Iri pressed his forehead.
“Go put some proper clothes on and come back….”
“Master. My body’s gotten way better, right? It’s not all soft and squishy like before, but it’s solid now. Want to poke my chest?”
Boasting a solid, perfectly structured physique that looked like it belonged in the example section of a ‘How to Draw Muscles’ book, Dojin stepped closer.
Iri retreated a step and bumped into the worktable.
“I seriously don’t know what I’m supposed to do whenever you act like this…. Dojin, I changed your diapers.”
“You’ve already told me that like a hundred times, so it doesn’t bother me at all.”
“I wiped your drool and your runny nose, too.”
“Yes. With these hands, you pinched my tiny little nose and went, ‘Hng, blow. Hng.’ I really loved that back then.”
At some point, Dojin had come close enough to stretch an arm behind Iri. Trapped between the worktable and his overly burdensome disciple, Iri fidgeted with the bracelet on his right wrist. Seeing that habit of Iri’s—something he only did when flustered and cornered—Dojin broke into a grin.
“Master, did you know?”
“Know what.”
“You’re conscious of me. That’s a really good sign.”
“Stop saying nonsense and go put some clothes on. A customer’s going to show up soon.”
“Nonsense? If you really thought of me as just a kid, would you care whether I was topless or bottomless? Why do you think you can’t look me in the eye properly and keep dodging your gaze like that?”
“When the kid whose diapers I used to change grows up and comes onto me, isn’t it normal to avert your eyes?”
“It’s not averting your eyes. You’re conscious of me. I’m telling you, that’s what it is. Look at me, Master.”
Smiling slyly, Dojin grabbed Iri’s chin and tilted his head up. Iri’s eyes were still so clear they could make anyone feel self-conscious. But Dojin wasn’t an ordinary person, so instead he brazenly met his gaze.
“I’m handsome, right?”
“You are handsome, but…. Could you let go of my hand before we talk?”
Earlier, Dojin had gotten some advice from Park Cheolsun. Cheolsun probably hadn’t thought of it as advice at all, but to Dojin, it was perfectly timed.
‘If someone doesn’t really have a specific ideal type, then you can make yourself their ideal type, right? Someone like me.’
After hearing that, Dojin made up his mind.
I’ll create an ideal type for my master.
Exactly my style!
It was nothing short of a brilliant idea. A blank white canvas takes on whatever colors you paint onto it. Keeping Iri boxed in, Dojin tilted his head at the angle he’d practiced on the way over—one that made him look as handsome as possible.
“Look at my perfectly sharp jawline and straight nose. My clear, confident eyes and thick eyebrows, too. And try touching my shoulders.”
“…Why would I touch your shoulders?”
“So you can feel how solid they are. Touch my arms and abs, too. Poke them with your finger. Back then they were soft and squishy, but now even if you poke hard, it won’t go in.”
“…….”
“Want to see my chest muscles move? Like this. Jiggle, jiggle.”
When Dojin made his chest ripple, Iri let out a low ‘ugh’ and turned his head away. Dojin raised one eyebrow.
“Wait. Did you just find that gross?”
“…….”
Even when Iri couldn’t answer, Dojin didn’t feel hurt.
“Master, you’ve never felt lust and you’ve never dated, so you don’t know—but that feeling you’re having right now! It’s absolutely not disgust. It’s not rejection, either. I’m sexy and cool, but because of our age difference and our positions, you’re forcing yourself to look away. Trust me. I am sexy. Kim Dojin is handsome and amazing. You’re attracted to me. You want to poke my abs with your finger. You, Master, are….”
Dojin launched into an utterly baseless attempt at brainwashing.
Iri found Dojin adorable as he rattled off self-praise and pseudo-hypnosis, yet at the same time felt utterly at a loss because of the perfect body filling his field of vision.
What should I do? Should I knock him out or something?
Just as his thoughts spiraled toward extremes from the sheer awkwardness of his disciple’s aggressive advance, the phone lying on the worktable buzzed with a long vibration. Both of their gazes snapped to it at the same time.
[School Professor]
“He’s not someone who calls often….”
“Wow, the timing really sucks.”
Clicking his tongue, Dojin plopped himself onto a chair.
“Aren’t you going to put clothes on?”
“I’ll try appealing a little more first.”
“I’m worried rumors will spread that my disciple is an exhibitionist when a customer comes in.”
Shaking his head, Iri answered the call. On the inside, he felt a small sense of relief.
“Yeah, Scholar. What’s going on?”
–Immortal, I’m calling about the Lee Seokjin and ‘Saeboreumi Research Group’ matter you asked me to look into.
“Mm.”
–It looks like this is going to get bigger than expected. I checked into it together with Ihaeja, and….
The Scholar lowered his voice.
As they listened, both Iri’s and Dojin’s expressions grew steadily more serious.
It was the moment a stone was thrown into their peaceful daily life.
8)Exorcist
“Jiyeon-unni, we can’t meet today either?”
–Yeah. Sorry.
“Are you still feeling really unwell?”
–It’s not that…. When I was in a coma, my mom and my sibling went through a lot, so for now I want to spend time with my family.
“Ahh…….”
Mina pouted.
Not long ago, Jiyeon had been in a traffic accident and remained in a coma for an entire week. The research group members had even gone to the hospital to visit her, but ever since she woke up, they hadn’t seen her even once.
It was a little disappointing, but what could she do when Jiyeon said she wanted to spend time with her family? That was the right thing to do.
It was always like this.
They’d complain, saying things like, “My mom doesn’t understand me,” or “I don’t know when my sibling will ever grow up,” but in the end, they always returned to their family’s embrace. In her short life so far, Mina had never seen an exception.
“Okay. Then let’s definitely meet later.”
–Okay.
After hanging up, Mina let out a sigh.
Tonight again, she was alone.
Her father had passed away four years ago, and her mother closed the shop late at night. With no siblings and being an only child, Mina was alone again today.
Slumped in her chair, Mina scrolled endlessly through her phone’s message list, then paused when she saw the name ‘Kim Dohui’.
Kim Dohui was the youngest daughter of a wealthy family, did well in school, and had an outgoing personality, making her popular at school. She also had the peculiar trait of falling in love quickly. Not long ago, she’d even asked Mina to ghostwrite a confession letter for her.
Mina briefly wondered if she should ask how things turned out after that letter, but soon shook her head. It was personal business—she’d just be imposing by prying.
Mina turned on her computer. In the end, it was always this. The computer.
Whenever she had nothing to do, the first thing she did was turn on the computer. Watching animations or reading web novels in front of it all weekend until her mom got home from work….
She went to ‘that site’.
Her fingers automatically typed a familiar address into the browser. www.saebo…….
A group that started from an exorcism video two years ago—the ‘Saeboreumi Research Group’.
It had once been openly mentioned online as a club that Lee Seokjin, one of Korea’s most famous young male actors, was actively involved in, which led to frequent posts about it for a while. The most common question was when they’d accept new members. Many of Lee Seokjin’s fans wanted to join, but unfortunately, the group wasn’t taking any new members.
The ‘Saeboreumi Research Group’ consisted solely of the sixteen people who had watched that exorcism video together in real time in a single chat room two years ago.
Celebrities, streamers, university professors, office workers, self-employed business owners, students—their professions were diverse, but they all shared one thing in common: after watching that exorcism video, they’d fallen deep into the world of the occult and superstition and couldn’t escape.
The site had one board with fixed usernames and one anonymous board. Everyday posts were actively uploaded on the username board, while the anonymous board was relatively quiet. Still, there was one anonymous poster there who occasionally uploaded incredibly intriguing posts.
Did they post something today, too?
With that expectation, Mina entered the board and saw a single post marked new.
[Anonymous] A Spell to Make Friends (Beginner)
Hello ^^
I’ve brought a beginner-friendly version of the friend-making spell Anonymous requested. If you want to have a true friend—someone who exists in this world for only you and no one else—try using it.
Just make a talisman as described below and carry it in your wallet.
Ah, for the paper: gwehwangji ✕, oroji ✓.
I’ve mentioned this a few times already, so you all know, but these days we don’t use gwehwangji anymore.^^
- Cut the oroji paper to the following size.
- Soak it in Black Water.
Since Black Water is practically impossible to obtain, boil bottled water and drop in a bead of blood to turn it into Red Water.
It doesn’t have to be your own blood—animal blood is okay, too.
- … …]
Every now and then, someone would post spells like this. Since it was a place that loved ghost stories, superstition, and the occult, it was all taken with a grain of salt. And most of the spells were trivial things anyway—spells to get rid of acne, spells to not gain weight no matter how much you eat, spells to only hit green lights while walking down the street…….
Mina had once half-heartedly tried one of those spells out of curiosity. It was the spell to get rid of acne. She’d been so stressed about a huge one growing on her forehead that she tried it on impulse—and when she woke up the next day, the acne was gone.
Was it really because of the spell? She was obsessed with the occult, but she didn’t fully believe in it.
But still…….
A spell to make friends.
She’d jokingly left a comment asking if there was a spell like that, and this person—whether they were a shaman or just an attention-seeker—had actually written one.
Friends.
Mina had a lot of friends. But they were all light, fleeting friends. In the end, they were passing connections that turned toward family, not her.
If you want to have a true friend—someone who exists in this world for only you and no one else—try using it.
Mina bit her lip.
There was nothing to lose by trying.
If it was a real spell, she’d see results. If it wasn’t, she’d just waste a bit of time.
With a resolute expression, Mina lifted her head.
