Chapter 16: Chapter 16

"I want to try as much as I can."

The apparition, who didn't mix with others, came to find him first. Maybe it was because there was something only he could do. Even if the request had been made lightly, he didn't want to act recklessly or lazily.

"If it doesn't work out, I should tell my sister."

"...Right."

Seung-joo, with a more relaxed expression, brushed his hair aside. His sweat-soaked hair fell messily, revealing his forehead.

"Still, it seems like it's not dangerous for now."

"..."

Mu-ryeong stretched his eyes without responding. The image of him brushing off the spirit, then calmly conversing while carrying the evil spirit on his back, and the refreshing spiritual energy he radiated.

"It'll be fine."

Most of it was just speculation, but in the end, it was certainty. He was sure no one would be in danger until Mu-ryeong caught the evil spirit.

"It needs to be safe."

Mu-ryeong smiled playfully and glanced at the second-floor of the main building. It was an idle gesture, but through the window, someone could be seen staring outside. Given the person's vision, it was certainly an apparition.

"What are you looking at?"

Seung-joo rested his arm on Mu-ryeong's shoulder. Unlike Mu-ryeong, who had exceptional vision, Seung-joo couldn’t tell who the person was. Similarly, the apparition might not be watching him among so many students.

"Seung-joo."

"What?"

Mu-ryeong slowly opened his mouth while keeping his gaze on the window. His clear eyes stared off into the distance, as though remembering something.

"Can you walk two hours every morning to school?"

"...Why would I do that?"

It was a perfectly reasonable response. Why walk two hours when public transport was readily available? If exercise was the goal, maybe, but even then, it would be a bit extreme.

"Yeah. I do that."

"You should've asked for bus fare."

Seung-joo spoke jokingly, but Mu-ryeong didn’t laugh. He merely blinked slowly and narrowed his eyes.

"You'd be surprised if I suddenly hugged you..."

"What are you saying?"

"Grabbing hands just isn’t enough."

He didn't need to explain what wasn't enough. Seung-joo backed away, asking if he was saying some perverted stuff, but Mu-ryeong just shook his head and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the apparition had already turned its gaze away from the window.

"It'll be all resolved by next week. Don't worry."

"Then I'm relieved."

A voice from afar called out to start the second half of the game. Mu-ryeong ran toward the soccer ball, reviewing his plans in his mind.

Next week. Everything would be resolved by next week.

***@@novelbin@@

Until lunchtime, Mu-ryeong didn’t change into gym clothes. He rolled his pants up to his calves and wore his jacket like a cape over his T-shirt, letting the hem flutter as he walked around.

As the lunch bell rang, he headed to Class 2-3.

"Let’s go eat."

"…"

The apparition, standing guard by the door, froze when it saw Mu-ryeong. Its expression was unreadable, eyebrows twitching, blinking slowly. Mu-ryeong naturally reached out and grabbed the apparition’s wrist, matching his gaze with its dark eyes.

"They're serving spaghetti today."

Since the apparition was wearing its traditional attire, Mu-ryeong deliberately lowered his position to grab the area around the wrist, feeling the cool, spiritual energy and chill of the apparition’s body.

The apparition, quietly following Mu-ryeong, flinched when his slender fingers dug into the sleeve's cuffs and quickly pulled its hand away.

"You think I’m..."

"Why?"

Mu-ryeong raised his head slightly. His eyelids were naturally thin, and when he looked up, a double eyelid line appeared. He playfully squinted at the apparition with his clear eyes.

"My hands are clean."

"…"

The smile on his face had no wrinkles or creases, only a pure grin. The apparition closed its mouth, as if speechless.

Seung-joo, walking beside them, shook his head secretly. He could bet that no one at this school would dare to get angry at that face.

The lunch menu consisted of spaghetti, soup, salad, and yogurt. There was fried rice for students who couldn't eat noodles, and Mu-ryeong proudly took all the dishes and sat down. Still, he seemed unsatisfied, twirling the noodles with his chopsticks, savoring the taste.

"I wish they'd give me two yogurts."

"Go ask for it. They’ll give it to you if you ask."

"No, what if there aren't enough?"

"Then don’t say anything."

The usual conversation continued, with the apparition silently moving its chopsticks. The apparition's meal was noticeably larger than the others’, not because it had asked, but simply because its tall stature allowed it to take more than the others.

"Should I feed you?"

"Ugh... I told you not to say gross stuff."

"Sorry."

Seung-joo grimaced at Mu-ryeong’s question. It seemed he was only saying that because the noodles were difficult to eat. If Mu-ryeong fed him, he'd rather starve, it seemed. Seung-joo awkwardly lifted his spaghetti and spoke in a calm voice.

"I can eat with my left hand at home."

The noodles slipped down, but Mu-ryeong didn’t comment. Only the apparition glanced at Seung-joo from the side. Noticing that gaze, Seung-joo almost opened his mouth, but he scowled at the corner of his eyes instead.

"What are you looking at? Are you going to feed me too?"

"What are you saying?"

Their teasing conversation ended there. The apparition quickly looked away, and Seung-joo, uninterested, shoved spaghetti into his mouth. Perhaps he wasn’t lying when he said he could eat with his left hand at home—though clumsy, it wasn’t terrible.

Mu-ryeong spoke up just as the apparition finished eating and stood up to leave. He grabbed the apparition’s tray and offered a yogurt.

"Want some?"

"…Why do you keep offering food?"

Hwan-young asked, as if he couldn’t quite understand the situation. Mu-ryeong, feeling somewhat awkward, squinted and replied.

“It’s better to eat a lot, right?”

Hwan-young narrowed his eyes and glanced down. His jet-black eyes were fixed on the yogurt in Mu-ryeong’s hand. The fingers holding it weren’t small, but not particularly large either, just perfectly ordinary.

“It’s not me, it’s you.”

“I eat a lot, though.”

Mu-ryeong answered confidently, his tone casual. Like most high school students in their growth spurt, he had a tendency to eat quite a bit. As an exorcist who dealt with spiritual energy, he naturally needed more calories. His physique hadn’t fully matured, but he wasn’t overweight either. Still, others sometimes misunderstood him.

“After seeing how much you ate in the cafeteria, you’re telling me to eat more?”

Seung-joo pointed to Mu-ryeong’s now-empty tray. It had been cleared so thoroughly that it was hard to believe that all that food fit into Mu-ryeong’s small stomach. Hwan-young seemed at a loss for words for a moment, but then turned back to Mu-ryeong’s gentle face and spoke again.

“Anyway, you eat. You don’t have to give me any.”

“Did you eat the candy?”

Mu-ryeong grinned, setting the yogurt down on the table. He had started the conversation to engage Hwan-young, not to offer him food. But his usual calm gaze subtly avoided meeting Hwan-young’s eyes.

“...Did you throw it away?”

“I didn’t throw it away.”

Hwan-young answered in a quiet voice, but Mu-ryeong could still tell something was off. With a slight frown, Hwan-young rummaged through his pockets to prove his innocence. He pulled out a large grape-flavored candy and held it up on the palm of his hand.

“I told you, I didn’t throw it away.”

“Oh, right.”

Mu-ryeong still smiling, took the candy from Hwan-young’s hand. Unwrapping the purple wrapper, he continued to look at Hwan-young, who seemed curious about his actions. Mu-ryeong crumpled the wrapper carelessly, then held the candy in front of Hwan-young’s face.

“Here.”

“...”

Of course, Hwan-young didn’t take it. Even Seung-joo, who had been quietly eating his soup, spoke up, “I told you not to do gross things.” Mu-ryeong, unbothered, waved the candy in front of Hwan-young, urging him.

“If you don’t unwrap it, you’re not going to eat it, are you?”

“...”

Hwan-young seemed to have a lot he wanted to say, like whether it was really necessary to eat the candy, why it had to be unwrapped for him, and why Mu-ryeong was offering it in the first place.

“If you don’t want it, you can just take it with your hands.”

However, at the gentle suggestion, Hwan-young reflexively accepted the candy. Just as he made a slightly awkward expression, Mu-ryeong smiled brightly.

“Let’s wait for Seung-joo while eating this.”

A dimples appeared on his cheek as he smiled. Hwan-young didn’t say anything, but the objection came from Seung-joo.

“Hey, what about my opinion?”

“Don’t worry about it, just eat slowly.”

“Isn’t it annoying?”

“Who cares?”

Mu-ryeong still smiling, pulled something out of his pocket. It was another candy, just like the one Hwan-young had taken. He unwrapped the pink package with a strawberry drawing on it, releasing a sweet scent.

Mu-ryeong, as he did earlier, held the candy up to Hwan-young’s mouth.

“Want to change the flavor? Last chance.”

“...No, it’s fine.”

Hwan-young shook his head and sighed, finally biting into the grape-flavored candy. His face, usually so cold, looked somehow awkward with the candy stick sticking out.

“Isn’t it good?”

“It’s good.”

The reply came begrudgingly, but Mu-ryeong nodded in satisfaction. He then placed his own candy in his mouth, and Hwan-young couldn’t help but watch his profile closely. As Mu-ryeong chewed, the candy stick bobbed in and out of his mouth.

“What?”

“...”

Hwan-young’s dark eyes quickly shifted to the side, and there was a moment of stillness when he closed and opened his eyes. Then, with a calm voice, Hwan-young answered, as he rolled the candy in his mouth.

“Nothing.”

“Really?”

Mu-ryeong didn’t press further, instead smiling contentedly. His eyes crinkled up at the corners, and his expression softened even more.

“Seung-joo, did you finish your candy?”

“Yeah, I ate it all as soon as I got it this morning.”

“What flavor?”

“I don’t know. Maybe orange and lemon.”

While Seung-joo continued eating, Mu-ryeong kept up an idle conversation with him. There was no real content or deep meaning, but the youthful voices carried a sense of joy. The candy sticks in their mouths rhythmically moved with each word.