‘He looks like he’s about to collapse walking.’
An Seo-myeong gazed quietly down the corridor where the man had disappeared.
But he had no intention of forcing help on someone who didn’t want it. What he wished to give was help, not interference.
‘Who was that?’
Was there someone like that at Bonryeong?
‘Not a face to forget.’
His impression was quite strong—both good and bad.
…Hmm, a handsome jiangshi?
Gloomy enough to appear in nightmares.
‘If I’d seen him at night, maybe I’d have exorcised him…’
Just as he tilted his head in thought, footsteps ran up behind him.
“Seomyeong!”
“Hello.”
Kim Young, Bonryeong’s haejusa and mentor, bowed respectfully.
“Have you seen Exorcist Gi Jae-eon?”
Kim Young held a phone in his hand. It had no stickers like those forcibly added by his disciples, so it probably wasn’t his.
A neat, basic domestic phone case.
An Seo-myeong quickly grasped the situation.
‘Ah, looks like Exorcist Gi Jae-eon left his phone behind. More careless than expected?’
An Seo-myeong shrugged, staring at the phone. Meaning he hadn’t seen him. No figure matching “the rumored Exorcist Gi Jae-eon” appeared while walking the corridor.
Unless it was a patient who clearly needed immediate hospitalization.
“Oh, okay. Thanks. Have a good day. See you tonight~.”
“Ah… Sir.”
An Seo-myeong stopped Kim Young as he hurried past.
“Sorry to bother you when you’re busy.”
“Ah, no, no—tell me.”
“There was someone feeling unwell earlier…”
“Oh? Who? Eunha? Gyeonghak?”
“No. Someone I hadn’t seen before. Tall with slightly wavy hair. Dark under eyes, kept vomiting. Probably got hurt or cursed…”
Better to warn the best haejusa at Bonryeong in advance. Taking it lightly, An Seo-myeong recounted the earlier situation. Kim Young, listening quietly, suddenly cut him off.
“Huh? Seomyeong, you said you hadn’t seen Exorcist Gi Jae-eon?”
“Yes?”
“Huh?”
“...Uh, he… huh? Yes?”
That almost-dead jiangshi was Gi Jae-eon?
An Seo-myeong blinked, slightly open-mouthed in disbelief.
“He’s on the verge of collapse.”
Kim Young gave an awkward smile at the blunt remark.
“Yes, that’s him.”
An Seo-myeong found Gi Jae-eon easily in the wide city.
Without a phone, calling someone would be hard; he guessed Gi Jae-eon might use public transport—and surprisingly, he was right. Standing dazed inside the nearest subway station, Gi Jae-eon’s tall frame was easy to spot. Taking a deep breath, An Seo-myeong held the phone Kim Young gave him in his left hand.
“Sir, I’ll go.”
“Huh? Seomyeong, you?”
“Yes, if I can have a private talk, I want to. It might be a once-in-a-lifetime chance.”
How impressive he really was, if he was stronger than Kim Joo-won, how to become like him.
As a fellow exorcist, there were many things he wanted to ask.
“Gi—!”
Just as he was about to call him,
Ding ding ding ding—!
[The train bound for -- is arriving. Please stand behind the yellow line…]
With the entry announcement, the rattling sound came from afar.
Hmm, the train’s coming. That’s what he thought, but Gi Jae-eon acted strangely.
Despite no train stopping, he staggered forward.
Clack clack clack—!
Because it was the only station without screen doors, accidents were common. Usually people would step back cautiously when hearing the entry announcement. An Seo-myeong did the same. It was the normal reaction.
But Gi Jae-eon was different.
He walked forward as if to throw himself at the incoming train.
Then An Seo-myeong saw it.
The black, sticky evil spirits clung tightly all over Gi Jae-eon’s body, pulling him down—down—toward under the platform.
An Seo-myeong’s eyes widened.
Kick—kikikik—kick!
The ground shook violently as a flashing light approached.
Thoughts stopped there.
An Seo-myeong ran wildly, pushing through people. A middle-aged man bumped into him and shouted angrily when the phone dropped, but he didn’t stop. His heart felt like it would burst.
Clack clack clack!
With loud noise and strong wind, the train sped past the two, then stopped.
Ding ding—ding—!
[The safety doors are opening.]
“Hah… ha…”
“...”
“Exorcist, do you build courage like this?”
An Seo-myeong sat down holding Gi Jae-eon close, catching his breath.
Really… it was a close call.
Soon, a crowd of people who got off and were boarding gathered around them.
They asked questions like “Oh my, what happened?” “Are you okay?” but Gi Jae-eon wasn’t in the mood to answer, so they ignored them.
An Seo-myeong only wondered what thoughts had driven the man in his arms to such behavior.
Gu gu gu.
Gu gu gu guk.
Currently, the two sat catching their breath on a bench near the station park.
No words passed between them.
Pigeons cooed, and children laughed nearby, but silence remained.
“...Ah, um.”
Surprisingly, Gi Jae-eon broke the long silence.
“...Th-thank you.”
He stared at a line of ants crawling on the ground and barely spoke his thanks. Honestly, he didn’t look very grateful. Rather, there was a hint of resentment.
Or why resent…? Momentarily at a loss, An Seo-myeong considered advising “Don’t jump in front of trains, that’s a nuisance,” but seeing Gi Jae-eon’s gloomy face, he just tilted his head.
“Your reputation and image are very different.”
A breeze blew over their heads.
Leaves rustled quietly.
“You speak slowly.”
“Ah, huh?”
“A bit… gloomy, I guess.”
Gi Jae-eon looked at An Seo-myeong with a startled expression. Gloomy? He was at a loss for words at the sudden criticism.
“Feels like you don’t have friends.”
Gi Jae-eon parted his lips at that blunt statement.
To argue, he thought of a few comrades he could call friends in the distant future.
The prime example was the one complaining about no friends—An Seo-myeong himself.
Of course, they all died because of his incompetence. Well, they were alive now…
‘Anyway, we’re complete strangers now.’
It was true he had no card to deny An Seo-myeong’s words.
Only then did Gi Jae-eon realize he was truly alone. Seeing that strange expression, a faint smile played on An Seo-myeong’s lips. If not looked at carefully, it was almost invisible, but definitely a small mischief above his neutral face.
“Exorcist Gi Jae-eon…”
An Seo-myeong slowly parted his lips.
“You’re… quite ordinary.”
At the unexpected words, Gi Jae-eon’s shoulders stiffened.
It made sense—he’d never heard the word “ordinary” before.
Ordinary? Me?
The more he thought about it, the stranger it felt.
[Ordinary.]
A word he had never heard, past or future.
It was odd.
‘Me, ordinary?’
Gi Jae-eon swallowed.
Though the words were probably meaningless to the other, it was different for him. He was undergoing a remarkable change.
‘Breathing feels a little easier.’
The peaceful world, which had felt strange to him and made him feel alien, began to feel a little more natural.
…All from just one word.
A me who could blend into ordinary days ordinarily.
Me who needn’t bear any responsibility.
Me who needn’t fight.
Ordinary me.
Human Gi Jae-eon, not the exorcist.
His head dropped deeply.
‘If only that were possible…’
He envied the imagined version of himself intensely.
As he blankly thought he wanted to trade places with that self—
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Suddenly came an embarrassed apology.
Startled, Gi Jae-eon looked away. An Seo-myeong apologized again, saying “I was rude.” Apparently, he misunderstood Gi Jae-eon’s reaction to “ordinary.” He muttered, “That was crossing a line for me,” nodding.
The mood dropped sharply.
Precisely, only Gi Jae-eon.
An Seo-myeong, with his usual expressionless face, calmly said he’d take the hint, but Gi Jae-eon alone was restless and flustered.
‘I’m fine...’
He opened his mouth to explain, but didn’t know what to say, so he just moved his lips like a fool.
“I-I-I can’t s-sleep.”
After much thought, that was all he could say.
Gi Jae-eon pressed the back of his hand to his cheek firmly.
With no way to explain his foolish attitude, he decided to blame it on his condition. Fortunately, An Seo-myeong seemed to believe him.
“Ah, sleep? Now that you mention it, your dark circles are severe.”
An Seo-myeong reached toward Gi Jae-eon’s face.
Gi Jae-eon flinched but did not pull away.
He twisted his head slightly, afraid of ruining the gently eased mood.
“I heard you came to receive haejusa treatment from my teacher. It ended sooner than expected, so I guess everyone is a bit disappointed. But they were very curious about Exorcist Gi Jae-eon, including me.”
A warm hand touched below his right eye.
The warmth of another person after a long time.
It was so unfamiliar his body twitched.
“...Ugh.”
“...”
“...Hmm.”
“...”
Was this touch a bit too long?
Gi Jae-eon’s eyes twitched at the thumb slowly stroking below his eye.
He wanted to tell him to stop, but An Seo-myeong looked so focused he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
“Very…”
An Seo-myeong persistently rubbed under Gi Jae-eon’s eye, then slowly parted his lips.
“You’re sensitive to a man’s touch.”