The Youngest Master wants to be exorcised! chapter 9

“It escaped again.”

Hyunsoo muttered in a voice only Yoon could hear. Yoon nodded, looking around. Amidst the chaos caused by the shattered window, only three or four people were standing calmly.

The thing floating in the sky was something Hyunsoo and Yoon knew well.

A grade 2 flying type Barchem.

First reported in the Netherlands and named after the village where it was first discovered, it was a relatively low-aggression monster that was being researched in the center’s breeding facility. However, it occasionally escaped its enclosure, triggering alarms in the center.

“It’s coming this way.”

Hyunsoo looked at the rapidly approaching Barchem with a bored expression.

“Should I go?”

Yun bent down and whispered in Hyunsoo’s ear. Hyunsoo gave a small nod.

The new espers here were not capable of handling a monster of this level. The espers’ grades listed on the team assignment chart he had glanced at ranged from B to C.

Considering the overall skill and grade, the espers gathered here could handle at best a grade 3 ground type.

Even though Barchem was relatively tame, it was a flying type and thus tricky to deal with.

As soon as Hyunsoo gave his permission, Yoon disappeared without a trace. Those nearby blinked in surprise as the person who had been in front of them vanished in an instant.

‘That guy’s having fun.’

Yoon, who had been beside Hyunsoo just a moment ago, was now standing leisurely on Barchem’s back, approaching the basic training center.

Hyunsoo frowned and glared. It was a sign to get rid of it quickly.

Yoon waved his hand and disappeared into the air with Barchem.

With the seasoned S-class esper handling it, there was no more problem. Hyunsoo blended into the crowd that hadn’t yet realized the situation was under control.

‘Lee Jaehee’ had only just entered the basic training center. He was a trainee who hadn’t even shed his probationary label, so he should be in the shelter.

“Aren’t you scared? Shouldn’t we go to the shelter?”

At Hyunsoo’s remark, the panicked crowd slowly moved towards the shelter.

While they were gathered in the underground shelter, calming their startled hearts, a voice announcement came on instead of the earlier siren.

“This is the central control room. The level 2 danger alert issued for all areas within the central center has been lifted.”

Hyunsoo, who had been munching on snacks provided in the shelter, threw away the trash and stood up.

Yoon had safely put Barchem back in its enclosure. Though he was puzzled by the delayed announcement, he didn’t think much of it.

“I don’t know what happened, but it’s safe now, right?”

Hyunsoo’s roommate, Sejoon, murmured. Hyunsoo nodded.

‘It’s a good thing Yoon was here. If it were Chan or Jiwon, they might have brought back Barchem’s corpse.’

The complaints of the researchers from the laboratory about the difficulty of capturing a flying type monster rang clearly in his ears.

He understood their position, but letting the monster escape repeatedly was also a kind of skill.

After the danger alert was lifted, the trainees were instructed to move to their dormitories instead of the devastated lecture hall.

It seemed they intended to repair the shattered windows. Moreover, since most of the trainees were startled by the unexpected alarm, continuing the training seemed impractical.

Just thinking about the additional training was already exhausting. As Hyunsoo was walking down the corridor with Sejoon, a hand suddenly grabbed his wrist.

“…Can we talk for a moment?”

Hyunsoo turned to see Yoon with a slightly flushed face. The waves he felt through Yoon’s skin were unusual.

‘What’s wrong with this guy?’

The person who had just been standing on Barchem’s back waving his hand was now showing signs of distress. Hyunsoo looked up at him in confusion. Yoon’s eyes were already unfocused.

Sejoon, who was quick to catch on, excused himself, saying he would go back to the dorm first. Yoon, slightly out of breath, let go of Hyunsoo’s wrist.

Hyunsoo, looking around, asked him,

“What’s going on with you?”

“Hyung…”

His voice was heavily strained. Grabbing Yoon’s wrist, Hyunsoo noticed the sign for the break room.

“Come here first.”

Yoon, with his wrist held, was listlessly dragged along. The break room was empty. After confirming there were no windows, Hyunsoo locked the door.

“Sit.”

As Hyunsoo seated the blankly standing Yoon in a chair, he gently caressed Yoon’s flushed cheeks. The warmth radiated through his fingertips.

“I sensed you weren’t in good shape earlier. Seeing you fooling around on Barchem, I thought you were fine.”

Hyunsoo began to absorb the tangled energy. Yoon, rubbing his cheek against Hyunsoo’s hand, slowly closed his eyes.

“Hyung…”

“Don’t speak. Focus.”

Yoon tightly shut his lips, exhaling softly. Considering Lee Jaehee’s condition, Hyunsoo earnestly began guiding him.

“Ah…”

As Hyunsoo absorbed the energy in one go, Yoon gasped, his eyelashes quivering. The unquenchable thirst that even the new guides of D Team couldn’t satisfy began to ease.

Yoon reached out and embraced Hyunsoo’s waist, who was standing in front of him. Trapped between Yoon’s legs, Hyunsoo hugged Yoon’s head in his arms.

“A grown man acting like a child.”

“Hyunsoo hyung, can’t you just stay with us instead of looking into exorcism or anything?”

Hyunsoo didn’t reply. This was why he tried to avoid meeting these guys as much as possible.

Seeing their faces made his resolve waver.

He feared he might want to reclaim Lee Jaehee’s body and live as D Team’s guide as before, so he deliberately kept his distance from them.

“Is it because we troubled you too much? Is that why you abandoned us? We’ll do better from now on, please don’t go…”

Yoon, rubbing his face against Hyunsoo’s chest, whimpered.

“It’s not like that. Abandoning you? Maybe it was just time for me to die. You know I’m not the type to give up over something like that.”

Hyunsoo patted Yoon’s trembling back gently.

“Then why do you keep looking for shamans?”

‘Was he thinking this all along without saying anything?’

Choosing his words carefully, Hyunsoo closed his eyes.

“I feel sorry for Lee Jaehee’s family. For them, it’s like a bolt from the blue. And what about the real Lee Jaehee?”

“What about us, hyung? Don’t you think about us?”

“…Of course I do.”

“Then why do you keep thinking of leaving?”

Hyunsoo kept silent. Thinking back, maybe living as Lee Jaehee who had lost his memory from the beginning could have made everyone happy.

Lee Jaehee’s family would be relieved that their son was alive even if he had lost his memory, and D Team, realizing that Hyunsoo was back, would be overjoyed.

But Hyunsoo wanted to rest now.

“Yoon-ah. When I first realized I was dead, I was a bit flustered. Thoughts of you guys popped up first, wondering how you would manage without me.”

Even as he patted Yoon’s back, Hyunsoo continued guiding. Yoon’s tangled energy was gradually calming down.

“Seeing you guys crying your hearts out at the funeral, I thought, ‘At least I didn’t live a meaningless life.’”

Without a word, Yoon hugged Hyunsoo’s waist tightly. Hyunsoo felt the trembling of Yoon’s hands embracing him as he murmured,

“…And you guys told me to rest in peace at the columbarium, remember?”

Hyunsoo closed his eyes.

“Do you know what I first thought when you said that to me?”

Yoon replied in a heavily strained voice,

“Don’t say it. I don’t want to hear it.”

Ignoring him, Hyunsoo continued,

“…I can finally rest.”

“Hyung.”

“That’s just how I felt back then.”

Hyunsoo pulled Yoon’s tear-streaked, burning red face away from his embrace and slowly lowered his head to press his lips to the tear tracks on his cheeks.

“Stop crying, you crybaby.”

At this tender scolding, Yoon reached out to hold Hyunsoo’s cheeks and brought their lips together.

As Yoon’s tongue brushed over Hyunsoo’s lips, asking for permission, Hyunsoo hesitated for a moment but then pulled back as a thought struck him.

Pushing Yoon’s approaching face away, he shouted,

“Wait. This might be Lee Jaehee’s first kiss!”

“Is this really the time for that?”

Yoon stood up abruptly, cupping Hyunsoo’s cheeks with both hands.

Stroking his cheeks as if handling something precious, Yoon looked down at the flustered Hyunsoo and murmured,

“I’m going to kiss you now. Don’t run away. You know what my ability is, right?”

“Yoon-ah, wait… Uh!”

Their lips met instantly. Feeling the surging energy, Hyunsoo closed his eyes tightly, thinking,

‘This guy. Is he out of his mind?’