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Chapter 7
“Yeon-woo hasn’t come to his senses-ham.”
A large, light-green hamster waddled over. Stopping in front of him, the hamster raised its arm and rested its hand on its chin. Then, with round, sparkling eyes, it stared up at Yoon Yeon-woo.
“Woong~? Yeon-woo~. Did something happen~?”
Float, float.
This time, a creature that looked like a piece of cotton candy approached and sat on top of his head.
“Yeon-woo~. Are you hurt?”
“No, it’s not that, but…”
If any other person entered this place, wouldn’t they all have the same reaction? I thought it might be real, but even then, it was a faint hope—I half-suspected it was just a vivid dream. Facing this scene that bordered on fantasy with my own two eyes while stone-cold sober, I couldn’t help but be speechless.
“It wasn’t a dream.”
I was relieved it wasn’t a dream, but at the same time, I thought it might have been better if it were. What was I thinking coming here? I was excited, but also a little anxious.
“Didn’t I tell you? That we would meet soon.”
At that moment, the figure of Yeon appeared, holding the cotton candy creature that had been on my head in her arms. There was definitely no one behind me a second ago. She appeared from behind like a ghost.
Her right eye sparkled.
“A ghost… since the essence of spirits isn’t much different from ghosts, I suppose I can’t complain if you call us that.”
“That’s right-ham! We might be ghosts-ham!”
Gulp.
Yoon Yeon-woo swallowed hard at the mention of ghosts.
“Surely… you don’t eat humans or anything like that, right?”
“Roar-ham! I’m going to eat the human-ham!”
The light-green hamster rushed over! And then it dove into Yoon Yeon-woo’s arms. It felt like hugging a large stuffed doll.
“But we don’t eat humans-ham!”
The light-green hamster rubbed its face against his chest. It was soft and warm. Naturally, he stroked the creature’s head.
“My name is Kong-kong-ham! It’s a name my master gave me; I remember it, but I also don’t-ham!”
“Master…?”
What did it mean by master, and what did it mean by remembering but not remembering? Seeing his confusion, Yeon spoke up instead.
“This Spirit Realm is a place where pets who died in the human world wait for their masters to call them again.”
In this place, “Spirit” is a word meaning a deceased pet that received human love and shared a portion of a human’s soul. Under their master’s love, they received half a soul and ceased to be ordinary animals. Spirits can speak and understand human language. Animals that share a soul—that is, spirits—do not vanish when they die. Instead, they wait for their next life like this. Of course, the cases where an animal becomes a spirit are not that common.
“Animals live much shorter lives compared to humans.”
An animal’s life is short. They cannot stay by their master’s side for a lifetime in a single form. Therefore, they repeat several lives. They are reborn again and again in the form their master desires, the form they are loved in the most. They might be born as a dog and become a dog again, or be born as a dog and change into the form of a cat.
And the current forms of the spirits are a collection of the forms their masters found cutest. It’s not their original form. It is merely their ideal state while in the Spirit Realm—a form their masters never get to see.
“The Spirit Realm is more of a resting place before going back to the master.”
To put it simply, it was a waiting area to return to the master who loved them. A rest stop.
“This is that kind of place. A place of waiting.”
“I see.”
I was a bit dazed by the sudden explanation. Still, I could understand what she was saying. I just didn’t know why she was explaining this to me.
“Unfortunately, however, spirits haven’t been able to go back to the human world recently.”
“Why?”
“Because the human world and the Spirit Realm have been disconnected for the past few years. It’s resolved now because Yeon-woo-nim opened the door and reconnected the worlds. The story might be a bit long. Is that okay?”
“Yes.”
Time is the one thing I have plenty of. As I nodded, Yeon smiled shyly.
“Your grandfather, Grandfather Yoon Young-hyun, was the manager of the spirits while he was alive. He took responsibility for them very diligently.”
“Pardon? Was my grandfather a ghost too?”
“Ahaha, absolutely not. Grandfather was a human, and he went to heaven in human form.”
Then?
“I can’t give you a definitive answer since I learned this through history, but it is said that the Southern Spirit Realm of Korea has been managed by the Yoon family of the ‘End of the Land’ (Haenam)—specifically, by a very small number of individuals—since ancient times.”
“So Grandfather managed the spirits and…?”
Yeon nodded.
If so, a few problems arose. If Grandfather knew, shouldn’t my father know too? But in all my life, I had never heard the word “spirit” from either of them. Seeing my puzzled reaction, Yeon continued.
“Your father gave up on managing the spirits when he was young. That’s why his memories were erased.”
In Yoon Hyung-jin’s case, he dreamed of being a police officer and did not choose the path of managing spirits. But no one blamed him. He saved countless lives as a police officer. If he had chosen the Spirit Realm instead of his original profession, the people who are living new lives because of him might not exist in this world today.
“And the reason others don’t know is that people who don’t inherit the bloodline of the Yoon family cannot see spirits.”
However, elderly people with weakened soul power or those with unique constitutions naturally sensitive to souls can see them. Or, someone who forms a lifelong bond with a manager of the Spirit Realm—in other words, if Yoon Yeon-woo gets married, his spouse will also be able to see spirits.
“So, the reason you’re telling me this is because you want to ask me to manage the spirits like my grandfather did, right?”
“Yes.”
Yeon nodded.
“If… I refuse, what happens?”
“Then, the contract will be voided.”
“…Contract?”
Yoon Yeon-woo tilted his head.
“As I said last time, I met you when you were a child, Yeon-woo-nim. At that time, we made a contract in the form of a promise.”
“I did…?”
“You promised that you would help the Spirit Realm starting from the year you turned thirty.”
“I-I see. I don’t remember any of it. Haha….”
Yeon twirled her silver hair with her finger. She seemed displeased that he didn’t remember.
“Yes, you wouldn’t remember. Unfortunately, back then, all memories related to spirits were erased for the sake of your future.”
Her hair whooshed free. Her silver hair shimmered as it fell back to her waist. She smiled again. That smile was like looking at something precious. It was very fond, and just looking at it made one’s heart ache.
“Instead, I promised that I would make sure you never suffered because of material things for the rest of your life, and we contracted each other.”
“Was it because of that promise… that I won the lottery?”
“Yes, I gave you the chance for a windfall according to the contract.”
I wondered why I suddenly won the lottery out of nowhere. It was because of a contract I had completely forgotten.
“What happens if I void this contract?”
“The luck I touched will turn into misfortune and bring as much misery as the value of the luck. I’d like to say that, but I won’t do that.”
However, if he accepted this deal, good karma would continue to accumulate in the form of good deeds by helping the spirits. The more he helped them, the less inconvenience he would face in life, and his wealth would grow. The people around him would also be influenced and be able to achieve wealth and fame. Yeon didn’t bother to say all that out loud.
Wink.
Yeon tried to wink, but both eyes closed. I almost burst out laughing at the awkward sight.
“We don’t want anyone else’s life to become unhappy because of us.”
Since they were beings that lived on human love, they didn’t want humans to be miserable.
“Then, what is it I have to do here?”
Thanks to Yoon Yeon-woo opening the door that was blocking the two worlds, the disconnection ended, and they were linked. So, what did he have to do?
“You just have to manage the spirits like your grandfather did. It’s called management, but it’s more like being friends. There’s a barrier outside, so you can go for walks together or cook delicious food.”
For animals, human food is mostly inedible because it becomes poisonous to their physical bodies. But spirits in their soul state can eat any food. In fact, she wanted him to feed the spirits plenty of food. When they eventually return to their masters’ sides, they will have to give up most of the foods they want to try.
“Aha…?”
Cooking. Since he was already thinking about wanting to cook, it wasn’t a bad proposal. Making delicious things for the spirits would be good practice, and he would have companions to share the food with.
“And… please make sure the spirits aren’t lonely.”
“Is that really all? They lost their memories—is there nothing I can do about that?”
“No. You just need to treat the spirits with sincerity. That alone is enough. Then the spirits will naturally find their memories.”
Because Yoon Yeon-woo’s actions would become the catalyst for the spirits to regain their memories.
“I can’t do that.”
She could temporarily fill the void of a master, but she couldn’t give love in their place. Yeon was no longer human. So she wanted Yoon Yeon-woo to take that place.
“Can I have some time to think?”
“Of course.”
Yeon curled her lips into a smile.
“Then… well, please give me until Friday.”
“I can wait even longer, just please don’t run away.”
Because that would be too sad. She didn’t want to be abandoned. Rejection would be better.
Yoon Yeon-woo fell into thought.
‘What should I do…? Oh, come to think of it.’
Suddenly, he remembered the puppy he had lost in an accident a long time ago. The biggest reason he came here.
“Ah! By any chance, is the dog I used to raise here?”
At his words, Yeon’s large eyes rounded.
“If you truly loved that child, Yeon-woo-nim, he will definitely be waiting for you here.”
With those words, Yeon stroked the cotton candy-like creature in her arms.
“Woong~? Yeon-woo~. Are you leaving now~?”
The creature bounced out of her arms and stuck to Yoon Yeon-woo’s face. How could a creature with no hands or feet stick to him? At the same time that question arose, his breath was suddenly cut off! Gack!
“Aah~. Yeon-woo~. Are you okay?”
As he let out a strange sound, the cotton candy creature detached itself.
“I’m okay… huh?”
He rubbed his eyes because he saw a shape different from the cotton candy, albeit faintly. For a moment, it seemed like the creature looked like a puppy…?
“Woong~. What should I do~.”
Knowing it had done something wrong, the creature landed on the ground and was bouncing around in embarrassment, saying “What should I do~.”
“…You, what is your name?”
That sight was somehow so cute that he unconsciously stroked the creature’s head and picked it up.
“Woong~? I don’t remember~. But Yeon called me Cotton Candy~.”
“He’s a child without a name.”
“How can he not have a name…?”
If spirits were pets loved by humans, yet he didn’t have a name? That seemed very strange.
“Then! Would you like to name him, Yeon-woo-nim?”
“…Is it okay if I give him a name?”
“Woong~. I like it~.”
The creature jumped up and down in the air. He looked at the creature intently. What name should he give?
It looks like cotton candy.
It’s quite white.
Like snow?
It’s light and floats around.
I feel like if I took a bite, it would taste sweet….
“How about Hayangi (Whitey)—”
“I can do this too~.”
Splosh!
Suddenly, water burst out of the creature’s mouth.
Huh?
To use such a “Water Style” move where there is no water…! It’s like a Hydro Pump…!
After being hit by the water, his narrowed vision finally expanded. He realized that the spirits around him had some truly unique characteristics. If he had given a firm answer without knowing this, he might have been in big trouble!
“Oops! Yeon-woo-nim, I forgot to explain this to you.”
