The Scent of Something Rotten
Leaving behind my grand ambition of recruiting the experience-point vending machine known as Jang Bora into the student council, I stepped out through the school gates. There, waiting for me right in front of the entrance, was Chaeyeon.
“Hey, Baek Gangjin!”
Chaeyeon waved her hand cheerfully and greeted me with a bright smile.
“Did you talk to Bora?”
“Yeah. We decided to visit the student council room together tomorrow.”
I answered without realizing I was wearing a completely innocent, childlike grin. The thought of doing student council activities alongside a reliable friend like Bora made my heart flutter with excitement.
When she saw my smile, she clapped her hands in delight.
“That’s great! If she’s with you, Bora will get used to student council work in no time.”
“With me? What did I even do?”
Chaeyeon thought for a moment before speaking.
“Just… you’re a weird kid, that’s all.”
Then she let out a small snort of laughter.
“Summoning a beautiful fairy by rubbing your butt, never slacking on mana operation practice…”
Walking ahead with her hands clasped behind her back, Chaeyeon suddenly turned and thrust a thumbs-up right in front of my face.
“And I heard you aced the exam this time too? You’re basically the perfect guy.”
“Perfect guy? That phrase is ancient.”
Her old-fashioned wording caught me so off guard that I burst out laughing.
We kept chatting nonstop as we walked—about our test scores, how impressed we were with Bora’s acupuncture skills after she treated me following the Arachne battle, and more. Even though Chaeyeon had only heard about Bora secondhand, she clearly wanted to get closer to her.
Before long, the familiar sign of Central Taekwondo appeared in front of us.
The moment we opened the dojang door, a chorus of energetic shouts from the kids poured out. Elementary school children in white doboks were rolling across the mats like a swarm of ants. In the middle of it all, a man drenched in sweat was guiding them. When he spotted us, he waved.
“Oh, Gangjin’s here?”
“Hello, sir!”
The kids were in full elementary-school mode—tugging on Uncle Cheolsu’s arms, hanging off his legs, the whole energetic package.
“Sorry! Looks like training’s going to be tough today.”
He scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile.
“The elementary class schedule changed a bit…!”
With an expression full of apology, he bowed to me, then immediately turned to Chaeyeon.
“Instructor Lee Chaeyeon! Don’t just stand there watching—come help out over here, will you?”
“Ah, yes! Director.”
Chaeyeon tossed her bag aside like she’d done it a thousand times and headed for the changing room. But before opening the door, she turned back to look at me.
“Gangjin, looks like today’s a no-go!”
She gave me an awkward smile and waved.
“I’ll text you later. Get home safe!”
“Yeah, have fun, Chaeyeon!”
I also bowed to Uncle Cheolsu, who was being dragged around by the children.
“I’ll see you next time, sir!”
“Sure, Gangjin. Be careful on your— whoa?!”
Mid-sentence, one of the kids suddenly jumped onto his back for a piggyback ride. The noisy energy of the elementary students filled the entire dojang.
Not wanting to get in the way, I left the building and headed home.
On the way back, I was passing by the entrance to Old Gaon Station, an abandoned subway stop that had been closed off for years with no foot traffic. As I walked past the firmly shut shutter, Jinny suddenly spoke from inside my butt.
Gangjin. Hold on. Look over there.
“Over there…?”
I stared hard into the darkness behind the shutter that Jinny had pointed out. The subway station looked completely normal.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
It smells incredibly unpleasant. Something like rotten fish is writhing around in that darkness.
I looked at the old subway station with clouded eyes. But all I could see were dusty stairs and scraps of old newspaper. Nothing of the ominous sign Jinny was wary of appeared to me.
“There’s nothing there?”
Ugh, just bring me out already!
I rubbed my butt and summoned Jinny outside.
“Let’s get closer, Gangjin. I’m sure something was there.”
Preparing for a possible fight, I walked forward with tension in my glutes. When we went down the stairs into the underground station, it was just a dark, unlit subway stop—nothing out of the ordinary.
With the mindset that even the lights might come back on if we checked properly, I scanned the area carefully.
“Do you sense anything…?”
I asked Jinny while my eyes swept over every corner of the ominous station. She made a serious face, crossed her arms, and tilted her head.
Hmm…
“It was definitely here earlier?”
…Huh?
I don’t feel any presence now.
What? I got all worked up for nothing. I relaxed the tension in my butt.
“Jinny, are you just hungry?”
Jinny made a long “Hmmmm~” sound, as if doubting her own senses.
That’s strange… I definitely smelled it.
I chuckled at the sight of her deep in thought.
“Even a spirit as powerful as you makes mistakes, huh?”
Jinny looked embarrassed and scratched her head.
“Maybe. I’ve been through so many real battles lately that I might have become overly sensitive.”
Then she flopped down in midair.
Whatever! I really am hungry, so let’s go eat already!
At Jinny’s grumbling, I smirked and picked up the pace.
“Of course, of course~!”
When I got home, the delicious smell of stew filled the living room. Tonight’s star of the dinner table was, of course, our household idol, Jinny.
“Jin-hee, has our son been behaving at school?”
“This owner guy is doing amazingly at school! He got second place in the class on the last exam.”
Jinny scooped up a huge spoonful of rice and shoved it into her mouth.
“The student council seniors aren’t too scary, are they?”
“The student council seniors are super strong! But they’re all really nice to Gangjin.”
Jinny slurped down the stew broth. Even under Mom’s barrage of questions, she kept eating at her own pace without missing a beat. She answered every question properly too.
“Auntie, don’t worry! Our owner is an S-class butt, you know!”
This girl picked up a piece of meat and placed it neatly on her rice.
“All the seniors are shocked when they see him! Especially in real battles—Gangjin actually…”
This girl skillfully picked up some kim and wrapped it with rice.
“He analyzes other people’s mana operation and turns it into his own technique!”
You’re going to choke, Jinny. You can eat slower, you know.
“Aww, yes, yes. Having you around really puts my mind at ease, Jin-hee!”
My parents listened to Jinny’s stories with happy smiles the entire time.
“It’s such a relief to hear our son is doing well. Thank you so much for helping him, Jin-hee.”
At Dad’s warm encouragement, Jinny puffed out her chest proudly and patted my shoulder.
It was an unrealistic but incredibly warm scene. I felt a strange sense of relief within it.
Once dinner was mostly over, I set my spoon down.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Ugh, I’m so full.”
Jinny, whose stomach was now bulging from eating so enthusiastically, leaned back in her chair and patted her belly. A cute, bouncy sound came from it. My parents watched with fond smiles.
“It’s nice to see someone eat so well.”
I was just about to head to my room to take a shower when my phone on the desk started vibrating loudly. It was the student council group chat.
⊳ Announcement from Kwon Dohee
⊳ Tonight’s duty team has been selected~
[Kwon Dohee]: Announcement~ Tonight’s night residue sweep duty is on!
[Kwon Dohee]: [Rabbit blowing a heart emoji]
Nighttime residue sweeps were conducted whenever signs of residue activity or cracks leading to the boundary world were discovered, just like we had done in the underground waterway. Dohee-senpai assigned teams based on the duty roster. Of course, since we couldn’t predict exactly where or how many residues would appear, if none showed up that night, we simply got to rest. With some luck, you might never have to go out on night duty at all.
“Will they even count first-years for duty…?”
I secretly hoped my name would be called. The real-battle senses I’d gained from the underground waterway sweep were still vivid, and that experience had made me stronger.
“I want to go out.”
To be honest, if they called me, I wanted to go. Not because I was some battle-crazed maniac, but because it was the perfect “real combat that feels like training” where I could practice mana operation to my heart’s content.
Yeon Sua-senpai’s medical support would be there too, and I was curious about Baek Donghyun-senpai’s healing magic that the third-years had mentioned.
[Kwon Dohee]: The location is ‘Old Gaon Station’ on Central Road.
Huh? Old Gaon Station…?
It was definitely the same place Jinny and I had stopped by on our way home earlier. The fact that it was so close to our house and had been chosen as the residue sweep location… It looked like Jinny hadn’t been imagining things after all.
[Kwon Dohee]: 3rd-year Baek Donghyun and 2nd-year Song Iseo, assemble at ‘Old Gaon Station’ by 10 PM!
[Kwon Dohee]: Anyone not mentioned is off duty today, so rest well!
[Kwon Dohee]: [Rabbit giving thumbs-up emoji]
I lightly tapped my butt and called out to Jinny.
“Jinny, they say there’s something at Old Gaon Station.”
At my words, Jinny popped out of my butt with a “poof.”
“See? I was right, wasn’t I?”
Jinny put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest proudly.
“Told you. There’s no way a spirit of my caliber would make a mistake. I definitely sensed something!”
Watching her boast, I nodded leisurely.
“Want to go watch together?”
Jinny giggled at my question.
“That’s so like you. Bored of staying home?”
I didn’t deny her teasing laugh.
“It’s close to home, and it’s a team-up between the 3rd-year Ace and the 2nd-year Joker.”
I gave her a thumbs-up.
“I really want to see it. I’m curious how they’ll fight.”
Jinny narrowed her eyes at my thumb, then grabbed my finger as if seizing it.
“It worked, huh? I was curious too.”
Then she placed another thumb on top of it.
“They both looked incredibly strong. It’s definitely going to be fun.”
Jinny laughed with a mischievous “kikiki.” With her vote of approval, I typed a message into the group chat with slightly trembling fingers.
[Baek Gangjin]: Would it be okay if I came along to watch the scene too?
Even though I hadn’t been selected for duty, I realized I was genuinely looking forward to this nighttime residue sweep.