“So… how is Cheon Jieon?”
Mua, who had been waiting hunched over on the lounge sofa, stretched his neck out and asked as soon as Suchan came out of Jieon’s room.
Suchan, who seemed to have had a rough time, let out a short sigh and plopped down on the opposite sofa as he opened his mouth.
“Well, I gave him medicine and put a calming patch on him, so…”
“Then will he be okay?”
Mua had been a beta even when he was human, and his younger sibling was still too young to have manifested their traits. Moreover, his sibling also had a high probability of being a beta, so he hadn’t paid much attention to traits.
Though he had received basic education, it was over a hundred years ago, so he didn’t remember it well.
At Mua’s question, Suchan shrugged as if there was nothing he could do.
“The rut has already started, so he won’t be completely fine right away and will have to suffer for a few days. I don’t know why this happened when he’s been consistently taking suppressants. It’s not like there was an omega nearby either.”
Jieon had been taking quite strong suppressants recently. Especially right before the accident.
Around that time, Shin Mua had also taken off all his masks and acted like a madman, so Jieon had no choice but to be wary of an unexpected rut coming and being placed in a situation where his reason became hazy.
Of course, even if a rut came, he wouldn’t lay a hand on a beta he not only had no feelings for but utterly despised, but Jieon had been careful and careful again. Yet for this to happen.
Suchan couldn’t express how shocked he was when he received Mua’s call.
On the other hand, it also became an opportunity for any remaining suspicion he had toward Shin Mua to disappear. Jieon’s rut was an accident no one had expected. If Mua had other intentions, it was a situation where he could have fully taken advantage of this opportunity under the excuse of being surprised and flustered.
Nevertheless, the fact that he immediately contacted Suchan and helped handle the accident was also proof that he truly harbored no ill intentions toward Jieon.
“Maybe it’s because he received too big of a shock suddenly.”
Suchan muttered. It was the most plausible reason. Not only had he been caught up in incidents involving curses and whatnot in just a few days, but there was also a high probability that the person who cursed him was his uncle whom he had trusted all his life.
Even if he pretended to be okay, he must have received a huge mental shock, and that probably caused a pheromone abnormality.
“Anyway, I’ve done everything I can, so we have no choice but to wait and see until he gets a bit better. If the symptoms seem to get worse, we’ll have to go to the hospital.”
Suchan summarized the situation. Mua, who had been quietly nodding his head, opened his mouth.
“Then is it okay to just leave Cheon Jieon like that over there? What about meals and such…”
“He can’t eat even if we give him food right now anyway. If you just take care of giving him water, he’ll be fine in a day or two. It’s not even a proper rut.”
“I see.”
“I can stay tonight, but I have to go out for a bit tomorrow because of company work. In the meantime, can you… look after him?”
At Suchan’s question, Mua fell into thought for a moment. The image of himself getting all excited earlier and mixing tongues with him came to mind, and the back of his neck grew hot. Wanting to make that moment as if it never happened, Mua raised his head and spoke pretending to be confident instead.
“There’s no need for you to be here tonight either. I’m just going to keep him locked in the room anyway, and I’m not an omega.”
I’m not an omega. Those words were like a warning to himself. A warning not to even think of making excuses like being defeated by the body’s instincts when he wasn’t even an omega.
“No. I’ll stay here and sleep tonight. There happens to be one more room anyway… I’ll just ask you for the time when I briefly step out tomorrow. Thanks.”
As Suchan spoke the words of thanks aloud, he felt awkward. He never dreamed there would come a day when he would entrust Cheon Jieon to Shin Mua and say thank you. With absurd situations continuing to explode, it was hard to maintain his sanity.
“Well then… do as you like.”
Mua nodded without refusing further. From Mua’s perspective, it was reassuring to have Suchan there. At least it meant he didn’t have to enter Cheon Jieon’s room again tonight.
“Go in and rest now. You must have been very shocked too.”
At Suchan’s words, Mua pressed his lips tightly shut. It wasn’t just shocking—he had nearly fainted. Of course, he would never explain in detail.
“Just well… anyway, I’ll be going in now. Call me anytime if you need help.”
Mua muttered while getting up, honestly not even properly aware of what he was saying. Even though quite some time had passed, his legs were still trembling.
Worried he might pathetically collapse in front of Suchan, Mua walked toward the room carefully, step by step. Mua couldn’t know that from behind, even that gait looked completely awkward and strange.
“Huuu…”
Returning to his room, Mua collapsed face-down on the bed. As the tension released, a groaning sound naturally flowed from his throat. Everything that had just happened felt so unreal, as if it had all been a dream.
Right. How nice would it be if it really had been a dream?
“Surely Cheon Jieon won’t remember.”
Mua muttered with his cheek pressed against the blanket. Just the assumption alone made him feel a chill throughout his body, and he actually got goosebumps.
“Surely, surely…”
Mua, feeling self-loathing wash over him again, buried his face in the blanket. He thought it would be better to suffocate and die like this.
“No. He can’t possibly remember. There’s no way.”
Mua kept muttering, half-suffocated. His attitude was like reciting a prayer. That’s how desperate Mua truly was.
Cheon Jieon must have been out of his mind from the sudden rut. So he wouldn’t remember. Mua closed his eyes, trying hard to calm his anxious heart.
‘Mua.’
However, despite Mua’s efforts, as soon as he closed his eyes, Cheon Jieon’s eyes looking straight at him came vividly to mind. Those very eyes that seemed to see straight through to the soul beyond the outwardly revealed body.
His heart pounded and surged again. Flustered, Mua put his hand on his chest and pressed down hard, but it was useless. Mua wasn’t even human, and this body wasn’t actually Mua’s. Yet his heart beat fast and rough as if caught in a huge whirlpool of emotion.
Could memories remaining in the body also affect another soul wearing that body?
Mua became curious. Just as he seemed to have become weak to human physical pleasure, could the memories, the emotions of ‘Shin Mua’ who had loved Cheon Jieon so terribly as to hate him, also work on him?
Having been human at times and a Grim Reaper for a very long time, this was the first time Mua had become a Grim Reaper with a human body.
No matter how much he thought about it, another confusing night was passing without being able to know the answer.
***
“This is no ordinary bastard.”
Seoran muttered while sweeping up her sweat-soaked hair. It felt like meeting a proper opponent after a long time. And a very vicious one at that.
“But I’m no ordinary bastard either.”
Then Seoran’s face as she burst into laughter again was filled with pure joy, which was even bizarre. Fortunately, there was no one watching, so Seoran began to vigorously shake the muryeong held in her hand.
Even when Woldeok Grandma suggested they rest a bit, it was useless. Seoran was properly fired up right now.
Though she hadn’t directly seen the shaman who cast the curse magic on this house, she could clearly picture him.
It wasn’t that she saw his face. However, she could see all too clearly how great a shaman he was, how excited he felt when performing this act of taking someone’s life.
Among shamans, there were occasionally such people. The type who were born with great abilities, enjoyed seeing what others couldn’t see, divining what others couldn’t divine, and performing rituals others couldn’t perform.
Those who had deviated from ordinary reasons like wanting to help unfortunate humans or make a lot of money, possessing greed to test the limits of their abilities and achieve beyond that.
“You didn’t do this just to kill Cheon Jieon. It’s not that.”
How could the end of such a powerful and sinister ritual that even affected a Grim Reaper be merely one person’s death? Seoran intended to dig into what lay at the foundation of the curse magic that shaman had cast.
She was the divine Seoran-mu, whom Woldeok had guaranteed would become a great shaman renowned throughout this country.
***
“Huk!”
Jieon’s eyes flew open in shock, like someone waking from a nightmare.
“Uugh…”
At the same time, his head hurt as if it would split. Jieon, who barely managed to sit up, grabbed his head with both hands and began groaning.
It wasn’t just a headache. His whole body ached as if someone had trampled on him all night. His mind was hazy, making it hard to grasp what the situation was. Jieon, who remembered lying down in bed early because he felt feverish, reached for his phone placed beside him to check the time.
“What?”
Jieon’s eyes widened as he checked the screen. Not only was the current time afternoon rather than morning, which was surprising, but more than that, the date was the problem. It was two days past the last date he remembered.
“Wha, what?”
Flustered, Jieon looked around, not knowing what to do. Even so, he couldn’t find anyone who could help him in the room where he was alone.
Could he have fallen asleep and been sick for two whole days? The moment his thoughts reached that point, a certain scene suddenly came to mind.
‘You smell good, you…’
“Crazy!!”
Headache or not, Jieon burst out cursing and jumped up from the bed.
