The narrator’s family specializes in the creation of cursed fetishes. They share the story of a cursed lamp shaped like a bunny, which they heard from their grandfather. The grandfather cautions that, according to family tradition, a “cursed fetish” must be pretty, must not be a handmade item, and must never be made for personal use.

The grandfather had a friend whose family owned a successful regional distillery. The friend’s family is described as having been humble and kind to others. The friend studied engineering in college to improve the productivity of the distillery. Though his ambitions were initially frustrated by national food policy, he endeavored to work around the government’s stipulations. The distillery enjoyed success but failed to foresee the need for powerful connections and illicit arrangements in the post-Korean War era.

A larger company looking to enter the market leveraged their political connections to undermine the distillery’s reputation while advertising their own drinks as the populist choice. It became impossible for the friend to compete, so, facing mounting debts, he died by suicide, plunging his family into grief and exile. The larger company bought the distillery and discarded the friend’s production methods to maximize the sale of cheap liquor.

The narrator’s grandfather laments the

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