When Chinsun regained her consciousness, she was greeted with Baekhyun’s worried face hovering over her. Pressing her hand onto the surface beneath, Chinsun realised that she was lying on the bench, a book placed under her head to serve as pillow. Taking her time to breathe in and then out, Chinsun recalled the last thing that she remembered before passing out.

“Where’s Jongdae? Is anyone injured?” Chinsun jolted up up, immediately regretting her decision because the sudden motion triggered a wave of nausea in her.

“Take it easy.” Baekhyun rubbed Chinsun’s back in a soothing motion. “Jongdae fainted as well and Jongin brought him back to his room. He’s now reapplying the barriers in the passage way, making them stronger. As for any injuries…”

Baekhyun’s voice faded out at the last words as his eyes trailed towards Chinsun’s left arm. Following his gaze, Chinsun clenched and unclenched her hand, rotating her shoulders to confirm nothing felt out of place.

“Seems all good,” Chinsun hummed. “No visible external injuries and no muscle injuries either.”

“That’s good,” Baekhyun sighed, slumping onto the ground and sitting cross-legged. “It really looked like your body was not going to be able to handle it. You should’ve seen Jongin’s face when you fainted.”

Chinsun’s gaze drifted towards the kitchenette, almost expecting Jongin to return at any moment and scold her for her reckless behaviour.

“He’s probably angry at me again,” Chinsun mumbled softly.

“Why would he be angry at you?” Baekhyun asked in confusion. “You saved him.”

“I yelled at him for exorcising the water ghost,” Chinsun sighed in dejection.

Baekhyun remained silent, remembering vague bits and pieces of the brief argument Chinsun and Jongin had while he was getting strangled by a possessed Jongdae.

“The barriers are up and Jongdae is still sleeping.” Jongin’s tired voice echoed as he stood behind the counter. “I think whatever possessed him has left. To be safe though, we’ll need to keep a close eye on him.”

It was unclear whether he heard what Chinsuns said, however he was actively avoiding looking in Chinsun’s direction. Nonetheless, Baekhyun was not convinced that Jongin was feeling anger at the moment, and even if he were, whether it was really directed towards Chinsun.

“What about the nine gird mark on his back…?” Chinsun whispered softly.

Jongin gulped loudly, his dry lips before responding.

“It should fade by the time he wakes up.”

“That’s good,” Chinsun exhaled in relief before yet another worry dawned upon her. “The spirit that possessed Jongdae was looking for someone.”

“Someone sealed in here,” Jongin added, slowly connecting the pieces together. “Could he be the reason why books were moved from the archive?”

“How would he have managed to enter though?” Baekhyun frowned. “Or even move the books.”

Jongin and Chinsun both fell silent, trying to come up with an answer to the question. It was Chinsun who spoke up first, though she started by summarising past events first.

“Jongdae entered through the passageway,” Chinsun observed. “The first time I thought something was wrong with him, he had specifically mentioned how Jongin was guarding the passageway to stop him from ditching work. It was right after Jongin had strengthened the barriers of Naesae, and he — the spirit inside Jongdae — was not expecting that which is why he got the burn mark. This meant the front entrance was no longer a viable passage if he wanted to enter secretly. The time Baekhyun caught him, he must have entered through the passageway again just like today. Since Jongdae is of Kim blood, if the spirit manages to hide itself just enough to not be detected, then he will have no problem going through the passage.”

“I never thought of adding strong barriers in the passageway since it’s inside the property.” Jongin clenched his jaws, mentally blaming himself for his oversight. “But I’ve already changed that.”

“The spirit possessing Jongdae managed to move the books from the archive by using Jongdae’s body, but did not have the ability to unseal them,” Baekhyun stated slowly. “Which is why a bunch were moved, resulting in my incident. Then you guys found the books and returned them to their original place and strengthened protection of the archive so the spirit became restless and had to make more use of Jongdae’s body.”

Jongin and Chinsun finally looked at each other, a silent exchange taking place before nodding in agreement with Baekhyun.

“That evil spirit is what Taeyong sensed and why my tattoo reacted,” Chinsun finalised before quietly adding one more observation. “And what the water ghost was trying to protect Jongdae from.”

“Why would a water ghost want to protect him though?” Jongin asked without being able to control himself.

“How would I know.” Chinsun pouted. “It’s not like I’m not a spirit-whisperer or something.”

“Spirit-whisperer?” Baekhyun suddenly quirked up, an idea popping up in his mind. “There must be someone like that right? Someone that can communicate freely with spirits and get information.”

“That would be a medium, and we don’t really know any experienced ones,” Jongin stated monotonously, but then his voice shifted as he spoke in a more careful tone. “Although…”

Not finishing his sentence, Jongin glanced at