Chapter Text
stealing is bad. minseo's aware. and he agrees. and he didn't even actually steal the bloody book — he was just the last one to officially see it before someone did, in fact, snatch it.
the book is some old poetry compilation and, though unique and of academic interest, would probably be buried on a shelf in the depths of the library forever if every few months a rumour didn't resurface, claiming that something is hidden in those pages, a map or a secret, leading to great power. minseo couldn't care less about that, he's fine the way he is, but he is curious if there is truth to the rumour, if he can decipher whatever the book holds.
he isn't allowed to scan it — yellow, unpleasant to the touch, as if sticky pages are almost about to fall off in his hands as he is studying the book in the vast, well-lit reading room — he has to use kari's camera, just a shot to capture it fully before returning it.
while examining the tome, minseo doesn't notice anything curious on the pages, a pattern or an oddity, but it's not surprising, it wouldn't be that easy, so next several days-off were supposed to be spent uncovering the book's mystery, if in a few days he didn't receive a call.
early morning, unknown number — can't be good, but turns out even worse than he imagines.
the book is gone.
he is asked to come in. for a couple of questions.
not an enticing preposition, but, he figures, they called. if they were sure, his door would already be down, room raided, hands in cuffs, hence he's probably fine for now. not appearing would be more suspicious and, if things actually go bad, he's got at least one way out up his sleeve.
the police station is horrendous. a brick building, tall and grey, towering like a storm about to hit, an eyesore in the city centre, sipping all of the colour away from the greenery in the vicinity of it, from the adjacent mall that glitters with glass windows and bright signs, with supposedly cute, pink and flowery cafe on the first floor, dreading instead as if condemned, and even from the sky, it seems.
minseo is instructed to recount everything he did in the library (naturally, he doesn't mention the camera) and is then let go and hoping they are done with him until the very next day his face is all over the news.
luckily, he is out when it happens, half-way to kari's shop, the part of the city he knows better than the back of his hand, so he slips in the dark alleys between falling asleep night clubs and dreaming multi-storied clothing stores, just about to wake up cafes and sleep deprived convenience stores, past the old, not looking very secure hanging bridge, a bit along the river, protected by the trees, scorched by barely endurable end-of-spring sun, and then down, under the overpass where water unbotheredly flows, and to the old art street, nestling striving to survive galleries and souvenir shops, roller shutters permanently down, and leading to the theatre doomed to be terminated any day now. this early, the street is utterly empty, so, wiping the sweat off his face, he strides fast to one of the buildings on the left — a small beige structure huddled between a bookstore and a memory of a bakery now for sale, a white door and matching curtains pulled together — that doesn't even attempt to catch anyone's attention and appears to be closed.
minseo runs up the stairs and knocks twice, draws a key on the door with his fingers and knocks three more times before grabbing the handle and pulling the door open. the place is serene, pale blue, close to white, walls and ivory laminate, two rows of wooden shelves of different pastel colours filled with trinkets, natural light coming in from the windows actually open, and the working table, also functioning as a counter, at the back. hikari is there, rising as soon as he sees him in the doorway.
“fuck,” he states.
“fuck,” minseo agrees.
he should be safe here. he always has the insoles that make the wearer untraceable to magic on, not many people are let in on the fact kari and he are friends, and the shop itself is hard to just come by. there are two ways to get here: either already knowing the location and the entrance formula or following the clues scattered around the city. but even in the second case, it's essential to at least understand where to start looking.
magic is allowed but rare, and the government seeks to pass the law to oblige all magic-users to register as such, even though, in a way, they already are monitored: magic can only be legally channelled through devices (often accessory-like) sold in official shops. they put a limit on powers — anything more complicated than remotely turning off the kettle or drying clothes instantly is impossible — and record all activity.
kari's channellers are different. though provided with all the officials documents lingqi (who works in one of the state shops and who minseo actually got acquainted with hikari through) helps them forge, they're tinkered to conceal most of the uses, leaving only the tamest, the most trivial ones (still with a limit though, but exclusively on the things that could cause deliberate or serious harm — police learning of his existence is the last thing hikari needs). and apart from that, he also has items he engineers to work on his magic, a bit of it infused with them, making it possible for people like minseo, without any powers, to do things they otherwise would never be able to do.
the tools and trinkets kari creates are the safer the smaller the circle of those aware of them is.
“should've done this before i went to the bloody library,” minseo hisses, having sent a note to lingqi to tell him he's okay (and instruct him to act as usual and stay clear of the shop for now) and sitting on the table, as kari is working on his face, molding it to be completely different. “at least should've used your makeup.”
then his features would still be his, but to everyone else he would look like some other person.
“yeah, but how could you know? i don't think i'd prepare for that either,” hikari calmly notes.
they continue like this for a while, kari altering minseo's face, minseo imagining all the ways he could've avoided getting caught up in this to never make the same mistake in the future, although it wasn't really his mistake, was it? he just got unlucky.
hikari is trying his best to be as gentle, yet swift as possible, but the pain still stings as the magic on his fingers flows into minseo's features, changing shapes, colours, texture.
the process is long and exhausting for them both — concealing someone's appearance, making them look different is easy, but in this situation, they can't risk it, minseo's face has to be different — and about an excruciating half an hour later, relieved, hikari notifies at last:
“done.”
“thanks, kari,” minseo smiles, grateful, and makes his way to the mirror near the entrance. a green-eyed person, hair a bit wavy, but still black, though a different shade, warmer than his, with an upturned nose, thin lips, and sunken cheeks, materialises there, and he smiles, the same way as always but completely unrecognisable, and glances at hikari and repeats: “thanks.”
“anytime,” kari clenches and spreads his fingers again and again to ease the straining. “it should hold for about a week, i think.”
minseo nods, fixing his hair, fringe up to make a quiff he's never had, and almost reaches for his phone to take a photo so that they could recreate this appearance if needed, instantly remembering the morning and failing to contain laughter.
“i got fired,” he explains. “that's how i found out the police decided to pin the theft on me.”
he actually really needed that job at the publishing house and went through several hells to get it, but, to his old boss's accidental credit, being kicked out like that did help. better find out sooner than later, and minseo knew immediately not only to avoid being spotted but also to turn off his phone since the insoles can't protect him from it being tracked technologically.
“at least you hated it anyway…” kari tries to console him and adds: “by the way, you know you can stay here for as long as you need, right?”
“thanks,” minseo smiles. someone's fucked him over hard, but, if nothing else, he does have people he can count on.
and, as the next immediate concern, the person who stole the book occupies his mind. are the police even looking for them? should he try since he and kari are the only ones interested in clearing up his name? why was the book even stolen? to decipher, to sell, for some other reason?
“…i have a picture, so can you try to locate it?” he asks, having shared his thoughts with hikari. the police have surely already attempted to, but if they failed, it doesn't mean hikari will too. his abilities, unlike the police's, minseo trusts.
simple search magic, however, has no effect, and for the next twenty minutes, they exert their creativity to find a way to glance past the barrier which must be concealing the book. they come up with a million different magical approaches, minseo turns to the magnifying glass and mirror engineered by kari, but they're still as if poking around the void.
“someone's good,” minseo remarks, exasperated and impressed, his mind focused on what they might've missed, something they haven't yet tested out. “what if we try to remove the barrier first?.. can we do that remotely?” he makes a scissors gesture and cuts the air.
“no, i need to know where the barrier is, be close to it.”
“then what if we send something to the book? and track that?”
“it won't work,” hikari shakes his head. “i've already tried to summon the book here, even adding ‘in disguise or another form or what used to be the book as well’, and nothing. the barrier prevents any magical influence on it, i reckon.”
“bummer. i would send a note. i have a lot to say to the…” he breaks off when, out of blue, the door begins to open.
the person that walks in, minseo has never seen before.
it could mean absolutely anything: an ordinary new customer at an unfortunate time, someone wearing a disguise like he is, for their own safety, or, on the contrary, having somehow located him and now coming for him, or something else he might have triumphantly guessed in different circumstances, unable to even hypothesise about at the moment.
“um. hello?” the guy stares at them, minseo gawking back, automatically muttering the greeting, kari managing a “welcome” and taking his place at the counter. “i'm looking for kang minseo?”
“you wouldn't be the only one,” having composed himself, minseo comments with a chuckle that, hopefully, comes off as relaxed and natural, and gets a frown in response.
“yeah, but i don't mean it like that. i'm not with the police,” the stranger runs his hand through his short dark hair, dishevelled as is, and sighs. “i need to talk to him.”
“sorry, but you've got the wrong place,” minseo puts on an apologetic look.
“okay, but if he does come here, can you pass him a letter?” the intruder, correctly assuming who the shop belongs to, turns to hikari.
“uh…” kari considers for a few seconds. “okay.”
“thank you,” the stranger seems relieved and reaches into his shoulder bag, taking out a folded sheet of white paper, and minseo, sitting on the table and therefore being closer, slides off of it and holds out his palm.
“i doubt he's just gonna stroll in, but it never hurts to try.”
“that's what i thought,” the guy smiles widely but awkwardly, handing him the letter, and thanks them again, and finally leaves — minseo instantly passes the paper to kari and dashes for the window: the intruder stops in the middle of the street to put on his headphones and simply starts walking in the direction of the theatre, without attempting anything weird or even looking back.
“how did he find me?” startled, minseo returns to the table where kari is inspecting the letter.
“i don't know,” kari concentrates for a few seconds and shakes his head. “he shouldn't have been able to. i can't find you — the insoles are working.”
“okay,” minseo takes a deep breath. maybe everything's still fine, the guy didn't seem to realise who he was — there might've been another reason he came looking for him here. it's fine. it's fine until proven otherwise. “so, the letter?”
“i think it's safe. it's made to only show its content to someone named kang minseo, and i sense a communication line attached. i can't pinpoint where it leads, but i guess it's like our entangled memo pads. if you write something on one, it will be shown on the other,” he ponders for a bit. “but don't open it yet. if he did trace you, maybe he can do things i can't.”
“i'm not sure i'm going to,” minseo admits. “he said he wanted to talk, but this is weird.”
and confusing. the only ones who would be attempting to contact him right now are the police, some opportunists who would like to take the book off his hands if he had it, and, perhaps, maybe, unlikely, the thief themselves if they suddenly listened to their conscience.
“if i don't find anything else, just reading it should be alright. you try too, just in case,” kari hands him a marker, a magic detector, and minseo draws on the white a few transparent lines — in a moment, they are being imbued with light blue, glimmering, meaning that the magic on the letter wasn't cast with the intention of causing him harm. “you know, if we think about this, some random guy shows up at our door, looking for you, he is no stranger to magic, and it's not easy to set up a line like that, and an untraceable one at that. what if he's the one?”
“like romantically or the one who stole the book?” minseo jokes, but he's wondering the same thing.
“well, if he caught your eye…” kari begins, smiling despite being visibly tired. “but i would rule out the second possibility first.”
“sure,” minseo fleetingly grins and settles at last: “okay, if you conclude it's safe, we'll open it. just a bit later.”
“good idea,” kari nods and, after a few more minutes of investigating the paper, jerks his head up. “wait, it's already past noon. have you eaten at all?”
minseo is sitting on the windowsill, fiddling with his new earring (for when he'll inevitably have to take his shoes off) and watching the street. his first day as an outlaw is coming to an end, and occasional people are walking by, their work hours over. beside them, the world is quiet, coloured in pastel, blue and pink, by the sunset. the street lights, setting everything ablaze with their intense glow, are not on yet, and the view is serene, calming. it exists in the moment and will soon disappear, banished, replaced by the night and bright lights, but just for now, this tranquility flows around everything, seeps into everything, tender and soothing, promising that it will all be alright.
“let's open the letter,” he proposes when kari finishes restocking after their last and only customer today.
“i'll lock the shop.”
“by the way,” minseo begins as kari pulls the keys out of his shorts pocket. “i'll get the lie detection pen?”
kari created it while they were figuring out how to make their forgeries pass as perfectly authentic.
“sure, it's in the top drawer,” he instructs, and, without rummaging, it often needed, always within reach, minseo picks up an ordinary-looking felt-tip pen. he places the letter on the desk and, having taken the cap off, presses pen's point to the corner of the page, making the ink seep into it. any lie that appears on the paper will now be reddened with shame.
“okay,” minseo breathes and unfolds the letter. first, he glances over the sheet: half of it is filled with the message, under which “please reply here ૮₍•᷄ ◠ •᷅₎ა” is begging. “you don't see anything?” he asks kari and when he shakes his head starts reading out loud:
hello. i'm very very sorry, it was me who stole the book, but!! i didn't mean to and i'll fix it.
i was at the library with a friend (he's writing a thesis) and he asked me to bring him a bunch of books, and there were too many students, and since the librarian kinda knows me, i've accompanied the friend like a million times, i was told to grab the books myself and sent to the archive alone. he's done that before, it's not a big deal, but this time i've been practising transformation magic, and that book was there and i just… i don't know what i was thinking, but i turned it into a dog? to see if i could? and then of course i turned it back and all seemed fine until i got home and after a while heard scratching outside the door?
that dog was there.
i used magic again and sent it to the archive, but it came back. i tried again and again. i turn it into the book — it turns into a dog. i send it to the library — it trudges back.
it just doesn't want to be a book anymore.
and i can't do anything about it so i thought i would help it.
if i make a duplicate of the book and return it, it can continue being a dog. i thought i had time while they would be searching for me so i put protective magic on the dog. it shouldn't have to return to being a book, it really hates it. i can't even ask it to turn into the book to copy it. but i didn't think they'd blame someone else. the librarian must've been too exhausted to remember about me or not told the police not to lose the job.
anyway, i'm really sorry and i'm gonna fix everything. could you please wait?
minseo blinks.
“the fuck?”
he looks up at kari, but kari has no words to offer. stunned just as much, he takes a second to process and a breath before muttering:
“i kinda wish he was lying. not actually, but… you know…”
“i know!” minseo realises he can't keep despair out of his voice. “is he stupid? i can understand the dog not wanting to be a book anymore, that's fine, i wouldn't too, but why the hell turn a book into a dog? especially the book that might be magical?”
“we have to do something, you're not going down because of this,” hikari stresses the last word, shaking his head.
“agreed.”
minseo grabs a pencil from a pen cup on kari's desk and, pausing, clarifies:
“do we want him where we can see him?”
“probably.”
“we have the book photographed so we're gonna help with the copy. come tomorrow. bring the dog” is immediately scrawled on the free space, and the reply appears almost instantly.
“he says, ‘where?’ what does he mean where?” confused, minseo relays to kari while writing back. “at the shop? where else would we be doing this?”
i don't know which shop exactly
i tried to search for you but nothing — most likely means magic. so i went to every unofficial magic shop in the city and left a letter
and it worked!!!
“i think i know four other shops,” kari looks to the side, his hand on the back of his neck.
“me too. not a lot, but still risky. there could be a kang minseo there or something to dispel his magic, but…” minseo stares at the letter in front of him, fiddling with the pencil. “i guess it was the most certain way to contact me.”
“and, thank the universe, he did,” minseo doesn't say out loud.
he'd rather not be in such a situation at all, but at least a way to make it all right has let itself be discovered.