Jiwon

Until just a decade ago, the intra-species conflict in Baek-Ah raged with such frequency and violence that it had become part of everyday life.

Human villages were constantly raided by dokkaebi, young men were drafted into war, and the women left behind with no economic means faced crushing taxes levied in the name of war. There was no escape from poverty for the people of Baek-Ah.

Jiwon was just another child caught in that storm. Abandoned by her parents at a young age, she spent her days on the side of a road in her village, begging and busking with a makeshift, homemade instrument.

At around eleven years old, while busking on the streets with a shabby old pipa, Jiwon caught the attention of a woman enchanted by her song.

Dressed in luxurious silk, the woman told her, "My calling is to save children like you, and in doing so, to save Baek-Ah's future." She invited Jiwon to come with her.

At first, Jiwon assumed the woman planned to sell her into slavery, but, starving as she was, she didn't have any other options.

The woman took her to Dohwa Garden, a place where beautiful could blossom.

There, Jiwon was able to make new friends and salve the ache of her parents' abandonment.

The woman who took Jiwon in was the founder of Dohwa Garden, Myunghee.

She embraced Jiwon and the other orphans with unconditional, boundless love.

Jiwon asked her why she was helping them, and Myunghee's answer was simple and genuine.

"How could I turn away while seeds that have endured a bitter winter beneath the soil are crushed underfoot before they ever sprout? This will be your flowerbed, and I'll be your spring. All you need to do is blossom into beautiful flowers."

Inspired by Dohwa Garden's founder Myunghee, Jiwon expressed her wish to follow in Myunghee's footsteps and devote herself to the pursuit of the arts within the Garden.

Having already recognized Jiwon's talents, Myunghee embraced her goal and gave her every opportunity to grow into a fine artist.

And in return for that support, Jiwon quickly rose to become the most celebrated gisaeng in all of Baek-Ah, her fame and influence growing by the day.

Over time, the internal conflicts among beastkin and the problems with the dokkaebi subsided, and peace finally returned to the war-scarred land of Baek-Ah.

Wishing to enjoy the fruits of that peace, Myunghee set off on a journey, entrusting the future of Dohwa Garden to the next generation.

At Myunghee's request, Jiwon stepped up as the new leader. Her polished talent and practical leadership allowed Dohwa Garden to endure, but without Myunghee's financial backing, Jiwon now faced the challenge of finding new ways to fund the Garden's operations.

Jiwon utilized Dohwa Garden's greatest asset, its incredible network of connections, and entered the world of espionage.

Her efforts earned her the attention of Baek-Ah's governing authorities, which entrusted her with various missions in exchange for financial compensation.

For a while, the arrangement allowed Dohwa Garden to function smoothly. But over time, the authorities began to desire control over the Garden's carefully constructed web of spies and assets. Inevitably, Dohwa Garden found itself dragged into the mire of politics, forced to dirty its hands with questionable dealings.

The noble ideals that once guided Dohwa Garden were replaced by money and power.

Still, Jiwon convinced herself it was a necessary sacrifice. And if the day of reckoning ever came, she was prepared to stand alone in the filth, ready to bear the weight of every sin.

While taking a carriage through the mountains, Jiwon was ambushed by an assassin. Her carriage was overturned, leaving her wounded and stranded deep in the wilderness.

The bleeding wouldn't stop. As dusk settled in, she accepted death as the price for all her dirty deeds.

But then, someone emerged from the woods, drawn by the commotion. The red hands of the stranger indicated that she was not human at all, but a dokkaebi, enemy of mankind.

Knowing the cruelty of dokkaebi well, Jiwon braced herself for another attack. But the dokkaebi told her not to be afraid and began to treat her wounds.

Thanks to the care she received from the strange dokkaebi, Jiwon regained enough strength to accompany her through the woods. Soon, the lights of a human village came into view.

Jiwon thanked her rescuer, offering a token of appreciation, but the dokkaebi declined with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Unlike humans, I don't expect anything in return when I help others."

Shocked by those words, Jiwon asked for the dokkaebi's name.

The dokkaebi replied Gabi before vanishing back into the forest's shadows.

Being shown mercy by a dokkaebi, a being she had long considered ruthless, left Jiwon with much to contemplate.

She had chosen to make herself "ruthless" if that was what it took to protect the children of Dohwa Garden, yet she now saw that ruthlessness was far more complex than she understood. The realization left her wondering if she had ever been fit to lead the Garden in the first place.

She admitted that ever since assuming leadership of the Garden, she had grown complacent and arrogant.

Having access to countless streams of outside information through the Garden, she had relied solely on the reports of others, never once stepping out to see things with her own eyes. She was stuck in her own little world.

And so, with newfound resolve, Jiwon handed her responsibilities to others and left on a journey of self-reflection, back to the place where she met Gabi: Surah.

It did not take long after her arrival in Surah for Jiwon to find Gabi. They spoke at length and discovered how closely their ideals aligned. Naturally, they became friends.

For Gabi's sake, if nothing else, Jiwon wanted the people of Baek-Ah to know that not all dokkaebi were the vile creatures they believed them to be. However, prejudice against dokkaebi was deeply rooted throughout Baek-Ah, especially in Surah, which had once been under dokkaebi rule.

Even so, Jiwon refused to give up. She began working hard to prove that dokkaebi like Gabi and her friends were different from the stereotypes and could coexist with humans.