Chapter 59: Mental Care, At Your Service (5)
Baek Seol-hee was lying in bed, tightly hugging the blanket.
The place where she was lying was a pension on Ulleung Island.
She had come unannounced to a man who had counseled her and poured out her troubles. After listening to them silently, her boiling emotions had cooled down, and she was there, talking about her thoughts.
[Can you comfort me like this often in the future?]
[Am I the one who’s comforting? I think I benefit more from spending time with someone like Ms. Baek Seol-hee this late at night.]
[In what sense?]
[Just by spending time with someone like Ms. Seol-hee, I profit.]
And so, she spent time with this man late into the night.
The place where she was lying was a new place, not where she usually should be sleeping. The fact that she was lying in a place that should not be exposed carelessly to others felt very strange to her.
It felt like a good child doing something adults told them not to do.
Like children splattering red paint on a blank white canvas that they were told not to paint anything on.
Having lived like a child for 25 years, it felt like she finally opened the door to adulthood and became an ‘adult’.
Although summarizing it as just a feeling was an understatement, Baek Seol-hee decided to just sleep quietly, given the intensity of what happened the previous night.
Rustle, rustle.
But she couldn’t sleep.
Next to her, on the recliner chair placed next to the bed, she saw Do Ji-hwan reading a book in the darkness, and she was engulfed in many thoughts.
He said he liked books because he was a librarian, but even here, Do Ji-hwan was reading an e-book.
Perhaps thinking she was fast asleep, he quietly slid out of bed, sat down in the recliner chair, and continued reading something on his tablet with the light dimmed as much as possible.
Was it a book meant for show?
Or was he truly reading because he wanted to?
She could at least guess if there was a physical book, but regrettably, Do Ji-hwan was just silently reading an e-book.
“What are you reading?”
“Weren’t you sleeping?”
“I tried to sleep, but I thought talking would be better than sleeping?”
“Hmm… Was I bothering you?”
“No, it’s nice, like ASMR I can listen to while sleeping. It’s not the actual sound of a book, though. I just… maybe I wanted to talk a bit more…?”
“We’ve been talking non-stop until 3 a.m., and you still want to talk more?”
“Yes.”
“…Hoo.”
Do Ji-hwan placed his tablet on the bedside table.
“Can I ask what the book is about?”
“It’s one of the collections of Korean folk tales. I’m researching various folk tales spread among the Korean public.”
“Folk tales?”
“Yes. Even though I’m not someone with special abilities, I’m considering trying psychological counseling and special abilities consulting.”
“That sounds like a very interesting job, but what does that have to do with Korean folk tales?”
“If I take a motif from the folk tales, people in this country will like it.”
Do Ji-hwan got up from the recliner and came closer to Baek Seol-hee.
“Like turning into a tiger.”
“So, am I caught by a tiger now?”
“That’s right.”
“But aren’t most tigers just exterminated?”
“Depends on what kind of tiger.”
While fixing Baek Seol-hee’s bangs, Do Ji-hwan moved his hand as if clutching something.
“People who wear special ability suits with a tiger concept exist, don’t they? Their concept isn’t just a Bengal tiger or something, but a traditional tiger… They try to mimic a mountain tiger that used to live on our Korean Peninsula.”
“Do you think that would help the special ability holders?”
“At least, it would be a good reference for what kind of special ability figure they should live as. For example, how Student Yoon Iseon used a fox, or a nine-tailed fox blowing a horn.”
“……Hmm.”
Baek Seol-hee twisted the corner of her mouth.
“How about me?”
“As for Ms. Seol-hee, your ego is already firmly depicted, so it’s a bit awkward for me to comment.”
“That’s fine. Thanks to you, Ji-hwan, I was able to develop a skill to freeze demons.”
“Me?”
“I made the skill based on what we discussed when we met in Busan. Like this.”
Baek Seol-hee created a small ice crystal and gently threw it toward the window opposite the bed, where the night sea was visible.
Swoosh.
“Freezing like this. It’s a skill developed thanks to you, Ji-hwan.”
“…Congratulations. You’ve created a new skill.”
“So, I’m thinking about calling it Doji Blizzard.”
“Why is a Korean special ability user using an English technique?”
“Just because?”
“Hah.”
Do Ji-hwan lightly pressed Baek Seol-hee’s forehead with his hand.
“Creating a skill is great, but if you find it too complex, it might be helpful to examine the abilities of figures from folktales. It can help establish a direction for your appearance.”
“Like taking the tiger as a motif?”
“Not just the tiger. Besides the tiger, other traditional Korean ghosts and monsters have become motifs for modern special ability users.”
“Like… a goblin?”
“Yes.”
Do Ji-hwan turned his head somewhat stiffly in the direction of the TV.
“Goblins are goblins, but I’ve been bothered by this figure called Duoexini.”
“…Certainly.”
“The country has simply categorized this Duoexini figure as a strange villain like the Goblin, but I think it’s much more dangerous than the level of danger the country perceives.”
“On what basis?”
“Because it’s unusual for people wearing Hanbok every day to be sane.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Baek Seol-hee poked Do Ji-hwan’s side with her hand, and Do Ji-hwan, without avoiding, shrugged lightly.
“It’s a joke. As a Korean, how could I possibly slander and curse all people who wear our traditional clothes?”
“Right? You shouldn’t make such comments carelessly. There are many heroes based on traditional Hanbok.”
“Traditional Hanbok…”
Watching Do Ji-hwan, who was regaining his energy, Baek Seol-hee looked up at his side profile and was momentarily lost in thought.
“I don’t particularly like the clothes.”
“Are you disregarding Hanbok now?”
“Such cultural assassination attempts are difficult.”
This man.
She felt like she had seen him somewhere before.
His facial lines or shoulders felt familiar, like something she had seen a lot before.
‘Ah, no way.’
Baek Seol-hee lightly denied the thought that came to her mind.
The sensation she had just felt was from someone who did not match Do Ji-hwan at all, so she could not casually compare Do Ji-hwan to that figure.
“Do you think villains would receive less criticism if they wore traditional Hanbok?”
“Excuse me?”
“If the Goblin was like Duoexini and wore Hanbok instead of a suit, I think they would receive less criticism from people.”
“…Ha.”
At Baek Seol-hee’s words, Do Ji-hwan let out a hollow laugh as if he found it ridiculous.
“How much less criticism do you think a villain would receive even if they received less?”
“People would at least not misunderstand. A foreigner doing villainous deeds in our country and a Korean doing villainous deeds in our land feel different, don’t they?”
“Do you mean it’s okay if the arm bends inwards?”
“I think entities like the Goblin can allow for some bending.”
“Miss Seol-hee.”
Do Ji-hwan shot a stern gaze at Baek Seol-hee with a hard face.
“The Goblin is a villain.”
“I know. He’s a villain. But he’s not a being that kills people indiscriminately.”
“Is it indiscriminate when the number of people he killed well exceeds double digits?”
“He doesn’t kill unless it’s a villainous criminal who should be isolated from society forever, right?”
“…Are you, by any chance, empathizing with the Goblin’s absurd ideology, Miss Seol-hee?”
Do Ji-hwan slightly tilted his head with a serious face.
“Do you agree with the idea that all villains should be killed?”
“It’s not to the extent that all should be killed. It’s not like I think that just because one is a villain, they should be immediately killed. It’s not so much that I’m moved or empathize with the Goblin’s ideology… It’s just a bit pitiful.”
“Pitiful?”
“Yes.”
Baek Seol-hee got up, sat down beside Do Ji-hwan, and pressed her hip against his side.
“When I see the Goblin killing the villains who committed enormous crimes, sometimes I have this thought. Who else would shoulder this blood if not me? I sometimes wonder if the Goblin thinks the same.”
“…The Goblin?”
“Yes. He might seem to be recklessly killing everyone from the outside, but I, who have encountered the Goblin countless times, know. That man doesn’t want to kill people recklessly. Instead, he strictly kills those he deems need to be killed by his standards.”
“Who are they?”
“Well…”
Baek Seol-hee recalled her memories of the Goblin.
“Regardless of their background, physical state, or how they went berserk, he targets those who committed horrendous crimes like murder, rape, regardless of their backgrounds.”
“…Miss Seol-hee, do you think these people would receive less criticism if he wore traditional Hanbok?”
“At least, those who criticize and condemn him unconditionally for not being patriotic in this country would disappear.”
“So, he has to be forced to wear Hanbok to look good for those ‘Confucian Taliban’. It’s not like he’s a hero or something.”
“I think he is a hero. He is, for sure.”
“…Excuse me?”
Do Ji-hwan’s pupils shook greatly.
“The Goblin is a hero?”
“Yes. I think so. And if I ever get a chance… I will definitely convince him to become a hero.”
Baek Seol-hee buried her face in Do Ji-hwan’s shoulder.
“Because he is not a bad person. The real villains are those who oppress him like greedy ducks. I’m going to change them as far as my power reaches. So…”
Baek Seol-hee gently placed her hand over Do Ji-hwan’s hand resting on her thigh.
“I wish there could be more moments where you listen to my complaints and comfort me.”
Do Ji-hwan nodded heavily without a word, and Baek Seol-hee felt the lump in her chest naturally lessen with the strength conveyed through the hand she tightly held.
The morning sun rose.
The ice on the wall didn’t melt but just stuck firmly to the window.
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