“Finally, today’s the day…”
Leaving Yeo Moon-beom behind, Eun-hwi entered the bathroom, looked at himself in the mirror for a moment, then turned on the water.
He was excited yet worried about how Gabi would react to seeing his hornless head. He feared that his appearance had changed so drastically that Gabi might not recognize him or might be disappointed.
“I like Papa. I like Papa. I like Papa.”
After repeating the foreign words he had prepared for today several times, he recited the magical foreign phrase Dr. Hong-salgwi had taught him.
“Accent it!”
It was a phrase that supposedly gave strength whenever his head spun from difficult studies or when he felt intimidated and dejected.
He now understood it wasn’t a spell like those used for dokkaebi magic. Nevertheless, perhaps due to some inexplicable power residing in language, confidence welled up inside him.
Eun-hwi splashed the water, which had quickly become warm, onto his face. He desperately wanted to show Gabi his new impressive human form.
His heart pounded with anticipation.
* * *
The large passenger ship, which he’d only been able to view from afar before, had rooms with living rooms and bedrooms like the hotel he’d visited with Moon-beom, allowing him to travel comfortably without seasickness.
How amazing the interior of the ship was, with restaurants and street vendors as if an entire district had been transported there. He was too busy running around exploring every corner to lie down on the bed. The journey, which took nearly two hours, felt as short as a mealtime.
“Huh? There’s not a single Mr. Kim! Where did they all go?”
Normally, when a ship arrived, all the villagers would gather at the dock with carts to transport cargo from the mainland. But seeing not even an ant in sight, Eun-hwi looked around with a puzzled expression.
“They all moved away.”
“All at once? Why?”
“I bought all the land in the village.”
“What! All of it?”
He knew Moon-beom had inherited a company and become extremely wealthy, but he hadn’t expected him to buy the entire village. While Eun-hwi’s mouth remained agape, Moon-beom stroked his head and replied:
“From now on, you can live comfortably without worrying about others. Isn’t that good?”
The deserted streets were not so much desolate as they were peaceful, like nature since the beginning of time. The presence of wild animals, which had been hiding from humans, could be felt nearby.
“But without the village Mr. Kims, my father will be lonely…”
Although they were people who had always detested dokkaebis and he couldn’t reveal himself to them, he seemed to have grown attached to them after watching them for so long. Learning he would never see them again made him feel somewhat bittersweet.
Moreover, for a dokkaebi who loved humans, solitude was more fatal than any poison.
Gabi, who had grown fond of humans despite saying there was no monster more cruel than humans, also acknowledged that no creature was as diligent in building their lives as humans. He would likely be especially heartbroken.
Eun-hwi looked up at Wolhwa Mountain where Gabi would be sleeping, his face full of concern. Shaking his head as if there was nothing to worry about, Dr. Hong answered instead of Moon-beom:
“That’s why I will be responsible for managing Wolhwa Island from now on, Mr. Dokkaebi.”
“Dr. Hong-salgwi will?”
“Yes. The marine ecosystem research is still in full swing, isn’t it? My colleagues and assistants will be coming and going frequently until next year. After the research concludes, we plan to start a diving business as well.”
Though Eun-hwi didn’t know what diving was, it seemed they weren’t planning to abandon the island completely. His face, which had been shadowed and gloomy, brightened like a cloudless sky.
“That’s a relief. My father will be pleased.”
If they were Dr. Hong’s colleagues, they wouldn’t have to live hiding their appearance. They would all be as warm-hearted and cheerful as Dr. Hong.
Just then, as he was looking around with a reassured expression, his eyes met those of a squirrel fleeing with stolen chestnuts from the villagers’ grain storage.
“You!”
Technically, it wasn’t really stealing since the villagers no longer lived there. Nevertheless, seeing the squirrel with one chestnut in each cheek pouch and another in its paw was quite annoying.
It reminded him of when the squirrel had once taunted him while holding the last wild strawberry.
Squeak?
The squirrel, looking at his hornless head and modern clothes, tilted its head with a dubious expression. It seemed confused by his changed appearance. Its cheeks, bulging with chestnuts, slanted diagonally as if about to spill.
“It’s me! Eun-hwi! Don’t you recognize me, squirrel?”
He put his index fingers to both sides of his head. Only then did the squirrel recognize Eun-hwi, squeaking something before dashing off toward the forest.
Staring at its back with its distinct brown stripes, Eun-hwi turned to Moon-beom with a dejected face and asked:
“Have I changed that much? The squirrel said I look strange.”
Tears quickly filled his light-colored eyes.
Strange.
It was a word that trampled in an instant all his past days of struggling to fulfill his deeply cherished wish.
Moon-beom looked at his glistening eyes, nearly overflowing with tears, and replied:
“In this damned village, whether human or beast… Tsk. Do I now have to teach even animal offspring a lesson?”
“…Hmm?”
His eyes narrowed sharply as he looked up at the bare oak forest. After muttering something barely audible to himself, Moon-beom suddenly changed his expression and spoke in a softened tone:
“It’s not because you’ve really become strange, but because the squirrel is jealous of how prettier you’ve become.”
“Jeal…ousy?”
Lightly holding his cheek, Moon-beom stroked his skin with his thumb and replied:
“You appeared with a healthier complexion from eating and sleeping well. In winter when food is scarce, how envious it must be. Of course it would go crazy with envy.”
“R-really?”
“It’s a pitiful creature trying to fill its non-existent self-esteem by belittling others to their face, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
“…Non-existent? Ah, I see!”
Thinking about it, the squirrel’s penis was smaller than a baby’s fingernail.
With its small size, hands, body, and genitals, it was natural to have low self-esteem.
Now he finally understood why it had been so sarcastic and teasing toward him all this time.
“That’s right, Mr. Dokkaebi. As I said earlier, you look absolutely splendid today. You’re shining so brightly that it’s almost blinding. Your father will surely be delighted to see you!”
“Yes. Don’t worry about such things and let’s go up. It will be dark soon.”
“Mm-hmm!”
He was no longer the solitary half-breed Kim Eun-hwi.
He had people who supported and cherished him more than anyone else, and family who embraced him with unchanging hearts even when far apart.
Eun-hwi stood for a moment with his hand on his chest. Just by recalling the precious emotions he had carefully accumulated, the fear that had been lurking in a corner of his heart disappeared.
Accent it!
Once more reciting the magic spell in his heart, Eun-hwi took vigorous steps forward. The salty breeze that stirred his longing gently pushed his back.
“How much further do we have to climb?”
Dr. Hong, gasping for breath from the continuous hike, asked while sitting on a large rock.
“Hmm. Just a little further, Dr. Hong-salgwi.”
“You said just a little further earlier too, Mr. Dokkaebi.”
“This time it’s real. We just need to pass that large hackberry tree over there.”
The evening star flickered in the western sky, which was tinged with purple, and the hillside path had long been engulfed in dusk. Dr. Hong raised his head and illuminated the direction Eun-hwi was pointing with the electric light he wore like a hat, then stood up again.
Meanwhile, Moon-beom, who had stopped walking, looked up at the sky and said:
“Eun-hwi. The full moon is up.”
A perfectly round moon with no part diminished floated above their heads. It was the guide that would lead them to the being who had been so eagerly waiting for Eun-hwi.
The moon’s energy flowing through his entire body felt especially intense today. A profoundly spiritual energy that couldn’t be felt in Hanyang, filled with polluted air and artificial lights, rippled everywhere.
Yeo Moon-beom, who had also received a share of dokkaebi power from Eun-hwi, seemed to sense this energy as well, as he looked around with narrowed eyes.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
The light reflected from the unmelted snow was brilliant. Eun-hwi followed the path where the blue moonlight had settled. Soon, the human-faced bird that had been waiting for the three of them beyond the Mountain God’s domain flew to the front of the hackberry tree.
“Have you come?”
“Hello, human-faced bird?”
Unlike the squirrel, the human-faced bird wasn’t particularly surprised by Eun-hwi’s human form. Rather, it only flinched slightly at the sight of Moon-beom, whose facial scars had disappeared.
Dr. Hong, who had covered his face with his arm against the sudden gust of wind, asked with eyes widened in shock:
“The hu-human-faced bird has appeared?”
Having been severely punished by Eodukseoni before, one might have expected him to fear the sudden appearance of a supernatural being.
But Dr. Hong, far from cowering, walked toward the direction of the wind with a flushed face.
Even though his spiritual sight hadn’t awakened and he couldn’t see the human-faced bird, he proceeded without any concern.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
