The Frog in the Well (1)
I was born and raised in a small village on the frontier. Our village was the very definition of the countryside, a place that took several full days of driving from the capital to reach. Inside the village, the air always felt stifling and heavy. It was probably because of the barrier erected to keep out monsters and vagrants.
The village's amenities amounted to little more than a run-down film theater and a tiny grocery store. The single school had fewer than a few dozen students in total. There wasn't even a hospital; most of the villagers relied on an old quack healer for their medical needs. Naturally, the children all dreamed of escaping this wretched place.
Whenever a wandering truck merchant visited, the square would be packed with those same children, buzzing with excitement. The merchant would spend the entire day spinning tales of heroes from the outside world. Stories like the three wanderers who stopped a massive monster flood in the east, or the old master who single-handedly slaughtered evil demons beyond the northern wall. Every time he spat with enthusiasm, the children's eyes would sparkle even brighter.
Sometimes they'd jump up mid-story, split into teams, and act out the roles themselves. The merchant's main sales tactic was to offer trinkets and protective charms to the mothers who came looking for their children around sunset, and that strategy had never once failed.
But I felt none of that longing.
Strangely enough, what I wanted was the life of the frog in the well from the fairy tale I'd read as a child. At the end of the story, the frog gives up on leaving the well. My friends laughed at the frog for rejecting the wider world, calling it stupid, but I felt the complete opposite.
The frog simply knew its own limits and found satisfaction in them. To me, the well was this very village. This narrow place was my entire world. Whether the environment was good or bad had never been a factor worth considering.
I had no idea how I'd come to hold such values. Maybe I'd simply given up on fantasies with near-zero chances of coming true and adapted to reality. One thing was certain: as a child, I firmly believed that growing old here was the fate given to me.
But in the year I turned thirteen, something unusual happened.
It was late summer, right after the rainy season had ended. A rare ripple disturbed the quiet daily life of the village. Near our house stood an old, long-abandoned mansion. Suddenly, workers from outside swarmed in and began repairing it. The hammering continued even into the night for a while, and the house quickly regained its original neat appearance.
People naturally grew curious about the mansion's new owner. Some, seeing the unusually stiff expression on the guard captain's face, speculated that someone of unexpectedly high and noble status might be coming to our village. The debate over the occupant's identity continued for several days. For the perpetually bored villagers, there was no better topic of conversation.
That curiosity was finally resolved a few days later.
Early one morning, at a signal from the rigidly disciplined guard captain, the village's main gate opened. Soon, a single luxurious vehicle gleaming with deep black paint rolled down the village road. It came to a stop only after reaching the repaired mansion.
A moment later, a stern-looking woman stepped out of the driver's seat and hurried to open the rear door. After a brief pause, what emerged from inside was a young girl.
The debate over the girl's identity had set the village abuzz, but it soon began to die down. The only person who seemed to know anything was the guard captain, and he kept his mouth firmly shut, leaving no room for speculation. At that point, the adults realized there was nothing to gain from showing interest and gradually stopped talking about it.
Children are usually oblivious to such adult circumstances, but this time was no different. There was only one school in the village, and after moving in, the girl began attending just a few days later.
The moment she first appeared through the classroom's front door, every student let out a small gasp.
Hair as black as the night sky. Skin as pale and pure as ivory in contrast. A delicate face that looked like it could fit in one hand. Large, bright eyes and long, elegant lashes. Lips dyed red like hawthorn berries. And overlaying all that fresh beauty, a thick shadow of inexplicable sorrow and gloom.
The girl's unique mystique and noble bearing had a magnetic pull, so both boys and girls flocked to her, showing their interest. But it didn't take long for the illusion to shatter.
The girl responded to every student who approached her with an overbearing and arrogant attitude. She often showered the more persistent ones with insulting and vulgar language. She even ordered them around like servants, commanding them to attend to her needs. It was only natural that people began to drift away.
Before long, no one would go near the window seat at the very back of the classroom that had become hers. The girl spent her days sitting quietly in her seat before going home, repeating the same routine. Honestly, at this point, it was hard to understand why she even bothered coming to school at all.
Even though a considerable amount of time had passed since her transfer, we didn't even know a single syllable of her name.
"I heard it from Hajin earlier. He said he saw the guard captain bowing and scraping to that strict-looking maid who came out of that house."
"Stop talking nonsense."
"He swore on his mom's life that it was true. Does that even make sense? That pig bowing to anyone is ridiculous enough, but to a maid?"
On the way back to the residential area after school, Jinho's mouth never stopped moving. His face was full of indignation. He was one of the victims who'd received the girl's merciless verbal abuse.
"The adults were right. She must be the young lady of some great family. And a ridiculously high-ranking one at that. She might even be a mage. That's why the pig was bowing so low to her maid."
"I told you to stop with the nonsense. Why would a young lady from a family like that come to our village? Would you want to come here if you were her?"
"How should I know? Anyway, it's certain."
Ina scolded him from the side, but Jinho ignored her and continued his confident assertion.
"That's why even the homeroom teacher can't do anything about her. Just think about it. A student acting that arrogantly—does it make any sense that Joohee would just let it slide..."
"Hey. Since when is it 'Joohee' to you? I'm telling the teacher tomorrow. You called her name so casually when she wasn't around."
"What's the big deal? It's not like I said it to her face. And you're the one who threw a huge tantrum last time when Joohee confiscated your tint..."
"Ack!!"
"Hey! I told you to forget about that!"
Ina shrieked and kicked Jinho hard in the shin.
"Hey, Hyun. Say something, will you?"
"About what?"
Jinho, who had finally recovered from the pain after groaning for a while, tapped my shoulder.
"What else? You heard what she said earlier too."
"So who told you to talk to her? You should've stayed far away like I did."
"I'm curious, okay? And no matter how annoying she is, how can someone talk to people like that? It's not like I did anything seriously wrong. Is being raised fancy an excuse for everything?"
"That probably only applies to you."
Ina smirked openly. Jinho stubbornly continued.
"If it was just her way of speaking, I wouldn't even mention it. You guys should've seen the look in her eyes. It was like she was treating me like some kind of monster."
"Isn't that obvious? If it were me, I'd look at you the same way if you tried talking to me..."
"Hey, Hyun-ah. Women aren't all the same just because they're pretty. I've never seen a girl more vicious than this bitch Ina in my entire..."
"Hey! Kang Jinho! I'm really going to kill you!"
"Anyway, I've said my piece! I'm heading out first! See you tomorrow!"
Ina lunged at him like she wanted to devour him, but Jinho easily dodged the attack and shot off like lightning down the alley. Ina chased after him furiously and disappeared as well, leaving me suddenly alone.
I trudged down the alley, reflecting on everything that had happened since the girl transferred in. Truthfully, my situation wasn't all that different from hers. The reason was my constitution.
During the physical examination before entering school, I was diagnosed as a complete non-sensitive—a body entirely incapable of using magic. I still remember how the dispatched doctor’s eyes widened in shock. He said that every person possessed at least some degree of sensitivity. No matter how little talent they had, with decades of effort, anyone could perform basic magic like floating a small fruit in the air.
But a constitution with absolutely zero sensitivity like mine was so rare that even among a hundred thousand people—no, a million—you'd be hard-pressed to find even one. The doctor wanted to take me to a higher city for research and offered enormous compensation in return.
But his dream was shattered by my mother's fierce opposition, and he eventually left the village with a deeply regretful expression. In any case, my constitution became perfect fodder for the childish teasing of the other kids.
Even though they weren't mages themselves, the mischievous children relentlessly mocked me. When I responded with indifference, their harassment only grew worse. Eventually, they crossed the line and someone brought up my parents. I couldn't hold back anymore and beat the main culprits black and blue.
It wasn't that my constitution particularly bothered me. What difference would it make if a frog could use a bit of magic? More than that, I think it was because of my mother, who kept apologizing even though none of it was her fault.
Since I was facing multiple opponents alone, I used every tool I could grab—stones, sticks, anything—and ended up breaking the bones of several of the ringleaders. One of them was a girl. Some adults complained to my mother, asking how I could hit a girl so brutally.
But I refused to apologize until the end. They'd done the same wrong; there was no reason to hit her more lightly just because she was a girl. Jinho and Ina took my side during that incident, which was how we became close. However, because so many kids had joined in the bullying, I still kept a distant relationship with the other classmates.
Of course, that didn't mean I felt any sense of kinship with the girl or wanted to get close to her. Who could possibly like someone with a personality that spewed verbal abuse at anyone who tried to befriend her? Perhaps because of those experiences, I had become more sensitive to verbal harassment than physical.
If someone like that started hanging around me and I heard harsh words, I couldn't predict how I might react. Unlike the other kids who at least tried to strike up a conversation, I deliberately kept an even greater distance. That hadn't changed even now.
"Hey, you over there."
It happened one day. I'd forgotten my pencil case and had to go back to school. The moment I opened the classroom door, I locked eyes with the girl who was sitting there alone. As soon as she saw me, she spoke up as if it were perfect timing.
"...?"
Since she always went home early, I hadn't expected to run into her alone like this. I was a little flustered by the sudden encounter, but the girl paid no attention to my feelings and pointed outside the classroom door with an arrogant jerk of her chin.
"Go fetch me some water."
"...What?"
Only after hearing the girl's abrupt demand could I calm my mind a little. At the same time, I felt a strange sense of defiance rising within me. Who did she think she was, ordering me around like this when we'd never even spoken before?
Not a single thing Jinho had said that day in the alley was wrong. Seeing me organizing my thoughts, the girl urged me again. Her face was full of arrogance.
"These lowly commoners really can't understand a single order. Can't you hear me? I'm thirsty, so hurry up and go get me some wa—"
"No."
"...What?"
Her face twisted fiercely, as if she hadn't expected rejection at all.
"I said no. If you want water, go get it yourself. Why are you ordering someone else around? And it's not even a request. I'm going home."
I was more interested in getting home quickly than continuing this empty conversation. But just as I turned to leave the classroom after refusing, a thorny voice from behind stopped me in my tracks.
"How dare a lowly non-sensitive bastard refuse my command. As expected of someone who inherited such vulgar blood..."
From the girl's lips came a clear voice paired with crude, unfamiliar language that didn't suit her at all. The moment I heard those words, I felt the blood in my entire body turn ice cold.
No matter how you interpreted it, she was insulting my mother—the one thing I hated hearing most in the world. After I'd beaten up the kids who used to harass me, no one said such things to my face anymore, but I knew they still whispered them behind my back. Maybe the girl had overheard something and learned about my situation.
But how she'd found out didn't matter. What mattered now was that this spoiled young lady had uttered the words I despised most, and I felt an intense urge to shut that mouth of hers for good.
"...? What are you—"
I turned around and walked toward the girl. Sensing that something was off, she frowned and tried to say something. But I no longer wanted to hear a single sound from her lips.
I raised my right hand. Before she could finish speaking, I put all my strength into my arm and swung it down.
-Slap!
"Huh...?"
My right hand struck the girl's left cheek perfectly. Her pale skin turned bright red in an instant. She let out a stupid little sound, seemingly unable to comprehend what had just happened to her.
But my punishment wasn't over yet. I raised my right hand again, this time clenching it into a tight fist. Then, with all my might, I drove it straight into her stomach.
-Thud!
"Cough... ugh... ack..."
"Don't insult my mom."
The girl who had been flaunting her noble arrogance was now writhing in pain at my feet.