▬ Bonus: Keyword ▬

One slow, relatively quiet day, Daeryong stood outside the veranda that overlooked the world of the genies. He still had quite a few things to do as the right-hand man of the Superior; however, he needed to catch a breath for a while. He knew that Sungyeol wouldn't mind, considering that the Superior himself would only want what's best for his genies.

'Rest for a while, will you?' Sungyeol's voice and words entered his mind. Daeryong slightly smiled when he thought of that one time he overworked himself.

[Many, many years ago]

It was a few days after he was promoted to be the right-hand man of Sungyeol. Daeryong was no longer a genie in a bottle since now, he had someone permanent to serve. Always being the perfectionist, he wanted everything to be perfect so once he received a much thicker genie handbook for his new post, he took it upon himself to learn everything in it.

"Hey," a blunt, monotonous voice called out to the man whose head was buried in a book. "Jung Daeryong."

"Yes, Superior?" The man in question looked up to see the Superior with his arms crossed looking down at him.

"You have all the time in the world as a genie to memorize that whole thing. Don't overdo it."

"But to better serve you, I must—"

"Look," Sungyeol said matter-of-factly. "As a Superior, I had a much thicker book to read and it wasn't just one single book. Do you know how long it took me to finish reading it?" Without waiting for a response leaving Daeryong's mouth hanging open, he said, "Three years," he pulled up three fingers on his left hand. "Three. Now, I may not have known all of the information right away and I was even getting called out for my wrongdoings but hey, guess what? I know everything in that book now all with a few experiences mixed in it. Sure it took me a while but as a genie, we don't have time limits unlike humans.

"I'm fine with you not knowing everything right away, okay? Some things are better taught through experience, after all." Sungyeol raised an eyebrow at the silent genie. "With you being a previous genie who granted wishes plus had a high rate of client satisfaction, might I add, I already know how you work. You like to keep up with everything and be a perfectionist which is why I chose you as my right-hand. But I'd rather have you take it slow with the transition. Rome wasn't built in a day, you know."

After giving his long speech, Daeryong could only nod and give a curt reply, "I understand."

"Good." Sungyeol smiled and turned around. He gave a little wave as he continued to stroll back to his study. "Rest for a while, will you?"

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[A good many years later]

Daeryong flipped through his clipboard and scanned the list of genies and their clients. He was in the middle of tallying up the number of new wishes when a sudden bright light shone through one of the pages.

"What the heck?" He flipped through the scribbled pages until the bright light fully escaped and shone itself to him. Daeryong squinted to a newly bolded word and his eyes widened in panic. He reflexively ran towards Sungyeol's study and barged in without knocking — something that he never did no matter how urgent his task may have been. 

"Superior!"

Sungyeol was standing with his arms crossed while he looked down on his desk. In front of him was a notebook that had the same glimmer that appeared on Daeryong's clipboard. 

"Superior, Heeahn's name...!"

"I know." It was only until the bright light diminished when Sungyeol sighed and finally looked up to the genie. Then he repeated the same words as his eyes locked onto the younger one, "I know."

Article 394, section 24, passage 5

Once a genie defies the forbidden rule of loving a client, they disappear into the afterlife. As punishment for the client who also fell in love with the genie, they will, therefore, take their genie's place. On the day the client became a genie, they will suffer considerable amounts of pain to make them remember their faults. Only after ten full years as a genie will they fully become a genie and their one day suffering be taken away. 

Remembering what he read years ago, Daeryong stood at the doorway, his eyes fixed upon the Superior who looked sorry for him. This was the second time Daeryong experienced something like this — the first one being Heeahn and her genie — but having it been done to a close friend made him feel worse. 

Sungyeol couldn't believe it either. Throughout his time as a Superior, there have been many near misses when it came to his genie falling in love with a client. Since he knew of the punishments, he would usually try to intervene by making the client hurriedly complete their wishes or even distracting either the genie or client so that they never fall deeper with their feelings. Of course, he always got reprimanded for his behavior since he interfered with human lives, but at least he could save one from disappearing and the other from not living their life. 

That is one reason why he usually and discreetly hangs around places where his genies and their clients are to check up on them. 

"Daeryong," Sungyeol managed to say after a while. "Please prepare for Woohyun's transition."

Clenching his fist with one hand and tightly holding his clipboard with the other, Daeryong slightly gave a nod of affirmation. "As you wish."

That night, once everything on his list was done, Daeryong retired to his chambers. He placed his clipboard by the nightstand and sat down on his bed. He bent over, covering his face with his hands, as light sobs escaped his lips. He was going to miss his dear friend and the times they shared together. The only thing he can do now is help keep her memory alive. 

Unbeknownst to him, his twin brother, Soryong, stood outside his door. Although both twins had cold exteriors, Soryong seemed a bit more cold to others considering that upon having the right-hand position, Daeryong had to ease up a bit. Nonetheless, upon remembering his brother's sudden news about their friend earlier that day, even he couldn't help shed a tear or two. Heeahn truly meant a great deal to them both as a friend and as a fellow genie. 

Sungyeol sto