Mu-ryeong’s Spirit

"Here, there's a reward."

Mu-ryeong pulled out the hairpin Min-ji had given him from the opposite pocket of his sharpener. The smooth, shiny pink stood out brightly in the darkness, almost glowing. Startled, the flames that had been flickering wildly quickly gathered near his palm.

"No."

With a swift motion, he retracted his hand as though snatching away the hairpin. The flames, disappointed at missing their target, hovered around his fist, unable to resist the urge. Mu-ryeong, his voice soft as he would speak to a child, gently reprimanded them.

"You can only have it after we find it. It's for the first one who succeeds."

The flames, now visibly more intense, seemed ready to burst out. Mu-ryeong, in a swift motion, extended the sharpener into the air. In an instant, the flames that had gathered around him dispersed, vanishing completely.

The flames returned after about thirty minutes. Mu-ryeong had expected it to take longer due to the weak spiritual energy, but the desire for the "reward" seemed to fuel their competitive spirit. He followed the flaming trail, which danced erratically in the air, towards the art room on the fourth floor.

"Is this it?"

The flames swayed up and down. Other flames, having arrived late, sulkily landed on the window sill. Their alignment resembled lanterns, glowing softly in the darkness.

"Good job. Wait here for a moment."

First, he needed to grab the ring, and then he’d hand out the reward. The flames, understanding the order of things, hovered around the window sill, not pushing him to hurry. They even deliberately floated in front of some other flames that had been lying around, almost as if teasing them.

"Don't bother the others."

Mu-ryeong gave them a light warning before placing his hand on the doorknob. As soon as he twisted it, a chilling sensation ran down his neck.

Ah, it's not just the ring. The realization made the smile fade from his face.

"......"

The art room door creaked open. The scene inside was distinctly different from the one he had seen earlier in the day. Neatly lined desks and statues set up along the back wall. And in the center of it all, a small mirror hung.

Mu-ryeong closed the door and stepped inside slowly. A cold, eerie energy seemed to permeate the room, sending a shiver down his spine. Each step he took felt heavier, as if the temperature itself was pulling him into the depths of the room.

Where is it...?

Even though Mu-ryeong was a renowned exorcist, finding something in a place filled with such negative energy was akin to searching for a needle in a haystack. He had to focus all his senses, heightening his awareness to the utmost degree, in order to locate the object he sought. For weak spiritual energy like that of the student’s, it was far more effective to rely on sight.

Mu-ryeong carefully scanned the art room, then approached the statues at the back. Before finding the ring, there was something else he needed to do. Something invisible, likely hidden within the objects, needed to be dealt with first.

Nothing came from the first statue. The second and third statues were the same. As Mu-ryeong continued checking each one, he suddenly stopped in front of the mirror on the wall.

"......"

The first thing that caught his eye was disheveled hair. He saw round eyes with no double eyelids and a small, delicate nose. Slowly, he closed his eyes, and without meaning to, Mu-ryeong let out a soft gasp.

"Ah."

Without blinking, he slowly placed his right hand on the mirror's surface. Reflected in the glass was his own hand, now wearing a thin silver ring. As he watched, he murmured in a low voice.

"There’s no mirror in the art room."

The smile that had begun to form on his lips quickly faded. The reflection of Mu-ryeong in the mirror was staring back at him with cold, calculating eyes.

***

Wednesdays were Mu-ryeong’s favorite days. First, the lunch was always good, and in the morning, there was gym class, where he could run around freely. Changing into his gym uniform right after school assembly always gave him a good start to the day.

After the morning assembly, Mu-ryeong headed to class 3 with a ring and a candy in hand. He was dressed in a light short-sleeve T-shirt with a gym jacket slung over his shoulder. Walking lightly, he crossed the hallway and peeked through the back door, searching for someone.

"Hey, Mu-ryeong!"

The first person to spot him was the student who had requested his help. At the same time, Mu-ryeong smiled as he saw someone else at the window in the back of the room. Confirming they were there, he turned his attention to the first student.

"Did you find the ring? How’s it going? Not yet?"

"I found it. Is this the right one?"

"Whoa, no way!"

When Mu-ryeong held out the ring, the student’s eyes widened in surprise as they eagerly extended both hands. The tension was so palpable that their hands were shaking even as they remained still. They looked from the ring to Mu-ryeong, then asked, their voice full of awe.

"Where did you find it? Did Seolgi really find it?"

"No, Seolgi can’t do that... I found it in the art room. It was between the statues."

"Ah, I must’ve dropped it when moving it around. Seriously, thank you so much. You just saved me."

Seeing the student so genuinely pleased made Mu-ryeong feel a bit of joy himself. He always felt more fulfilled by a simple thank-you than the reward itself when solving a case. It was like a sense of achievement, something along those lines.

"By the way, I forgot to bring what I was going to give you. Can I bring it tomorrow?"

"Eh? Eh, it doesn't matter."

Mu-ryeong said that he had also left his sharpener behind and would bring it back tomorrow. Then, with a gentle smile, he gestured towards Hwan-young, who was sitting by the window.

"Can you call Ki Hwan-young for me?"

"... Ki Hwan-young?"

His broad shoulders seemed to freeze for a moment. His voice wasn’t very loud, but it seemed to reach Hwan-young. Mu-ryeong fiddled with the candy in his hand and nodded.

"Yeah, or maybe give this to him..."

Hwan-young got up from his seat. It was just when Mu-ryeong was about to say he would ask him to pass the candy that Hwan-young, still wearing his winter uniform, took long strides towards the back door. Mu-ryeong smiled, showing his dimples.

"Looks like he heard my voice."

"Then I’ll be off..."

The student wisely stepped aside.

Hwan-young didn't say anything, but Mu-ryeong shamelessly handed him the candy as if they were very close. As expected, Hwan-young's ink-black eyes slightly narrowed in annoyance.

"... What is this?"

"Candy. Our class president gave it to us."

The lollipop with a grape design was something the class president had suddenly handed out to the classmates this morning. Mu-ryeong had received two, so he brought one for Hwan-young. Seeing Hwan-young looking dissatisfied, Mu-ryeong tilted his head.

"If you don’t like grape flavor, I can give you strawberry flavor instead?"

"No, it’s not about the taste..."

"Really? Then just eat this."

Mu-ryeong handed the candy directly to Hwan-young’s hand, just like when he gave away a talisman. This time, Hwan-young, whose hands were two sizes bigger than Mu-ryeong’s, took the candy without showing any surprise. As soon as Hwan-young frowned, Mu-ryeong mischievously winked.

"Don’t throw this away."

"..."

Mu-ryeong purposely gestured towards the trash can, and Hwan-young’s expression became subtle. It seemed like he wanted to make some excuse, and his well-shaped lips quivered slightly. However, Mu-ryeong ignored his words and let go of the hand he had been holding.

"I have PE first period, so I’m leaving. I’ll see you during lunchtime."

Before Hwan-young could even hold him back, Mu-ryeong took off with light steps down the hallway. This time, Mu-ryeong was certain that Hwan-young wouldn’t throw the candy away.

***

The PE teacher, who was generally quite lazy, threw a soccer ball and returned to the storage room as usual. Some students quickly retreated to the stands, but Mu-ryeong and Seung-joo carried the soccer ball under their arms and headed to the field.

The teams were divided by winter uniforms and summer uniforms, so Mu-ryeong, wearing long pants, and Seung-joo naturally became a team.

"So?"

About ten minutes into the first half, Seung-joo asked while tying his shoes. Mu-ryeong, who had been loosening his ankle, looked at Seung-joo as if to ask what he meant. Seung-joo straightened up, irritably adjusting the cast on his hand.@@novelbin@@

"What’s your plan after giving him candy, eating lunch together, and becoming all friendly?"

"... Ah, Ki Hwan-young?"

Mu-ryeong was confused at first, but then realized Seung-joo was talking about Hwan-young. He remembered that when he had given Hwan-young the candy this morning, Seung-joo had given him a confused look.

"Well... it’s related to a request."

Normally, Mu-ryeong would be honest with Seung-joo, but there were some things he preferred not to share. For example, that he had seen a disgusting ghost or had almost died due to a terrifying evil spirit. This time, it was a combination of both.

"Why, what kind of request is it? You usually solve everything in a day."

Seung-joo, of course, knew about the ring incident from yesterday. Mu-ryeong had arrived at school with a tired face and had casually said, "Hey, did you know? The art room doesn't have a mirror?" while telling Seung-joo the story. When Mu-ryeong mentioned that he had made a ring from clay to help a ghost pass on, Seung-joo had no idea whether to laugh or cry.

"If it's really difficult, you can always ask Mu-yeon noona for help. If it’s an evil spirit, she’d be better for that, right?"

"..."

Mu-ryeong was surprised that Seung-joo had mentioned "evil spirit." He had tried to avoid mentioning it, but Seung-joo had somehow figured it out. After all, there was that saying that after three years of being friends with a exorcist, even a troublesome spirit could be dealt with.

"... I’ve always wondered about something when I accept requests."

Mu-ryeong’s young voice calmly broke the silence. Seung-joo looked at him with indifference, as if telling him to continue. After pausing for a moment, Mu-ryeong scraped the ground with the toe of his shoe.

"Why do they leave the request with me?"

Mu-ryeong always thought about various things when he received a request. What had they tried before coming to him? What was it that made them trust him with this task? Why had they waited so long, and suddenly sought him out?

"Most people come to me with a light heart, but sometimes, there are those who come as if they’re holding on to a lifeline."

In fact, the student who had asked for the ring today had been like that. It was a problem as trivial as a fight with his girlfriend, but the student was so worried that his face had turned pale. If Mu-ryeong had rejected the request, or failed, the student would probably have given up hope entirely.

"What do you think about Ki Hwan-young?"

"..."

Mu-ryeong casually asked, but Seung-joo couldn’t answer. It was a question whose answer was obvious, even without much thought.