Early in the morning, just before opening, there’s a phone call to the shop. Jinki almost misses it, still half asleep.

“Hello, Five Witches Emporium. How may I help you?”

“I hear that your shop offers fortune telling.”

“Yes, we do. We have two tellers on our staff. Myself and another.”

“This is a big job.”

“Our other fortune teller has a strong gift, though we might have to work together in order for it to be clear.”

“Your other fortune teller, is it Choi’s boy?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I used to see Choi before. If it’s Choi’s boy, I trust you.”

“Yes, he is.”

“Can I come in today?”

“Will you hold for a moment? I need to ask about his schedule.”

“That’s fine.”

“What’s your name, so I can take it down in case the call gets disconnected?”

“Siwon.”

“Siwon what?”

“Just Siwon.”

“I’ll be right back.”

Jinki sets the phone down next to the receiver and knocks on the hatch door. It’s early -- very early -- and he feels bad waking Minho up over this. But a big job means big payment and they’re getting low on money again. He climbs down the ladder and quietly makes his way over to the bed. Looking at the way that Minho and Ki are sleeping tangled up, he knows there isn’t much chance that he’ll be able to wake just one up. Just as he goes to tap his shoulder, Minho opens his eye.

“Who called?” he whispers.

“Someone named Siwon. Says they have a big fortune telling job but they only want it if you can work it.”

“Why me?”

“He said he used to go to your dad.”

Minho furrows his brow and sighs. He slowly begins disentangling himself from Ki’s hold; when Ki stirs, Minho kisses their cheek and tells them to go back to sleep. He gets up out of bed and heads to his bookshelf, reaching for something off the top shelf.

“What’s that?”

“A registry. My papa kept a log of everyone he told important fortunes for.”

Jinki watches Minho flip through the book.

“It’s odd, if he used to go to your dad but has never come to see you before now? Your dad’s been gone what, 23 years?”

Minho hums, seemingly finding what he’s looking for.

“I can do it.”

“Do what?”

“The fortune. I’ll need your help but I can do it.”

“He wants to know if he can come in today.”

“That’s fine.”

Minho puts the book back and heads back towards bed.

“Let me know when he decides he wants to come. I’m going to try and get a little more sleep beforehand.”

Jinki nods and heads back up to the shop level.

“Are you still there?”

“Yes.”

“He says today is good with him. When would you like to come in?”

*

It’s just after 4pm when Siwon comes into the shop. He walks up to the counter where Jinki and Jonghyun are trying to eat a snack.

“Are you the person I spoke to on the phone this morning?”

“Yes. You must be Siwon?”

“Yes. Are you and Choi’s boy ready?”

“Minho will be up in a moment. You can look around the shop if you like or I can take you to the reading room to wait, whichever you would prefer.”

“The reading room will be sufficient.”

Jinki leads the way behind the counter, into the back hallway into the reading room. The room is technically dual purpose: it served both as a quiet space for readings like this and as a sort of tinkering room for Jinki. The walls are covered in dark velvet, candles sitting on trays all around the floor.

“If you’ll sit on the cushion closer to the door, we’ll be in in just a moment. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to come back out.”

Siwon goes to the seat and Jinki walks back to the counter.

“What a creepy guy.” Jonghyun whispers.

Jinki nods and knocks on the hatch door. After a moment, Minho comes up.

“Is he here?”

Jinki nods. Minho walks over to Jonghyun and kisses his cheek.

“Are you watching the shop for us?” he asks.

“Yup.”

“Will you keep my amulet for me, sweets?”

“Yup!”

Minho pulls his amulet off and puts it on Jonghyun. He gives him another cheek kiss before following Jinki into the reading room. Jinki gets situated across from Siwon as Minho lights the candles.

“You look remarkably like your father.” Siwon says, watching Minho get situated.

“Thank you, it’s a common sentiment.”

“I assume your power isn’t quite as strong, however, if you need a second teller to help you.”

Anger crosses Jinki’s mind at the comment. First the man wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t Minho, then insults Minho’s ability. He goes to say something but Minho puts a hand on his shoulder.

“My father was only skilled at foresight, as I’m sure you know. I, on the other hand, have multiple skills. They just make each other a little more chaotic. I could tell you your fortune alone, but it’s easier and quicker for both of us if Jinki is also here.”

Siwon seems dissatisfied with the answer. “I’m here to ask you about-”

“You don’t have to tell me. I’ll know when we begin.”

Jinki holds out his hands and Siwon takes them. He gets a glimpse of a group of men; a stone table; pages and pages and pages of runes. Minho sits behind Jinki and puts his hands over Jinki’s eyes. The images blur and meld together as if put into a kaleidoscope. Minho’s body goes tense but it takes a minute longer before he begins speaking.

“You’re searching for someone. A coven. They’ve done questionable things in the past, but you’re worried that it’s going too far. People have been disappearing and turning up bone dry. You’ve had run ins with them before, intervened before. You’re the great grandson of a self proclaimed witch hunter. So in his memory you’ve taken it upon yourself to continue the job, taking out only those who seek to do pure harm. This coven does true blood magic, dark magic. Things no one does anymore. You have a chance to kill their leader, but you want to know if it will do any good and if you will be killed yourself in doing so.”

“Yes, yes that’s it!” Siwon says. He sounds excited, almost pleased by Minho’s words.

“The one you think you can kill is not their leader. He’s a figurehead, a youth intended to bring vigor to the ironhand and renew purpose in the group. The leader is already dying. He is the reason they’re trying to pursue such dark lanes. They’re attempting to immortalize him, but it must be done before he dies. If you kill the figurehead, they will succeed. If you do not kill the figurehead, they may succeed. They’re looking for something. For someone. They cannot complete the task without it.”

“What is it? Who is it?”

“A member of my coven.”

Jinki’s heart sinks when he hears the words.

“If I protect them, if the leader dies, then all will turn out best?”

“Yes. There are other options but they do not know of them.”

Siwon pulls his hands out of Jinki’s and the vision swirls away. Minho doesn’t move his hands away right away so Jinki helps him. There’s a feeling of something dripping on the top of Jinki’s head and he turns around to see that Minho’s got a nosebleed. He helps Minho put a hand up to try and stop the flow before heading out to get a cloth from the counter. Neither have moved when he comes back in. Siwon appears to want to say something, but waits until Minho’s set with his cloth.

“Which member of your coven do they need?” he asks.

“Our potion maker, Ki.” Jinki explains. “They were a part of that coven before. They took advantage of their youth, made some cloudy promises to them. That coven, they’ve been looking for Ki for more than 5 years now. Their leader must be getting close to dying, they’ve been upping their efforts recently.”

“What do they need Ki for?”

“They need blood of a certain magical potency. Certain qualities to it.” Minho says, finally getting control.

“So they need them as a sacrifice?”

“Yes.”

“You spoke of other options?”

“They don’t know them.”

“Yes, but what are they?”

“Me.”

***

Minho wakes up early again the next day. His nose still hurts from the day before, but it’s manageable and a lot better than what Jinki must be dealing with. He’s not surprised to see Jonghyun tending the front counter when he goes upstairs.

“You did a number on my man yesterday,” Jonghyun comments when Minho kisses his cheek.

“I did a number on myself, too. How is he doing?”

“He’s still sleeping but only because Tae charmed him.”

“How’s Tae?”

“Fine. Feminine today. Are you and Gwi still going shopping today?”

“Yeah, as far as I know.”

“Will you do me a favor and take Tae with you? They’re nervous that they’re going to make bad fashion choices and I think I know less about fashion than you do.”

“I’ll check with Gwi but it should be fine. You going to stay with Jinki?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t be afraid to close early, sweets. Jinki and I made more money yesterday than we normally do in 2 months.”

*

Money in hand, Minho, Tae and Gwi make their way to the secondhand clothes shop. It’s a fair distance, but the weather is nice so it’s a pleasant walk. Though Minho would love to buy them both brand new clothes, neither of them are quite ready to commit to that yet. When they enter, the shopkeeper waves to them.

“Minho! Hello!”

“Hello, Hodong. How are you today?”

“Good! Can I help you with something?”

Minho gestures to where Tae and Gwi are already looking through a rack. “We’re here for them to find some new clothes.”

“Ahh, I see. Luckily, we got a lot of things yesterday. If there’s anything I can help with let me know.” he says, to Gwi and Tae.

They nod and smile and Hodong turns back to Minho.

“Sihoo’s been doing a lot better. He’s really really improved since we started giving him the potion, his pain has really gone down. I’d have him come out to see you, but he’s at home sleeping.”

“I’m glad to hear it’s working. Are you hoping to be able to put him back in school or do you think staying at home will be easier?”

“We haven’t decided yet.”

Minho nods, watching Gwi and Tae squabble over a shirt out of the corner of his eye.

“Forgive me for asking, but aren’t they from your shop?”

“Yup. Their appearance changes though, so we’re getting them some stuff to accommodate that.”

“Oh. If you want, you three can use the sorting room as a dressing room. I’m assuming you’re here because they want your opinions. I don’t mind, as long as you all don’t try anything funny.”

“Really? That’d be great. I really appreciate it, Hodong.”

“Alright, well I need to get back to work. Have fun, let me know if you need help.”

Minho nods and watches Hodong head back to the shoe section of the store. He makes his way over to Gwi and Tae, taking note of Tae’s already sizable pile of potential picks.

“Having fun?” he asks.

“Mostly.”

“Alright. Hodong said we can use the sorting room as a dressing room so you guys can change at the same time and don’t have to keep opening the door to show me. I’m going to go sit down by the window, just let me know when you’re ready to start trying things on.”

After half an hour, Gwi is ready; Tae is still browsing around, cart slowly overflowing with clothing. Gwi comes over to where Minho’s almost asleep again in the window chair.

“I’m ready, would you come with me so I can try things on? Tae’s going to need a lot of help with the pile.”

Minho leads Gwi to the sorting room, carrying their pile of clothes. It doesn’t take long for them to try it on: most of it is dresses, with a few skirts thrown in. Their mind is already made up on which pieces to get, Minho’s approval more of a formality and a second quality check. It warms his heart to see how happy Gwi looks in each piece. He claps often, making effort to ensure each reaction is as grand and validating and earnest as possible. Gwi is glowing by the end.  Just as Gwi finishes, there’s a knock at the door and Tae peeks in. They bring in two carts worth of clothes and Gwi and Minho share a look. Gwi hands their things to Minho to hold then walks to the nearer of the carts.

“Did you even look at the sizing on these, little one?” Gwi asks, seemingly exasperated.

“I didn’t know what size to get so I just grabbed things that look pretty!”

As Gwi starts digging through the pile, determining what pieces are within an acceptable size range, Minho can’t help but notice Tae’s increasing gloom. He holds his hands out towards them and after a moment of consideration they hold them.

“The first time is always hard, but it’ll get easier. There’s nothing wrong with picking out pretty things. My pretty babes deserve pretty things to wear.”

It seems to lift Tae’s spirits enough that they don’t get upset when Gwi takes a full cart of clothes back out. Gwi helps them put each piece on, offering critiques to match and contrast Minho’s compliments. In the end, Tae only gets a handful of items. Selections in hand, they meet Hodong at the register. There’s pleasant small talk once again until Minho feels Gwi’s grip on his hand tighten past painful. He looks towards the window and notices a hooded figure starting in the shop. As Minho wraps an arm around Gwi to hide them better from sight, the figure’s cloak seems to burst into flames and they run off shrieking.

“That was close,” Tae whispers.

From the way they hiccup, Minho knows it was their spell; one of the little quirks that come out with no song, only feeling. Hodong seems perplexed at their sudden change in demeanor and does his best to hurry checking them out.

The walk home is much less pleasant than the walk to the store, all three on the verge of paranoia. Gwi walks in the middle of Tae and Minho, holding their arms tightly. Though it’s no surprise when Tae begins to hum a protection spell, they are mildly surprised when Minho joins in. It’s nowhere near the haunting beauty of Jonghyun and Jinki’s songs but there is an earthy comfort in the harmony and helps them relax during the walk home. As soon as they get inside, Minho rushes up to Jinki. They touch hands for what seems like a brief moment then head off in different directions: Gwi was always jealous of the mutual mindreading, of the instantaneous plan making. They watch asMinho pulls Tae and Jonghyun over towards the front of the shop to enchant the walls and add extra protection while Jinki heads behind the counter to make a call.

“Hello, Siwon? This is Jinki from Five Witches Emporium. We have a proposition we’d like to discuss with you.”