He was neither completely transformed into an eagle nor perfectly changed into a human. Somehow mixed as if stopped while trying to change to one side, his bright yellow pupils stared directly at this direction.

No way. I was certain it didn’t exist.

Wasn’t the escapee disguise or whatever something made up by the police?

Choi Yoon carefully extended his arm so as not to provoke the other. He stepped back one step while shielding Han Seo Jung protectively.

The eagle also slowly backed away. The undergrowth was silently trampled under its fiercely raised claws.

He was quite different from the disguised person Choi Yoon had imagined.

He looked tired, and also in pain. He seemed too much like a weak person to be a harbinger of disaster, and precarious as if enduring only on sheer willpower.

Han Seo Jung moved first.

Han Seo Jung pressed down Choi Yoon’s arm that was protecting her and cautiously stepped forward, then pointed upwards. It was the direction they had just come from.

“If you go up that way, there’s a house. No one will be there for a while and there’s food left in the kitchen…”

Choi Yoon startled and roughly pulled Han Seo Jung into his arms. Flustered, he whispered lowly.

“Come here. What are you doing now?”

Han Seo Jung shook off Choi Yoon.

“Our house is empty. It’s a pity, isn’t it?”

“Are you crazy? He’s a criminal. The police are looking for him.”

Even while scolding Han Seo Jung, Choi Yoon did not take his eyes off the disguised person. The disguised person also stared intently at Choi Yoon as if wary of this side.

“He just lived as a human because he wanted to be treated like a human. He broke the law but didn’t harm anyone!”

“What on earth are you saying? Identity fraud itself is a crime. It’s dangerous, so come here…!”

It felt like his chest would burst.

The disguised person he thought was a lie by the police was right in front of him, puffing up all his feathers and fixing his bright yellow pupils on this side, and meanwhile Han Seo Jung was actually reaching out her hand.

Those damn police who were scattered around enough to trip over were nowhere to be seen just when needed.

It would be right to hold that disguised person until the police arrive. However, there was a more important priority.

Han Seo Jung. She must not get hurt.

So Choi Yoon, rather than reporting to the police or subduing the disguised person, strongly pulled Han Seo Jung and pushed her behind to hide her. He whispered lowly.

“If he lunges, I’ll block him so you slowly go down.”

“But…”

“It’s okay. It’s okay so slowly back away. When you’re far enough, run.”

He felt Han Seo Jung hesitantly backing away.

The eagle straightened its back. Its black wings puffed up. It was much bigger than he had thought.

If that thing were to harm Han Seo Jung.

There was a good possibility. Its reason would be numbed from long flight, and there was no telling when its inherent violence would manifest.

If so, with the intention of immediately jumping out to block it, Choi Yoon put strength in his feet. He felt the soft soil give way under the soles of his sneakers.

It was then. The rustling sound of Han Seo Jung’s retreating steps stopped. Instead, numerous presences surged from below.

The police were coming.

The disguised person’s entire body stiffened alert. When a bright blue light flashed in those eyes that had been tensely wary, Choi Yoon realized the other’s intention.

The disguised person lunging this way and Choi Yoon turning to embrace Han Seo Jung happened almost simultaneously.

A sharp pain stabbed his shoulder. Choi Yoon gritted his teeth and put strength into his whole body embracing Han Seo Jung.

He doesn’t usually do this.

Choi Yoon cherishes his body. Extremely cherishes it. It was one of the very old habits that Lee Kang Woo consciously instilled, knowing painfully well that his body was not his alone.

But now it didn’t matter at all.

Anger surged.

Why does this child have no parents. Why does she live alone. Why does she speak as if all that is no big deal.

His shoulder, his arm, was hot.

Han Seo Jung gasped in his arms. He thought he heard her murmur “blood”.

Choi Yoon gritted his teeth. Because he was tensing his whole body to protect Han Seo Jung, he had no chance to look back.

He only knew there was the urgent presence of the police rushing over and the disguised person who was gripping Choi Yoon’s shoulder with sharp claws as if trying to take him hostage somehow.

The police will come. If he can just hold on a little longer…

But in that moment, Choi Yoon realized he had misjudged.

The disguised person doesn’t need to get his hands on Han Seo Jung. Choi Yoon alone is enough as a hostage. More than enough, perfect even. It was a face everyone knew.

As soon as he realized, Choi Yoon let go of Han Seo Jung. He pushed the pale child out of his arms with all his might.

“Go! Run!”

A gunshot rang out.

Kim Ye Rin startled and raised her head.

In the distance, a flock of birds shot into the sky all at once.

“Didn’t you just hear something?”

Ji Chun Bae did not respond. He was busy using a tool to forcefully twist the lock attached to the fence. He suddenly stopped his hand and looked this way.

“Now that I think about it, there was a reason you have such good hearing, Ye Rin.”

“I’m strong too. You don’t know how frustrating it’s been pretending to be weak all this time.”

Kim Ye Rin said jokingly as she took the tool from Ji Chun Bae. The lock that Ji Chun Bae had wrestled with was simply cut off when Kim Ye Rin applied force.

While Kim Ye Rin was putting the tool back in the truck, Ji Chun Bae opened the fence wide to make space for the car to pass through.

Ji Chun Bae pointed outside the fence.

“Go out and head straight towards Seoju. To avoid the checkpoint, you need to go around the back along the reservoir. You know, right?”

“Of course. It’s where we went with you before. We played in the valley with Seo Jung and grilled meat too.”

Kim Ye Rin held out her hand. Ji Chun Bae grasped it firmly. His face contorted strangely. It was the expression he made when trying hard to smile.

“Thank you for everything.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep the secret.”

Kim Ye Rin got into the driver’s seat. Just as she was about to start the engine, Ji Chun Bae grabbed the open window frame.

“Ye Rin.”

Ji Chun Bae hesitated a little, then looked straight into Kim Ye Rin’s eyes.

“Many yokai think disguised people are traitors. They all endure disadvantages just because yokai blood flows in them, but disguised people alone pretend to be human and take advantage, they say. But I don’t think that way.”

Kim Ye Rin remembered when she first saw Ji Chun Bae.

Compared to the villagers who were wary of Kim Ye Rin at the time, Ji Chun Bae left a box of tools in front of the restaurant without even being asked. He said it would be needed to fix the house.

“We shouldn’t condemn disguised people. We need to think about the society that creates disguised people.”

Sometimes the words you desperately needed come from unexpected places.

“So you need to live well, more than anyone. Because it’s not your fault.”

Kim Ye Rin swallowed countless words. She smiled.

“Thank you.”

Ji Chun Bae let go of the window frame. He stepped back.

It was when Kim Ye Rin adjusted her posture and gripped the steering wheel. Her phone rang next to the travel bag on the passenger seat.

The caller was Choi Yoon.

Kim Ye Rin did not answer the call. She started the car. She passed through the fence.

The figure of Ji Chun Bae standing blankly staring this way grew distant moment by moment through the rearview mirror.

Meanwhile, the phone kept ringing and stopping repeatedly. It was all Choi Yoon.

Ignoring those calls, Kim Ye Rin turned a corner. When she looked in the rearview mirror for the last time, Ji Chun Bae was pushing the fence closed again.

The persistently ringing phone stopped. Soon it rang again after a short interval.

She looked down thinking it would be Choi Yoon again. But the caller on the screen was Han Seo Jung.

It was ominous. The moment she pressed the call button, an urgent voice burst out.

– This is Choi Yoon.

Kim Ye Rin did not answer.

An ominous feeling swept over her. Beyond Choi Yoon’s rough breathing, the surroundings were in an uproar.

– Seo Jung is hurt. She’s hurt but…

Kim Ye Rin stepped on the brake. The truck made a sharp sound as it swerved on the road with no passing cars.

– We can’t go to the hospital.

The noise of something crashing and raised voices mixed chaotically.

Choi Yoon’s breathing was unstable.

– We can’t pass through the checkpoint.

Beyond him were several layers of angry voices. It was clear that village chief Jang Yong Sik was there.

“You said Seo Jung is hurt?”

Her hands shook severely despite her mind turning slowly as if waterlogged. She barely managed to grip the phone that kept trying to slip away. Her voice came out agitated.

“Someone’s hurt, so why won’t they let you through? How badly is she hurt…!”

– Because she’s not a student!

Choi Yoon said roughly.

– There’s nothing to prove it! No student ID, no parents, nothing common that everyone else has!

Even as Choi Yoon’s voice pierced her ears, she couldn’t understand.

– Ye Rin, did you know? That Seo Jung quit school. There’s nothing that can prove her identity.

“She quit school?”

She had never heard of it. She had no idea.

– She can’t even present ID at the checkpoint, and even if we somehow pass through, there’s no one to sign the surgery consent form, and those so-called parents won’t even answer the phone!

“Surgery?”

She couldn’t breathe.

– They say a guarantor is needed because Seo Jung is mixed-blood. I tried to register just now but they won’t let me. They say same-day registration isn’t recognized, and someone already registered has to come and show ID for us to be able to leave. Ye Rin, you’ve been Seo Jung’s guarantor before, right?

Jang Yong Sik’s rough voice burst out from behind Choi Yoon who was speaking rapidly. He was cursing up a storm saying someone’s about to die because of this damn procedure. She could clearly picture him grabbing a police officer by the collar and spitting as he yelled.

– The village chief is saying that you went as a temporary guardian for Seo Jung’s parent-teacher conference before. He says you also signed the surgery consent form as a human guarantor when Seo Jung was hurt before.

It felt like her heart would jump out of her throat.

“Yes, I did. But in an emergency situation, even without family or a guarantor, just the consent of a friend or acquaintance…”

– That’s for humans.

Choi Yoon said in a suppressed voice.

– Seo Jung is mixed-blood so she absolutely needs family or relatives, or at least a guarantor.

Dizziness surged. Her thoughts were slow.

Han Seo Jung is hurt. But she can’t go to the hospital. For no other reason than being part yokai.

– The law changed last year. In situations like this, minor yokai or mixed-bloods are stuck if they don’t have a guardian.

Kim Ye Rin knew too. It was because of a crime committed by a minor yokai. That one incident created restrictions for all minor yokai. The news she had witnessed at the time mixed in her flickering vision. She felt dizzy.

“Is there no flexibility? Even when someone’s hurt, do they really have to follow that procedure…!”

– Flexibility?

Choi Yoon laughed. It was cynical.

– Why would the police here exercise flexibility? The whole village is certain you’ll come if we wait.

Only then did Kim Ye Rin realize why Choi Yoon had called her so many times. Because there really was no alternative at the scene.

– Everyone in this village knows you stood as Seo Jung’s guarantor, and they all think you’re still here. You said you were going to Seoul when you left the restaurant, but no one actually saw you pass through the checkpoint.