lee jihoon knows fairytales. he's been to wonwoo's bookstore countless times to read stories about magic beings and lands. but those aren't the only fairytales he know. a fairytale, also known as a fabricated story, ones intended to deceive.
"look, it's lee jihoon again."
"when's the last time you saw him smile?"
"the way he works is almost robotic."
jihoon can hear murmurs like this all through the streets of nytis whenever he walks by. despite his height, maybe he does look a little imitating with that expressionless face on all the time, maybe he does work a little robotic. so what? it doesn't mean he never smiles it doesn't mean he has dreams of his own.
in fact as a child, lee jihoon was one of the biggest dreamers. he was packed with wild dreams and plans, built up with the help of fairytales and perhaps a certain someone. the fact that he was born a peasant didn't stop him one bit, if anything it made his dreams even more rambunctious.
to bring all his friends out of the dirty streets of nytis and into proper houses. to be able to travel outside of the grim grey walls of nytis with his friends, to one day have lots of money, to go to a ball... the list goes on and on.
growing up in an orphanage, the boy would often hear the adults whispering about how "jihoon's dreams are going to bring him nothing but despair in the future." but all he would do is tsk at their lousy whispering skills. these people are absurd to think that he would give up on his hopes.
until one day... he did.
no ones too sure why not even the two orphans closest to him, choi seungcheol and lee chan. some villagers puzzled at why the bright and energetic jihoon suddenly lost all signs of bright energy. some others sighed in relief thinking, finally! that child has gotten his head out of the clouds!
maybe jihoon did finally decide to get his head out of the clouds. who knows?
nytis.
sometimes jihoon thought, why nytis? out of all the different kingdoms out there, why did he just have to be stuck in the worst one. oh yeah, in the lowest class as well. he'd ask his parents if he knew who they were.
perhaps nytis wouldn't be half as bad if he was born in a higher class, it would've been great if he was born a royal or noble. in nytis the wealth distribution was horrible. lavish castles with anything you could possibly want sat gleaming above the rest of the village.
but the village itself was quite horrible. all the people were so heavily taxed that jihoon could bet that the royals had enough food and money to last them a few years. it enraged jihoon when he saw tax collectors dressed in fine silks knock on the doors of the dirtiest, smallest house asking for their payment.
the only people who lived decently in the village would be the few people owned stores- the middle class (like wonwoo). they lived somewhat close to the castle with comfortable lives. although it was much cleaner there than where jihoon lives, he only rarely goes to visit wonwoo because peasants aren't welcome there. you would think that the middle class might help the peasants but no. most of them are as stuck up like the royals.
the further away from the castle you travel the worse it gets. jihoon along with his two closest friends, choi seungcheol and lee chan, live right beside the slums. you would think with three people working they should have plenty of gold but things don't exactly work out.
seungcheol is older and much stronger than an eighteen year old jihoon but due to a leg injury from serving in the military, he is unable to work. lee chan is two years younger than jihoon, and he's always had a soft spot for the younger. jihoon doesn't want chan to work in the fields and instead wants him to learn how to read and write so maybe one day he can get a better job.
"let me work ji." chan would often say when he sees jihoon come back from work late in the night. "you're going to work yourself to death."
"it's fine."
"it's not fine. i'd rather not learn how to read and write so i can help you now than get a better job in the future. the future is a long ways away and you know that i can't wait that long!"
"go to sleep chan. don't worry about it."
i want to give you a chance to leave this place.
so there you have it. jihoon working by himself to earn enough to pay for seungcheol's medicine, chan's education, their basic necessities and the taxes. he's grateful that he managed to find a job at jeonghan's bakery and even more grateful that jeonghan tries to do whatever he can to make jihoon's life easier. sometimes, jeonghan sends him off with some extra bread or maybe some more gold coins.
it didn't matter how it was, jihoon accepted it happily. anything helps, especially if you're living right on the edge of the worst place in town.
maybe it was a good idea that he decided to bring his head out of the clouds. after all, dreaming wouldn't be able to earn him any money. some things will never change no matter how hard you wish them to.
they are called dreams for a reason, dreaming won't get him anywhere.
