"What are you talking about! That child is my grandson! My own grandson!"
That day, Seonoh woke up to the sound of Elder Yoon shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Sir, what on earth are you saying? You don't have any family, and now you're saying you have a grandson? How can someone who's legally incompetent raise a child? This is child abuse, sir, child abuse!"
Seonoh pushed aside the filthy curtain and peeked outside. Elder Yoon and a city official were having a heated argument, and the social worker was inspecting the yard. Seonoh saw her toss a black bag over the wall.
Fuming, Elder Yoon chased the people away and then left the house, pulling his cart behind him. Seonoh pretended to keep sleeping, but once he was sure everyone was gone, he quietly went outside and opened the bag the social worker had left. It was filled with Choco Pies, jellies, and candies. The ghosts lined up in front of Seonoh with smiles on their faces.
"..."
After that day, the social worker started visiting once a week.
After lunch, whenever he heard the social worker's voice calling out,
"Hey, kid," from outside the gate, Seonoh would run to the window, pull back the curtain, and look outside.
The social worker would check to see if the snack bag she had left before was gone, then she would linger around for a while, waiting for Seonoh to come out. Then, she would toss a new bag of snacks over the wall and then turn to leave.
Seonoh didn't dislike it. He wasn't sure if he didn't dislike the snacks or the social worker. And then, one day, three months after the social worker had first peered over the wall
"Grandpa is sick."
Seonoh broke the promise he had made with Elder Yoon for the first time.
Winter was approaching. The old man had been coughing continuously for nearly a month. A few times, he had even coughed up blood. Despite this, he went out every day with his cart, collecting strange junk and garbage.
Seonoh was terrified that he might die. But never having left the house, he didn't know what to do in such a situation.
"I see. I'll take Grandpa to the hospital tomorrow. He'll get better quickly."
The social worker, surprised that Seonoh had spoken, quickly composed herself and reassured him. She said she would come back the next day with other social workers to take Elder Yoon to the hospital. Hearing that he would soon be healthy again, Seonoh felt relieved.
"But why haven't you spoken until now?"
"Grandpa said not to."
"Why?"
"Because... he said the exorcists would come..."
The social worker paused briefly, then asked with a puzzled expression,
"Exorcist? What's an exorcist?"
After pondering for a moment, Seonoh began to speak slowly in a hesitant voice, saying he wasn't sure, but they were scary and bad people. He explained why Elder Yoon wouldn't let him go outside and why he wasn't allowed to speak, also mentioning that Elder Yoon was afraid of the exorcists. The social worker was the only person who had looked out for Seonoh during those months, and the only person he could ask for help.
The social worker listened quietly, her face deep in thought.
"Hmm, that's all because your grandfather is sick. He'll get better with treatment. I'll help. Once your grandfather is better, you can go to school too."
She spoke in a kind voice.
"There are no such things as ghosts or exorcists. It's all just your grandfather joking around."
She assured Seonoh that there were no ghosts or anything like that, and that it was all due to Elder Yoon being sick. But Seonoh couldn't fully understand what she was saying.
"Then what's this?"
Seonoh raised his hand and pointed to the water ghost standing behind him.
"...Huh?"
The social worker looked in the direction Seonoh was pointing.
"There are six more in the house besides this one."
"...What? What are you talking about..?"
As the social worker's face slowly stiffened at the absurdity of the conversation, a menacing voice called out.
"You... You, who are you talking to!"
Elder Yoon was standing at the end of the alley with a terrifying expression on his face.
"Uh, kid... 'll come back tomorrow..."
She quickly ran off somewhere after seeing Elder Yoon.
***
That night, Seonoh was severely beaten and locked in a dark room.
Seonoh looked at the bright full moon shining through the window.
In the dark room, there was a folding screen with a shamanic painting drawn on one side of the wall. The room where Seonoh was locked was the cleanest room in the house. Elder Yoon had set up a shrine in this room, sometimes offering incense and water.
Beneath the folding screen was a small chest of drawers with a bowl of rice and a single lit candle on it. Elder Yoon would sometimes pray in this room, saying, "Oh, Heavenly Spirits!"
It had already been several days since Seonoh had been locked in this small shrine room. It wasn't the first time he had been locked in the shrine room. He was punished when he bullied the spirits or when he was caught outside in the yard. Each time, Elder Yoon would get very angry and lock Seonoh in the shrine room as punishment.
But it usually lasted only half a day. He had never been locked up for this long. Seonoh tried several times to turn the doorknob to get out, and even pounded on the door until his hands were sore, but the door wouldn't open. So, he gave up trying to get out. He already knew why the door wouldn't open. His grandfather had stuck a talisman on the door again. When he placed his hand on the door, he could feel a warmth, which was the energy of the talisman.
Elder Yoon always placed a talisman on the main gate before leaving the house, and when he placed a talisman on the door, it felt as if some strange force was blocking the door. No matter what he tried, Seonoh couldn't get out. No matter how much force he used, the door wouldn't budge, and no matter how much he screamed, his voice wouldn't be heard outside.
Strangely, while in the shrine room, Seonoh didn't feel hungry or cold. The room felt strangely cozy and warm, making him drowsy.
With sleepy eyes, he blinked at the shamanic painting, watching the shadows flicker in the candlelight. He couldn't tell how many days had passed. In his fading consciousness, Seonoh wondered if maybe Elder Yoon had died.
Is Grandpa really that sick? If what that person said was true...
Normally, Seonoh would wait for the days when Elder Yoon's mind was clear. In the meantime, all he could do was read books.
Books were Seonoh's only friends and his only window to the outside world.
The ghosts knew that he loved reading. So sometimes they would rummage through the trash and bring him a new book. Then Seonoh would lie in the small room and read and read again.
"is my Seonoh here?'
Before long, the Elder Yoon that Seonoh knew would return.
With clear eyes, Elder Yoon would clean up the messy room. He would lovingly wash Seonoh with warm water, prepare meals with unspoiled food, and carefully comb his long, unkempt hair with a fine-toothed comb before tying it up.
Sometimes he would sit Seonoh on his lap and open a dictionary to teach him Chinese characters or show him how to play janggi.
Seonoh was very smart, never forgetting what he had been taught, and he could read not only the text but also Chinese characters.
Elder Yoon would be overjoyed when Seonoh beat him in a game of janggi or remembered difficult Chinese characters that were hard to memorize after just a few looks.
You're a prodigy. A Genius!'
And then, as a reward, he would pull out a candy from who-knows-where. When Elder Yoon brought out the jar labeled "Sarangbang Candy," Seonoh's heart raced. He loved candy. He wanted to eat it every day. But he couldn't. It was a precious treat that he could only have when Elder Yoon's eyes were clear.
Seonoh would slowly let the candy melt in his mouth. And then he would purposely ask Elder Yoon where he came from. The old man would laugh heartily and tell him a made-up story over and over again, a story that Seonoh loved to hear.
'One day, I went to the mountains to cut branches. But I heard a baby crying somewhere. I wondered where the sound was coming from, so I looked around. Strangely enough, the sound was coming from underground. So I dug into the ground and found a tombstone. On it, the word "Hye", meaning "wait," was written. I thought it was strange, so i removed the tombstone. And there was a coffin underneath! So I opened it, and my Seonoh was sleeping inside! My Seonoh was a gift from heaven.'
Seonoh loved Elder Yoon, who called him a gift.
And,
Seonoh hated Elder Yoon.
"..."
Sleepiness was overcoming him again. Seonoh, lying on his side on the floor, was about to fall asleep again.
"Hehe, fool. Hehehe."
Then, a voice was heard from somewhere. It was a voice he had never heard before. Seonoh slowly opened his eyes. Even as he rolled his eyes, all he could see was the shamanic painting illuminated by the dim candlelight. Thinking he might have imagined it, he tried to close his eyes again.
"Hehe. Fool. Idiot."
The voice came again. Seonoh struggled to get up. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he looked at the shamanic painting. The bearded deity painted on it was smiling down at him. His face twisted, his features contorted, and then he returned to a gentle smile.
"Who's there?"
Seonoh asked quietly, almost in a whisper. But by then, the deity in the painting had returned to his original expression. As Seonoh carefully examined the shamanic painting, his gaze fell on something. A black snake was slithering out from behind the deity's shoulder. Seonoh's eyes widened in amazement at the sight.
"Hehe. Fool. Idiot."
There was no doubt. The snake in the painting was speaking.