The Dokkaebi Waiting for the Moon

Chapter 37

“I’m saving it for next time.”

Ah…

So you have to save it if you want to do it again later.

Come to think of it, unlike Eun-hwi who eats the most delicious side dish as soon as he picks up his chopsticks, Yeo Moon-beom always ate the tastiest dish last.

He knew the pleasure of waiting patiently and savoring it when the time was right.

It seemed the same applied to kissing for him.

Being the type to feel satisfied only after eating the delicious things first, it would be a lie to say Eun-hwi wasn’t disappointed, but the anticipation for next time overshadowed the regret. Eun-hwi stared blankly at Yeo Moon-beom’s receding lips and finally let go of his clothes that he had been clutching.

It seemed that Yeo Moon-beom would grant the “next time” only after they finished the tasks at hand.

“Let’s wash up quickly. We’ll really catch a cold at this rate.”

“Okay. I’ll go get the clothes!”

Yeo Moon-beom watched as Eun-hwi scurried into the house, his small feet moving energetically.

With his eyes brightened by the influx of dokkaebi spiritual power, he could clearly see everything from the fine strands of hair like silk threads to the soft down on Eun-hwi’s nape.

As expected, the more intense the physical contact, the more power he could gain in proportion. Whether it was the intention of the Jangseung-dokkaebi or not, they probably hadn’t predicted that such acts would occur between two males.

Sorry, but I’m not your average person.

Surprisingly, he felt no aversion. No, it felt so good that he even forgot about the crisis for a moment in the heat of the moment.

The soft lips and hot, entwining tongue were a new kind of fun that made him want to indulge in it all day long.

He wanted to swallow whole and chew up the baby dokkaebi who kept begging for more kisses without even knowing what a kiss was.

“This is dangerous…”

He had planned to teach things one by one slowly, letting Eun-hwi get used to skinship. For that, he needed to seep in like a drizzle, but he ended up pouring down like an intense shower, unable to control himself.

The only fortunate thing was that Eun-hwi had accepted the act rather enthusiastically.

How on earth did he come up with the idea of feeding the immortality herb through his mouth?

Yeo Moon-beom found the dokkaebi, who was not just cute but incredibly cunning, simply adorable.

It was fascinating how this child, who couldn’t even handle a single bird and trembled at the slightest lie, possessed power rivaling that of the fox monster.

He opened his hand and exerted force. He tried to gather the dokkaebi’s spiritual energy flowing through his entire body by concentrating, but the dokkaebi fire that Eun-hwi had created didn’t appear.

To gain the complete power he desired, a kiss alone wasn’t enough.

He needed deeper, more intense contact.

Four. Dokkaebi’s Mischief

Eun-hwi watched as Yeo Moon-beom scooped boiling water from a large iron cauldron with a bucket and poured it into the wooden bathtub.

There was a separate furnace in the bathhouse, so they could enjoy a warm bath without having to go to the kitchen. According to Gabi, this bathhouse was built with much better facilities than the royal bathhouse used by the king at Onyang Palace.

“It’s ready to get in now.”

Yeo Moon-beom, who had checked the water temperature by dipping his hand in, called out to Eun-hwi, who was crouched at a distance playing with bubbles. When Eun-hwi tried to help fetch water, Yeo Moon-beom had strongly refused, so with nothing to do, he had been standing around until Yeo Moon-beom squeezed something called body wash into a wooden basin and created bubbles that didn’t burst even when blown.

Eun-hwi wiped his bubble-covered hands roughly on his clothes and untied the strings of his jacket. Then, as he was taking off his undergarments and turning around, Yeo Moon-beom’s gaze lingered on his plain, naked body.

“What’s wrong, Yeo Moon-beom?”

“…A rabbit?”

“Huh?”

“You’re all white. And pink down there.”

His gaze fell between Eun-hwi’s legs. There was a hint of amusement in his gently curved eyes.

“Pink? Rabbit?”

Not understanding what he meant, Eun-hwi bent down to look at his own body. There was nothing particularly noticeable except for his white, slender thighs. It was a body completely different from the cute, chubby rabbits.

“I should call Eun-hwi a rabbit from now on.”

“Why?”

“Because you resemble one.”

“I don’t look like one at all…”

“Nevermind, come on in.”

Yeo Moon-beom chuckled and gestured, sitting on a chair right in front of the wooden tub. The lacquered wooden tub was large enough for two people to fit in.

“Aren’t you taking a bath, Yeo Moon-beom?”

Seeing that he was still sitting on the chair with his sleeves and pant legs rolled up, it didn’t seem like he was planning to bathe right away.

“Later. After Eun-hwi goes first.”

“I wanted to bathe together…”

Eun-hwi had always envied the spirits who gathered at the Yongma waterfall to enjoy bathing together on Dano or Chilseok days.

He had been sad because they wouldn’t let him even dip his feet in the pond, saying he smelled like a disgusting human, and later even banned him from watching. So he had always wanted to bathe together like them if he ever made a friend.

“I was planning to wash your hair first and then get in the tub. Did you want to bathe together?”

“Why are you washing my hair? I can wash it myself.”

“I wanted to give you a scalp massage.”

“Scalp ma-ssage?”

Following “pink,” another incomprehensible word came out of Yeo Moon-beom’s mouth. Eun-hwi thought that although he disliked studying, he might need to learn these strange words for smoother communication.

“It’s kneading your head with hands to make it feel refreshing.”

“Like giving a massage?”

“That’s right. Like giving a massage. The water’s getting cold. Come quickly.”

Yeo Moon-beom pressed the lid of a brown container covered with strange words to squeeze out its contents.

Eun-hwi had once fiddled with the container out of curiosity while washing up before. He had given up using it because no matter how hard he tried, nothing came out, but now he realized it wasn’t meant to be pulled open, but rather the lid needed to be pressed down.

“…Wow!”

After slightly wetting his hands, Yeo Moon-beom rubbed his palms together to create white foam, just like with the body wash. Eun-hwi, who used to wash his hair with water boiled from sun-dried sweet flag from the mountain, was simply amazed at Yeo Moon-beom’s actions.

Would it become a giant bubble as big as a house if he kept rubbing his hands like that over and over?

Entranced by the foam that was swelling up and increasing in volume, Eun-hwi entered the wooden tub as if in a trance.

“Customer, please lean back.”

Suddenly speaking formally, Yeo Moon-beom had Eun-hwi lay his head in a prepared wooden basin. The water was filled just enough so that his face wouldn’t be submerged, allowing him to relax his neck without straining it.

Eun-hwi entrusted his head to Yeo Moon-beom, comfortably leaning back in the water that was warmly relaxing his body. Yeo Moon-beom’s thick, long fingers dug into his hair, kneading every nook and cranny and applying foam.

Perhaps because of the foam, there was a tingling sensation at the roots. Unconsciously lifting his neck at this unique feeling he had never experienced before, Eun-hwi saw Yeo Moon-beom looking down at his face with a smile.

“Relax, customer.”

Thinking that perhaps they were now playing a bathhouse attendant game following the word chain game, Eun-hwi also replied formally.

“How do I relax?”

“Just trust me and let your body go limp.”

Eun-hwi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly to release the tension. Yeo Moon-beom’s hands, which had paused momentarily, began to gently rub the inside of his hair.

Soon getting used to the tingling sensation at the roots as if finely ground mint had been applied, Eun-hwi became completely immersed in this thing called a scalp massage.

“Does it hurt?”

He pressed his fingertips with pressure on the acupressure points. Eun-hwi’s mind, which had been hazy, suddenly cleared, and his whole head felt refreshed.

“No. It doesn’t hurt at all.”

“Shall I do it a bit harder?”

“Yes. Please do it harder.”

He rubbed the boundary between the forehead and hairline with his thumbs, then applied pressure to the acupressure points on the temples, neck, and shoulders in turn, releasing the tense muscles. The fatigue in his stiff neck gradually disappeared.

“How does it feel?”

“…It feels good. Please do more.”

His whole body felt languid. As the tension left his fingertips and toes, drowsiness crept in, and his eyes closed effortlessly even without trying to shut them.

The sound of water sloshing in the wooden tub sounded like a lullaby. The white steam rising from the heated stone floor made his body feel lazy, like a wet cotton ball.

“Shall I do a treatment as well?”

“Yes.”

The massaging hands finally stopped. Although Eun-hwi didn’t know what a treatment was, it surely seemed like something good, so he answered with his eyes closed, without thinking.

“The hair clinic requires an additional fee, customer.”

“…What?”

Additional fee? Does that mean he has to pay money?

There were gold items at home, but no coins or paper money that humans used. In an instant, his drowsiness disappeared, and his closed eyes snapped open.

“Um…”

Feeling restless, Eun-hwi tilted his head back a little more to look up at Yeo Moon-beom, who was rinsing the foam from his hair with water from the basin.

“What’s wrong, customer?”

There was a smile on his lips, but his eyes were serious as he looked directly at Eun-hwi. The half-dokkaebi asked in a whimpering voice.

“What should I do? I don’t have any money…”