TGHD Ch25

15 years ago, a mother and daughter, both crow-beast people, moved to Hyojomyeon.

Although a peace treaty between humans and beast people had been established, leading to a time when they began to gradually live together, beast people were still a rare presence in a rural village. However, because it was a place named “Hyojo” due to the abundance of crows, the residents were interested since the newcomers were crow-beast people, not any other species.

Additionally, the mother and daughter had a sad story. The husband was also a crow-beast person, but he overexerted himself working as a deliveryman and was hit by a truck in bad weather, passing away. Afterward, they lost all their savings while being chased by debt collectors and fled to Hyojomyeon. People sympathized with the mother who was looking for a job while holding her five-year-old daughter.

Not everyone was entirely welcoming, but the mother tried to adapt somehow. Mr. Kwon, an influential figure in the village, offered her a job as a housekeeper. Moreover, he generously allowed her to stay in a vacant building attached to his house like a storage room. That day, the mother hugged her daughter and burst into tears of relief.

However, as long as she stayed there, the mother had to take on all the household chores. Even though there were four or five other servants besides her, the house was vast, and there were so many visitors that they were extremely busy. Naturally, the time she could spend taking care of her daughter, Nakyung, gradually decreased.

Nakyung always played in the backyard of the mansion. The front garden was a place where many people came and went, and the Kwon couple warned the mother several times not to let the child roam there. So, Nakyung wandered alone in the open space of the backyard. The room was too small to stay in all the time, and the child’s curiosity was vast.

Kwon Namil, Mr. Kwon’s seven-year-old son, showed interest in Nakyung as she roamed around. He was fascinated by seeing a beast person for the first time. When Nakyung’s short black hair fluttered in the wind, feathers inside her head were visible, and sometimes the bird-like wings were seen through her collar. Her inability to fully transform into a human meant that her avian features were more pronounced.

“Hey. Can you do magic?”

Kwon Namil approached her boldly. The beast people he saw on TV displayed amazing abilities like spiritual powers and magic. He poked Nakyung, urging her to show him.

However, not all beast people had the spiritual power to perform magic. Beast people who could use magic were rare and uncommon.

At first, Nakyung was cautious, but she couldn’t defy him once she learned he was the only son of the house owners. Even at her young age, she understood the hierarchy of the house.

As Nakyung remained obedient, Kwon Namil’s pranks became increasingly cruel. He would deliberately trip her or spill drinks on her clothes, playing pranks severe enough to make people frown, but no one could stop the master’s son. Afraid of making Nakyung’s mother worry, the servants hushed and kept their conversations secret. They thought that over time, the boy’s curiosity would naturally subside, but it was merely a hope.

One day, Kwon Namil said,

“What’s this? You’re a beast person, yet you can’t do magic. How lame.”

“……”

“Then can you transform? I’ve seen beast people transform into animal forms, so why don’t you try turning into a bird?”

Even that day, Nakyung sat quietly with a sullen face. Worried about what torment she might face that day, she gloomily sat when a hand suddenly reached out in front of her.

“If you transform, I’ll give you this.”

In Kwon Namil’s palm was a pretty glass marble.

The marble sparkled beautifully in the sunlight. Nakyung couldn’t take her eyes off the glass marble and eventually accepted Kwon Namil’s proposal. Even with little spiritual power, taking on an animal form was not difficult.

Seeing Nakyung transformed into a crow, Kwon Namil’s eyes lit up.

And that day was the beginning.

Every day without fail, Kwon Namil demanded Nakyung transform into a bird. At first, he seemed to gently pet her head and wings, but at some point, his touch became violent. He poked her with a sharp awl and grabbed her wings as if trying to tear them off. He laughed, finding it amusing how she struggled to escape from his grip.

When adults accidentally discovered this, he answered with an innocent face,

“I thought it was just a crow.”

Since there were many crows in Hyojomyeon, he claimed he thought it was just a bird that flew into the mansion. He even apologized tearfully, pretending he had no idea it was Nakyung. In the end, the adults could only give him a simple warning and let it pass.

Animal abuse had long been something for which there was no appropriate punishment, and such loopholes allowed harmful practices to exist in peculiar ways even in societies where beast people lived.

With the unavoidable negligence of the servants, Kwon Namil eventually used toy bows and BB guns. When Nakyung flew in her bird form, Kwon Namil would pretend to be a hunter and shoot at her. Day by day, Nakyung accumulated more wounds.

Yet, Nakyung continued to indulge Kwon Namil’s pranks. Even while covered in wounds, she smiled brightly, happy to receive the glass marbles. They all went into Nakyung’s jewelry box.

After a few weeks, Nakyung had collected enough glass marbles to fill her jewelry box. Seeing her delightfully hugging the box, Kwon Namil suddenly became spiteful.

“Gi-give it back…!”

“Let’s play in the mountains today. I want to feel like a real hunter.”

“No, I won’t do it anymore…”

“If you play with me, I’ll give you back the jewelry box and give you this. What do you say?”

Holding Nakyung’s jewelry box, Kwon Namil held out a ring set with opal. Nakyung didn’t know what the gem was, but she was captivated by the opal’s colorful light under the sun. In the end, the child hesitantly followed him up to the villa in the mountains, and Kwon Namil was elated.

That day was truly the best day for Kwon Namil. He laughed while shooting the BB gun, hiding in the bushes around the villa, and rolling on the ground.

Early in the morning, the mayor had come to the mansion to speak with his parents, and all the servants were focused on the guests, leaving him very bored. Besides, he had successfully lured Nakyung by finding the ring his mother had lost the day before. After giving it to Nakyung, he planned to tell his mother, “The crow stole it because it likes shiny things.” He thought it would be amusing to see the mother and daughter’s reaction.

But then, an accident happened suddenly.

Nakyung, fleeing desperately, ran into the villa. Chasing after her excitedly, Kwon Namil tripped over a wire and rolled down the hill. Rolling far away, Kwon Namil stood up nervously and saw the villa catching fire. The wire he had tripped over was a gas canister hose, and the gas canister he collided with had fallen and exploded, taking down the neighboring ones.

Bang! His eyes widened at the enormous roar.

“Oh, oh, oh…”

The seven-year-old child was terrified and ran away from the villa back to the mansion.

***

The mother was devastated.

Since the day when the mayor visited the mansion a few days ago, and the villa explosion accident occurred in the afternoon, Nakyung had not been seen. Recently, the grandmother in the kitchen had subtly mentioned that “the child often stays in bird form…” so it was assumed that the child’s curiosity had taken her far away. It was thought she flew around here and there because she was bored without anyone to play with, losing her way in the process.

However, days passed, and the child did not return, and at some point, strange phenomena began to occur in the mansion. The drawers rattled and wouldn’t open, and the doors creaked open and closed repeatedly. Moreover, these phenomena spread to other nearby mansions. At that time, the mother was too frantic looking for Nakyung to pay attention to the strange occurrences.

If it hadn’t been for the words of the shaman called by the master couple:

“A fire broke out here recently, didn’t it? There’s a child who died in the fire.”

“That child hasn’t been able to go to the afterlife and is wandering here, trying to become an evil spirit.”

Only then was the investigation reopened, and as the true identity of the bird carcass found at the villa was revealed… the mother was devastated. The consolation money given by Mr. Kwon didn’t even register in her eyes.

The child only had her.

And she only had the child.

She was the only one who could take responsibility for the child, so she worked hard, but in the meantime, the child died. She couldn’t even know why she went to the villa. The mother wept for days.

Then one day, the master couple announced that they would hold a memorial service. They said they would comfort the soul of the tragically deceased child and pray for her to go to the afterlife in peace. The mother knelt before them and thanked them. She felt guilty for being too distraught to properly send off her child.

But that night, the mother saw the fragments of talismans scattered at the villa and realized. This wasn’t a memorial service or a requiem.

It was a ritual for exorcism.

The master couple claimed to comfort the child’s soul, but their true intention was to eliminate the evil spirit causing problems in Hyojomyeon, so their business preparations could proceed smoothly.

The mother screamed madly, tore the spirit banners hung on the tree in front of the villa, and even set the tree on fire. But she already felt that the child’s soul had faded. The residents of Hyojomyeon called it an evil spirit, but to the mother, it was the last path to feel her child.

After causing such a commotion and sitting down in a daze, the grandmother from the mansion’s kitchen approached her. She claimed to have seen something “that day”…

“The truth is, that day, I saw the young master taking Nakyung up to the villa… I’m sorry for only telling you now, truly sorry. The master threatened not to leave me alone if I reported it…”

Blood flowed from the mother’s eyes.

***

The mother tried to reveal the truth. She ran to the town office, shouting, and yelled in the streets. But rumors spread faster, branding her as a crazy woman babbling nonsense. It was obvious that the master couple had intervened.

She went to the mansion to ask the servants she worked with for help. But then, she saw it. People averted their gaze awkwardly and pretended not to see, turning their heads away. From that reaction, the mother realized the hidden truth.

They all already knew that her daughter was being bullied by the master’s son but remained silent. With the absurd reason that beast people recover quickly because of their spiritual power…

“My child…”

Due to the exorcism, only half of Nakyung’s soul remained. To protect that child, more resentment was needed. Darker, stronger. Something shocking enough to instill fear in everyone. Rumors have power. They amplify fear.

“Mom will protect you…”

On a peaceful day with warm sunlight. When all the servants were out cleaning the garden, and the master family was enjoying their leisure on the second floor, the mother entered the house in bird form and executed her plan without hesitation.

The breeze felt cool in the middle of the living room.

How light it felt to step into the air, relying only on a single rope.