Pr: K
“Would you like to go with me?”
Jaegyeom twitched his tightly clenched fist and glared harshly at Yoon Taehee.
“…”
“…”
Jaegyeom took a step closer and suddenly jabbed Yoon Taehee on the shoulder with his fist.
“Ouch.” Yoon Taehee wrapped his arms around his shoulders and pretended to be in pain. He was even more obnoxious because of the Imae mask’s smiling face.
Jaegyeom grumbled.
“You fucker… Why didn’t you tell me?”
Jaegyeom didn’t think much of it until Yoon Taehee picked out his mask. This was because he did not know that in the field, he used the mask’s name as a title. If Yoon Taehee had told him in advance, he would have asked for a different mask.
“This bastard is seriously so annoying…”
He had never dreamed that he would hear the sound of someone calling him ‘Bride’ in his lifetime. His spine tickled as if an earthworm was running down, and his whole body knotted. It was seriously spiteful. And he should have asked why it was a bridal mask among so many masks. It was clear that Yoon Taehee had deliberately chosen the bridal mask with the intention of teasing him.
“Are you fucking with me now? You did that on purpose, right?”
“Me? Can’t that be…”
Yoon Taehee covered the lower part of his face with his fan and showed off his pretense.
“Do you think it’s a coincidence?”
Yoon Taehee held back his laughter and looked at Jaegyeom’s ears, which were stained bright red.
Ah, it’s a shame he couldn’t see his expression…
“Do not be ridiculous. What kind of coincidence is that?”
“Why? Because you’re embarrassed? Just think of it as an alias.”
“It obviously is an alias. What kind of a name for a man…”
Yoon Taehee interrupted Jaegyeom and spoke seriously.
“In today’s world, separating men and women is a bit…”
Yoon Taehee, who was about to say, “Isn’t it tacky,” took a step back. Jaegyeom’s foot, which was aimed at Yoon Taehee’s shin, narrowly missed.
“Right. Because you are old. I understand.” Yoon Taehee, who safely avoided his attack, nodded his head and quickly changed his words.
“That’s right, it’s not a coincidence. In fact, I chose it on purpose.”
Yoon Taehee, who was laughing quietly, folded his fan and said.
“Have you ever seen Hahoe Byeolsingut?”
At the unexpected question, Jaegyeom looked at Yoon Taehee with a glare. What was he going to say again? Speaking of Hahoe Byeolsingut, he once saw it briefly when he was travelling around the eight provinces with his teacher.
Byeolsingut was a type of village ritual that prayed for the prosperity and well-being of the village. Byeolsingut meant special worship of the gods and involved offering a memorial service to the guardian deity of the village. It varied from village to village, but in the case of Byeolsingut held in Hahoe Village in Andong, people wore masks and performed a mask performance, and the mask used at that time was called Hahoe mask. The Imae mask worn by Yoon Taehee and the bridal mask worn by Jaegyeom both were Hahoe masks.
“In performance, the Bride is the main character of the first episode.”
“So what? What does that have to do with me?”
Yoon Taehee smiled and whispered softly.
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.
“Tbe jgf atf wjlc mtjgjmafg abb, sbe klii ajxf atf olgra rafq lc atf qijc.”
Ajfusfbw rabqqfv jcv ibbxfv ja Tbbc Kjftff. Llr rtjvbk, rajcvlcu klat tlr yjmx ab atf yegclcu recrfa, ragfamtfv bea. Tbbc Kjftff jvvfv klat j vlwqif lc tlr mtffxr.
“Ccv rlcmf atf Dglvf lr j uejgvljc vflas…”
When the mask performance began, the first person to appear was the Bride performer wearing the bridal mask. The Bride, who symbolized the village’s guardian deity (Seonangsin), appeared riding on the shaman’s shoulders without stepping on the ground. Because the Bride was treated as a deity, this bridal mask was the most sacred mask among masks.
“That’s why I chose it.”
Yoon Taehee chose the most precious mask for Jaegyeom. Jaegyeom was somehow speechless at Yoon Taehee’s explanation. The sensation that had faded for a while came back to life. It was a tingling sensation, like an earthworm running across his spine.
The backlight of the sunset covered the young blush on the Bride’s cheeks.
***
The inside of the newly built building was bleak and gloomy.
The reason why construction was halted with so little time left until the completion date was because a series of mysterious crashes occurred. They said there were four accidents this month alone. The company went on an inspection to determine the cause. As a result of the on-site investigation, it was concluded that there were no safety issues. The injured workers had received thorough safety training and were experienced technicians.
According to the injured workers, it felt as if someone was pushing their bodies against the railing. Even though ominous accidents occurred one after another, the cause was unknown, so the remaining workers could not help but tremble in fear.
It was around that time the sinister rumors began to circulate. Some of the workers who had been out working all night claimed strange occurrences, saying they saw something whitish or heard strange noises. As the number of workers leaving the construction site increased, construction eventually came to a temporary halt. The news reached the ears of the Undercover Department and was transferred to the first team of the Exorcism Department, through the situation room.
The Bride and Imae entered the building entrance side by side.
“It stinks.”
Jaegyeom furrowed his brows and grumbled. As soon as he entered the building, there was a damp stench. The air surrounding his body was cool and heavy. Yoon Taehee, who was looking around, nodded his head.
“The yin energy is strong and unpleasant. It looks like it’s probably a site of an evil spirit…”
Then the newcomer whispered softly.
“It sounds like an earthbound spirit.”
“Makes sense.”
Chief Yoon quietly expressed his agreement.
The site of an evil spirit, commonly known as the opposite of the ‘auspicious site’ in geomancy, referred to a place that brought harm to people. In many cases of such sites, earthbound spirits were often attached. Earthbound spirits were malevolent entities with grudges, stuck in a particular location, causing misfortune.
The first thing to do was to find the earthbound spirit. Jaegyeom opened the gate and climbed the dark stairs. Every time he took a step, there was the sound of pieces of cement being stepped on. There were signs that construction had been halted everywhere.
Yoon Taehee gently adjusted the hem of his tie and then put it to his lips.
“What do you think? Can you see something?”
The voices of the team members came out from a special tie pin designed to double as a radio.
“There’s nothing on the first floor.”
“I don’t think there’s anything on the third floor either.”
Jaegyeom’s eyes widened as he watched Yoon Taehee exchanging radio signals. Suddenly he lowered his head and looked at his tie. Why didn’t he have that…
Yoon Taehee spoke into the pin.
“Check it one more time, and if there’s nothing wrong, come upstairs.”
After completing the instructions, Yoon Taehee turned off the radio. At that time, Jaegyeom, who was standing sullenly, seemed to have remembered something and quickly clung to Yoon Taehee. Yoon Taehee looked at Jaegyeom with puzzled eyes. Jaegyeom grabbed Yoon Taehee by the neck.
“Hey, did they hear everything?”
Yoon Taehee paused for a moment at the breathy whisper.
“…What?”
As Yoon Taehee asked blankly, Jaegyeom reached out his hand again and pulled his neck like before. Yoon Taehee slightly bent his knees and tilted his upper body towards Jaegyeom.
“You know, what we talked about outside earlier, about the Bride. And what I said back to you informally, didn’t they hear everything? People will think it’s strange…”
Yoon Taehee turned his head and looked at Jaegyeom in silence. The look in his eyes beyond the mask was serious. The Bride and Imae looked at each other. Their gazes were precisely aligned.
“…”
‘Why don’t you talk?’ Jaegyeom strained his eyes.
Yoon Taehee, who was silent for a moment, lightly bumped Jaegyeom on the forehead. There was a clattering sound as the wooden masks clashed with each other. “Wh- what?” Jaegyeom, who was quite surprised, took a step back and smoothed the forehead of his mask.
“Earlier… I switched it off, so it’s okay.”
The answer came after a long time.
***
They dispersed and searched the inside of the building, but no matter how much they looked, there was nothing that caught their eye. Those who could not find any traces of the ghost gathered in one place according to Yoon Taehee’s instructions. As darkness fell outside, the inside of the building also became quite dark.
Pyo Jiho, wearing a Nobleman’s mask, tilted his head and expressed his impressions.
“Judging by the energy I feel, it seems to be an earthbound spirit.”
Yoon Taehee nodded with his hands in his pockets. The other exorcists also seemed to realize that this was the site of an evil spirit and that an earthbound spirit had taken up residence.
“Maybe it noticed us and ran outside?”
Kang Yibin, who was wearing a Monk mask, presented her opinion.
“But once the earthbound spirit has established itself, it cannot easily leave its territory.”
“That’s true, but isn’t there a possibility if the area of activity itself is wide?”
While the other exorcists were chattering away. Jaegyeom, who was standing far away from the others, quickly lowered his gaze and looked down at their feet. Suddenly, he felt something passing beneath his feet. It was a fleeting moment, but it felt unmistakable.
The other exorcists seemed to not have noticed and were busy talking.
“Then, just in case, why don’t we go outside and take a look?”
‘No, the earthbound spirit is in here…’ Jaegyeom was about to open his lips,
“No. The earthbound spirit is clearly inside the building.”
However, One step faster than that, Yoon Taehee spoke up. Jaegyeom, who had been concentrating on his spiritual senses, raised his head. Yoon Taehee continued his words in a calm tone, placing his hand on the other leg.
“It’s faint, but its presence has been circulating since a while ago. I guess it seems to have blended into the building itself? No matter how hard we searched, we couldn’t find it.”
What, he’s pretty good… Jaegyeom straightened up and averted his eyes.
“So what should we do now?”
“We’ll have to drag him out, give him some trouble.”
After finishing his words, Yoon Taehee called Go Junhyung, a manager exorcist, who was wearing the Concubine mask, “Concubine.” Then, Go Junhyung sat down on the floor and took out a brass gong and a wooden stick with a red thread from the bag he was carrying at his side.
The exorcists covered their ears as if they were used to the appearance of the gong.
Go Junhyung took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He began beating the gong and reciting sutras. A sharp metallic beat filled the empty space. The sound pierced like a thunderbolt, and Jaegyeom also covered his ears while distorting his face.
Go Junhyung swung the gong as if he were possessed by a god. However, the inside of the building remained silent. The energy was disturbed, but the ghost did not come out. Minutes passed with no response. Yoon Taehee threw his hands up in the air.
“Well done. You’re quite stubborn…”
At Yoon Taehee’s signal, Go Junhyung stopped playing the gong.
“I will do it.”
Yoon Taehee sat down with one knee bent and placed one of his palms on the floor. Then, at some point, the pieces of cement and stone dust scattered all over the floor suddenly began to shake and rattle. The ground beneath him shook with an unknown vibration. It seemed as if the entire large building was writhing in pain.
When Yoon Taehee stepped forward, a passionate change occurred that was incomparable to what he had just seen before. The stench became increasingly stronger. In response, each exorcist took a stance, securing their own position. It was a premonition of the appearance of a ghost and preparation.
Kang Yibin gestured to Jaegyeom, who was standing far away. “It could be dangerous, so come here, stay behind noona.” It was natural for the senior exorcists to take good care of the weak youngest.
“Yeah…” Jaegyeom silently followed Kang Yibin’s words. He wanted to protect, but he wasn’t in a position to protect at all… Yoon Taehee had told him not to reveal his power outside of him and to keep his identity unknown.
At that time, the sign pointed to a certain place.
“It came out! Behind there!”
Something that looked like a huge leech began to grow from the floor. There was a foul smell and a heavy, damp air filled them. It was the earthbound spirit that they had been looking for so long.
Finally discovered the earthbound spirit, Jaegyeom was impressed. This was because he sensed much more unpleasant malice from the spirit than he had expected. He thought that its presence was vague simply because it was weak, but when he saw it with his own eyes, it was quite the opposite. It seemed that it was a ghost with quite a strong power, enough to skillfully kill anyone who appeared.
Jaegyeom looked at Yoon Taehee and the earthbound spirit in turn. The rest of the team, including Jaegyeom, had taken a step back. Yoon Taehee alone was located in front, close to the spirit.
“…”
Jaegyeom pursed his lips without even realizing it. Something grew like a sprout in a corner of his mind. After thinking for a moment, he approached Kang Yibin. He gently touched her elbow and whispered quickly.
“Aren’t you supposed to help him?”
What that little sprout was, it was ‘worry’.
He had heard that Myeonsinrye was led by seniors who were in charge of resolving the case. He was in a position where he had to stay back one way or another, so he assumed that was the case, but he couldn’t understand why everyone else were sitting on the sidelines, as if looking across the river.
Kang Yibin paused and asked again.
“What? Go and help?”
Jaegyeom nodded his head wordlessly.
Of course, Yoon Taehee was using a pretty good strategy. From that fact alone, he could roughly guess that he had better skills than other dregs of exorcists. Plus, he said he saw a deer just like him. Among the team, Yoon Taehee was the only one who noticed the presence of a ghost hiding in the building earlier. He could figure it out, but Jaegyeom was still worried about Yoon Taehee.
“I- I think it would be dangerous to deal with it alone. If he got hurt…”
Jaegyeom said in a serious voice. Kang Yibin blinked her eyes and looked at Jaegyeom, then suddenly clapped her hands and started laughing, seeing the youngest child’s eyes, visible through his mask, showing concern. Kang Yibin suddenly raised her hand and let out a loud voice.
“Chi- I mean, Imae! Should we help?”
As Kang Yibin shouted in her playful voice, Yoon Taehee turned around. He looked confused and raised his index finger to point at himself. “Me?”
Then the other exorcists also burst into laughter.
“This person over here looks incredibly anxious!”
Kang Yibin laid her palm down like a plate and supported the Bride standing next to her.
“Ah…”
Yoon Taehee chuckled and tilted his head.
“Are you really worried about me?”
Jaegyeom didn’t know how strong Yoon Taehee was, for in his memories, Yoon Taehee was always getting beaten up by him…
He couldn’t help but feel uneasy when he heard that the pale guy who was busy getting beaten up was dealing with a dangerous enemy alone. Now that they were in the same boat, it was natural for Jaegyeom to be worried.
“If you need any help, please let me know anytime!”
Kang Yibin said, suppressing her laughter.
“Thank you for your kind words, but I will politely decline.”
Just when Jaegyeom gave him a suspicious look at his refusal to help, the other man smiled as he reached for the fan that he had put in the back pocket of his pants.
“Even though it’s like this, I can still use it.”
Ahhh jaegyeom why so cute?? 😭❤❤