Chapter Text
So Mun couldn’t help but watch helplessly as everything he held dear deteriorated before his eyes. Five minutes ago, they had just come to encounter the level four evil spirit Shin Myeong-Whi and even though they were confident in their own strength, nothing could have prepared So Mun for the reality of the situation.
“This can’t be happening” thought So Mun while Shin Myeong-Whi punched so hard in the stomach at Ms. Chu that she flew and hit her head with a wall, falling unconscious to the floor and bleeding from the nose and mouth from the impact. “Why does it have to be this way? Why is he so strong we can’t even damage him? I thought with the training we did at least we would have a chance…” having finished those thoughts, So Mun looked up from watching the form of Ms. Chu on the floor, to see Mo-Tak and Ha-Na in the air grabbing the hands of Shin Myeong-Whi from their throats. “Ahjussi! Noona!!!!” he shouted in fear of their lives.
Unrelenting, he succeeded getting up from the floor with his right ankle broken, courtesy of Shin Myeong-Whi, and could only gape as Mo-Tak’s body hit the floor with a thud so hard it almost stopped his heart at that moment. This second of unawareness was all Shin Myeong-Whi needed to catch Ha-Na by the hair. Finally removing his eyes from Mo-Tak’s form, he only had the ability to stare as Shin Myeong-Whi used his psychokinesis to hit Ha-Na in the head.
It was as if time had suddenly become slower. His eyes were only capable of observing how her eyes seemed to find his to convey that all was going to be okay. That he had to keep fighting and help his parents return to Yung. With one final smile sent his way, her eyes closed and she stopped moving all together. “Noooonaaaaaaa!!!!” cried So Mun.
“Why? Why?? WHY???? Why did she have to go and smile at him that way in the end? Why did she always have to protect him even from himself? Why did she leave him? Couldn’t she see that she was important to him? That she mattered to him? Why did he have to be so slow at realizing what was in front of him all along? Didn’t he promised no one else was going to get hurt? Why did he allowed her to get this hurt in the first place? Why wasn’t he strong enough to protect what mattered to him? Why did he have to lose everyone he cared about? Why did I waste so much time without conveying my feelings for her?” were the thoughts running through So Mun’s head. All around him, power seemed to seep from every pore of his body. Was such the anger and sadness he felt that he couldn’t control his powers, and if truth were to be told, he didn’t want to. He needed to feel all these emotions. He deserved to feel them. “If only I had been faster, stronger, more reliable, more confident, this wouldn’t have happened”. Because of this excess in power, territories opened making a circle around him, protecting him and aiding him even in his worst moments.
In Yung
Wi-Gen felt all So Mun’s emotions as if they were piercing through her heart and soul. His soul was crying for help, for someone or something to save him from this anguish. “So Mun-ah stop this!” cried Wi-Gen desperately clawing at her heart.
“What is happening Wi-Gen ahjumma?” asked U-Sik, worried because all of them were in the verge of disappearing, him more so than the others. When Gi-Ran and Su-Ho went to help Wi-Gen stand, she seemed to explode in a myriad of colors similar to those of the territory. Blue, pink, violet, orange, green… all these colors united in a form similar to a sphere of light, which shone the brightest they had ever seen. Not fully understanding what was occurring, but having an inkling of what it could be, Su-Ho neared the colors. Reaching out towards them with his hand he said to U-Sik and Gi-Ran: “If I disappear when I touch this then please do the same I did”.
“Why would we do that Su-Ho? I don’t want to die yet, I want to have another chance at a life!” shouted Gi-Ran.
Su-Ho slightly turned his head to look at both Gi-Ran and U-Sik with a severe expression. “I’m being serious here Gi-Ran. This situation has escalated to such terms that even Yung has decided to act so we could have another chance. My mother, Mo-Tak and even Ha-Na together couldn’t win against him. That is without counting So Mun, who isn’t in an estate of mind good enough to fight him. We could all perish right now, but Yung has decided to help us as much as it can. There are records of it but as it hasn’t happened for a long time now. I’m not exactly sure how this is going to affect us. We have to take this opportunity or the world as we know it won’t exist in a few months.”
“Okay hyung, we’ll do as you say” decided U-Sik looking as grave as a childish face could. Not yet understanding but trusting Su-Ho. Gi-Ran just nodded to him so he could see she would follow him too.
Su-Ho turned again to the colors and touched it. The next thing Gi-Ran and U-Sik saw was the sphere absorbing Su-Ho with a grim but accepting smile on his face. Not waiting for more to happen, U-Sik and Gi-Ran brushed the sphere. Dong-Pal who had just contemplated it all, decided to trust Su-Ho too so he also touched it seconds before the sphere shot out of Yung with an out of this world velocity.
Back in Korea
Without any knowledge of what had taken place in Yung, So Mun continued fueling his powers with his misery. Shin Myeong-Whi had tried to attack So Mun many times already but nothing he did breached the barrier the territory had formed around So Mun.
“How can I win against Shin Myeong-Whi? He’s so much stronger than the other day. I don’t know how he did it but I can’t think of any solution to this. How am I going to avenge Ha-Na, Mo-Tak and Ms. Chu if I can’t hit him with the strength necessary to hurt him? I can’t heal like Ms. Chu so I’m unable to cure them. I can’t find anything that could help me win… So much more death will come if I don’t stop him…”. So deep in his thoughts was So Mun that he hadn’t even seen the sphere of colors that approached him and went directly into him.
If someone had asked So Mun what it felt like to have the sphere enter your body, he would have answered that the same as when Wi-Gen ahjumma entered but at the same time a hundred times worse. Seconds after the sphere passed through him, his body elevated and surrounded by light Shin Myeong-Whi watched helplessly as his body disappeared from the world without a trace. Or so Shin Myeong-Whi thought, because the truth of the matter is that So Mun’s body was right there in front of him but disintegrating like the bodies of the spirits in Yung were before touching the sphere.
Somewhere unknown
So Mun opened his eyes to see nothing, his body was in perfect condition, as if his fight with Shin Myeong-Whi hadn’t occurred seconds ago. He turned slightly to the left, and noticed that there with him were Wi-Gen ahjumma, Su-Ho, Gi-Ran, U-Sik and Dong-Pal, all standing without knowing what to do.
“Wi-Gen ahjumma, I’m so sorry I couldn’t summon the evil spirit of Shin Myeong-Whi…” trailed off So Mun. Wi-Gen, looking at him with piercing eyes, went to him and caressed his cheek.
“Don’t worry So Mun-ah, it’s everyone’s fault. We should have been paying more attention to Korea and give you all the resources you needed from day one” Explained regretfully Wi-Gen.
So Mun, with sorrow and confidence in his stand went and bowed to all of the spirits and said: “I’m sorry I couldn’t defend neither Ms. Chu, Mo-Tak and Ha-Na noona. I just want to say that I’m very sorry to all of you. You don’t deserve not having the chance at reincarnation that was promised to you and I will try to appeal to whoever I need to make sure you can still have that opportunity.” Just as So Mun finished his words to Gi-Ran and U-Sik specifically, a figure appeared out of nowhere startling everyone out of their thoughts. The figure was blurred and no one could make out who or what it was.
“Who are you? Where are we? What is going on?” asked So Mun.
“Who or what I am is of no importance. What matters is that we are in an unprecedented situation and drastic measures need to be taken to rectify this” explained the figure. With all his emotions at near limit, So Mun went to say something back but Su-Ho grabbed his arm and shook his head at him.
Su-Ho then asked: “You are from Yung, are you not? What measures are to be taken?”
“Indeed, we are from Yung or you could say WE are Yung. What will transpire is that counter So Mun will wake up one year before he first came across his other counter teammates.” Answered the figure, now known as a representative from Yung.
No one could believe what the representative was saying. “Why are you giving him another chance?” asked Gi-Ran, hoping this wasn’t some trick.
“Because certain events shouldn’t have happened the way they did. We chose So Mun because he has great qualities to be the best counter. He did not flourish the way we had hoped due to his thirst for revenge against his parents’ murderer, mainly because of the guilt he carried. This So Mun, the one right here, is only the beginning of what we had hoped he could be. Unlimited growth mixed with his need to protect the people from evil spirits. This mentality was what we had seen in him, and why we chose him to be Wi-Gen’s partner. Certainly, all of us have made poor decisions, and it all led to a four-level spirit who will undoubtedly kill indiscriminately and level up in ways we haven’t seen before. That’s why we decided to intervene before more happened.” Explained the representative with a solemn tone in his distorted voice.
All of the spirits and So Mun looked at each other trying to discern what they should do. Finally, Wi-Gen asked, “What will So Mun have to do? And how will being one year early help him if he doesn’t have counter powers till Cheol-Jung dies and I go to him?”
“His mission is to start to train his body as soon as possible so at least he’s prepared for when you enter him. The events should happen as similar as possible to have an edge over the evil spirit, but we will let So Mun make some improvements that will benefit everyone in the end. We know this partnership is unfair. We offer them the ability to live, only for them to risk it fighting evil spirits, not being able to confide in his family or loved ones and endanger those loved ones in their fights with evil spirits. Therefore, we would like to give him something he didn’t have before, something that will without a doubt help him prepare for what is to come.” Said the figure.
“What are you giving me? Because as Wi-Gen ahjumma said, I’m not in any capacity to train with my leg as it was before Ms. Chu helped me, so I don’t see how I can begin preparing early…” was saying So Mun when the representative interrupted him.
“We will give you some powers to help you until you and Wi-Gen start the partnership. I’m certain you all know why you are here now, given that you all didn’t need to be called for us to do this.” Said Yung’s representative.
“How and what powers are we going to be giving him?” asked Dong-Pal. Even though he had stayed silent the whole time, he decided to ask the question that had been burning in his mind for some time now. The rest of the spirits quickly realizing what he was implying looked to the representative waiting for the reply that was sure to come.
“As all of you know, every counter has in each finger of their right hand a symbol that together allows them to travel to Yung. There are five fingers and five of you so we will be transferring the powers you decide through them. That doesn’t mean he will be able to go to Yung, not until Wi-Gen finds him, but he will have some of your powers. Beware that each of you can only give him one power, so think it well. I will give you some time to decide.” Having explained everything, the representative disappeared to give them privacy.
All of the spirits began to disagree in what powers they should give him except Su-Ho that was thinking things very carefully. At the same time, So Mun also thought about what powers he should need when he arrived. Having reached a conclusion, he decided to tell them what he thought. Su-Ho making a decision too looked to So Mun and seeing he was going to talk let him speak.
“Ehmm, could you please listen to what I have in mind?” asked So Mun, making a tremendous effort not to laugh. The rest stopped completely when he talked. Gi-Ran had Dong-Pal’s hair in her hand, with U-Sik trying and failing to stop her from whatever she was going to do. Meanwhile, Wi-Gen was enjoying herself watching the spectacle. Seeing that everyone was paying attention to him, So Mun began talking again.
“I think what I will need the most when I go back is to prepare my body and mind the maximum I can until I find you guys again. With that out of the way Su-Ho, I think your analytic mind could come in handy. Your ability to decipher and think outside the box can help me consider different ways I can fortalice my body until Wi-Gen and I collaborate again. Also, it will help me create new strategies to win against evil spirits easier.” Said So Mun looking at Su-Ho. Having already thought the same, Su-Ho just nodded and smiled at him letting him know he agreed with everything.
Moving on, he turned to Gi-Ran. “You certainly are the most difficult Gi-Ran noona. I don’t need super strength before I meet you guys again because I can’t better myself if I already have it. I also do not need your headstrong attitude as I already have it in tons myself. So in the end, the only thing I could think would benefit me would be body structure fortitude. If I find myself training constantly it’s obvious I could injure myself, having my bones structure harder could help me prevent spending months healing without preparing myself.”
Even though Gi-Ran was having problems not shouting at him about the headstrong attitude, she also knew that he was right about all so in the end decided just to say “Alright kid, but tell me again that I’m stubborn and I will not allow it, clear?”
So Mun agreeing rapidly sighed in relief at the apparent win. Gi-Ran seeing this smacked him in the head. “Ouch, noona! Why did you have to hit me so hard?” complained So Mun while rubbing his head. “Because you told me headstrong, that’s why!” replied Gi-Ran laughing inside at the face So Mun was doing.
“What about me hyung? What can I give you that will help?” asked eagerly U-Sik making small jumps in excitement. So Mun seeing the adorable spirit could not help himself and ruffled his hair.
“You U-Sik are going to give me the most important power, at least to me” said So Mun. U-Sik just looked up at him waiting for him to explain.
“You guys probably didn’t notice, well except maybe you Wi-Gen ahjumma, but I care a lot about Ha-Na. It has always bothered her not being able to touch someone without seeing his or her memories and I want to give her that. I want to be able to grab her hand and having her comfortable with it. So, what I’m asking of you is the ability to control my mind, specifically my memories. I need to be able to protect Ha-Na at least from my thoughts. Of course, it will also come in handy when evil spirits try to read my mind because I want them unable to see anything…” trailed off So Mun feeling shy.
U-Sik smiled with a hint of evilness in it. “So that is what you want ehh hyung? Don’t worry I’ll give you the ability to keep your mind safe, but you will have to train very hard at it. It is not something you can switch on and off right from the very beginning.”
Wanting the situation with U-Sik over with, he decided to continue to Dong-Pal. “From you Dong-Pal I need the ability to heal others and myself. I know that Ms. Chu already has this ability from Su-Ho but your ability is more powerful and I also need to be able to heal Ms. Chu when she feels ill, if not we could lose her and then who will cure us when needed? Also, to start training I need my leg fixed right away. No offense Su-Ho” said So Mun directing the last phrase to Su-Ho who just shrugged his shoulders.
Dong-Pal knowing what So Mun was going to ask of him agreed to it right away. Lastly, So Mun turned to Wi-Gen.
“Wi-Gen ahjumma I only need of you the ability to completely share my mind with you. I know you already know many of my feelings but when I go back and we meet for the first time I want to be able to share all my memories with you, so you can understand what is at risk and help us from the beginning. I need to work with you in tandem since day one so I can train properly with the territory and the rest of the counter’s abilities I will have. In addition, I want you to be able to see through my eyes should a bad situation arise, that way we will both be able to take into account every possibility and work together as the best counter team ever. That’s why I think sharing my mind with you can help us all in the long run.”
Wi-Gen could only listen as So Mun explained everything to her. That petition was basically an open door to his head, to knowing weaknesses and strong points, embarrassing thoughts, everything. That level of trust in her was what left Wi-Gen speechless, so much so she could only take his head into her hands and put his forehead to hers trying to convey how moved she was at the trust she was given.
“I see you have already decided what powers you will be giving him” said the figure again, appearing from thin air and surprising everyone again. “It’s time to go counter So Mun. Remember this is another chance at rectifying things and should you make the same mistakes again we will not be as lenient. If anyone wants to say anything, if not we will say goodbye here.”
So Mun nodded solemnly and just gave everyone there a hug. When he finished the last hug with Wi-Gen everyone saw he was crying. “I’m not going to let anything bad happen to any of you. I will train a lot and be a person you can count on to protect everyone. I will not fail again. I promise you this.” Having finished saying this So Mun started glowing again and in an explosion of colors disappeared.
One year earlier. So Mun’s bedroom
A seventeen-year-old So Mun was sleeping peacefully in his bed. Out of nowhere, a sphere of light suddenly appeared and entered his body. As soon as this happened, his eyes opened and he thought, “Well, let the training of hell begin. I will not fail again.”.