【 Synopsis 】

A story of twin dokkaebi and a reincarnated human shaman who together unravel the mysteries behind the sudden instability of the reincarnation cycle and the disappearance of one of King Yeomra's grim reapers. It is also a story of an estranged family coming together again by the strange ties of fate.

【 Lore 】

This story is set in a world not unlike an old traditional Korea. There are deities, spirits, and malevolent beings of all varieties that live alongside humans. Most notably, the heavens are ruled by the Heavenly Emperor Sangje, while the underworld and reincarnation cycle is overseen by King Yeomra.The jeoseung saja are servants of King Yeomra. They act as heralds of death that facilitate the natural order of the reincarnation cycle by ushering deceased souls to the underworld. This particular story follows that of a jeoseung saja named Jin-seong who unwittingly adopted two orphaned dokkaebi twins that had the peculiar ability to see him. He named them Yang and Eum due to their opposing temperaments and the color of their skin, but little did he know how meaningful those names truly were.Through a mysterious event, Jin disappears and the two dokkaebi twins are left to fend for themselves. Yang and Eum go their separate ways, one becoming an infamous malevolent spirit overseas and the other quietly becoming recognized as a protector deity for the commonfolk.Centuries pass, and a human named Jin is born, a rare baksu mudang with no shaman lineage. He becomes entangled in a whirlwind of an affair of humans, deities, and spirits after a chance meeting with the calamitous red Oni-Ou named Lin.

This world is primarily built on Korean mythology and legends. There are also undercurrents of other East Asian cultural influences, especially with Lin who travelled far and wide to other regions.

• Character Info

Jin
[ 眞 ]

Jin is a baksu mudang, or a male shaman. Shamans are majority female, so he is already a unique circumstance amongst his people. Even more so because shamanism is almost always inheritated through a bloodline, but Jin was born from an ordinary family. When his ability to commune with spirits was discovered, his parents took him to the village shaman who recognized his innate talent. He was taken under her tutelage and he grew up learning shamanism from her.Once he became old enough, he left the village to become a travelling shaman in order to help the commonfolk. On one of his travels, he was called upon to investigate malevolent energy that was trapped in a small golden bell; however, when he touched it he accidentally unlocked the seal, and a notoriously malevolent red dokkaebi emerged from the artifact. To prevent the evil dokkaebi from reaking havoc, Jin bound the spirit into a binding contract and since then they have been travelling together with Jin trying to keep the unpredictable Lin in check.

It seems that in his past life, Jin used to be a jeoseung saja, who adopted two small dokkaebi who had the peculiar ability to see him, but he has no memories of this prior life. For some unknown reason, his soul was placed into the reincarnation cycle by King Yeomra of the underworld.

The Twins

When two nameless dokkaebi twins—one red and one blue—were orphaned by the death of their mother, they were adopted by the jeoseung saja (Korean grim reaper) who came to guide her soul to the underworld. They were then given the names Yang (양|陽) and Eum (음|陰) respectively. Yang and Eum grew up content under the guardianship of their adoptive father, until one day he disappeared without a trace or warning.The sudden disappearance of their foster father created a rift between the twins and they eventually went their own ways.

• Toyhouse

Lin
[ 鈴 ]

While Eum stayed in their homeland, Yang left to wander. Without the guidance of a parental figure, Yang’s battle-hungry nature and destructive power flourished and ran rampant. He quickly grew in notoriety as he caused chaos in his wake. He became feared as an evil calamity and was given many names throughout his reign of terror. One of these names was Lin (鈴, note: it’s the Japanese reading) for the bell that he would always wear at his waist. The sound of that bell became synonymous to an ominous precursor to a calamity.In his youth, Yang was energetic and fearless; in his adulthood, Lin is an unpredictable, blood-thirsty force of nature. He is combative and probably a little bit insane.

Seol-hwa
[ 雪花 ]

While Yang left to wander, Eum stayed in their homeland. Over time she became worshipped as a protective deity as she protected the people from hardships and malignant spirits. The commonfolk gave her the name Seolhwa, “snow flower”, due to her ice-cold demeanor, yet the beauty and grace of her poise, like the dancing petals in the wind.Seolhwa is known to wear a bell. Often when the people would hear the soft tinkling of a bell passing by, they would be reassured that their protective deity was watching over them.In her youth, Eum was timid and anxious; however, in her adulthood, Seolhwa is composed, stoic, and dependable. She faces her enemies with unflinching calm.