Chapter 12
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Head in the Box (12)
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Ten years ago, there had been ten of us.
I still had more time than money back then, and plenty of stamina to spare, so all ten of us managed to show up without anyone dropping out.
It was well past midnight, but we climbed the mountain without a clue how scary it could be. The place was familiar, and with ten people around, it felt even less frightening.
The real problem was elsewhere. The digging we'd started showed no sign of ending.
"Hey, you think we can dig up all this dirt before dawn?"
"I don't know."
Someone let out a deep sigh. Jeonghan couldn't remember who it was.
"Hey, we couldn't even bring a proper shovel, so of course this isn't gonna work."
We'd brought gardening trowels with no technique in mind, so there was no way they'd do the job.
"Better than bare hands!"
"A spoon's better than bare hands too. How are we supposed to dig with these?"
"Why don't we just borrow a real shovel next time and try again?"
"There's no guarantee we'll all come back out here, and no one at home even has a shovel to borrow."
Jeonghan couldn't remember who said it, but he remembered the response.
It was Jeonghwan.
He was the one who'd gathered everyone at this hour and prepared the capsule.
"If not tonight, it'll be tough to do it next time. Let's push a bit harder. Wouldn't it be a shame to give up after coming this far?"
It would be a shame. But everyone was growing exhausted by then.
"What the hell are you doing right now?"
"Wah! You scared me."
An unexpected voice startled them all.
No one knew when this man had appeared.
He was tall and sturdy.
They weren't doing anything bad, but digging in the mountains at night looked suspicious enough. The kids felt guilty and panicked for no reason.
But the man's attitude wasn't particularly suspicious of the students or scolding them. He just seemed genuinely curious as he spoke to them.
"What are you burying?"
Someone answered. Their tone was full of wariness. But the man didn't mind it.
"Hmm, well, that's probably the only reason to dig a hole. But you really think you can dig with those?"
The kids exchanged glances.
It had nothing to do with their wariness of the man; his words were simply true.
They had no idea how to handle this unexpectedly friendly but unfamiliar stranger.
They eyed each other to see who would speak. But no one volunteered easily.
They couldn't keep ignoring his questions forever, though.
In the end, Jeonghwan stepped forward to answer.
"We can dig the hole if we just put in the time. Why do you care? We're not doing anything bad, so you don't need to worry."
It was a polite way of telling him to leave. But the man didn't budge.
"I'm just having a hard time understanding why you're burying something in the ground all of a sudden. Doesn't look like anything valuable from here."
The man stayed put even after Jeonghwan's words, speaking as if the kids' actions were truly baffling.
With the conversation turning this way, Jeonghwan grew flustered too. The reaction was far more innocent and friendly than he'd expected.
It was hard to bluntly tell someone like that to get lost. Besides, this guy with the massive build might be friendly now, but if he got angry, it wouldn't end well.
To get through this smoothly, he needed to choose his words carefully.
"What we're burying is a time capsule."
In the end, it was Jeonghwan who started explaining again.
"A time capsule?"
"Yeah. You don't know what that is?"
"Not really."
"For real?"
Once Jeonghwan confirmed the man really didn't know what a time capsule was, he began explaining it.
The man tilted his head slightly, asking for confirmation to make sure he understood.
"So you're all gathering stuff now to dig it up later?"
"Dig it up? It's not like it's some wild ginseng."
Jeonghwan gave a wry smile. He'd been full of suspicion at first, but it didn't feel that way anymore.
The man just seemed a bit odd, but not bad.
"Those things don't look like they'll be worth much in ten years."
"You're right. Even if they gain value, how much could it really be?"
At best, fewer than half the items might hold any value later.
Especially things like letters— even if preserved perfectly, they'd be worth no more than memories.
But for Jeonghan, that was more than enough.
"We're not doing this to make money in the first place."
The man nodded.
"Makes sense. Then you should just store it in a safe deposit box."
He seemed to understand what a time capsule was now, but not why they were doing it.
"That's what I'm curious about. Why bury something not even valuable?"
"We're not burying it because it's valuable."
It was such an absurd question that Jeonghwan answered with a furrowed brow.
"Then why?"
"To make it valuable."
"Huh? You said it won't be worth much."
"Of course not. But... it has meaning, right?"
Jeonghwan struggled for the right words before continuing.
"Meaning?"
"We promised to open it together in ten years. All of us."
The man sounded skeptical.
"Really? Why?"
"That our friendship will last ten years... something like that."
Even after Jeonghwan's explanation, the man still looked full of doubt.
"All of you together? Doubt it."
He tilted his head as he spoke.
"Ten years is a long time. Short if you think about it, but way longer than kids like you imagine. You really think everyone will show up then?"
"They'll all come. Even if not everyone can, whoever can will definitely be there."
Jeonghwan said that, then turned to the man.
"If you're just gonna say stuff like that, then leave. You're not helping anyway."
"If I help, can I stick around?"
"Huh?"
The moment Jeonghwan spoke, the man strode forward.
"Let me have that for a sec."
He casually snatched a shovel.
It was already a small gardening trowel, but in the man's hand, it looked like a slightly oversized spoon.
That tiny size didn't seem to bother him, though.
Before they knew it, he plunged the shovel into the ground effortlessly.
Despite the shovel being ridiculously small for his large frame, he moved without issue.
In moments, he'd dug a fairly deep hole.
"Incredible..."
Jeonghan couldn't remember who said it, but they all thought the same. The man dug like a monster, at an inhuman speed.
It took less than a few minutes to finish digging.
"There. Now I've helped you out."
The man looked at Jeonghwan as he said it.
"So, can I stay now?"
"...Yeah, I guess so."
This was no small help. They'd been fumbling around here for an hour already.
Finishing it in under five minutes was huge.
"Thank you."
Jeonghwan thanked him in a daze.
The man nodded and stepped back a few paces.
"Then I'll just watch."
After that, things went much smoother.
Putting the box in and covering it with dirt was far easier than breaking the hard ground.
They buried the box completely and marked a nearby tree.
"That's really it? I thought there'd be something more special."
The man nodded.
"Of course it's nothing special now. The special part is supposed to happen in ten years."
Jeonghwan said that, then told the others it was time to head home.
They'd considered doing something more after, but it was too late, and everyone was tired.
They felt accomplished, but that didn't erase the fatigue.
Everyone headed home on their own.
Everyone except one.
"Hang on, let's talk a bit more."
Jeonghan remembered the man saying that to Jeonghwan.
Jeonghan, standing second from the back, was the only one who heard it.
"I've got something I'm curious about."
Jeonghan turned around. Jeonghwan, at the very back, gestured for him to go ahead.
Assuming he'd catch up soon, Jeonghan went first, but Jeonghwan took a little longer to come down.
No big issues arose, though. Aside from everyone being exhausted and out of sorts the next day.
That was Jeonghan's memory from back then.
* * *
In hindsight, it was obvious, but that man was the Dokkaebi.
"If we made any promises back then, it must've been in that final moment."
Jeonghan stammered as he recounted everything he could remember.
"Yeah. Matches what I remember. No discrepancies."
The Dokkaebi confirmed there were no errors.
"There's one thing that doesn't match my memory."
Jeonghan looked at the Dokkaebi's face as he spoke.
"You didn't have a beard back then."
That's why he hadn't connected that man to the Dokkaebi.
"I usually shave. Just couldn't while stuck in that box this time."
The Dokkaebi said that, then continued.
"You're right. That's when we made the promise."
Jeonghwan had said that if he appeared in ten years, he'd show something of value to him too.
"That was the promise. Didn't expect the one who made it to die, though."
The Dokkaebi smacked his lips.
"But since you were there, it worked out even better. You're definitely connected."
"Yeah. So even if it was coincidence, I'm a fitting stand-in to keep the promise."
Jeonghan nodded.
"Coincidence? I didn't pick you by chance."
Jeonghan tilted his head at the Dokkaebi's words.
"Not a coincidence?"
"I told you. I mistook you for that guy."
"That's not a coincidence?"
Jeonghan repeated the question.
"You were the most similar to him out of the group."
"No way."
Dongwon resembled him more physically—tall, cheerful, good at sports.
Daeyeop matched better in personality—loud voice, fun-loving. If not looks, then definitely him.
But the Dokkaebi was urging Jeonghan—who differed in appearance, personality, and even speech—to keep the promise.
"Honestly, I get that you don't remember faces well, but mistaking him for me doesn't make sense."
"What's so nonsensical?"
The Dokkaebi shrugged like he'd heard every weird thing before.
"You were at the center of the group."
He stated it with a serious expression.
"That's why I thought you were him."
"I was at the center?"
"Yeah."
The Dokkaebi said.
"The group's smaller now, but the roles are the same, so I figured you were that guy."
Jeonghan's expression hardened instantly at those words.