The fact that one’s eyes had opened meant that one could now see the other world — the world of the dead, which included all manner of stray spirits and evil spirits alike. This was a concept that went far beyond simply spotting a ghost on the street, and a human who had come face to face with such a world could no longer return to an ordinary life.
Although Sim Seowoo was strangely calm even after seeing ghosts, and even after being grabbed by an evil spirit……
Anyway, spirits (鬼) had a peculiar ability to sense living beings who had become aware of their existence, and a habit of clinging to them. This was driven by their desire to communicate and their longing to peer into the world of the living. Moreover, judging by Sim Seowoo’s Purification ability, his soul was also pure — so the evil spirits drawn to him would surely be more than one or two.
“Just because Heun lets him go doesn’t mean everything will be resolved——”
“We can give him a protective talisman, can’t we. Right. Conveniently, since he Purified me — something I absolutely didn’t want, but regardless, as a return gesture for the fact that he bled from the nose and collapsed over there, something of treasure-grade——”
But Cheon Yijae remained firm as ever. He seemed to have already thought that part through as well, and was about to refuse coldly when — whoosh! People came flooding into the recovery room.
The elderly individuals, dressed in refined hanbok, shouted the moment they laid eyes on Sim Seowoo.
“You are the one who Purified Sojunim, is that correct!”
“My, so this is the gifted one who, I heard, brushed away the curse of the doll with just a few waves of his hand!”
“His energy is clear, truly clear!”
Overwhelmed by the flood of words, Sim Seowoo was bewildered. He wondered who these people were, but for the time being, out of a reflexive response shaped by growing up in a Confucian cultural sphere, he tried to get up from the bed. It felt uncomfortable to remain seated in front of a grandfather with a white beard grown all the way down to his waist.
But Cheon Yijae stepped forward briskly and pressed down on his shoulder, seating him back.
“……?”
He looked up at Cheon Yijae with a puzzled expression, but he had already turned his body, standing in front as though to shield Sim Seowoo from view.
Meanwhile, Do Seonhwa had rushed to block the elders. They looked ready to charge straight at Sim Seowoo, so Jin Gwangmin joined her at her side as well, flapping both arms as he called out,
“Oh goodness, Elders. Please don’t all crowd in so suddenly!”
“He’s only just woken up……!”
Elders?
Sim Seowoo recalled the title he had heard here and there in the meantime, just as the Elders cried out,
“So, that person — are they joining Heun now?”
“What kind of nonsense is that? That’s an obvious matter! What kind of medium would ever refuse Heun!”
“Yes, they must be matched as Sojunim’s dedicated Purifier at once!”
“Ah, we haven’t quite finished speaking with Guiin yet…….”
“What?! Just how long have you been dragging your feet! What on earth have you even been doing up until now!”
The Elders shouted in alarm as Do Seonhwa, breaking into a cold sweat, answered. Heun was an organization that only those with the finest skills among all existing esper groups could enter. A special and storied group that every medium dreamed of joining. In truth, it was an organization that even evil spirits kept their distance from, and one that commanded a prestige so great that even the living did not dare to treat it carelessly.
And yet, Do Seonhwa’s words — that they had not yet recruited Sim Seowoo — left them stunned. Jin Gwangmin’s supplementary explanation, that his Spiritual Sight had only just opened and thus time was needed to explain the ins and outs of the field, failed to even reach their ears.
“Dragging your feet on something this important! You said you would take responsibility for Sojunim’s condition, so just what have you been doing! You let him throw off the bracelet again this time too!”
The eldest of the Elders scolded Do Seonhwa harshly in a tone heavy with frustration. Jin Gwangmin muttered, “No, honestly, how is one even supposed to stop that person……,” but received a sharp glare from Do Seonhwa and fell silent.
Sim Seowoo watched the commotion idly.
Do Seonhwa, who had seemed quite bold up until now, appeared somewhat diminished in the presence of the Elders. It wasn’t simply a matter of hierarchy — it felt as though there was a specific failing on her part that was connected to this, somehow.
On top of that, the part the Elder was scolding her about wasn’t in the context of not serving Sojunim properly, but rather seemed to be pointing out that she had failed to ‘keep him in check.’
So Cheon Yijae truly is a person of note within Heun, it seems……
“Why do you keep trying to attach a Purifier when I’ve said I don’t need one?”
“Of course, as the successor of the organization, it is our duty to look after you! Isn’t it the responsibility of us Elders to prevent the young Sojunim from recklessly fighting and falling ill!”
At the Elders’ outcry, Cheon Yijae squeezed his eyes shut. The Elder council was clearly a difficult wall even for him, and he radiated an air of being utterly fed up. In particular, his irritation seemed to spike even further at the expression ‘young Sojunim.’
Soon after, the Elders began making their pitch directly to Sim Seowoo.
“Listen here. If you join Heun, we can take care of your every need!”
“If you would just stay by Sojunim’s side……!”
“Perhaps you’re hesitating because you don’t know Heun well yet, but working alongside us here is truly an honorable——”
“Enough——”
Between Cheon Yijae’s exasperation finally spilling over and the various voices all pouring out at once, Sim Seowoo answered in an even tone,
“Yes. I’ll do it.”
The answer, delivered in a tone that was utterly unremarkable and detached from all the commotion around him, brought the room to silence.
It wasn’t just the content of the answer, or the calm voice behind it — what was most jarring was Sim Seowoo’s action of stepping out to the side, sidestepping Cheon Yijae, who had been standing in front of him as a barrier. The way he regarded Sojunim as though he were an obstacle, and the unhurried hands that followed, neatly folding up the blanket — not a single thing fit the situation.
Do Seonhwa asked, slightly dazed,
“W-wait, you truly mean to join? And as Sojunim’s dedicated Purifier, no less?”
“Does that also mean you’ll enter Hoejin Mountain……?”
Jin Gwangmin reacted with equal bewilderment. In truth, the two of them had wanted nothing more than to recruit Sim Seowoo — but they had hesitated due to a troubling past. Yet here he was, accepting it with perfect composure.
He even made a confused expression, as though he couldn’t understand why they were asking.
“Well, of course. If the Hyeong Akgui are going to be drawn to me, then in order to be free, don’t I need to get rid of Hyungsin?”
“That, that’s true…….”
For Sim Seowoo, this was a perfectly natural conclusion.
The sudden news that his Spiritual Sight had opened was surprising, and the fact that he truly possessed Purification ability was still difficult to believe — but these were not things that would disappear simply by denying them. On top of that, learning the truth behind the past fire incident only served to clear his mind out neatly, in the end.
So my parents really did dump a massive mess, huh.
Jin Gwangmin had seen it as an unfortunate coincidence — the location where the cult’s ritual had taken place just happening to overlap with the place where Hyungsin slept — but Sim Seowoo had come to think of it simply as his parents scattering trouble in every direction. After all, they were people who had even held senior positions within that cult group. He felt a sense of responsibility toward them.
They had been tormenting him, persistently and tiredly, from the past right up until now.
Of course, it wasn’t as though he had to unconditionally take responsibility for their mistakes — but regardless, Hyungsin had awakened through that ritual, and Heun’s members had been suffering for years trying to carve a path through. The incidents caused by the Hyeong Akgui that had even put his friends in danger also only solidified his resolve further.
And if there was one reason above all else behind this decision……
“I want to live an ordinary life, you see.”
At Sim Seowoo’s sincere words, everyone wore bewildered expressions.
What on earth is this person saying, is this truly a medium joining Heun, how insufficiently did you all explain things to get this kind of reaction — all manner of layered and complicated looks were exchanged. Do Seonhwa and Jin Gwangmin were genuinely indignant, and Cheon Yijae wrapped his face in one hand.
Whether he did or didn’t, Sim Seowoo bowed his head in greeting.
“So once the project to hunt Hyungsin is finished, I’ll be heading out to get a normal job. It’ll be a short-term contract, but I’ll work hard to learn.”
It was an awkward question of whether the person he would be assigned to — whether to call them his partner in the work, or to frame it as someone he needed to look after. Suddenly, a doctor and a dog…… flashed to mind before he quickly buried it. It was because the evil spirit at the movie theater had referred to him as ‘Heun’s dog.’
Anyway, that person clearly rejected him fiercely, and seemed to dislike treatment as well — but it couldn’t be helped. As long as he judged Cheon Yijae to be Heun’s most important asset, helping him would mean his own strange contract would end faster, after all.
“……Ha, I’m going to lose my mind.”
Although even now he was muttering in a tone as though his patience were snapping, and the hand covering his face had already gone from one to two, Sim Seowoo calmly laid out his plans in his head.
He supposed he’d have to learn how to apply the disinfectant in just the right amount first.
