Chapter 13
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Head in the Box
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Jeonghan spoke as if he’d just heard something incomprehensible.
“There’s no way I could be the same as Jeonghwan.”
“Huh? I don’t get what you’re saying.”
The dokkaebi replied indifferently.
“If I felt it, then that’s how it is. Why wouldn’t it be possible? Unless I mistook you for that guy, does what you need to show me change?”
“No, that’s not it, but…”
It seemed like this was a big deal for Jeonghan, leaving him with an unsettled expression. But to the dokkaebi, it was hardly worth mentioning.
“Fine. Anyway, you asked your question, so now it’s my turn.”
With that, the dokkaebi asked,
“So, does it make a bit more sense now that we’ve sorted it out? Do you know what the promise was?”
Jeonghan hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. The dokkaebi narrowed his eyes but didn’t get angry. He just sighed in lament.
“Then this whole conversation was pointless.”
The dokkaebi’s words were cold.
“Disappointing.”
But with that, the dokkaebi’s question was over. Naturally, it was Jeonghan’s turn to ask next.
“If I say I’ll keep the promise, you won’t go to anyone else, right?”
The dokkaebi nodded at Jeonghan’s question.
“If you show me what you’re supposed to, there’s no reason for me to go looking elsewhere.”
The dokkaebi stared straight at Jeonghan and asked,
“Do you want to keep the promise?”
“…I do. Though I’m not sure if I can yet.”
Jeonghan nodded. He’d already wrestled with this on his own to some extent. If someone else was going to end up in the same mess even if he backed out, it made sense to settle it here and now.
Taeju cut in and said,
“But intent and ability are two different things. So, let me rephrase: Jeonghan, do you think you can keep the promise?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.”
“If it really seems impossible, we could help you break the promise.”
Taeju said, glancing at the dokkaebi.
The dokkaebi showed no reaction to that. He kept his eyes fixed solely on Jeonghan.
“I want to keep it.”
As if entranced, Jeonghan said.
“These words you’re saying now count as your promise.”
The dokkaebi warned in a stern voice.
Jeonghan nodded. Anyway, it was his turn to ask a question now.
They’d each gone once, and from some point, it had just flowed that way naturally.
“…I said I’d keep the promise.”
At Jeonghan’s words, the dokkaebi tilted his head and said,
“Is that your question?”
“No, it’s not.”
Jeonghan flinched. He didn’t think it was likely, but it felt like he’d almost skipped his turn.
“I-I was just wondering about the deadline for the promise. How long do I have to fulfill it?”
Jeonghan asked in an anxious voice.
“A deadline, huh.”
It was an important question. The dokkaebi, who had answered without hesitation so far, paused to think this time.
“I’ll give you two days.”
“What? Two days?”
Jeonghan blurted out in surprise.
“That’s too short.”
He’d figured it would be at least a week, so he was caught off guard, but the dokkaebi didn’t seem inclined to extend it.
“I’ve already waited too long. There’s no reason for me to wait any more.”
The dokkaebi said.
“But I need some time.”
Jeonghan insisted that even figuring out what the dokkaebi wanted would take time, and preparing it on top of that made two days woefully insufficient.
“So two days is just too tight.”
But the dokkaebi shot back fiercely.
“No, it shouldn’t be.”
“Huh?”
The dokkaebi’s attitude was resolute. He spoke as if he was absolutely certain it could be prepared easily.
“Your friend said you’d be able to see it when you opened that box ten years later!”
“That’s true. But that friend isn’t around anymore, is he?”
“Nothing to be done if he’s gone. But he clearly meant it would be ready by now. So it shouldn’t take long to find.”
The dokkaebi’s point wasn’t entirely baseless. Jeonghan couldn’t argue back, so the dokkaebi continued, as if dropping a hint.
“I’m not one for thinking things over, but I did mull it around off and on for nearly ten years. Stuck in that box, all I could do was think. Playing by blinking my eyes got old after a couple times!”
He’d even conserved energy by keeping only his head.
“Ten years of thinking, and I still couldn’t pin down the answer. But I could guess what it might be.”
The dokkaebi counted off on his fingers.
“Something easy to show, not heavy, not expensive, not bound by time, but extremely rare.”
The dokkaebi spoke generously, but Jeonghan still looked troubled.
“But…”
“If it fits those conditions, two days is plenty. Tell me. What reason do I have to wait longer?”
As he spoke, the dokkaebi lifted his chin.
He looked fine on the surface, but a thin line remained.
It was a gesture reminding Jeonghan how long the dokkaebi had waited to keep his own promise.
Jeonghan had no reply, and the dokkaebi smiled in satisfaction before continuing.
“I can’t shorten the time further, but I won’t either. I’ve already waited ten years. Not a short time. I waited while you were passed out, and even a week after you came to. I’ve been plenty patient.”
“That’s…”
As Jeonghan started to respond, the dokkaebi’s gaze sharpened.
“Fine. Some of it was my misunderstanding, so I won’t hold that delay against you. But doesn’t that mean it’s unreasonable to ask for more time to prepare now?”
The dokkaebi glared at Jeonghan with fierce eyes. It was nothing like the look he’d given before the promise.
It was the gaze of a hunter eyeing prey—or someone appraising an object he wouldn’t mind breaking.
“Up until now, you were just someone stuck with a promise you didn’t ask for. But you said yourself you’d keep it, so I can’t treat you that way anymore.”
In truth, the dokkaebi had been unusually lenient before, not living up to his name.
But now that Jeonghan was the one responsible for upholding the promise, the dokkaebi had no reason to hold back. If they’d been alone, he would’ve grabbed Jeonghan by the collar for sure.
No, if Jeonghan had shown even a hint of weakness, he definitely would have.
The only reason he didn’t was because he knew it wouldn’t work.
Without the office folks there, the outcome was obvious. Jeonghan couldn’t overcome the sheer terror and began trembling again.
He felt the same fear as when he’d first faced the dokkaebi.
As Jeonghan unwittingly staggered back a step, Sia grabbed his shoulder from behind. It kept him from falling.
“Let’s stop there for now.”
Taeju finally stepped in to restrain the dokkaebi. Jeonghan was already scared enough; pushing further would just be outright threats.
“Pressuring him like that won’t make the impossible possible.”
Taeju said in a displeased tone. The dokkaebi knew it too and clicked his tongue loudly before asking,
“What do you think? Am I being unreasonable?”
“You mean the two days?”
At the dokkaebi’s question, Taeju glanced at Jeonghan and narrowed his eyes.
“It depends on how you look at it, but I wouldn’t call it generous.”
The dokkaebi glared, but Taeju pressed on undeterred.
“But even with more time, I’m not sure you could show it to us.”
“What?”
The dokkaebi frowned.
“You wanna throw down right now or something?”
On home ground with everyone present, defeat was unlikely, but fighting wasn’t what Taeju wanted.
“I wouldn’t mind, but I’d rather not. That’s not what I was getting at anyway.”
Taeju said with a subtle expression.
“More time wouldn’t make a difference.”
At those words, the dokkaebi’s eyes widened, and Jeonghan’s wavered. Taeju didn’t miss the reactions.
“In my view, if you can’t do it in two days, you couldn’t in ten—or even longer. That’s why I said more time wouldn’t help.”
Taeju sighed and added,
“I’ll accept the two days on the condition you stay here the whole time.”
“Hmm?”
The dokkaebi’s eyes widened.
“You’ve got a guess what it is?”
“Yes. Unfortunately.”
Taeju sighed in response to the dokkaebi’s question.
“Probably not as big a deal as you think.”
* * *
The dokkaebi accepted Taeju’s proposal. The conversation ended there.
Woli and Sia stayed in the small room to ensure the dokkaebi couldn’t leave.
So once again, Taeju naturally ended up escorting Jeonghan out.
The moment they were alone, Jeonghan asked right away.
“Do you really think two days is enough?”
He was trying to stay calm, but that was all. Anyone could see he wasn’t calm at all.
“It’s tight, but I think it’s enough. Like I said earlier.”
If it couldn’t be prepared in two days, then ten days, a month, or even ten years wouldn’t change that.
No, the longer the delay, the harder it might get.
“It’s pressing, but two days isn’t impossible. The dokkaebi’s waited plenty already, like he said.”
Taeju knew Jeonghan was anxious.
“Are you worried?”
“…Yes.”
Jeonghan bit his parched lips.
“…Do you really have a guess what it is?”
At Jeonghan’s question, Taeju gave a wry smile.
“Yes. I’ve got a pretty good idea.”
Jeonghan bit his lip again at Taeju’s words. He seemed deeply tense.
Seeing that, Taeju felt even more certain.
“And there’s one other thing I’ve figured out.”
Taeju turned fully to face Jeonghan.
“You already knew, didn’t you?”
“…What?”
Jeonghan blinked in confusion at the sudden question.
“The promise.”
Unlike before, Taeju spoke without a smile or hint of amusement.
“By the time you were talking to the dokkaebi, you already knew.”
Jeonghan stopped in his tracks at Taeju’s words.
“Otherwise, it doesn’t make any sense.”