Ji Hyun-ho ascended to the top floor and stepped into a bar dimly lit by indirect lighting. The hotel had laid down thick carpets to create a quiet atmosphere, so he made sure to walk silently.
A middle-aged woman in a perfectly tailored gray suit sat alone by the window, which offered a sparkling view of Namsan Tower and the cityscape. Sensing his presence, she turned her head and looked directly at him as he approached.
He stopped in front of her and greeted her.
“Nice to meet you.”
Although he skipped the formal introduction, Yoon Jung-hee smiled warmly and extended her hand for a handshake.
“Nice to meet you too.”
Her hand was cool to the touch. After a light handshake, Ji Hyun-ho comfortably leaned back into the leather sofa opposite her.
“I ordered this because I heard it’s quite popular these days.”
On the table was a bottle of Macallan Sherry Oak 25-year-old whiskey. For both Ji Hyun-ho and Yoon Jung-hee, it might as well have been plain water, but she seemed to enjoy the pretense of drinking, as rumors suggested.
“How do you find Seoul?”
She asked as she poured the golden liquid into a Glencairn glass, her question devoid of any ulterior motive. It was pure curiosity about how a demon outside its usual territory was adapting.
“So far, so good.”
“So far?”
Ji Hyun-ho nodded slowly, wetting his tongue with the whiskey. His voice was indifferent, as if discussing someone else’s affairs.
“It will probably get worse over time.”
“Did you really use that method?”
Though Yoon Jung-hee wore the guise of a middle-aged woman, her eyes retained a childlike curiosity. It seemed her endless interest in everything allowed her to survive for a thousand years.
“How does bone ash taste?”
“Do you have taste buds, Ms. Yoon Jung-hee? Because I don’t.”
“Do you feel any changes? Like getting stronger?”
Her keen gaze fixated on his right earlobe, mixing pure curiosity with a hint of greed.
“I suppose I must be stronger since I’m still intact. My throat burned when I drank it, so be careful if you ever try it.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t dare. I love Seoul too much. I wouldn’t leave here for anything.”
Yoon Jung-hee waved her hand and laughed softly.
“It’s so entertaining to watch people live their lives here. Just mingling and bickering with them makes fifty years fly by.”
The ruler of the local spirits enjoyed changing her guise every few decades to live among humans. Currently, she was said to be living a normal life, having remarried to a widowed congressman.
“The stepchildren are all grown up now, so we just maintain polite relations. They call me ‘mother’ occasionally, and it’s kind of fun.”
As Ji Hyun-ho listened to her one-sided stories, he imagined himself married to Song Tae-eun. He pictured the wedding, setting up a home together, and living a cozy life without children.
Suddenly, he chuckled. It was amusing that someone who had spent years killing time in sleep could now imagine such things. If he told Nam Jeong-tak about a demon envisioning a domestic life with a woman, it might make him nauseous.
Seeing him laugh, Yoon Jung-hee leaned forward over the table.
“I’d love to meet that vengeful spirit.”
“Unless you’re planning to avenge her, it’s best not to get involved.”
The vengeful spirit of Lee Ye-jin, driven by grudges and hatred, was a complicated matter. But since it ultimately clung to Song Tae-eun, he intended to deal with it himself.
“You seem very concerned.”
Yoon Jung-hee stopped smiling and looked at him intently. Ji Hyun-ho averted his gaze to Namsan Tower, avoiding her honest eyes.
“There’s no way you couldn’t destroy it, Ji Hyun-ho.”
“They were close friends.”
His deep voice dropped even lower. He thought of his lover sleeping downstairs.
“She was very sad when her friend died. The vengeful spirit’s thoughts and the host’s consciousness were strongly intertwined for a long time, making it difficult to separate them.”
“So, you’re saying you didn’t want to kill Song Tae-eun.”
Ji Hyun-ho glared coldly at the smiling woman. His chest rose and fell slowly but heavily. He drained the remaining whiskey in his glass and turned his gaze back to the night view.
The mention of Song Tae-eun’s death made his heart race with an anxious rhythm. Blood that had been circulating normally seemed to stall and swirl aimlessly.
“We both know from experience that death is the simplest and easiest way. Life, on the other hand, is complicated and challenging.”
Yoon Jung-hee whispered softly, almost to herself.
“If they were that intertwined…”
She drew out her words, her red lips stretching into a long line reflected in the dark window.
“You should have killed the host too.”
Ji Hyun-ho met his own eyes, glowing intensely against the backdrop of the cityscape. In them, he saw a fear he had never recognized before.
“Why didn’t you?”
Yoon Jung-hee’s voice quickened, her excitement growing as she pressed him.
“Why did you choose such a complicated method? Tell me the reason.”
He weighed the month he had promised the vengeful spirit against the life that still lay ahead for Song Tae-eun. Naturally, the scale tipped in favor of the latter.
Ji Hyun-ho turned back to face her. Yoon Jung-hee’s white eyes gleamed intensely. He answered the ruler of the local spirits slowly.
“I was scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of Song Tae-eun dying.”
No matter how many times he revisited the memory, pushing her out of the way of the oncoming truck was the right thing to do. Taking over the body of young Ji Hyun-ho was the second best decision he had ever made.
“Being left alone after she’s gone… that terrifies me.”
To give Song Tae-eun peace, he would have to exorcise the thoughts intertwined with the vengeful spirit’s. This process would drain her life force, leaving her half out of her mind.
And soon after, she would die.
Before he could even logically consider it, he knew he couldn’t endure that process. So, he spent ten days and nights trying to destroy only the vengeful spirit. But during that time, Song Tae-eun’s fainting spells grew longer.
In the end, he chose to make a deal. He summoned the vengeful spirit and asked for a month’s reprieve, promising revenge.
“Do you like Song Tae-eun?”
Yoon Jung-hee whispered, her eyes gleaming. Ji Hyun-ho poured whiskey into a thistle-shaped glass and shook his head.
“I’m not sure.”
“Then how about this?”
Yoon Jung-hee was relentless. He checked the time as he sipped his whiskey.
“When Song Tae-eun’s life ends, you disappear with her.”
It was a method he had never considered. He had always envisioned the short life of the woman and himself being left alone. The new option made his previously indifferent eyes light up.
He straightened his back and looked at the woman across from him. The idea resonated with him more than he expected.
“What do you think? I can help make that happen.”
Yoon Jung-hee’s excitement grew, her eyes gleaming intensely. Ji Hyun-ho smiled calmly and nodded.
“That sounds good.”
She clapped her hands and burst into laughter. The loud sound echoed through the quiet bar, drawing glances from other patrons.
“Later, once this is all over, make the deal with me. Not with anyone else, just me. Got it?”
“So, you’ll allow it?”
Ji Hyun-ho cut to the chase. He needed Yoon Jung-hee’s permission to use his powers for revenge in Seoul.
Her red lips stretched into a wide grin.
“Yes, I’ll allow it.”
***
“Oh? When did you wake up?”
Tae-eun, who was sitting by the edge of the hot pool, turned to look at the man entering the room. Hyun-ho approached with a broad smile.
“Just a little while ago.”
“Were you worried because I wasn’t here? You should have called.”
He pressed his lips firmly against her cheek, leaving a faint scent of alcohol. She watched him as he took off his workout top.
“Where did you go?”
“I went for a workout because my body felt stiff.”
Her eyes wavered slightly. Hyun-ho took off his pants and underwear in one go and slipped into the hot pool naked.
“I wanted to have sex with you here, but you fell asleep first, so I was disappointed.”
He tickled the soles of her feet under the water. She twisted her body to escape his touch.
“Stop it. It tickles.”
“Are you sleepy?”
“Why do you ask?”
She replied grumpily without meaning to. Realizing her tone, she quickly shut her mouth, but he didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he opened his mouth wide and sucked on her plump lips with a loud smack.
A strong scent of fruit-mixed alcohol wafted out. It seemed he had been drinking whiskey. Her heart pounded rapidly.
‘I felt sick since dawn. Maybe it’s because I drank something I normally wouldn’t.’
He was the kind of guy who’d get feverish after three cans of beer. But whiskey? She must have misjudged the situation in her half-awake state.
“I’m going to do what I wanted to do earlier.”
Tae-eun obediently parted her lips and accepted his tongue. His thick tongue swirled inside her mouth, urgently passing saliva. Drool seeped out between their joined lips.
Hyun-ho scraped her palate hard and tangled his tongue with hers fervently. The sounds of the water in the hot pool and their wet mucous membranes rubbing against each other mixed together.
He stripped off her robe and lifted her, carrying her towards the large window. His already stiffened member brushed against her pale buttocks. Sitting on the ledge near the window, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, engrossed in the kiss.
The taste of whiskey became more pronounced. Tae-eun sucked on his tongue, trying to recall the taste of the wine she had drunk. She kept telling herself that her taste buds were malfunctioning, that she was confusing the lingering taste of the wine under her tongue.
It had to be that kind of night.
🍉🍉🍉
