SHADOWLESS |seongjoong|

#11#

Seonghwa:

I watched another drama while waiting for Hongjoong to return. I had lost track of how many dramas I had watched since I came to Hongjoong's place. There wasn't much to do. At first, I cleaned up the whole place, cooked and spent time with Joong. But as time passed, there was no more mess to clean up, and we had food leftovers, and Joong was staying out longer. I decided to watch some dramas to pass the time while waiting for Joong. Yet, that was entertaining only for the first three dramas. After that, I lost the count of how many shows I had watched. And I couldn't spend much time with Hongjoong. He was leaving early in the morning and returning late at night. Most of the time, I was already asleep as Joong returned. I was starting to lose my mind.

I wanted to go outside or at least visit my brothers. We spoke every day, but I wanted to see them in person. I wanted to check on my baby brother and his recovery. I wanted to check on San and his boyfriend. But I couldn't go outside without Hongjoong, and he was out working. I tried to call him, but Joong wasn't picking up. Was he busy with work? Or was he researching my case? I didn't know anything because he was not picking up my calls. Ugh, I was going crazy. I couldn't stay inside any longer. I had to get out.

I had to make a tough decision. I decided to go out by myself. So I got dressed with some of Hongjoong's clothes and left. My bike was in the garage, so I rode straight home. It was too dangerous to wander around on my own. I just wanted to go home and see my family.

San:

It was the first day of Jongho's return home. We decided to order some takeout and celebrate Jongho's return. Even if our oldest brother wasn't with us, we could call him. Honestly, our situation wasn't the best at the moment, but we had seen worse in the past. We could manage it.

I sat on the couch, looking at my little brother as we ate the fried chicken. I wanted to ask him why he insisted on bringing Yeosang with him, but it wasn't the right moment. So, I turned my attention to Wooyoung. He was flirting with his friend, bringing my blood to boil. I took a glance at my brother. He was getting frustrated. I noticed something unusual. Jongho put his hand on Yeosang's thigh, squeezing it. A second later, Yeosang blushed and turned his gaze towards my brother. I had no idea what had happened between the two of them. But to me, it seemed my brother got himself a boyfriend. It wasn't my business, tho. I turned my attention to Wooyoung. Woo appeared somehow disappointed. As if his toy had been stolen. I decided to grab him by the arm and pull him closer. Wooyoung gave me the look before snuggling into me.

...

As we finished eating, we heard the door opening. I looked at the door, not expecting what I was going to see. Seongwa walked into the room. He smiled brightly at us. But before anyone could speak, Wooyoung attacked our brother. Woo pushed Hwa to the ground, bit his thumb and drew something on Seonghwa's forehead. It was some sort of a protective symbol I couldn't recognize.

"Woo, what's going on?" I asked.

"Stay aside! There's an evil spirit attached to Seonghwa!" Woo said in a scared voice.

"What?!" Jongho asked.

"Yeo, call Hongjoong! Now!" Woo ignored us.

We stood on the side, watching my brother lying down under Wooyoung. Both of them were pale. I could see the cold sweat running down Woo's face. He was scared. But why? Wasn't Wooyoung a Grim Reaper? Grim reapers' job was to deal with spirits. Or was there something I didn't know? What kind of spirit had attached to my brother? I needed some answers, yet Wooyoung and Yeosang's looks were telling me enough for now.

"Tell him to rush! I don't know if I can't keep this spirit for long," Woo yelled.

Yeosang managed to reach Hongjoong rather quickly. I could hear the panic in his voice. The whole thing was catching up to us. In a blink, Jongho ran to his storage and returned with a thin silver rope. He gave it to Wooyoung. I knew this rope. It was one of Jongho's last creations, a rope capable of trapping spirits and goblins. We weren't sure how much it could help, but we had to try. I went to Wooyoung, wanting to help. Even if I couldn't see the spirit, I wanted to help. My brother's life was at stake. We had to keep that spirit until Hongjoong's arrival.

"Guys, I can hear her voice in my head," Seonghwa said, trying to stay calm.

"Shibal!" Wooyoung yelled. I had no idea what that meant, but I could guess it was not good.

Seonghwa:

I lay there, pinned down by Wooyoung. Everyone around me was panicking, and I was about to as well. What kind of spirit was that if it could make two grim reapers panic like that? I didn't want to know. I knew I had messed up the moment I left Hongjoong's apartment. I messed up badly. And the worst part was that I started hearing the spirit's voice inside my head. It was a female voice. I could hear the evil lingering within her voice.

"Young boy, why don't you give up and give me that body?" She said in my head. "You are destined to die anyway. Your soul is torn apart. Just surrender to me."

"No! I won't let you win!" I said in my head.

"Oh, foolish boy, it's not a matter if you want it or not. I'll take over your body. It's just a matter of time. Why suffer further? Just give it to me."

"You can't win, I won't let you win!" I argued. "Hongjoong will exorcise you. He will send you to hell, where you belong!"

"You think those reapers can save you? I am too strong for them to handle," she laughed.

I tried to buy us more time until Hongjoong managed to come. Yet, time passed, and he wasn't coming. I was starting to panic even more. We had no time. I could feel it. We couldn't waste any more time. And there was only one person who could help me other than Hongjoong. It was Beomjoong. I had to reach him. He would know how to help me.

"Bring me to Beomjoong," I told Wooyoung and my brothers.

"Isn't that too dangerous?" San asked.

"It is, but we have no other choice," Wooyoung responded.

They tied the spirit then they tied me too. We couldn't take other risks in such a situation. We left right away.

Beomjoong:

The whole day, I had that uneasy feeling. Something was going to happen and my fears were confirmed when my unexpected guest arrived. It was worse than what I expected. There was an evil spirit attached to Seonghwa. And Hongjoong was nowhere nearby to exorcise it. This spirit was too strong for Wooyoung to handle on his own. I opened the door for them, calling them to get inside faster. Luckily, my shrine lay on sacred land for reapers. No spirit could follow inside. So, the moment Seonghwa stepped inside, that spirit was ripped away from him. But that was only a temporary solution. If Seonghwa had to leave my shrine, the spirit would attack him once again.

"Where is Hongjoong?" I asked.

"We don't know, our call cut," Yeosang explained.

"Please, help our brother!" Choi San begged me. I recognized him since he was a copy of his father. However, now wasn't the moment for memories.

Seonghwa was in rather deep trouble. We had no more time to play around. Even if my brother wanted to find a safer way to reunite Seonghwa with his missing piece, there was no such option. Seonghwa had to risk it all. The consequences of my actions were finally catching up. The worst part, I did it to help this poor child, but in the end, I had put Seonghwa in greater danger.

"Hyung, what should we do?" Wooyoung asked me.

"We have no choice. We need to make Seonghwa whole again," I said, tasting the bitterness of my words.

"Won't that kill me?" Seonghwa asked.

"I won't lie to you. It will be dangerous, and you can die in the process. Your chance of survival is low, but there is no other way."

"There has to be another way!" Jongho yelled at me. I shook my head.

A heavy silence filled the room. All of us understood the dangers. We knew there was no other way to help Seonghwa. And I knew how hard it was for the Choi brothers to accept it. Losing your brother was a painful thought. I knew it the best.

"It's alright. I'll do it," Seonghwa spoke, breaking the heavy silence.