34. What the Dead Yearned For
The next day, Bella opened her eyes to a dazzling brightness and immediately jumped up in alarm. In doing so, she smacked the top of her head against the bed frame and had to sit back down, clutching her head in pain.
“Could it be…?”
With a trembling voice, Bella murmured to herself and rushed to the mirror. Her reflection stared back at her. She pinched her cheeks several times—they hurt as if her skin might tear. Her knees throbbed from a fall just moments ago.
“I’m… back.”
Bella muttered in a daze, but soon her face filled with relief and joy. Judging by the fact that she had regained her body, it seemed Che had either left voluntarily or the bracelet’s effect had ended. But Che was nowhere to be seen.
“Che? Where are you?”
Normally, the ghost would have been right beside her before she even called out. But there was no trace of him. Feeling as though she’d been left alone in a silent world, Bella anxiously began searching the room. Books stacked on a shelf toppled to the floor with a loud crash.
“Che! Che? Where are you hiding? Are you mad at me? Huh?”
“…”
After frantically searching the entire house, Bella collapsed in the hallway.
He was gone. There wasn’t even the faintest trace of a ghost’s chill or unease anywhere. Truly gone. What if he hadn’t simply left—but disappeared entirely?
“You can’t… just leave me like this. What am I supposed to do now…”
She had grown so used to Che—his chill, even his unpleasant presence. She had always ignored loneliness her whole life, and now the one who said he was afraid and came to her first… had left her behind.
Suddenly overwhelmed with sorrow, Bella bit down on her lip.
Ding-a-ling—
At the unexpected sound of a bell, Bella stood up and trudged across the garden to the front door. A place that once felt so livable now felt desolate and empty.
When she opened the door, she saw a group of strangers—about a dozen of them.
“We’re here on a request from Manager Fog.”
“Ah. Please, come in.”
She hadn’t informed Manager Fog that she had returned to the mansion. How had he known? But she couldn’t send the workers away, so she let them in.
Manager Fog certainly had an eye for hiring. The workers all seemed highly skilled.
“If you have a blueprint for the renovation, may we see it?”
“Just a moment, I’ll go get it.”
Bella retrieved several blueprints she had stored in a drawer. Before leaving the room, she glanced around once more, just in case Che had returned.
Still nothing.
Suppressing the surge of emotion, Bella composed her expression and handed the blueprints to the workers.
“What do you think?”
“Very practical and clean. Have you studied places like this before?”
“Of course. If you want to try something new, you have to study a lot first.”
“It doesn’t seem like anything needs to be changed. We can proceed as is. Oh, and someone will come later to work on the landscaping.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
Bella bowed slightly in gratitude. One of the workers pointed to a cart nearby. Following his gesture, she saw a heavy sack on top of it.
“And this is the agreed payment.”
Bella opened the sack and found it filled with gleaming gold coins. She lifted the sack effortlessly, narrowed her eyes, and seemed to concentrate before dropping it back onto the cart.
“Mm, yes. The amount is exactly right.”
Some people, she had heard, could count coins just by weight. Manager Fog was one of those people.
Now, seeing Bella do the same, the worker’s eyes widened slightly. It was clear from his face that he now understood why Fog had taken such a keen interest in her.
“We’d like to begin right away if that’s alright.”
“Sure, please do.”
After greeting each worker, Bella went back inside and collapsed on the edge of her bed.
Her mind was a mess. Even while giving instructions to the workers, her thoughts raced.
Che was gone. And it was strange that Manager Fog knew she had returned.
With a deep sigh, Bella buried her face in her hands. If you lose a person, you can hire an information guild to find them. But what do you do when you lose a ghost?
“Che, please… You know I need you.”
“So much.”
“So much that I feel it… huh?”
She had been answering instinctively to a voice that suddenly echoed, then stopped mid-sentence. Bella’s head shot up.
Che wasn’t visible—but she had definitely heard his voice, faint as a whisper carried by the wind.
“Che? Are you there? Che! Please answer me!”
“…”
“Che!”
Bella began running around the room in a frenzy. Only when she was breathless did she collapse onto the bed.
It was cruel. So cruel. He knew how much she missed him, and yet he wouldn’t answer.
“Is it because I wouldn’t lend you my body?”
“…”
“You wanted to make a deal. You asked me to find a way—whether it was someone else’s body or a sealed object—so you could move freely.”
“…”
“But you never told me—do you need a dead body, someone unconscious, or a healthy person? I need details. Okay? So first, just show yourself.”
It had been a long time since she had begged someone like this. Bella squeezed her eyes shut, holding back tears.
Crying wouldn’t change anything. It wouldn’t solve the problem. It would only drain her energy. And no one would care, or feel sorry for her.
As she thought that, a tear slid from her temple down her face—a bitter realization of the lonely decade she had lived.
“…?”
Suddenly, she felt a chill. Goosebumps rose on her arms, and a faint breeze seemed to brush her cheek. She reached out, but of course, ghosts couldn’t be touched.
“Why… why can’t I see you?”
Her voice trembled, but no reply came. Naturally—Che had exhausted all his energy saving Bella and reverted to his original state.
Thanks to that, Bella was in better health than ever, but the connection between them had weakened.
Che, after a moment of hesitation, reached toward Bella. Bella shuddered as a sudden coldness wrapped around her—but she didn’t move.
She was afraid that even the slightest movement might drive Che away.
She tried to sit up, but her vision swam, and she felt the blood drain from her limbs. And finally—finally, she heard the voice she had been so desperate to find.
“I’ve lost… my strength.”
“You lost your strength? That’s why I can’t see you? Then how do I bring you back?”
In a panic, Bella fired off questions. Her head spun, nausea rising, but she held it in. This sensation—so unpleasant to others—was precious to Bella. It meant Che was touching her.
“The energy of the living… their memories… their touch.”
“Then it’s perfect! The workers came in droves today!”
“That’s… why I can speak like this now.”
Che’s voice was faint—like the rustle of leaves in the wind. Bella focused all her attention on the sound. That made it easier to ignore the cold creeping into her body.
After a moment of thought, Bella made up her mind and spoke with unshakable seriousness.
“Che. Don’t take this the wrong way, but… I can’t give you my body.”
“…”
“But I’ll let you touch me.”
“…?”
Che’s expression shifted slightly. He must know by now what happens when the living touch the dead.
Still, Bella lay down on the bed as if offering her whole body to him and calmly closed her eyes.
“I’ll stay still like this. Take my energy. I’m used to getting sick. It’s fine. I’ll just think of it as a bad flu.”
Che looked down at her with a pained expression. He didn’t want to hurt Bella. But to meet her again, he had to take her life energy.
A being that inevitably harms the living. Once, he had been one of them—but now, to be seen by their eyes, he had to steal from them.
It was horrific. Dreadful.
And yet, when he saw the living, he couldn’t suppress the craving. Their energy was like a faint light in a pitch-black darkness he’d been trapped in for a hundred years.
Che gently stroked Bella’s cheek.
“…Is this what I wanted? Or…”
His voice, unable to reach her, faded into the air. His gaze lingered on Bella’s trembling eyelids.
“Was it this person… that I wanted?”
