“He’s so adorable,” the head witch, Sooyoung, smiled, looking down at the baby in her arms.

“He is,” the baby’s mother Seohyun nodded, “he’s perfect.”

“I can feel great magical power coming from him as well,” another witch, Hyoyeon, spoke up, “he’s going to be very powerful when he gets older. Very, very powerful.”

“Yes,” Seohyun sighed sadly, “he’s going to be quite the spell caster.”

The three witches fell silent at that, the only noise being the baby’s gurgles and giggles.

“We’ll need to hide him,” Sooyoung finally said, “when he gets older. As soon as we’ve taught him enough to control his powers.”

“Yes,” Hyoyeon nodded, “should I start looking for a guard for him?”

“Yes,” Sooyoung nodded, “don’t look too hard, we can’t risk alerting anyone to his existence. But if you have someone in mind.....”

“I do,” Hyoyeon nodded, “I recently paid a visit to Taekwoon. He’s got a young boy in his care that he’s training. Well, he has a couple of boys, but there’s one who caught my attention more than the others.”

“If this boy is being trained by Taekwoon,” Seohyun finally spoke up, taking her baby from Sooyoung, “then I know I can trust him to look after my son.”

“I’ll sent word to Taekwoon,” Hyoyeon said before leaving, “see what he thinks.”

“I’m so sorry to do this,” Sooyoung sighed once Hyoyeon was gone, “I wish we didn’t have to send him away, but.....”

“But there are too many in this world who would kill my son,” Seohyun nodded, trying her best to control her feelings, to be understanding, “there are too many who would kill the son of a witch simply because he is a boy. And many more who would kill him because of all the power he holds. My boy......my Hakyeon.....he needs to be kept safe.”

“And he will be,” Sooyoung promised, “I know he will be.”

--

“Come on, Hakyeon” Sanghyuk sighed, glancing back at the ten year old trailing behind him, “we need to get moving. I want to get to my car before it gets dark.”

“Why would that be a problem?” Hakyeon asked, finally looking up from the ground, “I can just cast a--.”

“No magic!” Sanghyuk ordered, “Not when we’re in the open like this.”

“Why?” Hakyeon scowled, “what’s so wrong about using magic here?”

“You’ll come to understand why in time,” Sanghyuk told him, “just....no magic unless you’re alone. Or with me.”

“Or just me,” Hakyeon muttered, glaring slightly at Sanghyuk’s back before dropping his eyes to the ground once more.

Sanghyuk glanced back at the boy once more before letting out a sigh. Taekwoon had warned him about this task, told him that guarding a young child would not be an easy job. Sanghyuk hadn’t really paid much attention to the warning. After all, he’d been training for this since he was ten. He was ready for this task.

As it turned out, he wasn’t.

He hadn’t been prepared to drag Hakyeon from his home. He hadn’t been prepared for the young boy yelling at him, cursing him from taking him away from his mother. He hadn’t been prepared for Hakyeon’s tears when he realized that his mother wasn’t coming for him. When he realized his mother was letting him be taken away from home.

He wasn’t prepared for any of this.

All he was prepared for was monsters coming to kill the kid. If that happened, he knew exactly what to do. All of this emotional stuff........Sanghyuk wasn’t good with emotions. Never had been and Taekwoon didn’t exactly help him learn. The others he’d trained with had tried to help, but Sanghyuk still wasn’t much good with emotions. He still tended to freeze up when feelings got involved.

“Here’s my car,” Sanghyuk sighed, nodding towards his vehicle, “get in.”

“Where are we going?” Hakyeon asked.

“My mentor’s place,” Sanghyuk explained, “we’ll stay there for a few days before heading to the place we’ll be living for the rest of the year.”

Hakyeon just nodded, hesitantly getting into the car. He’d never been in one before. The witches had wanted to be as close to nature as they could, so they lived way out in the woods with no cars or phones or anything like that. Just them, nature, and their magic. Hakyeon had liked it living like that. But now......now he had to get used to living like Sanghyuk did.

“Put your seatbelt on,” Sanghyuk instructed, leaning over to do it himself when he realized Hakyeon had no idea what to do.

“How old are you?” Hakyeon couldn’t help asking when Sanghyuk was leaning over him, trying to do up the seatbelt.

“Twenty,” Sanghyuk replied.

Hakyeon just hummed in response and that was the last sound made by either the whole drive to Taekwoon’s place.

“Sanghyuk,” Taekwoon greeted five hours later when Sanghyuk finally knocked on his door, “I expected you an hour ago. I was worried.”

“We ran into traffic,” Sanghyuk defended himself, “we’d have been here on time if you still lived on the city limits.”

“True,” Taekwoon nodded before turning his attention to Hakyeon who was looking around in amazement, “this is the boy?”

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk nodded, lightly pushing Hakyeon through the door, “Hakyeon, this is my mentor, Taekwoon.”

“Hi,” Hakyeon said, glancing at Taekwoon for a moment before heading farther into the apartment so he could see everything.

“Brat,” Sanghyuk huffed.

“You were a brat once,” Taekwoon pointed out.

“Not like that,” Sanghyuk countered, “I never addressed you like that.”

“He’s new to all of this,” Taekwoon replied, “You can’t really fault him for getting caught up in everything.”

“Who are you and what did you do with Taekwoon?” Sanghyuk couldn’t help but laugh, “you’re getting soft in your old age, master.”

“Shut up,” Taekwoon growled, pulling Sanghyuk into a chokehold, “and I’ve told you to stop calling me master. You’re no longer my student.”

“Old habits die hard,” Sanghyuk shrugged, “Hongbin send word about the apartment yet?”

“Not yet,” Taekwoon replied, “last he said he was working out money.”

“Hmmm,” Sanghyuk nodded in understanding, “we sure this is the best thing for the kid? Taking him away from everyone he’s ever known? And he didn’t seem to get why either.”

“This is what we were asked to do,” Taekwoon told the younger, “you were asked to protect the boy and I was asked to train you to protect him. We don’t need to question the motives behind that.”

“Right,” Sanghyuk sighed, “fine. It just.....it hurt seeing him cry as I took him. You’d think I was kidnapping him or something. Then when he realized that his mother wasn’t going to come get him, that she was letting me take him........?”

“Your family wasn’t too different,” Taekwoon reminded his former student, “they sent you to me as soon as they could.”

“But I knew why I was coming to you,” Sanghyuk argued, “and my parents visited me as much as they could and called when they couldn’t. They made sure I knew how much they loved me, how proud they were of me each time I achieved something. Plus, I had two siblings who’d started training by that point. I know what to expect, what was happening. This kid......he’s got none of that.”

“You aren’t wrong,” Taekwoon sighed, “but his family is doing the only thing they can think of to keep him safe.”

“I know,” Sanghyuk sighed, “just feels wrong to do things this way.”

Taekwoon didn’t say anything more and the pair made their way to the living room where Hakyeon was trying to figure out the television. Sanghyuk took it upon himself to explain how the device worked to Hakyeon before setting the child up to watch some cartoons. Hakyeon seemed to enjoy them if his giggles were any indication.

“Take him to bed,” Taekwoon said about an hour or so later when Hakyeon started yawning, “I’ve set up the room across the hall from your own room. Hongbin got some cloths for him too, so he’ll have something to change into.”

“Got it,” Sanghyuk nodded before going over to Hakyeon and picking the boy up, “time for bed, shorty.”

“I’m not tired,” Hakyeon tried to argue, “And I’m not short.”

“Wrong on both accounts,” Sanghyuk told him, “just go get changed and brush your teeth, alright?”

Hakyeon wasn’t pleased, the muttering under his breath making that much clear, but he did as told. Once the boy was curled up under the blankets, Sanghyuk turned off the lights in his room and went to bed himself.

“Um,” Sanghyuk was awoken a few hours later by Hakyeon standing beside his bed, “S-Sanghyuk?”

“What’s wrong, kid?” Sanghyuk asked, voice heavy with sleep as he tried to wake up, “something happen?”

“No,” Hakyeon quickly denied, “I just......I was wondering if.....if maybe.....”

“I’m not going to laugh at whatever your asking,” Sanghyuk told him, his tired body and mind in no mood for this, “just ask.”

“Can I sleep here?” Hakyeon asked, “Just for tonight.”

Sanghyuk instantly found himself recalling his first night at Taekwoon’s home. He’d been only seven at the time and so very scared. That first night had been especially hard and he’d found himself knocking on Taekwoon’s door. He’d asked the same question Hakyeon had just asked and Taekwoon had agreed without a second thought. That had meant a lot to Sanghyuk, that bit of comfort was something he’d really needed at that moment.

“Alright,” Sanghyuk nodded, shifting around and making room for Hakyeon, “get in.”

“Really?” Hakyeon smiled slightly before climbing into bed beside Sanghyuk.

“Sleep tight,” Sanghyuk told him before shutting his eyes.

“Sanghyuk?” Hakyeon asked a few minutes later.

“Yeah?” Sanghyuk yawned.

“You’re going to take care of me now, right?” Hakyeon asked, “That’s what mom said.”

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk told the young boy, “from now on, I’m your guardian.”

“So you’re like my dad?” Hakyeon asked.

“No,” Sanghyuk scowled, “I’m not your parent. I’m just the guy keeping the bad guys from hurting you.”

“Oh,” Hakyeon nodded, deciding that he didn’t really like the idea of calling Sanghyuk ‘dad’ anyway. In fact, he really hated that idea.

“Any other questions?” Sanghyuk asked, “or are you gonna sleep now?”

“Just one more,” Hakyeon decided, “Taekwoon……he’s your dad?”

“Nope,” Sanghyuk tried not to laugh, “just my mentor. He started training me when I was young.”

“Training you for what?” Hakyeon pressed.

“I thought you only had one more question,” Sanghyuk teased before answering anyway, “Originally Taekwoon was training me just to fight bad guys, like dark nymphs and evil witches. Stuff like that. That’s what he was training his other students to do. But around the time I turned ten, I was picked to become your guardian and Taekwoon started to train me for that.”

“So my mom’s been planning to give me up for that long?” Hakyeon whispered and Sanghyuk cursed himself for saying anything at all.

“Look,” Sanghyuk sighed, “your mom…..she just wants you safe and she can’t keep you safe. She’s not strong enough. She can’t fight the bad guys who’ll be coming after you. You’ll.....you’ll come to understand in time, alright?”

Hakyeon didn’t say anything, he just cuddled into Sanghyuk’s chest as if trying to hide from the world. Sanghyuk sighed sadly when he felt his shirt getting wet, wrapping his arms around the young boy. Hakyeon cried himself to sleep and Sanghyuk fell asleep a few minutes later, the events of the day finally taking their toll on him.

Two days later Hongbin showed up with all the stuff Sanghyuk needed for the apartment he and Hakyeon would be staying in. A few weeks after that, he enrolled Hakyeon in a local school.

--

“Get up,” Sanghyuk snapped, ripping the blankets off of Hakyeon, “lazy brat.”

“I’m up,” Hakyeon mumbled, trying to sit up and fix his bed head all while his eyes remained shut.

“Heard that one before,” Sanghyuk scoffed as he exited the room, “you said you were getting up three times already. At this rate, I’ll be lucky if you get up before midnight.”

“Always so grouchy in the morning,” Hakyeon yawned, stumbling out of bed.

He wanted a few more minutes of sleep, but experience had taught him that Sanghyuk’s next visit to his room would involve one of his guardian’s many knives. Or maybe the sword Sanghyuk liked to keep hanging in the living room. Either way, the sixteen year old had no interest in seeing any of Sanghyuk’s bladed weapons.

“Did you do the laundry?” Hakyeon called, trying to find a clean shirt for school.

“Didn’t get to it yet,” Sanghyuk yelled back, “it’s on the top of my to-do list today.”

“At least I don’t have a school uniform,” Hakyeon sighed, finally finding something he could wear without getting detention, “because if that was the case now, I’d be screwed.”

“Couldn’t you just magic yourself up some clean clothes?” Sanghyuk questioned, “And speaking of magic….”

“I know,” Hakyeon grumbled, following the scent of breakfast to the kitchen, “I need to practice. You keep…..telling me…...” Hakyeon trailed off, completely forgetting about what he’d wanted to say when he saw Sanghyuk.

His guardian had always been attractive, even at ten Hakyeon had realized that. But it wasn’t until that moment when Hakyeon found Sanghyuk cooking breakfast in nothing but some sleep pants that it really sunk in just how striking Sanghyuk was. From his sharp jaw, to his laughing eyes, to his bright smile, to his toned chest and ripped arms, Sanghyuk was a sight to behold.

It was no wonder most of the girls and some of the boys at Hakyeon’s school, past and present, had crushed on Sanghyuk hard. Clearly, they’d seen what Hakyeon had been blind to until that moment.

“Hakyeon?” Sanghyuk turned slightly and noticed Hakyeon stunned state, “hey, you alright?”

“Fine!” Hakyeon forced a smile, praying that Sanghyuk would remain oblivious to his thoughts. Especially when Hakyeon’s eyes started to travel downward thanks to the sleep pants hanging so low.

“Alright,” Sanghyuk sighed, deciding to pass his charge’s odd behaviour off as dumb teenage , “eat, then get your stuff together.”

“You’re waking me to school?” Hakyeon asked.

He didn’t actually need to ask. Sanghyuk always walked him to school and was always there to walk him back home. Hakyeon didn’t know why his guardian always did this, it wasn’t like he’d even been attacked. Yet Sanghyuk was still always there on the walk to and from school. Normally, this didn’t bother Hakyeon. But this wasn’t a normal day.

“I always walk you to school,” Sanghyuk told the teen, “why would that change today?”

“I’m sixteen,” Hakyeon shrugged, “I think I’m old enough to go to school by myself.” And Hakyeon really wanted that time to clear his head after the thoughts he’d started having about Sanghyuk.

“Can’t do that,” Sanghyuk sighed, moving to ruffle Hakyeon’s hair, “I need to be there in case you’re attacked.”

“But I’ve never been attacked,” Hakyeon reasoned.

“Not that you know of,” Sanghyuk muttered, too low for Hakyeon to hear.

“Huh?”

“Nothing,” Sanghyuk sighed, “just go get ready. We’re heading out once I find a shirt.”

As the pair left the apartment a few minutes later, Hakyeon couldn’t help but bemoan the fact that Sanghyuk had covered his chest, abs, and arms with a dark T-shirt and leather jacket. This led him to questioning himself about how he could care about something like that. Sanghyuk was his guardian. And he was a good ten years older than Hakyeon, so there was no way he’d ever look at a kid like Hakyeon.

Hakyeon tried to figure out why that thought made him feel so sad.

“Look,” Hakyeon heard one of the women they passed whisper to her friend, “he’s wearing that leather jacket again.”

“He’s so hot,” the friend replied and Hakyeon recognized them as baristas at Sanghyuk’s favourite coffee shop. Careful not to attract attention from anyone, especially Sanghyuk, Hakyeon cast a small spell so that he could hear the rest of their conversation.

“I’m going to ask him out when I next see him,” the first woman said.

“Good luck,” the friend sighed, “but he never dates. He’s always too busy taking care of his kid.”

“I know,” the first swooned, “he’s such a dedicated father.”

Hakyeon ended the spell, unable to hear anymore without getting angry. He wanted to cast some kind of spell on the women, something to ruin their day or maybe even their whole week. He hated the idea of them thinking of Sanghyuk, of them asking Sanghyuk out on a date he hated them looking at him and deciding that he could only be Sanghyuk’s kid. It gave Hakyeon no small amount of pleasure to know that Sanghyuk would never agree to a date with either.

And then he realized what exactly he was thinking.

Sanghyuk was his guardian and Hakyeon needed remember that.

--

Hakyeon tried. He really, really tried to remember why he shouldn’t think about Sanghyuk that way. But his mind always wandered back there whenever it had a chance. It had been especially bad when Hakyeon bumped into his guardian exiting the bathroom after a shower. So bad that Hakyeon ended up crossing a very bad line because the image of Sanghyuk in nothing but a towel, water dripping from his hair and running down his chest, refused to leave his mind.

Hakyeon hadn’t been able to look Sanghyuk in the eye for several weeks after that.

Each day that passed seemed to make it all worse and Hakyeon decided he needed something, anything, to get his mind off of these thoughts and feelings he couldn’t, and shouldn’t, feel.

That something came in the form of a girl confessing her crush on him.

Hakyeon felt horrible using her like that. She was a sweet girl, funny and smart. Maybe if he liked girls, he would have dated her for real. Maybe if he wasn’t falling for his guardian, he’d have dated her for real. But the truth was that he wasn’t interested in her like that and he was using her to get thoughts of Sanghyuk out of his mind.

He couldn’t even do that right.

Every time he held hands with the girl, he found himself wondering what it would be like to hold Sanghyuk’s hand instead. When she kissed him, he imagined it was Sanghyuk. It was a small mercy that they never went all the way because Hakyeon knew that would have been a real mess. He couldn’t imagine how bad it would have been if he called out Sanghyuk’s name.

When they broke up a few weeks before the end of the school year, Hakyeon was actually kind of grateful. Sure the break-up was messy. Sure she blamed him, saying he wasn’t giving her what she wanted. Sure most of the school thought he was a massive jerk because he didn’t seem hurt like she was. But the relationship was over and that’s all Hakyeon cared about.

A few days after the break-up, Sanghyuk announced that they would be moving again and Hakyeon had never been more grateful. Honestly, it shocked Sanghyuk just how happy he was. Normally Hakyeon moaned and groaned, none too pleased to be leaving the friends he’d made, before finally going to pack his things. He’d then spend the first few days in their new place ignoring Sanghyuk. Seeing Hakyeon practically running to pack his bags through Sanghyuk off for a moment.

Sanghyuk ended up not questioning it, passing it off as ‘weird teenage crap’ since Hakyeon seemed to be going through a lot of that the past several months.

--

“So,” Hakyeon laughed as the pair walked home after the younger’s birthday dinner, “what did you get me?”

“Hush up, brat,” Sanghyuk smirked, “you’ll find out when we get home. Can’t ruin the surprised now, can we?”

“Surprises are for kids,” Hakyeon huffed, “I’m seventeen, Sanghyuk. Just tell me so I can--.”

“Hush,” Sanghyuk growled, pushing Hakyeon behind him and drawing the knife he kept hidden in his cloths.

“What?” Hakyeon started to ask when a monster suddenly jumped out at them from the alleyway they had been passing.

“Get back!” Sanghyuk ordered, trying to block the monster with his weapon, “Hakyeon, do as I say!”

Hakyeon didn’t react, eyes frozen on the monster.

“Hakyeon!” Sanghyuk yelled again, trying to get the teen’s attention.

However, all this did was give the monster an opening to attack. Its claws dug deep into Sanghyuk’s side and the guardian cried out in pain despite himself. That woke Hakyeon up and he screamed for Sanghyuk. Hakyeon’s cries stole the monster’s attention, its focus returning to the target of its attack. Just as the monster had used Sanghyuk’s distracted state to attack, Sanghyuk used this opening to slice the monster’s throat.

The creature cried, backing away from Sanghyuk as it tried in vain to stop the bleeding. Within moments, the creature was down, never to raise again. Sanghyuk went down a few moments later, clutching his side as the pain fully registered in his mind.

“Sanghyuk!” Hakyeon sobbed, rushing to the other’s side.

He felt so horrible, so guilty, for what had happened. It was all his fault. He was the reason the monster had attacked. He was the one who’d frozen, who’d distracted Sanghyuk so that the monster had a chance to wound him. It was his fault.

“Call Taekwoon,” Sanghyuk hissed through clenched teeth, “help me home and call him.”

“A-Alright,” Hakyeon nodded, trying to wipe his tears away so that he could see what he was doing.

About halfway home, Sanghyuk finally passed out. Hakyeon tried to get him the rest of the way home by himself, but couldn’t. He tried to use magic to do it, but after everything that had happened his magic was too shaky for his spells to actually work right. Hakyeon had wanted to cry so badly, but he knew he couldn’t.

He had to help Sanghyuk, so he made a call.

Hakyeon didn’t question how Taekwoon managed to show up so quickly. He didn’t question who the man with him was. All Hakyeon did was try to explain the situation while Taekwoon and the unnamed man carried Sanghyuk home.

“This was your first time witnessing an attack,” Taekwoon said once they’d gotten Sanghyuk set up in bed with the man, Wonsik, tending to his wounds, “it’s natural that you would freeze. The fact that you’ve gone this long without seeing anything is a testament to Sanghyuk’s skills.”

“Huh?” Hakyeon questioned, not understanding what Taekwoon was trying to tell him, “This....this isn’t the first attack?”

“Not at all,” Wonsik answered, not even glancing away from his work, “Sanghyuk’s always tried to hide this from you. He wanted you to live as normal a life as you could. He’ll be disappointed that the whole ‘normal life’ thing is over.”

“How are his wounds?” Taekwoon asked, no longer interested in talking about Hakyeon’s shattered normality when his favourite student was so badly injured.

“I’ve stopped the bleeding,” Wonsik reported, “and stitched him up pretty good. Probably going to leave a nasty scar, but he’ll live.”

“Good,” Taekwoon nodded, “I’ll stay until he wakes up, but after that I have to go.”

“Business?” Wonsik questioned.

“Serious business,” Taekwoon nodded, “when will he be ready to resume his duties?”

“Not for a while,” Wonsik sighed, “and he’ll need someone here twenty four seven looking after him for the first few weeks. Make sure he doesn’t do something foolish and reopen his wounds.”

“I can’t stay,” Taekwoon frowned, “and Hakyeon has school.”

“That’s why I was planning to stay,” Wonsik smiled, “who better to look after him then me?”

“Alright,” Taekwoon agreed after a moment of thinking it over, “you’ll have to look after both of them, though. At least until Sanghyuk’s fully healed.”

“I know,” Wonsik replied, “it will be fine. You trained me too, remember?”

Hakyeon watched Sanghyuk during the exchange, not paying attention to what was being said. He was much more focused on Sanghyuk. His guardian finally looked peaceful which made Hakyeon feel a lot better. However he was still worried for Sanghyuk. Every time his eyes trained down to the white bandages Wonsik was wrapping around Sanghyuk, he was reminded of what had happened.

He recalled the blood, the sound of Sanghyuk’s pained cry. He remembered Sanghyuk’s face as it was twisted into a grimace of pain. He remembered the fear he’d felt upon seeing all of it play out.

He remembered it was his fault.

--

“Hey,” Sanghyuk mumbled upon waking up to find Hakyeon sleeping in a chair that had been moved to his bedside, “Hakyeon? What....?”

“He called Taekwoon,” Wonsik said, alerting Sanghyuk to his presence in the room, “thankfully I was visiting him or else you’d have been in a lot of trouble.”

“I’ve always been pretty lucky about that kind of thing,” Sanghyuk smiled slightly, “thanks for saving me.”

“If I had a dollar for every time I heard you say that,” Wonsik laughed.

“You’d only have about ten bucks,” Sanghyuk smirked.

“Eleven,” Wonsik replied, “you’re forgetting that tree you fell out of.”

“No,” Sanghyuk frowned, “I remember. I counted it. What I’m not counting is when Jaehwan pushed me off the roof.”

“That counts,” Wonsik scowled, “that totally counts as me saving your life.”

“I broke an arm,” Sanghyuk argued, “that’s hardly what I’d call ‘saving my life’. Geez, I gave you ten. Why can’t you just take it and shut up. Jerk.”

“Sanghyuk?” the pair paused their playful argument when the realized Hakyeon was walking up.

“Hey, brat,” Sanghyuk smiled slightly, gesturing for Wonsik to help him shift into a more upright position.

“You’re ok?” Hakyeon asked, looking over Sanghyuk carefully.

“I’m fine,” Sanghyuk assured him, “Wonsik patched me up.”

“I kept telling him that,” Wonsik laughed, “he wanted to hear it from your mouth.”

“Should have listened to Wonsik,” Sanghyuk told Hakyeon, “he’s the best doctor I know. If he says someone’s gonna be fine, then they’re gonna be just fine.”

Hakyeon nodded before his eyes dropped to the floor.

“I’m sorry,” Hakyeon whispered.

“Hakyeon,” Sanghyuk sighed, “you don’t have to apologize for anything. This kind of thing.....it happens sometimes.”

“But,” Hakyeon said, looking up at Sanghyuk with sad eyes, “but I froze and--.”

“And I said that was normal,” Taekwoon voiced as he entered the room, “you aren’t trained to deal with those who want you dead or in their control. Sanghyuk hasn’t done that despite my recommendations about doing that.”

“I wanted him to be normal for a while, Taekwoon,” Sanghyuk sighed, reaching over to ruffle Hakyeon’s hair, “well, as normal as he can be.”

Hakyeon leaned into Sanghyuk’s touch, ignoring the conversation going on with the adults. All he cared about was Sanghyuk and his condition. Besides, he knew what Taekwoon and Wonsik were telling Sanghyuk. They were telling his guardian that Taekwoon was heading off in a few more hours and that Wonsik would be looking after both Sanghyuk and Hakyeon. At least until Sanghyuk could get back to work.

“I’m heading out,” Taekwoon finally said, “Wonsik, take care of both of them. I’ll check in ever few days when I get time, make sure you’re all doing ok.”

“We’ll be fine,” Sanghyuk assured his mentor, “Wonsik’s the best doctor and one of the best fighters I know.”

“I know,” Taekwoon nodded, “but I worry.”

“I know,” Sanghyuk smiled, “talk to you later, Taekwoon.”

With that, Taekwoon left, Wonsik following closely behind. Probably to talk about something that wasn’t for Sanghyuk or Hakyeon’s ears.

“What time is it?” Sanghyuk asked, looking towards the window, “and how long was I out for?”

“Only a day,” Hakyeon explained, “do you want anything to eat or drink?”

“I’ve got water right here thanks to Wonsik,” Sanghyuk flashed the younger a teasing smirk, “and I don’t trust you in my kitchen, so I’ll pass on the food, brat.”

“I’m not that bad,” Hakyeon huffed, trying not to smile. If Sanghyuk was teasing him and calling him a brat, he must be feeling better.

“Go get some sleep,” Sanghyuk said, moving to fix Hakyeon’s hair, “you haven’t slept yet, have you?”

“I’m not tired,” Hakyeon lied, but the look on Sanghyuk’s face had him going to bed anyway.

“I’ll see you when you wake up,” Sanghyuk said before Hakyeon left, “so rest well. Ok, brat?”

“Ok,” Hakyeon smiled.

--

It wasn’t that long before Sanghyuk had recovered.

Before Hakyeon knew it, Sanghyuk was back to walking him to and from school. He didn’t realize how much he’d missed that until Sanghyuk was walking beside him again. It helped him realize that he wasn’t just crushing on Sanghyuk, he was in love with him. And it made his heart hurt because he knew Sanghyuk would never look at him like that.

One thing that didn’t return to normal was Wonsik.

After Sanghyuk had recovered, Wonsik didn’t exactly leave. He wasn’t always there, but it sure felt like it sometimes. Within a couple of months, Hakyeon lost track of how many times he woke up to find Wonsik sitting at the kitchen table, talking and laughing with Sanghyuk about something. At first, Hakyeon didn’t mind, especially since Wonsik didn’t hesitate to tell him all about Sanghyuk’s childhood. Thanks to Wonsik’s stories, Hakyeon learned more about Sanghyuk then he ever had growing up.

But then Hakyeon started to notice, really notice, how close Wonsik and Sanghyuk were. They’d been together since they were twelve. They’d trained together and helped each other more times than either remembered. And Hakyeon felt so very jealous of that closeness. He wanted that with Sanghyuk and he hated Wonsik for having it.

--

“Hey,” Wonsik greeted, walking in like he belonged there. Hakyeon bit back his anger at that, knowing that he couldn’t show Wonsik how much he disliked him. Not without revealing just why he hated the doctor.

“Hey,” Sanghyuk smiled before noticing the man trailing after Wonsik, “Jaehwan? What brings you here?”

“Just wanted to see how you were,” Jaehwan shrugged before turning is attention to Hakyeon, “so this is the kid you always tell me about?” Hakyeon felt a burst of joy in his heart upon hearing that Sanghyuk talked about him.

“Yep,” Sanghyuk nodded, “this is Hakyeon. Hakyeon, this is Jaehwan. We trained together under Taekwoon’s guidance. He’s just as great a fighter as I am, maybe more.”

“No way,” Wonsik scoffed, dropping down onto the couch beside Sanghyuk, “you’re better than Jaehwan. Remember how many times you kicked his growing up?”

“But I’ve gotten better since then,” Jaehwan huffed, “and I’ve got more real world experience then Sanghyuk now.”

“He’s not wrong,” Sanghyuk shrugged, “I’d defiantly say Jaehwan and I are on the same level.”

“Hongbin however,” Jaehwan laughed, “He’s miles above either of us.”

“Truth,” Sanghyuk laughed, “ever since he graduated from training, he’s done nothing but battle and kill monsters.”

“Hate to go against him in a fight,” Jaehwan shuttered.

Hakyeon watched as the three soon dissolved into conversations about the past. Some stories he recalled from Wonsik’s tales, but others left him completely lost. All too soon, Hakyeon was left helplessly watching the three talk and laugh, no idea what they were talking about or why it was so funny.

He really hated that. Especially since these were tales of Sanghyuk’s past, something he wanted to know everything about.

“I need to run out real quick,” Sanghyuk finally said, “if you two are here, I need to get more food for dinner.”

“I’ll go with,” Wonsik offered before Hakyeon could say anything, “Help you carry everything.”

“Sounds good,” Sanghyuk smiled and Hakyeon watched helplessly as they left together.

“So,” Jaehwan smiled kindly, “looks like it’s just us.”

“Yeah,” Hakyeon sighed sadly, trying to muster up a smile to cover his sadness over Sanghyuk leaving with Wonsik of all people.

“Don’t frown,” Jaehwan encouraged him, “Sanghyuk will be back before ya know it. And with food.”

“Yeah,” Hakyeon managed a small laugh at how enthusiastic Jaehwan sounded about eating.

“While they’re gone,” Jaehwan offered, “I can tell you all about Sanghyuk when he first arrived at Taekwoon’s place.”

“Yes!” Hakyeon grinned, “please, tell me!”

So Jaehwan did.

By the time Jaehwan was done, Hakyeon was happy once more. Especially when he learned that Wonsik didn’t know about this.

“You really like him,” Jaehwan smiled softly, “don’t you?”

“Sanghyuk?” Hakyeon nodded, “yeah, he’s the best. He always looks out for me and makes sure I’m happy. I couldn’t ask for a better guardian.”

“I know that,” Jaehwan rolled his eyes playfully, “I mean.....you’re really in love with Sanghyuk.”

“What?” Hakyeon panicked, trying to make his lies sound convincing, “no, why would you think that?”

“I can see it,” Jaehwan shrugged, “in your eyes. Whenever you talk about Sanghyuk, you get this look on your face. And when he left with Wonsik, you looked so sad. Honestly, I don’t know how no one else has picked up on your feelings. I mean, Sanghyuk’s always been a bit dense about feelings, it’s something he learned from Taekwoon, but Wonsik? You’d think he’d have noticed by now.”

“Please don’t tell anyone,” Hakyeon begged, “please. I don’t want my feelings to mess up things with Sanghyuk. If he found out........he’d leave. I know he’ll never return my feelings, but......but so long as he’s still here, with me, it’s alright.”

“What makes you think he’d never return your feelings?” Jaehwan wondered.

“I’m a kid in his eyes,” Hakyeon sighed sadly, “a child he’s been tasked with looking after. He......he probably sees me as a son or something.” The word ‘son’ left a horrible taste in Hakyeon’s mouth and he wished he’d never said it.

“You know the between Sanghyuk’s parents?” Jaehwan asked, “They’re twelve years apart. His sister married a guy fifteen years younger, a guy she’d been training since he was ten or eleven. And when his brother finally retired a few years ago, his husband was fourteen years older. His mentor if I remember right. Well, one of them, his first one got killed on a job and his second.......I’m getting off topic. Point is, all of them married someone way older or younger than them.”

“Really?” Hakyeon asked, not sure if Jaehwan was telling him the truth or just trying to make him feel better, “that...that big an ?”

“It’s part of the job I guess,” Jaehwan shrugged, “most people in our line of work get married to people several years older or younger, people we’ve trained or guarded. I mean, who else would marry a girl who goes around the world hunting trolls? Or a guy who keeps moving from city to city treating guys like Sanghyuk? Or someone like Sanghyuk?”

“So what you’re saying is......” Hakyeon trailed off.

“You’re still underage,” Jaehwan explained, “so there’s no chance of Sanghyuk looking at you like that for now. But once you’re legal......I say give it a try. Tell him how you feel. Worst thing Sanghyuk can do is shoot you down.”

“But what if he leaves?” Hakyeon worried, “what if I confess and he doesn’t want to protect me anymore?”

“Trust me,” Jaehwan assured him, “Sanghyuk isn’t gonna leave. He’s already spent so much of his life protecting you, I don’t think he could leave if he wanted to.”

Hakyeon nodded before promising to do as Jaehwan suggested.

--

“I’m home,” Hakyeon sighed, knowing he probably wasn’t going to get an answer.

Sanghyuk hadn’t picked him up from school that day. It was something Hakyeon had come to understand meant Sanghyuk was fighting some kind of monster. Over the last couple of months, more and more monsters had started appearing meaning Sanghyuk was always busy fighting. As much as Hakyeon missed having Sanghyuk with him, he took a bit of joy in knowing that Wonsik didn’t get to see much of Sanghyuk either.

“Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon paused when he heard someone his guardian’s name.

Looking around, Hakyeon tried to figure out where the noise had come from and if it was a sign of danger. If it was a sign of danger, Hakyeon was gonna run and hope that he could find Sanghyuk.

Hakyeon found himself wished he’d run a few seconds later when another moan echoed through the apartment and he realized what was going on.

Sanghyuk was with Wonsik. He was ing Wonsik. Sanghyuk was with Wonsik the exact way Hakyeon wanted to be with Sanghyuk.

Hakyeon exited the apartment and headed to the roof where he could be alone and cry. His heart hurt so much that he felt like he was dying. He knew Sanghyuk wouldn’t look at someone like him, a child he’d been looking after for years. But this confirmation of that still killed him inside.

“Why not me?” Hakyeon sobbed, “Why does he want Wonsik instead of me?”

--

From that day forewords, Hakyeon did everything he could think of to make Wonsik feel unwelcome. It was childish of him, Hakyeon knew that, but he couldn’t help it. He just hated Wonsik so much. He wanted Wonsik out of his life, out of Sanghyuk’s life, and far, far away from the both of them.

Wonsik seemed to pick up on this rather quickly, but he didn’t say anything. Sanghyuk realized what Hakyeon was doing quickly as well, but he didn’t remain silent. He scolded Hakyeon for everything, grounded him and tried to correct the bad behaviour. But Hakyeon refused to change how he acted with Wonsik. Even if it made Sanghyuk mad, he didn’t care.

He just wanted Wonsik gone from their lives.

--

“I gotta admit, I don’t know why you’re calling,” Sanghyuk frowned slightly, “is everything alright? Did something come up?”

“No,” Wonsik sighed, “I’m fine. Everything is fine. I just.....we need to talk.”

“So something has happened,” Sanghyuk’s frown deepened.

“Kind of,” Wonsik replied, “we......we should break up.”

“What?”

“You heard me, Sanghyuk,” Wonsik repeated himself, “we should break up.”

“But why?” Sanghyuk demanded, “why should break up?”

“Hakyeon doesn’t approve,” Wonsik shrugged, “and since you’re always going to be by his side.......that’s really all the reason we need to end things.”

“He’ll get over it,” Sanghyuk reasoned, “he’s just being a child. He’ll grow to accept us.”

“No, he won’t,” Wonsik argued, “and you know it. He’s never going to accept a relationship between us. So.......I don’t see the point in trying anymore.”

“I thought......” Sanghyuk couldn’t stop is voice from shaking, from sounding weak, “I thought we....we had something.”

“Maybe we do,” Wonsik sighed, sounding just as heartbroken, “but sometimes......sometimes that just isn’t enough. We should know that better than anyone.”

“I.....” Sanghyuk didn’t know what else to say.

“I’ll see you around,” Wonsik said before hanging up, “if you ever need my medical skills, I’ll come running.”

With that, the call ended.

Sanghyuk fell to his knees, trying to wrap his head around everything that had just happened and his feelings about it.

“I’m home,” Hakyeon’s voice rang out a few hours later, “Sanghyuk? ........Wonsik?”

At the kitchen table, Sanghyuk winced at the sound of his ex-boyfriend’s name. He wince at how Hakyeon said it. And anger started to bubble up inside of him as his heart reminded him that Hakyeon was to blame for the breakup.

“He’s not here,” Sanghyuk growled as Hakyeon entered the kitchen, taking a little bit of joy out of Hakyeon’s flinch upon hearing his tone of voice.

“Ok,” Hakyeon nodded, hesitant when he realized Sanghyuk was very, very angry. His guardian didn’t get angry too often, so when he did it meant that something very bad had happened.

“We broke up,” Sanghyuk kept going, “bet you’re happy about that.”

“W-Why would I be happy about that?” Hakyeon questioned, trying to hide his joy under in worry that Sanghyuk knew exactly why he was happy.

“You hate him,” Sanghyuk scoffed, getting up and making his way over, “you hate Wonsik, so you drove him away. You made him break up with me, you selfish brat.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Hakyeon lied, feeling angry that Sanghyuk would blame him for this. But a part of him realized that he was to blame. Sanghyuk was hurting and it was all Hakyeon’s fault. He was a selfish brat.

“I’ve dedicated my life to protecting you,” Sanghyuk screamed at Hakyeon, grabbing him by his shirt and pushing him against the nearest wall, “ever since I was ten, protecting you has been the reason I exist. And in that time, have I ever asked for anything? No. I’ve never asked for anything or wanted for anything. And that’s because I’ve always put your needs first. And now, for once, I wanted something. And what did you do? You took it away.” Sanghyuk let go of Hakyeon, backing away, and Hakyeon realized that Sanghyuk was crying, something he’d never seen his guardian do before, “I wanted Wonsik, and you made him go away. You made him leave me. Why? Why did you make him leave, Hakyeon?”

“Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon felt tears running down his own face, his heart screaming in pain because he’d done something horrible. He’s hurt Sanghyuk.

“Why?” Sanghyuk sobbed, knees giving out as he sobbed, “Why did you make him leave me?”

Hakyeon was at a loss of what to say or do. He’d never seen Sanghyuk cry before. He’d never seen him get angry like that before. This was all new territory and Hakyeon didn’t know how to deal with any of it. He tried to hug Sanghyuk, but the elder moved back, looking at Hakyeon with a wounded expression that made Hakyeon hurt.

“I love you,” Hakyeon finally said, sobbing when Sanghyuk froze, “I love you, Sanghyuk. I hated seeing you with him. I hated seeing you together because I wanted to be the one with you. I hated Wonsik because I was jealous of him for having you.”

Sanghyuk didn’t respond, he just looked at Hakyeon with an unreadable expression. After a long moment of silence, Sanghyuk got up and left. At the sound of the front door closing, Hakyeon burst into a new round of tears. He knew he’d just ruined everything. Sanghyuk hated him now and was probably going to leave him.

“I should have kept my mouth shut,” Hakyeon sobbed, “I shouldn’t have driven Wonsik away. Then....then none of this would have happened.

--

“Hey,” Wonsik answered the phone, “what’s up? Someone hurt?” there was a pause and Wonsik frowned in concern, “Sanghyuk? Is everything alright?”

“...it’s me,” Hakyeon finally said, “Hakyeon.”

“Oh,” Wonsik’s frowned grew a bit more concerned, “is.......is Sanghyuk ok?”

“I’m so sorry,” Hakyeon said, trying to hold back his tears, “I’m sorry for driving you and Sanghyuk apart. Please, come back to him. I won’t do anything this time, just......please. Sanghyuk......he misses you.”

Or at least that’s what Hakyeon assumed since he hadn’t seen Sanghyuk since that night he confessed. Sanghyuk hadn’t come back to the apartment for a full week and Hakyeon was more than a little worried. He hadn’t been attacked, so that had to mean Sanghyuk was close, right? It wasn’t much comfort, but it was better than nothing. Taekwoon hadn’t been by either, so that had to be a good thing too, right?

“I’m sorry,” Wonsik responded after a moment, “but.....I can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t?” Hakyeon demanded, “Sanghyuk really likes you. And I thought you really liked him. So why don’t you wanna come back to him?”

“You aren’t the only reason why we broke up,” Wonsik admitted, “There was something else.”

“What?” Hakyeon pressed.

“Sanghyuk,” Wonsik sighed, “he doesn’t like me the way I like him. The way I love him. It’s always felt like he’s got someone else on his mind.” Wonsik sighed again, “A guy can only take so much of that before he.....he has to end it. Has to go find someone who won’t keep him in second place. Someone who’ll love him so much that he’s in first place.”

Hakyeon wasn’t sure how to respond to that at all. Wonsik seemed to realize that because he soon bid Hakyeon farewell and hung up the phone.

Alone in the apartment, Hakyeon leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. He didn’t know what to do. Sanghyuk could be anywhere and Hakyeon couldn’t just run off looking for him. It was too dangerous if he didn’t know where he was going.

That was when Hakyeon decided to try a locating spell.

He’d never tried one, never had to, but it was worth a try. It wasn’t like he could keep going on as he was for much longer. Sanghyuk was always with him for a reason after all.

“Please work,” Hakyeon whispered before launching into a string of Latin words that he hoped were correct.

It seemed to work because the compass Hakyeon had enchanted started pointing in some random direction that he knew wasn’t North. With the hope that the compass was indeed pointing to Sanghyuk, Hakyeon grabbed his coat and rushed out the door. A small voice in the back of his head scolded him for doing this, it told him to return home where it was safer. But Hakyeon ignored it. He wanted to find Sanghyuk too much to think about his own safety.

A few hours of wandering around later, Hakyeon came to regret this.

“Witch!” the monster before him howled, crimson eyes lighting up once it looked to the young spell caster, “male witch!”

Hakyeon panicked, not sure what to do. He stumbled back, tripping over his own feet and falling to the ground. Hakyeon cursed himself as the monster started laughing in demented glee. He should have stayed home and waited for Sanghyuk return. Now, he was going to die and Sanghyuk was never going to know what happened to him.

Thankfully for the young man, the monster was soon crying out in pain as it fell to the ground. Hakyeon smiled, happy tears falling from his eyes as he noticed Sanghyuk standing behind the fallen creature, scowling as he sheathed his long sword.

“Let’s go,” Sanghyuk said, making his way over to Hakyeon and pulling the younger to his feet.

“Y-yeah,” Hakyeon nodded, rushing to keep up with Sanghyuk.

The pair didn’t say anything else the whole walk home. Hakyeon sure wanted to, though. He wanted to tell Sanghyuk how sorry he was, how much he missed him. He wanted to hug Sanghyuk and beg for forgiveness. But Sanghyuk wasn’t talking and Hakyeon knew that it was probably best to follow his example.

Even when they returned home, they still didn’t say anything. Sanghyuk just silently retired to his room, giving Hakyeon a look that he knew meant he was supposed to go to bed as well. But Hakyeon didn’t go to bed, he just sat on the couch trying to decide what to do.

They needed to address what had happened. They needed to clear the air now or they never would. Hakyeon didn’t think he could live with things being this tense between them. He couldn’t live with Sanghyuk not talking to him for much longer. One week of being away from him was enough heartache to last Hakyeon an eternity.

Not at all sure if this was the best thing to do, Hakyeon made his way to Sanghyuk’s room. Without a word, Hakyeon entered the room and crawled into bed beside his guardian. Hakyeon couldn’t help but recall the last time he’d done this with Sanghyuk. He’d only been a child the last time he crawled into Sanghyuk’s bed. He’d had a nightmare shortly after they moved into their first apartment. Hakyeon had needed Sanghyuk to assure him everything was alright and he needed that again.

“I’m sorry,” Hakyeon whispered, hugging Sanghyuk tightly and resting his cheek against the elder’s back, “I’m so sorry for everything I did. Everything I said.”

“I know,” Sanghyuk replied after a moment, “I shouldn’t have reacted as I did. I’m the adult, I should have acted like it. You’re still a child and children do stupid, foolish things. They say things they don’t really mean.”

“What I feel isn’t childish love,” Hakyeon told him, “it’s real love. Jaehwan knew that the first time he met me, so why can’t you realize that?”

“Wait,” Sanghyuk rolled over slightly, “Jaehwan knew? He knew how you felt and didn’t tell me anything?” Sanghyuk shook his head in disbelief, “I’m gonna kill him when I next see him. could have told me, warned me, before everything turned into.......this.”

“I asked him not to say anything,” Hakyeon explained, “I begged him to keep silent. At least until I was ready to tell you how I felt. He....he suggested I wait until I was legally an adult, but....after Wonsik.....and what I did......you wanted to know why so......”

“So you told me,” Sanghyuk sighed, moving to pull Hakyeon into his arms, “Hakyeon......”

“I missed you when you were gone,” Hakyeon confessed, “so much. I was so worried that something had happened. Or that you’d never come back. It hurt, not knowing where you were or if you were alright.”

“I’m sorry,” Sanghyuk apologized, “I shouldn’t have left like that. I was gone for a week, anything could have happened. Even with the wards around the apartment........I was acting stupid.”

“It’s fine,” Hakyeon assured him, nuzzling against the older, “you came when I needed you, just like you always do.”

Sanghyuk didn’t say anything else and neither did Hakyeon.

--

Soon after, the pair moved to a new place.

Sanghyuk didn’t bring up what happened and neither did Hakyeon. The younger wanted to, though. He wanted to actually address his feelings and what Sanghyuk felt and what that all meant. But he didn’t say anything because he knew that Sanghyuk was thinking about it. Sanghyuk was trying to figure out his own feelings and once he had......he’d say something.

Hakyeon could wait for that.

--

“Stay here,” Sanghyuk ordered, already pulling out his knives and running off.

“Right,” Hakyeon called back, silently wishing Sanghyuk luck with whatever monster he would be fighting.

Hakyeon waited silently, hiding in the shadows in hopes that he wouldn’t be noticed. This hope turned to dust when a monster turned the corner, running right at him. Hakyeon felt a flash of fear, worrying that Sanghyuk had been hurt or killed and that was why the monster was here, before he started running. He wasn’t sure where to go, so he just headed in the direction he’d seen Sanghyuk go and prayed that he wasn’t doing something stupid.

“Come here, little witch boy!” the monster cried as it chased after Hakyeon, swinging it’s arms about and destroying anything that was close enough.

“Sanghyuk!” Hakyeon couldn’t help but scream as he tried to dodge flying bits of rock and cement and whatever else the monster sent flying

“Hakyeon?” he heard someone calling as he passed an alleyway, “Hakyeon, what’s happening? Where are you?”

Before Hakyeon could respond, the monster swung its arm. The appendage missed hitting Hakyeon, but the shattered pieces of what it did hit connected with Hakyeon’s head and torso, sending him to the ground with a pained scream.

“It’s over, witch boy,” the monster howled in laughter, “you’re dead.”

 “Think again,” Sanghyuk growled, rushing forewords and slashing the monster’s face, destroying its eyes with two well-aimed swings.

The beast recoiled, howling in pain and blindly swinging its arms. Sanghyuk rushed to grab Hakyeon, holding the wounded young man tightly to his chest before rushing off. As Sanghyuk ran, he cursed himself for leaving Hakyeon’s side, for straying as far as he had. He should have expected that the monster he killed wasn’t working alone, should have remembered that not all creatures after Hakyeon were fools who attacked alone. Some had the brains to work in teams.

Because he’d underestimated his enemy, Hakyeon was hurt.

Sanghyuk quickly entered their apartment, glancing behind them to make sure that they had not been followed. After making sure that the magic ward and charms he’d placed around the space were working perfectly, he put Hakyeon down on his bed. Sanghyuk wasn’t stupid, he knew that he couldn’t patch up Hakyeon himself. So after taking a deep breath, Sanghyuk called someone who could.

--

“He’ll be fine,” Wonsik said, not glancing up from putting his gear away, “should be awake in a couple of hours, but I’ll stick around just to be sure.”

“Thanks for this,” Sanghyuk replied, moving to fix the blankets so that Hakyeon could be warm and comfortable.

“Let’s leave him to rest,” Wonsik finally said after a long moment of silence, “I think......we need to talk.”

“Right,” Sanghyuk nodded before leading Wonsik out to the kitchen.

“I’m sorry for how things ended,” Wonsik said after taking a seat and opening the beer that Sanghyuk handed him, “I should have handled things differently. Maybe then....we wouldn’t be so awkward with each other right now.”

“I should have realized Hakyeon’s feelings,” Sanghyuk sighed, “then.....then maybe none of this would have happened. At least not the way it did.”

“You finally realized he loves you, huh?” Wonsik flashed the other a small, sad smile, “about time.”

“Seriously?” Sanghyuk huffed, “did everyone know about how Hakyeon felt?”

“Jaehwan let it slip,” Wonsik explained, “when I told him that we were together and he just kind of......he got this look in his eye. At first I let it drop, but when I mentioned how Hakyeon was taking it.......I didn’t let that look go a second time. Jaehwan didn’t want to tell me, but when he gave in......”

“At least I’m not the only one who didn’t see it,” Sanghyuk sighed after taking a swig of his beer, “can’t say I’m not grateful for that.”

“Can I suggest a couple of things, Sanghyuk?” Wonsik asked.

“Sure,” the other nodded, “I think we both know I need all the help and suggestions I can get. I’m.......I have no idea what the hell to do anymore. This whole......protection thing......it was easier when Hakyeon was just a little brat. A child who still loved playing with trucks and dinosaurs and thought kissing was gross. ”

“First,” Wonsik said, “start training Hakyeon. I think this proves that he’s gonna need it.”

“Because I kind of at protecting him,” Sanghyuk scowled.

“No,” Wonsik frowned, “because the monsters you’re fighting aren’t just getting stronger, they’re getting smarter. You can’t handle it all alone anymore, you need some help. Even if all Hakyeon can do is stall for time, it’s better than nothing.”

“You’re right,” Sanghyuk nodded after thinking it over, “I’ll start training him to fight back as soon as he’s healed up.”

“Good,” Wonsik took a deep breath before making his second suggestion, “and my second suggestion....................you’re super upset about this. About Hakyeon getting hurt.”

“No ,” Sanghyuk scoffed, “I messed up big. My one job is to keep Hakyeon safe and I clearly didn’t do it.”

“I don’t think that’s why you’re upset,” Wonsik replied, “I’ve seen you upset because you failed your job of protecting someone. We grew up together, remember? This,” Wonsik gestured to Sanghyuk’s current state, “this isn’t that. This is something different.”

“Not following,” Sanghyuk said, eyes narrowing slightly as he tried to figure out where Wonsik was going with this.

“You aren’t upset because you failed to protect him,” Wonsik continued, “you’re upset because someone you love got hurt.”

“Come again?” Sanghyuk said, voice just above a whisper.

“You love him,” Wonsik said, smiling sadly because, despite their breakup, he loved Sanghyuk too.

Wonsik had been in love with Sanghyuk since they were kids. Ever since they were twelve and he watched Sanghyuk training with Taekwoon, Wonsik had been in love with Sanghyuk. Sanghyuk was always so kind and strong and all around wonderful that Wonsik couldn’t help but fall. But Sanghyuk had never looked at him like that. Sure, Wonsik was Sanghyuk’s first everything – kiss, boyfriend, ual experience of any kind – but that didn’t really mean anything when Sanghyuk wasn’t in love with him.

No, Sanghyuk was falling in love with Hakyeon. And the real kicker for Wonsik and his wounded feelings was that Sanghyuk didn’t even realize it. He had no idea that his heart belonged to the young witch’s son.

 “He’s a child, Wonsik,” Sanghyuk argued, “he only just turned eighteen and I’m almost thirty.”

“You’re ten years apart age wise,” Wonsik shrugged, “that’s not such a big deal. I’ve seen more than a few relationships with bigger s do well. And you really should look at your siblings before trying to use that excuse. He didn’t just turn eighteen either, he’s been eighteen for half a year.”

“But he’s not even legal!” Sanghyuk snapped.

“In this country,” Wonsik reminded him, “but in the next? He could be legal. Or the one after that. And in a couple more months he’ll be legal everywhere, so that argument is .”

“We just ended things,” Sanghyuk pointed out, “how can I start a new relationship so soon.”

“Well,” Wonsik challenged, “the fact that this wasn’t your first point says you’re more over it then you claim. And we broke up more than a little while ago. We broke up before Hakyeon turned eighteen. And let’s be honest about it, we were more buddies then anything. Did you ever take me on a date? Did we do anything couples do? buddies, Sanghyuk.”

Sanghyuk huffed, unable to counter Wonsik’s argument.

“So,” Sanghyuk finally said, “You’re telling me to start a relationship with him?”

“I’m saying you should try,” Wonsik said, “when you’re ready, go for it. Don’t let all those reasons you just gave me hold you back. I mean, this could be it, ya know? This could be like your sister and her hubby.”

“What if this is just a phase?” Sanghyuk asked, “What if I go into this, really fall for him, and he finds someone else and decides that I was just a crush or something?”

“Just a risk you’ll have to take,” Wonsik smiled, throwing an arm around Sanghyuk’s shoulder in comfort, “you don’t think that’s a risk the rest of us take each time we fall in love? That we’ll fall in and the other will fall out?”

“You’re right,” Sanghyuk sighed, “you’re always right.”

“No ,” Wonsik laughed, “I’ve been telling you that since we were kids. About dang time you realized it.”

--

“But I have you,” Hakyeon snapped, “You can protect me. You’ve always protected me.”

“I’m not going to stop,” Sanghyuk argued, “this is just to make sure I can.”

“By me fighting the monsters?” Hakyeon huffed, “yeah, right.”

“Look,” Sanghyuk snapped, yanking Hakyeon’s shirt up to reveal the bandages still wrapped around his chest and stomach, “this is just going to keep happening if you can’t defend yourself.”

“No it won’t,” Hakyeon yelled, “not if you’re here with me.”

“Hakyeon,” Sanghyuk sighed, trying to control his anger, “the monsters coming after us.....they’re getting stronger and stronger. And now they’re getting smarter. If you can fight back, then you can stall for time or maybe even take out a weaker. That can buy me some time to get to your side or to take the stronger monsters out.”

“But,” Hakyeon struggled for words, especially when he noticed the worried look in Sanghyuk’s eyes.

“Please, Hakyeon,” Sanghyuk begged, “please do this for me. So I don’t have to worry so much about you.”

“Alright,” Hakyeon sighed, “you can train me to defend myself. If it will make you feel better.....then I don’t have a problem with it.”

“We’ll start in the next city,” Sanghyuk decided, “Hongbin found us a place that has a room we can use for training.”

“Alright,” Hakyeon nodded, “should I start packing?”

“Nah,” Sanghyuk replied, “we’ll finish out the school year, then move. But you can start with your college applications.”

“But you didn’t go to college,” Hakyeon huffed, “why do I have to?”

“Because you need the education,” Sanghyuk reasoned, “don’t you want to do something with your life? Like a certain type of job?”

“Did you?” Hakyeon countered.

“Already doing it,” Sanghyuk shrugged, “protecting you......fighting monsters........kind of always been the goal.”

“But,” Hakyeon frowned slightly, “haven’t you thought of doing something else? I mean, I don’t want anyone else as my guardian, but..........have you ever even considered doing something else with your life?”

“Not really,” Sanghyuk shrugged, “I mean, this is kind of been the dream. See, my mother and father traveled the world fighting monsters. My brother did the same thing until he retired. My sister’s the only one who did it differently. She decided to train people like Taekwoon after only a couple years in the field.”

“So this is what you’ve always wanted?” Hakyeon clarified, “fighting monsters and protecting me?”

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk smiled, ruffling Hakyeon’s hair, “always wanted an eventful life, full of excitement and danger. Protecting you provides all that in spades.”

Hakyeon laughed, happy that his existence was so important to Sanghyuk.

--

“Hey,” Sanghyuk smiled, lightly shaking Hakyeon awake, “time to get up.”

“No,” Hakyeon muttered, trying to hide his face in his pillow, “too sleepy. Sanghyuk, let me sleep.”

“And have you miss the birthday breakfast I made?” Sanghyuk challenged, “Yeah right.”

“Fine,” Hakyeon sighed, pretending to be reluctant to get up, “I’ll get up.”

Hakyeon loved the birthday breakfasts that Sanghyuk put together. It had started on Hakyeon’s first birthday under Sanghyuk’s care. The young magic user had been upset several weeks leading up to his birthday, missing his mother more each day, so when the day of his birthday actually arrived he’d wanted to do nothing but cry. But then in came Sanghyuk, forcing Hakyeon out of bed and dragging him to kitchen where he’d put together a great breakfast especially for Hakyeon.

The whole day had been filled with laughs and smiles, all thanks to Sanghyuk’s refusal to allow Hakyeon to be sad. Hakyeon hadn’t thought about his mother at all the whole day either. And each year was just as great thanks to Sanghyuk.

After the year the pair had just gone through, a fun day of laughs and smiles was a welcome thing for Hakyeon.

And the day went by just as they had in the past.

They laughed, had fun. They ate junk foods that Sanghyuk normally forbid himself from eating. It was really just like any other birthday and it made Hakyeon smile. It made him forget about all the drama and problems in his life, all the worries he’d have to think about the next day.

Well, it was like all those other days until Sanghyuk was giving him his birthday gift.

The hunter asked Hakyeon to close his eyes, so he did.

And then Sanghyuk kissed him.

Hakyeon didn’t know how to respond at first. He wasn’t sure if he should respond at all, so he just sat there forzen. He didn’t know why on earth Sanghyuk was doing this, what the kiss meant. He knew exactly what he wanted it to mean, but he didn’t dare hope that he could get that.

He’d become resigned to the fact that Sanghyuk would never, could never, love him in return.

When Sanghyuk started to pull away, Hakyeon’s heart still hurt, though. He found himself pulling Sanghyuk back to him. He wanted the kiss to keep going, wanted it to last forever. At the very least, he wanted to have a chance to kiss Sanghyuk back. If this was to be his only chance to kiss the love of his life, he wanted to enjoy it.

Sanghyuk let Hakyeon do as he wished, let his pour as much of his love and passion into the lip lock as he could. If the older of the pair was being honest, it kind of surprised him just how much love and passion Hakyeon was putting into the kiss. He knew Hakyeon loved him, but it wasn’t until that moment that he realized just how much.

If he wasn’t so determined to do what he was about to do, what he was already doing, then.........Sanghyuk might have let his own fears control his actions.

“I want to try,” Sanghyuk said after they finally parted for air, “I...I want to try being a couple.”

“Really?” Hakyeon questioned, looking near tears. He was so very scared that Sanghyuk was going to change his mind.

“Really,” Sanghyuk nodded, smiling when Hakyeon let out a cry of joy before pulling him into another deep kiss.

Sanghyuk didn’t let on that he was having a similar fear about Hakyeon. That he was scared that Hakyeon would grow tired of him, would find another. That Hakyeon’s love for him was nothing more than his youth and inexperience clouding his judgment.

But Sanghyuk......he still wanted to try. Hakyeon deserved this and Sanghyuk’s heart deserved a chance as well.

“I love you,” Hakyeon whispered when they parted for air, “I’ll love you until the day I die.”

“You’ll be alive for a long time,” Sanghyuk replied, “I’ll make sure of that. You sure you’ll be able to love me for that long.” He meant it as a joke, but both could hear the undertone of fear.

“I’m sure,” Hakyeon smiled, “I’ll always love you, so I hope you can fall just as in love with me.”

Sanghyuk didn’t know what to say, so he just hugged Hakyeon tightly.

--

The pair started dating after that. Hakyeon was overjoyed, taking pride in owning the title of Sanghyuk’s boyfriend. Even when strangers commented on their age difference, Hakyeon didn’t let it bother him because they didn’t know anything. They didn’t know just how much he loved Sanghyuk, that he wasn’t just some gold digger.

At first, the comments had bugged Sanghyuk. He didn’t like people looking down on Hakyeon, calling him horrible names. But because it never seemed to bother Hakyeon, he suppressed his feelings and bit back any comments he could hiss at the strangers. Over time, he stopped caring what was said about them because it was just as Hakyeon said; they didn’t know the truth.

They didn’t know that Hakyeon really, truly loved Sanghyuk and that the elder was falling more and more in love with the younger with each passing day.

They didn’t know how much Sanghyuk meant it when he finally told Hakyeon that he loved him.

They didn’t know just how real the feelings they expressed the first time they made love were.

No one outside their small group of friends knew that Sanghyuk and Hakyeon were in the kind of love one only ever read about.

--

“And that fight at the end,” Hakyeon gushed, “when Captain America just came bursting in? That was awesome. He looked so cool.”

“Cooler than me when I fight?” Sanghyuk teased, throwing an arm around the younger’s shoulders and pressing a kiss to Hakyeon’s cheek.

“Never,” Hakyeon replied, returning the gesture, “you look much cooler then you fight off monsters.”

“Good,” Sanghyuk grinned.

The smile died a second later when he felt the presence of something.....monstrous running towards them.

“Run,” Sanghyuk ordered, pushing Hakyeon behind him.

“Right,” Hakyeon nodded, “be careful, alright? Come back to me?”

“Always,” Sanghyuk nodded, “now go.”

Hakyeon did as told, but before he could get to the end of the street he heard Sanghyuk cry out in pain. Turning, Hakyeon found then several other monsters had shown up, taking advantage of Sanghyuk’s attention being on the monster who’d been running at him. Sanghyuk hand managed to block both in time, but the one who’d been running at him now had the advantage and crashed into Sanghyuk sending him flying into a street lamp.

“Sanghyuk!” Hakyeon cried, stumbling back, unsure of what to do; keep running like he’d been told or help Sanghyuk. Almost without thinking, Hakyeon pulled out his phone and sent a quick ‘911’ to Taekwoon. He just knew......Sanghyuk was going to need help.

He made his choice a few moments later when the three monsters descended on Sanghyuk before he could recover.

Hearing Sanghyuk’s cry of pain suddenly cut off was all it took for Hakyeon to rush over, magic swirling in his hands.

With a wave of his hand, the monsters were flung away from Sanghyuk, revealing the bloody form of Hakyeon’s guardian and lover.

“Sanghyuk.”

Had Hakyeon been more focused, he’d have noticed how dark and cold his voice had gotten. It didn’t even sound like him. He also would have noticed that the magic that lived within him was swirling around him like a white gold tornado, perfectly reflecting his emotion at that moment. Hakyeon turned his attention to the monsters who were trying to stand up.

Hakyeon took in the blood on their claws and splattered around their mouths and his mind went blank.

When he regained control of himself again, the monsters had been ripped apart and their blood was all over the place. But Hakyeon didn’t care about that. All he cared about was Sanghyuk who was laying motionless on the ground.

“Sanghyuk?” Hakyeon whimpered, knees giving out, “S-Sanghyuk?”

When the older man didn’t respond, Hakyeon couldn’t suppress his sobs. He crawled over to his lover, hugging Sanghyuk tightly to his chest as he begged the other to wake up.

“Hakyeon?” someone, Hongbin, called out as he arrived a few minutes later, “are you......oh . Sanghyuk!”

Hongbin managed to get Hakyeon standing and the pair carried Sanghyuk home as fast as they could. It reminded Hakyeon far too much of the first time Sanghyuk had been badly hurt and, for once, he wished Wonsik was there to help. He really wished Wonsik was around when Hongbin set about trying to fix Sanghyuk, only to realize that his medical skills weren’t good enough and they needed Wonsik.

--

“Ugg,” Sanghyuk let out a small groan as his brain started to process the pain he was feeling. His back hurt, as did his chest. And his left leg? It felt like it was on fire.

Slowly, Sanghyuk opened his eyes, relived that he could at least move that without hurting. Unfortunately, having his eyes open didn’t do him much good because the room he was in was far too dark for him to see anything. At least he knew he wasn’t dead, though. If he was, he wouldn’t be feeling pain, would he?

“Sanghyuk?” someone whispered, voice heavy with sleep.

“Yeah?” Sanghyuk replied once his brain realized that the voice belonged to Hakyeon.

“You’re up?” Hakyeon’s voice suddenly sounded so much more alive and Sanghyuk could hear him knocking things over looking for something. Sanghyuk realized he’d been looking for the light switch seconds later when the room was filled with light. The light burned his eyes, but he kept silent about it because he could now see the bags under his lover’s eyes which were filled with worry.

“Where are we?” Sanghyuk decided to ask, trying to turn his head only for his sore neck to flare up in pain and his head to spin a little.

“We’re at Taekwoon’s place,” Hakyeon explained, “Hongbin used this charm thing and POOF here we are.”

“Since when did Hongbin have something that could do that?” Sanghyuk muttered, trying to recall his best friend mentioning it last time they talked.

“He got it from Taekwoon,” Hakyeon replied, “Hongbin and Wonsik were with him when I sent him a 911.”

“Ah,” Sanghyuk started to nod his understanding, but his body scream in pain at the action so he stopped rather quickly.

“Wonsik,” Hakyeon hesitated, “he said that you’re hurt really bad.”

“Figured as much,” Sanghyuk sighed, feeling horrible that he couldn’t reach out and hug his lover to make him feel better. It was painfully clear to Sanghyuk that the whole ordeal had scared Hakyeon a great deal and the witch’s son needed someone to comfort him. That someone could only be Sanghyuk.

“Ah,” Sanghyuk heard Taekwoon’s voice call out from the other side of the room, “you’re awake. Good.”

“Thanks for sending Hongbin,” Sanghyuk smiled slightly, “guess I know him one.”

“Hongbin didn’t do anything,” Taekwoon replied, finally stepping into Sanghyuk’s line of vision, “Hakyeon is the one who destroyed the monsters.”

“What?” Sanghyuk turned to look at Hakyeon without thinking and hissed in pain. Both his boyfriend and mentor rushed to help him, fixing his position so he could actually look at them.

“Hakyeon says that you’ve been teaching him to use his magic for self-defence,” Taekwoon smiled slightly, “that’s a very smart move on your part. He used those skills to take down the monsters before they could do much more damage to you.”

“Really?” Sanghyuk smiled proudly at Hakyeon, “I’m so proud of you, babe.”

“I’m not,” Hakyeon scowled, “I should have moved faster, then they wouldn’t have been able to do....all of this to you.” He gestured to Sanghyuk’s person, specifically the areas where Sanghyuk felt the most pain.

“This is my fault,” Sanghyuk scowled, “not yours. I should have realized that there was more than one enemy. I should have handled things better. My injuries are my own fault.”

“I agree with Sanghyuk,” Taekwoon said, “this isn’t your fault. But it’s also not Sanghyuk’s. Sometimes things like this happen. We should be grateful that it’s not worse.”

“Even saying that,” Wonsik sighed as he joined the group, Hongbin and Jaehwan trailing close behind, “it’s still pretty bad.”

“How bad?” Sanghyuk frowned, already knowing that he was not going to like what Wonsik had to say based on the other’s expression.

“You’re gonna be recovering for a while, Sanghyuk,” Wonsik explained, “a year at least. And during that year.......well, I think you know what I’m going to say.”

“I can’t do my job,” Sanghyuk scowled, deeply displeased by this news. He knew that this was a must if he wanted to recover, but.......

“Hakyeon can’t say in one place,” Taekwoon added to the bad news, “not for long. Not with how often monsters are coming after him lately.”

“I know,” Sanghyuk looked down, head hanging as much as it could without causing him pain. Hakyeon looked down as well, sharing his lover and guardian’s pain.

“I’ve arranged for Hongbin and Jaehwan to look after Hakyeon while you recover,” Taekwoon finished up the delivery of bad news with something that made Sanghyuk feel a tiny bit better. He knew he could trust his friends to look after Hakyeon, he trusted them not to let anything happen to the love of his life.

“Alright,” Sanghyuk locked eyes with his friends, “look after him for me.”

“Promise,” Jaehwan smiled.

“Nothing will touch a hair on his head,” Hongbin pledged.

“Good,” Sanghyuk smiled, “now....can I get some pain killers?”

“On it,” Wonsik laughed.

--

“I’ll call you whenever I can,” Hakyeon pledged, hugging Sanghyuk tightly. Well, as tightly as he could without aggravating Sanghyuk’s broken and bruised body.

“Make sure it’s safe,” Sanghyuk told him, “as much as I want to hear from you every day, I don’t want to risk your safety.”

“I promise,” Hakyeon smiled, pressing a quick kiss to his lover’s lips, “you just promise me that you’ll be careful. Don’t push yourself too hard, alright?”

“I swear,” Sanghyuk pledged, “I can’t afford to mess up my recovery by pushing myself too hard. Because if I do......well, it will mean that I’ll have to wait even longer to see you again.”

“I love you,” Hakyeon sighed and Sanghyuk pulled him into a long, deep kiss.

“I love you, too,” Sanghyuk smiled when they parted for air, “I always will.”

“And I’d love it if you two stopped,” Jaehwan teased, “before I see my lunch.”

“You’re gross,” Hongbin sighed, “they aren’t that bad.”

“You’re just saying that ‘cuz you’re a romantic,” Jaehwan sighed before moving to get the last of their bags into the car.

“But you two do need to finish saying goodbye,” Hongbin informed the pair, “We need to get going.”

“Alright,” Sanghyuk sighed before pressing one last kiss to Hakyeon’s lips, “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you, too,” Hakyeon sighed.

A few minutes later, Hakyeon was in a car driving away.

“Sanghyuk,” Taekwoon called an hour later after watching Sanghyuk mope about his apartment, “I need to tell you something.”

“What?” Sanghyuk scowled, not at all liking his mentor’s tone, “what’s wrong?”

“Wonsik isn’t actually sure if you’ll fully recover,” Taekwoon sighed, “not enough to be the guardian Hakyeon needs.”

The room fell deathly silent for a long moment before Sanghyuk managed to form words again.

“What are you saying?” Taekwoon couldn’t be saying what he thought he was, could he?

“We aren’t sure if you’ll ever be able to be Hakyeon’s guardian again,” Taekwoon sighed sadly, “your wounds......they’re bad. The kind of bad that never really, truly goes away.”

“But there’s a chance, right?” Sanghyuk asked, voice weak with fear, “a chance that I’ll recover fully?”

“A small one, yes,” Taekwoon nodded, “and I swear, I’ll do my best to make that chance as good as I can.”

Sanghyuk could do nothing but nod before wheeling himself back to his room. He didn’t know what to feel besides fear. Fear that he might never be able to return to Hakyeon’s side. If he couldn’t return to Hakyeon’s side........would that......could that.......mean the end for them? It couldn’t........could it?

Sanghyuk didn’t want to think about it, so he grabbed a random book from the shelf and tried to focus on reading it.

--

“Stop pacing,” Taekwoon scolded, “they’re going to be here soon.”

“I just want to see him,” Sanghyuk sighed, “I haven’t gotten to hold Hakyeon in over a year. I miss him.”

What Sanghyuk didn’t say was that he was worried Hakyeon hadn’t missed him. He’d heard from Jaehwan that there had been a lot of people showing an interest in Hakyeon, lots of people hitting on him and asking him for dates. Sanghyuk couldn’t blame them, Hakyeon was absolutely gorgeous inside and out.

And he wouldn’t blame Hakyeon if......if one of those people had captured his attention. They’d be apart for over a year, they only got to talk about twelve or so times during that year. If Hakyeon had moved on, if he’d fallen for another.......Sanghyuk could understand. It hurt, but....but he got it.

“Sanghyuk!” Sanghyuk’s thoughts were cut off when something crashed into him, sending him to the ground.

That something turned out to be Hakyeon.

“You’re here,” Sanghyuk smiled, his fears instantly disappearing now that he could see and touch his lover.

“I’m here,” Hakyeon nodded before Sanghyuk pulled him into a deep kiss.

Hakyeon pulled his boyfriend into another kiss when they parted and all too soon the pair were making out on the carpet.

“Hey,” Hongbin laughed, reaching out and pulling Hakyeon away, “I don’t wanna see live . Not today and not with my best friend.”

“We weren’t going to have ,” Hakyeon huffed, helping Sanghyuk to his feet.

“Not here anyway,” Sanghyuk joked, moving to the couch and pulling Hakyeon onto his lap.

“How was the trip?” Taekwoon ask as he handed out drinks to everyone.

“Pretty quiet,” Jaehwan shrugged, “ran into a few monsters shortly after we landed, but nothing we couldn’t handle.”

“Nothing Hakyeon couldn’t handle,” Hongbin nodded, “he took them out before Jaehwan and I could even get close to them.”

“You did?” Sanghyuk praised his lover, “that’s awesome.”

“It was nothing,” Hakyeon smiled, relaxing into Sanghyuk’s arms and taking in the scent he’d missed so much over the past year.

“We’ve got a lot to talk about,” Taekwoon sighed, sharing a look with Sanghyuk, “as it’s best to get the most important things out of the way first.”

“What’s wrong?” Hongbin asked, frowning when he noticed the looks on Taekwoon and Sanghyuk’s faces.

“I’m afraid that Sanghyuk can’t be Hakyeon’s sole guardian,” Taekwoon explained, “not anymore.”

“What?” Hakyeon snapped, “What the hell are you saying?”

“You heard me,” Taekwoon shrugged, “you need someone else.”

“I do not!” Hakyeon growled, standing up and getting right in Taekwoon’s face, “I just need Sanghyuk. He can protect me just fine.”

“No, he can’t,” Taekwoon scowled.

Sanghyuk grabbed Hakyeon and pulled him back before his boyfriend could say anything else. And before Taekwoon lost his temper with the young magic user.

“He’s right,” Sanghyuk sighed, taking a few steps away from Hakyeon and showing off his nasty limp, “I can’t protect you. Not like.....like this.”

“But....but,” Hakyeon didn’t know what to say, what to think.

“You’ll need a new protector,” Taekwoon said, “Hongbin and Jaehwan are both the best fitted to this role.”

“What?” Hakyeon growled, turning his attention back to Taekwoon, “How dare you! How dare you say that so casually. Like Sanghyuk means nothing now that he’s injured.”

“Hakyeon,” Sanghyuk called out, hoping to calm the angry spell caster down before he did something foolish, “Taekwoon isn’t wrong.”

“Yes he is!” Hakyeon cried, rushing to hide his teary eyes in Sanghyuk’s shirt, “he wants me to toss you aside.”

“I never said that,” Taekwoon huffed, “stupid brat, I just said that Sanghyuk could no longer serve as your sole protector. That means he can’t be your only protector. You need a second one.”

“I wasn’t planning to leave you, Hakyeon,” Sanghyuk assured the younger, “I still want to be by your side until the day I die of old age.”

“Thank god,” Hakyeon started to sob, “I-I really thought I was going to lose you. I was so scared I was going to lose you.”

“I’m not going to leave,” Sanghyuk whispered in his ear, “so long as you want me, I’ll be right here.”

“I love you,” Hakyeon mumbled into Sanghyuk’s throat, “more than anything in the world.”

“Go rest,” Hongbin told the pair, “I’m sure Hakyeon’s tired from the trip here. We’ve got to talk about important stuff. Boring stuff as Hakyeon would call it.”

“Just so you know,” Hakyeon called out as Sanghyuk led him away, “I’ve always liked Jaehwan better.”

“Hey,” Hongbin scowled.

“You’re too much like an overprotective mom,” Hakyeon shrugged, “Jaehwan’s more of a best friend.”

“He’s not wrong,” Jaehwan shrugged, “you are overprotective.”

“I’m overprotective because I promised I’d return him to Sanghyuk in perfect condition,” Hongbin huffed, “so sue me for trying to make good on that promise.”

“Well,” Hakyeon shrugged, “much as I appreciate you doing that, I’d still pick Jaehwan as my second guardian.”

“Noted,” Taekwoon said, smiling slightly at how childish the three were.

--

A few short days later, the couple set out once more. This time with Jaehwan.

A/N: omg, it’s finally done. This story........much as I love it (and trust me, I do) it still took ages to write. I mean, I started working on this back in October. October!!!! And we’re into January now. I got stuck so many times and this ending isn’t even what I originally planned and that’s not even the first time my carefully planned story line changed. *sigh* I’m happy that it’s over ‘cuz it was a real pain in the at times to work on, but I’m also sad ‘cuz this story....it was such a labour of love, ya know?