The Next Life (?? ?? ???)

The Artefact

Putting aside the revelation that she somehow had access to the Internet, I decided to clear up the confusion on the matter to her. "I hate to break it to you, but Venom isn't real."

She poked her tongue in her cheek. "Is that right?"

"Yeah, um, I think you may have mistaken Marvel lore for reflections of real life."

"It is a marvel, is it not? A so-called parasite that gives its host immense power."

"Well, it's not real. Venom's just a character. Though I appreciate the sentiment."

"Do not," she interjected, still keeping her gaze on the floor. "It was merely an attempt to understand how you would fare against other entities."

"Right..."

"Right." It sounded unnatural for her to mimic my response, which only added to how awkward she was being. Part of me was admittedly amused, though I decided to end her suffering. "I should go, we have another case to investigate today."

Just as I turned around to leave, I felt a pocket of wind around my wrist, which solidified into a hand, neither warm nor cold. I turned around to see that it was Jisoo's hand. This wasn't the first time I made physical contact with any of the four Mogwai, but it still felt a little unnatural. Definitely was a big difference from the cold touch of the average ghost.

"I will come to supervise the next case for today."

"I told you, you don't have to do that."

"It is not for your sake, I can assure you."

"Then why are you still holding my wrist?"

Her gaze moved to her hand, then to meet mine, then back down again. Pulling her hand away, she cleared her throat. "I merely wish to investigate further on the artefact you found. Seeing as you seem to be a magnet for incidents related to the King's sigil as of late."

"If you say so." I shrugged. "You'll know where to find me, right? You always seem to be able to."

She sneered. "With your disgusting aura, it is not a challenge."

Oh, look, I thought to myself. She's back.

As I made my way out of the mansion, a sound caught my attention. A faint, melancholy sound of a piano echoed through the dimly-lit hallways. Though the echoes made it a challenge, I followed the music to its source.

The music led me to a large hall which I hadn't seen before. Streaks of sunlight from windows high up in the walls shone almost like a spotlight onto a grand piano, its black-painted wood cracked from age, yet still not sounding horrible. And the one playing the music was none other than Chaeyoung.

No sooner had I entered the hall, the music came to a halt. She was done with her piece, it seemed. It was then that I noticed that her eyes had been closed while she was playing. The moment she stopped, her eyes shot back open, and she took notice of me.

"Oh, it's you."

I realised that, despite how I frequented the mansion, the two of us barely had any interactions. The most we'd talked was on the way to meet Jisoo, after she and Jisoo had lured me into their trap.

"I didn't know you played the piano," I commented. "In fact, I didn't even know there was a piano in this place."

She got up from the piano seat and leaned against the body of the large instrument. "It was just lying here, never to be touched by another human being. I thought it would be a shame for such a beautiful thing to go to waste."

"It sounded beautiful, too. Your playing, I mean."

She offered a sweet smile. Good to see that one other Mogwai was capable of smiling genuinely. "You know, I was an entertainer at the palace before I became... this."