#Chapter 6. Hyewoo
At the tree spirit’s request, all members assembled.
In a corner of the festival grounds, a quiet place where ghosts didn’t come, they gathered in a circle and examined the spirit placed in the center. Though they’d naturally thought they’d only see ghosts since they’d entered a village of ghosts, everyone was surprised by the unexpectedly encountered spirit’s existence.
“Really a spirit…?”
“I’ve never heard talk of a spirit being in this village…”
Though Heun had investigated Gwiraechon many times until now, there had been no reports about a Dangmok spirit.
Dangmok (堂木) was a word referring to a village’s old and sacred tree, traditionally an object to which residents offered rites praying for the village’s peace and abundance. They worshipped it as a sacred tree that connected heaven and earth and watched over the village, treating even that area like sacred space.
Mainly large trees like zelkova, hackberry, or willow were chosen as a village’s Dangmok, and in the past it was such a common faith that there was one in every village, so even now some trees remaining in certain regions were designated as protected trees. And the sacred spirit that dwelled in such trees was precisely the tree spirit.
Do Seonhwa muttered in an uncertain tone.
“There shouldn’t be any trees here that a spirit could dwell in…”
Though Gwiraechon might have had a Dangmok long ago when humans gathered and lived there, now people hadn’t resided there for quite some time. In a village abandoned like ruins for close to four hundred years—that is, a place where human faith had been completely severed—was it possible for a Dangmok spirit to be maintained?
Above all, this was where the Hyungsin had awakened.
It was a village recorded as having all its residents burned to death. Though a few trees might have luckily survived the fire, it would be difficult to maintain the status of a “sacred tree.” Moreover, wasn’t this now a village teeming with ghosts?
At the confused members’ gazes, the Dangmok spirit placed both arms on its waist and exclaimed.
[That’s because I’m the spirit of a tree over a thousand years old! Since I existed long before the village was established, I’ve endured without disappearing despite a series of trials, ahem! Since my rank is high, even most mediums couldn’t find me!]
It was a confident attitude as if they should consider meeting it an honor. As if completely forgetting that it had burst into tears just moments ago saying it had finally met a medium, it even raised its nose high.
The members exchanged bewildered glances.
“Could that be true?”
“Such clear energy is certainly the power of a spirit…”
Though the situation was hard to believe from start to finish, the reason the members had gathered around the spirit was precisely because of that “energy.” The crystal-clear energy felt from its verdant eyes.
This was definitely a spirit’s energy.
Then was it really true that, as the spirit claimed, because it was a tree that had existed for the long time of a thousand years, it could survive without being swept away even by the Hyungsin’s descent? Just as serious expressions appeared on the members’ faces one by one, Cheon Yijae let out a pfft laugh.
“Don’t talk nonsense. If your rank was that high, Heun would have found you long ago.”
[Wh-what…?!]
“Do you think Heun’s mediums would miss a spirit’s energy? Rather, it’s correct that your rank is too low—because you’re such small and insignificant energy that you’d be buried among ghosts, you weren’t detected.”
At Cheon Yijae’s firm denial, Sim Seowoo looked back at him bewilderedly. Did he have pride toward the organization since he was Heun’s successor after all?
However, seeing that not only himself but all the other members also had surprised expressions, it didn’t seem like his usual attitude. Over there, Do Seonhwa and Jin Gwangmin were shocked with their mouths gaping open enough for their jaws to touch the floor.
Regardless, Cheon Yijae whoosh grabbed the spirit’s scruff. As if not swayed at all by the spirit’s story, he lifted it up outright and met its eyes directly.
“Above all, there’s no way you’re this village’s spirit. I’ve never once seen anything like you.”
[No matter how much you deny it, I am this place’s spirit!]
“Ah, don’t tell me a wandering ghost is pretending to be a spirit? Reveal what you’re scheming right now.”
[Eek, gak, don’t, ik, shake me, gueok!]
With an air of having judged it was hiding something, Cheon Yijae shook the spirit shake shake shake. At the fierce hand movements that seemed like they’d shake everything out, the spirit screamed squawk squawk.
Not only did that cry ring out extremely pitifully, but its short limbs also shook very pathetically, so Sim Seowoo unconsciously reached out his hand. He couldn’t help but react to a young child’s crying voice.
Touch—
The moment he touched Cheon Yijae’s wrist, his movement stopped. Though it was only a very small restraint, he became docile as if surprised that Sim Seowoo had brought his hand close, and seizing that gap, the spirit quickly escaped.
Scurry, the place the spirit headed was into Sim Seowoo’s arms.
[Huuuung, you’re the Guiin! From the beginning, your clear energy seemed extraordinary!]
Sim Seowoo looked down bewilderedly at the spirit tightly hugging his chest. Not that he’d meant for it to hug him, but he raised his hand to block Cheon Yijae, who was frowning and trying to grab the spirit’s scruff again.
It seemed they needed to talk more with this spirit for now.
Patting the back of the spirit that was tightly gripping his collar with maple-leaf-like hands while embracing it, Sim Seowoo asked cautiously. Perhaps because he’d perceived it as a young child, his voice came out quite softly.
“Are you really a spirit? A spirit that’s stayed in this village for a long time?”
[Mmhm, it’s true. I didn’t lie…]
“But then Heun, which has come to investigate here, would have found you—why didn’t they know until now?”
[That’s because…]
The spirit seemed to quite like the touch of the human comforting it, and even buried its head deep into his chest while sniffling. Squirrel-like ears protruding from the auburn bob trembled flutter flutter.
Sim Seowoo gently stroked its back until the spirit continued speaking, and at that warm behavior of coaxing and soothing, the spirit finally opened its mouth.
[Actually, when the Hyungsin descended, I was so startled that I hid under the tree…]
“I see.”
[So it hasn’t been long since I woke up…]
But it insisted that it was definitely a spirit. That it hadn’t lied about that much, saying it was the guardian spirit of a tree a thousand years old, while looking around at the members.
[Everyone look at my eyes. You all clearly feel that I’m a spirit, don’t you! And the more spirits lie, the more their rank is damaged…!]
The green eyes with tears welling up were pitiful enough to soften everyone’s hearts. The fact that the spirit had a very small and cute appearance also played a part.
Soon everyone nodded one by one and accepted the spirit’s claim. In fact, just maintaining clear energy in a place full of ghosts proved it was a spirit of quite high rank.
Do Seonhwa let out a low exclamation. The spirit’s existence was surprising, but above all, the act of Sim Seowoo drawing out an answer from the spirit was very impressive.
“Guiin said you majored in education, as expected!”
She clapped, saying he’d opened a young child’s heart in one stroke. Jin Gwangmin also gaped with a curious expression, but his gaze was directed not at the spirit but at Cheon Yijae right beside him. Because his reaction of becoming quiet at Sim Seowoo’s gesture just now had been noticeable.
“I thought you were a veterinary medicine major…”
Sim Seowoo didn’t understand what they were talking about, but for now wiped away the tears pooled at the spirit’s eyes. Perhaps because it was a spirit, even the tears sparkled clearly like morning dew clinging to leaves, which was fascinating.
However, only Cheon Yijae still examined the spirit with an unsatisfied gaze. Though his eyes showed he found the spirit’s behavior of hugging Sim Seowoo’s chest extremely irritating, an even more fundamental doubt was deeply contained.
Though everyone else had now accepted it as a spirit, as if he absolutely couldn’t acknowledge it, as if certain that a spirit couldn’t exist in this village, he questioned in a sharp tone.
“Spirits can’t lie? But just now, didn’t you say that because your rank is high, mediums couldn’t find you?”
[Be-because my rank is high, I could hide tight! Enduring even the Hyungsin’s descent!]
“Then where is your tree? I’ll know if I see it directly.”
At the answer like wordplay, Cheon Yijae narrowed his brow. Then he said there was nothing to discuss here and there—let’s see the Dangmok. Since it was a strange situation for a tree’s guardian spirit to be separated from its tree in the first place, he proposed to examine it directly, and though this was quite a reasonable request… the spirit hesitated.
At that silence, just as everyone was sending dubious gazes, the spirit answered while fidgeting with both hands. As if confessing a very shameful fact, it also bowed its head deeply.
[Actually… I forgot the tree’s location.]
“What? Do you think that makes sense? A Dangmok’s guardian spirit doesn’t even know where its tree is?”
[That’s why! What contains that important memory is precisely my ‘key’!]
At Cheon Yijae’s criticism, the spirit exclaimed waah, feeling wronged. Startled by his large hand approaching as if to grab and shake it shake shake shake again, it quickly raised Sim Seowoo’s hand to use as its shield and spoke in a rush.
[Humans who barely live a hundred years wouldn’t dare understand, but spirits like me who live over a thousand years must manage memories well. Otherwise memories get all tangled, so I stored them separately in a key and kept it preciously! But, but…!]
Bwaaah, tears burst from the spirit’s eyes again as it poured out its grievance. As if just recalling that time was so sorrowful and lamentable, it even beat its chest thump thump while exclaiming.
[When I woke up after a long time and was about to find my memories with the key, some Hyeong Akgui came and stole the key away!]
“…Hyeong Akgui?”
[Yes! Some bastard with a pitch-black orb took it! It was somehow a very familiar and ominous energy…!]
Perhaps frustrated that memory also didn’t come back properly, the spirit tore at its own hair. Sim Seowoo stopped that hand while subtly looking around at the members. Everyone had expressions of having realized a shocking truth from the spirit’s exclamation just now.
A pitch-black orb.
A Hyeong Akgui possessing a Hyungok had appeared here.
