The night before a storm. Clouds sitting low.
The black tiled roofs of the hanok were nothing but silhouettes against the dark, latticed windows casting long shadows across the courtyard below.
Inside, Shinmyung sat cross-legged in a dark robe, pouring amber liquid into a glass. The sound of it was steady and rhythmic, like something ceremonial.
He set the bottle down.
"The deal with Charles Choi has been finalized," he said, his voice a low rumble. He paused, picked up the glass. "But there's one thing that's been bothering me."
He took a slow sip. "The two monsters on that mountain. If I leave them alone, they could become a problem later. My Yakshas have already been defeated by them."
He raised his eyes and let a small smile touch his mouth as he looked at the three men sitting across from him. "That's why I've invited the three of you."
On the far left sat Lee Beolgu of Generation Zero, a former member of Gapryong Kim's Fist Gang. His hair was a striking split of black and white, two women seated on either side of him, one leaning against his shoulder. He didn't hesitate. "Are you done? We got it. You want us to go after the King of Cheonliang and the Ogre. That's what you're asking."
Beside him sat Yu Gwang, another Generation Zero veteran of the Fist Gang, brow drawn together, expression quietly bitter. He took a drink. "The Fist Gang has really hit rock bottom. Generation Zero, taking money to go after some Generation One kids. If only Head Gapryong hadn't stepped into politics..."
The third man was Noh Jaesu, also Generation Zero, a baseball cap pulled over a head of wild curly hair, the corner of his mouth turned up. "You'll be compensating us properly for this, won't you? We're older than we look. Have to start thinking about retirement at some point."
Shinmyung leaned forward slightly, his eyes going cold. "The money won't disappoint you." He paused. "But I want to be clear with you now. This won't be as simple as you're assuming."
The smile shifted into something sharper. "Yuk Seongji and Park Baki are not ordinary. What I'm telling you is that there is a real possibility the three of you lose."
All three of them changed expression at once.
Lee Beolgu rose from his seat, eyes dropping to the floor for a moment before coming back up slowly. His black leather shoes made no sound. "We might lose?" His voice was low. "Interesting." He took one step forward. "Let's put an end to this arrangement right here."
Noh Jaesu tilted his cap brim with one finger and grinned. "We're in our prime, by the way. In case you weren't aware."
---
Inside the wooden house, Vin Jin's face was twisted. Tears mixed with something darker ran down his face as he stared ahead, eyes hollow.
The next moment his hand had found Sujin's arm, fingers white against her sleeve.
"Tell me." His voice tore. "Tell me!"
His face was soaked, mouth wide open, a silent scream that couldn't find its way out. "Please, just tell me already!"
"How did Mom die?! Why did she have to die?!"
He squeezed tighter, his whole body shaking. "Why won't you tell me?! I'm begging you!"
Sujin's eyes went red and tears slipped down her face. He had frightened her, but what she felt more than fear was something that hurt in a different place.
Vin Jin felt her trembling. He let go immediately and stepped back, dropping to the floor, clutching a cup of water in both hands, hands shaking.
"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you! I just — all of a sudden I—" He pushed the cup toward her. "Do you want water?! Here, here's water!"
Then he lowered his head. His voice went small. "...Please," he said. "Can you tell me?"
He was quiet for a moment. "I've spent my whole life hating my mother. Always cursing the mother who just left me behind and died." The words were heavy, pressing down on something underneath. "If you know anything, tell me. I need to hear the story I've never been told."
He looked up. "If you don't... if you don't..."
The tears came again. "I might spend my whole life hating her."
Sujin took a slow breath. Her gaze drifted away from him, away from the room, back to somewhere else.
"...Seven years ago."
---
She saw herself at seven years old, standing among the legs of adults she barely reached.
"That day, a new auntie arrived."
Someone brought the woman in and introduced her to everyone. "This person will be helping out at the Shaman's house from now on. She'll be working alongside all of you starting today. Let's say hello."
The woman stepped forward, simply dressed, a kind face, smiling. "...Hello everyone. I'm from Seoul. I'm living in Cheonliang now."
Sujin remembered it clearly. "That pretty auntie always worked hard."
She saw the woman carrying a box with both hands, focused and careful. Someone nearby asked her, "Why do you work so hard, auntie?"
The woman paused for just a moment. Something moved in her eyes. "The shaman made me a promise, you see..."
Sujin hadn't understood what the promise was back then, only that "whatever she was asked to do, the pretty auntie gave everything to it."
Someone came to find her one day. "Auntie, the shaman is looking for you. He's been asking for a while now."
As Sujin put the fragments together over the years, she understood. "It seemed like the promise had something to do with her son. And for that son, the pretty auntie never stopped trying."
Then she remembered the candy.
The pretty auntie crouched down in front of her and held out a brightly colored lollipop. "For you. A girl with no mother."
She was smiling. "You're about the same age as my son."
Sujin had thought to herself, 'Candy... something this precious...'
The auntie said softly, "It's alright, go ahead and eat it. When you finish, auntie will get you another one."
'To me, she was like an angel.'
"If there's anything else you want to eat," the auntie had said, "you can always tell me, alright?"
Sujin held the memory in both hands. She remembered looking up and asking, "Should I bite it, or let it melt?"
Just then someone called for the woman. "Auntie, there you are."
The auntie turned. "Oh, what is it?"
"Head over to the gym."
"Why the gym?" she asked, confused.
The person raised a hand and pointed down the corridor. A wooden plaque hung at the entrance to the inner hall of the shaman's house, four characters carved into it: 人愛天殺.
The voice was flat. "The shaman is asking for you."
The pretty auntie's expression settled into something quiet and composed. "...Understood."
She turned to go. The ponytail swung behind her, a blue hair tie.
Sujin remembered staring at the lollipop in her own hand, still turning over the question of whether to bite it or let it dissolve.
"Don't bite it," the auntie had said quietly as she left. "Auntie's going now."
Sujin watched her walk down that long narrow wooden corridor until she disappeared inside.
She hadn't understood anything then. She had just been curious in the way children are. 'Why does the shaman always call for that pretty auntie? Are they talking about something good to eat?'
"And that day..."
Seven-year-old Sujin, pressing her eye to the gap in a heavy wooden door.
She saw what was inside.
"...was the last day I ever saw the pretty auntie."
---
Sujin's gaze came back from wherever it had gone and settled on Vin Jin.
"What the two of them said to each other, I don't know," she said. Her voice was even. Her eyes were cold. "But I'm certain of this."
"Oppa's mother. The pretty auntie."
She looked at him and finished the sentence.
"Died because of the shaman."
Vin Jin's face broke.
The tears came down and his mouth opened wide and no sound came out. Just those double iris eyes, bloodshot, burning red, something inside them that looked like it was trying to get out and couldn't find the way.