### Chapter 427 – Clan with Structure (3)
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[Han Kain]
—
A thick, sturdy thread was tightening around my neck.
The moment I loosened my grip, I felt like I was about to lose consciousness; I couldn’t resist or do anything.
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“Ugh! Huhhh! Huhhh!”
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When I opened my eyes amidst the pain, there were my crying younger siblings in front of me.
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“Wha-what’s happening?! Grrrr!”
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Minseok, Mina, Suji, and Cheolmin—the siblings left at the countryside house were all huddled against the wall, frozen in fear.
Some kids had already wet themselves; in just a short time, they seemed spiritually crushed by some unknown presence.
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“Grrr!”
—
Slowly, I turned my head to look straight ahead.
Who—who the heck is tightening my neck—
—
“…”
—
It was Heekang.
My only little sister.
The moment our eyes met, she smiled brightly and said,
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“Oppa, you love me, right?”
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“Ugh!”
—
There was a name tag on my sister’s chest that read ‘Han Min-sang.’
What’s with the name tag?
And why ‘Han Min-sang’? Not Han Heekang?
—
“Grrr!”
—
I was helplessly dragged along.
The thread tightening around my neck was an issue, but what’s worse was how strong that “thing” was!
—
While I was in pain, I passed through two rooms and came face to face with a jar.
The lid of the jar was open.
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“Please…. Please…. Min-sang…”
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An incredibly tired and old voice.
It was my great-grandfather.
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“Ha ha ha! Why are you suddenly like this, brother?”
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“Min-sang…. Please. That— that child has done nothing wrong—”
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“Nothing wrong, huh?”
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“Please, please take my body—”
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“Ha ha ha!”
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“That thing” laughed like a little girl as it replied.
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“Brother, come on! What use is your old body? What can you do with it? Do you think it has the same value as my childhood body?”
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“… Min-sang.”
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“Don’t worry. I feel sorry for this kid too!”
—
It pulled my neck chain and approached my great-grandfather, using its other hand to tear off the name tag on his chest that read ‘Han Jin-seong.’
—
The moment the name tag was removed, my great-grandfather fell like a puppet with its strings cut.
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“Brother…. My dear Jin-seong. How can I bear to see you die so easily? I can’t. I’ll grant you eternal life.”
—
— Clunk!
—
The name tag flew into the opened jar.
And then, the “thing” that had stolen my sister’s body looked at me.
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“Hello?”
—
“…”
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“Feeling uncomfortable? It’s hard to breathe, right? Your whole body feels like it’s out of control?”
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“…”
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“Don’t worry! I’ll make you comfortable soon!”
—
“…”
—
All of a sudden, a name tag appeared on everyone’s chest.
I had a piece of cloth that said ‘Han Kain’ stitched on it too.
That “thing,” probably ‘Han Min-sang,’ had removed the name tag from my unresponsive self.
—
My consciousness was fading.
In this moment, I was so scared.
Not because I didn’t know what would happen next but because I vaguely realized something terrifying.
—
…
—
…
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The first thing I felt was ‘heaviness.’
—
It felt like someone had placed a heavy metal weight on my entire body, crushing me.
As I tried to move my hand in despair, my joints creaked like rusty gear wheels.
Even the simple action of opening my eyelids felt arduous, and with every breath, my lungs struggled to keep up.
—
I, the middle schooler Han Kain…
—
Was trapped in the body of a man nearing ninety.
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This was the most painful prison in the world.
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“Aahh!”
—
Words were hard to form.
Mucus stuck in my throat was hindering my voice.
How did my great-grandfather manage to move and speak in such a body?
—
Opening my eyes in despair, I saw a boy happily grinning in front of me.
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“It’s me.”
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That thing possessed my body.
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“Wow~! This boy’s body feels great.”
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“Ughh!”
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“Sorry~! The other kids were either the wrong gender or too young. I found your age just right.”
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“Y-you… you jerk!”
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“Huh? Huh? Grandpa? What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”
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Anger flooded through me.
As anger welled up from deep within my heart, my entire body shook.
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“Calm down. You are old, you know? It’s dangerous to get too riled up at your age.”
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“…”
—
I was furious.
At the same time, I was terrified to the point of breathlessness.
How can I get back into my body?
—
Then, I noticed the ‘Han Min-sang’ name tag stuck on my chest.
The name tag! That’s the culprit behind this mess.
Is the name tag the soul? If I move it, does the soul switch bodies?
—
If so, what if I remove the ‘Han Kain’ name tag stuck to this old body and put it back on my body—
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“I can see what you’re thinking~ You think if you switch the name tag back, it’s all good, huh?”
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“… What?”
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“Ah~ I get it. The adults are coming tomorrow, so you’ll let them fix it?”
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“Y-you…”
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“But what if I just…”
—
The being now resembling a boy giggled as it approached the now-closed jar.
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— Clunk!
—
The jar’s lid closed.
The name tag disappeared into the darkness.
—
“Now it’s over~! Ah-ha-ha! Look at your face! Did you think you’d have a chance?”
—
“…”
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“You fool! I might have been duped by my brother, but you think I’d let a little kid outsmart me? Oh, you’re not a kid anymore. Grandpa~! Enjoy your remaining days!”
—
Despair, fear, pain, terror.
Amidst an abyss of unspeakable negativity, I screamed and screamed in silence where no one could hear me.
I wanted to beg for death rather than live out the rest of my life in the body of a ninety-year-old.
Just as I was about to sink into despair.
—
— Swoosh!
—
The world turned black and white like an old film, then split in two.
—
Fluttering black hair.
Ruby-like shining red pupils.
A face so perfectly detailed that it reminded me of a living doll.
—
The moment I laid eyes on her, the floodgate I had been blocking in my mind disappeared like a lie.
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It was Ahri.
My true ally.
As ‘that thing’ suddenly froze in shock, Ahri moved without hesitation and slashed.
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— Shink!
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The creature’s head—well, more accurately, my head—swirled in the air before it fell to the ground.
This way, my body was definitively dead—
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“Ugh!”
—
“…”
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“What was that! Did you just kill my body? Then how will I get back—”
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“Looks like you’re not fully awake yet.”
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“What?”
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“By this point, you’ve already lost.”
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“What do you mean—”
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“I don’t have time to explain. You’ve failed multiple times. It seems you can’t awaken alone…”
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“What do you mean?”
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“How strange. This is a dramatization of an incident that happened in the real world. How did the middle school version of Kain conquer this situation?”
—
I couldn’t understand half of what Ahri was saying.
Was I really not fully cognizant like she said?
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“There’s definitely something you’ve yet to discover. I was planning to see you alone for a while, but…”
—
“…”
—
“Just watching isn’t easy for me. So, here goes…”
—
The beautiful girl approached me with a slight smile.
Her gentle hand caressed the head of the elderly man.
—
My trembling lips moved randomly.
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“I… I…”
—
“…”
—
“I suddenly aged. This strange monster turned me into a grandpa—”
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“It’s okay. You haven’t aged that much.”
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“Huh?”
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“You’re not even a hundred years old in body. What are you fussing about?”
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“…”
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“Kain, don’t worry. We’ll wake you up soon. Let’s have the next dream together. If you fail, there will be someone else to help you next time.”
—
— Shink!
—
The frozen flash split the air.
This was my last memory.
—
*
…
…
…
—
— Swoosh!
—
A gentle breeze brushed against my cheeks, and I could hear the rustle of leaves in the nearby bamboo forest.
For a moment, I sniffed the earthy scent of the soil, and in front of me, a little kid was fiddling with a squirming bug in his hands—
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“Eww!”
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“Huh? K-Kain?”
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“Minseok, didn’t I tell you not to touch the bugs?”
—
Was he my cousin? No, maybe my distant cousin?
Anyway, I stopped Minseok from trying to swallow a bug when Mina cried out from behind.
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“Waaaah!”
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“Why are you crying?”
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“Waaah! AHHHH!”
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“Please, just say something that sounds like a human!”
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He fell onto the dirt, crying about blood coming from his knee.
As I wiped it off hastily, I suddenly heard a cheerful voice nearby.
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“Look, a mukogi!”
—
My heart dropped.
Mukogi? Fish? Didn’t that mean the kid got in the water all by himself!
—
Startled, I turned around to find Cheolmin already diving into the creek without his pants!
It wasn’t a dangerous spot since the water was shallow and the current mild, but kids at this age were prone to accidents even on beds.
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“Aah! Are you NOT listening to what I told you? Stay put!”
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This is why kids—
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“This is why kids are a pain.”
—
?
—
“Why am I wasting my time here for no reason?”
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I turned around to see my sister, Ahri, looking slightly annoyed as she glanced back at me.
Hadn’t she just complained about her legs hurting moments ago?
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“Kain.”
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“What?”
—
Why was she suddenly being so familiar?
No, there are order and hierarchy in sibling matters. How could a younger sister talk to her older brother like this—
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“Yah!”
—
I was about to say something when Ahri dashed out like lightning and gave the cousins a good smack upside their heads.
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“Ugh! A-Ahri?!”
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“Waaaaah!”
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“If you cry like that in front of me again, I’ll pull out your teeth!”
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“… Squeak!”
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Ahri subdued my four younger cousins the same way and glared.
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“…”
—
Seeing this unbelievable scene made me feel like her dropping the honorifics wasn’t even a big deal anymore.
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“Kain. Let’s go back.”
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“Well, shouldn’t you at least call me ‘Oppa’? And all those relatives are at home—”
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“Don’t worry about it. I don’t want to waste energy in a weird place, so let’s go now!”
—
Today, my younger sister was unusually lively.
—
*
As soon as we returned to the countryside house, loud voices greeted us.
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“Jung-ho! You never even stepped foot at grandpa’s!”
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“What’s different about your uncle? It’s like they think you’re some kind of filial son!”
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“Why is your speech pattern weird? Did Minseok turn into a bad farmer?”
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“Come on! Look after your own son, man!”
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“This punk—”
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“Hey, we came from the same womb. If I’m a punk, what does that make you—”
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— Crash!
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As I awkwardly laughed and tried to lead my siblings back to the back mountain, Ahri chuckled softly.
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“Oppa!”
—
“…”
—
“It’s a bit tiring. But still, Oppa!”
—
Why did that sound so strange to me?
—
“Why are you acting like that?”
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“Go to the parking lot right away.”
—
With that, Ahri bent down to pick up a sharp piece of metal from the ground and sharpened it against a stone.
—
“If I can’t use blood right now… let’s make do with this.”
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Can’t use blood? What’s this?
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“W-Why are we suddenly heading to the parking lot? And what’s that shard about?”
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“Oppa!”
—
“Ugh! Let’s go, let’s go!”
—
Hearing that, I felt like I might vomit.
—
*
In the parking lot on the right of the countryside house, cars belonging to my parents and relatives were parked, including quite a few fancy foreign ones.
—
“Ahri, why did you suddenly want to come to the parking lot? What do you want to see—Yah! Are you crazy?!”
—
Gah!
Before I could even catch my breath, Ahri dashed out like lightning and started puncturing the tires with the metal shard!
—
As I raced towards her to grab my sister, she elegantly dodged me with a little twist.
I hadn’t even seen her do anything impressive, but in the confusion, I found myself rolling in the dirt.
Had my sister secretly learned Muay Thai?
—
“No! Forget about Muay Thai! What the heck are you doing?! If you ruin the cars—”
—
Unlike my pale face, Ahri looked perfectly at ease.
—
“Hmm… I wonder if I can manage to break these cars too, so they’ll let the adults out. I’ll need to check.”
—
“What are you checking?!”
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“Kain, let’s go.”
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“What? What are you checking?!”
—
“Ugh…!”
—
I ended up plugging my ears.
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