“Anyway, what an ass.”
Hwang Seungsoo brushed off the man’s touch as if it were dust. He stared down at the man for a while with a pitying look in his eyes, but then he turned to Jaegyeom and gave him a smile.
“Thank you, Jaegyeom-ssi.”
Hwang Seungsoo must have thought that Jaegyeom, who was a recommended candidate like him, obviously had taken his side.
“Annoying from the first day, really. These insignificant things with a sense of entitlement, they can try to come at me. They don’t know how to be grateful when people treat them well…”
“Isn’t that right?” Just when Hwang Seungsoo looked around at the recommended applicants and joked in a matter-of-fact manner, one of the recommended applicants retorted with a straight face.
“Look here, Hwang Seungsoo-ssi. What are you talking about?”
It was Kim Semin, who had introduced himself earlier. This time, when Kim Semin stepped forward, Hwang Seungsoo narrowed his eyes and looked at him with an expression that seemed to ask ‘what are you doing?’
“Let’s do things in moderation. What are you saying now, divide sides and fight? What are you so dissatisfied with? Why are you so anxious that you can’t fight with people who were Chorani?”
Hwang Seungsoo sneered and hung up, and pounced on his words.
“‘Fight?’ Why would this be a fight? I’m only looking at objective facts. Honestly, I don’t understand why we took the first exam with Chorani. We are people who have been selected separately and have already been filtered out once, but then, are we the same as those people?”
Kim Semin was momentarily speechless. It was ridiculous. The acceptance criteria was fair, and everyone was in this position because they met the appropriate conditions, even if they came from different backgrounds.
There were many Chorani who passed the exam with scores similar to or better than the recommended applicants. However, although Hwang Seungsoo did not show overwhelming ability like Jaegyeom, and even though he passed with only mediocre skills, he was busy looking down on others.
Kim Semin uttered in a cold voice.
“It seems like that’s all Hwang Seungsoo-ssi has to offer.”
With those words, he turned his back and joined the group of people worried about the bleached haired man. On the other hand, other recommended applicants just quietly observed, conscious of the fact that Hwang Seungsoo’s older brother was a senior in the Exorcism Department.
There was a reason why Hwang Seungsoo was so aggressive.
A Senior was a fairly high rank. They only needed to be promoted one level to become a Chief, and if he belonged to the Exorcism Department, his power and status were great, so it was beneficial to build up connections for the future. The department was the core of Naryecheong. Among the recommended candidates, Hwang Seungsoo was the only one who said that he had been nominated as a candidate for the Exorcism Department.
“Haha, hasn’t Semin-ssi had a social life…?”
Hwang Seungsoo’s mocking gaze landed on Jaegyeom. When their eyes met, he chuckled and started giving unsolicited advice.
“Jaegyeom-ssi. You are young, so you don’t know much yet. The most important thing in social life is connections. Networking. Birds of the same feather flock together, right? You don’t need to hang out with people like that. We should play in water that is suited to our level.”
Jaegyeom fiddled with his ear with an annoyed look on his face.
“Jaegyeom, you are also a recommended applicant, right? It’s an absolute honor to have someone in my class who received a gold pass. Oh, where do you aim to go? Jaegyeom has good skills, so if he wants to enter the Exorcism Department, let me know. I will talk to my brother.”
Hwang Seungsoo continued speaking with a wry smile.
“Anyway, who recommended you? Can I speak comfortably?”
He spoke warmly and placed his hand on Jaegyeom’s shoulder. Jaegyeom suddenly furrowed his brow and slapped the hand on his shoulder away.
“Don’t stick to me.”
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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There was some silence in the conference room.
“…”
“…”
“…”
After a long time, Hwang Seungsoo finally burst out laughing
“Haha, spectacles happen in pairs.”
His voice sounded quite calm, but his face was slightly red.
“You’re a distinguished person who received a gold pass, so you’re indeed unique.”
Hwang Seungsoo sneered sarcastically and stepped closer. Jaegyeom was trying to stop the commotion, but it ended up flaming his temper even more. Hwang Seungsoo was in a much worse mood than when he was dealing with the bleached haired man. Jaegyeom responded to his words with a grumpy tone.
“Hey. I really have to become an exorcist. I don’t want things to be ruined here, so I’m asking you to stay quiet and not interfere with other people’s lives.”
The successful candidates, dumbfounded. It was surprising that a young boy could speak his mind without hesitation. The bleached haired man’s eyes also widened and watched Jaegyeom.
“I don’t know how great your brother is, but didn’t he tell you not to make a fuss? My backer told me to keep quiet.”
Jaegyeom, who was sighing, muttered indifferently.
Meanwhile, his backer, who was sitting in the dark, was watching the current situation with interest. Resting his chin on his hand, he was gazing at only one person with a look in his eyes that seemed to say he was dying of amusement.
“Aiyo. It seems like you have such useless support who couldn’t even clean up after you. You are the one who received the Gold Pass, but you must be very frustrated because you have to play it safe.”
Hwang Seungsoo laughed as if he were trying to provoke the other. It seemed like he was trying hard to crush Jaegyeom somehow. Jaegyeom became more and more irritated because Hwang Seungsoo kept picking at his words.
“You’ve been talking about the Gold Pass since the beginning.”
Jaegyeom looked up at Hwang Seungsoo with a crooked gaze.
“Are you perhaps insecure?”
At that moment, Hwang Seungsoo’s face hardened.
Smack!
In the end, Hwang Seungsoo could not overcome his temper and swung at Jaegyeom’s head. Jaegyeom’s upper body was greatly shaken by the sudden blow, and the inside of the conference room was completely frozen, as if time had stopped.
“Ah, fuck…”
Jaegyeom, who was still frozen, covered his head. Hwang Seungsoo’s hands contained quite a strong spiritual energy. A heavy pain followed the sudden blow to his head. The pain was tingling.
“This fucking lunatic!”
The bleached haired man stood up and pushed Hwang Seungsoo’s shoulder hard.
“Hey, Hwang Seungsoo-ssi! Are you crazy?”
Both the Chorani and recommended applicants, all the successful applicants rushed to surround Jaegyeom.
“Are you out of your mind to use your spiritual energy?”
“What are you doing to someone so much younger!”
“Jaegyeom, are you okay? W- what should we do?”
Jaegyeom sharpened the knife in his mind, first cutting away the dull pain.
Ah, this son of a bitch… You’re dead…
Just at that moment, suddenly, there was a loud banging noise from behind. Everyone’s eyes turned backwards in unison. It was dark and hard to see because the lights were only turned on at the front of the conference room, but they just realized someone was sitting in the back row. Someone had kicked the table while seated, and the tables at regular intervals had been pushed back.
The startled successful candidates were exchanging glances with each other when they heard,
“We already have a dog fight on day one?”
Yoon Taehee, who was sitting with his legs crossed, languidly stood up. With each step he took, there was a sound of the heels of his shoes clicking. As he reached the bright side of the room, Yoon Taehee stopped.
The bleached haired man and Hwang Seungsoo, who were in the middle of a confrontation, widened the distance between them. The other successful candidates surrounding Jaegyeom also noticed and backed away. Those who passed did not know who Yoon Taehee was. If he had been wearing a mask, it would have been possible to at least recognize that he was a member of the Exorcism Department, but unlike usual, Yoon Taehee was not wearing a mask, and his bare face was clearly exposed.
Yoon Taehee, wearing a tight black shirt and suit pants without a coat or tie, looked around at the successful applicants.
“Don’t you know love for your comrades and your country? Why are you fighting?”
A look of disappointment appeared on the faces of the successful applicants at the playful words.
They were screwed…
Since when had this unfamiliar man been here, and since when had he been watching? Seeing that he was wearing a suit, it was clear that he was a senior. Most likely, he was an exorcist, who had come for the orientation.
“Hello. First of all, congratulations on passing the first round.”
The senior exorcist belatedly greeted the crowd. The successful candidates, who were standing there with awkward faces, immediately bowed their heads and reciprocated the greeting. In the meantime, Yoon Taehee looked at his successor with a smile on his face.
“…”
Belatedly noticing Yoon Taehee after the rest of the applicants, Jaegyeom’s eyes widened. He heard that he wouldn’t be returning until night, but why was he here right now… Jaegyeom opened his lips, about to say something, but Yoon Taehee quickly gave him a look. It was as though he was telling him to not acknowledge him.
Jaegyeom stared at Yoon Taehee. Come to think of it, it was his first time seeing him in a few days. Maybe it’s because it’s been a while since he had seen him, but Yoon Taehee’s appearance somehow felt unfamiliar. Looking closely, he saw that he had his bangs up differently than usual…
He felt strangely excited. As if he was glad to see him.
Jaegyeom’s gaze landed on Yoon Taehee’s right hand. Half of the cast on his hand was missing. After returning to work, he went to the treatment room and received care from the Purification Department. His broken finger and the remaining wounds on his body were all healed soon enough.
At that time, Yoon Taehee, who had been silent for a moment, opened his mouth.
“Hwang Seungsoo-ssi?”
Hwang Seungsoo, who was standing with a nervous face, clasped his hands together. The time had come. In the end, as expected, the successful candidates who had been lumped together in the mess had dark expressions as if they were waiting for punishment. It became like this from day one… The senior exorcist had a straight smile on his face from the moment they met, but for some reason, there was an unmistakable feeling of intimidation, and the atmosphere in the room was tense like a sheet of thin ice.
“So your older brother is an exorcist from the Exorcism Department?”
Yoon Taehee sat down leisurely on a table and opened his mouth. Hwang Seungsoo looked up in shock. Of course, he thought the other person would make an issue and ask why they fought, what happened, and the situation just now. But Yoon Taehee casually asked.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Excuse me, but what is his name?”
“It… It’s Hwang Hyunsoo.”
“Ah, Team 3 Senior Hwang…”
Yoon Taehee nodded his head as if he understood. Hwang Seungsoo, who was looking at him politely, gulped, wondering if he knew his older brother.
“He is a capable person. Skills are outstanding.”
Thinking that he got lucky, Hwang Seungsoo’s face brightened noticeably at those words. If the man knew his brother well and knew what kind of person he was, it meant that he had some connections with him. If so, the situation might turn out easier than he expected. He suddenly felt relief wash over.
Then, Yoon Taehee added with a smile.
“I was wondering what you were relying on, but I can see it now.”
Eh? Hwang Seungsoo suddenly raised his head.
“Hwang Seungsoo-ssi.”
“Y- yes?”
Yoon Taehee swept his index finger across the table as if sifting through dust, and spoke in a low voice.
“You said that the most important thing in social life is networking.”
Hwang Seungsoo was taken aback by the unexpected remark. It was the same advice that he had given to Jaegyeom earlier.
“Of course, connections are important. But what’s more important than that is…”
Yoon Taehee raised his index finger and tapped the area around his eye.
“It’s tact. Tact, alright? You must have good tact…”
He trailed off, looking into Hwang Seungsoo’s eyes.
“Then you can decide whether you should climb or not.”
To Hwang Seungsoo, these words sounded very puzzling. Jaegyeom, who was rubbing his head from a distance away, narrowed his eyes and looked at Yoon Taehee. Feeling his gaze, he turned his head and glanced at Jaegyeom.
The smile gradually disappeared from Yoon Taehee’s face.
“He just hates climbing. Our lord, that is…”
Jaegyeom is brutally blunt and Yoon Taehee is constantly shit stirring (but politely). I think I’m in love with them.
Hehe, this Hwang guy is the classic cannon fodder who only knows to brag without proper abilities and be shown by the protag later on
I am a little surprised that he appeared without his mask. Thought that was a thing of his, kinda being picky whom he shows his face. Guess not.
And is Yoon Taehee “covertly lecturing” Jaegyeom about his temper? Because he really was about to flip some tables if Taehee didn’t intervene, right?
… anyway … thank you!
no he’s just referencing being scolded by jaegyeom and using that to scold hwang seungsoo. and taehee is more pissed and violent than jaegyeom is HAHAHA you’ll see soon
Ahhh! Now I get it! lol Thanks for answering!
Jaegyeom is honest to a fault and YT is a silver tongued fox. Match made in heaven
Indeed, watching Jaegyeomie “in the wild” is amusing. Poor thing was just trying not to get in trouble, but people just don’t help haha.
In my delusion, I’ll think that Taehee got mad cuz they touched his successor. I think he would be kind of a jealous lover, so I’m eager to see who will be more obsessed with who