A piece done for Slant’d in their latest 2026 literary mag publication, Lore.
Inspired by a section of the ungnyeo/dangun story. The bear and the tiger eating mugwort and garlic to become human; the bear succeeded and the tiger failed… I wanted to visualize a narrative “what-if” to tell a story on the extinct Korean tiger and a relation to colonialism, imperialism/capitalism, national mythos, and a lot more than I can fit in one description (frankly more than I could possibly fit in one art piece!)
The rabbit nuzzled up into his arms, both of them heavy and full after a huge Chuseok meal. His dad sat similarly across the table, hands on his stomach. It was hard to believe that his yearly Chuseok was spent with his singular biological family member and the daltokki himself, but he’d never change it, as strange as it was.
Our last member introduced!! He was born in 2000, so no Joseon era outfit for him! Jongho is actually only a half spirit, with his dad being a human and his mom being an Ungnyeo (bear woman). She passed when he was born, but one of his mom’s old friends (Seonghwa) helps keep him connected to the spirit side of his heritage. Because of this, he lives a relatively normal life, with the exception of being able to see spirits and interact with them (and also sometimes turn into a bear).
He knows exactly how long he’d lived on the streets. Seven hundred and fifteen days. Almost two years. Not long compared to many of the other hybrids that had roamed the area, but long enough for him. It had been cold and miserable, and he’d always had to fight for a spot under the park bridge when it rained. He’d been hungry and constantly sick, but it was still better than it had been living in any of his other previous homes.
He’d been smart when he left the last one, taking along his keyboard that a social worker had given him. Playing on that had allowed him to make enough money to keep himself fed, thanks to the guy that ran the convenience store and didn’t mind hybrids buying things for themselves. There was also the little old lady that ran a hostel nearby that let him pay for a shower and a nap, slipping him soup and sandwiches sometimes.
And then there’d been her.
The first couple of times he saw her hadn’t been some sort of love at first sight story. She’d simply been another face in the crowd that would stop by when he played, clapping and throwing some change in his bucket. It wasn’t until she’d asked if he could play Il Lamento by Liszt that he’d bothered to take a good look at her. Then once he’d looked, he couldn’t stop. Suddenly he noticed how pretty she was, how she always smelled sweet and clean with a hint of the same lemon and ginger tea every single day. How she never talked down to him.
Before long, he’d begun to look forward to her visits. Sometimes she’d bring him breakfast and chat for a while ( meaning he’d let her ramble on while he set up his spot for the day) before she left for work. Sometimes she’d stop by after a hard day at work and simply sit on a bench with her eyes closed, listening to him play. He always made sure to play something soothing on those days.
Occasionally she’d throw him way too much money which made him feel really awkward, so he’d offer to do something more to earn it. Usually, she just had him carry groceries or something else equally small just to humor him.
It was every time that she was too busy to show up that he realized he was growing alarmingly attached to this human. That was not a clever thing to do, and he’d always prided himself on being a smart and realistic guy. Humans weren’t to be trusted. They would pretend to be loving and caring, then the moment no one was watching they’d turn their hybrids into slaves and sex toys.
But then there was her, Ginger. That wasn’t her real name, of course, just what he’d taken to calling her in his head. She always smelled like the lemon and ginger tea she obviously drank often. He got so used to smelling it as soon as she arrived that he’d begun to equate that scent with...comfort? Home? He didn’t know. It’s not like she was his owner or anything, but his hind-brain was certainly attached to her.
The point was that he trusted this woman for some reason that he couldn’t quite figure out. She seemed genuine and caring, but so had others in his past. She seemed a little ditsy sometimes, but that wasn’t a bad thing exactly. It was kinda cute, to be honest.
So yeah, there were a few times he’d daydreamed about what life would be like if someone like her was his owner. Sure, he’d like to be able to not have to have an owner at all, but that wasn’t the reality of his life. Somehow, however, he thought if it was Ginger maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. She was nice, really pretty, and seemed to like him just as much.
So maybe when the most horrible storm of the year had happened and he’d been shit out of luck getting a spot under the bridge, he decided to take a shot. Worst case scenario, she called Hybrid Control. Best, she’d let him stay for the night. So he’d run towards the familiar apartment building only to find that she was still at work. All the lights were off and the door was locked. He could have slept on the porch, and he’d had every intention of doing so until he’d seen the wide-open window.
He’d sighed in exasperation at her forgetfulness. Really, anyone could just jump inside the first-floor apartment and steal her shit. He’d been racked by shivers, the cold rain firming his resolve. Better to ask for forgiveness than die of pneumonia.
He’d climbed into the bedroom window, cringing at the muddy prints he made on the floor. He’d clean it up before she got home. He sniffed, nearly moaning in happiness. It smelled so great in her apartment. He could smell her everywhere. There were occasional scents here and there that weren’t hers, but they were so faint that they obviously belonged to visitors.
He’d been terrified, honestly, but he’d been so desperate and lonely and just emotionally drained that he’d decided fuck it. If she freaked out and kicked him out on his ass, well, better to get it over with now before he got even more attached.
So he’d turned on the heat, showered, and grabbed some sweat pants from her dresser. At first, he hadn’t meant to fall asleep in her bed. He’d planned on just sitting there and waiting for his doom, but then the heat was so nice and the covers looked so soft and smelled so much like her that he figured just for a minute. He’d just try it out for a minute because it had been so long since he’d slept in such a nice bed.
When she’d woken him up after she came home, he’d been terrified. Of course, he’d long mastered the art of seeming nonchalant even while his heart was pounding so hard he was afraid it would burst. So he’d bluffed his way through, hoping that she was really as much of a bleeding heart as she’d always seemed.
Thank fuck she was, because she simply allowed him to stay with minimal fuss. In fact, he’d even gotten her to go along with him living there instead of just for the night. Of course, she’d obviously been too confused by what was happening to protest anything, but once again her ditziness was part of her charm.
That first night in her bed would live in his memory forever. It wasn’t like much had happened, but it was something to him. He’d felt...safe. Probably the last time he’d genuinely felt that way had been when he was a kitten and didn’t know any better. But laying next to her wrapped in warmth and her scent, their legs tangled together and his tail pulling her close...he’d been safe.
The days that had followed were like a dream. Every time he thought it was time for her to show her true colors, she’d surprise him instead by showing that her heart was bigger than her brain. Despite the way he forced himself into her life, she made every attempt to make him feel like he belonged there. She took him shopping, tried to cook for him despite being horrible at it, bought him a cell phone so that she could text him while she was at work. She went out of her way to find his favorite foods and shows and anything else she could spoil him with. She took care of him when he was sick and always let him sleep in the bed with her.
After a while, he began to forget that there was a time before her. There were still times where he’d call himself a fool for trusting a human, but she just had to smile at him like he was her whole world for him to think that she was the exception. She was the real deal and he wanted to be good enough for her.
When he realized that his feelings were veering into the forbidden territory of maybe actually loving this dumb human, he’d been terrified once again. Would it be better to keep it to himself and learn to live with it when she eventually got into a relationship someday, or tell her and risk losing her completely? Because, while she’d never treated him like a pet he was still a hybrid. Hybrid and human relationships were still viewed as “kinky,” something he didn’t think she was...well, not without a bit of training in the future anyway.
Learning that her own brother was in an actual committed relationship with his hybrid had been an eyeopener. She’d never expressed a single bit of disgust or disdain towards the relationship at all. They simply were a regular couple in her mind. Despite the small bump with the way she introduced him to people, he thought maybe that meant she would be okay starting something with him. Honestly, he sometimes got the feeling that she did have feelings for him already and just didn’t realize what that meant yet. He’d learned that Ginger needed to have things pointed out to her plainly in order to understand, so maybe even this was that sort of situation.
So, when his heat suddenly snuck up on him after years of being completely irregular, he’d figured what could be plainer than waving your dick around?
Truthfully, he’d been a little worried that she’d freak out, but at the same time when you’re overcome with loving someone and extreme horniness you don’t make the best decisions. Thankfully, what had followed had been the best sex of his life. And even more amazing, she’d admitted that she loved him back. Him! She actually loved him even though he was a grumpy asshole most of the time and he knew it. But luckily for her, she always brought out his softer side and he’d do anything for her.
He wanted to stay with her forever. To love her, mate her, see her belly swell with their children. To wipe her tears when she’s sad or comfort her when she’s worried. He wants to be there when she’s old and grey to remind her every day that she’s still beautiful.
He still had a long way to go to be worthy of her, but he’d spend his whole life trying.
****
It's a little short, I apologize. I've been working like crazy, but I am working on many more chapters for this as well as my other stuff. Lots of things in store for these kids. I just felt like we needed a peek into Yoongi's brain real quick.
Alright wifeguy I’ve got some fuckin EMOJIS for you
Dangun: 💼✏️👥
Ungyeo: 🚏🪶
I forgot the fuckers name but you know who he is: 📈🕸️
And then for any or all: ⚖️☀️🧬
oh my god. well. ungodly long post cw, (ask game!!)
DANGUN
💼 — answered here!
✏️ — How do they write their observation logs? Do they have any notable quirks in their writing?
they’ve built up a style of writing reports during their time in lobocorp- as a high level operations (i made up different departments for the branch. basically, combat and entity workers) employee, they ended up focusing on
possible danger and power
influence on weaker agents
estimations of categorization
etc!
and that’s how they structure their limbus ones, albiet with the lobocorp terminology redacted.
👥 — Who are their most and least favorites out of the canon Sinners?
fuckkk damn it. hard question. as of the beginning of canto 4:
least favorite; they don’t really have a reason to especially dislike a particular sinner, tbh? most of them are assholes all the same. i feel like….. it’s probs donqui, but not like an especial dislike; more discomfort because god they find her overstimulating and stressful.
favorite; okay define favorite. least problematic general fondness probably goes to yi sang or gregor, but also there’s whatever the fucks starting to going on with them and outis right now (especially singled out critique -> intaken and improves -> praise like dog)
UNGNYEO
🚏 — What was their life like before getting hired? How did they get into the Corporation?
bleak. she grew up in a subtly (insidiously) traditionalist family, and was studying to become a researcher in s-corp’s nest before having to flee the district (with a good amount of others) when the conflict became too much. sought out employment in the l-corp branch voluntarily. would likely have been put into research assistance if the branch wasn’t catastrophically low on low rank operations agents at the time, following an instance of the violet child of prosperity being allowed to age to maturity.
🪶 — What Abnormality(ies) did they work the most with? Do they have a favorite? What about least favorite?
least favorite… ttwf. consistently failed everything by suppression- in fact, she actively would incite the abnormality after enough conversation had passed. hates her.
that said…. the cave of ordeals wasn’t really a favorite, either. she was notably good at it, being the only low level agent to survive the solitary confinement for more than 5 days. was sent in multiple times.
her favorite was the ocean’s bounty; resisting opening a chest while cleaning an inclosure was a breeze, compared to anything else.
her insight over the other employees and knack for leadership etc etc eventually netted her a promotion to the management department, and that was that.
HWANUNG
📈 — What's their relationship with the rest of their team like?
communications enjoy relative safety and security, but at the cost of a hostile and highly competitive work environment. hwanung managed to last and climb to a senior level- and with his backhanded cruelty, ruthlessness, resilience, unfalteringly upbeat, friendlier persona, and knack for customer service…. it’s little wonder he did.
he’s…. largely disliked. polarizing, at best; he’ll cheerfully kick people off the ladder, he’s openly cruel and dismissive of the human toll, the “expendable” lives of his coworkers- he’ll crack jokes at the expense of your loss of a dear friend. but then- after a certain point, he’s the only one who greets people with consistency, despite his upbeat persona- you get what you see, and he can be the friendliest person in the room to boot.
also, he flirts like hell. only with women, but. a good few people have unfortunately grown fond of him.
either way, he’s good at his job, and being a senior comms agent already requires thick skin. in that way, he’s largely tolerated.
(a few of the women really, really dislike him. hate him, even.)
🕸️ — Do they have any triggers or phobias? Which ones?
(may be subject to change)
a form of agoraphobia- wide open spaces, but particularly when there doesn’t seem to be people nearby.
GENERAL
⚖️ — Do they believe in the "that is that, and this is this" way of thinking? What led them to believe it or not?
dangunshinhwa trio:
hmmnnng. dangun seems like they would but they actually don’t; they’re always quite aware of the web of Shit that’s systematically and perpetually doing harm and their role it in.
ungnyeo would like it if she was able to, i think. even on a surface level she feels she can’t afford to dismiss things like that.
hwanung pretends to, i’d say.
otherwise, jeomsun in particular tries for a similar mindset but internally falls short.
☀️ — What would their happiest end be like?
i mean like.
tbh with all of them it’d be getting to a place where they’re willing and able to emotionally open and rely on a healthy support network.
…. ehhh.
🧬 — What would their reaction be to discovering how Abnormalities are made?
(former lobocorp workers)
the river
dangun - sounds about right. if that was the only thing they learned, they’d have questions but- they’d accept that it Does happen from there easily.
ungnyeo - ….it can’t be that. it can’t be …. just that. she knows too much to believe it’s only from a- forest in the outskirts??
hwanung - oh, how curious~ <is how he reacts. he completely doubts it, and is also preening that he’s “learned” it and others would blindly believe it.
walter - it makes her head hurt so hard that she frowns.
the well
dangun - they… <they would compartmentalize it immediately, as they’ve learned to do with anything that comes with lobotomy corporation. it’s hardly surprising, is what they’d say. and they’d focus on the task at hand.
ungnyeo - bothered immensely. would state so, if asked; however, does not dwell on a big part of why (which is that so many abnormalities came from Humans. that…. humans can be the source of…)
even if she finds a way to mentally separate and distance those who served as the well from her, it’s knowledge that’ll haunt her forever.
walter - okay, yes, great, the former l corp did war crimes. what the fuck do you want her to do about it? why are you telling her this? she doesn’t want to think about it right now. leave her alone.
hwanung - … that’s it? somehow he’s disappointed- bitter, even. (he won’t admit it, but he was hoping for abnormalities to be caused by some Greater Presiding Force, something even like- divine karma. a hint that the world doesn’t run on humanity’s grubby hands.)
speaking of…
distortion to abnormality
walter - has already left :(
dangun - frowns deeply. okay. that’s useful information, and no doubt something the company would appreciate knowing- if it didn’t already, which they doubt. it’d- explain a lot.
…they don’t know if they want the company to know that- who are they fooling, they don’t. guilt and discomfort and grief and bitterness and a disgusting kernel of hope slosh around in a pit in their stomach.
ungnyeo - …well, let’s see. there’s a lobotomy corporation main branch induced phenomenon that morphs people who agree to “mold the world in their image” into monsters, who then can turn into abnormalities.
she’s never had foolish ideas of grandeur to that extent- she knows better. all that would do is make her- make her a monster.
unfortunate. her condolences to the people who undergo it, and their loved ones; she can’t imagine what it’d be like.
hwanung - …..carmen obsession 9000, and i don’t even mean in the usual creep guy with a woman way. don’t give him confirmation of a “higher” power that grants power and punishment alike. resentment and smug validation and a need to Get Higher and Ascend Himself. ….not gonna end well.
