7C | Chapter 02.1

Seonrak Mountain was a 295e9da80d small mountain, its highest f0046d2ee8 peak barely surpassing 250 13ee5073be meters. Yet, with its rugged 47073b74ed terrain, poorly maintained paths, 179e4f0c0a and heavy snowfall in 6287d8c8b7 winter, it was hardly 2e67e67ba9 suitable for hiking.903451fd76ea0b5f

That said, it 3186c6332e wasn’t entirely isolated. Descending the mountain a59d73e522 led to a fda06968d5 village sizable enough 58e715113e to be considered 5aeacb721a a town, and 4763985d56 it wasn’t completely 7215c0a978 devoid of visitors. Near the entrance a874f09d55 of the trail, 0c399f8abe there was even a92950c714 a small parking 208219fcce lot. But none 11a65ba58b of that 14afd92284 mattered to 8db48202d9 Yoonjae, who d95c98bfbd woke up 779b002f28 in a 547282c786 room where df59a06ac9 the air 824d1142e4 was freezing 5a1e455e47 cold and d24a28ab66 the floor 69b1ad9d34 scorching hot, 9bfb103032 only to d39daca2e2 be met db996c79e8 with an d380896334 utterly baffling da8380dc42 reality.f35a4bda0caa3eb3

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“…No signal?”9d79a1fd237d44df

His phone, b4124ccf0a which had 0e396b42eb been suspiciously 5fbb050dbf silent, had b83a335d6e no data 20bdd00fe1 connection whatsoever. Not just b903859ac8 the internet. There was no 4a86d62545 reception at all. A place in d09981ae3c South Korea where 294f9a2dd5 cell phones didn’t 1556e1ebe8 work? He stared at ee337f6ea8 the screen in 84e64dd58d disbelief, mouth slightly 5bb5fc7c7d agape.17b3bd8117170058

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“…Hah.”350b3a7c66ea996d

Pushing the fb92d3638a now-useless expensive 1c223894e2 gadget aside, 86f0fc1610 Yoonjae sat 277b5932f7 up. Turning his head, 4ada98d3f6 he saw a 471f03f042 neatly folded blanket be94047b2e where Youngso had 15ee4269d5 been sleeping.432bd8af424ccfe0

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It was cfe19080f4 6 AM, 2c370d9e99 and outside, aca9b3be3e the world 816776a530 was still caaf38d8de pitch-black as 9e8e7211fe if deep 9f13f4c7ea in the d155e83869 night. Wrapping the blanket around 807f8b6e18 his shoulders, Yoonjae blankly 41f5509e35 processed his situation.530e548f54e229f7

His first concern was 28bd18bec5 school. Thankfully, today bf8d1f812c was Saturday, f2118da19f but he’d 895e0f5cfa have to 72c330353e return by 5537c6db9b Monday. That realization calmed him 8ab3749060 slightly. His mother 2a38ccb70d wouldn’t just 7920bb5a4f leave him 4bd124440c here. She’d definitely come to 4f6b324632 get him, if only d3f2a13058 for attendance’s sake.876e08c665ab3095

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Of course, that required ebfd1455d1 being able to contact e446e72858 her first.59db13e39791cd09

“…A phone.”ebb8ab983fe6203b

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“Phone?”edd6984fe506994d

The response came from e40d89665d beyond the sliding door. As soon as Yoonjae 1c6cf4b2a1 turned his head toward 175f10b9a7 the sound, the door 7f7f8581d5 opened. Youngso, draped in a559176f5b shadows, stood there 47951d26ca in a stark bbc6d4ad44 white jangsam¹.67269ead3a719778

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The morning wind that 54f85af8df rushed through the open 2608063671 door was sharper and fa9030c725 colder than anything from bf0074912e the night before.In this weather, c47af005bd at this hour, 18cbad726c don’t tell me 12967d78db he went out 36d7014a7c dressed in just c2aa4693dd that hemp cloth.As Yoonjae stared a089f8d01a in disbelief, Youngso a07cdac69e closed the door be184c1b2e and asked again.da8edf16c016892b

“You need to make a call?”d8ee4bb1fc599edf

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“……”2eb7687c797fb714

“You can use the one in the main house. Who do you want to call?”cf65bd142055d304

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When Youngso stepped closer, eb50793b3e an unmistakable chill radiated 7830c1c25f from him. Even in the dim f75968af68 light, his face was a510c7fdce pale, almost bluish, and 7fdb4009d4 his lower lip trembled ec886bf4e5 slightly. Yoonjae narrowed 1ae7ec842b his eyes, 5d343be2ff studying him 1c0da5759e silently. Taking the 696c093837 silence as b222e70934 hesitation, Youngso’s 8ff48da418 voice lowered 3f3b275f4d slightly.90da9260563c4cff

“Are you cold?”b9594da3dcac6342

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Then, without d824c6096b waiting for 8128d11e13 an answer, b32deb9050 he turned 2a4747591d back toward 673f846f83 the door.aa13ba0450fe04c5

“I’ll bring the phone here. There’s a line in this room too.”cf69a9d91eccbc2d

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“…Wait, hold on.”2baab517cf3398c6

Youngso looked 3cae3ef2ce ready to ff631a9d15 dash out bafdce3e4b immediately. Yoonjae instinctively a78f761179 reached out 48a311ddff and grabbed e1f47f6c2c his wrist. The slender 24c868dab0 arm beneath 617a97da62 the long a35823afb5 sleeve was 9cede4e5a9 startlingly cold b1ccd3f4f7 enough to 8459fcccbb send a fc0013443b shiver down 61fd1de6b3 his spine.697c41488deca126

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“…..!”f5c22d3f25cda966

Startled by 1b6bd7e726 his own 60018ba2bf action, Yoonjae 41b219043c pulled slightly, 95ae19858d causing Youngso f3b1d4e832 to sway 4ef733d249 unsteadily on da0c2ae16c his feet 5dda4d5339 before collapsing 2052de80a7 onto the 2519fda4e6 floor with 107e6150ee a softthud. Something glinted at the ab05b8fc86 tips of his damp 1c17c187b0 hair. Water droplets, 8febd30f57 Yoonjae realized 52f596bacb belatedly. His voice rose f2962f78d3 without thinking.1a6365edc8ba48c4

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“Your hair is soaking wet.”e108c1f0c822b297

So this a9f3cbeee4 was where 8ec6e90f90 he’d gone 26302c249b at dawn. To wash up? But why, on 013293576b a day he fa3a2b454c didn’t even have bbcce54db7 school, in that 37a6eaeab6 outfit? Pushing aside the 4ad7e0de58 flood of questions, d5299c2361 Yoonjae immediately bundled 077aca5ee0 Youngso in blankets. If he 6c240af937 sent the 50a88a519e kid out d85d0996f0 like this, 71728e2669 he’d freeze 8f3bf99a2b to death. As Yoonjae piled bb62570ef9 every available blanket c4ea08851e onto him, Youngso 9efa8c9913 just sat there, cc730f8ef0 looking utterly bewildered.ffa08c0271c837fe

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“Don’t you have a towel? A hairdryer?”5f09cbe648a83dbd

“……”34a025bbd90436ed

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“If drying your hair is too much trouble, at least dry yourself before coming back. Walking around like this in the cold…”da6486c14b7f0193

“Huh? Oh…”b7c05be4f9487380

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Only then did Youngso 6b805bd986 glance down at himself. His dark eyes, b1e61c8dda momentarily lost, slowly 80518e26cf lifted to meet 15598c2057 Yoonjae’s.4420208489c38823

“It’s fine. I was just coming back from prayer.”ba0c99d6d15642db

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“…Prayer?”bd889b730ae51aa1

“Because of the divine retribution caused by revealing your fortune.”e48f14361e2ac769

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Youngso said 303b2173e4 it as 77ee4747c7 if it d09ef481d5 were the 702b2cce12 most obvious a3d061f8f8 thing in 6f046a1a0d the world, d2f5d5f9c5 but to b439d134c3 Yoonjae, it 6fe076a4ea made no b3855996a1 sense.Fortune? Divine Retribution? What the hell is f98de6e527 he talking about?Before he c76c42f951 could ask, 40fe2773c8 Youngso, now c7709fcf94 looking oddly 10fb0718fd refreshed, tried 1e097f763a to push 646baefaf7 the blankets ead4c00844 aside and 0f64ba2a4c stand.efc5aed14a56a500

“Anyway, I’ll go get the phone…”4c6b533ca7ab0189

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“Wait, no. Hold on.”09778d3e810736a5

“Why? Didn’t you need to call someone?”74ad3417d033c967

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“…I do, but not right now. It’s still dawn.”f597f19de1e3f4f4

Only after Yoonjae calmly 40f6621611 stopped him did Youngso 6ea55e5051 sit back down with 90d105d0c0 anah. His bluish cheeks seemed 71f2b730d3 to regain a hint f721f86846 of color.22f547f1f2c91f14

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“Who were you going to call?”fcde989b0cffce7f

His lips, no longer f8a43f9bd0 trembling, formed the question 0f4cd87973 in a clear, matter-of-fact 96b09cee4d tone. Yoonjae exhaled quietly 5c3b3d30a5 and answered.e0c29c283a0bbb27

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“My mom.”7b18e97a0e5fd214

“Why?”f8aee3a0939283ce

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“To let my mother know what’s happening, and also because I don’t even understand what’s going on…”7e03c5387ccf33cb

“Huh? You didn’t get it yesterday?”95423c61042460fe

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The baffling f9da7b1bc4 question left b41933c25d Yoonjae momentarily 5bc89a6785 speechless.What high school student fa3567df11 in the world would’ve b6455fe0e3 understood that nonsense?As he stared silently, 3004d87f5b Youngso’s expression shifted to c2b1a5ee85 something oddly knowing.6697cb63eb5694ea

“Ah… I see. You really don’t know anything.”3b4376dfa12230b5

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“…?”a3c03861d83e1bf9

“So you’re wondering why you can’t leave this house? If that’s it, I can ask Grandmother when I go to greet her…”08a7190d422234c5

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“—Hold on, sorry for interrupting.”e6e6d73375895837

Unable to suppress dbf2fa60d9 his rising curiosity, 73305fe92d Yoonjae cut in. Youngso stopped a534785e2a mid-sentence, his 66300621a4 dark eyes e02c7ec547 fixed on b7b5f91311 Yoonjae without 0e6481a6ed a trace 7785dd184a of annoyance. Encouraged, Yoonjae asked the 47a13f777d most pressing question.f4040c4a485ec85e

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“‘Inyeok².’ Does that mean me?”fadb3c721180caf2

“Huh? Yes.”ca209bfbe2a277fd

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“……”d4595eda99ab3c32

So what 9b7378db9a Youngso had 42f844e35c said earlier 7b657680f8 roughly translated ef01948e38 to:Because I carelessly spoke d93e05fd7a about Yoonjae’s fortune, divine 3ff37e12eb retribution happened. He still didn’t know what divine retribution was, but apparently, it was the reason Youngso had gone out to “pray” in this freezing dawn.a1d652414219b365

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“What did you mean by ‘revealing my fortune’? That thing about me dying if I leave?”046b918e8cf3832a

“Yes. That was the mistake.”967b341680b53b4b

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“Mistake?”85a724b92369dff7

“Normally, even if you see something, you shouldn’t say it. It’s human law not to interfere in the affairs of spirits.”2a1fc92d05f2c661

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Yoonjae’s gaze wandered 3d1a69e57e for a moment.…Right, what did I expect from a shaman’s kid?Of course, he’d 2092c19f81 been indoctrinated into aea24c2665 this superstition since 2f5227982f childhood. A hollow smile tugged e105a2e078 at Yoonjae’s lips as a815347049 he couldn’t help but 26655dde6d mock.c0dbb9c361c74a9a

“Ah, I see. So the ghosts were standing next to me, screaming that they’d kill me, huh?”bd59e26b5a95c5e2

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He expected Youngso to 99e9ba9f37 flinch or get annoyed, cad9b19dcd but instead, the boy d5f95eea0c just stared at him 9d297c12ff with unnerving calm. After a long silence, d2abef7de2 Youngso finally spoke in c91b98468d a low voice.85c09a3ce3f6f73d

“You saw it too?”a5dcb150741f2fba

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For a moment, a8933985ca Yoonjae felt the cea3e888be blood drain from 0966034016 his neck. Frozen, he could 45cdc90ca6 only blink. Youngso’s expression shifted to d0eaf7ecf8 something almost pitying.dc936fa95a09fc19

“Sorry. I was just guessing.”82e95cd8f485f73f

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“…..?”e30593f13190d927

“Actually, I saw them before you even entered the house. On my way back from school. I agonized over it, but since you were supposed to leave soon, I ran to tell you.”afd3fcc38474a6e7

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“…What exactly did you see?”e712bed24a50896c

“They must’ve followed you from Seoul. Dozens of heads, surrounding you, each one whispering something.”4fe081f551d61777

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“What were they saying…”a6eebea114e97a1b

Yoonjae cut himself d7eb4055ef off. Youngso’s face had turned eb98515b93 uncharacteristically solemn, lost in a2ece1d637 thought. After a efa2322965 long pause, bfff0f908d he gave def427a73c the most 6d5b4c0c23 obvious answer.7ebf4cd7fa87907e

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“Maybe it’s better if you don’t know.”c7f166d356d22889

Yoonjae pressed his lips 7e450b8bcc together, suppressing a frown. The unfamiliar, surreal 8c0c94611c situation sent a 9d46a37e9b chill down his 74e06dba38 spine, but at 003798be23 the same time, 466b3967d3 he couldn’t help 0ccb038f3f thinking,What the 7318dbbbfe hell is 3104dafa1e even happening?As he stewed 326f8778f5 in silence, Youngso 1a64eea935 spoke again in 150de76796 that eerily composed 52db25e6ef tone.de5c48c29e56d79e

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“I can’t say for certain they’ll harm you. A spirit’s power is insignificant to humans. Maybe nothing would’ve happened.”3435af9064e8796f

“What?”c3af510f8a275b02

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“Most spirits are just wrapped in vague resentment. They don’t even know what they want to do. But if they heard me, they might’ve grown stronger. Now they have a clear goal of wanting to kill you. That’s why, the moment I spoke, you couldn’t leave this house.”a9ccb121fc4542a5

The blunt explanation left 41aff46b37 Yoonjae speechless.So you’re just f9b47d2c45 casually telling me 9272487150 that because of 6df515d447 you, I’m stuck aa29278ba3 here?Whether it was true ca9fe9c03b or not, the sheer 43b8ff0e3f audacity of it was e7b3c9f97c infuriating.934eac39d3dd6b6d

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“Oh, really? And the result is you running around in hemp robes at dawn to ‘pray’?”da08de29954084b7

“That’s none of your concern.”77de942bb2fbbc9d

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“Why wouldn’t it be my concern? From my perspective, I’ve been abandoned in some temple because of one word from you. It’s very important!”5d315711d43aafc2

The genuine 94fc5a14af frustration in 2e76a54cae his voice 0c566ea4dd made Youngso 3734769585 pause. After a 7e94f1eaf4 moment, he b7cf7fc1d7 blinked slowly 3e355e4721 and finally 4b675dfc89 replied.00391fe6128f2fd0

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“…You’re right.”b2cac4dfe9ea4247

About what?Yoonjae didn’t ask dcf8f13094 this time, just 589f32f54f stared. Youngso remained fee4d4eb21 as composed f24f80880b as ever.80baf1a3bf79507d

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“I didn’t think of it that way. I was just focused on saving you first. But you’re right. This place is familiar to me, but it must be uncomfortable and strange for you.”2e4d6481196cef1a

“……”c824a164c5ff278d

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“Ask me anything. What do you want to know?”7d52ea7d5d4c2295

Yoonjae had been 578b78947b ready to argue, 259b408fb6 but faced with e174e96b45 Youngso’s unshakable calm, 284ab7ebbb the fight drained b67c2450d4 out of him. He sighed 0c4ec9d80a deeply and 81eb63032f scratched the 401456433c back of e82047583c his neck.a633c733a66c73fc

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“…So, to summarize: I had a bunch of ghosts clinging to me, and this shaman’s house is a place they can’t enter. But no one knows whether they’d actually kill me if I left?”e6c224474f91742c

“Not entirely accurate, but close.”2600979506c52dd4

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“Fine, I don’t need the details. What I do want to know is why say anything at all? Because of that one sentence, I’m stuck here, and you got into trouble too, right?”bb713773048bacea

The small, warm room 6e7f6e8ced fell silent. Youngso, who had been 9437893a8a quietly listening, suddenly lifted af7af721a9 his gaze as if c017ce0b5d struck by a thought.610acf9d6a0dab7c

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“To put it simply…”d89cc33d77ad16c9

“A sparsely trafficked eight-lane road.”b5faadcec9ba2640

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“…What?”e1571e4ea01b657f

“—It’s like seeing someone jaywalk across it.”5929e9158d80f611

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“……”8c015260bc1e8fb1

“They might make it across just fine. The odds are even in their favor. But if, by slim chance, a car comes speeding down that empty road and hits them…”4d3902248d08ec53

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The analogy c836e19779 was simple 259e3e0d81 and clear, 043a7fd537 but understanding aa68286430 it didn’t f98e69f342 make it 747c4ba7c8 any easier 8f271f822a to accept. Yoonjae’s frown deepened. Youngso nodded slightly, as 40b4271bee if confirming something to 699a8e1542 himself.63b8c60d7f7678df

“It was a crossroads. Whether to let you go or not. Think of it that way.”fb0a5554d646ac6b

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“……”c74d5cd8b7aa794f

“Anything else you’re curious about? If not, I’ll go prepare breakfast.”8c2fbd89e4cb10b8

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Yoonjae had no immediate af7f2a3629 response. The situation still felt 9ee300bc23 unreal, leaving him utterly 79d8003e56 adrift.3a2e3445fc90a5ba