Chinsun jumped out of her seat when she saw Jongin and Baekhyun stumble in with an unconscious young male in their arms. One look at the spirits trailing behind them and Chinsun locked the entrance of the bookshop to then forge her way towards the archive. Baekhyun inhaled deeply, anticipation bubbling inside of him for being allowed in there for the first time and was surprised to find it much larger than he had expected. The archive must have been double the size of the bookshop, and there was even a basement downstairs, which was where Chinsun was leading them towards.

“His name is Nakamoto Yuta,” Jongin mumbled while on his knees, drawing a spell circle on the ground.

Chinsun nodded, sparing a worried glance at Yuta before giving Baekhyun a lighter.

“Light the candles around the room please.”

Baekhyun did as he was told and was welcomed with the comforting scent of lavender and peach blossoms. His noses scrunched up however when the Chinsun lit the incense and its striking smell attacked the delicate scent of the candles.

“Are you trying to torture them?” Chinsun hissed at Jongin. “They’ve suffered enough.”

Chinsun angrily erased the symbol that Jongin had just drawn, throwing him a scolding glare.

“Redraw that.”

Jongin growled at Chinsun, not appreciating her tone of voice, however he knew that she was right and redrew the erased part. Out of habit he had drawn a symbol that had intense attacking powers, but their aim was not to force the spirits of the comfort women into submission.

When he was done, he signalled Baekhyun to help him move Yuta to the centre of the circle, careful to not accidentally smudge anything. Meanwhile, Chinsun unlocked a box, revealing a 12-string gayageum. Sitting down onto the floor, Chinsun gingerly laid one end of the gayageum onto her lap and placed her hands in position, an open book sitting next to her. Receiving a nod from Jongin, Chinsun strummed the strings with great force at first to attract the attention of the spirits. Then, Chinsun softened her approach and gentle waves emitted from the instrument, splashing against the spirits like playful waves of the sea.

Slowly, the spirits separated themselves from Yuta and the darkness that engulfed them faded, revealing their real selves; their youthful selves; their forgotten selves. They were young girls of a tender age, at the stage in their lives where they should have been out there exploring the world while sharing joyous moments with their loved ones. Instead, their lights dimmed all too early, forcing them into eternal abyss.

Baekhyun slapped a hand over his mouth, not wanting to produce any sound that would disrupt the pleasant melody that filled the room and eased the spirits. He gave Jongin a tentative glance and saw reflected in his face the same conflicted look of fury and sympathy Baekhyun was feeling himself. The spirits looked around Chinsun’s age, if not even younger, and Baekhyun wondered if maybe, just maybe, Jongin’s strong reaction was because he was projecting Chinsun onto them and the mere thought of Chinsun experiencing what they went through triggered an avalanche of uncontrollable rage.

Soon both males’ temperament were soothed by the graceful sound of the gayageum and just like the spirits, they were swaying softly to the music, momentarily forgetting all the negativity that existed in the world. Chinsun then started chanting something rhythmically, in tune wit