If you listened carefully enough, you’d catch a certain rhyme from his humming, a string of
lyric in a hushed tone wandering around him. The fire had slowly turned into embers, but
worry not, as we had Jihoon’s smile to warm and light the room, which grew wider and wider
at every swift pull of his hand. Five, seven, thirteen, he added to the pile in the glass jar. It
would only need a few more for it to be full. And hopefully, for the gift to be completed.
“Ah, hello.”
A pair of eyes fluttered open. A beautiful pair of eyes colored in burnt sienna, such a warm
contrast to the pale skin the young man possessed. It took a while for him to adjust to the lack
of light and take in the surroundings, but once he did, his eyes snapped open, filled with
terror. The pupils narrowed, moving rapidly as if his mind tried to urge his body to move, to
scream. But there was no bound. No rope, no shackles. Just a feeling of numbness as if he had
lost his entire body except for his head. As if he had lost his voice.
“Don’t worry, it’s just the candy,” Jihoon said, smiling reassuringly. “It made you fall asleep
for a long time, paralyzing your senses. So calm down, no need to panic. It’s only temporary.”
He stroke the man’s hair gently, before going back to work. The eyes looked down, he choked
on a silent shriek as he realized what those hands were doing.
In his mouth.
“It will be over in a few minutes. I already took half your teeth, so hold on a little longer,
okay?”
Jihoon’s hand made a quick tug. He held the pearly tooth carefully between his fingers,
putting it together with other teeth in the jar. There were similar jars on the other corner of the
table, on the floor, on the shelves. Hundreds of them. All full to the brim.
“Ah, how very rude of me for not telling you your purpose here.” Another tooth to the jar.
Then two. “You see, I’m trying to make my wish come true. But unfortunately, just like
everything, there’s a cost for it.”
Jihoon pulled out a canine. He stared at it for a while, admiring it like a petal of a spring
flower.
“I’ve tried offering one of my teeth, but it only got me my brother’s ring finger. I’ve tried all
twenty of a child’s teeth—it were all so shiny and pristine—but it only got me my brother’s
eyes and one of his ears.”
“I know, it’s so upsetting, right?” Jihoon shook his head slightly, sighing, but his smile didn’t
falter. “But of course I couldn’t just stop there, could I? More teeth, more of my brother I can
get back. I just need to try a little harder.”
“Now, I’ve had all of my brother’s body, every piece of it. Would you like to greet him?”