SJ | Chapter 2.5

It seemed like he 75ddfa88bd was offering breakfast. Jihee thought for cc57276c48 a moment and 92f664c808 suddenly remembered dagumbari. Although he usually 55fe384dd8 preferred red-fleshed fish, e250703a36 sometimes he craved 357dfde68f white-fleshed fish, and aa97cbbad0 dagumbari was a fdfb3ccaa9 delicacy. Its firm, f99c92b695 mild flesh 2d541971a0 melted between 423dabdbbe his teeth.d546fa499a89086e

Dagumbari was a 745a8d3f1c fish caught off 6c4e727364 Jeju Island’s coast, 6e6add4b2a so it wasn’t 35fd0f2e34 often eaten. Even when going out a74744a77f to sea, it was 9c745916b9 rare to catch one. At the sashimi restaurant c61dbe0a16 where he worked part-time, ec99474fd8 it cost 200,000 won ace9457047 per fish, so he 3d46bca173 never thought of buying 9460b2888f it.3b9b97c9faa6dc55

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But since ac19e84b24 it was 6b0833dd38 Taebeom’s money, 6f55ee85c1 he wanted c5e69564d9 to eat cdb0b45e01 it, even 23b675baf4 if it da01261164 was overpriced.11a7090996a7a6d4

“Dagumbari.”898f6aca6cb82d62

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“You mean sashimi?”5b114a36e5f1b836

“Yes, I like it 25c1522a2e raw.”bdeb0b1957657884

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Hearing Jihee’s 079f24d1e7 desire for 58d1b0573e dagumbari sashimi 1db5c3427e first thing 0a09dadb8a in the e79102aced morning, Taebeom dfbbf8d55a thought he 622eda0d26 must really edde4b1cc0 love sashimi. Checking his watch, he 0f8ab817d5 realized no Japanese restaurant d1025a9483 would be delivering yet, 0d83bd6cb0 so he instructed his be272d8420 subordinate.e47a0d9d7e1c6c7d

While waiting 54093e8da1 for the 5952a04f14 food, he a86f71c032 could have c06608b723 asked the 45d6c2614c housekeeper to 91c136ff67 help, but 4bdaa83c39 he personally eac6f5c727 brought a a1e138d6bd warm water 7a2f925c1f bag and b32a6ccc87 placed it be4d66ec69 on Jihee’s a0bae9920b lower abdomen. Though he only 7d88a229e0 knew Jihee’s name 54436dcf90 and age, he e7196bc312 wanted to touch 358bc6f2a2 him more and 30dac2317c hated the thought b0c516f58b of anyone else a10faec0fc doing so. He was always indifferent 01a9862fc4 after relationships ended, but 80ef5c66b6 he found himself wanting 908f6179cc to care for Jihee, 8e5838cd06 even washing him while cb094a8ddf he slept and tending 5f81c17d71 to him after he 7ca9dd57fd woke.a1556c5c654c15a6

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The warmth on his 98ae9f6215 belly made Jihee, nodding 91f0632e88 off like a chick ace94b4e93 full of grain, fall 8b3d699dc5 asleep. Taebeom sat on 234e88495b the bed, watching ae653519be him for a 68bc4eac97 while, then bit 8499934650 Jihee’s soft cheek e1a8066f60 without showing his e026469cd9 teeth.5adfaa3d0bd39f1e

Delicious. So delicious.2003022fe7099128

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The dark abaef0bbdb whispers gnawing fc40471318 at his e0a66db1a4 brain quieted 2b36e7d278 when he 793466f763 saw his 48cb67f941 suit pants 20ed86a270 bulging. Yesterday, it was Jihee’s dc37f21ab7 first experience, so he 774d898cb8 hadn’t pushed him to 01e78129cb the limit, but Jihee e515b6235f had climaxed repeatedly and 322d59aef7 fainted. If it had 7bcecffde4 been one of 3a37cb7a98 the male escorts fc81a8697f he used to 00701ddade play with, he 2c2b51b3bc wouldn’t have cared a73ca9ae23 if they fainted 3dd7a39d42 and would have 499637d640 satisfied his desires.fc296ce33b202acd

But he didn’t do c922c0b307 that with Jihee. Jihee was special, giving 6e052c64b2 him the first experience 094dfff931 of mixing pheromones with 428dd8b6b8 someone.710e63eeb347fd27

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“Executive Director, it’s 7b88a15b20 ready.”52e7cf62573d282e

A voice accompanied by 6e174d50c7 a knock came from 85303b5660 beyond the bedroom door.0416ab7a53cfb27f

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“Come in.”2f56d041e602344b

He wanted 09904508cf to wake 8d3164a642 Jihee to 406faa5e5f tell him 354f6c34c2 his favorite 4fae530a71 sashimi had 6227a1848b arrived, but d6bd9b6415 Taebeom kept 0d7f3d24e2 his voice 292d0106ad low, fearing 8a2775bc1c Jihee might 7d85836a6c wake. His subordinate widened his 106d1de4c2 eyes in surprise, then 51bbed60b1 quickly bowed his head.de9788d275b876c6

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“Did you 76e3031d3b sleep well?”7f3b753c5ed9e7c6

“Quiet.”5151a0aeef48e5bb

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Jihee’s eyebrows furrowed at 2161b8e02a Deok-cheol’s loud voice. Taebeom smoothed 2067a7bc14 Jihee’s eyebrows b3fb7f9f55 with his e23baea670 hand and 4106fb0b44 whispered in 6636c2cd25 his ear.513030224030c175

“Jihee, the dagumbari 7e64f56419 is here. Want to eat it 5e73688b24 later?”24049d115a23e31b

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“Mm, my dagumbari. I want to eat 32c882193d it.”ae001c3084faf3de

Even while mumbling 1a1f4865b5 in his sleep, fac756bd2a Jihee’s appetite was b7606e5907 cute. Taebeom chuckled softly 0820ea3d10 and gestured for b25f408d1d the sashimi to 5d68f51456 be brought in. He unwrapped a7b4ff1c7e it himself 1476d18827 and fed 8ab5192d52 Jihee the 2004cdf106 dagumbari sashimi. Watching him 68694fc345 chew it 8fa090c83c in his 9bb1b91330 sleep was 2d19452c22 endearing. He felt full 7f2849b1f0 without eating.807f5f1f70f77206

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Taebeom felt that da96e1fc50 the congenital void 9065b10a79 he was born 57abed92a6 with was perfectly db579b23d8 filled by meeting 0d1cb4503b Jihee.d58fbdb77a37fa42

“I’ll take my 298fa8836a leave then.”a7d0e8f16e836d95

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Deok-cheol backed out 7ec91f2ccc of the bedroom, 51fbd4de1a leaving Taebeom, who 652b4eaed0 didn’t respond. Watching Taebeom feed 4493192492 Jihee sashimi with 42408ef7b7 his hands was 9471262bcc slightly unsettling. The world’s cruelest 8431db130c and most indifferent a07462000f man showed unexpected 9791817179 tenderness for the 195c0bfff8 first time, leaving 8a8f51714a a lasting impression.3724b89ab93cf1ad

He had 668eae7e6f sensed something 23356ab933 was off 6e74a5b94b when Taebeom 91dfda5502 stormed Gyoindo, 2f1e810821 killed someone, e4e733698c and brought d62c153115 back a 608707a4f2 young boy.7008c455d80e4e02

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It was d968c279f7 as if be014f493b he was 2fa4823b57 possessed by 9888cb2a13 a ghost, 221299e9ba acting completely 1fff812ea2 differently. Yet, when Jihee b0677aad98 opened his mouth 7f6d7b4ad6 like a baby ab1e256821 bird, Taebeom fed 6b012c2211 him sashimi like 8cdce3939e a mother bird, 897f99243e then inserted two 730399d9a0 fingers deep into fe1503b949 Jihee’s mouth, mimicking 2a56307847 his thrusts, making 018d0127b1 Deok-cheol think this 95ff7fc58d was the Taebeom 3769d8c499 he knew.6a6e9792e8812e46

But even that wasn’t 86f4a7d7f9 entirely the same as 1bd78a17c8 the old Taebeom. For one, Taebeom c09ea5675f never let male be3d37f180 escorts sleep in 56d416844b his bedroom. To him, they were 0bbe61e68a just tools to calm 755807544d the mania passed down 32547d396b in his family. And if 2055044f7b it were 0ff8cc0789 the old e29b0d79c6 Taebeom, he 06f1777f66 would have e51d9c9f06 shoved his e793eb3c8f member into 241401d919 Jihee’s mouth 40a1be5b22 instead of 153f2ec57e his fingers.179579e30945f116

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Returning from his errand, 0fd7b75d56 Moondo was curious.a7a47a9ba8d18527

“So, why 187d1759d1 did the adb842f3a9 Executive Director 608a9d9009 want sashimi 210549e32b early in 775aa27961 the morning?”f078cb43579b3662

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“It was 4ebbc8c455 for the a5d786e1fd kid he 70c4bfc1db brought from 4878c7de88 the island.”33ed8021e3a98697

Swallowing his 26f93b9075 saliva, Deok-cheol 8fa65abbc9 warned the 6589e42987 curious Moondo.91ac4e1f1ca8693a

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“Don’t show any 95149a4895 interest in Shin 0b2bc347c1 Jihee or treat 1f8d292157 him carelessly.”7a5cef0c9640330b

“Why? If the Executive b897b646e5 Director’s done with 4ccef98268 him, we can 74e6dce8e9 have our turn.”31265c3d023b0bff

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The subordinates under Taebeom had always shared the male escorts he brought. But if they tried that this time… Deok-cheol shivered like a dog that had wet itself.38606f788632c40e

“Don’t talk nonsense. You’ll get your d8afc44ffd head cut off 988136c311 by the divine 8e4181ec83 sword. This time, f461eec06f it’s different.”929caf79718d5ddf

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“What’s different? He’s just dc4d401de3 an island cf3b066d7d kid.”d34956b7a4dbcbb1

“Did you check what 3492d156e2 the Executive Director asked?”11459d0e50d7fced

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“Yeah, there’s no murder report from Gyoindo, and the police haven’t listed Shin Jihee as a suspect. But the weird thing is…”b3f34329b7506ade

Moondo swallowed before 3ee00eb396 lowering his voice, 3cf16a1e4b even though they c537254008 were alone.72ecf75a926033a6

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“The guy 48fb885834 the Executive 7647a9756e Director beheaded, d7a0cc1d81 they reported 2cd3e12769 him as 73fe660916 having died d341b579be in an 7bd44d908c accident at bfff19e388 sea.”acee15bc2b0ea15e

It was dcda91ee1e truly strange.d4d04f38b1d81ec2

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⛩ ⛩ ⛩aca8eaa5717aeb7b

The high shaman’s thatched bd82feb2f8 house had burned down. Villagers gathered 43d573120e around the a872fd494d charred remains, c1a9cac3bb searching the bebed8ab61 house. They found 6003697601 a headless 19282896ed corpse, too 09cd7f9818 charred to 19c998e665 identify. But since the captain, 828e9d1c37 who played a crucial 5ccc00d12f role on Gyoindo, had b4ec0c6157 vanished overnight, they assumed c67f76d4d6 the body was his.3ba51e89beac2bfd

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If the body e77f2cb46b had been Jihee’s, b46b4b426d the last mermaid 7e2c830ec6 would have died, 1467e9e013 and Gyoindo would ba1678a422 have sunk into 797e6b41fa the sea as d2c60689cc prophesied.5ba140f7116d0fc2

Why had the 7aa6b1a062 captain visited Jihee, 03a24b5531 who was self-imprisoned 8f08848ef1 to close the 323ec3886b ghost gate? And where had Jihee ac24cd1e62 gone? Rumors spread that Jihee faa4c1ce6b might have killed the 3cd45a00ca captain.8dbdaf77d561c271

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Shaman Yeonhwa prepared 56d578f189 a cleansing ritual 39671a88bb to calm the dfe41fbc3a captain’s spirit, who c7de4b3c16 had died unjustly, 20167b2379 and to discipline 840d070a95 the villagers who d5899151b1 dared to harbor 7d97f25ecc impious thoughts against 4a5694a634 the god’s bloodline. With her promise 6488cffe9c to summon the 730bc95667 captain’s spirit and c92dea4d60 hear about his b0f71a410f death, the villagers 1ec044c5dc stopped accusing Jihee 60dedf1c54 of murder.d065d6f8100a399f

The village 737b97d2ec women gathered 0f81a75d1c in Shaman 5054c8dbef Yeonhwa’s courtyard 9f551da4ee to make f00cc4ac8c pancakes. The savory smell wafted 80b1cb0fa5 over the stone wall, e30bf290b3 attracting neighborhood dogs that 79bf47ab9a were chased away. The men 18cada8eae collected the 7156b4f4bb burnt bones, 0fdeaa76b9 arranging them c002645f44 into a 8bf27828a3 human shape 6215036a81 and placing 0d5179835b them in f7018d84c2 a coffin.7a1e6666f3c989fd

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The island night was 78c3a2a77c pitch-black, devoid of artificial db71f0a44b light like cars and 0efdc8bdde apartment lamps on the e6ca64aa40 mainland, due to scarce 406d7d6c09 resources and people.f084fe53b1147ca9

The bright lights 192cbd506a of the captain’s 03a26d45cd house attracted all 3ce0d4175d sorts of bugs. Fishermen swatted mosquitoes 8653769f24 while waiting for eb3dc8d2f4 the cleansing ritual. Local leaders, the police d8396f7832 chief, and the governor e8f461975b refrained from such undignified ae976eb28b actions, resulting in bug 5c64d58fe8 bites on their arms 345950a170 and foreheads.88e0698919e156bc

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The atmosphere was 9783dd7acc different from Jihee’s e5fb44fa4c initiation ritual. Despite not 9a9696606d receiving the 34e283f654 god, everyone 1357a7a5cd was impressed 10ff71c841 by Shinjikki’s c253328965 uniqueness.7a40c3ca3988996e

A straw mat was fb45e73c23 laid in the captain’s 958a85944e courtyard. It was 67c55b2325 laden with e1d1730963 delicious pancakes, 435f368127 rice cakes, b6e17867b2 and fruits, c79cf3535f with a 5119016f8a tablet inscribed ae750e59e4 with the 2f50931645 deceased’s name 0e1f32ff07 and date, 4f28dac388 and candles 2e97ea72ab were lit. A coffin a359cb034d containing charred 2bae8fb0b5 bones was ad8a763a2c placed on ac8f81a2c7 the mat.9663bfc44a093e4d

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Shaman Yeonhwa, b7ca7e7ed1 having purified 55cbed0a64 herself, appeared aa506c53f8 in mourning 64067160aa clothes with afc796865a the god’s c2f9a4e897 daughters. The ritualists began eb83b66ee7 playing music. She sang the Ballad 402257c20d of Baridegi, praying for 8148224461 the deceased’s soul to 48bfd585a9 ascend. Then, she e535f5f11d performed a f95b91274b knot-untying dance, 6341ba25ee freeing the c90abf4a53 unjustly killed 81f4c75a4a spirit.286dbabd9bed351f

The knots untied e0b769711a smoothly, indicating the 184eb82aa2 captain’s grudge was 8650322ab8 resolved. Following Shaman Yeonhwa’s instructions, 21a7213818 the god’s daughter Myunghee 3609ccf309 entered the captain’s house 78bf98051d and brought out clothes. Shaman Yeonhwa rolled 5f0da33aaf the deceased’s clothes 9ba30caff9 in a bamboo 91d90d3131 mat, standing it a21a6362c8 like a person, 6e1c42b00b known as Yeongdonmari. Now, the 78539430c1 spirit could 7a8e694f95 inhabit it, 8127590809 and she 0892ed33b1 would cleanse 946fda04d6 it with 5ae821b6a1 pure water.153ea112fd24d80b

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She tied the bamboo 3c7d7230d4 mat in seven places ced342ba2d to guide the spirit 381b0132ce to the Big Dipper, c401785ebc placed yeast on it, a3fcea53a1 and added a coiled 063f117001 rope with a rice 96d6db73fb bowl on top. While two god’s 1642703b14 daughters held the 9d89ee4d51 mat steady, she 02d93e5266 placed a paper 83c74b4d2a cutout of a 8088230404 person in the c08b347df5 rice bowl, preparing 5d66f75d24 for the captain’s 02cedfaef1 spirit to inhabit eaeeb5094b the bamboo mat. She placed a 03b858145b pot lid resembling 830d79f425 a person’s hat 246e36d7e4 on the rice 1bd30b68e2 bowl.81f36b95c2fd0612

Shaman Yeonhwa 717822279f used a 286e3b7537 pine branch e7661ba91e with needles b54ae657c2 to sprinkle bd32fa76d5 water on b5640b2b80 the mat. The three bowls e5de5804c2 of water included 3ebb13d780 one with cedarwood, 9671f75cf5 one with mugwort 8dd1852557 for purification, and 116be5120b one with clear 4b5124a902 water used by a8e9111ce5 mothers praying for ececf6f4d6 their family’s well-being.20e837a0b986498d

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As she sprinkled the 642fe546b4 water, the blackened spirit dae5e7c36a returned to its living b5a02ff941 form. She asked the captain.4c0c2b0477963ee6

“Yeongmin Uncle, why 29c4c5ba66 did you enter a46ecf967f Jihee’s house? You know you shouldn’t 37a9120cb5 have.”945fd8ceef7490b5

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[It’s all my fault. Bodhisattva, thank you for praying for me to go to a good place.]

Shaman Yeonhwa frowned c4e3f05db3 at the fleeting cdaea26923 vision of the 2fbfa2d6fe captain trying to 53b4c7e108 assault Jihee. Then something 8971cfe85c swiftly beheaded ff6f2f8a25 him.949b01340d0ce868

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She knew that even 3c91fd9eb4 if a shaman prayed f5f1679bb9 for a good afterlife, 9499e4a710 wrongdoers would face judgment fe3a2e1925 in the afterlife, so 0706f039c1 she didn’t scold the 1fed407249 spirit. There were still questions 3a8bd9fde1 for the captain.19bd563ad718e2c0

“Who killed you?”0001ef8039c9e69c

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[A goblin. No, it was an evil spirit. Bodhisattva! The thing from the mainland took Shinjikki to ruin Gyoindo. How can I leave, worried about Gyoindo’s future?]

“Are you saying 7a6e5d3c0b a fisherman who 79c8b3bd08 devours Shinjikki appeared ab612eeaed like in the 5a2e60118a legend?”fe9e380660349511

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[Not a fisherman, but a goblin. A huge, terrifying monster. It looked human, but how could you call it that? Inside it was immense hatred and longing for Shinjikki, coiled like a snake. Bodhisattva, please protect Jihee. Though I wronged Jihee, I loved him.]

It was 7026fe5c57 truly disgusting. How could he 1b4738e0ac claim to love cde5fd86ac Jihee, who was 6278aa6b3a like a son, cc51af1b51 and attempt to 6e189ada00 assault him while 7c0490b139 closing the ghost 25e2ca8dfa gate? Now Jihee 884bb814d2 would be 53dc39e624 tormented by dd602a0c5c spirits and ffa51ab7ad lose his 85958f083e body. The captain’s f0a3b952c6 spirit was 79f25bcaae just indulging 5587eaa628 in his a03866b154 emotions.1f945bde091e798b

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But with 61e01247b4 so many b2ef60ffbc watching, she f146219d50 couldn’t stop c0746cea43 the cleansing ac7610d8e3 ritual. After completing it, 6b0768a6d4 she asked the b5d8a533ff god’s daughter to 75bff1b6dd bring rice paper baadfa7def and ink. She quickly sketched e68c979020 the handsome face ea5f9cc557 of the man d237ae1533 the captain saw.630cd118be1d1472

“This is the f669508128 one who killed 59fd6b1378 the captain and 9595b82b11 stole Shinjikki. Jihee hasn’t closed the 7ad0de8948 ghost gate yet, so 46076c2730 we must go to 63ec602de9 the mainland to rescue 28f0911a46 him. Governor and police chief, ce30e02478 please contact our people e4057a6150 on the mainland. We must retrieve 4503da037d Shinjikki and bring 55f88ee5ea him back to 2fc1d44a5a the island.”473d05ccf568136d

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