“Ugh…!”
As soon as the shaman, Seoran, entered Jieon’s house, she covered her nose and mouth and dry heaved. Although Jieon frowned at the extremely rude behavior, Mua nodded as if he had expected this.
“The stench of rot is so strong I can’t breathe!”
Seoran, who had taken off her shoes and entered, suddenly shouted. Even though the speaker clearly looked like a woman in her twenties, her voice strangely sounded like a grandmother, creating a sense of dissonance.
“With all this mischief done throughout the house, it’s no wonder our Grim Reaper-nims had difficulties.”
While shouting, Seoran bowed her head respectfully toward Mua. Currently, Woldeok Grandma was possessing Seoran. Normally she didn’t come forward so directly, but before entering the house, Woldeok had stopped Seoran.
Her intention was to possess Seoran and protect her because the energy felt from inside the house was no ordinary matter. Even though Seoran wasn’t someone who would be affected by just any sorcery, the fact that Woldeok came forward first meant the energy of this house was that malicious.
“It can be said that the reason Grim Reaper-nim had difficulty finding your abilities was all due to this spell’s trickery.”
“I thought as much.”
Mua answered. He had wondered why he could only resonate with the body to this extent even though quite a bit of time had passed since possession. It didn’t make sense that bonding was this difficult even though it was already a body that had lost its owner when its soul was severed.
“Please look around the house first.”
“Yes. It will be noisy for a while, so please understand.”
“As long as you can solve the problem, you may do anything. Don’t think it’s difficult and do as you please.”
Jieon, who had been watching Mua treat Seoran with a rather kind attitude, let out a chuckle.
“Hey, anyone watching would think you’re the homeowner?”
“You brat! What kind of manner of speaking is that to Grim Reaper-nim! Have you ever seen such a person deserving Divine Punishment!”
It was Seoran who pointed her finger at Jieon and shouted angrily. Jieon, who had suddenly been cursed at, gaped his mouth in absurdity. It was the first time in his life someone had yelled at him like this.
“Enough. He’s just a child who doesn’t know anything yet.”
It was Mua who soothed Seoran.
“Even so, Grim Reaper-nim. You’re too lenient.”
“What would be gained by arguing with such an immature brat? Don’t mind him and do your work.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Jieon felt dizzy from the gossip unfolding right in front of him. If I’d known this would happen, I should have called Suchan hyung too. Having such childish thoughts, Jieon just let out a deep sigh.
“Why are you standing there blankly? You go sit over there. You might be startled if you see something terrible for no reason.”
“Who do you take me for, a coward?”
Jieon retorted even more ‘impudently’ without caring about Seoran’s glaring gaze. He didn’t seem to realize that the sight of him obediently going to sit on the sofa while protesting made him look even more immature.
“Then I’ll take a look around first.”
Seoran bowed politely to Mua and then began looking around the house with a stern face.
***
“Urgh! Ugh…!”
Seoran came out with a pale face after vomiting in the bathroom. Mua asked with a worried expression.
“Are you alright?”
“Wow, I’m seriously seeing something this vicious for the first time since becoming a shaman!”
Her manner of speaking had changed, so it seemed Grandma, who had been possessing her, had withdrawn and Seoran had returned.
“Is your Grandma deity okay?”
“Yes, she’s fine. Our Grandma has a surprisingly weak stomach… She says she doesn’t want to make a disgrace in front of Grim Reaper-nim. But then, does that make me someone who can be vulgar?”
After finishing her words, Seoran couldn’t look directly at Jieon, the homeowner, and rolled her eyes around. Jieon, whose stomach was just as weak, was indescribably mortified, but given the atmosphere, he couldn’t say anything.
“But how did they hide all of these… so seamlessly.”
Whether they were embarrassed or not, Mua muttered while looking down at the things Seoran and her Grandma deity had found. It was a rarely frightened voice.
“They’re really seriously determined. This doesn’t make sense. I’ve seen people use talismans and bury knives to kill someone more than once or twice, but this is really not it. Who did you become hated by?”
Seoran echoed Mua’s words. There was a reason she was clicking her tongue like this.
All kinds of talismans and rotting straw rope reeking of blood as if it had been soaked in it was just the beginning. Inside a sealed jar placed inside a false wall of the cupboard under the sink, hair and nails were wrapped in talismans, and at the threshold of Jieon’s room, rusty nails soaked in blood were hammered in a triangular shape.
Not only that. All of this was very thoroughly hidden with flooring, wallpaper, false walls, and such. It was natural that Mua, who had no divine power, couldn’t find them no matter how much he searched. This was on a completely different level from simply putting talismans inside pillows or wallets.
“Sealing the mouth of the living with a jar, blocking the feet of the living with nails. You’ve been living in a space where your fate had no choice but to die without even being able to make a sound, until now.”
At Seoran’s words, Mua looked at Jieon with a worried expression. Since the guy was already terrified by the talisman in the pillow, he was somewhat concerned about how shocked he must be this time.
However, Jieon was unexpectedly looking calmly at the things found in his house. Though he wasn’t calm all the way inside.
“To think you lived here for several years… An ordinary person would have already become disabled or lost their mind. You were fortunate to have an ancestral deity protecting you, sir.”
“……”
“But that ancestral deity is also completely battered now and can’t use any more power. That’s why you’ve probably been very unwell recently.”
Each word Seoran said became a dagger piercing Jieon’s heart. Soon Jieon let out a hollow laugh. Mua looked at him worriedly, wondering if this guy had lost his mind from too much shock, when he opened his mouth.
“Do you know who bought this house?”
“Don’t tell me…”
“Yeah. Even if it was a contract, marriage is marriage, so he said he’d give me a wedding gift—this is a house Uncle personally found and contracted for.”
Only then did Mua realize how they could hide traces of the curse so tenaciously. This was a very elaborately planned ritual from the beginning. For this ritual, they introduced Shin Mua, made the two marry, and trapped Cheon Jieon in the curse.
Down to the point that Shin Mua’s room was firmly protected so the curse couldn’t seep in, everything clearly pointed to who the culprit was. So self-evident that he couldn’t easily say anything to him.
“Isn’t it really ridiculous?”
Jieon laughed. The moment the sorrow in his curved eyes was clearly visible, Mua felt his heart ache. As if he felt sorry for Cheon Jieon.
“I, I…”
Mua stammered. After becoming human, he had only been indifferent to him in everything, but this time he just couldn’t do that.
They were family who shared blood. Not biological parents, but perhaps because of that, it might have been even more dear. He knew it wasn’t easy to care for someone who wasn’t even one’s own child.
Even when disappointing or hard-to-accept things happened, he couldn’t easily blame or suspect the other person. Because suspecting someone who looked after and treated you well when you were in difficulty was an act of ingratitude.
Mua understood why Jieon couldn’t easily notice even though there must have been countless signals.
“……”
In the end, Mua couldn’t add any words and closed his mouth. Originally, Mua wasn’t someone accustomed to comforting others. Rather than carelessly saying something wrong and upsetting someone more, it was better to choose silence.
More than anything, his heart kept aching since earlier, making it difficult to say anything. Could a human body react just from memories of leftover emotions even after the soul had departed?
This feeling of Cheon Jieon’s sorrow feeling exactly like his own sorrow was unfamiliar and difficult. Not knowing what to do, even feeling afraid. Mua couldn’t say anything for a long while.
***
“Oh, and this…”
Before Jieon and Mua left the house, Seoran held out a small cloth pouch to Mua. When he received the pouch and opened the opening, he could glimpse talismans inside.
“What is this?”
“While staying in this house, Grim Reaper-nim was also inevitably affected. This will help with recovery. And it will also help with the bond between body and soul, so please carry it on your person if possible.”
“Ah… Yes. Thank you.”
When Mua put away the pouch containing the talisman, Seoran this time handed a new pouch to Jieon.
“Same for you, sir. In your case, your condition is even worse, and someone might target you anew, so I’ve also included protective talismans. You must absolutely carry it with you, and don’t accept anything others give you, whatever it may be. Don’t pick things up either.”
Jieon nodded without much protest and received the talisman. He no longer said things like how could he believe in such things. Absurdly, Mua felt sorry for Cheon Jieon’s silence.
“I’m estimating about a week for now, but it could be faster… I’ll contact you when it’s done.”
“Alright. If you discover anything new, be sure to let me know.”
“Yes, of course. Then I’ll see you again later.”
Seoran bowed politely in greeting. Jieon and Mua left the house carrying their modestly packed belongings.
“Let’s stay at a hotel for now and organize our thoughts a bit.”
“Okay. Let’s do that.”
Jieon opened his mouth after a long while, and Mua obediently answered.
