Chapter 122
“Thank you for coming back, Eun-hwi.”
Relief finally seeped into eyes that had been stained with pain.
He had been gritting his teeth, trying not to cry, but at last he let the welling tears flow. A large teardrop fell, wetting his dry cheek.
Eun-hwi stared at the sunken area around his eyes, his cheeks, the dark stubble on his chin, and his cracked, split lips. His face looked much more gaunt than when Eun-hwi had seen him in that basement.
His heart tightened as he tried to imagine how painful it must have been for the man who had been waiting for him alone, regretting the past time, suffering while holding onto hope that wouldn’t fade.
“Did I make you wait long?”
He had no sense of how much time had passed since then. Having approached the banks of the river beyond Samdocheon, was it seven days or perhaps fourteen?
He reached out to wipe the tears that gathered at the trembling corners of the man’s eyes. The needle inserted in the back of his right hand and the transparent line connected to it prevented contact. His small, delicate hand grasped emptily at the air.
Knock, knock.
Just as Eun-hwi was moving his gaze along the thin line connected to his hand, someone knocked at the door from outside.
“Morning rounds are starting. The doctor will be here soon, guardian.”
Huk…!
Though he didn’t know what “rounds” meant, it suggested that Mr. Kim would arrive soon. This was serious—he couldn’t let humans see him like this.
His large, round eyes, filled with panic, rolled quickly back and forth. It was extremely inconvenient that he had neither his dokkaebi hat nor the regular hat he always wore.
“W-what should I do?”
Eun-hwi clutched his head with both hands and moaned, “Aaaargh.” He was desperately considering whether to take off his clothes to cover his head like women’s outer garments, when he felt something strangely odd.
“…Huh? That’s strange?”
The pointed horn that usually protruded from the top of his head didn’t prick his palm as usual. He moved his hand to pat his entire crown—tap, tap, tap, tap—but all he felt was disheveled hair following the grain.
What on earth was happening?
He was dumbfounded. After ruffling his hair several times, Eun-hwi pinched his cheek hard, wondering if this was a dream.
“Ngggh…”
It hurt enough to bring tears to his eyes. The painful sensation remained on his skin even after releasing his fingers, suggesting this was reality, not a dream.
“Don’t do that. Look at this instead.”
As if he had anticipated this reaction, Yeo Moon-beom pulled out a hand mirror he had prepared in advance and placed it in Eun-hwi’s hand. His delicate features filled the white face reflected in the mirror.
“H-how did this happen?”
The horn that could never be pulled off no matter how hard he tried, the horn he had desperately wished would disappear, was now completely gone. His eyes, once yellow like the full moon, had also darkened slightly in color.
It was clearly him, yet it didn’t seem like him.
Eun-hwi stared blankly at himself in the mirror. He wondered if someone had cast a spell on him while he was at Samdocheon. The whole situation was so surprising that such an absurd thought crossed his mind.
He examined his face, turning his head this way and that, then looked very closely at where his horn had been. There was no trace of it melting away or being forcibly removed—not even a mark remained, as if it had never existed.
“Am I… human now?”
He couldn’t believe it. That his most deeply held wish had come true.
He forcibly pulled out the needle inserted in the back of his hand and jumped up, heading toward the window. Yeo Moon-beom quickly ran over to support his shoulder, as his legs seemed to be trembling weakly.
“You shouldn’t overexert yourself yet. Let’s go back to the bed.”
“Just a moment. There’s something I really need to check.”
He pulled aside the window covering and faced the sun directly. The intense light should have seared his vision white, but he could look straight at the round ball of fire overflowing with yang energy without any discomfort.
Just like humans, the masters of daytime.
“I’ve become human, Moon-beom! I’ve really become human!”
He was no longer a loner who didn’t belong anywhere. He didn’t have to hide in fear of others discovering his different appearance. He could finally enjoy the freedom he had dreamed of for so long. And…
I can finally meet Gabi.
The overwhelming joy flowed down as hot tears. Forgetting that he had been bedridden for nearly two weeks due to serious injury, Eun-hwi jumped up and down with a face soaked in emotion. He had no idea how to express such excitement.
“I said you shouldn’t overexert yourself.”
Yeo Moon-beom chuckled, lifting Eun-hwi in his arms and carefully placing him on the bed. After pulling up the blanket to cover him to his neck, he gently stroked Eun-hwi’s head as if to calm him down, and said:
“You needed a blood transfusion to heal your wounds. The situation was urgent, and since we couldn’t use just any blood, I shared mine with you. I guess this happened when our blood mixed.”
“…Your blood, Moon-beom?”
“Yes. My blood.”
It is said that the life of a ghost (gui) lies in the soul (hun), while human life lies in the source of the physical spirit (baek)—that is, blood.
“So that’s why your wrist is like that?”
Suddenly his chest felt heavy. Just as he had risked danger to block an attack for Moon-beom, Moon-beom had also sacrificed himself, throwing away his own life to save Eun-hwi.
“But… you didn’t have to go that far…”
There was no need to go to such extremes.
His voice choked with emotion, and he burst into tears before finishing his sentence.
The hatred he once felt had melted away like spring snow. His feelings for Moon-beom, which he had tried to suppress and lock away but could never fully contain, now poured out uncontrollably.
Eun-hwi looked at Yeo Moon-beom while tears flowed endlessly. As Moon-beom caressed his soaked cheeks, he whispered in a low voice:
“I only had one choice from the beginning. I never wanted to lose you again.”
Had he ever received such desperate and earnest feelings in his life?
Although it began with a lie, Moon-beom was the first and last person who had given Eun-hwi his everything.
He placed his hand on the left side of his chest and felt his heart beating—thump, thump. The warm body temperature in his palm, the rhythmic pounding, and the scent of mint filling his nostrils consumed Eun-hwi’s world.
Though invisible, they were firmly connected like links in a chain.
“Moon-beom is inside my body…”
“Does that make you uncomfortable?”
“No, not at all. I’m actually happy because we can always be together even when we’re far apart.”
“We won’t be apart.”
Yeo Moon-beom continued with a resolute expression:
“I won’t leave you alone at any moment. I swear on my life. I’ll never hurt you again through my foolishness.”
He pulled the hand resting on Eun-hwi’s chest and interlaced his fingers. Their hands locked tightly together, sharing warmth.
“I promised you before. I’ll teach you how to live from now on. I won’t let anyone treat you carelessly. Not even me.”
Pausing briefly to steady his breath, Yeo Moon-beom whispered in a quiet voice:
“I’ll cherish every moment with you. I’ll live only for you by your side, forever. So please. Stay with me for a lifetime, Eun-hwi.”
A lifetime together.
Now that he understood the weight of those words, it was too immense a sentiment to accept lightly.
But… because of that…
Eun-hwi squeezed their joined hands and replied playfully:
“It would be awkward if you came with me to the toilet too.”
“What’s awkward about that? Don’t you remember? We haven’t finished practicing how to feel good.”
“Ah, right. I need to practice peeling the skin.”
Forgetting that he’d been sobbing moments ago, Eun-hwi blushed and muttered that he wanted to practice soon. Yeo Moon-beom’s eyes softened gently. His smile was much lighter than before.
“Always a dokkaebi obsessed with sex.”
“I’m not a dokkaebi anymore, I’m human, remember?”
“Hmm. Then you’re a rabbit obsessed with sex.”
“That’s not true, let me be human.”
“But it is. Like a rabbit, you get hard at every opportunity.”
“…”
In truth, it had been difficult all winter. Whenever he caught the scent Moon-beom had carelessly left behind, his body would heat up on its own.
He couldn’t express how agonizing it had been to constantly push Moon-beom away while simultaneously wanting to touch him—such contradictory feelings. If possible, he had wanted to return his body to how it was before experiencing the joy of skin-to-skin contact.
“Is it really not okay if I get hard…?”
“Of course it’s okay. It’s fucking fine.”
“Then make me shamelessly lewd again. I want Moon-beom to jerk me off.”
As Eun-hwi gently shook their joined hands and flirted enthusiastically, Yeo Moon-beom let out an incredulous laugh. His expression seemed to ask if Eun-hwi knew where they were to be seducing him like this.
Though he had become human, his senses remained keen as he heard the footsteps of people approaching from far away. Eun-hwi stopped his half-serious teasing and quietly called Moon-beom’s name.
“Hey, Moon-beom.”
“Mmm? What is it?”
“Thank you. For cherishing me.”
Joy and sorrow, pleasure and desire, hatred and anger. And forgiveness and love.
These overwhelming emotions that he would never have known had he not met Moon-beom.
Hatred and love-hate were exhausting emotions for everyone. Even if he couldn’t erase the past, he wanted to laugh with Moon-beom like this, gradually letting the painful feelings drift away in the wind.
“I was able to become human because Moon-beom never gave up on me until the end.”
‘All things are meant to unfold naturally. No matter what happens, don’t lose yourself and act according to your beliefs.’
A miracle created by genuine feelings for another.
Isn’t this what natural order is? What it means to act according to one’s beliefs?
“I’m the one who should thank you for forgiving me.”
Yeo Moon-beom faced Eun-hwi with an expression no longer carrying pain. His eyes, curved into a gentle arc, were filled with joy.
“I love you, Eun-hwi.”
He closed his eyes gently and kissed him more reverently than ever before.
Streams of light pouring down like rain combs, floating small particles, and deep blue eyes that shone like pieces of night sky pasted together.
Eun-hwi wanted to remember for a long time the fleeting moment when soft lips touched and parted from his. So he could retrieve it from his heart whenever he wanted.
Watching with a faint smile on his lips, Moon-beom spoke in an affectionate voice:
“Now let’s go meet him. Your father. Mr. Kim Gabi.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
