Chapter 117

<The Special Name Called Family (4)>

***

To the soul named Son Jin-hyeok, the traces of the world flickered like raindrops flowing down a car window, like a heat haze. Whether it was the influence of the seal mentioned by the shadow or the blurring of time, Jin-hyeok’s memories were only those etched into his being.

What he could vaguely recall were the long, noisy events. Reading the world was something he did every day without fail while delivering newspapers. Thanks to that, he could vaguely remember what happened at what age.

‘It must have been this fall.’

If he had lived a life no different from the past, where he could barely support himself, he would never have attempted this. But now, with helpers around him to stop the incident, how could he bear the guilt of standing by when he had the power to prevent misfortune?

‘Thanks to Dad and Mr. Hong Ki-jun, we have more than enough to live on.’

He always made this resolution, but Jin-hyeok wanted to live selfishly, not cowardly. Now was the time to put that resolution into action. He had the ability to do so.

Future information.

Even if it wasn’t clear, couldn’t he use what came to mind?

‘In my own way.’

Late at night, sitting at his desk, Jin-hyeok used his finger to go through the list of Gunsan passenger ship companies that Min Yong-rak had given him, while soothing Yoo Jin, who had fallen asleep on his brother’s lap with one hand.

Suddenly, Jin-hyeok’s jaw tightened.

‘Found it.’

Seeing the company name, he could clearly recall it.

Jin-hyeok’s eyes lit up as he tapped the company name with his index finger.

「Western Ferry」

***

From Moon Seok-il to the elite SSS, Hong Si, and even Min Yong-rak. The family breathing in the same domain had grown. Jin-hyeok’s home would be one of the safest places in the world unless a blind missile flew in.

Jin-hyeok’s mindset shifted when he heard that Kim In-rang’s mother was suffering from an illness. It was the trigger that made him turn his eyes outward. Bound by the special name of family, their daily lives no longer seemed trivial.

Perhaps it was the influence of the sentimental Son Kwang-yeon.

Son Kwang-yeon handed Kim In-rang a cash envelope to help with nursing expenses, in the presence of Jin-hyeok. It seemed like an intention to set a good example for his son.

Moon Seok-il was sitting on Jin-hyeok’s desk again today.

Usually, they would discuss things while wandering the yard or taking walks together, but lately, they had been having frequent secret talks in the room.

Moon Seok-il was diligently taking notes and racking his brain, but he never opened his mouth. Jin-hyeok had demanded strict confidentiality, so he even kept his mouth shut. It was a habit ingrained in him.

– “Please listen as if I’m crazy.”

At first, even Moon Seok-il suspected that Jin-hyeok might be delusional. But whenever this kid made a request, it always led to significant results.

Was it when he told Kang Heon-chang to practice Kenjutsu with him in the village hall yard every Sunday? After beating Kang Heon-chang’s body about 218 times with a bamboo sword, the biker gang high school students never showed up again.

‘They probably thought it was a neighborhood full of crazy uncles.’

Although it was embarrassing to do that shirtless in March, he felt rewarded when Teacher Kim Chun-sik thanked him and treated him to a meal with the money from selling a cow. Thus, there was always a purpose behind the kid’s requests.

But this time, it was a bit too strange.

‘Does he mean to threaten someone?’

He clenched his jaw and looked at the notebook.

「a. Secretly contact those related to ship operation permits

b. Meet with the ship owner. Late night/secretly

c. Devise a way to disrupt weekend passenger ship operations – minimize losses for the shipping company」

‘a’ was Plan A.

The kid emphasized not to consider the next steps.

“I trust you. Keep it a secret.”

“Leave it to me.”

Moon Seok-il patted Jin-hyeok’s shoulder and went out.

But why did he always walk out hunched over and backward when closing the door?

‘What a polite uncle.’

After Moon Seok-il left, Jin-hyeok held his forehead.

How fortunate it was to have a capable person by his side whom he could trust.

Whew-. He blew away the now very small conflict with a sigh.

He decided to dismiss talk of historical intervention as nonsense. It wasn’t about history but about saving lives.

‘Help isn’t something you wait to fall from the sky; you seek it yourself.’

When incidents occurred, the media would rush to report on cause analysis, but no matter how much Jin-hyeok devoured newspapers, he couldn’t remember the details. He didn’t trust the scraps of articles that were like locking the stable door after the horse had bolted, so he never took them seriously.

‘Still, it would have been nice to have some reference for times like this. What a pity.’

Just in case, he even tried to borrow the power of a transcendent being.

He desperately called out to ask how to prevent the incident, but not only did the shadow not appear, even the fluorescent light didn’t flicker. After bidding farewell to Hong Ki-jun, it seemed he had really left.

‘I’ll have to step up myself.’

Of course, through helpers. He couldn’t do anything directly.

Getting the list of passenger ship companies through Min Yong-rak was quick. But what followed was slower. He learned how difficult it was to prevent an incident while adhering to the law in a rule-of-law country.

Killing someone in the name of the government was as easy as flipping a palm, but saving someone was harder than flipping a rock.

That’s why he chose Moon Seok-il, a former intelligence agent, for the long game.

The ship must not be destroyed.

Small businesses and employees would lose their livelihoods, and the sea would be polluted.

Causing a breakdown to the point of making navigation impossible was also a last resort, but without knowing the timing of the accident, that method was also unfeasible. He only vaguely remembered it was around fall. It was a limitation of memories he hadn’t directly experienced.

Inducing the ship owner to go out of business by meeting them was also something to avoid. It would be more like coercion. But they also needed to make a living, right? He couldn’t choke their throats to prevent an accident that hadn’t even happened yet.

Ultimately, there was only one way to prevent the accident without harming the system or people.

‘We need to increase the number of operations to prevent overloading.’

Human greed is endless, so they might overload regardless of the number of operations. But trying something was better than doing nothing, and that method was the best.

Then, the only ones left were the administrative officials.

It bothered him that he had to do something somewhat illegal, but in Jin-hyeok’s judgment, it was absolutely necessary.

‘Uncle Moon Skill will handle it.’

He told him not to break or kill anyone, so he would probably do it appropriately, well, neatly, and gentlemanly. Whether physically or psychologically, there were people much better than Jin-hyeok at inducing someone’s actions.

‘It must never be revealed.’

He wasn’t trying to play the hero either. If his actions were revealed, he would undoubtedly be seen as a villain behind the scenes, not a hero.

He just wanted to save them. Those who were someone’s family, those currently alive. It didn’t matter who they were, whether strong or weak. To Jin-hyeok, they were just many lives.

Anyway, to handle it secretly, it had to be done by people skilled at hiding and moving swiftly.

For such a task, Moon Seok-il and SSS were perfect.

‘Wasn’t it really fate?’

Meeting Moon Seok-il, that is. Living under the same roof with them had given Jin-hyeok the wings of freedom.

‘I also have to go to school.’

It was a consistent thought. A student must go to school.

Hehe-.

One corner of Jin-hyeok’s mouth curled up mischievously as he looked in the mirror.

Only then did he look like a proper, mischievous teenager.

***

The morning sickness seemed to have passed, but Han Yu-young’s appetite was endless.

Bracken, shepherd’s purse, wild chive, peeled spring doraji salad, seaweed stems from the floodgate that weren’t too dark and had a light green hue, frog legs from hibernating frogs, seaweed made from gamtae harvested on a snowy day, mugwort rice cakes, sow thistle and Korean lettuce greens······.

The amount she ate wasn’t much, but the variety was vast. The list Jin-hyeok had organized in his notebook already filled more than a page.

It was truly a legendary pig-like appetite.

Even after school started, Jin-hyeok picked young mugwort whenever he had time.

With Jang Jin-nam and Min Yong-rak helping, it was manageable.

‘She said she wanted to eat castor bean leaves too.’

For the soybean paste, he could just ask chef Jang Jin-nam, but castor bean leaves were only available in summer.

Anyway, no one in this house was idle.

Son Kwang-yeon had to manage the business, and Yoo Jin had to teach Hong Si to speak.

“Butterfly!”

Kkyeong-.

She was enthusiastic, showing picture books, but Hong Si only made nonsensical noises.

“Sparrow!”

Heuk-.

When the picture books didn’t work, she brought out the Thousand Character Classic.

“Moon!”

Moon!

“Ohhh-. Good job! Our Hong Si, you speak well, don’t you?”

“Well, sort of······.”

Clap clap clap-.

Jang Jin-nam, who had come to get the chili paste Han Yu-young had made, reluctantly clapped.

His biceps trembled every time he clapped to humor the little one, which was pitiful.

Anyway, even Yoo Jin, who seemed like a genius, was gradually losing her marbles.

‘Is the land bad?’

Jin-hyeok shook his head as he put on his rubber boots.

Grandpa Cheon Gil-ryong had praised the land as very good, but with so much free food, he wondered if it was just empty praise.

“Brother, where are you going?”

“I’m going to the sea with Uncle Jo Il-hun. Yoo Jin, you stay and play with Hong Si since you’re tired.”

“Okay-.”

Yoo Jin, who loved Hong Si anyway, didn’t seem interested in following.

‘In all my life, I’ve never caught a sseolgi.’

Sseolgi, originally called ssok, resembles a small mud shrimp but is smaller.

The spring breeze was the problem.

Mom, sniffing the spring breeze like General Jang, made an ecstatic expression.

– “Heh-, I smell sseolgi.”

She muttered to herself and drooled.

Son Jin-hyeok, the filial child who would bring food to his parents’ mouths despite their protests, couldn’t just let it go.

In March and April, coastal farmers preparing for the new farming season head to the tidal flats.

They dig for clams and catch gamtae to pickle or stir-fry, which is the women’s job since they’re not good with shovels. Men sometimes catch octopus early, but most go out to catch sseolgi.

As a child, Jin-hyeok had never caught one.

‘It’s gross.’

It looks like an alien from a movie.

But he liked the texture and taste.

‘I thought it would taste similar to mud shrimp since they look alike.’

If mud shrimp are like flower crabs, sseolgi are like stone crabs.

Meaning, it’s hard to find similarities in flavor.

The texture and eating methods are also different.

When eating mud shrimp, Jin-hyeok had to suck his fingers to fully enjoy the flavor. The meat was scarce, so he sucked the flavor off his fingers while peeling the hard shell. But sseolgi can be eaten whole, fitting Jin-hyeok’s preference for eating like a cow.

‘Fried ones are delicious.’

At wedding receptions, fried sseolgi used to be served, and Jin-hyeok still remembers the taste. Now, with receptions held at town venues or restaurants, that taste is disappearing.

Even his completely rural mom loved sseolgi. The problem was that no one at home knew how to catch them.

Oaeng-aeng-.

As he wandered the yard, Jo Il-hun, the walking encyclopedia, arrived on a scooter.

He was the reinforcement Jin-hyeok had called for.

“Huh? You brought tools? What did you bring the shovel for?”

“Huh?”

Tools? Did he need to bring a monkey wrench?

As Jin-hyeok looked puzzled, Jo Il-hun shoved a stick from his basket at him.

At the same time, Jin-hyeok stepped back.

‘Oh my······.’

What Jo Il-hun handed him was more like a giant dildo.

If Dad had seen it, he would have surely compared it to his groin.

‘The thickness seems similar······.’

No, that’s not important now. Jin-hyeok shook his head vigorously.

The oval, blunt end resembled a man’s symbolic turtle brother, and the length was slightly shorter than a man’s arm. The T-shaped handle on the other end looked like a sled handle.

“People from Tandy fish with feathers or dog fur, but how many can they catch? In our village, we use this to punch through. Then the sseolgi gets pulled up like a pump-.”

Yes, I heard the explanation. So please put the stick away. It’s embarrassing to look at directly. Jin-hyeok coughed awkwardly.

‘No wonder it looked familiar.’

It wasn’t just because it resembled something seen during urination or showers.

When he followed Dad to the sea, he had pulled out sticks stuck in the tidal flats and was shocked by their shape. He thought some pervert had stuck dildos in the tidal flats.

Now he realized they were probably broken tools left behind.

“Nowadays, hardware stores sell ones made of stainless steel, but they don’t look as satisfying-. Hah-, Jin-hyeok. Look at this. I carved this myself, doesn’t it look like a masterpiece?”

Jo Il-hun stroked the blunt end of the stick and smiled contentedly.

His expression and actions seemed not just inappropriate but illegal.

‘Stop! Stop it!’

{@PIC:560637}

It’s a sseolgi-catching stick.

I thought a picture description might be needed, so I drew a simple ppt.

Peel the pine bark and shape it with a blade like a sickle.

I drew it as plainly and dryly as possible to avoid any suggestive connotations… but.