If Eun Seonmyeong had been a principled hunter, he would have eliminated Seo Junhui when she became a vengeful ghost and appeared before Choi Myeongwon. The hunters Shim Iyul had heard about were thoroughly on the humans’ side. But Eun Seonmyeong had ignored it, saying he only does commissioned work. And yet he called Ban Hanseong, this strange shaman who only takes requests from ghosts. It’s confusing whether he called him to save Choi Myeongwon or to prevent Seo Junhui from becoming an evil spirit. Look at him now. He could easily eliminate Seo Junhui with a single bullet, but he’s not doing it.
He doesn’t seem to be on humans’ side, but he also doesn’t seem to sympathize with ghosts like Ban Hanseong does. He’s a hunter whose inner thoughts are hard to read.
“Basically, I only do commissioned work. I called Ban Hanseong because if Seo Junhui killed Choi Myeongwon right away, Choi Myeongwon’s mother Seo Hyeonjeong would come find me, make a scene, and be a nuisance.”
Even if Seo Junhui killed Choi Myeongwon, Eun Seonmyeong didn’t care. Just, at least six months from now. Eun Seonmyeong doesn’t have old-fashioned notions like thinking human matters should be resolved among humans.
What he said when he first met Shim Iyul—’I don’t know what qualifies you, not even being human, to arrogantly speak of divine punishment’—was truly laughable. Because a Yosu spoke as if it had great justice like a human would. The Yosu that Eun Seonmyeong had learned about and encountered had no emotions. They weren’t human, so of course they didn’t. Those things were evil and wicked. That crazy fox was… Shim Iyul, who seemed to possess various emotions like a human, was different in many ways.
‘A Fire Fox having emotions—that can’t be.’
Eun Seonmyeong swallowed his internal self-mocking laugh and continued in a warning tone.
“Whether a ghost harms a human or not has nothing to do with me until a formal commission comes in. As long as they don’t harm me or those around me. However—”
“……?”
“If you touch even a hair on my people’s heads, then it becomes my business, and I’ll stake everything to eliminate you. Without fail.”
In other words, it was a threat: ‘Don’t think about harming me or those around me. You’ll die.’ There’s no way Shim Iyul wouldn’t understand that meaning, but it sounded a bit different to him. It sounded like: I will definitely protect my people.
Come to think of it, it was Eun Seonmyeong who followed all the way here, unable to completely refuse Ban Hanseong throwing a tantrum.
‘He’s weak toward his people. Hmph, how unlike him.’
Grumbling internally, a slight shadow fell over Shim Iyul’s face. After his father and mother died, Shim Iyul had been alone. If someone tried to harm him, he had no choice but to handle it himself. He’d taken that for granted, but suddenly he felt a bit bitter. He became a little curious about what a life where someone protects you would be like.
“Let me go! Let me take revenge with my own hands!”
While Shim Iyul and Eun Seonmyeong had their brief conversation, Ban Hanseong, who had been approaching Seo Junhui to persuade her, was pushed back. Ban Hanseong hit his back against the wall, let out a pained groan of “Ugh!” and tumbled to the floor.
“Gaju! I’m fine, so absolutely no elimination!”
Ban Hanseong shouted, seemingly afraid Eun Seonmyeong would eliminate Seo Junhui.
At that moment, Shim Iyul quietly drew his dagger and cut the spider web binding Seo Junhui’s ankle.
“Go and take your revenge yourself.”
Seo Junhui bowed her head toward Shim Iyul. It was when Ban Hanseong cried out “Fox-nim!” resentfully.
“But do you know there’s a red thread wound around your pinky finger?”
Shim Iyul said quietly to Seo Junhui, who was just about to fly past him.
“What do you mean?”
Seo Junhui paused and looked down at her finger as she asked.
“It’s weak, as if it’ll break, but it seems you have a connection bound to you by strong fate.”
Only then did Eun Seonmyeong, checking Seo Junhui’s pinky finger, pull on the thread that had become almost transparent. The thread of connection connects when both sides pull simultaneously. Seeing the thread grow taut, it seemed the other side was pulling too.
The thread continued endlessly. No matter how much he pulled, it didn’t end. When Eun Seonmyeong was considering throwing away the thread of connection, getting irritated, a chilling cold came along with a faint sound like a heartbeat—thump-thump.
“Ah, how unlucky.”
Shim Iyul, recognizing the identity of the cold, snapped irritably. Though they’d never met, he knew what this piercing cold was. Soon, a reaper dressed in jet-black formal wear appeared. Eun Seonmyeong tilted his head, and Ban Hanseong bowed at a 45-degree angle. Shim Iyul stealthily hid behind Eun Seonmyeong. The ghosts Ban Hanseong had been commanding disappeared somewhere.
“Well, what an interesting combination. A shaman, a hunter, and hmm… a Fire Fox? And there’s even a vengeful ghost. The soul I was looking for.”
At the reaper’s gaze, Seo Junhui flinched and tried to flee. Then the thump-thump sound grew louder. The reaper took something like a small bean-sized lump from his pocket.
“There we go, I finally found it. Your child.”
“……!”
Seo Junhui’s eyes widened at the reaper’s words.
“It took a long time to find because it wasn’t my charge, right? The thread of connection that you stubbornly refused to let go of finally found your child. How fortunate that the thread was pulled. Truly fortunate, isn’t it?”
The bean-like thing that left the reaper’s hand flew to Seo Junhui.
“My, my child’s heartbeat…”
The thump-thump sound was the heartbeat of the baby in her womb that the doctor had played for her on the day she first confirmed her pregnancy. She was certain. It was her child’s heartbeat. A mother couldn’t not know. Tears welled up in Seo Junhui’s eyes, which had been filled with blood-stained resentment.
“A soul that refused to go to the afterlife, wanting to stay by its mother’s side. After you died, it also refused to go to the afterlife, wanting to be reincarnated together.”
“My baby.”
Seo Junhui called out to her child with tears streaming down.
“After you escaped from your assigned reaper and became a vengeful ghost, you don’t know how much it pestered me to find you. I’m already busy with increased workload as it is.”
The reaper tapped his shoulder with his fist. He looked extremely tired. Seo Junhui kept crying while carefully stroking the small soul on her palm.
“If I kill Choi Myeongwon… it’s impossible to go with this child, isn’t it?”
“Of course. You’ll go to hell. That pure and fragile fetal soul will go to the gate of reincarnation.”
The reaper said coldly. Since it was a soul that wasn’t even born, naturally it had no sins either. Being a pure and clean soul, it would reincarnate without judgment.
Seo Junhui turned around and looked up at Choi Myeongwon’s bedroom. She glared with resentful, venomous eyes, then soon approached Ban Hanseong as if she’d made up her mind.
“Can you truly avenge my resentment?”
“Of course. I’m Ban Hanseong, a shaman who lives by trust.”
Ban Hanseong straightened his back and spoke as if to say believe me.
“Then please avenge my resentment. Can you make Choi Myeongwon desperately regret and regret again?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll shake him down to his very soul.”
Seo Junhui smiled faintly at Ban Hanseong and bowed deeply to the reaper.
“Please guide me.”
“Alright. Let’s go. The administrative processing will be a headache since it’s not my charge, but I’ll just work overtime again, what else. Let’s go, go.”
When the reaper snapped his fingers, pure white flowers descended onto Seo Junhui’s head. Soon her face returned to how it was when she was alive. She smiled brightly and looked down affectionately at the soul on her palm.
The reaper complained, “I’m busy. So busy. Please increase the personnel!” then glanced at Shim Iyul before disappearing with Seo Junhui’s soul. Only then did Shim Iyul emerge from behind Eun Seonmyeong and cleared his throat needlessly. He felt embarrassed that he had unconsciously hidden behind Eun Seonmyeong because reapers made him uncomfortable.
***
Shim Iyul got out of the taxi fuming. Then he kicked open the gate and entered. But that rude Eun Seonmyeong, who insisted on taking only Ban Hanseong in the Porsche even when asked to go together, was nowhere to be seen. Only Ban Hanseong was blinking his eyes.
“Where’s that rude bastard?”
“Pardon?”
“The hunter!”
“After dropping me off, Gaju went straight to the shop.”
“Shop?”
“To make a living, he runs a small jewelry store.”
“Hmph, a jewelry store doesn’t suit him at all.”
A hunter and a sparkling jewelry store don’t match at all. Sparkling jewels suit a beautiful and noble fox like himself.
“Pearls before swine.”
At Shim Iyul’s cutting remark, Ban Hanseong laughed, saying “Fox-nim is right.” He seemed to enjoy hearing his Gaju insulted. If it had been the prematurely aged Han Seolju, he would have immediately brandished his wooden sword.
“The shop… where is it? What’s the name?”
“It’s Fribel in Cheongdam-dong. It’s quite famous.”
“Really?”
A jewelry store run by a hunter. It was when interest rose on Shim Iyul’s face. A small ghost came running over and greeted him with a bow.
“You’re back?”
“Yes.”
After patting the small ghost’s head a couple of times, Shim Iyul was about to head to the annex but stopped.
“How are you going to avenge it?”
“Pardon?”
“What Seo Junhui or whatever that vengeful ghost said. How are you going to avenge it?”
“I’m thinking about it, but first I’ll have to expose corruption, right? There must be plenty of corruption and illegal activities.”
Ban Hanseong rubbed his palms together and his eyes gleamed. Then he added, bragging about himself, “I do some hacking.”
“What’s so great about that?”
“Pardon?”
“I can make that son of a bitch… no, that’s wrong. I shouldn’t say son of a bitch. That would be insulting to dogs. Anyway, I can make that piece of trash confess his corruption with his own mouth.”
It would be simple to bewitch him and make him confess his corruption.
“As expected, you’re amazing.”
Ban Hanseong clapped enthusiastically in admiration. Shim Iyul shrugged his shoulders and lifted his chin needlessly.
“What else will you do besides exposing corruption? Don’t tell me you’re going to end it just by exposing corruption and burying him socially?”
“Of course not. This Ban Hanseong isn’t such a soft guy. I also plan to send Noona Chwiweol to torment him every night.”
“Who’s Chwiweol?”
When Ban Hanseong gestured, Songgaksi appeared. Shim Iyul looked at Songgaksi, who smiled with her bright red mouth torn wide, and nodded. There’s nothing better than a virgin ghost for tormenting men. If he’s tormented by a virgin ghost every night, his life will become truly harsh and wretched.
