"……."
"Let’s go. The line’s getting long."
Mu-ryeong’s lips curled into an easy smile. His bright, carefree expression left Hwan-young silent, his mouth pressed into a thin line.
Watching this, Seung-joo clicked his tongue internally.
‘So much for it not being about Ki Hwan-young.’
Mu-ryeong claid it was for the request, but in the end, it was his soft-hearted nature that took control. Kim Mu-ryeong, who couldn’t stand seeing anyone left alone, had probably been bothered the mont their classmates started talking about Hwan-young. The request was just an excuse—he would have reached out to him either way.
"Seo Seung-joo, hurry up!"
"I’m coming."
This wasn’t the first ti Mu-ryeong had done sothing like this.
Back in their first year of middle school, he hadn’t been able to ignore a classmate who was being ostracized. It was different from Hwan-young’s situation, but the process had been the sa.
"Chae-eun? She’s nice."
Was her na Kim Chae-eun? Or Lee Chae-eun? Seung-joo couldn’t even rember anymore. She was a girl who had been bullied since elentary school. Like most cases of childish cruelty, there had been no real reason—just arbitrary teasing, which eventually escalated to mocking her for sothing as trivial as her bob haircut.
"She let
borrow her pen all day when I forgot my pencil case."
"I don’t know about you guys, but I think her haircut looks nice."
"She’s also really good with her hands."
"Then I’ll sit next to her."
While everyone else avoided the empty seat beside her, Mu-ryeong had claid it without hesitation. He greeted her like it was the most natural thing in the world.
And just like that, the seating arrangent didn’t change for the rest of the sester.
That left Seung-joo, who had been seated elsewhere, awkwardly exchanging introductions with a completely new seatmate.
"Wanna see pictures of my dog, Seolgi?"
"You can have my yogurt too."
"Oh, do you like bellflower root?"
True to his nature, Mu-ryeong talked to Chae-eun all the ti, whether it was during breaks or lunch. If their class hadn’t eaten in the cafeteria, he would have invited her to eat with him instead.
At first, she had been wary. But over ti, her expression brightened whenever she spoke with him.
"You like her, don’t you?"
One day, the bullies started targeting Mu-ryeong as well.
Their words were crude, filled with disgusting insinuations.
But Mu-ryeong, ever unfazed, simply responded,
"Yeah, I like Chae-eun. And I like you guys too."
His smile was so pure that a couple of them actually turned red.
anwhile, Seung-joo had noticed the look of disappointnt on Chae-eun’s face.
And then, as if nothing had happened, Mu-ryeong invited the entire class:
"Wanna co to my house and see Seolgi?"
That was the turning point.
Slowly but surely, Chae-eun started making friends.
It had taken ti to break through the prejudice, but once the wall was down, everything moved quickly.
One friend beca two.
Two beca a group.
Mu-ryeong had simply given her the chance to stand on her own.
By the ti their seats changed in the second sester, Chae-eun had already blended in with the rest of the class.
And yet, even then, she lingered around Mu-ryeong, despite no longer needing his help.
Seung-joo hadn’t needed an explanation to understand why.
"Kim Mu-ryeong."
"What?"
Mu-ryeong, who had just sat down with his tray, glanced up at Seung-joo.
Hwan-young, still looking reluctant, was sitting beside him.
Seung-joo looked between the two before asking indifferently,
"Do you rember Chae-eun from middle school? Was it Kim Chae-eun or Lee Chae-eun?"
"…Wait, do you an Song Chae-eun?"
"Oh, was it Song?"
They had always just called her "Chae-eun," so her last na hadn’t really mattered to him.
Honestly, Seung-joo had barely even talked to her himself.
"Why’d you suddenly bring her up?"
"Just crossed my mind. Do you still keep in touch with her?"
From what Seung-joo recalled, Chae-eun had gone to a different high school, one far from Haeyeon High.
He also rembered her bursting into tears in front of Mu-ryeong during their graduation ceremony, which had made even him uncomfortable.
And then, of course, there had been that line—the one that made Seung-joo quietly excuse himself.
"I don’t want to go to a different school than you…"
"No, I haven’t talked to her since we graduated."
Mu-ryeong answered easily, cutting into his fish cutlet and popping a large piece into his mouth.
His face showed no lingering attachnt, nor did he seem nostalgic.
He simply chewed his food, his expression as casual as ever.
"I didn’t really talk to her much in second and third year either."
"…Really?"
"Yeah, except for the occasional text when she wanted Seolgi pictures."
Seung-joo frowned.
For soone who had cried so much at their graduation, that didn’t seem like the behavior of a girl who had confessed.
And if she had confessed, knowing Mu-ryeong’s personality, he wouldn’t have brushed it off so indifferently.
"What did she say on graduation day?"
Seung-joo decided to approach the topic indirectly.
With Hwan-young sitting right there, he couldn’t just ask if Chae-eun had confessed.
Not that Hwan-young seed to be paying attention to their conversation.
"Oh, just the usual. Like, ‘Take care in high school,’ and stuff."
Mu-ryeong’s large eyes blinked innocently as he thought back.
His round gaze squinted slightly, as if trying to recall the details.
"That was pretty much it."
"……."
Seung-joo imdiately realized that sothing had gone wrong that day.
Most likely, it had been Mu-ryeong’s complete lack of awareness.
"…Is that so?"
"Yeah."
How was Seung-joo supposed to tell Mu-ryeong sothing he hadn’t even realized?
It was all in the past anyway, and Mu-ryeong clearly didn’t care.
"…Well. Alright, then."
"Seriously? That’s it?"
Mu-ryeong didn’t put much thought into Seung-joo’s reaction. Despite seeming perceptive at tis, he could also be remarkably dense. As expected, he quickly lost interest in the conversation and instead eyed his empty tray with mild disappointnt.
"I wish I could get seconds…"
"Just go back for another serving. The lunch ladies adore you—they’ll probably give you more."
"I can’t. If I get caught, I’ll be scolded."
Mu-ryeong pouted slightly before shifting his gaze to Hwan-young. The latter had already finished eating and was about to leave. Mu-ryeong reached out, grabbing the edge of his sleeve with a curious expression.
"You’re leaving? Seung-joo isn’t done eating yet."
"What does that have to do with ? You can leave too if you want."
Seung-joo, still eating with one hand, simply waved them off. Honestly, he was surprised Hwan-young had even stayed this long. He had expected him to ignore Mu-ryeong completely. The fact that he had followed them at all was already unexpected.
"Then take this with you."
Instead of standing up, Mu-ryeong placed his apple juice on Hwan-young’s tray.
There he goes again, bribing with food.
Seung-joo thought this but kept his mouth shut, casually continuing his al.
At least Hwan-young was a guy, so things wouldn’t turn out like they did with Chae-eun. He was about to stop paying attention when—
"…No, you drink it."
Hwan-young picked up the apple juice and placed it back on Mu-ryeong’s tray. As if that wasn’t enough, he set his own juice beside it too. Then, before Mu-ryeong could grab him again, he walked away without hesitation.
"……."
Seung-joo coughed lightly and quickly stabbed his straw into his apple juice, taking a long sip.
If he hadn’t, he might have ended up coughing awkwardly nonstop.
"See? I told you he’s nice."
Mu-ryeong, oblivious to Seung-joo’s reaction, confidently gestured toward the direction Hwan-young had disappeared to.
Of course, Seung-joo didn’t feel like agreeing.
Was it kindness? Or was it just because it was Mu-ryeong?
He honestly couldn’t tell.
"…What exactly did you do to him?"
"Nothing. He probably just felt guilty and gave it to ."
Mu-ryeong shrugged, completely unconcerned as he peeled the straw off one of the juice packs.
Now that he thought about it, hadn’t Mu-ryeong also ntioned guilt when he had dragged Hwan-young to lunch earlier?
Seung-joo bit down on the tip of his straw and asked,
"What’s he feeling guilty about?"
***
After school, the atmosphere always felt eerie.
The pitch-black schoolyard stretched out like an open maw, as if it would swallow anything that dared to step too close.
Unlike the bright dayti, the air now felt heavy, and the surrounding sounds were unusually sharp. It was as if the entire world had shifted into another dinsion.
Mu-ryeong moved gracefully, like a stray cat, effortlessly leaping over the wall.
Even in the pitch-darkness, his steps didn’t falter.
Blue flas flickered around him, trailing his movents like silent sentinels.
"Hwan-young threw away the talisman…"
A small, whispered voice carried through the night.
One of the flas drifted closer to his face, almost as if urging him to speak louder.
Mu-ryeong, however, only smirked playfully and ran his energy-coated hand through the fire, stroking it gently.
"How could I just say it like that? Right?"
‘What’s he feeling guilty about?’
Of course, Mu-ryeong hadn’t answered Seung-joo’s question honestly.
If he had, Seung-joo would have scolded him endlessly and told him to drop the request altogether.
Instead, he had brushed it off, saying it wasn’t a big deal.
Which ant he had to endure Seung-joo’s pestering all the way back to their classroom.
If soone hadn’t shown up looking for him at just the right mont, Seung-joo would have gotten the truth out of him before the end of the day.
Of course, the mont the student ntioned needing help with a request, the nagging had imdiately shifted to,
"You’re not planning to stay up all night for this, are you?"
"We’re going treasure hunting tonight."
The mont Mu-ryeong spoke, the flas around him flared up excitedly.
Clearly, they liked the sound of treasure hunting.
Mu-ryeong held back a chuckle and pulled sothing out of his pocket.
"Find sothing with energy similar to this."
"Can you help
find my ring? No matter how much I look, I can’t find it."
What he held in his hand was a simple black chanical pencil—sothing any student would have.
The item had been given to him by a student who had lost sothing important and needed help finding it.
The only reason this request wasn’t a hassle was because the student possessed spiritual energy.
If they hadn’t, this would have been a much more difficult task.
"Co to think of it… that guy thought I’d ask Seolgi to find it."
Seolgi can’t do sothing like that…
Mu-ryeong muttered to himself, smiling faintly.
He recalled how the student had been amazed, asking if his dog could sniff out lost objects.
And, of course, he also rembered the conversation that followed.
"I’ll find it for you. What class are you in?"
"Class 3. Seriously, thanks, Mu-ryeong."
Class 3.
Hwan-young’s class.
If he found the item, he would naturally have a reason to visit Class 3 again.
Not that that was the only reason he had taken the request, of course.
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