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“Are you really sure about this?”
Soonyoung’s eyes were squeezed shut at the thought of having to climb an entire mountain for who knows how long. Sure, he was used to living through chilly winters and yes, he was used to Wonwoo’s outlandish plans, but this — this was something else all together. To trek up a basically uncharted mountain that was constantly enveloped in unnaturally freezing temperatures to quench one’s curiosity about an alleged ice demon was something entirely out of the realm of “fun winter pastimes.”
At least, they normally would be.
“Of course I am. Have I ever failed you?” Wonwoo sent Soonyoung a faux-warm smile, and with a flick of his wrist, a small plume of flames was also sent in the dreading boy’s direction. Soonyoung didn’t flinch as the flames licked his face, for if Wonwoo wanted to hurt him he would be able to feel it in the less than 4 feet of distance between them.
Instead, the older blew a raspberry at Wonwoo, sparks flying from his tongue with the saliva in the latter’s direction before he collapsed onto Wonwoo’s bed. “I’m not worried about the cold. I’m sure you can handle that,” Soonyoung groaned as he rolled himself into a blanket burrito, “I’m worried about what seeing this ‘Ice Demon’ and surviving will do to your already-inflated ego.”
Wonwoo gasped in false shock and whipped his head around from where he was packing a bag to face his friend. “I don’t have an ego!” he claimed as he turned his nose upward, “I’m just confident in myself.”
Wonwoo leveled his gaze to meet Soonyoung’s unamused one, and the two of them held their staring contest for almost a minute before they burst out laughing at the same time.
“Whatever, Jeon ‘I-Bet-I-Can-Cook-These-Eggs-Faster-Than-You’ Wonwoo.” A Fire Attribute’s sheer heat against a Lightning Attribute’s induction heating? What a race that had been after the laughter subsided, Soonyoung rolled off the bed and into his best friend’s side to take advantage of the warmth seeping out of him, “But seriously. We’re both just taking a bag each. Are you sure there’ll be enough food to last the trip?”
The younger shrugged as he patted his clothes down and closed his pack. “It’ll probably be fine. We’ll hit the village on the way for more stuff to eat.” Soonyoung didn’t look convinced. “If we get really hungry we can go hunting, and I’ll roast some fresh bear meat for us.” This seemed to convince Soonyoung, as shown by his affirmative grumble and rolling his way onto Wonwoo’s lap. Wonwoo gave his friend’s silver hair a pat before pushing him off again and standing, slinging his pack over his shoulder.
“Well if you’re ready, let’s set off then.”
Soonyoung beamed as he untangled himself from the blanket and grabbed his bag that he had packed before going over to Wonwoo’s house, throwing an arm around his friend as they set off in the direction of the perpetually snowstormed Shining Peak.
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As Soonyoung and Wonwoo journeyed, their goal was clear: Shining Peak was named after the sheen of snow that was always glimmering at the top of the mountain even as other peaks blossomed a full emerald. When the sun’s rays hit the summit, it looked as if the mountain was topped with diamonds, and the dazzling gleam of the snow drew a constant stream of travelers who wanted to see the sight at least once in their lifetime. However, with the arrival of the “Ice Demon” about ten years ago and its taking up residence at the top of the mountain, a simple layer of snow turned into an unrelenting blizzard so powerful that the entire mountain became caked in perpetual snowfall and subjected to a freeze so deep that the trees more closely resembled ice than wood.
Wonwoo kept his promise, and when they arrived at the village that sat on the base of the mountain after just a half a day, Soonyoung took his half of their funds and rushed off to buy snacks and maybe, if he felt like it, actual food. Wonwoo took a moment to mull over whether or not his trust in Soonyoung to buy stuff for the both of them was misplaced.
With the knowledge that there was nothing he could do about it anyway and accepting his fate to eat whatever Soonyoung bought. Wonwoo decided to browse the small bookstore that the two had decided on for a meeting place.
He was not at all surprised when, a while later, the bell above the door jingled to signal the entrance of another customer and he looked up from a journal of local bear sightings to see Soonyoung, grinning at him as he held a ceramic jar almost as large as his torso to his chest. Wonwoo didn’t have to guess that it contained kimchi and only kimchi.
“Wonwooooo,” Soonyoung kept bumping his side into Wonwoo’s as he complained, “it’s getting cold!” The younger rolled his eyes, but he smiled he complied with Soonyoung’s implied request. Wonwoo exhaled and extended his heat toward Soonyoung, who felt the familiar warmth instantly and wiggled a little as his shivers were banished.
“So are you,” Wonwoo eyed the huge jar, “ready to go?” Soonyoung responded with some affirmative nods, but Wonwoo nearly missed them since he was still so focused on the jar. How unfortunate it would be if it ended up being too spicy for Soonyoung to eat, meaning he would have to eat it all instead.
This fear was at the the front of his mind as they began to climb Shining Peak, but as he silently watched Soonyoung occasionally reach into his jar and pick out some kimchi to eat every few seconds, it seemed like his fear was for nothing. This thought should have been comforting, but the mesmerizing sight of Soonyoung eating kimchi like that gave him an indescribable feeling that he simply could not place. Well, as long as he was happy.
Wonwoo kept his fire away from the snow so they wouldn’t sink into it, but having to keep it radiating in all other directions enough to keep them both warm and dry in the middle of a snowstorm was taking a good amount of his concentration. So much of it, in fact, that he was taken by complete surprise when a crackle of lightning jumped off of Soonyoung and struck him in the shoulder. The area that had been struck had reflexively shifted into flame to mitigate the damage to the rest of his body and a lifetime of friendship with Soonyoung had accustomed him to most of the pain associated with these shocks, but it left Wonwoo with the question of what the hell had shocked Soonyoung badly enough for him to discharge into the area around him.
Soonyoung looked as if he were trying to hide behind his kimchi jar as he closed his eyes tight and huddled his body behind his ceramic shield. Crackles of electricity were still surrounding him and lashing out into the area around him, and Wonwoo followed the direction of his shield to see, towering over him, a giant bear frozen mid-roar. Wonwoo was prepared to roast this bear in self-defense, but as the bear refused to move a single muscle, he realized that it was actually, literally frozen. The beast was encased in ice, preventing it from moving or even breathing, ice sturdy enough that the initial bolt Soonyoung’s fear-and-surprise-fueled electricity left no mark on it whatsoever.
“ What! The! hell!?! ” Soonyoung hissed as he came out of hiding to gape at the gigantic bear, huddling behind Wonwoo as if it could break out of the ice at any moment and smush them. His hiss also included a small apology and a pat to Wonwoo’s reformed shoulder. Wonwoo in turn patted Soonyoung’s hand on his shoulder as he eyed the bear with an almost awestruck smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Perhaps it was a good thing that Soonyoung couldn’t see his face from where he was, or else he’d just get more concerned at how excited Wonwoo was getting. This Ice Demon could freeze bears whole as if it was nothing - freeze them so deeply that Wonwoo hadn’t been able to feel the slightest bit of heat from the body. In fact, There was hardly any heat anywhere on the mountain that Wonwoo could feel. It would make sense for most animals to have moved away because of the suddenly unlivable climate, and to Wonwoo, anybody strong enough to overpower nature in that way was interesting. All that was left for him to feel was the lack of heat, and the coldest point on the mountain was where he and Soonyoung were headed.
❄❅❆❅❄
Junhui hummed to himself from the floor of his cottage, where a few candles stood to give light to the house shrouded in snowstorm. There was snow on the floorboards from when he had opened the windows earlier, and he was now gathering it into piles and patting it into shapes. Halfway through his third mini-snowman, Junhui perked up and stood to peek out his window at the swirling snow outside. An excited smile found its way to his face, and with a soft giggle, he turned his attention back to his little creations sitting on the floor.
A few minutes passed as Junhui kept himself occupied. He had moved on to larger snow sculptures, cracking his window open for more snow to work with and shuffling it into a corner where he had erected a tall, multi-tiered cake with frosting patterns he had fashioned out with his fingers. He stepped back, satisfied with his work, when a knock sounded at the door to his cottage.
A grin sprang to his face as Junhui heard the long awaited sound and shuffled among the little snow sculptures cluttering up the ground to open the door to a shorter boy his age, holding a bag and bundled up in jackets and scarves and hats to stave off freezing to death on his way here. The image of him wavered a little, and above the howl of the snowstorm a low vibration comparable to the low of a very, very large bee could be heard.
“Jihoonie!” Junhui threw up his arms in glee and ushered the boy in with a twirl of his body, and from under all the layers a small smile could be seen poking out. “It’s been a while~,” the older greeted as he closed the door. He paused at the window when he approached to close it, staring out into the snowstorm before shaking his head and shutting the pane with a click, then turning back to his friend.
“Mm, it’s good to see you too, Junnie.” His words reverberating around the room as if amplified, Jihoon, who had paused to look over Junhui’s creations, waddled over to sit at the table. He wiggled his shoulders to shake his bag off of his padded shoulders and place it on the in front of him, and Junhui’s eyes widened at the sight of the covered bowl that Jihoon pulled out of his bag.
Junhui accepted the bowl as Jihoon pushed it across the table toward him, his hands shaking slightly in anticipation as he carefully removed the covering and taking taking the bowl into his sweater-clad hands. His sniffle in the next moments was not at all from the cold; the boy was tearing up at his friend’s kindness. From the corners of his eyes some ice crystals began to disperse, scattering into the air around him as he took a hand to wipe at his nose.
“I hope it’s to your liking,” Jihoon began, sitting back in his chair and watching his friend with a gaze so gentle he might have been watching a doe learn to walk. “Some merchants passed through with some exotic spices, so it’s a little different and,” he coughed into his gloved hand, “a little more intense than usual.”
More ice crystals scattered from Junhui’s eyes as he nodded at Jihoon, his eyes still fixed on the noodles drowned in sauce the same color as a blood moon. There were bits of ground meat piled up on top of the noodles, as well as some greens to make sure the dish was at least a little balanced. Its numbing scent pierced through his sinuses and straight to his brain. His mouth was beginning to water, and already a sweat was beginning to break out across his skin.
The noodles’ hypnotic trance over Junhui was broken with a start, but before he could get up Jihoon was already handing him chopsticks to eat with. Junhui flashed another blinding smile before swallowing, licking his lips in the expectation and adrenaline beginning to course through his veins.
The first bite was like an explosion of cold fire in his mouth. Junhui’s eyes squeezed close in bliss as the taste spread around his mouth, the near painfully numbing sensation covering his senses in a buzz that only made him want to eat another mouthful. Jihoon wanted to be horrified at how happy Junhui looked to be eating something so spicy that it made the cook almost kneel over from a taste test. He couldn’t tell if Junhui’s eyes were watering in pain or in joy, because even while his limbs were beginning to shake and the sweat was beginning to become visible in droplets that scattered into ice soon after surfacing, his smile was simply so full of elation that it would only make sense for him to enjoy his food.
Junhui sighed as the buzzing heat in his mouth spread into his limbs and chest. There was simply no sensation like it, nothing else that could make him feel this way. Even if it wasn’t actual heat, it was the closest he could come to feeling a burn, to feeling warmed at all, and he could never thank Jihoon enough for gifting him the spiciest noodles in the world so that he could just sometimes experience warmth in the ten years since he had known nothing but cold, sheer, ice.
This reminder of warmth, however, snapped Junhui out of his spice-induced euphoria with an exclamation of “OH NO!” He swiftly placed the bowl down on the table and rushed to grab a candle in each hand and use them to light his hearth. Once he coaxed the fire to life, he turned to Jihoon and bowed his head in sheepish apology. “Sorry, Jihoonie,” his eyes were squeezed closed, “I guess I got too excited about the noodles…”
Jihoon shrugged as he moved off of the chair and toward the fire, dropping onto his butt directly in front of it and swiveling around to stare upward at Junhui. “Don’t worry about it, Jun.” The low vibrations surrounding him tapered off in the smallest degree, and with his back a few inches from the flames, his voice gentle and void of the shivers that should have accompanied the shaking of his body. Junhui worried about it. He should have remembered how dangerous it was for Jihoon to even be there, and he should have remembered to do the most simple of actions to light a simple fire.
However worried he was, however, he didn’t show it. He refused to show it! Jihoon told him not to worry, meaning he would try to keep it down and to himself. So he instead smiled sheepishly to Jihoon, who responded with a quick nod.
“So!” Junhui sat himself down a few feet in front of Jihoon with his thickening bowl of soup and a couple piles of snow. “Tell me how life has been for you!” He bounced a little as he probed his friend for stories. Anything to distract from the fear that threatened to curl around his heart at the moment, and the look of thoughtful contemplation as Jihoon shifted closer to the fire meant that he would hopefully provide him with a distraction.
“Remember Seokmin?” Junhui nodded at the memory of his sunshine friend, “well, recently he went on a trip and came back with so, so many oranges. Mandarins. Tangerines? Orange citrus.” Jihoon pointed at his bag still sitting on the table, and Junhui stretched to grab it and peek inside to lay eyes on a couple little tangerines. Junhui’s open mouth grin as he carefully arranged the tangerines on his table warmed Jihoon’s heart better than any fire ever could.
“Anyway now there’s just a lot of tangerines everywhere. Everywhere.” Jihoon swept his padded arms in front of him to emphasize just how everywhere they were, and Junhui giggled from his place at the table carefully sculpting some snow into a bowl for the fruits. “There’s tangerines in the streets. Apparently he made a new friend who also sings really well and gave him a whole bunch of these fruits. There’s tangerines in our classrooms. I woke up and there was an orange peel next to my face, as well as five whole tangerines. I don’t think I know what citrus smells like anymore because my nose is so used to it.”
Junhui had moved on from his bowl and was now making some snowballs with stems. His enthusiastic questions were answered in detail by Jihoon, and soon he had moved on to telling Junhui about how he got some really annoying kids to stay away by making their ears ring.
Junhui ‘Oohed’ as he moved back to the ground, building the snow up into a little kitten. “You could pretend to be a ghost, Jihoonie. Just whisper in their ears and scare them! You’d be the cutest ghost.” Jihoon was so busy silently cooing at Junhui’s now two cats sitting next to each other that he almost completely missed the older’s just-as-cute statement, and he had to remind himself to never do that again lest he miss something Junhui has to say.
Once Jihoon’s slightly embarrassed laughter subsided, he jumped into the tale of how recently, a Speed Attribute passing through had challenged him to a race from his village to the bottom of the mountain, and how his knowledge of the snowy routes had left the challenger in the dust. He was about to jump into another story, but instead he jumped when a knock on the door stunned him into silence.
Over all of his years of visiting Junhui, nobody had ever even come near this little shack hidden in the middle of a blizzard. For the most part nobody could . It was only thanks to his Sound that he could forcibly heat the air around him and Junhui doing his very best to calm the cold for him that he could survive. So he looked to Junhui questioningly, who shrugged.
“I think it’s someone with Flame. Or, I don’t know who else it would be.” Junhui wasn’t surprised at the coming of the knock, since he had felt his new visitor’s heat on his mountain a long while ago, but he still had no clue as to who they were or what they were doing here. “I didn’t invite anyone…”
An apprehensive silence hung in the air as Jihoon stared at the door and Junhui at the floor. The older was nervous due to really only having had Jihoon as company in the past, thus he wasn’t sure how to interact with new people. Jihoon didn’t want any bold fools to hurt his friend. Both jumped this time as knocks sounded again. Slowly and tentatively, Junhui moved toward the door and, comforted by the bundle of Jihoon standing up behind him, opened the door to his home up to be faced with two strangers who looked to be the same age as Jihoon and himself, both wearing warm smiles.
The taller man, who had one arm slung around his companion, extended his other arm out to Junhui and held his hand out for a shake.
“Ice to meet you. I’m Wonwoo.”
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Junhui found himself caught halfway between laughing and dropping his jaw. There was the fact that the two people in front of him were dressed in about the same amount of clothes as him. What someone not from the mountain would probably call Autumn Fashion. And here they were, standing in the middle of a blizzard of his own making and smiling as if they were wholly and perfectly comfortable. The one that was sparking a little There was also the fact that Wonwoo had introduced himself with a joke so terrible Junhui couldn’t help but want to laugh.
He opted for nervousness instead.
“”Uh,” once he realized he was staring he looked down at Wonwoo’s hand tensely and scooted backward, motioning for the two to enter before bowing in apology. The smile that had been on the new visitors’ faces faltered a little as they exchanged a slightly confused look and stepped inside, closing the door behind them. Jihoon’s knowing sigh was muffled, but still audible to the group as a silence settled down over them not unlike a suffocating fleece blanket.
Wonwoo looked to Junhui for an explanation and Jihoon was about to jump in for him, but Junhui slowly looked up to meet Wonwoo’s eyes. “You see…” He pulled his sleeves over his hands as he thought of the easiest way to describe his problem, and Jihoon shivered. Junhui reached over to the table and picked one of the tangerines up from the snow bowl. “Whenever I touch something for too long, it freezes over.”
True to his word, frost began spreading from his fingertips to coat the tangerine he held in his hands, muting the bright orange skin in an icey blue. And once he set it on the table with enough force to startle a fly on a good day, the tangerine shattered into shards of ice. Junhui looked sheepishly from the destroyed fruit to giving Jihoon his apologetic eyes. Jihoon shrugged reassuringly, but as Junhui turned back to Wonwoo, frost was beginning to form on the edges of his sweater and his hair.
“I see. Well, nothing to worry about.” Wonwoo’s confident voice broke through the silence that once again threatened to layer itself over the group, and Junhui looked up from where he had averted his eyes in shock.
“What?!” He shook his head frantically, and the temperature of the room dropped a few more degrees. “You don’t understand. I get that you’re some sort of Heat Attribute, but I’ll end up freezing your hand off.”
A smile not unlike the one he wore when he first arrived returned to Wonwoo’s face, and he, too, shook his head. “No, trust me. I’ll be okay.” To prove his point, he held out his hand again and allowed it to morph into flame. “So on one hand,” his sparking friend snickered from beside him, “You can’t freeze me if there’s nothing there to physically hold, but what I’m trying to say is even when I am 100% flesh I still I am still this Fire. I promise you won’t hurt me.”
His confidence made Junhui want to believe, it really did. But he shook his head more and stepped over to his fireplace where he crouched. Jihoon shuffled over to Wonwoo to take advantage of his emanating warmth and give Junhui space to demonstrate. Junhui wordlessly thrust his hand into the fire before turning his carefully shielded gaze back to Wonwoo.
“I can’t feel anything from it. Not even when my hand is completely enveloped.” The trio standing by the door watched in varied shock and awe as the flames surrounding Junhui’s hand slowly receded, shrinking and flickering until they were completely extinguished. The logs of wood in the fireplace now sported a thin sheen of frost on them, and Junhui stood and turned back to Wonwoo once more. “I sorry, but I don’t want to hurt you.”
Wonwoo nodded slowly, but he didn’t retract his hand from where it was held out. He instead restored it to flesh and snapped his fingers, and in an instant the hearth was alive and blooming with warmth that reached even Jihoon by the door, despite the fact that the earlier heat could barely be felt mere inches away from the flame. Wonwoo’s smile edged on smugness as he caught the bewildered look on Jihoon’s face, and gesturing from the hearth to Junhui, made another attempt. “I promise you, I’ll be fine. I’ll even bet my cats on it.”
“Your cats?!” Junhui snapped to attention at the mention of those wonderful felines, “but… they must be super important to you!!”
Wonwoo’s friend nodded at that. “Yeah,” He rolled his eyes, “he cares more about his cats than he does his childhood friend. He really means what he’s saying here.” With feigned offense he shoved Wonwoo toward Junhui who almost reflexively stepped back, but he instead swallowed the majority of his inhibitions and his mistrust in favor of giving in.
With slow movements Junhui inched toward Wonwoo, careful to stop the moment the latter felt the chill from proximity and called the contact off. But Wonwoo just kept smiling. Junhui would be lying if he said the look in the other’s sharp eyes didn’t freak him out a little, but the sheer determination they were set with did well to cast away some of Junhui’s own fears. His own wide eyes squeezed shut as he clasped his hand around Wonwoo’s but only for a moment.
For in the next instant, his eyes were frozen wider than they had ever been and he found himself shaking at the familiar yet unfamiliar sensation.
“W-What?” Junhui’s eyes were brimming with ice crystals once more, scattering into the air around him as his grip on Wonwoo’s hand tightened. “How is this—you’re—I—“ Junhui’s other hand move to grasp at Wonwoo’s forearm, his upper arm, his other shoulder, anything to convince himself that this was a real experience and not some sick prank. His knees threatened to give out from beneath him in his overwhelmed state, and luckily Wonwoo’s wide, proud grin hadn’t left him so blind that he missed it.
His hand that wasn’t holding Junhui’s moved to steady him, and he was beginning to look the slightest bit of concerned. “Um,” he took a deep breath in, “are you okay?”
“Are you— Is he okay? Are you an idiot?” Jihoon, previously frozen in jaw-dropped awe, shattered out of his stupor to shed his thickest layer and march to Wonwoo and Junhui’s side. “Do me.”
“What?” Wonwoo’s confusion surfaced now. He wasn’t sure why he had suddenly been yelled at or what the shorter man was getting at.
“You heard me.” Jihoon’s gaze was fierce as he stepped closer to Wonwoo. “Were you not listening earlier? Junhui hasn’t touched any other living person—living THING—in ten years. And now you show up with the capability to.” Another step forward as he pointed at the sparking man by the door. “You two made it here through what normally is deadly weather. You’re currently touching him. Okay. You’ve proved that you’re the Flame Attribute to end all Flame Attributes.” He was basically standing with his chest to Wonwoo’s side now, and Wonwoo was thoroughly intimidated. “So since you’re such hot stuff, make me hot enough to touch him too.”
Junhui, who had been relaxed at the sight of his friend’s demands and almost giggled at the way Wonwoo seemed to shrink with every step Jihoon took, was taken by surprise as Wonwoo simply, without hesitation, nodded wordlessly toward Jihoon and the latter stepped forward to push Wonwoo to the side and pull Junhui into his embrace.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t do this sooner, Junnie.” Jihoon’s voice was the softest he had ever heard it, and it took him a few moments to really realize what had happened. Over all his years on the mountain he had had to keep Jihoon at arms’ length out of fear of hurting him. The physical affection he had been deprived of for so long now being freely given by his best and only friend of so long? It was all he could do to burrow his head into Jihoon’s shoulder and return his embrace.
After a few minutes of silence and Junhui basking in Wonwoo’s warmth through Jihoon, it suddenly occurred to Junhui that he wasn’t being a great host. He hadn’t even introduced himself! Or asked them to sit! And they had been so kind to him without even knowing him, too.
With that in mind he felt his face flush in just the smallest way as he, still in Jihoon’s arms, rose to his full height. “I can’t believe I forgot, sorry! I guess it’s been a while since I’ve really had guests. The first time ever, actually…” He trailed off and shuffled so that Jihoon would act as a human barrier between him and the two visitors and hopefully hide his rising embarrassment.
“My name is Junhui, and welcome to my home.” His head dipped in a little polite bow, and he offered them a sweet smile that he hoped was free of the fact that he was still reeling in the presence of heat. “I, uh,” he waved his hands at his snow pieces noticeably still standing on the ground, scooting them so that they lined the walls. “Please, come in more! Sit down if you want. Whatever makes you comfortable.” The air around him glimmered with his awkward invitations, and he really, really hoped someone else could take the wheels.
Luckily for Junhui, Wonwoo’s friend now spoke up. “Awesome, thank you!” He stepped back outside for a moment before returning with his massive kimchi jar, dropping it quite unceremoniously on the table with a bang.
The hugging pair had really nothing else to do but stare at the jar whose impact had shattered the layer of ice that had grown itself onto the table.
“What the fuck?” Only Junhui could hear Jihoon’s exasperated inquiry, and it made him giggle.
“My name is Soonyoung, Lightning Attribute at your service! I know my charms can be shocking, but bear with me here.” He winked, sending sparks shooting from his eye, and leaned on his absurdly large jar.
In spite of the offense Jihoon was stricken with due to the horrible pun, he felt himself close to laughing. How terrible. Junhui, on the other hand, was having the time of his life hiding his giggles in Jihoon’s shirt.
“Ah, Soonyoung, always the master of icebreakers.” Wonwoo quipped as he moved to sit at the chair opposite his friend’s position, and Jihon felt the dread rising in his chest.
“Well,” laughed Junhui as he raised his head back at Wonwoo and Soonyoung, “this is Jihoon, and now that we all know each other, we can just chill!” Jihoon muffled his scream in Junhui’s sweater, which conveniently also hid the wide smile that overtook his face. Soonyoung laughed so hard he almost knocked his kimchi over, and Wonwoo was so delighted that his nose scrunched up. Junhui had not felt this comfortable being around people in so long this almost seemed like a dream, and Wonwoo? Being one of the first people to ever know that the “Ice Demon” was no demon at all and actually a sweet man with a sense of humor? Accomplished wasn’t enough to describe his feelings.
Following Junhui’s suggesting, the group got comfortable with Junhui sitting before the fireplace that he could feel for once, Jihoon was leaning against him, and Soonyoung and Wonwoo sat at the table. As the blizzard outside slowed to a gentle snowfall, the visitors shared about their hometown, the place not too far away that, according to Soonyoung, had the very best cuisine, and according to Wonwoo, was way too close to the ocean for that previous statement to be true.
Light conversation continued in this way with Soonyoung sharing his kimchi, and eventually it came to that same Soonyoung’s curiosity getting the better of him.
“Hey Jihoon?” The man turned his head over to look at Soonoung, a small grunt prompting him to continue. “What’s your Attribute? You never said, and it’s kinda clear what Jun is.”
“Ah, Jihoonie’s Sound!” Three sets of eyes turned to look Junhui, who had introduced Jihoon and now was explaining his power. “Technically, his attribute is Vibration,” Junhui began reciting the information about his precious friend that he had long since committed to memory, even holding one of his hands up in true lecturing form, “so he can make things shake, but he mostly uses it on the air because it comes most naturally to him that way. So sound!” Jihoon’s smile aimed at Junhui was proud of the older, and he pressed his hand to the floor and set some of the snow vibrating into concentric circles that changed shape every second.
“I can also sound like this,” his smile was a little mischievous as he moved the sound of his voice directly next to Wonwoo and Soonyoung’s ears the latter of whom was so shocked he jumped, and a bolt of lightning also jumped in Wonwoo’s general direction. He ignored the look Wonwoo gave him and instead stared in awe at Jihoon. His voice had nearly sounded amplified with how powerfully it boomed, but to Junhui and anybody watching, his voice had sounded normal.
“That’s so cool!” Soonyoung practically shouted, but Jihoon squinted and muffled his voice.
“I know right! Jihoonie’s the coolest~” The tips of Jihoon’s ears turned red at the compliment Junhui gave him, and Wonwoo crossed his arms and gave a smile halfway between a smirk and the smile one makes when they see a kitten.
“I’ll take that as a challenge.” Suddenly the attention in the room had been turned from Junhui to Wonwoo. Soonyoung huffed and rolled his eyes with a smile because of course he would take it as a challenge.
Wonwoo looked like he was about to follow up, but a sudden shout from Junhui interrupted him. “While we’re on this topic!” The attention shifted once more to Junhui, who looked sheepishly away from the duo seated at the table, but he quickly decided that what he had to say took priority over being embarrassed.
“How do you two control your Attributes?” Into his voice edged a tone of desperation, “The reason I’m here at all is because I can’t control mine. I make everything around me cold, but Wonwoo,” he looked pleadingly toward the Flame, “you’re so strong. You made it here like it was nothing and you touched me. You made it possible for me to touch other people! You must know some way, right? Whenever I try Jihoon’s method I end up starting a blizzard...”
Wonwoo and Soonyoung exchanged a look as he trailed off, then turned back to Junhui. “As far as we know, it’s way different for every person,” Soonyoung began, “like, entirely different. I’m guessing here that Jihoon’s interviewed every person he can to help you right?”
Jihoon and Junhui both gave affirmative nods, albeit Jihoon’s slightly more flustered.
“From what we’ve seen, figuring out what your Attribute is tied to is really just trial and error. For instance, my Flames are tied to my breath.” Wonwoo offered, then gestured toward the hearth.
With his focus now trained on it, when he inhaled the fire swelled upward and outward, and when he exhaled the flame seemed to release a breath as well, dancing down into a single flicker. He continued this for a few cycles, and on a particularly deep breath the flames licked and grew and unfurled, blooming into the shape of a beautiful crimson gardenia, swirling around as if alive. Even as it got close enough to Junhui that he could have reached out and touched it, the heat was not burning or painful; it was warm. And as Wonwoo exhaled once more, and took his focus off of the fireplace, the flames receded and returned to their original shape to crackle on their own.
Junhui was stunned. Jihoon was as well, for in his village it was unheard of to have so much seeming natural and beautiful control of such a powerful element. Should they clap? They weren’t sure.
“Yeah, that’s how he got the nickname ‘Fire Flower.’” Soonyoung brought them back to the present with a shrug, “honestly though? I think ‘Hot Air’ would suit him just fine. Just look at how proud he looks.” And sure enough, Wonwoo sat with a pleased smile on his face at how well his demonstration had gone. “I’ll give him the credit that he did practice that a lot, though.”
“I want to try!” Junhui beamed, and the two sitting at the table couldn’t help but smile too. So Junhui sat up and closed his eyes and held his breath, hoping for the curse of his Attribute be tamed. The other three waited in silence as no noticeable change took place, but as Junhui started to turn blue Wonwoo felt the temperature in the room and on the mountain as a whole begin to drop. Not quite what they had been looking for.
He signaled Jihoon by making a ‘Cut’ motion with his hand at his throat, and Jihoon shook his old friend into finally inhaling again. “Well that didn’t work. You okay, Jun?”
Junhui, who was gasping for breath as Jihoon patted his back in assistance, gave Wonwoo a thumbs up. Wonwoo returned the gesture then turned to Soonyoung, who nodded.
“If you’re up for another one, my Lightning is tied to my feelings! Or actually, how intense they are. On the way up when we ran into the frozen bear, I—“
“He screamed like a child. But as he did, he shocked everything around him and sent a whole bolt at me.” Wonwoo gave Soonyoung a mock glare, which Soonyoung returned in full for having been interrupted. “Kinda like how he was surprised at Jihoon fake-yelling into our ears and, you know, tried to electrocute me.”
“You would’ve been fine!” Soonyoung huffed, but in the next moment he was smiling at Junhui and Jihoon again. “Anyway! The reason I’ve been kind of crackling this entire time is because I’m excited to meet you guys. I can’t really control the fact that it’s there, but it won’t hurt. Maybe some static at most if you give me a very long hug.” The glimmer in Junhui’s eyes widened Soonyoung’s grin, and the latter opened his arms just as wide. Jihoon shifted so that his weight was no longer leaning against Junhui, and Junhui almost hopped his way into Soonyoung’s hug.
He laughed as the tickling sensation engulfed him, and Soonyoung was laughing along. Which evidently made whatever he was feeling intensify, because soon the hair on both of the heads was standing up, and a bit of Wonwoo’s hair looked like it was trying to stretch over to the hug.
“Jihoonie, you should join!” Junhui stretched his arm out to him, but Jihoon shook his head and instead scooted closer to Wonwoo.
“I’ll pass, thanks.”
“Suit yourself,” Soonyoung pulled Junhui’s hand back down and squeezed the older man, earning another delighted laugh. Really, physical affection was underrated if Junhui’s opinion.
“So what do you think, Jun?” Wonwoo’s fond smile at his friends’ enjoyment cut through laughter, “is this something you want to try?”
“Uh,” Junhui stuck out his bottom lip to think, then looked down at Soonyoung, “you said it’s how intense your feelings are, right? One of our friends has something similar—the happier he feels, the brighter he shines. So I already tried this.” The pout on Junhui’s face as he recalled his failure that Jihoon had found difficult to stave off led to Soonyoung giving Junhui some soft head ruffles.
“Aw, it’s okay Jun!” He smiled once again as he finally released Junhui back to Jihoon’s side, “I’m sure you’ll find it eventually. In the meantime, Flower Boy here can make sure you can try things without accidentally hurting people!”
Jihoon perked up at this, turning to fully face Soonyoung. “You guys want to help Junnie?” If he had to be honest, his hope had begun to dwindle as years and years passed with no improvements and even some gradual temperature drops. But if Wonwoo could be a safety net...
Wonwoo and Soonyoung nodded without hesitation, and Jihoon felt relieved. Relieved, as well as lighter for once, that his dear friend could finally begin to improve his situation. “If that’s the case you’re welcome to stay at my house. My village is maybe just a few hours of walking away from here, but if we don’t need to worry about weather conditions,” he looked very pointedly at Wonwoo, who nodded nonchalantly again, “then maybe an hour at most. We can set out early mornings and bring food and stuff.”
“That sounds like a plan.” Soonyoung looked so enthusiastic as he confirmed, and Wonwoo so confident, that Junhui wanted to cry. That he would have people visiting him daily to try to help him? It was surreal, and it was nearly a dream come true.
They discussed specifics for a little while more and then proceeded to relax as a group, dancing through topics such as how many bears Junhui had seen and potential ways to help Junhui.
When they were about to leave, Jihoon turned back to Junhui at the door, a determination set in his eyes. “Junnie,” he started as the other two moved outside, “tomorrow, you’ll be able to eat hot food.”
The thought of that set clouds of crystals pouring from his eyes.
❄❅❆❅❄
For the next few weeks, Jihoon, Soonyoung, and Wonwoo did keep their promise and visited Junhui daily, bringing with them piles of blankets and various foods for Junhui to eat hot.
Between brainstorming methods of control, the small group took to simply enjoying each others’ company. Wonwoo would show off by letting snowballs hit him even as he layered himself in heat and other such tricks trying to get Junhui to acknowledge him as ‘the coolest.’
Jihoon mentioned to Soonyoung that the exchanges between Junhui and Wonwoo, chock full of the Flame Attribute flaunting his powers by bringing to life living, moving paintings of flowers and arabesque designs, was extremely reminiscent of a mating dance.
Soonyoung agreed without even a beat of hesitation as he watched Junhui’s impressed clapping bring another face-scrunching grin to Wonwoo’s countenance. There was, in his shared opinion with Jihoon, very likely different sorts of flame beginning to grow inside the two. Jihoon could hardly believe those words came out of Soonyoung’s mouth so eloquently. Regardless, the interactions between the two were jaw-droppingly wholesome, and it made even Jihoon’s semi-stoic front want to crack at the sight of it.
Sometimes as streams of light cascaded through openings in the clouds, they would fall upon the pair huddled under a large, cat-patterned throw blanket. Junhui would held be snug against Wonwoo’s chest and be able to feel it rise and fall, feel his pulsating heat from the source instead of simply an extension of his powers. It was such warmth, such an enveloping feeling that he didn’t want to let go of, and he was always delighted when Wonwoo indulged him and held him long after sunset, long after Jihoon and Soonyoung left for the day.
With Wonwoo’s repeated visits, the blizzards surrounding the apex of Shining Peak had waned into occasional cloudiness, but barely even that. Junhui was amazed at how huge of an impact Wonwoo’s mere presence could have on his mountain, especially when it was so entirely effortless! Codependent Attributes were not unheard of. Maybe Wonwoo had been the missing piece that let him control and scale down his Ice into something normal and manageable.
But, Junhui began to wonder to himself, what would happen when Wonwoo and Soonyoung stopped visiting? They had their own homes after all, a village that they came from where they surely had family. Wonwoo had fondly mentioned his little brother a couple times, and Junhui couldn’t help but feel as if the man missed his sibling just a little.
It wouldn’t be right for them to keep their constant visits constant. And it wouldn’t be fair of Junhui to ask that of them either. He knew from the little reading he managed to squeeze in on good days that all good things must come to an end. And Junhui decided, reluctantly but firmly, he would enjoy the time he was able to spend with them while he still could.
So when he felt a twinge of a vaguely familiar feeling, he brushed it off and focused on his friends that so diligently tried to help him and came to his house daily, without fail. They made him warm and they made the sun shine in his life again, and he promised himself that he would cherish that warmth in every possible capacity.
🔥
The next day, Wonwoo woke up with the feeling that something was off. As he and Soonyoung and Jihoon ascended the snowy mountain, it was cold, colder since it had been since he had started visiting Junhui daily, perhaps colder than the day they had first met. And the blizzard currently standing in their way was nearly blinding. Wonwoo’s concern battled with his concentration as they through the snowstorm, and it only disturbed him further that the mountain grew colder and colder with each passing second.
Normally the closer to Junhui, the closer it would be. But Wonwoo felt the temperature of the Ice Attribute’s entire area of influence drop steadily with no signs of stopping. Hopefully Jihoon’s village would be alright, even if they were at the edge of Junhui’s domain.
As they neared the heart of the blizzard, a sharp cry suddenly cut through the howling winds from in front of them. Jihoon’s alarmed yell of “Jun?!” sent Wonwoo’s restraint tumbling off the precipice as he surrounded his entire body in fire and launched himself into the dark of the swirling snow. Jihoon and Soonyoung were courteously left with heat shields and a trail of flames to ensure they wouldn’t get lost in the obscuring flurry.
Wonwoo froze for a second as he arrived in the clearing to see Junhui clawing futilely at the hand holding him up by his throat, his feet dangling off the ground as he was lifted by some person, a large man, broad and built like a six foot brick with flames raging off of his body in a manner resembling a terrible, hellish cape. His arrogant laughter rubbed Wonwoo in every wrong way possible, and in a fiery rage he barrelled into this stranger’s side and aimed his fist straight as his cheek to send him rolling and get him to drop Junhui.
Wonwoo blazed his way to Junhui’s side, helping him sit up by gingerly wrapping his arm around his back. “Junnie,” he breathed, careful to make sure the layer of flames he had engulfed himself in didn’t hurt the older, “are you ok—” His concerned question cut off as he lifted Junhui’s chin between his thumb and forefinger and laid eyes on his neck. Around his throat were burn marks in the shape of a hand. The Junhui who hadn’t felt heat in the slightest in years had been burned, and Wonwoo didn’t want to imagine the pain and shock he was in.
Infuriated, Wonwoo ran his hair through Junhui’s frosted locks in an attempt to quell his pained and panicked whimpers and glared daggers at the man who had attacked Junhui.
“Who the hell are you and why are you here?” He growled, making sure that the asshole who was standing up from his tumble could hear him. But his rage turned into a mixture of anger and disgust as the man began laughing from his spot where he stood, melting the snow around him with the flames lashing out from his body.
“Who am I?” He guffawed, whipping his low ponytail that had fallen forward back over his shoulder, seemingly unaffected by any damage he may have taken. “Little boy I am Kiyong, the mightiest beast slayer this sad land has ever seen!” Kiyong spread his arms and sent pillars of flame spiraling skyward from his hands. Even through Wonwoo’s heat, Junhui could feel the burn of those pillars trying to reach him and hurt him, and when he had only known Wonwoo’s kind warmth, he just wanted to hide.
Wonwoo instinctively brought Junhui closer to his chest as he glowered at the man’s show of strength as he continued, “And that happens to be why I’m here.” The smile that grew on his face was sickening; it was devoid of anything even resembling cheer. Rather, it was filled with an arrogant glee that had no doubt been gained from watching Junhui struggle in his grip, and the thought of that made Wonwoo’s blood boil.
“I’m here,” Kiyong sneered, “to slay the Demon of Ice that has made the Shining Peak his home. I had heard stories about his terrible power but,” his gaze turned back to Junhui with an unhinged bloodlust that terrified him, “imagine my surprise when I got here and found that it was just a scared little boy all along! It makes my so much easier , don’t you think, child?”
Wonwoo couldn’t take it anymore. He shifted Junhui behind him and once more rushed as this hunter, flames coalescing into orbs on his hands as he rammed his fists into Kiyong’s chest. The impact and clash of their Attributes extinguished the live fire on both of them, but the heat radiating off of them melted the ice clean off of nearby trees. With controlled breaths Wonwoo pushed with his flames, reigniting his hands into jets to send his opponent skidding backward on the now dirt ground they stood on, but Kiyong quickly caught his balance and retaliated with a wave of blisteringly hot air to send Wonwoo flying.
While the heat was nothing he couldn’t handle, it had been a while since Wonwoo had really had to fight. His most recent scuffle had been against a Water Attribute that wanted to use all their advantages against him, and he had won that one. The difference here was that his enemy was incredibly experienced and was practically immune to what was his greater advantage, and even though that went both ways, it really threw a wrench into his muscle memory.
He contemplated all this as quickly as he could, but as his brain scrambled for a way to organize everything while keeping his breaths steady, a single thought rose to the front of his mind.
Protect Junnie.
He found that it didn’t matter what he couldn’t do at the moment because his opponent was in the same boat. All that mattered was that he stopped him from hurting his friend who had never wanted to hurt anybody.
With this in mind he threw everything he had into this fight. Even with his large stature Kiyong was still infuriatingly quick, and Wonwoo was constantly on his toes as they dodged and blocked each other’s fire-charged attacks.
As flames, both raging and blooming, crackling and roaring, beautiful and terrifying picked up into an inferno surrounding their battlefield, Junhui could only watch in a mixture of awe and horror. Having felt Kiyong’s strength firsthand he was desperately cheering for Wonwoo on the sidelines and praying that he would be alright. No matter what he didn’t want to see anything bad happen to Wonwoo who had—was—doing everything just in order to help him. He really had almost believed it when Kiyong had called him a monster on his arrival, but as he reflected on all the kindness shown to him by his friends, by Wonwoo, over this past stretch of time, he decided that he was nothing of the sort.
People that kind and important wouldn’t waste their time with a monster, therefore he was not one.
It was with all his thawed-out heart that he hoped Wonwoo wouldn’t get hurt, but watching him struggle within the blaze was not easy. Despite all the trust that he had in Wonwoo, he was still scared that he would get seriously hurt and that it would be his fault because Wonwoo had been trying to protect him.
Following these thoughts the temperature of the mountain dropped once more, and Wonwoo worriedly turned for a split second toward Junhui to check if he was doing alright. Seeing his chance, Kiyong brought his fist, boosted by a jet of flame blasting out of his elbow, to deliver a devastating uppercut to Wonwoo’s gut.
As he felt the air get knocked out of his lungs Wonwoo used the last of his breath to propel himself backward, mitigating the damage done to his body but also sending him thirty feet into the air with no way to catch his breath and break his fall.
“Wonwoo!” With a desperate cry Junhui reached his arm out toward him, and as if following his action a ramp of ice burst forth from the snow and stretched into the air to Wonwoo and slide him back down to Junhui’s side.
The older knelt beside Wonwoo as he gasped to regain his breath, but it was difficult with the looming threat of Kiyong and using what breath he did have to ensure that Soonyoung and Jihoon didn’t freeze to death. He gripped at the snow and tried to find the purchase necessary to haul himself back to his feet, but as he tried the duo heard Kiyong’s disgusting laugh once more.
Junhui stared in horror as he stretched his arm out toward Wonwoo, who stiffened at the action, and curled his hand in a crushing motion. Wonwoo crumpled to the ground in response, letting out pained grunts as his form flickered between flesh and flame and was effectively crushed under Kiyong’s influence. As he wheezed and writhed, unable to regain control of his own body, Kiyong steadily approached the two of them with a deadly gleam in his eye. Junhui, as distraught as he was that his fears had come true and, despite Wonwoo’s presence, the blizzard around them was unrelenting, attempted to stop his advance by raising a wall of ice in front of him, but the man melted the wall like it was nothing and continued toward them.
In the next moment, however, Kiyong’s body lurched and he seemed to send himself flying backward with an enraged yell. Wonwoo, collapsing limply on the ground, took this opportunity to gasp for his breath back and now that Kiyong was once again far away from them, Junhui scooped Wonwoo into his lap and turned to beam at Soonyoung and Jihoon who were now rushing onto the scene. Soonyoung’s hand was making the shape of a gun and was pointed at where Kiyong had been, and Junhui realized with glee that he had used his Attribute to electrocute him!
But his relief was short-lived as just as Jihoon was about to call out to Junhui, Kiyong roared, and with his roar an obscuring ring of fire blocked Soonyoung and Jihoon from interfering further. He could tell they were still doing their best to assist in any way they could though, because as Kiyong staggered to his feet he swatted at his ears as if trying to rid himself of an annoying bug, no doubt Jihoon creating ringing in his ears.
And yet, even with this reassurance that his friends were close, he was still terrified of what this flaming demon was capable of. He had already hurt both him and Wonwoo, and it was clear he didn’t mean to stop there.
Kiyong was clearly enraged that he had been interrupted, but his gloating laugh once again reached Junhui’s ears, causing the latter to shrink and tighten his grip on Wonwoo, who still had his eyes squeezed closed to reorient himself.
“You useless boy,” he growled at Junhui, “just look at the state of this mountain. You’re so powerful, but you’re so scared that you can’t even control the weather that you yourself caused.” And Junhui wanted to bury himself, because it was true. He was terrified of his power, terrified of his storms, and terrified that his fear that his friends would get hurt because of him was becoming real.
Wonwoo’s eyes, however, snapped open at those searing words, and he snapped his fingers to raise his own rings of fire, three of them, to surround just him and Junhui. Junhui could clearly see the pain reflected in his eyes, but it was accompanied by a certain satisfaction. The older was confused as to why exactly his eyes held that sparkle, and Wonwoo’s question to him didn’t help.
“How did I make you feel?”
“What?!” Junhui completely failed to notice the pink dusting Wonwoo’s cheeks as his own flushed. What kind of question was that at a time like this? He dreadfully hoped Wonwoo wasn’t planning on any eleventh hour confessions.
“Feel free to make it quick, I promise this is going somewhere, so please, before he busts through these walls,”
“FINE! ” Junhui took the hand of his supporting less of Wonwoo’s weight and tried to hide his face in it as he tried to put his feelings into words. Wonwoo watched, situationally patient and eager. “Uh, when you were around the snowing slowed to just a light snowfall, and it looked like you changed the weather on your own, so... everything bad that I was you could counter.” Junhui could cry from the embarrassment, and he really wanted to hide from Wonwoo. “You made me feel like I couldn’t hurt anyone, like I was just another normal boy, like everything I was afraid of melted away while you were with me.” He buried his face into Wonwoo’s chest now, his words practically a mumble that he hoped Wonwoo didn’t really have to hear because now that he thought about it, his feelings were quite strong. “You made me feel safe and happy, and when you held me I felt like I could trust you. That because of you there was really nothing to be afraid of anymore.”
Because of his position hiding his face in Wonwoo’s chest, he completely missed the red color his cheeks had taken on. “Well,” Wonwoo started, his hand reaching down to thread his fingers through the hair on the back of Junhui’s hair, “I think we found what your powers rely on.”
“...What?” Junhui peeked upward, and he really desperately hoped that Wonwoo was NOT about to say ‘Love,’ because he was not even near ready to admit those feelings yet.
Wonwoo’s smile was warm as his hand moved to comfort Junhui. “You told us that the first time your powers grew out of control was after you accidentally froze your friend. You were really, truly terrified for the first time, and as everything got colder it just got worse. Right?” Junhui gave him a small nod, and he continued, “but lately, you’ve been literally warming up to us. The snowstorms stopped, and you didn’t freeze everything you touched. You said that I made you feel like you didn’t need to be afraid, so I think that’s it. Your Attribute is tied to your fear.”
“But,” Junhui stammered in disbelief, “wasn’t that mostly you?” It was Wonwoo who had first let Jihoon hug him and it was Wonwoo that had cleared out the clouds, right? But it was true that since he began his self-imposed isolation, he had lived in constant fear of hurting others like he had hurt his friend.
“Actually, two days ago, when you hugged Jihoon, I had no part in that.” Junhui’s eyes wanted to bulge out of their sockets and his mouth was unable to even form the ‘Really?!’ that his brain was screaming. Wonwoo’s smile up at him as he sat back up in a stunned stupor that he had not hurt his friend was equal parts smug and soft, and he was ready to let Junhui process it.
It was at that instant that Kiyong chose to burst their flaming bubble, infuriated that he had been shocked then disoriented then blocked by fire, his element.
“You two are disgusting,” he growled, glaring at their arms around each other as Junhui helped Wonwoo stand and they faced the hunter. As burning flames engulfed his hands, ready to consume them whole, Wonwoo leaned his head on Junhui’s shoulder and murmured to him softly.
“You have nothing to be afraid of, Junnie. I’m right here with you.” This time the warmth that Junhui felt came from within him, and he took a deep breath in and summoned all the courage that he had. He didn’t hurt Jihoon. He would never hurt Jihoon again. He had stopped his own storms, and he could control his Ice. Wonwoo believed in him, and so did Jihoon and Soonyoung. He could believe in himself too.
This time, as Kiyong’s pillar of fire met Junhui’s wall of ice, once the flames dispersed it was clear that they had not even warped under the heat. The image of Kiyong that Wonwoo and Junhui could see through the refracting ice was stunned, and all the grandiose from earlier had gone.
“I’ll bet you,” Wonwoo whispered to Junhui with a low laugh, “that his Flame is tied to either his arrogance or his anger. Literally nobody would talk like he was talking earlier.” Junhui’s giggles returned as he leaned his cheek on Wonwoo’s hair. “Watch, I bet he’ll try to keep up the act but now that you stopped him, it’ll be weak. Weak. ”
Junhui almost lost it as Wonwoo’s prediction came true. The blizzard around them slowed to a gentle snowfall as Kiyong released a stuttering mess that sounded a lot like badly-constructed insults and him restating his title.
“Hey! You!” Junhui yelled, an unintentional blast of cold wind blowing Kiyong back a few steps. Wonwoo gave Junhui’s head some proud pats. “I’m said that I would never hurt people again, so this is me being really nice considering the fact that you wanted to kill us!” His words seemed to really affect Kiyong, since his flames were petering out and Soonyoung and Jihoon rushed in with a shout that quickly quieted once they saw Wonwoo and Junhui had the situation under control.
“So. Don’t come near me or my friends ever again, or I WILL take you to court!” He pointed his finger at Kiyong, who scrambled backward. He didn’t want the force of an entire blizzard slamming into him with his current state. He nodded stiffly at Junhui, still too prideful to speak to him, and power walked down the mountain.
As Junhui was marveling at how easy that was, he felt Wonwoo softly nuzzle his hair and suddenly remembered what was basically a confession on his part. “You know, I kind of felt like I was being threatened by a kitten.” Junhui forgot all his embarrassment in favor of a petulant pout. “But,” smiled Wonwoo as he pressed a small kiss to Junhui’s temple, melting him in a whole new fashion, “an adorable, powerful kitten who overcame his hardships.”
“Jesus, you two are disgusting.” Jihoon grumbled as he approached with Soonyoung, and Junhui was eternally grateful that he didn’t need to respond to that gesture.
“It’s about time, though.” Laughed Soonyoung, who yelped as he had to dodge some snow Wonwoo kicked up in his direction.
“Wait so Junnie,” Jihoon started, completely ignoring Wonwoo for the time being, “you’re able to control your Attribute now?”
“Yeah!” Junhui chirped excitedly, though he was careful not to jostle Wonwoo, “it was fear! Wonwon helped me see that.” Soonyoung and Wonwoo both choked at ‘Wonwon,’ making Jihoon snort. and Junhui considered his revenge attained.
❄❅❆❅❄
“Promise you’ll visit us soon, alright? I can’t be the only Soon here! I’ll miss you, Junnie!” Soonyoung had tears in his eyes as he clinged to Junhui, the entire group standing in front of Jihoon’s house.
They had decided that Junhui would stay with Jihoon for a while in order to thank the townspeople for enduring his cold, and when he finished all the business they had, both he and Jihoon would move to the larger village, nearly a city, that Soonyoung and Wonwoo called home. It’d be a good experience for them both, and they could be together for good! But Junhui decided that he would want a couple years to make sure all his loose ends were tied up and that his family, who had moved away in grief over losing their son to the mountain, would be able to hear his story. Now, with the burns on Junhui's throat faded and Wonwoo's ribs healed, the latter and Soonyoung were prepared to head home.
“Yeah,” Wonwoo said as he shoved Soonyoung into Jihoon, who made an indignant squawk at the impact and nearly shoved Soonyoung again, “I’ll miss you lots. It’s almost perfect how we ended up matching up like this.” He took Junhui’s hands into his own, and the natural cold and warmth gained from their attributes mixed into the perfect temperature. “I’ll probably visit myself. It’s not that far of a walk when you can boost yourself.”
Junhui found himself smiling dumbly at his closeness to Wonwoo, and he leaned forward to pull Wonwoo into a hug. “Good, because I’ll miss you too. You and Soonyoung.” Wonwoo huffed a puff of warm air onto Junhui’s neck, making the latter jump.
“And you’re sure you won’t miss me more?” From his tone alone Junhui could hear the near smirk that was on Wonwoo’s face.
“Okay break it up you two, no PDA.” Soonyoung peeled a reluctant Wonwoo out of the embrace that he had gotten so used to over the past weeks, and Jihoon patted Junhui as he pouted.
When Wonwoo jerked himself out of Soonyoung’s grasp to cup Junhui’s face and press a short, chaste kiss to Junhui’s lips though, none of the three were prepared. Junhui was sure Soonyoung was yelling something along the lines of ‘what did I just say, Jeon Wonwoo?!’ and Jihoon was trying to look away, but all he could look at was the sweet, soft smile on Wonwoo’s face.
“You’ll have to visit if you want more, Junnie.” He stepped back from Junhui’s flushed countenance, the latter completely unable to come up with a coherent response as Wonwoo picked up his bags and hefted them onto his back.
“See you soon, Snow Angel.”