Chapter 22: Moon

“Ugh, I don’t want to go to work!”

Sihyun got up from bed, ruffling his hair.

‘In the past, I might have thought about taking a half-day off to rest. But not anymore.’

“Ah, is this what they call the responsibility of a head of household?”

Unlike when he was alone, he now had a younger sister (?), Luna, which came with immense responsibility.

After quickly getting ready, he casually sat on the floor, drying his hair, when,

–Pitter-patter.

Along with small footsteps, a familiar sensation climbed onto his lap.

‘Just as expected today.’

He lowered his head and saw Luna quietly sitting between his legs.

“Sihyun… this.”

The girl looked up at him, her golden eyes sparkling brightly. And in her small hand, a comb.

“This has become a daily routine every morning.”

Sihyun smiled faintly and naturally began to comb Luna’s hair.

Her calm, soft silver hair was neatly arranged by his touch.

Luna quietly closed her eyes, feeling the gentle touch.

Who would believe that such a docile girl was a ‘괴담’ (urban legend/ghost story) capable of destroying the world?

‘Even I sometimes get confused. Thinking that Luna might just be a cute girl.’

“Let’s finish up with this today.”

Click.

Sihyun took a crescent moon hairpin from the drawer and clipped it into Luna’s hair.

‘It was a good idea to buy it at the amusement park.’

The moon-shaped hairpin shimmered softly in her silver hair.

Unconsciously, Sihyun found himself staring at Luna’s face.

“Sihyun… what’s wrong?”

“Oh, I was just thinking how pretty Luna is. I got lost in thought without realizing it.”

“Sihyun too… pretty…?”

“Huh?”

Click.

Luna clipped the crescent moon hairpin she held in her other hand into Sihyun’s hair.

Since it was a buy-one-get-one-free hairpin, it was the exact same design as Luna’s.

“Sihyun too… the same one.”

An action as if she was imitating him. Lately, Luna often imitated Sihyun.

–”Can… you understand… feelings… if you… imitate them…?”

–”Of course, Luna.”

The girl hadn’t forgotten Sihyun’s words and was putting them into practice.

‘She doesn’t seem to be aware of it, but it must be Luna’s way of trying to understand emotions.’

–*Stroke.*

Feeling a pang in his heart, Sihyun unconsciously stroked Luna’s head.

Luna was slowly changing. From a ‘괴담’ (urban legend/ghost story) that symbolized fear and destruction, to a girl whose eyes sparkled at a simple stroke.

“Sihyun… wear this… and go…”

“Luna, I can’t go to work wearing this.”

‘Actually, it’s not that I *can’t*, but a guy approaching his thirties wearing a hairpin… that’s a bit much.’

At that, Luna tilted her head slightly and looked at him.

“No…?”

Her voice sounded somewhat dejected.

Her golden eyes, as if embodying pity, stared intently at Sihyun.

‘Damn it. What on earth is this adorable creature…!’

Alright. I surrender, I surrender!

“Alright. I’ll definitely wear it until I get home from work.”

“Rea…lly?”

“Of course, really. Have you ever seen me break a promise, Luna? Haha.”

Only then did the girl seem satisfied, stretching out her small hands and hugging Sihyun.

‘Seriously, let whatever happens happen. Destruction or whatever, if it’s cute, that’s all that matters.’

The Sihyun who, just a few days ago, had scolded himself, saying he shouldn’t be mistaken about Luna, and that he shouldn’t let his guard down no matter how docile she seemed, was no more.

There was only a man who cherished the girl in his arms more than himself.

****

“Pfft! Rookie, what’s that on your head? A hairpin? What a wimp, seriously.”

“Ah… this was something my precious, precious younger sister personally put on me, saying she really wanted me to wear it…”

“Hahaha. Looking at it again, it’s actually really pretty, isn’t it? My judgment was the wimpy one.”

“Today… the team leader… pulled a Talladega… The team leader will fall off his chair in 40 seconds…”

Sihyun scribbled something in his notebook.

“Hey, hey! What are you doing, it’s not some Death Note!”

“Haha. Just kidding, just kidding.”

“Alright, enough of that. It’s lunchtime, let’s go eat.”

“Team Leader Talladega is buying, right?”

“Don’t give me weird nicknames!”

Sihyun was heading to the staff cafeteria, exchanging trivial jokes with his colleagues.

Just then, murmuring could be heard from somewhere.

At first, it sounded like quiet conversation, but the voices gradually grew louder, eventually escalating into shouting.

“Team Leader, don’t you hear a fight somewhere?”

“Ah, I heard the Japanese guild is having a serious argument over there.”

Japanese voices rapidly exchanged on one side of the building. It wasn’t just a simple disagreement; a sharp tension suggested they were on the verge of a fight.

Then.

*Bang—!!*

The red-eyed man slammed his hand down on the table.

The entire space was engulfed in a momentary silence, and soon an even more agitated voice erupted.

“Enough. There’s no more time to wait.”

“Ren! What are you trying to do!?”

“You all knew the reason ever since I said I would find Phantom.”

Ren’s voice was calm, yet it was mixed with anger and desperation.

“You, surely…!”

“If I can’t find Phantom, I’ll have to draw them out myself.”

Ren’s red eyes were chillingly subdued.

The Ren they knew was a cool-headed and highly responsible individual, but they could find no such trace in the man before their eyes now.

“Ren, stop it! If you do it your way, it could cause even greater chaos!”

“Chaos? Do you have the right to say that?”

“……Surely not about what we did regarding Tsuki then—”

“Silence.”

His tone was sharp and cutting.

The Japanese guild members couldn’t say anything. No, perhaps they couldn’t. Because Ren’s words hit them where it hurt.

“During the last briefing, wasn’t it said that Phantom appears when a powerful ‘괴담’ (urban legend/ghost story) emerges?”

“Ren… don’t talk nonsense. It’s just a hypothesis.”

“Then I will prove it. That hypothesis.”

“Calm down! This could easily escalate into an international issue!”

“Phantom might be able to save Tsuki… I’ve staked everything on that one possibility!”

He took a step back, then immediately walked toward the door.

“Don’t interfere. Don’t follow me.”

As Ren kicked open the door and left, the guild members could only stare at him in silence.

Before their eyes, the man named Ren was slowly breaking down.

****

In the heart of the city, a man’s footsteps swiftly crossed the road.

His breathing was erratic, as if he were being chased.

His red eyes held a flame mixed with madness and resolve.

“Phantom. Why on earth won’t you show yourself…?”

He had been investigating for over a month but had never once directly encountered Phantom.

‘Why? Why won’t you appear…?’

It had reached the point where he even doubted if the entity truly existed.

Ren needed them. Desperately.

He had exhausted every possible method. Now, the last remaining means was,

“…to unseal the sword in the middle of the city.”

Ren looked down at the sword clutched in his hand. The blade seemed to be trembling slightly.

‘If Phantom’s ability to annihilate ‘괴담’ (urban legends/ghost stories) without a trace is real…’

Could he save Tsuki?

But what if even that failed?

‘Then what have I endured all of this for?’

He tried to inhale, but something felt stuck in his chest.

It was obvious that if he unsealed the sword, hundreds, even thousands of people and the city center would be plunged into death.

Ren himself knew well what results his current actions would bring.

But.

“Losing her without being able to do anything is far more terrible.”

–”It will lead to the worst possible outcome, Ren!”

His colleagues’ voices suddenly came to mind.

But their cries no longer resonated with Ren.

“The worst…? No, that’s not it. For me, the worst is losing her without being able to do anything…”

He had merely chosen the lesser evil.

This was the last path he could take.

“If Phantom won’t show themselves, I’ll draw them out.”

He closed his eyes. What came to mind was the distant past.

‘Tsuki…’

She, with her black hair and warm smile, suited each other well.

The day she first smiled at him.

The day he teased her, saying ‘so cute,’ when he saw her clumsily tied ponytail.

Even right before she sacrificed herself, the last words she spoke, smiling at him—

‘Ren… I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise…’

“Tsuki. If you saw me now, you’d probably scream at me to stop immediately.”

Should he stop now? Should he abandon this sword and go back to how things were…?

“No, even if you don’t wish for it, I do. You might hate me for being selfish, but—”

“It’s already too late.”

There was no path he could choose from the beginning.

From the moment she disappeared, from the moment he threw everything away for her.

Ren brought the tip of the sword to the center of his palm.

–*Plunge!*

“……Urgh!”

The cold sensation of flesh tearing.

The moment red blood flowed down the sword, a black mist rose from the ground and then writhed as if alive.

Soon, the sky slowly but surely began to darken.

A colossal mountain suddenly appeared in the heart of Kyoto, Japan.

Deep within that mountain, a shrine stood alone, seemingly cut off from the outside world.

“…It’s strange. It was definitely daytime outside.”

“It’s been dark ever since we stepped into the mountain.”

“It seems… our conjecture was correct. Only a ‘괴담’ (urban legend/ghost story) can cause phenomena like this.”

Ren advanced, keeping a wary eye on his surroundings with the investigation team that accompanied him.

They were currently dispatched to an area suspected of being the site of a ‘괴담’ (urban legend/ghost story) manifestation.

“Is this really Japan? It’s like a completely different world.”

The mountain was eerily quiet, as if no one lived there.

“How much further to the destination?”

“We’re almost there. Ah, there it is.”

One of the guild members pointed to the entrance of the shrine.

“When we investigated the energy distribution outside, that was the only place with abnormal readings. There must be a clue there.”

“Wait… someone’s standing at the entrance?”

Beneath the red torii gate, the figure of a woman stood quietly.

A miko (shrine maiden) with black hair reaching her waist, clad in dazzlingly white robes.

She was quietly watching them from the entrance, as if she had been waiting for a long time.

“……A human?”

The miko’s tone showed no hint of wariness.

“Everyone, prepare for combat.”

In contrast, Ren and the investigation team instinctively gripped their swords and weapons, maintaining a state of alert.

“Since coming here, there hasn’t been a single living creature apart from plants, let alone a human.”

“That means, the woman in the miko’s attire…?”

“There’s a high probability that she’s not human, but a ‘괴담’ (urban legend/ghost story).”

Ren’s red eyes glinted as he drew his sword and pointed it at the miko.

“Are you the master of this place?”

When he asked in a low voice, the miko tilted her head slightly.

“Well… I don’t know…”

She simply watched those who approached her warily.

“I don’t remember anything… why I’m here… or where this is.”

“You don’t remember?”

“I know I’m supposed to be here… but I don’t know why.”

It was a situation that clearly resembled the ‘amnesia’ pattern typical of ‘괴담’ (urban legends/ghost stories).

Ren had encountered similar cases before.

‘There have been many ‘괴담’ (urban legends/ghost stories) that pretended to lose their memories and then revealed their true colors later. Is this one of them?’

“You don’t remember anything? Do you expect us to believe that?”

The miko quietly placed her hand on her chest, then met Ren’s gaze.

“It’s fine if you don’t believe me. But… I definitely remember one thing…”

“What is it?”

She raised her bowed head and looked at the sky.

“I am Tsuki, the Miko of the Moon.”