Chapter 113
“What brings you to Wolhwa Island without any prior contact, Director Hyun Geon-ho? I didn’t realize we were the type of acquaintances who surprise each other.”
Yeo Moon-beom greeted with a light joke, as if he didn’t know Black Tiger’s true identity.
Hyun Geon-ho, executive secretary director of Gang-il Group.
Unlike the white fox who had lived by stealing the identities of dead humans, Black Tiger was a fox monster who perfectly performed the role of a human with a family register created by Jang Gitae.
He had a vague appearance that wouldn’t easily stick in one’s memory at first glance, but this was merely a disguise to make others let down their guard. His strangely twisted voice and the clear killing intent in his eyes clearly revealed his cautious yet bloodthirsty nature.
“I heard you were experiencing difficulties, so I came down to offer assistance. This is Director Kwak Young-ho from the Cultural Heritage Policy Bureau.”
Black Tiger spoke with an insufferably gentle smile. The pupils inside his narrowly curved eyes were utterly cold.
“How do you do? I’m Yeo Moon-beom, director of the Business Development Department at Gang-il Construction.”
Pretending not to have noticed anything, he immediately offered a handshake. Kwak Young-ho grasped his hand warmly as if they were close acquaintances and smiled.
“My, you look just like the chairman. I’ve heard a lot about you from him. He said you were the young talent who will lead Gang-il in the future, and now that I meet you in person, I understand why he said that. You have quite a charm that draws people in. Heh heh heh heh heh.”
Excessive courtesy and excessive praise.
He seemed to have received quite a lot of favors. Seeing that Jang Gitae had put so much effort into this matter, even directly lobbying a bureau director under the commissioner, it looked difficult to delay things any further.
While pretending to introduce the surrounding area, Yeo Moon-beom took out the Jomakyung from his pocket and used it to examine Kwak Young-ho and Black Tiger.
Checking the identity of all humans visiting Wolhwa Island, including construction workers, with the Jomakyung had become a habit since losing Eun-hwi’s power.
Fortunately, Kwak Young-ho was an ordinary human, perhaps because his name wasn’t derived from the Chinese character for fox (狐). However, Hyun Geon-ho was hiding his appearance as a fox with black fur and seven tails.
Seven tails…
He recalled the memory of the past shown by the Eodukseoni. The memory of when Black Tiger had released his transformation spell, returned to his original form, and devoured his mother’s corpse.
The number of Black Tiger’s tails that Yeo Moon-beom had witnessed at that time was seven.
Now, fifteen years later, with Jang Gitae’s help, he should have eaten the livers of hundreds of people and grown at least one more tail, so it was strange that the number remained the same.
An inexplicable uneasiness stirred within him. Yeo Moon-beom led the two visitors to the village hall, which was being used as a temporary office, with all his nerves on high alert.
“Welcome, Director!”
Park Jeongbae, who had been contacted by Yeo Moon-beom in advance, greeted Kwak Young-ho with a jovial face. Construction had been progressing well, but now with the variable of cultural artifacts being discovered, there were delays, and he was trying to make a good impression on the government official to prevent further complications. Without knowing the actual situation.
“This appears to be a crude bowl made in the 21st century, not the 19th century. It tries to imitate something authentic, but… the shape of the base looks crude and completely unusable.”
Kwak Young-ho, who had received coffee from Park Jeongbae, spoke in a clear tone as he examined the artifact on display in a corner of the office. He meant that it had no value as a cultural property, so construction could resume promptly.
The bowl that Yeo Moon-beom had deliberately buried in the ground was a genuine artifact from the late Joseon period.
Kwak Young-ho, who had declared it a low-quality imitation without going through proper verification procedures, casually sipped his coffee and sat in a chair.
“That’s a relief. It seems an island resident accidentally buried the bowl while working in the fields. When people get older, don’t they sometimes lose things forever, unable to find them even when they’re right next to them?”
Yeo Moon-beom deliberately put on an expression of relief while wiping his chest, and pointed to a bottle of ginseng liquor on the shelf, asking Kwak Young-ho:
“You’ve come a long way. Would you like to have a drink before you go? As it happens, a local resident gave me wild oysters and scallops that they collected themselves just yesterday. The quantity was too much for us alone, and I was wondering what to do with it. This is perfect timing.”
Yeo Moon-beom knew that Black Tiger didn’t eat seafood because of the fishy smell, but he still made the offer while maintaining eye contact.
“Why don’t you join us, Director Hyun Geon-ho? I was planning to arrange a meal to ask you about some matters related to the chairman anyway. Please don’t decline, have a drink with us.”
Eun-hwi rarely left the house unless necessary, but with the weather getting colder, he had been going up the mountain more often to gather firewood.
Yeo Moon-beom offered drinks, which he himself rarely consumed, to keep Black Tiger by his side until he could send him away from the island. It was a precaution against any potential situations.
Rattle—
Just as they finished preparing the drinking table through Park Jeongbae, the aluminum sash door opened, and Professor Bang Ki-bong poked his head in, holding a wrapped bundle.
“Manager Yeo. When are we going?”
Unaware of the visitors, Professor Bang Ki-bong looked puzzled at the sight of Yeo Moon-beom pouring soju into glasses.
“It seems you had a prior engagement, Mr. Moon-beom.”
Black Tiger asked, carefully examining Professor Bang Ki-bong, who was wearing a dragon-eye wood bead necklace.
“We were planning to go pray at the mountain god shrine for the success of the construction.”
When Yeo Moon-beom mentioned the mountain god, Black Tiger’s eyebrows rose slightly and then lowered. It was a natural reaction since he would have sensed the mountain god’s presence the moment he set foot on Wolhwa Island.
“Given the circumstances, please go by yourself today. I’ll save the professor’s portion.”
Yeo Moon-beom, who had been staring at the bundle containing the ingredients he had personally selected, signaled Professor Bang Ki-bong to leave quickly before it got too late.
“Ah, I understand.”
Since autumn had passed, Eun-hwi had been taking uncooked ingredients from the food left in front of the door, like a squirrel gathering fallen acorns.
Though it was upsetting that he still rejected the food Yeo Moon-beom prepared, he was happy that Eun-hwi had started eating regular meals again, so he began leaving fresh ingredients by the door every day.
It was both pitiful and admirable to see him struggling alone to cook dishes he had never learned. After Eun-hwi fell asleep, Yeo Moon-beom would go to the kitchen and restore the flavor to the overly salty, spicy, or bland dishes. He felt like a “dutiful house ghost.”
“Then excuse me.”
After Professor Bang Ki-bong left, Yeo Moon-beom once more used the Jomakyung to examine Black Tiger. Seven tails remained completely wrapped around his body.
* * *
“Dokkaebi sir! Hong-salgwi has arrived!”
Dr. Hong’s booming voice was heard as usual.
Eun-hwi, who had been cleaning the house as he did every day, only opened the door to check the bundle left by Dr. Hong after hearing the sound of footsteps rustling through the accumulated leaves on the path.
“Oh? There’s beef here? Did it fall from the sky? I shouldn’t let it spoil in front of the house, so I have no choice but to take it in.”
Despite the awkward lines that sounded like he was reading from a book, the half-dokkaebi performed his role with all his effort and brought the bundle inside.
“Why didn’t he come…”
He was puzzled because he couldn’t sense Yeo Moon-beom’s energy today. Typically, after sending Dr. Hong down first, he would wander around the vicinity for about two hours before pretending to return to the village, but actually entering the house wearing the dokkaebi hat.
Tilting his head at this unusual behavior, Eun-hwi let his shoulders droop dejectedly.
“…I guess he’s given up on me now.”
He should have felt relieved that the presence that had been hovering around annoyingly was gone.
But rather than feeling relieved like having a troublesome tooth pulled out, he felt a tightness in his chest. The feeling of hatred that he had been forgetting lately suddenly raised its head.
“Even though he said he was sorry…”
One day when the maple leaves had turned yellow, Eun-hwi became aware of Yeo Moon-beom’s presence, who was clearly wearing the dokkaebi hat. It was because of the fresh, slightly bitter scent he had unconsciously left behind.
He couldn’t understand how Yeo Moon-beom could enter inside the barrier despite having taken the ring imbued with Gabi’s thoughts. He had wanted to drive him away again, but seeing how Yeo Moon-beom found it difficult to even touch him with his fingertips, Eun-hwi pretended not to know and just observed.
He wanted to know whether Yeo Moon-beom was seeking him for his dokkaebi power, or if he was genuinely sorry for deceiving him.
The wounds still hadn’t healed, and the fact that he had tried to deceive him remained unchanged. Nevertheless, unable to forget the memories of their days together, his heart was complicated.
Though he shouldn’t trust humans anymore, Eun-hwi was shaken by Yeo Moon-beom’s efforts, which seemed like he was trying to keep his promise to help him become human.
“I need to meet Father soon…”
Since things had turned out this way, he had tried to use Yeo Moon-beom just as Yeo Moon-beom had used him.
That would be necessary for Gabi to return.
But intentionally manipulating others wasn’t as easy as he thought. Every time Yeo Moon-beom revealed his sad emotions through his scent, guilt spread like mold in his chest.
It was for this reason that he had started cooking with a knife he had never handled before, wanting to forget the needlessly arising thoughts.
It was fun to see Yeo Moon-beom’s skill in secretly appearing like a “dutiful house ghost” and restoring flavor to his terribly tasteless food, though his intentions had become somewhat distorted later.
Eun-hwi, who had been sighing deeply, unwrapped the bundle and took out thinly sliced beef for bulgogi, mushrooms, and various vegetables including onions and spring onions.
“Dokkaebi sir! Hong-salgwi has arrived!”
…Hmm?
While staring blankly at the cooking ingredients, his appetite having disappeared, he heard Dr. Hong’s call again.
Wondering if there was something he had forgotten to bring, Eun-hwi waited for a while as he always did before opening the door. Just as he was unconsciously raising his gaze to the figure who was a handspan taller than Dr. Hong,
“You’ve been hiding something interesting.”
A man who perfectly imitated Dr. Hong’s voice came into Eun-hwi’s view. It was the black fox who had erased his negative energy by wearing the dragon-eye wood bead necklace.
Before he could even be surprised, a hand flew at him and struck his nape. The half-dokkaebi lost consciousness.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
