Yoon Taehee stood up after confirming that Kim Yekwon's pulse had stopped.
"Ah, fucking hell."
After cursing, he stood in that spot for a long while.
Kim Yekwon was dead, and he had lost track of the unidentified insect that had emerged from his body.
There was nothing more he could do here for now.
Yoon Taehee put down his sword and went over to the fallen Jaegyeom. He felt dizzy with each step from losing so much blood. His broken ribs caused sharp pain near his chest.
"Jaegyeom."
Yoon Taehee looked at Jaegyeom, who was lying still with a calm expression while bleeding. When he lifted him in his arms, the limp body settled easily into his embrace.
Yoon Taehee bowed his head and pressed his cheek against Jaegyeom's. Overcome with pity, he felt his breath catch and a sinking sensation as if the ground was falling away beneath him.
Every drop of blood Jaegyeom was shedding felt precious. If he could, he wanted to lick up all the spilling blood like a dog. Even though he knew Jaegyeom wouldn't die, it was strange that his heart could ache this much.
He felt faint breathing from the cheek pressed against his.
Yoon Taehee loosened the necktie from Jaegyeom's neck. He grabbed his slashed wrist and wrapped the tie tightly around his forearm as a temporary measure. It was the best he could do for now. He needed to stop the bleeding even a little. After tying off the necktie, Yoon Taehee suddenly paused.
You're not... you're not human...'
Kim Yekwon's words suddenly came to mind.
'Ghosts have their spiritual energy paralyzed just by contact with the spray liquid, but for humans, the spray is only effective if directly inhaled or ingested. So just getting a little on the skin won't affect them!'
According to what the Ceremonial Instruments Department exorcist had announced at the time, Jaegyeom, being human, shouldn't have been affected by the spray. And yet Jaegyeom, who had been rampaging after losing so much blood, had collapsed when hit by Kim Yekwon's spray. The moment he was sprayed, his red spiritual energy had instantly dissipated and his rampage had stopped.
But why...
Yoon Taehee stared down at Jaegyeom, then...
"..."
He pressed his lips to Jaegyeom's forehead and whispered softly.
"Let's go home."
Yoon Taehee lifted Jaegyeom in his arms and staggered out of the hallway.
***
Jaegyeom was walking through darkness.
In the distance, he saw Myojeong's back. The broad back, firmly set shoulders, and robe fluttering in the wind. Jaegyeom suddenly looked down at the knife in his hand.
'Myojeong.'
When he called out, Myojeong turned to face him. As their eyes met, he smiled gently. Without hesitation, Jaegyeom stabbed Myojeong with the knife in his hand.
Jaegyeom had achieved the revenge he'd dreamed of.
Myojeong, stabbed by the knife, seemed to bow his head deeply, then pressed his forehead against Jaegyeom's shoulder, Jaegyeom stared at Myojeong with emotionless eyes. Hot blood gushed out. He grabbed his shoulders with both hands and lifted him up, saying:
'This is the price for betraying me.
As he said this, holding Myojeong's shoulders to face him…
"..."
Jaegyeom's face turned deathly pale when he saw
Myojeong's face.
'..Yoon Taehee?'
Jaegyeom's eyes widened. It had clearly been Myojeong, it had been him, but this wasn't him. The one bleeding before his eyes was Yoon Taehee.
'Tae- Taehee.'
Jaegyeom stared in shock at the knife lodged in Yoon Taehee's chest. The knife he had just stabbed with his own hands. Yoon Taehee's face contorted in pain.
'Taehee! Tehee...!'
Yoon Taehee, who had been groaning, collapsed forward. Jaegyeom frantically embraced the bleeding, falling man, his eyes twitching.
No, why did I... why did I do this to Yoon Taehee!
Just then, a voice was heard from somewhere.
You wanted to kill him.
It was a voice that sounded both very familiar and very strange. It sounded like Jaegyeom's own voice, but also like a voice he'd never heard before.
'No... no!'
Jaegyeom shook his head, his face completely dazed.
There's no way I would want to kill Yoon Taehee. Why would 1? Why...
Yoon Taehee in his arms was already growing cold. He was dying. I stabbed Yoon Taehee with a knife. I killed Yoon Taehee with my own hands.
Jaegyeom hugged Yoon Taehee tightly and screamed as if wailing.
'Aaaah——!!!'
No. No. No. No. If he's gone, if he's gone!
If you're gone, I...
Gasp, Jaegyeom's eyes flew open as he bolted upright.
"..."
The sudden movement made the bed shake. He looked around, his face pale. This was his own room.
Warm sunlight was pouring in through the large window. It was a drowsy, peaceful scene.
Jaegyeom, catching his irregular breath, blankly examined his clothes. Not clothes soaked in Yoon Taehee's blood, but the clothes he usually wore at home.
He looked down at his hands. Hands that had been drenched in Yoon Taehee's blood. His fingertips were trembling. An aftereffect of the nightmare. Staring blankly at his hands, jaegyeom hunched over and buried his face in his palms.
"What... what was that..."
For the first time, for the first time Myojeong had appeared in his dream.
Even realizing it was a dream, Jaegyeom couldn't raise his head for a while. The content of the dream felt strangely cruel and frightening.
He stayed hunched over for a long time, trying to calm his startled mind.
It had clearly been Myojeong, but suddenly changed to Yoon Taehee. More than the fact that Myojeong appeared in the dream itself, the scene of Yoon Taehee dying was far more shocking.
Jaegyeom tried to calm himself, clutching his eyes. His head felt dull and dizzy. He carefully organized his thoughts to regain a sense of reality.
Yes, it was just a meaningless dream.
This is my room, and Yoon Taehee is...
"..."
Suddenly, Jaegyeom's head snapped up.
"Kim Yekwon..."
He sat up abruptly, his face flustered. His last memory came back to him. He had gone to the scene with Kang Yibin and Yoon Taehee. Then his spiritual energy was blocked, and Yoon Taehee was left alone in the building, so he went to rescue him.
He remembered getting stabbed in the wrist, losing a tremendous amount of blood, and going on a rampage. He must have passed out after that, since he had no memory beyond that point.
So what happened to... Yoon Taehee?
Jaegyeom jumped out of bed and flung open the door.
Opening the door, he saw the living room bathed in warm sunlight as usual. But the living room was empty. Mesani, Yoo Namsaeng, Jeongju, no one was in sight. Jaegyeom inhaled sharply. A strange fear and dread suddenly arose.
Where did everyone go?
As he looked around the house with a bewildered
expression...
"How much is one rice ball?"
Just then, a voice came from the half-open sliding door. Jaegyeom's eyes widened. The moderately low, resonant voice was very familiar. It was Yoon Taehee's voice.
"Uh... uh, uh... fifty won..."
Mesani's mumbling voice followed.
"Fifty won?"
"Yes..."
"Fifty won for one rice ball?"
Yoon Taehee asked again. Then Mesani, perhaps thinking it was a bit expensive,
"Ah... ah... then twenty won..."
He lowered the price. Yoon Taehee laughed out loud,
"Haha." jaegyeom hurriedly moved towards the sliding door connecting to the yard. Looking out into the yard, he saw Yoon Taehee's broad back, crouched down wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt and gray cotton pants. Play cooking toys were scattered messily around. Yoon Taehee and Mesani were in the middle of playing house in the yard. The man, crouching down, said:
"Then I'll take two, please."
Mesani diligently kneaded some crushed grass mixed with dirt. He placed what was supposed to be a rice ball on Yoo Namsaeng's shell, and Yoo Namsaeng crawled slowly towards Yoon Taehee. Yoo Namsaeng seemed to be playing the role of a server.
"Enjoy your meal, customer."
"Thank you."
Yoon Taehee bowed his head and pretended to eat.
"Yum yum. Oh? The taste..."
"The taste?!"
"It's so good, I could die eating it."
"R-right? Hehe."
Yoon Taehee took out a strange pebble and gave it to Mesani.
"That was delicious. Here's fifty won."
"Okay."
"Please give me a cash receipt."
"Huh..?"
Jaegyeom, who had been staring blankly at the three, sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes. The trembling had subsided by now. Though he didn't know exactly what was going on, Jaegyeom felt a deep sense of relief that Yoon Taehee was safe, more than anything else.
Calmed down, Jaegyeom fully opened the half-open sliding door with a clatter.
At that moment, Yoo Namsaeng, who noticed Jaegyeom first, let out a squeal.
"Eek! Master! Are you awake?!"
Yoon Taehee and Mesani turned around
simultaneously. Both had wide eyes. For some reason, Mesani's eyes were so swollen that his face looked like a steamed bun. Mesani threw down the play cooking tools he was holding and,
"My- my lord!"
He ran over, pitter-patter, and hugged Jaegyeom around the waist.
"My lord, are you alright?"
Mesani asked, looking like he was about to burst into tears at any moment.
"How, how did you get hurt like that!"
Mesani pouted and buried his face in Jaegyeom's waist. Jaegyeom silently stroked the back of Mesani's head, then turned his gaze to Yoon Taehee.
What on earth is going on here?
His look seemed to ask. Yoon Taehee, standing with his arms crossed, raised an eyebrow.
"Good morning."