WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ Incarnation of the Malevolent Star ◈
Chapter 100: Part 1 - Whispers of the Dark Brother (100)
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#100.
Fortunately, Ju-won did not get caught by his mother over his small, timid act of rebellion.
What would he do if his bedroom door suddenly opened?
He had mastered his response through endless mental rehearsal.
Of course, jumping at the sound of the door opening had been a major mistake.
But after that, he calmly hid his earphones and turned off his phone screen.
There was a brief delay between the sound of Ju-won’s mother turning the doorknob and the moment she could actually see into the room.
It was short and insufficient, but enough to cut away nearly half the instant when his startled body sprang up.
His mother saw the remaining half of his panic and asked suspiciously.
“What are you doing?”
“...What do you mean? Studying.”
“...”
Her gaze upon her son was more suspicious than usual.
Ju-won felt sweat rapidly forming down his back and heat rising through him, but in the end, his mother’s suspicions did not reach the truth.
However, Ju-won’s good fortune ended there.
“Why are you suddenly saying such nonsense?”
His attempt to skip the Christmas Eve celebration was crushed with ease.
“Today... No, not even a whole day. How much could possibly get into your head if you studied another five or six hours?
“On a special day like today, going to church will stay with you far more than your usual studying. Stop talking nonsense and get ready to leave.”
Already cowed by more suspicion than usual, Ju-won could not offer further objections or try to persuade his mother.
And so he was dragged to the church event.
While his parents, who only smiled brightly at people they considered worthwhile, went around greeting one person after another, Ju-won, reduced to the role of a living accessory, thought of Onik.
Even amid the humiliation that came every year and never became familiar, he could not stop thinking about him.
‘Was it Thunderbolt? It has to be a retired racehorse.’
Like the fox in the vineyard disparaging grapes that hung too high. Like Eagles and Giants fans forcing themselves to sing about happiness without championships.
Ju-won belittled the gift the rural boy had received in that warm village beyond the screen.
‘It probably only looks healthy on the outside. Its insides must be completely ruined. They must have picked up some worn-out, low-grade horse for cheap.’
He lumped the hunter who had given the gift in with it.
‘Would that cowardly old bastard really spend a lot of money? No, did he even have the eye to recognize a good horse in the first place?
‘He was probably taken in by some ranch owner who sells horse meat. An ignorant person comes to look at horses? Ha. Of course they’d rip him off!’
Even after putting it down again and again, Ju-won was not satisfied.
Of course he was not.
What Ju-won truly wanted to deny was not the gift as a material object, but the warmth of sincere affection contained within it.
So he belittled Legal Hunter’s affection.
‘...I’m sure of it. That old man saved money. Retraining it? Would he really spend extra to have that done too?
‘And even if he did, he probably received support money from the Korea Racing Authority. His own money probably amounted to no more than the price of a smartphone.’
Only after tearing it down that far did Ju-won finally feel a little better.
But even that was brief.
Ju-won had come to church expecting this year’s Christmas Eve celebration to be as miserable as every other year.
Unfortunately, that expectation was wrong.
A far greater misery awaited Ju-won at this year’s Christmas Eve celebration.
“Ah... You. Are you Kim Ju-won, by any chance?”
Within this church community, the person who received the most respect was, on the surface, naturally the senior pastor.
After all, he was the person who represented the church both internally and externally.
But in truth, there were certain congregants who received even more respect than the senior pastor.
People the senior pastor himself would bow deeply to greet first, people who stood at the center of all relationships among the church staff and congregants.
One of those people recognized Ju-won and even spoke to him first.
It was not a good sign.
‘What is this? Until now, she barely remembered my parents’ faces. Just that we were people who attended this church...’
Seeing someone’s face often and remembering their name were entirely different things.
In a church community where thousands of congregants attended weekend services, it was practically impossible for everyone to remember one another’s names and faces.
That was even more so because the congregants of this church associated with one another according to status.
(There were even “high-ranking congregants” who sometimes pretended not to know a person whose name they did know.)
The person speaking to him now was a genuine “pastor’s wife.”
Someone Ju-won’s parents would normally struggle even to find an opportunity to speak with.
Even on a special day like today, they could only exchange formal greetings with someone like her.
‘But why does she know who I am?’
With a bad feeling in his heart, Ju-won lowered his head.
“Yes. That’s right. I’m Kim Ju-won... Hello, Pastor’s Wife.”
He greeted her politely, though timidly, and glanced to the side. His parents seemed confused by the unexpected situation, but pleased all the same.
Ju-won’s mother smiled brightly first.
“Oh my, Pastor’s Wife! You remembered our son?
“My goodness, my goodness. The last time our family properly greeted you was Easter. How could you still remember that...? Your memory is truly remarkable.”
The pastor’s wife looked slightly flustered.
“...Ah, was that so? Easter...? I think I may remember...”
Then she fell silent.
She had meant to continue speaking with Ju-won, but his mother, someone outside her interest, had intruded by pretending familiarity with her.
She did not know how to respond to the mistaken flattery of someone whose name she did not even know.
That was right. She did not know her name.
Ju-won had once seen a similar situation at school.
‘When a kid who was an outsider in class suddenly pretended to be close to a popular kid.’
The atmosphere became awkward in an instant.
But this was not an awkwardness between equals.
One side was high and the other low, so the discomfort belonged to those beneath.
Why should someone high concern themselves with the feelings of those below?
Accustomed to her status and the deference people offered her of their own accord, the pastor’s wife turned her gaze back to Ju-won.
She decided to treat Ju-won’s parents as though they were not there for the moment.
“Hmm, so, Ju-won? It’s nice to meet you. It seems you know who I am.”
“Yes...”
Of course he knew. She was one of the people in this church who did not need an introduction.
A member of the royal family of a semiconductor materials company that had brought in trillions of won in revenue last year.
The sort of person other congregants boasted about, saying, “Even someone like this attends our church.”
Yet this distinguished pastor’s wife smiled at him with rare friendliness.
“I never imagined you attended our church. I wish I had known sooner.”
“...?”
“Well, it’s fine now that I know... So, are you getting along well with Onik? Did you thank him?”
“...?!?”
“Hehe. I found that riding-center video very impressive.
“I was curious about what happened afterward, but that child Onik didn’t tell the rest of the story, so I was a little disappointed.
“But now I’ve met the person involved. Isn’t that wonderful? If you don’t mind, could you tell me about it?”
The bad feeling he had felt when she first called his name had been right.
Ju-won squeezed his eyes shut. It was a reflex beyond his conscious control...
#
The growth of the internet broadcast channel Onik Uncle and the Hapless Chief showed no signs of slowing even after it passed one million subscribers.
At this rate, it seemed likely to reach two million around Lunar New Year.
Its steady growth was supported by its broad appeal to viewers of every age and gender.
At this point, one out of every forty Koreans could be considered a subscriber to Jo Onik.
The proportion of foreign subscribers was still insignificant.
If they counted only the people who knew of the child Jo Onik, the number would be even higher.
One out of thirty people, perhaps even one out of twenty. It was not only subscribers who knew famous internet streamers.
The church Ju-won’s family attended, however, drew several thousand people every weekend service.
Looking at the numbers alone, there had to be people at today’s event who knew Onik.
Even so, Ju-won had not been greatly worried about that.
‘...This is a church.’
This church community had built its influence for over half a century in a strongly conservative region, centered around upper-class congregants.
Korean Protestantism was generally conservative.
But this church ranked among the very highest in conservatism.
There was one clear piece of evidence.
It was the sermon his mother had once quoted while leaving trauma upon her only child.
「Jesus said, “Everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart!”」
「Therefore, masturbation is a sin! When you masturbate, do you not think of another person and entertain lustful thoughts? That is the sin of adultery, brothers and sisters!」
「Human sexuality is a gift God gave for procreation within marriage!
Can we use God’s gift in a way that goes against God’s will? Can we or can we not?
The bodies of congregants are temples where the Holy Spirit dwells. We must not defile this temple with lust!」
「The more you engage in lewd acts, the more they become habit and addiction, until you lose self-control!」
「Students are especially at risk! Once they fall into lewd behavior and lose self-control, they begin to place pleasure above their studies and their faith!」
「This is Satan the devil stirring up our children’s desires and leading them into corruption. We must guard against it, and guard against it again!
This is the spiritual war we must fiercely wage to protect our children!」
Of course, that was not the only spiritual war this church community fought.
Among the spiritual wars the pastor cried out for and the congregants practiced was something called “digital spiritual warfare.”
「Congregants! Do not trust the news! This country’s media has been entirely taken over by Reds!」
「And stay away from online communities and internet broadcasts outside the church!
You all know it! The internet is filled with the Reds’ propaganda and agitation, and Satan’s temptations!」
「All consumption of information not grounded in God’s word and biblical standards is a danger that leads us into spiritual wandering!」
「Jesus spoke to us through the Bible! “Make the most of your time, because the days are evil!”
Those addicted to stimulating videos like short-form content will eventually fall into spiritual laziness and neglect fellowship with God, which is more important than anything else!」
According to the pastor’s logic, there were only two kinds of internet broadcasts congregants were allowed to watch.
One. Truly Christian broadcasts.
The other. “Verified” broadcasts hosted by politicians from a particular conservative bloc or conservative Protestant influencers.
There was even a list of verified broadcasts.
The list managed by the Culture Division of the church’s Fellowship Committee was called the Digital Guidelines for Congregants.
...Onik’s broadcast channel was not included in those suffocating guidelines.
#
People were creatures who wanted to do things more when they were told not to.
The congregants of this church were no exception.
Though most held conservative political and cultural views, online community activity and internet content consumption outside the guidelines were practically everyday life for everyone.
But it was difficult to say so openly.
That was simply the atmosphere of the church community.
They might share such things when close people met outside church as individuals, but at church events, everyone had to keep their digital private lives secret.
That was why Ju-won had thought today’s suffering would remain at its usual level.
‘...No one here will see me and start talking about Jo Onik.’
He had been mistaken.
A pastor’s wife with authority greater than the senior pastor’s was not bound by the rules of people beneath her.
But who could have known?
That someone as important as her would come all the way over to Ju-won and insist on bringing up his business with that fraudulent country boy.
Ju-won had no choice but to close his eyes in dizziness.
#
Seeing Ju-won’s reaction, the pastor’s wife felt puzzled.
‘What is this? What happened to him all of a sudden? Is he sick?’
Unlike Ju-won’s assumptions, born of all the trouble he had suffered from people, she knew nothing about his pettiness.
When she first watched the video in question, there had been no mosaic blur. When she watched it again days later, the mosaic had already been removed.
And she had not read the comments either.
Why should she look at the vulgar cries of cheap people?
The kind child Jo Onik and generous Chief Jo gave their subscribers all kinds of things, so beggars often appeared in the comments.
To a wealthy pastor’s wife, it was truly an unpleasant sight.
(Most begging comments were only jokes, but online jokes and pranks often required familiarity with their cultural codes to understand.
To the pastor’s wife, who had lived above the clouds, the WWE of internet pranksters looked like UFC.)
In short, this pastor’s wife was the isolated kind of fan, someone who did not belong to the fandom.
The way she had encountered Onik’s broadcasts was also different from that of ordinary fans.
It had been last August.
Her father attended a Liberation Day commemorative event hosted by the provincial government.
It was customary for prominent local business leaders to fill seats at the annual event.
They did not actually have anything to do there, but their mere presence helped preserve the governor’s dignity.
That event was also attended by Onik’s grandfather, the elderly Jo Jeong-ho.
As the only son of independence fighter Jo Yang-jin, and a recognized veteran himself, it was only natural for the old man to be invited to a Liberation Day event.
Ever since Jo Yang-jin, Onik’s great-grandfather, was first posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Patriotic Medal, Jo Jeong-ho had attended this event without missing a single year.
He had attended for a full thirty-five years.
(In the year when the medal was first awarded, he attended a central government event rather than one held by the provincial government.)
Jo Jeong-ho had always told those around him this.
「It is an occasion that honors my honored father’s devotion and honor. How could I neglect it as his son?」
However, the old man had never attended with his son or grandson.
When people asked why, the stubborn old man answered bluntly.
「Politicians’ words are harmful to children’s education. Regardless of left or right, their words always contain conflict and hatred.
It would be even worse to let children hear such things on a day like Liberation Day.」
Though it was an event commemorating liberation, the governor’s political inclinations were inevitably reflected in an event hosted by the provincial government.
The old man considered that harmful to children.
For similar reasons, he never tried to do anything beyond attending the event.
He did not want politicians to use the name of the independence fighter Jo Yang-jin, whom he respected.
At present, Jo Jeong-ho had become a rather notable figure among the descendants of independence fighters who attended the event.
For one thing, he was one of the second-generation descendants of independence fighters, a group numbering only in the double digits across the entire country.
He was also his family’s only son and a recognized veteran in his own right.
Naturally, all kinds of offers and requests came to him every year.
Most asked him to support a particular party as the representative of descendants of independence fighters from a certain region, or to hold a position in a related organization.
「That is not work for an old country man like me.」
The old man stubbornly shook his head at every request.
「This old man is not worthy of attempting anything under my honored father’s name. Find someone else with the proper qualifications and entrust it to them.」
Because the old man never made his presence known in this way, the father of the church pastor’s wife, the founder of the province’s largest semiconductor materials company, did not know of Jo Jeong-ho’s existence.
Though they had attended the same event for over ten years.
But this year was different.
The governor, who had taken notice of young Onik as a promising figure, publicly singled out Jo Jeong-ho onstage and lavished him with praise.
「The lofty spirit of the independence fighters born and raised in our province has continued down to this day, bright and unbroken.
For example, Mr. Jo Jeong-ho, seated over there, is the only son of independence fighter Jo Yang-jin, who fought a harsh struggle against the Japanese colonial military and police. Over many years, he has lived simply and walked only a straight and righteous path...」
This surprise shout-out made Jo Jeong-ho frown.
At the same time, it drew a spark of interest from the elderly businessman, who had been thinking, ‘When will this tiresome event finally end...?’
The old businessman blinked and searched through old memories.
‘Independence fighter Jo Yang-jin...? Wasn’t the scholarship I received when I went to college the Jo Yang-jin Scholarship?’
Though he now led the province’s largest semiconductor materials company, the businessman had once been a poor student working his way through school.
If he had failed to enter university because he had not received the Jo Yang-jin Scholarship back then...
If that had happened, perhaps he would never have become the self-made businessman he was today.
The businessman turned his head and took in the descendant of an independence fighter older than himself.
Footnotes:
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