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    Yeohwi calmly relayed the truth and then spoke in a tone that expressed both surprise and frustration.

    “No, if you fell into the water, you should have come right back up. Why on earth did you end up in this state by chasing after a mermaid? There should be a limit to recklessness.”

    His chiding voice was filled with genuine disbelief. Even as he gently pushed Cheon Ryubeom back down and his field of vision filled with the ceiling, Ryubeom remained silent, only blinking in a daze.

    Right. Mermaids are said to lure people in, so maybe from the moment he saw its tail, he had fallen into an illusion. There’s a legend that they tempt people into the sea with their enchanting voices, and it wouldn’t be strange to interpret that as them calling in the voice of someone close to you.

    His father had died at the bottom of a cliff. Yes, there’s no way his father’s restless spirit could be found in the Han River, so far from the accident site. Though Cheon Ryubeom tried to accept this quietly, he couldn’t stop the doubts from surfacing.

    What if that pitch-black thing that overtook the car that day was related to the Han River’s mermaid? What if his father’s wandering soul had drifted into the Han River? What if the demon that was growing stronger had devoured his father’s soul, or worse, what if his father wasn’t dead and was actually alive somewhere in the Han River…?

    …Was this doubt, or just a desperate wish?

    Cheon Ryubeom let out a slow breath. He suddenly realized that even if the mermaid was somehow connected to his father’s spirit, it would still be a problem. To close the Gido, he would have to eliminate the demon that opened it.

    “…”

    Even though he had just come back soaked from the river, it felt as though he was stumbling through a desert under the scorching sun. The feelings he had harbored for so long were drying up, stretching out endlessly, and he was clawing at the sand, hoping for water to gush forth. His hands burned from the hot sand, and his fingers were cut on sharp rocks hidden beneath.

    It was as if he had inhaled the scorching air; breathing was difficult. His dry throat felt as though it was coated with sand and the ashes of his emotions.

    Cough, cough…!”

    Cheon Ryubeom coughed again. He hastily covered his mouth with his sleeve, which gradually stained red, revealing what he was spitting up.

    As he struggled to regain his breath, Yeohwi handed him a cup.

    “This will help treat your internal injuries. It’s a miraculous remedy from my family…”

    The pitch-black medicinal liquid in the white cup had a faint reddish tint. Ryubeom hesitated, simply staring at it, until Yeohwi, noticing his reluctance, took a drink from the cup himself. His Adam’s apple bobbed visibly as he swallowed a large gulp.

    “I’ll bring you a fresh cup.”

    Yeohwi spoke calmly as he set down the empty cup and stood up. Before Ryubeom could protest, he retrieved another cup, tore open a packet of medicine, and poured it out where Ryubeom could see. With a new cup in hand, Ryubeom hesitantly spoke.

    “It’s not that I distrusted you, Yeohwi…”

    “It’s okay. You should be cautious. Everyone knows the tensions between our families, which is why I’m grateful that you helped me when we first met.”

    Yeohwi answered smoothly with a smile. He seemed completely unbothered, as if Cheon Ryubeom’s reaction was only natural, so Ryubeom cautiously drank the medicine. But after just one sip, he unconsciously paused to steady his breathing.

    The Tiger Clan looked down on most species, but they were especially hostile and hateful toward foxes. The years of education steeped in enmity had ingrained a deep-seated wariness of foxes. Even though Ryubeom didn’t want to act that way in front of Yeohwi, it wasn’t something he could control. His body’s energy instinctively tensed up.

    “…”

    But as he focused on his senses, Cheon Ryubeom distinctly felt a warmth spreading from within. He became aware of every path it took, and his insides, which had felt like they were filled with shards of broken glass, began to heal. The gentle warmth caressed his wounds, and the coldness in his body began to thaw.

    This truly was a miraculous medicine meant for healing. It was certainly something rare and valuable.

    Even in the Tiger Clan, such a powerful remedy was hard to come by. It might exist, but it would never be given to someone like Cheon Ryubeom, who was considered a stain on the family. Not only did it help heal his internal injuries, but he could also feel the spiritual energy that had dwindled since his visit to Hyojomyeon starting to surge back powerfully.

    As Ryubeom sat silently, wide-eyed in surprise, Yeohwi smiled sweetly. Though he must have noticed that Ryubeom had only taken a single sip, and even understood the reason why, he just smiled.

    “It’s quite bitter, isn’t it? Would you like some candy? I have some sweets that children enjoy; I can go get them now…”

    “No, it’s alright.”

    Ryubeom quickly declined. He then cautiously glanced at Yeohwi’s expression before downing the entire cup of medicine in one go. He felt it was important to show Yeohwi that he was drinking it all. After all, Yeohwi had saved him from drowning in the river, bewitched by the mermaid, and brought him here…

    Whew…”

    Ryubeom sighed softly as he fidgeted with the cup. Now that the pain from his internal injuries had subsided, his thoughts became clearer. The sense of detachment he had felt since waking up faded, and his scattered rationality slowly pieced itself back together.

    Though it was just a process of regaining his composure, it left him with an inexplicable sense of bitterness. Even though the precious medicine had healed his body and helped him regain his sanity, the realization that came with it tasted bitter.

    So, what he saw at the Han River really was just an illusion.

    The gentle voice that called to him, the soft gaze that met his, even the hand that reached out to him—everything was an illusion created to lure him in. The reality that stood on the broken shards of his shattered fantasy was painfully real.

    Cheon Ryubeom tried to suppress those feelings and asked a question. He needed to distract himself, to clear his mind through conversation.

    “Did you see the mermaid too, Yeohwi? Was I the only one who saw the illusion?”

    “I saw something rise out of the river, but I didn’t make eye contact with it. And since the Fox Clan is generally resistant to mental spells…”

    “Ah…”

    Yeohwi smiled softly as Ryubeom sighed in resignation.

    “Would you like me to teach you some spells this time? It seems like it might be useful since the mermaid uses mental spells.”

    “No, no. That’s not what I meant.”

    Ryubeom quickly shook his head. Although he did recognize the need for mental spells, this wasn’t something he could afford to get swept up in so lightly. He knew Yeohwi was kind, but offering his help even to someone from a rival family…

    Just giving him the elixir was surprising enough, but if he had leaked the spell as well, it would have been a huge problem. Ryubeom, who had been anxiously watching Yeohwi, eventually sighed and looked down at his cup. Despite his efforts to refresh himself, his mood sank again.

    “What exactly did you see there?”

    “…Something I had been searching for a very long time.”

    The voice replying was deeply subdued. A heavy emotion lingered in his downcast amber eyes. Ryubeom, without offering further explanation, continued to look down before eventually rising from his seat.

    “I need to go back to the Han River and investigate that place again. Now that we’ve confirmed the existence of mermaids…”

    “No, sir, right now you’re trying to see ‘it,’ not a mermaid.”

    “…….”

    “And is there any way to deal with a mermaid right now?”

    The calm question jolted him back to reality. He had almost been ensnared by a mermaid just a few hours ago; could he really guarantee he wouldn’t be enchanted again? It almost seemed as if the question was scolding him for wishing to be enchanted. Ryubeom remained silent, unable to deny it.

    Yeohwi led Ryubeom back to the bed and forced him to sit down.

    “Get some more rest and think about it.”

    “I’m not sleepy…”

    “Close your eyes.”

    “…….”

    For some reason, Ryubeom reflexively closed his eyes in response to the firm voice. Why? Was it the skill he had developed dealing with triplets coming into play here?

    He thought he was fully awake, but as soon as he closed his eyes, a heavy fatigue hit him. From discovering ‘it’ in the river to realizing it was an illusion, every moment’s emotion seemed to coalesce into a heavy weight that dragged Cheon Ryubeom downwards.

    As if fleeing from reality, Cheon Ryubeom slowly let go of his consciousness.

    He wanted to remain in the illusion just a little longer.

    ***

    That night, Cheon Ryubeom dreamed of his father.

    It had been years since he had seen him in a dream. In the dream, his father played with him in the garden, fed him fruit in a warm room, watched the rain falling beyond the eaves while sitting side by side, and laughed while pushing him on the swings in a playground just for the two of them…

    But in that dream, his father never spoke a single word. His mouth moved, but Cheon Ryubeom heard no voice. The only thing that echoed in his ears was a whisper from deep underwater…

    [Son…]

    It was in the form of that faint whisper.

    […Save me…]

    The endlessly repeating sound made Cheon Ryubeom wake up abruptly from his sleep. It was midnight, and as he vacantly scanned the empty space around him… he ended up curled up in bed, waiting until dawn broke.

    He didn’t cry, but he couldn’t fall back asleep either.

    As was his habit over the past few days, he went to the mountains early in the morning but just stared at the forest without training. Yet, even though he remained still, his mind never stopped. It wouldn’t have been surprising if he had become overloaded from processing too much information, as Ryubeom kept thinking and thinking.

    The mermaid’s lower half he had seen in the Han River was clearly fish-like. He vividly remembered the fins that shone faintly even in the dark water. This meant that it was different from the mermaids in Korean folklore and enchanted people like Western mermaids.

    So, could the bodies found at the Wonjeong pier all be victims who had been enchanted by mermaids? Had they, like himself, met the ‘thing’ they were searching for and fallen into the river? It was not an impossible possibility.

    Who could resist going into the water if a long-desired being extended its hand, asking for help?

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