The Night Of The Untraced Chapter 34

I need to run…

Hesitating, Seungjoo stepped back, tilting his umbrella. The sound of his sneakers scraping against the ground was unpleasant to hear. Even though the rain was still pouring heavily, his mind felt blank, unable to even hear the loud sound of the rain.

Perhaps there was a chance, like that woman from before, to just pass through. He didn’t have any spiritual energy, and that thing wouldn’t devour souls like a demon. Plus, he had the talisman given to him by Kim Muryeong, so it might not have been a terribly dangerous situation.

But damn, how would I know that now?

However, the eerie sight before his eyes was too bizarre to stake everything on such uncertainty. Despite trying to ignore it, the chill brushing against his neck was indeed a spiritual presence.

It was a demon. A being that had threatened lives for generations in the family. Originally human, but unable to let go of its grudges, it had become a pitiful soul unable to attain enlightenment. Once a wicked demon that, once losing its form, could never return to its original state.

Seungjoo, barely holding back his curse, took another step back. He honestly felt like he wanted to faint right then and there. Just holding on to his sanity, not knowing what would happen if he fainted.

If I faint now, I’m screwed for real.

His steps were heavy, but he forced his body to move. Fortunately, the demon approaching him was moving ridiculously slowly. It seemed even taking a step was laborious, as if it couldn’t maintain its balance and stumbled.

It seemed like he could just bolt away. His movements were sluggish, and even just a few more steps seemed precarious, like he might collapse at any moment.

Just as Seungjoo thought about it, about turning his body to flee…

The demon, slowly approaching, melted into the ground.

It was a sight that could only be described as ‘melting.’ From head to toe, it liquefied and, like rainwater seeping into the asphalt, disappeared into the ground in the blink of an eye.

What the…

The spiritual energy enveloping the surroundings also dissipated in an instant. As his heart relaxed slightly, he belatedly realized that he was sweating cold sweat.

What’s happening…?

Did it revert?

As Seungjoo exhaled shallowly and swept his hair back, a subtle change occurred in a place he couldn’t see.

The shadow beneath his feet began to ripple slowly, like water just barely filling a bowl. Amidst the tapping raindrops, a single eerie hand suddenly emerged from within.

“!”

By the time he realized it, the demon had already pulled half of its body out. With a swish, blood mixed with rainwater poured from its emerging torso. The demon, now face to face with Seungjoo, grinned widely, its mouth torn open.

Found you.

The overwhelming sense of helplessness washing over him was terrifying. At the moment the demon reached out its hand, he froze so completely that he couldn’t even close his eyes. The heavy spiritual energy pressing against his spine made it instinctive for him to tightly bite his lower lip.

He thought he was going to die, surely. Even if he didn’t die, he was sure to feel excruciating pain. Thinking so, he desperately clutched the talisman.

But then, in that moment,

“…”

A whoosh, an arrow flew from somewhere and pierced the grotesque head. The arrow, shaped like a flame, terrifyingly turned into blue ashes upon hitting the demon. With a splatter, the blood that burst out passed through Seungjoo and splashed onto the rain-soaked ground.

Before long, another arrow flew towards the stumbling demon. When was it? Just like when he had seen the burning talisman, he couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh as he watched the flames flicker.

“Ha.”

There was a smell of wind. Mixed with the humid air, Seungjoo could sense the energy he was familiar with. Momentarily suppressing the overwhelming sadness, he felt a tug from behind.

“Seungjoo.”

Dropping the umbrella coincided with his body turning around. The sensation of hands enveloping the back of his head, pulling him into a wide embrace, the gentle voice whispering into his ear as a chin grazed his head.

“Be good…”

Ah… Kim Muheun. Why do you appear at such a time, making it impossible for me to even hate you?

“Close your eyes and count to ten.”

You told me to count to 100 last time. 

It felt inappropriate to think such a thing at a time like this.

Seungjoo, who was embraced without a word, held onto the person in front tightly to prevent from falling over. As Muheun buried his face in Seungjoo’s neck while pulling his collar, he kindly replied.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“…”

Despite being hit by rain, there was no feeling of coldness at all. The heavy rain had turned into a drizzle, and the warmer body temperature of Muheun enveloped Seungjoo. The rhythmic pounding in his ears also helped Seungjoo regain calmness.

He pretended not to hear the sound of something breaking. Although he heard a dull sound as if something had been broken, Seungjoo closed his eyes tightly and focused on the sound of the rain falling. Sometimes, when he felt a chill, he pressed his nose against his collarbone and took a long breath.

“…”

“…”

The drizzle that had been falling soon stopped completely. When he realized that he wasn’t getting wet anymore, the hand that had been covering his back gently stroked his head. The hand that had reached down to his neck then patted his back a few times, as if comforting a child.

“Yeah hyung is here.”

“Ah…”

The thin sigh that escaped was more of a relief than twenty words. As he slowly lifted his head, he saw the face he had been thinking about all day.

“Hyung, what on earth…”

The deep crimson blood that had splattered on Muheun’s cheek disappeared as soon as he wiped it away with his hand. Muheun, who had turned his empty hand in the air, then carefully lifted Seungjoo’s chin with his thumb. At the subtle angle, Seungjoo’s eyes flickered for a moment, and he lightly brushed his lower lip with his thumb.

“You’re bleeding.”

“…”

Interestingly, the emotion contained in that one word was anger. And not just any anger, it was an intense anger, enough to momentarily paralyze Seungjoo. Forgetting what he was about to say, his lips twitched as he looked around slowly.”

“First…”

There was no time to see where he was looking or to confirm anything like that. His gaze seemed to sink, then he closed and opened his eyes slowly, and when he looked at Seungjoo again, any subtle discomfort was completely gone.

“Hyung, let’s go home.”

There was no thought of refusal. Seungjoo, with tired eyes, leaned his forehead on Muheun’s shoulder. Amidst the things to return to him, the things to say, the questions he wanted to ask, what came out of his mouth was this.

“Ah… I don’t want to be lifted.”

He didn’t want to be lifted again, nor did he want to walk the streets. The fear he had felt all along had now vanished like it was washed away, but the depleted strength wasn’t coming back.

Muheun, with a slightly teasing laugh, responded lightly.

“I brought the car.”

***

They returned to the apartment in the car Muheun had parked nearby. When Seungjoo hesitated to get into the car with his wet body, Muheun assured him that if he caught a cold, he would take him to the emergency room, and he even opened the front passenger door for him.

Once they quietly got into the car, Seungjoo immediately called his parents to let them know he was with Muheun.

Although his wet body dried up sooner than expected, Seungjoo took a shower as soon as they arrived at Muheun’s house. He declined Muheun’s offer to draw a bath, saying he didn’t want to take such a thorough bath. He just wanted to wash up quickly and rest comfortably.

After washing off his clothes, Seungjoo put on the clothes Muheun had provided. It was a plain black t-shirt and a pair of sweat shorts with an elastic band. He didn’t have any underwear, but Seungjoo didn’t seem to mind and came out of the bathroom wearing only the clothes.

“Did you finish showering?”

Muheun was sitting on the sofa, waiting for Seungjoo like that. He had a towel draped over his shoulders, indicating that he had showered in another bathroom. Standing there quietly felt awkward, so he beckoned to him with a nod.

“Come here, Seungjoo.”

“……”

“Don’t treat me like a dog,” Seungjoo muttered inwardly as he approached him quietly. Muheun gestured to the seat beside him with a tube of ointment in one hand.

“Sit. Let’s apply some medicine.”

It seemed like the split lips were bothering him quite a bit. Seungjoo was surprised at how sharp it felt even while taking a shower. It was understandable since he had been biting them without realizing he was bleeding.

“But do you have medicine at home?”

It was natural to have some basic medicine at home, but it was surprising because Muheun was the one offering it. Wasn’t he the type to brush off minor injuries with sheer willpower?

“Not a joke, but actually, most people with any sort of supernatural abilities would heal minor wounds in less than half a day. Like how Muheun’s dislocated shoulder was completely healed in just a day. So there were only medications for indigestion in the neighboring apartment.”

“I bought some just in case.”

“Just in case of what…”

Seungjoo sitting on the sofa raised an eyebrow. It might be an unfounded suspicion, but it seemed like Muheun was indicating that there might be a situation where he would need it himself. After all, there was hardly anyone around him who would get hurt.

“Open your lips wider.”

Muheun, squeezing ointment onto his finger, widened his lower lip to make the ‘ah’ sound. As Seungjoo followed suit, he applied the ointment to the wound very carefully. As their faces drew close for a moment, Seungjoo stifled a breath secretly.

“……”

“……”

It was unnecessarily awkward. Though it would develop a scab soon, it wasn’t that serious, but Muheun’s serious expression made it seem worse.

“Doesn’t it sting?”

“Not really.”

“You endure well.”

Muheun chuckled lightly, as if impressed. Actually, he thought applying the ointment was overdoing it, but his expression indicated that it wasn’t enough. So Seungjoo casually changed the subject with an unaffected face.

“How did you know to come here earlier?”