How Druids Live with the Beast

***

“…Boss! Boss! The forest has returned!”

At the boss’s appearance, the Poiki quickly ran over and circled around.

“Suddenly, the forest ‘wooo’ and woke up! It’s so great!”

“Yeah! It went ‘wooo’ and the trees grew really fast, like super fast!”

Kyaaaarl.

As the sounds of laughter and the sight of Poiki jumping up and down filled the air, the boss couldn’t help but smile brightly.

The clearing that had once been so heartbreaking to see, every time they passed it, now appeared lush and full of life, bringing nothing but joy.

Then, at the sound of footsteps behind them, the Poiki boss wiped away their smile.

“…I’m sorry.”

Wham.

Eunho smacked the Poiki boss’s back forcefully.

As the fur stood up instantly, Eunho burst into laughter.

“This is enough. Now, our brief grudge is settled.”

“….”

“It may have seemed like I was living deceived, but leave me out of that. I want to get along with you guys.”

“…Why?”

“Because I like you. The reasons will come with time.”

“…What does that even mean?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

As Eunho brushed off the awkwardness, the Poiki boss still looked confused.

“Look, see? We can communicate, so there are plenty of reasons to get closer, right? Why think negatively already?”

“…!”

The Poiki boss looked surprised.

Puhaha.

Eunho laughed. He knew this would happen.

“You didn’t know, did you? Right?”

“…I really didn’t know. Talking to a human…”

Looking at the Poiki boss’s round, wide eyes, Eunho realized they didn’t look much different from the other Poiki.

They were indeed Poiki.

“Boss, your intentions aren’t wrong. It’s right to protect your kin. But your target for revenge is wrong. The people living in that apartment you attacked have nothing to do with this, and are not involved in the situation at all.”

“…I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t know, right? So, if this happens again… come find me.”

“Find you…?”

“I’ll deliver your voice for you. And there’s still one more step left, so look forward to it.”

Eunho smiled and then walked toward the Poiki.

“What does that mean?”

The Poiki boss chased after him and asked.

“Honestly, I was really pissed off that you cleared this area to build a golf course. I can’t agree with that at all.”

“You… you’re a human?”

“What does that matter? If it’s wrong, it’s wrong. Anyway, I’m trying to do what I can now. So you should do what you can too.”

“What can we do? I’ll do it.”

“Later. For now, shouldn’t we enjoy this moment?”

As Eunho moved forward, the Poiki boss grabbed him.

When Eunho stumbled backward from the Poiki boss’s strength, Heukgyeon stepped between them and raised his front paw.

“Do you want to die?”

“Relax.”

Even though the Poiki boss tried to explain, Heukgyeon didn’t move his paw.

“…I don’t think the image you showed me is a lie.”

Looking at that black being, Eunho could tell.

Despite having enough power to not want to fight anymore, it was still standing by a human.

It was a strange combination.

“You inhaled poison and cut your palm to grow the forest. Now, the reward is finally showing, huh?”

Eunho sneered, but the Poiki boss remained serious.

“But I can’t grant your request to get along with humans. I… I hate humans. They’ve always taken so much from us.”

“Were you afraid I’d make such a request?”

“…Wasn’t that what you were going to ask?”

The Poiki boss’s face showed surprise.

Eunho thought that it was a face he’d probably see often from now on.

“If I were going to ask, I’d say, ‘Just like me.’ I’m greedy, you know? I don’t want to share your attention.”

That person was being sincere.

The Poiki boss let out a hollow laugh.

He had never met a human like this before.

The humans he had seen always moved for gain and ended with gain.

What kind of benefit would there be in receiving their attention?

It was strange.

It felt unfamiliar.

And it was petty.

“…It’s Aran.”

He had resented humans so much, but now there was an exception.

How petty was this human?

“Seoeunho.”

Aran smiled for the first time upon hearing that name.

“Nice to meet you, Seoeunho.”

***

“…Human.”

“Huh?”

Eunho, leaning against Heukgyeon, lifted his head.

“Don’t give your heart too easily.”

“See, I told you, our big dog is the only one who worries about me?”

Eunho smiled softly.

“But big dog, look over there.”

Eunho pointed down the mountain, toward the apartment.

The Poiki were coming down and cleaning up the liquid they had buried at the apartment.

“The Poiki also made a difficult decision. But it’s the right thing. They should clean up what they did.”

“You’ve done something even bigger. Look at you. There’s not a single part of you uninjured.”

“Yeah.”

Eunho chuckled.

He reached out his injured hand.

He didn’t know how many stitches were in it, but it was big enough to start his first mission.

“It’s an honorable wound.”

This wound taught him many things.

If he didn’t control the price of his blood, the plants would keep absorbing it endlessly.

“Human. Did you forget that you inhaled poison?”

“Big dog, I’m tougher than you think.”

Heukgyeon snorted.

“Oh? Are you mocking me?”

“I just laughed.”

“No, big dog, don’t you remember how I didn’t show any pain?”

“When you cut your palm, you screamed.”

When the truth was mentioned, Eunho’s mouth itched.

“Big dog, don’t you know that’s also assault?”

“I don’t know. I’m not human.”

Heukgyeon wagged his tail.

“All I know is that you have no caution, you’re a bit slow, and you take a lot of effort.”

“You probably won’t believe me, but I was actually pretty capable.”

“….”

Heukgyeon looked at Eunho with a look of disbelief.

Looking into those yellow eyes full of suspicion, a hollow laugh escaped Eunho.

He really looked at him like that.

Eunho mumbled a little and called out to Heukgyeon.

“Big dog.”

“Speak.”

“But we did pretty well today.”

Eunho fiddled with his glasses and looked back at the entire process with satisfaction.

“I didn’t do anything.”

“That’s disappointing. We did it together.”

At Eunho’s clear gaze, Heukgyeon turned his head and looked into the distance.

It felt so strange to have a human and a mythical beast in one place.

Even now, it felt that way.

The warmth of an entirely unfamiliar being wasn’t unpleasant at all.

“Even if people are angry about this, when they see this, their hearts will change.”

“Do you really believe that?”

“For those people, this experience is almost like a first connection. Once they know something, even a little, their perspective changes. It becomes more familiar, you could say?”

“…I understand that a little.”

Heukgyeon’s eyes turned back toward Eunho but then stopped.

He probably would get proud if he looked at him.

Heukgyeon’s ears perked up. A light footstep was heard below, but he didn’t react.

“Seoeunho!”

At the sound, Eunho got up from his seat.

“Pipi!”

“The boss sent me!”

“Aran?”

“Yeah. The boss told me to give you this.”

Pipi took out something hidden behind his back.

It was a small cat doll covered in dirt.

“Humans don’t like what we eat and don’t like what we like, so I’ve seen humans have a lot of these.”

Eunho didn’t understand why those words were so funny.

Still, he was looking at the people. That thought lingered in his mind.

“As Seoeunho said, humans didn’t attack us. The way they looked at us was strange at first, but it gradually changed.”

Pipi kept talking, filled with wonder.

Eunho, watching quietly, casually asked, “What do you like?”

“Something shiny.”

Eunho wondered if he had something suitable, then put his hand in his bag.

When he felt something at the tips of his fingers, he pulled out a glass marble.

He handed it over.

“This is my gift.”

“…Wow!”

Pipi took the glass marble in his hands and smiled widely.

It sparkled.

As Pipi gazed at it, entranced, he lifted his head.

“…Seoeunho.”

“Yeah.”

“I… don’t have anything to give.”

“You already received something, didn’t you?”

Eunho pulled out the Mangle flower and the wreath made by the Poiki from his bag and shook them.

“Seoeunho kept my gift.”

Pipi’s expression twisted, unsure of how to handle the emotions, before softening.

“Thank you for finding my home, and for giving me the shiny thing. Thank you so much.”

“This all happened because you, Pipi, believed in me the first time we met.”

“I might not be able to trust humans like the leader, but I want to trust you, just a little.”

Pipi took a step forward and placed his hand on Eunho’s knee.

Knowing this was the closest Pipi could get, Eunho didn’t move any closer.

Pipi cautiously asked, as if it was a difficult thing to say, “So, so will you come find me again next time?”

“Of course. There’s still one step left.”

Eunho said it without hesitation, and Pipi finally blushed deeply.

***

When the car stopped, Eunho slowly opened his eyes.

After blinking a few times, Taeho appeared.

“We’ve arrived.”

As autumn approached, Eunho hung out the window.

“…Wow.”

He was immediately awake, and an exclamation slipped out.

It really was a three-story house.

It was just as it had looked in the pictures.

Although he had seen 40-50 story apartments, this house seemed even taller.

“…This is the house I’m going to live in, right? You’re not suddenly kicking me out, are you?”

“How could I kick you out, Seoeunho? Here, take your key.”

Taeho handed him the key and smiled warmly at him.

Noticing Taeho’s eyes seemed a bit moist, Eunho glanced at Autumn.

Autumn, too, opened her mouth after looking at Taeho.

“Doctor, let’s keep it brief. We’re all tired.”

“Oh, right.”

Taeho looked at the moon in the sky and quickly regained his composure.

“You’ve worked hard, Seoeunho. Maybe today will be something you can never forget. Seeing the Poiki… so closely. I don’t even remember the last time I saw them so up close. After taking so many pictures today, my phone got hot.”

“…Hyung, even if there’s a special protection zone for mythical creatures, isn’t there still a lot of illegal hunting?”

“Exactly. Poiki look so much like dolls that they’re often kidnapped.”

“That’s kind of funny.”

“So, I bought some land near the lab.”

“Ah, right. You said it was pretty big.”

“I bought it, but it’s really huge. Just spacious.”

There were no mythical creatures.

Of course.

No mythical creature would want to get closer to humans.

‘…Except for one.’

Taeho couldn’t hide his pleased smile.

“Can I visit later?”

“I’ll treat you like a VVIP.”

At Taeho’s words, Eunho chuckled.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

As Eunho opened the car door, Autumn spoke gravely.

“…Hold on a second, both of you. So what should we do about that tree?”

Taeho opened his mouth but immediately looked at Eunho.

With both of their gazes on him, Eunho slowly moved outside.

Autumn was the one in charge of this matter.

Eunho felt heavy-hearted.

“…That’s probably going to disappear soon. Wouldn’t it be okay to just say it was done by a passing psychic?”

He awkwardly laughed, realizing how strange it sounded himself.

“Oh, that’s a good idea. A psychic could have done that.”

Taeho chimed in with Eunho’s suggestion, but he wasn’t sure if that was the right approach.

As the atmosphere in the car settled, they heard the sound of Hyeokgyeon yawning.

“…Not bad.”

Autumn responded calmly while pulling out a tablet.

“Well then, I hope both of you have a good night.”

Eunho was about to close the door when a sudden thought crossed his mind, and he spoke up.

“Um, Autumn.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“Is it possible to continue the construction there?”

“Of course. The construction will resume tomorrow.”

“Hmm…”

“Obviously, we will stop the construction. The most unpleasant thing would be if the work gets halted midway, right?”

Eunho couldn’t help but be impressed by Autumn’s words.

“You really do a great job.”

“From what we’ve observed, they’re planning to hire someone.”

“…Who are they hiring?”

“A psychic. Probably for faster logging.”

Autumn’s straightforward answer made Eunho smile.

“Autumn, there’s an even better way, but I’m not sure if it’s okay to do it.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, just stopping the construction seems a bit lacking. I want to make them pay a little.”

“Go ahead. Just let me know afterward.”

“Thanks.”

“Well then, have a good night.”

After hearing Autumn’s farewell, Eunho closed the door.

‘This is turning out to be fun.’

With a smile on his face, Eunho looked at the house.

Tomorrow’s problems would wait for tomorrow, but for now, he should enjoy the moment.

“Big dog, they say this is going to be our home now.”

“Are we going back there tomorrow?”

Hyeokgyeon stepped out of the shadows and asked.

“Right, let’s do it. Tomorrow, let’s pull it all out.”

With confidence, he opened the door.

***

“…It’s coming, it’s coming. It’s really here.”

At Pipi’s voice, Eunho put his finger to his lips.

“Everyone, shh.”

Turning his head, he saw the Poikies hiding in the forest, crouching low. They all had dark expressions, as if they were all feeling tense.

“I trust you.”

Aran’s voice shook noticeably.

“If you’re pulling out the knife, you better make it count.”

Eunho looked ahead again. As the workers arrived for the construction, he took his glasses out of his bag.

“That psychic is the one.”

Hyeokgyeon, who had been yawning loudly, wagged his tail and said,

“Who’s that, big dog?”

“Yellow.”

“They’re all wearing yellow vests.”

“Just do what you want. I’ll catch that one.”

Hyeokgyeon stood up, and black smoke rose from his body. The Poikies, feeling threatened, backed away.

The force of it made the air tremble.

“A fine partner, huh?”

Eunho activated his raptor-like eyes and locked onto the target.

“Alright, everyone.”

As Eunho tapped the ground with his palm, the wind blew, making the trees sway.

It was as if all the plants in the land, having waited for this moment, unleashed their fury. Eunho was curious whether they would listen to him without this anger, but since it was exciting now, that didn’t matter.

“Get ready.”

The target wasn’t a person. Eunho had explained this to the plants multiple times.

The most frightening thing in modern society was money.

To delay the construction, he would have to destroy all the heavy machinery and equipment rented for the project. The longer the delay, the more the employer would have to spend—an unimaginable amount of money.

‘And they hired a psychic?’

It seemed like they used their last resort because the construction was urgent.

Psychics were few in number, and their hiring fees were probably very high.

Usually, if the terms of the contract were violated, there would be a penalty to pay.

“Let’s go! For the bankruptcy of the employer who did such a thing!”

Since blood was still flowing in the forest, Eunho shouted excitedly.

Hyeokgyeon instantly sent shadows of the psychic to trap them in darkness, preventing them from moving.

Thud.

Thud.

With loud noises, the forest moved.

The people who had come up to the site looked around, confused by the strange sounds.

They didn’t know who had done it, but the trees regrowing was already spooky enough. When the trees began moving, the people started doubting their eyes.

“…Ugh, aaahh!”

A scream finally erupted.

The trees were moving!

“Stop!”

The supervisor of the logging operation urgently scolded the psychic.

The psychic, however, frowned.

His body wouldn’t move.

‘…Is there a psychic here?’

Cold sweat ran down.

If there was a psychic here, the situation would change. Was this an unregistered psychic?

He was just a telekinetic user who could move objects.

“You said there were no psychics! You said all we needed to do was move the trees! This isn’t what we agreed on!”

“There’s no psychic! There was none! Damn trees just suddenly grew!”

“…You know this is a breach of contract, right? You should be prepared to pay the penalty!”

The psychic wanted to leave immediately.

Bang!

A loud crash echoed, and the supervisor panicked.

“Th-the machinery! The machines are exploding! Stop it now!”

The cost of the rental was astronomical.

But no one could move.

They all had to bear the full brunt of the forest’s fury, until the machinery was reduced to dust.

Eunho turned his head to look at the Poikies.

Quietly giving a thumbs up, the Poikies also raised their thumbs.

***

Eunho, running his hand through his messy hair, descended the stairs.

“…?”

He felt like he saw something and took a step back, moving cautiously.

He thought he saw something black.

It wasn’t Hyeokgyeon.

‘…Something’s sticking to the window.’

In that moment, the only thing that came to his mind was Bar Teacher.

An overwhelming sense of fear surged.