Byun Baek’s Magical Adventure [2/2]

[paradisist]

Two

He gasps, falling into sturdy arms.

“What the fuck? Kris, you’re not supposed to pick up strays!” Blearily, Baekhyun realizes that he’s on the move. He’s also fifty feet into the sky. Squeaking, Baekhyun clings on tightly to the person that’s carrying him. The man that noticed him first is running on the top of buildings, long legs allowing him to do even longer jumps. Men in armor are chasing them on the ground, keeping their eyes on them, although they don’t seem to be carrying weapons.

“You think I chose this? Who are you?” Baekhyun can only be grateful Kris doesn’t decide to drop him. From what he can see, he’s in a bustling marketplace. The commotion draws attention, people shrinking back as they try to avoid getting their goods smashed in the conflict. He doesn’t have the time to leisurely look at all the foreign trinkets when he feels the panic of the chase.

“Sorry, I’m sorry,” Baekhyun says, babbling about how sorry he is. They go into a sharp corner, and the man covers his mouth with his large palm. Instantly Baekhyun quiets. He forgets to breathe until the guards disappear. A small fire appears in the darkness, glowing faintly.

“So, I wonder whose idea it was to run away from their family without money or food,” he says. Kris scowls.

“I didn’t know you’d have nothing, Chanyeol,” Kris squawks indignantly. Baekhyun stays silent, watching as they squabble back and forth until Chanyeol gets so angry the flame gets bigger and brighter until Baekhyun’s flinching from the heat.

“Let’s forget about it for now,” Chanyeol says abruptly. He looks at Baekhyun. “So who are you? Are you one of the guards in disguise? Do you need to be disposed of?”

Baekhyun’s eyes widen, horrified at the thought of being burnt to an unrecognizable crisp in the alleyway of world that isn’t even his own. He makes a strangled noise of distress at the thought of dying so soon.

“Chanyeol, stop that. Can’t you see he’s scared?” Kris shields him protectively from Chanyeol’s flames. Chanyeol scowls, but he dims his flames anyways. Baekhyun’s terrified but even he can see the pout that settles itself on Chanyeol’s face at being scolded.

“You’re just saying that because he looks like Ace,” Chanyeol grumbles. Considering Kris doesn’t deny it, Baekhyun’s glad he looks like Ace (whoever that is).

“Look, why don’t you go home,” Kris says finally, “And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone you saw me here.” Chanyeol presses his lips in an impatient frown.

“Can I stay with you guys? Please? I don’t have anywhere else to go,” Baekhyun says, bringing out the puppy eyes. Kris hesitates but Chanyeol is already mouthing no fucking way.

“Does he look homeless to you? There isn’t even dirt on him,” Chanyeol hisses, “I’m pretty sure he’s trying to scam you.” Chanyeol’s eyes zero in on Baekhyun’s hand, and he grabs it harshly. An intricate design is laced over the back of Baekhyun’s right hand-it wasn’t there before.

“He’s a scam,” Chanyeol says, “he’s lying to us-to you.”

“You are a sorcerer?” Kris sounds put out but Baekhyun couldn’t be happier even though he doesn’t really know what it means.

“I’m not, I’m a magician? But not really, I can’t use magic.” Kris frowns, staring at the mark on his hand. Baekhyun tries to shy away from the attention but Chanyeol refuses to let Kris acknowledge anything expect the marks.

“Is it a bad thing?”

After a moment, Kris replies, “No, it’s not.”

“It is for us. You are dangerous to us.”

“That’s what you think about everyone,” Kris says dryly.

“Who are you going to trust? Your best friend? Or a stranger you just met?” Kris frowns, obviously no one was expecting this situation to happen in the first place.

“I trust my own judgment, and I’d be really happy if you could trust in me too. Besides, he looks harmless.” Baekhyun nods furiously. He can already tell Kris has won this fight though, just by the way Chanyeol’s shoulders droop.

“What is your name, unwanted heathen,” Chanyeol demands. Kris elbows Chanyeol lightly, a frown on his face.

“Baekhyun,” he says, nodding when Chanyeol introduces himself and Kris.

“Okay, let’s get out of here first.” It’s not safe to stay in one spot for too long when you’re on the run.

÷

Kris can’t carry two people at once, so they sneak out when the coast is clear, hiding in a tea shop. Kris and Chanyeol do their best to cover their faces with the brim of their cups, trying to stay as inconspicuous as possible. Baekhyun has nothing to hide. He looks more like a tourist than anything (which he is, technically).

“We leave after the sun sets,” Chanyeol says, “The guards won’t be looking for us by then. They’ll try harder to catch us when the sun is setting but they’ll believe we’re long gone by the time the moon is up.” Baekhyun doesn’t argue, silently sipping his cup of tea while trying to hide his smile. He feels a bit guilty since it’s out of place for the situation but being thrown into an adventure the minute he fell into this world was fate. Chanyeol taps his wrist, pointing to the markings and Baekhyun carefully covers it up with his sleeve. Chanyeol’s face relaxes a bit.

Chanyeol may not like him now, but Baekhyun can’t help but be grateful that he’s looking out for him at least. They stay there, chatting under the breath about where to stay and how to get food. Baekhyun loots through his pockets. He didn’t have the foresight to bring anything with him since he was still at home until everything happened.

Laying everything down on the table, Kris has several chains and rings that could be of value. Even the clothes he’s wearing could give them some spare change, but with the biting winds it’s probably better to keep them than to sell right away. Chanyeol has two concealed daggers and a handful of pretty looking coins that Baekhyun thinks would be the currency of this world. However, Chanyeol’s clothing doesn’t look like they would be as valued as Kris’ clothing.

Chanyeol bites his lips, nodding at Baekhyun. “What do you got?”

“I have a pack of gum, some crackers, and some lint,” Baekhyun says. His heart clenches, knowing full well he also has the pocket watch but that’s not something he can easily pawn away after exchanging it for his most valued possession.

“Gum?” Chanyeol looks bewildered, poking at the packaging with the tip of his fingers. Kris looks just as interested, but he doesn’t touch it. Baekhyun rips open the pack, there’s five pieces inside. He hands a stick to Chanyeol and a stick to Kris. He’s not sure why he expects them to know what to do with it, but he almost chokes on his tea when Chanyeol waves it around like it’s supposed to do something.

“This thing is useless,” Chanyeol says finally. So Baekhyun takes out a piece for himself and he unwraps it before sticking it into his mouth. He chews a couple times before motioning them to try it for themselves. Kris unwraps it, sniffing it before taking a bite into the gum. He chews and sticks the rest into his mouth, confusion written across his face. Seeing as how Kris hasn’t died yet, Chanyeol sticks the whole thing into his mouth after unwrapping it.

“I don’t see what’s so good about it,” Chanyeol says, but then the minty flavor hits him and his eyes widen comically.

“It tastes like mint but it’s chewier than pig’s intestines,” Chanyeol gasps. Baekhyun grins, wanting to laugh at their childish expressions as they try to describe how it feels to chew gum. Chanyeol chokes and Kris has to pat him on the back a few times before Chanyeol can breathe again. Baekhyun spits his tasteless gum into his wrapper and he balls it up, tilting his head questioningly when they stare at him in confusion.

“What?”

“Why did you spit out your food?”

“Oh, you don’t eat that,” Baekhyun says. Judging by the look of horror on Chanyeol’s face, he should have mentioned that sooner. Tears are welling up in Chanyeol’s eyes as he tries profusely to gag out the offending piece of gum.

“You’re not supposed to eat it, but you won’t die if you do,” Baekhyun says hurriedly when Chanyeol starts moaning about how he knew talking to strangers was a bad idea and how he’s going to die before he even gets to meet his soul mate.

“Chanyeol, he just said you weren’t going to die,” Kris says, even though he hurries to spit out his gum before he can swallow by accident.

“How do I know that?”

“You can trust me,” Baekhyun says.

“Prove it.” Pursing his lips together, Baekhyun unwraps a fresh stick of gum and starts chewing it.

“Are you mocking me” Chanyeol squawks. Then Baekhyun shows him the wad in his mouth before he swallows it. Kris looks at Baekhyun in horror. Baekhyun grimaces, gum really is hard to swallow.

“Why did you do that?”

“If Chanyeol dies, I’ll die too but that won’t happen. There’s not much I can do to prove it, but I’ll try my best.” Baekhyun says it with so much sincerity that Chanyeol flushes, crumpling up the wrapper absentmindedly. Chanyeol doesn’t know what to say to that, but Baekhyun feels more than he hears his acceptance when Chanyeol pours him a second cup of tea.

Kris notices it too, so he nudges Chanyeol with a sly grin while Chanyeol scowls hotly. Baekhyun stifles his laughs, and for once he’s feeling happy.

÷

They’re all amiable with each other by the time it gets dark. No one asks each other about their backgrounds, even though Baekhyun assumes Chanyeol and Kris already know each other, but they learn how to get along. Chanyeol has his arm slung around Kris’ shoulder and a hand on top of Baekhyun’s head. Baekhyun complains like he doesn’t like it, but they can all hear the joy in his voice at being accepted so easily. In a way they all didn’t have a place to stay and that was something they could agree on, and so Chanyeol had proposed that they all should find a place of their own because they were basically a band of misfits. Baekhyun had readily agreed and Kris was agreeable to most things Chanyeol proposed anyways, and so they became a trio.

Of course, as their luck would have it, an overly eager guard spies them and yells out that he’s found them even though most of the search parties were already officially over for the day. They run for the forest, but the thing is that there’s less places to hide and they eventually have to split up to lose their pursuers. Kris and Chanyeol dart out quickly, maneuvering through the forest while Baekhyun starts to stumble in his panic. He knows he’s not going to make it.

Someone catches him, catching him by the hair on his head. Whimpering, Baekhyun shuts his eyes tightly as he braces the impact of being shoved into a tree.

“Where are they,” his captor roars. Knowing how badly Chanyeol wanted to leave, it takes Baekhyun two seconds to decide to spit in the guard’s face. He probably deserved the punch that followed but that doesn’t make it hurt any less. Baekhyun crumples to the ground, grunting at the kick that lands by his ribs.

“Don’t you dare touch him,” Chanyeol growls, sending a wave of angry flames over. Baekhyun lets out a breath of relief. As much as Chanyeol is an intimidating enemy, Chanyeol also seems like a fiercely loyal friend. Chanyeol wrestles with the guard, throwing as many blows in as he can. He’s a series of wild swings but they all pack a hard punch.

Kris comes back to see what’s holding them up, joining in the fray but no one dares fight too hard against him. Chanyeol wheezes, dropping to the ground at the unexpected appearance of a knife.

“You’re not supposed to use weapons,” another guard warns but the damage is already late.

“Ah, whatever. It’s not like he’s the Prince anyways.”

“No,” Kris says, “but he is the Prince’s friend and you had better leave before he gets angry.”

They dumbly charge at Kris anyways, sure that they can overpower him with number. Seeing the glint of blood in moonlight, Baekhyun shrieks, “STOP IT,” with a hand thrust out in the general direction of the fight.

A bright light bursts in the middle of the forest and it’s enough to blind the guards temporarily. They clutch at their eyes, hands blindly groping for something familiar.

“Let’s go,” is what Kris says before they scramble away. Baekhyun’s scared. Kris has Chanyeol slung over his back and he flies in an attempt to not jostle Chanyeol too much. As for Baekhyun, he has to go by foot but the reason his heart is pounding is not because he’s running. It’s the second time he’s ever done something like what he just did but it doesn’t seem like something he can control.

÷

When they get to an open clearing, Kris starts a fire. He frowns. “It’d be a lot easier if Chanyeol could do it.” Weakly Chanyeol sends a spark over to the pile of woods. There’s a bit of a smoke but it’s not much of a fire.

Baekhyun tends to Chanyeol, ripping up fabric from the hem of his shirt to make a makeshift bandage on the gash on his chest. Kris goes out to find more scraps of dry wood.

Chanyeol has similar markings to the one on Baekhyun’s hand, but his looks like a bird with its wings spread over his heart. He doesn’t ask, but maybe that was why Chanyeol didn’t want to trust him. Maybe the markings mean something. Chanyeol cracks an eye open, whining about how Baekhyun’s tying the wound too hard.

“Why did you come back for me?” Chanyeol snorts like Baekhyun’s just asked a funny question.

“If you die, I die. I can do at least that for a friend too,” Chanyeol says. But it’s so stupid because swallowing a dumb piece of gum is nothing like taking a sword to the chest.

“You could have died,” Baekhyun says, and suddenly his adventure isn’t the rose-tinted envision he had before.

“Yeah, shit happens,” Chanyeol says nonchalantly. “It’s happened to me before.” Then Chanyeol grunts, fighting to sit up. Baekhyun sees long scars decorating Chanyeol’s back. He feels bad about trying so hard to make Chanyeol trust a random stranger and maybe he had every reason to not trust Baekhyun. It’s that moment that Baekhyun makes a promise to himself that he’ll do his very best to never betray that trust.

“Shit happens to me too,” Baekhyun says vaguely. He hasn’t ever been in a fistfight or been terribly emotionally scarred or anything like that, but he has been living miserably for most of his life so he supposes that shit like that can happen.

“Yeah it sucks,” Chanyeol says. He takes out the last piece of gum from the pack, throwing the wrapper and packaging into the fire before breaking it in half.

He offers a piece to Baekhyun and they chew in peaceful silence.

When he feels well enough, Chanyeol cups a small burst of flame in his palms and lights up a fire. Kris comes back not too long after, complaining about how he did work for nothing. Chanyeol sticks his tongue at Kris, who sits beside Baekhyun and they squish him in the middle. Kris complains about the lumpy flooring and Chanyeol complains about Kris’ complaining until they all fall asleep curled by the fire.

÷

The morning after leaves Baekhyun clinging to Chanyeol’s heat as Kris desperately looks for a good source of water. Only it’s not to drink, Kris needs to find a place to wash his face. Baekhyun wins no awards for trying to look good in the morning, and grunts in response.

Chanyeol wakes up later, laughing at Baekhyun’s face swollen from sleep. They both have gum in their hair. Chanyeol flattens his piece down like a sticky hair accessory. “You are basically disgusting right now,” Baekhyun says, playing with Chanyeol’s face. Chanyeol laughs right back at Baekhyun, pointing to the line of drool drying up on his face. They insult each other back and forth until Kris comes back, freshly washed up.

“How’s it going, Beauty Queen?” Kris sends Chanyeol a hard look.

“You know it takes time to look good,” Kris says. Chanyeol leans back, throwing a burnt stick in Kris’ general direction.

“Who is actually going to look at you,” Chanyeol asks. Kris shrugs.

“Everybody looks at me.” Chanyeol sticks his tongue out and rolls over Baekhyun in his haste to stand up.

“We all know I’m the most handsome out of all of us, though. And obviously I’m also the most brilliant so I’ll catch breakfast,” Chanyeol sing-songs.

“Don’t burn it into a crisp before it gets here,” Kris says flippantly. Chanyeol waves his hand, like he’s heard it a million times before already. Baekhyun stands up, letting Kris lead him to the river. It’s not that far of a walk, but it would probably be a lot faster if they flew. The only thing about flying in the forest is that it’s tricky to avoid trees unless you’re all the way up and Baekhyun’s not sure if he feels comfortable doing that.

“So, I know we don’t really talk a lot about it, but I think we deserve to know what you can do. Especially after last night.” Despite Chanyeol being the one to take the lead of their actions most of the time, Baekhyun knows that Kris is the one that leads Chanyeol and grounds him so that they don’t make too many bad decisions.

“I’m not saying I don’t trust you, but I need to know that trusting you is the right decision,” Kris says. Baekhyun thinks, maybe Chanyeol has more of the physical scars but Kris looks so vulnerable that maybe he’s hurt in other ways that aren’t as visible.

“Actually, you’ll have to trust me when I say that I really don’t know. Will you believe me if I say I’m not from this world? I didn’t even have real powers on my world. We call it Earth, by the way? Do you have one of those?” Baekhyun laughs nervously at Kris’ incredulous expression.

“Another world? Why would there be any other worlds other than EXO Planet?”

“I thought that way too. There’s no other worlds other than Earth and its planets and galaxies to me. EXO Planet doesn’t exist in my world but it does exist, doesn’t it?”

“So why are you here? Or more like, how are you here? Is that your magic?”

“No, Luhan’s magic brought me here.” At those words, Kris stills. Baekhyun lights up at the sight of the stream, kneeling down to wash his face.

“Baekhyun, how do you know Luhan? He doesn’t exist. He’s a fairytale.” Baekhyun pauses.

“What do you mean?”

“How else do you want me to say it? A person controlling all the worlds? No such person exists.”

“But I found him. I bought the hat that he came from in a store.” Kris laughs slowly, like Baekhyun’s telling a very unconvincing joke.

“It’s true,” Baekhyun says.

“Prove it.” Kris crosses his arms, sitting down as he watches Baekhyun take out a pocket watch.

“This side will take me back to Luhan, and this side will take me here-to EXO Planet.”

“Tell me about Earth,” Kris asks. So Baekhyun tells him about trains and cars and college and technology. Kris seems rapidly fascinated about the idea of sports like basketball and actually playing those things to get paid. They sit there for another hour, talking about the rules of basketball until Chanyeol bursts through the shrubs.

“We have to go now,” Chanyeol says hurriedly, “the guards are here.”

They run, faintly hearing the sound of guards chasing them. Two of their voices sound familiar and they definitely can recognize Kris and Chanyeol anywhere.

“Baekhyun, do that thing you did yesterday,” Chanyeol shouts. Baekhyun flings a hand out in the direction they’re running from, but nothing happens.

“I don’t know how!” Kris mutters curses under his breath when they find themselves at the edge of a cliff. Baekhyun peers down, getting dizzy from the sight. Chanyeol kicks a rock down and watches it tumble.

“We’d die basically.” Kris can’t hold the both of them while flying and even if he tries, he risks letting one of them fall. Then Kris gets an idea.

“Baekhyun, use Luhan’s magic. Get us out of here,” Kris says, motioning for Baekhyun to take out the pocket watch. “Hurry!”

Baekhyun fumbles, not sure if one watch will be able to carry all of them. Chanyeol and Kris hold onto Baekhyun’s shoulder as he flips the watch open.

His stomach feels like it’s lurching up his throat.

÷

When Baekhyun opens his eyes, he’s back in a familiar room. The pocket watch on the front side lays broken, minute hand nicking blood from Baekhyun’s hand. There’s a table in the middle of the room but there’s no crackers or tablecloth; Luhan’s probably not expecting guest. Kris and Chanyeol are slumped off to the side, Chanyeol lightly slapping Kris to see if he wakes up. Fishing out crushed crumbs from his pocket, he offers some to Chanyeol.

“I’m not hungry,” Chanyeol says, looking extremely disturbed by the fact that Kris isn’t waking up.

“Kris, I’m going to cut all of Ace’s hair.” The fact that Kris doesn’t even stir has Chanyeol anxious.

“Chanyeol if you don’t then we can’t go see Luhan,” Baekhyun pleads, “Maybe Luhan can help him.”

Then Chanyeol agrees, stuffing crumbs into his mouth for the sake of making sure his friend will be okay. One minute they’re normal sized, and the next they’re not even half the size of Kris’ shoes. Chanyeol claws at his tongue.

“Did you give me lint?” Baekhyun smiles sheepishly, patting a small patch of Kris’ skin with a quick promise of we’ll be back.

Fortunately, the door in the table is still there.

“If we’re going to see Luhan, does this mean this is the tree of life,” Chanyeol asks. Baekhyun shrugs, he doesn’t know their fairytales. Entering through the door, Baekhyun can hear Chanyeol say, “What a shitty tree of life.”

Luhan’s standing in the middle of the room, not seeming remotely surprised by the visit. (To be fair, he probably saw it happening anyways.)

“Luhan, we need you to help us. Kris isn’t waking up,” Chanyeol says. Baekhyun adds a quiet please.

“Maybe that’s because you did things you probably shouldn’t have done,” Luhan says. Baekhyun can’t quite argue with that.

“Well, how do we wake him up?” Luhan sighs, giving them a mischievous smile.

“Why, true love’s kiss of course.”

“This isn’t Sleeping Beauty,” Baekhyun says. Chanyeol knits his eyebrows, mouthing Sleeping Beauty?

“It’s not within my magic to save Kris,” Luhan says. Seeing as how Kris could only fly and Chanyeol could only create fire, Baekhyun can’t say that Luhan could be their miracle worker.

“Okay, but that means someone can... Right?” Luhan moves an orb to the forefront and in it, Baekhyun can see a man watering flowers in a garden.

“He can help you, but he’s not from EXO Planet so you can’t go.” Before Baekhyun can reach out, the orb is no longer within reach.

“Wait, what can I offer you,” Baekhyun begs. And suddenly, the orbs stop moving as Luhan ponders the answer.

“Friendship,” Luhan says. Baekhyun blinks, that was easy.

“I want the friendship you have between Kris and Chanyeol. Give it to me and I will give take you there.” Luhan always manages to get him where it hurts, the most valuable thing that currently belongs to him is that. But if Baekhyun doesn’t save Kris, then what friendship would that be? He promised Kris that he was someone that could be trusted.

Baekhyun says, “Deal,” the same time Chanyeol says, “No deal.” Baekhyun blinks, confused. Chanyeol looks so certain in his answer that it touches Baekhyun. Kris is Chanyeol’s best friend and vice versa, and Baekhyun’s just the new one.

“Kris may be my best friend, but you are too,” Chanyeol says.

“We’ll figure something out,” Chanyeol says.

“There is actually a way,” Luhan says casually, “You have to go see Suho and win him over. If you can do that then you can wake up Sleeping Beauty over there and have your happy ending.”

It seems like Chanyeol knows who Suho is, because his face turns sour.

“Do you know him?” Chanyeol nods.

“It’s the reason Kris ran away from home in the first place.”

÷

It turns out that Chanyeol’s distaste for Suho is not enough for him to never go back. Using the pocket watch they teleport back to EXO Planet at the marketplace. The pocket watch is barely holding together, most likely good for only one more turn.

“What do we do now?” Baekhyun feels like the place at his side is empty without Kris. It seems like Chanyeol feels it too, but he tries not to show it.

“We wait,” Chanyeol says, sitting on the ground. Even though it sounds stupid, Chanyeol’s right because the guards find them and take them to the castle without hesitation-the fastest method of going back to the castle. The guards provoke Chanyeol the entire time but Chanyeol doesn’t pay attention to them because he’s a man on a mission. But Baekhyun’s sure once this entire ordeal is done, those guards are going to regret messing with the most hotheaded man in EXO Planet.

“Prince Suho, your guests have arrived.” Suho turns around, a vision of regal beauty with his pale skin and dark hair.

“Chanyeol, I didn’t expect you guys to be ever coming back,” Suho says. Chanyeol’s back is stiff as he bows.

“No, my prince. I did not expect to be coming back so soon either,” Chanyeol says. Or ever Chanyeol whispers under his breath.

“So what brings you here? I hope I’m not getting rejected twice in the same week,” Suho laughs. Baekhyun cringes, bowing awkwardly with Chanyeol.

“Your highness, we need your help. Kris is in trouble and we need to ask Xiumin a question.”

“Why?”

“We need to find someone,” Chanyeol admits. Suho hums, walking over to an intricately framed mirror. A wave of his hand and his reflection disappears and reappears to show a different person.

“Chanyeol, you called? You know you’re only allowed one question per person and you already used that up when you asked if-” Chanyeol coughs loudly, ears turning red. He motions Baekhyun to step closer to the mirror.

“Oh, someone new?” Baekhyun waves shyly.

“How do I find the person that will save Kris?” Xiumin’s face fades out and shows an image of a young male sleeping behind a counter.

“Find him and he will take you to Yixing, the Healer from the Other World.”

“That’s Jongin?” Baekhyun’s face turns sour.

“You know him,” Chanyeol asks.

“Yeah, he’s the reason I met Luhan in the first place. So how do I reach him?” Xiumin smiles apologetically.

“One question per person.” And just like that, Xiumin disappears and Suho’s reflection comes back.

“Look, I know I caused a lot of grief, but I can help you find Jongin.”

“What would you gain from this?” Suho pauses, a wistful smile on his lips that looks more sad than happy.

“Maybe he would forgive me. It wasn’t my intention to bind him to me. I think we both knew we weren’t soul mates.” But from the look on Suho’s face, maybe that’s something he’s trying to convince himself.

“He already did,” Chanyeol says. Suho looks relieved but unsurprised. Kris is kind.

Suho tells them to challenge Jongin to a game he thinks he will win. What better game to challenge a teleporter than to a game of teleportation? It’s crazy and that’s why it will work. The challenge has to be accepted at Kyungsoo’s Tavern, where Jongin will appear without fail every solar eclipse. The solar eclipse doesn’t happen too often but when it does, Jongin will jump through many worlds at the height of his powers to check in on them but he will always end the day at Kyungsoo’s Tavern in EXO Planet. It just so happens that today happens to land on a solar eclipse.

“Let me give you some pieces of advice before you try to find him though. Jongin can only teleport when he can concentrate on the place that he’s teleporting to and he has a clear mental image of the place. The farther the distance, the longer it takes-even if it’s not very long at all for him. He also can’t teleport with more than one person. And if he’s carrying extra weight, it’s only inevitable that his teleportation speed goes down too. Once the eclipse is over, he won’t be able to carry more than himself into different worlds, so it has to be today.”

“How do you know so much?” Suho’s eyes twinkle.

“Shouldn’t I know my little brother best?”

÷

Two hours later, Baekhyun stands with Chanyeol just outside the inn. They catch Jongin as he appears in a puff of gray wisps. Jongin seems startled when Chanyeol and Baekhyun grab at his wrists.

“We’ve got you now,” Chanyeol says.

“I see what’s going on. I don’t have money on me though, Kyungsoo gives me meals for free.”

“I want to challenge you to a game,” Baekhyun says seriously. Jongin blinks twice before his brain catches up.

“Go on.”

The game is that Jongin has to teleport with Chanyeol to the center of the forest and come back within one minute. It’s a bit of a stretch but Chanyeol has rocks in his clothes and he’s already heavy as hell. Baekhyun has the pocket watch to time Jongin.

“Ready, set, go,” Baekhyun says and all that’s left is a cloud of smoke. The thing about magic-at least in Baekhyun’s world-is that it’s not really magic. A magician is just a fancy word for a deceiver with tricks up his sleeve. Baekhyun tampers with the watch, setting it a minute and a half forward in time.

Jongin appears ten seconds later, and Baekhyun shows him the watch with a sly smile on his face. Jongin frowns, kicking Chanyeol’s shin. No matter how closely he looks at the watch, it says he loses the game. He mutters about how he should have agreed to pick Baekhyun up instead.

“Alright, here are my conditions: One, I will not carry more than one person at once. Two, I will only carry one person for one trip and one trip only. Magic is like energy, and I’ve already used it more than I thought I would today.”

“Please take Kris to Yixing, and if you can, please give this to them.” Baekhyun hands Jongin the pocket watch, watching him disappear.

Now is supposed to be the scary revelation that Baekhyun’s never going to be able to go home. The thing is that Baekhyun knows he won’t be able to go back home anymore but he doesn’t feel sad like he thought he would.

--

Half an hour later, Kris and Yixing come lurching toward the marketplace. This time, Kris comes back thankfully conscious. The first thing Kris does is march up to Baekhyun and ask him, “Why?”

Baekhyun shrugs, an easy smile on his lips. “I wanted to do it, so I did.”

“You know if you ever want to go back, you have to wait until the next solar eclipse right?” Baekhyun smiles distantly.

“What do you mean, Kris? Baekhyun is one of us now,” Chanyeol says, “Don’t you remember?”

Of course Kris remembers, but Kris also remembers that Baekhyun has an actual life.

“Chanyeol, Baekhyun’s not from here.”

“So what? He’s our friend now,” Chanyeol says. Baekhyun has to grip onto Chanyeol’s hand before he can flip out.

“Wait, shouldn’t I decide since it’s my life?” They quiet down at Baekhyun’s outburst.

“I know I’m not from here, but I feel like I belong here. I feel more whole than I had before I came. I wasn’t happy before, but I am now-so if it’s okay with everyone, I-I’d like to stay here?”

Kris wavers, finally giving in to Baekhyun’s nervous smile. “It’s not like we have a choice.”

÷

Two days later, it is announced that Prince Kris is getting married to a foreigner named Yixing, who has the power to heal people in need-it’s quite fitting of a member of the royal family to be able to do something for their kingdom and Yixing is welcomed warmly.

Prince Suho leaves the castle and goes back to his own estate, giving Prince Kris his best regards. “I should like to think that Prince Chen had some interest in me. Maybe I should pay him a visit.”

“A little interest?” Suho smiles winningly.

Chanyeol is named Chief of the Royal Guards, a big step up from being the town hooligan.

÷

One year later, it is announced the Royal Couple has an heir named Taozi, and he has a godfather named Byun Baekhyun, Magician of Light and Best Friend of the Chief of the Royal Guards and King Kris. Baekhyun’s gift to Tao is not a staff or a toy or even new clothes.

Baekhyun gives Tao a shiny new coin with the promises of a future.

A/N:
I'm not even sure how it got this long when it's just a series of pointless text. I loved most if not all of your prompts and I somehow twisted it so much it became a mash of a million AUs. Forgive me with the pairings it just matched with the plot. OTL Regardless of how much my writing sucks balls, I hope that you will like it and I will work on being a better writer.

One | Two