"Gyeom-ah."
The next morning, Myojeong called out in the yard after waking up.
"I hung my robe up yesterday, but I can't seem to find it. Did you happen to see it?"
The boy pretended to know nothing and replied that he hadn't seen it. Myojeong searched for the robe for quite some time but eventually gave up. He muttered to himself, " guess a wild animal came down from the mountain during the night and took it. Too bad, it was a cherished garment..."
The boy pretended not to hear, distracting himself with other thoughts.
Since the black robe was something Myojeong cherished, the boy wanted to mend it with his own hands. Though Seomal, who was skilled at sewing, could have finished the embroidery in less than half a day, the boy had only just begun learning how to sew. His goal was to embroider a green leaf pattern. It wasn't something that could be done in a day, it would take at least three.
***
Around noon, there was news of a wedding taking place in the village. The boy decided to go see it with Myojeong. The wedding day was practically a village festival. As they reached the wedding venue, the place was bustling with people. Myojeong lifted the boy and sat him on top of the wall so he could watch.
"While we're here, we might as well have a bowl of noodles before heading back."
The tall Myojeong, with his hands behind his back, peered over the wall to watch the wedding ceremony. The bride and groom, dressed in wedding clothes, exchanged respectful bows with flushed faces.
Sitting atop the wall, the boy suddenly looked around. A few people were stealing glances at his master.
'...'
Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. Even as they traveled across the provinces, Myojeong always attracted attention wherever they went. Sometimes, women with veils would visit him late at night.
Doesn't Myojeong want to get married and start a family? Am I possibly an obstacle to him? After all, people sometimes mistake him for a widower with a child because of me…
"Myojeong, why don't you get married?"
The question came so out of the blue that Myojeong asked in return,
"Hm? Me, you mean?"
"Yeah. You're well past the usual age."
After a brief silence, he grinned mischievously and answered,
"Can't you tell just by looking? If I were to marry, there would be dozens, maybe hundreds, of women falling ill and crying over me.
To spare them, l've kept my topknot untied."
"..."
The boy squinted in disbelief, and Myojeong cleared his throat awkwardly.
"You can't get married alone. You need a partner..."
The man was very handsome, tall, and kind-hearted. If he were to have children, the boy was certain he would be a good father, just as he had been with him. The boy felt a pang of jealousy. He was all too aware that there was no real bond tying him and Myojeong together. If Myojeong were to start a family, there would be no place left for him. After all, he wasn't his family. He would have to leave.
If Myojeong were to marry a woman and have children, there would be no way they could continue living together like this. At best, he might visit occasionally.
Born alone, the boy suddenly felt a wave of loneliness.
***
On the third day of learning how to sew, the leaf embroidery was nearly complete.
"Thank you. I think I can finish it on my own from here."
The boy rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a single coir. he had been saving.
"Aye, it's fine."
When he handed the coin to Seomal, she waved her hands in refusal, smiling.
"No, take it. It's a token of my gratitude."
At that moment, a group with torches suddenly appeared from behind, and several officers from the local government rushed out.
Seomal's eyes widened, and she hurriedly lowered her head.
"Seomal, what are you doing out here at this hour?"
"I was... teaching this child to sew, as he asked me to..."
The officers dragged both Seomal and the boy to the government office. Despite the late hour, the office was brightly lit. The magistrate glared at the boy with sharp eyes.
"Surely, the two of you were plotting something, weren't you? Out with the truth!"
Both the boy and Seomal were on the verge of losing their minds.
Even when they explained that it was just a sewing lesson, the magistrate didn't believe them. He pressed the boy, asking what he had told her.
"That person you called your father the other day—he must have seen something, right? He divulged to you, and now you're trying to pass that information on to Seomal, isn't that it?"
The boy had no idea what the magistrate was talking about. He insisted that they had only met to learn sewing, but the magistrate, enraged, slapped the boy across the face.
"Shut up! A boy learning to sew? Come up with a more believable excuse."
Smack-the boy's head snapped to the side.
"..."
"A lowly bloodline like yours, no doubt you heard something from your father! You must have whispered something to Seomal behind my back, trying to bring some kind of calamity upon me..."
The boy, eyes filled with fury, glared at the magistrate.
"Who do you think you are, hitting me?"
Even Myojeong had never hit him...
Suddenly, anger rose within the boy. His hair bristled, and he stared at the magistrate with wild eyes. A massive wave of rage surged through him, turning his vision white. Around the boy, a mysterious red mist began to rise.
"Who do you think you are..."
He felt something hardening in his chest, as if something were forming there, and then it felt as though it cracked open like an egg.
The boy instantly shook off the hands of the officers holding him
"Listen here, how do you dare lay a hand on someone without knowing who it is?"
The boy tilted his head to one side with a sneer.
"You bastard, daeju (the male head of a household in shamanic traditions) of the Choi family. How dare you touch someone else's vessel?"
By now, the boy's eyes had taken on an eerie, unsettling glow.
"Bringing calamity, you say? Fine, if that's what you want, I'll gladly bring calamity upon you."
All at once, the torches illuminating the government yard were snuffed out. The boy's eyes now showed only the whites. The officers, terrified, began to retreat.
"What kind of calamity would you like? Indeed, from the next harvest, this village will suffer a famine year after year, and every one of your family's descendants will die from measles and strange illnesses. Every night, the sound of wailing in tears of blood will fill the air. That is what l'll do. Even if every other household escapes the plague, yours will not. 'll make sure of it. I'll make sure it happens."
"Wha…. what….?"
"You, daeju of Choi. Why do you tremble in fear? Is it because this child can see spirits, and you're afraid he might have read your filthy secrets? Were you terrified that Seomal might have learned that she's your offspring? Did you think I wouldn't know this?"
"..."
"And that's not all, is it? Daeju of Choi. Or are you afraid that I will reveal the truth about how you killed your own brother? You offer him medicine laced with poison, stole his life, and took his place.
Isn't that why you're so scared of being exposed? After climbing the ranks, you've sucked the life out of the people, exploiting them. Hol could your household not be cursed? I'll return all of that misfortune to you, twice over."
"..."
"Why are you so startled? Foolish human. The child spoke the truth.
He knew nothing, and that man revealed nothing. If you wished to hide your faults, you should have kept silent. Why, in your guilt, did you dare touch another? If you truly wanted to keep your shame hidden, you shouldn't have acted like this. Fine, I'll expose everything."
The boy suddenly stopped speaking, smirking as he glanced at the magistrate.
"You bastard. So, it turns out you bought your way into this position by offering gold bars to high officials, didn't you?"
The magistrate named Choi had gone deathly pale.
"..."
He was trembling uncontrollably by now.
"H-how... how do you... who... who are you...?"
At the magistrate's question, the boy threw his head back and let out a loud laugh.
"So, who do you think I am? What do you see me as?"
"..."
"Why don't you answer? Fine, if you truly don't know, I'll tell you myself, right here."
The boy, wrapped in a red mist, began to stride toward the magistrate, his eyes wild. The magistrate clutched his head and screamed, his face ashen.
"Gasp, gasp... don't, don't come any closer..."
Just as the boy, with his white eyes gleaming, was about to reach out toward the magistrate, a sharp voice cut through the air.
"Stop!"
At the same time, someone grabbed the boy firmly by the back of his neck. The boy, who had been glaring at the magistrate with his white eyes, turned around. Myojeong was standing behind him, his face fearsome and eyes intense as he looked down at him.
Their eyes met.
"..."
"..."
Myojeong spoke in a cold, harsh voice.
"Sit."
In that moment, the boy's eerie white eyes returned to normal, and the red mist that had surrounded him dispersed instantly. Suddenly, a strange weakness washed over him, and his knees gave out. The boy collapsed, unconscious.
"I have committed a grave sin."
Myojeong then bowed deeply to the ground, offering a formal greeting to the magistrate.
"I failed to guide the child properly, and everything is due to my lack of virtue. My child was possessed by a ghost and often speaks nonsense. Everything my child just said was all lies and absurdity."
Myojeong then raised his head, looking around at the surrounding officers and attendants.
"As someone who can also see and hear beyond the ordinary, I assure you that it was all just nonsense. Please, consider it nothing but the ramblings of an open mouth, and forget you heard it."
"..."
"Give me three days, and we will leave this village. Magistrate, as one who cares for the people, I beg you to calm your anger and kindly show mercy..."
"..."
Myojeong lowered himself fully to the ground, pressing his forehead to the earth. The officers and attendants all held their breath, their eyes on the magistrate. With shaking legs, the magistrate slowly stood.
"G-g-get out... get out of here immediately..."