#Chapter 5. Wootbi
Several days had passed.
The commotion that occurred on the day Sim Seowoo first observed a field mission spread noisily throughout Heun. Though few members had made an emergency deployment that day, what happened at the scene became known to all members within a day and was on people’s lips every single day.
An accident occurred where the Young Master was affected by a yokai’s poison and couldn’t control his Jaegui.
The evil spirits that escaped his control not only stirred as if they would attack members, but also tried to seize his body. In the volatile situation where everyone was on guard, a newly joined member—moreover, a Purifier who had gone to the field for the first time that day—purified the Young Master in one fell swoop.
He’d even driven away the yokai that had been attacking the Young Master at that time with purification techniques. He’d performed a miracle that resolved everything—the yokai, the Young Master’s poisoning, and the misfortune.
Though the Purifier who displayed that miracle was attacked by the yokai at the end and swept up in the Guiyeok’s collapse, the Young Master had protected him, and both were rescued safely at daybreak.
“Even thinking about it again, it’s such a relief. Just thinking about the time we couldn’t contact you that day, ugh…”
Do Seonhwa shuddered her shoulders. Though several days had already passed, her heart still felt chilled when she recalled that day.
When they came out of the Guiyeok and confirmed that Cheon Yijae and Sim Seowoo were missing, Jin Gwangmin had marveled at how high-pitched her scream had been, saying that if there had been a glass cup, it surely would have shattered.
“It was Guiin’s first field mission, so I think you suffered too much. And I’m sorry again that the rescue was delayed by a whole hour…”
Though Heun had moved as soon as they located the two through communication tools that dawn, climbing the mountain hadn’t been easy. So Do Seonhwa apologized for rescuing them later than the scheduled time, and Sim Seowoo only slowly rolled his eyes to the side.
The two were currently walking together through Heun’s corridor.
“That matter is fine, so you can stop apologizing. In any case, we returned safely.”
“Still…”
“Ah, by the way, are all the missing people who were trapped on the mountain that time in good condition?”
Feeling like an endless round of apologies would continue, Sim Seowoo changed the subject entirely.
That day, dozens of hikers had been captured by the yokai and locked in a food storage, and he’d heard that after rescuing them from the Guiyeok, they were being examined for any potential physical or mental problems. Since they would have been put to sleep by the yokai’s sorcery, they’d been admitted to a hospital affiliated with Heun and members had secretly checked on them.
“Yes, fortunately no problems were found and there were no particular aftereffects, so everyone drank Peach Tea and were discharged. Guiin’s landlord and his granddaughter also returned home safely this morning!”
Do Seonhwa smiled brightly and informed him that their memories had been properly adjusted. The explanation followed that they would recall Seowoo having moved with mountain rescue workers to rescue the two.
So the two had been very grateful to Sim Seowoo when they were discharged, and in a way, since “Heun” could be likened to mountain rescue workers, it wasn’t entirely a false manipulation, but he felt slightly awkward as if it had been packaged like he’d done something too impressive. It also happened to remind him of stealing the cigarette pack from Grandfather’s pocket.
Anyway, this should repay the nourishing food he’d received…
While Sim Seowoo lightened the burden on his mind, Do Seonhwa chattered beside him in an excited tone. Her mood had been very good recently.
“You don’t know how surprised the Elders were that Guiin purified the space this time. I’m saying it over and over, but it was truly an amazing, miraculous thing! The Elders asked me how I found such talent!”
She’d been sad for a while, thinking it was obvious that the Elders would avoid all matters involving him after Cheon Yijae had visited the Elder who had educated Sim Seowoo the other day. Because education was important for a new Purifier.
But with this incident, the Elders’ interest boiled like wildfire and everyone wanted to examine Sim Seowoo. In fact, considering the purification techniques Seowoo had accomplished, he was at a level that didn’t need education, but it seemed he’d be perfect if he just learned how to regulate his energy.
Do Seonhwa said with a beaming smile.
“Maybe because of that, it seems the Young Master can’t resist anymore either. He hasn’t been bothering Guiin recently, has he?! No, he’s been completely avoiding you without even talking to you! He’s probably embarrassed about sneering that Guiin was a clueless newbie who didn’t know anything before, hehe.”
As if just recalling Cheon Yijae’s recent behavior made her happy, she covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. She seemed delighted that his nose had finally been flattened… but Sim Seowoo once again silently rolled his eyes to the side.
That day, five days since that dawn.
Sim Seowoo hadn’t conversed with Cheon Yijae even once.
Because, just as Do Seonhwa said, he was very diligently avoiding him.
If they happened to run into each other in the corridor, he would immediately turn around and leave.
The behavior that seemed like running away was a bit absurd, but Sim Seowoo didn’t particularly try to catch him either. Inwardly, he thought it was more comfortable since it became much quieter around him as Yijae wasn’t chanting the mantra telling him to leave Heun.
However, there was one question gradually growing inside, so Sim Seowoo asked.
“By any chance, was there a Purifier who was in charge of the Young Master before?”
“Huh?”
Do Seonhwa blinked her eyes as if she’d received a completely unexpected question, then shook her head.
“From the moment the Young Master joined until now, there’s been no Purifier exclusively in charge of him.”
“Mm, then even if not exclusively, was there a Purifier who was close to the Young Master? Someone who purified the Young Master several times…”
“Why suddenly that?”
“I’m curious if there might be another reason he shows resistance to purification. Or perhaps he’s reluctant even now because of bad memories from the past.”
Sim Seowoo specified his question. In fact, it was something he’d suspected from the beginning. The resistance Cheon Yijae showed toward purification seemed to go beyond the simple reason of disliking it because it was an opposing ability.
Cheon Yijae had said he entered Heun around age fourteen. He’d heard that at that time, in a half-human, half-ghost state, he couldn’t properly control Ghost Energy so Heun had carefully managed him, and if so, he would have been more vulnerable to misfortune then, so wouldn’t there have been a practitioner who purified him?
Was he refusing purification even now because his experience of being purified as a child hadn’t left a good impression, or if not that…
“Perhaps he once hurt a Purifier he was close to in the past?”
Thinking carefully, Cheon Yijae’s reactions after receiving purification seemed quite subtle. With his mouth, he’d sneer that it was unpleasant because his insides were turned inside out as if bleached, or that his bones ached, acting as if he viewed purification itself with disfavor… but there was an expression that fleetingly passed by.
A stiffened face, lips pressed tightly shut, but eyes that ultimately softened.
Like someone facing again a sensation they’d longed for so much, a welcome feeling that was almost sorrowful would pass by, but Cheon Yijae would swallow it all down. Drawing a line and pushing away while suppressing it as if it wasn’t something he should have.
Perhaps it was related to “him” that Cheon Yijae sees in his dreams?
Excluding negative emotions like annoyance or irritation from Cheon Yijae, there had been only two cases where wavering of a different nature was visible, so they naturally connected.
Could “he” have been Heun’s Purifier?
However, to Sim Seowoo’s question, Do Seonhwa smiled ambiguously.
“If it’s the Young Master’s past, mmm, actually, it would be difficult to find a Purifier that Cheon Yijae hasn’t hurt.”
“…Pardon?”
“At first, he couldn’t control his Ghost Energy so Purifiers couldn’t even approach him. He just endured alone with his whole body stained with misfortune until he controlled all the evil spirits, and only when he calmed them down did Purifiers approach, but no one could bring themselves to touch him and had to retreat.”
The explanation was that when he’d first entered Heun, Ghost Energy boiled so viciously that others couldn’t even approach, so they first focused on suppressing and calming it. Only when he gradually became better did Purifiers try to erase his misfortune following orders from higher-ups, but they repeatedly failed.
“Even though he’d calmed the Ghost Energy, why couldn’t they approach?”
“Because from childhood, Cheon Yijae’s personality was terri—no, extremely fierce…”
“Ah.”
“Surprisingly, he’s gotten much better now.”
She said that thinking of the old days, his current personality was very, very gentle. The sincerity was felt in the act of repeating the word “very” almost ten times.
Do Seonhwa shuddered her shoulders as if just recalling that time made her sick, then continued the story.
“When he first came, even though he was fourteen, his build was quite small. But his spirit was fierce at the level of a wild dog, then only calmed down after about a year, and ah! There’s one person who was seriously hurt while purifying Cheon Yijae in the past!”
“Who?”
“A senior Purifier. They tried to forcibly grab Cheon Yijae while he was refusing and got pushed away, breaking their tailbone. They walked around with crutches for several weeks.”
“Mmm…”
At the explanation that the injury was severe because of their age, Sim Seowoo let out a low sigh. Do Seonhwa’s expression that “there was no wild dog like that wild dog” seemed to be merely a statement of fact with no intention of disparagement at all.
