Jiho and the yokai who had seen that quietly drank their tea.
After a short while, once his thoughts seemed somewhat organized, Taiju opened his mouth.
“I’ll farm, like Darong said. There’s a place to sell it too, so if I work hard, I should be able to earn a lot of money.”
“That’s a good decision.”
“If you have anything you’re curious about while farming, feel free to ask anytime, squeak.”
“Then what about the house? Are you going to keep living by the stream, or will you do as Jiho suggested?”
At Dae-woong’s question, Taiju looked at Haehwa and spoke.
“That’s up to you, Gaksi. If you want, I don’t mind staying here.”
“Then I would like to stay here. Since we’ve decided to come outside, it seems better to live here as well. And I want to earn money too, by helping with Jiho-nim’s work here. I can’t let my husband suffer alone.”
“I’m not suffering at all. So if it’s because of me, you don’t need to push yourself to work.”
“Hoho. Of course I want to be of help to you, Husband, but honestly, I also have a desire to try working myself. It was really enjoyable to cook in the kitchen again after so long.”
“All right. If that’s what you want, then let’s do that. I’ll help too.”
After finishing his conversation with his wife, Taiju looked at Jiho and spoke.
“I don’t know how long it’ll be, but we’ll be imposing on your house for a while. We’ll also help with cleaning and cooking for the lodging you’re planning to run.”
At Taiju’s words, a bright smile spread across Jiho’s face.
“Thank you!”
“What are you thanking us for……. We’re the ones who should be grateful.”
“Yes. That’s right. Thank you for readily giving us a room.”
“No, it’s fine! It was an empty room anyway since I wasn’t using it. And thanks to the two of you, running the lodging has become much easier, so I should be the one thanking you. And while we live together, if there’s anything uncomfortable, please let me know anytime.”
“Yes, understood.”
When Taiju and Haehwa decided to live at Jiho’s house, the yokai were delighted as if it were their own matter and congratulated them.
“That’s great, squeak! If you live here, we’ll get to see you often now, squeak!”
“That’s right, meow. And we can eat together every day, meow.”
Then, as if something occurred to him, Dae-woong spoke.
“By the way, if Taiju is going to farm and sell the produce, you’ll probably need to make a bank account and an ID.”
“By ID, do you mean a hopae?”
“It’s similar to that. But IDs are issued to both men and women.”
“Women also get IDs issued?”
At Taiju’s surprised question, Dae-woong nodded and said.
“Yes. This is a world where men and women are equal now. So women receive education and can have jobs without discrimination. And on top of that, kings no longer exist. Instead, there’s a president elected directly by the people. It’s an era where women can become president too.”
“Huh….”
At the unbelievable words, Taiju and Haehwa’s eyes widened.
“I can’t say that unjust things like what you went through in the past don’t exist anymore, but compared to back then, the world has become a much easier place for people to live. However, due to rapid development and change, nature has been severely damaged. Because of that, the energy of nature has weakened a lot. Except for Yoiri and a few other places, it’s become almost impossible to feel the energy of nature.”
“I did think it was strange that the power of the Four Guardian Spirits was gradually weakening…… so that was the reason.”
“Yes. That’s one of the reasons.”
“Then the power of the yokai must not be what it used to be either. Is that right?”
“That’s right. A very long time ago, the energy of nature was strong everywhere, so even weak yokai could freely move about the outside world. But now, except for those with strong power, everyone lives on the other side.”
At Dae-woong’s words, Taiju and Haehwa’s expressions grew serious.
Seeing that the two seemed anxious, Darong hurriedly spoke up.
“Still, this place is safe, squeak. You weren’t planning on going out anyway, so there’s no need to think about it that seriously, squeak.”
“That’s right, meow. And if something happens here, we can just cross over to the yokai world, meow.”
At Myorang’s words, Darong spoke with a shocked expression.
“Hogok! You shouldn’t say that, squeak. This place needs to be safe so Dae-woong and Jiho can live together, squeak. Dae-woong, who’s half-human half-yokai, and Jiho, who’s human, can’t go to the other side, can they, squeak?”
“I was just speaking hypothetically, meow. If something happens here, that would mean the human world is ruined too, meow.”
“Still, that brings bad luck, so don’t say things like that, squeak.”
“The probability of that happening is slim anyway. And even if something like that did occur, it would be far in the future, so there’s no need to worry about it now.”
At Dae-woong’s words, the yokai relaxed their serious expressions and nodded.
After confirming that, Dae-woong looked back at Taiju and Haehwa and spoke again.
“Then, to return to the main point, like I said earlier, it’d be good for you two, Taiju and Haehwa, to make bank accounts and gather your money there. You could receive cash separately, but that would be inconvenient whenever you need to buy things.”
“What exactly is a bank account?”
At that question, Dae-woong and Jiho stepped in to explain.
After hearing everything, Taiju and Haehwa nodded and spoke.
“I suppose it would be good to make something called a bank account, like you said.”
“Yes. I think so too. But it’s really fascinating. That there’s a separate place that holds your money.”
“Just from what we heard briefly, I can tell how much the world has changed. We’ll need to study a lot.”
“Yes. Still, it seems like it’ll be fun.”
“We’ll help, so don’t worry, squeak!”
“That’s right, meow. If you’re curious about anything, ask anytime, meow.”
“I’ll help a lot too.”
At the words of Darong, Myorang, and Jiho, Taiju and Haehwa smiled and nodded.
Once all the talk was wrapped up and the yokai returned to their respective homes, Jiho showed Taiju and Haehwa the room they would be staying in.
“This is the room you’ll be staying in. I’ve put in a bed and a wardrobe as the basics, but if there’s anything else you need, please tell me. I’ll order it through Meok-soo-nim.”
“No. It’s much bigger and nicer than we expected. This is more than enough.”
“My husband is right. Thank you so much for giving us such a nice room.”
“It was an empty room anyway. And I’d like you to stay comfortably, thinking of this place as Taiju-nim and Haehwa-nim’s home. That would make me feel better too.”
“Thank you. It might be a bit awkward at first, but let’s try to get along well from now on.”
“If there’s anything you want to say to us, please say it anytime. That way, we can also stay comfortably here.”
“Yes, understood. And if you two have anything you want to say to me, please feel free to do so anytime as well. Since people who lived differently are now living under one roof, there will surely be things that don’t match. If you stay silent out of fear of hurting the other’s feelings, misunderstandings can build up without us realizing it, and I think that could make our relationship worse instead.”
“Yes. You’re right. It’s better to speak up before misunderstandings pile up.”
“Yes. What Jiho-nim said is right.”
When Taiju and Haehwa nodded in agreement, Jiho smiled faintly and brought up another matter.
“Then there’s something I’d like to say to you, Haehwa-nim.”
“Hm? To me?”
“Yes! You’ve lived much longer than me, but it feels uncomfortable when you use honorifics with me. So, like with Taiju-nim and the other yokai, please just speak casually to me.”
At the unexpected request, Haehwa looked at Jiho with a surprised expression.
“Uh… I usually always use honorifics with others.”
“It did seem like that. But the yokai have lived for a long time like you and Taiju-nim, whereas I haven’t. After coming here, everyone spoke casually to me, but hearing honorifics from you felt really strange. Since it makes me uncomfortable, if it’s all right with you, please speak casually. I’m asking you.”
“Uh….”
Seeing Haehwa flustered, unsure of what to do, Taiju let out a small chuckle and spoke.
“Like Jiho said, just speak casually. It’s strange for someone who’s lived so long to be using honorifics with Jiho, who’s barely lived a few years.”
Nodding at her husband’s words, Haehwa looked at Jiho and said.
“All right. From now on, I’ll speak casually.”
“Haha! Yes. Thank you.”
At Jiho’s words of thanks, Taiju and Haehwa burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! You’re probably the only one who would thank someone for speaking casually to you.”
“Hoho! That’s really true.”
At their words, Jiho scratched his head with an embarrassed expression.
Watching him, Taiju and Haehwa didn’t say it out loud, but they felt that they would be able to live well here.
A few days after Taiju and Haehwa moved into Jiho’s house, the village was busy from early in the morning.
It was the day they had decided to finally make kimchi, something they had been thinking they should do soon.
After finishing breakfast at Jiho’s house, the yokai came out to the fields and began pulling the necessary ingredients.
First, they pulled up napa cabbages, the most essential ingredient, but while Jiho pulled up one, the yokai were pulling out over ten.
As a result, cabbages with their bases cut off quickly began piling up on one side of the field.
“Jiho, is this enough, squeak?”
At Darong’s question, Jiho, who had been cutting off the bases of the cabbages with a knife, lifted his head.
And after seeing the enormous pile of cabbages, he hurriedly nodded.
“Yes. I think this should be enough.”
“If we’re going to make it anyway, wouldn’t it be better to make a lot at once? We have plenty of cabbages anyway.”
At Dae-woong’s words, the other yokai nodded as if they agreed.
Seeing that, Jiho laughed, but at the same time felt overwhelmed at the thought of when all those cabbages would ever turn into kimchi.
“Uh… that’s true, but isn’t this already a lot? That looks like it’d be over 300 heads.”
“I counted. It’s 326 heads, squeak.”
“Wow. That’s like the level of kimjang at a head family, isn’t it?”
“Kimjang? What’s that, squeak?”
“Humans make a lot of napa cabbage kimchi right before winter and store it. It’s to eat it until winter passes and the next spring comes. Well, these days, many households just buy it, so fewer people are making it themselves.”
“Ooh! Is that so? But if that’s the case, shouldn’t we make even more, squeak? We eat a lot of kimchi, after all, squeak.”
“Darong is right, meow. If we make kimchi pancakes once, a whole jar disappears, meow.”
“Yes. I think we should make a bit more too. Not just me, but everyone here likes kimchi, and the amount we eat in a day is quite significant.”
“I think that would be good as well. Once Jiho starts running the lodging, guests will come, and they’ll be eating too.”
“Come to think of it, Gaksi is right. And tomorrow is the full moon, so yokai from the other side will come over too, won’t they? If we think of them tasting a bit each, this won’t be enough.”
When all the yokai insisted that they needed to make more kimchi, Jiho eventually nodded as well.
“All right. Then let’s make 500 heads.”
“Hehehe! That’s great, squeak.”
“Let’s hurry and pull more, meow!”
Despite the increase in work, the yokai looked excited, and in the end, Jiho burst into laughter.
A short while later.
After pulling up 500 napa cabbages, along with radishes, onions, chives, and green onions for the kimchi filling, the field became bare.
Seeing that, Darong said.
“After we make the kimchi tomorrow, we should sow the seeds again, squeak.”
“I’ll help.”
“Got it, squeak. I’ll help you with farming too, Taiju, squeak.”
After looking around the now-barren field, the yokai soon began loading the cabbages and vegetables onto carts and moving them to Jiho’s house.
No matter how hard Jiho pulled, the cart wouldn’t budge, yet the yokai casually pulled it with one hand, looking completely at ease.
When Jiho stared at them in shock, the yokai laughed and said.
“Jiho, just rest, meow.”
“Hehe! That’s right, squeak. You’re weak, so just stay there, squeak.”
“Heehee! Jiho is the most delicate among us!”
Though Jiho, a sturdy adult man, was hurt by those words, he ultimately stepped aside quietly.