The Dokkaebi Waiting for the Moon

Chapter 9

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A gentle breeze carrying the scent of evening primrose lightly fluttered Eun-hwi’s starlight-drenched hair.

The shadow of the lantern hanging under the eaves swayed like waves. The moon’s reflection on the dark sea also rippled along with the water.

Sitting on a wooden platform in the middle of the yard, Eun-hwi looked at the mountains, sky, and sea in turn, then thought of Gabi’s face.

“I wonder how Father is doing…”

Although he had passed on the throne to another dokkaebi when leaving Mount Baekdu, he had led the dokkaebis for a long time.

It must have been an urgent and important matter for him to leave without finishing the game of hide-and-seek with Eun-hwi.

“I used to eat meals with Father here…”

Just like now, when Eun-hwi was sitting on the platform counting stars, Gabi would come out with a table full of food, saying he was showing off the skills he learned from the head court lady of the royal kitchen. The memory of those bygone days flooded into Eun-hwi’s mind.

“I miss you, Father.”

Although the half-dokkaebi lived perceiving ten years as if it were one year in the slowly passing time, his small body was too weak to bear the weight of accumulated longing day by day.

Take care and eat well, Father.

Eun-hwi wasn’t worried about his father’s well-being, knowing he possessed extraordinary abilities that neither humans nor other spirits could easily match.

He just missed him dearly.

Inhaling the rising aroma of rice, Eun-hwi, lost in nostalgia, waited for Yeo Moon-beom to come out of the kitchen.

“…Tch.”

He had been staring open-mouthed at the meat sizzling on the lid greased with beef fat, but Moon-beom had kicked him out, saying his drool would fall on the food.

Even though Eun-hwi was the host and Moon-beom was the guest, it felt like their roles had been reversed. He had taken over the kitchen like a mistress of the house.

But not knowing how to cook or even how to cut ingredients, Eun-hwi had no choice but to go outside as instructed. Gabi, too, always scolded him for being in the way whenever he entered the kitchen, so there was no point in stubbornly staying put.

“The rice is ready. Let’s eat.”

A deep baritone voice, different from Gabi’s tone, sounded from behind. Eun-hwi dabbed his damp eyes with his sleeve to erase any traces of sniffling, then turned to face him.

“…Wow! It looks delicious!”

On the table with elegantly curved legs outward, a set of brass tableware was neatly arranged with rice, stew, and various side dishes, along with an extra rice bowl. It looked just as splendid as the meals Gabi used to prepare.

The soybean paste stew boiling with large pieces of zucchini, mushrooms, and tofu, the young radish kimchi with tender leaves that Moon-beom said he bought at the market, and the seasoned amaranth greens all looked appetizing just by sight.

The thick tenderloin, tender and full of juices, and the marbled beef ribeye that seemed to melt in your mouth were cooked just right, making Eun-hwi’s mouth water. The grilled king oyster mushrooms on the side looked juicy and chewy even to the naked eye. Eun-hwi’s lips involuntarily quivered, and his tongue slowly peeked out.

“This is the first time I’ve seen such a meal in ten years.”

As Eun-hwi kept exclaiming in admiration, overcome with emotion, a puzzled look appeared on Moon-beom’s face.

“Ten years? Not six months?”

“Yeah. Father left on the day of the first full moon festival ten years ago.”

“Really?”

“Mhm.”

“Ten years…”

Moon-beom murmured softly, then stood silently looking at Eun-hwi with downcast eyes, as if deep in thought. With the light behind him, only his thick silhouette was visible, and his true intentions were as inscrutable as the moon behind a wall of dark clouds.

What is he thinking so deeply about? Did something go wrong?

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing. Just thinking you must have been very lonely, staying alone all this time. If it were me, I would have gone out to look for him myself.”

“Even if I’m lonely, I can’t go anywhere because we’re in the middle of hide-and-seek.”

“Hide-and-seek? The game where the seeker finds the hidden people?”

“That’s right. That game. Father is still the seeker.”

“Ah, I see.”

Moon-beom adjusted his ring, which had turned sideways, with a seemingly nonchalant expression. He took off his shoes and sat down comfortably across from Eun-hwi.

“But even if you’re in the middle of hide-and-seek, you must miss your father a lot if you haven’t seen him for ten years.”

“Yeah. I was just thinking about Father while looking at the stars and moon earlier.”

“How touching. I thought you’d only be thinking about eating beef.”

Moon-beom asked in a softer tone, as if changing the subject.

“What did you eat during those ten years?”

“In spring and summer, wild vegetables and potatoes… I dried sea snails and octopus to eat in winter. And…”

“Didn’t you eat human food?”

It was just a question about why he didn’t cook for himself, but Eun-hwi’s mind went to the incident at the mountain god shrine where he had stolen offerings. He couldn’t hide his emotional turmoil and his eyes darted back and forth.

“…”

He couldn’t have gone out to get food in front of people since he was an object of contempt and disgust, and there were no signs of him cooking for himself either.

Moon-beom quickly realized why Eun-hwi chose silence instead of answering and said with a hint of amusement in his voice:

“You did eat, didn’t you? In secret.”

“…I only ate a little bit.”

“Well, well. You weren’t a baby dokkaebi but a thieving cat.”

Eun-hwi’s face flushed hot at the playful tone. He stammered out excuses:

“B-but I had no choice. It was cold and there was nothing to eat… And Father told me not to even dream of cooking until I became an adult.”

“You’re an adult now, so you can do it, right?”

“Even without having my coming-of-age ceremony?”

From what Gabi had told him, without the coming-of-age ceremony, one couldn’t become a true adult no matter how old they got. Eun-hwi’s eyes sparkled with hope that things might be different in the human world.

“Whether you have the ceremony or not, there’s no need for you to do something like cooking.”

“Why?”

“Because I can do it.”

“…”

Still, it felt wrong to leave all the meal preparation to a guest.

As Eun-hwi fidgeted with his lips out of disappointment, Moon-beom, who had read his thoughts perfectly, spoke again:

“Letting me stay here is enough. Don’t force yourself to do something you’re not used to.”

He lightly pinched Eun-hwi’s cheek and let go, as if to say that doing nothing was the best way to help. Then he picked up his spoon first.

“It’s getting cold. Eat quickly.”

“Okay. I understand. Thank you for the meal!”

In truth, Eun-hwi had been waiting for permission since earlier. He quickly picked up his chopsticks and put the grilled beef in his mouth first.

“It’s really delicious!”

“Is it?”

“Yes! It’s really, really, really delicious!”

The moment the meat, quickly seared on the outside to lock in the juices, touched the tip of his tongue, a rich flavor spread throughout his mouth. The texture was so tender that it melted on his tongue without needing to chew forcefully. It was a taste that would make one want to jump out of bed and eat until their stomach burst.

His moist lips parted again. As he bit into another piece, enjoying the tender texture, Moon-beom, who had been quietly watching, spoke:

“You eat… better than I expected.”

“Hm?”

“Very neatly. Did your father teach you table manners?”

He had expected Eun-hwi to shovel food into his mouth hastily, barely using chopsticks properly. But Eun-hwi didn’t make noise by hitting his spoon against the dishes, nor did he make much sound while chewing.

He brought the food to his mouth with his hands cupped neatly to catch any dripping oil, then swallowed each bite with his back straight. It was an incredibly tidy way of eating.

It was like a monk performing a ceremonial meal. Though the comparison was slightly off since he was eating forbidden meat.

“Yeah. Father scolded me harshly, saying I’d have no face to see my mother in heaven if I ate carelessly.”

Eun-hwi answered only after chewing and swallowing all the food in his mouth.

“Mother? The jangseung dokkaebi of the Underworld?”

“No. My mother wasn’t a dokkaebi, she was human.”

“…Your mother was human?”

“Yes. She was a Buddhist nun at a temple called Manwolsa. They say she was the best dancer of Buddhist rituals in all of Joseon.”

The tragic life of a nun who broke her vows after falling in love with a dokkaebi didn’t particularly move Moon-beom, as it seemed like a nauseating story even without hearing it. What surprised him more was:

Can dokkaebis have children with humans…?

According to the documents provided by the monster expert, dokkaebis were beings that naturally occurred when spirits possessed old, blood-stained objects, and they had no reproductive ability.

He had thought they only imitated human relationships like father and son, and hadn’t considered the possibility of a direct blood relation between parent and child. Moon-beom’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“And they said she was highly respected by everyone for her strong spiritual power and excellent calligraphy. My mother.”

He carefully examined Eun-hwi’s face as the boy added this explanation with a proud expression.

Looking for any trace of an ordinary human.

However, Eun-hwi’s appearance was quite dokkaebi-like, making it hard to believe he was of mixed heritage. Not only the two small horns about the size of a thumb joint and the golden eyes, but every feature of his face was extraordinary compared to others.

Although he still had a childish charm now, once he grew older and lost his baby fat, with his round lines becoming more refined, he would undoubtedly become a being more beautiful than the dokkaebi in the scroll portrait. Exuding a strange sensuality that couldn’t be explained as human.

Well, look at that. How interesting.