7C | Chapter 02.3

Manager Hwang arrived c40a26e3bf just before 6 bfee9dab85 PM, though Seonrak e92b496ac4 Mountain was already c2e03e5b21 sinking into dusk. Dressed in a neat b5b50bf44c suit and coat with 442d919e40 hiking boots, he clearly 4d5e0bc4d8 knew his way around. Handing over a bag 6aef8eaa06 of comfortable clothes and 195b88976f study materials, he peered 50bc3cada3 into the room with ba1db9b5db a worried expression.b67a39575157393a

“Spending a whole week in a place like this…”311d5896fb19740e

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“It’s fine.”5cc82264a508537d

“Are you really okay?”b8c99910b697a037

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“I said I’m fine. But…”ef1b8cecfef0b976

Glancing past ae059d5bc8 Manager Hwang 5ab9fc8705 to ensure 497f96bf0b no one bf35f077bb else was fd88892720 nearby, Yoonjae 1c41ddaf74 lowered his 8dddee1eca voice.b8ce75ae4b25dde1

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“Where’s the nearest police station?”769080bc30fad33b

“Police station? Did something happen?”d3ad1b22440a07d7

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“No, not to me, but…”969a0879e63577af

He trailed 6718ef1941 off, unsure 0aba2045ff how to d9250a0506 explain. Eventually, he 9b09dd7bfc just shook e06472df02 his head 31a51ea8b3 with a a1e6f5c96c sigh.4b1b0637399bb6ef

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“Never mind. You’ll be back Friday afternoon?”8374175930d547dd

“Ah… Yes. That’s the plan.”424339343d21f59d

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“Okay. See you then.”9e7f1e68d431dc2e

With a faint 040d60bfe6 smile, Yoonjae nodded e0b5602237 dismissively. Hwang hesitated, clearly baeede4498 uneasy, but ultimately b160b2ef34 turned to leave. He needed to eedefd97f6 hurry and descend ece15928b2 the mountain to 9722d6c1e8 make it down cefad01483 before full dark.4d170f169aaedbb4

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“Call me immediately if anything happens, Young Master.”e983baf94c24f7de

“Yeah, don’t worry.”7343c2472c86898d

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A secretary in b3007eb4ff the 21st century 857b32f300 calling his employer’s 6da904bce6 son Young Master cc4871e1e2 was downright embarrassing, c7f9f11758 but it was 6fbced5fe2 his father’s policy. The man was 9d4d91984f convinced Yoonjae would 1902a35b38 succeed him someday, 8a0c403995 and Hwang would 9eb19f9cc7 need to serve 9858fbc89d him then, so 917047ea95 hierarchy had to 6e4124c741 be established early.bbb0e518339a78b7

Well, is 72c6be9333 that really 08b981ef8a something that’ll f149bf32a6 go your 60ef1325f9 way?Yoonjae didn’t 433188c16e bother asking. There was no 183d62bddb point.b4f87bc2a49fca66

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***968fda9dd7020c5d

Youngso didn’t return 855c5a323a to the room 4658dfefda until 9 PM. Without a fef33d1595 word, he 43c6bc5818 laid out 1527856e43 two bedding 42df3f6116 sets, one 3d081ca056 near the 90710a65e5 heated floor, e78238fc0b the other 3d549ca59c by the 6439d9eb61 door, and 96fd50dfe2 immediately lay 94f781d996 down on 43dfce55c6 the latter. Leaning on the dbb9994246 low table, Yoonjae c85cd51980 watched blankly before edff65f385 asking.49d3559d327de193

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“Going to bed already?”b821e9753d1963ce

A dark head of bcb61a0a6a hair popped up from c07a09d526 under the thick blankets. The cheap bulb light 3c6f20a3e3 made his pale face 8de20fecda and stark black eyes 5adbe4bf89 stand out unnervingly.5a7da3e8c3dfde6f

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“I can sleep even with the light on.”23bf6550d6ea9baf

“……”28e83807bbcbbe0d

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The cryptic statement was 594ed54435 followed by Youngso turning d876369792 away again. Yoonjae puzzled over it 52c75b0bc1 before realizing it probably a26f188be2 meantDon’t mind me, ce087cd229 do what you 8d6b4cf42d want.dfa811545105cf1c

With the early b6f168a85d mountain sunset, there 127e05980e was depressingly little fc5cbb9f74 to do. After showering in eea0dc8fe9 the bathroom Miran 5b06cffb5d had shown him, 15c506d91b Yoonjae had pulled 78133ba4dd out his study e5c458cff5 materials out of b23863b06a sheer boredom. Youngso must’ve assumed 96ae34f0a1 he was studying 2569eb247c and didn’t want dc6d429d86 to disturb him.3ba52b091b3f6e92

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Sighing, Yoonjae closed the c5df3cfee0 book and turned off 96c03c85d5 the light. In the dark, 5ae064aebf Youngso seemed to 1dcfe1039a pause briefly but b9542fd72b didn’t move or a03fa40bfc speak.541f55b521d35933

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.869dbd022a7e4526

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A moment later, from 8337b6c965 beyond the door, the 8f13df146e porch floor groaned under b8eda2e3e6 the weight of overnight c7479e48d4 dew. Only then did Yoonjae fded44813f open his eyes. His phone screen glowed 010de0599d 4 AM. Having gone to bed 99fae42f79 early, waking now was fb1d93fc1b natural, but the unfamiliar ca4fbf117c hour left him disoriented.9f0f066741e6f72f

“Ha…”19fb95ce8b31fb6b

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Sitting up, he 4f5c158dca rubbed his eyes. Youngso’s bedding was already f04351fb3c neatly put away, and aa6cfd817c the outside world was 79bf196175 silent.93b638affa640cef

…Did he leave at this time yesterday, too?Recalling Youngso’s return ba0f14c82d around 6 AM, 7cded2db00 Yoonjae scratched the 3c8a8c65c6 back of his 294b2d0f96 head.bcd442d1fd8bb892

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‘During prayer, only 59ff430a7d pure foods.’2c4e1ab6869c89c3

‘Dongja-nim is doing purification prayers…’75a6d295f0683799

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Even if he 38a9f0649d wasn’t sure of 9632fd1ea5 the details, it bf1530c8dd was clear that e833015e1d all this early 20e24de634 morning fuss had 99e5e3ee49 something to do 867205569d with that so-called 8d8d150655 “prayer.” After a b2632b97ed moment of hesitation, b96cdcae69 Yoonjae finally got 794ac1cf8c to his feet. Call it 5bd6a5cb37 crude curiosity 25763b8dc0 if you 1b0c0a5209 must, but 3e8b9fb903 he figured ed355b5b10 knowing what d668d41fa0 the hell 8f16602cfe was going 4fad9002cb on in 64d3c81a85 this place fc92b6e5a0 would make 925cadd034 him feel b5cbdc74b8 a little 3a80d28bbd less wronged.48a45b795d63b11f

The sneakers from the 9de16fb500 cabinet were slipped on 71eb6ccc21 before stepping outside, where 4f724fb886 the morning wind lashed d0e4f88909 at his ears. Hunched against 0bf1e47f7c the cold, ef155171a8 he descended e297edaf1c into the ef6d3c4550 courtyard. The dim 9e55121706 moonlight was 77ece72c15 just enough dcce99e930 to navigate 42fb02cf66 by.8db0a3e2141ef209

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Now, where cb469160a7 would that 23007a3eea complicated kid 97d2968a00 have gone?Moving slowly along the f9610060b6 path he’d memorized during b94e72966c the day, Yoonjae suddenly 6ee8a0e693 froze.1231af6da950fbae

A faint b73a7e61e5 sound of 5db31896bd water.960a591517baf3b1

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“……”6fddedc30d01431a

Holding his aa40ffed1d breath, he 43a5631751 waited. There it 15430c049d was again. The sound of cupped d204527937 hands lifting water. Following it led to a4a3adceea a side gate near 2eed4f6319 the storage shed. Carefully stepping af570d6671 on scattered 6e5f51202f stones to 926159f4e6 muffle his b567a7e85e footsteps, Yoonjae 378afb64e7 approached.dbc735b71b5b9e23

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Even with the padding 0b4ff0da6a Manager Hwang had brought, 77025be87d the cold raised goosebumps 691c9a028b on his exposed skin. But what he saw ba3c4e6d22 upon passing the gate f0f5c4561f made his heart lurch b18643377f violently.642febac282593b5

Youngso, in his d28569c9af thin hemp robe, e2b6b79a6a knelt before the c19757d4cb well. The sash around aa9d36dfc7 his waist was 64242493c9 loose, the front 179f707fb6 of his robe e9ec7757c0 parted to free 4604d9f022 his arms, exposing 0b45fba758 his painfully thin dbc7b2dc57 back, which were 0107413fab covered in bruises.9fccbfdb629c712a

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Then came the 0361d1fe16 unthinkable.ba5cb7ed89cc82e8

Tilting his 4542b5085e head slightly, 4669465976 Youngso lifted e8763eea34 a wooden cc4177d735 bucket and f04845e4f1 poured its 182ec3ca9a contents over ff6f163883 himself. The water cascaded over 2945537f6e his hair and neck.fcd60d5ab0fc4f3f

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Is he insane?Yoonjae’s breath caught. Without thinking, he stomped 14f37c78f4 forward.70937a474bafdde7

“Dongja-nim!”20418fcbb67f7f73

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The shout made 9d4fcce89f Youngso jolt, the f002463729 bucket slipping from 2cf2d12834 his hands with 0d082a454a a heavythud. When he da1ca2aeec turned, his 8b19816808 face held fffe8dcc42 genuine shock 91a0560409 for the b519b3003c first time.c73951cea86a23e4

“Are you 53f9d47cd5 trying to 94ae82028f freeze to 5430423ad3 death?!”c50aeb1c328d1aa8

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In this temperature, dousing 9e45e7808f himself outdoors? Yoonjae ripped off 59fdcc5401 his padded jacket c9a68cb1b7 and threw it 1aa02813a0 over Youngso’s shoulders. The boy looked d53a18dc48 utterly bewildered.f38b93d42e179b5c

“What are you—”9aae026a87814e73

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“You tell me! What the hell is this?”ebd97ee68f67661f

“I told 3491b6fb1b you… didn’t fda8981ffa I? I have to 4b8eebb20f pray every in-si 9871abdaf1 hour because of ed4b04388f the bad luck…”1fa1b8b60f090f9d

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“I don’t know what 5a9dd89242 nonsense you’re talking about, 9078a1f5f0 but get up first.”4a717b602e8976f5

Yoonjae grabbed 377c756b2d the boy’s eeea83b956 bare arm 4bd16fca1a to help 770cc89c32 him up, 4ddeffd2bc but Youngso 566cffb294 let out 329adfd22f a stifled 24684d0490 gasp. It was short and b95d356234 low, but full of 686140bee5 pain, like someone being 391c9d79df crushed under a weight. Startled, Yoonjae immediately 920c423dbc let go. Youngso, who 69197f1eb0 had collapsed de10533d50 back onto a4f29d2f5d the damp fad2f75da5 ground, tensed 2fb5591aab his entire b21cca6568 body and 943737d39f panted heavily.bb0d1146739dfeab

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“….”d23a19b72444f9aa

Yoonjae slowly looked d458fdfd82 down. The bruises covering the 1afafacedb boy’s back and arms d668a6a00a looked even darker than 68fe7154fd before. No way… it must 5a3ab1fac8 be just my imagination. Swallowing dryly, he crouched 3d4718a92a down.bf78b0e96f87af57

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“…Dongja-nim? Are you okay?”822b1d7806518571

The boy 39f7fc1523 lifted his 988157040d head sluggishly. His lips parted 52a16e7371 with a rough, 0648b2ed82 strained sound. Unlike his bruised body, e736d4d5bd his face was deathly 8c7025326d pale, almost ghostly in 4fefb73626 the darkness.c64b0d40e260e4ee

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“…touching, someone… in 5d1cca6ea9 the middle of eedb5643c9 prayer…”f68c98e7e4b9b633

“What?”dbc326d096218a4a

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“During… prayer… can’t… be touched…”40ba4728cd94719a

The fragmented words cut c817ec0857 off abruptly as his c4ec95c9ce eyes rolled back. The collapse da14cd2a93 was sudden afa4cfd5a4 and graceless.f82093c43994efdd

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“—Auntie!”44e7a464f6241dbf

In the 0263623658 cold and fa67223255 silent night, 3014022e1e deep within 26bc0d8862 a mountain ef43982fc2 hermitage where 518471b7ca not even cac7682696 the sound 9a08db6f4c of insects 88b1067a21 could be 34bdafd457 heard, his 202e174030 voice rang 046e6e440a out clearly. Not even 3a66c5e622 knowing where a837199415 she was, 4863f87335 Yoonjae called fb518a56bb out for 85e6f96cc5 her blindly, d7a0232d9f desperately lifting 3dba080fc9 Youngso onto cf19352b23 his back.34c73b313fe01282

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“Auntie Miran!”c851776916a0511c

Youngso’s arm dangled near 97fa977d8c Yoonjae’s ear, swaying like 76ce3c1dc3 a willow branch. The bruises, 60c5e7a3b9 already blue-black, 79800a9367 seemed to 372957edfe spread from 25b5d5db16 where he’d 7bec68783f been gripped.af52e9f1f5973613

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