Was He a Foreigner?
“Was he a foreigner?”
“Huh?”
Yu Seong-un asked back at Ji-oh’s words.
“What do you mean by that?”
They were on their way back after finishing the first initiation ceremony and parting ways with the Cha family. Yu Seong-un tilted his head at Ji-oh’s sudden muttering. He couldn’t quite grasp what Ji-oh was asking about.
“A foreigner, you say.”
“The blond priest we saw earlier at the initiation briefing, or…”
“Ah, so that’s what you were talking about.”
Ji-oh was oddly old-fashioned in certain ways. He held the kind of outdated common sense you’d expect from a grandfather, and it seemed he was fretting over whether he had accidentally committed some racial slight without realizing it.
This, even though he was polite and gentlemanly in everything he did. He really did worry about the strangest things.
“He’s probably Korean too. You just got confused because he looks a bit different from the traditional Korean appearance, right?”
“So he was Korean. With that blond hair and blue eyes, and a bone structure a little different from the Koreans I know, I assumed he was a Western foreigner. Was that a rude thought to have?”
“You’ve got a pretty old-school mindset.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“You’ve been stuck inside a frame all this time, so not knowing things is only natural.”
Besides, from the perspective of a being of the Source, distinguishing human nationalities would have been a little difficult. It was like an ordinary human without specialized knowledge struggling to tell every species of ant apart.
More than anything, beings of the Source tend to take the human rules they’ve once learned at face value…
Beings of the Source didn’t understand human exceptions very well.
There were ones that couldn’t grasp why someone wouldn’t eat three square meals a day, and others that couldn’t understand why a person who should naturally have hair didn’t.
‘Aren’t humans supposed to be like this?’ they would insist.
In that sense, the fact that Ji-oh had distinguished someone enough to label him a “Western foreigner” was actually impressive. In this case, though, that half-baked knowledge seemed to have done more harm than good…
“Of course, traditional Korean features are generally black hair and black or brown eyes. Bone structure’s a little different too. But in this day and age, trying to pin down someone’s nationality just from hair color or bone structure is… not exactly easy.”
When trying to help a being of the Source understand humans, it was best to explain the flow that originated from the source of things. Yu Seong-un launched into another old story.
“You seem to know about the Great Cataclysm, and well, during the Great Cataclysm the whole Earth got turned upside down once. It wasn’t my generation, so I don’t know exactly what it felt like, but it must’ve been way more chaotic than now. A real apocalyptic atmosphere, right?”
“…….”
“…Do you know what an apocalypse is…?”
“I do.”
“Oh, impressive.”
It was probably one of the memories the human personality called “Seo Ji-oh” had known.
“Anyway, back then the concept of national borders got fuzzy. More precisely, it faded. People started emigrating all over the place to escape the disasters in their own countries, and the whole Earth began mixing races like one giant salad bowl.”
Because of that, “pure-blooded Koreans” had become rare sights.
“If you’re talking pure-blooded Koreans, in our country you’d only find them very rarely in rural areas with almost no contact with other regions. Some of the more stubborn older folks are extremely against their kids mixing blood with foreigners…”
“There are people like that everywhere, I see.”
“There are always people who hate change. So figuring out someone’s nationality just from their looks is hard. Still, that blond priest you mentioned is hosting events like this, so he’s probably Korean.”
“They don’t entrust events to foreign priests?”
“No, more like… if he’s overseeing a big event like this, he must hold a pretty high position in the Church of the Sun God in Seoul. That means he’d be living in Korea, so it’s harder to think someone like that would be a foreigner, don’t you think?”
“Ah.”
He understood.
In effect, racial distinctions have disappeared.
No matter where the blood originated or what someone looked like, if they held Korean nationality, they were Korean. That had been true even before the Great Cataclysm, but the atmosphere then and now was a little different.
It’s as if nationality is treated like a light qualification, like a driver’s license.
Yu Seong-un had simply said the priest’s race was Korean because he would be commuting here. It wasn’t about where or to whom he had been born—it was that he was registered as Korean, so he was judged Korean.
“…….”
Truly, an Earth that had become one.
…I think I like this.
This seemed rather desirable.
It’s a little unfamiliar, though.
Ji-oh was still shy around his homeland. He was starting to wonder if he wouldn’t even be able to order food at a hamburger place anymore.
To Seo Ji-oh, a living ancestor, this world was moving far too fast.
“So problems like racial discrimination don’t arise, then.”
“That’s the kind of conflict you’d only find in textbooks these days.”
Yu Seong-un shrugged.
“Having said all that, I can’t actually claim there’s no racial discrimination.”
“Didn’t you say national distinctions don’t exist?”
“No, it’s not that kind of issue…”
He glanced around, confirmed no one was listening, then continued.
“There’s class discrimination.”
“Ah.”
“It might sound like an excuse… but I don’t really have strong feelings about it myself. Still, first- and second-class citizens do seem especially full of themselves. First-class hunters in particular find even associating with third-class citizens and below unpleasant…”
“…….”
He’d had a bad feeling ever since hearing that citizens were classified by grade. Had a caste system really been revived?
“…Is that the difference between nobles and commoners?”
“Ah, would that make it easier to understand? You could definitely say it’s a similar perspective.”
“I’m surprised the classification and treatment are clearer than I expected.”
“Well, anyway.”
Yu Seong-un gave a small laugh.
“So if you start distinguishing races by appearance, you’ll get called a crazy old man—be careful. I understand your situation, but other people would hear it as ridiculous discrimination.”
“Thank you for telling me.”
“I wonder if any real pure-blooded Koreans are even left these days. Even I myself am not purebred…”
The wording was a little awkward, but Ji-oh let it pass and asked something else he’d been curious about.
“Is the fact that hair and eye colors are all different also because of the racial mixing? Of course I know pure genetics don’t produce blue hair, but just in case…”
“Ah, in my case it’s just the effect of awakening.”
Awakening—that was probably the thing related to “hunters.”
“Does awakening change your colors?”
“Not for everyone, but if you have a particularly strong affinity for an attribute, your colors tend to change to match. Something like the blue hair you mentioned isn’t a color that can occur naturally, so it’s probably an awakening effect.”
“I see.”
“Attributes aren’t clearly displayed by the system the way ranks or jobs are—you more or less define them yourself as you learn your own abilities. For the record, my attribute is ‘Ice.’”
Only then did Yu Seong-un’s snow-white hair and glacial blue-grey eyes catch Ji-oh’s attention. They were similar in color to Giovanni’s, but unlike his, these carried a clear sense of cold.
“I used to have brown hair and brown eyes, but after awakening I ended up like this.”
“…I see…”
I just thought dyeing was trendy these days.
Was I too free of prejudice?
Honestly, even after becoming a haunted portrait and seeing all sorts of eye-catching hair and eye colors, he hadn’t paid much attention. Ji-oh was the sort of person who respected human diversity without prejudice.
The world flipped once and fashion got weird, so of course dyeing would be fine too…
Or he had simply thought of it as a kind of evolution and let it slide without much thought. Even he had to admit he was a rather careless person.
“I can change colors too.”
“Huh? Out of nowhere? You’re originally black, right? Wasn’t that your identity?”
“The idea that color can become a person’s identity sounds very interesting, but I’m not black. I just added that because you said your colors changed, Yu Seong-un.”
“No… in the first place, your black is a little… that… for a purebred Korean…”
Wasn’t it far too pitch-black?
Like an abyss, or obsidian.
Ji-oh’s color was hard to call a simple color. That black, which seemed to embody death or silence itself, often left people dazed.
Even now that he’s lowered his presence to a human level, looking him straight in the eyes is still a bit much.
Perhaps finding Yu Seong-un’s reaction odd, Ji-oh asked back.
“Isn’t it ordinary black?”
“…If that’s how you see it, fine.”
Yu Seong-un returned to the previous topic.
“So, you change colors too?”
“I can change them if I put a little thought into it. Does that make me modern enough?”
“A twenty-nine-year-old young man talking like some old guy who can’t keep up with the times…. Wait, is that it? Platinum blond and blue eyes?”
“You already knew.”
“You changed to those colors at Cheonggyecheon, and again when we took the water taxi.”
“Unlike the others, have I evolved into a chameleon?”
“More like…”
It was probably a shift in personality.
“…….”
“What were you going to say?”
“…Just that it’s fascinating.”
By this point Yu Seong-un was starting to get a feel for Ji-oh.
Ji-oh… likely has numerous personalities.
Centered on the personality the Source had named “Ji-oh’s Portrait,” various other personalities branched out like limbs.
Normally he acted as the personality “Ji-oh,” but in certain situations the corresponding personality seemed to respond.
He’s a hard one to handle. We sent him out into society too hastily out of my and the guild master’s greed… if a personality hostile to humans ever comes out, it’ll be a serious problem.
Even if that happened, Bi Sa-beol would probably claim “dying while appreciating a work of art is part of the art” and preach his hard-to-empathize-with tastes. But for ordinary people who weren’t irrational collectors like him or Gardeners like Yu Seong-un, it would be nothing short of a disaster.
I have at least that much self-awareness.
His conscience had been thoroughly rounded by all sorts of experiences, but he still had a minimum line. After a moment of thinking how to handle Ji-oh, Yu Seong-un spoke.
“Hey, so… about that…”
“Yes.”
“…….”
This wasn’t a conversation for here.
“Could you tell me about yourself? Not here—once we get back to the hotel.”
“I feel like I’ve already told you a lot about myself.”
“I want to know something deeper. Once we’re back at the hotel, I’ll ask, and if you’re not uncomfortable, please answer. It’s also part of my job as a curator.”
“I’ll do that.”
“I really appreciate it.”
Apparently thinking the topic wouldn’t come up again until they reached the hotel, Ji-oh suddenly brought up something completely different.
“I’m worried about the cat I left at home.”
“…Cat? You got a cat?”
“An Anti-cat. I first met her this time in the Vein of Gems.”
“…….”
“But the teddy bear is looking after her, so she should be fine.”
“…I’ve been wondering how to react for a while now…”
Yu Seong-un asked with a complicated expression.
“An Anti-cat, well, that’s fine because it’s you.”
“I don’t understand what that means.”
“What do you mean a teddy bear is looking after an Anti-cat?”
“Exactly what I said. The teddy bear is looking after Dana.”
“Did you make it?”
“The elder entered a doll that had been abandoned in the sea.”
“Who is this elder that he went into a teddy bear of all things?”
“He is the Sun God I serve.”
“…….”
After a brief silence, Yu Seong-un decided not to ask any more questions.
“Hmm. I see.”
He was already confused enough.
A soft, blunt little hand.
The hand of the teddy bear, whose fur was a color so similar to Giovanni’s, slowly stroked the back of the kitten that had burrowed into the circle of its arms.
The gem-cat’s body was spread out languidly, as if the embrace was comfortable.
“…….”
The teddy bear continuously stroked that small gem filled with dead spirits.
It patted, smoothed, and sometimes simply covered her to share its warmth. Though it had become nothing more than a trace of a sun with not even divinity remaining, it could still work a miracle great enough to warm this cold body.
They were simply holding each other tightly, after all.
“…….”
With its stuffed smile, the teddy bear gazed into the frame that depicted a blue sea. It felt like a quiet life force, as if a single personality had been painted there.
His child had called this the “Breathing Sea.”
“…….”
And this was surely connected to the world of the mermaids.
“…….”
Ji-oh would meet the mermaids.
The teddy bear hoped that Giovanni would once again take the mermaid princess into his arms.
“…….”
For that, even its own divinity would not be too great a price.
Even without anything so grand, this place… was already bright enough, and warm enough.