8 CURSE
After the detective leaves the car, Lee Yejoon begins his plan to stop the therapist on her trail. He quickly took off his shirt and pants, leaving only his white undergarment.
He scans his body from his chest to feet. Every detail of muscle on his wide chest and pinkish nipples. The six crumpled muscles on his abdomen show when he flexes and the toned muscles of his thigh and legs from running around playing sports with his best friend.
The ghost breathes the air deep into his lungs. A living body needs its basic sustenance to survive. He stares at the mirror in front of the driver's seat and begins to visualize the body he needs.
Like the fire of hell burning in never-ending chaos his eyes reddened. The fair skin that covers his body trembles like earthquakes pulsating from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. He groans from the pain of his muscles moving from different directions of his mortal remains, rearranging his bone density and fat distribution to various parts of his physique until it attains the right proportion for the image he needs.
The devil's face came back to what it was, a rotting skin melting out of his skull. It slowly shifts to an image he was recently familiar with. The man that sins because of money.
The scammer.
He looks at himself in the mirror, exhaling heavily with every air he breathes in his chest. The transformation gives rise to the temperature of his body, moistening the glass windows of the car as the cold air of the AC fights the heat. The devil now looks different, owning an unusual image. But his new physique can only last a day and it will go back to the revengeful person that needs to kill.
The ghost pulls a spare pair of pants from the bag he carries and a new shirt that can fit his body. He often carries clothes in his bag or Detective Lee SungMin provides them for him. It's easy not to be caught naked but his vulnerability comes with the image. If the body is physically muscular, he can fight anyone physically but if the image that suddenly becomes available is not athletic it will be troublesome to flee.
He opens the door and checks his body. The cellphone, wallet, and money he got from the scammer are inside the bag he carries. Scanning the street, he catches the detective walking with the suspect of the crime marching towards the high wall entrance.
He stops and ponders whether to follow the investigator or not.
SungMin can handle himself, the Ghost said.
He quickly marches towards the direction where the therapist is headed to. He races to catch the woman before she can get away and further messes their plan. Jogging a few blocks, his body begins to sweat. The odor is unappealing like rotten eggs on a hot day.
Finally, he catches sight of the woman waiting patiently for the bus to arrive at the stop. The Ghost took the cursed money from his pocket and walked past behind the shed. He drops the money on the ground and kicks the rolled-up bills laying on the floor towards the therapist's feet. Now, he waits for the woman to notice it.
An elderly woman walks towards the shed while the Ghost waits for Ms. Han to discover the bait on the floor. Assuming the elderly woman will catch a glimpse of the money first, he hastily marches towards the shed and steps on the bills to hide it from the elderly woman.
The senior stood beside him to wait for the bus to come but after a few seconds of dawdling, the elderly woman rubs her nose with her finger and stares at the man with sweat stains on his back and underarms. The old woman steps back and decides to sit at the bench provided by the shed, shaking her head and fanning out the unpleasant smell.
The man lifts his feet when the elderly woman walks away and simply kicks the money near the woman's feet.
Then, two teenagers playfully run towards the shed teasing each other by nudging their shoulders to push the other away. The tall skinny kid shoves the small fat one harder and nearly stumbles towards the elderly woman sitting on the bench.
The obsolete woman sneers, pursing her lips and mumbling words while glaring at the two teenagers still going on with their horseplay.
The Scammer takes a glimpse of the money at the ground and reaches for it with his feet. He quickly set it underneath his shoe to prevent the two teenagers from discovering the bills.
When the fat kid nudges the tall thin one, it hits the Scammer's broad shoulder, making him step forward. The Ghost loses his balance on the ledge of the street as he was still new to the weight of the image he carries. He falls on his knees and the drop cracks his bone effortlessly. He can feel the surge of pain from the injury but he didn't whine from the agony.
"Are you alright, Mister?" Ms. Han bends over to peer down on his face and asks.
"I'm okay." The Scammer feels the discomfort on his knees yet he tells the therapist nothing about it. His face doesn't express the necessary emotion to show pain from his injury. All he has is anger coming from the soul that wants to get even.
He stares at the woman peering down on his face. The brown irises look like jewels sparkling from the sunlight. The strands of hair that fall on her face are a scene that made the heart on his chest move rapidly without reason.
'This is not right,' the Ghost said to himself.
The Scammer tried to move his legs. He can take the pain on his knee but his leg below it is numb and stiff.
'This body is trash,' he hatefully said in his mind.
"Can you move?" The therapist asks with her worried face and begins to step back to check the stranger's body.
He shrugs his face and sneers, clenching his jaw as the pain on his knees continues to grip his legs into a tough position on the street.
The therapist stands up and notices rolled-up bills on the pavement.
"Is this yours, Mister?" Han Soojin asks, holding the cursed money in her hand.
