IRREVERSIBLE CHOICE

"IT SEEMS like our family won again this time," Hayi said while looking at the whimpering Hellhound on the ground. "You should seriously consider changing jobs."

She wasn't alone in the abandoned bowling center, but the kids inside were unconscious.

[Ah, right. The kids.]

She didn't know what exactly happened, but she had a feeling that the kids witnessed something that they shouldn't have seen. Hence, she asked Sun Geun-wook's doppelganger to take Yujin away from that place.

[I need to erase the kids' memories.]

She wasn't worried about Yujin because she knew that Sun Geun-wook's doppelganger wouldn't hurt her niece.

[I also asked Oh Rami earlier to wait for Yujin and drive her home.]

Her thoughts got interrupted when the Hellhound suddenly stopped moving as if it had died.

However, it let out a demonic laugh soon after.

[Aigoo, I knew it.]

Her neck almost cracked when she looked up to follow the movement of the Hellhound that suddenly shot up to the ceiling.

Judging by the black and red light that engulfed the Hellhound…

"Nightmare," Hayi said indifferently. "Even though you were trapped in the world where the doppelgangers dwell, you still have the energy to possess your Hellhound."

As expected of the so-called 'genius' of the Grim Reaper Department.

<"Hayi Ahn, it's a shame that I didn't get to see your beautiful face.">

That gave her goosebumps, for real.

"Shut up," she said while rubbing her arms. "I don't want to hear that from an old man who practically watched me grow up. You should be ashamed of yourself."

<"What's wrong with it when you're already in your thirties?">

She just ignored the Grim Reaper this time.

It was no sense arguing with Nightmare since that scoundrel was known for being shameless and unapologetic.

[You can't reason with a man with a broken moral compass.]

<"You must have thought you had already won, right?">

"Isn't that the case?" she argued back. "I didn't have to do anything this time, and yet, my precious niece succeeded in driving you away."

<"We both know that it wasn't Yujin Moon who made this happen.">

She flinched, but she didn't give a comment.

<"You may feel like you've won now, but let's see what will happen once they arrived.">

She knitted her eyebrows.

As far as she knew, this bastard didn't have any friends.

"Who are you talking about?"

Once again, the Hellhound let out a demonic laugh.

<"You know them, Hayi Ahn.">

"Stop beating around the bush–"

<"The Sweepers– I reached out to them in advance.">

Her eyes went wide in shock. "You crazy bastard!"

<"Yep, that I am. I knew this would happen the moment Wook Sun's name appeared on the List. Hence, I sent a message to the Sweepers. Just so you know, it's been a while since I did that. So, you may expect their arrival any time now.">

"Nightmare!"

The bastard Grim Reaper laughed again.

<"I'm sure you know what the Sweepers do to Strays like your precious niece. Good luck, Hayi Ahn. You need that.">

"How dare you break our pact?" she accused him bitterly. "And why did you call the Sweepers of all people? You know very well that they are the most inflexible bastards in the world!"

<"Hayi Ahn, you only lose your cool when it comes to your precious niece.">

That was true.

She was usually level-headed. But when Nightmare mentioned the Sweepers, she lost it.

[Those bastards are more dangerous than the Grim Reapers. After all, awful humans are still scarier than ghosts.]

<"To be honest, I'm also scared of the Sweepers. But I figured nothing would happen to me if I was stuck in a different dimension. In short, that's your problem. I sincerely wish you succeed in getting rid of the Sweepers, though. After all, I need them out of my way once I get out of here.">

She clenched her hands tight.

As expected, Nightmare was still as cunning as ever.

[This is how he survived all this time.]

<"Ah, I'm running out of time. Good luck keeping your niece alive, Hayi Ahn,"] Nightmare said in an annoyingly cheerful voice. <"And take care of Sandboy for me!">

And just like that, the Hellhound fell to the ground– unconscious.

Hayi cursed under her breath. "I can't hide Yujin from the Sweepers."

[Well, unless her father steps in…]

***

"MOON YUJIN, you're awake?"

Huh?

When Yujin opened her eyes, she was surprised to see Oh Rami, her best friend.

And it also came as a shock to find herself lying down on the sofa in her living room. She got up instantly.

"I'm home?" Yujin asked, confused. "How…?"

She was still disoriented, so she was trying her best to remember what happened before she lost consciousness.

"I met Aunt Hayi after I sent you first to the bowling center," Oh Rami, who was sitting on the chair across from her, explained. "She told me that she'd be sending you out in a few minutes. So, after I told Choi Doyun and his friend to fuck off, I returned to the bowling center. I saw His Royal Assface carrying you in his arms, so I told him to hop in. After that, I drove you home and he carried you inside…"

Oh Rami kept talking, but Yujin was no longer listening.

She froze in her seat when she finally remembered everything.

[That wasn't Sun Geun-wook!]

"Rami, where is he?" Yujin asked in a hurry, cutting her best friend off accidentally. "Where's the fake mustard?"

Understandably, her best friend looked confused. "Fake what?"

"Sun Geun-wook!"

"Ah," Rami said, nodding. Then she pointed at the balcony door. "There."

She looked to her side.

The balcony door was made of glass, and it led to the garden.

Sun Geun-wook's doppelganger stood there while spacing out. It seemed like the ghost felt her eyes on him because he suddenly turned to her. He didn't say anything and just stared back at her with dull eyes.

She hugged herself when her body trembled.

The doppelganger was a bitter reminder that she failed to save Sun Geun-wook.

[That fake mustard took his place…]

"Why are you looking at His Royal Assface like that?" Rami asked, confused. "Did something happen between the two of you?"

She would tell her best friend everything later.

But now…

"Rami-ya, thank you for driving me home," Yujin said, then she turned to her best friend and gave her an apologetic smile. "Take care on your way home, okay?"

That was her asking her best friend to leave.

Fortunately, she didn't have to say more since Oh Rami knew her so well by now.

"Okay, I'll go ahead now," Rami said, then she stood up. Then she turned to Sun Geun-wook who was still staring at Yujin, unblinking. "If His Royal Assface tries to do anything funny, just kick him in the groin then run."

***

YUJIN DIDN'T see her wooden baseball bat.

However, it didn't pose a problem.

After all, her Aunt Hayi purposely left golf clubs with talismans all over the house for her protection. She grabbed one of the clubs near the main door before she headed to the balcony.

Then she opened the sliding glass doors before she faced the fake mustard.

Aka Sun Geun-wook's doppelganger.

"Where did the door that I saw earlier take Sun Geun-wook?" Yujin asked the doppelganger coldly. "You're a doppelganger, so I'm sure you know where the door took my friend."

"I don't know."

She clenched her hands.

[His voice really sounds like the real Sun Geun-wook. And he can speak coherently now. How loathsome.]

"But you should know," she insisted. "You're a doppelganger."

"The door only opens up when the Original that we copy is about to die," the doppelganger said. "But we don't know where the door comes from. And I also don't know where we dwell." He paused, then he looked up at the night sky as if he was thinking. "It's more like I don't remember anymore."

She knitted her eyebrows, confused. "What do you mean by that?"

The doppelganger turned to her, then he pointed a finger gun at his temple. "This head is only filled with Sun Geun-wook's memories now. My own memories, in return, have become blurry."

It didn't look like the ghost was lying.

However, she wasn't satisfied with that answer.

"Then you better work hard to remember where you came from," she said, frowning. "You must remember and bring me to where Sun Geun-wook is."

After all, he hadn't given up on saving her childhood friend yet.

"But why?" the doppelganger asked as if he was genuinely confused. He even tilted his head to one side innocently. "The Original is already dead."

"No!" she said stubbornly, raising the golf club in her hands. "Sun Geun-wook is still alive."

"That can't be right since I have already completed my transition," the doppelganger said, putting a hand over his chest. "I'm now a full human, thanks to you."

She was startled to hear that. "Thanks to me?"

"I'm Wookie," the doppelganger said, his face beaming. Then he pointed a slender finger at him. "You gave me that name, Yujinie."

Her entire body suddenly turned cold.

"Yujinie doesn't know?" 'Wookie' asked, smiling 'brightly' at her. "Giving a doppelganger a name completes their transition from being a ghost to being a full human."

What…?

[Is that why Aunt Hayi told me to never give a doppelganger a name?]

She collapsed.

First, she dropped the golf club to the floor after her hands lose their strength. Then her knees buckled. The next thing she knew, she was already kneeling on the floor.

"Then all of this is my fault?" Yujin asked herself in disbelief. "Because of my mistake, Sun Geun-wook can no longer return…?"

***

Please add SPOOKY SOULMATE to your library~