For My Daughter
After taking a sip of the scalding coffee to soothe his throat, he asked again. "Is it... really true? Do those kinds of things actually exist? Ah, of course I saw them with my own eyes, but... it's still so confusing... I keep wondering if what I saw was really real..."
He still didn't know how to process that bizarre scene. Just as the man had said, he had seen it directly. He had experienced it. He had nearly died because of it. Even so, accepting it wasn't easy. The question of whether what he'd witnessed was truly reality kept circling in his mind.
"How many times do I have to repeat myself?"
This time the answer didn't come from the young priest, but from the woman beside him who was quietly sipping her coffee. Jun-hee's gaze naturally shifted toward her. A soft sigh escaped him, and his cheeks flushed slightly. Even amid all this confusion, her beauty stood out with striking clarity. It didn't seem like beauty from this world. This seductively enchanting woman possessed a fatal allure that could captivate any man with just a glance. Especially when he met those eyes... it felt like he would lose his mind and become her prisoner.
Miho took another sip of her coffee before adding in a curt tone, "Who could survive a fall from that height? And who could tear a front door apart with their bare hands?"
"That's... true, but..."
The woman was right. The fact that he still couldn't believe the absurd sight he'd witnessed right before his eyes was probably nothing more than stubborn denial, a refusal to accept reality. He had to accept it. He had to acknowledge that this wasn't a dream. He had to face the fact that everything he'd experienced was real.
"Then... So-yeon..."
"So-yeon?"
"Ah! I mean the woman who took my daughter, So-hee. She was actually my ex-wife, So-yeon. In any case, was she really the So-yeon I knew? Her appearance, her voice... they were definitely my wife's. What exactly was she? Was she truly my wife?"
Even as he spoke, it all felt absurd. It was confusing. Could that grotesque entity really have been So-yeon? If not... how could it have mimicked his wife's appearance and voice so perfectly? What in the world was its true identity? Had something unknown been impersonating his wife?
"What exactly... is that thing?"
"To be honest, we don't know for certain yet. We need more confirmation. However, there is one suspicious entity that comes to mind."
"What is it? What could possibly be impersonating my wife? Or rather, is it even impersonation?"
"Well. If something truly was mimicking your wife, then one gwoeyi comes to mind. It's the protagonist of a legend that's been passed down orally for a very long time... There's an entity called the Jangsanbum. And if it wasn't mimicry but rather controlling souls to lure you in, then there's also the Changwi."
"J-Jangsanbum? Changwi? What... what are those?"
"They often appear in folktales. And recently, there was even a big fuss on YouTube and other social media about people claiming to have seen a white tiger, right? That's the Jangsanbum. The Jangsanbum is said to mimic humans. As for the Changwi... there's a legend that those killed by a tiger become bound to it as ghosts. These spirits must lure other people to the tiger to achieve peace, so they deceive and entice victims."
"A t-tiger... Wait, you're saying that in this day and age, there are still..."
He'd been about to say it was impossible, but the words caught in his throat. Could he really dismiss such stories as nonsense now? Could he claim that entities like Changwi or Jangsanbum didn't exist in this world? If so, how could he explain what he'd seen? Not to mention the young priest who had wielded that strange power before his eyes, or the woman beside him who had transformed into a demonic sword.
Meanwhile, the young priest continued speaking. "We can't say for certain what it is yet. It might be that the Jangsanbum was mimicking your wife, or perhaps your wife was killed by a tiger yokai and became a Changwi that came looking for you. For now, we can only consider all the possibilities."
Hwan finished his brief explanation and took another sip of his coffee.
"This is insane..."
Jun-hee felt like his head was about to split open from the pain. It was still far too confusing. Accepting this situation for what it was didn't come easily. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, clutching his hair tightly with both hands. After taking several deep breaths, he asked again.
"Whether it's a Jangsanbum or a Changwi... it doesn't matter what it is. Can I save my wife and daughter?"
"Well..."
Hwan couldn't answer with certainty. He took a sip of the steaming hot coffee, then looked at Jun-hee, whose eyes burned with desperation, and delivered the difficult truth.
"If what we saw was indeed a Changwi, then they are already dead. They can no longer be considered among the living."
"No..."
Jun-hee swallowed hard. He clenched his fists tightly, barely holding back the tears that threatened to spill.
"Is there really no way to save them? Please..."
"Those who have already died cannot be brought back to life. The boundary between life and death is often called the domain of the gods. It's a power that mere creatures like us cannot dare to interfere with. The only thing we can do for them is one thing."
"What is it..."
"If they have truly become Changwi, then we must capture the entity that created them and help those spirits find peace by guiding them to a place of rest."
At that moment, Hwan pulled something from his pocket and showed it. It looked like silver hair. Or perhaps fur? Jun-hee stared at it with a puzzled expression. Hwan examined it with an intrigued look before continuing.
"I believe the tiger that created the Changwi might be the Jangsanbum. Of course, we'll need to confirm it directly, but time is of the essence. To prevent any more victims... we must capture it."
The Jangsanbum mimics human voices and forms to lure its prey.
The Changwi is the bound spirit of one slain by such a monster, forced to drag loved ones to their doom in exchange for its own release.
Jun-hee wept bitterly for a long time. If the young priest was right, his wife and daughter might already have been killed by that grotesque yokai. They might never return. Regret came crashing over him. Guilt weighed heavily on his chest. If only he hadn't gotten divorced. If only he'd tried a little harder. Maybe none of this would have happened.
"Why... why did it have to be our family? Why did they have to suffer like that?"
"There probably isn't any special reason."
It was simply bad luck. Those targeted by such entities were like fish that had the misfortune of biting a lure while fishing. Of course, some people became entangled with gwoeyi for specific reasons, but most cases were like this. They simply got caught by chance. That might be why the woman named Su-yeon, and even the child So-hee, had unwittingly caught its eye.
Jun-hee steadied his troubled heart and asked again. "Then is there any way I can help? Please... let me help! I'll do anything. I can't just sit here like this! If there's anything... anything at all I can do... I want to do it. Please let me help."
"Hmm... It'll be dangerous. You could easily lose your life."
"The truth is, I wasn't a very kind father to my family. The divorce happened in the first place because I was incompetent... I was a terribly inadequate husband and father. That's why I want to do something more. If there's anything I can do... anything at all... I want to at least act like a proper father in the end. So I'm begging you."
Faced with Jun-hee's stubborn plea, tears streaming down his face, Hwan paused for a moment and glanced at Miho. She shrugged her shoulders.
"There have already been quite a few victims. Even so, we haven't managed to catch even a glimpse of its tail... Fortunately, it seems this man is the one it's targeting now. If he acts as bait, we might finally be able to grab hold of it."
"But... it really will be dangerous."
"Most likely..."
After saying that, Miho turned to face Jun-hee directly. His eyes were still filled with desperate resolve. It seemed he was prepared to face any danger if it meant he could at least fulfill his role as a father one last time.
"I'll do whatever I can. No matter how dangerous... So please. Let me help. Please allow me to do something."