What is the fate of a wrong decision?

“Siryeong” has been the most popular girl in her district. Wherever you go, you hear her name. “Siryeong” school, “Siryeong”clinic and “Siryeong” lake catastrophe.¹

It’s been quite a while since I’ve delved into a book that so skillfully intertwines complex characters with a well-crafted plot and a remarkable sequence of events. This novel stands out due to its use of the flashback technique, allowing readers to glimpse the end of the story at the very beginning, yet without revealing all the facts. This approach aids in piecing together the central theme of the story. I was particularly captivated by the author, Jeong You Jeong’s writing style. Her narrative is unique in that it captures the perspectives of all characters. As I navigated through the shifting viewpoints of each character, I experienced a range of emotions - from parental love and anger to confusion, oppression, and even revulsion at times.

Jeong You Jeong, the author,kicks off her novel with hazy and cryptic details about a tragedy that has befallen the village. These are mostly memories for Suwon, who abruptly earn the title of ‘The son of the mad killer’. As if being orphaned and losing his mother at the tender age of eleven wasn’t a heavy cross to bear, he is further ostracized by his community and kin. He is left to grapple with the specter of that fateful night, clueless about why this misfortune has befallen him, and ignorant of what actually transpired within his family. He is left wondering how his father, who was a paragon of innocence and couldn’t even harm a rat, could have transformed into a monster overnight and murdered little Siryong, a girl his own age.

However, "Son" only wants to live, even if this has required him to abandon his dreams "I had to step back to the inside of my distant coldheart. This persistence has kept me going and prevented me from killing myself". He is forced to be held responsible for his father’s crimes in order to live with the ghost of the past, which keeps chasing him. However, for what reason is this ghost tracking him wherever he goes? Is this actually a ghost?

Main Characters:

“Oh Siryeong” or the girl who is eleven years old, from unit (101), the daughter of the garden owner

“Oh Yoongi” the dentist, garden owner, a father and a perfect husband, in his own perspective, who watches his neighbors’ movements from unit (102).

“Choi Hyun Soo” a former baseball player, who sees his dream career vanish after his arm goes numb, experiences a miserable childhood and now is about to be sentenced to death.

“Kang Eun Joo” is Hyun Soo’s dominating spouse and a mother who fights for her son’s future.

“Choi Son”or “the criminal’s son” as most of the ignorant people call him.

“Ahn Seung-Hwan” dam guard, diver and a ghost writer who dreams tobecome a famous novelist, tries to inquire about what has happened that night.

“Min Hayoung” Yoongi’s wife who lives with her husband's mistreatment towards her.

“Yun Ju” Son’s aunt, the only person who knows the problems going between her sister and her brother-in-law.

How Could a wrong decision entail a series of catastrophes?

I see that the more the novelist Jeong You Jeong sheds light on the catastrophethat occurred at Siryeong Lake 7 years ago, the more she skillfully compares two types of fathers; the ''narcissistic father'' and the ''sacrificial mother'' The first makes himself the center of the universe, whereas the second is ready to sacrifice himself and the universe for his son.

This Approach between both characters, ''Yoongi'' and ''Hyun Soo'',separated the novel into two worlds; a world from the abusive father’s perspective,a father who frequently beats both his wife and young daughter, owns a luxury car and a garden, and practices his own hobbies. On the other perspective, the tolerant father, who gives his son the greatest amount of attention, even if he ignores his wife, rides a dilapidated car that does not fit his size, and is forced later to move to the village of “Siryeon'' to pay off the debts of his new house, which will secure his son’s future.

At The moment when the two worlds clash and catastrophe occurs, the clock hand has freezed, even during one minute, and everyone associated with the incident becomes a prisoner of that dark night ''That night, seven years ago, never ended'' asif the darkness of that night has extended for seven years.

We note that novelist Jeong You Jeong adopts the character of Mr. Ahn as a basis for the overall coverage of the granular details of the incident that occurred 7 years ago through the intensive investigations, interrogations and messages collected by Mr. Ahn within the investigation years.

Mr. Ahn Seung-hwan is the undisputed main character of the novel, despite one of his notable roles in the beginning of the story being to take care of Son after all his relatives abandoned him. Later, his importance is represented in his documentation and intense search for the truth. Is his curiosity a mere selfish motivation to awaken his novelistic inspiration? Or is it an attempt to rise by his conscience to assume responsibility as an eyewitness to the incident that has happened to Siryong and the incidents that have occurred after it?

Most Crime novels are characterized by mystery elements, but the novelist Jeong You Jeong here uses other elements in her plot as well. Such elements act with a detailed description of places, like Siryeong Lake and Al-Manara Village, to give readers the chance to get a map of the two villages in their imagination and move between them. Jeong You Jeong also keeps explaining the way of the dam and describes the stages of diving professionally, adding incidents of the phenomena that may occur underwater. Jeong You Jeong also gives readers the chance to know the psychology and way of thinking of each of her main characters, giving them the freedom to narrate the incident in their own opinion. Knowing the facts or the truth is not only exciting, but also knowing the motivation behind all the decisions made by the characters.

Finally, after contemplating the narrative style that travels between the past and the present, we find that many of the fine details placed by the novelist slowly become important to the plot, like the cat "Ernie" with whom "Siryeong" plays the game "Red Light.. Green Light.." in the dreams of "Son". Jeong You Jeong tells us how weak links manifest themselves in the elaborate plan for the perfect crime and play the role of a "trump card".