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merryfuture2023-07-11 04:17 pm
staygame) wrote in merryfuture2023-07-11 04:17 pm
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ikon: will they or won't they? turn to page five to find out! (2018)
will they or won't they? turn to page five to find out! (ao3 link, see original work for author's notes) | ikon, junhoe/jinhwan (minor b.i/bobby), teen, 6.5k words
tags: epistolary, alternate universe - harry potter setting, POV outsider, no archive warnings apply
written for: kpop ficmix 2018, original work here
---
1.
Yunhyeong is, by nature, a kind person. Back in primary school, before a stranger had showed up at his door and sat his parents down to tell them about magic and a place called Hogwarts, he was known for magnanimity. He always made sure that the boy in his class with the frayed uniform and scuffed up gym shoes was included in their games and he didn't mind picking up the slack if other students didn't complete their required chores. It's not that Yunhyeong is a saint or anything, he just isn't the type to get pleasure from the misfortune of others.
Except in the case of Goo Junhwe.
He'd met Junhwe on the train platform at the start of his third year. Junhwe was tall enough even then that he could've passed for a fellow third year, if not for the way his eyes frantically scanned the platform, taking in the sights of mothers waving wands at their children's disheveled hair and trunks rolling themselves behind students as though they had a mind of their own. Junhwe's dazed expression was familiar—Yunhyeong had the same reaction two years ago when he'd stepped through to the platform only to discover a scene out of a fever dream.
"Muggle?" Yunhyeong asked Junhwe. The look on Junhwe's face was even more puzzled at that and Yunhyeong added, "It means someone whose parents aren't magic. It's a lot to take in, huh? I nearly had a mental breakdown my first year."
"I feel like someone is going to realize they made a mistake and kick me out," Junhwe admitted, scowling down at his feet.
Yunhyeong shook his head emphatically. "If you're here, they didn't make a mistake. You belong here."
Junhwe had followed him onto the train and they ended up riding in a car with another first year, Kim Donghyuk. Unlike the two of them, Donghyuk came from a long line of magical lineage and with bright, enthusiastic eyes he told them about the Hogwarts stories he'd heard from his cousins. "They all played quidditch," Donghyuk had said, then they spent the next hour teaching Junhwe about the game, showing off his Busan Beaters and Daegu Giants trading cards, each with a moving image of a player. By the time the train rolled into the Hogwarts Station, Yunhyeong was hoping at least one of his new friends would end up on Hufflepuff with him.
Instead, Donghyuk was sorted into Ravenclaw and Junhwe into Slytherin. "Do you know him?" Jinhwan asked when Yunhyeong sighed at the results of Junhwe's sort.
"We met on the train," Yunhyeong said. "He frowns a lot, but he has a nice heart. I can tell."
Jinhwan laughed. "You think that about everyone."
Months later, Yunhyeong still thinks that Junhwe has a nice heart, despite the fact that it is frequently buried beneath several layers of gloom and sarcasm. Maybe it's because Junhwe takes himself too seriously, or the way he can't stand to be wrong even if it means getting into a shouting match with Bobby on the lawn, but there's something about seeing Junhwe vulnerable in his failure that absolutely delights Yunhyeong.
See, Junhwe sucks at Charms. After the first day, Donghyuk had gleefully recounted the way that Junhwe's levitation charm had gone so wrong that he'd managed to blast a hole through the thick wooden desk. "Don't tell him I told you," Donghyuk warned. "He'll hate that."
The next day, Yunhyeong made note of a new hole in one of the desks and laughed so loudly that he got in trouble with the professor. Since then, Junhwe continued to fuck up and Donghyuk continued to share the details of said fuck-ups with a mercilessness that betrayed his otherwise sweet personality. On one particular occasion, Yunhyeong passes Junhwe as the first years shuffle out of the Charms classroom and notices actual scorch marks on Junhwe's robes, his hair sticking straight up like he's been electrocuted.
"Rough day?" Yunhyeong asks, reaching out to ruffle his hand through Junhwe's hair.
Junhwe doesn't say anything, just aims a glower at Yunhyeong that might accompanied by the sound of Donghyuk laughing behind them.
Over lunch, Bobby points to Junhwe's face. "You have something here," he says, rubbing at his own eyebrow, which, unlike Junhwe's, is not half burnt off.
"I hate you all," Junhwe mutters under his breath before shoving a sloppily folded ssam into his mouth.
“How’d you manage to make such a mess out of a simple charm?” Hanbin asks. It's not like he has any room to judge, since he's constantly being fussed at in their classes for his lack of homework and preparation, but in Hanbin's case this is less an issue of skill and more that 98% of his time is spent working on music.
"Shut up," Junhwe groans, and drops his head down on the table with an audible thud.
Donghyuk looks down at Junhwe with raised eyebrows. “Have you thought about how you're going to pass Charms like this?”
"He's not," Bobby mouths.
Jinhwan reaches over the table and places a soothing hand on the back of Junhwe's head. “You should think about getting a tutor,” he suggests, taking a singed strand of hair between his fingers to inspect it. “Whichever one of us is the best should help Junhwe in Charms."
Yunhyeong coughs and turns away. He's not bad at Charms, but Ancient Runes is his best subject. The rest of them too look away pointedly.
"What?" Jinhwan asks, fingers stilling in the tangles of Junhwe's hair.
“Jinhwan, you're the best in Charms here," Hanbin points out.
There's actually not much that Jinhwan isn't good at. He's only a third year like Yunhyeong, but there's already talk in the Hufflepuff common room that he'll be a shoe-in for prefect in two years. He may not be as studious as Donghyuk, but Jinhwan works hard and practices everything until he masters it, whether it's a charm or a transfiguration spell or a move in Wizard's Chess. Yunhyeong might be envious, if Jinhwan wasn't also too friendly and much too cute to hate.
"Oh," Jinhwan says, dropping his hand from Junhwe's scalp to the table. "I didn't realize."
Junhwe springs up. startling Yunhyeong into dropping one of his chopsticks. "Hyung, will you tutor me?" Junhwe asks Jinhwan. He's wearing the most sincere expression that Yunhyeong has seen from him in six months of knowing him, eyes round and hopeful.
Jinhwan is briefly shocked by this display of earnestness, but he recovers quickly, flashing a smile at Junhwe. "Sure," he says.
Even as Junhwe's shoulders sag in relief, Yunhyeong doesn't miss the red tips of his ears or the way he avoids Jinhwan's gaze when he bows his head and thanks him. Apparently none of them miss this, because as soon as Yunhyeong is alone with Bobby and Hanbin, they turn on him, giddy.
"Junhwe totally has a crush on Jinhwan hyung," Bobby says, snickering.
"Definitely," Hanbin agrees.
Yunhyeong thinks back to the bashful look on Junhwe's face. "He probably doesn't even know it yet."
Bobby throws an arm around Hanbin's shoulder, tugging him in close as he cries out, "Young love! In our hallways!"
The Hogwarts Dispatch, Yunhyeong had learned in his second month as a student, was a longstanding school tradition. In the late 90s, the student-led newspaper was created to cover the intersection of the magical community and the ongoing protests in Seoul. The contributors were anonymous and no one was entirely sure where or how it was printed on campus, only that once a week, a stack of fresh pamphlets would be waiting outside the door of each common room to be read and digested by lunchtime. This was a footnote in the History of Magic course, something the professors preferred not to talk about. What started with righteous intentions did not take long to become a glorified gossip rag, the power of anonymity too great for teenagers to handle.
The first time Yunhyeong picked up a copy of the Hogwarts Dispatch, the pages soft and inky in his hands, featured articles included an actual news story about attempted grade fixing for senior Quidditch players and at least six different variations on gossip columns. Of all of these, the blind items intrigued him the most. There was a story about a fourth year, SH, who once got in trouble for casting tarantallegra in the Hufflepuff common room that Yunhyeong was just sure involved Seunghoon. Even though Yunhyeong was not necessarily an advocate for gossip, there was something a little thrilling about feeling in on a secret.
(Yunhyeong has, thus far, made it into the newspaper only once. Apparently, YH got on the wrong side of a Billiwig during his magical creatures class. As a result of his sting, it was reported that YH had to be carried out by nurses after making fun of Professor Park's receding hairline. None of it was untrue, but Yunhyeong was at least grateful that they left out the part where he laughed so hard he began crying.)
Over a decade later, the contributors to the Hogwarts Dispatch are still anonymous. If anyone knows how other students get their hands on the leaks and gossip, then it's a better kept secret than anything else that fills the Dispatch's pages.
2.
By the time that Yunhyeong enters his fifth year, not much has changed. He still regularly embarrasses himself during Care of Magical Creatures, his friends are still loud and obnoxious, and Junhwe still has a transparent, blinking-in-neon-lights level obvious crush on Jinhwan.
"Are you sure Jinhwan doesn't know?" Donghyuk asks one day, leaning back on his elbows. From their vantage point on the courtyard lawn, they can easily observe Jinhwan working on charms with Junhwe, or as Yunhyeong thinks of it sometimes, the mating dance of the Korean wizard.
"I am pretty sure the portraits in the front hall know by now," Bobby points out.
Yunhyeong watches as Junhwe aims his wand at a Hufflepuff yellow quaffle sitting on the lawn, shouting Colovaria!. For the third time in a row, nothing happens. Jinhwan is kind enough not to laugh at him, but instead wraps a hand around Junhwe's wrist, guiding him through the correct wand movements. The red flush that blooms across Junhwe's face is visible even from several meters away, but Jinhwan's attention is turned toward the wand.
"Hyung is smart," Hanbin says, not looking up from the lyrics he's jotting down on a scrap of paper, using Bobby's back as a table. "But he's also kind of dumb."
On Junhwe's fifth try, he finally manages to turn the quaffle green. It's more of a yellow-green than a true Slytherin shade, but Yunhyeong cheers him on anyway.
The article comes out the Monday after the first quidditch game of the year. (Ravenclaw lost to Slytherin after an hour of back-and-forth points; Donghyuk was morose for the rest of the afternoon, while Junhwe smugly insisted that his skills as a beater won them the game.) Yunhyeong carries his copy of the Dispatch with him to breakfast, tucked under his arm. When he's seated, Yunhyeong flips to the blind items first and his eyes immediately zero in on the second entry on the list. first kiss? JH and JH?
Yunhyeong stands abruptly, a bowl of pumpkin porridge nearly toppling as the table shakes. "You sly dog," he shouts, pointing at Jinhwan.
Jinhwan looks confused for about five seconds, then the realization must hit because his eyes go comically wide. "Be quiet," he says, motioning for Yunhyeong to sit down. "We'll talk after breakfast."
It's only because other people are looking at them and he does not want Hufflepuff to lose any points on his account that Yunhyeong takes his seat. He's still not finished with his porridge when Jinhwan stands and shoots him an expectant look, but Yunhyeong follows him out of the Great Hall anyway.
"How did you know?" Jinhwan asks him when they've found a quiet pocket of the corridor. In typical Hogwarts fashion, they're not totally alone. The subject of one of the paintings above them, a man holding some kind of large creature that looks like a cross between a bulldog and a dragon, looks down at them out of the corner of his eye, obviously interested in their conversation.
"It was in the Dispatch," Yunhyeong says, holding the paper up for Jinhwan to see.
Jinhwan runs his finger over the page, just two short sentences wedged between the story of a fourth year caught drinking and a group of friends with a gambling problem. "I wonder who saw us."
"So it's true, right? You didn't, like, trip and land on his mouth?"
"How would you even?" Jinhwan shakes his head at the thought. When he looks back up at Yunhyeong, his cheeks are flushed a pretty shade of pink. For the first time, it occurs to Yunhyeong that the infatuation they'd teased Junhwe for could go both ways. "Yeah, it's true."
Yunhyeong elbows Jinhwan in the ribs. "Why didn't you tell us! Or just me! Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know, every time you guys tease him about the crush he gets all-" Jinhwan pauses, pulling a kind of constipated expression that isn't far off from Junhwe's usual face, "you know- about it and he's so shy. I didn't know if he wanted me to tell people."
"I guess everyone will know now," Yunhyeong says. "Unless there's another JH and JH that have been pining over each other."
Jinhwan scoffs, "Pining?"
"I'm sorry, what else do you call making googly eyes at each other from across the table?"
"I call it-" Jinhwan hesitates. "Affection. Anyway, could you guys maybe not mention this to Junhwe? He doesn't read the Dispatch and maybe if no one makes a big deal about it, it won't, I don't know, spook him?"
The idea of Bobby keeping anything to himself downright laughable, but contrary to the perpetual awkward silence that seems to exist between him and Junhwe, he does care about Junhwe. They all do. "I'll give everyone the heads up," Yunhyeong says. He draws his index finger and thumb across his mouth like a zipper. "Your not-so-secret secret is safe with me."
"Thank-"
"But I demand you buy me cauldron cakes next Hogsmeade trip," Yunhyeong says, watching the grateful smile on Jinhwan's face turn downward into a scowl that could rival Junhwe's.
"If you insist," Jinhwan says, and Yunhyeong throws an arm around his shoulder, not letting go until they arrive at Potions class.
3.
When Yunhyeong found out about Jinhwan and Junhwe's first kiss last year, he expected that they'd be officially dating within the week. Instead, their friend group was subjected to another two semesters of will-they-won't-they-but-they-basically-already-are and by the middle of Yunhyeong's sixth year, Junhwe has still not officially asked Jinhwan out. This, of course, is despite the fact that they make out in the halls between classes on a regular basis.
"I just don't understand why they aren't official," Yunhyeong whines, head in Donghyuk's lap. They're supposedly having a study session, though it's mostly consisted of Yunhyeong using Donghyuk's thighs as a pillow while Donghyuk reads above him. "They haven't even been on a first date."
"It's kind of sad, isn't it?" Donghyuk hums. He pokes Yunhyeong in the cheek. "Why are you so invested in this anyway?"
Yunhyeong heaves a sigh into the fabric of Donghyuk's robes. Sometimes, Yunhyeong misses muggle detergent and the clean, homey smell he associates with fresh laundry. Whatever cleaning spell is used by the staff to launder their robes doesn't leave behind any smell at all. "Between Junhwe and Jinhwan and Hanbin and Bobby, I feel like everyone I know is courting each other. I guess I am living vicariously through them. Besides, don't act like you're not invested too."
"I am, I am," Donghyuk says, turning his gaze back to his arithmancy textbook.
The afternoon sun streaming in through the window is warm on Yunhyeong's face. Around him, he can hear the scratch of thick pages being turned, mixing with the steady sound of Donghyuk's breath. He could fall asleep right here, if not for the flick on the forehead he gets when he says, "If they haven't had a date by OWLs, I'm asking Jinhwan out myself."
They're out on the training pitch one night, Yunhyeong, Junhwe, and Chanwoo on their brooms while Donghyuk, still the weakest flyer among them, throws quaffles up into the air for them to catch. Yunhyeong isn't as skilled at quidditch as Junhwe (he still prefers playing football, a holdover from his muggle school days) but it's fun to goof around, especially without the threat of a bludger. It's getting dark and they'll have to head inside soon for dinner, but Yunhyeong is content to stay out here in the crisp fall air just a little longer.
"You know," Donghyuk starts the next time they're all flying near the ground for another toss. "There's a Hogsmeade trip is coming up."
"Don't remind me," Chanwoo whines. He's failing Arithmancy and has a Saturday class to make up a disaster of an assignment. "I want candies."
Yunhyeong pats him on the head. "I'll bring you candies."
"So what?" Junhwe asks.
"You could ask Jinhwan to go with you," Donghyuk says. "You know, a real date." The next quaffle he throws hits Junhwe, who is busy looking off into the distant sunset, and drops sadly back to the ground.
"We go together anyway," Junhwe points out when he turns back to face them.
Yunhyeong can't help but laugh. "I don't think spending an afternoon with at least three other boys while you and Bobby argue the whole time is exactly romantic. Or date-like."
"What do you know about dates?" Junhwe grumbles, which may have bothered Yunhyeong if he wasn't already resigned to his lack of courtship. Instead, he's just amused by Junhwe's defensiveness.
"We're just saying it's a good opportunity to make it official," Donghyuk says. He aims the next quaffle he throws up at Chanwoo, who catches it while nearly toppling off his broom.
Junhwe catches Chanwoo's follow-up toss easily, even while glaring at Donghyuk. There's a reason he is the only quidditch player in their friend group. "I'll think about it," he finally says.
By the time they pack it in for the night, the sun has almost completely set behind the mountains. They'll make it to the tail end of dinner, when all the food has been picked over, but Yunhyeong knows he can bribe some extra beef and tofu patties from the kitchen elves. On the way back to the castle, Junhwe lingers behind them, whispering to himself, "Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?"
Yunhyeong loves Hogsmeade. During his first trip, Yunhyeong was reminded of the first time he went to the night market with his parents. It was the same feeling of wonder, the sense that no matter which direction he looked in, there would be something interesting to catch his eye whether it was a store's neon lights or people in stalls cooking up food over griddles. In Hogsmeade, it was more like carp-shaped pastries that literally leapt through the air as if swimming upstream, enchanted candles that appeared at dusk to light the streets, and more magic users than Yunhyeong had ever before seen congregated in a single place.
It was, quite literally, magical. Yunhyeong may be several years older now, but his enthusiasm has, much to the annoyance of his friends with wizarding lineage, faded very little in that time.
On this particular Hogsmeade trip, Yunhyeong has already eaten an egg bread molded into the shape of a chick (it chirped at him before he bit off its head, but Yunhyeong has learned to get used to that), a chocoball he split with Donghyuk, and now has his hand in a bag of caramel popcorn as he watches Junhwe and Jinhwan.
"It's not a date," Hanbin says, reaching for a handful of popcorn. "It doesn't count if the only time they've been alone is at Honeydukes."
"But look how cute they are," Yunhyeong sighs.
Jinhwan has one tiny, delicate hand wrapped around Junhwe's wrist, pointing to a display of chocolate cauldrons in the Honeydukes window with his other hand. While Jinhwan is looking at the display, Junhwe's looking at him, head tilted down and a rare, unabashed smile on his face. His expression is relaxed and, even from a partially obscured view across the street, adoring. When Jinhwan looks back up to say something, Junhwe averts his gaze, though his smile doesn't quite harden to a scowl the way that Yunhyeong expects. They really are cute.
"Cute, but awkward," Donghyuk says, snickering.
They emerge twenty minutes later, both of them swinging their own glossy, teal Honeydukes bag. Yunhyeong shoves Bobby behind a bush ("Yah! Song Yunhyeong!") and then ducks down himself, hoping that they haven't made their spying totally obvious.
Except Jinhwan shouts, in a tone that conveys he's probably rolling his eyes, "We see you, idiots. Let's go get butterbeer."
4.
When Yunhyeong had started his sixth year, the free time felt like a blessing. No more arithmancy, not with his abysmal OWL scores. Good riddance, herbology, and fuck you too, potions.
However, it didn't take long for the blessed feeling to wear off. Yunhyeong had just as much homework as his fourth year friends and sometimes even more. If he wasn't writing essays, he was practicing spells until his wrist was sore and his throat dry. Only Bobby, who was never all that interested in academics, manages to stay relaxed.
By the end of the year, the back corner of the library's second floor is Yunhyeong's second home away from the Hufflepuff dorms. Yunhyeong has 2,000 words on the nature of vanishing spells due a week from now, but he only accomplished 100 before he let himself be distracted by his friends.
"Have you asked him out yet?" Donghyuk asks. He's not looking at anyone in particular, but they all know who it's directed at.
Junhwe glances up from his charms scroll with an exaggerated frown. "What do you mean?"
Yunhyeong sighs from the other end of the table, shoving his transfiguration book away. "He’s asking if you’ve asked out Jinhwan yet."
"Not since the last time you asked three weeks ago," Junhwe mumbles under his breath.
"So that's obviously a no," Yunhyeong says, tsking as he folds his arms over his chest.
"What's so difficult about asking him out?" Donghyuk asks. If Yunhyeong had a sickle for every time that question had been asked in the last few years, he'd be able to buy himself a new broom. Maybe multiple new brooms. "You two practically make out in the hallways every day, so asking Jinhwan out really shouldn’t be that difficult."
The noise that Junhwe makes, a highly indignant sort of squawk, gets the attention of a group of a group of Ravenclaw girls sitting next to them, who all narrow their eyes at him. Junhwe has no qualms about glaring back. “We so do not make out in the hallways every day," he protests to Donghyuk.
Chanwoo gives a little cough under his breath. "You guys do make out in the hallways every day." When Junhwe turns the glare on him, Chanwoo shrinks down in his seat, attempting to hide behind his History of Magic textbook.
Donghyuk, meanwhile, has a lot more experience weathering Junhwe's bad moods. He is not fazed at all by the steam coming out of Junhwe's ears. "You see? So just ask him out, Goo Junhwe. You're so infatuated it's sickening."
"I'm not infatuated with Jinhwan," Junhwe insists, stamping his foot against the ground like a petulant child. The Ravenclaw girls turn toward them again with a look that says we will not hesitate to get you kicked out of here, so they drop it. For now.
See, it's not just Jinhwan and Junhwe they have to deal with. It's Hanbin and Bobby too. Yunhyeong doesn't know if there's some kind of curse that dooms the victim to watch his friends pine obliviously for years, but if there is one, he thinks it should be considered another Unforgivable.
Hanbin and Bobby are almost worse. They aren't as easy to tease as Junhwe (Donghyuk is too pure to sass his hyungs and when Yunhyeong tried, Bobby chased him down with a tickling hex that had Yunhyeong squealing for mercy) and they haven't even advanced to the making-out-in-public stage yet.
Yunhyeong has never asked anyone out (Yoon Bomi did not count—he only wanted to go to the Yule Ball with her as a friend, okay) but he can't imagine it's all that hard.
His friends call him and Donghyuk busybodies. He remembers Chanwoo as a first year, watching an exhaustingly common discussion that had broken out over a table in the library before they got kicked out for being too noisy, and commenting, later, "Why do you care so much?" Yunhyeong defended himself, saying that sometimes, people needed a little push in the right direction.
Or, in the case of his friends, a lot of pushes, and not little ones either.
"Besides, they know what to do to get us out of their business," Yunhyeong had said, winking. "Ask each other out."
5.
Yunhyeong greets Junhwe the next morning by slamming the Dispatch down on the table in front of him, goblets and cutlery rattling with the force of it.
"You did it!" Yunhyeong cries out, throwing his arms around Junhwe's neck.
"Did. What, exactly?" Junhwe asks as he jerks away. He follows Yunhyeong's gaze down to the paper, eyes going wide when he reaches the third blind item.
"I'm so proud of you! Does Donghyuk know yet? Oh my God, I wonder if he remembers that bet we made years ago."
Junhwe blinks up at him. "Yes, I did it," he says in an odd sort of robotic tone, like he's still processing the paper's text. He snaps out of it then, adding, "Wait, what bet?"
It takes until the last month of the school year, but Goo Junhwe has finally asked Kim Jinhwan out.
+1
It comes out within their first month back at Hogwarts that Jinhwan was actually the one to formally ask Junhwe out. Yunhyeong can't help feeling betrayed and mildly bitter about having to pay Donghyuk back the three galleons he'd won for their bet, but whatever the origin story, at least Junhwe and Jinhwan are official now.
They still tease Junhwe, because it comes as naturally now as exchanging hellos and goodbyes, but the same passion is not quite there.
By the middle of the semester, Bobby and Hanbin are also dating. According to Chanwoo, it happened during lunch, a casual declaration of "Hey, I like you" over the Gryffindor table. Hanbin had blushed, but he easily returned the confession.
The first Hogsmeade trip of the year has Yunhyeong, Donghyuk, and Chanwoo trailing behind the couples, holding chicken skewers instead of hands. "The fifth, sixth, and seventh wheels," Chanwoo says, pointing at each of them.
Yunhyeong sighs. "After I graduate, I better hear something about you two getting dates. Don't be like me. Or them."
"You got to spend five years with me," Donghyuk says, beaming at him. "Relationship or not, I'd say that was worth it."
Next to them, Chanwoo makes a subtle gagging noise.
Maybe it's because Yunhyeong is working his ass off in his NEWT level classes or maybe it's just that he feels, with graduation looming ahead of him, like time is running out, but the semester seems to pass in a blur. It's Christmas season before Yunhyeong knows it. The castle is decorated with floating candles and garland from fir trees that manage to retain their sweet, woodsy scent for weeks. There's also mistletoe that keeps popping up everywhere, from the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room to the library aisle where Yunhyeong and Jinhwan have to retrieve their Transfiguration books.
Oddly, the mistletoe doesn't seem to show up anywhere that Jinhwan isn't, but Yunhyeong is gracious not to point that out. Yunhyeong manages to smack a kiss onto the apple of Jinhwan's cheek in the library, peck Bobby's hand in the Great Hall, and wrestle Junhwe down to his level to give him a wet kiss on the ear before the the mistletoe charm is reversed.
The final event before winter break begins is the Yule Ball, an event that everyone has been talking about since at least Halloween. Last year, he'd gone with Donghyuk (as friends, of course), but now that Chanwoo is old enough to attend, it's kind of a given that he'll tag along with them, just as it's a given that their resident couples will also go together.
"You know," Donghyuk muses over lunch, "this is a good opportunity to ask Jinhwan out yourself."
Junhwe pokes sullenly at his slice of cake with his fork. "He knows that I like him," he says. Then, in a far less decisive tone, he adds, "Right?"
"Duh," Yunhyeong says, rolling his eyes.
"Of course," Donghyuk agrees. "It's just personally, I think it'd be cute, you know? That you finally worked up the courage. You're running out of time to do it while he's still at Hogwarts. But it's okay, confessing is hard."
Yunhyeong recognizes the challenge in Donghyuk's words and knows that it was intentional, that Junhwe hates being underestimated more than anything else. Junhwe's expression doesn't change at all, but his grip around the fork tightens just a little. On the way out of the hall, Yunhyeong pats him on the back, like a coach sending out a substitute player in a pinch.
Later, Jinhwan knocks on the door of Yunhyeong's dorm room. He doesn't wait for an answer before his head pops in, grinning as wide as Yunhyeong has ever seen. "He finally did it," is all Jinhwan needs to say. Yunhyeong pumps his fist in the air.
The night of the Yule Ball, Yunhyeong waits at the foot of the grand staircase, tugging on the itchy ruffles on his dress robes. They're the same set he'd purchased before his first Yule Ball in his fourth year and even despite the cloth stretching spell he attempted, they're still a few centimeters short, hanging down at the tops of his ankles. He could've asked his parents to send money, but getting it exchanged to wizarding coins was such a hassle and, he figured, it's not like he had a date to impress anyway.
Junhwe and Jinhwan are the first to meet him, arriving from the direction of the dungeons with their hands swinging together between them. Junhwe is wearing simple robes in a rich slytherin green and Yunhyeong spares a moment of envy for how Junhwe's legs somehow seem even longer. Jinhwan's outfit has a little more flair with a golden, embroidered vest under silky black robes.
"A picture!" Yunhyeong insists, pulling out the magical instant camera that had been an early present for himself. Jinhwan poses with a cute V-sign, lips slightly puckered, while Junhwe maintains his scowl. Luckily, the print that emerges captures the moment, just a few frames, when Junhwe's face relaxes and he tilts his head down to smile at Jinhwan.
"Hideous," Junhwe says when Yunhyeong shows him, at the same time that Jinhwan says, "Aw, we look cute."
Hanbin arrives next with Bobby, sporting matching bow ties. Yunhyeong gets two pictures, one with each of them trying to look cool and another where Bobby had surprised Hanbin with a kiss on the cheek, Hanbin's flustered expression caught in the last few frames on the print.
"Where are the maknaes?" Jinhwan asks, looking down at his wrist where his watch would normally be.
"Here!" Donghyuk calls from the top of the stairs. "Someone had to be dragged away from that muggle video game."
Donghyuk looks handsome in his robes, the material a midnight blue that's so dark it looks black until the lamp light catches it. He's beaming down at them, arm linked with Chanwoo, and a wave of preemptive nostalgia hits Yunhyeong with the force of a bludger. He's going to miss this group of friends.
"Are you crying?" Junhwe asks, and Yunhyeong quickly rubs his palms over his eyes.
"From seeing your face," Yunhyeong says.
He gets a few more snapshots before the night ends. Donghyuk and Chanwoo posing with their hands framing their chins, blinking sweetly at the camera. A selfie with Hanbin, Yunhyeong's finger poking Hanbin's dimple. A group shot that ends up capturing the scene of all seven of them trying to fit in the frame, tripping over each other's legs and Junhwe rolling his eyes affectionately from the back.
The Great Hall is decked out for the occasion. The long house tables have been removed, putting the grandiosity of the space in a new perspective. There's a pine tree at the front of the hall that stretches up so far you'd have to crane your neck to see the top, wrapped in ribbon garlands and decorated with tiny lights that flicker like fireflies. Around them, tables are full of finger foods and butterbeer.
It's Bobby who produces a flask from his robe, giving it a little shake. Yunhyeong is mildly scandalized, but he takes a shot in his goblet of pumpkin fizz anyway.
As the dancing begins, Yunhyeong finds himself at the edge of the hall, still nursing his spiked pumpkin fizz. The band is playing something mid-tempo, slow enough that only the couples have made their way to the floor. There's Jinhwan and Junhwe, Bobby and Hanbin. Even Chanwoo is dancing with another fourth year, Hwang Eunbi. Yunhyeong feels something warm press against his arm and looks to his left to see Donghyuk, leaning toward him.
"I'm happy for them," Donghyuk says, looking out to the dance floor.
"Maybe all the meddling was worth it, then."
"They never would've gotten here without us," Donghyuk agrees.
Yunhyeong turns, setting his goblet onto one of the tables before he offers his hand, palm up, to Donghyuk. "Don't let me leave Hogwarts without one slow dance," he says.
Donghyuk takes his hand, grinning. "Lead the way."
tags: epistolary, alternate universe - harry potter setting, POV outsider, no archive warnings apply
written for: kpop ficmix 2018, original work here
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1.
Yunhyeong is, by nature, a kind person. Back in primary school, before a stranger had showed up at his door and sat his parents down to tell them about magic and a place called Hogwarts, he was known for magnanimity. He always made sure that the boy in his class with the frayed uniform and scuffed up gym shoes was included in their games and he didn't mind picking up the slack if other students didn't complete their required chores. It's not that Yunhyeong is a saint or anything, he just isn't the type to get pleasure from the misfortune of others.
Except in the case of Goo Junhwe.
He'd met Junhwe on the train platform at the start of his third year. Junhwe was tall enough even then that he could've passed for a fellow third year, if not for the way his eyes frantically scanned the platform, taking in the sights of mothers waving wands at their children's disheveled hair and trunks rolling themselves behind students as though they had a mind of their own. Junhwe's dazed expression was familiar—Yunhyeong had the same reaction two years ago when he'd stepped through to the platform only to discover a scene out of a fever dream.
"Muggle?" Yunhyeong asked Junhwe. The look on Junhwe's face was even more puzzled at that and Yunhyeong added, "It means someone whose parents aren't magic. It's a lot to take in, huh? I nearly had a mental breakdown my first year."
"I feel like someone is going to realize they made a mistake and kick me out," Junhwe admitted, scowling down at his feet.
Yunhyeong shook his head emphatically. "If you're here, they didn't make a mistake. You belong here."
Junhwe had followed him onto the train and they ended up riding in a car with another first year, Kim Donghyuk. Unlike the two of them, Donghyuk came from a long line of magical lineage and with bright, enthusiastic eyes he told them about the Hogwarts stories he'd heard from his cousins. "They all played quidditch," Donghyuk had said, then they spent the next hour teaching Junhwe about the game, showing off his Busan Beaters and Daegu Giants trading cards, each with a moving image of a player. By the time the train rolled into the Hogwarts Station, Yunhyeong was hoping at least one of his new friends would end up on Hufflepuff with him.
Instead, Donghyuk was sorted into Ravenclaw and Junhwe into Slytherin. "Do you know him?" Jinhwan asked when Yunhyeong sighed at the results of Junhwe's sort.
"We met on the train," Yunhyeong said. "He frowns a lot, but he has a nice heart. I can tell."
Jinhwan laughed. "You think that about everyone."
Months later, Yunhyeong still thinks that Junhwe has a nice heart, despite the fact that it is frequently buried beneath several layers of gloom and sarcasm. Maybe it's because Junhwe takes himself too seriously, or the way he can't stand to be wrong even if it means getting into a shouting match with Bobby on the lawn, but there's something about seeing Junhwe vulnerable in his failure that absolutely delights Yunhyeong.
See, Junhwe sucks at Charms. After the first day, Donghyuk had gleefully recounted the way that Junhwe's levitation charm had gone so wrong that he'd managed to blast a hole through the thick wooden desk. "Don't tell him I told you," Donghyuk warned. "He'll hate that."
The next day, Yunhyeong made note of a new hole in one of the desks and laughed so loudly that he got in trouble with the professor. Since then, Junhwe continued to fuck up and Donghyuk continued to share the details of said fuck-ups with a mercilessness that betrayed his otherwise sweet personality. On one particular occasion, Yunhyeong passes Junhwe as the first years shuffle out of the Charms classroom and notices actual scorch marks on Junhwe's robes, his hair sticking straight up like he's been electrocuted.
"Rough day?" Yunhyeong asks, reaching out to ruffle his hand through Junhwe's hair.
Junhwe doesn't say anything, just aims a glower at Yunhyeong that might accompanied by the sound of Donghyuk laughing behind them.
Over lunch, Bobby points to Junhwe's face. "You have something here," he says, rubbing at his own eyebrow, which, unlike Junhwe's, is not half burnt off.
"I hate you all," Junhwe mutters under his breath before shoving a sloppily folded ssam into his mouth.
“How’d you manage to make such a mess out of a simple charm?” Hanbin asks. It's not like he has any room to judge, since he's constantly being fussed at in their classes for his lack of homework and preparation, but in Hanbin's case this is less an issue of skill and more that 98% of his time is spent working on music.
"Shut up," Junhwe groans, and drops his head down on the table with an audible thud.
Donghyuk looks down at Junhwe with raised eyebrows. “Have you thought about how you're going to pass Charms like this?”
"He's not," Bobby mouths.
Jinhwan reaches over the table and places a soothing hand on the back of Junhwe's head. “You should think about getting a tutor,” he suggests, taking a singed strand of hair between his fingers to inspect it. “Whichever one of us is the best should help Junhwe in Charms."
Yunhyeong coughs and turns away. He's not bad at Charms, but Ancient Runes is his best subject. The rest of them too look away pointedly.
"What?" Jinhwan asks, fingers stilling in the tangles of Junhwe's hair.
“Jinhwan, you're the best in Charms here," Hanbin points out.
There's actually not much that Jinhwan isn't good at. He's only a third year like Yunhyeong, but there's already talk in the Hufflepuff common room that he'll be a shoe-in for prefect in two years. He may not be as studious as Donghyuk, but Jinhwan works hard and practices everything until he masters it, whether it's a charm or a transfiguration spell or a move in Wizard's Chess. Yunhyeong might be envious, if Jinhwan wasn't also too friendly and much too cute to hate.
"Oh," Jinhwan says, dropping his hand from Junhwe's scalp to the table. "I didn't realize."
Junhwe springs up. startling Yunhyeong into dropping one of his chopsticks. "Hyung, will you tutor me?" Junhwe asks Jinhwan. He's wearing the most sincere expression that Yunhyeong has seen from him in six months of knowing him, eyes round and hopeful.
Jinhwan is briefly shocked by this display of earnestness, but he recovers quickly, flashing a smile at Junhwe. "Sure," he says.
Even as Junhwe's shoulders sag in relief, Yunhyeong doesn't miss the red tips of his ears or the way he avoids Jinhwan's gaze when he bows his head and thanks him. Apparently none of them miss this, because as soon as Yunhyeong is alone with Bobby and Hanbin, they turn on him, giddy.
"Junhwe totally has a crush on Jinhwan hyung," Bobby says, snickering.
"Definitely," Hanbin agrees.
Yunhyeong thinks back to the bashful look on Junhwe's face. "He probably doesn't even know it yet."
Bobby throws an arm around Hanbin's shoulder, tugging him in close as he cries out, "Young love! In our hallways!"
Happy Monday to those of you who did not stay up past curfew to watch QC Incheon lose in a truly embarrassing fashion against Bucheon Bulgae. (Seriously, you're down 200 points to one of the lowest ranked teams in the league and your own seeker has to end the game? Pathetic!) To the rest of us who might be feeling a little low this morning, here's some fresh gossip to kick off the week.
- Another one of NJ's attempts to awaken the house elf proletariat and start a revolution failed when he was banned from the kitchens (again) by the head cook.
- Rumors of a secret romance have been swirling ever since JW's class performance started slipping. Turns out this mystery lover is no lover at all, but a friendly hippogriff currently taking up residence in the Forbidden Forest. Okay then...
- Could it be? Baby's first crush? Onlookers report starry eyes coming from a JH's direction aimed at a certain third year.
The Hogwarts Dispatch, Yunhyeong had learned in his second month as a student, was a longstanding school tradition. In the late 90s, the student-led newspaper was created to cover the intersection of the magical community and the ongoing protests in Seoul. The contributors were anonymous and no one was entirely sure where or how it was printed on campus, only that once a week, a stack of fresh pamphlets would be waiting outside the door of each common room to be read and digested by lunchtime. This was a footnote in the History of Magic course, something the professors preferred not to talk about. What started with righteous intentions did not take long to become a glorified gossip rag, the power of anonymity too great for teenagers to handle.
The first time Yunhyeong picked up a copy of the Hogwarts Dispatch, the pages soft and inky in his hands, featured articles included an actual news story about attempted grade fixing for senior Quidditch players and at least six different variations on gossip columns. Of all of these, the blind items intrigued him the most. There was a story about a fourth year, SH, who once got in trouble for casting tarantallegra in the Hufflepuff common room that Yunhyeong was just sure involved Seunghoon. Even though Yunhyeong was not necessarily an advocate for gossip, there was something a little thrilling about feeling in on a secret.
(Yunhyeong has, thus far, made it into the newspaper only once. Apparently, YH got on the wrong side of a Billiwig during his magical creatures class. As a result of his sting, it was reported that YH had to be carried out by nurses after making fun of Professor Park's receding hairline. None of it was untrue, but Yunhyeong was at least grateful that they left out the part where he laughed so hard he began crying.)
Over a decade later, the contributors to the Hogwarts Dispatch are still anonymous. If anyone knows how other students get their hands on the leaks and gossip, then it's a better kept secret than anything else that fills the Dispatch's pages.
2.
By the time that Yunhyeong enters his fifth year, not much has changed. He still regularly embarrasses himself during Care of Magical Creatures, his friends are still loud and obnoxious, and Junhwe still has a transparent, blinking-in-neon-lights level obvious crush on Jinhwan.
"Are you sure Jinhwan doesn't know?" Donghyuk asks one day, leaning back on his elbows. From their vantage point on the courtyard lawn, they can easily observe Jinhwan working on charms with Junhwe, or as Yunhyeong thinks of it sometimes, the mating dance of the Korean wizard.
"I am pretty sure the portraits in the front hall know by now," Bobby points out.
Yunhyeong watches as Junhwe aims his wand at a Hufflepuff yellow quaffle sitting on the lawn, shouting Colovaria!. For the third time in a row, nothing happens. Jinhwan is kind enough not to laugh at him, but instead wraps a hand around Junhwe's wrist, guiding him through the correct wand movements. The red flush that blooms across Junhwe's face is visible even from several meters away, but Jinhwan's attention is turned toward the wand.
"Hyung is smart," Hanbin says, not looking up from the lyrics he's jotting down on a scrap of paper, using Bobby's back as a table. "But he's also kind of dumb."
On Junhwe's fifth try, he finally manages to turn the quaffle green. It's more of a yellow-green than a true Slytherin shade, but Yunhyeong cheers him on anyway.
Hogwarts students, we are now beginning our third month of the school year and the weather is starting to cool off. Prepare your warming charms and be sure not to catch a cold! If you're feeling the chill, try these new blind items to heat things up.
- They grow up so fast these days—fourth year student JN was caught drinking Dragon Barrel Brandy near the lake two weeks ago. Rumor has it that the punishment for underage drinking includes scrubbing the grout in the dungeons.
- Hogwarts' slowest slow burn may have finally resulted in a flame. A report was made of a first kiss exchanged between JH and JH in the astronomy tower last Friday.
- A group of students known as "We're the Strongest Wizards" (really, that's the best you could come up with?) was busted for betting on Exploding Snap games. One gamer was reported to turn a tidy profit of 50 galleons.
The article comes out the Monday after the first quidditch game of the year. (Ravenclaw lost to Slytherin after an hour of back-and-forth points; Donghyuk was morose for the rest of the afternoon, while Junhwe smugly insisted that his skills as a beater won them the game.) Yunhyeong carries his copy of the Dispatch with him to breakfast, tucked under his arm. When he's seated, Yunhyeong flips to the blind items first and his eyes immediately zero in on the second entry on the list. first kiss? JH and JH?
Yunhyeong stands abruptly, a bowl of pumpkin porridge nearly toppling as the table shakes. "You sly dog," he shouts, pointing at Jinhwan.
Jinhwan looks confused for about five seconds, then the realization must hit because his eyes go comically wide. "Be quiet," he says, motioning for Yunhyeong to sit down. "We'll talk after breakfast."
It's only because other people are looking at them and he does not want Hufflepuff to lose any points on his account that Yunhyeong takes his seat. He's still not finished with his porridge when Jinhwan stands and shoots him an expectant look, but Yunhyeong follows him out of the Great Hall anyway.
"How did you know?" Jinhwan asks him when they've found a quiet pocket of the corridor. In typical Hogwarts fashion, they're not totally alone. The subject of one of the paintings above them, a man holding some kind of large creature that looks like a cross between a bulldog and a dragon, looks down at them out of the corner of his eye, obviously interested in their conversation.
"It was in the Dispatch," Yunhyeong says, holding the paper up for Jinhwan to see.
Jinhwan runs his finger over the page, just two short sentences wedged between the story of a fourth year caught drinking and a group of friends with a gambling problem. "I wonder who saw us."
"So it's true, right? You didn't, like, trip and land on his mouth?"
"How would you even?" Jinhwan shakes his head at the thought. When he looks back up at Yunhyeong, his cheeks are flushed a pretty shade of pink. For the first time, it occurs to Yunhyeong that the infatuation they'd teased Junhwe for could go both ways. "Yeah, it's true."
Yunhyeong elbows Jinhwan in the ribs. "Why didn't you tell us! Or just me! Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know, every time you guys tease him about the crush he gets all-" Jinhwan pauses, pulling a kind of constipated expression that isn't far off from Junhwe's usual face, "you know- about it and he's so shy. I didn't know if he wanted me to tell people."
"I guess everyone will know now," Yunhyeong says. "Unless there's another JH and JH that have been pining over each other."
Jinhwan scoffs, "Pining?"
"I'm sorry, what else do you call making googly eyes at each other from across the table?"
"I call it-" Jinhwan hesitates. "Affection. Anyway, could you guys maybe not mention this to Junhwe? He doesn't read the Dispatch and maybe if no one makes a big deal about it, it won't, I don't know, spook him?"
The idea of Bobby keeping anything to himself downright laughable, but contrary to the perpetual awkward silence that seems to exist between him and Junhwe, he does care about Junhwe. They all do. "I'll give everyone the heads up," Yunhyeong says. He draws his index finger and thumb across his mouth like a zipper. "Your not-so-secret secret is safe with me."
"Thank-"
"But I demand you buy me cauldron cakes next Hogsmeade trip," Yunhyeong says, watching the grateful smile on Jinhwan's face turn downward into a scowl that could rival Junhwe's.
"If you insist," Jinhwan says, and Yunhyeong throws an arm around his shoulder, not letting go until they arrive at Potions class.
3.
When Yunhyeong found out about Jinhwan and Junhwe's first kiss last year, he expected that they'd be officially dating within the week. Instead, their friend group was subjected to another two semesters of will-they-won't-they-but-they-basically-already-are and by the middle of Yunhyeong's sixth year, Junhwe has still not officially asked Jinhwan out. This, of course, is despite the fact that they make out in the halls between classes on a regular basis.
"I just don't understand why they aren't official," Yunhyeong whines, head in Donghyuk's lap. They're supposedly having a study session, though it's mostly consisted of Yunhyeong using Donghyuk's thighs as a pillow while Donghyuk reads above him. "They haven't even been on a first date."
"It's kind of sad, isn't it?" Donghyuk hums. He pokes Yunhyeong in the cheek. "Why are you so invested in this anyway?"
Yunhyeong heaves a sigh into the fabric of Donghyuk's robes. Sometimes, Yunhyeong misses muggle detergent and the clean, homey smell he associates with fresh laundry. Whatever cleaning spell is used by the staff to launder their robes doesn't leave behind any smell at all. "Between Junhwe and Jinhwan and Hanbin and Bobby, I feel like everyone I know is courting each other. I guess I am living vicariously through them. Besides, don't act like you're not invested too."
"I am, I am," Donghyuk says, turning his gaze back to his arithmancy textbook.
The afternoon sun streaming in through the window is warm on Yunhyeong's face. Around him, he can hear the scratch of thick pages being turned, mixing with the steady sound of Donghyuk's breath. He could fall asleep right here, if not for the flick on the forehead he gets when he says, "If they haven't had a date by OWLs, I'm asking Jinhwan out myself."
They're out on the training pitch one night, Yunhyeong, Junhwe, and Chanwoo on their brooms while Donghyuk, still the weakest flyer among them, throws quaffles up into the air for them to catch. Yunhyeong isn't as skilled at quidditch as Junhwe (he still prefers playing football, a holdover from his muggle school days) but it's fun to goof around, especially without the threat of a bludger. It's getting dark and they'll have to head inside soon for dinner, but Yunhyeong is content to stay out here in the crisp fall air just a little longer.
"You know," Donghyuk starts the next time they're all flying near the ground for another toss. "There's a Hogsmeade trip is coming up."
"Don't remind me," Chanwoo whines. He's failing Arithmancy and has a Saturday class to make up a disaster of an assignment. "I want candies."
Yunhyeong pats him on the head. "I'll bring you candies."
"So what?" Junhwe asks.
"You could ask Jinhwan to go with you," Donghyuk says. "You know, a real date." The next quaffle he throws hits Junhwe, who is busy looking off into the distant sunset, and drops sadly back to the ground.
"We go together anyway," Junhwe points out when he turns back to face them.
Yunhyeong can't help but laugh. "I don't think spending an afternoon with at least three other boys while you and Bobby argue the whole time is exactly romantic. Or date-like."
"What do you know about dates?" Junhwe grumbles, which may have bothered Yunhyeong if he wasn't already resigned to his lack of courtship. Instead, he's just amused by Junhwe's defensiveness.
"We're just saying it's a good opportunity to make it official," Donghyuk says. He aims the next quaffle he throws up at Chanwoo, who catches it while nearly toppling off his broom.
Junhwe catches Chanwoo's follow-up toss easily, even while glaring at Donghyuk. There's a reason he is the only quidditch player in their friend group. "I'll think about it," he finally says.
By the time they pack it in for the night, the sun has almost completely set behind the mountains. They'll make it to the tail end of dinner, when all the food has been picked over, but Yunhyeong knows he can bribe some extra beef and tofu patties from the kitchen elves. On the way back to the castle, Junhwe lingers behind them, whispering to himself, "Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?"
Yunhyeong loves Hogsmeade. During his first trip, Yunhyeong was reminded of the first time he went to the night market with his parents. It was the same feeling of wonder, the sense that no matter which direction he looked in, there would be something interesting to catch his eye whether it was a store's neon lights or people in stalls cooking up food over griddles. In Hogsmeade, it was more like carp-shaped pastries that literally leapt through the air as if swimming upstream, enchanted candles that appeared at dusk to light the streets, and more magic users than Yunhyeong had ever before seen congregated in a single place.
It was, quite literally, magical. Yunhyeong may be several years older now, but his enthusiasm has, much to the annoyance of his friends with wizarding lineage, faded very little in that time.
On this particular Hogsmeade trip, Yunhyeong has already eaten an egg bread molded into the shape of a chick (it chirped at him before he bit off its head, but Yunhyeong has learned to get used to that), a chocoball he split with Donghyuk, and now has his hand in a bag of caramel popcorn as he watches Junhwe and Jinhwan.
"It's not a date," Hanbin says, reaching for a handful of popcorn. "It doesn't count if the only time they've been alone is at Honeydukes."
"But look how cute they are," Yunhyeong sighs.
Jinhwan has one tiny, delicate hand wrapped around Junhwe's wrist, pointing to a display of chocolate cauldrons in the Honeydukes window with his other hand. While Jinhwan is looking at the display, Junhwe's looking at him, head tilted down and a rare, unabashed smile on his face. His expression is relaxed and, even from a partially obscured view across the street, adoring. When Jinhwan looks back up to say something, Junhwe averts his gaze, though his smile doesn't quite harden to a scowl the way that Yunhyeong expects. They really are cute.
"Cute, but awkward," Donghyuk says, snickering.
They emerge twenty minutes later, both of them swinging their own glossy, teal Honeydukes bag. Yunhyeong shoves Bobby behind a bush ("Yah! Song Yunhyeong!") and then ducks down himself, hoping that they haven't made their spying totally obvious.
Except Jinhwan shouts, in a tone that conveys he's probably rolling his eyes, "We see you, idiots. Let's go get butterbeer."
There are just a few weeks left until our winter break. I don't know about you, dear reader, but for me, time seems to be crawling along like a Giant Orange Snail. Here's to hoping that the holidays arrive sooner rather than later.
- An infatuated reader spotted JH and JH holding hands in Honeydukes. JH the smaller needed no aegyo to convince JH the larger to buy a box of chocolate cauldrons.
- You can expect the official notice soon. Star quidditch player JW has accepted a starting position on a certain Hong Kong team. His salary is reported to be at least double what a Hogwarts professor makes.
- Rumor has it that third year JK lost a tooth after taking a golden snitch to the face during quidditch practice. Luckily blood stains go well with the Gryffindor robes.
4.
When Yunhyeong had started his sixth year, the free time felt like a blessing. No more arithmancy, not with his abysmal OWL scores. Good riddance, herbology, and fuck you too, potions.
However, it didn't take long for the blessed feeling to wear off. Yunhyeong had just as much homework as his fourth year friends and sometimes even more. If he wasn't writing essays, he was practicing spells until his wrist was sore and his throat dry. Only Bobby, who was never all that interested in academics, manages to stay relaxed.
By the end of the year, the back corner of the library's second floor is Yunhyeong's second home away from the Hufflepuff dorms. Yunhyeong has 2,000 words on the nature of vanishing spells due a week from now, but he only accomplished 100 before he let himself be distracted by his friends.
"Have you asked him out yet?" Donghyuk asks. He's not looking at anyone in particular, but they all know who it's directed at.
Junhwe glances up from his charms scroll with an exaggerated frown. "What do you mean?"
Yunhyeong sighs from the other end of the table, shoving his transfiguration book away. "He’s asking if you’ve asked out Jinhwan yet."
"Not since the last time you asked three weeks ago," Junhwe mumbles under his breath.
"So that's obviously a no," Yunhyeong says, tsking as he folds his arms over his chest.
"What's so difficult about asking him out?" Donghyuk asks. If Yunhyeong had a sickle for every time that question had been asked in the last few years, he'd be able to buy himself a new broom. Maybe multiple new brooms. "You two practically make out in the hallways every day, so asking Jinhwan out really shouldn’t be that difficult."
The noise that Junhwe makes, a highly indignant sort of squawk, gets the attention of a group of a group of Ravenclaw girls sitting next to them, who all narrow their eyes at him. Junhwe has no qualms about glaring back. “We so do not make out in the hallways every day," he protests to Donghyuk.
Chanwoo gives a little cough under his breath. "You guys do make out in the hallways every day." When Junhwe turns the glare on him, Chanwoo shrinks down in his seat, attempting to hide behind his History of Magic textbook.
Donghyuk, meanwhile, has a lot more experience weathering Junhwe's bad moods. He is not fazed at all by the steam coming out of Junhwe's ears. "You see? So just ask him out, Goo Junhwe. You're so infatuated it's sickening."
"I'm not infatuated with Jinhwan," Junhwe insists, stamping his foot against the ground like a petulant child. The Ravenclaw girls turn toward them again with a look that says we will not hesitate to get you kicked out of here, so they drop it. For now.
See, it's not just Jinhwan and Junhwe they have to deal with. It's Hanbin and Bobby too. Yunhyeong doesn't know if there's some kind of curse that dooms the victim to watch his friends pine obliviously for years, but if there is one, he thinks it should be considered another Unforgivable.
Hanbin and Bobby are almost worse. They aren't as easy to tease as Junhwe (Donghyuk is too pure to sass his hyungs and when Yunhyeong tried, Bobby chased him down with a tickling hex that had Yunhyeong squealing for mercy) and they haven't even advanced to the making-out-in-public stage yet.
Yunhyeong has never asked anyone out (Yoon Bomi did not count—he only wanted to go to the Yule Ball with her as a friend, okay) but he can't imagine it's all that hard.
His friends call him and Donghyuk busybodies. He remembers Chanwoo as a first year, watching an exhaustingly common discussion that had broken out over a table in the library before they got kicked out for being too noisy, and commenting, later, "Why do you care so much?" Yunhyeong defended himself, saying that sometimes, people needed a little push in the right direction.
Or, in the case of his friends, a lot of pushes, and not little ones either.
"Besides, they know what to do to get us out of their business," Yunhyeong had said, winking. "Ask each other out."
Some words of advice for exam season. Yes, they are exhausting—it's in the name, what did you expect?—and yes, you will mess up your star chart, but it's okay. Who really needs NEWT level astronomy anyway? Take a break from the last minute cramming, pour yourself a calming draught, and enjoy these new blind items.
- Third year SY may be small, but word on the street is that she packs a mean punch. The fight allegedly broke out after upperclassmen were heard picking on a foreign first year student. Who needs wands when you have fists?
- On a recent Hogsmeade outing, fifth year JY was spotted making out with fourth year MN. This was shocking, of course, as JY took MM as her date. Potential scandal averted: the official word is that the three of them are in a relationship.
- Despite the rumors that have been swirling for years and the near constant sightings of hallway canoodling, it's been said that JH and JH have never made their relationship official. Until now, that is. A reader reports overhearing a request for a date.
5.
Yunhyeong greets Junhwe the next morning by slamming the Dispatch down on the table in front of him, goblets and cutlery rattling with the force of it.
"You did it!" Yunhyeong cries out, throwing his arms around Junhwe's neck.
"Did. What, exactly?" Junhwe asks as he jerks away. He follows Yunhyeong's gaze down to the paper, eyes going wide when he reaches the third blind item.
"I'm so proud of you! Does Donghyuk know yet? Oh my God, I wonder if he remembers that bet we made years ago."
Junhwe blinks up at him. "Yes, I did it," he says in an odd sort of robotic tone, like he's still processing the paper's text. He snaps out of it then, adding, "Wait, what bet?"
It takes until the last month of the school year, but Goo Junhwe has finally asked Kim Jinhwan out.
+1
It comes out within their first month back at Hogwarts that Jinhwan was actually the one to formally ask Junhwe out. Yunhyeong can't help feeling betrayed and mildly bitter about having to pay Donghyuk back the three galleons he'd won for their bet, but whatever the origin story, at least Junhwe and Jinhwan are official now.
They still tease Junhwe, because it comes as naturally now as exchanging hellos and goodbyes, but the same passion is not quite there.
By the middle of the semester, Bobby and Hanbin are also dating. According to Chanwoo, it happened during lunch, a casual declaration of "Hey, I like you" over the Gryffindor table. Hanbin had blushed, but he easily returned the confession.
The first Hogsmeade trip of the year has Yunhyeong, Donghyuk, and Chanwoo trailing behind the couples, holding chicken skewers instead of hands. "The fifth, sixth, and seventh wheels," Chanwoo says, pointing at each of them.
Yunhyeong sighs. "After I graduate, I better hear something about you two getting dates. Don't be like me. Or them."
"You got to spend five years with me," Donghyuk says, beaming at him. "Relationship or not, I'd say that was worth it."
Next to them, Chanwoo makes a subtle gagging noise.
Maybe it's because Yunhyeong is working his ass off in his NEWT level classes or maybe it's just that he feels, with graduation looming ahead of him, like time is running out, but the semester seems to pass in a blur. It's Christmas season before Yunhyeong knows it. The castle is decorated with floating candles and garland from fir trees that manage to retain their sweet, woodsy scent for weeks. There's also mistletoe that keeps popping up everywhere, from the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room to the library aisle where Yunhyeong and Jinhwan have to retrieve their Transfiguration books.
Oddly, the mistletoe doesn't seem to show up anywhere that Jinhwan isn't, but Yunhyeong is gracious not to point that out. Yunhyeong manages to smack a kiss onto the apple of Jinhwan's cheek in the library, peck Bobby's hand in the Great Hall, and wrestle Junhwe down to his level to give him a wet kiss on the ear before the the mistletoe charm is reversed.
The final event before winter break begins is the Yule Ball, an event that everyone has been talking about since at least Halloween. Last year, he'd gone with Donghyuk (as friends, of course), but now that Chanwoo is old enough to attend, it's kind of a given that he'll tag along with them, just as it's a given that their resident couples will also go together.
"You know," Donghyuk muses over lunch, "this is a good opportunity to ask Jinhwan out yourself."
Junhwe pokes sullenly at his slice of cake with his fork. "He knows that I like him," he says. Then, in a far less decisive tone, he adds, "Right?"
"Duh," Yunhyeong says, rolling his eyes.
"Of course," Donghyuk agrees. "It's just personally, I think it'd be cute, you know? That you finally worked up the courage. You're running out of time to do it while he's still at Hogwarts. But it's okay, confessing is hard."
Yunhyeong recognizes the challenge in Donghyuk's words and knows that it was intentional, that Junhwe hates being underestimated more than anything else. Junhwe's expression doesn't change at all, but his grip around the fork tightens just a little. On the way out of the hall, Yunhyeong pats him on the back, like a coach sending out a substitute player in a pinch.
Later, Jinhwan knocks on the door of Yunhyeong's dorm room. He doesn't wait for an answer before his head pops in, grinning as wide as Yunhyeong has ever seen. "He finally did it," is all Jinhwan needs to say. Yunhyeong pumps his fist in the air.
The night of the Yule Ball, Yunhyeong waits at the foot of the grand staircase, tugging on the itchy ruffles on his dress robes. They're the same set he'd purchased before his first Yule Ball in his fourth year and even despite the cloth stretching spell he attempted, they're still a few centimeters short, hanging down at the tops of his ankles. He could've asked his parents to send money, but getting it exchanged to wizarding coins was such a hassle and, he figured, it's not like he had a date to impress anyway.
Junhwe and Jinhwan are the first to meet him, arriving from the direction of the dungeons with their hands swinging together between them. Junhwe is wearing simple robes in a rich slytherin green and Yunhyeong spares a moment of envy for how Junhwe's legs somehow seem even longer. Jinhwan's outfit has a little more flair with a golden, embroidered vest under silky black robes.
"A picture!" Yunhyeong insists, pulling out the magical instant camera that had been an early present for himself. Jinhwan poses with a cute V-sign, lips slightly puckered, while Junhwe maintains his scowl. Luckily, the print that emerges captures the moment, just a few frames, when Junhwe's face relaxes and he tilts his head down to smile at Jinhwan.
"Hideous," Junhwe says when Yunhyeong shows him, at the same time that Jinhwan says, "Aw, we look cute."
Hanbin arrives next with Bobby, sporting matching bow ties. Yunhyeong gets two pictures, one with each of them trying to look cool and another where Bobby had surprised Hanbin with a kiss on the cheek, Hanbin's flustered expression caught in the last few frames on the print.
"Where are the maknaes?" Jinhwan asks, looking down at his wrist where his watch would normally be.
"Here!" Donghyuk calls from the top of the stairs. "Someone had to be dragged away from that muggle video game."
Donghyuk looks handsome in his robes, the material a midnight blue that's so dark it looks black until the lamp light catches it. He's beaming down at them, arm linked with Chanwoo, and a wave of preemptive nostalgia hits Yunhyeong with the force of a bludger. He's going to miss this group of friends.
"Are you crying?" Junhwe asks, and Yunhyeong quickly rubs his palms over his eyes.
"From seeing your face," Yunhyeong says.
He gets a few more snapshots before the night ends. Donghyuk and Chanwoo posing with their hands framing their chins, blinking sweetly at the camera. A selfie with Hanbin, Yunhyeong's finger poking Hanbin's dimple. A group shot that ends up capturing the scene of all seven of them trying to fit in the frame, tripping over each other's legs and Junhwe rolling his eyes affectionately from the back.
The Great Hall is decked out for the occasion. The long house tables have been removed, putting the grandiosity of the space in a new perspective. There's a pine tree at the front of the hall that stretches up so far you'd have to crane your neck to see the top, wrapped in ribbon garlands and decorated with tiny lights that flicker like fireflies. Around them, tables are full of finger foods and butterbeer.
It's Bobby who produces a flask from his robe, giving it a little shake. Yunhyeong is mildly scandalized, but he takes a shot in his goblet of pumpkin fizz anyway.
As the dancing begins, Yunhyeong finds himself at the edge of the hall, still nursing his spiked pumpkin fizz. The band is playing something mid-tempo, slow enough that only the couples have made their way to the floor. There's Jinhwan and Junhwe, Bobby and Hanbin. Even Chanwoo is dancing with another fourth year, Hwang Eunbi. Yunhyeong feels something warm press against his arm and looks to his left to see Donghyuk, leaning toward him.
"I'm happy for them," Donghyuk says, looking out to the dance floor.
"Maybe all the meddling was worth it, then."
"They never would've gotten here without us," Donghyuk agrees.
Yunhyeong turns, setting his goblet onto one of the tables before he offers his hand, palm up, to Donghyuk. "Don't let me leave Hogwarts without one slow dance," he says.
Donghyuk takes his hand, grinning. "Lead the way."
It's the most wonderful time of the year—that's right, the special Yule Ball edition of our weekly blind items. Read on to find out who shared magic moments and who will be spending the holidays alone.
- Spotted: BB and HB abandoning the ball after their first dance to take a joy ride out on the pitch. Rumor has it that BB was the person responsible for spiking the punch, but he didn't seem all that interested in sticking around for the aftermath.
- No one is entirely sure if notorious Miss Independent herself, SJ, actually took a Hogwarts ghost as her date, but everyone knows that her ex, JI, was not happy about it.
- Leaked letters exchanged between power couple SJ and SY revealed that although they were powerful, they weren't actually a couple. The fake dating ruse was allegedly intended to drum up publicity for the Yule Ball.
- Seventh year TY was caught by a pair of kitchen elves hooking up with a certain foreign musical guest. It is reported that the kitchen elves saw things that could not be unseen.
- While their friends have been on these pages many times, this entry is a first in the category of romance for YH and DH. A stray piece of mistletoe from the mysterious charm a few weeks ago led to a kiss under the Grand Staircase.