It was the Gwijamoshin after all… I was unsure even when delivering this news. “I was suspicious too. But after what you said—how she clung to the children, how most of those taken by the shadow had sad stories, and how they always smiled when they left—I thought maybe my old suspicions were wrong.” The shadow did not force the children to come. She had taken many, but every single one was a child with a tragic fate, a child given a terminal diagnosis. Hwan had checked that information carefully and contacted Father Choi, wondering if this shadow might not be an evil being. Father Choi confirmed it again. “Still, why was Gwijamoshin acting this way? Like a demon… and it seemed she had forgotten what she once was.” “Was it because she was furious at the suffering of those children and their situation?” Father Choi spoke, then showed a bitter face. As always, he crossed himself before the cross in front of him and folded his hands for a short ‘Amen.’ Then he added, “Originally, Gwijamoshin was once a demon. In Buddhism, as a yaka king’s wife with 500 sons in heaven and 500 on earth, she was said to have been hot-tempered and cruel, devouring other people’s children. Yet she loved her own children most of all, an utterly selfish woman. Seeing that, the Buddha secretly hid one of her children to give her enlightenment.” Father Choi crossed himself again as always. “Gwijamoshin burned day and night with worry for her missing child. Finally she went to the Buddha and asked how to find her child. The Buddha said, ‘What’s the big deal about losing one child? There’s no need to fuss.’ Gwijamoshin grew angry, asking how a kind Buddha could speak so cruelly.” “She was a cruel demon who ate other children’s children, you mean?” “Yes. The Buddha didn’t miss that part either. ‘You lost only one child among many. Why are you in so much pain? The world has only one or five children. Didn’t you eat theirs? How would the heart of a parent who lost a child feel?’ That was what the Buddha said. Gwijamoshin understood then. And she promised: if I can find my child, from then on I won’t eat other children’s children.” The Gwijamoshin who cried tears of remorse after hearing the Buddha’s words, this realization led her to take refuge in Buddhism. Soon she became the deity in charge of childbirth and child-rearing. “She was angry at the cruel world and the pitiful children’s reality. Yes, her fury was so great she forgot what she truly was. Still, her instinct to protect children and make them happy remained, didn’t it?” “Even gods lose their reason from anger.” “Because she loved children so much, those who made children suffer received punishment from the Gwijamoshin. Still, it’s a blessing. If she had been a little later, who knows what would have happened? The Gwijamoshin almost returned to her old self as a demon before enlightenment. You were in time to stop her.” Hwan nodded silently. Then he looked at the cross in the chapel with a complicated expression. Unbidden, Suji’s face appeared. He didn’t know the girl well, yet the happy look she had when with the Gwijamoshin refused to leave his memory. He hoped the child had now reached heaven and found peace. “Still, you’re a priest. How do you know all that?” It was then that Miho, who had been watching with a dull expression, asked. Father Choi glanced at her with displeasure and answered gruffly, “Hah! Doing this kind of work means meeting all sorts of gwoeis. You can’t just study the Bible. Originally religions have long histories. Following those histories, stories about gwoeis are written in detail, so you have no choice but to study them.” “Ah… I see.” Miho answered bluntly and turned her head to sip her warm coffee. Father Choi shook his head with a sigh. Then he looked at Hwan again. “Anyway, thank you. This matter would not have been resolved without you.” “Well… I’m not sure we can say it’s really resolved. I didn’t really do anything.” “Since the Gwijamoshin recovered her original form and left, that should be enough. There was no greater harm, and the child went with the Gwijamoshin, so she won’t be lonely or hurt anymore. And… didn’t you say? What face the child made when she was with the Gwijamoshin there.” “Yes… she was very happy. That’s why… I couldn’t forcibly bring the child to the hospital. But… I worry that because of that reason the child weakened and died anyway.” “It won’t be like that. The Gwijamoshin would have saved the child somehow. Since she knew she couldn’t, she granted the child’s last wish…” The last wish… Hwan repeated those words several times in his mind. Then he nodded. “Just because it’s a gwoeil doesn’t mean all of them are bad beings.” “Hahaha… that’s right!” “Like me?” Miho wedged herself between them again. Father Choi sighed and gave a clearly uncomfortable look, but Hwan chuckled. “Why the sigh? Honestly, where’s a monster like me? I’m right here helping you two!” “Hah! It’s not because you have no purpose, right? You’re eyeing me with those hungry eyes like a snake in your belly—I know that!” “A snake? Hah! How can there be a snake in a fox’s belly?”
