"I'm tired! Let's just die! What's the point of living like this anyway? If I die, things will be easier."
A naked boy shouted these words as he sprinted through the mountain forest, his voice raw with desperation.
He ran until he reached a cave. Taking a deep breath, he screamed at the top of his lungs:
"Come out! Come out now! Whether you're a monster or whatever—come out!"
Silence answered him.
"A monster is supposed to live here! Please, just kill me!"
Still nothing. But then—a sound. Wood creaking. The naked boy's bravado faltered, and genuine fear crept into his expression.
"Is... is there really a monster...?"
A large man emerged from the cave's shadows.
"Hey, who are you calling a monster? What a funny bastard!" He grumbled around a mouthful of dango. "Do you actually want me to kill you?"
---
"What's this? Dango?" the naked boy asked between bites.
"You really think this'll become a trend? Fruit's already sweet, but coating it in sugar? Who would ever like these?"
He reached for another.
"Just so you know, that's your ninth one," the man said, continuing to make more dango. "And once you're done eating, get lost."
"I'll be on my way regardless." The boy gestured toward four teenagers watching him. "But hey, what do you even do up here? And what's with these brats?"
The boys bristled at the insult.
Jewoo, the unofficial leader, stepped forward. "Let me ask you something before we really get to know each other. What do you think of that Child God?"
The naked boy chewed angrily. "What a load of crap. The Child God doesn't exist. Everyone's just being fooled by that shaman's con."
Jewoo sighed with relief. "I'm glad to hear that. This place—this is where we learn the truth."
"Where we learn the truth?" the boy repeated, confused.
"Just like I said. It's a place where we won't fall under the shaman's brainwashing, where we learn to look at the world with normal eyes." Jewoo pointed at the man in the center. "And this person is our teacher, Seongji Yuk."
Seongji smiled and ruffled Jewoo's hair. "All I did was tell you the truth about this village."
"We all respect you, sir!" the boys said in unison.
The warm atmosphere shattered when the naked boy exploded:
"I came here to die! I came here because I heard a monster lived up here! But in the end, it means this monster never existed!" His voice cracked with frustration. "And you're telling me he's your teacher?! Does that dango-making beggar have any right to be called one?! What can you even do against that evil shaman?!"
Jewoo's control snapped. Veins bulging in his neck, he punched the naked boy square in the face.
"Don't curse at our teacher!"
The naked boy punched back, his voice venomous. "Your teacher? More like your bitch!"
He shoved Jewoo hard into a tree.
"From now on, I'm the fucking teacher!"
Taebong suddenly gasped. "Wait! That bastard—I know him!"
"Who?!" the others demanded.
"The one who barely comes to school! He's always causing trouble—it's Vin Jin!"
Vin Jin sat on top of the downed Jewoo and continued punching. "That's right, fuckers! You're looking at Vin Jin!"
Seongji Yuk continued chewing his dango skewer, watching quietly. He made no move to intervene.
The other boys rushed at Vin Jin.
"Today will be your last day on earth, Vin Jin!"
Suddenly, the ground trembled. Heavy footsteps approached.
"Who's making all this commotion?"
Vin Jin looked up at the massive figure.
"Wait—a monster really does live here. An elephant monster."
Cold sweat formed on the backs of all the boys. Even Jewoo, still being beaten by Vin Jin, seemed terrified by that voice.
The towering figure spoke slowly. "An elephant?"
"That's right, kekeke!" Vin Jin laughed.
What happened next was brutal. One moment Vin Jin was standing. The next, he was slammed into the ground with such force that the air left his lungs.
"Talk like that again, and I'll break your legs," Mary said coldly.
Another voice cut through the tension—amused, almost entertained.
"Interesting kid. You've got guts."
Baki stepped into view.
Looking at the face in front of him, Vin Jin muttered, "Another monster..."
Hearing Vin Jin, Baki's face twitched with annoyance. Seongji, who was making dango nearby, paused and tried to stifle his laughter but unfortunately couldn't, and ended up laughing out loud.
---
**Cheonliang School...**
"Woah!"
"No way!"
All the students were gasping.
"Taejin won!" one of the students exclaimed.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Vin Jin exclaimed after losing a fight against Taejin. He weakly said, "Fucking son of a scammer shaman..."
All the students eyed Vin Jin weirdly. Seeing this, Vin Jin said again, "All of you are bastards who got brainwashed by a con shaman."
Taejin slowly neared the lying Vin Jin. He raised his foot over Vin Jin's head.
"Let's finish this quickly. It'll be better to get beat by me than getting beaten by the guys."
Suddenly, four students gathered behind the lying figure of Vin Jin. Taejin looked at them and asked, "Though... who are you?"
Jewoo replied, "We are the Cheonliang fam. Looks like things here are done, so stop at that."
Taejin asked, "And if I can't?"
Jewoo said, "We've got no choice."
Suddenly one of the students shouted, "Elephant coming, right up!"
Taejin, who was standing one moment, suddenly found himself on the ground with the air knocked out of his lungs.
Mary Kim looked at the downed Taejin and said, "Don't you know you can't fight in school? Stop it now!"
Then she looked at the students. "And the guy who said 'Elephant,' come out now."
---
**Mountain Cheonliang...**
Jewoo said to Vin Jin, "Anyways, Vin Jin, you're also part of our fam now. We were moved by what you did to Taejin. We will protect you from the shaman now."
Hearing them, Vin Jin attacked them while shouting, "Who's protecting who, you dipshits!"
But unlike before, he got thrashed by all the members of Cheonliang fam one by one.
Jewoo said, "We were going easy on you. Our teacher said Ssireum techniques are dangerous. So we need to be careful."
Then all of them said in unison, "We learned it from Mr. Seongji Yuk. If you join Cheonliang fam, you can too. We can get you stronger."
Before Vin Jin could reply, a voice echoed, "...you were here. Made me go around the town for no reason."