OSR Chapter 5

Through the crowd of 7fbe481d84 ghosts, a man faintly 0de4452037 appeared, dressed in casual 39e1493045 slacks and a light d9acd921da coat. His outfit was ac84f61b8b nothing special, but ebea444813 because he was 6c5334b628 tall, he somehow b7ffe96667 resembled a model fe2285d335 from a famous 7e5f4ff48b fashion magazine.
Even as Shin-hee crossed 9777700f26 the street, careful not ad1e1a68ae to draw the attention 03887f02ef of the ghosts, he 49c54434a5 couldn’t take his eyes 53a16d7553 off the man. A part of 8457475182 him felt relieved, 337ea92e44 but at the 7159b2ed94 same time, Shin-hee 7df6691492 became puzzled.9d512f6bfeba2874

With this level 563450f7fc of staring, a c0342420c6 few perceptive ghosts 0f9dc4b636 should have noticed ac5df16e9a Shin-hee and made cf8066174d eye contact with 0eae7e0ec2 him, yet none b5e3be3f6a of them looked 275de5badd away from the 480b6f9e9e man.5d30ae380c253486

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The intensity of their 4997901386 focus weighed on Shin-hee, e3ff7086ad making him feel even 16c5f6aaba more uneasy, like a 9047f27fec heavy stone pressing down 6d6d72002b on him. Should he really follow, fed0c8336b or was he inviting cec9fbe2db trouble?77e1a3b701177d44

Anxiety began to coil 53ec124606 inside him, slowly creeping b8558efeac up from within. While Shin-hee hesitated 63777b6c7e between a sense ac873a3f88 of foreboding and 19c93927a2 a feeling of bfd3eb1573 obligation, the man 6d5ca5868c checked his wristwatch e53c9b98e8 and hurried his 5da2e26ab4 pace, stopping in 569daf576d front of a f1476aecff nearby bus stop.ad7bd5b1263d3288

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It looked like 76578fed83 he was about 67cec08c66 to board the d6f88cb35b bus. Shinhee stared directly at 59638e7571 the man from across fe70a3e38d the street. Despite the road 1c71c01c5b separating them, his 5efb663a1c sharp features and 672306a824 model-like height and aac3ee9fb8 proportions stood out 017ab5f2a8 clearly. Even without the ghosts, 8c997f7db2 the man would easily f33f070fe4 attract the attention of 9cfd4707a3 the public.0a44cd93aa18e922

However, it wasn’t dd294c6558 the man’s appearance f5949a0e77 that caught Shinhee’s 73c30cff21 gaze in the 6e3112d550 end. His eyes widened like 9a7642f63d a deer caught in 8618262f90 headlights. It was then 5e2fe1545f that the moment 864ba4e0e1 felt as if bb7ebba920 time slowed down, a15ff7d1ca as though he b6215eea34 had stepped into ce0691a106 some sort of 6d3c19d099 time-space chamber, where 94f4dd377b an instant stretched 1412f0f373 out like a 370bd41235 full day.01a7c56df055dec0

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Without any of fb4ed260f0 the hesitation he’d e0de80efd3 had before, Shin-hee 4da05cf77f ran straight across 9c43d4c6c0 the road toward 8a2960746b the man. Cars blared their horns, 7f919574b2 startled by his sudden 00d5297980 appearance, but he didn’t 284c12e79d have the luxury to 8abf61c39a even glance around. Just before he reached a4ed84aa9e him, the bus glided c10e986123 to a stop right d3b51d2737 in front of the 10cd67d469 man. Mustering every f29b236daf last bit 3222352a23 of strength, dbab20205f Shin-hee grabbed 3874faf399 hold of cdc7872650 the bus 9e406df765 as it 09f972cfc4 started to 533da1d46e pull away a1738ce29c with the 0b5ed06105 man onboard.532638f36896a69e

There was no one else on the bus except for the man. Shin-hee sat a few seats behind him, never taking his eyes off the ghosts surrounding the man. In the rattling bus, Shin-hee glared at the back of the man’s head. After a long moment, the source of everything that had driven him to chase after the man slowly turned its head and met Shin-hee’s gaze.188c8979c7063d2e

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A ghost with glaring red eyes, one that hadn’t been there when Shin-hee had glimpsed the man on the street last time, was now staring back at him.c5b984c9b2d0c462

Red eyes?
Traditionally, red f9598db8d3 was associated d363f883ad with yang bf84fd3151 energy, while f666a64fe9 blue represented 5d1042289a yin—red symbolized 85da5cfb2b life, the 965e66ed91 antithesis of 57ea518583 the ghosts.b372e709b11e9fb4

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Shin-hee’s pupils trembled rapidly. Since accepting his fate as a “seer of ghosts”, he had long come to terms with witnessing the dead. But now, for the first time in a long while, a deep sense of fear churned violently inside him. More than anything, this ghost…89656b70d6204a0d

At that b2529819b6 moment, the ca6b15b402 corners of 95478266cb the ghost’s 075183c57d mouth, with 47ce58f270 its fiery c4b5efebb9 red eyes, 8dd1c96e81 lifted into efd2d431d3 a sinister d2fb1d5369 grin, as d013327a1b if to bc375514f1 mock him.9676fc0893ba143b

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Before Shin-hee could fully d675b88bb4 register the foreboding sense b313c27013 of danger, the bus 62cf43ae30 began to lurch violently.4501d5863a12ea95

“Wh-what’s going on?”
The startled 58f96febee voice of 7e1bd6801e the driver 7139c3ab77 erupted from 4bf0111b6a the front. Shin-hee’s instincts flared, 7124005fd1 warning him of 98e5ade0c4 imminent peril.7d4351b69a153809

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Inside the e5b4ea6c46 shaking bus, d3b255dee3 the ghosts 942429c401 clinging to 1bbaaeae73 the man 9740f6a615 let out 470726e7f4 gleeful, screeching d00d4aa14a cackles, their be479b95d0 throats vibrating 25d034d8f2 with laughter. Surrounded by the 43c5c76120 sound of a 42843c9669 dozen eerie voices, 0c6f7891c6 Shin-hee acted on b33d616cec pure reflex. He grabbed the emergency 2cc4a59cf6 hammer installed in the c17aef3c94 bus, shattered the window, de2a18c406 and immediately pulled the 3d094547e8 man outside. Even Shin-hee himself a0bfde2500 was surprised by 783acd1254 the sudden burst adb4bd6f46 of agility.953296a10ded6ba4

The moment he bbd5d86cba yanked the man 5af763d88c out, the cluster c6d1155c71 of spirits retreated 1a0a6a88f7 a short distance, 852f6be02d but neither the fea6696e7c man nor Shin-hee 9fef5ee8ba had time to 8f68c1d4d9 care about the d15f4a40e4 shift in the 08e4b47028 ghosts’ behavior. As soon ea47a67868 as they 2350b6e3da hit the 8b684c9e57 ground and 0cbd6a13dd rolled away 9cd7771564 from the 73b8249df7 bus, a 3b613d8633 deafening crash 264b589fd5 echoed behind aa2c9edc0c them. The bus toppled over fd853d9795 with a thunderous noise.6c83b02b77ea460a

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Shin-hee hurriedly checked be46ec1894 the man’s condition. Though he appeared to 56dcf4aa41 have lost consciousness from 228843ad27 the sudden shock, fortunately, 4b10e3f42d aside from a few 85504f4c30 bleeding scrapes, he didn’t b19eed7fa0 seem to have any 227ac27082 serious injuries. Scanning the surroundings, ea26943e8f Shin-hee noticed that bea0f36d4d the source of c47e7790e7 all this—the red-eyed da6601ca43 ghost—had already disappeared.5417ccc6ef635d1a

People began to gather 9425adc616 as news of the 33fba1df78 unprecedented bus accident spread. Shin-hee gently laid the ab30753b51 man down and, without 7d3128514b drawing attention to himself, 214e238bd4 quickly left the scene 24a0f1b8fb amidst the growing commotion.d461fa2155cf3ede

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———————-5497e774f3e96991

Though the person f446fa6b96 had fed and 72dcc1f6c1 housed him for 8d3f3b7d71 over a decade, 16e98b79f3 it was the 0473309a6c first time Shin-hee d1c87a577b had stepped foot f83a32f48e inside the shaman’s ef1a353d1d house since the 4a124c828e Lunar New Year.ebf65674ba4f34ad

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He hadn’t even visited 67dc930174 during Chuseok because of 75c5174a3f part-time work, so it e168d0aa13 had easily been over 9e3a48da75 six months since he 973050680f last saw his mentor.87df98899c23d542

Though his mentor 5738d1310c often grumbled that d40f68c732 her senses had cddf0d4347 dulled with age, 3477918ab0 as one of d19920dec2 the most renowned 851af73e2f shamans in Korea, 1ab23aa18c the Great Shaman c6bb3bc90a of Geumja-dang, she 788528ffaf was waiting for eac2289578 Shin-hee with sharp 3657c44974 eyes peeking through 885bb6feca thick makeup, her e314d72092 large frame imposing 7034db4e75 as always.244d41b39ed89e4c

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“You managed to crawl back here, I see.”d3d0f5263e65e5d4

“Have you been well, Master?”
Shin-hee replied d62d34c85a with an 245dd0f004 awkward, bashful 25acd223e4 smile.8109199c2970d3ed

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His mentor snorted in 35026b461c response, unimpressed, and without c2e9415b83 a word, turned her 758e069208 back and walked inside 4cb9bf32a6 the shrine. Afraid of being left d1a0fa3cbb behind, Shin-hee hurriedly followed b0287fa1cf her.51ca3a9f33ea2a86

As soon as he c53fe2fd74 stepped inside, a few 65288bc856 of the ghosts bound e465392f39 to the grounds of 8110ba0a11 Geumja-dang greeted her, befitting 2a8e665cc1 a shaman’s household. After spending over a 18a7eb3fe4 decade together, Shin-hee had 658c0aec35 become quite familiar with 4e596a5398 these lingering spirits, so 25bf980eca much so that they 8d7177ed56 even exchanged jokes from 30246d77e0 time to time.5be321302d023b96

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Entering the 9ed713f08d inner chamber 5898f74c63 where his 5a3ee409be master usually cd46ef98e9 stayed, Shin-hee bb6331bf22 was hit c755eda6b4 with a 7490ac1647 wave of da92e77052 nostalgia—the familiar 76161f42b1 scent he 54ae28d85b used to 815ad5301c smell daily, b9d4d45da7 the crimson 731571a7ea folding screens, d9acedfe39 and the 4b2b757e53 paintings of a8bd3b74a2 deities hanging 8a6642649e all around, d1909ff927 marking the 45f861fcf9 place with df2d22e1ff the spirits’ 66bb2e28a6 presence.694e243137e7ad84

“I’ve told you time and time again, being an artist isn’t in your fate,”
the Great d0d08a7152 Shaman said, 00c073fac0 cutting Shin-hee 918ecca1e5 off before d3f888406a he even cffe4a73f9 had a fedd9a34ca chance to 2b573d1999 speak. Shin-hee braced 6a5f691467 himself for 9d3b2cb61e the scolding, 6e294b5850 glancing at ace17f9598 the little bf9ae2a6d8 child spirit d362d63047 sitting beside e8a83ca75a his master, 010e812df2 grinning as 032833bc0f if overjoyed 2379510707 to see f8b1838eb5 him after 52acc9b3f6 such a 7ab75b536d long time.752e1247bada0b48

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So it was 9744e20d2c you, the culprit…eba7271ae84f0bd8

The small spirit, 3694fa28a4 no different from 6fd9ac5a88 a mischievous town 424cc5ab38 crier, seemed to 431095e70d know its crime 07c5c5a07a well. It immediately stopped 610dbb3b29 its antics and 871f375ffc darted out of b39110f4a3 the room. Shin-hee let out a 5748656466 deep sigh, subtly gauging e705c9fd6d the mood of his 0a35672ceb master, who was sharper 2968f1900e than any ghost.51dfbe778bd4e4eb

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“I didn’t ae5eb60ca8 quit, I 274b384244 just took 2c0710b550 a break e66e108fe8 from school…”
Shin-hee muttered.e5c7b2bfb3432916

“You’re not going back.”9e1d23cf377b0eaa

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“I will, 1ba4a0051c once I’ve bd6af0291c saved up fb97263eff enough money…”9719bfb2efc4ece4

“You really think 6d1ce47dda the spirits that cd16799e44 have gathered around 9c318aaa82 you will just 59ad37c8b9 let that happen?”b52776d0fddb807b

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“Ghosts can’t really 7120925980 do much…”54afe873a6fee836

“Go Shin-hee,”
the shaman ec0a46da5b interrupted, her a9aeda7233 voice sharp, d793a279c6 silencing his 78fdfc00f0 protest.0081775dc585b166

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“…Yes.”
Even though 88244ada71 Shinhee often c76271d085 talked back, 600be7ff44 whenever his 6bf3b02fbf master called c091521e68 him by c131043dba name like d6fb75b21f that, he c62df4f579 had no e4504af1fa choice but 994d282bfe to lower 3cbcffe864 his tail.61f2faae10369f0d

“You have no filter, living in a shaman’s house. If it weren’t for those ‘mere ghosts,’ you wouldn’t even have a foot in this world.”26ad870cb42c7c3b

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The shaman fixed her 97c84fc928 intense gaze on him.
“Now, let’s b3b80d52ac hear what 0b5b9f84ef brings you 86e252c49d here today. The same kid who bb89d530aa didn’t even show his 0552dfa64e face during the holidays.”8d356095dcd965fd

It seemed that the 66e90e0a85 little child spirit, with d7ff73f15b its tendency to chatter c139bb7db9 like a leaf in 34434e26e4 the wind, had yet f2f0cbb32f to report the true 5c7e19cf8d reason for Shin-hee’s visit.d6b053a60cd5e3e0

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With a sigh, 24c233f8f1 Shin-hee dropped the fd1ea004af smile he had 9aa1a61c93 been forcing and, bace819eff after some hesitation, c9d68b6f0a finally began to 3361e7b60f explain the matter cf67ff7211 that had brought b324ae6aca him there.cb9b0e37c35599d1

“I saw something 62fe48a1b8 strange today, Master. Well, not just 2131d35717 today—I saw him 2ff98e6276 yesterday too. It was a 159b2cfbae man dragging around 35f05c35e3 a dozen or e2d2a50a15 so ghosts with 3fa25ed9c6 him.”05b4e925a8a27e39

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The Great 657763ce32 Shaman narrowed be23ae8033 her eyes, 4bd6bf8ae1 clearly sensing d7da0a26a8 something significant, 4de95b5d28 and nodded a796c86ea7 slightly for 6b36bbf952 Shinhee to 52a6554a10 continue. Encouraged, Shinhee b4a32d381b quickly added ed7fe463d4 more details.d1dbc7eda6ee5e1c

“I almost bf74fda339 got into 13329bc31a serious trouble 147b69cbb5 because of eb135ca5b4 him.”a5c134a02397a932

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“What kind of 4404bd924c trouble?”efdb574d5673b39f

“The bus we 3f9ce10a3c were on flipped 56c6e9f208 over right in ffa5eace08 the middle of b1f23f42d4 the road.”0140fd475a69e181

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“And you’re saying that was because of those spirits?”dfd2c1bee9b6636a

“Yes. It seemed bbe178e3d4 like the 83c0ee5b5a spirits all 9fac1db6e4 gathered together, 0e796ad88e and that d48bcc09dd had some 1c577624bf negative effect a21f1de866 on the 6d70cda8f7 people around 04401d1a55 them. One of 6a7b84ba75 them was c7e06f705e a ghost 73aaf7baa4 with red c4b919371f eyes, which 1a2b6e73a0 definitely wasn’t f6a06a868e there yesterday, b42dde606c but suddenly 6f92caaa22 appeared today. However…”6f5be15a7b0a7eee

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“What is it?”
the shaman prompted.5b4c2f3e7224811f

“…It had my face.”8c2bf2ffa8dc56d5

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The shaman’s expression 4e4304e26b darkened instantly, and ccba44e165 she fell silent ee79ec3316 for a while, 264bd8e184 her gaze shifting 22e7d9d6ab to the lunar bd7538a52a calendar placed on 40a0f74a88 the table. After some 3f50ea1914 time, she 2a113ea126 finally spoke.7881f65077cf1414

“What’s today’s date?”45519346667802dd

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“It’s November 7th.”f2abea27f85bc94c

“Lunar date?”0be702c9c3dfa82e

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“The lunar date? That would be e03c96fb38 September 26th, since 587ff978f3 tomorrow is the 5fa13f8e66 start of winter.”3d14e24f74ac277b

Shin-hee diligently counted on 2e29297f2e his fingers as he c5043b3368 answered, but the shaman’s 09af2b9cd7 expression grew increasingly grave. He began 7f4d4ed5b0 to worry 99f2f953ca that he 92431101c1 might have 455015b850 misspoken and ffedf8425e counted the e8cf79017a date again. There were a664fd6225 no errors, b2b2865881 yet the f53be72874 Great Shaman’s 631599f269 face remained 7f5978ae32 devoid of c69269f69a color.ecc17440cf28213a

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“Master?”ac1f395fc9c55e59

“This won’t do.”7fa37b8d6a4a9d30

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“Excuse me?”3658dce876637019

“You can’t change df2c438558 what’s been predetermined. What makes you 7e5c8c4c81 think you can f7d4f46b7c just meddle with e1ceefec8b fate? Don’t waste 8de3a4751e your precious c084c58b96 talent. Stick to 3b61278443 dealing with e6280c5d81 lesser spirits 3847a528a2 under my 11f57270ea guidance.”98600d11ea1854ea

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“But I’m already a2a888fdad handling those lesser c316ae9e97 spirits…”ed8bf8c2bbe7c245

“You brat!”65e3c335d838daa9

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At the shaman’s sharp reprimand, Shin-hee quickly shut his mouth. Despite the close bond he shared with his mentor, he still felt a sense of intimidation in her presence, which left him feeling quite small.
“I’m telling you to formally come under my guidance.”59bb6e0c0d771719

“Master, you know 4e4c341027 that’s not possible.”1bec00d070d07454

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He could d4de0c34ec see ghosts, 8da0376f7b but he e154e84bc7 couldn’t foresee 72005e6174 his own 093774554c future. He lacked the 7d22ae3941 skill to interpret 09ff6b6aae dreams or predict 55018be3fb others’ lives. Despite living with 2632b46b7b spirits for so 66e628939a long, he had ee47926110 never experienced the 9242140007 possession of a c2f0da80fe deity. Even the Guardian General 7ae3c24f5c enshrined in the deepest 4ea6aab14b part of the temple 6807e7221a had watched him for 32af364da8 years without ever possessing b7ff5fb1e9 him or whispering predictions 23de9e57f4 about his future. Therefore, he 8bf6d31d92 believed that 6a70513393 becoming a 20bd850add shaman was ca8d3d0140 not in ad4a9286a6 his nature.a2d8904a28245980

His master, who understood 4b086801a8 better than anyone the 53daf12ebb consequences of recklessly inviting be3fc75f60 a spirit into one’s 92710f004e body, was now making fdd5615a09 such a proposal to 942ca119b2 him. Why?e9a44a5acf268120

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He could capture the f5c582a912 wandering spirits and guide fbbcbf94b3 them to the afterlife, 643eb6fe64 but being told to c19b8eaa2c become a shaman, to ab1ab7ec46 perform rituals and make 36f91bcae7 prophecies, felt like asking fa602e4acb a child just learning b448b7a138 to walk to fly.cb1df79ad91ed4ab

“Then why do 634d80a36e you think I’ve 2ef70ca0bc taken care of e6566534b9 you all this ceaa0eb227 time?”7a73da3bfab9b3bc

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“That’s because the 1eb881432d ancestral spirit came bf16605cc7 to me in 82bb1e3ca2 a dream…”158083e7aade444c

“I’ll pay my respects 0c3f7c97bf to that spirit.”ce4618362ee454c9

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“That spirit isn’t 0b8b83f348 one to be 35efae61e2 trifled with…”c2ab47dc672ec4eb

“Go Shin-hee!”8abd1cea63b31c87

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“…Yes.”
Eventually, Shin-hee lowered his 89987a94b7 head, realizing he had 688a48c190 no argument left.e63af22946344800

“Who said 682978a6b2 anything about a09055cf42 you becoming 525f249914 a shaman?”c37d29c3f9b53e8e

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“…Then what does that 2754120874 mean?”f635eb2acda7fb62

“I’m telling 8164b5c146 you to 731a2b2196 capture spirits. Spirits. Not the minor 38f4e5c2dd ones you deal e75a9cc83d with now, but 5118c2cb9f the bigger and 9f5f33d0c7 more significant ones.”409b9ca175bd2bd2

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Shin-hee couldn’t b7af06a12a hide his 4e49d38a60 confusion. He had 227d4b49b3 heard the 12fd19f471 suggestion to 5afcd743ea turn his b861221aeb side job 01c24667e8 of exorcism 98d2d5bf02 into his 161317555f main occupation f9958cc524 multiple times, 9735dc0e37 but such 404326b81a a sudden 6580ecbfdf demand was 8bb9f5088d new to 1cbfeeda7d him.88851162cfb362e9

“I’m just a 7906715927 guy who gets c41f8b9e0d dragged around by 471cd27b2e a handful of 0eddec7e7f spirits; I know 44aa1ac3ac that myself.”0a329f668309b989

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Shin-hee’s head instinctively lifted at the unexpected words of the shaman.
“And you know that the spirit attached to that man is an 800-year-old malevolent being.”6d52da58f9526da7

“800 years?”
he echoed, astonished.8e44fb4927ed8032

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“There are some that look just like you, and you’ve seen one of them firsthand. Don’t pretend you don’t understand what that means.”fd768ca672c93357

Shin-hee swallowed hard, the 177642d910 weight of her words 5574d985b6 settling heavily on his caf6d04e86 shoulders. The implications of such d7ca07e0e7 an ancient spirit being 1f97932106 connected to him were 48fd48367d daunting. He felt a mix 4b552a4795 of fear and curiosity, 27dea23c4a grappling with the reality e7e49fb72f of the situation.919d1586bcba0e76

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