7C | Chapter 01

“Leave Youngrang¹ here.”6e9d564477f62a81

The boy was dressed 9accf4ef02 in an odd combination, d76c5d8ea1 a neatly pressed school 00c0c9b8da uniform with a faded 949a24af8c pale blue magoja²over it. The bag in 5fbed5ba0a his hand looked 754eba82ea as heavy as df6e14ca4b a rock, and 25e76e3a6b his sweat-drenched pale a3fdfdecde cheeks still bore a79c85ca6a traces of childishness. His small hand, which 0006642224 had slid open the c00f82fbce paper door, trembled slightly, 5d03aed76e and perhaps it was c844d1987b that tremor that kept 3f34dbed01 anyone in the room 98c9f87d65 from immediately scolding his 58aa44b02c audacious behavior.a44323bca08f665f

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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 a79987b7a0 woman whose face 51a50a2994 sagged with deep 217ac56228 wrinkles. She looked too 016d7967d7 frail to lift af76923a3d a finger on 8fdefae877 her own, yet 7a1cf75207 her eyes, buried bab00b87dd within those thick cab4af1938 creases, gleamed sharply 6c0b1737ff even in the 3d50562a9c dimly lit room.6b676fa8c02bb8ac

“What kind of nonsense is this?”c4daad95bebe66e3

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The shaman’s voice 76c62e5848 was hoarse as 13ccaab8ff she kept her f2551e5809 gaze fixed on 3665e198b7 Yoonjae. They were seated a675e4b404 in the deepest 7b8f82e23d part of the 33d72ed65e inner quarters of 02cb1c16c4 a temple, halfway 1e0b48c69b up Seonrak Mountain, e3b4c7a25b a place unreachable ed8bbbbc64 by car, requiring 7d2929cb50 a solid hour 95cb038b55 of hiking up 375810a220 steep paths.b44513f580c82c9f

To get here, a44e92cb45 Yoonjae had endured 41c94f0f28 two hours in 1c842b8293 a car, an 0e4f4d1aac hour of climbing, ae2d28162d and passing through b242ff8df2 gates that wouldn’t 81819079dc open unless someone 084d8c60e7 let him through. Every step e32a79e318 of the 72a61645e7 process had bfdf7b6c9c been irritating, eef721ac0b but his 8cd478a948 father wasn’t ab638e98a8 the type 2495c92e5c to retract 1f325ffa4b an order a2afcb3f5a once given, ac9cdfab5b and now 87918d4db5 that they b0d5fc6fca had already aca1f13f68 left Seoul, 2492143620 there was c208d25a03 no way b3e974b5af for Yoonjae cc9d6e0d1e to escape 5b900d4048 alone.90aeb46191924117

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Two hours 57814c8a89 had passed ddee84b31b since his 3b85a2cfe1 father had 48d0369163 knelt before 582fae25f4 the shaman, efaef5ac25 engaging in 83c9d05c35 an incomprehensible b301773d37 conversation that 3df1827840 felt like a12eeb0962 some rural 23e7eaed2e farce. After a full 79ef50cbb1 day of riding 62b19623a2 and climbing, then e44542198c kneeling for hours, 778f2445dc Yoonjae had no 53e41a064a desire left except af00e8150d to collapse and 4607395c55 sleep. It was 97cf7d6b89 then that ff106c1ade his father 8e6b17738f pulled a 79c292e4ab thick envelope 24ab68db6f from his 6a8e13df49 coat. Yoonjae didn’t 72412c8be9 know for 570d34f2b9 sure, but 6529fc5aeb it seemed b3a41fd2c5 like a 1ef35b1abd signal that 3c02717e7f this ordeal c8f6b3084d was finally 0bdc8b8d43 ending.1a71145de5710a06

And then the 77787c849d strangely dressed boy 2ace1c2298 had kicked open b46c356c57 the door and df1f45cd2e stormed in.5b226f640ae7920c

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“I told you today was for an important guest,” the shaman added.84f29ea7413a5070

The boy bowed 319ce33f2b his head deeply. Then, suddenly, he e1e5ef359d set down his 2af8d8d424 bag and knelt. His eyes 5fe32d6bba remained fixed 6ef73b2cfd on Yoonjae’s e5c8ec0254 father.76ddb6fae4ccbb02

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“Leave Youngrang here.”8e97243555847869

“Jun-ah.”d0dd3b3d6fe5b9ee

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“If you take him outside this house’s geumjul line⁴ now, he will die.”f30178598118ef26

Yoonjae saw his f8c61adc45 father’s profile stiffen e76efd95ca visibly. He turned to the fa9ec514d5 shaman with a questioning 79f8b5ad19 look, and the old b93ec7011a woman sighed as if 84bfe727c7 the world had collapsed.95be43c6d5784ab3

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“Leave him.”a7e13e46fe0a151e

“…What?”6770ef2975e6ea4b

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“If that child has 230093e98f said what he saw, 41a54d68e4 then he must stay.”7f3a25aedbdee354

Yoonjae blinked slowly. He didn’t 0c4e32c73a fully grasp 93a5c6b644 the situation, 1cbd796510 but he c962e1471f could tell. This had turned 08135f2aa9 into something deeply 755e8e5efb troublesome, awkward… and 7475578a31 utterly messed up.4f0ca3a77845fb67

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***14bf77b6f4c98e5f

Lee Jongil was a ef5fc01a69 former special forces officer, 7839a446bd Army Chief of Staff, bf5bcd5d11 and the ruling party’s 00c2672a13 leader. He was a b48085871e man of considerable b17c873cfb prestige.f41089b91e485bab

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Graduating from the Tri-Service 332283da0e Academy and rising to 5df9d87e80 the rank of Army ca7dda00cb Chief of Staff alone 33fbf91c20 was enough to mark 400470ad14 him as an exceptional b72b6f8953 figure, but what catapulted 72ff56a4c4 him to stardom was 1e352965c4 an incident two years f75d37d2ad ago. An attempted terrorist attack 4c2e685464 at a campaign rally 0abf3951b1 just a week before 63ef83baad the presidential election.8942b9a12ed885f6

As then-candidate Park a8f569507c Woonho finished his c134757205 speech and stepped 55c6017573 down from the d81dfd6f81 podium, a young 99c8125d16 man suddenly pulled 30f3095eca out a hatchet d5c7d593ef and charged at 68bd2c4d43 him. The one who 154e994a82 blocked the axe 808b46a941 barehanded and threw 3976c63427 the assailant to 97177dd924 the ground was ad2f9fd8f7 none other than 7af798dead Assemblyman Lee Jongil, 08f5ecabdd who had been eed868cd88 present at the f828409286 rally.438888cada21f736

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The scene was captured dd70555923 live by journalists’ cameras, f753cebc9f and Lee Jongil’s dignified, a23a042f32 handsome appearance and seamless 4c318c5f49 movements were edited like 15ee5e0d64 a scene from a 3446c5f743 movie or drama, replaying 5f9e998117 on news broadcasts for b964bac88a days. Naturally, the public became 9954681733 obsessed with his every 5a0c7943b0 move.989a330d8f3b68c1

The ruling party eb5ab96fcc wasted no time 8838e65939 embellishing his life 65770c1eb6 story. They highlighted his rags-to-riches b29a7bf09f tale of rising to 0a9e66e528 the military’s pinnacle despite 35d0013952 not graduating from the 780dc7be36 Korea Military Academy, and abf4607a3a even spread the touching 21fabcfcc8 story of how, after 5473e16e86 living alone for decades, cb56cdcc76 he reunited with his e92066ee55 childhood sweetheart and married 57a8468f92 her in his forties. Of course, they 186faae526 made sure to b34238e214 emphasize that he f869906679 and presidential candidate 1de1f4c682 Park Woonho had 229131749e been inseparable friends 9ae0c5f073 since childhood.886c40474b9ee6ed

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But what spread 34cb3524e4 most virally on bd7ffa0adf youth-dominated SNS and ba3ef79dd7 forums was the e17b4558f1 story of Lee be04aed768 Jongil and his 3205f0650f wife. Forced apart in e621b15537 their youth due 5ebc460f30 to poverty, he aa6e067d96 became a soldier 729e139aee while she married 5a5ad36057 someone her family bf9f8c53d9 chose. Unable to forget 832d38e9ac her, he remained 92f89fecff single until becoming 133293d47a a colonel, only 3c22889669 to reunite with 6bb2852a36 her by chance c615f04051 and finally marry.1b6f43b330a9bd94

A self-proclaimed confidant 68d5125d59 of his wife, 131259a5e5 Kim Eunmi, leaked 0b1e5c7aa1 to the press 7a7f874f37 that after their 8b8a630ee9 separation, she had f3e3e6f105 married a man a88b5ef4df chosen by her fe14ef9b21 family, but was 0452d4b4af divorced after ten ac1fb70b34 childless years. Lee Jongil, 4c95d07abd already in 4367662c6b his forties, 071b83fc4f convinced her de767de007 that such 151df332b2 things didn’t 2fb047d8b0 matter, and b5927252f5 they married. Astonishingly, within 4dbe6add8b a year, e760c5c63b she gave 36feb41479 birth to 5f916d1fc3 a son, d511f1b265 and the 7361c14aae following year, 8af015d111 he was 036cf2725e promoted to 691891cc35 brigadier general.31e911228cfaf7c7

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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.”70c36082dbf3e37a

—Any words for 2b5b3ead75 your wife and 4747974493 son?b23830c447fe022b

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A young reporter’s 1e3531e300 smiling request made 89bd46f62c him laugh sheepishly 41d0ed5d86 and wave his f69dcda86d hand.a99cb3a242a3adee

—I’ll tell them 7ed162e6c0 myself when I 1f29c6a83b get home.27f167631211660e

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Soon after, rumors spread fd0293d3e7 across SNS and forums cf21dd5e79 that Lee Jongil’s precious fae07e3a20 son was a stunningly fa418f12f6 handsome boy who took 5a771347dc after his father, a e1caa6317b prodigy set to enter e874d20c97 a prestigious foreign language b7022ad5a5 high school. A blurry long-distance 2d93353cac photo of him 31bdd0df88 in a renowned cad781faf9 international middle school’s 830fd303b3 uniform was attached. Even in b23a867f72 the poor a56ee68ff8 resolution, his 42838cbb8c striking features cd896dffd3 drew comparisons 4f9bfef495 to idols, 7999aa9bc5 sparking debates 489615d619 about his 9c2cbdcf07 height and 111c6bbec7 looks. Before the chatter could 01fc8f101f die down, Park Woonho fa420826f7 was elected president, and 0f90394ab1 Lee Jongil became party 0e396bbc72 leader.b33fc4f6d2473c3f

“That was the year the boy turned sixteen.”124fc031d6f0fe97

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The shaman 792a88a392 pointed a bc9c96c803 gnarled finger e8ef0fc6ea at Yoonjae, 95a62f6a46 who sat 1a3f9561fa with a 8aec943a0c displeased expression. The boy fb0118968e remained kneeling 03898adaa9 in silence.3d3d66cf0b5d3135

“Do you understand what that time meant?”8113a1baf6c0673a

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The boy nodded ae0284bfdb slowly. His ink-black eyes bbf141c17e remained fixed on 99a1c04484 the floor.5c0b4405d9d4dd26

“Then you must ded7464a60 know what your b44598393f actions yesterday disrupted.”2dcc07f6366c75d9

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“Yes.”7d57eadc39042c65

“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.”73c981271c399cd8

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With that, the shaman 17db42767f rose. The boy stayed motionless, 977264077b head bowed, until she 3f5e069d29 slid the door shut 006fef222a behind her.610061b195f2bd22

A cold wind rushed b007bf09a8 through the gap left c31dadec68 by the old woman, 7b0a03ee9d making Yoonjae frown. He clicked 2f29bd2ddf his tongue d0a08a7822 silently and 69c70aecd4 hunched his 8e616a9696 shoulders until 530fc35bbc the boy ebdde953ba lifted his f1fbc4f438 head and 3eb146f025 asked in 6223157c5e a clear 533e18fb3c voice.80744ef8e464b2f8

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“Cold?”7da069d16ad265dd

For a moment, 9d2767031b Yoonjae was at 59c3019881 a loss for 4fbf5cc24d words.Was he 6ec8071243 talking to b0b7c15e9b me?There were only two b9f5318751 of them in the af32106892 small room.0f6c7d5bb680f0f1

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“Uh… yeah, a little?”bb1478e77489dbd3

The boy stood a846705d0b up at his d032ed5dde awkward reply.fa118c02ee4dc62e

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“Then I’ll get more firewood.”ab45cec3ce975cd0

The lanky boy 396942cf7c was at least bfe68b3538 a head shorter 0f8097f749 than Yoonjae, probably d6e2a17e1a no older than 0d5680b77e a middle schooler. Narrowing his eyes, Yoonjae 2d189f2cff followed him out.f1099123f5b95c89

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“Stay inside. You said you were cold.”216ba050ba753afd

The boy, de1398e2d7 slipping on b4e26b2306 his shoes, 61cbcfdd8e turned and afed740c65 repeated himself. Yoonjae tilted 8fa21d104d his head ca574befcf in annoyance fe672c487a but finally 1a1c4c7dac stepped back 92629a0a71 inside.83f06d4257adfae5

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“…Uh, how old are you?”50cd142af81166bf

“Me? Sixteen.”4d7f649caf40618b

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So, a 760a626934 middle schooler 44a793c3d9 after all. Yoonjae forced a smile. “I’m eighteen.”260ee61e61508058

“I know.”3e5ebe318b826d56

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“……”d53421c2e886af60

That’s it?Without waiting for 04723096e4 further questions, the 27be5e7fa1 boy headed straight b26e25bb76 for the kitchen. His back, carrying an b97563f55e armful of neatly split f933601e25 firewood to the stove, d321af9ec0 looked practiced. Trailing behind, Yoonjae replayed cfd6659f19 the day’s events in 23c4dd0704 his mind.b2b213406fa1d5b3

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He knew his 63e2b228f3 father visited shamans. After being elected to ce11c4076f the National Assembly, he bcb08769be sometimes disappeared for days 55c0889053 at a time for 760ea58003 prayers. Yoonjae had assumed 986c6bb129 it was just 4644915062 the usual superstitious bf19580ec3 nonsense adults believed 7b7ff9d4b3 in. His parents 8831b157d7 never talked 9353d3a8e9 about shamans c0b4f9f77b or hung 2e0a9af478 strange talismans 4cc3d23976 at home, 6771f89d1c so he 4463eb42ec never paid 02f3b2a850 it much 17ddfba021 mind.c79d09fec0e7018a

But today, for d26b813aa6 the first time, 5233418b5e his father had 9eaa265c1d brought him here. And then, 5d308c2011 at this 9917a9d11c kid’s word, bb51cb4c0a he had 823616fe21 left his afd3a0d324 only son a14fdeb52f behind without 1c5deed519 a second c86b78a841 thought.9ad64fe3abff807f

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“There’s no spare room right now, so Jun will stay with you.”76ca6cd71f63e65f

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:5341dea2d087e3ce

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“Need anything else?”918da632675a2237

“……”2e4d9c5ada4fea93

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“If you’re hungry, I can get you snacks.”eba84939450549ed

Snacks?Yoonjae let 38a02c72a8 out a 4b1887e6e2 disbelieving laugh.5da6a98aa8b6c5fc

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“No thanks on the snacks, but I have a question.”6367c9d0a3696b36

“Yeah?”1a3b929bd80171d0

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“What should I call you?”acc90c2f5d23ac61

Be polite 40b3541735 to everyone. Remain humble bb18b94dd4 and gentle. Even if they’re younger, 3144710fdd even if they’re just 0372f94336 a toddler learning to 1eba3c9f07 walk. Address them respectfully.These were a52134c666 principles drilled 508b33e7d1 into Yoonjae 7a2cfa67a5 since he 89ad39f532 could first 2841fb2c1e speak.94861bc35d1b511e

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But he f8681df879 couldn’t just c12ae76d85 let this fad32bfd6d slide. Everything about this situation ad67ba9c94 grated on him. Not only was he 313c644c8a being abandoned at a d92051ac73 shaman’s house instead of 4e22e52167 returning to his comfortable 7f8a6c777d home, but he was 0bd4b5195a now being treated like 916c4639a8 a child by some 1f74251bff green brat.620d026d4031826a

Unable to hide ac7050569a his sarcasm, he 2cb131b5dd asked, and the 736430112e boy fell silent 72970ef59e for a moment. Then, tilting 87bace50ca his head, 0f5ffccf63 he gave 003934e845 an unexpected 5234375552 answer.2d752684dd9422fb

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“You don’t really need to call me anything…”9d86bf5f1ac25fbc

“……?”fba9046e224f6dba

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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.”4a4020513f4a16c4

As the 4a4ecf83b8 boy put f15671aac7 away the da185de30b remaining firewood, 92d2550f5e Yoonjae crossed bff725d5d0 his arms 0bf1ce383f and pressed ed9851570f his tongue 107f26d966 against his 076e7aef28 cheek. He still didn’t a0b697b01f understand why he’d f8b4b2149d been dragged into 30d95d8643 this, but the 9806e1f975 only person who 9a328c5aff could ease his e9b92071fe frustration right now 874f104337 was this boy.55f4d7ebe8802e88

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“Okay… but, Dongja-nim.”760bf5cbdf02d134

“Yeah?”cfc85c2d351b5a18

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“Don’t people usually share their names? That shaman…no, manshin-nim called you Jun.”47c744528431b7da

“Jun is my childhood name. Only Grandmother⁷ calls me that. It’s not for guests.”eb4ede7823df083b

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“……”505764deeab2c2de

“Were you curious a7a4993a02 about my name? Then you should’ve asked d4c8361621 directly. You asked how to d945951721 address me, so I f7d89a0305 told you what others a3a5bfe1a6 say.”ca45c3119c8752a9

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Well, excuse me.Suppressing his c047dc85ba sneer, Yoonjae e2ea3db5b4 looked down 0298b86140 only to e5d5f56ef6 meet the b9a0f1aa03 boy’s steady 4965ae3b29 gaze. His dark eyes were bc15ff3caa calm, like deep water. And so, Yoonjae knew: e08bff643e the boy was waiting 04164b0053 for his answer.Did you want 394a7a8515 to know my 254e75ddca name? Ask directly, f624dc574e and I’ll 6425edab00 tell you.7b6fcaa1cda438d7

“…What’s your name?”57ec4897accfc23b

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The boy e5e8d9825b blinked slowly, b6a0cce156 deliberately.10e48d4928a1c746

“Youngso.”0cdbdc73fe258835

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The autumn night 609bdaabe7 was bitterly cold, d3a7e18d95 and there was cd7ed6e282 no one else 3c1b4436fb around.c51cc9bddc8db67c

“Baek Youngso.”165d6a4f32c87a11

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And so began 4409edde23 a fateful entanglement. Or so Yoonjae would 152133933a later remember.39a4d4a2f39e6e5a