How Druids Live with the Beast

Staring at the stack of office papers slapping him in the face, the man suddenly felt a wave of futility wash over him.

“…I stayed up two nights to finish this.”

It wasn’t the first time such things had happened. In fact, “fed up” would probably be a more fitting way to describe how he felt now.

He had endured it countless times, but now even the will to endure had slipped away.

His delusional coping mechanism, convincing himself that sleeping four hours was “plenty,” had completely burnt out.

The four hours he lost commuting daily due to the high cost of housing? He’d grown tired of that too.
Those hours could’ve been spent subscribing to more animal friends’ video channels.

“…What’re you going to do, glare at me?”

Manager Lee sneered, stomping on the papers.

“Exactly. What would I do?”

The man no longer bowed his head.

“I’m sorry.”

The phrase that had become a reflex didn’t come out this time.

“Hey, are you crazy? Are you talking back to me right now?”

“I’m responding. What, are you hitting menopause?”

“Hey! Seo Eun-ho!”

Veins bulged in Manager Lee’s neck as he shouted.

For the first time, Eun-ho’s lips curled slightly into a smirk.

The spectacle of Eun-ho and Manager Lee startled their colleagues, who had been sitting listlessly, their dark-circled eyes glued to their desks.

Seo Eun-ho, always silent and quick to finish tasks like a ghost, had changed.

The man who had always treated the manager’s words as gospel was now pushing back, leaving everyone in shock.

“You want to get fired, huh?”

Manager Lee threw out the one phrase Eun-ho couldn’t ignore.

— Find somewhere with better conditions if you can.
— See if you can get a higher salary anywhere else.
— Find anyone who treats you better than I do.

For years, Manager Lee had drilled these words into Eun-ho’s mind, a form of psychological manipulation. Confident in their effectiveness, he now stood smugly, believing victory was assured.

But Eun-ho’s mind remained remarkably unshaken.

How much could that paycheck possibly be worth, anyway?

“Choose your words carefully, sir. I told you three months ago, didn’t I? Why does our manager always seem to forget the things I say?”

Having abandoned every trace of his once repressed personality for the sake of “fitting in,” Eun-ho let his true self come out.

“If that’s all you’re capable of saying, then you might be in trouble, sir.”

He knew this would happen, so he hadn’t left any room for others to find fault with him.

If anything, it was the company that had done things that would be legally questionable.

This wretched company.

This god-awful company.

It was a mistake to have joined such a black company in the first place.

He had believed that if he endured and held out, something good would eventually come his way. But what came his way? Absolutely nothing.

“Our dear manager, you’re in big trouble now. I’ve been the one managing supplies, handling staff, meeting clients, providing customer support, and even doing sales. Oh, and look at this—document work and marketing, too? Incredible.”

“Are you bragging now?”

“No way. You know, there’s that saying, ‘The company wouldn’t run without me.’ I didn’t think it would turn out to be true.”

Eun-ho clapped his hands as if he were applauding himself.

Clap, clap, clap.

“Our dear manager, the only thing you’re good at is drinking, isn’t it? A true liquor connoisseur.”

“W-what nonsense are you talking about?”

Manager Lee, flustered, instinctively sniffed his sleeve.

“I know there’s a bottle of booze in your drawer,” Eun-ho said nonchalantly.

At this, Manager Lee hurriedly ran to his desk, and Eun-ho bent down to pick up the papers.

Each of these documents had cost him sweat and blood, but what did it matter now?

“I’m joking, Manager.”

Carrying the documents, Eun-ho walked over to the shredder.

“You little punk, are you insane? Are you messing with me for real?”

“Manager, these papers are filled with my blood, sweat, and tears, but I’ve always wanted to see how it feels to shred them just once.”

“Hey, hey—!”

As Manager Lee rushed forward, Eun-ho smirked, showing no hesitation as he fed the papers into the shredder.

“Wow. This is more satisfying than I expected. Should’ve done this sooner. Oh, and by the way, these were the papers you needed to give to the president today. Good luck with that.”

Eun-ho shoved Manager Lee aside and walked out.

“Hey! Hey!”

Manager Lee tried to follow, but Eun-ho marched straight to the president’s office without a care.

He’d had enough of watching the president shopping during work hours.

“I won’t repeat myself. Make sure to pay my severance in full and settle my overdue wages. And don’t think reporting you to the Labor Office will be the end of it.”

Eun-ho glanced at the president, whose face had frozen, then pointed at the computer screen with his finger.

A shopping cart filled with clothes was displayed on the monitor.

“Do you come to work just to shop? No wonder this company is a mess.”

With that, he returned to his desk.

He grabbed his bag and packed up his things haphazardly.

There was no attachment left for this company anyway.

But he had to make it clear.

After unplugging the cables from the main computer one by one and holding it close to his chest, a nearby employee, who had been quietly observing, looked horrified.

Manager Lee, who had been chasing after him, also raised his voice.

“W-what are you doing? That’s…!”

“This? I bought it myself.”

“…What?”

“And seriously, what era are we in? You’re still running the operating system Door XP? At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if you started drafting documents by hand. Here, have a nice pen as a gift.”

Eun-ho tossed a pen at Manager Lee.

When Manager Lee instinctively caught it, Eun-ho chuckled.

“You catch like a trained dog.”

It felt incredibly liberating.

Riding the elevator down, Eun-ho loosened his suffocating necktie.

‘Ah, that feels so refreshing!’

Others might call it a reckless move, but for the first time, he felt like he could finally breathe.

***

Three months ago, while traveling to Jeju Island for work, who would have guessed that seeing a single horse would push him to decide to quit?

As he drank his double-shot coffee, staring absentmindedly, the sight of the horse running freely had shaken him to his core.

What am I even doing with my life?

The thought overwhelmed him, and he could no longer remain still.

“If only people could see how beautiful a horse’s legs stretch out when it runs.”

As his shoulders slumped, his nose began to itch.

“…Achoo!”

Eun-ho sneezed loudly.

Even though he kept his distance from the animals and wore a mask, his animal fur allergy refused to improve.

‘I wish this pesky allergy would just disappear.’

To soothe his regret, Eun-ho simply stood there, quietly observing the animals with his eyes.

It wasn’t even afternoon yet.

Since it was a weekday, there weren’t many visitors.

A few years ago—or maybe even just a few months ago—he had written down a list of things he wanted to do after quitting his job.

The first on the list was visiting a zoo.

He wanted to spend an entire day at the zoo, from the moment it opened to the moment it closed.

He loved animals.

Running a zoo had been his childhood dream, a dream that had since faded into a mere trace of what it once was.

“If it weren’t for this allergy…”

Achoo!

Eun-ho sneezed again and adjusted his mask.

At that moment, a fennec fox that had been happily running around suddenly froze in place.

Eun-ho instinctively held his breath as the fox, with its large, upright ears, briefly locked eyes with him.

Seeing those clear, pure eyes, the fatigue and gloom that had consumed Eun-ho’s face from endless overtime and lack of sleep momentarily lifted.

As a sense of relief washed over him, he heard muttering from behind.

“…I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t want this power.”

Tap. Tap.

The peculiar noise grated on his nerves, prompting Eun-ho to turn his head.

A man standing nearby also stopped in his tracks and looked back.

When their eyes met, the man suddenly smiled.

The smile was so unnerving that Eun-ho instinctively took a step back.

‘Is he crazy?’

“Excuse me, do you like animals? You do, don’t you?”

“Well, if I didn’t, why would I bother coming to a zoo?”

“Fair point. No one would waste time like this when they should be at work unless they loved animals. Got it.”

“I’m not buying anything, and I don’t believe in whatever you’re selling, so don’t waste your time.”

Eun-ho spoke firmly.

He couldn’t believe how pervasive these “Do you believe in fate?” types had become.

“That’s not it. If I made you uncomfortable, I apologize. As a gesture of goodwill, here, take this.”

The man held out a crossbody bag he had been carrying.

“If you’re going to offer me something, at least make it new.”

Eun-ho scoffed.

Just as he was about to walk away, his hand moved on its own, reaching out toward the man. His eyes widened in shock.

“You’ll need this more than I do. The animals seem to like you too.”

The man handed over the bag and smiled again, but this time, it was a lighter, more relieved smile.

“It’s done! Finally!”

The man clenched his fists and shook them triumphantly.

“What’s done?”

Eun-ho looked at him uneasily.

“Do you know what a druid is? It’s a job that involves cleaning up after animals. I absolutely despise animals.”

Eun-ho couldn’t make any sense of what the man was saying.

“What does that have to do with this bag? Look, I don’t even like it, so take it back!”

“Nope. You’re taking my place. Off you go to a world full of damn animals… or whatever they are.”

“Animals?”

The moment Eun-ho showed a hint of curiosity, the man shoved him.

“Thanks a lot.”

As Eun-ho lost consciousness, the man caught him and grinned.

***

Vroooom.

The sensation of movement jolted Eun-ho awake.

“You’re finally up? Honestly, you’ve got guts, thinking you could steal our stuff.”

The deep voice made it clear that this wasn’t the man from before.

Looking around, Eun-ho realized he was inside a car.

His hands were tied behind his back, and he was lying in the backseat.

‘…Am I being kidnapped?’

Though his heart raced, he tried to stay calm.

He turned his head and glanced out the window.

Slowly, his expression crumbled.

‘What… is this?’

The scenery outside was bizarre, as if someone had splattered various paints and diluted them with water.

The sudden and surreal situation left Eun-ho’s mind struggling to keep up.

“You thought we couldn’t catch up, huh? But here we are.”

“Mister, can you at least listen to what I have to say first?”

“I get it. It must be confusing to suddenly find yourself being dragged into another dimension. But what can you do?”

“Haha, that’s a pretty funny joke.”

Eun-ho forced a laugh while cautiously gauging the situation.

“…Should I laugh more? Was that not enough?”

“I understand you want to avoid the situation. Maybe you didn’t like what you got from the random selection. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime roll, and you didn’t get what you wanted. But running away wasn’t the answer. I’ve been stuck working overtime because of you. Don’t you feel bad, Mr. Kim Tae-eul?”

At that moment, Eun-ho recalled the crazy guy he had met at the zoo.

He didn’t care if that man’s name was Kim Tae-eul or whatever; he just shouted,

“That guy, Kim Tae-eul—he ran away!”

“……”

The man finally looked back.

Though he was driving a car, his attire felt oddly out of place.

It looked like an old-fashioned outfit interpreted with a modern twist, giving off a strange vibe.

“For the record, my name is Seo Eun-ho!”

Eun-ho shouted confidently, causing the man’s eyes to narrow.

“…What do you mean, no? The power has already chosen you.”

Wheeeeeee.

At that moment, an alarm sounded from somewhere.

The man’s eyes widened.

“…Wait, you’re really not Kim Tae-eul?”

“I told you, my name is Seo Eun-ho!”

“This is bad. Really bad.”

The man began to sweat nervously.

“What do you mean, ‘bad’? Are we going to die? Is that what you’re saying?”

“I don’t know! You should have told me sooner!”

“Hey, why don’t you calm down and think for a second about who kidnapped me in the first place?”

At Eun-ho’s pointed comment, the man clammed up before quietly admitting,

“…That would be me.”

“Right? So now use that brain you kidnapped me with and figure something out.”

“It’s impossible.”

“No, humans can do anything. I mean, they built the pyramids, didn’t they?”

“It’s not going to work! We’re already in transit!”

“To where?”

“To… another world?”

“Wow. That’s the worst joke I’ve ever heard.”

Eun-ho scowled, propping himself up on his shoulders, but the trembling car suddenly caught his attention.

“Why is it shaking like this?”

“We’ve lost our destination! Because you’re not Kim Tae-eul!”

“I told you I’m not him.”

“That’s not the point right now! We’re in serious trouble! We’re supposed to be heading to a medieval fantasy world, but now we don’t know where we’ll end up! The car might suddenly fall—”

Suddenly, Eun-ho felt his body lift into the air.

“Aaaaah!”

The man screamed as the car plummeted.

***

“…Ugh, ugh.”

A deafening noise echoed in his ears, followed by a wave of searing pain coursing through his body.

Even though his consciousness wavered, Eun-ho knew he had to open his eyes.

A smell wafted into his nose—one that was anything but reassuring.

‘…Gasoline.’

Eun-ho opened his eyes.

He was hanging upside down.

Leaking fuel was visible nearby.

Keeping calm, he steadied his feet on the ground and applied pressure to the seatbelt until it unbuckled.

Lowering himself to the ground, Eun-ho looked forward.

The man’s neck was twisted unnaturally. He was clearly dead.

‘…I didn’t want this guy to die, though.’

Frowning, Eun-ho broke the window with his foot.

Crash!

He crawled out through the shattered glass and tried to support himself, only to collapse onto the ground.

Oddly, it didn’t hurt.

Grrrrr.

The sound of a beast growling echoed in the distance.

Despite all the talk about another world from that man, Eun-ho had dismissed it as a bad joke.

But when he looked up, he saw something truly unimaginable.

A massive creature loomed overhead, so large that its face wasn’t even visible when he tilted his head back. Its black fur rippled like smoke, while golden flames flickered gently around it.

What was it? A monster?

Rather than fear, Eun-ho felt awe.

This enormous beast gently set him down on the ground.

‘…Did it just save me?’

The absurdity of it all stunned Eun-ho as he cautiously rose and stared at the massive creature.

It was magnificent.

Its black and gold flames wrapped around its body, exuding an indescribable beauty.

For the first time, Eun-ho’s dull, hazel eyes lit up with a gleam of wonder.

Instead of fear, he felt joy at the fact that this beast-like creature had saved him.

Forgetting even the pain, Eun-ho approached the creature and reached out to touch it.

Its fur felt as soft as cotton candy, and where his fingertips grazed it, a vibrant green light began to glow.

The light quickly enveloped Eun-ho.

‘…What’s happening?’

Startled by the sudden glow, the creature shrank, its enormous body compressing until it was only the size of a bear.

When the light dissipated from Eun-ho’s body, a tablet from the bag flew into the air and began typing on its own.

《.》

《.》

《Recognition complete.》

《Hello, Druid.》

《First, you have recognized a mythical beast.》

‘…Mythical beast?’

Click.

While Eun-ho was still in a daze, a photo was taken on its own.

The tablet’s screen changed, displaying a picture of the creature in front of him, along with its name.

《Black Hound.》