Boy Monster Chapter 88

Jang Hwonwoo’s body swelled as it turned inside out. His flesh, muscle, and skin tore apart, and a hard outer shell and brawny tissues that no human could possess burst forth from the mass of blood.

A horrific roar erupted from the massive, demon-like fragmented being. Between the scales and the glistening viscera, mucus and bodily fluids burst out endlessly as blood poured to the ground in clumps.

Blue light descended from the sky that had regained its clarity. Jae Eunho’s pale face and overcoat, touched by the moonlight, were completely drenched in dark red blood. Jae Eunho coughed at the fishy, bitter scent of blood entering his mouth.

“…Hwonwoo.”

A creature bearing a massive conical horn forced its way out of the small body. Its size easily exceeded the height of the Injeongjeon Hall roof. No trace of the original physical body could be found.

Jae Eunho felt grateful in this moment for his cold-hearted nature that did not easily waver. The judgment that he must save him came before any other thought. If that bizarre black dragon-like form, looking as if it had awakened from a hellscape, was a swollen body on the verge of bursting to death, then perhaps he could resonate with Sa Hwelju through Jae Eunho’s special ability!

Jang Hwonwoo has not died; he has not disappeared. That form will soon return to the boy’s body….

Repeating this to himself, Eunho closed his eyes. The prayer beads rattled on his wrist. He pressed his hands together and attempted a final resonance.

「Hwonwoo, come back.

If you are Sa Hwelju, please stop. I beg of you.

Stop. Do not tear that body to death.

It is a body more precious to me than my own life. I pray to you like this.

I am not good with words. I do not know how to write love letters properly, nor am I a person who can move someone’s heart with speech. So I pray like this. Please, do not kill that body.

If only you spare that body, I will give you my remaining leg, my abilities, and my physical self. I will give you everything you desire. Just as that head of the family said, cut my tongue and remodel this head that devises treacherous schemes to make me a doll that follows only its innate duty.

That child is someone much more necessary to the world than someone like me. At such a young age, did he not fill the gaps in my deficient plans and achieve even more? Just let him live. I will never have him. There will be no problem if you simply erase me from that child’s life.

So I pray like this. Please, do not tear that child to death. You do not have to return him to me…. Please, just save that body.」

Jae Eunho, reciting the words in his mind, realized it late. Tears were pouring down over the streaks of blood on his face. While praying with all his might, he had come to realize: that the words he just spoke were, from beginning to end, the language of affection.

Jae Eunho’s final begging was speaking. That Jae Eunho cherished the boy more than his own life and existence, and that he respected and loved him more than anyone he had met in his living years.

It was the first love he had experienced since birth. Every moment from the day he first met the young boy under the rainy eaves until now.

It was all love. Every scenery of the time passed by….

There was no answer returning from the empty resonance. Only a blood-curdling shriek raged wildly. Amidst the noise and wavelengths that scratched at his ears, Jae Eunho released his clasped hands.

The resonance is not working. This is the last moment this life will remain here.

Limping, he crawled and embraced the monster’s leg. It was a size and weight that easily exceeded ten times his own. Yet, Eunho was able to hold onto the thing that had turned into a hideous and atrocious demon.

He heard the voice of the Manshin screaming and trying to stop him. As the beast shook its body violently, the earth thudded, and a terrible pain lunged deep into his shoulder. It must be a claw or a tooth.

Jae Eunho moved his pale lips. Hwonwoo, let’s go together. Kill me before you burst.

You are the only person in this world I did not want to lose.

I didn’t care about my own life, but I wanted to protect yours.

Since I failed at that, let’s go together.

A scream like a clap of thunder erupted from the mouth of the bizarre black dragon, tearing the atmosphere to shreds. Murderous intent billowed from eyes smoldering with flames.

As Eunho’s body tilted toward the ground due to the monstrous strength shaking his waist, the earth shook one last time and let out a roar.

:･⚜️⊹.️

「It’s cold.

…I’m cold, Teacher.」

「Are you okay? Is it warm now?」

「No, it’s still cold.

But Teacher… where are you?」

He kept his eyes closed, wanting to hear more of the voice drifting through his mind. Jae Eunho held onto the hallucination in the pitch-black darkness and continued to seek him. The deep, warm voice of the man who sought Jae Eunho while saying “I’m cold” disappeared in an instant. As his consciousness returned, the auditory hallucinations became clamorous.

—Don’t shoot! That person is Sa Yeonri. I will explain personally!

This was the voice of His Highness Prince Euichin, heard just before he collapsed.

—Was there… a monster in the palace of Joseon?

This was the voice of the Minister of the Army.

“Why did Sa Hwelju attack Jang Hwonwoo out of so many bodies? Why? And why didn’t he die? I mean, what on earth happened! Even if Sa Yeonri resonated with Sa Hwelju and pleaded earnestly to save him, it’s useless if the body can’t hold out. That body should have burst and died.”

This is the Manshin. The Manshin is talking to herself.

“Ah…! Jang Hwonwoo’s body was connected to Sa Yeonri. It was already connected…. Though he isn’t of the bloodline, I can only assume he escaped death because he was strongly connected to Sa Yeonri.”

Jang Hwonwoo is alive?

Jae Eunho hurriedly opened his eyes. He could not lift his body because of the bandages fixing his left leg and the IV needles stuck here and there. Wailing and monologues continued to be heard from beside him.

“Oh dear, oh dear… how foolish… how foolish…. That fellow coveted Sa Yeonri and incurred the wrath of Sa Hwelju. That Hwonwoo is dying because of affection in the end. Oh, you innocent fool… how did you come to harbor a forbidden heart…. Oh…… what is love.”

“……”

“Is that a ‘mere’ affection, or an affection ‘not even worth one’s life’? I simply do not know….”

“Hwonwoo, where is he.”

The Manshin jumped in surprise. Jae Eunho tried to get out of bed but ended up lying back down, blocked by the lines. Not only his leg, but his arms and waist were also bound. As Eunho violently shook his hands tied in thick iron handcuffs, soldiers immediately approached and suppressed him.

An intravenous injection to control his abilities was connected to Eunho’s arm. The Manshin’s eyes widened as she looked at the troops pouring through the door. From among the guards, the haggard-faced Prince Euichin appeared.

“…Sa Hwelju is currently sleeping at Maebong on Bukansan Mountain. We’ve put him in a coma by administering near-lethal doses of anesthetics and drugs. He fell asleep when you collapsed. It seems he resonated with Sa Yeonri.”

“Please take me to him. I just want to check if he is alive. I beg of you.”

“I will suggest it to the Minister. …The ministers whose memories were erased will come to investigate you. Tell them everything exactly as it happened regarding the former head’s threats. There is no need to worry about the royal family’s reaction.”

From the King’s words and glance, Eunho realized the hidden meaning. It was an instruction to testify that the failed uprising was carried out inevitably due to the former head’s threats. Since the dead cannot speak, as long as Jae Eunho coordinated his story, they could pin the charge of conspiring for rebellion on the former head.

Prince Euichin, having exchanged glances with the Manshin, gave instructions to the soldiers. A soldier held out several black-and-white photographs before Eunho’s eyes.

Jae Eunho furrowed his brows as he looked at the black-and-white photos of the head of the family’s corpse, which had become a gruesome lump of blood. The corpse had been covered in all sorts of incantations. The Manshin explained.

“Before he died, he used his own body as a medium to cast the most horrific Mugo1). It is a curse that cannot be cast unless one gives up their life.”

“……What is the content?”

“Jang Hwonwoo. He shall possess the power of Sa Hwelju and be immortal. However, throughout eternity, he shall neither possess nor touch the thing he desires most. ……Furthermore, the one who destroyed him, Jae Eunho, shall meet his end on the day of a lunar eclipse and suffer the pain of death forever.”

“……”

“With a curse like this, the ‘sal’ (misfortune) is bound to return! It will surely cause immense harm to his descendants!”

A few hours later, in a bound state, Jae Eunho arrived at the foot of the mountain where the monster was, carried on a Jige frame. The massive demon’s body was barely breathing, having lost consciousness. A misery he had never felt before crashed into Jae Eunho’s chest.

“You and Sa Hwelju will be transferred to a Japanese military base. They say they plan to specially manufacture a cargo compartment that can transport this magnificent body by rail and ship. Once you go there, we won’t be able to exchange secret letters often. You must remain safe. Our cause is not yet over.”

The King encouraged Jae Eunho with a sincere voice, but Jae Eunho had already made his own resolution in his unconscious mind.

July 16, 1941.

As expected, the Minister of the Army visited Jae Eunho.

Jae Eunho testified that he had used Lieutenant Hiroshi behind the scenes to kill the former head who was forcing a rebellion. He claimed that to bring him to his side, sleeping together was necessary, and that was how he became connected to Sa Hwelju who descended into his body. It was a testimony intended to pin the leadership role on the former head.

The Minister, who had been listening silently, scoffed from behind his glasses without a hint of agitation.

“It seems the vigorous fellow lost his mind because the noble Sa Yeonri spread his legs for him. Jae Eunho, weren’t you famous for being asexual? Just how great was the bedwork that he was completely fooled by you even while knowing the risks, that Hiroshi? We will investigate the truth of your words further in time.”

The Minister held out a demand disguised as a proposal to Jae Eunho.

“If you control Sa Hwelju and lead the invasion of America to victory, we will pardon the crime of participating in the rebellion. Furthermore, I promise to return the other Hweljus and Yeonris of the Sashimcheon family to the Joseon royal family.”

It meant they would return the psychics, who had become a leaderless rabble, to Joseon with their abilities controlled, and they would keep Sa Hwelju and Sa Yeonri. There were only two ways to control Sa Hwelju, who took people’s lives at will and went on rampages: putting him to sleep with drugs, or using Sa Yeonri, who was still connected to him. Therefore, they needed Jae Eunho to utilize Sa Hwelju’s power.

He added a warning that they would install remote missiles inside the monster’s body in case Jae Eunho took any unexpected action.

Jae Eunho chose a certain path. This time, he took the hand they offered and made a pledge. It was not because he believed their words. Eunho was neither fooled by their sugar-coated words nor did he harbor vain beliefs.

What Jae Eunho was aiming for was not the lie suggested by the Minister of the Army, but the missile button of that day. There is no path more certain than death.

Eunho knew very well. The fact that the boy, who had become a non-human demon-god and a terrifying beast, could never return to his original body. He would live his entire life drugged like that, as a weapon owned by the victorious nation. As the Guardian God-General of Joseon and as the person who loved Jang Hwonwoo, Jae Eunho had a duty to break that yoke.

The boy is already not here. Jae Eunho loved him more than anything in the world, and because of that, he had to become strong, and because he had to be strong, he had to become more wicked than anyone. He had to clearly admit that it was he who cast his future into darkness and must take the punishment called pain.

Jae Eunho waited only for the day he would kill Sa Hwelju and Sa Yeonri.

Footnotes:

1. Mugo (巫蠱): A black magic ritual used to curse others so that disasters befall them.