Chapter 68
Upon hearing Jinseong's request to see them in person, Lee Arin immediately went to the bathroom and took out her smartphone to call someone.
[Hello...]
"Rabbit! Can we come over now? He wants to check the guinea pig and goat!"
[What?]
"The guinea pig and goat are still alive, right?"
[Well, yes, they're fine, but... Wait a moment.]
"Okay! My brother wants to check the condition of the items, you know. I don't have any photos right now, so... Yeah?"
[Wait, by brother, do you mean that sorcerer brother of yours?]
"Oh yeah, that's right! You remembered!"
[Wait a minute! If you bring him so suddenly...!]
"Anyway, can we come over?!"
[Hold on...]
"Alright, thanks~ Rabbit, we'll be there soon!"
[Wait!]
Having received Ella's reluctant permission, she poked her head out of the bathroom and shouted:
"She says we can come! Brother, Serin! Let's go!"
* * *
"I've made a lot of friends while studying abroad, and they're all pretty. You know? You must know how beautiful Russian women are, brother."
"Hmm."
"And do you know how well they all handle AK-47s? They can disassemble and reassemble them in an instant, and their shooting skills are incredible! Of course, I, um, don't really like guns, so I didn't play with those much. Yeah."
Lee Arin was happily telling Jinseong about her experiences while studying abroad.
"There's this really pretty girl among them. What's it called, albino? She has white hair and red eyes, so I call her Rabbit, and she's just so pretty. I tried to get close to her and became friends, and now the goat and guinea pig are at her house."
"Albino?"
Jinseong showed interest when he heard the word albino.
"Huh? Isn't it albino? Was it a different term?"
"No, if you're referring to albinism, then albino is correct."
"Oh, what~ You scared me. When you reacted like that, I thought I was wrong."
Lee Arin glanced at Jinseong and poked his arm. As if to say it was punishment for startling her.
As Jinseong was being poked by her fingers, which felt more like hard wood than fingers, he felt a strange nostalgia at the word albino.
Albino, albino.
Albino was quite a significant word in sorcery.
Since ancient times, animals with albinism were treated as precious and worshipped as sacred beings. In the East, there was the White Tiger among the Four Guardians, and white snakes or white lions were revered as spiritual beings all over the world. In India, white elephants were thought to embody cosmic symbolism and were treated as sacred beings that could control clouds and rain.
However, this treatment was limited only to animals.
People with albinism, far from being revered or liked, faced terrible discrimination.
There was something called the uncanny valley.
A theory that humans were more repulsed by things that resembled humans imperfectly than by things that didn't resemble humans at all.
People with albinism fit perfectly into this uncanny valley.
Albinism was a condition caused by the inability to synthesize melanin pigment.
It was said to be caused by a congenital genetic disorder.
Naturally, being a genetic disorder, it could occur anywhere regardless of race or region.
And that was precisely the problem.
How would a child with white skin and red eyes born among Asians or Africans be treated?
In the past in the East, if such a child was born, they were treated as goblins or seen as a sign of anomaly, and in places like Africa, they became objects of superstition.
And the West, full of white people, wasn't any better.
Rather, looking at the past, the West might have been even harsher.
Due to the lore about vampires, they often weren't even treated as human here. No, they were often designated as targets for extermination, beyond mere exclusion. From zealots who attacked them saying evil vampires must be repelled, to hunters who rushed in to cut off their heads for fame, regardless of whether they were vampires or not.
In modern times, it was revealed that albinism was simply a disease, not a curse or sign of anomaly, and as this information was spread widely, instances of them becoming 'prey' as in the past became almost non-existent, but...
That's only in developed countries.
Before his regression, Jinseong had close colleagues.
Among them was a colleague with the nickname Marten, who, true to his name, was small in stature and full of curiosity, running around causing trouble here and there. This guy had albinism, and when he entered the mercenary world, he was already missing one eyeball and three fingers.
In some African countries, it was believed that albinos bring good luck, and there were sorceries and rituals that used the bodies of people with albinism. As a result, he had been 'hunted' by sorcerers who needed 'materials'.
He had escaped the crisis of being dismembered and scattered across Africa, but at the cost of losing one eye and three fingers. Moreover, perhaps due to the sorcery and poison he was subjected to during the 'hunt', the lost parts could never regenerate, and he had to replace the missing parts with mechanical prosthetic eyes and hands.
'But even after going through all that, he couldn't overcome his curiosity and ran around everywhere, truly a troublemaker.'
Jinseong smirked as he thought about his old comrade he had spent a long time with.
Lee Arin, thinking his smirk was mocking her, frowned slightly and poked him again.
"Whaaat. What’s so funny?"
Pfft.
Following Jinseong, Lee Serin, who was following behind, also burst into laughter.
At this, Lee Arin, unlike with Jinseong whom she had only lightly questioned with gentle pokes, looked seriously at Lee Serin.
"Are you laughing because I was confused about albino? Huh? Is it funny?"
When Lee Arin asked, lowering her voice slightly like a growling leopard, Lee Serin shook her head.
"N-no, that's not it?"
"What do you mean it's not? It seems like it is."
"Actually, it is."
"...I'll let it slide this time since you admitted it honestly."
Jinseong walked slowly, listening to their conversation.
Then suddenly, something caught his eye.
A fortune-telling booth?'
A street fortune-telling booth.
It was the tent-type fortune-telling booth that can be seen anywhere in the world.
Even in Korea alone, such fortune-telling booths could be seen quite often in busy areas, so it wasn't a particularly special sight, but...
Hmm.
Unlike its unremarkable appearance, strange symbols could be seen on the tent.
Celestial bodies were drawn on the tent of the fortune-telling booth, as if boasting about fortune-telling through astrology, and some of the celestial bodies there seemed to have been specially treated, emitting a musk scent.
Musk was something that played a role in seducing people and making them appear attractive.
Using musk wasn't particularly unusual for someone who needed to attract customers, but the problem was the celestial bodies on which the musk was used.
The Moon and the Sun.
Jupiter and Pluto.
Only these four celestial bodies had musk applied to them.
These celestial bodies had deep meanings in astrology, but they were also closely related to tarot.
The Moon symbolized The Magician, Major Arcana number 1.
The Sun symbolized The Sun, Major Arcana number 19.
Jupiter symbolized the Wheel of Fortune, Major Arcana number 10.
Pluto symbolizes Judgement, Major Arcana number 20.
The Magician, The Sun, Wheel of Fortune, Judgement.
In a way, it might not seem strange, but...
Hmm. Something is peculiar.
For some reason, it was a bizarre combination that created a sense of discomfort.
Moreover, what created even more discomfort was that the angles of these celestial bodies were strange.
Neither upright nor reversed, but at a bizarre angle.
Furthermore, the angle was so exquisite that if the cloth moved even slightly, it could become either upright or reversed.
Moreover, as if magically treated, the color changed slightly and sparkled where moisture touched, looking sometimes like stars and sometimes like halos. If it rained or snowed, it would surely distort the shape of the engraved celestial bodies and continuously change their symbolism.
It was definitely not a form that would be used in an ordinary fortune-telling booth.
What was even stranger was that the tent smelled of blood.
And not just any blood smell, but the smell of blood containing residual thoughts.
The smell of 'evil' blood that would only be used in black magic.
"Oh? Are you interested in fortune-telling too, brother?"
"Hmm?"
As Jinseong was quietly looking at the fortune-telling booth, Lee Arin spoke to him.
"That fortune-teller guy was really interesting. Do you want to go in and try it too, brother?"
An interesting guy.
Jinseong narrowed his eyes slightly upon hearing Lee Arin's evaluation.
"An interesting guy, you say. What kind of person was he?"
"Hmm. He's a bit feminine, but he gets along well with me. When you talk to him, you get this comfortable feeling. Anyway, he was pretty interesting? What do you think, want to go in and try it, brother?"
A feminine man.
A comfortable feeling.
Jinseong was trying to recall something in his mind upon hearing these two words.
But it was insufficient to recall with just these few clues, and Jinseong decided to use a more efficient method than forcibly trying to revive memories that wouldn't come up.
He plucked a few strands of hair, placed them between his fingers, rubbed them, and then threw them in front of the tent.
Then he told Lee Arin to go and left the front of the tent.
And not long after leaving the tent, they arrived at their destination.
It was a house that looked like a witch's house.
Lee Arin strode towards the house, knocked on the door with one hand while mercilessly pressing the doorbell with the other, and shouted.
Bang bang bang bang!
Ding dong! Ding dong! Ding dong!
"Rabbit! We're here!"
At this sight, Lee Serin lowered her head slightly and covered her face, seemingly embarrassed.
"What are you, an elementary school student..."
It looked more like she was trying to break down the door rather than knocking.
"I-I'm coming to open it now!"
Perhaps the house owner was also afraid the door might break.
With the sound of running footsteps, the door flung open.
And the appearance of the woman Lee Arin had called 'Rabbit' came into view.
"Huh."
Jinseong laughed.