The Dokkaebi Waiting for the Moon

Chapter 22

“Ah…”

A warmth unique to humans, something not felt from Gabi.

A warmth that should be pushed away, yet constantly draws one in.

The insurmountable gap between humans and dokkaebi, along with the promise made to his departed father, stirred Eun-hwi’s heart once again.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“…No.”

“Really nothing?”

“Yeah, nothing.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll go in now. I’m sleepy.”

“Mmm.”

Without even saying “Good night, Eun-hwi. Sweet dreams,” the door closed with a rattle. Though he hadn’t expected to be held back, Eun-hwi felt a little hurt by Yeo Moon-beom’s coldness as he went to bed.

Although he wore his usual gentle expression, it was clear that he too hadn’t gotten over his disappointment. The words “I’ll leave on my own” kept repeating in Eun-hwi’s mind.

“…Good night, Yeo Moon-beom.”

Eun-hwi, who had been standing rooted in front of the door, muttering, turned his reluctant feet towards the wooden porch. He thought he’d go for a short walk, feeling a heaviness in his chest.

Chirp chirp—

The sound of insects from the grass seemed particularly melancholic today. Even when humans and spirits bullied him one-sidedly, he hadn’t felt this upset. The game of hide-and-seek was still ongoing, and he thought everything would end when Gabi returned, so it was okay.

But the issue with Yeo Moon-beom was something even Gabi couldn’t solve. It was his own problem of not being able to let go of the desire to become human.

“I want to tell him to stay as a student… I want to tell him to keep staying here… It’s not that I don’t like it…”

Sitting on the porch, he paused in putting on his shoes and opened the top of the dressing table to look in the mirror.

Hair that shimmered incomparably more than a human’s, different-colored sulfur-yellow eyes, and two protruding horns reflected in the mirror.

“…I hate it.”

He hated the moon that had hidden the jade rabbit, leaving only a trace like thin fingernails. He hated Yeo Moon-beom, who appeared without warning, took up a whole room, and was now trying to leave without even saying goodbye.

But what he hated more was his own situation, unable to even be friends with the first human he had gotten close to.

If only he were a pure dokkaebi without any human blood mixed in, could he have been friends with Yeo Moon-beom?

Lost in futile thoughts, he was glaring at the traces of his half-dokkaebi self with dissatisfaction when he heard a strange sound from beyond the wall.

“Dokkaebi-nim, Dokkaebi-nim.”

Unless it was referring to him as a disgusting hybrid or an evil plague god, there was no one in Wolhwa who would use such respectful terms to address Eun-hwi.

“…What is it?”

It had too little yang energy to be human, and too little yin energy to be a spirit. Only the clear and pure energy residing in grass, trees, and flowers could be felt.

He seemed to have felt a similar energy fleetingly during the day as well…

As he was rolling his yellow eyes, recalling the events of the day, the unidentified voice called out to Eun-hwi again.

“Dokkaebi-nim, Dokkaebi-nim.”

The half-dokkaebi, who had been timidly wiggling his fingers, stood up with a bewildered expression.

“Did you call me?”

“Yes, Dokkaebi-nim.”

At the immediate response, he approached the wall and stretched his neck to look outside. But no matter where he looked, nothing was visible. His confused eyelashes trembled finely.

“How strange?”

Gabi had once mentioned that old sacred trees sometimes sent messages in human language. But this lacked the necessary divinity. It paled in comparison to the massive and majestic energy possessed by the village guardian tree or the trees in the mountain god’s domain.

“Hmm…”

Although it was suspicious that it wasn’t showing itself, it didn’t seem to be calling him out to harm him. The tone suggested goodwill rather than malice, so Eun-hwi opened the main gate and went outside to identify the source of the sound.

“Dokkaebi-nim, it’s here. Come this way.”

The voice, which had been faintly audible, became gradually clearer. As he slowly walked towards the sound, the night dew on the grass blades brushed against his ankles, wetting his thin pants.

Disregarding the cold sensation seeping into his skin, just as he was about to take another step,

“Dokkaebi-nim!”

A human who had been hiding in the grass suddenly jumped out. The man, wearing a hat on his head and a thick rosary made of longan wood around his neck, was the outsider Mr. Kim whom he had seen earlier in the day.

He never expected him to have a magical item that could harmonize human yang energy with the surrounding energy, even if it couldn’t completely erase one’s presence like a dokkaebi hat. He couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Eek! It’s Mr. Kim from earlier!”

“Shh! Manager Yeo might hear. Please lower your voice, Dokkaebi-nim!”

Raising his index finger to signal for quiet, his expression was more desperate than threatening.

Feeling somewhat pitiful, Eun-hwi tightly covered his mouth to suppress the scream that was about to escape and swallowed his startled emotions.

“Oh my, thank you. Thanks to you, Dokkaebi-nim, I’ve managed to preserve my life.”

“You preserved your life thanks to me?”

His small head tilted in confusion. He couldn’t understand why the outsider Mr. Kim was bowing deeply as if he had received a great favor when he hadn’t even saved him.

“If Manager Yeo catches me, it’s off to the afterlife.”

“Why the afterlife?”

Is he afraid of being caught lying and taken away by the grim reaper?

“It’s because I’ve crossed a line that should never be crossed.”

He lowered his head and looked down at the ground. As Eun-hwi was wondering why there was no visible line drawn anywhere, the outsider Mr. Kim shone a small flashlight, similar in size to the one the village chief carried, on him.

As the white electric light illuminated the surroundings, the faintly visible outline became clearer. The outsider Mr. Kim circled around Eun-hwi, overjoyed as if he had discovered a treasure of gold and silver.

“They say the most handsome man in the world is a dokkaebi, and it’s exactly as described in the literature. How can you be so beautiful… Your exquisite figure is blinding to the eyes.”

The most handsome man in the world is Gabi, though…

Faced with such extreme praise he had never heard before, Eun-hwi scratched the back of his head with a dazed expression. Then, the outsider Mr. Kim went even further, exclaiming in an exaggerated voice like a pansori singer:

“Golden eyes more dazzling than the gold crown from Geumgwanchong, National Treasure No. 87! Skin as white as snow, like pure jade! Horns that look several times more noble than ivory! And this shimmering hair, it’s like a yellow croaker possessing absolute light, Dokkaebi-nim.”

“…Yellow, what?”

“Ah. A yellow croaker is a saltwater fish of the Sciaenidae family in the order Perciformes. It has light-emitting organs that produce light through the oxidation reaction of the luminescent substance luciferin catalyzed by the luminescent enzyme luciferase. It’s often found in Seogwipo, Jeju Island.”

Eun-hwi could only understand the word “yellow croaker” and had no idea what else he was talking about. As Eun-hwi stood there blankly as if his soul had left his body, the outsider Mr. Kim, finally noticing his state, fumbled in the bag he had placed on the ground.

“I’ve brought some offerings. Would you like to have some?”

He unfolded a neatly wrapped cloth and opened the lid of a wooden box, revealing susu-patteok, which are rice cakes made of sorghum dough rolled in red bean powder. It was Eun-hwi’s third favorite food after buckwheat jelly and beef.

Until just moments ago, he had no appetite due to his upset feelings, but seeing the sweet-smelling susu-patteok made his mouth water. His plump, crimson lips parted slightly.

“Please accept it, Dokkaebi-nim.”

The outsider Mr. Kim handed over the box containing the susu-patteok. It was the first time he had received an offering from a human that was usually reserved for mountain gods, and he could hardly believe the current situation.

“Please, eat.”

“…”

“Why aren’t you eating, Dokkaebi-nim? Don’t you like the offering?”

“…Yeo Moon-beom told me not to eat things carelessly from others.”

Although his eyes were drawn to the beautifully shaped rice cakes, Eun-hwi shook his head and pushed the box back.

Even though Mr. Kim seemed friendly towards dokkaebis, he was still a complete stranger with whom Eun-hwi had no relationship.

A complete stranger he felt no need to get close to, especially not by ignoring Yeo Moon-beom’s advice.

“Well done, Eun-hwi.”

As he was tightening his lips, determined not to respond, a low voice that seemed to be dragged up from deep below sounded above his head.

Eun-hwi immediately turned around to look behind him. Standing with his back to the dim moonlight and holding a dokkaebi hat in his hand, Yeo Moon-beom’s face looked more chilling than that of a grim reaper.