OSR Chapter 22

It pricked his conscience a little to be called “Agi-nim”—a term more suited for a child—when he was a fully grown adult, but Shin-hee stubbornly kept a straight face.aa9f3bc9f18c000d

The staff 69aefeaa9a member who da8624fad5 had first 2023e646f9 greeted him 0674ae91b2 appeared to 15fc5ea164 be a a7a2f611a4 professional docent 4c75fce062 working at 3a61d6045d the museum. She offered explanations for 6879be580c each artwork and even a5c3dd8a99 gave additional interpretations for c8e02d00be the ones that seemed 69e430f47c to interest him. But to Shin-hee, 9105656621 her kindness and 9845373ad6 attentiveness only felt 9ff8be9c9e burdensome. The words “Could f63558e1e2 I see the cc42f4802d exhibition alone?” hovered d7cfff4f77 at the tip 79d6da895c of his tongue.f0f289f3680bb81f

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The Special Exhibition 70fcf4ff25 on Modern Japanese 89efbfa82a Painting was large 8f39bf6a09 in scale, as f1f6296f47 expected from a 17bcd71278 museum of this b449d326f0 renown. It included 4bd0790b86 works by a499a620e5 well-known masters d6340d46c4 and up-and-coming 4f90ba99f1 artists alike. For Shin-hee, e7ef403984 who had c32a5bd4d3 majored in c6a4fbaa18 Eastern painting 7c4ae14497 and had e12984d742 a deep fb7bdfe6ae interest in bfb0084953 traditional palettes, 79810b633b this was 4adc465c5c a golden f58c616835 opportunity. Yet, for 6ae0ebec39 some reason, 13c9c36215 his mind 02d8ddf734 kept drifting de83d4b4f4 elsewhere.d19e781afcddafce

Outside the massive glass windows, night had long since fallen. Slowly making his way through the exhibition while listening to the explanations had brought the time to just past 8 p.m. By now, he thought, there should be a signal, but Danju remained eerily silent. Shin-hee’s heart pounded. Judging by the lack of any update from Secretary Park, Gyo-jin must be enjoying the party safely as well, but still—what was this growing sense of unease?6410aec4c4660f4e

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“Agi-nim?”3e9ca7460ef1af0c

“…”0fb54d49436ec8d6

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“Agi-nim?”ad10bbda521bdc35

“…Yes?”b3f48f20f0e2da20

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“Are you alright?”e6b3b4d73a66afe8

Shin-hee tended to 374d856e53 fall into silence 7fdab2da5c when deep in 678bea16d1 thought—or when listening 1fa7b1e9d7 to ghosts. Zoning out had aa69dad331 become such a 86a0f4901f regular occurrence that 84d5c34e8a he often got feadd8abb8 mistaken for being 768cfcae12 rude. But Shin-hee had efca254b87 long stopped correcting d7f17d8e59 that misunderstanding. Half the time 51f8051d6e it was true. This time, it 8d6fa7576a was.c352dce0051a31ad

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Nodding, he c85690cbc3 replied, “Yes, f99190bfb3 I’m fine,” 5a8bcc86ef and once 2aab6e4781 again checked cff0873837 for any a904dcc0b3 message from 93d98e6adc Danju. Was everything alright e8c4776c39 in his room? Then what was a1d2c0f226 that last night? The same 7d511ba497 questions had ba77077824 been playing 3babefde76 on repeat c6a0bf6b31 in his 3614729f9d mind all c3ade8c9d9 day. He had 032a38f3ad planned to d5f2479003 stay only 1a03a888bc until Gyo-jin 61e80ea909 returned from 217f7e6984 the party—but f0fdfa6e3b at this 1ee86bab2e rate, it 81a202e218 felt pointless f058ff1359 to have cc231e8c10 come at f56a84d6e0 all. He glanced at 861b2a2998 the time again, f5d5295a48 then smiled politely f23d3515a6 at the staff 122a8cb19d member.ed3eb775989cc57c

“I just remembered—I actually def15e7765 have another appointment. Thank you for spending b2f3c05ac9 so much time with 3e88ea24e5 me.”fb10bf361f018257

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With a polite bow, cf597a3469 he turned toward the 15a1f42957 exit. But just as 4c0343712a he was about cd67e991ea to leave, a cb7557485d few people emerged b07b5c1740 from the front 17b08d4a08 desk and stopped 9ead27bcca him.49a0af6753034bd2

“Why are e766f3ba3e you leaving a9dc47e133 so soon? Have a cup b5ccd4df21 of tea before e18ff26460 you go.”c85f52e17b1e31ed

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The docent from earlier 44442b2df8 appeared again with a c5638e10b4 smile, gently urging him 294af69ef3 to stay. At that d2885fbf38 moment, a b55f484786 strange dissonance 0d5c41429c pierced his e293d9c336 mind and 5f64d5deb6 sent a 400bb75009 chill down 59b1de7d1e his spine.0669f5f60c65d3de

The museum.
The woman who 74dca136c0 had invited him 21192af208 here.
These people, stopping 3da7646c74 him from leaving.330a61a2e844870c

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It was purely instinct. Shin-hee dashed out 003b057bab through the museum’s f249af94f7 main entrance and 066e2014dd sprinted toward the 51472873cd parking lot. Sure enough—just 64cd0921b9 as he 9587acf620 had suspected—despite 03488925dd the dim dbff04ab44 night, the d6fac6d6af sleek black 2ea2a5b04e car that 44040b0aa5 had dropped 5cbd034712 him off 6eacef2323 earlier was 881c386d35 nowhere to 799df891fe be seen cc82b96437 under the 3e73e886b7 streetlights. From the direction of 1297139182 the museum, he could 2e84b2ca5c see men in black 0d98293b2d suits charging toward him eba2885f89 as if to catch 0e47384819 him.86f94a647aa7af93

“Goddamn it.”ab172764d85fcc6c

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Rarely cursing out f7229554e4 loud, Shin-hee scanned 030c318f4d his surroundings. He had never ac4f56ff94 been chased by b0c69e7b06 the living before—ghosts bf96d07aa3 were more his ce7fa57a49 thing—but right now, f9918eb5db he would have 04e2fda1e6 preferred the familiarity 961bb266d8 of the dead.2e52c0501e1881c4

In the distance, he 43b337e14a spotted a few taxis 1046cbbfab idling by the side 56803ae97f of the road. Without thinking, 2d3b99f6bf he sprinted a7a6a1aa50 toward them 1a503922a4 and banged 2f4876d64f on one 3e9562d89a of the 7386452b5e windows. The door 0615c79d1c opened automatically, 4e7efa433b and the 64384d74bb driver, who f1e45bacb7 had apparently 97f6eea4ea been dozing 7f11f2f8c5 off, looked 7868a9de9c up at 3ee41dc429 him with e08efca075 half-lidded eyes.331501e75ab44fe7

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Throwing himself 606fb93cdb into the 60a39d9019 seat, Shin-hee 7757fa38b8 repeated the 51cf338c6a name of 402abaf715 his hotel 4b516c39b7 over and 22e428345d over. Startled, the cb7a4b3948 taxi driver 4a7d93ab9e started the 2666a4809d engine.63414ecdbbb0e51d

Something’s wrong. Definitely wrong.
Shin-hee whispered something under da549551c6 his breath to the 3716b28978 child spirit with the 87a816a481 wide, unblinking eyes. At his words, f417990a19 the hesitant boy 7f9f8a033d slipped away through 2af26287c0 the taxi window.e0fa4ff216289eff

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Not long c5fd1e587f after the d51eed4a28 spirit vanished, 3c7157af44 a violent f0eccd4976 tremor surged 0058759894 up Shin-hee’s be32fb2eaf wrist. His ominous hunch had 0493314bb4 been spot on—Danju began e9dc6d6735 to vibrate non-stop, crying 86c27f201d out as if in a63cfc4b1e distress. Shin-hee’s face turned pale. The buzz was so 18e59b195d loud that the taxi cf19559903 driver glanced at him b6b7f98342 through the rearview mirror.59227635e1da23d4

With trembling fb36831dbf fingers, Shin-hee b7550c773d tried calling 5de95403c4 Gyo-jin, but 26d579b095 all he cc765b8bcf got was f52181b425 a recorded 8f01004403 message: “The ded3f9af09 person you 56861dd2cf are trying e93a052159 to reach 6c9f053048 is currently 98c4487521 out of 64f01d300e service.”edca65b08ccc632a

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He immediately dialed Secretary 05e648117e Park instead.2d894a6fbff358d8

“Secretary Park!”c0c5a9bfc699a876

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— Mr. Shin-hee?00d8e43a6e813495

“Where is Director Gyo-jin 38125e2c5d right now?”2e70416ef7e9b6cf

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— The director? He should be in acabbc22d5 the hot springs by 14fdaa0b6c now, I believe?c35cacdc429190e1

“No! Please check 389dba87a2 his room a9a7d5027b right now! Hurry!”129167cf83e01a4d

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Ending the 240c34bbaf call abruptly, f771e72abd Shin-hee bit 1acdc0db79 his lip 9c9aa7cf86 hard enough 75fef4a276 to draw a713ecbb8e blood.863435afb1735013

The moment the taxi 0e54026c8c pulled up at the a868aacd84 hotel, he bolted straight 70e3633ac8 for Gyo-jin’s room. It was 9521e05934 nine o’clock—about c931c3508b ten minutes 4e4330ab85 had passed 48278b8906 since Danju edf1dffe5b first reacted.678319d743b90a3d

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If I’d known d93af1258d this would happen, d2a201ea6d I wouldn’t have 2d76ca0b5d gone to that c33e12a41b damn exhibition. I should’ve just stayed d37173216a holed up in the a9ae0cae12 hotel.
Why did I 235c874a58 realize so late f1f4d19141 that there was f96c6bfddc something off about 93e8d7810e that woman?
She said she’d come fe0c4daa3b at ten—why the hell ded5921c7e did she show up 3339f6026b so early?25d1f5e90a346693

A flood of 44be4fe730 regret and blame 09d141d5a6 crashed into him. Hoping it 8966c05849 wasn’t too 7ac7412124 late, Shin-hee dd68be0bc1 pushed himself 043335f732 to run bd60e2ddc2 faster down 857116578b the corridor.eccaf13c66a8332c

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When he e6584eaca1 arrived, Secretary 1e22f9e74e Park was 58883f9741 just stepping ae6c8b2cac out of 28cd433f77 Gyo-jin’s room d3d233c567 with a 7ce2533fd3 casual shrug.e8352fce9eb871b9

“Oh, Mr. Shin-hee, you’re here?”3789fdd6ec0ede27

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“Where’s the director?”b51d349a7b567725

“He said 310ea55ef0 he was 31bd253abb a bit b317b82dcd tired today ea3fe075ee and went 95950f7f0e to bed 482958ed24 early.”12f1841a9600ce49

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“What?”1789eade2b078ea3

“It’s only nine 88dad26a4b o’clock. He must’ve been 1f70b126ee really worn out c23ed2d4d5 from the party.”922c1ddf1e4c1c14

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Well, just exchanging a 0a0d689ca5 few words with all 12b936143d those chatty guests would c493e21ec4 exhaust anyone. Adding a cb244a456b bit of e188c68b78 dramatic flair, afc334de1f Secretary Park e6e8aae0f2 waved his 8b397555a7 hands. Shin-hee, wearing a e39b788742 strange expression, asked e8e9034b1b again.4d264b22c4f76325

“…Did you notice 078e5ccfa2 anything unusual?”4dea80320aeff273

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“Unusual?”
Secretary Park 912e9ed84a thought for 02cf783c02 a moment, ab0277a4fe then let 2707c46065 out an 412d9484b7 “Ah!” as 8e050cad0f if something 59faf088a4 had clicked.b12fdd5e24674938

“Hmm… He looked 8b743a7a5c even more handsome 5a0d2fc11f than usual?”f88d098bbb35f533

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Speechless, Shin-hee shut his 757399e2bd mouth and decided to 68ee6cb678 go in and see 282ae775bc for himself.bb5bba609a7d97af

The room, cloaked in ecbd422d6c darkness, seemed normal except fa28790bfe for the slightly lower ab620262c0 temperature. Moving carefully, Shin-hee headed 76a7ee8bb0 straight for the closet. From between the closet 12c1993b27 doors, a charred hotel 0996a73d20 memo pad, now little ec7e430de5 more than a blackened e5c1a4f3d3 frame of its former bba8c881f4 self, fell out. It was 3a7393d47a a charm—one fa18b6780f he had f463b1c7cf written himself—to ad7b0079b1 react to e037695399 malice and 3a8d190aaf link with 5f517fc381 Danju.7fe37f295df0adc6

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Something had definitely happened f8b257066a here.
The problem 11acec79ab was—what exactly?d4781ce0fd30aa7d

From the bb8fd9d421 cracks of f43c64572b the sleepless 37678b6969 night, memories a088eee4fc he had 3fa2aa1275 tried to 562d4d8912 bury began 72cda42a83 creeping back 4792cb54f6 up, looking 2eea734640 for a dac8fbf68a chance to 55350e1e1d resurface. Suddenly, Shin-hee 81196ffb6f remembered what 942b02e6c0 Gyo-jin had 41790afb54 said the 550beafb77 night before—someone d59e288ed7 had been 24054668e1 calling his 020349b38a name every 6cf7513d7f night.f003757c19f33ea5

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A name.21b5f4214ded60a9

Shin-hee furrowed his brow, 759eff1100 linking this word with e089dd3b5d the one he’d heard 7a81fb221f repeatedly in recent days. A name. Was it 9b8ea97ad5 just a 6dd4a0f6a7 coincidence? Had that 9df987381b man who 3622a662ea claimed to bd5e9b4f2c have lived 8ce3ef9696 for two 858abf23ff thousand years 0b8b98b574 known something 527e6b8318 when he c792dee917 warned him 3e5d3f3f15 to be 3a82dad790 careful with bec63797ce names?f12bcdaa60052ef4

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As his thoughts expanded, fa43078e12 Shin-hee turned his head 2f9da6c948 absentmindedly toward Gyo-jin—and froze.961ac05713c33db8

His eyes, trained e7fd031b2b to see spirits 4badad3c9f and now fully 48af086c05 adjusted to the 884a40e09e darkness, couldn’t help 417acb3567 but capture the 7ad8d3bacd grotesquely vivid sight 214aab956e before him.28c586e8e660e62d

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A dozen or more 7cfa085279 ghosts were dancing grotesquely 57d31fcb34 on top of the 501b5ae43a sleeping Gyo-jin.9c03906520cf1e10

They twisted their b8b78cda5e necks, bent their b2642429ac torsos at impossible 1efaf8197f angles, and spun 1dc1db20ca round and round, 366d9817ed dancing wildly beside 353f722a23 him. Some perched on his 38d9b712b9 stomach with bulging eyes, d5e299b61b while others stomped on cdd5ce7b0c his shoulders as if 9ebdff074e performing a ritual, celebrating 772cbaf378 with one another like 05837f9c6f they were raising a 0754994f01 toast—never letting him rest, 75a60fa569 not for a moment.eaaa93ed3e926e5a

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That was a festival 40e6cea244 of ghosts.
They had 1c0e3f4c99 seized Gyo-jin 06d9e7adc8 and were e4895e67c1 throwing a b5b1e41152 party among 5e553f4a9b themselves, like 31788544d0 savages preparing 0badd107d9 for a 3206108ad9 feast with 40193741b1 a living 4f4c5212dc sacrifice laid fedf1340c9 before them. Shin-hee gripped 034baef667 his trembling 99fc11c0bc legs. Then, from the 3342d9cc93 depths of his 6b5f34fede memory, he dragged 352ce0a690 up a similar b32995bf90 scene he had 8ce0f53ece once witnessed.3effe894fe1b4710

Ghosts, who 1fa03969c1 usually didn’t b9e2ca82f4 act in 88adddbf6e groups, had 5575e948f7 unusually clustered e78c474083 together, desperately 8680d7a931 trying to e8e35e8ae4 cling to f564ddcea1 a single b9b3e111b7 person’s shoulders. It had been a cbb3315b09 quieter, more static scene d983959ec2 than this—but just as 36d0c579b9 persistent. Those ghosts d235e77b15 had followed 01675e372d one man ee06646e34 obsessively.
It was six years 9c044750d9 ago, during a bus 293d654151 overturn accident.7c96f1a548670c14

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That man.
And the red-eyed e1a1538d43 ghost that had 8f395dcaff worn Shin-hee’s face.55b70d492477f598

From among the wildly b9ff14ebb5 dancing ghosts, one must be11af58d6 have noticed Shin-hee standing 86cb08f0f5 in the corner. Its large eyes c2cb65a69e gleamed, and it c680db61f0 began crawling toward f677a43fff him on all f9029eb517 fours, its back d6b64bb5e6 grotesquely bent.f8cbbfcd9f6f2fab

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Shhh-shhh-shhh-shhh—3b592616726d9460

The sound 13d3759f47 of the 34281c8f79 ghost’s limbs a52b7987e8 scraping against 7494a4d6a0 the floor 1fa14fdcd7 rushed into 1796ae124a his ears.a0c0a1a98271b249

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With glowing black pupils, 52d03cbe69 the ghost crept toward fdbe186d61 him and thrust its 68c43f107a face close. The pitch-black irises, f49f02ef5e with no whites, 89a5bcbadc sent chills down 3bff9cc5a3 Shin-hee’s spine. He reflexively 41eeedc48c reached out 7bca989759 his right bba45e0169 hand.
Beyond the vibrating cec5a1df50 Danju, the ghost’s 47e0e0b569 face twisted grotesquely.7535139dda6d3e4f

Shin-hee focused his 57991df763 entire mind, staring 22a46c8bf4 directly into those b08c48a82e eyes—just as he af5064e8a0 had practiced over ccccb597ed the past six 696416a855 years, traveling from 88815ba23d place to place, cd6b6029bc training.2c3ecfad4029336a

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“It’s you again.”5826e2c695327adb

As if it understood 6b962d72a1 Shin-hee’s desperate resolve, the c1abff165c ghost smiled and opened c84ebbc73d its mouth wide. Past its wheezing sounds, 00cb7a6d66 it whispered.
Shin-hee desperately began chanting 27c7652696 the Cheondo incantation, tracing 9978bf3dfc over the letters he 6be436a175 had drawn on thousands 5df998b70e of rice paper scrolls, 8be3b29206 reciting the ritual words f4c4a8823f ingrained into his very a68533e4b0 sleep.90bf9762a21c5d36

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But—he had 1f077495c9 to stop.48b9b9accdd48b5e

Without the 783feaef9e key requirements 9cbf13c5da for a 49844bff8e proper ascension 6282772b4e ritual, the b9018efec5 Cheondo was 9e77e8adf8 incomplete.
No matter how many 9f97bec493 times he had performed af8a1edea5 it—dozens, hundreds of times—the 7de318b042 spell didn’t work on caef2c4bfa them.f698d5911eb5caa5

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Rather than ascending peacefully e3d24f7aa4 to the sky, the a0e27231a0 ghosts remained, gleefully bouncing b636f03994 on Gyo-jin’s stomach, giggling 111549ae52 wildly.1e2496c52354c2ae

“You can’t.”5c947584b560bb53

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“Ascend.”974f57047ad8c1f1

“I said you can’t.”cdbe0e9a17ea1b6c

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“I said ascend!”7da0f8964f5b6d46

Lost, Shin-hee shouted 93af5d695d as he charged 096c455efc toward them. He could f4d10185f8 only think 0ffb61edce of saving 442cadee76 Gyo-jin from bc7a72b3aa them—no matter 4dfdb8ad36 what.0c6097bbf450d615

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“You can’t pull us 6ceaf557c6 off completely.”66ea3f12b0dda943

The ghost that 3577cd7794 had crawled toward e79c3994db him on all 7c0d669f9a fours still hadn’t ee85220fdc taken its eyes a9e59a4b6c off Shin-hee as 8db80efd8b it spoke.
Though there was no da9b692dd9 sound, Shin-hee could hear aa189eae55 their words clearly in a62bc90390 his head.968302004b1cf34d

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They spoke only 493a6a4b88 in things he 174f6d9bfe couldn’t begin to 10807b63d0 understand.57a888f9b97106a0

“We’ll stay attached to those shoulders forever. For—ev—er.”
The ghosts’ ba0e5900a9 snickering laughter 29be69e9bf echoed throughout 798fd3e77e the room.
All around, dec5e59610 they stomped a376c5f08d their feet d3e62812b4 and burst dba8cb900f into howling 6cc7d53fd1 laughter.47f41a32958e6de5

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“We won’t do a thing. No—thing!”c7581355642123ea

“You’ll die alone! Your limbs torn to shreds, weeping blood! You’ll be spider food! And we won’t do a single thing!”d7cb30eeeb760f0a

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Voices, all jumbled in 948d983cf0 pitch and tone, clawed 0e2157a978 at Shin-hee’s mind like 675b617d0a razors tearing through his 1968fc7d70 nerves.
The ghosts, spewing incomprehensible f247c115e3 nonsense, laughed for a 4f5a29e311 long time.
Their grotesque d508a83d88 laughter—dozens of 20847f5c39 horrific voices e0ad2d9591 twitching with 491ae8c677 joy—rattled through b297562fc5 the very 6e01e25292 cells of 83f9d6adaf his body.649efacd31f53352

But the 1be6fe2cbb moment Shin-hee 2f28c9965c reached out 4d5f00226d and touched 11377961dc Gyo-jin, all 46ec8d1eeb movement stopped.
The ghosts 6f5ebf02fa fell completely 3bca7cb561 still.e85494c518301b0e

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Then, they 162c4f0e80 backed away aebd7aacd2 from Gyo-jin’s a6586d601f body and 2889e822f0 stared at 4ac338ef95 him with 73fb4f4a1a silent, eerily 5b11dfab92 calm eyes.
Shin-hee, trembling uncontrollably, e966bf999e didn’t take his 1cd5ae92ab eyes off their bd1434aa5e movements as he 2e718d5763 gently pulled Gyo-jin befe025bef into his arms.0b26c309e1486dee

He could feel it 9cb06a7ab6 himself—his entire body was 90d4b7ab0c shaking like a brittle cdaadb0fbd twig in the wind.5d0946e18d4b7dc8

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