RPPL C17

Night fell.

The moon rose. It was a new moon. Moreover, the fog was still thick. Muyun’s vision wasn’t dimmed just because one of his eyes was covered. However, Bipa, perhaps not fully awake, yawned and held Muyun’s hand as they walked slowly.

They had just secretly slipped out of the house.

“Which way should we go?”

“We can check with the wound left on your neck.”

At Bipa’s words, Muyun touched the nape of his neck. Sure enough, the skin was raised in a welt. Touching the mark brought back the creepy sensation from before.

Muyun recalled which direction he had been sitting in the room and moved his body toward the side the twig had scratched.

All Bipa carried in his arms were his smoking pipe and the bell hanging from his neck. His clothes were untidy and his hair was unbound; anyone who saw him would surely think him a madman. Fortunately, no one was out at this hour.

The entire street was silent, without a single sign of human presence. It wasn’t just a lack of presence; there wasn’t even the slightest noise, as if it were a completely deserted village. Bipa casually tested Muyun.

“Muyun, aren’t you scared?”

“Not at all.”

It was such an indifferent reply that it took all the air out of the question.

“Not scared? How can a young child be so fearless?”

“How am I a child? And what is there to be scared of in the first place?”

“Aren’t you being too arrogant? There are so many scary things in the world.”

“For example?”

“Well. For instance, something like the heavens and earth turning upside down.”

“That’s just an expression, something like that would never really happen.”

“You’re really not like a child and no fun at all.”

Muyun scoffed and Bipa grumbled. The two were quite a well-matched pair for conversation. They were just the only ones who didn’t know it.

Not long after the two started walking toward the center of the village, they felt the wall of the government office. It seemed to have been newly built. The stones were clean without a speck of moss or dampness, and the roof tiles glistened enough to be recognizable even on a foggy night.

Bipa lightly brushed the end of a roof tile. Then, he suddenly lifted Muyun into his arms.

“Master?!”

“Get over. Quickly. We can’t just open the main gate and walk in.”

At Bipa’s words, Muyun went over the wall. After landing lightly and silently on the ground and taking three steps back, Bipa leaped up onto the wall with a low grunt. Bipa sat on the tiles for a moment to catch his breath, then jumped down to the ground.

“If I hadn’t seen it, I could have ignored it, but having witnessed it, I can’t just pass by… still, I don’t like it.”

Bipa, letting out a deep sigh, took Muyun’s hand.

“……”

At first, he had been unfamiliar and awkward when Bipa held his hand, but now, as if quite used to it, Muyun immediately grasped it back. Before, his hand would keep going limp, forcing Bipa to apply pressure, but now Muyun’s grip was stronger.

Muyun learned everything quickly.

Bipa’s warm, soft hand was something unfamiliar and strange to him. He had been careful, feeling as if it would slip and he would lose it if he squeezed too tight. But he quickly learned that he liked the contact. Now, he felt a sense of loss when Bipa let go. He even secretly wondered when he would hold his hand again.

“Where are we going?”

Muyun asked quietly, adjusting his grip on Bipa’s hand. Bipa answered.

“The inner quarters, of course.”

“Master, I smell the simmering soy sauce again.”

“Right? You really are my disciple.”

Bipa replied in a cheerful voice, even though he had never given proper thought to their master-disciple relationship. His usual slow manner of speaking was always tinged with sleepiness or annoyance, but now he seemed more excited than usual. Muyun found it hard to tell if it was because of the smell, or because he had discovered his own talent—or lack thereof.

They entered. The wide courtyard was a mess of leftover food and liquor bottles, as if a feast had been held. The surroundings were so quiet that one could even hear snoring. The master who had created this mess was likely sleeping peacefully without a care in the world.

Just as he thought, the Gammu (overseer) was drunk and fast asleep, snoring on his back in the main room.

Bipa kicked a liquor bottle at his feet, sending it far away, and stepped up onto the wooden porch. Then he looked up at the rafters and put the smoking pipe in his mouth. Muyun took out the flint and steel that Bipa had entrusted to him.

As he lit the pipe bowl, Bipa coughed repeatedly, exhaling smoke. His expression was not good. Muyun’s was the same. The bitter taste and the acrid smell, there was nothing he liked about it.

“This tastes awful….”

“Then you shouldn’t smoke it.”

“Sometimes I don’t know if you’re teasing me or being sincere.”

Bipa, tilting his head, exhaled smoke toward the rafters once more. It looked like a long-tailed sigh, and Muyun found himself following it with his eyes.

“It’s not that I want to smoke it, but it’s something I have to do to draw that thing out.”

“That thing?”

Bipa, who had been continuously blowing smoke towards the rafters, grinned. The smoke didn’t scatter; instead, it gathered into a tight ball and spread along the roof. Even after that, it didn’t disappear, but floated like a cloud.

“Ugh…!”

A shuddering wave of displeasure made Muyun groan involuntarily. The hair on his entire body stood on end.

“Yes. That thing, steeped in poison, that brazenly scratched your neck and tormented people….”

Bipa took out the bell hanging from his neck while still holding the pipe stem in his mouth.

And then, the bell that had never made a sound no matter how much it moved, was now ringing loudly. It was the first time Muyun had ever heard the sound of Bipa’s bell.

“That bell, didn’t it usually not make a sound?”

“It’s a very quiet one that only rings when needed.”

The sound of the bell grew louder and louder. It reached a point where it was hard to believe the sound was coming from a bell. Meanwhile, strangely, despite the clamor, no one appeared in the courtyard. It was as if they couldn’t hear anything at all.

Bipa removed the pipe with the hand not holding the bell and, whoosh, blew out smoke. As the last wisp of smoke was added, the cloud gathered into a single point on the ceiling. At the same time, Bipa tapped out the nearly finished pipe, handed it to Muyun, and stealthily took a step back. Following his action, Muyun also retreated.

“A centipede monster steeped in poison is called a Goeigong, but the name is difficult and doesn’t roll off the tongue, so you can just call it a big centipede, or a centipede monster.”

“A centipede?”

Muyun asked again, his face scrunched up. Instead of answering, Bipa grabbed Muyun’s waist and leaped further back.

No sooner had they moved back than a cracking sound came from the rafters, and a giant centipede fell from the ceiling. The meticulously crafted wooden floor was completely shattered. Wood splinters flew everywhere, forcing both Bipa and Muyun to cover their faces with their sleeves.

With such a loud commotion, there was no way the government office could remain quiet. Signs of people stirring came from all over.

The centipede that had crashed to the floor writhed, its body bending at its many segments. Muyun frowned slightly. It was repulsive.

“How is it? Feel like you’re going to faint?”

Bipa leaned in and whispered. His voice somehow held a hint of expectation, which made Muyun ask back in disbelief.

“It sounds as if you’re hoping I would faint.”

“You have to tell me if you’re scared, or your knees are trembling, or your bladder feels full, okay? Even before you collapse.”

“Master.”

Bipa feigned innocence at Muyun’s glare.

“I need to know beforehand to prepare, that’s all. Don’t worry. Your master will hide it all for you. It’ll be our secret, just between you and me.”

“You already know my secret. Surely, there can’t be a secret worse than that.”

That secret was that Muyun was a child who had almost become a Saetani.

Saetani. An ominous, wicked, and horrifying, sticky and dark curse.

That was likely the reason why, despite being in the same village for the past three years, no one had shown Muyun any affection, and why they would subtly avoid him when they met. Everyone felt it instinctively. The ominous scent that followed Muyun around like a shadow.

“I know, I know, but surely that can’t be worse than wetting your pants as a grown-up, can it? I’m only pestering you like this because you act like such a little old man. It’s all your fault.”

At Bipa shifting the blame with such a ridiculous reason, Muyun finally let out a small laugh. He liked this person’s unique consideration, treating such a momentous thing so lightly, so casually, like a stone on the road anyone could trip over.

With a smile that he only ever showed to Bipa, Muyun said.

“You’re going to drive it out anyway, aren’t you? The fact that we can handle it means it’s weaker than us. There’s no reason to be afraid.”

Bipa debated whether to call the boy brilliant and brave, or to tell him to be a little more humble, and chose the former. More than anything, Muyun’s trusting gaze fixed on him and the subtle pride that came through were quite adorable.

How could he not give his heart to someone like this?

As they spent more time together, Bipa grew progressively weaker to Muyun. This was separate from the guilt he always felt toward him.

“My Muyun is so brave.”

As he had said, the Goeigong was a monster that, from Bipa’s perspective, required no overexertion. Was there any need to humble oneself over something that didn’t call for humility?

The Dokkaebi, including Haesol, knew they were amazing and had no qualms about flaunting it. There were even days set aside just for showing off. Having spent a long time with them, Bipa was also naturally accustomed to such an attitude.

“Then, bravely light up the pipe for me again.”

Before the sweetness of the compliment had even faded, Muyun shook his head at Bipa’s shamelessness and tended to the pipe he was holding.