Work Text:
No matter how hard Kyungsoo tried, the flowers would not bloom in his garden. But the arrival of a visitor seemed to have the solution to all his botanical problems. A younger man named Park Chanyeol had come to collect the concoction his mother requested to help her worsening backaches. He was six feet tall, bearing a face that resembled the sun, brightly smiling. When he stepped foot in Kyungsoo’s property, the earth seemed to react. It was a curious thing — one that brought the roses to life despite the barrenness of the soil.
Kyungsoo decided to make an excuse to call the man back to his home. He tells him there’s a potion much more potent that could help with more of his mother’s illnesses. He will give it for free. Park Chanyeol would just have to pick it up on Sunday morning.
Today is Saturday and Kyungsoo has about 24 hours to whip something out of his smorgasbord of potion recipes. As a witch in the middle of a bustling city, he is used to rushed jobs. The situation, however, makes him feel a little anxious. He lays out the mat in his living room and brings out a cigarette, though purely for his nerves. He takes out the ginseng roots, a pack of cinnamon, a jar of orange peels, and the poppy he got on delivery a couple of hours ago. He grounds and mixes, casting the spell, sure that this is worth the money he will lose by giving this out for free. A witch without his flowers, after all, is a witch stripped of great power.
He tends to his plants early the next day, feeling good about the fortune the cards foretold for him this week. He is crouched down, planting a seed when he senses a presence and sees grass, once dead, spring back to life. Looking up, he sees Park Chanyeol who gives him a shy wave and says hello. Kyungsoo’s heart skips a beat and he tries on a smile as he pulls off his hat and wipes the dirt off his face.
“I’m happy to see you again,” Kyungsoo says, not meaning to be wide-eyed.
“Really?” Chanyeol smiles, teeth big, as he pulls on the strings of his backpack. “That’s nice of you to say.”
The earth moves under Kyungsoo’s feet. He feels it and wants to verbalize the sensation but then he knows Chanyeol does not feel a thing. The redness that starts to color Kyungsoo’s cheeks because of the sudden rush is unintentional. He conceals everything by covering himself with his hat and quickly stuttering that they must go inside at once, for the potion cannot stay in his possession for too long a time. The excuse, of course, is nothing but a load of nonsense.
Chanyeol seems cautious as he examines Kyungsoo’s home, the many jars on a plastic table, the hardbound books inside a wooden shelf. Although Kyungsoo says they are in a hurry, he tries to prolong Chanyeol’s stay by making him tea. He observes him all the while, taking in all Chanyeol’s features, cheek bones and broad shoulders, hunched down as he squints at an old abstract painting Kyungsoo had hung on the wall.
Kyungsoo’s determination leads him to ask Chanyeol if he would come again on another day. Strangely, the redness of Kyungsoo’s cheeks would not let up and the heat on his neck has started to become unbearable. He curls his fingers on top of his lap and looks away as Chanyeol drinks the tea he had offered him. The potion is already in a box inside Chanyeol’s bag.
“Oh?” Chanyeol goes.
Kyungsoo shrugs, still without meeting Chanyeol’s eyes. He might have to consult another witch about this later on. The swift beat of his heart is no natural occurrence for a person of his nature. He thinks, perhaps, this might have something to do with the powers of which Chanyeol seems to be unaware.
“I’d love to,” Chanyeol says, quickly placing a hand over Kyungsoo’s. Somehow, the tension seems to leave Kyungsoo’s limbs.
Again, he does not mean to look at Chanyeol as if he is seeing stars. But it still happens and Kyungsoo has no idea why. Chanyeol’s whole being is a mystery to him. Even later, when he tries to consult the cards, he finds little indication as to what fate Chanyeol would lead him to. It sends tension back to his skin so he retreats to his cigarette and goes to bed as soon as he is finished.
Chanyeol comes by day after day, spending time watching Kyungsoo tend to his garden and hearing about how he makes his potions, albeit from a man who can barely form a coherent sentence around him. The flowers continue to grow. Kyungsoo’s business flourishes, much to the chagrin of witches from other parts of city, like Byun Baekhyun, a friend whom Kyungsoo loves to hate.
“You’ve found true love, haven’t you?” Baekhyun tells him, during one of their Skype calls. “You’re just like Yixing when he met his girlfriend. Suddenly, all his charms became a hundred percent effective. The world is so unfair to obnoxiously handsome witches like me, you know that? No one wants me because they’re all so intimidated! Have you listened to Beyonce? Ah, who am I kidding? Of course you haven’t. But I’m pretty sure this is what her song’s about. Pretty Hurts, you know.”
Kyungsoo furrows his eyebrows and ponders on Baekhyun’s words. “Does true love make your garden grow?”
Baekhyun cackles. “Ha! You’re dumb as all fuck, you know that? True love does everything for a witch.”
“Does it make your heart race?”
“Do you live under a rock? Yes, Do Kyungsoo, if you’ve been paying attention to—well—life in general, I think that would be obvious.”
Kyungsoo considers this. “I don’t get out a lot,” he says. “I haven’t even met you in person. Not that I’m itching to.”
“No shit,” Baekhyun says. Kyungsoo observes him lean back on his computer chair before he continues to speak, “But let’s address the elephant in the room. Who is this wonderful person that Do Kyungsoo has fallen in love with?”
Before Baekhyun can pester him for an answer, Kyungsoo slams his laptop shut. He caresses it, hoping the device was not offended.
The next time Chanyeol visits, Kyungsoo feels more tense than he has ever been. He has done more intensive research and knows now what love entails. It makes him worry that Chanyeol might be catching on to the truth behind Kyungsoo’s demeanor. But the days have also made him think about the prospect of Chanyeol returning his feelings. For why would he spend so much time with him if that was never a possibility?
It feels as if he is moving like a robot as he shows Chanyeol how he makes the herb jar to enhance creativity. He stammers for the first syllables in each of his sentences and he grounds the leaves with his pestle void of rhythm, in constant staccato. The herbs, Kyungsoo knows, will not work as well, while his intent is clouded with unnecessary thoughts.
But if true love is supposed to do everything and anything for a person like him, then the sensible thing to do must be to confess and offer his heart to the subject of his affections. This would be the only way to make sure he could hold on not just to the power, but to this new, indescribable feeling that wells inside his body.
He almost loses his nerve, as Chanyeol almost leaves without Kyungsoo saying a word. As Chanyeol walks away from Kyungsoo’s porch, Kyungsoo reaches out a hand and tells him to stop and wait and listen. He is careful not to put too much force in his words, because he knows the smallest nuance might turn any sentence into a curse.
His hands are fixed at the center of his chest, as if deep in prayer. He bows his head and tells Chanyeol what he feels. “My garden is growing so suddenly and at first I thought it was because you had some sort of power under your toes. But I’ve come to realize that it was actually my doing—well—most of it, at least. Part of it came from you and…the sun behind your back. They say when a witch falls in love, they receive everything and anything. So, if it would not be a bother, I would like to be yours, Park Chanyeol.”
His string of words calls for a much needed pause, Kyungsoo thinks. He keeps his head down until he is ready. For a moment, he envisions a scenario where Chanyeol would silently walk away, never to be heard from again. For a moment, Kyungsoo thinks he could bear it. But then he decides that, no, he really couldn’t and he hopes would not need to.
Kyungsoo tilts up his head and peers curiously at the man before him.
“Took you long enough.”
The smile Kyungsoo sees is sweet and everything around the other man turns a bright shade of pink. Chanyeol bites his lip and shakes his head, a short laugh escaping his crooked mouth.
As he draws himself closer to Kyungsoo, the earth starts to move again, though in excruciating slow motion. All the tension in Kyungsoo’s bones melts away and Kyungsoo swears a tree just grew right behind him. Chanyeol holds Kyungsoo’s cheeks, lets out a hot breath, and puts their foreheads together. They both close their eyes, relishing the moment.
“I think the part about getting everything and anything isn’t just reserved for guys like you,” Chanyeol says, before kissing him breathless, pressing soft lips on his own. Kyungsoo puts his arms around Chanyeol’s shoulders and he smiles in between kisses. His whole house must be surrounded by petals now as each swerve and curve of their lips makes him think of another species of flower, bursting to send petals flying.
Later in the day, Kyungsoo berates Chanyeol for starting this avalanche of flower petals and wasting very good ingredients.
“I will make sure you never get to kiss anyone ever again,” he says, as he angrily sweeps the mess that has been made in his garden.
Chanyeol tilts his head in a laugh. “Go ahead,” he says. “Though I’m pretty certain you don’t want that.”
“What makes you so sure?” He continues to sweep, trying to push back the blush on his cheeks with every ounce of will power inside his heart.
Chanyeol pulls on his arm, forcing Kyungsoo to drop his broom and get wrapped in a tight embrace. Again, the world turns pink and thats the last thing Kyungsoo wants to happen at a time like this.
Admittedly, he is still not used to the new extent of his magic, so it comes a surprise when the spell he casts leaves Chanyeol’s mouth shut for an hour longer than the five minutes he intended. Of course, he apologizes for it profusely and offers more free herbal medicine for Chanyeol’s ailing mother. Chanyeol shakes his head and plants a quick kiss on Kyungsoo’s cheek, finally able to do so after the embarrassing one-hour debacle.
“Since today is very special,” Chanyeol says, “I will let you off the hook.”
Chanyeol then tells him to kiss it all better and Kyungsoo follows without hesitation. For who is he to deny such a request, from a man who helped his flowers grow? More than that, he’d given him happiness and he accepted his heart. Now, they are together. And for Kyungsoo, this is everything.
the end.