episode_0059

Late at night.

Baek Seol-hee lay on the bed and pulled the blanket tight.

The place where he is lying is a pension in Ulleungdo.

I suddenly barged in and complained, offering to consult, but there was a man who listened to me in silence and after my emotions subsided, he told me his thoughts.

-Can you continue to comfort me like this often?

-Am I comforting you? I think it is more beneficial for me to spend time alone with someone like Baek Seol-hee until late at night.

-In what sense?

-Just being able to spend time with someone like Seolhee is my benefit.

So she spent time with this man until late at night.

The place she was lying in was a new place, not where she normally sleeps, and it felt very strange to her to be lying in a place where she shouldn’t be seen by others.

It felt like a good child doing something that adults told him not to do.

The feeling of splashing red paint on white drawing paper after being told not to paint anything.

The feeling of being able to finally open the door to adulthood and say you have become an ‘adult’ after living like a child for 25 years.

What happened last night was too intense to simply sum it up as that feeling, but Baek Seol-hee just decided to sleep in silence.

Sarak, Sarak.

But I couldn’t sleep.

She was lost in many thoughts as she saw Do Ji-hwan sitting in the recliner chair next to her bed and reading a book in the dark.

He said that he likes books because he is a librarian, and even when he came to a place like this, he was reading e-books.

Perhaps because he thought he was fast asleep, he quietly slipped out of bed to the side and sat down in his recliner, continuing to read something on his tablet with the light turned down to the maximum.

Isn’t this a book just for show?

Or do I read it because I really want to read it?

If he had seen the real thing, he would have guessed it, but unfortunately, Do Ji-hwan just read the e-book in silence.

“What are you reading?”

“…Weren’t you sleeping?”

“I was trying to sleep, but I thought it would be better to talk more than to sleep?”

“Um… was it a distraction?”

“No. I like it because it’s similar to ASMR, something you can listen to while sleeping. Although it is not the sound of an actual book. Should I just… say I want to talk a little more…?”

“We’ve been talking non-stop until 3 a.m. We’re talking again?”

“Yes.”

“…hu.”

Do Ji-hwan placed the tablet on the nightstand.

“Can I ask what the book is about?”

“This is one of the complete collections of Korean folk tales. We are investigating various folk tales spread among Korean folklore.”

“Solhwa?”‘

“Yes. Even though I am not a person with special abilities, I would like to try becoming a psychological counselor and consultant for people with special abilities in the future.”

“That’s a very interesting occupation. What does that have to do with Korean folk tales?”

“If you take a motif from a folktale, the people of this country will like it.”

Do Ji-hwan got up from the recliner and came next to Baek Seol-hee.

“Becoming a tiger like this.”

“Have you been caught by that tiger?”

“Yes.”

“But didn’t most tigers just get exterminated?”

“Tiger laws are different depending on what kind of tiger it is.”

Do Ji-hwan adjusted Baek Seol-hee’s bangs and moved his hand as if grabbing something.

“Aren’t there people who wear super-talented suits with a tiger concept? Their concept is not just like that of a Bengal tiger, but they are trying to imitate the traditional tiger that lived on our Korean peninsula… the mountain lion.”

“Do you think that will be helpful to those with special abilities?”

“At least, it will be a good reference for what kind of person with special abilities you will live as. For example, just like student Yoon I-seon used the fox and the nine-tailed fox used the ghost.”

“……Hmph.”

Baek Seol-hee twitched the corner of her mouth.

“How about me?”

” Seolhee already has her own ego clearly defined, so it’s difficult for me to say anything.”

“It’s okay. Thanks to Ji-hwan, I was able to create the technology to freeze the devil this time.”

“Me?”

“This is a technology created from 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 across from the bed that overlooked the night sea.

Passs.

“Freezing like this. This is a technology created thanks to Jihwan.”

“…Congratulations. You created a new technology.”

“So now I’m thinking about calling it Dodge Blizzard.”

“Why do people with Korean abilities use English skills?”

“Just?”

“Ha.”

Do Ji-hwan lightly pressed Baek Seol-hee’s forehead with his hand.

“It’s good to create technology, but if you think it’s too complicated, it would be a good idea to look at the abilities of the people in the story. Because you can decide the direction of your own appearance.”

“Like using a tiger as a motif?”

“It’s not just tigers. In addition to tigers, other traditional Korean ghosts and traditional monsters are becoming motifs for people with supernatural abilities in modern times.”

“Like…a goblin?”

“Yes.”

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

“A goblin is a goblin, but I’m really bothered by a guy called Duoksini.”

“…sure.”

“The country has defined the person named Duooksini as a strange villain like a goblin, but I think he is much more dangerous than the country thinks.”

“What is the basis?”

“There is no normal person among those who wear hanbok in everyday life.”

“What is that?”

Baek Seol-hee poked Do Ji-hwan’s side with her hand, and Do Ji-hwan did not avoid it but lightly shrugged his shoulders.

“This is a joke. I am Korean, so how can I criticize and curse people who wear our traditional clothes?”

” Right? You can’t go anywhere and say things like that. There are many heroes based on traditional hanbok.”

“Traditional Hanbok….”

Watching Do Ji-hwan regain his appetite, Baek Seol-hee looked up at his profile and was lost in thought for a moment.

“It’s not something I really like.”

“Are you ignoring hanbok now?”

“This type of assassination attempt is difficult.”

This man.

I think I’ve seen it somewhere often.

I felt like I had seen the facial and shoulder lines somewhere else.

That feeling-

‘Oh, no way.’

Baek Seol-hee lightly denied the thought that came to her mind.

Since the sense of déjà vu she just felt was that of a person who did not suit Do Ji-hwan at all, she could not carelessly compare him to Do Ji-hwan.

“Would villains be less criticized if they wore traditional hanbok?”

“Yes?”

“I think people would criticize me less if Goblin, like Duoksini, wears a hanbok instead of a suit.”

“…Ha.”

At Baek Seol-hee’s words, Do Ji-hwan laughed as if it was absurd.

“How much less can a villain eat if he gets criticized less?”

“At least people won’t misunderstand. It feels a little different when a foreigner does something villainous in our country and a Korean person does something villainous in our country, right?”

“Are your arms bent inward?”

“I think that beings like goblins can be slightly bent.”

“Mr. Seolhee.”

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

“Goblin is a villain.”

“I know. Being a villain. But I am not a being that kills people carelessly.”

“The number of people he killed is well over double digits, so he can’t be reckless.”

“We don’t kill people unless they are serious criminals who need to be permanently isolated from society.”

“…Seolhee, do you sympathize with the goblin’s ridiculous ideology?”

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

“Do you agree with the idea that it is okay to kill all villains?”

“It’s not to the point where it’s okay to kill them all. I didn’t think that if he was just a villain, I’d kill him right away or something like that. Rather than being influenced or sympathizing with the goblin’s ideology… I feel a little sad.”

“I feel sorry for you?”

“Yes.”

Baek Seol-hee got up and sat down next to Do Ji-hwan with her hips pressed against him.

“When I see goblins killing villains who have committed great crimes, I sometimes have that thought. If not me, who will bear this blood? There are times when I wonder if goblins think like that.”

“…Are you a goblin?”

“Yes. On the outside, it looks like they just go around killing everyone without any countermeasures, but I can tell, having encountered goblins countless times. The man doesn’t want to kill people carelessly. Instead, he thoroughly kills those who need to be killed according to his standards.”

“What kind of people are you talking about?”

“Um….”

Baek Seol-hee recalled data related to goblins.

“I am referring to those who have committed serious crimes such as murder and rape, regardless of the background, body type, or process of reckless driving.”

“…Seolhee, do you think that if someone like that wears a traditional hanbok, there will be less criticism?”

“At least in this country, those who unconditionally criticize and criticize the so-called unpatriotic people will disappear.”

“You are forced to wear Hanbok to impress the ‘Confucian Taliban’. Not some kind of hero.”

“I think I am a hero. That too.”

“…Yes?”

Do Ji-hwan’s eyes shook greatly.

“Goblin is a hero?”

“Yes. I think so. And someday, if I get the chance… I will definitely persuade him and make him become a hero.”

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

“Because he is not an evil person. Because the truly bad people are the people who oppress him, like Tom Gwan Duck. I will change them wherever I can. So…”

Baek Seol-hee gently placed her hand on top of Do Ji-hwan’s hand on her thigh.

“I hope you will often listen to my complaints and comfort me in the future.”

Do Ji-hwan nodded heavily without saying a word, and Baek Seol-hee felt like the lump in her heart was disappearing due to the power conveyed by his tightly held hand.

The morning sun brightened.

The ice on the wall had not melted and was just sticking to the glass window.