The Dokkaebi Waiting for the Moon

Chapter 32

“The riffraff from the lower village?”

“There are kids who can’t understand what people say and can’t do what they’re told to do.”

Perhaps he was talking about his subordinate constables on the mainland…

Seeming satisfied that his cute axe-wielding had been quite effective, he smiled contentedly.

Although Eun-hwi didn’t know exactly who the three riffraff were, he felt proud seeing the gentle smile on Yeo Moon-beom’s face. He carefully lifted the axe blade, positioning it well.

It seemed like the trunk would split cleanly after just two or three more big swings, if he aimed precisely at the widened crack.

Eun-hwi raised the axe with all his might, just like before. He was about to swing it down, bending his waist to use the momentum, when Yeo Moon-beom, who had been watching, reached out and firmly grasped the handle.

“Once is enough for being cute.”

“…Huh?”

“It’ll be tiring if you keep going. Give it here. I’ll do it.”

“No. I’ll do it all, so Yeo Moon-beom, you go sit over there.”

As Eun-hwi gestured with his chin towards the shade of a tree, Yeo Moon-beom spoke in a low tone:

“You’ll get blisters on your hands. Don’t do it.”

Indeed, on days when he gathered firewood, blisters would form on his palms, burst, and sting.

But wouldn’t Yeo Moon-beom’s hands be damaged by axe work just the same?

While Eun-hwi’s wounds would heal in a day or two, it wouldn’t be the same for Yeo Moon-beom, who was human. The three scars etched deeply on his face that never faded were enough proof of that fact.

As Eun-hwi hesitated, unable to let go of the handle, Yeo Moon-beom showed him his large, thick palm as if to say there was nothing to worry about.

“I have a lot of calluses, so I don’t get blisters from this kind of thing.”

“You really do. It looks very hard.”

“I know because I often beat up trash. Eun-hwi, go gather small branches.”

“Okay.”

“And don’t go far away without saying anything.”

“Alright. I won’t.”

Eun-hwi handed the axe to him and stepped back.

Thwack!

Yeo Moon-beom, gripping the handle firmly, swung his arm with bulging, uneven muscles. With that single axe stroke, the tree trunk split along the grain.

“He’s stronger than my father…”

There was a reason he had confidently grasped the handle. The way he swung the axe smoothly, as if well-practiced, was incredibly impressive.

Eun-hwi kept expressing admiration as he watched the muscular body, then finally came to his senses and started gathering small branches for kindling.

Even if he couldn’t wield the axe, he wanted to at least help Yeo Moon-beom by diligently collecting small branches.

Drip. Drip.

“Huh? It’s raining.”

Just as Eun-hwi was about to grasp one more branch, his arms already full of dry twigs, he saw large raindrops falling on the big leaves.

Plop, plop plop.

Feeling the cold sensation of raindrops wetting his white ramie jacket, Eun-hwi lifted his head and looked up at the gray sky visible beneath the brim of his bamboo hat.

The dark, lowering storm clouds looked ominous. He hadn’t noticed the sky getting so dark while focusing on searching for twigs on the ground.

The half-dokkaebi jumped up, sensing an impending downpour, and quickly ran towards where Yeo Moon-beom was. Although he was fine with his hat on, Yeo Moon-beom had nothing to shelter him from the rain.

“Yeo Moon-beom!”

The light drizzle quickly turned into a torrential downpour. In an instant, they were soaked through.

“Yeo Moon-beom! Where are you?”

Through the hazy view obscured by mist, Eun-hwi saw Yeo Moon-beom moving their belongings under a giant zelkova tree to escape the rain.

Eun-hwi’s heart sank. That place was the mountain god’s domain, absolutely forbidden to enter.

“Eun-hwi. Over here!”

As Eun-hwi stood in the rain, having stepped inside the boundary, Yeo Moon-beom gestured for him to come quickly. However, Eun-hwi couldn’t take another step due to the strong negative energy spreading like ripples.

“Not only have you set foot in this sacred forest again, but you’ve brought a human! You’ve truly lost your mind!”

The man-faced bird revealed itself from within the deep shadows. Simultaneously, a sharp, spirit-laden wind blew. The branches in the half-dokkaebi’s hands scattered in all directions.

“Aah!”

Caught in the wind with no time to dodge, Eun-hwi’s back slammed hard against a thick tree trunk.

The man-faced bird seemed furious, likely thinking its warnings had been ignored. It was far more powerful than usual when it merely threatened him.

As tears welled up from the pain spreading across his back, Eun-hwi’s eyes met those of Yeo Moon-beom, who was rushing over with a shocked expression.

“Eun-hwi!”

He seemed unable to assess the situation, not seeing the man-faced bird at all, and was scanning Eun-hwi’s surroundings with sharply raised eyes.

Unaware that he had entered the attack range of the spirit in combat stance.

“D-don’t come! Yeo Moon-beom, it’s dangerous! Run away quickly!”

The man-faced bird would continue its tantrum until the sun, now hidden behind rain clouds, reappeared. Its face, pale as if powdered, was contorted more hideously than usual, filled with rage.

Although Eun-hwi was used to such harassment, having always endured it, he didn’t want Yeo Moon-beom to be harmed too. The spirit’s power would be especially dangerous to him as a human.

“Where do you think you’re escaping to! You absolutely can’t get away!”

The man-faced bird took to the sky, flapping its large wings. Sensing it was about to swoop down and unleash wind, Eun-hwi shouted loudly once more.

“Yeo Moon-beom, dodge!”

As the man-faced bird fluttered its wings spread wide like a fan, a strong wind and rain lashed out. Yeo Moon-beom, running towards Eun-hwi with a terrifyingly hardened face, staggered greatly.

He covered his face with his arm while bracing himself with both legs on the ground. The relentless wind pushed him back slightly, his feet scraping the ground. However, Yeo Moon-beom didn’t give up, enduring to the end and taking steps forward one by one.

“Wait, Eun-hwi. I’m coming.”

Enraged by this determined attitude, the man-faced bird shouted:

“How laughable that a mere human dares to withstand this man-faced bird’s wind! Let’s see how long you can endure!”

The strong wind showed no signs of stopping, becoming more and more ominous. Yeo Moon-beom cursed and reached for his pocket.

“Shit.”

Seeing it blow against the normal air current, he realized this wasn’t an ordinary wind. Wondering if it might be the spirit that usually bullied Eun-hwi, he tried to check its appearance with the Jomakyung, but the fierce wind penetrating his entire body made it difficult to take out the mirror.

Though he couldn’t identify it, it seemed to be no ordinary spirit. Yeo Moon-beom, who had thought of it as mere childish fighting, regretted taking the violence inflicted on Eun-hwi lightly until now.

Where on that small, delicate body was there a place to hit?

…I’ll kill it.

Below his sharply raised black eyebrows, a fierce light flashed in his eyes full of murderous intent. That gaze, chilling to those who saw it, was the look of a predator craving blood.

“Leave Yeo Moon-beom alone!”

Eun-hwi, who had been too gentle to even question others before, picked up pebbles with his small, fern-like hands and threw them wildly into the air.

Seeing him struggle for his sake, despite being able to escape easily by transforming into a dokkaebi fire, Yeo Moon-beom’s heart suddenly calmed.

Truly, it reminded him of his past self, powerless to protect his mother. Yeo Moon-beom clenched his fist, drawing together his cold fingertips.

“How dare a half-dokkaebi brat reeking of foul human smell do this to me, the great man-faced bird!”

The wind momentarily stopped, as if the pebbles surrounded by a pale blue aura had struck it. Seizing this opportunity, Yeo Moon-beom quickly took out a palm-sized Jomakyung from his pants pocket and confirmed the spirit’s appearance reflected in the mirror.

‘There’s no way a person could be here. I made sure no one could come up. I must have seen wrong.’

Narrow, long monolid eyes with sharply upturned corners. A wide forehead, long nose, and thick jaw characteristic of northern peoples.

It was the face of the man he had glimpsed in the dark shadows when comforting Eun-hwi, who was crying over losing his hericium mushroom.

He had dismissed it as mistaking a large tree knot for a person, since it was an unfamiliar appearance he had never seen before. But to think that the man who seemed like an illusion that day was actually the man-faced bird, a half-human, half-bird monster with a human face.

How should I get rid of that fucking winged bastard?

Though he desperately wanted to rush out and chop off its long crane-like neck with the axe right away, protecting Eun-hwi came first now.

After quickly assessing the situation, Yeo Moon-beom spat out the rainwater that had flowed into his mouth and stepped back. Pretending to be swept away, unable to withstand the pressure of the oncoming wind.

Taking large steps backward to where their belongings were, he took out the dokkaebi hat from the cooler and put it on his head. Of course, he didn’t forget to firmly grasp the well-sharpened axe.

“…Did it disappear?”

The man-faced bird, who had been mercilessly blowing wind, suddenly looked around, perhaps annoyed that Eun-hwi, who had never attacked first before, was now confronting it.

Searching for traces of the vanished human energy.

Eun-hwi, who had been lying face down on the ground, curled up and trembling, sighed in relief when he realized Yeo Moon-beom had put on the dokkaebi hat.

Just as he was about to transform into a dokkaebi fire himself, hoping Yeo Moon-beom would escape home quickly,

“This must be your doing!”

The man-faced bird, beyond anger and on the verge of exploding, raised its sharply curved claws and charged straight at Eun-hwi.

Paralyzed by the negative energy binding his whole body and a fear that made his hair stand on end, Eun-hwi couldn’t move a finger. As he blankly watched the approaching claws, frozen in place, he unconsciously squeezed his eyes shut.

Just as he was despairing that this might be the end, without becoming human or seeing his father’s face again,

“Watch out!”

A large body with strong arms and chest embraced Eun-hwi tightly, taking the man-faced bird’s attack in his place.

Though there was no strong scent of peppermint or powerful energy resembling the sun’s yang energy, Eun-hwi knew. He knew that the being protecting him was Yeo Moon-beom wearing the dokkaebi hat.