Chapter 16
“Husband?”
“There was this temporary husband candidate arranged, but because of a scheduling mix-up, things got a little messy for a bit. Ha ha…”
“……”
“So, you don’t need to worry. It won’t interfere with work at all, Director.”
“I’ll trust you on that.”
Su-hyuk handed over Seol-ah’s umbrella, its ribs bent and crooked.
She hadn’t even realized she left it in his car that morning after the rain stopped on her way to work.
Ah, so that’s why he called me back—to return my umbrella.
She felt a pang of guilt. She had accused him of being the kind of person who ignored other people’s serious problems and was only obsessed with ghost-hunting, when in reality he was just trying to return something small.
“Thank you…”
Just then, her phone rang—perfect timing to escape the awkward moment.
“Hello? Yes, just a moment. Director, I’ll get going now. My partner is on the way.”
“Alright.”
After bowing politely, Seol-ah hurried toward her house. Su-hyuk turned to leave as well.
“Oh, one more thing!”
Su-hyuk, about to get into his car, looked back at her.
“Up until yesterday! I swear, I don’t have those kinds of feelings anymore. Absolutely none! I’ve completely sorted it out, so you don’t have to worry. Good night!”
Seol-ah flashed a bright smile before disappearing inside.
Su-hyuk stood staring at the firmly closed gate with a complicated expression before finally getting into his car.
A cold gulp of beer slid down Su-hyuk’s throat.
He shook his towel-draped hair with the edge of it.
Though the apartment was modern and stylishly decorated, it was littered with books and equipment related to the occult—ghost boxes, EVP recorders, motion detectors. Gadgets you’d expect to find in a ghost hunter’s kit were neatly arranged throughout the place.
He washed away the fatigue of his first day at work with another swig of beer, letting his gaze wander around his calm and quiet home.
Then his eyes landed on the jacket hanging by the side.
The one he had worn last night—the “problematic” night.
It felt like someone had sent him a bit of encouragement to ease the nerves before his first day of work.
Lim Seol-ah. Her.
Almost like she was telling him: forget the past, open a new chapter in life.
His mind drifted back to the car ride home, to the seat she had occupied.
Beneath the spot where her neatly placed, rain-soaked feet had rested lay a folded three-tier umbrella.
Ordinarily, he would’ve gone to her house at seven to tell her his decision.
But now, all he had to return was a broken umbrella.
Her straight feet in neat 11 o’clock posture, the sneakers he had put back on her, her trembling shoulders, tomato-like lips, and those meerkat-like eyes—
Images linked together, tugging at his chest. He immediately drew an imaginary blade and slashed the thoughts apart.
Not once in his life had he ever gone back on a decision.
This time would be no exception.
Some people simply had no room to waste emotions on things like romance.
And Su-hyuk was convinced he was one of them.
So he felt no regret about his choice. And yet…
Something feels off.
Like a grain of sand stuck inside his shoe, there was something nagging at him, and he couldn’t figure out what.
He pulled open the curtain and looked across at Seol-ah’s house.
Through the lit living room window, he saw her.
She was cleaning—wiping the glass. Shockingly, she was singing at the top of her lungs and even dancing.
She’s… dancing?
She was shaking her body so vigorously, it looked like even the curtains might rip from the rhythm.
Then suddenly—she dropped out of sight below the window.
“……!”
Startled, Su-hyuk leaned further out, peering at her window.
A moment later, she popped back up, standing tall again.
She must have slipped and fallen while fooling around.
And then she resumed her dance as she wiped the window.
“Unbelievable.”
Maybe she really was a veteran, like she claimed.
Then he realized—he’d been unconsciously watching her all this time. He shook his head.
Before tossing his jacket into the washer, he checked the pockets.
Rustle—
Inside was the EMF meter, shattered, its display screen in pieces.
He had completely forgotten about it after the alarm had blared so loudly at her house. When had it broken…?
Alarmed, Su-hyuk rushed back to the window and looked toward Seol-ah’s again.
Something wasn’t right.
The way she was scrubbing the glass with both hands—unnatural.
He quickly called her phone.
No connection.
“What the hell is going on…!”
Narrowing his eyes, Su-hyuk’s face hardened.
“She wasn’t dancing…”
The curtain was wrapped tightly around Seol-ah’s neck.
Without another thought, Su-hyuk bolted out of his house.
Clatter! Clatter!
The gate wouldn’t open, no matter how hard he shook it.
So he climbed over the wall. From there, he could clearly see Seol-ah at the window.
The curtain was strangling her.
Thump! Thump!
“Lim Seol-ah! Miss Lim Seol-ah!”
Knowing the front door wouldn’t open, Su-hyuk dashed straight to the window.
“……!”
Her face was contorted in agony, eyes half-closed, lips pale.
He panicked.
Without hesitation, he ripped off his shirt, wrapped it around his arm, and smashed the window.
Crash!
Seol-ah’s half-closed eyes—blue from lack of air—focused weakly on him.
Her trembling hand reached out desperately.
Su-hyuk pushed his arm through the broken glass, unlocked the window, and leapt inside.
“Ugh…!”
He grabbed the curtain choking her and yanked it with all his strength.
The fabric tore, and they both collapsed onto the floor, Su-hyuk covering her as if to shield her.
He quickly ripped the curtain off her neck and flung it aside.
“Lim Seol-ah! Can you see me?”
Her unfocused eyes stared at him for a moment before rolling back.
“Seol-ah!”
He patted her cheek and shook her shoulders urgently until she gasped, sucking in air.
“Cough! Cough!”
“Do you recognize me?”
Su-hyuk lifted her into his arms with one arm, while his other hand frantically pressed at his phone.
But her weak hand pushed it down.
“You’re… Han Su-hyuk, right?”
Only then did Su-hyuk exhale in relief.
“Are you back with me?”
Seol-ah nodded weakly, coughing as she sat up.
“Let’s get you to a hospital.”
Seeing the angry red marks around her neck, Su-hyuk supported her to stand—
“Hospital? Since when do doctors cure ghost sickness?”
The voice came from the doorway.
The only person who knew Seol-ah’s door code—for emergencies.
It was the shaman, Cindy, unbuckling her bike helmet as she stepped inside.
“Partner?”
The spiritual partner?
Su-hyuk stared at her in confusion.
From head to toe, she was dressed fashionably, with the youthful face of someone barely in her early twenties.
She looked nothing like a shaman.
Rumble—
The moment Cindy entered, the whole frame of the window shook as though an earthquake had hit.
“That’s right! Big sis is here, you bastard!”
Whoosh—!
A flower vase flew at the back of her head, but Cindy dodged with just a tilt and walked steadily toward the window.
From her bag, she pulled out a brush and ink mixed with chicken blood, then began scribbling talismans around the window in swift strokes.
Just before the curtain had strangled Seol-ah, she had been on the phone with Cindy.
“Remember that guy you told me about? The one who mistook midnight for noon? The one who was a little slow on the uptake? Could you ask him for help again?”
