In This Life • Tale Of The Nine Tailed • Lee Rang

Chapter 7

Lee Rang realised that Lin was a lonely man. How did he live all these years without wanting to disappear from this world where his family is no more? He endured through everything based on a belief that is merely true. So Rang learned that no matter how powerful you are, there's always a little bit broken within them. That damaged part of them would start out as despair, and gradually it will become the motivation and sole purpose for them to continue on with life.

He departed for chinatown early in the morning to avoid the crowd during rush hour, not being able to drive left him the only option of public transport. And he hated every part of it. After enduring the frustration in his journey, Rang found himself arriving at Samshin's Utility, taking him what seemed like an hour to discover the place in a back alley.

The Gumiho sighed and entered the shop, the inside had a mixture of oriental and antique design, it's dimly lit with warm lighting making it feel strangely comfortable.

"You've come, child.", a voice sounded at the very back of the shop, as Rang rounded a bookshelf, he saw an old lady making tea. She didn't stop what she was doing nor did she look up to see the guest of her shop. As if she knew he was coming.

"You're Samshin?"

The granny gestured for him to sit opposite her at the tea table.

"I'm not your child.", The Gumiho said as he took a seat

She poured tea in two china cups and placed one in front of Rang, "Everyone is my child. Every one of you is here because of my blessing."

"What a blessing I was.", Rang said in a sarcastic tone

Then the old woman finally made eye contact with him, although it's a child's face, the fierceness in the eyes tell a story of a long life, "You lived a hard life. Sorry that you had to go through that."

"Sorry?", Rang said in disbelief, "You knew that my fate to be a burden was decided since the moment of birth, why did you let it go through? If only I hadn't been born, all that pain would be non-existent!"

"Your existence was not a mistake, it brought joy in some people's lives."

"You don't understand", The boy across her rebuked, his eyes glassy as he looks at her, "Sure it did make everybody else happy. But not me. Do you know how many times I considered killing myself? How I sometimes wished that I could just die from one of the beatings? What wrong did I do to not be deserving of the love from my own mother? I was just a kid, I——", Rang exhaled shakily, "I never lived."

"That's why you met your brother", Samshin replied, "You were never going to die in the Agwi forest that day, fate made it that way. It was your hopefulness for the chance of something better that created the window of opportunity to life. Sure, you never really put your painful past behind you, tormented every now and then by the resurfacing memories but you never allowed it to take you down. That is strength, child. Hence the reason why you now hold the fate of even more people."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Samshin took a sip of tea, "Only you could save Lin's family, and prevent the evil doings of Dueoksini in the past. Isn't this why he brought you back?"

"He said you were also the reason why I'm back."

"It's okay to be a little broken, child. It's not your fault to be angry and lost, it's the world that failed you. Behind any brave mask is someone who's been hurt to an unsalvageable extent...So the God's have given you a chance."

"Since when did they care about someone unimportant like me", Rang scoffed

Samshin smiled, "We're always watching."