“We’ll follow the outing course I already planned. I picked one I think you’ll like too, Master.”
“The paper—”
“I’ll make the ‘Distant Butterfly’ paper tonight, all night if I have to. Unlike you, Master, I’m a Jangsa, so staying up a full day isn’t a problem at all. Today, you’re going out with me. So that’s settled. Bang, bang, bang. End of discussion.”
Dojin rattled it all off like a machine gun and sprang to his feet. Heading out into the garden, he stood before the ‘Paulownia Brazier’ and passionately fanned it, stoking the flames.
“…….”
Iri stared at his furious disciple.
Kkiwoong cautiously revealed itself. When Iri extended a finger, Kkiwoong clung to the tip.
“Kkiwoong.”
Keeng.
“…Thank goodness I at least have you.”
Kkiwoong!
If not for this little stray spirit, going out alone with his disciple would’ve felt unbearably awkward.
It wasn’t the first time Dojin had forced an outing on him like this, but for some reason, today his earlobes felt unusually hot. Then again, thinking about it, lately Dojin had been using stronger words—dating, marriage, and the like.
Am I really going to become lovers with Dojin?
As a master, Iri found himself entertaining the absurd suspicion that a curio might have swayed Dojin into making such unreasonable claims…….
***
“Thank you again today, Immortal Iri. I’m always indebted to you.”
“It’s nothing. Come by anytime you need something.”
“My thanks. Stay healthy.”
The final customer of the day left the shop.
Dojin, who’d been waiting, immediately shut the front door and gently pressed one hand against Iri’s small back.
“All right, time to change clothes. Well, I guess it’s fine if you wear that too. Anyway, get ready and meet me here in ten minutes, okay?”
“Got it.”
After practically herding Iri back into the shop, Dojin headed straight upstairs to the second floor. Iri followed, and from Dojin’s room came a series of loud thuds and clatters.
What on earth is he doing?
Shaking his head, Iri entered his own room. Since he was still wearing his work clothes, he opened the wardrobe to change into something suitable for going out.
Iri’s wardrobe had once been sparse, but now it was packed with clothes Dojin had bought every time he came to the shop during his school years. Only after Iri scolded him at length about wasting money had Dojin finally stopped.
Iri changed into the outfit that best suited a modern Korean. It was a modernized, stylish reinterpretation of hanbok—also something Dojin had bought last year.
After changing clothes and washing his hands, Iri finished getting ready and went back downstairs. He carefully tucked Kkiwoong, who had been lying on the worktable basking in the sunlight, into his jacket pocket.
Kkiwoong……?
“No. Keep sleeping.”
Kkiwoong…….
Thankfully, Kkiwoong didn’t try to escape and fell back asleep in the pocket.
A moment later, Dojin hurried down the stairs.
“Heh heh. Master. Heh. Heh heh heh. How do I look? Heh.”
The corners of Dojin’s mouth kept twitching upward.
An ivory short-sleeved shirt, black slacks, jet-black dress shoes that were clearly brand new. And…….
“Heh heh heh. I look handsome, right?”
He’d swept his bangs back, boldly revealing his handsome forehead. Compared to when he usually wore his hair down, he looked more mature, fiercer, and far more imposing. Even without deliberately using Taoist arts today, it felt like people would instinctively keep their distance.
“Yes. You’re handsome.”
“Right? I’m seriously too handsome. I was shocked when I looked in the mirror earlier. High nose bridge, clean jawline, thick eyebrows—there’s not a single flaw. You must be thrilled that your future beloved disciple is this good-looking.”
At Iri’s straightforward praise, Dojin’s pride soared sky-high. Striking a pose straight out of a movie, Dojin offered his arm. Naturally, Iri didn’t take it and simply walked out on his own.
Following Dojin’s declaration of “We eat first. Koreans live on rice!” they headed to a restaurant. The place Dojin had reserved was a French restaurant inside a hotel—clearly found by searching ‘good restaurant for anniversaries’.
“Welcome. You must be Kim Dojin. As requested, we’ve prepared a window seat.”
The staff politely guided them inside. Since it was Sunday afternoon, the place was crowded, drawing glances their way. But while Dojin was handsome, he was also tall and exuded a strange pressure, so people couldn’t stare for long.
After Dojin ordered and they waited briefly, the pre-meal bread arrived. Iri passed his portion over to Dojin.
“Master, at least try a little. The baguette here is good.”
“If I eat bread, I’ll be full and won’t be able to eat the main dish.”
“You eat way too little. Guess I’ll have no choice but to eat it for you.”
Though he currently inhabited a human body, Iri didn’t actually need to eat. Aside from needing proper sleep and having some of his Immortal abilities restricted, there were no real drawbacks.
Still, living in the human world meant there were occasions like this when he had to eat in front of others. Originally, just consuming liquids had been enough to make him feel full, but as he gradually started eating little by little, his intake had also increased. Now he could manage about half a normal serving.
The course minimized meat, so Iri comfortably munched on greens. The main dish was fish, and since Dojin had asked for it to be lightly seasoned in advance, it suited Iri’s palate well.
“Master, it’s really good, right? Let’s eat out like this sometimes. Maybe once a month, on a nice day, coming to an expensive restaurant to enjoy ourselves would be good.”
“If I have the time, I’d like that too.”
“Ha. We really need to hire a part-timer soon.”
Neither Dojin nor Iri had given up hope of hiring one, and they were still posting recruitment ads. The views kept increasing day by day, but no humans ever contacted them.
“Should we just hire a Wia part-timer?”
“I’m in favor.”
“Weren’t you against that before?”
“Yeah, well. Wia kept getting scared of me and spreading rumors that I look terrifying and intense, so I didn’t like the idea. But at this point, we’re not really in a position to be picky about Wia versus humans. And there have to be some decent ones among them.”
Kkiwoong!
The Wia rolling around on the table lifted its head.
Dojin snorted.
“Not you. Maybe if you were at least a meter tall.”
Kkiwoong…….
“It’d be nice if they looked human—two arms, two legs, fingers, toes. Someone like a Bokbaebari… anyway, someone human-shaped. A spirit would be fine too.”
“A spirit, huh…….”
After swallowing a bite of green vegetables, Iri tapped the salad bowl lightly with his fork.
“…Master?”
Dojin blinked as he realized a barrier had formed around them—a soundproof barrier that prevented their conversation from leaking out.
“What is it? Are you about to share a secret? Are you finally admitting your feelings for me and confessing—”
“Dojin. Over there.”
“Yes?”
At Iri’s gesture behind him, Dojin turned around in confusion.
Between the tables was a partition about two meters tall, and draped over the top of it was a spirit with long, tangled black hair hanging down. No—calling it a vengeful spirit would’ve been more accurate. It seemed unaware of Iri’s presence, scanning around in search of prey.
“Shit…… There’s no way we can use that as a part-timer. We need to exorcise it immediately!”
Dojin jumped to his feet. At that moment, the vengeful spirit turned its gaze toward them. The eerie, fishy grin on its face froze, and it hurriedly slipped into the nearest body it could find.
“Ugh.”
“Honey, what’s wrong?”
“I dunno. I just suddenly got chills.”
Dojin drew a large circle in the air with his index finger, then flung it toward the partition. The space beyond the divider came into view.
The person the vengeful spirit had possessed was a middle-aged man, with what appeared to be his wife seated across from him.
“This is driving me insane. What do we do now?”
“It’s not a suitable body. It won’t last long before getting forced out.”
For a vengeful spirit or Evil God to possess someone, the human needs to carry yin energy—strong resentment or dark emotions. That middle-aged man, however, was mentally healthy. The spirit wouldn’t last even three hours. Still, during that time, the heavy yin energy would negatively affect his health.
“Hm. That’s strange. I suddenly feel really cold.”
“You said you were hot earlier.”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m coming down with something.”
The man put his jacket back on. Watching with concern, his wife urged him to skip dessert and leave.
“Dojin. We should skip dessert too.”
“Ah, damn it. Yeah. We should.”
Grumbling, Dojin stood up with Kkiwoong. While his disciple went to pay, Iri followed the middle-aged couple.
Perhaps because the hotel was close to the mountains, several small Wia were playing around in the parking lot. Normally, Iri would’ve gathered them up and showered them with affection, but extracting the vengeful spirit was the priority, so he waved them away.
“What came over you all of a sudden. It’s not allergies, is it?”
“Feels like a cold. I didn’t sleep at all last night.”
“Should we go to the hospital?”
“For what? I’ll be fine if I go home, take some medicine, and rest.”
If he went home and rested for a few days, his body would recover. The vengeful spirit would be expelled within three hours at most. However, the damage done to his mind couldn’t be treated with human medicine.
Just as you apply ointment and a bandage when you’re physically injured, when the mind is hurt, it too needs ointment and a bandage. Those come in two main forms. First, the care, love, and affection of those around you. Second, self-recovery through exercise and wholesome hobbies.
Beyond that, there are methods like boiling special medicinal herbs or using curio-based healing.
Cough, cough. When the husband started coughing, his wife’s expression grew serious.
“I’ll drive. Lie down in the back.”
“Mmm.”
Without protest, the husband opened the backseat door. Just as he was about to climb in, Iri approached them.
“Excuse me.”
“Huh? Oh—hello?”
