Chapter 6 :

6>

"You look very thin."

Se-jin spoke like that when she saw her cousin who was four years younger.

Then Se-geon gave a weak smile.

"Well, anyway, did you eat lunch?"

"Not really. Ah, I actually have something to talk about."

"I see. Then it would be awkward to eat at the student cafeteria. Alright. I guess I'll open my wallet for the first time in a while."

Saying that, she forcibly grabbed Se-geon and took him to a small spaghetti restaurant in front of the school.

"So. What is it?"

After ordering their food, she deliberately opened the conversation in a cheerful tone.

Then Se-geon hesitated slightly before speaking.

"No, it’s not really anything else… um, how should I put it."

"Oh, right. Se-geon. Didn’t my father tell you to come over, by any chance?"

She spoke first.

Since she had entered a university in Seoul, she was currently living on her own, and her relationship with her father was not something that could be called good, even as a joke.

"Yes? Ah. That's it."

"I’m sorry to say this to you, especially after what you went through. But don’t do it."

"Yes?"

Se-geon was startled by her sudden words.

In a world where it was considered a virtue not to speak negatively so casually, and especially when it was his cousin noona saying such things so easily, it was hard to understand.

But Se-jin let out a sigh and added an explanation to her words.

"Se-geon, you know your house is a detached home with a floor area of one hundred pyeong, right? And the land is two hundred and fifty pyeong…Do you know how valuable that is?"

[NOTE - Pyeong is a traditional Korean unit of area, primarily used for measuring real estate, equivalent to 3.31 square meters or roughly 35.58 square feet.]

"......."

"And what about your father’s factory? Of course, it’s a recession, and there was that incident, so it would be hard to get the proper price, but do you understand that it’s still a huge asset?"

Se-geon was left speechless.

Of course, it was hard to believe that his uncle’s warm care for him had not been sincere.

No matter how naive Se-geon was about the ways of the world, sincerity was something that could be felt easily, and it was not something that could be faked so simply.

However, even if it was sincere, the fact that financial benefit followed did not change.

"You understand, right? I'm saying this for your sake. Okay? Se-geon? Se-geon?"

"I’ll go first."

Saying that, Se-geon pushed his chair back and stood up.

Se-jin looked at him with a flustered expression, wondering what she had done wrong.

"We already ordered, so won’t you eat before you go? Se-geon."

"No, it’s fine."

Saying that, Se-geon fled the place as if running away and started the RX-125. His indifferent cousin noona felt far more resentful than his uncle.

But since he had no justification to hate her, Se-geon was truly on the verge of going mad.

So Se-geon had no choice but to run away.

As if it had sensed Se-geon’s heart, the motorcycle, which had belonged to his older brother, sped out of the alley and passed beyond the front of M university.

But soon the motorcycle came to a stop.

It was because his tears kept flowing and he could not see properly.

Standing by the roadside, Se-geon took off his helmet, wiped his tears regardless of who might be watching, and bit his lips.

* * *

The main customers of Kim Seong-hee, the owner of the occult shop Arjuna, were, of course, ordinary people interested in the occult.

However, the customers who accounted for most of her sales were people who could never be called ordinary.

Even now, she was explaining tarot to some high school girls from a nearby S girls’ high school.

Since she mainly dealt in high-end goods, she always prepared inexpensive items for ordinary customers, but at the moment, all of those were sold out.

Still, there was no way that high school girls could afford tarot cards that cost over five hundred thousand won per set.

Screeeech!

At that moment, an unpleasant friction sound rang out from the entrance of the shop. She was startled and looked outside.

There, Se-geon’s RX-125 was stopped.

"Is Sylvester here?"

As soon as Se-geon came inside, he asked that.

She glared at Se-geon while trying hard to manage her expression.

With ordinary customers present, it would be troublesome for her if he started saying strange things in front of them.

In fact, considering that, it would be better not to make the shop open to the public, but if she did that, there would be many problems, starting with taxes and including rent and management of the shop.

"He’s not here right now. Why don’t you sit down and wait for a bit? Okay?"

"O-okay. Ah, s-sorry."

Saying that, Se-geon wiped his reddened eyes.

Seong-hee shrugged and, after asking the customers for their understanding, came out from behind the counter.

"The restroom is over there, so go wash your face."

"Ah, yes."

Saying that, Se-geon disappeared into the restroom.

"Honestly. He’s still just a kid……"

She muttered like that as she looked at Se-geon’s back.

She instinctively felt that Se-geon would have no choice but to step into this world.

Around sunset, Sylvester’s Corvette stopped in front of Arjuna.

Getting out of the Corvette were the same retired soldier as always and Sylvester, whose expression was twisted, perhaps because they had not achieved very good results in the series of investigations.

But compared to their expressions after seeing Se-geon sleeping on the sofa at Arjuna, it could be said to be much gentler.

"What is this.....? ”

Sylvester asked Kim Seong-hee that. Then she answered with a smile.

"A cute rookie."

"It was a bit faster than expected."

The retired soldier said that and looked down at Se-geon.

Just then, Se-geon woke up.

"Ah! I, I fell asle—"

Se-geon said that and wiped the corner of his mouth. Fortunately, no drool had come out.

Sylvester looked at Se-geon like that and brushed his hair back.

"Damn it. You're really a crazy brat who’s desperate to die. Hey. I'll ask you one last time. Are you serious?"

“.....Of, of course."

Se-geon said so as if he had already made up his mind and nodded.

Then the retired soldier snickered and held out his hand.

"Welcome to the world of the mad moon, kid."

“.....”

Without saying a word, Se-geon took that hand. Seeing that, Sylvester let out a sigh.

"I don’t know. Deok-yeon, I'll leave that kid to you, so make him at least strong enough not to die no matter what. If it’s for the price I paid, I can expect at least that level of service, right?"

"Of course. hahaha."

"And Seong-hee, arrange a ship to Mexico immediately. Make it so my Corvette can be taken along as well."

He said that and headed inside.

Then Se-geon jumped up in surprise.

"Are we going abroad? Aren’t you the one who’s going to train me?"

At that, the smile disappeared from the face of the retired soldier, Song Deok-yeon, who had been smiling just a moment ago.

In other words, Se-geon had just complained about why Sylvester was not the one training him, but Deok-yeon was.

Even if Sylvester was ignorant about manners and had no interest in them, he clearly knew what Se-geon had done wrong.

He looked at Deok-yeon and let out a hollow laugh.

"What an absurd brat. Can you really make him into something usable?"

"I’ll have to try. But I can't guarantee it."

"Fine. Well, it doesn’t matter even if he doesn’t turn out to be useful. It’s not like only one or two die along the way."

After saying that, Sylvester suddenly raised his hand and placed it on top of Se-geon’s head.

"It feels redundant to say it again, but I will. Welcome to the world of the mad moon, Han Se-geon."

“.....”

This was a simple ritual, but even an outsider like Se-geon could clearly tell that it was not something to be taken lightly. So he swallowed all his many questions and things he wanted to say and kept his mouth shut.

"Alright, then I'll take my leave now. See you later, kid."

Sylvester said that and stepped aside.

Se-geon tried to ask something in surprise, but while he was hesitating, unable to decide what to ask first, Sylvester disappeared into the interior of the building.

'The world of the mad moon?'

Se-geon muttered that mysterious phrase to himself.

For him, who had stepped into this world in complete ignorance and had now made a choice he could never turn back from, that ignorance was unbearably cruel.

But in the end, the indifferent priest of one man’s life accepted him.