Ch.59Chapter 3. Mental Care at Your Service (5)

Late at night.

Baek Seol-hee pulled the blanket tight as she lay in bed.

She was lying in a pension on Ulleungdo Island.

She had barged in saying she needed counseling and poured out her grievances, and there was a man who listened quietly and then shared his thoughts after her turbulent emotions had subsided.

“Can you comfort me like this often in the future?”

“Am I comforting you? I think I’m the one benefiting from spending time alone with someone like you, Seol-hee, late into the night.”

“In what sense?”

“Just being able to spend time with someone like you is a gain for me.”

And so she had spent time with this man until late at night.

Lying in a place that wasn’t where she normally should be sleeping, in a place that shouldn’t be discovered by others—it all felt so strange to her.

Like the feeling of a good child doing something adults had forbidden.

Like the feeling of splattering red paint across a white canvas that was supposed to remain untouched.

Like the feeling of finally becoming an “adult” after living like a child for 25 years, pushing open the door to adulthood.

Though summarizing it as just “that feeling” didn’t do justice to how intense the previous night had been, Baek Seol-hee simply decided to try to sleep.

Rustle, rustle.

But she couldn’t sleep.

She was lost in thought as she watched Do Ji-hwan sitting in a recliner chair beside her bed, reading a book in the darkness.

He had said he liked books because he was a librarian, and here he was, reading an e-book even in a place like this.

Perhaps thinking she was fast asleep, he had very quietly slipped out of the bed and sat in the recliner chair, reading something on a tablet with the brightness turned down as low as possible.

Was he just pretending to read?

Or was he genuinely interested in what he was reading?

If she could see the actual book, she might be able to guess, but unfortunately, Do Ji-hwan was just silently reading his e-book.

“What are you reading?”

“…Weren’t you sleeping?”

“I was trying to, but I thought talking might be better than sleeping?”

“Hmm… Was I disturbing you?”

“No. It’s nice, like ASMR that I can listen to while sleeping. Not actual book sounds, but still. I just… wanted to talk a bit more, I guess…?”

“We’ve been talking non-stop until 3 AM, and you want to talk more?”

“Yes.”

“…Sigh.”

Do Ji-hwan placed his tablet on the bedside table.

“May I ask what the book is about?”

“It’s a collection of Korean folk tales. I’m researching various legends that have spread throughout Korea.”

“Folk tales?”

“Yes. Although I’m not a powered individual myself, I’m thinking of trying psychological counseling and power consulting for powered individuals in the future.”

“That’s quite an appealing profession, but what does that have to do with Korean folk tales?”

“If I draw motifs from folk tales, people in this country would appreciate it.”

Do Ji-hwan got up from the recliner and approached Baek Seol-hee.

“Like becoming a tiger, for instance.”

“Am I being caught by a tiger now?”

“That’s right.”

“But don’t most tigers end up being defeated?”

“It depends on what kind of tiger we’re talking about.”

Do Ji-hwan tidied Baek Seol-hee’s bangs, moving his hand as if grasping something.

“There are people who wear powered suits with tiger concepts, aren’t there? Their concept isn’t just a Bengal tiger or something similar, but they try to imitate the traditional Korean tiger… the mountain tiger that lived on our peninsula.”

“Do you think that would help powered individuals?”

“At the very least, it would be a good reference for what kind of powered individual appearance they want to live with. Like how Yoon Yi-seon uses fox fire, similar to a nine-tailed fox.”

“…Hmph.”

Baek Seol-hee twisted the corner of her mouth.

“What about me?”

“You already have a firmly established ego, so it’s difficult for me to say anything specific.”

“That’s okay. Thanks to you, I was able to create a technique that freezes demons.”

“Me?”

“It’s a technique I created based on what we talked about when we met in Busan. Like this.”

Baek Seol-hee created a small ice crystal and gently threw it toward the window facing the night sea across from the bed.

Fsssh.

“Freezing like this. It’s a technique created thanks to you.”

“…Congratulations. You’ve created a new technique.”

“So I’m thinking of naming it ‘Do-ji Blizzard.'”

“Why would a Korean powered individual use an English technique name?”

“Just because?”

“Ha.”

Do Ji-hwan gently pressed his hand against Baek Seol-hee’s forehead.

“Creating techniques is good, but if it seems too complicated, I think it would be good to look at the abilities of powered individuals in folk tales. It can help you determine the direction for your appearance.”

“Like using a tiger as a motif?”

“Not just tigers. Besides tigers, other traditional Korean ghosts and yokai are becoming motifs for modern powered individuals.”

“Like… the Goblin?”

“Yes.”

Do Ji-hwan turned his head toward the TV with a somewhat stiff expression.

“The Goblin is one thing, but I’m more concerned about someone called Dueoksini.”

“…Indeed.”

“The government has classified Dueoksini as just some strange villain like the Goblin, but I think he’s much more dangerous than the government’s assessment.”

“What’s your basis?”

“Well, there’s usually no normal person who walks around wearing casual hanbok.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Baek Seol-hee poked Do Ji-hwan’s side with her finger, and he didn’t avoid it, just shrugging his shoulders lightly.

“That was a joke. How could I, as a Korean, criticize and insult people who wear our traditional clothes?”

“Right? You shouldn’t say such things carelessly. There are many heroes based on traditional hanbok.”

“Traditional hanbok…”

Watching Do Ji-hwan smack his lips, Baek Seol-hee looked up at his profile and fell into thought for a moment.

“It’s not particularly my favorite clothing.”

“Are you dismissing hanbok now?”

“This kind of assassination attempt is troublesome.”

This man.

He seems familiar somehow.

His facial features and shoulder line gave her the feeling that she had seen them somewhere before.

That feeling—

‘No way.’

Baek Seol-hee lightly denied the thought that had just crossed her mind.

The déjà vu she had just felt was of someone who didn’t match Do Ji-hwan at all, so she couldn’t carelessly compare Do Ji-hwan to that person.

“Would villains get less criticism if they wore traditional hanbok?”

“Pardon?”

“If villains like Dueoksini and the Goblin wore hanbok instead of suits, I wonder if people would criticize them less.”

“…Ha.”

Do Ji-hwan let out a hollow laugh at Baek Seol-hee’s words, as if dumbfounded.

“How much less criticism would a villain get even if they did?”

“At least people wouldn’t misunderstand. There’s a difference in feeling between a foreigner committing villainous acts in our country and a Korean doing it on our own soil, right?”

“Is that favoritism?”

“I think beings like the Goblin can be given a little leeway.”

“Seol-hee.”

Do Ji-hwan shot Baek Seol-hee a stern look with a hardened face.

“The Goblin is a villain.”

“I know he’s a villain. But he’s not someone who kills people indiscriminately.”

“He’s killed well over a dozen people, how is that not indiscriminate?”

“He doesn’t kill unless they’re truly evil people who deserve to be permanently removed from society.”

“…Seol-hee, do you actually sympathize with the Goblin’s absurd ideology?”

Do Ji-hwan tilted his head with a serious expression.

“Do you agree with the idea that all villains deserve to die?”

“Not to that extent. I’m not saying all villains should be killed immediately. Rather than being influenced by or sympathizing with the Goblin’s ideology… I just feel a bit sorry for him.”

“Sorry for him?”

“Yes.”

Baek Seol-hee sat up and positioned herself next to Do Ji-hwan.

“When I see the Goblin killing villains who have committed terrible crimes, I sometimes think: who else would take on this burden if not me? I wonder if that’s what the Goblin thinks.”

“…The Goblin?”

“Yes. On the surface, he seems to be killing indiscriminately without any plan, but having encountered him countless times, I can tell. That man doesn’t want to kill people carelessly. Instead, he thoroughly eliminates those who meet his criteria for deserving death.”

“What kind of people are you referring to?”

“Hmm…”

Baek Seol-hee recalled information related to the Goblin.

“Regardless of their background, physical condition, or how they went berserk, he targets those who have committed terrible crimes like murder and rape, regardless of their circumstances.”

“…Do you think such a person would receive less criticism if they wore traditional hanbok?”

“At least those who unconditionally criticize and condemn people for supposedly not being patriotic enough would disappear.”

“Having to wear hanbok just to look good to those ‘Confucian Taliban.’ What is he, some kind of hero?”

“I do think he’s a hero. Him too.”

“…Pardon?”

Do Ji-hwan’s eyes widened in shock.

“The Goblin is a hero?”

“Yes. That’s what I think. And someday, if I get the chance… I’ll definitely persuade him to become a hero.”

Baek Seol-hee buried her face in Do Ji-hwan’s shoulder.

“Because he’s not an evil person. The truly bad ones are the corrupt officials who oppress him. I’ll change them wherever my power can reach. So…”

Baek Seol-hee gently placed her hand over Do Ji-hwan’s hand resting on his thigh.

“I’d like to have times like this in the future too, where you listen to my complaints and comfort me.”

Do Ji-hwan silently nodded heavily, and Baek Seol-hee felt the knot in her chest naturally dissolving from the strength transmitted through their tightly clasped hands.

The morning sun rose.

The ice on the wall remained frozen, firmly attached to the glass window.