his doctorate degree, working late hours just to finish his research and make ends meet. Her own business and career were starting to grow and she just couldn't cut it short either to care for another baby.
Her son ran up to her, black hair wet from his bath, and she scooped him up into her arms. “Baby, would you want a younger sibling? Someone you can play with instead of Mommy?”
The boy shook his head. “Then the baby will get all of Mommy’s attention.” He pouted. Her heart sank. Her son must have felt neglected with his father always out working and his mother always on the phone trying to do business. She worried that he was lonely but having a sibling was not the answer for him. But even as she tucked her son into bed, she imagined another child laying next to him and her heart hurt at the image.
When her husband returned from work late at night, he shrugged off his coat, hung his lab coat, and kissed her goodnight, exhausted. In bed, they laid together, facing each other. She traced the long slope of her husband’s nose and noted the dark circles that seemed like permanent etchings under his eyes. They couldn't support another child, not when they struggled so hard supporting one and trying to keep their marriage afloat. She fell asleep to thoughts of shy smiles and the soft laughter of a child.
In the morning, she told her husband that she was pregnant. He put down the newspaper, headlined Mage Council Passes Clan Edict , and looked at her with confused eyes. She saw his face flicker between joy and distress. He had come to the same conclusion too, that they couldn't afford another child right now no matter how much they wanted one. She saved him the decision.
“We'll continue like we always have. One doctor’s appointment for options. If this child lives or dies before it’s born, it is as it is. We’ll leave fate to decide for us.”
So they continued. Her husband went to work early and arrived home late. Her business was starting to get busy and she was constantly running around meeting new people. The bump on her stomach grew, but much slower than during her previous pregnancy. She was so busy that she did not worry about her health or the child’s health. She ate for one, not two, ignoring the cravings as she got swept away with business and building the career she so longed for. The few doctor’s appointments she attended often came with criticism and chiding that she wasn’t doing enough to care for the being inside of her. Her chemical balance was off and if she kept as she was, she could lose the baby. But she kept going, never heeding the doctor’s words. Only thinking that if the baby was meant to be born, it would survive the neglect.
Then it happened. On her walk home, she crossed a woman holding a young child, maybe a year old, still at the stage where thumb-sucking was cute and not a bad habit. As she passed, the little boy grabbed at the blue handkerchief tied around her bag. Her bag pulled against her arm and she lost her balance, falling to the ground. The child’s mother apologized but before the mother could help her up, the baby started wailing and in distress, the mother and her baby left, disappearing into the city landscape.
She stood back up and brushed herself off. But then a blinding pain ripped through her stomach and she staggered. Leaning against the wall of a nearby building, she slid down to the floor and inhaled heavily, trying to soothe away the pain. The pain only intensified and she could feel her underwear start to soak with what she knew was likely blood. Miscarriage . It was suddenly terrifying, sitting there against a brick wall with no one in sight as the sun slowly set.
She couldn't bring herself to be happy, even when she knew she had purposely neglected both her health and her child’s health in the hopes that this might have happened, in the hopes that fate would say that another child was not meant to be. She knew that no child could withstand the stress she had put on her body, on the child inside of her. And finally, fate had come to claim the unborn child.
She supposed that was her fault for trying to manipulate fate. Holding her stomach, she sobbed, tears for losing a child in such a way, and begged for forgiveness from the baby she would no longer have.
Then a tall man, dressed all in black, appeared, kneeling down before her. His wide-brimmed fedora hid his eyes. He pushed the hat up and the sincerity in his eyes made her tears stop in awe. “Do you wish to keep your son?” He uttered, in a deep voice, calm and gentle, but firm.
“Excuse me?” She moved to wipe the tear tracks from her face.
“Do you wish to keep your son?” He repeated, voice never changing its tone or inflection, but still hypnotizing in quality.
“Son?”
He pointed at her stomach, and repeated the question a third time. “Do you wish to keep your son?”
And as if a trance had come over her, she knew the truth. “Yes,” she admitted. “Yes, please, save him.”
His eyes flashed for a moment and he pulled his hat back over, the brim once again hiding his eyes. “Your son has been blessed by a Grim Reaper. This is your punishment and your reward. You should do well to keep him alive till the time comes.”
Panic gripped her heart. “What do you mean when the time comes?”
“You will know,” the man said calmly. Then the man turned away and disappeared in a plume of black smoke.
The young woman sat there for a little longer, dazed at the fact that she had just met a deity. Magic was not unheard of, in a world of mages and mortals, but the two populations were often separated. Mages born to non-magic parents never stayed for long with their families. She rubbed the swell of her stomach, the only remaining proof of her encounter with the Grim Reaper. She got up and went home.
Several months later, she lay in the hospital bed, sweaty and tired, holding a baby boy with soft strands of black hair that lay wispy across his forehead. The child stirred in his sleep, small and weak in her arms. His tiny fragile body, smaller than what his brother’s had been, was a reminder that she had once almost lost the child, that she had once attempted to deny fate.
Her husband stood by the bed, watching his wife and their newborn son. “What will we name him?”
“Changkyun. His name is Lim Changkyun.”
Unknown to the young couple and their newborn, they had a visitor. In the corner, not visible to the human eye, a man in a black trench coat and hat disappeared from the room.
Chapter 1: A Sort of Beginning
Changkyun scratched absent-mindedly at the back of his hand, empty of any marks. He supposed he knew this was coming. The looming building stood in front of him, the gothic architecture standing out amongst the sleek, modern buildings of the capital city.
He remembered when he first heard the news. Immediately, he had been brought to the town hall and had been registered as a mage. Although there had been uproar surrounding the mandatory registration of mages, the government reasoned that it was no different than the census used to ensure mandatory military service. The mage population was only about 1% of the country anyways. Furthermore, it was to ensure the safety of the majority of the population because, as the new law quoted, “Mages are powerful and that makes them dangerous.”
Changkyun entered the hall, the waiting room full of other mages, many much older than him. He was eighteen now, almost nineteen, and he had half a year of wandering as a lone mage before the new law had been passed. The poster in the waiting room’s bulletin board only reminded Changkyun of his loss of freedom.
Mage Council Edict: After recent investigations surrounding the benefits of clans to mages and coinciding investigations of the disproportionate number of casualties from destructive soul fragments in dark magic mages, the Council decrees that all dark magic mages be placed into a clan, effective immediately.
Changkyun looked around and sighed. The room was far too full for them to call him anytime soon. He put in his earphones, closed his eyes, and let the music carry him through his memories that led to where he was now.
-- --
From his early childhood, his mother would read the ancient fairytales to him, of deities greater than mankind itself. His favorite stories were that of the Grim Reaper, a character that he felt drawn to for an unknown reason. His mother would only smile mysteriously and reread him the stories until he could recite them by heart.
When strange things started happening to Changkyun, he discovered that his mother’s mysterious smile had a reason. It started when Changkyun kept losing his pencils, the special kind that his father would bring home for him from the university. It was just pencils but it was really annoying, especially for seven years old Changkyun who cherished the pencils with a childish innocence. He had thrown a tantrum alone in his room, and the angrier he had gotten, the darker and colder the room became. He didn’t lose anymore pencils after that.
Then Changkyun began to see people that no one else could see. Sometimes he would wave to a person in the street, but when he turned around, he would see his mother staring at him with almost fright present in her eyes. Changkyun would grab her hand and she would stiffen before relaxing and granting him a sad smile. Once, he had asked his brother to play basketball with him because he saw some kids playing in the park, but when he returned with his brother a few minutes later, no one was there.
Finally, on his thirteenth birthday, the mark appeared. The soul mark that deemed one a mage was an empty circle with an embellished border. Changkyun had traced the circle and followed the chain-like design. That day, his father returned from the university library and gave him a simplified book of the historical lore of the mages for him to study and learn the truth of his now confirmed status.
As such, fairy tales came from a place of truth. The stories detailing the lives and powers of mages more often that not coincided with the stories of the deities’ beloved mortals. In the book his father gave him, there were illustrations of different soul marks: wave-like patterns of water mages, the vine-like pattern of garden mages, the glittery style of light mages. Yet Changkyun could not find his mark in the book. When he reached the end, all he knew was that he was a mage.
But Changkyun truly was his father’s son. Instead of playing basketball like other kids his age, he visited the university library and found the full version of the book his father had given to him. Although it was written at a level far too advanced for a thirteen years old, Changkyun was far too smart and quite determined for his age. He sat in the library almost every day for hours reading through the book and trying to understand this community he was suddenly apart of.
Most of the book was relegated to the myths and powers of elemental mages. How certain deities had blessed these children to go and change the world. That part was only a more detailed version of the book he had received. The next section was where he found answers.
Dark magic . The chapter was short, only about a few pages compared to the hundreds of pages of stories for the other types of magic. In there, he found his soul mark, his perfectly matching the chain pattern denoting the soul mark for necromancers.
Necromancers , he read, are one of the only natural dark mages. Necromancers are said to bring only bad luck and death to those who love them. Everyone who loves a necromancer will die.
He paused. Reread the line a few times. A strange sense of fear took over him. He tried reading a few more lines but it only made things worse. The few stories in the book were of necromancers that had appeared in towns and marked a sudden wave of deaths and violence. Others of those that had given up their souls to raise the dead only to lose their loved one again. Never any good stories.
The final line stuck with Changkyun, even till now. To be loved by a necromancer is a punishment worse than death. But to return his love is a blessing that not even heaven can give.
It had shaken him for a few days, and he refused to return to the library and the book until he felt like himself again. His mother and father noticed that he had been quiet and solemn, much broodier than he already was as a teen that just hit puberty.
His distress at the revelation that his magic would outcast him caused the dark magic inside of him to lash out. Changkyun’s dark aura became more tangible and stranger things followed. The spirits that once only ever waved when they noticed Changkyun looking at them begun to follow him, and their voices, once silent, threatened to drown out his thoughts with their pleas for help.
After a week of refusing to leave his room, Changkyun finally let himself rationalize things out. He needed to figure out how to control his powers and what he needed to do to protect his family before his distress caused even more damage, not just to him but to everyone around him. He may have been young but he wasn’t stupid.
Conveniently opened on the family computer was his father’s account into the university archive, which included access to books that Changkyun did not have access to. He typed in dark magic into the search bar and then downloaded and sent as many resources as he could to himself so that he wouldn’t be caught before his father returned home.
Oddly enough, the next day, a new book appeared in his room, a thick volume with the stamp of the university that his father worked at, solely about dark magic. It was titled Monsta . He wasn’t sure how his parents had gotten into his room because he had learned to lock his door when puberty hit. He left that thought for another time.
The myths and legends were still scarily similar to the few that the other book had, many with sad endings or the necromancer as the villain. His soul mark appeared in the pages on identifying a dark mage along with the fact that dark mages would only be revealed in periods of distress, that dark mages had two systems of magic that they used. He learned that dark magic could also be obtained unnaturally, but the book made no clear mention of how, only that it was the most common way a dark mage was made.
There was a section on powers and while some he recognized, like talking to spirits, some he tried to attempt but couldn't do, and some he didn’t really want to try out. One of the powers listed was raising the dead, which succeeded an entire chapter on the process of selling your soul. Apparently there was a lot of bureaucracy in selling your soul, lots of contracts to sign, lots of hoops to jump through, a requirement for a law degree, and yeah, Changkyun was not about that life.
After joining his first clan, he learned why mages and humans often lived separately. Magic was very personal and had to be constrained. Overuse of magic led to soul cracks and although Changkyun had never experienced one, he had seen a mage from his old clan go through a soul crack. Changkyun could remember the burst of energy that felt like getting slapped across the face and the long thin line that appeared on the other mage’s soul mark. The small burst of energy that occurred when a soul cracked was still powerful enough to injure a human, so many mages moved to live in more open areas with other mages to allow their magic to roam free and to train to better control their abilities. Some returned to the city, but mostly only for business and never stayed for over a few years.
-- --
“Lim Changkyun?”
Changkyun’s eyes shot up and he stood up and followed the administrator into the courtroom. Staffed by high ranking mages in the Council, the courtroom was an open circle surrounded by high-rising chairs. The middle seat was the highest and then decreased in altitude outwards for a total of nine seats. On the ground were pentagram marks, imbued with magic.
“Lim Changkyun,” the oldest man sitting in the highest seat spoke, his wrinkled face stern and cold, “Your file says that you have been in a clan before but it only lasted a year. Is that true?”
“Yes, sir.” Changkyun’s deep voice reverberated through the room, leaving an echoing silence in its wake.
A shrill voice followed. “Why did it only last a year?”
Changkyun turned to face the woman on the far right, a pinched face that looked like she was permanently eating a lemon. He snorted inside his head. “I don’t know,” he said quietly. “Just one day our leader didn’t want to be a part of the clan anymore. Said he didn’t feel the bond. After his clan mark disappeared, the rest of us stopped trying and our marks went away too.”
The woman to the immediate left of the center cleared her throat before speaking. “Changkyun, do you understand the benefits of a clan, especially for a necromancer like you?” She waited for him to react, eyes patient and gentle, and when he nodded slowly, she continued. “The reason we’re doing this is to ensure that you will be placed into a clan that will not break up like your last one. The spell will match you with a clan. Please step into the field.”
The room darkened and Changkyun exhaled, trying to calm his racing heart. On the floor, the sigils burned a bright blue, surrounding Changkyun with a wall of light. He tensed. His magic that naturally floated around him seemed to retreat from the barrier, searching for a way to escape.
He gritted his teeth, beginning to feel discomfort as his magic started to turn away from the barrier. He could feel the magic start to thicken around him and his heart picked up its pace. The heaviness surrounding him made it hard to breathe and a feeling of claustrophobia set it but it made no sense since he never had a fear of closed spaces. Changkyun knew he had to stay calm, and it was clear that the spell was affecting his magic and his psyche. But the longer he remained entrapped within the magical wall, the more strain his body undertook and the more scared he became.
The magic around him slowly became imbued with the dark magic released from his distress, as it pushed against the barrier. Changkyun inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to calm down and to stop the dark aura that he emitted but it was suffocating, the magic swirling and trapped, unable to roam freely.
The pressure was excruciating. Even in the half year after leaving his first clan, his magic had never turned against him like this. He gasped in pain and fell to his knees, feeling the area around his heart fill with pain and-
It ended. Changkyun’s magic found an opening and burst through the wall, causing the blue barrier to collapse around him. The room relit and the nine Council judges came into view.
“Please stand up for further instructions,” a quiet man said on the far left, round coke-bottle glasses hiding a mousy face. Changkyun could only muster a glare, still gathering his bearings from the ordeal.
“Your clan will be notified of your joining. A representative will send you their contact information. Move in as soon as possible.” The man in the center said, eyes devoid of warmth. “Please bring in the next mage.”
-- --
Changkyun blinked at the man in front of him. The man blinked right back at him. Changkyun turned around to see if maybe the man was waiting for someone else but no one else was there but himself.
In front of the mage hostel that Changkyun was staying at, the man stood, tall and tan, the broad set of his shoulders still visible in the thick jacket that he wore to combat the early January morning cold. He seemed to be waiting for someone and had just so happened to make eye contact with Changkyun.
Changkyun stood there awkwardly. He nodded his head slightly at the man, then turned away, unsure on who he was and why he was here. Suddenly, the man approached Changkyun, standing right in front of him, Changkyun eye level with the man’s chest.
The man bowed. Changkyun awkwardly bowed back, a little unbalanced by his backpack. They three stood there in silence: Changkyun, the unknown man, and the awkwardness. Changkyun shifted a little, watching the man who seemed to be lost in thought.
Finally the man moved and reached for the suitcase next to Changkyun. “Are you Lim Changkyun?” Changkyun blinked, surprised at the man’s low and smooth drawling voice.
“Yes? And you are?” Changkyun wrung his hands nervously, unsure if that was the right question to ask.
The man blinked and then seemed to come to a realization. He dried his hands on his jeans and held one out to Changkyun. “Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Son Hyunwoo. I’m part of the X-Clan. I was sent to come get you. It’s nice to meet you.”
That’s when Changkyun looked down and noticed the X mark on the man’s hand. It was blockier and had a three-dimensional design compared to Changkyun’s two-dimensional circuit board design.
Flustered, Changkyun let go of the man’s hand, Hyunwoo he reminded himself, wiped his own hands against his pants, and bowed again. He fumbled with his words, unsure of what to say. “Please take care of me,” was what he decided on.
Hyunwoo did not say much more, only grabbed Changkyun’s suitcase and gestured for Changkyun to follow him. Changkyun followed, his duffle bag hitting the back of his knees and one hand wrapped tightly around the straps of his backpack.
In the car, as Hyunwoo drove, Changkyun could not help but notice the toned musculature of the man’s arms. He did not realize he was staring until Hyunwoo spoke up. “How old are you, Changkyun?” When Changkyun hesitated to reply, he added, “I am twenty-two, if that will help you speak more comfortably with me.”
“Eighteen,” Changkyun whispered. Hyunwoo leaned his head slightly over to indicate that he had not heard him. “I’m eighteen,” he said louder.
Hyunwoo’s eyes widened. “You’re only eighteen?”
“Is that a problem? I’ll be nineteen soon.” Changkyun squirmed in his seat a little, not daring to look at Hyunwoo.
Hyunwoo seemed to realize that Changkyun was uncomfortable. He tried for a wry smile. “No, it’s not a problem. I just didn’t realize how young you were. You’ll be the youngest in the clan.”
Changkyun was unsure on how to respond to that. He ventured, “Could you tell me about the other members? The Council didn’t tell me much about you guys.” They didn’t say anything at all , he thought inwardly.
The other man chuckled. “Well, I’m the oldest. The second oldest is Hoseok. Then there’s Minhyukie and Kihyunie. Then Hyungwonie. Jooheon is our current youngest but he turned twenty a few months ago.”
“Ah,” Changkyun said. He faltered and let the silence filter through the air. “What types of mages are you all?” He paused and blushed a little. “I guess that’s a little personal. I’m sorry.”
Hyunwoo laughed warmly. “It’s okay, you’re going to be a new clan member anyways. You’ll just have to wait and find out. What about you, Changkyun?”
Changkyun’s blood ran cold although his face showed no outward change. He didn’t say anything, trying to figure out if he should reveal that he was a necromancer or not. Many mages that he had met before were often not so friendly with necromancers and amongst the few that were, some were only interested in attaining dark magic. And even those that were friendly eventually turned cold. He was not sure how the older would react.
His silence must have been too long because Hyunwoo looked concerned. “Changkyun?”
The younger smiled back weakly. “I’ll guess you’ll just have to wait and find out.”
He chuckled. “Alright, it seems like you’re tired. Go to sleep, it’s a long ride back home.”
-- --
The clan’s home was on the edge of a little town in the woods. Just a ways off was a river, the water flowing lazily. From the front, the house looked neat, clean brick walls and lots of windows. The ground was not paved but distinct areas were clear of plants and formed a distinct pathway. Another building stood next to it, which Changkyun assumed to be a type of garage when Hyunwoo parked in front of it.
“Ah, home. I wonder if Kihyun has made dinner yet. I’m hungry.” Changkyun silently agreed, feeling the beginnings of an ache in his stomach. His stomach grumbled and he flushed a little when Hyunwoo turned an amused smile at him. “I guess I’m not the only one.”
Changkyun followed Hyunwoo to the door, trying to rub the last dregs of sleep out of his eyes. Not noticing that Hyunwoo had stopped, he bumped into the man’s broad back. He looked curiously at the man.
“Before I forget, Changkyun,” Hyunwoo started, turning around. “Welcome to the X-Clan.”
The taller man’s sincerity made Changkyun laugh. It was so awkward but so genuine that it had eased the discomfort that Changkyun didn’t even realize he had been feeling. Hyunwoo’s satisfied smile made him relax.
“Also,” he added, then hesitated, as if trying to find the right words to not scare Changkyun away. “The guys can be a little… loud but they all mean well.”
Changkyun didn’t even have time to wonder what that meant before he found out the answer. A loud boom! rang out, shaking the ground and sending a flock of birds screeching out of the trees. Changkyun jumped back from the door, shocked, but Hyunwoo only sighed and opened the door, ushering Changkyun in.
Hyunwoo sat Changkyun’s suitcase down before immediately being smothered by a thin body with bright white hair. “Hyung! You’re back!” The new mage turned to look at Changkyun, who was hanging awkwardly next to the door, fiddling with the straps on his bag. “Is this the new guy?”
“Min-,” Hyunwoo started, before another boy appeared.
“Hyung! We need you outside. Minhyuk scared Jooheon when he was helping me with the cooking and now everything’s on fire.” A smaller man appeared, glaring at the white-haired man.
Hyunwoo sighed and gave Changkyun a long-suffering look, to which Changkyun awkwardly smiled back. He dislodged the white-haired mage from the octopus grasp on his body. “Kihyun-ah, Minhyuk-ah, this is our new member.” Both mages turned to stare at Changkyun and Changkyun cowered at their sharp looks. “Be nice,” Hyunwoo warned before a loud shout was heard and he ran off to the back, leaving Changkyun with the two other mages.
The smaller mage, with chestnut colored hair, approached Changkyun first. “Hello, I’m Yoo Kihyun and this idiot is Lee Minhyuk.”
Changkyun bowed in response. “Please take care of me.” He paused and blushed, realizing that Hyunwoo had not introduced him to the others. “Lim Changkyun,” he rushed to add, holding out his hand. The other man stared at his hand carefully before chuckling and shaking it.
Minhyuk continued to stare at Changkyun and Changkyun shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what to make of the other man’s sharp stare. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said, bowing again, trying to avert his eyes from Minhyuk’s direct look.
“Oh my god, he’s so cute.” Changkyun blinked, confused. Another man had appeared from the door hall that Hyunwoo had disappeared from. He had blond hair and Changkyun could tell he was just as muscular as Hyunwoo. “Kihyun, can we keep him?”
Kihyun sighed. “He’s not a dog, hyung.” The soft pout on the blond’s face made Changkyun wonder if this man was really older than Kihyun.
“Oh yeah, the fire’s finally out,” he informed Kihyun. Kihyun sighed in relief and then turned his glare to Minhyuk, who put of his hands and pretended to be innocent. However, that didn’t stop Kihyun from bodily dragging the taller mage with him, grumbling what Changkyun was pretty sure were curses under his breath.
“Changkyun, right?” The other man held out his hand. “Shin Hoseok.”
Changkyun shook his hand and then bowed. “Nice to meet you. Please take care of me.” When he looked up, he immediately became flustered. Hoseok had moved closer giving Changkyun an eyeful of defined pecs peeking through a low cut shirt. He looked appraisingly at Changkyun, before smiling and reaching to ruffle Changkyun’s hair.
“Do you want to go meet the others?” Changkyun nodded slowly and at that, Hoseok’s smile brightened. “Great! Follow me.”
Changkyun looked around, gesturing to the bag in his hand. “Um… where should I put these?”
Hoseok glanced back, finally noticing that Changkyun was holding a dufflebag and a big backpack. He smiled sheepishly. “Just put them on the couch. We can figure out where you’ll sleep after you meet everyone.”
After setting down his bags, Changkyun followed Hoseok down the hallway. In the back, the kitchen led to an open backyard. On the stove in the kitchen, a pot of soup was cooking. Hoseok opened the sliding door and led Changkyun through. At the far end was a greenhouse, and inside, Changkyun could see rows and rows of blooming plants. The other side, the group of mages were sitting around a wooden table, the corner edge charred black. Just off in the distance, Changkyun could make out the winding river through the trees.
At the table, there were four mages. Changkyun recognized Hyunwoo and Minhyuk, the two eating from a plate full of meat hot off the grill. He did not know the other two, one tall and skinny with thick lips and black hair and the other a little shorter and thicker with round cheeks and small eyes and light brown hair hidden by a cap, but he assumed that they were Hyungwon and Jooheon, the only other members he hadn’t met yet. Kihyun stood at the grill, cooking and the smell made Changkyun’s mouth water.
“Ah, Changkyun, just in time! Lunch is almost ready,” Kihyun said. He checked his watch. “The soup is almost done. I’ll go get it.”
Hoseok had joined the others at the table. When he noticed Changkyun standing awkwardly, he waved him over. “Come on, sit down. We don’t bite."
As Changkyun moved to sit, the shorter of the two he had yet to meet held out his hand. “Hey, what’s up, man? Name’s Jooheon.”
Jooheon’s energy made Changkyun relax. He grabbed the hand. “Changkyun, nice to meet you.”
“Welcome to the clan, man.”
“Thanks dude.”
The taller mage snorted in his seat. Changkyun stiffened, beginning to feel uncomfortable. He withdrew his hand and brought it to fiddle with the strings of his hoodie. Jooheon turned to glare at the older mage. “Hyung! Be nice.” He turned back to Changkyun. “Ignore him. He’s just grumpy because we had to wake him up to help us put out the fire.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Hyungwon.” Changkyun bowed before sitting next to Jooheon. The other boy started talking cheerfully with Changkyun, and he was pleasantly surprised to see that they shared many interests.
Kihyun appeared with a steaming bowl of soup. “Alright guys, dig in.” As they ate, Changkyun listened to the soft chatter around him. It felt comfortable. He wondered how long that would last. Minhyuk and Hyungwon seemed to be the ones that had the most problems with him there, although he wasn’t sure why. Did they know? He squirmed, uncomfortable at the thought.
Once everyone finished and the table was cleared, the seven mages sat around the table. Changkyun let his guard down, tried to find comfort in the friendly atmosphere. Then Minhyuk turned his sharp gaze to Changkyun and frowned. Everything went silent. Nervously, Changkyun lifted his head.
“So Changkyun, tell us about yourself.”
Changkyun liked to think that he could handle tough situations, but when it came to people, he had no idea. He stared blankly at Minhyuk, trying to discern if the white-haired mage was up to something.
“Um…” he mumbled, “What do you want to know?”
Minhyuk looked at him strangely. Changkyun squirmed a little under his gaze. Taking pity on the boy, Kihyun cut in. “Well, how old are you, Changkyun? You’ve been talking with us pretty informally, so you’re maybe 22? 23?”
In the corner of his eye, Changkyun could see Hyunwoo lost in thought, as if reviewing all the times that Changkyun slipped up and ignored the age hierarchy. “I’m eighteen,” he said under his breath. Kihyun tilted his head. “I’m eighteen,” he repeated louder, feeling a sense of deja vu. The others gasped in shock.
“No way.” Changkyun turned to look Jooheon. His face was unreadable and Changkyun felt his heart sink. He really thought that Jooheon would be his friend. “YES!” Changkyun looked up in surprise.
Hyunwoo chuckled from off to the side. “Jooheon’s really happy not to be the youngest anymore.”
“Oh.” Changkyun bent his head and smiled, relieved. That is until he felt a hand chop his head. “Oww! What was that for?”
“Yah, you’ve been speaking to us informally when you’re the youngest here? At least call us hyung, you brat.”
Changkyun laughed while rubbing his head. “You got it, Kihyun-” he flinched from Kihyun’s threatening gesture, “-hyung.”
“Are you normally this rude?” Hyungwon drawled, and Changkyun’s laughter trailed off. He made eye contact with Hyunwoo and Hyunwoo only gave him a pointed glance. He sighed.
“I haven’t actually lived in the country for too long. My dad was a scientist so my family traveled a lot when I was younger. I’m sorry, I’m not used to using honorifics. Please be patient with me.” Changkyun could feel his ears heat up, embarrassed.
Jooheon patted his shoulder. “It’s alright, man. Not a big deal. Just remember from now on. Cool?”
Changkyun nodded. “Cool.”
Minhyuk cleared his throat and interrupted. “Now that we’ve got that cleared up, let’s get onto more important business. Why are you here, Changkyun?” If there was one thing Changkyun couldn’t fault Minhyuk for was that he wasn’t subtle at all.
Jooheon protested. “I’m sorry, Changkyun, I don’t know why hyung’s acting like this. He’s usually not like this. I don’t know what’s come over him.”
“What’s come over me? I just want to know why we have a new guy after we’ve been a clan for over a year! Why am I the one in the wrong for wanting to protect the clan? Isn’t that what we promised?”
Over the shouting that devolved around him, Changkyun came to his own realizations. He figured that Minhyuk was upset that he had joined an already established clan and messing with already established clan dynamics. Personally, he was surprised that the Council did not put him in an newly formed clan, as they often did. Mages that were registered and that wanted to be in a clan were often arbitrarily placed together in new clans. New members in established clans usually ruined the dynamics and the balance formed from when the clan was initially made.
“I’m sorry,” he said, voice almost too soft to be heard. “I didn’t mean to…” His voice trailed off.
Kihyun whacked Minhyuk in the head. “Ignore him, Changkyun. He's just annoyed because Gunhee left us.”
“Gunhee?” Changkyun questioned. “Who…?” He trailed off, unsure on what he wanted to ask.
“He was a mage that was going to be in our clan,” Jooheon said. “He was actually my close friend. It was hard on all of us.”
“Did he… die?” Changkyun asked nervously. He didn’t want to step on already hurt feelings.
Jooheon laughed. “No, no, it’s nothing like that. Just some things happened, problems with clan dynamics. He’s in a different clan now and he’s a lot happier there.”
“Minhyuk’s just being a dick. Give him a few days, he’s usually very clingy,” Hoseok said, patting Minhyuk’s head. Minhyuk whined in response.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Kihyun said. “Does anyone else have questions?”
“I do,” Minhyuk started, before he was silenced by Hyunwoo’s sharp look. Hyunwoo sighed when Minhyuk pouted and gestured for him to go ahead. “What type of mage are you? I’d think it’s important for us to know how well you’d fit into group dynamics.”
Changkyun froze. He knew that the question would come up but he hoped he would have had more time to prepare. He didn’t say anything, trying to run through the best way to reveal the truth.
Hyunwoo groaned when Kihyun elbowed him in the ribs. “Would you like us to tell you what kind of mages we are? Would that make you more comfortable?”
Changkyun let out a sigh of relief. “Yes, please.” Jooheon patted his shoulder comfortingly.
“Well, I’m an earth mage,” Hyunwoo said.
“He’s not just an earth mage,” Kihyun added, “Hyunwoo-hyung is also the leader of the X-Clan. He basically built this house from the ground up.”
Changkyun gasped. “Hyung, you never told me!” Hyunwoo only shrugged.
“He always forgets.” Kihyun chuckled fondly. “As for me, I’m a plant mage. That greenhouse over there,” he pointed, “is mine. All the plants in there were grown by me.” He gave a nonchalant shrug. “If you get sick, hit me up. I also dabble in potion-making. You could say I’m the clan’s magic pharmacist.” The way Kihyun talked made Changkyun laugh. It was so exaggeratedly confident.
Jooheon added in next. “I’m a fire mage. I’m still young so don’t scare me when I’m doing my thing and we won’t have any problems.” He turned to glare at Minhyuk who only smiled innocently, as if he had no idea what Jooheon was talking about.
Changkyun looked around. Hyungwon did not seem to be paying attention to the conversation and didn’t seem like he would offer an answer anytime soon. Minhyuk looked like he wanted to say something. “Minhyuk… shi?”
“Just because I’m revealing this to you doesn’t mean I’ve decided anything about you,” Minhyuk warned. Changkyun nodded in reply. He understood the distrust that Minhyuk felt. “I’m a light mage.” At Changkyun’s confused face, he laughed. “You probably haven’t seen a lot around. We’re a special breed from the rest of you elemental mages.”
Changkyun froze. Minhyuk’s stare turned sharp, as if he could sense Changkyun’s discomfort. Changkyun rushed to clarify, before Minhyuk could catch on. “I just haven’t met any light mages before. I guess I didn’t know what to expect.” He looked up shyly. “I think that’s really cool.”
The rate that Minhyuk’s expression changed from cold to obnoxiously happy gave Changkyun whiplash. His eyes seemed to sparkle and that left a soft tingling in Changkyun’s stomach, relieved that the one member most vocal against his joining was slowly warming up to him.
Hyungwon yawned and blinked slowly. “Are we introducing ourselves?” He spoke slowly and slurred his words as if he had just woken up from a nap. “Chae Hyungwon, water mage.” His eyes drooped. Changkyun smiled nervously.
“Is that everybody?” Kihyun asked. “Ah, hyung! You didn’t say anything.”
“Yeah, I was waiting for everyone else.” Hoseok smiled widely, like he had the best plan in the world. The others groaned. “Instead of telling you, I’ll show you. Come with me.”
He led them to the building that Changkyun had assumed was a garage. It was not. Inside were tons a wires and tools. Hoseok walked over to a table in the middle, filled with large rolls of paper and scrap metal. He picked up a chunk of scrap metal and squeezed. Changkyun watched in awe as the metal crumpled like paper.
“Ah, hold on. This part’s the hard part.” The muscles in Hoseok’s shirt seemed to bulge against his shirt. When he opened his hand, the piece of scrap metal had been formed into a perfect sphere. He dropped it onto the table, where it landed with a thunk! leaving a dent in the table.
“What…?” Changkyun trailed off, amazed. “So you’re a metal mage, Hoseok-shi?”
“Just call me hyung, Changkyun. And yeah, pretty cool, right?”
“That’s amazing, hyung!” Hoseok smiled bashfully, surprising Changkyun who had seen Hoseok as someone with a lot of confidence. “Is this your workshop then?”
Hoseok nodded. “Hyunwoo and I share this place but he prefers to work outside when he’s building. I’m working on a few projects right now-” Changkyun opened his mouth to ask about them, “but you’ll just have to wait and see what they are.”
“Yah, hyung, don’t tease the poor kid like that,” Kihyun said, smacking Hoseok against the arm. He winced from the pain and gave an apologetic look.
As Kihyun was about to say something, Minhyuk cut in. “Now that everyone’s told him what mages we are, it’s only fair he tells us, right?”
Kihyun looked at Minhyuk steadily and Minhyuk stared back, as if they were having a silent conversation. The shorter mage sighed. “If you’re uncomfortable, Changkyun, you don’t have to.” He paused to let the words sink in before hitting Changkyun with the fatal blow. “But we hope that you could trust us enough to tell us since we trusted you.”
Changkyun mentally groaned. They were guilt tripping him. He knew he should have suspected that there was something fishy about the garden mage. He seemed to know exactly how to get what he wanted.
There was no escaping, not with Hyunwoo standing behind him and Jooheon looking kindly at him, like he would accept anything Changkyun said.
Changkyun took a deep breath. Exhaled. “I, uh, I’m a…” His breath caught in his throat. He cursed mentally. Why was this so hard? He needed to calm down before he accidentally revealed himself before he was ready.
He closed his eyes and blurted it out. “I'm a necromancer.” He cringed, realizing that his voice cracked at the end and cursed that his low voice made those cracks so much more obvious.
He opened one eye and felt the blood drain from his face. The others looked the same, like they had been punched across the face. Even Hyungwon, who Changkyun thought hadn't been paying attention, looked shocked.
The most surprising reaction was Jooheon, who looked downright murderous. Changkyun’s heart sank. The one person that he thought might accept him, did not. Changkyun didn't even dare to turn around and look at Hyunwoo’s reaction, scared of seeing the leader’s anger.
No one said a word. Changkyun didn't allow himself to cry.