Episode 30
Hanin, having woken up after days of unconsciousness, wept with frustration, declaring she was a Gangcheol. Then, she abruptly jumped to her feet and exclaimed,
“I’d rather die than live as a Gangcheol!”
“What?”
“Don’t stop me!”
‘No! Why are you doing this?’
She stormed towards the window and flung it open.
This was serious. Alarm bells blared in Joon-wan’s mind.
“Wait! Wait! How did you reach that conclusion?”
“If I’m subdued by a celestial warrior as a Gangcheol, I’ll be erased from the cycle of reincarnation! Do you even know what annihilation means?”
He didn’t.
“Let me go!”
But something terrible had clearly happened.
“This life has been filled with ill fate between us, but this must be the will of the heavens, is it not? Don’t stop me!”
“Wait!”
Joon-wan shouted.
“There’s a better way!”
He had just saved her from a fever, and now she wanted to jump out the window?
Even if she truly became a monster that harmed humans, he didn’t want her to die.
Hanin, her face streaked with tears, glanced back at him.
“There really is a way. It’s not impossible. So please, please, I know you’re panicking, but just listen to me.”
“…”
She looked at him with a skeptical expression. He pressed on,
“I found a way. A way for a Gangcheol to become a dragon again.”
Sniffle.
She stopped crying and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
“Really?”
His words were like offering candy to a crying child.
“What is it?”
Very sweet candy, at that.
“How can I become a dragon again?”
She asked.
But the truth was… Joon-wan had no candy.
“…”
To conjure up candy out of thin air, he would have to lie.
During the brief silence, his mind raced, searching for a way for a fallen dragon to return to the heavens.
‘Think, think.’
“Perhaps this is an opportunity from the heavens.”
“An opportunity? What opportunity?”
Thankfully, thankfully, he had honed his eloquence through years of teaching and broadcasting.
‘Think, Min Joon-wan.’
And he had knowledge.
“Why do you think you became a Gangcheol, Hanin?”
“…I don’t know. Because I’m frustrated about failing to ascend?”
As he found a starting point, the words flowed effortlessly.
“No. You sacrificed your own Yeouiju to stop the rain, didn’t you? But there’s still work to be done in this land.”
“…”
“I believe the heavens have given you this opportunity to atone for your actions and accumulate merits, so you can ascend again.”
And even more thankfully, Hanin was susceptible to human lies. All the elements were in place.
“Atone… you mean, me?”
“Yes, exactly. Think about it carefully. What is a Gangcheol?”
“A harmful wild beast?”
“No, that’s just a consequence. Who decides what’s harmful and what’s not, for all the creatures in this land?”
“Usually, the heavens decide that.”
She tilted her head, her eyes wide, her expression suggesting she was intrigued, despite her words.
“A Gangcheol is a creature that controls fire. So, you’ve simply… changed roles. From a water deity to a fire deity.”
Joon-wan carefully guided her away from the window, closed it, and locked it securely.
“But how is that related to me becoming a dragon…?”
“Shhh, my explanation is just beginning.”
He spoke as if dangling a willow branch before a cat.
“This might be a long story. So, how about… we have some tea while we talk?”
“…”
She pouted and remained silent.
“…”
The silence stretched on. Joon-wan maintained his poker face, but his back was slick with sweat.
Hanin finally sighed deeply.
“Sigh…”
He saw it.
The air shimmered slightly where her breath touched it, like a heat haze rising from asphalt on a summer day.
“Alright… I’ll… hear you out.”
He breathed a sigh of relief, having bought himself some time to fabricate a story.
“What do I have to lose by listening?”
He had her halfway convinced.
He had always lived an honest life, able to declare with a hand on his heart, “I am an honest man.”
‘Think, you can do this. You can do this, Min Joon-wan.’
But he seemed to have a talent for lying.
“I don’t think you’re an ordinary Gangcheol, Hanin.”
“What do you mean ‘not an ordinary Gangcheol’? Are there extraordinary Gangcheol?”
“If you were a true Gangcheol, this place would be a pile of ashes by now, wouldn’t it?”
“…”
He had thrown it out there, but he was also curious about that point.
“Wouldn’t this city be plagued by hailstorms and droughts, with fires raging everywhere?”
Hanin frowned, seemingly sharing his doubts. He seized the opportunity and continued,
“Anyway, this city has been flooded because you failed to ascend. It wasn’t your intention, but you’ve accumulated negative karma as a result.”
“But it’s not my fault…”
“Ultimately, it is.”
He made her sit at the table and started boiling water, drawing out the process as much as possible.
“…”
He glanced at her and saw her pouting. She muttered to herself,
“If that’s negative karma, then we all share it.”
The water in the kettle had boiled. He placed a teabag in a mug. Thankfully, he had come up with something to say just in time.
“Sigh…”
He sighed,
“The crops that should have ripened are rotting in the waterlogged fields, and the land is covered in mud, making next year’s harvest uncertain. What does this land need?”
“…”
She looked at him with a blank expression, like a student who didn’t understand the lesson. He could almost hear her asking, “What?”
He placed the cup of tea in front of her.
“What’s needed to dry up the water?”
“…Sunlight?”
“Correct. More precisely, fire and heat.”
“…”
“That’s why this world needs a being of fire and heat, a Gangcheol.”
That was his improvised explanation for the existence of Gangcheol in this world, for Hanin’s transformation.
“That’s why you, Hanin, had to become a Gangcheol, paradoxically, to atone for your actions and accumulate merits, so you can ascend to the heavens again.”
“…”
Ta-da! He had conjured up candy out of thin air. He watched her anxiously, wondering if she would take the bait.
“…Well.”
She held the mug with both hands and remained silent for a long moment before speaking.
“What did humans used to say about this? Hmm.”
She looked at him with a disdainful expression.
“Is this what you call… bullshit?”
“…”
“You think I’m a fool? Do you think I’m easy to deceive?”
“…”
“Huh?”
She growled. She wasn’t as gullible as he had thought.
“…”
Joon-wan broke out in a cold sweat.
“You’re telling me it’s the will of the heavens when I can’t even contact them? That I have to fix this mess before I can ascend? Why should I?”
Her anger was understandable.
“There are too many inconsistencies for it to be the will of the heavens, don’t you think? This land wouldn’t be suffering, and I wouldn’t be going through this ordeal, if the heavens had simply closed the gate.”
“…”
“Why do I have to become a Gangcheol? If the heavens knew about this, they should have prevented it from happening in the first place, instead of asking me to clean up the mess!”
She was right. Her words were logical and valid.
“If you’re telling the truth, the heavens should have given me a direct order. How can you expect me to believe this?”
But he couldn’t back down now. He bit his lip.
“It’s a test.”
“A test?”
“A test to see if you’re worthy of becoming a dragon.”
“…No.”
She flinched, her ego bruised.
“I’m already a dragon. I’ve been a dragon for over a thousand years. I had a Yeouiju, I just chose not to ascend…”
She added defensively,
“There are dragons in the heavens who are much younger and less experienced than me. Why should I, who was once a deity on this earth, have to prove myself?”
“But you weren’t a Cheonryong, a celestial dragon who controls the weather, were you?”
“…”
She pressed her lips together, speechless.
“Wouldn’t you need even greater qualifications to ascend to the heavens?”
She seemed deflated by his words and repeated her earlier argument.
“I… I created a Yeouiju, and I’ve lived in this land for thousands of years, caring for humans and other creatures…”
His desperate counterargument seemed to have worked.
“Why would I need any further tests?”
“The world has changed.”
He replied without hesitation.
“Perhaps the heavens are testing your ability to adapt to these ever-changing, unpredictable circumstances.”
“…”
“You’ve lived underground for so long, you have no idea how much this world has changed, do you? Maybe becoming a Gangcheol is an opportunity. An opportunity for you to learn about this new world, adapt to it, and help humans.”
He convinced her that the test was to prove her ability to handle the various disasters that befell the human world.
“You have nothing to lose, do you?”
“…”
“Even if it’s not the will of the heavens, isn’t accumulating merits the fastest way to regain your divine power and ascend again?”
“…”
She pouted but didn’t argue. Or rather, she couldn’t.
“Your words are too complicated.”
She finally spoke again after a long silence, her expression sullen.
“But what can I do… I’ve lost my Yeouiju. All I can do now is maintain this form and suppress the raging fire within me. I have no other power.”
“I’ll help you.”
Joon-wan’s face lit up at her partial consent.
“I promise, I’ll make you a dragon again, Hanin.”
He meant it.