An ilhwa character

Bang Sungha was born Lee Wonsik to a family of carpenters and builders. It was hard work, work he was expected to take up as well, accompanying his father to build sites from the age of ten.

Wonsik did not hate it, finding himself intrigued with the chisels, saws, and other tools they used during building. So much so that he would sneak them home. He would go hunting in the woods, then use the smaller tools to take apart rabbits and other small creatures, trying to find out what made them tick.

His family, though horrified, said nothing.

However, everyone knew Wonsik would likely take his playtime too far someday.

Wonsik’s father was often treated poorly. One day, a servant of a wealthy family continuously berated his father, going as far as beating him with a cane.

A sixteen-year-old Wonsik could take it no longer, and between one breath and the next, Wonsik had shoved a tool through the servant’s neck. The face he made as he died, hands clutching his bloody throat, made Wonsik howl with laughter while the other workers looked on, frozen in fear.

The love of his family was the only thing that saved Wonsik.

They promised not to speak a word of his whereabouts, and sent him off with food and clothes.

Wonsik wandered the forest and the streets for a couple of years until Mother Bang found him.

She saw beauty underneath the dirt, the grime, the mad smiles. She took him in, taught him to perform with his beloved knives.