“So, anyone care to explain what on earth happened?” Jongdae nudged Chinsun, eyeing the girl like some freak show as she wrapped the duvet tighter around herself.

The group of friends had safely returned to the Kim house. After warming up their bodies, they were now huddled together in Jongdae’s room.

“All I saw was you running towards the cliff like a madwoman, and then trying to kill Jongin like a madwoman. Oh and then the two of you danced like mad people, and finally I saw something that shouldn’t exist before my very own eyes, which makes me wonder whether I was the mad one.”

Jongin’s eyebrows twitched in annoyance at Jongdae’s rambling. To his dismay, Baekhyun was struck by inspiration. Throwing his arm around both Jongdae and Jongin’s shoulders, Baekhyun pulled the two cousins towards himself and wailed dramatically.

“We live in a mad, mad world!”

Chinsun chuckled at the shenanigans unfolding before her. This caused her breath to get caught in , instigating a coughing fit, adding pressure to the bruise currently forming on her chest from coming in contact with the vajra dorje. Jongin reflexively shot out of Baekhyun’s grasp; sending the two best friends flailing towards the ground. The concerned male hovered a breath away from Chinsun, fearing that one touch from him and she will dissipate into thin air. Seeing his reaction, Chinsun raised a judgmental eyebrow at him, almost offended by how delicate he viewed her to be. She then rolled her eyes, purposefully irking the tall male before tapping him with her leg, causing him to lose balance and land on Baekhyun and Jongdae.

Not missing a chance to annoy his cousin, Jongdae leaned forward, pressing his torso firmly against Jongin and using him as a human pillow.

“So,” Jongdae droned, “enlighten us Chinsun dearest.”

“Also what were those tools you used?” Baekhyun quipped, his eyes beaming with curiosity.

Shuffling into a comfortable position, Chinsun bit her lip as she ignored Jongin’s desperate plead for help and reached for the two sacred items that had enabled their mission to succeed.

“This bell is called a dril-bu, while this sceptre is a vajra dorje. These are commonly used in purifying rituals amongst Tibetan Buddhists.” Chinsun spoke leisurely, with a pinch of reverence in her tone. “In Sanskrit, the term vajra means diamond — something spotlessly pure and indestructible, thus the Sanskrit word can also mean unbreakable or impregnable. Additionally, vajra can also mean thunderbolt, signifying the lightening-bolt power of enlightenment.”

Chinsun paused, giving her listeners time to digest and process the avalanche of information. At the same time, she was stabilising her own emotions as the adrenaline had yet to fully subside.

“Thanks to these, we were able to challenge and save the berserk haechi. What sealed the deal however…”

Chinsun her lips, her eyes watering ever so slightly as she relived the moment. Sensing her wavering confidence, Jongin reached for her hand, interlocking their fingers. He then gave her hand a firm squeeze, reassuring her and comforting her.

“The haechi that protected Chinsun when she went missing — the one that possessed her first — sacrificed itself for its companion,” Jongin explained in an even voice. “We thought it had left Chinsun after passing on its message, but it lingered within her, lying in waiting for its companion.”

“It used up all its years of cultivation and sacred energy to purify its lifelong companion,” Chinsun concluded. “And it was able to do so because the berserk haechi possessed me, making it susceptible to the power of the dril-bu and vajra dorje.”

“So what to the haechi that sacrificed itself?” Baekhyun questioned. “To grant freedom to its friend?”

His guts twisted in an uncomfortable knot when he locked eyes with Chinsun, and as he lowered his gaze, he knew the answer without needing to hear it said out loud.

・・・

Maybe they were unwilling to accept reality, or maybe they were simply holding onto false hope. Either way, the group of friends were not yet able to acknowledge the tragic fate that befell on the haechi who cared so deeply for its companion. They could not yet accept that two entities that had always been there for each other were now separated forever.

When Chinsun rose from her slumber the next day, she ope