Boy Monster Chapter 56

Well, whatever. That’s not what’s important right now. Having changed his train of thought, Jae Eunho pushed the paper-pasted door open. As Jae Eunho was about to step out into the hallway, a boy gently clutching his traditional overcoat asked.

“Lord Sa Yeonri, are you cold? Why are you trembling?”

“I’m not.”

“Then, are you nervous? Are you scared?”

“……Do you think I’m like you, a scaredy-cat.”

Jae Eunho snapped back before leaving the room. To think he was so nervous it was even noticeable to a child—he’d almost been in big trouble. Walking out into the bamboo grove, Jae Eunho shook off his anxiety. It wasn’t an emergency, so surely they wouldn’t make him perform a grand Resonance across the entirety of Gyeongseong. There was no need to worry needlessly.

After calming his nerves and coming out to the bamboo grove, he found Prince Ui and the Head of the House engaged in a quiet conversation.

“My father* made every effort, but he suffered from anxiety amidst the power of the ministers who leaned on Japan’s authority, and in the end, lost the mother of the nation to the betrayal of the royal guards.”

“……”

“If the Hwelju had been in the palace, the events of the year Eulmi might have been different. It all happened so suddenly, there was no time to even summon the Hwelju. It was then that I became convinced that the Sashimcheon family must be brought into the palace, but now there is neither an imperial family nor a throne to express such an intention.”

Prince Ui’s voice was tinged with the coldness of one who has overcome long-standing suffering. It was a dignity that made one bow one’s head instinctively. The Head of the House stepped forward and voiced his argument.

“But we have the Sa Hwelju, do we not? If we can just find that noble bloodline, we can drive out the foreign powers!”

Prince Ui looked at the Head of the House with a dry smile. The Head’s fiery leadership shone on life-or-death battlefields, but to the eyes of a royal who had long cultivated etiquette and grace in the palace, his words and actions seemed to lack class. Prince Ui answered slowly.

“I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment that we must avenge the sorrow of a fallen nation, but we must also consider that the moment the Hwelju unleash this power, we will reveal the secret power we possess not only to Japan but to the entire world. Especially when discussing the power of the Sa Hwelju.”

The Head of the House pointed at Eunho and asserted confidently.

“Sa Yeonri is ready. Unlike the other Yeonri who can only resonate with their own Hwelju, this Sa Yeonri can resonate with everyone living in Gyeongseong! As you are well aware, of course.”

“Ah, I have heard plenty about that Sa Yeonri. The one who will be offered to the master of the Sa Hwelju when he appears.”

“That is the very same Sa Yeonri. And of course, he is also a pederast who can connect directly with the Sa Hwelju!”

Before the Head of the House could finish his last sentence, Prince Ui turned toward Jae Eunho. The prince approached Jae Eunho, who stood with his head bowed alongside the shaman, pulled out a pistol, and twirled it in one hand.

“Guess how many points I scored to win with this today.”

The Head of the House gestured to Eunho. It was the signal to begin the ritual.

The manshin shaman peeled the talisman off the center of Eunho’s back. Jae Eunho silently brought his hands together in prayer and focused his mind on the prayer beads. Reading the thoughts of one person nearby was an easy task.

Closing his eyes for a moment to read Prince Ui’s mind, Jae Eunho found the correct answer in just a few seconds.

“You scored 25 points in this morning’s shooting game, and you won by a 7-point margin against the person in second place.”

“Enough. Well done.”

As if displeased by having his mind read, Prince Ui raised a hand, signaling him to stop. The Head of the House watched with satisfaction as Jae Eunho got the answer right. The manshin stuck the talisman back onto Eunho.

Just as Prince Ui holstered his pistol and began to turn away, he turned back toward Eunho. With his arms crossed, he gave the next order.

“This time, resonate with all of Gyeongseong and find out where my eldest son is.”

“……”

A sense of crisis spread whitely through Jae Eunho’s mind. For a moment, it felt as though his blood had stopped flowing. To hide his panic, he quickly put his hands together and presented his back to the manshin, but Eunho’s heart was pounding as it never had before.

Please, let him be nearby. Eunho closed his eyes and prayed desperately. Methodically drawing a constellation map of his consciousness outward from this restaurant, Jae Eunho focused his abilities as much as he could.

Since this was not a ritual to cast a hallucination, he must not cause changes in the atmosphere that would move butterflies and flower petals. That, at least, was a relief. If it had been visible, the current extent of Eunho’s Resonance ability would have been visible, too.

Gathering all his mental energy to spread the waves of his consciousness wide, the map unfolded as far as the riverbank. He hoped the prince’s son would be within this range, but after several minutes of searching, there were no results.

“Haa… hooo….”

Jae Eunho stopped the Resonance for the time being, withdrawing his power. He intended to rest for a moment and then try again. In the brief moment he caught his breath, Jae Eunho’s eyes met the manshin’s, and his mind went blank.

The manshin shaman’s heavily distorted eyebrows were directed at Jae Eunho.

‘To skip the pill, that thing…!’

That’s what the eyes above the fine hanbok were saying. Even without the whirlwind, the manshin had realized that Jae Eunho’s Resonance ability was far weaker than usual. Barely tearing his gaze away from the manshin, who was glaring at him as if he could kill him, Jae Eunho steadied his breathing.

The Head of the House still maintained a relaxed attitude, as if certain of Eunho’s correct answer. But Jae Eunho already knew. Now that the manshin knew his secret, it was all over. In a few minutes, the Head of the House would hear the story from the manshin. And before that, the Head’s expression would change completely upon seeing Jae Eunho fail to produce the right answer.

Extreme terror washed over him, making him tremble from the very marrow of his bones. It was just as he brought his quivering hands together in prayer again.

“That’s the right answer. Incredible.”

At the words from in front of him, Jae Eunho took a sharp breath. He looked up at Prince Ui, holding back his turbulent breathing. Prince Ui stepped back and nodded.

“Woo* is not in Gyeongseong. He’s at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy. You got it right.”

While he was speaking kindly to Eunho, the manshin moved. Seeing the manshin whispering briefly into the Head’s ear, Jae Eunho bowed his head.

His legs giving way, Jae Eunho staggered, stumbling. Jang Hwonwoo rushed out from beside the manshin, who stood watching him coldly. The Head of the House’s gaze was just as frigid as he watched Jang Hwonwoo support Eunho.

“Eunho. Seeing as your mind is so clouded today, did you take too much of the pill? Hahaha.”

Jae Eunho couldn’t bring himself to face the Head of the House as he made the joke. He was afraid of the fierce gaze that would surely bear down on him.

What punishment would befall Jae Eunho for having skipped the pill was impossible to predict.

The Head of the House was horribly strict with those who did not follow the rules. Crushing a runaway Hwelju’s ankle with a club or flogging one into unconsciousness was standard; he had even once slashed the face of a Yeonri who had gossiped about the Sashimcheon family’s secrets, leaving a scar.

As Eunho barely managed to breathe slowly, the conversation between the prince and the Head reached his ears.

“I am always grateful that you mobilize the Hwelju at my request and call. The Jongmyo Shrine, which has protected a history of thousands of years, and the spirits of this land will also be thankful for the Sashimcheon family’s patriotism and spirit of national defense.”

“It is my honor to be able to help the country.”

“However, you too must know that the power of the Sa Hwelju must be possessed by the king alone.”

“……”

“I cannot permit the folding screen to be handed over to Sashimcheon.”

“……”

“Empress Hyo will absolutely not bend her will. I, too, cannot agree to hand over a treasure bearing our sacred history to a family, rather than the royal house. No matter how much you all may be the secret army of the Joseon king…”

As the Head of the House’s expression darkened, Jae Eunho’s fear grew. Prince Ui solidified his refusal once more.

“What you are saying is that you will find the Sa Hwelju bloodline and make someone other than the king the master of its power, but I am worried about what comes next. Your strategy of awakening a sealed power to sweep everything away has room for reconsideration.”

“……”

“Because using the power of the Sa Hwelju will not be enough to topple the Japanese imperialism that has trampled on Joseon for so long. To overturn this long national disgrace, a more meticulous and perfect strategy is needed.”

The Head of the House did not get the answer he wanted. The folding screen in which the Sa Hwelju’s power was sealed would not fall into his hands.

“Find the Sa Hwelju bloodline first. That must be the priority.”

“…I understand, Your Highness. I will first put my efforts into the task you have commanded.”

As a member of the imperial family who had long resisted the Japanese occupation, Prince Ui wanted a more detailed and cautious plan. The Head’s method, in his judgment, was unrealistic and reckless.

The moment Jae Eunho stepped outside the restaurant gate, a terrifying force struck his cheek.

“You skipped the pill?”

The slap was so strong that Jae Eunho was thrown far down the road. A ringing in his ears deafened him to all sound. His vision went black, and he couldn’t see a thing. Jae Eunho first tried to deny it.

“Skipped the pill, what do you mean I…”

But a heavy, fireball-like fist that followed, striking his cheek, made Jae Eunho briefly pass out. It felt like the area around his eye was shattering. As his body, stiffened by the momentary loss of consciousness, relaxed again, he came to his senses to find himself being held up by the collar in the Head’s grasp. The next punch was waiting for Eunho as he winced, his eyes unable to blink.

As a hand like a boulder slammed into Eunho’s head, his nose gushed blood. Spraying blood high into the air, Eunho collided with a car. After rolling over the hood and falling to the ground, Eunho’s face was stained with crimson blood.

“Should I beat you every day so you don’t even think about skipping the pill?”

The tips of Jae Eunho’s toes trembled uncontrollably. His vacant, open eyes searched for a view that wasn’t there. The Head’s dress shoe pressed down on his solar plexus. Jae Eunho tried to deny it again.

“I… I… I really don’t know…”

Even as he spoke, blood blocked his nasal passage, and he let out a choked cough, keuheuk. The blood that had streamed down his lips and cheek entered his mouth, tasting metallic. The Head of the House kicked Jae Eunho’s mouth with the tip of his shoe.

“Since you don’t need your fingers to perform the Resonance and mix bodies with the Sa Hwelju anyway, I suppose it wouldn’t matter if I broke them one by one.”

The Head of the House pushed Eunho’s mouth with his foot until the back of Eunho’s head touched the tire. Then, lifting his foot, reason vanished from the Head’s eyes for a moment.

“And this mouth doesn’t need to be intact either…!”

Just as his breath was about to stop from the unbearable fear, two dark-skinned hands grabbed the Head’s foot. Behind the Head’s foot, which was now on the ground, knelt knees were visible.

“I was the one who took the pill. I was wrong. …Father, I was wrong.”

Jae Eunho barely managed to turn his body, which was still afflicted by a slight tremor. Swallowing the blood that was flowing into his nose, he lifted his swollen eyes. Jang Hwonwoo was on his knees at the Head’s feet, his face red and trembling uncontrollably.

“I, I was playing a prank to test Sa Yeonri’s ability. I became curious after seeing him plant a hallucination across all of Gyeongseong and I just…. I was curious about what would happen without the medicine and the talisman… I know it was a bad thing to do, but I was so curious about what would happen to Sa Yeonri that I just… secretly swapped the medicine. If I had known you were meeting someone important today, I would not have played such a prank…”

Before the tear-soaked, trembling words could even finish, a large shoe struck the boy’s mouth.

Footnotes:

1. *Gojong
2. *Prince Yi Woo