“The reason I didn’t notice him until you told me was because he became a part of nature on this mountain. Like if you point out a single stone or a tree here, it would be difficult to recognize it at once.”
The reason Lee Youngshin was able to point out the wild ginseng child easily was probably because he was the one who had been watching him from the beginning. Yoon Taehee continued his words in a nonchalant tone.
“No way… how do you know that?”
“Look closely at his feet on the ground.”
Lee Youngshin and other exorcists began to examine the boy’s feet like obedient children. Yoon Taehee, taking a few steps back, was staring at the child with both hands in his pockets. A light of admiration flashed in the eyes of the exorcists.
“It’s true. They’re not on the ground, they’re connected like roots.”
Lee Youngshin’s eyes widened. He thought he had hardened and become heavy, but how could it be that he had become a part of nature… However, it was a wild ginseng child, not just anyone else. Wild ginseng children, originally born to protect the mountain and serve the mountain god, might be able to do so.
“Unless we lift the entire mountain, we won’t be able to move him.”
At Yoon Taehee’s words, the exorcist exchanged serious looks.
“That’s right, even though we used spiritual energy, he didn’t even budge.”
“How is that possible? Even we can’t move mountains.”
Lee Youngshin burst into laughter. So, to sum up the situation, it means that they were struggling to move something that was no different from a rock the size of a house or a tree with endless roots, or perhaps the entire mountain.
“But why did he suddenly take root in the mountains?”
“Right, you were definitely on your way to Seoul.”
The exorcist questioned Lee Youngshin. It was the same for him; he couldn’t figure out why. He also raised his eyebrows and shook his head to no avail. They came to the mountain for the child to receive energy since his energy of the mountain was exhausted, but why did he…
“Why?”
At that time, Yoon Taehee smirked with a ridiculous expression. It was as if he was asking him if he really didn’t know. Lee Youngshin looked at Yoon Taehee with a puzzled face, questioning for an explanation.
“He noticed that the person taking him was an asshole.”
The gazes of the exorcists all turned to Yoon Taehee.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Lee Youngshin opened his mouth with a hurt face.
“Wh- what asshole. Hey, even if you say…”
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.
But there was no time to be sad. As Yoon Taehee said, the ginseng child noticed something, he had no idea when, where, or how he knew. They were definitely singing Ponyo passionately and the atmosphere was good until they were at the rest area.
“Ktfc ktja cbk? Qf tjnf ab ajxf tlw ab Rjgsfmtfbcu…”
Ycf bo atfw rjlv klat j afjgoei ojmf. Ds atlr qblca, Off Tbecurtlc jcv batfg fzbgmlrar kfgf bcis ibbxlcu ja Tbbc Kjftff. Ktfs tjv cb vbeya atja atf tfjv bo atf Szbgmlrw Gfqjgawfca kbeiv vfolclafis vb rbwfatlcu.
“Tbe tjnf ab ifa tlw wbnf ys tlwrfio.”
However, Yoon Taehee’s answer was carefree. Then, the faces of the exorcists became devastated. It sounded like a call to give up on the wild ginseng child. Furthermore, it seemed that the child could neither see nor hear anything.
“I- I know we’re assholes, but that’s not…”
“Hey, Manager Park, why are we assholes?”
“Honestly, from the child’s point of view, it’s not wrong.”
“Ah, Chief Lee. What should we do? We’re screwed.”
Frustrated, Manager Shin tore his hair.
“Chief, shall we just report to the situation room?”
“It might be better to hand it over to the headquarters rather than leave it as it is.”
“The headquarters will do something somehow.”
“Guys, what are you talking about? No way.”
Lee Youngshin was foaming at the mouth and renounced.
“We’re fucked. It’s over now!”
“Let’s not fight. Let’s shout a chant.”
“What chant in the midst of this! You do it yourself.”
“How does love change? Our love is forever!”
The team, famous for its tight unity, faced an unexpected crisis. Silently watching the ugly scene, Yoon Taehee stuck his hands in his pockets and crossed his legs.
“…”
He quietly glanced sideways at the child. The child’s face was nothing but calm. But somehow, he had an intuitive conviction that he was listening to everything. Yoon Taehee observed him with a tenacious gaze.
“Ah, ah! Wait!”
Manager Park raised his hand. Then the clamor ceased. Everyone paid attention to him. Of course, Yoon Taehee’s eyes were still on the boy.
“Basically he’s no different from a tree once he’s rooted, right?”
Manager Park shouted with a bright face.
“Then wouldn’t it work to cut off the bottom with an axe?”
Beyond his mask, Yoon Taehee’s face hardened coldly. He turned his head very slowly, as if in slow motion, and stared at Manager Park. The expression on the distorted mask was bizarre.
“If we can’t uproot it, just cut it off… !”
Manager Park added his words with his eyes shining.
“So now… you’re saying to cut off his ankles?”
Lee Youngshin cut off his words with an absurd face.
“Yes. Isn’t he just like a tree?”
“That sounds true. After all, the wild ginseng child is technically a plant.”
“Ah! I have an axe in my bag. Can I get it out right now?”
The exorcist gabbled and agreed with Manager Park’s opinion. One of them dragged a luggage bag. Lee Youngshin, who was standing with an agitated expression, expressed disapproval in a hesitant voice.
“Hey… Even so, such a small and young child…”
“Ah, Chief. What. Did you get attached?”
“Only his appearance is child-like. He must have lived longer than we did.”
As if there was nothing wrong, the exorcists shrugged and exchanged glances with each other. t was frustrating to see the man who would normally be the first to pick up an axe get so emotional
At that time, Manager Shin suddenly opened his mouth.
“What do you think, Chief Yoon?”
All the exorcists looked at Yoon Taehee with eyes seeking advice. Yoon Taehee, who had been standing in a crooked posture in silence the entire time, took his hands out of his pockets and adjusted his mask. With the mask on his face, they couldn’t tell what expression he was making.
“… Well.”
After a while, Yoon Taehee slowly opened his mouth.
“It’s a very exorcist-like idea.”
It was an evasive voice. The exorcists’ faces brightened at the ambiguous answer. Yoon Taehee did not express any affirmation or denial, but the exorcists nodded their heads as if to say “See!”, and drove Lee Youngshin on.
“Did you hear him? Chief, let’s shout like an exorcist!”
“If there is any possibility, we should try it.”
Lee Youngshin looked at Yoon Taehee with a grim face. Deep down, he wanted Yoon Taehee to dissuade them. It was a little embarrassing to try and stop them, and if he let them be, the moment he and the child passionately sang Ponyo kept coming back to him.
Manager Shin started to rummage through his bag. In the large luggage bag he had carried up from the bottom of the mountain, there was a lot of equipment. Lee Youngshin had only the minimum necessary equipment in his hip-sack, but there was nothing missing in the luggage bag brought by the exorcists. Manager Shin picked out his axe and moved toward the child.
“Ugh, I can’t look…”
Lee Youngshin squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in his arms. He knew that he was a child only by appearance, but he had no confidence to see the scene. Led by the Manager Shin holding an axe, the exorcists surrounded the boy. Whether or not he was aware of this situation, he was still motionless and had an unchangingly calm face.
Just when Manager Shin, who had settled in position, raised the axe,
“Wait a moment.”
Yoon Taehee, who was standing at a distance, opened his mouth briefly. Manager Shin paused while holding the axe. After standing silently for a while, Yoon Taehee sighed softly and touched his earlobe.
“Chief Yoon, what’s wrong?”
The exorcists’ eyes were wide as they looked at the mask.
“I will do it, give me the axe.”
“… Yes?”
Yoon Taehee walked over and held out his hand. It was not necessary for the chief to come forward himself. When Yoon Taehee volunteered to do the hard work, Manager Shin was flustered and tried to dissuade him.
“Chief Yoon, we can just…”
However, Yoon Taehee did not speak twice, only waving his empty hand. Under unspoken pressure, Manager Shin eventually politely handed over the axe. Lee Youngshin, who had been burying his face in his arm, blinked.
“Youngshin.”
“Uh- uh.”
“Move away for a moment.”
Looking through the sharpened axe, Yoon Taehee muttered in a detached tone. What was this all of a sudden? Lee Youngshin looked at his teammates with a puzzled face.
“All of you, too.”
Yoon Taehee added briefly.
“Ch- Chief Yoon, why are you doing this…”
“Since you called for help, I’d like you to close your mouth and do what I tell you to do. Now, you can help by stepping aside.”
Lee Youngshin’s gaze became quite serious at the unexpected command. Their eyes met over the mask. He, who had been staring at Yoon Taehee for a while, finally looked back at the exorcists with an expressionless face, and then nodded. It was a signal to follow Yoon Taehee’s will.
He led the team’s exorcists and took their place behind the densely wooded area. Yoon Taehee, who confirmed that their presence was far away, approached the child. A quiet silence descended. He bent down with the axe in his hand.
“Child, hello.”
Yoon Taehee put both hands on the ax that touched the ground and put his weight on it comfortably. Looking closely at the boy who did not respond even when he greeted him, he whispered in a small voice.
“I know you are listening.”
Beyond the mask, he smiled.
Thank you! YT has a chance to redeem his mistake.
Imagine Jaegyeom arrives just in time to see YT holding an axe about to cut Mesani down
That would be hilarious 😆
The most possible plot ever 😂
YT please don’t do anything stupid I’m begging now 😭
Now what?! 👀
Dang, exorcist are really…unique. That’s probably why they don’t have friends outside their field.