I was playing '200%' by AKMU while finishing this up and then I imagined Daelo covering it together and now I must see it happen ;A;

A lot of you seemed to be interested in this, which is great since Daelo seems like a small pairing on AFF and in general, so I hope you enjoy!

Junhong had been saving up for a while, so when his 18^th birthday rolls around he decides he has enough to splurge on a little present for himself. He stops by the small music store on his way home from school, tucked away from the bright lights and loud sounds of the other shops.

The familiar bell rings when he walks in and the old man who owns the place lifts his head to greet him.

“You here to sample some more records, Junhong-ah?”

“Actually,” he says with a small grin, “I want to buy something.”

He points to one of the old record players behind the counter. Its edges are worn down and the brass horn discoloured from age. It’s not the prettiest one there, but it’s the one Junhong wants. It has character.

“Eh, that one? I’m sure I could give you one of the others at a small discount…”

“No! It’s okay, ajusshi, that’s the one I want,” he insists.

“Well,” the man says, carefully removing the player from the shelf and passing it to an employee to pack, “If it stops working, you can bring it back anytime.”

Junhong’s glad his house is close to the bus stop as he carries the heavy box into his house and up the stairs to his room. He leaves it on his bed as he rushes downstairs for dinner, and then to do his homework so his mom will stop sighing at him pointedly.

After his shower he returns to the box, pulling out the parts and reassembling the player, nodding with satisfaction when everything aligns as it’s supposed to. He pulls an old record from his small collection, courtesy of Yongguk. He carefully places the record down and lines the needle up. The music begins to play smoothly and Junhong jumps slightly in excitement.

Then, the record abruptly stops spinning, and smoke begins to swirl from the horn. Junhong panics, wondering if the gramophone had caught fire somehow. There is a poof, a bigger cloud of strangely coloured smoke and as it dissipates Junhong sees something that makes him wonder if the entire day had been a dream, if he was still sleeping and his alarm would soon wake him for school.

He stares, mouth hanging open, as a tiny thing appears in the clearing smoke, seemingly stuck at the lip of the horn on the gramophone, little arms gripping the edge as it groans and pulls itself out, unceremoniously dropping to the table.

It – a little person from the looks of it – stands, dusting off its harem pants and cropped vest before holding its arms out and yelling.

“Ta-dah!”

Junhong remains frozen.

The figure, about the size of a TV remote, drops his arms and crosses them, tapping one bare foot on the table impatiently.

“Okay, I admit, not one of my best entrances, but you could at least say ‘hi’, or ‘yo’, or ‘salutations’, or whatever it is you kids are saying now.”

When Junhong finally speaks, his voice comes out as a breath, fleeting and faint, “Holy …”

“Right. Well, ‘holy ’ to you too, now, let’s move this along shall we? You get three wishes! And only three wishes!”

Junhong stares some more at the tiny person, now seated at the edge of his desk and swinging his little legs back and forth and he leans back on his arms and regards Junhong.

“Wait, okay, let me back up. I’m a genie, and I grant wishes, and you get three. Great right?”

Junhong gapes.

The tiny person nods sagely.

“It’s great. So, what do you want kid?”

“Um-”

“Oh, the rules! I always forget,” it laughs sheepishly before speaking again, counting items off on tiny fingers, “You can’t wish people back from the dead, or wish for more wishes, or any time-bendy stuff. And no killing or maiming.”

Junhong swallows, finding his voice again, “Who- what are you?”

The miniature person rolls its eyes and groans, “Every time. I told you, I’m a genie! My name is Daehyun.”

Junhong reaches out with a single finger, still half convinced he’s dreaming, watching as Daehyun’s eyes narrow and follow him cautiously. He tickles the small figure’s exposed tummy, grinning when Daehyun giggles and squirms beneath his hand.

“Stop, stop- hey!” Daehyun scrambles away, fixing his hair and glaring at Junhong once his laughs subside, “I could turn you into a goat, you know! A goat.”

Junhong gets the sense this is supposed to be some great insult but he’s sort of stuck on the fact that there is a tiny person in his bedroom, and that tiny person had just come out of a gramophone, and that tiny person was apparently a genie. He shakes his head and rubs the bridge of his nose as his eyes fall shut.

“This isn’t real…”

Daehyun stands again walking around his desk before he hoists a pencil up and drives it into Junhong’s hand on the desk, deep enough to leave a little grey smudge on his hand. He flinches and pulls the hand back hastily.

“Ow! Oh my God, why would you do that?”

Daehyun drops the pencil with a huff, “See? It’s real. You’re awake.”

Junhong rubs at his skin with a frown before he comes to a decision.

“Okay, I’m going to sleep. And if you’re still here tomorrow, then…we’ll talk or something.”

Daehyun flops down onto the table and makes a little whiney noise, lying on his back and waving limbs around like he’s making a tiny snow angel, “Where am I supposed to go until then?”

Junhong ponders before grabbing a small cushion, one of the decorative ones his mother insisted on keeping on his bed, and places it on his desk, moving his books around so that the makeshift bed is hidden from the entry way to his room.

“You can rest here. If someone comes in, stay still and pretend to be a doll or something, okay?”

The little person grumbles, but floats up onto the cushion all the same, snapping his fingers and making a tiny lamp and book appear out of nowhere.

Junhong hopes he wakes up soon.

*          *          *

Junhong doesn’t awake to his alarm, or his mother’s voice.

Instead, he opens his eyes when he feels a tickle on his face to find a small, blurry face peering at him, waving hands in front of his eyeballs.

“Hiya!”

He jumps and the small person falls onto the pillow.

“That was uncalled for!”

Junhong groans, “I’m going insane…”

“You’re not!” it replies, huffing and dusting off its clothes, “This always happens, you humans are so frustrating!”

Junhong isn’t paying much attention to the genie, Daehyun he now remembers, and his ranting. He can hear his alarm go off and reaches over to turn it off, smiling slightly at the way Daehyun had squeaked in surprise at the loud sound.

He heads to the bathroom and gets ready for school, returning to find Daehyun rolling around on his pillow.

Junhong looks at him, sighing when the creature turns puppy eyes towards him.

“Just…don’t be seen okay? If you’re even really here. I’ll be back later today.”

When Junhong returns from a completely boring and run of the mill day at school to find Daehyun singing to the cactus he keeps on his windowsill, he decides he must not be seeing things after all.

Sitting on his bed after dinner, he gets to his homework while the little genie watches curiously.

“I can’t think of any wishes,” he says, frowning at a particularly confusing math problem, “Is there a time limit or something?”

The genie looks surprised, “You don’t…want anything? Humans usually have a list of things to pick from. But no, not as a far as I know. Take your time, if that’s what you want.”

Over the course of the next few days, Junhong learns a lot about Daehyun. He learns that Daehyun doesn’t really need to eat to live, but likes to anyway and so he always brings back some things from dinner, pieces of fruit or bits of rice dishes. He learns that Daehyun can conjure up pretty much anything when the genie snaps his fingers and a miniature recliner appears on Junhong’s desk, complete with an itty-bitty cup hole. He learns that Daehyun likes to talk and sing, and cries relatively easily when Junhong leaves one of the more angst ridden dramas on in the background.

Junhong doesn’t mind listening to Daehyun’s chatter, he’s a pretty quiet kid and he doesn’t have a whole lot of close friends since he spends most of his free time learning to skateboard and practicing his dancing and rapping.

That doesn’t mean he understands what Daehyun’s talking about 95% of the time.

“Himchan – he’s my fairy friend, although I use the term friend very liberally – makes fun of my outfits, but I’m a traditional guy, right? I like some authenticity, you know? Besides have you ever worn pants like this?”

Daehyun pauses expectantly and Junhong gets the sense he’s supposed to react somehow, even though he’s still trying to work through the fact that fairies are apparently a thing, too. He shakes his head no.

“They are SO COMFORTABLE!” Daehyun spreads his arms out and swirls his tiny hips around, like he’s playing with an invisible hula hoop, “I mean, I need a little room down there.”

Junhong stares pointedly.

“Shut up, you have to consider scale!”

*          *          *

Despite his apparent agelessness, Daehyun is innocent in an odd sort of way, his life untouched by the calamities of the human world Junhong occupied.

“When I’m in a vessel,” Daehyun responds to one of Junhong’s inquiries, “I live in the otherworld.”

“The otherworld?”

Daehyun nods, munching on a strawberry the size of a basketball in his hands.

“What’s the word…dimension! It’s another dimension. We all sort of live together in the same space. But there’s not always other magicals around, and when someone triggers your vessel you just pop into the human world. I’m never there for long.”

Daehyun looks sad as he says this and Junhong feels guilty.

“Do you hate it here?”

Daehyun ponders this for a bit, face in a thoughtful pout as he drops the uneaten green leaf of the strawberry on his head like a hat.

“Only because I never get to do anything fun. I just get transported all over the place, constantly. I’m hardly ever at home, but I never get to enjoy where I am either,” Daehyun perks up and grins suddenly, “I like you, though. And I like these…what are they again? Grassberries?”

*          *          *

Junhong begins to gets the sense that Daehyun isn’t at all concerned with the wishes he hasn’t made yet.

At least, he isn’t opposed to the idea of staying in Junhong’s world a little longer. One Friday afternoon, Junhong is lazing around on his bed, the TV tuned to some variety show as Daehyun sits on his back and watches with him.

Junhong feels a slight tickle and then Daehyun is standing in front of him, image blurry as Junhong lifts his head and his eyes focus on the tiny figure.

“Hey, Junhongie, can we go out? Can I see the city? I haven’t seen a city properly in centuries!”

“Really?”

Junhong watches as Daehyun runs to the window sill, standing by his cactus and staring out the window. Junhong’s street is pretty quiet, his family is pretty well off and they live in a reasonably sized single home in a little suburban pocket.

“People never let me out much,” the genie continues wistfully, “I always just grant their wishes and leave.”

Junhong’s heart clenches as he thinks of what a lonely life it must be, and he nods.

“Okay, we can go out. But how will you see anything if you’re hiding in my pocket? I can’t just let you sit on my shoulder.”

“Oh! It’s okay, I can become bigger! Like you!”

Daehyun closes his eyes and then there is another cloud of purple smoke. When the smoke clears, the genie is standing in the center of Junhong’s room, suddenly in full human size. Junhong stands in shock, staring at the boy still wearing his old world style clothing.

He’s not very big even like this, shorter than Junhong with a petite figure and Junhong thinks he could very easily scoop the genie into his arms. Physically, he can’t be too much older than Junhong himself, if he’s older at all.

Daehyun’s skin is a brilliant shade of gold up close, eyes large and charming with dark lashes, and his lips perfectly pink and plush. There’s even a little mole beneath one of his eyes that he’d been unable to see before. The genie is glowing from the happiness at being able to leave the room and beaming up at Junhong.

“Wow…” Junhong breathes.

Looking down at himself, Daehyun pouts slightly, “Maybe I should wear something else? People will probably stare…”

“People will definitely stare…”

Junhong snaps out of his admiration when there’s another poof and Daehyun appears dressed in black skinnies and a jean jacket, a hat with a cute bandana bow on his head. There are a pair of Jordan’s on his feet that Junhong would probably envy any other time, but he’s not so focused on shoes at the moment.

“I saw this on some dancing kid on TV. It’ll do, right?” Daehyun bounces up to him, standing on tiptoes as he blinks cutely, “How do I look, Junhongie?”

Junhong swallows.

“Good, it’s- good.”

“Great!” The genie grabs his hand and pulls him out of the room, “Let’s go then!”

When they get downstairs, Junhong’s mom is just returning from work.

“Oh,” she says, smiling at the two boys as she looks to Junhong for an explanation, “Hello, there.”

“Ah, mom, this is Daehyun,” Junhong introduces, hoping she won’t have too many questions for him.

“Hello, Daehyun-ssi. It’s nice to meet you. Why haven’t I heard about you before?”

“Oh, Junhong and I just met!”

“Ah, I see,” she nods, “Where did you live before?”

“A gramophone!”

Junhong laughs nervously, “He’s kidding. He just…really likes music, practically lives it, get it? He’s from…Busan.”

“Oh, how lovely,” his mother responds with a charmed smile, “Well, I hope you’re settling in nicely. Don’t be too late, alright, Junhongie?”

Daehyun sticks to Junhong’s side as they walk, sometimes wrapping both his arms around one of Junhong’s and leaning into him. It’s like a date, Junhong thinks, and he finds himself liking that idea more and more. Daehyun eyes are wide as he takes in the flashing billboards and bright lights of the city, cars and motorcycles zooming by and people fiddling with their phones.

“What strange magic is this?”

Junhong grins at the wonder in the other’s voice, tugging him closer when the streets become more crowded and people swarm the sidewalks. He answers all of Daehyun’s questions patiently, feeling like a hyung for once in his life. As he turns his head and sees the top of Daehyun’s hat, feels the way his smaller hands are holding him tightly, he thinks he’s not so far off.

He can’t decide if what he’s experiencing is protectiveness or infatuation, or some combination of both, but he wants to keep Daehyun near him and he accepts the feeling with open arms.

“So many people, all in one place…is it like this everywhere?”

“No,” Junhong answers, “Some places have much smaller populations. There are urban places like this, and more rural places where the land is much more natural and there aren’t many people or buildings.”

Junhong still had quite a bit of money left over from his scrimping and he decides to treat them both to some food. He picks a quaint little family run restaurant and orders for both himself and the genie while the other looks around at the other people and the chefs bustling about in the open kitchen. After the meal, Junhong gets them both some ice-cream and they sit on a park bench as they enjoy the treats.

“Mmm,” Daehyun at his cone of birthday cake flavoured ice-cream, “This is amazing, Junhongie! Do humans eat like this all the time?”

“Well,” he grins, “They shouldn’t. But it’s kinda hard not to.”

The genie reaches out suddenly, swiping at a spot just below Junhong’s lip and then the finger into his mouth.

Daehyun makes a pleased noise while Junhong tries to remind himself that this is not Daehyun’s way of flirting with him, Daehyun probably doesn’t even know what flirting is.

“I like this flavour, too! Is that the ice-cream or Junhongie?”

*          *          *

About three weeks into Daehyun’s appearance, Junhong sees a poster for auditions into one of the top entertainment companies in Seoul. He runs home and immediately messages Jongup, and then Yongguk, who promises to come over on the weekend and help him prepare.

He’s sifting through songs, trying to pick one to cover and wondering if he should write his own rap when Daehyun appears from the little house he’d conjured up by Junhong’s bed.

“What do you look so nervous about?” the genie asks, floating up to sit cross-legged on Junhong’s desk.

“I’m gonna audition for a company in Seoul. I haven’t really performed in front of anyone before, so…I don’t know. I’m nervous. What if I pick the wrong song? Or what if I mess up? Or what if I just in general?”

The genie floats up to latch onto one of Junhong’s flailing hands, hugging it in a comforting gesture as he speaks, “I’m sure you’ll do great, Junhong.”

As the genie hops back down to the desk, Junhong gets an idea.

“I know what I want.”

Daehyun looks up at him, blinking cutely, “Hmm?”

“I’m wishing that I’ll pass the audition.”

“Junhongie,” Daehyun bites his lip, “Are you sure? I mean, I don’t think you need to do that…”

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted!” Junhong pleads, dropping his head onto the desk, so he’s more or less looking Daehyun in the eyes, “I want to pass my audition, please.”

Daehyun sighs, nodding quickly, “Okay.”

Junhong blinks, “Really, is it done?”

“Yes, yes, it’s done!” The genie waves him off then, claiming something about needing to energize and slips back into his little house.

*          *          *

“Daehyun!”

Junhong bursts into the room, the house thankfully empty. Daehyun is sitting, full-sized – a state he was in more often now – on his bed, reading a magazine.

Junhong plops down beside the genie and grabs his hands without thinking.

“I passed! I passed the auditions! I’m moving to Seoul after I graduate, assuming my parents agree, but…oh, man, thank you Daehyun, thank you!”

He hugs the genie and while Daehyun is stiff at first, he relaxes in Junhong’s arms, hugging him back as he clears his throat.

“You, um,” the genie begins sheepishly, mumbling into Junhong’s neck, “You still have three wishes left.”

Junhong pulls back, confused, “What? But I thought-”

“I didn’t want you to waste it,” Daehyun explains hastily, letting go of Junhong and wringing his hands with nervousness, “I knew you could do it on your own and you did! I figured if you got unlucky I could step in then. Remedy things. But now I don’t have to!”

Junhong pauses to think and his face slowly morphs into a wide grin, “So, I got in…on my own? Because I was good, I was good enough?”

Daehyun nods, eyes disappearing as he smiles at Junhong, “You did, Junhongie.”

Junhong laughs in disbelief, suddenly about a thousand times happier.

“But wait, can you just pick and choose what wishes to grant then?”

“Well, not entirely,” Daehyun sighs, “You have to word it exactly right, so that wishes don’t get granted accidently when you’re talking about them. You said, I’m wishing and I want instead of I wish.”

“Huh, tricky.”

Daehyun grins, “Aren’t you glad, though?”

“Yeah,” Junhong leans his forehead against the smaller figure’s shoulder, “I am.”

*          *          *

By the time nearly two months has passed, Junhong still hasn’t used up any of this three wishes.

“Not that I’m pushing you,” Daehyun says, “but it’s kind of weird. Kids your age especially usually want tons of things.”

If he’s honest with himself he isn’t even trying to think of things he might want to wish for anymore. That doesn’t mean there aren’t things he wants, though.

“Can I ask you for something?”

Daehyun nods at him, absentminded as he watches the YouTube playlist Junhong’s left on for him with a soft smile on his face. He likes cats.

Ever since passing his audition, Junhong feels a little more confident. Like maybe he should go for what he wants more often, should take chances. He clears his throat and takes a deep breath.

“A kiss. From you. Um, I’d like to kiss you. If I can?”

“Oh,” Daehyun turns to him and blinks, brushing a lock of hair behind one of his adorably large ears. Junhong thinks he suddenly looks very human.

“Um, I’ve never done that…”

“Granted someone a kiss as a wish?”

“No, well, yes, but I’ve never,” Daehyun’s voice drops to a whisper here and Junhong has to strain to hear it, “kissed anyone.”

“Really?” Junhong is shocked, “Even I kissed that girl I had a crush on in eighth grade…I mean, it wasn’t very good, and then she moved away, but…”

“Well, it’s not like I’ve had much chance!”

The genie fidgets, cheeks pink with embarrassment.

“You don’t have to explain,” Junhong grins. There is something about Daehyun that makes him want to be bold, to be brave, “So do you want to?”

When Daehyun looks at him without blinking for a full ten seconds, Junhong gets ready to find some way to eat his words, heat creeping up his neck.

“Okay.”

Junhong blinks, “What? Really?”

The genie nods, dropping his gaze and shrugging, “If you want to kiss me, then I’ll let you kiss me. I’m…curious.”

Daehyun is sitting cross-legged on Junhong’s bed, but uncrosses them when Junhong shuffles closer and kneels between them.

Junhong cups the genie’s face, tilting his head slightly until their lips are pressed together. He pulls back after a few seconds, watching Daehyun’s face. The genie’s eyes are still closed, but they open slowly and his cheeks bloom pink.

“That- that was nice. Is that how it always goes?”

“Well, it can get more intense…” Junhong trails off.

“How?”

Junhong hesitates but as Daehyun tilts his head up and leans in again, looking at him with expectant eyes, he throws caution to the wind and meets him halfway.

Junhong wonders if the spark he feels is Daehyun’s magic or if Daehyun’s lips really are just that much of a dream, soft and pliant against his as he deepens the contact. He lets his larger hands cup Daehyun’s cheeks, feeling the genie’s own come up and settle over them as they kiss.

Junhong already misses the softness against his mouth when he pulls back, the warmth emanating from Daehyun and the sweetness of his taste. When he opens his eyes, one of Daehyun’s hands is gently pressed to his mouth, the other clenched on the sheets.

“You know,” Daehyun begins softly, “I always wondered what it was that made humans so crazy for one another, what made them wish for love, for the attentions of another so much. But…if this is what it’s like…I think I understand now.”

*          *          *

Junhong doesn’t know what he’s doing with Daehyun.

The genie spends more time human-sized now, when Junhong’s parents are out. They go out when Junhong has free time, watch TV together. They lounge together on Junhong’s bed or floor, talking as Junhong learns about Daehyun’s world and his life and Daehyun learns about Junhong’s.

Sometimes they kiss.

He doesn’t think he can call this ‘dating’, it’s not a concept Daehyun would understand and they can’t even be sure how much longer the genie will even be around.

It’s a Saturday and Junhong’s parents are out for dinner with friends. He sits with Daehyun on his bed as they share a set of ear buds and Junhong’s iPhone. The genie had taken a liking to the smooth hip-hop Junhong was partial to.

“I’m sorry I can’t think of anything,” He says, “I know you can’t leave until I do.”

Daehyun shakes his head and cuddles against his shoulder, the sweet scent that seems to always hang around him clinging to Junhong now, too.

“It’s okay. Really, I like it here with Junhongie. You treat me like a person, like an actual being with feelings. No other human has ever done that for me. So,” Daehyun hesitates here, but then forges on, “I want to stay but I don’t know how long I can. I’ve never been with one human for this long before.”

Junhong considers this, a happy feeling in his chest. It’s then that an idea comes to him.

“What if…what if you could be free? Like, not stuck to a vessel or a person anymore? Unless you wanted to be?”

Daehyun doesn’t say anything to this, but he shifts and his body seems to tense. Junhong turns to him curiously.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just-”

“Hey! Can I wish for your freedom?” Junhong asks excitedly, turning to face Daehyun fully, the ear bud falling out of place.

Daehyun shakes his head quickly, but Junhong can see the genie is hiding something. He begs and cajoles until Daehyun sighs and finally begins speaking.

“If you wish to grant me freedom,” Daehyun hesitates, looking at Junhong uncertainly before shaking his head, “No. No, I can’t let you do it.”

“Tell me! I don’t want anything else, I told you. Nothing I can wish for anyway, nothing I want to achieve like that.”

“Come on, money? A- A vacation? Anything…”

Junhong frowns, his gaze hardening slightly, “Daehyun, tell me.”

Daehyun sighs, closing his eyes briefly before he looks back up at him.

“If you wish me free, you have to use up all three of your wishes and you may never be granted another wish again.”

*          *          *

Junhong had made up his mind; he was going to set Daehyun free.

It hadn’t been a hard decision to come to. Junhong had lived perfectly fine without having magic in his life, and it’s not like other people didn’t live without a genie’s help every day.

But Daehyun hadn’t ever lived outside of the confines of his lifelong duty to cater to humans and their wishes. It just wasn’t fair. The genie had told him that the suggestion to be set free had to come from a human, if the genie brought it up the wish wouldn't work. Junhong had been the only one to ever suggest it to Daehyun, and he didn't know how much longer it would be before the genie ever had another chance to be free. 

Daehyun had protested weakly, “What if your family needs money suddenly? What if someone gets sick? Or, or what if-”

“Daehyun, please, let me do this for you,” he’d interrupted, confused, “Why wouldn’t you want freedom? I know you hate being shuttled around, never having the choice to be where you want.”

Daehyun had flopped down onto his back on the bed beside Junhong, still for a moment before rolling onto his side and curling into his larger body.

“I’m scared,” Daehyun’s voice is a whisper, “I’ve never met a free genie, I don’t know what will happen, where I’ll go…”

Junhong hadn’t thought about that.

Where would Daehyun go? Would he ever see him again?

If Junhong wanted to be selfish, he could keep Daehyun around forever, theoretically.

“Daehyun,” Junhong reaches out to brush away a lock of hair from Daehyun’s face, “You’re amazing. You’re fun and beautiful. And sweet. And kind. And you should be able to go where you want and do what you want. And if I can help you do that, then I want to. But not until you want to. So…if you’re ever ready, just say the word.”

*          *          *

Daehyun is taciturn for the next few days.

Junhong knows he wants to go back to the otherworld, to ask fellow magicals for advice, but he’s chained to Junhong for the time being and Junhong thinks part of the problem is that Daehyun doesn’t mind that so much.

Finally, once a week has nearly passed, he comes up to Junhong and nods.

“Okay. I want to do it.”

Junhong smiles softly, subdued because he’s as happy as he is sad.

Daehyun reaches out to clasp his hands, “But I want to spend as much time with you as I can first. I want to take funny pictures and- and have a hamburger. And I want to visit the beach and have more ice-cream and… I want to kiss you lots, too.”

So they do.

Junhong spends his next three weekends taking Daehyun everywhere within a reasonable distance. They visit the beach and spend a day playing in the ocean and sand, eating street food. They walk around the city some more, ducking into a photo booth to take rolls of pictures together. They watch movies that Daehyun sneaks them into, and have lots of ice-cream.

Lots of kisses, too.

When they’ve exhausted pretty much everything worth doing, Daehyun sits in front of Junhong and smiles sadly.

“I guess this is it, Junhongie. Are you sure there’s nothing you want?”

Junhong squares his shoulders, determined. This is what he wants.

He leans forward and presses his lips to Daehyun’s forehead and it’s the genie that tilts his head up to catch Junhong’s lips as he pulls back.

“Daehyun,” Junhong holds the genie’s hands in his. He refuses to let the tears he can feel coming make it to his eyes and instead looks right into Daehyun’s. There is liquid welling up in the brown orbs as he shakes his head at Junhong. But even with his protests, there is a disbelieving hope on his face and Junhong wonders how anyone could have caged someone so beautiful.

He meets the gaze meaningfully, waiting.

Daehyun sighs slowly.

And nods once.

“I wish you free.”

1 year later

Junhong smiles politely at his landlord as the older man helps him bring in his things and then leaves him to his new apartment in Seoul.

It’s nothing amazing, a basic two bedroom with a small kitchenette, a decent bathroom, and a tiny balcony. He goes about setting his things up in the empty bedroom, not that he’d brought much to begin with.

As he unpacks the final box he feels tightness in his throat and a slight burning behind his eyes.

The gramophone is carefully tucked away among packing peanuts and newspaper. Junhong pulls it out and sets it up on the small table he’d brought, in the brightest corner of his room. He hasn’t used it since that day. He wonders if it might bring him back, but knows it’s wishful thinking.

He jumps when he hears a sound.

His new roommate, he figures, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand hastily. His landlord had described the man as young and kind, but a tad eccentric. Junhong doesn’t think it’ll be a problem. He’s has his fair share of eccentricities, after all.

He steps out into the common area, ready to introduce himself when his words falter.

There is a familiar smile waiting for him there.

“Junhongie,” Daehyun whispers, “Ta-dah!”

(I almost cried writing this, wtf it was supposed to be cute and funny.)

Thanks for reading!