INV 9

“The Jade Emperor looks down upon us humans from the Celestial Realm, creating the Immortal Realm below to oversee the providence of the human world, and Great King Yama of the Underworld governs the discipline after death. This is providence.”

“…”

It was a story I had vaguely heard before, but I felt a strange sense of dissonance—as if someone else were speaking through Park Seongjun’s body—so I rubbed my arms to settle the goosebumps. Around then, Park Seongjun returned to his usual soft demeanor and continued his explanation.

“The Immortal Realm and the Underworld are relatively close to the human world. Spiritual creatures, humans, and even yokai can belong to the Immortal Realm if they attain enlightenment. The Underworld sought modernization as it entered the 21st century… In that sense, you can think of the humans belonging to ‘this world’ as having their own networks in both the Immortal and Underworld sides. And everyone who sensed that ‘it’ had awakened mobilized every network they had and caused an uproar. Asking what on earth had woken up. What it was. Asking what it was that we were feeling and why we were so terrified.”

“…”

“I heard that Jae Angshin, who had been slumbering for ten thousand years, has awakened. Jae Angshin is the very fox yokai who once drove the Immortal Realm to the brink of annihilation in the past; I heard that if the Jade Emperor had not personally stepped forward, risking a crack in providence, they wouldn’t have even been able to seal him. That’s how strong a single yokai was. To the point where he could only be called a disaster, literally. But…”

“…But?”

“Since a civilian who doesn’t know the first thing about shamanism broke a ten thousand-year seal, rumors have spread in every direction.”

Because Park Seongjun lowered his voice significantly while saying that, whispering so softly it was barely audible, Kwon Yihyeon had to lean toward him.

Truthfully, he didn’t want to hear what the rumors were.

But if he didn’t hear it, he would go crazy.

This was a pork rib restaurant where everyone was red-faced from having a drink, and at the next table, some misters who had finished their company dinner were preparing a new toast.

For some reason, he had to focus all his senses to hear Park Seongjun, who was speaking in such a small voice.

“A human who deeply adored Jae Angshin woke him up and held a wedding.”

“Hey, fuck, are you crazy?”

The response popped out instantly, barely passing through his brain.

The problem was that it popped out too loudly and roughly.

Park Seongjun, catching a glimpse of Kwon Yihyeon’s expression, glanced at the next table before standing up and suggesting they go to his house.

No matter how noisy the meat restaurant was and how little others cared about them, the location was not great for seriously whispering about the story of Jae Angshin, who had been sealed for ten thousand years.

Kwon Yihyeon passed through the streets in a taxi once again.

Upon arriving home, Park Seongjun stealthily looked around, entered through a spot like a dog-hole, and shoved Kwon Yihyeon into his room before quickly slicing some peaches and bringing out grain tea. Kwon Yihyeon, watching all of this, stabbed a peach with a fork in a strangely irritable manner.

Come to think of it, aren’t peaches a fruit that wards off ghosts?

‘Is it okay for a baksu who has even received a spiritual initiation to eat something like this?’

…What about me, who became Jae Angshin’s bridegroom?

Once he started overthinking, all sorts of thoughts began to spiral.

Among them was a feeling that Park Seongjun might be doing this to kill him off for good. However, when he reached the thought that if he shoved a celestial peach toward Chacha, instead of being exorcised, he would probably just eat it up deliciously, Kwon Yihyeon cut off the useless reflections.

It’s probably fine since it was in the fridge. Right?

‘Would his family do something bad to him?’

Park Seongjun, who had many hyungs and noonas above him, was the most adored young master of the house as well as the youngest who was kept under strict discipline.

When they were young, he was a good guy, but I thought it was peculiar that he sincerely believed in shamanism. However, since he didn’t force Kwon Yihyeon to believe it or keep bringing up related topics, Kwon Yihyeon had stayed close to him without feeling burdened.

He didn’t know that fact would come back to haunt him like this.

‘What did this guy think when he saw me being so certain that shamanism was just superstition?’

Kwon Yihyeon was never told he was lacking anywhere he went. On the contrary, what Kwon Yihyeon heard often was that he was smart. However, that would only be true for the Kwon Yihyeon who navigated a familiar reality. The time he had spent learning about the world behind the veil was too short; he was no different from an infant who knew nothing. Instead, unlike an infant, Kwon Yihyeon was an adult, and so no one looked out for him. They couldn’t. The responsibility was naturally his to bear.

By the time he had finished a cup of tea and eaten three slices of peach, Kwon Yihyeon told the brief story of what happened, mixing in curses about a hundred times.

Throughout the story, Park Seongjun’s expression changed more and more until his skin tone turned a deathly dark blue. When the always-composed Park Seongjun let out a sigh so heavy it felt like the ground would cave in, Kwon Yihyeon felt suffocated along with him.

Park Seongjun lightened the mood with a different topic as if to take a breather.

“Your tongue has become corrupted since you went to college. Your cursing has really increased. You were the guy who used to nag and pester me every time I cursed. I’ve quit cursing while serving my Bodhisattva.”

“If I don’t call something shitty, ‘shitty,’ then what else am I supposed to call it?”

Kwon Yihyeon knew what intention Park Seongjun had in changing the subject, but even he felt his patience was at rock bottom.

Yet, Park Seongjun still had a worried expression and didn’t lose his temper even once.

He simply approached carefully and slowly.

“…There’s a reason why adoration was pointed out as the cause for breaking the seal. The seal isn’t that flimsy. It endured for ten thousand years. It’s not something that can be awakened just because anyone calls out.”

“I didn’t even call out?”

“Right. I believe your words. You hated being involved with this side. You probably didn’t even know what you were doing. But usually, if they say Jae Angshin woke up while entangled with a human, people assume there must be some purpose.”

Park Seongjun’s slow voice somehow had a way of putting a person at ease.

‘There was a reason this guy was quite famous in the industry.’

He continued.

“A seal can be weakened by intense longing or power. So everyone must have guessed. That someone was possessed by Jae Angshin. If a greenhorn who knows nothing interfered with such a seal, they must have surely been in love.”

“Crazy.”

“Not only is there precedent, but even that ‘great’ Jae Angshin reportedly held a wedding quietly instead of stirring up the Immortal Realm that had imprisoned him for ten thousand years. Rather than going around trying to settle the rights and wrongs with Jae Angshin’s contractor and risking poking a sleeping Jae Angshin’s nose hairs, that would have been the most rational inference. Besides, it’s not like you usually stood out; you were a total civilian.”

“So… a rumor started that I loved a single fox yokai so devotedly that I went crazy enough to smash a ten thousand-year seal?”

“That’s right.”

“Did you believe that too?”

“I thought I should ask the person himself. Actually, I figured it wasn’t true!”

Kwon Yihyeon almost felt a deep and full friendship from Park Seongjun.

“You never do anything that would be to your own disadvantage. There’s no way a selfish guy like you would sacrifice everything for love and do such a crazy thing.”

“Hey.”

“A passionate love from you? That’s ridiculous.”

“Hey.”

“What? I’m just saying exactly what you said. Didn’t you say people who are crazy about love and dating are funny? That it’s incomprehensible and seems like a bother.”

“That’s still true now.”

“Even from my perspective, you can’t love anyone because it’s too much trouble. Do you want to argue?”

Kwon Yihyeon answered flatly.

“No.”

And then he burst out laughing.

The tension eased a little. No, he realized that he had been tensing his shoulders to death all this time.

As he laughed, Park Seongjun looked a bit relieved.

Feeling that deep and full friendship return, Kwon Yihyeon asked.

“How on earth was I able to break the seal then?”

“I don’t know. Love was the most plausible explanation.”

“Don’t you all live while thinking too vaguely?”

“Friend, a cold-blooded guy like you might not know, but do you know how important love is?”

“Shall I show you what a real cold-blooded person is?”

“I know you’re too soft-hearted for your own good to do that. Anyway,”

Park Seongjun’s face became quite serious.

“It is the oldest and most powerful force a human can possess—love. Why else do you think it was pointed out as the cause that could break a ten thousand-year seal?”

Actually, he felt like he knew what he was talking about. Right now, if he imagined something going wrong for his grandmother because of a yokai, he would rush in regardless of what happened to him. It wasn’t a rational action for survival, but Kwon Yihyeon loved his family.

Even though he pretended to snap at Park Seongjun, he knew very well himself how selfish he was. Regardless of Jae Angshin or whatever, he could have refused, saying he hated this. He could have stubborned his way through, saying he didn’t want to pay this kind of price when he knew nothing. However, although he hated it, he didn’t refuse.

From the very moment he realized that if he refused, his family would suffer.

Even if it was in the form of familial affection, he knew what love was. So he knew all the more that he did not love Chacha.

That was why he felt like he was going to lose his mind.

‘Then how the hell did I wake Jae Angshin up!’