It was an autumn already. For the evening it started to get chill, as the wind came and some heavy clouds. It started to drizzle, as they finally got to the car and set the coordinates into the car navigation.
An hour and half of driving later, they got to the place. It was a hill, with a meadow and a dirt track crossing it. In the distance they could see the glow of the city. They stopped in the middle of it and got out of the car to look around. The grass, soaked with water and waving on the wind was tall, locking them on the route. It was getting dark and no sign of a temple or shrine could be seen around.
Shaman pointed at her nose. 'Something's fishy here. In the description it said, that they trapped her in the mountain, in the forest, right?'
'Maybe I translated wrongly? Beside some time passed...'
'No, things like that don't change. There should be something...' She noticed some lights in the distance. 'Look!'
The lights were coming from the car climbing on the road from the other side. Young Saeng noticed it and they both walked out of the car, waiting. The car stopped in front of them, blinding them. All they could see was a man walking out of the car and stopping in front of his bonnet, as he leaned on it.
It was no one other than the mad, threating man, which Young Saeng wanted to kill on spot. He waved his hand. 'Hi! Here I am!'
Young Saeng recognized that voice. The shiver went through his spine, he got goosebumps. He wanted to run to that man, but was held by shaman. Unexpectedly she had a strong grip. 'Don't go near him.'
He wanted to tear loose. 'But he is the person that is responsible for ruining everything!'
'If he is a human, in general. His aura is off. Don't go.'
Everything could be heard by the assailant. He grabbed his chest and took few steps forward. 'Touché, woman! Who is she?' He pointed at shaman. 'Another future victim?'
'Don't you dare.' Young Saeng almost spitted those words.
His nemesis giggled. 'You changed your taste, I see. Now older women are preferable by you?'
'Who the fuck are you?! Answer on my question finally and stop meddling in my life!'
But again, as an answer he heard laugh. He added also a little of sarcasm. 'Don't scream at me like that! You called me here, yet you still don't know?
'How would I know?!'
The playfulness disappeared from voice second man's voice. 'Did you even summon me?'
'If I would know who you are and how to find you, believe me, we wouldn't be in that situation. Tell me, before I kill you.'
'Go on!' Man spread his arms to the side. 'It couldn't happen in past hundreds of years, but maybe today might be your lucky day!'
Young Saeng had enough. Every conversation with this crazy person included some unbelievable words. 'What are you talking about?! What years?!'
The man tapped at his beard with his finger. 'So you really still don't know... Not you mention, my memories are still fresh and vivid... Then who left a note in my house? 'I remember' note? It's definitely your style to do something so cringey.'
'Are you even listening?! No... I have enough... You need to be shut! In hospital... in prison... I don't care!' Young Saeng took out his phone to call for help.
As he was shouting on the mysterious man, their distance was becoming smaller and smaller. Suddenly, in between them, Aeri appeared. She wore a solemn face, as well she held a dragger. Shaman gasped in surprise, but Young Saeng showed relief of his face and tried to catch her arm to pull her onto his side, but instead he was grabbed by the spiritual help of his.
She warned him. 'Young Saeng, drift away from her.'
He couldn't stop screaming, so he firstly shouted at shaman. Then he corrected himself. 'Why?! Why. It's Aeri.'
'It may be not anymore...'
'Aeri?' Young Saeng tried to call her. She looked at him with sad face, however her eyes were normal. 'See, it's her!'
This time the madman spoke. 'Oh, it's you! You remember what you've done to me last time? You want some rematch? I usually ignore things like you, until they irritate me.'
'Stay away from her, again! Aeri, come here!' Young Saeng was pointing at the place beside him. He knew he couldn't touch her, so he decided to patiently wait. Aeri kept looking at him, as if she was either engraving his face in her memory or judging him from afar.
'I won't apologize for that. It has to be done.' She spoke and her voice was unusually quiet.
After that she rushed onto her killer. He smiled as he thought that she want to fight, so he wanted to grab her, but instead she disappeared and appeared back behind him. He rapidly turned around, with a smile fading from his face. As he was facing her he felt something on, or rather in his chest. The dragger was hidden deep in between his ribs. He looked at it with utter shock.
Then she slid the blade slightly out, so blood started dipping. He fell on his knees, his hand holding Aeri's wrist. He was frozen in fear. She took out a flask from her pocket. As he opened it, a seal broke and quiet, unclear words got to everyone's ears. From the wound, beside the blood, a white light started to weep, behaving like an heavy gas. Aeri put the vessel beside it and it crawled in, illuminating it and glowing in her hands.
Stabbed man was losing consciousness and started to pass out on the ground. When the light stopped to flow out, Aeri sealed the flask with cork back and hid it. Then she turned her head to her friend and shaman. Her eyes where glowing red.
Young Saeng earlier was trying to run to her and to the man, but was fighting with old woman holding him. The ground became all muddy and he started to slip, covering all of himself in dirt. As Aeri looked at him, he froze, unable to move. Shaman was shouting from the side to get up and quickly go into the car, but all of those words were muted.
The ghost looked at them and decided to grab the haft of the knife. As she wanted to pull it out, she and everyone heard ringing of the bells, firstly soft, later building up to loud noise. Aeri turned her head into the direction, where the sound apparently came from. She waited for a minute, then let of the grip and disappeared, leaving the three of them in the rain and darkness. Crazy man was laying on the road, bleeding out and not moving. Young Saeng was kneeling and tried to process what just happened.
Shaman moved first. She quickly run to the car to take out her backpack. She opened it and took out some yellow paper, with red writings all over them, then she quickly run to the man lying on the ground. She touched his forehead with the corner of the talisman and quickly threw it into the air. It got into a blue flames, making it fly even higher and then exploded with a blast of the blue light, bending the grass around them with a gust of wind.
'This time I was prepared...' She said to herself and started to unbutton the shirt of the man. On his chest was the same sign as on Young Saeng earlier. She turned to the frozen man. He looked as he was attached to the ground. 'Will you come here?!
He still didn't procced what just happened. 'She...'
Shaman as usual was honest. 'She's lost. But if you won't move, we'll lose to more lives today, including yours.'
'There's no coming back from her state...'
Woman really wanted him to hurry up. She needed to persuade him with something. 'I don't want to give a false hope, but there might be still a chance... So please. Come here.'
He quickly stood up and, tripping, got to them. 'How?'
'I'll tell you later. Now pick him up and pack him into the car.'
He looked at the man and pure disgust appeared on his face. 'Let's leave him! We have to help Aeri, what happens to that murderer is not my concern!'
Shaman looked at him. 'How do you feel?'
'What is that question right now!'
She touched the protruding dragger and moved it slightly. 'And now?'
Young Saeng grabbed his chest. Earlier he felt a prickling in his chest, thinking about all those emotions connected with the death of Aeri, but now it changed and he run out of the breath. The pain was unbearable.
'Thought so. His pain is your pain. I noticed it earlier, when you suddenly kneeled. If he dies, you die.'
Young Saeng massaged his body. 'But how we'll help him?!'
'Well, we have to figure out something, rather quickly...'
He tried to pick the man in a bridal style, however he was to heavy and every move of the blade was hurting Young Saeng. He decided to drag him to the car, pulling him on the soil as a corpse. Shaman raised her hand in concern. 'Be careful...'
'I'm trying!' He packed him in the car, suddenly going pale and having difficulties in breathing.
'Shit, the time is shrinking...'
'I'm thinking!' He hit the roof of the car. Few minutes later he suddenly stood upright. 'I have an idea... But how I will explain it...'
'We'll think about something, when we're there. Now get in the car, I'm driving. You lead.'
They got into the car. Young Saeng didn't actually know where to go, but hoped that the place address was saved in the car's navigation memory. He looked for it and thankfully found it. They were heading to the Jisoo's home.
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