Limits of Paradise

19 years ago.

The man awoke with an unpleasant feeling. Before he could even contemplate how long he’d been asleep, the sound of giggling brushed past his ears.

Perhaps due to his long slumber, the boundaries of his territory had weakened. He had hung the bodies of soldiers like warnings and then fallen into a death-like sleep, only to wake up more than half a century later.

When he opened his eyes, the surroundings were lush with greenery. Instead of soldiers, four children were darting through the thick bushes. A girl, carelessly touching wildflowers, caught his eye.

Intending to frighten her with illusions, he suddenly felt too annoyed to bother and closed his eyes again, thinking if they got any noisier, he’d have to drive them out.

Perhaps he had been too lenient because from that day on, the children frequented his territory daily. It didn’t seem like they intended to harm his territory, but the problem was that his sleep was now completely elusive.

With a thin veneer of tolerance, he reached towards the girl’s head, which often worked well to provoke a cry and serve as a warning.

Just as his lips twisted into a sneer…

…Huh?

Strangely, he couldn’t manipulate the girl’s reasoning. It was more apt to say he couldn’t even breach it. Her mind was like a fortress, impervious to any invasion.

Had his powers degraded while he slept? But he quickly shook his head; otherwise, other spirits would have fought over his place. It had to be something peculiar about this girl.

With a displeased look, he observed the girl with a pale face. The girl, who seemed to be of elementary school age, was happily playing pretend cooking with grass and stones.

“Noona, what are you doing?”

“Cooking. It’s a grass side dish. Tasty, right?”

That a mere child could… His discomfort grew.

He spent time observing the girl to figure out why his illusions didn’t affect her, confirming several times that his own powers were intact.

But why didn’t it work on this child?

For the first time in a long while, curiosity stirred within him. He learned the girl’s name was Song Tae-eun, she was ten years old, and she frequented his territory during her summer vacation.

His gaze shifted to a little boy next to her. The boy, named Ji Hyun-ho, clung to the girl, chattering away. He seemed to prefer and like Song Tae-eun more than his own elder brother.

No surprise there. A kind sister who treated him well was far better than a brother who only spoke harshly. Suddenly, a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. He reached out to Ji Hyun-ho’s small head and implanted a suggestion.

From now on, you will dislike Song Tae-eun.

As soon as he stepped back, the boy began to cry loudly. Startled, Song Tae-eun dropped the foxtail grass she was holding and tried to soothe him.

“I hate you! I hate you, Noona!”

Ji Hyun-ho glared at the girl as if she were his arch-enemy and cried until his face turned red. He intermittently screamed about hating her. Song Tae-eun was helpless, she could only watch her friend, who had suddenly changed.

“Hey, why are you crying?”

Other siblings playing nearby ran over and pulled them apart. Only then did Song Tae-eun’s lips tremble, and tears welled up in her big eyes.

“Go away, Noona! Don’t come!”

Ji Hyun-ho burst into tears and threw dirt at the girl. Song Tae-eun stepped back, sobbing. A flustered Ji Young-hoon pulled his brother away from the area.

“What’s going on? Did you fight?”

Despite Song Min-jae’s question, Song Tae-eun just quietly let her tears fall. Her lips drooped, and wet marks stained the dirt where she stood.

Watching, he smiled with satisfaction. Just a brief tampering with a little boy’s reasoning gave him a feeling of fullness. He particularly enjoyed seeing the girl, who was always smiling, now in tears.

So, he cast an illusion on Song Min-jae as well, making him stay late at his territory instead of going home. He watched Song Tae-eun, with her eyes swollen from crying, for a long time.

Even after that day, Song Tae-eun and Ji Hyun-ho continued to hang out together, but they didn’t play together. The girl avoided her friend, who glared at her as if he wanted to kill her, and played alone, weaving stems of wildflowers in a corner.

He should have done this sooner. His lips curled into a smile.

He was pleased with the girl’s attitude, trying to play on her own while pouting yet resolutely blowing dandelion seeds into the air after sneakily watching the boys play among themselves. His smile wouldn’t fade as he watched the child, who made these not-so-boring days quite enjoyable.

For someone who had lived through the rise and fall of nations and found them tedious, the drawings the little girl sketched in the dirt with a stick were surprisingly fascinating.

He soon forgot why he had started observing her in the first place, focusing solely on capturing every action she took, not letting even her breath go unnoticed.

And as usual, trouble came unexpectedly.

The children left his territory before dinner as they normally did. He watched Song Tae-eun lagging behind by herself, a wildflower ring on her finger. At the end of the alley, a blue truck swerved towards them, the driver reeking of alcohol. He stepped back, not wanting to interfere, as dealing with spirits was his only concern.

But still… he wanted to watch her a bit longer.

His gaze lingered on Song Tae-eun. He still hadn’t figured out why his illusions didn’t affect her. Why she was special was still a mystery.

He also wondered how she would grow up. Wasn’t she too young to just be left alone to die? For him, who had endured for ages, a little longer was merely a moment. Couldn’t he just keep her alive and watch her a bit more?

In the blink of an eye, he changed his mind and pushed the girl with a strong force. Song Tae-eun tumbled into the bushes beside the alleyway. The drunken truck driver missed where she had been and instead hit the smallest boy.

“Hyun-ho!”

Ah, he hadn’t intended to show her that scene.

The girl, with dry grass in her hair, ended up witnessing her beloved friend getting run over by the truck. All the children at the scene froze in horror. Song Tae-eun was the first to snap out of it and crawled towards the truck. Blood seeping under the wheel stained her clothes. She gingerly touched Ji Hyun-ho’s bloodied cheek.

“Hyun-ho, wake up…”

Tears fell in big drops down her cheeks, her lips and fingertips trembling.

It seemed he debated fiercely until the last moment. He described it as ‘seemed’ because even now, he couldn’t clearly recall how he had made that decision.

What occupied his mind at that time was his curiosity about Song Tae-eun, the regret of having interfered in human affairs, and the annoyance that a noisy incident had occurred near his territory.

Yet, a persistent regret clung to him—that he had never received such warm, caring touches in all his long years.

Thus, he decided to inhabit the dying boy’s body, as if it were rightfully his, to experience receiving that tender touch and to try being human.

“Hyun-ho, Hyun-ho…”

As he took over, Ji Hyun-ho’s body finally opened its eyes again. He slowly lifted his eyelids and looked at Song Tae-eun. Her eyes, full of tears, seemed about to burst.

“Uh…”

As their eyes met, Song Tae-eun instinctively shook her head and quickly withdrew her hand stroking his cheek, as if she had touched something repulsive. She backed away and fell on her bottom.

He knew it. The child instinctively felt something eerie about him.

But what could he do? He had become Ji Hyun-ho out of curiosity about Song Tae-eun. There was no turning back now.

“…Noona.”

Whenever he called her out like that, the horrified child let out a scream-like cry and fainted. He sighed deeply with regret as he looked at the crushed wildflower ring.

After the traffic accident was largely settled, Song Tae-eun no longer wanted to play with Ji Hyun-ho. The adults speculated that it was due to the shock of the accident. However, he knew very well that this girl was significantly different from others, and to prevent any unforeseen issues, he chose to erase all her memories.

He couldn’t manipulate the reality she was seeing, but he could completely remove her existing memories. Perhaps it was possible because, just this once, she allowed his intrusion.

It seemed that Song Tae-eun really wanted to forget the memory of that accident.

As he grew up as a human, he watched Song Tae-eun grow up too. Her becoming quieter and her laughter decreasing significantly during puberty, and her stress from studying—all these memories remained in his mind.

“Is Tae-eun Noona going to Seoul?”

His voice, post-puberty, was much deeper and rougher than when Ji Hyun-ho was younger.

“Yes, she got into university. I heard she did really well in her exams.”

The news delivered by Kang Bo-yeon suddenly brought his mood down. While he was still in his middle school uniform, Song Tae-eun was about to head to Seoul for university.

His brown eyes darkened. If possible, he too wanted to transfer to Seoul to keep an eye on her university life.

However, his power weakens if he leaves his territory. Even though he was masquerading as a human, he was truly the ruling lord of the island spirits. This was all just a playful venture spurred by a moment of curiosity.

“Do you want to go say goodbye to her?”

“It won’t make a difference; she won’t remember me anyway.”

She would come down to Hajung-ri during the holidays, so he could see her then. He had no intention of giving up his human guise just yet.

He realized his mistake not long after Song Tae-eun moved to Seoul.

One night, haunted by the image of her anxious face as she went to catch her flight, he pulled down his underwear and handled his now heavier manhood.

It was the first time in his long life that he had experienced sexual desire.

His urges were much more sinister and violent than those of a typical adolescent boy. Was this also influenced by Ji Hyun-ho’s body? The answer was still unknown.

Well, one thing was clear—the sight of Song Tae-eun lying on his bed is quite satisfying to him. As she starts to stir from her sleep, he gently brushes her hair aside and whispers, “Noona, wake up. Let’s have some seasoned grilled ribs.”

He seems to have a comfortable and affectionate rapport with her and is eager to share a meal together now that she’s waking up. The tone is casual and intimate, without sounding overly formal or stiff.

 

 

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