South Gyeongsang Province – Bong Soon’s Childhood Village

It was small. Quiet. A place where roosters still called the morning and children ran barefoot through dusty alleys.

Do Rin and Do Rae hadn’t been back since they were kids.

But today, they returned with their mother.

Do Bong Soon walked ahead of them, slower now, her hand brushing over stone walls she used to scale like fences. Her eyes looked younger here—even with the years etched into them.

“Your grandmother used to say the strong women in our family were born under walnut trees,” she said softly. “Stubborn. Resilient. And always blooming again after the fire.”

Rin tilted her head. “There was a fire?”

Bong Soon stopped. Looked back.

“The year I turned sixteen. An accident during training. I destroyed half the village bakery. After that, my parents stopped speaking about our legacy for a long time.”

Rae blinked. “You never told us that.”

“I was ashamed,” Bong Soon admitted. “I thought strength meant being perfect.”

She touched the charred bark of an old walnut tree, still alive.

“But real strength is what survives after the damage.”

That Night – Guesthouse Patio

The sisters sat under the stars, sipping barley tea while cicadas sang from the hills.

“Do you ever wonder if we would’ve been different without all this?” Rae asked.

“Without the strength?” Rin clarified.

“Without the expectations.”

Rin thought for a moment.

“Maybe. But I don’t think we’d trade it.”

“Even with everything?”

“Especially with everything.”

They toasted quietly—two teacups clinking under a full moon.

Behind them, Bong Soon smiled from the doorway, arms crossed.

“You two turned out alright.”

The Next Morning – Shrine Behind the Village

They found the old scroll—tucked inside a shrine, wrapped in silk.

The original Do Family Creed.

Rin opened it carefully, whispering each line aloud.

“Our strength is not ours alone.
It is the answer to someone else’s fear.
And the gift we carry forward, even when our hands shake.”

Bong Soon closed her eyes, mouthing the final line.

“Be strong. Be kind. Be ready.”

The legacy wasn’t a curse.

It was a promise.