The Return of the Missing Heir
“Nice.”
After finishing the extra call, Chairman Jo clenched his fist in satisfaction.
“Beopsa-nim, they gave it the green light on their side. They said they already knew you, too.”
“Did they?”
“I was planning to sound them out about you anyway. Looks like I made the right connection.”
“That’s a relief.”
“They seem to want to hold a rite in front of the ashes on the first anniversary, but... will you have time?”
“Your matter is overlapping with it, so we’ll have to see.”
“Thank you.”
Chairman Jo took Kang-to’s hand.
“And... I hear your father is making a rather bold investment in the branch school?”
“That’s my mother’s work.”
“Ah, Chairwoman Eun Jeong-mi?”
“You know her?”
“I’m quite close with your older brother, Executive Director Lee Hyeong-uk. He even came to see me after the helicopter crash.”
Chairman Jo smiled. By now, he knew Kang-to was an illegitimate son, but he showed not the slightest sign of it.
“I’d like to get involved as well, but... Chilui Island is a special place to me.”
“Mm... Chairman, why don’t you take a different direction?”
“Do you have something in mind?”
“You said you were supporting the descendants of independence activists this time, right?”
“Yes.”
“Why not expand that support separately from your father’s matter? As far as I know, there are still many descendants of independence activists living in hardship.”
“That’s true enough.”
“The branch school here is small, and my mother is already handling it, so I think that would be better...”
“You mean making support for descendants of independence activists into a standing program?”
“Exactly.”
“That’s good. We already donated support money to the flooded mine, and this time we’ve begun by giving aid to the descendants of independence activists, so...”
“Then I’ll do my part to help with the matters in Japan. If your business does well, the support fund will grow, after all.”
“As expected, you’re looking farther ahead than I am. Thank you.”
Chairman Jo’s expression brightened.
“You should be heading out soon, then? The passenger ferry will be arriving...”
“Understood. I’ll call once the Japan schedule is finalized. This is me being greedy, but... on the way, I’d like to stop by Ube Mine as well. The remains recovery there isn’t progressing as well as expected.”
“Is that so?”
“I visited when I went to Japan this time, and... they’ve found irregular currents inside the mine, so it’s apparently been difficult for the divers to enter. They’re even considering underwater blasting at the entrance.”
“Wouldn’t that risk losing some of the remains?”
“That’s apparently what they’re worried about on-site as well. So if Beopsa-nim, with your strong spiritual power, were to go, maybe there’d be a way around it...”
“The two places aren’t that far apart, so if things finish quickly, it might be possible.”
“Understood. I’ll keep that in mind as well.”
As Chairman Jo turned away, Kang-to’s phone rang. It was Ju-ah.
“Beopsa-nim Kang-to.”
“Ju-ah?”
“I’m sorry, but could you do me one favor?”
“Go ahead.”
“I’m on the boat headed to the island right now...”
“Really?”
As Kang-to listened, he jolted in alarm.
“All right. Don’t worry.”
After hanging up, he hurried to the computer, quickly opened Word, and started printing. Then he sent an urgent SOS to Chief Choi, the fishing cooperative head, the women’s association chairwoman, and the others.
“The boat’s coming in.”
Along with the children’s cheers, the passenger ferry finally came into view. The kids who had been playing in the mudflats and along the shore rushed toward the pier. Vehicles began moving, and more people gathered. The pier was Chilui Island’s lungs and its heart, because this was the route through which deliveries, goods, and visitors all came and went.
“Then...”
After exchanging greetings with the village leaders, Chairman Jo bowed politely to Kang-to and got into his sedan.
“Thank you, Beopsa-nim Kang-to.”
“See you again next time.”
The passengers leaving on the afternoon ferry called out their thanks in unison. The last thing was the commemorative photo. Even the middle-aged aunties couldn’t resist the romance of a .
“Let’s go.”
Once most of the passengers had disembarked, Kang-to stepped forward. Chief Choi, the fishing cooperative head, and Captain Song joined him from behind.
“It’s Ju-ah’s unnie!”
Sol-bi, craning her neck as far as it would go, shouted at the top of her lungs.
“Kids, start.”
At Kang-to’s cue, Jung-woo and Eun-ha shouted to the children.
“Waaaaah!”
Clap, clap, clap.
Cheers and applause rolled across the pier. Ju-ah’s father, emerging under the escort of Kang-to, Chief Choi, and the others, saw it all.
[W][E][L][C][O][M][E] [J][U][A][H’S][D][A][D]
[W][E][L][C][O][M][E] [L][E][E] [S][U][N][H][O]
The letters on the printed sheets seemed to dance. Not only the children, but some of the islanders joined in, waving the signs. It was Kang-to’s quick thinking.
Ju-ah’s call had been a favor.
Thanks to Jin Dae-gun, Ju-ah’s father had been granted special leave. It was furlough for inmates. The retrial was still ahead, but the evidence and circumstances made the false charge increasingly likely. The prison warden had accepted that view.
But.
Lee Sun-ho was in a storm of conflicting feelings. He had been imprisoned for murder for more than six years. On a small island like this, there was no way rumors wouldn’t spread. Now that the furlough had actually been approved, that was what worried him. He wasn’t a murderer, but he feared the looks of the islanders.
“Please help him, Beopsa-nim.”
That had been Ju-ah’s request. It wasn’t only because of Kang-to, but if Kang-to stepped in, things changed. Ju-ah knew that, and so she had asked him.
“Ju-ah’s unnie.”
Starting with Sol-bi, the children gathered around. The islanders came too.
“Goodness, our Sun-ho has suffered so much.”
“Exactly. To think they called such a kind man a murderer...”
The elders, including Grandma Hong-seo, shared their sympathy.
“Thank you.”
Sun-ho, head lowered, could only repeat the same words.
“Hey, hold your head up. Why are you hanging it like that? You’ve been suffering in prison because of a false accusation, so why can’t you look up? There’s no one here pointing a finger at you. None.”
Captain Song wrapped an arm around his shoulders. From childhood, Sun-ho had had a gift for fishing that was far beyond ordinary. That was why he’d been called Chilui Island’s ace fisherman. Only then did Sun-ho lift his head and wipe away his tears.
“Thank you, Beopsa-nim.”
Ju-ah wiped her own tears. Everything felt right. Everything except one thing. While everyone’s emotion washed over him, Kang-to had, for a moment, forgotten the sea. A wave surged over the breakwater and showered the people with spray.
Damn.
Only then did he hurry to move, but once the water had come down, there was no taking it back.
“Oh my, now that Sun-ho’s home, even the waves are welcoming him!”
As the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and Captain Song’s interpretation was perfect. Everyone was so caught up in the unexpected sight that even Kang-to missed it. A familiar silhouette was climbing up toward the lighthouse shrine.
Under the islanders’ welcome, Ju-ah’s father headed home. Only then did Kang-to walk toward the lighthouse shrine as well.
“Beopsa-nim.”
The reserved guests out for a walk greeted him. He even took photos with those who wanted them. The glossy, heavy-laden dangjeongnamu trees were lovely, and the windflowers and wild violets, each as cute as Sol-bi, made a perfect backdrop.
“This place is amazing. Just standing here feels like healing, really.”
While the middle-aged woman drew in a long breath, Seo-sil standing in front of the lighthouse caught Kang-to’s eye. He was motioning to him.
“What is it?”
“Someone’s here.”
“Someone?”
“Hat, sunglasses, even a mask... Is it a celebrity?”
“A celebrity? Ah.”
Only then did Naive Baek Ri-rin come to mind. First Chairman Jo, and now Ju-ah’s father. With so many big matters going on, he had forgotten all about it.
“She’s in the waiting room.”
“Understood.”
Kang-to opened the door to the lighthouse shrine.
“Beopsa-nim.”
As Kang-to entered, he got to his feet. Seo-sil had been right. She was so thoroughly armored in layers of protection over her face that he wouldn’t have guessed she was Baek Ri-rin at all.
“......?”
But Kang-to couldn’t greet her right away. It wasn’t because he didn’t know she was Ri-rin. Ri-rin hadn’t come alone, and a heavy shadow clung to her.
“I’m Naive Baek Ri-rin.”
When Kang-to hesitated, Ri-rin revealed her identity. She removed her hat, then her mask, one by one.
“I called you earlier...”
“I know. I was just distracted for a moment. Please, come in.”
He gestured toward the shrine, but his gaze never left the shadow hanging off her side. Something bad was stuck to it. Properly stuck, at that.
Damn.
That scheduled appointment he had brushed off as a joke at the cocktail bar. Now he could see it wasn’t a joke at all.
“Did you come to have your fortune told?”
He moved to confirm. She might simply have come to the island for a breath of sea air. If that was the case, he couldn’t just throw down a gongsu on his own.
“Yes.”
Ri-rin lifted her head. Her smile was as sad as a wilted wild violet. She was different from how she’d looked at the cocktail bar. Even then, she hadn’t been bouncing around like a glass bead the way Song Si-nae and Chae I-rin did, but this was another level entirely.
“What are you hoping to find out?”
“Do I... look happy?”
The very first question was heavy. A happy person would never ask that.
And yet.
Kang-to’s answer came out in the affirmative.
“Yes.”
“......”
“......”
“Even to the Beopsa-nim who sits and sees a thousand miles, that’s how I look?”
Ri-rin’s eyes darkened. Before booking the appointment, she had spoken with Yoo Jae-hee. She’d gotten the number from her close friend Song Si-nae.
Naive was doing well, but that was only in the music industry. Broadening the scope to the entertainment world as a whole, she was a junior who still fell short of Yoo Jae-hee.
Beopsa-nim Kang-to.
Don’t even think about it. Just recommend him.
Yoo Jae-hee had said she received the call while fixing her makeup during a film shoot. Without another word, she recommended Kang-to.
The search results said the same thing. This lighthouse shaman wasn’t merely good at fortune-telling. He had received even the BBC’s recognition and had brought home the remains of a national hero. And yet he never used his own achievements to promote himself. Any other shaman would have been working overtime to advertise themselves through television and YouTube after collecting those huge fortunes. That was why Ri-rin had made up her mind and come here.
But.
The answer was disappointing. She had thought his eyes would be different.
As she drew a breath, Kang-to’s incisive gongsu followed.
“Do you know why I answered that way?”
“No.”
“Because Ri-rin, you’re still alive.”
“......?”
At Kang-to’s words, Ri-rin swayed on the spot. He had struck exactly the right nerve.
“I see spirits. Spirits are the forms of the dead. But you came in carrying the feeling of the stage before that.”
“The stage before?”
“To get to the conclusion... you’ve been thinking about suicide, haven’t you?”
“......?”
With the second gongsu, Ri-rin’s forehead turned pale as a freshly bloomed magnolia. It wasn’t just her pupils. Even her consciousness seemed to be draining white and empty.
A possessed gongsu.
She had seen them on the internet. But Ri-rin had never imagined it would hit this hard.
“Beopsa-nim.”
“Do I still look human to you?”
“......?”
“Set aside the fear and terror in your heart, and look slowly. See who is sitting in front of you.”
With Kang-to’s words, aurora rose around him. It was the crystallization of sanctity, the descent of the Nine Heavens Maiden.
As Kang-to and the celestial deity rippled as one, Ri-rin could barely breathe. Watching her, he read the fate battery.
[Health Luck ▮▮▮▮▯]
[Wealth Luck ▮▮▮▮▯]
[Family Luck ▮▮▮▮▯]
[Career Luck ▮▮▮▯▯]
[Human Luck ▮▮▮▮▯]
-Merit Box ▮▮/▮▯/▯▯
Huge jackpot.
That was Ri-rin’s fate. Everything was good. Her family luck, wealth luck, and human luck were all already full, so she had grown up in a rich, loving home.
So what was there to worry about? Even chaebols with more money than Ri-rin killed themselves. No matter how good a fortune you had, if one moment went wrong, it could turn fatal.
For that reason, even the opposite case wasn’t necessarily hopeless. If a good omen appeared at just the right moment, a person’s fate could change from that point on.
Ri-rin’s fatal blow had been carved in at the same time. Her health had wavered, and so had her wealth. Her career, and her human luck, too. In a word, everything was in disarray, but she had endured.
This.
Could it have been a coincidence? In any case, that had caused a devastating result.
[Complete depletion]
Burnout, as people called it.
One performance brought in billions of won, gifts arrived in mountains on her birthday, and fans swarmed wherever she went like clouds. But the glamorous backside of that popularity was dark. It had been wrung from the soul and marrow of the still-young Ri-rin, forcing her to pretend to be happy when she felt bad, pretend to be healthy when she hurt, pretend to be cheerful no matter what...
Management, management, management...
A daily life where falling from number one to number three on the charts would spell disaster. A plan that required staying one step ahead of rival singers. Ri-rin had been exhausted inside an absurdly standardized control system, and her life energy had hit bottom.
A singer at the top of the charts, apparently with no worries at all. Beautiful, with a killer figure. A public darling always delivering hope to her fans with a bright smile. But when you looked inside, her own freedom had dwindled to almost zero.
From meals to the smallest details of private life.
One day she woke up and became a star, or so it seemed, but from that day on, Baek Ri-rin had vanished whole, and Naive had taken her place. She was already just part of the great law of inertia, unable to turn back. In the end, she had begun to toy with a different word than “management team.”
The shocking reversal.
Suicide.
He had stated the result, so now he traced the process. This thing that had clung to Ri-rin like a shadow. He searched its identity with the authority of the Supreme Celestial God. It wasn’t a vengeful spirit. It wasn’t a spirit at all, and yet it was not entirely not one either.
What in the world...
As he concentrated again and again, the pieces of the mystery began to lock into place.
---