Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Close the Window, Mister! (1)
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Mi-hee had entered university this year and returned to Seoul with her younger sister Da-hee.
After their parents passed away, their older brother Baekho had taken Mi-hee and Da-hee down to Daejeon with him.
It had already been ten years.
Now in his mid-thirties, Baekho had been working as an exorcist alongside his parents since childhood, earning such recognition that he was called the "True Young Master of Gyeryongsan Mountain."
Many thought of him as a baksoo shaman, but Baekho always referred to himself as a Taoist who performed exorcisms and soul-calming rites.
In Baekho's house in Daejeon lived Yi-hwa, the virgin ghost, whom no one knew where he'd brought her from.
Yi-hwa, dressed in beautiful hanbok, had been a renowned shaman maiden in life and always smiled warmly at Mi-hee and Da-hee.
Baekho had prepared a nice two-story house near Gwanghwamun in Mi-hee's name, so there was no inconvenience in their Seoul life.
On Friday evening, Da-hee was bustling around to head down to Daejeon to deliver the protective talismans she'd drawn over the past few days to her brother.
Protective talismans banished evil energies, and Da-hee far surpassed her brother Baekho and older sister Mi-hee in talisman exorcist skills.
The talismans Da-hee drew were incredibly powerful—even the True Young Master of Gyeryongsan Mountain, her brother Baekho, used them in his exorcism rituals.
"Sis, I'll be back soon. Take care of the house!"
Da-hee, thrilled at the thought of seeing Yi-hwa, loved making the trip herself.
"Tell Oppa to send up plenty of pocket money! And bring back some veggie bread when you come."
"Got it. Oh, right! Oppa said he'd pay ten thousand won per talisman if you draw them too! I only get a thousand since I'm a rookie. Hing."
"Ten thousand per sheet? For real? Hmm, that's a deal then. Tell him to send the pocket money first."
After Da-hee left, Mi-hee was alone, staring hesitantly at a blank sheet of white paper.
"Should I try drawing some when I have time?"
It had been a full year since Mi-hee last drew a talisman.
Unlike Da-hee, Mi-hee needed considerable time and effort to complete even one.
"Eh, when would I even have time for this?"
Like Baekho, Mi-hee had always used the talismans Da-hee drew instead of making her own.
Da-hee, now a high school sophomore, was two years younger than her college freshman sister Mi-hee, yet she could draw sealing talismans, shield talismans, and even thunder talismans—ones that neither Baekho nor Mi-hee could manage.
And their power was formidable, of course.
* * *
Mi-hee and Da-hee's house was in a quiet residential neighborhood, always peaceful.
Da-hee, who had gone to Daejeon the day before, wouldn't be back until late at night.
Mi-hee, dozing on the sofa while watching TV, suddenly jolted awake from a massive surge of energy.
The huge, malevolent energy vanished quickly, leaving only its faint afterimage.
'What was that huge energy? Is there any place nearby where something that evil could spawn?'
Mi-hee instinctively knew it was beyond her abilities to handle.
Still, she couldn't contain her curiosity and decided to investigate its source.
She searched for any protective talismans Da-hee had left behind, but it seemed she'd taken all the ones she'd drawn to deliver to their brother.
Da-hee could draw talismans in the air or on the ground without special tools—though weaker than on paper—but Mi-hee could only draw them on clean paper with her own blood.
And even then, she had to infuse them with energy, which took a lot of time per talisman.
"Nothing ready-made. No choice but to grab those rice balls I made this time."
Mi-hee put the rice balls—made by soaking rotten eggs in her own urine—into a black plastic bag.
Even in the bag, the stench was horrendous.
She'd made them on a whim after hearing about them from her brother, so she wasn't sure how effective they'd be.
As she followed the afterimage of the malevolent energy to the nearby convenience store, she sensed two small energies different from the previous afterimage.
These two weren't the energy from human souls.
She headed for a lit area first.
She took position under a nearby streetlamp and felt out the surrounding energies.
'Oh ho! There they are. Their movements scream animal ghost for sure.'
Animal ghosts were spirits of animals.
The ones Mi-hee had found were under the window of a first-floor room in a five-story building.
It was a studio apartment building, and the window of the first-floor unit was wide open.
Things in human shapes were crouched there, peering up at the window.
From their movements, they were definitely animal spirits, just as she'd thought.
Animal spirits usually took their form from life, but sometimes they appeared human—usually the ones aware of their own deaths, intent on harming people.
Mi-hee examined the room the two animal ghosts were targeting.
The afterimage of malevolent energy still lingered inside.
But no dangerous presence was visible.
Through the open window, she saw a tall young man sitting at a desk inside, drinking beer.
'These two animal ghosts are probably after that guy. No talismans ready, but I can fend off chuk-gwi like this with the rice balls. Once it gets deeper into the night, those ghosts will slip in through the open window, right?'
Assuming the animal ghosts were waiting for night to deepen, Mi-hee decided to stand under the streetlamp and watch until they moved.
"No idea what's in that room, but if animal ghosts get in, it won't just be simple possession for that mister. They'll definitely harm him. What an idiot—living on the first floor and leaving the window open? Perverted creep in just his underwear."
The man inside looked out the window at Mi-hee.
Mi-hee felt creeped out by his dumbstruck gaze scanning her in his underwear and glared back fiercely.
'What are you staring at like an idiot? Close your damn window.'
* * *
Even after the evil spirit attacked Editor Cho-seon, faint ghost energies from stray spirits kept popping up near the office.
Not only Eun Na-rae, but even Lucifer and Jijang couldn't touch the sword due to the powerful talisman engraved on it.
Byung-su had gotten used to channeling energy into his left arm, allowing him to touch it with his right hand, but it was still a hassle.
While discussing what to do with the sword, Dong-jin spoke up without hesitation.
"We shouldn't keep this sword in the office. I'll take it to my studio apartment, Team Leader."
It was a judgment call that leaving the sword from the mountain lodge in the office could endanger others.
"That sounds dangerous... Why not just take it back to the lodge?"
Na-rae voiced her concern and opposition.
But Dong-jin was stubborn.
"I already asked the lodge caretaker grandpa, who's a relative of the owner, and even he didn't know about this sword. When I said I'd check it out and bring it back, he said it felt ominous and told me not to."
He didn't want something so foreboding at the lodge.
"I'll keep it safe, and when Baekho comes up, we can show it to him and figure out what to do."
"Still dangerous. Let's just leave it here until Baekho arrives."
Byung-su tried to dissuade him, recalling how the sword's energy had drawn stray ghosts and put Cho-seon in peril.
"If we leave it here and Editor Kim finds out it's causing ghosts to swarm, we're done for."
Byung-su and Na-rae nodded in agreement at Dong-jin's words.
"Right!, you keep it. Perfect!"
"Yeah! Park reporter, you take custody. I'll contact Baekho and Yi-hwa to come up ASAP. In the meantime, keep it safe at your place. I have dinner plans with Sang-in, so I'll swing by tonight. Don't worry too much."
"Can we trust that disloyal guy?"
Na-rae asked, recalling how Sang-in had tried to ditch her alone at the grassland lodge.
"He's the type who'd betray you anytime due to lack of loyalty, but not dangerous. I need to ask about that ghoul Emel too. Anyway, Park reporter, be careful with that sword."
Dong-jin stared blankly at Byung-su and Na-rae, whose attitudes had flipped so quickly.
"Not gonna stop me anymore?"
"Nah, can't."
Not just the dokkaebi—even Lucifer and Jijang had warned that the sword attracted stray ghosts—but Cho-seon was scarier.
"Park reporter, if anything weird happens around you, even a little, call me right away. Or Lucifer if not."
Byung-su reiterated as he left to meet Sang-in.
* * *
Dong-jin, who had taken the troublesome sword home after work, trudged back to his studio apartment.
He'd volunteered to keep it first, but felt a bit hurt that his colleagues accepted so readily.
"They fought it hard until I mentioned Editor Kim, then agreed instantly. Guess she really is scary."
No helping it.
Anyone would make the same choice in this situation.
Back at his studio, Dong-jin decided to shake off the uneasy feeling with a shower.
As he took off his pants in front of the bathroom, he pulled the sword from his bag and set it on the desk.
"This little thing draws stray ghosts...?"
The black scabbard had a milky white handle carved from what looked like ivory.
It fit perfectly in one hand.
Compared to the TV remote, it was a bit smaller.
The scabbard and handle bore the same white talismans he'd seen on the lodge's second floor.
"Is it really that dangerous?"
Curiosity killed the cat, and unable to resist, Dong-jin gently drew the sword from its scabbard.
He'd done it before with no issue, so he wasn't afraid.
It slid out smoothly, the blade gleaming blue under the fluorescent light.
"Huh, nothing happened."
He peered at it closely, jumping to conclusions too soon.
He felt the familiar chill he'd sensed before.
Startled by the cold from the sword, Dong-jin hurriedly sheathed it.
"Yeah, definitely not an ordinary blade."
Everyone said it wasn't normal, and even a glance confirmed it.
"It's valuable, so maybe I need a safe."
He hesitated briefly, left it on the desk, and headed to the bathroom.
For some reason, it felt familiar.
"Feels like this has happened before?"
He tried to recall, but nothing came up.
"I'll think about it after a refreshing shower."
After showering, Dong-jin, planning to drink and crash, bought two six-packs of canned beer from the convenience store out front.
"This feels familiar too. Probably just my usual routine."
The day was slipping away without anything accomplished.
* * *
Dong-jin's studio was in a quiet residential area.
It was on the first floor of a five-story building, spacious and convenient.
The downside was the window facing the street.
Sticking your head out put you right on the sidewalk.
Passersby could practically touch faces, and since the window was low, they could peek inside—which made the street-facing window quite inconvenient for Dong-jin.
The dokkaebi elder had even entered through that window, not the door.
That drawback kept the rent cheap.
Others might never open it no matter how hot, but Dong-jin didn't care about prying eyes—he flung it wide open with a "see if you want" attitude.
As usual, he sat at his desk in just his underwear, comfortably drinking beer and watching a movie.
"Ah, nice and cool."
Night had fallen before he knew it.
Something rustled outside the window, but Dong-jin, focused on the screen, didn't notice.
* * *
'Team Leader isn't picking up. Is he coming? What's going on? Drinking?'
It was past midnight, and Byung-su, who said he'd come, hadn't even called.
Dong-jin, feeling unusually anxious, called Byung-su's cell several times, but it just rang without answer.
'Something wrong?'
Suddenly, he recalled the evil spirit that attacked Cho-seon recently.
Glancing at the sword beside him, Dong-jin felt scared for no reason and kept calling Byung-su.
Still no answer.
'Damn, I'm getting creeped out. Did I mess up taking this? Team Leader's probably out boozing hard somewhere. A few days, and we'll sort this sword out. Back to the movie.'
Sleep seemed unlikely, so he decided to keep watching.
While engrossed, a strange feeling made him turn to look out the window.
A woman stood under the streetlamp across the street, visible through the wide-open window.
Her long black hair fell below her waist, her eyes sparkling in the lamplight.
"Looking at me? Nah."
Not far away, he could clearly feel her gaze.
As he thought, she was glaring at Dong-jin.
In her hand was a black plastic bag.