The night had fallen when Taeyeon came home. No one was seen roaming the place but she could hear a shadow

looming in the kitchen. She found Hyoyeon was sitting at the balcony facing the garden, alone with a hot coffee in her

hands. Taeyeon opened the door and slowly sat next to her. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Hyoyeon sipped her coffee.

“Byunghyun-oppa called me. I heard what happened today…. To Sunny,” Taeyeon said. “How is she?”

Hyoyeon sighed. “Sleeping.”

“Sorry. I should’ve been there.”

“No, no. It’s not the first time she dove into a frantic mind,” Hyoyeon said, half laughing. “She’ll be fine.”

Taeyeon put her hand on Hyoyeyon’s lap, “But you’re not.”

Hyoyeon smiled. “I’m tired. That’s all.”

“You know you can tell me.”

The girl hesitated, fiddling with her coffee mug for a few seconds before looking at Taeyeon. “I’m just wondering if there’s

another path in this life for me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sunny. She’s suffering because she’s my Host. Not because I’m a Helminthia but I am a Helminthia that works for the

police. All the things she has to do to track down those bad guys, all the scary stuff she has to go through every time she

enters into bad memories. You remember how miserable she is every mind dive, right”

Taeyeon nodded.

“Not to mention all the pain she feels every time I get hurt. If only I’m not in this situation. If only I’m just a Helminthia with

ordinary days, ordinary life.”

“You want out of this?”

Hyoyeon sighed. She gave her friend a sad smile. “Don’t you?”

Taeyeon leaned on the chair, staring to the garden fence that separated the house and the street. “I do.”

“Can you? Can we?”

Taeyeon smiled. “I don’t think I can.”

“Why?”

“Because if it’s not me… us. Then who will?”

Hyoyeon smiled, a relieved one this time, like a burden had just been lifted off of her shoulders. She was in doubt after

watching Sunny crumbled down because of the mind dive she did on the nurse. It was an excruciating scene to witness

and to see it happened to her most beloved person, Hyoyeon felt like she couldn’t take it anymore. She was angry at

Byunghyun, at Secretary Gaeil, for putting her to do that. But when she talked about it to Taeyeon, one sentence of what

was in her mind could ease her. And now, she was content.

 “How was the date?” Hyoyeon asked, shifting the topic.

“Mura and Daeni seemed to like her. For the first time, I think, they gave their approval at the first impression,” Taeyeon

smiled proudly.

“Jung Jessica, huh?” Hyoyeon tapped Taeyeon’s hand, “She’s perfect for you.”

The sound of Byunghyun going down the stairs turned both girls’ head. The man stood in the kitchen and waved his

phone in his hands. “We got something.”

**

Taeyeon arrived at the police station fifteen minutes later by taxi. She insisted on going there alone as atonement for not

being there when Sunny dove into the head of a traumatized nurse. Hyoyeon and Byunghyun deserved some break and

she knew Sunny needed it.

The wind was blowing quite hard when she climbed the steps into the station. Secretary Gaeil was already standing by the

door, waiting for her. He looked haggard, dark circles around his eyes with ruffled shirts and jacket. He nodded at the girl

as she approached him.

“Byunghyun-oppa briefed me, Secretary,” Taeyeon said. She didn’t want Gaeil to exert his strength to explain what had

been explained to her and wasted his energy. “I heard about the killing at the hospital and the black eyed man.”

The man led Taeyeon further into the station, passing the busy rooms and people. “Yes, the black eyed man.”

Taeyeon followed Gaeil into an opening at the back of the building and through a double door that led them to a short

corridor. The man opened the second door on the left. Taeyeon went inside before him. The room was small, rectangle

and dark. A large window glass was on her right as soon as she came in, so huge it took half of the wall. Pressed against

the window was a recording device consisted of a simple digital data burner and a microphone on an iron desk. A female

operator was manning the device.

Gaeil stood in the middle of the room and looked through the window. On the other side sat a girl – younger than

Taeyeon – with long black hair and gentle face. Her eyes were swollen red from tears a few drops too much. Sitting next

to her was her mother – judging from the loving look she gave the young girl and the age difference. And at the back,

behind them, stood an elderly man. His hair was all white. He had a black jacket and white shirt, looking at Seohyuna and

her mom. He was not a man, he was a ghost.

“Seo Juhyun, live a little to the South near Meok District. Twenty three years old, currently unemployed but is taking music

lessons to become something of a pro. Her mother, Kim Youngah, was a member of the Pro-Democrat Party and served

the Parliament for twenty two years before retiring.”

“Yes…,” Taeyeon was listening but she didn’t really care about their background. She wanted to know why they were

here.

“Seohyun, that’s how the girl likes to be called, encountered a certain man yesterday at the park not too far from where

she lives. The man assaulted her. He gave her a kiss,” Gaeil stood a little closer to the window.

“The man, in the aftermath of the kiss, had some kind of a breakdown. He was screaming, clawing at his own body like he

was in pain. Then, in the midst of the fear, Seohyun ran home. But she didn’t tell her mother that, not until this evening.”

“What happened this evening?”

“The man came back. He was in her room, unannounced and undetected. He was just there, standing. He attacked her

again. This time, he sniffed her like a dog. Seohyun froze like something held her back, something that can’t be seen.

Everything happened so fast and the girl’s memory about the event was a little fuzzy. One thing she did remember though

is that the man’s eyes were black. Like thick ink. And the man’s body was covered with web-like dark veins, popping under

her skin.”

“The same man that killed thirty three people at the hospital?”

Gaeil didn’t answer right away. He took a good look at Seohyun at the other side of the window before nodding. “I’m afraid

so. You want to go there and talk to them?”

“Um, sure. But not to them…. I want to talk to someone else in that room. You can just send them home, I think. The girl

has been through enough.”

“Who?”

**

A stove filled with hot chicken soup flew from the kitchen to the living room. For the eyes, it would seem like a

magic, but in Jessica’s eyes, she could see her ghost sister was carrying it. She put it on the table in front of the TV and

they sat together for dinner. The two dead little girls were out playing and had not return for the day. Krystal was lonely

when they were not around so she was happy to have Jessica at home that night.

“I see that you’re happy about something, Unnie. Something good happened?” asked Krystal, spooning her chicken soup.

Jessica smiled. “Today was a pleasant day.”

“You went out with Yuri today?”

“Yu-, oh…,” Jessica suddenly remembered how she ditched Yuri at the university to go with Taeyeon. She felt a little guilty

then. “Yeah… I need to call Yuri.”

Krystal watched her sister plucked the phone from the table.

“Who did you go out with today?”

“Taeyeon.”

“Taeyeon?” Krystal almost choked on her soup. “That Taeyeon that your… what? Mint… something?”

“Helminthia. My Helminthia. Yes,” Jessica finished dialing the numbers and was now pressing the phone against her ear.

**

Yuri spent her whole afternoon reading a novel and watched some ridiculous soap opera on TV hoping that those would

get her mind off of Jessica. But the thought stuck in her brain like glue, it won’t even fade for just a second.

She didn’t like the idea Jessica hanging out with Taeyeon, being her Host and everything. She kept telling herself that it

was a dangerous thing to do while deep inside her heart, what she really felt, was jealousy. Yuri was jealous and afraid

that Taeyeon would take away Jessica from her.

When the day gone dark, Yuri took a warm bath and made herself a simple sandwich. That was when she heard her

phone rang. She jogged to her room and picked it up. “Hello?”

“Um... hi.”

“Tiffany?”

“Yes. Sorry. Am I calling at a bad time? Am I bothering you?”

Yuri exhaled a little. She was kind of hoping that the caller was Jessica. “No. Not at all.”

“Okay, phew…. Great.”

Then, silence. Nothing came out from the other line.

“What’s up?” Yuri sparked the conversation.

“Nothing, really. I just want to call you,” there was an awkward laugh from Tiffany. “You doing anything fun tonight?

”

“Not really.”

“I see…,” another silence, “say, are you free this Saturday?”

“Saturday? Not sure. Why?”

“I have these tickets to a music show. You know, if you want to go.”

Yuri smiled. She was amazed at how fast Tiffany was moving. It took her so soon that the girl was attracted to her but Yuri

was not feeling the same thing. Sure, Tiffany was beautiful, but she had her heart stuck somewhere else.

“Sorry…,” Yuri said, “I don’t know if I can go.”

There was a second of pause. “Oh, it’s okay. I’ll just pass this to my friend. But if you, um, change your mind….”

“I’ll give you a shout.”

“Yes. Okay, then. Good night.”

“Good night.”

**

 Jessica stared at her phone and glared at the voice of the operator saying that the number she wished to call was

currently busy.

“Who is she talking to?”

“Her friend, maybe.”

“She has no friend.”

**

Taeyeon came up to the roof of the police headquarter with a ghost of an elderly man trailing her back. She stood by the

edge and looked down to the traffic. The weather was pleasant although it was a bit chilly and windy. Apart from that, the

sky up her head and the city underneath were beautiful.

“I was surprised anyone can see me at all,” said the elderly ghost, “there’s not much people like you around anymore.”

Taeyeon smiled. “My previous Host and my current one could see ghosts. But, yes, I suppose they’re rare nowadays. So

you are, what, Sir, her grandfather?”

The elderly ghost nodded. “Yes. Call me Han. I forgot the rest of my name when I died but I remember the history of our

family.”

“So you are familiar with Helminthia and Host?” Taeyeon leaned on the railing. “Someone in the family?”

“My grandparents were a pair. But none of their descendant got the powers or the curse, depending on how you want to

look it at. Not until Seohyun.”

Taeyeon nodded. “I see. Seohyun is a Host, then? The Host for the man who made a small visit to her room earlier this

evening?”

“No.”

“No?”

“I don’t think she’s a Host at all.”

“That doesn’t explain the power she gave the man with black eyes.”

“There is an explanation, Young Lady. Seohyun is a very special girl. She is like the Goddess for you Helminthias.”

The door to the roof swung open and Gaeil called out Taeyeon’s name. “Hey, Taeyeon. We got a lead on the guy. He’s at

the North Business District. A team has been dispatched there.”

Taeyeon straightened her body. She looked to her left where Han was standing. “Tell me about her later?”

“I’ll be here,” said Han.

Taeyeon nodded and ran to Gaeil. She plucked her phone out of the pocket and about to call Byunghyun and Hyoyeon

but then she decided against that. They had to rest. She can do this alone.

**

North Business District, Kim Hyunwan Building, was thirty six stories high. It belonged to the Kim Hyunwan – as the name

implies – the magnate. He owned 47% of industrial business in all over South Korea. He even had a private island in the

country and six other outside of South Korea. The man was powerful as he was untouchable.

Hyunwan had 340,000 people working in his empire, spread throughout the world. Among them was a man named Cho

Yonggeo. A man with dedicated heart to the company and had been working for fifteen years. He was diligent and that

earned him a position as District Supervisor in North Business District with enough salary to buy ridiculuously expensive

car.

A year earlier, Yonggeo was fired by the company after one careless accounting mishap. He had cost the company a few

thousand dollars in the process, one mistake in his clean run for fifteen years. The CEO of the empire was enraged over

the money, a portion that could be taken as a sand in his beach and cut Yeonggo out of his company. Since then,

Yeonggo had been holding such grudge to Hyunwan but his beautiful wife kept the anger at bay.

But now that her wife was gone, no one could stop Yeonggo for stopping by at Hyunwan building, destroying the light and

made the place pitch black. He killed seventeen security personnel and injured and ten people doing overtime that night

before tearing down the upper floors to create a barricade for him to walk freely to a man who fired him, Kim Hyunwan.

Yonggeo was now sitting on Hyunwan private office balcony, looking out to the night sky, smoking a cigar taken from his

former boss’ drawer. Hyunwan himself was on the floor, head low to the extent of almost touching his folded knees. Hand

was above his head in a pose of an apoloizing man. He was crying in pain.

“Please... please,” he said, “it hurts. Let me go.”

Yonggeo turned to the pleading man and then he flicked his fingers. Hyunwan roared in agony. All of his muscles felt like

they were tearing apart from the inside but he couldn’t move. Something heavy and painful was holding him in that

position for a long time.

“Shut up. You’re ruining my night,” said Yonggeo and then from the distant, he could hear the faint sound of sirene.

“Ah. Somebody from your overtime staff must have called the police,” Yonggeo blew out a ring of smoke. “This should be

interesting.”

From where he was sitting, Yonggeo could only hear the police but there were five patrol cars and a special team van

were heading his way. In one of the patrol cars, Taeyeon sat. Her eyes fixed to the tall building ahead, questioning herself

what in God’s name was in there. Who was that guy and what was his motive?

Hostless were appearing here and there, too frequent to be called a coincidence. One of them was furious after her

groom was killed by another Helminthia. What was this Hostless guy’s story that could make him be this cruel? Taeyeon

would have to go face to face with him to get answers. And somehow, she had a feeling that she wouldn’t like it.

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