Osratida - Chapter 1

“That kid’s fate is truly miserable.”

<A Record from November 1997>

‘Ha Gyo-jin, born on September 26, 1991…’

The old shaman, who had been waving her fan back and forth, suddenly snapped it shut and clicked her tongue sharply, glaring.

‘That kid’s fate is really miserable.’

‘W-What do you mean?’

Mrs. Kim cautiously asked, furrowing her brow. She couldn’t hide her nervousness since she stepped over the threshold of this place, and her hands were trembling uncontrollably.

As a result, Gyo-jin, whose right hand was held by hers, could feel her trembling. Despite her anxiety, Gyo-jin just looked around with vacant eyes.

On the outside, it appeared to be an ordinary hanok, but the interior of the shrine was plastered with talismans of complex designs and pictures of bodhisattvas.

The gaudy folding screens and the large decorations, which might have been goblins or something else, were almost painful to look at.

Although young Gyo-jin found the place quite unpleasant and uncomfortable, he couldn’t plead to leave because of Mrs. Kim, who was trembling terribly. Instead, he just glanced at the shaman before him with disinterested eyes.

“What on earth did this kid do in his past life?!”

“E-Excuse me?”

“In his past life, he accumulated so much karma. Do you have any idea how many people were wrongfully killed by this kid when he was a murderer?!”

“……”

“They’re all grinding their teeth and clinging to him. Even though it’s been hundreds of yearsy since they died, they’ve become vengeful spirits and are following this kid around, desperately looking for any opportunity to mess with him!”

As the shaman shouted, even spitting in the process, Mrs. Kim could only look back and forth between the shaman and Gyo-jin, who wore a sullen expression, her face on the verge of tears.

“Oh, my poor Gyo-jin. What am I supposed to do with my poor child?”

Mrs. Kim clung to the shaman, gripping his hands tightly, as if she might burst into tears at any moment. She looked truly desperate.

Gyo-jin, however, remained indifferent, his clear eyes scanning the surroundings without concern for her distress. As he slowly took in the interior, his gaze met the shaman’s, who had been intently watching him.

“Even with all those spirits clinging to you, you somehow managed to survive until now.”

The shaman’s sharp, black eyes glinted fiercely between the wrinkles that time had etched into his face.
Illuminated by the candles in the dim room, the old shaman appeared even more ominous, causing Gyo-jin, who had been expressionless, to briefly furrow his brow.

The shaman’s eyes, glaring beyond his heavy makeup, looked far more menacing than the goblin drawings scattered around the shrine.

Gyo-jin disliked everything about the old shaman—his face, his voice, and the unsettling atmosphere he created.

However, Mrs. Kim, sitting next to him, seemed too overwhelmed to worry about such unease.

“What should we do now?”
she asked.

“For now, I’ll give you a talisman. It should ward off most minor spirits.”

“Will that completely solve the problem?”

“Let me warn you in advance, it won’t fix everything. Every three years, a particularly powerful spirit will try to take over, and even I can’t deal with that one. On that day, the talisman won’t be effective, so you must stay home, no matter what.”

The shaman, known for his extraordinary abilities, snapped his fan open once more, waved it a few times, and then gestured toward the gate with his chin as if to tell them to leave. Beyond the open door, a large sotdae (wooden pole with a carved bird) cast a long shadow.

The year was 1997, and Ha Gyo-jin was seven years old, on the first day of November. This was his first encounter with the great shaman of Geumjadang, a memory that would stay with him.

On the Surface, Everything Seems Fine

<A Record from November 2015>

The weather had become noticeably chilly, signaling that late autumn was quickly approaching.

Shin-hee shivered, pulling his collar tighter around his neck. He was on his way back after submitting a leave of absence from school.

Perhaps it was the lingering regrets that refused to let go, making his steps feel heavy and the air seem even colder than usual. A black silhouette, as if in tune with his somber mood, trailed closely behind him as he walked through the alley.

Despite this, Shin-hee hurried his pace, pressing the familiar number on his phone. After a few rings, someone finally answered.

“What is it?”

“Minam, it’s me.”

“What?”

“I finally took a leave of absence.”

“Wow.”
The person on the other end of the call hesitated, as if they couldn’t believe what they were hearing, and then asked in a cautious voice.

“…Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not okay. I’m depressed.”

“You kept agonizing over it, and you finally went through with it…”

“Yeah, …that’s how it ended up.”

Even to himself, Shin-hee’s voice sounded low and heavy, burdened with an obvious, deep-seated sadness.
He let out a deep sigh, trying to refresh his mood, and then forced a bit of cheer into his tone as he continued.

“Are you at home? If you are, I’m feeling pretty down, so how about buying me a drink?”

“Sigh, wait up. I’ll be there soon.”

“Ah, as expected. So today, our great Baek Min-am is treating?”

“You bring it up, but I’m the one paying?”

“Is our friendship really that shallow? Shut up and get dressed; I’ll see you at the original grilled intestines place!”

“Yup.”
Shin-hee quickly responded before Min-am could change his mind, then hurriedly hung up the phone.
He slowly leaned against the wall, gazing up at the sky that had grown darker. As Shin-hee came to a stop, the shadow that had been following him also slid to a halt beside him.

Today, I’m really not in the mood to deal with this. Shin-hee, familiar with the sight, glanced at the shadow and sighed.

“Why do you keep following me?”

「······」

“You need to say something if you want help.”

「······」

“Or do you want me to help you pass on right now?”

The figure, which had been silently staring at Shin-hee, finally shook its head—no, it shook its entire body.

As Shin-hee’s gaze met the hollow eyes and the bloodstained face illuminated by the faint streetlight, he couldn’t help but let out a low groan.
Even after seeing this for over a decade, day after day, the sight of eyes blackened by death and a face covered in blood was something he could never get used to.
It was clear that this spirit had not died peacefully.

As Shin-hee became more accustomed to the ghastly appearance, he noticed details like the blood-soaked suit and the shoes caked with dirt.

He guessed that she had died from severe blood loss and had probably endured for quite a while before finally succumbing. But none of that really mattered to him, especially not today when he was feeling so low.

Shin-hee scratched the back of his head and bent down to meet the eyes of the ghost, who wasn’t particularly tall.

“You seem too young to have died so early. What brings you here?”

The uninvited guest blinked slowly without a word. The dried bloodstains on her pale skin moved slightly as she did, rising and falling with each blink. Given her silence, it seemed she wasn’t very talkative in life either.

Her blood-soaked shirt, once white, and her disheveled hair made her the most ghostly-looking spirit Shin-hee had encountered in a long time.

Shin-hee figured that before he could muster the will to talk to her, he would first need to do something about her appearance.

“How about you start by washing your face? If you head up toward the mountain, there’s a small stream. It’s a sacred place, so even the dead can cleanse themselves there. Just wash up tonight, and come back tomorrow morning. Then, I’ll listen to whatever you need to say… I’m just not up for it tonight.”

Shin-hee finished speaking slowly and began to walk toward the place where he was supposed to meet Min-am.

Ssshhk!

Just as he started to move, the bloodied face behind him suddenly lifted and rushed at him. However, the ghost’s attack was abruptly halted by Shin-hee’s outstretched hand.
The bracelet of prayer beads on his wrist hummed and vibrated, resonating with the spirit’s energy.

“Excuse me.”

The ghost’s body writhed within invisible restraints, struggling and huffing, but Shin-hee remained unfazed. He calmly but firmly addressed the spirit.

“I understand you died unjustly, and I get that you’re in a hurry, but you need to have some manners. You came here to ask for help, not to threaten me, right?”

The spirit remained silent.

“Don’t forget that you were once human.”

「……」

“One more time, and I won’t give any warning before I send you off for good.”

When Shin-hee arrived, Min-am was already there, flipping intestines on the grill with two bottles of soju on the table.

This was one of their regular spots, a place they visited once or twice a month, so the kitchen auntie greeted him warmly as he walked through the glass door.

Shin-hee shrugged off his jacket, draping it over his shoulder, and collapsed into the chair.

“Why are you so late?”
Min-am asked, giving him a look as he flipped the meat again, which had just started to cook. But Shin-hee, without missing a beat, expertly unscrewed the cap from the soju bottle. The pleasant sound of the liquid pouring into the glass filled the air.

“A guest came by.”

“A ghost again?”

“Who else? They’re the only ones who visit me every day.”

“What’s the issue this time? A dog? A cat? The elderly lady from next door who died of cancer? Or the gambler from across the street who got beaten to death for cheating?”

“Young. Probably around our age.”

“Ah, I see.”
Min-am, genuinely sighing, poured some soju into Shin-hee’s glass and scolded him.

“So how did they die?”

“Not sure yet. Enough with the ghost talk. They always hear when we talk about them and come back even more.”

“Well, they are ghosts.”

“But, is she here too?”
Min-am lowered his voice and glanced around. The shabby intestines restaurant was occupied only by a group of tipsy men and the auntie in the kitchen preparing the meat.

Shin-hee flashed a sly smile and leaned in to whisper in Min-am’s ear.

“The owner of this place who passed away recently? She’s sitting at the counter.”

“She’s quite fond of you. She says you’re reliable and handsome.”

Min-am’s face turned pale as Shin-hee whispered in his ear, revealing that the recently deceased owner of the restaurant was sitting at the counter.

“She’s quite taken with you. Says you’re reliable and handsome.”

“……”

“She even said that if you were about 20 years younger, she might have tried to woo you. It’s a shame, really.”

“Let’s stop talking about this.”
Min-am, visibly startled, waved his hand in dismissal.

Shin-hee chuckled softly, raised his glass, and toasted.