Chapter : 01
Kind Enough to Freeze to Death
Five months ago.
I knew the Old Woman was an eccentric, but I didn’t think she’d go this far.
Cho-won stared at the “pitiful lamb” standing before her with a dazed expression. He looked more like a boy than a young man, with a pale, clear face, wearing a sky-blue hoodie and carrying a massive travel Boston bag that didn’t suit him at all.
“The Old Woman said a Jangseung [totem pole] was coming.” “My name is Jang-seung.” “…Are you serious?” “No, I’m joking.”
What is this cheerful lunatic?
While Cho-won stood there, stunned by his bright, smiling face, he brushed past her with incredible lightness and stepped inside the main gate. She didn’t even have time to block him. By the time the flustered Cho-won turned around, he had already crossed the yard and entered the small, old two-story house.
“The living room is spacious than I thought. The room is cozy, too.”
Having entered the house, he dropped his bag in the room next to the entrance. It was a tiny room that had been empty for a long time, containing nothing but a single built-in wardrobe. After wandering around the cramped room for no reason, he turned to look at Cho-won, who had chased after him, and gave her a beaming smile. Cho-won leaned her shoulder against the doorframe with a dissatisfied look.
Yesterday, the Old Woman had left the house, saying she needed to go for “training.” It wasn’t particularly unusual. As a shaman, she often left for the mountains, fields, or the sea, claiming she needed to soak up the energy of nature. If there was one thing different from usual, it was a single remark she left while Cho-won was seeing her off at the gate.
‘It’ll probably arrive around tomorrow, so make sure to receive it well.’ ‘Arrive? What’s coming?’ ‘Jangseung.’ ‘…What?’
She should have asked properly what that meant back then.
Cho-won recalled yesterday’s conversation, followed by the image of the Old Woman’s back as she walked away without answering her follow-up question. A Jangseung being delivered to the house? It was absurd, but Cho-won hadn’t bothered to chase her down and ask. She briefly wondered if shamans these days had those things delivered via courier—never dreaming that such a lax attitude would lead to this.
I mean, even for the Old Woman, to bring in a person under the guise of a Jangseung…
“Noona, where are you going?”
The unexpected address stopped Cho-won in her tracks just as she was turning away, shaking her head.
Noona?
When she looked back with an incredulous expression, Jang-seung was leaning halfway out of the room, smiling with a face that looked as though it didn’t know a single worry in the world.
“…Noona?” “Huh? Aren’t you older than me?” “No, it’s not that…”
That’s not the context here.
Cho-won swallowed the words she was about to spit out. Looking at that face asking with wide, innocent eyes, she felt that no matter what she said, it would be useless.
Fine, let’s just not talk. Forget it.
Cho-won turned around again and trudged toward the front door.
“Take care!”
A low-voiced farewell squeezed through the closing door, drawing a hollow laugh out of her.
What is he even doing, seriously?
If anyone were to ask for the turning point of her life, Cho-won would choose that autumn twelve years ago when she met the Old Woman without a moment’s hesitation. Actually, she didn’t remember much from around that time. Perhaps it was the work of her subconscious, wanting to erase everything that had happened up until that summer.
Tragedies, for the most part, never truly disappear; they leave deep scars. Those scars are like tattoos engraved on the soul, never to fade.
However, if one ignores them to the point of death, one can bury them for a while as if they aren’t there. Sealing a period of time inside a thick, sturdy box, acting as if then and now are eternally separated.
That was Cho-won’s own way of surviving. She didn’t have the confidence to live a normal life while embracing all those memories.
‘Eat something before you hurt.’
To the seventeen-year-old Cho-won, who stayed shut inside herself—mouth closed, ears blocked, eyes shut—the Old Woman back then was like a savior.
‘Salvation.’ ‘Savior.’
She never thought she would use such words again, but there were no other words in her vocabulary that could describe the Old Woman. If it hadn’t been for the Old Woman, who forced open Cho-won’s mouth when she refused to eat and shoved in a few spoonfuls of porridge… If it hadn’t been for the touch that held her body as she struggled through nightly nightmares and tucked her back in… Cho-won might not have been of this world for a long time now.
“Still, is it okay to just bring someone in without a word?”
The Old Woman on the other end of the phone didn’t say much. Her attitude suggested she had nothing further to add on the matter.
Cho-won didn’t press her further either. The Old Woman was a careful person. If she had to bring someone in using such a ridiculous excuse as a Jangseung, there must have been a reason.
—So, where are you now? “The park.” —Out for a walk, I see. “Yeah.”
Along with her answer, Cho-won sat on a nearby bench. For some reason, she felt a dull ache somewhere in her left leg. It felt less like actual pain and more like a nervous symptom stemming from last night’s dream.
At the sudden flicker of a scene from her dream, Cho-won closed her eyes tightly and then opened them. She began to knead her left knee firmly with one hand.
Actually, I had that dream again yesterday.
She hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should say it—if she should confess that she hadn’t slept a wink all night. But with a small sigh, Cho-won swallowed those words again. She didn’t want to worry someone who was far away.
“When are you coming back?” —I don’t know. Doesn’t look like it’ll be as quick as before. “Well, okay. Just call me once in a while.” —…Cho-won.
Just as she was about to hang up, the Old Woman called Cho-won’s name softly. It had been quite a while since she had called her “Cho-won” instead of “Eun Cho-won.”
—Be kind to him. That boy.
The moment Cho-won opened her mouth to respond, the call clicked off. Cho-won stared at the ended call screen on her phone with a look of absurdity.
“…What ‘boy’?”
Soon, she stood up with a calm face. Out of habit, she repeatedly bent and straightened her knee as if loosening up her left leg. It had been a long time since she had been able to walk properly on both legs, yet she still found herself checking like this before walking.
Eventually, Cho-won walked away and disappeared toward the far side of the park. At that moment, someone sitting on another bench a short distance away raised their head and watched Cho-won’s retreating back.
The man, who had a lean and agile build, slightly lifted the hat he had been wearing pulled down low once Cho-won was far enough away. At the same time, his sharp and cold eyes were fully revealed. Though he had been bowing his head as if looking at his phone the whole time, he had actually been listening to Cho-won’s voice throughout her conversation.
“They brought a person into the house…”
Muttering the words Cho-won had said in a low voice, his words trailed off. Simultaneously, one corner of his lip curled up into a slow, fishy smile.
The front of the pink lighter had the words ‘Clover Tabang’ written on it in a tacky font. That lighter, produced recently as a promotional item by the Clover Tabang, was currently sitting haphazardly on a corner of Cho-won’s desk. Jang-seung gazed at it quietly before looking up to carefully survey Cho-won’s room.
One desk, one bed, one wide bookshelf, one small wardrobe. The furniture in the room was exactly what was necessary and nothing more. Not a single cute trinket or accessory was in sight. The room, where exactly what should be there was in its place, was clean—and a bit desolate.
“…She’s hidden it away completely.”
Looking at the window covered by blackout curtains, Jang-seung muttered to himself in a low voice. After looking back at the pink lighter on the desk, he pulled something out of his pocket with a slight sigh.
A silver Zippo lighter that bore the clear marks of time.
He naturally flipped open the lid of the item, which didn’t suit his clear face at all. As the flame flickered to life, a voice he had heard a very long time ago suddenly flashed through Jang-seung’s mind.
‘Keep it safe. It might become a weapon one day.’
The moment he snapped the lighter lid shut along with the brief memory, he felt a vibration in his pocket. Jang-seung pulled out his phone with his other hand. Seeing the caller ID on the screen, he answered the call with a calm expression.
“Yes, Grandmother.” —The girl called. “I thought she might. She went out a little while ago.”
Jang-seung nodded slowly. The image of Cho-won’s back as she turned away coldly and left the house earlier came to mind. A slightly bitter smile spread across his face.
—Yohan.
At the name spoken suggestively, a flicker of hesitation crossed his face. Even though he had lived with the same name for twenty-four years, he sometimes found his own name unfamiliar. Especially in the moments when he was called affectionately, like “Yohan.”
“…Yes.” —How is she? “What do you mean?” —What else, Cho-won. Does she seem to recognize you even a little bit?
‘Recognize.’ At those words, Yohan thought back once more to the moment he had faced Cho-won at the gate today.
The slight wonder held in those somewhat tired eyes when they met as he opened the gate.
Hello, I’m here because the Fairy Mother sent me.
The blunt voice that returned when he spoke while suppressing the rush of joy.
The Old Woman said a Jangseung was coming.
The moment a sense of groundless disappointment rushed over him at the slight suspicion and wariness embedded in that tone.
“…No.”
Not at all.
She is running. The dense forest becomes a massive maze at night. Because of the pouring white snow, the surroundings are brighter than usual.
Cho-won thinks it would have been better if it were pitch black. If it were, she could have hidden herself more easily. She wouldn’t have been tripped up by her feet getting caught in the slushy ground.
But heartlessly, the snow falls. It keeps falling. Her body finally collapses, caught in that thick snow. She has to get up, but she can’t.
Her breath rises to the tip of her throat. Cold air melts in her mouth and fills her stomach. She can almost taste blood at the back of her throat.
…It’s over, now.
The sound of running footsteps draws near. It’s the sound of several people. The sound of them running through the falling snow.
Her heart thumps anxiously. It feels like tears are about to burst out.
‘Just turn her into a total cripple.’
She hears someone’s voice, sounding like a sneer. Simultaneously, someone standing next to her raises a hammer high in their hand. It descends with its full weight and power, striking exactly into Cho-won’s left leg.
Whoosh!
…No!
It was right then that the progression of the dream changed. The moment that violent hand struck the hammer toward Cho-won’s leg, the surroundings turned to total darkness. The maze-like forest scenery, the white falling snow, and the cold sensation of that snow—it all shattered like powder and vanished. She couldn’t understand how a sensation could shatter like powder, but it did.
What? Why so suddenly?
When her eyes flew open, she saw the ceiling of her room.
The ceiling… the ceiling?
Startled by that fact, Cho-won sat bolt upright. Looking around as if she couldn’t believe it, she grabbed the phone by her bedside to check the time. 1:20 AM. Not even thirty minutes had passed since she had fallen asleep after tossing and turning for a long time.
It was strange. Since the nightmares began, she had never once woken up like this.
It was at that moment she sensed a presence outside the door. Footsteps moving further and further away from the door. Cho-won could clearly feel those very small, careful footsteps stepping on the wooden floor. It was because the surroundings were excessively silent.
In an instant, all of Cho-won’s senses stood on end. The footsteps soon disappeared down the stairs.
…So, someone had definitely been at her door.
Cho-won got out of bed and walked slowly toward the door. Constantly doubting if this too was a dream, or a new nightmare.
The doorknob was exceptionally cold. She had an ominous premonition. But that premonition was wrong. Nothing happened to Cho-won when she opened the door, or after she opened it. It wasn’t a nightmare. It was reality.
Exhaling a sigh with an unknown sense of relief, Cho-won lowered her head as if her tension had broken. In that moment, a single trace she hadn’t seen before caught her eye. A red liquid, like a spot the size of a fingernail.
Cho-won slowly knelt down and touched it with her fingertip. The liquid, which hadn’t yet dried, easily smeared onto Cho-won’s hand.
Cho-won looked at the red stain on her fingertip in disbelief and whispered:
“…Blood?”
End Of Chapter : 01
