Chapter 143: A Very Obvious Existence

The evil spirit possessing the doll wasn’t particularly powerful.

It didn’t have the strength to expand a territory or manifest authorities; it was merely at the level of moving the doll to directly commit evil deeds.

It was the type of fellow that would charge with a kitchen knife or drop a flowerpot. It was likely a wicked prisoner that had taken residence.

“Pang.”

With a light shout of spirit from the Demon God, the evil spirit easily vanished.

The moment the doll went limp, spiritual energy seeped out like black mist.

“Hmm.”

The Demon God inhaled deeply and absorbed it.

In the morning, he had received Bryce Kim’s worship, and in the afternoon, he collected a faint amount of spiritual energy. He was meticulously gathering the power to break his chains, but—

‘Still, someone on You-Tube said, “Gathering dust only makes dust.”’

Most of the very thin chains had been broken. To break the remaining chains, he needed to gather more worship or spiritual energy than before.

If so, it ultimately came down to activities for the fans.
He shouldn’t rest for too long. Wasn’t an approximate comeback period already anticipated?

“Yoon-seo’s song needs to come out soon.”

With this thought, the Demon God also turned his gaze to the jar.

“Hm. This is a completely different item.”

A turquoise jar with a crude texture.
The Demon God lifted the jar and spoke into it.

“It is difficult to endure until all the chains are broken.”

Then, the Demon God’s words echoed exactly as spoken from within the jar.

– *It is difficult to endure until all the chains are broken.*

No matter how much it echoed inside a jar, it shouldn’t have been heard this clearly. It didn’t just echo once; it echoed repeatedly.

However, the sound gradually faded until it ended as a very faint whisper.

The Demon God thought deeply for a moment, then grabbed both the doll and the jar.

“Zion! You may enter.”
“I’ve been waiting! What did you do?”

As soon as the call fell, Zion opened the door and came in.

Although he was curious about what the Demon God was doing, it seemed he had been keeping his word to stay outside.

Seeing loyalty practically equivalent to that of a familiar, the Demon God also told him what he had done.

“I was appraising your gifts.”

“My gifts? Did you check their price or something?”

“No, their purpose.”

“But they’re a decorative doll and a jar? Do they have other purposes?”

Of course. Both gifts had their own respective purposes. The Demon God’s eyes had seen through that.

“I shall use them well at the dorm. If you find such items in the future, bring them.”

“Ah! You liked them!”

“I praise you.”

Zion began to perform a dance of joy.

The Demon God frowned as he watched the sight.
Even amid all that, he danced well, fitting for a tier-one idol. It felt like a beat could be heard from somewhere.

“You are truly an exhausting existence.”

The Demon God tried to leave Zion be and quickly exit the room.

“Sun-woo! Ian hyung and the others are probably still talking. It’ll take a while for two serious people to finish their conversation once they meet.”
“Ugh?”

That meant, even if he left the room, he would have to wait if he wanted to return with Tae-young.

The Demon God started contemplating going home alone, but…

“Do you want to play a board game with the members outside?”

“What are you saying? I do not enjoy such trivial entertainment.”

“It’s a game called *Mansions of Madness*, though.”

“Hm? The title is intriguing.”

Having been hooked like that, the Demon God ended up spending an enjoyable time until Tae-young came out…

“Hmm, has this much time passed already?”

“It was fun, right?”

“Well, not particularly. I will think about it after playing it again next time.”

“Right, right.”

Tae-young checked on the Demon God, who was playing among the Novior members, and smiled with immense satisfaction. It was a smile like that of a father watching his child grow.

“You play well even when left alone now.”

“…That sounds somewhat unpleasant.”

The Novior members waved goodbye, and Zion and Ian came out to see them off to the car.

Setting Zion aside, the Demon God gave Ian, who seemed fatigued, a word of advice.

“Worship. Do not forget to worship.”
“Hahaha. Okay.”

He wouldn’t just be listening half-heartedly, right?
The Demon God gave Zion a meaningful glance, sat in his seat, and departed.

It was now time to unpack the gifts he had received at the dorm.

***

The doll was meant specifically for Shadow and the three artist spirits.

– Kyuut?

– What? Yo?

– We can “ride” in here?

– Then, excusing my shamelessness, I’ll go first!

The doll itself was a tool capable of carrying spiritual entities.

An evil spirit had been inside it.
Since the Demon God had annihilated the evil spirit, it became an empty vessel anyone could ride.

To the four existences who couldn’t exert physical force unless the Demon God lent them power, it looked highly appealing.

– Kyu!

Shadow stepped forward.

Since Shadow was the most senior among the familiars and served the role of the class president, the Demon God gave it priority.

“It is simple. Just imagine yourself sinking right in.”

– Kyu.

No sooner had the answer dropped than the doll stood up from its spot.

“How is it?”

Hop, hop!

The doll raised its arms made of gathered twigs and jumped in place.

It seemed quite pleased.

“Decide on an order and take turns riding it. Do not leave this room, of course.”

Since a usable body had been created for the four existences, he could now make them run light errands. There would surely be times to utilize it depending on the situation.

“Then, play amongst yourselves.”

The doll was for the familiars. If so, what about the jar?

Knock, knock.

The Demon God knocked on the door.

“Yoon-seo.”
– Come in.

Then, he saw Yoon-seo with a face even more hollow than Ian’s. As expected, his condition was worse.

“Sun-woo *hyung*, you came in without kicking the door?”

“I shall endure it until you finish composing.”

“Is kicking it the default for you?”

“Is it not obvious? Seeing you spout nonsense, it seems your condition truly is poor.”

The Demon God shook his head as if he couldn’t help it.

Such fragile humans.
They grow weaker at the mere encounter of slightly arduous tasks.

“You require so much care.”
“…….”

Yoon-seo kept the thought of *“Look who’s talking”* strictly to himself.

“Here, take this. Keep it with you for a while, Yoon-seo.”

“Hm? What is this? The color is nice.”

To Yoon-seo’s senses, the jar’s design didn’t seem bad.

Looking at such a Yoon-seo, the Demon God brought up his business.

“Are you not feeling a great burden due to composing lately?”

Ever since Yoon-seo hesitantly raised his hand, saying he was also trying to compose. They found an incomplete song suitable as a title track.

Everyone chose that song, and Yoon-seo was currently racing toward its completion. He was doing his absolute best to match the song with Pantheon’s anticipated comeback period.

How could there not be a burden?

And the feeling of burden is a fascinating thing. It could be a driving force pushing a person forward, or a limitation blocking a person from the front.

What was certain was that it was better to relieve it sometimes.

“Yes, there is a burden.”

Yoon-seo hesitated before continuing.

“And the person adding to that burden is you, Sun-woo *hyung*.”

“Someone needs to encourage you.”

“Are you sure you aren’t misunderstanding the meaning of encouragement?”

“I have always done it this way, though?”

“…….”

When Yoon-seo shut his mouth, the Demon God explained the jar’s purpose.

“Try speaking your worries into that jar, Yoon-seo.”

If you spoke your worries into that jar, it would echo them right back, but the sound would gradually decrease. Through that, one could slowly feel their own worries shrinking.

It had no effect on the Demon God, but since it was a human item, it should have an effect on humans.

“Is it like a healing item that provides psychological stability?”
“You could say that.”

Yoon-seo hesitated a little.

It felt somewhat awkward to suddenly speak his inner thoughts into a jar right in front of the Demon God.

“There are times when one must face themselves alone. It seems now is that time.”

The Demon God spoke incomprehensible words and left the room.

And so, Yoon-seo was left alone in the room to face his worries.
Together with the jar.

“Is this right?”

Yoon-seo tilted his head.

Was this like the tale of *The King Has Donkey Ears*? He felt the rough texture and heavy weight of the jar in his hands.

First, he placed the jar on his desk.

After adjusting its position, it caught the sunlight coming through the window, revealing quite a peculiar color. Liking it, Yoon-seo left the jar as it was and got into his work.

*I’ll try speaking into the jar later.*

He was just focusing on his laptop when…

A moment later, Yoon-seo looked at the jar again.

“No, wait. Sun-woo *hyung* probably didn’t just tell me to try it for no reason.”

He was a *hyung* who often said weird things.
And he was actually weird, too.

However, he was only weird.

“Huh? That conclusion is weird, too.”

Despite that, while remaining seated, Yoon-seo pulled the jar into a hug.

The turquoise inner surface welcomed Yoon-seo’s face.

“I want to make the song well.”

– *I want to make the song well.*

The words he spoke echoed back so clearly it startled him. It was even more distinct than an echo heard in the mountains.

“Wow, this—”

– *I want to make the song well.*

The echoing inside the jar hadn’t finished yet.

– *I want to make the song well.*

Once more, still.

Hearing his worries in his own voice felt quite unfamiliar.

*I want to make the song well.*
It was an obvious statement. There probably wasn’t a creator who wanted to make a bad song.

Still, bringing it out and voicing it made him feel refreshed.

– *I want to make the song well.*

Originally, it was a task he started to ensure the team’s survival during their hiatus.
Yoon-seo wanted to be of help to the team like the older members.

Once he actually tried it, it suited his aptitude and was quite enjoyable.

“Ah, come to think of it.”

Although he started composing for survival, paradoxically, the completed songs hadn’t come from desperation.

The songs were completed when he poured in the feelings of that exact moment, rather than thoughts of the future.

‘All the completed songs were made like that, right?’

The current incomplete song was the same.

He had poured in the joyful feelings from the time the team regained its vitality after meeting Sun-woo *hyung*.
Though he had set it aside while working on it because their schedule got busy, the heart contained within it remained the same.

– *I want to make the song well.*

Well?
Saying he’d make it well here ultimately meant capturing those feelings, didn’t it?

How was it back then?

When Sun-woo *hyung* joined, he was handsome but weird, had a deep heart but was weird, and was sincere about idols but weird—

Hope blossomed, his heart raced, and he was thankful.

In that instant, the final part that had only been hovering around blocked seemed to flash through his mind.

Yoon-seo stared at his laptop.
But he didn’t immediately put the jar down.

“…….”

The echoing in the jar had stopped at some point.
Sitting quietly while hugging it, Yoon-seo brought his face close again and spoke.

“I want to meet the members’ expectations.”

“I want to let our fans hear a good song.”

“I don’t want to lose to EXI either.”

The jar’s echoing continued.

Does one action only have a single motive?
In truth, multiple motives are at play. Those motives mix together, forming feelings even the person themselves doesn’t fully understand, and push them forward.

By tossing a few words into the jar now, Yoon-seo was pulling out those motives.

Some seemed plausible even to him, and some were slightly embarrassing.

Still, all of them belonged to Yoon-seo.

They all mixed together to push Yoon-seo forward.

– *I am watching you.*

“Gah!”

Ah, not all of them belonged to Yoon-seo.
The Demon God-style encouragement hadn’t gone anywhere and was mixed in with them.

“Sun-woo *hyung* is really….”

Still, he was thankful.
He really was always watching and caring for him. Didn’t he even bring him a jar that echoes sounds well just now?

Yoon-seo finally placed the jar on the desk.

And he began to compose.

***

“Hyungs! I finished it!”

It wasn’t long after that Yoon-seo ran out into the living room.

At Yoon-seo’s shout, Tae-young, Ha-gyeom, and Ji-ho came running hurriedly.

“You finished it? You worked so hard!”
“How did our youngest accomplish such a huge task!”

Tae-young and Ha-gyeom pulled Yoon-seo into a hug.

“Thank you so much. We’ll listen to it and give you a proper evaluation.”

Ji-ho also thanked Yoon-seo in his own way.

Receiving everyone’s encouragement, Yoon-seo searched for Sun-woo *hyung* with his eyes.

The Demon God was lying on the sofa and had only lifted his head to look at Yoon-seo.

That sight reminded him of when the Demon God first came to the dorm.
Feeling slightly choked up as moisture filled his eyes, Yoon-seo spoke.

“Sun-woo *hyung*’s help was huge.”

Then, the Demon God chuckled softly and replied.

“Is that not obvious?”
“…….”

The Demon God truly possessed a talent for making tears dry up instantly.

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