Chapter 48
“Dr. Hong-salgwi’s story?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Mm-hmm. Okay. Go ahead and tell me.”
His eyes, full of curiosity, sparkled like amber in the light. With the cheerful permission, Dr. Hong began his story.
“While it’s rare these days with orphanages and baby boxes, in the past there was a superstition that driving away an adopted child would bring bad luck. My adoptive parents reluctantly took me in because of that.”
“…Reluctantly? You mean they had no choice?”
“Yes. Although I was registered as their son on paper, I was essentially a servant to the Bang family. From a very young age, I had to work day and night, and I was often beaten by my adoptive father.”
Gasp…
Even if they weren’t blood-related, it was shocking to hear that a father would beat his son.
Eun-hwi, who had been listening intently with an excited expression thinking this might be the secret story from earlier, now just opened and closed his mouth, unsure how to respond.
Unlike earlier when he had comforted him thinking he had a fatal illness, this was too heavy a topic to offer thoughtless consolation.
As Eun-hwi just stared silently, Dr. Hong smiled kindly as if grateful just for being listened to, and continued his story.
“It was a winter when heavy snow fell in Busan, which is usually warm even in winter. I woke up early to change the briquettes so the fire wouldn’t go out, but the wind was so strong that the briquette smoke reversed and filled the whole house with its smell. In the end, my angry adoptive father mercilessly burned my back and stomach with red-hot briquette tongs. That day, I decided to die and threw myself into the sea.”
Even though Eun-hwi had lived his whole life being ostracized, he had never thought of death because Gabi was always by his side.
In an instant, his eyes reddened and emotion welled up from deep inside, choking his throat. Eun-hwi bit the soft flesh inside his lip and swallowed the sob that was trying to escape.
“Oh dear, oh dear. You’re going to cry again. Use this to wipe your eyes.”
Dr. Hong took out a handkerchief from the pocket of his vest-like garment and handed it to Eun-hwi.
He said there was no need to be sad, as he was alive and well now, even if that was his past.
“When I was reborn, I wanted to be a fish that could freely roam the seas. I swam out to the farthest sea I could reach. Then, just as I was losing consciousness from both burns and frostbite, something – whether it was a yeoein, a mermaid, or a dokkaebi, anyway, a non-human being – pulled me above the water’s surface and saved me.”
Eun-hwi, who had finally burst into tears and was dabbing at his eyes with the handkerchief, asked:
“…Huh? A dokkaebi?”
“It was a man wearing a quilted durumagi. His arms and legs were like a human’s, and his eyes were a mysterious golden color I had never seen before. Just like your eyes, Dokkaebi sir. From that moment on, I dedicated my life to finding the being who saved me, to repay the kindness. It’s thanks to that that I became a fish expert, searching all the seas just in case.”
Dr. Hong looked at Eun-hwi with a distant gaze, as if recalling that time. Rather than showing vague curiosity about dokkaebis as before, he seemed full of self-consolation that the years he had spent were not in vain.
“I think Manager Yeo is living with you, Dokkaebi sir, for the opposite reason from me.”
“The opposite reason…?”
The small head topped with a blue hat tilted in confusion.
That can’t be right.
Yeo Moon-beom started living at Hwichukdang because he knew Gabi from before, had his ring, and had nowhere to go after being driven out of the village.
If anything, it was for similar reasons, not opposite ones.
Feeling there was some misunderstanding, Eun-hwi was about to correct his words when Dr. Hong spoke first:
“The clownfish, commonly called ‘Nemo’, becomes female when the female of the group dies. Also, half of all bottlenose dolphins mate with the same sex.”
Yeo Moon-beom was on the phone, and it was unclear when he would finish his business and return. Dr. Hong, who had been glancing in the direction where Yeo Moon-beom was, finally got to his main point after a long introduction.
“So I try not to judge the world by human standards. I’m just worried about how you, Dokkaebi sir, view Manager Yeo…”
However, unable to understand the connection between clownfish, dolphins, and Yeo Moon-beom, Eun-hwi just blinked his moist eyes.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying at all, Dr. Hong-salgwi.”
“What I mean is, how do you think of Manager Yeo, Dokkaebi sir?”
“How I think of Yeo Moon-beom?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Why are you asking that?”
“Depending on your answer, I may or may not give you something.”
“…Really?”
Although he didn’t know what Dr. Hong wanted to give him, it surely must be something good, and Eun-hwi wanted to receive it. He closed his mouth tightly and fell into thought at this sudden riddle game.
What I think of Yeo Moon-beom is…
My first and only human friend.
A kind friend who likes giving more than receiving.
A friend who promises to fulfill a long-cherished wish.
A friend who makes me feel good when our skin touches.
A friend I don’t want to give up to anyone else.
How could he explain all this in one word?
His appearance as he pondered, holding his chin, was so serious that he didn’t look at all like the usually bright and simple dokkaebi.
“Yeo Moon-beom is…”
The half-dokkaebi, dressed in human clothes and with an expression more serious than anyone’s, slowly opened his mouth after a long silence.
“A friend I don’t want to lose.”
Because he was the first friend he made, because he wanted to repay him more than what he had received, because he wanted to fulfill his wish too, because he wanted to have him all to himself and touch his body.
He didn’t want to lose him.
Eun-hwi added, to Dr. Hong who looked surprised at this unexpected answer:
“It’s not just because he makes delicious food every day and gives me clothes that humans wear…”
It wasn’t entirely untrue, but fearing he might be seen as a greedy dokkaebi, he laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck.
“I can’t help it then. Take this, Dokkaebi sir.”
Dr. Hong, with a more resolute face, took out a silk lucky pouch with a large ‘fortune’ character embroidered on it from the backpack he was carrying.
“What’s this?”
“It’s something I brought, unable to give up my experimental spirit and curiosity as a scholar. If you had felt even slightly uncomfortable, I wasn’t going to give it to you, but after hearing your story, I think it’s okay to give it to you.”
Dr. Hong continued, whispering secretly:
“I originally prepared this for Manager Yeo, but he wouldn’t accept it if I gave it to him directly, so please give it to him, Dokkaebi sir.”
“This to Yeo Moon-beom?”
“Yes. It contains necessary items, so he won’t dislike it. But you should give it to him when you return home.”
The opening of the lucky pouch was squared off at both ends, as if it contained something like a thin book.
What could it be?
A book containing important secrets that Yeo Moon-beom wants to know?
Although very curious about the contents, instead of opening the pouch carelessly, Eun-hwi hung the string on his wrist and made sure not to lose it.
“Thank you, Dr. Hong-salgwi.”
“Not at all, Dokkaebi sir. I should be thanking you for allowing me to spend such a happy time. To think the day would come when I’d have a meal with a dokkaebi! I, Hong-salgwi, am so glad to be alive! The law of total happiness definitely exists!”
“The law of total happiness…?”
Unable to contain his emotions, Dr. Hong stretched his clenched fist towards the sky and explained to Eun-hwi in his characteristic knowledge-flaunting voice:
“The law of total happiness is an unofficial law that applies the First Law of Thermodynamics, which states that all energy only changes form, but its total amount remains constant. It means that the amount of misfortune and happiness one experiences in life is fixed, so there’s no such thing as being unilaterally unhappy. I must have saved up my happiness to meet you, Dokkaebi sir, prove the existence of spirits, and through this, reunite with my benefactor.”
Although it was a bit difficult to understand, the idea that there’s no such thing as being unilaterally unhappy resonated deeply with Eun-hwi.
Following Dr. Hong’s example, Eun-hwi also raised his fist high in the sky and shouted:
“Yes. I’ll definitely meet them! It’s possible to meet them!”
The one who saved Dr. Hong’s life might have been Gabi, not a yeoein or mermaid.
Gabi had a personality that couldn’t ignore humans in need of help. Moreover, while he usually had dark eyes with a green tinge, when he used his divine power, his eyes would change color like ginkgo leaves turning yellow.
‘I hope it was Father who saved him.’
However, since it wasn’t certain, and the Mountain God had said that Gabi would return when Eun-hwi became human, Eun-hwi didn’t say anything to Dr. Hong. He couldn’t disappoint him by bringing it up carelessly.
“This Hong-salgwi is always on your side, Dokkaebi sir. I’ll be staying in the village for a while, so if you have any concerns, please come find me anytime. I’ll discuss them with you.”
“Okay. I will.”
“It’s a promise.”
Footnotes:
1) Baeja: A sleeveless garment worn over a jeogori (Korean traditional jacket) in cold weather.
2) Yeoein: A carp that can transform into a human, descended from the Dragon King.
