Soul fire

Scattered embers embedded the cloudy night sky like stars. A secluded thatched house in the middle of the mountain was

engulfed in fierce flames. The pillar of fire that engulfed the thatched house soared up to reach the sky. Only around the thatched-roofed house at the foot of the mountain that was covered

in deep darkness was as bright as daylight.

The man, who was standing in the yard and staring at the burning thatched house, lowered his head. A boy with a youthful face was lying on the dirt floor. The blood that flowed from the boy's body created a large puddle while the hot wind fluttered the black long robe the man was wearing.

"Without me, your life would have ended long ago."

The gentle voice of the man scattered over the top of the boy's head. The boy struggled and let out an agonized moan as his hands gripped soil as if crushing it and turned white. He tried to look at the man standing in front of him, but the blood dripping from his forehead blurred his vision. If the man was laughing, he seemed to be laughing, and if he was crying, he seemed to be crying.

"You should have just killed me then..."

The boy mercilessly smashed his round forehead on the dirt floor.

"At that time, I would have died peacefully anyway. I could have!"

A sad roar was weakly directed at the man.

"This is the life I took. So I am the master of your life."

The man replied in an indifferent tone.

"All life dies in due time. However, I felt it would be a shame to just kill you. So I decided to leave a trace that will never be erased in this world. You will be the proof that I exist in this world."

Blood gushed out from the side that had been pierced by the master's hand. The warmth escaped from his whole body as a strong chill entered his cooled body, and his limbs convulsed. The boy strained his eyes, which were about to close on their own. His eyes kept dropping down. Death spread its arms as it approached before his eyes.

"No one will kill you. Of course it will be the same for yourself too.

Even if you want to die, you cannot die. In the world of mortality, only you will never disappear. I really wonder if time will eat you up or if you will eat time up."

The man covered the boy with a black long robe, who was trembling like an aspen tree.

Oh, it's warm. Just like when we first met.

The delusional thoughts that crept into his flickering consciousness made the boy sad. The man's clothes, which used to feel very heavy, now wrapped around his body appropriately and comfortably. His blood, which had pooled into a puddle, seeped into the black long robe. The thatched-roof house where the man and boy spent years together was quickly destroyed by a blazing fire.

"Gyeom-ah, where did your life go wrong?"

The boy was blank, only his lips moved.

From that moment... met... you...

The voice he spat out was wordless and flowed out like breath. The man who managed to understand Jaegyeom's words nodded, and drove a wedge in a cruelly friendly voice.

"Yes. You were wrong to meet me."

The focus gradually disappeared from the eyes of the boy as he chased the embers that flew like pollen in front of his eyes. The man turned around. The tip of the boy's chin began to quiver as he saw his broad, strong back. All strength drained from his body.

"My poor disciple, please try to reverse your destiny."

Tears flowed from the boy's eyes.

***

"Precious child, will you come with me?"

As a child, Jaegyeom vividly remembered the moment the man reached out to him. There was no way he could forget. Speaking with that hand outstretched, it was the first 'goodwill' that Jaegyeom, who had no doubt that the world was malicious, was handed for the first time in his life.

The man said he was a precious child. If the man said so, it must be so. When he said he was precious, he felt really precious. Jaegyeom, who was like a pebble on the side of the road, willingly went into the man's arms. Ghosts, humans, life, death. Jaegyeom gradually realized the great providence of this world in the warm arms of the

man.

In addition, the man taught him many things necessary to live his life as a gwijae. Starting with recognizing ghosts, Jaegyeom, who was a young and weak child, practiced every day so that he could protect himself between ghosts and humans. The kind man was sometimes a strict teacher.

Jaegyeom was a child who knew ten if he learned one. He never missed anything the man taught him. When the man drew on the talismans, he immediately understood the schematics used on it, and knew how to make his own in no time. He was a vessel that was not lacking in the meaning of the word gwijae.

However, even Jaegyeom had shortcomings. He was particularly clumsy at dealing with ghosts. Jaegyeom had a special spiritual energy from birth, but the problem was that the energy flowed out regardless of his will. The man taught him to learn how to manage his spiritual energy.

"Exposing your spiritual energy is the same as revealing your true identity to everyone."

It was only then that Jaegyeom realized the reason why ghosts had been hovering around him. They knew that he was a gwijae because of his own energy. The day the two met for the first time, the man was able to recognize Jaegyeom at a glance, he said, thanks to the unruly spiritual energy.

Controlling it was not an easy task. Like emotions fluctuating when he was happy or angry, his spiritual energy also sprung out arbitrarily, but the man made a scary face every time. Especially if the place was crowded. His expression was cold enough to make his heart sink.

"Gyeom-ah, didn't I tell you to hide your energy?"

"I'm trying too. But it didn't work out the way I wanted."

Frustrated, Jaegyeom complained with a pouting face.

"Hurry up and gather your energy before the tail catches up."

"Well, isn't it just a miscellaneous ghost. Can't you just kick it away?"

The man was a very strong man. He had the ability to do so. If there was a ghost that found out his identity and clung to him, he could defeat it. That would be annoying in its own way, but that's about it, any ghost would be a small fry compared to the power of the man.

"Gyeom-ah."

The man, who was silent for a moment, slowly opened his mouth.

"It's not because of the ghost."

"What?"

Wasn't it because he was afraid that the ghost would be attracted to him? When Jaegyeom made a puzzled face,

"Gyeom-ah, do you hate ghosts?"

The man asked a question out of the blue.

"Why that all of a sudden? Yeah..."

Of course he didn't like them. Ghosts were annoying things that often played pranks and were wicked. Hovering around, aiming for human gaps, noticing soft and weak hearts, and trying to play tricks.

Jaegyeom was well aware of that fact.

"Then do you like humans?"

Jaegyeom nodded slightly.

"If so, are ghosts evil and humans good?"

"Anyway, humans are much better than ghosts."

"Do you really think so?"

Ghosts were mysterious and heterogeneous from the beginning of their existence. Therefore, it would be natural for humans to have an instinctive feeling of rejection when it came to ghosts. But the man didn't seem to think so.

"Humans are humans, and ghosts are ghosts, isn't that so."

The man murmured in a low voice.

"If a ghost seeks a chance to catch you off guard, a human makes you off guard."

"Makes you off guard?"

"There are humans in this world who are more wicked and wicked than ghosts."

"... Who?"

The man bent his waist and brought Jaegyeom to eye level with him.

"Exorcists."

'Exorcists'. Jaegyeom made a puzzled face.

"An exorcist is a gwijae belonging to Naryecheong. Among the gwijaes, only the strong and capable can become exorcists.

Originally, they were sacred beings who were called by the country to protect the palace from spirits and protect humans..."

The man whose words trailed off looked up at the sky for a moment.

"The sense of mission to serve this country and humanity turned the exorcist into a monster. Even when they did all kinds of evil, they believed that it was good and right. They will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. They are ruthless and cruel. They will even sacrifice their own children."

It was a calm, subdued voice.

"That's why you shouldn't be found out by an exorcist. If you meet an exorcist, then you must run away. Got it? Gyeom-ah, heed my words. If there comes a situation where you can't escape..."

The man stopped him and looked at Jaegyeom. Jaegyeom tried to ask what exorcists had to do with him. However, he shut his mouth involuntarily at the man's heavy gaze. He didn't know, but somehow he just felt like he had to.

"Then..."

The man couldn't open his mouth easily, and he hesitated for a while.

"Never forgive."

It seemed that his voice trembled a little when he said that.

***

If asked if he liked that man,

He did. He told Jaegyeom that there were humans worse than ghosts and that he should not hastily trust humans, but Jaegyeom had no choice but to feel affection for humans. The reason was simple. It was because the man was human. Before meeting the man, he hated both humans and ghosts alike. But as soon as he got to know the man, he naturally started liking humans.

"Because my teacher was an exorcist."

But not anymore.

"That's why I hate exorcists."

Yoon Taehee's eyes slowly widened at the words that flowed out of Jaegyeom's mouth.

From the time he revealed his hostility towards exorcists, he guessed he would have a backstory, and he did. However, it was unexpected that the master who betrayed him was an exorcist.

Yoon Taehee's face, which showed a look of surprise for a while, became grave. He asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Who? What is his name?"

It was a question out of pure curiosity. Judging by the timing, it was clear that he was an ancestral exorcist who had served before the dissolution of Naryecheong in the past. Maybe it was a name he had never heard of but even if he didn't know the name, if he went to the Naryecheong Documents Room, there would be relevant records.

"..."

Yoon Taehee observed Jaegyeom's face tenaciously. His lips twitched as if he was about to say something, but they remained closed. Jaegyeom chose silence. He didn't even want to mention his name. No matter how long he waited for the answer that did not come back, Yoon Taehee lightly nodded his head as if the story was over.

"I see. Well, first of all, I know that your master was a bastard.

However..."

Yoon Taehee, who trailed off for a moment, fiddled with the brim of his hat.

"Still, it is a shame if you lump me in with him. It's unfair to be hated because of one of my ancestors I don't even know. I hope you don't think too badly."

Jaegyeom's expressionless face was covered with a cold sneer.