YS 13

“Am I pretty?”

Jae-gyeom was momentarily speechless.

Yoon Tae-hee had a knack for putting people on the spot. Much like how he enjoyed teasing Jae-gyeom, who was unfamiliar with expressing affection, he would snatch up a compliment thrown without much thought and thrust it in front of him like a piece of evidence.

For now, Jae-gyeom played dumb.

“I didn’t say you were pretty; I said your long hair is pretty.”

“Doesn’t that mean I’m pretty?”

Since Jae-gyeom neither confirmed nor denied it, Yoon Tae-hee asked again, “No?” In response, Jae-gyeom straightened the hat on Yoon Tae-hee’s head and spoke.

“Fine. You’re pretty, you brat.”

Only then did Yoon Tae-hee seem satisfied, bowing his head with a wide grin. Whenever he did that, Jae-gyeom thought he seemed like a child, which made him cute.

Just then, Yoon Tae-hee’s phone rang.

Hearing the ringtone, Yoon Tae-hee pulled off the cotton gloves he was wearing and took the phone out of his pants pocket. Jae-gyeom peeked over to check the three characters appearing on the screen.

[Seok Ju-ryeon]

The caller was none other than Seok Ju-ryeon.

Jae-gyeom glanced at Yoon Tae-hee’s expression. Looking at his face, where the smile had vanished, it was hard to tell what he was feeling. However, he seemed to be hesitating over whether to answer the call.

Jae-gyeom touched Yoon Tae-hee’s arm and asked.

“Aren’t you going to answer?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

“Why? He probably has some business with you.”

“It’s not ‘business’; he’s probably just going to talk about the Exorcism Bureau again.”

“That is the business. Go on, go answer it.”

At that, Yoon Tae-hee stood up as if he had no choice and flicked off his hat. He brushed the dirt off his clothes here and there. Then, he strolled toward the backyard and answered the phone.

“Hello.”

— It’s me.

“Yes. What is it?”

— How have you been?

“I’ve been so well it’s almost a problem.”

About eight months had passed since the Exorcist Order treason incident.

Every now and then, just as he was about to be forgotten, Seok Ju-ryeon would call Yoon Tae-hee like this. Even without being asked, he would share detailed updates on how the Exorcism Bureau was faring and what the current situation was.

According to what he had heard through Seok Ju-ryeon, the main office had gone through many ups and downs, both internally and externally, following the Exorcist Order treason incident. After divisions and animosity stemming from the inheritance of the past, and further new fractures, they were currently in the stage of stitching up the wounds.

In the process, arguments emerged that they should ‘track down the Exorcist Order that attacked a state institution and root them out completely,’ but in opposition to this, the ‘theory of the Exorcism Bureau’s incompetence’ rose, and voices claiming that the Exorcism Bureau itself should be abolished became dominant. Thus, the atmosphere that had been focused on the Exorcist Order naturally lost momentum and dissipated.

This was a war of public opinion heavily laden with political implications.

If they dug into the Exorcist Order, the positions of the high-ranking officials—the so-called ‘big shots’—who were entangled with them would inevitably become precarious; thus, the Exorcist Order was directly linked to their lifelines. From their perspective, the Exorcist Order was like a hornet’s nest. It was best not to poke it for no reason and simply leave it alone so that the commotion would be slowly forgotten and naturally fade away.

Because of this, paradoxically, the Exorcist Order was left alone rather than being eliminated. Accordingly, to prepare for the possibility of the Exorcist Order running wild in the future, the Exorcism Bureau, which could oppose them, also had to survive.

In that sense, the Exorcism Bureau and the Exorcist Order could be seen as proving each other’s value for existence by standing at opposite poles and restraining one another. Of course, the Exorcism Bureau had also exerted a clear practical influence in promoting public security and safety and was functioning steadily as an institution for the public good.

Thus, instead of disappearing into the shadows of history, the Exorcism Bureau chose reform and innovation, drawing a clear line from its past. It was the moment the slogan ‘The Exorcism Bureau for a New Era’ was born.

Seok Ju-ryeon, who had stepped down from the position of Head of the Department of Spirit Suppression, was referred to a disciplinary committee and received a three-month suspension. He was currently affiliated with the Emergency Response Committee as an Ordinary Naja, working toward the normalization of the main office.

However, although he lacked an official title, he still sat in the office of the Head of the Department of Spirit Suppression, handling the duties of that position like a shadow. The Najas also continued to call him ‘Head of Department.’

This was less a matter of Seok Ju-ryeon’s own will and more the will of the higher-ups.

After stepping down from his position, Seok Ju-ryeon had wanted to leave the Bureau entirely, even as a Naja. Having participated in the atrocities of the Director of the Exorcism Bureau, Seok Ju-ryeon knew well that he could not be free from responsibility. That was why he had tried to quit as a Naja, not stopping at resigning as the Head of the Department of Spirit Suppression. It was because he felt he no longer had the right to be in the Exorcism Bureau.

In fact, Seok Ju-ryeon had submitted his resignation, but the higher-ups rejected it. This was because there was no one particularly suitable to take the place of the Head of the Department of Spirit Suppression, and the operational void would be too great if Seok Ju-ryeon, who had spearheaded the practical work, disappeared.

Of course, as Seok Ju-ryeon returned to work, voices of opposition emerged within the main office, asking, ‘Should Seok Ju-ryeon, who condoned the Exorcist Order incident and participated in the former Director’s atrocities, be allowed to return to the Exorcism Bureau and exert influence?’ It was a reasonable criticism.

However, there was public opinion in favor of Seok Ju-ryeon’s return that was just as strong. This was based on the fact that he had shown efforts to improve the treatment and safety of the Najas as a leader within the main office, and that he had contributed practically to civilian safety through his dedicated work in the Exorcism Bureau for over a decade.

Furthermore, thanks to Seok Ju-ryeon’s internal whistleblowing and testimony, the truth could be uncovered, and the victims who had been brainwashed by Su-hyang could be released. There were opinions that his contributions as an internal whistleblower should be recognized, even if he was also a participant. There was no dispute that Seok Ju-ryeon had contributed greatly to establishing the direction of the response after the incident.

Accordingly, the higher-ups took into account that Seok Ju-ryeon was both a participant and a victim, that he had sincerely confessed his faults and repented, and that there were precedents of him defying the Director’s unjust orders. Instead of stripping him of his Naja status, they issued a compromise order for him to reflect on his actions and serve in a humble capacity—essentially ‘returning to the ranks as a private’—until the Exorcism Bureau was normalized.

After hearing the summary from Seok Ju-ryeon, Yoon Tae-hee laughed out loud.

“Returning to the ranks as a private?”

Yoon Tae-hee muttered, bewildered.

“What’s with the terminology you’d only see in a textbook?”

— I suppose this is just my fate.

Just as Yoon Tae-hee raised an eyebrow, wondering what he meant.

— I’ve lived my whole life as the Director’s dog, and now they’re telling me to be their dog. I suppose it’s my fate to live in submission with a leash around my neck. Then again, if I can pay for my sins this way…

Yoon Tae-hee remained silent for a moment at the self-deprecating words. Fiddling with his lips as he chose his words, Yoon Tae-hee spoke.

“Why do you say it like that? Try to think positively. These days, a dog’s life is the best life. They give you great food, shower you with affection, and have to take you for walks twice a day. People say if you don’t do that, you’re not fit to raise a dog. If they don’t do that for you, just bite them.”

— …….

“Just think of it as managing your health and keep doing what you were doing. People who’ve lived their whole lives working, like you, Head of Department, suddenly get sick and bedridden if they quit their jobs overnight. You know that from seeing people around you, right? There are plenty of people like that.”

— I feel like it’s about time I rested.

“It’s because you’re born in the Year of the Ox. People born in the Year of the Ox are naturally destined to work a lot.”

— Why is a young punk like you talking about old-fashioned zodiac signs?

“You’re just nitpicking because you have nothing else to say.”

Yoon Tae-hee shrugged and added.

“Anyway, do your best. Use this opportunity to suffer a bit. Who knows, if you serve humbly enough, the higher-ups might make you Director.”

Whether he found it absurd or not, Seok Ju-ryeon laughed softly and said.

— I’ll pass on a position like that.

Yoon Tae-hee, who was bending over to examine the flowers, replied nonchalantly.

“Why? I think that if the Exorcism Bureau isn’t going to be abolished, it would be better if you just went all the way to Director, Head of Department.”

— …….

At Yoon Tae-hee’s sudden remark, the other end went silent.

— What do you mean by that?

“It seems the higher-ups are making you serve humbly just so they can keep grinding you down in the Exorcism Bureau. With the Department of Spirit Suppression lacking manpower, why would they bother leaving your desk in the Head’s office instead of just sending you out into the field to beat up ghosts?”

— …….

“They probably want to quiet the public opinion within the main office by making you reflect first. Then, once things settle down, they’ll either put you back in the Head’s position when the time is right, or make you Director. That’s what I would do if I were them.”

— …….

“If you do return as Head of Department, you should return with the mindset that you’ll eventually become Director. Choi Won-young, the Secret Head, will probably be ousted because of the Yeum Art Center incident, and Shin Ho-jung, Head of the Ritual Tool Department, or Kim Dan, Head of the Purification Department, aren’t the right caliber. As for Han Sang-mook, Head of the Talisman Department, he’s out because he lacks the collateral to be made Director.”

— …Collateral to be made Director?

“He knows nothing about the Exorcist Order.”

Yoon Tae-hee continued as he plopped down in the shade under a tree.

“If I were the higher-ups, I’d want to put someone in the Director’s seat who knows the Exorcist Order well but watches them without digging too deep. Someone who isn’t too closely entangled, but isn’t an enemy either—someone who has the ability to suppress that power if the Exorcist Order ever runs too wild. Because the Exorcist Order holds the higher-ups’ weaknesses.”

— …….

Seok Ju-ryeon was silent for a long time.

— …You’re giving me a headache.

With those words, the call ended after a few bland closing remarks. Since it was a conversation over the phone, he couldn’t see his expression, but Seok Ju-ryeon seemed quite flustered by Yoon Tae-hee’s prediction.

The higher-ups likely hoped the main office would just let the Exorcist Order pass. Seok Ju-ryeon was closely connected to the leader of the Exorcist Order and was a person capable of actual contact. Ordinary Najas might find this problematic, but the higher-ups would think differently. Whether in a good way or a bad way, this part was an important card for the higher-ups.

It was the point where the launch of a new, modern Exorcism Bureau was foreseen.