episode_0018

As I emerged from the tunnel, I realized I was screwed.

The way people were looking at me and the atmosphere in the lecture hall felt off.

‘Shit. Did I come out too fast?’

Logically, getting out of a tunnel like that shouldn’t be easy.

Even for the most talented, it’d probably take at least ten minutes, right?

But I just killed the curse instantly and sprinted out.

The trainees might not know, but Misina, who designed the tunnel, would realize how absurd this was.

‘No, I had no choice.’

I genuinely felt my life was in danger.

The curse was about to come at me again, and I’d already used Instant Death.

For me, the only option was to get out of the tunnel as fast as possible.

‘I might be able to brush off the speed somehow, but…’

The real problem was Instant Death.

Misina might suspect me because of how fast I was and dig into my secrets.

If the existence of Instant Death gets exposed, my life will be in danger from that day on.

“Hmm! Hmm! This is truly astonishing.”

As I stood there frozen in panic,

Misina slowly approached me.

“I never expected you to pass through my tunnel this quickly. Truly, the top scorer’s spiritual power is something else.”

She spoke with a bewitching smile.

Watching her, I realized the mood wasn’t quite what I’d expected.

‘Huh? Does she not suspect any special methods?’

An ordinary trainee would’ve been suspected of cheating.

But I’m the top scorer of this year’s Cheonjihae entrance exam.

Seems like she just assumes I have absurd talent.

‘…Nice! Then I’ll ride this wave!’

After doing this a few times, I’m starting to get the hang of it.

Once I grasped the situation, I deepened my voice and spoke.

“Yes. It wasn’t too difficult. I just walked a little faster and came out.”

“Not too difficult, huh… Well, I suppose that’s how you set such a record.”

Misina nodded.

Judging by her reaction, it seems she’s just going with ‘the top scorer is amazing~’.

‘Got it. At least Instant Death won’t be exposed for now.’

Just as I was feeling relieved, Misina said something I never expected.

“Would you consider joining the Curse Team? I’d love to have you by my side and teach you. Or you could start as an assistant instructor.”

The other trainees’ jaws dropped.

A team leader-level figure was offering to take me under her wing on the very first day.

A Cheonjihae instructor isn’t just any team leader.

It’s practically like a branch representative saying, “Come work under me.”

And this wasn’t even the first time.

“Wow, didn’t the top scorer get a similar offer during combat training?”

“That happened?”

“On the first day, instructors were fighting to recruit him? This guy’s insane.”

Hearing the trainees’ chatter, Misina frowned.

“During combat training? Don’t tell me Han Sujin also tried to scout you?”

“Ah… yes. She asked if I wanted to learn combat.”

“Hmph! At least that muscle-brain has some eye for talent.”

She caught herself too late.

Han Sujin and Misina were infamous for their rivalry.

Combat and curses were polar opposite specialties.

And their fundamental personalities clashed horribly.

“She’s not great, right? Rather than reeking of sweat, elegant curses are better.”

“Ahaha…”

Don’t ask a newbie, ‘Isn’t your department head kinda lame?’

That’s how you ruin your company life!

“In my opinion, your talent is too precious to waste on something like combat. Just come under me.”

“Since it’s early in my employment, I’d like to think about it. I haven’t decided what to learn yet.”

I have no intention of joining any team right now.

‘Otherwise, they’ll find out I’m a fraud immediately.’

At least until I become a full-time employee—no, even an intern—I need to keep up the genius act.

“Oho~ You know how to raise your own value. I don’t mind that calculating side of you.”

…What is she even saying?

I’m just a talentless fraud, that’s all.

“Very well. I’ll slowly show you the charm of curses. Look forward to it.”

Misina gave me a chilling smile.

I couldn’t help but feel like I’d stepped on a landmine.

“He gets special treatment wherever he goes.”

“Well, he has the talent for it.”

“I’m jealous. If I got that kind of treatment, I’d have no regrets…”

Along with that, my peers’ jealousy grew even more.

As expected, standing out only brings trouble.

‘Sigh. How did my life end up like this? I just wanted to coast along in a big company and enjoy the perks.’

Grumbling, I returned to my seat.

Whether people were watching me or not, class was still in session.

Misina continued the tunnel test.

“From now on, enter from the right side in order. Ah, if it gets too difficult, just shout ‘I give up’.”

‘You could… give up?’

Then why didn’t you tell me that?

Misina’s favorability dropped slightly in my mind.

Finally, after class ended, lunchtime arrived.

Yoo Eunhye and I headed to the company cafeteria together.

Even as trainees, we were still employees, so we could use the cafeteria.

‘I heard Cheonjihae’s food is amazing.’

The company cafeteria served high-quality meals.

And every menu item was free!

A glimpse of the prestige and capital of Korea’s top exorcism company.

“Wow… eating at the company cafeteria feels so surreal. I’m excited.”

Yoo Eunhye looked thrilled at the idea of eating at the cafeteria.

“But are you sure it’s okay? Eating with someone like me…”

“Hey, hey. What kind of talk is that? If you weren’t here, I’d be eating alone too.”

“Hehe… I see.”

I brought her along because she seemed to have no one else to eat with.

I’d been marked in various ways, so I couldn’t get close to my peers.

Yoo Eunhye seemed to be affected by sticking with me.

‘Or maybe not? Maybe Eunhye always ate alone anyway.’

She gives off the vibe of someone who secretly eats kimbap in the bathroom.

Just in case, I’ll keep bringing her along.

“Alright. Today, Cheonjihae’s ramen is gonna kill me.”

“You like ramen?”

“Ramen never lets me down.”

We chatted about the menu as we arrived at the cafeteria.

But at the entrance, a woman with a sword stood silently.

“Who’s that? I’ve never seen her before.”

“Was there someone that pretty here?”

“She’s a trainee. But why is she standing there alone?”

Her beauty naturally drew the gazes of passing employees.

But her aura was so intimidating that no one dared to approach her.

‘What’s she doing there?’

It was Cheok Jiyeon.

She stood there with a serious expression until she spotted me and waved.

“Nam Dohyun. You’re finally here.”

…She was waiting for me.

Wait, why?

“Did we have plans to meet?”

“What are you talking about? You said you’d treat me to a meal as thanks.”

“Ah.”

Now that I think about it, during the entrance ceremony, she thanked me, and I offhandedly said I’d buy her a meal later.

‘I didn’t think she’d take that seriously.’

I said it in the same tone as ‘If humanity colonizes space, will ghosts float around in space too~’.

Don’t you know Korean sarcasm?

Well, Cheok Jiyeon, who avoids human relationships, might not.

“I came early to wait, but you took so long I thought you forgot.”

“You should’ve told me in advance.”

“I already promised to repay you. Why would I need to say more?”

This side of her felt very ‘Cheok Jiyeon’.

Once she sets her mind to something, she goes all the way.

“But the company cafeteria is free for employees.”

“Ah.”

Embarrassment spread across Cheok Jiyeon’s face.

She clearly had no idea it was free.

‘Now that I see it, she’s kinda clueless in a cute way.’

In the original, she was this cold swordmaster.

But in person, she feels more human.

“Forget it. You can buy me bingsu another time.”

“Ugh… Alright. Sorry.”

“Since you waited so long, wanna eat together? Ah, Eunhye, is that okay with you?”

When I asked, Yoo Eunhye, who’d been spacing out, quickly nodded.

“Ah, yes! I mean, yeah! It’s fine!”

“And you are…?”

“Ah, I’m Yoo Eunhye! We joined at the same time.”

“Cheok Jiyeon.”

After introducing herself, she hesitated briefly before adding,

“…Nice to meet you.”

“Ah, likewise!”

After the introductions, an awkward silence fell.

Both of them had hopeless communication skills.

Well, first meetings are always like this.

“Shall we go? It’s lunchtime, so it’s crowded.”

We placed our orders and sat down.

It was like a rest stop—they called out numbers when the food was ready.

By the way, all three of us ordered ramen.

I went first, then Cheok Jiyeon followed, and Yoo Eunhye, after hesitating, also ordered ramen.

‘…What an unusual trio.’

Both of them were side characters slightly detached from the main story in the original.

As for me, I wasn’t even a character.

We were practically an extra squad.

“Ah, our number’s up. I’ll go get it.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“No need. I can handle it alone.”

Cheok Jiyeon stood up and left first.

Seems she’s still hung up on ‘repaying the favor’.

“…Dohyun, you’re really amazing.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well, you know Cheok Jiyeon. She’s super famous.”

Eunhye must’ve heard of her too.

‘Well, it’d be weird if she didn’t.’

The tragedy of the Cheok family was famous even among civilians, let alone exorcists.

Even with no connections, she’d have heard of it.

“Is Jiyeon making you uncomfortable? Since you got involved in all that.”

“N-no way!”

Eunhye frantically waved her hands.

“If anything, I feel sorry for her… and sad. My parents were also killed by a ghost story.”

“Actually, same here.”

“Really?”

“No lie… I mean, it’s true.”

Even in my past life, Nam Dohyun had no parents.

He lived alone with his younger sister.

‘Somehow, we’re all orphans. Now that I think about it, the protagonist was raised in an orphanage too.’

In the game’s setting, many exorcists lost their families.

Natural talent is one thing, but the closer you are to death, the higher the chance your spiritual abilities awaken.

“I was sad too, but I could accept it. Ghost stories are like natural disasters.”

Yoo Eunhye spoke carefully.

“But if family kills family… that must be too painful.”

Maybe because she also lost her family and was left alone.

Eunhye seems to empathize with Cheok Jiyeon.

“…If it’s okay, let’s get along. We’re peers, so we should help each other out.”

“Yeah!”

Yoo Eunhye nodded firmly, as if resolved.

“Um… b-but would Cheok Jiyeon even want to be friends with someone like me? Is that okay?”

She reverted to scaredy-hamster mode in less than a second.

“She’ll probably be fine with it. She’s surprisingly soft on people she considers hers.”

“She didn’t seem like a bad person, but…”

As we chatted, Cheok Jiyeon returned.

“Got the food.”

“Thanks for… wait, what’s with all that rice?”

“Huh? It’s food.”

“Who eats three bowls of rice with one ramen?!”

Cheok Jiyeon must’ve found the ramen insufficient, so she brought rice too.

The problem? There were three whole bowls.

And in her mind, she was being considerate by getting enough for us too.

We were now faced with a total of nine bowls of rice.

“Are you from the Carb Addicts Association? The broth’s completely buried.”

“Don’t most people eat this much? You need energy.”

“Normal people usually eat one bowl of rice with ramen.”

“Really? How do you survive on that?”

“Ahaha! Jiyeon, you’re hilarious!”

At Eunhye’s outburst, we both turned to look at her.

She flinched and covered her mouth.

“Ah, s-sorry! You two seemed so comfortable, I just…!”

“…It’s fine. You can call me casually.”

After that, we diligently devoured the ramen and rice.

By the way, Cheok Jiyeon finished all the leftovers.