The bracelet that Chinsun had given Baekhyun seemed to have had a positive effect because Baekhyun was no longer jolting around like a puppy on sugar overload whenever a spirit was in his proximity. However, the dark circles under his eyes became increasingly prominent and Chinsun knew that there was something else bothering the male that he had not shared with her.

After much probing from Chinsun, Baekhyun had finally confessed why he had been absolutely unable to  sleep due to a large group of wandering spirits outside his studio flat. Thus, after a brief discussion, the two of them were now heading towards the park located outside Baekhyun’s place.

“It’s a huge group of them and they wander aimlessly around the park and are always screaming in pain,” Baekhyun explained. “From their clothing, it looks like they died in the 50s.”

“They are probably victims from the Jeju Uprising,” Chinsun sighed, no surprise in her voice. “Random sightings of their wandering spirits are common in Jeju. In fact it’s become some sort of tourist attraction.”

“Are you sure we don’t need to call Jongin?” Baekhyun eyed the girl with unease.

“He’s still recovering from the mass exorcism. He needs rest,” Chinsun replied in a firm tone, leaving no space for Baekhyun to argue.

As they approached the location, Baekhyun inhaled sharply at the sight that he was just unable to get accustomed with. The park which during the day was filled with the gleeful laughter and screaming of children had completely changed once the sun set. What greeted them was a mass of wandering spirits of all gender and age, wearing bloodied and torn clothes. Some of them even had bullet wounds on full display with strange liquid oozing out. No matter how Baekhyun looked at them, it was clear that they were in pain, and they had grown increasingly restless with each passing night which had prevented him from getting even a wink of sleep.

“Are they dangerous?” Baekhyun whispered, tugging Chinsun’s sleeve.

“My tattoos aren’t reacting so they should be harmless,” Chinsun observed. “They are just lost and confused.”

Observing the aimless movements of the spirits, Baekhyun realised that indeed none of them seemed to have noticed or even cared for Chinsun and Baekhyun’s presence. Whatever reason it was that they haunted the place, it was not out of evil intention. They barely even seemed aware of anything happening around them.

“So what do we do?”

“You stay out of it.” Chinsun pointed a warning finger towards the male. “I’ll try to find a spirit that is still coherent and capable of talking, but I suspect that we are currently standing on an undiscovered mass grave from the Jeju Uprising.”

Baekhyun shuddered at the thought and stared at the soil beneath his feet. He had walked through this park countless times before, completely oblivious of what lay beneath it. Knowing the truth now had left a rather nasty aftertaste in his mouth.

Something in the air shifted in that moment, and Baekhyun shivered, feeling like the temperature had dropped to below zero. Turning towards Chinsun in worry, Baekhyun’s eyes widened at how her tattoos had turned black, meaning danger was approaching.

There was truly no rest for the wicked because in an instant, an evil spirit emerged from the mass of wandering spirits and charged straight towards them. Had Chinsun not reacted quickly and pushed Baekhyun away, he would have found himself with yet another spirit-caused injury.

“I thought you said they were harmless!” Baekhyun yelped.

“Well I was wrong then!” Chinsun hissed. “If left by themselves for too long without guidance, wandering spirits will lose their sense of self and get eaten up by their negative energy. That’s how evil and vengeful spirits are born.”

For whatever reason, the evil spirit that chosen to target Baekhyun. Without taking a break, Chinsun dashed forward and gave Baekhyun yet another push to get him away from the incoming spirit. Rubbing his ribs, Baekhyun flinched, knowing that a nasty bruise will form. However he would take an annoying bruise over getting shredded by a vengeful spirit any day.

In her hurry to protect Baekhyun, Chinsun had miscalculated her footing and ended up tumbling towards the ground. The evil spirits let out a loud screech and whacked Chinsun, causing a wide gush on her stomach. Baekhyun’s eyes widened, but was stopped from approaching by Chinsun who sent him a warning glare that ordered him to stay put. Chinsun’s brows etched together as she tried to formulate a plan of action. She was starting to feel light-headed from the blood loss, however she had no time or the tools to stop the bleeding.

Chinsun stared at her white blouse that was turning red and an idea flickered in her brain. It was a dangerous technique that any sensible spiritual practitioner would be highly against using. However extreme cases called for extreme solutions and Chinsun was never one to back away when there was someone in need of help. Inhaling deeply, Chinsun smeared the blood all over her palms just as the spirit launched towards her.

The chant that was needed for the technique Chinsun was attempting was not one that she was familiar with, thus the words came out chopped