Meanwhile, the kids who had directly experienced Zhuque’s power were so caught up talking about ‘Exorcist Gi Jae-eon’ that they hardly focused on anything else. Among them were those who thought, ‘Jae-eon is ignoring Bonryeong and us!’ and treated him like an invisible man, and others who spread wild rumors like, ‘I heard Jae-eon was badmouthing us on the phone.’
But now, things were different.
Lips that once only spoke negativity had turned 180 degrees and now praised Jae-eon endlessly until they were hoarse.
“I really almost filed my marriage registration without thinking.”
“He’s not just some random representative of the exorcist world.”
“Why does the sun even rise when we have Jae-eon hyung?”
Then—
One kid sitting quietly at the very end, not joining the chatter, suddenly spoke as if making up his mind.
“Guys.”
“…About Exorcist Jae-eon.”
Again, mentioning ‘Jae-eon.’
The kids listened intently, eyes shining.
Which was no surprise—respect for Jae-eon was currently brimming to the brim in them. To such a degree that even nonsense like ‘Jae-eon is secretly a toe-sock enthusiast’ was met with positive responses like, ‘Actually, I have a toe-sock fetish too.’
In other words, they were completely hooked.
The kids eagerly awaited more flattering remarks.
However—
“If he apologized… would that be shameless?”
Unexpected words spilled out.
Like a bucket of cold water poured over the mood, silence fell.
The kids glanced at each other and fidgeted nervously. No one dared open their mouth. The excitement was gone completely.
“Hey… what are you even saying now…?”
One of the kids who had constantly badmouthed Jae-eon spoke awkwardly.
Right next to him, a hesitant voice said, “Minji’s not wrong.”
Silence fell again.
Except for a few lip smacks, it was very quiet.
“To be honest… it feels awkward.”
“Yeah.”
“I believed in Jae-eon hyung.”
“Cut the crap.”
Just then, a kid munching on snacks frowned slightly and spoke.
“But guys, saving us was saving us, and his attitude was bad, that’s a fact. Why are we suddenly being painted as the bad guys? Can’t we just be thankful where it’s due and honest where it’s not?”
“If we ignore how he ignored us and just say thanks for saving us out of nowhere, isn’t it natural to feel dumbfounded?”
“No, I mean why are we being blamed like we’re the bad ones?”
“Stop twisting things~.”
The atmosphere grew tense.
The kids started pointing fingers and raising their voices.
“Honestly, some of them crossed the line.”
“Hey, they bullied us openly, so what? We don’t have to be forced to get close!”
“Guys, stop fighting!”
“Only those who want to apologize should apologize. Why make it feel forced?”
Eventually, it became a chaotic mess.
Several days after the Ji-myeot-ghost incident,
Even though Zhuque was summoned through An Seo-myeong, it was unavoidable that his body was strained…
Eventually, unable to move, Jae-eon lay groaning under Kim Young’s care, but on the second day miraculously regained his strength.
And the very first thought as he came to was:
‘I’m hungry.’
Yes, food.
Not porridge… rice.
He wanted to eat rice.
Jae-eon slowly rose in a disheveled state. His hungry stomach growled loudly.
—‘If you have indigestion, there’s no hope. You must eat porridge until your fever goes down!’—
Kim Young had strictly said, lecturing about digestion and only feeding porridge.
Thanks to that, for the first time since turning back time, Jae-eon felt an appetite.
“Lunchbox…”
Unexpectedly, he smacked his lips.
Waiting until the dorm quieted down as usual, Jae-eon carefully stepped down the stairs when the time came.
‘I’m getting used to this now.’
He smiled quietly to himself and opened the fridge door with a clatter.
“Huh…?”
Around the black lunchbox, many snacks were packed. From small candies to fairly expensive branded cookie boxes, fruits, jelly—so colorful it looked like they had decorated the black lunchbox beautifully.
Jae-eon looked around the fridge, puzzled.
There was plenty of empty space.
What was this…?
Hungry anyway, he cautiously picked up only the lunchbox. But because it was so full, pieces of paper slipped out and scattered on the floor.
He bent down and picked one up. Before he could flinch from the cold paper, his eyes landed on dense writing.
“…Thank you for saving me…?”
Jae-eon’s pupils widened.
Surprisingly, it was a letter. A letter of gratitude addressed to him.
Through the new gaze that slowly took shape, colorful papers finally came into view.
Jae-eon carefully unfolded each sheet.
[Hyung Jae-eon!]
[To Exorcist Gi Jae-eon…]
[Jae-eon oppa!]
[Mr. Gi Jae-eon]
[Hey there.]
[Can I call you Jae-eon? haha]
…and so many ways of addressing Jae-eon.
But all held the same meaning.
[Thank you.]
Yes.
That was… the very reason he had endured even the suffering that sometimes made him wish for death.
“I got scolded by the aunt for piling too much in the fridge.”
“It’s not going down at all.”
A week after expressing their hearts through letters,
The kids stared sadly at the snacks untouched by Jae-eon.
And it was no wonder—their relationship was still the same.
It seemed all the letters had been collected anyway… but no one really expected a reply.
“Do you think he even read them?”
“Bacteria hyung even wrote his Star ID.”
“Crossing the line again?”
The kids murmured.
“It’s probably hard for him to forgive us easily. Honestly, it’s changed so drastically, like flipping a hand.”
“It’s just his personality. Look, his attitude was bad, that’s a fact.”
Once again, opinions about Jae-eon split.
One of the who had enough said with a sour face, “Fine. We’ll get along by ourselves. Why keep arguing? If you don’t want to be friends, leave!”
Then the group strongly opposed.
“Then make an atmosphere of respect. Look at what you’re doing. You treat us like we’re terrible people. That makes us uncomfortable. Do we have to apologize? Don’t force it.”
“Fine, fine.”
“No, see, why are we fighting about this?”
“They say fine but who’s picking fights?”
“Is your tone the same as usual?”
The atmosphere grew cold.
Tension like a powder keg.
If anyone spoke even slightly, it would blow up into a huge fight.
At that moment, An Seo-myeong strolled out yawning.
He looked disheveled, like a just-awakened cat.
His white, soft cheeks looked like they’d smell like warm sunlight if you bit them… a rather cozy look.
Ignoring the bickering brothers and sisters openly fighting, An Seo-myeong leisurely drank a cup of water.
Glug glug.
After emptying the mug, he calmly spoke.
“Maybe it’s just awkwardness.”
All eyes turned to him simultaneously. But he continued with his typical indifferent expression.
“It might be burdensome because of personality. He was even someone who tried to jump in front of a train himself… Ah, forget I said that. Anyway, he doesn’t look mentally strong, so everyone be careful—”
“What? Hey, what did you just say?”
Clatter.
One kid jumped up abruptly, cutting him off.
His face showed he’d heard something he shouldn’t have, and others blinked repeatedly.
“...It might be burdensome?”
“No! Before that!”
An Seo-myeong lowered his gaze as if thinking about what the others wanted to hear.
Unable to endure the short silence, the kids exchanged glances like, ‘Did you hear that too?’ Some even looked skeptical.
But strangely, they were nervous.
An Seo-myeong scanned the tense kids and shrugged.
“Jump in front of a train…?”
He seemed to be asking if that was really what he’d said.
Not a misunderstanding.
“What are you talking about now?”
“Y-yeah. What kind of unlucky joke is that…”
But An Seo-myeong said nothing.
Sometimes silence means consent.
That was exactly the case now.
“…Is it true?”