Chapter 9
That evening.
Yu Hae-won returned to her studio apartment.
She hadn’t actually planned to stay that long, but Park Seong-ho had insisted that she stay a little longer.
Park Su-ho had tried to pay her for exorcising the evil spirit, but she had firmly refused. In the end, she agreed to teach him instead.
After all, he had been homeschooled all this time, so there were some gaps in his studies.
“Maybe it’s because he was ranked first in the entire school, but he was a good teacher, too.”
The parts she had struggled to understand while studying alone suddenly became easy to solve under his guidance.
“This much should be fine, right, Spirit?”
Yu Hae-won looked up at the sky as she spoke. When she received no answer, she chuckled.
Her divine spirit wanted Yu Hae-won to travel the world and help those in need.
In the first place, shamans who had received a divine spirit were supposed to cultivate their minds, give generously to others, and never become greedy.
They could accept payment from those who had money. However, squeezing money out of desperate people or those who couldn’t afford to pay was an act that would incur the wrath of the gods.
Moreover, Yu Hae-won’s divine spirit was a little stricter than most.
Park Su-ho had lost both his parents and was struggling to make ends meet with only his older brother by his side.
How could she ask someone like him for money?
“At least the biggest problem has been taken care of. There’s still one other issue, though.”
Shin Yu-jin, who held a grudge against Park Su-ho, was one problem. The shaman who had blindly carried out their request was another.
That shaman was probably not legitimate.
A true shaman wouldn’t try to harm others with their own power. They knew all too well how such actions would eventually come back to haunt them.
Perhaps the person was a false shaman or an inexperienced one. Or maybe…
“…Just a foolish person blinded by money.”
Honestly, she wanted to teach them a lesson herself.
However, when she searched for the place the spirit had told her about, she discovered that it was a fairly famous shaman’s shrine.
Appointments were booked a month in advance, so she wouldn’t be able to meet them until the following month.
As a student, it would be even harder for her to go there.
“This is when it’s best to ask for help.”
Yu Hae-won took out her phone and checked her contacts.
She had very few contacts besides Park Su-ho. Even among those, every name contained the word shin, meaning a spiritual sibling.
Among them, Yu Hae-won tapped on “Third Spiritual Older Sister.”
Ring… Ring…
After a few rings, the other person answered immediately.
“Little sis! Have you been well?”
At the bright, cheerful voice, Yu Hae-won smiled broadly.
“Of course! Have you been well, too, Unni?”
“Of course I have! Our youngest hasn’t called in ages, and now you’re finally calling me. It must be my lucky day!”
From the very first time they had met, her Third Spiritual Older Sister had welcomed her warmly and treated her like her own younger sister or niece.
Yu Hae-won spoke to her affectionately, with the playful tone of a little sister, catching up on all the things they hadn’t had a chance to discuss.
“I heard you moved to Seoul! How’s school treating you?”
“That’s actually why I called.”
“Why?! Have those good-for-nothing brats been spreading rumors about you again?”
Yu Hae-won heard her sister huffing angrily over the phone, threatening to teach those troublemakers a lesson. She burst into a bright laugh.
“Ha ha ha! It’s not that. Actually, there’s a friend who sits in front of me…”
Yu Hae-won calmed her down and explained everything that had happened so far, from beginning to end.
“…My friend could have died. I don’t know whether they did it knowing what would happen or whether they were unaware, but I don’t think we can just let this go.”
“Honestly, these half-baked fools never know their place and just cause trouble. Tsk, tsk. Don’t worry, little sis. I’ll take care of that shrine myself. Do you think they’re famous because they’re genuinely gifted, no matter how well-known they are? They’ve probably become famous thanks to all that media hype, while going around creating curses like this. Don’t worry about it. Just focus on enjoying school.”
“Thank you, Unni. I’ll definitely come visit you when you have some free time.”
“Of course, of course! It’s been ages since I’ve seen my little sister’s face!”
“Okay! Get some good rest!”
Yu Hae-won had four spiritual siblings in total.
Three spiritual older sisters and one spiritual older brother.
They were genuine shamans scattered across the country, all renowned as mansin, or great shamans.
“That place won’t last much longer.”
With her Third Spiritual Older Sister stepping in, someone who wielded considerable influence even in Seoul, it was only a matter of time before that shrine was shut down.
The following Monday.
Park Su-ho woke up at dawn as usual and arrived at school earlier than anyone else.
Studying in the classroom before everyone else arrived was part of his daily routine.
“I should really be okay now, right?”
Previously, whenever Park Su-ho entered the school, his body would feel heavy and his head would hurt as if it were about to split open. He would become irritable for no reason and take it out on his friends.
Yu Hae-won had assured him that nothing would happen anymore, but he couldn’t help worrying.
He entered the school with a tense heart.
“…I feel completely fine.”
Nothing hurt. His body didn’t feel heavy, and he wasn’t irritable.
She really had exorcised the evil spirit completely.
With a smile on his face, Park Su-ho sat down and began studying.
Before long, his classmates started arriving one by one. Perhaps because he had been so prickly over the past few days, he could tell that they were watching him carefully.
When he heard them whispering among themselves about whether they should talk to him or not, he spoke up.
“Stop whispering and making so much noise. If you have something to say, just come over and say it. What interesting story have you brought today?”
Park Su-ho spoke to his friends as he usually did. Only then did they seem to relax and slowly approach him.
“…Are you feeling better now? Wait, what happened to your leg?”
“What the heck! Are you injured?”
His friends had only just noticed the cast on Park Su-ho’s leg. They looked horrified and gathered around him.
“I twisted it a little on my way home from school last week. It’s nothing, so don’t worry. And about the past few days… I was a little irritable. Sorry.”
Seeing Park Su-ho acting like his usual self again, his friends exchanged glances and smiled.
“Everyone gets irritable sometimes.”
“Good grief, what are we going to do about your leg? How long do you have to wear that thing?”
They spoke as though they didn’t hold his recent behavior against him at all. Park Su-ho burst into laughter, feeling as if he could finally talk comfortably with his friends again after so long.
“Hey, Park Su-ho!”
Just then, Kang Yu-chan, who had gotten into a heated argument with him last Friday, burst through the door.
“You’re dead today—”
He grabbed Park Su-ho by the collar, ready to lash out at him.
“I’m sorry about last time.”
Park Su-ho calmly apologized first.
Kang Yu-chan, who had been about to explode, blinked in confusion.
“Huh? Are you scared now? What kind of ridiculous apology is that?”
“Su-ho said he’s sorry. And can’t you see he’s a patient right now?”
“Don’t tell me you’re actually going to fight a guy with a broken leg?”
Only after hearing his classmates’ remarks did Kang Yu-chan notice the cast on Park Su-ho’s leg.
However, he hesitated, unsure what to do. If he backed down now, he would lose face.
Just then, a cheerful voice rang out.
“Hi, Su-ho!”
He turned his head and saw the transfer student, Yu Hae-won, walking in with a bright smile.
“How are you feeling today?”
“I’m fine. My head doesn’t hurt anymore, either.”
“That’s a relief! Don’t overdo it with your leg, either. The doctor said you had to be careful for two weeks, remember?”
Their classmates blinked at how close the two seemed.
Kang Yu-chan, in particular, had been very interested in Yu Hae-won. His eyes widened in surprise.
“Hae-won! How do you know about his leg?”
“Because I took him to the hospital? He almost got hit by a car.”
“Hey! You said you only twisted it!”
While the other students were shocked to learn what had actually happened to Park Su-ho, Kang Yu-chan was displeased that Yu Hae-won seemed so close to him.
He clicked his tongue and eventually returned to his seat. Yu Hae-won sat down behind Park Su-ho.
Just as she was about to unpack her things, she suddenly raised her head and looked toward the back door of the classroom.
A male student with dark circles under his eyes stood there, pacing nervously.
Before long, he entered the classroom.
“Su-ho! Can I talk to you for a moment?”
Park Su-ho had turned around with a smile, but his expression instantly hardened.
He glanced at Yu Hae-won, then stood up with the help of his crutches.
Only after the two disappeared into the hallway did Yu Hae-won ask Park Su-ho’s friends a question.
“Um, who was that boy just now?”
“Shin Yu-jin. He’s in the class two doors down.”
“He’s always competing with Su-ho for first and second place in the school rankings.”
“Honestly, smart guys like him are always so annoying.”
Yu Hae-won realized that Shin Yu-jin was the one who had cursed Park Su-ho.
When Shin Yu-jin came looking for him, Park Su-ho had wanted to punch him square in the face right away.
However, Shin Yu-jin’s face, which had looked so smooth and healthy just last week, had turned dark and sallow. He also seemed restless and uneasy, so Park Su-ho willingly followed him outside.
Shin Yu-jin led Park Su-ho to a corner of the stairwell. As soon as they arrived, Shin Yu-jin glanced at Park Su-ho’s cast.
“Your leg… You got hurt?”
“Yeah, I almost got into a car accident. I might have died if my friend hadn’t been there.”
Park Su-ho deliberately exaggerated as he watched Shin Yu-jin’s reaction.
A glint flashed in Shin Yu-jin’s hollow eyes. The emotion lurking within them was almost delight.
The corners of his mouth began to rise, but he stopped himself and forced them downward, pretending to look concerned.
“Oh, no… You should have been more careful. It’s because you’ve been so low on energy lately. My mom was worried about you, too, so she bought you some supplements. Here, take these. They’re good for your bones, too.”
With that, he handed Park Su-ho some expensive-looking nutritional supplements.
In the past, Park Su-ho would have been so grateful for his kindness that he wouldn’t have known what to do.
But now, Park Su-ho’s eyes were ice-cold as he looked down at the supplements.
No, they were colder than ice. Rage was surging inside him.
Park Su-ho slapped the supplements out of Shin Yu-jin’s hand with the back of his own hand.
Clatter— Rumble…
The bottle fell to the floor, and Shin Yu-jin’s eyes widened.
“Do you have any idea how precious those are…?!”
His face twisted into an expression Park Su-ho had never seen before as he burst out in anger.
Park Su-ho looked at Shin Yu-jin with an indifferent gaze.
