The Secret Sonata || Ryeji

Chapter 11: Deterrence

A week had whizzed past in a blur since Hyunjin's departure, and Jennie was getting as paranoid as ever; in addition to that the responsibilities passed onto her shoulders due to his absence had taken a toll on her. Not only did she have to superintend the household chores (cleaning the house, making breakfast and dinner for everyone), ensure that her uncle take his medicines as prescribed, keep an eye on the guests for their safety but also go to the secret room in the basement with a heavy heart. Nevertheless, she couldn't turn a blind eye to anything even if she was perturbed and intimidated by the fact that a malefic spirit had gone loose on her watch. She couldn't stop blaming herself for not taking Ryujin's words into deep consideration once the latter told her she'd heard something from the basement. She presumed that Ryujin might have been lured by her dead cousin to set her free.

Meanwhile, Ryujin spent the week by scrutinizing every little detail about the two different personalities of Yeji, in pursuit of confirming her suspicion that they weren't the same person, or Yeji might have, presumably, suffered DID during her lifetime.(Dissociative identity disorder (DID), previously known as multiple personality disorder (MPD), is a mental disorder characterized by the maintenance of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The disorder is accompanied by memory gaps beyond what would be explained by ordinary forgetfulness.) Ryujin's conclusion was beginning to tilt to the second assumption because it seemed that the silver head would often forget what the red head did and vice versa. However, one question was bothering the whisker-dimpled girl: "Do people really take their diseases, specifically mental illness, to their afterlife?"

Besides, there was this tiny little voice in her heart (not brain) that kept telling her that the silver-haired Yeji was whom it wanted, but not the red-haired one. As a consequence, she found herself falling for the former and it felt so right, regardless of falling for a spirit— not to mention her romantic feelings had developed just only for one personality between the two. Did she feel guilty about it? Yes, she did. If a person were to fall in love with someone, they would have to embrace every part of their loved one; given that true love is unconditional. In her case, something about the redhead didn't sit well in her stomach, albeit growing closer to her overtime. The disparity between the two sides of Yeji was significantly drastic; be it the look in their eyes, their habits, their speaking styles, or their perspectives. Speaking of eyes, Ryujin could catch a glimpse of wickedness in the redhead's orbs at times, whereas the silver-head's orbs encompassed kindheartedness; they were exceptionally antithetical, to say the least. She actually wanted to get to the bottom of this and retrieve the memories—especially the ones related to Yeji— that she'd lost, in the hope of solving this paranormal mystery that had piqued her utmost interest.

As much as this particular week had affected Jennie and Ryujin in their own ways, Lia, on the other hand, was tormented by recurring nightmares of being chased after and choked to death by a red-haired girl with fiery cat eyes she didn't know. Therefore, she would wake up with a start around 3 A.M, drenched in cold sweat with erratic breaths. To make matters worse, she'd developed sleep deprivation owing to the fear of having those nightmares if she ever fell asleep, thereby staying up all night under the influence of immense paranoia.

The only people in the mansion who weren't intimidated by or hadn't associated with the malefic red-haired spirit were In Yeop, Chaeryeong and Yuna; since the oldest of the trio was busy dwelling in the past and his deranged thoughts, whilst the girlfriends were preoccupied with spending their ideal vacation by touring around the town, collecting souvenirs, going on romantic dates and most importantly, making out wherever they were. Basically, Chaeryeong and Yuna were the happiest people amidst everyone in that mansion.

Throughout the time of staying in his bedroom, lack of enthusiasm to get out, In Yeop's crestfallen feline eyes were fixated on his family photograph, which was taken when all the members were present (alive to be precise) and smiling from ear to ear. He went over his deceased wife's beautiful features and his children's joyous demeanors, with him standing proud and tall as they gathered around him, hugging him from all directions in the photo. Before he knew it, a solitary droplet of tear from his left eye had trickled down onto his five year old daughter's face with an infinitesimal splash. Then, his grief for the loss of his family members had morphed into grudge, putting all the blame on a certain Shin for wreaking havoc to his peaceful family, intentional or not. Moreover, he couldn't bring himself to blame his own offspring as a loving father, so he chose to hold Shin Ryujin accountable for the destruction. After all, she was the fire that fueled the conflict, the unforeseen conflict between his children— it was what he insinuated himself to believe.

****

The hinges of the basement door squeaked and rasped as Jennie swung it open, she exhaled a shaky breath for the umpteenth time, filled to the brim with dread. It wasn't like she'd never done that business before, but with a dangerous spirit freed from her restraints, this time was different for her. Nonetheless, she didn't let her fear get the better of her since she had a huge task to carry out. Besides, nothing severe had happened to her during the past few days she'd been going there. In the interim, she also had a pendant necklace around her neck that kept her away from unholy beings and their tendency to regress people. For instance, her dead cousin, whom she deemed to have been emancipated by Ryujin, possessed lethal powers to reel unprotected people in to do things on her command.

The stairs creaked noisily under her staggering feet, and soon, she was trudging toward the secret room in the shadow, a spell book in one hand and a suitcase full of medical supplies and supplements in the other. Just as Jennie set the suitcase down on the floor to fumble with the keys, the vengeful redhead had stealthily levitated the case to a far left corner of the basement, an evil smirk curling up her matte red lips. Oblivious, Jennie unlocked the secret door and, similar to Hyunjin, she smiled warmly at the scene behind that said-door; only to have that warm smile distorted and be inscribed with grief.

After slipping the keys back into her hoodie's pocket, she hunched slightly to pick the suitcase up from the floor, but to her dismay, it wasn't there anymore. Gasping out of shock, she clutched the spell book firmly in her fists and swiveled her body around, searching frenziedly for the case until her vision settled on the far left corner. She knew exactly who put it there, yet she feigned nonchalance, and strode toward it slowly, reciting every prayer she had in mind. As soon as she neared the case, she gulped and hesitated a bit to take a few more steps.

Sensing how frightened her older cousin sister was, the redhead let out a bark of laughter, which the human girl couldn't hear, thanks to the protective pendant. In fact, the red-haired ghost could make herself seen to human beings and hear her voice if she wanted to; she was that powerful. Nevertheless, her powers were useless compared to Jennie, Hyunjin and In Yeop's protective pendants that blocked her from using them against them, and Shaman Kim Taeyeon's talisman engraved on that door which prevented her entrance. Another talisman, which the Shaman had etched unto her ash pot, had also suppressed some of her powers and trapped her in the basement for six years. Fortunately, she was able to persuade Ryujin to smash that pot in order to escape.

I must do this for my cousin's sake! Jennie encouraged herself in her head, and she finally stood in front of the case, preparing to grab it. At this, the ghost raised a finger in the material's direction to levitate it once more, but Ryujin's whine from her bedroom ceased her from carrying out whatever plan she had to mess with Jennie.

"Yeji unnie! Yeji unnie! Yeji unnie!" The redhead's ears perked up to the incessant whines made by the girl she loved. With a great huff, she disapparated into dark smokes, leaving her iconic odor behind to be smelt by Jennie.

Why is red-haired Yeji trying to stop Jennie from carrying out her task in that secret room? Any theory? 🤔