“Ho-goooooook!!! This is so good, squeak! It tastes even better than acorns and chestnuts, squeak! I’ve never eaten anything this delicious in my entire life, squeak!!”
Darong’s ears and tail were fluttering nonstop, as if he truly meant what he said.
Jiho and Baekho burst into laughter when they saw him.
“Hahaha.”
“Wow! To think he’d say something is better than acorns and chestnuts… This is my first time hearing Darong talk like that.”
Baekho looked at Darong with satisfaction before turning his head toward Dae-woong, who still hadn’t said a word.
Then Baekho laughed again.
Despite being a half-yokai who could eat human food, Dae-woong was silently and rapidly devouring the ramen.
Jiho also smiled when he saw that.
“I don’t think five packs are going to be anywhere near enough. Sorry, but I’ll have to ask you to cook more.”
Baekho said that as he took out a box of black bean ramen from his subspace.
“Baekho-nim, just how many boxes of black bean ramen did you buy?”
“Ahem! I’ve always liked this flavor. I make it from time to time, but I ran out, so I bought a few boxes earlier.”
Hearing Baekho’s explanation, Jiho hurried to finish the ramen in his bowl.
Then he stood up and asked,
“Chief, do you have another pot?”
“If you check under the sink, there should be a bigger one there.”
After Dae-woong answered, Jiho stepped down from the porch and picked up a ramen box.
“But how much should I cook?”
“I usually eat about five packs by myself. I’m sure the others can eat at least that much too.”
Darong and Dae-woong nodded while slurping noodles.
“Then I’ll make ten for now.”
Just as he said that and headed toward the kitchen, someone’s voice called out.
“I’m eating too, meow! How could you leave me out while eating something this tasty, meow? That’s so upsetting, meow!”
Myorang jumped down from the roof, and Jiho quietly nodded before heading into the kitchen.
After cooking ten packs—the maximum the pot could handle—Jiho brought the pot outside and saw Myorang had enlarged his body just like Darong.
Startled for a moment, Jiho soon composed himself and set the pot on the low table.
“Myorang-nim, you should use a fork too. I’ll grab you a bowl and a fork.”
“Thanks, meow.”
When he brought them over, Myorang also began eating ramen like he was going into battle.
Seeing that, Jiho realized it definitely wouldn’t be enough, so he took the pot he’d already used and returned to the kitchen.
The yokai ramen feast only ended once they finished all twenty packs from the box Baekho had offered.
Darong put down his fork and patted his belly in satisfaction.
“I could eat more, squeak, but I should stop. If I eat too much at once, I’ll get fat, squeak.”
“You ate way more than I did, meow.”
“That’s not true, squeak. You ended up eating more later, squeak.”
“Hmph! Either way, you’re all mean, meow. You call me a friend, but you didn’t invite me even though you had delicious food, meow?”
“I’m sorry, squeak. It was our first time eating something like this, and we lost our minds a bit, squeak. That’s why we gave you the last of it, squeak.”
“Hmph. If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t be talking to you for a while, meow.”
Watching Darong and Myorang make up, Baekho turned to Jiho.
“Thanks for cooking all that.”
“Haha. It’s my first time cooking this much, but seeing everyone enjoy it so much made it easy. I guess this is why people like cooking for others.”
“I see. But I’m curious about something.”
“Oh, sure. What is it?”
“Judging by your ability, you wouldn’t have gotten sick if you had just been cooking ramen at home. So why did your body deteriorate this much?”
“Well… honestly, I’m not sure either. But now that you mention it, I always bought food outside. I even avoided cooking ramen at home and just ate cup ramen instead. Since cup ramen doesn’t require actual cooking, the purification probably didn’t happen. And after Baekseol died, I was so devastated that I overworked myself for a long time. I got so exhausted that I didn’t want to lift a finger when I got home, so I stopped cooking anything at all. With days like that piling up… I guess it’s only natural that my body fell apart.”
“That’s unfortunate. If only we had known about your ability sooner, your body wouldn’t have gotten this bad.”
“Well, it can’t be helped. This is my fate, after all.”
The yokai watched Jiho’s calm expression quietly.
After thinking for a moment, Baekho finally spoke.
“If you’re okay with it, stay here for a while. This place is full of natural energy, so if you cook your own meals here, your illness should slow down a bit.”
“But humans aren’t supposed to enter here, right? I don’t want to cause trouble.”
“It’s true that this place is a yokai settlement. But long ago, a human once lived here too. Someone born with the ‘Hand of Purification,’ just like you. We prevent humans from entering because they might harm the yokai, but also because this place is very important to us. Well, I’ll explain it better when we get the chance. For now, humans like you who bear the Hand of Purification don’t harm yokai, so if the Four Guardian Spirits allow it, you can stay here.”
“I think I heard earlier that even ghosts can’t come inside… then how did Baekseol get through? If I stay here, Baekseol will too. Is that okay?”
“The barrier around this village was created with the power of all Four Guardian Spirits, so like you said, humans and ghosts normally can’t enter. But a human with the Hand of Purification can break through the barrier. We assume your purification ability nullifies the barrier as well.”
“Then shouldn’t I avoid staying here? If I weaken the barrier, other humans or ghosts might get inside.”
“That won’t happen. When the first person with the Hand of Purification entered, we panicked too and checked the barrier several times. But the barrier didn’t weaken or break—it only allowed that person to pass.”
“Oh…”
“And that puppy ghost is probably stuck to you, so it was able to enter with you. When I rechecked the barrier earlier, there was no problem at all. I even confirmed that the ghosts outside still can’t get in.”
Jiho felt relieved after hearing Baekho’s explanation.
Even though he had only stumbled into this place by chance and stayed for a short while, he felt a warmth from the yokai here that he had never even felt from humans.
Sweet and adorable Darong, prickly yet kind Myorang, stoic but dependable Dae-woong, the cute fox yokai, and Baekho, who was bold and trustworthy…
He had been worried that his presence might harm the yokai who treated him so kindly from the moment they met, but hearing that wasn’t the case was a huge relief.
Still, the thought of staying here weighed on him.
As if reading his mind, Baekho spoke up.
“It would be nice if you stayed here and cooked for us sometimes. Not every day—but once in a while, we’d all really enjoy it.”
“Baekho-nim is right, squeak! I want you to stay here too, squeak. Just cook this ‘ramen’ thing every few days, squeak!”
“Hmph! If you make it, I suppose I’ll eat it, meow.”
Jiho laughed at Darong and Myorang’s words.
“Haha! Okay. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to stay here, but while I’m here, I’ll cook lots of delicious food for you. I’m not very skilled at cooking, but if I look up recipes in cookbooks or online, I’m sure I can figure it out. I look forward to being with you all.”
“Heheheh! I’m looking forward to it too, squeak!”
“I’d like fish dishes, meow.”
“Kyng! Kyang!”
“Hodori says he’s happy you’re staying here too, squeak.”
As Darong interpreted the fox yokai’s comment, Jiho gently stroked Ho’s fur.
“So his name is Ho?”
“Yes. He’s a fox yokai, so we call him that. He’s a real troublemaker, so be careful once you’re living here.”
Jiho smiled and nodded at Dae-woong’s warning.
Hearing Dae-woong’s gruff words—surprisingly warm beneath the surface—Jiho smiled. He had worried that Dae-woong might oppose him staying… but clearly he had nothing to worry about.
“So, where will Jiho live, squeak?”
Dae-woong pondered for a moment at Darong’s question.
There weren’t many houses in the village, and the ones that existed were all occupied by yokai.
Seeing them hesitate, Jiho quickly spoke.
“I won’t be able to stay here long anyway. The doctor told me I only have about six months to a year left to live. Even if staying here slows down my illness, it won’t be for very long. So I don’t need a nice house. If the Chief allows it, I can even stay in the room I stayed in earlier.”
Baekho shook his head.
“That won’t do. Living in someone else’s home would make you feel self-conscious, and you wouldn’t be able to rest comfortably. There are plenty of open spaces in the village—why not build a house there?”
“A house? But no other humans can come here… how would I build a house?”
Before Jiho could get too confused, Myorang answered.
“We’ll ask a dokkaebi, meow.”
“A dokkaebi?”
“That’s right, meow. All the houses here were built by dokkaebi.”
Jiho was reminded once again that this was truly a yokai village.
“But they can’t build one right now. The dokkaebi who build houses are really busy these days.”
“Oh, that’s okay.”
“Still, in about a week, the full moon will rise. If nothing else, we can build it then.”
“Um… what does the full moon have to do with house building?”
“I said this place is a yokai village, but to be precise, it’s the village that guards the entrance to the yokai realm.”
“Wait—yokai realm?”
“Yes. Didn’t you find it odd? For a place called a yokai village, the only yokai you’ve met are the few here.”
“Ah… everything that happened today was so surreal… I didn’t think deeply about it.”
“Well, for a normal human, that makes sense. Anyway, as I was saying—this village guards the entrance to the yokai world. Some yokai live in the human world, but most live in the other realm. On the night of every full moon, when the moon is highest in the sky, a door opens that connects the two worlds. During that time, yokai can travel freely between the human world and their own.”
“Aah…”
Jiho listened blankly, as though hearing a fairy tale.
“If the yokai here are too busy, we can call a house-building dokkaebi from the other side. As long as you pay the price, they’ll build it nicely.”
“I see. But… what kind of payment do they take?”
“You have money, right?”
“Money?”
“Yes. Dokkaebi take money just fine. So don’t worry about that.”
“Oh…”
“Dokkaebi love money, squeak! There’s no such thing as a poor dokkaebi, squeak!”
After hearing Darong say that, Jiho felt the imaginary image he had of dokkaebi shatter completely.