"Hello, Father…"
Mina stood there, staring silently at the tall mummified corpse dressed in a traditional Japanese wedding kimono, and called it Father.
The air around her was thick — the cloying scent of incense and gas mixed with a faint trace of death that made it nearly impossible for anyone to approach. The mummy sat motionless, its garments long dusted over from years of neglect. Cobwebs clung around the body, wrapping it in a sense of eerie desolation.
But Mina showed no fear, not even a twitch of disgust. She only knew from what people told her — that he was a Vietnamese man named Hwang. No one knew how her parents had met, or why they had chosen each other. From the moment Hwang stepped into the Kamakiri household, he had been fiercely opposed by the Miko family. They were never granted a proper wedding.
Some even whispered that on the very day Lady Miko gave birth to Mina, Hwang had betrayed her for another woman. Stricken with grief and rage, Miko had…
No one knew what had happened between them. All that remained was Hwang's mummified corpse, kept by the Kamakiri family.
To be honest, Mina held no memories of her father — and no fondness for her mother either. People said Miko had fallen apart after Hwang's death, that she locked herself away in her mansion, drowning in lavish banquets and madness.
That was how the heir of the Kamakiri line lost the trust of the entire clan — all because of love.
How much of that story was true, Mina didn't know. Perhaps it was Miko who had killed Hwang. And if that was true… Mina wouldn't even be surprised. In fact, she might find it admirable.
But standing before her father's body now — abandoned in a dusty corner filled with cobwebs — her thoughts shifted.
"How pitiful…"
Mina murmured softly, her lifeless eyes fixed on the mummy. Whether she was speaking to him or to the air itself, no one could tell.
"…Even Mother abandoned you here without a second glance. So much for her 'eternal love.'"
Her voice dripped with mockery. Mina had never believed Miko truly loved Hwang. Everything her mother had done — breaking down, losing her mind, sinking into obsession — was nothing more than weakness masquerading as devotion.
Love? Mina scoffed at the thought.
She wanted no fragile kind of love — no love that needed someone's approval to exist. She refused to become like her mother, a broken woman who lost her reason the moment her lover died.
No. Mina would never be like Miko. That was the difference between them.
Her eyes hardened as she stared at her father, reaffirming the conviction that burned darkly inside her.
The mummy sat still. Yet sometimes, Mina couldn't shake the feeling that he could hear her.
The Kamakiri family believed that mummifying someone within the house bound their soul there — preventing them from descending into hell or finding peace. Perhaps when Miko brought his body home, she had hoped to be with him forever in that way.
In a sense, it was… romantic.
Mina allowed herself a fleeting, unspoken fantasy. Her gaze drifted down to a small Japanese-style amulet resting on her father's lap. She picked it up. A wave of warm, soothing incense filled her senses — surprisingly gentle.
Then came a sudden clicking noise from the mummy. Mina froze — but it was only a few rats.
"Hmmm…"
If nine-tailed fox spirits were real, then ghosts must be too, right? she thought.
She lifted the charm, studying it closely. Which was stronger, she wondered — this talisman, or a fox spirit's magic?
She looked at it, then back at her father's lifeless form.
Nothing. No answer.
She wanted to ask him so many questions… but there was no chance of that. With a sigh, Mina placed the amulet back on his lap.
"…Forget it. It doesn't matter."
She'd confirmed what she needed to.
Mina stood there for a moment longer, then smiled — a soft, beautiful smile that brightened her pale face. Her eyes softened; a blush of warmth touched her cheeks.
She spoke to her father, proudly, whether he could hear or not.
"Father… I've fallen in love with a girl. I love her deeply. One day, I'll marry her."
Saying those words aloud inside the Kamakiri estate made Mina feel strangely proud. Even though that woman was already married, Mina didn't care. She just wanted to speak the truth — unashamed.
Then her tone darkened.
"…But first, I have to take care of something. Only then can I bring Duyen home — openly, without fear. If you were here, Father… what would you say?"
The mummy gave no reply. Mina's expression shifted into a sly, twisted smile.
"If you're alive, I'll find you. If you're dead, I'll see your body…"
With that, she bowed politely to the mummy, then slid the wooden door shut.
As she turned to leave, footsteps echoing softly down the dim hallway —
A man's voice whispered behind her.
"My daughter…"
Mina stopped dead, heart skipping. She turned sharply — but there was no one.
Only her, and the long, dark corridor. Still, she didn't flinch. Instead, she smiled — a serene, enchanting smile.
"…I know, Father. I'll be careful."
---
Inside the Shrine Hall of the mansion. While Tomi and Nyoko were still seated inside the Shrine area, conversing calmly, neither of them had any idea—nor could they see—what was forming right above their heads.
A massive, pitch-black sphere was gathering, writhing and humming, composed of countless miasmas oozing out from ten wooden boxes hanging from the ceiling, just below the grand Sun emblem. The sphere was revolting—its surface crawling as if hundreds of distorted faces were pressing and shifting against it. Those faces chattered and wailed over one another, sometimes laughing, sometimes screaming, sometimes sobbing in agony. The scene itself was horrifying beyond words.
And yet, Shana found it… fascinating.
She rested her chin gracefully on her hand, gazing up at the sphere with her radiant blue eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.
"So that's it… This must be the secret power of the Kamakiri family, huh?"
Shana's gaze shifted from the grotesque orb to Nyoko—who was still kneeling with her eyes closed, seemingly unaware, unconcerned, or perhaps pretending not to notice at all.
So that was the reason—why the old woman could remain young and beautiful like a woman in her twenties despite being seventy-eight. What a foul truth.
The sphere growled, its voice deafening, formed from the chorus of hundreds of mixed tones—male, female, young, old—all screaming together.
"What the hell are you!?"
Shana blinked in mild surprise, then suddenly burst into a soft, mocking laugh. For some reason, even that gentle laugh made the abomination shudder and howl more violently.
The red-brown-haired beauty grinned, her sharp canines catching the dim light.
"That's my line. What the hell are you supposed to be?"
The creature went silent for a moment before answering with a chaotic, distorted murmur:
"We are… we are us."
Shana nodded slightly, folding her arms.
"I see. I didn't expect you to even understand what you are. Fascinating, really. Who would've guessed the great Kamakiri family's secret was nothing more than preserving human corpses—trapping their souls, never letting them pass on. No wonder you turned into this disgusting heap of confusion. Honestly, even I wouldn't go that far."
The monstrous entity growled furiously, clearly provoked by her taunt. It roared, its overlapping voices shrieking as if rising straight from the depths of Hell:
"GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!"
Shana only chuckled again. She didn't take it seriously at all. She lifted both hands as though trying to calm the creature down.
"Alright, easy there. Like I said, I'm only here for a visit. I have no intention of fighting you—or meddling with your people. To be honest… among your descendants, there's only one woman I despise. As for the rest, let's just pretend this never happened, shall we?"
But the monster ignored her completely, continuing to scream its gruesome threats.
"We'll devour you! We'll consume you! Your soul will be ours! We are us!"
Shana gave a slow, dangerous smile.
"Oh no… I don't think you can."
To human eyes, Shana might appear as a breathtakingly beautiful woman. But to supernatural beings, her true form was something else entirely.
And so it was for this creature.
In its eyes, Shana appeared as a colossal black shadow—far larger than itself, covering the entire mansion. Behind her swayed nine massive, ink-dark tails. Her presence was monstrous, far beyond anything the creature had ever known.
When Shana revealed her true form before it, the abomination screamed in terror—its countless faces twisting in pure dread, trembling before a power far more dreadful than its own.
At that moment, Nyoko suddenly coughed violently and collapsed forward, bracing herself with both hands.
Tomi panicked and rushed to support her mother.
"Mother! What's wrong!? Are you feeling unwell!?"
Nyoko was drenched in sweat, frowning with her eyes still tightly shut. She raised a hand weakly.
"…No, no… It's nothing, my dear."
But clearly, something was happening around them—something they couldn't see. Meanwhile, the towering shadow that was Shana grinned with rows of jagged, razor-sharp teeth. Her voice reverberated like a curse.
"Believe me… if I so wished it, you'd all turn to ashes in an instant."
Suddenly, Nyoko vomited violently, sending Tomi into further panic.
"Oh my God, Mother! Why are you throwing up like this!? Someone! Help!"
But Nyoko stopped her with a trembling hand.
"No need… I'm fine…"
Her face, however, began to shift disturbingly—turning from green to red to purple; her features aged rapidly, then reverted to youth again, over and over. Tomi screamed, horrified.
"Mother!"
Why was she changing like that?
Shana only laughed softly, clearly aware of the influence she was exerting on the woman.
"I told you already. I don't wish to cause trouble today. Otherwise, I might just undo the centuries of spiritual cultivation your family's worked so hard for. That would be… rude, wouldn't it?"
With that, Shana returned to her elegant, human form. The terrifying energy that filled the room faded like a passing storm.
Nyoko's condition gradually stabilized, and Tomi cried out with relief.
"Mother! Are you alright!?"
Nyoko simply shook her head, wiping sweat from her brow before settling back into her previous meditative posture. She opened her eyes and stared ahead into the empty space before her.
There was no one visible there—but her expression turned grave. She could feel it. Even if she couldn't see the entity standing before her, she knew it was something unspeakably powerful—something that could destroy centuries of her spiritual work in an instant.
For the first time, she understood what it meant to feel fear.
Shana stood silently, watching her with a proud, knowing smile before turning away.
"…I think I've seen enough."
Shana walked through the grand doors and found Mina standing there. Of course, Mina couldn't see her. Shana glanced at her briefly, then passed right through.
In her mind, she began piecing together Mina's true intentions.
As Shana stepped out of the mansion, she muttered under her breath:
"So that's her plan… She wants Valko dead."
That way, Mina could "divorce" him legally—without violating the family code. She'd achieve her goal and gain the clan's trust. The position of heir would be hers without question.
A young woman with cruelty and ambition of that magnitude—it was enough to send chills down anyone's spine.
Still, something about it didn't sit right with Shana, especially after discovering the Kamakiri family's filthy secret.
Valko's soul would be sacrificed to that monster—becoming a part of it, forever bound to the family. Technically speaking, that meant he would still count as a member. Mina wouldn't truly be "divorced."
What was she really plotting?
Shana stepped out of the dark, suffocating mansion and finally breathed in the fresh air.
The corruption lingering within that family was suffocating beyond belief.
She tilted her head up—realizing dusk had fallen. For a fleeting moment, the warm, clean image of Duyen flashed in her mind, as if washing away the darkness that clung to her soul.
I wonder what Duyen's doing now…
Perhaps she was working at the photo studio.
---
Duyen and Dylan had been wandering all over the city square — every spot Nayeon might have passed by or might come back to. In Duyen's hand was a stack of missing-person flyers with Nayeon's cute face printed on them. She stuck them onto lamp posts and stopped people one after another, holding up the paper.
"Excuse me, sir, have you seen this girl around here?"
The man looked up, stunned for a moment. The tomboyish girl talking to him was ridiculously good-looking — almost model-like — and the foreign guy beside her, with his blond hair and effortless charm, made them look like some celebrity couple.
Then his eyes dropped to the flyer, and they lit up again when he saw the missing girl.
"Uh… well…"
Duyen's voice was filled with impatience.
"Have you seen this girl anywhere nearby?"
The man coughed lightly, pretending to study the paper. "Well… I haven't seen any pretty girl like this around…"
Duyen's face fell. "I see. Thank you anyway."
But the guy quickly added, "Wait, could I maybe get your number—"
Before he could finish, Dylan cleared his throat behind Duyen. His smile was bright and charming, but his tone carried both a warning and a hint of jealousy.
"My dear friend," he said smoothly. "If you don't know, just move along, yeah? We're trying to find someone, not flirt with strangers."
The man laughed awkwardly and scurried off.
Duyen stood there, flustered, still holding a thick stack of flyers. It was clear they hadn't found a single lead about Nayeon yet. Seeing that, Dylan sighed.
"Maybe we should stop for now, Duyen. Asking random people like this isn't helping — most of them just want to hit on you anyway."
"I don't think they're trying to flirt with me…"
"Why not?" Dylan suddenly snapped, his face turning red. "Duyen! You're really beautiful, you know that?"
Duyen just gave an awkward little laugh. "Thanks," she said politely — and that answer crushed him. She clearly wasn't in the mood for any flirting, not with Nayeon missing.
Still, Duyen had to admit Dylan was right. This wasn't working. But since Nayeon's disappearance, the police hadn't found a single clue either. Duyen had even seen Nayeon being taken away right before her eyes — and that memory made her feel powerless and hopeless.
How were they supposed to find her now? For all she knew, Nayeon might not even be in this city anymore.
She looked at Dylan apologetically. He had even closed his studio for a day just to help her search.
"Dylan… you're right. This isn't the way. Still, thank you — for being here with me."
Hearing that made Dylan's heart light up. He was just about to say something when Duyen's phone suddenly rang. The screen showed the word "Dad."
Surprised, she picked up.
"Hello, Dad? Yeah, I'm still at the square handing out flyers for Nayeon. Did something happen?"
Her eyes widened.
"What? Uncle Jongsuk's back from Japan?"