By Zephyria “Sorry. I thought there was dust on you.”
Does he expect me to believe such a ridiculous excuse?
‘Treating people like animals……. It’s absurd.’
If this were Heavenly Land, that guy would already be stripped to the waist and running around the private training ground dozens of times. He would have been driven to the point of dehydration, and only after seeing him prostrate himself and say, ‘I was wrong,’ would he have been forgiven. Whether he knows it or not, that kid should be truly grateful that his affiliation is the main office.
‘That’s enough. I don’t want to deal with him anymore.’
Ki Jae-eon tilted his chin towards the door with a coldly indifferent expression. It was a signal to stop being presumptuous and get lost.
“Already?”
The shameless guy replied as if he were disappointed.
“I feel like I’ve played with you a lot.”
“Didn’t I just sit down?”
“Are you unaware, or are you pretending to be? You seemed smart. I guess not.”
“Do I look smart?”
“No, you look stupid.”
He spewed out unfiltered insults right in his face. But Ahn Seo-myeong was not to be outdone. As if he had the ability to filter out unpleasant words, he didn’t show any particular emotional disturbance and just spouted nonsense like, “Does looking stupid mean I’m cute?” No, is it just nonsense?
“I don’t have time to joke around with you.”
Ki Jae-eon’s mood soured even further.
“Still, please think of me favorably. As I said, I want to get close to you, senior.”
Ki Jae-eon stared at Ahn Seo-myeong with an annoyed expression.
“Were you close to me before?”
“In my own way.”
Come to think of it, his mother also said things like, ‘You liked the main office.’ Ah, why did I do that? Why did ‘I’ only do stupid things until the end?
His mood suddenly plummeted.
Whenever he found traces of the ‘me’ that he didn’t remember, unpleasantness boiled up from his core. A feeling that his whole body would soon be dyed black and dragged down to the bottom.
Yes, choices that the current me would never make.
‘Crazy bastard.’
In the end, his anger was directed at ‘himself’.
He felt a strange sense of injustice.
He had left his parents’ embrace early.
He had cut off his ordinary life without hesitation.
But he had never felt miserable. Rather, as time passed, he became more certain. That he had done well to live as an Exorcist.
However.
The uninvited guest called ‘me’ ruined everything.
[A family that shares warmth]
[Friends who stand shoulder to shoulder]
Things he had deliberately abandoned to be perfect were sparkling before his eyes. Once he tasted it, he knew. Like the fox who tasted the grapes that had accidentally fallen from the tree. How special the value of those things he had pretended not to want was.
However.
‘It’s not mine.’
It even planted a sense of inferiority that he shouldn’t have known. Isn’t it funny? He laughs at it as a stupid and idiotic choice, but in fact, he had secretly been hoping for it.
What’s even more infuriating is why only ‘he’ enjoyed those things without any hesitation.
What was he thinking… abandoning Ki Jae-eon, the Exorcist of the Gi Clan of Heavenly Land, whom he had worked so hard to build up?
The main office?
Friends?
Family?
So easily.
So simply.
He trampled on my efforts.
‘What have I been through all this time for?’
Even his father and mother couldn’t do this.
They chose him not as a son, but as a disciple, as a Teacher, not as parents. He had also accepted and agreed to it. But, what? He shouldn’t like the ‘me’ who lost his memories more now.
Affection.
If such a relationship had been possible from the beginning, it would feel like his efforts so far were being denied. He couldn’t allow that.
‘Who said you could change my life?’
I am still Ki Jae-eon, the Exorcist of the Gi Clan, of Heavenly Land.
‘Nothing will change.’
His head cooled down, and the confusion disappeared.
“Since you said we were close, I’ll give you a break.”
“Yes?”
“I won’t deny that we were close before. Since you don’t remember anyway. But end your life’s achievements with that. Don’t be greedy for more.”
Don’t expect anything from the current me.
“If you’re done, I’m tired, so close the door and leave. And try not to act like you know me.”
Ki Jae-eon finished speaking in his unique, cold tone and then looked away as if he had no more interest.
“…….”
A sharp attitude that would have made any other ordinary person lose interest and storm out of the room long ago.
But no matter how long he waited, the expected reaction didn’t come.
Why is it so quiet? As soon as Ki Jae-eon rolled his eyes with a question, he met a pair of round, black eyes.
“……?”
“Senior.”
He thought he was going to swear.
“Isn’t the achievement a prerequisite for achieving a result?”
The guy who had been deep in thought suddenly threw out those words instead of swearing.
“What?”
“Then you’re wrong.”
Ahn Seo-myeong slowly got up from his seat and walked towards the door. The white hand that had failed to touch his hair this time reached for the doorknob.
“It would be an honor if you remained as an achievement in my life, senior……. Um, yes. That’s actually my goal.”
Goal?
“Unfortunately, I haven’t achieved it.”
So it’s not yet.
“I’ll decide the results.”
The guy opened the door with a creak.
“I originally had something else to say, but it seems too early now. I’ll tell you later since you don’t seem to be in a good mood, senior. Oh… and I’ll bring you food to your door at one in the morning, so please eat it. I think you’ll be hungry around that time.”
“That’s unnecessary meddling.”
Ahn Seo-myeong tilted his face slightly, which was half-hidden by the door, and smiled mischievously.
“Wanna bet?”
Thinking about it again, that bastard is crazy.
“Will that be alright?”
The people sitting around the round wooden table all turned to look at a woman. The woman sitting at the head of the table was Ryu Seong-hee, the lady of the Gi Clan. She had come to the main office again because of her son’s problem.
“Teacher Ryu…….”
Kim Yeong called out to her with a worried tone. Then, Ryu Seong-hee strongly clenched the hand on the table and opened her mouth.
“I’ve talked to him enough. As I said at the beginning……. That’s the conclusion we came to. It’s very unfortunate and a waste that the experiences of Exorcist Ki Jae-eon will disappear, but as a mother, I can’t throw that child into the mud twice. Instead, if disaster strikes…… both he and I will gladly risk our lives to stop it. So please understand our choice.”
After finishing speaking, Ryu Seong-hee slowly lowered her head.
“Teacher Ryu…….”
“Who would object to the two of you saying that you will do that?”
“It’s true that I’m scared, but, yes…. We can’t just put the burden on Jae-eon.”
All the adults nodded.
“Teacher Ryu.”
“Teacher Kim Yeong, please take good care of our Jae-eon. I’ll come often, but…….”
“No. What I’m worried about is Teacher Ryu and Elder Ki Tae-ho. You’ve just resolved things with Jae-eon, will you be alright?”
“We have to bear it.”
Ryu Seong-hee gave a lonely smile and then continued with a determined look in her eyes.
“It’s a little strange to say this, but honestly, I think it’s a good thing in some ways. I wanted to tell this Jae-eon that I was sorry too. Maybe it’s an opportunity given by God.”
It was heartbreaking to lose the softened relationship, but if her son could forget his painful memories and live on, she would gladly do it.
“Jae-eon will be very confused. He’ll often be rude. Please understand with a generous heart, Teachers. Also, I’ll take responsibility for any problems, so please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time.”
Ryu Seong-hee got up from her seat and bowed politely in front of everyone. Despite their pleas for her not to do this, she remained unmoving for a long time. It was the heart of a mother entrusting her child.
It’s already been two weeks since he stayed at the main office.
He doesn’t have his memories back, and he doesn’t want to get them back. He’s just waiting for the order to return as soon as possible, but……. It seems impossible for the time being. Because his mother was firm.
‘She only asks useless questions like if I’ve eaten.’
She doesn’t say anything about coming back.
Thanks to that, every day is a life of unemployment.
‘There’s no suitable place to train either.’
Above all, those idiots keep sticking to him, so there’s no place to relax except in his room.
“Ah…….”
Ki Jae-eon frowned at the languid time he was experiencing for the first time. Those who have eaten meat eat it better. He doesn’t know about resting either, because he’s never done it.
‘……It’s boring.’
He was spending his days in a life similar to exile.
Knock knock.
He heard a knock.
“Jae-eon, good morning. Are you awake?”
“Yes, who is it?”
“Ah~!”
A short exclamation was heard, and the door opened.
Then, the person who introduced himself as ‘Kim Yeong’ appeared before him. What was it? He said he was a Teacher at the main office.
“What’s the matter…….”
“Ah, yes! I was wondering if you had some time!”
“Yes?”
“It’s boring to just stay in your room.”
Kim Yeong said with sparkling eyes.
“Could you assist me? Think of it as rehabilitation.”
“Assist?”
“Yes, I’m going to train the kids, but another Teacher is away for a while. It would be a great learning experience for the children if someone like you, Jae-eon, could help, but is it difficult?”
It’s obvious flattery. But it’s not wrong.
‘It’s foolish to just let someone like me rot.’
As expected, a Teacher knows how to use people.
Ki Jae-eon snorted secretly at Kim Yeong.
‘What to do……. Should I refuse?’
Honestly, he would have readily refused, saying, ‘Do I have time to spare?’ if it were normal.
Very unfortunately, he has…… time to spare now!
No, above all, he was bored!
‘Now that it’s come to this, should I make those annoying guys run around?’
Should I show them the taste of Heavenly Land?
‘……That would be fun.’
Ki Jae-eon pretended to be worried for no reason, and then reluctantly got up from the bed with a creak.
“If it’s just once, well……. So what do I have to do?”