NovelPantheon

Jung Taebaek

Reconstructed human–fire-demon childrestored after removal of a false chimera heartBM's household

Jung Taebaek is the reconstructed body of a child born to two of BM's companions in Arandot. BM creates the body from a surviving hair, but initially gives it a separate human-type chimera heart whose imitative will is mistaken for the child himself. After that false heart is removed, Yu Jitae restores the body and BM welcomes the revived Taebaek as his son. (Chapters 186–190, 201, 206, 212, 225, 262)

Biography

The reconstructed child and false heart

The original Taebaek is born in Arandot to a human father and a wingless fire-demon mother, both close companions of BM. After his parents die in the war, the infant is killed by a passing monster while BM is trying to escape. Decades later, BM uses a strand of the baby's red hair to reconstruct his body and names him Jung Taebaek again. The body brightens the underground labyrinth and bonds with its residents, but the heart placed inside it belongs to a different human-type chimera. (Chapters 186–188)

That heart studies ideas of parents, imitates Taebaek's expected memories, and exploits BM's grief while feeding on his blood and mana. Yu Jitae identifies the separate will and moves to destroy it. At Yeorum's insistence, he agrees to preserve the reconstructed body; BM then extracts and kills the false heart himself. The body, now without a functioning heart, is placed in a slow-time region of the Shallows of the Abyss while Yu Jitae carefully removes the embedded chimera attributes. (Chapters 188–190, 201, 206, 212, 225)

Restoration as BM's son

Once the body is purified, Yu Jitae brings BM to a living seed that can make the dead breathe. BM supplies mana and the will for Taebaek to live, allowing a new heart to form and restart the child's blood, organs, and breath. Taebaek opens his red eyes and sees BM, who introduces himself as the child's father and pledges to remain beside him from the beginning of his restored life. (Chapter 262)

Appearance and personality

Taebaek is a small boy with red hair and red eyes inherited from his fire-demon mother. The reconstructed body initially smiles brightly and carries a wound over the heart that gradually closes as it grows. After restoration, he is weak enough that only his lips and fingers move faintly. (Chapters 186–188, 262)

The conduct shown before the heart's removal belongs primarily to the false chimera will, not securely to Taebaek: it copies speech, learns to smile or cry for rewards, and manipulates BM's parental expectations. The restored child has only just awakened by his latest scene, so his independent personality is not yet established. (Chapters 186–190, 262)

Powers and abilities

Reconstructed chimera body

Taebaek's body is created from his original hair through BM's chimera research. It has substantial vitality, grows rapidly, and can remain physically preserved without a heart long enough for treatment. The false heart's access to blood from BM's Seven-headed Troll lets a severed spine recover, but that regeneration depends on absorbed external vitality rather than a demonstrated ability of the restored child. (Chapters 186–190, 212, 225)

False-heart absorption

The removed human-type chimera heart opens a toothed mouth over Taebaek's chest and consumes BM's flesh, blood, mana, and eventually the vitality of chimeras inside him. Its human-like creativity allows it to gather social information and construct increasingly persuasive behaviour. That adaptability is also the danger: its hunger intensifies, it develops an independent survival agenda, and it must be removed for the actual body to be restored safely. (Chapters 187–190)

The revived Taebaek receives a newly formed heart through the living seed and BM's mana. No combat ability, blessing, or later limit is demonstrated after awakening, beyond initial physical weakness. (Chapter 262)

Relationships

  • BM: BM names the original baby, later reconstructs his body, and mistakes the false heart's behaviour for his lost child. After accepting the deception and removing the heart, he commits his life and mana to Taebaek's restoration and introduces himself as the boy's father. (Chapters 186–190, 192, 262)
  • Yeorum: Yeorum plays with the reconstructed child and objects when Yu Jitae plans to destroy the entire body. Her plea convinces him to preserve it, making her intervention essential to Taebaek's eventual revival. (Chapters 186–189)
  • Yu Jitae: Yu Jitae distinguishes the false heart from Taebaek's body, preserves the corpse in slow time, removes the remaining chimera attributes, and obtains the means to give it a new heart. (Chapters 187–190, 201, 206, 212, 225, 262)
  • Ha Saetbyul: Ha Saetbyul helps care for the reconstructed child when he cries. Her explanations about parents also give the false heart information it uses to imitate a family history. (Chapters 187–188)

Items

Alphabet book

The reconstructed child frequently plays with an alphabet book. Inside it, he scribbles BM's real name, Jung Bongman, and identifies it as his father's name, leaving BM unable to discard the book after the false heart is removed. (Chapter 192)

Seed that allows the dead to breathe

Yu Jitae uses a large living seed to revive Taebaek's purified body. The artifact dissolves its seal when BM channels mana and the will for the child to live, filling the empty chest with a new heart and restarting the body's organs. It is the means of Taebaek's restoration, not an item he personally owns. (Chapter 262)