Harmony

Half a horn burned, wrapped in blue flame. Ghost-fire coiled in his eyes. Anyone looking would have seen it at once: this was plainly no human shape, and the bleak, uncanny presence spread through the air around him had not faded in the slightest.

"……."

Mina looked at Bihyung like that. Inwardly he turned over what he ought to say to her, which words he should offer first. But only a little while after she came back to herself, the first thing out of her mouth left him staring blankly.

"Are you okay?"

One hand drifted to her own cheek even as her eyes traveled the length of him, trembling, searching for wounds, worrying over him. It was not a lie told to slip past a crisis. There was nothing in it but her true heart, and the feeling gathered in her eyes was so plainly sincere that Bihyung offered neither excuse nor explanation. He simply pulled her in and held her tight.

"...Who's worrying about whom? You were the one getting eaten a second ago."

"Ah... ehehe. I guess that's true too?"

He felt her scratch her cheek, sheepish, and only then could he finally let himself breathe.

It's the usual Mina. Nothing... nothing's changed.

Thank goodness. Truly... thank goodness.

Maybe it was the relief. The arm around her tightened a little more, and pressed into that hold, Mina felt heat rush to her head all at once. Only now did she register the state she was in, and the situation she was in.

A h-hug with B-Bihyung...!

The heat climbed her face until she thought steam might rise off her head, and her eyes spun. The whole world seemed to be turning. She had already declared, outright, that she liked him, and still she had no immunity to something like this. Flustered, she yanked the conversation somewhere else.

"B-Bihyung! What happened to that yokai? It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seriously strong..."

"That fox? Over there."

Only then did Bihyung notice what a scene he was making and hurry to let her go. Ahem. Look at me... the relief must have scrambled my head.

"It'll never come back."

He had cut it completely. A demonic art that could deal damage even to a target he had no way to strike—and he had draped Eodugi over himself, amplifying that power.

Through the spirit-layer, I cut the soul for certain.

Which meant the thing could no longer drift in Mina's blood and scheme to steal her body.

"...I see."

Mina crouched for a brief moment, looking at the fox yokai with its throat cut, then pressed her palms together.

"In your next life, be born something less wretched than this."

"...What are you doing?"

"I don't like it, but it did say it was my ancestor. Figured I should at least do the minimum."

"Hehe."

Laughing like that, she dusted herself off and rose—then swayed for an instant.

"Ah—ah?"

Whoops—! She hopped in place a few times on her tilting body before she finally caught her balance and stood. Then she looked herself over, eyes wide.

"Just now... I only meant to stand up lightly, and I almost jumped."

"...You did?"

"Mm. Is it because the yokai blood woke up?"

Mina went oh! and smacked a fist into her palm.

"Is that why your body's so ridiculously good, Bihyung?"

"...Yeah. That's why."

She already knew he was half-yokai. He hadn't meant to hide it in a situation like this, but still... why did it feel so hollow?

If she accepts it that easily, it feels like all the effort I spent hiding it just went up in smoke.

Bihyung shook off the muddled feeling and looked at Mina. More precisely, toward her lower abdomen.

...You'd have to feel for it very carefully to notice, but a yokai core has formed.

Mina was the same as him now. Half of her had become yokai.

Living in exorcist society might be hard for her.

Then what was she supposed to do? For her sick mother's sake, she could not give up the advantage of being enrolled at the Academy.

It's not even certain the panacea will work anymore.

Now that he knew the secret steeped in her blood, the reason Mina's mother had collapsed might lie in yokai blood as well. Illness or poison, a panacea could cover to some extent. But if it was the latter...

I don't have a way either.

So a hospital stay was essential. The hospital the Academy maintained boasted the finest medical facilities in all of modern Korea.

...Is this my fault?

It was true he had changed her life. Originally, hers was the story of someone who would never even sit the exam, who would become a villain. But taking an interest beyond that, staying close to her—that had been purely Bihyung's greed. Her talent dazzled him. If he raised it well, might it not be of use to him? That desire had sat at the very top of his priorities.

If my presence as a yokai acted on her without either of us knowing...

How am I supposed to take responsibility?

A way to answer for Mina's mother, and for her... I have to find one.

Just as his eyes began to tremble, little by little—

"Bihyung."

Mina came up to him and seized both his cheeks in her hands.

"It's a weird feeling. I think I know what you're thinking right now."

He could see the faint smile in her eyes.

"You think it's your fault, don't you? You look like you're feeling guilty."

"But it's not. That fox who called itself my ancestor told me. It was only waiting for me to grow."

Even if she had never met Bihyung, this was a fate that would have come someday.

"So don't worry about it too much."

She had to know her own situation perfectly well, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and still she smiled as if it were nothing, worrying over someone else before herself. Bihyung was wearing a bitter look when—

"Lord, Lord."

Now that Mina knew he was half-yokai, Eodugi no longer bothered to hide what he was, and his voice reached them.

"Huh? What is this..."

The Eodugi draped over his body returned to his original form. A little ball of fur. Mina's eyes sparkled at the sight of him.

"Kya! He's cute!"

She stroked Eodugi gently with a finger.

"What is he?"

"His name's Eodugi. He's one of my Baekgwi. I happened ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to meet a dokkaebi that was living in an old object, and, well, one thing led to another."

But why was Eodugi suddenly talking to him out of nowhere? He looked at the little one, curious, and Eodugi bounced as he spoke.

"Lord! Pray accept this young lady as one of your Baekgwi!"

"...You want me to bring Mina into the Baekgwi Yahaeng?"

He had asked her to join the party, yes. But a party and the Baekgwi Yahaeng were frameworks of a very different kind.

If a party is a relationship of equals, the Baekgwi Yahaeng means coming under me.

It meant taking her as a subordinate. Of course, they didn't have to think of it that way. Still, the nuance wasn't exactly pleasant, was it?

"But why are you suddenly saying that?"

"Because it seemed it might resolve my Lord's worries, and so I took the liberty of speaking, sir!"

Eodugi knew exactly what crossroads Bihyung stood at, and he also knew precisely what advice to offer for his Lord's sake.

"The Baekgwi are the boss's subordinates, sir. They must follow my Lord, and they must carry out his commands!"

But they did not follow the boss for nothing.

"I have heard that the boss bears a duty to look after the subordinates beneath him, sir!"

The Baekgwi were those who exchanged cups with their boss and tied a knot of the soul.

"Why, then this young lady and my Lord would be bound together, and through my Lord's invisibility cap, the presence of her yokai core might even be erased entirely, sir!"

Bihyung's eyes flew wide.

Right. When I first exchanged the bond of the Baekgwi with Eodugi, a connection formed between us.

Eodugi was a lower-tier dokkaebi, his yokai power so trifling that Bihyung had never particularly set the cap on him. Even without that, exorcists couldn't sense him.

But if what Eodugi says is true?

The moment Bihyung's shining eyes turned to Mina, she looked troubled.

"Th-that... wouldn't that mean you're shouldering a whole group?"

If it was something like that, she meant to refuse. Bihyung could see the feeling all too clearly, so he shook his head.

"No. It won't be a move where I'm the only one taking a loss."

He had asked her, after all. To become a party member.

"This is an investment. When that talent of yours blooms, Mina, use it for me in the future. That kind of investment."

That was what he said. Bihyung's real heart was different.

...I can't just stand by and watch.

Her circumstances, so like his own, were too pitiful. He couldn't simply walk past them.

Bihyung said it, and held out his hand.

"……."

Mina stared at that hand for a moment. Then a single clear line of wetness ran down her cheek.

"...Huh? Why am I like this? It's supposed to be a happy thing..."

She hurriedly wiped at her tears with flustered hands, but once they started, they did not stop easily. Because she was grateful. Because she had already received so much from him, and then so much more, and the gratitude was too large to hold. They were tears she shed because she was a Mina who knew him well.

…….

Bihyung waited in silence until her tears settled, and soon Mina, having gathered herself, smiled brightly.

"...Okay. Then, shameless as it is, I'll be in your debt again."

"Don't worry. I'll collect all of it in the future."

"Okay. Make sure you do."

The moment Mina laughed brightly and took his hand, just as it had with Eodugi before, poof! Smoke billowed in the empty air, and a wine jar and cups dropped down. The two of them plopped down where they were and filled each other's cups. Mina looked at hers and grinned, shy and bright.

"Hey, this is my first time drinking, you know?"

"Huh?"

"I was going to try it if I ever went out with you, Bihyung, and now I'm drinking it like this."

"Ehehe."

She laughed, and though she had not even drunk yet, her cheeks were already flushed as if she were tipsy.

"Should we toast?"

Watching her say it so shyly, Bihyung smiled faintly too, and touched his cup to hers.

Clink!

With that sound, the two of them emptied their cups. In that instant, translucent red threads seemed to spill from both their chests. They swept through the air, and the two threads began to tie a knot. He could feel the connection. Mina, and himself. That was the moment he brought her into his Baekgwi Yahaeng.

Ding!

A familiar sound. He looked at the notification covering one side of his vision.

The reward for that message followed at once.

Bihyung tapped the ability called Harmony.

Shared? Each other's traits?

Bihyung immediately looked into what this ability might be capable of, and before long he had no choice but to stare, eyes wide.

The special nature of the yokai core I possess—Jeoksu Bullu—can be treated as an asset and stored.

Which meant Mina could share it, and use it. Abilities, talents, even the bloodlines one carried, shared among the Baekgwi Yahaeng. How absurdly broken was a power like this?

He had not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠yet managed to climb out of the shock of the ability he had just gained when—

Ding!

As if to say that was not the end, the notification rang at his ear again.