Ties That Bind
The term bound spirit refers to a vengeful ghost who dies from some incident in a particular place and, burdened by deep resentment and lingering attachment, cannot leave that spot. They aren't ordinary spirits—they're full-blown vengeful entities. The grudge runs deep, so it's only natural. That's why approaching them carelessly is dangerous. I needed to seal their movements with talismans first, then try talking.
The moment I pulled out a talisman, every spirit in the area reacted sharply. The bound spirits were no exception. To them, it probably looked like I'd come to exorcise them.
"Exorcist...! You're an exorcist, aren't you!"
"He's here to get rid of us!!"
Chaos erupted instantly. These bound spirits couldn't leave their fixed spots, which made them especially vulnerable to talismans. Showing one to them was like holding a knife to their throats. I gestured at the frantic spirits, trying to calm them.
"I only have one question for you all. Answer me, and I'll pretend I never saw you. Deal?"
"...Pretend you didn't see us?"
That was exactly why I'd taken out the talisman. There were too many bound spirits here for me to stick a talisman on each one individually. It would have been inefficient.
"Yeah. So let's keep this simple."
In other words, it was easier to plant the idea that refusal meant exorcism and coax out the answers I wanted.
"...What do you want to know?"
"Just tell me what you saw. Is there anyone here who was around two years ago?"
Each bound spirit had been tied to this place for different lengths of time, so not all of them would have witnessed the incident. I started by filtering out those who were present when Si-hyeok was assaulted.
"Me..."
"I've been here three years."
"Then do either of you recognize this man?"
I pointed at Si-hyeok's face. Both spirits shook their heads.
"We don't remember every face of people just passing through."
"True."
Unfortunately, they didn't recall him. That was fine. Next...
"Then do you remember a man who was assaulted here two years ago?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, I know that one! There was a guy who got hit and collapsed around here one night."
One of the bound spirits shouted that he remembered. Then he tilted his head.
"Is this the guy who got assaulted back then?"
"Yes. Anything you recall?"
"Really? That's weird."
Weird? Both Baek Seol-hwa and I leaned in at his words.
"What's weird about it?"
"It's strange. Why did he become a spirit?"
"What?"
The idea that becoming a spirit was strange carried heavy implications. I felt a chill.
"He didn't die back then. If he'd died on the spot, his spirit would've emerged immediately. But an ambulance showed up and that was it, right?"
"...So you're saying he only got injured and survived at the time?"
"Yeah."
The bound spirit nodded. My expression hardened as I processed his words. Beside me, Seong Si-yeon spoke up.
"My brother didn't die instantly."
She must have overheard my conversation with the spirits and decided to explain.
"Didn't you say earlier that he was hit in the head and passed away right away?"
"That is the official cause... but he was transported to the hospital first. I rushed there too. They moved him to a room, but he couldn't hold on and eventually..."
Si-yeon's eyes grew misty as the memories resurfaced. Baek Seol-hwa gently patted her shoulder to comfort her, but...
Am I reading too much into this?
Something about it still felt off. Of course, Si-yeon's story wasn't impossible. Plenty of people died during transport or after reaching the hospital.
"...Thank you for your guidance, Ms. Seong. It would be best if you returned home for now."
"Pardon?"
"I need to investigate a bit more. I'll contact you once it's resolved. Could you give her your number?"
I gestured to Baek Seol-hwa. Si-yeon nodded. While Seol-hwa took out her phone to exchange numbers, I asked one more question.
"Which hospital was your brother taken to?"
"Busan Centum Hospital."
"Understood."
After sending Si-yeon on her way, Baek Seol-hwa glanced at me.
"Why aren't we going together? Having the guardian from back then would help at the hospital, wouldn't it?"
"To check the guardian records, we'd need Si-yeon there anyway."
Seong Si-hyeok seemed to agree with her. But I wasn't heading to the hospital just yet.
"There's somewhere else I need to stop first."
"Huh? I thought we were going to the hospital?"
"We will."
I would go. There was no avoiding it. I could always call her back if I needed those records. But there was one place I had to visit first.
"Si-hyeok, let's head to where your company headquarters used to be."
"What?"
"I have something to verify."
After confirming that, I'd need to check one more thing at the hospital. Only then...
...would I be certain.
We had returned once more. The sign had changed, but this was the former site of Si-hyeok's headquarters. Baek Seol-hwa glanced at the new sign and turned to me.
"What exactly are you trying to confirm?"
"...Just wait. Si-hyeok, the sale of this building would have gone through that real estate agency over there, right?"
"Yes, it would. That's where I signed the contract when I first set up my headquarters here."
I spotted an office called Seolgyeong Realty. I headed straight for it.
"A real estate office? Why are we..."
"Excuse me."
When I opened the door, a man inside jumped to his feet and greeted us with a bright smile.
"Oh, welcome! Here to look at properties?"
"Not exactly. I just have one question. That building over there—the one with the academy now. Wasn't it originally a food consulting company? It looks like it changed hands."
"Ah, that one? Yes, exactly as you said. It was a restaurant consulting firm, but the building itself was sold about two years ago. A new tenant moved in and turned it into an academy."
"Do you remember when that was, approximately?"
"Hmm, I believe it was April of the year before last. One moment."
The agent rummaged through documents, pulled one out, and checked it.
"It says April 27, 2021."
"...Thank you. I appreciate it."
"Of course~."
Leaving the office, I immediately set off for the hospital.
"Where to now?"
"The hospital."
"So the verification is complete?"
"Yes."
I only needed the date. That was why I'd come. Now it was time for the hospital.
"All that's left is confirming the exact date Si-hyeok died."
"What are you talking about?"
"Selling a building usually takes time. Obviously—you need to find a buyer. But Si-hyeok never listed it, which means his sister was the one who sold it."
"That makes sense, right?"
Baek Seol-hwa looked puzzled. She probably wondered what any of this had to do with anything. Truthfully, I... hoped my suspicions were wrong.
"So I just need to compare the date of his death with the sale date."
"...Huh?"
"If the sale went through unusually fast compared to his date of death, it means the building was listed beforehand."
"I suppose so."
"That's why we needed to check."
"What are you even saying?"
...Never mind if you didn't follow. Meanwhile, Seong Si-hyeok stared at me with dawning realization. Seeing his face harden, I reassured him first.
"This is just confirmation. Nothing's certain yet. It could all be my speculation."
When we reached Centum Hospital, we didn't head for the reception desk. Hospitals are places where many people die, so naturally there were countless spirits wandering around. I moved to a quiet corner of the lobby and motioned for Baek Seol-hwa to stand in front of me.
"Why?"
"So no one thinks we're acting strange."
I wanted it to look like I was talking to her. In reality, I was conversing with the spirits drifting nearby.
"How long have you been here?"
I called out to one passing by. The spirit tilted its head at me.
"Me?"
"Yeah."
"You can see me?"
"I can see you, that's why I'm talking."
"Whoa, that's amazing. I've been dying to talk to a living person."
The spirit looked like a young student. She floated around excitedly. It was distracting, but I didn't want to ruin her mood.
"I've been here about three years."
"Really? Then do you recognize this person?"
I pointed to Si-hyeok. She tilted her head again.
"Not really."
"Around the end of April two years ago, did you see anyone brought in with a head injury?"
"I don't remember exact dates... and plenty of people come in with head injuries, so I wouldn't know."
"All right. Thanks anyway."
"Before you go, can I ask something too?"
"Sure."
"Are our AXO oppas still active?"
"I'm not really into idols."
"Aww."
She lost interest and drifted away. I asked the same questions to other passing spirits, but few remembered details about an unknown person's injury. It was expected, yet the lack of progress left me restless.
"Oh, I know him."
"You do?"
"He was in room 303."
"...Room 303? A regular ward?"
"Yeah."
"Not the ER?"
Why a regular ward instead of emergency? With a head injury like that?
"Duh, treatment was finished, so they moved him to a regular room."
"...He wasn't taken to the ICU? You're saying his condition was stable?"
"If he was in a regular room, he must have been stable. He didn't regain consciousness right away, though... but seeing him like this, I guess he didn't make it?"
"Wait, when was that? Do you remember the timing?"
"It was... end of April the year before last? That's when he came into the room."
End of April. Roughly the same time the building was sold. Even then, Si-hyeok had been stable enough to be moved from the ER to a regular ward. His life hadn't been in immediate danger.
"...But he still died?"
Being moved to a regular ward after treatment meant the doctor believed he could recover fully with monitoring. Even unconscious, the move to a regular room suggested his condition was fine—he'd simply lost consciousness temporarily from shock.
"Now that I think about it, while that man was in the room, a woman who seemed like family visited constantly."
"That's all I know."
"No, that's plenty. Thank you."
The spirit drifted away. I glanced sideways. Si-hyeok's expression had grown rigid.
"...Si-hyeok?"
"Coming here... feels strange."
"Because this is where you died?"
"It doesn't feel like that. It's something else..."
His eyes were wide.
"You mentioned memories engraved in the soul, right?"
"...Yes."
"I think I understand what that means now."
Si-hyeok continued, "My emotions are churning. My heart feels... like it isn't mine anymore."
Before his heart could twist in a darker direction, we needed to resolve this quickly.
"Baek Seol-hwa."
"...Yes?"
"Contact Ms. Seong Si-yeon."
Si-yeon arrived at the hospital shortly after receiving Seol-hwa's message. I met her at the entrance.
"Ms. Seong, could you check your brother's exact date of death at the desk?"
"Ah, of course."
She went with us to the counter and requested Si-hyeok's hospitalization records from two years ago.
"Here you are."
The medical file listed everything.
April 23, 2021—ER visit. Hospitalized after treatment.
Declared dead April 26.
He had died in just three days. If the head wound from the assault had been fatal, he should have died that same day. Which meant there was another cause.
"Ms. Seong."
"Yes?"
Si-hyeok assaulted on April 23, rushed to the ER, treated, then moved to a regular ward instead of ICU. Yet he died three days later. And the very next day—April 27—his building was sold. Too many strange details.
The sale had happened far too quickly. Buildings aren't usually sold the day after the owner dies. It would have been impossible unless the property was listed in advance, anticipating his death.
Who stood to gain the most from Si-hyeok's death and the building sale?
"Why did your brother, who had been moved to a regular ward, die just three days later?"
"The doctor said a small brain hemorrhage might have developed internally from the head injury during the assault. It caused complications that led to death. They suggested an autopsy for certainty, but I refused."
"So the doctor didn't notice the brain injury initially?"
"That's what I'm saying. How could a doctor miss something like that..."
"Or maybe there was no need to look for it?"
"Pardon?"
"A human skull," I said, "is harder than you think. It's the second-hardest bone in the body after teeth. Skin might tear and bleed, but it's extremely rare for a brick to actually fracture the skull and damage the brain."
"...Right."
"Assaults like that are meant to cause a concussion and incapacitate the victim for further crimes. Killing someone by smashing their head that way is actually difficult—unless you use a bladed weapon. My guess is the doctor determined the wound wasn't severe enough to affect the skull or brain."
I noticed Si-yeon's lips tighten slightly. My eyes narrowed.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"The headquarters building you shared with your brother had its sale contract finalized on April 27. Don't you find that odd?"
"Mr. Se-hwan, you're creating a strange atmosphere all of a sudden. What exactly are you implying?"
"It's strange. The building sold the day after your brother died. Yet Si-hyeok himself..."
My gaze shifted slightly to the side. Si-yeon couldn't see it, but Seong Si-hyeok's spirit stood there.
"...claims he never listed the building for sale. The fact that it sold so quickly means it wasn't sold after his death and the inheritance process."
"...!"
"Which means you listed it beforehand. You two only had each other as family. No other proxy possible. So why did you list the building behind your brother's back?"
I pressed on.
"Is it really coincidence that the building you secretly listed right after his death on April 26 sold the very next day?"
"...What exactly are you trying to say?"
"This is how it looks to me."
I closed my eyes tightly, then opened them. The saying that humans are worse than demons felt especially true right now.
"Isn't it reasonable to assume the sister who coveted her brother's assets, company, and post-death insurance money harmed him?"
"What nonsense...! There's a separate culprit!"
"The actual assailant is someone else. He's in custody, you said."
"Are you saying I put him up to it? Evidence! Where's your evidence?!"
"I don't have any physical evidence. Only circumstantial."
"...Excuse me?"
When I answered confidently, Si-yeon stared at me in disbelief. I remained unfazed.
"But you know I can see souls, correct? No physical evidence, true—but the moment you heard my words, your soul..."
Not just me—Baek Seol-hwa saw it too. The soul inside Si-yeon's body was shaking violently.
Seol-hwa's expression filled with shock at the reaction.
"It fluctuated wildly. Especially the moment I mentioned that Si-hyeok never listed the building himself."
"What kind of ridiculous—!"
"You think it's ridiculous? You've trusted everything I've said until now, yet your attitude flipped instantly."
"That's...!"
Watching Si-yeon panic, I spoke calmly.
"I have no intention of handing you over to the police. That's impossible anyway."
Who would believe testimony from a ghost and a soul's violent reaction? The police would just label me mentally unstable. But there was still something I could do.
"At the very least, I can resolve the lingering attachment you claimed not to remember. I can clear Si-hyeok's resentment."
As I spoke, I looked somewhere else entirely—turning my head completely, not to the side where I'd glanced earlier, but behind us.
"What does the person himself think, Mr. Seong Si-hyeok?"
At that moment, Si-yeon realized everything. My earlier behavior suggesting her brother was beside me had all been a bluff to draw out her genuine reaction.
Si-yeon couldn't see him, but to us, Seong Si-hyeok blinked as he gazed at his sister.
"Nothing is certain. It's only speculation. Feel free to dismiss it as groundless nonsense."
"...No. I think I understand now."
Si-hyeok's eyes filled with pity.
"I remember now. What happened that night when I died..."
"You regained consciousness?"
"Briefly the next day. Then I died the day after."
"Did Seong Si-yeon kill you?"
"...That evening, my sister touched the IV drip. She must have done something then."
His complete lack of anger genuinely surprised me. I'd expected rage. I'd brought him here to let him vent. If resentment turned him into a vengeful spirit, I had planned to intervene—spirits must not harm the living. But that worry proved unnecessary.
"When I was twenty-two, our parents died in an accident. My sister was only sixteen."
Si-hyeok began telling us about himself and Si-yeon.
"I was an adult, so I could endure the grief. But my sister was still in middle school, and suddenly both parents were gone. Especially during puberty—that crucial time when identity develops. I had no choice but to step up as her mature older brother."
Financial support, family role—everything fell to him. Si-hyeok started a business while attending university to eliminate financial strain. Fortunately, it succeeded. He ensured his sister could graduate university without hardship. He did his absolute best as family, trying to fill the void their parents left, even if imperfectly.
"But I must have been lacking. I couldn't fully replace our parents. Seeing that money mattered more to her than I did... I suppose I didn't do enough for her."
Neither I nor Seol-hwa could understand. Family or not, how could he speak so protectively about the person who killed him? He wasn't a saint.
"No, Si-hyeok—she killed you. How can you—"
"...You don't resent her?"
Separate from understanding, I accepted his attitude. During my exorcist days at nineteen, I'd encountered all kinds of people. There are those who protect others to an almost foolish degree. People who don't resent harm done to them, who offer unconditional love and care.
"If I'd been better to her, maybe this wouldn't have happened."
That was his answer. By now, his lingering attachment was clear. Si-hyeok's regret wasn't resentment toward his sister—it was the belief that he hadn't done enough for her. That her becoming a murderer was somehow his fault. A thought normal people would struggle to comprehend.
Neither Seol-hwa nor I could easily empathize. Yet his sincerity toward his sister was unmistakable, so we couldn't challenge him.
"I'm all right with it."
Si-hyeok closed his eyes gently.
"All I had to leave her was money. I hope she lives happily with it. I hope she doesn't carry guilt. That was the message I wanted to convey—my only lingering attachment."
Seol-hwa bit her lip. She couldn't comprehend it. No matter if they were family, how could he react this way after learning she killed him?
"...Too foolish."
I completely agreed. If he'd shown resentment and become a vengeful spirit, I could have understood. But this...
I thought I had some compassion, but even I find this hard to grasp.
How profound must familial love be to forgive something like this? I scratched my head and turned to Seong Si-yeon.
"He says not to feel guilty."
"......Pardon?"
"Your brother says that even someone like you is still his sister. He wants you to live happily without guilt. That's what he hopes for."
When I relayed the message, Si-yeon's eyes widened. Si-hyeok smiled softly at the sight. Then, like a spirit freed of all regrets, he slowly began departing this world.
"Don't you feel sorry?"
"......"
"Your brother is about to disappear. You might feel relieved once he's gone, but did you truly never feel even a moment of—"
I wasn't asking Si-yeon herself. I was asking her conscience.
"Have you never once felt truly sorry?"
Finally, Si-hyeok vanished completely. Throughout it all, Si-yeon kept her eyes wide, unable to speak. Then, very carefully, her lips parted.
"Did... oppa really say that?"
"...That was his lingering attachment. He's gone now. It's too late for apologies."
He never even got to hear one.
"Yet he thought of you until the very end."
And still, he never resented his sister.
Only a small trace of spiritual energy remained. Baek Seol-hwa reached out, lifting it gently with both hands and cradling it. The tiny spark of energy seeped into her body.
"I hope in your next life, you live without pain."
Beep.
The TV screen went dark. Reflected on its blackened surface was a woman with snow-white hair. She was strikingly beautiful in a black crop top and short hot pants. But the most distinctive features were the small, round ears atop her head and the spotted tail swaying lazily at her waist.
"Hmm?"
She narrowed her eyes with interest.
"The ones I met in Busan yesterday were on the gallery."
She turned on her phone. Tapping the app brought up a login screen.
> Logging in......
> Welcome to the community for yokai, monsters, and ghosts.
> Ghost Gallery
Once inside, she composed a new post.