Bizarrely enough, the following days were uneventful to the point that Chinsun thought that she had inadvertently stepped into an alternate universe. The lack of interaction between her and Jongin however served as a bitter reminder of reality.

Slouched behind the counter of Naesae, Chinsun tapped a listless finger against her cheek while reading  Baekhyun’s manuscript. Baekhyun meanwhile sat stiffly on the bench, his torso twisted awkwardly as his gaze followed Chinsun’s eyes move from left to right, up and down along the screen of his computer.

“So…?” Baekhyun clenched his fists, his heart threatening to jump out of his chest.

Closing the lid of the computer, Chinsun interlocked her fingers as she stared straight into Baekhyun’s eyes. Her blank expression sent warning bells in Baekhyun’s mind and his shoulders sank in dejection at the thought that the chapter he had Chinsun read was no good. The corners of Chinsun’s mouth twitched however and soon a proud smile spread out across her face.

“That was beautifully written.” Chinsun gave Baekhyun two thumbs up. “The past lives of the protagonists are so detailed that I can easily envision it in my mind.”

“Oh thank the lord,” Baekhyun exhaled. “And my spiritual energy didn’t seep into it?”

“No.” Chinsun shook her head. “Honestly I think Mark was taking you for a ride. It’s hard enough to consciously transfer spiritual energy into an object, let alone doing it unconsciously if you are not even trained properly.”

“That big fat liar.” Baekhyun pouted. “Where is he anyway?”

“He went out with Uncle Kim to scout the area and do some investigation.”

A series of hurried footsteps emerged from the kitchenette and Chinsun twirled around, her eyebrows furrowing together in confusion upon seeing her aunt emerge with Jongin and Jongdae in tow.

“Can’t believe I didn’t think of asking this from the very beginning but what book did the spirit escape from?”

Blinking slowly, Chinsu stood up from her chair as she motioned to shift towards the archive.

“We had actually thought of asking you,” Chinsun confessed as she slid open the door to the archive. “But thought that since you aren’t familiar with most of the spirits sealed in here there was no need.”

“Yes but there are a select few that I was made to know,” Boa said with emphasis. “The dangerous and important ones.”

Biting her left thumb, Chinsun squirmed in unease at the connotations of what her aunt said. With her right hand, Chinsun travelled along the shelves and stopped once she found what she was looking for. To her dismay, the book was placed just above her reach — something she had done herself since the book was empty but she did not want to accidentally use it for another spirit incase the one that escaped returned. Going on her tip-toes, Chinsun stretched her arm as much as possible but ended up losing her balance. Jongin stepped in just in time, placing a firm hand on Chinsun’s back and stabilising her while with his free hand he grabbed the book and handed it to Boa. Jongin took a wide step away from Chinsun almost immediately and the words of thanks died in Chinsun’s throat.

Baekhyun and Jongdae had remained a few feet away from them, wanting to stay out of the way. Boa caressed the cover of the book with her hand and as her fingers traced the embossed title on the spine. Recognition struck her like lightning. This was one of the few books that she specifically remembered when and where the spirit inside came from, and Chinsun’s father was in when he returned holding this book.

“This was not an easy one,” Boa exhaled, placing the book on the reading desk. “This is the book your father brought back when he infiltrated North Korea together with Jongin’s father.”

“He what and where?!?” Jongin and Chinsun reacted in unison and purposefully looked away from each other when they noticed that.

“You heard me correc