FYH Chapter 57

After much difficulty, Lee-Jae finally managed to receive a bottle of liquor and a single glass.

She had been flustered beyond words, but after some time, she let out a small chuckle.

‘So that’s the kind of misunderstanding they had.’

Well, she supposed it was understandable. The King sometimes found himself in awkward situations due to certain parts of his body being a bit… assertive. Despite that, he always sought to sleep beside her. It was no different during the day—he always wanted to be touching her, even if just at the fingertips, and he often embraced her affectionately.

Still, it felt unfair to be misunderstood for something that hadn’t even happened.

‘Why didn’t he tell me about this?’

Was it because he didn’t want her to worry?

Lee-Jae glanced at the sleeping King and let out a small laugh.

He really was an amusing person the more she got to know him.

She walked back to the window and reached behind the frame, feeling around until she found what she was looking for. Taking a deep breath, she pulled off a talisman and unsealed the barrier.

With a flick of her hand, she beckoned the alcohol spirit forward. The hazy figure hesitated for a moment but, unable to resist its craving, slipped through the window. The moment it entered, Lee-Jae immediately closed the barrier behind it.

The alcohol spirit glanced nervously between her and Roderick, its hunched shoulders making it look far from threatening.

But Lee-Jae knew spirits of this kind all too well. The longer they lingered, the more twisted they became. The only reason this one hadn’t gained more strength yet was because she had been by Roderick’s side most of the time, and he had also been holding up well.

“Forget about His Majesty and come over here.”

The spirit still hesitated, prompting Lee-Jae to sigh.

“You ruined your own life with alcohol. Are you planning to ruin someone else’s too?”

Her calm words made the spirit stare at her with hollow eyes.

As the two remained locked in a silent standoff, a voice suddenly chimed in.

— Lee-Jae. Stop bringing them into this room. Let me sleep in peace.

The spirit of the chest emerged from its cracked vessel, grumbling. When she first encountered it, it had been trembling in fear. But now that it realized this room was a relatively safe place, it had become rather bold.

“…You’re one to talk. That’s exactly what I want too. But do you even sleep?”

— Knew you wouldn’t fall for that.

The spirit mimicked someone’s voice exactly—it was the same tone the King had once used when speaking to Lee-Jae.

She felt an urge to flick it on the forehead but settled for letting out a deep sigh instead. Things were only getting more ridiculous.

Ignoring the ongoing antics, Lee-Jae grabbed the still-hesitant alcohol spirit and forced it to sit down on the floor.

Sigh. Look at its hands shaking.

She placed the cup and the bottle of liquor down with a thunk and sat cross-legged across from the spirit. Before beginning the ritual, she turned to the spirit of the chest.

“You, get back inside now.”

— Where?

“Where else? Your crumbling little home.”

— Whyyy? Are you mad? Don’t kick me out. I wanna play too.

Do you not realize this is dangerous?

Lee-Jae let out yet another deep sigh, while the spirit watched her posture carefully. It often imitated human behavior, but sitting cross-legged had always been difficult for it.

As it clumsily attempted to copy her, Lee-Jae clicked her tongue and turned her focus back to the alcohol spirit.

“You. Why are you still wandering around, bothering people?”

— …

“Did we really have to get this familiar with each other?”

The alcohol spirit trembled and muttered something under its breath. Lee-Jae frowned.

“What? Say that again.”

— …

“…You think moving around helps relieve a hangover?”

— …

“You still haven’t let go of human logic, have you?”

She was so dumbfounded that she momentarily lost her words.

This ritual was going to be a pain.

The spirit of the chest giggled and shouted, “Lee-Jae, just hit it!” But when she shot it a glare, warning it not to interfere, it quickly shut its mouth.

Lee-Jae poured a cup of liquor. When a shaman drinks during a ritual, it is to console the spirit. She downed the first cup herself, then poured another and set it down in front of the ghost.

She studied the spirit’s face carefully. It didn’t seem like it had been dead for very long. Unlike other vengeful spirits, it didn’t avoid her gaze.

Though, that was a common trait among alcohol spirits.

“You know there’s nothing you can do to that person with your own power, right?”

— …Yeah.

“If dozens of vengeful spirits hadn’t latched onto him all at once, someone like you wouldn’t even faze him.”

Lee-Jae lifted the cup she had placed before the spirit and drank it herself. Then, she poured another and placed it in front of the ghost again.

Should I eradicate it or try to persuade it?

Truthfully, her decision had been made the moment she brought the alcohol.

“I don’t have the energy to waste on you. And I don’t particularly want to destroy you with my own hands.”

There were far worse spirits with deeper grudges lining up outside the room she and the King shared every night.

“So let’s just drink a few and call it a night.”

— …

“You haven’t been dead for long, and your grudge doesn’t seem that deep. That’s why I’m doing this.”

Lee-Jae continued to drink with the alcohol spirit, passing the cups back and forth. To an outsider, it would have looked like she was simply drinking alone.

But even after four cups, the spirit’s energy remained unchanged.

The grudge isn’t lifting at all. Is this the wrong approach?

She once again studied the ghost’s face closely.

“Where were you buried?”

The spirit’s restless eyes darted around like those of an addict. Then, it murmured,

— Belfastern Street Cemetery.

“Exactly where?”

— …

“I’m not going to harm you, just tell me. It’s strange—you’re a vengeful spirit, yet you seem so timid.”

— …The third grave from the entrance.

“The third grave?”

— Yeah.

It was an unfamiliar location, but Lee-Jae simply nodded. Then, she asked again,

“Does anyone visit you?”

At that moment, the alcohol spirit began trembling even more violently. The suppressed resentment and fury within it were surfacing. It looked just like a drunk person losing control—but because it was a spirit filled with hatred, its presence was far more menacing.

Sensing the shift in energy, Lee-Jae flinched but quickly pressed her fingers against her solar plexus.

‘Crystal of Tranquil Waters. The deeper the river, the stiller the flow. Be at peace, O spirit.’

She gathered her energy and flicked the ghost’s forehead. Slowly, its agitation began to subside.

Lee-Jae let out yet another sigh—she had lost count of how many she had taken that night.

People who lived like that in life always met the same fate in death. Isolated in life, and in the end, alone even in death.

This wasn’t going to be as easy as she had hoped. Should she just exorcise it?

When dealing with vengeful spirits, an exorcist’s stance had to be firm. Hesitation would only lead to being consumed by them. But she found herself unable to reach a decision so quickly. Scratching her cheek, she wore a conflicted expression.

The reason she hesitated was simple—though she could feel the spirit’s grudge, she couldn’t sense any great sin from it.

After much deliberation, she finally made up her mind.

“You know… this whole situation is a bit burdensome for me, too.”

— …

“I’ll have someone bring a drink to the place where you’re buried.”

Yeah, there might not be funeral rice in this world, but a drink before you go should be fine, right?

Lee-Jae nodded.

“Instead, you’ll let go of your grudge and leave peacefully.”

— …

“Can you do that?”

The vengeful spirit didn’t answer, only gazing at her with empty eyes.

In fact, this might be a pointless gesture. Alcohol has some similarities to anger.

The Boy King had once told her,

“What’s the point of giving them a chance?”

That was the right thing to say. Even when people know they’ve ruined their own lives, if they ignore it, they can’t escape that chain even in death.

If she were to let this spirit go now, it might just end up wandering the underworld again.

But after squeezing her eyes shut and then opening them again, Lee-Jae spoke,

“If you couldn’t do it in life, try doing it after death.”

— …

“You still have a chance to be freed. You can do it.”

— …

“I’ll pray for you here. I promise.”

At that moment, the spirit began to tremble once more. Lee-Jae, eyes wide, hurried to act, but soon realized that something was different.

Even though she hadn’t uttered any incantations, the spirit’s body was becoming more and more faint.

It wasn’t anger—this was the sound of all the pent-up resentment being released.

Since this was the first time she had experienced something like this, Lee-Jae watched in stunned silence, her mouth slightly agape.

“Why is this happening?”

The spirit began to tremble violently, tears streaming down its face. It crouched down to the floor in despair.

Lee-Jae, biting her lip and watching, soon realized the answer.

This spirit, even in life and death, had needed something far more than alcohol. It had needed someone to encourage it, someone to give it the assurance that it could break free from its chains. It had realized this too late, which was why it was left with so much lingering regret.

Feeling a bit heartbroken, Lee-Jae finally raised the last cup of liquor to the spirit.

“Goodbye. You must have had a hard life.”

— …

“I’ll place flowers on your grave instead of alcohol.”

— …Thank you.

Lee-Jae watched until the spirit disappeared without a trace.

Carrying the burdens of other people’s stories weighed heavily on her heart. To calm her mind, Lee-Jae sat back down, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

Grandmother, humans are so foolish.

Even with the ability to see the spirit world, it feels like there’s so much that remains unseen.

Maybe it’s because of these eyes that I’ve come to judge the world so easily.

And when Lee-Jae opened her eyes again, she was met with an astonishing sight.

The spirit of the chest was sitting with both hands on its knees, imitating her.

Lee-Jae looked down at it with a slightly exasperated expression.

“You…”

— Yeah!

“If you keep doing this and distracting me, I’ll tear up all the charms at your home.”

— …You’re not really that cruel, are you?

“I’ll make you live a life without food or sleep, just work.”

— That’s too cruel.

Hmm, no. You’re going to have a lot of reading to do.

As if it sensed the seriousness on her face, the spirit quickly shrank back and hid inside the chest. Lee-Jae watched the scene and let out a soft chuckle.

However, the moment she began to get up from her seated position, she suddenly felt an odd sensation in her body. The world around her seemed to spin, and she paused for a moment, confused.

“Eh?”

What’s this? I feel a bit dizzy…

She decided to first put away the bottle of alcohol.

But things only got worse.

“Hick! Cough…!”

Suddenly, hiccups started to come up, and Lee-Jae quickly covered her mouth.

But the misfortune didn’t end there. This time, the King started to toss and turn in bed. When Lee-Jae saw him groping around for her in his sleep, she was taken aback. Her heart began to race, and she quickly moved to the table to pour some water.

She knew some really good folk remedies for situations like this. She bent her upper body forward, beginning to drink the water eagerly.

But just then, she heard the sound that would mark the beginning of her misfortune.

“…Hailey.”

Lee-Jae almost spit out the water, but her superhuman patience from dealing with spirits allowed her to swallow it down. When she looked toward the bed, she saw the King, still half-asleep, gazing at her with unfocused eyes.