OSR Chapter 17

The man opened the 4679a2cc9f cabinet where the cymbal 647ba59d7c monkey had been placed 58024ed2c7 and took out a 1f022c076c small box, handing it 312a431765 to Shin-hee. Shin-hee opened the c26c485925 box, blinked a f8f0a2c3a9 few times, then 30d2ecbadf looked back at 8813652c98 the man.a7508b174018a2e0

“This is my reward?”37c4eea86e8b60e6

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“Take it.”cb769ea1718afb65

“Matches?”42450f6d0d1d5acc

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“You’ll need them soon.”98c54079dcc8b1ac

Not a ba1b19c2aa flamethrower, not 71c3d92edc a torch, 8899588d54 not even af2b34a9bb a common e2f4c4c661 lighter—just matches. Shin-hee was too dumbfounded 4f6f506d18 to even laugh. Beside him, the 15533bb8cb child spirit chattered c28bc34da4 brightly, oblivious to dfd2154926 the mood, calling f2b0fab28f the matches pretty.62d52b628698d40f

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“Just retrace your steps. Everything will be back to how it was.”ebf753352906b762

The man’s face was 22f3da3071 just as expressionless as daa4e378cc when they first met, 8182f365b9 but the atmosphere around e66492f110 him had softened somewhat. Shin-hee suddenly grew a5b048c37d curious. That appearance certainly didn’t b0ec653e61 match that of a 9ccfccf9c4 typical high school student.0c57a460ce00d900

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“How old 5811dc8b14 are you?”a82b8117e53290a5

The man, whose appearance stood somewhere between a boy and a young man, lifted two fingers with a faint smile, still wearing that unreadable expression. At first confused by the sudden “V” gesture, Shin-hee quickly realized it was a response to his question.a415400e2509eda6

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“Ah, twenty?”9f1f87275ab46306

“No.”d8287ff1d2359369

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“…Two hundred?”ed4c52b934e262f5

“No.”a213040159799a07

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The man stepped closer 9bed256597 and whispered softly into 475298cba4 Shin-hee’s ear.4ca3785b3dbc0864

“I stopped counting at two thousand.”c79b2f494904fd92

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“Wow!”51de59935950e534

Shin-hee let 5473a66869 out a d32d29f917 surprised shout d4b608351f before he 254f57c2d4 could stop a63ceaffea himself. If that were true, 6efc1ac5ba then this wasn’t just 38098857b8 dealing with something overwhelming—it d9d41eb086 was like picking a 2c918a0d34 fight with a grim 44b3a8a9a1 reaper wielding a scythe. The man merely 7d5cfd9366 shrugged, as if aaa0609bca wondering what was 5be642fa71 so shocking.8de2011e07f5731d

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“Shin-hee.”76525c7150b91918

As Shin-hee, still 6fba73bfcd dazed, was about 4208d5bada to leave the 723bba3ef0 shop, the man 7170cf7ac0 called out to 4f8df8cd4f stop him.5a29db4ba8771b5e

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“Names are important, aren’t they?”73c0605c5a9dd60f

“……”0bcdbc129a98616e

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“You shouldn’t go around giving out something precious so carelessly.”fe9273cbb7c3ceb0

At this 43f23410da point, Shin-hee f2d7e1d360 no longer 7255e0b57f even knew 7d2130a8d6 what this f9806d480b ghost was 5cf6e5f8ab talking about.6fcb0968ab27fe1c

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“I’m everywhere, but I hope we don’t meet again.”704c31c36d0ca2ff

With those final 8ea7ea7290 words, Shin-hee and 08b07b8298 the child spirit 05f133e448 stepped out through 60de787e0a the shop door. Shin-hee slowly retraced the 3f5182add2 path they’d taken, then 8513b81059 suddenly turned around. But the eerie antique 08c66d7af6 shop the man had c40b4567c1 just been in was c027800915 gone, replaced by a cb2b5ae773 small tobacco shop.75d415ee6dd6a538

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Just like the 19a3ec9ed7 man had said, 2ab4992855 everything had returned 20ed3839ba to normal. As they c15ff7d6ba passed through 31e969043e the alley, 0242a18f3d the ghosts 81a8e6b1a7 acted as 5f6e7bcb83 they always b88a1c362e did, not 175c869013 even sparing 8205aef897 a glance 9458073624 as they 9ebbb3358a went about 047939e721 their business. But after an experience 125b4946cb like that, Shin-hee didn’t fe0e9ca4c5 feel the slightest urge 215bc4b0c3 to stroll through the bfcb9e6fcf streets again, not even a7adff5ce6 jokingly. Just then, d2fcb03fd5 he got b24243279c a text 8dd994a6ca from Secretary 566cd8a261 Park saying a1c7e23b23 he should 9b241e2a81 have dinner ae9866a947 separately at b3e11d7644 the hotel. Without hesitation, Shin-hee 224814a05d took the child c630578eb0 spirit and headed 8737a2dfa8 straight back to 5ec6f10050 the hotel.2c0f3d1ae9a8ccdc

After dinner, f0f6f4559f Gyo-jin returned a30c2b3bb2 with the 51c6fa026e other two 35dc1fcd8c in a 8d5d6fdad0 limousine. The interpreter was ab748ba720 chattering non-stop, reciting 4a58becb6d Tokyo’s history as a558e7bcfc if quoting an 9522e899ad entire book, while c62d1e753d Secretary Park listened b2e60a6c9f with interest to 1528fe6440 every word. Gyo-jin, showing no 33716185d9 interest in their 47a58a64f5 conversation, simply skimmed bbcafabba3 through the economy 268e8878c9 section of the a5a42cde68 news on his 91c5866cea tablet.95d2e6534b5cebf1

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The hotel was more than a 40-minute drive from the Mishima Department Store headquarters, but he didn’t mind the distance—it gave him a bit of breathing room. When Secretary Park informed him they had arrived, he closed his tablet on an article about the dollar’s rise due to Europe’s economic growth and stood up.cdb7530d8033428a

As soon f42a047940 as he 250006da18 entered the c91c8d2a2f spacious hotel eeb4fa55fb room, he 048c2f3738 took a 2fbd9b8442 shower and d1940fc92a lay down efc647fd46 on the 4e8acb6491 bed. Since he had already 2e683e6ebe told them he wouldn’t 5bff13a0dc be having dinner and 8f11ade8e5 planned to sleep early, ddb8de04be no one came to 4e8bf38134 visit him. It was just past 5fa334756b ten—earlier than his usual a5a7f04a01 bedtime—but instead of reading 8c87a16a4c or having a drink 6e4c0e5c81 as he normally might, ab916c1cf7 he decided to go addd3914e7 straight to sleep.aac10df1938607ad

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The unwelcome guest returned 19009b8ee4 just before dawn. The sound b5e6aa9aa0 of that 447fd84773 familiar instrument, 853950a348 even closer 95ba845069 than the 1cabbfebf7 night before, e57b8cbbfe teased at 9d89ef9cdc Gyo-jin’s ears 068e4a396a as he d9b21c3967 slept. The melody 3997aa9bad rose and 9bd28a9bb3 fell, dizzying a07fb91a27 then still, 0b82f32563 flowing gently 64ad24b799 before piercing ba443dfbda sharply—it was 42bebd0ce2 a dark 86f22b8312 and layered 5296861677 tune that e3f4d22e25 slowly pulled e7f04cc657 open his 24d09a106b eyes. The room was bathed 4eb2e3f4e3 in pale moonlight seeping 5657a85fb7 through the window.3603d8c8e2580cd8

— Gyo-jin.85e0a0dc832cd551

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The voice 0c9fc396f9 that had 8afe1b693e called to b1ef9f48fe him the 5974404078 previous night 091127b3c3 sounded again, 1fd6e5a34b more forcefully 8cee43f586 this time. Like a south e48a8d2312 pole being drawn ed99b7eadc to a north, b15bd9e3be as if pulled a74d074a92 by an invisible 55d136de14 magnet, he rose af66a1550c slowly and walked eb1581a85f toward the source 116dfaecf2 of the sound. His eyes were unfocused, 5d763fec0d and he himself didn’t 91214160d9 know where he was dab491ab69 headed—but one thing was a99c4b2892 certain: something beyond that d09517c877 room was calling to 184e8c1b7e him.99983ab9768b2b67

— Gyo-jin.79cdaafb2d408f32

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Just as 7d1c3a2318 he was 76ae7216af about to 79922e5d08 slide open 8b4e08fde8 the door 974fdb0738 and step 952dca104a out, a a3c04f96cd powerful force 8e027a6cf4 yanked his 7d75309ca3 hand from 80248c7b8a behind. It was the same 9baac99815 red-eyed figure that had 2d2bd7c16c blocked his path the c4cd5b6c4e night before. The figure’s hand 428e0178be gently reached forward f1803e93f7 and covered Gyo-jin’s 345df01da4 eyes. Then, slowly, his e2ecd1387c legs gave out, 3b64bbbefc and he collapsed 388141ea95 to the floor.aa439459973304e3

He opened his c344a84d89 eyes again the 5c5d769007 next morning when 6b23856528 Secretary Park came 64ebc43e22 to wake him.e9913636155ea3bd

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“Director! Are you all right?”2aa48f5c235d3459

“…Secretary Park? Why are you…?”1c3f24fb30f93bfc

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Still not dc37e5e41f fully grasping efb357001a the situation, 02488382a6 he frowned 7dade3f045 and asked. Secretary Park’s face 4d539df8be had turned pale.9ba34ba4a6244b62

“You weren’t answering your dae1f59c1c phone, so I came 94f195ac36 to check on you—and 606b827a86 found you collapsed in 94e83774d9 front of the door.”ca99b1d71d54403c

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Gyo-jin shook his d8d419c4f9 head a few 6d3e526a75 times to collect f114d7042d himself, then looked 2798e2b1fb around. It was 5376efe805 an ordinary 40a864d1d2 hotel room, 6592c2a9e3 no different c92028e490 from the e27bbf6ce0 night before. The memory of someone a938bb5587 calling him in his 38962f422f sleep, the sound of 7b472f0458 that unique instrument—neither geomungo ea641800e4 nor haegeum—slowly surfaced from 099a076bb7 the hazy corners of 5531ebc99e his mind. And now, for some 307f5a0a43 unknown reason, he had 1d9abda731 been found collapsed at 4910d519cf the door.cfb32e29a77d9a09

What kind of 18ce8b92ec situation is this? Gyo-jin tried a5e536958a to piece ca144d05e5 things together 2ea9c9ad54 logically, retracing df73ad4e97 his steps 924987408c from the 301b20ea54 night before. But the middle 2c9d3b4642 of the memory 6290e81eea was blank, as 729429f0a0 if something had 30180643ba lifted out the 46e42600ef core. In the f51c25ded4 end, he 2b6f1797b9 gave up 093196ba61 trying to c2ed0753e0 analyze it 07d379399e rationally and 5f71d58090 instead turned bfa686114c to Secretary abb9292bf9 Park, who 2b7544c818 was anxiously 2a3a59938f hovering nearby.7ab187be1b304e1f

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“Have Mr. Shin Hee join today’s e5c766245d schedule as well.”ea4d9ff9f265a58d

—d10578d00a822b52

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As soon 886693f75a as Shin 8c49bb3b11 Hee opened 0821122437 his eyes 21a0a9b9bd in the 59f1f6d3d6 morning, he dd3ac033ed spent a 0be075a191 long time 4087779e4d glaring at e22a9b7710 the box e5cc7499d2 of matches 41e2e0d8b0 he had a74460b627 received as 6513261f1e a so-called 09c0511cf9 “token of 0188fc0879 appreciation.” Except c8be6149ac for the cbf207f804 bright red 9c475c95cf phoenix drawn 88f27b1d39 on it, 86709015fd it was e4de93ce45 just an 9dcc0ce634 ordinary matchbox c259897f40 with nothing 220e2dfed4 special about 2dea0fa962 it. Curious if 6bb502439d something might 0bfb2c2955 happen, he 5152893c12 even lit 4aa8e4e274 one—but it f876851bc3 burned faster c03d44cb5e than a f597487ebd normal match, f42b15ef85 proving only 1624d1c211 that its 333444cb42 performance was 7496a3e069 remarkably poor. There was absolutely 7928493342 nothing special about bc74803314 it.14797e04e40c3f83

No matter dc5df6e363 how he 1e1b6f98ef looked at 3f003799b7 it, he e0456b812b felt like 62d1a0835c he’d been 9e14d87aae ripped off 4e884e0628 100 percent. He hadn’t expected anything 78a2e67c8a in return for helping e45590ee77 a spirit pass on, 0ed37d165c but the man had da3521afed made such a show 84f4cdb8c1 of offering him a a2dfdd4ee5 reward—and it turned out d0c05ca015 to be just a 13fcad9014 box of matches? It would’ve been 69824e0509 a lie to 90a1c717e7 say he hadn’t a06b1817f7 expected something from 937e9dacf7 an over-two-thousand-year-old ghost, f8e3c95c8b so Shin Hee 6010757a3d pouted and nudged bc58a4462b the matchbox away 15eceb1110 with his toes. The more he 886d1f89b2 thought about it, bffcc73510 the more disappointed 38b59d93fe he felt, to 258ea0e63f the point that c096731074 he figured it 2f15b7804f was better not de45156ef7 to look at fff89d824b it at all.f33501e399043edd

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Whether he knew ccc3687dc5 how Shin-hee was 37463b2718 feeling or not, fec33e24aa the child-like spirit 905a20483c was in the 9c0e7d3908 hot spring, playing 776dcb57c0 a game of 4298ca5e82 rock-paper-scissors with a 518fb57825 ghost he had 1b02148813 lured in—and the bcc6758847 loser got a fd7ed140b0 flick to the 4d6c95c792 forehead. Watching the boy win 5d5d12c86f seven times in a 03a34aad22 row with disinterest, Shin-hee ac7048e18b reached out for his 0fbc100668 buzzing phone. It was 6278cb10e8 Secretary Park, a8a8da3537 who had c762dbc05d exchanged contact 3a156ad5b3 info with 0a0682d1a4 him on 27863b89bc the first ab6317f0d1 day just 18683a2ec1 in case.4e9daedb42ac7f27

“Yes, Secretary Park.”a5615f79b84d696e

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— Mr. Shin-hee! The Director said he eec837d0cf wants you to join bc7caa863d today’s schedule.bf523aef7f530b3f

“Today?”24a45898bb1cd2c3

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— Yes. Today’s plan is… 0af06e1966 um…e8cf22156b8c9954

There was 4973afd13d a brief 596d051da6 rustling sound b997d451fa as if d75ec51c82 he was f708f4b81a checking the d636e6c6a6 schedule, then d5e682090c Secretary Park 67e4dd7a0e added with 5be5bf1af4 an “Ah!”8d9e8f427fd920cf

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— A castle tour. It looks like 9a9c4a61e2 we’ll be heading 678cd06325 out around 10 68ae536b30 a.m. Please come to the 0736eca0ad hotel entrance by then.8998af3a7db8da17

“A castle? Really?”d81b025394d3bcf2

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— Yes. President Mishima 7424670921 said, since a7122e7497 this is ad509d494a the Director’s ba5c357ac1 first time 0941c1d63c in Japan, 2aa33e3585 he really 26686d2799 wanted to 37afeaf62c show him 7e09dc35c7 one of 05180b1cff the famous 839f45984d castles.d00342b44b6cf476

“…I don’t think 368dd496d9 that’s a good 63eaaa7eee idea.”7001d798cc59c939

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— Sorry?82cfca572cb1d7b5

“Oh, no, nothing.”32c089a91b48725e

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— Then 927503c869 we’ll see 686dabac30 you at 49d8775352 10.2a561641bcfa7745

A castle tour. A castle tour? Shin-hee felt like the b25e8d4025 sky was collapsing. He couldn’t tell 05cb4ace60 whether this Mishima 013855d64d person had called eeb0f97618 Director Ha to e69355eed9 Japan for a ec72600ce1 business trip or 622fb2fe70 a school field 916d2e586b trip. Honestly, even 58b9a065cf yesterday’s traditional 35ea9823c6 market would 939b854bba be better—what 131ebf1de7 was the 8930a4ac09 point of 6cd2e64a8c touring a 76306b0577 castle?9154ff1503397539

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Old mountain fortresses e05e917607 and castles that 51106549d4 had gone through 54293e054c war were pretty bbd5fcd1ad much ghost havens. And for someone 760c4d08e9 like him, who c812a1b60c saw ghosts in df4f0f33f8 all their unfiltered d39ec329da horror, they were d41a291475 even worse than 973c5256bc haunted houses. The ghosts lingering 230ef8c00f in those places c23edaa100 were rarely peaceful—most 327d56cb23 were spirits who cdbb582840 had died violently, e9d9a8dc03 often with a e97b19d424 head missing, or 0c1b1e54b2 an arm, or aa910de9a7 a leg… sometimes 585491fa7b more than one cc60212359 part.2e05c26fa0d42d40

He was already 98e617ce31 drained just thinking ffdb774f9d about it. Letting out a e3b199ade1 heavy sigh over ff4998cd42 the obvious misery 6746e90bc8 awaiting him, Shin-hee 9bfc8dc0d9 regretted not listening e4b6ebe786 to his master’s 0480553629 warning to avoid e98e4d03d9 setting foot on 003a03a6dc this island country.407f4efa1d5bb481

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“…No, let’s work with cb8e88739f a good attitude. Work.”492a40f43d179d66

If he wanted to 2b57824be0 get anything done, he e8bfe697c7 had to work. If he went a8e2da9b7e all the way 3532d8b327 here and didn’t c969ce0632 even do his 92b891c103 job, his master 4059e2d787 might lock him 1b727e449e in a rice b9928988d8 chest instead of 255c60b540 the bathroom for 5f15a356eb a whole week 889539f1fa for neglecting his fb0e619dad duties.f953e57c349e43c8

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Shin-hee grabbed 7bf64dbc60 his wallet fe0ca5b26c and phone 8c2cf73a08 and, after 12f8c244a3 hesitating a 5569021f32 moment, glanced 3c2f8e9621 again at 610ca86e81 the matchbox 7b53575d18 with the b6833e3c20 red phoenix f7dada83d4 on it. With a faint hope, b103efe11e he slipped the matchbox 43862cb354 into his jacket pocket 3b3dedb8ca too.be183d2a8471a3be

A ghost that’s lived 250ac5f1a8 over two thousand years… 9df6c0118c there had to be 62a2bd418f something spiritual about it, 3c66160923 right?f8ea989a9f95e605

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Wearing a 63455922bd gloomy expression 646726cc5f as he b9b11244bc stepped out a22215aaa1 of the 1a3bfe9d34 room, the 69f132d1e6 boy who 508ac07c8f had just bdff201053 won another 1c577d3b9c round of c6ea33fcff rock-paper-scissors followed 0d0784c5e5 behind him da3058999f with a 857531b4f8 final flick 4f23515f49 to the 50f066a273 ghost’s forehead.aba06e5cac668174

If you afd0b56179 couldn’t avoid 729f9e4269 it, the cdae5a6c2e best thing cd4ee524e3 to do 9a21546f8a was enjoy 8c8a890f27 it. Even if that 8e044fe3e3 meant seeing the a33395fb65 ghost of a 23aa081d66 warrior wandering around 26011b4eb9 with an axe a809c34a1c embedded in his 613cd5be18 head. Ha ha ha. So fun. So thrilling. Shin-hee repeated “Life is ebdcf99ed8 fun” for the thirty-fifth abb160978c time in his head, d289e12635 trying desperately to stay 872726288a calm.7b7d70d931032621

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Honestly, he wanted e69bb6ae0b to round up 9853d8b2e3 all the ghosts 51eb3fa8ff in this place bd4616d144 and shove them 280be02f87 into a hot 7fea0640ff spring to at 46bd618512 least wash off b83b1d52fc the blood. Maybe even have them 8ea02d9451 take a nice bath d9c17af9b9 with the water ghosts 2a2b9d42ee while they were at f23e2f305b it. Not that f5aa52185c it would 270c5231b5 help much—they c0d1b86f4f were all 5c6944cc46 bound spirits, d67f68a80d after all.f578fe09663aa10a

“Is something wrong?”
“Oh, no. Not at all.”
Shin-hee shook 366c78e1c5 his head 2b5b3bc2be with a f785c5682c bright smile.ec72c7c146b11f0a

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Gyo-jin looked at 4bcf3baae7 his face with 0286a89075 a complicated expression. Meanwhile, the man behind 79ff9a668a all this trouble—President Mishima—was fd6a4f34b5 cheerfully commenting how lucky 5f83c1d0f5 they were, since the 1a0d30c254 castle was usually so 9426ea624b crowded with tourists that f296c0fe22 you couldn’t even find 8925ebeb40 a spot to stand. Beside him, Yukie 7bb1a5b179 shyly greeted them.5a687104014fc2ef