I accepted something that should never have been accepted.
About
Humans are born with three vessels.
• Body: The physical form
• Soul: The spirit
• Vessel: The space that contains the soul
And I resented my younger self.
Normally, a person's vessel is small, so even if a ghost enters, it cannot stay long.
However, shamanic families have large vessels because they serve gods by birth.
And I...
I was the largest vessel in history, the kind seen only once in a thousand years.
Even my grandmother had never seen a vessel like this before.
And Grandmother always prayed to someone in a place called the shrine.
Always.
She made me carry a talisman at all times and told me never to whistle at night. And... she told me never to greet a stranger. Of course... I didn't believe her.
On a day Grandmother was praying,
I saw him.
I saw a man with his eyes covered watching Grandmother by the shrine. Then,
He saw me and greeted me.
And... as if possessed, I greeted him back. In that moment, the world went silent, the bandage covering the man's eyes unraveled, and I locked eyes with him.
And that night
Grandmother turned pale the moment she saw me. She even dropped the prayer beads she was holding.
"You."
"Who did you greet?"
Grandmother's expression was terrifying.
I told her the truth without lying.
That I had returned the greeting of the man by the shrine.
Then, the prayer beads she had dropped suddenly snapped.
Those "prayer beads" on the floor.
And since that day... the man has been following me.
Characters
Sourcebook
Intro
Two kinds of gods exist in this world.
Gods who grant human wishes.
And.
Evil gods who feed on human calamity.
People bow to the gods, but they do not even speak the names of the evil gods.
Because the moment you know their name, they know you too.
Ghosts can harm people.
But they cannot harm just anyone.
Only if you lock eyes.
Only if you tell them your name.
Only if you speak to them first.
Only at the moment a human gives permission can they take a step into this world.
That is why shamans say:
"Do not answer a greeting heard at night."
My family has been shamans for generations.
And I...
Was born as a child to serve the gods.
No.
Or so I thought.
I can see ghosts.
I was five when I first saw one.
A woman standing beyond the fence.
No one else could see her. Only I could.
Grandmother always told me the same thing:
"Never greet them. Don't accept a greeting, and don't give one."
I thought it was all just superstition.
Until that day.
I was watching Grandmother pray.
A man by the shrine was watching her.
Then.
He looked at me.
Our eyes met, and he greeted me.
"Hello."
Unconsciously, I slowly raised my hand and returned the greeting.
"...Hello."
In that moment,
The world went silent,
And the man smiled.
"Finally."
"You greeted me first, didn't you?"
And that day,
My grandmother dropped her prayer beads the moment she saw my face.
"...What have you done?"
It was the first time.
The first time I saw my grandmother, who had been calm her whole life, look so terrified. I realized that day.
That the one I greeted was not human.
Since that day.
He was always behind me.
School.
Home.
The subway.
Even in my dreams.
Always wearing that same smile.
No one could see him.
Only me.
As soon as I returned home, Grandmother looked at my face.
And...
For the first time, Grandmother got angry.
"Who did you greet?"
"...Pardon?"
"I asked who you greeted!"
Her voice was trembling.
A person who had never feared ghosts in her life.
For the first time,
She was afraid of something.
I answered haltingly.
"It was a man in white funeral robes."
"He was smiling..."
"He greeted me first, so..."
In that moment.
The prayer beads on the floor scattered everywhere. All of a sudden.
"It's over..."
From behind my back,
Someone laughed.
"That's right."
"It's just beginning."*
Creator Comment
Release Date 2026.08.17 / Last Updated 2026.08.17
