Before there was even time to grab him—BANG! The door slammed shut, and Sim Seowoo could only watch through the window as his retreating figure grew distant. Somehow, it felt like he was running away.
Left alone in the shelter, Sim Seowoo touched the nape of his neck.
“I don’t think it smells though…”
No matter how much he sniffed, he couldn’t smell any sweat. He hadn’t even sweated that much to begin with, but they say people are insensitive to their own scent, so maybe he just couldn’t tell.
Though Cheon Yijae had poured out harsh words in the process of leaving, it had all stemmed from a misunderstanding, so Seowoo wasn’t too hurt by it. Of course, he didn’t feel great about it, but the absurdity of it all outweighed everything else.
After struggling to carry him all the way here on his back.
He’d barely managed to resist the urge to give up halfway and worked so hard, only for Yijae to be disgusted by the smell of sweat—the very proof of that labor—and leave. This is why they say you shouldn’t take in a black-haired beast.
…No, wait, his situation was different since he was being paid to serve him.
Sim Seowoo let out a low sigh, feeling the weight of capital. Anyway, at least he’d brought Cheon Yijae inside rather than leaving him out on the mountain, so it should be fine—or so he was thinking when he suddenly let out a groan.
“…His hands were incredibly hot though.”
It occurred to him that Cheon Yijae’s hands, which he’d grabbed just moments ago, had been extremely hot. Though he’d been cast out in a matter of seconds, the hand he’d touched then had been like a ball of fire.
Considering how he’d worried about Yijae’s body temperature being too low while supporting him to the shelter, this was a clearly contrasting change. Had his body naturally warmed up after waking from sleep?
—They said it leaves a red mark on the target’s forehead!
—But the way to remove it was… what was it again? Marital consummation?
Jin Gwangmin’s voice suddenly rang out in Sim Seowoo’s head. They’d called it a “curse” like the Gwaeoggong’s revenge, but surely not…
“Mm, no. There was no red mark.”
Recalling Cheon Yijae’s last appearance, Sim Seowoo shook his head. If it was a mark so small that you’d have to look closely to see it, he might have missed it, but it didn’t seem like the mark described in the folklore would be that tiny. Even if, by some chance, it was that symptom, it would be impossible to resolve through “marital consummation” anyway.
However, when he’d first heard that information, like Jin Gwangmin, he’d thought the red mark couldn’t be removed since Cheon Yijae had no partner… but now his thinking had changed slightly.
‘Ah, it’s a dream…’
‘Why has it been so long…’
Perhaps that person Cheon Yijae sees in his dreams could make it possible.
After all, it seemed there was someone close enough for even “that” Cheon Yijae to let down his guard and even act spoiled around them. The emotion contained in the smile he’d worn with his face completely relaxed was too clear to assume it was family.
Affection toward a precious existence that couldn’t be hidden.
A desperate heart that felt almost tender.
Jin Gwangmin and Do Seonhwa seemed completely unaware of this person’s existence, so perhaps they weren’t a member of Heun. Moreover, since Cheon Yijae seemed to only see that person in dreams, they must be someone he hadn’t met recently…
“…Why am I suddenly deducing this?”
Sim Seowoo shook his head to cut off his thoughts. He had a habit of letting his consciousness wander wherever it wanted, and now he’d let his thoughts roam again. It was a habit that came out whenever his mind felt complicated.
He’d certainly experienced too much in one day.
Judging that he should just sit and rest now, Sim Seowoo moved his steps. There was still quite a bit of time until the rescue team arrived, but his phone was broken and there wasn’t anything particular to do in the shelter, so he’d probably just have to sleep.
“…”
However, even after lying down, Sim Seowoo couldn’t easily fall asleep. Whether it was because he’d left the lights on, reasoning that he should stay in a bright place since it was the Hour of the Ox, or because of the lingering effects of having collapsed until recently, he wasn’t sleepy at all.
Sim Seowoo’s reddish-brown eyes were calm as he stared blankly at the wood grain on the shelter wall.
‘When I look closely, you just seem like you’re following me because you want to die.’
That one remark suddenly surfaced. He’d generally let most of Cheon Yijae’s harsh words slide, but that one clung stubbornly to his ear, hiding there before finally crawling into his head. And then it swam around quite leisurely, as if it had found its proper place.
However, no particular displeasure appeared on Sim Seowoo’s face as he mulled over Cheon Yijae’s sarcasm. He simply, quietly replayed his voice over and over again, then slowly closed his eyelids.
‘Is he quick-witted because he’s close to the dead…?’
Cheon Yijae was uncannily good at reading his expressions and even saw through his thoughts clearly.
Considering Do Seonhwa and Jin Gwangmin weren’t like that, it seemed too simple to attribute it just to the influence of living in Heun—could it be because he harbored a Hyeong Akgui in his body? Perhaps because he carried a soul stained with death, he was sensitive to the signs of death.
So maybe that was why, from the very beginning, he’d rejected Seowoo and tried to expel him from Heun. Thinking about it this way, his persistent demands for resignation made sense. As the successor of the organization, he didn’t want to create unnecessary trouble, so he was trying to send him away.
But on the other hand, he felt somewhat regretful about the very fact that Cheon Yijae was so perceptive. Being close to the dead and thus recognizing those who would die… didn’t seem like a good thing.
Just as Sim Seowoo’s consciousness was gradually falling into distant darkness, a sound came from the distance. Trying not to let go of the drowsiness that had finally arrived, treating the fiercely blowing wind sound as mountain ASMR—Whiiiii—
Whiiiiiiiing—
But somehow, the sound kept getting louder. It grew noisy in this mountain forest as if a storm were forming, and then—CRASH! A sharp shattering sound rang out as Sim Seowoo’s eyes snapped wide open.
This was no longer the sound of nature.
Following his instinct, Sim Seowoo approached the window and looked at the storage building beyond. Now that he thought back, that wind sound had seemed closer to something’s scream.
The sight of the storage building was shocking.
“Why is there Ghost Energy…?”
Blood-red energy was whirling around the small container like a whirlpool. It was Cheon Yijae’s Ghost Energy, and as if stimulated by it, all sorts of black forms from the mountain were flocking to the storage building only to be mercilessly swept up. It was a scene of ghosts being devoured indiscriminately.
The red mouths opening wide—CRACK— CRACK—insatiably, was eerie.
Sim Seowoo looked into the interior of the storage building in a daze. Through the small window in the container, Cheon Yijae’s figure could be glimpsed. The image of his ash-gray dopo being tossed about wildly by the surging red energy looked like ash scattering in flames.
Cheon Yijae stood upright in the storage building, summoning countless Jaegui to devour all the wandering ghosts in the mountain, but his sudden hunt made no sense at all.
‘I heard eating too many ghosts isn’t good…’
Since he’d been assigned to the team serving the Young Master, he’d learned some information about him. They said the Jaegui he harbored was also called an “Agui” because it endlessly wanted to eat everything. Whether human or ghost, it would open its mouth and try to swallow without discrimination.
So Cheon Yijae had to regulate the appropriate amount, but if he continued swallowing ghosts, he’d heard that misfortune would enter his body. It was like the problem of excess—going beyond the amount he could digest.
Yet for some reason, right now Cheon Yijae seemed to be forcibly stuffing ghosts into himself. His complexion was somewhat pale, making Seowoo suspect whether perhaps the Jaegui was inciting him.
Could it be deliberately making him vulnerable to take over his body?
Stagger— Just then, Cheon Yijae covered his mouth with the back of his hand and swayed. As he bent his upper body as if dizzy, the red energy became completely distorted. The Jaegui ran wild as if out of control, and once again—CRASH!—a sound rang out.
The storage building was swallowed by darkness.
Only then did Sim Seowoo realize that the earlier shattering sound had also been the storage building’s lights breaking, and he hurriedly burst out of the shelter. Though he couldn’t understand what was happening, it was clear that Cheon Yijae was in danger, so he ran toward the storage building.
Could the yokai’s poison have remained, causing the Jaegui to target Cheon Yijae’s body again? Since it would be difficult to swallow him immediately, perhaps it was deliberately inflicting severe hunger to induce him to eat wandering ghosts, leading him to be stained with misfortune and lose control.
His chest felt cold as it seemed like the Jaegui had poured down over the collapsing Cheon Yijae at the end. Sim Seowoo flung the storage building door open—BANG!
“What on earth is going—!”
But he couldn’t finish his exclamation. Even his breathing, which had been ragged from running, came to an abrupt halt. The storage building was a total mess as if a bomb had dropped and the Ghost Energy surged ominously, but one thing definitely caught his attention.
“…Why are you like that?”
Cheon Yijae was tying himself to a chair.
The Jaegui that had seemed to be attacking him moments ago were now, with the movements of most faithful servants, finding old rope in the corner of the storage building and binding his body. They busily moved about, tying his upper body and the chair’s backrest tightly together.
Agui (아귀/餓鬼) – Alternative name for Jaegui, meaning “hungry ghost”
