CHANGBIN WAS confused when twenty-four hours passed by and nothing seemed to change in the tailor— what was his name? seungjin or something?— that he had cursed. something should have happened by now, he thought to himself in the darkness of his room (which is where hyunjin sent him after they had finished eating the cake).

but when his door burst open to reveal a glowering chan, a red-headed man, and the stupid wizard that trapped him in the castle, he knew that something bad had happened, and he sank into his lumpy bed with a sigh of relief. finally, something is going my way.

"changbin! what the hell are you trying to pull?" chan exclaimed, dragging the red-haired man to his bedside.

changbin started at him confusedly for a second before realizing that the man was the tailor he had cursed. "well, nothing much. you see, when a curse is placed on someone, they have a visible trait that signifies that a spell has been placed on them. it can vary from horns to disfiguration to...losing all your clothes when you try to shape shift." he shrugged nonchalantly, feeling hyunjin's eyes boring into him. "however, he got lucky. all that happened was that his hair turned red. nothing more, nothing less."

the tailor (what was his name?) frowned slightly. "is there any way to take it away? i'm not very fond of it..."

changbin snorted. "no. as long as you're cursed— which should be for the rest of eternity— you'll be stuck looking like a cherry. have fun."

the man looked mortified, prompting chan to speak. "and you're sure that there are no other side effects? the hair won't...i don't know...ooze blood, right?"

no, imbecile, changbin thought of saying, but decided it would be more entertaining to simply shrug in a vague manner. "who knows? i suppose you'll find out."

the tailor's face dropped even further and chan looked like he was close to strangling him. hyunjin, however, simply turned away. "let's go," he said. "it's clear that he's not going to give us information any further. chan, we have something important to discuss concerning tomorrow's events. seungmin, you may roam the house at your leisure, but please stay out of my room."

seungmin! that's his name! changbin thought as his "visitors" closed the door, leaving him alone in the darkness once more. he groaned, rolling around on his springy mattress, cringing every time the bed squeaked. "stupid bed," he muttered. "stupid castle. stupid wizard. stupid spell."

he lay there for a period of time cursing random things until he grew tired and decided that he would take a nap (which was practically all he'd been doing ever since he had gotten captured, seeing as there was nothing for him to do in his godforsaken room). but just as he was about to doze off, three soft knocks jolted him back awake. "changbin? it's felix again. i'm coming in."

the warlock groaned in annoyance and rolled his eyes. the first time he had been caught, it had been the filthy half-blood who gave him his meals and checked up on him every so often. but after his escape attempt, the silver-haired man had been replaced by hyunjin's apprentice, a loud, blundering fool named felix. changbin preferred chan far more than him because at least he left him alone most of the time; felix, on the other hand, barged into his room at random times, ever-present in the warlock's life.

is this my punishment for everything i've done? he thought in despair when the door creaked open. if so, i'm sorry! i swear i'll change! just let this idiot disappear from my life forever!

"changbin! i've got great news!" felix always had "great news" whenever he visited him. the first time it was to tell him that he found a rabbit outside the castle, to which changbin informed him that he didn't care. the most recent time it was to bring him a tiny daisy, to which changbin had said, "why are you bringing me a weed?" (that was four hours ago.)

maybe if i don't say anything, he'll leave me alone.

"so i was talking to hyunjin—"

damn it.

"—and it took a little work, but i finally convinced him to let you out of your room!" his excitement radiated off of him in waves. "isn't this great? now you're free to roam the castle!"

changbin's eyes widened in genuine surprise. those were the last words he'd expected to leave felix's mouth. "he said what?"

"that he's allowing you to leave your room! hyunjin has no idea how long he's planning to keep you here, so he said that it'd be best if you become used to the castle. so, he's lifting the spell off of your door so that you can enter and exit as you please. but—" he lowered his ridiculously low voice even more— "if you can't handle the enormous responsibility, then we will have no choice but to stick you in your room for the rest of your stay here."

changbin snorted. "relax, kid, i'm not about to ruin my only chance at getting out of this shithole." he stood up and stretched, his joints popping as he did so. "i'm starving, so i'm heading to the kitchen."

"sounds good! i'll come with you," felix chirped, much to changbin's disdain. he had no intention of spending any more time than necessary with the carrot-haired male.

"no. i'm going by myself."

felix frowned at this, but it quickly turned into a smug grin. "if you don't let me come, i'll tell hyunjin."

"you're an actual child, you know that?"

"so i've been told."

❂❂❂

the kitchen's supply was nearly exhausted due to minho's extravagant display from earlier on, leaving the pair with little to eat. all that was left were a few vegetables and a handful of spices. felix attempted to make a soup for them, but there were two problems with that: firstly, jisung refused to get back in the fireplace to heat their food, and secondly—

"i thought i told you already: you can't cook for shit." changbin stared down at the chunks of carrots and potatoes that lay in front of him with distaste. "you can't even use a knife properly. give that to me." he snatched the blade out of felix's hand; in the blink of an eye, the male poofed away and reappeared near the maroon chair in the sitting room. "what?"

"...not to be rude, mate, but i don't feel very comfortable being near you when you've got a knife in hand. you could dismember me in a millisecond. i quite like having my limbs intact, you know."

changbin cocked an eyebrow. "i thought you knew magic. a good magician could easily disarm an attacker armed with nothing but a butter knife."

at this, felix seemed to deflate ever so slightly. "well..." he sighed, inching closer. "i'm sort of a sorry excuse for a wizard. hyunjin taught me a lot during my time here, but i can't seem to do anything right! plus, he's never around anymore, so i have to teach myself. but how can someone who doesn't know anything teach themselves magic?"

changbin's first thought was somewhere along the lines of why are you telling me this and i don't care. but a genius idea popped into his head— one that could prove to be beneficial to both of them.

"so what i'm hearing is that you need a new teacher," he said with a sly smile. "someone experienced in the art of magic that will be available whenever you need them. someone who can nurture you and turn you into a real magician."

felix shrugged. he was now right outside the threshold of the kitchen. "well, yes. but nobody in the castle can help me besides hyunjin!"

"i can." changbin crossed his arms in front of his chest as felix's eyes grew as wide as saucers. the corners of his lips twitched upwards in amusement. "have you forgotten? i may be young, but i am one of the most skilled warlocks in the land. i could tea—"

"really?" he hadn't even finished speaking when the orange-haired male bounded up to him excitedly. "that would be great! i won't let you down, master!"

now it was changbin's turn to gawk. "master?"

"of course! you're my master and i'm your apprentice!" the warlock let out a silent sigh of relief. "unless you don't like being called that. hyunjin didn't like it either."

changbin quickly shook his head. "i— i'm not fond of formalities. besides, you didn't let me finish."

felix cocked his head to the side. "wait, what do you mean?"

"you're an idiot if you think i'm just going to make you my apprentice for free. i want something in return for my services." he tossed the knife in his hand absentmindedly. "i don't know how long hyunjin plans to keep me here, but i want that time to be reduced a lot. i don't plan on staying in this shitty castle forever." if i do, i might go insane. "i'll agree to teach you what i know if you can get me out of here faster." he stabbed the cutting board next to him, relishing in the satisfying thunk it made, and bore his sharp gaze into felix's soft one. "that's my offer, and it's the only one you're going to get."

felix looked hesitant, and changbin almost thought he wasn't going to respond until he opened his mouth. "if i agree," he began, "can we start in two days time?"

two days? why not tomorrow? changbin wondered and vocalized his thoughts. the younger male gave him a resigned chuckle and shook his head a bit.

"you'll find out. i'd advise you to just stay in your room tomorrow— it's going to get a bit hectic in here. i'll deliver your meals and get you whatever you need, just...stay in your room."

"...alright," changbin said, not attempting to hide the suspicion in his voice. "anyway, are you taking my offer or not?"

felix beamed. "yes! i can't thank you enough, changbin." he marched out of the kitchen determinedly but paused and turned back around at the foot of the staircase. "um...so we'll begin in two days time, right?"

"two days time."

felix looked satisfied at this and left changbin alone in the kitchen. it wasn't until he leaned his elbow against the counter and accidentally planted it in a pile of potatoes did he remember that the whole reason they were there was that the other male was supposed to be making the two of them dinner.

"...oh my god— felix!"