SATURDAY 105

Mr. Taeseon had a slightly surprised look on his face. It was understandable. Though it was embarrassing even to myself… had I ever spoken so assertively in my life?

Burning Inha’s first swaddling clothes. It was something Mr. Taeseon had mentioned in passing while we were coming home from the main house, but for some reason, it stuck in my mind.

The doll had likely been made with things like Inha’s hair and fingernails, which the Shaman had kept separately. Since that burned, Inha lost the power to find out everything I experienced.

When we ran into her at the hospital that day, the Shaman said that Inha was still by my side even now. But judging by what Inha said last night, it seems he is no longer as free to move as he used to be.

He appeared completely unable to act during the day, and it seemed he could only barely manifest himself once it became night or the early hours of the morning.

Not only that, but he became unable to peer into or eavesdrop on anything. So… I intended to burn and get rid of the swaddling clothes my mother gave me before Inha could notice.

Inside the red box lay the old garment, carefully folded and preserved. As I stared at it quietly, I inadvertently furrowed my brow a little. It must have been a small change, but Mr. Taeseon tilted his head toward me as if concerned. I quickly added so that he wouldn’t worry.

“But actually, I have one concern.”

“A concern?”

“…What did the Shaman intend to do by taking my swaddling clothes? Was simply burning them all there was to it?”

At my words, Mr. Taeseon twitched both eyebrows. Then his eyes widened slightly before he slowly frowned. It was an attitude of not having expected that.

Originally, Mr. Taeseon didn’t believe in things like spells or shamans at all. It was just that because of what he personally experienced, he had come to… well, accept it to some extent.

That meant he had merely acknowledged it somewhat; it didn’t mean he had started actively embracing related knowledge or superstitions. Therefore, he had almost no understanding of that field. I didn’t know much either, but at the very least, there were things I had seen over the shoulder and naturally heard while following the Shaman around.

That was why I had a faint feeling that simply burning these swaddling clothes wouldn’t be enough. The problem was that if he asked, “Then what should we do?”, I had nothing to say.

“…Sihyeon.”

“Yes?”

“I mean Song Sihyeon. That Alpha bastard who was subtly hitting on you.”

“….”

Regrettably for Mr. Taeseon, I had no memory of Mr. Song Sihyeon hitting on me…. I pretended not to hear his remark and moved on to the next part of the conversation.

“What about Mr. Song Sihyeon?”

“Let’s ask him. He knows the general situation, and he’ll probably know how to handle it.”

When I blinked at the mention of him knowing how to handle it, Mr. Taeseon ran a hand through his hair as if he didn’t quite like the idea and said.

“When he was young, there was a big fuss for a while about him receiving a divine calling and whatnot. Even now, he hasn’t completely let it go and is likely studying it little by little.”

I was even more surprised.

“A divine calling… Did Mr. Sihyeon receive a god? It didn’t seem that way…. How did he avoid it?”

“He goes to church. He’s so devout that I can’t see his face on days when there’s Mass.”

“….”

“He even has a baptismal name. Gabriella.”

“….”

I haven’t been this surprised in nearly a week….

Seeing me frozen in shock, Mr. Taeseon chuckled. Before I knew it, he poured tea into my empty cup and pulled out his phone. He unlocked it and scrolled rapidly, appearing to be rummaging through his contact list.

A moment later, as if he had found Mr. Song Sihyeon’s name, he pulled the phone slightly away and held it to his ear. The dial tone rang for a long time inside the quiet bedroom. When the sound finally rolled over to the voicemail message, Mr. Taeseon pressed the call button again with that specific expression of hiding his irritation.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen that expression. Mr. Taeseon was a person who always showed me a softly smiling face, and only when he absolutely couldn’t help it did he turn his head slightly and make that face.

However, when he perceived me as Inha, he didn’t feel the need to hide his irritation, so he clearly displayed his negative emotions on his face. …My spine still stiffens when I think of those times.

Until then, I had thought that no matter what I did, Mr. Taeseon would accept and love me forever.

I now know another side of Mr. Taeseon. Cold, scary, and heartless. Of course, that was because he treated me that way thinking I was Inha, but anxiety was bound to arise.

However, my thoughts changed at some point. Is there a person who can love another while showing only a perfectly tender side? Mr. Taeseon is human too, and he has various sides. Because of that, I was once anxious that Mr. Taeseon might leave me one day, but now… I think I’ve come to understand him a bit more.

Naturally, if he showed a scary side, I would be frightened, but even then, I felt it would be okay if I thought of it as just one facet of Mr. Taeseon.

Just then, I heard Mr. Taeseon’s voice. His tone was grumpy, though he wasn’t speaking to me.

“Why aren’t you answering the phone?”

― Oh, I came for volunteer work. Making lunchboxes for grandparent-headed families at the church.

Since the ringing tone could be heard, the voice of the person who answered was also fully audible. Volunteering to make lunchboxes for grandparent-headed families. He said he attended church diligently, and it seemed to be true. Actually, it didn’t quite fit the image of Mr. Song Sihyeon that I had seen a few times.

― Mr. Sihyeon, the sesame oil here….

The problem was, not only Mr. Song Sihyeon’s voice but even the voices of people speaking beside him could be heard. Amidst the warm voices of nuns and priests sharing various stories, a quiet male voice intervened.

Mr. Taeseon twitched an eyebrow and said.

“I take it you went with your fiancé?”

― Yeah, we should start going around together.

“I thought you said you didn’t get along very well.”

― …It fluctuates. Today, for some reason, he said he’d follow along. Thanks to that, I got a few photos.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Song Sihyeon whispered in a small voice, sounding as if he were being mindful of his surroundings. It seemed his fiancé had stepped away for a moment.

― But what’s up? You actually calling first.

“I have something to ask…. If you’re busy, should I call back later?”

― No, I’m just seasoning vegetables right now. I can answer simple things.

“It’s not exactly simple.”

― Hmm…. Ask anyway. If I hear it and think I can’t do it, I’ll call you back later.

Mr. Taeseon glanced at me, then placed the phone down on the table and switched to speakerphone. Mr. Song Sihyeon’s voice flowing out became louder.

― What is it then?

“By any chance, do you know how to get rid of a ghost using first swaddling clothes?”

― What kind of sudden, out-of-the-blue nonsense is this?

“Just like I said. You know Yoon Inha, right? Well, some things happened. The swaddling clothes came into my hands.”

― Yoon Inha’s swaddling clothes?

“Yeah.”

― Where did you get those? Did you steal them?

“How could I steal those? I received them, from his mother.”

Before I knew it, the surroundings became quiet, as if Mr. Song Sihyeon had stepped away from the busy spot. He spoke again.

― Hah, I doubt your mother gave them to you.

“…Are you kidding me? My mother-in-law.”

― Yeah, yeah, I was just joking. Anyway, swaddling clothes, you say. Mmm.

Mr. Song Sihyeon was quiet for a moment as if lost in thought, then soon opened his mouth.

― Will you be home today?

“I don’t know, we’ll see.”

― I’ll send someone to your house with the necessary things. Handling such items is better done sooner rather than later, so try to do it within today if possible.

“Within today? Right… I understand. What do we need to do?”

I reflexively leaned toward the speakerphone and focused. Mr. Song Sihyeon spoke quickly, but with a clear voice.

― Go to the sea, whether it’s a breakwater or a beach. There, burn the items I sent along with the swaddling clothes until only ashes remain, and ah, make sure the ashes don’t blow away as much as possible. The wind is strong at the seaside.

“Is there a reason it has to be a breakwater or a beach?”

― What are you talking about. Do you know how dangerous the sea is when it’s just left abandoned? Do you want to end up in the social affairs section of the news? Anyway…. And then take a boat out a little bit, you have the box the swaddling clothes were in, right? Put the ashes in there, place it on a small boat, and set it adrift toward the open sea.

It was quite a long explanation, but I listened with great focus. It is quite similar to the method the Shaman used. Burning it so the ashes don’t scatter, and sending something out toward the open sea on a boat. However, that method….

― And there’s something to be careful of… you have to set it adrift while watching the waves carefully so the boat doesn’t return toward the shore.

“What if it returns?”

Mr. Taeseon asked, having become quite serious. I know that answer too. Mr. Song Sihyeon’s voice reached my somewhat frightened ears.

― If the boat returns, the ghost returns too.

At Mr. Song Sihyeon’s calmly settled voice, a chill ran from my spine to my limbs. The image of Inha returning to the dark breakwater while standing on a small boat was drawn automatically in my mind.

“It certainly would be more stable to go out by boat a bit rather than setting it adrift directly from the breakwater or beach. Other than that? Anything else to be careful of?”

― Nothing. It’s easy if you say it’s easy, and hard if you say it’s hard. Anyway, I’m going to ask the Master, so you won’t need to worry too much.

Just then, a man with a frail voice called Mr. Song Sihyeon.

― Ah, he came to find me. Call me again if you’re curious about anything else.

The call was disconnected just like that. Mr. Taeseon explained, “His fiancé.” I nodded and asked an additional question.

“Mr. Taeseon, the person called ‘the Master’ is….”

“The person who performed the ritual to suppress it when Sihyeon almost became a shaman. He’s still in contact and helps out in various ways, so he calls him Master.”

“Mmm….”

I rolled my eyes. I wondered if that person was a proper shaman. After all, the shamans I’ve seen so far have all, without exception….

As if he noticed my curiosity, Mr. Taeseon answered with a smirk.

“He’s a person of good character. He doesn’t seem to go around scamming people, and the faces of the clients who visit him are all people whose names anyone would recognize. So I think we can trust him.”

“Yes….”

I stared at him blankly because it was fascinating that the words “we can trust a shaman” came out of Mr. Taeseon’s mouth. Then, Mr. Taeseon, perhaps misinterpreting that as some form of expression, suddenly picked me up, carried me over to sit on his lap, and abruptly began touching my whole body and kissing me.

Between a bit of tension, Mr. Taeseon’s body scent, the faint smell of perfume that seemed mixed with water, and sitting there on his lap while hugging his waist and sharing trivial chatter, nearly two hours passed.

When I was half-dozing with my cheek pressed against his chest, I suddenly heard a knock. I was startled and tried to get up, but Mr. Taeseon pressed down on my back and patted me as if I were a baby.

“Please speak from outside.”

“Yes, General Manager. A secretary has brought something, saying it’s items sent by Executive Director Song Sihyeon. What should I do?”

In an instant, Mr. Taeseon and I met each other’s eyes, neither of us being the first to do so, and in that state, he spoke.

“Guide them to the drawing room.”