CH 7

Lost Soul (2)

It was a cautious question. The edge of his eyebrows looked like they tightened, and his voice was tickling like feathers. Looking at his round eyes without double eyelids, Hwanyeong asked with a frown.

“……What?”

“Are you hurt?”

Muryeong said so and looked at Hwanyeong. Not only his face, but also his neck, shoulders, and the back of his hands on the desk. As if that wasn’t enough he tried to look under the desk, but Hwanyeong replied with a disheartened voice.

“I’m not hurt.”

“……Really?”

There was a slight stinginess in the slow response. Muryeong, who forced his expression to relax, moved his upper body forward. Since entering the classroom, he hasn’t been able to relax.

“Since when have your shoulders been heavy?”

“……”

Hwanyeong didn’t answer, but he bit his mouth with a doubtful face. Seeing the disbelief in his eyes, Muryeong awkwardly scratched his cheek. The corners of his droopy eyes were filled with a look of trouble.

“……Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Why.”

Hwanyeong replied sharply as if asking what he meant by that. Then he twisted his lips obliquely.

“Your friend got hurt because of me. But is that all?”

His low-pitched voice squeaked as if it was being sharpened. Muryeong’s eyebrows tightly frowned at the seemingly ridiculous claim.

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“Why are you talking like that?”

And, without hesitation, he grabbed Hwanyeong’s hands that were on the desk. The moment he felt Muryeong’s body temperature, Hwanyeong flinched. He quickly tried to pull his hand away, but instead of letting him go, Muryeong wrapped his other hand around.

“Look, I touched you, but I didn’t get hurt.”

“……”

He could feel Hwanyeong’s body temperature over the palm of his hand. There was also a clear sense of spirit and freshness. Hwanyeong slowly moved his lips, but Muryeong was faster than him.

“If I do this and get hurt on my way from school, it’s not because of you.”

“……”

“So don’t talk like that.”

There weren’t any subtle emotions in his determined voice. He didn’t sound worried, nor did he sound sympathetic. But despite that Hwanyeong frowned and rubbed his lips.

“I didn’t mean I wanted to be comforted right now.”

Hwanyeong pulled his hands as if he was annoyed. No, he was trying to get it out.

“I didn’t mean to comfort you either.”

His flawless, clear eyes stared straight at Muryeong. After Muryeong said that, he made eye contact with him to show that it was the truth. However, when there was no reaction, he put his fingers on his big hands.

“There is no one who can hurt someone with something like this”

“……I know, so let go of it.”

This time, Hwanyeong didn’t hesitate to push away Muryeong. His resistance was strong enough to create a ‘tak!’ sound, but Muryeong let go of Hwanyeong without any unpleasantness. On the contrary, Muryeong looked at his hands that were shaken off.

“It’s okay. It was loud but it didn’t hurt.”

“……Who says that?”

Hwanyeong shook his head slightly. Saying ‘Don’t touch me’, he wrinkled his eyes in annoyance. Muryeong shrugged his shoulders and hid his  aura-stained hands under her desk.

“They say that words have power.”

A young voice sank into the quiet classroom. Hwanyeong still looked at Muryeong with fierce eyes.

“Even if you didn’t say it out of guilt, if you keep saying it like that, someday there will be a day where you will really think ‘it’s because of me’.”

“……”

“Why did Seungju get hurt because of you? If that’s the case, it’s also my fault for going home first yesterday.”

Hwanyeong’s eyebrows rose. His expression seemed to express affirmation, so Muryeong smiled a little without realizing it. Although he was obviously expressionless, he seemed to be able to see through what he was thinking from time to time.

“Well…… If I had gone with him, Seungju wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

Although he didn’t mean to, his shoulders helplessly slumped down. As soon as he heard the news of Seungju’s traffic accident Muryeong kept repeating the same thoughts in his head.

If only they left school together. If they had, the situation would have been different.

“But if you think like that, there is no end.”

Muryeong broke through those thoughts and gave strength to his neck. He added one word after another to clearly convey his opinion.

“If Seo Seungju hadn’t gone down that road, the accident wouldn’t have happened. He would have been fine if he hadn’t carried the bag, and if I wasn’t in duty this week, he wouldn’t have run into a car.”

“……”

“As you said, all of these things could be the cause……”

“……”

“Then is it really my fault?”

The more Muryeong spoke, the more subtle Hwanyeong’s expression became. Perhaps he was feeling convinced of something, or maybe he felt possessed. Muryeong slightly lowered his eyes and scratched his cheek.

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“People always try to cover up good or wrong when something happens. Whatever the cause, what really matters is the solution.”

Well, of course, if you want to solve it, you need to know the cause……

“You asked me to find the cause.”

Suddenly, a glimmer appeared in his eyes. Muryeong raised his eyes again and smiled softly, making eye contact with Hwanyeong. A beautiful dimple slipped in the middle of his pale cheeks.

“Let me sleep at your house for just one day.”

***

On the way home, Muryeong contacted Seungju. Because he had received a message that said he just bought a new cell phone. ‘I can’t go home today.’ To that message, Seungju replied, ‘Is your dream of becoming a volunteer?’

Naturally, Muryeong did not reply and put his cell phone in his pocket. If he said no, he wouldn’t hear good things, and if he said yes, he would get an even more absurd response. It was just a matter of hearing some nagging tomorrow after passing it on.

‘What can I do, this is the only way.’

Muryeong glanced at Hwanyeong and hurried to walk a little faster. Because of their height difference, if Hwanyeong took two steps he would have to take three to catch up. He wishes he had longer legs. Another question came to mind with the leisurely feeling.

‘I didn’t expect it to be this easy.’

When he asked Hwanyeong to let him sleep at his house for a day, he was actually thinking of all sorts of excuses in his head. From the fundamental reason that he has to see it first to know the situation, to the nonsensical excuse that sleeping at the original client’s house is the rule.

‘……Okay.’

But Hwanyeong didn’t ask anything and just nodded his head. His gaze was still full of boundaries, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of checking anything else. He just got up from his seat first, picked up his bag that was hanging on the desk and said.

‘Let’s go. It’s a little far from here.’

And like he said, Hwanyeong’s house took over two hours to arrive. The problem was that they didn’t leave school by bus or subway, and instead walked. Muryeong wasn’t lacking in stamina, but this awkwardness was quite problematic.

‘……’

‘……’

From the moment they left school until now, Hwanyeong kept his mouth shut and looked straight ahead. Even the friendly Muryeong couldn’t easily talk to him, who looked like he was deep in thought. Just once, when he saw the chrysanthemums at the intersection, he asked him to wait a moment.

“That…… Do you not have to ask your parents first?”

To relieve the awkward atmosphere, Muryeong implicitly asked Hwanyeong. It wasn’t too loud, but Hwanyeong turned his head and looked at Muryeong. He wasn’t sure, but he seemed to be a little surprised after being lost in thought.

“……My parents aren’t home.”

Maybe it was because of his mood, but his steps slowed down a bit. Muryeong, who was now able to walk the same two steps, tilted his head with a puzzled face.

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“Do you live by yourself?”

“Oh. Both of them are dead.”

“……”

The awkwardness doubled. The reason why he didn’t reflexively apologize was because Hwanyeong was too expressionless. He had chosen the wrong topic. Muryeong blamed his stupidity and bit his lower lip with his front teeth.

“We are almost there. Just go around that wall and we’ll be right there.”

The winding road gradually continued towards a dark place. He could feel it from the moment he first entered the alley, but the neighborhood felt strangely uncomfortable. In the chilly air, the amulets on the walls and along the roadside trees created a bizarre landscape that chilled the spine.

‘……These amulets don’t seem to work.’

Muryeong judged such amulets to be from a Novice Shaman. No matter how old and torn it was, he couldn’t feel even the slightest spiritual power from it. Even the shape of just being stuck onto places without considering the direction showed that it wasn’t of good craftsmanship[.

‘This way, forget demons, you can’t even stop evil spirits.’

Hwanyeong’s aura was probably beyond the scope of most exorcists. Even the living Muryeong considered it pure, so how sweet would it be for those who want vitality. It was only natural that they felt the urge to reach out their hand at least once, even if it burned their body.

‘Like the one from before……’

Muryeong narrowed his eyes and remembered the demon that was hanging from Hwanyeong earlier. It had a yin enough to overwhelm himself, and it was that of a deceased person who died long ago. He must have suffered an unfair death, or he must have been lost and wandered for a longer time than he thought.

It was highly likely that the demon was also responsible for Seungju’s injury. It couldn’t touch Hwanyeong directly, so he must have felt grumpy and left his mark everywhere. It was an act of resentment, but the dead usually had a bad heart.

‘I have to catch it before it’s too late.’

Born into a deep-rooted exorcist family, Muryeong was taught that when he sees a demon, he must find it and get rid of it. Because the souls who already lost their hearts could never return to their original state. Of course, there was a more peaceful way for Muryeong, but it was clear that his tiger-like mother would discipline him like fire if she caught him missing the scene like before.

But it wasn’t just for that reason that Muryeong felt impatient. It was okay to get scolded, and he wasn’t an official exorcist yet. However, one thing Hwanyeong said had been bothering him for a long time.

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‘People who touch me keep getting hurt.’

Muryeong didn’t want to see anyone get hurt for any reason. He wanted everyone he knew to have a safe and peaceful day. Of course, that included Hwanyeong who he only knew the face of.

‘I’m not hurt.’

It sounded foolish, but he only realized it after hearing that. Instead of the body, Hwanyeong must have been hurt in the mind.