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Chapter
Fifteen years ago, one day.
In the middle of a forest thick with darkness and fog stood a small house.
Jingle, jingle!
From inside, where dim yellow light and an overwhelmingly nauseating scent seeped out, a horrifying voice rang through the air.
“It’s an evil spirit! An evil spirit!”
A shaman with her eyes rolled back white ran wildly around the room, shaking bells in her hands.
Her blood-red lips looked as though they might devour the child at any moment.
Jingle, jingle! Jingle, jingle!
Trembling violently, the child clutched the hem of her mother’s skirt as her mother desperately begged the shaman over and over.
The child was only nine years old.
She was painfully thin.
There were traces of abuse all over her body.
On the child’s bare back, uncovered by any clothing, strange symbols were written in red blood.
“M-Mom…”
Unable to bear the fear any longer, the child finally burst into tears, but her mother ignored her completely and screamed toward the shaman like a madwoman.
“Spirit! O great spirit!”
Blue veins bulged from the neck of the woman, who was just as gaunt as the child.
Her sunken, crazed eyes were fixed solely on the shaman.
“Please have mercy on my pitiful child!”
“At last, the spirit has given an answer!”
“Really?”
“All the preparations are complete. Only the final trial remains.”
The mother asked with shining eyes,
“What is the final trial?!”
“You must wash that child in Cheongsol Lake, the most sacred place in Cheongsol Village. Push even her head beneath the water and swirl her around like this ten times. Then the evil spirit will disappear, and you will live.”
“…Push the child into the lake?”
Her clouded eyes shook for a moment.
Had maternal instinct suddenly appeared now, after bringing her own child here to be offered up as an evil spirit?
The shaman harshly struck the mother’s shoulder with her fan, as if telling her to get a grip.
“That wicked thing clinging tightly to you is killing you! Didn’t you say so yourself? That the evil spirit was making you die!”
“That’s right.”
The mother stared blankly at the shaman before turning toward the child.
“This evil spirit is killing me.”
The child swallowed her sobs and reached for her mother’s clothes.
Her mother’s eyes flashed sharply.
She immediately reached out and grabbed the child’s thin wrist.
“You damned evil thing! I should kill you right now!”
Dragged away by her mother’s grip, the child was hauled like a dog without even properly wearing her shoes.
“Mom! I don’t want to, Mom!”
“My life was ruined because of you! You were killing me!”
They ran frantically down the winding mountain path and crossed the rice fields.
Several times the child stumbled and fell face-first into the dirt.
Ahead of them, the shaman noisily shook her bells.
“O great spirit, O great spirit! Please take pity on this poor mother and daughter!”
Past the fields and through the brush, Cheongsol Lake finally appeared.
Beneath the enormous full moon, at the center of the calm lakeshore stood a zelkova tree that had guarded its place for hundreds of years, swaying gently in the wind.
As they neared the lake, the child began trembling violently.
The beautiful lake glimmering under the moonlight felt terrifying tonight.
The child was certain it would swallow her whole.
‘M-Mom?’
‘Who’s your mother! I never gave birth to a thing like you! Why are you clinging to me and ruining my life?! Let go! Stay away from me!’
Ever since she could remember, the child had been beaten by her mother.
Her mother had never even given her a name.
Still, the child couldn’t blame her.
Because her mother had been beaten by her father far more than she ever had.
‘You parasite. If only you didn’t exist… It’s because of you. You ruined my whole life!’
Her mother hit her because she had been born wrong.
Sometimes her mother told her stories about the past.
She said there had once been someone she loved.
But because of the father, she had been forced to have a child, abandoned by the man she loved, and trapped in an unwanted marriage.
Even after the father—who beat her mother like a habit—died of cancer, her mother’s rage never disappeared.
Still, on the rare occasions she regained her senses, her mother would apologize.
So the child endured it.
As long as her mother was okay, she could bear anything.
But this time, she couldn’t.
She didn’t want to die.
She was scared.
So the child begged.
“M-Mom! Mom! I don’t want this, please don’t—!”
But her mother dragged her like a dog past the dock and shoved her into water so deep the bottom couldn’t even be seen.
Splash!
“Ghk!”
The moment her head was forced underwater, water flooded through the child’s nose and mouth.
She struggled desperately to survive.
Gradually, strength left her body, and her mind began to fade.
Please save me…
Mom, I’m sorry…
I was wrong for being born…
I’ll be better. I’ll listen to everything you say…
But no matter how desperately she pleaded, the child only sank deeper beneath the water.
Still reaching out in desperation, the child finally accepted reality and stopped struggling.
Just as her breathing was about to cease—
Someone suddenly dove into the water and swam toward her.
Who…?
As she blankly stared at the figure growing closer through her fading vision, a strong hand pulled her upward.
But by then, the child had already closed her eyes.
When she opened her eyes again, the world had changed.
The mold-filled house was gone.
The horrifying shaman was gone.
The mother who beat her every day was gone.
Only a handsome boy, like someone from a storybook, remained.
“This is my house. I saved you. From that lake.”
The boy said she no longer had to live with her mother.
That she should live with him from now on.
For a moment, she was tempted.
But her mother was still the only family she had.
When the child kept crying and calling for her mother, the boy gently explained that her mother wasn’t coming because she didn’t want to.
Thanks to the boy’s kind explanation, the child realized the truth.
She had been completely abandoned by her mother.
After that, the child became sick with grief.
The only one who stayed by her side was the boy.
Day and night, he visited her constantly and took care of her.
No one had ever cared for her before.
Not someone’s touch.
Not someone’s warmth.
“You don’t have a name?”
One day, the boy came in carrying a tray piled high with soft persimmons. After asking her several questions, he was shocked to learn she had no name.
But to the child, having no name was normal, so instead of reacting to his surprise, her attention went first to the fruit on the tray.
They were beautifully red-orange, and sweet fragrance filled the air.
Her mouth watered instantly, and she swallowed hard.
The boy pushed the tray sitting in the corner toward her.
“Eat.”
“R-Really? I can eat these?”
“Yeah. They’re all yours.”
“Th-Thank you!”
Carefully watching his expression, the child grabbed one of the persimmons and timidly took a bite.
At the taste she had never experienced before, her eyes widened.
It was soft and sweet, like the taste of heaven.
Soon she began devouring the persimmons hungrily.
The boy quietly watched her, then his eyes suddenly sparkled.
“Hongsi. Let’s go with that.”
“…Huh?”
“Your name. From now on, you’re Hongsi.”
The child, who had gained both a home and a name for the first time in her life, became Hongsi and began living with the boy.
And only then did she learn the boy’s name too.
Kang Taesan.
It suited him perfectly.
After she recovered completely, Hongsi attended school for the first time in her life.
Of course, it had been Taesan’s decision, and no one dared oppose him.
Hongsi had never even been officially registered at birth, but she was able to enroll in elementary school because Cheongsol Elementary belonged to the Taejung Group.
Hongsi knew nothing about Taesan being the young master of the Taejung Group, nor that Cheongsol Elementary was a prestigious school attended by children from the nation’s elite families.
She was simply excited.
But that excitement vanished instantly.
“Hey! I heard you came from the slums!”
“They say her mom’s crazy.”
“I heard you almost drowned! Your mom did that to you, right?”
“Then how did a beggar get into Cheongsol Elementary? My friend’s dad owns a law firm and even he couldn’t get in!”
“They say she lives in a hanok house.”
“Then is she part of the Taejung Group family?”
“Idiot. Taekyung’s the only granddaughter of Taejung Group! She’s probably just some maid’s daughter!”
“Taejung Group even lets maids’ daughters attend this school?”
The school Jaesik from next door had bragged so much about wasn’t fun at all.
Cheongsol was a small town, and even tiny rumors spread quickly.
Everyone knew Hongsi had lived in a shack.
Everyone knew she had nearly drowned.
Every day, Hongsi only waited to go home.
Not her old home.
The home where the young master was.
The mansion-like house felt like a dream.
There was a beautiful lady there, strict-looking old men and women, servants and staff.
And there was also a pretty girl around her age.
Though admittedly, that girl had quite a nasty temper.
Still, it was better than sitting alone in a dark little room.
“You really live at Taekyung’s house?”
“What does a beggar girl like her matter? She’s just some servant living in my house—ack!”
While Hongsi silently endured the cruel words of innocent children, a hand suddenly flew in and lightly smacked Taekyung on the head.
Turning around, she saw Taesan standing there in a nearby middle school uniform.
“O-Oppa?”
“I told you not to bully Hongsi.”
Ignoring him completely, Taekyung asked,
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to pick up Hongsi.”
At those words, Taekyung’s eyes sharpened.
“What about me?”
“You have your own driver.”
Taekyung whipped her head toward Hongsi and glared as though she wanted to kill her.
“So annoying!”
Stomping the ground furiously, Taekyung stormed off.
The other children also slipped away one by one, afraid they’d be scolded by Taesan.
Taesan silently watched them go before narrowing his eyes at Hongsi.
Feeling pressured by his gaze, she fidgeted with her indoor shoe bag.
Then suddenly, Taesan pinched her cheek.
“Ah!”
Startled, she looked up at him as he asked sternly,
“Why did you just stand there?”
“It’s okay.”
Rubbing her tingling cheek, Hongsi answered calmly.
It truly was okay.
She was used to it.
But then why did Taesan look angry?
She nervously darted her eyes around, and suddenly he bent down, bringing his face closer.
His hand lightly pressed the top of her head.
“I don’t hate you.”
For a moment, Hongsi forgot to breathe as she stared up at him.
