Meanwhile, Do Seonhwa made a groaning sound.
The Young Master had firmly denied Seowoo’s ability, and they were actually grounds she couldn’t help but agree with, but she found it difficult to abandon her lingering attachment. The point that you couldn’t purify if you couldn’t see accurately was rational, but couldn’t the honored one be possible? The light in the dream had been so bright.
Do Seonhwa looked at Seowoo with eyes as if seeing a precious treasure she absolutely couldn’t give up, then first caught a taxi on the roadside and said.
“If it’s okay, please contact me again later. If you become interested in the industry, or if you have questions, anytime! The proposal I made to you is sincere! I’ll meet any conditions you want!”
She met his gaze with an utterly serious face.
“I believe it’s fate with you, honored one. We seem like people who had to meet.”
“Doesn’t that sound like a really old-fashioned pickup line? It might be better to be misunderstood as a cult.”
At Jin Gwangmin’s remark, Do Seonhwa shot him a glare. Since Seowoo had also just been thinking it really did sound like a cult statement, he quietly swallowed that impression and only nodded.
“Yes. I’ll think about it.”
On one hand, he thought it would be over anyway if Cheon Yijae refused purification. No, if he collapsed from pain, could they treat him? Like putting him under anesthesia. They said he didn’t want it unless it was purification that washed away hyung in one go, but if they put him to sleep completely, wouldn’t he not know how many times he was purified?
Because he hadn’t heard an explanation of how purification was done, a somewhat strange image was being drawn in his head. Actually, he still couldn’t believe he had such an ability either.
Seowoo gazed down at his own hands, then decided to focus on making it to the exam on time for now. The driver who had received a hefty taxi fare from Do Seonhwa quickly stepped on the accelerator and departed.
#Chapter 2. Motbi
The exam period passed hectically.
After visiting HN, Seowoo devoted himself only to studying. In the beginning, he had relatively more leisure since there were many liberal arts exams, but in the latter half, he had to concentrate as it was full of difficult major exams.
Spending days going only between his studio apartment, the library, and exam halls, the events experienced in Heun’s secret space seemed to fade away like a dream. After hearing unrealistic stories about hunting evil spirits or balancing the world or whatever, returning to a space full of such realistic topics, the sense of disparity was great.
Since those around him immediately worried about the next subject to take exams on and also talked about graduation and employment, the time at Heun naturally got pushed to a corner of his mind.
Above all, he hadn’t seen any more ghosts since that day.
Focusing only on studying for exams and getting through them one by one, finally the last day of finals approached. Starting with the exam at noon today, vacation would begin.
Seowoo tried to leave his studio apartment early in the morning to study at the library one last time. However, just as he was putting his bag on his shoulder, ding-dong— the doorbell rang.
‘Could it be that person again……’
When he went out and opened the door, the existence Seowoo expected stood before his eyes.
“Oh my, student Seowoo. You’re going out early again today.”
The person smiling while holding a heavy shopping bag in their arms was none other than the landlord grandfather. As soon as Seowoo bowed his head in greeting, the grandfather handed over the shopping bag.
“You must be tired from studying, so eat this while you work. In summer, you need to manage your vitality well!”
Inside the shopping bag was hot samgyetang. At the heavy-looking weight, Seowoo answered with a troubled face.
“It’s fine. You’ve been taking care of me continuously lately, so to receive more would be shameless……”
Recently, the landlord grandfather had frequently provided him with nutritious food. Precisely, it started the night he returned from HN, when he pressed food on him saying health was important since it was summer.
Even before, the grandfather had distributed nutritious food once to the tenants every summer, so at first he gratefully received it thinking it was that again. However, the gifts didn’t stop at once. Gomtang, duck baeksuk, grilled eel, abalone porridge, and so on—they came every day in various types.
Actually, Seowoo tended to refuse gifts others gave him for the most part, but it was difficult to refuse what the landlord grandfather provided. Not only the power relationship of landlord and tenant, but also Confucian cultural reasons were at work.
Instead, whenever he received something from the grandfather until now, he would repay at a corresponding level, but recently the frequency of gifts had been too often.
“What you’ve given me so far is already enough.”
“Nooo, it’s not. No matter how much you take care of your health, it’s not enough! Besides, isn’t it the middle of Daehan University’s exam period? So you need to eat even more heartily!”
“The food you gave me before is still left……”
“You can eat that bit by bit! I gave it to all the other people, so it would be odd to leave out only student Seowoo.”
The grandfather tried to forcibly grab his hand and pass over the shopping bag, but swish, Seowoo stepped back. Due to strong resistance, a heavy silence almost settled for a moment, but cough! The grandfather let out a cough mixed with tears.
“Actually, seeing my friend collapse recently, I’ve been worrying a lot…… They say there’s no order in going, right? While you’re alive, you must eat well and live well. While enjoying it!”
It was somewhat rambling talk, but it was content that made it difficult to refuse any further. He couldn’t be sensitive about health anxiety arising from an incident with a friend.
In the end, Seowoo thanked him and received the shopping bag with both hands. In his head, he was already thinking about how he should repay next time.
But as soon as he took the shopping bag, the grandfather smiled brightly and quickly stepped back while shouting.
“Ah, there’s one more gift in the bag, so make sure to look! Make sure!”
The way he left just like that looked as if he’d been aiming only for this moment. At the movement filled with the will to reject any rejection, Seowoo only blinked for a moment. It was bewildering to the point that this was the first time seeing the grandfather move this quickly.
Anyway, to sneakily give one more gift like this. Seowoo opened the shopping bag with a slightly uncomfortable feeling, then soon tilted his head in puzzlement.
“……A keyring?”
Inside a transparent bag was a small doll keyring. A black puppy doll hugging a four-leaf clover as big as its body.
It was a gift he’d never thought he’d receive from a white-haired grandfather of advanced age. Since the other tenants, mainly students since it’s a university area, got along well with him, perhaps he’d heard about trending items these days and prepared it together.
Perhaps because it was an unexpected item, his gaze kept going to the puppy. When he opened the bag and took it out, he liked the soft texture too, so after fiddling with it a few times, Seowoo impulsively attached the doll to his bag.
The sight of it dangling from the white crossbody bag was quite cute. Seowoo stroked the puppy’s crown with his fingertip, then departed for school.
***
Finally, all the exams were over.
“Uwaaah, it’s vacation now!”
“I was sad about finals until yesterday, but now exams? Credits? What’s important?”
“Ah, I’m going to add tons of spicy sauce to my pork cutlet.”
Park Dongju and So Dahyeon, who were lively as usual, shouted excitedly, and even Yang Gayeong, who had been relatively calm, tapped the table’s kiosk with a thoroughly excited face. Madness filled the eyes endlessly adding spicy sauce, saying it was a reward for herself for having worked hard.
Right now, the four including Seowoo had gathered to eat lunch together to commemorate the end of finals. So Dahyeon had made plans saying she happened to have four movie tickets, so let’s all hang out together.
Seowoo had wondered why she wasn’t watching separately with her boyfriend Park Dongju, but it turned out her desire to be with Yang Gayeong, her longtime best friend, was greater, so she’d included Park Dongju as an extra. So Park Dongju said he also had a friend and brought Seowoo in, forming a gathering of four.
The four people headed to a restaurant famous for being delicious nearby before going to the movie theater. Since they’d been cooped up in the school library eating only cafeteria or convenience store food, now that exams were over, they naturally deserved to have a good meal.
“Look at the color of Yang Gayeong’s pork cutlet. Isn’t it almost bleeding?”
“You’d die eating that……”
“I could share a bite.”
“Ugh, no thank you. Please enjoy it all yourself.”
Though she had lamb-like curly hair and a very gentle impression, Yang Gayeong’s taste was terrifying. Park Dongju and So Dahyeon stuck out their tongues, then sighed seeing Seowoo eating cheese pork cutlet dipped in honey next to them.
So Dahyeon, who had been looking at him strangely for subtly liking sweet food, shouted ah!
“Right, Maeng-seo. I heard from Dongju that you’re planning to only work part-time this vacation? Do you have a place decided?”
“……Mm, no.”
As soon as Seowoo swallowed all the food in his mouth and answered, So Dahyeon brightened.
“Perfect! I went to L-Chan Cafe last night and the owner asked how you were doing. They asked if you’d consider coming to the cafe if you don’t have other work!”
Kiosk (키오스크) – self-service ordering machine
Maeng-seo (맹서) – shortened nickname for Seowoo
Dongdongju (동동주) – nickname for Park Dongju
gramps is sus