Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
⟨Chapter 6⟩
“That’s it, huh? That’s how it should be, huh? I had truly no idea… Until now, I just got angry and bullied them to drive them away. Such a useless thing, huh? To really end it, you just have to send them back to their origin, huh….?”
Pieces of painful memories flashed past him, stabbing his heart.
If he knew it before, would he be able to drive away the demon that day? Would he be able to save his mom and others?
“… Would I?”
“It was just an incident.”
Baek Ran spoke as if he read Yu Dan’s thoughts.
“It would be better if it didn’t happen, but it couldn’t be helped. Because evil spirits are everywhere. It would be better if someone knew and helped, but… It was just a chance.”
“I heard that the world wasn’t as it used to be, is that right?”
Yu Dan raised his head.
“I hate troublesome work. And what happens to other people has nothing to do with me. But, if I can help even a little bit… Because I received help…”
“No, thanks.”
As expected, Baek Ran flatly refused.
“Though I had no idea from whom You heard some strange things, I’m curious from where on Earth that confidence comes from when You can’t even take care of yourself, while meddling into others’ business. It would be helpful if You don’t distract me and just disappear. But whatever You’re thinking right now, You will forget it all tomorrow anyhow.”
“I’m not that dumb!”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Baek Ran looked around with a smile.
“You saw too many things today. Too much for human sanity. Didn’t I say it before? I said that it was a human instinct to forget about the supernatural. You will soon forget everything that happened.”
“Wait a moment.”
Something really bothered him about the tone of his voice. It wasn’t until now that the fact he indifferently mentioned dawned upon Yu Dan.
“Then, until now, all the people who received help from you all completely forgot about you?”
“It would be only a bad dream for them.”
“But didn’t they receive big help? They really couldn’t remember even one thing?”
“Is there something very important about it?”
“So that’s how it is, huh?”
Yu Dan seemed to realize now.
Why this fox was said to use his power in vain.
It wasn’t that saving people was in vain. It was because nothing at all remained in their memories. Because everything was just erased as if it never happened.
“But I’m not like this.”
As he suddenly spit that out, the mood became strange.
Not like this?
Someone was whispering in his mind.
You’re the same as everyone. You will forget everything.
His conscience was turning dark.
What? What was he forgetting?
The appearance of the fox yokai was blurred. He seemed to be overlapping with some kind of silhouette. What? Was it deja vu? He surely saw him somewhere in the past…
He felt a chill in his heart.
“Who are you?”
“Who who?”
Baek Ran changed.
“Seeing how Your conscience is getting hazy, it seems that it’s already starting, eh? Now just return to Your world, please. The bad dream is over.”
He faintly heard the fox’s voice.
“Please return. Pass the mountain without earth, pass the bridge without ground to step on, pass the river without water, please return. Following birds without wings, following beast without legs, please return.”
As he listened to the words that seemed to be either a song or a spell, his consciousness gradually turned hazy. He had a feeling of falling into a deep and warm darkness.
The ever welcoming darkness.
He wanted to fall asleep in that darkness. But he couldn’t do that. If he fell asleep now, he would permanently forget everything.
He was clearly forgetting something very important for ages.
His mind was gradually darkening. Yu Dan tried hard to force his flickering consciousness to stay awake.
“Don’t!”
He struggled, and then his eyes snapped opened.
Everything around was pure white.
Morning sunlight was pouring in through the bedroom window, half blocked by the curtains. His eyes were dazzled. He raised his arm to cover his eyes, and then realized he was holding something in a tightly clenched fist.
He slowly opened his hand.
On this palm was a small scrap of paper.
It was a piece of talisman left when they burned down.
Something very rare, a smile formed in the corner of Yu Dan’s lips.
“See? I said I wouldn’t be like that.”
The clear sunlight touched the inside of his palm. The piece of talisman softly melted like ice and disappeared in blue smoke.
***
The bill of green money slowly slipped through his fingertips.
Behind him, the noisy voices gradually grew louder. A few people, who whispered when watching the scene, at last mustered some courage and stepped forward.
“It’s won? Did you win lotto?”
“Let me guess! You picked up a chaebeol’s wallet, right!?”
“If not, did you dig it out? Anyhow, you have to use it! You got it, right? Let’s buy pizza!”
The power of money was amazing. The children, who didn’t usually talk to him, gathered around Yu Dan to surround him and chat. Even all kinds of things residing in the corner of the classroom flocked and crowed with excitement. He frowned and was about to glare at them, but…
He just left them alone.
“Sorry, I have something to use this money for.”
“Ah, damn!”
Complaints spread wide. Because there was also a kid stomping his feet, it was very loud.
That was helpless. As expected, he couldn’t deal well with such situations. He should have made his unsociable expression like usual and chase everyone away.
“We can’t go like this! Let’s go buy ice cream!”
In the end, after plucking out a few thousands of won, he was able to escape with difficulty.
Even so, he had still quite a lot of money left. It should be enough.
At first, when he discovered a money bundle in his school uniform’s pocket, he was dumbfounded. Because he was preoccupied by the terrible events with the misfortune or something, he completely forgot the fact that the yokai, who possessed a bead before, thrust money into his school uniform’s pocket. What should he do with this money? He immediately came up with a good idea.
Yu Dan boarded the bus with light steps.
The Pagoda Tree Street was quiet and chilly like before. And the two-floor building with antique tile roof was also the same.
After he pushed the door of Banwoldang open, his eyes brightened.
As expected, this place was good because those things weren’t visible here. After such a terribly long time, no, for the first time since he was born, he discovered such a good place, but he should forget it?
He walked in with confident steps.
Just in time, Do-ssi came out holding an inkstone engraved with a big lotus leaf. Noticing who just entered, his eyes immediately turned fierce.
“Ah, no, who is this? Isn’t that the young gentleman with Heavenly Eye and life? What did you come here for again?”
If he made even a little mistake, it seemed that Do-ssi would pretend to accidentally slip and hit him in with the inkstone. Yu Dan swiftly entered deeper inside while avoiding him.
“I’m here to buy something.”
“Buy, you say? What are you here to buy? I can sell you the finest art pieces, each one gathered with great care with my amazing eye of a connoisseur, no one else will be able to ever sell them to you…”
“This please.”
He cut off Do-ssi’s words and pointed at the floor.
『Eastern Painting Magazine』.
Even today, it was blocking half of the entrance like before.
The face of Do-ssi, who stared at that wicked stockpile and then at Yu Dan again, was asking ‘Is one million won not precious for you at all?’.
“This, what, why….”
He couldn’t even get out a word out of his mouth. Yu Dan shrugged.
“The living room in my house is a bit empty. My cousin hyung made a fuss to buy some books and decorate it with them. In that case, I want to decorate it with an art article gathered with great care by an amazing eye of a connoisseur.”
Do-ssi’s expression turned strange, neither smiling nor crying. He kept opening and closing his mouth, and then spoke with difficulty.
“But they’re really not fun…”
“Huh? What is that unexpected conscience?”
“What? What ‘unexpected’? Can you say that again?”
“How about you put that inkstone down first!? And tell me the price first. Do you offer home deliveries here?”
Heuk-yo, who came out to see what all the noise was about, opened her eyes wide. The twins looked at each other and then ran to the back of the shop without anyone. Worrying he would lose the opportunity, he quickly followed them. After passing through a few empty rooms connected through a corridor, he found himself in the garden.
The backyard was very wide. As the dense old trees encircled an elegant pound, the atmosphere was completely different from the frontyard.
At the wide maru[1], under the raised high partition door[2] acting like the eaves’ visor, sat a fox yokai in white clothes. He stared at the pond surface, thinking about something deeply, and then he slowly looked up as if he sensed the presence.
And he narrowed his eyes.
“What is it….?”
Chaeu shouted with a pale face[3]:
“Look at this! Didn’t They say that one can’t live by digging? He took those words at face value and came with such a stash of money.”
Do-ssi, who counted the money, awkwardly cleared his throat.
“No, it’s not, well…”
“But a highschool student can’t save up such big money like million won.”
Chaeseol mumbled as she turned white.
“It’s all because uncle said useless things. There is only one way a student without money can choose. Sure enough, he went to such a place and sold it! His weight decreased about a hundred grams, and out of the two, he has only one left. If it breaks, it’ll be the end. You have to stop eating salt.”
“I didn’t sell my kidney!”
Yu Dan was at a loss for words, and then shouted.
“Who sells a kidney to buy an Eastern Painting Magazine?! It’s the money that the yokai with the misfortune bead left! Anyhow, isn’t it the same as using it for those in need?”
“Who is in need!?”
Heuk-yo stomped her foot with a bang and shouted.
“Ah, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“What no is no?! Are You ignoring that our shop is a bit in the red right now? Older brother! Don’t accept that money!”
“What do you mean? Why do you want me to pour cold water on this young gentleman’s reading hobby?”
“Older brother! Do I have to draw my sword?”
Everyone argued loudly, causing a fuss. But the moment the fox yokai opened his mouth, they turned quiet like a lie.
“I believe I spoke clearly. Return to Your world.”
His voice didn’t contain the slightest emotion like before. And like before, he stared at him with the eyes from which it was impossible to read his thoughts. But because it was the second time, Yu Dan wasn’t discouraged like during the first time.
“You said that, and I hate annoying things.”
Yu Dan spoke as he faced Baek Ran straight.
“However, what I hate more are nasty things rampaging in this world. In the end, the life is full of things I hate. Then I have to at least choose the things I hate less. As I don’t want to die some unnatural death, if it’s tolerable, I’ll try to endure, but… when I really can’t endure, I can come here.”
“And who gave You permission for that?”
“There is one thing I’m good at, and it’s not listening to others.”
“You’re really annoying, eh?”
As he said that, he abruptly stood up. A white sleeve flew at him with a swish. In the end, he ended up revealing his nature. Reminded of the scene of him lightly swinging an enormous spear, Yu Dan was startled and tried to avoid him.
Baek Ran withdrew his hand with a dubious expression.
“What are You doing?”
He realized his right hand became lighter. What was he originally holding something? At last, Yu Dan remembered.
“Ah, the cake…”
Baek Ran shrugged.
“What should I do then? Everyone liked it so much saying it been such a long time since a guest-nim brought such a delicious cake, so…”
When he untied the ribbon and opened the box, his hands suddenly stopped. The fox yokai asked with his gaze fixed at what was inside the box.
“But there is something I’m curious about…”
“What?”
“Do You perhaps know what happens if You shake a cream-like substance, which doesn’t have a fixed shape?”
“….?”
Yu Dan was embarrassed.
The previous time he was so nervous he was holding it tightly, but this time he didn’t have a reason for his arm to be stiff. Not only he mindlessly swept the bus card and drunk water when holding the cake, after entering Banwoldang, he completely forgot about its existence.
“I didn’t know. I don’t particularly buy things like that. I didn’t expect that it would break if I shake it…”
“Alright.”
Baek Ran raised his head. His expression was quite helpless.
“I’ll have to offer apologies for saying You’re like a fool before. I’m afraid, You’re not like a fool, but You’re really a fool. I should have known there is a very big difference between those two categories. The difference as big as the difference between the cake and something like a cake.”
“Can’t we eat it?”
Chaeseol had an expression as if she was on the verge of tears.
“Isn’t it okay? We can use spoons instead of forks. And eating a cake with your fingers is a fun experience too, you know?”
Chaeu energetically ran to the kitchen. Do-ssi and Heuk-yo looked at Yu Dan with expressions as if they saw the most pathetic human in the world.
“We need six, correct?”
Seeing how no one raised an objection to Chaeu’s question, it didn’t seem like they planned to chase him away in the first place.
Then they were alright with him.
Yu Dan was somehow happy.
*~*~*
[1] maru — open floor.
[2] partition door — 분합문 (bun-hap-mun), they’re hanok’s yard doors that, rather than opening horizontally, open vertically and are attached to the ceiling. Think about vertically opened garage doors.
[3] a pale face — in Korean it would literally mean ‘turned green faced’, but I’m not sure if those guys turn green, even if they’re plants…
Translator’s note: End of the first story ‘Receiver of Misfortune’. (As expected, all happiness comes from misfortune.)
Patron thank you note
Thank you patron, Nobody, please accept this Prunus armeniaca’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Al, please accept this Tropaeolum majus’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Luca, please accept this Capparis spinosa’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Links to advanced chapter (Patreon & Kofi)
> Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LibraryKeyTranslations
> Kofi-Euro: https://ko-fi.com/wanthetranslator
> Kofi-USD: https://ko-fi.com/wanthetranslatorusd
Did you see a mistake? 🐞
Leave a Reply