“……”
Jae-ha stared up at the enormous front gate looming before him. High walls stretched endlessly to either side, allowing only the tops of tall trees to peek over. He couldn’t even begin to guess what the buildings inside looked like, but the fact that he couldn’t see where the wall ended was overwhelming from the start.
And then, as if to make things worse, Hae-hyun said after stepping through the gate,
“It’s faster if we ride bikes from here.”
…So that hadn’t even been the house entrance? Did he mean they had to ride bikes in the yard?
Not that it even looked like a yard. From the gate stretched a road as wide as a two-lane street, and on either side unfolded scenery that looked like a cross between a carefully tended garden and a wild jungle. The air was thick with the fresh scent of greenery, and from somewhere came the chirping of insects.
This was still supposed to be Seoul? Even staring at it himself, he couldn’t believe it.
“Sunbae, over here.”
Snapping him out of his daze, Hae-hyun pulled Jae-ha over and sat him on the back of a bicycle parked by the gate, then started pedaling. After about a minute, a massive tile-roofed house appeared ahead. Looking sheepish, Hae-hyun murmured,
“Looks a little old-fashioned, right? But the inside’s been remodeled—it’s just a normal house now, so don’t worry.”
A normal house? Living in a place so vast you couldn’t see all of it at once, and that was the part he thought needed reassuring? Unsure where to even start, Jae-ha stayed silent. Perhaps misunderstanding that silence, Hae-hyun added in a slightly downcast voice,
“There aren’t even any bugs inside.”
As if that’s the issue.
“…Isn’t cleaning a nightmare?”
But he had no intention of poking at the kid’s obvious worries. Immediately, Hae-hyun answered,
“There are people who take care of that. Not a speck of dust anywhere.”
“Well… that’s good then.”
Hae-hyun chuckled quietly at that, and the faint vibration carried through his back where Jae-ha’s hand rested to steady himself on the bike.
“So, why did you save your sister’s number as ‘1’?”
When the conversation lulled, Jae-ha slipped in the question that had been nagging him. Honestly, if Hae-hyun had just saved it as “Noona” instead of “1,” there’d have been no room for misunderstanding. If he didn’t want to use a title, he could’ve at least put in her full name. Thanks to that little stunt, Jae-ha had dug his own grave deep enough to be buried in.
“She’s the oldest.”
“…So your brother’s ‘2’?”
“My younger brother’s ‘4.’”
Well, that’s… straightforward. Curiosity about what he’d saved his parents’ numbers as flared up, but Jae-ha swallowed it back. He wasn’t sure he could handle the answer. Just then, the palace-sized house came into full view.
They slid open a massive set of paper doors—wide enough to line up fifty pairs of shoes without trouble—and stepped into the entryway. Walking down the broad, silent corridor, the whole place felt so still it was like no one even lived there.
“Where are your parents?”
“Good question. I’ll call.”
Hae-hyun tilted his head, pulled out his phone, and dialed. The call connected instantly and ended just as fast. Sliding the phone back into his pocket, he said,
“They had to step out for something urgent. They’ll be back soon, so they said you should just look around until then.”
For a moment, suspicion pricked at Jae-ha—was this some kind of deliberate cold shoulder? He quickly shook it off. Clearly, his nerves were getting the better of him.
Taking a quiet breath, he resolved to behave himself until Hae-hyun’s parents returned.
“This place is huge. What’s that over there?”
At his question, Hae-hyun immediately perked up and began dragging him from place to place.
“That’s the living room, and over there’s the kitchen. On the right is a bathroom, and next to it is the storage room. And then…”
He rattled off explanation after explanation, clearly excited even while trying to play it cool.
The house was every bit as massive as it looked from outside, packed with room after room, each with its own specific use. It was impressive enough that they all had a purpose, but even more so that Hae-hyun could list them all without pause. Of course, it was natural to know your own home—but still, it made him look oddly admirable.
…Was it weird to think that?
Instead of following the pointing finger, Jae-ha found his gaze drifting to Hae-hyun himself. Bounding around with that eager expression, he looked like a puppy wagging its tail. Honestly, far too cute for his size.
“Which one’s your room?”
“Mine’s tucked away in a corner. This whole section’s shared space, so it’s a bit of a walk.”
This place even has ‘personal wings’? By now, Jae-ha had given up trying to wrap his head around the mansion’s layout.
Following obediently along, he soon spotted another massive set of paper doors—four panels wide, impressive enough to demand attention at first sight.
“What’s in there?”
“Oh, that’s the training hall.”
“…Training hall?”
The kind he was thinking of? Before he could ask again, Hae-hyun strode forward and slid the doors open. Bright sunlight poured into the already lit interior.
Inside was a spacious room, bright and airy, with a cushioned floor like a gymnasium. So it really was a training hall. Who had something like this in their house?
“You… do martial arts or something?”
“Not exactly. I’ve been training spiritual energy since I was a kid. Kind of like early exorcist training.”
Right, he’d mentioned practicing energy control and studying spells before. So this was where it all happened. Jae-ha could almost—though not quite—imagine a little Hae-hyun rolling around here.
“Shouldn’t I be doing that too? I’ve got energy, don’t I?”
“Well…”
Hae-hyun’s gaze flicked over Jae-ha’s face and shoulders, and he hesitated.
“You’ve got so little energy that it wouldn’t make much difference.”
“……”
He regretted asking. Confronted with that blunt reality, Jae-ha fell silent—but a stubborn spark flared up in him all the same.
“So how much do you have?”
“…A fair amount, I guess?”
“Yeah?”
Drawing the word out deliberately, Jae-ha earned himself a sharp glare.
“Sunbae, why don’t you believe me?”
“When did I say that?”
“You don’t believe I’ve got a lot of energy. You keep asking again, and you always try to lean on my sister.”
So all those times he’d brushed it off confidently, he’d actually been bottling it up. His eyes blinked, filled with small, simmering protest.
“Do you not trust me? In what way?”
This attitude right now… But it wasn’t the mood for jokes, so Jae-ha swallowed the quip on his tongue.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Hae-hyun. He wasn’t stupid—after everything that had happened, how could he not know? Even without deep knowledge of exorcism, he’d seen firsthand how rare it was for someone to crush Underworld spirits outright with sheer spiritual energy.
He’d only been teasing, but Hae-hyun had reacted so fast that it seemed to have piled up with other misunderstandings, solidifying into some ridiculous conclusion. How do I untangle this…? After thinking for a moment, Jae-ha stepped closer.
“Ju Hae-hyun.”
“…It’s just Hae-hyun.”
Still so particular.
“Hae-hyun-ah.”
As their eyes finally met, the light-brown gaze that had been flicking nervously around settled on him. His expression was a mix of sulkiness and wariness, wearing his hurt feelings right on his face.
Even this is cute. How am I supposed to stop? No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t see this ever becoming less adorable.
“I believe you. You’ve saved my life more than once.”
“……”
“Did I ever actually thank you for that?”
His gentle tone made Hae-hyun hesitate before replying. Though his voice was still grumpy, his expression had softened.
“…You did.”
“Even so, I’ll say it again. Thank you.”
“I-It’s just what I was supposed to do.”
“Yeah.”
Too cute. For the umpteenth time in just a few minutes, the thought crossed Jae-ha’s mind, tugging a faint smile from him.
Just as he started to step back to continue looking around the hall, Hae-hyun suddenly grabbed his arm. The unexpected strength made Jae-ha stumble slightly, and the cookie box he’d been holding slipped from his hand.
Thud!
“……”
“……”
That sounded uncomfortably like a skull cracking… probably just his imagination. Shaking the thought off, he looked up. Hae-hyun snatched his hand back immediately, eyes wide in alarm, as if he’d touched a hot stove. It left Jae-ha—the one who’d been grabbed—feeling more awkward than anything.
Dropping into a crouch, Hae-hyun hurriedly checked the fallen cookie box. He clearly wasn’t about to explain why he’d grabbed him in the first place. Jae-ha crouched down beside him.
“Did they break badly?”
“…A little.”
His face said a lot.
For a second, Jae-ha imagined being the recipient of shattered cookies. …Wouldn’t that look like open defiance? Practically a declaration of war? While he was still considering it, Hae-hyun suddenly stood up.
“I’ll put these in the kitchen. Wait here a moment.”
“But they’re already broken—”
“They’ll just break more if I carry them around. I’ll be quick.”
Before Jae-ha could even reply, he’d darted out of the hall. Left standing there alone, Jae-ha blinked. Why had he run off like that? The question lingered in the empty air, with no answer to be found.
