By Zephyria “Aunt makes the meals. If there’s anything you want to eat, write it on the fridge whiteboard. We usually eat together so it’s easier for her to do the dishes, so make sure you come out on time. Also, put the laundry out all together after six in the evening. You see that bin over there? White is for men, black is for women, so don’t touch it or peek. The bathroom is on the second floor, and the men’s bath is next to it. Packages are inspected before they come in, but they don’t deliver them to your room, so make sure you find them yourself.”
Kim Ju-won rattled off a list of instructions as he led Ki Jae-eon to the room he would be staying in, which was next to his own. In fact, the proper thing to do would be to show him around the living room and bathroom and explain everything one by one… but why bother? He wasn’t a child. He’d figure it out.
That would be more comfortable for both of them.
“That’s it. Ask me anything you’re curious about now.”
“…No,”
“Oh, okay then.”
Kim Ju-won cut Ki Jae-eon off mid-sentence and shrugged. It was as if he had been waiting for it. The same silence as before fell between them. Ki Jae-eon’s eyes widened for a moment, then slowly fell to the floor. A gloomy aura swirled around him. Kim Ju-won clicked his tongue with a disgusted expression at the sight of him becoming dejected so quickly.
How can a guy be so intimidated by something like this?
‘How much have people been coddling him…’
He really didn’t like him.
Kim Ju-won turned away without regret, as if he had finished his business, but then let out a short sigh, “Ah.” It was as if he had forgotten something. Sure enough, he stood in front of Ki Jae-eon again with his hands in his pockets, looking arrogant. He looked like a thug about to shake someone down.
“Hey, I’m only saying this because I’m an old man.”
“…”
“I don’t really care why you came here, okay? I don’t even want to know. But this isn’t a place where people will indulge you. There’s no one here who will. So if you want to stay, drop the habits you picked up in Incheon and stay quiet.”
Twenty-one and twenty-three.
With only a two-year age difference, Kim Ju-won shamelessly gave him advice.
Fortunately, Ki Jae-eon obediently replied that he understood. Kim Ju-won raised his eyebrows at the sight of him pulling his chin in and nodding slightly.
‘I’ve been feeling this since earlier, but he’s quite docile. I was planning to punch him if he talked back.’
What is he, really?
He was starting to get confused.
At least the ‘Ki Jae-eon of Incheon’ that Kim Ju-won had heard about wasn’t a wimp who shrank back when you touched him. He wasn’t an idiot who just spaced out when he got hit, and he wasn’t a loner who was abused at home. If he had to compare him to something, he was like an orca. A monster with no natural enemies. He exuded a great presence just by his reputation, and he fueled the inferiority complex of other sorcerers.
‘That was a total lie, though.’
Kim Ju-won glared disapprovingly at the loser who was fumbling with the handle of his suitcase. What kind of bastard had spread such lies to the world?
What? What did they say?
An arrogant young master?
Bullshit. He was a total loser.
But that didn’t mean he was pitiful… He couldn’t agree with that either. Kim Ju-won hadn’t erased his animosity toward Ki Jae-eon. Yes, that attitude of his, saying, ‘It’s not like he died,’ about Ahn Seo-myeong, who had been hurt because of him.
‘But how can this bastard, who can’t even make eye contact, have such guts?’
His character was really amazing.
‘Did he get scared because he got hit?’
Well, Kim Ju-won had reformed dozens, no, thousands of human trash with his fists.
He wiggled the hand he had in his pocket, thinking of a silly joke about adding another collection to his list. Ah, damn it. Should he give it to him? Should he not? Kim Ju-won, uncharacteristically, groaned and awkwardly turned to Ki Jae-eon, who was creaking and knocking on the door, and threw something he had taken out of his pocket.
It was ointment. And it was ointment that had already been used.
“I gave it to you.”
Kim Ju-won shuddered at the subtle feeling of his whole body tingling. He looked like he wanted to throw up something he couldn’t eat.
In fact, it was common for the guys to fight in the dormitory. Once a fight broke out, a nosebleed was the basic option, and they were lucky if they didn’t break anything.
Of course, what about reconciliation? There was no such thing. They would just casually ask, ‘Have you eaten?’ the next day. Then they would eat a cup of ramen together with bruised faces. As they ate, they would laugh as if nothing had happened.
That was their unspoken rule for maintaining peace. Honestly, taking care of them like this was too… It was a bit disgusting, even though he was the one who did it.
It was more terrible than when he had drunk two bottles of soju with his friend in his early twenties and put his arm around his shoulder, saying, ‘You’re the best, you know? You’re such a cool guy.’
But was Kim Ju-won the type to not take care of someone? That wasn’t the case either.
It was just that ‘men’ other than his teacher, Kim Young, were excluded from that category.
Kim Ju-won was quite soft on Kim Young and the girls. If they said they were sick, he would buy them medicine and porridge, and if they asked him to run errands, he would do it without hesitation. In his opinion, it was only natural.
He had to respect his teacher like the sky, so he couldn’t refuse, and the girls… well, it wasn’t because he was a womanizer, but because they were beings that ‘needed to be taken care of.’
Why? The reason was in his long life on the streets.
For Kim Ju-won, who was a runaway teenager, the dangers that children and girls faced were unimaginable, and the unfair treatment they received was enough to create a new set of values for him. So, for Kim Ju-won, who had become an adult, children and women were beings to be protected. It didn’t matter if others called him a womanizer or a chauvinist.
So, back to the point…
This act of personally delivering medicine to Ki Jae-eon, who was a ‘being who didn’t need to be protected’ according to his standards… was a very embarrassing and unusual thing.
‘Anyway, this will prevent me from being nagged to make up with him.’
Kim Ju-won, thinking of Kim Young’s relieved expression, slowly walked back to his room, thinking that he wouldn’t have to be bothered by nagging to apologize anymore. Just as he was about to grab the doorknob and turn it, he suddenly heard a fumbling voice from next door.
“You, you don’t have to worry.”
The gaze that naturally turned was, of course, on Ki Jae-eon.
“…I’m used to it. This much is, it’s okay.”
Each time his pale lips opened, his gaunt cheeks moved as well.
…Used to it?
What was he used to?
Kim Ju-won blinked to understand what he had just heard. But before he could fully understand, Ki Jae-eon opened the door and went inside.
Kim Ju-won, who was left alone, stood stiffly in place. He took his hand off the doorknob and rubbed his forehead.
Slowly.
Pressing down.
“…”
The corners of his lips gradually turned down. Then, finally, a word popped out.
“…Why are you used to it?”
Just then, Kim Young’s voice began to echo in his ear like a round song.
I think he’s in a very dangerous state.
In Teacher’s opinion, it looks like a kind of panic disorder. I can’t say for sure, but…
I think he’s been abused.
Those things that he had dismissed as ridiculous delusions, if they were actually… true?
Kim Ju-won swallowed hard and cracked his neck from side to side. His expression looked very uncomfortable. His cold fingertips ruffled his messy hair. Ah, damn it. He tilted his head back and took a deep breath, then exhaled and glanced at the door that Ki Jae-eon had entered.
“That bastard, making people feel so uneasy…”
In that moment, the [beings who don’t need to be protected] category that Ki Jae-eon belonged to shook a little, and then the [beings who are being treated unfairly and need to be protected] category flickered faintly.
Without Kim Ju-won realizing it.
As soon as Ki Jae-eon entered the room, he collapsed on the bed. His arms and legs dangled limply.
He didn’t seem to have any intention of unpacking his luggage. Perhaps because he was so tired, his eyes flickered open and closed several times before finally closing weakly.
‘I gave it to you.’
The image of the boy awkwardly handing him the ointment came to mind.
Eyes with three pupils, a tall height, and a sturdy build. If he had to name a striking feature, it would be the faint scar on his right cheek.
Exorcist Kim Ju-won.
‘The hero who became a star while protecting Seoul (main office) when “that thing” awakened.’
There isn’t much detailed information known about him. I only heard a few stories through Ahn Seo-myeong, who honored his memory.
Kim Ju-won used a forbidden Art of Magic with the mindset of mutual destruction for his comrades, ultimately losing his life. Although the spell itself failed, he bought enough time that many people were able to survive, they said.
What was it again? ……Ah, right.
‘That hyung, he seemed really prickly on the outside, but he was actually an incredibly warm person.’
Rough but warm……. Hmm, that’s right.
Ki Jae-eon muttered to himself and tightly clenched the ointment in his hand.
“You didn’t have to give it…….”
Actually, when Ki Jae-eon said he was “used to it,” he was referring to the times he fought “that thing.”
The era when he had to fight while reciting spellcasting even amidst the horrific pain of his flesh being sliced away and his face melting off.
Perhaps because he had walked that path for so long, he had become somewhat numb to ordinary pain. Therefore, a bruise that would soon disappear was really nothing.
From the start, he didn’t hold any particular grudge against Kim Ju-won. He didn’t even feel wronged or resentful. To put it more loosely, it meant he viewed it as ‘probably got what he deserved for doing something wrong.’
‘Yeah, if only I had come to my senses sooner…….’
Just before passing judgment on himself.
Bzzzzzt-!!
Suddenly, his phone rang.