Mu-ryeong’s Spirit

Mu-ryeong shot up from his seat, grabbing the raincoat he had carelessly tossed aside. As soon as he pulled it on, he turned to Hwan-young and threw out a single command before dashing outside.
"Wait here!"
The rain pounded down, drenching him instantly. If he hadn’t put on the raincoat, he would have been soaked like a drowned rat. But Mu-ryeong didn’t care about wet shoes or cold clothes—his focus was entirely on the student standing in the rain.

He had hoped, really hoped, that this wouldn’t happen. He hadn’t expected the student to simply follow his instructions, but after the warning he had given yesterday, he thought they would at least hold back for a day.
Yet, the moment night deepened, they had come straight to the school.
This is bad…

Possession always stemmed from the desire for a vessel. It might start as a brief presence, but the moment that desire grew too strong, the spirit could take over completely. This wasn’t a good sign at all.
"Wait!"
Mu-ryeong rushed forward and blocked the student’s path. They flinched, stepping back, their eyes filled with cautious wariness. Today, however, their gaze was sharper than it had been yesterday.

The soaked tracksuit they were wearing—likely their pajamas—clung to their frame, making them look all the more pitiful.
"Move…"
"You weren’t supposed to come tonight."

Mu-ryeong softened his tone. There was no use scaring a spirit already teetering on the edge. Threats only worked when timed correctly.
"You can trust me. I came here just like I promised, to find the time capsule."
He took slow steps forward, closing the distance between them. Rain trickled down from his hood, dripping onto his nose. He reflexively scrunched his face—

And in that instant, the student shoved him hard.
"Get out of the way!"
Mu-ryeong staggered for a second but quickly caught their wrists, gripping tightly. The student was taller than him, but strength was another matter entirely. Whether the body was possessed or not, Mu-ryeong was stronger.

"…L-Let go!"
"I’m not here to hurt you."
"Move, let go!"
Even as their wrists were restrained, the student didn’t back down. In fact, they became even more agitated. The moment Mu-ryeong touched them, their entire body tensed, as if they were seconds away from completely losing control.

This is getting dangerous…
Mu-ryeong narrowed his eyes and gathered spiritual energy in his fingertips. If this got worse, he might have to forcefully extract the spirit.
He yanked the student forward, throwing them off balance. Their foot slipped on the wet pavement, and they tumbled straight into Mu-ryeong’s arms.

"Ah…!"
Effortlessly, Mu-ryeong caught them, securing their head against his shoulder so they wouldn’t hit the ground. The student thrashed wildly, clawing at his raincoat.
"Let me go…!"

The hood of his raincoat was yanked back, exposing his head to the downpour.
Ah, great. Now I’m gonna get wet.
Just as he thought that, the hood was yanked back up and pressed firmly onto his head.

Startled, Mu-ryeong blinked as a familiar voice spoke above him.
"…What’s going on?"
It was Ki Hwan-young.

He was standing over them, one hand still on Mu-ryeong’s hood, looking down with an unreadable expression. His gaze flicked to the struggling student in Mu-ryeong’s arms, and then he jerked his chin toward them.
"Why is that senior here?"
"Ah, well…"

Before Mu-ryeong could answer, the student struck him.
Thud!
A dull pain spread across his back as the student punched him, making him flinch.

Using that brief moment of weakness, they drove their elbow straight into his stomach.
"Ugh…"
Mu-ryeong stumbled backward, coughing lightly.

Seriously? That’s the second time they’ve hit me in the gut…
He hunched over for a moment, then forced himself to straighten up, his expression returning to normal. Once again, he stepped in front of the student, blocking their path.
"Calm down, okay?"

"Grrr…!"
The student clutched their head, trembling. Their frustration and confusion were overwhelming them, and Mu-ryeong could see they were on the verge of completely losing their grip.
He reached out again, preparing to restrain them—

But before he could, Hwan-young grabbed his arm.
"…?"
Mu-ryeong looked up, slightly confused.

Under the shadow of his raincoat’s hood, Hwan-young’s face was rigid. His jaw was set in a way that made his expression look unnervingly cold.
He gripped Mu-ryeong’s wrist tightly and asked, his voice dangerously low—
"Are they possessed?"

A chill ran down Mu-ryeong’s spine.
There was something unsettling about the way Hwan-young asked the question. His voice was calm, yet something was tightly restrained beneath it.
Mu-ryeong glanced at the student before nodding slightly.

"…Yeah. They’re possessed."
Technically, he wasn’t supposed to reveal details about his clients. But at this point, there was no way to sugarcoat it. If he denied it now, it would only make things worse for the student in the long run.
"The spirit I told you about is inside them. I told them to stay home, but I guess they didn’t trust me."

Mu-ryeong spoke steadily, ready to approach the student again—
But Hwan-young didn’t let go.
Instead, he kept his gaze locked onto the student and asked—

"If I touch them, can you make sure they don’t get hurt?"
"…What?"
"Like Seung-joo. Can you make sure I don’t hurt them?"

Mu-ryeong felt an odd sense of déjà vu.
Slowly, as if entranced, he nodded.
He didn’t know what Hwan-young was planning, but he understood the implication behind his words.

The possessed student wouldn’t be harmed—because spirits of the same nature didn’t reject each other.
"Wait here."
That was all Hwan-young said before releasing Mu-ryeong’s wrist.

Then, with long strides, he closed the distance between himself and the possessed student.
Three steps—that was all it took.
Before Mu-ryeong could utter a word, Hwan-young clenched his fist.

And then—
Thud.
A dull impact echoed in the rain.

The sound was eerily similar to the one from earlier—the unmistakable sound of a fist slamming into someone’s gut.
Mu-ryeong’s jaw dropped.
The possessed student crumpled forward, completely limp.

"……."
"……."
Without any effort, Hwan-young caught their collapsing body. He adjusted his grip, securing them with ease, and shook out his right hand as if shaking off dust.

A quiet murmur escaped him, almost as if he was speaking to himself.
"…So it actually works."
"Ki Hwan-young!"

Mu-ryeong snapped out of his daze and rushed toward them. His wide eyes darted between the unconscious student and Hwan-young, his face uncharacteristically flustered.
"You punched them in the stomach?!"
"……."

Hwan-young’s lips twitched slightly, as if he wanted to say something. His eyebrows lifted ever so slightly, an expression that carried the faintest hint of dissatisfaction.
With the student slung over his shoulder, he turned away and started walking toward the annex, moving ahead of Mu-ryeong without hesitation.
"It’s easier to knock them out than to let them keep struggling."

It was such a simple, straightforward solution that Mu-ryeong almost felt ridiculous for how much effort he had put into handling things gently.
Still, he followed after Hwan-young, scolding him in a firm voice.
"You can’t just knock out someone who’s possessed! Spirits are fragile in that state—what if something went wrong?!"

Their strength wasn’t like that of ordinary people. Because of that, Mu-ryeong avoided using force unless he had no other choice. His sister, Mu-yeon, had a habit of knocking possessed people unconscious with a precise strike to the back of the neck, but that was because she was trained to do it.
"And even if that wasn’t the case, you shouldn’t just go around punching people!"
Upon reaching the annex entrance, Hwan-young carelessly set the student down.

Mu-ryeong barely managed to catch their head before it hit the ground. He carefully lowered them onto the damp pavement, scowling at Hwan-young’s lack of delicacy.
Hwan-young, watching him, asked in a flat tone.
"So what, were you just going to keep letting them hit you?"

His gaze flickered toward Mu-ryeong’s hand, which was covered in bandages, before trailing up to his face.
"You weren’t even trying to do anything. Just holding them."
"……."

His voice was cold, almost accusing.
Mu-ryeong averted his eyes, awkwardly pulling off his hood. His damp bangs stuck to his forehead, revealing part of his round forehead.
"…I had to cover their eyes."

His voice had softened considerably.
Hwan-young, still staring, frowned slightly.
"Their eyes?"

"Yeah, I was trying to keep them from seeing."
"Why?"
Hwan-young didn’t let up, pressing for an explanation. He pulled off his raincoat as well, discarding it with little care, clearly more interested in Mu-ryeong’s answer.

Mu-ryeong, in the middle of checking the student’s pulse, spoke calmly.
"When a spirit first possesses someone, they can’t adjust right away. They have trouble seeing and walking properly."
It was like being trapped in a dream—confused, disoriented, unable to control their body properly. That was why the possessed often stumbled around like drunks.

"But over time, their focus sharpens. They adjust to the body, and they start to see the world clearly."
To emphasize his point, Mu-ryeong pointed to his own eyes, narrowing them. The thin folds of his eyelids made faint creases along his gaze.
"That’s why we’re trained to cover their eyes first—it buys time."

"……So why were you hugging them?"
Hwan-young still didn’t look convinced.
Mu-ryeong sighed and gave a sheepish smile.

He lifted his hand, showing the bandages wrapped around his fingers.
"Because last time, I used my hand to cover their eyes."