Mrs. Kim looks at him like she pities him, to which Woohyun finds uncomfortable to look at after 5 seconds. He cracks a little smile at her.

     “Have a seat Woohyun.”

     “Thank you Mrs. Kim.” He takes his place next to Sunggyu quietly.

     Sunggyu senses the uneasiness emitted from the black-haired guy. “Are you still feeling sick?” His hand is quick to check on Woohyun’s temperature before he even realizes it.

     “I feel great.” Woohyun catches Sunggyu’s hand on his forehead, and squeezes it a little.

     “You sure?”

     “Yeah.” Woohyun nods.

     Sunggyu hums and retracts his hand back to push a bowl of rice to Woohyun’s direction.

     “You haven't eaten properly since morning,” he says, glancing at the clock hanging on the wall. It's almost 3PM. “Eat. I don't want you to be sick again.”

     “Okay.” Woohyun picks up his chopstick but hesitate to start eating before everyone else.

     Mrs. Kim must have sense his reluctant as she picks up a piece of meat from one of the dishes and puts the piece on top of Woohyun's rice, “Eat up Woohyun. Don't be shy.”

     Woohyun smiles thankfully, “Thanks Mrs. Kim,” he says and scoops the meat with some rice into his mouth.

     Sunggyu chuckles but doesn't say anything. He picks his spoon and dips it into the warm soup, tasting the first sip with a hum. He always starts and ends his meal with a sip of soup; it has become his long-lasted habit.

     Suddenly, Woohyun chokes on the rice that he stuffed into his cheeks. He coughs as tears pooling at the corner of his eyes. Mrs. Kim hastily pours a glass of plain water for him and he gladly accepts the offer. Woohyun washes down the stuck rice in his throat and sighs when he can breathe normally again.

     Sunggyu shakes his head in disbelief, “Slow down will you? How old are you already? You eat like a child,” he scolds lightly and pushes a bowl of soup towards the man, “eat your rice with soup.”

     Woohyun pouts a bit but accepts the bowl nonetheless.

     Mrs. Kim watches the interaction with intent eyes.

-

After their lunch, Sunggyu suddenly asks him for a walk, putting emphasis on how a quick walk after eating has tons of benefits and whatever. Woohyun doesn’t bother to question the weird explanation Sunggyu come out with when the man looks desperate to get out of the same space as his parents. (Sunggyu’s dad comes home a bit after they finished lunch and Sunggyu looks as if he just had stones for lunch.) So Woohyun doesn’t say no and follow him like a lost kitten.

     According to Sunggyu, the park should be a quick walk from home but it feels like forever because Sunggyu keeps on getting distracted while directing the walk and would often trip or hit something on the way. It’s not until Woohyun whines (unintentionally) but it gets Sunggyu’s full attention and they arrive at the park soon after.

     “Why did we come here?” Woohyun asks while his eyes wander around the park, absorbing the view of children running around playing, and a couple of parents sitting close by.

     Sunggyu sighs, “Because I need to talk to you alone.”

     “Why can't we talk at your home?” Woohyun tilts his head in question.

     “My dad is home.” Sunggyu shrugs like it’s a common knowledge that Woohyun should’ve known about. “He doesn't know that you're a normal. He'll use magic – and you wouldn’t stand it. You'll get sick again.”

     “We can’t tell him?” Woohyun asks curiously.

     “No we can’t.”

     “But your mom knows?”

     “My mom is… a different case.”

     “Different how?”

     “Aren’t you full of question?”

     Woohyun smirks ceremoniously, “It’s just my specialty.”

     “What specialty? How to annoy people?”

     “It’s how to annoy Sunggyu specifically.”

     Sunggyu’s mouth gaps open in sheer shock. This brat.

     Woohyun smiles cheekily, acting like he’s the most precious thing in the world at the moment.

     Sunggyu squints his eyes. “Do you think acting cute will make I give in to you?”

     “Yes?”

     Sunggyu rolls his eyes but he can’t fight the smile from forming.

     “Oh so you are capable of smiling; not so stone-cold after all eh?”

     “Shut up.” Sunggyu says, becoming red from neck and above. He turns around and lay down under the shades of the tree they hang out under, mostly to hide his reddening face. Woohyun still looks a bit flush, radiant and so well rested that Sunggyu just can’t stand to look at him longer than necessary. It makes him feel all weird inside.

     It also helps him to think about everything that’s happening and what it could mean in the future, for both of them.

     “So what do you want to talk about? Or are we only out here because you want to avoid your dad?”

     Woohyun knows that Sunggyu’s dad work with the Ministry, and he knows about the bit how Normal human shouldn’t know about magic (if they do – their memories would be wiped away.) (Ergo, they can’t try their luck without knowing the outcome first.)

     So it makes sense Sunggyu would’ve wanted to avoid his father.

     At least, not before they could find cure to Woohyun’s aftermath symptoms anyway. According to Sunggyu (and Mrs. Kim,) somehow right now, Woohyun reeks of magic – precisely Sunggyu’s. And even though not every magician is able to literally see magic like Mrs. Kim (Woohyun learns that no one is like Mrs. Kim) (which is even more terrifying if you asked him) Sunggyu’s dad would probably still detect magic scent from Woohyun. It would be improbable not to when there are abundant on him at the moment – it’s like he’s been bathed in it.

     Thankfully for Woohyun, Mrs. Kim is a healer in wizardy community, and one of her specialties is making potion. Sunggyu has asked her to make a potion that could help Woohyun to withstand magic's aftermath. And the potion should be done in an hour or so. After all it’s only a tweak recipe of cold medicine – they would use mint instead of two parts lemon and it would be all set once it simmers for two hours.

     Sunggyu bids his time, and turns again, looking upright to that particular branch on the tree, still avoiding from looking directly at Woohyun. It helps to calm his nerve a bit.

     “So my mom and I have reached to a conclusion after talking. It seems that the reason to your chest ache and this connection we have,” he flails his hand between him and the confused-looking Woohyun, “…is that the spell has failed.”

     Woohyun nods. “We know as much don’t we?”

     Sunggyu agrees readily.

     “The only thing we don’t know is why,” Woohyun continues, looking expectantly at the young witch who returns his gaze. “Do you know why now?”

Sunggyu gulps and nods slowly, looking at Woohyun’s eyes directly; his eyes are still bright brown, almost golden. (Sunggyu wonders why.) “We didn’t exactly fulfill the requirement to make the spell worked.” He supplies quietly, almost shameful.

     “What kind of requirements?”

     “Apparently, the spell I used on you last time is created for true soulmate. Can you believe that? It’s a ing joke.” He ends it with a laugh he knows well doesn’t sound sincere.

     “Why is that?” Woohyun frowns.

     Sunggyu is at loss of word at the sudden upturn of emotion from Woohyun, which is a ing joke on him, because he can literally feel it. Woohyun is somehow upset with him now. Great.

     “Why is what?”

     “Why is it a ing joke?”

     “Because soulmate is not real. Not that I know