Author's note: so here we go. First chapter.

Two warnings. First, english isn't my first language and I have problems with keeping the verb tenses consistent but I'll try my best. Second, minor ocs will show up here and there as the plot demands but they'll be small roles and most won't even be named.

Alright then, let's go.

Normally there is very little that can distract Daesung from his studies.

The room he’s currently occupying is longer than it is wide, walls packed with shelves, those shelves packed with all manner of boxes in all manner of sizes and colours and materials; dust lingers on most surfaces, including the workbench he’s sitting at, the book laying open on top of it. At first he’d been very meticulous about trying to keep everything clean but soon found it to be an impossible task.

Maybe dust is just magically attracted to old things, old places, Daesung thinks, eyes drifting once more from the written word to gaze at the shelves. He couldn’t touch most of the materials yet - despite his master being a very hands on and practical woman she wasn’t sure if he’d be capable of handling the most magical aspects of this quite yet.

For now he works on the wood, practicing and studying the runes necessary, not even getting to start training the carving aspect of it yet. It has to be done by hand as much as possible since his own magic can interfere with the process. He doesn’t mind, however, he’d rather do it right – after all, getting it wrong could mean someone ended up hurt.

“Daesung!”

He jumps, elbow hitting the table and making him yelp before his slightly wide eyes turn to find his master peeking inside the room, one eyebrow sharply raised and making his cheeks automatically redden. She sighs at him, hands moving to her hips, but there’s more fondness than disappointment in her tone.

“Go on,” her head nods slightly towards the door. “You’re not focusing on anything today, might as well get going.”

He can feel his face getting even warmer as he apologizes repeatedly,  moves to the little door on the back corner of the room to place the book back inside his master’s office, apologizes once more while grabbing his jacket and heading for the store front.  She rolls her eyes and punches him in the shoulder playfully, finally getting a smile out of him before shooing him off.

The front is as seemingly-unorganized-to-the-untrained-eye-while-actually-being-quite-organized-and-orderly as the back rooms but much less dusty and the corners of his smile turn fond as he leaves. The cold hits him almost immediately once he’s past the doorway but Daesung merely pulls the jacket closer around him and starts walking.

There aren’t a lot of people in Diagon Alley at this time of the year, in between the start of the new school year and All Hallows’ Eve. Not early enough for the flurry of students making their purchases, most eager to return to Hogwarts, and not late enough for most people to start preparing the festivities.

The quiet suits him just fine and the cool air breezing pass his neck, making him shiver every once in a while, feels almost pleasant, a sharp reminder of times spent fighting with other students in the grounds, snowballs thrown everywhere. Remembering Hogwarts reminds him of where he’s going and why he’s going there and a happy smile blossom on his face as he picks up the pace and tries not to seem too excited.

An impatient tapping catches his attention once he enters the tea store, snapping his thoughts from the warmth that had suddenly surrounded him, contrasting with the cold outside. He smiles apologetically as the floating quill taps again on the clipboard-like-parchment and impatiently moves in a gesture that seems almost rude, indicating he should go in and take his seat.

There are only three people inside Rosa Lee Teabag, most people preferring to go to The Leaky Cauldron even during the low season. There’s one wizard sitting near the front, staring vaguely at his tea as if it’ll provide him with some sort of universe altering answer, an older witch whom he recognizes as a regular sitting only a table away from him, and at the other end-

Youngbae’s already looking at him, smiling and waving a hand and he practically skips over, his own smile wide and eyes small as he goes in for a sort of tackle hug, forcing a laugh out of his friend. They stand like that for a minute, not sitting but not quite standing, clutching each other close before two strong hands pat him strongly on the back.

Daesung steps away, still smiling in genuine affection, before sitting down on the other side of the table and waiting for his company to do the same. He peers at him once they’re both seated, not self-conscious or embarrassed about it. Youngbae looks… pale, exhausted. But then, he usually does these days.

He’s not entirely sure what healer training consists of but it may as well be battling dragons without even a wand for how tired his friend has been looking for the past few months. Sure, he hadn’t thought it would be an easy ride but this seems a bit too much. Still, Youngbae looks to be in a good enough mood although whether that is due to his studying going well or seeing Daesung, he can’t say.

They haven’t had much time to hang out since graduating Hogwarts and starting their respective apprenticeships but neither of them had been willing to let their friendship slowly grow distant so, besides writing to each other on a regular basis, they make the effort to hang out at least once a month. Usually it ends up happening more frequently than that but both of them have been getting progressively busier lately.

“Well?” his thoughts snap back to the present at the inquiring sound of his best friend’s voice. Shaking his head once he realizes Daesung had drifted off somewhere he laughs, genuine affection making their expressions mirrors of each other as he spreads his arms out. “How are you? How’s the apprenticeship going?”

“Slow!” his answer’s accompanied by a shrug and a small laugh that grows louder once he feels a hand drifting towards him, ruffling his hair. Youngbae always had, if not known what to say, at least known how to provide comfort to those that needed it. He’s still smiling at Daesung when his hand retreats, shaking his head after a second.

“You’re not slow. You’re thorough,” it’s the same thing he used to say back during their school days. They hadn’t been in the same year but they’d been in the same house and Daesung feels he owes him a lot for helping him to overcome his initial crippling shyness. He wishes he’d had more opportunities to return the favour but he already knows what the answer would be if he voiced these thoughts – you’ve done enough.

So he keeps smiling instead, leaning backwards a little when the tea tray comes sailing to them haphazardly. The serving always reminds him a little of the Mad Hatter in that Alice In Wonderland movie he saw when he was younger, moving sharply from one side to the other, changing directions midway and veering dangerously close, almost spilling everything and yet managing to never actually hurt anyone.

“You?”

“Me?” they hadn’t needed to specify their orders, since they were regulars and always had the same thing. Steam’s rising slowly from their cups, despite the store being warm, and Daesung’s eyes flicker to the windows, gazing outside for a second before settling on his friend again. His hand reaches for a biscuit.

“You seem tired.”

A silence settles between them but it’s not strained or uncomfortable. He nibbles on the biscuit, watches Youngbae take a sip of his tea before he answers. “I guess I do seem tired lately, huh?” His smile’s stretched, not in falseness but in exhaustion and Daesung bites the question threatening to slip out. No, of course he’s not sleeping enough. “Healer training’s rough, Daesung.”

His fingers flinch as they touch the cup before slowly surrounding it, lettings the warmth spread through them. He hadn’t realized they’d been so cold, it’s not something he was ever very prone to noticing when he was excited. A memory of Youngbae waiting in the common room during winter to make sure Daesung remembered to take his cloak flickers across his mind.

“We had a couple of observations during the last month,” his tone of voice is steady, calm, but there’s something slightly off that makes his back straighten, makes him pay closer attention. Silence falls between them again however, and he lets his smile shine through, shoving his wariness away for a second.

“So soon? That’s great, Youngbae!” his own apprenticeship was going to be a very long affair, lasting years, possibly decades, and he’s so happy for his friend he practically vibrates on his chair, making Youngbae laugh again and shake his head slightly.

“We didn’t get to do anything much, we just watched,” he explains, taking another sip out of his tea – and then a longer one right afterwards. “Most of them were okay. We’re not even close to ready to doing it on our own. But some of them…” his voice trails off, eyes shifting from his face to the table to outside like his own had done minutes before. Daesung waits patiently.

 “I want to be able to help,” the wavering, slightly shaken undertone from before has been mostly replaced by a determined, focused resolution and his eyes shine brightly when he turns them to face him again. Nothing is said for almost a full minute as Daesung thinks, drinking his tea quietly.

Youngbae had always worked very, very hard, not only for himself but for others too and there is not a single shred of doubt that he’d give this his all and he’d succeed. He doesn’t want to ask what he’d seen to make him act like this, it seems to be too raw still, but whatever it had been it also seems to be serving as motivation. Daesung didn’t notice he had stopped smiling until his lips turn up again, heart growing with affection for and faith in his friend.

“You’ll do great, Youngbae.”