In the second stage, an exorcist from the Ceremonial Instruments Department participated as a supervisor.
The test involved putting one’s hand into an invisible jar and pulling out a ball they caught. The first stage tested how much one’s eyes were opened, and the second stage tested how many other senses, other than sight, were opened.
The range of sensations varied depending on the degree to which the senses were opened. Hearing, smell, and touch were expanded in that order. For example, when you encounter a ghost, you could hear its voice, smell it, and even touch it with your hands. If you sharpen your senses, it was possible to feel someone’s spirit or recognize their presence.
The balls in the jar were manufactured by the Ceremonial Instruments Department and were made of three different materials. It was rubber, wood, and iron. The rubber ball could be caught in the hands of those whose senses were clouded, the wooden ball could be caught in the hands of those whose senses were moderately open, and the iron ball could be caught in the hands of those whose senses were properly open. In the second stage, those who could not retrieve the rubber ball were eliminated.
In the third stage, an exorcist of the Talisman Department participated as a supervisor.
Stage three was a test to see how skillfully one could handle spiritual energy. The method of examining was to write on a stone tablet given to each individual. The square slabs were engraved with scripture passages in Chinese characters, which had to be traced with an ink brush into the indentations.
The key to the test was the ink brush. This was because this brush had to be loaded with spiritual energy to be coated with ink. If you use a brush without using any traces of spiritual energy, only transparent marks of water will appear. On the other hand, if the spiritual energy was overflowing, it would drip with ink.
It was important to load the spiritual energy with neither too much nor too little. In order to fill in the stone slab, the amount of ink must be controlled, and to do so, one must be familiar with the spiritual energy. Those who failed in stage three were those whose writing was difficult to read due to blurry or smeared ink.
While the second and third stages of the test were in progress, Jaegyeom, who received a golden number tag, moved to the first conference room under the guidance of the tired exorcist. After all the exams were over, an orientation was scheduled to take place here.
While Jaegyeom was sitting in the conference room waiting for the exam to end, in the large conference room, the lights were turned on only in front of where Jaegyeom sat. It felt pleasant to be exempted from the rest of the exam, but he was very bored sitting still with nothing to do.
He unzipped and unzipped the crossbody bag he was wearing on his chest, repeating the meaningless actions. Then, he suddenly thought of Yoon Taehee. According to Kang Yibin, Yoon Taehee was currently working outside. She also said that he was very busy. Apparently, he would not be back at the headquarters until late at night, and it would be difficult to see him today.
Hmm… Jaegyeom’s hand opening and closing the zipper slowed down.
He rolled his eyes around for a moment and took out his phone from his cross bag, thinking that perhaps Yoon Taehee might have contacted him. For instance, whether he had arrived at Naryecheong safely or if the exam was over.
However, when he checked his phone, there was not a single sign of a call or text.
“…”
Jaegyeom touched his lips. Since he and Yoon Taehee became partners, wouldn’t it be necessary to tell him how things were going on this side? In fact, he was a bit bored and wanted to do something. Jaegyeom clicked on the text box as he read through the messages Yoon Taehee had sent before.
Soon, he started typing with a clumsy hand.
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.
It was to let him know that he passed the test. Jaegyeom concentrated and composed the letters together step by step. He planned to send it saying, ‘I passed the exam.’ After a desperate struggle, he barely completed typing the word ‘tesst’, but his hand stopped.
Ca atja wbwfca, Vtlw Blpecu’r nblmf revvfcis oibjafv lc tlr fjgr.
‘Ktfgf kjr jirb Jtlfo Tbbc Kjftff bo atf Szbgmlrw Gfqjgawfca.’
‘Jtliv, afii tlw sbe rjk j vffg abb.’
Jbwf ab atlcx bo la, rtf rjlv atja Tbbc Kjftff jirb rjk j vffg…
Vtlw Blpecu qgjlrfv Ajfusfbw’r ajifca jcv rjlv atja lc jii bo Rjgsfmtfbcu, ofkfg atjc 20 qfbqif tjv rffc vffg. Rbk, tf kjr lcmievfv lc atja cewyfg. Lf kbcvfgfv lo tf rtbeiv afii tlw tf rjk vffg abb. Coafg mbcafwqijalcu la obg j ktlif, Ajfusfbw vfmlvfv ab mbcalcef atf ifaafgr atja tjv rabqqfv lc atf wlvvif. Lf kjr rbwftbk fwyjggjrrfv ab rjs atja tf tjv rffc vffg. Pa kjr lwqbgajca obg tlw ab mbcnfs wjaafgr rlwqis.
[I pa sed the test.]
He sent the carefully written message.
Afterwards, Jaegyeom put his phone on the table, chewed his lips, and waited for a reply. Not long after, ding! The screen brightened with the sound. He thought he might have been extremely busy and didn’t have time to contact him, but the other’s response was faster than he expected.
Jaegyeom quickly picked up his phone.
[As expected… ㅎㅎ]
The corners of Jaegyeom’s eyes lifted up.
“…”
That’s it? Now that he saw it, it’s not that Yoon Taehee didn’t contact him because he was busy, but it seemed that he was so carefree about the situation that he didn’t feel the need to contact him. He really took Jaegyeom’s acceptance for granted.
Although it was an easy level of difficulty, more than half failed in the first stage. Among over 70 people, he was the only one who was exempted from stage two and three. It was him, not anyone else, who passed the test! And with flying colors at that.
For some reason, Jaegyeom was dissatisfied with Yoon Taehee’s reaction. When Yoon Taehee brushed it off with two words, ‘As expected,’ Jaegyeom felt a twinge of sarcasm for some reason. It was true that he passed easily, but there were some minor ups and downs in his opinion. Jaegyeom glared at the screen and composed another message.
[I sa w deer too.]
Ding! Immediately, a new speech bubble appeared from the other side.
[How sexy]
Jaegyeom, who was quietly looking at the contents, raised one of his eyebrows crookedly.
“Sexy… ?”
A weakness was his was foreign words, somewhat. Of course, that didn’t mean he was completely ignorant. He was vaguely familiar with those foreign words that were so commonly used that there was no substitute for them, like shampoo, coffee, games, shower, handphone, couple, etc.
The reason he was even able to catch up to this level was because he was fully integrated into modern society. As he lived with modern people, he learned it naturally. Of course, as he gained more experience watching TV like a homebody, the influence he picked up in his spare time was also tremendous. Since he had been exposed to Korean characters for a long time, he was able to learn it quickly.
But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t recall what the word ‘sexy’ meant. He might have heard it on the TV a few times, and it felt strangely familiar… Since it came as a response to the news that he passed in first place, in the end, he somewhat came to the conclusion it was probably meant as a compliment. Jaegyeom was lost in thought for a moment and typed a reply.
[Wat si sexy.]
He made many guesses and concluded by simply asking the question directly. Not knowing was not a sin. Even though he had lived for so many years, he really felt like there was no end to learning…
Jaegyeom, who was once again filled with emotions, glanced at his phone. Just a moment ago, he received a series of text messages, but this time they lasted for a long time. He snapped at the dark screen.
“Hey. What is ‘sexy’?”
Ding! The screen became brighter after only 5 minutes. After checking the contents, Jaegyeom’s eyes narrowed.
Yoon Taehee’s reply was as follows.
[lol]
There was no explanation for the question, just a few consonants. He waited to see if there would be a follow-up reply, but there were no more texts after that. Yoon Taehee, who previously showed consideration by avoiding foreign words and deliberately switching to Korean, moderately avoided an answer.
As Kang Yibin said, he seemed to be very busy.
***
All stages of the first phase of the examination were completed successfully.
“Congratulations on passing the first round of exams. Orientation for successful candidates will begin at 5 o’clock sharp. Successful applicants, please sit in the front row and wait.”
The front door of the first conference room opened and the successful candidates came in one after another. Jaegyeom, who had been dozing off while sitting in the front row of the table, suddenly looked up. The exorcist, who looked even more tired than before, left the room briskly and disappeared.
At that time, bright yellow bleached hair stuck out from among the successful candidates.
“Seven-seven!”
The bleached haired man smiled broadly and acknowledged Jaegyeom.
Of the 77 people who took the exam, 23 passed the first round. Among them was the man with bleached hair. He looked elated. With a flushed face, he approached Jaegyeom and naturally took the seat next to him as if they were friends.
The name ‘Lim Hyomoon’ was written on the man’s chest.
Those who passed the exam no longer had a number on their chest; they were wearing name tags instead. This changed spontaneously as soon as the first test, which was conducted blindly, ended. In the place where the numbers disappeared, each person’s name was written.
“You got in too?”
Jaegyeom glanced at him and said. The man suddenly wrinkled his nose. Now that the exams were over, there was no reason to hide his identity.
“The two years were not in vain. Ahh, I’m crying. I’m crying.”
The bleached haired man was a Chorani. He endured two years, studying during the day and training at night. As a result of working so hard to sharpen his senses, he was able to pass the first hurdle with a relatively high skill level. At the thought of becoming an apprentice, he was overcome with emotions.
“Great. Hard work is worth it.”
Jaegyeom opened his mouth indifferently.
“Now we’re doing the same thing, Seven-seven. Right.”
Jaegyeom reluctantly nodded. Even though the bleached haired man learned Jaegyeom’s name, he still called him ‘Seven-seven.’ It wasn’t a particularly pleasant address, but he didn’t want to bother meddling now, so Jaegyeom decided to just leave it.
t/n: Jaegyeom’s typos are so cute hahaha and the fact that he tried so hard to type too ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Jaegyeom is just too cute lol I’m officially a mother fan(つ✧ω✧)つ
Thank you!
aww let him know what sexy means Yoon Taehee ☹❤
What si sexy typo was the cutest
Jaegyeom is so cute wanting to be praised, ugh my heart. I giggled with Taehee’s texts, he’s so silly.