The Dokkaebi Waiting for the Moon

Chapter 20

“Did you sleep well?”

“Mmm. I slept deeply.”

While he had fallen into a deep sleep without waking once, the sun had set, and a red sunset had settled on the paper-covered windows. It seemed he had slept for at least two hours.

“I made buckwheat jelly salad and seafood rice in a pot for dinner. I added lots of the hericium mushrooms you picked.”

Yeo Moon-beom kindly informed him again, as if knowing he had answered while half-asleep.

“Did you really make buckwheat jelly salad?”

“Of course I really did. Why would I make a fake one? Get up quickly and eat.”

“I’m so excited! Buckwheat jelly salad!”

Buckwheat jelly was Eun-hwi’s favorite food in the world. Eun-hwi, who had been reminiscing about the taste of buckwheat he had eaten more than ten years ago, recalled the buckwheat jelly lake that still shimmered before his eyes.

‘It was so huge…’

He was amazed that he had a prophetic dream. Wondering if he really had such a dream because of the smell, he sniffed the air, and then suddenly remembered Yeo Moon-beom’s words and asked in surprise.

“…Seafood? Did you catch it?”

Can he take out living creatures from his magic bag too? A small question arose in his round, wide eyes.

“I caught it. For you, Eun-hwi. I went to the seaside myself.”

“Really?”

“As you know, my hands are quite big, right? I’ve never seen a conch bigger than my palm before. I’ll show you the conch shell later.”

“Mmm. Okay…”

“Your reaction is lukewarm. Don’t you like conch?”

“No, it’s just… It would have been nice if we went to see the seaside together. You should have called me too.”

He had only gone to the sea during the ox hour (1-3 AM) when everyone was asleep, worried about being caught by the village men.

Unable to hide his expression of lingering regret, he showed his disappointment. Yeo Moon-beom gently combed Eun-hwi’s messy hair, which had been pressed against the pillow, and said,

“I was too busy sending back the person who came earlier by boat. Let’s go together next time for sure.”

“The person who came earlier? Bang Gui-bong?”

He inadvertently called out the name of the outsider, Mr. Kim. The hand that had been stroking his hair suddenly stopped.

“…”

Feeling strange at the sudden silence, Eun-hwi looked up at Yeo Moon-beom with just his eyes. Worried that he might have misspoken, he carefully watched Yeo Moon-beom’s reaction. Yeo Moon-beom, who had been keeping silent with an expressionless face, suddenly burst into loud laughter.

“This is hilarious. Bang Gui-bong. Heh…”

“Isn’t it Bang Gui-bong?”

“That’s right, Bang Gui-bong. But how did you hear that name? Our Eun-hwi has a good nose and sharp ears.”

“I just heard it…”

“I guess your pointy ears hear better.”

At a glance, it was a difference that might go unnoticed, but unlike human ears which are generally blunt and round, Eun-hwi’s ears were slightly pointed at the tips, like an animal’s.

Yeo Moon-beom’s hand slid along Eun-hwi’s now smoother hair, and as he touched the tip of his differently shaped ear, he asked in a considerably calmer tone,

“Any other conversation? Did you hear that too?”

“No? I just kept laughing to myself because the name was funny, and then I fell asleep right away.”

“Then you must have only heard that.”

The hand that had been fiddling with the outer part of the ear suddenly pulled away. Wondering if it was just his imagination that it felt somewhat cold, Eun-hwi absently stroked his own ear where Yeo Moon-beom’s body heat remained.

“We’re going to eat right away, so tidy up the blanket and come out. To the wooden platform.”

Yeo Moon-beom got up from his seat and went outside, leaving the door open. Eun-hwi stretched big and neatly folded the blanket to tidy up the room.

Gabi particularly disliked untidiness, and having inherited his mother’s neat nature as a Buddhist nun, tidiness was ingrained in him.

The fact that this house had been maintained without a single worn-out spot despite living alone for ten years was due to his innate diligence.

“Wow! It looks delicious!”

When he went out to the yard, the dinner table Yeo Moon-beom had prepared was set on the wooden platform. Although there were fewer side dishes than usual and no meat dishes, the buckwheat jelly salad alone made it a more wonderful spread than ever.

“Look at this, it’s quite big, isn’t it?”

Yeo Moon-beom really brought two conch shells as big as his hand. But the half-dokkaebi, whose gaze was captivated by the buckwheat jelly salad, merely responded, “Mmm, it really is a giant conch,” and sat down on the platform.

Like someone bewitched by a dokkaebi. With a face drained of all spirit.

“…You’re not interested.”

He had expected Eun-hwi to exclaim in amazement with eyes that looked ready to pop out, and to hold the shell to his ear to listen to the sound of waves.

Disappointed by the unexpected reaction, Yeo Moon-beom tossed the shells onto the platform. Even though dokkaebi were said to love buckwheat jelly, seeing Eun-hwi ignore even him didn’t make him feel very good.

Was it really a problem that Bang Ki-bong had visited…

He didn’t think Eun-hwi, who believed that the Grim Reaper would take him if he lied, would pretend not to know and insist he hadn’t heard the conversation. But there was still an unsettling feeling.

As he mentally reviewed the conversation he had with Bang Ki-bong, Yeo Moon-beom quietly observed Eun-hwi, who possessed hearing abilities beyond human capacity.

He thought that he should be careful from now on, as he never knew when or how things might unfold, and at the same time, he thought that if handled well, there might be useful applications for this ability.

Finding usefulness in someone who seemed to have no value was surprisingly rewarding.

Even after his revenge was complete, it might be good to keep Eun-hwi by his side, as Bang Ki-bong had suggested. So for now, the priority was to somehow gently persuade and make him obedient like the tongue in one’s mouth.

“Anyway, you’re cute.”

Erasing the irritated line from his brow, Yeo Moon-beom went to the room and brought out a camping lantern. Darkness like ink had begun to settle all over the island.

If there was one thing he had realized since coming to Wolhwa Island, it was that complete darkness and light truly existed in the world. Unlike the city exposed to electric lights 24 hours a day, the night on this remote island was pitch black, and the day was brilliantly bright.

Was it because he had become corrupted after opposing evil?

Yeo Moon-beom was uncomfortable with the purity of nature that resembled the half-ghost before him. That was also why he deliberately used an electric lamp instead of an oil lamp, to disrupt the dense darkness.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

When he returned to his seat after turning on all the lights, Yeo Moon-beom saw Eun-hwi kneeling in front of the table as if performing a ritual.

“Nngh…”

It was strange to see him biting his lower lip hard and having a staring contest with the buckwheat jelly salad. His fists resting on his thighs were trembling.

“Don’t you want to eat it? Is it not good?”

The salad was made with buckwheat jelly specially procured from a buckwheat master’s restaurant in Bongpyeong, Gangwon Province. There was no way the ingredients could be wrong.

Wondering if there was a problem with the perilla oil, he quickly checked the smell, but there was nothing unusual. The appetizing aroma and appearance actually stimulated his appetite.

Looking at him with a puzzled gaze, Eun-hwi said with a face that looked like he might burst into tears at any moment,

“…You didn’t give me permission, Yeo Moon-beom. To eat first.”

“So you’ve been waiting all this time?”

“What else could I do? You didn’t give permission.”

The look in his eyes as he stared at the buckwheat jelly salad was infinitely pitiful. For a dokkaebi who followed his instinctive desires, waiting must have been nothing short of torture.

His thin, white throat bobbed significantly, as if overcome with emotion and choking up.

“Ha…”

Yeo Moon-beom let out a laugh, finding it utterly ridiculous.

This was the same being who had not succumbed to the various tyrannies and temptations of the demolition team. He knew Eun-hwi had a stronger will than he appeared, but he didn’t expect him to exercise that will even in this situation.

And with buckwheat jelly right in front of him, no less.

“From now on, don’t wait. Eat first.”

“…But still.”

“I’m giving it to you instead of charging for lodging. You don’t need to feel burdened.”

“But I feel at ease only when Yeo Moon-beom says it first…”

Thinking about it, he realized he had habitually said things like “Eat before it gets cold,” “You must be hungry, go ahead and eat,” “If it’s not enough, I’ll give you more. There’s more rice,” just before meals.

Those were the words his mother always used to say to him.

A memory from his childhood that he had long since sunk to the bottom of his heart suddenly surfaced. Yeo Moon-beom was quite shocked by his own insensitivity, using her words without realizing they were the remnants of a shipwreck.

This innocent being that drew out the source of his unconscious speech habits and his past that he had never revealed to anyone.

At this strange harmony, he smiled bitterly and rubbed the scar on his chin. Three dark red lines disappeared under his thumb and reappeared repeatedly. Eun-hwi’s gaze, hesitant and unsure what to do, clung to his fingertips.

“From now on, I’ll tell you in advance to eat first. So our Eun-hwi won’t have to wait long.”

Yeo Moon-beom said, looking into his unusually large eyes. He smiled slightly as he saw a glimmer of light seeping into the eyes that had been filled with gloom, but he didn’t show it.

“Then can I eat now?”

“Eat as much as you want. Here.”

Yeo Moon-beom held out a spoonful of a large piece of buckwheat jelly and vegetables. The rich aroma of perilla oil and the spicy scent of the seasoning sauce evenly coating the surface mingled together, tickling his nose.

Unlike before when he had hesitated even with his favorite candy right in front of him, Eun-hwi opened his mouth without hesitation, and Yeo Moon-beom smiled slightly.

“Didn’t you say you shouldn’t carelessly eat what others give you? Did you forget?”

“You’re not ‘others,’ Yeo Moon-beom.”

“If not ‘others,’ then what am I? A food pest? A freeloader?”

“Why would you be a freeloader when you cook for me? Wrong!”

“Then what am I? A boarder?”