Ju Dan held his breath and listened to the noise outside. His heart beat wildly against his ribs.
Screeech!
“Die!”
Thud! Crash! Splash! Bang!
He could hear the heavy, wet sounds of things crashing into each other. He desperately fought the urge to open the door and look out. He knew exactly what kind of disaster happens when you ignore instructions in these situations—the classic horror movie clichés.
He never expected his junior idol to be a physical exorcist, of all things. It was a crazy break from his otherwise boring, ordinary life. He had always dreamed of something like this happening one day, but he never expected it to be today of all days.
Won Hajun. That was definitely his name. Ju Dan remembered him as the idol famous on the internet for being a total nutjob. He had figured Hajun was more of a villain type—the kind of villain who has a 90% chance of getting reformed and joining the good guys, always ranking high in popularity polls.
Who could have guessed he was actually a real-life psychic?
After curling up in the tiny broom closet for what felt like forever, everything outside finally went quiet. Ju Dan stayed still, knowing his chances of survival were higher if he waited for the expert to open the door rather than opening it himself.
Sure enough, the door soon creaked open.
“You can come out now.”
“…”
Ju Dan looked slightly down, careful not to stare too long into Hajun’s strange glowing eyes. There was blood on Hajun’s face and clothes.
“…Blood.”
“Ah, this isn’t blood.”
Seeing where Ju Dan was looking, Hajun wiped his face casually. It wasn’t real blood, just a trace left behind. Since he had destroyed the ghosts and curses, it would disappear on its own over time. Normal people wouldn’t even be able to see it.
But in the Midworld, even normal people get their eyes temporarily opened, so it made sense for the VTIC member to be freaked out.
“I see… Right.”
“Let’s head back.”
Plus, there was a fifty-fifty chance that anyone who experienced the Midworld would forget all about it anyway. And even if they didn’t, so what? It’s not like they could go around telling people. They’d just get treated like they were crazy.
Seeing no reason to explain, Hajun walked over and grabbed one of the fallen ghosts by its hair. This ghost was the ringleader behind the whole mess.
Ju Dan gasped.
“Don’t come close, don’t touch anything, and stay three steps behind me. Don’t look back, either.”
“…Okay.”
Hajun raised an eyebrow, surprised by how well Ju Dan listened. It was convenient, but Ju Dan was unusually calm for someone going through this. Was this not his first time?
“You seem pretty used to this. Has this happened to you before?”
“…No, it’s my first time. But…”
“But?”
“…I just know a lot of information about similar cases.”
“Hmm.”
Probably the type who loved internet ghost stories. There were always people with weak spiritual energy who liked to rush toward their own graves like that.
Accepting the explanation, Hajun headed back toward the bathroom. He had beaten up the swarming ghosts and caught the culprit, so the remaining spirits were keeping their distance. Let’s get out of here while the path is clear.
Bang!
“Ho…”
“Open up, you bastard.”
Groaaan…
Hajun grabbed the ghost’s hair and slammed it against the mirror as if he wanted to shatter it. The reflection began to warp. Hajun relaxed his grip as a familiar sensation crawled over his body, exactly like when he had crossed over.
When he opened his eyes, he was back in the bathroom at the end of the broadcasting station hallway. Checking that there was only one moon in the sky outside, and one moon in the mirror’s reflection, Hajun turned back to Ju Dan.
“Pen.”
“Huh?”
“Do you have a pen, senior?”
“Ah. Hold on…”
Ju Dan fumbled around his pockets and pulled out a pen. Hajun took it, walked to the corner of the bathroom, and began scratching strange characters onto the tiles.
Ju Dan watched with interest.
“Are you… casting a barrier?”
“A barrier? Yeah, something like that.”
It was actually a temporary talisman. Seeing the reaction of a veteran senior who probably frequented this station, this place wasn’t originally a haunted spot. It was highly likely that the spirit gate opened simply because Hajun’s own massive spiritual power had influenced the surroundings. In a way, he was just doing his civic duty.
“Done. Thanks for the pen.”
“No problem. Glad I could help.”
Hajun narrowed his eyes at Ju Dan, who wasn’t moving. What’s up with him? Why does he look so disappointed?
This VTIC senior was back in the real world, so he should just go enjoy his normal life. Instead, he kept lingering with a look that said he had a million questions. It was getting annoying.
“If you have something to say, spit it out.”
“…Your number.”
“What?”
“Can I get your phone number?”
A smartphone was politely held out right in front of him. Hajun stared suspiciously at the senior suddenly asking for his number. Then, a thought struck him.
He quickly took the phone and tapped in his number. Getting close to a VTIC member meant getting one step closer to smashing Cheongryeo’s head!
“Thank you. And… you said that wasn’t real blood, but is it really okay to leave it like that?”
“It’s nothing… Wait, you can still see it?”
“Huh? Yes, is something wrong…?”
Usually, once people leave the Midworld, their spiritual eyes close right up!
Hajun sighed inside at the heavy dark energy clinging to Ju Dan, then gestured for him to come closer. The guy was practically dripping with dark energy, yet his spiritual power was weak. Leaving him like this was just asking for him to become a snack for the spirits in the other world.
Since he had already saved him, he might as well provide some final customer service.
{Close.}
“……?”
“Alright, it’s done. Stop reading ghost stories, and I’m off.”
“W-What did you just…”
A strange voice had echoed directly in Ju Dan’s brain rather than his ears. He gasped in surprise when he saw that all the stains on Hajun had instantly vanished, leaving him completely clean. Ju Dan stared at the mirror with a look of deep regret as he realized what Hajun had done.
Hajun clicked his tongue at how little Ju Dan valued his own life. He checked the time and was relieved to see only ten minutes had passed.
As Hajun walked out, leaving Ju Dan in the bathroom, he heard a shout from behind.
“I’ll keep your secret, so don’t worry about—!”
Secret? Hajun held back a laugh. What secret? The only one in danger if anyone found out was Ju Dan himself.
But wait, what was that guy’s name again? Ju something… Ju, Ju… Ju-dang? Like a heavy drinker? That sounded about right.
Wondering if Ju Dan would be hurt if he knew his name was being remembered as “heavy drinker,” Hajun hurried back to the waiting room.
Park Moondae, who was busy taking photos of their lunchboxes, froze when he saw Hajun walk in looking like he had just been in a fight. The stylist rushed over to tidy him up.
“Didn’t you say you were just going to the bathroom?”
“I did.”
“…You didn’t get into a fight with someone, did you?”
“Hmm.”
“Hajun??”
Ryu Cheongwoo’s question was drowned out by a staff member calling them to move for the upcoming recording. Hajun grinned and stepped onto the stage. It wasn’t exactly a secret, but there was no point in letting them know either.
[Ju-dang: Can I ask you something if you don’t mind?]
[Me: What is it?]
[Me: …sir?]
[Ju-dang: Can you always able go in and out of that other world?]
Seriously, he thought something might have gone wrong after the Midworld trip (like his closed eyes opening again), but it was just a useless question like this!
Hajun shut off his phone. A clean, natural read-ignore.
The pre-recording was done, and TeSTAR was currently waiting to perform on the live broadcast of Music Bomb. Next to him, Ryu Cheongwoo spotted the name on Hajun’s screen and looked puzzled.
“Ju-dang”? Did he save a friend who drinks a lot under that name?
Keun Sejin slid over and asked, “Who are you texting? No way, right?”
“Huh?”
“Like, a girlfriend?”
“Nope. You guys know him too.”
“Oh? Who?”
We know him? Park Moondae perked up his ears as he listened. He immediately doubted his own hearing.
“One of the VTIC seniors. Ju-dang? Unique name.”
“…!”
“……Don’t tell me you mean Ju Dan senior?”
“Was it Ju Dan?”
Hajun pulled out his phone and changed the name from “Ju-dang” to “Ju Dan.”
Keun Sejin, stumbling slightly in shock, quickly urged him to add “sunbaenim” (senior) to the name.
“Do I have to? What a pain.”
“Hyung-nim, please! Oh my god, if you don’t want to get into a controversy, you have to be careful with these things!”
“Fine, fine.”
Hearing Keun Sejin practically weep, Hajun changed the name. Park Moondae let out a sigh of relief.
Ryu Cheongwoo asked gently, “You didn’t say anything rude or make a mistake, right…?”
“I helped him.”
“Helped him?”
“Yeah, in the bathroom yesterday… He said he ran out of toilet paper, so I helped. He would’ve been in a tight spot without me.”
Well, if you swapped toilet paper with spiritual power, it wasn’t technically a lie. He was definitely in a tight spot. If he had stayed trapped in the Midworld, he would’ve gone missing. So yeah, he totally helped him.
“Uh… good job then.”
“Right? I’m way too nice.”
“……”
Having casually trashed the image of a massive industry senior, Hajun leaned back in his chair with a satisfied grin.
Meanwhile, Ju Dan, completely obvious that his clean image had been turned into a toilet paper emergency, was gripping his unresponsive phone while moving quickly with his members for the Music Bomb live broadcast.
The exorcist junior was definitely not the type to reply easily, just as expected. There were a few ways to get close to someone like that, but for now, he had to take it slow…
“Ju Dan. What’s on your mind?”
“Ah, nothing.”
If he messed up on stage because he was distracted, the leader, who was more scary than any ghost, would never forgive him. Ju Dan quickly backed down, but Cheongryeo didn’t let it slide.
“Who is it?”
“Pardon?”
“Weren’t you texting someone?”
“Ah, it’s TeSTAR’s Won Hajun.”
“Huh? What’s this? Did U-Dan make a friend? When?”
Chae Yul chimed in, and the topic quickly shifted to Jeong Woodan’s notoriously tiny social circle. But Cheongryeo slowly stroked his chin, thinking about the rookie group.
Won Hajun. He seemed like a handful. A loose cannon who didn’t care what others thought. The worst kind of teammate.
He didn’t know how they exchanged numbers, but he planned to warn Ju Dan not to get too close. Though it didn’t look like they’d get that close anyway.
But the TeSTAR member Cheongryeo was actually keeping his eye on wasn’t Won Hajun. He was interested in someone else.
Park Moondae. The survival show’s first-place winner… and the guy he suspected was another transmigator from the future.
New Terms
- 주단 / 정우단 = Ju Dan / Jeong Woodan (VTIC member)
- 채율 = Chae Yul (VTIC member)
- 뮤직밤 = Music Bomb (Music show)
- 우단 = U-Dan (Nickname for Ju Dan)
