Making two cups of coffee without a word, Park Moondae handed one to Hajun before slipping into a long silence. Hajun took a sip of his sugarless coffee, waiting for him to speak. Just as his patience began to wear thin, Moondae finally broke the quiet.
“…Can you see them? People’s…”
“Souls? Yeah.”
His response to a difficult question came out smooth and effortless. That easygoing attitude proved contagious, leaving Moondae feeling drained. Yet seeing spirits alone did not answer every question on his mind.
“Then from the start… wait, what about the name…”
“I know more than just a name. Ryu Gunwoo, thirty-year-old test taker. Am I right?”
Hajun smirked at Moondae, who stared at him as if looking at a ghost.
Moondae offered a slow correction. “…Not thirty… twenty-nine.”
“Shaving off a year already?”
“…”
“Just kidding. Fine, let’s call it twenty-nine.”
If his memory stopped there, fine by him. Either way, exact age was not what mattered right now. Setting his coffee down, Hajun spoke up.
“You look like you have a million questions, so let me answer a few upfront.”
“…”
“First, no, I didn’t come from the future like you.”
“…”
“I did go through something strange, though. I’m keeping my own story to myself, so curb your curiosity.”
What kind of guy is this? Realizing he was the one being interrogated instead of Hajun, Moondae clenched his jaw.
“Careful, jaw clenching hurts. You got a young body now, take care of it.”
“…Are you joking?”
“Suit yourself. Try showing concern and you get attitude.”
So touchy. Hajun licked his lips and kept going.
“Like I said, I see plenty of things. I can do plenty of things… So yeah. Swapping souls sounds crazy, but strange things happen. Rare as a miracle, of course. Even more so a case like yours where you fit right in without body rejection—I’ve never seen that before. Anyway, that isn’t the main point.”
The words tumbled out a bit messy. Damn it, this wasn’t how I meant to phrase it.
He could feel Moondae’s eyes screaming: So what are you trying to say?
Hajun paused, rolling his eyes once. Staring into his coffee cup, he forced the words out as if someone held a knife to his back.
“Guardian spirits actually attach to a place—or rather, a physical body—more than a soul. …If your parents, well, if they are still around here,”
“!!”
“If they moved on, maybe not… Ah, crap.”
A possibility Moondae had never once considered popped into his head. The instant he grasped what Won Hajun meant, his heart skipped a beat.
Hajun ran a hand through his hair and dropped his arm. I don’t even know what I’m saying right now.
“My fault. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“…Please.”
“What?”
“Check… please check for me. I’m begging you. …Please.”
If they had been watching over him all this time… Even if late, he could reach them through Won Hajun. And if they weren’t around, that was fine too. It was better than them lingering in this world out of worry for their child.
Seeing Moondae’s sharp change in attitude, Hajun felt a faint sting of guilt, nodding his head. Truth be told, the guy was pitiful. After hearing his story earlier… Damn it, I’m way too softhearted.
Far across the ocean, an imaginary voice barked in his head—someone buried under a mountain of work telling him to direct some of that softheartedness toward his actual job. Just a phantom voice.
“Fine. Give me your old address and details later. What they look like, stuff like that.”
“…Yes.”
“Honestly, even if we find the place, no guarantees. …You might not meet them.”
“It doesn’t matter. …Thank you.”
Moondae murmured a word of thanks. He still couldn’t understand Hajun. Won Hajun was always strange, outside common sense, wrapped in a slippery fog. Yet it never felt like he acted out of malice or spite. If anything, he seemed kind—
“Now then, shall we move on to the real topic?”
“…?”
That wasn’t the main topic?
Hajun crushed Moondae’s feelings in one go, not caring about his shocked look. Business is business.
“I need your help with two things. Number one: breaking Cheongryeo’s head.”
“…Pardon?”
“Number two: removing the curse attached to you. That thing is serious business.”
“…Pardon?”
“Didn’t you just thank me? Show some gratitude and give me a hand.”
Scratch ‘kind’. Scratch ‘thank you’. Good guy my ass…!
Feeling as if someone whacked the back of his head, Moondae rubbed his neck, processing the absurd words. What? Break Cheongryeo’s what? …Curse? Does he mean the System? …Is this a dream?
“Your answer? Pick between Yes or yes.”
“Wait… Just a second.”
Refusing to wait, Hajun nagged Moondae as he sat there with a blank face. Moondae tried his best to process the overload of information, but Hajun couldn’t care less. Raising a hand to pause Hajun, Moondae pieced together a sentence.
“…Can I hear a bit more detail before deciding?”
Please.
Hajun’s lips curled into a smirk. Since he asked like that, there was no reason to hold back.
Hajun explained the curse and filled him in on Cheongryeo. By the time the explanation wrapped up, Moondae managed to piece together Hajun’s jumbled story and figure out what happened.
“…To sum it up: the System… this curse used to hang around senior Cheongryeo before you. For reasons unknown, part of it affected you, dragging you through transmigration together. And you want payback for what he did to you, plus a way to destroy it?”
“Sounds about right.”
“Why speak in circles? If you just said you were a fellow transmigrator from the start, things would have been so much simpler—”
“Nope. I never once said I transmigrated.”
“So everything you just described is—never mind.”
Moondae let out a sigh and gave up. Whatever weird hang-up he held, Hajun flatly refused to use the word ‘transmigrate’. Setting that aside, everything else clicked into place.
The real ‘Park Moondae’ currently residing inside Ryu Gunwoo’s body… and part of his soul tied to the System. Common sense couldn’t wrap around it, but Hajun had no reason to lie.
Having plenty he wanted to discuss with the original owner of the body, Moondae asked after a moment of hesitation.
“Is he still here? The real… ‘Park Moondae’?”
“Yeah, he’s around.”
“…Can you separate him again like you did back then? Not that I doubt you,”
“Can you see souls? No. And your mind is awake right now—you want me to pull him out by force? Pulling a soul out of a conscious person might tear off the wrong piece. You cool with that?”
Hajun raised a hand as he spoke. Moondae hastened to take back his words. Once he found ‘Ryu Gunwoo’, they would get a chance to talk anyway. No need for a dangerous gamble right now.
“Done with questions? So, you in or out?”
Complaining the coffee went cold, Hajun tapped the cup in front of Moondae. Snatching the half-empty cup back from Hajun, Moondae let out a long sigh.
“I won’t join a crime.”
“Crime? It’s just a little payback.”
“…Planning harm against someone is known as a crime.”
“Fine as long as nobody catches us.”
Not caught means innocent; winning in court means innocent. Facing this hopeless view of the law, Moondae wiped his face with both hands. Still, a no was a no. Far too dangerous.
“No.”
“Even when that guy keeps creeping around you? He’s up to something, guaranteed. Let’s strike first before he acts.”
“…If things go wrong, we’re in real trouble.”
Shaking off the demon’s whisper claiming it was for his own good, Moondae shook his head. Cheongryeo hadn’t made a real move yet; acting recklessly was out of the question.
Pouting at the refusal, Hajun muttered with a pout.
“Fine, count yourself out. I’ll handle it alone.”
“…If you get caught,”
Fed up with Moondae repeating ‘no’ in ten different ways, Hajun covered his ears and shouted.
“I won’t get caught! I’m not killing him! I just want to land one good punch on his face! If you’re gonna interfere, just butt out and stop nagging!!”
“…Fine, just lower your voice.”
If the others woke up now, explaining what they were doing up at this hour would be a nightmare. Checking the quiet bedroom doors, Moondae offered a silent surrender.
I tried my best. He’s beyond saving.
Ignoring Hajun’s crazed eyes, Moondae offered a silent prayer for Cheongryeo. Though the senior loved picking at people’s nerves, considering how many transmigration he endured, he seemed sane by comparison… The guy who went through it with him ended up like this, making Moondae feel almost sorry for Cheongryeo.
Trying to soothe the muttering Hajun, Moondae spoke up.
“I’ll help with the second thing, of course. More more than that, I need your help too, hyung.”
“What, a mission?”
“Yeah. I need to stay alive first before we get rid of the System or curse or whatever.”
Hajun tilted his head, thinking for a moment.
“How about you just die, and I catch your soul and store it somewhere safe? Then when the curse takes over your body, I’ll beat it up and kick it out, and when it drops off, I’ll grab it and thrash it?”
Isn’t that perfect?
Hajun’s eyes sparkled, and Moondae hurried to stop him.
“I don’t want to die.”
“It’s not dying, just hanging out as a soul for a bit. The more I think about it, the better it sounds.”
“No way in hell.”
Hajun tried convincing him that his soul wouldn’t drift away since his case was special, but Moondae refused to buy a single word. Pushed back by his firm opposition, Hajun nodded at last and agreed to cooperate on keeping him alive.
From Moondae’s view, he didn’t even expect active help—he just wished Hajun would stop proposing ideas that shortened his lifespan.
“Hey! We have a huge problem!”
A few days later, on a day off with no schedule, Keun Sejin slammed open the bedroom door and clapped Moondae’s shoulder. Woken from sleep, Lee Sejin glared at Keun Sejin. Getting up alongside him, Hajun cracked his knuckles as he approached.
“What’s…”
“This! Get Close First! Look who Cheongryeo senior picked as guests here…!”
Snap. Feeling a solid arm wrap around his neck, Keun Sejin froze rock solid.
“…Thought you went to work out with Cheongwoo hyung? You were in the room…?”
“Oh yeah. Care to tell me why you ruined my sleep? How big is this ‘huge problem’?”
If it’s no big deal, prepare yourself. Terrified, Keun Sejin thrashed to pry off the arm choking his neck.
“Aaaah, let go! Let go and let’s talk like civilized people!”
Amidst his thrashing, Keun Sejin dropped his phone. Picking it up, Moondae read the headline on the screen.
[Get Close First, Next Guests Are VTIC and TeSTAR? (Exclusive)]
“!!”
Slinking over, Lee Sejin peeked over his shoulder at the screen and gaped in quiet horror.
Loosening his grip on Keun Sejin’s neck, Hajun snatched the phone from Moondae’s hand.
“…Guests? Cheongryeo?”
Hajun’s face burst with vibrant energy. Warning alarms blared inside the members’ heads.
…They were dead meat.
“How is this a problem? This is awesome!”
Watching Hajun shout with excitement, Lee Sejin gave Moondae a horrified look and patted his shoulder with an awkward face.
Moondae wanted to deny reality. He wanted to ask Cheongryeo—who named two guests without prior agreement, and specifically named Won Hajun as one of them—what on earth he was thinking.
Truthfully, he didn’t even want to know. If they could cancel this right now before it was too late…
“Moondae-moondae, we’re relying on you.”
“…”
Keun Sejin placed a hand on Moondae’s shoulder.
There was no way the agency would pass up a high-rating public TV variety show like this. Which meant, in other words: Moondae had to face the wild card named Cheongryeo while dragging along a walking bomb named Won Hajun.
New Terms
- 일단 친해지세요 – Get Close First (The public TV variety show)
- 공시생 – Civil service exam student (Gong-si-saeng)
