The Seed Has Been Sown (3)
Mak Gil-ja's childhood wasn't particularly happy.
Her father died before she was even born.
Her mother was pointed at and whispered about in the village as the woman who devoured her husband.
Poverty upon poverty—days when even one meal a day was a struggle. If that could be called happy, who else's life would qualify?
Even her mother wasn't particularly kind to her daughter.
To her, the girl was just a tool to help with the housework.
So.
She ran away.
She'd already missed three years of the local elementary school that the other village kids attended.
The day she voiced her envy and said she wanted to go to school, her mother beat her half to death.
That's when she fled.
There weren't many places a ten-year-old girl could go.
What choices does a child that age really have?
Especially in those harsh times.
An era overrun with people who snatched up wandering kids and forced them into begging.
The one who grabbed her arm was a middle-aged woman.
She introduced herself as Haewol Mudang.
She was a shaman.
A fairly well-known one from Gyeryongsan.
Thinking that at least she wouldn't starve under her, the girl followed Haewol Mudang.
And from then on began her life as a spiritual daughter.
It was grueling and painful.
But there was no malice in it.
Haewol Mudang was her spiritual mother, and she gave the girl the mother's love she'd never known.
It was happy.
So she always tried to obey her spiritual mother's words.
"Live honestly."
"A shaman speaks with the gods and helps people."
"Be honest."
Haewol Mudang repeated those words to her until her dying day.
And the girl grew up.
The girl who gained the divine name Muwol.
She lived as a shaman, making honesty and helping others her creed, just like Haewol Mudang.
Many people sought her out.
Coincidence, or perhaps the true power she possessed—who knows.
As she resolved people's troubles one by one, her name rose higher and higher.
That was when it happened.
One man came to her.
He called himself the president of a construction company.
The wife of that president often visited Haewol Mudang.
He proposed that she give the wife a false fortune.
That her husband was cheating.
That there was a illegitimate child.
Such stories.
The reward was an absurd amount of money.
She wanted to turn it down.
But it was far too much money to ignore.
Living honestly and helping people.
It's a good life.
But it wasn't good for her.
Her fame grew, but she was still so poor she could only fill up on instant ramen twice a day.
With this money, she could escape that poverty.
She could buy a small car like other shamans and help even more people.
Just once.
If she faked just one fortune.
In the end, she nodded.
For the children under her who had to stave off hunger with ramen.
For the kids at the orphanage she supported.
So she spoke the lie.
And astonishingly.
The president's wife was right—her husband really was cheating, and there was an illegitimate child.
That was the beginning.
Her name spread among the elite as the shaman who exposed the husband's infidelity.
From then on, the people seeking her changed.
From the poor and desperate.
To the rich and leisurely.
The offerings grew excessively generous.
She was delighted.
At not needing to be honest.
At not needing to live kindly.
Something dark stirred faintly in her heart.
Just a little more.
Just a bit more, make a big score.
Then.
She wouldn't have to live this beggar's life anymore.
That was the moment venom settled in Haewol Mudang's eyes.
"Wh-what?! What are you saying?!"
"Do you intend to deny giving a false fortune to that president, saying his son from Jinam Construction was screwing his own sister?"
"......"
I held up my phone, meeting the old woman's trembling eyes.
"Or will you deny telling the Taeyang Trading president that his wife was cheating?"
"...Nonsense..."
"Was it honest to scribble a crude talisman on paper for Sejong City Councilor Oh Gil-tae's wife, claiming it would ward off her daughter's misfortune and infidelity, and sell it for fifty million won?"
Everything.
Everything she'd done since opening her eyes to the darkness.
All of it was denial and lies.
She knew it too.
Fortune-telling is ultimately a matter of interpretation.
And that interpretation is up to the diviner's whim.
Twisting desperate people with a silver tongue for profit—and now calling me the liar?
Honestly, it pissed me off.
"Shut up! Shut your mouth! Who the hell are you to—?!"
"Mak Gil-ja."
".....!!! "
Mak Gil-ja.
The name she'd discarded after becoming Haewol Mudang's spiritual daughter.
The name no one knew.
The moment I uttered it, Muwol Bosal's legs gave out, and she collapsed.
"I know everything you've done up to now. So shall I tell you your future?"
I took a step forward.
Muwol Bosal dragged her legs backward where she sat.
As if trying to flee from me.
As if gripped by overwhelming terror.
But how far can someone who can't even stand scramble away?
Just like you can't escape an unavoidable future.
She just trembled and looked up at me.
"I won't say you'll fall into hell or anything like that."
"...Th-then..."
"You'll be sued for fraud."
"Wh-what?!"
"And all the dirty money you've accumulated will be seized. Not the few tens of millions in your bank account, of course."
I pointed toward Gyeryongsan.
"The gold bars and jewels neatly stored in the jars buried under the old pine tree on Gyeryongsan. Those will be seized too."
"N-no...!! No!"
Muwol Bosal had opened her eyes to the darkness...
Okay, that sounds a bit chuunibyou.
All the wealth she'd hoarded since revealing her desires.
Everything to her.
All of it would go straight to the national treasury.
"How did I gather that?! That's mine! I earned it!"
"That's not my business."
I smiled, staring her down.
"There's no evidence..."
"Haha. You think I don't know you made deals with them and signed contracts? And that those contracts are under the eaves over there?"
Her face twisted completely.
"Wh-what are you lot doing?! Grab him! Now!"
The faces of the women called her spiritual daughters turned vicious.
Cheolhonsi pulled out a gas gun and telescoping baton.
But there was no need.
I pulled out my phone from my pocket.
"You can come in now."
-....
No response from the other end.
But moments later.
The hanok's front gate burst open as a group of people stormed in.
"O Ji-young. You're under arrest for fraud."
The passionate female prosecutor had come herself.
Mak Gil-ja stared at me in confusion.
O Ji-young.
The name on her resident registration.
The name a high-up she'd known had registered for her after Haewol Mudang took her in.
That's why her eyes shook violently.
"Who... who the hell are you...?"
"Just an ordinary orphan."
"A ghost!! You're a ghost!! You're the real evil, the false prophet!!"
Handcuffs snapped on her wrists as the police dragged her away.
Meanwhile, the cops I'd mentioned checked under the eaves and brought back a small safe.
Bundles of contracts filled the safe.
The prosecutor who'd arrested Haewol Mudang approached after checking them one by one.
"Are you Mr. Kang Noah?"
"Yes."
"I'm Prosecutor O Haewon from the Chungnam District Prosecutors' Office. Senior Prosecutor Yang has told me a lot about you."
The female prosecutor, O Haewon, bowed politely to me.
She sighed, looking around.
"I never imagined fortunes could actually come true."
Just in case, before coming down to Daejeon, I'd asked Gu Namchul and Yang Wonju if they knew about Muwol Bosal.
They did.
Yang Wonju's junior in Daejeon was investigating her.
So I'd coordinated with her in advance.
If she really was a fraud, we'd expose and arrest her on the spot.
And that's what happened—she was fake, and now arrested.
"You said you know where O Ji-young hid her assets? If possible, could you guide us?"
"Let's go."
I led the group to where Muwol Bosal had stashed her fortune.
The foothills of Gyeryongsan.
We arrived at the spot she called her sacred tree, which she forbade her spiritual daughters from approaching.
I told the others,
"Dig here."
"Yes, ma'am..."
O Haewon's subordinates started digging.
How much time passed?
"We got it!!"
A small jar emerged.
Opening the lid revealed gold bars and jewels.
"Holy... this much..."
She frowned and let out a heavy sigh.
"This is why fake shamans are so scary."
"I imagine so."
"Is Mr. Kang... the real deal?"
"You're curious. And a little suspicious of me too."
O Haewon flinched slightly.
Perfectly natural.
Prosecutors suspect people—that's their job.
No complaints here.
"Want to flip it over?"
"Yes..."
She hesitated, then flipped the card.
Now I can say it.
"Prosecutor O Haewon. In four days, you're planning to raid that illegal gambling den in Yeonggil, right?"
"...H-how do you...?"
"Wear your raid vest."
The future I'd seen for her.
A knife stabbing into her side.
"Be especially careful of your right side."
"......."
She stared at me in disbelief, then finally nodded faintly.
"Well, we've done what we came for... Cheolhonsi. Let's go."
"Yep!"
"How about tofu stir-fry for dinner tonight?"
"Isn't that just braised tofu?"
"...Fine, jjajangmyeon it is. I heard there's great Chinese place in Daejeon."
And tomorrow morning, grab cake from Simseongdang on the way back up.
A pretty fun business trip, all things considered.
"W-wait a second!!!"
"Yes?"
As we were leaving Muwol Bosal's house, O Haewon grabbed us.
Why? Seemed like our part was done here.
"Um... if I have a problem that I just can't solve no matter what, could I contact you?"
I smiled at her fidgeting.
"Ask Prosecutor Yang, and you can reach me. Got some issue?"
She hesitated, then nodded slightly.
I held out the deck of cards to her.
O Haewon flipped one silently, and I read it.
"Obaepa boss Gil Yu-young is at a small farm in Honggok-dong, Daejeon right now."
"...Pardon?"
"He's hiding there—go grab him quick. Oh, and..."
I grinned at the stunned O Haewon.
"Your tire's gonna go flat, so get it fixed."
Now we're really done. Time to go.