"Who is this insolence?!"
The shout broke through the air without warning.
Seo Reun didn't flinch. He simply turned his head, calm and unhurried but puzzled by the sudden outburst, and found the Shaman's eyes burning into him. For a moment, he wondered if the outburst had truly been directed at him but the intensity in the man's stare left little room for doubt.
"Drop that bag thing. And the thing wrapped on your back. Drop it now!"
Seo Reun's gaze shifted to his back, where the box was fastened. He blinked, slowly, trying to decide if the command had actually been meant for him. The tone, the words, it was the kind of command one used for a stray dog. Not a man.
"You insolence! Wretch! Did you not hear me? And your eyes... your eyes is changing in the light just like a demon!"
Seo Reun wondered who gave the Shaman permission to speak so freely and why he would choose to fling insults so carelessly, without even knowing him. It was the first time anyone had dared to speak to him with such blatant contempt, and he hadn't expected it to land. But it did. A sharp sting , unexpected and bitter, settled in his chest, heavier than he cared to admit.
"Sa… Sa…"
A nudge from the side. Seo Reun looked down. Tien blinked once. Then twice. Then nodded toward the ground. He repeated it with urgency. Seo Reun couldn't make sense of it. Whatever message Tien was trying to send, it slipped past him like smoke.
"Kneel," came a whisper. It was Dong Ha, his voice low, and his message meant for Seo Reun was picked by Tien's ears.
Seo Reun heard him clearly, his hearing was far too sharp to miss it. But he gave no sign, pretending as though the words hadn't reached him at all. He simply stood, silent and still, as if nothing had been said.
"Sa, you have to kneel," Dong Ha repeated, still quiet but this time loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.
Seo Reun tilted his head. "Why?"
That single word rattled the air.
Every head turned. Faces stiffened. A few elders shifted. Some whispered. But most simply stared. Even the chief, stoic as he was smiled faintly. Choi leaned forward, visibly amused.
Tien swallowed. "Because you're in the presence of the chief."
Seo Reun considered that. "Your chief. Not mine. So I see no reason to kneel." He said his eyes on the Shaman feeling the need to address him.
"Sa, please.. it is... just kneel..."
"I see others sitting. Some standing. Why must I kneel?"
"It's respect," Tien said quickly. "It's the way we present ourselves when we first arrive. The chief is our highest authority..."
"Why not him?" Seo Reun cut in, nodding toward the Shaman - the one barking orders like he ruled the room while the main ruler, the chief sat there without saying a word.
"Because the chief protect us." Tien said quickly before the Shaman could say a word.
"In what way does he protect you?" Seo Reun said, not waiting for the answer. "I agreed to follow you here. I never agreed to your customs. And I certainly never agreed to kneel."
"You dare!" the Shaman thundered, striding toward Seo Reun.
The room fell into a silence so deep, the drop of a grain of rice might've echoed like thunder. Breath hitched. Movement ceased. All eyes fixed on the space between them.
The Shaman stopped just short of Seo Reun, his fury radiating in waves, eyes blazing with the threat of violence, like he might strike the next word out of him.
"You dare," he growled again, lower this time.
"I do," Seo Reun said evenly. "And I kneel for no one."
A flicker of confusion crossed the Shaman's eyes, brief, but unmistakable. It rippled through the room like a silent wave. Council members shifted. A few sat up straighter; others slowly rose to their feet, as if something unseen had shifted in the room. As if the power, once firmly rooted in the old ways, had stirred toward the defiant figure standing before them.
Some looked around in quiet bewilderment, suddenly unsure whose presence they were truly in.
"Ah… ah… ah… ah…"
The sound broke through the tension, laughter, rich and full. Old Man Choi.
"I like this boy," he said, chuckling without care for the uneasy silence. "Seems my time hasn't come to go hunting and never return. His arrival might just give me another decade to roam this world… ah, ah, ah!"
His laughter cracked the stillness. The heaviness in the room loosened, like a cool breeze slipping through a tightly sealed space.
"Who are you?" the chief finally spoke, his voice low, almost gentle, yet woven with unshakable authority.
"So now you speak," Seo Reun said, eyes steady. "Finally standing up for yourself."
"Sa..." Dong Ha began, but the chief lifted a hand, and the room stilled at once even the Shaman seemed to had lost his voice.
"I speak when it matters," the chief said calmly. His gaze held Seo Reun's without flinching. "Are you a friend to Dong Ha and Tien?"
"He refused to follow our rules!" The Shaman said, it seemed to have found his voice.
"I see no reason to follow your rules or customs," Seo Reun replied, eyes forward. "I'm not of your tribe."
The chief cast a glance at the Shaman. Without a word, the man withdrew and returned to the chief's side, his fury leashed but visible. The room fell still, breathless.
"But you've stepped onto my land," the chief said at last, voice calm and absolute. "And when you enter another man's territory, you follow his law."
"Then I'll leave," Seo Reun said simply, already turning to go. The moment they treated his possessions like scraps was the moment he decided this place was unworthy of his presence.
"You think you can just walk out of here?" the Shaman barked.
Seo Reun stopped, turned slowly, and locked eyes with him, calm, unreadable, unbothered. It made him wondered who was really holding the power in the village.
"The one I was told to kneel to isn't speaking," he said coolly, shifting his gaze to the chief. "And yet here he is, letting another man shout orders in his place. So tell me..who really holds power here? The one crowned by tradition, or the one who dances with fire and chants to the wind?"
He paused. His tone didn't rise, but his words struck like steel.
"I'm not disappointed in you," he added, eyes still on the chief. "Nor in your village. I'm disappointed in myself for thinking this place might be different."
"Sa!" Dong Ha shot to his feet. "You've gone too far. Apologize to the chief...and to our Shaman."
"I apologize to no one," Seo Reun said, unmoved. "And none of you can stop me from leaving." He adjusted his box strapes and started heading out.
"Wait," the chief said.
"And no one commands me," Seo Reun shot back, his voice hard as stone. He turned and strode toward the door but two teenagers moved swiftly, blocking his path.
He paused, one brow lifting. Strange. If the Shaman despised him so much, wouldn't it make more sense to let him leave? So why the sudden urge to keep him here?
"I want to speak with you," the chief said, rising slowly to his feet. "It's not an order. It's a request."
His voice was low, but carried through the room with quiet authority. "Everyone else may leave. Except the one Tien and Dong Ha brought with them."
This time, he didn't look at Seo Reun. His eyes were fixed on the Shaman and his fingers lightly touched the stringed necklace around his neck.
Without protest, the room began to empty. Tien hesitated, looking back, but Dong Ha took his arm and gently pulled him along. One of the teenage boys followed, glancing once at Seo Reun before stepping out. The last teen closed the door with a soft finality.
Seo Reun stood in the silence that followed, his eyes on the chief. He searched the older man's face for any trace of hostility. But there was none, not even a flicker.
What did this man want?
"I want to apologize," the chief began, his tone sincere as he stepped closer to Seo Reun, stopping just a few feet away. "We recently took in a wanderer - a man who claimed to be lost. We offered him rest and shelter, but that same night, he tried to steal my sacred string necklace while I slept. That's why our shaman has been... wary, especially around new people."
He met Seo Reun's eyes.
"I hope you can forgive him. And I hope you can stay with us."
Seo Reun's brows drew together, uncertain. "Why?"
The chief gave a small, knowing smile. "Because a friend of Tien and Dong Ha is a friend of ours. Did they speak of themselves to you?"
Seo Reun gave a cautious nod. "Tien said he was found. Dong Ha came here with his father."
"Yes. That's right," the chief replied. "They must've recognized something in you, something familiar. That's why they were pained when you wanted to leave. They don't want you to go. And if they feel that way... it means you matter to them, even if you don't see it yet."
Seo Reun lowered his gaze. "I'm not close to them."
"You may not think so," the chief said calmly, "but it doesn't change how they see you."
There was a pause.
"Tell me," the chief continued gently, "have you ever been hurt by someone?"
Seo Reun frowned. A sudden image surged up, his body sinking, water swallowing him whole. He pushed it aside and took a deep breath.
"No. Why do you ask?"
"Because you carry your guard like a shield made of stone," the chief said softly. "And I don't say that to insult you. I admire it. It tells me you've had to protect yourself, maybe for a long time. That kind of strength doesn't come from comfort. And yet… you came here. You followed Tien and Dong Ha not out of obligation, but concern. Maybe even curiosity. That matters."
Seo Reun didn't answer right away. It was true: he had wanted to ensure Ah Li's safety, and after that... maybe he just couldn't look away. Still, he didn't know what it meant. He couldn't claim to feel affection, only that he kept moving forward. One step after the next.
The chief seemed to sense this hesitation.
"I saw my son," he said after a moment, voice quieting. "He was sleeping peacefully in my daughter's arms, so calm, so full. I haven't seen that look on his face in a long time. And when I saw you standing, I knew you were part of that peace. He's been well-fed. He's been happy. And something tells me you're part of the reason."
His voice caught slightly.
"When I looked at my daughter, I saw it again. A softness I hadn't seen since she was little. I don't know what you've brought into our home... but it has changed something. For the better."
Seo Reun wanted to tell him he just met his daughter and they didn't even interact but he decided to wait and hear the rest.
The chief straightened. "So I ask you again, stay with us. Even if only for a little while. And if you're willing... tell me how you've lived. Maybe there's something I can learn from it."
Seo Reun wrestled with himself. He had been trained to control his emotions, to let reason lead. Anger, sentiment, those were weaknesses. But this journey had stirred something he hadn't anticipated. And maybe that wasn't a failing. Maybe it was something new to explore.
He looked at the chief, his expression guarded but honest.
"I'll stay. On one condition."
"Name it."
"The shaman," Seo Reun said quietly. "He must apologize."
The chief blinked. "Why? I already did, on his behalf."
Seo Reun's tone sharpened. "Because I'm not his son. I'm not his servant. He had no right to speak to me the way he did. And you..." his eyes narrowed slightly "...you don't have the right to speak in someone else's place. Apologizing on his behalf doesn't absolve him. It's cowardice. From both of you."
The chief was quiet for a heartbeat, then smiled, bright and unoffended.
"Fair enough," he said. "He will apologize."
Seo Reun didn't know if staying was the right decision. His instincts shaped by years of survival and mistrust whispered that stillness was dangerous. But something about the chief's sincerity, the quiet warmth in the hall, and the memory of Ah Li smiling in his sleep... it stirred something in him. He wasn't sure what it was. Not yet.
Besides, it was only the shaman who seemed to bristle at his presence. If that was the only battle to fight, perhaps he could manage.
He gave a small nod, as if to confirm it to himself more than anyone else.
The chief, still watching him closely, offered a softer smile now, one that didn't press or demand. Just curious.
"And what is your name?" he asked gently.