Mu-ryeong’s Spirit

As the school day was nearing its end, dark clouds began to gather outside the window. The raindrops that had fallen one by one became a torrential downpour as soon as the final bell rang. Mu-ryeong and Seung-joo had umbrellas, but the students who had relied solely on the weather forecast started calling their parents, crying over the unexpected storm.

Instead of going to find the spirit, Mu-ryeong left the classroom with Seung-joo. Seung-joo sent him a puzzled look but didn't ask why. He just thought to himself, Maybe he’s already finished with today’s duties.

“See? You can’t trust the weather forecast,” Seung-joo muttered, shivering at the sight of the relentless downpour. It was supposed to come later in the evening, but it looked as if a hole had opened up in the sky. Thankfully, they had brought umbrellas—if not, they’d have to share Mu-ryeong’s tiny one.

“We should hurry before it gets worse.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Ever since lunch, Mu-ryeong had seemed preoccupied, as if lost in deep thought. He seemed to be hearing everything but not really listening. Despite that, he made sure to take thorough notes for Seung-joo, which was admirable in its own way.

“…There must be a lot of students who forgot their umbrellas, right?”

As they reached the school gate, Mu-ryeong idly fiddled with his umbrella handle and asked. Seung-joo, not really concerned, jerked his head toward the street outside the gate.

“Don’t you see those kids in their PE uniforms?”

As he had said, several students, dressed in their gym clothes, were sprinting toward the bus stop, some sharing an umbrella between three of them. Mu-ryeong alternated his gaze between his umbrella and Seung-joo’s and gave a small, resigned smile.

“Well, we better walk faster.”

The rain kept pouring, showing no signs of stopping. Before long, all the students had left, and puddles had formed all over the playground. A small stream had formed near the main building, and water was rushing down from there in torrents.

Around 10 minutes after the others had left, someone stepped out from the entrance. A particularly tall student, with a neatly pressed uniform, stood in front of the glass doors, quietly gazing up at the sky. He extended a hand outside as though checking if he had an umbrella.

“Sigh.”

A quiet sigh escaped him. His bag, slung over his shoulder, slipped down his arm, and he grabbed it by the top, lifting it above his head just as he took a step outside the building.

“Ki Hwan-young!”

A familiar voice suddenly called out loudly. The student, Ki Hwan-young, looked up, startled, and saw someone running toward him along the path from the school gate to the main building.

“…Kim Mu-ryeong?”

“Phew, that was close.”

Mu-ryeong exhaled deeply, standing up straight after having bent over. In one hand, he held his own umbrella, and in the other, a larger one. Ki Hwan-young narrowed his eyes, but before he could say anything, Mu-ryeong extended the folded umbrella toward him.

“Here.”

“…”

Ki Hwan-young’s lips curved upward, and a bright, clear smile broke through, creating a small dimple in his cheek. As he hesitated to take it, Mu-ryeong gently pushed the umbrella closer, as if to scold him.

“Why would you walk out in this rain?”

Ki Hwan-young’s house was two hours away from here. Most people would have taken the bus, but Mu-ryeong knew he would walk without hesitation. He also knew this rain wouldn’t stop until Ki Hwan-young reached home.

“You’ll catch a cold, even if it’s summer rain.”

“…No…”

“Take it already.”

Reluctantly, Ki Hwan-young took the umbrella, his hand grasping the black handle as he gazed back at Mu-ryeong with his deep, dark eyes. Mu-ryeong, pleased by his confused expression, smiled to himself.

“Well, I’ll go now.”

Without any lingering thoughts, Mu-ryeong turned around and walked off. His backpack was missing from his back, as it was usually slung there, but now it was empty. Ki Hwan-young, distracted by the sight of Mu-ryeong’s pants soaked up to his knees, finally managed to speak.

“…”

His lips moved, but no words came out. In the meantime, Mu-ryeong was already far away. The sound of the rain echoed in his ears, soaking everything in its path.

***

On Friday morning, Mu-ryeong woke up a little earlier than usual. To avoid oversleeping, he set his alarm a bit earlier, but he woke up five minutes ahead of it.

After feeding Seolgi, who was particularly energetic, he had breakfast himself, still feeling at ease. Normally, he would still be fast asleep at this hour.

The rain that had poured all through the night stopped as soon as the morning arrived, as though it had never happened. The sky, once filled with dark clouds, was now bright blue. Mu-ryeong felt a refreshing sense of relief as he squatted by Seung-joo’s front gate.

Not long after, the gate creaked open. As it did, Mu-ryeong immediately sprang up from his position. Seung-joo, coming out of the house, was startled to see him there.

“Ah, Kim Mu-ryeong!”

He shouted in frustration. Seung-joo, taking a deep breath, sighed. His friend had a knack for showing up out of nowhere and always managing to give him a shock, especially when his visits seemed entirely random.

“How many times have I told you to stay inside? You scared me.”

“The hell is so scary about your house? You can’t even see ghosts, but you always get scared like that.”

“Of course I’m scared. If I could see ghosts, I’d be fine.”

The two naturally fell into step, heading toward school. Mu-ryeong realized, without saying anything, that he could feel Seung-joo’s aura. It seemed like Seung-joo had kept the talisman Mu-ryeong had given him, which made him secretly relieved.

“So what’s up today? You going to see Ki Hwan-young or something?”

“Well, I guess…”

Mu-ryeong shrugged nonchalantly, slipping his hands into his pockets. The cool, hard plastic of something square brushed against his fingers. Seung-joo didn’t press the issue, just rolling up his sleeve to reveal a bruise on his forearm.

“Hey, check this out. I’ve got a bruise here.”

"Bruise?"

As Seung-joo had said, there was a dark bruise above his elbow. Why did this happen...? Lost in thought, Mu-ryeong suddenly recalled that it was this arm that the illusion had grabbed. He looked at Seung-joo with a face of disbelief, and Seung-joo shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, that's from yesterday."

Mu-ryeong opened his eyes wide and examined Seung-joo's arm closely. Seung-joo didn't have particularly fragile skin, so for a bruise to remain, the grip must have been pretty strong. Thinking back, even Mu-ryeong, who had witnessed the scene, had been shocked enough to feel his heart drop.

"Still, if you pull down your sleeve, no one will see it. You looked like you were trying to act serious, so I purposely wore something a little long."

Only then did Mu-ryeong realize that Seung-joo's clothes looked especially loose today. It seemed he was wearing a long-sleeved shirt that reached his elbows to cover the bruise on his arm.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not really? But Ki Hwan-young's grip is really strong. If he tried, he might even be stronger than you."

Though small and seemingly weak on the outside, Mu-ryeong was stronger than most men. Not just him, but his mother and sister Mu-yeon were the same. The development of one's powers wasn’t limited only to the senses.

"Yeah, that could be true."

Mu-ryeong replied casually, pulling his hand out of his pocket. Seung-joo probably thought he was just making small talk, but Mu-ryeong was serious. After all, Ki Hwan-young might really be stronger than him.

As they talked about trivial things, they had already arrived at school. On the stairs leading up to the second floor, Mu-ryeong reminded Seung-joo several times to be careful. Seung-joo, wearing his brand-new shoes, only clicked his tongue, thinking Mu-ryeong was being overly cautious.

"If you trip again, I'll have to put a cast on your other arm."

"You're wishing me bad luck, huh?"@@novelbin@@

Seung-joo draped his left arm around Mu-ryeong's shoulder and lightly squeezed his neck, not enough to hurt. It was more like half an embrace, but the touch wasn’t affectionate.

As they continued walking with a bit of bickering, they saw someone standing in front of Class 2-7.

"Oh? It’s Ki Hwan-young."

"Huh?"

Ki Hwan-young was standing by the back door, staring at Mu-ryeong and Seung-joo. Even from a distance, his tall figure was immediately noticeable. Mu-ryeong grabbed Seung-joo's arm with one hand and waved his other hand above his head.

"Ki Hwan-young!"

"......"

Ki Hwan-young didn’t say a word until they got closer. His gaze wasn’t on Mu-ryeong's face but seemed to be fixed somewhere below it. Mu-ryeong, tilting his head in confusion, finally noticed what Ki Hwan-young was holding.

"Did you come to give me the umbrella?"

"The umbrella?" Seung-joo asked again, seemingly puzzled. He must have been thinking, When did I lend him an umbrella? Mu-ryeong, wearing a happy expression, extended his hand to Ki Hwan-young.

"I could give it to you tomorrow."

"......"

However, Ki Hwan-young didn’t hand over the umbrella, and there was a brief silence between them. Mu-ryeong blinked slowly, tilting his head.

"Why?"

"......I'm going in first."

Unable to stand the awkward atmosphere, Seung-joo quickly disappeared into the classroom. Only then did Ki Hwan-young raise his eyes and meet Mu-ryeong’s gaze. His dark eyes seemed a little dissatisfied, so Mu-ryeong narrowed his brow and asked again.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No."

The answer came quickly, as if cut with a knife. Ki Hwan-young immediately shook his head and handed the umbrella to Mu-ryeong. Then, in his usual soft voice, he spoke.

"Thanks to you, I didn’t get rained on."

"Oh... I'm glad."

It had been worth running back to school after throwing my bag at home. My school uniform pants got soaked from stepping in several puddles, but even that discomfort seemed worthwhile.

And with Ki Hwan-young's following words, that feeling turned into something even more overwhelming.

"Thank you."