Taesu’s response about never turning back for a hug was so him that it almost hurt. Jin could understand the instinct, but he’d taken the chance once and it had turned out better than he expected. It ached at him that Taesu felt he might never be able to do the same but, one battle at a time he supposed. The fact that his brother hadn’t kicked him for his nudging efforts was a win for now. Jin smiled softly to himself and stayed there, warm. (Even if his little prompt to be less formal was ignored; again.)

At mention of making promises he couldn’t keep, Jin laughed. It surprised him a bit that such a response could be funny; it should have hurt, or at least annoyed him that Taesu didn’t believe he’d be there even if all this fell apart. But then again, the likelihood was so slim that he wasn’t sure it even really mattered. He would be there for his brothers if the opportunity ever arose. Taesu would see. And if he hadn’t managed to convince his prickly baby brother yet that he cared for him, even after all these years of saying and proving it time and again, then Jin figured another argument over the fact now wasn’t going to do them any good. Or win him any more favors. (He was too well pleased with having won the battle under the table to care and maybe he also wasn’t in a mood to ruin it.)

He smiled again, this time more broadly at the outright compliment Taesu managed to give him. And without being forced into it, either. (It wasn't really true, but he wouldn't say that.) Instead, Jin gave a small nod, debating the merits of teasing, but in the end he’d decided only to chirp that he loved his brother. Because he did. And Taesu responded just about how Jin expected. Pink in the face, flustered, and a little choked up. He was incredibly adorable like that and Jin honestly couldn’t imagine how everyone (much less anyone) could manage to keep from falling in love with him— and not just superficially. But really and truly— with the Taesu that existed deep inside. He was perfect, and nobody would change Jin’s mind about that, ever.

He gave another small laugh and nodded chirping “geurae!” as he went. There would never be words enough to express how he felt, or force Taesu to believe him. But soft moments like this that were just theirs, which Jin could accumulate over the years like beads on a string, would eventually prove his point. Or so he hoped.

He took a bite of Taesu’s food on his own this time and nearly choked on it as he felt his brother hook their ankles. Eyes wide, Jin looked up quickly. Taesu’s face had softened, even if he was still blushing, and Jin felt himself melt internally. "I do mean it,” he repeated quietly, without a single hint of a tease this time. “Saranghae, Taesu-ah, jjinjja. And I’m glad you came to live with us.” His soft expression broke into a smug little grin. “My life would be so much more boring without you here to babysit and feed, anyway.” And as if to make a point, Jin offered him another bite off the chopsticks and stuck his tongue out like the true older brother he was.

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Taesu Jeong & muse song
attire-ish, but more commonplace fabrics
* Geurae = you're right, yes, ok, an agreement • saranghae = i love you, informal affectionate • jjinja = really

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* Jin takes potions and enchantments at times to give his voice a persuasive quality.
His performances, or even a simple conversation, can sometimes suggest thoughts
and ideas to his audiences.

Seojin was thinking so loudly that it was giving Taesu a headache; he didn’t even know what his brother could be thinking about, but whatever it was, it was probably gross and sappy, a memory of something they’d done together that he wanted to reminisce about for whatever reason. Did Tae believe him that they’d be together after everything they’d gone through? No. He imagined they’d all retreat to whatever place they felt the happiest or safest, although where that was for him, Taesu also didn’t know. With his brothers, probably. It would hurt when he was abandoned.

But instead of voicing any of that because he knew Abeoji wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, he looped his ankle around Jin’s, a silent wish that he’d keep his promise and stay close forever. His gaze flicked up just in time to catch that ridiculous tongue and the equally ridiculous grin that followed it. It drew out the faintest laugh from him, small and muffled like he didn’t quite mean to let it slip. He shook his head as his shoulders relaxed. Jin always had a way of disarming him, not through grand gestures, but with these little, effortless acts of affection that Taesu could never quite brace himself for.

He ducked his head as again his brother said I love you; Jin didn’t say them often and yet right now repeating them like a parrot who did not know how to say anything else. Taesu stared down at the chopsticks in his hand. “You’re impossible,” he muttered. “But I’m glad I came too. And you should be thanking me for making your life as exciting as it is.” Although they both knew that Abeoji kept their lives exciting (and not in a good way) because whenever he said jump they always asked how high; Taesu knew to follow orders without question.
Still…

“Seojin-hyung,” Taesu sighed as he pulled his leg back so they weren’t touching anymore, “Abeoji took my Polyjuice.” The potion had been his safety net, his mask, his one piece of control in a life that rarely offered any. Without it, he felt exposed. And Abeoji didn’t take things away for no reason. “What if he decides I don’t need it anymore? What if he locks it up next to all the other things I’m not allowed to touch?” The man had always sold having a night with a veela wearing the face of their choosing, so Taesu wasn’t sure why it was suddenly changing.

He didn’t like change.

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Credit to Fox for this beautiful set!<3

Jin could visibly see Taesu-ah defrosting and he smiled, letting out a soft breath of relief. Of all his brothers, Taesu was the one that worried Jin the most and probably the most consistently. They had a shared past that had once exposed to Jin the depth of his brother’s fears and struggles, and it wasn’t something that was easy for Jin to forget, especially when they had a quiet moment to themselves. Though they were similar in so many ways, and they all suffered and found some solace in the trauma bond that tied them together with a little red string, Taesu had never fully surrendered to the belief that anyone could truly, actually care for him. Not even the four other souls that remained by his side, loyally, and indefinitely.

Maybe that was why, at the first hint of returned affection, Jin felt the ridiculous confession bubble up and out into the air between them. He never dared utter such revealing words aloud, to anyone really— because they opened a window into his true sentiments that was so easily weilded like a weapon. By Abeoji or, potentially, those people he declared himself to in the first place. But the words tasted right, even if they were unfamiliar on his tongue, as the gentle tease ruffled his brother’s metaphorical feathers. So right, in fact, he said it twice.

Grinning, Jin snickered to himself and took another bite of Taesu’s food. “Gamsahabnida~” he chirped back, in a sing-songy, playful voice. “Gamsahabnida, Taesu-ah, for giving me a reason to wake up in the mornings.” It was as much jest as it was reality. All his brothers were the reason, and over the years, Jin had needed that. He wasn’t sure where he’d be now if it wasn’t for Abeoji’s collecting them, like a little miserable herd, to keep him going.

He held out another bite for his brother as Taesu changed the subject and pulled back from him. Jin frowned slightly, wiggling his wrist in prompting, but he inclined his head at the words that came out of his brother’s mouth. “The polyjuice?” he echoed, trying to follow the train of thought. “Isn’t… that a good thing?” Jin lowered the chopsticks and his voice along with them. “You don’t have to do that here anymore, ne?” He was about to ask why Taesu-ah would need the potion but the look on his face, or rather the evasiveness with which he spoke, made it clear. "Ah."

Jin let out a soft sigh, thinking. He didn’t know what was going on in their Abeoji’s mind any more than the rest; but it had seemed obvious to him that there would be no more polyjuice if there was no need to perform under disguise. He’d never considered that it might be more comfortable for Taesu that way, hiding behind the mask of another person’s face as he was forced to sing and dance to such atrocities. It was a means of escape; a disassociation of himself from the performance. But he didn’t need to do that anymore because he wasn’t being asked to perform. Somehow, Jin knew that his suggesting that this was a good thing was not going to appease his brother in the slightest.

“Molla,” he admitted quietly, growing somber. “But… is it so terrible to breathe as yourself, just this once?” Jin hedged carefully, then went on quickly before Taesu could snort at him and shut down again. “There will always be ways to find more! I learned how to brew it at Maho and it takes some time, but it’s not that complicated. It’s just… This could be a new opportunity, for all of us.” Jin tried to give an encouraging smile. “You’re so lovely, just as you are, Taesu-ah. Maybe, if you give people a chance to see that, you might meet a new friend who likes you for all of it, not just the parts you want to share.”

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Taesu Jeong & muse song
attire-ish, but more commonplace fabrics
* I don't know

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* Jin takes potions and enchantments at times to give his voice a persuasive quality.
His performances, or even a simple conversation, can sometimes suggest thoughts
and ideas to his audiences.

Jin was insufferable, teasing him like he was. Taesu tried his best not to scowl at him even as his lips curled in distaste, although really Jin should be thanking his lucky stars that he wasn’t being kicked out of the room to go be annoying somewhere else. Ki-Se, Abby or Yun would be happy to have their brother in their face since apparently that was exactly what Jin wanted to do right now. But instead of telling him to leave, Taesu spilled another thing that was bothering him.

Instantly he clamped his mouth shut as Jin seemed to consider his words. No, it wasn’t a good thing to have the potion taken away. Taesu’s expression flickered, the kind of fractured look that came from being caught between wanting to argue and not knowing how to. The polyjuice had been everything to him, and now… now he was trapped knowing that people were going to hate him for him. He opened his mouth to argue with him, but Jin steamrolled right over him with more words that meant nothing to him. His lips pressed together, and for a long moment, he didn’t say anything at all. The chopsticks in his hand tapped once, twice, against the edge of his bowl like he wasn’t sure what else to do with his hands.

“You don’t get it!” Tae snapped, far harsher than he meant to, although his face didn’t soften at all. He turned his face away so he could stare at the wall. His knuckles whitened where they gripped the chopsticks. “The potion wasn’t a disguise. It was a shield. I felt like I could breathe when I drank it.” He looked back at Jin then, a sigh escaping him; he didn’t want Jin to help him make it, because it would only be because his brother pitied him. “If I could stay in someone else’s skin forever, I would.” His hand hovered against his chest, but Tae didn’t dare touch it. “I’ve always been a puppet for people to touch and play with. This… this face doesn’t belong to me.”

There was also the unspoken fear of people finding out that he was a Veela – would they ostracize him just like others had done in the past? It was only a matter of time before people realized the allure of being around him. That would be a ripple effect because his brothers would leave him too, not out of disgust, but because they’d have to. They always said they wouldn’t, that blood was thicker than fear, but Taesu knew better.

Maybe that was why he’d kept his distance lately, why he flinched when they tried to pull him closer. If they left first, it wouldn’t hurt so much. If he made himself unbearable enough, maybe they’d stop trying to love him before they found out what loving him cost. Abeoji had plans for them to integrate, find wives, find power in places where they hadn’t yet reached, but Taesu… Taesu would ruin all of that. Losing the polyjuice was a punishment. It was just a matter of time until he felt he might pay the price for being a damnation.

Taesu drew in a slow, shaking breath. It caught halfway, like his ribs didn’t want to make space for it. “I’m afraid of people finding out that I’m half-Veela.” Because at least with Polyjuice, even if people suspected it, they wouldn’t ever know his true face. Taesu swallowed around the lump in his throat. “I lived as myself for years at the orphanage,” he said softly, staring down at the chopsticks still clutched in his hand. “It was enough to teach me why I shouldn’t do it again.” When Jin met him he was desperate for attention and a family; why did he think things had changed so drastically that things would be different this time?

He blinked hard, once, twice, but the sting behind his eyes only worsened. “You’ll hate me too, Seojin-hyung, when this is over.” The words scraped raw on their way out. “You say you won’t,” Tae murmured because he knew his brother, “but you will. When people start talking. When they call us monsters. When Abeoji is angry that his plan is falling apart at the seams.” Someone would have to be the reason why, and Taesu knew… he knew it was going to be him. The polyjuice would change all of that, but... he wasn't going to get it.

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Credit to Fox for this beautiful set!<3