Jiho returned to Dae-woong’s house and took out the leftover broth and vegetables from yesterday.
He also took minced beef out of the fridge and blotted the blood with a paper towel before setting it aside.
After finely chopping carrots, onions, zucchini, and mushrooms, he placed two large pots on the stone stove.
As soon as he added the ground beef and minced garlic to each pot and started stir-frying with a spatula, a delicious smell filled the kitchen.
Once the meat was fully cooked, he added the chopped vegetables and stir-fried them until they softened.
Then he took several packs of microwaved instant rice and added them to the pots.
He mixed the meat, vegetables, and rice together thoroughly, then poured in the leftover broth from yesterday.
He kept stirring so the ingredients wouldn’t stick to the bottom, and at some point, he could feel it starting to thicken.
Cooking porridge in two large pots made his arms tired from stirring constantly with both hands, but Jiho couldn’t stop smiling as he imagined how happy the yokai would be to eat it.
When the porridge was nearly done, he seasoned it with soup soy sauce and tasted it.
It seemed a little bland, so he added a bit more salt and finished by mixing in a little sesame oil.
After taking the finished porridge off the heat, he brought out six large bowls.
He filled the biggest one to the brim and covered it with plastic wrap, then set it aside.
He planned to give it to Baekho later when he returned from the mountain.
He filled the remaining bowls with porridge and topped them with crushed seaweed and perilla powder.
Lastly, he took out the fresh kimchi he made yesterday, completing the meal preparation.
“Dinner’s ready!”
When he shouted toward the yard, Dae-woong and Darong came into the kitchen.
“It smells delicious-squeak!”
“Oh, porridge?”
“I followed the recipe, but I’m not sure how it tastes.”
“The smell alone tells me it’ll be good.”
“Let’s hurry and eat-squeak!”
With Darong rushing them, Dae-woong took the tray with the porridge and headed to the yard.
Jiho followed behind him with the plate of fresh kimchi.
When they got outside, Myorang was already sitting on the deck as if she had appeared out of nowhere.
“Myorang. Hello?”
“Hello to you too-meow? I heard you went to the mountain. Did you have fun-meow?”
“Haha! Yes. It was my first time going, and it was really fun.”
“That’s good to hear-meow.”
“Sit down-squeak! Then we can eat faster-squeak.”
“Yes, alright. It’s hot, so please be careful while eating. Ho, this one is yours.”
Jiho set a bowl of porridge down in front of Ho.
“Thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”
Gathered around the table, Jiho and the yokai picked up their spoons and began eating.
“Wow! This is super super delicious-squeak!”
“Indeed-meow. The soup dish yesterday was tasty too… but this is savory and delicious-meow.”
“It’s been a very long time since I last ate porridge… but this is far better than what I had back then.”
At Dae-woong’s comment, Jiho paused mid-bite and asked,
“You’ve had porridge before?”
“Yes. When I was born, not long after, my mother cooked it for me.”
“Oh…”
Jiho became flustered at the answer, but Dae-woong chuckled.
“No need to make that face. It’s actually nice that you reminded me of my mother after so long. Food wasn’t abundant back then, so it was just plain white porridge—almost like thin gruel. It didn’t taste very good, but I remember finishing it all because she made it for me when I was sick.”
Jiho hesitated a moment, then asked carefully, “I thought yokai can’t eat human food because of the miasma?”
“I’m half-human, half-yokai, so I can eat human food. It’s better to expel the miasma from my body, but even if it builds up, it doesn’t cause major issues like it does for full yokai. When I lived with my mother, I had no choice but to eat human food, but after coming here, there was no need to. Still, human food tastes better. Thanks to you, I’ve been able to enjoy delicious food again, and I’m very grateful.”
“Me too! Everything you cook is yummy.”
“I’m really relieved it suits your tastes. I made plenty, so please have more if you’d like.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
The yokai finished the large bowls of porridge and even went back for seconds before finally ending the meal.
As always, the yokai handled the cleanup, so Jiho sat on the deck petting Baekseol and drinking some coffee.
After finishing the dishes, Darong came over, sat beside Jiho, and stared curiously at the coffee.
“Is that tasty-squeak?”
“Oh! Would you like to try some, Darong?”
“It smells nice, but the color is too dark-squeak.”
“This is an Americano, so the color looks like this. I think you and the others would prefer mix coffee or a latte. I actually bought some mix coffee—want me to make everyone a cup?”
“Then please do-squeak.”
“I want one too-meow.”
“Haha! Alright. Chief, would you like some too?”
“Hm. Yes, please.”
“Me! Make one for me too!”
When all the yokai said they wanted coffee, Ho loudly insisted on having some too.
Jiho thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“You’re still young, Ho. Instead of coffee, let’s get you some cocoa.”
“Cocoa? What’s that?”
“It’s really sweet. You’ll definitely like it.”
“Okay! I’ll drink that!”
Hearing that, Darong raised one paw high and declared,
“Jiho! I like sweet things too-squeak!”
“Hahaha! Alright. I’ll make cocoa for you as well.”
“Thanks-squeak.”
Jiho went to the kitchen, boiled water in the electric kettle, and took out three mugs and a bowl.
He tore open two mix-coffee packets into two mugs, and poured cocoa powder into the remaining mug and the bowl.
After pouring hot water and stirring well, he placed everything onto a tray and brought it back outside.
He set the tray on the table and placed the coffee in front of Myorang and Dae-woong.
“You two have the mix coffee. And the cocoa is for Darong and Ho.”
He placed the cocoa mug in front of Darong and then set the bowl down on the deck for Ho.
“It smells sweet!”
“It’s hot, so let it cool a bit before drinking.”
“I can eat hot things because of Lord Suzaku’s power.”
Ho said that confidently and took a sip of the cocoa.
His eyes widened instantly, and he began gulping it down faster and faster.
Seeing that, Darong blew on to cool it, then quickly took a sip.
“Wow! This is super super delicious-squeak!”
Myorang and Dae-woong, who were each drinking their coffee beside them, nodded in approval.
“I like this coffee too.”
“That’s right-meow. It smells good and tastes good-meow.”
Seeing their reactions, Darong stared curiously at their coffee cups.
“Is that tasty too? I’m curious what it tastes like-squeak. Myorang, let’s swap a sip-squeak.”
“Sounds good-meow. I’m curious about the cocoa too-meow.”
Myorang and Darong switched cups and tasted each other’s drinks.
“This is good too, but I still like cocoa better-squeak.”
“I prefer the coffee-meow. This is too sweet-meow.”
“Dae-woong, you should try a sip too-squeak.”
Darong offered his cup to him.
“No thanks. I don’t really like things that are too sweet. And if I want to drink that later, I can just have some then. You enjoy it.”
“Okay-squeak.”
As they each went back to their own drinks, Dae-woong’s phone suddenly rang.
“Hello?”
“Dae-woong! You asked me to call, right?”
“Yes.”
“Meok-su said you need a house built in Yoiri. Is that why you wanted me to call? Who’s the house for?”
“Didn’t he explain it to you?”
“No. He said I’d be shocked when I came, so he didn’t tell me anything.”
“Well, yeah… you probably will be surprised.”
“What is it? Just tell me already. I’m curious.”
“You’re coming here anyway, right? Just hear it in person.”
“Ugh. You and that guy both… Fine. I’ll come early tomorrow morning.”
“Alright.”
When Dae-woong finished the call, everyone looked at him with curious expressions.
“That was the house-building dokkaebi Meok-su mentioned. His name is Duho. He runs an architectural firm in the human world.”
“Oh! He must be the dokkaebi Meok-su asked about expanding the warehouse for!”
“Right. He said he’ll be here early tomorrow.”
“When Duho comes, Jiho’s house will be finished right away-squeak! That’s great-squeak!”
Darong clapped excitedly, and Jiho blinked in surprise.
“It will be finished… tomorrow?”
“That’s right-squeak. Duho is a Duduri dokkaebi, so he can build a house in a single day-squeak.”
“A Duduri dokkaebi?”
Seeing Jiho still confused, Dae-woong explained.
“Let me tell you. There are many types of dokkaebi, and the Duduri kind are exceptionally skilled at building houses. A long time ago, humans even worshipped them as tree spirits.”
“Tree spirits?”
“Yes. Long ago, especially dokkaebi lived very close to humans. Humans must have found dokkaebi who could perform magic extremely fascinating. Eventually, some humans built shrines and worshipped them. Among them, the Duduri who lived in forests had excellent wood-handling abilities. So humans revered them as wood spirits. When humans believed in them, the Duduri grew in power, and they helped the humans who worshipped them—like blocking a pond and building a temple overnight.”
“I’ve never heard that kind of story before.”
“It’s a forgotten tale. As time passed, humans turned their faith elsewhere. And then they began to fear yokai who possessed great power unlike themselves, calling them monsters. After that, yokai avoided humans and lived in hiding.”
Hearing Dae-woong’s words, Jiho looked saddened.
“That’s such a sad and infuriating story… To worship someone selfishly, and then suddenly reject them just for being different… Even though I’m human myself, the selfishness of humans is truly awful. When yokai who were once friendly suddenly saw humans calling them monsters… I can’t imagine how painful that must have been.”
“It’s all in the past. Yokai are used to this world now, and depending on their choices, many still live alongside humans. So there’s no need for you to feel sad.”
“…Yes. I understand.”
“Anyway, like I said, Duho is one of the Duduri dokkaebi. And he’s known for being very strong even among them. He’s extremely skilled with wood, so he can throw together a normal house in just one day.”
“You said he runs an architectural firm… so does he use his powers to build houses in the human world too?”
“No. If he built a house in one day in the human world, that would definitely cause a huge commotion. He just genuinely enjoys building houses, so he works in architecture. Instead, he puts some of his power into the wood he uses. That makes the wood much sturdier than normal. Because his houses are known for their strength, he never runs out of clients.”
“Then he must be really busy. Meok-su made it sound like he has free time lately… I hope nothing bad happened.”
“It’s probably nothing. His voice sounded fine when I talked to him.”
“That’s a relief. To have someone with such incredible skill build me a house… I guess I’m really lucky.”
“That’s right.”
Just then, Myorang, having finished her coffee, called out to Jiho.
“Hey, Jiho-meow.”
“Oh—yes, Myorang-nim?”
“Have you decided where the house will be built-meow?”
“Oh! I haven’t chosen yet. But is it really okay to build it anywhere?”
“Baekho already gave his permission, so it’s fine-meow.”
“Exactly. Myorang is right. Just choose a place you like. There’s plenty of unused land anyway.”
“Understood. I’ll walk around a bit later and think about it.”
“Do that-meow. And you’ll talk with Duho tomorrow, but you should also think in advance about what kind of house you want-meow.”
Jiho nodded at Myorang’s advice.