29 There is a price
She stares at the strange box.
"Go on." Yoo Mi Yeong encourages her. Nam Ji Won touches it with her finger first. She realizes that she can touch it. She grabs the box and opens it in excitement. There is a tiny green leaf inside. She looks at Yoo Mi Yeong with confusion on her face.
"If you eat that now, you will remember everything," Yoo Mi Yeong tells her with a smile.
Nam Ji Won is surprised. She didn't think that it's easy. She touches the leaf. She can feel the pulsating energy like it's an energy source.
"But..." She hears Yoo Mi Yeong say. "It's not free. There is a price."
She shuts down the box and put it back on the table. Go Jae Hee is right. There is always a price. Nothing is free. "How much?"
"Fifty million dollars." The smile on Yoo Mi Yeong's face is akin to the cosmetic sellers on home shop channels.
"Even if I sell my body organs, I can't buy it." Nam Ji Won is realistic. There is no way that she would ask her family even if she could. They have already paid so much when she was in the hospital. Fifty million dollars is a great sum. It makes her dizzy to count the numbers. If she converts fifty million dollars to won, how much is it? She becomes dizzier at the thought.
"You don't have to sell your body organs." Yoo Mi Yeong's snorts. "Just sign an IOU and pay it in instalment when you start working."
"That's it?" Nam Ji Won can sense that there is something else. Why would they give her fifty million dollar's item like this? What if she dies before she pays them back?
"Even as a ghost, you can't escape your debt." Yoo Mi Yeong places a paper on the table. "This is the contract. You have to attend the academy to control your powers. After you graduate, you can choose a career in the human world or hidden world and pay it back in instalments."
"..." Nam Ji Won holds the paper in her hand and reads it. "Why do I have to attend the academy?"
"Even if you remember, you don't have control. It's harmful to your body and others around you if you keep going on like this. You are vulnerable to creatures from the hidden world in this state. You are lucky that you didn't meet a dark practitioner yet." Yoo Mi Yeong's voice becomes softer. "We have seen that some gifts develop later in life for people like you. You need to control it. Else, it will be hard for you to adjust in the human world."
Nam Ji Won recalls that Go Jae Hee told her something similar like this. Even meeting a reaper is not good in her case.
"What if I don't agree?" She puts back the contract. "Is there a way that I would remember on my own?"
"If you don't buy it, you have to attend the academy anyway." Yoo Mi Yeong explains patiently. "You have to attend the academy since it's the law of the council. Your current gift's grade is A which is the second highest. If it was below C, you could stay here and become trained here. But, anyone with the grade above C has to attend the academy because it's risky and dangerous to be trained in a highly populated area. There is not enough protection here. You might harm someone or yourself."
Seeing Nam Ji Won sinks deeper into her thoughts, Yoo Mi Yeong taps the table to get her attention.
"Your case is already special." She continues. "If you could remember on your own, I think that you would have already remembered it by now. Taking this leaf would increase your mental and physical attributes and completely heal you in every day. It will improve your body and soul to the best condition."
"What if it doesn't work?" Nam Ji Won still feels like she is being scammed. 50 million dollars for a tiny leaf is too much in her eyes. She can live her whole life of 50 million dollars.
"Then, we won't charge you." She points at the clause in the contract. "If it doesn't work, the contract becomes null."
"Okay." Nam Ji Won makes the decision quickly. "I will take the leaf then."
"Please sign here." She gives her a pen. "Write your full name and then, eat the leaf here in front of me."
Nam Ji Won picks up the pen and signs her name on the contract. It disappears right after, leaving a tiny green leaf-shaped mark on her left collarbone. Nam Ji Won hasn't seen it yet, else she would have freaked out.
"I don't get a copy?" Nam Ji Won asks incredulously.
"You can summon it after you eat the leaf." Yoo Mi Yeong chuckles lightly. "The contract isn't complete until you are healed."
"Oh!" She opens the box and takes the leaf. She stares it for a moment. "So, I eat this here now."
"You should."
"Okay!" Nam Ji Won hesitates. Remembering means that everything will change. She remembers Lee Hyo Rin's eyes and Tae Il's nervousness. She remembers the last five years. If her life is a fairytale, then it's probably a Grimm's fairy tale. Her story probably doesn't have a happy ending. She puts the leaf in her mouth and closes her mouth.
Yoo Mi Yeong watches Nam Ji Won disappears as soon as she eats the leaf. She sighs and sends a text.
[It's done.]
"Go on." Yoo Mi Yeong encourages her. Nam Ji Won touches it with her finger first. She realizes that she can touch it. She grabs the box and opens it in excitement. There is a tiny green leaf inside. She looks at Yoo Mi Yeong with confusion on her face.
"If you eat that now, you will remember everything," Yoo Mi Yeong tells her with a smile.
Nam Ji Won is surprised. She didn't think that it's easy. She touches the leaf. She can feel the pulsating energy like it's an energy source.
"But..." She hears Yoo Mi Yeong say. "It's not free. There is a price."
She shuts down the box and put it back on the table. Go Jae Hee is right. There is always a price. Nothing is free. "How much?"
"Fifty million dollars." The smile on Yoo Mi Yeong's face is akin to the cosmetic sellers on home shop channels.
"Even if I sell my body organs, I can't buy it." Nam Ji Won is realistic. There is no way that she would ask her family even if she could. They have already paid so much when she was in the hospital. Fifty million dollars is a great sum. It makes her dizzy to count the numbers. If she converts fifty million dollars to won, how much is it? She becomes dizzier at the thought.
"You don't have to sell your body organs." Yoo Mi Yeong's snorts. "Just sign an IOU and pay it in instalment when you start working."
"That's it?" Nam Ji Won can sense that there is something else. Why would they give her fifty million dollar's item like this? What if she dies before she pays them back?
"Even as a ghost, you can't escape your debt." Yoo Mi Yeong places a paper on the table. "This is the contract. You have to attend the academy to control your powers. After you graduate, you can choose a career in the human world or hidden world and pay it back in instalments."
"..." Nam Ji Won holds the paper in her hand and reads it. "Why do I have to attend the academy?"
"Even if you remember, you don't have control. It's harmful to your body and others around you if you keep going on like this. You are vulnerable to creatures from the hidden world in this state. You are lucky that you didn't meet a dark practitioner yet." Yoo Mi Yeong's voice becomes softer. "We have seen that some gifts develop later in life for people like you. You need to control it. Else, it will be hard for you to adjust in the human world."
Nam Ji Won recalls that Go Jae Hee told her something similar like this. Even meeting a reaper is not good in her case.
"What if I don't agree?" She puts back the contract. "Is there a way that I would remember on my own?"
"If you don't buy it, you have to attend the academy anyway." Yoo Mi Yeong explains patiently. "You have to attend the academy since it's the law of the council. Your current gift's grade is A which is the second highest. If it was below C, you could stay here and become trained here. But, anyone with the grade above C has to attend the academy because it's risky and dangerous to be trained in a highly populated area. There is not enough protection here. You might harm someone or yourself."
Seeing Nam Ji Won sinks deeper into her thoughts, Yoo Mi Yeong taps the table to get her attention.
"Your case is already special." She continues. "If you could remember on your own, I think that you would have already remembered it by now. Taking this leaf would increase your mental and physical attributes and completely heal you in every day. It will improve your body and soul to the best condition."
"What if it doesn't work?" Nam Ji Won still feels like she is being scammed. 50 million dollars for a tiny leaf is too much in her eyes. She can live her whole life of 50 million dollars.
"Then, we won't charge you." She points at the clause in the contract. "If it doesn't work, the contract becomes null."
"Okay." Nam Ji Won makes the decision quickly. "I will take the leaf then."
"Please sign here." She gives her a pen. "Write your full name and then, eat the leaf here in front of me."
Nam Ji Won picks up the pen and signs her name on the contract. It disappears right after, leaving a tiny green leaf-shaped mark on her left collarbone. Nam Ji Won hasn't seen it yet, else she would have freaked out.
"I don't get a copy?" Nam Ji Won asks incredulously.
"You can summon it after you eat the leaf." Yoo Mi Yeong chuckles lightly. "The contract isn't complete until you are healed."
"Oh!" She opens the box and takes the leaf. She stares it for a moment. "So, I eat this here now."
"You should."
"Okay!" Nam Ji Won hesitates. Remembering means that everything will change. She remembers Lee Hyo Rin's eyes and Tae Il's nervousness. She remembers the last five years. If her life is a fairytale, then it's probably a Grimm's fairy tale. Her story probably doesn't have a happy ending. She puts the leaf in her mouth and closes her mouth.
Yoo Mi Yeong watches Nam Ji Won disappears as soon as she eats the leaf. She sighs and sends a text.
[It's done.]
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