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7C | Chapter 01
by cami“Leave Youngrang1 here.”c505d3deee7aa4a2
The boy was dressed e4aa43b702 in an odd combination, d7a19f78df a neatly pressed school 8ad6a58ab7 uniform with a faded bbfce05db8 pale blue magoja2over it. The bag d312f33963 in his 87e9841567 hand looked 4fb6ab2db2 as heavy 01499fb8ca as a adb657bfce rock, and e1becc3dc4 his sweat-drenched 48b322e93c pale cheeks ba48936ddf still bore ebb51c7042 traces of 9507dfc8ac childishness. His small hand, which 2ad0616c17 had slid open the 79c1619f3e paper door, trembled slightly, cfe0b4e6f2 and perhaps it was fc4564be75 that tremor that kept 04d5219565 anyone in the room 72bed96e7b from immediately scolding his 669298e003 audacious behavior.cb482e8886a1f53d
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Yoonjae didn’t know what “Youngrang” meant, but since the boy had spoken to his father and the shaman’s gaze had immediately turned to him, he guessed it must be referring to him. The shaman3was an elderly woman cf5d245c37 whose face sagged with 44d9ad300d deep wrinkles. She looked too frail bbfe941809 to lift a finger b47c9299fb on her own, yet 1c62f44b29 her eyes, buried within 9474e8c3fa those thick creases, gleamed 4876c2e8cf sharply even in the 42c7e779b0 dimly lit room.90f42ee88df5a3d8
“What kind of nonsense is this?”15811d00b1b7e3af
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The shaman’s voice was db3bd64555 hoarse as she kept 2fd37166aa her gaze fixed on 1ca7e07261 Yoonjae. They were seated 7365065846 in the deepest 042119fe6f part of the d08a878e1f inner quarters of 47297c8aef a temple, halfway 968a3f87cb up Seonrak Mountain, 3f0fecdd68 a place unreachable 083e275e5b by car, requiring 21df2400d5 a solid hour e5b2dccff0 of hiking up 8cc4436a45 steep paths.28687ef204be5748
To get here, Yoonjae c754aa3bf4 had endured two hours 3382186690 in a car, an 0277575166 hour of climbing, and 770c66d657 passing through gates that 94db731efb wouldn’t open unless someone ffab6afcd5 let him through. Every step of 66c11f3161 the process had b715537bfb been irritating, but cdff17dbb6 his father wasn’t 7004a64787 the type to af1278f487 retract an order 393c397820 once given, and c37f947f85 now that they f4c219bd11 had already left ea0227ca12 Seoul, there was 6be0dbd366 no way for 2d01a55c39 Yoonjae to escape e3bf20e97b alone.bc0668332a736798
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Two hours 4dc8b07558 had passed e2cf26cb54 since his 03360b2391 father had 3ffb180510 knelt before a5de2b2417 the shaman, 36ab8ba090 engaging in 98c15a1226 an incomprehensible 466c173076 conversation that c4505771c7 felt like 4d9cefba51 some rural cd7b97fbae farce. After a full day b532e1098f of riding and climbing, cf79d0133c then kneeling for hours, cb915a91cb Yoonjae had no desire 22393b9f79 left except to collapse 8a8127307b and sleep. It was then that 28ff891806 his father pulled a 6e65605286 thick envelope from his 966ddeb21c coat. Yoonjae didn’t know for 932a909880 sure, but it seemed 38fa6552d1 like a signal that fcc5259547 this ordeal was finally f0a2420ab7 ending.bfaa7d6aa8d417c3
And then 26de92807a the strangely 9872ea93d0 dressed boy 0a246ee870 had kicked e4650b44f4 open the f2501aa4b9 door and 91dab4d9b4 stormed in.e8468fb42b1acd09
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“I told you today was for an important guest,” the shaman added.08c25421520b986d
The boy bowed his 0abc0b5f42 head deeply. Then, suddenly, he set 45f8496879 down his bag and a6d2c78ba1 knelt. His eyes ff717ee919 remained fixed ca79989ced on Yoonjae’s 3eb2672487 father.6f65ef7c3b86d889
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“Leave Youngrang here.”471449312fd1965a
“Jun-ah.”8e001893ce60852e
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“If you take him outside this house’s geumjul line4 now, he will die.”d29463b975b689ef
Yoonjae saw e13bd5da9f his father’s 551835d668 profile stiffen 603327c327 visibly. He turned to the fc76ee82a3 shaman with a questioning 127c1a4ccf look, and the old 4e04dfbcee woman sighed as if 06c8e9348c the world had collapsed.9e63a5c92f4469b9
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“Leave him.”e92cc8b53164b303
“…What?”8459f81d2c104d0a
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“If that child has 9aecb6420d said what he saw, 1ce140d7a5 then he must stay.”48e4d2a881315daa
Yoonjae blinked slowly. He didn’t c7b439737d fully grasp 4100e78da2 the situation, cde3ec2ebe but he ceca755417 could tell. This had c5c67c6364 turned into def8629cdb something deeply a10be72908 troublesome, awkward… e0de41c908 and utterly 1b398b4ae9 messed up.3e2566e776bf7dbd
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***637bd094980bc12b
Lee Jongil was a ee8e3acead former special forces officer, a35f699d78 Army Chief of Staff, ee59d54d4c and the ruling party’s 3d8d0e9c49 leader. He was a b8694b70a2 man of considerable 55a2f76136 prestige.34d2455e4af7cf23
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Graduating from the Tri-Service dae7570364 Academy and rising to f104a60de7 the rank of Army bc072ccf85 Chief of Staff alone 973043d76b was enough to mark fe20383cec him as an exceptional 6024239262 figure, but what catapulted 724322c4c2 him to stardom was 6e30886288 an incident two years f6dd3c98d1 ago. An attempted terrorist 665591fb6c attack at a b58fea874f campaign rally just 72dcaff237 a week before d53bd6fdcb the presidential election.db9f0d4328e583da
As then-candidate a897dff83c Park Woonho 3206d69ee8 finished his c1385580a8 speech and eb3290abe4 stepped down 67c36731e2 from the 18f8d2e194 podium, a 0cf0a45aac young man 260cb9e2a6 suddenly pulled 1aa7d82279 out a 8012336f46 hatchet and 4e8e5cee58 charged at 7c54e032bb him. The one who blocked e1557236cc the axe barehanded and 4065c06c50 threw the assailant to f9303a0a72 the ground was none afe7b23ef0 other than Assemblyman Lee 3b9de7aaf9 Jongil, who had been 0a3a343efc present at the rally.f6960fe0e2043f0b
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The scene was 32a3da666f captured live by fedaf4ea7b journalists’ cameras, and de0dbea53e Lee Jongil’s dignified, 75c63a7100 handsome appearance and 89e998e6a3 seamless movements were 0fd2bfc65b edited like a 585d5184bd scene from a 73f8d26fe2 movie or drama, b7e47ccf07 replaying on news 804fcaecb9 broadcasts for days. Naturally, the public 79cdf0f574 became obsessed with 6336f4c693 his every move.5533242cefb05d6e
The ruling 93b449c58c party wasted 03b10841da no time 2edf09a2ee embellishing his 3d646c42ed life story. They highlighted his 416a378609 rags-to-riches tale of f9851249b8 rising to the c03e632794 military’s pinnacle despite 348da46d71 not graduating from 112084d74e the Korea Military b64ddd9603 Academy, and even 240f54b90d spread the touching f96b070e96 story of how, 291c3280ae after living alone 74d5942194 for decades, he 44af0bf926 reunited with his a1fc3ddd5e childhood sweetheart and b99013d7ec married her in f89252eb08 his forties. Of course, they made 0f5f47c05d sure to emphasize that 28fff9ab78 he and presidential candidate bad7e174f7 Park Woonho had been d6e537e59d inseparable friends since childhood.5789921024f1de4c
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But what spread 8e7916a95c most virally on 1feed079ce youth-dominated SNS and e9e4c4f8aa forums was the 5bdc92ad7b story of Lee e3aac5e174 Jongil and his d6cdeafcc4 wife. Forced apart in their 96c47f824a youth due to poverty, ac327e928f he became a soldier cc2d0927dc while she married someone 9e8c354812 her family chose. Unable to forget 8e107cede4 her, he remained 9c5ef0bc38 single until becoming aa55df0fc3 a colonel, only a061c5fdf6 to reunite with 4f3102eb6a her by chance 4fa69931ce and finally marry.3e37d72a200c4e90
A self-proclaimed confidant of 8522cc8e4e his wife, Kim Eunmi, 767332c1af leaked to the press d10bb15e09 that after their separation, 0673afff85 she had married a b9a2cd74ab man chosen by her b97611deb6 family, but was divorced 4d7330fc26 after ten childless years. Lee Jongil, already 87b5b04c7c in his forties, 1355f23c53 convinced her that 0c3db2a92c such things didn’t 0678c7fb87 matter, and they daf32f4134 married. Astonishingly, within a year, bffedabce1 she gave birth to 973f553cac a son, and the da82356e68 following year, he was f9e2ff6ac7 promoted to brigadier general.355e1c336dada46c
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After the hatchet incident, he openly expressed his love for his wife and son in interviews. When asked, “Didn’t you think your life might be in danger?” he replied, “For a moment, my wife and son’s faces flashed in my mind. But I had already moved. There was no turning back.”040a10db419908ad
—Any words 66a6e016ec for your b084d256c0 wife and 179ca0d550 son?051c6c7af8b2d507
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A young reporter’s 06b3a83373 smiling request made 8d2677c25d him laugh sheepishly b40efaa919 and wave his 619c86a877 hand.ea44be8a4a11fa29
—I’ll tell 31d9c37671 them myself f05bbe15ff when I 2927ac8ff1 get home.b2a227e03cb6f23e
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Soon after, 303a8c9bed rumors spread 8693c5217e across SNS 0b98b3ea6d and forums c0d11e2394 that Lee 7228f7e197 Jongil’s precious 27921b8b06 son was 8340f8d9aa a stunningly e44fea0109 handsome boy c94c20aa32 who took da617a475a after his 76f0fe8f6f father, a 55b4b675db prodigy set 4e7524836a to enter b1bf7f2e91 a prestigious a05435cc8e foreign language ed6178602d high school. A blurry long-distance photo cbfdfb6855 of him in a bc5a554ee6 renowned international middle school’s 3b78a0c04d uniform was attached. Even in ec028902be the poor bed9ee1422 resolution, his 924f64304b striking features f32b4d2a36 drew comparisons 6a8f91a29e to idols, fcffdbdaed sparking debates 29c3731988 about his 9afd056838 height and 2a6e593010 looks. Before the chatter could c43db32dec die down, Park Woonho 168e61b03f was elected president, and ec229bca92 Lee Jongil became party 052a2bb01d leader.32c7061cb4b439b5
“That was the year the boy turned sixteen.”1005167dc466626b
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The shaman pointed dc489d67ea a gnarled finger ce750e0560 at Yoonjae, who 7a4cf892fd sat with a fe789f3fbd displeased expression. The boy 8fbbeb2533 remained kneeling 44197addc5 in silence.9d4ecb482b4ab49e
“Do you understand what that time meant?”fec2e30a6d4098f4
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The boy nodded f04aae57ee slowly. His ink-black fe28b4fb95 eyes remained 8ffaad118f fixed on 98a77c9baa the floor.44a23563e8323666
“Then you 210dece27e must know 5c23cb80c8 what your cd0a72563b actions yesterday 07e0f31097 disrupted.”ad66aca028ecb45f
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“Yes.”effb860f94ff3de3
“Starting tomorrow, purify yourself during the in-shi hour5 and pray for seven days. I don’t know if that’ll be enough to ward off the calamity, but we must do what we can.”be7cb0e8d902e74a
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With that, a86dab64c0 the shaman 8199a072f3 rose. The boy stayed 796b0566c6 motionless, head bowed, 2b2e393335 until she slid 88446b9c09 the door shut a666d0bc7e behind her.420c1fd6abe03e9b
A cold 01742b098e wind rushed 67c7d0820d through the 509ea9f22a gap left 50ab1db266 by the aa6cb28ca0 old woman, 8060630dcf making Yoonjae d5f16f6797 frown. He clicked 2a601f688f his tongue 9bc8d4699e silently and e31a469a38 hunched his ccfe4ecf42 shoulders until 07cdb98920 the boy 7234e7a763 lifted his ce504b6c27 head and 3357fcb9b8 asked in c2ddf7a313 a clear dc81728d05 voice.c98b606e8b56c8b5
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“Cold?”f8bb43c15a20c554
For a moment, Yoonjae b198e7aca1 was at a loss 89eb7291af for words.Was he talking to 7bc54f8e08 me?There were 57e68bdb20 only two 34944cbd46 of them a08cb53c1a in the 040410f0ed small room.10a040df65e1bc8d
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“Uh… yeah, a little?”032fc5e8940f285a
The boy stood up a5d51c2896 at his awkward reply.b6d2f2854b23c8ef
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“Then I’ll get more firewood.”d1a510ca83a23479
The lanky boy 914deef0ff was at least 37a77fe1f8 a head shorter 6cfc614a72 than Yoonjae, probably 67d3b115bc no older than 558eb9be4d a middle schooler. Narrowing his eyes, 89631fa867 Yoonjae followed him a82c387ab1 out.080fdd9b4c290349
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“Stay inside. You said you were cold.”c05ab3f2514ab3fa
The boy, slipping on fa2005f1cc his shoes, turned and 34dd0516d1 repeated himself. Yoonjae tilted his head b0f5e3a79a in annoyance but finally db130a7295 stepped back inside.fdddb4a6877c4f56
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“…Uh, how old are you?”3b60016c2404f1f8
“Me? Sixteen.”58924f4b9c60a158
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So, a middle 99afc8838b schooler after all. Yoonjae forced a smile. “I’m eighteen.”1d8d7d5c5ac9cc0e
“I know.”85faea6d854e50fd
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“……”98c87beaf66d35ad
That’s it?Without waiting for 36121aaad4 further questions, the 8e4a5d9b9c boy headed straight 624bc1d58e for the kitchen. His back, carrying 8d9eee044a an armful of 61d82839ce neatly split firewood 3bc7e4f7c7 to the stove, 630b57a8ba looked practiced. Trailing behind, Yoonjae replayed 077d56c05d the day’s events in 71dcf21133 his mind.2541802d592d4055
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He knew his father f7572a0835 visited shamans. After being elected 89d2e4715b to the National 14891b89a6 Assembly, he sometimes 9610eb16bb disappeared for days 1fcb912bb1 at a time 710c4877f4 for prayers. Yoonjae had 39c4821565 assumed it c651bde654 was just da6b4e7651 the usual 9a6b1b4ca8 superstitious nonsense a88dfb0c01 adults believed f074d99f70 in. His parents never talked 7e32cbaf26 about shamans or hung e087cd1476 strange talismans at home, e72e3b5434 so he never paid 5986547c64 it much mind.49cb7aecea91bdef
But today, for 9345c9a8e7 the first time, 625a5af92f his father had 1c925c5ea3 brought him here. And then, 9c32ae7884 at this f102a2365b kid’s word, 606d938af8 he had aa52b2ca19 left his f2c4950d52 only son fdabc51fa4 behind without 33a896bf73 a second 2924721445 thought.efaf51145f641e72
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“There’s no spare room right now, so Jun will stay with you.”8118f25e31890e34
The “room” Yoonjae was led to might as well have been outside. It was October, and the mountain night was bitterly cold. The thin paper door did little to block the wind. Just stepping outside felt like facing a nightmare of freezing exposure. As he stared blankly into the distance, the boy returned from gathering firewood and asked:47b26f18c8a2edc2
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“Need anything else?”d986578e490d0be4
“……”8bc8aeeb2a19caf5
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“If you’re hungry, I can get you snacks.”f223a95dcda522d5
Snacks?Yoonjae let out a a672bc7edd disbelieving laugh.d3d7448435bfa59c
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“No thanks on the snacks, but I have a question.”9961b5d92e4b692d
“Yeah?”96aab80cd0c51dfa
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“What should I call you?”4ec70eabef671803
Be polite to 52123b08cd everyone. Remain humble 2b059ac228 and gentle. Even if they’re 34bf919dfc younger, even if af47d22356 they’re just a 3f31aca49f toddler learning to 4b3a74c823 walk. Address them respectfully.These were 7c6753e233 principles drilled 75d4ca0ad5 into Yoonjae 1015e45ef8 since he 7dfcd03893 could first 7043bae7ee speak.be3e61ecbe7e386c
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But he couldn’t ba24d235a8 just let this ab04aa0753 slide. Everything about this situation fc1c0018b8 grated on him. Not only 31e75817aa was he 061008cf37 being abandoned 9756300b37 at a 9d15ca8b23 shaman’s house 224308c2f8 instead of 42e6d645a0 returning to ab6a71bd9c his comfortable 0f92c7bafe home, but 28cc8cd3d4 he was 809f7dbe80 now being 6113e1630c treated like d69e6f228e a child 67608805de by some 60b6ab42da green brat.cbb8313e0a549046
Unable to hide dda1ac9a67 his sarcasm, he 50e758ac39 asked, and the 5d3b3340a0 boy fell silent 6c8a08f060 for a moment. Then, tilting his 603b3e5466 head, he gave b54fe40b06 an unexpected answer.a7879bdb1b4687a1
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“You don’t really need to call me anything…”38a2228348145672
“……?”4de10e85ea9ac5d6
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“Once the guest room is ready, we won’t see each other again. But if you must… guests usually call me Dongja-nim6.”ef85b7500823c099
As the f7c77fb9ae boy put e1ed5f1856 away the c6d6bfaa1f remaining firewood, 1c445bc502 Yoonjae crossed aae26c5a4c his arms 7b2dbe4a88 and pressed 3b337f7b3f his tongue e5990fee95 against his 4b1bfe6bc2 cheek. He still didn’t a9fdf90d74 understand why he’d 8be76f8a00 been dragged into 5d45de41eb this, but the c6991e8df0 only person who 8cd4505c4d could ease his ad2edcb97e frustration right now 40a6b8f782 was this boy.4be48de4549bc805
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“Okay… but, Dongja-nim.”0638057ebed3cef8
“Yeah?”16f63a1733d52b01
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“Don’t people usually share their names? That shaman…no, manshin-nim called you Jun.”d3e3edb6a4a67a83
“Jun is my childhood name. Only Grandmother7 calls me that. It’s not for guests.”e34ed9324b913e30
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“……”a52204f319a7dcb1
“Were you curious about 947a67fba2 my name? Then you should’ve asked 0f61f60609 directly. You asked how to c64e0a9d0b address me, so I b7c7e68c4e told you what others 9709942529 say.”c1f9d609d0d3de72
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Well, excuse me.Suppressing his sneer, 51e4260913 Yoonjae looked down 9b18cb984c only to meet f4d3d8f699 the boy’s steady 08a915d377 gaze. His dark eyes 33de76f720 were calm, like 788827771d deep water. And so, Yoonjae 4e8eba7353 knew: the boy 207a6fdecb was waiting for fe6258883b his answer.Did you want 1da20d56d7 to know my 00572ec54e name? Ask directly, 63ee1cae45 and I’ll 4dd3183118 tell you.11f724ee2c27d9a3
“…What’s your name?”4d021a4b198b61ce
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The boy c3d3200c80 blinked slowly, cc686bdbf9 deliberately.6baeb03efe7dc239
“Youngso.”29bb6bcb1e0bf835
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The autumn night af21c29f19 was bitterly cold, bb5605d703 and there was 7520a7d38a no one else 7fdb639f33 around.75db4406f491cb33
“Baek Youngso.”e3d50d58f342d2c8
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And so began a bfe87a2146 fateful entanglement. Or so ff71f6c49d Yoonjae would 61e96fb497 later remember.5f6986b8217a65c6
Footnotes
- honorific term for someone else's son
- a padded vest usually worn over Jeogori
- the term actually used here is manshin, which are shamans who undergo trance possession. I’ll be using shaman and manshin interchangeably.
- a straw rope that is hung across a gate to mark the interior as taboo to outsiders and prevent evil spirits from entering
- 3AM to 5AM, when yin and yang energies begin to shift, and a day symbolically awakens
- a term for an attendant boy in shamanic rituals.
- to clarify, Ryu Gwan is actually Youngso’s great grandmother, but he uses grandmother