auspicious beast

“Don’t go poking a python.” An elderly woman tugged at her grandson’s hand, steering him away from Seomok. People said Seomok was born into a cursed family. ‘Strangely, people just kept dying.’ That was the core of the python tales Seomok had heard his entire life. Then one day, a pale-skinned boy transfers from Seoul. A boy who smiles often and is cheerful, yet whose true identity remains a mystery: Kim Hee-hyun. Hee-hyun is the first to approach Seomok, whom everyone else ignores. * The boy was Seomok’s first friend, his first memory, and his first flutter of excitement. Seomok wanted to become an adult quickly. Even if it was just to become someone special to Hee-hyun. And then on...