The Dokkaebi Waiting for the Moon

Chapter 13

“What, what’s wrong?”

“…”

He had insisted on coming out to pick mushrooms and only ended up getting hurt. Feeling like he had unintentionally upset Moon-beom, Eun-hwi felt a pang in his chest.

What should I do in this situation? Should I apologize first for making him feel bad?

It was his first time directly interacting with a human, so he was confused about how to react properly. As his fingers fidgeted within the large hand covering his, Yeo Moon-beom lifted Eun-hwi up as if nothing had happened.

“I must have seen things.”

“…Seen things?”

“There’s no way a person could be here. I made sure no one could come up. I must have been mistaken.”

“Yeah. Kim the misters don’t come here because they hate dokkaebis.”

Even Kim the ginseng digger who came to gather ginseng and wild vegetables avoided this area, saying it was unlucky. There was only the energy of sleeping spirits, with no sign of human presence. As Eun-hwi shook his head, Moon-beom dusted off his dirt-covered clothes.

“Let’s go back and apply some medicine. I have ointment in my bag.”

“Do I need ointment too?”

“Breath alone can’t heal it. It’s better to apply ointment and put a bandage on it.”

Perhaps because he had only ever been bullied by spirits, an indescribable emotion welled up at Moon-beom’s words promising treatment without even getting angry. It was the first kindness he had ever received from a human.

A gentle kindness fundamentally different from giving with the expectation of something in return.

The vanished basket and mushrooms flashed before Eun-hwi’s eyes. He had really wanted to repay Moon-beom with the plump hericium mushrooms and delicious-looking oyster mushrooms.

“I’m sorry, Moon-beom.”

“What are you sorry for? What did you do wrong?”

“I lost the giant hericium mushroom…”

“Giant… what?”

Thinking he must have misheard, Moon-beom asked again.

“The giant hericium mushroom this big. I worked hard to find it for you… *sniff*”

Tears that had just stopped now poured out again. Unable to overcome his sadness, Eun-hwi wailed loudly and hugged Moon-beom’s waist. Moon-beom’s body, slightly larger and broader than Gabi’s, stiffened for a moment before firmly embracing Eun-hwi.

“You were looking for it to give to me?”

His voice wouldn’t come out due to the surge of sorrow blocking his throat. The half-dokkaebi bit his lip, swallowing his sobs, and nodded while burying his face in Moon-beom’s flat chest.

“Why are you sorry about that? It’s not like I told you to pick them.”

“But still… Moon-beom, you like mushrooms. *sob*”

More upset about losing the mushrooms than being attacked by crows, Eun-hwi cried so hard he could barely breathe. The soft navy linen shirt became soaked with tears, leaving dark stains.

“Don’t cry.”

He went out to pick mushrooms because he thought I liked them.

Moon-beom forcibly held back the laughter that threatened to escape as he grasped the small head. He felt sheepish for doubting even for a moment that Eun-hwi might have run away from him.

To be so innocent…

Not knowing what kind of person I am.

“Stop.”

“*sob* *hic*”

“Come on, stop now.”

“…*sniff*”

“Stop crying and sit here.”

Moon-beom wiped Eun-hwi’s wet eyes with the hem of his shirt and sat him on a rock. It was to search for the mushrooms Eun-hwi said he had lost.

“That mushroom you called something like ‘buttocks’, what does it look like?”

“Um… It’s white, and bulging like this, like buttocks.”

“Like human buttocks?”

“Yeah. Bulging on both sides like human buttocks. But it’s fluffy and hairy. Makes you want to touch it.”

“Is that so?”

To Moon-beom, Eun-hwi explaining earnestly while bending and stretching his fingers looked like nothing more than a child showing off. Having no choice, he took out his phone and held the bottom part to his mouth.

“Siri.”

“…Siri?”

At the strange name he had never heard before, Eun-hwi’s eyes widened and looked over the black, flat object in Moon-beom’s hand. On the back of the thing that looked like an inkstone or ink stick was a unique picture of an apple with a large bite taken out of it.

What is that?

Unable to contain his curiosity about the object he was seeing for the first time, Eun-hwi’s body unconsciously fidgeted. He wanted to jump up and take a closer look at what Moon-beom was holding.

“What’s that?”

“A phone.”

“A phone? Then who’s Siri?”

“Ah. It’s pronounced Siri. A lacking friend who knows everything. Is this Eun-hwi’s first time seeing one?”

How can it be lacking if it knows everything?

Eun-hwi tilted his head at Moon-beom’s incomprehensible words. Thinking that this friend was as unusual as its name, he suddenly realized:

So he has a friend…

His shoulders drooped. For some reason, a feeling of disappointment quietly arose in a corner of his heart.

‘…He’s not alone like me.’

Eun-hwi had felt a sense of kinship with Moon-beom, who had been driven out of the village with nowhere to go. Even though he was breaking Gabi’s rule about not getting close to humans, he didn’t chase Moon-beom away because there was someone among humans in a similar situation to himself.

But this human man wearing a tiger’s mask, who had volunteered to become a dog, was completely different from what Eun-hwi had thought.

He had a mainland friend with an unknown name. He too was just an ordinary person, no different from the spirits who stuck together or the residents of Wolhwa Island.

‘…’

The thought that Moon-beom might suddenly leave the island one day to meet ‘Siri’ made something sharp, like a dokkaebi’s horn, pierce through Eun-hwi’s chest.

He wanted to forget about the hericium mushrooms and everything else, and just hide alone in the chest.

“Siri.”

Not knowing or caring about Eun-hwi’s feelings, Moon-beom called out to Siri again through the phone.

― Yes.

A calm yet clear woman’s voice was heard. Eun-hwi involuntarily flinched at the refined voice, with an accent different from the old woman Kims living in the village.

So Siri wasn’t a big-nosed Mr. Kim…

And a female Mr. Kim at that…

Surprise and bewilderment crossed simultaneously, stirring up Eun-hwi’s heart.

Could it be, not a friend but a lover?

Thinking that way, for some reason, his disappointment grew even more.

“Siri, hericium mushroom.”

Moon-beom’s expression as he said the mushroom’s name was more serious than usual. The half-dokkaebi, also becoming tense, waited for Siri’s answer with his ears perked up.

― Hericium erinaceus, also known as lion’s mane mushroom, is an edible mushroom belonging to the genus Hericium of the family Hericiaceae.

The word “hericium” came out like rapid-fire three times, making it completely incomprehensible. Eun-hwi blinked with a slightly dazed expression. His yellow glass bead-like eyes disappeared and reappeared repeatedly behind his swollen eyelids.

“See? It tells you everything, but something’s lacking. As expected, artificial intelligence has its limits.”

“…Artificial intelligence? What’s that?”

“Hmm. How should I put it? A fake person?”

“What? A fake person can talk?”

The scarecrow, a fake person that the village head had set up in his field, looked vaguely human-like at a glance but couldn’t move or speak. It was amazing that there could be beings like Siri who could speak freely without having a human form or soul.

These days, the Kims are really talented.

They make TVs, magic bags, and even talking fake people.

“…Oh? So you’re alone then?”

Moon-beom didn’t have a lover after all.

Realizing it had all been his misunderstanding, the feeling of disappointment melted away like spring snow. His prickling heart immediately became at ease.

“What’s alone?”

“Yeah. Siri is. Hehe.”

Moon-beom chuckled at Eun-hwi, who kept grinning for some unknown reason. Just a moment ago he had been crying as if the world was ending, and now he was smiling brightly as if he might fly away at any moment.

His quick emotional changes and the way they showed directly on his face were just like a young child. Once again, the desire to splatter ink on a pure white canvas crept up on Moon-beom.

“Hey, Moon-beom. Can I ask Siri something too?”

“What do you want to ask?”

“Something you don’t know.”

“What could that be? Something I don’t know? I know quite a lot, you know.”

“Really?”

Fresh vitality shone in his jewel-like yellow eyes. Perhaps because he was a half-dokkaebi with human blood mixed in, a positive energy that could never be seen in spirits rippled within his large eyes.

Moon-beom felt a strange sensation.

“I still want to ask Siri.”

“You don’t believe me, I see.”

“No, it’s not that. I just want to try talking to a fake person too.”

“Ah, I see.”

Showing a toy to a child meant being prepared to hand it over. After confirming the photos and information about hericium mushrooms through an internet search, Moon-beom held out the phone he was holding to Eun-hwi.

“Go ahead and ask. Don’t forget to call out ‘Siri’ first.”

“Okay.”

Eun-hwi swallowed dryly, cleared his throat, and called out loudly.

“Siri!”

― Yes.

“Can you tell me when my father is coming back?”

Moon-beom looked down at the small, cute mole on the dokkaebi’s right earlobe, weighing the gravity of the question. The weight of a question that was heavy for him but light for the half-dokkaebi.

Footnote:

1) Source: Wikipedia, https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/