I'll Handle Your Mental Care (5)
Late at night, Baek Seolhui lay in bed, clutching the blanket tight. The spot where she lay was a pension on Ulleungdo. She'd barged in demanding a counseling session and spilled all her grievances, only for this one man to listen patiently as her boiling emotions settled—then share his own thoughts.
"Can you comfort me like this more often from now on?"
"Am I the one comforting you? Spending these late nights alone with someone like you, Baek Seolhui—it feels like I'm the one benefiting here."
"In what way?"
"Just sharing time with someone like you is profit enough for me."
And so, she had spent the late night with this man. The bed she lay in now wasn't her usual one—it was somewhere new, a place she absolutely couldn't let others discover. The thrill of it was utterly bizarre. Like a good little child sneaking into the forbidden grown-up games. Like splattering red paint across a pristine white canvas you'd been told never to touch.
After twenty-five years of living like an innocent kid, she'd finally kicked open the door to adulthood and become a true adult.
Yet it was too intense an experience to boil down to mere "feeling," so Baek Seolhui simply resolved to sleep in silence.
Rustle, rustle.
But sleep wouldn't come. Right beside her, in the recliner next to the bed, sat Do Jihwan—reading a book in the darkness. His presence forced a whirlwind of thoughts upon her.
He'd said he loved books as a librarian, and sure enough, even here he was reading an e-book. Assuming she was deep asleep, he'd slipped quietly from the bed and settled into the recliner, poring over his tablet with the brightness turned all the way down.
Was it for show? Or did he genuinely want to read?
If it were a physical book, she might have glimpsed the title and guessed—but no such luck. Do Jihwan read in utter silence.
"What are you reading?"
"...Weren't you asleep?"
"I tried, but... talking a bit more sounds better than tossing and turning."
"Was I disturbing you?"
"No. It's kinda like ASMR to drift off to—nice background noise. Not the real page-turning sound, but... I just feel like chatting more."
"We talked non-stop till 3 a.m., and you want more?"
"Yeah."
"...Hoo."
Do Jihwan set his tablet on the nightstand.
"Mind if I ask what the book's about?"
"One of the collections of Korean folk tales. Researching the various legends spread across Korea."
"Folk tales?"
"Yeah. I'm no superpower user myself, but I'm thinking of trying psychological counseling-slash-superpower consulting for them someday."
"That's a tempting gig. But what's that got to do with Korean folk tales?"
"If you draw motifs from the tales, folks around here will eat it up."
Do Jihwan rose from the recliner and approached her side of the bed.
"Like turning into a tiger, say."
"So I've been caught by a tiger now?"
"That's right."
"But don't most tigers just get hunted down?"
"Depends on the tiger."
As he smoothed her bangs, his hand moved like he was grasping something.
"Plenty of users rock tiger-themed suits. And they're not copying Bengal tigers—they're aiming for the traditional ones from our peninsula, the mountain beasts."
"You think that'll actually help superpower users?"
"At the very least, it's solid reference material for deciding what kind of 'look' to rock as a powered individual. Take Yoon Isun—she's got that fox vibe, channeling the kumiho's will-o'-the-wisp."
"...Hmph."
Baek Seolhui twisted her lips into a smirk.
"What about me?"
"You've already got your ego locked in tight. Hard for me to weigh in."
"It's fine. Thanks to you, I finally nailed that demon-freezing technique."
"Me?"
"Built it off what we talked about back in Busan. Like this."
Baek Seolhui conjured a tiny ice crystal and gently lobbed it toward the window overlooking the nighttime sea.
Fizz.
"Freezes just like that. A technique born from you, Jihwan."
"...Congratulations. You've invented something new."
"Thinking of calling it the Doji Blizzard."
"Why's a Korean superpower user slapping an English name on it?"
"Dunno. Felt right?"
"Ha."
Do Jihwan lightly pressed his palm to her forehead.
"Inventing techniques is great, but if it gets too convoluted, check out the powered beings from the folk tales. Helps pin down your visual direction."
"Like the tiger motif?"
"Tigers are just the start. Our traditional ghosts and yokai are inspiring modern user designs left and right."
"...Like a dokkaebi?"
"Exactly."
Do Jihwan's face stiffened slightly as he turned toward the TV.
"Dokkaebi's one thing, but that Du Eok Sini guy's really getting under my skin."
"...Can't argue there."
"The country's lumping him in with weirdos like Dokkaebi, but I reckon he's way more dangerous than they think."
"Got proof?"
"No sane person wanders around in everyday hanbok."
"What kinda logic is that?"
Baek Seolhui poked his side. Do Jihwan didn't dodge, just shrugged lightly.
"Kidding. How could I, a Korean, blanket-hate folks in our traditional garb?"
"Exactly. You can't just spout that anywhere—tons of heroes draw from hanbok."
"Traditional hanbok, huh..."
Watching him smack his lips, Baek Seolhui gazed up at his profile, lost in thought for a moment.
"Not really my style, though."
"Mocking hanbok now?"
"Assassination attempts like that are off-limits."
This man. Something familiar about him. The line of his jaw, his shoulders—it rang a bell.
Nah, no way.
Baek Seolhui brushed off the nagging thought. The déjà vu didn't fit Do Jihwan at all; she couldn't link him to that figure.
"Think villains would catch less flak in hanbok?"
"Pardon?"
"If Dokkaebi ditched the suit for hanbok like Du Eok Sini, people might hate him less."
"...Ha."
Do Jihwan let out a disbelieving chuckle.
"Even if a villain gets less hate, how much less we talking?"
"At least no misunderstandings. Feels different—a foreigner villaining up our turf versus one of our own on home soil."
"Arm bending inward, eh?"
"For a guy like Dokkaebi, a little favoritism's fine."
"Seolhui."
Do Jihwan fixed her with a stern gaze.
"Dokkaebi is a villain."
"I know. Villain and all. But he doesn't kill carelessly."
"Double-digit body count—not 'careless'?"
"Only if they're irredeemable heavies society'd lock away forever."
"...Seolhui, you don't actually buy into Dokkaebi's insane ideology, do you?"
Do Jihwan tilted his head gravely.
"Agreeing that all villains deserve death?"
"Not 'all deserve death.' He's not popping them just for being villains. It's not sympathy or agreement... more like, a touch of pity."
"Pity?"
"Yeah."
Baek Seolhui sat up, scooting so her hip touched his.
"Watching him take down those grave sinners, it hits me sometimes: If not me, who washes this blood away? Wonder if that's what drives Dokkaebi."
"Dokkaebi?"
"Yeah. Looks reckless on the surface, but I've clashed with him endless times—I know. He doesn't want to kill lightly. But those who cross his line? He ends them clean."
"Which ones?"
"Hm..."
Baek Seolhui recalled Dokkaebi's files.
"Background, body type, rampage details—doesn't matter. It's the ones who've done monstrous stuff like murder or rape."
"So you think hanbok would dial down the hate for a guy like that?"
"At least the so-called 'unpatriotic' crowd would back off."
"Forcing hanbok just to impress the 'Confucian Taliban'? He's no hero."
"I think he is one. That guy too."
"...What?"
Do Jihwan's eyes widened in shock.
"Dokkaebi—a hero?"
"Yeah. That's how I see it. And someday, if I get the chance... I'll convince him to become one for real."
Baek Seolhui buried her face in his shoulder.
"He's not a bad man. The real villains are the corrupt officials grinding him down. I'll change them, one by one, as far as my power reaches. So..."
She gently laid her hand over his, resting on her thigh.
"Keep listening to my rants now and then. Keep giving me these comforting moments."
Do Jihwan nodded heavily in silence, and from the firm grip of their clasped hands, Baek Seolhui felt the knot in her chest melt away.
Morning light broke. The frost clinging to the walls showed no sign of melting—it stayed frozen fast to the glass.