The Night Of The Untraced Chapter 8

Suddenly popping out, the question had nothing to do with anything discussed so far. Of course, it was much easier to answer, so Seungjoo furrowed one eyebrow and pondered Muheun’s words.

“Cigarettes… Choi Jinwoo?”

“Yeah, the guy who was standing with us.”

How did he know about smoking? That thought crossed Seungjoo’s mind, but the voice sounded unconcerned.

“I could smell it.”

From that distance?

“Wow… A person?”

Definitely not a distance where you could smell anything. Typically, if someone was nearby, you’d have to speak loudly just for them to hear. Plus, the smell would have dissipated a lot by the time they reached the main gate, so how did Muheun know that Jinwoo smoked?

Nevertheless, Muheun shrugged and casually continued with a mysterious tone.

“Just a guess.”

Those with extrasensory abilities generally had sharper senses than the average person. Vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and even strength. In fact, Muryeong had an amazing ability during high school to guess the cafeteria menu while sitting in class.

“The friend you drank with on Saturday, was that also Jinwoo?”

“Yes.”

“Both of you?”

“No, it was Jinwoo and Kim Seohyun…”

Seungjoo, who had been answering solemnly, trailed off. It was because he suddenly thought, ‘Why is he asking these things?’ Even though Seungjoo didn’t fully answer, Muheun continued without batting an eye.

“Does Seohyun smoke too?”

“She doesn’t.”

He didn’t know for sure, but she seemed to dislike the smell of cigarettes. So when Jinwoo took out his cigarettes, she probably distanced herself with a disapproving noise.

“Are you close with the people you were with earlier?”

“They’re just my sociology classmates.”

Apart from Jinwoo and Seohyun, he only knew them by face. They weren’t particularly close, but they weren’t distant either. Seungjoo wondered why this guy was asking such useless questions… Just as he was thinking this, Muheun smirked briefly.

“After sending our Seungjoo to college, he’s hanging out with girls…”

“Ah! You sound like a nagging parent again.”

No wonder he seemed to be setting the stage. He sat down again and started talking nonsense. Seungjoo retorted irritably, but Muheun just chuckled lightly, making a sound like the wind escaping. Whatever was so amusing to him, his face was filled with joy.

“Let’s go slowly, we should go together with my brother.”

If you’re planning to go together, don’t say unnecessary things. Thinking this, Seungjoo intentionally slowed his walking pace. After all, it was a fact that this situation ultimately benefited him. Wasn’t it because of his own mistake that this situation arose in the first place?

When they reached a point where residential areas could be seen across the street, Muheun no longer teased Seungjoo. Apparently, he knew the distance where Seungjoo could insist on going alone.

Until then, Seungjoo, who had been walking a step ahead, absentmindedly raised his head and relaxed his expression as he looked at the deep blue sky.

“…”

The fluffy clouds floating gently were so beautiful. Since there hadn’t been any news of rain for a while, these clear days might not repeat for a few days.

The warm sunlight shining down was very romantic, but amidst such admiration, there was a thought that came first without even realizing it.

“How long will this last?”

If his eyes closed again, they wouldn’t be walking side by side like this anymore. Muheun would go back to chasing after ghosts, and he would return to his mundane daily life. If that happened, it might become difficult to see each other with every passing season.

It wasn’t exactly regrettable, but honestly, it felt empty. It was because Seungjoo knew that Muheun, who acted so familiarly and played childish pranks, would disappear again when his eyes closed. Due to his inherently restless nature, he never settled in one place.

“So I gave up.”

There’s nothing lonelier than liking someone who never comes. It wasn’t solely because of that, but Seungjoo had already closed his heart towards him and had grown accustomed to his absence.

“Today’s weather is nice.”

“…”

“Do you remember when you fell here when you were young?”

The gentle voice asking about the past was a story he had heard countless times. Seungjoo chuckled and replied, “Of course, I remember. That’s when I first saw Muryeong crying.”

It was when he was nine years old, shortly after his sister and brother had died, and he had fallen heavily on the way back home. It was just a scrape on the knee, but Muryeong had cried loudly and carried Seungjoo home. Seungjoo, feeling a bit embarrassed, had clumsily tried to stand up.

“That day, I thought our house had collapsed.”

They had gone to the hospital for various tests, and he had been asked if he was okay more than ten times. After that, for a while, Muheun had carried Seungjoo everywhere, not letting him walk on his own. It was so burdensome that he had sworn never to fall again.

“Really, overprotective people…”

Tsk, muttered Seungjoo under his breath, but Muheun just smiled quietly. Well, he had nothing to say even if his mouth was ten times as big. Muheun, who quietly roamed around the neighborhood rather than nagging parents who made a fuss, was more annoying.

They had entered a neatly organized residential area. Seungjoo, who had been observing the neatly lined trees, suddenly widened his eyes as he saw a walking path leading to the back mountain.

Between the alleys, there was a neatly paved path lined with wooden signs. The usual scene felt oddly uncomfortable today.

‘What’s wrong?’

It was a brief moment, but his spine tingled strangely. It was a path he usually passed by without a care, and he used to play there with Muryeong when he was young. Well, he had stopped going there after a big fire broke out in the back mountain when he was a bit older.

“Why?”

“No, it’s just…”

It was only for a moment, and not long after, a pleasant smell began to fill the air. Smell… No, perhaps it was better to call it a fragrance. Sweet and fragrant, it made him want to immerse himself in it as soon as he smelled it.

“Seungjoo?”

“…”

He didn’t know when he had stopped walking. Muheun, who was walking behind, calling his name, didn’t sound clear. Seungjoo just stared into the distance, his face blank, slowly blinking his eyes.

Seungjoo, Seungjoo.

Seungjoo… Who was that?

“Seungjoo.”

Snap, Muheun flicked his finger. Seungjoo, startled, turned towards him. The pupils that had come closer suddenly stared at Seungjoo intently.

“Why?”

“Um…”

It was only for a moment, and not long after, a pleasant smell began to fill the air. Smell… No, perhaps it was better to call it a fragrance. Sweet and fragrant, it made him want to immerse himself in it as soon as he smelled it.

“What… smell?” Despite tilting his head, Muheun immediately sniffed the air. Nevertheless, he didn’t seem to feel anything unusual as he squinted his eyes with a vague expression. Similarly, Seungjoo, who had been sniffing towards the walking path, murmured in a bewildered voice, “Strange…”

It wasn’t as if he had been dreaming, but the strange sensation had disappeared in that brief moment. No matter how hard he breathed in, no matter how he squinted at the walking path, nothing changed.

“What smell? Describe it in detail.”

“Oh, it’s nothing special…”

Seungjoo found it ambiguous to answer Muheun’s question. Not because he was afraid Muheun would think he was strange, but because he was worried enough that Muheun might be concerned to the point of wanting to take him to the hospital right away if he said something wrong.

“It’s nothing. I must have been mistaken.”

So Seungjoo tried to maintain a neutral expression as much as possible. Muheun, who had also smelled the cigarette smoke wafting from Jinwoo from afar, was there. If it had been a real smell, Muheun would have noticed it first. And even if it wasn’t a smell but something else, as an exorcist, he would have noticed it first.

So it was safe to assume that this was just a phenomenon caused by lack of sleep. No, it had to be.

“It must be nothing. Let’s just go.”

“…”

Fortunately, Muheun followed Seungjoo reluctantly, with a suspicious expression. Though he sent somewhat persistent glances, he seemed to have no thoughts about probing into what had happened earlier.

Feeling relieved at this fact, Seungjoo also tried to shake off the uncomfortable feeling as much as possible.

***

The next day, Muheun drove Seungjoo to school again. Thinking that Seungjoo wouldn’t take it anyway, unlike yesterday, he didn’t bring the car. Seungjoo silently headed to school, and Muheun quietly followed behind.

And when they arrived at school, Seungjoo’s classmates they met in the classroom showed great interest in the ‘man standing in front of the main gate yesterday.’ It was about his name, what he did, and what his relationship with Seungjoo was.

When they asked if he had a girlfriend, Seungjoo recited the lines he had prepared coldly.

“He’s a neighbor I wasn’t particularly close to when I was young. He’s busy these days, so I don’t see him often. He came briefly yesterday because he had something to do. And he’s thirty years old.”

After saying this much, most of them gave up with faces that seemed to say it couldn’t be helped. After all, despite looking younger, he was ten years older, so it wouldn’t work out.

Of course, there were those who were concerned about Seungjoo, asking him if he was okay despite his age.

However, such lies lost credibility in less than half a day. When they left the classroom after class and went to the main gate, it was because Muheun smiled warmly and greeted Seungjoo and his friends.

“Hello, friends of Seungjoo.”

At that brief remark, Seungjoo’s classmates silently asked Seungjoo with their eyes, what did they feel about that?