"Mom, I'm really not sick," I said to my mother.
"I know, my son. But there's nothing wrong with getting a checkup," my mother said sweetly.
"I get that you want me to get a checkup, but why are we in Cheonliang? We could have just gone to a normal hospital in Seoul. This place is so backwards," I huffed with annoyance.
My mother smiled sweetly before ruffling my dark red hair. "Your case is very unique, Baki. You know we've seen all kinds of doctors in Seoul, but no one can tell us anything about your condition."
"But Mom, I don't have any condition."
"Yes, yes. I know you're not ill. But since we've already come to Cheonliang, there's nothing wrong with meeting the shaman, right? I've heard great things about him."
I nodded helplessly. For some reason, ever since I'd entered Cheonliang, I'd been getting an uneasy feeling. The people there had seemed very strange.
An hour later, my mother and I reached the shaman's house with help from some villagers. Though they had been very unfriendly at first, as soon as Mom inquired about the shaman, they became very friendly and led us to his home.
Outside the house, there were two Japanese men—one wearing glasses and looking gentle, the other with a nasty scar on his face that gave him a scary appearance. The reason I knew they were Japanese was because I am Japanese myself. We had recently moved to Korea.
The villager who had guided us walked toward them and said something.
The gentle-looking man opened the door to the shaman's house and entered, while the villager walked back to us and said, "You have to wait here for a bit. Lord Shaman will call you inside."
With that, he left us standing outside.
I looked around the courtyard curiously. A large tree stood there, ribbons hanging from its branches—decorations traditionally associated with shamanistic rituals. A small shrine was situated underneath the tree. Just as I was looking around, the man who had entered the shaman's house earlier came back outside and signaled us to enter.
My mom grabbed my hand before entering. Inside, the first thing I noticed were rows of dolls hanging from the ceiling. As I was staring at them, a man came into view. He was sitting in front of the rows of dolls, cradling a goat on his lap.
"Hello, ma'am. I am the village shaman, Shinmyung Cheon."
As he introduced himself, he gestured for us to sit in front of him.
My mother sat down, then pulled me down to sit beside her.
Shinmyung smiled and said, "You've done very well coming here. May I ask what the problem is?"
"Sir, we have been to all sorts of hospitals, but it was of no use. We lived in Seoul and came all the way here to Cheonliang."
The shaman replied, "My lady, whom I serve is able to treat illnesses that even modern medicine cannot."
"Then can my son really be cured? His name is Baki Hanma. After my husband died, we moved from Japan to Korea."
When I was younger, I had had a brain injury. An X-ray had revealed that my brain was naturally folded in the shape of a demon's face. Since then, my mother had always worried about me. But I didn't see any problems with it.
Hearing the description of my condition, the shaman replied, "A terrible thing has attached itself to your son. We'll have to perform several exorcisms."
My mother was desperate. She handed the shaman a bag full of money.
"I am counting on you, sir."
I could see the shaman grin from ear to ear as he took the bag.
"With this level of sincerity, my lady will be satisfied as well."
Then with another grin, he said, "We will begin right away."
Both my mom and I were shocked.
"What?!"
Just as my mother exclaimed, the door behind us opened and the two Japanese men from before looked at the shaman as he commanded them, "Get them ready."
What happened next was too fast for my brain to register. Within a few minutes, we were dressed in ceremonial clothing and brought to the shrine.
"We beseech thee! We beseech thee! We beseech thee, my lady!" The shaman, Shinmyung, chanted loudly.
"Have pity on the child who has been possessed by the demon! Please take away the demon that has possessed the child! Please cure the child!" Shinmyung kept chanting.
Suddenly, he chopped off the head of the goat he had been carrying as he continued his chant.
"What?! What's happening?!"
My mother was startled by the scene. All the villagers had gathered to watch the ritual, dancing strangely around us.
Shinmyung suddenly rushed toward my mother and whispered in her face,
"You have to show your sincerity, you fucking bitch."
Frightened, my mother began chanting along with him.
Then Shinmyung suddenly shouted, "The sacrifice has been offered! Please take away the demon!"
I stared blankly as I watched a child my age, bound with shackles, walk naked toward the shrine. Sacrifice? The sacrifice that bastard spoke of was a child my age! Something was wrong with him—he had six fingers and six toes.
Shinmyung suddenly threw a stone at the child's face and declared, "The child's demon has been transferred to the sacrifice! Let us throw spirit stones at the child and expel the demon!"
Seeing this, the other villagers followed suit.
"Throw spirit stones! Expel the demon! Let us cure the child!"
The boy crouched down and covered his head with his hands, trying to protect himself.
Seeing this, my mother quickly shouted,
"W-Wait a minute! What the hell are you doing to a little child?!"
The villagers quickly surrounded my mother, giving her eerie smiles.
"Don't worry. Your son's curse will now be undone."
It had gone wrong. Something was wrong! I had known it the moment we'd arrived there.
The villagers kept closing in as my mother backed away. Then they said in unison,
"Welcome to Cheonliang! Our shaman is almighty. If something happens, please consult with him."
The female villagers gathered behind my mother.
"Rag. You should have just stayed in Seoul. Why did you come to Cheonliang? You're trying to use our shaman, aren't you?" one of them said.
Another one chimed in, "Look at that vulgar thing shaking her ass like that. She must have sold her body back where she's from, too."
They were all insane. Those people were all fucking crazy!
---
A few hours later, my mother woke me from my sleep. She had already packed our luggage. A cab was waiting outside. We quickly got in.
"Please take us to Seoul!" my mom shouted.
"All the way to Seoul in the middle of the night?"
"It doesn't have to be Seoul—just take us outside the village!"
"What?"
"Please," my mother pleaded.
The driver pressed the gas pedal and the car began to move. We drove for a long while before the car stopped and the driver looked back at us.
"You can get off here."
"T-Thanks."
But the place we'd arrived at was our house—the one we had left in the beginning. Outside stood some villagers, and in the middle was the shaman, Shinmyung.
He walked toward us and smiled before saying, "Where have you been in the middle of the night? My lady was just so worried about you."
From that moment on, we were kept under surveillance. Every little thing we did was watched. All of our lives were in the palm of the shaman, Shinmyung.
Time passed until, one day...
I rubbed my sleepy eyes as I searched for my mother.
"Mom, Mom. Aren't you going to sleep?"
But when I finally cleared my vision, a horrifying scene awaited me. My mother had hanged herself.
Suddenly, someone opened the door of our house.
One of them sighed. "She died on her own. Now we don't have to worry about anything bothersome."
I recognized them—the two Japanese men who guarded the shaman.
The gentle-looking one kneed me in the midsection. I lost consciousness.
When I woke up, I was in hell—a hell called Cheonliang.