"Why is he back in town?" Baekhyun speculated, racking through his thoughts for any possible event he missed. "Why now? Why after two years?" Chanyeol placed a hand on his lap and squeezed, timidly offering a cookie. The former took it. 

"Why do you think?" Kris countered. "We're talking about the Jokester here." 

Baekhyun's spine snapped straight, his eyes wild. "No, it can't be! Tao, you said your curse was nearly unbreakable." Said man scrunched up his features. "Nearly. I didn't say it completely impossible." 

"There's a small chance he could, right? You promised us and the others that you could handle Jongin. This curse is keeping us safe, Tao. We need to make sure that doesn't change."

Tao coiled his fists. "I can't help it if I'm not the strongest wizard," he spoke through gritted teeth. "I only have so much knowledge on curses and my specialty lies in potions. Spells are difficult; you need a lot of magic, which this world does not have. I've wasted a lot of magic and energy to cast that curse on the Jokester, mind you. Whether Jongin breaks the curse or not does not depend on me. He can, but I doubt he will." 

"But he needs a human, and since he's a dog, it's almost impossible for him to find one. Unless... Unless you mean D.O.?" 

"D.O.?" the wizard chirped. He leaned forward, eyes searching Baekhyun's face. "Ah, the homeless boy. So that's what he told you his name is?" Baekhyun crossed his arms, "I don't blame him. I wouldn't trust us either if I were him." He jabbed his thumb towards the orange-haired giant, still not-so-secretly stealing cookies. "So what's his real name?"

"Do Kyungsoo." 

"And he's really homeless?"

"As far as I know, yes." 

Baekhyun nodded, then titled his head, eyes in narrow slits again. "You read him. What else did you see?" 

Tao waved his hand in the air and propped his elbow on the table, settling his chin on a palm. "Not much. Both parents are deceased, although he did live with his mother until the first year of high school. He dropped out and started living on the streets. Found a dog around three weeks ago, maybe more or less, it's a little blurry--poor kid needs more nutrition--and started calling it Kai." 

"That's Jongin!" Chanyeol stated (guilty just a second before from emptying the cookie platter). His ears had perked up at the name and they itched, tingling across his nose and down to his lips where his tongue was forced to speak. Perks of a being a messenger, he complained. You just get used to passing along messages. You can never really stop or forget, like a constant routine you're stuck cycling in forever. "I remember D.O.--ah, I mean Kyungsoo, calling him that when he tried to return him." 

"Oh, that's right! Kyungsoo said he'd come back to the apartment!" Baekhyun slapped the table, scolding himself for forgetting. "Tao, what should we do?" 

The wizard spared a glance with his assistant, only to receive no sign of assistance. He sighed again. He was too young for this! He'd rather continue being an apprentice than this. "Well, Jongin can't break the curse if he doesn't have a human, now can he?" Chanyeol shifted uneasily while Baekhyun slowly nodded. "Easy solution: separate Kyungsoo and Jongin."

"H-how do we do that?" Chanyeol clearly recalled how worried Kyungsoo was, dashing after Jongin blindly. They seemed close already. Was it possible to break their friendship? But it was either that or let Jongin break the curse... 

"No idea. I've only met the human once. Besides, you two are more fit for the job." 

They both shook their heads. "I work with children!" Baekhyun hissed. "And I'm just a messenger," Chanyeol echoed.

"Nonsense!" Tao cried, brushing off their excuses. "It's simple, guys. Separate them. Kris ge and I can deal with Jongin, just keep him far, far away from Kyungsoo. You guys will figure it out. Get close to him, befriend him, or whatever it is that the humans do. You're doing this so save him and our people." 

The duo agreed albeit still unsure, but if it was for their people, then they would. And for Kyungsoo. Poor boy didn't deserve to be used, especially by Jongin! "And don't forget, he's still D.O. to you," Kris reminded. "Don't make it so obvious what you're trying to do." 

After they left, Kris strode to Tao's side, watching him walk down the aisles as his fingertips slid across the binds of books. "[[What are you looking for?]]" he asked, amused by the younger's mumbling. "[[I need to look up the curse I put on Jongin. Any conditions, side effects. Are there any other ways of breaking the curse? Are there loopholes?]]" 

"[[Why are you so worried? Do you really think he could break it?]]" 

"[[Yes,]]" Tao growled, flipping through old textbooks. He really needed to refresh his memory. "[[Because Jongin has a human, ge. He has a human and he's the Jokester and he will use that human even if it means hurting the human. That is not how our people act and I was sent here to watch over him and make sure he doesn't go back. Do you know what he will do if he ever goes back, ge? Do you not remember what he used to do?]]"

"[[I do, Zitao. I remember. But... what if Jongin really likes Kyungsoo? What if this isn't a joke? What if he's planning on not using Kyungsoo at all?]]"

"[[You mean, what if he has actual feelings for Kyungsoo?]]"

"[[It's possible, am I wrong?]]" 

Tao pauses, but shakes his head after a few moments. He's not going to the lie, the thought has crossed his mind before. But is the Jokester even capable of having feelings for someone? After all... "He can't fall in love. He's the Jokester. It took us three years to contain him, I'm not going to let our efforts go to waste.]]

"[[I gave him that curse not to teach him a lesson, but to keep him from using his powers. He misuses them, you of all people should know that. We can't let him continue running around with that kind of dark magic. I did this for the best. And it was also orders from the King. The Jokester cannot love. He cannot break the curse.]]" 

Kris pressed his fingertips to his temples. "[[And what if you're wrong?]]" The latter snarled. What's with all the 'what if's? Does he not trust me? "[[One, he has some explaining to do. And two, I need to find a stronger curse.]]"

He disappeared around a shelf, picking up textbooks along the way. Kris laid his head against the bookcase, listening to Tao mumble to himself again, and sighed. "[[Funny how we all used to be friends before this happened.]]" Tao didn't answer.

Kris checked to make sure Tao was too engrossed in his books before leaving, closing the curtain behind him. He began whistling a tune, closing his eyes to send out  electrical signals. To his right, a snack slithered from a hole. It curled around his arm, hissing in his ear. "[[Dear cousin, please watch over our misguided friend and bring back to me what you have seen.]]"

It disappeared just as fast as it came, leaving Kris alone. He leaned across the counter to pull a photo album from a drawer. Sifting through the pages, he sighed, expression soft. "[[How could this have happened to us?]]"