Bound by a Promise (3)
The woman stared blankly at Noel.
You do not have to stay here anymore.
To think she could finally receive the words she had yearned and yearned for.
...How?
A deep question rippled within her.
Ignoring her gaze, Noel walked away to pick up the drinks and cake he had ordered.
—"All of this is possible because your god did not abandon you. Remember that well."
Tam-rang stated the plain truth to the woman.
The god remembered his follower; he simply lacked an agent to save her.
And after a long, winding journey, that agent happened to be Noel today.
—"To demean yourself is to insult the god who thought of you."
Though his words were somewhat harsh, Asin agreed with Tam-rang.
—"He speaks the truth. Are you not his follower? Your faults would reflect upon the god who claims you. Therefore, do not blame yourself. The feelings you harbored back then were not wrong. They were merely the warm, sunlit emotions that everyone harbors at least once in their lives."
Asin offered a gentle smile, reassuring her that it was alright.
—"Then, what are you gonna do first when you get out?"
Kkamang-i lay flat in front of the painting, looking up at her.
—"...When I get out?"
The woman asked hesitantly.
—"Yeah! 'Cause you can go out now."
At those confident words, the woman's face went blank with bewilderment once more.
How could they be so sure?
She had lost track of how much time had passed in this agony of being able to leave, yet unable to do so.
She had stopped harboring hope.
If it didn't work this time...
And if it didn't work the next...
She might not be able to endure any longer.
—"I... cannot be sure."
The woman spoke in a voice entirely devoid of confidence.
"Then you can just look at me, the one your god chose, and find your certainty. Or are you planning to doubt him too?"
At Noel's teasing voice, the woman's shoulders slumped.
—"...Ha."
She let out a soft sigh.
A spark like a distant star flickered in her dry, hollow eyes.
Her god.
The most radiant and beautiful being, who had granted her a second life.
—"...No."
She could no longer remember his face.
Yet, she remembered the gentle voice that called her name and the tender touch of his hand.
She missed him.
She missed him so terribly it ached.
—"I will believe."
As resolve returned to the woman's eyes, Noel grinned.
"I'll get this sorted out for you, so make sure to put in a good word for me with your god."
Noel sat down and picked up his fork, and Kkamang-i quickly scrambled onto his lap.
—"A... good word?"
"Well, you know, it's always good to be on friendly terms."
Noel grinned to himself, thinking of the precious wild ginseng and gold sitting safely back home.
Gods were quite generous.
—"Noel, I can see the greed swirling in your mind."
Asin stared intently at him.
Noel avoided her gaze and stuffed a piece of cake into his mouth.
Mumbling around his food, he muttered quietly,
"Hey, everyone wins."
—"That is true. It is indeed wonderful to receive both recognition and reward. Your desires are by no means excessive. However, I speak because some deities are incredibly fastidious and strict. There are far more gods than you think who utterly despise human greed."
"Why is that? Even gods have desires."
—"It is usually the lesser gods who act so. That is why they remain at the bottom."
At Tam-rang's scoff, Noel burst out laughing.
It felt oddly refreshing.
To be frank, they weren't even proper gods.
The mere thought of mere ghosts acting all high and mighty as if they were actual deities was nauseating.
—"I am telling you this so you do not get the wrong idea just because Asin is by your side. It is a waste for Asin to remain a mere guardian deity. She is more than capable of ascending much higher."
—"Thank you. Praise is always welcome."
Asin smiled warmly, pleased.
To think Tam-rang would praise her like this.
—"I merely stated a fact. To remain steadfast throughout countless ages is a monumental feat."
"It really is. Well, for now, I guess I'll just eat my cake and wait."
Noel leaned back comfortably in his chair.
He had grasped the situation. Now, all that was left was to confront it head-on.
—"A promise is difficult to break unless one is a party to it. Do you have a plan?"
Asin's voice carried a hint of worry.
The situation was indeed more complicated than they had initially thought.
"True. But look at this. Even though the person who made the promise is long dead, the promise is still active. What do you think that means?"
Kkamang-i, who had been holding its mouth open for a bite of cake, instantly snapped it shut.
This complicated talk was giving it a headache.
"It means the other party to the promise hasn't crossed over to the afterlife yet."
Noel waved his fork with a smirk.
—"That... makes no sense."
The woman rejected Noel's hypothesis.
"But if that's not the case, why would you be treated as the most precious thing as long as you remain in the painting?"
"I shall stay for as long as you wish, so long as you hold me most precious during that time."
Such was the promise made between the woman and a certain individual.
—"Are you speaking of a loophole in the promise?"
Tam-rang asked.
"Exactly. A promise is similar to a contract, but the reason it's not a contract is because it has so many loopholes. Right now, the premise of 'to whom' is missing. That's why whoever holds the painting you reside in ends up treating you as precious."
Because it was a promise, it couldn't be too specific.
If it were detailed, it wouldn't be a promise anymore—it would be a contract.
—"Does that mean the condition of 'how long' also lacks a specific 'who'?"
Asin asked, finally understanding what Noel was getting at.
"Exactly."
—"But if the other party to the promise still exists on this earth, will it not be difficult? Even if the 'who' of being treated as precious is absent, the premise of remaining inside the painting is absolute, is it not?"
"True. That's why this is just a hypothesis. We'll have to try it to know for sure. And if all else fails, it's not like there are no other ways."
There was a way to forcibly sever a promise.
There would be a backlash, but at worst, he'd just get a nosebleed.
If even that was too troublesome, other methods existed.
"Oh, and I also thought about why your god asked Sansin for help now of all times."
Noel finished speaking and took a sip of his coffee.
—"Could you... tell me?"
The woman looked at him with anxious, tense eyes.
"That insignificant human you mentioned is right there where your god resides. I don't know if he's been begging and praying to the god. But the point is, if we go there, we'll find a way to end this promise."
Because she was trapped inside the painting, her presence was so faint that one couldn't detect it without getting close.
Even Noel had barely managed to find her, so how much harder must it be for a god bound to a specific location?
He figured that being able to locate her like this was all thanks to Sansin's power.
"What do you want to do? The choice is yours."
Noel extended his hand toward the woman.
She had been trapped there for hundreds of years; it wouldn't be right to just force his own way on her.
The man stopped dead in his tracks on the busy street and let out a scream that bordered on a shriek.
"Aaaaaaargh!"
She wasn't there.
His beloved, lovely girl was gone.
He felt like his airway was closing up, driving him mad.
Regardless of the stares from passersby, he staggered left and right like a hound tracking a scent.
When someone pulled out their phone as if to call the police, the man suddenly lunged right in front of their face.
"Did you hide her? Is that it? Was it you? It's you, isn't it?!"
"...He's insane."
"Hey, let's go. That guy is completely out of his mind."
Urged by their friend, they fled the scene in discomfort and anxiety, prompting the man to close in on another bystander.
"Was it you?! I asked if it was you!"
"What the hell! What do you think you're doing?"
"Did you see the frame? Huh? Did you see the frame?! My truly beautiful love is in there. Did you see her?!"
As the man spoke with trembling hands, the confronted passerby quickly walked away in sheer annoyance.
The man stood frozen in place, panting heavily.
She was definitely here.
This was the right place.
Yet, he couldn't find where she was.
Just as he was about to stomp his feet in sheer madness, a voice reached his ears.
"You took longer than expected, so I came to find you instead."
Noel stepped out from an alleyway.
He looked incredibly relaxed.
"I thought breaking the seal would make you sniff her out like a wild beast, but this is less exciting than I hoped."
Noel chuckled, and the man charged straight at him.
Watching him calmly, Noel lightly tripped the man.
The man crashed to the ground and slid forward.
"Ah, my bad. I got startled. Are you alright?"
At Noel's mock-apologetic tone, the man fumbled around and pulled something out of his bag.
Wrapped in newspaper, it was unmistakably a kitchen knife.
"Give her back! Give me back my lovely darling!"
The man brandished the kitchen knife at Noel, but Noel didn't even bat an eye.
Instead, it was Asin who gasped in shock.
—"Step back!"
The man's eyes made it clear he fully intended to stab Noel.
Noel glanced at Asin and quietly muttered, "I'm fine."
"Hey, why don't you just stay down instead of getting up? Playing with knives is really not a good idea. You're going to end up with a criminal record at this rate."
"Who's playing around?! Huh?!"
"Is that so?"
Noel replied nonchalantly and snapped his fingers.
A clump of black smoke condensed into a small sphere and shot forward, striking the man's wrist.
"Aaargh!"
Screaming, the man dropped the knife, and Asin kicked it away.
"Does it... hurt that much?"
Noel was genuinely surprised.
The people he used to deal with wouldn't have even flinched at this.
Even though he had lowered the power just in case, he hadn't expected the man to be in this much pain.
He actually worried if something had broken.
The laws here are quite strict.
You couldn't just kill people.
The perspective on life here was vastly different from his original world.
In his old world, those of low birth weren't even considered human.
"Aaaaaargh!"
Ignoring his wrist, the man lunged again. Noel timed it perfectly, using the man's own momentum to throw him over.
Slamming him down went well, but Noel lost his own balance in the process.
"Whoa, whoa...!"
Just as he was about to tumble down with the man, Asin caught him.
—"Be careful."
Asin pulled Noel upright.
Ah, right. This isn't my original body.
This was Do Yeong-hyeon's physically weak body, which sorely lacked physical conditioning.
Even his arm felt strangely sore.
Noel pressed his finger against the forehead of the groaning man.
As black smoke seeped from his fingertip, the man's eyes widened.
"......H-huff."
The man gasped for breath again.
He looked around.
He seemed to have absolutely no idea why he was here.
But upon seeing Noel, he bit his lip hard.
His memories were slowly returning.
"We meet again, don't we?"
The man nodded, on the verge of tears.
Once again, his body had moved on its own because of that cursed painting.
"I haven't introduced myself yet. I don't have a business card, but I'm a shaman. You've been possessed by a spirit, and I'm going to do my best to help you. Will you cooperate with me?"
Noel had made up a quick explanation, but to the man, every word sounded like absolute truth.
Because he had been possessed.
And only this shaman could restore him to normal.
"I'll do it. Please... let me do it."
"Good."
Noel helped the man up.
He stepped back to keep a reasonable distance and faced him.
"Repeat after me."
As Noel pulled out the picture frame, anxiety washed over the man.
Noel smiled reassuringly and spoke.
"You do not have to stay here anymore."
"You do not... have to stay here anymore."
"Come out."
"Come out."
The moment the words left the man's mouth, Noel immediately looked at the woman.
The woman reached out, but she was still blocked by an invisible barrier.
Ah, this isn't working.
It seemed cheap tricks wouldn't work.
Why does it have to be so needlessly thorough in times like this?
Left with no choice, Noel molded his black smoke into a sword.
—"Are you going to use another method?"
At Asin's question, Noel nodded, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
When he slowly opened them, his eyes were glowing purple.
He saw a sickeningly dense web of threads connecting the man and the woman.
It was so ancient that it must have spanned several generations.
How was this any different from a curse?
"You're going to feel a bit sore for about two days. Go to bed early tonight."
At Noel's warning, Tam-rang asked in disbelief,
—"Are you planning to sever those threads?"
Bingo.
Answering only in his mind, Noel swung his sword toward the threads without hesitation.
As the threads were sliced apart cleanly, blood began to trickle from Noel's nose.
Drip.
It was the backlash of forcibly severing a bond.
—"......Good heavens."
Tam-rang let out a dumbfounded sigh.
The threads had actually been severed.
—"Ah! Oh no! Blood! Noel, you're bleeding!"
Kkamang-i rushed over in a panic.
"......A-are you alright?"
The man asked, startled.
"I'm fine. It's just the backlash of forcing you two apart. If you feel bad, just give me two hundred thousand won."
Noel wiped his nosebleed and demanded payment.
He hadn't planned on charging, but since he had bled for this, he had to get paid.
He'd take the money and buy himself some meat.
"Pardon...?"
"My consultation fee."
Noel held out the picture frame.
The woman and the man looked at each other.
But the man's eyes were different now.
They showed no trace of the obsessive emotion from before.
"You don't feel anything anymore, right?"
As Noel grinned, the man blinked a couple of times before his eyes welled up with tears.
Ah.
He gasped and covered his eyes with trembling hands.
"Honestly, two hundred thousand won is a total steal."
Noel turned the frame to look at the woman.
She, too, was weeping sorrowfully, covering her face with both hands.
"...Am I, now..."
The man choked out, his voice trembling.
He knew how embarrassing it was to cry on the street, but the flood of memories made the tears catch in his throat.
"Do I... no longer have to do those crazy things...?"
Even though he hadn't wanted to, he had eaten at restaurants for the sake of that painting, gone to watch the sunrise on New Year's Day, babbled like a madman in movie theaters, and even introduced her to his friends as his beloved.
He had simply become a lunatic.
He had been hospitalized in psychiatric wards countless times, but there was no cure.
The reality was that no matter what he did, he couldn't escape it.
"Of course. You don't have to force yourself to love anyone anymore."
"...Ha."
The man sobbed, overwhelmed by a profound sense of liberation.
He was finally free from this hell.
"Thank... thank you. Thank you so much."
Even through his tears, the man thanked Noel over and over again.
—"...How did you sever the red thread of fate?"
Tam-rang, who rarely asked questions, stepped closer to ask.
Noel found it somewhat welcome, but also slightly annoying.
"You should try being this curious more often."
Noel stopped walking and gave Tam-rang a skeptical look.
—"Answer me."
At Tam-rang's urging, Noel pointed to his nose.
The nosebleed had stopped now, but he had lost quite a bit of blood.
"Didn't you see me bleeding? It was only this mild because the connection was completely forced. I did it knowing there would be a price to pay."
—"Noel is special. Applying conventional standards to him only makes him seem anomalous. Leave it at that."
Asin lightly tapped Tam-rang's shoulder.
—"No matter how special he is, surely you know there are boundaries. This is different. It is far too different."
Tam-rang wore a grave expression.
—"What's wrong with being different?"
Kkamang-i, who was clinging tightly to Noel's side, tilted its head.
—"Is something wrong with that?"
Kkamang-i looked at Tam-rang with innocent, clueless eyes.
—"Nothing is wrong. Noel has done nothing wrong either. However, I speak because I worry his uniqueness might draw... too much attention from the gods. How many have we encountered already?"
They had already encountered several deities that ordinary mortals could never hope to meet.
How did this make any sense?
"Aww, so basically, you're worried about me."
Noel grinned.
So dishonest with his feelings.
—"Did what you just did cause you no harm?"
"I literally just had a nosebleed. Of course it caused harm."
—"Then why did you do it?"
Tam-rang glared at the woman still inside the picture frame.
Was there any reason to go this far to help her?
"There was no other way."
—"I was under the impression you lacked such sentimentality."
Tam-rang's voice was icy.
He wasn't wrong, but Noel still wanted to deny it.
"That's harsh. I have feelings too, you know."
—"Is Noel... nice?"
Kkamang-i tried to take Noel's side but paused, tilting its head.
It thought for a moment.
Didn't he always, always do the things it hated?
Like taking away its doll and then giving it back.
And playing so many pranks on it.
The more it thought about it, the narrower Kkamang-i's eyes became as it stared at Noel.
Noel burst out laughing at its expression.
Just as Kkamang-i's eyes narrowed into slits, Noel casually tossed out a remark.
"I did it to get praised."
—"......?"
Tam-rang's face went completely blank with bewilderment.
Noel chuckled again at his reaction.
—"You did well."
As Asin offered her praise, Noel smiled happily and pointed ahead.
"There's the river. We've arrived."
In the direction Noel was looking, a river flowed, sparkling under the warm sunlight.
This was the very place where she had been bound by the spell.
And there, in a spot that should have been completely deserted, a ghost was sitting.