With a heavy thud, Mu-ryeong collapsed into his seat. It was right around the time Seung-joo was discussing the broken rooftop fence with a student in the front row."This has gotta be Kim Mu-ryeong’s doing."That was Seung-joo’s immediate thought, clicking his tongue in mild exasperation as he turned toward Mu-ryeong."You’re here?""Uh… yeah."The reply was sluggish, oddly absentminded. Seung-joo frowned, noticing the faint flush on Mu-ryeong’s cheeks. His eyes were slightly dazed—not the way they looked after a sleepless night, but something else entirely."What’s with you?""…What do you mean?"Even his response was a little dull. Seung-joo narrowed his eyes, trying to get a read on him, but Mu-ryeong only shook his head and fanned the front of his shirt."Isn’t it super hot today?"It felt like the heat was pooling at the nape of his neck. Seung-joo gave him a bewildered look.The classroom’s air conditioning was set to a freezing 18 degrees Celsius, and their seats were right where the cold air hit directly. Seung-joo himself was still wearing his PE jacket over his uniform."Do you have a fever or something?""No, it’s not that…"Mu-ryeong covered his ear with one hand, avoiding Seung-joo’s gaze. If he didn’t, he felt like his embarrassment would be written all over his face. Though, knowing Seung-joo, he probably wouldn’t think too much of it.What do I do?Honestly, Mu-ryeong felt like he was about to lose his mind. And it was all because of Ki Hwan-young.He had walked away from their conversation like it was nothing, but the second he turned his back, a wave of embarrassment crashed over him.I shouldn’t be thinking about it so much.On Friday, the night they sent Hwan-hee off, Hwan-young had spent the night at Mu-ryeong’s house. But as soon as morning came, he left without hesitation.Mu-ryeong hadn’t even had the chance to stop him, let alone process what had happened the night before. He had simply been left standing there, completely dumbfounded.And now, seeing Hwan-young in the daylight after two days—it had thrown him off. He had expected to be fine, but the moment their eyes met, an odd tension took over.He had forced himself to act natural during their conversation, but the second he let his guard down, he knew he’d slip up.Why was he feeling like this? He didn’t know. It had just been a kiss—an impulsive one at that. It wasn’t something that should be lingering on his mind like this.…Though, to be fair, it had felt… a lot.I didn’t give anything away, right?He let out a quiet sigh. He had tried his best to act normal, but at the very end, when their eyes met—he had almost lost his words.Maybe it was just because he ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ was too used to seeing Hwan-young from that angle.Luckily, Mu-ryeong was good at covering his emotions. He had left a little hastily, sure, but Hwan-young probably didn’t notice anything.And this feeling—this strange, lingering sensation—it would fade with time.…I guess I won’t get any more spiritual energy from him now.A sudden wave of disappointment washed over him.Mu-ryeong lowered his gaze and slipped his hand into his pocket. His fingers brushed against something smooth and rectangular—Hwan-young’s name tag.He had picked it up on the day of their entrance ceremony, after Hwan-young had walked away.The moment he had held it back then, it had been overflowing with a crisp, clear spiritual energy. He had even thought it would make a decent protective talisman.And I did take it to use it as a charm.He clenched the small plastic rectangle in his fist. It wasn’t quite the same as receiving spiritual energy directly from Hwan-young, but even so, it gave him an odd sense of relief.For someone who had never particularly wanted anything before, this was the first time Mu-ryeong had felt like he needed to keep something.That was why—despite knowing Hwan-young had spare name tags—he had never returned it.And when the opportunity arose to ask for something in return for helping him, the first thing that had come to mind was the name tag.It was the first time he could receive it legitimately, without any guilt.Sure, it might have been a little selfish, but it was still a fair trade, wasn’t it?"Today’s lunch is bibimbap. Bet they’re gonna overcook the eggs again.""Of course they will. The school never makes soft-boiled eggs."Mu-ryeong answered distractedly. Lunch was important, sure. But there was something far more pressing on his mind.Namely, the fact that he would have to see Ki Hwan-young again in the cafeteria.…I want more of his energy.There must have been some kind of compatibility between their spiritual powers.Otherwise, there was no reason why Hwan-young’s energy felt this good.And there was definitely no reason why, despite the sheer awkwardness of kissing him, a part of Mu-ryeong thought that doing it again wouldn’t be that bad.For the entire morning, he absentmindedly fiddled with Hwan-young’s name tag.Since the rest of the day was just self-study, no one bothered him about it. Not that it made much of a difference—Mu-ryeong was usually asleep at his desk anyway."Hey, let’s go eat."The lunch bell rang, and Seung-joo stood up first. But before following, Mu-ryeong suddenly blurted out:"You know something?""What?"Seung-joo turned back, responding automatically.Mu-ryeong, still looking a little dazed, blinked a few times before murmuring:"He has dimples.""…What?"Seung-joo frowned.Mu-ryeong had a habit of skipping the lead-in and jumping straight to the point, but this was a new level of randomness.There was a brief silence before Mu-ryeong turned to look at Seung-joo and clarified:"Ki Hwan-young. He has dimples. Did you know that?""…Dimples?"Seung-joo wracked his brain for an image of Hwan-young’s face.The problem was—he had never seen him smile.That guy was always stone-faced. How the hell would he know if he had dimples or not?"When the hell would I have seen those? That guy never smiles.""Right here. A dimple forms when he does this."Mu-ryeong raised his left index finger and poked his own cheek—right where his own dimples appeared when he smiled.Seung-joo stared at him blankly."…And?"Then, a familiar voice came from behind them."…What are you guys doing?"This translation is the intellectual property of .It was Hwan-young.Dressed in his PE uniform, he stood behind Seung-joo, his dark eyes narrowing at Mu-ryeong."What are you doing?"It wasn’t like he was acting cute or anything, so what the hell was this… this ridiculous, embarrassing display? Hwan-young’s gaze flickered to the finger that had just been poking Mu-ryeong’s own cheek, his expression hardening even further."Oh."Finally realizing the situation, Mu-ryeong awkwardly lowered his hand. Judging by the sheepish grin tugging at his lips, even he thought it was embarrassing.He shook his head quickly, then bolted upright, taking the lead as he walked out of the classroom."It’s nothing. Let’s go eat."Seung-joo narrowed his eyes as he watched Mu-ryeong hurry off.Hwan-young followed quietly behind him, showing no signs of questioning anything.Trailing behind them, Seung-joo clicked his tongue under his breath.Something definitely happened.Even if he didn’t know the details, it was obvious something had gone down between those two.Hwan-young had come looking for Mu-ryeong the moment the bell rang, and Mu-ryeong had reacted way too suspiciously, trying to act natural but failing miserably.To most, it might have seemed normal. But Seung-joo could tell—it was off.Oh well, they’ll figure it out.That was his final thought before dismissing the situation entirely.After all, this was Kim Mu-ryeong.Whatever mess he got himself into, he would deal with it his own way.Seung-joo scratched the back of his head and decided to stay out of it.***In the end, Mu-ryeong’s morning worries had been pointless.Lunchtime passed without anything particularly awkward happening.They made their way to the cafeteria as usual.He piled his tray high with rice, finished his meal, and even drank his after-meal juice without issue."You’re staying at Mu-ryeong’s place over break?"Mu-ryeong had just finished explaining to Seung-joo how Hwan-young’s case had been resolved—and how, because of that, he’d be staying at his house for the entire summer break to learn about exorcism."Yeah, my mom said it’s fine."It wasn’t exactly a surprise, but it wasn’t not surprising either.Mu-ryeong’s mother had immediately agreed when he brought it up.If what Mu-heun said was true, she probably knew about the Association’s history with Hwan-young, but she hadn’t let it show in the slightest.Instead, she had simply smiled and said, I’ll have to make lots of good food for him."Well… yeah, of course she’d be fine with it."Seung-joo still seemed thrown off by the sudden development.He let out a disbelieving chuckle, and Mu-ryeong, ever the troublemaker, turned to him with an innocent grin."You wanna stay over, too?""Why the hell would I do that when my house is right next door?"The three of them crossed the sky bridge back to the main building.Even as they reached the floor where the second-year classrooms were located, Mu-ryeong kept pestering Seung-joo to stay for at least a few days.The moment he mentioned that his older brother would be visiting as well, Seung-joo scrunched his face in pure horror."Absolutely not. Sounds like a pain."They were just passing Class 3 and heading toward Class 7 when Mu-ryeong spotted someone standing outside a classroom door.Tall.Neatly dressed.A third-year student, evident by the different-colored name tag on his uniform."Oh, Mu-ryeong.""Ye-jun hyung?"Mu-ryeong called out his name and immediately tried to head toward him.Or at least, he would have—if Hwan-young hadn’t suddenly grabbed the back of his collar."…….""……."A sharp sense of déjà vu hit him.This wasn’t the first time he had been dragged back like a baby chick caught by its mother.He slowly turned around, only to find Hwan-young staring back at him, just as startled as he was.As if realizing what he had done, Hwan-young quickly let go of his grip."…Sorry.""It’s not a big deal or anything.""Hey, why do you always grab him there?"Seung-joo clicked his tongue, shaking his head as he roughly straightened Mu-ryeong’s now-wrinkled uniform.His movements were practiced, like he had done this a million times before.Hwan-young kept his mouth shut, looking at Mu-ryeong for a moment before lowering his voice—so that only Mu-ryeong could hear."Stop getting so excited over just anyone.""……."Mu-ryeong blinked, his expression twisting in disbelief.Did he just scold me?For a second, he was more amazed than anything.Not once had he ever thought he’d get nagged at by Ki Hwan-young.He had no idea what there even was to nag about, but… wow.

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