Adjusting his cape as he answered questions, Jinki couldn’t control the irritation he felt, no matter how hard he tried. As head of Magic Enforcement, it was Jinki’s job to control all the magicians in the country. Judging by the chaos that had been created, it seemed to be the work of a rogue magician. Someone who had either recently discovered their ability or someone who had been released from prison. Whoever this criminal was, he would be hunted down like the vermin he was. There was no way Jinki would let anything happen to the country under his protection. Who on Earth could be behind this? Jinki had a list of all the magicians who had been trained, and none of them seemed like likely suspects. All of this nonsense was giving him a headache and he definitely needed to let off steam before things got worse. Walking into an empty room, Jinki let all the anger out of his mind, in the form of magic. Screaming with fury as he felt his power working, Jinki didn’t stop until the room was incinerated entirely. Feeling much calmer than before, Jinki sank to his knees and let his mind wander to a time when everything was easier.

Ten-year-old Jinki had spent five years at the Academy and was considered a bit of a prodigy as he had already figured out how to control his power even before joining. He absorbed his lessons as easily as a plant absorbed sunlight, and continued to astound and impress those who taught him. However, it had not always been so pleasant for him. Though Jinki’s parents weren’t magicians, his grandfather’s powers had been transferred to him. At the age of 3, Jinki realized that he was different from those around him. He had always been fascinated by fire and the patterns it made. Not heeding his parent’s warnings, Jinki lifted his hand to touch the flames. What should have burnt him, instead felt almost natural. Ever since then, his favourite pastime had been to play with fire. Jinki soon found out that he could manipulate fire into different shapes, which absolutely fascinated him. The day he turned 5 years old, his parents left him at the academy with a heavy heart. Luckily for them, Jinki was a wise boy who understood that this was a place where he could grow and develop his talent even more. His instructors were able to tell that Jinki was a special little boy who had another power he hadn’t yet discovered.

*Flashback*

“No Jinki, you cannot go play with your friends. You haven’t finished your lessons”

“I will go”

“I forbid it”

Though the instructor was fond of the boy, he knew he had to be extremely strict with Jinki so that he could excel the way he was meant to. The angrier the boy got, the more his body began to glow. Although the instructor knew something bad was about to occur, he couldn’t help his curiosity to know what the boy could do.

Almost instantly, Jinki let out a bellow, which was followed by a blast of energy so huge, that all of the trees around them burnt to cinders.

Struggling to control the fear in his voice, the instructor allowed Jinki to play and was awarded a smile with such sunny warmth that he couldn’t believe it was the same child who had caused all of the damage.

That was the day Jinki had figured out how to get whatever he wanted.

*End of Flashback*

Smiling at his childhood memories, Jinki was pulled back to reality as the door slammed. Looking up and smiling at his friends, Taemin and Kibum, Jinki felt a sense of hope. At matters of security like this, Kibum acted as his right-hand man. It was hard to imagine that they’d started off as enemies. Kibum possessed the unique power of shapeshifting and had initially used this ability to cause mischief and confusion.

*Flashback*

“Hey, you! Come here”

This seemed awfully strange. Jinki’s favourite teacher had never spoken to him that way before. Figuring that he was probably in a bad mood, Jinki gingerly walked over to see what he wanted.

“Yes, professor?”

“Drop down and give me twenty”

“I’m sorry?”

“Twenty pushups”

Shocked, Jinki just stared at him before assuming the position on the floor. He’d got to fifteen pushups before he heard a shout and looked up to see his professor standing a mile away. If that was the professor, then who was the person next to him? Staring in wonder as the man changed shape to reveal his true identity. Rolling around on the floor in mirth was Kim Kibum, a boy who was a few years younger than Jinki.

“Kim Kibum, I’m going to kill you”

“You’ll have to catch me first”

“Wait till I do, I’m going to hit you so hard, it would make your ancestors dizzy”

Chasing the boy who ran whilst laughing merrily, Jinki tried hard to control his temper. What he hated the most, was being made fun of. Surely, this was the last time Kibum had played him for a fool.

*End of Flashback*

It had taken a few years for Jinki to understand why Kibum had always acted out, and once he understood the real reason, he took the boy under his wing. Kibum had been abandoned at an orphanage once his power was discovered. Though he was but a baby, his parents had observed him changing into characters from stories and had become terrified. Without even thinking, they dropped him off at the orphanage, never to return again. The child had been forced to grow up, never knowing what love was. Over time, he had turned into a bully, from a victim and used his shapeshifting ability to terrorize all those who had bullied or . Jinki had stumbled upon this truth when he had complained to the Dean of the academy.

Though he had been taught a variety of subjects, Kibum had found pleasure and interest in the art of Necromancy. For some reason, he had always been drawn to the dark side. There was a lot of hatred within him and this art allowed him to let go of his anger. Though he was grateful to the academy for accepting him, Kibum couldn’t push away his feelings of unworthiness and insecurity. Kibum had been cursed by having a very good memory and struggled to go to sleep each night. All he could think about was the way he had felt at the orphanage. He’d spent ages meeting potential parents, only for them to abandon him when the moment of truth finally showed up. The boy who had spent all of his nights with tears streaking his grubby little face had now found a place where he was accepted, and not punished for being different.

By his side now, was Jinki who had insisted on Kibum being recruited in his team of Magic Enforcers, and encouraged him ever since his first day at the job. His talent with Necromancy had made him an expert in communicating with the departed to predict the future.

Jinki, on the other hand, was planning to visit the scene of a more disturbing crime he had heard of. He knew for a fact that without Kibum’s help, he wouldn’t be able to tell what had actually happened there. As they were about to leave, they could hear the sound of rapid footsteps, as though someone was running towards them. Knowing exactly who the latecomer was, Jinki and Kibum smiled as they let Taemin, the youngest member of their team inside.

Taemin had always taken great care in his appearance. After all, he belonged to one of the wealthiest families in the country and had been treated like a prince. Though his powers were manifested even when he was less than a year old, his parents had shielded him from gossip and had refused to send him to the academy.

*Flashback*

Taemin was always used to being given anything and everything he had asked for. At the off chance that his nanny said no, he would just fly into a temper, which would send everyone rushing about in all directions to get whatever it was that he had wanted. Taemin wouldn’t throw things to break them when he was angry. In fact, he would just sit down in the middle of the floor, and scream as loudly as he possibly could. Based on how mad he was, Taemin would increase the pitch of his screams enough for everything in his room to break, not only the glass items. He could create vibrations strong enough to cause pain and even nausea in some cases to those around him.

Once, after such a tantrum, his parents finally agreed to send him to the Academy of Magic, instead of the exclusive finishing school they had planned. As soon as he turned five years old, his parents had enrolled him, with tears in their eyes.

Holding his mother’s hand as they walked around the well-maintained lawn, little Taemin noticed everyone around him, simply staring at them. However, he only had eyes for the two boys in the corner, who hadn’t even glanced in his direction, which he wasn’t used to. Smiling to himself, Taemin, the master manipulator let tears roll down his cheeks, along with hyped sobs. Everyone except those boys surrounded him, which made him even more determined to get close to them.

He finally got his chance during classes, when Jinki, the older among the two, personally helped him. Soon enough, they had become a trio.

*End of Flashback*

Even standing next to the two best enforcers made Taemin feel as though he was special. Though his brains weren’t as quick as Jinki’s, his charm had helped them out of more sticky situations than he could count. People preferred to talk to him, as he wasn’t considered a threat like Jinki, and he didn’t seem formidable like Kibum. However, he did feel as though he was the weakest link in their entire team and devoted all of his spare hours to improve his powers through rigorous practising.

Once the three of them reached the spot of the murder, Jinki immediately sensed the melancholy and terror in the air and forbade young Taemin from stepping outside the vehicle. It wouldn’t be good to let the lad out just yet. Looking at the scene that was filled with blood, Jinki couldn’t even tell where the corpse was, which filled him with fear.

Kibum stepped up, knowing that this was where he shone. Unlike Jinki, he was quite used to corpses of various stages of decay. A little blood was nothing to him. This time, even he was taken aback, by how the victim seemed to have died. It really seemed as though he had been bludgeoned to death and then thrown around. Truthfully, it made him feel a little sick. Summoning his energy, Kibum tried his hardest to reanimate the victim, so he could communicate with him and find out what exactly had happened. However, try as he might, Kibum failed miserably. Usually, this process was effective if the victim had at least half his organs intact. In this case, it seemed to be a massacre where there was nothing left, other than blood. Shaking his head, Kibum reported his failure to Jinki, who simply laid a hand on his shoulder and led him back to their vehicle.