The Dokkaebi Waiting for the Moon

Chapter 28

A game that makes both people feel good.

What kind of game could it be? Eun-hwi was quite expectant.

“Is it like tug-of-war or seesaw?”

“Similar, but different. You can do tug-of-war or seesaw, but you don’t need ropes or boards. It’s a game that depends on how you use your body.”

Tug-of-war without a rope, and seesaw without a board. What kind of riddle-like game was this?

He couldn’t figure it out at all. As he was deep in thought, turning it over in his mind, something suddenly struck him like lightning.

It was a game that all dokkaebi loved.

“I got it! Wrestling!”

Besides wrestling, there was no other game where you could compete in strength like tug-of-war and go back and forth like a seesaw using only your body without any equipment.

“Wrestling… That’s right. It’s pretty similar.”

“Is sex really similar to wrestling?”

“It’s similar, but more addictive.”

“Wow, I want to learn! I want to learn!”

The half-dokkaebi’s eyes sparkled with excitement at these words that stimulated his curiosity. Seeing the immediate reaction as expected, Yeo Moon-beom said with a slight smile:

“Then shall we learn step by step from today? We’ll start with the easiest since both you and I are beginners.”

“Huh? You’re a beginner too, Yeo Moon-beom?”

“I’ve never actually done it, just like you. But I know a lot in theory, so it should be fine.”

“Why haven’t you done it before?”

“Because I never felt the need to find a friend to do it with. I don’t trust anyone but myself.”

For Eun-hwi, whose lifelong wish had been to have a friend, this was difficult to understand.

If he also came to distrust everyone one day, would he no longer need friends?

Unlike himself, who had desperately wanted friends even amidst all kinds of bullying, Yeo Moon-beom had lived alone with his heart closed off until now. Eun-hwi suddenly felt sorry for him. With a pain that made his chest tight, he bit his lower lip and then suddenly remembered someone and asked:

“Isn’t Dr. Hong-salgwi your friend?”

“…Do I look like I’d do that kind of thing with that crazy old man?”

Yeo Moon-beom’s voice suddenly dropped low, and he glared sharply, looking just like an angry Baekdu Mountain tiger. Eun-hwi involuntarily cowered.

“N-no…”

“If it doesn’t look that way, why suddenly bring up Dr. Hong-salgwi?”

“Well, because you came all the way here to meet him…”

“I didn’t come to meet him, but to fulfill his selfish desires…”

Ha.

Unable to continue speaking, Yeo Moon-beom let out a deflated sigh and released Eun-hwi’s hand that he had been holding so tightly. Then, as if his passion had suddenly cooled, he lay down with a cold face and said:

“Let’s stop talking about this. I’m going to sleep. I’m suddenly sleepy.”

Gasp. He’s upset.

About half an hour after becoming friends, Yeo Moon-beom had gotten upset. Eun-hwi was suddenly afraid that he might not only give up on the sex game but also end their friendship.

Restless like a dog that needed to pee, the half-dokkaebi slowly moved to the edge of the blanket. After hesitating for a moment at the boundary between the two mats that seemed like a line drawn between them, he gathered his courage and tapped Yeo Moon-beom’s back.

“Um, Yeo Moon-beom… Are you angry?”

“I’m not.”

“Are you really going to sleep?”

“I should. It’s late. You should sleep too, Eun-hwi.”

Yeo Moon-beom turned his body further away, increasing the distance from Eun-hwi. His dissatisfaction was palpable even in this slight movement.

“…Please don’t be mad, Yeo Moon-beom.”

“I told you I’m not angry.”

“Then why aren’t we playing the sex game?”

“…”

“You said you’d teach me.”

“The mood is ruined. Because of talk about another human.”

There was a clear difference between being acquaintances and being friends. While it was true that he knew the man-faced bird that tried to eat him every time their eyes met, they couldn’t be called friends.

He had said he didn’t make friends because he couldn’t trust anyone, so when Eun-hwi asked about his relationship with Dr. Hong-salgwi, it might have sounded like he was doubting Yeo Moon-beom’s words.

How foolish of him, when he had promised to believe everything…

“I’m sorry, Yeo Moon-beom. I was wrong.”

Eun-hwi gently tugged at Yeo Moon-beom’s clothes and apologized in a weak voice. The back that had been turned away in rejection began to move slightly at the touch of Eun-hwi’s trembling fingertips.

“Yeo Moon-beom…”

Just as Eun-hwi was feeling relieved that Yeo Moon-beom was finally looking at him, Yeo Moon-beom adjusted his posture to face Eun-hwi like before, but then abruptly moved his body backward.

He was now out of reach even if Eun-hwi stretched out his hand.

Oh no. He probably doesn’t want to be friends with me anymore.

Tears welled up in Eun-hwi’s unusually clear and large eyes. His long eyelashes became heavy with moisture, weighing down his eyelids.

Just as he was trying his best to hold back the tears that threatened to spill if he averted his gaze, Yeo Moon-beom stretched out one arm and said to Eun-hwi:

“Come here.”

“…Huh?”

“Come here and lie down.”

Staring blankly with a pale face, Eun-hwi finally realized that Yeo Moon-beom had moved aside to make room for him.

Carefully crossing the boundary between them, Eun-hwi slowly lay down on the blanket that smelled of Yeo Moon-beom’s cool, slightly bitter scent. Yeo Moon-beom’s sturdy arm, twice as thick as Eun-hwi’s, served as a pillow for his head.

Worried that it might hurt Yeo Moon-beom’s arm if he put his full weight on it, Eun-hwi stiffened his neck and tried to hold his head up. Finding this sight somewhat amusing, Yeo Moon-beom chuckled lightly and forced Eun-hwi’s head down.

The arm muscle, which Eun-hwi had expected to be as hard as a wooden pillow, softly cradled his head, providing comfort. The gentle body heat against his skin instantly quelled the anxiety that had suddenly risen.

“I guess I’m unexpectedly susceptible to mood, huh? I thought I could do something like sex right away if I just set my mind to it.”

Yeo Moon-beom brushed away Eun-hwi’s fallen bangs and gave a bitter smile. Intimidated by the self-deprecating light in Yeo Moon-beom’s eyes, Eun-hwi rested his head on Yeo Moon-beom’s arm and just wiggled his fingers slightly.

He had often been called an idiot who couldn’t read the atmosphere by the spirits. Feeling that he had made Yeo Moon-beom uncomfortable because of this, he became gloomy again.

“Sorry… I’m not very perceptive.”

“Eun-hwi.”

“Yeah?”

Yeo Moon-beom spoke in a slightly lower voice.

“Don’t apologize when you haven’t done anything wrong.”

“…But you got angry because of me.”

“In times like that, you should ask questions instead. Say something like, ‘We’re not kids, why are you getting upset and making a fuss over nothing?'”

Kids?

“…What are kids?”

“People like me whose growth stopped at twelve years old.”

He was much taller than Eun-hwi, who had only finished growing after living through fifteen sets of twenty years, and Yeo Moon-beom’s voice was deeper, his hands larger, and he was stronger.

So they call baby generals who become adults at twelve ‘kids’, Eun-hwi thought.

Still not understanding the connection between the reason for getting angry and kids, the half-dokkaebi furrowed his brow and thought hard. Then, realizing that Yeo Moon-beom’s anger wasn’t due to his mistake, he looked up at Yeo Moon-beom’s eyes with a somewhat relieved expression.

“From now on, only apologize when you’ve directly harmed the other person. If the other person crosses a line you can’t accept, don’t hold back. Ask them properly.”

“Even to you, Yeo Moon-beom?”

“That’s not something you do depending on who the other person is. It’s solely for your own sake, so only think about yourself.”

“…Okay.”

Seeing Eun-hwi’s uncertain response, Yeo Moon-beom slightly raised his eyebrows.

“Don’t be vague. Answer clearly.”

“Alright. I’ll do as you say from now on.”

“This is really a big task. There’s so much I need to teach you.”

Looking at Eun-hwi, whose self-esteem was incredibly low, supposedly due to being ostracized for being a half-dokkaebi, Yeo Moon-beom let out a light sigh.

He had planned to confirm his hypothesis through more intense physical contact than just holding hands, but he completely lost his resolve in the face of Eun-hwi’s rare innocence and gentleness.

He had thought that to get what he wanted, he could sleep with anyone, whether it was a man with the same appendage as his or a half-dokkaebi.

But now, the reason he wasn’t doing anything was probably because of the person in front of him, who seemed to purify even the desire to taint and dirty him.

“If it’s too difficult, I might not be able to do it. Teach me the easiest thing first.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll teach you one thing at a time, slowly, starting tomorrow.”

Even after finishing his revenge, Yeo Moon-beom intended to keep Eun-hwi with him as long as the jangseung dokkaebi remained a jangseung, so he needed to educate him moderately about living in the world.

Of course, he would have to ensure that Eun-hwi wouldn’t harbor any suspicions about the skinship disguised as play.

As Yeo Moon-beom planned for the future in his mind, he bent the arm supporting Eun-hwi’s head and gently stroked the back of his head.

Seeming to feel at ease with the constant caressing, Eun-hwi relaxed his body like a puppy, entrusting himself to Yeo Moon-beom.

The feel of the soft hair, the sweet scent of skin that he couldn’t smell before, and the expression clearly visible even in the darkness.

The heightened senses he had briefly gained through the dokkaebi’s divine power evoked quite a pleasant feeling.

He looked forward to what would happen when he acquired even more abilities. As he imagined beheading Jang Gitae with strength that surpassed human limitations, he felt a slight tightening in his inner thigh.