Moon Shrine Maiden
"Agh, I don't wanna go to work!"
Yoon Si-hyun groaned as he dragged himself out of bed, messing up his hair even more.
If it were the old me, I'd be thinking about taking half a day off to chill. But not anymore.
"Ahh, so this is what it means to have a sense of responsibility as the head of the household?"
Unlike when he lived alone, he now had Luna—his little sister (sort of?)—which made his responsibilities feel heavier than ever.
He hurriedly got ready and plopped down on the floor to dry his hair when—
Pat pat pat.
A familiar sensation climbed up his leg along with the sound of small footsteps.
Right on schedule today, too.
When he looked down, there was Luna, quietly settling between his legs.
"Si-hyun... this."
The girl gazed up at him with her golden eyes sparkling brightly, holding a comb in her tiny hand.
"This has become our morning routine, huh."
Si-hyun smiled faintly and naturally began combing Luna's hair.
Her soft, silvery strands fell neatly into place under his gentle touch.
Luna closed her eyes peacefully, savoring the kindness.
Who could believe that this sweet, obedient girl was a ghost story capable of destroying the world?
Even I get confused sometimes. Maybe Luna's just a cute little girl, after all.
"Let's wrap it up with this today."
Click.
Si-hyun pulled a crescent moon hairpin from the drawer and pinned it into Luna's hair.
Good call buying it at the amusement park.
The moon-shaped pin gleamed softly against her silver locks.
Si-hyun found himself staring at her face without realizing it.
"Si-hyun... why?"
"Oh, just thinking how pretty you are, Luna. Got lost in it for a sec."
"Si-hyun... pretty too...?"
"Huh?"
Click.
Luna pinned the other crescent moon hairpin—the matching one from the 1+1 deal—into Si-hyun's hair.
"Si-hyun... same one."
She was mimicking him, just like she often did lately.
—"If you follow my heart... you'll understand...?"
—"Of course, Luna."
The girl hadn't forgotten his words and was putting them into practice.
She doesn't realize it herself... but it's her way of trying to understand emotions.
Stroke.
A pang of bittersweet emotion hit him, and Si-hyun absentmindedly patted her head.
Luna was changing, bit by bit. From a symbol of terror and destruction into a girl whose eyes lit up at a simple pat.
"Si-hyun...... wear this... when you go..."
"Luna, I can't go to work with this on."
It's not impossible, but a guy pushing 30 with a hairpin? Nah...
Luna tilted her head slightly, looking up at him with sad eyes.
"No... good...?"
Her voice carried a hint of dejection, her golden eyes—embodiment of pity itself—staring straight at him.
Ugh. What the hell is this adorable creature...!
Fine. You win!
"Okay, okay. I'll keep it on until I get home from work."
"Really...?"
"Totally real. You ever seen me break a promise, Luna? Haha."
Only then did she seem satisfied, stretching out her little arms to hug him tight.
Screw it, whatever happens happens. Destruction? Who cares if she's cute.
The Si-hyun who used to scold himself not to let his guard down around Luna, no matter how tame she seemed, was gone.
Now there was only a man who cherished the girl in his arms more than anything.
"Pfft! Newbie, what's that on your head? A hairpin? Total herbivore vibe, lol."
"Ah... this is from my super precious little sis who insisted I wear it. She put it on herself..."
"Hahaha. Up close, it's actually pretty cute? My eyes were wrong."
"Today... the team leader... Talulla... Team leader will fall off his chair in 40 seconds..."
Si-hyun scribbled something in his notebook.
"Hey, hey! What, you writing in the Death Note or something?!"
"Haha, just kidding, kidding."
"Whatever, lunch break—let's eat."
"Team Leader Talulla's treating, right?"
"Quit with the weird nicknames!"
Si-hyun bantered idly with his colleagues as they headed to the employee cafeteria.
That's when murmurs started drifting in from somewhere.
It began as quiet chatter but grew louder, escalating into shouts.
"Team leader, hear that fighting?"
"Yeah, sounds like the Japanese guild over there arguing about something serious."
Rapid Japanese flew back and forth from one side of the building. It wasn't just a disagreement—the air crackled with hostility, on the verge of blows.
Then.
Bang—!!
A red-eyed man slammed his desk hard.
The room fell into stunned silence for a split second before an even more furious voice erupted.
"Enough. No more waiting."
"Ren! What the hell are you planning?!"
"You knew the reason when I said I'd find Phantom. You all did."
Ren's voice was calm, but rage and desperation simmered beneath.
"You don't mean...!"
"If I can't find Phantom, I'll drag him out myself."
Ren's red eyes had gone ice cold.
The Ren they knew was cool-headed and dutiful, but this man showed none of that.
"Ren, stop! Your way could cause even bigger chaos!"
"Chaos? You think you have the right to say that?"
"...You don't mean back then with Tsuki—"
"Shut up."
His words cut like a blade.
The Japanese guild members fell silent. Or maybe they couldn't speak.
He'd hit the nail on the head.
"At the last briefing, didn't they say Phantom shows up when a strong ghost story appears?"
"Ren... don't be stupid. It's just a hypothesis."
"Then I'll prove it."
"Calm down! This could turn into an international incident!"
"Phantom might save Tsuki... I've bet everything on that one possibility!"
He stepped back and strode toward the door.
"Don't interfere. And don't follow."
As Ren kicked the door open and left, the guild members could only watch in silence.
Before their eyes, the man named Ren was crumbling.
In the heart of the city, a man's footsteps pounded across the road.
His breathing was erratic, like he was fleeing something.
Madness and resolve burned in his red eyes.
"Phantom... why won't you show yourself...?"
Over a month of investigation, and he'd never once encountered Phantom directly.
Why? Why won't you appear...?
He was starting to doubt if the guy even existed.
Ren needed him. Desperately.
He'd tried every method available.
Now, only one remained.
"Unsealing the sword right in the middle of downtown..."
Ren glanced at the sword in his hand.
Its blade seemed to tremble faintly.
If Phantom's power to erase ghost stories without a trace is real...
He could save Tsuki.
But if even that failed?
Then what was all this suffering for?
He tried to breathe, but something choked his chest.
Unsealing it would drown hundreds, thousands, and the whole downtown in death. Obvious as day.
Ren knew exactly what he was about to unleash.
But.
"Losing her without doing anything... that's worse."
—"You'll cause the worst outcome, Ren!"
His colleagues' voices echoed suddenly.
But their pleas no longer reached him.
"Worst...? No. The worst for me is doing nothing and losing her..."
He'd chosen the lesser evil.
This was his final path.
"If Phantom won't come out on his own, I'll force him."
He closed his eyes.
A distant memory surfaced.
Tsuki...
Her black hair and warm smile suited her perfectly.
The day she first smiled at him.
The day he teased her clumsy ponytail as "too cute."
Even on the verge of her sacrifice, she smiled at him with her final words—
"Sorry... I couldn't keep my promise, Ren..."
"Tsuki. If you saw me now, you'd scream at me to stop."
Should he turn back even now?
Discard the sword and return to normal...?
"No. Even if it's not what you want, it's what I want. Hate this selfish me if you must—"
"Too late."
There had never been a choice.
Not since she vanished. Not since he threw everything away for her.
Ren pressed the sword's tip to the center of his palm.
Stab!
"...Guh!"
Cold steel bit into flesh.
As red blood trickled down the blade, black mist rose from the ground, writhing like it was alive.
Slowly, but surely, the sky began to darken.
A massive mountain suddenly appeared in the heart of Kyoto, Japan. Deep within its secluded depths stood a shrine, isolated as if cut off from the outside world.
"...Weird. It was daytime outside."
"It's been dark since we entered the mountain."
"Looks like... our suspicions were right. This has to be a ghost story."
Ren advanced cautiously with his investigation team, eyes scanning the surroundings.
They'd been dispatched to a suspected ghost story site.
"This really Japan? Feels like another world."
The mountain was eerily silent, devoid of human life.
"How far to the target?"
"Almost there. Ah, there it is."
One guild member pointed to the shrine's entrance.
"Energy readings from outside were off the charts only there. Gotta be a clue."
"Wait... someone's at the entrance?"
Beneath the red torii gate stood a woman, silently watching them.
Black hair cascading to her waist, dazzling white miko robes.
She'd been waiting, it seemed.
"...A person?"
Her tone held no wariness.
"Everyone, battle ready."
Ren and the team gripped their weapons instinctively.
"No living humans since we got here—not even animals, except plants."
"So that miko...?"
"Probably a ghost story in human form."
Ren's red eyes gleamed as he drew his sword, aiming it at her.
"Are you the master of this place?"
She tilted her head slightly at his low growl.
"Who knows... I don't really remember..."
She just watched as they approached warily.
"I don't remember why I'm here... or even what this place is."
"No memories?"
"I know I have to be here... but not why."
Classic ghost story amnesia pattern.
Ren had seen it before.
Plenty pretend to lose memories, then reveal their true colors. Is she one?
"Nothing at all? You expect us to buy that?"
The miko placed a hand on her chest and met his gaze steadily.
"You don't have to believe me. But... one thing I do remember clearly..."
"What?"
She lifted her head to the sky.
"I am the Moon Shrine Maiden, Tsuki."