NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Eun-hwi exclaimed in admiration after sucking up every last drop and licking the residue on his lips with his tongue:
“It’s not bitter at all and so delicious!”
His expression was completely captivated by the smooth sweetness, unlike anything he’d tasted in candy before.
“Do you feel better now?”
“Yes! This mysterious elixir is the best!”
“I’m glad.”
“Hey. If you have the ingredients, can you make choco milk too, Moon-beom?”
Eun-hwi wondered if they could make enough chocolate milk to fill a large jar, like Gabi’s medicinal liquor, so he could drink a bowl every day.
If that were possible, he felt all the loneliness deep inside and the sadness from unavoidable resignation would completely disappear.
The chocolate milk seemed to have that kind of power.
“Even with the ingredients, I can’t make it.”
“Why not? Is it difficult to make?”
“It has to be made with cow’s milk, but there are no white spotted cows on this island.”
“Ah…”
While there were brown cows named Bokssun and Boknam in the village, there were no white spotted cows like Moon-beom mentioned.
Feeling disappointed, Eun-hwi licked his lips and turned the milk carton upside down, shaking out every last drop into his mouth.
A milk droplet dangling precariously from the triangular corner finally fell onto his outstretched bright red tongue.
“I’ll be making dinner, so go wash up and change clothes. I’ll put medicine on your wounds.”
Moon-beom stroked Eun-hwi’s head out of habit and stood up from the wooden platform, holding the empty milk carton.
Soaking glutinous rice, preparing ingredients, boiling broth. Preparing firewood to simmer for an hour. And…
As he turned around, mentally organizing the tasks ahead, Eun-hwi gently tugged at his clothes, seemingly having something to say.
“Moon-beom.”
“What is it, Eun-hwi?”
“…Thank you.”
“It’s nothing. I should be more grateful for you letting a person with nowhere to go stay here.”
“Still…”
“Just go wash up quickly.”
“Okay!”
Moon-beom gazed at Eun-hwi’s retreating figure as he dashed off to the bathhouse, apparently embarrassed after expressing his gratitude.
He thought about ordering a few sets of clothes that would suit Eun-hwi’s small, thin body.
It was a “reward” for showing him the dokkaebi hat, which seemed to have great future usefulness. Moreover, as there would be more things to obtain in the future, it seemed good to show kindness in advance.
Shallow dimples formed on his flushed cheeks. Moon-beom let out a low chuckle and took out his phone, turned it on, and sent a message.
Send the repaired demon-revealing mirror to Wolhwa Island
In fact, as soon as he discovered the dokkaebi hat, he realized what it was and immediately tested it. He wanted to confirm if it could conceal all traces as the legends said.
‘Moon-beom always smells like mint.’
That was something Eun-hwi had mentioned in passing the previous night as Moon-beom was applying skin lotion after showering. Remembering those words clearly, he felt the need to investigate further.
‘What? It was just a squirrel.’
Unable to confirm his own disappearance, he had approached uncertainly, but Eun-hwi hadn’t even noticed his scent, let alone his presence. He had mistaken the sound of dry leaves being stepped on for a squirrel, which was better than expected.
Even if it couldn’t be used as a weapon to destroy the fox monster’s soul, it seemed it could be sufficiently utilized as a tool in battle.
For example, setting traps undetected or as an item for a reversal at a critical moment.
Of course, this was after conducting a few more experiments to clarify any doubts.
Bzzt—
Not long after, a reply came with a vibration.
Monster Expert
Payment first
“Always so sharp about money.”
Moon-beom stroked his throbbing jaw wound and curled up one corner of his mouth.
It was a more pleasant expenditure than ever before.
* * *
“Hehe.”
Having finished cleaning, Eun-hwi quietly looked down at the two bandages stuck to the backs of his hands. The image of rabbits pounding rice cakes, repeated in a regular pattern on a light pink background, reflected in his yellow eyes reminiscent of the moon.
It was an item from the outside world not found on Wolhwa Island, and the first thing a human had given him.
While it might have been a common children’s bandage to someone else, to Eun-hwi it was a monumentally significant item.
“Mr. Moon Rabbit, is the rice cake delicious?”
Eun-hwi gently stroked the rabbit in the bandage with his fingertips as he spoke to it. The white rabbits holding pestles were so cute that he couldn’t help but grin and smile just looking at them.
He was glad he didn’t have to stomp his feet in frustration at the fleeting nature of something that would disappear without a trace over time, like bubbles.
He was happy to have something to fondly remember even if Moon-beom were to leave the island someday.
“Ooh, really? Mm-hmm, I see.”
Deeply engrossed in conversation with the moon rabbits, the half-dokkaebi smacked his small lips, imagining the chewy, savory taste of rice cakes in the mortar.
“Do you like the bandages that much?”
Moon-beom, who was enjoying post-cleaning rest sitting on the shiny wooden floor with the door lifted and hung on the eaves, suddenly asked.
“Yes. They don’t hurt at all even when wet, and I love them.”
Even after scrubbing the dirty rag and dipping it in the basin several times, the back of his hand didn’t sting at all. It was a truly amazing item that protected the wound better than it looked.
And above all…
“The rabbits making rice cakes are cute too.”
He couldn’t help but feel pleased seeing the moon rabbits, which he could usually only look up at during the full moon, diligently pounding rice on the back of his hand. Their white, fluffy bodies, long upright ears, and round tails were endlessly lovable.
“I think you’re even cuter, Eun-hwi, for liking that so much.”
Moon-beom said, looking at Eun-hwi’s face smiling brightly like a child.
While running gambling dens, there were stupid kids who thought they were master gamblers and tried impossible tricks only to get caught.
It would have been appropriate to cut off their wrists to prevent them from trying such foolishness again, but since they were also future customers, he gave them a form of punishment along with a childish bandage, as if branding them.
The strange juxtaposition of humans corrupting themselves out of greed and the diligently working rabbit characters.
It was his simple amusement to watch like a cynic as these beasts suffered shame and humiliation before finally submitting.
But perhaps because his mental age was still that of a child even though he had become an adult. He didn’t expect Eun-hwi to like the character bandages so much, which were a symbol of humiliation to others.
It was surprising how he had scored points with a bandage he had brought without much thought.
“How can a dokkaebi be cute? The moon rabbits are much cuter!”
“I don’t think so.”
“I don’t think so either!”
Eun-hwi stuck out his tongue playfully and then shifted his gaze back to the bandage, grinning.
Moon-beom didn’t bother mentioning that what the moon rabbits were pounding in the mortar wasn’t rice cakes but the elixir of immortality. He got up and went to the room, coming back with disinfectant, ointment, and new bandages.
“Now that you’ve finished cleaning, let’s disinfect. It’s better to take off the old ones after a day and replace them with new ones.”
“…Throw them away?”
Eun-hwi, who couldn’t take his eyes off the bandages, suddenly raised his head.
“They got wet, right? Bacteria could grow inside. We need to change them.”
“No. I don’t want to throw away Mr. Moon Rabbit.”
Eun-hwi hid his hands, drawing them inward so Moon-beom couldn’t touch them. Although he didn’t know what bacteria were, his body naturally healed wounds in two or three days, so he had planned to remove the bandages tomorrow and stick them on a celadon vase. So he could admire them anytime.
“Then are you going to keep them on your hands without disinfecting?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not good, the wound could get worse. Give me your hands.”
“They’re mine now, so I’ll do what I want. Don’t interfere, Moon-beom.”
There was nothing more petty than giving something and then taking it back. As Eun-hwi glared at him with disapproving eyes, Moon-beom let out a soft sigh and held out a bandage wrapped in clear plastic.
“I’ll give you the same new ones. That’s fine, right? These are better than the old soggy ones.”
Indeed, compared to when they were first applied, the old ones had become wrinkled and the edges had darkened. Eun-hwi hesitated for a moment, looking back and forth between the new bandages and the old ones on his hands.
“Let me see your hands.”
As if there was no need to hesitate further, Moon-beom placed the new bandages in front of his neatly folded knees. After sneaking a glance down at them, Eun-hwi reluctantly held out both hands, and a smile spread across Moon-beom’s face.
“Tell me if it stings.”
“…Okay.”
Moon-beom began to gently peel off the edges of the bandages with his fingernails. The area where the deep wound from the crow’s beak had been gradually revealed.
“No need to disinfect. It’s healed cleanly.”
Was it because he had applied the ointment so thoroughly? Or was it because of drinking the mysterious elixir?
The cut that usually took at least two more days to heal had disappeared without leaving a scar. New skin, almost transparent in its whiteness, reflected in both their eyes.
“…So I can’t have new ones?”
Eun-hwi asked with a very disappointed face. The edges of the removed bandages had stretched unattractively, turning the cute rabbits into monstrous-looking creatures.
Footnote:
1) Jomakyung: A mirror that reveals a demon’s true form