The Dokkaebi Waiting for the Moon

Chapter 10

Like gamblers who use their families as collateral for gambling debts, Moon-beom thought that the jangseung dokkaebi had also been blinded by the bet and sold off even his own child.

However, like an onion that only reveals its white flesh after carefully peeling off thin layers while overcoming tears, the secret of the bet was wrapped in a veil.

Moon-beom became very curious about the intentions of the jangseung dokkaebi who had lured him here and then returned to being a jangseung.

There was one more thing to investigate. Although this meant more time was needed, it didn’t matter.

He had been fully prepared for the fact that the process of obtaining what he wanted wouldn’t be easy, ever since he started searching for Wolhwa Island. He had spent fifteen years waiting for the most perfect, most decisive moment, cultivating the power for revenge.

Haste leads to certain failure. He needed to calculate carefully and meticulously to obtain the result.

Moon-beom calmly gazed at the half-ghost before him and said,

“My mother also went to heaven.”

His voice was seemingly indifferent as if it were a passing matter, yet somehow clear as if deeply etched. Eun-hwi stopped his chewing motion. His buttercup-yellow eyes widened.

“She was an excellent singer but couldn’t sing to her heart’s content while alive. She must be singing enthusiastically in heaven now, so Eun-hwi’s mother is probably dancing happily beside her.”

Eun-hwi looked at Moon-beom, who continued speaking in a somewhat light tone and smiled gently. Although he didn’t know the circumstances of how Moon-beom lost his mother, he felt sympathy for their shared situation. His hand gripping the chopsticks tightened.

However, not knowing how to express this feeling, he pondered for a moment, then,

“Eat a lot, Moon-beom.”

He picked up the largest piece of grilled beef from the dish and placed it on Moon-beom’s rice bowl. It was his own form of consolation, learned from observing villagers while wearing his dokkaebi hat.

“You eat all the meat, Eun-hwi. I prefer mushrooms.”

Moon-beom picked up that piece of meat again and placed it back on the opposite rice bowl, then took a mushroom from Eun-hwi’s meat dish.

“Is that really okay?”

“Of course. But eating only meat can be greasy, so have some doenjang jjigae with it too.”

“Mm-hmm. Okay. I’ll eat the doenjji too.”

Eun-hwi immediately picked up his spoon and took a sip of the stew broth. The savory taste of doenjang blended with the spiciness of green peppers, stimulating his appetite.

“Wow!”

“How is it? Does it suit your taste?”

“Yes! Moon-beom could be the head court lady of the royal kitchen. It’s really delicious!”

Not knowing that a man couldn’t receive an office in the women’s quarters of the palace, Eun-hwi lavishly praised his cooking skills.

“This time, try eating it wrapped. It’ll taste even better.”

Moon-beom held out a large wrap he had made with fresh lettuce, two pieces of meat, a clove of garlic, roughly chopped green chili peppers, and ssamjang.

“Here. Say ‘ah.'”

“Mm-hmm, ah—”

As he sat still and received the wrap, Eun-hwi felt a tickling sensation in his stomach.

He thought it was probably because this was the first time he was eating face-to-face with a human being.

It was a meal time that wasn’t lonely, experienced for the first time in a very long while.

* * *

If night was the time of ghosts, day was the time of humans, animals, and plants.

The time of dong-yang when all things come alive.

Thus, Eun-hwi, being a half-dokkaebi, fell asleep just before sunrise at the hour of the Rabbit (5-7 AM) and woke up at the hour of the Monkey (3-5 PM) when yang energy weakens. Because human blood flowed in him, he could move about during broad daylight, but the blazing white light that seemed to burn his retinas rendered him effectively blind.

To avoid being seen by humans, he needed a dokkaebi hat, but without a brim to create shade, it was useless. He could wear an umbrella made of oiled paper, but it was rather inconvenient as it left his hands not free.

So Eun-hwi liked cloudy days or days with light drizzle. Because he could freely observe the Mr. Kims bustling about during the day.

However, today he woke up much earlier than usual at the hour of the Snake (9-11 AM) and left the house at the hour of the Horse (11 AM-1 PM) when yang energy is strongest.

It was to gather mushrooms.

‘You eat all the meat, Eun-hwi. I prefer mushrooms.’

The night before last, Moon-beom had said doenjang jjigae and grilled mushrooms were enough for him, giving all of his portion to Eun-hwi.

Saying Eun-hwi should eat his fill since it had been a long time since he had meat.

He had heard from Gabi that his mother, who passed away from childbirth, also preferred mushrooms over meat.

Realizing that humans really liked mushrooms, Eun-hwi climbed the mountain alone to repay Moon-beom, who prepared meat dishes for every meal. He intended to surprise him by bringing back very large and fresh mushrooms.

Contrary to expectations that he would be bothersome, Moon-beom stayed holed up in Gabi’s study, saying he had things to check, except when cooking or eating meals.

He piled up a bunch of old books full of difficult Chinese characters that were unpleasant to even look at, and turned pages all night long. Eun-hwi had never seen anyone read books so diligently before, as if preparing for the civil service examination.

Isn’t it difficult? I couldn’t read any of it…

Thanks to this, despite the sudden change in environment, Eun-hwi was able to tend to the vegetable garden and clean the house as usual. Even the youth group leader’s gang, who used to visit and torment him every day without fail, had mysteriously stopped coming.

At last, a peaceful day with nothing happening had arrived.

“Ugh, I hate books. I like songs.”

Just thinking about the books in the study made his head throb and his stomach churn. Eun-hwi, frowning and shuddering, started singing to change his mood.

“Running Mungchi, I can catch if I reach out, my friend Mungchi who smiles when I’m tired. Ppokki ppokki, me too, me too!”

It was the “Mungchi and Ppokki” song he had heard every day when he diligently watched TV at the bald Mr. Kim’s house.

“Na na na na na na, na na na na na na. My cool friend Mungchi and cute Ppokki—”

Like a true dokkaebi, Eun-hwi loved songs and dance. The reason he secretly snuck into Mr. Kims’ houses to watch TV, even knowing it was dangerous, was because exciting music and songs played every time it was turned on.

“Na na na na na na na, Ppokki ppang, Ppokki ppang, Ppokki Ppokki ppang ppang!”

Just as he was repeating the parts he knew over and over, unable to memorize the entire lyrics, ivory-colored mushrooms clustered tightly on a dead tree split by lightning came into view. The fan-shaped caps spread widely were as big as a palm.

“It’s oyster mushrooms!”

Although Eun-hwi disliked studying, he had abundant knowledge about wild mushrooms and medicinal herbs from living in the mountains for a long time with nature as his companion. Thus, he never touched poisonous mushrooms like fly agaric that ghosts liked, and only gathered edible mushrooms.

Eun-hwi put down the basket he had been carrying under his arm and carefully cut off the mushrooms with a small knife he had brought, so as not to damage their shape.

“Hehe. I got oyster mushrooms.”

A wide grin spread across his face. Unlike regular oyster mushrooms that mainly grow in autumn, these summer oyster mushrooms were very delicious, being chewy and tasting like meat. It was worth the effort of climbing the rocky cliff.

“Moon-beom will be happy when I show him, right?”

Imagining Moon-beom’s face filled with admiration, saying things like “Amazing. Great job” or “Thank you. I’ll enjoy eating these,” Eun-hwi’s shoulders straightened with pride.

Eun-hwi, unable to curb his greed even after filling the basket with oyster mushrooms, ventured deeper into the mountains. Even though he clearly knew it was near the area where he had been chased away by the human-faced bird not long ago.

It might be different at night, but now it was broad daylight when ghosts couldn’t use their powers. He thought it might be okay to sneak in and gather mushrooms since he was wearing his dokkaebi hat and everyone would be asleep.

Heading towards the Dragon Horse Waterfall where a dragon that lived in a deep pool had transformed into a dragon horse and ascended to heaven, Eun-hwi carefully examined the base and trunk of trees, searching the surroundings.

“It’s giant Hericium mushrooms!”

Just as he was about to turn back, having only picked some wild strawberries without finding any edible mushrooms, Eun-hwi unknowingly let out a shout of joy. A cluster of mushrooms resembling the white fur on a deer’s rump was attached prominently to the upper part of an oak tree trunk.

“It’s big, so big! I hit the jackpot!”

The plump, fluffy-looking Hericium mushrooms were clean without any signs of insect damage and much larger than two fists put together. It was an excellent premium product.

So much so that he wanted to reach out and fondle the rump-like clumps.

He wanted to hurry back home and show off to Moon-beom. He wanted to show him the gratitude of a dokkaebi who always repays what he receives, the greatness of a dokkaebi who had lived fifteen times twenty years.

He quickly climbed up the tree to pick the mushrooms, then scampered down the mountain. Although it was a rugged mountain without proper hiking trails, for Eun-hwi who was so familiar with it like a playground, the descent was quick.

Caw! Caw!

In the distance, he could see crows circling around his house. Thinking they were wasting their time again today, he looked up at the sky when a strand of light shining through the leaves painfully pierced his eyes.

“…Argh!”

For a moment, his vision turned completely white. Suddenly unable to see anything, Eun-hwi failed to notice a protruding tree root like a vein on the ground and tripped, falling over.

There wasn’t even time to let out a scream. His body tumbled head over heels several times down the mountain slope. The dokkaebi hat he had been wearing flew off somewhere, and the fabric of his pants tore with a rip as it caught on a rocky edge. The basket he had been holding had long since left his hand.

Caw!

The crows that spotted Eun-hwi, who was struggling to regain his senses, swooped down like arrows.

Caw! Caw!

“Go away! I said go away!”

Despite his strong shouts, they paid no heed and kept attacking relentlessly with their sharp claws and beaks, as if seeking revenge for all this time. Scratches appeared all over his white hands covering his head.