Free Web NovelThese days, there was no one in the industry who hadn’t heard the name Han Yeoreum at least once.
The fact that she had survived between Geum Bitgang and Noh Jeongyeon was enough to make anyone impressed.
“Han Yeoreum, huh. The tone might get a bit heavy. Would that be okay?”
“Yeah. She has a kind of cute face....”
“But she might work as a child role. She’s young, too.”
“But can she speak Japanese well? If this goes wrong, it could easily turn into a joke.... Maybe we should look toward an idol who’s already comfortable with Japanese instead.” ƒrēewebnovel.com
While everyone discussed Han Yeoreum from their own angles, the casting director unfolded the synopsis once more.
The “Garand” in <The Great Garland> was a type of rifle. It was taken from the M1 Garand used by Korean and U.S. forces during the Korean War.
The war for wealth begins now.
Seoul, reduced to ruins by war, and those who dream of a new era atop that devastation.
With the class system abolished, who will rise to the top?
“Get a grip. We stood on the same ground only on the battlefield. Open your eyes and look clearly! You’re down there, and I’m up here.”
Gi Taeseok, a Korean War veteran, learned many things during the war. That even if you’re shot, you don’t always die right away. That people can become infinitely vile the moment shells explode. That rainwater scooped into your hands can taste sweeter than anything.
Above all else, what carved itself deepest into his bones was the life of the upper class. They taught Taeseok how to win without ever holding a gun.
Why hadn’t his father known that with enough money, the world bends to you?
This poor nation, where hope scatters like ash—he would change it himself.
Erasing all emotion and living solely for success, Taeseok decided to teach himself greatness.
‘Hmm....’
“I just wanted to live. I just wanted to survive. I did my best with the choices I made.”
Korea’s Daisy was a little more tenacious. Not the hollow, fleeting Daisy, but a woman who struggled to survive even in the midst of war. A character that could express the spirit of the Korean era.
The casting director recalled Seoryeong from Episode 2 of <Strange Tales>. Seoryeong, who looked as if everything were futile, as if she might vanish at any moment.
‘That’s closer to the original Daisy.’
But in Episode 1, she had been innocent and willful. Like Yeon Huijae in <The Great Garland>.
‘If I imagine it, the feeling isn’t bad.’
Something felt close, yet not quite there.
Yeon Huijae was an extremely important figure. She was the woman who gave the protagonist Gi Taeseok countless reasons.
Why must he survive?
Why must he succeed?
Why, even after having everything, must his heart remain desolate?
Every reason that shaped the curves of Taeseok’s life came from Yeon Huijae.
‘That means the spotlight will inevitably be intense.’
She appeared in only four episodes, yet Yeon Huijae’s photograph inside Taeseok’s necklace was always kept close.
In that moment’s image, she lived and breathed as the single reason running through Taeseok’s entire life.
The casting director absentmindedly read Yeon Huijae’s character description.
Yeon Huijae / Rio
The character for “to exist.”
True to her name, she desperately wanted to exist somewhere, to remain and live. Every day of her life was a battlefield. Unexplained high fevers, breathlessness after just a little running, a face drained of color. She had to constantly fight familiar pain.
Even so, Huijae wanted to live. She didn’t know why. Perhaps she was simply following her name.
To exist. Huijae wanted to exist.
The day she first reached the outer lands after living in the inner lands. On that land burning fiercely with the desire for life, Rio found the center of her existence.
On the dried, barren soil of Joseon, Huijae wanted to take root like a pear tree. It didn’t matter by whose side.
A lovable vulgarian. That was the single sentence that described Huijae. A trophy wife, like a luxury item, belonging to Taeseok’s rival Taejin—Huijae.
In the casting director’s mind, a faint image formed of Yeoreum, standing in the rain, promising a future in clumsy Korean. Very faintly.
“Alright, let’s wrap up here for today and come prepared for the next meeting!”
‘Maybe I should watch through Episode 3 first.’
Thinking of Han Yeoreum, the casting director waited for <Strange Tales> Episode 3 to air.
* * *
And the day <Strange Tales> Episode 3 aired arrived.
“What is this?”
Before <Strange Tales> aired, Aetami, who had briefly tried to enter a discussion board on her phone, doubted her own eyes.
[♨If you don’t watch, it’s your loss: Strange Tales Ep. 3 Thread♨][1120]
—I’m shaking, please... hurry up already, seriously
—I waited like a dog for a whole week TT_TT
—Give us Strange Tales! Give us Strange Tales! Give us Strange Tales! Give us Strange Tales!
“No, what is this... before it’s even aired....”
People were having fun even while waiting for <Strange Tales>. Just the pre-broadcast comments alone had managed to blow up an entire thread.
With each episode, the intensity doubled.
And amid the swelling anticipation, the curtain rose on <Strange Tales> Episode 3.
Chapter 3.
Maiden Ghost
Gray clouds pressed down as if dominating the sky. Even the moonlight was faint beneath them. The entire world was dim.
Not a single trace of light entered.
Yunhwi lay in a narrow room, refusing to listen to Jeongan’s words. He did not tear even one of the thick talismans clutched to his chest, gritting his teeth with his eyes wide open.
Ssss— sssssss—.
The sound of insects crawling brushed against his ears. Yunhwi tightened the hand gripping his blanket, glaring up at the empty ceiling.
Hoo....
Amid the insect noises, someone’s excited breathing could be heard. Yunhwi was not alone in the room. The breathing crept closer. His neck stiffened.
The moment veins stood out starkly along his throat—
Sliiide....
Something’s hair brushed long against Yunhwi’s forehead. Slowly, down to his eyelids, the bridge of his nose.... Yunhwi squeezed his eyes shut as black hair covered his face.
Total darkness. The breathing stopped. Was it over now? Had he endured these impure things by sheer will? Yunhwi’s heart beat anxiously.
When he slowly opened his eyes—
Heeheeek! Heeheheheheek! Heeheheheheheheek!
Something laughed madly in front of him, as if it had been waiting. It bent at the waist near Yunhwi’s feet, cackling as if mocking him. Charred skin, hollow black eye sockets, a mouth stretched wide in laughter.
“Uh....”
A fear-soaked groan slipped between Yunhwi’s teeth.
Heehik....
It slowly, very slowly...,
bent its waist and drew closer to Yunhwi’s face. Its pitch-black, long hair covered his vision.
“Huh....”
Yunhwi opened his eyes again. Had it all been a dream once more? His hands, which had tried to overcome it with sheer mental strength, trembled finely.
“These impure things are gradually drawing closer....”
Yunhwi murmured in a voice like one submerged in water. Flickering shadows, then toes approaching his feet, until finally it stood face-to-face with him.
It was coming to strangle him.
“Why....”
Yunhwi lifted his head and sighed. His rain-soaked nape trembled pitifully. After biting his lip as if making a decision, he rose from his bed.
Creeeak— as he opened the old door, the guard warriors immediately stood before him.
“Inform the palace.”
Yunhwi looked toward the distant blue sky. The predawn sky, still dark, painfully blue in the early hours.
“Say that my body has grown extremely weak. That I’m seeing hallucinations, talking to myself... that my mind is unstable.”
At those words, the guards who had been bowing their heads snapped them ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ up in alarm.
“But, Your Highness!”
“Say it.”
Yunhwi spoke half-turned, as if scolding them. His gaze toward the guards was firm.
“How could—.”
“And add that I will recuperate here for a time. That my body and mind seem to have weakened.”
Slowly, the sun rose in the distance. As if impure things could not set foot on this land, the eastern sky toward which Yunhwi faced grew bright.
“And we are going to White Spirit Land.”
Only then did the guards bow deeply, accepting his command. Yunhwi turned his head, capturing the sky in his eyes.
His eyes, touched by light, sparkled as if forgetting the terror of the previous night.
If they went to the place Seonghwi’s footsteps had first led to, it felt as though some clue might emerge. A sheer cliff appeared before Yunhwi.
As distant as the future he would have to carve through.
Yunhwi extended a handshake to one guard, as if telling him to return safely.
The time their hands remained clasped was unusually long.
The camera pulled back from above, as if looking down at Yunhwi from a great height. Beneath the brightly lightening sky, Yunhwi stood on the verdant peak, gazing down below—like a ruler commanding the world.
“Make sure you deliver the message properly to Father.”
“I will! Your Highness!”
Watching the guard ride his black horse in haste toward the palace, Yunhwi drew in a deep breath.
“Then... shall we go.”
They set their destination in the opposite direction of Heavenly Vein Land.
* * *
On a mountain path where thick trees densely filled the sky, silence hung between the two walking forward. Myungdo, walking three paces behind Seoryeong, spoke.
“You look to be carrying a great deal of luggage. I will carry it for you.”
Unlike Myungdo, who carried only a simple cotton bundle despite his tall stature, Seoryeong—barely reaching his chest—was burdened with a large pack.
“No. Why would I trust you with it?”
Seoryeong rejected him coldly. Myungdo, who had been walking three steps behind, lengthened his stride and came up beside her.
“We have yet to exchange names. Since we must walk a long road together, please tell me your name.”
“No need to know.”
Seoryeong quickened her pace, trying once more to pull several steps ahead of Myungdo.
It was futile. With his long legs, Myungdo caught up easily.
“Please tell me your name.”
He asked again in a serious voice. Seoryeong furrowed her brow.
“I don’t have one.”
“How can a person have no name?”
At her repeated refusals, Myungdo let out a small sigh. His tone was the polite manner of someone well-educated, but Seoryeong snapped irritably.
“Hey, what’s all that supposed to mean? A name only exists when someone calls you by it, doesn’t it? You’ll never have reason to call my name. You don’t even dare speak to me first. Just being dragged along by me should be honor enough for you. Can’t you tell who’s above and who’s below?”
She lifted her chin, clearly drawing a line between herself and the much taller Myungdo. Seoryeong spoke, emphasizing each word.
“Absolute obedience. When I speak, you just follow. Carve that into your head.”
Contrary to her fierce gaze, the motion of smacking Myungdo’s shoulder beside her was trivial. When Seoryeong tried to shove him with her whole body, she instead tumbled straight to the ground against his solid arm.
“Ah!”
Because she was carrying a heavy pack, the recoil was all the harsher. Seoryeong flailed on the ground. Myungdo, expression calm, helped her up.
He knelt and brushed the dirt from Seoryeong’s soiled knees with rough hands.
“In military strategy, the most important thing is information sharing among allies. It is true that I am following you, but shouldn’t I at least know the most basic information to survive the worst situations?”
Meeting her gaze, Myungdo asked once more, politely.
“So please tell me your name.”
