“What kind of crap is this?”
That was the very first thought that came to mind. Pain or anything else came second; shock came first. In my arms was a small, rigid, and utterly unfamiliar body—heavy and tense.
[Yeonwoo-yaaa!]
A piercing voice echoed. It stretched oddly, like a slow-motion video, creating a bizarre noise. At the same time, memories began to flicker before my eyes like a projector—memories of exactly how this absurd situation had come about.
“Don’t even think about going out today! You’re practically crawling with bad luck, so stay home and behave yourself. Got it, Kang Yeonwoo?”
As usual, my mother’s nagging heralded the start of the day.
“Again? There’s never been a day without misfortune.”
“You brat! Hurry and decide already! I’m worried sick about you!”
“Why do I only get those two options? Why can’t I just live an ordinary life?”
“Ordinary? With your power? Don’t be ridiculous. You only have two paths. If you don’t choose one, that power might become a curse.”
I’d been getting the sense lately that Mother’s fussing was getting worse than ever.
“Isn’t that too harsh? A shaman or a celebrity—those are my only choices?”
“That’s what your destiny says! It’s in your Four Pillars of Destiny, and there’s no getting around it! Accept it, or something terrible will happen!”
Her sharp gaze flared. Normal people would be terrified into silence, but I was different.
“Where do you think you’re going? I’m telling you, your bad luck today is no joke!”
But as usual, I darted out the front gate. The best way to dodge a lecture storm was to flee. This time, though, something odd happened: a strange entity slipped out behind me.
[Seriously, you’re heading out? Yeonhwa seemed really serious. Why not stay home?]
“Did she bribe you or something? Why’re you spouting the same lines?”
[I bet there’s nobody else in the whole country who’d ignore Yeonhwa like you do.]
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t exactly a living creature—no monster from a movie or novel. It was a peculiar being, an odd thing. Outwardly, it looked like a small child, dressed in bright, colorful clothes. In reality, it was a childlike spirit—a ghost.
[There are people who fly over from overseas just to hear one word from Yeonhwa… If she says this, you should at least consider it.]
You might have heard rumors about a blue-roofed house where a shaman lives. Some call it superstition, others call it an urban legend—but it’s real. It’s an old story, though. Either way, my mother, Kang Yeonhwa, used to be a mansin who read the nation’s fate. I’ve even seen important people bow low to have their fortunes told. She’s retired now, running a modest little fortune-telling shop, but her spiritual power never vanished.
“I don’t believe in that—destiny, fate, or fortunes. Who believes that crap in this day and age?”
If fate really were locked in place, what a hopelessly boring life that would be. Strange, perhaps, coming from someone with powerful inherited gifts, but I couldn’t see it any other way.
“I just want a normal life—no more ghosts. But a shaman? That’s insane.”
[Well, leaving shamanism aside, there are tons of people who dream of being celebrities. You don’t want that either?]
“I hate standing out. I want to live quietly.”
Being “special” is, for me, basically a nightmare.
Teacher! Yeonwoo’s saying weird things! He claims there’s a hurt man over there, but there’s no one there! Kang Yeonwoo’s a liar!
I was only telling them what I saw, but people looked at me like I was some kind of monster. That “uniqueness” meant I didn’t belong anywhere. Even after I grew older and tried hiding my abilities, rumors still followed—especially after my father’s mysterious sudden death. That event only made me despise my “special” powers more, to the point I nearly sealed them away.
And now they want me to be a shaman? Or, worse yet, a celebrity, which is exactly what I don’t want? Absolutely not.
“I’m going to live quietly, like I barely exist.”
[I think you missed your chance on that one…]
The child spirit clicked its tongue.
[Anyone whose spiritual eyes are open can’t really live a normal life. And with power stronger than Yeonhwa’s, how could you possibly stay under the radar? Just pick one path. If you hate being a shaman, then be an entertainer—it’s a great option.]
“Great for you, maybe. Don’t get any ideas.”
[Ack. You got me.]
After watching TV with my mother so often, the spirit had picked up some strange habits. A ghost that keeps up with daily TV shows—what a world.
[Still, let’s go home today. Yeonhwa seemed really serious.]
“Go back? Are you kidding? You still don’t know my mother? She only says that stuff to tie me down.”
[I… I don’t think so…?]
“I know her better than you do.”
[You sure about that?]
“Zip it. You just made someone run off because they saw me talking to thin air.”
[Hey, you’re the one who looked crazy, muttering to yourself.]
The spirit snickered. Indeed, the guy who’d locked eyes with me earlier had backed away, clearly unnerved. Now I was the only person waiting at the big intersection—well, the only living person. Intersections are thoroughfares for ghosts, and this one had plenty, especially since it was an accident hotspot. I was used to it.
But then…
“You see that?”
My face stiffened. There was a spirit radiating pitch-black resentment, a wraith drooling hatred—and it was holding a little kid’s hand. The child, maybe five or six, was following it across the crosswalk even though the light was red.
[Are you going to exorcise it?]
“How can I just ignore it?”
After my father’s mysterious passing, I developed a kind of trauma. My mother tried to hide it, but I’d noticed anyway. Even though I’d tried to suppress my abilities as I grew older, occasionally they’d still slip out for precisely this reason: when my trauma flares up, I can’t help reacting.
I bit my lip so hard that blood seeped out, then I used it to draw a quick talisman. It was simple, but blood makes it potent—especially my own.
[KIAAAAAH!]
The wraith shrieked viciously, spewing out its inky malice.
“…It’s not disappearing?”
Even with that exorcism talisman, the wraith didn’t vanish. Instead, it turned to me with a hateful glare. Its mouth curved upward, splitting all the way to its ears, as if mocking my efforts.
[Yeonwoo, did it just shrug off your talisman?!]
The child spirit cried, startled. I hardly heard it. The cars weren’t slowing; no one expects a child to run out against the light. The kid would definitely be hit, probably chalked up as a bizarre accident.
Damn this trauma…
I bit my lip again, drawing fresh blood. Rapidly, I scrawled several protective charms and attached them to my body.
[No, you’re not seriously diving in, are you?!]
If a talisman-based approach fails, only one solution remains: direct contact, pouring all my power in. For that, I needed one condition—
[You’re nuts! Where are you going?!]
—physical contact. A brute force method, but effective in a pinch. My top priority was preventing the wraith from dragging the child any further. So I sprinted onto the road and grabbed the wraith’s wrist.
Sssssizzle!
[GYAAAAAH!]
Where my blood touched, the wraith smoked as if it were on fire. It twisted in agony, letting go of the child’s hand.
Got it!
I scooped the oblivious child into my arms. Relief was just dawning on me when—
[Yeonwoo! Look out!]
the spirit roared. I looked back at the wraith, which should’ve been seriously damaged by now.
…Is it laughing?
A chill coursed through me. Instead of recoiling, the wraith was grinning from ear to ear, exuding joy. Ghosts only laugh like that when they get what they want.
Blink—blink.
All the traffic lights at the intersection started malfunctioning at once. A huge, busy junction with jammed signals—chaos struck immediately.
“What the—?!”
Within seconds, screeching metal filled the air.
KABOOM!
A heavy crash reverberated. A chain-reaction pileup was underway.
BAAAAAAHN!
Then came a long horn blast from a massive truck. Of course, the jammed intersection wouldn’t clear, but the truck plowed forward anyway, smashing through blocked cars and sliding straight for me.
“Damn it all…”
So that’s why it let go. The wraith’s creepy grin had spelled trouble. Protective talismans or not, a collision with a truck that big is a one-way trip to the afterlife. Its bright yellow headlights engulfed me. I swore under my breath and flung myself aside.
BAAAAAAHN!
The horn blared. A brutal impact pounded into me.
What kind of crap is this?
Suddenly, I recalled what Mother had told me that morning: Today is especially bad—don’t go anywhere. That memory flashed through my mind as everything faded. It was all I remembered.
When I opened my eyes again, the scene before me was… impossible.
Yeonwoo was certain of one thing: even with all the ghosts he’d encountered, he had never seen anything like this.
“Are you awake?”
An old man in a neat black suit, flanked by bulky attendants, hovered over me. Above his head, I could see [+49 days].
“Sir, that number over your head… what is that?”
“What? Number? Do we need the doctor again? Hey, Captain Song! Go get the doctor. Can you hear me? Hello?”
He called out to me, but my eyes were locked elsewhere.
[Calculating your remaining lifespan…]
[Calculating…]
[Calculation complete.]
[Your remaining lifespan is –28,470 days.]
A transparent window popped up with that outrageous message.
“Hey! Are you all right?!”
By then, the text above the old man’s head had also changed to [Harvestable Lifespan: +49 days]. Immediately afterward, yet another window slid into view:
[Would you like to choose death?]
No explanation of who, why, how, or for what reason. Only two buttons—YES and NO—glowed, already fading as though I wouldn’t have much time to pick. Even though I wasn’t exactly a baksoo mudang, I knew. if I missed this chance, I was definitely screwed.
Note:
- Bracketed text, such as [Yeonwoo! Look out!], typically indicates voices, shouts, or telepathic communication.
- Mansin refers to a highly respected, often state-level or exceptionally skilled shaman.
- Baksoo mudang is a type of male shaman, often a spirit-medium.
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