Yeon-ah froze where she stood.

The reason was the bright light that had just come on inside a building that had been nothing but darkness until now.

Was there someone inside? Or could it be… a ghost?

“Or a criminal…”

Maybe a wanted fugitive who had caused trouble in the metro area and slipped away to hide in a quiet rural village…

Yeon-ah shook her head and took a cautious step back.

She had come all this way to escape from ghosts, but if this really was a wanted criminal, a ghost might actually be the safer option.

No, even so, she couldn’t just retreat like this. If it really was a criminal, she had to do something.

Yeon-ah quickly pulled out her phone. If it came to it, she was prepared to report the suspect and do everything she could to assist in an on-site arrest.

She was exhaling slowly and steeling herself when a low, heavy voice cut through the sound of rain drumming against her umbrella.

“Who’s there?”

Yeon-ah imagined arresting a wanted fugitive while on sick leave and earning a special promotion, and lifted her chin.

“I… I could ask you the same thing. What are you doing here?”

She wanted to interrogate him the way she would on the job, but the man was in a state of complete undress.

He did have a small towel wrapped around his waist, but one wrong move and whatever was beneath it would be on full display, and cold sweat broke out on her skin without her permission.

“Whatever I am, I think I’m still better than some petty thief who barges into someone else’s front gate and walks right in.”

“A petty… thief? Now look here, mister. I am not a petty thief.”

“Then what, an aspiring one?”

She had been about to say she was a police officer, but the rude man had cut her off clean.

Unbelievable. An aspiring petty thief. And why does he talk like that, so clipped and short.

His provocation had her face burning hot. Her heart was pounding so fast she couldn’t tell whether it was fear or fury.

At that moment the man stepped out from under the eaves, approaching with a smile that could have been mockery or amusement.

“If not an aspiring thief, then a robber?”

Crack!

Without warning, a flash of weak lightning lit up the air, and the man’s face was revealed right before her eyes.

Light-colored irises with a subtle, mysterious hue. Thin double eyelids. Long, sharp eyes that stretched to a keen point. He looked like an actor with a thousand faces.

No, an athlete maybe? With those broad shoulders and that solid build, he could be that too.

Why is a man like that in her grandmother’s house?

Yeon-ah barely managed to rein in her agitation and continued in a measured tone.

“I think it’s completely understandable that you’d misread the situation from your side. But unfortunately I’m not a thief. I’m the granddaughter of the owner of this house. So I think it’s you who needs to explain who you are.”

At her words the smile faded from the man’s face. He raised an eyebrow and took on an unreadable expression.

“I don’t particularly recall ever having dealings with a human.”

“Pardon? What did you just…”

“Do I have to spell it out? I’m the owner of this house. Kid.”

K, kid?

He didn’t even look that much older than her, and he was calling her kid. Yeon-ah wanted to argue the point immediately, but the claim that this man was the owner of the house snapped her back to attention.

“Wait, hold on. You’re saying you own this house?”

The man’s smooth brow creased with what seemed to be displeasure at the way she had addressed him, and his eyebrow twitched.

“Not ‘you.’ Seo Hwido.”

“Oh… right. So what you’re saying is that this is Seo Hwido-ssi’s house.”

Yeon-ah pulled her grandmother’s letter and the real estate sale contract from her crossbody bag and waved them pointedly.

“But… that can’t be right. I have the sale contract right here. I’ll need to verify it since my grandmother has passed, but the title should definitely have been transferred to my mother’s name.”

The moment she finished speaking, a memory she would rather not revisit flashed through her mind.

That after her mother had passed away recently, the only thing she had inherited was the fifteen-pyeong villa she was currently living in.

Then what about her grandmother’s house?

Could it be that her mother, having inherited this house, had sold it to this man?

She shook her head, refusing to accept it, and a smooth curve formed at the corner of the man’s mouth as he stood with his arms crossed.

“Looks like something just came to you. Whatever it is, if that’s what you’re thinking, you’re right, so you can see yourself out now. As you can see, I was in the middle of a shower because of someone.”

“No! Wait! Then could you show me?”

He looked like he was about to turn away, so she called out urgently to stop him. He put a hand on his hip and casually toyed with the knot of the towel.

“What more do you want me to show you? Should I undo this?”

What is he saying right now? Is he out of his mind?

“No. Who said I wanted to see that? The deed! I’m asking you to show me proof that Seo Hwido-ssi is really the owner of this house.”

“The one who needs something should be the one to move. The nerve of a petty thief, telling me to show you this and that.”

“Ha…!”

She was completely at a loss for words. It was already absurd enough that a strange man was in her grandmother’s house, but even a brief exchange with him was nothing short of abnormal.

Yeon-ah crossed the yard and walked straight up to Seo Hwido. The gaze looking down at her was intimidating, but she snatched his large hand, pressed the documents into it, and raised her voice.

“Then there’s nothing to be done. It seems you have no intention of providing proof. I have these documents, so I’ll be using that building over there. No problem with that, right?”

She wasn’t usually this brazen, but the malevolent spirits that started acting up around dusk left her with no other choice.

So she had to put on a thick face. What else could she do?

Yeon-ah left the composed man’s expression stiffening behind her and pushed her shamelessness one step further.

“Oh my, that Nyang-nyang cat basin is still here? Grandmother bought it for me because it’s my favorite character…”

She let her voice trail off, as though lost in nostalgia. She had never even seen her grandmother’s face, but if she had been around, surely she would have doted on her like that.

Holding onto that thought, she quietly began making her way toward the inner quarters.

“Hey, shorty. Stop right there.”

“……”

Even while preparing for the police exam, her small frame had meant she had to work twice as hard as the average woman.

Yeon-ah finally stopped walking and turned around, stung to the quick by the man poking at her sore spot.

And it was in that moment that she heard the voice of the foul-mouthed shaman who had scolded her.

‘Get your *ss over to that old hag’s house right now! The answer is there! The tree you need to serve is there, and your benefactor too… Hm? Wait a moment…… Now that I look at it, there’s also a fateful adversary there?’

Right. Of course. That man right there had to be the cursed connection.

Yeon-ah no longer wanted to exchange another word with him and closed her eyes. Continuing to argue here didn’t seem like it would lead anywhere.

She really didn’t want to have to resort to this, but…

Muttering something under her breath, Yeon-ah’s eyes snapped open. At the same time she let her gaze go unfocused and continued slowly.

“By the way, have your shoulders been feeling heavy lately? Right now, on Seo Hwido-ssi’s shoulders, there’s something dark swarming all over them.”

It was a lie, of course, but claiming to see ghosts seemed like the easiest way to protect herself. And having her status as a police officer to add on top of that would be even better.

“It looks like it’s been there quite a while. Has it been difficult? I can help with that.”

“Stop playing games and leave. Should I call the police?”

She had expected him to look frightened, but Seo Hwido only laughed as though he found the whole thing absurd.

But Yeon-ah didn’t back down, staring fixedly at the empty air above the man’s shoulder as she continued.

“Can’t you feel it? There’s a woman crying on your shoulder right now. She seems like the spirit of an unmarried woman who died young… does anything come to mind?”

Yeon-ah folded her umbrella and shook it off. Then she put on her shameless mask and wore a soft smile.

“I’ll give you some time, so think it over carefully. I’d love to help you right away, but I’ve traveled a long way and I need to rest. Is it all right if I see to it tomorrow? For your information, I’m a public servant, so you don’t need to worry about my credentials.”

The answer was already decided and she was just telling him to go along with it. Seo Hwido let out a hollow laugh and shook his head slowly from side to side.

Yeon-ah spun around. She propped her umbrella in the corner and slipped off her soaked sneakers and socks one after the other.

The silence that followed her all the way to the moment she stepped onto the wooden veranda made her uneasy, but she pretended not to care and walked up to the largest latticed door and took hold of the handle.

“Stray spirits daring to be in my presence…”

The sharp, displeased words that slipped out pricked at her conscience. But Yeon-ah turned to look at him with the most composed expression she could manage.

“Either way, as long as I’m here, the spirit of that unmarried woman on your shoulder won’t be able to run wild either. So don’t be too alarmed, and please rest comfortably.”

She gave him a bright smile, and the man who found himself looking directly into her eyes swept his hair back. His mouth was still twisted in that same look of disbelief.

Looking at him again, he genuinely looked like he had just stepped out of a photo shoot.

As Yeon-ah stared, a flicker of curiosity appeared in the man’s eyes. No, not curiosity exactly. More like the look of someone gazing down at a trivial creature beneath them.

“Interesting. All right, let’s see. Just how impressive is the skill of a shaman who works for the government.”

She had been about to say she wasn’t a shaman, but correcting her occupation seemed like it would drag things out, so she let it go.

“…Thank you for your cooperation.”

Seo Hwido turned away without a word. Even so, she was still talking and he was openly ignoring her.

Spirit of an unmarried woman, honestly. Just wait until tomorrow. I’ll be up at the crack of dawn tearing this place apart until I find that deed.

She was pulling her gaze away with that firm resolve when it happened.

Yeon-ah’s eyes landed on the massive tattoo that ran from the thick line of the man’s neck all the way down to his waist, and she swallowed a dry gulp.