Part 4: Kim Yeong-seok

Voting results:
Block 5: 0
Block 9: 11
Block 10: 1

Block 9 wins in a near-unanimous landslide vote.



BGM: Hyun-ae (Innocence)

Well, we've got a lot of stuff on Kim Yeong-seok, so let's sort that out before moving on to other matters.

The new wife - July 13th, Year 318, Kim Yeong-seok









The new official - Dec 30th, Year 318, Kim Jung-su



The new happiness - Feb 8th, Year 319, Yeong-seok's wife







To be totally honest with you? I don't really know what she's talking about here. At all. The math thing wasn't really considered very odd at the time. That's women's work, it's just natural. Maybe it's a little weird that she's helping with external matters, but... well, it's not that weird.
The part about learning to read isn't that amazing, either. It might have been officially frowned upon, but learning to read by looking over a brother or husband's shoulder was really, really common.
She's making a big deal out of nothing. Well, I guess that's 15-year-old women for you...

The new girl - Mar 2nd, Year 319, Yeong-seok's wife







The new friendship - Oct 18th, Year 321, Kim Yeong-seok







The plaza sounds like a really interesting place, doesn't it?
I mean... I wouldn't really know personally...
But as I understand it, it was the big place for celebrating festivals! And really surprising to see.
You'd leave one of the few tiny modern stark white corridors that lead to it, then suddenly, there was this huge open space, filled with all sorts of colorful signs and vendors!
I think proper gentlemen were supposed to be more modest, though, so they wouldn't really want to associate with that sort of thing too openly.

The new magistrate - Jan 12th, Year 322, Yeong-seok's wife









It always comes back to the Pale Bride, doesn't it?
I don't think Kim Jung-su ever thought very much of his adopted son. Or at least, neither he nor his wife thought so.



I think they're both really dumb. I mean... it's not like she ever did anything. It's not her fault.
She just happened to be there, and was married as a political gesture.
What kind of person projects their insecurities onto someone who only ever just got pushed around...?



Aheh, well, anyway... getting back on track here...



And that's Block 9. Why don't we check out Block 10, while we're at it?

Confidence - April 5th, Year 319, Ryu Jae-hwa





Well... that fear turned out to be completely unfounded.
You'll see why soon enough if you read more about the Pale Bride.



Well, nothing left to read in any of the other blocks. Time to get the real story on the Pale Bride.

Held Prisoner - Aug 3rd, Year 319, The Pale Bride







I'll... just let you keep reading.
Please, let me know when you've read all the ones I just gave you.











Oh hey, *Hyun-ae's trying to get my attention again.





I figured. I mean, it's the obvious question!
Sorry. I wish I could tell, you, but I'm afraid that mystery is forever lost to time. I guess that's pretty anticlimactic. Sorry!
I really want to know too! Whatever terrible thing happened, it must've been really, really big!
But I'm afraid all the log data from before the year 1 was wiped, and all the clocks were reset. I guess that's why it was called year 1...
Anyway, so nobody remembered what happened in between, or even how long it was between! It was hundreds of years, I assume, but I don't really know.
So... yeah. Really sorry to let you down there, that part's going to be a mystery forever. There's nobody who could possibly know.
You'll just have to take it as a given! Sorry...

Actually, it looks like that's what the sequel, Hate Plus, is going to be about. Look forward to it!

No voting today, we're in the middle of a linear bit.