The Man Who Chased Away the Evil Spirits
She couldn't breathe. Terror had paralyzed her mind, and her body refused to move.
The man giggled as he tilted his head.
“Th-th-th-that. E-e-e-eyes. Your eyes. I w-w-want them. I want them.”
His hand, writhing like a snake, pointed directly at Yeo-won’s right eye. It was black and festering—the same hand she had seen at the crosswalk earlier.
A sickening crack of joints echoed. The man’s neck twisted with a grotesque snap, his expression shifting rapidly.
A smiling face. A crying face. An angry face.
Then, just as quickly, his face went blank before his mouth tore open again in a wide, unnatural grin.
“Give it to me. If I j-j-just have th-th-that, I c-c-can—!”
His grotesquely bent fingers lunged toward her without hesitation, as if ready to gouge out her eye.
She couldn’t understand what he was saying. Her brain could only scream at her to run if she wanted to live.
“Ahh!”
Yeo-won barely dodged his hand and finally forced herself to run.
Tears blurred her vision, making it impossible to see clearly ahead.
Don’t cry. This isn’t the time to cry.
She rubbed her eyes roughly and looked around.
Not a single person was on the street. The silence was unnaturally heavy, broken only by the sound of her own ragged breathing.
When she glanced behind her, the man was chasing after her with his neck still twisted at an impossible angle. The streetlights in his path flickered out one by one as he passed.
This was on a completely different level from anything she had encountered before. She had never met anything strong enough to possess a person and push her aside like this.
The murderous intent she felt for the first time made her skin prickle.
The only thought in her head was that if she stopped, she would die.
If I had known this would happen, I should have learned exorcism or something—anything.
Her mind was a mess. Her breath burned in her throat. The pounding of her heart kept shattering her thoughts into fragments.
The sound of footsteps grew closer. It wasn’t that the man had sped up—she was the one slowing down.
At her limit, Yeo-won squeezed her eyes shut.
“Please… please…”
Anyone. It didn’t matter who. Just please.
“Ugh!”
Because she hadn’t been watching where she was going, her foot caught in a crack in the pavement and she tumbled forward.
“Hah… haa…”
Her scraped chin throbbed. When she looked down, blood was seeping through the torn fabric of her jeans.
Her legs, covered in a mess of sand and blood, trembled violently. She knew she had to stand, but there was no strength left in them.
“Hik… hee-hee… hee-hee-hee!”
The moment that spine-chilling laughter reached her, all the strength drained from Yeo-won’s body. Even if she managed to get up, these legs wouldn’t carry her any farther.
As if she had lost all will to escape, her head drooped helplessly.
Round droplets of water fell onto the asphalt with soft plops.
Pain radiated from her knees. Dying would surely hurt more than this. If that was the case, she hoped it would at least be quick.
The light in Yeo-won’s eyes began to fade. Whether from resignation or madness, a laugh slipped out before she could stop it.
It was better this way. Rather than going through something like what had happened earlier, dying here might be preferable.
Since she didn’t have the courage to end her own life, this was…
The moment she gave up on everything, a low voice sounded above her head.
"My, my. In the short time I looked away, a lowly spirit has latched onto you."
Before she could even process what was happening, Yeo-won’s body floated into the air. He had lifted her into his arms, and her view suddenly rose high above the ground.
“G-g-give her to me! She’s m-m-mine!”
The voice came from right behind her. Yeo-won squeezed her eyes shut.
The man glanced dryly over her shoulder, then lightly snapped his fingers. With a horrifying wail, the attacker collapsed on the spot.
The ominous energy scattered and vanished.
What…?
When she turned her head, the man who had been chasing her so ferociously was lying motionless on the ground.
The man holding her smiled brightly, as if nothing had happened.
"It's finally quiet."
What on earth had just happened?
Unable to grasp the situation, Yeo-won stared blankly down at the man. Even in a moment like this, she couldn’t help thinking how beautiful he was. His face was so ethereally lovely it seemed almost otherworldly.
He slowly lowered his gaze, then suddenly furrowed his brow.
"You're hurt."
His fingers gently pressed against her chin.
The stinging sensation made Yeo-won flinch. When she reacted, he eased the pressure and softly stroked the injured area.
"Your spiritual energy is so weak. It must be innate. It's a wonder you've survived this long without being devoured."
“……”
The man’s eyes as he examined her wound were as calm and deep as a still lake.
She was certain she had never seen him before, yet he felt strangely familiar.
She must have met this man somewhere. But her memories were hazy, as if shrouded in fog.
With a face like that, how could she possibly forget…?
Her head throbbed. Just as a memory seemed about to surface, she felt another surge of murderous intent.
When Yeo-won’s body stiffened, the man tilted his head.
"What is it?"
Behind him, a black mass of dust was slowly gathering. It was similar to before, but different.
It was far larger, like a thick fog, and the malevolent energy swirling around it was incomparably more vicious.
“B-behind…!”
When Yeo-won struggled, the man released her without resistance.
“We have to run! Hurry!”
She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him along. Unlike her desperate urgency, he simply followed with a serene expression.
Her injured leg limped as she ran. When she looked down, blood was flowing from her wounded knee.
Even with her knee mangled by sand and blood, Yeo-won tried desperately to keep running.
At the pitiful sight, he clicked his tongue softly.
"You're this badly hurt and you still think you can run somewhere?"
“This isn’t the time! We have to get away…!”
The moment he stopped, the black fog instantly began to surround them.
“Eyes… your eyes. They’re mine. I found them first!”
The voice was clearer than before.
Grotesque screams erupted from the black mist.
The sound of a baby crying, a woman laughing maniacally, and a man’s agonized shrieks all blended together.
The bizarre noise was so maddening that blood trickled from her ears. Her jaw clenched so tightly from fear that her teeth chattered.
Yeo-won bit down hard on her tongue to keep from losing consciousness.
“H-hurry and run. Y-you can see it too, right? It seems to be after me, so at least you… ugh…”
With trembling hands, she pushed him with all her strength. She couldn’t drag the person who had helped her into this nightmare.
But her efforts were in vain. The man didn’t budge an inch.
With an indifferent expression, he caught her shaking hand. Even he could feel how violently she was trembling.
“P-please… just go…”
Without a word, the man lifted her into his arms. Her tears fell onto his face in heavy drops.
"Why are you shaking so much? Stop trembling."
He wiped her tears away with his hand. Even his gentle touch couldn’t stop her from hiccupping and crying.
When Yeo-won bit down hard on her already swollen lip, a drop of blood welled up. The man clicked his tongue and frowned.
"Enough. You're bleeding."
As if she couldn’t hear him, Yeo-won bit down even harder. He sighed and slipped his finger into her mouth.
"I told you to stop. What a foolish child."
Yeo-won instinctively bit his finger, but he showed no reaction. Instead, he calmly pressed down on her tongue to prevent her from hurting herself further.
With fear like this… it was a miracle she was still alive. As he wondered how he should handle her from now on, Yeo-won suddenly covered his ears.
Wondering what she was doing, he looked at her. She was murmuring softly.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry for dragging you into this…”
Even though she had covered his ears, her voice still leaked through.
The man’s eyes widened for a moment before they curved in amusement.
It was both ridiculous and foolish that she could be trembling with terror and still worry about someone else.
Yet, strangely, it didn’t displease him.
"Don't make that face. Even I am having a hard time holding back right now."
He set her down and pulled her into his embrace. Yeo-won, trapped against his chest, trembled like a baby bird.
He stroked the back of her head as if soothing a child and asked gently.
"Now, tell me what you want. I am in a very good mood right now."
“Ugh… hic… Grandfather…”
The man burst into laughter. He had held countless women in his arms, but this was the first time someone had called him Grandfather while nestled against his chest.
"Stop crying and speak. Is that thing tormenting you?"
His hand gently caressed her slender neck. The way it stroked up and down seemed to coax an answer from her. Yeo-won gave a tiny nod.
"I see."
Satisfied with her answer, the hand that had been stroking her neck withdrew. Then the black mist that had been waiting for an opening rushed toward them all at once.
“Hic…!”
Swallowing her scream, Yeo-won clung tightly to the man’s shoulders.
Seeing her cling to him as if seeking protection, a faint, sardonic smile curved his lips.
Snap.
He flicked his fingers.
At that single gesture, the mist shrieked and scattered in all directions.
It was exactly like before. Even though this one was several times larger and more menacing, the man still looked perfectly relaxed.
If anything, he seemed a little more entertained than earlier.
"Next time, speak faster."
His tone was as casual as if he had simply given a child a new toy. Yeo-won couldn’t find any words to respond.
*
Only after the situation had ended did people begin to appear in the alleyway.
They strolled leisurely, eyes glued to their phones.
The streetlights that had gone out as the creature approached were now all shining normally again.
The alley was so peaceful that everything that had just happened felt like a lie.
What the hell was all that…?
Her heart was still racing wildly, and that horrifying voice still echoed in her ears.
Like someone who had just stepped out of a bizarre other dimension, Yeo-won looked around with terrified eyes.
Then a passing pedestrian muttered loudly enough for her to hear.
“Ugh, making out in an alley at this hour.”
It didn’t take her long to understand what he meant.
At the touch of a hand brushing her cheek, Yeo-won lifted her head as if drawn by an invisible string.
"You've finally stopped crying."
When her eyes met his beautiful, crescent-shaped ones, she finally realized she was still in the man’s arms.
“Ah!”
Yeo-won shrieked and scrambled away.
The man brushed off the spot where she had been nestled, then opened his arms again.
"You were shaking so much. If you're still scared, you may come back into my arms."
He beckoned her with a slight wave of his fingers.
Overwhelmed with shame at his gesture, Yeo-won didn’t even manage a proper goodbye. She simply turned and ran in the opposite direction as if fleeing for her life.
Watching her retreating figure, he laughed out loud.
"Oh dear. Running like that will only make the wound worse."
Well, they would meet again soon enough. It didn’t matter.
With a languid smile, he vanished like mist.
When Yeo-won returned home, she crawled straight into bed without even changing her clothes.
She searched for every religion she could think of, muttering exorcism chants under her breath as she pulled the blanket over her head.
She knew it was pointless, but she felt like she had to do something.
Her body, tense with fear, couldn’t fight off exhaustion forever. It hadn’t been long since she lay down when her mind began to drift.
Just before falling asleep, Yeo-won thought of the extraordinarily handsome man.
Maybe he was someone like her? Since he could see those things and even deal with them, he might be a shaman or an exorcist.
“I should have at least asked his name…”
His embrace had been so warm.
How long had it been since she had leaned on someone?
She wanted to think about it more, but the tide of sleep pulled her under. Her eyelids fluttered and finally closed.
“Those eyes… I’m sure I’ve seen them somewhere before.”
At last, Yeo-won’s eyes closed completely, and soon the sound of her even breathing filled the room.