Our Universe
Chapter 1: Inevitability Ep.1
A two-story house located in Dorim-dong, Incheon.
退魔師 이상연
"eww..."
Sangyeon, who had been sound asleep, furrowed his brow slightly with a low groan as the sound of birds chirping could be heard through the open window.
My body felt like it was floating. I could feel a chill creeping deep into my skin. Sangyeon frowned and slowly opened his eyes. It was a thick fog, with no visibility whatsoever. "Tingling—♪" A small bell rang from behind, accompanied by a footstep. Sangyeon smiled and slowly turned around.
退魔師 이상연
"Grandpa. Again?"
The old man remained silent, his expression impassive, in response to Sangyeon's question. The grandfather, who always smiled, had no smile on his face today. For some reason, I felt uneasy.
노인
"I think today is the last day."
退魔師 이상연
"Huh? What do you mean? The last one..."
노인
"You'll find out later, obviously."
退魔師 이상연
"What the...huh?! Grandpa's body!!"
노인
"Our beautiful grandchild...you must continue to be happy."
The old man smiled broadly at Sangyeon. His body began to visibly fade.
退魔師 이상연
"No...no!!"
Sangyeon reached out toward the old man with a desperate cry. Unfortunately, before Sangyeon could reach him, the old man's body crumbled into fine dust and scattered into the air. Sangyeon's hand fell limply. Sangyeon bit his lower lip and raised his head.
退魔師 이상연
"I love you, Grandpa...please go to a good place."
Deep in the forest, in a remote rural village, a damp fog hung thick, perhaps due to the previous day's rain. The damp earth was slippery. Sangyeon used the trees for support, walking cautiously.
A moment later, Sangyeon's pace slowed, perhaps indicating he had reached his destination. A sinister, overpowering cave appeared before his eyes.
退魔師 이상연
"I see this is it."
Sangyeon scanned his surroundings with wary eyes and pulled a gun from his back pocket. At that moment, whoosh! Something unidentifiable swooped past him. A long gash appeared on Sangyeon's right shoulder, and bright red blood gushed out.
退魔師 이상연
"Tch, I know you're hiding, so come out now!"
Sangyeon shouted, holding my bleeding shoulder with one hand.
구미호
"Huh. Not bad, dodge my attack."
A delicate woman's voice echoed through the still forest. Sangyeon turned his head to follow the source of the sound. Not far away, beside a large paulownia tree, a woman in a white dress was looking at him with a curious expression. Between her legs, he could see a fox tail.
退魔師 이상연
"You're a gumiho, right? I'll ask you just once. Where did you hide Cheonho?"
구미호
"Cheonho (Heavenly Fox)? I don't know what you're talking about."
The gumiho, with a relaxed expression, gradually closed the distance between them. Before they knew it, the distance between them had narrowed to a meter. A crimson haze filled the gumiho's eyes, and Sangyeon's lost focus.
구미호
"How many fancy dinners has this been?"
The nine-tailed fox gently cupped Sangyeon's cheek with both hands.
退魔師 이상연
"I said I'd only ask once, right?"
Sangyeon pulled the trigger. Bang! With a loud gunshot, the gumiho was completely obliterated, reduced to a handful of dust without even a single scream.
退魔師 이상연
"Now this tiresome acting is over."
Sangyeon muttered softly as he looked at the blood stains on the floor.
退魔師 이상연
"This is a shirt I treasure... I can't help it..."
Sangyeon pulled a small folding dagger, Hanal, from the opposite pocket where his gun had been. With a practiced movement, he tore the end of his shirt and wrapped it around the wound.
退魔師 이상연
"Shall we go in now?"
Sangyeon pushed back his sweat-soaked hair and stepped into the cave.
Unlike the creepy and gloomy entrance, the interior was very spacious and beautiful.
退魔師 이상연
"It's a shame that such a beautiful place is closed because of such a monster."
As I stepped deeper, a small, emerald lake came into view. Before it lay the Heavenly Fox, the reason I'd come here. A young man stood guard beside it.
退魔師 이상연
"I found it."
The man raised his head in surprise at the sound of a stranger's voice echoing through the cave.
半獸 이주연
"Please save us... We are not...bad monsters."
Judging by the orange glow in his eyes, he didn't seem human. Half-animal, perhaps? But anyone who saw me would think I was a villain. Sangyeon smiled kindly and closed the distance between them.
退魔師 이상연
"Don't worry~ I came to save you. Are you that fox Cheonho?"
半獸 이주연
"How... do you... do that?"
退魔師 이상연
"It's up to you whether you believe it or not, but whenever something like this happens, my late maternal grandfather appears in my dreams and tells me where the Heavenly Fox will be in danger."
Did you tell me? The man looked at Sangyeon with sorrowful eyes.
退魔師 이상연
"Hey, don't look at me like that. I knew a day like this would come someday."
半獸 이주연
"Excuse me, exorcist. If you don't mind, may I ask your name?"
退魔師 이상연
"Why the name?"
半獸 이주연
"You are our savior."
退魔師 이상연
"Yeah. Well, it's just a name. Lee Sang-yeon, that's my name. I'm twenty-six. And you?"
半獸 이주연
"I'm Lee Ju-yeon, 23, a half-red fox who assists Cheon-ho. This person is Bae Jun-yeong, 25."
退魔師 이상연
"You know, I heard from my mom before that celestial foxes and half-beasts can use superpowers when in human form. Is that true?"
Jooyeon smiled faintly and looked Sangyeon straight in the eye. "Can you hear me?" Jooyeon's voice rang in his ear.
退魔師 이상연
"Telekinesis ability...??"
半獸 이주연
"yes that's right."
退魔師 이상연
"Ugh...!!"
It looks like the wound caused by the gumiho has opened.
半獸 이주연
"Why are you like that?! Were you fighting the gumiho earlier...??"
Sangyeon nodded slowly in agreement.
半獸 이주연
"Excuse me for a moment."
Ssuk- Juyeon carefully unwrapped the cloth covering Sangyeon's shoulder. The wound was deeper than he'd expected. Juyeon frowned and placed a hand on Sangyeon's shoulder.
半獸 이주연
"Stay still."
A light green haze rose from the pearl ring on the protagonist's index finger. Sangyeon groaned softly at the strange sensation, as if his pierced flesh was being tightened.
半獸 이주연
"It's all done."
退魔師 이상연
"Is the ring capable of healing?"
半獸 이주연
"Yes. It's a heirloom my father left me. He called this ring the Asha Ring."
退魔師 이상연
"Thank you. For treating me."
半獸 이주연
"This is basic for someone who saved your life."
Jooyeon touched the ring with her characteristic eye smile.
天狐
"Joo... Jooyeon-ah."
Even in fox form, Cheonho can produce human voices. Jooyeon and Sangyeon both turned their heads toward Junyoung.
半獸 이주연
"Hyung Junyoung! Come to your senses?!"
天狐
"Who...who is that person??"
Cheonho (天狐) scanned Sangyeon with fearful eyes. His gaze fell on Sangyeon's left trouser pocket. He could clearly see the star and cross emblems on the gun, the emblem of the Spiritus family's exorcists.
The tails of the heavenly foxes, which had been hanging limply, all returned to their original positions. The sight of ten silver tails fluttering in the wind was truly breathtaking.
天狐
"Thank you so much. I don't know how to repay you."
退魔師 이상연
"You two... do you want to try exorcism with me?"
Jooyeon and Junyoung readily accepted Sangyeon's unexpected offer. As further thanks for saving his life, Jooyeon allowed Sangyeon to use the mansion his human father had left him as an exorcism office.
On the way to the mansion, Jooyeon answered Sangyeon's question about whether she had been living with Junyoung all along.
Three years ago, I lost my parents in an unexpected accident.
In the midst of that shock, I wandered around the forest paths with my mother, and I ended up taking a wrong turn and almost lost my life to a high-level monster. Junyoung saved me from that situation, and upon hearing my sad story, he suggested that we live together, so we ended up living together.
At LAX, everyone was enjoying their time, strolling through the airport, their eyes drawn to one spot. There, a tall, handsome young Korean man, seemingly ripped from a comic book, was going through security procedures, carrying a large suitcase.
직원
"Where are you going?"
In his hand he held a passport with the words 'Kim Young Hoon' engraved on it.
靑龍 김영훈
"Republic of Korea."