Chapter 15: The Meaning of the Name (2)
“What are you going to do about the child’s name?”
The question suddenly popped up in the middle of a detailed explanation about the building's design.
“She does need a name.”
“Tsk, so you were going to take her in as family without even giving her a name? How careless.”
It had seemed natural for her not to have one. She had, after all, been born just yesterday.
I had only just decided to take her in, so I hadn’t had time to come up with a name.
“Could you give her a good one? You’ve lived a long life, so you should be able to give her a name that matches her saju-palja, right?”
“Hmph, there’s no fate more twisted than one that follows the name. It should be a name that sounds nice to hear. Let’s see… how about Jeomrye? No, Ok-gyeong or Ok-boon are nice too. Of course! A woman’s name must have ‘Ok’ in it to be lovely.”
Ah, I had momentarily forgotten.
The Gumiho Elder only looked like she was in her twenties; inside, she was a being who had lived for thousands of years.
The child was on the verge of ending up with a name as rustic as scorched rice, so I quickly put my mind to work.
“How about Ria?”
“Ria? That’s a strange name for a Joseon child.”
“She doesn’t look Korean. If she had a Korean name, people would bombard her with unnecessary questions.”
“Jinseong is right, Elder. Her appearance already draws a lot of attention. The name should be something ordinary.”
“Hmph, say what you will, but the name should still have ‘Ok’ in it.”
“It’s Ria. Ria.”
-Thump, thump.
I clenched my fist like a gavel and knocked it against the table to cut the debate short.
On the negotiation table, the Gumiho Elder stepped back, leaving only her insistence on ‘Ok,’ but it had never been negotiable to begin with.
“It’s about time for me to head to work. I leave the child—no, Ria—in your care.”
“Ri…a… Ria!”
“Yes, from today, that’s your name.”
Ria seemed to like her name, mouthing it softly several times.
I playfully tousled Ria’s hair and hurried to grab my car keys.
“Take care.”
“Hmm?”
“Oh, I said take care. What, are your ears going bad too, young man?”
“No, ma’am. Then, I’ll be back later.”
“Have a good day!”
“It’s ‘please have a good day,’ you brat.”
“Please have a good day!”
We had a home now. A family.
And… when I stepped out the door, I was warmly told to take care.
It had been a long time. This indescribable feeling of someone waiting for me.
I could finally understand why colleagues around my age would constantly show photos of their kids I didn’t even ask about and rush out of work right on the dot.
Yes, it felt like this.
-Vroom.
“Wow, like the wind!”
“Hmph, like the wind? That’s a piece of junk that barely runs. My whole body aches from this morning’s chaos. This farewell is enough—let’s go back inside.”
The Gumiho and Baek Mahyeon led Ria, who had been waving at Jinseong’s car as it drove away, back into the café.
“You’re working on that again?”
“Yes, these days I hardly have time to sit in the office.”
As soon as he sat down, Director Baek Mahyeon pulled a laptop out of his briefcase and began typing furiously.
The Gumiho, watching him, threw in a sharp remark.
“I told you to take it easy. You’ll work yourself to death, just like I said before.”
“You say the scariest things.”
“Be honest. You’re only pretending to be busy to dump the babysitting on this old lady, aren’t you? No matter how I think about it, someone in your position shouldn’t be that busy. You’re probably off playing that ball game… what was it, golf?”
“Your insight amazes me once again, Elder. If you’re that bored, why not tell Ria some old stories?”
“Pfft, complaining to me when I didn’t even hit you. Fine, if it’s old stories, I could go on for three days and nights. Let’s see… huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“She was just sitting here a moment ago!”
The Gumiho shot up and shouted, realizing too late that Ria—who had been playing with fallen leaves nearby—was gone.
She was missing when she should have been there.
“This is bad! Find her! Now!”
(Hmm, who are you looking for?)
“Ria is gone! You get up and…”
The two of them had started rising without thinking when their eyes turned toward the voice.
It came from where Ria had been sitting. Or rather, where she still was.
“What in the world…”
“A-Are you okay?”
(I was sleepy, so I took a nap!)
Ria, using the fallen leaves as a blanket, answered without a shred of falsehood.
But the problem was her body had shrunk small enough to use fallen leaves as a blanket.
She claimed it was nothing, but for the two who witnessed the scene, it was far from nothing.
“Call Jinseong.”
“I’m already calling.”
Jinseong was the only one who could explain this situation.
(Hello?)
“Give me that! Jinseong? Ria has shrunk! Is she okay?”
(It seems she can shrink and grow at will. That’s how she came into the café too. You don’t need to worry too much.)
“Why are you only telling us now!”
(I assumed you knew, since you didn’t seem surprised when the Divine Tree turned into a child.)
“Well, aren’t you clever, you rascal!”
(Haha, sounds like you were pretty shocked.)
“I lost ten years off my life.”
(By the way, good thing you called. I forgot to mention—could you also take care of Ria’s birth registration? The name is Kim Ria, age six, and her birthday should be yesterday’s date.)
“Ha! So you’re giving her your family name too?”
(Well, why not? It’d be strange for people living in the same house to have different surnames. I’ll see you tonight.)
“Wait, what about other abilities…”
-Beep. Beep. Beep.
“He hung up, Elder.”
“I can see that! Is that boy sane or not? I’ll die young just from trying to babysit!”
“Elder, you haven’t even told one old story yet.”
“That’s just it—I was about to when all this happened… Wait!”
“What now? I’m starting to get tired too.”
“Come to think of it, that rascal accepted right away when you said you’d build a new building for Ria’s place.”
“So it seems.”
It was the Gumiho who had worried about Ria’s residence in front of Jinseong.
But had she known the child could shrink and cover herself in leaves, she wouldn’t have bothered worrying.
Not only did he say nothing, he even acted humbly and apologetically—Gumiho rubbed her forehead with a scowl of frustration.
“I asked, and you offered, so I can’t even blame you. Tsk, that rascal always reaps the benefits. Did you see? That’s what you call a golden fate.”
“Still, Jinseong doesn’t exactly have it easy. Without him, things like the Divine Tree incident would’ve been disasters. If anything, we’re getting off cheap.”
“Well, that’s true, but haven’t we been through a lot too? I’m just upset, that’s all. And of course, that raccoon dog is nowhere to be seen at times like this.”
“I think… it’s better he’s not here.”
“Yeah, right. Come to think of it, that raccoon was the one who caused all this.”
He gave the Divine Tree leaf to Jinseong so it could grow in the café yard, and he knocked the tree over so its energy would seep into the ground—if there was a culprit, it was the raccoon dog.
But since it was she who had sent that raccoon to the café, she couldn’t question him.
“Still, that raccoon hasn’t been around lately. He’s not up to something again, is he?”
“Surely not. He’s still the yokai charged with protecting the Divine Tree.”
Visible or not, the unease was the same.
At the same time, in the military zone of Mount Gyeryong.
Normally, it was a place where only guarding soldiers came and went, but today was an entirely different scene.
There was no designated parking lot, so luxury sedans were left scattered along the mountain base, and the people loitering nearby were all dressed in colorful traditional hanbok.
Among them, a particularly eye-catching shaman—her gat decorated with peacock feathers—hurried toward the checkpoint.
“Here’s my entry pass! Can I go now?”
“Shaman Haedong Sinyuh. Identity confirmed. Proceed.”
The shaman passed the soldiers and climbed a mountain path until she reached a clearing where others in similar attire had gathered.
At the center of the clearing, the raccoon dog sat with his head proudly raised and a smug expression on his face.
“Huff, huff, I’m late.”
“Mountain God, Haedong Sinyuh has arrived. Everyone is here now.”
“Ahem, then we begin!”
-Swish.
At the declaration that all had gathered, the raccoon dog unfolded a sheet of hanji paper.
“This is the owner of the café!”
On the hanji was a clumsily drawn, comical portrait made with a brush.
“That person is the other guardian of the Divine Tree the Mountain God spoke of?”
“Not a guardian, the owner of the café! The café owner is amazing! The sweet water they make keeps you awake for three days, and their food makes you want to dance!”
Even as he spoke, the raccoon dog smacked his lips, clearly recalling Jinseong’s pork cutlet.
“Oh, and the café owner has even visited the Heavenly Realm!”
“You mean they’ve been to the Heavenly Realm?”
“That’s right! They even spoke with Mago Granny!”
‘He is pure of heart and never lies. To think someone returned from the Heavenly Realm, a place only the enlightened go after life! Could it be a reincarnated immortal?’
As those who served their own deities, the shamans had some inkling of the heavenly order.
Yet even the divine beings they temporarily hosted couldn’t gaze directly at the Mountain God, the raccoon dog.
And so each testimony he delivered was unbelievably shocking.
“Truly amazing! But also worrying.”
“Mountain God, what worries you?”
“The café owner has no divine power. Bad people might hurt him. So I’m going to protect him! But I also have to guard the Divine Tree here. I’m conflicted!”
“You mean that noble one is in danger?”
“There are yokai guarding him and a ring, so he’s not in serious danger. But still, I worry.”
“Then allow us to offer our meager strength to aid him.”
“Ooooh! That’s a great idea! We’ll all protect him together!”
And so, without Jinseong’s knowledge, he became a revered figure the shamans swore to protect at all costs.
No one but the raccoon dog and the shamans wanted this—but unfortunately, no one was there to tell them otherwise.
The yokai protecting Jinseong was the Gumiho, with divine power rivaling the raccoon dog, and the ring was a divine stone gifted by Mago Granny, untouchable by evil.
But unaware of this, they each steeled their resolve and left the clearing.
The luxury sedans carrying Korea’s most prominent shamans all headed for the outskirts of Namyangju—to a shabby café that had just barely avoided redevelopment.