“So?”
“When I came over, there was some strange energy blocking the way… I was trying to clear it out.”
His plan had been simple: feed Jae-ha a little energy, wait until he let his guard down, and then snatch him away. But when Jae-ha never came, no matter how long he waited, he’d grown impatient and rushed to shore—only to find that the Haetae aura Hae-hyun had placed over Jae-ha was suppressing the Imoogi’s energy. That was why Su-min had stubbornly sat next to Jae-ha in every liberal arts class, trying to strip that Haetae aura away.
It was no wonder Hae-hyun thought the curse on Jae-ha kept swelling and shrinking. Every time Jae-ha went to class, Su-min had been pumping his aura into him nonstop.
“So when you held my hand before, that was to cover me in your energy? And the hug too?”
At Jae-ha’s questioning, Su-min jerked his head up. For a water ghost who’d tried to drag him into a lake, he looked ridiculously wronged.
“The hug, yes—but not the handholding. That time you actually had some trash spirit clinging to you, and I was shaking it off.”
“Sunbae, what the hell does he mean?”
Hae-hyun cut in sharply, his expression hardening. His burning eyes fixed on Jae-ha.
“He hugged you? Held your hand? Is that true?”
“Well, I mean…”
It wasn’t exactly wrong. Jae-ha gave a reluctant nod, and Hae-hyun’s glare toward Su-min turned murderous. Su-min scrambled to explain.
“I wouldn’t have done it if he didn’t like it. He said it was fine.”
“…Is that true?”
“Well, uh… yeah…”
It was just a bit of contact—nothing worth hating. Jae-ha answered carelessly, and Hae-hyun’s eyes flew wide as if struck by lightning. Seeing his chance, Su-min pressed forward.
“See? You don’t actually mind going with me, do you? You said it was fine.”
“When did I ever say that?”
Ridiculous. He’d never once said such a thing. But Su-min only lifted his chin proudly.
“You said you liked the lake! And you wanted to know how to get rid of the Haetae residue!”
“…Residue?”
Hae-hyun turned to him, eyes filled with betrayal.
That look—so raw and pitiful—it made Jae-ha feel like a scoundrel who’d abandoned a loyal wife. He rushed to protest.
“No, no! When did I ever say I wanted to get rid of Haetae residue?”
“But you said something weird stuck to you and asked if there was a way to remove it.”
“…That was your aura.”
“What?”
Su-min’s eyes widened in shock. It clearly hadn’t crossed his mind.
“Hae-hyun told me at first that some curse-like energy was stuck on me, so I thought you were saying the same thing. How could I possibly know you two were fighting an energy tug-of-war over me in the middle?”
Jae-ha sighed, dizzy from the chaos.
“Let me ask—Imoogi energy. Is it really considered ominous? Like, curse-level bad?”
An Imoogi was supposed to be just the stage before becoming a dragon, wasn’t it? He hadn’t realized its aura was so problematic. Hae-hyun answered.
“Imoogi are spiritual beasts, so their energy is originally sacred. The reason I felt it as a curse is because it was forced directly into a human body, which warped it.”
Come to think of it, Hae-ryeong had said something similar. Jae-ha frowned.
“It can warp like that?”
“Normally, spiritual beast energy can’t be put into a human body. It won’t take. Forcing it in makes it twist into something curse-like.”
If it were good, I would’ve put Haetae energy into you long ago. Hae-hyun added bitterly, throwing Su-min a glare dripping with hostility.
“He knew it was warped already. But he kept doing it anyway.”
“…Is that true?”
When Jae-ha looked at him, Su-min avoided his gaze, face unreadable.
“I was right there beside you the whole time. Even if it warped, it wouldn’t have mattered. It wouldn’t have hurt you.”
Jae-ha didn’t even know where to start scolding. Drawing in a steady breath, he asked,
“Su-min, if I say I don’t want to go with you, would you drag me anyway?”
“…No.”
The pause before his answer made it sound suspicious. Only after Jae-ha stared him down did a reluctant reply slip out.
“If you really hate it, I won’t. …Do you really hate it? I didn’t think you would.”
This childlike Imoogi’s way of thinking was painfully simple. He liked something, so he placed it where he liked. Nothing else—no other will or circumstance—factored in. That alone proved he’d lived his life in a world revolving entirely around himself.
“Then why are you so set on taking me?”
“Because I like you.”
The sudden confession made Jae-ha’s mouth snap shut. After a beat, he asked again,
“Why?”
“Because you’re a Cheonrok.”
Never in his life had he received such a naïve declaration.
“So if you stopped liking me, would you just kick me out of your nest again?”
“That would never happen.”
The firm reply was oddly convincing. Feelings—or whatever this was—weren’t something that could be guaranteed like that. When Jae-ha still looked doubtful, Su-min pressed again, almost baffled.
“You’re a Cheonrok. I can’t hate you.”
“The Imoogi’s right.”
Hae-ryeong, who had been quiet until now, finally spoke. She held her phone in one hand, as if she’d been messaging someone while the three of them had been making a scene.
“Just being near a Cheonrok restores your energy and makes you feel good. What creature wouldn’t like that? Cheonrok naturally draw instinctive affection from all living things.”
That was why Cheonrok were famous for hiding their identity when they visited the human world. Even Hae-ryeong herself had only just learned that a descendant still existed.
“Jae-ha, you’re popular, right? You’ve got the looks, the build, the personality.”
Her eyes swept over him. His features were sculpted as if by divine hands, tall height, perfectly balanced frame. Even without Cheonrok energy, he would’ve had no shortage of admirers.
And yet, there was something more.
A strong aura surrounded him, the kind that made anyone glance twice, the kind that naturally pulled people in.
“Usually, people that popular get as much hate as they do love. Haven’t you ever thought it strange that you’ve only ever been loved?”
Jae-ha blinked. Have I only ever been loved? Looking back, he couldn’t recall a single serious falling-out with anyone. But wasn’t that normal? Didn’t other people live like that too? He wanted to argue but couldn’t quite find the words. Hae-ryeong sighed softly.
“Spiritual beasts are especially sensitive to that aura. I bet every single one who’s seen you is dying to pour something into you. They’d probably even like it if you kissed them out of the blue.”
“Why would you kiss him out of the blue, sunbae?”
“Ju Hae-hyun, didn’t you feel it? You’ve been with him all this time.”
At Hae-ryeong’s question, Hae-hyun—still frowning—answered.
“…I knew he wasn’t ordinary.”
From Jae-ha, there was always a faint sense of dissonance. Born saturated with spiritual beast energy, Hae-hyun instinctively felt it, though in daily life he dismissed it as his imagination.
He’d first started doubting Jae-ha’s normalcy when the umbrella dropped by a ghost hit him. The moment he touched him, trying to purify the spirit and rush him to the hospital, energy that had drained during the purification surged back.
And during the MT, when he purified the candle and then held Jae-ha’s hand, the certainty struck—his recovery sped up near Jae-ha.
“I thought he was just unusually pure. Never imagined he was Cheonrok’s descendant.”
Even the fact that his transformation broke simply from falling asleep was odd. Hae-hyun sometimes had to transform into a dog out of necessity, but he had never once reverted against his will.
But if Cheonrok’s aura unconsciously eased his tension, that explained it.
“Well, sure, that makes sense. Still, sharp eye, kid.”
Hae-ryeong laughed, clapping his shoulder. But Jae-ha couldn’t laugh. His emotions tangled uncomfortably.
“So that’s why you kept clinging to him, calling him ‘sunbae,’ plastering your energy all over him. I really thought you had a crush. Turns out it was just because he’s a Cheonrok. You fell for him at first sight, didn’t you? Couldn’t help yourself, wanted to do everything for him.”
Hae-hyun’s eyes turned toward Jae-ha. Maybe they didn’t mean anything, but the weight of them made Jae-ha’s fingers curl tight. A sudden impulse rose—he didn’t want to hear the answer.
Unfortunately, before Jae-ha could cut the conversation off, Hae-hyun spoke first.
“…Yeah.”
Thud. His heart sank.
“The moment I saw that strange energy stuck to you, I thought I had to help.”
