BBS (38)

Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost

 
⟨Chapter 38⟩
 

How much time has passed? He wasn’t too late, was he?

He solved it properly, right? He didn’t make a mistake in the middle, right? He didn’t end everything with breaking the box with Gokdugi and being left alone in this desolate abandoned house, right?

“Anyone there?”

“There is.”

A calm answer came back.

As it brightened up inside of it, something small appeared.

Yu Dan took a deep breath.

It was a round beret. Checkered one-piece outfit over bright-yellow clothes. It was the child from the photo. Her face was relaxed, and her chest was slowly raising and falling.

“I found her.”

Baek Ran came out after her.

“She was locked in the box for a long time, so we shouldn’t wake her up and wait until she opens her eyes on her own. After that we will confirm her state and bring her back. But there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with her.”

While saying it, he stretched his hand towards the air to retrieve his spear.

Yu Dan sighed.

His legs were shaking, and his head was spinning. He was so worried, he had no idea about it. Because his eye might sting again, he took off the blindfold and threw it out.

Baek Ran looked him up and down.

“You’re a mess, eh?”

“I know.”

“Why did You cover Your eye?”

“Gokdugi hated my eye.”

Yu Dan sank down to his knees.

“She was playing hide-and-seek with a doll when robbers entered and murdered her parents-nim. The child, who hid inside of the wardrobe was also finally killed, but even after death, she couldn’t end the hide-and-seek game. She had to continue, but couldn’t find the doll, so I guess she sometimes brought kids from outside… Actually, you came out of the box, so you would know all of it.”

Baek Ran nodded.

“You found that doll, eh?”

“Yeah. And completely ended the game.”

Yu Dan stared at the fox yokai, who stood quietly.

“You said you don’t know when the game ends, right? In fact, it was also ambiguous to me, but I’m certain now. After playing to your heart’s content, you say ‘It was fun. Let’s play again tomorrow’. It’s the instant you say it. In that instant it ends.”

“I don’t understand it very well. It doesn’t seem to have any logic.”

“Obviously. Because it’s the mind of the children playing.”

“The children’s mind? Obviously it doesn’t have logic, eh? And obviously I wouldn’t be able to understand it easily.”

“So I said I would follow.”

Baek Ran stared at him.

“How are You feeling?”

“Not bad.”

“Even though You were dragged around by a monster, because You covered Your eye with the eyepatch used by a yokai, Your eye hurts, it seems You were stabbed with a knife, though it was an illusion, and because of the memories of a dead child, Your head is also a mess?”

“Listening to you putting it all together like this, it feels bad.”

Yu Dan looked at the sleeping child.

“Even so, I’m glad that I didn’t get to see everything being ruined because of a result of my choice.”

Silence followed.

Abruptly he had a thought. About the words that the twins said with faces filled with fear.

Yu Dan looked at Baek Ran again.

“In the end, there was no need to use that knife this time.”

“Ah, this?”

Baek Ran took out a golden dagger from his pocket. Looking again, it was a splendid and pretty blade, but it was somewhat creepy. It might be because of the story he heard from the twins.

Yu Dan hesitated for a moment, and then asked.

“Why did you do that the previous time? Why make such a gore?”

Another silence followed.

“With that knife… You cut your entire body, right?”

“Yes.”

Baek Ran looked down at the knife.

“This body, it can’t be cut unless it’s a ritualistic knife.”

“Why did you do it? Both the twins and the frog just said that you cut your entire body with it and didn’t say anything more.”

“It’s a bit complicated.”

The fox beat around the bush for a moment.

“Did You never think about how I know that You can’t open the box?”

Yu Dan choked on his words.

He didn’t think about it. Looking back, how did he know?

Obviously, he would know because he tried to open it, right?

“It came from my experience. When I discovered the box for the first time, I didn’t know anything and just opened the box. What I found was a ‘part’ of the child. Exactly like in the old story. The parents prayed to Heavens and the box was forcibly opened, and only the braid of the child, dragged by a Gokdugi fell down.”

As if reminiscing on the old events, Baek Ran lowered his eyes.

“So I came prepared the next time. I made a monster from my bones, flesh and blood. Another Gokdugi. When Gokdugi takes another Gokdugi as a playmate. When another box forms inside of the box, they lock each other. In the midst of chaos, I snatched the child.”

He looked towards him with a soft smile.

“But that’s what constitutes a real crime.”

“I would think so.”

“So I left it as a last resort. Luckily, thanks to bringing a self-proclaimed expert this time, I didn’t have to use that method.”

Baek Ran unsheathed the dagger.

Yu Dan stared at the fox, and then asked:

“Why do you have to go this far? Why did you have to cut your body like a butcher meat to save a human child you didn’t even know?”

“Then should I let others cut themselves for some kind of reason?”

“None should do such thing!”

He felt a bit suffocated. Did he really not know? Or did he pretend not to know?

“I also have no interest in how others live. But because no one can say it, I’ll say it. You have terrified everyone with that action during that time. You gave them trauma. After getting to know you… No, you were like this from the very first meeting. So reckless. Did you never think it was strange, even for half a second? Why are you so stubborn about trying to do that until the end? Even if you succeed, you gain nothing, and if you fail, you only burden yourself more.”

“Why do You think I obtain nothing?”

“You don’t get any reward. After it ends, even everyone’s memories are erased.”

“Why do You think I should get any reward? Didn’t I say it from the beginning? I do it for myself.”

Baek Ran replied.

“No one can move without any price. Even if You say my actions look like an excessive self-sacrifice, I can at least move having the self-satisfaction of making a sacrifice.”

“You don’t have such a thing.”

“But I have something else.”

“What is that?”

There was no reply. He asked again.

“There is nothing that you don’t have in your study and your warehouse. They’re full of treasures I can’t imagine. But you mean there’s something else you want?”

“Because it’s something that can’t be exchanged for any kind of treasure. Because it’s something anyone ultimately wants. If not for that, we’re no different from the dead, but there is actually nothing special about a person, who gets it. No one can obtain it for You, and You can only search for it on Your own. You may struggle Your entire life to get it, but if You can just obtain it, You may call it Your greatest blessing.”

“So? What is it?”

The fox looked at him without a word.

It seemed he thought it was a time to change the topic, and sure enough, he did.

“But how did You read Gokdugi’s memories?”

“….Uh?”

“It seems she wanted to cover Your eye, because she hated You reading her memories, so how did You do it?”

Yu Dan flinched.

“Ah, that… I knew it was dangerous, but there was no other way. I didn’t know what she wanted at all, so… So I grabbed her hand, but why is it dangerous?”

“Because You don’t know what kinds of things You will pick out when Your souls connect. It’s fine when they try to show You something. But it’s too dangerous to look into them as You like.”

At that moment, the child twitched.

Luckily. He was glad of course that she woke up, but he was also glad that he could avoid the fox yokai’s scorching gaze.

Baek Ran stopped questioning him, and approached the child straight away.

The child was in a half-asleep, dazed state. It seemed she didn’t recognize where she was.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong. We should bring her home.”

He put a small white pill in the child’s mouth, and summoned a yokai. It was a five-tailed white Omiho (Five-tail fox).

Looking at the swaying fluffy tails, Yu Dan felt sleepy. He couldn’t endure his fatique any longer. His eyes were closing.

“Take care of me too.”

“Please don’t worry.”

He looked at Baek Ran putting the child on Omiho’s back and thought:

Cunning fox. A very cunning fox, who somehow always achieves his goals. He didn’t say what he is moving for…

His eyelids gradually closed.

There was something that hung on his mind. Gokdugi’s other playmates. What happened to the children, who disappeared into the box before that child? Did the fox see them inside the box?

It was a question he didn’t particularly want to ask.

Anyway, there was a meaning in getting at least one out of the darkness, right?

Now that the moon’s shadow has set. Goodbye children, who are leaving. Home the children have to go.

Someone whispered into his ears, as if singing.

His mind turned pitch-black. He wished his throbbing eye would get better after he wakes up, while he lost his consciousness.

***

Within a few days, many cherry blossoms already withered. Instead, they were full of fresh green leaves.

Yu Dan looked at the apartment rooftop.

The male student, who stood with his back to the night sky, no longer appeared on it right now. Staring at the empty air, he recalled what Baek Ran said.

Something that can’t be exchanged for any treasure. Something that anyone ultimately wants. If you don’t have it, you’re no different from a dead, but the person, who actually obtains it is nothing special. No one can obtain it for you, and you can only search for it on your own. You may struggle to obtain it your entire life, but if you can just get it, it’s the greatest blessing.

What the hell was it?

No matter how much he thought about it, he had no idea.

Was there really such a thing in the world? Didn’t he roughly turn him off, because he hated answering? If it was that fox, he would do that.

He thought about it more, and then turned around.

When he walked, dragging his bicycle, someone called for him from behind.”

“Yu Dan?”

…. Again?

As he turned around, the twins were standing there. When their eyes met, they smiled widely.

“Are you taking a bicycle on a walk today too?”

“Uhh-yeah. You guys?”

“We’re also taking someone on a walk.”

The moment Chaeu held up a leather leash, he had in his hand, Yu Dan’s eyes lit up.

“A husky?”

The twins brought a very handsome Siberian husky. From the broad imposing shoulders, to the bright blue like ice eyes. As he stroked its head, it wagged its tail, sitting down close to him. It seemed well-trained. He couldn’t hide his envy.

“I also wanted to raise such a dog. Where did you get it?”

At that, the twins giggled.

“Don’t you know this kid’s name? It’s Thunder.”

“Thunder? Wait. Perhaps… The something Thunder yokai?”

“Yes. Furious Thunder. Thanks to You, it was safely proven that the charges were false, and the punishment was automatically lifted. As a celebration it transformed like this, and went on a walk.”

“It was walking well, when it suddenly started running, and when we followed it, there was Yu Dan. It knows the person who saved it. And it seems to like Yu Dan.”

Indeed, the dog was energetically wagging its tail, while looking up at Yu Dan. After he met its eyes, it rubbed its head against his leg.

“But you know what? This kid is female.”

“What? That’s unexpected.”

“Oh, she’s also licking your hands. I guess she really likes Yu Dan. Isn’t that serious?”

“What do you mean?”

Instead of replying, the twins giggled again.

“How about we move? It’s too dark here. We said it before, but because someone may try to steal that precious eye, You may get hurt and… By the way, how is Your eye?”

“Nothing to worry about.”

“I’m glad.”

He left the apartment complex together with the twins, and walked on the walktrail circling the wall. The dog walked in front.

“Thinking about it now, You wanted to raise a pet animal? You can’t have a dog in the apartment, but if it’s a monkfish or a hamster, they aren’t noisy, and don’t lose fur, and…”

“Annoying.”

“I suddenly remembered. In the past, among the guests visiting our shop, there was a person, who wanted to raise a jeung[1]. I think they truly liked the one Cheonho-nim made.”

“They had a unique taste.”

“Yu Dan, do you have no plans of raising a child-shaped ginseng? I want to try to live in your apartment.”

“It’s fine if you live at the balcony.”

They were talking about this and that, when their steps stopped at the same time.

A shoe repair shop in front of the bus stop. The news subtitles in the television screen shining with a blue light entered their eyes.

‘Miraculous return of the lost child.’

Yu Dan and the twins concentrated their gazes on the television. They heard the comments of the archon together with the appearance of the police district team.

「…. was discovered in the scene while on patrol and safely returned to her parents’ arms. At the time of discovery, Kim-yang was still wearing the same clothes as at the time of her disappearance and was in a good health…」

The channel changed.

The three crossed the crosswalk.

“No matter what, it’s good that the lost child was found.”

“Right. It’s very good.”

“You can do nothing but admit it.”

The twins stopped for a moment and looked at Yu Dan.

“Thank You. For listening to our request.”

“Well, it was as the frog said, it was my choice.”

“We expected you to say that.”

The two kids looked at each other. After they exchanged glances for a moment, they turned to him again.

“Whatever You say on the outside, I think You’re a good person.”

“So why won’t you stop blaming yourself?”

They said that in one breath.

“What?”

Yu Dan looked at the twins. Something overlapped over the appearance of the two children with tightly closed eyes.

“You guys… who?”

The instant he put more strength into his eyes to see it through.

Suddenly, a spark jumped from his left eye. A sharp pain, like electricity running through his blood vessels, stabbed his eyeball. Startled, Yu Dan covered his left eye with his hand.

When he uncovered his eyes gain, the twins and the dog were nowhere to be seen.

What?

It was extremely painful. Tears were flowing down, and he couldn’t endure any longer and closed his eye. After the pain subsided, he opened it again.

“Where are you? Where did you go? Hey! Chaeu! Chaeseol!”

Even though he shouted and called, there was no answer.

Yu Dan dragged his bicycle, while looking around. However, no matter where he went, the twins were nowhere to be found. They really suddenly disappeared.

“What? What happened?”

While pushing through the darkness, he mumbled to himself.

His eye throbbed like before. No matter how much he thought about it, he had no idea why. It just felt as if he was possessed by something.
 

*~*~*
 

[1] jeung — a straw doll, like the one from the volume 1 story 1.
 

Translator’s note: I’m glad at least this novel acknowledges that self-sacrifice is a terribly selfish act.

End of the story ⟨Gokdugi’s game⟩.
 

 

Patron thank you note:

Thank you donator, Solor_Khas , please accept this Bredia hirsuta’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.

Thank you patron, Nobody, please accept this Cambessedesia paraguayensis’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.

Thank you patron, Al, please accept this Amphiblemma cymosum’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.

Thank you patron, Dust, please accept this Andesanthus lepidotus’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.

Thank you patron, Maru, please accept this Antherotoma irvingiana’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.

Thank you patron, kamisonk, please accept this Appendicularia thymifolia’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.

Thank you patron, Kasimir Ilmonen, please accept this Argyrella canescens’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.

Thank you patron, Tara Hess, please accept this Axinaea macrophylla’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.

Thank you patron, Ice, please accept this Bellucia pentamera’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.

Thank you patron, anonymous Kofi-supporter, please accept this Bertolonia maculata’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.

Thank you patron, Hematite, please accept this Blakea eriocalyx’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.

Links to support this translation and access to 8 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? 🐞