The Dokkaebi Waiting for the Moon

Chapter 39

There was a time when an epidemic swept through the village, and several elderly Mr. Kims went to heaven.

The despondent Mr. Kims of the village performed rituals, claiming that the dokkaebi, being an evil spirit, had unleashed the plague and brought calamity to the village. The memory of sprinkling rooster blood everywhere and shaking bells came back vividly, causing distress.

Although Gabi had explained that someone from the mainland who had caught a cold had come to the island and spread the disease, Eun-hwi still felt somewhat responsible.

Perhaps, as they said, it was because of the dokkaebi. He felt like the epidemic might have spread because he secretly visited the village wearing the dokkaebi hat whenever he had the chance.

Though it didn’t seem to be the same kind of cold as back then, he couldn’t just ignore these unidentified symptoms.

‘I should secretly visit the Mountain God while Yeo Moon-beom is sleeping.’

Since the Mountain God had promised not to let anyone else touch him, even the Inmyeonjo probably wouldn’t act recklessly like before. Despite its rough and fierce nature, the Inmyeonjo was the Mountain God’s long-time loyal servant.

Eun-hwi watched Yeo Moon-beom, who was sweating profusely while boiling something in the kitchen since morning. Thanks to eating the immortality herb recently, which had improved his physical strength, it seemed unlikely that he would end up as badly as the village Mr. Kims, but it was still better to be careful.

‘Let’s cure this illness quickly. Then we can kiss.’

The one fortunate thing was that the strange liquid didn’t come out while he was awake. If he stayed up until late at night and then went to get the immortality herb from the Mountain God, there would be no chance of being caught with dirty undergarments.

The half-dokkaebi’s expression turned solemn as he made up his mind. His small white feet moved busily in the laundry basin.

Although the stain on his heart still remained, it seemed he would be able to wash it clean soon.

“Here. Your eyelash fell.”

They were taking a breather, sitting on the porch after hanging the laundry in a sunny spot. Yeo Moon-beom approached, his face almost touching Eun-hwi’s, and blew gently on his cheek where the eyelash had fallen.

The thin, moist breath tickled his skin softly. Eun-hwi, who had been lost in thought with his eyes half-open, was startled and pushed Yeo Moon-beom’s chest away reflexively.

“Ugh.”

“S-sorry, Yeo Moon-beom. I was just surprised…”

He had pushed him away without thinking, believing Yeo Moon-beom was about to kiss him even though he hadn’t cured his illness yet. Eun-hwi panicked and checked on Yeo Moon-beom’s condition.

“That’s why I told you to go rest in the room while I do the laundry.”

His voice was mixed with reproach, as if his feelings were hurt.

However, it was closer to concern than irritation. It seemed he thought Eun-hwi’s dizziness had recurred during the laundry, weakening his body again.

“It’s not because I’m dizzy, I was just thinking… Sorry. Did it hurt?”

“What were you thinking about?”

“Well…”

He couldn’t bring himself to say that he was thinking about how to stay away from Yeo Moon-beom all day and how not to transmit the disease.

When Eun-hwi remained silent and lowered his head, Yeo Moon-beom sighed lightly and spoke in a calm tone, as if to say there was no need to force himself.

“I made bean sprout soup on purpose because it’s good to eat when you have a cold. It might be hard to chew and swallow the bean sprouts, so I’ll put some in the broth with rice for you. Eat and then sleep.”

Eun-hwi had planned to spend the day away from Yeo Moon-beom as much as possible until the unknown symptoms disappeared. Pretending to be really sick and staying alone in the room wasn’t a bad idea, but if he accidentally fell asleep and that liquid came out again…

Eun-hwi’s heart sank, and he hastily exclaimed,

“No, I can’t! I need to go water the field.”

“Are you in your right mind or not? You’re in this condition and you want to go out to work in the field?”

Yeo Moon-beom finally raised his voice. Despite inwardly feeling intimidated by his stern expression that seemed to tolerate nothing, Eun-hwi stared straight into his eyes without avoiding them.

If he cowered and backed down here, he’d end up having to wash his undergarments again. Although he felt sorry for Yeo Moon-beom, he had to prevent that at all costs.

“Why do you keep telling me to go to the room and sleep when I don’t want to? I’m not sick at all. I’m not hungry either. You can eat the bean sprout soup by yourself!”

It was true that he had lost his appetite due to worrying about the illness. Eun-hwi deliberately got up from his seat and shoved his feet into his shoes.

“…”

Yeo Moon-beom swept back his fallen bangs with a disgruntled expression, perhaps surprised as Eun-hwi had never confronted him like this before. His pupils shook momentarily, seemingly taken aback by the unexpected behavior.

“I’m going to work in the field.”

Eun-hwi put on his straw hat and headed towards the well. Just as he was feeling relieved, thinking this should be enough,

“Alright, I’ll come with you. I’ll help.”

Yeo Moon-beom persistently held onto him.

“I can do it all by myself, so leave me alone!”

He had never argued even with Gabi, with whom he had lived for a long time. Although it wasn’t his true feelings, his heart pounded as if it would burst, as it was the first time he had ever yelled at someone in anger.

He felt like he had become one of the spirits who used to bully him. Even to himself, he seemed like a mischievous dokkaebi who looked down on others and didn’t listen to what they had to say.

He was scared that even if his illness cleared up completely, Yeo Moon-beom might end up hating him.

‘I’m sorry, Yeo Moon-beom. I’m sorry… Please don’t say we should stop being friends. I’ll definitely apologize tomorrow.’

The burning gaze on the back of his head was more than uncomfortable. He was filled with the urge to run into Yeo Moon-beom’s arms and cry his heart out.

Nevertheless, Eun-hwi showed no sign of emotion as he drew water from the well and poured it into the basin.

Swoosh—

Amidst the loud sound of water, a small murmur could be heard.

“…Has puberty arrived?”

It was a calm tone, like a father dealing with his son.

The unevenly cut bangs trembled finely above the crescent moon-like eyebrows.

Nod.

The neck that had been barely supporting the small head suddenly bent as if it would fall off, tilting until the nose almost touched the ground. Startled awake by the sudden impact, Eun-hwi straightened his back and corrected his posture.

“Yawn, I’m sleepy…”

Covering his mouth that was yawning involuntarily, he forced strength into his drooping eyes. After focusing on field work and household chores while avoiding Yeo Moon-beom, he was overcome with sleepiness from early evening.

Since living with Yeo Moon-beom, his habit of waking up late in the afternoon and being active until dawn had reversed, making him spend his days more like a human than anyone else. Although he still had to wear a straw hat as he couldn’t look directly at the sun, he had become quite accustomed to working during the yang-filled daytime.

“Eun-hwi. Come eat dinner.”

“…I’m not hungry.”

Eun-hwi, who had come into the library under the pretext of reading a book and was sitting at the desk, quickly picked up the book he had put down and pretended to read. Seeing that Eun-hwi showed no signs of getting up, Yeo Moon-beom, who had been standing outside the door, approached and glanced at the title written on the cover.

“Do you know what you’re reading?”

“O-of course.”

“What’s the title of the book?”

“Uh? Um…”

The dense, difficult Chinese characters made his eyes spin and head throb just by looking at them. Still, he wasn’t completely ignorant, so Eun-hwi stammered out the book title.

“Sina, beop… abang?”

“Silla Beopsa Bang (新羅法師方).”

He pronounced the full title correctly, including the characters Eun-hwi couldn’t read properly.

“Oh… Right. That’s it, that’s it.”

“Stop reading and come out. I’m going to grill some beef. You’ll regret it if you don’t come.”

“…Beef?”

Growl.

After skipping breakfast and lunch, saying he had no appetite, a sudden thunderous sound came from his stomach. It was only yesterday that he had been accustomed to living with an empty stomach, but after eating luxurious meals three times a day, his stomach was now growling even at the slightest hunger.

Yeo Moon-beom asked Eun-hwi, who was hugging his hungry stomach to prevent the sound from coming out:

“Are you still not coming out?”

“…”

What should I do?

He couldn’t resist the smell of grilling beef. The half-dokkaebi, who was fidgeting and stamping his feet, unable to decide what to do, looked up at the smooth face with upturned lips and asked:

“Hey, Yeo Moon-beom.”

“What?”

“Are you feeling sick anywhere?”

“If anything, I’m overflowing with energy. Not at all.”

“That’s a relief…”

“Why are you suddenly asking that?”

“Oh, well… I just thought of it while reading the book.”

“Hmm. Is that so? I thought you were just looking at the pictures, but it seems you actually read something?”

In fact, he hadn’t even looked at the characters as he was dozing off while sitting. Eun-hwi, relieved that his made-up excuse seemed to have worked, carefully examined Yeo Moon-beom’s face.

He was checking to see if there were any signs that the illness had been transmitted.

“I’m really not sick. But I am hungry, so let’s go eat.”

“Okay…”

Even after living together in the same house for days, the fact that only he had become strange suggested that fortunately, it didn’t seem to be as contagious as the epidemic that had swept through the village long ago. Finally feeling reassured, Eun-hwi got up as if being pushed and followed him.

“Um, Yeo Moon-beom.”

He called out his name while looking at his broad, sturdy back as he walked ahead. Even though he had been irritable for no reason, which could have hurt Yeo Moon-beom’s feelings, Eun-hwi was very grateful for his unwavering kindness.

“Yes? What is it, Eun-hwi?”

Eun-hwi rubbed his nose, which had become not just tingly but prickly, and spoke in a small but clear voice to Yeo Moon-beom, who had turned around to look at him:

“I’m sorry for getting angry earlier. It was my fault.”

“Why were you angry? Did you dislike the bean sprout soup that much?”

“It’s not that… I just wanted to be alone outside… You didn’t do anything wrong, Yeo Moon-beom. It’s all my fault. I’ve become strange…”

Footnote:

1) Silla Beopsa Bang (新羅法師方): A medical text compiled during the Silla period. It is said to contain content about bangjungsu (methods of sexual cultivation).