As Giju Wishes Chapter 3.4

“Isn’t it pretty?”

“No. It’s fucking not.”

Looking at the sunset, Choi Geon had a completely different thought from Giju.

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“You going to eat memorial rite food again?”

It was that memorial rite food, like a small fishbone caught in his throat.

“Yeah.”

At the reply, stated as naturally as breathing air, Choi Geon felt the fishbone in his throat grow larger. It was more irritating than when Shaman Cheon had mentioned seeing some jet-black thing. None of it had anything to do with him, but as if possessed by a ghost, he found himself strangely bothered. Just looking at Shin Giju stirred up a stubborn competitiveness that was stronger than his desire to win at soccer. He wanted to scratch an itch, but he had no idea where on his body was itchy, so his frustration just grew.

“If you don’t go, will you be unable to leave your house again?”

“Um… I don’t know. I’ve never missed it twice.”

Giju answered, rolling his eyes upward.

“Can’t you just come to my house and eat?”

“No.”

The reply came without a second of hesitation.

“Fuck, at least pretend to think about it before you answer.”

“I’m going to go home and eat, just like Grandma said.”

At the firm answer that left no room for negotiation, Choi Geon tore his gaze away from Giju.

“Fine, whatever.”

With a faintly annoyed tone, Choi Geon shook off any lingering attachment and shoved his hands deep into both pockets.

“Let’s eat together next time.”

Perhaps because of the pleasant memory, Giju suddenly said something unpredictable and wish-like, which was unusual for him. To that, Choi Geon replied without hesitation, just like Giju.

“I don’t want to.”

“Okay.”

At the cool, unbothered reply, Choi Geon whipped his head around.

“Shit, is your brain in your mouth? You don’t think for a fucking second.”

“You said you don’t want to, what can I do?”

“No, that’s, hah, forget it. What do I even expect from you. Just carry your memorial rite food in your bag. Just carry it in your mouth. No, go live on the memorial rite table.”

“But I really do want to eat with you again.”

At the refreshing words, Choi Geon’s expression softened considerably, and he glanced at Giju.

“Want to eat now, then?”

“No.”

At the refreshing but firm reply, Choi Geon’s expression became extremely grim.

“It’s a relief our vacation is starting soon.”

Giju said, brushing his hand against the foxtail grasses by the roadside.

“If I get cursed and die before that, I’m becoming the evil spirit in your house.”

After turning into an evil spirit, he would live in the painting hanging behind the memorial rite table. Then, the moment he saw even the first syllable of the word ‘memorial rite’ before his eyes, he would throw a fit.

“Oh, but you can’t be an evil ghost….”

Giju then muttered, somewhat sadly, the extremely realistic fact, ‘My grandma is super powerful, you’ll disappear right away.’ And Choi Geon looked at Giju as if he were a psycho.

“…Haven’t you become somewhat normal thanks to eating that memorial rite food?”

The thought that this might be a grand scheme by the family for the slightly unhinged Shin Giju flickered through his mind for a very brief moment.

“Huh?”

Innocent eyes that didn’t understand stared at Choi Geon. At that, Choi Geon decided to drop it and shook his head.

“Forget it, I’ll just have to die quietly or something.”

“Still, thanks to the deity’s protection, nothing bad will probably happen until the vacation, Geon.”

It would take quite a long time to obtain the ritual tools of Manshin Bari that Shaman Cheon had mentioned. It just so happened that vacation was starting soon, so this time, his luck was pretty good. But regardless, Choi Geon felt a sudden wave of exhaustion at the thought of his fate, having to chase after a ghost’s tail even during vacation. It was easy to say, but how could something called a legendary ritual tool be easy to find?

‘There’s a temple over on Dobongsan Mountain, and the monk there is probably keeping it.’

‘Then let’s go right now and,’

‘But, you see. That monk isn’t at the temple right now.’

‘Why not, Shaman Cheon…?’

‘He went on an overseas study trip.’

‘Overseas where?’

‘Over in… Europe.’

‘Where in Europe?’

‘That, a package tour, a package tour. He’s going all over.’

‘Crazy.’

Recalling his conversation with Shaman Cheon just a moment ago, Choi Geon made a sour face. Said he went because there was a special deal; what kind of monk was that? A quack, a fake monk. Choi Geon still suspected that Shaman Cheon might be messing with him. He said the monk was half-sage from his long years of ascetic practice, but how could he believe that?

“I hope the monk gives them to us right away….”

Just like Giju’s worried words, Choi Geon also didn’t think that fake monk would hand them over meekly. The fact that Shaman Cheon hadn’t spoken of him very favorably made it even more so. A legendary ritual tool must be something like a temple treasure; why would he trust and give it to kids like them who were still wet behind the ears? Especially one of them….

Choi Geon stared blankly at Giju, who was muttering something.

“Wouldn’t he like it if we went with our heads shaved? We could go up the mountain in advance and clean up, too.”

Although Shin Giju wasn’t normal, had problems with his brain, and was quite lacking, it wasn’t like there was no way.

“If he doesn’t give it, we can just take it.”

It has been said since ancient times that there’s nothing that can’t be done with force. Choi Geon lived his life with absolute faith in those words. How could he not be able to subdue one old fake monk? A sense of ease soon returned to Choi Geon’s expression.

“Hmm… should we do that.”

At Giju’s muttering, Choi Geon’s eyes widened as he stared. He had expected Shin Giju to spout some obvious platitudes about how they shouldn’t do that, but he was saying something odd.

“Did you eat something weird? Ah, right, you always eat weird things. Are you possessed by a ghost?”

“Why? If he won’t give it, what else can we do but take it secretly?”

“You’d really steal it?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

Choi Geon, despite being the one who suggested stealing it, turned the question back on Giju, asking why he was agreeing.

“It’s something you need.”

Giju answered as if it were obvious.

“I’ll definitely help you.”

After a brief silence, Choi Geon suddenly asked.

“But why are you helping me?”

“Because I find you so fascinating, I want things to go well for you.”

Giju found everything about Choi Geon fascinating. His bad luck, the ghost that tagged along with him, and despite all that, his life force that was as vivid as a flame. And also the fact that he ate a meal with him.

“What, are you watching to see just how unlucky I can get?”

Choi Geon, who of course interpreted it his own way, added that he’d had a feeling the look in the guy’s eyes wasn’t very kind.

“There is that, too, but, ah, I have to go eat now!”

Giju said cheerfully, and as if he had instinctively sensed it was time, he suddenly waved his hand and moved away.

“See you during vacation! I’ll call you, Geon!”

Left alone thanks to the instantly-vanished Giju, Choi Geon stared at the fading afterimage with a very displeased expression. Whether it was because of the final confirmation of his bad luck or the journey to see a quack monk during vacation, he was more displeased than usual for some reason.

For a while, Choi Geon stood rooted to the spot, swallowing his rising irritation. This was all because of that damn Shin Giju who was going to eat memorial rite food.

🔖⛩️📿

As he spent his days pretending not to notice, or perhaps adapting as if it were familiar, summer vacation arrived before he knew it.

Fanning his uniform shirt nonstop in the sweltering heat, Choi Geon glanced at Giju sitting next to him. That one wasn’t even sweating a single drop, as if he didn’t feel the heat at all. As expected of a descendant of ghosts.

Rattle, rattle-

Each time the old village bus rumbled over the unpaved road, the lines on Choi Geon’s brow deepened. Nevertheless, the reason he kept his mouth shut without complaint was because he was the one in need.

“Wow, there are a lot of fields here, too.”

Giju peacefully admired the rice paddies and fields stretching out as he looked out the window.

“Geon, look at that.”

“No.”

Choi Geon, who was sitting with his back bent low on the chair as if he would slide off at any moment, replied firmly.

“It looks like you.”

“Don’t lie.”

“It’s true… you’re really not going to look?”

“Nope.”

“Oh, it’s spraying water.”

“What the hell!?”

At the word ‘water,’ Choi Geon shot up straight as if having a seizure and immediately turned his head to look out the window. Then he craned his neck this way and that like a meerkat.

“But they’re spraying it from way over there, so you can’t see it well. That scarecrow looks like you, right?”

As he said, it was so far away that it seemed only a Mongolian could see it. In fact, it was practically invisible.

“Shit, you did that on purpose, didn’t you.”

“Did what? Look at that scarecrow.”

Giju asked back with an innocent question, pointing his finger at the scarecrow. Only then did Choi Geon turn his gaze and glare at the scarecrow with a menacing expression. The scarecrow, dressed in rags, was very large and likewise had a menacing face. Crucially, it was soaking wet. Just like the recently unlucky Choi Geon.

Realizing that when you’re utterly dumbfounded, you lose the energy to be angry, Choi Geon just muttered curses to himself and chose to close his eyes.

“How did I ever get caught in that psycho’s clutches….”

Then, leaning back diagonally into a near-lying position again, he diligently lamented his situation and shoved his hands deep into his pockets.

“In ancient times, scarecrows served to connect people to the deities.”

A calm voice was heard from beside him. Giju spoke without taking his eyes off the scarecrow.

“When their role was finished, a bird would come and give it a real soul.”

Was it because of the calm voice he hadn’t heard in a while, or because of the utterly fairytale-like story? His breathing evened out, and a wave of languor washed over him. Even with the rattling bus, the languor did not easily fade, and Giju’s voice grew distant. Choi Geon fell asleep, bathed in the sunset glow that was the color of ripe wheat.

“Wake up, Geon!”

“What is it.”

Choi Geon asked with an annoyed face, not yet awake from his sleep.

“Are we already there?”

“Yeah.”

Choi Geon looked at the towering mountain in front of him and then looked at Giju beside him.

“Don’t tell me we have to climb that?”

“Yeah.”

For Choi Geon, who was full of stamina, climbing a mountain wasn’t a very difficult task. It was just that the bleak-looking mountain made him not want to go.

Ziiiing-

“Let’s get off.”

The back door of the bus opened, and Giju, who had quickly hopped off first, readjusted the old backpack on his shoulders. Choi Geon, holding a duffel bag from a sports brand, felt an unidentifiable chill and slowly got off the bus.

Caw- Caw-

The moment Choi Geon’s feet touched the ground, a crow that shot out from the mountain flew away as if escaping. Giju lifted his head and stared quietly at the crow.

“Which way do we go?”

Choi Geon asked with a hollow laugh at the deep countryside scenery, which felt even more rural than his own hometown. The surroundings were, literally, a barren wilderness. There was something that looked like a field, but it just seemed like abandoned land.

“Ah, wait a minute.”