The Beginning of Obsession
Although he'd gotten past the crisis, Si-hyun was still utterly drained. "Aigoo. Nearly got slapped with the perv label for real."
He let out a deep sigh and lifted his head, at which point Ga-eun opened her mouth as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"So, oppa."
"...Yeah?"
"Aren't you gonna ask me?"
"Ask you what?"
"Why I'm here."
'No, you were just trying to paint me as a lolicon a minute ago...' It obviously wasn't the time to bring that up, so Si-hyun just quietly sighed.
"...So why'd you come?"
"'Cause I was worried."
"..."
"The Bosingak incident blew up yesterday. Your place is right nearby."
"Yeah, it is."
"Even if we don't talk much usually, I was worried you might've gotten hurt or something."
It sounded a bit suspicious, but Ga-eun had always been overly concerned about him, so Si-hyun decided not to overthink it.
"So that's why you came?"
"Yeah."
"Just 'cause you were worried?"
Ga-eun gave a faint smile and added one more thing.
"That's part of it... but oppa, you're unemployed."
"?"
"So I came to offer you a job."
"...What?"
One moment she's barging in at dawn trying to brand him a lolicon, and now she's suddenly headhunting him?
"So what you're saying is—"
"Yeah."
"You came to give me a job?"
"Exactly."
'She's always been unpredictable, but this is next-level random today.' Si-hyun's mind naturally drifted to the past.
The day ghost stories became real—his workplace, "Word Lord," had vanished into thin air! The building "evaporated" in an instant, and the company was gone from history overnight.
"Oppa, what was that ghost story called again?"
Disaster-grade Ghost Story – Overtime Opposition
— Company executives remaining in the office after sunset disappear without a trace.
— Primarily occurs at companies known as "great workplaces."
— The building where the ghost story manifests gradually fades, vanishing completely after 24 hours.
The news had called it a "new type of disaster-grade ghost story," but for some reason, office worker communities were full of "Serves 'em right!" reactions.
That incident had turned Si-hyun into an unemployed bum overnight.
'The work environment was definitely shitty, but I was planning to tough it out till I paid off my jeonse loan!' Luckily, it was classified as a ghost story incident, so he got emergency aid money—but even that was running dangerously low now.
"So you're proposing an unemployment escape plan?"
"Yeah."
"But what kind of job are you hooking me up with?"
Ga-eun suddenly flashed a beaming smile.
"Dawn's Light Guild—office job!"
"Hold up, a guild?"
"Yep!"
"Dawn's Light, specifically?"
"What's wrong, you don't like it?"
"No, it's not that I don't like it..."
'It's not just any job—it's way too big-league.'
Dawn's Light. The fastest-growing guild in Korea right now. Especially lately, with the debut of a certain rookie awakener drawing all the attention—and that rookie was none other than Han Ga-eun.
"Probably partly 'cause of your dad, but you've been pretty famous yourself lately."
"Eh, kinda."
Ga-eun shrugged nonchalantly.
"Guess the Fox Shrine incident got me some notice in Japan and Korea."
"That ghost story they were hyping up nonstop on the news—that was you who cleared it?"
"Yep!"
"And that was... a Catastrophe-grade ghost story, right?"
"Spot on. Happened while I was studying abroad in Japan—I got caught up in it."
"And you broke it?"
"Kinda by accident. Got lucky, I guess?"
She added casually,
"So boom—instant ace of Dawn's Light!"
Ga-eun beamed, flashing a peace sign.
"..."
Si-hyun suddenly felt the gap between the Ga-eun he knew and this version. He'd always seen her as just his childhood friend, but now she was an awakener who tackled ghost stories head-on. A top-tier one, who'd cracked a Catastrophe-grade no less.
Ghost stories that could deploy the Netherworld were notoriously tough even in novels.
...No way she did an equivalent exchange, right?
Equivalent exchange. A rare concept from the novels—literally trading with a ghost story. Powerful ones with egos would proposition humans: [I'll grant your wish with this power, so grant mine.]
It seemed like a great deal—easier power than clearing it outright, and the ghost story vanishes too. But reality was different. Fail to fulfill your end, and the rebound crushes you.
'Nah, Ga-eun wouldn't. She's quirky, but not the type to hide selfish desires.' People who took those deals usually harbored impossible wishes deep down.
No way the walking ball of energy that was Ga-eun fit that bill.
'Plus, ghost stories offering deals are rare to begin with.'
Anyway. Ace Ga-eun was recommending him for a guild office job.
"You think I might awaken or something, so you're scouting me?"
"Nope. Straight-up desk job."
"...?"
"Honestly, no plans to throw a normie like you into combat. Just push papers, collect a paycheck. Better than being jobless, right?"
'Yeah, fair point.' He pretended to mull it over, but with no real options...
"Alright, I'll check it out."
He had no choice but to agree outright. Anything beat unemployment. And hey, now he had someone to vent to.
With the decision sorta made, he naturally glanced to the side.
A silver-haired girl clutching his clothes with her tiny hand.
"Luna, I'm just stepping out for a bit."
At those words, Luna's golden eyes wavered with unease.
"...No."
She stared straight at Si-hyun, shaking her head slightly.
"Don't go."
Her small hand gripped his hem tighter.
"Luna?"
"No, Si-hyun. Don't go."
The girl gazed at him with anxious golden eyes.
'I wish I could take her, but... even if she doesn't look like a ghost story now, bringing her to a guild full of awakeners risks exposing her.' Plus, the guild master there had faced her directly. Way too dangerous.
As Si-hyun agonized, Ga-eun stopped in front of Luna.
"Luna, Si-hyun oppa's going to work for you. So you can let him go, right?"
"..."
Luna's golden eyes flickered subtly, as if instinctively realizing something.
"..."
"...Luna?"
The moment Ga-eun tilted her head—
Ding!
Mengmang-grade ghost story 'Luna''s condition is becoming unstable.
"...!!"
'Wasn't it supposed to stay silent for a while? But it can still pop warnings?'
Wait—Luna's condition is unstable?
A system warning meant this wasn't just a tantrum.
'Gotta do something now, or it'll be bad.'
"Ga-eun-ah."
"Yeah?"
"Mind stepping out for a sec?"
Ga-eun flinched at his firm tone.
"...Why?"
"Need to talk to Luna."
"Oppa, is it 'cause she's too clingy?"
"Yeah, something like that. Like I said earlier, she really likes me? Haha."
Ga-eun looked skeptical but sensed no weird vibes, so she waved lightly. "Got it, oppa," and headed out.
Click.
The door shut, and Si-hyun knelt to meet Luna's eyes.
"Luna."
"No."
Her fingertips gripped his hem even harder.
"...Si-hyun."
"..."
"Don't go."
Why was this girl so desperate to keep him close? Just yesterday, she'd been a cold, terrifying entity shrouded in madness and emptiness.
A Mengmang-grade ghost story—that was Luna.
But now, she was just a normal little girl clutching his clothes.
"...Luna."
Si-hyun called her name in a low, gentle voice—the one that had warmed her whole body the first time she heard it. "Luna."
"...Yeah."
"Why are you holding on so tight?"
Luna parted her lips, then closed them, looking like she didn't know herself.
"...Dunno."
"Scared I won't come back?"
"...If you leave... no..."
Short words, awkward sentences. Si-hyun grasped her meaning instantly.
—— Don't leave.
The anxiety of a child feeling "separation" for the first time. Luna was instinctively following emotions buried in her lost memories.
...No way.
Ghost stories were beings who'd lost something. Usually emotions or memories, pitiful things unaware of why they'd fallen or what they craved as they devoured their surroundings.
Cruelly meaningless existences. He thought it was too harsh, but that was the basic rule of this novel world.
Yet the Luna before him was expressing emotion for the first time. A bit clumsily, unaccustomed.
"What'll you do if I leave, Luna?"
"...Dunno."
"You just wanna stay by my side?"
Luna nodded quietly.
...It's real.
She probably didn't even realize it herself, but this was definitely...
'Luna's learning emotions.'
Right now, feeling "don't leave" for the first time, she didn't even know how to express it.
'Now I get it for sure. The Luna in front of me isn't a Mengmang-grade ghost story.'
Just a girl learning emotions. Not a scary ghost story, not a greedy Collector.
"Luna."
Si-hyun met her slightly unfocused eyes straight on.
"...Si-hyun."
Her golden eyes looked terrified of losing the first "warmth" she'd found.
"Luna, if I promise to come back, can you wait?"
"...Have to wait?"
"I'll promise to return to you."
"Then... I'll wait..."
It sounded simple, but her tone hinted at deep deliberation. The girl was learning emotions bit by bit.
'Right now, Luna isn't a ghost story. Not destruction—just a child learning feelings.'
Si-hyun slowly reached out, gently placing his hand on her head.
"...Why?"
"Hm?"
"Why... do that...?"
To her question, Si-hyun smiled softly.
"Waiting's new for you, right?"
"...?"
"You're bravely trying something for the first time. Thought it was cute, so I petted you without thinking? Haha."
"...Pet more... Si-hyun."
She closed her eyes, tilting her head into his touch.
'Whoa, that word feels kinda risky...?'
"You say 'pet me more' for that, Luna."
"That's... how...?"
"Yeah. Don't wanna get dragged away."
"Dunno... what that means... Si-hyun..."
"It's fine if you don't get it. I'll be back quick like I promised, so no worries. Got it, Luna?"
"...Yeah. Si-hyun."
To the still-staring Luna, Si-hyun added one last thing.
"And I'm yours, right? Won't vanish without a word."
He said it lightly, like a joke, smirking—oblivious to how dangerous that sounded.
"Yeah, Si-hyun... come back quick."
Her golden eyes shook with distant longing.
She didn't fully understand the emotion stirring in her yet...
On her first day with Si-hyun, Luna learned how to wait.