After driving for some twenty minutes, they arrived at their destination. Kang Yibin parked her car in a lot near Jongmyo Shrine. They had to walk for a while from there. Walking side by side with Jaegyeom, Kang Yibin briefly explained the location of Naryecheong.
“Isn’t it strange that the headquarters are inside Jongmyo?”
Jaegyeom nodded quietly.
Soon after, a large tiled wall stretched out before them. Finally, the outer gate of Jongmyo Shrine appeared. Visitors with cameras gathered near the entrance. This was the shrine of the Joseon royal family where ancestral rites were held… Now even regular people could come and go. No one would have even imagined it in the past… Jaegyeom felt a sense of alienation, and it was a strange feeling indeed.
At that time, Kang Yibin quietly whispered to Jaegyeom, who was standing there blankly.
“Jaegyeom! Watch how you will go to work from now on.”
Exorcists usually go to work only after darkness fell and Jongmyo Shrine was closed to visitors. However, depending on the situation, it was common to enter the office during the day like today. When Jongmyo Shrine was open, there were many eyes, so they had to enter normally.
Kang Yibin first led Jaegyeom to the ticket office located on the right. Following the crowd of spectators who wanted to buy tickets, they stood in line. As their turn approached, Kang Yibin pulled out her purse, just like everyone else before her.
“Free admission. Two people.”
The clerk sitting at the ticket counter raised their eyes and then opened their mouth in a casual tone.
“ID.”
Kang Yibin started rummaging through her wallet as if she had been waiting. As Jaegyeom, who did not have an ID, looked at her with a puzzled expression, she took something out of her wallet and handed it to the employee. What Kang Yibin gave was her T-money card, not her ID.
“…”
The staff looked at the wrong card given by Kang Yibin and handed over two tickets.
“You are eligible for free admission. Here you go.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Kang Yibin accepted the tickets and paid a greeting casually. Then she turned to Jaegyeom, “Come on, let’s go.” as she cheerfully pushed Jaegyeom’s back. Confused, Jaegyeom, who had been standing with a bewildered face, hesitantly followed.
As they walked to the outer gate of Jongmyo Shrine, he saw dozens of visitors waiting. She presented their tickets to the ticket checker standing at the entrance. Then, the ticket inspector opened his mouth in a businesslike tone.
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.
“You can enter right away.”
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“These are the officials who came out on a field trip.”
The boy in the yellow shirt didn’t look anything like the word ‘official’… but the visitor turned away in disbelief. Kang Yibin confidently grabbed Jaegyeom’s arm and pulled him. “Then, have a pleasant time at work.” In this way, the two officials were able to pass through the outer gate and safely enter the Jongmyo Shrine.
“Jongmyo is only open for half-day. General visitors can only enter at a set time, once an hour. This is how we go to work when Jongmyo Shrine is open.”
Kang Yibin muttered an explanation into Jaegyeom’s ear. Now his confusion was cleared up. So that’s what everyone was waiting for. Jaegyeom looked around with curious eyes. Kang Yibin guided Jaegyeom in the direction where the lights were not turned on.
“Also, the general public must be accompanied by a guide when visiting the museum. There is a path for the guide, so we just need to avoid the path and enter the shrine.”
At Kang Yibin’s words, Jaegyeom’s gaze turned to one place. A group of spectators followed a narrator in the distance. Obviously, it’s easier to avoid people if they avoided the path.
“Did the exorcists deliberately decide that because of that?”
Jaegyeom opened his mouth slightly.
“That’s right. We don’t want to be seen. Oh, but on Saturdays, you can enter anytime and you are free to look around without a guide. The general public is just wandering around, so if you enter, you won’t be noticed. It’s much better. That’s why I always go to work in the evening on Saturday.”
Jaegyeom was surprised by Kang Yibin’s explanation. He finally understood what Yoon Taehee said, ‘You don’t know what Naryecheong is like.’ Naryecheong, a state institution, was operating under a covert system. Restricting viewing was partly about security and partly about making it easier for exorcists to get in and out.
“Now, this here is blacked out.”
Kang Yibin climbed the stairs of the main hall with Jaegyeom. The elongated halls looked majestic even at a glance. She stood in front of the 20th column leading to Naryecheong. After lightly checking the presence of people around her, she inserted her access key from around her neck into the gap.
“Ta-da, this is Naryecheong.”
When the door opened, Jaegyeom’s eyes widened. He had not expected that there would be such a spacious and modern space in an old building.
“Manager Kang. Hello.”
“Oh, Yibin. You’re here?”
The exorcist, who recognized Kang Yibin, passed his greetings. Overwhelmed by the unfamiliar atmosphere, Jaegyeom froze in a daze. “Surprised?” She smiled and patted Jaegyeom on the shoulder. Jaegyeom held the men’s cross-body bag tightly to his chest. It felt strange to think that all these normal-looking people were exorcists. Everyone he could see was wearing a suit. Jaegyeom was the only one wearing comfortable clothes.
“Come on, relax! I’ll give you a tour of the headquarters later. The test starts at 2 o’clock, so we don’t have much time right now. We can’t be late, so let’s go.”
Kang Yibin, who was checking the time, hurriedly led Jaegyeom to the annex. Jaegyeom, who was following her while looking around the lobby of his main office, suddenly spoke up with a question.
“Hey, what kind of test am I taking?”
‘Eh?’ Kang Yibin stopped with a surprised expression.
“Did you come here knowing nothing?”
Jaegyeom nodded his head slowly with an affirmation.
“Chief Yoon didn’t tell you?”
“He just said it was just a rite of passage.”
‘Oh my. Just a rite of passage?’ It was really like Chief Yoon to say something like that, so she let out a laugh. It was an arrogant and unkind explanation, as if he was confidently saying, ‘he’s the one I brought, so he can’t fail’. Of course, Kang Yibin thought so too. After all, he was a gwijae whom Chief Yoon designated as his successor. But even so, he should have explained it properly to the person concerned…
Looking around, she dragged Jaegyeom to a corner.
“First of all, there are two routes to enter the office.”
She spread out her fingers and quickly continued.
“One is to apply as a trainee ‘Chorani’ and go through a two-year training period, and the other is to apply after receiving recommendations from existing exorcists. Jaegyeom, you are the latter case. Because Chief Yoon personally nominated you. You know what I mean?”
Chorani were regularly recruited once a year through the Undercover Department, and since any gwijae can become a Chorani, many of them lack basic skills or have only had their eyes just opened. They would develop their skills over two years.
On the other hand, the exorcists have the authority to appoint external persons when they have served for more than 5 years. If they judged that someone was a gwijae who already had some ability, they could recommend direct entry. Recommended applicants did not have to go through a Chorani period.
“To officially become an exorcist, you have to pass two tests. After serving two years of Chorani, you will be qualified to take the first exam. However, recommended applicants can directly take the first test without going through the period.”
Jaegyeom rolled his eyes around as he digested Kang Yibin’s explanation.
“Jaegyeom, the test you are going to take today is the first test. Those who pass the first test will work as the team’s ‘apprentice’ for three months.”
It was rare for a recommended applicant to fail in the first test. This was because passing the first test was easy if one had more than a certain level of ability. It was for that reason that Chief Yoon said it was a “rite of passage.”
Kang Yibin, who led the way up step by step, grabbed Jaegyeom’s wrist and urged him on his way. As they climbed the stairs, a wide aisle unfolded. The annex was just around the corner from here.
“Go, come back as the maknae* of Team 1 of the Exorcism Department.”
*Affectionately referring to the youngest person in a team.
Kang Yibin, who finished the crash introduction course successfully, patted Jaegyeom on the back and smiled.
***
Upon entering the annex, Jaegyeom saw a man standing in front of a large door under a sign reading ‘The 3rd Conference Room’, looking through some papers. Like the people he saw in the lobby, he was in a suit. He looked up to notice Jaegyeom standing at the end of the hallway and gestured.
“Are you here for the test? Come this way.”
The unfamiliar exorcist went through the papers and asked for his name.
“Your name?”
“Kim Jaegyeom.”
The exorcist found Jaegyeom’s name, marked it with something, and handed over a number tag. The tag Jaegyeom received was number 77. The exorcist yawned and opened the door to the third meeting room.
“The number tag can be worn on the left chest. Please enter the room immediately.”
He looked tired, and he waved his hand at Jaegyeom.
“From 1 to 10. 11 through 20… Sit in a row of ten, from right to left, in numerical order. Excuse me, this is the very last line.”
The tired exorcist immediately closed the door after showing him his seat. Jaegyeom looked around the inside of the third meeting room with a slightly startled face. Yoon Taehee said that there would definitely be “a few” new recruits. However, what Jaegyeom saw was a large number of people, more than dozens.
How can this be ‘a few’ people…
Thank you! I am super excited for the test and what it will entail.
I didn’t get a notification 😭😭can’t wait for jaegyeom to shock them all
Hey can I please know what couple you have as your profile its so cute 🥹
i think its just original art!
@ddc28uix
on twitter
I’m starting to feel nervous for him…even though he’s probably one of the best in the whole building
Jaegyeom the maknae hahaha