By Ji-eun
I always thought saving someone was simple.
You enter.
You fight.
You win.
You leave with the person in your arms.
But the spirit world doesn't work that way.
It demands exchange.
And today, for the first time, I understood what my grandmother meant when she wrote:
"Not every soul can be saved. Some have been dead for a long time."
It all started with a girl.
Her name was Yuna.
12 years old.
Missing for three days.
Last seen: near Jungneung Park, where an old temple was demolished.
Min-jae detected an intense spiritual energy coming from there.
But it wasn't just a gwisin.
It was a ring of corruption—a prison of souls formed by collective pain.
"There are more than twenty spirits trapped there," he said, his voice trembling.
"But one is in the center.
She's weak.
Human.
Still alive."
"Yuna," I whispered.
"She's being used as an anchor," Hae-jun added.
"If the ring closes, she'll die—and become a new gwisin."
"Then let's break the ring," Suah said, slamming her fist into her palm.
But Min-jae looked at us fearfully.
"There's one condition.
To break the ring...
someone has to enter the core.
And if it's human...
they might not come out."
Silence.
"
The plan was risky.
Hae-jun: I'd create an illusion of a false exit to distract the spirits.
Suah: I'd break the spiritual pillars supporting the ring.
Min-jae: I'd guide from the outside, monitoring the energy.
Me: I'd enter the core.
I'd save Yuna.
And hope I'd come out alive.
I didn't like the plan.
But it was the only one.
The park was shrouded in mist.
Trees twisted.
Symbols cracked on the ground.
And in the center, a circle of stones pulsing with gray light.
The ring of corruption.
As we entered, the spirits appeared.
Not as monsters.
As children.
With white eyes.
Hands outstretched.
Whispering:
"Stay.
Stay with us.
You're lost too."
Hae-jun cast the illusion.
A golden path opened.
The spirits chased after it.
Suah attacked.
Her blows shattered the stones.
The ring trembled.
"Ji-eun! Now!" Min-jae shouted.
I ran to the core.
And there…
was Yuna.
Hanging in midair.
Pale.
Calling for her mother.
— "Please… take me home…"
I reached out.
— "I'm here. I'll save you."
But then…
His voice.
"You can save one…
but what about the others?"
The Elder Gwisin appeared.
Not as an enemy.
As a guardian.
— "This ring is not a prison.
It's a resting place.
These souls were betrayed.
Abandoned.
Killed by those they claimed to love.
They don't want to leave.
They want revenge."
— "And Yuna?" I screamed.
"She didn't do anything!"
— "She's human.
And humans are weak.
But you…
you have the guardian's blood.
If you stay…
they will calm down.
The ring dissipates.
Yuna lives."
— "Are you asking… for me to replace myself with her?"
— "You choose," he said.
— "You're asking… for me to replace myself with her?" "One life…
or the peace of twenty souls."
—
That was the moment I broke.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
I looked at Yuna.
At her eyes.
At the fear.
At the hope.
And I thought:
If I leave, she dies.
If I stay, the café loses its protector.
My friends are left leaderless.
And the King advances.
But I also thought:
She is 12 years old.
She may still have a life.
—"Min-jae!" I screamed.
"Take Yuna!
Now!"
—"Ji-eun, no!" he shouted.
—"It's an order!"
Hae-jun cast a final illusion—a tunnel of light.
Suah scooped Yuna up in his arms.
And they ran.
The Elder smiled.
— "Wise choice, guardian.
The King will know of this."
And with that, the ring closed.
Gray light enveloped me.
Pain.
Cold.
Darkness.
The last thing I saw was Min-jae screaming my name.
And the sky, disappearing.
—
But I didn't die.
Something happened.
The moment I accepted the sacrifice, my grandmother's diary glowed in my pocket.
And a voice whispered:
"The portal chooses.
And you have been chosen."
And then…
I was thrown out.
I fell to the ground.
Alive.
But changed.
The mark on my neck—the Elder's—now glowed with a faint blue light.
As if it had been sealed.
Yuna is safe.
The spirits…
are still there.
But the ring hasn't grown.
—
I returned to the café.
Everyone was silent.
"You could have died," Suah said, her voice hoarse.
"I knew the risk."
"But why?" Hae-jun asked.
"Why choose her?"
I looked at them.
"Because I'm not just a hunter.
I'm a barista.
Serving coffee isn't just work.
It's caring.
It's choosing good, even when it hurts.
And today...
I chose to save a girl.
Even if it cost me everything."
Min-jae hugged me.
It was first.
Then Suah.
Then Hae-jun.
And for the first time...
We felt like a team.
Not by skill.
By choice.
By shared pain.
"
But when I looked out the window...
He was there.
The Elder Gwisin.
On the roof of the building.
And beside him…
A larger shadow.
With a straw hat.
A black staff.
Eyes that weren't human.
The King.
He didn't speak.
He just raised his hand.
And pointed at me.
As if to say:
"Next."
—
I wrote in the notebook:
"Today, I paid a price.
Not with blood.
Of course.
I am the guardian.
And I will not run away."