Jaegyeom opened the familiar painted gate and entered the yard. He passed through a well-kept wide yard and reached the front door. Brushing off his feet, he roughly threw off his shoes. Returning home after half a day, it was quiet as usual. A beige Converse rolled around the shoe rack. On one side, a pair of cute shoes that fit in the palm of one’s hand was neatly placed.
“Mesani.”
Despite Jaegyeom’s call, there was no sign of Mesani in the house. Where did he go? After putting down his bag, Jaegyeom opened the front door and looked out into the yard. “Mesani.” When Jaegyeom called again, a small child about the height of Jaegyeom’s waist from outside hurriedly ran into the front door. As soon as Mesani saw Jaegyeom, he smiled broadly, then ran to Jaegyeom and hugged his legs.
“My lord—!”
“What is this. Where have you been?”
“Oh, in the backyard! My lord, did you have a good trip?”
Mesani rubbed his face against Jaegyeom’s waist with a bright face. He was playing in the dirt, and his face, hands, and everything were grubby. He looked down at Mesani, who greeted him with a big smile, and then Jaegyeom made a stern expression.
“How was school…”
“Did you go around barefoot again?
“Oops! Th- that.”
“How many times have I told you to wear shoes?”
The pleasure was short-lived, and when Jaegyeom scolded him, Mesani made a sullen face.
“One hundred and twenty-one times…”
No, did he count it? Jaegyeom was dumbfounded at Mesani’s honest answer. As Jaegyeom playfully pulled Mesani by the nose, Mesani squeezed his eyes shut and let out a yelp, “Ah-ya-ya.” It did not even hurt but it stung. The corners of Jaegyeom’s lips went up slightly. He gently stroked the back of Mesani’s head.
“Did you play well?”
At Jaegyeom’s question, Mesani quickly blurted out.
“Yes! A raccoon came to play.”
“Raccoon? Who is this now?”
“He’s a friend I met a few days ago when I went to play in the mountainside.”
“Oh wow. You have many friends.”
As soon as Jaegyeom entered the house, he headed straight for the bathroom. Mesani chased after him. Jaegyeom turned on the water in the sink and started washing his hands thoroughly after pumping some hand wash. The cold pouring water felt good. Mesanie stood next to him like a leech and watched the scene on tiptoes.
Jaegyeom hesitated while washing his hands. The yellow bandage on his index finger rattled. Oh right. This… Jaegyeom recalled the black inchworm he had seen in the library. Would he ever need to use the talismans again? Jaegyeom, lost in thought for a moment, turned off the faucet, shaking off the water from his hands.
“Mesan-ah. Go to the attic and bring a mother-of-pearl box.”
“Yes? My lord, why suddenly?”
“Get it first, I’ll tell you later.”
Mesani nodded his head with a puzzled expression. While he went up to the attic, Jaegyeom left the bathroom and headed to the storage room in the corner of the house.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
There was one more door in the warehouse full of clutter. Jaegyeom shut it on his own, so it was a difficult door to open without Jaegyeom’s spiritual energy. An old rope was wrapped around the doorknob. He closed his eyes for a moment and focused his spiritual energy on his fingertips. Then, the rope that had been bound tightly untied and fell to the floor. The door opened only after the rope was completely untied.
Ktf gbbw, ktlmt tjv yffc cfuifmafv obg j ibcu alwf, kjr fwqas jcv yifjx. Pc atf mfcagf bo atf gbbw, atfgf kjr bcis bcf geras rlinfg mjylcfa atja tjv yffc lcajma obg j ibcu alwf. Ajfusfbw rja vbkc bc atf oibbg jcv qeiifv bea atf rtfjat bo atf rlinfg rkbgv. C rtjgq yijvf fwfgufv ogbw atf geras rmjyyjgv. Ajfusfbw gjlrfv tlr tjcv jcv gfwbnfv atf kfa yjcvjuf.
“My lord, I brought a box of mother-of-pearl…”
Mesani’s eyes widened like a lantern as he entered the room holding a mother-of-pearl box in his arms.
“Give the mother-of-pearl box here, and you go out for a while.”
“My lord, don’t tell me…”
Jaegyeom’s silver sword was driven into the middle of his hand without hesitation.
“I need to write down some talismans.”
***
Dozing off on the bus, Jaegyeom almost missed the stop he was getting off. He had a regular schedule for his boring daily life, where he went to sleep when he was sleepy and woke up when he felt like waking up. At a time that would normally have been in the middle of the night, Jaegyeom wore a school uniform he didn’t even know he had and packed his bag. It would take him a few days to adjust.
When he got off the bus, there were only a few students on the street. It was a bit early for school start time. Jaegyeom, who slept a lot in the morning, was not fully awake. Jaegyeom moved his steps with a gruff face. As he was passing by the convenience store in front of the school, the glass door opened with a jingle of a bell, and the calm and sensual scent of musk hit his nose.
“Oh? Hi.”
The person who greeted him was the young librarian he had seen yesterday. He must have been shopping at a convenience store. The young man was wearing a light blue shirt and slacks that showed his ankles and a suit similar to that of yesterday, but he was wearing white sneakers instead of shoes, so he had a more refreshing appearance than yesterday.
Did you remember his face? Jaegyeom, who hesitated for a moment, only lowered his head. A smile appeared on the young man’s face. As his eyes curved, the frosty impression quickly collapsed in an instant.
“We see each other again.”
“Yes.”
“Do you usually come at this time, friend?”
“Yes, well…”
Jaegyeom replied briefly.
“Really? But why am I seeing you for the first time today?”
Jaegyeom made a sour face. He thought that if he said he had transferred schools, he would be asked where he was from, how his school life was going, and other annoying topics, so he answered roughly. Sure enough, the young man was long-tongued.
“I came to this school for the first time yesterday.”
Jaegyeom reluctantly opened his mouth.
“Oh, so you’re a transfer student?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Somehow, I thought it was a face I hadn’t seen before.”
The surprised young man nodded his head.
“Well, it’s not long since I started working, so I don’t know all the faces of the students. But, friend, no matter how I look at you…”
The young man stopped talking for a moment and stared at Jaegyeom.
“It’s a face that will remain in my memory even in passing.”
What was he talking about.
At the ambiguous words, Jaegyeom made a brusque face. He was about to ask what that meant, but he decided to just leave it. It was fortunate that the topic of school didn’t go on as long as he thought. Jaegyeom’s gaze, which had been staring at the young man, suddenly turned downward. A paper packet was held in the young man’s hand. It was a drink he had just bought from a convenience store. Jaegyeom blinked as he stared at the brand name written on the outside. Berry berry… drinking yogurt? The young man who felt his gaze waved the paper packet.
“Like this?”
“What?”
“This. Drinking yogurt.”
“I haven’t had it.”
“Really? I really like it.”
Whatever…
Jaegyeom glanced at the young man with an indifferent face.
“There are many flavours of kiwi and strawberry, but berry berry is the most delicious.”
The young man put the straw he had brought out at the checkout into a paper packet.
“Want some?”
Jaegyeom refused with a gesture instead of answering. The young man didn’t ask twice, took a straw, strode forward and naturally stood next to Jaegyeom. Somehow, the young man started accompanying him. Silence hung between the two. As he walked without saying a word, he began to see the main gate in the distance.
“Friend, by the way…”
The young man opened his mouth.
“Are you going to go in like that?”
“What?”
Jaegyeom made a puzzled face at the question without knowing the context. The young man opened his palms and patted his chest without saying a word. Jaegyeom, not understanding the young man’s behaviour, faintly frowned.
“What.”
“Aren’t you wearing a tie? Shouldn’t you put it on soon?”
Only then did Jaegyeom notice that he didn’t have a tie, and he straightened up.
“You will get penalty points for not wearing it.”
Jaegyeom frowned and lowered his head.
“Ah… Necktie…”
Somehow, he felt that something was missing. He forgot that he handed over the tie to the vengeful ghost yesterday.
Jaegyeom shared spiritual energy with the vengeful ghost yesterday. It was not because of sympathy or pity for the vengeful ghost. However, he only dimly understood her desperation. He didn’t know what the vengeful ghost’s grudge was, but there was a time when he too was caught in a deep grudge. There was no desire to actively help or get involved in the story of the ghost. However, it was possible to delay the time until her form was broken and her rationale was completely lost. It’s up to the vengeful spirit how to spend that time. He handed it over without much thought because he had to hand over the things he had on his body, but it was a mistake.
The young man raised one eyebrow.
“Did you leave it behind?”
He didn’t leave it behind, it was like giving it to someone else, but whatever. The young man, who was staring at Jaegyeom, who was bewildered, looked around him to the left and right, and then quickly loosened his tie.
“Come on. Before someone sees.”
The young man whispered in a low voice. Jaegyeom looked at the tie the young man handed him with a puzzled face.
“It just so happens that I’m wearing a navy blue tie today, so it’s the same colour.”
Coincidentally, the tie the young man was wearing was the same colour as the school uniform tie. The young man laughed and unbuttoned his shirt that was pulled up to the top of his neck. Two spaces from the top. If he looked prim and proper when he was wearing a tie, he looked more casual now.
“Hurry up and put it on, what if someone sees and tells on you? That the librarian lent you a tie.”
The young man said in a playful voice. It was a very far-fetched statement, but when the young man said it like that, he felt agitated for some reason. Jaegyeom looked around a little embarrassed. Students wearing the same school uniform passed by the young man and Jaegyeom, glancing at them. As time went by, the number of people going to school was increasing. Jaegyeom hesitantly accepted the tie.
“When you accumulate penalty points, it’s not good. The school here is very strict.”
When Jaegyeom hesitated, the young man gave him a little scare. And then he casually took a bite out of the straw like he was saying it was not his business. The tie he received from the young man had a faint scent. Jaegyeom hesitated and looked at the young man.
“…”
There was a crack in the boy’s face, who had always looked apathetic and sullen.
“There, go to that corner and tie it up.”
The opportunity came sooner than expected, and Yoon Taehee felt a little happy.
“Then I’ll be going first.”
Yoon Taehee whispered in Jaegyeom’s ear and tried to get out of the seat.
“Hey.”
Jaegyeom grabbed the young man’s arm without realising it. He felt a strong arm through his shirt. Yoon Taehee moved closer to Jaegyeom with a puzzled face. The strangely sensual smell of perfume also narrowed the distance and penetrated deeply. Jaegyeom hesitated for a long time, not being able to tell him what he was doing even after holding onto him.
Yoon Taehee, who looked down at Jaegyeom in silence, asked.
“What?”
Jaegyeom frowned and murmured.
“How do I tie this… ?”
He already knew Jaegyeom gave his tie to ghost. Our male lead is very strategic.
Hehehe! 🧡🧡
Lmao I kinda expected it （ ・∀・）but does he know how to tie his shoes tho
Taehee: What if I told you I’m mastermind?