The Aegwi of Yeong-ho
The novel is set on an Earth of a parallel dimension.
February 9th, around one in the afternoon.
Unit 104.
I pressed the doorbell.
"Who is it?"
"I'm here from the landlord's place."
"Okay. Just a moment. Mom, Auntie — they say someone's here for repairs." Click.
Auntie? Damn. An innocent person...
The plan was about to fall apart. An auntie?
It looked like I was going to have to take a woman who had done nothing wrong — someone with no connection to any of this at all.
I was just about to reverse-summon the capsule I'd pulled from my pocket when a warning tone cut through.
This was clearly the Constellation's command, Kim Ian.
Ah... right.
Click.
The electronic door lock disengaged. I pushed the handle down, opened the door, and stepped inside.
Waiting in the entryway was the woman from the intercom — Hyeong-seop's mother. Mid-to-late fifties in height, somewhere in the mid-150s. Whether she worked out or simply didn't put on weight, there wasn't a spare ounce on her, but her looks were thoroughly ordinary. She hadn't gotten one of those middle-aged perms, but her face had no particular distinction either.
Click.
The moment the door shut, I clenched my fist and crushed the capsule. Its remains dissolved into nothing with a soft hiss.
"Oh my. Hye-yun's boyfriend?"
"Yes. My mother-in-law asked me to come down and take a look."
I opened the bathroom door and found an auntie standing there looking completely lost.
One glance at her face and I relaxed. She was one of them — either Nak-jun's or Gi-hun's mother.
Judging by how furiously red her face had gone, she was the one who'd clogged the toilet.
"Here, let me take that."
I pulled a plunger from the bag, and she held out her hands.
"Ah — right. Just call me when you're done. There's a lightbulb that needs changing too."
"Okay."
I handed her the plunger, and Hyeong-seop's mother took my hand and led me toward a room.
"Young man. Wait in here for now."
"Yes."
The room. It was already cramped, and the desk was a mess of cosmetics and clothes. The bookshelf was packed solid with statistics textbooks.
Judging by the number of stats-related volumes, the young woman perched on the edge of the bed — Hyeong-seop's older sister — was probably attending Yeonseo University's College of Business as well.
An ordinary face.
Her skin was clear enough that, depending on taste, someone might call her pretty.
Have my standards gotten too high?
Hye-yun and Jeong-mi were celebrity-tier. Even Eun-hee and Hyeon-ju were beautiful. And then there was A-jeong on top of that.
"Here — drink this."
She pulled a water bottle from a mini-fridge and held it out.
I sat on the edge of the bed and took it, and a sharp little intake of breath cut the air.
Park Ju-mi.
From the intercom earlier — "Jumi's mom" — this had to be Park Ju-mi. Her eyes were locked on my left thigh, one hand clamped over her mouth. And the woman in front of me was doing the exact same thing.
Ju-mi in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.
The auntie in a short-sleeved shirt and a long skirt.
The auntie who'd been in the bathroom earlier had been wearing a long shirt and jeans.
"Are you dating Hye-yun?"
"Yes."
I answered Ju-mi's question.
The two of them seemed to know her — they called Hye-yun by name with easy familiarity.
"Young man. You are a student, right?"
"Ah... yes. I'm entering Yeonseo University as a freshman. Social sciences track, but Business Class G."
"Huh? Business Class G?"
"Oh my. Didn't you say you were in Business Class G too?"
Ju-mi nodded.
Park Ju-mi — so she had a connection to someone as well? On the community boards, people said Class G generally only took students whose surnames fell between Oh and Jang. Cases like mine, where you got in because you knew someone, did exist though.
"So what's your name?"
Ju-mi asked, clearly curious.
"Kim Ian."
Her expression flinched.
She knew who I was.
"Aren't you A-jeong's boyfriend? But you're with Hye-yun?"
"Ah... A-jeong and Hye-yun both agreed to a plural marriage. But the friend of A-jeong's who supposedly knew about me — is that you, sunbae?"
"Yes. I'm Park Ju-mi."
So that was how A-jeong had somehow known my news. And how the woman who'd gone on that trip had managed to change my department assignment. It had all gone through Park Ju-mi.
But her expression was far from good. She seemed to know about the Hyeong-seop situation as well.
"...I'm sorry. About Hyeong-seop."
"...Don't tell me. Hyeong-seop is your little brother?"
I activated my Acting trait and imagined a faintly averse expression. The facial muscles shifted accordingly.
I scooted a little farther away from her. She hung her head low.
"What about Hyeong-seop?"
"Mom. The person Hyeong-seop's crew bullied the worst is this Kim Ian right here."
Her face went shocked.
It was already flushed and growing more agitated by the second, and then her eyes went wide.
"...Young man. I'm so sorry. For what my son did. Can you forgive him?"
Whoosh—
The sound of a toilet flushing came from the bathroom, and a woman with a face red as fire emerged wiping her hands, then walked over toward us.
"What? Why are you apologizing to this kid?"
"Nak-jun's mom. This is a student named Kim Ian. Apparently Hyeong-seop and Nak-jun bullied him."
She flinched.
When her eyes met mine — my face carefully blank — she flinched again for a moment. Looking at how her jeans were already going damp, the heat had clearly started to take hold.
Nak-jun, of all people.
He was the one whose eyes used to roll back like a complete maniac. The kind of guy who, when he got angry, would grab whatever was in reach and beat someone with it. That day he'd come at me with a box cutter — and then frozen when he saw I was holding a chair.
Soul Eyes.
All three of them were showing signs of arousal now, so I opened Soul Eyes to check. I had no intention of having sex with a ghost still attached. That was a decision I'd made after dealing with Jeong-mi's lust spirit.
Any woman I was going to take got a Soul Eyes scan first. No exceptions.
Ju-mi and Hyeong-seop's mother were clean.
I turned to examine Nak-jun's mother, who had by now sat down on the floor beside Hyeong-seop's mother — and a chill ran up my spine.
Are insane aegwi really this common?
A ghost was gripping Nak-jun's mother's ear, muttering something into it without pause.
Black.
Fortunately, Nak-jun's mother's own soul was white.
It is an Aegwi. Incomparably weaker than the one that was attached to Lee Ji-yu. It has been an Aegwi for less than a year.
But the ghost's profile looked familiar.
I remembered a student from Class 2 who'd supposedly killed himself last summer break.
Yes. It is Kim Yeong-ho. Over the course of two days at the start of summer break, he was sexually assaulted dozens of times by four boys — Kim Nak-jun, Park Hyeong-seop, Seo Hyeong-cheol, and Kim Gi-hun — and hanged himself two weeks later. He left no suicide note. He became an evil spirit as he was, attached himself to Nak-jun, and when Nak-jun entered juvenile detention, he transferred to the boy's mother for revenge.
Right. Kim Yeong-ho.
I hadn't remembered the name. But the height over 180 centimeters, the rail-thin body, and that extremely delicate, almost feminine face had left an impression. When school reopened and word spread that he'd killed himself, the whole place had been in an uproar — and it turned out Nak-jun's crew had raped him...
Is there no option besides annihilation?
I have placed ten Ascension Talismans in your Subspace. If you affix one to him, his spiritual form will become visible to everyone, and you will be able to witness the ascension itself.
Thank god.
Killing himself had been unjust enough. I couldn't erase his soul on top of that.
"Nak-jun's auntie. Lately — have you been hearing things? Voices saying die, die, hang yourself?"
"...What?... How do you— how do you know that?"
"I can see souls. One of your son's classmates has become an Aegwi and attached himself to you. Isn't that right, Yeong-ho?"
Creeeeak—
A black shape.
Unlike usual, the soul was pouring out murderous intent as it slowly, jerkily turned its head toward me.
Our eyes met.
A weeping soul.
Black tears ran down its face.
"Yeong... Yeong-ho? He used to come over to our house sometimes..."
Nak-jun's mother muttered, trembling hard.
As if he'd gone over there because he wanted to.
The crew had dragged him around.
"Ian-ssi. Why Yeong-ho?"
"Because Nak-jun, Hyeong-seop, Hyeong-cheol, and Gi-hun sexually assaulted him. Yeong-ho killed himself out of the shame. He became an Aegwi, and it looks like he attached himself to all of you so you'd hang yourselves."
"..."
Nak-jun's mother started to cry.
I probably wouldn't have needed the capsule at all. I could have simply offered to deal with the spirit in exchange for their bodies and gotten the same result.
A fierce surge of killing intent flared — then pulled back in.
He didn't charge me, though. Maybe he was afraid of me. Or maybe he was telling me not to say any more.
I never expected to see such a desperate look in a ghost's eyes.
"W-what do we do? Are we actually going to die?"
"Yes. Once an Aegwi attaches, it doesn't stop at muttering. It manipulates your perception in dreams. Within a year, Auntie, you'll hang yourself in the hills or at home. After that, whether it's Ju-mi-nuna or the other auntie — hard to say."
I exaggerated it with a perfectly calm face.
In that moment, Yeong-ho's expression went Ah!
He looked at each of the women in turn. They started trembling harder.
Nak-jun's mother believed me. Hyeong-seop's mother still looked half-skeptical.
"Young man... please. Can't you do something?"
I shook my head.
"Why should I? Yeong-ho has every right to be resentful."
I sneered.
At the worthless mothers who'd raised such sons.
Nak-jun's mother dropped to her knees. Sensing how serious things had become, Hyeong-seop's mother and Ju-mi — who'd been shaking on the bed — knelt in a row beside her.
"Please... sob. I can't take this. Even without all this—"
"Hmm. Yeong-ho. What would it take for you to ascend?"
I put on a performance.
Yeong-ho wasn't muttering anymore.
I pretended to listen to something and nodded.
Yeong-ho stared at me like I was out of my mind.
He even crossed his arms, settling into a posture that said let's see how far you take this.
"What... are you insane? Why would I fuck these women."
Only then did Yeong-ho break into a grin. He nodded.
"What? You'll ascend if I promise to fuck Hyeong-cheol's and Gi-hun's mothers too?"
Nod, nod.
The little bastard finally dropped the killing intent completely.
The women's faces flushed red. They were writhing, twisting their bodies — and Nak-jun's mother's and Ju-mi's pants were visibly soaked through.
Apparently even this terror couldn't overpower the heat.
"...I'll do it."
Nak-jun's mother, as if she couldn't bear it another second, started nodding hard and fast. Hyeong-seop's mother looked tempted as well.
"Ah... damn it. From now on I'm dropping the formal speech. Repeat after me. State your name, and say you'll become Kim Ian's bitch."
They flinched.
All three women flinched, looked at each other — and Yeong-ho doubled over, laughing so hard he clutched his stomach.
I slipped a hand into my pocket and summoned an Ascension Talisman.
"I, Kim Mi-hyeon — Lee Jeong-ae, Ju-mi's mother — and Park Ju-mi, will become Kim Ian-nim's bitch."
Time stopped.
Bitch rank, I assume?
"Yes. Just give them tails while you're at it. No body modifications beyond that."
Park Ju-mi's looks weren't to my taste either, so I simply set them all at Bitch rank.
All three bodies lit up.
The contract has been established.
Targets: Kim Mi-hyeon, Lee Jeong-ae, Park Ju-mi
Rank assigned: Bitch
And time resumed.
Tails had formed behind all three women, wagging back and forth — clearly in full heat.
I pulled out the talisman.
"Look over here. When I stick this on Yeong-ho, you'll be able to see him for a moment — apologize while you can. Yeong-ho. I swear I'll fuck Hyeong-cheol's and Gi-hun's mothers too and work them like dogs, so ascend. I promise. A-jeong has to become my wife, so sorry about that."
Yeong-ho nodded.
But as I moved closer, he raised a palm for a moment.
My mom. Please — take care of my mom too.
"Huh? Your mom?"
His mouth had shaped the words my mom. I looked at him, puzzled.
I will enable conversation temporarily. You may use telepathic ability for five minutes — speak inwardly.
— Why your mom? Did she hurt you?
Fascinating.
We really could talk inwardly — and Yeong-ho flinched in surprise.
— No. Wait, this is weird — we can actually talk. You're already keeping the landlord's daughter as a slave, right? You've got to have money. My mom... she got divorced, and now she's alone, suffering in a tiny room like this. You... with that monster of yours, comfort her a little. Please. I saw you. I saw you having sex. With that ability, Mom could be happy the way that Hye-yun girl is.
— Huh? You can detach from people?
The little shit had watched. Embarrassing.
— Yeah. Unlike that Japanese ghost that was stuck to the other auntie, I never mixed souls with her, so attaching and detaching is up to me. Her ghostly aura vanished all of a sudden — you dealt with it, didn't you?
So ghosts could recognize each other.
And they could sense energy too, apparently.
— Yeah... but is your mom pretty?
— You crazy bastard. Look at my face. My dad is ordinary. That enough for you?
That delicate face.
Even as skinny as he was, this guy had been popular. The problem was he was far too timid.
— Fine, you little shit. But why'd you hang yourself?
— Anal rupture. Shit started leaking out. Fucking hell, the shame was unreal. And those bastards... they filmed me too, and told me to offer up my mom. Laughing their asses off, saying if I was going to die, die without leaving a note. Otherwise they'd spread the video.
— Jesus, those pieces of shit. But you don't need to get revenge on them yourself?
— Heh... all three of those dogs already have Aegwi like me attached. Hyeong-cheol has one too. While I was stuck to him, evil spirits that had been circling the juvenile detention center came around. When I told them my story, they said leave it to them and attached themselves. I latched onto this bitch when she came for visitation.
Insane.
Just like Jini said, evil spirits seemed surprisingly common. Four of them just circling a juvenile detention center.
— She's at unit 202, Ohjeong Villa, address XXX, behind the Muak-dong cathedral. Tell her I'm sorry we never got to take that hot spring trip to Japan we'd been saving for with my part-time money. Don't treat her roughly. Make her happy.
— Fine. If she agrees, I'll even file a marriage registration and keep her. If she's pretty.
— You little shit. I guarantee it. She's at least on the level of the auntie living on the fifth floor here. Now hurry up and stick it on. I want to get my apology from these bitches and go up. Honestly, I never wanted to become an evil spirit. I heard from other ghosts that if you kill yourself, you can't ascend. Goddamn it.
I nodded.
A timid kid like him would never have deliberately become an Aegwi.
"Beg forgiveness for your sons' sins. Once I stick this talisman on, you'll be able to see Yeong-ho."
I affixed the yellow talisman covered in silver characters to Yeong-ho, who had closed his eyes.
In that instant, the room flared bright for a moment.
Everyone saw it. And then they were staring at the space above Ju-mi's shoulder with eyes full of pure shock.
"I-it's really— Yeong-ho. Mom—"
Yeong-ho floating gently in the air.
"I'm so sorry, Yeong-ho. Sob... I'll atone for Hyeong-seop's sins."
Scrub, scrub—
Jeong-ae and Ju-mi threw themselves flat and scrubbed their foreheads against the floor in apology. Moments later, Mi-hyeon dropped down too and began scrubbing just as hard.
"I'm sorry. Sob... Yeong-ho. I really didn't know. Please forgive Nak-jun's sins."
— You crazy bitches. From now on, serve Ian for the rest of your lives. When you meet my mom, treat her with absolute respect. If you don't, I'll come back down and make damn sure you kill yourselves.
The relay effect of the telepathy.
Yeong-ho's voice carried to them without any filter.
I stared at him lying through his teeth and almost laughed. Come back down after ascending? How exactly.
I snorted.
"Y-yes? Yes...."
All three looked up, then hurriedly nodded.
A brilliant rainbow shaft of light touched the crown of Yeong-ho's head. He began to be drawn upward.
— Thank you, Ian. We weren't even close.
— Take care, you little shit. You might end up in hell for the suicide, so don't hold it against anyone.
The Ascension Talisman cleanses even sins. He will reincarnate immediately. If you impregnate Jeong Yu-ri, most likely...
So there really was something like an indulgence. Practically an indulgence, period.
But what? Born as my child?
No. Absolutely not. Block that.
I had a fair idea who Jeong Yu-ri was. How was I supposed to put Yeong-ho's soul into my own child's body.
All memories of the previous life are lost. Being born to the person with the deepest karmic bond from a past life is the natural order.
— Ian. Take care. Even if I go to hell, I won't resent you. Thank you.
In that instant, Yeong-ho's soul vanished beyond the window in a flash. A peaceful expression. Something in my chest eased.
Just... leave it. The kid.
The Constellation has intervened. Kim Yeong-ho's father has just ejaculated into a condom — the Constellation has put a hole in it. Protection has been applied so that an abortion cannot be performed. The Constellation says not to worry and to go ahead and impregnate Jeong Yu-ri.
Whew. Thank god. Thank you, Constellation. Thank you, Jini.
It was true that my heart had gone soft for a moment. But a lingering unease had remained — and the Constellation had stepped in immediately.