Chapter 120
The Dokkaebi Awaiting the Sun
Click.
The sound of the hammer being pulled back and the cylinder rotating to load a bullet rang out.
Yeo Moon-beom instinctively turned his back and embraced Eun-hwi, detecting the slight twitch of the finger on the trigger. The pistol in his harness holster was completely out of ammunition.
Bang!
The bullet fired with a flame grazed his cheek. As blood spurted from the torn skin, the startled Eun-hwi raised dokkaebi fire to create a barrier.
“It’s useless!”
Bang! Bang!
The bullets imbued with the fox bead’s power mercilessly pierced through the blue-tinted protective shield. Fortunately, the bullets veered off course and didn’t penetrate their bodies, but it was no situation to feel relieved.
Bang!
The barrier finally shattered as the web-like cracks spread and broke into pieces. At this critical moment where life and death hung in the balance—
Click.
The sound of an empty chamber rotating loudly was heard. Jang Gitae’s gaze shifted to the revolver.
“Director Yeo! Catch!”
Professor Bang Ki-bong, who suddenly revealed himself from thin air, tossed over the dokkaebi cap. Quickly putting it on, Yeo Moon-beom snatched the electric shock device from Professor Bang Ki-bong’s hand and lunged at Jang Gitae, who was searching for another weapon.
Zzzzt!
“…Argh!”
Blue sparks struck the exposed neck between the shirt collar and hair. Caught off guard, Jang Gitae trembled violently as the high-voltage current flowed through him, enduring the pain of paralyzed muscles, before finally rolling his eyes back and collapsing.
“Dr. Hong-salgwi!”
Professor Bang Ki-bong kicked the fallen revolver far away and only wiped his drenched forehead after confirming that Jang Gitae had completely lost consciousness. His sleeve became thoroughly soaked, leaving a dark stain.
“I’m so relieved you’re safe, dokkaebi sir!”
Professor Bang Ki-bong waddled over, making sure the Taeguk amulet tucked in his waistband wouldn’t fall out, and embraced Eun-hwi with outstretched arms. The half-dokkaebi seemed glad for the substantial weight of this bulky body, hugging back firmly while sobbing.
“Do you know how worried I was? When the dokkaebi sir disappeared, I thought my heart would stop. Please don’t scare this old man like that again.”
Though it was a touching reunion, Yeo Moon-beom couldn’t let him continue touching Eun-hwi. He pulled Professor Bang Ki-bong away and said:
“Didn’t I tell you it was dangerous here, Professor Bang Ki-bong?”
Hearing the reprimand, Professor Bang Ki-bong’s face, flushed with excitement, turned gloomy. Yeo Moon-beom took the Taeguk amulet precariously hanging at his waist, arranged his clothes, and addressed him while looking at the wet eyes behind the round glasses:
“Thank you. For fighting alongside me at the risk of your life.”
It was a reckless yet tremendously courageous act. Had Professor Bang Ki-bong not been there to seize the opportunity instead of fleeing from the perilous situation, Yeo Moon-beom might now have a bloody hole in his back.
The small eyes, like bean grains, widened in surprise at the softened tone. Genuinely moved, Professor Bang Ki-bong shed thick streams of tears.
“In all my life, I’ve never seen such a terrible, wretched bastard. What’s that about a ruler being followed by a bloody history? Is he Hitler or something? Now I understand why Director Yeo grew up to be such a twisted person!”
Yeo Moon-beom slightly raised an eyebrow at the words, unclear whether they were insults or compliments. Professor Bang Ki-bong flinched his shoulders, glanced at Eun-hwi, and burst into wailing again.
“Oh my! Your face has become so thin, dokkaebi sir. I should have taken better care of you… It’s all my fault. Uh-huh-huh!”
Eun-hwi blinked his eyes open and closed. Having just awakened from the curse, this entire situation felt unreal.
But the sensation felt too vivid to be a dream. Wiping his misty eyes with the back of his hand, Eun-hwi spoke kindly to Dr. Hong, who had his head bowed:
“Well. Thanks for helping, Dr. Hong-salgwi. You saved my life.”
This was the half-dokkaebi who had closed his heart and wouldn’t show even a strand of hair despite desperate calls. Dr. Hong was overwhelmed that Eun-hwi was treating him like before, grasping his hands and sobbing.
“Not at all. It was my duty as the dokkaebi sir’s godfather. Sniff.”
“Hmm? Godfather?”
“Yes, dokkaebi sir. A godfather is a male guardian for a child who has received the sacrament of baptism in Catholicism, and in the modern West, beyond religious meaning, one becomes a godfather to take responsibility and care for a child. Especially among Italian Americans, the term ‘Godfather’ is used to refer to the boss of a mafia organization, so in another sense, I could be considered a godfather since Director Yeo eliminated Chairman Jang Gitae with my help…”
Though he still couldn’t understand everything, the stories flowing from Dr. Hong’s mouth seemed particularly entertaining today.
When Eun-hwi let out a small laugh, Dr. Hong, who had been excitedly continuing his speech, smiled broadly, revealing his gums above his teeth. That smile gradually relieved the tension lurking in Eun-hwi’s heart.
“Eun-hwi.”
A low voice calling him was heard. The moment of turning his gaze from Dr. Hong somehow felt eternally long.
“Yeo Moon-beom…”
His face with sunken cheek dimples seemed to be smiling at first glance, but it was contorted with all kinds of emotions.
Eun-hwi realized for the first time that Yeo Moon-beom could make such an expression.
His moist eyes rippled with relief and remorse. Those eyes, like a night lake, reflected only the half-dokkaebi’s form.
“Thank you for coming back. And I’m sorry. For deceiving you all this time.”
He had always wondered what expression Yeo Moon-beom had worn while facing him, hidden by the dokkaebi cap.
Despite suffering with unrelenting longing, he had sometimes feared that the face hidden in the cap might not be what he wanted to see.
Nothing plunges a person into the abyss of despair like vague expectations. Having learned this truth during his brief time with Yeo Moon-beom, he had been even more anxious.
But Yeo Moon-beom’s face showed much more pain than Eun-hwi had vaguely imagined.
He looked pitiful and miserable, painfully swallowing his breath as if he might collapse at the slightest gesture or glance.
“Only after losing you did I realize I had a heart too. Not knowing it had been beating fiercely whenever I was with you…”
Yeo Moon-beom clutched his left chest in agony. With his eyes gently closed and taking a deep breath as if in severe pain, he uttered words that sounded like a desperate cry:
“I know I shouldn’t dare ask for forgiveness. I know I have neither the right nor the decency to do so. I should be content just knowing you’re safe… But I can’t let you go like this.”
His firm lips trembled as if in a spasm. His hand gripping Eun-hwi’s waist tightened, but it didn’t hurt.
Eun-hwi raised his head and met eyes filled with desperation beyond words. He saw a tear that had pooled at the corner of Yeo Moon-beom’s eye fall down his dry cheek with a drop, visible to his sulfur-colored eyes.
“There wasn’t a moment I didn’t love you. Because you stole my heart from the moment I first saw you. Please, please forgive this fool who was so blinded by revenge that he didn’t even realize that fact. Eun-hwi.”
His consecutive words shook the emotions Eun-hwi had been holding in his heart.
Soon, the anxiety and despair that had enveloped him like a protective shield gradually receded, revealing compassion and love.
Whoosh—
A fire was rekindled in his heart, which he thought had been extinguished with only ashes remaining, where he was certain not even a small ember remained. The fireball, burning more intensely than before, heated his chest.
What should he say?
Being so poor with words, he didn’t want to give an answer that couldn’t convey his emotions.
As his lips moved, unable to express the feelings that preceded words, something caught Eun-hwi’s eye. It was the figure of Jang Gitae, grabbing a knife from the table of weapons and rushing towards them menacingly.
“…No!”
Without time to hesitate, he moved to shield Yeo Moon-beom. The sharp blade dug deep into his abdomen, tearing through his insides. Pain that whitened his vision spread throughout his body.
“You insolent thing, clinging to my son’s ankle. Stop interfering and repay the kindness of being raised with your death!”
His body slackened as if submerged in water. Through blurred vision, he saw Yeo Moon-beom using the Taeguk amulet to block the curse spell created with all the power of the fox bead.
Crack!
The Taeguk amulet, unable to withstand the massive accumulation of yin energy large enough to cover everything in darkness, began to crack gradually. Even as his legs gave way and he collapsed, Eun-hwi infused the ring Yeo Moon-beom wore with dokkaebi divine power.
Yeo Moon-beom, receiving the blue energy spread like countless nebulae in the dark night sky, gripped the Taeguk amulet firmly. Intense light emanating from the copper mirror poured down on the man who closely resembled Yeo Moon-beom.
“Aaaarghhh!”
Even as he was losing consciousness, Eun-hwi checked if Yeo Moon-beom and Dr. Hong were safe. Fortunately, the purified Black Fox’s energy vanished without a trace, unable to inflict curses upon them.
“Dokkaebi sir!”
“No, no, Eun-hwi. No…”
Yeo Moon-beom threw aside the completely shattered Taeguk amulet and pressed the abdomen where blood was gushing out with all his might. Blue veins stood out on his arm as he compressed the stomach.
“I’m, fine, Yeo Moon…beom.”
Dr. Hong had once said that the amount of misfortune and happiness experienced during life is predetermined, so there are no experiences that are exclusively unfortunate.
He was happy to be able to change by himself a misfortune that might have plunged everyone into an inescapable swamp. Even if he could turn back time, he didn’t think he would regret his current choice.
The only regret was…
“I wanted to, become, human again… I wanted to, meet my father, with Yeo Moon-beom, as a human…”
“Don’t speak. Eun-hwi. Don’t say anything.”
Yeo Moon-beom cried out in anguish. Though he thought the long, long night had finally passed and daybreak had arrived, the night still had not ended.
Despite his firm resolve to protect, he had brought about a situation no different from when he had to suddenly bid farewell to his mother.
He tried to think calmly, deliberately ignoring the fear that was overwhelming him. About the amount of blood Eun-hwi had lost, the size of the wound, and which doctor could be trusted with the surgery.
No matter how strong a dokkaebi’s vitality might be, he had received an attack imbued with ghost power. Moreover, excessive bleeding was fatal for Eun-hwi, who was half-human, necessitating a rapid blood transfusion.
“Doctor. Please stop the bleeding.”
“What are you trying to do? He’s already lost too much blood. Quickly, to the hospital…”
“We’ll be too late if we move him to a hospital. I told you earlier. I can’t let Eun-hwi go like this.”
At this point, the dokkaebi’s frighteningly rapid healing ability was the only hope.
Without further time to think, Yeo Moon-beom unfastened his watch and cut his own wrist. He was the only one who could save Eun-hwi.
“It hurts a lot, doesn’t it, Eun-hwi? I’ll save you.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
