Author: Suyeon Bae
Translated by: K.H. Yoo
Publisher: Nabiwabook, 2024
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What do we worship, and what do we curse? In a dark cave atop a cliff in a forgotten village lives the last remaining butterfly…
I am me. If you think of me as a butterfly, then yes, I may just be a butterfly.
Yuhi Kim is a young scientist who studies the legendary butterfly in a lab. According to old records, one butterfly existed at a time in a small village in the mountains—a savior or a curse, depending on who you asked, and seen by no one outside the tiny town. When she accidentally destroys Pehera, the creature her lab has worked on for years in an effort to recreate this butterfly of lore, Yuhi heads to the now abandoned village to uncover the truth once and for all. What she discovers there causes her to rethink not only the ramifications of her work and the true nature of the butterfly, but her own family history as well.
This short story, translated into English from Korean, blends science fiction and fantasy with the all-too real consequences of grief, sacrifice, and human hubris.
Source: Amazon