By Zephyria That precious and valuable sacrifice, being used for people who only know themselves.
He was angry, resentful, and felt wronged.
But Ki Jae-eon wouldn’t change his choice, would he? Yeah, because he’s that kind of person.
So Ahn Seo-myeong decided not to hate them.
‘At least I shouldn’t be like them.’
If he lost his temper, it would be like denying Ki Jae-eon’s efforts.
To prove he was right, he shouldn’t become the same.
‘Endure, withstand.’
He wanted to swear and punch, but he gritted his teeth and endured.
‘Persevere.’
So that the world he protected wouldn’t be tainted.
Splash!
“Gasp, Seo-myeong-ah!”
The moment the filth flew again, Ahn Seo-myeong stepped forward. He took the dirty stream of water with his whole body.
In that instant, a slipped plastic basket struck his cheek. Thwack! With a dull sound, his cheek swelled up red.
Thud- thud- clatter!
Silence fell with the sound of the basket falling.
“…Gasp.”
It was the children who broke the silence.
In their shocked eyes, sparks of anger flashed.
“You guys are really going too far!”
“Ugh, I can’t take it anymore!”
“Hey, let Kim Ju-won go!”
“Do you think we can’t swear or punch?!”
“Adults should act like adults!”
A dogfight was about to break out.
“Do you have a solution?”
An emotionless voice cut through the crowd and the children.
“Do you have a solution?”
It was Ahn Seo-myeong.
He tilted his head and wiped the injured cheek with the back of his hand.
“If the Fatal Spirit moves again, do you have another way to stop what comes next? If we abandon him now, who will volunteer to go in next time? Since they’ll be abandoned anyway. Do you think we’re fools? No, we also know our lives are precious. We also want to live, like you, in an ordinary life, without any danger.”
His eyes shone fiercely.
“Are you going to cover up the situation like this? You seem to be misunderstanding something, so let me make it clear. We’re not a volunteer group. We’re just Exorcists.”
Ahn Seo-myeong rolled his eyes once, scanning the crowd.
“I’ll ask one last time. Are you confident you can handle all the choices you’re making now?”
That meant, was it okay to abandon trust in them?
“Huh! Look at this guy? Now he’s threatening us?! Wow, everyone! Did you hear that? A young punk is threatening us!”
“Does it sound like a threat to you?”
Ahn Seo-myeong asked back, as if puzzled.
“Then what you’re doing now is thr…”
“A threat is inducing fear by saying, ‘I’m going to ruin your life.’”
Ahn Seo-myeong took a step forward, and the man took a step back.
“Where in what I said was there anything like that? I was just telling you that if you treat someone who sacrifices themselves like trash, no one will volunteer to go in next time. If such an easy calculation sounds like a threat to you, it must be because you feel guilty. Mister, a relationship where safety and trust have collapsed cannot save each other. I’m telling you this because I’m worried. If you chase after immediate gains, you’ll fall into a pit someday.”
“Geez, huh! Geez! A kid whose blood hasn’t even dried is trying to lecture an adult!”
“You die when the blood in your head dries.”
Ahn Seo-myeong said in a tone of dismay, as if he couldn’t believe he didn’t know that.
“Y-you impudent!”
The man’s hand went up.
It was the bravado typical of someone who didn’t want to admit he was right but didn’t have anything to say.
In the end, a collision was unavoidable. No, to be precise, the word ‘collision’ was too good for it. Kim Ju-won had thoroughly suppressed the one against many.
Eventually, they all went to the police station together. The children were taken away alongside the protesters, pointing fingers at each other. You started it, no, I started it. It felt like the last speck of humanism was being shaken off.
“This is the worst!”
“We’re the victims, so why do we have to get scolded together?”
“Haaah! I should have punched him one more time!”
“Ugh, so annoying.”
“What do we tell Yeong-ssaem?”
“Tell him confidently. What did we do wrong?”
“I can’t say there was absolutely nothing wrong…”
“Who’s stammering without reading the room?”
While the children grumbled and walked, Ahn Seo-myeong slowly moved his feet from behind.
The sunset was already setting.
The very fact that they could see such a sky, so leisurely, was probably because someone was risking their life to fight right now.
“…If.”
Ahn Seo-myeong suddenly muttered, looking at the golden sunset.
“If the Fatal Spirit wakes up again… and we have to fight to protect those people from earlier, will you fight?”
It wasn’t a question aimed at anyone.
But silence fell as if everyone was asking themselves.
It was then.
“We have to fight.”
Kim Ju-won spoke first, bluntly.
“Yeah, we have to.”
Answers followed from the front as well.
“Because that’s what Jae-eon left us with.”
“That’s right. No matter how hard it is and how unrewarding…”
“We have to do it even if no one recognizes us.”
“We’re Exorcists, after all.”
“It’s annoying, but what can we do.”
“It pisses me off, though.”
Laughter and sighs mixed together.
Ahn Seo-myeong’s steps stopped.
In his heart, a single word was engraved in neat characters, as if written with a brush.
His head turned to the side.
The amber sky was clearly reflected in his black eyes.
‘Ah, it’s not just me.’
It wasn’t just him who hadn’t given up on Ki Jae-eon, on his will.
Ahn Seo-myeong slowly clenched his fist.
Before he knew it, his gaze was directed towards the towering Fatal Spirit in the distance.
Ahn Seo-myeong closed his eyes tightly and thought.
Not yet.
Hyung, not yet.
We’re going to fight together.
Whether we get hit with filth or get pointed at, we won’t give up on you.
So you, too, don’t give up on us.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw a slightly clearer sky.
“Don’t worry.”
Next to Ahn Seo-myeong, Kim Ju-won said dryly.
“It’s Ki Jae-eon, after all.”
It was a more certain comfort than any flowery language.
Yeah, that name itself is the basis and the conviction.
Ahn Seo-myeong nodded.
The smell of filth and the stinging of his cheek no longer felt unpleasant.
That’s how the precarious peace continued.
So to speak, days of walking on thin ice.
The precariousness broke easily, as it usually does.
Wooooo!
The Fatal Spirit moved.
Crack-!!
Cracks appeared in the calm daily life.
It was the sound of the forgotten fear once again sweeping over the world.
“It’s all your fault!”
“I’m tired, I’m tired of this!”
“Take responsibility!”
“I knew this would happen!”
“I don’t want this anymore!!”
Thwack! An egg flew at his face.
Kim Yeong and the Exorcists stood in front of the people, holding out their hands.
“Everyone, please calm down! We didn’t wake it up!”
“That’s a joke! I saw you guys secretly praying every time!”
“That’s actually to suppress the evil power…!”
“See! Did you hear that?! I knew it!”
It was forced, no matter how you heard it.
But no words reached the people who had already been incited. In their eyes, the Exorcists were an axis of evil, no different from the Fatal Spirit. In fact, when you think about it, it was a natural result.
Fear brings anger, and anger breeds resentment.
“It’s all your fault! I told you not to touch it!”
“Hey, that guy’s there too. Remember him? The guy who threatened us!”
“The kid who cursed us like he was going to eat us alive!”
“Eeeek! Dirty demon-worshipping group!”
An old man, his face red and purple, gathered saliva and spat at Ahn Seo-myeong.
Kim Yeong frowned for the first time at the sight of that miserable scene.
“What… what is this?”
Even if it was them, they were adults!
The moment harsh words were exchanged.
As if that was the fuse, a physical fight broke out.
“Let’s push through!”
“We have to set an example!”
People rushed in with shouts.
It was truly a dogfight.
“Frankly speaking, Ki Jae-eon or whatever, if he’s already dead…!”
“Does this old man think everything he says is right just because he says it!”
“Aaaah! My hair!”
“Did you hit me? Huh? Did you hit me!”
It was when the commotion was heating up.
Rumble!
The earth cried out.