Cursed | Yang Hongseok

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I sneaked to the front door of the manor, waiting for it to be opened by one of the remaining servants so I could go inside unnoticed. Luckily, not much time passed before one servant got out, allowing me to carefully sneak inside before the door closed. Since I was invisible thanks to Yeeun's spell, no one was able to see me.

I looked around the ancient-looking walls of my old home, if I could even call it home in the first place. Home is a place where one feels safe. And here, I used to feel everything but safe.

I quickly went upstairs, exploring my possibilities for a shelter of some kind. I didn't know how long the invisibility spell would last, but I hoped I wouldn't stay here long enough to worry about that.

While I was waiting for the commander to return, I spent my time walking the empty corridors of the house, trying not to attract too much attention from the servants and avoiding them at all costs.

I kept looking at the old portraits and vases, kept touching the silky farbic of the clothes, kept inhaling the smell of the dust combined with the smell of freshly prepared food from the kitchen. I stood there, like a lonely lighthouse by the ocean, letting the waves of memories hit me from all sides, hoping that they'd drown me like they were always supposed to, not letting this pain take over me any more.

I didn't understand why I was torturing myself so much. But once you escape death, for some strange, twisted reason, you always come back to it afterwards. People who survived plane crashes tend to do parachute-jumping, and people who almost drowned still come back to the water despite the possibility of drowning again.

I feel like that was also the case for me. The old wound for which I thought had healed completely started to itch again, urging me to pour some salt over it, to make it worse. That didn't mean I didn't hate the commander at that moment, because I still despised him. But somehow, comparing my current freedom with the captivity I was under back then... It just feels empowering.

But you're not really free, Xia, an inner voice whispered to me. Not yet. Not until you break the curse.

I knew that voice was right, and therefore, I continued looking for a place where I could hide. But just a second later, I knew I had to hurry up, because I heard the sound of someone entering the house from downstairs, and by the deep, cruel voice, I knew this wasn't just any servant, but the commander himself.

Come on, Xia, think! I thought, ordering my body to move when I heard the sound of footsteps coming upstairs. I reached for the doorknob of my chamber, but when I saw the commander's silhouette at the beggining of the corridor, I knew that it was too late to enter the chamber, because, despite not being able to see me, commander would see the door opening by itself and I didn't want that.

I just stood there, watching him enter his own chamber with an old parchment in his hand. That must be the spell.

I waited in the corridor for a few more minutes until he got out and went back downstairs. Then, I carefully entered his room, eager to find the spell and get this cruel game over with already.

But, just like I expected, it wasn't easy at all. Of course he wouldn't just leave the curse on the table for everyone to see. I sighed, turning around the room and thinking where could've he put it. I searched under the bed, in the old wooden drawers, in the cracks on the floor, as well as in those on the walls. But still, the parchment was no where to be found.

I looked at my last chance – the commander's wardrobe, or at least an ancient piece of furniture that had the same purpose.

I approached it and looked inside carefully, trying not to make a mess out of his clothes, because if I did, he would definitely notice and would either punish me, the servants or the past me.