Proposal (3)
Kim Jihye kept unleashing sorcery on Kim Charyeok several more times after that. But even as he rolled around on the floor, he twisted his neck to dodge somehow. He even kicked off the wall with his feet and spun through the air like some circus performer just to evade her. At this point, I was starting to think the guy wasn't human. I'd cut him some slack so far for catching a flying baseball barehanded or jumping off the fourth floor because he hadn't eaten his protein on time. But watching him sense and dodge a sorcerer's spatial leap with animal instincts? Yeah, no—this dude was definitely not human.
"...Look at this bastard?"
Kim Jihye's eyebrow twitched. Up until now, she'd been flying into a rage and attacking wildly, but seeing Kim Charyeok keep dodging sparked something like interest in her eyes.
"Ha... Hanjun! He's got superpowers! And there's definitely something at his fingertips!"
Kim Charyeok yelled at me, his eyes darting everywhere in tension. Hearing that, Kim Jihye looked even more intrigued.
"You... you can feel this?"
She raised her hand, and Kim Charyeok freaked out, bracing to roll away again.
"...Hey, this fucker's got some real talent."
Kim Jihye pulled a cigarette from her pocket and mumbled around it. She stared at Kim Charyeok for a while, then snapped her fingers to make the cigarette vanish and strode into the living room. Kim Charyeok watched her warily, still worried she might teleport again. She snorted a laugh and plopped down on the sofa.
"This is fun."
Kim Charyeok turned to me like What the hell is going on? I shot him back the same confused look.
* *
Kim Jihye, sprawled on the sofa, beckoned us over. Kim Charyeok was on high alert at first, but as time passed and it sank in that she wasn't going to hurt him, he approached with curious eyes. I sat in the chair across from the sofa.
"Kang Hanjun, what the hell does your friend do?"
Kim Jihye asked, looking at me. I glanced at the musclehead and shot back, "Isn't he a youkai?"
"A youkai? Please."
She crossed her legs and stated flatly, "You think I'd be in charge of the Seoul branch for nothing? Every sorcerer and youkai in Seoul is under my watch."
Then... I stared at Kim Charyeok. Hearing about youkai and sorcerers, his eyes were sparkling like crazy. The guy was obsessed not just with iron-pumping but with subculture too. He had light novels and comics stacked everywhere at home and was always telling me how he wanted to go to another world. Non-everyday life had crashed into him head-on. I couldn't even imagine how hyped he was right now.
"Well, there are a few off the grid."
Kim Jihye snapped her fingers as something occurred to her. She had the cigarette back in her mouth somehow and muttered sharply, "Like those man-eating youkai bastards who attacked you last time... or sorcerers with their fucked-up ideologies. Aside from those shits, nothing gets past me."
She eyed Kim Charyeok steadily. Her sharp gaze made me swallow hard, wondering if maybe he had some hidden backstory like me. But she just snorted and spat out, sounding exasperated, "This guy's just human, though. No youkai yin or yang energy at all—pure 100% human."
Kim Charyeok flexed his muscles proudly at that. "Hrm! These muscles are all my hard work, no doubt about it."
Her definitive answer that he wasn't a youkai shocked me more. So all those insane stunts he'd pulled so far were just a regular human doing them?
Kim Jihye chewed on her cigarette for a moment before speaking up. "That's why I was thinking—why not bring this guy along too?"
"Along where?"
She jerked her thumb backward at my question. "To the Sorcery Youkai Academy in that world."
Kim Charyeok shot to his feet. "Another world?!"
Seeing him light up without a care in the world, I figured I'd be stuck with the guy from here on out.
* *
Kim Jihye gave Kim Charyeok a quick rundown on the otherworld after that. Youkai and sorcerers—just like she'd told me, but skimmed down. She kept my birth secret and family status under wraps, claiming I was going over there because my parents had been sorcerers in that world. Kim Charyeok soaked it all in, his bald head gleaming, muscles twitching with excitement.
Once she finished, Kim Jihye sighed. "Truth is, I had a different goal at first, but sorcerers with the right 'constitution' are so damn rare these days... I couldn't help eyeing him up."
Constitution? Like some kind of body trait? As I wondered, she added as if reading my mind, "Sorcerers split into two types. Most use spells directly, but a select few rely on their special 'constitution' and bulldoze through with raw physicality."
She raised a finger, and Kim Charyeok flinched like he'd sensed something. She nodded at him toward me like See?
"That's the constitution. Unlike regular sorcerers, they can't cast spells, but their bodies are hypersensitive to sorcery—they can read the opponent's yin-yang flows better than anyone."
Kim Charyeok nodded. "That's how I felt it and dodged your spatial leap earlier, Hanjun."
Makes sense—even for him, dodging Shrink Ground was too much. He'd read her casting and moved first. Though thinking deeper, it still sounded ridiculous.
"Constitution sorcerers trade spellcasting for that sensitivity to yin-yang and the five elements, channeling it into physical prowess... but that's a story for later."
Kim Jihye turned to him. "So, you enrolling in that world?"
"Of course I'm going!"
Kim Charyeok pounded his chest. "I've been building these muscles to survive if I ever crossed into another world!"
"...You were serious?"
I'd thought his otherworld talk was just bullshit, but nope—every word was dead serious.
He grinned at me, baring his teeth. "Damn right! And how could I leave my one true friend Hanjun behind?!"
"...You bastard."
Crude and simple as he was, his earnest words touched me a little. That feeling evaporated quick when he started yelling "Another world!" nonstop, though.
"Why are all these constitution sorcerers such weirdos?"
Kim Jihye pressed her temple like she had a headache from him and lit another cigarette. She chewed on it, then let out a low "Ah."
"...Shit. Forgot the original plan 'cause of this guy. Haa... Time's already tight as it is."
She scratched her head, her dark circles seeming to sag even lower. With a heavy sigh, she snapped her fingers. A small something floated up in her hand—a blue gem, almost like a scale.
She fiddled with it and handed it to me. "Here, take it."
"What's this?"
I accepted it politely with both hands. She replied flatly, "Dragon Scale Armor."
"Dragon Scale Armor...?"
"Yeah. Stick it on your stomach—it'll burrow into you on its own. It's a divine object that absorbs lethal shocks automatically. Use it wisely."
Skeptical, I lifted my shirt and pressed the blue scale to my belly. Sure enough, it wriggled like it was passing through skin and slipped right inside.
"It could block seven hits originally, but your dad used five, so two left. Remember that."
She said it, then closed her eyes, lost in thought. When she opened them, for a split second, her gaze softened—not the usual icy chill. It made me think she had a deep connection to my dad.
"Anyway, I'm giving you this for emergencies, like those youkai who attacked you before. Weird shit keeps happening lately. Why can't they just live in peace? Fucking youkai assholes and sorcerers with their retarded ideologies... damn it."
She raked her hair furiously; a few strands fell out from the stress. She was a beauty on the outside, but seeing how beat-down she looked stirred some pity in me.
"And take this too."
She rummaged in her pocket and handed over a talisman. Yellow paper plastered with thick red writing—looked anything but ordinary. I swallowed and asked, "What's this?" She waved dismissively like just return it later.
Flipping it over revealed eight digits. As I puzzled it out, she shot up like it was nothing. "My phone number. The talisman's used up, so toss it."
It felt kinda hollow. She snorted at my dazed stare.
"You two need basic knowledge before enrolling, so I'll squeeze in time tomorrow to teach you. Pick up when I call."
Oh yeah, tomorrow was the weekend. Totally free, so I could go anytime. Same for Kim Charyeok—he just worked out all day.
Kim Jihye tsked at the pile of whiskey on the table and waved us off. "Alright, I'm out—got no time. Drink, but don't overdo it."
She snapped her fingers and vanished, leaving just me and Kim Charyeok.
"...Hanjun."
Alone now, he spoke in a trembling voice. I'd never heard him sound like that—I whipped around, spooked. Tears welled in his eyes, face full of emotion.
"I wasn't wrong. Back in elementary school... reading comics, dreaming of another world, building these muscles... it was the right choice all along."
He jumped up, hugged a bottle of whiskey from the table, and came at me grinning with his gums showing. I protested, "We're not even parting yet—why drink?"
"A manly welcome party for our otherworld enrollment!"
He was too hyped; I ended up drinking with him. And so, for a good while, Kim Charyeok and I got blasted in the room.