* * *
Lying on the bed, Hyunsoo closed his eyes as he looked up at Jiwon. The action implied permission, and Jiwon kissed him again.
After a while, Hyunsoo opened his eyes slightly during the guiding and met Jiwon’s gaze, who looked as if he was about to devour him.
The area around the teardrop mark on Jiwon’s right eye was reddish. It meant it was far from calming down.
As Hyunsoo kissed him to draw in more waves, Jiwon chuckled. He thought he wasn’t very good at leading.
But it didn’t really matter. He didn’t have to lead when his partner did it for him.
He was someone who, even when he grumbled and couldn’t express his feelings properly, understood his heart like a ghost, and wasn’t just someone to protect but someone he could trust and rely on.
“Jaehee.”
He had to call him by a different name now, but the title didn’t matter anymore.
The appearance, age, and everything else may have changed, but the essence remained the person Jiwon loved.
“I like you.”
Jiwon whispered, kissing his soft lips several times.
“Why won’t you answer…? I’m saying I like you.”
“You always said just listening was enough.”
His voice was curt, but his expression was completely relaxed. He was particularly weak to expressions of affection.
Despite constant displays of affection over six years, he never got used to it.
Each time Jiwon whispered his affection, his face would redden, he’d scold Jiwon for no reason, and pretend he hadn’t heard it.
“Now, I want to hear your answer.”
As Jiwon persistently demanded a response, Hyunsoo sighed softly and mumbled in a low voice.
“…like you.”
“Hmm?”
“Damn it, I said I like you too…”
Saying this with a face as red as if it would explode was against the rules. Jiwon hugged him, still warm and alive.
He hoped Hyunsoo would stay by his side and never think about that wretched exorcism again.
* * *
“Alright, I understand.”
-Yes. I’ll contact you again if there’s any news.
The person he had just talked to on the phone was Lee Jaeyoon. The call was just an exchange of each other’s recent updates.
Jaemin, Jaehee’s older brother, had left the country again. Still believing Jaehee had amnesia, Jaemin admired his youngest sibling, who graduated at the top of the basic training center and was assigned to D Team, which only the top elites were a part of.
He wanted to have a meal with his younger brother before leaving, but it didn’t happen due to the busy D Team schedule. Although unintended, Jaemin left quite heartbroken.
“Who was on the phone?”
“Mr. Lee Jaeyoon.”
“Why did he call out of the blue?”
Yoon’s voice was hard as he asked.
Initially, Yoon called Park Hyunsoo ‘Jaehee’ to avoid any mistakes in addressing him.
But now, honestly, he wished Hyunsoo would accept Jaehee’s body as his own and live with them.
It didn’t matter if his name was Park Hyunsoo or Lee Jaehee.
If he ever left Jaehee’s body and moved into someone else’s, Yoon would be willing to call him by that new name.
“It’s not about exorcism or anything like that, right?”
As the recently calmed anxiety surged, Yoon pressed Hyunsoo. At the turbulent waves, Hyunsoo sighed.
‘Exorcism, really. Even Jaehee’s real family seems to have given up…’
For a while, they secretly brought in shamans and performed all sorts of rituals. Among them were fake shamans and genuinely mystical ones.
They conducted rituals to summon the deceased, but the real Jaehee, seemingly having no regrets, didn’t appear through any shaman.
Half-resigned, the family found solace in the fact that Jaehee’s body was alive and moving. It had been a long time since Jaeyoon’s calls contained any talk of rituals.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“No, I was just caught off guard because you suddenly brought up exorcism.”
Hyunsoo reached out and held Yoon’s hand. The intense vibrations indicated Yoon was quite angry.
“Why are you so mad?”
“Because you keep… making me anxious.”
“Me?”
‘Ever since I returned to D Team, I haven’t even mentioned exorcism or rituals. Has he been anxious all this time?’
Even the desire to be exorcised had faded. Honestly, after being squeezed dry for ten years, he wanted to rest, but once he started working again, he found it somewhat enjoyable.
“Why are you anxious?”
Hyunsoo asked gently, needing to know the reason to resolve it. Yoon kept his mouth shut.
“Hmm? Aren’t you going to tell me?”
“…Lately, you’ve been making me night snacks, talking to Jaeyoon regularly, and guiding more often. It feels like you’re trying to do everything for us before you leave!”
Yoon blurted out. Hyunsoo, who had been listening quietly, laughed as if it were ridiculous.
The reasons seemed sufficient from Yoon’s anxious perspective, but they were all explainable.
Hyunsoo decided to clear up Yoon’s doubts before he got even more anxious.
“The night snacks were because you said you missed my ramen, the calls with Mr. Lee were purely for exchanging information and updates, and as for the guiding…”
Hyunsoo chose his words carefully. Yoon licked his dry lips and urged for an answer.
“What about the guiding? Why are you suddenly doing it so often and so well?”
“That’s because…”
“Why can’t you say it?”
“Damn it! I felt bad for using you without considering your feelings before, so I wanted to treat you well from now on. Why!”
“Using…?”
“When I met with your family in the conference room! Thinking back, you had just held my funeral, and there I was, asking you to acknowledge me for my sake, saying I’d leave soon… You always make me confess that I’m trash to feel better, don’t you?”
Feeling shameless, Jaehee’s face turned red.
‘The high and mighty dictator admitting his fault, huh.’
Yoon smirked and raised the corners of his mouth.
“So, our youngest is saying he’s treating his brothers well now because he feels bad for being trashy before?”
‘…Ha. This damned possession. Why did it have to be a 22-year-old body?’
Hyunsoo sighed inwardly as Yoon approached.
“Yes. Why. What makes you so anxious? Do you get anxious even when I’m good to you? Maybe I should go on strike.”
“No… I just felt like I was dreaming because you’ve been so nice lately. That’s why I asked, just in case.”
Yoon, no longer sharp, leaned into Hyunsoo’s arms. The intense vibrations had disappeared like a ghost.
“Don’t even think about asking for night snacks again.”
“Sorry. I’m sorry. Calm down, okay? Jaehee.”
Living as Jaehee had become so familiar. Honestly, even if they found the real Jaehee’s soul, he wouldn’t want to give up the body.
‘How could I leave these guys?’
For three days, they stayed awake, guarding the funeral home. Even when they were injured and needed surgery, they didn’t cry, but at the funeral, they couldn’t wipe their tears.
When Jaehee returned to D Team, they had kept his room exactly as he had left it. Seeing this, he finally understood how much the three cared for him.
“You guys made me stay, so take responsibility.”
“Of course. Why do you think I earn money? It’s all to feed our youngest.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, but I earn just as much. Please refrain from making comments that might disrespect an S-class guide.”
“Of course, I know. But Jaehee.”
“What.”
“You’ve been speaking informally for a while now. How many stickers should we put on the penalty board?”
Hyunsoo frowned.
The penalty board, created when he was Park Hyunsoo, was a reward and punishment system like those used in kindergartens or elementary schools.
Ever since D Team was formed, the penalty board had occupied a corner of the living room for six years.
The theme changed periodically, and the current theme was “titles.”
The person who made a mistake with the titles would have stickers added to the punishment board according to the number of mistakes.
At first, three people had the most punishment stickers, but now, only Lee Jaehee has stickers on the board.
“Why is there no response? Let me think… I remember at least three times when you called us ‘you guys’ or ‘you all.’ Oh dear! Our Jaehee’s punishment stickers are going to fill up! What should I wish for? I’m so conflicted!”
“…Do you have any proof?”
“What?”
“I asked if you have proof that I made those mistakes three times.”
“Wow, look at our youngest being shameless. Are you trying to play innocent just because no one else is here right now?”
“What do you mean by ‘playing innocent’?”
Just then, Minchan and Jiwon came in from the center.
“Hey, listen to this. Jaehee called me ‘you’ earlier and even referred to all of us as ‘you guys.’ So when I said he should get a punishment sticker, he asked if I had proof.”
“Wow, did that really happen?”
With an opportunity to tease, Jiwon and Minchan joined in with broad smiles.
‘With these guys constantly on my mind, I can’t even think about exorcisms or anything else.’
Hyunsoo clenched his fists and trembled.
“Fine, it’s all my fault…”
“How many stickers should we put up?”
Yoon asked with a laugh, and Hyunsoo shouted.
“I don’t care! Just put them up already!”
Even just one more sticker would fill up the punishment board. Hyunsoo stormed into his room in frustration.
He wasn’t even angry; he was just scared of what those guys might make him do with their wish tickets.
* * *
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Ooh~ i bet it’s “that” kind of punishment~
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the wish tickets wont be used for anything good bruhh