# 6

Magician
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They go out several times during the week. Donghae falls behind in his work. But he doesn't let Hyukjae find out. Because Hyukjae will stop all fun. He'd warned Donghae: the Parks have time to spend with him. Every day. There's three of them. They take turns.

Donghae's just one.

But he's successful in bringing Hyukjae to the clinic. Hyukjae doesn't notice. Because he really does get too excited. He only realizes when...

They're walking up the steps.

"Oh..."

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," Donghae says. Clasps his hand. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah!" Hyukjae says. His voice's high. "Yeah! I'm f-fine. I'm... okay." He laughs. Nervous. "You tricked me! T-That was great!"

"Hey..." Donghae says. "You'll get your burgers and fries immediately after, okay? It's a promise. It'll be the best burger you've ever eaten."

Hyukjae nods. His eyes are blinking around. He's already lost all colour.

"Am I getting a shot or... or are they taking blood?"

"Um, blood..."

"Okay," Hyukjae squeaks. Grips his hand tighter. "I-I'm not scared. I'm--I'm a pro."

Donghae only smiles. Tugs him slowly to continue.

He feels so bad. How did the Parks deal with this? Hyukjae took the time to find an outfit. He reminded Donghae to wear his bracelet. Borrowed one of Donghae's for himself. So they're both wearing bracelets. He's brought all his money. Hyukjae counted it. Showed it to Donghae. Asked if it's enough for his food. Then happily tucked it into a little cross body bag. He'd gotten that from Mrs. Park. He was so happy about it. Had such a huge smile on.

Now, he's picking at his cute bag's strap. Biting his lip. His face's white.

Donghae guides him to a chair. They're asked to wait a few minutes. He stands beside Hyukjae. his hair gently. He feels nervous too. Wants to take him back home. Give him a burger and coke. Get rid of his anxiety. Even though he knows: Hyukjae will be fine. He's not in any danger. He's done this before. It's also necessary.

If he doesn't get too upset. Or use magic. Which... he hasn't. So far.

. Donghae's supposed to be here to support. Not freak out himself.

"It'll be over soon," Donghae murmurs. To himself. To Hyukjae.

"Y-Yeah. I know. I'm okay. I-It just feels like it takes forever but it's n-not."

"Yeah..."

It's unfortunate too. That he's not here for a quick shot. Mrs. Park had told Donghae: they'd have taken all the blood they needed. The first two times. But Hyukjae just can't sit for long. He begins to shake. Try to jerk his arm away. It gets difficult for them to continue drawing blood.

"I'm not... sick," Hyukjae mumbles. Looks up at him. "Right? C-Can we tell them I'm fine and that I don't need to?"

Donghae sighs. Leans down to peck his head.

"I'm glad you're fine, baby," Donghae says. "This is just so they keep track of everything, or notice any changes you might have in the future. It helps them see how you're doing and it's important to have this information on file because..." Donghae lowers his voice. "Well, you don't have anything, love..."

Hyukjae looks down. "O-Okay... I know..."

Donghae caresses his hair. His nape. Hyukjae takes a deep inhale. Exhale.

The doctor here is Mrs. Park's friend. She's accepted Hyukjae as a patient. Accepted the story they'd given her. She may have done so because she's a family friend. She trusts the Parks. Respects any information withheld if it's not for the sake of his health.

But everything the Parks shared wasn't untrue. Hyukjae's a close relative. He had a difficult life until recently. He didn't have access to any healthcare. He had memory loss. He's under the Parks' care now.

The doctor's ordered some tests. Just to confirm he's well. Donghae's glad the Parks managed all of that. He feels he would've asked to skip some of this. Kept Hyukjae happy rather than tried to persuade him. If Hyukjae's too scared then for him it's a no. He doesn't like watching Hyukjae struggle.

But he knows the importance. Hyukjae truly didn't get to live properly. So his health needs to be watched. Closely. It's also a relief to know. For certain. That despite Hyukjae's magic... the years he spent frozen in time as a mannequin... physically, he is well.

Donghae thinks it's lucky Hyukjae's an adult. The lack of medical history could've led to more questions if he wasn't.

"Oh..." Hyukjae utters.

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Author's Thoughts
sujul33
Wanted to add some Hyukjae POV.
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OdetteSwan 930 streak #1
Chapter 19: He's trying to find his purpose now that he isn't restrained.
Thank you so much for the update.
yanHae15 141 streak #2
Chapter 19: Oh! Hi! It's been a while! I miss them!
But Hyukkie is sad and struggling. I hope he doesn't see what they're doing for him as something negative. They do it with pur intentions and so, if there's any problem, it will be better to communicate. He shouldn't keep everything to himself 🥹🥹
fullofwish 1539 streak #3
Chapter 19: Hyukjae is struggling with so much. Seems like he feels bad whether he keeps it to himself or shares it, so it's understandable he's not sure what the best thing to do is. He and Donghae are really so considerate of each other, to a fault. Half of the issue is that they just want to please the other person at the possible expense of what they themselves want. Not sharing the things that are unpleasant. Hyuk now has more awareness and is worried that's what Donghae is always doing, but he is doing it too by not really sharing his true concerns. Worried Donghae will feel more responsible or burdened to find a solution for him.

Still think they can work through things best together, though. At least, Hyukjae seems more lost and afloat when he retreats into his lonely mind and the insidious draw of more powerful magic between the difficult memories and realizations. Even though Hyuk is better at self-regulating than he was when he would literally transform to protect himself whenever overwhelmed or threatened, he still needs trustworthy people to keep him grounded and remind him to tread safely, and Donghae has been that constant person he needed for a while. Maybe Hyukkie needs to express the things he needs that are different now, if that's the case. Like Donghae being more open with his own wants and needs instead of only prioritizing Hyukjae.
HelenDamnation #4
Chapter 19: Well from the sound of it, it may be the only parenting he got growing up was the time with Hazel. The rest of the time there's a whole lot of trauma he needs to recover from on top of his entire world basically having disappeared.

He's very helpful and considerate. He seems to be having trouble that realizing that is actually worth a lot. But he's at the age, isn't he, based on your notes, to be thinking that if he doesn't do something big then none of it counts. It would probably help if somebody explained to everyone in this story that constantly treating someone like they're fragile and about to break into a million pieces is going to be destructive to their mental health, even when you mean in the best way possible. :-)
ldh2013 #5
Chapter 19: Everytime Hyukjae felt threatened, he retreated into becoming a mannequin. It's no wonder that everyone, especially Donghae, has been trying really hard to make sure he feels safe. Being constantly worried over can be trying and Hyukjae appears to be feeling guilty about it. Adapting to the current world isn't that easy. Technically, Hyukjae doesn't have that much experience living (not being a manniquin). I think his only "work" experience was ever as a helper but the people around him now don't really "need" him to help them.
HelenDamnation #6
Chapter 18: So Hyukjae feels like he doesn't belong where he is, which is natural to have to process...but then in MM&YxMagician, he finds out there are DonghaexHyukjae couples everywhere he looks...so maybe that'll help? Help him feel he's where he's supposed to be?

Edit: I really, really like how you're showing some things many people experience that rarely get talked about in fiction, if ever. Like the sense of grief and loss when you get old enough to realize that you can't actually read all the books there are or learn all the things, much less do them fast enough. Or the fact that there's a lot to do with where you really can't fully imagine how it feels until you try it, which can create some shocks, both good and bad ones -- I've never seen that covered in conventional publishing (or at least only the ic surprises, never the reverse). I've been reading fanfiction for less than two years, but I'm constantly impressed at how fanfiction authors just go right ahead and cover what is missing from print media that really needs to be said and portrayed.
kiwicolada 1600 streak #7
Chapter 18: And here I'm sitting and thought that Hyukkie already coped amazingly with his past. I really thought he was fine living in the present, with Donghae and the Parks. That he's still suffering inside and feels lost in place is sad to read. Thinking about it, he lost so many time while he was surviving as mannequin during the centuries. And when we think twice there must be a century old between him and Hae. No wonder he feels out of time. But he did so well and everyone made sure to tell him this. But sometimes it's normal to feel this way, not belonging to this place and time when we think where Hyukjae's coming from.

I'm amazed that Hyukkie could feel Hae's biggest fear. That he could turn into a mannequin again. This shows how strong their bond is. Even the century old . A deep and strong love. As if they're destined to each other. Like it was his fate to sleep as mannequin until he could meet Donghae. Aside from all the horrible experiences Hyukkie did in the former century, I like the idea that Hyukkie and Hae were meant to be. But the deep sadness in Hyukkie is hard to handle for Donghae. The thing is Donghae can do what he wants, he can't heal Hyukjae from this sadness. Not alone. And deep inside there will always be a tiny piece of sadness that will reminds Hyukkie's that he's a surprise from another century.

It's been a while a chapter went so deep. Thank you for writing and sharing this ❤️
fullofwish 1539 streak #8
Chapter 18: So curious (worried) about what Teukie is worried about. Hope it is just because Hyuk sent him some possibly weird or sad texts before and not anything more.

The way Hyukkie's feeling is understandable. He's always so bright and energetic, but the more he grows and learns the more he comes to terms with reality. How could he not feel out of place? He's literally from the past, with magic no one else (that we know of) has, and has a lot of uncertainty still. It must feel so lonely and hard, no matter much Donghae and the Parks love and take care of him. It's no one's fault. It will just take time and patience for Hyukjae to figure things out and really find his place. To not be so harsh on himself for not being good at everything right away. As much as it breaks Donghae's heart to see him upset and struggling, it's a relief he's opening up about this.

♡
Kethryveris #9
Chapter 18: Hyuk, s'inquiète et se sent mal, j'espère que Hae va vite lui rendre sa joie de vivre. Merci 💙
kiwicolada 1600 streak #10
Chapter 17: Hyukkie is such a sweetheart. All concerned about the safety of Donghae's work. Even kisses have no priority in that moment. What a cute weatherman. And Donghae is all happy and forgot about that horrible night before. This is how their trip should be. I like this chapter a lot ❤️ Thank you for sharing and a belated happy new year ^^
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