My name is Maia but feel free to call me Beanie or just Bean 🌱 I’m 26 and use she/her pronouns, I’m also proudly Black and pansexual 🏳️🌈, and unfortunately living in the midwest region of the USA. I am in grad school and that keeps me very busy so do not expect a regular posting schedule!
This blog will specifically house my Ateez and Stray Kids musings and writings but you can visit my main blog (@beanie-bun) if you're interested in all the other things that capture my attention 💗 I may expand the list of groups I write for, but for now let’s stick to those two…
I’m relatively new to the kpop fandom space, but like any other interest of mine, I dive right into the deep end! I’ve been an Atiny for 2 years now and slippery-sloped my way into becoming a Stay recently as well. If you ask for my bias in either group just know it changes every other week 😩 and I’m being bias-wrecked by the whole goddamn group constantly.
That’s all for now, I hope you enjoy my posts and feel free to send me an ask!
I just wanted to say that i REALLY love your "Hans moving castle" series! And i cant wait for part 3! I hope it comes out soon, because its so fantastic ❤️❤️
Hello my sweet Nonnie!
Thank you for the kind words 🥹 I've been in such a writing slump, but your encouragement means the world to me!
Just for you, I powered through writing most of the last chapter this weekend and aim to post it by Wednesday! I hope you love it 😘
This semester has beaten the absolute brakes off my ass 🤕. The last couple months were a blur of research, teaching, writing (for research not for fun), and just life shit, but I am finally free from the shackles of the academic year!
REJOICE!!!
We're diving right back into the staytiny universe and I'm so excited to have the time to write again!
On the chopping block (i.e. to be written/edited/published):
Finish up Han's Moving Castle. I'm in the middle of writing that last chapter so hopefully I can post it later this week!
A spicyyyy Wooyoung x Reader oneshot (actually a oneshot this time!) that I've outlined and started writing
Maybe another ot8 SKZ imagine? I would love to take requests, but I have plenty of ideas if you guys are too shy~
That's all for now! I've missed you all and this hellsite like crazy 💗 didn't mean to go all absentee-parent on you 🥺 I cannot promise that it won't happen again lol
Content: Howl’s Moving Castle AU, fluff, found family vibes, idiots falling in love
Warning(s): suggestive themes, some explicit language, brief mentions of war
Word Count: 8.2k
Summary: Your adventures with Han the wizard continue! But things are heating up, in more ways than one.
A/N: Please heed the updated warnings! We’ve bumped the rating of this tooth-rotting fluff into something slightly steamy~ read at your own risk. Additionally, I’ve deviated from the original story line a bit more to make certain plot points work better! Happy reading
Part one | Part two
My masterlist 💕
All credit for the fan art in the cover image to the amazing artist (captioned)!
Cobwebs and dust bunnies the size of real bunnies rain down from the ceiling as you angrily sweep your broom as high as you can reach. You were channeling your anger over the whole aged-50-years-and-can’t-even-complain-about-it situation into cleaning every nook and cranny of the disgusting castle, heaven knows it hasn’t been cleaned in years, if ever.
“I’m sick of wizards, and aching joints, and being treated like some timid old lady!” you grumble as you aggressively clear out pile after pile of junk scattered throughout the living room.
Amidst all the clutter you uncover a family of mice and the fact that the living space has been neglected to such an extent that there are critters and bugs makes you sweep even more aggressively.
Clouds of dust escape through the open windows and out onto the busy street below. You barely catch Jeongin muttering something that sounds like, “I’m not paid enough for this” as he rushes outside with his disguise and a thick book. It would seem he’s got a table set-up just in front of the shop to avoid your path of disinfecting. At least someone in this place has some sense.
Dusting, mopping, scrubbing, organizing, rearranging – you flit around the first floor completely immersed in your tasks. A couple hours must have passed when suddenly, whining from a very small looking Minho reaches your ears.
You glance over and see that Minho’s flame has dwindled significantly, you figure this is the perfect time to clear the ashes out of his hearth.
“Hey! Hey lady! Y/N, you gotta help me, you need to get me more firewood and quickly” his eyes are big and pitiful looking as he complains, but you just roll your eyes and grab some tongs.
You pick up the last bit of firewood Minho’s clinging to and plop him into a metal canister. Minho’s still being dramatic, fussing that he’s going out, but you pay him no mind, humming as you start to clear out the ashes onto a waiting sheet on the floor.
If you were paying closer attention to the little fire demon, you’d see him clinging to the last nub of wood, desperately trying not to let go. Minho calls for help, begs you to hurry up, but you’re so close to finishing up!
He can wait a minute more, you think as you tie off the bundle of ashes and go to dispose of them outside.
The bit of wood crumbles and Minho falls into the canister with a yelp. A small ring of smoke drifts up and just for a moment, Minho’s flame goes out.
When you walk back in you’re surprised to see Han bent over in front of the hearth. He’s got his hand extended over Minho (who’s sitting on two fresh logs you notice) and seems to be coaxing his bright orange flame higher.
Han stands up tall and turns to you with a tight smile, his body language is full of tension. The warning look in his eyes freezes you to the spot and you anxiously twist your fingers up in your apron, suddenly feeling like you’ve overstepped.
“Yah! I’d appreciate it if you didn’t torment my friend,” Han says. It sounds like he was going for a joking tone but it fell flat.
You hear Jeongin coming back inside through the door behind you, but your attention is fixed on the wizard walking purposefully towards you. While Han hasn’t been cruel or even a little bit mean towards you this whole time, maybe you’ve exhausted his patience and he’s coming over to punish you…
You gasp and quickly stumble back, but Han breezes past you and down the stairs to the door.
“Master Han, are you going back out?” Jeongin asks.
Han turns the dial to the black color and looks back over his shoulder with that same closed-lipped polite-but-strained smile and dull eyes as he addresses his apprentice, “Make sure the cleaning lady doesn’t do too much, yeah Innie?”
Without waiting for an answer, he opens the door and flies off into a pitch black abyss, and the door slams shut behind him.
Jeongin is giving you major side-eye when you turn to him and he asks, “Y/N… What did you do now?”
“She almost killed me!” Minho butts in immediately, “If I die, Han dies too, I hope you know that, lady!”
You sigh at the theatrics, surely the fire demon is exaggerating. You could probably just light a match and he’d be back to his annoying self.
“Oh hush, you were fine!” you remind him and shuffle over to grab your bucket and scrubbing brush. “Anyways, I’ve got a job to do.”
As you head towards the stairs to start on cleaning the upper levels, Jeongin darts past you and spreads his long limbs out to block you from continuing. “Hold on! You can’t come up here yet!” he shouts, and looks nervously over his shoulder, up into the hallway.
“Whatever you don’t want me to clean, you better take care of it now~” you sing, raising an eyebrow expectantly.
Jeongin squawks “Save my room for last! Han-hyung’s room and bathroom will take forever anyways!” He trips over his feet as he turns to run the rest of the way up the stairs, and you just chuckle to yourself.
When you make it to the next level, you’re dismayed but not surprised that it’s just as dirty up here. You open the first door to your left and discover an equally dirty bathroom, only, it looks as if a paint bomb went off inside. There are streaks of color everywhere: the walls, the sink, the tub (that is still full of steaming hot water), and even the toilet, which the state of that particular fixture makes you gag.
Letting out a groan of exasperation, you march over and throw open the windows.
You stick your head outside to huff the fresh air but instead find yourself dazzled by the amazing view. The physical castle is still lumbering through the Wastes, but the mountainous area you’re in is beautiful. Currently, the moving castle is travelling along the edge of a steep cliff and you can spot a meandering river way down below.
“This is incredible! Minho? Minho!” You shout in the direction of the stairs, “Minho, is it you moving the castle?!” You turn and rush towards the top of the stairs to hear his answer.
“Of course it’s me,” He shouts back from his hearth, “ No one else does any work around here!”
You lean over the railing, overflowing with amazement and you grin widely at Minho, “Well you are one impressive fire demon and I like your spark!” You wink at him and giggle as you skip back to the bathroom.
You don’t see the way Minho has taken on a pink hue and how his flames shoot higher and spark wildly as he repeats your words with glee.
You take it upon yourself to explore the rest of the upper levels of the castle, stumbling upon the hallway that contains Jeongin’s room and he rushes through piles of clothes on the floor to close his door, shouting “Not ready yet!” You pay him no mind, yanking open another door to find a small balcony.
The wind whips your hair and clothes around as you step outside to take in the view and after a few minutes, Jeongin joins you.
He’s leaning on the railing in a way that slightly concerns you, because you just met him, but already know about his penchant for clumsiness.
However, he just gives you a big toothy smile and his eyes turn into little crescents. The sight is so cute that you set aside your nagging and just enjoy the moment.
Jeongin is telling you about the lake off in the distance, Star Lake he called it, when you both notice a big branch sticking out of an opening to the castle below the balcony. A very familiar looking branch.
“Oh dear, help me with this Jeongin?” You grunt and lean over the railing to get a good hold of the branch, and together, you and the apprentice manage to get it unstuck and turned upright.
“It’s a scarecrow!” Jeongin’s eyes are wide as he takes in the elaborately dressed figure.
You shake your head fondly, and dust off your apron. “I’ve taken to calling him Turnip Head, and somehow he always manages to get stuck upside down.”
Looking closely, you swear the scarecrow’s smile grows wider and it gives you that characteristic twirl before hopping off and jumping in place on one of the castle’s large steel pipes.
“He keeps following me everywhere, like a stray cat,” you comment to Jeongin as you both watch Turnip Head hop around. “Seems to have taken a liking to me,” you finish and shrug.
Jeongin looks at you consideringly, “That’s weird, are you sure you’re not a witch?”
You cackle and ruffle his hair, “Oh yes, I’m the worst kind of witch! The kind that cleans!”
The castle settles close to the edge of Star Lake with many clanks and creaks of settling parts, and you, Jeongin, and Turnip Head spend a peaceful afternoon together.
You do load after load of laundry and Turnip Head is full of energy as he helps set up drying lines. You think the scarecrow is still trying to find ways to repay you.
Once that’s done, you and Jeongin set up a table right by the lake and have lunch. You're feeling deeply content, sipping tea and relaxing in the sun.
You and Jeongin chat about whether Turnip Head is a demon or not (you decide yes, but definitely the good kind, like Minho), and what chores you still have left to do, and Jeongin’s interest in fashion, hence all the clothes in his room.
It’s getting late by the time Jeongin convinces you to come back inside, the sun is setting and all the laundry has been folded and put away. Even Turnip Head is ready to go in his new favorite spot on top of a pipe sticking out of the castle. So you amble inside the warm castle, and settle in for the night.
It is the early morning hours, just before dawn breaks, by the time the dial over the door switches to black and Han creeps inside. His once pristine outfit is gone, replaced with deep midnight blue feathers and talons.
He falls into the chair in front of the hearth with a heaving sigh, drops his head back, and props his taloned feet up.
“Jisungie are you okay? You stink,” Minho looks over the wizard with concern.
Han groans and the feathers recede slowly until his regular body is back.
“You shouldn’t keep flying around like that,” Minho continues to scold him, “Soon you’ll be stuck in that form and won’t turn back human.”
Hearing no reply, Minho decides to let up on the nagging for now.
His eyes land on the neatly stacked firewood nearby and he grabs a log and smiles, “Isn’t this nice? Y/N put these here for me and I didn’t even have to threaten her.”
This seems to get Han’s attention, he sits up and grunts in pain, adjusting his jacket to hold his aching ribs.
“This war is awful,” Han begins, “They’ve bombed all the way from the southern coast to the northern border. It’s all in flames now…” His voice wavers at the end, thinking of all the destruction the pointless war has brought.
The whispered debrief continues, Minho offering commentary here and there, but also keeping an eye on the way Han seems drained of all energy and life. Minho tried to warn the wizard against flying off and interfering with the war ships’ bombing but no one ever listens to him.
“Wait-” Minho interjects as he tunes back into Han’s tirade about wizards sacrificing their humanity for the war, “aren’t you supposed to report to the king, too?”
Han avoids his eyes and stands, waving his hand dismissively.
“I’m tired,” he claims and starts to walk off, “make some hot water for my bath please, Jagi.”
Han ignores the predictable complaining from Minho and walks over to the drawn curtain on the alcove under the stairs where the daybed sits.
Presumably, this is where you are sleeping as there are no other beds besides his and Jeongin’s in the castle and while you’ve been very bold and unapologetic with him so far, he doesn’t think you’d dare to intrude on his bed and Jeongin doesn’t like to share. Han makes a mental note to procure another bed for you soon as he carefully parts the curtain to take a peek.
Sure enough, you are curled up under a thick blanket, but Han is frozen in place at the sight of your young and achingly familiar face instead of the wrinkled face of his new cleaning lady. As you take deep and even breathes, his eyes trace greedily over your features.
Each detail is just as he remembered: your pretty eyelashes, your cute nose, your soft-looking lips. And your hair, longer and not silver, is splayed across your pillow, loose from its usual braid.
His mind races as he connects the dots that in the time between dropping you off at the bakery, and you wandering into his castle, you’ve had a curse put on you. One that has turned you into an elderly version of yourself, and it’s probably a curse you can’t speak about.
The moment stretches on and Han feels guilt well up inside of him that you were cursed for associating with him for just a few moments. But he also feels something warm and tender, unnameable, because all this time, you’ve been right under his nose. The girl he’s been dreaming about…
A sharp pop of burning wood snaps Han out of the spell you’ve unknowingly put him under. He gently lets the curtain fall closed again, and retreats upstairs, avoiding Minho’s penetrating gaze once again.
The next day started off well enough…
Despite being jolted awake by the roaring sound of water rushing into the tub upstairs in the early morning, you’re cheerful and upbeat as you drag Jeongin out onto the bustling streets of Porthaven for the morning market.
Not even his grumpy mood and petulant comments about the ocean looking “the same it always looks” or pretending to hate vegetables and fish bring you down.
Everything is normal until a broken down battleship appears in the harbor, drawing all the townsfolk to the docks.
Market stalls now closed, you and Jeongin wandered over to see what all the fuss was about.
Just as you were about to give into Jeongin’s pleading to get a closer look, you spotted the Wizard of the Waste’s henchman in the crowd and your heart rate ratcheted up.
As if that weren’t enough, bombs from an enemy airship were dropped into the harbor, flyers fluttering in the wind behind the ship, and panicked people running through the streets.
Not sparing a second, you snatched Jeongin up and began running as quickly as your old bones would allow, leaning heavily on your cane. You don’t stop until you’re both inside the castle, the door shut tight and locked behind you.
You’re panting and leaning on the wall for support, who knew you could move that fast in your old age?
“Are you okay, Y/N?” Jeongin looks so worried for you and he tries to help you up the steps, it’s surprising and sweet how much he seems to care about you.
“I just need a glass of water,” you wheeze and hobble over to the chair.
Just as you plop down, an ear-splitting shriek comes from upstairs.
Terrified that something happened to Han, you jump up and Jeongin rushes over to you.
Thunderous footsteps and then a bright orange-haired Han is leaning over the railing, not a stitch of fabric on his steaming, dripping wet body besides a little white towel around his waist… Did Minho bump the temperature in the castle up a few degrees while you were out?
“Y/N! You’ve ruined me!” Han wails, and rushes down the stairs, “Look what you’ve done to my hair!” he demands, gripping his hair tight in his fists as he darts over to you.
Han basically shoves his head right into your face until all you can see are the tangerine-colored locks and you think it looks quite pretty on him. It’s a similar shade to Jeongin’s but much more vivid.
“What a pretty color,” you say truthfully, but Han is having none of it.
“It’s hideous!” He cries, big pouty eyes boring into yours, all shiny with the start of tears as he sinks to his knees.
Your foolish brain can’t help but note how tempting Han looks right now, on his knees and pouting at you. All honeyed skin, and broad chest with the most grabbable waist…
“You completely ruined my potions in the bathroom!” He accuses, and a startled laugh slips out of you as you forcefully drag your mind out of the gutter.
Your face feels hot and flushed but you smile fondly at the wizard. “Han, I just organized them! Nothing is ruined, I promise!”
A truly pitiful whimper is all Han offers and there are definitely tears now.
“I specifically told you not to get carried away and now look!” Han flops into the chair you were just sitting in, in front of the hearth, and drops his head into his hands, “I’m repulsive, I can’t go on like this.”
You’re trying to find the words to reassure him (it truly doesn’t look that bad!) when the strands of hair start to rapidly change color. The orange fades into burgundy red, then deep brown, and finally settling into a glossy black shade.
“You should look at it now, I think this new color is even better!” you offer, but it’s like Han doesn’t even hear you, head still resting in his hands in a defeated hunched over position.
“I give up,” he whispers dejectedly, “what’s the point of living if I can’t be beautiful?”
Shadows start to creep up the walls and slink across the floor and the castle seems to be warping into something sinister. All of the light aside from Minho’s flames is sucked away and an awful howling sounds starts up.
Minho is yelling at Han to stop whatever it is he’s doing and you fearfully grasp Jeongin’s arm as the shadows fill the room.
“Hannie-hyung is calling the Spirits of Darkness,” Jeongin whispers to you, holding you just as tightly as you’re holding him.
“I saw him do this once before, when he couldn’t get the lyrics right for a song he was writing”
You scoff, yet dig deep to try and find some patience for silly, dramatic wizards.
Adopting a comforting tone, you try again, “Now Hannie, you’ll be alright, we can just dye it back–”
The words die in your throat as your hand touches his shoulder because Han’s skin is secreting some weird green goo and you gasp, pulling away quickly.
The goo oozes from his whole body, dripping onto the floor and your patience has officially run out, you’ve had just about enough of this drama!
“You think you’ve got it bad?!” Your voice cracks at the end and you’re ashamed to feel hot, stinging tears welling up in your eyes.
“No one spares me a second glance because I’ve never been beautiful my whole life!” you sob and run over to the door, not even caring about what setting the dial is on.
You have got to get out of this blasted house right this second!
The raining landscape of the Wastes greets you and you run down to the lake edge. Stopping just short of the water line you stare out into the distance and sniffle, trying to hold it together.
But nothing can stop your shuddering breaths and the deep well of sadness that has overflowed within you, so you let go and just cry.
Rain soaks your clothes and tears soak your face as you weep.
Your bawling has simmered down to sniffles and a much slower stream of tears when you notice that the freezing raindrops that were pelting you abruptly stop.
You look up in confusion and your heart melts when you see Turnip Head standing over you with a tattered umbrella and his signature smile. Water dripping from his straw hair and soaking his suit.
“Thank you Turnip Head, how’d you get to be so kind and gentle?” you give him a genuine smile and wish so strongly in that moment that you could hug him properly. You could use a hug from someone that cares about you.
Alas, Jeongin is running towards you and tugging the sleeve of your dress urgently.
“Y/N please come back inside, we need your help!” he begs and starts yanking your arm in the direction of the castle.
You sigh, but put your wallowing aside and follow him in.
The scene is, quite frankly, ridiculous. Minho is holding a half-burnt log over his head while trying to avoid the puddle of depression-goo creeping closer, yelling, “Han Jisung! You better cut it out right now! I’m going to drown!”
Han looks the same as when you fled, pathetically drooped over the hearth in just his towel, limbs all folded up, but now surrounded by depression goo. It’s covering the floor surrounding him and flooding the hearth.
Minho lets out a relieved puff of smoke when he sees you and calls out, “Y/N do something! Help him please, Y/N!”
Jeongin comes through the door behind you and hovers, “Is he dead?” he asks you and looks at Han over your shoulder with a worried look on his face.
You chuckle and shake your head, rolling your wet sleeves up your arms, “No, Innie, he’s just throwing a tantrum like a child. Come give me a hand?”
Together, you and Jeongin push the chair (Han still slumped over in it) over to the stairs, and you tell Jeongin to get the hot water running while you sling Han’s arm over your shoulder and start dragging him up the stairs. The goo is not making this any easier as he’s especially slippery, and you try to prompt Han to help you by walking, his legs aren’t broken after all!
You sigh sadly as you glance back at the trail of slime he’s leaving all over your freshly scrubbed floors but then you spot that itty bitty white towel that should be around Han’s itty bitty waist laying innocently near the bottom of the stairs.
You squeak and determinedly turn your face up to the ceiling so as to not catch a peek at the rest of the great Wizard Han Jisung until you can deposit him in the bathroom.
Jeongin mock salutes you and promises to get him cleaned up and you close the door.
“Now I have to mop again…” you release a big sigh and get to work.
By the time you’ve calmed down after the crazy events of the morning and cleaned the floors (again) it’s midday. Han’s been camped out in his room ever since Jeongin got him cleaned up, so you decide to bring him a snack, a peace offering. At least, that’s what you tell yourself.
There’s no answer when you knock firmly on his door, so you announce that you’re entering anyways and step into the messiest, most maximalist bedroom you’ve ever seen.
Despite teasing Jeongin about cleaning his room earlier, you would never invade their privacy like that without permission. So this was your first time seeing Han’s room and yeah… cleaning and organizing this room would take you three days minimum.
Your wandering eyes finally land on Han, propped up by a couple pillows and tucked in as if he’s on his deathbed.
You shake your head fondly and approach him, “Han? I brought you a little slice of cheesecake.”
One eye peeks open to look at the plate in your hands before closing again just as quickly and you cover your laugh with a small cough.
“Do you want a bite?” you ask sweetly.
He shakes his head, so you shrug and place the plate on the only free spot on his nightstand. You turn to leave, figuring the wizard just wants to be alone, but a hand catches your wrist and gently tugs you back.
“Y/N, wait… stay,” he whispers.
You could easily break free and head back downstairs to be entertained by Minho and Jeongin, but tingles shoot up your arm from where his skin touches yours, and your cheeks heat at the implication that he wants you there.
You take a seat on the edge of his bed, right beside his hip, and note that he is still loosely grasping your wrist, this fact makes you unreasonably flustered and you fidget with a loose thread on the comforter.
It’s quiet for a moment, peaceful, until one of the many decorations hanging from the ceiling starts spinning wildly, bell chiming softly, and Han takes a deep breath and finally opens his eyes.
“The Wizard of the Waste is searching for my castle,” he states, and you gasp, suddenly remembering.
“I saw his henchman at the harbor this morning!”
Han’s face drops into a pout as he looks away from you, “I’m a coward, all I do is hide, and all the magic stuff is to keep people from realizing how scared and broken I am.”
His tone is so defeated and self-deprecating, you squeeze the hand that’s still holding you in sympathy. Perhaps all of his dramatics are not solely the actions of a spoiled and immature man like you initially thought.
You decide to ask Han something you had wondered since you came to the castle.
“Han, why is the Wizard of the Waste after you in the first place?”
“We trained together, a long time ago, and became close friends. We were the most skilled students in our class, and the most beautiful,” you roll your eyes at that last part but continue to listen.
“But all the attention made us competitive and we fought a lot. When our instructor chose me to be his apprentice, he was so angry at me that he left… but I was too afraid to go after him. As usual, I hid away.”
Boys, you think to yourself and let loose a weary sigh.
“I can’t hide much longer, though. I have to report to the king as both Han Jisung and J.One,” Han groans and releases your hand to cover his face with a pillow.
You don’t see the big deal though, couldn’t he just refuse the king’s invitation?
When you say as much, Han just points at a piece of paper pinned to the wall by a dagger, “That’s the oath I took when I joined the Royal JYP Sorcery Academy, I have to report to the palace whenever summoned.” he says, muffled under the pillow but you caught enough to understand.
“I think you should see the king, Han!” You cross your arms defiantly and grin when he whips the pillow away from his face to stare at you in disbelief.
“I’m serious! Tell him the war is pointless and that you refuse to take part!” you say passionately.
Han flops back dramatically and sighs like you’re being ridiculous, but before you can argue your point more he jumps up with a huge gasp and brings his face so close to yours your noses are practically touching.
It would be so easy to kiss– you stop that train of thought before it can get too far.
“I’ve got an idea! Why don’t you go to the palace for me?” he practically shouts and you lean back to protect your ears (no other reason).
“Just say you’re my mother,” he leans closer, you lean back, “and that your son is too much of a coward to show his face,” if you lean back any further, you’ll fall off the bed, “maybe then, Professor Chan will finally give up on me!”
Han’s eyes are so big and starry with his excitement, especially this close up, and the proximity has completely derailed your critical thinking. That’s your excuse when the only thing you manage to say spit out is, “Do you have a mommy kink?”
You spend most of your walk to the palace theorizing what disguise Han will use to discreetly trail you.
So far you’ve ruled out crow, pigeon, and foot soldier (you’re still tense after what happened trying to visit your sister). You think he could be one of those flamboyant pilots flying overhead in their little airships with beautiful women giggling behind them, or maybe a well-dressed gentleman having tea at a cafe you walk past.
You twist the ring Han gave you around thoughtfully as you walk, recalling the way his deep voice rumbled in your ear as he slipped it on your pointer finger with a promise that it would keep you safe.
You try not to think too deeply on the fact that it matches the one he wears and what it all means.
The butterflies in your belly speak to how well that’s going.
A short time later, you’re within the outer walls of the palace. You’re heading straight towards the impressive palace entrance across the courtyard when you hear little footsteps and the occasional panting noise behind you.
When you look over your shoulder, you see a little dog of all things, trotting along.
It only comes up to your calves, must be a puppy you think. It has golden fur that’s shaggy in the front, almost covering its eyes, and big floppy ears. It’s an odd but very cute disguise.
You glance around to see if anyone is watching, “Han? You disguised yourself as a puppy?” you quietly ask him. The puppy only gives you a small bark and nips your ankle.
“Ow! You little shit,” you yelp, and consider hitting him with your cane, “I’m just saying! You couldn’t pick something more useful? I’m an old lady after all!”
Just as you face forward, a carriage pulls up beside you, carried by blob henchman you’ve seen before, and dread fills your stomach.
“Look who it is! The tacky doll from the hat shop,” drawls the Wizard of the Waste from the window of his opulent carriage. “Thanks for passing along my scorching love note to Han, how’s he doing by the way?”
Most of his face is hidden behind a fan, but you can see the way he looks you up and down and the edge of a smirk on his lips .
Your temper flares hot and bright and you glance at puppy-Han to gauge his reaction, but he’s unphased, continuing to trot a half-step behind you, so you craft a half-true story.
“He’s acting like a scaredy cat, and he’s working me to the bone as his cleaning lady.” Okay, maybe that story was completely true…
The Wizard of the Waste giggles and closes the fan with a flourish. You can see all of his face now, and it just grinds your gears that he’s gorgeous. He’s wearing makeup that highlights his sharp features, and his long hair is artfully styled.
“So what business do you have at the palace, doll?” The wizard asks conversationally, fiddling with his hair in a small compact mirror.
“Job hunting, I’m sick of working for Han,” you lie, “And what about yourself?” You try to act disinterested.
“I received a royal invitation,” he purrs, looking quite pleased with himself. “That idiot, Bang Chan finally realized how much he needs my powers.”
“If you’re so great, why don’t you break the curse you put on me!” You bite back, but he just laughs again.
“Sorry doll,” you really doubt that, “my talent lies in casting spells, not breaking them!”
He snaps his fingers, and the henchman pick up the pace, taking the infuriating wizard away while you shout after them angrily.
You huff and cut your eyes over to the puppy, “If I didn’t have you to worry about, I would have whooped him!” you grumble. The puppy’s answering bark sounds suspiciously like a laugh.
Soon after, you approach the massive staircase that leads to the palace entrance. You spot the Wizard of the Waste, henchman suspiciously absent, slowly lumbering up the stairs in that heavy looking black fur coat, but pay him no mind and begin climbing the steps yourself.
You’ve only made it up a few stairs when you hear a high-pitched whine from the bottom.
Of course Han chose a form that wasn’t big enough to climb the stairs on his own. He rests his snout on the bottom step and looks up at you with the biggest puppy eyes and you fold immediately with a big sigh.
Dog in hand, you start up the steps a second time, slower now with the extra weight.
“Han! Why are you so heavy?” You grunt and curse him out thoroughly in your head.
When you pass the panting and profusely sweating Wizard, he pleads with you to help him too.
“What was that?” you call over your shoulder, “You remembered how to break the spell you put on me?”
A loud and dramatic groan is all you get, so you keep on climbing.
About halfway up, you set puppy-Han down and catch your breath. You look down at the Wizard of the Waste, so far behind you and absolutely gasping for air, with pity.
“Why don’t you just give up? You’re killing yourself!” you shout down to him.
“I’ve waited too long to be invited back here, ever since Bang Chan banished me to the Wastes!” he growls and brushes sweaty strands of hair from his face.
You almost feel bad for him, but then you remember your old body and harden your heart.
“C’mon Han, let’s go,” you gather the puppy and continue climbing what feels like a mountain of stairs.
Once you make it to the top, you’re absolutely exhausted. You set the puppy down and almost keel over trying to catch your breath.
One of the attendants of the castle politely requests that you follow him inside, but you feel a strange need to make sure the wizard that cursed you makes it to the top. Maybe his story did touch your heart a little bit.
With some encouraging cheers and pep talks (that were decidedly not appreciated) he makes it and you walk in together, puppy-Han right behind you of course.
You notice that where before, the wizard towered above you with intimidating height, now he’s hunched over and small looking, relying on your cane to walk and still dripping sweat.
Your cover is almost blown when the staff announcing your presence call you “Mother of Han Jisung”, but the Wizard of the Waste, who’s name you now know is Hyunjin, is too focused on recovering from the stairs to notice.
The attendant that was leading the way directs you to a fancy room with a single chair, which is claimed by Hyunjin almost immediately.
He quickly plops down and it’s like his bones turned to liquid the way he’s sinks into it, like he’s turned into a big ferret.
But you can’t focus on him because puppy-Han runs off down some dark corridor and he ignores your frantic calling to come back.
With no choice, you hurry after him.
The corridor seems like a dead end, but a secret door slides open abruptly, startling you. Behind it stands a young boy in what looks like a fancy school uniform. He has a pleasant smile on his beautiful face when he says, “This way ma’am.”
You don’t see puppy-Han anywhere, so this must be your only option, you think, and follow him into a huge conservatory. The walls and ceiling are made completely of glass and its idyllic inside, filled with huge eucalyptus trees and exotic flowers that you can’t even name.
The boy leads you to an open area where you spy two chairs, one big and ornate, and the other nice but plain looking.
Sitting in the big chair is a man. Strong jaw, short dark hair, and casual clothes, he’s commanding and very attractive. Is that a requirement to work here?
He chats with the boy that led you here for a moment before the boy leaves, and the man turns to address you.
“So you’re Han’s mother I hear?” he smiles and you notice two dimples pop out, you nod mindlessly.
“You must be tired, have a seat!” he gestures to the other chair.
You thank him and gingerly sit down.
“I am Professor Bang Chan, His Majesty’s head sorcerer and director of the Sorcery Training Academy, but you can just call me Chris!”
As he introduces himself, your eyes wander over to a staff resting on the side table right next to his chair, and they nearly pop out of your head when you see the puppy resting underneath it.
“That’s not… your dog is it?” You cautiously ask.
“His name is Seungmin,” Chris answers breezily, “He’s my errand dog, I had him escort you here.”
You nearly facepalm after hearing that. All the things you said, thinking he was Han! Surely he’ll use his doggy magic to tell on you to the professor.
The man in question lets out a rumbly chuckle and rests his chin on his fist, “I take it Han won’t be joining us?”
Determined to salvage the visit, you tell him the story you rehearsed the whole way over; about how Han is too cowardly to show up, and that he’d be useless to the king.
Chris has a contemplative look on his face as he takes this in and nods along with a sigh, like he’s disappointed.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Han was the first and last apprentice I ever took on. I’ve never seen a more well-rounded and gifted student,” he explains.
You’re shocked to learn that Chris was training Han to be his replacement.
“Until the day his heart was stolen by a demon. He never returned to complete his apprenticeship and has been using his magic for reckless and selfish reasons ever since.” Chris’s voice grows more stern as he speaks and it has you sitting ramrod straight like a student getting scolded.
However, your respect towards Chris’s apparent wisdom and authority starts to waver when he starts to speak about Han’s morality, claiming that he’s “dangerous” now that he has no heart.
How dare he compare him to the Wizard of the Waste!
“Bring him in.” Chris orders, and an identical boy to the one that brought you into the conservatory wheels in a nearly unrecognizable figure.
“What did you do to him?” you breathe out, horrified.
It’s Hyunjin, but gone is the smug attitude, and flashy clothes and makeup. Even his long, inky hair is gone. What’s left is a lean figure huddled up his now too-big fur coat, cowering from you when you go to touch his shoulder, with a buzzed head.
“I just removed all the glamors and restored him to his natural state, all his powers are gone now.” Chris says evenly, watching you with a calculating look. “Once, he too was an impressive sorcerer with so much potential. But he fell prey to a demon of envy that slowly consumed him, body and soul.”
You loathe the casual way that Chris is talking about all of this, like it’s a children’s story instead of real people’s lives. Like they are misbehaving pawns in his game of chess.
“If Han reports to me and vows to use his powers to serve the kingdom, I’ll show him how to break from his demon,” Chris leans forward with his elbows on his knees and crosses his fingers in front of his face, his eyes are hard when you meet his gaze. “If not, I’ll strip him of all his powers. Just like that.” he gestures towards Hyunjin.
“That is enough!” You proclaim and shoot up from your chair. Seungmin jolts awake from his snoozing.
“Now I know why Han was too scared to come see you, this is all a trap! You lure people here with an invitation from the King and then strip them of all their powers!
“Han is not heartless! He may be selfish and cowardly, and certainly dramatic, but his intentions are good.”
You don’t notice, so wrapped up in your passionate speech, but the more you speak from your heart, the younger you get, until you’re back to your real age and normal body.
“Han won’t come here and he doesn’t need your help. He can fix his problem with his demon on his own, I’m certain of it!” you finish, full of pride for your wizard.
It’s silent for a second, and then Chris full body laughs.
“Ahh, now I see,” Chris runs his hands through his hair and gathers himself, “You’re in love with Han Jisung.”
You recoil, quickly reverting back to old-lady Y/N, and Hyunjin speaks up for the first time, grasping your skirts and crying about Han’s heart belonging to him.
“Han is not coming here, okay? Stop that Hyunjin,” you try to placate him.
Chris settles back into his chair and sighs, “Oh I think he is, I now know his weakness.”
Outside the glass windows of the conservatory, you both watch a small airship land in the grass. One of Chris’s servant boys opens a door and in steps the King.
This is your first time seeing him up close and your first thought is that he’s jacked; thick arms and thighs, and a chest so buff it’s straining his jacket. He’s also shorter than you expected, probably shorter than Han.
“King Changbin,” Chris bows from his seat and keeps a small smile on his face as they speak. You watch on quietly until the King asks about your presence.
Chris swings his arm out towards you and says, “This is Han Jisung’s mother, Mrs. Y/N.”
The King approaches you and stops just a foot away. You stare at his chin, where you notice a small scar, until you gather the courage to look into his eyes.
King Changbin is just as handsome as all the ladies in your hat shop gushed about. You flush and give him an awkward curtsey.
“Thanks for coming,” King Changbin starts, “but I’ve decided not to use magic to win this war. We have tried using the Professor’s magic to shield our palace from the enemy’s bombs, but the bombs fall on civilian homes instead. That’s the problem with magic, isn’t it Professor Chan?”
Chris still has that polite smile on his face as he tilts his head in acknowledgment, “You’re so eloquent today, Your Majesty.”
“Channie!” A different King Changbin yells and strides confidently over to your group, waving a paper over his head.
Bewildered, you look back and forth between the King that’s standing right in front of you and the one talking loudly with Chris about new battle plans, waving his hands animatedly.
“We’re going to beat them to a pulp and get my Lixie back in no time!”
He suddenly notices the identical version of himself standing by your side and dissolves into a high-pitched laugh that’s so opposite to his overall masculine demeanor.
“Channie this is the best double you’ve made of me yet! Ha! Keep up the good work!” and off he goes, loudly chattering until he disappears into another secret corridor.
Settling back into his seat, Chris crosses his legs and regards you and not-King Changbin with a cool and amused look.
You think your jaw is still somewhere on the floor.
“So nice to see you again Jisung-ah, although that was a pretty weak disguise,” Chan says.
“You’re looking good Professer Chan” replies Han’s voice.
You whip around and see that it truly is Han next to you, in the same outfit the King was wearing.
“I wasn’t trying to trick you,” Han pulls you into his side with a protective arm around your waist and your traitorous heart flutters at the warmth, “I kept my oath and reported when summoned. Now mother and I will go.”
Though it’s not the time, you mumble “I knew it was a mommy thing,” to yourself anyways.
“I think not,” Chris states and claps his hands twice.
Huge waves of water materialize out of the floor under his chair and quickly fill the room, until you’re all submerged.
The waves fade away and now you are suspended in the air, and much like that fateful meeting with Han, his arm is around your shoulders, keeping you steady. Distantly, you feel Hyunjin grasping your dress and trying to keep from being blown away.
“Whatever you do, don’t look down,” Han warns lowly in your ear.
“I think it’s time you show Ms. Y/N what you really are, yeah?” Chris throws his arms out and grins wide.
What happens next, you don’t really understand.
What looked like shooting stars zipped past and scattered balls of light everywhere. It was sort of beautiful. But when they turned into little human-like figures and started circling and chanting, you started to worry.
Hyunjin was so scared, all he could do was whimper and hide his face in your dress.
Then Han started to change.
The arm that was wrapped around you transformed into a huge wing with talons, and Han’s face sprouted feathers. It was like a great winged-beast was taking over him, a huge beast with sharp fangs.
Painful cries escaped Han’s throat, but amidst the chaos, you saw Chris closing in with a big glowing staff raised over his head like a spear.
Han saw Chris too but it was like he was frozen, just growling and staring at him.
“Han, please listen to me! It’s a trap!” You begged, scrambling to cover Han’s eyes.
It must have worked, Han shot up like a rocket. Just in time too, Chris’s staff pinned your hat to the chair you were sitting in earlier.
You all flew up rapidly and burst out of the magic-scape and through the ceiling, sending shards of glass raining down everywhere.
Han’s huge wings protected you from any damage and they disappeared by the time he carefully deposited you and Hyunjin on the mini airship parked outside.
He started the ship in a second and pulled away, but not before a certain dog came running and launched himself into your lap.
“Baby, come sit up here!” Han had called, and you shifted Seungmin into Hyunjin’s lap and took the pilot seat. He ribbed you about your stowaways, but what were you supposed to do? Kick them off the airship?!
It was harrowing, flying an airship for the first time with only a bit of reassurance from Han before he departed to draw the palace’s airships away.
You know he was just trying to distract you, saying all that stuff about you giving him the courage to face Chris, about you saving him, but it worked. You successfully navigated the three of you out of Kingsbury by following the glowing light of the ring that pointed to Minho.
Which brings you to your current situation.
It’s dark, you’ve flown (through rain mind you) all the way past your town and into the Wastes, and finally you can see the castle up ahead.
“The castle is coming to meet us!” You yell over your shoulder to Hyunjin, who is bundled up in his coat and replies with “nice doggy”, and Seungmin, who pops his head out from inside Hyunjin’s coat to woof at you.
Only, as you get closer, you realize something very important: you don’t know how to land this thing!
Jeongin shouts your name and waves from his balcony and you grip the steering wheel of the airship tight.
“Jeongin!” you shout back, “Innie, help me! I don’t know how to land this thing!”
It’s no matter, the mouth of the castle opens wide and you crash land it in its belly, which happens to be the living room. Bricks and beams of wood and furniture go flying.
Jeongin rushes down the stairs, wading through the rubble and dust to get to you, but he stops short when he sees the Wizard of the Waste and a dog pop out first. “What the fu–”
“Innie, I’m home~” you sing and carefully pick your way over, tossing the now-detached steering wheel carelessly behind you. Jeongin holds his hands out to help guide you down and then yanks you into a hug, “Are you hurt? I missed you!” he cries and squeezes you tight.
You cradle his head close, “I’m okay and I missed you too!”
You rub your cheek against his until he pulls away with a whine, and it’s true, you’re so happy to be back home.
I really hope you enjoyed this chapter!
We got to see some new characters, maybe learned the identities of previous ones 👀, and my my my things sure are developing with reader and Han…
And surprise! This story will have 3 parts!
I just couldn’t fit everything into a second part unless I wanted to make it like 4x the length of the first part, and I want more time to flesh everything out properly.
Anyways, thanks for reading and see you for the 3rd and final part soon! 💗
This is a reimagining of Howl’s Moving Castle, in no way am I claiming the plot as my own work, only the reimagined characters belong to me (@staytinyweeniebeanie). Additionally, I do not consent to my work being reposted on other platforms without permission!
Reblogs and Comments are always welcome and highly appreciated!
Wooyoung just posted this clip to his IG story. "Into The New World" by Girls Genertation became a protest anthem for thousands of South Koreans rallying for President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment.
A/N: First post after being gone, I hope you enjoy it! I thought this idea was so cute! Had to have my first post back be Seung!
﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌
💙 If you’d like to read more of my stuff you can find it Here: Master List . Thank you for reading and if requests are open or you just wanna talk feel free to send me something🩵
Content: Howl’s Moving Castle AU, fluff, found family vibes, idiots falling in love
Warning(s): suggestive themes, some explicit language, brief mentions of war
Word Count: 8.2k
Summary: Your adventures with Han the wizard continue! But things are heating up, in more ways than one.
A/N: Please heed the updated warnings! We’ve bumped the rating of this tooth-rotting fluff into something slightly steamy~ read at your own risk. Additionally, I’ve deviated from the original story line a bit more to make certain plot points work better! Happy reading
Part one | Part two
My masterlist 💕
All credit for the fan art in the cover image to the amazing artist (captioned)!
Cobwebs and dust bunnies the size of real bunnies rain down from the ceiling as you angrily sweep your broom as high as you can reach. You were channeling your anger over the whole aged-50-years-and-can’t-even-complain-about-it situation into cleaning every nook and cranny of the disgusting castle, heaven knows it hasn’t been cleaned in years, if ever.
“I’m sick of wizards, and aching joints, and being treated like some timid old lady!” you grumble as you aggressively clear out pile after pile of junk scattered throughout the living room.
Amidst all the clutter you uncover a family of mice and the fact that the living space has been neglected to such an extent that there are critters and bugs makes you sweep even more aggressively.
Clouds of dust escape through the open windows and out onto the busy street below. You barely catch Jeongin muttering something that sounds like, “I’m not paid enough for this” as he rushes outside with his disguise and a thick book. It would seem he’s got a table set-up just in front of the shop to avoid your path of disinfecting. At least someone in this place has some sense.
Dusting, mopping, scrubbing, organizing, rearranging – you flit around the first floor completely immersed in your tasks. A couple hours must have passed when suddenly, whining from a very small looking Minho reaches your ears.
You glance over and see that Minho’s flame has dwindled significantly, you figure this is the perfect time to clear the ashes out of his hearth.
“Hey! Hey lady! Y/N, you gotta help me, you need to get me more firewood and quickly” his eyes are big and pitiful looking as he complains, but you just roll your eyes and grab some tongs.
You pick up the last bit of firewood Minho’s clinging to and plop him into a metal canister. Minho’s still being dramatic, fussing that he’s going out, but you pay him no mind, humming as you start to clear out the ashes onto a waiting sheet on the floor.
If you were paying closer attention to the little fire demon, you’d see him clinging to the last nub of wood, desperately trying not to let go. Minho calls for help, begs you to hurry up, but you’re so close to finishing up!
He can wait a minute more, you think as you tie off the bundle of ashes and go to dispose of them outside.
The bit of wood crumbles and Minho falls into the canister with a yelp. A small ring of smoke drifts up and just for a moment, Minho’s flame goes out.
When you walk back in you’re surprised to see Han bent over in front of the hearth. He’s got his hand extended over Minho (who’s sitting on two fresh logs you notice) and seems to be coaxing his bright orange flame higher.
Han stands up tall and turns to you with a tight smile, his body language is full of tension. The warning look in his eyes freezes you to the spot and you anxiously twist your fingers up in your apron, suddenly feeling like you’ve overstepped.
“Yah! I’d appreciate it if you didn’t torment my friend,” Han says. It sounds like he was going for a joking tone but it fell flat.
You hear Jeongin coming back inside through the door behind you, but your attention is fixed on the wizard walking purposefully towards you. While Han hasn’t been cruel or even a little bit mean towards you this whole time, maybe you’ve exhausted his patience and he’s coming over to punish you…
You gasp and quickly stumble back, but Han breezes past you and down the stairs to the door.
“Master Han, are you going back out?” Jeongin asks.
Han turns the dial to the black color and looks back over his shoulder with that same closed-lipped polite-but-strained smile and dull eyes as he addresses his apprentice, “Make sure the cleaning lady doesn’t do too much, yeah Innie?”
Without waiting for an answer, he opens the door and flies off into a pitch black abyss, and the door slams shut behind him.
Jeongin is giving you major side-eye when you turn to him and he asks, “Y/N… What did you do now?”
“She almost killed me!” Minho butts in immediately, “If I die, Han dies too, I hope you know that, lady!”
You sigh at the theatrics, surely the fire demon is exaggerating. You could probably just light a match and he’d be back to his annoying self.
“Oh hush, you were fine!” you remind him and shuffle over to grab your bucket and scrubbing brush. “Anyways, I’ve got a job to do.”
As you head towards the stairs to start on cleaning the upper levels, Jeongin darts past you and spreads his long limbs out to block you from continuing. “Hold on! You can’t come up here yet!” he shouts, and looks nervously over his shoulder, up into the hallway.
“Whatever you don’t want me to clean, you better take care of it now~” you sing, raising an eyebrow expectantly.
Jeongin squawks “Save my room for last! Han-hyung’s room and bathroom will take forever anyways!” He trips over his feet as he turns to run the rest of the way up the stairs, and you just chuckle to yourself.
When you make it to the next level, you’re dismayed but not surprised that it’s just as dirty up here. You open the first door to your left and discover an equally dirty bathroom, only, it looks as if a paint bomb went off inside. There are streaks of color everywhere: the walls, the sink, the tub (that is still full of steaming hot water), and even the toilet, which the state of that particular fixture makes you gag.
Letting out a groan of exasperation, you march over and throw open the windows.
You stick your head outside to huff the fresh air but instead find yourself dazzled by the amazing view. The physical castle is still lumbering through the Wastes, but the mountainous area you’re in is beautiful. Currently, the moving castle is travelling along the edge of a steep cliff and you can spot a meandering river way down below.
“This is incredible! Minho? Minho!” You shout in the direction of the stairs, “Minho, is it you moving the castle?!” You turn and rush towards the top of the stairs to hear his answer.
“Of course it’s me,” He shouts back from his hearth, “ No one else does any work around here!”
You lean over the railing, overflowing with amazement and you grin widely at Minho, “Well you are one impressive fire demon and I like your spark!” You wink at him and giggle as you skip back to the bathroom.
You don’t see the way Minho has taken on a pink hue and how his flames shoot higher and spark wildly as he repeats your words with glee.
You take it upon yourself to explore the rest of the upper levels of the castle, stumbling upon the hallway that contains Jeongin’s room and he rushes through piles of clothes on the floor to close his door, shouting “Not ready yet!” You pay him no mind, yanking open another door to find a small balcony.
The wind whips your hair and clothes around as you step outside to take in the view and after a few minutes, Jeongin joins you.
He’s leaning on the railing in a way that slightly concerns you, because you just met him, but already know about his penchant for clumsiness.
However, he just gives you a big toothy smile and his eyes turn into little crescents. The sight is so cute that you set aside your nagging and just enjoy the moment.
Jeongin is telling you about the lake off in the distance, Star Lake he called it, when you both notice a big branch sticking out of an opening to the castle below the balcony. A very familiar looking branch.
“Oh dear, help me with this Jeongin?” You grunt and lean over the railing to get a good hold of the branch, and together, you and the apprentice manage to get it unstuck and turned upright.
“It’s a scarecrow!” Jeongin’s eyes are wide as he takes in the elaborately dressed figure.
You shake your head fondly, and dust off your apron. “I’ve taken to calling him Turnip Head, and somehow he always manages to get stuck upside down.”
Looking closely, you swear the scarecrow’s smile grows wider and it gives you that characteristic twirl before hopping off and jumping in place on one of the castle’s large steel pipes.
“He keeps following me everywhere, like a stray cat,” you comment to Jeongin as you both watch Turnip Head hop around. “Seems to have taken a liking to me,” you finish and shrug.
Jeongin looks at you consideringly, “That’s weird, are you sure you’re not a witch?”
You cackle and ruffle his hair, “Oh yes, I’m the worst kind of witch! The kind that cleans!”
The castle settles close to the edge of Star Lake with many clanks and creaks of settling parts, and you, Jeongin, and Turnip Head spend a peaceful afternoon together.
You do load after load of laundry and Turnip Head is full of energy as he helps set up drying lines. You think the scarecrow is still trying to find ways to repay you.
Once that’s done, you and Jeongin set up a table right by the lake and have lunch. You're feeling deeply content, sipping tea and relaxing in the sun.
You and Jeongin chat about whether Turnip Head is a demon or not (you decide yes, but definitely the good kind, like Minho), and what chores you still have left to do, and Jeongin’s interest in fashion, hence all the clothes in his room.
It’s getting late by the time Jeongin convinces you to come back inside, the sun is setting and all the laundry has been folded and put away. Even Turnip Head is ready to go in his new favorite spot on top of a pipe sticking out of the castle. So you amble inside the warm castle, and settle in for the night.
It is the early morning hours, just before dawn breaks, by the time the dial over the door switches to black and Han creeps inside. His once pristine outfit is gone, replaced with deep midnight blue feathers and talons.
He falls into the chair in front of the hearth with a heaving sigh, drops his head back, and props his taloned feet up.
“Jisungie are you okay? You stink,” Minho looks over the wizard with concern.
Han groans and the feathers recede slowly until his regular body is back.
“You shouldn’t keep flying around like that,” Minho continues to scold him, “Soon you’ll be stuck in that form and won’t turn back human.”
Hearing no reply, Minho decides to let up on the nagging for now.
His eyes land on the neatly stacked firewood nearby and he grabs a log and smiles, “Isn’t this nice? Y/N put these here for me and I didn’t even have to threaten her.”
This seems to get Han’s attention, he sits up and grunts in pain, adjusting his jacket to hold his aching ribs.
“This war is awful,” Han begins, “They’ve bombed all the way from the southern coast to the northern border. It’s all in flames now…” His voice wavers at the end, thinking of all the destruction the pointless war has brought.
The whispered debrief continues, Minho offering commentary here and there, but also keeping an eye on the way Han seems drained of all energy and life. Minho tried to warn the wizard against flying off and interfering with the war ships’ bombing but no one ever listens to him.
“Wait-” Minho interjects as he tunes back into Han’s tirade about wizards sacrificing their humanity for the war, “aren’t you supposed to report to the king, too?”
Han avoids his eyes and stands, waving his hand dismissively.
“I’m tired,” he claims and starts to walk off, “make some hot water for my bath please, Jagi.”
Han ignores the predictable complaining from Minho and walks over to the drawn curtain on the alcove under the stairs where the daybed sits.
Presumably, this is where you are sleeping as there are no other beds besides his and Jeongin’s in the castle and while you’ve been very bold and unapologetic with him so far, he doesn’t think you’d dare to intrude on his bed and Jeongin doesn’t like to share. Han makes a mental note to procure another bed for you soon as he carefully parts the curtain to take a peek.
Sure enough, you are curled up under a thick blanket, but Han is frozen in place at the sight of your young and achingly familiar face instead of the wrinkled face of his new cleaning lady. As you take deep and even breathes, his eyes trace greedily over your features.
Each detail is just as he remembered: your pretty eyelashes, your cute nose, your soft-looking lips. And your hair, longer and not silver, is splayed across your pillow, loose from its usual braid.
His mind races as he connects the dots that in the time between dropping you off at the bakery, and you wandering into his castle, you’ve had a curse put on you. One that has turned you into an elderly version of yourself, and it’s probably a curse you can’t speak about.
The moment stretches on and Han feels guilt well up inside of him that you were cursed for associating with him for just a few moments. But he also feels something warm and tender, unnameable, because all this time, you’ve been right under his nose. The girl he’s been dreaming about…
A sharp pop of burning wood snaps Han out of the spell you’ve unknowingly put him under. He gently lets the curtain fall closed again, and retreats upstairs, avoiding Minho’s penetrating gaze once again.
The next day started off well enough…
Despite being jolted awake by the roaring sound of water rushing into the tub upstairs in the early morning, you’re cheerful and upbeat as you drag Jeongin out onto the bustling streets of Porthaven for the morning market.
Not even his grumpy mood and petulant comments about the ocean looking “the same it always looks” or pretending to hate vegetables and fish bring you down.
Everything is normal until a broken down battleship appears in the harbor, drawing all the townsfolk to the docks.
Market stalls now closed, you and Jeongin wandered over to see what all the fuss was about.
Just as you were about to give into Jeongin’s pleading to get a closer look, you spotted the Wizard of the Waste’s henchman in the crowd and your heart rate ratcheted up.
As if that weren’t enough, bombs from an enemy airship were dropped into the harbor, flyers fluttering in the wind behind the ship, and panicked people running through the streets.
Not sparing a second, you snatched Jeongin up and began running as quickly as your old bones would allow, leaning heavily on your cane. You don’t stop until you’re both inside the castle, the door shut tight and locked behind you.
You’re panting and leaning on the wall for support, who knew you could move that fast in your old age?
“Are you okay, Y/N?” Jeongin looks so worried for you and he tries to help you up the steps, it’s surprising and sweet how much he seems to care about you.
“I just need a glass of water,” you wheeze and hobble over to the chair.
Just as you plop down, an ear-splitting shriek comes from upstairs.
Terrified that something happened to Han, you jump up and Jeongin rushes over to you.
Thunderous footsteps and then a bright orange-haired Han is leaning over the railing, not a stitch of fabric on his steaming, dripping wet body besides a little white towel around his waist… Did Minho bump the temperature in the castle up a few degrees while you were out?
“Y/N! You’ve ruined me!” Han wails, and rushes down the stairs, “Look what you’ve done to my hair!” he demands, gripping his hair tight in his fists as he darts over to you.
Han basically shoves his head right into your face until all you can see are the tangerine-colored locks and you think it looks quite pretty on him. It’s a similar shade to Jeongin’s but much more vivid.
“What a pretty color,” you say truthfully, but Han is having none of it.
“It’s hideous!” He cries, big pouty eyes boring into yours, all shiny with the start of tears as he sinks to his knees.
Your foolish brain can’t help but note how tempting Han looks right now, on his knees and pouting at you. All honeyed skin, and broad chest with the most grabbable waist…
“You completely ruined my potions in the bathroom!” He accuses, and a startled laugh slips out of you as you forcefully drag your mind out of the gutter.
Your face feels hot and flushed but you smile fondly at the wizard. “Han, I just organized them! Nothing is ruined, I promise!”
A truly pitiful whimper is all Han offers and there are definitely tears now.
“I specifically told you not to get carried away and now look!” Han flops into the chair you were just sitting in, in front of the hearth, and drops his head into his hands, “I’m repulsive, I can’t go on like this.”
You’re trying to find the words to reassure him (it truly doesn’t look that bad!) when the strands of hair start to rapidly change color. The orange fades into burgundy red, then deep brown, and finally settling into a glossy black shade.
“You should look at it now, I think this new color is even better!” you offer, but it’s like Han doesn’t even hear you, head still resting in his hands in a defeated hunched over position.
“I give up,” he whispers dejectedly, “what’s the point of living if I can’t be beautiful?”
Shadows start to creep up the walls and slink across the floor and the castle seems to be warping into something sinister. All of the light aside from Minho’s flames is sucked away and an awful howling sounds starts up.
Minho is yelling at Han to stop whatever it is he’s doing and you fearfully grasp Jeongin’s arm as the shadows fill the room.
“Hannie-hyung is calling the Spirits of Darkness,” Jeongin whispers to you, holding you just as tightly as you’re holding him.
“I saw him do this once before, when he couldn’t get the lyrics right for a song he was writing”
You scoff, yet dig deep to try and find some patience for silly, dramatic wizards.
Adopting a comforting tone, you try again, “Now Hannie, you’ll be alright, we can just dye it back–”
The words die in your throat as your hand touches his shoulder because Han’s skin is secreting some weird green goo and you gasp, pulling away quickly.
The goo oozes from his whole body, dripping onto the floor and your patience has officially run out, you’ve had just about enough of this drama!
“You think you’ve got it bad?!” Your voice cracks at the end and you’re ashamed to feel hot, stinging tears welling up in your eyes.
“No one spares me a second glance because I’ve never been beautiful my whole life!” you sob and run over to the door, not even caring about what setting the dial is on.
You have got to get out of this blasted house right this second!
The raining landscape of the Wastes greets you and you run down to the lake edge. Stopping just short of the water line you stare out into the distance and sniffle, trying to hold it together.
But nothing can stop your shuddering breaths and the deep well of sadness that has overflowed within you, so you let go and just cry.
Rain soaks your clothes and tears soak your face as you weep.
Your bawling has simmered down to sniffles and a much slower stream of tears when you notice that the freezing raindrops that were pelting you abruptly stop.
You look up in confusion and your heart melts when you see Turnip Head standing over you with a tattered umbrella and his signature smile. Water dripping from his straw hair and soaking his suit.
“Thank you Turnip Head, how’d you get to be so kind and gentle?” you give him a genuine smile and wish so strongly in that moment that you could hug him properly. You could use a hug from someone that cares about you.
Alas, Jeongin is running towards you and tugging the sleeve of your dress urgently.
“Y/N please come back inside, we need your help!” he begs and starts yanking your arm in the direction of the castle.
You sigh, but put your wallowing aside and follow him in.
The scene is, quite frankly, ridiculous. Minho is holding a half-burnt log over his head while trying to avoid the puddle of depression-goo creeping closer, yelling, “Han Jisung! You better cut it out right now! I’m going to drown!”
Han looks the same as when you fled, pathetically drooped over the hearth in just his towel, limbs all folded up, but now surrounded by depression goo. It’s covering the floor surrounding him and flooding the hearth.
Minho lets out a relieved puff of smoke when he sees you and calls out, “Y/N do something! Help him please, Y/N!”
Jeongin comes through the door behind you and hovers, “Is he dead?” he asks you and looks at Han over your shoulder with a worried look on his face.
You chuckle and shake your head, rolling your wet sleeves up your arms, “No, Innie, he’s just throwing a tantrum like a child. Come give me a hand?”
Together, you and Jeongin push the chair (Han still slumped over in it) over to the stairs, and you tell Jeongin to get the hot water running while you sling Han’s arm over your shoulder and start dragging him up the stairs. The goo is not making this any easier as he’s especially slippery, and you try to prompt Han to help you by walking, his legs aren’t broken after all!
You sigh sadly as you glance back at the trail of slime he’s leaving all over your freshly scrubbed floors but then you spot that itty bitty white towel that should be around Han’s itty bitty waist laying innocently near the bottom of the stairs.
You squeak and determinedly turn your face up to the ceiling so as to not catch a peek at the rest of the great Wizard Han Jisung until you can deposit him in the bathroom.
Jeongin mock salutes you and promises to get him cleaned up and you close the door.
“Now I have to mop again…” you release a big sigh and get to work.
By the time you’ve calmed down after the crazy events of the morning and cleaned the floors (again) it’s midday. Han’s been camped out in his room ever since Jeongin got him cleaned up, so you decide to bring him a snack, a peace offering. At least, that’s what you tell yourself.
There’s no answer when you knock firmly on his door, so you announce that you’re entering anyways and step into the messiest, most maximalist bedroom you’ve ever seen.
Despite teasing Jeongin about cleaning his room earlier, you would never invade their privacy like that without permission. So this was your first time seeing Han’s room and yeah… cleaning and organizing this room would take you three days minimum.
Your wandering eyes finally land on Han, propped up by a couple pillows and tucked in as if he’s on his deathbed.
You shake your head fondly and approach him, “Han? I brought you a little slice of cheesecake.”
One eye peeks open to look at the plate in your hands before closing again just as quickly and you cover your laugh with a small cough.
“Do you want a bite?” you ask sweetly.
He shakes his head, so you shrug and place the plate on the only free spot on his nightstand. You turn to leave, figuring the wizard just wants to be alone, but a hand catches your wrist and gently tugs you back.
“Y/N, wait… stay,” he whispers.
You could easily break free and head back downstairs to be entertained by Minho and Jeongin, but tingles shoot up your arm from where his skin touches yours, and your cheeks heat at the implication that he wants you there.
You take a seat on the edge of his bed, right beside his hip, and note that he is still loosely grasping your wrist, this fact makes you unreasonably flustered and you fidget with a loose thread on the comforter.
It’s quiet for a moment, peaceful, until one of the many decorations hanging from the ceiling starts spinning wildly, bell chiming softly, and Han takes a deep breath and finally opens his eyes.
“The Wizard of the Waste is searching for my castle,” he states, and you gasp, suddenly remembering.
“I saw his henchman at the harbor this morning!”
Han’s face drops into a pout as he looks away from you, “I’m a coward, all I do is hide, and all the magic stuff is to keep people from realizing how scared and broken I am.”
His tone is so defeated and self-deprecating, you squeeze the hand that’s still holding you in sympathy. Perhaps all of his dramatics are not solely the actions of a spoiled and immature man like you initially thought.
You decide to ask Han something you had wondered since you came to the castle.
“Han, why is the Wizard of the Waste after you in the first place?”
“We trained together, a long time ago, and became close friends. We were the most skilled students in our class, and the most beautiful,” you roll your eyes at that last part but continue to listen.
“But all the attention made us competitive and we fought a lot. When our instructor chose me to be his apprentice, he was so angry at me that he left… but I was too afraid to go after him. As usual, I hid away.”
Boys, you think to yourself and let loose a weary sigh.
“I can’t hide much longer, though. I have to report to the king as both Han Jisung and J.One,” Han groans and releases your hand to cover his face with a pillow.
You don’t see the big deal though, couldn’t he just refuse the king’s invitation?
When you say as much, Han just points at a piece of paper pinned to the wall by a dagger, “That’s the oath I took when I joined the Royal JYP Sorcery Academy, I have to report to the palace whenever summoned.” he says, muffled under the pillow but you caught enough to understand.
“I think you should see the king, Han!” You cross your arms defiantly and grin when he whips the pillow away from his face to stare at you in disbelief.
“I’m serious! Tell him the war is pointless and that you refuse to take part!” you say passionately.
Han flops back dramatically and sighs like you’re being ridiculous, but before you can argue your point more he jumps up with a huge gasp and brings his face so close to yours your noses are practically touching.
It would be so easy to kiss– you stop that train of thought before it can get too far.
“I’ve got an idea! Why don’t you go to the palace for me?” he practically shouts and you lean back to protect your ears (no other reason).
“Just say you’re my mother,” he leans closer, you lean back, “and that your son is too much of a coward to show his face,” if you lean back any further, you’ll fall off the bed, “maybe then, Professor Chan will finally give up on me!”
Han’s eyes are so big and starry with his excitement, especially this close up, and the proximity has completely derailed your critical thinking. That’s your excuse when the only thing you manage to say spit out is, “Do you have a mommy kink?”
You spend most of your walk to the palace theorizing what disguise Han will use to discreetly trail you.
So far you’ve ruled out crow, pigeon, and foot soldier (you’re still tense after what happened trying to visit your sister). You think he could be one of those flamboyant pilots flying overhead in their little airships with beautiful women giggling behind them, or maybe a well-dressed gentleman having tea at a cafe you walk past.
You twist the ring Han gave you around thoughtfully as you walk, recalling the way his deep voice rumbled in your ear as he slipped it on your pointer finger with a promise that it would keep you safe.
You try not to think too deeply on the fact that it matches the one he wears and what it all means.
The butterflies in your belly speak to how well that’s going.
A short time later, you’re within the outer walls of the palace. You’re heading straight towards the impressive palace entrance across the courtyard when you hear little footsteps and the occasional panting noise behind you.
When you look over your shoulder, you see a little dog of all things, trotting along.
It only comes up to your calves, must be a puppy you think. It has golden fur that’s shaggy in the front, almost covering its eyes, and big floppy ears. It’s an odd but very cute disguise.
You glance around to see if anyone is watching, “Han? You disguised yourself as a puppy?” you quietly ask him. The puppy only gives you a small bark and nips your ankle.
“Ow! You little shit,” you yelp, and consider hitting him with your cane, “I’m just saying! You couldn’t pick something more useful? I’m an old lady after all!”
Just as you face forward, a carriage pulls up beside you, carried by blob henchman you’ve seen before, and dread fills your stomach.
“Look who it is! The tacky doll from the hat shop,” drawls the Wizard of the Waste from the window of his opulent carriage. “Thanks for passing along my scorching love note to Han, how’s he doing by the way?”
Most of his face is hidden behind a fan, but you can see the way he looks you up and down and the edge of a smirk on his lips .
Your temper flares hot and bright and you glance at puppy-Han to gauge his reaction, but he’s unphased, continuing to trot a half-step behind you, so you craft a half-true story.
“He’s acting like a scaredy cat, and he’s working me to the bone as his cleaning lady.” Okay, maybe that story was completely true…
The Wizard of the Waste giggles and closes the fan with a flourish. You can see all of his face now, and it just grinds your gears that he’s gorgeous. He’s wearing makeup that highlights his sharp features, and his long hair is artfully styled.
“So what business do you have at the palace, doll?” The wizard asks conversationally, fiddling with his hair in a small compact mirror.
“Job hunting, I’m sick of working for Han,” you lie, “And what about yourself?” You try to act disinterested.
“I received a royal invitation,” he purrs, looking quite pleased with himself. “That idiot, Bang Chan finally realized how much he needs my powers.”
“If you’re so great, why don’t you break the curse you put on me!” You bite back, but he just laughs again.
“Sorry doll,” you really doubt that, “my talent lies in casting spells, not breaking them!”
He snaps his fingers, and the henchman pick up the pace, taking the infuriating wizard away while you shout after them angrily.
You huff and cut your eyes over to the puppy, “If I didn’t have you to worry about, I would have whooped him!” you grumble. The puppy’s answering bark sounds suspiciously like a laugh.
Soon after, you approach the massive staircase that leads to the palace entrance. You spot the Wizard of the Waste, henchman suspiciously absent, slowly lumbering up the stairs in that heavy looking black fur coat, but pay him no mind and begin climbing the steps yourself.
You’ve only made it up a few stairs when you hear a high-pitched whine from the bottom.
Of course Han chose a form that wasn’t big enough to climb the stairs on his own. He rests his snout on the bottom step and looks up at you with the biggest puppy eyes and you fold immediately with a big sigh.
Dog in hand, you start up the steps a second time, slower now with the extra weight.
“Han! Why are you so heavy?” You grunt and curse him out thoroughly in your head.
When you pass the panting and profusely sweating Wizard, he pleads with you to help him too.
“What was that?” you call over your shoulder, “You remembered how to break the spell you put on me?”
A loud and dramatic groan is all you get, so you keep on climbing.
About halfway up, you set puppy-Han down and catch your breath. You look down at the Wizard of the Waste, so far behind you and absolutely gasping for air, with pity.
“Why don’t you just give up? You’re killing yourself!” you shout down to him.
“I’ve waited too long to be invited back here, ever since Bang Chan banished me to the Wastes!” he growls and brushes sweaty strands of hair from his face.
You almost feel bad for him, but then you remember your old body and harden your heart.
“C’mon Han, let’s go,” you gather the puppy and continue climbing what feels like a mountain of stairs.
Once you make it to the top, you’re absolutely exhausted. You set the puppy down and almost keel over trying to catch your breath.
One of the attendants of the castle politely requests that you follow him inside, but you feel a strange need to make sure the wizard that cursed you makes it to the top. Maybe his story did touch your heart a little bit.
With some encouraging cheers and pep talks (that were decidedly not appreciated) he makes it and you walk in together, puppy-Han right behind you of course.
You notice that where before, the wizard towered above you with intimidating height, now he’s hunched over and small looking, relying on your cane to walk and still dripping sweat.
Your cover is almost blown when the staff announcing your presence call you “Mother of Han Jisung”, but the Wizard of the Waste, who’s name you now know is Hyunjin, is too focused on recovering from the stairs to notice.
The attendant that was leading the way directs you to a fancy room with a single chair, which is claimed by Hyunjin almost immediately.
He quickly plops down and it’s like his bones turned to liquid the way he’s sinks into it, like he’s turned into a big ferret.
But you can’t focus on him because puppy-Han runs off down some dark corridor and he ignores your frantic calling to come back.
With no choice, you hurry after him.
The corridor seems like a dead end, but a secret door slides open abruptly, startling you. Behind it stands a young boy in what looks like a fancy school uniform. He has a pleasant smile on his beautiful face when he says, “This way ma’am.”
You don’t see puppy-Han anywhere, so this must be your only option, you think, and follow him into a huge conservatory. The walls and ceiling are made completely of glass and its idyllic inside, filled with huge eucalyptus trees and exotic flowers that you can’t even name.
The boy leads you to an open area where you spy two chairs, one big and ornate, and the other nice but plain looking.
Sitting in the big chair is a man. Strong jaw, short dark hair, and casual clothes, he’s commanding and very attractive. Is that a requirement to work here?
He chats with the boy that led you here for a moment before the boy leaves, and the man turns to address you.
“So you’re Han’s mother I hear?” he smiles and you notice two dimples pop out, you nod mindlessly.
“You must be tired, have a seat!” he gestures to the other chair.
You thank him and gingerly sit down.
“I am Professor Bang Chan, His Majesty’s head sorcerer and director of the Sorcery Training Academy, but you can just call me Chris!”
As he introduces himself, your eyes wander over to a staff resting on the side table right next to his chair, and they nearly pop out of your head when you see the puppy resting underneath it.
“That’s not… your dog is it?” You cautiously ask.
“His name is Seungmin,” Chris answers breezily, “He’s my errand dog, I had him escort you here.”
You nearly facepalm after hearing that. All the things you said, thinking he was Han! Surely he’ll use his doggy magic to tell on you to the professor.
The man in question lets out a rumbly chuckle and rests his chin on his fist, “I take it Han won’t be joining us?”
Determined to salvage the visit, you tell him the story you rehearsed the whole way over; about how Han is too cowardly to show up, and that he’d be useless to the king.
Chris has a contemplative look on his face as he takes this in and nods along with a sigh, like he’s disappointed.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Han was the first and last apprentice I ever took on. I’ve never seen a more well-rounded and gifted student,” he explains.
You’re shocked to learn that Chris was training Han to be his replacement.
“Until the day his heart was stolen by a demon. He never returned to complete his apprenticeship and has been using his magic for reckless and selfish reasons ever since.” Chris’s voice grows more stern as he speaks and it has you sitting ramrod straight like a student getting scolded.
However, your respect towards Chris’s apparent wisdom and authority starts to waver when he starts to speak about Han’s morality, claiming that he’s “dangerous” now that he has no heart.
How dare he compare him to the Wizard of the Waste!
“Bring him in.” Chris orders, and an identical boy to the one that brought you into the conservatory wheels in a nearly unrecognizable figure.
“What did you do to him?” you breathe out, horrified.
It’s Hyunjin, but gone is the smug attitude, and flashy clothes and makeup. Even his long, inky hair is gone. What’s left is a lean figure huddled up his now too-big fur coat, cowering from you when you go to touch his shoulder, with a buzzed head.
“I just removed all the glamors and restored him to his natural state, all his powers are gone now.” Chris says evenly, watching you with a calculating look. “Once, he too was an impressive sorcerer with so much potential. But he fell prey to a demon of envy that slowly consumed him, body and soul.”
You loathe the casual way that Chris is talking about all of this, like it’s a children’s story instead of real people’s lives. Like they are misbehaving pawns in his game of chess.
“If Han reports to me and vows to use his powers to serve the kingdom, I’ll show him how to break from his demon,” Chris leans forward with his elbows on his knees and crosses his fingers in front of his face, his eyes are hard when you meet his gaze. “If not, I’ll strip him of all his powers. Just like that.” he gestures towards Hyunjin.
“That is enough!” You proclaim and shoot up from your chair. Seungmin jolts awake from his snoozing.
“Now I know why Han was too scared to come see you, this is all a trap! You lure people here with an invitation from the King and then strip them of all their powers!
“Han is not heartless! He may be selfish and cowardly, and certainly dramatic, but his intentions are good.”
You don’t notice, so wrapped up in your passionate speech, but the more you speak from your heart, the younger you get, until you’re back to your real age and normal body.
“Han won’t come here and he doesn’t need your help. He can fix his problem with his demon on his own, I’m certain of it!” you finish, full of pride for your wizard.
It’s silent for a second, and then Chris full body laughs.
“Ahh, now I see,” Chris runs his hands through his hair and gathers himself, “You’re in love with Han Jisung.”
You recoil, quickly reverting back to old-lady Y/N, and Hyunjin speaks up for the first time, grasping your skirts and crying about Han’s heart belonging to him.
“Han is not coming here, okay? Stop that Hyunjin,” you try to placate him.
Chris settles back into his chair and sighs, “Oh I think he is, I now know his weakness.”
Outside the glass windows of the conservatory, you both watch a small airship land in the grass. One of Chris’s servant boys opens a door and in steps the King.
This is your first time seeing him up close and your first thought is that he’s jacked; thick arms and thighs, and a chest so buff it’s straining his jacket. He’s also shorter than you expected, probably shorter than Han.
“King Changbin,” Chris bows from his seat and keeps a small smile on his face as they speak. You watch on quietly until the King asks about your presence.
Chris swings his arm out towards you and says, “This is Han Jisung’s mother, Mrs. Y/N.”
The King approaches you and stops just a foot away. You stare at his chin, where you notice a small scar, until you gather the courage to look into his eyes.
King Changbin is just as handsome as all the ladies in your hat shop gushed about. You flush and give him an awkward curtsey.
“Thanks for coming,” King Changbin starts, “but I’ve decided not to use magic to win this war. We have tried using the Professor’s magic to shield our palace from the enemy’s bombs, but the bombs fall on civilian homes instead. That’s the problem with magic, isn’t it Professor Chan?”
Chris still has that polite smile on his face as he tilts his head in acknowledgment, “You’re so eloquent today, Your Majesty.”
“Channie!” A different King Changbin yells and strides confidently over to your group, waving a paper over his head.
Bewildered, you look back and forth between the King that’s standing right in front of you and the one talking loudly with Chris about new battle plans, waving his hands animatedly.
“We’re going to beat them to a pulp and get my Lixie back in no time!”
He suddenly notices the identical version of himself standing by your side and dissolves into a high-pitched laugh that’s so opposite to his overall masculine demeanor.
“Channie this is the best double you’ve made of me yet! Ha! Keep up the good work!” and off he goes, loudly chattering until he disappears into another secret corridor.
Settling back into his seat, Chris crosses his legs and regards you and not-King Changbin with a cool and amused look.
You think your jaw is still somewhere on the floor.
“So nice to see you again Jisung-ah, although that was a pretty weak disguise,” Chan says.
“You’re looking good Professer Chan” replies Han’s voice.
You whip around and see that it truly is Han next to you, in the same outfit the King was wearing.
“I wasn’t trying to trick you,” Han pulls you into his side with a protective arm around your waist and your traitorous heart flutters at the warmth, “I kept my oath and reported when summoned. Now mother and I will go.”
Though it’s not the time, you mumble “I knew it was a mommy thing,” to yourself anyways.
“I think not,” Chris states and claps his hands twice.
Huge waves of water materialize out of the floor under his chair and quickly fill the room, until you’re all submerged.
The waves fade away and now you are suspended in the air, and much like that fateful meeting with Han, his arm is around your shoulders, keeping you steady. Distantly, you feel Hyunjin grasping your dress and trying to keep from being blown away.
“Whatever you do, don’t look down,” Han warns lowly in your ear.
“I think it’s time you show Ms. Y/N what you really are, yeah?” Chris throws his arms out and grins wide.
What happens next, you don’t really understand.
What looked like shooting stars zipped past and scattered balls of light everywhere. It was sort of beautiful. But when they turned into little human-like figures and started circling and chanting, you started to worry.
Hyunjin was so scared, all he could do was whimper and hide his face in your dress.
Then Han started to change.
The arm that was wrapped around you transformed into a huge wing with talons, and Han’s face sprouted feathers. It was like a great winged-beast was taking over him, a huge beast with sharp fangs.
Painful cries escaped Han’s throat, but amidst the chaos, you saw Chris closing in with a big glowing staff raised over his head like a spear.
Han saw Chris too but it was like he was frozen, just growling and staring at him.
“Han, please listen to me! It’s a trap!” You begged, scrambling to cover Han’s eyes.
It must have worked, Han shot up like a rocket. Just in time too, Chris’s staff pinned your hat to the chair you were sitting in earlier.
You all flew up rapidly and burst out of the magic-scape and through the ceiling, sending shards of glass raining down everywhere.
Han’s huge wings protected you from any damage and they disappeared by the time he carefully deposited you and Hyunjin on the mini airship parked outside.
He started the ship in a second and pulled away, but not before a certain dog came running and launched himself into your lap.
“Baby, come sit up here!” Han had called, and you shifted Seungmin into Hyunjin’s lap and took the pilot seat. He ribbed you about your stowaways, but what were you supposed to do? Kick them off the airship?!
It was harrowing, flying an airship for the first time with only a bit of reassurance from Han before he departed to draw the palace’s airships away.
You know he was just trying to distract you, saying all that stuff about you giving him the courage to face Chris, about you saving him, but it worked. You successfully navigated the three of you out of Kingsbury by following the glowing light of the ring that pointed to Minho.
Which brings you to your current situation.
It’s dark, you’ve flown (through rain mind you) all the way past your town and into the Wastes, and finally you can see the castle up ahead.
“The castle is coming to meet us!” You yell over your shoulder to Hyunjin, who is bundled up in his coat and replies with “nice doggy”, and Seungmin, who pops his head out from inside Hyunjin’s coat to woof at you.
Only, as you get closer, you realize something very important: you don’t know how to land this thing!
Jeongin shouts your name and waves from his balcony and you grip the steering wheel of the airship tight.
“Jeongin!” you shout back, “Innie, help me! I don’t know how to land this thing!”
It’s no matter, the mouth of the castle opens wide and you crash land it in its belly, which happens to be the living room. Bricks and beams of wood and furniture go flying.
Jeongin rushes down the stairs, wading through the rubble and dust to get to you, but he stops short when he sees the Wizard of the Waste and a dog pop out first. “What the fu–”
“Innie, I’m home~” you sing and carefully pick your way over, tossing the now-detached steering wheel carelessly behind you. Jeongin holds his hands out to help guide you down and then yanks you into a hug, “Are you hurt? I missed you!” he cries and squeezes you tight.
You cradle his head close, “I’m okay and I missed you too!”
You rub your cheek against his until he pulls away with a whine, and it’s true, you’re so happy to be back home.
I really hope you enjoyed this chapter!
We got to see some new characters, maybe learned the identities of previous ones 👀, and my my my things sure are developing with reader and Han…
And surprise! This story will have 3 parts!
I just couldn’t fit everything into a second part unless I wanted to make it like 4x the length of the first part, and I want more time to flesh everything out properly.
Anyways, thanks for reading and see you for the 3rd and final part soon! 💗
This is a reimagining of Howl’s Moving Castle, in no way am I claiming the plot as my own work, only the reimagined characters belong to me (@staytinyweeniebeanie). Additionally, I do not consent to my work being reposted on other platforms without permission!
Reblogs and Comments are always welcome and highly appreciated!
Han's Moving Castle Part 2 is almost finished! I just need to wrap up one more scene and edit; I'm hoping to get it published tomorrow afternoon once I finish work!
Thank you for your patience and all the love on the first part 😊 I'm giving you all forehead smooches
Content: Howl’s Moving Castle AU, fluff, one-shot (that has already turned into at least 2 parts)
Warning(s): Unwanted advances by some drunk guys, small mentions of violence
Word Count: 6.5k
Summary: You live a simple life working in your late father’s hat shop, until you befriend an eccentric wizard that lives in a magical flying castle!
A/N: I’ve had this idea cooking in my noggin since birthing this account and I am so SO EXCITED to finally share it with you all! This will deviate from the movie plot somewhat, but I mostly stuck to the original (and incredible) story! Part two to follow soon
Part one |
My masterlist 💕
All credit for the amazing cover image to the amazing artist! (link in the pic caption)
The sound of a train’s whistle comforts you as you wander along the unfamiliar streets towards the bakery where your sister works. At least, you think you’re heading towards the bakery. Despite having lived in this town all your life, you’ve never been in this area and the streets and alleyways are so confusing…
You bring the crumpled paper with your sister’s hastily scribbled directions closer to your face and grumble, “Is this the alley where I turn right?” A quick look around offers no clues, so you shrug and turn right.
You’re still squinting at the directions when you nearly collide with the bright blue uniformed chest of a soldier. You gasp and take a step back quickly, timidly looking up at the man. He’s got one arm propped up on the wall to your left, and when he leans down into your space you smell alcohol on his breath. He must have just come out of the bar you spot over his shoulder, tucked into an alcove.
“Hey there,” he looks you up and down and warning bells start to ring in your head, “Looks like a little mouse lost its way.”
“Oh, no, I’m not lost,” you reply quickly and force a polite smile on your face. You move to walk around him, but another soldier steps out from the alcove and stands directly in front of you, blocking your path. “The little mouse looks thirsty, maybe we should take her for a cup of tea?” the first soldier says to his buddy.
You pull your straw hat down nervously, “No thanks, my sister is expecting me.” Your shaky voice betrays your growing nerves and you dig your fingers into the skirt of your dress to disguise their trembling.
It’s no matter, the second soldier is crowding into your space, “She’s pretty cute for a mouse!” he ogles you while the first continues to probe, “How old are you anyways? You live around here?”
“Leave me alone!”
You nearly shout it, but you’re starting to get scared and the polite approach doesn’t seem to be working.
But the men aren’t deterred, in fact, they seem amused by your outburst. “You scare all the girls off with that mustache,” one says, “So? I think she’s even cuter when she’s scared.”
Your heart races while you try to think of a way to escape these creepy men, when suddenly an arm wraps around your shoulders and you’re tucked gently into a warm chest.
“There you are baby, sorry I’m late. I was looking everywhere for you!” a velvety voice purrs.
You whip your head around to see a boyishly handsome man smirking over your shoulder and all of your previous thoughts come to a screeching halt. You’ve heard stories of the great wizard “Han” with his golden silky hair, tan skin, and sparkling eyes. And the man currently wrapped around you (like a lover! your mind supplies) bears a striking resemblance.
The soldiers protest and you tune back in just in time to hear the man say, “It looked to me like the two of you were just leaving.” And with a flick of his wrist, the soldiers stand at attention and march away like puppets on a string, their shouts of confusion echoing along the empty alley.
No doubt in your mind, Han Jisung just rescued you…
He turns to you then with a soft smile and asks, “Where to? I’ll be your escort this evening.”
It would seem the rumors of Han’s beauty are 100% true, he’s mesmerizing this close up with big round eyes partially obscured by shiny blonde locks, and pouty lips pulled up into a heart-shaped smile. Your face heats as you stutter through your original destination of your sister’s bakery.
“Don’t freak out, but I think I’m being followed” Han whispers and he slides the arm that was resting on your shoulder down to gently grab your hand and tuck it into his elbow like a proper gentleman. “Just act normal!” he winks and starts tugging you along. A quick glance over your shoulder at the strange blob creatures seeping out of the walls and ground make you squeak and press even closer into Han’s side.
Up ahead, more blob creatures materialize out of the ground and you gasp as Han yanks you down a side street. “Sorry, looks like you’re involved,” He says cheerfully and you scowl at him as you both nearly run down the street. “Don’t look at me like that baby- Oh!” Han cuts himself off with a gasp when further down the street even more creatures appear. You’re surrounded and they are closing in fast, your scowl deepens.
“Hold on!” Han wraps his arm around your waist and the two of you immediately shoot up into the air, the creatures colliding where you were just standing a second ago.
The quick ascent steals the breath from your lungs before you can let loose a screech, so you curl up protectively, anticipating a just as abrupt descent.
But it doesn’t come.
When you gather the courage to open your eyes, you see that you’re floating up above the tall buildings and bustling streets below and now you’re breathless for an entirely different reason. The view from this height is absolutely beautiful. You can see the smoke plume from a train, the flurry of activity on the streets below, all the people running around like colorful ants.
Han leans in to speak directly into your ear and his deep voice makes you shiver, “Now straighten your legs and just keep walking.” He leads you into step with him with a firm hold of both of your hands as you find your balance on absolutely nothing but air. It should be impossible, but you are strolling through the sky as if you’re on solid ground.
In no time, you’re hopping gracefully from rooftop to rooftop and a delighted giggle escapes you. Han chuckles with you and says, “You are a natural!” which makes you smile wide and squeeze his hands excitedly.
You both hop off the decorative spire of a building and descend onto the balcony of what you assume is the bakery your sister works at. You almost don’t want the moment to end, traipsing through the sky with a wizard as if it were an everyday occurrence, this was the most extraordinary moment of your life.
But all magical things must come to an end.
Your dress flutters around you as Han carefully sets you down on the wooden floor of the balcony while he perches a little unsteady on the railing. You hold his hand tighter to keep him from tipping backwards and he sends a sheepish smile your way.
Once balanced, his glittering eyes hold you captive and he slowly slips his hand from yours. “I’ll make sure to draw them off, but wait a bit before you head back outside,” he warns. You nod and bring your tingling hand to your chest with a shy smile, “Okay!”
“That’s my girl~” Han’s coat swirls around in the wind as he swings an arm out to his side and launches himself off the balcony and into the crowded street below. Your heart lurches as you rush to look over the railing to see if he’s alright, but he’s gone.
After a short visit with your bewildered sister, you trek back home, taking the bus this time around as you aren’t eager to repeat the earlier incident, especially with the sun having set long ago. But as you walk the last bit of your journey home, you can’t help but reflect on your time with Han knowing that it was not a dream after all. He was handsome and kind and he rescued you! Butterflies are still flying around in your stomach but they settle a bit when you recall your sister’s warnings…
“You were lucky nothing happened to you, he could have stolen your heart!” Lettie exclaimed, grasping your arm as if to protect you from such a fate. You shook your head with a self-deprecating laugh, “He only takes the hearts of beautiful girls, Lettie.”
Lettie looks like she’s gearing up to argue with you putting down your looks again, but she’s interrupted by one of the other bakers letting her know the chocolate eclairs are fresh out of the oven. She sighs and turns back to you, “Still, Y/N, even the Wizard of the Waste is rumored to be back on the prowl… you need to be more careful”.
With a weary sigh, you step through the entrance of your family’s hat shop, closing and locking the door behind you. You remove your hat and head towards the counter at the back of the room. It’s dark, so you pull out a match and light an oil lamp, bathing the room in a warm glow.
The bells over the entrance chime again and you turn, puzzled to find a tall man in a black fur coat and matching wide-brim hat closing the door behind himself. He doesn’t say anything and you can’t see his face from across the room. Nonetheless, you speak up, “I’m sorry. But the shop’s closed now, sir. I could have sworn I locked that door, must have forgotten” you mutter the last part to yourself.
“What a tacky shop, filled with such tacky hats” the man comments and strolls leisurely up to the counter. “You might be the tackiest thing here though, doll.” You spy plush lips pulled up into a smirk under the brim of the hat and your temper flares. It’s been a strange day and your patience for rude customers that come in after hours and insult you is nowhere to be found.
You clench your fists and try to hang on to your customer service persona, “I’m afraid you will have to leave now, sir,” you walk over and hold the door open for him just to really make your point clear. “The door is over here, sir. We’re closed.” you say firmly.
The stranger lifts his head enough that you can now see his strikingly handsome face and long, wispy black hair curling at the ends. “Standing up to the Wizard of the Waste? That’s bold.” His face lights up with a mischievous grin and you gasp as the gravity of this situation dawns on you.
Before you can even attempt to make a run for it, what you assume are his henchmen fill the door of your shop. Panic builds in your chest and you whip around to face the wizard, but he’s already flying towards you. You curl into yourself and brace for impact when suddenly, you’re engulfed in inky blackness, a strange energy filling your body that makes you shudder.
“You wanna know the best part of that spell?” the wizard quips as he sweeps through you and out onto the porch in front of the shop, “You can’t tell anyone about it~”
“Give Han my regards,” he throws over his shoulder as he cackles and disappears into the night.
Still hunched over, you slowly unfold and cautiously look around the shop, but the wizard is long gone. You reach down to pick up your fallen hat but stop short at the sight of your hands, wrinkled and gnarled-looking.
You rush over to the three-sided mirror propped up on a nearby table and gasp in horror at the elderly face looking back at you. Poking and prodding at your drooping skin, multitude of wrinkles, and much shorter and thinner hair doesn’t change the fact that the old woman in the mirror is you. That blasted wizard cursed you and now you look as if you’ve aged 50 years!
“I-I’ve got to stay calm!” you sputter and try to steady your racing heart and mind. Maybe this whole day has been some wild and crazy dream? Perhaps, if you hurry to your room and go to sleep, you’ll wake up and life will be back to normal?
With a tentative plan in place, you set off to your room, but this old body is slow and your joints and back ache something fierce when you slowly make your way up the stairs. Finally settled in your cozy room you fall into a fitful sleep…
The next morning brings no change; it’s official, you’re an old woman now. At least, until you can figure out a way to lift your curse.
“This isn’t so bad,” you smile weakly at yourself in the mirror in your bedroom, “you're still in pretty good shape and your clothes finally suit you now!”
The little pep talk does wonders for your mood and after getting your mom and the other girls that work in the shop off your back (a white lie about being sick won’t hurt them, right?), you pack a bundle of food, your favorite hat and shawl, and set off.
Your destination? The Wastes. Afterall, that’s where witches and wizards are rumored to reside.
You eventually find a father/son duo with a truck full of hay and just enough room for one more passenger. They are willing to take you to their farm situated on the very edge of town and it’s as close as you can get to the Wastes via the road. The ride is bumpy on your old bones, but in no time you’re waving goodbye to the nice family and hobbling off on the footpath.
It’s so different navigating the world as an elderly woman! People want to help you cross the street, and offer their spots on the bus, it’s quite pleasant. The only downside so far has been your frail joints and aching back that protest any strenuous activity.
You trek further into the Wastes, breathing heavily and having to stop every 10 minutes or so to rest, “I’ll never make it with these legs,” you grumble. You make it to the top of the hill and plop down on a soft patch of grass to pick at the bread and cheese you packed, idly admiring the view of the (still too close) city and the neighboring mountains. Your wandering eyes land on a sturdy looking branch sticking out a bush several meters away and you have the bright idea to use it as a cane.
“Up we go,” you groan and struggle back into a standing position, pops and cracks accompanying you as you walk over to the bush.
“Hmm, might be too small…” you murmur and start pulling on the branch trying to free it. It’s stuck pretty good in the bush though, and you’re not as strong as you used to be. Taking a second to catch your breath, you shake your finger at the branch, “You won’t get the best of this old lady!” and get back to work.
A couple more tugs and out pops a clothed figure that makes you yelp and stumble back. “Oh! You’re just a scarecrow, I thought you were one of those blob men” you laugh at your overreaction and look over the rather cute looking thing, “but how are you standing on your own?”
Indeed, this scarecrow is standing maybe only one to two heads taller than you, which seems small for a scarecrow? And it’s wearing a tattered suit jacket and skirt that might have been fancy before succumbing to the elements (you swear you can even make out a faint designer label on the jacket, something with LV?) along with silk gloves, and a tophat that’s seen better days. As you take a closer look at its head, you realize it’s made of a turnip! And someone’s given this scarecrow hair and a face! Yellow strands of what looks like straw stick out from the hat and you swear the turnip has freckles that stretch across where its nose would be.
“Your head’s a turnip!” you giggle and rest your hands on your hips, “I’ve always hated turnips, ever since I was a little kid.”
Scarecrows shouldn’t be able to change facial expressions but this one’s big cheesy grin seems to fall a bit at your comment. Scrambling to find something nicer to say as it would seem you’ve offended the poor thing you blurt out, “At least you’re not upside down anymore, so long!”
Maybe a hasty retreat would be better, you’ve got witches and wizards to find afterall and no cane to aid you now that you know it’s attached to this turnip head.
Back on the uneven trail, you continue your journey. The sun is starting to set and the wind is picking up, it feels as though it’s blowing right through you. You look back to see how much progress you’ve made and to your dismay, the town still seems so close it’s like you’ve barely moved. On top of that, you can see that scarecrow you freed hopping along several paces back.
“Go away, quit following me! There’s no need to thank me, you don’t owe me a thing!” you call out and wave your arms, hoping the scarecrow would just leave you be. You’d guess it also has some kind of curse on it and you’ve had enough of that these past couple days. You turn back around, bundle your shawl closer to your body, and continue walking.
But the scarecrow persists and hops along behind you until it catches up. It stops suddenly and drops a cane directly in front of you, “Hmm? For me?”
Somehow it’s the perfect height for you and the handle is carved and painted like a bright yellow baby chick, you take it and give a grateful smile to the scarecrow, “Thank you, this cane is so cute and perfect! It’s just what I needed!” The scarecrow hops and twirls at your words and you think it’s happy to have helped you.
Another bright idea takes root in your mind, “If you’d like to do me one more favor, you could hop off and find me a place to stay?” Almost immediately, the scarecrow goes hopping back the way it came and you snicker to yourself. Well that’s one problem taken care of!
The last bits of sunlight reflect off the metal of a battleship overhead and you take a moment to admire it, you’ve never seen one this close before! But a strong gust of wind swiftly reminds you that very soon the sun will disappear beyond the horizon and you’ll be even colder than you are now. You’ve got to find shelter soon.
You walk maybe another half hour, it’s well and truly dark now, before you’re forced to rest again. Curling up as small as you can to preserve body heat, you are beginning to regret your half thought-out plan to wander the Wastes in search of someone to lift your curse.
Amidst your heavy breathing you catch the scent of a smoke, “Someone’s got a fire going… Maybe there’s a cabin nearby!”
You use your cane to help you stand and with a little more pep in your step, you approach the crest of a hill.
A giant, hissing, and creaking castle comes into view, and it’s walking directly towards you with that infernal scarecrow leading the way, your jaw drops.
“You turnip head, that’s Han’s castle!” You shake your cane at the cursed vegetable as it hops over to you, “That is not what I meant when I asked you to find me a place to stay!”
The hulking castle comes to a stop directly over your head and lets out what sounds like a big metallic groan, before continuing on. As you watch it pass, your scarecrow friend hops over to what looks like a doorway hanging off the back of the castle.
“Is that the way in?!” you exclaim and start running as fast as your old body can manage.
You’re so close to catching the railing in your hand but it remains just out of reach. “Slow down, please!” you beg the castle, “Are you going to let me in or not?”
The castle must hear your pleas and it basically scoops you up onto the little porch in front of the door. You lose your shawl in the process and your scarecrow hops away after it when it sees you looking back forlornly.
You take a peek inside the door, but you can’t see much past a short stairway as it’s dark. Your scarecrow quickly returns with your shawl, hopping along with the moving castle, and you give it a big smile. “Thank you Turnip Head, it’s nice and warm in there so I’m going in. I’m sure Han won’t eat the heart of an old lady like me.”
Turnip Head gives you a twirl and hops a little slower now and the distance grows between you. Though you just met the poor thing, you are already attached and sad to see it leaving.
“It’s been a pleasure meeting you, even if you are my least favorite vegetable!” you call out, “Take care Turnip Head!”
You blow a kiss to it, and head inside, closing the door behind you.
Peeking around cautiously, you make out a typical, but messy, living space with a hearth in the center of the room, there’s a small fire still going and a lone chair positioned right in front of it. You don’t spy the wizard or anyone else for that matter lingering around, so you cautiously make your way up the stairs
You add a couple logs to the dwindling fire and plop into the seat with a great big sigh. Burrowing into your shawl, you feel your eyes growing heavy, the events of the day pulling you towards sleep.
“At least when you’re old, nothing frightens you anymore” you think out loud.
Eyes closed and seconds from slipping into dreamland, you startle back awake when a voice chimes in, “I don’t envy you, lady. That is one bad curse.”
You blink your eyes open and are even more surprised to see that the fire now has a face! Two feline-looking eyes and a grin with front teeth that remind you of a bunny. And it’s speaking to you! “Curses are tough, you’re gonna have a very hard time getting rid of that one.” The fire even has little arms that are curling up on the log you just added, all casual-like, as it chats with you.
“The fire spoke!” it’s all you can say at the moment as you try to wrap your head around this. Surely this talking fire must be the wizard, Han?
“Let me guess,” the fire continues speaking, “the curse won’t allow you to talk about it?”
You disregard the comment and instead ask, “Are you Han?”
That must be the wrong question, the fire looks annoyed and rolls its eyes. It flickers wildly and grows taller and louder as it replies, “No, pabo! I’m an extremely powerful fire demon named Minho!”
The sudden heat and loud voice make you cower in your seat but the fire quickly shrinks back to its previous size flame and smugly follows up with, “I like to do that once in a while~”
Apparently fire demons like to scare old ladies for fun… but wait, “You’re a fire demon! You should be able to break my curse!” You scoot closer to the hearth with excitement in your eyes, sleepiness gone for now.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Minho doesn’t even have shoulders but he shrugs somehow. “Listen, if you can find a way to break the spell that’s on me, then I’ll break the spell that’s on you, got it?” he drawls, but you’re not fully convinced just yet.
“If you’re a demon, how do I know I can trust you? Do you promise to help me if I help you?” you raise an eyebrow and cross your arms, settling back in your chair.
Minho grumbles something about demons “not making promises” so you roll your eyes and counter, “then find somebody else.” The whining really starts up then, you didn’t know fire demons were so sassy! Minho’s complaining, loudly, about all the things Han forces him to do like heating his bath water and moving the castle and all you can offer is a, “that’s rough” as his chattering brings you back to the edge of sleep.
“If you can figure out this whatevership I’m in with Han, then you can break my spell. After that, I can easily break your spell.” He finishes and looks up at you hopefully.
“Alright,” you hum and blink slowly, “it’s a deal.” You promptly fall asleep, snoring lightly and oblivious to Minho’s attempts to wake you back up. “Some help you’re going to be, old lady.” He lets out a puff of smoke and gives up.
Noisy and insistent knocking on the door you came in wakes you up from your exhausted slumber on the uncomfy wooden chair. Your bones creak and protest as you sit up and you’ve definitely developed a crick in your neck from the awkward sleeping position. The knocking persists and you’re debating if you should get up and answer when suddenly you hear hurried footsteps upstairs. You gasp and feign sleep as the mystery person descends the stairs, stumbling on the last couple.
The stranger walks hesitantly up to your chair and a sweet and bright voice pipes up, “Hey, who is this lady?” but Minho just answers with, “Porthaven door.” The stranger scurries towards the door, still questioning Minho, “How’d she get in here?” and you chance a peek.
The stranger is actually a young man, maybe a few years younger than you (you’re real age of course) with wild curly ginger hair and he’s digging through a pile of things on a table haphazardly until he pulls out a cloak. He pulls the cloak on, flipping the hood up quickly and it disguises his young and fox-life face with a ridiculously long beard. He mumbles a short, “Stand by” in a deeper voice than his natural tone and nearly trips down the stairs before turning a dial you didn’t notice on the door handle and yanking it open.
An official looking man with a couple guards behind him stands on the other side.
“Mr. Mayor, good day,” the disguised young man greets him.
“Is the great Wizard J.One home?” asks the Mayor.
The young man is answering him, something about speaking in his absence, and you listen on as you get up and grab Minho a couple fresh logs. You catch the gist of the message, a summons for Han to report to the King to aid in the ongoing war. You shake your head and grumble, “I can’t believe it’s come to this.”
The still-disguised young man comes back up the stairs and gives you a very unimpressed look, still faking a deep voice when he examines you, “And what do you think you’re doing here, Grandma?”
You just smile innocently and nod at the fire demon, “Minho here said I could come in!”
Minho protests immediately, “I did not! She wandered in from the Wastes!”, the young man removes his disguise and tilts his head looking like a cute little fox, “The Wastes? How do we know she’s not a witch?”
You hide a laugh at the thought of you, a hat-maker-turned-old-lady, as a witch!
The bell over the door chimes and Minho calls out, “Porthaven door again!”
The young man tucks the letter the Mayor gave him into a massive book. “Must be a customer” he says and pulls his disguise cloak on once more. He speaks in that fake deep voice again “Stand by” and nearly trips down the stairs again, and opens the door. It’s a little girl this time, asking about a spell her mom wants her to pick up.
Now that you aren’t pretending to be asleep, you get a good look at the street just past the door and it’s not the fields of the Wastes you were expecting.
The young man brings the girl inside and warns you not to mess with anything. You disregard him and head straight to a window. You’re greeted with the shimmering ocean in the distance and seagulls overhead. “This is definitely not the Wastes…” you breathe.
The little girl asks if you’re a witch and you can’t resist the chance to joke around a bit, “Yes, I’m the scariest witch of them all!” you growl playfully.
She giggles a bit nervously but then the young man is ushering her out with a baggie and instructions for how to use the spell. Once she’s gone he turns to you from the top of the stairs and rips off the cloak with an annoyed huff.
“Quit telling lies to our customers,” he says and glares at you, but his face sans disguise is so cute you can’t really take it seriously. Not to mention, “What about you? You’re wearing a disguise” you point out. He rolls his eyes and replies, “I have to, I’m practicing my magic” like it’s obvious and you should have known that fact.
The bell over the door rings again, and Minho calls out, “Jeongin, it’s the Kingsbury door this time!” So that’s the young man’s name, Jeongin, it suits him you think.
Jeongin pulls the cloak hood back up, and miraculously doesn’t trip down the stairs this time as he repeats, “Stand by” and changes the dial again and opens the door. An even more official looking man stands on the other side and he asks, “Good day. Would this be the residence of the great Wizard Han Jisung?” Jeongin gives the same spiel about his master’s absence but you don’t even listen as you shuffle down the stairs and look out onto the street.
You gasp when you realize where you are, “This is the royal city, isn’t it?”
It would seem Jeongin has no patience for your awe, all he says is, “Move it Grandma, or you’ll lose your nose!” so you reluctantly step back inside and allow him to slam the door shut.
You just have to try out this magical door yourself, so you flip through each setting, eagerly looking outside the door to see where it takes you. The blue setting is Porthaven, red is Kingsbury, and green is the Wastes, still windy and now covered with a thick fog when you peek outside. The moving castle is resting in the grass.
“Leave it alone Grandma, I’m getting angry.” Jeongin leans over the railing, scowling at you and tapping his foot, clearly agitated.
You don’t care though, you have to know, “So tell me, where does the black one lead?”
Jeongin groans like your very presence causes him pain and responds, “Only Master Han knows that.”
He walks off towards an even messier dresser and yanks open a drawer, “I need some breakfast, I’m starved.” He pulls out some bread and cheese and tries to clear a space on the table.
You walk over to where you now know the food is stored and discover eggs and uncooked bacon that still looks and smells good.
“Don’t you want a real breakfast? Like bacon and eggs?” you ask Jeongin. He rolls his eyes, it would seem everyone in this house has an attitude problem, and explains, “Yeah, but we can’t use the fire, Master Han’s not here.”
Testing the weight of a cast iron pan hanging on the wall, you chuckle, “Don’t worry, I can cook!” Jeongin’s claims that Minho will only obey Han don’t deter you, it’s been too long since you had a decent meal, and how difficult can Minho be? It’s only bacon and eggs!
“That’s right lady, I’m not taking orders from you!” Minho blows a raspberry which shoots embers your way, but you just roll up your sleeves and set the basket of eggs and bacon down on the chair. “Alright Minho, let’s get cooking.”
Jeongin sits back in a chair at the table, watching passively as you will surely fail to get Minho to cooperate.
Flames shoot almost to the ceiling when Minho yells, “I don’t cook! I’m a scary and powerful fire demon!” he sticks a forked and fiery tongue out at you and waves his little fiery fists around.
You just squint playfully at him and lean in to whisper, “How would you like a bucket of cold water in your face? Or maybe I should tell Han about our deal? Hmm?”
Minho’s eyes take on a murderous glint and you’re sure if he could reach you, you’d be burnt to a crisp right now…
“I should have never let you in!” he squawks and you cackle.
You shove the frying pan into his flames and there’s a bit of a struggle as Minho’s arms try to push the pan off but you eventually succeed and Minho’s flames die down to a manageable height.
“That’s a good fire ~” you coo and lay down the first slice of bacon.
Minho crosses his arms and his eyes glare at you from the side of the pan, “Here’s another curse for you, may all your bacon burn” he hisses.
You snort and glance back at Jeongin’s astonished face, “I think I want some tea too,” you muse, much to Minho’s indignation, “Do you have a kettle?” you ask. As if coming out of a daze, Jeongin nods and runs off to grab it.
At that moment, Han returns, the dial above the door changing to black as he steps through the entrance. Jeongin immediately begins rattling off the messages from the king but Han is silent as he draws nearer to you and Minho.
You nervously push the bacon around with a wooden spoon, you really didn’t think through what you’d say to Han the next time you saw him.
Han stops right beside you and seems to look over the scene with an amused look in his eyes. “Minho? You’re being so obedient,” he comments, Minho fires up immediately, “Not on purpose! She bullied me!”
“Not just anybody can do that…” Han hums and finally looks at you, “And you are, who?”
You clear your throat and put on a confident smile, “Uh, you can just call me Grandma Y/N! I’m your new cleaning lady, I just started today.”
Han laughs, loud and captivating, and gently shoulders you over. “Give that to me,” He murmurs and his hand rests on yours for a moment, rings cold but palm pleasantly warm, and takes the spoon from you.
“Give me two more slices of bacon and six of those eggs, please?” he asks politely, swinging the sizzling pan around so you can lay the bacon inside.
He wordlessly asks for the eggs next and you watch as Han cooks the rest of your breakfast, feeding the egg shells to Minho and listening when the fire demon sasses him to flip the bacon, or add another egg.
“So then, who hired you to clean?” Han raises an eyebrow at you for a moment, then focuses on the pan again.
The lie comes quickly to you, “Minho did! He’s disgusted by how dirty it is in here.”
Han just hums and yells for Jeongin to grab the plates. Jeongin groans but does as he’s asked.
As Han takes the pan over to the table, Minho flares up again, “What, so you guys are going to eat while I do all the work?!”
You all ignore him and go sit down at the table and you giggle at the sight of Minho flopping over dramatically on a burning log.
Jeongin’s cleared a spot for you but there are crumbs everywhere, you weren’t lying about this place being disgusting.
Han divides up the food between the three plates and Jeongin excitedly presents you with three “clean” utensils to choose from. You make sure to give your spoon an extra wipe with the fabric of your dress before you eat with it and Jeongin pours tea in a chipped bowl. You’ve really got your work cut out for you…
Han slices some bread for the three of you and states, “Friends, let’s enjoy our meal,” so you tuck in. Jeongin downs his food with such enthusiasm and huge bites that you’re afraid he’ll choke. Meanwhile Han is just sipping his tea and staring at you, which makes you shy, so you look down at your plate.
“So what do you have hidden in your pocket, Y/N?”
You’re beginning to like the way your name sounds in Han’s mouth, but you’re confused, you don’t remember putting anything in your pockets… When you check, sure enough, there’s a red folded piece of paper that you drop in Han’s outstretched hand.
As soon as it touches his fingers the paper lights up and seems to lash at him. You gasp and watch it flutter to the table and burn a symbol into the wood before dissolving into ash.
“Scorch marks! Can you read it, hyung?” Jeongin looks wide-eyed at the mark, bits of egg and bacon still stuck to his mouth.
“It’s ancient sorcery, quite powerful too,” Han’s hair seems to float around him on some imaginary breeze and his face has a peculiar and wicked air that you haven’t seen on him yet. “The Wizard of the Waste?” Jeongin speculates.
Han nods and reads the marks out loud, “You who swallowed a falling star, O heartless man, your heart shall soon belong to me.” He rests his hand on the edge of the mark and mumbles, “That can’t be good for the table.”
You and Jeongin watch, awed at the way the mark glows like an ember until there’s nothing left and the table is smooth.
“Wow,” Jeongin exclaims, “the mark is gone!”
“The mark may be gone, but the spell is still here.” Han holds his hand to his chest, it’s smoking like he was burned by whatever he did to remove the mark, your heart pangs in worry.
“Excuse me, my friends,” Han stands abruptly and grabs his plate, he nods his head at you and pointedly looks at your still full plate, “Eat, eat, it’s okay, you can eat!” He smiles closed-eyed at you and walks over to drop his untouched food into Minho’s wide open mouth, like a baby bird, you think absently.
“Minho, move the castle 60 miles to the west,” he orders and heads towards the stairs, “and while you’re at it, make hot water for my bath.” Han winks and walks off before Minho can complain too much.
Mentally waving off that weird moment, you catch Jeongin’s side eye as you turn back to your plate, “You’re not working for the Wizard of the Waste are you?” he probes.
Anger fills you so fast you whip around and furious words spill out of you, “I would never work for that pompous wizard! He’s the one who-” but it’s like an invisible hand twists your mouth up before you can spit the words out.
You try a couple more times to explain that you are not actually an old lady but your mouth won’t cooperate. You give up and slam your fists on the table, sending precarious piles of books and junk to the floor.
“If I ever get my hands on that wizard, I’m going to wring his long neck! Eat your breakfast,” you direct the last bit to Jeongin and scarf down the rest of your food.
Thank you so much for reading and thank you for your patience! Real life pulled me away from writing and this was a really fun story to jump into!
Who do you think the Wizard of the Waste is? Or Mr. Turnip Head? Any guesses? 😉
This is a reimagining of Howl’s Moving Castle, in no way am I claiming the plot as my own work, only the reimagined characters belong to me (@staytinyweeniebeanie). Additionally, I do not consent to my work being reposted on other platforms without permission!
Reblogs and Comments are always welcome and highly appreciated!
Content: Howl’s Moving Castle AU, fluff, one-shot (that has already turned into at least 2 parts)
Warning(s): Unwanted advances by some drunk guys, small mentions of violence
Word Count: 6.5k
Summary: You live a simple life working in your late father’s hat shop, until you befriend an eccentric wizard that lives in a magical flying castle!
A/N: I’ve had this idea cooking in my noggin since birthing this account and I am so SO EXCITED to finally share it with you all! This will deviate from the movie plot somewhat, but I mostly stuck to the original (and incredible) story! Part two to follow soon
Part one | Part two
My masterlist 💕
All credit for the amazing cover image to the amazing artist! (link in the pic caption)
The sound of a train’s whistle comforts you as you wander along the unfamiliar streets towards the bakery where your sister works. At least, you think you’re heading towards the bakery. Despite having lived in this town all your life, you’ve never been in this area and the streets and alleyways are so confusing…
You bring the crumpled paper with your sister’s hastily scribbled directions closer to your face and grumble, “Is this the alley where I turn right?” A quick look around offers no clues, so you shrug and turn right.
You’re still squinting at the directions when you nearly collide with the bright blue uniformed chest of a soldier. You gasp and take a step back quickly, timidly looking up at the man. He’s got one arm propped up on the wall to your left, and when he leans down into your space you smell alcohol on his breath. He must have just come out of the bar you spot over his shoulder, tucked into an alcove.
“Hey there,” he looks you up and down and warning bells start to ring in your head, “Looks like a little mouse lost its way.”
“Oh, no, I’m not lost,” you reply quickly and force a polite smile on your face. You move to walk around him, but another soldier steps out from the alcove and stands directly in front of you, blocking your path. “The little mouse looks thirsty, maybe we should take her for a cup of tea?” the first soldier says to his buddy.
You pull your straw hat down nervously, “No thanks, my sister is expecting me.” Your shaky voice betrays your growing nerves and you dig your fingers into the skirt of your dress to disguise their trembling.
It’s no matter, the second soldier is crowding into your space, “She’s pretty cute for a mouse!” he ogles you while the first continues to probe, “How old are you anyways? You live around here?”
“Leave me alone!”
You nearly shout it, but you’re starting to get scared and the polite approach doesn’t seem to be working.
But the men aren’t deterred, in fact, they seem amused by your outburst. “You scare all the girls off with that mustache,” one says, “So? I think she’s even cuter when she’s scared.”
Your heart races while you try to think of a way to escape these creepy men, when suddenly an arm wraps around your shoulders and you’re tucked gently into a warm chest.
“There you are baby, sorry I’m late. I was looking everywhere for you!” a velvety voice purrs.
You whip your head around to see a boyishly handsome man smirking over your shoulder and all of your previous thoughts come to a screeching halt. You’ve heard stories of the great wizard “Han” with his golden silky hair, tan skin, and sparkling eyes. And the man currently wrapped around you (like a lover! your mind supplies) bears a striking resemblance.
The soldiers protest and you tune back in just in time to hear the man say, “It looked to me like the two of you were just leaving.” And with a flick of his wrist, the soldiers stand at attention and march away like puppets on a string, their shouts of confusion echoing along the empty alley.
No doubt in your mind, Han Jisung just rescued you…
He turns to you then with a soft smile and asks, “Where to? I’ll be your escort this evening.”
It would seem the rumors of Han’s beauty are 100% true, he’s mesmerizing this close up with big round eyes partially obscured by shiny blonde locks, and pouty lips pulled up into a heart-shaped smile. Your face heats as you stutter through your original destination of your sister’s bakery.
“Don’t freak out, but I think I’m being followed” Han whispers and he slides the arm that was resting on your shoulder down to gently grab your hand and tuck it into his elbow like a proper gentleman. “Just act normal!” he winks and starts tugging you along. A quick glance over your shoulder at the strange blob creatures seeping out of the walls and ground make you squeak and press even closer into Han’s side.
Up ahead, more blob creatures materialize out of the ground and you gasp as Han yanks you down a side street. “Sorry, looks like you’re involved,” He says cheerfully and you scowl at him as you both nearly run down the street. “Don’t look at me like that baby- Oh!” Han cuts himself off with a gasp when further down the street even more creatures appear. You’re surrounded and they are closing in fast, your scowl deepens.
“Hold on!” Han wraps his arm around your waist and the two of you immediately shoot up into the air, the creatures colliding where you were just standing a second ago.
The quick ascent steals the breath from your lungs before you can let loose a screech, so you curl up protectively, anticipating a just as abrupt descent.
But it doesn’t come.
When you gather the courage to open your eyes, you see that you’re floating up above the tall buildings and bustling streets below and now you’re breathless for an entirely different reason. The view from this height is absolutely beautiful. You can see the smoke plume from a train, the flurry of activity on the streets below, all the people running around like colorful ants.
Han leans in to speak directly into your ear and his deep voice makes you shiver, “Now straighten your legs and just keep walking.” He leads you into step with him with a firm hold of both of your hands as you find your balance on absolutely nothing but air. It should be impossible, but you are strolling through the sky as if you’re on solid ground.
In no time, you’re hopping gracefully from rooftop to rooftop and a delighted giggle escapes you. Han chuckles with you and says, “You are a natural!” which makes you smile wide and squeeze his hands excitedly.
You both hop off the decorative spire of a building and descend onto the balcony of what you assume is the bakery your sister works at. You almost don’t want the moment to end, traipsing through the sky with a wizard as if it were an everyday occurrence, this was the most extraordinary moment of your life.
But all magical things must come to an end.
Your dress flutters around you as Han carefully sets you down on the wooden floor of the balcony while he perches a little unsteady on the railing. You hold his hand tighter to keep him from tipping backwards and he sends a sheepish smile your way.
Once balanced, his glittering eyes hold you captive and he slowly slips his hand from yours. “I’ll make sure to draw them off, but wait a bit before you head back outside,” he warns. You nod and bring your tingling hand to your chest with a shy smile, “Okay!”
“That’s my girl~” Han’s coat swirls around in the wind as he swings an arm out to his side and launches himself off the balcony and into the crowded street below. Your heart lurches as you rush to look over the railing to see if he’s alright, but he’s gone.
After a short visit with your bewildered sister, you trek back home, taking the bus this time around as you aren’t eager to repeat the earlier incident, especially with the sun having set long ago. But as you walk the last bit of your journey home, you can’t help but reflect on your time with Han knowing that it was not a dream after all. He was handsome and kind and he rescued you! Butterflies are still flying around in your stomach but they settle a bit when you recall your sister’s warnings…
“You were lucky nothing happened to you, he could have stolen your heart!” Lettie exclaimed, grasping your arm as if to protect you from such a fate. You shook your head with a self-deprecating laugh, “He only takes the hearts of beautiful girls, Lettie.”
Lettie looks like she’s gearing up to argue with you putting down your looks again, but she’s interrupted by one of the other bakers letting her know the chocolate eclairs are fresh out of the oven. She sighs and turns back to you, “Still, Y/N, even the Wizard of the Waste is rumored to be back on the prowl… you need to be more careful”.
With a weary sigh, you step through the entrance of your family’s hat shop, closing and locking the door behind you. You remove your hat and head towards the counter at the back of the room. It’s dark, so you pull out a match and light an oil lamp, bathing the room in a warm glow.
The bells over the entrance chime again and you turn, puzzled to find a tall man in a black fur coat and matching wide-brim hat closing the door behind himself. He doesn’t say anything and you can’t see his face from across the room. Nonetheless, you speak up, “I’m sorry. But the shop’s closed now, sir. I could have sworn I locked that door, must have forgotten” you mutter the last part to yourself.
“What a tacky shop, filled with such tacky hats” the man comments and strolls leisurely up to the counter. “You might be the tackiest thing here though, doll.” You spy plush lips pulled up into a smirk under the brim of the hat and your temper flares. It’s been a strange day and your patience for rude customers that come in after hours and insult you is nowhere to be found.
You clench your fists and try to hang on to your customer service persona, “I’m afraid you will have to leave now, sir,” you walk over and hold the door open for him just to really make your point clear. “The door is over here, sir. We’re closed.” you say firmly.
The stranger lifts his head enough that you can now see his strikingly handsome face and long, wispy black hair curling at the ends. “Standing up to the Wizard of the Waste? That’s bold.” His face lights up with a mischievous grin and you gasp as the gravity of this situation dawns on you.
Before you can even attempt to make a run for it, what you assume are his henchmen fill the door of your shop. Panic builds in your chest and you whip around to face the wizard, but he’s already flying towards you. You curl into yourself and brace for impact when suddenly, you’re engulfed in inky blackness, a strange energy filling your body that makes you shudder.
“You wanna know the best part of that spell?” the wizard quips as he sweeps through you and out onto the porch in front of the shop, “You can’t tell anyone about it~”
“Give Han my regards,” he throws over his shoulder as he cackles and disappears into the night.
Still hunched over, you slowly unfold and cautiously look around the shop, but the wizard is long gone. You reach down to pick up your fallen hat but stop short at the sight of your hands, wrinkled and gnarled-looking.
You rush over to the three-sided mirror propped up on a nearby table and gasp in horror at the elderly face looking back at you. Poking and prodding at your drooping skin, multitude of wrinkles, and much shorter and thinner hair doesn’t change the fact that the old woman in the mirror is you. That blasted wizard cursed you and now you look as if you’ve aged 50 years!
“I-I’ve got to stay calm!” you sputter and try to steady your racing heart and mind. Maybe this whole day has been some wild and crazy dream? Perhaps, if you hurry to your room and go to sleep, you’ll wake up and life will be back to normal?
With a tentative plan in place, you set off to your room, but this old body is slow and your joints and back ache something fierce when you slowly make your way up the stairs. Finally settled in your cozy room you fall into a fitful sleep…
The next morning brings no change; it’s official, you’re an old woman now. At least, until you can figure out a way to lift your curse.
“This isn’t so bad,” you smile weakly at yourself in the mirror in your bedroom, “you're still in pretty good shape and your clothes finally suit you now!”
The little pep talk does wonders for your mood and after getting your mom and the other girls that work in the shop off your back (a white lie about being sick won’t hurt them, right?), you pack a bundle of food, your favorite hat and shawl, and set off.
Your destination? The Wastes. Afterall, that’s where witches and wizards are rumored to reside.
You eventually find a father/son duo with a truck full of hay and just enough room for one more passenger. They are willing to take you to their farm situated on the very edge of town and it’s as close as you can get to the Wastes via the road. The ride is bumpy on your old bones, but in no time you’re waving goodbye to the nice family and hobbling off on the footpath.
It’s so different navigating the world as an elderly woman! People want to help you cross the street, and offer their spots on the bus, it’s quite pleasant. The only downside so far has been your frail joints and aching back that protest any strenuous activity.
You trek further into the Wastes, breathing heavily and having to stop every 10 minutes or so to rest, “I’ll never make it with these legs,” you grumble. You make it to the top of the hill and plop down on a soft patch of grass to pick at the bread and cheese you packed, idly admiring the view of the (still too close) city and the neighboring mountains. Your wandering eyes land on a sturdy looking branch sticking out a bush several meters away and you have the bright idea to use it as a cane.
“Up we go,” you groan and struggle back into a standing position, pops and cracks accompanying you as you walk over to the bush.
“Hmm, might be too small…” you murmur and start pulling on the branch trying to free it. It’s stuck pretty good in the bush though, and you’re not as strong as you used to be. Taking a second to catch your breath, you shake your finger at the branch, “You won’t get the best of this old lady!” and get back to work.
A couple more tugs and out pops a clothed figure that makes you yelp and stumble back. “Oh! You’re just a scarecrow, I thought you were one of those blob men” you laugh at your overreaction and look over the rather cute looking thing, “but how are you standing on your own?”
Indeed, this scarecrow is standing maybe only one to two heads taller than you, which seems small for a scarecrow? And it’s wearing a tattered suit jacket and skirt that might have been fancy before succumbing to the elements (you swear you can even make out a faint designer label on the jacket, something with LV?) along with silk gloves, and a tophat that’s seen better days. As you take a closer look at its head, you realize it’s made of a turnip! And someone’s given this scarecrow hair and a face! Yellow strands of what looks like straw stick out from the hat and you swear the turnip has freckles that stretch across where its nose would be.
“Your head’s a turnip!” you giggle and rest your hands on your hips, “I’ve always hated turnips, ever since I was a little kid.”
Scarecrows shouldn’t be able to change facial expressions but this one’s big cheesy grin seems to fall a bit at your comment. Scrambling to find something nicer to say as it would seem you’ve offended the poor thing you blurt out, “At least you’re not upside down anymore, so long!”
Maybe a hasty retreat would be better, you’ve got witches and wizards to find afterall and no cane to aid you now that you know it’s attached to this turnip head.
Back on the uneven trail, you continue your journey. The sun is starting to set and the wind is picking up, it feels as though it’s blowing right through you. You look back to see how much progress you’ve made and to your dismay, the town still seems so close it’s like you’ve barely moved. On top of that, you can see that scarecrow you freed hopping along several paces back.
“Go away, quit following me! There’s no need to thank me, you don’t owe me a thing!” you call out and wave your arms, hoping the scarecrow would just leave you be. You’d guess it also has some kind of curse on it and you’ve had enough of that these past couple days. You turn back around, bundle your shawl closer to your body, and continue walking.
But the scarecrow persists and hops along behind you until it catches up. It stops suddenly and drops a cane directly in front of you, “Hmm? For me?”
Somehow it’s the perfect height for you and the handle is carved and painted like a bright yellow baby chick, you take it and give a grateful smile to the scarecrow, “Thank you, this cane is so cute and perfect! It’s just what I needed!” The scarecrow hops and twirls at your words and you think it’s happy to have helped you.
Another bright idea takes root in your mind, “If you’d like to do me one more favor, you could hop off and find me a place to stay?” Almost immediately, the scarecrow goes hopping back the way it came and you snicker to yourself. Well that’s one problem taken care of!
The last bits of sunlight reflect off the metal of a battleship overhead and you take a moment to admire it, you’ve never seen one this close before! But a strong gust of wind swiftly reminds you that very soon the sun will disappear beyond the horizon and you’ll be even colder than you are now. You’ve got to find shelter soon.
You walk maybe another half hour, it’s well and truly dark now, before you’re forced to rest again. Curling up as small as you can to preserve body heat, you are beginning to regret your half thought-out plan to wander the Wastes in search of someone to lift your curse.
Amidst your heavy breathing you catch the scent of a smoke, “Someone’s got a fire going… Maybe there’s a cabin nearby!”
You use your cane to help you stand and with a little more pep in your step, you approach the crest of a hill.
A giant, hissing, and creaking castle comes into view, and it’s walking directly towards you with that infernal scarecrow leading the way, your jaw drops.
“You turnip head, that’s Han’s castle!” You shake your cane at the cursed vegetable as it hops over to you, “That is not what I meant when I asked you to find me a place to stay!”
The hulking castle comes to a stop directly over your head and lets out what sounds like a big metallic groan, before continuing on. As you watch it pass, your scarecrow friend hops over to what looks like a doorway hanging off the back of the castle.
“Is that the way in?!” you exclaim and start running as fast as your old body can manage.
You’re so close to catching the railing in your hand but it remains just out of reach. “Slow down, please!” you beg the castle, “Are you going to let me in or not?”
The castle must hear your pleas and it basically scoops you up onto the little porch in front of the door. You lose your shawl in the process and your scarecrow hops away after it when it sees you looking back forlornly.
You take a peek inside the door, but you can’t see much past a short stairway as it’s dark. Your scarecrow quickly returns with your shawl, hopping along with the moving castle, and you give it a big smile. “Thank you Turnip Head, it’s nice and warm in there so I’m going in. I’m sure Han won’t eat the heart of an old lady like me.”
Turnip Head gives you a twirl and hops a little slower now and the distance grows between you. Though you just met the poor thing, you are already attached and sad to see it leaving.
“It’s been a pleasure meeting you, even if you are my least favorite vegetable!” you call out, “Take care Turnip Head!”
You blow a kiss to it, and head inside, closing the door behind you.
Peeking around cautiously, you make out a typical, but messy, living space with a hearth in the center of the room, there’s a small fire still going and a lone chair positioned right in front of it. You don’t spy the wizard or anyone else for that matter lingering around, so you cautiously make your way up the stairs
You add a couple logs to the dwindling fire and plop into the seat with a great big sigh. Burrowing into your shawl, you feel your eyes growing heavy, the events of the day pulling you towards sleep.
“At least when you’re old, nothing frightens you anymore” you think out loud.
Eyes closed and seconds from slipping into dreamland, you startle back awake when a voice chimes in, “I don’t envy you, lady. That is one bad curse.”
You blink your eyes open and are even more surprised to see that the fire now has a face! Two feline-looking eyes and a grin with front teeth that remind you of a bunny. And it’s speaking to you! “Curses are tough, you’re gonna have a very hard time getting rid of that one.” The fire even has little arms that are curling up on the log you just added, all casual-like, as it chats with you.
“The fire spoke!” it’s all you can say at the moment as you try to wrap your head around this. Surely this talking fire must be the wizard, Han?
“Let me guess,” the fire continues speaking, “the curse won’t allow you to talk about it?”
You disregard the comment and instead ask, “Are you Han?”
That must be the wrong question, the fire looks annoyed and rolls its eyes. It flickers wildly and grows taller and louder as it replies, “No, pabo! I’m an extremely powerful fire demon named Minho!”
The sudden heat and loud voice make you cower in your seat but the fire quickly shrinks back to its previous size flame and smugly follows up with, “I like to do that once in a while~”
Apparently fire demons like to scare old ladies for fun… but wait, “You’re a fire demon! You should be able to break my curse!” You scoot closer to the hearth with excitement in your eyes, sleepiness gone for now.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Minho doesn’t even have shoulders but he shrugs somehow. “Listen, if you can find a way to break the spell that’s on me, then I’ll break the spell that’s on you, got it?” he drawls, but you’re not fully convinced just yet.
“If you’re a demon, how do I know I can trust you? Do you promise to help me if I help you?” you raise an eyebrow and cross your arms, settling back in your chair.
Minho grumbles something about demons “not making promises” so you roll your eyes and counter, “then find somebody else.” The whining really starts up then, you didn’t know fire demons were so sassy! Minho’s complaining, loudly, about all the things Han forces him to do like heating his bath water and moving the castle and all you can offer is a, “that’s rough” as his chattering brings you back to the edge of sleep.
“If you can figure out this whatevership I’m in with Han, then you can break my spell. After that, I can easily break your spell.” He finishes and looks up at you hopefully.
“Alright,” you hum and blink slowly, “it’s a deal.” You promptly fall asleep, snoring lightly and oblivious to Minho’s attempts to wake you back up. “Some help you’re going to be, old lady.” He lets out a puff of smoke and gives up.
Noisy and insistent knocking on the door you came in wakes you up from your exhausted slumber on the uncomfy wooden chair. Your bones creak and protest as you sit up and you’ve definitely developed a crick in your neck from the awkward sleeping position. The knocking persists and you’re debating if you should get up and answer when suddenly you hear hurried footsteps upstairs. You gasp and feign sleep as the mystery person descends the stairs, stumbling on the last couple.
The stranger walks hesitantly up to your chair and a sweet and bright voice pipes up, “Hey, who is this lady?” but Minho just answers with, “Porthaven door.” The stranger scurries towards the door, still questioning Minho, “How’d she get in here?” and you chance a peek.
The stranger is actually a young man, maybe a few years younger than you (you’re real age of course) with wild curly ginger hair and he’s digging through a pile of things on a table haphazardly until he pulls out a cloak. He pulls the cloak on, flipping the hood up quickly and it disguises his young and fox-life face with a ridiculously long beard. He mumbles a short, “Stand by” in a deeper voice than his natural tone and nearly trips down the stairs before turning a dial you didn’t notice on the door handle and yanking it open.
An official looking man with a couple guards behind him stands on the other side.
“Mr. Mayor, good day,” the disguised young man greets him.
“Is the great Wizard J.One home?” asks the Mayor.
The young man is answering him, something about speaking in his absence, and you listen on as you get up and grab Minho a couple fresh logs. You catch the gist of the message, a summons for Han to report to the King to aid in the ongoing war. You shake your head and grumble, “I can’t believe it’s come to this.”
The still-disguised young man comes back up the stairs and gives you a very unimpressed look, still faking a deep voice when he examines you, “And what do you think you’re doing here, Grandma?”
You just smile innocently and nod at the fire demon, “Minho here said I could come in!”
Minho protests immediately, “I did not! She wandered in from the Wastes!”, the young man removes his disguise and tilts his head looking like a cute little fox, “The Wastes? How do we know she’s not a witch?”
You hide a laugh at the thought of you, a hat-maker-turned-old-lady, as a witch!
The bell over the door chimes and Minho calls out, “Porthaven door again!”
The young man tucks the letter the Mayor gave him into a massive book. “Must be a customer” he says and pulls his disguise cloak on once more. He speaks in that fake deep voice again “Stand by” and nearly trips down the stairs again, and opens the door. It’s a little girl this time, asking about a spell her mom wants her to pick up.
Now that you aren’t pretending to be asleep, you get a good look at the street just past the door and it’s not the fields of the Wastes you were expecting.
The young man brings the girl inside and warns you not to mess with anything. You disregard him and head straight to a window. You’re greeted with the shimmering ocean in the distance and seagulls overhead. “This is definitely not the Wastes…” you breathe.
The little girl asks if you’re a witch and you can’t resist the chance to joke around a bit, “Yes, I’m the scariest witch of them all!” you growl playfully.
She giggles a bit nervously but then the young man is ushering her out with a baggie and instructions for how to use the spell. Once she’s gone he turns to you from the top of the stairs and rips off the cloak with an annoyed huff.
“Quit telling lies to our customers,” he says and glares at you, but his face sans disguise is so cute you can’t really take it seriously. Not to mention, “What about you? You’re wearing a disguise” you point out. He rolls his eyes and replies, “I have to, I’m practicing my magic” like it’s obvious and you should have known that fact.
The bell over the door rings again, and Minho calls out, “Jeongin, it’s the Kingsbury door this time!” So that’s the young man’s name, Jeongin, it suits him you think.
Jeongin pulls the cloak hood back up, and miraculously doesn’t trip down the stairs this time as he repeats, “Stand by” and changes the dial again and opens the door. An even more official looking man stands on the other side and he asks, “Good day. Would this be the residence of the great Wizard Han Jisung?” Jeongin gives the same spiel about his master’s absence but you don’t even listen as you shuffle down the stairs and look out onto the street.
You gasp when you realize where you are, “This is the royal city, isn’t it?”
It would seem Jeongin has no patience for your awe, all he says is, “Move it Grandma, or you’ll lose your nose!” so you reluctantly step back inside and allow him to slam the door shut.
You just have to try out this magical door yourself, so you flip through each setting, eagerly looking outside the door to see where it takes you. The blue setting is Porthaven, red is Kingsbury, and green is the Wastes, still windy and now covered with a thick fog when you peek outside. The moving castle is resting in the grass.
“Leave it alone Grandma, I’m getting angry.” Jeongin leans over the railing, scowling at you and tapping his foot, clearly agitated.
You don’t care though, you have to know, “So tell me, where does the black one lead?”
Jeongin groans like your very presence causes him pain and responds, “Only Master Han knows that.”
He walks off towards an even messier dresser and yanks open a drawer, “I need some breakfast, I’m starved.” He pulls out some bread and cheese and tries to clear a space on the table.
You walk over to where you now know the food is stored and discover eggs and uncooked bacon that still looks and smells good.
“Don’t you want a real breakfast? Like bacon and eggs?” you ask Jeongin. He rolls his eyes, it would seem everyone in this house has an attitude problem, and explains, “Yeah, but we can’t use the fire, Master Han’s not here.”
Testing the weight of a cast iron pan hanging on the wall, you chuckle, “Don’t worry, I can cook!” Jeongin’s claims that Minho will only obey Han don’t deter you, it’s been too long since you had a decent meal, and how difficult can Minho be? It’s only bacon and eggs!
“That’s right lady, I’m not taking orders from you!” Minho blows a raspberry which shoots embers your way, but you just roll up your sleeves and set the basket of eggs and bacon down on the chair. “Alright Minho, let’s get cooking.”
Jeongin sits back in a chair at the table, watching passively as you will surely fail to get Minho to cooperate.
Flames shoot almost to the ceiling when Minho yells, “I don’t cook! I’m a scary and powerful fire demon!” he sticks a forked and fiery tongue out at you and waves his little fiery fists around.
You just squint playfully at him and lean in to whisper, “How would you like a bucket of cold water in your face? Or maybe I should tell Han about our deal? Hmm?”
Minho’s eyes take on a murderous glint and you’re sure if he could reach you, you’d be burnt to a crisp right now…
“I should have never let you in!” he squawks and you cackle.
You shove the frying pan into his flames and there’s a bit of a struggle as Minho’s arms try to push the pan off but you eventually succeed and Minho’s flames die down to a manageable height.
“That’s a good fire ~” you coo and lay down the first slice of bacon.
Minho crosses his arms and his eyes glare at you from the side of the pan, “Here’s another curse for you, may all your bacon burn” he hisses.
You snort and glance back at Jeongin’s astonished face, “I think I want some tea too,” you muse, much to Minho’s indignation, “Do you have a kettle?” you ask. As if coming out of a daze, Jeongin nods and runs off to grab it.
At that moment, Han returns, the dial above the door changing to black as he steps through the entrance. Jeongin immediately begins rattling off the messages from the king but Han is silent as he draws nearer to you and Minho.
You nervously push the bacon around with a wooden spoon, you really didn’t think through what you’d say to Han the next time you saw him.
Han stops right beside you and seems to look over the scene with an amused look in his eyes. “Minho? You’re being so obedient,” he comments, Minho fires up immediately, “Not on purpose! She bullied me!”
“Not just anybody can do that…” Han hums and finally looks at you, “And you are, who?”
You clear your throat and put on a confident smile, “Uh, you can just call me Grandma Y/N! I’m your new cleaning lady, I just started today.”
Han laughs, loud and captivating, and gently shoulders you over. “Give that to me,” He murmurs and his hand rests on yours for a moment, rings cold but palm pleasantly warm, and takes the spoon from you.
“Give me two more slices of bacon and six of those eggs, please?” he asks politely, swinging the sizzling pan around so you can lay the bacon inside.
He wordlessly asks for the eggs next and you watch as Han cooks the rest of your breakfast, feeding the egg shells to Minho and listening when the fire demon sasses him to flip the bacon, or add another egg.
“So then, who hired you to clean?” Han raises an eyebrow at you for a moment, then focuses on the pan again.
The lie comes quickly to you, “Minho did! He’s disgusted by how dirty it is in here.”
Han just hums and yells for Jeongin to grab the plates. Jeongin groans but does as he’s asked.
As Han takes the pan over to the table, Minho flares up again, “What, so you guys are going to eat while I do all the work?!”
You all ignore him and go sit down at the table and you giggle at the sight of Minho flopping over dramatically on a burning log.
Jeongin’s cleared a spot for you but there are crumbs everywhere, you weren’t lying about this place being disgusting.
Han divides up the food between the three plates and Jeongin excitedly presents you with three “clean” utensils to choose from. You make sure to give your spoon an extra wipe with the fabric of your dress before you eat with it and Jeongin pours tea in a chipped bowl. You’ve really got your work cut out for you…
Han slices some bread for the three of you and states, “Friends, let’s enjoy our meal,” so you tuck in. Jeongin downs his food with such enthusiasm and huge bites that you’re afraid he’ll choke. Meanwhile Han is just sipping his tea and staring at you, which makes you shy, so you look down at your plate.
“So what do you have hidden in your pocket, Y/N?”
You’re beginning to like the way your name sounds in Han’s mouth, but you’re confused, you don’t remember putting anything in your pockets… When you check, sure enough, there’s a red folded piece of paper that you drop in Han’s outstretched hand.
As soon as it touches his fingers the paper lights up and seems to lash at him. You gasp and watch it flutter to the table and burn a symbol into the wood before dissolving into ash.
“Scorch marks! Can you read it, hyung?” Jeongin looks wide-eyed at the mark, bits of egg and bacon still stuck to his mouth.
“It’s ancient sorcery, quite powerful too,” Han’s hair seems to float around him on some imaginary breeze and his face has a peculiar and wicked air that you haven’t seen on him yet. “The Wizard of the Waste?” Jeongin speculates.
Han nods and reads the marks out loud, “You who swallowed a falling star, O heartless man, your heart shall soon belong to me.” He rests his hand on the edge of the mark and mumbles, “That can’t be good for the table.”
You and Jeongin watch, awed at the way the mark glows like an ember until there’s nothing left and the table is smooth.
“Wow,” Jeongin exclaims, “the mark is gone!”
“The mark may be gone, but the spell is still here.” Han holds his hand to his chest, it’s smoking like he was burned by whatever he did to remove the mark, your heart pangs in worry.
“Excuse me, my friends,” Han stands abruptly and grabs his plate, he nods his head at you and pointedly looks at your still full plate, “Eat, eat, it’s okay, you can eat!” He smiles closed-eyed at you and walks over to drop his untouched food into Minho’s wide open mouth, like a baby bird, you think absently.
“Minho, move the castle 60 miles to the west,” he orders and heads towards the stairs, “and while you’re at it, make hot water for my bath.” Han winks and walks off before Minho can complain too much.
Mentally waving off that weird moment, you catch Jeongin’s side eye as you turn back to your plate, “You’re not working for the Wizard of the Waste are you?” he probes.
Anger fills you so fast you whip around and furious words spill out of you, “I would never work for that pompous wizard! He’s the one who-” but it’s like an invisible hand twists your mouth up before you can spit the words out.
You try a couple more times to explain that you are not actually an old lady but your mouth won’t cooperate. You give up and slam your fists on the table, sending precarious piles of books and junk to the floor.
“If I ever get my hands on that wizard, I’m going to wring his long neck! Eat your breakfast,” you direct the last bit to Jeongin and scarf down the rest of your food.
Thank you so much for reading and thank you for your patience! Real life pulled me away from writing and this was a really fun story to jump into!
Who do you think the Wizard of the Waste is? Or Mr. Turnip Head? Any guesses? 😉
This is a reimagining of Howl’s Moving Castle, in no way am I claiming the plot as my own work, only the reimagined characters belong to me (@staytinyweeniebeanie). Additionally, I do not consent to my work being reposted on other platforms without permission!
Reblogs and Comments are always welcome and highly appreciated!
