Soul fire

Jaegyeom felt the illusion that all the surrounding scenery around him paused. Only Yoon Taehee could be seen clearly in the black-and-white field of vision.

What do you think? About the dark side of the eclipsed moon.

What could be in a tightly hidden place?'

He just thought he was talking about books. The meaningful words that circled around the outskirts like a hawk circling the air were aimed precisely at the sensitive areas. It was only now that Jaegyeom realized that every passing word was directed at him.

"Shouldn't we be a little more honest with each other now? I'm done playing the ridiculous teacher and student."

Yoon Taehee tilted his head and glanced over at jaegyeom. The eyes that cast off kindness and kindness were cool and sharp. He was no longer pretending to be anything.

"Do you remember the two ghosts you saw yesterday? They are my favorite spirits, and one of them has the ability to read the past. The name is Saero. Next time I get a chance, I'll introduce him to you formally. Anyway, that's why I asked him to find out about you."

The boy revealed his identity without permission. He was devastated at the thought of having his initiative taken away. So it was his turn to expose the boy's true identity now.

If the opportunity would not present itself, he'd have to find it himself.

***

Over the past few days, Saero had been under the pressure as though drying out the blood of a ghost.

"Not yet?"

After giving the order to find out the history of the boy, Yoon Taehee called Saero to the library every day. It contradicted him saying it was okay to slow down and not rush. And then on the third day exactly, Saero appeared in front of Yoon Taehee, looking haggard.

"Taehee-nim was right! H- how is this possible?"

As Saero stuck out his tongue and exclaimed, Yoon Taehee's eyes lit up. When he asked what he had read, he verbalized what he had seen and heard as close to the original as possible. Because the amount of blood was so small, all he could see was a fleeting moment in the past.

'Looking at the clothes and setting, it seemed like a memory from a very long time ago. The owner of the blood was wearing a scholar's robe and was sitting in an old thatched house. And beside him was a man who looked like his master!

A straight smile crept onto Yoon Taehee's lips. It was the moment when the assumptions were transformed into certainties. As Saero said, much of it coincided with Yoon Taehee's guess. A fragment of the past made it clear that the boy had a long past, and that he had been with his master.

He let out a laugh. An old boy, the contradictory expression worked in reality. Yoon Taehee realized anew that the world he was in was a realm that deviated from common sense. The identity of the boy was particularly enigmatic and mysterious.

"And??"

Yoon Taehee crossed his legs obliquely.

The man didn't look very old. But when I think about it, what's a bit strange is that the man called the owner of the blood his disciple.

But if he's his master, something doesn't make sense…

Saero, who rolled his eyes around and looked back at a cross section of the past, was speechless.

There's no way a master could harm his disciple.

Yoon Taehee's eyes widened at the words of Saero that followed.

"What are you talking about?"

The man stabbed the child in the side with a knife.'

"What?"

"He stabbed him?" Yoon Taehee asked as if it was absurd.

"Then?"

The scene was cut off there, so I didn't see what happened after that.

Saero scratched his head and replied with regret. A little more blood would have allowed him to look into the past much longer than now. It was a feat to have read this much with just that amount.

"... A master who stabs his disciple."

Yoon Taehee muttered to himself and tapped the desk with his fingertips. Even after taking off the veil, he was still curious about the boy. What on earth happened in the past? For a moment, he seriously thought about getting a lot of blood to dig up all of his history-

No, he couldn't. It was right to treat what was valuable with respect.

If he kept him by his side anyway, he would naturally know eventually. For the time being, he was thinking of pretending not to know. There was no need to be impatient, he decided.

But now he didn't have to. The sandcastle he worked so hard on collapsed and the board was overturned in vain. Yoon Taehee decided to step down without regret in the fight for time. There was no reason to act nice anymore, no reason to hang around. Now was the time to generously shake what was in his hand.

***

Yoon Taehee simply returned the past he had heard through Saero to the owner of the past. Jaegyeom, who recalled a piece of his past through the mouth of another person, had an incomprehensible face. An old thatched house and a master who stabbed his student with a knife. He seemed lost in thought and dazed.

"I was wondering how you had the nerve to show your face..."

As if he finally understood, Jaegyeom nodded after a while.

Yoon Taehee lifted the brim of his hat slightly. It was as if he was trying to check something. The neat lines of the profile hidden in the shadows were clearly revealed. And at some point, a look of admiration appeared on his face. It was because a terrifying spiritual energy began to leak from behind Jaegyeom's back.

The people in the bookstore were carefree. The threatening energy was only directed at Yoon Taehee; hard and blatant hostility to the point of slicing was aimed at his neck.

"Did you feel nasty that I peeked into the past? Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean to pick a fight. It was just because I was curious about you. You know, I'm a bit interested in you."

Yoon Taehee had a faint smile.

"Don't make a fool of yourself."

A cold, chilling voice escaped Jaegyeom's mouth.

"I don't think it's bad to have at least one person in the world who knows your true identity. I know you. No one else but me. And you know me too."

Jaegyeom glared at Yoon Taehee sharply. The calm atmosphere tensed in an instant. The classical melodies that resonated calmly in the bookstore were turning into passion. The merciless pounding of the piano pierced Jaegyeom's ears like lightning.

"I want you to be an exorcist."

It was a polite yet rude attempt.

"I mean, let's make it a little more comfortable between two bastards who have nothing to hide from each other."

At the moment Yoon Taehee added with a slight smile, the phone buzzed in the back pocket of his pants. There was a faint hum and vibration under the melody of his piano. Yoon Taehee fixed his gaze on jaegyeom while taking out his phone. He didn't even check the screen and pressed the volume key to turn off the vibration.

"It will be much better than going to school like now. Of course, you will get paid every month, and if there is anything else you want, l will have it done. In terms of rank, you will be my subordinate, but I promise to treat you equally. How about it? I don't think this is a losing proposition."

Yoon Taehee stared at Jaegyeom with unwavering eyes. The phone, which had been silent, started to vibrate again. He ignored it and continued.

"Think carefully, there should be at least a suitable pastime in a boring and obscure life."

Jaegyeom finally let out a snicker. Yoon Taehee, who threw off his mask and revealed his true colors, was literally shameless. His unfortunate side was his own and overly arrogant tone.

Stuffed. Betrayal. Boring. Obscure. Every single word Yoon Taehee spat out gave an unpleasant feeling of falling. Jaegyeom removed the spiritual energy that was being aimed at Yoon Taehee's neck.

Then he turned his head and glanced around lightly,

Bang—!

With a loud roar, the spiritual energy exploded in all directions.

"Kyaaaaa!"

The customers who were looking at books screamed and collapsed on the spot as the glass windows installed in front of the bookstore were shattered in an instant with the sound of a loud crash. All the lights hanging from the ceiling were also ruptured, and glass shards rained down.

Shards of glass flew in and out of the bookstore like a storm. In the midst of everyone's confusion, only the two of them, Jaegyeom and Yoon Taehee, were standing in their places. A sharp fragment grazed the latter's cheek. Blood oozed from the long cut.

"..."

Yoon Taehee lost his words for a moment and blinked with a blank expression. He was in awe of the other's spiritual energy and physical strength. What a speechless thing... Just when Yoon Taehee, who was wiping his cheeks with the back of his hand, burst into laughter, the vibration rang again in the midst of the situation. He ignored the vibration and looked down at the blood on his hand. It was bleeding again. Yoon Taehee, who was muttering to himself, raised his head.

"You are hot tempered."

Yoon Taehee's face was strangely reminiscent. Meanwhile,

Jaegyeom brushed off the glass shards that landed on the top of his head with a nonchalant expression. The peaceful bookstore became a mess soon enough. The unspoken message was that if he couldn't touch him directly because there were too many watchful eyes, then he could just not touch him directly.

"You dare to be impudent because I cut you some slack before."

There was a faint contempt in Jaegyeom's eyes as he said that.

"Do you feel like you've found out some big secret?"

Yoon Taehee rudely broke down the door and invaded Jaegyeom without permission. The extorted past became a hostage of the present and laid under Yoon Taehee's feet. Jaegyeom did not expect this situation at all. He was agitated, and it was true that he was caught off guard. But that was it.

"Yeah, that's right. But, fuck, what about it."

Jaegyeom had no intention of playing in Yoon Taehee's clutches.

"I don't care what you know about me. If you used that as an excuse, you must have thought that I would grab the hem of your pants while shaking."

'Please be an exorcist. Ultimately, this was what he wanted to talk about.

"Even if I die and wake up, I won't become an exorcist."

"Why?"

Yoon Taehee asked seriously.

"Because the exorcists are filthy conniving bastards from birth."

Yoon Taehee said that only he knew him. But when Jaegyeom pondered on those words, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to laugh. It was truly ridiculous. If he really knew him, he wouldn't be asking him to become an exorcist.

"Do you know exorcists well?"

Yoon Taehee's eyes lit up as if he had heard something interesting.

"I know."

Jaegyeom muttered with an expressionless face.

"Because my master was an exorcist.