The Flame in the Darkness
As she drew in a sharp gasp and regained her senses, a black mist swam before her eyes.
The Eodukseoni, its body grotesquely swollen far beyond anything human, slowly blinked its crimson eyes.
“Eh? How did you wake up? Was the brainwashing a little too weak?”
Its hands writhed like snakes as they seized Yeo-won’s throat. She scrabbled at her neck to pry them away, yet her fingers found nothing solid to grasp.
When Yeo-won thrashed in agony, the Eodukseoni split its mouth in a jagged grin.
“It’s no use. Jae-young tried to let you die comfortably, but you’ve gone and thrown your own good fortune away.”
The voice that vibrated against her eardrums no longer sounded male or female. It was a wet, slithering thing—the voice of a ghost made flesh.
Yeo-won clenched her teeth and fought wildly, but the Eodukseoni remained utterly unmoved.
Just as her mind began to drift into darkness, a cry rang out beside her.
[Kyak!]
“Aaaack!! That damned fox brat again!”
Cheong-sil hurled himself forward and sank his teeth into the Eodukseoni’s leg. The creature’s lower half was still human, and the bite drew a reaction.
The hand crushing her throat suddenly released.
The Eodukseoni flung Cheong-sil aside and flew into a frenzy.
Yeo-won seized the opening. She staggered upright, scooped the fallen Cheong-sil into her arms, and bolted in the opposite direction.
“Cough! Haah—cough, cough!”
Each cough brought the metallic taste of blood surging up her throat.
A searing pain flared across her skin as though it had been flayed open. Worse still, she had twisted her ankle in the fall; every stride sent a sharp sting racing up her leg.
Even so, Yeo-won ran without faltering.
She clutched the struggling, panting Cheong-sil tightly to her chest and tore like a madwoman through the mountain path. Branches whipped across her cheeks, leaving raw scratches, yet she could not stop.
She had to escape. She had to reach a place with light—any place where light existed…
“Aaaaaaaaack! Give it back! Give me the marble, aaaaaack!”
The roar from behind made blood trickle from her ears. The razor-edged killing intent slicing through the air at her back felt like claws snatching at her ankles.
Her lungs burned, her mouth was parched, and blood seeped from her cracked lips. There was no part of her left uninjured, yet Yeo-won kept whipping her head around, desperately searching for a single patch of ground where light broke through the canopy.
Please. Please.
She thrashed through the undergrowth that blocked her vision. At some point she had lost a shoe; the bare sole of her foot burned with every step.
Even running had its limits.
Please, anything at all.
She prayed with everything she had for a single ray of bright light to descend.
The moment she screamed at whatever damned god might be listening to help her now, an orange orb of fire floated gently into view beside her.
Yeo-won, eyes fixed only on what lay ahead, slammed into something solid and came to an abrupt halt.
You look like a wretched mess.
The faint scent of apricot blossoms and a voice warm with affection. A large hand swept down her back, and the wave of relief that crashed over her tore a sob from her throat.
Yeo-won clutched desperately at his chest and buried her face against it.
It fed upon your child’s fear and swelled its form.
“Giiiive iiiiit baaaaack!”
At the scream, Yeo-won shuddered violently. Shin-wol’s golden eyes grew icy as hundreds of flames erupted around them.
This was the Eodukseoni’s domain, a place where light could not reach. Shin-wol shattered the space with casual ease, then turned the entire area into a blazing inferno.
“……”
“Keeeeeek!”
When she finally turned, the black mist was helplessly burning, consumed by the flames.
The Eodukseoni writhed in torment, staggered, and collapsed with a heavy thud.
Moonlight broke through the once pitch-black sky. The surrounding mountains and grasses slowly regained their color and life.
The flames that had swallowed the Eodukseoni subsided, and in their place stood Jae-young.
Shin-wol regarded him in silence for a moment, then murmured in a voice like frost.
The one possessed by the Eodukseoni was from the maternal bloodline.
With the situation resolved in the blink of an eye, Yeo-won sank to the ground. As she stared numbly at Jae-young, Shin-wol spoke again, his voice low.
Shall I kill that human for you as well?
He smiled sweetly, as though asking a child if they wanted a new toy. Yeo-won slowly lifted her head and met his gaze.
“…Was Mr. Jae-young simply possessed by the Eodukseoni?”
Who can say? He carries shaman blood, from the look of it. Those lines have performed all manner of grotesque rites since antiquity. It is possible he became one with the Eodukseoni.
“But the Eodukseoni is gone now.”
Yeo-won rose and walked over to the collapsed man. Jae-young lay limp, tears streaming down his face as he whispered “mom” over and over.
The sight was nothing like the menacing figure from before. It was heartbreakingly pitiful.
As Yeo-won gazed down at him, Shin-wol stepped close and lifted her into his arms. The sudden height made her start; Shin-wol fixed Jae-young with a glacial stare and said,
There is no need to exert yourself. This human will die soon enough on his own.
Yeo-won’s shoulders slumped in weary defeat.
In the end she had never been able to tell him—that a ghost clung to his back.
Would anything have changed if she had spoken?
She didn’t know. She had no wish to regret what could no longer be altered.
Yeo-won chose to remember only what she herself had seen.
He had fought against the mother and the Eodukseoni inside him, muttering again and again that they must not harm her.
It was not enough to earn forgiveness. Yet Yeo-won wanted to believe that the smile he had given her that day at the bowling alley had been genuine.
Having made up her mind, she opened her mouth slowly.
“Please help him so he doesn’t die.”
[…….]
Shin-wol narrowed his eyes in clear displeasure.
“I can’t understand everything, but no one knows better than I how painful it is to be tormented by ghosts. So please—just make sure he lives.”
[…….]
His gaze grew colder still. Yeo-won read the shift in his mood and quietly closed her mouth. He prodded Jae-young lightly with the toe of his shoe.
Have you developed some affection for this wretch?
“It’s not that. It’s just…”
Or perhaps you feel a sense of kinship.
“That’s…”
Because the observation struck close to the truth, Yeo-won offered no reply. Shin-wol gave a cold laugh.
To beg for the life of one who tried to kill you—how exceedingly generous you are.
“It was the ghost that tried to kill me.”
Shin-wol stared at her without expression. Strangely, she preferred the biting sarcasm of moments ago. A smile-less Shin-wol was truly terrifying. Yeo-won averted her eyes.
“I want to go back quickly. Cheong-sil is badly hurt too. I need to treat him as soon as possible…”
He tilted his head at a crooked angle, then snapped his fingers. Jae-young vanished instantly. Yeo-won looked up at him, eyes wide with a mixture of shock and worry.
“Where… where did you send him?”
If you knew, what would you do?
At the icy retort, Yeo-won bit her lip again. Shin-wol carried her as he walked steadily onward.
I left him at the mountain entrance. Someone will find him.
Though his tone was indifferent, Yeo-won felt a small measure of relief and exhaled softly.
You will pay a steep price for this mercy.
Pretending not to hear the quiet warning, Yeo-won glanced around. Light filtered through the trees, yet the surroundings remained oppressively dark.
A small birdsong came from nearby and Yeo-won flinched. Memories of wandering endlessly through the darkness surged back. The mere sight of a lightless space made her body tremble on instinct. A formless terror rose—the feeling that a hand might reach out at any moment and drag her back in.
Her body locked rigid. She gasped for breath without realizing it.
When the fingers clutching his clothes began to shake, Shin-wol let out a small sigh.
You require a great deal of care.
He extended a hand, and countless tiny sparks scattered into the air. The embers drifted like stars, flickering like apricot petals on the wind, bathing the area in warm, bright light.
Yeo-won’s eyes sparkled. Shin-wol smiled gently.
This should be enough to chase away the fear.
At those words, a sudden dizziness swept over her.
Looking at Shin-wol—beautifully smiling amid the dancing flames—her heart began to pound wildly.
When Yeo-won nodded without a word, he resumed walking.
Countless flames gathered especially close around her. She could not tell whether the heat came from the fire or from her own flushed cheeks. She wanted to ask where they were going, but her mouth refused to obey. If she spoke now, she would surely stammer like a fool.
Yeo-won stared blankly at Shin-wol’s profile and thought:
This being, so beautiful it seemed time itself had stopped for him alone, this powerful, ancient life form, stirred the most primal emotions she wished to keep hidden.
Watching the sparks swirl around her, Yeo-won pressed a hand to her chest. She was no longer afraid, yet her heart continued its frantic, irregular rhythm.
The only one who could make something like this feel natural was probably Shin-wol and no one else.
Yeo-won closed her eyes.
She tried desperately to deny that her heart raced whenever she looked at this man—stronger than anyone, endlessly gentle—and prayed that the loud drumming would not reach his ears.