Limits of Paradise

Nam Jeong-tak glanced at the room his father used to occupy, holding a brush made of weasel fur. On the desk, there was a large stack of yellow talisman paper that he needed to turn into ghost-repelling charms before his master called for them.

“Haah…”

The brush, dipped in the bright red cinnabar ink, moved swiftly over the yellow paper. There was no time to devote to each individual charm. Quantity was more important than quality.

After completing over 60 talismans, he lost count. His fingers cramped, causing a red stroke to veer off course. At that moment, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 echoed through the shrine.

“Oh no. Yes, Master.”

Jeong-tak quickly put down the brush and answered the phone. A deep voice on the other end gave him instructions.

“Bring the talismans here.”

“Yes, yes.”

After burning the ruined talisman in a candle flame, he gathered the completed ones and quietly headed to the room where the guests were staying. Even under the bright fluorescent light, Song Tae-eun’s pale face was deep in sleep.

Ji Hyun-ho was sitting next to her, holding her hand. He didn’t look back or speak even as the shaman entered the room. His sharp gaze was fixed solely on the woman possessed by a ghost.

Jeong-tak, sensing his master’s mood, began placing the talismans on the floor around where the woman lay. The yellow papers with red writing surrounded Tae-eun completely. When he tried to place the remaining talismans near her solar plexus, a large hand stopped him.

“Give them to me.”

Hyun-ho whispered softly. He took the ghost-repelling talismans and carefully placed them around the woman’s solar plexus himself.

The shaman, still confused, watched them back and forth. The explanation given by the unexpected visitor was simple.

A powerful ghost, one that the island spirits couldn’t destroy, was attached to Song Tae-eun. They needed to give her a room and create as many talismans as possible.

Jeong-tak, who had received some spiritual energy from his master, could also sense the ghostly presence around the woman. However, he doubted that a few more talismans could get rid of a ghost even his master couldn’t handle. He wanted to leave the room as quickly as possible.

“Lock the door and wait.”

But Hyun-ho did not allow it. His gaze was fixed on the woman’s trembling eyelids. The shaman held his breath and leaned against the door.

Click, the door locked, and Hyun-ho gently stroked Tae-eun’s cheek.

“Noona.”

At his tender call, the woman’s eyes snapped open. Her lips stretched into an unnaturally long smile.

“Hyun-ho, please take these off. I don’t like them…”

Her forcibly stretched lips trembled. He silently stared into her hollow pupils.

“These are so scary. Please, take them off. Quickly, please.”

Tae-eun’s pupils spun around, seemingly checking the talismans surrounding her. She reached to remove the one on her solar plexus but quickly withdrew her hand.

“I’m sorry, I was wrong. Please, take them off. I’m really scared…”

“No.”

When Hyun-ho coldly refused, her spinning pupils stopped. Her gaze turned fierce and shot towards him. Leaning against the door, Jeong-tak gasped and covered his mouth with his hand.

“What did you just say?”

“I said no.”

Tae-eun slowly sat up, glaring at Hyun-ho with wide eyes. Then, she slapped him hard across the face. The sharp sound cut through the quiet room.

Watching this, Jeong-tak felt like he might faint. But his master simply stared at the possessed woman as if nothing had happened.

A harsh slap landed on Hyun-ho’s smooth cheek. Smack, smack—a sound that made anyone who heard it flinch involuntarily. The force behind the ghost’s blows was so intense that Tae-eun’s frail body couldn’t handle it and stumbled dramatically.

Hyun-ho’s right cheek swelled and reddened, with capillaries bursting and tiny droplets of blood forming. Unsatisfied, she grabbed his dirty blonde hair and yanked it violently.

“You can’t even get rid of a single ghost, and you think waving some talismans around will help?”

Tae-eun’s eyes glinted wildly as she shouted. Despite the excruciating pain from her grip, Hyun-ho stared at her steadily.

“I just wanted to have a conversation with you.”

His calm tone made her burst into a shrill, mocking laugh. The high-pitched sound pierced Jeong-tak’s ears, making him cover them.

“So, you sacrificed your beloved girlfriend for this? How could you offer her body to me? What if she has to live like this forever? What if she never wakes up?”

Tae-eun used her strength to push him down onto the bed and straddled him, their intimate areas brushing against each other.

“Should we have sex now?”

She rubbed her genitals against his left thigh, moving her hips quickly. It was a lewd gesture that the usual Song Tae-eun would never have made.

But Hyun-ho’s light brown eyes remained calm. There wasn’t even a hint of heat in them.

“Get hard! Get hard, damn it! Be a man! Have sex with me, not Song Tae-eun!”

She grabbed his collar and screamed. She pounded on his pelvis and swiveled her hips, but he didn’t even breathe unevenly.

Instead, Hyun-ho made an offer.

“Do you want me to get revenge for you?”

She froze.

“…What?”

“Ha Sung-joo.”

At the name that came from his mouth, she quickly let go of his collar as if she had touched something filthy.

“Kim Kyung-tae. Jung Woon-chul. Kim Young-hwan. Lee Ji-won. Oh Won-jae. Park Min-seo. Ahn Su-bin.”

As each name slipped from Hyun-ho’s lips, her face grew increasingly expressionless.

“Did I miss anyone?”

He asked, but there was no response. He continued with his planned proposal.

“I can make those people suffer more than they made you suffer. So, make a deal with me.”

Tae-eun’s lips twisted into a crooked smile as she listened quietly.

“How could a guy trapped on an island do that?”

“Better than you, clinging to an innocent friend and doing nothing.”

She nervously swallowed dryly, her hollow pupils darting around again. But this time, she wasn’t looking for an escape route.

Tae-eun’s plump lips gritted together, making a grinding sound. Hyun-ho hoped the ghost would make a decision before her body suffered more.

The ghost chewed on Tae-eun’s long hair, making her head tilt back until only her white neck was visible to Hyun-ho.

But Jeong-tak, barely holding onto the door, locked eyes with the ghost’s spinning pupils and collapsed to the floor.

Her head returned to its normal position. Meeting Hyun-ho’s gaze, she opened her mouth.

“…What’s the price?”

“Disappear quietly.”

“Do it perfectly until I’m satisfied.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

Hyun-ho sat up from his forced position and cupped the possessed woman’s cheeks with both hands. He then softly recited their agreement.

“Keep your mouth shut and wait until the revenge is complete. You have one month. Once I’m satisfied, disappear without leaving a trace.”

Tae-eun’s face twisted in agony. She scratched at her delicate skin as if something was choking her, but there were no visible restraints around her neck, only red marks left by her nails on her pale skin.

“Gasp…!”

As soon as Hyun-ho let go of her cheeks, she took a deep breath and then collapsed backward. Just before her head hit the thick mat, Hyun-ho caught her by the back of her head and gently laid it on the pillow.

A heavy silence filled the room.

For the first time since becoming aware of his existence as a ghost, he felt fatigue. This was a weighty sensation, entirely different from the boredom that had previously defined his life.

It wasn’t just because he had dealt with a troublesome ghost.

This was emotional exhaustion.

He was deeply worried about Song Tae-eun. Watching her terrified for ten days had taken its toll. He felt relieved knowing she wouldn’t be in pain for at least the next month.

Hyun-ho held her hand and watched over her until she opened her eyes again. Though he knew in his mind she was okay, he needed to see her wake up with his own eyes.

She awoke just as the early morning light seeped through the window. When her clear pupils, framed by dark brown irises, met his gaze, he felt he finally understood why people cry when they’re happy.

“You did well, Noona.”

Tae-eun blinked and sat up. He quickly moved to support her.

“Last night was tough, huh? The shaman used talismans, so you should be fine now. No more nightmares.”

Her clear gaze landed on his swollen cheek, still puffy from the ghost’s slap the night before.

“I did that, didn’t I?”

It wasn’t a question. She already had an inkling of what she had done the previous night. She couldn’t bring herself to touch the swollen cheek, tracing it with her eyes instead.

Hyun-ho didn’t bother to deny it. If taking a few hits meant he could get a little closer to her fragile heart, he’d even ask Jeong-tak to slap him right now.

“Don’t apologize. It’s all over now.”

As he whispered softly, tears welled up in her large eyes. He felt both deeply fulfilled and as if a sharp spike was driving into his chest.

Under the pretense of comforting her, he pulled her into his arms and hid his face. He was starting to fear the turmoil within his own heart.

 

 

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