Once Chinsun returned to Naesae and saw the chaos and mess in clear daylight, she realised that it was much worse than she had expected. Thankfully, Baekhyun was with her to help out and they managed to get the place sorted out within just two days. There had unfortunately been some losses as secondhand books were not necessarily in pristine conditions to begin with and more than a handful were torn and ruined beyond salvation.

Somehow, Jongdae bought the story that he had slipped on a water puddle, fell down and knocked his head in the process, hence why he had fainted. Meanwhile, Chinsun and Jongin had reached a silent agreement whereby Jongdae would be kept busy in the funeral home with all sorts of menial tasks and Jongin would be in charge of surveilling him. So far, neither Chinsun nor Jongin sensed any residue of the evil spirit in Jongdae, however they were also painfully aware that exorcising a spirit that had possessed a human body was a delicate and complex matter which was not within their area of expertise. Human possession was something that required very specific training and requirements that Jongin and Chinsun had only ever dabbled with out of pure curiosity. Nonetheless, it would appear that things had returned to normal and Jongdae was back to his old self: loud, unwilling to be stuck behind his desk, and constantly trying to find entertainment for himself at the expense of Jongin’s patience and sanity.

Baekhyun had become an unofficial employee at Naesae, tending after the shop and keeping Granny Im company whenever she visited while Chinsun shut herself in the basement with the gayageum to conduct research. Baekhyun was more than glad to take on this position since he enjoyed being in the presence of books, and he could still work on his manuscript when there were no customers.

Currently Baekhyun was alone at the bookshop, having just helped some school kids find books for their school research. Naesae truly had all sorts of books, including informational ones that would be hard to find even in a state library. This simply strengthened Baekhyun’s belief that he was currently sitting inside an alcove of hidden treasure waiting to be explored, and it sent a wave of inspiration into his fingertips as he fiercely typed away on his laptop.

The door opened in that moment and in came Jongin holding a book in hand. Baekhyun blinked in surprise because usually Jongin came in through the passageway. Since he came from the front entrance today, it meant that he had just returned from elsewhere. Jongin gave Baekhyun a subtle nod of acknowledgment before heading straight for the archive, and when he returned, the book was no longer in his possession.

Jongin was not one for small chatter and would usually leave the moment he had completed the task he had come for. Therefore it was only natural that curiosity knocked on Baekhyun’s brain when he noticed Jongin standing awkwardly a few feet away from the counter, his eyes darting around the quiet shop in search of s