CH 8

Muryeong, who thought so, slowly slowed his steps. On the last wall that Hwanyeong mentioned, there was a normal form of talisman attached. Muryeong stretched out his arm behind Hwanyeong and blew into the talisman with a hand wrapped in spiritual power.

It was a temporary measure. But at least now nothing would follow Hwanyeong as he walked down this road. It would last a day at most, but it would be effective against the weak demons.

“Is this your house?”

“Yeah.”

They passed a stone wall and stopped in front of a thin iron gate. Quite some time had passed, so the sun had already set and it was getting dark. Hwanyeong took the key from the mailbox, opened the door and went inside.

The house they entered looked old, but it looks like a lot of attention was paid to the details. Although the grass in the yard was dry, and there were pieces of peeling paint everywhere. If it had been well managed, it would have been like a cute pension.

“Your house looks pretty.”

It wasn’t that he really wanted a reaction, but Hwanyeong didn’t even listen. He just glanced at Muryeong and frowned as if he couldn’t understand. Then Hwanyeong, who opened the door with the key, opened the door wide and beckoned to Muryeong.

“Go in.”

“……”

Hefelt nervous. Muryeong slowly moved his steps, clutching the straps of his bag.

He felt it the moment the door opened, but the inside was filled with a pulsing aura. Not that of a demon, but of the living person who stood in front of him.

“……Well.”

He said this before. But Hwanyeong had such a strong and refreshing aura that Muryeong could feel it clearly.

The moment he entered the house, Muryeong felt his head clear. It felt like all his fatigue had melted away and his condition was back at its peak. It couldn’t even compare to the freshness he felt when he grabbed Hwanyeong’s arm, and clasped his hand.

“The house is really nice……”

He was as sincere as a warrior, but once again, Hwanyeong gave an incomprehensible look. He had a face that looked like he would refute at any moment, saying, ‘What do you like about this old house?’ Muryeong took a deep breath and neatly took off his shoes on one side of the porch.

“Do you put your shoes in the shoe cabinet?”

“Do whatever you want.”

The front door seemed spacious enough, so he didn’t find it necessary to put it inside. Muryeong took one step inside, and looked around the interior of the house. There was a TV and a sofa in the spacious living room, but there was a somewhat desolate atmosphere. Perhaps because the furniture was old and shabby.

“Oh, right. Later……”

He turned his head around, and without realizing it, he closed his mouth. Because Hwanyeong, who should have come inside, was still standing at the front door. He lowered his eyes to follow his gaze and saw his shoes neatly laid out.

“……Should I put it in the shoe cabinet?”

He asked again, but Hwanyeong did not answer. He just slowly took off his sneakers and asked back.

“Stop talking about that. What’s next?”

“Ah…… I want to borrow your pajamas.”

The two sneakers placed side by side felt like an adult and a child. One looked really big while the other looked relatively small. If Seungjoo had seen it, he would have offered comfort, that’s not really comfort, saying ‘You are still growing up.’

“I can’t sleep in my school uniform.”

Muryeong said so, and pulled the hem of his T-shirt to show it. He was fine since he wore a T-shirt underneath, but he had to change his pants. He couldn’t roll out in the clothes he wore for school, so it would be better if he could borrow a top as well.

“Pajamas……”

Hwanyeong’s soft mutter lengthened the tail of the horse. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed and glanced up and down at Muryeong. He slightly narrowed his brow and tilted his head at an angle.

“Nothing would fit you.”

That wasn’t wrong. It just wasn’t something to worry about with such a serious face.

“You can just give me anything. If it’s big, I can fold it and wear it.”

Muryeong came up with a solution, but Hwanyeong’s expression did not go away. He looked back at the shoes he had taken off and asked in his usual quiet voice.

“What about underwear?”

“Huh…… Can I borrow your underwear too?”

That didn’t feel right, did it?

“I have a new one. Wear it and take it.”

Actually, he didn’t intend to wear it, but Muryeong just responded saying yes. And he even asked for an extra toothbrush in the hopes of being shameless at least once. Hwanyeong obediently nodded his head, and headed inward across the living room.

“I’ll give you a change of clothes, so wash up first.”

Muryeong followed after him. Hwanyeong headed towards a room that had a sense of living on its own, unlike the living room. There were several workbooks placed on the desk, and school uniforms and coats were hung in the closet. Seeing the charger line up on the bed, it didn’t seem that different from lying down.

“And the only thing to eat at home is the convenience store lunch box……”

Among them, Muryeong couldn’t take his eyes off the picture frame placed on the desk. The picture was of two children, and the problem was that both of them looked like his childhood version. A Hwanyeong on the left, and a Ki Hwanyeong on the right.

“……Twins?”

Tak, the frame turned upside down. A hand large enough to cover the whole picture violently overturned the frame. When Muryeong raised his head in surprise, he saw Hwanyeong with a cold expression on his face.

“What are you doing?”

“……”

It was an overreaction. Muryeong also has eyes, so he just saw it lying there.

“I’m sorry, I won’t look at it.”

But Muryeong politely offered an apology. If it was something he didn’t want to show, then Muryeong didn’t want to dig it out.

Furthermore,

‘He’s dead.’

He knew instinctively. One of the people in that photo was no longer in this world.

There was no sign of any presence in the house except for that of Hwanyeong. The entrance only had shoes that belonged to the two of them, and no traces of another person could be found anywhere else. Even if Hwanyeong and his twin shared their furniture, it was strange that there was no presence at all.

“Is that the outfit you will lend me? I’ll be right back after washing up. Where is the bathroom?”

“……”

Muryeong said with a broken, bright voice, and he took the piece of clothing from Hwanyeong’s hands.

With eyes full of vigilance, Hwanyeong meekly pointed out the location of the bathroom. Hearing that it was on the right after going out, Muryeong immediately left Hwanyeong’s room.

As soon as the door was closed, Muryeong covered his mouth with a troubled face. As he lowered his eyes, a serious look started appearing on his face. Hwanyeong had a twin who had already died, and a spirit comparable to that of an exorcist.

“……I hope not.”

The words that came out like his breathing sank heavily. Even Muryeong who said that had a look of half confidence in his eyes.

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***

When Muryeong came out of the shower, Hwanyeong was sitting on the sofa in the living room. Seeing that he was wearing comfortable clothes with a towel hanging on his neck, it seemed there was a bathroom on the other side of the house as well. As he watched Hwanyeong’s wet hair drip, Muryeong calmly called out his name.

“Ki Hwanyeong.”

“……”

Suddenly, his broad shoulders shook. It wasn’t a big move, but it could be clearly seen that Hwanyeong was surprised. Muryeong smiled shyly when he saw that he looked back at him.

“I’m sorry…… Do you have any smaller clothes?”

He could feel it the moment he put the T-Shirt he borrowed over his head. ‘Oh, I can use this as a blanket’.

“I don’t think tightening it with a rubber band will work for this.”

Hwanyeong’s clothes were too big on him, to the point that even folding them wouldn’t make it fit. Aside from the sleeves that looked like he could dance a seungmu with it, the nape of the neck was wide enough to reveal his collarbone even if he straightened it. Also, the length was so big, even if he had stolen his dad’s clothes it wouldn’t be this big.

However, compared to the shorts, the T-Shirt was in a better position. He was barely able to get out of the bathroom after folding the pants 4 times and tightening it with a rubber band as tight as he could. Even then, the fact that it kept falling down from his waist the moment he let go looked terrible.

“You are really tall……”

“Hoo.”

Seeing the awkward smile, Hwanyeong smirked. To be precise, it was a smirk that showed how ridiculous he found the situation.

“I told you it wouldn’t fit.”

“I didn’t think it would be this big.”

He knew that their sizes would be different to some extent. Hwanyeong was bigger than most models while Muryeong was still a bit small for a growing student. However, he failed to realize that aside from the size, their basic shapes were also different.

“……Should I just take the pants off?”

They were both men, so it shouldn’t matter even if he was in his underwear. Anyway, the T-shirt was rather long, so it would look fine. The underwear was also a little big t, but not to the point it would fall down.

“I’ll give you the clothes I wore in middle school.”

However, Hwanyeong went straight into his room with a straight face. Looking at his back, Muryeong awkwardly pulled up his pants. As expected, perhaps it would be a little gross for him to not wear pants.

The clothes Hwanyeong brought back were the summer uniforms from the middle school he attended. A white cartier and green shorts that were likely too small for Hwanyeong now. It was still a little too big for Muryeong, but anyway.

“How tall are you? Have you been this tall since middle school?”

Hwanyeong threw the towel into the laundry basket and pulled out two convenience store lunches from the refrigerator. He replied that he was 190cm tall during the last physical examination and that he was on the tall side since middle school while putting the lunches on the microwave with a beep. Then, when Muryeong said ‘I’m envious,’ he frowned with an uncomfortable face.

“Why are you following me like this?”

“Ah.”

Muryeong, who had been chatting around him, laughed. His smile wasn’t particularly broad, but you could still see the dimple on the middle of his cheek. At the same time, his light brown eyes slowly moved towards the other side.

“I don’t really want to sit down while you are preparing dinner……”

“……”

Hwanyeong’s expression quickly became absurd. The way he looked at the microwave seemed complicated for some reason. At just the right time, a ‘ding’ sound was heard, and he gestured to the edge of the table.

“Since it’s done, sit down.”

“Yes.”

Muryeong meekly sat down at her table and waited for Hwanyeong to give him the lunch box. He pulled out wooden chopsticks from the cupboard and sat down across from Muryeong. Then, he spoke to the still silent Muryeong in a shaky voice.

“Eat.”