Chapter 92
The half-dokkaebi, gazing at the sleepless city that had forgotten the boundary between day and night through the wide horizontal window, curled up and rested his cheek on his knee.
“…When will he come? Yeo Moon-beom.”
Today, the wait felt especially slow. It seemed like it was because he couldn’t guess the time he used to measure by the position of the moon and stars when he lived on the island.
As if the dark sea and the brightly sparkling stars were flipped upside down, the city’s sky was black and the ground was bright. It was a brightness of a different dimension from what he had seen on TV.
After sending Yeo Moon-beom off, Eun-hwi, now alone, explored around the room, examining the modern amenities. He jumped up and down on the soft bed, slightly turned on the faucet in the sink, and played around opening and closing all sorts of drawers.
The sight of humans crawling like tiny ants and the Western-style buildings planted more densely than forest trees was incredibly fascinating. The half-dokkaebi gazed out at the unfamiliar cityscape ablaze with lights for a long time.
Everything was the opposite of Wolhwa Island, surrounded by sea on all sides. It was truly a marvelous sight.
But perhaps because he had to enjoy all these first experiences entirely alone?
Silence seeped into the room that had been like a playground filled with children’s bright laughter. Eun-hwi kept glancing at the silent phone, ignoring even the bag full of snacks and the dinner brought by the man called Kim, who was said to be the general manager.
“Tch. He said he’d come back quickly.”
What on earth had happened that was taking so long?
He was curious about what this important matter was that Moon-beom had mentioned. As the night deepened, so did his worry, making him uneasy.
Perhaps he had resumed his work as a constable and was chasing after bad Kims? Or maybe the gangster Kim who had fallen head over heels for Moon-beom had followed him to Seoul and was holding him back? He was anxious.
Or if not that…
‘No. There’s no way Moon-beom has a lover.’
The half-dokkaebi shook his head. He had said he hadn’t had sex even once because he couldn’t trust anyone. He said the only one he had been intimate with was him alone.
He should trust him, he shouldn’t doubt him, but he couldn’t shake off the anxiety. The images of the stylishly dressed female Kims he had seen at the building entrance flickered before his eyes.
He finally understood in his heart what Gabi had said – that nothing makes the world’s colors as vibrant as love, and nothing changes oneself as easily as love.
The world of Eun-hwi, which had been pure pink just hours ago, was now shadowed and turned completely gray. The feeling of floating like a dandelion seed in the sky had plummeted into an abyss in an instant.
Love was truly a frightening thing.
It made him, who had lived resolutely until now despite everyone hating him, despite Gabi leaving his side without a word, feel infinitely small.
‘No. Pull yourself together!’
He felt like he might turn into a longing ghost at this rate. Unable to stay immersed in depression any longer, Eun-hwi gripped the phone and shouted loudly at the bottom of it.
“Siri, send a text message!”
He had promised to wait quietly in the room without going anywhere, but he hadn’t said he wouldn’t urge him. Now that he had learned how to use the phone, he had to send plenty of these things called text messages.
— Who would you like to send it to?
“Yeo Moon-beom!”
— I can’t find “Young Hoon-beom” in your contacts. Who would you like to send it to?
He felt like he was going to burst with frustration at Siri looking for some unknown Kim named “Young Hoon-beom” again.
He muttered to himself, “Um… what should I say?” and Siri typed it out well, but no matter how many times he said the name “Yeo Moon-beom,” it couldn’t understand, which was frustrating.
Just before, when he had said, “The broad-foreheaded Kim brought dinner and I’m eating it now, but it’s not as delicious as the pasta Yeo Moon-beom made last time,” it hadn’t understood and only sent “It’s not as,” which made him want to beat his frustrated chest.
Suppressing the urge to scream ‘Stupid Siri!’, Eun-hwi spoke again, enunciating each syllable clearly.
“Yeo. Moon. Beom!”
— What message would you like to send to Yeo Moon-beom?
Phew.
The half-dokkaebi covered his mouth tightly with his hand and let out a sigh of relief. When he had responded with “Um” after it finally understood the name, it had sent just that without listening to the rest, so he needed to be careful with Siri.
Swallowing the involuntary sigh and irritation towards Siri, Eun-hwi quickly blurted out the words he had prepared in advance.
“When are we having sex?”
— The message you want to send is “When are we having sex”. Should I send it? Or would you like to change it?
“Send it!”
— Sent.
A new text message sent by Siri appeared at the top of the phone screen.
When are we having sex
8:46 PM
“Finally succeeded!”
It was a success after no less than seven failures. Just as he was shouting in joy, unable to hide his excitement with his arms stretched out, there was a cheerful ding, ding sound and the screen flashed.
Yeo Moon-beom
Being cheeky again
8:47 PM
Cutely
8:47 PM
“…Huh?”
He carefully brought his finger to the screen. As soon as his fingertip touched the smooth glass, the screen automatically changed to show the text Moon-beom had sent him.
“Wow… I got a letter from Moon-beom…”
It was so amazing that he could talk to someone without having to write a letter on paper and send it. Eun-hwi imagined Moon-beom asking back with a slight eye smile and a playful tone, hugging the phone preciously to his chest.
It was as if spring flowers were blooming fully on a tree that had been frozen stiff by the cold of midwinter. Color returned to the gray world, making it brilliant again.
“Siri! Moon-beom said I’m cute!”
He had asked out of genuine curiosity, not intentionally trying to be cheeky. But it seemed his efforts to send the message without giving up appeared cute in Moon-beom’s eyes.
— I’m not sure about that. Is there anything else I can help you with?
Siri gave an irrelevant answer, completely missing the point of his boast. Eun-hwi didn’t mind and smiled happily.
Yeo Moon-beom
I was going to stop by one more place, but since Eun-hwi is being cute, I’ll go there tomorrow
I’ll be there soon, just wait a little longer
8:48 PM
It’s night so the traffic is bad, it’ll take about an hour to get there
8:48 PM
“Just, wait, a, little, longer. It’ll, take, about, an, hour.”
The half-dokkaebi slowly read aloud the tiny letters on the small screen.
Whether it was one shichen or one hour, he didn’t know exactly, but anyway, the message was that he’d be back soon. His heart pounded as if it would burst. His cheeks, which had been purely white, turned slightly pink.
Could he be cheeky again?
This time, he really wanted to show a disheveled appearance and seduce Moon-beom. Eun-hwi unbuttoned all the buttons he had fastened and lay down on the bed with his legs spread.
So they could have sex as soon as Moon-beom returned.
Cool, dry air settled on his exposed skin. The half-dokkaebi, shivering without realizing it, pulled the blanket to cover his lower body.
The fluffy fabric, with a texture different from the smooth silk blanket, softly wrapped around his legs. He kept yawning.
‘I shouldn’t fall asleep like this…’
Was it because of the coziness of the blanket that had absorbed warmth? Or because of the scent of mint clinging to his clothes?
The tension he had maintained since the night he faced Eodukseoni, all the way until now when he had secretly left the island and come to Hanyang, was slowly releasing.
Blink, blink.
His unfocused eyes disappeared and reappeared behind a thin layer of eyelids repeatedly.
Eun-hwi, barely managing to pull up his consciousness that seemed about to sink into deep sleep, completely closed his eyes not long after.
Endless darkness and light simultaneously enveloped Eun-hwi’s body.
“Team leader, it’s me. Yeo Moon-beom.”
A low and quiet voice, monotonous without inflection, rang in his ear.
…Huh? Where is this?
He opened his eyes that had been closed. The scene of an unfamiliar night street and Moon-beom driving while on a phone call with someone came into Eun-hwi’s view.
He had the same scary and pitiful expression that Eun-hwi had seen sometime ago, no, a few hours ago when he received a call from his father. The face that looked distorted because it didn’t show any emotion.
Is this a dream…?
It was a strange dream, as if his consciousness had been taken by Eodukseoni. He couldn’t speak to or touch Moon-beom, but the sense of reality felt on his skin was terribly vivid.
It felt so real that he wondered if he had gone out to meet him after all, unable to wait any longer.
It was as if his soul had left his body and only his mind was here. It was a dream yet not a dream.
“Please prepare just one liver. I’ll come to pick it up in three days.”
Liver?
Does he mean a rabbit’s liver like in the folktale?
But why does he need a liver?
He pricked up his ears to focus on the sound, curiosity washing over him. But due to a car horn blaring somewhere on the road, he couldn’t hear the other person’s voice properly.
Moon-beom, who had frowned momentarily at the loud noise, spoke to the person on the other end of the phone in a very businesslike tone.
“By the way, Team leader. I’m about to catch a monster soon. We could sell it for quite a high price, aren’t you interested?”
…Monster?
A cruel smile spread across his lips. As Eun-hwi shuddered at the chillingly cold expression, Moon-beom, who had been watching the road ahead, turned to look at the passenger seat where Eun-hwi was sitting.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
