Providing Mental Care (1)
This woman had shown up at this hour for reasons we'd get into in detail soon enough, but I was facing a major problem right now.
"Isn't this sexual harassment?"
"What is?"
"I'm buck naked in an open-air bath, and you're sitting right across from me in a long puffer jacket."
I was completely naked right now. Sure, it was an open-air bath, but I'd reserved it exclusively, so naturally I'd stripped down. What if someone saw? This place charged five million won a night—did they really have CCTV in the private outdoor tub? Not a chance. There might've been some back in the day, but not anymore. Not if they wanted to protect their guests' privacy. Which meant Baek Seolhui being here right now, or me hopping in naked, wouldn't end up on any recordings.
But still.
"Baek Seolhui, why aren't you looking away?"
"The steam and water make it impossible to see anyway, so what's the big deal?"
"If our genders were reversed, this would be a huge scandal."
"Really? In those broadcast dramas, women barge into the men's bath fully clothed, grab guys by the hair, and drag them out."
"......."
I wanted to argue what would happen if the genders were flipped in that scenario, but Baek Seolhui looked way too down in the dumps for that.
"You really can't see, right?"
"Yeah. Nothing visible. Even if I wanted to look, I couldn't. Just like you can't peek inside my puffer jacket."
Baek Seolhui was still wearing her black long puffer jacket, which came down to her ankles. At least one good thing: no Taeguk Watch on her wrist.
"You took off your Taeguk Watch. Smart move. If they'd tracked your location and found out you were on Ulleungdo with some guy, it'd be the scandal of the century for you."
"Yeah. So I ditched it to avoid that. Right now, the higher-ups probably think I'm back in my dorm room, chugging beer and stewing."
"You fought?"
"Big time. Huge fight. So... mind if I vent a bit?"
"Hm."
I had no idea why she saw me as her emotional punching bag for dumping on the bigwigs. Cynical take: I was just trash. Optimistic take: she found me that comfortable. She hadn't clocked me as Dokkaebi, that much was clear. If she had, her eyes wouldn't be this vulnerable—they'd be wary. They weren't.
"Fine. What exactly did the higher-ups do to set off Baek Seolhui?"
"Basic human decency."
"Hm... Thinking about what went down today, there's only one answer."
Like with Red Scarf, the truth was already obvious.
"Did they try to cover up info on that dead villain upstairs and pass it off as a 'simple rampage incident'?"
"...Something like that."
"Something?"
"The government's twisting this into a rampage by some mysterious Dokkaebi fanatic. Or rather, they've already done it."
What the hell?
"That's not what I heard on-site."
"You were there?"
"Yeah. Kept my distance, followed staff protocol, but I got the gist. Including the doppelganger student ranting about patents."
"...Right. But on-site chatter doesn't matter anymore. What counts is the government's official statement. Got your Taeguk Watch? It's probably out by now."
"Hm..."
I pulled up the official statement Baek Seolhui mentioned via my Taeguk Watch and skimmed the summary.
"Villain Doppelganger was a Dokkaebi-obsessed fanatic who modified his suit to become Dokkaebi's new form. Dokkaebi appeared on-site, denied it, leading to Doppelganger's rampage."
"Yeah. Even though that's not what happened."
"Hm..."
People on-site had clearly heard the 'patent' talk, but scanning related news? Not a peep about patents. Even comments like—
—after a refresh, they were gone.
"They're controlling it. 'Patent' must hit a nerve."
"You use Haegneul much?"
"Nah. Boycotting them. Ever since they jacked up fried chicken prices—calling it 'Western food' while discounting seasoned chicken as 'Korean'—I've hated Haegneul."
"Fried chicken fan?"
"Yup."
Patriotic marketing had limits. Seasoned chicken as traditional Korean cuisine? Please.
"Haegneul was behind the patent. And they slinked away to dodge the backlash."
"Spot on. Heroes got gagged too. Folks on Sejong Island take plenty of Haegneul sponsorships, so they roll over. But I'm the new kid."
Baek Seolhui's voice grew gloomier.
"They tried breaking me in—using my beef with Dokkaebi. 'Don't wanna be the incompetent who let Dokkaebi slip and turned a villain into a devil? Play along with trashing Dokkaebi.'"
"Two questions."
"Shoot."
"The government dares threaten an S-rank like you? Dares?"
"......Yeah, about that."
Baek Seolhui sighed deeply, face etched with gloom.
"Irony of ironies. They shove unfavorable terms at me, and I have no choice but to take them."
"Why?"
"They know I can't leave this country."
She was being blackmailed. Her patriotism held hostage.
"I lurk anonymous boards sometimes. 'Got money? No reason to stay. Go abroad, live like a king. S-ranks don't need local mana—be a one-man god overseas.'"
True enough. Plenty of Koreans had bolted to the Middle East, Europe, Africa—local deities now.
"So just leave?"
"Easy, right? They'd fund a lifetime abroad—house, car, endless cash. But..."
"You can't renounce your citizenship?"
"Exactly."
Baek Seolhui let out a hollow laugh.
"Citizenship—what a mindfuck. Villains rant about it: 'Heroes brainwashed with patriotism from childhood, can't rebel. Ditch that fake loyalty, and freedom's yours—no more self-sabotage.'"
"They're the ones weaponizing patriotism for unpaid passion labor."
"Passion... labor?"
"'It's all blood-and-guts experience, worth more than money—consider yourself paid in life lessons.'"
"......."
Baek Seolhui cracked a faint smile.
"Knew talking to you was the right call."
"'Cause I'm anti-nationalist?"
"Yeah. Nobody around me rags on the government like you. Nailed it."
"Why me?"
"You live in Seoul."
Oh. Regional jab incoming?
"Not every Seoulite's anti-government."
"Most are, though? They don't even send heroes there."
"I said not all."
We'd bonded over hobbies, but my Seoul roots apparently gave her a soft spot.
"Anyway, sick of a nation that demonizes one guy for their gain, covers it up, pins it on Dokkaebi, then blackmails you with patriotism. Came to vent."
"Nailed it. Chest feels lighter now."
Her smile eased up.
Baek Seolhui's issues weren't something lowly librarian Do Jihwan could fix. But sometimes, just listening did the trick. Women didn't always want solutions—they wanted empathy, shared outrage, validation.
"Hearing your story? They're the worst. Confirms I'll keep boycotting Haegneul."
"Hahaha. Music to my ears. Haegneul, the country, the Association... all of 'em. Haa."
Baek Seolhui gazed skyward a while, then turned to me.
"What gets me most? Their handling of that 'Du Eok Sini' guy."
"Du Eok Sini?"
"Yeah. Some freak using weird magic that turns people into devils, and instead of hunting him, they're screaming to catch Dokkaebi."
"Magic that makes devils...?"
"Right. You see the video? Those tentacle things going into Doppelganger's body."
"Wasn't on-site then... Tried rewatching, but it was gone."
"Yup, scrubbed. Can't show you now, but we gotta nab that guy—why chase Dokkaebi?"
Baek Seolhui sighed, hand on her puffer zipper.
"Mind if I join the bath?"
"......Pardon?"
"It's fine. No issues."
Whoosh.
"Even in this 'great' country, gotta vent about the trash sometimes."
Baek Seolhui shed the puffer in a flash and perched lightly on the railing.
"Today... will you be my bamboo grove?"