1440 - Chapter 22

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 22
21
Ye-eun’s face was twisted in a smile, her eyes wide open, dark tears streaming down her cheeks in torrents.
“Here, it’s here.”
“Yes. This is the place where you suffered. Where you thought you’d ended the suffering. Where you thought it was finished, but instead it bound you.”
Yeon-su stepped out of Heo-eun’s line of sight, his eyes now sharp and clear as he surveyed the classroom.
The space that Du-hui and her group had torn apart a month and a half ago was meticulously clean.
Not a trace of the altar, not a drop of blood, not even a single smudge of candle wax stuck to the floor. It would have been impossible without someone cleaning it by hand.
Yeon-su gazed at Ye-eun’s face, which still glared at him as though she would kill him, and pulled out his phone.
“Yes. You’re coming? Yes. There are some things I need you to identify.”
On the phone, Yeon-su recited the surnames of the men and the locations of their houses that Heo-eun had told him while possessed. The person on the other end promised to call back shortly and hung up.
Yeon-su slipped the phone into his pocket and fingered the ornament hanging from his sword with his other hand, murmuring to himself.
“So where should we start.”
Yeon-su’s gaze flickered between Ye-eun, who wept and laughed while ceaselessly crying out someone’s name toward him, and Heo-eun, who stood behind her sister and watched her with anxious eyes.
A glance at his watch showed it was already seven in the evening. He wanted to return to the Byeol-dang before the morning sun rose if possible.
Yeon-su watched Ye-eun reach out her hand toward him though it couldn’t quite touch, then he exhaled gently. His hand remained resting on his sword hilt.
Ye-eun’s expression shifted in an instant. As though something obscuring her vision had been swept away, her large eyes blinked slowly. Then Yeon-su and Heo-eun turned to look around the classroom.
So her sight had indeed been obscured.
Some curse had veiled Ye-eun’s eyes, so that whenever she saw any man, she couldn’t distinguish who he was and took him to be one of those who had violated her.
The work had been skillful. The precision made it more sinister. If anything had remained, she could have identified which shamanic faction the perpetrator belonged to from the talisman. It was a shame they hadn’t secured it.
Suddenly robbed of purpose, Ye-eun’s face fell vacant, and Heo-eun clung to her side.
Watching this scene, Yeon-su quietly left the classroom. He affixed a talisman to the front door and applied a quick seal as a temporary measure, then bowed briefly before returning to the car.
Du-hui sat in the driver’s seat, her face drained of color, staring out with desperate intensity for his return.
“Is it… is it all finished?”
At her words, Yeon-su stowed the sword in the trunk and returned, speaking as he did.
“Now it begins.”
He settled into the driver’s seat and entered Du-hui’s address into the navigation system.
“My friend will come pick you up later. Around midnight. Until then, gather the undergarments you were wearing, your fingernails and toenails, and your birth year, month, and hour. Prepare those for Jin-hyeong and Su-gyun as well.”
At Yeon-su’s words, Du-hui swallowed hard, tension visible in her throat.
“…That’s all I need to prepare?”
“Ah, and hair. Don’t cut it—pluck it out.”
Yeon-su began driving, his manner kind and detached. As the car quietly exited the Playground, Du-hui spoke of what she had witnessed.
“A moment ago, when that… when the teacher opened the gate and went in. There were two small feet following behind him from the back.”
Yeon-su glanced at Du-hui, whose Spirit Eyes had opened, and spoke casually, as if it were nothing.
“Yes, that’s right. That’s a Vengeful Spirit bound there, and it was that child who bit into Jin-hyeong’s ankle. It had to protect its sister.”
“…Really, you truly can resolve all of this? Jin-hyeong will really be able to rise again, won’t he?”
Yeon-su spoke as he passed through the entrance to the darkening Goe-am-ri.
“Yes. We have someone who can bear the calamity in our stead, after all.”
The moment she heard those words, Du-hui thought of Su-gyun.
Su-gyun, who had said he would shoulder it instead of Jin-hyeong.
Part of her wanted to protest—how could she burden her friend with all of this?—but the words wouldn’t come. Apart from how dear Jin-hyeong and Su-gyun were to her, this calamity unfolding around her was too immense and terrifying for her to bear alone. All she wanted was to escape it by any means possible.
The car, now quiet, smoothly left Goe-am-ri behind.
***
Two days later, Du-hui found herself at that strange, imposing Hanok again. Today was the day she would settle the remaining payment.
The man wouldn’t accept a bank transfer, so she couldn’t avoid bringing heavy cash. She’d taken a taxi from home. The fare alone had been nearly two hundred thousand won, but there was no help for it.
In truth, it hadn’t felt like much of a loss. The promised fee was so staggering that Su-gyun, she, and even Jin-hyeong’s parents had scraped together every loan and credit advance they could manage. Because of that, she now had no real sense of the money’s value.
Nor did the debt frighten her much. The relief of knowing he was alive made everything feel manageable.
―As long as he’s alive, we can pay back any debt.
The day after the ritual was completed, when Jin-hyeong regained consciousness, Su-gyun had said this while crying before him. Du-hui had agreed. And yet…
The thought was cut short. Just as before, staff dressed in white Korean ceremonial garb guided Du-hui to the Byeol-dang. In the Byeol-dang sat the elderly man she’d seen on the first day, and the sardonic-faced man as well.
And the man who had saved her was there too.
Before even the tea service could be brought out, Du-hui thrust forward the bags of money. They were so heavy they barely slid—she presented two of them, and In-eum, seated in the place of honor, gestured to the staff with his chin. The staff, who had been standing in silent readiness, came forward and took the bags.
In-eum rubbed his chin and asked with casual arrogance.
“So, was the matter handled well?”
Yeon-su answered in turn.
“Yes, Father. The site has been cleaned thoroughly, so there’s nothing more for you to concern yourself with.”
At that, In-eum turned his gaze to Du-hui.
“And you’re well now?”
Du-hui nodded at the casual inquiry and bowed at the waist.
“Yes! I’m not having nightmares anymore, and my body doesn’t hurt. I’m fine! That friend regained consciousness too, and… but.”
As Yeon-su glanced at In-eum, the latter tilted his chin, as if urging Du-hui to say more.
Du-hui turned her gaze from Yeon-su, who was smiling at her with a gentle warmth, her words stumbling over the unease that gripped her.
“Another friend—she keeps having nightmares. ……She says something is trying to get into her house.”
This morning alone, Su-gyun had called, weeping that she was tormented by the nightmare she’d had until moments before, the sound of knocking at her door, and the sensation of being watched over and over. Du-hui explained that she could only listen and offer comfort, her face contorting with guilt.
At Du-hui’s words, In-eum turned his gaze toward Yeon-su. Yeon-su, as if this were the most natural thing in the world, touched his teacup and answered.
“I merely shifted where the vengeful spirit dwelt. A slight application of technique, one might say.”
Both In-eum and Yeon-hyeong immediately understood Yeon-su’s deliberately vague word choice—his reluctance to speak of “curses” before an outsider.
In-eum smiled with satisfaction, curious and impressed by what method Yeon-su must have employed. Only Yeon-hyeong turned away with a sour expression on his face.
Just then, the employee who had finished counting the money returned and whispered something into In-eum’s ear. Upon hearing that the sum was correct, In-eum boasted to Du-hui as though he had performed some tremendous deed.
“Ordinarily, it would be difficult to resolve such matters at this price, but the student seemed so young and desperate that I helped her. Should word of this reach anyone else, however…”
“No! I absolutely won’t say a word. Not a chance! My friends don’t even know where I got help. Only I know. I’ll keep my mouth shut, I promise!”
In-eum nodded, and immediately his employees surrounded Du-hui, signaling her to leave.
Du-hui turned back as if she had something more to say to Yeon-su. But faced with his quiet smile and his unwavering gaze upon her, she could not bring herself to speak further and was ushered out of the Byeol-dang as though expelled.
After seeing Du-hui out, In-eum asked a question.
“Is it truly resolved?”
“Yes. I provided the vengeful spirit with information about a new potential victim. Redirecting its path is no difficult matter. Having opened the way for it to turn toward another, once it drains that person’s essence completely, it will be satisfied. As for whatever problems arise after that…… well, that is not our concern, is it?”
“Ha, that’s true enough.”
At Yeon-su’s cold addition, In-eum laughed with admiration. Then Yeon-hyeong interjected.
“Can you even call that Curse Art?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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