Originally posted by novojun

 

You had heard about this “Magic Shop” run by a group of students at your college, but you never cared about them until you needed a wish to be fulfilled. The Magic Shop was more or less a club that was able to grant anyone’s wishes. During the first week of each month, they would allow submissions to flood their mail box, which was located in front of the dorm room of their leader, Kim Namjoon. All requests had to be handwritten and had to follow a specific format that was set out on their web page. Once the box was full, they would not accept any requests. They would go through each wish and pick seven that they wanted to fulfill as there were seven members in the Magic Shop: Kim Namjoon, Park Jimin, Min Yoongi, Kim Seokjin, Kim Taehyung, Jung Hoseok and Jeon Jungkook. 

Each member preferred a different sort of request. Generally, Hoseok, Namjoon and Jimin dealt with relationship problems, while Namjoon and Yoongi focused on career-related wishes. Taehyung took on a wide range of issues, depending on his mood. Jungkook picked ones that dealt with one’s self image and health. You were really hoping that Hoseok would be the one to take your case because he had done such a good job granting your friend’s wish which had been to find a boyfriend that was rich, hot and smart. Not to be mean, but your friend was definitely not the sort that could have easily scored such a perfect boyfriend. She was pretty plain in terms of looks, family background, intelligence, and more; she even admitted herself that she was a 5/10. Even she wasn’t sure that her wish would be granted. Hoseok, though, was her Fairy Godmother and you prayed too that he’d be able to do you a favour.

Your wish then? You wanted to experience true love. You wrote in your application that you had had a few boyfriends in the past, but for some reason, you could never feel deeply in love with them. They always broke up with you saying that you were cold blooded and would never understand what love was. They always questioned your feelings for them, leading you to wonder if you’d ever know what love was. Thus, you put your request in their mailbox and to your surprise, you did get a reply over email.

Dear Y/N,

We have reviewed your application and am pleased to inform you that your wish will be granted by two members of the Magic Shop, Park Jimin and Kim Namjoon.

We will contact you in a subsequent email for the next steps.

Thank you very much,

The Magic Shop

Park Jimin … and Kim Namjoon … Those were two names that you hadn’t expected to show up. You were really praying that you’d get Hoseok, yet you were faced with two people that you didn’t particularly like. You had your reasons for disliking them. Park Jimin was in your Physics class and he was the most two-faced, wishy washy guy you had ever met. He was always smiling and acting like he cared about everyone when really he only befriended those that could benefit him in some way. He was only kind to your other friend because she had the top grade in the class. You remembered that time when your friend handed him a Valentine’s Day gift, a pack of chocolates, and he accepted them only to gift them to another friend of his. Then there was Kim Namjoon, another equally annoying guy who reminded you of a chained coffee shop, showing up everywhere when you walked a few blocks down a road. He was the well-rounded sort that was good at everything related to academics, except sports. He liked to be involved in the community and joined teams that competed in chess, debates, and math. Needless to say, he had his face plastered all over the school magazines and other newspapers. As if that wasn’t annoying enough, he had lectured you once for accidentally throwing the wrong type of can in this recycling bin. You had to spend ten minutes, listening to him tell you how you should read signs. Seriously, was it just a sin just to unintentionally toss something in the wrong bin? 

Now you were wondering whether or not these two were here to avenge you. You were so sure that they also hated you. You were already regretting applying for a wish to be granted by this stupid Magic Shop. There was nothing like a free wish, you reminded yourself. There had to be some price to pay and you were hoping that you could renege your promise by sending an email letting them know that you made a mistake and that you weren’t in your right mind when you filled out that form.

Within a few minutes, you received a reply.

Dear Y/N,

Unfortunately, you are not able to cancel your wish. We have specified on our web page on bullet point 5 that if your wish has been accepted, you cannot renege on it. We are responsible for making sure that your wish has been granted. You will be billed accordingly.

Sincerely,

The Magic Shop

P.S.  It’s okay to trust me. This is a Magic Shop that will console you.

Billed accordingly? You blinked a few times upon reading that line over and over. You certainly didn’t have any money in your bank account. You spent it mostly on tuition and your dormitory fees. You only had some leftover for food, transportation, and some forms of entertainment like movies and going out with friends. You couldn’t even afford an entry level luxury brand bag, so you couldn’t imagine having to pay an exorbitant fee just to experience true love. Love could not buy bread!

You grew so nervous that you confronted your friend who had been a client of the Magic Shop. She shrugged her shoulders when you asked about a fee. She said she had no idea what you were talking about and told you not to fret. The members of the Magic Shop were like angels, doing everything out of the goodness of their hearts. Nope. You didn’t believe her one bit. Either she must have been lying or she couldn’t remember what they took from her. 

For the next few days, you were dreading receiving the next email. Whenever your phone flashed an alert that you had a new message in your inbox, you felt your heart skip an extra beat. You breathed out a sigh of relief when it was just some newsletter from Forever21 or H&M letting you know that there was a sale or free shipping offers. Thank God for spam mail, you thought. Your happy days didn’t last long because at exactly 6:66 pm, that doomed email came.

Dear Y/N,

It is time. Meet us at the pinned location on the map we have attached tonight at midnight. Come dressed in all white, including your lingerie, shoes, and any accessories you wear. When you arrive, knock on the door five times and we will come get you.

Sincerely,

The Magic Shop

Despite being afraid, you were the sort that wouldn’t shy away from a battle. You had this feeling that even if you were to run away, the members of the Magic Shop would somehow hunt you down. It was best that you met with them face to face to officially try to persuade them to cancel your request. You were perfectly fine never experiencing true love now. You could just have flings to satisfy your ual needs. 

Since you were keen on not participating in this deal anymore, you didn’t listen to their orders. You dressed all in black with a hint of red, which was what you liked to wear on a usual basis. You only owned a few white shirts and maybe a white dress. Other than that, everything else of yours fell in dark shades or deep red. You didn’t know why that was so. You just knew that you disliked the shade of white or anything that was pastel. 

You also came knocking on their door far earlier than midnight. You weren’t going to drag things along. They should have considered themselves lucky that you even showed up in front of this old mansion that reminded you of one of those haunted houses in movies set on top of a lonely hill. This mansion was caught between two tall skyscrapers, making it seem rather out of place compared to its modern neighbours. You remembered watching that show about feng shui saying how a building that was between two significantly taller ones would have bad luck. Bad luck to them, you scoffed to yourself, thinking that they deserved it.

The door opened by itself, making you feel a bit unsteady. Was this some sort of magic trick, you wondered while entering the house. As soon as both of your feet were in the foyer, you heard the slamming of the door behind you along with the locks being twisted in place. 

Gulp.

That was right. You knew this was a bad omen, especially when you stared straight ahead. A narrow hallway that could only fit at most two people seemed endless. There were no lights in this mansion and you felt a bit of relief that at least the skylight by the staircase to the left, located in the middle of the corridor, showed some moonlight. As you marched down this scary path, you took a few glances around you to find that all the walls were covered in warm chocolate wooden panels. A chandelier with crystals and candles hung on the ceiling, by the stairs that spiralled upwards. You weren’t sure where you were supposed to go, so you decided to just call themselves out.

“Hello?” you shouted. “Kim Namjoon? Park Jimin? You there?”

There was no answer. You were thinking of heading back to the front door when all of a sudden, you felt a tap on your shoulder. You let out a loud scream while jumping up out of shock when you saw who it was behind you. It was a tall man dressed in a black hood, reminding you of a member of some cult. There was a porcelain mask covering his face, but you could see his fierce, fox-like eyes glaring at you. You were going to open your mouth to say something else, yet he covered it and knocked you out. Everything turned pitch black.

—-

You tried to move your hands and feet, but they were restricted. When you opened your eyes, there was nothing but darkness. You felt this fabric covering your eyes and you knew that you were blind folded. You weren’t sure what was caging you in place, but you were pretty sure that you were tied to some chair.

“Ah,” you heard that familiar voice ahead of you, which undeniably belonged to Namjoon. “Finally awake huh?”

“Let me go!” you shrieked. “You’re not going to get away with this, you know?”

“Oh really?” he snickered before cracking his knuckles. “When you’re the one that came to us in the first place?”

Your hands and legs tried to break free from the restraints, but the more you attempted to fight them, the more you felt this burn sinking into your skin. You let out a muffled groan, leading another voice that was very gentle to utter, “M-Maybe we’ve been too hard on her.”

“Nonsense!” Namjoon shouted. “You’ve always been too soft, acting like you’re some martyr!”

“… I’m only here to make sure you don’t go overboard,” he reminded Namjoon. You were pretty sure that this other man was Jimin. His voice was also quite recognizable.

“Overboard?” Namjoon snickered. “Everyone hates his guts! Even his own parents hate him! He deserves to be punished!”

“Excuse me?” you corrected Namjoon. “I’m not a guy, you know? I think my s and my lack of the male reproductive system speak for themselves. I think you two have the wrong person here … I’m just here to say I don’t want you two to grant my wish. I’m–”

“Oh you will experience true love,” Namjoon cackled. “If the deal doesn’t go through, then you’ll die.”

“What the–”

“And we do have the right person,” Namjoon continued to explain. “You just don’t remember who you actually are.”

“Okay. I think you two have had too many drinks or maybe you’ve snorted some mushroom or glue. I don’t care what it is. I am going to go home!” you roared. 

You stomped both of your feet to the ground and banging your wrists on the chair’s armrest. To your surprise, you managed to break free, despite experiencing another round of painful burning. You ripped that blind fold off of your eyes and started sprinting towards the only exit you saw, the doors of this bedroom. As you pushed past them and found yourself in the middle of yet another narrow hallway, you decided to go by your gut instinct and head left. You ran as fast as you could, truthfully thankful that you always were a top notch sprinter, but there was nowhere to go at the end of this particular corridor. You settled on going to the nearest set of doors you saw, which was to your left. When you entered and closed the door behind you, you set your eyes on the figure in front of you, bathing in a golden bathtub with bubbles covering the most important parts. At first you thought you saw a Greek goddess until you blinked and realized that this was the most beautiful man you had ever encountered. He slowly turned his gaze towards you and flashed you a very nostalgic smile. With his eyes shaped like moon crescents, he giggled in a flirty tone: “You’re back. I missed you.”

Then you sensed some danger behind you and as soon as you turned around, you caught a spear that was going to hit you right in the head.

“ you!” Namjoon swore and then tossed his mask to the ground. “Seriously, you!” He flashed his middle finger at you while nearly spitting in your face.

“Why are you ing swearing at me?” you raised your voice like Namjoon had. You totally did not appreciate his annoying attitude that was completely unwarranted. You didn’t do anything to offend him other than to put the wrong trash in the can for one time. Just one time and this petty guy couldn’t even let it go. Who did he think he was challenging you like that?

“Because you’re a ing ,” Namjoon answered.

The beautiful man stated, “Now, now.” He stood up from his bath and snapped his fingers once for a bath towel to automatically wrap around his groin. Then he gracefully strolled like a model towards you and Namjoon. As he touched your cheek and revealed another lovely smile to you, he calmly remarked, “There’s no need to be vulgar here. That’s just not beautiful.”

You were almost tempted to hug this pretty man until you heard Namjoon’s bothersome voice, which was really bugging you to the depths of your soul: “Oh come on. What sort of reasoning is that? Just because it’s not beautiful? Do you know how terrible he is? Oh wait. You don’t care because all you care about is satisfying your so called “love” that’s really just you being as .”

“Seriously,” another voice came from behind you and you turned around to recognize this to be from Yoongi. You knew his face because he was always the one that was napping in your classes and being called on by the professors to wake up. “I can hear you all the way down below. You’re too loud that you’re disturbing my slumber.”

A chirpy, eager figure magically appeared behind and it was none other than Hoseok. You felt blessed to see this sunshine in the room. He gave a kiss to the beautiful man’s head before moving on to swing his arm over Namjoon’s shoulder. 

“My, my!” Hoseok enthusiastically remarked. “I didn’t think I’d live to see the day that Joonie would get so worked up.”

“This isn’t a joke, you know,” Namjoon grunted, trying to resist Hoseok’s peck on his cheek. 

Poof. Another man who had a rectangular smile and a prominent nose showed up right in Namjoon’s arms and placed his arms over his neck. 

“Oh, Joonie,” he teased while poking Namjoon’s cheek. “You gotta learn to chill out.”

Namjoon threw the man off, but this guy was able to fly off to hide behind the charming half- man with platinum blonde hair. Everything was happening so quickly that you could only keep up with the dialogue. 

“He’s bullying me, Jin,” the mischievous fellow grunted.

“Silly,” Jin smiled again before tapping on the playful man’s nose.

“And where is Jungkook?” Hoseok wondered. “I was sure he’d want to be part of this reunion.”

“There’s no way he’d want to be in on this,” you heard that soft, high-pitched voice coming from the back. You looked back to find Jimin standing there, gawking at you as if you were some disgraced criminal. “Especially after what happened before.”

“Oh but that was ages and ages ago,” the most playful figure countered. “He can’t be holding a grudge for that long. Look at him now.” He was pointing at you, making you feel very confused. “He’s a deer in headlights. He has no idea what’s going on.”

“Can you guys stop calling me ‘he’?” you reminded them. “Maybe you all need glasses or something, but I’m clearly a woman. You can check my birth certificate and my Passport. There is no letter “M” or the word male attached to them. They all indicate that I’m 100% female, okay?”

Yoongi scoffed while rolling his eyes, “Well one thing sure hasn’t changed.”

“And what’s that?” Hoseok wondered.

“That feisty attitude of his. I can’t believe I nearly forgot about his annoying personality,” Yoongi stretched his arms behind him, yawning. 

“See?” Namjoon howled. You could see those veins on his neck almost popping. You were sure that he was going to get a any time now. “See exactly what I mean?” Namjoon grunted.

“What do you mean by feisty and annoying?” you retorted. “I’m just stating the facts here and it’s not helping that none of you are explaining what exactly is going on. You’re just here thinking that I should expect that I’m faced with you weirdos that can do magic.”

“It’s not exactly magic,” Jimin mumbled.

“Then what the hell is it? What are you guys anyway?” you interrogated. 

You were really fuming. You didn’t know why, but somehow when it came to these people, you just felt like someone had set some fire within you and all you wanted to spit out were fire balls like an evil dragon.

All of these men looked at one another before nodding in agreement. You felt like they had been telepathically asking one another whether or not they should tell you the truth. You saw Hoseok nudge Namjoon in the elbow who glowered at him. 

Subsequently, Namjoon coughed once before stating, “We’re not human, as you suspected. We’re actually gods and goddesses and you’re … unfortunately … one of us.”

“ … Hahahaha!” You exploded in laughter because you really had no idea what else you could do. “You’re joking right? This is just a bad prank right? I mean, you’re just–”

“Jin,” Yoongi commanded. “Bring the mirror out for him.”

Within an instant, an oval mirror with a golden frame that had carvings of grapes, dragon scales, and two mythical creatures standing side by side at its top, was in your hands. As soon as you stared at the reflection, you nearly dropped the mirror on the ground. Luckily, someone caught it just in time with a snap of their fingers.

“Now … do you know?” Yoongi questioned.

“No!!!!!!!!” your voice deepened like the male figure you had seen in the mirror. Your voice was so loud that you could hear it rattle all of the furniture and lights in the building. In fact, one shout led all of the glass to break. Your hands grabbed your head which was beginning to throb so hard that you fell to the ground. “Stop!” you yelped. “Stop it! Stop!”

You could see pictures of people dying and a massive war raging. In those images, you were a handsome man who was so happy and so eager to kill. There was blood everywhere, all over your hands, yet none of them belonged to you. Then there were flashes of disappointed and infuriated faces all cursing you to death. You felt your body being drained by all the darkness, anger, death, disappointment, and negativity. The weight of everything was sitting on top of you. You were sure that you’d be trampled to death at this rate.

“St-Stop!” you repeated. “St-St–”

You woke up the next day, in your bed, with beads of cold sweat dripping by your temples. As you wiped them away with the back of your hand, you felt your heart beating too quickly. This must have been a bad dream, you told yourself. This was just a …

Then you saw the markings on both of your wrists and immediately you bit your lower lip.

Nope.

Everything that last night … had been real. You tried to think back to what had happened, yet you couldn’t remember all of the details. You just knew that Namjoon hated your guts and had wanted to kill you and somehow you remembered that light, airy feeling when you saw Jin. You really felt like you had seen family. Never had you wanted to embrace someone upon first glance. Could this be love at first sight, you wondered.

When you got out of bed, you heard a few knocks on the door. Your roommate, you figured, was still sleeping, so you opened it to see who it was: Park Jimin, Kim Namjoon, and that prankster.

“Oh good morn!” The prankster widened his bold grin and pushed his way in as if he were the owner of this household. “Good day to you all!” He even directed himself to the kitchen and opened the fridge door. “Oooh! Let’s see what you have here. Apples, oranges, some Caesar salad, chicken … Wow!” He turned around to wink at you. “You really are a health nut! Just like how you were before! All concerned about your body!”

“What are you guys doing here?” you grumbled.

“Why else are we here?” the naughty one chuckled after grabbing a can of Coke and opening it. After a big sip, he raised the can in the air and cheered, “We’re here to grant your wish. Didn’t you say you wanted true love?”

“To be fair, I was going to–”

“If you’re afraid of that bill payment, then–”

“Taehyung,” Namjoon interrupted in a stern tone. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“Fine. Fine. I thought we’d just get down to work and solve the problem here.”

“And what problem is that?” you inquired.

Jimin told you, “I hope what I’m saying won’t scare you, but I think it’s important for you to know that we’re actually all cursed.”

“C-C-Cursed?”

“By our past,” Jimin explained, “and so in this lifetime, we have to repay for our sins. I guess you can say this is like karma?”

“No,” Namjoon added. “It’s worse than karma.”

“So what does this have to do with me?”

“Everything,” Namjoon answered. “You’re the source of our problems.”

“Then just kill me if you hate me so much?” you challenged.

“We can’t,” Taehyung replied in a strict voice, one that you didn’t expect from him. “That’s why we can only help you.”

“Help me?”

“To understand what love is,” Jimin said. “Only then can we rest.”

When you came to the Magic Shop, you thought you would be consoled. No, instead, you were being asked to do the consoling. What in the world was happening to this world? Why did you have to be cursed? Who was that man that you saw in the mirror? Why did these people all hate you? What had you done in the past?

“I’m sure you have lots of questions,” Namjoon declared, seemingly able to read your mind, “but they will only be answered if you let us help you.”

Taehyung raised his Coke can and chuckled. “So? What do you say?” he suggested.

You scowled, letting your eyebrows funnel together, “Am I even allowed to say no at this rate?”

“Hahaha! That’s the spirit!” Taehyung guffawed and then slapped you hard on your back. 

You punched him back, accidentally flinging him out against the counter. He hit his back hard before falling forward on the ground. The coke bottle spilled all over the floor, infuriating you. You were going to stomp on him and his fingers for creating this mess, but Taehyung moved too quickly. He was already on the other side of the room. You were going to go after him once more, but you felt Namjoon cling onto your arms, restraining you.

“Let go of–”

He slipped something in your mouth, making you swallow it. The last thing you heard was Jimin and Namjoon’s dialogue. Jimin voiced his concern: “You can’t always make him go unconscious to stop his temper …”

“Unless you can come up with something better …”

You let your mind sink heavily. You weren’t sure what was going to become of you. You just felt like there was this uncontrollable monster brooding within you. The chains that kept this monster in place were breaking when you became face to face with this gigantic male figure. You gasped upon seeing him who hollered, “Y/N! It’s time! Time for us to be free!”

“Wh-Wh-Who are you?” you stammered, tumbling on your bottom with your hands catching your fall. 

That man revealed a very sinister smirk while replying, “Why I’m you, Y/N. I’m the real you.”

“The real …”

You didn’t hear the name he revealed to you because you woke up again, this time in a king-sized bed that was probably meant to house some royal family member. The whole room was filled with the shade of gold and beside you, there was Jin sitting in a chair that reminded you a queen’s throne.

“Hi,” Jin cutely greeted you. “Good to see you again, Y/N.”

You breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this graceful man once more. You didn’t know why, but only he could make you feel such at ease. All that anger and frustration subsided as soon as you were graced with his presence. Maybe … this whole situation wasn’t so bad after all, you thought. Maybe … you’d really find true love. 

That was what you thought until you heard a very agitated voice coming from across the room. There was a youthful man who looked like a lost puppy storming in and yelling, “Kim Seokjin! Who said you could bring this bastard to my cottage huh?”

“It’s both of our cottages,” Seokjin muttered, “Jungkook.”

“I don’t care. Throw him out,” Jungkook barked.

“Um … I don’t know how many times I have to remind you two, but I’m really a woman, okay? I’d prefer being referred to in the female pronoun?”

“Jesus,” Jungkook puffed before crossing his arms. “Don’t tell me that he lost all of his memories? How convenient. How lucky of this .”

“Lost all of my memories?” you repeated.

Jin lightly held onto your hand while curving his lips up. “Don’t worry,” he assured you. “You can trust us. The Magic Shop is here to console you.”

He must have been the one that wrote that PS line, you thought. No wonder you felt healed upon reading that sentence. You would have held Jin’s hand back had Jungkook not grabbed Jin by the wrist, dragging him away.

When these two left, you were greeted once again by Namjoon who leaned against the entrance of this bedroom with his arms hugging his body. “I see … you’ve finally met Jungkook,” he stated. “You can’t really blame him for acting like that. I’m sure if you knew what you’ve done … you would have reacted the same … if not worse.”

“Well if you don’t tell me what I did in the past, then–”

“We aren’t allowed to mention the past to those that forgot their memories,” he cut you off. “That’s against the rules.”

“Set by whom?”

“The upper beings.”

“Who cares if you don’t play by the rules?” you pointed out. “Who is there to punish you?”

As Namjoon shook his head, he commented, “Really … you really haven’t changed one damned bit.”

“I don’t believe in stupid rules,” you argued, “or ones that aren’t fair.”

“Unfortunately,” he reminded you, “in this day and age, the world is nothing but unfair and chaotic.”

You snubbed him, “Within chaos, there is order. I’m sure you’ve heard of that.”

“So? What sort of order are you going to set?” he asked.

You had no idea what you were really talking about; somehow those words just escaped your mouth. You always had a bad habit of letting your mouth run off loose, offending people left to right. You just couldn’t stand lying, and so you let bluntness direct your mode of communication. That pretty much chased everyone away from you except for a few friends and family. Never did you regret your choice of living your life out like this. 

You were proud to be honest. You were proud that you lived by the rules you set for yourself. You weren’t going to easily let anyone take that pride away from you or dictate your way of life.

“I don’t know yet,” you confessed, “but I’ll make it my way. If not, then it’s the highway.”

Your remark caused Namjoon to laugh until there was no tomorrow. He was even wiping the corner of his eyes because there were tears. You didn’t know why he found what you said to be particularly funny nor did you really care about his reaction. In fact, the more he laughed, the more you wanted to chuck a pillow at him. You did toss that right at his face, but he caught it just in time.

“Really,” he emphasized once more, “you really haven’t changed one bit, brother.”