“Mm.”

I opened my eyes.

A familiar ceiling.

The very same ceiling I’d been staring at for the past year.

I blinked up at it for a while before pushing myself upright.

Morning was supposed to feel refreshing, yet my mood was nothing but foul.

Not that it mattered—ever since I joined the Martial Alliance, I hadn’t once woken up feeling clean.

“Ugh...”

As I tried to sit up, my whole body felt heavy. My head—well, that was expected, since it was still injured.

But why was my body this damn heavy? Like something had been pressing down on me—

[Young man. You’re awake.]

‘....’

...Yeah. Something had been pressing me down.

Probably all night.

The moment I sat up, a voice whispered right by my ear.

I didn’t move my gaze. I didn’t need to.

Right beside me.

That towering old man from last night was right next to me.

Without changing my expression, I scanned the room.

“You’re up?”

“Good morning, Senior.”

To my left, Yoo Hyungin was just starting to rise from his bed.

Not just him—the other seniors sleeping in the dorm were also waking.

[Hoo~]

“......”

Shit.

The sound in my ear almost made me flinch.

[Oh! You can endure it? Impressive.]

The old man clapped his hands together, delighted at who knows what.

So he’d been here all night? Not good.

The fact that he could move around buildings meant he wasn’t a place-bound ghost.

The worst kind.

The clingy, strange ones—he gave off that exact vibe.

“Hey, idiot. What are you doing?”

A senior across from me called out.

I quickly sat up straighter.

“Sorry, I’ll get ready right away.”

“Little shit. All the seniors are getting ready and you just sit there?”

Exactly. Looked like dead weight no matter how you sliced it.

I swallowed a sigh and hurried to change into my uniform.

“Tch. Always dragging his feet...”

“Forget it. What would he know? Useless bastard doesn’t even have sense.”

[Young man, you’re treated like trash, eh?]

“......”

I was already pissed off, and his butting in only made it worse.

So much for a smooth morning.

****

Mornings at the Martial Alliance (Murim Maeng) always began with training.

I’d never been in other organizations, but at least here, that was the rule.

“Two more laps!”

At the lead’s shout, my brows knit.

How many laps was this already?

On average, we did about fifteen laps a morning.

My legs were shaking.

I used inner energy to support them, but my dantian (inner energy center) was small to begin with—it didn’t help much.

Every morning, it felt like I’d die.

Why the hell didn’t this inner pool ever grow?

Still, I ran stubbornly.

I used to be able to endure at least this much, but now even that felt impossible.

[Your sweat is pouring like a waterfall. Want me to wipe it? Oh right, can’t touch, hahaha!]

All thanks to that damned old man chattering at my side.

[Your body’s at its limit, yet you’ve got grit. Yes, yes, youngsters these days should have this kind of grit!]

‘Shut the fuck up.’

My vision blurred. I was barely hanging on, and with his constant yammering I thought I’d go insane.

[Young man, not much left. Show your grit now.]

Two more laps were “not much”? Bullshit.

I was seriously going to lose it.

‘Where the hell did this old man come from?’

I’d already mapped out most of the ghosts in the area.

Knew their haunts, had a rough idea of who they’d been.

‘Never seen this one before.’

Blue-eyed, towering—never once seen him.

Which meant he’d probably only died recently.

‘Not from around here?’

There were only a few cases when new ghosts appeared.

Not many left behind regrets strong enough to become ghosts.

When they did, they usually appeared either—

‘Because they died here...’

Or because this was their birthplace, their home.

If not even that, then...

‘It’s only when someone possessed ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ by a spirit comes here.’

You know the saying, “possessed by an evil spirit.”

Most ghosts, the so-called place-bound types, clung to land or buildings.

But sometimes, ghosts latched onto people and wandered with them.

This old man gave off that feeling.

If that were true—

‘Then go cling to the poor bastard you possessed. Why the hell bother me?’

I’d gotten tangled up.

That was exactly my state right now.

“Haa... huff... haa...”

My breathing grew ragged.

I couldn’t focus, couldn’t breathe properly.

Without breath, my movements faltered.

“Bang junior, are you okay?”

“...Y-yeah...”

Yoo Hyungin came up, concern in his voice.

Even answering felt hard.

“You don’t look well. You sure you’re alright?”

“...I’m fine.”

What else could I say? Even if I faltered, the moment I fell behind, all eyes would be on me.

I had to endure.

My chest felt crushed.

The pain in my injured head flared sharper, but I still kept my legs moving.

[Oh ho...]

The old man made a sound, intrigued.

But it wasn’t just him—I felt another gaze.

Through trembling eyes I looked up.

Yeon So Cheon.

The moment our eyes met, he flinched and turned his head.

What the hell? Coincidence? Or was I seeing wrong because I was exhausted? Probably the latter.

Why would he bother looking at me?

“Ghrrk... huff...”

Fifteen laps.

Exactly fifteen.

At the end, I collapsed into a staggered crouch.

The others calmly caught their breath, but I alone was wrecked. Even after a year of morning runs.

‘Ah, this useless body.’

No matter how much I trained, I never improved.

Was it because I took after Father? Probably. Definitely.

Damn, what a shit life.

“Ugh, I’m gonna die...”

As I panted for breath, something appeared before me.

A ladle of water, held out by Yoo Hyungin.

“Drink?”

I took it with trembling hands.

“...Thanks.”

“You worked hard.”

“Worked hard, my ass. I can’t even do this right.”

“Haha.”

He chuckled lightly at my reply.

I raised the water carefully to my lips—

[Nyooooo-rohng!]

“Pffft!”

The old ghost suddenly popped up in front of me, twisted his face, and made a bizarre noise.

Startled, I spit water everywhere.

Fuck. I’d let my guard down.

The water sprayed straight through the ghost.

I was screwed.

No way to explain this away.

“Uh...?”

Then I froze.

Because the water that passed through him had soaked—

“....”

Yeon So Cheon.

Drenched, standing right there.

He hadn’t expected it either—he just stared at me blankly.

“...Ah... uh...”

[Oh dear.]

Even the old man looked sheepish, expression oddly prim for such a giant.

Yeon So Cheon twitched stiffly, then lifted his gaze to meet mine.

“......”

“......”

I swallowed dryly, unable to say a word.

What the hell kind of situation was this? How had it come to this?

‘Why is Yeon So Cheon...’

...standing right in front of me? I blurted before thinking.

“Uh... uh... sorry.”

Apology first, excuses later.

“I—I was startled when you suddenly approached, so I—”

“When startled... you spit water?”

“...Call it unfortunate coincidence. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

He wiped his damp forehead with the back of his hand, then looked at me.

Or rather, at the bandages wrapped around my head.

“Because you’re injured. Right? That’s why.”

“...What is?”

I watched him closely as I asked.

His other hand kept twitching toward the sword at his waist, then pulling back.

Would he really have drawn it if I weren’t injured?

The chill in the air froze me in place.

“You crazy bastard!”

A shout thundered behind us.

Oh, perfect. The Daeju.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!”

“Indeed. What is this about?”

Scratching the back of his head, Yeon So Cheon answered lightly, but the Daeju stomped toward me, furious.

Then—

Slap!

His palm cracked against my cheek.

My head snapped to the side, skull rattled.

“If you’re useless, at least stay out of sight! How dare you cause trouble?”

I rubbed my stinging cheek.

Thankfully, my teeth hadn’t loosened.

The Daeju ignored me and hurried over to Yeon So Cheon.

“Agent Yeon, are you alright? What a disgraceful thing to happen. I’ll make sure that bastard pays dearly.”

“...No, it was nothing but an accident. I only approached because I had something to say to... him.”

He clearly didn’t know my name—he’d hesitated just now.

And yet he claimed he had business with me. The Daeju’s eyes went wide.

“You, Agent Yeon, with that useless bastard? What business could you possibly have—”

“Our conversation last night left an impression, so I wanted to greet... him properly.”

“It’s Bang Sungyeon,” I cut in.

“To greet Young Master Bang.”

...Yeah. He definitely hadn’t known my name. Picked it up the moment I said it.

And Young Master Bang? I hadn’t heard that title since I was a kid. Not once since our family collapsed.

“...A greeting?”

The Daeju looked even more incredulous.

I felt the same.

‘What kind of greeting?’

Was he talking about last night’s conversation? Wait—

‘Did he come here just to chew me out?’

It made sense. Some no-name had barged in at dawn and scolded him—of course he’d be pissed.

‘Shit. This is bad.’ 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Because of that old man I’d lost focus, but reality was clear.

I’d lectured Yeon So Cheon, whose backer I didn’t even know.

Now I’d spit water in his face.

‘Mm.’

I nodded grimly to myself.

‘I’m getting kicked out.’

No bright future here.

I’d be lucky to make it home alive.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Totally fucked.

As I was mentally drafting my farewell to the Martial Alliance—

“...So please don’t be too harsh on him.”

Yeon So Cheon’s words stopped the Daeju.

I tilted my head.

‘What? He’s not here to scold me?’

If he was stepping in to stop it, maybe not.

Or maybe since I’d already been slapped, he was letting it slide.

Yeah. That was more likely.

“......”

The Daeju looked between him and me.

“...Hoo.”

He clearly wanted to lash out again, but with Yeon So Cheon speaking, he couldn’t.

“Just seeing you exhausts me. Get out of my sight. Vanish.”

“I’m the one who got slapped. Why is the Daeju—”

Crack.

“...Yes, sir. Leaving.”

I saw the next slap coming, so I scurried off.

“Uh—!”

Yeon So Cheon made a short noise, but before the Daeju could roar again, I bolted.

I had patrol later, but until then, if I stayed out of sight, I’d be fine.

I slipped into a quiet corner of the Alliance grounds, scanning my surroundings.

Few people ever came here.

Especially now, when everyone should be training.

No one around?

After one more cautious check—

“...Haa.”

I exhaled and turned.

Then asked,

“What do you want?”

[Hm?]

“What the hell do you want from me?”

The old man, who’d been digging in his nose, widened his eyes.

Like I had, he checked the area—

[Ohhh.]

Then, realizing I was speaking to him, clasped his hands primly, expression beaming.

[At last, you’re acknowledging me.]

“......”

The coy pose didn’t fit his massive frame at all.

Eight feet tall, muscle packed solid, scarred all over, with those eerie blue eyes.

Nothing about him looked like a normal ghost.

And now he was acting bashful?

Infuriating.

Truly.

“Haa.”

I dragged a hand through my hair, sighing.

I’d sworn not to acknowledge him—

‘Tch...’

Normally, I never would’ve.

Even if a ghost realized I could see them, ignoring them to the end was enough.

But—

‘This one’s different. He’s a nuisance.’

This old man was trouble.

For one, he wasn’t impatient.

Most ghosts, consumed by grudges, clung to me desperately the moment they sensed I could help them.

But not him.

Not even a day together, yet I knew.

‘I’ve seen too many ghosts for this to be new.’

It only took a glance to read them.

And this one was the bothersome type.

He clearly wanted something, but he wasn’t urgent.

Instead, he teased, joked, stared at me with curiosity.

I’d met ghosts like this in my past life—

‘Every last one of them was insane.’

Not a single sane one among them.

Just thinking of it gave me chills.

Their actions, their eyes—

‘...And how vivid they were.’

Most ghosts were half-transparent. But some stood out, vividly clear.

Those were the ones like this.

All of them unpredictable lunatics.

And I’d been ruined by them more than once.

Judging from that—this old man was no different.

And then—

‘A ghost with legs?’

First time ever.

His legs were planted firmly on the ground.

Like a living man.

The only difference—

‘No shadow.’

He had no shadow.

‘If I’d noticed earlier, I wouldn’t be in this mess.’

But we’d met at night. Easy mistake.

In daylight, I never would’ve slipped.

Still, even knowing that—

‘He’s unusual.’

Too unusual.

Which meant I had to be careful. No matter how great he’d been in life—

The moment I tried to use him, I’d be the one eaten alive.

I’d seen it, suffered it, dozens of times.

So I’d be more cautious now.

Sighing deeply, I asked,

“...So. What do you want?”

[Ignored me all this time, yet now you acknowledge me? Boring...]

“You asked me to look, so I looked. Why be disappointed?”

What the hell.

“If you don’t like it, fine. I’ll just go back to ignoring you—”

[Heh! I was just joking. You’ve got quite a temper, young man.]

“......”

Already sick of this.

Exactly as I thought—this old man was a pain.

“...I won’t listen long. What do you want?”

[Judging from your reaction, this isn’t your first time with ghosts like me.]

“Yeah. You could say that.”

Too many times. Enough to make me shiver.

[So then—will you finally hear me out...?]

“Before that.”

I cut him off.

There was something I had to say first.

“There’s something you should know.”

[Hmm?]

Based on past experience, I needed to warn him upfront.