After taking a moment to steady our breathing and prepare ourselves, we lined up in front of the closed door.
“Kids. You mustn’t stop. Just keep walking.”
“Okay…”
At Go Seonha’s words, the kids, looking terrified, nodded. Then, reassured by the adults, they pressed their lips together tightly and fell into line.
“……”
But why am I the one standing at the very front…?
Everyone, why are you naturally moving to the back?
‘Did I simplify the story of gathering materials too much…?’
It seems they think I’m some kind of fearless, resourceful genius. Aahh, please…
‘No one would believe me if I said I’m terrified right now, would they?’
…Well, I guess it’s still better than being at the very back.
With resignation, I opened the door once more.
Creeeak.
Once again, the mountainside, shrouded in darkness and fog, appeared before us.
Inhale.
“Uh—”
“Shh.”
The kids, looking terrified, clamped their mouths shut.
We began moving slowly, as quietly as possible.
Crunch, crunch.
With each little sound, our footsteps quickened.
I could feel the oppressive tension surrounding the group, as if at any moment, the changgwi might call out to us from behind and begin to chase us.
– Friend! There’s no need to rush too much. Remember, in case of emergency, this Braun is always by your side…
And thankfully, that ‘emergency’ never came.
Through the darkness and fog, the old, tiled roof became visible.
A worn-down shrine, with red and blue tiles tilted at odd angles.
We had arrived.
Thud.
“Phew.”
“Everyone’s here, right?”
Those who had safely entered the shrine took a moment to catch their breath.
Finally, the security sergeant, who had been lingering, closed the green paper door made of traditional hanji paper and locked it.
Section Chief Lee Byeongjin hurriedly attempted to stick a talisman he’d picked up from the floor of the abandoned house onto the door, but Go Seonha stopped him.
“That might interfere with the ritual. Let’s just leave it as is. We just need to finish quickly and get out!”
“Y-You’re right.”
Meanwhile, I took the opportunity to look around the shrine.
As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, the shadowy outlines became clearer.
Inside, it was eerily clean yet very old.
Between two rusty Maitreya statues without heads was a broken incense burner.
Above it was a slightly worn woodblock.
– So, that must be the woodblock detailing the ritual. It’s quite atmospheric…
Following Braun’s whispered narration, I read aloud what was inscribed on the woodblock.
“…The human with the sturdiest mind and spirit should step forward to conduct the ritual.”
Well, that’s definitely not me.
“……”
Hey, seriously, don’t look at me.
I turned my gaze naturally toward the security sergeant. The other two followed my gaze as well, but…
“I can’t do it.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said I can’t… don’t make me do it…”
“Oh, understood.”
Section Chief Lee shrank back, then looked over at me.
I stared back at him.
“……”
“…Uh…”
“Please, go ahead.”
“Y-Yes…”
Even if he’s traumatized, he’s got more guts than I do…
Section Chief Lee stepped forward, his legs trembling, only to turn back with a look of alarm, glancing between Go Seonha and me.
“W-Wait a minute! Mountain Hero!”
Go Seonha’s eyes widened as well.
“Right! The song for Sangun-nim!”
“Yes, that’s it! Even if we have all the materials, without that song—whether it’s a children’s song or a folk tune about tigers, we’re stuck…”
Ah.
“We have it.”
“……??”
“One moment.”
I called the middle schoolers over.
Then, very politely, I asked,
“Kids, you mentioned you were on a school trip, right?”
“Yes…”
“Did anyone keep listening to music on the bus? Or know a lot about celebrities?”
The kids exchanged glances before motioning toward one student without bangs.
I quickly turned to that student.
“What’s your name?”
“I-It’s Lee Nayeon.”
“Alright, Nayeon-ah. I need to ask you something.”
I tried my best to put on a friendly, trustworthy expression. All the adults in the room had question marks on their faces.
“……?? Um, what exactly are you doing right now…?”
“There’s a popular idol song that mentions a tiger in the lyrics, right?”
“……!!”
I looked at the adults. They all had bewildered expressions.
“B-But, are we even allowed to use, um, pop songs for this? Like, an idol song…?”
“We can.”
I held up the ritual note Go Seonha had written down for me.
“If you look, it only specifies a ‘song’. It doesn’t say it has to be a folk song or nursery rhyme.”
“……!”
This isn’t some kind of internet creepypasta where we have to choose songs that fit the eerie atmosphere. There’s no reason or need to pick something that matches the tone of a ghost story.
Human bias had limited the options.
“Oh…”
I turned back to the student.
“So, Nayeon-ah. Do you remember any songs that mention ‘Sangun-nim’ or ‘tiger’? Something like that.”
“Ah!”
Nayeon’s face immediately brightened as she answered.
“There is! Saint U’s ‘Peek-a-Boo’!”
Perfect.
“There’s also a song by VTIC…” [1]
“Do you know the full lyrics to either of them? And is it a well-known one?”
“Yes! I know Saint U’s ‘Peek-a-Boo’!”
Okay.
I turned back to the adults and made a firm declaration.
“We’ll use Saint U’s ‘Peek-a-Boo’ as our song offering for Sangun-nim.”
Take this idol song, oh mighty tiger!
* * *
In the quiet shrine.
Section Chief Lee Byeongjin stepped forward from the shadows, his trembling hands dropping ashes into the incense burner.
They were ashes from the burned peach branches.
– First.
– ‘The one performing the ritual should step forward and place the peach branch ashes into the incense burner, then inhale the fragrance.’
– ‘Gently close the lid of the incense burner, and open it again once the scent has faded.’
With shaking hands, the section chief closed the lid of the old, broken incense burner with its equally worn cover. After a few seconds, he lifted the lid.
Amazingly, the ashes had vanished.
In their place, a single, intact incense stick was burning.
A faint peach scent wafted from the small, twig-shaped incense stick.
“……!!”
– ‘If the incense is burning, it means Sangun-nim has acknowledged your devotion.’ Oh, everything’s proceeding as planned. Excellent!
“Ugh.”
The smell was strong, so Go Seonha covered her nose and took a step back.
The section chief hurried on to the next step.
– Second.
– ‘Open the door made of hanji paper.’
Sliiide.
Through the opened door, the dark forest came into view. The kids huddled behind the adults.
– ‘Crush three plums in a brass bowl and scatter them under the floorboards. Throw the remaining bowl to the east and never look back.’
I handed three plums to Section Chief Lee. He crushed them with his fingers in the brass bowl and scattered them onto the dirt.
The overpowering, sweet-sour scent rose up.
Go Seonha, who had been standing back, stepped forward, sniffing and looking a bit relieved.
Then she motioned to Section Chief Lee.
It was time for the third step.
– Third.
– ‘Prepare a song to offer to Sangun-nim. The more well-known, the more effective it will be.’
Section Chief Lee carefully rolled up the prepared lyrics sheet and placed it in the drawer under the incense stand.
– ‘Write the lyrics down, place them under the incense stand, then sing loudly, clapping with each step, and bow every thirty steps.’
One by one, everyone stepped out through the open door.
Section Chief Lee began singing the lyrics the student, Lee Nayeon, had shared with him.
“…Peek-a-boo, here I come.”
The middle schoolers joined in, singing in chorus.
A song offered to Sangun-nim.
Note/s:
[1] Saint U and VTIC are idol groups featured in the author’s other hit series, Debut or Die! ↵
(Sorry in advance for butchering the lyrics of the song, I’ve got no talent for poetry or lyric writing…)