The Curse of the Bloodline
Resentful spirits and vengeful wraiths were minor ghosts of the same breed. But they differed from the others in one crucial way: they were possessed by a blood-soaked grudge.
These spirits dreamed of revenge twenty-four hours a day. To them, timing mattered; there was such a thing as the golden hour.
Humans were no different. If you wanted to kill someone, you couldn’t simply do it whenever the mood struck. The conditions had to align. The moment had to be right. Otherwise, all you got was a failed attempt.
Among all grudges, this was the kind known as a hatred that lasted through the ages.
And Kang-to’s fingertips caught hold of the thread of that hatred.
It was the Japanese colonial era. A military police auxiliary was in view. It was hard to tell whether this was a dream or reality, so he could only watch.
“Drag him out.”
[Chilgok Rice Mill]
This was the district where the county office had stood ever since the days of Palgeo Prefecture in 1895. Beneath the signboard written in bold, flowing Chinese characters, the military police auxiliary’s authority seemed to pierce the sky. Baek Yeong-gil, the owner, who had been counting sacks of rice, was hauled out without understanding a thing.
“Why are you doing this?”
For his protest, the butt of a rifle smashed into him. A pair of boots came down mercilessly after that. The collaborators with clubs in hand only stared blankly.
Then a young man came charging in like a bull. It was Baek Jung-geun, the rice mill owner’s son. His momentum stopped dead in front of the auxiliary when a pistol muzzle was pressed to his forehead.
Bang.
The world flashed white, and the son, too, spewed blood and crumpled to the ground.
“You gave money to the independence movement, didn’t you? Spit it out.”
A dim basement in the military police detachment came into view. Beneath a feeble light, brutal torture was being carried out. Every torture method Kang-to had ever seen in history books was being used.
“Baek Jung-geun, you’re with them too, aren’t you?”
In the room next door, the son was being beaten as well.
The next day, the military police auxiliary was meeting the rice mill owner’s daughter. When she pleaded with him, offering a stack of banknotes, he only smiled with a sinister tilt to his mouth. He stepped close and reached for her face; she turned away.
Smack.
The slap was as vivid as thunder. In the end, the daughter could not refuse him. She had to save her father and brother.
The rice mill owner died in prison. He couldn’t endure the torture and bit through his own tongue.
“Make the copy.”
The military police auxiliary shoved conscription papers at the son, whose body was covered in wounds. Unaware that his father had already died in prison, the son signed them, believing it was the condition for his release.
“......?”
When he came outside, his father was no longer among the living.
“He was alive until a moment ago, but in the meantime he bit through his tongue.”
The military police auxiliary sneered.
“Rrrraah!”
The son lunged at him, but all around were military police and auxiliaries. His body was in no shape to fight, and he still had to arrange his father’s funeral, so for the time being he left the detachment.
“......”
When he got home, he was shattered once again. Opening the door, he found his younger sister. She was a corpse, hanging by the neck from the rafters in the ceiling. A suicide note had been laid on a pair of socks below.
“I’ll kill him.”
He grabbed a sickle and ran to the military police detachment, but that was all he could do. He was arrested on the spot and loaded onto a ship bound for Japan, together with compatriots who had been forcibly seized from all over the country.
“Jo Chun-bae. So-o Tchuchika. Wait for me. I’ll find a way back and chew on your raw liver, you bastard.”
So-o Tchuchika was the Japanese name he had taken by dropping the “Chun” from Jo Chun-bae and pronouncing the rest in Japanese. In other words, it was the military police auxiliary’s name after a forced name change.
“Ugh.”
Kang-to shook his head. It was the gaze of a madman, a gaze steeped in lunatic fury. Then, from within that murky haze of consciousness, he heard Chairman Jo’s voice.
“Has this guy lost it?”
The question was directed at his aides.
“No, sir.”
Kang-to steadied his breathing and straightened his posture.
A gongdeok warehouse.
The chairman’s grandfather’s gongdeok warehouse, stained over by evil deeds. Then the premonition he had just seen—was it a gongsu about that man?
“Could it be...”
He turned to confirm it with Chairman Jo. He still wasn’t used to receiving divine gongsu, so it was possible he’d made a mistake.
“Is your grandfather’s name Jo Chun-bae? From Chilgok in Gyeongbuk...?”
“......?”
Chairman Jo, who had been talking with his entourage, turned to look at Kang-to.
“What did you say?”
“I asked whether your grandfather’s name was Jo Chun-bae. And whether your ancestral hometown was Chilgok.”
“So you really can tell things like that, being from a shaman family?”
“Well, you’re so famous, Chairman...”
“I suppose... yes, my grandfather’s name was that, but what does it have to do with anything?”
Once Chairman Jo gave him that confirmation, Kang-to’s body tipped over again.
“This guy really has gone off the rails.”
Chairman Jo’s tsking faded into the distance in Kang-to’s ears.
“......?”
When he opened his eyes, he was at home. Someone must have carried him here.
“You’re awake?”
At the voice, he turned his head. Grandmother Hong-seo came in carrying a tray.
“I made some seoguk. Try it.”
“Grandmother?”
“You used up a lot of strength finding our Hong-seo daddy. Back in the day, our Sea West Manshin was the same. Whenever the spirits came down in force and she held a rite, she’d lie flat for three or four days afterward.”
The Sea West Manshin was Kang-to’s grandmother. He had no memory of her, though.
“You saw my grandmother perform a lot of rites?”
“Of course. Back then, our island was the most prosperous place around here. Must’ve had five hundred households, maybe? That’s why we even had a middle school.”
“Yes...”
“People came from everywhere to have fortunes told by Sea West Manshin, and there were many days when folks would call her over from the mainland. Whenever Sea West Manshin went out, even the high waves would settle down.”
At her explanation, Kang-to laughed. He was the opposite of her. When he went out, the waves danced.
Still, he was grateful. Grateful that there was still someone who remembered his grandmother.
Moved by Grandmother Hong-seo’s kindness, he cleaned the bowl of seoguk. It was a simple, savory taste with the scent of the sea woven through it, the kind of flavor that loosened the tightness in your chest.
“A child born of blood like that—how dare anyone?”
Grandmother Hong-seo cast a sharp glare outside.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Well now, you polished it off clean. Want me to get you some more?”
“No, thank you. I’m full.”
“But why did you collapse? People are saying you fainted in front of that chairman from Seoul.”
“Where is he now?”
“At the raw-fish place, it looks like he’s treating the island leaders to a meal.”
“I see.”
Kang-to stood up. There was something he needed to say.
“You’re going there?”
“Yes.”
“I think you’d be better off not going.”
“Why?”
“The people pushing this are the village chief, the head of the fishing cooperative, and the women’s association president, aren’t they? They’re all desperate to sell the island, but you’re not going to sell this land, are you?”
“There’s something more important than land.”
“Hm?”
“A man named Chairman Jo’s life is at stake.”
Kang-to stepped out into the yard.
The raw-fish place wasn’t far. There were only two on the island now. Originally, there had been five or six near the pier. If you went along the shore toward Oechil-ri, there had been three or four there too. But as development spread to the neighboring Gyecheong Island, everyone drifted over there instead. The gap in daily tourist traffic was enormous, and all the convenience facilities had concentrated there as well.
“......?”
As he headed toward the pier, he stopped walking. It was a helipad.
Damn it.
Even the feeling coming off the helicopter was wrong.
“What’s the problem?”
As Kang-to approached, the pilot squared his shoulders.
“I can feel bad energy coming from the helicopter. Would it be all right if I take a look?”
“Bad energy?”
“Yes.”
“What a half-baked shaman.”
“Excuse me?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be from a shaman family that’s been on this island for generations? Then when our chairman showed you kindness earlier, you should’ve said you were ready to sign a contract. If you’d just said that one thing, money would’ve come rolling in. Instead you’re trying to squeeze a fee out of him by talking about energy?”
“Watch your mouth. Squeeze a fee out of him?”
“Forget it. If you want to handle money, talk contract. If you want to get a little more out of this, go run over and cling to him right now. Our chairman is generous to people who bow their heads, anyway. He’s rather harsh to the opposite sort.”
“When is this helicopter leaving?”
“After the meal. Why?”
“This helicopter... shouldn’t take off today.”
“What?”
“I said it shouldn’t take off today. Stay the night, or take a boat out.”
“Hey, you were odd enough earlier—shouldn’t you be in a hospital? The only things that keep a helicopter grounded are night and wind, and there isn’t a breath of wind right now.”
“Fate has nothing to do with wind.”
“Fate?”
“Yes.”
“Listen here. Do you know who brought our chairman here?”
“Who?”
“A man named Jeon Seon-uk—Korea’s greatest geomancer. He’s arranged presidential burial sites three times. The man’s mastered almost everything there is to know about astronomy, the principles of fate, and four-pillar astrology. And yet here you are, spouting nonsense?”
“Geomancy has nothing to do with the fate that heaven sends down.”
“You’re talking about fate so confidently—what are you rotting away on some island for, then? Tsk, what a waste.”
The pilot’s answer was pure mockery. It was like chanting sutras to a cow’s ear, so Kang-to turned and headed for the raw-fish place.
“Hahahahaha!”
“We’ll trust only our chairman.”
“For the development of Chilui Island!”
The voices of the fishing cooperative head and Village Chief Choi rang out brazenly.
Kang-to sat by the beach and waited. It didn’t look like the meal would take long. The flowers set out by the guesthouse were already losing their vitality. He plucked off the yellowing leaves and pressed down the soil, and the wilted blooms slowly began to perk up again. Only then did Chairman Jo come out of the raw-fish place.
“Then do take care.”
The fishing cooperative head, Village Chief Choi, and the others gave their boisterous parting greetings. Once that was over, Kang-to stepped forward.
“I have something I need to say.”
“Huh? Our shaman teacher. Want to negotiate the land deal?”
“Just a moment.”
“Hey, if you’re selling land, tell me.”
The one in charge of operations stepped in.
“This is something I need to say to Chairman Jo.”
Kang-to didn’t even spare the operations man a glance.
Shaaa.
As he stood on the modest white beach, the waves began to rise.
“You made the right choice. Since your land share is substantial, once the formal purchase plan comes through, I’ll tell them to offer a little more. Take the money and go to the hospital first.”
Chairman Jo shot back.
“It’ll be you who ends up in the hospital, Chairman.”
If you make it there alive, you’ll be lucky.
He didn’t say the last part aloud.
“Hm?”
“Since you’re a guest on our island, I’m telling you this: the sins of your ancestors are pointing directly at you, Chairman.”
“What did you say? The sins of my ancestors?”
“Yes.”
“Hey, shaman teacher, do you know who my grandfather was? He was a national independence hero. He ran the rice mill and funded the independence fighters.”
“I see the resentful spirit aiming for you. A grudge piled up layer upon layer beneath the sea—that hatred that lasts through the ages.”
Kang-to’s gaze shifted to the waves. The waves answered at once. Where his eyes fell, the water surged noticeably higher.
“You absolutely must not take the helicopter today. Stay here overnight and leave tomorrow, or else take a boat out.”
“Hey.”
“If not...”
Shaaash.
The wave before Kang-to rose like a swelling breaker. It charged forward and, in an instant, washed over the shore, wetting Chairman Jo’s ankles in a heartbeat.
“......”
“It may sound unbelievable, but you have to believe me.”
“Listen. Are you threatening me right now? Be careful with your mouth, or I could have you locked up for extortion and intimidation.”
“Extortion and intimidation aren’t even worth mentioning. This is more in the realm of heavenly punishment. But as a disciple of the gods, I’m telling you this out of pity because a resentful spirit is rampaging in broad daylight—and not because of your own sins, but the karmic debt of your ancestors.”
“Karmic debt from my ancestors? This guy is absolutely crazy.”
Chairman Jo shoved Kang-to away.
“Chairman.”
“Hey, shaman teacher. Worry about yourself. Resentful spirit? Karma? Hah, honestly...”
“Ignoring the oracle of the gods is also part of your fate. Still, if you’d like to survive, remember one name. Baek Jung-geun. If your life is in danger, call out that name and beg forgiveness for your mistake. At the very least, your life may be spared.”
“You crazy—”
Chairman Jo left the beach with a look as sharp as chili.
“What, are you trying to sabotage our island’s development? Why are you provoking Chairman Jo?”
The fishing cooperative head came charging over.
“Stop him from going. If he leaves like that, he’ll die.”
“Seriously?”
The fishing cooperative head’s answer was the same disbelieving laugh.
Thutatatatata.
The helicopter rose again.
“Safe travels.”
As the helicopter’s noise climbed, so did the greetings of the pro-development faction. After circling once, the helicopter turned toward Seoul. At that very moment, the sky, which had been clear all day, began to shed a fox’s rain.
“Seoul’s only a quick trip by helicopter, right?”
“I guess so. Didn’t the man who brought the chairman say it would take less than an hour?”
“Ah, man, I’d love to ride in a helicopter just once.”
“They said if the development plan is approved, they’ll take us all on a tour around the island.”
“Really?”
It was just as the fishing cooperative head, Village Chief Choi, and the women’s association president were letting their dreams swell that the distant helicopter, which had been pulling away, suddenly lurched hard. Then, with a deafening roar, it began to lose altitude.
“Whoa—what’s that?”
Village Chief Choi was beside himself.
“Oh my God, is it crashing?”
The women’s association president also went white.
Before the words had even finished leaving her mouth, the helicopter plunged.
Bang.
The helicopter, which dropped into the blue sea, was no more than a pellet of feed scattered into a fish farm. It vanished beneath the surface in an instant.
For a moment, the fishing cooperative head’s eyes fixed on Kang-to.
If he leaves like that, he’ll die.
Kang-to’s gongsu echoed like a scream.
This...
Beside the trembling fishing cooperative head, Kang-to pulled out his phone.
“Coast Guard? A helicopter that was heading from Gyecheong Island toward the mainland just crashed. Please dispatch immediately.”