Haan

Chapter 11 - Spirit

"Ajumma, Ajumma ..."

"Aigoo, who could it be so early in the morning?" muttered Ajumma. She left the breakfast she was preparing to open the front door. Ajoessi was already behind the house sorting and tying up his firewood into smaller bundles for sale.

"Ajumma, it's Mi Rae. I heard Eun Ho is ill ..."

I roused from my sleep but did not move. Eun Ho was nestled comfortably next to me. He had insisted on sleeping in my bed last night.

"Oh, Mi Rae-ah its you. Come on in," invited Ajumma. "You're just in time for breakfast."

"I didn't come here for breakfast. I came to see Eun Ho, Oppa said he was sick. How is he?"

Ajumma looked startled. "Si Woo told you?"

"Yes, mianhae. I'm so sorry, it's my fault."

"Kenchana, It's o'kay. He's fine now."

"He's fine?" Mi Rae asked confused. "But ..."

Their voices woke Eun Ho up. Sleepily he climbed out of bed to go to his mother. "Eomma," he yawned as he settled in her lap.

Mi Rae's eyes widened. He really was o'kay.

"Eomma, hyung is better. He can get up and eat with us at the table. No need to feed him in bed."

"Oppa? Oppa is sick?" Mi Rae squeaked in fright. He worst fears had come true.

Before Ajumma could say anything, Eun Ho replied sleepily. "Not anymore. He is just tired. He gets that way when he magic away the sickness."

In the room, I tensed, the half folded blanket hung forgotten in my hands. Eun Ho had exposed my secret.

"Hush, my son," shushed Ajumma, but it was too late.

"Oh!" Eun Ho covered his mouth with both hands. "I'm not suppose to tell, it's a secret! Noona, please keep it a secret or I'll get into trouble!"

Mi Rae nodded uncertainly at Eun Ho to put the boy at ease but glanced questioningly at Ajumma.

"Ajumma, I don't understand. Oppa can magic away the plague ...?"

I emerged from my room, saving Ajumma any explanation.

"Maybe we should tell Mi Rae since she already knows," I said. A part of me wanted to be honest with her, after all, she did tell me her secret. "She can keep a secret."

I now understood Mi Rae's trepidation in telling me her secret. Since she had trusted me, I felt like I could trust her too.

"Should we?" questioned Ajumma.

The door opened and Ajoessi came In locking the door behind him. His face showed that he had heard everything.

"Tell her," he said. "And we'll keep the secret in the family."

I nodded and begun my tale.

I felt a chilling uneasiness descend upon me, a feeling of being sudden malice. I shivered but shrugged it off as no one else seemed to notice it. It must be the awkward situation of being caught and the anxiousness of being believed for what was going to be an incredible explanation.

-----

The Spirit hovered outside the hanok invisible to the mortal eye.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Silly human."

Knowing the human girl's plans to stop killing, it had taken steps to replenish its food supply. It would not die of hunger, in fact it could exist for long periods of time without sustenance. However, it did not like to go hungry. Why starve and exist uncomfortably and weakly when there was an abundance of easily frightened humans around? All it needed was a human vessel to channel its power. Having one and keeping the fragile humans biddable and alive were two different issues. They tend to be unpredictable, emotional and perishable.

Now that it had Mi Rae, it must used her and make her last as long as possible. So, it fed her doubts and encouraged her feelings of guilt to the point she had to see the poor child to ease her anxiety. If she did not and he died, she would feel worse.

When she finally made her way to the child's house, it followed gleefully. Along the way, she would inevitably cross paths with other people. It was a chance to replenish its dwindling sustenance. The little boy was the last human it had and his fear had abruptly disappeared yesterday. It was most unsettling but it would solve that problem later. Now it was too busy infecting people, hopefully it would get more on her way back.

The evil Spirit floated behind her infecting anyone and everyone who came within range. Little black motes wafted from her hands unnoticed to settle innocently on random victims. Unaware of the danger, two men continued chatting on the dirt road, a group of ladies giggled and gossiped by the river as they did their daily washing and three children chased a rattan ball in a nearby field. Mi Rae hurried along to the village blissfully unaware of her disastrous actions. Her thoughts were only on poor Eun Ho.

Symptoms would start showing within a day or two in some, but not in others. It planned to keep the plague latent in its victims, hoarding its food source and triggering it only when needed, just like the little boy. He had been infected days ago. A few humans was scheduled to die soon but it would take its time with the rest. Also, it controlled the plague to take longer to kill this time, dragging out pain and suffering. A few desperate people walking around with symptoms of the incurable disease without actually dying would bring out hope, frustration, fear and hopelessness to a peak. They might even go crazy or turn on each other. Humans were the worst when desperate. It wanted to savour the delicious dread and terror for as long as possible.

But ...

The boy was cured. It found no trace of the plague in it's little victim. To add insult to injury, the small human was walking around healthily. However ... there was a trace in the other human, one who it had not infected. The older boy. The one who had aroused it's curiosity before. Here he was again, in he midst of the cured victims. Had he healed the woman and now the boy?

It reached out tentatively to feed but was thwarted. What?! Something was preventing it from sucking out fear from him.

It went inside the hanok to investigate. Turning its attention on the older boy curiously, it tried to feed again. Frustration turned into anger and then doubt. Why could it not feed when the dark plague was obviously in him! Oh! Whats that? There was another power residing in the human. Recoiling, it hissed silently. The power stank of the Other One. Was the Other still near or did it just happened to pass by?

Pulsating nervously, the Spirit backed off. The boy was off limits. It would follow the girl when she went back home. Hopefully there will be more unsuspecting victims. For now, it had to make do by infecting the little family again. This time it would get the woman, the man and the boy. They would not escape a second time.

It hovered inconspicuously in a corner.

When the older boy begun to speak, it listened.