Chapter 27: The Hand Mirror

“Why…?”

Even after handing over the family photo, the woman showed no reaction.

I hadn’t expected her to show intense interest in food like a hungry ghost, but it was still a quest item—at least a glance would have been normal.

“…….”

With an expressionless face, the woman walked straight through the family photo, ignoring the shards of glass scattered at her feet.

Unlike other ghosts that floated in the air, her gait was distinct. I could even hear the sound of her bare feet padding on the grass.

Something was terribly wrong.

Sensing that, I gestured frantically to the kids behind me.

“Run! To the auditorium, right now!”

“Jae-yoon!”

I told them to run, but Seo Yi-han, who never listens, desperately called my name and reached out. His gesture seemed like a warning, so I quickly turned my head toward the woman.

“Rather than a picture like that… I need your body more.”

The woman, who had approached me without a sound, parted her lips. The moment I heard that strange voice echoing directly in my head, it was already too late. My body wouldn’t move, and I couldn’t tear my gaze from her lips.

I felt Seo Yi-han grab my neck from behind with immense strength, but the woman, with a faint smirk, pressed her body against mine.

“Jae-yoon!”

With Seo Yi-han’s desperate scream as the last thing I heard, my vision flashed along with a strange sensation that my body was no longer mine.

***

In an unfamiliar residential alley, a yellow streetlight flickered. It was a street I had never been to before.

It seemed like a wealthy neighborhood, with every wall covered in ivy looking luxurious. The well-paved asphalt road made a cheerful clicking sound with each step.

When I—no, the woman—reached the front gate, she lowered her gaze to take a key out of the handbag hanging on her wrist. Inside the cluttered bag, a key slipped from her fingers and rolled under the doorbell.

“Ugh…”

The woman sighed in annoyance and bent down to pick up the key. At that moment, the light reflected from the lamp on the gate struck her eyes.

“A mirror?”

Amid the scattered debris that looked like rice grains, a mirror lay delicately. The woman picked up the palm-sized mirror and examined it closely.

It was a classic hand mirror that seemed unlikely to be used or made nowadays. The back was decorated with colorful mother-of-pearl, and the handle was adorned with an intricately braided tassel of five-colored threads.

It looked expensive—who would throw it away? Or did someone drop it?

She thought about reporting it to the police as lost property, but changed her mind. For some reason, she didn’t want this hand mirror to fall into someone else’s hands. She didn’t know why.

A strange exhilaration washed over her, as if something terrible would happen if she didn’t keep the mirror herself. Having lived without want, the woman was usually indifferent to material desires. But this mirror stirred a strong feeling in her.

After hesitating for a moment, she glanced around and slipped the mirror into her handbag. Then she closed the bag securely.

“Who would scatter rice grains in front of someone’s gate?”

Feeling embarrassed at the thought that she might have stolen something, the woman muttered to herself and kicked the rice grains away.

With her kick, the grains that had formed a circle scattered and were blown away by the wind. Beneath them, something round and larger than a rice grain revealed itself.

The woman stared at it, then shuddered and kicked it away.

“It looks like a fingernail…”

It looked exactly like a pinky fingernail pulled out whole, and the more she looked at it, the more uneasy she felt. But there was no way a human fingernail would be here.

She dismissed it as either a piece of the mother-of-pearl ornament from the mirror or a prank by whoever scattered the rice. Using the tip of her heel, she kicked it far away.

“Dad, Mom, I’m home~”

Having cleaned up the entrance, the woman unlocked the gate and stepped inside with a cheerful greeting. It was a chilly autumn evening.

***

“Ugh…”

“Jae-yoon, wake up!”

Along with Seo Yi-han’s shout, my cheek turned. Yoon Soo-ah had slapped my face hard to bring me back to my senses.

Still dazed, I only let out vague groans, so Kim Ji-ho, who brought a spray bottle from somewhere, sprayed it on my face.

Splash, splash. The sound of the spray bottle in rapid succession was annoying.

I wanted to get up out of sheer irritation, but my body wouldn’t obey. The cold water droplets evenly sprayed on my face trickled down, adding to my displeasure.

“He’s not waking up… What do we do?”

“More than that, if Lee Jae-yoon wakes up, won’t I die…?”

Han Bo-bae whispered worriedly, and Kim Ji-ho replied in a trembling voice. Despite being so scared, he managed to spray water on my face.

I tried putting strength into my fingertips and managed to wiggle them slightly. Seo Yi-han noticed the tiny movement, grabbed my hand, and shouted.

“Jae-yoon, are you coming to? You okay?”

I wanted to say, ‘My head hurts, don’t shout right next to me,’ but only a vague moan came out.

I felt completely drained, like after a whole day of swimming and then sinking.

It was a familiar sensation. When I was young, I used to suffer like this right after being possessed by minor evil spirits. Since I had briefly seen the woman’s memories, it was clear that I had been possessed and then released.

‘Rice grains, fingernail, hand mirror…’

Nausea rose. Damn, I thought this would be easy to clear, but why did things go so wrong?

The hand mirror the woman picked up kept lingering in my mind. It seemed that, as a side effect of the possession, I was also being bewitched by the mirror, just like the woman. After all, I had shared her body and mind for a moment.

Plus, my chest felt hot. Something was burning inside… Ah.

“Seo, Seo Yi-han…”

“Yeah, Jae-yoon. You okay? Want some water?”

My fingers wouldn’t move no matter what, so I forced my mouth open. At least speaking took less effort.

At my call, Seo Yi-han nervously offered a cup of water and a wet towel. I was sick of water, so I rolled my eyes left and right, and Seo Yi-han understood and put them away.

“In my shirt pocket… take out the talisman… it’s hot.”

At that, Seo Yi-han quickly pulled out the talisman from my pocket. The almost burnt paper turned to ash and scattered as soon as it touched his hand.

Finally, the oppressive heat on my chest disappeared, and I could move my lips more easily.

“Where is this… the auditorium?”

“Yeah. I carried you here running.”

“…Wasn’t I caught by that ghost?”

It was impressive that these guys, inexperienced in such matters, managed to get me out. And they even broke the possession. I was satisfied that they had done something without me.

“That ghost, as soon as it overlapped with you, started writhing in pain, probably because of the talisman. In the meantime, Seo Yi-han threw you on his back and ran like crazy.”

“Right. It was thrashing so much it couldn’t chase us.”

“Even smoke was coming out of its body!”

As they took turns recounting the event like a round song, I groaned in pain. It was good that they were telling me, but could they be quiet… My head was throbbing from the aftereffects of the possession.

When I furrowed my brows, Seo Yi-han supported my head and carefully adjusted my posture. I felt my head elevated as if on a pillow—I was lying on his lap.

Seo Yi-han covered my forehead with his hand, and his already large hand completely covered not only my forehead but also my eyes. Then he murmured in a refreshing voice.

“If you’re tired, lie down a bit more.”

“Uh…”

Normally, I would have kicked him, embarrassed by the lap pillow, but now I had no strength. Besides, his cool hand felt good on my face…

I peacefully accepted Seo Yi-han’s lap and hand.

And then, I slipped back into unconsciousness.

***

The sunlight was blazing in a completely shaded alley. Wiping the sweat beading on my forehead, I glanced sideways and saw Seo Yi-han with an excited expression. A net bag dangled from his side.

“That excited?”

At my question, Seo Yi-han said something. But the sound of cicadas from all directions drowned out his voice.

When I tilted my head and pretended not to hear, he scurried over and pressed close to me.

“It’s my first time catching crayfish!”

“Well, that figures… Where would crayfish live in a Seoul stream?”

I get it, so back off. It’s hot, why are you sticking to me? I added, pushing his arm away, but the guy was much bigger and taller than me… He didn’t budge and stood firm.

Peeved for no reason, I started sprinting up the mountain path without telling Seo Yi-han. Even though he had long legs, he probably wasn’t used to running on a rough trail.

Sure enough, I heard him gasping behind me.

“Jae, Jae-yoon! Let’s go together.”

“Let’s race to the valley. Loser buys ice cream!”

At that, Seo Yi-han’s pace noticeably slowed. That guy was always eager to spend money, and whenever I proposed a bet, he would do something weird on purpose to let me win. Even now.

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