All color drained from Changkyun’s face as his dilated pupils settled on Hyungwon. With his mouth hung open, he reached out for the frog on Hyungwon’s current form.  His shaking hands wrapped around the frog unsteadily. Concerned for both Changkyun and the frog, the prince enveloped the apprentice’s hands in his own. The wizard jolted at his touch, ready to pull back until reason flashed in his eyes. He managed to still himself, keeping his trembling hands in Hyungwon’s.

Hyungwon could tell Changkyun’s eyes kept veering away from his face. He just stared down at their hands. More specifically, the frog in their hands, which was technically still Hyungwon - or his body, he supposed. The prince wasn’t sure what Changkyun’s magic had done to land him here, and by the look on the apprentice’s face, he wasn’t sure either.

“Sit down,” Hyungwon commanded as he released the boy’s cold, clammy hands. He found it odd to hear someone else’s voice speak the words he wanted to say, but life had been weirder.

Changkyun looked up at him with startled eyes, pausing for a few seconds before nodding and complying. A vacant expression painted the apprentice’s face as he stared down at the frog in his hands.

“Are you alright? You look like you’re going into shock,” Hyungwon questioned him, sounding half-teasing, half-apprehensive.

Changkyun didn’t look at him as he sighed. His voice seemed restrained as he replied, “I’m alright, Wonho-hyung, I just got a little freaked out.”

Wonho-hyung? Did Changkyun not know we’d switched bodies? Was that why he spoke as if he was hiding something?

Hyungwon knew it couldn’t hurt to make him aware of the situation if he wasn’t already. “Uh… this isn’t Wonho.”

“What?” Changkyun’s forehead wrinkled as he raised a confused brow.

So, he didn’t know…

The prince took a deep breath before speaking. “It’s Hyungwon.”

Changkyun opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it just as quickly.

“I am Hyungwon but this is Wonho’s body,” he explained, trying to remain as to the point as he could, but Changkyun’s grip on his frog body was loosened. Out of self-preservation, the prince couldn’t help but add, “Can you put me on a pillow or something? I’m afraid you might drop me.”

The wizard looked down at the frog who’d nearly fallen out of his hands. His lips formed an O before he rose, taking the decorative pillow from the chair with him. He placed the pillow down on his bedside table before gingerly setting the frog atop it.

He walked back, looking just as perplexed as he was before. “You’re definitely Hyungwon. But-but how?”

Hyungwon didn’t answer. He could tell the wizard was questioning himself instead of the person in front of him.

“Oh god. It was the spell, wasn’t it?! Then that means…,” His voice trailed off as he looked back at the frog on the pillow. He was silent for a few seconds before he shook his head. “I have to call them,” he vaguely declared, rising from his seat.

Changkyun hobbled over to his full-length mirror and pressed a hand on the jewel inlaid at the top. The jewel began to glow and Changkyun’s reflection began to flitter away, revealing a stern faced pink haired man who was working at a table. He’d thought it might be the wizard that had turned him into a frog but his hair was bowl cut and his face seemed too soft.

Another wizard perhaps? Hyungwon thought as he leaned to get a better view. The former frog prince remained in bed, not daring to move too far or make a sound for fear he might draw the attention of whoever was in the mirror and anger Changkyun.

The apprentice stood with his hands behind his back, watching and waiting until the man in the mirror put down his pen before he cleared his throat.

Immediately, the man stared back at the apprentice. His pink brows furrowed as he acknowledged, “Changkyun.” He sat up a little straighter as he addressed the apprentice, “What’s the matter this time? Did you run out of those supplements?”

Changkyun shook his head. “No, I still have enough, Thank you, Jihoon. I was actually wondering if you could call Seokmin for me.”

Hyungwon was impressed with how Changkyun diplomatically navigated the conversation.

“Seokmin?” Jihoon spoke his name slowly, as if asking Changkyun if he’d heard right.

“Yes,” Changkyun answered with a nod. “I have some questions I need to ask him.”

Jihoon sighed as his eyes rolled back in his head. It was clear that he did not want to comply with Changkyun’s request. However, the pink haired wizard pushed away from his desk and begrudgingly stated, “I’ll go get him.”

Loud banging and clashing could be heard through the mirror for several minutes until the pink haired wizard returned with a deepened scowl and slightly messed up hair.

“Here, say what you need to. I am going to go submit my report,” Jihoon grumbled, picking up the papers on his desk and marching out of the room again.

When he returned, a sharp featured dark-haired man walked into view. His radiant smile shined through the mirror, exuding an air of happiness. Just by looking at him, Hyungwon could tell this man was the total opposite of Jihoon.

“Changkyun-hyung!” the cheerful man greeted as he waved through the mirror. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”

Changkyun cleared his throat. Even though Hyungwon couldn’t see his face from where he sat, he saw the anxiousness in the way the apprentice stood. “Seokmin, you know what to do when spells go wrong, right?”

Seokmin looked down at his jacket where embroidered spiders moved along the surface of the black velvet. He sheepishly grinned at Changkyun. “I guess I am pretty knowledgeable there. What do you want to ask?”

“If someone got in the way of a fatigue healing spell and the spell malfunctioned somehow, causing that person and the person being healed to switch bodies… what would happen?”

The wizard in the mirror thoughtfully began to an imaginary beard. His eyes twinkled with amusement as he addressed Changkyun. “That’s oddly specific but nothing I can’t help with.” Seokmin’s playful tone became almost unrecognizable as he started to analyze the situation. “The fatigue healing spell is meant to replenish the body of the person being healed and magic will take whatever it can. I’m assuming the person you were healing was unconscious and the person who got in the way was not?”

Changkyun nodded.

“From what I’ve seen in similar cases whoever was awake at the time of the transfer has their consciousness temporarily transferred into the person who’s being healed. When the person who was being healed shifts from the subconscious to conscious state the spirit or mind of the intruder will be ejected. So, it’s not really a big deal,” Seokmin shrugged before continuing, “At the latest, the effects should last a day.”

“Really?” Changkyun’s shoulders tensed up, as he hopefully peered into the mirror.

“Yeah, but you might want to keep an eye on them. You never know when they’ll switch back,” Seokmin warned.

Changkyun gave a relieved sigh. “Thanks Seokmin, you spared me a panic attack.”

“Also be sure to not let them out of your sight because you’re not supposed to be working on actual people Changkyun,” Jihoon cut in, making his presence known as he popped up behind Seokmin’s shoulder.

“Thanks for everything, you two. I’ll see you soon,” Changkyun signed off watching as Jihoon gave a small nod and Seokmin waved goodbye.

The apprentice tapped the crystal, causing the image in the mirror to flicker back to his reflection. His chest filled with air deflated as he let out a sigh before turning to Hyungwon, who had just risen from the bed.

Hyungwon stood close enough to see his current appearance reflect in Changkyun’s eyes. The silvery hair with blue ends. The sharply cut features. The red filling his ears as he saw Changkyun blush as well.  

In a hasty movement, Changkyun gestured to the sitting area by the fireplace.

Hyungwon looked over at the seats and back at Changkyun before carefully moving around the wizard to take his seat.  

Awkwardness hung thick in the air as they sat with only the sounds of birds outside the window.

“So…” Changkyun began, breaking the silence which blanketed the room.

“So,” Hyungwon mimicked, startled again by the sound of Wonho’s voice as he spoke.

Changkyun threw up his hands in frustration. “I’m sorry, but I can’t look at you and think Hyungwon because you still have Wonho-hyung’s face, so I’m going to call you Wonho-Hyungwon,” he declared, attempting to stare down the prince.

Hyungwon, however, didn’t miss the slight nervous quiver in the boy’s lips as he determinately tried to stare him down. The prince chose to keep the observation to himself, wearing an almost bored expression as he spoke, “Call me Hyungwonho.”

The apprentice scrunched his nose at the name but accepted it. “Fine, Hyungwonho it is.” Putting his distaste aside, he went straight to the point, “Why did you get in the way of my spell?”

“I was trying to catch a mosquito,” Hyungwon answered truthfully, despite how ridiculous it sounded. He hoped his sincerity carried.

The boy’s brows knit with confusion as he tried to wrap his head around Hyungwon’s reply. “You’re being serious?”

“Yes.”

More wrinkles appeared on Changkyun’s forehead. His foot began to bounce nervously as he focused on empty fireplace. He stared intently at the unburnt logs, avoiding Hyungwon’s gaze as he asked, “But you said you couldn’t eat them because you didn’t feel the instinct.”

“I don’t know, it happened suddenly,” Hyungwon said. “I felt the urge to catch it so I tried and now we’re here.”

Hyungwon tried to decipher Changkyun’s grave expression. Whenever the wizard went straight faced, he seemed far older than his age.

“You wanted to eat it?” Changkyun asked. His voice sounded so somber that Hyungwon had to repress the urge to hug him.

“Yes…”

With that Changkyun abruptly got up from his chair and moved to his shelf, pulling out book after book until he threw a black leather-bound volume onto his table. He started flipping pages so fast that Hyungwon was worried he might get a paper cut. Changkyun read the page he was looking for at least three times over before speaking.

“This is bad,” Changkyun said, refusing to take his eyes off the page.

Questions began to bubble inside Hyungwon’s mind but he waited for Changkyun to continue.

“We have to get you back to being a human as quickly as possible. If symptoms like this are occurring, the longer you’re a frog, the higher the chance you might actually become one.”

“Good thing, I’m human right now, huh?” Hyungwon spoke cheekily, trying to lighten the mood. He would have normally said something like this because he meant it, but he couldn’t show Changkyun how panicked he felt at the revelation.

Changkyun didn’t even reproach Hyungwon’s attempt as he further pressed his point, “You’re eventually going to switch back and then it’ll be a problem again. We have to get you to kiss Minhyuk-hyung within the next few days otherwise…”

The apprentice didn’t finish his sentence but the fear in his eyes conveyed it all.

“I can always try to go kiss him in this form,” Hyungwon offered, trying to get some kind of annoyed response from Changkyun.

This time at Changkyun at least let out an exasperated sigh before explaining why Hyungwon’s idea would fail. “It wouldn’t work because the magic affected your body, not Wonho-hyung’s.”

“Worth a shot?” Hyungwon shrugged, smirking as he saw angry fires light in Changkyun’s eyes.

“Absolutely not,” the apprentice shot him down, gritting his teeth as he spoke. “You don’t get to manipula-”

Changkyun’s tirade was cut off by the sound of Hyungwon’s stomach growling.  

The flames in Changkyun’s eyes died down, leaving a soft glow of concern. “Wonho-hyung hasn’t eaten.”

As soon as he finished his sentence his own stomach grumbled.

Hyungwon frowned at him as he chided, “Neither have you.”

Changkyun turned away from Hyungwon, trying to hide his embarrassment. He quietly mumbled, “I’ll ask them to send up a few trays of food.”

It was moments like this where Hyungwon thought that Changkyun seemed especially adorable. There was a certain innocence in the way he acted when he was flustered that contrasted with his usual demeanor. While Changkyun was discussing their meal with a page at the door, he would often look back at Hyungwon cautiously, like he could disappear at any moment. Even as the two sat together while waiting, Changkyun would habitually tap or bounce his feet, stealing glances at the prince. Or rather, at Wonho.

Hyungwon wondered if Changkyun was truly over his crush on the guard. There was a quaint nervousness in his actions which Hyungwon could only link back to being with a crush. A small frown settled on the prince’s lips as he thought about how Changkyun might feel about getting to spend a whole day with Wonho, physically at least.

Though unhappiness settled in the pit of his stomach, Hyungwon wanted Changkyun to get the most out of this magical mishap. He silently made a pact to take full advantage of his current form to unnerve the wizard. If real Wonho wouldn’t give Changkyun the time of day, Hyungwon would give him the next best thing.

As they rolled in the carts of food, Hyungwon did his best to act the way he’d seen the guard behave from the few times he’d met him. He lounged on his chair and smiled charmingly at the starry-eyed page boys as the