“Hurry up.”Mu-ryeong gave a small nod, urging him forward. They had to get this over with and return to class before the bell rang. The only reason Mu-ryeong had dragged himself to school so early, still half-asleep, was for this.“…”But Hwan-young hesitated, unable to bring himself to touch Mu-ryeong. It was different from the way he had hesitated when facing Seolgi—then, his hesitation had been driven by concern. Now, it was pure inner conflict.What’s his problem?Mu-ryeong thought to himself before taking a step closer.“At this rate, homeroom’s going to start.”With no other choice, he took the initiative and wrapped his arms around Hwan-young’s waist. The moment Mu-ryeong’s hands slid around his sides, Hwan-young stiffened, awkwardly lifting his arms. Pressing himself closer, Mu-ryeong tilted his head up and asked:“You’re not going to do it?”“…I am.”The response came agonizingly slow. Hwan-young parted his lips, hesitated mid-sentence, and then shook his head before finally speaking again.“I have to.”It sounded more like he was convincing himself than answering Mu-ryeong. Taking a quiet breath, he finally brought his arms around Mu-ryeong, pulling him into his chest. He held him as if handling something fragile, gently encasing him in his arms.…This feels kind of weird.Mu-ryeong never felt strange when he casually leaned on Seung-joo, but being held like this in Hwan-young’s broad arms felt oddly different. Maybe it was because Hwan-young was being overly careful, or maybe because his physique completely enveloped Mu-ryeong, leaving no gaps between them. Either way, the sensation was undeniably awkward.“Your heart’s racing like crazy.”“…”Mu-ryeong had said it jokingly, trying to lighten the mood, but the second he did, Hwan-young’s entire body turned to stone. He tensed all the way up to his neck, his posture so rigid that Mu-ryeong could practically feel him holding his breath.Trying to ease the tension, Mu-ryeong adjusted his stance and lightly patted Hwan-young’s back.“Relax. I’ll count to one minute.”“…Okay.”Hwan-young exhaled faintly, and at that moment, a wave of cool, crisp spiritual energy spread over Mu-ryeong. The sensation was refreshing enough to wash away the lingering heat of the morning.Forgetting to count, Mu-ryeong instinctively buried his face against Hwan-young’s chest. The fatigue that had clung to him vanished instantly, leaving only a soothing sense of clarity. The sensation was so pleasant, it felt addictive.“Hey… Can we make it two minutes instead of one?”“…What?”Hwan-young responded like Mu-ryeong had just said something completely ridiculous. His tone was unnecessarily sharp, but Mu-ryeong didn’t mind in the slightest. Instead, he tightened his hold.“No, seriously, this feels amazing…”“…”“Can’t we?”“…No.”“Fine.”If he said no, there wasn’t much Mu-ryeong could do about it. Accepting his defeat, he resumed counting. When he tapped Hwan-young’s back lightly with his fingers, Hwan-young let out another deep sigh.“One minute’s up.”The moment the time was over, Mu-ryeong pulled away without hesitation. It was a little disappointing, but there was no point in pushing if Hwan-young clearly wasn’t comfortable. Oddly enough, the unbearable heat from earlier didn’t seem as bad anymore—his body felt lighter, his energy restored.“Let’s head back to class.”Mu-ryeong turned to leave first, but Hwan-young stood still, staring down at his own hands. His posture was almost as awkward as when he had been holding Mu-ryeong. Curious, Mu-ryeong glanced back just in time to see Hwan-young clenching and unclenching his fists a couple of times before hesitantly asking:“…Are we doing this again at lunchtime?”“Yeah, of course.”“…I see.”For some reason, his expression was… complicated. He remained silent, but his brow lifted slightly, as if something about this still wasn’t sitting right with him. A breeze swept through, ruffling his bangs slightly.“If it really makes you uncomfortable, we can just hold hands instead.”Mu-ryeong threw it out there casually, thinking Hwan-young might be genuinely put off by the idea of hugging. Mu-ryeong himself didn’t care much about physical contact, but he knew some people had personal boundaries. Until now, he had assumed Hwan-young’s hesitation was because he was afraid of hurting others. But maybe he simply disliked touching people in general.“…Though we’d have to do it more times throughout the day.”“No.”Hwan-young immediately shook his head and started walking. As he passed Mu-ryeong, he muttered in his usual indifferent tone:“Don’t make things more complicated.”He said it so nonchalantly, as if he didn’t mind at all.‘Just stick with hugging.’Even his voice sounded strangely casual.Mu-ryeong followed behind him, glancing up at his face from the side.Was it just his imagination?Or was Hwan-young avoiding his gaze because he was… embarrassed?***Thanks to receiving Hwan-young’s spiritual energy in the morning, Mu-ryeong was in the best condition he had been in for a long time. He wasn’t sluggish from the heat (though, to be fair, the air conditioning was on), nor did he need to catch up on sleep during class. His eyes were wide open with an unusual level of alertness, to the point where Seung-joo had jokingly asked, “Did you take something?”Lunch that day was fried rice with black bean sauce. Mu-ryeong, as always, piled his tray high and cleaned his plate without leaving a single grain of rice. He also had three times as much sweet and sour pork as everyone else—thanks to a friend sitting next to him who didn’t like fried food and gladly passed their portion over.“Kim Mu-ryeong!”After finishing his meal and returning to the main school building, Mu-ryeong saw Min-ji waiting in front of Class 7. She waved both arms excitedly from a distance, making it very clear that she was happy to see him.“Hey, Min-ji.”Mu-ryeong greeted her back but subtly narrowed his eyes when he noticed someone standing behind her. Judging by the color of the name tag, it was a first-year student—someone younger than them.“Wow, Kim Min-ji. I see how it is. Guess I’m invisible now.”“Sorry, I’m not here for you.”“That hurts, you know.”Despite his words, Seung-joo didn’t look the least bit offended. Instead, he simply turned and went into the classroom. From experience, he knew that whenever someone came looking for Mu-ryeong out of nowhere, it was almost always about a request.As expected, Min-ji motioned toward the student behind her.“You take requests from first-years too, right?”“Yeah, of course.”Only then did Mu-ryeong realize he was still holding onto Hwan-young’s wrist. He let go and gave Min-ji a small nod. There had been no real reason to keep holding onto him, but at this point, it had become a habit.Min-ji seemed like she was about to say something but stopped herself, instead glancing between the two of them with a curious look.“You two… have gotten really close.”Kim Mu-ryeong and Ki Hwan-young. Lately, they were always seen together, but to outsiders, they were still a strange pair. Especially since Hwan-young, who usually ignored people outright, seemed oddly tolerant toward Mu-ryeong. Then again, considering Mu-ryeong’s personality, even someone as cold as Hwan-young had his limits.“Anyway… This kid’s my junior from the library club. They wanted to ask you for help, so I brought them along.”“…Hello.”The first-year student hesitated before bowing deeply in greeting. Their nervousness was evident from the way they clutched at the hem of their skirt and the slight tremor in their voice. Mu-ryeong noticed their eyes were faintly swollen, as if they had been crying. He turned slightly and spoke to Hwan-young.“I’ll go listen to what they have to say. Wait for me in the classroom.”Since this was a request, he preferred to discuss it in a more private setting. Receiving spiritual energy from Hwan-young could wait until after. There was still plenty of time before the afternoon bell rang.“…Is it something I can’t hear?”Instead of agreeing, Hwan-young turned to the first-year student with his usual blank expression. The student, who had been nervously shifting their gaze, flinched and quickly shook their head.“N-No! It’s nothing like that. If you’re busy, I can come back later…”“No, I’m not busy.”A calm voice cut them off. Mu-ryeong, still smiling, lightly tapped Hwan-young’s arm.“Come on, just go hang out with Seung-joo for a bit.”Hwan-young’s face immediately twisted into a deep scowl.“I’d rather stand in the hallway.”Clearly, he had no intention of spending time with Seung-joo. And honestly, if Seung-joo had overheard that, he would’ve been just as annoyed. Mu-ryeong let out an amused chuckle before turning to the first-year.“You’d feel more comfortable talking somewhere with fewer people, right?”“…”They hesitated but ultimately nodded slightly, unable to deny it. Just as Mu-ryeong was about to speak again, a quiet voice came from behind.“Come to Class 3 when you’re done. I’ll be waiting.”Mu-ryeong glanced back at Hwan-young and grinned in thanks. But when their eyes met, Hwan-young quickly turned his head away.“Let’s go to the third-floor study room. I saw it was open last time.”Mu-ryeong led the way, with Min-ji and the first-year following closely behind. Hwan-young remained standing in front of the classroom, watching them leave. His dark eyes were filled with an unreadable frustration.***The study room where Ye-jun had once made a request was empty as usual. But unlike last time, Mu-ryeong chose a seat near the door instead of sitting deep inside. The first-year was still visibly anxious, so Min-ji took the initiative and started explaining.“They’ve been experiencing sleep paralysis.”“Sleep paralysis?”Mu-ryeong’s brow furrowed slightly. Sleep paralysis referred to the state in which a person was conscious but completely unable to move while sleeping. In horror stories, it was often portrayed as a supernatural event, but Mu-ryeong knew that most cases were simply a result of disrupted sleep cycles. The mind woke up, but the body remained in a state of rest, leading to temporary paralysis.“Yeah, and not just once. It’s been happening every night for a month now.”A whole month?Mu-ryeong frowned and turned his attention to the ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ first-year. Their eyes, now that he looked closer, were red and slightly swollen—not just from crying, but from sheer exhaustion. If this was just stress-related, that would be a relief. But something told him it wasn’t that simple.“They’ve tried everything—changing sleeping positions, moving to different rooms, all kinds of stuff—but nothing’s helped.”“Have you noticed any other symptoms?”“Other symptoms?”“Like… hearing strange sounds, feeling pain somewhere, things like that.”Mu-ryeong asked the question casually, but inwardly, he sharpened his focus.Min-ji didn’t have any trace of spiritual energy on her, and neither did the first-year… or so he had thought. But as he concentrated a little more, he caught something faint.“No… Nothing like that.”There it was.It was only there for a fleeting moment—so weak that even he had almost missed it. But it was definitely yin energy.It belonged to the dead.The presence was so faint that it had been completely unnoticeable until now. More importantly, it didn’t seem malevolent, which was probably why Mu-ryeong hadn’t sensed it right away.Something—or someone—was attached to this first-year. And it wasn’t going away.

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