After lunch, Mu-ryeong headed to the backyard with Hwan-young, as he usually did, to receive spiritual energy from him. Though this wasn’t strictly necessary anymore, Mu-ryeong decided to indulge for just one more day."Today’s the last day," Mu-ryeong said as they arrived in the backyard.Without hesitation, he naturally leaned into Hwan-young's embrace. Despite the hot weather, he didn’t mind the contact at all—unlike most people who would hesitate on a day like this, even if they liked physical affection."I wish vacation would start already. It’s so hot," Mu-ryeong complained."...."Hwan-young silently wrapped his arms around Mu-ryeong’s shoulders. Maybe because today was the big day, he seemed unusually quiet. While he wasn’t someone who spoke much to begin with, he appeared almost distant, lost in thought."Are you feeling okay?" Mu-ryeong asked, looking up at him.Hwan-young lowered his gaze reflexively, and when their eyes met, his brows twitched slightly. His dark eyes and pale face seemed to reflect the moment."I’m fine."Mu-ryeong blinked at his soft response. He didn’t look like he was in bad shape."What about your mood?" Mu-ryeong pressed."Well... Why do you ask?""You’re just being so quiet today.""I’m always quiet.""True, but..."It was a day when Hwan-young had to let go of his younger brother. Mu-ryeong couldn’t fully understand what he was feeling, but he at least hoped that Hwan-young wasn’t upset. For Hwan-young's sake, and for his own plans."Do you want to have dinner at my house tonight?""Suddenly?""You skipped dinner yesterday too."When Mu-ryeong stayed at school all night, he would usually go home to prepare a few things, like having dinner or changing clothes."It’s too far to go home now," Hwan-young pointed out.But going to his house took over two hours. Walking there and back would take much longer, so it was better to just wait nearby.Because of this, Mu-ryeong had suggested they go home together yesterday, but Hwan-young had declined, and Mu-ryeong ended up going alone. Given Hwan-young’s personality, he probably wouldn’t have bought anything to eat, so he would likely be going without food again tonight, just like yesterday."You need to be in good condition today," Mu-ryeong insisted.Today, he was determined to take Hwan-young with him, no matter what. After two sleepless nights, skipping meals wouldn’t make any sense."Besides, tomorrow’s the weekend, so we can leave our bags at my house, change into comfortable clothes, and come back.""...""I’ll lend you the sweats I used to wear. How about it?"Mu-ryeong expected Hwan-young to immediately refuse, but surprisingly, Hwan-young hesitated. Rather than pressuring him, Mu-ryeong rested his chin on Hwan-young’s chest. His face was too high for him to look up comfortably, and his neck started to ache from straining to do so.Finally, Hwan-young sighed softly, placing a hand on Mu-ryeong’s neck and gently pulling his face into his chest. His hand, which had slid down Mu-ryeong’s neck, was a little warmer than usual."Alright, alright. Just stop staring at me."The permission was given. Mu-ryeong tightened his arms around Hwan-young and chuckled with joy. He couldn’t quite explain why he was so happy, but he felt lighter than ever.After school ended, the two of them headed straight to Mu-ryeong's house. Thanks to the long daylight, they still had plenty of time before the evening set in. Mu-ryeong’s mother was likely still in the annex, and Seolgi, who had been playing with toys, greeted the two of them warmly."Here, change into this."Mu-ryeong brought out a set of black sportswear that his older brother Mu-heun had used. He handed it to Hwan-young and told him to shower while he went to the kitchen. It was a strange feeling to be the one taking care of things for a change, instead of being the one who needed looking after.Seolgi sat in front of the bathroom door, and as soon as Hwan-young came out, the dog followed him closely, eagerly scratching at his legs."Seolgi, don’t bother him.""It’s fine... Why’s he acting like this?"Hwan-young bent down to pat Seolgi, who licked his palm, then placed a paw on his arm. The fluffy, thick fur made the dog look like a soft ball of cotton."He’s asking to be picked up. He probably missed you."Mu-ryeong chuckled as he scooped rice into a bowl. He found it a bit amusing that Seolgi seemed to prefer the guest, but the sight of Hwan-young’s expression softening wasn’t bad at all."How do you carry him? Just pick him up?""Well... He’s probably heavier than you think."Mu-ryeong said this out of concern, but Hwan-young didn’t seem to mind at all. Given his large frame, the weight of the dog wouldn’t be a problem for him."Just support his butt when you pick him up.""Like this?"Seolgi eagerly jumped into Hwan-young’s arms. The dog, which was much bigger than expected, still seemed to think of himself as small. Fortunately, Hwan-young managed to lift Seolgi with ease."Why are you panting like that?""I’m just happy. Really happy."Mu-ryeong found it amusing to watch both Hwan-young and Seolgi, standing awkwardly while Seolgi stuck his tongue out in excitement. He smiled softly and closed his eyes for a moment.Then, Hwan-young stared at Seolgi and said quietly.This translation is the intellectual property of ."...You’re just like him.""Me?"Mu-ryeong widened his eyes in surprise, but Hwan-young didn’t elaborate. Instead, he squinted and leaned back to avoid Seolgi’s enthusiastic licks. Of course, Seolgi wasn’t deterred and tried to lick Hwan-young’s face, going after his cheeks and lips.During dinner, Seolgi was lying quietly at Hwan-young's feet. It seemed the dog knew very well that Hwan-young was someone who cared for him. Animals had an uncanny ability to sense whether someone would harm them or not, and Seolgi’s instincts were no exception."Don't you want to say hi to my mom?" Mu-ryeong asked."It’s fine. It’s the full moon tonight, so she’ll probably be busy," Hwan-young replied."…I’ve been wanting to ask this for a while," Hwan-young began slowly, setting his chopsticks down. The large serving of rice Mu-ryeong had dished out was almost gone. Fortunately, Hwan-young seemed to enjoy the side dishes, such as the pickled eggplant and stir-fried fish cakes."When the full moon rises, what changes?" Hwan-young asked.It was the day they had promised to send Hwan-hee off. Mu-ryeong's goblins would be flying around excitedly, and his exorcist mother would certainly be busy."…Didn’t I explain this to you already?" Mu-ryeong asked, surprised that he hadn’t already told Hwan-young this basic detail. He had gotten so used to Hwan-young listening so intently that sometimes he forgot to explain things thoroughly."When the full moon rises, the spiritual energy becomes stronger. It’s like how it changes during leap months or leap days," Mu-ryeong explained."So, it gets stronger?" Hwan-young asked."Stronger... I guess you could say that. It makes handling spiritual energy easier. Are you feeling okay today?" Mu-ryeong asked, observing him closely.Hwan-young was silent for a moment, but Mu-ryeong could tell from his silence that he was feeling the effects. Even though his condition improved once a month, Hwan-young likely wouldn’t have figured out the cause on his own."Since spiritual energy gets stronger, the opposite happens to dark energy. Most spirits can’t roam around, and even evil spirits are weaker on nights like this," Mu-ryeong explained."Like werewolves," Hwan-young remarked.Mu-ryeong chuckled at the comparison, finding it amusing. Was it because of the full moon that people transformed like that? The thought of Hwan-young, someone so immersed in the supernatural, finding such mundane details fascinating made Mu-ryeong smile."That’s why exorcists love working on the night of the full moon," Mu-ryeong added.Especially exorcists like his older brother Mu-heun and his mother. The full moon was the best time for sealing and working, as the conditions for exorcisms were ideal."When you do your exorcism work, do you get paid afterward? Like how you take requests at school?" Hwan-young asked, curious."Well... sometimes it’s for individuals, but most exorcists are affiliated with associations and get paid a salary," Mu-ryeong explained, leaving out the deeper, more complicated details about the exorcist associations. For instance, the associations didn’t really like individual exorcists operating on their own, so getting out of the association could be a difficult process."So, what do you want to do when you’re older?" Hwan-young asked."Huh? Me? I don’t know..." Mu-ryeong grinned, his eyes twinkling. He had been born into an exorcist family, so he was destined to work for the Exorcist Association once he became an adult. But he had his own personal desires that didn’t exactly align with that fate."I want to keep doing what I’m doing now," Mu-ryeong said. "Taking requests and helping people. Instead of following the rules strictly, I want to be flexible and find solutions that fit the situation.""Sounds like you’ll still be doing exorcism work, though," Hwan-young noted."Yeah, probably. But I’ll do it in my own way," Mu-ryeong replied with confidence."So, you're not going to college?" Hwan-young asked, surprised."Yeah, I’m not going to college. I don’t have the grades for it," Mu-ryeong said, grinning boldly. Unlike Seung-joo, who had top grades, Mu-ryeong’s grades were far below average. He never studied, so it was rare for him to even get decent scores."My older sister is the only one who went to college in our family," Mu-ryeong added."Really?" Hwan-young asked, pondering.Hwan-young seemed to be lost in thought after hearing Mu-ryeong’s words, his lips tightly pressed together for a long moment. Mu-ryeong scraped the last bits of rice from his bowl and nudged Hwan-young with his eyes."Are you going to finish that?""...I will," Hwan-young replied, still looking pensive.The two continued eating in silence. Hwan-young, still looking contemplative, moved his chopsticks slowly, and his eyes seemed unusually calm. Mu-ryeong didn’t ask him anything further, instead watching him quietly."When you’re done, go play with Seolgi. I’ll clean up," Mu-ryeong said.Seolgi, who had been waiting patiently, eagerly ran over with a squeaky toy in his mouth as soon as they finished their meal. He pranced around Hwan-young’s feet, letting out a squeak with every step. Reluctantly, Hwan-young stood up and followed Mu-ryeong’s suggestion, walking toward the living room to play with the dog.‘I should probably get him to sleep...’ Mu-ryeong thought to himself.He couldn’t help but feel that Hwan-young looked tired. There was about an hour left before sunset, and Mu-ryeong wanted to get him to rest before the evening’s events. Tonight was going to be busy, so he wanted Hwan-young to conserve his energy.If he asked Hwan-young to sleep, he would probably refuse. He was always so tense that it would be difficult for him to relax enough to fall asleep.After cleaning the table and finishing the dishes, Mu-ryeong quietly made up his mind. If Hwan-young refused to sleep, he would at least make him rest his eyes. It would be better than him trying to ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) power through the night."Ki Hwan-young, you should rest in the spare room..." Mu-ryeong began, but as soon as he stepped into the living room, he stopped in his tracks.He couldn’t help but silently smile at the sight before him.Hwan-young, sitting on the floor with his back against the sofa, was dozing off with Seolgi nestled in his arms.

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