episode_0029

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“What? You already went to the government office and settled it there? And you’re saying a lawsuit has been filed?”

“Well, this is all your fault! I spared you, repaid you with kindness, and is this how you repay me? Repaying kindness with enmity is outrageous!”

“So why did you go to the government office to settle it? You should have come directly to me! Now things have just gotten more complicated! I said I would overlook it if you apologized, so why didn’t you apologize? But anyway… why did this happen? Everything seemed fine, but when I came to check… There’s no way this could have happened, right? It was such an easy thing to resolve with just a word…?”

“Ah, how hard is it to find you in the deep mountains? Moreover, even though my mother saw you in this state, she didn’t report it to the authorities and let it slide? I asked her to report it! I did nothing wrong, so why should I apologize? If I apologize, my wife will be taken away by that scoundrel! I will come back for you!”

“Oh…”

“Anyway, I don’t know about other things, but since you granted my wish. Was this properly granted? I came here only to become half-crazy. So change my wish quickly, whether it’s healing me or withdrawing the lawsuit.”

“Wait a moment… Just a moment… Why did this really change? … Wait, why…? Huh? !!! Oh! Ugh…! No!”

“What? Grant my wish properly again!”

“Well, first, you have to endure a beating. Oh, don’t get angry, just take a few hits. You won’t die. That’s the best option! And when you go to the government office, absolutely, absolutely deny everything! Otherwise, you’ll really end up hanging yourself, and I’ll turn into a piece of meat! And the winged robe… at that time… to the master….”

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Crash!

A rough hand flew towards my cheek.

“You! Quickly withdraw the lawsuit! You scoundrel! Turning my precious son into a half-wit! Unbelievable!”

“No, this old lady! Raising a child like that, where did our manners go, you rascal!”

I came down to testify, but what a commotion.

An old woman was crouching in front of the government office gate, so I thought something was up, and she turned out to be Han Namu-kun’s mother.

As soon as that old lady locked eyes with me, she suddenly stood up and rushed towards me, clawing at my cheek…

I almost wanted to dodge, but since I also had a mother, I thought about how Han Namu-kun’s butt would be sore, so I decided to take the hit.

I didn’t care about this. How painful could an old person’s hand be?

More concerning was Gil Yong-aje’s rampage.

As soon as I took a hit, Gil Yong-aje’s eyes rolled back, and he was about to confront the lumberjack’s mother, raising his hand as if to strike, but now he was flashing his hand ready to strike, so I quickly ran over to stop him before someone got into another legal dispute.

“Aje, hold on, hold on, I deliberately took the hit. Calm down! I’m also a son to my mother, can’t you understand the feelings of that grandmother who gave birth to such a beastly creature? Even though I might not know my son’s whereabouts, I didn’t avoid it to ease her heart a bit. Just ignore it.”

Despite my earnest plea, Gil Yong-aje seemed unable to control his anger.

“Hey! You crazy old man! Is that the way your child was raised? To hit someone who came to testify? Even if you kneel and beg, it’s not enough? And you didn’t say anything there! Immediately kneel down and apologize, did I tell you to do it or not! You didn’t even listen back then, why bring this up now? What did you say back then? Probably scolded for doing something wrong, right? Now there’s no way to handle these people! It’s not a civil trial but a criminal trial, how are you going to deal with it? Tsk tsk.. Ugh.. That son of yours… That mother of his…”

The face of the shameless grandmother seemed like it would soon explode at the old man’s words.

If he had just taken a hit, knowing satisfaction and stopped acting shamelessly.

Tsk tsk, feeling embarrassed at the old man’s words, wouldn’t it be comfortable and nice if they both retreated now?

But of course.

As the mother’s eyes rolled back in anger, she began to spew out insults louder and louder.

“Oh..! My son did nothing wrong! It’s all him! That lowlife probably framed my innocent son. You! Lowlife! Learning only despicable things under your lowlife father! Did you learn how to make people miserable from your father too?”

“Hey, how dare you insult my husband so recklessly! And what? Lowlife?”

At the mention of “lowlife,” Gil-yong the old man’s eyes rolled back again as he charged forward.

Oh, this senile old lady… It’s really exhausting trying to stop her, seriously.

Did the old man buy something good for virility because he has money?

No matter how angry I get, if there’s someone next to me getting angrier, it seems like my anger subsides.

Before I could even get angry, Gil-yong exploded again, making me sweat trying to calm him down.

While laughing off insults directed at himself, he couldn’t stand the old man insulting those around him, including his father…

“Let go of me! Let go of me, I’ll deal with that woman!” barely managing to restrain the frenzied old man.

“Oh, the old man is losing his temper again. Whether you’re a woodcutter or a hunter, you’re all workers, so why get so worked up? And grandma, grandma, please calm down. I’m going to court to testify, do we need this now?”

Just managing to calm down Gil-yong again, he earnestly warned the grandmother.

But did she not understand my warning? Instead, the grandmother seemed even more deranged, determined to insult me somehow.

“You brats! What kind of son do I have! Because that wench teased him, my son got involved in this mess! You! You parasite-like scum! You were hanging out with that wench, right? Ha! Mixing with scum like you, causing trouble with a lowlife girl made my son like that!”

“……”

From head to toe, I went from anger to coldness in my heart.

Even if I were to argue and refute, it doesn’t seem like they would understand, especially when there are more than ten things to counter against that one statement. Would it not be detrimental to speak out everything? It’s tiring and just a waste of time.

I simply can’t understand their behavior.

How should I put it?

Is it like a moth with such low intelligence that it runs towards fire? Should I ponder on that?

Isn’t that too foolish for actions supposedly done for the son? Every action is jeopardizing the son’s position.

Yes, causing chaos in court was due to not knowing the full story, but even if it was in defense of my son, isn’t this too foolish? How does this attitude towards someone testifying about my son’s guilt help him in any way?

No, if they had come to apologize, they wouldn’t have gone to court.

If they had just thought a little, even if it felt unjust, wouldn’t they know that apologizing forcibly, even if unjust, would be beneficial?

It’s not like I have lofty ideals or personal beliefs, or that I have a noble background and pride.

Why do they make such a big deal out of catching a woman who’s doing something vulgar? I don’t understand.

Oh, sorry for the long story, but in the end, those people must have human-level intelligence, so why are they jumping into the fire?

Or maybe those humans have the intelligence level of insects.

Sigh… Let’s calm down and give some advice.

“Grandma, stop teasing me. If you want to keep your son close to you, instead of scolding me, you should be thankful and bow to me.

If your son had succeeded in what he wanted to do, he would have been a professor. Hanging himself because he failed,

Or maybe he would have ended up pickled and served on Grandma’s dinner table.”

The old man, who was angry, suddenly calmed down and stopped breathing.

“Even if my son keeps acting crazy, is it right to protect him like this?

Do you really want me to pickle something in soy sauce?

First, call Bunine and Sukja Nuna and ask them to testify together at that time? They would probably welcome you with open arms over there?”

“……”

Perhaps it’s largely the fault of that stupid wife that Han Namukun became like this. She probably thinks she raised him preciously.

After my kind advice ended, the old man groaned and then slumped down.

I mean, even if I tell the old man the truth gently… Is my words so unjust? Enough to make him sit on the ground like that?

“Gil-yong Ajae, you wasted our time for nothing.”

“Uh… Oh? Yeah, let’s go.”

The responding Ajae avoids my eyes awkwardly.

“What’s wrong, Ajae?”

“Hey, tone down your gaze, you’re not a tiger or anything,”

“Oh, you know I hate predatory birds, what’s with the bird talk?”

“Anyway, just tone down your gaze a bit, mate. You might look like a hunter.”

Hmm? I only gave some advice while feeling annoyed…

Following Gil-yong Ajae, we pass through the main gate and enter the government office.

The lumberjack mother follows cautiously into the government office.

After all that fuss, I wonder if she’s curious about the outcome.

In the government office yard, the interrogation of the criminals was in full swing.

Whack!

As the executioner struck the criminal’s calves with a cane, screams erupted from the criminal’s mouth!

“Aaah! I don’t know! Where is my clothes, I really don’t know!”

“You! Are you confessing your sins and still being defiant! Strike his calves again!”

Whack!

“Aaah! Stop it! Please stop! That’s mine! I don’t want to talk!”

“…? What, what did you say? You! You’re not ignorant, you just don’t want to talk? Look at this guy, disrespecting the authorities! No need to interrogate this guy! Just twist his calves until he confesses!”

“Yes!”

Whack!

“Aaah! Why are you doing this! I’m the one in pain! Why do I have to endure this!”

Whack!

“Grrr… Aaah!”

Whack!

“Aaahhh!”

Despite writhing in agony, Hannamukun refuses to speak. Even amidst great suffering, he doesn’t yield.

He appeals as if my actions were unquestionably right, expressing his unfairness.

Watching him, I recall the fairy tale of the woodcutter and the fairy, a tale I didn’t fully understand at the time… The woodcutter’s vile obsession and determination towards the fairy… and the mother who watched it all from beginning to end…

Experiencing their actions and behaviors firsthand here… and the sorrowful face of Heeseon crying…

Only then do I realize.

‘I was negligent out of fear of murder. I should have killed him back then no matter what. If only I had known I was the woodcutter and the fairy…’

Eventually, Hannamukun, who vehemently claimed innocence, fainted in agony.

Finally, the silent Gil-yong Ajae, who had been waiting patiently, opened his mouth and spoke to the magistrate.

“I have brought a woman from a mountain village who was about to be victimized.”

“Bring her in.”

Upon hearing those words, I stepped forward.

“She is said to be an unknown woman living in a mountain cottage. Nari.”

“Yes, I am well aware. Isn’t she the brother who requested soldiers to gather a few years ago to catch a tiger?”

“What? Well, leave that aside and tell me exactly what you saw that day.”

After a moment of silence, I made up my mind and testified.

“…Yes. What I saw was a woodcutter trying to force himself on a naked woman under the moonlight.”

Surprised by my words, the magistrate searched through the records of the victim and the culprit’s testimonies.

“What? Both testimonies say so. They were just planning to take her away without harm?”

“What kind of woman was about to be victimized, please explain in detail, sir. That night, the moon was exceptionally bright, and I could see clearly with my own eyes. It seemed like they were going to take her as she was, but my mother was worried and wanted to send the woman back to that house. It seemed like they planned to take her home after making sure she was completely drunk. So, I intervened to punish the culprit.”

“What?”

The magistrate’s face turned from astonishment to disappointment.

Although the magistrate was incompetent in his own way, he had studied abroad to reach his current position. He was somewhat strict on concepts of justice and morality, and even though he liked women, kidnapping a maiden from another household and assaulting her outdoors was an unforgivable crime, even if committed by the most powerful figure in the village.

The magistrate’s face changed from astonishment to disappointment and then to anger.

He began to intimidate the woodcutter, who looked like a drowned rat after being splashed with water.

“Alright, wake up, you scoundrel!”

“Yes!”

“Get up, you rascal!”

Splash!

“Ugh! Stop it… I did nothing wrong…”

The woodcutter, looking like a wet rat, shivered in the sudden cold, gradually coming to his senses. The magistrate started to press the woodcutter with a predatory gaze.

“So, you thought you could easily deceive me, huh?”

“What are you talking about… I only have the sin of getting beaten on my way home…”

“Haha. This scoundrel until the end… Yes, yes, that’s why you committed such a despicable act… You dared to mock the Lord’s knowledge, haha.”

While the magistrate laughed, his small eyes were gradually turning sinister.

Bound, the woodcutter tried to twist his body to escape, but there was no way he could flee.

The woodcutter, whose face had turned pale with fear, trembled even more, his hands shaking in terror.

“I-I was wrong… I was wrong, magistrate… I’m just a poor woodcutter. I never meant to mock the Lord… It’s that hunter, he’s the bad one! I did nothing wrong! Oh! Magistrate! There is a sinner over there! Please help me… He took my wife… Sob…”

“…There’s nothing more to hear. Look here, to hang this scoundrel, we need evidence, so find and bring the clothes of the woman who witnessed the incident! Search thoroughly around his house!”

“Yes!”

At the magistrate’s sharp command, the attendants dispersed, leaving the woodcutter twisting in agony, shedding tears of injustice.

“No, sir! Huh… Why are you trying to hang me! Please spare me, wailing… I absolutely cannot die! I must get married! My wife has just appeared now! Sobbing! Don’t listen to that wicked man! The lord is possessed by a malicious spirit! You cannot persecute a virtuous commoner like this!! Oh my.. Oh my… I die unfairly.. Sobbing Oh my…”

“Quiet! Look here! Muzzle that guy’s mouth. Come to think of it, wasn’t his mother here? Shouldn’t we interrogate her too? Where did his mother go?”

The lord roared and searched for the woodcutter’s mother, but the old woman had mysteriously disappeared.

“Where did she go? Does anyone know?”

The lord urged the people around him as if he found it pathetic.

Suddenly, I suspected if the old woman was trying to remove her clothes, so I urgently informed the lord.

“Lord, she might have gone to remove the noose to save my son’s life!”

“No! What! Hurry, find her! Don’t let her remove the clothes!”

The remaining lackeys hesitated for a moment, then quickly rushed outside.

Watching the scene, I thought that if Heesun’s clothes were intact, this guy would be in trouble… Despite my thoughts.

It felt strange that the lackeys were looking for the clothes.