What are you trying to say? What on earth happened to us?
I opened my mouth and just looked at that child. The child slowly raised their hand and pointed behind.
Screech— Scritch—
A chilling sound was heard. Like scraping metal with fingernails.
Now my body moved freely. I staggered to sit up and frowned. I turned my head toward where the child pointed.
There was an iron cage. It was an absurdly small place for an adult male to enter.
Ominous talismans attached all over the iron cage and the body of the one trapped inside. Several humans sticking close around it, watching inside.
Inside, I could see Bihyeon with his head lowered, his body bound while his limbs had been torn off. As if his eyes were injured, his eyes were wrapped with blood-soaked bandages. His beautiful golden hair was soaked in blood, stained a dark red color.
‘Why?’
Why on earth?
My hands trembled. It was hard to breathe and my chest hurt as if being torn apart.
So surprised, I gasped and breathed urgently, making sounds. The humans close to the iron cage whirled their heads to look at me. Flesh and blood were smeared on their mouths. It was a chilling gaze beyond cold. Eyes full of greed… I had seen these eyes somewhere before.
“Gasp…”
I opened my eyes wide and jumped up.
Thud, the book I was reading fell below the sofa. Bihyeon, who had been reading a book beside me, looked at me.
I exhaled roughly and looked around.
“…You haven’t slept long. Sleep more.”
While hearing his gentle voice as he focused on his book again, I rubbed my eyes blankly.
My body felt light and my mind clear, so it didn’t seem like I’d fall asleep again. Above all, I didn’t want to see that terrible dream again.
Since I’d seen it before too, that scene must be the past.
The past…
‘Could what you’re trying to say be…’
Thud. I laid my half-raised body back down and stared blankly at Bihyeon, then frowned when I saw something very small and colorful on the wallpaper he was leaning against. It was far so I couldn’t see well.
“Bihyeon-nim. There’s something next to you.”
“This?”
He immediately understood what I meant and pointed beside him.
“Yes.”
“It’s a doodle.”
Doodle?
“You, Bihyeon-nim…?”
It doesn’t suit you at all. And doodling with such colorful colors.
The one who smiled slightly while looking at the wallpaper spoke in a quiet voice.
“There was a truly lovely child. That child said the room was too empty and drew it for me.”
Affection dripped from his eyes. I was speechless at eyes that seemed to be thinking of someone very precious.
“These are my fairy friends, they said.”
You really cherished that child.
A kind and warm voice. Eyes full of longing…
“…I see.”
The answer I barely managed to get out was only this much.
“I’ll bring some warm tea. Rest.”
“I’m fi— Yes, please.”
I was about to say I was fine, then nodded. Because if I continued to be alone with Bihyeon right now, I felt like I’d suffocate.
Bihyeon, who put down his book and stood up, left the room.
Ha, I sighed and got up from my seat. I moved my body to get as close to that wallpaper as possible.
Looking at the human-shaped doodles as if drawn by a young child, the picture of three dwarves wearing pointed hats, I blinked when the doodle seemed to move slightly.
‘Huh? Just now…’
Surprised, I jerked my head up.
One dwarf whose eyes weren’t even properly drawn raised his hand and smoothly touched his hat.
Screaming inside, I opened and closed my lips.
After adjusting his hat, the dwarf who also smoothly touched and arranged his clothes moved his eyes to look at me. Though calling them eyes, they were just two dots.
– Ah.
Ah?
The dwarf who raised his hand high and waved it as if greeting tapped the dwarf next to him.
– Wake up!
“Um… excuse me…?”
The dwarves started moving one by one.
What on earth did they draw!
Could that child have been non-human? No. Listening to what the palace household says, they were definitely human…
“Who are you…!”
– Who! We’re fairy friends.
– Let’s move quickly! Before the Golden Dragon-nim comes. Come on, dust off!
– Dust off the bad energy!
With a heave, the drawings that came out from the wallpaper busily moved looking for nonexistent dust. Watching those who hummed while taking out what was presumed to be dusters from their breast and shaking them off, I soon nodded.
There are deities and talking tigers, bears, and foxes, so of course doodles drawn on walls can move!
– Today I have more energy than usual!
– Why?
– Why indeed?
As I nodded to myself in understanding, my eyes met with the three colorful dwarves looking at me.
– Who cares! It’s good to have energy!
– Let’s hurry and clean the dust.
– Oh! Here’s a king-sized dust…!
The three moved to the same place and vigorously moved their dusters.
– Now, we’ll do your house too!
“No, I’m fine, I’m fine, fairy-nims…”
Though it seemed like a child drew them diligently, they only had barely three hands. Moreover, the arms were just straight lines drawn, so the arms wobbled every time they moved.
One dwarf who flew here moving the ‘3’-shaped wings on his back, seemingly drawn as fairy wings, dusted off my body.
The dwarf’s body was about the same size as me now that I’d shrunk.
Smack, smack.
The duster also felt like a line drawn, so every time it touched my skin, it felt like being hit with a switch. It hurt and stung a lot.
Smack!
Ugh. It hurts!
– Dust off the bad energy! Dust off! Huh? Why won’t this come off?
Smack, smack!
“It hurts, fairy-nim!”
– Gasp, the Golden Dragon-nim is coming! Get back in!
– Hurry and pretend to be a drawing!
“Why, why pretend to be a drawing? If you become friends with Bihyeon-nim…”
While stroking where I was hit, I urgently spoke to the dwarves rushing to the wallpaper.
– That won’t do.
One dwarf who had been heading to the wall turned around to look at me.
– If we move, the Golden Dragon-nim will remember our master and become sadder.
– Us too.
The remaining dwarf who entered the wallpaper while looking outside waved his hand.
– We also think of our master when we see the Golden Dragon-nim and become too sad. We miss them. We want to see them.
– So it won’t do.
– Now that we’ve talked about it, we miss them even more today. Master. Our lovely master…
Swoosh.
The dwarves who muttered sadly completely stopped moving and became doodles. I pressed my eyes at the sound of footsteps coming from beyond.
Bihyeon, who entered through the door, saw me having moved to in front of the doodles and tilted his head.
“If you want to see the doodles, just say so.”
He put down the tray, picked up a tea, instantly made it smaller, and held it out to me.
After staring blankly at the giant hand, I reached out and received the teacup. I smiled slightly at the moderate temperature that was neither too hot nor cold.
“Mm? What’s with your cheek? Did you self-harm or something?”
Surprised by those words, I touched my cheek.
Ah, it seemed the dwarf hit my cheek with the duster while dusting.
“Um… I must have scratched myself while rubbing my eyes.”
“Be careful. Should I give you medicine?”
“I’m fine.”
I plopped down close to Bihyeon and slowly drank the tea. Then Bihyeon also made the yakgwa he brought with the tea smaller and pushed it toward me.
“Tomorrow morning it’ll be sujebi.”
“Wow, that sounds delicious.”
“Yes. The potatoes that came in on my birthday were delicious. Hyeonwoong says he’ll put those in.”
While listening to his gentle voice, I leaned my body against the wall and looked at Bihyeon. He sat toward the door drinking tea without looking at me, then when he seemed to feel my gaze, he looked toward me and smiled slightly. Perhaps because it was reflected in the moonlight, that smile somehow looked fragile as if it would soon break.
And I thought his smiling face resembled the desolate smile that child made in the dream.
I lowered my head and took another sip of tea.
“The moon is really pretty today.”
There was a lot to say. There was a lot I wanted to ask.
What on earth happened in the past, why that child had to disappear. Why you had to be captured like that, everything.
But my mouth wouldn’t open. The biggest reason was that I didn’t want to make him recall that painful past. Instead of questions, when I spoke quietly while looking at the moon, Bihyeon turned his head to gaze at the moon.
The moonlight floating in a sky clearer than usual was shining particularly beautifully.
“It is.”
If I am indeed that child, why can’t you recognize me?
Is that child a longed-for existence to you, or a painful existence that must be left as a memory?
Full of questions and there was still nothing I could be certain of. I picked up the yakgwa and took a bite, then my eyes met with the dwarf holding his hat on the wallpaper.
“Cough.”
“Hm?”
Seeing me suddenly cough, Bihyeon reached out to close the door.
“No, um, I’m fine! I swallowed water wrong…”
You said you wouldn’t get caught! You said you wouldn’t come out in front of Bihyeon-nim!
While glancing at the dwarf who smoothly adjusted his hat and returned to his original position, I met eyes with Bihyeon and smiled awkwardly. Bihyeon, who looked behind following my gaze, placed his gaze on the doodle.
“Oh! Act… um, do ghosts exist in this world too?”
What kind of question is this? Ah, no. I am actually curious. It seems certain they exist in the human world, but this place has clear energy and is full of deities.
…But it’s a bit scary to know the truth. Especially in a situation like this in the mountains late at night. After speaking urgently, I thought oops. I smiled awkwardly so hard my lips were about to convulse.
“No, I mean… I suddenly got curious.”
“…What do you think?”
Bihyeon, who met my eyes, grinned. It was truly an ambiguous answer.
Hmm, while pondering and touching my lips, I muttered quietly.
“Never mind. Don’t answer. I’m getting scared.”
At my words, he laughed and nodded.
“The underworld exists and underworld deities exist too, but… they’re all beneath the human realm. Generally, you should consider everything to be in the human world. Ghosts and grim reapers too.”
“…You didn’t have to tell me… Oh? Anyway, they don’t exist here then?”
When my eyes sparkled, he looked at me as if surprised.
