Pr: K
The news that exorcist Yoon Taehee, the Chief of the Exorcism Department’s first team, had personally selected his successor spread quickly. Even though only one day had passed, there was no one who didn’t know that Kim Jaegyeom was Yoon Taehee’s protégé. Yoon Taehee’s plan to introduce himself through Jaegyeom’s mouth in front of the audience back then worked.
Perhaps because of his good reputation, everyone heard with one ear the fact that Chief Yoon had given Hwang Seungsoo a slap on the wrist. Those who experienced Chief Yoon on a daily basis treated it as a false rumor, saying, ‘How could a person who is polite and kind to his subordinates hit a newcomer?’ Those who did not know much about Chief Yoon were also skeptical, ‘Even if it is true that he hit him, there must have been a good reason for it.’
The subordinates made a fuss about the ‘successor’ that Chief Yoon had chosen. Not only were the stories based on facts, such as saying that he saw a deer in the first test and that he received a gold pass, but as was the way with words, there were some strange rumors going around here and there as they gained weight. In any case, the main question was what was the relationship between the Chief and him? Half curious, half envy. The arrival of a successor with Chief Yoon’s halo tightly wrapped around him was a hot topic of conversation in the headquarters.
“I heard you are distantly related to Chief Yoon?”
“Really? I heard he was just a close younger brother*.”
The exorcists who were gathered in the hallway chatting excitedly suddenly gasped. This was because an Imae mask suddenly popped out from the corner of the hallway. The people who recognized the person wearing the mask immediately greeted him politely.
“Hello, Chief!”
“Hello, Chief!”
They say that even a tiger will come if you tell it to, and the mask that Yoon Taehee wore was an Imae mask. Yoon Taehee, wearing a black suit and a mask on his face, bowed lightly and reciprocated the greeting. The exorcists who were leaning against the wall exchanged glances. Sure enough, Chief Yoon had a companion with him. The exorcists looked at the companion with curious eyes. Unlike Chief Yoon, the long-necked, rough-looking boy had a bare face.
‘Is it him? He looks a little young. He is handsome…’
Just as those who were standing against the wall to glance and look at the boy’s face, the boy must have sensed their gaze and glanced sideways with an expressionless face. The exorcists averted their gaze, startled, for the pale double eyelids and the upturned eyelids look quite fierce.
The boy who retracted his gaze whispered something to Chief Yoon. Then, Chief Yoon turned his head and looked at the exorcists. At that, their hearts seemed to sink. Did he hear them talking? It wasn’t exactly behind his back, but somehow they felt pricked and left hurriedly, murmuring, “Let’s go, let’s go.”
Staring blankly at the backs of the people moving away quickly, Jaegyeom opened his mouth. “Hey, they must have been swearing at you.”
At that, Yoon Taehee laughed and playfully said, “You should go tell them off.”
Jaegyeom just retorted, “Why should I?” as he scratched his cheek.
Just now, what Jaegyeom whispered in Yoon Taehee’s ear was not a snitch, but he was asking. ‘Hey. If you are the Chief, then what am I?’, as he was watching the exorcists greet Yoon Taehee by calling him “Chief.”
He once again wondered what title they would call him.
“So I’m Apprentice Kim?” Jaegyeom asked seriously.
Then a soft laugh came from inside the mask. In the case of apprentices or regular exorcists who do not have a special title, it was common to call them by their first names, but there was no way Jaegyeom knew about the naming culture in the workplace.
Yoon Taehee, who was silent for a moment, smiled with a dimple.
“Isn’t it cool? Apprentice Kim.”
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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The first team office of the Exorcism Department was located on the third floor of the main building. When he pressed the entry key, the door with opaque tinting opened automatically. Although the nature of the work required a lot of travelling, the office scene was not much different from any other company.
The faces of the team members emerged from the desk partition.
“Uh? The chief has arrived!”
“Chief, you’re here!”
The team members got up from their chairs and welcomed Yoon Taehee. Compared to the people they met in the hallway, their attitude was much more casual. Yoon Taehee also greeted them back in a much more relaxed tone than before and took off the mask he was wearing on his face. The team members’ eyes were focused on the boy who followed Yoon Taehee.
“Ah! Jaegyeom!”
Kang Yibin smiled brightly and raised his arms.
The office immediately began to buzz. Yoon Taehee smiled and dragged Jaegyeom closer, wrapping one arm around his shoulder lightly. Jaegyeom flinched at that and glanced at the hand grabbing his shoulder.
“This is apprentice Kim Jaegyeom, a new member of our first team.”
Contrary to the time when Jaegyeom made the introduction on his behalf, this time Yoon Taehee personally introduced him on his behalf. As soon as the introduction was over, the team members cheered in unison. It was as if an exciting festival had taken place. Everyone was welcoming Jaegyeom. For Jaegyeom, it was a strange experience that he had experienced for the first time in his life. Team members flocked around Jaegyeom and gave their first enthusiastic greetings.
“Wow, it’s so good to meet you. I sincerely welcome you to the first team.”
“I heard you got a gold pass? As expected of our senior’s pick.”
Jaegyeom was frozen in a daze by the unexpectedly enthusiastic response.
“Chief, please be honest. You chose him because of his face, right?”
Yoon Taehee laughed and responded to the teammate’s joke.
“Oops, I got caught.”
The atmosphere of the first team was very harmonious and cheerful. The team members treated each other without fault, and the same was true for Yoon Taehee. He had a vague guess from the moment he met Kang Yibin, but his teammates were very friendly to Yoon Taehee. Their words and actions exuded solid trust and friendly affection.
It seemed that the saying that everyone liked Yoon Taehee was indeed true. Jaegyeom, who saw this fact with his own eyes, felt both dazed and strange.
“I’m Senior Pyo Jiho, nice to meet you. If you need anything or need help, please feel free to talk to me at any time. Okay? Take care.”
The team members introduced themselves one by one and spoke in full. The first team had a total of nine people. Excluding the team leader, Chief Yoon, and the youngest member, apprentice Kim, there were two seniors, three managers, and two regular exorcists. Currently, three people were out working due to an order to dispatch, so there were six people in the office.
“Jaegyeom! The suit suits you so well!”
Jaegyeom and the ninth member Kang Yibin clapped their hands and praised him.
“Ah. Yeah…”
Jaegyeom shook hands with his teammates who had an ecstatic look on their faces. The team members had at least a rough idea of Jaegyeom since Yoon Taehee had already announced it a few days ago. Of course, it was all a story that Yoon Taehee made up to some extent.
‘He is 18 years old this year, and he was raised through homeschooling by his parents who returned to their hometown. From what I heard, it seems like they lived in an environment without computers or cell phones. As a result, he is a bit different from his peers these days. He has only just moved to Seoul so there are a lot of things he doesn’t know, so please teach him well.’
The team members were quickly convinced. It was easy to imagine because it was a case often introduced on TV programs. The parents, disillusioned with city life, quit their jobs and went to the mountains. They lived in a log cabin that they built themselves. At 9 p.m., they turned off the lights and went to sleep. The parents must have taught the child directly in a nature-friendly way. A story about living a simple life away from modern culture. A documentary was quickly completed in their head…
It was an excellent story.
As a result, even if Jaegyeom showed a somewhat awkward and clumsy side, the team members would not have any doubts.
Kang Yibin led the youngest of the group, who had been frozen, to his designated spot. “This is Jaegyeom’s seat.”
A desktop was placed on a neatly organized desk, and two sheets of coated paper were attached to the partition. One page had the markings used on the hand mirror for communication, and the other page had the team members’ personal contact information written on them.
Meanwhile, Yoon Taehee was receiving a verbal report from Pyo Jiho.
Jaegyeom was handed the basic items carried by people, including a card key to use for entry and exit and a hand mirror for calling. Kang Yibin carefully explained the purpose and how to use it. While listening to Kang Yibin’s explanation, he glanced at Yoon Taehee without realizing it. For some reason, he kept looking at him. As he was placed in an unfamiliar and awkward environment, he unconsciously turned his eyes to someone close to him.
At that time, in the chaotic atmosphere, one of the team members opened his mouth.
“Chief, then since we have a new employee today, should we do that?”
Then the other team members agreed in exclamation. Wondering what ‘that’ was, Jaegyeom was the only one with a puzzled expression. Yoon Taehee, who was talking to Pyo Jiho with his arm draped over the partition, smiled and nodded.
“Oh, Myeonsinrye? Sure. We have to do it.”
Myeonsinrye (免新禮) was a custom that occurred during the Joseon Dynasty and was a ritual for welcoming new recruits, which was the origin of today’s orientation culture. At that time, newly appointed officials had to pass this ceremony to be recognized by senior officials, but the process was so harsh that it was considered a vicious custom. The process of Myeonsinrye involves serving luxurious food to senior officials and carrying out all kinds of punishments and orders.
And it was the tradition of the Exorcism Department to welcome new recruits when they came in. However, rather than inheriting the bad practices, it was completely reversed, so it could be said that in fact, only the name was inherited. The purpose of the Myeonsinrye of the Exorcism Department was not for new members to give to seniors, but for seniors to give to new members.
The first step of the Myeonsinrye was for the entire team to go out together. When a request for help was received, all team members went to the scene and solved the case, but the seniors stepped forward while the new members stayed back. However, all credit went to the newcomer. Performance was intentionally passed on to help in future personnel evaluations.
Yoon Taehee flicked his tie over his shoulder and looked at Jaegyeom.
“Well, first of all… I think we should start by choosing a mask for our apprentice.”
***
The sunset was burning the horizon red.
Standing with his back to the evening sky, Yoon Taehee quietly looked at the building with its bare steel framework exposed. The eyes behind the mask gazed keenly at the half-built building. The first team members were standing in a line about a step away from Yoon Taehee, each with a different look on their face.
Yoon Taehee, who was carefully examining the building, muttered to himself.
“On the outside, there’s nothing that stands out…”
The location where the request for assistance came was a construction site where a dozen-story building was being built. Although dozens of workers would have been mobilized, unfortunately, the construction site was empty. Since construction was halted, it was natural that no one would be there. The construction site, surrounded by a temporary wall made of panels, was desolate and shabby.
“Let’s take charge of each floor one by one and check it out.”
Yoon Taehee tapped his shoulder with the folding fan he was holding in his hand, a fan made by lacquering the inside of bamboo. At that time, a wind blowing from afar kicked up thick dust. Yoon Taehee, who had been folding and unfolding the antique lacquered fan in half, opened the fan wide.
He gently swung the folding fan in the direction from which the wind blew. The dust seemed to have dispersed and the wind calmed down. Jaegyeom, who was standing in the back, saw the scene and his eyes widened. Yoon Taehee folded his fan with an indifferent hand.
“Then… the Aristocrat.”
When Yoon Taehee called, one person came forward.
“Come!”
The Aristocrat answered in a loud voice. Then Yoon Taehee and the others standing behind burst into laughter. The owner of the voice was none other than Pyo Jiho. The reason he was an aristocrat was because the mask he wore was an Aristocrat mask. In the Exorcism Department, when several people gathered together and appeared on the scene, it was a rule to call them by their names instead of their titles or real names. This was to protect one’s safety for fear of retaliation.
In the past, there was an incident in which an exorcist was trying to exorcise a strong vengeful spirit and lost it, but the vengeful spirit, out of spite, remembered his name and used the name as a clue to find the latter and cause mischief. Since then, those working in the Exorcism Department have been using the masks’ name as an alias in the field.
“The Aristocrat will go on the first and second floors.”
Yoon Taehee pointed to the entrance of the building with a folded fan. Since Pyo Jiho was a senior, he was assigned two floors. “Yes!” Pyo Jiho smiled and entered the building.
“Servant.”
The team member wearing the Servant mask headed to the 3rd floor.
“Monk.”
Kang Yibin, wearing the Monk mask, went to the 4th floor. Just like that, the Concubine went, Aristocrat’s servant went, the Old Woman went… Everyone left. Before they knew it, there was only one person left.
“…”
Yoon Taehee opened his fan and laughed, covering his mouth. Was there something ominous about being so quiet? It felt like living in the back. Yoon Taehee suppressed his laughter and turned around. Jaegyeom was glaring at Yoon Taehee, clenching his fists tightly. His expression could not be seen because he was covered by a mask, but his eyes were very cruel.
“Bride.”
Jaegyeom’s earlobes were red like a burning sunset.
“Would you like to go with me?”
The mask that Yoon Taehee chose for Jaegyeom was a Bridal mask.
How mean looool I would also be mad in Jeagyeoms stead haha But IMO it is better than Concubine!
Thanks for the chapter!
I think at the start you meant that jsegyeom is yoon’s protégé not the other way around. Tyfc 🙂