Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
⟨Chapter 33⟩
⟨Gokdugi Game⟩
This is the story I personally experienced when staying in Yeongcheon.
One day, a village child vanished into thin air. The whole village took torches and searched, but no one found the child’s whereabouts. The parents did not drink or eat for several months, praying to Heavens. Then abruptly, the child’s cut hair fell from the sky. Her hair was tied into the same plait with a ribbon of the same color as on the morning when she disappeared.
The child’s parents wept, but the child never returned.
『Hyujeong’s Anthology』
When the night fell, the city’s flowering trees shined with different colors thanks to the artificial lights. Every time the wind blew, the glittering petals fell.
… Was it here?
Yu Dan stopped the bicycle in front of the apartment complex.
Gadong and Nadong. The aisle-type apartments had nothing but those two buildings. The complex itself was surrounded by tall cherry blossoms[1]. He entered inside, dragging his bicycle with him.
It was a few days since he passed it, so would it still be here?
As expected, it was.
He looked up at the apartment rooftop.
A male student stood with his back to the dark night sky. He didn’t even twitch, and was just standing there quietly, but then, he suddenly jumped.
Splatter!
It was just a sound he imagined in his head. The male student crushing on the cement floor made no sound whatsoever. The red blood splattered.
Yu Dan observed it quietly.
After a moment, the crushed limbs started to wriggle.
The twisted arm groped and pushed against the floor. After struggling a few times, the broken skull barely detached itself from the ground. The male student stood up with difficulty. The bloody arms and legs slowly returned to their original state.
The male student started to wobbly walk. He crossed the apartment door, and he was soon swallowed by the darkness.
After a while, the male student appeared on the rooftop again.
He stood there quietly, without even a twitch, for some time, and then he suddenly jumped again, crushing on the cement floor again.
Yu Dan waited. It was a matter that needed quite a bit of patience.
Finally, the male student stood up. He wobbly started to walk towards the entrance again, and Yu Dan spoke up to his back.
“Hey, you, a moment…”
But as if he didn’t hear him, the male student just crossed the entrance again. As he plunged again, he crushed again.
When his wriggling form started to return to normal again, Yu Dan approached closer.
“Wait.”
He stretched out his hand, but it passed through the ghost’s body.
The male student climbed the roof again.
Splatter!
The body in the school uniform crushed on the cement floor again.
Strange. He was only doing well when he was snatching a ghost, pushing them aside or hitting them.
Yu Dan looked down at his hand. Soon after, when the male student stood up, he approached to grab him.
“You…”
His hand passed through him again.
Looking at the male student who appeared on the rooftop again, he thought:
Should I be more gentle? Soft? With the feeling I want to talk?
The male student crushed in front of his eyes.
After a while, he started to wobbly move his feet to fall down again. Yu Dan stretched out his hand to grab the hem of the male school uniform.
“Wait.”
This time he succeeded. He grabbed him.
The male student suddenly stopped and slowly looked back. The soul’s empty eyes turned towards him.
Yu Dan spoke.
“Why are you doing this. You can’t fall now. You’re already dead.”
The soul looked towards Yu Dan with a stupid face.
After a while, he bowed his head and looked down. The cement floor was visible through his translucent body.
At last, he seemed to have realized.
「Huu… 」
Leaving behind something like a sigh, he disappeared.
The dim light flickered and scattered. Yu Dan followed it with his eyes, watching for a while.
He didn’t feel anything.
The fox yokai stared at those lights like possessed. He guessed there was something special about them, but he wasn’t able to feel anything.
For the first time he tried to go around and do something voluntarily.
But as he expected, it didn’t suit him. It was just awkward and embarrassing.
Thanks to the chilly wind, he came back to his senses. He was staring at the scene that wasn’t visible for anyone, so he dragged his bicycle and was about to urgently leave the apartment complex when…
“Yu Dan?”
Because someone called out to him from behind, he turned around, startled.
A boy and a girl. He didn’t know where they came from, but they were holding big, silk wrapping cloths. He didn’t notice it in the Banwoldang, but when he faced them in the center of the city, they looked quite out of place. Be it the traditional tea shop’s uniforms, or the same-looking cute faces.
The twins smiled widely and spoke at the same time.
“Oh, it really is Yu Dan.”
“What are You doing here?”
He unconsciously blurted out.
“Well. I went for a walk and lost my way, so…”
The twins’ gazes turned to the bicycle, and their expressions turned strange at the same time.
“Um, the bicycle… is given a walk…”
Ah, he fucked up.
But besides those words, the twins didn’t particularly bother with it.
“Is that so, huh? We’re running an errand.”
“Around here?”
“No. In fact, we saw someone riding a bicycle a moment ago, and because they somehow looked like Yu Dan, we followed. We called out a few times, but you didn’t reply?”
Looking closely, the two children’s shoes were covered in dirt. It seemed like they ran quite a distance.
“Really? I didn’t hear.”
“Why are You wandering around such a place at such a late hour? You don’t know what may come out of the darkness. You have precious eyes, remember? You don’t know when someone may harm you because of their desire, so You have to be careful.”
“Thank you for your concern.”
Yu Dan walked together with the twins.
“Why did you not come to the shop these days? But of course that’s a good thing. You didn’t come to find us, so it means that it was okay around Yu Dan. I would be happy if it was also okay at the shop. But I guess you were very busy?”
“No, well. I just have something to think about for a bit, so…”
He realized a bit late the meaning hidden in Chaeseol’s words.
“You mean it isn’t okay out there?”
The twins’ faces turned sullen.
“Cheonho-nim deals with a headache-inducing case these days.”
“Really? Can I believe it?”
“It’s true.”
Chaeu sighed.
Yu Dan was surprised. This child ginseng yokai, who always smiled widely and thought positively no matter what happened, was sighing? Did something really serious happened?
“What happened for you to be like that?”
“While young master-nim wasn’t visiting us and living quietly, we also had calm days passing one after one. But then we found out something strange happened from somewhere, and we learned that person disappeared. But when we learned about it, it was already a few days past. No, we were notified.”
“Notified?”
He intently stared at Chaeu’s face. His expression was strange.
“Something strange happened.”
Chaeseol took it from here.
“A girl disappeared within ten seconds from the apartment parking lot. In exactly ten seconds. They took the child out of the car and while they were taking out the baggage from the front seat, she disappeared in the instant. There was no one around. Only parked cars. The security guard also didn’t see anything, and there were no other witnesses. The child just disappeared into thin air.”
Yu Dan frowned and fell into thought.
“A supernatural occurrence?”
“Probably. However, there are no clues. It was quite some time since it happened, and there was too much talk about cases of kidnapped children. That child disappeared from the world of the living, but she also wasn’t found in the afterlife. Cheonho-nim was diligently looking everywhere, but he couldn’t figure out anything more, so there is no answer and…”
Chaeseol hesitated here. The twins’ faces darkened even more.
“If we don’t find that child, there will be a bad situation.”
“What?”
“Just a situation. Ah, we can’t talk about this.”
“Hey! Why are you cutting off here? Are you joking?”
“What joke? Don’t you see our faces? We can’t be more serious than that.”
“Then I guess you can’t talk. Let’s go back. I’ll buy you hamburgers.”
He tried to catch them like that, but the twins cleverly avoided him.
“Ehehe, we’re busy.”
“They will worry why the kids sent on the errand are so late. Even without it, the whole shop is restless.”
At some point, the streetlights turned on. The lights were bright.
“Then see You soon.”
“No. If he meets us, it would mean that something annoying happened around Yu Dan again. It’s better not to meet.”
“Ah, noona is right. Don’t meet us. Goodbye.”
“Bye.”
The twins swiftly disappeared with high speed.
“Wait!”
Yu Dan dragged his bicycle and ran, but at some point the two kids hid their traces. Even a silhouette wasn’t seen.
What…
He was truly stunned.
***
The traditional street thick with pagoda trees[2].
It was a place where all kinds of shops related to traditional culture, like traditional restaurants, tea shops, hanbok shops, antique shops, craft shops, etc, gathered. Now this antique atmosphere felt familiar. Especially the two-story hanok with the sign ‘Banwoldang’, he could find it with his eyes closed.
As he opened the door and entered, the atmosphere was indeed tense. The twins behind the counter avoided his gaze.
“He came straight away?! It will surely look like we called Yu Dan.”
You did call me, you know?
He had those words on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them.
It certainly looked like something happened. He saw several yokai inside the store. They weren’t the things he would occasionally run into when walking around, they were senior yokai, wearing old official robes, and they were lying on the floor, discussing something in whispers.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re making an appeal to Heaven.”
He heard a high-pitched voice. The frog in the jeongseung[3] uniform abruptly stood up and walked over.
“I’m glad that you came at such a time. Aren’t you among the numerous humans, who received Cheonho-nim’s grace, the one Person, who strangely didn’t forget and often visits Him? Not only you’re lending Him an ear when He is lonely, but also helping with all kinds of cases? That’s very commendable.”
The frog stretched his hand out as if to pat Yu Dan, but that was of course outside of his ability. Even if he stood on his tiptoes, the green hand couldn’t reach even his calf, so he finally gave up and turning to his surrounding for help.
“Please raise me up to this human’s shoulders so I can pet his head.”
“No thanks! Anyway, what is your identity to come here and make appeals?”
“Me? I’m just an official. At one time I served Dragon King-nim, but now I have no affiliation. I serve anyone I like. But Cheonho-nim doesn’t accept me, eh?”
“So in the end you’re unemployed?”
“Okay, look, He is a Divine Beast. He receives the words of Heavens and manages wicked things on this land.”
Chaeu explained.
“A frog? A Divine Beast? A frog is a Divine Beast?”
“I just took on the appearance that is comfortable to move in.”
“Let’s go upstairs first.”
Chaeseol pushed his back.
Yu Dan climbed the stairs. Chaeu, Do-ssi, the frog and even senior yokai followed.
Heuk-yo was sitting at the entrance to the second floor, holding a knife to protect it. Even upon seeing Yu Dan, she didn’t say anything in particular, so it seemed that she knew that he would come beforehand.
The study was open.
He didn’t know it, but one bookshelf was a secret partition door. Behind it, he saw another room.
Through the thick smoke of incense, he saw a large box-shaped bed made out of dark-colored wood. The carvings on it were very elaborate and delicate. The thick silk curtains surrounded it from all directions, and above it was a golden bell swaying slightly as it hung on the string.
“He is sleeping right now.”
From Chaeseol’s tone, he got an idea that those words didn’t mean a comfortable nap.
“Speaking of, there are many things that steal children. Do you remember the soul thief? Because at that time Yu Dan saw the scene in person and informed us, Cheonho-nim recognized it straight away. But in this case the field is already in chaos and there is no evidence.”
“So He is trying to find clues through dreams. But He wasn’t able to obtain anything yet.”
Chaeu pointed at the bell to look.
“If He goes too far, it rings. Then He has to wake up.”
“Aah. So that’s what it’s for, huh?”
“Let’s wait first.”
Yu Dan sat down.
Smoke rose from the jade incense shaped like a dragon. Through it, he saw a circular window. On the walls hung calligraphy hanging scrolls, but he didn’t know what was written on them. On the desk was a vase with a branch of green plum blossom and a few books.
Then the bell rang ding-ding.
The twins rushed over and first grabbed the string.
On the other side of the curtains, the fox yokai’s silhouette stood up. After a moment, a hand appeared and moved the curtains.
Chaeseol spoke first.
“Cheonho-nim. Stop now. It was three times within two days.”
“Even so—“
At that moment, he discovered Yu Dan.
Baek Ran’s other hand, which was holding a child’s photo, dropped.
“Did something strange happen around You?”
“No. Nothing happened.”
“Then who sent You here?”
“Doesn’t matter, I already heard the story.”
Baek Ran looked around as if asking who was responsible. Everyone avoided his gaze.
“But I didn’t hear the important things in fact. You received a notice? Who notified you? What is the reason you have to make sure to find that child?”
At that moment Yu Dan realized.
There was a black stain on Baek Ran’s left hand. Looking carefully, it wriggled, forming letters. Was that oracle bones script? It seemed like really old writing.
“Why is your hand like this?”
Baek Ran covered his left hand. The frog exclaimed.
“You mean you see it? As expected from Heavenly Eye, eh? You saw through it.”
“Even though he sees it, he doesn’t know what it is, so it isn’t particularly useful.”
The fox yokai replied like this, while looking at Yu Dan.
“It’s a matter so intertwined with the Heavenly Principles[4], even if a human tries to read them, it won’t be of any help. Even so, You’re curious?”
“Yeah.”
Yu Dan replied.
Then Baek Ran turned his wrist, and Yu Dan caught a glimpse of something that looked like a small pattern engraved on his skin. The next moment, the fox yokai was holding a golden spear in his hand.
That was how he takes it out, huh?
After Baek Ran mumbled something, a yokai appeared.
A black wolf, so big it seemed cramped in the bedroom. The golden mask and armor it was wearing looked very majestic, but for some reason its body was terribly rotten. It was so miserable, even bones were revealed in some places.
The wolf gritted its teeth and endured the pain. Baek Ran stretched out his hand and petted the wolf.
“Furious Thunder[5]. One of the yokai under me, and a very powerful force for me.”
“Then why won’t you heal it?”
“I can’t heal it. It’s Heavenly Punishment.”
Yu Dan was surprised.
“Heavenly Punishment? It actually exists, huh?”
*~*~*
[1] cherry blossoms — Prunus sect. Cerasus
[2] pagoda trees — Styphnolobium japonicum
[3] jeongseung — something like prime minister during Joseon.
[4] Heavenly Principles — literally Principles of Heaven and Earth
[5] Furious Thunder — 뇌정벽력(雷霆霹靂 noejeongbyeongnyeok)
Translator’s note: This story is six chapters long, and I must warn you, it involves children.
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