Goblin Library

Chapter 9

“My car broke down! Come quickly!”

Tae-pung watched the jerk shouting into the phone to the insurance company and then looked at the Cauldron Goblin.

“What about that car?”

“I asked the Honey Bucket Goblin to make it so the engine wouldn’t start. This way, he’ll get anxious.”

Tae-pung nodded at the Cauldron Goblin’s words and then said,

“But what does the Honey Bucket Goblin like about that kind of person to write a novel about him?”

The jerk’s actions were unsightly, a nuisance. It was strange that the Honey Bucket Goblin would write about such an unlikeable person as the main character.

Usually, the main characters in novels were cool and amazing, or at least relatable characters, even if they weren’t extraordinary.

“I told you earlier that goblins like to observe the lives of people who are similar to their essence, right?”

Tae-pung looked at her, and the Cauldron Goblin nodded and explained again,

“In my case, my essence is a cauldron. It’s not for me to say, but I like to help others. And I like warm people. That’s why I write about people like that, like Cha Im-beom.”

“Is that so for cauldrons?”

At Tae-pung’s question, the Cauldron Goblin looked up at the sky and said,

“Cauldrons are used to cook large quantities of food and boil water at once. Only one person uses the cauldron, but the food and water from it are eaten and used by the whole family and many people.”

Tae-pung nodded as the Cauldron Goblin gestured with her hands to form the shape of a large cauldron.

“I see. That’s why you said you like to help others.”

“That’s right. And that’s how the humans who used my original cauldron felt. They put things in the cauldron and cooked food with the intention of providing for their families, so that feeling was passed on to me.”

Then the Cauldron Goblin looked back at the Honey Bucket Goblin.

“Then what do you think about the honey bucket?”

“Is it dirty?”

“You can’t move excrement without getting some on you. That’s why people think it’s dirty, avoid it, and dislike it.”

“That’s understandable.”

At Tae-pung’s answer, the Cauldron Goblin looked at the departing Honey Bucket Goblin and said,

“But what do you think would happen if there were no honey buckets?”

“Well… the excrement wouldn’t be cleaned up.”

“That’s right. Even though people think it’s dirty and avoid it, what’s truly dirty is the excrement, not the honey bucket. The honey bucket does the job of cleaning up that dirty excrement.”

After a moment, Tae-pung said,

“You’re saying there’s no shame in any job.”

“That’s right. Even if it’s a difficult, dirty, and unpleasant job, someone has to do it. And the person doing that job is someone’s parent, sibling, and family.”

The Cauldron Goblin continued, with a smile,

“That’s why the Honey Bucket Goblin chooses people who are avoided and disliked by others, just like the honey bucket itself, as his main characters. Like the self-centered man we just saw. Of course, that doesn’t mean the Honey Bucket Goblin is self-centered.”

Tae-pung tilted his head at the Cauldron Goblin’s words.

“I understand that he writes with characters similar to himself as the main characters, but still, I don’t think it would be interesting if such a person was the main character… You said that the Honey Bucket Goblin’s works aren’t popular with people, or rather, other goblins, right?”

“Yes, not really. Of course, there are some strange goblins like the Honey Bucket Goblin who read them sometimes, but it’s literally very rare. I hear they circulate the books among themselves.”

Then, the Cauldron Goblin gestured towards where the car with the Honey Bucket Goblin, now out of sight, was and said,

“The Honey Bucket Goblin says that even those kinds of main characters do good things sometimes. He says he’s happy when that happens.”

“Well, as you said earlier, that person is also someone’s child, father, and husband.”

Just because someone is a jerk outside, it doesn’t mean they are the same to their family.

Thinking this, Tae-pung looked at the Cauldron Goblin.

“By the way, the fire… was it big?”

At Tae-pung’s question, the Cauldron Goblin looked somewhere for a moment and then said,

“It’s spreading.”

“Oh…”

“If you catch a fire early on, it’s okay, but if you don’t, it keeps spreading, burning things around it. That’s why every second counts… but because of the delay at the traffic light, it has grown bigger in the meantime.”

At the Cauldron Goblin’s words, Tae-pung looked ahead with worried eyes. He didn’t know the exact location of the fire, but since the fire truck was heading there, that must be where the fire was.

***

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The firefighters were finishing up extinguishing the fire, spraying water towards the villa.

Cha Im-beom, who had come out after checking for any remaining embers inside the villa, took off his oxygen mask, let out a sigh, and then took a mouthful of water and spat it out.

『Pew!』

As he gargled like that and caught his breath, a man approached him.

『Excuse me…』

Cha Im-beom turned his head at the man’s voice. And his expression hardened involuntarily.

It was the jerk who had blocked the fire truck.

The jerk hesitated for a moment at Cha Im-beom’s gaze, then sighed and looked at the villa.

Seeing the villa blackened and charred by the fire, the jerk let out a deep sigh and said,

『Apartment 302 is…』

『Apartment 302…』

Hearing the apartment number, Cha Im-beom looked at the third floor of the villa building and said,

『It’s still dangerous, so you can’t go in right now.』

『It’s not that… is everything burned?』

『You’ll have to check that later.』

The jerk looked at Cha Im-beom, who wasn’t giving him a straight answer, and then turned his gaze to the third floor of the building.

The exterior wall of the third floor was covered in soot from the black smoke.

If the outside looked like that, he could imagine what the inside would be like. The jerk sighed and looked at Cha Im-beom, stammering before speaking.

『By any chance… if I hadn’t blocked the fire truck earlier…』

He didn’t finish his sentence, but he probably meant to ask, “Would the fire not have gotten this big?” Sensing the regret in his voice, Cha Im-beom looked at him for a moment and said,

『If it had been in the early stages of the fire, it could have been put out with a fire extinguisher… but after one second, that fire needs ten fire extinguishers, and after one minute, it needs a fire truck.』

Cha Im-beom paused and sighed.

『We don’t blare our sirens and run through traffic lights for no reason.』

Cha Im-beom looked at the burning villa once, then turned his head and started organizing his equipment.

***

Watching this from the top of the fire truck, the Cauldron Goblin smiled and said,

“Watching a fire from across the river might be fun, but if the sparks fly over, your own house could burn down too. Good story, good lesson, I like it.”

The Cauldron Goblin smiled, grabbed Tae-pung’s hand, and jumped off the fire truck.

“Gasp!”

Fire trucks are tall. Jumping from such a height surprised Tae-pung, and he gasped.

But before he landed, something like a gust of wind rose from below and supported his body.

Swoosh!

As Tae-pung landed lightly on the ground and looked at the Cauldron Goblin with a dazed expression, she smiled and said,

“Let’s go.”

Tae-pung nodded at the Cauldron Goblin’s words.

As he walked along with her, he turned his head. He saw the jerk staring blankly at the burned villa.

‘But… is his family okay?’

It was a little past 9 p.m. now. If his family had all been home when the fire broke out…

Tae-pung looked back and forth between the jerk and the villa with worried eyes, then decided to think positively.

If his family had been hurt, the jerk wouldn’t be just staring blankly at the house like that.

Tae-pung looked away from the jerk and approached the Cauldron Goblin.

“Is anyone hurt?”

The Cauldron Goblin, who was writing something in her notebook, looked at the villa at Tae-pung’s question and nodded.

“Four people were injured when they fell while escaping the fire, but they all have minor injuries.”

“That’s a relief, considering how big the fire was.”

“The fire alarm went off quickly. And it wasn’t time to sleep yet. Now, let’s go.”

The Cauldron Goblin hurried on, and Tae-pung followed behind her.

***

The next morning, Tae-pung, having arrived at work, stood still for a moment in front of the Goblin Library. Then he glanced to the side of the door.

The large glass window next to the door clearly showed the interior of the small bookstore.

Tae-pung looked at the bookstore through the window, then turned his gaze back to the door, grabbed the handle, and opened it.

Click!

The scene that unfolded before Tae-pung’s eyes was not a small bookstore, but the enormous Goblin Library.

Tae-pung sighed.

He had realized that yesterday’s events were real the moment he saw the goblin headband when he woke up this morning.

And when he put on the headband, his clothes had changed back into the luxury suit from yesterday.

But as he arrived at work and opened the door to the Goblin Library, it really hit him again.

As he was thinking about this unbelievable situation becoming his daily life, he heard the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s voice.

“You’re early for work.”

Tae-pung turned his head at the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s voice.

The Bamboo Sword Goblin was looking at a laptop at a table in the library.

“I woke up early.”

Tae-pung replied and looked at the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s appearance.

The Bamboo Sword Goblin was wearing comfortable clothes, or rather, what looked like cotton pajamas, and there was a soju bottle and snacks next to him.

“Were you up all night?”

At Tae-pung’s question, the Bamboo Sword Goblin took a sip of soju and looked at him.

“A writer works at night.”

“Writer? Did you write something?”

The Bamboo Sword Goblin nodded and picked up his laptop, saying,

“I usually write at night and wake up around lunchtime.”

Then the Bamboo Sword Goblin raised his hand, and a baton-like goblin club appeared.

As he lightly waved the goblin club, the objects that were just moments ago where the Bamboo Sword Goblin had been disappeared.

“Ah.”

As Tae-pung looked in surprise at the spot where the soju bottle, glass, and snacks had been, the Bamboo Sword Goblin said,

“Go to Jeonjujeon for lunch.”

“If you wake up at lunchtime, why don’t we eat together?”

“Eat alone comfortably.”

With that, the Bamboo Sword Goblin, with a tired face, took his laptop and walked away.

Then he suddenly stopped and turned to Tae-pung, asking,

“I heard you participated in the story of the novel ‘Time Bomb’ yesterday?”

“Huh? Ah, yes.”

Tae-pung nodded, wondering how he knew.

“How was it?”

At the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s question, Tae-pung looked at him, wondering what he meant. Seeing Tae-pung’s gaze, the Bamboo Sword Goblin asked again,

“How did it feel to see the person you saw in the novel in person and participate in the story?”

Understanding what the Bamboo Sword Goblin was talking about, Tae-pung said,

“It was amazing to see the main character of the story I read in the book right in front of my eyes. And…”

He told him about the jerk’s actions and how he regretted them later, and the Bamboo Sword Goblin nodded after listening to the story and turned around.

Tae-pung asked the Bamboo Sword Goblin,

“I want to read the Honey Bucket Goblin’s novel, but how do I find it?”

At Tae-pung’s words, the Bamboo Sword Goblin smacked his lips and looked at him with displeasure.

Noticing the meaning of his gaze, Tae-pung quickly said,

“And you said your book is here in the front, right?”

Tae-pung pointed to the front row of the bookshelf, and the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s gaze softened a bit.

“Well… if you’re bored, read it… and the Honey Bucket Goblin’s book is…”

The Bamboo Sword Goblin tried to point somewhere with his hand, then shook his head and walked towards the counter.

He then found a box under the counter.

It was the box he had taken out when he gave Tae-pung the goblin headband. The Bamboo Sword Goblin opened the box and took out another object from inside.

‘Glasses?’

The Bamboo Sword Goblin held the glasses, which had an old-fashioned design that seemed like something you would see in a museum, looked at them for a moment, and then held them out to Tae-pung.

“These are tiger eyebrows.”

—————

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