Season two, chapter sixty

"Optimism, courage &
kindness"

THEA LET OUT a long sigh, unsure if she was disappointed that Jeok-bong had decided to leave or relieved that they wouldn't have to continue their little games anymore. Either way, he was a member too and they couldn't just let him go like that, she understood that he felt guilty for not being able to help much or perhaps because those evil spirits had terrified him enough to drive him away.

Regardless of the cause, Thea and the rest of the group were resolute in their determination to bring Jeok-bong back, even if it required accomplishing the seemingly impossible. They couldn't simply allow him to slip back into a coma, as it could undoubtedly result in his death.

"Powerless as a judge of right and wrong"?" Mo-tak asked as Mun read the letter that Jeok-bong had left before disappearing without any notice

And to be honest Thea was not really surprised because she had anticipated this to happen.

"He thinks he's not fit for the job" Thea responded, rephrasing Jeok-bong's fancy words into a more understandable form. He possessed a distinct manner of articulating words

"I knew that" Mo-tak added, nodding his head as if he had understood what the letter said from the beginning, when in reality it was the complete opposite

"Is he saying he's scared to fight the evil spirits?" Mun questioned, as he examined the letter he held in his hand with a sorrowful expression. He had the perception that he had not put in sufficient effort to gain Jeok-bong's trust regarding his difficulties

"He's just terrified. Gosh, what a shame. I can't believe how formal he is even in this situation" Mo-tak exclaimed with surprise, shaking his head disapprovingly

Jeok-bong was truly one of a kind, and it was undeniable that he possessed a genuinely innocent spirit.

"I understand his fear. I was also like him at first" Ms. Chu explained, her facial expressions displaying concern "If we want to catch the evil spirits who can see the territory, we must bring Jeok-bong back at all costs. Understand?"

"We'll drag him back if he refuses" Hana exclaimed with a serious expression, fully determined to drag him if that was feasible

"What? He left a postscript" Mun commented with his eyes wide open, he moved the paper nearer to his eyes so that he could read the tiny print"Please return the pore strips for me"

Thea, Ms. Chu, and Mo-tak sighed in frustration from their seats at the back, all three leaning back in disappointment simultaneously. Thea folded her arms across her chest, occasionally Jeok-bong had a tendency to be overly stubborn about his possessions.

"That little punk. Even his beloved pore strips. He must be that determined to quit" Mo-tak exclaimed with a frown, disapproving of the fact that Jeok-bong cared more about his pore strips than anything else

"As someone who's gone through something similar before" Mun turned his head back and made eye contact with each of them, recalling his prior experiences as a Counter "We'll need a good cop, bad cop strategy"

"A good guy and a bad guy. Just as you'd expect from a cop's son. Yeah, that's the best way to persuade" praised Mo-tak as Mun smiled with pride, Thea had to acknowledge that he was truly an amazing person, and her subtle expression of amusement was observed by her boyfriend, who casually raised his eyebrows experiencing an increased sense of pride

"Ms. Chu, Thea and I will give the carrot and you two can give him the stick" Mun explained, finally looking at Mo-tak and Hana, who remained serious-faced in response to his words

"Why are we the stick?" Mo-tak asked indignantly

"Why are you the carrot?" Hana questioned with a serious expression, looking at him for a few seconds before returning her gaze back to the road

After a few seconds of silence, Mun exclaimed, "What did I just say?" He furrowed his brow to emphasize his statement

"Well done" Ms. Chu patted his shoulder in acknowledgment

Both of them were definitely lost family members, and neither of them were aware of this fact.

"Jeok-bong!" Mun exclaimed with enthusiasm, addressing Jeok-bong upon reaching the designated place. Upon noticing the arrival of the team, Jeok-bong felt embarrassed and turned around. Mun, with a wide grin on his face, whispered softly "Smile. Just smile" urging everyone to smile, motioning his hand from left to right

Everyone, except for Hana who seemed very unhappy to be there, forced a smile onto their faces.

When nightfall arrived, they assembled at Jeok-bong's residence, noticing that he had been unusually quiet. It came as no surprise to any of them, considering that he might be dealing with personal issues and may not be receptive to their conversations. Regardless, none of them were aware of how to initiate the dialogue; they were all gesturing towards one another, encouraging Ms. Chu to speak up since she appeared to be the most composed individual in the room.

Thea was taken aback and unsure when everyone looked at her, encouraging her to speak up. Even her boyfriend gestured for her to say something. Thea felt deeply hurt and betrayed by the person she loved the most, causing her to frown. She rejected the idea of making herself look bad and instead pointed her finger at Ms. Chu. Then, she directed her finger towards Jeok-bong, who was sitting with his head down and frequently sighing with exhaustion.

"Goodness, you must've been so terrified" Ms. Chu began to say after being the chosen one, taking a seat beside Jeok-bong along with Mun and Thea "Seeing them in dreams is scary enough. But you came face to face and fought with one, so I completely empathize with you"

Mo-tak approached with a serious expression and forcefully hit the wooden seat with the fly swatter, startling Ms. Chu who nearly fell backward "In all my life, I've never met a Counter who ran away like you. If the Yung people find out about this, you'll no longer be a Counter. Understand?"

"Enough" Ms. Chu attempted to silence him, but he completely ignored her, Thea was certain that smoke seemed to be emanating from Mo-tak's ears

"You'll be back in a coma! Get it?" Mo-tak raised his voice while Mun punched him in the chest to make him stop, however, nothing appeared to deter him "You'll be comatose again, you idiot"

"Jeok-bong" softly spoke Mun as he gently held his pale hand. "I'm sure the smell was wretched. I had a tough time just being near the cow shed. You could only bear it, thanks to your sense of responsibility" assured Mun with a warm smile on his face

"Exactly. Even I couldn't bear the smell in the reeds. Your power is solely for yourself, that's why we won't be able to do it without you," Thea included, presenting her most sincere smile while Mun affirmed in her direction, as if acknowledging her success

"That's just his power. Hey, Jeok-bong. Don't you know how crucial your power is for us?" Hana coldly stated, standing in front of the aforementioned person "Are you a little kid? Take your job seriously"

Jeok-bong, with a downcast expression, disclosed for the first time "I can't smell them"

"What? Smell what?" Ms. Chu asked confused, not understanding what he was referring to

Jeok-bong startled the entire Counters team by expressing "I can no longer smell the evil spirits"

"What do you mean?" Mun asked, getting up from his seat while Hana knelt in front of him with curiosity "Why all of a sudden?"

"Beats me. My power appeared out of the blue. And after the evil spirit smacked my nose that day, their smell just disappeared" Jeok-bong explained with a dejected tone, pouting his lips as if talking about it made him feel useless

"What?"

"Look, kid. This is probably just temporary" Mo-tak tried to reason, crossing his arms with the red fly swatter tightly in his hand

"Exactly"

"He's right. You might not be used to you power yet" Thea added,  making an effort to discover a justification for the current situation since it seemed there was none, which caused concern

"Exactly"

"What if you're wrong? What will you did if my power is gone for good? What if I put all of you in danger like last time?" Jeok-bong began to say, exchanging glances with Thea. He couldn't bear the memories of her getting injured for consecutive days, and he couldn't bring himself to make direct eye contact with her without experiencing overwhelming guilt "then, what will you do?"

"You're not the reason why we got hurt" Hana raised her voice and furrowed her brow as she stood up from the ground, fully aware that his main concern was primarily for Thea rather than anyone else

"You're wrong. I was never cut out for this job. All I could do was sniff them out. That power was so dear to me. But now I've lost even that" Jeok-bong explained, shaking his head with a sense of guilt "I can't stay with you just so I can live. I feel too guilty. I just can't do that"

"Jeok-bong!" The father of the aforementioned shouted from inside the house

"Yes?" Mo-tak replied from his position, shifting the fly swatter from side to side

"Come here for a minute"

"Jeok-bong, you father's calling you" Mo-tak pointed with the red flyswatter

"I'm coming" Jeok-bong quickly stood up from his seat and headed towards the inside of his house

Thea crossed her arms, letting out a long sigh of anguish, perhaps they may not successfully convince him and they might end up without one more member if they did nothing about it. However, she also experienced feelings of guilt as she believed that her actions might have contributed to his decision to leave initially.

"Let me" Ms. Chu offered, proceeding to assist in holding the small table filled with food that Mun and Jeok-bong were holding

"Hey, check this out"

"Gosh you shouldn't have"

"My goodness. I'm sorry for not introducing myself earlier" said Jeok-bong's father with a remorseful smile, bowing slightly

"No, we should be sorry. Im Ms. Chu—"

"Our company director" Mo-tak, interrupted with a smile as he pointed at the elder woman

"Director Chu," Ms. Chu corrected, her face filled with embarrassment as she covered her mouth

"Right. An executive" Jeok-bong's father smiled with excitement, his eyes shutting completely

"I'm Ga..."

"An employee" Hana interrupted, pointing at Mo-tak who wiped away his smile to give her an outraged look

"Our employee" Thea agreed, playing along cautiously, Mo-tak simultaneously casting a disapproving glance towards Thea

"Chief. I'm chief Ga" Mo-tak interrupted, bowing after being humiliated, even though he's accustomed to receiving such treatment from his supposed relatives he could not shake off the feeling of shame

"It's nice to meet you" said the man imitating his action, showing a slight bow to demonstrate respect

"That's Assistant Manager So" Mo-tak pointed to Mun, who bowed in acknowledgement "And that's the secretary of the Assistant Manager, Ms. Park," He then pointed to Thea, who uncomfortably bowed in response to how he introduced her

Despite their false claims about their job titles in the alleged 'company', Thea felt a twinge of guilt for deceiving Jeok-bong's father. While she was once prone to lying about her own welfare during her teenage years, she had moved beyond such dishonesty. Recognizing that she couldn't deceive her family, she resolved to permanently change her ways.

"Hello"

"It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry there's not much food" the man exclaimed, furrowing his brow with sorrow

"This is a feast"

"Please enjoy"

"Okay"

With a joyful smile on his old face, the man commented "I hope you'll like the food"

"Of course we will"

"Then, I'll let you chat" the man added, turning around, not without first fixing his gaze on his son, who had his head lowered

"Okay"

"Jeok-bong, you better act right. Eat up" the man said with a serious expression in a warning tone, but his lips curled into a smile as he directed his gaze towards the group

"Thank you"

"Behave you fool" he slapped Jeok-bong on the shoulder before removing his shoes to enter the house

"Thank you for the meal"

"My pleasure. Enjoy"

"Dad" Jeok-bong stammered, his eyes following his father's figure who paid him no attention and disappeared into the house

"Jeok-bong. Jeok-bong. You're going to leave him and go back into a coma? That's a terrible thing to do as a son" Mun muttered disapprovingly, his tone revealing his frustration. If he had his father with him, he would definitely reconsider his decision

"You should eat and go home before it gets too late. I'll pack you some sweet potatoes" Jeok-bong swiftly responded, turning around with a neutral expression on his face. He had grown tired of listening to the group's criticism and harsh language, as he was already preoccupied with many thoughts and did not feel like engaging in a conversation

Thea observed as he quickly entered his residence, leaving her unsure of what to do or say. She felt let down, worried, and puzzled. It was difficult for her to comprehend why he didn't carefully weigh his decision. If she had her parents by her side, she wouldn't even consider returning to a coma, not if it meant being separated from them.

"That's not important" Mun exclaimed with annoyance, going after Jeok-bong with determination, but he had already entered his house, closing the door forcefully behind him

"Damn it"

"Jeok-bong..."

Perhaps there was no choice left and they should let Jeok-bong make a decision on his own, whether to quit his job or continue working for his father. Thea hoped that he would choose wisely, she trusted him like she trusted Mun.

Author's note;

I apologize for not updating frequently, but as I mentioned before, my inspiration is slowly fading and sometimes all I want is to sleep. School is causing me a lot of stress, especially because it's the last week before Christmas break 😭👍🏻

Question of the day: What do you do during your free time? 🥸

I usually spend most of my time on my phone, either reading, writing, watching TikTok, or playing games 🤷‍♀️ See y'all in the next chapter! 💕