OSR Chapter 17

The man opened the 07955dc81a cabinet where the cymbal a3582f14ed monkey had been placed 97d4c446ef and took out a 1e4e589edc small box, handing it a462d1b23c to Shin-hee. Shin-hee opened db7c05f9d3 the box, c9e97a5743 blinked a 1b3f5f8c58 few times, 69bd7aa903 then looked 389a73225d back at a8ac15b807 the man.f0d406bba487b9af

“This is my 1ec1ae8736 reward?”faf3626df59f9e66

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“Take it.”c938836c576bbb2a

“Matches?”12cdbee752bd4f01

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“You’ll need them soon.”f1b3294da6316fa8

Not a flamethrower, 5413739526 not a torch, bc146ca20a not even a 3651adf2a4 common lighter—just matches. Shin-hee was too 41a5bd4fe6 dumbfounded to even 583a579d21 laugh. Beside him, the child 53d74e9a66 spirit chattered brightly, oblivious ef19cf3b8d to the mood, calling 0253e0e373 the matches pretty.4357f55dc904a3d0

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“Just retrace your steps. Everything will be back to how it was.”5f4163f727a23d0a

The man’s face was c2c6aecf6f just as expressionless as 23fba95db2 when they first met, 2fde7a93a9 but the atmosphere around a50a6b9e7b him had softened somewhat. Shin-hee suddenly 76d12d0989 grew curious. That appearance 75cd3a42db certainly didn’t 44b10de6bf match that 5a1b00d760 of a b2ee5bfb66 typical high 65ddc28234 school student.a971addd44799cb1

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“How old are you?”6d21c6499c685564

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.01155318f95b6545

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“Ah, twenty?”87dfb45ebbba4240

“No.”b464186d1d2c4552

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“…Two hundred?”131bce73976d1642

“No.”97a64a192393bab5

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The man 422f8bc0bf stepped closer 6dc3301442 and whispered 5c3c6318f5 softly into c3c2118c79 Shin-hee’s ear.8d1f692b17543189

“I stopped counting at two thousand.”66781c04ff170658

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“Wow!”eab9656050b29173

Shin-hee let out a 214f69a27a surprised shout before he 4db65f6747 could stop himself. If that a37b873074 were true, d9d98c34e7 then this 7cdcfbfbe6 wasn’t just 4935848166 dealing with fa03058c86 something overwhelming—it 6a51650d42 was like a8152632d5 picking a 6baa4e8d6e fight with 3ae5cf1ef9 a grim 3d5a9e804a reaper wielding 141956650c a scythe. The man merely c28367b05e shrugged, as if f6426b07bc wondering what was 4bd4ad2cb1 so shocking.0eb21c516bef8beb

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“Shin-hee.”0295ec4be4e929f2

As Shin-hee, still dazed, 05e7424b42 was about to leave f52833c3cf the shop, the man 7c312406cc called out to stop 9bcf644c57 him.a40ad1460792b486

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“Names are important, aren’t they?”897de9c863295a4c

“……”c1f7fc35aea2cf6b

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“You shouldn’t go around giving out something precious so carelessly.”ed591c541b9830fe

At this point, dde67156c3 Shin-hee no longer e86fee2eb3 even knew what 117611db0e this ghost was 33ff5f4a26 talking about.59299ae9c3631864

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“I’m everywhere, but I hope we don’t meet again.”e91e7ffd3a2f5aae

With those final words, 08a4f4086a Shin-hee and the child 6b3afc58b9 spirit stepped out through 45ee62ee6d the shop door. Shin-hee slowly retraced e5439dc23f the path they’d 2fa6d6fb37 taken, then suddenly 92cef1cbb9 turned around. But the eerie 56e9c86387 antique shop the 919cba65bd man had just 2e98aeba38 been in was a7c82394e9 gone, replaced by f9a659e1e7 a small tobacco acf71b9787 shop.8f828492bae6f47b

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Just like the a389bc2c61 man had said, 2bca537811 everything had returned 73cc54e331 to normal. As they bc40b28af1 passed through 97a1ba101c the alley, d569e18b51 the ghosts 603ce6e9ee acted as 3e99d834d3 they always fc5ca49a6c did, not 035cfcf827 even sparing ae48470ab4 a glance f01e357d63 as they cdff6d76db went about b930878e24 their business. But after an ff79fdb581 experience like that, 44bfdb607d Shin-hee didn’t feel b7454fc94f the slightest urge 7d8aac9f87 to stroll through 088e308cd9 the streets again, 2376df2451 not even jokingly. Just then, he d274c7d739 got a text c6c8e148ca from Secretary Park 37aa4a097f saying he should 38d86792a6 have dinner separately ee4e8ffcce at the hotel. Without hesitation, Shin-hee 30c502f8e5 took the child debdfbf2c4 spirit and headed 4beec43605 straight back to 71a95c2f90 the hotel.8b6f781e1f88c72f

After dinner, Gyo-jin returned 72c193dd9e with the other two f85ebbe8cd in a limousine. The interpreter 3d0c8e11d5 was chattering 7ca5b20b0f non-stop, reciting 9312f9dc0e Tokyo’s history a845bf74fe as if 91c3daa353 quoting an 39dbacaf17 entire book, bdaf765acc while Secretary 6590afffed Park listened 1a371318ac with interest ceeb26d6cc to every 744a0aea47 word. Gyo-jin, showing 29886ad63c no interest f7f1b94df0 in their 5723f8a5f6 conversation, simply 19213b92ee skimmed through 4d7999427d the economy 98376ef39e section of a5f4cef54c the news 360a868439 on his 689e9d0785 tablet.ccfa57f7fb8e1aae

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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.7cc1a015930efb8e

As soon 55d1cd5579 as he 84412cdee0 entered the 102f79eacc spacious hotel f14b5fa7d0 room, he 106bc32430 took a a2463804e3 shower and 6fda3d329d lay down c0b6ca43fe on the d1a2263422 bed. Since he 3ab248438d had already 24af4c00fd told them 46325a8f4c he wouldn’t 86abf5628c be having 702169d41d dinner and a7e8471a38 planned to 37c5971daf sleep early, bf3994ca43 no one 75ec6c96a4 came to b0b157c747 visit him. It was 8774a588a3 just past 943cf5c21f ten—earlier than 837b6bc9c4 his usual a4d624e619 bedtime—but instead 386c886804 of reading 74dc5e45b0 or having 6d20e14db7 a drink f7ae7f0d0e as he 978e0b94fd normally might, 4a80fc9dd9 he decided e121332888 to go 28041ed24b straight to 5990fefbd9 sleep.5d4d57f6dbf3a4e3

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The unwelcome guest returned 8e6a8fc3a4 just before dawn. The sound of that 311bac1784 familiar instrument, even closer 1672c3c0f0 than the night before, 0deed05205 teased at Gyo-jin’s ears c6f633848e as he slept. The melody a631752ec3 rose and 401ad7dd84 fell, dizzying e6b456ec94 then still, 3f6b979e78 flowing gently f39017e53f before piercing fe480c82e9 sharply—it was 7a0e5e13e8 a dark 1c3a283b35 and layered f3710711e0 tune that f15d3270f0 slowly pulled e2f4d24789 open his 77cf0cd566 eyes. The room 68e1e7ee23 was bathed 7ea6dae5b0 in pale b12b57c638 moonlight seeping 1e35f02265 through the 5582b7c270 window.6ac42375891fc830

— Gyo-jin.a97b016d094ae137

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The voice that bb501d0b25 had called to 8f013b3fd4 him the previous d148f6e469 night sounded again, 9d22191eda more forcefully this c688254745 time. Like a south fb86e099f7 pole being drawn 91218537cd to a north, 8bc0ca7951 as if pulled 81d8491076 by an invisible 3295ff911e magnet, he rose 0f98eec23a slowly and walked b4dddb242f toward the source ed0673f2b2 of the sound. His eyes were unfocused, 6e57517c77 and he himself didn’t 7f3e7d6466 know where he was 14c124f790 headed—but one thing was c9ff06d74a certain: something beyond that 7416d2f1c9 room was calling to 9b60d3c31c him.3029e28f88abba24

— Gyo-jin.cbdb37b14cf89b04

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Just as he 5c486a0eaf was about to cbd85db3b9 slide open the 14f72c3b03 door and step afd7a7e5a8 out, a powerful 4d74f58fb0 force yanked his 2b716e46ea hand from behind. It was the e2d6fa1f00 same red-eyed figure 144feed850 that had blocked a00d17fb55 his path the 1d92c8d23d night before. The figure’s hand gently 17e7a7060f reached forward and covered cc6108c1fa Gyo-jin’s eyes. Then, slowly, his 4be47f3768 legs gave out, bc336959d2 and he collapsed 9ece5c7efa to the floor.0070445b6a0a4365

He opened his eyes c86acee4de again the next morning 5ccc7eca21 when Secretary Park came bcf993a1e3 to wake him.cfb83b1c637dad64

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“Director! Are you all right?”fab63c4b6c4c135c

“…Secretary Park? Why are you…?”201cadbb2f2d97b6

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Still not be9fb629ae fully grasping 62cde0c14b the situation, ecd831d9cb he frowned 78dc5da543 and asked. Secretary Park’s face had a37d337e71 turned pale.e488857be692b896

“You weren’t answering your 228517268d phone, so I came b62d17ddd4 to check on you—and b2ef3cec02 found you collapsed in ccf8164596 front of the door.”de97438863c83f09

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Gyo-jin shook his head c751403979 a few times to 4677cdfe95 collect himself, then looked 8557663024 around. It was 893fbfaf46 an ordinary 59a6221798 hotel room, c8a4521d3a no different 084054b6c5 from the ab74effcfd night before. The memory of someone 102532aa64 calling him in his 2a803eef02 sleep, the sound of 9bdd887f06 that unique instrument—neither geomungo 814256f007 nor haegeum—slowly surfaced from bc0a5fa9e5 the hazy corners of e296870b89 his mind. And now, for some 88e9fc1b16 unknown reason, he had 6ff0d51510 been found collapsed at 090ef60c0d the door.6d7dbe561ac7a2c1

What kind 38dc746164 of situation bfecf729ca is this? Gyo-jin tried e881fd44f6 to piece c8dbdd91ee things together 339a733ef0 logically, retracing 463a75e739 his steps 23cc0d4f76 from the 063dc7540c night before. But the middle of 644b281eb4 the memory was blank, 90af6684da as if something had 4a3c29a3b9 lifted out the core. In the end, b6e49facff he gave up 86645fa9dd trying to analyze dc009fde0c it rationally and 82e623158c instead turned to e77874306c Secretary Park, who f1042ab40a was anxiously hovering 4891611066 nearby.71ff36e5f8d0ebb2

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“Have Mr. Shin Hee 8ac88fa141 join today’s 4a2b962ee8 schedule as 54e753ec69 well.”70d660f1970d9b45

—5479897ec076baa3

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As soon as Shin a6190885c5 Hee opened his eyes 805c893b83 in the morning, he 05b9c9a76b spent a long time 16c76b9eea glaring at the box 2878ac17c6 of matches he had 04fe0f5763 received as a so-called 50dc318194 “token of appreciation.” Except 95394e1d69 for the bright red cec57e93f3 phoenix drawn on it, 4d9515e3c6 it was just an c3ff9f42bd ordinary matchbox with nothing 2f4010e614 special about it. Curious if something acb8531f51 might happen, he 7761b99442 even lit one—but 3945a09c84 it burned faster 76accdf4e1 than a normal cde1b6edcb match, proving only a5f83c12ac that its performance 9c5285fc90 was remarkably poor. There was b3c5c9de4d absolutely nothing 8d1add9328 special about 71bf8b290b it.5c15db61cd16f0e2

No matter how he f43ef27a40 looked at it, he 97a7d5a2b8 felt like he’d been 0b822b8eca ripped off 100 percent. He hadn’t 6b0ebd819e expected anything 0170dfe49e in return c25c5835e8 for helping f4fd91ebf8 a spirit 9c09cde400 pass on, 6cd9e03198 but the 737336ae87 man had ccd0f8933f made such be8aad6cdd a show a45f4a0e25 of offering 0eb73ff662 him a e305cbf095 reward—and it 4d1b18df56 turned out fade6782bb to be e08e466624 just a 3af3ee5728 box of 16d041c1dd matches? It would’ve 829d36236c been a c732d1532e lie to f813a0c89e say he ad0cb1a743 hadn’t expected df4affe16b something from 86ab7f70be an over-two-thousand-year-old 110b9bf443 ghost, so bd0cd4c2b4 Shin Hee e4d5b19c87 pouted and 7fd3e1900d nudged the 6d23a706b2 matchbox away 248cf08cf1 with his e3cc7803fe toes. The more he thought 33f782194c about it, the more bc6e3030b8 disappointed he felt, to 019bf27eb6 the point that he 80557e1a34 figured it was better 466c4362c2 not to look at fcab4a2422 it at all.2c4b56fa357b342b

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Whether he ad86a79e1b knew how cc65066f70 Shin-hee was 454a5b13bf feeling or c6e3c01bdc not, the 54e87b15c7 child-like spirit 3cdce20f00 was in cc91b9a035 the hot 21f949c63c spring, playing d6424fdeba a game 6137a9c232 of rock-paper-scissors b842d722ca with a d2842391d0 ghost he d44ac93de3 had lured 1bda686fdb in—and the aaddcf4377 loser got 5d327de345 a flick c7f611360d to the 0890bf7ad6 forehead. Watching the boy 7257902373 win seven times 1081bcc688 in a row 23d4e6a522 with disinterest, Shin-hee 053d5c073e reached out for 738cc242a8 his buzzing phone. It was 890fb3b783 Secretary Park, 062c2a0099 who had 55810b2e71 exchanged contact 93874a1913 info with 1cb21879e8 him on 2c46849f3d the first 1fc686c75f day just 6f61078f93 in case.838ac1403f1fd90a

“Yes, Secretary Park.”07b0ead3a69a2426

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— Mr. Shin-hee! The Director said df70f65655 he wants you bebc214f38 to join today’s f8551f1d7c schedule.8ab1ea324befeffe

“Today?”1f276a87253b9050

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— Yes. Today’s plan is… um…c1e9666f81bbf8db

There was 7e343cb0c5 a brief 240e202fd5 rustling sound 9c087f245e as if da36338acc he was 8b8788c5cc checking the 580c4a04dd schedule, then 63c4dd2166 Secretary Park b6be9ca63b added with 76826f5e43 an “Ah!”928a20322c8843e4

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— A castle 66e1f5958d tour. It looks f457eb6cbb like we’ll 72e53d868f be heading 676fa1aeee out around 3411250c13 10 a.m. Please come to 078ca639cb the hotel entrance ec5ebfbd66 by then.ec5047cbc6bb411e

“A castle? Really?”4854e309050fe588

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— Yes. President Mishima said, since 65dfe5def3 this is the Director’s c51a30eb51 first time in Japan, afb9f30a39 he really wanted to 6550c68d45 show him one of efc82962fe the famous castles.bb5240ed1b6bb946

“…I don’t 390409361e think that’s 3f0419529a a good bff47758e2 idea.”4186050a90efb787

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— Sorry?2dad5a1019abfd26

“Oh, no, nothing.”5a70ba8b360d451c

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— Then we’ll 0ffd1614ef see you at 39c4f10df5 10.ffa2157d107537f7

A castle tour. A castle tour? Shin-hee felt e423b87928 like the e3bebd8920 sky was bab51f09d4 collapsing. He couldn’t tell whether e02dcaccc1 this Mishima person had 91f9b05739 called Director Ha to 7e1041ccf2 Japan for a business aaa8ba3f42 trip or a school fd5f5b23b0 field trip. Honestly, even yesterday’s 9c84371ec7 traditional market would 009c42d7e5 be better—what was c281bebcc9 the point of 9fb876d888 touring a castle?ee4e51dbdb7cd944

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Old mountain d181a55e1b fortresses and 44b30850c2 castles that 7a6290cf2b had gone a143c80ec5 through war d5832f6221 were pretty 0cf05f2fdf much ghost e7d555994a havens. And for someone like 03a38e27e6 him, who saw ghosts dd1570d70c in all their unfiltered 2f2b0978e7 horror, they were even 0d0b4445b4 worse than haunted houses. The ghosts lingering 389d436c43 in those places 1b06656949 were rarely peaceful—most 8f290b6c89 were spirits who 39203ffa13 had died violently, b02289001d often with a 3778d06e04 head missing, or 3b1989b775 an arm, or 278ea1a008 a leg… sometimes f23a0e3a99 more than one da34e410f8 part.98d0470cb9ac9056

He was already drained a0a36a3fc5 just thinking about it. Letting out a d97de6b685 heavy sigh over 3b0d4dfe3f the obvious misery 32182dd196 awaiting him, Shin-hee 9d1c8ffd21 regretted not listening e2826c96c4 to his master’s 5f25ca31d3 warning to avoid edcc668d5d setting foot on 318052983d this island country.91ce25280ffbe472

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“…No, let’s work 194fb21822 with a good 5d7eca2bad attitude. Work.”ce5606296cc3c099

If he wanted cd6ba7ae83 to get anything c8898ea00e done, he had 994b6d61b5 to work. If he went a87987da32 all the way b16abf211c here and didn’t 8d0f662a00 even do his 547c440564 job, his master 393b2d10e4 might lock him ca899f4e63 in a rice 04e09ea531 chest instead of bbd024c814 the bathroom for f753da6b9f a whole week c19da65b1d for neglecting his 99f919d2e3 duties.ff00075aaae99612

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Shin-hee grabbed 28c2b8b2bb his wallet 62dc5da1ac and phone d86db310d0 and, after e6662fea25 hesitating a 41408225bb moment, glanced 786b1f4340 again at 1420f793f4 the matchbox 1d62a38e11 with the 9c34fa3604 red phoenix f86dfb6fa4 on it. With a faint hope, 903e51955f he slipped the matchbox 6083650403 into his jacket pocket 12150c99e1 too.8a98f810c35e1ae3

A ghost d4df974cd7 that’s lived 0147409589 over two 86aa47681a thousand years… b7680adf18 there had d7274ea5e6 to be df76bfdb15 something spiritual ea2f2c7f37 about it, a3cd9de50c right?7a1652857294f1cb

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Wearing a 14ea0284c3 gloomy expression 2c130d359e as he 0226b3c755 stepped out bd172212f1 of the a64c7f8a98 room, the 68bdd7b059 boy who 8070f5a684 had just 9cf5f08135 won another 4352099e99 round of 5cf493cbcd rock-paper-scissors followed c391e54661 behind him ea3d2894f9 with a 8e2ccd5d85 final flick 5951331148 to the 7c6c5ef918 ghost’s forehead.0581f55af4a08f94

If you couldn’t aa059cbedd avoid it, the e8f35242eb best thing to cdb130f2a9 do was enjoy df9c7778fd it. Even if that meant ef25d76c6b seeing the ghost of 8b0133759b a warrior wandering around 28f66318b5 with an axe embedded 3a09aa48cf in his head. Ha ha ha. So fun. So thrilling. Shin-hee repeated 3cf9c42332 “Life is fd0d7c1acb fun” for ba10b6f3fd the thirty-fifth 5272f98b07 time in 9ac804a085 his head, 4842e03b41 trying desperately 9e9e8b00f7 to stay ed1611c02f calm.73ebeffd718df1f8

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Honestly, he wanted 2e5cc5e94f to round up 899d1f3a9f all the ghosts 6aae80971f in this place 001f46c817 and shove them db3a8012ad into a hot 6ac6c34ba2 spring to at 03f943c2bc least wash off afbcfa6857 the blood. Maybe even have them 476de0d1b2 take a nice bath 65d655a947 with the water ghosts 161511c2f4 while they were at 53c418e7a7 it. Not that it would 6b334f3b67 help much—they were all 5a6bc45acd bound spirits, after all.92e28f2cf566775c

“Is something wrong?”
“Oh, no. Not at all.”
Shin-hee shook 2418cb0dd9 his head 6c46d8d23b with a bcebbafc48 bright smile.8e7c5426db09a740

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Gyo-jin looked at his 4da7f076bc face with a complicated 1d870745cd expression. Meanwhile, the man a96256ff0c behind all this 25dd770f59 trouble—President Mishima—was cheerfully 13a2f1b780 commenting how lucky f142713365 they were, since a1958adeff the castle was 1532ffccee usually so crowded 0e40c9f113 with tourists that 81a87d8be4 you couldn’t even 4b41f1a829 find a spot 76f8d09827 to stand. Beside him, 44b6daf5bc Yukie shyly 93a22c45ed greeted them.cf71a273db84cc25