A Hidden Heir and a House of Tigers
There were no more brutal murder cases.
One similar incident had occurred at the very end, but the police investigation revealed it was a copycat crime. The culprit was arrested the very next day.
Chairman Cho brought two pieces of news.
One was that the revocation of his grandfather’s posthumous independence-merit decoration had passed. The other was that the newly appointed Executive Director Kwak Jae-seok had found the ideal site for the integrated leisure complex—a beach not far from Yangyang, where the current boom made it possible to pursue a layered, scenic development using the surrounding landscape.
An independence-merit decoration.
The honor of a national patriot. Even though it had been revoked, Chairman Cho looked almost relieved. It meant he could lay down one burden of conscience.
“Thanks to your counsel, Beopsa.”
The chairman’s gratitude sat in Kang-to’s ears with a pleasing weight.
Kang-to had pulled Chairman Cho back from the decades-old grievance of a wronged spirit, and his pride swelled of its own accord. So this was what it meant to have become a true disciple.
To heal one human being and set him on the road of good deeds—that was a realm no doctor could ever claim as their own. It was the shaman’s special territory.
Lady Gyeongsin and Little Bodhisattva left on the same day.
The landscape specialist Chairman Cho had left behind also took the same ferry off the island. This time even Sol-bi did not put up a fuss, because Chae-rin had told her the date of her next visit.
“Dad, how many sleeps until that day comes?” Sol-bi asked, pointing at the date she had marked on the calendar the moment Chae-rin left.
“Thirty-three sleeps?”
“Then I’m going to sleep twice a day starting today. No, three times. Then after ten sleeps, big sister will be here, right?”
Pffft.
Kang-to barely held back a laugh.
It was Sol-bi’s own arithmetic. Still, it wasn’t only a child’s imagination. His great-uncle had said something similar once, too. In old times, people ate rice cake soup on New Year’s Day, and only after eating it did they gain another year. So, in a child’s heart, there had been years when he ate two bowls, eager to grow up faster, just like the neighborhood boys.
“You know Dad’s going to the mainland, right?”
“Yeah.”
“But I’ve got good news.”
“What is it?”
Sol-bi’s ears perked up.
“Your great-aunt and great-uncle are coming back in.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Dad’s going over tomorrow to look at the place, and then they’ll move in.”
“Waaah, that’s awesome.”
Sol-bi jumped around all over the place, looking as though she’d gained an army a thousand strong.
“Want me to bring you something when I come back?”
“Sol-bi wants five fish-shaped buns. No, ten.”
“Who are you buying so many for?”
“For Gwang-cheol too, and for big sister Tae-hee, and older brother Hong-seo... and Grandma Hong-seo and Grandma Jjanggu.”
“What about Dad?”
“I’ll give Dad the biggest one.”
“Aren’t you amazing at managing your fan club, Sol-bi?”
“It’s good to have a lot of popularity, isn’t it?”
“Hmm. If you have too many fans, Dad gets jealous.”
“Does Dad have a lot of fans too? All the guests at the guesthouse came to see Dad’s fortune-telling.”
“Then I guess it’s a draw?”
“Yep, a tie.”
Sol-bi nodded generously.
The visit to the chairman’s house was set for Monday, meaning tomorrow. It was his shamanic shrine’s regular day off, and it also overlapped with the invitation he’d received from Gong Guk-hui, whom he’d helped before. At first he’d thought it was just a polite invitation, but it seemed she had meant it sincerely. Through Chairman Cho’s brother, Cho Su-hyuk, she had made her intentions to invite him very clear, so he’d accepted.
The mother and baby had both been discharged healthy. He could have turned down the invitation, but he accepted because of the spirit he’d felt that day.
As Kang-to had suspected, if it had been the ghost that had flown out of the submerged mine, then it would no longer be able to cause harm. But the source of the karmic grievance still remained. If that too was not resolved, it could become a lingering aftereffect for the mother or the newborn.
And if he’d been worrying unnecessarily, then all he had to do was enjoy a dinner before heading home.
“Is one day enough?”
As Kang-to prepared to leave, Manager Seo asked him.
“More than enough.”
“Honestly, just juggling all the reservations we had to shift around today kept me on my toes.”
“I’m sorry. If you’ve got any errands, Manager, you should take care of them today and tomorrow.”
“You’re not taking both days off because of me, are you?”
“It’s for your younger brother’s forty-ninth-day memorial, isn’t it?”
“Well...”
“I wasn’t asking out of suspicion. Conveniently enough, the dates overlap.”
“When are you leaving?”
“I’ll go on the afternoon ferry.”
“Then take this. Buy some soju and maybe a little side dish.”
Kang-to held out an envelope.
“No. You already paid me so much last month...”
“What would I do without you, Manager? If it weren’t for your experience, our Lighthouse Shrine would shut its doors tomorrow.”
“If a shrine run by Nine Heavens Maiden shuts down, then what shrine in the world wouldn’t shut down?”
“Dad.”
While they were talking, Sol-bi pointed outside. The village chief’s scooter had come into view.
“Looks like he’s got something to say to Kang-to Beopsa. He’s been pacing around like a dog that needs to poop.”
“Send him in.”
Kang-to said.
“Our Kang-to Beopsa, you’re headed to the mainland?”
The village chief came in with a friendly voice.
“What brings you here?”
“What brings me here... Well, I caught some good fish last night and came to share one with you.”
What he offered was a huge croaker.
“Back in the day, this was the kind of fish that ended up on the king’s table. It’s good as sashimi or grilled, so have some.”
“Chief.”
“The man who came by last time—he was Chairman of Cheonjo Group, right? Is he your customer too, Kang-to Beopsa?”
“What? Yes...”
Too much farting makes a pile of shit. That was the thought Kang-to didn’t say aloud. Of course, Chairman Lee wouldn’t have blabbed either. Still, the truth had a way of surfacing sooner or later.
“Come on, don’t be so modest. I heard him talking on the phone in front of the restaurant. Didn’t sound like an ordinary relationship to me.”
The village chief was casually testing him while signaling familiarity. From the look of it, he still didn’t know that Chairman Lee was Kang-to’s biological father.
“Just say what you came to say.”
“Well... hold on a second.”
Choi Ijang pulled Kang-to aside.
“A guesthouse?”
Behind the lighthouse, Kang-to lifted his head.
“It’s kind of awkward to say this, but... it looks like island development has gone nowhere, and more and more people are coming to see Kang-to Beopsa... My mother used to run an inn, you know? I was thinking of tearing it down and putting up a storage shed, but... if Kang-to Beopsa is going to keep staying on the island, maybe I should build the inn back up. I need to save a little money if I’m going to raise our Dong-cheol properly.”
“I thought you hated shamanism, Chief.” Kang-to asked, feigning innocence.
“Me? No, why would I? Something I said in a drinking session got blown out of proportion.”
The village chief’s expression turned serious.
“What about the complaints?”
“That was also something I blurted out in a fit of anger when the township clerk came around...”
“Can I believe that?”
“Of course. I’m a sailor too, after all. The more people come to the island, the better business does for the sashimi restaurants.”
The village chief scratched the back of his neck.
“Then just promise me one thing. That you’ll never disparage my mother or grandmother again.”
“I promise. If you want, I’ll even write it down.”
The village chief didn’t add anything else.
The mood of the island was slowly drifting toward Kang-to’s side. The village chief was a native son of this island, too. If the island had a future, he had no intention of leaving for the mainland now.
“Then I’m not leaving the island either. You can make the rest of your judgment however you like.”
“Really? You’re not going?”
“No.”
“Thanks. Then have a safe trip to the mainland.”
Patting Kang-to on the back, the village chief let out a relieved breath and climbed onto his scooter.
“What’d he say? He’s not coming to pick a fight with the shrine, is he?”
Manager Seo asked.
“The opposite. He asked whether he could build an inn because the shrine’s guests are increasing.”
“Really?”
“So don’t worry, Manager. Go and take care of your business.”
“Well, I should. Who do you think is gathering people to this declining island? This island’s just a steamed bun without filling if it doesn’t have Kang-to Beopsa, that’s for sure.”
Manager Seo’s face was full of pride.
“Dad, what’s filling?”
Right then, Sol-bi’s curiosity struck like lightning.
“Filling means the sweet red bean paste inside the bun. You know how fish-shaped buns have bean paste in them, right?”
“Auntie, my kindergarten teacher said not to use Japanese words.”
Sol-bi immediately pushed back at Manager Seo.
“S-sorry... when I was little, everybody said it that way, so I just...”
Manager Seo rushed to clean up the mess. Sol-bi had already become known as a child who spoke properly. With Kang-to laying down the facts like a shaman delivering an oracle, there was no chance of winning by arguing.
Whooo—
With the distant blast of a horn, the passenger ferry began to come into view. It was time to head to the mainland.
“Enjoy yourselves.”
Chairwoman Gong Guk-hui indicated the food. It was the terrace of an elegant luxury house with a beautiful garden. Beside her sat Gil Ji-yeon, who had once been the mother in labor, and her husband.
“Thank you for saving our Ji-yeon and Chang-woo,” the husband said gratefully. At the time of the accident, he had been on an overseas business trip.
“I’ll say it again: the credit that day belongs not to me, but to Beopsa Kang-to here,” Cho Su-hyuk said.
“But just now... Beopsa? Isn’t he a doctor?” Chairwoman Gong asked. Her daughter and son-in-law also sharpened their attention.
“I’m a shaman who runs the Lighthouse Shrine on Chilui Island,” Kang-to said. Gong Guk-hui was the chairwoman of Seongsan Group, a company so large it stood shoulder to shoulder with his biological father’s Cheonjo Group. But he had no intention of shrinking himself or hiding who he was. If she disliked shamanism, he was ready to stand up and leave right away.
“A shaman?”
“Most people call me a mudang.”
For a moment, silence settled over the dining table.
“If my presence makes you uncomfortable, I’ll get up now.”
Just as Kang-to was about to make his move,
“No, that’s not what we mean. We’re just surprised, that’s all... Please forgive us if that was rude.” Gong Guk-hui apologized.
“So are we. We met you at the hospital, so we thought you were a doctor...” Gil Ji-yeon hurried to smooth things over as well.
“Actually, that day I brought Beopsa Kang-to here at my brother’s request,” Cho Su-hyuk explained. “And on the way back, we happened to see your daughter, Chairwoman...”
“Ah, I heard Chairman Cho was discharged after a full recovery?”
“Yes.”
“A helicopter fell into the sea, and he survived... That was a real escape from death.”
“And that too was thanks to the secret oracle Beopsa Kang-to gave...”
Cho Su-hyuk’s voice was careful, but he did not hide the fact itself. The report he had received from the fertility clinic before meeting Kang-to had been the reason.
This time, things are genuinely in good shape.
Just a single sentence, yet it was different from before.
Not only that, but Chairman Cho’s own words after returning from the island were the same. He said his sister-in-law had dreamed of a pregnancy omen the day they conceived. Somehow, this time it felt like it might be a natural pregnancy. On top of that, his daily life had changed. The nightmares that used to come now and then had stopped completely. It began the day after Chairman Cho held the memorial rite for the dead.
Cho Su-hyuk was a doctor. Naturally, he didn’t believe in anything remotely resembling superstition, but Kang-to was the exception. Once he decided this was not superstition but a genuine psychic ability, the resistance vanished.
“You’re serious?”
Gong Guk-hui’s eyes trembled. Not because of anything Kang-to had said, but because of Cho Su-hyuk, a doctor known as one of the finest in his generation. And this was after he’d already helped save both her daughter and her granddaughter.
“It feels strange for me, as a doctor, to praise superstition, but... I can’t deny Beopsa Kang-to’s abilities.”
“Well, my mother-in-law also received help from a capable shaman many times,” Gong Guk-hui said, unexpectedly.
“Pardon?”
“Since things have come to this, I’d like to tell you an old story.”
Meeting Kang-to’s eyes, the chairwoman opened a drawer long sealed in memory.
“It was right after I got married. My father-in-law went to inspect a newly built factory, and a temporary structure collapsed on him, crushing him to death. The cause of death was cardiac arrest, but he passed rather horribly.”
Horribly?
Kang-to’s intuition twitched slightly.
“That alone would have been shocking enough, but a little later, Ji-yeon’s father also... On his way back from a business trip in the provinces, he was caught in a landslide triggered by summer monsoon rains that had softened the ground... Because of that, Seongsan Enterprise, the predecessor to Seongsan Group, once stood on the brink of collapse.”
“......”
“At the time, my mother-in-law went to a shaman to have her fortune told, I think. When she came back, she told me to change clothes while I was mixing bellflower greens in the kitchen. I put on my going-out clothes and followed her, still half-dazed...”
“......”
“As we were heading to the company, she said, ‘Seongsan Enterprise needs to be entrusted to you.’”
“......?”
“That was what the shaman said, she told me. Because of the sins of the past, the household had incurred the earth god’s punishment, so the family business should be given to a daughter-in-law of virtue. Then the misfortune would stop.”
Gong Guk-hui’s cheeks flushed. She was returning to the feelings of that time.
From now on, the hope of our family is you.
Her mother-in-law’s voice floated back to her, faint and hazy.
“I was just a woman who kept house. What would I have known? Even seeing a president’s nameplate terrified me, but I worked day and night for the sake of little Ji-yeon. Thanks to that, the company grew a great deal as well.”
“Is that really true?” Ji-yeon asked.
“It is. I never told anyone because I thought they’d laugh if they heard it. So this doesn’t seem like a coincidence either.” Gong Guk-hui smiled.
Kang-to already knew the whole story. He had read the grandfather’s sins through Gil Ji-yeon’s spiritual center.
Gil Ji-yeon’s grandfather had been the township clerk during the Japanese colonial period.
He had coveted a distant relative’s property and plotted against him. Using a young relative’s recklessness, he lured him into gambling and then persuaded him to go off as forced labor instead of to prison.
He approached the young man’s wife, who knew nothing of the matter, and bled the family dry under the pretense of using the money for investigations and trials, then drove that wife and her two small children to their deaths by pushing them into an icy winter river.
At the final moment, the wife realized the plot against her relatives in the village office and begged that at least the two small children be saved, but the clerk showed no mercy. He shoved the children—whom the desperate young mother had pushed to the riverbank with the last of her strength—back into the water.
The young wife’s dying wish was delivered to the husband who had died in the mine. In a prophetic dream, she conveyed the blood-soaked grievance. Through a letter, the husband confirmed that the dream had been true. All of his property had been taken by Gil Ji-yeon’s grandfather, Gil Chang-sik.
The vengeful spirit had flown here to settle that hatred. It had chosen the day and made its attempt, only to be caught by Kang-to.
That oracle he did not speak aloud.
Heaven’s punishment.
The ancestor who had committed the wrongdoing had already paid the price. He himself and even his son had died unnatural deaths. The spirit that had brought misfortune to the granddaughter had been sent on to the afterlife, and Chairwoman Gong was a person who had accumulated merit. If the right opportunity came, Kang-to intended to suggest a business project that would help the descendants of independence patriots.
“In that case, may I take a look at the baby?”
Kang-to’s choice was confirmation. A spirit filled with the grievance of a thousand autumns had flown here. It had found Gil Ji-yeon and begun its revenge. It had fled, cowed by Kang-to’s authority, but traces might still remain.
“Of course. Show him, dear. He’s the benefactor who saved your life.”
Chairwoman Gong said to her daughter.
The baby was sleeping in the room. At that age, life consisted of eating, sleeping, and soiling diapers.
“......”
Kang-to’s expression hardened at the sight of the baby.
As he’d feared, the trace of the dead spirit’s violence remained around the neck.
“One moment.”
After hearing Kang-to’s assessment, Cho Su-hyuk called the head of pediatrics. The baby was diagnosed via video consultation and was transferred to the hospital on the spot. Emergency tests revealed a neck tumor.
Neck tumors in infants were relatively common. The trouble was that they often went unnoticed until they had grown or begun to cause pain. If left untreated, they could become malignant, so there was nothing better than early detection.
“You saved our granddaughter twice,” Chairwoman Gong said, handing him an envelope.
“Since I haven’t properly read your fortune, I must decline. If you ever do come for a formal reading later, please give it to me then.”
As Kang-to turned it down politely, Chairwoman Gong took the envelope back.
“You really are extraordinary,” Cho Su-hyuk said, giving him a hearty thumbs-up. Under the warm gaze of both Chairwoman Gong and her daughter, Kang-to got into a taxi.
That had been the night before. By Monday morning, Kang-to was on his way to Chairman Lee Tae-seop’s house.
A tiger’s den.
That might have been exactly what it was.
So his feelings were different from when he had gone into the Cheonjo Group chairman’s office.
Zhiiing.
He didn’t understand what he was walking into until the front gate, then the front door, opened automatically in sequence.
Song Ji-na, the mother of his biological father and the behind-the-scenes power behind Cheonjo Group—he had no idea she was holding a secret even larger than Kang-to’s own premonition.
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