Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Virgin Ghost Yi-hwa and Evil Spirit Emel (3)
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At Baekho's house, Junsu's dad's story dragged on late into the night.
"The kids' mom was exhausted from being tormented by these unidentified things during the day, so by the time I got home from work, she was completely wiped out. You might not understand, but just two days after we moved in, the whole family was drained."
"I understand. Of course. I mean, yes. Sorry to interrupt, but where are Junsu and Junhee right now?"
Baekho gently cut in and asked.
"They're at Grandma's house with their aunt."
Junsu's mom answered Baekho's question.
The kids didn't seem to need immediate worry.
"You did well."
Baekho nodded in relief, and Junsu's dad continued.
* * *
The day after we moved, I came home early from work because of the commotion the night before and my worries.
What greeted me when I got home was that inexplicable darkness in the entryway.
Even with the sensor lights on, the darkness in the entryway didn't fade.
It was about the size of a large rice sack standing upright—something like that.
This darkness that wouldn't disappear even with the lights on was the first thing to greet me at the door.
If it were just a stain on the house, I could scrub it off, but I had no idea what caused it, so I couldn't see any way to make it go away.
The house we'd just moved into, the house we'd bought—not rented or leased—our own home...
Moving again would be tough, but the thought of having to look at it until then filled me with inexplicable rage from the moment I stepped inside.
The kids' mom was hearing men's laughter from the house and feeling like someone was watching her, terrified.
The kids also sensed something off about the darkness in the new house and wouldn't go into their rooms.
The whole family feared that darkness.
By the time I got home from work, my wife and the kids were huddled in the living room.
The scarier part was sleep.
After dinner, while watching TV in the living room, we'd unconsciously head to our rooms and fall asleep.
A kind of drowsiness and lethargy?
At first, I thought it was just fatigue and relaxation, but it wasn't.
The day after we moved, that same drowsiness and lethargy had us drifting off to our rooms without realizing it.
It was just before 2 a.m.
I woke up again to the sound of barking dogs...
My wife, who had dozed off too, sat up in bed without a word.
Of course, there were no dogs in our house or even the building, so there shouldn't have been any barking.
I thought maybe I'd misheard it in a dream.
Across from the living room master bedroom door was the entryway and Junhee's room...
Through the open master bedroom door, I could see Junhee's room door open with the light on.
At first, thinking she was sleeping with the light on, I headed out to turn it off, but my wife followed.
She was scared to be alone and worried about me and the kids.
But as we stepped into the living room, I heard sniffling sobs coming from the bathroom.
I thought it was Junsu crying.
Junsu's room was next to the bathroom...
The door was open, light on.
The kids always closed their doors when they slept...
Heading to the bathroom where the crying came from, I saw the light switch was off.
I flipped it on to light up the bathroom.
No windows, so it was pitch black without the light.
When I turned the bathroom doorknob, it was locked from inside.
Thinking of my child trembling in the dark made me so worried.
I called out gently so as not to scare Junsu.
"Junsu! You in there? It's Daddy. What's wrong? Open the door, okay?"
Hearing my voice, Junsu opened the door, face covered in tears.
What Junsu said after opening the door...
"A lady in black clothes went into Junhee's room."
Shocked by Junsu's words, I rushed to Junhee's room.
No outsiders there—Junhee was sleeping soundly, oblivious.
Relieved, I caught my breath, picked up Junhee, and laid her on the master bed.
Junhee didn't wake.
I asked Junsu, who had followed me.
"Must've been scary in the bathroom with no light? What happened?"
Junsu said he woke up needing to pee, and on his way to the bathroom, there was a woman sitting on the living room couch.
Junsu gestured to describe her shape.
The woman saw him, stood up, and went into Junhee's room—tall, wearing black clothes.
Startled, Junsu ran to Junhee's room, but from behind the living room couch, a woman in ragged clothes came crawling toward him on all fours.
Too scared to run, she grabbed his ankle.
His ankle hurt, and he tried to scream but no sound came out.
Unable to scream, dragged by the woman...
Then suddenly, barking dogs, and Baekgu burst from the master bedroom, biting the woman's leg.
The woman clawed at Baekgu's neck with both hands to shake him off.
Clawing a dog with hands like that.
In the chaos, with his ankle free, Junsu fled to the bathroom and locked the door.
As he locked it, he saw the woman biting Baekgu's neck, blood coming out, but no bloodstains anywhere in the living room.
After that night, the four of us slept together in the master bedroom, ate there, even played there.
No TV in the master bedroom, of course.
We could've moved one, but didn't.
Hahaha, family bonds got stronger.
But we were suddenly living in a one-room setup. Hahaha.
At first, I thought Junsu had seen wrong half-asleep or dreamed it.
A person biting a dog's neck? Doesn't make sense.
Besides, the Baekgu Junsu mentioned was 'Whity,' the dog my late father raised.
Whity died last year.
But after seeing the bruise on Junsu's ankle, I realized something was in our house.
The ankle grabbed by the woman still has the bruise.
Anyway, since we'd just moved in, we huddled in the master bedroom and figured out what to do.
If not for last night, we'd still be in that one-room life in the master bedroom.
For some reason, we felt at ease there together.
My wife said the laughter that followed her during the day and the watching eyes vanished when she stayed in the master bedroom, so she stuck there even daytime.
We even went to the bathroom all four together.
Prepared meals together and brought them to the master bedroom to eat.
Inconvenient, but manageable.
Living one-room style was ridiculous, but we planned to sell the house and move.
But...
Last night, my wife woke me, and Junhee was gone.
Junsu and Junhee slept on the bed, us on blankets on the floor, but Junhee was missing.
I'd put her to bed first...
Not knowing what might happen, I woke Junsu too.
Instinct told me the master bedroom was safe, so I told my wife and Junsu to stay put and went to the living room.
Junhee's door across from me was closed, but I heard singing.
Singing at night? I listened closely.
Definitely singing.
A young woman's voice, quite beautiful.
But unintelligible—not Korean.
Cautiously opening the door, there was an enormously tall, beautiful woman holding Junhee in one arm, singing.
Her head nearly touched the ceiling light.
She wore a classy black suit, even shoes indoors.
One arm held Junhee, the other covered her mouth.
As a father who must protect his child, rage surged.
Fire shot from my eyes; teeth ground.
My child...
Junhee's face was terrified, tears in her eyes.
Blood boiled in reverse.
I instinctively knew this woman was the culprit.
More rage than fear; hands and feet trembled.
"Put my daughter down."
Barely suppressing my anger, I told the woman to put Junhee down.
"Daddy."
Not Junhee—the woman called me Daddy.
Looking at me, calling me Daddy, then laughing like it was hilarious.
Daddy...
Muffling Junhee but calling me Daddy...
She just laughed for a while; scared she'd harm Junhee, I foolishly just watched her.
Then she casually handed Junhee to me and said,
"Junhee couldn't sleep, so I was lulling her. Daddy. Junhee will soon be my body, so she needs good sleep and health for pretty skin and growth, right? Right, Daddy?"
That woman... terrifying, not just crazy.
Hahaha, yet foolishly, I just held Junhee and said nothing.
Nothing to the woman in my house...
She asked me a question, but no time for such bizarre replies.
Her voice was soft, calm, affectionate, friendly.
Surprisingly, my mind registered it clearly, word for word.
Don't you usually not perceive feelings like printed words in your head?
But these phrases imprinted there.
Frightening.
Her showing goodwill terrified me more.
I had to keep Junhee away from her.
Holding Junhee tight, I backed away one step at a time.
Even as I moved, she just smiled faintly, watching, unmoving.
Only after exiting the room did I ask her,
"Who are you? Why are you in our house?"
Instead of answering her odd question, I asked mine—seemed more normal in that situation.
Asked politely to avoid provoking her.
She shrugged awkwardly, then faded and vanished.
I didn't know what she was, but she was after Junhee.
At dawn, we packed lightly and came to my mother's house.
Mom said to consult a Taoist master, so here we are.
Please, Master, save our Junhee... Please...
* * *
Having listened carefully, Baekho and Yi-hwa exchanged glances, and Baekho spoke gravely.
"Possession. It's coveting Junhee's body for possession, and it's already begun. Once started, it won't stop until it fully takes the body."
"Then what do we do?"
Junsu's mom asked, startled.
"Wherever you go, it won't give up on Junhee. Unless you exorcise the possession and heal her, it won't stop."
Baekho spoke firmly, believing the family needed to face reality for resolution.
"To drive out the possessing evil spirit, we'll perform an exorcism. But if abandoned midway or failed, the exorcist and all participants die or suffer harm."
"Oh, Junhee..."
Junsu's mom finally burst into tears, but Baekho continued.
"Exorcism starts by asking the evil spirit's identity and purpose, getting answers. The spirit asks questions too. You must not answer them... But Junsu's dad already questioned the spirit."
"I... I did, my question..."
Junsu's dad stared blankly at Baekho, dazed.
Baekho spoke slowly, deliberately, ensuring all understood.
"Regrettably, possession on Junhee has begun. The moment you asked who she was, the exorcism started too. Now it's war."
Yi-hwa, the virgin ghost behind Baekho, nodded firmly in agreement.
Only late at night did Junsu's dad's story end.
"Tomorrow's a weekday. Don't the kids have school? And the dad has work?"
Baekho asked Junsu's dad.
Junsu's dad was puzzled by Baekho worrying about school and work amid this.
'Even terminal patients untreatable at hospitals are sent home to die, so this master must be on that level.'
The couple bowed their heads, lost in worry.