"Unnie... don't make Yeonok sad..."
Yeonok covered her face with her small hands and pretended to sob. This made the Leader uneasy, and he silently sighed as he crossed his arms. At that moment, Paehyeon, who had been standing behind them, spoke sternly to Yeonok.
"Enough of this insolence. Stop your childish behavior."
Yeonok immediately froze at Paehyeon's admonition. Slowly, she lifted her head. Her demeanor had suddenly changed, and she was now glaring at Paehyeon with fierce eyes.
"Unnie Paehyeon... don't pick on Yeonok for no reason..."
Paehyeon narrowed his eyes, looking down at Yeonok with a sneer.
"And how is this picking on you? Were you planning to show the Leader your hellscape?"
Yeonok, who was an intelligent ghost, had the ability to make others
'hallucinate.' Paehyeon often referred to what Yeonok's power showed as a 'hellscape', not because it depicted hell itself, but because it showed the most miserable situation a person could experience. Thus, everyone's hellscape was different.
The special zither Yeonok carried was made from a paulownia tree, which countless people had hung themselves from over centuries.
The instrument, made from a tree filled with deep resentment and stories, produced melodies akin to wails.
Yeonok's zither performance vividly showed the listener the most nightmarish scenes imaginable, as if through a projector. Those who heard the performance were confronted with the most brutal and painful situations they could find themselves in.
If someone had a loved one, they would see that person dying; if they were striving for something, they would see themselves failing; or, if there was a painful memory they wished to forget, it would be replayed over and over again, shown repeatedly.
"But at least acknowledge that Yeonok's performance is tearfully beautiful!"
"What on earth is so beautiful about that? It's nothing but utterly terrifying."
Yeonok's zither performances were beautiful, mournful, and mentally devastating.
"Stop, don't fight. Let's get along."
The Leader, watching the two quarrel, gently intervened.
"No! Unnie Paehyeon started it by being mean to Yeonok first!"
"Don't think I'll tolerate your rudeness forever."
However, the two spirits didn't seem inclined to stop their heated exchange.
"Alright, fine. Then... how about you both get punished together?"
The Leader playfully raised an eyebrow as he spoke.
"...."
"..."
It was a gentle warning. Yeonok puffed out her cheeks, sulking.
Paehyeon, too, turned his gaze away from Yeonok, looking displeased.
"Leader-nim! Did everything go well?"
Seizing the opportunity, Saero, who had been watching cautiously, quickly greeted the Leader. Saero twirled around in place, showing off his outfit.
"Look at this! I made this outfit myself. Isn't it cool?"
The Leader chuckled and nodded. "Yes, it's pretty."
"Cool! It suits Unnie Saero perfectly."
"As expected, Yeonok has good taste."
"Let Yeonok try it on!"
On the other hand, Saero and Yeonok got along quite well. They both had lively yet somewhat quirky personalities, and they also disliked the strict and old-fashioned Paehyeon.
"Can Yeonok pull off this outfit? This is my story!"
"Not 'story', 'style'."
Despite the Leader's correction, Saero and Yeonok were too busy squealing over whether or not she should try on the outfit.
Paehyeon appeared disapproving of the two spirits' noisy antics but didn't interfere. The Leader, smiling softly as he observed them, waved a light greeting toward one side of the room.
"Hyungwoon, hello."
The spirit called Hyungwoon was incredibly large. With a massive, bull-like physique and his jacket open to expose his chest, he resembled a barbarian or a bandit.
"It's been a while. Have you been we-"
"Ohh! Leader!! How long has it been?!"
His voice, booming as if he had swallowed a train whistle, made the other spirits grimace and cover their ears. The Leader, too, staggered momentarily from the force of his lion-like roar.
"Mhm, yes... Have you been well?"
"Did you sleep well?! Hahaha!! Of course, of course!! Slept like a log!!"
"..."
Hyungwoon, whose hearing was poor, compensated with an overly loud voice.
"Leader!! I have some new liquor I just brewed! Would you like a drink?!"
Hyungwoon pointed to the jar of liquor he had tucked under his arm.
"Another time."
Leader declined with a gentle smile.
"Just one drink will be fine! You should at least have a taste today!"
"Oh, I don't see Daga. Where's Daga?"
The Leader skillfully changed the subject as Hyungwoon tried to press the drink on him again.
"Daga went out for a walk just now!!"
Hyungwoon then downed his drink in one gulp and then jumped to his feet.
"Wait here!! I'll go get Dagal!"
Instead of going out to fetch Daga himself, Hyungwoon untied a leather pouch from his waist. Inside the thick leather pouch was the leftover mash from brewing the wine.
Hyungwoon grabbed a handful of the mash and began to knead it.
With his hands the size of a pot lid, he pressed it together tightly, forming limbs.
"Kid. Go and fetch Daga."
The mash doll, brought to life by Hyungwoon's hands, began to wriggle and stood up. Hyungwoon, who loved alcohol, often brewed his own wine, and he had the ability to mold the leftover mash into servants he could command. The mash soldiers would dissolve back into the earth after half a day.
The mash doll, tasked by him, hopped off somewhere. Not long after, a spirit with neatly braided hair appeared, her skirt billowing as she approached.
"Daga, hello."
"Leader... I've been waiting for you to call me..."
The intelligent ghost called Daga smiled warmly and politely bent her knees.
"Last night, I was thinking of you, Leader, and gazing at the stars in the night sky..."
"Daga!! Did you enjoy your walk?!"
Daga glanced at Hyungwoon. When their eyes met, she shyly smiled, then began whispering something to Yeonok. Yeonok nodded and then went over to Hyungwoon, tugging at his sleeve.
"Hyungwoon unnie, Daga says that if you speak to her one more time, she will kill you. If you don't want to die, she said not to speak to her again."
Hyungwoon, who didn't fully understand the meaning, looked at Daga with a puzzled expression. She smiled and, raising her hand, made a slicing motion across her throat.
Realizing what was meant, Hyungwoon looked at the Leader with teary eyes.
Daga was still the same as ever... the Leader sighed and closed his eyes, pressing his forehead as if his head was throbbing.
Daga never spoke to any man except for the Leader. If she had something to say, she always conveyed it through Yeonok, and the content was invariably harsh and threatening. Despite being the most reserved among the intelligent ghosts of Byeoksadan, Daga was also the most verbally aggressive. In terms of verbal cruelty, she was far worse than any common thug.
"What did I do wrong!! Why does Daga hate me so much!!"
She particularly disliked Hyungwoon. Despite his rough appearance, Hyungwoon, who was secretly very sensitive and weepy, had to shed countless tears in private.
"Hyungwoon unnie, Daga says she doesn't even want to see your ugly face, so you'd better move three steps away before she burns that dirty chest hair of yours."
Thus, once again, she made his eyes moist with tears.
"And Saero unnie... Daga says that your outfit today is a disgrace to intelligent ghosts and that even a rag would be better... Oh? Was I not supposed to say that?"
Saero, who was criticized for his fashion out of nowhere, glared at Daga.
"Daga! What did you just say? What's wrong with my outfit..."
It was a communication error. Although Daga was serious, she didn't intend to pick a fight with Saero. Daga awkwardly smiled and pulled something out from her skirt—a large, sharp chopping knife.
She held the big knife in both hands and made a chopping motion before extending her arm. The space between the blades formed a triangular gap. Inside that triangle was Saero. Daga closed the knife with a click, causing the previously agitated Saero to stop and look confused.
"Uh..? What was I... about to say just now...?"
Daga shyly smiled and waved her hand dismissively, as if nothing had happened. Saero tilted his head and blinked. Then, seeing the knife in her hand, he exclaimed,
"Daga, don't tell me you... Why do you keep cutting off other people's thoughts again!"
Only then did Saero realize the situation. She had just cut off his thoughts.
Daga had the ability to sever someone's thoughts with the chopping knife. When she placed someone between the blades and closed the knife, the person would suddenly become dazed or forget what they were about to say or do. If their mind turned blank suddenly, it meant Daga had closed the knife.
"Leader, please call me whenever your mind is cluttered."
"Daga! Stop the nonsense and apologize to me immediately."
"Saero unnie, Daga says you should be grateful that she didn't chop off your neck and just kept silent about it."
"What? Are you done talking? Is it acceptable for us intelligent spirits to treat each other like this?"
The room became noisy with the spirits arguing among themselves.
The Leader had been pushed to the back. Observing the situation, Paehyeon attempted to intervene late.
"Enough. The Leader has come after a month, and this is the state of things..."
The spirits seemed oblivious to Paehyeon's words and wer preoccupied with their own complaints. As Paehyeon sigh chaotic scene,
The spirits seemed oblivious to Paehyeon's words and were too preoccupied with their own complaints. As Paehyeon sighed at the chaotic scene,
"Alright, if you're all done. Attention..."
The Leader, who had been watching from a distance with his hand in his pocket, snapped his fingers. The noisy commotion ceased abruptly. The spirits' eyes turned to him as he crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame.
"Announcement. We will be moving the pavilion to another location next week."
The spirits, who had been busy bickering moments ago, shifted their gaze completely. With cold and calm eyes, they looked at the human standing before them.
"The route to the pavilion has been compromised. It is no longer safe here. Daga and Saero, starting today, please find a secluded mountain for relocation as soon as possible."
"Yes, understood."
"And Hyungwoon, Yeonok should spread new rumors."
Leader, who had paused and turned his gaze around, spoke again.
"The owner of the Naryecheong, Bangsangsi, has returned."