Chapter 78
So that man was Yeo Moon-beom’s father…
Eun-hwi stared blankly at the man who looked exactly like Yeo Moon-beom. It was fascinating that the impressive Mr. Kim, who appeared on TV, was his biological father. The negative energy emanating from him, reminiscent of a spirit, was strangely unsettling, making it impossible to look away.
It was puzzling how such deep, dark energy, resembling a beast’s bloodlust, could be felt from a mere human. An uneasy feeling stirred in his chest.
He had a bad premonition that a black mass might jump out of the gift box at any moment and swallow Yeo Moon-beom. The half-dokkaebi wrapped his arms around his body, which had curled up from the chill.
“Wow! It’s the latest gaming console!”
Fortunately, Eun-hwi’s worries were unfounded.
As if he had never been upset, Yeo Moon-beom held the hand-sized device from the box, jumping with joy, and immediately began unwrapping the next gift.
An endless stream of curiosity-provoking items emerged: a wallet filled with cash, several pairs of sneakers, neatly ironed new clothes, a checkered ball the size of his head, and do-it-yourself toys.
It must have been just a feeling after all.
Eun-hwi, who had been watching Yeo Moon-beom and the man tensely, also relaxed and examined the gifts revealed between the torn wrapping paper. There were so many fascinating things that even he felt excited. He wondered what kind of gift would appear next.
“Chairman.”
It was then, as Yeo Moon-beom was unwrapping the last gift box and checking its contents. A man in black clothes approached the man and whispered secretly in his ear. He possessed the same energy as the negative aura emanating from the man.
…Huh? A fox?
The man who appeared to be the man’s subordinate was a black fox that had used magic to transform into a human. Although he had disguised himself with a common appearance, he couldn’t hide the cunning smell unique to fox monsters and the eyes hungry for blood.
Eun-hwi recalled Gabi’s story about once fighting a fox monster that had attacked Manwolsa to eat the liver of a highly skilled old monk.
The story of how even Gabi, who was the leader of the dokkaebi due to his tenacious determination, had struggled to face it.
The brief excitement on Eun-hwi’s face was once again overshadowed. To think there was a fox monster next to Yeo Moon-beom’s biological father. He never dreamed that Yeo Moon-beom, whom he thought was an ordinary human, had lived a life related to spirits.
“Moon-beom. Something urgent has come up, so I need to go to the company. I’ll be back by tonight, so feel free to play games as much as you want until then. I’ve saved my number, so call anytime if you need anything.”
The man patted Yeo Moon-beom’s shoulder as if asking for understanding and took out a cell phone from his chest pocket, holding it out to Yeo Moon-beom.
“Are you giving this to me too?”
“Of course, that’s why I brought it. Did you think I brought it to give and then take back?”
The boy laughed awkwardly at the man’s joke and received the phone with both hands, bowing slightly.
“Thank you. Have a safe trip, Father.”
“Alright, son. See you later.”
The man responded to Yeo Moon-beom with the kind expression seen in TV commercials and left through the door with the humanized fox monster.
Crackle, crackle.
The thick negative energy dissipated, and only the sound of burning firewood echoed in the house.
Yeo Moon-beom, who had put the phone down on the table, collapsed into the chair, his body relaxing from its stiff posture.
Even with just a few exchanges and his attitude towards the other person, Eun-hwi could tell how much he was intimidated by the person he called father. He quietly moved to sit in the seat next to him.
However, Yeo Moon-beom didn’t notice the half-dokkaebi’s presence at all. After all, Eun-hwi was now just an intruder peeking at fragments of memory pulled out by the Eodukseoni.
“…Mother wouldn’t abandon me.”
He murmured in a small voice, leaning deeply against the backrest and staring at the ceiling.
There’s no way he could have been abandoned by the family most precious to him.
Watching him hurt himself with emotions he didn’t want to acknowledge, couldn’t acknowledge, that kept popping up, made Eun-hwi uncomfortable.
It was heartbreaking, as if seeing himself waiting for Gabi to return amidst all sorts of jeers and criticisms.
I want to comfort him. Yeo Moon-beom.
Eun-hwi overlapped his hand on top of Yeo Moon-beom’s, knowing he couldn’t actually touch him. Earnestly hoping that he would soon wake up from this nightmare created by the Eodukseoni.
“I should go after all.”
Yeo Moon-beom, who had been killing time without doing anything, suddenly stood up as if he had made a decision. Then he quickly took some cash from the wallet and hurriedly left the man’s house.
Without the gifted cell phone or thick coat.
As Yeo Moon-beom headed out into the snowy street and caught a horse-drawn carriage with a hat, the space surrounding him and Eun-hwi changed incessantly. As if instant teleportation magic had been used, the scenery of a bustling area with flashing lights appeared and disappeared repeatedly before Eun-hwi’s eyes.
How much time had passed like that?
After passing through night streets glittering with brilliant lights all around, they finally reached the end of a dark alley. A red light from a sign reading ‘BLACK FOX JAZZ CLUB’ in crooked letters filled his vision.
The scarlet color reminiscent of blood made him uncomfortable for some reason, and he was feeling restless. Just then, all the lights in the building suddenly went out, and a woman carrying a bag full of luggage came out of the entrance.
“Auntie. Is the business over already?”
“Moon-beom, is that you?”
As if they knew each other well, Yeo Moon-beom approached the woman with a much more comfortable expression than when he faced his biological father. Startled by Yeo Moon-beom’s appearance, soaked from head to toe in the snow, the woman hurriedly opened her bag and said:
“Oh my, Moon-beom. How could you come out like this on such a cold day! It’s a bit dirty since I took it out for laundry, but at least put on this security team uniform for now.”
The acrid smell of cigarettes hit his nose the moment she took the clothes out of the bag, but warmth was the priority. The woman draped the clothes over Yeo Moon-beom, who was wearing only a thin coat.
“Thank you, Auntie. Where’s Mother?”
“Didn’t you know In-kyung didn’t come to work today?”
“She didn’t come to work…?”
“She said she had an important appointment.”
“An appointment important enough to miss a performance…?”
Yeo Moon-beom, who had been trailing off with an expression of disbelief, hung his head low. Eun-hwi could feel his sadness acutely in his own heart.
“What a shame, you came all this way to meet your mom. I’ll call a taxi for you. Hurry and take it before you catch a cold.”
“I have money. I’ll take care of it myself.”
“Is that so? Well then, your uncle is waiting for me, so I’ll be going now. Moon-beom, Merry Christmas.”
Even after the woman had disappeared, Yeo Moon-beom lingered for a long time in front of the darkened building, unable to leave. Finally, giving up on waiting, he started to retrace his steps back.
Yeo Moon-beom…
Eun-hwi’s heart ached as he saw the exceptionally happy faces of the people passing by in the scenery, in contrast to Yeo Moon-beom. Only one person was walking with the sorrow of abandonment in his heart.
How could he get Yeo Moon-beom out of this place?
He tried to summon dokkaebi fire by stretching out his hand, but it was useless, perhaps because he wasn’t a being that existed in Yeo Moon-beom’s memories. It was frustrating to feel that he lacked the power to destroy this subconscious world created by the Eodukseoni.
“Yeo Moon-beom! Can you hear my voice? It’s me, Eun-hwi! Let’s go back, okay? Yeo Moon-beom!”
He tried calling out to him once more with all his might. But no answer reached Eun-hwi’s ears.
“Yeo Moon-beom! Yeo Moon-beom! You can’t stay here any longer! Yeo Moon-beom! Let’s get out of here together!”
Just as he was getting anxious, stomping his feet, feeling that if left like this, they might never be able to escape this darkness, the surroundings suddenly changed as if darkness had swallowed the sun.
Where is this place now…?
Eun-hwi saw Yeo Moon-beom entering a shabby building that couldn’t even be compared to the mansion he had first seen. Judging by the snow piled on his shoulders and his bright red nose, it seemed he had walked all the way here.
“Yeo Moon-beom! Yeo Moon-beom!”
He waved his hands and called out to stop him, but he still couldn’t hear Eun-hwi’s voice. He just trudged down the corridor cluttered with household items, heading somewhere as if drawn by something.
Thud, thud.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed over the layers of silence, and the negative energy thickened. Despite having no spiritual power, Yeo Moon-beom sensed something strange just from the sound of human footsteps and raised his head, which had been hanging low, to hide behind a large trash can.
Huh? This energy…
Yeo Moon-beom’s father, who had said he was going to the company for work, and the fox monster following him were approaching him, carrying an unconscious woman.
Had the Eodukseoni come to destroy Yeo Moon-beom’s soul while disguised as his biological father? Eun-hwi felt chills run down his spine.
Just as he was running towards the child who had hidden in the trash can, not knowing what to do in the face of the strong killing intent that seemed to weigh down his body, it happened.
“Yeo Moon… Mmph!”
“Shh.”
A black silhouette appeared behind him and firmly covered Eun-hwi’s mouth.
“…!”
In his startled eyes that nearly popped out, he saw three lines of scars crossing the cheek and chin.
It was the 30-year-old Yeo Moon-beom who had been swallowed by the Eodukseoni.
