A Promise in the Sky
Shin Hyeon stared at the hot air balloon.
Was this swirling emotion because of the balloon?
My chest feels... strange.
“Are you still nervous?”
At Yeong-hyeon’s question, Shin Hyeon caught his breath and almost reflexively grabbed the hem of Yeong-hyeon’s clothes.
When Yeong-hyeon looked at him, Shin Hyeon realized what he’d done and offered a sheepish smile.
“Are you scared?”
Yeong-hyeon chuckled, and Shin Hyeon found himself smiling along.
“I guess so.”
He couldn't understand why he had just acted that way.
It was just... sudden.
For absolutely no reason, a deep, aching yearning washed over him.
At the same time, a wave of fear surged.
How could he even put it into words? It felt as though his nephew might vanish at any moment.
“...Yeong-hyeon-ah.”
“Yes?”
“Are you... really going to be okay?”
Shin Hyeon asked gently.
Why had Yeong-hyeon suffered such injuries in the first place? He had thrown himself from a rooftop.
Just remembering it made Shin Hyeon's chest ache with terror, so how could Yeong-hyeon possibly be fine?
Yeong-hyeon slowly patted his uncle's back.
“I'm fine, Uncle. I'm really all okay now.”
These were the words he had truly wanted to say.
Though he himself wasn't suffering, his uncle's eyes were always filled with self-reproach whenever he looked at Noel.
“We're going up.”
At the staff member's words, Kkamangi—who had been throwing endless punches at the burner's flame—hopped down and scrambled onto the railing.
Yeong-hyeon pointed to the railing.
“They say we're rising. You should hold on tight.”
Seeing Yeong-hyeon's bright smile, Shin Hyeon gripped the railing.
The basket swayed slightly, and as it began its slow ascent, his grip tightened instinctively.
“...Oh, whoa.”
The exclamation slipped out on its own. The hot air balloon, which had started so slowly, was suddenly rising much faster and higher than he had anticipated.
Yeong-hyeon burst into laughter, and Shin Hyeon turned to look at him.
Seeing his nephew so genuinely happy brought a smile to Shin Hyeon's face as well.
He shifted his gaze to look further out.
Everything below looked tiny, but fear kept him from leaning out too far.
“Uncle.”
“Yeah?”
“Don't blame yourself because of me.”
Shin Hyeon's eyes widened slightly.
Yeong-hyeon was gazing down at the ground.
“It wasn't your fault, Uncle. It wasn't anyone's fault.”
Yeong-hyeon slowly brought up that day.
After all, up here, there was absolutely nowhere to run.
“That empty house was so terrifying and suffocating. It wasn't because I couldn't rely on you, Uncle. It was just... my sky had collapsed that day.”
Yeong-hyeon reached out, feeling the wind.
It was freezing cold, almost biting, but it made him feel truly alive.
“Even if you had been there, I felt like my broken sky could never be mended. That's why I did it.”
“...Weren't you scared?”
At that question, Yeong-hyeon turned his head to look at Shin Hyeon.
He looked as if he might burst into tears at any moment.
“I was terrified.”
Everything had looked so small, just like it did now.
So incredibly small that he felt he would shatter into pieces if he went down there.
“I was so scared, but I was so drowned in grief that I couldn't think of anything else.”
The color of grief was black.
Could any other color express sorrow better than that?
“I'm sorry for making you sad, Uncle. I know that no matter what I say, the memory of that day won't just disappear.”
He had wounded his uncle in a different way.
It would likely remain as anxiety and trauma.
“...I won't be able to forget it. I can't. On that day, so many thoughts swirled in my head, but my only wish was for you to be alive.”
Shin Hyeon spoke with a trembling voice, meeting Yeong-hyeon's eyes.
Tears welled in the corners of his eyes, but they didn't fall.
“Uncle. I will never make a choice like that again.”
Yeong-hyeon suppressed his rising emotions and held out his pinky finger.
Even if he wanted to make such a choice, he could no longer do so.
Because he was already dead.
“I'm really okay.”
For the sake of his uncle who had to keep living, Yeong-hyeon decided to make the best choice.
He opened his arms, and his uncle pulled him into a tight embrace.
It was their final hug.
He wanted to let his tears flow, but he held them back.
This wasn't the moment for that.
“Well, let's see then.”
Stepping back, Yeong-hyeon grinned like a mischievous boy and shouted toward the sky that suddenly felt so close.
“Yahoo!”
The protagonist of a novel he read had shouted first thing upon boarding a hot air balloon.
He had wondered why they did that, but now he realized it completely cleared one's chest.
He was no longer afraid of high places.
The bad memories had been completely washed away by the memory of the hot air balloon.
-Yahoo!
When Kkamangi mimicked him, Yeong-hyeon laughed even louder.
Shin Hyeon, who had complained about being terrified on the balloon only to later declare it was fun and that he wanted to ride it again, fell silent as they neared the accident site.
A heavy silence filled the car.
He could just say it.
Noel took his eyes off Shin Hyeon and glanced back at Yeong-hyeon, who was sitting in the rear seat.
He looked surprisingly composed.
-I told you, I'm fine.
-Art thou truly well?
Asin asked gently.
-Really. I just remember something suddenly crashing into us, and I don't remember anything after that.
Yeong-hyeon gave an awkward smile.
He hadn't expected them to look at him with such concern.
-I touched the fire earlier too!
Kkamangi flailed its front paws as if mimicking its earlier actions.
-So it's okay!
Yeong-hyeon chuckled at those words and stroked Kkamangi.
-I'm just like Kkamangi. When we went up high earlier, I wasn't scared at all. I'm not scared here either.
-Dost thou feel anxious, then?
Asin changed her question.
Yeong-hyeon hesitated before nodding.
-Yes. I am anxious. Not because I'm worried, but because I don't know if my family is really there or not.
-Have patience and wait, child.
Asin offered a gentle smile.
Yeong-hyeon felt relieved by her smile.
After all, Asin possessed a mysterious power.
The car continued forward, carrying the silence with it, until it finally came to a stop.
With a tense expression, Yeong-hyeon couldn't bring himself to look out the window.
“Let's walk from here. There's nowhere to park over there.”
As Shin Hyeon spoke to Noel with a smile, Yeong-hyeon let out a small breath.
Not yet.
It wasn't time yet.
As Noel stepped out of the car, his eyes fell on Yeong-hyeon first.
“Hyung.”
-...Yeah?
“Don't be too nervous.”
-...What if they aren't there?
“Want me to tell you?”
When Noel grinned, Yeong-hyeon stared at him searchingly.
Are they there? Is that why he's saying that?
Without saying another word, Noel turned to Shin Hyeon.
“Uncle, lead the way.”
“Aren't you nervous...?”
“Are you nervous, Uncle?”
“Terrified. I feel like my heart is going to leap right out of my mouth.”
“The accident scene must have been cleared by now.”
“...Still. The memory doesn't fade easily.”
Ah.
Noel understood the weight of the situation.
After all, Shin Hyeon was the one who had to handle the aftermath of the tragedy.
He was currently locked in a fierce dispute with the perpetrator over compensation.
The perpetrator's imprisonment was inevitable, and though they needed a settlement agreement to reduce their sentence, they were shamelessly acting as if they had nothing to lose.
Noel didn't know the exact details, but it was a fact that Park Ye-jin, a ghost he had previously guided to ascension, had subtly passed along to him.
“Then just show me the direction and wait here, Uncle.”
“What...?”
“Honestly, I don't remember anything. For me, it's just curiosity, but you remember it all too clearly. The trauma must be severe.”
Lately, Shin Hyeon had been receiving psychiatric treatment.
He kept recommending it to Noel as well, but Noel had refused.
After all, wouldn't it look suspicious if his condition suddenly improved overnight?
He planned to delay it as much as possible before finally going.
“But...”
“It's fine. I'll just go take a look. I think that's for the best.”
At Noel's words, Shin Hyeon hesitated.
Honestly, if it weren't for his nephew's request, he wouldn't have wanted to go at all.
In fact, he wanted to stop him.
The image of that horribly crushed car was so deeply burned into his mind that he hadn't even been able to ride in a car for a long time.
“Ah, right. A fresh start.”
Noel lightly snapped his fingers.
“Huh...?”
“We have to face where it all began before we can make a fresh start.”
A fresh start.
The words held a deep resonance, and Shin Hyeon's expression brightened.
Hadn't they just promised never to make that choice again?
...So that was his resolve.
The words Yeong-hyeon had spoken to him on the hot air balloon were connected to this very moment.
It felt almost like... a farewell.
Shin Hyeon felt foolish for worrying.
His nephew had grown so strong, so why had he been so anxious?
“Alright. I'll wait here.”
Shin Hyeon smiled warmly and pointed down the street.
“Walk straight down this way until you hit a fork, then take a right. It's a main road, and there are still traces left, so you'll recognize it immediately.”
“That much?”
“Of course. For your information, you made the news.”
Shin Hyeon chuckled.
-Wow, crazy!
Yeong-hyeon chuckled as well, but Noel feigned a surprised expression.
It meant the accident was massive enough to be broadcast on the news.
“...That's crazy.”
“It is. But you trust your uncle, right? I'll use every means and method...”
“Then let me in on it too. I'll dig up everything on that perpetrator—no, even the people around him.”
After all, the ghosts were listening to every word spoken day and night.
For a moment, Shin Hyeon looked as if he had been struck on the head.
Right beside him was the ultimate source of information.
“Let's talk about that when you get back.”
“Deal.”
Noel waved confidently and turned around.
-It's always reliable when left to you.
Yeong-hyeon felt a deep sense of reassurance.
“Hyung. Don't look back when we go. Don't linger, and don't hold a grudge. This is the burden of the living. You know that, right?”
-Of course I know.
Yeong-hyeon spoke firmly.
Grudge. Had he not seen firsthand that resentment was the greatest obstacle to ascension?
-I've never resented the perpetrator. You know that, right?
“Still, you never know. It's just that there hasn't been a trigger to pull yet. Once you find that trigger, the fire ignites in an instant.”
Resentment was that easy.
Yeong-hyeon had the ultimate reason to hold a grudge.
His entire family had died because of a single person.
What stronger motivation could there be?
He just didn't know it yet.
-...Is that so?
-Noel speaks the truth. One can never be certain of such things.
Asin, sharing Noel's concerns, was genuinely worried.
The moment they reached the accident site and met his family, that dam might burst.
-If such a thing were to happen...
“Hyung. Did you forget who I am?”
Noel grinned.
He possessed the flame to burn away any grudge.
Then, Noel pointed to Asin.
“I will never let them become evil spirits.”
-Noel is correct. Do not worry, child.
With even Asin reassuring him, Yeong-hyeon nodded and smiled brightly.
It was incredibly reassuring.
Following Shin Hyeon's directions, they turned right at the fork.
He had wondered what kind of traces would be left, but they were obvious even from a distance.
The streetlights, the guardrails separating the road and the sidewalk, and even the storefronts along that stretch were all under construction.
The ground itself was far from intact.
Yeong-hyeon's eyes widened.
As he tried to step forward, Asin held him back.
-Go slowly, child.
-But... there's no one here.
He couldn't see anyone.
It was a straight road, so something should have been visible.
Yet, there wasn't a single ghost in sight.
His hands felt as if they would start trembling at any moment.
-I'll go look first.
Kkamangi glanced at Yeong-hyeon and darted forward like a bullet.
There's no need to go so fast.
Noel felt a sudden chill from somewhere, drawing his gaze toward it.
Who could possibly be emitting such a cold aura nearby?
Noel shifted his gaze to Asin.
She seemed to have realized it as well, her expression slightly tense.
This won't do.
Noel stopped in his tracks.
Startled by the sudden halt, Yeong-hyeon stopped and looked at Noel.
“Hyung.”
-...Yeah?
“Listen carefully. Don't be too shocked.”
-I'll... try my best.
“I think they've become evil spirits.”
-......
Yeong-hyeon staggered, staring at Noel.
His fingertips trembled violently.
“But don't worry.”
Noel spoke firmly, watching Kkamangi run back to them, and resumed walking.
“We just have to turn them back. They haven't been evil spirits for very long.”
Time and grudges were closely correlated.
The more time passed, the deeper the resentment became.
If he could clear a grudge hundreds of years old, why couldn't he handle one that was only a few weeks old?
“Hyung, no matter what you see, don't let it sweep you away.”
-I won't. Don't worry about me.
Yeong-hyeon steeled his resolve.
Though Noel had suggested it, he hadn't actually seen what an evil spirit looked like yet.
But today, he had no choice but to face them.
Hearing Yeong-hyeon's reply, Noel quickened his pace.
The first thing he had noticed upon entering this area was the complete absence of ghosts.
Yeong-hyeon must have realized that too, which was why he was so anxious.
Noel passed the accident site and crossed the street at a green light.
The chill brushing against his skin grew increasingly intense.
After all, there were three of them.
-But Noel.
Yeong-hyeon called out to him gently.
“What is it?”
-This is away from the accident site. Is this the right way?
They were gradually moving away from the main road.
They were heading deep into a commercial alleyway.
“It's the right way. Right now, they probably have no awareness of anything except whatever they're obsessed with. That's how it is in the early stages of becoming an evil spirit. Over time, they'll regain their awareness and start viciously attacking people, but they haven't reached that point yet.”
Yeong-hyeon felt a brief wave of relief at those words.
If that centuries-old villain was obsessed with land, what would it be this time?
Noel turned left at another fork and let out a long breath.
A small park came into view.
It was likely there because of the small apartment complex behind it.
There, amidst the children and students, three evil spirits stood in absolute silence, staring at the kids.
A father, a mother, and an older brother.
Exactly three.
...As expected, they were looking for you, Hyung.