Boy Monster Chapter 4

A cell phone I’d never seen before suddenly caught my eye. The museum staff member who had been watching Eunho in the special exhibition hall a while ago held it out. Jae Eunho smiled kindly at the surveillance agent disguised as a museum employee.

“Thank you for the needlessly kind tailing and surveillance.”

As someone bound to the National Intelligence Service (NIS), Jae Eunho had an obligation to answer this call. The situation of being tied to work even if he hated it was the same trajectory as his fate of having to come back to life even after death. He answered the phone while moving to the next exhibition hall. It was Oh Jigeun, the Deputy Director of Domestic Security at the NIS.

“I didn’t tell you where I am.”

—I know even if you don’t tell me. The places you go, pretending to see the outside world, are always the same.

The National Museum of Korea. The Seoul Museum of History. The National Palace Museum of Korea. Jogyesa Temple. Hoguk Jijangsa Temple. Hwangudan Altar. Changgyeonggung Palace Botanical Garden. Gyeongseong Station. Naksan Park… Jae Eunho cut him off before the Deputy Director could recite more.

“I’m on a permitted outing for the first time in a while. Don’t bother me.”

—My, my, so assertive. Right now, our police and the NIS are on pins and needles.

“Do you know how much the murderer under house arrest, Hwelju, wants to see the outside world?”

Jae Eunho moved gracefully with his twisted left leg. He stopped in front of a large painting of the Six Realms Mandala. A dark golden light poured out from the large mandala, which was 2.2 meters long. The numerous symbols and all things in creation contained within the circle seemed to come alive and pulsate within the golden flames.

“Depending on the karma accumulated in one’s life, the destination in the next life is determined. Shakyamuni Buddha had the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Nidanas painted as a picture so that all beings could know the truth of escaping the suffering of the six realms of reincarnation and hang it in the Dharma hall.”

Jae Eunho read along with the artwork description and picked up his personal cell phone. Watching the on-site video sent from his superiors, Jae Eunho quietly replied.

“In any case, it’s not my jurisdiction. You mobilized them without my prior permission. Let those who planned the operation without me handle it.”

—Hey, Chief, I think you’re mistaken… This is an order.

The surveillance agents who were following him all stood around Jae Eunho with their hands clasped behind their backs. Jae Eunho looked up at the endlessly continuing circles within the mandala. The swirling colors and gold seemed to beautifully package his life.

—And these guys, they’re the drug cartel we’ve been chasing for over a year. If we catch them this time, we can pull them out by the roots.

Additional footage of the murder scene, rife with traces of a bloody struggle, arrived. When he played it, it was the bodies of three undercover police officers who had been murdered in a hotel room. Looking down at the corpses, so horribly mangled that it was difficult to even identify their faces, Jae Eunho changed his attitude.

“You should have sent this earlier. I have to catch them. I’m going now.”

Jae Eunho left the exhibition hall. Deputy Director Oh Jigeun’s nagging continued on the phone.

—Hwelju, Yeonri, taking responsibility for them is your job, you punk. Let me tell you, it’s clearly stated in the S.E.T.U. special forces team leader’s job description. ‘In the event of a problem arising from Hwelju or Yeonri’s uncontrolled state, implement wide-range hallucinations.’ Do you want to be fired for dereliction of duty?

“Yes, yes, yes, yes—If I’m fired, you’ll be managing the Hweljus, Deputy Director?”

—And you’ll never see the outside world again.

“…Yama, who firmly holds the wheel of reincarnation, represents Bodhicitta and emptiness. The two Buddhas above symbolize the attainment of enlightenment through wisdom. The reason we cannot escape reincarnation is ignorance, that is, the lack of wisdom….”

Jae Eunho continued to talk to himself even without looking at the description of the Six Realms of Reincarnation. He could read it without looking, meaning he had memorized the entire explanation.

“…Because we are foolish and attached, we become greedy and become angry at what we cannot have. What am I so greedy for, Deputy Director?”

There was no answer.

“Everything’s fine, but please stop cursing. I live a long life even without hearing curses.”

—Then let’s be obedient, Mr. Reincarnation of Immeasurable Eons, who would make Qin Shi Huang weep. You look incredibly young, but you’re thirty-two this year, and actually one hundred and five. Oh, may you live ten thousand years.

“You’re wrong.”

—About what?

“There were gaps between the seven deaths and reincarnations, so I’m exactly 108 years old. The time I spent in the afterlife should be excluded according to the Resident Registration Act, right?”

—…….

He was quiet, so it seemed like the phone had been taken away. The minister, who had intercepted Deputy Director Oh Jigeun’s call, seemed to be ranting about something. Meanwhile, a text message arrived on Jae Eunho’s personal phone from Deputy Director Oh Jigeun.

Go easy on him. He just said he’s quitting. Seems like it’s a headache.

Jae Eunho smiled with satisfaction. The recent string of Hwelju runaway incidents was a plan orchestrated in collaboration with Deputy Director Oh Jigeun, the Hweljus, and the Yeonris to oust the minister who had newly taken charge of the S.E.T.U. special forces team.

Originally, the officials in charge of S.E.T.U. were Deputy Director Oh Jigeun and Venerable Chogwang, the chief representative of the United Association of Buddhist Temples for National Defense. However, the government suddenly replaced the top administrator with the minister in charge of the National Security Office. It was a personnel decision made without even asking for the opinion of Special Forces Team Leader Jae Eunho. Eunho intended to make the minister give up and resign, and he succeeded.

The minister resigned voluntarily after the Yeonris refused to respond and protested daily, citing the personnel change as breaking with a thousand years of tradition.

The minister who had intercepted Deputy Director Oh Jigeun’s call flew into a rage.

—Bring that crippled monster, Jae Eunho or whatever, out here quickly!

The minister was the leading representative of the faction that claimed Hweljus and Yeonris were monsters. As the leader of the special forces team, Jae Eunho couldn’t leave someone who treated them like mutant, perverted geeks as the top administrator.

“Yes, Minister.”

—Hey! Do you want to get your head chopped off?

“What should I do? I’m someone who keeps living even if my head gets chopped off.”

The minister kept forgetting that Eunho was cursed. Age-wise, Jae Eunho was several decades older, but he didn’t know how to be polite, even though they weren’t close.

“If you ask me nicely, I’ll consider it.”

—Are you crazy? This whole mess has spread to the entire nation! You Hweljus, I’ll kill you all!

“Is that the best solution you can think of, Minister? If we all die, what are you going to do about life-or-death intelligence operations, natural disaster recovery, heinous international human trafficking rings, and labyrinthine drug cartels?”

Jae Eunho smiled faintly and cleaned his glasses.

“I’ll receive your courtesy next time, so please put the Deputy Director on the line. I need to confirm the dispatch.”

—Hey! Deputy Director Oh Jigeun! Take it.

—It’s me. The helicopter will arrive soon, so head straight to COEX. We’ll grab the necessary ritual tools from Muryangsa Temple and Nojeoksa Temple and head straight to the Bukhansan1 base. You handle the situation on the ground…

Deputy Director Oh Jigeun, who had taken the phone, didn’t finish speaking, but Jae Eunho hung up.

‘The nagging.’

Muttering, he handed his phone to the surveillance agent and left the museum.

As soon as he came down the stairs, a 119 Doctor Helicopter stopped in front of him. Climbing into the back seat of the helicopter, Jae Eunho reached into his suit’s inner pocket and pulled out his personal cell phone.

The helicopter flew over Seoul with its siren blaring. Lying on the folding bed, Jae Eunho casually swung his comfortable right leg and turned on his social media. Whether the minister and the deputy director were burning with impatience or not, he didn’t care. Maintaining a blank expression while watching recent trending videos, Jae Eunho let out a dry chuckle.

It was because of a video interviewing a celebrity on an entertainment program. Along with the provocative caption “26-Year-Old Forever Alone,” the celebrity’s confession about his feelings appeared. Scrolling through the video for a few seconds, Jae Eunho slowly stroked his chin with his black-gloved hand.

“Making a fuss over 26 years. There’s someone who’s been single for 108 years.”

Just then, an unfamiliar alarm went off. It was a comment on a post he had uploaded to a chat app five minutes ago, and the comment consisted of only two symbols.

🤘 ;P

Another alarm went off.

SuperDevillishGiantBig has requested a chat.

Jae Eunho checked the other person’s profile page. ‘SuperDevillishGiantBig’. The nickname was somewhat suspicious. He thought there might be lewd photos, but it was just an ordinary man.

He accepted the chat without hesitation. He had no intention of meeting in person anyway, and even if he met them and they turned out to be strange, he could subdue them with the self-defense techniques he had learned during his hundred years as an NIS agent, so there was no burden. It was just to kill time. He simply wanted to connect with the people living mundane and relaxed lives in the present world.

SuperDevillishGiantBig: What does Only1LM stand for?

Only1LM:

SuperDevillishGiantBig: Tell me, what does it mean?

Eunho’s nickname was being questioned. Little Monster. It was a phrase Eunho had often used in his IDs. It was a tribute to a monster and a boy who were no longer in this world. He didn’t answer because he didn’t want to explain. Another message arrived.

SuperDevillishGiantBig: You really won’t tell me? Not even a hint?

Only1LM:

Chuckling, he waited for a reaction, which arrived faster than expected.

SuperDevillishGiantBig: You seem to be someone who’s lived life to the fullest. Like you’ve been around the block a few times. Let’s have some raw, adult fun. I’m really good.

Jae Eunho, who had been through it all in this world, was unfazed by the provocative message. Letting out a hollow laugh, “Haha,” he sent a reply.

Only1LM: I prefer elegant fun.

He looked at the chat window, anticipating the response. The other person replied immediately.

SuperDevillishGiantBig: Elegant… You’re too much for me. Bye.

Chat has ended.

“…What?”

1. Original name of Bukhansan Mountain