One of the secrets that Jae Hyuk had been hiding all this time was the fact that he could see and speak with the souls of the dead. He was able to see people who could not be seen by ordinary human eyes. That magical ability appeared just like that when he survived the assassination attempt five years ago, even though since childhood Jae Hyuk had never shown any signs of possessing such power.
Meanwhile, what remained a mystery to Jae Hyuk was the person who had saved him at that time. And perhaps because Jae Hyuk had once risen from death, he became directly connected to those who had already died, because his own life had once stood on the brink between life and death.
At first, Jae Hyuk was not used to this new power. He was not truly prepared. The voices appeared just like that, following him wherever he went—whether beside his ears, behind his body, when he was devising his plans for revenge, when he closed his eyes and ears, when Jae Hyuk was sharpening his dagger, or when he was interacting with others, the voices never stopped.
Everything Jae Hyuk saw and heard clashed within his head. Filling the space of his thoughts. His first day possessing that power was a nightmare, because since that moment Jae Hyuk lived without silence.
It started with one.
One became two.
Then two became dozens.
Dozens became hundreds.
Jae Hyuk never felt at peace. His mind continuously received information. Some whispered softly about their own secrets, some rambled aimlessly, and some even chased him, begging for his help. Jae Hyuk longed for the silence of his life.
Because since then, Jae Hyuk's days had changed—slowly cracking as his body adapted to that power. His eyes became hollow from lack of sleep, his body weakened and trembled, and his body temperature rose and fell unstably. No matter how broken his condition was, even in a half-conscious state, Jae Hyuk could still see and hear them screaming… calling and approaching him.
Those souls never left. Morning, noon, and night, they always came to him.
A year passed in that state.
For that entire year, Jae Hyuk tried to understand the power within him. He spoke with them secretly every night, hiding this ability in front of others. He delved deeper into this power each day, trying to find a way to control it.
Day by day, he studied and recognized the patterns of the spirits—when the voices became strongest, when they weakened, and how to hold them back so they would not all come at once. Jae Hyuk observed, tried, failed, and then repeated it again.
The shadows he saw, with unfamiliar faces that often appeared in the corners of the room, or right behind him, or anywhere that once felt terrifying, gradually began to feel normal to Jae Hyuk.
Until finally, Jae Hyuk found control.
He determined which spirits were allowed to speak and which ones he could see. And which ones had to remain silent and unseen.
Learning that power made Jae Hyuk realize that seeing and hearing too many souls would weaken his body's natural strength and drain his energy completely. He minimized the impact on his body and himself. Because of that, Jae Hyuk set limits. Only the spirits he allowed could be seen and heard.
The voice that had slipped in earlier was the voice of one of his ancestors named Man Kyu. Man Kyu's soul was around 150 years old. In the past, Man Kyu was the son of a concubine of the seventh King of Hwan, and he served as a royal advisor for decades. However, his death remained a mystery to Jae Hyuk. The old man's spirit never told him about it.
Jae Hyuk's eyelids, which had been closed, now lifted as he opened his eyes. There was something different about his physical appearance when his shinigaze was active. Jae Hyuk's bright brown eye remained—but only in his left eye. Meanwhile, his right eye turned pitch black, with a faint hidden glimmer and small cracks within its iris. From a close distance, one could see his two eyes in different colors. Jae Hyuk's shinigaze was very unique, yet mesmerizing.
"You… called me, uri Jae Hyukie." said the very old man.
"I… have seen everything. You are truly standing at the edge of death, aren't you, Dubu?"
Another truth was that Jae Hyuk could not only see human souls, but also the souls of dead animals. He could even speak with them fluently. Such a ridiculous power, Jae Hyuk thought.
Dubu was a five-year-old male cat who died from a deadly virus. Dubu belonged to Kim Dae Hyun—a fisherman who often helped Jae Hyuk during his exile five years ago.
Dubu had a patchy body. Half of him was warm orange, and the other half was gray. His body was not long—he was short and chubby. His tail was also very short, almost invisible from behind. But the most beautiful part of Dubu was his eyes. Just like Jae Hyuk, who had different eyes when activating his shinigaze, Dubu had a blue left eye and a green right eye.
"Yes, that's right. Anyway, you must not die." said Dubu's spirit as he floated near the ceiling.
Jae Hyuk kept his lips tightly sealed. He listened to everything in silence.
"I… know you are not afraid of death, but dying for something that is not your fault? Shameful. At least if you are going to die, you should die in a cool way like me." Man Kyu said, somewhat boastfully.
Jae Hyuk did not answer immediately. His eyebrow lifted slightly. His gaze was cold but focused on Man Kyu.
"So, I have to kneel before that woman?"
Seeing Jae Hyuk's unblinking gaze, Man Kyu shook his head.
"Your perspective… is too narrow. You must look at things from farther away, uri Jae Hyukie."
"Death… is easy, isn't it? Death is silent, rigid, and finished. But what about life? Life is dirty, full of wounds, and very exhausting. Yet within the life you think is dirty lies a possibility, uri Jae Hyukie." Man Kyu smiled bitterly.
"Choosing… death or kneeling is the same. Neither holds honor. Both disgrace yourself." His breath sounded heavy and strained.
"If… you are executed, it means you admit to a crime you never committed. What kind of pathetic prince dies for something so trivial?" Man Kyu's voice grew hoarser.
"If… you kneel, you lower yourself before those who are waiting to see you fall. You feed and satisfy their egos. That is weak. That is pathetic. And believe me, young man, that is not something you should do."
"Between the two… which is better?" Man Kyu asked.
"If… you die, then you simply die. Like us spirits. Powerless. But if you kneel, at least you remain alive, uri Jae Hyukie. You still have a chance. A chance to change everything." Man Kyu looked at him with experienced eyes.
"Do not… view life narrowly. As long as you endure, that chance will always exist. Remember, uri Jae Hyukie, that chance is like breath. Even at your lowest point, when you must kneel before them, that chance and hope still exist."
"Do you… know the deadliest way to attack your enemy? Make them think you have lost. Because when humans feel they have won, they become careless." Man Kyu coughed at the end of his sentence.
Dubu approached Jae Hyuk, stopping in front of him though his feet did not touch the ground. He looked at Jae Hyuk with a bored expression.
"If you die now, who will listen to my rambling? I need you to deliver my longing to my master, Haraboji Kim Dae Hyun."
"The other spirits here are also very boring. They are old and outdated, always talking about regret, regret, and regret. Meongg. At least live for me. I don't want to see you become transparent like me yet."
Jae Hyuk remained silent.
"The ground… you stand on will never judge your feet, uri Jae Hyukie. Even when you kneel and touch it. You are not losing. You are borrowing strength from the earth to rise again."
Slowly, Jae Hyuk lowered his head, looking at the cold ground beneath him.
"Let's… look outside. Do you see that tall, rigid oak tree? It stands firm, believing itself the strongest because its trunk is unshakable." A brief silence followed, as Man Kyu savored the sound of the wind drifting in through the ventilation.
"Then… look at the bamboo beneath it. Small, thin, and seemingly weak. When the storm comes, the bamboo bends. It bows until its tip touches the dirty ground. It appears defeated, humiliated." Man Kyu said to Jae Hyuk.
"But… do you know what happens when the storm passes, uri Jae Hyukie? The proud oak falls, its roots torn out because it tried to resist a greater force. But the bamboo? It springs back upright, intact, and grows greener than before." Jae Hyuk did not follow Man Kyu's instruction to look outside the window, toward the shadow of the towering oak tree beyond. Instead, his gaze remained fixed on the ground. Slowly, something began to shift within his eyes.
"I… know you have your own principles, uri Jae Hyukie. You can decide everything yourself. I am not here to force you—only to give you another perspective." Man Kyu said, suggesting.
"You… must be able to read the situation. Understand what is happening to you now. That is the key to survival." he said to Jae Hyuk.
"You… are young. Your journey is still long. No matter how dirty your life feels, continue walking. You will never know what awaits you ahead if you stop here."