By Zephyria 
Ki Jae-eon had completely collapsed.
Kim Young-ho’s Adam’s apple bobbed greatly. The hand holding the camera tightened. The frail man visible through the lens. Was that guy really Ki Jae-eon? He was so messed up that he doubted it. Seeing that foolish sight made his throat dry for some reason. Haha, Kim Young-ho licked his lips and smiled hideously. His heart pounded and then constricted painfully. Perhaps… excitement. Yes, this was excitement. The excitement of discovering a scoop? No, perhaps it was a more primal emotion than that.
An ugly and wicked pleasure.
The ‘moment when a successful person falls apart’ was such a great stimulus that he couldn’t take his eyes off it. A slight disgust and an unbearable thrill were mixed appropriately, erasing even his guilt.
It was natural. The sight of a star falling was beautiful.
No one regrets the fall of a star. Rather, they try to cherish it, saying it’s pretty.
He was the same.
Kim Young-ho didn’t think his actions were bad. He knew from his long experience as a reporter what people were enthusiastic about.
It was at that moment.
“What are you doing!”
“Ugh!”
Thud!
A small body that flew in from somewhere rammed into Kim Young-ho.
“You pervert!”
It was a nimble body check that accurately targeted his side. Kim Young-ho screamed in agony and collapsed. The attacker was Jo Eun-ha, one of the Exorcists of the main office. She had emptied the dormitory to match the interview time so that Ki Jae-eon would be less nervous, and had returned when it was time for it to end. She easily jumped over Kim Young-ho, who had fallen with a crash, and ran to Ki Jae-eon.
“Oppa! Jae-eon oppa!”
“Heok, heok… ha, eu…”
“Oppa, snap out of it!”
Jo Eun-ha hugged Ki Jae-eon, who was clutching his chest and sweating profusely, in her small arms. His large body was trembling uncontrollably. No matter how much she called his name, it was no use. He was already half unconscious.
She had never seen Ki Jae-eon, or anyone for that matter, like this before.
A precarious appearance as if he was about to stop breathing at any moment.
“What do I do, oppa…!”
Jo Eun-ha stared at Ki Jae-eon with a shocked gaze, then glared fiercely at Kim Young-ho. What did you do? Her eyes were full of hostility. She was wary, and soon shouted as loudly as she could towards the kitchen, “Guys!!”
The children swarmed in instantly.
As expected, the children who were coming in just as the interview was ending heard Jo Eun-ha’s scream and rushed in without even taking off their shoes. The children, who had rushed in all at once, quickly assessed the situation as they saw Jo Eun-ha hugging Ki Jae-eon as if to protect him.
“It’s that bastard’s doing!”
Jo Eun-ha screamed, filled with resentment.
“Oh, shit!”
“Mister, are you crazy?”
“Call the police! Hey, grab that bastard!”
Several of the bigger boys grabbed Kim Young-ho by the collar and shook him, aggressively cornering him. The other children shielded Ki Jae-eon as if protecting him, checking his condition. They carefully examined him to see if he had been hurt badly. Fortunately, there were no signs of assault under his slightly lifted shirt.
“No, wait, just! Just, agh! Let go of me!”
Just then, Kim Young-ho freed himself from the grabbed collar and complained about the injustice.
“I can’t! I can’t breathe, I can’t! Aish! Why are you grabbing my collar and making a fuss! What did I even do to deserve this?”
Kim Young-ho wore an incredulous expression.
What did he do? His personality was so shameless it was sickening. How could a person be like that? Jo Eun-ha and the children clicked their tongues.
“Shouldn’t we be the ones asking that?”
The children glared, but Kim Young-ho didn’t flinch at all.
“So what! Is it a crime for a reporter to take pictures?”
The one who did wrong was the one raising his voice.
“Wow, this guy is really crazy!”
“Guys, that’s enough! Don’t talk to him anymore. Just hold him. I’ll call Teacher Yeong and the police.”
The oldest of the group shouted.
“No, no, wait, ha… Geez, this is driving me crazy.”
Kim Young-ho swept back his hair and pressed the inside of his cheek with his tongue. Shit, what to do? He became anxious, worried that things would escalate… no, more precisely, that the police would come and confiscate the memory card. Absolutely not. How hard he had worked to get it. He had to protect this at all costs, no matter what. In the end, Kim Young-ho slowly raised both hands towards the children. Then, with the most innocent expression he could muster, he began to defend himself.
“Okay! Okay, everyone calm down. What good does it do to get all worked up? I’ll admit it was a situation that could be misunderstood. I was just as flustered and agitated when you suddenly grabbed my collar. I apologize. But I’m really being wronged. He just suddenly had a seizure during the interview, okay? Really!”
Kim Young-ho’s desperate self-defense was met with a cold response.
Lee Gyeong-hak, who was at the front of the group tending to Ki Jae-eon, opened his mouth with an uncharacteristically stern face, “Excuse me.”
“Do you not understand the situation? Even if what you’re saying is true, it’s still a problem. A person collapsed, and instead of reporting it, you were taking pictures. Are you in your right mind? Are you a psychopath?”
“That’s why I’m saying I’m sorry. What more do you want me to do?”
It was just as voices were about to rise again.
A new face suddenly appeared, pushing through the noisy crowd.
“……?”
It was Ahn Seo-myeong. He looked completely disheveled, as if he had just finished a request. His signature lifeless eyes slowly scanned the crowd. But he didn’t seem very interested… until he spotted Ki Jae-eon.
“Hyung?”
A questioning voice slipped through his parched lips. Ahn Seo-myeong pushed through the people and stepped forward. In the midst of the confused gazes, the moment he saw one person, his body froze.
“……Hyung.”
A faint voice scattered into the air.
Ahn Seo-myeong stood upright, staring at Ki Jae-eon. His pale white complexion seemed to starkly reveal the shock he had received. Then, startled, he snapped back to his senses and said, “Just a moment,” as he approached Ki Jae-eon. He then naturally knelt down and took him from Jo Eun-ha’s arms.
There were no visible external injuries, but just in case, he meticulously pressed between his scalp. He needed to be calm, but his hands kept trembling. At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to check properly. Without hesitation, Ahn Seo-myeong slapped himself on the cheek. Slap! The stinging pain helped him concentrate.
‘His head… seems okay.’
“Noona, did you call 119?”
“My hands are shaking, ha… I’m, I’m about to now.”
“Yes, I’ll watch over Hyung.”
“I’ll be right back after the call.”
Ahn Seo-myeong nodded instead of replying. He didn’t interfere even when he heard the bickering behind him. It wasn’t that he was indifferent. Ahn Seo-myeong was clearly silently furious. But when he prioritized, he decided that protecting the side of the injured Ki Jae-eon was more important than resolving the emotions swirling inside him right now. Setting aside manners and everything else… yes, he was really holding back.
“Ah, let’s stop. He’s not even someone from the main office, why are you all making such a fuss? Honestly, you guys don’t like Ki Jae-eon that much either, do you? I know you all think of him as an unwelcome guest. Does anyone think I don’t know? The relationship between Incheon and Seoul.”
If the sarcasm hadn’t fueled the underlying anger… he swore he would have remained polite until the end.
And that wasn’t just Ahn Seo-myeong’s story.
The noisy interior became quiet as if cold water had been poured over it.
Kim Young-ho, who hadn’t read the precarious atmosphere, clicked his tongue in annoyance and was just about to turn around.
“You’re the unwelcome guest.”
A clear pronunciation that stopped his steps.
“The main office has decided to accept Ki Jae-eon.”
But strangely, at the same time as the fragmented words were heard, the lights shattered instantly with a clang!
“……!!”
Kim Young-ho was startled and flinched. Shit, what is it? Through his bewildered vision, he saw the children standing upright. They were all staring at Kim Young-ho.
Half-tilted light, gloomy gazes piercing through.
“Wh-wha, wha, ……ack!”
He stumbled backward, tripped over his own feet, and fell. A small mistake he would have quickly brushed off in normal times. But something was wrong. The pain… was too severe. From his wrists to his ankles. It felt like all the bones in his body were shattered into small pieces, like he had been in a car accident. Kim Young-ho trembled his arms and swallowed slow breaths. His frightened eyes rolled around, examining his body. Why, why is this happening? As the strange and unpleasant pain continued, he looked at the children as if possessed.
Of course, they hadn’t done anything.
They were just standing there, looking down.
But people’s eyes, originally, like that…….
‘……Were they that black?’
Eyes that looked blacker than necessary.
‘……Eyes?’
No. It was as deep and dark as if they had carved out the eye sockets themselves.
Really, is it an illusion……? Just as the question arose, a bizarre face gradually approached.
The children were clearly not moving, but why.
Why. ……Huh?
‘Right, now, this, this, is strange…….’
It felt like an unknown fear was dominating his brain.
“Heok, heok……! D-don’t come. Don’t come……. Sh-sh, d-don’t, don’t come!”
Kim Young-ho’s breathing vibrated. His chest repeatedly swelled and collapsed, and then, trembling, he soon screamed, “Aaaaaaah!” and ran away. With goosebumps all over his body, he slipped and slid, but didn’t stop crawling on the floor. He even abandoned the camera he had cherished so much.
Above the head of the uninvited guest, who was running away in terror, crows with gleaming red eyes were cawing—caw! caw!
*
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a familiar ceiling.
Faded wallpaper with old patterns.
……Ah, it’s the dorm.
He needed to get up, but his head was throbbing.
‘Did I faint?’
As his senses gradually sharpened, he wiggled his toes, and unfortunately, they moved. Still… alive. A strange disappointment followed.
‘Just die. Why do I keep stubbornly opening my eyes.’
The disappointment soon turned into annoyance. Even though he knew it was meaningless, it wasn’t easy to suppress the surging emotions.
‘I’m so tired of this.’
The source of the annoyance was weariness.
Breathing, becoming lethargic, being consumed by the past—everything was terribly hateful.
‘Please…… just die.’
Just as he was pouring out the habitual curse.
Rustle—rustle.
A faint noise caught his ear.
Only then did Ki Jae-eon realize that he wasn’t alone. What caught his cautiously turned gaze, filled with doubt, was a pair of black eyes watching him as if observing him.
A gaze that quietly watched him.
Even at the moment their eyes locked, without a hint of surprise, he delivered his signature indifferent greeting, “Hello.”
As always, it was Ahn Seo-myeong, that kid.
Soon, as a bashful smile melted into his soft, tofu-like face, Ki Jae-eon’s hand twitched. Because seeing the youthful face with a smile melted away the resentment that had filled his chest.
Strangely, it did.
If you asked why… well, he didn’t know the reason.
Just…….
‘I can breathe.’
Yes, that expression would be the most accurate.
Ki Jae-eon blinked and opened his parched lips.
“Hello…….”
A dry voice came out. It was so unpleasant that even he found it hard to listen to. But Ahn Seo-myeong didn’t remove his smile. He just curved his eyes a little more, as if he was glad to receive the greeting back.
Sparkling.
Ahn Seo-myeong was like a person made by splitting sunlight.
‘He looks warm.’
Ki Jae-eon unconsciously reached out his hand without realizing it. His pale fingertips touched his cheek.
Then Ahn Seo-myeong’s expression became strange. He widened his eyes slightly as if surprised, and soon, “Yeah-,” he rubbed his cheek against the outstretched palm with a gentle resonance. His hair fluttered, and his soft cheeks rubbed against the large palm for a long time, as if acting spoiled.
It was like a very affectionate cat, and strangely, it was comforting.