For the Bunshinsaba paper, we used the clean backside of a checklist hanging in the galley.
SCRATCH, SCRITCH.
Kwon Hoyeong drew a large O and X with a pen.
I looked at Kwon Hoyeong, who had silently gone along with my idea.
'I came up with it, but it's a pretty absurd idea... and he not only gave it serious consideration, he volunteered to be the host.'
"This might be out of line, but...."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Have you ever been possessed before, Senior?"
The question just slipped out from sheer curiosity.
Kwon Hoyeong, who'd just finished drawing the X, looked at me with a momentarily blank expression.
Then he laughed, careful not to let the sound carry.
"Haha, when would I have ever been possessed?"
"You volunteered for the role so readily that I assumed you had experience."
"I'm someone who has to look after the passengers, of course, but also the other crew members. That's what a manager does."
"Ah...."
"I'm the one responsible for safety on board, after all. Now that I say it, it sounds a bit like a sheriff."
Kwon Hoyeong smiled gently.
I'd thought he was just a quiet person, but there was more to him.
"Let's begin. We can't afford any more delay."
"Yes."
Kwon Hoyeong and I each placed three fingers—excluding the thumb—onto the red pen, interlocking our grip.
"I'll say it once more: I must be the one possessed."
"Understood."
So Hyena was assigned to mark the man directly, and the other attendants took positions among the passengers as a precaution.
Kwon Hoyeong and I maintained a steady pace, turning the pen in circles over the paper marked with O and X.
And we spoke.
"Bunshinsaba, bunshinsaba, spirit, please come to us."
To anyone watching, this might have looked absurd, but it had to be done.
Kwon Hoyeong and I continued.
"Bunshinsaba, bunshinsaba, spirit, please come to us."
Then, from the center of the cabin, a loud coughing fit erupted.
So Hyena, who'd been inconspicuously watching the man, seemed to confirm something and nodded toward us.
'It's working!'
"Bunshinsaba, bunshinsaba—spirit, are you here?"
Kwon Hoyeong and I stayed composed, continuing the incantation without wavering.
We kept the pen spinning in wide circles, waiting for it to take the bait.
"Ghk, cough cough, ghhk, ghk!"
As the coughing grew more violent, the surrounding passengers all glanced sideways toward one seat.
So Hyena moved in swiftly, supporting the man as she spoke.
"Sir, are you alright?"
"Ghk, does it, does it look like I'm alright? Cough!"
"Let me get you a glass of warm water."
"นี่มันบ้าอะไรวะเนี่ย…!"
What the hell is going on...!
The man's head snapped back, his neck stretched toward the ceiling.
Veins bulged along his throat, and cold sweat poured from every pore. His previously normal complexion began darkening.
"เป็นอะไรไป เจ็บตรงไหนรึเปล่า?"
What's wrong? Are you in pain?
The woman, who had no idea what was happening, watched the man with fearful eyes. Anan, meanwhile, still stared blankly at the floor with those vacant eyes.
"Agh, aagh, aaagh, agh...!"
The man shuddered violently, letting out agonized groans.
His fingers were being forced to bend, joint by joint, bones cracking audibly.
"Ghhk, aagh, AAAAAAGH!"
"Shouldn't someone call a doctor?"
"He looks seriously ill...."
Even passengers watching from nearby started chiming in with concern.
THUD.
In an instant, the man went completely limp.
His shirt was drenched as though someone had dumped a bucket of water over him.
And right now—as Kwon Hoyeong and I performed the Bunshinsaba,
"Spirit, are you here?"
At my question, the red pen in our grip began to move slowly.
Something eerie hung in the air, and the hand holding the pen felt as though a stone had been placed on it—dense and heavy.
SCRAPE, SCRAPE, SCRAAAPE.
O.
'It's here.'
"Spirit, you were attached to the passenger just now, correct?"
SCRAPE, SCRAAAAAPE.
O again.
Kwon Hoyeong and I exchanged a look. Kwon Hoyeong raised a finger to his lips—a signal for silence—then asked the spirit a question.
"Spirit, are you always this stupid?"
FREEZE.
The pen, which had been slowly vibrating, stopped dead in the air.
Good. Time to provoke.
"Spirit, why won't you move to 'O'? Oh—do we need to ask in Thai for you to understand?"
I said with a sneer.
RATTLE, RATTLE RATTLE, RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE.
The pen's vibration grew violent, and the hand gripping it began shaking too.
"Are you upset, spirit? Embarrassed that you got summoned by a children's game?"
Kwon Hoyeong joined in, dripping with sarcasm, question after non-question.
Get angry. Get irritated. Let it boil over.
RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE.
"What a shame, spirit. You're trapped here and have to answer our questions. Or are you too humiliated to choose?"
I asked, practically laughing.
RATTLE RATTLE, RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE.
When the pen's trembling reached its peak.
"If you're that upset, then come into me."
Kwon Hoyeong spat out the words and lifted his fingers from the pen first.
The heavy sensation in my hand and the pen vanished in an instant. Simultaneously, Kwon Hoyeong's body lurched.
"Senior."
I watched Kwon Hoyeong carefully.
Head bowed low, he opened his mouth.
"ไม่กลัวสินะ เจ้าไม่กลัวคำสาปนิ?"
You don't fear the curse?
A voice like shredded vocal cords—ragged and torn—emerged through Kwon Hoyeong.
Kwon Hoyeong slowly raised his head.
His pupils had faded to a murky, fog-like pallor. His breathing sounded like it was gurgling.
DING—
Just then, the seatbelt sign above the seats illuminated.
[Ladies and gentlemen, our aircraft is currently taxiing to the runway. I am your captain for today's flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand—]
'Damn—'
The aircraft, oblivious to everything, was pulling away from the jet bridge.
"จะกำจัดทิ้ง."
I'll destroy you.
GRIIIND.
Kwon Hoyeong let out a guttural, deranged laugh as he straightened his hunched torso.
The whites of his eyes slowly bled crimson, turning to liquid that trickled down his cheeks.
WHAM—!
I drove my fist squarely into his solar plexus.
"GHHK!"
As Kwon Hoyeong reeled backward, drool beginning to spill, I grabbed the drink and charged at him.
"What was that?"
"Hm?"
"Just a service check. Shortly, we'll be providing complimentary beverages and snacks."
When the commotion made passengers crane their necks, another attendant smoothly covered.
Thankfully, the galley was screened by a curtain, so the inside wasn't visible.
I pinned Kwon Hoyeong's shoulder down with my left arm while my right hand pried his mouth open.
The spirit, realizing my intent, thrashed Kwon Hoyeong's body with savage force.
Scratching, shoving, kicking—I nearly lost my grip on the drink.
'He's incredibly strong... Senior, please...!'
Kwon Hoyeong's hand found my throat and began crushing it.
A throbbing pain spread, but there were no second chances, so I shoved the cup into his mouth with enough force to feed the whole thing at once.
The drink poured in, and then,
GULP.
Kwon Hoyeong swallowed the sedative-laced drink.
"Gghk, mmgh... ugh, mmmmgh...."
The grip on my throat gradually weakened.
The gurgling breathing faded, and he slumped forward onto my shoulder.
VRRRRRM.
Soon, the aircraft began pulling back far enough to see the full panorama of Doseong International Airport.
Slowly, ever so slowly, it moved toward the runway. Checking the window, I snatched up the interphone.
"Captain, we have a medical emergency. Immediate action is required."
I summarized the ghost story situation.
[Understood, copy that.]
Fortunately, the captain's acknowledgment came back.
[Ladies and gentlemen, a passenger on board requires medical attention. For safety, we will be returning the aircraft to the gate.]
[Please remain in your seats with your seatbelts fastened and follow crew instructions.]
With the announcement, the aircraft successfully completed a ramp return before taxiing.
Some passengers who'd seen the man thrashing and then going limp understood the situation. Others wore baffled expressions.
"Once we're back at the gate, we'll provide beverage vouchers to compensate for the departure delay."
The other attendants spoke calmly, settling everyone down.
So Hyena kept watch beside the unconscious man and Anan, while I held onto Kwon Hoyeong until the aircraft fully returned to the gate.
***
When the captain contacted ATC during the return, headquarters had also been notified. As a result, Cheonsu Airlines support staff was already waiting upon arrival.
Kwon Hoyeong and the three Thai passengers were transferred first, and CQ767—originally scheduled to depart at 16:15 for Chiang Mai—began boarding at gate 22 at 18:00 sharp.
Since I needed to stay on the ground to report on Kwon Hoyeong's condition and the situation, I was pulled from the flight.
Standby staff existed precisely for situations like this, so after a quick two-person swap, So Hyena and the remaining attendants headed to Chiang Mai without further changes.
"So the hunch was right."
"A Thai séance, of all things~"
At the Cheonsu Airlines headquarters infirmary, when Han Sowol searched the group's bags, she found a cloudy, faded glass and a large sheet of paper covered in dense Thai script.
'We, we were just, playing a game at the hotel... we didn't, d-didn't know it would actually be dangerous...!'
Questioning the woman, who was the least affected of the three, gave us the full picture.
After performing the séance, they'd ended it improperly, lifted their fingers off the glass, and to top it off, had cracked the glass in a careless moment.
Sure enough, the glass had a long crack running through it. The man had simply tossed it into his bag and carried it around—which was how this whole mess had started.
"It's not like they were advertising 'ghost, latch on please.' And yet they did everything to invite it."
I muttered under my breath while looking at the woman. She didn't seem to hear.
At least the incense sticks that filled the glass weren't allowed past carry-on restrictions, so those had been filtered out.
'But then why didn't they handle the glass properly? Why carry it around?'
"Well, wonders never cease~ Ma'am, please follow that flight attendant over there~ Your friends should wake up soon~"
Han Sowol handed the woman off to Gam Doyeong, who happened to be at headquarters.
Gam Doyeong glared, telling me to explain the full situation later, then escorted the woman out.
'They're definitely going to erase her memory.'
"Is Senior Kwon Hoyeong going to be alright?"
"A good long nap and he'll be fine~ His head will ache a bit, though. For the record, I'm not an exorcist, so all I did was drive it out~"
Han Sowol said in her languid way.
"Wait... so since you drove it out here, does that mean it could still be somewhere in headquarters?"
"It's a fair point, but the wards set up throughout the entire building would've bounced it right out~ There are talismans hidden everywhere like a treasure hunt~"
"Ah...."
...Then I shouldn't have to worry about running into it again.
"He might have a headache and a small bruise on his abdomen as aftereffects, but he's safe, so you can head home too~"
Han Sowol said as she placed a cooling patch on the sleeping Kwon Hoyeong's forehead.
It seemed the bruise on his stomach was from me hitting him to subdue the spirit.
Of course, the possessed Kwon Hoyeong had scratched and thrashed, leaving some small marks on my arms too.
"Those two will take a while to wake up~"
Han Sowol said, looking at Anan and the possessed man lying in beds next to Kwon Hoyeong.
"And Hoyeong's transferring soon, so he should be more careful with his body. In two months he won't even have to look at the word 'ghost story'~"
"Senior Kwon Hoyeong is transferring?"
"Yep~ He's going to Cielo Air~ You know it, right? The big airline. You might spot him at the airport now and then~"
'Then what happens to his memories...?'
As a manager, he'd been working here at least eight years. Is he going to have all those years erased?
After the written exam and Ghost Story Processing Test, Kang Naju had told the accepted candidates something.
The Three-Strike System.
Flight attendants undergo ghost story training once every two months. Fall below standard: one strike.
Cause harm to other crew members or be deemed unfit for the job: another strike.
Accumulate three strikes, and every ghost-story-related memory gets wiped from your head like a hole was punched through it.
"When Senior Kwon Hoyeong transfers, does he have to have all his ghost story memories from Cheonsu Airlines erased too?"
"Hm? The Three-Strike System and the memory wipe only apply to those dismissed under three strikes and employees who resign before accumulating significant tenure~"
"Ah, then his memories...."
"The basic method calculates your working days and surgically removes just the ghost story experiences at Cheonsu Airlines. But Hoyeong qualifies for an honorary transfer, so none of that applies~ After working this long, it's considered proof that he can be trusted with the information~"
"I see."
"Of course, there's an enormous penalty for any breach of confidentiality~ And think about it—if someone went around saying 'My airline catches ghost stories!' who'd actually believe them~?"
Fair point—people would think you'd lost your mind.
Perhaps roused by the conversation, Kwon Hoyeong pressed a hand to his head and slowly opened his eyes.
"Mmgh...."
"Senior!"
"This is... the headquarters infirmary."
Han Sowol checked the newly awakened Kwon Hoyeong's eyes and asked him questions.
"Can you tell me your name and where you work~?"
"Kwon Hoyeong. Cheonsu Airlines Cabin Manager... cabin crew."
"Where were you supposed to go today, and where are you transferring in two months?"
"Chiang Mai, Thailand. And Cielo Air."
"All clear~"
Han Sowol jotted a few notes on the diagnosis sheet clipped to her clipboard and wrapped up with "No abnormalities."
"I'm glad you're safe, Senior."
I said, looking at Kwon Hoyeong.
"I never dreamed I'd get possessed on the job. It felt like I was dreaming, but I can't remember any of it."
Kwon Hoyeong chuckled lightly at the rare experience.
"I was told you'll have a small bruise on your abdomen... I'm sorry about that."
"Haha, from what I hear, I went completely berserk too. I'm glad you're safe as well, Cheongho."
Thankfully, we'd managed to wrap things up before takeoff.
Senior Kwon Hoyeong looked fine too. We pulled it off.
Due to the risk of dizziness and vomiting from sudden movement, Kwon Hoyeong decided to stay in the infirmary for about another hour before leaving.
"You worked incredibly hard today. We didn't get to fly together, but there'll be other chances. See you next time, Cheongho."
"Absolutely, Senior."
Kwon Hoyeong waved brightly.