The Dokkaebi Waiting for the Moon

Chapter 29

“Hey, Yeo Moon-beom.”

“What is it, Eun-hwi?”

“So does this mean you trust me now?”

“Huh?”

“Since we’re friends now. I was wondering if that means you trust me.”

Looking into the sulfur-colored eyes staring back at him, Yeo Moon-beom replied:

“Of course I trust you. Why would I suggest doing something that leaves a person most vulnerable if I didn’t? You can’t do that kind of thing without a fair amount of trust.”

Jang Gitae was the type who would dispose of useless chess pieces by any means necessary, just as he had done with his mother and paternal grandfather. 

Not knowing when or how he might be dealt with, Moon-beom had lived dreaming of revenge while constantly feeling the threat of death. For someone like him, sexual acts were akin to willingly offering his neck to be killed.

Though he ended up with a playboy image from carefully fending off all types of people who tried to seduce him, he actually preferred it that way. It served as a protective mask.

Harboring desire was enough when it was directed towards revenge. Of course, this was before he realized Eun-hwi’s tremendous potential.

“That’s why I was planning to strip you bare and devour you this time.”

“Huh? Strip and devour what? Candy?”

“No. You, Eun-hwi.”

“But I’m not something to be eaten?”

The eyes that had been lowered just moments ago now sparkled with mischief.

“You can be eaten. Like this.”

Moon-beom pulled at Eun-hwi’s collar, exposing the flawless neck, and bit down without hesitation.

“…Ah!”

Eun-hwi’s body trembled slightly, likely from the sharp pain of teeth digging in.

This is dangerous, Moon-beom thought.

It was meant to be just an impulsive tease. But the baby-soft scent and the silky smoothness of white skin between his teeth unexpectedly aroused him for real.

“It, it tickles, Moon-beom.”

A hot tongue traced over the deep teeth marks on the skin. The unfamiliar sensation of the soft flesh slowly caressing his skin made Eun-hwi squirm and resist lightly.

But the more he moved, the tighter the grip on his shoulders became, preventing movement. He was completely trapped in Moon-beom’s embrace.

“Are you really going to eat me?”

“You think I can’t? I’m going to strip you alive and chew you up to the bone.”

Lick.

This time, he ran his tongue along the straight collarbone. He gently probed the small hollow, then slid his tongue along the line of the bone. The bumpy texture of the tongue against his skin was intensely ticklish.

Before he was making woof woof sounds like a dog, and now is he pretending to be a puppy again?

Since he was only licking without biting anymore, it didn’t seem like he was really trying to eat him. If he had truly intended to strip and eat him alive as he said, he would have grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him to the kitchen to throw him into a boiling pot.

Eh, he’s just playing around.

Having reached this conclusion, Eun-hwi surrendered his body to Moon-beom, who was frantically licking around his neck like a dog pouncing on its owner.

“…Mmm.”

As soon as Eun-hwi relaxed his body, expecting Moon-beom to press down with even more weight, he suddenly withdrew his tongue and lifted his head.

Thinking the game was finally over, Eun-hwi looked up at his face to gauge his expression. He expected to see a satisfied smile, but instead saw a hungry look in his eyes, as if still craving something.

Though his gaze suggested he might sink his teeth into Eun-hwi’s neck again at any moment, Eun-hwi wasn’t scared, still thinking of it as puppy play. He asked playfully:

“Are you done eating me now?”

“…”

“Do you need to eat more because it wasn’t enough?”

“Would you like me to eat more?”

A strange light flickered in Moon-beom’s eyes for a moment. He scrutinized Eun-hwi with a piercing gaze, like when he had looked at the dokkaebi fire. The image of the half-dokkaebi was fully reflected in the dark lake of his eyes, simmering quietly but steadily towards the boiling point.

“…”

As Eun-hwi watched him slowly lick his moistened upper lip, he suddenly felt tense for some reason. The places where Moon-beom’s tongue and lips had touched became acutely sensitive.

Unconsciously, Eun-hwi reached out to touch the area around his neck where the teeth marks remained. Moon-beom’s intense gaze followed the movement of Eun-hwi’s fingertips.

“Ha…”

Exhaling a long breath to calm his ragged breathing, Moon-beom asked in a slightly subdued voice:

“Why aren’t you angry?”

“Why would I be angry?”

“I suddenly bit you.”

“Well, you didn’t hurt me and you didn’t cross any lines, so…”

Once, Eun-hwi had seen some of the village men, the Kim fellows, end up in a fistfight after an argument.

It was a completely different style of fighting from the martial arts that Gabi had shown against the barbarian Kim invaders of Baekdu Mountain. They grabbed each other’s hair and pulled, or bared their teeth like animals and bit at each other’s arms and legs. It was quite shocking to see.

Unless Moon-beom had bitten wildly like in those fights, there was no reason to be angry over puppy play.

“…”

Wondering if perhaps he had bitten on purpose to see how Eun-hwi would react in anger, Eun-hwi stared intently at his face. After maintaining silence, Moon-beom softly called Eun-hwi’s name and met his gaze.

“Eun-hwi.”

“Yes?”

“What do you consider to be an unforgivable line?”

“Huh? Um… Saying bad things about my father while hitting me?”

After being left alone, the malicious spirits like Mongdalgwi or Yagwanggwi would often curse Gabi while beating Eun-hwi.

Saying things like: That goblin who was so infatuated with a human woman that he abandoned his position as Dokkaebi King, and now he’s even abandoned his half-breed child.

Those cowards who couldn’t even muster any strength in front of Gabi.

Before, Eun-hwi hadn’t said anything for fear of being tormented more if he talked back, but if it happened again, he planned to confront them as Moon-beom had taught him.

They had crossed an absolutely unforgivable line and even inflicted emotional wounds on him.

Listening to the story, Moon-beom muttered:

“I could never cross that line in my lifetime.”

“…Why?”

“Because I can’t hit you.”

Answering in a somewhat bitter tone, he lay back down on the pillow. Even as he changed position, he didn’t remove his arm from under Eun-hwi’s head. As Eun-hwi gently rolled to the side to let him lie comfortably, a large hand firmly grasped his waist and pulled him close.

“Don’t go.”

Turning only his head, Eun-hwi asked:

“Weren’t you going to sleep?”

“Let’s sleep like this together tonight.”

“…It seems like it would be uncomfortable.”

“It’s not uncomfortable at all. Even in summer, it gets quite chilly at night halfway up the mountain, so it feels nice and warm like this.”

With a friendly eye-smile, Moon-beom intertwined his legs with Eun-hwi’s and spoke:

“It’s nice being friends with Eun-hwi. I have someone to hug while sleeping now. You’re like a soft doll.”

“…Ugh.”

Now it seemed like he had suggested sleeping together not to build friendship, but because he needed something to hug while sleeping.

Feeling as though he’d been tricked by this barely-grown human, Eun-hwi pouted his lips. Seeing this, Moon-beom spoke with an amused voice:

“Now you’re angry.”

“N-no, I’m not angry.”

“Really? I thought you were mad because I treated you like a giant doll. Come to think of it, you look just like the rabbit doll I used to play with as a kid. White and blank-looking, exactly the same.”

Blank-looking?

“…I’m going to sleep.”

Feeling like he might actually get angry at this rate, Eun-hwi tightly closed his eyes while lying on his side, just as Moon-beom had done earlier.

Fully experiencing the feeling of becoming an elementary schooler whose growth had stopped at age twelve.

A faint laugh and the sound of laughter carried on a thin breeze brushed through his hair. Eun-hwi tried to fall asleep without moving a muscle. Moon-beom rested his chin in the hollow between Eun-hwi’s neck and shoulder and whispered quietly:

“Good night, Eun-hwi.”

“…Good night, Moon-beom.”

In the soft atmosphere, devoid of both playfulness and the inexplicable tension from earlier, Eun-hwi parted his tightly sealed lips to offer the usual nightly greeting.

It was strange how different this exchange felt compared to last night’s, even though the words were exactly the same. It seemed they really had become friends.

‘There’s no easier way to get to know each other than living in close quarters in the same room.’

The thick arms and legs squeezing him and the warm body heat spreading throughout were still unfamiliar, but he was happy to feel their friendship growing, just as Moon-beom had said. It seemed like sleeping together had been a good idea after all.

The half-dokkaebi curled up slightly, feeling his heart beat even faster than when they had been lying down holding hands.

Dawn light was already seeping through the paper doors. The long, long day finally came to an end as a new one began.

* * *

“Yaaawn…”

Sleep-heavy eyelashes fluttered. Yawning repeatedly and trying to drive away the overwhelming drowsiness, Eun-hwi pulled at his eyelids with both hands to wake himself up. His graceful almond-shaped eyes transformed to resemble those of a bulging-eyed Gapsan monster.

“Sleepy?”

Moon-beom, who had just come out of the kitchen carrying a rectangular box with a handle, asked as he looked at Eun-hwi, uncharacteristically covered in sleepiness.

Unlike Eun-hwi, who had dark circles under his eyes, the instigator of his sleepless night had a smooth face that looked better than ever.

“If you’re sleepy, go back inside and sleep some more. I’ll take care of the firewood myself.”

“No, I’m fully awake now. Let’s go together.”

He had repeatedly dozed off and woken up, startled by the warmth of skin so different from Gabi’s cool embrace. Perhaps because of that, he felt exhausted, unsure if he had actually slept or not.

Nevertheless, he didn’t dislike the warmth he felt at his back and the firm arm around his waist. Eun-hwi had remained in Moon-beom’s embrace until he woke up. The sound of steady breathing by his ear was strangely pleasant to hear.

“I made Chungmu gimbap for us to eat there. I mixed conch instead of squid.”

“It’s a food basket!”

As if going on a picnic, the box was filled with side dishes, snacks, and water bottles.

And a dokkaebi hat too.