JKA 21

Eggers and 1129 watched Hanbyeol and Jiwoon. It seemed the two were having some sort of conversation, and then Hanbyeol started to take something out of his bag. It was the vitamin in question. Just as he thought. The moment Eggers saw the vitamin, he said the exact same thing as Jiwoon.

“Isn’t that a condom?”

At the same time, 1129 answered the exact same way as Hanbyeol. The only difference was that Hanbyeol had said it with a smile, while 1129 said it with irritation.

“It’s a vitamin.”

“…”

“What in the world is in your head?”

At 1129’s scolding, Eggers glared, but 1129 ignored him and kept his eyes only on Jiwoon. And at that moment, 1129 felt his eyes meet Hanbyeol’s. He and Eggers had definitely hidden themselves so they wouldn’t be seen by human eyes, and those two were no exception.

“I-I’m leaving.”

Eggers had felt Hanbyeol’s gaze as well. The moment he met that gaze, he backed away with a flustered expression and shouted to 1129.

“This isn’t a very good situation for me…”

“Are you seriously scared of him?”

At 1129’s question, Eggers looked like he was about to snap back with something, but he quickly clamped his mouth shut and vanished in an instant. He had felt demonic energy from Hanbyeol, but from their conversation, it didn’t seem like the two were in a definite contractual relationship like he and Jiwoon were.

Demons ‘hunted’ human souls, so to speak, but there were many aspects that were different from an actual hunt. A demon could absolutely never take a human’s soul by force. This was because a contract to receive a soul was only possible if they obtained the human’s consent in some way. A human could enter into a contract that was absolutely disadvantageous to them, and most contracts were made that way, but consent was still an absolute necessity.

Besides, Eggers was currently coveting Hanbyeol’s mother’s soul more than Hanbyeol’s. That meant he had a plan of his own to achieve that. He was probably doing some sort of groundwork with Hanbyeol to take her soul.

‘I don’t know what he’s up to, but it seems he’s decided that being seen with me won’t be very helpful.’

Thinking this, 1129’s eyes met Jiwoon’s as he slowly turned his head, following Hanbyeol’s gesture. He had been hiding his form from Jiwoon as well, but he deliberately revealed himself. Now that he thought about it, how had Hanbyeol been able to spot him? He needed to find out for sure.

“You’re an amazing human in many ways.”

1129 said, approaching the surprised-looking Jiwoon. Then he instantly erased the bloodstains left on his body. He, too, had no idea what kind of influence this current situation would have on future events.

Turning his head in the direction Hanbyeol was pointing, Jiwoon jumped in fright as if he had seen a ghost. There stood 1129 with a calm expression, walking slowly toward him. Jiwoon stared blankly at him, then repeatedly checked Hanbyeol’s expression. He was trying to confirm if the ‘that thing’ he had mentioned was the 1129 he was seeing right now.

“I-I don’t quite understand what you mean…”

Jiwoon feigned ignorance and changed the subject, even though it was obvious he was seeing something. At that, Hanbyeol nodded as if he understood.

“It’s certainly hard to say you can see it.”

“…”

“I thought I was crazy too.”

“No, really. Y-you’re looking at that and…”

Jiwoon couldn’t even speak properly, muttering as he moved his hands awkwardly. Hanbyeol could see 1129. As he was thinking that, Jiwoon suddenly realized that 1129 could be seen by others if he wished it, and he just blinked his eyes blankly.

Returning to the original question of what on earth Hanbyeol had been pointing at, Jiwoon just clutched the medicine bag for no reason. To be honest, he felt as if someone had smacked him on the head, and he couldn’t say a word. Just then, Hanbyeol looked at Jiwoon and spoke.

“I saw it when we were eating at the cafeteria. That thing isn’t human, right?”

“‘That thing’?”

“…”

“I didn’t take you for the type, but you’re quite good at being rude to someone you’ve just met.”

While Jiwoon hesitated, 1129, who had closed the distance, stood facing Hanbyeol and spoke. Jiwoon, who found himself in a position as if he were caught between the two, unknowingly took a step back, only to be yanked forward by Hanbyeol’s hand.

Pulled powerlessly to stand beside Hanbyeol, Jiwoon was briefly flustered by the sudden series of events, then looked up at Hanbyeol, surprised by the strong force he felt on his wrist. When he did, he saw a cold expression on him that he had never seen before.

It was an expression Hanbyeol hadn’t made even when Jiwoon had spouted nonsensical, uncomfortable things. There was even a sense of disgust on Hanbyeol’s face, as if he were looking at an insect. On the other hand, 1129 faced Hanbyeol with a faint smile on his lips.

“I didn’t see everything. It felt like my mind was coming and going. But I remember one thing for sure. Everyone, including me, couldn’t move, but you and that thing were the only ones moving.”

“…”

“And you were standing in front of the window.”

At Hanbyeol’s words, Jiwoon just blinked. So, he was saying that he remembered, albeit in fragments, what had happened when they were eating together in the student cafeteria. Hanbyeol had definitely been unable to move back then.

“B-but why didn’t you say anything…”

If Hanbyeol had really seen him and 1129 moving that day, why hadn’t he contacted him separately? That thought occurred to Jiwoon. It was especially so because it was Hanbyeol, of all people. He was the type of person who honestly said what he saw and felt. But until they ran into each other at the pharmacy today, there had been no contact from Hanbyeol.

“I wondered if maybe I was crazy. I also wondered if that moment was a dream. A lot of really strange things have been happening to me lately. I told you when we were eating together.”

“…”

“That something was going on at home.”

Only then did Jiwoon recall the conversation he’d had with Hanbyeol at the cafeteria. Hanbyeol had once mentioned that his mother was a little unwell, so he had assumed that the ‘something’ he was talking about was related to his mother, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“I asked why you’re calling me ‘this thing’ and ‘that thing’ when we’ve just met, and you’re not even pretending to listen? Are you ignoring me?”

“It’s not human.”

1129 spoke mockingly, the faint smile completely wiped from his face, but Hanbyeol ignored even that and spoke while looking only at Jiwoon.

“That thing isn’t human. I don’t know what kind of words it’s using to bewitch you, but…”

“Bewitch? Who are you comparing me to?”

“Jiwoon. You can’t be fooled.”

“Are your ears clogged?”

“No matter what it says, don’t ever listen. Don’t even talk back, and you must never do anything it asks.”

“What the hell. What do you mean he listens to me? I’m the one waiting on him hand and foot for everything.”

1129 let out a hollow laugh in disbelief. Now he could see why Eggers, a demon, was having a hard time with Hanbyeol, an ordinary human. He wasn’t just not dealing with him; he was treating him as if he didn’t exist. It was obvious he would treat Eggers the same way.

“…Do you two know each other?”

At Jiwoon’s question, Hanbyeol and 1129 answered simultaneously.

“No.”

“No.”

The two gave a clear answer to Jiwoon’s question, but conversely, Jiwoon only became more confused. Since 1129 was consistently pointing out that he was being rude for a first meeting, they couldn’t have met before. But listening to Hanbyeol, it sounded as if the two already knew each other.

“But why do you act as if you know him…”

“I know a guy like that too. Anyway, that’s not what’s important. You asked me, didn’t you? You asked if I was crazy. You asked if I was crazy when I said I understood everything. Remember?”

Jiwoon nodded his head. Of course, if someone said they had seriously considered the nonsense he’d spouted while drunk, and that they understood it all, it was only natural for the words “Are you crazy?” to come out first.

“It’s true that something was going on at home, but to be honest, it wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t contact you. There was one thing that was bothering me. Because I started seeing things like that around the time you said those things while you were drunk.”

“…”

“But after seeing it at the student cafeteria yesterday, and running into it again today, I get it now. My guess was right, after all.”

Hanbyeol, unlike his usual self, poured out a stream of incomprehensible words in an urgent voice.

“It’s all because of that demon, isn’t it?”

Jiwoon just blinked his eyes. Just then, Hanbyeol met 1129’s gaze for the first time. Then, he pointed directly at him and continued.

“That demon made you like that, right?”

So, what Hanbyeol was saying was, he was asking if all the words Jiwoon had poured out while drunk were uttered because he was possessed by a demon. He spoke in a very firm and clear voice, as if there was no other way it could be possible. He was like a character from some anime shouting, “The culprit is you!”

Jiwoon didn’t know where to even begin to correct him. I needed time to think, something was going on at home—he had made excuses like that, but to put it bluntly, didn’t it mean that he was so busy suspecting Jiwoon was possessed by something that he hadn’t noticed the time passing? And the reason for that was because he himself was seeing something similar.

In short, Hanbyeol believed that Jiwoon had said those things because he was possessed by something and not in his right mind. Jiwoon was at a loss for words at that moment. Yes, he understood. It was a situation that couldn’t be helped. But he couldn’t bring himself to say that he was right.

At that time, he had been a bit drunk, but there were no lies in the words he had uttered. They might have been sordid emotions that ordinary people wouldn’t bring up, but they were, at any rate, the truth for him.

“…You might as well have just cursed at me for being crazy.”

Jiwoon whispered in a dying voice. Was this what it felt like to be killed twice? A shock far greater than when Hanbyeol had said, “I’ll overlook it all and understand. So I thought about your feelings,” struck Jiwoon. On top of that, at that moment, 1129 couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing, and Jiwoon’s face turned bright red.

“Ha, haha! This is crazy. So what you’re saying is, he was possessed by an evil spirit or something? You can’t explain it any other way?”

“Jiwoon.”

“Hey, that’s really something. How can you turn a person into someone possessed by an evil spirit in an instant? I guess you can’t just pass it off as a drunken ramble? Well, I’d think so too. He really overdid it.”

“Jiwoon, I don’t think you’re weird. It’s all because of those things, isn’t it? That’s why you couldn’t contact me, right?”

Jiwoon’s face turned red as if it were about to explode, and 1129 was laughing his head off, unable to compose himself. Watching Jiwoon, who had his head hung low and was saying nothing, Hanbyeol glared at the fiercely laughing 1129.

“Stop spouting nonsense and get lost.”

“Oh my, you’re the one spouting nonsense.”