Boy Monster Chapter 54

‘When resonating with people’s consciousness, it would be troublesome if he knows too little about the world. He might just pass by unfamiliar places and cultural objects. He could miss important information. For instance, if he doesn’t know what a film projector is or how it works, he might see something suspicious contained in the film and pass it by….’

He thought he knew what the family head was contemplating. Jang Hwonwoo waited patiently for his answer.

Jang Hwonwoo was curious what Jae Eunho was thinking, being so obedient to the enemy who had executed his parents, and whether the resignation he showed on the surface was all there was. Jae Eunho’s duality stimulated the intellectual curiosity of the cunning ten-year-old boy.

The boy wondered if Jae Eunho was like him. Whether his current obedience was a stepping stone for a future leap, like a dragon’s ascent…. There was only one reason the boy followed the family head. It was to take that position. Not for any particular purpose or reason, but because of the nature flowing in the boy’s blood. The boy had to sit in that seat. It was a natural thing to do, having been born.

If you don’t seize it, you’re weeded out. If you don’t trample, you’re trampled. The boy had learned this constantly, having been abandoned as a newborn and living under the care of a maidservant far from the mansion. Cruel ambition and an innate dark desire flowed in the boy’s blood. This was the disposition of a beast that must, by all means, occupy the leader’s position.

The world of the survival of the fittest, where some bite and some are eaten, was both a playground and a battlefield for the boy. Hiding his innate desires and instincts behind a young face, Jang Hwonwoo grew fiercer by the day. Without anyone knowing.

Another one of his curiosities was to see how long Jae Eunho, who bowed his head to the family head, would show the exact opposite attitude to Jang Hwonwoo. His curiosity about this was the biggest reason he had entered this house three years early.

Jae Eunho was an amusement and a curiosity that strongly drew Jang Hwonwoo in. Visually, and mentally.

What looks good, tastes good….

Mulling over those words, Jang Hwonwoo, his eyes still on the secret letters, became lost in thought about his one and only source of amusement.

:･⚜️⊹.️

Sitting on the electric tram with the young child, Jae Eunho regretted the past few days. I shouldn’t have used the family head as an excuse.

The boy, so eager to confess his feelings to the new object of his affection after just two months, had gotten permission from the family head the very next day.

“I asked for my eleventh birthday present in advance.”

He had no choice but to go to the café under the family head’s permission. Outings were only permitted when he occasionally followed the family head on missions. That was why Eunho was still not accustomed to the splendid streets of Gyeongseong. Gyeongseong was becoming newer and more bustling by the day. Moreover, since the café was a new form of culture he had only heard about, he was extremely on edge.

The boy followed quietly behind Eunho. Even when Eunho, unsure who to pay the fare to, was talking nonsense, he stood by, calmly observing his surroundings. Outside, his maturity, greater than that of his peers, was more apparent. Until Jae Eunho carefully made his way to a famous café, Jang Hwonwoo calmly stayed by his side.

“Wow… it’s my first time here….”

As the café door opened, Jang Hwonwoo’s mouth fell wide open. The child, unfamiliar with swinging doors, stood still without moving out of the way even as the door was about to slam shut. Jae Eunho pulled the boy aside and said,

“Be careful.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. Wow… I didn’t know it would be this glamorous.”

Though he pretended to be indifferent on the outside, Jae Eunho was also hiding his excitement. The sofas embroidered with beautiful flowers and the magnificent Western-style interior that filled the walls and ceiling captivated his gaze. Unlike a traditional Korean house, which was full of the scent of wood and easy on the eyes, this place was filled with things that stimulated the visual senses.

Light sparkled from the chandeliers and various decorations. Dazzling sunlight poured in through the wide glass windows. The tableware on each table also gleamed. Slowly looking around, Jae Eunho stopped in front of a phonograph.

He couldn’t hide his interest as he had never had the chance to see a phonograph up close. The boy, who had been patiently looking around while sticking close to Jae Eunho, was now holding Eunho’s hand. Eunho, about to stiffly shake his hand off, saw the child’s innocent face as he let out a stream of exclamations at his first sight of café culture, and reluctantly left his hand where it was.

— Oh, life running in the vast wilderness
Where is it that you are going

A sorrowful song flowed from the phonograph. It was a cover song that had become more famous due to the death of Yun Sim-deok, the singer. Jae Eunho had liked this song ever since he read about it in the newspaper. Standing before the crackling song, he muttered,

“The pain of living in a hopeless era must be a suffering cherished by everyone gathered here.”

— Oh, pitiful life engrossed in living
You are one who dances on a knife’s edge
The things of this world are empty to you
After you die, all is gone

The lyrics, written by the singer herself, touched Jae Eunho’s heart more than anyone’s comfort. The final verse reminded him of how Yun Sim-deok had thrown herself into the sea with her lover. Jae Eunho said to himself with a blank face,

“It’s quite ridiculous, isn’t it? To jump into the sea for a single love.”

“Love….”

The boy, who had been mumbling, unsure of what to say, spoke.

“Sa Yeonri-nim, do you not understand sacrificing one’s life and being for love?”

“Do you understand it? And that’s not sacrificing, it’s throwing it away.”

“Aha….”

The boy smiled an interested smile and said,

“Then, how can one dedicate their life to love without throwing it away? At a dead end.”

“You have to live. Not die.”

The boy was momentarily stunned. After a long silence, Jang Hwonwoo uttered a phrase, mulling over Eunho’s words, in a deliberate voice he had never used before.

“…Dedicating one’s life to love is to live on without dying. Is that why you are enduring it in this mansion, teacher….”

At his unchildlike tone, Jae Eunho glanced at Jang Hwonwoo. Jang Hwonwoo’s expression quickly changed to a smile, and he pulled at Jae Eunho’s collar.

The two sat on a sofa and placed their order. As they waited for their two coffees and omurice, the boy rested his chin on his hands and asked,

“So, teacher. What’s a lunar eclipse?”

To explain the principles of lunar and solar eclipses, he needed something to write with. As Jae Eunho was scratching the sun, earth, and moon on a disposable napkin with his fingernail, the boy took a small notebook out of his trouser pocket. It was a notebook slightly larger than Jae Eunho’s palm.

“What’s this?”

Jang Hwonwoo, who even took a fountain pen from the front pocket of his neatly ironed shirt and handed it over, answered.

“It’s my diary. I write down what I learn every day. The family head said it’s a precious gift from Prince Uichin, which he bought while studying abroad.”

Jae Eunho opened the notebook and continued his explanation. Even after the coffee and food arrived, the boy’s questions continued. He even asked for the names of the moon’s phases, so he drew each shape according to the synodic cycle and explained them. New moon, waning crescent, last quarter, waning gibbous, full moon, waxing gibbous, first quarter, waxing crescent….

Ah, so a full moon is called mang. So that’s why the lunar calendar is different from the solar calendar…. Jang Hwonwoo nodded earnestly and sipped his coffee.

“Ugh.”

“Oh, dear.”

The two of them took a few sips of coffee and grimaced. Laughter erupted at their simultaneous negative exclamations. Jae Eunho laughed out loud.

In the boy’s diary, this phrase was written: ‘Jae Eunho Sa Yeonri-nim likes the moon. He also waits for the day a precious lunar or solar eclipse appears in the Gyeongseong sky.’ Jae Eunho, who had been resting his chin on his hand and quietly listening to the music from the phonograph, asked a question.

“Are romance secrets written in that diary too?”

“Of course. And sometimes, if I see an older woman in the newspaper who looks like me, or if I run into one on the street, I write it all down in here. Wondering if she could be my mother.”

“…….”

Jae Eunho looked at the boy intently. At first glance, his eyes were black, but upon closer inspection, they had a grayish tint, just like the family head’s, which gave a sense of icy tension when he looked at people. Sometimes, they were not the eyes of a person, but of a beast. His eyes were identical, but other than that, they had almost no resemblance.

Unlike the family head, who had a rugged, servant-like impression with protruding cheekbones, Jang Hwonwoo’s face was smooth, with no protruding or striking features. His neat facial contours suppressed the fierce aura given off by his dark eyebrows and straight, long nose.

Jang Hwonwoo grabbed the coffee cup, then waved his hand and said, “Ow, hot.” Out of habit from looking after the young Hwelju and Yeonri, Jae Eunho grabbed the child’s hand and asked if he was okay. Jang Hwonwoo grinned and nodded.

“You’re surprisingly clumsy.”

“I think it’s because I’m excited to be alone with you, Sa Yeonri-nim. It’s my first time in a place like this, too. I’m so happy right now….”

The boy, wearing small leather shoes, fidgeted and shifted his position. The sound of his feet swinging excitedly hit the sofa.

“Teacher, put on your hat. People are staring. I think they find it suspicious that someone as young as you is with a kid like me.”

Jang Hwonwoo frowned deeply, as if he were genuinely worried. It would indeed be a hassle if a suspicious Japanese policeman or military policeman started following them.

Jae Eunho put down his coffee cup and looked at the table opposite them. A few of the gangsters sitting with the café waitresses were looking at their table. Jae Eunho could tell at a glance that they were debauchees who lusted after both men and women. It was hard not to know, given the gazes he faced every day on his “practice” days.

He had heard there were many prodigals in places like this, who vented their sorrow of having their country taken away through a debauched lifestyle, and it was true. Jae Eunho pulled his fedora down low.

Jang Hwonwoo, still with a worried expression, picked up a sugar cube. He couldn’t unwrap it properly, so Jae Eunho unwrapped it for him. Jang Hwonwoo opened his mouth wide—”Ahhh.” Jae Eunho put the sugar in the kid’s coffee cup and chided him.

“Don’t show such a pathetic sight in front of that Yeonri.”

“Hehe… yes. I don’t know much about coffee…. I’m glad I came with you to learn.”