LFG 43

“Ugh.”

One of the kids groaned, clutching his head. It had been two hours already. In front of him was an old talisman that was nearly impossible to decipher.

“What are you doing?”

At his friend’s question, the kid scrunched up his face and tilted his head. “Umm.”

“I got a request for this… but I can’t figure it out.”

“Let me see. Ah—it looks difficult.”

“It’s been passed down through generations. They just kept it as a family heirloom, but this time their child is taking the college entrance exam. So they don’t know if it’s good or bad to keep this talisman at home.”

“They want you to determine its auspiciousness?”

His friend shrugged at the troubled kid.

“Hey, why are you struggling so hard? You can just ask Jae-eon hyung.”

The kid’s expression brightened. “Oh?”

“If you ask Jae-eon hyung, you’ll get a super long message. He’ll give you everything from the basics to the advanced stuff, all neatly organized.”

“Crazy, is he an AI?”

“A lecture of masterpiece level.”

“But why does he send it as a message?”

“Don’t you know? The kids say it’s because he stutters.”

“Huh, wasn’t that a charm point?”

The kids praised Ki Jae-eon’s voice as gentle and his speaking speed as slow, making him easy to listen to.

It was then.

Kim Ju-won, who had come down to the first floor for a drink of water, spotted the two and slowly approached.

“What’s up?”

“Oh, Ju-won, Ju-won.”

“Hyung, hi.”

Kim Ju-won nodded roughly at the simple greeting, and his eyes fell on the talisman.

“It’s old. Are you deciphering it?”

“Yeah, well. But I can’t figure it out no matter what….”

“Want me to take a look? Where—”

It was the moment Kim Ju-won was about to lower his butt. Before he could finish his sentence, a cheerful refusal was heard. “It’s okay!”

“We can just ask Jae-eon hyung!”

The kid immediately took a picture of the talisman and typed a message. Soon, his phone vibrated! It hadn’t even taken ten minutes.

“Wow!”

“Hey, look at this. He wrote everything from the interpretation to the compatibility and the solution.”

“How many minutes did it take? Didn’t you spend two hours agonizing over it?”

“It’s like it’s automatically outputted just by typing it in… is he really not an AI?”

Frankly speaking, it was a difference created by innate talent, long-term effort, and extensive experience. But to the kids, his efforts were naturally dismissed. Instead, it was regarded as a facet of his talent. Because that was much cooler.

“Amazing.”

“Come to think of it, I’ve heard that Jae-eon hyung has done Curse Unraveling without spirit chant a lot.”

“I’ve heard that too. I thought it was an exaggeration….”

The kids’ chatter never seemed to end. Their voices were filled with untainted respect.

“…Good, then.”

Kim Ju-won, the only one who couldn’t join in, awkwardly stood up. His voice faltered slightly as he spoke, as if he was hesitating. “Anyone else want water?” He tried to act nonchalant, but his steps as he walked to the kitchen were somehow unnatural.

-‘Ju-won hyung, this is too difficult. Help me.’

-‘Hyung, how do you read this scripture again?’

-‘Wow, as expected of Kim Ju-won!’

“…….”

-‘I’m so glad you’re here.’

-‘Kim Ju-won is the one for the main office.’

Kim Ju-won is the one for the main office.

……Still?

“……!”

Huff, he gasped and came to his senses, only to find that the floor was already flooded. Kim Ju-won hurriedly began to wipe the floor. Shit, nothing’s going right. The hands tearing off the tissues and wiping up the water were very rough. Just then, the kids, who had stopped talking, quietly approached Kim Ju-won. Then, without showing any signs of annoyance, they naturally picked up the tissues. Their bodies reacted first, accustomed to communal living and joint responsibility.

“Aigo, is hyung becoming like Jae-eon hyung too?”

While quietly wiping the floor, one of the kids joked with Kim Ju-won, giggling.

Then, Kim Ju-won’s eyes changed in an instant.

“Hey.”

Are you doing that on purpose? A cold voice heavily descended between the three of them.

“Uh, uh?”

The kid who had made the joke stuttered, visibly flustered. It was only natural. He had just thrown out a light joke as usual, but when the other person was serious, he became embarrassed instead. The atmosphere became uncomfortable at once. The kid rolled his eyes, looking troubled. In fact, Kim Ju-won’s personality was a bit fiery, but he wasn’t the type to get on people’s nerves like this. It would be different if he openly cursed at them, calling them this bastard or that bastard.

“Ha, shit.”

A strange silence followed. The kids, who had been watching, gradually understood the seriousness of the situation and lowered their eyes, biting their lips tightly. It was a posture of saying that they would lie low without being told. The kids, who had taken a low profile, glanced at each other. What do we do? Is Ju-won hyung really angry? Whether they had really made any mistakes or not was not very important to them. Rather, they were prioritizing Kim Ju-won’s feelings.

In other words, Kim Ju-won’s position was that great.

There was a reason he was a pillar of the main office.

But Kim Ju-won’s thoughts were different. He was regretting his uncool behavior, which he had committed while being swayed by his emotions. Of course, it was true that he was somewhat in charge of discipline among the kids. But that was only when they violated the rules of the main office.

Now, let’s think about it. Is the fear of a ‘thug who cracks down for no reason’ the same as the fear of a ‘hyung who scolds me because I did something wrong’? Not at all. The weight is completely different. The former is just a reign of terror. A narcissistic thug who can’t give any meaning or lesson. Kim Ju-won didn’t want to be branded as such a person by the family of the main office. Of course. What he wanted was not a dictator with power, but a big brother they could rely on without worry.

So, he had to apologize.

Kim Ju-won sighed and lowered his head. Then, he roughly swept his hair up. Black hair scattered loosely between his long, large fingers.

“Hyung has been a bit tired lately… so I was sensitive. I’m sorry.”

The kids who heard Kim Ju-won’s apology exchanged glances with expressions of relief. Then, they smiled as if to say it was okay.

“No, hyung, you have those times. Ah, we’ll finish this up. Go get some more sleep.”

“Yeah, yeah. Go rest!”

Kim Ju-won, who had realized early on that there was no point in stubbornly holding on, left, leaving behind the words, “Then I’ll leave it to you.”

‘Why is this happening.’

His stomach felt queasy as he walked to his room. He even had the illusion that the normal hallway was half-tilted. Kim Ju-won frowned, wincing at the throbbing headache. Shit, I’m dizzy. His sturdy body momentarily lost its balance and staggered. He exhaled a murky breath and rubbed his ears irritably. Shit, it’s noisy. Shut up! His breath gradually became rough and panting. The hallway was clearly quiet, but he felt like the whispers of evil people were constantly continuing. It’s strange. Something was wrong.

…Petty ghosts or Evil Spirits could never enter.

But why.

Why on earth.

Why did it feel like evil had seeped into his heart?

Kim Ju-won, standing in front of his door, slowly turned his head and stared blankly at the room next door.

The outsider who came to the main office. It was Ki Jae-eon’s room.

‘Is that bastard muttering something?’

Mutter, mutter. Kim Ju-won muttered to himself.

Then, oh shit, he grabbed the doorknob.

-Click. Kim Ju-won’s head gradually dropped as he grabbed the doorknob.

‘Why am I so sensitive?’

The answer to the confusing question soon came.

‘…Ah, right, Mystical Instrument.’

Maybe it’s because it’s not as well-trained as I’d like, so… I keep getting anxious.

Quickly, as soon as possible.

‘Just prove it, as always.’

Show them that I can do as well as Ki Jae-eon.

In other words, proving the value of [Kim Ju-won is the one for the main office].

It was a time when that was desperately needed.

*

“Haa.”

Kim Ju-won put the flute he was holding on the desk and got up from his seat.

‘…It’s not working out.’

Taming it is taking longer than expected. The stress accumulated from the guy who wouldn’t follow his lead was no joke.

Tick-tock. The time was already pointing to 3 a.m. His body was complaining of fatigue, but his mind was too clear to the point of madness.

Even considering being tormented by this guy, his condition was abnormally ruined. He had even been tossing and turning for a week. This had never happened before… this couldn’t go on any longer.

‘Let’s take a bath.’

If I sweat a little and make my body and mind drowsy… I’ll be able to sleep.