The Dokkaebi Waiting for the Moon

Chapter 15

Eun-hwi stared blankly at the man who, despite his gruff manner of speaking, was smiling languidly with crinkled eyes.

Deep dimples, gently curved eyes, and a rough scar shaped like the Chinese character for “stream” (川). Confused by Moon-beom’s sudden appearance as if by magic, the half-dokkaebi kept rubbing his eyes.

“I went down the wrong path, then struggled back up and was catching my breath, but you went chasing after a squirrel… Even though I told you to stay put…”

Moon-beom exaggeratedly sighed, unable to hide his disappointment.

“No, it’s… I was going to wait here for you to come back, but it ran off with the oyster mushrooms I picked. It ate all my wild strawberries before too. How annoying.”

He hadn’t gone far, just a few steps from where he was sitting. Afraid he might not get to eat the sweet and soft mysterious elixir, Eun-hwi’s heart sank as he pointed to where the squirrel had disappeared, earnestly making excuses.

“Even if it’s annoying, let it go today.”

Moon-beom, who had been listening quietly, revealed the hand he had been hiding behind his back.

“Because I found something more valuable than that.”

Two plump, fluffy white masses covered in fine hairs were in the basket. It was the mushroom he had so wanted to show Moon-beom.

“You found the giant hericium mushrooms!”

As Eun-hwi was overjoyed, not knowing what to do with himself as if he had reunited with a lost sibling, Moon-beom brought out his other hand.

“But is this yours too?”

“Oh? It’s the dokkaebi hat!”

In Moon-beom’s left hand was a brimless hat made by intricately weaving black horsehair, lower in the front and higher in the back.

It was a checkered-patterned hat imbued with both the artistic spirit of a craftsman from Tamna and Gabi’s spiritual power, allowing the wearer to completely conceal their appearance. It had been on Eun-hwi’s head until he tripped over a tree root.

As Eun-hwi took it and carefully examined it for any tears, Moon-beom asked in a neutral tone:

“Is this the dokkaebi hat that creates red spots and gets you beaten with a stick if an unqualified human wears it?”

“How do you know that story?”

It was something that happened a very long time ago, so long ago that Eun-hwi couldn’t count how many twenties had passed, when Gabi’s friend, a dokkaebi named Jeolgutgong who lived in Gaegyeong, lent a dokkaebi hat to a human.

Although Eun-hwi had heard the story from Gabi, he was amazed at how Moon-beom, who had only lived twenty plus half of twenty years, knew about it.

“I saw it in a folk tale book when I was young.”

“A folk tale book?”

“A book with old stories.”

Eun-hwi had avoided books because difficult Chinese characters gave him headaches. If there had been a book with stories about dokkaebis like himself in the library, he would have read at least one.

However, regardless of his interest, the thought of a book filled with rows of text made his body automatically shudder. Shaking his head to clear his mind, the half-dokkaebi fiddled with the dokkaebi hat imbued with Gabi’s energy and asked:

“Moon-beom.”

“Yes?”

“Is there a story about my father in that book too?”

From when Eun-hwi was very young, Gabi would tell him memories of his mother almost every day. About how beautiful her face was, as pure as a lotus hidden under a thin Buddhist nun’s hat, and how mesmerizing her Buddhist dance was, with the long sleeves of her robe thrown into the air.

The vivid descriptions were so lifelike that Eun-hwi had no time to mourn his mother’s absence. Even though she had passed away and gone to heaven, it was okay because she existed forever deep in the hearts of father and son.

But for some reason, Gabi was reticent about stories from his homeland, Mount Baekdu.

He would occasionally mention trivial things like learning to cook while serving in the government, but he rarely opened up about the time he spent as the Dokkaebi King.

Although it might have been consideration for his son, who couldn’t belong to either humans or dokkaebis and was only bullied by spirits, Eun-hwi always regretted this.

As the son of a proud father who had led all the dokkaebis of the Korean peninsula, it was natural to want to know everything.

“Well, there is a story about a dokkaebi who lost a wrestling bet and turned into a broom… But I’m not sure if that’s about Mr. Kim Gabi.”

Contrary to his expectations, the answer was unsatisfactory.

“My father doesn’t lose bets. That must be about a different dokkaebi.”

Eun-hwi confidently asserted that it couldn’t possibly be true. Even fierce and brutal monsters like Dueoksini and Gangcheoli, who caused all sorts of disasters, couldn’t defeat Gabi, so there was no way he could lose to a short-lived human.

“Hey, Moon-beom. If you wear this, you become invisible, right?”

Having lost interest in the book that didn’t mention any of the Dokkaebi King’s dignity, the half-dokkaebi changed the subject without hesitation. He wanted to attract Moon-beom’s attention, who didn’t seem particularly impressed by the dokkaebi hat.

“Hmm. Is that so?”

Moon-beom slightly raised his eyebrows and fixed his gaze on the hat. His previously indifferent eyes now held a black light suppressing a primal impulse, similar to when he had encountered the dokkaebi fire.

“Don’t faint from shock, okay? Here, watch.”

Excited by the markedly different reaction, Eun-hwi put on the dokkaebi hat to demonstrate personally. His unevenly cut bangs and the small horns on his forehead disappeared into the hat shaped like an undulating hill.

“Eun-hwi…?”

As Eun-hwi vanished instantly before his eyes, Moon-beom looked around with a considerably surprised expression.

‘Looks like he can’t see me?’

It was the first time Eun-hwi had worn the dokkaebi hat in front of a human. He felt incredibly proud to be able to perform magic without using spiritual arts. The corners of his mouth, connected by soft lines, curled up widely.

“Where did you go? Come out.”

Moon-beom set the basket down on the rock and looked around.

‘Stupid, idiot. I’m right here.’

Eun-hwi slyly reached out and waved his hand in front of Moon-beom’s face. But the eyes that reflected nothing didn’t recognize Eun-hwi and moved in an entirely different direction.

“Come out quickly. I’m about to pee.”

Moon-beom is a bed-wetter.

“Can’t you hear me?”

Moon-beom is a bed-wetter.

Eun-hwi was full of desire to tease him like this, but the half-dokkaebi tightly covered his mouth to stop the laughter from bursting out and looked down at Moon-beom’s thick waist. He could see the muscles in his thighs tensing under the thin fabric of his pants.

A mischievous smile spread across Eun-hwi’s childlike face. Wanting to tease Moon-beom a bit more, he placed his fingers on the tightly stretched shirt that clearly revealed Moon-beom’s chest muscles and started tickling.

Tickle, tickle.

Tickle, tickle.

He gradually moved his hands to tickle inside the armpits. By now, Moon-beom should have been arching his back and squirming, but he maintained an indifferent expression as if looking at a tiny fly that had landed on his skin.

Do humans usually not feel ticklish?

Eun-hwi had expected a startled reaction or uncontrollable laughter. As his pale, downy cheeks stiffened in confusion at the unexpectedly nonchalant attitude, Moon-beom suddenly wrapped his arms around Eun-hwi’s waist.

“Got you.”

“Eek!”

Eun-hwi let out a yelp without realizing it. The strong force constricting his entire body made him feel trapped like an animal in a snare, unable to escape. Concealing his appearance was no longer of any use.

“Heh.”

Moon-beom’s previously motionless lips loosened as a low laugh escaped. At that arrogant sneer of assured victory, Eun-hwi’s struggling movements suddenly stopped. Moon-beom tilted his head and whispered quietly into Eun-hwi’s ear.

“You shouldn’t tickle people carelessly. Especially someone with peculiar tastes like me. It makes me excited and dangerous.”

It seemed that for humans, tickling aroused more than just laughter.

Thinking he might not have tickled hard enough to provoke a reaction, Eun-hwi pressed his fingertips firmly against Moon-beom’s chest and rubbed. Sincerely hoping that Moon-beom would get excited.

“When someone speaks…”

Was the problem that he couldn’t control his strength? A rough breath, fundamentally different from excitement, sounded above Eun-hwi’s head. The faint scent of mint grew stronger.

“You should listen. But you just won’t listen, will you?”

“M-Moon-beom…”

Was it because he couldn’t properly control the strength in his hands?

The half-dokkaebi involuntarily trembled at the sudden fierce and chilling touch constricting his back. The firm embrace that had warmly comforted him when he was crying sadly had transformed into that of a beast.

“Did you think I couldn’t catch you just because you’re invisible? When I can grab you just by reaching out like this?”

“…”

“I hate it when someone hides their true nature and tries to deceive me. Thinking I won’t notice when their tricks are so obvious.”

Although the words were clearly directed at Eun-hwi, they felt as if they were meant for someone else specific. As Eun-hwi stammered in confusion, not knowing what to do, Moon-beom, who had been staring at him as if about to devour him, spoke.

“Are you scared?”

“…Huh?”

“You were playing around like a little rascal, but now you’re scared.”

Moon-beom let out a dry laugh with a hissing sound and spread his fingers to firmly grasp Eun-hwi’s buttocks before releasing.

…Wait, what?

What did he just do?

“It’s softer than the hericium mushroom.”

The large, thick hand kneaded and fondled the protruding buttocks as if working rice cake dough.

“I like how it feels in my hand. Makes me want to keep touching it.”