I grabbed Kim Woo-jin, who was blocking my path, and took a couple of steps back.
“Does the sword react to it?”
“No, it doesn’t.”
Baekmung was said to be a vengeful spirit, but seeing that Kim Woo-jin’s sword didn’t react, it didn’t seem to be a Demon.
Kim Woo-jin was pointing a gun, which he had taken out at some point, at the military officer.
“Who are you?”
At Kim Woo-jin’s question, the military officer raised his head and stood up, bursting with anger.
“You villain! How dare you bring such a wicked object before His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and threaten me, the Right Guard of the Crown Prince Guard. Do you think I’ll be scared and run away!”
I need to watch some historical dramas.
Which drama should I binge-watch to understand all this?
The military officer drew the sword from his waist.
The moment the military officer drew his sword, the Baekmung doll in my hand disappeared.
And Baekmung’s true form appeared in front of the military officer.
“A mere vengeful spirit dares to raise its voice before me?”
A thick, low voice growled.
Kim Woo-jin’s shoulders, who was standing with his back to me, flinched.
They went up and then down.
Even with Baekmung’s growling, the military officer didn’t bat an eye and retorted.
“Vengeful spirit? I am here to resolve the Crown Prince’s unjust death.”
“It’s usually called a ghost when a dead person remains in the human world. But your resentment is so strong that it’s almost visible, so you’re no different from a Demon.”
“How dare a mere monster call a loyal subject a Demon! Your Highness! You must get rid of that monster immediately.”
“Monster?”
At my words, the military officer and Baekmung turned to look at me at the same time.
“Yes, Your Highness. That monster has appeared in Hamgyeong and Pyeongan Provinces since the end of the previous dynasty, harming people. It’s a monster with long, white fur, glaring eyes, and a red face. It bewitches people, controlling them at will, and uses illusions to deceive their eyes.”
“Sounds like a Jangsan Tiger description.”
At Kim Woo-jin’s words, I thought of the Jangsan Tiger. I should have watched that movie too.
But isn’t that a ghost that supposedly comes from Jangsan Mountain in Busan?
Hamgyeong and Pyeongan Provinces are in the north.
“The monster is called by many names. It is said that a mythical beast called Sanye ascended and became a lion, or Wahoh…”
As the urban legend-like story went on, I interrupted the warrior.
“Baekmung is okay. He’s protecting the Sacred object I inherited. But who are you?”
I had established some kind of relationship with Baekmung, and the military officer who came out of the tree was a stranger, so there was no need to listen to all his words.
At my words, the military officer looked at me with tearful eyes.
Why are you looking at me like that?
We’re meeting for the first time.
Kim Woo-jin came closer to me and said quietly.
“I didn’t get a chance to ask last time, but is he really safe?”
He seemed to be asking about Baekmung.
But, at a glance, doesn’t Baekmung seem like he’s not human?
I guess you’re more open-minded than I thought.
“Your Highness! My name is Jang Ha-woon. I am from the Crown Prince Guard…”
“I’m not the Crown Prince.”
“Your Highness! How can you say such a thing? If you hadn’t appeared, I would have been trapped in this incense tree.”
“I’m really not the Crown Prince.”
“Geez, you sure are loud.”
Baekmung, in his true form, continued to growl at Jang Ha-woon.
“You monster! Can’t you shut up!”
“Song Yiyoung, I think the National Intelligence Service should investigate the identities of those two.”
Even if the National Intelligence Service investigates, nothing will come out.
– Ding-di-ri-ring
It was then. Suddenly, my phone rang, and I gestured for silence before answering.
“Hello.”
– “Filming is ready. Come to Donhwamun.”
“Your Highness! After Your Highness met his demise due to the conspiracy of wicked individuals, we, with unwavering loyalty, have been trying to uncover the whole truth of the incident…”
“Jaga, please give me the order to eliminate that vengeful spirit. There’s no good in staying on earth for too long.”
Please be quiet.
I sighed softly and started walking towards Donhwamun, leaving the three of them talking at the same time.
After learning about my parents and grandmother, Baekmung and the Four Evil Beheading Sword appeared.
Following Kim Woo-jin’s family, who guard the Royal Family to break the curse, this time a Joseon Dynasty military officer appeared from a tree.
Moreover, people possessed by Demons are attacking me.
Things I didn’t even know existed until recently keep appearing before me.
As I have taken on the duty of a Royal Family member who inherited the Sacred object, I must pull myself together.
“Baekmung, either turn into a doll or go into the ring.”
“Jaga!”
“Kim Woo-jin, put your gun away and follow me.”
“But!”
“And you, military officer… can you disappear and reappear like Baekmung?”
“Your Highness! How can you compare me to that monster!”
– Clap! Clap!
I clapped twice, and all three became silent.
“Only Kim Woo-jin stays here, and the others hide. Kim Woo-jin, let’s talk about this after the filming is over.”
“…Understood.”
“I obey your command.”
The military officer’s figure blurred and soon disappeared.
Did he return to the tree? Or is it invisibility?
{He seems to be borrowing the spiritual power of the old tree to come and go.}
Baekmung, who had silently turned into a doll, informed me instead.
But Baekmung’s voice sounded excited for some reason.
{I am grateful that Jaga trusts me.}
‘Will that military officer be visible to other people?’
{He seems to be visible within this palace, but I don’t know about places with weak spiritual power.}
If a Joseon Dynasty military officer calling me Your Highness is visible and audible to other people, I would be in quite a difficult situation.
Would he be disappointed if I said it would be better if he wasn’t visible or audible?
* * *
He looked old with that beard.
“Yiyoung, give a wistful expression while looking at the eaves.”
I made a sad expression while looking at the eaves where the Figurine had disappeared.
“Cut! Okay. Really good! That melancholic look is just like a Crown Prince of a fallen nation.”
“Director, please don’t say things like that…”
One of the filming staff pulled at the director’s sleeve and cut him off.
“Why? Yiyoung has been told he has the eyes of a Crown Prince of a fallen nation since his idol days.”
{May I twist the neck of that damn bastard?}
At the same time as Baekmung was getting angry, I grabbed Kim Woo-jin, who was approaching the director, and pulled him back.
“Director, can I monitor?”
“Of course, come and see.”
Leaving Kim Woo-jin behind, I approached the monitoring screen.
My appearance was captured in a full shot with Donhwamun, and then zoomed in on my upper body. My eyes looked moist and good.
“Director, didn’t you film me too handsomely?”
“That’s because Yiyoung is handsome.”
“No, it really came out better than the real thing. You’re the best, Director!”
When I even showed my thumb, the director laughed out loud and was pleased.
“Are there no interior shots today?”
“The Cultural Heritage Administration said to film a lot when the Figurine are restored. It would be even better to film in the flowery garden when the weather warms up.”
“I understand. Thank you for your hard work today.”
“Yiyoung, you worked hard too, see you at the next shoot.”
“Goodbye.”
* * *
{Jaga, how can you forgive such a person?}
Leaving the filming crew, who were packing up the filming equipment, behind, I headed to the parking lot with Kim Woo-jin and said.
“You know the saying ‘respect your elders,’ right?”
“How can you talk about respecting elders to someone who dares to insult the Royal Family? Even though times have changed, such an impudent person should have his head chopped off…”
“Dolls don’t talk on the street.’
Getting into the car, I pressed down on the jobawi covering the doll, tightening Baekmung’s head.
“And the Royal Family doesn’t exist anymore. If you keep doing this, I’ll tell you to call me by my name from now on.”
“Jaga, it’s not that… You bastard, what are you doing here!”
When the Baekmung doll shouted, I saw the military officer kneeling on the floor of the car.
So he can materialize outside the palace.
But how did he know he could show himself in the car? Is he quick-witted?
“Can you tell me your name again?”
“My name is Jang Ha-woon, the Right Guard of the Crown Prince Guard. My family has been a magistrate for generations, and my father served as an observer. Thanks to the grace of His Majesty the King, who recognized our family’s loyalty, I was able to serve His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Eumseo, huh.”
I, who had neglected studying history, couldn’t understand Baekmung’s words and asked back.
Kim Woo-jin answered.
“It’s like a parachute in the Joseon Dynasty. Like having connections through your parents.”
“I have benefited from my father and ancestors, but I am skilled in martial arts and have been told that I am talented enough to pass the military examination before the age of thirty…”
– Ddi-ri-ri-ring
Jang Ha-woon’s words were cut off by Kim Woo-jin’s phone ringing.
“Yes.”
Jang Ha-woon glared at the cell phone that had interrupted him, and Baekmung clicked his tongue while looking at it.
“You have a lot to learn. Ah, irip means thirty.”
“I know what irip is. But I don’t think that person can go back into the tree, right?”
“Will a vengeful spirit listen?”
“He seems like he’s going to keep following us, so teach him well. Baekmung is the senior who came to the modern world first.”
At that moment, the corners of the Baekmung doll’s mouth went up.
It’s a little scary when the doll does that.
Kim Woo-jin hung up the phone and spoke urgently.
“A post that seems to be related to the ‘Don’t Ask’ stabbing incident has been uploaded.”
* * *
I had just arrived in Ichon-dong.
After the stabbing incident was reported sensationally under the name of “Don’t Ask,” there were several cases of posts predicting stabbings being uploaded on anonymous sites.
Those people were all arrested through IP tracking, but they said they had no intention of carrying it out and it was a joke.
Then, another post predicting a stabbing was uploaded.
The location was Ichon-dong.
“Ichon-dong is on a straight line with the locations of the previous four incidents.”
When I checked the map, Ichon-dong was connected to the upper part of the Han River.
If this continues, will the next one be south of the Han River?
Of course, since there is a post predicting it, it could be thought of as an incident where the locations just happened to overlap, not an incident related to a Demon.
However, I couldn’t ignore the fact that the post singled out children.
[I’m going to rip the mouths of those noisy kids.]
There were several apartment complexes in Ichon-dong, as well as a subway station and several schools.
The police had quite a large and diverse area to investigate. So I decided to lend a hand.
“Your Highness, aren’t there many children in the marketplace too?”
“Leave out the Your Highness.”
“The riot police have been deployed around the subway station and schools. They have broadcasted a message to the apartment complexes not to go out.”
Kim Woo-jin conveyed the information he had heard from the police.
I found the market on the map and looked around it.
No matter how much they broadcast the message, some people will ignore it, and some people will come here to eat.
“Like Jang Ha-woon said, it would be good to go to the market’s restaurant area. There’s also a children’s playground and a soccer field next to the market.”
“Please… use polite language.”
“Later.”
I added as I watched Kim Woo-jin touch the navigation.
“The police radio is shared, right?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s split up into pairs. Baekmung will turn into a doll and come with me, and Jang Ha-woon will make himself invisible and go with Kim Woo-jin.”
“It’s dangerous for Song Yiyoung to go alone.”
“Baekmung is with me. And if we don’t think this is the place, we have to go somewhere else. There’s no time. The neighborhood isn’t big, so let’s each look around and meet up quickly.”