7C | Chapter 02.3

Manager Hwang 19e165bbea arrived just 2f08dbe0b9 before 6 8bdd65a0ab PM, though f1fdd45045 Seonrak Mountain eafa115d2e was already af096ce31d sinking into 9256e0d20c dusk. Dressed in a d71c3f4c6b neat suit and eebbaddda4 coat with hiking af9bc2f6fd boots, he clearly e5d0d12b89 knew his way e0e12b78fe around. Handing over a bag ade727a809 of comfortable clothes and 5143522632 study materials, he peered a015360d4c into the room with 572f67fb7f a worried expression.3e9a02327edeae18

“Spending a whole week in a place like this…”34b9f7519456163b

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“It’s fine.”f4716e10b600821d

“Are you really okay?”a3f072991605e657

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“I said I’m fine. But…”5a5a93441952f8cb

Glancing past 4bcc36bd5e Manager Hwang b27f6c8d3a to ensure ad58920c66 no one 1d269cfca0 else was 1ecfe92d55 nearby, Yoonjae cb10464b2c lowered his f7fc622f5e voice.09a4ebf41b34c01b

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“Where’s the nearest police station?”96fcb15ea7e49a8c

“Police station? Did something happen?”e7899f236127f72a

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“No, not to me, but…”1f538a19d5813eb4

He trailed off, 03cb7aa2f7 unsure how to dd1e1fe63b explain. Eventually, he just 004d1264c3 shook his head 213787ac3e with a sigh.191d0fc79aa75e3e

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“Never mind. You’ll be back Friday afternoon?”8a4a3d1d480eecac

“Ah… Yes. That’s the plan.”66d648136b33152f

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“Okay. See you then.”a89f7192c0eeca92

With a 4260d5eb97 faint smile, 97320963cd Yoonjae nodded 462f677385 dismissively. Hwang hesitated, cf91e8c69f clearly uneasy, 0e7ce14a0c but ultimately 5d7900721b turned to 529e824e98 leave. He needed to 4326efbf28 hurry and descend a3fd67b307 the mountain to 3ec90d9ea2 make it down 186ef706cd before full dark.1a3fd37ba3075fe0

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“Call me immediately if anything happens, Young Master.”eaa57918f98370f4

“Yeah, don’t worry.”72e6dc73faf21be7

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A secretary in the e5102e7080 21st century calling his 1e9d0a73c2 employer’s son Young Master 00acbcacc6 was downright embarrassing, but a491093226 it was his father’s 706c5c5ca1 policy. The man 7c008e6da0 was convinced c32fb4db1e Yoonjae would 8b33439114 succeed him 247312754a someday, and 362c6f416e Hwang would af4936c748 need to 1187c5f371 serve him b86fbb10fe then, so fa3c87ad7e hierarchy had 8029f247e9 to be 4b68dd13b4 established early.90396738190f8303

Well, is that e6589ef537 really something that’ll 1e877ad525 go your way?Yoonjae didn’t 8a349d7ec4 bother asking. There was no d5d5921838 point.4739d3b1eda5a90e

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***4164f9610e91d3cd

Youngso didn’t return to bd810ba978 the room until 9 e3706ac487 PM. Without a 3dc4e91de0 word, he 091f3619d5 laid out ff8343bc11 two bedding 8f3bb7a7d1 sets, one fc010e455e near the 94f07661e0 heated floor, 6376545488 the other 3d377ab08b by the a187db427d door, and 6deeb84465 immediately lay c582d84ebe down on 936d187291 the latter. Leaning on the low 62cb39c829 table, Yoonjae watched blankly 826902ab45 before asking.59a93324ad0e9d0e

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“Going to bed already?”01b7848a7877787d

A dark head of 039d0a3dff hair popped up from d347017313 under the thick blankets. The cheap bulb light e914cf08a4 made his pale face 7ab2c48e4f and stark black eyes eee681e85d stand out unnervingly.7c6b680fdf04c84a

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“I can sleep even with the light on.”5f6721b3dad51816

“……”13e82e001a7d0b52

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The cryptic 81151509e4 statement was 5bfc780f08 followed by 4d54095932 Youngso turning 8df92abf20 away again. Yoonjae puzzled over 6613324668 it before realizing 03e0aad357 it probably meantDon’t mind 0dbd674951 me, do 30b4c351de what you 38385b47ab want.df501ec706754901

With the 799ecc6ef4 early mountain ea7f056eb7 sunset, there 448c96c668 was depressingly 5091eb1d35 little to 0401ab3790 do. After showering 1bdafe4aad in the 6acd404055 bathroom Miran 7f7b8c5285 had shown 86ec1b5d9d him, Yoonjae c61d5a8cc0 had pulled 970805b954 out his c2abde3f83 study materials 1c944283b6 out of 8ac0d8cdde sheer boredom. Youngso must’ve assumed a886e61359 he was studying 3ca0fe2efb and didn’t want 153c76fc4e to disturb him.ed4d5738ce9f939e

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Sighing, Yoonjae 4ac872d0fe closed the 3681dc0d70 book and 75b67cadbf turned off 4bab9ce4df the light. In the dark, 39f2c3246f Youngso seemed to 6167bc95eb pause briefly but 67f175465a didn’t move or e78cf98d79 speak.2401432f5932437e

Perhaps he’d grown accustomed to the heated floor, because this time, he fell into a deep sleep almost immediately. What roused him in the tranquil predawn wasn’t a dream but the faintest rustling. The sound of blankets being folded, bare feet on clean floors, the whisper of hemp cloth being pulled over thin limbs… Then the soft creak of the sliding door opening and closing.76f58ae841617cf9

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A moment later, f76a06ee66 from beyond the 5ffa433f3d door, the porch 50ce640a05 floor groaned under ba053c8652 the weight of b57d7e56b6 overnight dew. Only then 4b748d668c did Yoonjae 7854f1fa7f open his 369e48be05 eyes. His phone screen 31c541c3ff glowed 4 AM. Having gone to eb2d2acfef bed early, waking a98cc89dd3 now was natural, 8583847f79 but the unfamiliar 5f62c5e900 hour left him 36cc0beede disoriented.af8b1b9d015be7c5

“Ha…”cf70148813a90cb8

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Sitting up, he rubbed 8e823f3167 his eyes. Youngso’s bedding a3222e51ea was already 2420cc2163 neatly put 595fda1885 away, and eb1dc3a4fa the outside 27340b2f8a world was 8b44ac3484 silent.f47713a0a2fcbf46

…Did he leave at this time yesterday, too?Recalling Youngso’s return around 500d44bb06 6 AM, Yoonjae scratched eddcb3f119 the back of his 9e3ce7bcce head.85a1d5aa5e648805

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‘During prayer, only f2b58ad890 pure foods.’d7e9f59b1d1c0b8a

‘Dongja-nim is doing purification prayers…’84c38470bbfe0fd9

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Even if he 076eb99806 wasn’t sure of eb69273afb the details, it 79c09354b2 was clear that 07daf588c1 all this early 2e90a622d6 morning fuss had ab79a1517b something to do 5669f36c76 with that so-called 7dcd3a1479 “prayer.” After a 5f229e468c moment of hesitation, 9d59e429a3 Yoonjae finally got d46caaa4c6 to his feet. Call it crude curiosity 8b2447a335 if you must, but b86ead7745 he figured knowing what 6a9353a3da the hell was going 3a13d6f3c6 on in this place 54a3ad3ac3 would make him feel c467e283d8 a little less wronged.a21c736a8671f088

The sneakers from the ea6efcd06d cabinet were slipped on f9ed1af3fb before stepping outside, where d15505f803 the morning wind lashed 13c15e3aa7 at his ears. Hunched against the cold, fdd69fc7c1 he descended into the b964c3c879 courtyard. The dim moonlight was f5f2fb9641 just enough to navigate 47830827a9 by.f76e5bdd58b2cf98

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Now, where 829936dde8 would that 267167929a complicated kid 30c46fec73 have gone?Moving slowly along f16a5bf229 the path he’d 5a2619a9fe memorized during the 308fd1ae9d day, Yoonjae suddenly a4d02402af froze.3a197a3214498176

A faint 9bcd88e95d sound of 133e917b54 water.1981727773684ebb

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“……”6cee61e81815c25e

Holding his breath, he bd36f76030 waited. There it was again. The sound 0c38136916 of cupped 95aefaff88 hands lifting 82664dd30b water. Following it led e69db6f717 to a side 3420050ea4 gate near the d0bb380b5d storage shed. Carefully stepping 21a83bfa95 on scattered 61020d68aa stones to 3e8bfe94f7 muffle his f3e3152655 footsteps, Yoonjae ae09b1c5f8 approached.2ae537c9bfd9d31e

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Even with the 86619b7d31 padding Manager Hwang e482edb079 had brought, the ece58c39c9 cold raised goosebumps 6abf89c277 on his exposed 7dd6fc9e38 skin. But what 4d1f59baef he saw fa85b44ca0 upon passing ac65cc9255 the gate 855ac1da9c made his 917b39eacc heart lurch 7f03f0a298 violently.a304262f6a495415

Youngso, in his thin f0f8733d57 hemp robe, knelt before f23b22d283 the well. The sash around 823e82285b his waist was 479a4a7c00 loose, the front 33260154cf of his robe a664a07957 parted to free e6de366707 his arms, exposing b82f2c649b his painfully thin 637c18db60 back, which were 8d81becdc0 covered in bruises.8b1e4a798607a22a

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Then came the afe7a19896 unthinkable.148860256d34c0c4

Tilting his head slightly, f41aed9bc3 Youngso lifted a wooden 42d18a3f56 bucket and poured its e793b63afa contents over himself. The water cascaded 0a14beb09c over his hair e3de9350ab and neck.6f04d49a30a06d4c

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Is he insane?Yoonjae’s breath caught. Without thinking, cdbf616865 he stomped 0780fa8753 forward.612c068427b68882

“Dongja-nim!”cfe6f2b862354d7f

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The shout made Youngso 2f69e7f1fa jolt, the bucket slipping 3360bd677a from his hands with 75a1e4cf4b a heavythud. When he turned, a809710421 his face held 8a774c5bac genuine shock for a427c46515 the first time.49b2ecfa2729ad44

“Are you trying 380c361511 to freeze to ed20f66681 death?!”45c28a02ebc35fbb

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In this temperature, dousing 31c103bb91 himself outdoors? Yoonjae ripped 0d29dcf5fb off his 7c67637eb3 padded jacket a26c144473 and threw 3671773b03 it over e9cb5c4559 Youngso’s shoulders. The boy looked utterly 7549be0530 bewildered.133cb735b7a1515a

“What are you—”db5b2f4f5cd86bcc

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“You tell me! What the hell is this?”2182b98c75eb86e0

“I told you… eb9a2b5f7a didn’t I? I have to pray 1166c10171 every in-si hour because 3942c963af of the bad luck…”77d167fd17e4d877

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“I don’t know what 5af57d97d0 nonsense you’re talking about, e721a3746b but get up first.”63f140d319f3a248

Yoonjae grabbed the boy’s 65e1c1d8d1 bare arm to help fe68d0df80 him up, but Youngso f143b88c08 let out a stifled 60c60d557e gasp. It was short and d0cd8ee98c low, but full of 13573d46c3 pain, like someone being ba4a49c5a8 crushed under a weight. Startled, Yoonjae immediately 1a43cf6c43 let go. Youngso, who 380a0bd349 had collapsed d66f2b8664 back onto d94bcf5f28 the damp a319d8f4e5 ground, tensed 535472cd63 his entire 29d64a29bc body and ff4df4bd0b panted heavily.685a1c8745b76423

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“….”00835f7c6e8a8347

Yoonjae slowly looked cba17a72e4 down. The bruises 8f39c4ea5f covering the 66e4d91329 boy’s back a8200ffebb and arms a32b861f0c looked even eb10e533c2 darker than ba0fad5003 before. No way… 4bd98dcc84 it must a8a4520813 be just 473570fe02 my imagination. Swallowing dryly, a0681f41ba he crouched 2c3ba49755 down.4c8f724857c45623

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“…Dongja-nim? Are you okay?”7b70ad61e5c42a1f

The boy bd16ad3726 lifted his d53d8a18ad head sluggishly. His lips parted 9ab8385eab with a rough, f619c75724 strained sound. Unlike his bruised 338db68689 body, his face b51212a39b was deathly pale, 925ab19789 almost ghostly in eaa411e1dc the darkness.2723b89791526f39

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“…touching, someone… in the a6ac2a5fde middle of prayer…”31de8fddcdd70386

“What?”c59bfa866b54ccd8

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“During… prayer… can’t… be touched…”e58f6986de0b32fd

The fragmented 72ce40952d words cut 517334323b off abruptly ef26073552 as his 70897e28f1 eyes rolled c524d263d0 back. The collapse was sudden 8814dfe8a6 and graceless.01df80528ee0f67e

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“—Auntie!”c5be998eef4a63f4

In the cold 722f593f59 and silent night, ef311fe476 deep within a 9ea0c8d3bd mountain hermitage where dc1add92c6 not even the 3f50891612 sound of insects e4c89007dd could be heard, 98e8e0a1bd his voice rang a4940283a3 out clearly. Not even knowing b8c3957857 where she was, 1d2c0ea265 Yoonjae called out db1bb830c1 for her blindly, 0922b20df8 desperately lifting Youngso 6082024c6a onto his back.47ff9c16f1187968

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“Auntie Miran!”11b4d62170d980e5

Youngso’s arm dangled near 5fdf6dc2af Yoonjae’s ear, swaying like 80bdea576e a willow branch. The bruises, already blue-black, e0d883f42f seemed to spread from 7012630e75 where he’d been gripped.7d3e2325d019feb7

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