Jinki rushed down to his room after Minho left, sitting on his bed and placing his hands on his lap as he tried to sort through the feelings that had filled him. It was amazing, everything was. His body, his mother finally smiling again and Minho too. He wished above all else that it wasn’t a dream, knowing that if he woke up to find that it was he’d have no reason to go on, he was sure of that. Even that couldn’t bring him down at the moment though as he fell back onto his bed, a smile tugging at his lips once again. He had to thank Minho, the male was single-handed in bringing back the amazing feelings that Jinki was bathing in, him and whatever weird magic filled world he was from

He wondered what Minho’s world was like, was it like the stories, where there were wizards and dragons, knights and princesses that needed saving. Or was it different, how was Minho important there and why would someone so important have anything to do with him? Was he a hero? The thought made Jinki laugh, imagining Minho dressed as a knight.

Slowly he reached up to run his fingers through his hair, either way, he had a friend despite the fact that they were separated in so many ways, it didn’t matter to Jinki. Minho took all of his sadness whenever he appeared and he was grateful.

The next day he woke earlier than usual and groaned as he rolled over and pressed his face into the pillow, sighing when he heard the nurses shuffling around his room despite the fact that he no longer needed them, leading the man to assume that old habits die hard and he hoped that he would never need them again, but for the time being he assumed it was better to keep them on staff anyway.

He didn’t want to get up, wanting to laze around through the day, and there was nothing to stop him, he had nothing to do. His mother and father were off working and he had no appointments, but he had a sinking feeling that the nurses would tell and his mother would be angry that he was unproductive. Despite being absent in his life she refused to let him be a normal teen.  

With a low groan he tossed his legs off the bed and walked to the bedroom, splashing some water onto his face and peeked into the mirror. Wondering if Minho could appear in any mirror, or if it was just the one up in their attic. Though he was hopeful that the man wouldn’t appear in his bathroom, that would be much too awkward. Though he only thought of more questions, could Minho see the world around him when they spoke, he couldn’t see Minho’s after all so it was be nice to know if it was the same. So many questions filled his head as he exited the bathroom and took note that the nurses were gone, and without a moment of hesitation he rushed over to lock the door before skipping his way up into the attic. He did say that he would come if Jinki called after all, so he wasn’t too nervous as he walked to the mirror and tapped on it as though he was knocking on a door. “Minho?” He called before waiting, sighing when the other didn’t show, “Minho? Hello?” He called again, staring at his own reflection, disappointed though it was what the mirror was meant to do.

His heart sunk, calling out once more before shaking his head and turning to go through the boxes instead, he didn’t want to go back downstairs just yet, but his face broke out into another smile when he heard the familiar voice, though it was heavy with sleep. “You called? Are you okay?”

His clothes were wrinkled, hair a mess on top of his head that he tried to tame as he yawned and stared at the other. For some reason, it seemed unnatural that the other would sleep, as Jinki had yet to think of the other as a real person. “Oh, were you asleep? I’m sorry,” Jinki whispered shyly before moving back to his usual spot.

“Yeah, but I’m awake now, no worries.” He said as he leaned against something that was out of Jinki’s sight. “Did you need something?” He asked, causing Jinki to hesitate, feeling guilty for waking the other just to talk about meaningless things.

“I actually… well, I don’t need anything,” he admitted, looking down into his lap like an embarrassed child. “I just wanted to ask some questions and talk,” he admitted as he tried to move back just a little bit. “I don’t really know about what, to be honest,” he asked after a moment of quiet.

Minho only chuckled as he lifted his hand and gave a wave, “Go ahead, ask whatever you want,” he said with that usual warm inviting smile that he gave often, causing whatever anxieties that had appeared to shrivel away.

He swallowed hard, glancing at the empty space around the man before throwing his first question forward, “What’s the world you’re like from?” He said, the words spilling from his mouth quickly, causing the other to laugh at him once again before he seemed to ponder the question, his brows knitting together in through, “Your home and everything-”

Minho cut him off by raising his hand before sighing, “It’s hard to explain, it’s very different from yours though, I think you would describe is as feudal, kings and queens, all of that, magic too but not in the way that you’ll imagine it. There’s no wands or potions,” he said, smiling with his eyes, “The more important you are the more powerful your magic is, it’s a weird hierarchy here but that’s how it works.”

Jinki kept quiet for a moment before deciding to probe some more, “How powerful does that make you?” He asked, taking note of the smirk that appeared for just a moment as Minho leaned back.

“I’m one of the most powerful men here, my mother is queen after all,” he said, causing Jinki’s eyes to widen before all the blood drained from his face and he pressed his hands against his thighs.

“You’re a prince?” Came the whisper, Minho only nodding in response, “So that- is that why you can talk to me like this?”

“That is one of the reasons, though if I tried I could probably even step right through this mirror,” he said, “I’d just have to focus pretty hard.”

Jinki was silent, lips parting slightly as he lost himself in thought for a moment, leaning in to press his palm against the mirror as he let out a shuddering breath, “Can you try now?” He asked, Minho nodding once before leaning in to align his hand with the sickly boys, eyes closing as he concentrated on focusing his energy, leaning his body forward, and sure enough, there was a soft warm sensation brushing against Jinki’s hand causing him to jerk back in shock. Minho opening his eyes in surprise and jerking back as well before laughing breathlessly. “I think that’s the most I can do right now,” he explained as he looked to the side and cradled his hand to his chest.

“That’s alright but I- well, does this mean that you can come here one day if you wanted?” He asked quietly before shaking his head suddenly, “Nevermind, that’s probably so hard I mean you look like your hand already hurts.”

The idea had already taken seed in Minho’s mind however and he tried to work it through his head, “I mean no one has tried that before, there are so many possibilities, I mean I could lose my powers, I could get stuck,” he explained as Jinki looked down.

“Yeah, that would be bad wouldn’t it?” He asked, reaching forward to trace the edge of the mirror with his fingertips, reminding himself that even though fantastical things were happening reality still had somewhat of a hold on his world. “Then can you explain some other things to me for now?” Minho only nodded in response, prompting Jinki to continue, “Why me? I mean, there are so many better people and why a mirror?”

Minho shifted, clearing his throat, “This is going to sound pretty weird, you prepared for that?” He asked, to which he received a pointed look from Jinki.

“Yeah, because everything else is so normal.”

“Alright well, it’s because you have a connection to my opposite that was lost, you were meant to meet my reflection but you didn’t, so I have to make up for it. It’s a rule of opposites and in some way, we need to repair that rift.” His wrists rolled as though he was trying to put his thoughts into words. “It’s hard to explain but next time, I’ll have a better explanation next time,” he promised, “For now I need to go, -” he went to continue but Jinki only groaned and rolled his eyes.

“You always have to go, where do you go?” He asked, wanting to know why his friend left, if he was a prince, of sorts, then shouldn’t he have an abundance of free time?

“I have my reasons Jinki, trust me, I’ll be back tonight. I’ll see you then.”

And he was gone, leaving Jinki to stare at his reflection, a quiet whisper escaping him.

“Hurry back.”

Later that evening found Jinki sitting at the dining room table with his parents, glancing over at the nurses who had urged his mother to invite him down to a family dinner, he was perfectly content staying in his room. In his room, he could slip away to the attic and speak to Minho, whenever the male decided to return. Instead, he was worrying about Minho returning while he was stuck shoveling food into his mouth, surrounded by people who rambled about their lives while he rarely had one. The only outing he ever had was to the doctors, of course now he had Minho which made him feel better, however it was still a waste of time. He wanted to throw his spoon, demand to be excused so he could go back to his room.

He waited though, wanting to seem like the good son his mother might actually like, finishing off his food before setting down the utensils firmly. “I’m done, I’ll excuse myself now.”

His mother looked up, scowling at his actions, “Dear, dessert-”

He didn’t wait to see what she had to say and practically ran up the stairs, hopping over the last stair and immediately spinning into his room, still thrilled over the movement that he had regained, body feeling better than it had in years. He only stopped when he reached his bed and sighed when he saw the outfit that was selected for him, the soft white button up one of his favorite things to wear to bed. While he was annoyed, he could take care of himself now, he was still touched that the nurses had bothered to do something for him rather than slacking off. It made sense in a way, his family still acted as though he would break at any moment. “Stupid,” he whispered before stripping and changing into his pajamas. Without a second thought he immediately traveled back to the mirror, wondering if he should just bring it down to his room instead, though the idea of Minho appearing when someone was in his room deterred him from doing so.

These thoughts were whisked from his mind when he saw the clear image of Minho’s back facing him, the man leaning against the mirror on his side and it made him snicker. “Minho!” He called out, watching as the other dropped jumped and dropped something, a loud metal clang causing both of them to wince.

“Jinki you scared me!” He chided as he kicked the mystery object aside, dropping himself into his usual sitting position as the other followed suit.

“Well, usually I need to call for you a few times, so I was surprised.” He retorted to defend his actions. “So seeing you here before me is a surprise.” He added as Minho nodded.

“I was actually worried that you hadn’t called for me yet so that’s why I’m here waiting.” He explained with a shy smile, “Where were you?”

“Family dinner,” came the short answer, Jinki not wanting to think about it any more than he had to. “What was it that you were playing with though?” He asked, curiosity forever being one of his flaws, though it was sated when Minho reached over to grab a small box, shaking it a few times.

“Just a box of things from my mom, it has some small trinkets, she said it all belonged to the man who found out all the things we can do, the mirror being one of them.” He explained before plucking out an old ring and turning it over in his fingers a few times, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger before holding it up so Jinki could see. “It’s trash to everyone now though.”

It was small, obviously dirty but still beautiful, metallic vines crawling along the ring back before circling around the single rose that laid on top. “Why don’t you wear it, honor him yourself,” he asked, “Aren’t you the beloved prince? If anyone has the right to wear it I’m sure it’s you.”

Minho’s smile faltered at the comment, eyes going blank before he his bottom lip and composed himself once again before Jinki could notice. “It doesn’t fit me,” he said, glancing back up at the other, “Why don’t you try it on?” He asked, enjoying the look of shock and confusion.

“I couldn’t, you said it was important,” he all but shouted as Minho rolled his eyes and forced his hand through the glass, biting down on the inside of his cheek before groaning as he dropped it and retracted his hand quickly, Jinki scrambling to catch it.

“Not to anyone but me anymore, plus, it’s there now, I’m not going to take it back,” the prince said with a cocky grin, “So go on, try it.”

Slowly Jinki slid the ring onto his finger, blinking in surprise when it fit perfectly and wearing it just felt right. It was snug but wasn’t too tight, it even warmed him. He sighed, gazing down at it before jerking back to attention and turning to grab one of the many boxes behind him as Minho watched, obviously confused as he watched the teen dig through the contents. “What are you doing?” he asked, watching as Jinki finally fell back onto the floor and gestured for Minho to push his hand through the glass again, Minho obliging though it took much more effort than before thanks to his already weakened hand, though when he felt a small cold item fall into his palm he felt as though it was worth it.

“If you want me to keep the ring then I wanted to give you something as well,” Jinki whispered before looking back down at the ring and shifting his weight as Minho uncurled his fingers and glanced down at the chain in his hand. It was much sturdier than ones he had seen before, with a small metal clasp that, when opened, showed a small clock.

“I can’t keep this Jinki,” he whispered as he went to return it, “I don’t need it really, it seems old and sentimental,” he said before pausing when Jinki raised a challenging brow.

“Then I don’t need the ring.” He said in return only to have Minho’s lips part to argue, “I only keep it if you do.” He said, with a smirk, seeing the other’s shoulders slump in defeat.

“Thank you then, I’ll take care of it,” he whispered as he tucked the object into his pocket, heart heavy.

“You’re welcome, now tell me more about your world!” He cheered.

It was a while before Minho had to leave, the mans hand in his pocket, clutching to the chain as his image faded, leaving Jinki to climb down the stairs to his room, a yawn on his lips. The stories had been amazing, everything he could have dreamed of as a kid and so much more, he couldn’t remember a time in his life when he had smiled as much as he had before. His body falling onto his bed, immediately shifting into a comfortable position on his side.

He was happy that he had Minho, and ever so grateful, even if no one else would ever know that the man existed, as long as he did that was all that mattered. He was oddly content with the way his life was turning out, he had no need for anything else, he had a window to another world, though Minho was the only one able to open that window.

Reaching down the teen tugged his blanket over himself, sighing as he pulled the ring off, admitting it once more. It was beautiful and it meant so much more because it was a gift from Minho, proof that the other was real even when he wasn’t in front of Jinki. A comfort he could have never asked for on his own, so for once, he laid his head down with a smile still on his face, resting the ring on his side table as he fell asleep.

Moments later he jerked away, blinking the grogginess of sleep away as he looked around, a weight on his chest. He was being watched, he felt it.

Slowly he stretched his body out, glancing down at the clothes that were hugging his body, just a long shirt that was rather rough in texture, not the usual cotton that kept him warm. He groaned before sliding off of the bed and stumbled forward when he landed on uneven flooring, his eyes going wider as he looked around at the large cobblestone structure that surrounded him, his light blue walls and posters gone, replaced only by a painted portrait of Jinki.

“Strange,” he whispered before looking down and putting on the slippers that lay beside the bed, making his way to the door, fingers immediately slipping forward against the wall, pressing his fingers, pressing against the metal lever that unlocked it, as though he had been doing it for years. He let out a breath he hadn’t known he had been holding as he pulled the door open.

“Onew?” A man grunted the second the door opened, causing Jinki’s eyes to snap upwards, body tensing in alarm. “Why are you up, you should be resting.” He chided as he urged Jinki back to the strange bed, “Even a prince needs his rest.”

‘Prince?” He questioned, the stranger letting out a tired laugh as he fixed the heavy blanket over Jinki’s legs.

“Yes, prince,” he confirmed before bowing, “If you’re concerned about the war just clear your mind, your father would never let the rotten family get their hands on you,” he said before turning and leaving the room, door clicking shut behind him, latch automatically falling into place to lock the door once again.

“Alright,” Jinki whispered before laying back down as his mind fogged with sleep once again, glancing down at his finger to see the ring he had received only hours ago, “Who’s Onew?” He mumbled before falling back asleep.