The Night Of The Untraced Chapter 6

The journey home wasn’t as frightening as I had imagined. Whether it was because I was already too shocked or because Muheun was by my side, I couldn’t tell. It’s probably the latter, but I didn’t really want to admit it.

“…You said you’d take responsibility for it earlier.”

Seungjoo, who had been silent all along, finally spoke softly when they reached the front of the house. Similarly, Muheun, who had also been quiet, finally turned his gaze towards Seungjoo. Seungjoo narrowed his eyebrows slightly and spoke hesitantly, as if reluctant.

“How exactly do you plan to do that? If, like, we encounter… ghosts, like today.”

There were too many words I didn’t want to say. Words like responsibility, or protect, or even ghosts. It wasn’t because I was scared, just awkward… really.

“Doing something like exorcising them, it’s a bit…”

“Scared?”

“No. It’s just because it takes a long time.”

Muheun chuckled softly, even at Seungjoo’s last words. It was clear to anyone that Muheun didn’t believe Seungjoo’s words. Seungjoo raised his eyebrows as if to say, “Go on, say more.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll try to avoid meeting them as much as possible.”

“…Can you do that?”

Even Seungjoo, who had lived a life without ghosts, knew that souls were not in short supply. Muryeong, who was possibly a friend, had trouble sleeping and wandering around since high school. Until now, he had pretended they didn’t exist, but now that he could see them, he couldn’t ignore them.

To Seungjoo, Muheun spoke with a firm expression.

“Seungjoo, I’m a exorcist.”

Yes, Kim Muheun was an exorcist. More precisely, should I call him a ghost seal exorcist? He received education to become an exorcist from a young age, and by the time he turned twenty, he became an official exorcist affiliated with the association. For the past ten years, he had been traveling around the country to capture ghosts.

“Do you know that souls are attracted to spirits?”

Seungjoo nodded. Since spirits represent the clarity of the soul, many lost souls often parasitize on the spirits of living beings. Unless they had turned into evil spirits, they would often cling to living beings without clear consciousness.

“But even souls that haven’t been exorcised have some sense of reason. So usually, exorcists feel fear from the energy they possess.”

It’s a kind of survival instinct, Muheun added briefly. It was something he had only known in theory until now. Since the family was a family, Seungjoo also had a good understanding of exorcism knowledge.

“Whenever you go out, I’ll always be with you. Unless I deliberately suppress my presence, they won’t reveal themselves.”

“So, can’t you just avoid meeting them altogether?”

“Hmm.”

I thought he would answer right away, but Muheun hesitated unexpectedly. His thin eyes slanted down ambiguously.

“Mostly?”

“…”

It was a subtle answer, wasn’t it? There seemed to be something he couldn’t confirm for sure. He was the kind of person who would never guarantee something if there was even a 1% chance.

“But Seungjoo, you won’t be in danger. I promise.”

“…Right.”

He knew he meant it even without making a promise. Firstly, it was the promise between families, and secondly, it was because of Muheun’s sense of responsibility that he had been carrying since childhood.

And perhaps there was a hint of guilt mixed in.

“So don’t worry too much.”

Muheun gently patted Seungjoo’s head as he smiled softly. He didn’t want to admit it, but for Seungjoo, it was all too familiar to have someone protect him. It’s just that, even though it was familiar, he couldn’t help but find it annoying.

“But Seungjoo.”

When they reached the front door, Muheun called out to Seungjoo gently. Before Seungjoo could respond, Muheun stood in front of the door and bent down towards Seungjoo. Seungjoo reflexively tried to cover his mouth, but his gaze fell lower than that.

“What, why are you… being creepy…”

The skin crawled. It was because Muheun leaned in to smell the scent at Seunjoo’s neck. When Seunjoo pushed him away in a panic, Muheun obediently straightened up. Then, he wrinkled his eyes and chuckled softly.

“Creepy…”

Perhaps Seunjoo was pretending to be disgusted, but unfortunately, he didn’t look like it at all. He seemed to enjoy it rather than being disgusted, especially when he saw Seunjoo’s disgusted expression.

As Seunjoo wiped the area where Muheun’s breath touched with his palm, a strangely irrelevant question was thrown.

“Do you know how to use a lighter now?”

“A lighter?”

Suddenly, a lighter. Seunjoo, who had been thinking about it, immediately shook his head with a serious expression. Perhaps because he thought it might be necessary for chasing ghosts. If so, he was eager to learn right away.

“Really?”

However, Muheun smiled satisfactorily at the negative answer. He even softly murmured affectionately with his eyes gently curved.

“I hope you still can’t use it in the future.”

“…”

Was he teasing him about not being able to use a lighter now? Somehow, it felt like being teased, but he couldn’t retort. Knowing Muheun enjoyed it more the stronger the reaction, that’s why.

Whether Seunjoo felt unfairly treated or not, Muheun, with a refreshed face, simply opened the door himself.

“See you tomorrow.”

Surprisingly, it was a greeting heard after a long time. Unlike the usual words like “go inside,” “good night,” it was different from those kind words that had no follow-up.

Seunjoo, who had been momentarily speechless, thought of something and responded awkwardly.

“I’m not going anywhere tomorrow.”

Tomorrow was Sunday, what did he mean by saying he won’t go anywhere? Unless Kim Muryeong called him to eat, Seunjoo always stayed home on weekends. Even if he went to the neighbor’s house, he usually returned before sunset.

“Since there’s no drinking appointment for a while, I’ll contact you if needed. I won’t be wandering around at night anyway…”

So there was no need for Muheun to always take him. It was uncomfortable, troublesome, and something he could handle on his own. It meant he didn’t need to trouble many people unnecessarily.

Yeah, that was the case.

“But ghosts come out during the day too.”

“…”

Seunjoo’s mouth shut tightly. Muheun calmly continued without changing his expression.

“It’s a very rare case, but yes. Moreover, ghosts wandering around during the daytime usually have strong negative energy. They’re either evil spirits or about to become evil spirits. Since they’ve been dead for a long time, they’re probably not human anymore. Are you really okay with that?”

“I’ll send you the class schedule.”

Seunjoo responded promptly. It was because he felt he needed to live, burdensome or not. Crazy, even the woman who looked just like a human was so scary, no, surprising. What should he do if they weren’t human?

“…Do they just suddenly appear?”

“Yeah, they don’t.”

Muheun answered the question with a voice mixed with laughter just in case. He had a thick smile on his lips as if he had expected it. During the moment when Seunjoo felt relieved inwardly, this time a slightly different greeting was exchanged.

“I’ll come to pick you up on Monday.”

Only then did he realize. The sensation he felt when he entered the house was the influence of the charm suppressing the spirit. The chill he felt from the charm written by Muryeong was not just temperature, it was spiritual energy. Unfortunately, he had realized things he might have never known in his life according to Muheun’s promise.

As promised, Muheun came to pick up Seunjoo early Monday morning. He brought his car, but it seemed like a conspicuous foreign car, so he didn’t ride it. It was a different type of car from the one Muheun used to drive Seunjoo to his house on the day he woke up at Muheun’s house.

They climbed the hill in silence until they arrived at school without exchanging a word. Well, they opened their mouths only twice; once when Muheun tried to carry Seunjoo’s bag, and once when he said he would take him to the building. Seunjoo politely declined his kindness, and he turned him away from a spot a little away from the main entrance.

After spending such a chaotic day, it was already close to dismissal time.

“Se-Seunjoo, aren’t you coming with me for real?”

“Let’s go together and grab dinner.”

“Nah, I’m not in the mood. You don’t have to pay for drinks.”

As they headed towards the main gate, Seojin’s friends naturally joined them. Unlike Seojin, who had already given up, they persistently recruited Seunjoo for a drinking session. Seunjoo openly showed signs of annoyance, but for some reason, it didn’t seem to bother them at all.

“Hey, isn’t that Choi Jinwoo?”

“Yeah, it’s Choi Jinwoo! Hey, Choi Jinwoo!”

Up until then, Seunjoo had been stubbornly ignoring everything, but when he unexpectedly ran into Jinwoo in the smoking area, he involuntarily furrowed his brows. It wasn’t like the school was a small place; encountering familiar faces on such a vast campus was quite rare. Despite being the largest school campus in Korea when measured by school grounds.

“What’s up? Where are you guys rushing off to?”

“We’re going to drink! Wanna come?”

“Oh, you’re going too. Are we all going together?”

“I’m not going…”

Seunjoo replied with a completely exhausted expression now. After a hectic day, he felt even more overwhelmed for different reasons this time. Why were those who didn’t even drink so excited? And Jinwoo, who had come closer and wrapped his arm around Seunjoo’s neck like a headlock, made him even more tired.

“Oh, you smell like cigarettes.”

“A lot?”

“A lot.”

He casually brushed it off, but Jinwoo persistently clung to him again. He was said to be the youngest at home, and despite his appearance, he was quite playful. In other words, it meant he was annoying, but since Muryeong was the best in that field, it wasn’t that troublesome.

How long did they walk dragging Jinwoo like that? By the time the main gate was visible in the distance, Seunjoo hesitated. It was because he realized he needed to contact Muheun now. Even though he had missed the timetable, he couldn’t expect him to wait when he wasn’t even a leisurely person.

“Should I just go alone…”

Honestly, his mind was split in half. Half was being careless, thinking it would be okay since nothing happened all day, and half was being cautious, thinking about the possibility. However, Seunjoo ultimately knew he had to wait for Muheun to arrive. He remembered ignoring Hyunyoung’s warning not to go home alone just two years ago and ending up in a cast.

Just as Seunjoo was thinking that he should contact Muheun, he took out his phone.

“Hey, look at that guy.”

“What? He’s so handsome.”