"No sir! I told you not to touch the bell!!"
"Ah~ Sorry, sorry~"
"Oh really..."
Here's how it all happened: Taehyung and Bangul began living together. Until now, Taehyung had been homeless, so he'd spent the entire year sleeping in a will-o'-the-wisp at night, but now he was staying at Bangul's house to protect her. Bangul had initially been dissatisfied with this arrangement, but Taehyung offered to tell her where his grandmother's grave was, so she readily agreed. She hadn't expected him to be so unwilling, though...
"No, I'm not crying."
"why?"
"You cried a year ago. Now it's time to let you rest in peace. Because of my incompetence, you were left to rot on that cold floor for a year."
"okay"
Bangul had been feeling uneasy and suffocated because she hadn't been able to properly bury her grandmother. She didn't like the idea of running into her grandmother every now and then and wandering around the house, which reeked of decay. But now that Taehyung had given her a proper burial, the suffocation seemed to have eased a little.
_
That night, a night filled with an unknown black fog, Taehyung felt something. He had an unpleasant feeling, so he went outside and saw several evil spirits gathered together. Each evil spirit was emitting a huge amount of energy, each filled with their own grudges, and that tremendous energy enveloped the entire village where Bangul lived.
"Could this also be God's plan.."
Taehyung fainted for a moment after witnessing the unbelievable sight. At that moment, Bangul also felt a strange chill and went outside. Outside, he saw Taehyung lying on the ground and black smoke swirling above him. He immediately grabbed a gold bell and shook it. As soon as he did, the smoke gradually disappeared and Taehyung came to his senses.
"are you okay?"
"Why are you lying here like this... Yes?"
"Where did the demons go..?"
"Huh? A demon? You mean that smoke just now? I chased it away by shaking the bell..."
"Ah... I see. Good job."
"Wh...Why are you looking at me so scary?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Taehyung vanished the evil spirits that had been hovering behind Bangul. Seeing that, Bangul felt certain. "Ah, this man can really protect me..." he thought. After that incident, Bangul slept every day hugging Taehyung in fear. For some reason, black fog rose from Bangul's front yard every day, and Taehyung couldn't sleep well because he had to deal with it every day.
Three months had flowed by in vain. Unable to bear this life any longer, Bangul decided to return to school. She hadn't been to school since nearly falling from a window, but Taehyung, finding it so boring every day, urged Bangul to never trust anyone and to always carry Bangul with her...
※The next day※
Taehyung said his final goodbyes to Bangul before she left for school. Taehyung, who had already grown attached to Bangul, felt anxious and worried even if he was separated from her for a moment. He was worried that she might fall from the window like before, or that the evil spirits that had been plaguing the town for days might harm her.
"Are you really going..?"
"Do I have to go?"
"Phew... Mister, we'll only be apart for a few hours~ Don't worry, Bangul is here too, right?"
"Still... I'm worried."
"Sir, you're surprisingly affectionate. Hehe, I'll be back! I'll take good care of the house!"
"Yeah... but how long are you going to call me uncle!!"
"Haa~ I'm telling you I live with you for this reason? Teasing you is the most fun thing in the world!"
"No...not you sir..."
"Yes, yes, Taehyung~"
"You little brat!!"
It was Bangwool who teased Taehyung until the end.
※school※
When Bangul arrived at school, the kids stared at her and whispered. "Isn't that the kid who fell out the window alone?" After hearing those stories, Bangul realized that now that he had his uncle, he had nothing to fear. He tried to overcome his previously timid and reserved personality and spoke up with confidence.
"Hey!!! Why don't you all be quiet? I fell out the window and you guys just stood by and harassed me! I fell out the window and not a single kid came looking for me, so what are you talking about! Do you think I want to see ghosts? I'm having a hard time too! Ghosts keep harassing me! You guys are harassing me too! My grandmother is gone now and I'm dying alone, so why do you keep harassing me! Please stop!"
When I shouted, the kids seemed a bit surprised. Among them, the one I was close with, Jeong-guk, seemed the most surprised.
I yelled out loud and went into my classroom, opened my book, and sat down. The graffiti was still there, and the chair was still the wrong height. It was the kids who had been bullying me. My locker was still glued shut, and my drawers were still full of smelly trash. I didn't expect anything anyway, so I just ignored it and sat there. Then Jungkook came up to me and started talking to me, cleaning up the trash on my desk.
"hi"
"...."
"Do you remember me?"
"What happened to you then?"
"You fell out the window and disappeared without a trace, and then you came back three months later as if nothing had happened."
"You don't have to know, why are you acting friendly now?"
"You're pretending to be close? We were always close."
"I'm sorry... I couldn't help you, I was so scared... I was afraid I'd get hurt while helping you..."
"You think that's true? Okay, get out of here."
Bangul really didn't like Jeongguk's attitude. Eventually, she tried to push Jeongguk, who was chattering next to her, away with her hand, but Jeongguk couldn't be grabbed or touched. Surprised, Bangul looked at Jeongguk, and Jeongguk was standing there with blood dripping from one side of his head and a sad smile.
"You...what's wrong..? Are you...dead?"
"Yeah, the day you disappeared, in a car accident... No, now I'll protect you. I'll stop the ghosts so they can't bother you. I'll help you from your side. I'm glad I can help you like this. Actually, I've been so sorry for you all this time. I was so scared that I couldn't help you and just watched. I'm really, really sorry. I wanted to help you even if it meant dying like this."
As Jeongguk spoke with a smile, Bangul shed tears. Bangul knew that even if she were Jeongguk, she wouldn't have been able to help someone like him, so she forgave him and decided to go with him.
So, Jungkook and Bangul spent the whole day chatting happily. The other students looked at Bangul a bit strangely, as he seemed to be talking to himself. After school, Jungkook followed Bangul to her house. Taehyung, seeing this, looked at Jungkook with displeasure. Having already heard of Taehyung from Bangul, Jungkook didn't pay much attention.
Taehyung) "Hey kid, what's that? What the hell did you bring in here?"
"Huh? Mister! Say hello! This is Jungkook, he's going to be hanging out with me from now on!"
(Jungkook) "Please take good care of me~"
"I don't like it..."
The end.