Keonhee secures six bikes for his friends from the bike shop where he works part-time. The ride from the bike shop towards Grandmother Cookie’s house/store is a good twenty minutes. Ireh leads the pack and Winter finds herself enjoying the experience of traversing the busy roads with her friends. 

According to Ireh, Grandmother Cookie lives in a white house. The area is located near a creek and is almost empty. “How did you find her?” Winter asks, her voice a little loud for Ireh to hear her despite the noise from the nearby traffic. 

“I’m not sure,” Ireh shouts back. “I just saw her greenhouse, entered without knocking and she asked me if I am interested in taking care of her shop with her.”

“And you just said yes?” Winter asks again. She sees Ireh nod.

“My instinct were telling me to say yes.” She shouts.

“Ha! That must be her using her mind control abilities.” Dongju shouts.

Once the group reach an area where there the road is adorned by tree tunnels, Ireh made a right turn. Winter sees a creek on their left side. Winter temporarily forgets about her burnt arm because of the bumps she encounters on the dirt road that the group is currently passing. She wonders what Ireh has been doing in these parts of the town that made her meet Grandmother Cookie. 

A few moments later, the gang arrives at a white house. Ireh was understating her description of the house. It was… elegant. It is a mix of a traditional and Western modern style complete with a greenhouse. Winter is in awe of how homey the house feels. It feels like a safe space. Endemic plants are everywhere and the silence provides comfort. 

The group enters the house and parked their bikes near the entrance. Ireh knocks thrice. She explains that Grandmother Cookie instructed her to do so to differentiate the good ones from the bad ones. As soon as the door opens, Ireh enters and says hi to an empty room.

Winter takes the opportunity to take a good look at the inside of the house. There is nothing peculiar about the house, nothing that sets the alarms off in her consciousness. The house smells of herbs and good food. Winter continues to look around. Photographs, dried plants, books, and… a dog. Winter eyes the dog. She sees Ireh saying hi to it, as one would if they are fond of canines. However, Winter senses something different from the dog. The huge, black dog feels… human.

“Ah, I see you have arrived,” a voice came into the living area. When Ireh talks of Grandmother Cookie, Winter thought she will see a stereotypical old woman wrinkly and shrunk by osteoporosis. What she sees in front of her is a good-looking person with ashen white hair. Grandmother Cookie’s stance is reminiscent of noblewomen and, although, her age is apparent in her physical attributes, her eyes still shine like when she was younger.

“Hi, boss,” Ireh offers a hug which the old woman returns. She then grabbed a folded newspaper and hit the younger woman with gusto but with no heat. Winter sees her friend pouting at the action. “Hey, what was that for?” She asks.

“I heard you have been calling me Grandmother Cookie for less than savory reasons,” the old woman explains. This makes the group laugh and relax. 

“Who told?” Ireh asks the group accusingly. Everyone shakes their heads violently.

“Enough of that. Your guardians told me all about it,” Grandmother Cookie walks towards her living area and motions for the group to follow her. Winter excitedly follows, hearing a soft Can I have guardians who are not tattletales then from Ireh. 

The group is in awe of the house’s living room. It is spacious and the wide windows contribute to the nice ventilation. Winter stares in wonder. Everything is in a shade of green. “Come sit down,” Grandmother Cookie says as she prepares a basin of water and adds some salt into it. 

As the group positioned themselves in comfortable seats, Grandmother Cookie gestures for Winter to give her something. Winter is confused as she looks at Ireh and the rest of her friends. Yizhuo shrugs, also not knowing what is happening.

“Your arm, girl,” Grandmother Cookie begins. “You have been messing with lost souls recently, haven’t you?” She asks and this leaves Winter and her friends speechless. 

“With all due respect, Grandma,” Yizhuo asks. “How did you know Winter’s predicament?” She concludes, looking accusingly at Ireh in which the latter shrugs in denial. Grandmother Cookie lets out a small laugh.

“In my age, I have seen plenty of things,” Grandmother Cookie starts, removing her glasses. Winter and her friends gasped at the sight. Grandmother Cookie is blind. The air of mysticism and mystery thickens and Winter feels the goosebumps on her arms – the good kind. Grandmother Cookie gestures once again to Winter and, this time, she did not hesitate to give the elder her injured arm. “Spirits and entities living in our world is nothing new,” She begins while washing Winter’s arm with the water. Winter flinches as soon as she feels the salt in her skin. Yizhuo is alarmed but Winter signals for her to calm down. Grandmother Cookie barely holds Winter’s arms, she can feel it, but there is strength in that soft grasp.

“Sometimes,” Grandmother Cookie says. “A lost soul retains its consciousness – its memories – because of the debt it owes to the living.” The elder continues to pour the water into Winter’s injured arm. She can feel tears forming in her eyes because of the pain. “They try to reach the living but their moral compasses are gone.” Grandmother Cookie continues and washes Winter’s arm with the water. Slowly, Winter witnesses how the scab and the pain are fading away. With the last pour of the water, the scab is completely gone.

“Trouble follows you, Kim Minjeong,” Grandmother Cookie announces. This made the gang look at the elder. Only a few people know Winter’s traditional name and use it. They looked at each other and the old woman. “Oh, you kids,” She says. “Don’t look at me as if I killed your dogs.” She smiles as she feels the kids trying to make sense of what is happening. “Your guardian happens to call you Minjeong,” She explains. “Don’t worry about it, you’ll be okay.” The elder assures.

“H-How can I pay you?” Winter struggles to make sense of what she has experienced. It’s only morning and she happens to have an eventful one. Grandmother Cookies smiles and shakes her head. “Ireh is your payment,” She says casually. “The universe must have known you will need help so it sent your friend to work for me.”

“Also, Winter,” Grandmother Cookie continues. “Never close your doors to people.” The elder smiles and walks out of the room. She gave Ireh instructions on what to do in case they decide to leave already. The six of them is speechless, trying to piece together what has happened. 

Ireh returns to the living room five minutes later carrying a small box with bottles. “Winter, Grandmother Cookie wants you to have this.” She says and handing her a small egg-shaped container made of clay. Winter is not sure what’s inside and took a sniff. It smells burnt and pure at the same time.

“It’s salt,” Ireh explains while handing out clear bottles with pink salt. “Grandmother Cookies says it will keep the spirits at bay. But you have to check, weaker spirits will burn small portions of the salt. More powerful ones will… well, burn it bigger.”

“And this pink salt… Himalayan salt?” Chaein asks, applying her Sherlock Holmes-like investigative skills. Ireh nods. “She said it’s for cleansing,” She explains. “Being with Winter makes us susceptible to the energy of ghosts and they may become parasites.” Winter listens carefully to Ireh’s instructions and eyes her friends. Winter thinks of the danger that they’re going to experience because of her.

“Don’t ever think about it,” Yizhuo says, looking at her sternly and making everyone focus on the two of them. “I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking of retreating because you think you are putting us in danger.”

“But…” Winter softly says. “It’s true.” Winter hears her best friend sigh. She knows Yizhuo will convince her that she is no burden. Yizhuo sits beside her placed her arms around Winter’s shoulders. “You’re not alone, Winter,” She says. “We are in this together. You may push us away but we are going to be with you. Might as well stay and let us help you.” Yizhuo smiles and Winter smiles back. She looks at the weird, egg-shaped salt container, and then she looks at her friends. It seems they need to resolve this problem as soon as possible.