NTH 61

“Should this lowly one dare to rise…”

“Stop acting foolishly and get up quickly to guide us inside. My feet hurt.”

Who asked him to wear those high heels he was not even used to. Jeha clicked his tongue once and held out his palm to Gu Minho. Gu Minho smiled coyly and placed his hand on Jeha’s palm.

Jeha escorted him into the room that Cheonsu Doryeong guided them to. It was the shrine he had seen in the YouVid video. A man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties, who had been sitting inside, shot up upon seeing Jeha and exclaimed.

“No way! There was no mention of a celebrity coming!”

“Who is a celebrity?”

“You, sir! Aren’t you a movie actor? The person on the sticker on the water purifier. You do coffee commercials too.”

“What are you talking about. Not at all.”

Then the man scrutinized Jeha and muttered, ‘Ah, he really does look like him.’

Meanwhile, Gu Minho, as if he had completely forgotten what he was wearing, plopped down on the floor with his legs crossed. Jeha shook his head from side to side, took off the jacket he was wearing, draped it over Gu Minho’s legs, and sat down beside him.

“Would you care for a cup of tea? That is, M, Miho-nim, what kind of beverage do you like?”

When Cheonsu Doryeong spoke with his head bowed, Gu Minho answered cutely.

“I’ll have a white chocolate mocha Frappuccino.”

“Yes? A white, what?”

“You don’t have it? If not, just give me anything. Hey Chaewoo, let’s finish up quickly and get out of here. I don’t like it here. What’s with all this stuff stuck all over the place.”

Jeha looked at the talismans that had displeased Gu Minho and let out a chuckle.

‘Chaewoo’ was the name he had in the life when he first met Gu Minho some nine hundred years ago. Since that life, Jeha’s name had changed countless times, but Gu Minho always insisted on calling him by that name. No matter how many times he told him his new name, it was no use. To him, Jeha was always just Chaewoo.

Cheonsu Doryeong left the room, saying he would bring something to drink. Seeing that, it was certain that his claim of having an assistant was a lie. In the meantime, Jeha spoke to the man sitting in the room.

“Hello. May I ask for your name? My name is Kwon Jeha.”

“I’m Hwang Juyeol. I heard you requested a consultation with Cheonsu Doryeong-nim. I came because I owe the Doryeong-nim, but why on earth did you ask for me to be here too?”

“The consultation was just an excuse. My purpose from the beginning was to meet you, Mr. Hwang.”

“Yes? Me? Why?”

“You appeared in Cheonsu Doryeong-nim’s video as the reincarnated man who remembers ten past lives, right? I saw that. Of course, I couldn’t see your face because it was mosaicked.”

“Ah, that…”

“On the condition of bringing this person here, whom Cheonsu Doryeong-nim wanted to see, I also asked for you to be called, Mr. Hwang.”

“For what reason did you do that?”

“That is because I am also a person who remembers my past lives.”

Cheonsu Doryeong, who was entering with a refreshment tray holding four cheap cups and a few snacks, gasped upon hearing those words. He slammed the tray down as if throwing it and urgently asked Jeha.

“Is that true? Ha, if I had known this, I would have prepared for filming! Would it be alright to proceed with recording even now? It’s a shame about that handsome face, but I will thoroughly mosaic it!”

“No. Please do not speak carelessly of meeting me anywhere. Not that anyone would believe you.”

Cheonsu Doryeong sighed heavily, looking disappointed.

Gu Minho was drinking his share of instant coffee and munching on snacks, crunch crunch, without even being offered by the host. Seeing the cookie crumbs scattered on his disheveled long hair, Jeha inwardly clicked his tongue and asked Cheonsu Doryeong.

“Excuse me, but do you happen to have a rubber band?”

“Yes? A rubber band? A yellow one?”

“Anything will do.”

Cheonsu Doryeong handed Jeha a yellow rubber band that had been used to secure a take-out food container. Jeha brushed the crumbs from Gu Minho’s hair, gathered it back, combed it neatly with his fingers, and tied it into a neat ponytail. Cheonsu Doryeong, who was watching this blankly, asked.

“Um, excuse me, but Mr. Kwon, are you Miho-nim’s lover?”

“Yes?”

What kind of absurd question was this. Jeha looked at him with an aggrieved expression and said, as if arguing.

“Is that something you should say as a shaman? How can a human date a nine-tailed fox?”

Cheonsu Doryeong waved his hands and made an excuse.

“No, it’s just that you’ve been taking care of Miho-nim so gently and affectionately since a while ago…”

“We are not lovers. It would be best if you understood it as something like a guardian, if I had to say.”

It seemed that because of Gu Minho’s attire, Cheonsu Doryeong saw him as a female nine-tailed fox. Jeha, after wiping even Gu Minho’s hands with a wet wipe as he giggled to himself, finding something amusing, spoke to Hwang Juyeol.

“You said in the video that you are a First-Class soul, correct?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Have you, by any chance, experienced any physical changes after becoming First-Class?”

“Physical? What do you mean?”

“I’m curious if there were any changes in your body compared to when you were Second-Class.”

Jeha deliberately did not go into detail about the development of the five senses or the strengthening of muscular power. He just quietly waited for his answer. Hwang Juyeol thought for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“Come to think of it, there is one thing.”

“What is it?”

Hwang Juyeol glanced at Gu Minho and then said in a small voice.

“Intercourse, I mean, no matter how long I had sex, I didn’t get tired.”

For a moment, silence fell in the room. Jeha asked back with an indifferent expression.

“May I ask what exactly you mean by ‘a long time’?”

“Yes? That’s a bit difficult to talk about.”

“I apologize if you feel uncomfortable. It’s my first time meeting a First-Class soul like myself, so I want to get as much information as possible.”

“I see.”

“And this friend here is not a human female but truly a nine-tailed fox who is nearly a thousand years old, so you don’t need to worry at all about any sexual embarrassment the topic of conversation might cause.”

After Jeha painstakingly explained, Hwang Juyeol, after glancing at Gu Minho who was watching with interest, answered.

“Hmm, so when I was a Second-Class male, my stamina would get depleted quickly during intercourse. The duration of sex was at most about twenty to thirty minutes, I think.”

“Excuse me, but are you referring to the time after insertion?”

“Hey, it’s not like I’m Byeon Gang-soe, of course not. I’m talking about from the moment we start taking off our clothes until the end, that is, until ejaculation.”

Momentarily lost for words, Jeha clamped his mouth shut. Gu Minho, beside him, clutched his stomach and burst out laughing.

As a shrill sound escaped his throat and filled the room, Hwang Juyeol’s face turned red. Jeha wrapped his arms around the shoulders of Gu Minho, who was about to fall over with laughter, from behind, hugging him to keep him from thrashing about.

“Then what about after you became a First-Class soul?”

“The duration for one time is similar. However, if I rest a little, my stamina recovers quickly, and I can do it again. I’ve even done it up to four times like that. It was truly an unbelievable thing.”

Gu Minho’s laughter, which had paused for a moment, burst out again. Jeha did not know how to react to Hwang Juyeol’s story and wrinkled his brow slightly.

Could it be that Hwang Juyeol had an extremely weak constitution to begin with? For some reason, he felt he should offer his sincere condolences to those who had been his lovers or spouses during his time as a Third-Class or Second-Class soul.

On the other hand, Cheonsu Doryeong was just swallowing hard, gulp, gulp, and was unusually quiet. Seeing that he showed none of the reactions of Jeha or Gu Minho, he thought that perhaps he was a virgin. It did not seem like he was just being quiet because he had a serious and polite personality to begin with.

“But, Mr. Kwon, did you not experience the same phenomenon as me after becoming a First-Class soul?”

Hwang Juyeol asked, his eyes sparkling. As Jeha hesitated, wondering what to say, Gu Minho, who was still leaning his back against Jeha’s chest, quickly spoke up.

“This gentleman didn’t get tired at all even if he pounded from dusk till dawn. It was the same when he was Second-Class. Of course, it’s not like there were many partners who moved this friend’s body to that extent.”

“Hey, there’s no way a person can be like that. Don’t joke around.”

“I’m not joking. Do I look so ridiculous to you that I would joke around?”

When Gu Minho put on a serious face, Hwang Juyeol and Cheonsu Doryeong flinched and ducked their heads. Even though Gu Minho was in the form of a small and weak-looking woman, they seemed to feel a considerable amount of pressure.

“You do look ridiculous, so don’t go scaring people for no reason. You’re frightening them.”

As Jeha released his arms that had been holding Gu Minho and gently reprimanded him, he snorted.

“They don’t believe me. Shall we prove it right here and now, you and I? I’m pretty today. Oh, right, your member only reacts when I transform into that Nana fellow’s form…”

“Mr. Hwang, were there by any chance any other changes besides that? Such as your eyesight or hearing improving.”

Jeha cut off Gu Minho’s outrageous remark in the middle and asked Hwang Juyeol. Hwang Juyeol blinked his eyes and said.

“I don’t think there was anything like that in particular.”

“What about your experience meeting other First-Class souls besides me?”

“I have none. This is the first time.”

“I see. Then, by any chance, have you ever met a soul you met in a past life again after reincarnating?”

“No, I haven’t. It’s possible that I have, but I wasn’t able to recognize them.”

“I understand. Then, I will ask one last, most important question. Have you ever heard of a being called a ‘Parasitic Spirit’?”

Hwang Juyeol’s hand, which was about to pick up the mug of instant coffee, froze. Anxiety flickered across his face. Although he had been nervous from the beginning due to Gu Minho’s presence, it was obvious at a glance that he was agitated.

“I, I don’t know, anything like that…”

“Could you please try to recall it carefully? It is a very important matter to me.”

“May I ask why that is so important to you, Mr. Kwon?”

“There is a Third-Class soul that I encountered several times in my past lives. Having reincarnated so many times, he should have become Second-Class long ago, but he remained Third-Class, and it struck me as strange that his background at birth was the worst every time.”

“Yes.”

“But it seems that soul is having his soul devoured each time by a being called a Parasitic Spirit, is what this friend here advised me.”

“I, I see.”

“That Third-Class soul I met has never lived a long life in a past life. He always died young before reaching the age of twenty-five or twenty-six.”

“Ah…”

“I happened to meet him in this life as well, and although he, being Third-Class, knows nothing about his past lives, I, being First-Class, have come to remember his past lives through dreams. At this rate, it seems he will lose his life again within a few years, so I was indiscriminately looking into the Parasitic Spirit when I saw Cheonsu Doryeong-nim’s video.”

“So that’s what happened.”

“Cheonsu Doryeong-nim, have you by any chance heard the term ‘Parasitic Spirit’?”

When Jeha asked, Cheonsu Doryeong, who had not said a word since a while ago and had been listening to their conversation with wide, interested eyes, shook his head with an innocent expression.

“No. It’s the first time I’ve heard of it too.”

Cheonsu Doryeong seemed to have only a very weak degree of spiritual power and no knowledge whatsoever about souls or the afterlife. Perhaps that was why, despite having over a hundred thousand YouVid followers, his actual profession was swatting flies like this.

It seemed his popularity on the internet was due to his neat and cute appearance, which was unbelievable for a shaman.

“I understand. If either of you happens to meet another First-Class soul, or if you obtain any information about the Parasitic Spirit, I would be grateful if you would be sure to contact me.”