By Zephyria 
‘He’s going to collapse.’
Ahn Seo-myeong stared silently at the end of the hallway where the man had disappeared.
However, he has no intention of forcing himself on someone who doesn’t want help. What he wants to give is help, not interference.
‘But who is he?’
Was there such a person in the main office?
‘It’s not a face you can forget.’
Including both good and bad meanings, his impression was quite strong.
…Um, a handsome Jiangshi?
His gloomy appearance is perfect for appearing in dreams.
‘If I had seen him at night, I might have done Exorcism…’
As he tilted his head, he heard someone running from behind him.
“Seo-myeong!”
“Hello.”
The person who bowed and greeted him was Kim Yeong, the Exorcist of the main office and his Teacher.
“Have you seen Exorcist Ki Jae-eon?”
Kim Yeong was holding a cell phone in his hand. Judging from the fact that there were no various stickers that the disciples had forcibly attached, it was not Kim Yeong’s.
A neat, basic case of a domestic cell phone.
Ahn Seo-myeong quickly understood the situation.
‘Ah, Exorcist Ki Jae-eon must have left it behind. Is he more clumsy than I expected?’
Ahn Seo-myeong shrugged his shoulders as he stared at the cell phone. It meant he hadn’t seen him. There was no one who looked like [the rumored Exorcist Ki Jae-eon] while walking down the hallway.
Unless it’s a patient who seems like they need to be hospitalized right away.
“Oh, okay. Thank you. Have a great day today. See you in the evening~.”
“Ah… Teacher.”
Ahn Seo-myeong called out to Kim Yeong, who was trying to pass by in a hurry.
“I’m sorry to bother you when you’re busy.”
“Oh, no, tell me.”
“There was someone who wasn’t feeling well earlier…”
“Oh? Who! Eun-ha? Gyeong-hak?”
“No. It was someone I’ve never seen before. He’s tall and his hair is slightly wavy. His eyes are sunken and he keeps gagging. I think he’s been hit by Evil Aura or cursed…”
It wouldn’t be bad to give a heads-up to the best Curse Unraveling Exorcist in the main office. Ahn Seo-myeong, who made a light judgment, rattled off the situation from just now. Then Kim Yeong, who had been listening quietly, suddenly cut him off, unlike usual.
“Huh? Seo-myeong, you said you didn’t see Exorcist Ki Jae-eon.”
“Yes?”
“Huh?”
“…Oh, that person… Huh? Yes?”
That Jiangshi who was about to die is Exorcist Ki Jae-eon?
Ahn Seo-myeong blinked blankly with his mouth slightly open.
“He looked like he was going to die today or tomorrow.”
Kim Yeong smiled awkwardly at the harsh expression.
“Yeah, that’s him.”
Ahn Seo-myeong easily found Ki Jae-eon in the wide city center.
If he doesn’t have a cell phone, it would be difficult to call someone, so wouldn’t he use public transportation? He made a rough guess, but it turned out to be surprisingly accurate. Ki Jae-eon was seen standing blankly inside the nearest subway station. He was also very tall, so he was easily noticeable. Ahn Seo-myeong, who took a deep breath, was holding the cell phone he had received from Kim Yeong in his left hand.
‘Teacher, I’ll go.’
‘Oh? You, Seo-myeong?’
‘Yes, I want to have a one-on-one conversation if possible. Because it may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.’
How great he is, whether he is really stronger than Kim Ju-won Hyung, and how to become like him.
As a fellow Exorcist, there were many things he wanted to ask him.
“Ki-!”
It was the moment he was about to call him.
Ding ding ding ding-!
[The train is now entering the station. There is a gap between the platform and the train…]
Along with the entry announcement, a rattling sound was heard from afar.
Um, a train is coming. He was just thinking that… but Ki Jae-eon was strange.
He started walking unsteadily, even though the train had not stopped.
Rattling rattling rattling-!
As it is the only station without a screen door, the risk of accidents is high, so ordinary people usually step back when they hear the train entry announcement. Ahn Seo-myeong did, and so did everyone else. Of course. That’s the normal reaction.
But Ki Jae-eon was different.
He walked out as if he was about to jump into the oncoming train.
That’s when he saw it.
The black and sticky Evil Spirits clinging to Ki Jae-eon’s entire body were pulling him down- down- below the platform.
Ahn Seo-myeong’s eyes widened.
Kik- kikikik- kik!
At the same time as the ground shook strongly, a flashing light was approaching.
His thoughts stopped there.
Ahn Seo-myeong pushed through the people haphazardly. A middle-aged man who dropped his cell phone after bumping into him shouted angrily, but he didn’t stop. It felt like his heart was about to burst.
Rattling rattling rattling!
With a loud noise and a strong wind, the train passed the two people at a high speed and finally stopped.
Ding ding- ding-!
[The platform doors are opening.]
“Haa, ha…”
“……”
“Exorcist, do you, haa, build up your courage like this?”
Ahn Seo-myeong sat down, holding Ki Jae-eon in his arms, and caught his breath.
Really, it was a close call.
Soon, the people who got off the train and the people who were going to board formed a group and surrounded the two.
They left behind many concerns, such as, Oh my, what’s going on, are you okay? But he ignored them because he wasn’t in the mood to answer.
Ahn Seo-myeong was just curious about what this man in his arms was thinking when he did this.
*
Goo goo goo.
Goo goo gook.
Currently, the two were sitting on a park bench near the station, catching their breath.
There were no words between the two.
The silence was maintained until the pigeons cooed and a few children passed by laughing.
“…Ah, over there.”
Unexpectedly, it was Ki Jae-eon who broke the long silence.
“…Th, thank you.”
He stared intently at the line of ants crawling on the ground and offered his thanks in a voice that could barely be heard. Honestly, he didn’t look very grateful. Rather, he seemed to resent him a little.
No, what did he do so well to resent him…? Ahn Seo-myeong, who was momentarily dumbfounded, wondered if he should give advice such as, ‘It’s a nuisance to jump in front of a train to commit suicide.’ But then he looked at Ki Jae-eon’s gloomy face and tilted his head.
“Your reputation and image are very different.”
The wind blew over the two.
The sound of rustling leaves echoed quietly.
“You’re also slow to speak.”
“Ah, uh?”
“You seem a bit… gloomy.”
Ki Jae-eon looked at Ahn Seo-myeong with a flustered expression. Um, gloomy? He was at a loss for words at the sudden criticism.
“I feel like you don’t have any friends.”
Ki Jae-eon’s lips gaped at the direct hit that shattered his bones.
If he were to make a claim, there were some who could be called friends or colleagues in the distant future.
A prime example is Ahn Seo-myeong, who is talking about not having friends in front of him.
Of course, they all died because of his incompetence. No, they are currently alive and well…
‘Anyway, we are complete strangers now.’
It is true that there is no card to deny Ahn Seo-myeong’s words.
Ki Jae-eon then realized that he was a loner. Ahn Seo-myeong’s lips faintly curved up when he saw that strange expression. It was a subtle difference that you wouldn’t notice unless you looked closely, but there was clearly a small playfulness on his plain expression.
“Exorcist Ki Jae-eon-.”
Ahn Seo-myeong’s lips slowly opened.
“You’re quite ordinary.”
Ki Jae-eon’s shoulders stiffened at the unexpected words.
That’s because ‘ordinary’ was a word he had never heard in his life.
Ordinary? …Me?
The more he thought about it, the stranger it felt.
[Ordinary.]
A word he had never heard in the past or future.
It was so strange.
‘I’m ordinary?’
Ki Jae-eon swallowed hard.
The other person may have said it without any meaning… but it was different for Ki Jae-eon. He was undergoing an amazing change.
‘It’s a little easier to breathe.’
This peaceful world, which had been feeling ‘out of place’ with just the word ‘ordinary’, somehow began to feel a little more natural.
…With just one word.
Me, who can blend into ordinary life in an ordinary way.
Me, who doesn’t have to take any responsibility.
Me, who doesn’t have to fight.
Ordinary, me.
Human Ki Jae-eon, not an Exorcist.
Ki Jae-eon’s head dropped.
‘If only I could…’
He became very envious of the self in his imagination.
Just as he was blankly thinking that he wanted to trade places with his current self if possible.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”
Suddenly, a sheepish apology was heard.
Ki Jae-eon, who was startled, turned his gaze and saw Ahn Seo-myeong, who was apologizing again, saying, “I was being presumptuous.” It seemed that he had misunderstood Ki Jae-eon’s reaction of dropping his head after hearing the word ordinary. Ahn Seo-myeong muttered, “Well, it was a statement that crossed the line for someone like me,” and nodded.
The atmosphere rapidly subsided.
Exactly, only Ki Jae-eon.
Ahn Seo-myeong, who said he would understand his place, remained indifferent with his unique expressionless face, and Ki Jae-eon, who heard the words, was the only one who was restless and in a mess.
‘I’m okay…’
He opened his mouth to explain that it wasn’t like that, but he didn’t know what to say, so he just moved his lips like a fool.
“I, I, I didn’t, didn’t sleep well.”
After thinking for a long time, that’s all that came out.
Ki Jae-eon pressed his cheek with the back of his hand.
Since there was no way to explain his foolish attitude, he decided to blame it on his condition. Fortunately, Ahn Seo-myeong seemed to believe him.
“Ah, sleep? Come to think of it, you have dark circles.”
Ahn Seo-myeong reached out towards Ki Jae-eon’s face.
Ki Jae-eon flinched, but didn’t bother to avoid his touch.
I tilted my head for no reason, afraid of ruining the carefully softened atmosphere again.
“I heard you came to see our Teacher for Curse Unraveling. It ended faster than expected, so everyone’s probably disappointed. They pretend they’re not, but they were really curious about Exorcist Ki Jae-eon. Me too.”
A warm hand touched under my right eye.
It was the first time in a while I felt someone else’s body temperature.
It was so unfamiliar that my body twitched.
“……Ugh.”
“……”
“……Uh.”
“……”
Isn’t he touching me for a bit too long?
Ki Jae-eon’s eyes fluttered as Ahn Seo-myeong’s thumb brushed under his eyes.
He wanted to tell him to stop, but Ahn Seo-myeong looked so focused that he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
“You’re really……”
Ahn Seo-myeong lingered on Ki Jae-eon’s eyes as if obsessed, then slowly parted his lips.
“Good with men’s hands.”