They arrived at their first destination, Bucheon. As Dojin and Iri got out of the car together, the rental shop phone started ringing. The Dark One, who had been playing with the Dragon Horse and the navigation screen, jumped in surprise and tumbled onto the seat.
“I’ll take it. Go ahead.”
“Okay.”
Leaving the call to Dojin, Iri stepped out of the car.
When a handsome young man entered the convenience store at an ordinary intersection, the part-timer who had been dozing off gasped, even sucking in a sharp breath in surprise.
Iri picked out snacks and chocolate that small fry would probably like and brought them to the counter.
“Hello.”
“Ah—hello. That’ll be 3,200 won.”
The clerk rattled off the price in a fluster, and Iri handed over his phone to pay. Distracted by repeatedly sneaking glances at Iri, the clerk scanned the barcode wrong several times.
He was such a mysterious young man. His eyes were so clear that you wanted to keep looking into them, yet at the same time felt an urge to flee somewhere those eyes couldn’t see you. It made the clerk feel strangely embarrassed.
An idol? With that uncanny aura—and such a pretty face—he had to be a celebrity, right? Should I ask for an autograph? Would it be okay to take a photo?
“Excuse me.”
At that moment, the mysterious young man spoke to the clerk. Startled, the clerk answered, “Y-yes?” Once their eyes met, for some reason, he couldn’t look away.
“Has a ladle been found around here recently?”
“Huh? A ladle? A ladle…?”
“A long stick, about thirty centimeters, with the end hollowed out like a ladle. Brown in color. You’ve seen it, right?”
“Y-yes, brown…….”
“Where is it now? You didn’t throw it away, did you?”
“R-right? Threw it away… I didn’t…….”
The clerk parroted Iri’s words back to him. Iri’s smile deepened slightly. The clerk thought Iri was beautiful—but Iri found the young human’s flustered confusion even cuter and more endearing. He asked again gently.
“You remember where you put that ladle that was lying on the floor recently. Right?”
“Ah… yes.”
The clerk’s dazed mind finally snapped back into place.
“It looked expensive, and I didn’t have the heart to throw it away, so I put it in this drawer. Where was it… ah, here.”
The clerk pulled the stick out from the third drawer on the left.
No matter the species—even humans—when they discover a curio, they find it hard to throw it away, even without knowing it’s a curio. No matter how worthless it looks, they end up setting it aside somewhere. This stick, too, looked like nothing more—or less—than trash, yet neither the store owner nor the clerk could bring themselves to discard it, leaving it in a drawer instead.
“Was it your property?”
“Yes. Thank you for keeping it.”
“Oh, n-no. It was nothing…….”
The clerk smiled shyly, saying that of course they’d keep lost items. After thanking him again, Iri left the convenience store. When the clerk—now convinced he was a celebrity, thanks to a strange sense of familiarity—tried to stop him, Iri said, “Please don’t worry about me—just focus on your work.” And just like that, the clerk truly stopped worrying about him.
“I told you it’s not possible right now. Come back tomorrow!”
Dojin was still on the call. His brows were deeply furrowed, looking like he was on the verge of exploding. The Dark One trembled in the corner before scrambling over to hide in Iri’s shadow.
[::-_-::]
Even the Dragon Horse complained that its ears hurt.
Iri unwrapped a piece of chocolate and popped it straight into Dojin’s mouth. The crease between Dojin’s brows eased slightly.
Dojin’s call continued even as they moved.
“…Yes, I’m listening. And what I can tell you is that anything I can do won’t be possible until tomorrow. How many times do I have to say that even if you go to the rental shop now, it’s closed, fuck?”
As Iri examined the new curio—the ladle-shaped stick—from various angles, he finally paid attention to Dojin’s call.
“Put me on.”
Dojin scowled fiercely. As if determined never to hand this nightmare customer over to the Immortal, he shook his head resolutely—just as he was about to unleash another curse.
“Dojin. That Wia is five years old.”
“…….”
Dojin switched the phone to speaker mode.
I just swore at a five-year-old… Wia ages were impossible to gauge. Wracked with self-loathing, Dojin covered his forehead.
“Hello. Were you looking for me?”
—Immortal Iri!
A thick, middle-aged man’s voice called out to Iri. It was only natural for Dojin to have mistaken it.
—I’m Ttanttori. I heard the rental shop has sunlight, and I really need it right now, but they keep saying no……!
“Sunlight. If it absolutely has to be today, I can do it after midnight. Would that be all right?”
—I need it now, right now. I have to shed my skin. They said if I don’t, I’ll die…….
“Who told you that you’d die if you don’t shed your skin right now?”
—Some hyungs and noonas about this big……!
There was no way to tell over the phone how big that was, but Iri could roughly guess what species of Wia this Ttanttori belonged to.
“Do you live alone, without family?”
—I’m not alone, but I don’t have a family…….
“What area are you in right now?”
—Seoul…….
“You can’t do it at the rental shop anyway—you’ll have to do it in the mountains. Come to Deogyusan in Muju. When you arrive, the Mountain Divine Spirit will guide you. Ah—do you know how to deploy your wings?”
—I learned how…! I can fly higher than a peregrine falcon!
“Good job. I’ll see you at Deogyusan.”
—Th-thank you……!
After ending the call, Iri smiled faintly. Dojin, who had been staring at him through the rearview mirror, asked,
“I’ve never heard of a Wia called Ttanttori before. What kind of Wia is it?”
“Ttanttori is the child’s name. The species is called ‘Yung’.”
“Ah… a Yung.”
Before molting, Yung are classified as Yeongmul; after molting, they’re classified as yokai. They can fly in the sky from the moment they’re born, but when the time comes for them to soar beyond the atmosphere, they must shed their skin and be reborn. If they miss that window, they remain Yeongmul forever—and their lifespan is at most five years.
“They usually molt between three and five years old, right?”
“Yeah. Ttanttori’s an orphan, so he probably didn’t know. Some other Wia couldn’t bear to watch and taught him how.”
“He’s five now, so every day really counts.”
“When we meet him, let’s feed him until he’s full first. He’ll burn a lot of stamina flapping his wings on the way down.”
“Muju’s famous for doribaengbaengi and fish soup. Let’s feed him those. Yung eat fish too, right?”
“Yeah. They eat well.”
Dojin usually didn’t get emotionally attached to Wia, but the fact that he’d cursed at a five-year-old weighed on his conscience, so he looked up good restaurants in Muju ahead of time.
Fish soup and doribaengbaengi… and grilled amberjack. There’s something called marsh snail pancake too. Would Master like that? Is there a cozy tea house with a nice atmosphere?
Dojin naturally searched for ‘Muju date course’.
While the disciple was getting ahead of himself, Iri called the Mountain Divine Spirit of Deogyusan.
—The number you have dialed is unavailable. Please try again later.
Since there was no answer, he left a brief message, explaining that a young Yung would be coming to molt and asking them to prepare a space.
‘The Deogyusan Divine Spirit was a quiet child.’
The last time they’d met was several centuries ago. Unlike other Mountain Divine Spirits who primarily took animal forms—foxes, roe deer, wildcats, peregrine falcons—the Deogyusan Divine Spirit often took shapes like rocks, pebbles, or dried, withered branches.
Shy and timid by nature—I hope Dojin doesn’t act too rough around them… But if he said that out loud, Dojin’s jealousy might make him act even rougher, so Iri held his tongue.
In Bucheon, they found the curio easily thanks to someone having picked it up and kept it safe—but in Goesan, the difficulty skyrocketed. An otter living in Dongjin Stream had picked up the curio, then dismantled it into five pieces and hidden them all over the place, forcing them to roam around tracking each fragment. From the otter’s perspective, this was its way of keeping something precious safe.
To save time, the two split up to search. While Iri found himself surrounded by curious children and parents at a honeybee-themed exhibition hall, struggling to escape, Dojin was surrounded by elderly folks at the market, basking in their attention.
After finding one piece each, Iri headed to a rest area while Dojin crossed over to Samsindaengi Mountain. By the time they reunited at their final location, Sarang Mountain, three hours had passed since arriving in Goesan.
“No, but why are there no Mountain Divine Spirits at either Samsindaengi Mountain or here? Sarang Mountain isn’t just some neighborhood hill.”
“Yeah. Looks like they stepped out for a bit and we just happened to come by.”
“Do Mountain Divine Spirits have meetings or something? Sheesh. Oh—there’s a tree root sticking out there. Be careful.”
“Thanks.”
“Can’t I just carry you? I’m worried you’ll trip.”
“No.”
Iri coolly shut down Dojin’s scheming and continued along the trail.
Piiik, piiik.
Kyung!
Ping-ping! Ping!
Drawn to Iri, the small-fry of Sarang Mountain naturally gathered around. Iri generously handed out the snacks and chocolate he’d bought at the convenience store, along with acorn jelly and rice cakes he’d purchased separately at the market.
A titmouse Yeongmul pecking eagerly at the firm buckwheat jelly spotted the Dark One perched on Dojin’s shoulder and fluttered over.
Piiing?
Kki-woong…….
Ping!
Kki-woooong… kiiing…….
The Yeongmul pecked inquisitively with its beak, but the Dark One was so timid that it trembled violently, whimpered, and scrambled down to hide inside the front pocket of Dojin’s shirt.
“Hey, what are you doing? Get out here right now.”
“Just leave him alone. Why?”
“Master, if you coddle him like that, he’ll never grow. Honestly, isn’t the Dark One stronger than these small-fry?”
“He can at least grab their shadows without trouble.”
“Right? Hey, you little punk. Hear that? You’re stronger—so why are you the one scared?”
Dojin shook his shirt pocket, but only the small-fry scattered with shrill cries. The Dark One stayed tightly hidden, refusing to come out.
