The Secret Sonata || Ryeji

Chapter 62: Behind The Scenes

After In Yeop became mentally unstable to manage Hwang's coporation, Hyunjin had to take over his place, and the fate of the business lied in his hands. Yet, he worked from home since he didn't trust any of the maids to take care of Yeji's comatose body in the basement. Furthermore, the procedure wasn't simple enough to be handled by others. He had to give his sister breathing assistance, intravenous medications and iterate soul strengthening spells from the spell book that Shaman Kim'd given. In that way, Yeji's spirit could garner the strength to bypass Lucy's curse and enter her body at long last.

Nevertheless, what no one knew was that... ever since Yeji'd turned on her heels from heaven's gate upon learning about her revival, she was tormented and got her energy drained by the Woo-Ma-Yeol-infested Lucy in the basement, every morning the latter returned from hell. None of this would've have happened if the pot had been thrown away into a lake or buried deep somewhere far from home— just like what Hyunjin wanted to do. However, why didn't he proceed with that plan? It was because his deranged father insisted on keeping the pot at the mansion, deeming that his family would be complete. His son was in the house, his daughters were in the house, and lastly, his wife was in the house—specifically in the frame hung on the wall of their previously shared bedroom—all together with him.

Hyunjin did as told and placed the pot on the shelf beside the enchanted room where his youngest sister was kept, because Taeyeon reassured that Lucy wouldn't bother them anymore since she was in hell and there was no possibility of her return. Obviously, the shaman'd miscalculated, the reason being that Lucy was in favor of Lord Woo Ma Wang and she was only sentenced to be tortured in hell at night; the action of which allowed her to return to the mansion in the morning forbye.

Thus, Yeji tried her best not to go to the basement as much as possible during daytime, or else she would end up getting tortured by her merciless twin—which happened most of the times due to her clumsy teleportation skills.

In the intervening period, Lucy still had the capability to lure the maids to the basement and coax them into smashing the pot, using her poignant voice, regardless of her full powers being suppressed. Fortunately, the maids were always caught in the act by Hyunjin and Jennie, then they were fired one by one until not a single maid left; even the butler and the drivers were given their cards to prevent them from being inveigled.

Owing to the fact that there were no housemaids left to clean the house or plan the meals for the father and son, Jennie would regularly visit and offer her assistance to them. One day, the cat-eyed cousin, herself, almost got cajoled into setting Lucy free, but luckily, she was able to resist the temptation and ignore the incessant murmurs of the spirit. After that, she apprised Hyunjin of what she'd encountered, demanding for him to do something about it. Hence, the guy sought for shaman Kim's help at her house, only to be greeted by the sight of her packing up her things to leave town temporarily with 11 year old Winter by her side. Since the shaman's mother was diagnosed with cancer and the elderly woman lived in Gyeongju, she wanted to spend more time with her mother and take care of her until her dying moment. Thus, all the guidance and help she could provide to the Hwangs were three charmed pendants, telling Hyunjin to never take them off in order to be safe from the evil spirit's danger. Just like that, the shaman and her daughter left in a hurry, not wanting to miss the train to Gyeongju.

After six years passed, Lucy was freed from the basement by Ryujin, thus giving her unlimited access to other parts of the mansion and outside it. Additionally, it made it harder for Yeji to hide from her twin since she could travel everywhere she desired. Then, the evil spirit cursed Yeji again and made her bracelet inflict pain every time the latter tried to disclose the real identity of the former to Ryujin. Into the bargain, the real side of Lucy that had been lost for six years was also awakened the moment Ryujin read the stories from the leather bound book to her—of course, exempting The Two Mutch Sisters as requested by the spirit—, all the while Lia's body was possessed. Starting from then, the real Lucy'd been stealthily trying to break free to the surface without the awareness of the Woo-Yeol-infested one but to no avail.

To her luck, she was able to connect with Winter while the high schooler was meditating on the van, spreading her awareness to the world and seeking to take heed of the words that came from the bottom of one's heart. Henceforth, the helpless soul was able to deliver the riddle-like message: "One's most cherished property and the memories it encompasses are the evocation of their true self. In your case, the most cherished property would be the story, itself..." Not only once, but twice to two people—Winter and Ryujin. The fact that she was able to send a telepathic message to Ryujin was because the bracelets had already been destroyed by then and she was starting to gain control of herself. Moreover, she figured Ryujin was the right person to transmit her message to and she knew the bluehead would be able to decipher it sooner or later.