It is said that when a given life is exhausted and death is reached, the body returns to the earth and becomes dust, and the soul trapped in the body is scattered to the sky. Just before death, a clear, bluish light emanates from the body, which people have called ‘soul fire’ from ancient times.
People prayed for the soul of the deceased with their hands clasped together whenever people witnessed this soul fire, mourning for its long journey. However, there are always things that go against the providence. Not all soul fires ascended to heaven.
Occasionally, instead of ascending to heaven, there was a case in which they got stuck to the earth. When the soul fire, that should ascend to heaven, is bound to this world, it itself becomes the remnants of life and the seed of misfortune. Thereafter, the ominous seed finally sprouts an otherworldly creature (異物) that was deviant. It was the existence of a ‘ghost’.
.
.
.
If mountains and rivers stained with darkness were the territory of ghosts, the ritual (narye) was a torch that drove away the darkness. Whenever a ritual was held, Bangsangsi was always at the center of it, and its appearance was indescribably bizarre, and anyone could not help but marvel when he appeared in front of the audience.
He was clad in a bearskin, red robes and a black skirt, and his face was always covered with a grotesque mask, so nothing is known about his appearance. There were as many as four eyes engraved on the mask, and the color was like gold, hence he was also called the Golden Four-Eyes (黃金四目).
His face was the mask, and the mask was the source of his power.
The golden eyes could see the names engraved on the souls, and it was said that if Bangsangsi called out the name of the soul three times in a row, the soul would become a soul fire and ascend to heaven. That absolute invocation brought death to the living and ascension to the dead. There was nothing short of correcting the countercurrent of providence, and it set all things in order.
The power to guide soul fires, that was the power of Bangsangsi.
— Excerpts from Kunasejeon (驅儺世傳)
***
That day, Jaegyeom said.
“I meant it when I told you to leave.”
These were the words he said as soon as he saw Jeongju waiting at the front door. Even before he heard that, Jeongju was already in a state of shock. Jaegyeom, who had just returned home after going out with Mesani, had an obviously depressed face. Jeongju had never seen him cry before.
“In the first place, I never asked you to live with me or stay with me.”
Jaegyeom instantly brought up the topic that Jeongju and Mesani had been putting off for a while.
He told them both to leave. That was his wish.
“I didn’t ask you to come, but you guys came of your own accord.”
The tip of Jaegyeom’s nose and the corners of his eyes were red. Not to mention his puffy eyes. Until he left the house, Jaegyeom, who had been the same as usual, had a strange face that had never been seen before.
“Somehow, we ended up living like this, but I’ve never thought that I want to continue living together, I don’t want to break up, things like that.”
Jaegyeom mulled it over for a long time, and poured out the words with tears as if he were vomiting out the contents he had chewed.
“Then it will be so sad.”
Saying so, Jaegyeom wiped the remaining tears from his face.
“It will be so sad later, I…”
He remembered the first time they met. He met each of them at different times, but their behaviors were similar: they both followed him around relentlessly. He couldn’t be bothered to chase them away and thought they would grow apart on their own, so he left it as it was, and before he knew it, they were quietly planted next to him.
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.
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And the reason he kept them by his side later became the reason he told them to leave. At first, he didn’t think this lifestyle was a big deal, thinking that it would be just for a while anyway. Then, suddenly, he felt a sense of crisis. It was from that moment when he realized that he, who was used to being alone, had become accustomed to the scene where the three of them were together.
Later on, he would definitely be alone.
This deeply embedded thought drove Jaegyeom away from the two. Without realizing it, he had drifted away. It shouldn’t have been any more special. To be for each other, sacrifice for each other, and need each other, they shouldn’t have.
Jaegyeom thought that they should be sent back to their respective places, sooner rather than later. However, on the day Yoon Taehee threatened Jeongju by mentioning him, and he returned home and found Mesani was gone, he sat idly in the messy living room and thought about it.
That it was already too late.
It would have been much better if both Jeongju and Mesani were really ‘just acquaintances’. If that were the case, Jaegyeom wouldn’t have cried today. But there was nothing he could do now.
“But, I won’t tell you to leave now.”
If you can’t keep it, throw it away, and if you can’t throw it away, keep it.
This was the boy’s conclusion.
“You didn’t come because I asked you to come, so I won’t ask you to go either.”
As time went by, Jeongju and Mesani would disappear one day. in any way. Thus, the youthful-faced boy decided to accept the upcoming farewell with determination.
Let’s not be afraid about what’s to come that will eventually be left behind.
“You can leave anytime instead. Like how you came as you came, go as you go.”
When that day comes, he would wave his hand until the back of their heads disappeared.
“Even if I couldn’t welcome you when I came, I’ll greet you when I go.”
After saying that, Jaegyeom raised the corner of his mouth sourly. It was a boyish laugh. Jeongju stood there blankly for a long time with a bewildered face.
Jeongju realized that at this moment, for the first time, everything had returned to its original place. It was the moment when he saw Jaegyeom who was completely different from usual. A beat later, tears began to fill Jeongju’s eyes.
The boy took his wish back.
***
The small two-story house located at the foot of the mountain had been preparing for moving some time ago. Two days have passed since Jaegyeom, who had been wandering between the borders of death in the aftermath of the runaway, regained consciousness. Since then, Jeongju has been diligently looking for a new place to move to, collecting information from all over the place.
The proposal to move house was quite sudden, but Jaegyeom meekly nodded. It was because he also had the opinion that this house was no longer safe. As soon as the house to be moved to was decided, the preparations were already finished so that they could leave immediately.
However, finding a new place to live was much more difficult than expected. It had to be around the mountain because Mesani had to take in the spirit, and the house had to come with a large garden. Also, since they wanted it to be at a location as sparsely populated as possible, the conditions were difficult in many ways.
It was not easy to find a house that met all these conditions in a short time. When they found a good place and contacted them, they would be frustrated by the fact that the house wasn’t available after a few days. Jeongju felt as if his insides were burning.
He, who had not slept for two days thanks to this, was sitting on the sofa in the living room early in the morning. He didn’t even notice Jaegyeom coming out of the room as he took turns looking at the extra cell phone he had brought with him with bloodshot eyes. Jaegyeom had slept so soundly all night that his head was like a magpie’s nest. Heading to the kitchen, he wandered near the table.
Jaegyeom opened the cupboard with a familiar hand and took out a cup noodle.
It was only then that Jeongju noticed his presence and approached him with surprised eyes. “When did you come out?” He looked at the cup noodles in Jaegyeom’s hand, and offered to make a proper breakfast. However, Jaegyeom reacted harshly, asking how he was going to accept a meal when Jeongju’s face was haggard.
“Wash your feet and go to sleep.”
As he told him off, Jaegyeom poured hot water.
“I want to do that too, but I can’t sleep because I’m worried…”
“You don’t have to worry.”
Jeongju made a puzzled face at the clear and consistent answer.
“How can I not worry?”
“I said it would be fine for a while.”
Jaegyeom answered without the context, but Jeongju immediately understood who he was referring to; that the exorcists would not be able to move for a month. It was a message from Yoon Taehee, who came and went while Jaegyeom was wandering between life and death. Mesani conveyed his words, and he seemed to take it all in as he listened dryly.
“You don’t really believe what he says, do you?”
Jeongju leaned in with a serious expression.
“But it’s true that nothing has happened for several days.”
Unlike the impatient Jeongju, Jaegyeom was carefree. Yoon Taehee’s words made sense. Of course, since he shot the arrows, it would be difficult for them to move their bodies for a while, and even if they recovered, it would be difficult to track him down because Yoon Taehee erased their memory. If he left this house, it would not be easy to find his whereabouts.
“No, but Jaegyeom-ah, what the heck does that person do?”
Jeongju had heard the general gist of what had happened. However, only Yoon Taehee was difficult to pin down. Mesani said he wasn’t a bad person, but Jeongju thought differently. He was not as naive as Mesani. He may have helped, but he was also an exorcist anyway. There must have been a reason why Jaegyeom didn’t use his hands at the end, but even so, Jeongju was not letting his guard down.
“I told you. Exorcist who infiltrated as a school librarian.”
Jaegyeom mumbled nonchalantly.
“Is that all?” Jeongju asked with a suspicious expression.
Yoon Taehee, who said he would come back when Jaegyeom woke up, hadn’t been heard from for several days. All Jeongju knew about him was that he was an exorcist, who had infiltrated as the school librarian, and that he had requested Jaegyeom to be an exorcist.
“… That’s all.”
Because Jaegyeom only told him that much.
He did not tell him that Yoon Taehee threatened him, why he asked him to become exorcist, and that he was planning to destroy Naryecheong. Mesani, who was there with him, was also shut up. It was based on the judgment that it was not a thing to be taken lightly, whether that be true or false.
“I hate him.”
Jeongju muttered with a pouty face.
With this incident, Jeongju realized that he was walking through a minefield. He had heard of Naryecheong, but did not know the details. Naryecheong, which once disappeared, had been rebuilt in modern times, and there were gwijaes working as exorcists. He never dreamed that he would be involved like this. It was the first time he knew that there were many exorcists in the industry.
“Are you the only one who hates him? I hate that bastard too.”
Jaegyeom rummaged through cup noodles and casually agreed.
“Something doesn’t feel right. You know I have good senses, right?”
Jeongju whispered, lowering his voice. Jaegyeom nodded without saying anything. It was true. Even though he only talked roughly, Jeongju was more conscious of Yoon Taehee than necessary and showed a sense of rejection. An intuition that sensed a threat. The nature of a fox didn’t seem to be going anywhere.
“I know. Go get some sleep, please.”
Jaegyeom said in an annoyed tone.
“Why do you insist on me going to sleep? Do I look that bad?”
“If you don’t believe me, go ask Mesani.”
Jaegyeom pointed outside with his chin. Beyond the large sliding window, the sky above the fence was clear. Mesani has been busily walking around the yard since morning and eating dew. The sun was shining through the corner of the yard. When he was told that he was moving, Mesani stayed in the yard much longer than usual, perhaps because he felt sorrowful for leaving his beloved home.
“There is no need to be frightened by something that hasn’t happened yet.”
Jaegyeom muttered as he stared at the scenery outside.
“If you look for it, there must be at least one house for a family of three.”
After leaving a nonchalant line, Jaegyeom turned his attention to eating.
“…”
Jeongju blinked, bewildered. Family of three. Words that were said insignificantly remained in his ears like echoes.
During the years of living together, Jaegyeom rarely talked about the three of them together. Jaegyeom always said ‘you’ instead of ‘we’. It wasn’t intentionally drawing a line. He used those words unconsciously because he really thought so. But ‘family’…
“What?”
Jaegyeom squinted one eye as Jeongju made a strange face. Coming to his senses, he shook his head and said awkwardly.
“Uh, huh? Nothing…”
Jaegyeom made a doubtful face for a moment, then focused on eating again. He had already prepared cold rice and cup noodles in an instant. Jeongju stared at him eating with a warm look.
The corners of his mouth were about to go up, so he averted his eyes and managed his expression. This was where the talent of an actor came into play. His pale face suddenly brightened slightly.
“But Jaegyeom, why did you wake up so early today?”
Come to think of it, Jaegyeom, who usually slept a lot in the morning, tended to wake up only when the sun rose to the middle of the sky unless someone woke him up, so it seemed strange to see him up and eating so early in the morning.
At that, he stopped raising his spoon and raised his head.
“Well…”
As if he was being asked the obvious, Jaegyeom answered with one eyebrow raised.
“Because it’s time to go to school.”
Tyty. Still in the boring bit eh? Lol
Haven’t seen the ml for quite a few chaps now. Thanks for the update!
Family of three <3 Guess they meet again in the library! Thank you!
I’m kinda missing Yoon Taehee… It feels lonely 😔
Thank you
Thanks 😊
The first excerpt is so interesting. Is it ridiculous that I think it’s foreshadowing? The mask and the soul that can’t ascend…Well, I’m not very good deciphering Easter eggs
I also think this family of three is so precious. I hope we can see more of them(and eventually, Yoon Taehee could be there too)