The night air was not as cold as expected. As Tae-eun was counting the days, she remembered what the man had said about today being Valentine’s Day. Spring had already quietly crept up.
In the pitch-black midnight, a crescent moon with a sharp edge hung in the sky. She gazed at the moon that resembled Hyun-ho’s smile for a long time – a smile that seemed soft on the surface but hid a sharp blade.
“You’re now allowed to come in,” Hyun-ho, who had entered the shaman’s house first, peeked out from the gate. She stared at him, as he seemed quite familiar with this place.
“If you’re scared, stick close to me.”
He whispered warmly, thinking she was looking at him with fear. But unlike when they went to pay respects, she wasn’t afraid this time. For now, that ghost that tormented her every day was more terrifying than anything else.
The shaman in his early 40s had a shiny complexion. His thick chin and elegant traditional attire all indicated how successful a shaman he was.
Unlike the Buddhist nun’s house they had visited before, the fruits on the table were all fresh and tempting. The various paintings of deities hung on the walls made her eyes dizzy. As Tae-eun glanced around the colorful shrine, her gaze settled on the man who was smiling brightly at her.
“So, you’ve been having trouble sleeping?”
The shaman’s voice was soft. Somehow, she felt as if he was an actor playing the role of a shaman on stage. Was he really a shaman possessed by the spirits?
“Yes.”
“You’ve been plagued by nightmares every day.”
“Yes.”
“The same ghost keeps appearing.”
“Yes.”
“It jumps up and down on top of your stomach.”
“Yes.”
“Laughing, singing, and growing more powerful.”
“Yes.”
“I see, alright.”
With those words, the shaman fell silent. Tae-eun noticed his gaze was directed behind her. She tried to turn around, but her father’s anxious voice stopped her.
“Is there any… solution?”
“You should spend the night here.”
The shaman said solemnly, his smile disappearing. Her perplexed parents immediately looked at Tae-eun.
“I should directly confront that ghost. If it’s laughing and singing, it seems to be no ordinary one.”
So, she had to face that ghost again tonight. The hopeful expressions on her parents’ faces, who had expected something like a protective talisman, turned to disappointment. The shaman seemed to notice it and voiced his discontent first.
“Don’t you understand? The fact that it’s growing more powerful means it’s draining your daughter’s energy, doesn’t it? If we let this go on, the ghost might eventually take all her vitality, and she’ll lose her mind─”
Suddenly, the sliding door of the shrine slammed shut. Hyun-ho was nowhere to be seen.
“Ahem.”
The shaman cleared his throat, stroking his neck.
“I got a bit carried away. My previous words were thoughtless. I was simply deeply concerned about your daughter’s health, so please understand.”
“Ah, yes…”
Her parents accepted the shaman’s apology with an uncomfortable expression. The shaman smiled brightly again and continued his explanation.
“Your daughter’s suffering will be over in just a moment. I’ve prepared the talisman in advance and will use it at the appropriate time, so you don’t need to worry too much.”
The sliding door opened again, and Hyun-ho came inside. The shaman glanced in his direction, then quickly turned to the parents.
“Well then, you should go home now.”
“What? No, you want us to leave our daughter here?”
The mom raised her voice in alarm. At the suggestion of leaving their daughter alone in a man’s house, her eyes widened in shock.
“No, no, the gentleman should stay here with us too, shouldn’t he?”
The shaman gestured urgently behind her. The parents glanced with puzzlement at Hyun-ho standing there.
“Pardon me, but you are not strong enough to withstand the process your daughter is going through. To be honest, I think you might be a bit of a hindrance, so I’m sending you home first.”
The shaman shed his salesperson demeanor and anxiously wiped his dry face.
“But this gentleman has strong spiritual energy, enough to run a café even in a haunted house, so he would be a suitable bodyguard. Please do as I suggest.”
From that moment on, Tae-eun began to see the shaman in a new light. She put aside her doubts and suspicions, impressed by the shaman’s quick assessment of Hyun-ho’s home situation and occupation.
“Auntie, please do that. I’ll stay and watch over Noona.”
“But still…”
“We have to try everything we can. I don’t want to see Noona suffering like this any longer.”
The parents still couldn’t bring themselves to leave. Tae-eun realized it was time for her to step up.
“Mom, Dad, I’ll be okay. Hyun-ho is here, and the shaman is too, so we might get through this safely today. Don’t worry, just go home and rest.”
She was able to say this thanks to her unwavering trust in Hyun-ho. Even if the shaman turned out to be a complete fraud, she had full confidence that he would protect her.
“Call us right away if anything happens, okay? Mom and Dad will come back immediately.”
Her mom firmly gripped her hand. Tae-eun pressed her lips together, trying to hold back the tears.
“Oh, my poor child…”
Her mom enveloped her in a tight hug, muttering how pitiful she was. Her calloused hands, hardened from farm work and household chores, caressed her daughter’s back with warmth. Tae-eun briefly buried her face in her mother’s chest.
While Ji Hyun-ho saw the parents off, Song Tae-eun was shown to the guest room by the shaman. It seemed the room had not been used for a while and was quite cold.
“I’ve turned on the heater, so just wait a moment.”
The shaman smiled in a friendly, salesperson-like manner. Tae-eun murmured her thanks and wiggled her toes on the chilly floor.
Her gaze fell on the old desk and bookshelves, which seemed out of place with the shaman’s stylish appearance. She approached the bookshelf and silently read the titles of the books.
Then she noticed several copies of the same book. The title felt familiar, and before she realized it, her hand had reached out to take one.
<The World Beyond the Line>
Where had she seen this before?
Tae-eun tilted her head, examining the book front and back. Author: Nam Dae-hyeong. Published by Haeon Publishing, February 12, 1998.
She opened the book to a random page and began reading the passage that caught her eye.
[… People come to me in tears, but there is not much I can do.
That place is, strictly speaking, like the area beyond the 38th parallel. It’s a place where you absolutely must not even turn your head. You must never intrude, even by mistake or out of curiosity.
The 38th parallel has barbed wire fences, but that place is just overgrown with vegetation. Yet, the story has been passed down from parents to children, from teachers to students, from adults to children – you must not enter that place.
Entering that place is taboo.
I am not telling you an oral legend. 50 years ago, soldiers sent by the government went there to bury the bodies of civilians, and they were found hanging by the neck, dead.]
“Father here*1[T/N: Hyun-ho is teasing her.] seems to be reading a book.”
The sudden voice startled Tae-eun, causing her to drop the book she was holding. The shaman had quietly entered the room and was smiling amusedly.
“Is it interesting? I couldn’t understand what it was about, so I stopped reading it.”
The shaman placed a tray with chrysanthemum tea and rice cakes on the old desk. Then she began to lay out a thick mat on the floor, where a warm energy was starting to circulate.
Just as Tae-eun was about to pick up the dropped book to continue reading, Hyun-ho returned.
“Noona, auntie and uncle have gone home by taxi.”
At that moment, she remembered where she had seen this book before.
It was when she had first gone upstairs to Hyun-ho’s café, Hajung Café 61. Trying to hide her flustered reaction to the room that was exactly like her dream, she had pretended to browse the books on the shelves.
That’s when she had noticed the old book that seemed to have been handled the most by him.
“Uh…”
Tae-eun’s ambiguous reaction caused Hyun-ho’s gaze to shift to the book she was holding. His neat brow furrowed slightly.
She was adept at sensing people’s negative emotions, and she immediately realized his mood had soured.
“Now, please have some chrysanthemum tea and make yourself comfortable before resting. And sir, when she falls asleep, could you please let me know?”
The shaman instructed Hyun-ho and left the guest room. Tae-eun carefully placed the book back where it was, feeling a sense of pressure about bringing up this particular book.
Her intuition was usually accurate, so she opted for silence.
Instead, she picked up the tray with the chrysanthemum tea and rice cakes and sat down on the thick mat. She gestured for him to sit beside her.
“Come here. Let’s have this.”
Hyun-ho took off his coat and sat down next to her, their knees touching. He then fed her a rice cake.
“I want some chocolate.”
Tae-eun whispered, and he chuckled in satisfaction.
“Does it taste that good?”
“Yes. I want to keep eating it.”
“Let’s sleep well tonight and have some early tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
She sipped the warm chrysanthemum tea, closely examining his face. If she could see his strong and handsome features before bed, she felt it would give her the power to ward off the spirits.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Your energy is strong, so I want to borrow some of it.”
“Take it all.”
As he pressed his forehead against hers, her lips curved into a round smile.
“You know, today is the first time we’re staying overnight together.”
But his next words caused her face to flush.
“And with your parents’ permission, too.”
“Stop it.”
When Tae-eun pulled away her touching forehead, he quickly followed and planted a brief kiss on her lips. She hit him without hurting, but didn’t avoid him.
The fragrant night deepened like the chrysanthemum tea. Gathering her courage, she went to bed.
🍉🍉🍉
