Episode 35
“Alright, let’s do this again today.”
I rolled up my sleeves, filled with enthusiasm.
Was it my imagination, or was I feeling a surge of energy every time I unleashed my power as a Gangcheol?
‘It feels like using a Yeouiju.’
It was a different kind of power, but it felt boundless, replenishing itself with every use.
‘What an incredible power!’
At this rate, I might be able to ascend to the heavens within a few months.
Rumble!
I placed my hands on the ground, drawing up the excess water and drying the soil, allowing the creatures and plants to breathe again.
‘I’m sorry. Live and thrive.’
I also healed the crops that had been wilting from diseases.
I stood up after drying up ten li of land. I was definitely getting faster at this.
“I’m done.”
I approached Joon-wan.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…Me? What do you mean?”
Shouldn’t he be happy that the damage caused by me was being repaired? And that I was accumulating merits, getting closer to becoming a dragon again?
But his expression was strange, unreadable.
The next day, he left for work, saying he would be back very late.
‘Extra classes?’
I didn’t understand what it meant, but he called it “full lecture” and “supplementary lecture.”
‘Full lecture? Supplementary lecture?’
He said he would be doing that all day. I felt bored after he left.
‘Even this television gets old after a while.’
I had grown tired of watching it all day. Going out and exploring was much more fun.
‘I want to go out and play.’
But I couldn’t go out alone. It was only fun with him.
‘Oh, right!’
I remembered the phone.
‘He bought me a toy to keep me entertained!’
I jumped to my feet.
***
Yesterday, Hanin had said during dinner,
“It’s possible, but… it’s like, in human terms, you need to earn seniority.”
Her words had left him with a strange mix of emotions. He felt a churning in his stomach, like a small boat tossed about in a storm, and a sinking feeling, like falling off a cliff.
“It wouldn’t happen for a few hundred years, at least.”
She had said it would be a long time before she could return to earth after ascending to the heavens. At least not while he was alive.
‘A few hundred years…’
It was an unimaginable length of time, yet she had spoken as if it were a mere few months. Her casualness unsettled him.
‘Then it’s truly over.’
It wasn’t like studying abroad or emigrating. If she ascended to the heavens, she would be as good as dead to him. And he would be as good as dead to her.
‘I truly want her to ascend.’
He had thought that countless times. He had turned her, a Jiryong who had boasted about her connection to the land, into a Gangcheol. He had to find a way to fix it.
‘It’s the right thing to do.’
It was his responsibility. It would be shameless to ask for a reward for doing what was right.
But…
He couldn’t focus on his prayers lately.
‘Hanin, please…’
As he served her a late dinner, he had clasped his hands together, intending to pray for her to become a dragon again and ascend to the heavens as soon as possible. But something was blocking him.
‘Please ascend to the heavens…’
He felt a tightness in his chest.
‘A few hundred years…’
The words echoed in his mind, preventing him from finishing his prayer.
‘It’s a time that will pass long after I’m gone. Even if I had children, and they had children, it wouldn’t be enough time.’
Would it be a fleeting moment for her, lost in the busyness of her long life?
The vastness of time, the weight of her existence, felt like an insurmountable barrier between them.
‘Why am I feeling like this?’
He had never intended to cross that barrier, but the realization of its depth filled him with anxiety and a strange restlessness.
‘I don’t understand myself.’
“Sigh…”
He let out a frustrated sigh.
‘If she can’t become a dragon and ascend, it would be a disaster. What are you going to do?’
And then a new day arrived.
“Today, we’ll be examining the symbolism in…”
He began his lecture.
“…the ‘Fairy and the Woodcutter’ folktale, known as the ‘Tale of the Swan Maiden’ in China and the ‘Hagoromo Legend’ in Japan.”
It was a widely known folktale, one he couldn’t avoid discussing as a folklore professor, but he personally disliked it.
“This tale of a sacred marriage, where a celestial being, a fairy, is forced to marry an earthly being, a woodcutter, through the theft of her clothes, usually ends in tragedy.”
The reason for his dislike was simple.
It was pathetic, wasn’t it?
Dragging a celestial being down to earth and forcing her to become his wife, not out of love at first sight but by stealing her feathered robe, not even knowing whose it was.
“The human desire reflected in this folktale, to trap a bathing woman and prevent her from returning to the heavens by stealing her clothes, then forcing her into marriage…”
Of course, he shouldn’t judge the desires of people from a bygone era based on modern morality, and most versions of the “Fairy and the Woodcutter” ended with the woodcutter being abandoned, but it still left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“Whether the woodcutter’s act of saving a deer from a hunter truly reflects his goodness is a question we should consider.”
The story felt like a personal indictment. He felt a strange guilt, as if he had stolen Hanin’s feathered robe.
‘Think rationally, Min Joon-wan. This will all be over once you help her become a dragon again.’
He thought as he walked to his office after the lecture.
‘These feelings will disappear once she ascends to the heavens.’
He needed more information, but there wasn’t much material on Gangcheol. It was significantly less than the amount available on dragons and Imugi.
‘Which professor is an expert in this field?’
He massaged his temples as he walked down the hallway. His phone rang.
“Hmm?”
He stared at the screen for a moment, then answered the call.
“What’s up, Mother?”
[You make it sound like I can’t call you without a reason.]
It was his mother, Mrs. Yang.
[Did you hear? Your brother is moving abroad for some research project.]
“Yes, I heard. He’s even considering emigrating, isn’t he?”
[You heard, and you didn’t even call me?]
Having failed to persuade his brother, she was now targeting him.
“…”
He narrowed his eyes at her usual tactic.
“What does that have to do with me? It’s his life.”
He genuinely didn’t understand why it was his concern.
[His life? You… Come home and talk to me. When are you coming to Seoul?]
“I’ve quit all my TV appearances. I won’t be going to Seoul anytime soon. I have a class to teach, I have to go.”
He had to be blunt. If he went to Seoul, it would just be another round of pressure to quit his job and take over the family business.
[You-]
He hung up the phone. He now understood why his brother had warned him.
‘Running a business isn’t child’s play. What do I know about it? Just hire a professional manager.’
He couldn’t understand why his parents insisted on pushing him into a career he had no interest in, even after he turned thirty.
‘I envy my brother. Maybe I should study abroad.’
He sighed, and then his phone rang again. He answered without checking the caller ID.
“Mother, I told you, I can’t go to Seoul anytime soon.”
[Hello. Is this Min Joon-wan’s phone?]
He was startled by the unexpected voice.
“Hanin?”
[Yes! It’s me!]
He heard her laughter through the phone.
[It’s amazing! I can talk to you even though we’re so far apart!]
He was the one who was amazed.
“How did you call me?”
[I just fiddled with it, and it worked!]
‘She already knows how to make calls! After just one day!’
He had only taught her how to answer a call yesterday, and even then, he had been skeptical.
‘How is she so smart?’
Min Joon-wan, a highly educated individual with three doctorates, was impressed.
[Anyway, I tried it, so I’m satisfied. I really wanted to try it after seeing it on TV. Are you working? Good luck with your work.]
“Wait, hold on.”
She seemed to have achieved her goal and was about to hang up, so he stopped her.
“Can you hang up and call me again?”
[Why?]
Why? Because he was curious if she could do it again.
She hung up without a word. He stared at the phone screen.
And a moment later, she called him back.
‘Our Hanin, a genius, perhaps?’
He couldn’t understand why he was so touched by such a simple act.
And about a month later.
“Can you buy me some Choco Pie, Banana Kick, and Bibig Big when you come home?”
“…”
He should have known. She had been so excited about the phone and had learned how to use it so quickly.
He realized he had become Hanin’s personal snack delivery service.