Iri marked the date Wia had just promised for the return on the schedule and stood up.
“Looks like work wrapped up a bit early today. Want me to take you home?”
“Huh? Take me home?”
“You need to go home.”
“This is my home, though.”
Dojin’s eyes went wide and round. His gaze was sharp by nature, but when he opened his eyes like that, they looked oddly soft and cute.
“I already gave in to you yesterday. That should’ve been enough, so why are you telling me to get lost again today?”
“I’m not telling you to get lost…. You’ve got a perfectly good place—why do you keep insisting on sleeping uncomfortably here? If you ride the Dragon Horse, it won’t even take a minute. Go sleep there.”
“You know what? These days, there’ve already been two burglaries in my apartment complex. What if someone breaks in while I’m sleeping? I’m scared, so I have to sleep next to the strongest being in the world—Immortal Iri.”
“A burglary? Are you serious? If someone in training lies, that’s a big problem.”
“I’m not lying! It even made the news!”
Dojin quickly searched on his phone and showed Iri the article.
It reported that over the past month, there had been two incidents in Dojin’s apartment complex where burglars snuck in while the homeowners were away and stole valuables.
“Then doesn’t that mean you really shouldn’t leave your place empty?”
“What are you talking about? If I’m home and run into a burglar, how am I—someone this weak—supposed to deal with that? I’m going to shower first!”
With that shameless declaration, Dojin sprang to his feet. He hurried up the stairs as if afraid someone might grab his clothes and drag him back. Watching his retreating figure—both cute and ridiculous—Iri decided to let it slide just for today.
When Dojin had been a minor, Iri had firmly sent him home no matter how much he insisted on sleeping over. But after he became an adult, telling him to leave was completely pointless. Now that his head had grown, he’d stubbornly stay until the very end no matter what.
Tomorrow, I’ll make sure he sleeps at home, Iri thought as he went up to the second floor. Dojin was coming out of his room with a change of clothes in his arms.
The rental shop occasionally accepted overnight guests. Of the three rooms on the second floor, two were guest rooms. Dojin had personally remodeled one of them into his own bedroom. It was right next to Iri’s.
“I’m going to shower! Let’s watch a movie together. Don’t fall asleep first—promise.”
“All right.”
Unlike Iri, who could cleanse himself with a simple spell and didn’t need to bathe, Dojin still lacked such abilities and had to shower properly every time.
Iri entered his bedroom, used a simple spell to clean himself, and changed into his pajamas. His room contained nothing but a bed and a small bedside table, yet it didn’t feel empty or desolate. That was thanks to the little dolls clustered together on the table.
An eagle, a lion, a tiger, a crocodile…. Every single one had been given to him by Dojin when he was young. In his own way, Dojin had deliberately chosen only fierce beasts, gifting them so they could protect Iri. Now, Dojin didn’t even glance at stuffed animals anymore, but Iri still kept them all.
Iri removed the black string bracelet from his wrist and placed it on the bedside table before sitting on the bed. These dolls had already spent well over ten years beside an Immortal. Someday, they might turn into curios—and perhaps even evolve into mischievous spirits, dokkaebi, or spiritual beings.
If that happens, I’ll give them to Dojin later and tell him to take them as his retinue once he becomes king.
Iri smiled softly. Sitting quietly in the dim room, drowsiness crept up on him, but he shook his head to chase it away, determined to keep his promise to his disciple. Then, when his disciple shyly played the teacher–disciple romance movie he’d carefully selected, the sleepiness vanished instantly.
***
Thud, thud, thud!
Iri woke to a sudden loud noise. Checking the time, he saw it was just past 2 a.m. They’d finished watching the teacher–disciple romance movie Dojin had chosen a little after midnight, so he hadn’t been asleep for very long.
Thud—thud—
From downstairs came suspicious sounds—like footsteps, or someone slamming into things. If it were a customer, they’d be ringing the doorbell….
As Iri pushed away the last of his drowsiness and opened the door, a hand emerged from the darkness and clamped over his mouth.
“Master. It’s me. Shh.”
Dojin whispered softly, pulling Iri into an embrace from behind.
“I think a burglar bastard broke in downstairs. Stay here.”
Iri tapped Dojin’s hand lightly with his knuckles, signaling him to let go. When Dojin loosened his grip, Iri spoke calmly.
“I’ll go down. You wait here.”
Dojin snorted, his eyes flashing sharply—his expression clearly saying, Are you kidding me right now?
“It’s dangerous, so I’ll go down. I’ll protect you, Master.”
If it’s dangerous, then obviously the master should go down—
The words rose to Iri’s throat, but he already had a good idea who was making the noise on the first floor, so he simply nodded.
Dojin went downstairs barehanded, without any weapon. In truth, his bare hands were the most dangerous weapon in the world.
As Iri went back into his room to get dressed properly, a loud crash echoed up from below.
“Hey, you son of a bitch—!”
“Kyaaah! Wia’s dying! Someone save me!”
“You thieving bastard, where do you get off whining like that!”
“Immortal Iri, hurry and come out! I’m dying! Aigo!”
“How dare you tell my Master to come out or not. I’m seriously tempted to shave you bald for real.”
Had Dojin actually committed violence against a customer after all? Iri hurried down the stairs and found Dojin, his face like a yaksha’s, and beneath him a Wia with a turtle’s face, a cat’s body, and short limbs, getting its fur yanked out. It was a Bokbaebari.
“Dojin, let go.”
“This bastard’s a thief. Look—see? He even brought tools to break into the curio display room.”
Sure enough, pliers and a saw were scattered around the Bokbaebari.
Since they were sized for a Bokbaebari barely over a meter tall, they were mini-sized—more cute than threatening.
“Let him go for now, bring him into the consultation room, and then you go to sleep.”
“Are you insane? You want me to leave you alone with a thieving bastard and go to sleep? No way. Ha. If I hadn’t stayed here tonight, you’d probably have opened the curio room too, smiling and saying, ‘Sure, what do you need?’ This is exactly why I can’t stand leaving you alone overnight. Being kind is one thing, but being kind even to thieves—if you’re going to do that, you might as well be kind to me and give me a kiss or something, but that you absolutely refuse—”
Dojin launched into a barrage of nagging. Saying he needed to turn on the lights, Iri quickly stepped away.
The atmosphere in the consultation room was icy. To Dojin, a Wia who had ‘come at dawn to steal and was still acting shameless after being caught’ was utterly infuriating. Watching him grab the Bokbaebari roughly by the nape and haul it in, dangling, before tossing it down in the room made Iri internally recoil. Dojin didn’t even serve tea. It took Iri telling him three times before he finally brought it.
Unlike Dojin, who glared with a slouched, aggressive posture and hot breath flaring from his nose, Iri remained gentle and kind throughout.
As he calmly examined the thief, Iri could tell that for a Bokbaebari, it had lived a long life—but its life force was now faint, and its lifespan was nearing its end.
“Immortal Iri… your disciple is far too terrifying, with those bulging eyes. Could you please send him away?”
“That would be difficult….”
“Your disciple nearly killed someone….”
Dojin snorted.
“Why do you keep calling yourself a person? You’re not a person—you’re Wia.”
“Dojin. Wia who walk upright and live alongside humans within human civilization are also called people.”
“……”
Dojin shut his mouth, sulking. Iri turned back to the Wia and asked gently.
“You called a few days ago, didn’t you? About the ‘Grill-Sand Hourglass’ and the ‘Golden-Water Goldfish’. When I said no, you came to steal them after all.”
The Bokbaebari bowed its head deeply.
It seemed fully aware of the crime it had committed.
“I understand that curios were created for all things…. Why does Immortal Iri arbitrarily prohibit rentals……. I oppose such prohibition……. I believe prohibitions themselves should be prohibited…….”
The Bokbaebari muttered haltingly.
“Ah, this bastard, seriously!”
Bang!
Dojin slammed his hand down on the table. The Bokbaebari flinched violently, hunching its shoulders. Its tail puffed up, every single hair standing on end.
“Have you never heard the phrase ‘Owner of All Things’?”
“I understand it to be a title referring to Immortal Iri.”
“Yeah. Good. You know that much. And that ‘all things’ includes curios, idiot.”
“What?”
“All curios belong to my Master. Kind Immortal Iri is generously lending his own possessions for the sake of Wia!”
“What?”
“Aaaagh. This is fucking frustrating. When I become king, the very first line of the constitution will be, ‘All curios belong to Immortal Iri.’ Fuck.”
“Dojin, calm down.”
Iri soothed Dojin, who was raging like an angry bull. The Bokbaebari stammered.
“I truly did not know any of that…. I apologize.”
“It’s all right.”
“Then I can understand not selling them. But items like the ‘Grill-Sand Hourglass’ and the ‘Golden-Water Goldfish’ are things an Immortal doesn’t need, aren’t they? Since you’re already being generous, it would be better to do so on a grander scale.”
Dojin let out another furious howl and tried to grab the Bokbaebari’s fur again, but Iri blocked him. Immobilized by Iri’s spell, Dojin could only snort and breathe heavily.
“Tell me your basic information and why you need the ‘Grill-Sand Hourglass’ and the Golden-Water Goldfish’. Depending on your circumstances, I may be able to rent them to you.”
The Bokbaebari slowly blinked its eyes. Those turtle-like eyes blinked sluggishly, once, twice—until at last, perhaps swayed by Iri’s gentle gaze and soft voice, it decided to open its heart.
“My name is… Noryang. I am 180 years old…. And I live in Seoul, Korea.”
Iri released the intangible force binding Dojin. Still huffing angrily, Dojin wrote Noryang’s information into the request form.
