episode_0005

Actually, I had some idea about what was happening.

Joo-hyuk may have been possessed by a ghost. I was just not sure because I had never seen an object in person. However, unlike me, Sarah could clearly see the ghost’s appearance, so she was able to believe it.

“The dead girl is hovering around your friend. It was a plan to kill him and turn him into a ghost. Almost getting hit by a truck just now was just the beginning.”

“Is it because Joo-hyuk stole the candy in the morning? Is that why Gaekgui is angry?”

“Yes. They chose Joo-hyuk as their target because he stole candy. Even if he hadn’t touched the candy, I would have been able to appease him and make him attain Buddhahood.”

Joo-hyuk, who was listening to the conversation between me and Sarah, carefully asked a question.

Joo-hyuk, who had just come back from death, was sweating all over his body.

“… … What on earth was that candy?”

“Have you heard the rumor that there is a ghost in our class? The candy I put in was like an offering to appease a ghost. Since the offering was taken away, of course the ghost would be angry.”

Joo-hyuk gasped in surprise after hearing Sarah’s explanation. Unlike us, Joo-hyuk knew very little about the occult. It was only then that he learned the identity of the candy he had carelessly eaten.

“So, you’re saying the girl’s ghost is trying to kill me?”

“You might die tonight.”

It wasn’t a joke or anything. Sarah’s expression was serious. Joo-hyuk was shaking and suddenly turned his head and looked at Sarah as if he remembered something.

“Sera… ! You are the daughter of a shaman! Then don’t you know how to exorcise ghosts?”

“Of course, I know about exorcism.”

“Yes, yes!”

Sarah’s mother was a spiritual shaman in the neighborhood. Born as the daughter of a shaman, Sarah could see ghosts and knew how to exorcise them. After hearing the answer, Joo-hyuk opened his mouth with earnest eyes.

“Please save me, me, me. Please save me.”

“You want me to live? What did they say in class earlier? You were so shameless when you stole the candy.”

“I’m really sorry! I won’t do that again, please!”

Joo-hyuk gave up his pride and prayed with his palms in front of Se-ra. It was the first time in my life that I had seen the big Joohyuk begging in front of a girl. Sarah looked at Joo-hyuk with her arms crossed and then nodded.

“I understand. I will exorcise you.”

“G, really?”

“I was planning on helping anyway. Just because I stole some candy, I didn’t commit a mortal sin.”

“Thank you!!”

Sarah had a temper, but she wasn’t so cruel that she would watch people die in front of her eyes. As I was watching from the side, I felt a little relieved.

“But to perform an exorcism, you have to come to my house. You have to stay at my house late at night to do the exorcism.”

“Why?”

“Because ghosts reveal their true nature only when it gets dark. It must be time for the boundaries between the living and the dead to be broken down. Only then will we be able to interfere with dead people. To perform an exorcism, it must be at least past midnight.”

However, a condition was necessary for exorcism.

Joo-hyuk had to stay late at night at Sarah’s house.

Joo-hyuk thought for a moment and then nodded.

“Okay. I’ll call my mom and tell her I’m going to sleep over at my friend’s house.”

“You and I are not really friends. Are you telling me the truth that I’m going to a shaman’s house because I’m possessed by a ghost?”

“My parents never believe in ghosts. They have no religion and think all ghost stories are lies. If I told him I was going to a shaman’s house, he would probably beat me up? If you honestly say you are possessed by a ghost, they will send you to a mental hospital.”

Joo-hyuk’s parents were people who never believed in ghosts. Ironically, they are not the people who can properly help Joo-hyuk. If Joo-hyuk gets seriously injured or dies, he might start believing in ghosts, but wouldn’t it be too late?

“Good. Just wrap it around appropriately. And you.”

Sarah raised her finger and pointed at me.

I was surprised to suddenly be pointed at.

“Jinwoo Kim, you come to my house too.”

“Why me?”

“Come with me and help me with the exorcism. Now, when I go home because of my parents’ work, I’m the only one there. It’s convenient to have at least one more worker. You said you wanted to see a ghost, right?”

“Of course I want to see you.”

“Maybe I’ll see a ghost in my house tonight? Because during an exorcism, a ghost appears. If you miss me, come and help me.”

You want to show me a ghost?

I was intrigued. It was an opportunity to actually see a ghost, and I couldn’t miss it.

“I’ll go.”

“Wow, is this really coming?”

“You told me to come!”

“But I never thought it would really come.”

Sarah shrugged and left for her house.

As Joo-hyuk and I followed behind Sarah, we took out our cell phones and passed them around to our parents. In the first place, we often stayed over at friends’ houses, so getting around wasn’t that difficult.

*

As time passed, we arrived at Sarah’s house.

It was a luxurious house with a large yard. A white flag and a red flag were hung on the top of the house to indicate that it was a place where gods were worshiped.

Sarah opened the front door and let us into the house.

“It’s a real shaman’s house.”

“Why? Jinwoo. Is this your first time coming to a shaman’s house?”

“I’ve been to a shaman’s house that was an abandoned house, but this is the first time I’ve been to a shaman’s house that wasn’t an abandoned house.”

Actually, I have been to an abandoned shaman’s house. However, it was my first time to see a shaman’s house with people living in good condition. Unfortunately, Sarah’s parents were not at home right now.

Sarah’s parents said they were away from home because they were busy with work.

So, it means that we are the only ones in this house today.

“Where have your parents gone?”

“My dad is in Sweden for work, and my mom went away to celebrate a good fortune.”

“Far away?”

“My mom has a lot of people calling her from all over. I’ll be in Jeju Island now.”

Well, my father is a foreigner and my mother is a spiritual shaman. Sarah’s parents have no choice but to go out frequently.

Sarah was often alone at home.

“This is the shrine.”

Sarah took us to the room where the shrine was set up.

A room with a colorful shamanic painting occupying one wall.

In front of the shaman painting, there was an altar with a Buddha statue on it.

Because it was a large shrine, it felt like there was plenty of space even with three children.

“You both wait here until midnight. The exorcism will be performed in the yard, but until then, neither of you should come out of the shrine.”

“Me too?”

“Jinwoo, you have to watch over Joohyuk. If your friend does something dangerous, stop him.”

Now I understand why Sarah brought me to the shaman’s house. He had been brought here to take care of keeping tabs on Joo Hyuk. Its role was to restrain people who were possessed by ghosts.

“I’m hungry. Will you give me food?”

“I’ll let you eat.”

It was already 6 PM. Sarah brought rice and side dishes from the kitchen and gave them to us. We ate and spent time at the shrine until midnight. However, Sarah was not always with us.

“I’ll go prepare for the ceremony. As I said before, you are not allowed to come out of the shrine. Even if anyone calls you outside, don’t answer. ”

After dinner, Sera left the shrine to make items for the ritual.

Joohyuk and I were left alone in an unfamiliar shrine.

I was told not to answer even if someone called.

As Sarah left the shrine, someone’s voice really began to be heard.

━━Let’s play!

At first the sound was very faint.

But as time passed, it became clearer to our ears.

━━Let’s play together!

━━Come outside!

It was the voice of a young girl.

Outside the curtained window of the shrine, a young girl was calling Joo-hyuk.

“Wow… !!”

When Joo-hyuk heard the voice calling him, he couldn’t hold back and screamed.

“That’s the sound! That’s the voice I heard in my dream!”

In an instant, the atmosphere in the shrine became cold.

I turned my head and looked toward the window.

A pitch-black shape was visible above the curtain covering the window.

━━Let’s play together! let’s play together! let’s play together!

The pitch-black figure sticking to the window kept calling to Joo-hyuk.

I couldn’t help but get goosebumps because they kept repeating the same thing over and over again.

‘The voices are the same.’

It was normal for the intonation to change slightly when speaking.

━━Let’s play together! let’s play together! let’s play together! let’s play together! let’s play together! let’s play together! let’s play together!

However, the sounds coming from outside were eerily constant in pitch and intonation.

It’s not a voice that could possibly be made by a human being.

“Huhhh… .”

━━Thump thump thump thump!!!

A pitch-black figure violently struck the window of the shrine. A loud sound rang out as if the palm was being struck incessantly. Joohyuk and I were just curled up inside the shrine, feeling like we were dead, with nothing to do.

━━Come outside!

━━Let’s play together!

━━Let’s play! Come outside!

━━Thump thump thump thump thump thump!!!

All kinds of sounds were mixed together.

Each minute and every second seems to pass by as slowly as a year.

How much time has passed like that?

The clock hanging in the shrine pointed to midnight.

━━Kik Iik

The door suddenly opened.

I quickly raised my head and looked towards the door, and saw pure white silver hair.

“You waited a long time, right?”

When Sarah opened the door and entered the room, the voice that had been bothering us so much disappeared.

Sarah opened her mouth to us who were dead in the room.

“I’m ready, so come out to the yard. Now is the time to cast out demons.”

“You, you… What are you holding in your hand?”

Joo-hyuk looked surprised when he saw Sarah.

Because in Sarah’s hand was a sharp kitchen knife.

“Why did you bring a knife?”

“It is a necessary tool for exorcism.”

Sarah shrugged while holding up the kitchen knife.

“Because I’m going to ‘bite a ghost’ with a knife.”

“Dog, bitten by an object?”

“It’s a ritual to chase away ghosts.”

I realized what Sarah was trying to do.

‘Bite an object’

It was a ritual to exorcise ghosts that has been handed down in Korea since ancient times.

It literally meant expelling a ghost that had entered a person’s body.

I never thought I would actually see the object bite that I had only heard about.

I tapped Joo-hyuk, who was scared and scared, on the shoulder.

“Hey, Joo Hyuk. Don’t be scared, let’s get out quickly. That kitchen knife is really used to chase away ghosts.”

“G, is it true?”

“Then are you saying it’s real? Just trust me.”

We took Joo-hyuk out to the yard.

All the tools needed for the ceremony were prepared in the yard.

“I’m going to start biting the ghost from now on.”

Finally we started the exorcism.