7C | Chapter 01

“Leave Youngrang¹ here.”d43193c9e03143e3

The boy was dressed 431ffe4a49 in an odd combination, d12fbbad7a a neatly pressed school 3fdbc0ff0f uniform with a faded feb52594dc pale blue magoja²over it. The bag in bd9b06d18f his hand looked 44d605ee5e as heavy as a5dcdfba09 a rock, and 36486766b5 his sweat-drenched pale 852223c4af cheeks still bore 3b792813db traces of childishness. His small a7312607cc hand, which 5d97eb8da5 had slid 499f87a6b0 open the 0f7de4b247 paper door, 203136e862 trembled slightly, fa0e562027 and perhaps ad9214d4dd it was e87bb02ed6 that tremor 9168977f5d that kept 306edd47be anyone in c86f0dfbf1 the room 899ed1409b from immediately d80d45f92d scolding his ced9bb4512 audacious behavior.e4c57c1969720983

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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 527b90e043 whose face sagged with 60e9edf340 deep wrinkles. She looked 17f71f3745 too frail 5b1431af15 to lift 045f462ad4 a finger a2490c17ae on her f1593819b4 own, yet 183cc058eb her eyes, c55416f568 buried within 9cad196e6a those thick bafaf1e2d1 creases, gleamed 6d67891fde sharply even ac35487eea in the e91e388525 dimly lit 041c8d0c64 room.8003cb63adddb746

“What kind of nonsense is this?”8c951689ed238fcf

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The shaman’s voice ead8ac2fac was hoarse as 91fc7df5c8 she kept her 505ddf9b16 gaze fixed on b0be2e85f1 Yoonjae. They were 38ef7f1545 seated in f3eef26bb8 the deepest ec40f01ddf part of 86f2d40f66 the inner be65dc35d7 quarters of bd06c5706d a temple, 038a0f555d halfway up dd0f9c98b7 Seonrak Mountain, 2c1eafc3c8 a place 9f40f45234 unreachable by c1adefbac0 car, requiring 8afc74f1bf a solid de1cd22085 hour of 70b68bc085 hiking up 5d35f54b17 steep paths.30205b9c0ac4fd20

To get 5d2451d9a4 here, Yoonjae dde8c8f0ba had endured a69866da47 two hours 8c5c484639 in a 84088b8080 car, an 8d64f44118 hour of 36742b198c climbing, and 4b09261b89 passing through 5af3d0c7ff gates that 3db4e17a17 wouldn’t open a1be6440be unless someone 4b5a1bf17f let him 7fe6f0a954 through. Every step of the a9d5ce9c95 process had been irritating, 450e32ed3e but his father wasn’t e0ee634f9e the type to retract fef78e21b3 an order once given, fc0a2748ad and now that they c5c935a95a had already left Seoul, 5c4890715c there was no way b1061d1a3d for Yoonjae to escape c47b3291dc alone.9d41c0e084095e35

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Two hours 18351b96cf had passed 64513a42f0 since his f9e765263e father had 03561fa328 knelt before ab9144d650 the shaman, b790091521 engaging in 75516f2071 an incomprehensible 00f19f8b15 conversation that 3e1eb6fa2e felt like 2bd3252517 some rural 5e3600af27 farce. After a f19ea20b79 full day 7ea6a305f8 of riding 6279ffabde and climbing, b2d33c5843 then kneeling e1a25ebe6a for hours, 1e5b635197 Yoonjae had fda5fe2fb8 no desire ece96fe1c0 left except 7c6aee216c to collapse dcdb0c1cec and sleep. It was then that 04b5af2208 his father pulled a d4b1b90a2c thick envelope from his c48b5cfe6b coat. Yoonjae didn’t 6331ba598f know for 6e31550d7d sure, but 7d43eb216e it seemed 6ba26e5dee like a 74d06cedb9 signal that b87a0e50ed this ordeal 0bca1d67e5 was finally 0e67a1d40e ending.74749e9c5a0e081b

And then the strangely b101bf894d dressed boy had kicked 57554cba8b open the door and 4160dc8f8f stormed in.5ff73754e9ebafe5

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“I told you today was for an important guest,” the shaman added.bc3ed00b2c93ffc9

The boy bowed his e400033d96 head deeply. Then, suddenly, he set fee2d3892d down his bag and ad9f50583f knelt. His eyes remained 45554c6473 fixed on Yoonjae’s 0f87abeb42 father.d22b702d10334675

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“Leave Youngrang here.”900d8ca15b364cb8

“Jun-ah.”dc33cf04d94b8d3f

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“If you take him outside this house’s geumjul line⁴ now, he will die.”d3aa5dfe5a4e43b7

Yoonjae saw his father’s c49d045374 profile stiffen visibly. He turned to 103d3c5f21 the shaman with e61b9bf514 a questioning look, b0237c1870 and the old b936ae32a1 woman sighed as 985c58a82d if the world aecb08a704 had collapsed.e0e4ce6b794d98f3

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“Leave him.”377c9f6fb57e935b

“…What?”5a1f4f1673188fbf

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“If that child 56b2890681 has said what e463e53946 he saw, then 093e140918 he must stay.”90b7428c24520b64

Yoonjae blinked slowly. He didn’t d5f87c2e21 fully grasp 483e07f708 the situation, ec9e955609 but he 84f603f0f0 could tell. This had turned into 25b08f7662 something deeply troublesome, awkward… b598ec902b and utterly messed up.5f7faa2003af9e82

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***c981537bc3ffab04

Lee Jongil was 3bf9aa53fb a former special fc06a07408 forces officer, Army d9ddd64998 Chief of Staff, 4c820b1e9b and the ruling 8b6357cd45 party’s leader. He was a man 363c9ba6b3 of considerable prestige.b99bb44390be43db

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Graduating from the Tri-Service eceaf3d036 Academy and rising to 6f5f4b02df the rank of Army c9ad78936b Chief of Staff alone 4091711936 was enough to mark 20b88b9005 him as an exceptional b4f228db72 figure, but what catapulted 41b79404e7 him to stardom was b63c0dd900 an incident two years bbd2600ea1 ago. An attempted terrorist d64d0e6a10 attack at a f401cfc91c campaign rally just bf094aa4e8 a week before d500f2c425 the presidential election.d8b6ece50486faa6

As then-candidate a6520b7438 Park Woonho a305820316 finished his 4c027ed05d speech and ade5e749e2 stepped down 83b39f81f0 from the b826157237 podium, a b3f91c0ba9 young man 6cd18dec16 suddenly pulled d268db2abb out a a721d26aec hatchet and f9368d5bea charged at b1c155930a him. The one who 24da8bb654 blocked the axe 9ae9f1c84e barehanded and threw d619736ec3 the assailant to 0c02b5b77b the ground was 0ad2376f14 none other than 56413b2233 Assemblyman Lee Jongil, ff3ee69bc3 who had been 63e21fdbc8 present at the 34dd29a8d1 rally.9fc4c88173bcf586

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The scene 67b3b120d5 was captured 2c29e7b6f3 live by e90272fc37 journalists’ cameras, c73c2e1d49 and Lee 0c5d5a10f3 Jongil’s dignified, 00abb3a547 handsome appearance 8dad2d2847 and seamless 68c779ec97 movements were 29d2be8102 edited like 0ac45b61b5 a scene eb27f5a4a5 from a 4a442ae11a movie or 82e4bed9a2 drama, replaying 88d735b915 on news f64d3e3ede broadcasts for 0582a62251 days. Naturally, the 7e7e396948 public became 7ecbf5a40a obsessed with 08866f9cd8 his every 802eea4c84 move.4c4fdd066c42ca14

The ruling party 0f8fe83eb0 wasted no time 78abe7b361 embellishing his life 5bf7a5b4d4 story. They highlighted his 13523aa64c rags-to-riches tale of e12524b4dd rising to the 3b9ccc37a2 military’s pinnacle despite 7b956f6cdc not graduating from 915ffeee27 the Korea Military 81a4606ced Academy, and even ecdb001ef1 spread the touching 5ba12a9c06 story of how, 5ab76e3d58 after living alone 73311334d0 for decades, he d7090d542b reunited with his cf407de786 childhood sweetheart and e700878e8b married her in f48e9dd363 his forties. Of course, they 6f58901a4c made sure to e2b324d785 emphasize that he 69ac5f38a4 and presidential candidate e9825b8057 Park Woonho had e0261143e3 been inseparable friends 8f52d1d76a since childhood.eb43f835f8e0407e

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But what spread f7c94c3fd5 most virally on d3aae243f1 youth-dominated SNS and dbfa5b3737 forums was the 799610ccc7 story of Lee f12c39603d Jongil and his fb0b00e676 wife. Forced apart in d64e06b891 their youth due 3e1f9d65dc to poverty, he 016df5df1c became a soldier 4a3fb7dcbf while she married 2527cebef3 someone her family e93e68bde9 chose. Unable to forget her, 4b33d79275 he remained single until e9753884ca becoming a colonel, only fdebb35a9f to reunite with her 8f3bb51aa9 by chance and finally a34d397740 marry.9a4705a87c6b38df

A self-proclaimed confidant of f731f20b1f his wife, Kim Eunmi, d87ad5bdcc leaked to the press 435c43dc85 that after their separation, 89b3eb8d21 she had married a edd7cbbe4e man chosen by her 2f5b96afbb family, but was divorced fcd6f9f8e1 after ten childless years. Lee Jongil, already in 6535d30199 his forties, convinced her 6b6aae11fe that such things didn’t 32adb53c60 matter, and they married. Astonishingly, within a be9f765133 year, she gave 21391aaada birth to a c55075d30a son, and the e767e6f027 following year, he 8fef8361ce was promoted to 09e105dd3b brigadier general.ae5018096474ab26

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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.”8fea3a7301ea327b

—Any words 6eb8d157d5 for your 8df465a8e4 wife and def99cf5d6 son?2c360969cbe0b0ac

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A young reporter’s smiling 92eb6bcc73 request made him laugh b7b604a46f sheepishly and wave his 391bdcfeb7 hand.8f13a915c3f90bac

—I’ll tell them myself 48b5831f08 when I get home.d91b42eebd4b96dd

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Soon after, rumors fbe8e7df03 spread across SNS edd30ebab7 and forums that 470fab8478 Lee Jongil’s precious b98ae60e33 son was a ee9f9fee31 stunningly handsome boy d7f6ba8f3f who took after 3eaa99371f his father, a 3d07e40b8c prodigy set to 0fe9dbb5f7 enter a prestigious e198744544 foreign language high d86d58a877 school. A blurry long-distance 8af42e88dd photo of him 52919434f4 in a renowned 03ad435da3 international middle school’s 5a871fe1bb uniform was attached. Even in the poor 79020f0be8 resolution, his striking features 68c7aae5b9 drew comparisons to idols, d36e9bc69d sparking debates about his 55bd2cc0e7 height and looks. Before the 4b6038907b chatter could e3138ca384 die down, 15a1865b1b Park Woonho cdd3c76b90 was elected 115cc0f41c president, and 7c5edcedde Lee Jongil 319d11096b became party c2fc4f32c9 leader.1b4bb08e845d24c5

“That was the year the boy turned sixteen.”2f1017f6b9f7ae65

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The shaman 9b5d4cfcaa pointed a 255a4b18eb gnarled finger 4af7977605 at Yoonjae, ae5b8710f2 who sat e548a550d3 with a b0b07803a9 displeased expression. The boy remained kneeling cbc4b5a7e9 in silence.3f57dba21c69127f

“Do you understand what that time meant?”0e2b7d52d7a63312

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The boy nodded slowly. His ink-black eyes 7fa4dc8cbb remained fixed on 450b31d9f2 the floor.0e4619efe7434d5b

“Then you af31a4b7dc must know a14bd5eaf9 what your 47ee613e27 actions yesterday 159243f2e9 disrupted.”a851f6cca9603d04

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“Yes.”83e62804dbc5a932

“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.”5abbf54916c5cc02

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With that, 91d634c318 the shaman 240e645f6b rose. The boy stayed 921fd9fff1 motionless, head bowed, 762da38992 until she slid df6a78aedf the door shut afdfe86768 behind her.50f552fd5115c546

A cold b5689c73e2 wind rushed cb2f91ff3d through the 94d51f33f2 gap left b6ec78d3c7 by the 344cc2a525 old woman, 49c8992ff9 making Yoonjae 30068b20ed frown. He clicked his tongue 2a29e9e003 silently and hunched his 1a1d4cda94 shoulders until the boy 6542d401ea lifted his head and 368d2968c0 asked in a clear 987e01b865 voice.6dc8c65bb626260b

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“Cold?”e6feef27e8167f76

For a moment, a3592dab78 Yoonjae was at f53b05b519 a loss for 87f13f5314 words.Was he aa1729ec0a talking to 6007b9ddc9 me?There were only two 3357cc0dd5 of them in the e94fa39b61 small room.9064077c30de6b13

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“Uh… yeah, a little?”22a6eab0edf6ddfd

The boy stood 539cbab2f3 up at his 541b8990d0 awkward reply.0ee8fb4540157b6c

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“Then I’ll get more firewood.”2b04800b88f32999

The lanky boy was edf670d209 at least a head 99c899d8cf shorter than Yoonjae, probably 4a981cc525 no older than a 8d5d8bb9af middle schooler. Narrowing his d2c752ac94 eyes, Yoonjae 15e22db5f8 followed him 240bcfd1e2 out.27e82f33e0c23a72

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“Stay inside. You said you were cold.”310b87b37bca84d9

The boy, slipping on be64397a4a his shoes, turned and 0266073431 repeated himself. Yoonjae tilted f2354e0783 his head b7be990379 in annoyance f4f411cb69 but finally 1e94264590 stepped back 840ff272c2 inside.b2a57da51f2cb39f

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“…Uh, how old are you?”bf0eb5d5422435a9

“Me? Sixteen.”ff23d831da26bf84

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So, a d6a07b91e1 middle schooler 2c552c5638 after all. Yoonjae forced a smile. “I’m eighteen.”1fadff6bb165a9fe

“I know.”5b4211d1ea3dd15f

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“……”7e516702dc20f04a

That’s it?Without waiting 5f58deb23e for further 20939a5150 questions, the 4239179c36 boy headed 84c3b69885 straight for afc4a2cda1 the kitchen. His back, carrying an 54a85fd5bf armful of neatly split b576380cd7 firewood to the stove, 5c4e003809 looked practiced. Trailing behind, Yoonjae replayed 40bce024b7 the day’s events in 2d01f91259 his mind.24b249ee00314a71

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He knew e5ed52075e his father 347dc4519b visited shamans. After being d839733dab elected to 137d14867c the National 7c10badb2d Assembly, he f9868221d8 sometimes disappeared 3752230292 for days 1d3f8d659a at a df7f102b9e time for 3c5ff505b9 prayers. Yoonjae had 915a704242 assumed it fe1338bf9e was just f13b9b1353 the usual 4b12bb49d1 superstitious nonsense 815c4cedfc adults believed 9c09f14923 in. His parents never cca8b7d92d talked about shamans e99b9bd54d or hung strange 47aca5f134 talismans at home, 9ae192935a so he never 58f235b41f paid it much f1c9f02856 mind.5aa4e46c36492f4e

But today, for aa46912517 the first time, 344de9e787 his father had 3229e51dc6 brought him here. And then, at this 9a4452c450 kid’s word, he had 311474b5fa left his only son 9191aac53f behind without a second d71974e283 thought.41aff09644f8a228

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“There’s no spare room right now, so Jun will stay with you.”b853d46c1fab676f

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:a780ae49ab6c304c

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“Need anything else?”ffab6ee9cca9c1f9

“……”5106ba5bdf3ac7bd

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“If you’re hungry, I can get you snacks.”06a9d12727459dcd

Snacks?Yoonjae let out a f29e031ee9 disbelieving laugh.d8c710cb3fd8bd03

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“No thanks on the snacks, but I have a question.”371663a1cae92e1d

“Yeah?”4f4448c00859a984

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“What should I call you?”497b20673ed66807

Be polite cab79d84c9 to everyone. Remain humble and gentle. Even if 51f5ff8f93 they’re younger, 08efaff911 even if f453e36710 they’re just de04745783 a toddler 206b1e1e32 learning to 2391971323 walk. Address them respectfully.These were principles 4c2e5775c0 drilled into Yoonjae 55ab2eed44 since he could 0face9e073 first speak.6e942148c50877d4

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But he 8a28a80dda couldn’t just ec241d576c let this 2c81b1038f slide. Everything about 14d77f192e this situation 28caa5d4c2 grated on d2564adcb0 him. Not only aae99db050 was he f06e538e99 being abandoned 9bcfe497ed at a e784430bae shaman’s house eb18df53d2 instead of c8c89de01b returning to e764fe3daf his comfortable ee6a9b2db4 home, but 9fa3e753d1 he was 2690581453 now being 2cd19969fb treated like 71205013c6 a child fa535ad5e7 by some c292d61f56 green brat.43d7ad78363dfe67

Unable to hide 5e898a5e28 his sarcasm, he e9834c2450 asked, and the 2fb394e293 boy fell silent f09f81c6d6 for a moment. Then, tilting 9f42cded8e his head, 347665b24f he gave 4528284c6e an unexpected 2aaaddbaec answer.1e7ab9779a436639

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“You don’t really need to call me anything…”907ba6f3c7936537

“……?”bba076760a843869

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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.”37d44f0a9a406c87

As the boy put a8393d3cd5 away the remaining firewood, 603fae7e6b Yoonjae crossed his arms 4920f30afb and pressed his tongue b4e715d3c5 against his cheek. He still d42bb022db didn’t understand 5ffb6d4637 why he’d a028ced378 been dragged 45938e70d2 into this, 0b73395b75 but the 7b4973f734 only person 088c447e16 who could e1e0485789 ease his 96faf521c2 frustration right ea024aba54 now was 626ffa9772 this boy.7c083447e9fa9cb7

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“Okay… but, Dongja-nim.”4bc98cd06c2a77e4

“Yeah?”58d5e8948d57d5e8

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“Don’t people usually share their names? That shaman…no, manshin-nim called you Jun.”ec24f8e09af2dd26

“Jun is my childhood name. Only Grandmother⁷ calls me that. It’s not for guests.”a34d87494eaf091e

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“……”8ef3670d6aad5163

“Were you curious about 59fb8edad9 my name? Then you 55748304b0 should’ve asked 35e16c3f23 directly. You asked how 77475b7780 to address me, 15915658be so I told 8891a7e2be you what others 89bae9c5a6 say.”e5ccebc3ca2a76e1

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Well, excuse me.Suppressing his sneer, 3e38bd88a4 Yoonjae looked down 278646596a only to meet 6442580439 the boy’s steady e3664ba8b7 gaze. His dark eyes 42c72e2f17 were calm, like 49f1c1d7f3 deep water. And so, Yoonjae knew: ca385198a2 the boy was waiting c7e309cc5c for his answer.Did you want 07752097e1 to know my b08b2f81c7 name? Ask directly, and 31c49db9af I’ll tell you.ba2d28cd5a76ae6e

“…What’s your name?”671be6bbe315a584

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The boy blinked 7e4b52f11b slowly, deliberately.3e9f2ca822716e4a

“Youngso.”118ea874bcba7341

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The autumn e4139e0027 night was b8fa5c3a67 bitterly cold, 00085dcb89 and there 31ff2d2553 was no 90fea18eaf one else 1c87d1bed6 around.251516b28c1b6191

“Baek Youngso.”858af84b59d0a11c

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And so 229627c9ea began a 4919119cd1 fateful entanglement. Or so 93450c1ff7 Yoonjae would 924158dabb later remember.b4f2a36c40aee560