“I’ll get going.”
“Okay. You’ll come again tomorrow, right?”
“Why?”
“So I can make the walnut pie for the mountain spirit. And please pass along my regards to the fox and the tiger.”
“Sure. I’ll come.”
Lord Bihyeon gave a casual wave and walked through the doorway.
“Oh, right. They told me to say the apple pie was delicious.”
I’m glad it suited their taste.
Smiling silently, I dipped my head in greeting and kept waving until the very end. The door shut with a THUD. Lowering my hand, I let out a long sigh. I really hope I don’t feel that gaze tonight. Let me sleep in peace, at least—and go look for a new part-time job with a fresh mindset….
My shoulders felt heavy. I tapped them a few times, then turned around and lay down on the blanket.
Slide. I lifted my head and looked at the family photo, then murmured, “Just a little longer….” and closed my eyes.
*****
Uh…. This is kind of a problem.
I had an interview in the afternoon, and I was just about to head out after finishing getting ready.
I opened the door—and there was a palace. I shut it once and opened it again. Again, it wasn’t outside. It was Lord Bihyeon’s palace.
Yeah. This is really, really a problem.
Blinking, I tried to close it again. But this time, the door wouldn’t move at all.
This is seriously a problem. What is this?! Why?!
Eyes wide, I grabbed the handle and strained, grunting as I put my weight into it. It didn’t budge. Not even a little.
“Oh my?”
A fox happened to be passing by. Maybe she spotted me, because her eyes went round as she hurried over.
“Hello, Fox…?”
“Lord Bihyeon isn’t here right now—how did you…? The door. Did you do it?”
As the fox spoke while looking at the door, creak—this time it swung wide open. Like it was telling me to come in. I’d been gripping the handle so hard that my body got yanked along, and I stumbled.
“Ah!”
I almost fell flat, but she caught me, and I barely managed to steady myself.
“What’s gotten into the door? It doesn’t even like humans. For now, come inside.”
“I have to go out, though…?”
“What do we do…? Once the door digs in its heels, no one can stop it except Lord Bihyeon. And Lord Bihyeon went out for work—he’s not here right now.”
Smiling, the fox practically dragged me in. THUD! The instant I was completely inside, the door shut tight.
“Just sit for a bit until Lord Bihyeon gets back. Do you want something to eat? It’s lunchtime—have you eaten?”
My interview….
“I haven’t, but you don’t have to worry about me.”
I wasn’t an official guest, so I felt unbearably awkward and guilty. I perched on the floor in the hall, stiff and unsure of myself, watching her expression.
“I’ll wait here, so please contact Lord Bihyeon for me….”
“Okay, I’ll send word. And don’t just sit out here—go into a room. I’ll bring out tea and honey pastry, at least.”
Honey pastry got me. I couldn’t bring myself to refuse, so I went where she pointed and sat down in front of it.
Whew. Seriously—everything keeps happening to me these days. At this rate, I’m not going to die a natural death.
…Though, does it even matter?
Blankly, I leaned against a pillar and took in the palace. I’d felt it last time too, but it really did feel like I’d time-traveled to some ancient era. Even the air felt unbelievably clean. And the scenery was too beautiful—so beautiful it didn’t match this age at all.
I let out a small sigh and looked up at the sky. The sky was—honestly—clear and blue.
*If this keeps up, I’m definitely going to be late…. *
I slowly looked around, then took advantage of a moment when no one was there, stood up, and approached the door.
“Um… Door? Door. Could you open for me?”
Silence.
“I have to go to a part-time job interview… Could you… open…?”
If it was really alive, yanking on the handle felt like it would hurt it for no reason. I reached out and carefully stroked the door.
“The interview’s by one o’clock. I’m begging you.”
Still silence. Scratching my head, I looked up at the door.
“The place you’re trying to go must be ominous.”
Huh?
I’d been stroking it gently, but the moment I pulled my hand away, a voice spoke. I jerked my head up, thinking the door was talking—then realized the sound was coming from beyond the wall. I shifted to the side.
A beautiful tree, grown tall enough to tower past the wall, blooming with flowers…
Oh! The mountain spirit.
“Mountain spirit?”
“Ho ho, you recognize me. Child. Where were you trying to go?”
“A part-time job interview.”
“Then that place must be very ominous.”
“Ominous as in….”
“A place where an accident will break out soon. The door is a guardian deity of calamity, so….”
A guardian deity….
So I just… stroked a guardian deity?
What kind of cursed thing did I just do…?
My eyes went wide and my mouth fell open, and the mountain spirit burst into laughter—big and hearty.
“Don’t worry. Even if they’re guardian deities, they’re young deities who’ve only just shed their childishness.”
Young deities? Now that I looked, there were two drawings of baby haetae on the door.
Creak—
As we talked, the door opened. The mountain spirit came in through it and slowly walked to the pavilion in the center before sitting down. With a small grunt, the mountain spirit settled into place—and birds flew in and perched along the branches, pressing their tiny bodies down. Every single one of them was a bird made of transparent, beautiful light.
“Oh, right. Hello, Mountain spirit. I think I forgot to greet you.”
“Mm. Hello. You have good manners.”
Ho ho. Smiling kindly, the mountain spirit reached out and stroked the birds. Then the mountain spirit lifted one onto a hand and held it out to me.
“This one is a gentle child. Don’t worry.”
Beep— Bbiik. A bird that had been singing like a tune fluttered over to me. When I held out my hand, the tiny bird hopped onto my finger and tilted its head as it looked at me.
Wow. It sparkles like a jewel.
“You’re really pretty. But… isn’t my hand uncomfortable?”
I said it with a smile, like I was talking to a little kid, and the bird went beep-beep. Somehow, it looked pleased.
“Y-You rotten—!”
Then a tremendous roar erupted from a huge building.
Startled, my body jerked—and all the birds flapped away at once.
Ho ho. Still smiling, the mountain spirit turned their head that way.
The thing that burst out after throwing the building’s door open with a BANG! was a bear.
A bear bigger than the building’s door….
A bear…!
Uh, um… what was I supposed to do when I see a bear?
Play dead? Climb a tree…?
I don’t know why the saying—how bears will tear you apart no matter what you do—popped into my head right now, but my whole body started trembling. As my hands shook, the bear stomped straight toward me.
“I was wondering what this weird smell was—! Why is a human here?!”
“Th-that….”
The pressure was overwhelming. And that was with a long, vertical scar cutting down one side of its face—an actual bear face….
I almost said, I was invited. But if I told the truth, wouldn’t that baby door get chewed out? So I shook my head fast.
“I’m sorry. I-I’m not a thief….”
At my words, the mountain spirit laughed loudly—Ho ho ho!—and extended a branch to block the bear as it lunged at me.
It was so close, screaming at full volume, that I could see every one of those savage teeth. It was… so scary I could cry.
“Hyeonung. Calm down.”
“Mountain spirit! I’ll drive him out. These rotten humans…! I heard they’ve been flowing all the way in here lately and ruining the trees!”
“Hey now. I said calm down. This child is Lord Bihyeon’s guest.”
“…This human?”
“Yes.”
“But it’s a human.”
“Even so.”
“Huuuh…?”
The bear deeply furrowed its brow and glared at me like it wanted to kill me.
“Oh my, Mountain spirit! Why is Hyeonung out here?”
From behind, the fox peeked her head out and came over, swishing her many tails. In her hands was a tray holding steaming porridge.
“Haru. It’s been a long time.”
“Yes, Mountain spirit. It’s been a while. Did you come down from the lake?”
“Yes. I felt this child’s presence. But where has Yeonho gone?”
“He went out to look around. It’s hunting time. Ah—Lord Bihyeon said he’s in a meeting, and he’ll come straight here as soon as it ends.”
“…Okay.”
Honestly, it feels like not going to that interview might be the better choice. Should I just give up?
With a small sigh, I smiled and nodded. I felt bad sitting around in someone else’s place when the owner wasn’t even here, but since I couldn’t leave right now, I didn’t have a choice.
The mountain spirit beckoned, and I awkwardly went over and sat beside them.
“Then I should prepare a meal for the two of you. If you wait just a moment, I’ll bring it right out. Hyeonung, hurry up and come cook.”
The fox reached out and tugged hard on the bear’s hanbok.
“No! I’m not going! What are you trusting that you’re leaving Mountain spirit alone with this human?!”
“Oh, I forgot to introduce him. The apple pie we ate that day—this child made it.”
“What?!”
Aaaah. My ears.
The bear bellowed, whipped its head around, and stomped back toward me. It shoved its face close, grabbed both my cheeks in its hands, and turned my head side to side to inspect me.
“So you’re the guy who made that gentle pie?”
“I don’t know about ‘gentle,’ but I did make the apple pie. Th-that hurts!”
Your palms are so rough it hurts.
“Hk—sorry. It’s been so long since I had to hold back around a human….”
W-What?
The moment I clamped my mouth shut—too scared to ask what ‘hold back’ meant—laughter drifted in from the side. The mountain spirit and the fox.
The fox dragged the bear away while it kept opening and closing its mouth like it had something to say, then waved at me.
“Just wait a little. Do you want more tea?”
“N-no, I’m fine.”
More than tea, I want Lord Bihyeon to hurry up—
I shook my head fast.
“Bring Lord Bihyeon’s outer robe. If the smell of a human leaks out, everything in the mountain will come swarming. It would be best to cover it with Lord Bihyeon’s scent.”
The mountain spirit spoke low, smiling. The fox tilted her head, then nodded with a smile like she understood.
“Shall I?”
“…No? Without the owner’s permission, that’s a bit….”
“It’s fine. I’m giving permission.”
“Okay. Please wait just a moment.”
Smiling, the fox gestured and walked off.
“Is it really okay? I feel like Lord Bihyeon would hate it….”
Well, I am a human.
“Then I’ll get scolded with you later.”
“Scold….”
The mountain spirit getting scolded by Lord Bihyeon? I can’t even picture that.
Whatever. I’ll just listen. If everything on the mountain comes down, that’ll be even more of a mess.
The fox disappeared into a room and returned with a single outer robe. It was a hanbok in black and white. Packed full of Lord Bihyeon’s scent….
For some reason, my chest itched, and I sniffled.
She stepped up and draped it over my shoulders. It was big enough to cover my whole body.
“…Mm. Looking at you like this, you seem similar to that child. It can’t be, but.”
Murmuring as she stared at me, the fox smiled and left first.