Chapter 93
“… Dokkaebi fire?”
With narrowed eyes, he searched the air. His dark pupils shone sharply, just as they had when he first saw me transform into dokkaebi fire and escape on the day we first met.
‘Yeo Moon-beom, can you see me?’
Eun-hwi mouthed the question to him. Though it was clearly a dream, he seemed to recognize his subconscious. His probing, intense gaze made him swallow involuntarily.
‘Yeo Moon-beom. It’s me, Eun-hwi!’
But his voice wouldn’t come out, as if his throat was blocked. Just as he tried to grab Moon-beom’s arm to communicate somehow,
“Hello? Manager Yeo?”
The deep voice of the person on the other end of the call echoed in the car. At that call, his head, which had been tilted to one side with furrowed brows, turned straight ahead.
Soon, as if he hadn’t seen anything, the look of interest disappeared from his face.
“I’ll give you the details when we meet. Please contact me when you’re ready. That’s all for now.”
Yeo Moon-beom hung up the phone and rubbed his deeply scarred chin.
“Is this an aftereffect of my improved eyesight…?”
Muttering to himself with an unfamiliar expression Eun-hwi had never seen before, he created a small flame in his palm.
A fire with a bluish tinge like the pre-dawn sky. It was clearly dokkaebi fire.
…How?
He shouldn’t have had the dokkaebi’s divine power to freely summon soul fire, as he didn’t possess spiritual power.
Is Gabi lending him power again, even though we’re not facing an enemy?
However, the energy imbued in the dokkaebi fire felt subtly different from Gabi’s power. Rather than feeling a strong authority, it was a more familiar force.
Almost like his own.
The half-dokkaebi rubbed his eyes at the sight, too vivid to be a dream yet too absurd to be reality.
Just as he was about to check his hand again after thoroughly wiping his stinging eyes, the headlights of an approaching car from the opposite lane flooded the interior of the vehicle.
The bright light that momentarily flowed in turned everything white. At the same time, strength drained from his body as if a spell had worn off.
The drowsiness that had overcome him was brief; soon, a surging current swallowed Eun-hwi’s soul. With no chance to struggle, his soul was swept away by the waves, sinking beneath the surface, weighed down by the light.
He could no longer see Yeo Moon-beom.
“…Ah.”
A faint moan escaped between his parted red lips. Eun-hwi, barely regaining consciousness, slowly lifted his heavy eyelids as if they were weighed down.
As his mind wavered under the persistent drowsiness, the now-familiar room scenery filtered through his blurry vision, including himself who had fallen asleep tightly wrapped in blankets.
Not much time seemed to have passed, as the brilliant brightness outside the window hadn’t changed much from before he fell asleep.
…What a strange dream.
A dream where Yeo Moon-beom freely used dokkaebi powers and promised someone to catch and sell monsters.
Eun-hwi blinked repeatedly, trying to chase away the lingering images of the dream that refused to leave his mind. Then, suddenly remembering something from the past, the butterfly-like fluttering of his eyelashes stopped.
‘Too precious to sell.’
It was something he had said to him once. Words he couldn’t understand at the time now seemed to take on a different meaning.
That can’t be right.
Moon-beom is a government official.
Not a monster hunter.
“Ugh…”
His head throbbed and his stomach churned, just like when he first used dokkaebi magic to transform into dokkaebi fire. Feeling a chill seeping through the summer heat, Eun-hwi pulled the blanket that had slipped down to his chest up to his head and burrowed inside.
“Eun-hwi.”
How much time had passed? A deep, resonant voice roused his consciousness, which had sunk like water-logged cotton. The scent of mint that he had longed for so much touched his nose.
“Moon-beom…”
The half-dokkaebi, who had been hiding under the blanket, peeked out his head to look up at Yeo Moon-beom, who had returned.
The kind face he had always known was before his eyes, completely different from the cold face he had seen in his dream.
“You begged for sex and then fell asleep?”
He gently smoothed his messy hair that was sticking out in all directions. The strands that had slid down his round head quickly found their place after a few strokes of his hand.
“Are you tired? You don’t look well.”
“I don’t know. My head hurts…”
“Really? Let me check if you have a fever.”
Yeo Moon-beom adjusted his sitting position to move closer and placed his hand on Eun-hwi’s forehead to check his temperature.
The half-dokkaebi closed his eyes and exhaled softly at the touch of his cool palm. He could immediately feel the temperature difference, but couldn’t tell how bad his condition was. Moreover, he couldn’t tell if the heat was from being close to someone he liked or if it was really because he wasn’t feeling well.
“You have a slight fever. Maybe it’s because of the air conditioning when you’re already not feeling well.”
Yeo Moon-beom got up and adjusted something on the wall. Soon, warm air began to mix with the chilled air.
“I’ll go out and buy some medicine. Do you want to take it?”
“No…”
He reached out and tugged at his clothes. Desperately asking him with his eyes not to go anywhere, to stay by his side, not to leave him alone. As he looked at him with such earnest eyes, Yeo Moon-beom, who had been quietly meeting his gaze, sat down on the bed.
“Move over. I’ll hold you.”
He wriggled to make room. Moon-beom immediately got under the blanket, held him tightly in his arms, and began patting his body.
“They say hearing a rhythm similar to a heartbeat helps you relax.”
“…I see.”
“It must have been hard coming up to Seoul so suddenly, right?”
Pat, pat.
His large, generous hand tapped his shoulder at regular intervals. That small patting was so warm and cozy that Eun-hwi repeatedly inhaled and exhaled slowly, as if matching the rhythm.
“Sleepy?”
“Mm-hmm…”
“Sleep if you’re tired. Don’t push yourself. We need to go out tomorrow to buy you new clothes.”
New clothes that Yeo Moon-beom would buy for him.
He should have been excited, but the lingering images from his dream made the half-dokkaebi feel uneasy.
Staring blankly at Yeo Moon-beom, Eun-hwi cautiously opened his mouth.
“Hey, Moon-beom.”
“Hmm? What is it, Eun-hwi?”
“…”
“Why did you call me and then not say anything? Are you shy because you want to suck my dick again?”
“…”
“We can’t do that today because you have a fever. No sex games when you’re sick.”
Though his words were firm, there was a hint of laughter in his tone. Eun-hwi stared at his face for a moment, his dimples slightly showing, then asked him:
“Are you going to sell me?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the smile lingering on his lips evaporated. His voice became forceful as he spoke.
“…What bastard told you such nonsense that you’re asking that?”
Though he seemed angry, Yeo Moon-beom didn’t stop patting him. His gentle touch repeatedly landed on and left his tense shoulders.
“Was it Dr. Hong-salgwi? Did he say I would do such a shitty thing?”
“No. I didn’t hear it from anyone… You told me before, Moon-beom. That I was too precious to sell.”
His hand finally stopped moving.
“I’m not human, I’m a monster…”
The half-dokkaebi trailed off, swallowing the words he couldn’t bring himself to say out loud – a worthless monster that could be sold off without a second thought.
“Ha.”
Yeo Moon-beom let out a sigh and rubbed his face as he sifted through his memories. His rough, calloused hand repeatedly wiped across his shadowed face.
“Monster or human, what does that matter? I don’t have the slightest intention of selling you off. Why would I sell you? You’re too precious.”
“…Why am I precious?”
“Because you’re my friend, Eun-hwi.”
Why was it?
Even though he got the answer he wanted, his mood sank endlessly.
Unlike fireflies that mate for life with their long-awaited partners, he was just a friend for whom mating was merely play.
He felt so foolish for being disappointed and upset, even though he had resolved to approach him slowly. It was painful that he couldn’t let go of his greed despite everything.
He had forgotten that effort doesn’t always lead to reward.
That’s why he shouldn’t expect too much. He should just feel the warmth on his skin. He began to hate him for making him want more without realizing it.
“…I’m going to sleep.”
He could no longer control his crumbling expression. Eun-hwi turned to face the other side and squeezed his eyes shut. He made a sniffling sound, then bit his lower lip hard, afraid Moon-beom might hear him crying.
“Were you scared? That I disappeared and left you alone?”
“…”
“I told you I’d come back as soon as possible, didn’t I? I even canceled one of my appointments to rush back, but you still don’t believe me. You said you’d believe anything I say.”
He hadn’t meant to disbelieve him. It was just that the brief dream had been so vivid…
Eun-hwi deliberately gave no response and just held his breath. Then Yeo Moon-beom, wrapping his arm around his waist and pulling his body close, whispered in his ear with the utmost sincerity:
“If I had intended to sell you off, I wouldn’t have brought you this far. And I wouldn’t be forcing myself to hold back when I want to have sex with you like this.”
“…Why are you forcing yourself to hold back?”
“Because I want to do other things with Eun-hwi besides sex.”
“…What other things?”
Unable to contain his curiosity, Eun-hwi turned back to look at him and asked. Yeo Moon-beom, tracing his tear-soaked eyes with his gaze, replied in a much brighter voice:
“Well. Dating?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
