Chapter 18: The Imugi

The snake’s tongue flickered. Its fangs, briefly visible, were exceptionally sharp.

“A new world will come…”

Annoying. Should I just kill it? Or listen to a little more of its nonsense?

“Our king, having gained immense power, will claim the world, and you will die. Your body will be torn to shreds, blood gushing, your tongue cut out, and you will crawl on all fours. Our king will devour every last bone, and then a new world will come…!”

Kyaaah! The viper’s maw gaped wide enough to swallow Ahn Dae-young whole as it struck. Even though it happened in an instant, Ahn Dae-young calmly grabbed its throat right in front of him. Despite his composed expression, the veins on the back of his hand bulged with immense force. Venom dripped from the constricted snake’s fangs.

“Go and tell that bastard you call your king.”

Gigigik— gigik. Gigigigik. The grotesque sound grated on the ears.

“My patience is wearing thin.”

With a twist, the sound of bones cracking echoed. Irritated, he tore the snake apart with both hands like paper. The snake, split into two horrific pieces, vanished without even a scream. Ahn Dae-young found the lingering sensation of the snake on his hands unpleasant, so he doused them with an excessive amount of hand sanitizer. The smell of alcohol filled the air. Damn. I killed it, so it can’t deliver the message. I’ll have to go there myself.

He flung open the hospital room door, and the anxious Assemblywoman Lee Jae-suk grabbed him tightly.

“How, how did it go?!”

“It’s handled. Talk to Team Leader Kim about the rest. And your husband will live until he shits on the walls. Take your hands off.”

His coldness was of a different caliber than usual. Intimidated by his force, Lee Jae-suk released him and stepped back hesitantly. By then, he had already left the VIP ward.

An early morning on the 16th with a drizzling winter rain. Jeong Eun-gyu, who had woken up before the alarm, closed his eyes and let his head droop. Waking up was always exhausting. He wasn’t the type to sleep a lot, but when he woke from a deep sleep, his body felt infinitely heavy, as if sinking into the ground. Maybe it’s the work… Rubbing his stiff shoulders, Jeong Eun-gyu slowly lifted his head and blinked.

It was before dawn. Rain fell outside the large window, droplets tracing paths on the glass. With a rustle, he got out of bed and stood before Ahn Dae-young, who was sleeping like the dead in the adjacent bed.

He had said to keep the evening promise, yet he hadn’t come back until well past midnight. Jeong Eun-gyu had waited until he was too sleepy and fallen asleep first. Even when he made a sound, Ahn Dae-young didn’t stir, apparently in a deep sleep. Though the heating was on, it was a cold winter. The bare chest of the half-naked sleeper rose and fell rhythmically.

Jeong Eun-gyu briefly considered pulling the blanket up to cover him—it barely covered his waist—but then turned and headed to the bathroom. He didn’t want to do anything that might be misinterpreted.

Not long after, Jeong Eun-gyu came out shaking his wet hair and encountered Ahn Dae-young sitting at the table. Ahn Dae-young, his hair disheveled and still half-naked, was typing on a laptop. He yawned and rubbed his face.

“Cold-hearted, Professor.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why did you just look at a sleeping person and leave? Weren’t you going to cover me with a blanket?”

“Were you awake?”

“I’m a light sleeper. Can’t sleep deeply.”

But he had been sleeping quite well.

“Going to work?”

“Yes.”

“You must really love your job. Getting ready diligently even in this situation.”

“Are you picking a fight this early in the morning?”

“A fight?”

He looked as if he didn’t see it that way. Then he shrugged. Jeong Eun-gyu clicked his tongue inwardly. That’s just the kind of person he is. He’s not picking pointless fights; it’s just how he talks. Getting riled up would only make Jeong Eun-gyu the loser.

“You have some time, right?”

“Yes, about 20 minutes.”

“I’ll give you a ride.”

“You don’t have to.”

“On a rainy day, you might run into some ghost trouble… Well, if you’re fine, go alone.”

Tch, tch. The tone and indifferent expression said, ‘I don’t care either way.’ This is what annoys Jeong Eun-gyu, but that man probably won’t realize it until he dies. Jeong Eun-gyu pulled down the towel from his head and asked very softly.

“…Please give me a ride.”

“Get ready. I’m going to wash up too.”

He closed the laptop he had been staring at quite seriously without regret and stood up. Jeong Eun-gyu faced the approaching Ahn Dae-young, inwardly admitting that at least his outward appearance was well-made.

Ahn Dae-young’s chin poked at Jeong Eun-gyu’s wet crown. With that, the sweet scent of flesh wafted into his nose. He had vaguely thought it was perfume, but it was different. Does eating a lot of chocolate make one’s body scent sweet? He wondered if there was a paper on the correlation between diet and body scent.

“I wish you wouldn’t go to work, Professor.”

“…Why?”

The voice echoing above his head traveled down through his scalp into his ears.

“People who don’t know how to slack off run twice as fast in the given time. They stress out when things don’t go as planned because they don’t know how to kill time. So they die quickly. Do you know how many people die from overwork in this world? What’s the point of dying young from just working like a dog?”

With that, his arms wrapped around Jeong Eun-gyu’s body. Caught in a sudden embrace, Jeong Eun-gyu’s lips touched his shoulder line. Ah, he really does smell sweet. A body scent different from cologne.

“Are you saying I’ll die from overwork?”

“It would be a shame to die like that.”

“I’m just doing my job. I could list many downsides to this profession, but from my perspective, the advantages have a much higher percentage. I’m not trying to spout some romanticized ‘doctor saving lives’ nonsense from a drama. I just hate causing trouble for others, so I make sure work doesn’t interfere.”

“Typical workaholic statement.”

He chuckled softly, and Jeong Eun-gyu just blinked. What’s wrong with this man? He’s being too soft. An alarm rang in Jeong Eun-gyu’s head. He needed to pull away.

“…Where did you go that you came back after midnight?”

“Did you wait?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t expect an answer so quickly.”

“You promised to buy dinner.”

“Ah, right. Are you upset?”

“I’ll treat you today. I don’t like being in debt.”

“How much could it be to call it debt? Such a socially awkward doctor.”

Ahn Dae-young released him. At the same time, Jeong Eun-gyu felt a sense of regret, but not knowing why, he clutched the innocent towel tighter.

Ah. My face is dry. That was the only conclusion he could come to. He didn’t want to dwell on such trivial matters. If he did, he’d be the only one with a headache.

“I heard there’s a huge full moon on your birthday, Professor.”

By then, Ahn Dae-young was completely naked, holding the doorknob and changing the subject. Jeong Eun-gyu glanced at that area but recalled the earlier mention of ‘cock’ and fixed his gaze somewhere around his cheek.

“Is that so? The register’s been busy. They sent me a message they never send.”

“Is there a reason why a full moon shouldn’t rise on my birthday?”

“Nothing can stop it, but… I wished it wouldn’t, to be precise.”

His vague way of speaking was far from Jeong Eun-gyu’s taste. He hated riddles and twenty questions. Even during his undergrad MTs, if there was a twenty questions game, he would just down his liquor.

“Have you thought about dating me?”

Again, he changes the subject. Quite a high-level trick.

“If you want to date me, answer me. Where did you go yesterday, and what about the full moon?”

“Your conditions are too cheap. Would that really be enough?”

“And who you are. That’s what I’m most curious about. You’re not just some trash disposal, are you.”

Ahn Dae-young’s smooth replies stopped. The showerhead began pouring a strong stream of water. Soaking from head to toe, Ahn Dae-young turned to look at Jeong Eun-gyu.

“I’ll tell you on the way, so close the door. You wouldn’t want your work-loving professor to be late, right? If you don’t want to close it, come in and suck my cock.”

The door slammed shut immediately. Ahn Dae-young erased even the hint of his usual smile.

The rain was falling quite heavily. Sitting in the passenger seat, staring blankly out the window, Jeong Eun-gyu turned down the heater. The wipers moved constantly, clearing the rainwater. From Ahn Dae-young’s house to the hospital took about 40 minutes—20 minutes longer than from his own place near the hospital. With the rain, there was bound to be traffic… His first outpatient clinic today was at 9 am. He estimated they’d arrive around that time.

For some reason, Ahn Dae-young wasn’t dressed in a suit but wore a hoodie, track pants, and a cap pulled low, driving in silence. Dressed like that, he could pass for a college student.

“Rain’s heavy.”

After driving in silence for ten minutes, he finally spoke. Jeong Eun-gyu pulled his coat tighter.

“When I was kicked out to this world, there was a shitload of rain.”

…Kicked out?

“I am indeed a trash disposal. I was thrown out with nothing, and I needed money to live like a human. So I used my abilities to the fullest to solve my basic needs.”

“Where did you originally live?”

“The underworld. Up there, they called it the Abyss.”

Was he inside a fantasy novel? Despite all he had seen and heard, the word ‘underworld’ felt foreign. He decided to listen for now. Jeong Eun-gyu needed to sort out the situation he had been through, even briefly. He had long crossed the line of believing or not. The truth was for the receiver to discern.

Ahn Dae-young’s hands were impervious to fire, he could beat down ghosts, and he could use markings to block evil things from attaching to him. These proved that his story of coming from the underworld wasn’t just nonsense.

All this was sudden, but he had to accept it as natural. Otherwise, the mental turmoil would be entirely Jeong Eun-gyu’s burden. Calmly, calmly.

“Why were you kicked out?”

“Because I fooled around with an Imugi.”

“Imugi?”

“Is the word unfamiliar?”

“Yes, a bit.”

He tapped the bottom of the cigarette pack, popping one up, but then clicked his tongue and tossed it into the console box. It was fine if he smoked; it was his car after all. But Jeong Eun-gyu remained silent. The traffic was heavy. Ahn Dae-young let go of the steering wheel and sank into the seat.

“I took the last Imugi left in the world. From the bosses’ perspective, that bastard was supposed to die quietly… Well, that wasn’t my concern. I just…”

“…”

“I just thought it was so f*cking pretty that I didn’t want to give it to anyone.”

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