Goblin Library

Chapter 5

“Have you seen the book?”

At the goblin’s question, Tae-pung, who was wiping the bookshelves, stopped and said,

“I read the book about ‘Cha Im-beom’ written by the Cauldron Goblin.”

“Yes, was it interesting?”

“It was interesting.”

The goblin frowned as if something was bothering him, but didn’t say anything further and turned around.

Seeing this, Tae-pung quickly said,

“I heard from the Cauldron Goblin about the books here.”

At Tae-pung’s words, the goblin looked back at him.

“….”

To the goblin who was silently looking at him, Tae-pung said,

“That they are stories about people.”

Sensing the discomfort in Tae-pung’s voice, the goblin met his gaze for a moment and then nodded.

“That’s right. We goblins love interesting things, and the best among them are stories about people.”

The goblin then plopped down on a table next to the bookshelf.

Looking at Tae-pung, the goblin asked,

“Have you ever heard rumors?”

“Rumors?”

“Yes. Rumors like who’s dating who, who fought with who, what happened at someone’s house.”

Of course he had. Tae-pung nodded, and the goblin continued to ask,

“What about those stories? Are they interesting or not?”

Tae-pung tilted his head.

“Are those interesting?”

The goblin laughed at Tae-pung’s question.

“If they weren’t interesting, would people talk about them and spread rumors?”

“That’s because… people like to gossip…”

The goblin shook his head.

“That’s not it. It takes two to tango. Even unpleasant stories spread only if the listeners are interested.”

Looking at Tae-pung, the goblin continued,

“Sad stories, annoying stories, even stories that are tiring just to listen to… Human stories are interesting. That’s why we goblins collect them.”

“You like those kinds of stories?”

Tae-pung asked, wondering what could be interesting about collecting such stories, and the goblin nodded.

“We love them. Just look at morning dramas, they’re full of stories about adultery and backstabbing best friends. People get annoyed and angry, but the viewership ratings are very high. The same goes for sad stories. You must have a drama or two that made you cry your eyes out.”

Tae-pung hesitated at the goblin’s words, then nodded. He was right.

He didn’t watch morning dramas himself because he didn’t have time, but he knew that people his parents’ age watched them religiously while complaining about them.

And sad dramas… Tae-pung also had several works that made him cry.

Even though people don’t necessarily find these two genres enjoyable, they watch them a lot.

They feel entertained in a different way than with funny and lighthearted content.

The goblin looked at Cha Im-beom’s book on the table.

“Writing a book by recording the actions of a real person might feel uncomfortable to you, a fellow human. Like peeping into someone else’s life.”

“Th-that’s right.”

At Tae-pung’s answer, the goblin shook his head.

“It’s not just us goblins who enjoy peeping into other people’s lives. You humans do the same.”

“We do?”

At Tae-pung’s question, the goblin nodded. He then took out his cell phone, tapped it a few times, and placed it next to Cha Im-beom’s book.

The goblin hopped down from the table.

“Tidy up. I’ll change and we’ll go out for a company dinner.”

The goblin turned and walked towards one end of the library. Watching him, Tae-pung glanced at the cell phone the goblin had left behind.

As if to show him, the cell phone screen displayed an internet search site.

Even without searching, the main page of the site showed the headlines of various news articles.

The fields covered were diverse, including entertainment, politics, and economics. Tae-pung read each headline and muttered,

“It’s not just goblins who peep into other people’s lives…”

Tae-pung sighed softly, recalling the goblin’s words.

When he thought about it, there was no difference between the goblin’s book and the news in that they both dealt with human stories. Of course, the goblin’s book was more detailed.

As Tae-pung was comparing the goblin’s book and the news, he heard a voice.

“Let’s go.”

Tae-pung turned towards the direction of the voice. The goblin was wearing a cap and sportswear.

And the cap and sportswear had a very large luxury brand logo on them.

‘Tacky.’

He wondered why anyone would put such a large luxury logo on their clothes.

Ignoring Tae-pung’s gaze, the goblin picked up his phone and pointed at the book.

“Organize the books.”

“Okay.”

As Tae-pung hurried to put the book back in its original place, the goblin said,

“We’re having a company dinner, what kind of food do you like?”

Tae-pung looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“Are we really having a company dinner?”

He had heard the goblin say that earlier, but he thought it was just a formality. He didn’t expect that they would actually have a company dinner together.

“Humans have company dinners when someone new joins the workplace, right? This is also a workplace for you, so we should do what needs to be done.”

The goblin then asked Tae-pung again,

“So, what do you like?”

Tae-pung, who was looking at him with a bewildered expression, quickly replied,

“I like anything.”

“Anything… Then let’s go.”

The goblin took the lead and started walking, and Tae-pung followed behind him.

Then he suddenly remembered something and said,

“I heard the your name from the Cauldron Goblin.”

At Tae-pung’s words, the goblin turned around and looked at him. He then nodded.

“I haven’t told you my name, have I?”

The goblin held out his hand.

“I’m the Bamboo Sword Goblin. As the name suggests, I was born from a bamboo sword.”

“As you know, I’m Yoo Tae-pung.”

Tae-pung, who shook hands lightly with the Bamboo Sword Goblin, asked cautiously,

“By the way, do you have company dinners often?”

The Bamboo Sword Goblin shook his head at Tae-pung’s question.

“Not often… but we do when a human employee joins.”

“Has anyone else worked here besides me?”

Tae-pung asked with a puzzled expression, and the Bamboo Sword Goblin nodded.

“There was one person.”

“What did they do wrong to end up working here?”

The Bamboo Sword Goblin didn’t answer for a moment. His eyes, staring at the fedora Tae-pung was wearing, were deep in thought.

Finally, the Bamboo Sword Goblin shook his head.

“She didn’t do anything wrong. She was too kind and had a strong sense of responsibility… That’s why she ended up working here.”

Tae-pung silently looked at the Bamboo Sword Goblin, sensing a story behind his words.

After a moment of silence, the Bamboo Sword Goblin spoke again.

“It was gambling debt.”

“Gambling debt?”

“The man who called himself her father bet his daughter in a gamble with me. So I bought her.”

“Gambling with a person as collateral?”

Tae-pung looked at him in surprise, and the Bamboo Sword Goblin nodded and continued walking.

“That father was a very bad man. To him, I was misfortune, and to her siblings, I was salvation.”

Tae-pung tilted his head at the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s words. He could easily understand that the goblin was a misfortune to the gambling father.

Since he was involved with a goblin, and through gambling at that, it was only natural that things wouldn’t have ended well for him.

But to be salvation to her siblings?

As Tae-pung looked puzzled, the Bamboo Sword Goblin opened the library door, stepped outside, and said,

“Even though she was sold off due to gambling debt, she was bright and sincere. On the other hand, her father was still gambling and even put her younger siblings up as collateral.”

“No, how could a father do such a thing…”

It was an act he couldn’t comprehend. To gamble away not just one child, but even the others…

As Tae-pung followed the Bamboo Sword Goblin out of the library in anger, the door closed automatically.

“Sometimes, it’s family that makes you suffer more than anyone else.”

The Bamboo Sword Goblin continued walking and speaking.

“Although I said collateral, it was no different from selling off his children. He didn’t even think about using the money he earned to get his children back, he just gambled again…”

Tae-pung also frowned in agreement. The Bamboo Sword Goblin continued,

“She asked me to save her siblings, and I granted her wish.”

“That’s a relief.”

Tae-pung breathed a sigh of relief that the family, scattered due to their father’s gambling debt, was reunited.

Tae-pung looked at the Bamboo Sword Goblin.

“Then what happened to the father?”

“The end of someone who gambles away even his own children couldn’t have been good. And… it shouldn’t be.”

Tae-pung nodded at the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s cold words.

“Of course. It shouldn’t be.”

As he was speaking, Tae-pung suddenly felt curious and asked,

“Do you write books too, sir?”

“I do.”

The Bamboo Sword Goblin replied nonchalantly and glanced at Tae-pung.

“It’s quite interesting, so if you want to read it, you can find it on the first bookshelf you see from the counter, around here.”

Tae-pung nodded as the Bamboo Sword Goblin pointed to a spot at his eye level.

‘I guess he displayed his book in the most visible spot at the entrance.’

Come to think of it, the Bamboo Sword Goblin had also told him to start reading from the nearest bookshelf.

‘Does he want me to read his book?’

Tae-pung chuckled inwardly, recalling what the Bamboo Sword Goblin had said when he left for work. Then, the Bamboo Sword Goblin opened the door to a shabby-looking store.

It was very close, only about a minute’s walk from the Goblin Library.

Tae-pung looked up at the store’s sign.

“Jeonjujeon”

‘Jeonjujeon? Is it a jeon[mfn]pancake[/mfn] restaurant?’

Smelling the savory oil and frying scent from outside the store, Tae-pung followed the Bamboo Sword Goblin inside.

“Welcome.”

The grandmother who greeted the Bamboo Sword Goblin warmly bowed her head, then tilted it as she saw Tae-pung.

“And this gentleman is…”

“An employee who will be working with me from now on.”

The Bamboo Sword Goblin answered and walked further inside, then looked back at the grandmother and added,

“He’s human.”

“Ah!”

The grandmother looked at Tae-pung with surprised eyes. Then, with a worried expression, she said,

“Do you have any favorite foods?”

“I eat anything well.”

“But there must be something you want to eat, right?”

At the warm voice, like that of a grandmother from the countryside, Tae-pung looked around the store and said,

“I like hobakjeon.”[mfn]zucchini pancake[/mfn]

“If you’re saying hobakjeon at a jeon restaurant, other things are fine too.”

“No, I like hobakjeon. A little crispy.”

The grandmother smiled at Tae-pung’s words.

“Alright.”

As the grandmother smiled and went inside, Tae-pung went and sat in front of the Bamboo Sword Goblin, who had already settled down.

The Bamboo Sword Goblin, familiar with the place, was already setting out makgeolli[mfn]rice wine[/mfn] and glasses.

Clank!

The Bamboo Sword Goblin opened the makgeolli bottle and poured the drink into a brass bowl. He then offered the makgeolli to Tae-pung, who carefully held out his brass bowl with both hands.

After putting down the bowl filled with makgeolli, Tae-pung glanced at the grandmother cooking in the kitchen and asked,

“Does she know about you, sir?”

Earlier, when the Bamboo Sword Goblin had said that Tae-pung was human, the grandmother had gasped in surprise.

Seeing that, Tae-pung thought the grandmother might know about the Bamboo Sword Goblin, so he wanted to confirm.

“She’s a descendant of the woman I mentioned earlier.”

“Ah! The one who worked at the library?”

“That’s right.”

At that moment, an unpleasant thought crossed Tae-pung’s mind.

“Don’t tell me… her family has been working as collateral for generations?”

Tae-pung asked in surprise, and the Bamboo Sword Goblin shook his head.

“No. Although she was gambling collateral, she worked for ten years and paid off her debt herself.”

“Herself?”

Tae-pung asked in puzzlement, and the Bamboo Sword Goblin looked at him as if wondering what was so strange about it.

“It’s only natural to pay wages for work done. Although she was sold, she worked, and so it was only natural that I paid her.”

Tae-pung felt a little relieved.

At least he wouldn’t have to worry about getting his wages stolen if he worked at the Goblin Library.

‘It’s only natural to pay wages for work done. This is better than humans.’

It was much better than employers who exploited powerless students by withholding their part-time wages, or bosses who delayed paying salaries, saying, “The company is in a difficult situation, so please bear with us.”

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