"Is anyone here? We're from City Hall!"
In the afternoon, there was a loud banging on the gate outside. An unwelcome guest had arrived. The madness returned to Elder Yoon's eyes, which had seemed clear just a moment ago. He jumped to his feet and ran out to the yard.
"This is my house! Get lost, now!"
Not long after he went out, a loud argument ensued.
"We've received constant complaints from the residents, so we have no choice but to..."
Elder Yoon and Seonoh lived in an old, nearly abandoned house at the foot of a mountain. Elder Yoon sustained their livelihood by collecting scrap paper and bottles with a handcart all day. Initially, he only collected paper and bottles, but as his obsession with hoarding grew, his house gradually filled with all kinds of junk and trash.
His house, resembling a garbage dump, had long been an eyesore in the neighborhood. Fortunately, it was far from the village. The stench that wafted from the house and the bugs that swarmed around it caused constant complaints from the villagers. Elder Yoon's house was like a thorn in their side, but no one dared to come to the house to confront him.
Elder Yoon hated people and was extremely wary, lashing out violently even when someone merely spoke to him. The villagers called him "the senile mad old man" and shunned him.
Elder Yoon had a bad relationship with the villagers. Moreover, the house he lived in was rumored to be haunted, so everyone avoided him.
The villagers didn't know he lived with his grandson; they thought he lived alone. But rumors began to spread that people passing by Elder Yoon's house occasionally heard banging, loud voices, and raucous laughter from inside the fence. At first, the villagers were skeptical, but since the house didn't even have electricity and became eerie and desolate after dusk, they soon believed the rumors.
And the rumors weren't entirely false. Elder Yoon's house was indeed overrun with miscellaneous spirits. It had become a gathering place for them.
Though Elder Yoon's mind wavered, he hated humans but was strangely kind and compassionate toward ghosts. Sometimes he willingly became their host, and at times he would bring in wandering spirits with nowhere to go and even prepare food for them.
Some of these wandering miscellaneous spirits eventually settled down in Elder Yoon's house, and over the years, their number grew to seven.
While Elder Yoon was arguing with the city official, Seonoh was left alone in the narrow, dark room, lying there despondently. He sucked on the blood from his split lip when one of the spirits huddled in the corner awkwardly approached him.
"Seon... oh..."
The ghost crouched in front of Seonoh, opening and closing its mouth. Seonoh, who had been staring at the ceiling, glanced at the spirit. This spirit was a water ghost, a spirit that had been in Yoon's house since Seonoh was an infant. The water ghost had drowned, originally living in a valley. Normally, water ghosts cannot leave the water, but Elder Yoon had personally retrieved it and brought it home.
"Are... you... okay..?"
The water ghost had spent so long in the water that it still opened and closed its mouth as if it were underwater whenever it spoke.
"Seon... oh..."
Seonoh turned his back on the water ghost and curled up.
"Go away. Don't talk to me..."
The spirits always hovered around Seonoh. They bickered among themselves to get his attention or just aimlessly loitered around him. Seonoh found them incredibly annoying. The spirits were overly interested in Seonoh and sought his attention. Having watched over Seonoh since he was a baby, the water ghost especially liked him, following him wherever he went.
"Seon... oh...
The water ghost brought a book that had been lying around and placed it next to Seonoh's pillow. It was a storybook that Seonoh had been reading aloud a little while ago.
"Read. the. book..."
The water ghost seemed to want to comfort and soothe Seonoh.
But Seonoh wasn't in the mood. He had been scolded by his grandfather for reading the book, and the stupid spirit was now bringing it to him, asking him to read.
"Seon... oh..."
"..."
"Are... you... mad..?"
"..."
The water ghost reached out, pretending to stroke Seonoh's head.
Seonoh usually didn't let the water ghost touch him. Its hands were wet and cold, which felt unpleasant. Finally, Seonoh sat up. He picked up the book by his pillow and, infusing it with spiritual energy, hurled it at the water ghost.
"I told you to go away...!"
Seonoh knew how to use physical force against ghosts, understanding that just throwing things wouldn't work. He had naturally picked up this knowledge after living with spirits for so long. The water ghost, hit by the spiritually charged book, fell backward with a thud.
"Ow..."
Seonoh often treated the spirits roughly and harshly, according to his mood. When something bad happened, he would take it out on them and act harshly. On good days, he would do things like sit the ghosts down, comb their hair and search for junk together, just as his grandfather did. But most of the time, he found them bothersome and annoying.
This little garbage dump was the only world allowed to Seonoh.
Sometimes, he found this world unbearably suffocating. At such times, he would close his eyes and imagine.
A vast ocean, a beautiful island where emerald waves sparkle in the sunlight, a place with no spirits and no grandfather...
Seonoh silently mouthed the words.
'I wish everything would just disappear...'
***
Elder Yoon usually left early in the morning and didn't return home until sunset.
Although he constantly reminded Seonoh not to leave the house, Seonoh would sometimes sneak out into the yard to bask in the sunlight. However, he could never go outside the gate. Elder Yoon had covered it with talismans before leaving, making it impossible to open from either side. Only he could pass through the gate, but sometimes stray cats would climb over the wall and lazily nap in the yard.
Seonoh was playing with a stray cat in the corner of the yard, using a piece of string he had found in a pile of junk, when suddenly, there was a loud banging on the rusty gate.
"Grandpa! Are you there!"
Seonoh, who had been crouching in the corner of the yard, froze in place. He held his breath and listened intently to the noise coming from outside the gate. This had happened before. If he stayed quiet and pretended no one was home, the person would usually leave quickly. This time was no different; it soon grew silent outside. Just as Seonoh was about to start playing with the string again,
"Hey! You there, kid!"
A head suddenly peeked over the wall. It was a young woman with short hair. Their eyes met, and Seonoh was so startled that he froze.
The wall was fairly high, so it was rare for anyone to peer over it, but the woman must have found something to stand on. She smiled brightly.
"Hey kid. Do you live here?"
The person greeted Seonoh cheerfully.
"Hello? Nice to meet you. This unnie is from the welfare center."
The social worker introduced herself with a warm smile. She seemed to mistake Seonoh for a girl, probably because of his long hair that reached down to his waist.
"You're such a pretty kid."
"..."
"Is your grandpa home?"
"..."
Seonoh remained silent, just as he had promised Elder Yoon. Seeing this, the social worker's expression changed, becoming more serious as if she thought she wasn't getting through to him.
Suddenly, the social worker pulled out her cell phone and started making a call.
"Yes yes, I'm here right now, but the grandfather isn't home, and there's a kid here? I thought he lived alone... But the child seems unable to speak, and they look really thin... Yes, could you check if there are any other family members..."
Seonoh continued to play with the string while listening intently. But after a while, the voice from outside faded away. Relieved that the person was finally gone, he was about to relax when,
"Hey, kid!"
Something fell over the wall into the yard with a clattering sound.
Seonoh, startled, quickly looked back up at the wall. He stared in confusion at the items that had fallen inside. There were individually wrapped candies, chocolates, and small snacks.
"'m here to help people who are struggling."
The social worker once again peeked over the wall, standing on tiptoes.
"When your grandpa comes home, make sure to tell him to contact us, okay?"
She took something out of her bag and, just like before, dropped it over the wall. This time, a light object fluttered down. It was a business card.
[Nanum Welfare Support Center
TEL. 033-XXX-XXX]
After the social worker left, Seonoh picked up the business card. He stared at the words on it for a while before decisively tearing it up and throwing it into the pile of junk. Then, he gathered up the snacks that had fallen to the ground and took them inside.
Soon, the spirits that lingered around the house began to creep closer. They lined up hesitantly. Seonoh distributed the snacks one by one into the spirits' hands. They rustled the wrappers, pretending to eat the candies eagerly. Once they finished, they would come back and line up again, continuing to do so.
After hesitating for a moment, Seonoh also unwrapped a candy anc put it in his mouth. His eyes widened in surprise. It was nothing like what Elder Yoon had given him before.
It was incredibly, unbearably sweet.