The air in the small apartment was heavy with the silence of a house holding its breath. It was a silence that Jin Seon-mi, a girl of eight years old, had long since learned to distrust. The only light came from a single, overworked lamp on a small table, its glow barely strong enough to push back the encroaching shadows. Seon-mi huddled under a blanket, her body a taut spring of nervous energy. She knew better than to look up.
Her mother's voice, a memory as sharp as a newly sharpened needle, always reminded her: Don't look at them, and they can't hurt you.
But not looking didn't stop them. They were an ache in peripheral vision, a constant, chilling presence. Tonight, they were the sad ghosts of two lovers, their forms translucent and flickering like smoke. Their whispers were faint, like dry leaves scrapping against pavement - a sorrowful murmur of broken promises and forgotten names. She could feel the icy cold they exudes, a cold that sneaked through the thick blanket and settled in her bones.
A sharp, rattling knock at the door shattered the fragile quiet. It was not a sound that belongs to the human world. Seon-mi's heart slammed against her ribs. The figure visible through the frosted glass was not human either. It was a twisting, grotesque shape with eyes that glowed with a feral red light. It was a demon, a low-ranking spirit drawn by the irresistible scent of her, the smell of her fated blood.
A guttural chuckle echoed through the door, a sound like gravel grinding against a tombstone. "Ji Seon-mi.... I know you're in there, little morsel. I can smell your sweetness. I can smell your fear".
The air shifted again. The first scent was of rust and forgotten things, but this new presence was different. A flash of brilliant, golden light erupted from the hallway outside, a beacon that made the demon at her door recoil with a panicked hiss.
The door swung inward with a soft click, revealing the Devil king, Woo Ma-wang. He was a vision of immaculate elegance, a figure of stark contract to the grimy world around him. His face was chiseled, his dark hair swept back in a perfect wave. But it was his eyes that held the true power; they were the color of a stormy sky, holding an intelligence far beyond human reckoning. The ghosts, so close just moments ago, scattered like dust motes in the wind, fleeing his sheer presence.
He stepped inside, his gaze sweeping over the small, terrified girl huddled on the couch. A faint, golden aura clung to him, smelling of ozone and power. He didn't smile, but a hint of something-amusement, perhaps- danced in his dark eyes.
" You are a firefly in a world of moths, child" he said, his voice a low, resonant baritone that filled the room. "And the predators are circling. But I am here to make you a bargain. A simple errand in exchange for a lifetime of peace".
He gestured to an ancient, feathered fan propped against the wall- a relic of another time and world.
"You will take the fan to a cave in the forbidden mountain. There, a great demon is sealed. Give him the fan, but speak not a word of your name. Do not let him trick you. He will try. Thwy always do".
Seon-mi, mesmerized and terrified watched him. His words were a promise, a beacon of hope in the darkness she had always known. The constant lay cold in the room was gone, replaced by the warmth of his powerful presence. It was a heavy, intoxicating feeling she had never experienced.
"Do this" Woo Ma-wang whispered, "and you will never see another ghost again. Your world will be blessedly silent".