It couldn’t be helped. Blaming the past couldn’t make it as if it never happened, so it was meaningless resentment, and digging into why he couldn’t think normally only made him tired.
It was the conclusion Sim Seowoo had reached after countless contemplations. Since nothing went as he thought, he had to live without thinking. It was beneficial to his mind and body to accept and move on from anything, thinking it could happen.
“I understand that it sounds absurd for a human who didn’t even know Heun existed until now to suddenly join and then say they’ll go live normally after all problems are solved. But the kids who were trapped in that facility also dreamed of living normally.”
“…”
“Maybe I have a desire for revenge against the Hyungsin that killed those kids? Mmm, I didn’t think such heroic thoughts, but…”
The fire that consumed that building was said to be flames that arose when the Hyungsin was resurrected. So to resolve to take revenge for the children burning to death, in fact, even if it hadn’t been the Hyungsin that day, the children’s safety couldn’t have been guaranteed.
Of course, since they say the pain of burning to death is the most terrible, he did feel resentful toward the Hyungsin. What crime did young children commit that they had to be swept up in its resurrection?
“Ah, I’ve digressed a bit. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is…”
Sim Seowoo sighed and shook his head. Before he knew it, his consciousness had wandered and even the topic had flowed elsewhere. In fact, it was also because it was the first time he’d revealed all his inner thoughts like this, so he was unfamiliar and lost his way in conversation.
How did he end up saying such things? Perhaps his unconscious worked to just honestly spill it out since Cheon Yijae, who was perceptive anyway, would see through it anyway if he tried to hide it.
Feeling strangely relieved, Sim Seowoo looked at Cheon Yijae. Meeting eyes directly with him, who had unexpectedly listened to the story quietly until now, he spoke very frankly.
“It’s right that I’m not in my right mind, so I’m insensitive to danger.”
“…What? Why is that the conclusion…”
“So no matter how much Sojunim is on edge, I don’t feel very scared. Even now, I’m just thinking I can purify you since you can’t run away anymore.”
The background of coming to the storage shed that had been full of Ghost Energy in the first place and stubbornly stepping foot inside was all because of that. In Sim Seowoo’s head, there was only the thought that he had to repay Cheon Yijae since he had been bitten by the yokai in his place.
Above all, they said he would die if the red mark couldn’t be removed, yet pretending not to see such a state was shameless. For him, who already felt uncomfortable with others’ goodwill, he even felt a heavy sense of responsibility to resolve this problem.
The sarcasm Cheon Yijae had thrown at him—well, he couldn’t accept it pleasantly, but he wasn’t angry enough to ignore the curse he was suffering from. Strictly speaking, it felt more like defamation due to pointing out facts, and honestly, he only felt the impression that he was really trying hard to drive him away.
Soon Sim Seowoo reached out both hands toward Cheon Yijae.
“Don’t touch—!”
“Shh, just a moment. I’ll try to concentrate.”
Though already cornered, Cheon Yijae struggled. As he tried to turn his head to avoid his touch, he grabbed his face as if to hold it with his left hand, and touched the red mark on his forehead with his right hand.
“…”
Cheon Yijae, who had seemed like he would shake off the touch any moment, surprisingly froze stiffly from the moment the hand touched and stopped all movement.
It seemed he even held his breath, but regardless, Sim Seowoo was currently repeatedly reciting the sentence ‘I must remove this mark’ in his head.
“It seems purification power comes out when certain conditions are met. Should I say it bursts out at the moment I intensely feel the necessity to purify? The problem is I can’t control the degree…”
What had been emphasized in the purification techniques he’d learned over the past few days was precisely learning that ‘sensation’. He had to directly face the contamination that blurred the world’s good and draw up energy with the mind to erase it and balance things.
So beginner Purifiers had the task of wiping away very faint curses first, but Sim Seowoo was now stepping through those stages in reverse. While bewildered on one hand, he somehow felt a sense of déjà vu, as if reviewing an ability that had been familiar like breathing.
He wanted to try purifying by finding the most appropriate line for anything first. He shouldn’t purify too much so Cheon Yijae’s insides wouldn’t turn over…
“Mm, it’s not working.”
The purification itself didn’t work in the first place.
Though he’d boldly attempted it, the red mark on his forehead hadn’t erased even a little. He tried gently rubbing it surreptitiously, but it only seemed to become more vivid.
He’d repeated that he had to remove the curse for world peace, but did he fail because it was too heroic?
As Sim Seowoo alternately looked at his fingertips and the red mark with a puzzled feeling, Cheon Yijae sighed. As if he no longer had the energy to be angry—no, as if even that energy had to be poured elsewhere—his voice sank heavily.
“Right now… isn’t this not a situation to calmly say such things…?”
Before they knew it, the two’s posture had changed to a very strange one. The distance was close enough to say it was one step before Cheon Yijae covered over Sim Seowoo.
From the moment Sim Seowoo’s hand had touched just before, Cheon Yijae’s upper body had tilted as if drawn by a magnet. His breathing was unstably disheveled as if he was devoting all his nerves to preventing a rush, and the focus of his eyes also flickered and blurred.
However, Sim Seowoo just blinked calmly. Though it was a situation where it wouldn’t be strange to be crushed by Cheon Yijae and collapse to the floor any moment, he rather tilted his head as if there was no need to bring up that topic.
“Well, it’s not like I came here not knowing it was that kind of curse.”
Honestly, he just found it fascinating that Cheon Yijae reacted to him. When he heard that ‘marital intercourse’ was the solution, he’d naturally thought Cheon Yijae would only react to someone he liked, but did the instinct to escape the curse just stimulate sexual desire so he’d cling to anyone?
Wait, then if he slept with just anyone, the curse wouldn’t be resolved, right? Because they’re not married.
…No, there’s no need to worry about this. I’m going to resolve it with purification anyway.
Sim Seowoo shook his head to cut off his thoughts. Though he’d answered Cheon Yijae calmly, in fact, he seemed to have become somewhat conscious of his presence drawing close as if to crush him. After all, he was bigger than himself, so it couldn’t be helped, he thought. His vision was filled completely with his broad shoulders.
A tension like having a beast right in front of him crept up steadily. Though bound by rope, the fierce energy of the beast that seemed not controlled at all poured out, and his body reflexively tried to shrink.
Nevertheless, the background of Sim Seowoo maintaining composure was largely because Cheon Yijae’s bindings hadn’t come undone yet. He could summon Jaegui to remove the rope at any time, and in fact, it seemed he could tear it off with strength, but since he didn’t, he wanted to trust his patience.
“Haah, I’m going crazy…”
Cheon Yijae squeezed his eyes shut and let out a deep sigh. His ominous voice, as if dredged up from the deep sea, cracked dryly, announcing that his reason was fragmenting.
After a moment of silence, he slowly, very carefully opened his mouth.
“…Yeah, thank you. I’m really grateful you tried to purify it, but you confirmed it doesn’t work now. So let’s stop here and, hoo, leave now.”
“If you’re grateful, I’ll try purifying a bit more. I should attempt it at least three times.”
It was the first thanks Cheon Yijae had conveyed, but Sim Seowoo chose to quickly utilize it as an opportunity rather than be amazed. It was a small revenge for Cheon Yijae’s earlier reaction telling him to quit if he was grateful.
Ha, Cheon Yijae sighed as if dumbfounded and opened his eyes. The ash-colored eyes he met again, though heavily clouded, felt like they’d fallen into deep absurdity.
Soon he lowered his head deeply with a sigh. At the action that seemed to lose the will to converse with the other person and avoid facing him, Sim Seowoo hurriedly reached out his hand.
“Ah, don’t hide your forehead. It seems certain that purification power comes out when I confirm the serious state with my eyes.”
Whoosh, he grabbed both of Cheon Yijae’s cheeks with both hands and lifted them. As he pulled to make him properly face himself and earnestly requested, Cheon Yijae made a very strange expression. Whether he was dumbfounded at this outrage, annoyed, or… holding back laughter.
Looking blankly at Sim Seowoo with an unreadable expression, he finally spoke as if sighing.
“Right now… do you have no awareness at all whose face you’re just grabbing…?”
“Ah.”
Sim Seowoo awkwardly lowered both hands. No matter how much younger he was, he was still the organization’s successor, yet he’d cupped both his cheeks like treating a young child and coaxed and soothed him not to hide. Was it the influence of caring for children at the facility in the past? Moreover, he’d unconsciously used informal speech again.
Sim Seowoo, who coughed a couple of times, apologized.
“I was impolite. I’m sorry. Um, but my desire to help Sojunim is sincere. Though I failed just before, I’ve only tried once so far, so if you’ll give me a bit more opportunity…”
He explained his purpose and plan in an awkward tone. He was as polite and courteous as possible, but just as his story was about to flow in earnest, Cheon Yijae chuckled.
He dropped his head and giggled, and that laughter seemed like a laugh of absurdity but also sounded somewhat self-deprecating. His shoulders also trembled.
Sim Seowoo stopped talking and quietly watched Cheon Yijae’s jet-black hair sway. Would he get angry if he grabbed his face again now, he thought, when he murmured quietly.
It was such a faint voice, so low that he’d have to kill even his breathing to hear it.
“If you really want to help me…”
The silence that followed the impulsive murmur continued precariously, then finally broke—pssst.
“Speak to me casually.”
“…?”
“Don’t use that awkward formal speech…”
Sim Seowoo blinked slowly. He was confused what this sudden talk was, and on the other hand wondered why Cheon Yijae kept reacting to his polite language from before. He acted as if endlessly uncomfortable receiving honorifics from him when he listened well to other people.
Though bewildered, Sim Seowoo decided to follow his request for now.
“I’ll… do that, sure. But casual speech means, exactly what kind…?”
“…My name.”
Cheon Yijae slowly raised his head and met his eyes. Secret longing appeared in his hazy ash-colored eyes, as if committing a crime by harboring desire that arose under the pretext of a curse.
“…Call me by my name.”
