Free Web NovelJaegyeom pushed open the familiar painted gate and stepped into the yard. Crossing the wide, well-kept yard, he reached the front door, dusted off his feet, and kicked off his shoes carelessly. The house he had returned to after half a day was as quiet as ever. His beige Converse rolled clattering across the shoe cabinet. On one side sat a tiny pair of embroidered shoes, small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, neatly lined up.
“Mesan.”
Even at Jaegyeom’s call, there was no real sign of movement inside the house. Where’d he go? After setting down his bag, Jaegyeom opened the front door and looked out into the yard.
“Mesan.”
When he called again, a small child barely reaching Jaegyeom’s waist came hurrying in from outside. The instant Mesan saw him, his face broke into a radiant smile, and he came running over to throw his arms around Jaegyeom’s legs.
“My lord!”
“What? Where were you?”
“U-um, in the back yard! My lord, did ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ you have a good trip?”
Mesan rubbed his face happily against Jaegyeom’s waist. He must have been playing in the dirt, because his face and hands were filthy. Jaegyeom looked down at Mesan, who was beaming at him in delight, then abruptly put on a stern expression.
“How was schoo—”
“Were you running around barefoot again?”
“Ah! Th-that is...”
“How many times have I told you to wear shoes?”
The joy lasted only a moment. At Jaegyeom’s scolding, Mesan’s face immediately fell.
“One hundred and twenty-one times...”
Wait, you counted?
Jaegyeom looked incredulous at Mesan’s honest answer. When Jaegyeom gave his nose a playful tug, Mesan squeezed his eyes shut and cried, “Ow, ow, ow.” What a drama queen, when it didn’t even hurt. One corner of Jaegyeom’s mouth lifted slightly. He gently stroked the back of Mesan’s head.
“Did you have fun?”
At the question, Mesan brightened at once.
“Yes! A raccoon came to play.”
“A raccoon? And who’s that supposed to be?”
“A friend I met a few days ago when I went to play halfway up the mountain.”
“Oh, dear. You sure do have a lot of friends.”
The moment he stepped inside, Jaegyeom headed straight for the bathroom. Mesan trailed after him. Jaegyeom turned on the faucet at the sink, pumped some hand wash, and began carefully washing his hands. The cold rushing water felt good. Mesan stuck close beside him like a burr and stood on tiptoe to watch.
Then Jaegyeom paused in the middle of washing.
The yellow bandage on his index finger was hanging loose. Ah, right. This...
Jaegyeom thought of the pitch-black inchworms he had seen in the library. Would there be reason to use talismans again in the future? After falling into thought for a moment, he shook the water from his hands and turned off the faucet.
“Mesan. Go up to the attic and bring me the mother-of-pearl box.”
“Huh? My lord, why the mother-of-pearl box all of a sudden...?”
“Just bring it first. I’ll tell you later.”
Mesan nodded with a puzzled face. While Mesan went up to the attic, Jaegyeom came out of the bathroom and headed for the storage room tucked away in the back of the house.
Inside the cluttered storeroom was another door.
Jaegyeom had set a barrier on it himself, so unless it was Jaegyeom’s own ghostly force, it was nearly impossible to open. The doorknob was wound round and round with an old straw rope. Jaegyeom closed his eyes for a moment and focused ghostly force into his fingertips. Then the tightly bound rope slowly loosened and fell to the floor. Only after it had completely unwound did the door open.
The room, abandoned for a long time, felt empty and bleak. In the dead center lay a single rusted silver dagger, carrying the full weight of long years on its surface. Jaegyeom sat down upright on the floor and drew the dagger from its sheath. From within the heavily rusted scabbard, a sharp blade appeared. He lifted a hand and peeled off the damp bandage.
“My lord, I brought the mother-of-pearl bo—”
Mesan, entering the room with the box in his arms, went wide-eyed.
“Give me the box, and step outside for a minute.”
“M-my lord. Surely you’re not...”
Jaegyeom drove the silver dagger straight into the center of his palm without a trace of hesitation.
“I should prepare a few talismans.”
*****
Jaegyeom, nodding off on the bus, almost missed his stop.
A regular timetable had entered the listless life in which, if he was sleepy, he slept, and only got up when his eyes opened on their own. At an hour that normally would have been the middle of the night for him, Jaegyeom had put on a school uniform that had no place at all in his fate and packed a bag. It would probably take a few days to adjust.
When he got off at the bus stop, there were only a handful of students on the street. It was a little early for school start time. Jaegyeom, who loved sleeping late, was still not fully awake. With a sullen face, he dragged his feet forward.
He was passing the convenience store in front of the school when it happened.
Ding.
The glass door opened with a clear bell-like sound, and a calm, sensual musk fragrance drifted straight to his nose.
“Oh? Hello.”
The one greeting him was the young librarian he had seen the day before. He seemed to have just come out of the convenience store after buying something. He was wearing a pale sky-blue dress shirt and slacks that showed his ankles. It was a similar outfit to yesterday’s suit, but with white sneakers instead of dress shoes, which made him look much fresher than before.
He remembers my face?
Jaegyeom hesitated briefly, then dipped his head in the slightest nod. At that, a smile touched the young man’s face. As his eyes curved, the cold impression he gave melted away all at once.
“We meet again.”
“Yes.”
“Do you usually come at this time, friend?”
“Yeah, well...”
Jaegyeom answered shortly.
“Really? Then why is today the first time I’ve seen you?”
Jaegyeom’s face turned dubious. He had only answered vaguely because if he said he had transferred in, it felt like a whole irritating chain of topics would follow—where from, how’s school life, and so on. Sure enough, the young man was long-winded.
“I only came to this school for the first time yesterday.”
Jaegyeom finally opened his mouth, reluctant.
“Oh, then you’re a transfer student?”
“Yes.”
“I see. I thought so. I kept thinking you looked like a face I’d never seen before.”
The young man nodded with a look of surprise.
“Well, it’s not like I’ve worked here long enough to know every student’s face. But no matter how I look at you...”
He trailed off for a moment and stared at Jaegyeom.
“You’ve got the kind of face people remember even if you only pass them by.”
What’s that supposed to mean?
Jaegyeom pulled a sullen face at the vague remark. He considered asking what exactly he meant, then decided not to bother. At least the conversation about school had not gone on as long as he had feared.
As he stared blankly at the young man, Jaegyeom’s gaze drifted downward.
There was a carton in the man’s hand—some drink he had just bought at the convenience store. Jaegyeom blinked as he looked at the brand name printed on the side.
Very Berry... drinking yogurt?
Noticing his gaze, the young man gave the carton a little shake.
“Do you like it?”
“Like what?”
“This. Drinking yogurt.”
“I’ve never had it.”
“Really? I like it a lot.”
So what?
Jaegyeom cast him a flat, unimpressed look.
“There are different flavors—kiwi, strawberry, things like that—but Very Berry is the best.”
The young man stuck in the straw that had come with it at the register.
“Want some?”
Instead of answering, Jaegyeom declined with a glance. The young man did not ask a second time. He simply put the straw to his lips, then came striding over and naturally took up position beside Jaegyeom. Before he knew it, Jaegyeom had wound up walking with him.
Silence fell between them.
As they walked without speaking, the front gate began to come into view in the distance.
“Friend, by the way...”
The young man spoke abruptly.
“Are you going in like that?”
“Like what?” free𝑤ebnovel.com
Jaegyeom looked puzzled by the question, which made no sense in context. Without a word, the young man opened his palm and tapped his own chest a few times. Not understanding the gesture, Jaegyeom faintly frowned.
“What?”
“Aren’t you wearing a tie? It seems like it’s about time you should be.”
Only then did Jaegyeom realize he did not have one on, and he stiffened.
“You’ll get demerits for that.”
Jaegyeom frowned and lowered his head.
“Ah... the tie...”
No wonder something had felt missing. He had completely forgotten that he had handed his tie over to the vengeful ghost yesterday.
Jaegyeom had shared some of his ghostly force with that vengeful ghost. He had not done it out of pity or sympathy. He had only vaguely understood her desperation. He had no way of knowing what grievance she carried, but there had been a time when he too had been consumed by a deep grudge. He had not the slightest desire to help her actively or get tangled up in her story. Still, he had been able to delay, for a short while at least, the point at which her form would break down and she would lose her reason completely. How she chose to use that time was her own business.
Because he had needed to hand over something he was wearing, he had passed it to her without much thought.
That had been a mistake.
The young man lifted one eyebrow.
“Did you leave it behind?”
Not left behind, exactly. More like gave it to someone else. But close enough. He stared at Jaegyeom’s bewildered face for a moment, then glanced around and quickly untied his own tie.
“Hurry. Someone might see.”
He whispered it softly. Jaegyeom looked at the tie the man held out to him, startled.
“Of all days, I happened to wear a navy tie today, so the color’s exactly the same.”
By sheer coincidence, the tie the young man had been wearing was the very same color as the school tie. Smiling, he undid the top buttons of his shirt, which had been done all the way to his throat.
Two buttons down.
Where the tie had made him look neat and immaculate, now he looked more natural.
“Put it on, quick. What if someone sees and tattles that the librarian lent you his tie?”
The young man spoke in a tone full of mischief. It was an absurdly far-fetched thing to say, but hearing him put it that way made Jaegyeom falter all the same. Slightly flustered, he glanced around. Students in the same uniform were passing by, sneaking looks at both of them. At some point, time had slipped by, and the number of students arriving for school had begun to swell. Before he knew it, Jaegyeom had taken the tie.
“If you rack up demerits, it’ll be a pain. This school’s really strict.”
When Jaegyeom still hesitated, the young man gave him a small, half-teasing scare. Then, as if it were none of his business, he calmly put the straw to his lips again. A faint fragrance rose from the tie Jaegyeom had taken from him. Jaegyeom looked up at the young man, wavering.
“......”
A crack finally appeared in the face of the boy who had looked indifferent and prickly the entire time.
“Go over to that corner and put it on.”
At the opportunity that had come sooner than expected, Yoon Taehee felt a flicker of pleasure.
“Then I’ll head in first.”
Yoon Taehee murmured low by Jaegyeom’s ear and moved as though to step away.
“Excuse me.”
Without thinking, Jaegyeom grabbed hold of the man’s arm. Beneath the shirt sleeve he could feel firm muscle. Yoon Taehee stepped closer to him with a puzzled expression. The oddly sensual scent of his cologne deepened as the distance closed. Having grabbed him, Jaegyeom now hesitated for a long while without managing to say what he wanted.
Yoon Taehee looked down at him in silence, then asked,
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Jaegyeom scrunched up his face and muttered,
“How am I supposed to tie this?”
