It was early summer last year that our village chief welcomed a couple to our village. The husband is tall and doesn’t seem that strong. His bones are thick but his muscles are thin. A wife is a second-class man who can be considered pretty and handsome; who looks strong, courageous, and heroic in a way with the large scar extending down from past his sleeve to his right little finger.

We all know those two are a little suspicious because nobody randomly moves to our little village. On multiple occasions, we inquired from them and also the village chief but no one got a good answer. 

One time while the husband was dead drunk, he claimed to be the Third Prince. Of course, we did not believe that, we’re not that stupid even if none of us ever saw or heard of the Third Prince’s face or name.

Throughout the summer, the wife, Minjun, often worked in our fields for some extra money. He is soft-spoken and hard-working. We’ve never seen such a second-class man before. Women and second-class men usually want to have less dense bones and muscles, and soft and fair skin like noblewomen, so it is rare to see a second-class man like Minjun working harder than his husband. 

Furthermore, Minjun was always covered in kiss marks by the morning and bruises by the evening. Many of us pity him. If one of us had married such a strong second-class man, our families would’ve been well off already. However, no matter how hard Minjun worked, all the money was spent by his husband through gambling and the town’s brothel. 

By the middle of autumn, we noticed that Minjun was a little more haggard. At first, many of us thought that his body had given up on him. Then, some of us asked and others waited until Minjun’s stomach began bulging to realize that he was pregnant. 

We pity him even more. Who could be so unlucky?

We worried that Minjun could have a miscarriage and cause his death. To help, our women and second-class men bought pickled vegetables and wild greens from Minjun. As for our men, it is inappropriate to associate with Minjun since he has a husband already. 

In the winter when snowstorms were a daily occurrence, Minjun often journeyed into the mountains to look for small games. We warned him that it wasn't safe but we couldn’t stop him. We can’t support him, his expecting child, and his useless husband when we have our own families to attend to. So, we watched him go in and out of the mountains in the winter.

After the New Year was over, some of our men found Minjun’s husband dead drunk in front of the town’s brothel. The bodyguards of the brothel were about to beat the shit out of him when some of our good men decided to take him back to Minjun… Even if he’s a bad husband, he is still a husband, and, therefore, the head of the house. 

That night was very quiet, more so than usual. In the morning when our women and second-class men went to their homes to buy some pickled vegetables, dried fish, and wild greens, they called and called but Minjun didn’t show his face. Instead, they met Minjun’s husband. For many, that was the first time they saw him. 

He was ugly! His beard was uneven and his hair was messy. He looked like he could snap in half. Unusable as a husband!

Our women and second-class men just ran away…

The following day our women and second-class men were able to meet Minjun. The color under his eyes was ungodly. His skin which once appeared soft and clear now looked translucent and green. There was a stink to him that wasn’t necessarily off-putting but wasn’t pleasant either… Like leftover food that sat under the sun for an afternoon.

When our women and second-class men were ready to return home after buying some ingredients, they met Minjun’s husband at the fence. He still looked like a dead walking on mortal lands but was carrying some good stuff like bird eggs and eels. The majority of our villagers are too poor to have eggs and too busy to fish for eels; or too stingy to buy either.

The day after, many of us were on our way to plow the farms. On our way there, there was a shout for help from Minjun’s house. We looked at one another, confused. We don’t meddle in household affairs, we can only pity. So of course we were extremely hesitant and espionage since it was Minjun’s husband’s voice that we heard!

Then there was another shout. And another… At this point, we thought that we might go inside to see because the flame of curiosity was ignited. 

As soon as we saw the puddle of blood beside the wall of their house, we were frightened! Did Minjun’s husband murder him at last? 

These were our thoughts so when we went and saw Minjun’s husband cradling him. It was a sight to behold! We can only guess what went down in their little house. Minjun breathed his last breath in his husband’s arms! 

Minjun’s husband bowed, “Please help call the shaman over. Minjun is gravely ill. If you don’t want to help me, think of it as helping Minjun.”

The word surprise undermined what we felt at the time. We could only stare at one another until half of the group decided to call a shaman over and half stayed to watch. 

The way Minjun’s husband cared for him was much too tender and loving. It was like seeing snow in the middle of summer or the sun in the middle of the night. And we asked ourselves: Was Minjun’s husband always like this? Didn’t he gamble a lot, drink a lot, and hit Minjun a lot?

It was almost an hour later when our other half returned with a shaman and more of us. The shaman came in shaking his head, “Young man, your wife has angered a powerful shaman and is paying the price. He will die tomorrow morning if nothing is done.”

“Can you help him?” Minjun’s husband looked worried, that was unsightly. 

“I can but… I don’t know if I’m able to defeat this vengeful shaman if my spirits aren’t well-fed.”

This damned shaman! Why did we bring this one instead of the other one? This shaman was known for cheating people with their money. He was bold and perhaps that was why he came. The others may already know and were too scared to sacrifice their gifts for danger.

“I don’t have any money at the moment, but I will pay you back. Please help, Minjun!”

“My spirits must eat before they do any work. If you can’t feed them, I don’t know if I can help you.”

In the meantime, we whispered among ourselves: Minjun is cursed? Who did he involve himself with before entering our village? What will happen to us if the evil shaman wants to take vengeance on us for taking in this troublemaker and his husband? 

Minjun was a good and hardworking person, but the risk of misfortunes that he will bring to this village was too much! We must kick them out! The evil shaman must know we’re not on Minjun’s side! Even the good must act evil once in a while to save themselves from a greater evil. We concluded that we should kick them out.

We were too busy discussing among ourselves that by the time we saw Minjun’s husband’s face again, it was bitter and ugly. He shouted at us, “Thank you for your concerns. My family would like some peace to mend our losses!”

Why did he have to act like that? We were so kind to welcome them into our village! He must be too damned drunk to consider our position and their circumstances. Minjun’s husband was such a selfish asshole! 

We wanted to say that, but we didn’t want trouble. We didn’t want the situation to become worse than it already is. We fear that Minjun’s husband may start acting crazy and fight everyone. As the bigger persons, we left with the shaman. 

But be damned if we live quietly! We went to the village chief and complained! Either the village chief kicks them out or we will!