Chapter 29
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Monster Tale Specialist Office: Child of the Centipede (9)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A cold and ruthless gaze.
That was not the expression of someone in need of help.
Woli also sensed something was off, her face hardening.
The two had no idea what that gaze signified, but at the very least, they could tell that Okbun was not welcoming them.
Hanseol seemed utterly oblivious to Okbun's strange demeanor.
“Hello.”
Taeju spoke up first. No matter how unwelcome he might be, he could not ignore the other party's greeting.
“I'm Kang Taeju from the office. This is Ha Woli.”
Okbun's attitude remained frigid even after Taeju's greeting.
Woli shot a savage glare at Okbun. She looked ready to resort to force if things went awry. Taeju poked her in the back from behind, signaling her to stop.
“The office, huh. I have no idea what you do there, but you've come to quite the remote spot. I'm wondering what brings you here.”
Okbun paid no mind to Woli's attitude. It was as if she were emphasizing that nothing at all had happened in this place.
It was a relief that the situation was not as dangerous as Hanseol had feared, but Okbun's hostility was unexpected.
“Sister, these people came because I asked them for help.”
Okbun's eyebrow twitched.
As if something rubbed her the wrong way, she narrowed her eyes and turned her gaze to Hanseol.
“I'm in the middle of talking with guests, so we'll chat later.”
Then she turned back to Taeju and continued.
“Thank you for helping Hanseol. It's late, so why don't you stay the night at our house. We can discuss the details then.”
It seemed Okbun wanted to talk somewhere without Hanseol present.
“Yes. Then we'll impose on you for the night.”
Okbun smirked, apparently pleased that Taeju had picked up on her intent, and said to Hanseol.
“Hanseol, we're short on water, so go fetch some.”
“Ah, yes! I'll do that.”
Taeju also asked Woli to accompany Hanseol.
“It'll be tough for her alone, so give her a hand.”
“Got it. Be careful.”
Woli nodded readily. She had a good idea why Taeju was sending her in particular.
With Hanseol in the lead, the two set off to fetch water.
By now, the sky appeared to have fully darkened with the sun, dyed a deep red.
“So, what exactly made you come all the way out here?”
The moment Hanseol was far enough away to not overhear, Okbun switched from polite speech to casual.
“Do you finally feel like having a serious conversation?”
“I've wanted to have one from the start. It's even better now that the girl you brought has stepped away. So you'd better answer quickly. Why are you here.”
Okbun spoke in a cold tone.
“To get straight to the point, we came here to grant Hanseol's request.”
Okbun let out a hollow laugh at Taeju's reply.
“I can guess without you telling me. There were plenty of people like you back in the day. The kind who said they'd save her by killing the monster.”
Those encounters clearly had not left a good impression, as Okbun's expression soured.
“We don't necessarily have to kill it.”
“You would if it came to that.”
Okbun did not drop her icy expression even in response to Taeju's words.
Taeju found it a little surprising. He had suspected some connection between Okbun and the centipede, but he had figured she would try to hide it.
“You knew right from the start that there was a centipede here.”
Okbun nodded frankly in response to Taeju's probe.
“That's right. It's extremely dangerous. So take Hanseol and get out of here.”
“Yes? Hanseol?”
Taeju was caught off guard by Okbun's response. Her attitude kept throwing him surprises.
“Yes. You seem to have some idea about the centipede living here.”
Taeju had expected her either to threaten him to abandon Hanseol or to beg him to take her along as well.
Cooperating with the centipede or not, those were the only two options she could propose, or so he had thought.
“When the child gets back, take her and leave. The longer you delay, the more dangerous it gets.”
But Hanseol's words were neither of those. It was so far out of left field that Taeju failed to mask his confusion as he said.
“It'll be just as dangerous for you.”
Okbun turned her back on him, pretending not to have heard Taeju's words. Her attitude made it clear that her own safety was of no concern.
Taeju realized he could not accomplish anything in this state.
In that case, he would have to play his hand.
“Fine, then. If you give me a satisfactory answer to my question, we'll take Hanseol and leave. But if not...”
Okbun whipped her head around the moment Hanseol's name came up.
“If not?”
It was just as Taeju had anticipated. Okbun seemed solely concerned with Hanseol's safety.
Taeju offered no reply to Okbun's words. It was up to her to imagine the rest.
Okbun spoke up, clearly irked.
“Using Hanseol as leverage for a question. How amusing. That was a pretty good provocation. Lucky for you, I had a question of my own, so now you have to answer mine.”
“Fine. Go ahead and ask.”
Taeju yielded the first question.
“What do you plan to do with Hanseol once you take her away?”
“Do with her?”
Taeju sought clarification, unable to grasp the intent behind the question.
“I mean... You've helped our child this far, haven't you. We're extremely grateful for that. But we have no idea how long your goodwill will last. For example, what I'm asking is whether you can look after that child for the rest of her life.”
It was a question Taeju found difficult to answer, and he scowled. It was not a matter he could decide on his own. Still, it was not as if he had no response.
“Well. I haven't thought that far ahead. But there will be two options. She could do the same kind of work we do, or we could set her up to live an independent life unrelated to us. How it goes will be up to Hanseol to decide.”
“I, for one, would prefer the latter.”
“After seeing how you live, I think I understand what you mean, but it will ultimately be her choice. There will be no coercion or nudging of any kind.”
“Hmm. I hope you keep that last promise.”
Taeju nodded at Okbun's words.
Perhaps because Taeju's answer was more or less what she had hoped for, Okbun's demeanor softened somewhat.
“Then it's my turn to ask a question. What are you?”
Okbun burst into loud laughter at Taeju's blunt question, as if she found it highly entertaining. The expression reminded him of Hanseol.
“A person.”
Okbun stopped laughing and gave a simple answer. Taeju did not believe a word of it.
He merely stared at her with cold eyes.
“Well, I figured you wouldn't buy it. But I never said I wasn't lying, did I?”
Okbun spoke playfully. But that in itself was tantamount to admitting she was not human. Taeju fired back in kind.
“Then I guess my earlier answer was a lie too.”
“Now that's not acceptable. However, even I don't know exactly what I am, so it's hard to give a precise answer. I was human once, but that's hundreds of years ago now, so is this enough?”
“Not entirely satisfying, but it counts as an answer.”
Taeju gave a slight nod, then lapsed into thought.
“The kids should be back soon, so let's finish the rest on the way up.”
With that, Okbun turned around. Taeju followed after her.
“By the way. It seemed like you had figured out I wasn't human even before this. So how much do you know about the situation?”
Taeju hesitated over how much to reveal before opening his mouth.
“My guess is that you and the centipede are in a cooperative relationship.”
“Cooperation... What a cold way to put it.”
“Haha, is it? I heard you come and go freely through a boundary that even wild animals can't cross.”
Okbun ascended the rugged mountain with ease. Taeju gradually grew winded trying to keep up. He paused to catch his breath before continuing.
“As far as we know, the centipede here really does eat people.”
“You know your stuff.”
“So I figured you raised Hanseol here for that purpose.”
Taeju could not see her face, with only her back in view.
“Like a sacrificial offering. I still think that's the case.”
Okbun halted for a moment when the word “sacrifice” came up. But she soon resumed walking as if nothing had happened.
Taeju did not miss the pause and pressed on.
“This boundary... I'm not sure if the expression fits, but it looks like a ranch. Not a space for raising humans, but for livestock. They can't leave, they're protected from external threats, and when the time comes, they're harvested.”
“Not wrong. It has actually been used that way before.”
Okbun admitted it without hesitation. That was precisely why Taeju could not comprehend it.
“If that's the case, then why educate her about the outside world? The best way to prevent someone from leaving is to eliminate their interest in the outside. That's how it should have been if Hanseol was livestock. But instead, that child was excited and curious about the outside.”
“Exactly. So, as you must have realized, I wanted her to be able to go live out there. That's why I taught her, but I could never bring myself to send her away.”
“Why not?”
Okbun gave no reply to Taeju's question. Nor did Taeju ask any further. He could not demand more of an answer.
A small hanok came into view in the distance. Looking at the house, Okbun muttered.
“At least the last dinner...”
* * *
While Taeju and Okbun faced off, the other two were peacefully heading off to fetch water.
The spot where they drew water was clearly different from the rest. There were signs of human presence.
It resembled a mineral spring, with water trickling steadily out from between the rocks. The surrounding moss and tall trees blended together to create a truly beautiful scene.
“Wow! What a pretty place!”
“Hehe, right? It's my absolute favorite spot!”
It was beautiful, to be sure, but undoubtedly a hassle and a chore to live in.
Woli imagined what it would be like if she lived here and shuddered violently, goosebumps rising.
Hanseol unscrewed the lid of the plastic jug and slowly filled it with water.
Woli was at least relieved that they did not have to transfer it using a carrying frame and earthenware jars.
Once the first jug was full, Hanseol began filling the second. Woli lifted the full one and was startled as she asked.
“You carried these by yourself normally?”
The weight was no joke. Woli now had a bit of an idea where Hanseol's sturdy physique came from.
“No! Normally I bring one jug a day and fill things up little by little. I don't carry four at a time like this. But we have guests this time.”
The water rose slowly with a trickle. It could not be turned on full blast like a faucet, so it took time. Quite a while later, all four jugs were filled.
“Hmm, how should I carry them to get everything in one go?”
Woli pondered at length, clearly reluctant to have to come back here.
She then picked up a sturdy-looking stick from nearby and threaded it through the handles to lift them all at once.
“You take just the one. I can handle the rest.”
“Wow, you're amazing.”
Hanseol clapped in admiration. Lifting three heavy jugs at once made it look like a display of superhuman strength. However, with Woli's frame that of an ordinary high schooler, her posture was somewhat unsteady.
The way down had been downhill, but the way back was uphill. Woli was confident she would not fall, but a single mistake could lead to disaster, so she decided to follow behind.
“Seol-ah.”
“Yeah?”
Hanseol responded quite naturally now that she had grown accustomed to the casual speech.
“What kind of person is your sister?”
“Hm? She's super scary when teaching me studies, super fun when reading me books, and, um... she's the person I love most in the whole world! Why do you ask all of a sudden?”
“No reason. Just.”
Woli trailed off.
Woli too had realized through instinct that Okbun was not human. That was why she had shown hostility.
But setting aside whether Okbun was human or not, Hanseol and Okbun seemed like a perfectly ordinary family. That was why Woli had considered warning Hanseol that her sister was not human, but she hesitated over whether that was the right thing to do. And so Woli glossed over it.
“She just seemed a little unique.”
“Hm, yeah? I don't really see many other people besides my sister, so I wouldn't know.”
Hanseol smiled as she said that. It was a smile that seemed truly joyful.
Woli found the smile fascinating. Nowadays, it was hard to find even middle schoolers who smiled like that.
“You said you've never been to school.”
When Woli had first heard Hanseol's story, she had worried that it might be a case of child abuse. But now that she was here, now that she had seen that smile, she understood.
Hanseol seemed happy.
“Yeah. I've thought about going sometimes, but she said if I did, I wouldn't be able to keep living here, so I decided not to.”
In other words, she could have gone outside if she had wanted to.
Woli began to think that the truth might be entirely different from what she had imagined.
This place was definitely not meant for killing people.
The path meant for just two people was well-paved. There was not a single protruding stone along it, and the gentle slope ensured that even if one tripped, they would not be badly hurt.
It was not just the path. Though less convenient than modern plumbing where turning a faucet brought water right out, the spot they had gone to fetch water from was undoubtedly beautiful. And it was not merely a natural formation.
Someone had clearly taken the time to shape it this way.
“What are you thinking about?”
Hanseol asked after Woli had walked in silence for a long stretch. Woli hurriedly changed the subject.
“Oh, nothing. Just had a random thought.”
“What thought?”
“Once all this is over, where do you plan to live next?”
Though she had asked as a way to deflect, it was still an important question.
As far as Woli knew, Hanseol had no proper identity papers, so entering society properly would involve quite a hassle of procedures.
Of course, the Director would handle all that.
But aside from that, Hanseol's day-to-day life and environment would be choices she had to make herself.
“Me? I haven't really thought about it... Truth be told, I've grown a bit attached to this place, but I'm fine leaving. Anywhere out there would be great. As long as I'm with my sister!”