Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Cheon So-young (5)
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"So, that bastard sued me?"
"Don't worry about it. The team handled everything."
On my way home after filming content for the team's YouTube channel, Cheon So-young dropped a bombshell on me. That stalker prick had tried to sue me!
But AT had blocked it. As expected from AT! Big corporations are the best when it comes to jobs!
"I've been thinking... What if we release a press statement about catching the stalker? Your image has taken a bit of a hit from all the interviews, hasn't it?"
"What's wrong with my image?"
"Lucky you if you don't know. Anyway, you don't mind, right?"
"Sure."
"Great. Then we're good."
Cheon So-young seemed strangely upbeat today. Should I shoot my shot now? I'd always been a little scared to talk to her before, but with her in a good mood... I wanted to finally say what I'd been holding back.
"Team Leader, um..."
"What's up?"
"Actually, I've heard since I was little that I have strong yin energy. That's why I sometimes see ghosts. My parents made me get into sports because of it."
Of course, it was a lie to lead into the main point.
"...And?"
Did it hook her? Her voice trembled faintly.
"Truth is, I get this weird feeling every time I see you."
"Sorry, but I'm not looking to date anyone right now."
Rejected before I even confessed. No, that's not what I meant.
"Not that. I mean, are you feeling weak or anything? I know this might be rude, but there's a ghost around you..."
"A ghost?! A ghost? Where? Where?!"
What? Why was she freaking out like this? The woman who always kept a cool expression suddenly jumped from her chair, scanning the room with a terrified face.
"There's a real ghost?! Tell me quick!"
"Uh, yeah. It's faint, but a white ghost."
"White! That ghost bastard is still following me?!"
Bastard? She never seemed like the type to curse, but seeing her fidget and swear was pretty fresh. The cold, elite image she always had made her feel human—like me—for the first time.
"C-calm down."
"Why did it show up all of a sudden? I'd been fine until now... Or has it been by my side the whole time? Hic."
She spun in circles, muttering to herself, tears now streaming down her face. I knew exactly what this was.
The first time I got in a car after my parents died in that accident, I'd been just like her. The doctor called it PTSD.
"Hic. Sniff, hic. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be, hic, thy name. Thy kingdom come, hic. What was it? What comes next? Ugh, thy will be done on earth as it is in hic... heaven..."
She started mumbling like she was speaking in tongues. When Hyun-ah cried like this before, how had Hye-jin noona handled it? Right...
"So-young, calm down. It's okay."
I pulled her into a tight hug and stroked her hair. Normally, Cheon So-young would have shoved me away, but right now, she just buried her face in my chest and kept chanting her jumbled prayer.
"Forgive us our trespasses, hic, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from hic, evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, hic. Amen."
"It's okay. You're okay."
Even with her chest pressed against me, I didn't feel a stir down there. I just wanted to comfort this woman. Maybe because she'd been through something similar to me.
'If Rogers were here, he'd know what to do.'
But Rogers wasn't around. It was up to me to calm her.
"Backward too. No, what was it? Should I recite it in English first? Hic. Aeniglaw ehtni dna, hic. Deliver us from evil... something like that..."
She kept sobbing and mumbling nonsense. What had scared her this much?
...Me? Had I been reckless bringing up ghosts? Rogers had mentioned it, and I felt a kinship since ghosts followed me too. Plus, I wanted to get closer to her. But I never expected this reaction.
I'd never imagined she'd be this terrified.
...I'd been careless. I didn't know it'd shake her this bad.
"It's okay, So-young. Shh, shh."
All I could do was stroke her back and repeat mechanical reassurances.
"Hallowed be thy name in heaven, hic. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your, hic, name..."
Now she was mixing in English. This was driving me crazy.
"Shh! You're okay! Shh!"
I shouted loud. This room was probably soundproof, right? Whatever.
"So-young, look at me. You're okay!"
I grabbed her face and made her meet my eyes. She was so much smaller than me. I'd made this woman cry with my carelessness. A twinge of guilt hit me.
"...?"
As our eyes locked, her sobs slowed, and her unfocused gaze started to focus on me.
"So-young, you with me?"
"...No, Team Leader."
"Huh?"
"Not So-young. Call me Team Leader."
At least she was coming back to her senses.
"What're you..."
"And loosen up a bit. I'm getting squished."
Tap tap. Her slender arm poked my thick one. Instinctively, I let go of the arms wrapped around her.
"Ahem. I made a fool of myself. Sorry."
Just like that, she reverted to her icy expression, brushed off her chair, and sat down. It was hard to believe she'd been bawling in my arms moments ago. ...Was it a dream?
"...Let's talk."
But her bloodshot eyes staring at me said it was real.
"What are you doing? Sit."
"So-young?"
"...Team Leader."
"Right, Team Leader."
"Sit."
The same chilly tone as before, but after seeing her cry, it somehow came off as cute.
"What are you waiting for? I said sit."
'She's acting tough to hide her embarrassment.'
She was human after all. Just like anyone, with her own painful wounds. Knowing that made the pressure I always felt around her vanish completely.
"Got it. I'll sit."
"...The ghost. Ahem. I was just so startled earlier—sorry about that. I want to hear more about it. The white ghost."
"Sure."
Her reaction had been unexpected, but I already had a plan for what to say. Stick to the script, Ji Maeng-ho.
"So..."
*
A ghost. Just any ghost, and she might've jumped but gotten over it. If it'd been an Eastern ghost, she'd have scoffed and told me not to joke. But "white ghost" made her lose it without thinking.
How did he know? It was a top secret known only to a tiny circle in AT Group's royal family. No way it had leaked.
'Did I show too ugly a side?'
Even as she listened to Ji Maeng-ho, that worry dominated. She'd grabbed this unpredictable guy to keep him focused on baseball in Korea, but showing this weakness could derail everything.
"So, what you're saying is some kind of power weakened that ghost's energy?"
"Yeah. So I can't tell who it is or what it wants. Sorry."
Some power—maybe the talisman from when she was a kid? If he knew that much, his claims about seeing ghosts seemed legit.
Of course, Maeng-ho didn't know the talisman was blocking the ghost. He'd just vaguely said it was bound in chains, shedding bloody tears, restrained by some force.
"Should I toss the talisman and talk to the ghost directly?"
"Talisman? Ah! No... No need. Actually, the ghost's pissed right now, so dropping it could bring big trouble."
'So the talisman was keeping the ghost at bay? Perfect. Gotta protect that thing.'
Maeng-ho thought instinctively. No talisman meant sharing his shot at love with Cheon So-young with Rogers. Other girls? Fine. But not her!
No matter that Rogers played mentor, father, or friend at times—Maeng-ho didn't want to share her.
"So what do I do?"
"Hm. We'll figure it out step by step. I've got tons of exorcism experience. Usually, resolving a ghost's grudge makes it leave, but with its power weakened, I can't tell what the grudge is."
"No way to fix it?"
"Not exactly. But..."
"But?"
"It might be tough."
"That's fine. I'd do anything to get rid of that ghost."
As a kid, after first encountering the ghost and being treated like a nutcase, she'd recited exorcism prayers backward and in English. She'd thought the shaman her grandpa introduced had fixed it with a talisman, but it was still around!
So-young felt ready to do whatever it took to banish it.
"Alright, here's the plan."
"What?"
"We'll go to a place thick with yin energy together, wait for the ghost's power to return, and I'll talk to it."
"What? A yin-heavy place?"
"You might have a hard time there since you're scared of ghosts, Team Leader—not So-young. No other ghosts, right?"
"Right. Just that one."
Her voice shook.
"Then you're good. No worries, Team Leader."
"Ugh, do we have to?"
"If not, it follows you forever. Your call."
"No way!"
Absolutely not. She'd thought it gone, but it was still clinging to her. Now that she knew, she had to get it purified or exorcised ASAP.
"Then meet me at night a few times."
"Night only?"
"Yin's strongest then. I'm human too, so can't meet every time— we'll sort the schedule later."
"...Okay."
"And one more thing."
"What?"
"Be friendlier with me."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
So-young's eyes turned icy as she listened intently.
'Trying to pull something in this situation?'
Sensing doom in her gaze, Maeng-ho scrambled for an excuse.
"Not what you think. The ghost's been with you so long, it's influenced by your state. To talk to it, we need to get closer."
"Hm, makes sense. Okay, I'll treat you more like a friend, Maeng-ho."
A bit odd, but he was the first to know a white ghost haunted her. No doctor or shaman had known before she told them.
To So-young, Maeng-ho just looked like the expert.
'So he's basically a pro exorcist, right?'
No reason not to trust him.
"Let's start with names? So-young?"
"Eek."
"Try 'Maeng-ho-ya.' Words carry thoughts, right? Something like that. Anyway, names first—make it casual."
"Fine. Maeng-ho-ya."
"Good? Use informal speech too. It's key you see me casual, so don't worry about me—just go informal."
"Only when it's just us... okay?"
"Sure, So-young."
"You'll really get rid of the ghost, right? Maeng-ho-ya?"
Informal speech finally tumbled awkwardly from So-young's lips.
'Gotta get used to it. For the ghost. Yeah, casual talk's normal between friends.'
She scolded herself inwardly for how unnatural it felt.
"Count on me."
Cheon So-young's white flag! Maeng-ho cheered inwardly.
'Nice! She's hooked. Now ease in slow. Ghosts? Nirvana? Exorcism? Whatever, fuck it. Future me can deal.'
To Maeng-ho, who already wanted her, that stuff didn't matter.
"And... thanks for helping."
Her grateful words were just sweet.