WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ Incarnation of the Malevolent Star ◈
Chapter 102: Part 1 - Whispers of the Dark Brother (102)
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#102.
Entrepreneur Hwang Pil-seong's attention naturally turned to the grandson Old Man Jo Jeong-ho was raising alone.
‘...He does internet broadcasts?’
Seeing something once was better than hearing about it a hundred times.
Hwang Pil-seong had never watched personal internet broadcasts before, apart from a few political YouTubers. But this time, he made time to watch Onik's channel.
In the end, Onik's broadcasts pleased the old entrepreneur greatly.
‘That boy is so sweet-natured. He's lovely to watch.’
Kind. Diligent. Talented. Good at studying too.
Most of all, Onik was deeply devoted to his grandfather and unfailingly respectful to other adults. He was like the very image of an ideal grandson.
That was the strongest force drawing subscribers around Hwang Pil-seong's age to Onik Uncle and the Hapless Chief's channel like a black hole.
Older subscribers, with little to do and much loneliness in their lives, would sometimes binge-watch every one of Onik's videos when they were bored.
They longed for the warmth of human company missing from their lives, reaching for it through the screen.
The old entrepreneur envied Old Man Jo Jeong-ho.
‘My grandsons and granddaughters only ever ask me to buy this and buy that...’
Buy me this. Buy me that. Buy me this. Buy me that.
He was sick to death of it.
Onik, on the other hand, was always eager to do something for his grandfather.
Preparing his grandfather's meals morning and evening was only the beginning. Once he started making money, he was always watching for a chance to buy him a gift.
A video of Onik buying his grandfather a tablet to read the newspaper on, then sitting beside him and chattering away as he taught him how to use it, left the entrepreneur feeling deeply content.
How could a child who had grown up without parents be so upright and admirable?
In one way, Hwang Pil-seong also felt a sense of vicarious satisfaction.
‘...This is enjoyable. Is this why people watch internet broadcasts?’
The old entrepreneur became completely absorbed in the broadcasts of the admirable country boy.
The old family house and the warm scenery of the remote mountain village, which stirred memories of earlier days, were also appealing to him.
‘I wish my children would learn something from this Onik boy.’
Hwang Pil-seong did not ask for much. He would be satisfied if they became only half as much like Onik.
They did not need Onik's talent or diligence. It would be enough if they learned only his gentle goodness and affection.
‘Maybe they'll learn something if they keep watching?’
The exceptional words and conduct of an exemplary person naturally influenced those around them over time.
There was no reason such influence could not cross the screen of a smartphone.
Having reached that conclusion, Hwang Pil-seong began encouraging his blood relatives to watch Onik's broadcasts.
That was how Hwang Ha-rim, Hwang Pil-seong's only daughter among his sons and the prominent pastor's wife at the large church attended by a certain student rider, came across Onik's channel.
#
Hwang Pil-seong was old.
For his children, it was about time to grow greedy over corporate succession and inheritance.
That was why the broadcasts Hwang Pil-seong recommended soon became required viewing and leisure entertainment for the Hwang family.
They gave the family a natural opening to speak with Hwang Pil-seong.
Hwang Ha-rim was no exception.
‘What is this? Father really likes this child, Jo Onik?’
Hwang Pil-seong's children had long been desperate to earn their father's favor.
They wanted to build more goodwill than their siblings and gain even a slight advantage in the inheritance war to come.
The problem was that the Hwang family was not particularly close.
Even if they wished to earn their father's favor, trying too hard to make conversation would only make their intentions obvious.
They had no hobbies or interests in common.
Business management?
The other family members could not match Hwang Pil-seong's insight, and even if they tried to open a conversation that way, it would only create a formal atmosphere.
Besides, all the siblings were much the same when it came to proving their business ability.
Not one of them met the standards of the self-made entrepreneur.
When discussing company matters with his family, Hwang Pil-seong would often look at his children with troubled eyes and say:
“When I die, hire professional managers. That would be better. Otherwise, you'll ruin the company.”
Golf was about the only hobby through which his children could try speaking to a man like Hwang Pil-seong.
But how often could they play golf? And how often would they get to shout, “Nice shot, Father!”
So to his ambitious children, the internet broadcasts of a country boy that Hwang Pil-seong had newly taken an interest in were like an oasis in the desert.
The oasis water was clear and sweet.
Hwang Ha-rim was doubly pleased by Jo Onik's broadcasts.
First, whenever she used them to start a conversation with her father, his response could not have been warmer.
“Right? Isn't that child admirable?”
On top of that, Onik's broadcasts were entertaining and useful. Their format and content could be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of age or gender.
The more she watched, the more naturally she became absorbed.
Every broadcast had fresh material, so their conversations about them were always new as well.
Thus, the entire Hwang family, from grandfather to grandchildren, became devoted viewers of Onik Uncle and the Hapless Chief.
That was why Hwang Ha-rim had been delighted at finding Kim Ju-won at the church Christmas Eve celebration, thinking it unexpected good fortune.
There was the pure delight she felt as an Onik fan, and the calculating delight of having a special story to bring her elderly father.
So Hwang Ha-rim eagerly anticipated what student rider Kim Ju-won would say.
#
When Ju-won heard Onik's name and squeezed his eyes shut in alarm, Hwang Ha-rim first wondered if he was ill.
But when he opened his eyes and she saw his unmistakable displeasure, she felt slightly offended.
‘...Look at this child.’
No one in this church community had ever dared show their displeasure to her.
Everyone worked hard to win her favor.
She thought this was simply the natural behavior of people beneath her class.
Unaware of Ju-won's “pettiness,” Hwang Ha-rim interpreted his displeasure as weariness.
‘Is he sick of it because so many people ask him?’
It did bother her somewhat, but she could understand that kind of fatigue.
She, too, often found the persistent flattery of people beneath her class tiresome and irritating.
Praise was pleasant to hear, but sometimes she wished they would simply leave her alone.
Having formed an inner sense of closeness with the good child Jo Onik and those around him, Hwang Ha-rim decided to overlook Ju-won's “mistake” generously.
She did not need to press him for an answer. Ju-won's mother, who had been little more than a bystander, stepped in.
“Ju-won? You should answer. The pastor's wife is asking you.”
Ju-won once again felt an almost reflexive rush of alarm.
Fortunately, he did not fail to control his expression this time. His mother's and father's eyes fixed on him acted as a restraint.
The trapped high school student felt the inside of his skull grow hot.
‘What should I do? Should I lie?’
Ju-won thought the pastor's wife would naturally know about his “pettiness.”
What Onik fan would not know about that matter?
So there must have been hostility hidden behind the gentle smile in her eyes.
The student rider who believed he had been unfairly slandered felt humiliation, warm beneath his skin, rising within him.
“Uh, yes.”
In the end, Ju-won lied.
“Onik and I are getting along well. I thanked him too.”
They were not getting along at all. He did not even know Onik's contact information.
The only thing he knew was the business email account listed in the channel's public information.
He had never thanked Onik either.
Ju-won could only hope the pastor's wife had no way to confirm the truth.
“Oh my. ♪”
There was a pleasant nasal lilt in Hwang Ha-rim's exclamation.
Her eyes curved gracefully again.
“If you don't mind, would you tell me a little more? Is there some kind of behind-the-scenes story that other people don't know?
“Hmm, I'm very curious about what Onik is like normally, how he speaks with people close to him, and what he does for fun.”
Ju-won believed the pastor's wife was concealing malice, so her curious questions sounded like this to him.
「You get along well with Onik? You? Really? I don't think so. Well, let's hear what you have to say.」
One lie always called for more lies to cover it.
Forced to invent convincing falsehoods to get through this crisis, Ju-won felt his throat and guts tightening.
Under the pastor's wife's gaze, and his mother's and father's gaze, he felt as though they could see straight through him...
#
Behind their smiling faces, Ju-won's parents searched their memories and worked their minds furiously.
‘Onik? Who is that? Was there a child like that at our church? If this child had special value, there's no way I wouldn't know the name. What family does he come from, for the pastor's wife to speak of him so fondly?’
‘She asked whether Ju-won thanked this child called Onik? Does that mean Ju-won had something to thank him for? What could it have been, for someone like the pastor's wife to show such interest?’
The married couple were of one mind.
As they thought hard, the two soon became angry with their only child.
If he had made a valuable friend, should he not have told his parents immediately?
That way, they could account for it in their plans for their family and child's future.
It was a serious mistake for Ju-won to let them hear about something they should have known beforehand from another person, especially someone like Pastor's Wife Hwang Ha-rim.
Perhaps they would have to scold him properly for the first time in a while when they returned home...
Meanwhile, Ju-won desperately spun lie after lie.
In those continuing falsehoods, Onik became someone close, precious, and deserving of Ju-won's gratitude.
If Onik heard it, his eyes would grow round.
「What? Me? Really? I did that? Then why am I hearing about it for the first time? It's my story!」
Fortunately for Ju-won, Onik was not there.
It was truly fortunate.
There was another fortunate thing.
Ju-won had secretly watched the fraudster boy's broadcasts himself, so he had enough knowledge to pretend familiarity.
At least, he did not lack material to invent stories that would appeal to Hwang Ha-rim.
“Oh my, oh my, oh my...”
Hwang Ha-rim listened with sparkling eyes, thinking of all the stories she would have to tell her father.
Her older brothers would surely be quite jealous of their much younger sister.
Ju-won's parents listened along without knowing their son was spinning lie after lie. In his halting, lengthening stories, they finally managed to grasp the outline of this child named Onik.
‘What? He is a child who does internet broadcasts?’
‘Then he's an entertainer.’
The two had ways of thinking that were old-fashioned even for their age. They felt bewildered, but they were not tactless enough to show it.
Ju-won's mother put on a smile like a mask.
“Oh my. You seem to enjoy Onik's broadcasts too, ma'am.”
Her words carried the implication that she, too, knew this child called Onik and watched his broadcasts.
As Ju-won panicked, Hwang Ha-rim smiled and nodded.
“Of course. Though it's not so much that I like the broadcasts as that I like Onik himself.
“I really am a fan. If I could, I'd want to make him my child.”
She meant it rather sincerely.
If it helped her gain more points with her elderly father, taking in one adopted child would be no burden to Hwang Ha-rim.
Once she had secured a more advantageous inheritance, she could coax and persuade the child into ending the adoption after he came of age.
She would simply have to give him enough money that he would not feel slighted.
‘No matter how much I give him, it'll be a speck of dust compared with the total inheritance.’
Ju-won's parents, who knew nothing of her true thoughts, could not hide their surprise.
Ju-won's mother covered her mouth without thinking as she asked:
“Your child? You like him that much?”
Hwang Ha-rim shrugged.
“It's not only me. My father likes him even more than I do.”
“Really? Chairman Hwang does?”
“Yes. My father became an Onik fan before I did. He's so deeply absorbed that it's hard to start a conversation with him unless you've watched Onik's broadcasts.
“So before we knew it, every one of our relatives became an Onik fan.”
“My goodness...”
The head of the province's largest semiconductor materials company was deeply interested in an entertainer child!
This was truly valuable information. Ju-won's parents felt as though their ears had perked up.
The couple once again had the same thought.
‘So our Ju-won knows such a valuable child? If we handle this well, it might become an incredible opportunity.’
At this point, distinctions like entertainer no longer mattered.
Depending on what Ju-won did, he might even catch the eye of the head of the province's greatest manufacturing company.
The first method that came to mind was having Ju-won appear on the broadcasts of that child named Onik.
He could show his good side there and casually mention what fine people his parents were for raising him.
The image created that way could be used as leverage for better social connections and networking.
There was no need to limit their targets to Chairman Hwang Pil-seong and Hwang Ha-rim alone.
If they went around spreading word about broadcaster Jo Onik, whom the entire Hwang family liked, people would naturally become interested in Kim Ju-won, who was close to Jo Onik.
Ju-won's parents would naturally gain both tangible and intangible benefits.
All the while, Ju-won continued making up more lies to escape the present moment.
...Without realizing he was bringing disaster upon himself.
#
The disaster Ju-won had summoned took shape the moment he returned home.
“Kim Ju-won.”
His father called his name in a voice one octave lower than usual.
At that cold call alone, Ju-won's spirit immediately shrank.
The tense heart of the cowering high school student pounded in quick, small beats.
“Why haven't you said anything about this child called Jo Onik until now?
“How many times have I told you to tell Dad or Mom when you make a good friend? Did you forget already?
“Is your head made of stone? Did I pass down rocks-for-brains genes to you?”
Ju-won answered quietly.
“It is just that Onik is an entertainer, so...”
Before he could finish, his mother sharply cut in.
“How is he just an entertainer? If people like Chairman Hwang and Pastor's Wife Hwang Ha-rim are fond of him, that alone makes him a precious child.”
Here, Ju-won took the first blow.
‘A precious child...’
For Ju-won, treating Onik as an entertainer was nearly the last wall protecting his self-respect.
It was much like the mentality of a poor commoner in the Joseon era who comforted himself with his status while looking at an outside-resident slave wealthier than himself.
(Though rare, there were slave families in Joseon that were wealthier than ordinary commoners and even poor noble families.
There were quite a few cases where slaves bought and put other slaves to work.
A representative example was a slave named Im Bok during King Seongjong's reign. Im Bok was famous for donating three thousand seok of rice for relief when famine struck.)
Ju-won had barely suppressed all his envy and inferiority toward Onik with contempt for entertainers.
But now, the very parents who had taught him to look down on entertainers were calling that entertainer a precious child...
With the final line of his psychological defense destroyed, Ju-won felt as if his mind were breaking apart.
Whether their child's mind broke apart or not, his mother dealt a cruel follow-up blow.
“I looked him up on the way home. Not only is Onik better at riding than you, but he studies well too.
“I heard he already received a perfect score on the TOEIC at his age. They say his spoken English is at the level of a native speaker. And he's more filial than you are.
“Isn't he fundamentally different from other entertainers who coast through life?”
What she had looked up on the way home was a wiki page containing information about Onik. There had not been enough time to watch his broadcasts.
That page still had no section for controversies or incidents.
Ju-won, the righteous pro-democracy activist, had tried several times to write objective material there. But the collective vandalism of the evil guard-fans who fiercely defended the fraudster boy had foiled his attempts every time.
“From now on, make becoming close with that precious child Onik your top priority.
“And make sure to tell your father and me how well you are getting along.”
“Do you mean I should treat Onik the way I treat my riding club friends?”
“No! You should treat him with even greater regard than that!”
“With even greater regard...”
“Yes! Onik is a child Chairman Hwang Pil-seong likes. Pastor's Wife Hwang Ha-rim thinks enough of him to want him as her own child.
“Don't spare money if it will help you become closer to such a precious child. I don't care what method you use. Bring us results!”
Ju-won's mind broke apart even further.
It was already deeply humiliating to cater to his riding club friends. Now he had to treat the fraudster boy with even greater regard than them.
“Kim Ju-won. Aren't you going to answer your mother?”
His father's suffocating follow-up attack landed. Ju-won barely managed to nod.
“...Yes. I will. I'll do that.”
His father clicked his tongue at the belated answer.
The moment Ju-won fled toward his room, he heard his mother's sigh outside the unlocked door.
It was a loud sigh, deliberately released for him to hear.
Then came a heavy lament.
“Oh dear. I'm truly worried. How can he still be so helpless at his age?
“If it hadn't been for Pastor's Wife Hwang Ha-rim, he would've missed an opportunity that had fallen right into his lap without even realizing he'd missed it. It makes me dizzy just thinking about it.”
Sitting at his desk, Ju-won's vision blurred like water.
He could not let a sob escape, so he clamped his mouth shut and cried in muffled, broken gasps.
#
Deep in the early morning.
Holy night.
In a cheerful home, it was the hour when Santa Claus, lackey of the capitalists, would attempt a home invasion carrying a sack of gifts symbolizing class inequality.
Once his parents fell asleep, Ju-won went to the bathroom.
He locked the door, sat on the toilet, and began to masturbate.
He did it in the bathroom because it was the only room in the house where he could lock the door.
It was also useful because running the exhaust fan kept the smell from lingering.
Ju-won moved his hand while breathing hard.
“Hah, hah, hah...”
The high school student moved his hand mechanically, his mind completely empty.
There was not the slightest trace of sexual thoughts.
Contrary to what a certain pastor said, and contrary to his mother's scolding as she quoted that pastor, masturbation did not necessarily involve lewd fantasies.
In poorly maintained zoos, primates confined in narrow, bleak cages sometimes masturbated as a stereotyped behavior to relieve stress.
They used their own genitals as a switch for releasing endorphins.
Ju-won at that moment was exactly like those zoo primates.
After mechanically masturbating to ejaculation, Ju-won sat blankly for around five more minutes, then urinated and flushed.
Afterward, he returned to his room, covered himself with the blanket, and tried to sleep.
There was no Santa Claus to bring a warm gift to Ju-won as he struggled to sleep and soaked his pillowcase with tears.
It was a grave dereliction of Santa's duty.
Santa's sin was far too great.
...Santa. You are a being that should not exist.
#
Some time later, the year changed, and a special guest arrived at the province's International Equestrian Center in January.
“Wow! It is Jo Onik!”
All the student riders except Ju-won enthusiastically welcomed Onik, who had brought his horse in a trailer.
Onik was slightly startled by their one-sided friendliness, but he had often experienced the same thing in town and the city.
With his kind nature, Onik accepted the student riders' greetings. Then he tilted his head when he saw Ju-won far away, riding his horse alone at a steady clip-clop.
‘...What is going on? Why has that hyung grown so dark?’
The frightening boy saw the deep shadow of death cast over student rider Kim Ju-won.
It was the same dark shadow that had once been cast over the twenty-three-year-old idol Yu Se-ra.
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