INV 46

Anyway, teenage Gwak Deukcheon had quite a few things in common with the current Gwak Deukcheon. His swaggering movements and crooked sneers were exactly the same.

Though Gwak Deukcheon had never once inserted himself into the relationships of his peers before, he naturally became the leader of his age group, and from then on, he even took the delinquent older brothers of the neighborhood as his subordinates. This is no joke—he truly made them his “underlings” and “lackeys.”

He offered thorough respect and observed etiquette toward those five years older than him or more, but he believed that any idiot acting cocky just because of a one or two-year age difference had no right to stand before him with their eyes open.

At this point, the villagers might have worried or chided him, but it never blew up into a major problem among the adults. Apart from the fact that the Gwak family was wealthy, a huge factor was that the punks Gwak Deukcheon disciplined were those caught and beaten for imitating gangsters, stealing cigarettes, or stealing alcohol. Furthermore, no matter how much Gwak Deukcheon pretended otherwise, his affectionate nature was obvious.

In any case, Gwak Deukcheon is a man who absolutely takes care of anyone who comes under him; this was something not a single person in the neighborhood doubted.

When the boys from the neighboring village swarmed in as a group, led by a large fellow who looked like a mountain bandit, to strike the little kids and shake them down for money, the ones who had boasted about being older and being hyung were all just trembling in fear.

However, Gwak Deukcheon charged in alone like a weasel and bit into the large fellow’s neck. Once the big guy saw blood and started blubbering for his mother, the tide turned, and the boys from the neighboring village whispered among themselves that the job was ruined and they should head back. An ordinary person would have thought it a relief. Wouldn’t one be thankful that those ruffians were leaving on their own? But a remarkable person truly does not think in a conventional way.

Gwak Deukcheon shouted for them to stop. His spirit, as he bellowed asking how they dared to dirty his land with their muddy feet and expect to return empty-handed, made the mountains ring. It was enough that a wild ginseng hunter walking the mountainside that day heard the sound.

“What kind of bullshit is this! Are you saying you want to fight, then? You want to go all the way?”

“I didn’t know this before, but occasionally there are bastards in this world who only know if it’s crap or bean paste after they’ve tasted it.”

“Wha—What kind of bullshit is that!”

“I hope those kinds of bastards develop an eye for distinguishing between acts that will get them beaten to death and acts that won’t. So, occasionally, I name my two fists… ‘Peace’ and ‘Equality’.”

“…That guy looks like a madman? His eyes have flipped…”

“The common denominator of those two words is that they cannot be achieved without these very fists!”

“…!”

Crack!

“Arghhhhh!”

“It’s because of bastards like you! You bastards who break my lackeys’ nose bridges, snap their ankles, kick their stomachs, grab their collars, slap their cheeks, and try to extort money—only to turn tail and run, yet try to make a dignified exit as if you’re some kind of villain bosses! Because of pieces of shit like you, neither peace nor equality can come without fists! You sons of bitches. Do you know? I didn’t want to raise my fists… I didn’t want to…”

“T-then spare me…!”

“What are you talking about? You already heard me. Once they’re raised, it’s only natural for them to fall from high to low. Don’t you know gravity? Don’t you know Newton? What about Newton’s apple, or physics?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t know! I won’t do it again. Please, please!”

“Ignorance is not a sin, but gravity does not distinguish between innocent and guilty. Because that is exactly what physics is…”

“…?”

“Ah, forget it. What point is there in me saying anything to idiots.”

Thwack!

“When I can just give you some physical therapy!”

In that way, the kids from the neighboring village were beaten soundly, and Gwak Deukcheon obtained the evidence of the crime, confessions, and even internal submission. The meticulous Gwak Deukcheon never acted foolishly after that, either. Instead of the kids going to argue for themselves, he gathered a swarm of village adults and invaded the neighboring village together. The village adults were, of course, in an enraged state. This was especially true because of the fact that something worse might have happened if Gwak Deukcheon hadn’t intervened.

Until the moment the violent offenders were brought in tied together with rope like dried yellow croakers, they secretly hoped their parents would take their side, but because the Gwak family was a landlord with a fairly large piece of land, that didn’t work. Watching the parents and children kneel and beg together, Gwak Deukcheon blew on his fists.

The peers and the older brothers watching that scene thought:

‘That is so cool.’

Regardless of whether they were older or younger, it was the moment all the boys accepted Gwak Deukcheon as ‘hyung-nim’…

His fists were like a lighthouse bringing peace and equality. His way of speaking was a bit toxic and cynical, but he possessed the wisdom to never say anything wrong, so he didn’t cross the line. Because his leadership in guiding everyone so that no one was left behind or marginalized and his innate human presence were exceptionally strong, it reached the point where a passing traveler would toss out a word and disappear, saying he was not one to stay long in such a rural area.

The village people also thought it was a waste for Gwak Deukcheon to stay here.

In fact, he might have obtained more educational opportunities in Gyeongseong if Ms. Gwak hadn’t remembered the words hinted at by the ‘monk’ she met in her dream.

The villagers also knew they had originally lived in Gyeongseong. For whatever reason, they assumed the family had sought out a quiet and peaceful country village because they disliked the bustle, and they also liked that the police couldn’t act recklessly thanks to a wealthy family moving in. So, whether he remained here and nested for a long time or went out into the world and made a name for himself, the villagers hoped he would become the pride of the town. Their trust and expectations for Gwak Deukcheon were that high.

However, Gwak Deukcheon—the boy who had subconsciously realized from a young age that he could not live up to the wishes of others—had a dream one day.

If you climb the mountain range behind the village, there is a small temple, and if you walk along that path, a large—very large—tree appears next to a cliff. It was said to be an ancient tree of unknown centuries, and that tree was treated almost as a guardian spirit. These days, people can’t offer ritual tables due to the watchful eyes of the police swinging their clubs, but once upon a time, it was a tradition to set a full table and bow, or so the story went.

While the mountains, streams, and plants all welcomed him with one voice, Gwak Deukcheon opened his arms wide as if he had returned to being a toddler and embraced the ‘guardian spirit.’ For some reason, he felt like he might cry. Without any basis, he felt as if it had protected him for a long time. He felt such an impulse. It was an intuition. No, it was a conviction.

They embraced each other and talked for a long time. Even Gwak Deukcheon could not remember the details of that conversation.

However, what was certain was that the ‘guardian spirit’ had protected him in the meantime.

And that it could no longer do so.

When he woke from the dream, Gwak Deukcheon cried with an unusually sorrowful heart. He couldn’t understand why he was so sad. Yet, when he saw his mother, his tears poured out again. Ms. Gwak saw her son and instinctively felt that the time had come. Then, she placed into Gwak Deukcheon’s hands the fine liquor she had been aging for a long time since coming down to the countryside, not letting her husband or father-in-law touch it.

“You know where you have to offer this, right?”

Gwak Deukcheon climbed the mountain immediately that day. But when he reached the top, the spot where that massive ancient tree had been was empty. Gwak Deukcheon made a pained sound of unspeakable loss and slumped to the ground, clutching the dirt, and at that moment, an iron stake driven into the ground caught his eye. The concept of Feng Shui suddenly flashed through his mind. Simultaneously, his reason reached the answer. This was done to sever the spiritual energy. To cut off the earth’s veins so the nation could never rise again—for just such a reason.

“…”

From that day forward, Gwak Deukcheon realized his fate was to be a male shaman and declared he would leave home.

That was at his coming-of-age, at the age of twenty.

Hyung Gwak, who adored Gwak Deukcheon endlessly, shed a flood of tears and tried to stop him by even grabbing his pant legs, but surprisingly, Mr. Gwak accepted it calmly.

The way Hyung Gwak saw it, Ms. Gwak was naturally bold so that made sense, but it was beyond strange that Mr. Gwak—that weak and affectionate half-wit—looked at his son with such a steady gaze that day.

However, Hyung Gwak realized a moment later.

“The National Humiliation of Gyeongsul. Do you remember it? To this day, the feelings I felt then remain vivid. If you hadn’t been born a few months later, I would have been so constantly aggrieved and resentful that I wouldn’t have been able to live like a human. Because you were born, I was able to set my feet on this land and live with my family. So, it isn’t strange that you have developed a wanderlust. If it weren’t for you, and for my wife, I too would have immediately thrown this body into the independence movement.”

He had forgotten because the current Mr. Gwak was such a gentle and cute younger brother who frequently burst into tears.

But in his younger days, there was no bigger bomb than him.

“You—you punk. Watch your words… What if someone hears you.”

“Hyung-nim, please wait. I have something to say to this fellow. You brat, Deukcheon, our son… You found it too, didn’t you? You’ve found the pulse of destiny that cries out desperately that you must do something, somehow?”

“…”

“Your father loved your mother so much that he didn’t want to leave her side. And as soon as I saw you, newly born, I fell in love and felt this family and a new destiny. That I must remain here.”

“Father…”

“But you will go, won’t you?”

Only then did Mr. Gwak show a few tears. Even so, he smiled purely and hugged him.

Ms. Gwak, who had remembered the dream she had at sixteen all this time, stood with her back straight, nodded her head, and cheered him on.

And so began the life story of the male shaman Gwak Deukcheon.

“I’ll skip ahead a bit. No, wait. This is a bit interesting.”

“Do as you please…”

“You’ll find this interesting too. It seems there was a time when Reaper Gwak was a wiser human than expected.”

“What?”

A time when Reaper Gwak was wise! Does such a thing even exist?