Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Cats Distinguish Grace from Grudge (5)
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"Some Japanese folks went and built a house where I lived. A massive place. It was a style I'd never seen before, and enormous at that."
Byung-su's lips curved up slightly as he listened to the old man's tale.
It seemed the story he'd been waiting for had finally arrived.
"I watched the whole construction from start to finish. They even dug a tunnel connecting to the village. Something felt off about it. So I kept watch every day. Not long after the house was done, on a dark night, a young woman showed up with two kittens in tow."
Dong-jin glanced at Byung-su, reminded of the Chungnam mountain lodge by the old man's words.
"It was odd. That area had nothing worth traveling for, so she wasn't a tourist. She didn't have much luggage either, so she wasn't moving in. Judging by her age, I figured she was the daughter of the Japanese man who built the place. A woman showing up alone at a house with a tunnel—my instincts were spot on."
"A fugitive."
Byung-su blurted it out, and the old man nodded as if to say exactly.
"Right! She reeked of someone on the run. Fleeing the police or something else—who knows. But definitely a fugitive."
The old man praised Byung-su's sharp intuition.
"You've got good instincts, kid. She holed up in that big house alone and never came out. Stayed hidden quietly. But she didn't know I saw it. That same dark night she snuck in to avoid prying eyes... a little girl followed right behind her."
"She wasn't alone?"
The old man shook his head at Dong-jin's question.
"She was alone, yeah. But a girl who looked about seven or eight trailed her. The girl wasn't human, actually—a spirit who'd been dead a while. Didn't even seem to know she was dead. Rare for a human spirit... she must've rejected her death and wiped her own memories."
Unlike Byung-su, Dong-jin still hadn't pieced it together, but this was clearly the mountain lodge's hidden story.
"The girl followed the woman around with an innocent smile, trailed the kittens too, even shadowed me. In that house, only the woman was oblivious to her existence."
The old man's face took on a wistful look.
"Cats are spiritual creatures, so they can sense and see spirits. The kittens knew she wasn't human and stayed wary. But the girl, bored or lonely maybe, just kept tagging along."
Byung-su refilled the old man's empty glass.
"After a few days, the woman started sensing other presences in the house besides herself. No avoiding it—kittens meowing at empty spots, objects moved around, grudges projecting onto the calendar."
Dong-jin finally realized this was the Chungnam lodge story when the old man mentioned the calendar.
"Must've smelled foul too when the girl got close. Felt the chill."
Byung-su said it calmly as he listened.
"Exactly! You know your stuff. Anyway, from what I observed, the girl had followed her from Japan—her little sister, I reckon. Died because of the woman, accident or not, and the woman fled Japan to escape the fallout. The Japanese owner who built the house probably knows the details."
The old man savored Dong-jin's rapt attention and continued.
"The girl seemed to have liked her big sister in life—no malice there. But when the woman sensed another presence and started acting defensive, everything changed."
The old man sighed and went on.
"She sprinkled holy water everywhere, hung crosses, stuck up talismans, burned incense."
"That provoked her. Made her think she was going to get killed again."
Byung-su sighed too.
"Yep, provoked her alright. If only it'd driven the girl away, but instead it convinced her the woman was out to harm her. Bred resentment. The girl screamed in agony every time a talisman or holy water touched her."
Dong-jin finally grew curious about this old man who spoke like he'd witnessed it all.
'He talks like he saw it himself. What's his deal?'
"That's when things went south. The woman went up to Seoul for a few days to find something stronger to exorcise the spirit. Left the two kittens and the girl spirit alone in the house."
From here on, it matched the grudges recorded on the calendar—stuff Byung-su already knew.
But Kim Byung-su's expression stayed deadly serious, like it was all new.
"With the motherly woman gone, the kittens grew even more terrified and wary of the girl spirit. She started realizing she was dead and that her sister had killed her..."
"I see."
"Her buried painful memories resurfaced bit by bit. And she caught those wary, fleeing kittens... and did awful things to them."
"What kind of awful things?"
Byung-su asked for confirmation, even though he knew.
"First, the girl spirit bit their mouths. Second time, she gouged out their eyes, full of fear and resentment. After that, she fully manifested—visible to everyone."
Dong-jin thought he knew the old man's identity now.
'A dokkaebi. The father of the one guarding the upper village.'
"I wanted to stop her, but the kid harbored such vicious grudge—her spiritual power was immense. Too much for me to handle; I might've vanished myself. So I just watched, hoping she wouldn't go further. She piled the dead kittens' bodies in the second-floor storage room and finally stopped rampaging."
The old man caught his breath, flashed a grin at Dong-jin staring holes through him, and spoke slowly.
"She figured her sister would kill her again once she returned. Spirit or not, she was still a scared kid, trembling in fear. Finally, the woman came back. Armed with something powerful—her fear was gone, totally different vibe."
The old man closed his eyes briefly.
"She saw the now-visible girl spirit when she entered. But no fear. She'd gotten something incredible. No idea where, but a small knife with terrifying spiritual power. That blade could've cleaved King Yama himself."
Dong-jin shot a surprised look at Byung-su when the knife came up.
Byung-su's face didn't change.
"The woman panicked when her welcoming kittens weren't there. She searched everywhere, then confronted the girl spirit with a scary face, demanding where they were. The girl whispered in a terrified voice: second-floor storage room."
Dong-jin knew the rest, but couldn't interrupt.
"She felt guilty for killing her sister's beloved kittens, even though her sister had killed her. But also terrified her sister would finish her off. Tragic."
The old man gulped more soju and finished.
"The woman went up, found the dead kittens, and screamed. Spewed vicious curses. Buried their bodies under the tree where I napped... and put their belongings..."
"In the shrine in the yard?"
Dong-jin cut in midway.
"You know it. The girl was a powerful spirit, but hid trembling in the second-floor room, never coming out. Convinced her sister wouldn't let her live. And sure enough, the sister lurked by the door, waiting to strike."
The old man refilled his empty soju glass after that.
"What happened next?"
Dong-jin couldn't hold back his curiosity.
It was past 11 p.m.
The old man seemed to have forgotten about the kitten spirits targeting some poor soul tonight—he had to hurry.
"Long story short, the girl spirit struck first: buried her sister alive and hauled mountain boulders to pile a cairn over the spot."
"What about the kittens?"
"Remember the baby hand I mentioned? Fear, resentment, desperate longing for their motherly owner—those brutally slain kittens turned into vengeful evil spirits against humans themselves. That's another long tale—listen up."
* * *
"The girl spirit must've been terrified of her sister too. She hid in the second-floor storage closet with that immensely powerful knife—no inscription yet, so even a spirit could touch it. Spirits love dark corners, but not this kid. Cried in fear from the closet every day."
"Cried?"
"Yeah. Time passed, the house got a new owner. He cleared the cairn in the yard, demolished the shrine, even chopped down my napping tree. Woke the kitten spirits and the buried woman spirit. The new guy freaked at the sister spirit decapitating him and fled—never came back."
"So the sister became an evil spirit."
"Like Park here said. The evil spirit she became brought disaster to the house and nearby village. Killed a few villagers; everyone else fled. The kitten spirits stayed in the second-floor storage. Probably to torment the girl spirit in the closet—wouldn't leave the room."
Dong-jin now knew the lodge's secrets in detail from the old man's account.
Byung-su just listened silently; Dong-jin kept chiming in for him.
"Everyone's both victim and perpetrator."
"Pretty much. More time passed. One spring day, a man and two odd beings showed up at the lodge. The man scouted the upper village, found the tunnel, crawled in. The two odd ones went looking for the lodge caretaker."
Unlike what the lodge old man said, there was an extra guy.
"The man in the tunnel found the crying girl spirit in the closet and cleverly took her away. They left hand in hand—no sign of harm. Last I saw of her. Probably inscribed the knife and left it."
"What'd the man look like?"
"Priest outfit. White collar—that's priest garb. Anyway, he left the knife in the closet—judged it best there. I agreed. Too powerful for anywhere populated; uninhabited spot was right."
Dong-jin scratched his head, embarrassed for no reason.
"Right after he left, the two odd ones came to the second-floor storage with the caretaker. Dark-skinned woman and blonde girl kid. Not human."
"Not human? Then what?"
"Not spirits either. Anyway, not human. The blonde kid carved weird shapes everywhere—created a barrier, sealed it. Kept the cat spirits from leaving the room. Impressive powers. Remarkable beings."
"Not human or spirit—what then?"
"Dunno. First time seeing 'em. Arrived with the man, left separately. Not human, but not evil-looking. So I didn't mind 'em."
'The woman and child who gave the lodge old man the watch.'
Byung-su inferred their identities and listened closely.
"Few months back, a group stayed overnight, poked around everywhere, left the second-floor storage door open. I didn't notice till later. Thanks to them, the cat spirits got out. Now they're after some poor soul."
"Why that one specifically?"
"Figure she visited the house. Probably touched the knife. Few days ago, some idiot stole it from the closet. Real fool. That terrifying blade—and he swipes it. Cats sensed its energy like I did; tracked her down."
The old man glared at Dong-jin like scolding him.
As if saying, 'You moron, put it back!'
Dong-jin just hung his head, silent.
"It's an item from its original owner's life—wants to harm whoever touched it."
Byung-su, who'd been quiet, spoke up urgently.
"Sir, it's almost midnight. Let's go save that poor soul quick. I'll come too."
He was certain the targeted woman was Na-rae.