By Zephyria 
‘Wouldn’t it work if I played the female role?’
That’s right! If he played the female role, wouldn’t it be fine even if there were two men!
Gender didn’t matter in dance.
‘Then what’s left is…….’
The male Exorcists of the main office lined up in Ki Jae-eon’s head.
Lee Gyeong-hak? Basically, he’s frivolous, talks a lot, and is very scared.
But on the other hand, you could say he’s full of energy, sensitive to danger, has excellent pre-inspection skills, and has no aversion to communication.
But the final decision was ultimately no.
Then Kim Min-soo? No.
Park Young-min? No.
.
.
.
As he eliminated them one by one using the process of elimination, only two people remained in the end.
Kim Ju-won and Ahn Seo-myeong.
One was skill, the other was personal interest?
‘Why…… Seo, Seo-myeong is good too.’
No, that’s not what he should be arguing about.
Personal interest…….
Ki Jae-eon’s eyebrows curved softly, and the bridge of his nose twitched. His cheeks flushed, and he couldn’t suppress the laughter that leaked out like an idiot.
It was clearly the appearance of someone suffering from first love.
“Still, there might be someone who doesn’t want to do it…… It’s better to ask…….”
Especially since Ahn Seo-myeong was busy taming the Cursed Womb Cave.
Ki Jae-eon hesitated and picked up his cell phone.
Eum, what if they both refuse?
With worry, he carefully typed a message.
The next day.
Kim Yeong stood in front of two people.
“So…… which of you two wants to volunteer-.”
“Me.”
“I’ll do it.”
Before he could even finish speaking, the two men raised their hands at the same time. Their arms, raised as high as if they were going to pierce the sky, were shouting for him to choose them.
Both men had great momentum.
Their answers, postures, and eyes were all confident in themselves.
“Oh my.”
Kim Yeong smiled awkwardly.
He gave a gentle smile and gestured to his two disciples to calm down.
“I know you both are eager, but there’s no need to get so heated.”
Having motivation was something to welcome, but too much was not good either. There was a reason why the saying “too much is as bad as too little” existed.
“Let’s both calm down. First, Seo-myeong, you have to tame the Cursed Womb-.”
“Teacher.”
Ahn Seo-myeong calmly cut him off. What kind of polite rudeness was this?
“It’s okay. There’s no problem even if I do it in parallel. I’m capable enough to do it. This kind of experience isn’t an opportunity that comes easily. Please, I beg you.”
He spoke fluently, as if he had prepared his words in advance.
Seo-myeong, you’ve prepared a lot. The corners of Kim Yeong’s lips twitched ambiguously.
“Oh… is that so?”
He hurriedly turned his gaze to the next target.
“Then Ju-won-.”
“Teacher, it’s better for me to do it.”
Kim Ju-won shrugged and interjected.
“You know my specialty. It’s not Yeonjeong, but I’ve danced similar kinds of dances, and I have much more experience than that guy.”
At the part about “that guy,” Kim Ju-won and Ahn Seo-myeong’s gazes met fiercely. Pajijik! Invisible sparks flew.
“I’ve grown a lot too to be discussing experience.”
“Not enough to close the gap.”
Just as Kim Ju-won’s lips were about to curl up slightly like a firstborn teasing his younger sibling.
“Yeonjeong is-.”
Ahn Seo-myeong, who cut him off, retorted in a subtle tone.
“Because it’s a dance that can’t be done with friendship alone.”
The word “alone” was very slightly emphasized.
Kim Ju-won’s eyebrows twitched and twisted, accurately reading that subtle emphasis.
‘It’s just friendship.’
Words that Ahn Seo-myeong had once given as a warning.
In other words, he was deliberately targeting him now.
Look at this bastard? The air stiffened in an instant.
“…….”
“…….”
It was when the two men’s war of nerves was intensifying.
Kim Yeong suddenly clapped his hands loudly.
“That’s enough.”
He pretended to be stern and opened his mouth.
“Have you both forgotten? Fighting is forbidden. If you keep doing that, I won’t give you the opportunity. I’ll do it instead.”
Even so, are you okay with it? At Kim Yeong’s scolding, both of them shut their mouths. It was only natural. If they made a mistake, Kim Yeong would be the one exchanging sticky movements with Ki Jae-eon. Just imagining it was horrifying enough.
He refused to have his Teacher as his love rival in any worldview.
“Alright. Then how about this.”
With his hands behind his back, Kim Yeong offered a compromise to the two dejected men.
“Both of you prepare. I’ll give you until nine in the morning tomorrow. After that, the one who has better chemistry with Jae-eon ssi… no, with Jae-eon, will do it. How about it? No complaints from either of you, right?”
“……”
“……”
The answers didn’t come for a while.
Kim Yeong narrowed his eyes and grinned.
“Why so quiet? Should Teacher do it?”
“I’ll prepare.”
“Yes…”
The delayed answers finally came. As expected of the hidden power within the main office.
“Okay, you know what happens if you fight after Teacher leaves, right?”
Kim Ju-won and Ahn Seo-myeong, unable to express their sullen feelings at the smile that contained the pressure that he wouldn’t allow any more fighting, nodded their heads.
“See you tomorrow~ Everyone smiling?”
Kim Yeong, who had thoroughly laid out his final warning, left first. Only after the door closed did they finally release their breaths. Ahn Seo-myeong, who had been tensed up, straightened his bent legs and stood up, but then a low voice grabbed his ankle.
The other person was obvious.
Kim Ju-won, with his hands in his pockets, was staring at him with a slightly disgruntled expression.
“You, about what happened in the annex before—”
“Hyung.”
Ahn Seo-myeong cut him off.
“Hey, I’m talking.”
“I’m sorry for being prickly.”
It was an unexpected apology.
Kim Ju-won’s expression froze for a moment. Then, his brow furrowed. As if asking, ‘What’s your angle?’
“No. I think I just overreacted.”
“What?”
“You and Jae-eon Hyung are close, right? What’s between you two—right?”
He felt like he was hearing a familiar tone.
Then it suddenly came to him.
‘Hey, it’s me and Jae-eon. What’s between us—.’
The words he had said before had come back like a boomerang.
Wow, this guy…
Kim Ju-won glared at Ahn Seo-myeong with a disgusted look. Even though he didn’t hide his displeasure at all, Ahn Seo-myeong seemed unfazed.
“Holding a grudge.”
“Why are you uncomfortable? I’m apologizing.”
“Why don’t you just openly mock me?”
“Ah, that’s right. Hyung, you said that you have a lot to repay Jae-eon Hyung. That’s why you want to help him.”
Ahn Seo-myeong lightly scanned the air with an indifferent gaze, then looked back at Kim Ju-won. No, it was the right look to describe as aiming.
“Are you sure?”
“Hey.”
“I told you before. Be clear about your attitude.”
“……”
“If it’s not love but friendship, I’ll be respectful.”
Kim Ju-won didn’t answer.
Did he take the silence as agreement? Or did he judge that he wasn’t worth dealing with?
Just as Ahn Seo-myeong was about to quietly step away,
“Yeah, I said that before.”
A low admission was heard.
“But you also said this, didn’t you? You never know what might happen. Uh, I agree. That’s exactly how I feel right now.”
He nodded his head very slowly.
It was a nonchalant and swaggering gesture.
“But this time, it’s not about responsibility or a joke.”
“……”
“You want me to be clear? Okay, then I’ll tell you what you want to hear. I don’t think I can just be friends. I know it looks bad to be doing this now. But can you control your heart?”
“The most untrustworthy thing in the world is people.”
“Watch your mouth, you little punk. Well… anyway, this is the respect I can show you.”
“……”
“Wanna fight?”
“No.”
Ahn Seo-myeong shook his head at Kim Ju-won’s question, which he threw out casually. Since the storm he had been prepared for didn’t come, Kim Ju-won’s eyebrows went up.
“Unexpected.”
“It’s not unexpected. I’m angry.”
The answer was gentle but firm.
“But we still have something to do. And that’s too important to ruin with personal feelings, so I’m holding back. More than anything, what changes if I get into a fistfight with Hyung? I’m telling you this as your senior. Love isn’t fair. The relationship between the ‘gap’ and the ‘eul’ is clear. We have to kneel, and only Jae-eon Hyung can give us his blessing. So instead of pointlessly fighting and throwing away the remaining friendship… why don’t you go and say something nice to him one more time? Ju-won Hyung, you remember too. To be loved, you shouldn’t be biting and tearing at other dogs, but wagging your tail and acting cute to your owner.”
“You talk too damn much.”
“I’ll talk even more when I comfort you later?”
“Who’s comforting who.”
“Me comforting Hyung?”
Ahn Seo-myeong shrugged as if it were obvious, and Kim Ju-won twisted his lips.
“Funny.”
Kim Ju-won was the first to end the conversation. He waved his hand in the air and brushed past Ahn Seo-myeong.
“Nine o’clock tomorrow.”
“Nine o’clock tomorrow.”
The words overlapped at the same time.
Tomorrow, a clear victory or defeat will be decided, but unfortunately, neither Kim Ju-won nor Ahn Seo-myeong thought about their own defeat.
Because it was next to Ki Jae-eon.