# THE AWAKENING CHAPTER V.

{ THE hurtful truth }

“So, what was your name again?”

Junhong almost jumped in surprise, for the other’s presence had become only a distant memory. They had been sitting on his leather couch in a serene silence for a while — he had eventually lost track of time, skimming through his telekinesis manual, and the familiar sprawled beside him  with his legs pressed firmly against his had completely left his mind.

His eyes fluttered towards him.

    “Junhong.” He answered flatly. “Junhong Smith. And y—”

    “Smith, huh?” The boy cut him before he could finish, eyebrows shooting impossibly high.

    “Yes, my father is Irish.”

    “Really, now.”

Silence fell back on the room, as the panther seemed to thoroughly consider this new piece of information. His expression passed through several states, going from surprise to mockery, to doubt and mistrust, at such an unbelievable speed that they all seemed to blend together. Junhong narrowed his eyes, upset — he was pretty sure he still knew his name, and the other’s disbelief made him frustrated beyond explanation; yet he was well aware that the man wasn’t in his right mind because of his aching leg, and that it could be enough of a reason for his sudden feverish behaviour.

Finally, the familiar’s grimace morphed into a sly smile of acceptance, and his gaze softened.

    “Very well, Junhong. I’m Youngjae.”

    “Nice to meet you.”

Youngjae smiled at him, lids fluttering close in leisure blinks, and the simple move turned his grin a dozen times more sensual, though the wizard couldn’t know if he was being flirtatious on purpose or if the slow acts were part of his feline instincts. And perhaps was it just because the familiar was in pain, as the sweat running down his temple seemed to suggest. He looked away.

    “The potion should be ready by now. Let’s get you patched up and go to bed.” He saw the other tilt his head, eyes wide in wonder. “By ‘go to bed’, I meant I go to my bed, and you sleep on the couch.”

    Youngjae huffed. “How about making me sleep in the gutter while we’re at it?”

    “Don’t over do it.” Junhong muttered. A light headache was pumping its way through his head, and he felt the desperate need to rest. “If you want to sleep under the stars, suit yourself, but you won’t get my bed. Discussion’s over.”

    “I’m not sleeping on the couch. Discussion, restart!” He clasped his hands together like a film’s clapboard, eyes shining with mischief, and the wizard couldn’t help the look of utter exasperation settling in his features.

    “I hope you realise you’re being a complete .” The retort earned him a wide smile, the other’s tail wiggling beside him. “What is it that you want, exactly?”

    “Your king-size bed.” Youngjae shrugged nonchalantly, though still smiling. “You know what? I’m pretty sure the bear trap was set for you in these woods. You were supposed to die through horrible sufferings, but I took the shot for you. You could consider this pay back and quit whining.”

Junhong wasn’t too sure how to react, though the thought that maybe the other was having a delirium sat heavier on his mind. However, he couldn’t help but be curious about the mental process that led Youngjae to such conclusions.

    “Why would anyone set a bear trap for me, in woods I only visit once a month?” His eyes narrowed anew.

    “Secret.” The panther chirped. “Can’t tell.”

    “You’re just going nuts.”

    The addressee drew his ears back in offence, his posture turning aggressive. “No, I’m not.”

They stayed immobile for a long while, staring into each other’s pupils as though they were both looking for something. But Youngjae ended up dozing off, the sweat slithering down his face forming tiny currents; and his lips parted open, his breathing became heavier. Junhong reached out to the other’s bangs off his forehead, feeling cruelly powerless.

    “Fine, you get the bed.” He finally said, his voice kept a whisper as he was afraid to startle the panther if it had been any louder. However, he didn’t miss the latter’s feeble grin. “Here, let me help you.”

Junhong carried the familiar to his bed, helped him out of his clothes, fed him some of the newly bred potion and applied more cream on his wound. He grew weary in the process, as he couldn’t shake the fear of waking up to a dead person in his bed, and the thought stayed with him even after he lay on the couch and closed his lids. It stayed with him the whole night for that matter, as he woke up several times from his turning and tossing.

He was jerked awake another time in the early morning, and almost panicked when he realised the feline’s muzzle was merely three inches away from him. The latter was buffeting in his ear, firing warm puffs of air against his face that sent chills run through his every bone; needless to precise the feeling was terribly disagreeable and unwelcome.

    “Why did you panther back?” Junhong slurred, voice raspy as each new syllable hurt his dry throat more than the precedent. Youngjae gave him a pointed look. “I know you can’t answer, just turn back into your human form.”

The panther sat on his back legs, staring into Junhong’s sleepy eyes. If he had been at full capability, he would have been able to recognise what kind of sound the animal was making, but it passed past him as the morning blur lingered on his mind.

    “Never mind, leave me alone.”

With this announcement, Junhong turned around, showing his back to the creature, and hoped it would be enough to dismiss him. However, he felt something huge press against his shoulder blades, efficiently balancing him back and forth, and claws followed promptly, applying just enough pressure for the scratch to be unpleasant yet still harmless. He grunted.

    “Fine!” Junhong kicked a cushion in the general direction of his window for good measure, then threw his legs off the couch and sat up lazily. He glared at the panther for some time, trying to find any visible reason that made him wake him up so early but found none — the feline eventually let out a low rumble in its impatience, and Junhong got up. He staggered toward the kitchen, the animal on his heels, and thought to himself it was probably one of the worst morning he had ever lived.

    “Meat is nice, but how would you feel about having corn flakes this morning? ‘Don’t feel like cooking.” Junhong grumbled, head whole in his fridge.

The big cat stumped one of his paw on the ground to catch the wizard’s attention, and once he was sure he had it, pointed his muzzle toward the cooking pot containing the healing potion. His eyes turned back to Junhong, and as to ensure he understood, he then proceeded to his chops in an exaggerated manner.

The wizard lazily took the heavy pot off the stove and set it on the ground, then stood back to let the other drink. He noticed the wound on his legs, which still looked fresh and nowhere near any form of cicatrisation even though it had already been three days since he rescued him. Junhong felt a pang of guilt tug at his chest — if he hadn’t been so incompetent, maybe the familiar would have already been saved.

The latter drank more than half of the potion, loud gulps echoing through the quiet flat, before taking a step back and sending a warning look toward Junhong.
He felt it again, maybe even more powerfully than the last time, as they were so close to each other — he felt the crash of foreign magic against his skin, the uneasiness and impression of being so ridiculously small compared to the energy he was facing. It only lasted some seconds, and Junhong couldn’t decide if it was too short or too long.

Youngjae was sitting on the floor tiles, curled on himself with his forehead resting on his knees, and didn’t bother looking up as Junhong kneeled beside him.

    “Are you—” He cut himself off — no, the familiar was most probably not all right, and this was a terrible thing to ask.

Junhong stayed beside him long enough to lose track of time, quietly focused on the man. He wondered, with guilt — like his heart was being pinched, why wasn’t his magic efficient. Why was he always such an incapable, and what could have he done differently in the past few days to avoid such misfortune. However, as the other let out a sharp breath, pregnant with pain and sorrow, and raised his head to let it rest behind him, the wizard remembered it wasn’t all about him.

    “I am going to die.”

Youngjae’s voice was so strained that Junhong couldn’t recognise it. The declaration shook something at his core; he felt the violent, overwhelming need to deny it, but the other boy glared at him through the corner of his half-closed eyes, and the look was enough to make him efficiently swallow back whatever he was about to say.

    He hesitated an instant, maybe a minute, before asking, “Why isn’t the potion working? Is it because we didn’t use Lotus?”

    Youngjae tried to grin. “I guess I have under-rated the strength of this curse. Ah, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

    “I will take you to my friend’s. His familiar — he’s just like you. We will find a way.”

He was sure Jongup would find a solution — Jongup always had solutions. And if not him, all of the books that had been sitting on the library’s shelves for a milestone, or Daehyun, who was after all the counterpart of the panther, would make it better. Everything would come undone nicely, he hoped.

Without letting him any room for a defeatist comment, the wizard rose to his feet and walked towards his room, picked up the clothes they left aside the day before, and came back to the panther. He sat half passed out against the kitchen’s counter, as though it was the only thing still keeping him remotely composed. Junhong got down on his knees anew, and did his best to offer the other a reassuring smile as he passed his limbs through the T-Shirt’s openings.

As for the shorts, Junhong managed to slide them up to about half the other’s thighs, but since the familiar was still resting on the floor, he couldn’t advance further. He tried to tell Youngjae without words, with a slight of thumbs on skin, and the latter obediently passed both of his arms against the taller man’s shoulders. Junhong used the countertop as leverage, one hand pressing against the panther’s back to hold him tight while lifting him, and managed to pull him up with a hint of relief. Youngjae almost fell back, but the wizard had him pinned safely between the furniture and his own body.

Junhong slid the fabric up all the way to the other’s waist, trapping the base of his tail under the waistband, and the other let out a whimper of discomfort in response.

    “Could you actually…” Youngjae began to inquire hesitantly. “Cut a hole through the thing? My tail hurts when it’s compressed that way.”

    “If we don’t hide it, people might see. It’s not like humans could see hybrids everyday here…” He did his best to sound apologetic.

    “Humans can see their counterparts get shot in the face and still walk away like nothing happened. A cat tail has literally no on them.”

Junhong took a moment to consider — the statement was fairly arguable, but the familiar still had a point. At worse, people would think he was a fanatic or a weirdo.

By chance, his scissors weren’t too far away, so the wizard could grab them off their drawer without releasing the heavy body in his arms.

    “All right.” He offered him a crooked smile. “But once we’re out the car, just let it fall behind you, like it’s a piece of fabric or something. Don’t wave it around.”

    “I don’t ‘wave my tail around’.” Youngjae sounded offended. “It’s a part of me. How would you feel if I was asking you not to move your arms, to act as if they had been glued to your shoulders?”

    “People have arms, but it’s unlikely to be born with a frikking tail.”

    “Oh I’m so sorry, did I hurt your human-way of perceiving normality?” He snickered lowly.

Junhong simply rolled his eyes, not wanting to start an argument as sterile as that one was, and turned the feline around to cut through his shorts. He tried to pass the tail through the tiny hole he had cut once, twice, and had to enlarge it before meeting any success.

He helped Youngjae hop up the counter and made him sat on it while he got ready — nothing fancy, Junhong actually dressed in no time, only gathering keys, phone, and a bottle of healing potion in his backpack, but by the time he came back in the kitchen, the panther had lost all sign of consciousness.

The wizard carried him all the way to his car, and even though his boyish form was way lighter than the animal’s, he hadn’t taken any strengthener in a while and started feeling its lack as soon as he passed his apartment’s door.  

Junhong first sat the familiar on the back seat, then made him lay down carefully. He sent a quick text to Jongup in order to inform him of his upcoming arrival (as well as some crucial details he hadn’t mentioned until then), and with a last glance in the rearview mirror to check on Youngjae, started the engine.

Youngjae still hadn’t woken by the time Junhong pulled over the library’s gigantic wooden doors. He checked their surroundings before helping him out, cautiously, and held him by the waist as he walked through the entrance.

The wizard slowly walked over Jongup’s desk — the boy was nowhere to be found, which wasn’t much of a surprise considering that the huge room’s benches were all empty, and rang the reception bell.

    “Coming in a minute!” He heard from far away. He couldn’t see him, neither on the balcony at the end of room, nor suspended to a high shelf, and therefore decided to settle back his concern on the feeble figure in his arms. He gently pinched the elder’s arm.

    “Youngjae? Wake up, we arrived.” He whispered, but received no answer. “Please, Jongup will make it better, just wake up.”

Daehyun was the first to arrive, hopping his way toward the reception in happy little jumps, but stopped neat once he noticed Youngjae. He resumed his steps after a second, approaching warily, suspiciously, ears drawn back. He sent a look to Junhong as for asking for permission, before he sniffed the hand hanging lifelessly out of his hold.

A new blast of life seemed to wind through Youngjae as his eyes snapped open. In panic, he jerked his limb away and launched himself deeper in Junhong’s arms, efficiently kicking the wolf’s face in the process. The feline let out an inhuman roar, which bounced through the walls of the empty hall, and vainly attempted to straighten up as best as he could to look threatening enough.

Daehyun, though he had first been startled enough to take a step back, raised his head higher at that, baring all of his teeth for the feline’s livid human form. He let out a growl that sent chills run down Junhong’s spine — he thus promptly pushed Youngjae out of the way, behind his back, and tried his best to mirror the wolf’s hard gaze.

    “Daehyun.” He called his name with as much authority as he could gather in his soundless panic. “Don’t touch him.”

The latter only quieted down for a split second, just enough time for Youngjae to let out another puff of discontent, a tiny, rough grunt, which shattered Junhong’s order to piece. Daehyun barked as another warning.

    “Daehyun!”

Junhong let out a sigh of relief when he heard Jongup’s voice.

    “Daehyun! Still!” He buffeted, running toward his friend in messy fast steps. The wolf’s head fell, his chops covering back his sharp canines as he lowered himself to the ground. “Human form! Now!” Jongup ordered once he had reached Junhong’s side — Daehyun huffed, as though he had been shot in his pride, but obeyed nonetheless.

His dark brown eyes threw a nasty glare toward Junhong’s general direction, before settling back on Jongup. The familiar heaved a resolute sigh.

    “Okay. Sorry.”

    “Sorry? The boy’s dying, and first thing you do is attacking him? What part of saving his life didn’t you get?!”

    “That fleabag started it!”

    Youngjae let out an outraged gasp. “Go to hell, !”

Junhong’s eyes opened impossibly wide in shock as he threw his arm behind his back, trying to silence the familiar with a light tap.

Daehyun’s expression turned darker, and he uncovered his teeth in rage. He didn’t have the time to retort anything before Jongup gave him a harsh slap on the arm.

    “You two, shut it.” The latter commended in an excessively loud tone.

Youngjae was about to argue some more, but the severe look on Junhong’s face made him swallow back whatever he was about to say.

    “Bring him upstairs, in the private room.” Jongup’s voice softened as he turned his eyes back on his friend. “He needs to lay down, so we’re going to read and work there. Daehyun, you,” He pointed an accusing finger toward his familiar. “You get your clothes on and take care of the potential customers — don’t forget to hide your ears. No buts, or I’m casting a really nasty spell on your , understood?”

Daehyun growled, yet knew better than to object.

    “Stupid dog.” Youngjae whispered — the wolf snapped his glare back toward him, wrinkled his nose and seemed to ready himself to shout back, yet no sound ever left his mouth. He simply turned around anew and walked past the back door in utter silence.

Carrying Youngjae up the eighty-six steps leading to the private salon proved itself to be more difficult than expected, even with Jongup’s help. Junhong made the familiar drink some more of their healing potion before helping him lay down on the cushions.
The salon was a huge room, decorated in shades of crimson and black — it was dimly lit as the only source of natural light was brought through the huge clock’s dial, inlaid in the wall. The room appeared tiny, yet managed to harbour all of Jongup’s private collection (which represented around twenty full shelves) plus a long couch and a coffee table.

The elder looked through the few books set under the table, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Junhong made sure Youngjae fell back asleep before finally sitting on the sofa beside him.

    “Do you have any information about the wound?”

    He hummed pensively. “Well, no regular healing potion seems to be efficient on it. We also tried a regeneration spell… And, hum, Youngjae mentioned something about it being a curse.”

    “A curse? How would he know it’s not regular animal poison?”

Junhong’s uncomfortable shrug was his sole reply.

    “Did you touch the trap when you found it? Did you feel anything unusual?”

    “I’m not sure… Well, it felt both cold and hot at the same time, but it didn’t actually burn my hand.”

    The elder seemed to consider it for a moment. “It’s strange though, why would anyone set a magic trap on the human territory…”

Again, the younger could only shrug.

Jongup finally  stood up and walked over the nearest shelf, then  snatched five books off of it  and threw two towards his friend — they all were huge, and Junhong grew weary they wouldn’t find a solution in time. Youngjae already looked so pale, each time he closed his eyes the wizard wondered if it was the last.

    “So, what are we looking for?”

    “Anything that could help against a curse.”

    “We don’t even know what kind of curse it is.” Junhong grew annoyed. “Can’t you just, I don’t know, do whatever? You’re more skilled than I am, surely you already know what to do.”

    “Except that I don’t.” Jongup sent the laying figure beside them an apologetic glance, although the boy was sound asleep. “We had very few classes about cursed objects. And absolutely no information about… this race of familiars. I mean, they’re exceptionally rare, about ninety-nine percents of wizards don’t know their existence is even remotely possible.”

    “But you do.” Junhong pressed impatiently. “Daehyun can morph too, you know about their kind.”

    “Yes, but then again, I have no idea how to cure someone that has been injured by cursed objects.”

    “Stop fighting.”

Youngjae’s voice was muffled, strained with fatigue and pain, but still cut through their discussion like a sharp knife. He leisurely opened his lids, letting his eyes swing from the clock to the wizards, and tiredly closed them anew as he heaved a sigh.

    “It does not matter.”

Junhong turned toward the feline in a swift motion, and pressed a hand against his hair as a comforting gesture. Had Youngjae been in any healthier state, he would have probably lost the limb.

    “It does, Youngjae. We’re going to save you.”

When the wizard turned his gaze back toward his friend, he was surprised to find him glare at the familiar with his brows furrowed, as though he was pondering about something terribly important — and Junhong, once again, felt like he wasn’t quite grasping the situation entirely.