One day, in an old mirror, a boy suddenly appeared.

Donghae was alone, he was always alone. Born with legs that refused to move, he had always stayed in his room. There was a war going on and his parents were in the midst of the bloodshed. He supposed that he should feel scared that his parents might never come back but then again, his parents had never acknowledged him as their son. They were an old, noble family and if word were to travel that the Lees had an impaired son, it would ruin their reputation and so, Donghae’s birth was kept a secret. In the Lees, there is only one heir, a son named Lee Donghwa. A son that they were proud of, a son who Donghae could never grow up to be.

He stayed in one of the many old mansions that his family owns with the maids as his sole companion. The maids would normally ignore him unless it was absolutely necessary so it wasn’t any different.

Donghae felt lonely. He wanted someone to talk to, someone who would understand him and laugh with him.

His wish was heard and it was a snowing night when he first appeared.

Donghae was reading a thick book, snuggled into the arm chair with blankets and a small lamp beside him. It was cold but the fire place provided enough warm for Donghae to not freeze to death. He tugged his blankets as he read the book. It was his favourite and he had lost count on how many times he had turned those yellow pages from front to back, repeating the cycle again and again. A story about twins who were separated by fate and it ended tragically. As Donghae had no contact with anyone, he has to learn his emotions through books. If the book ended happily ever after, he would know how it feels to be happy. Books were the only escape for Donghae and he made the maids carry new books from the old library into his room for him to read. For the maids, it was just a troublesome errand that they had to do but for Donghae, every new book opens up a new door to another world.

He was reading his favourite part when he saw some movement from the corner of his eye. He lifted his head up, a confused look on his face. Did a maid come in without knocking again? They rarely acknowledged his presence so sometimes they would just enter without knocking, no matter how rude the action is. When the door remained untouched and no sign of anyone entering, Donghae tugged his blankets apart and set the book aside. Slowly heaving his body from the chair, he lowered himself to the floor. Crawling towards the direction where he saw the movement, he came face to face with an old mirror. It was dusty and had cobwebs at some corners but it was majestic. Stretching from the ceiling to the floor, framed with gold and silver, it stood dignified. Donghae who laid on the floor looking up at the mirror was somewhat intimidated and cringed a little.

Donghae was so awed at the sight of the mirror that he had never really paid attention to that he forgot about his main purpose of crawling towards it. So when a boy around his age suddenly appeared in the mirror, he had a shock of his life.

Donghae’s eyes widened and he shifted back a little. The boy in the mirror looked around 9 or 10 years old, had brown locks, single-lidded eyes, plump lips and a slender body. He was wearing a robe with a stick on his hand, looking down at Donghae with gentle eyes as though he had known Donghae for years.

“Hello Donghae, nice to meet you.” The boy smiled brightly, revealing a gummy smile as he waved his hand at him.

Donghae gave a slight smile back as he muttered a soft greeting as well. “Nice to meet you too.”

The boy in the mirror then sat down and levelled himself to Donghae, maintaining eye contact. Donghae was curious. For one, he knew that people don’t appear in mirrors, only your reflection and that boy does not look like Donghae at all. For another, why is he dressed like this? A robe and a stick, as though he was a magician which Donghae knew there was no such thing. He is realistic and knew many things about the world even though he was confined and never attended school. Fiction wasn’t the only genre he reads, he reads non-fiction as well and if one were to spend their entire childhood reading the same books over and over again, it’s hard not to remember what every single book contain.

“Who are you?” Donghae asked, sitting up on the floor to talk to the boy.

The boy copied his action and sat up before answering with a chuckle. “I am HyukJae and I am a magician,” HyukJae grinned as he waved his stick as though proving his point.

“I am Donghae and I am human,” Donghae retorted, crossing his arms. His statement made HyukJae pout at him.

“Having a stick and wearing such odd clothes doesn’t mean you are a magician.” Donghae reasoned.

“I am not pretending to be one, I am one.” HyukJae rolled his eyes.

“Prove it then,” Donghae challenged and HyukJae arched an eyebrow.

HyukJae was not one to back down from challenges and he immediately waved his stick and the blanket that was left on the armchair floated towards Donghae and draped themselves over his shoulder.

“You shouldn’t leave your blanket in this cold weather,” HyukJae smiled as he watched Donghae’s reaction.

Donghae’s eyes were glittering as he pulled his blankets closer to him. He glanced at up HyukJae with an apologetic look, HyukJae had indeed proven his identity.

“Sorry for doubting you,” Donghae whispered but HyukJae didn’t catch it. HyukJae leaned closer and asked Donghae