The Mountain God’s Deadline

A being no different from a calamity was seen sitting, in human form, and straightening his back.

The guest who had come to the office took a seat, and Jeha immediately brought out the prepared tea.

Judging by appearances, it seemed as though black tea with a three-tiered tray full of scones, cookies, finger foods, and jam should be served, but it was a tea Horang had specifically instructed to prepare.

Theodore, noticing the hazelnut tea and honey-glazed tea cakes on the small table, picked up the teacup without asking anything.

Horang watched the guest savoring the unique savory aroma of hazelnut from the teacup, then savored his own dried persimmon roll and tea.

Moistening his mouth and stomach appropriately with the warm tea, Horang let out a languid sigh and picked up his long pipe.

Theodore noted the smell of smoke, similar to the scent of honey, and tilted his head.

It was the same as when he saw him at the airport; aside from his tall stature, lean build, and prominent eyes, his presence resembled a faint, ash-gray mist.

While he seemed like he could vanish with a puff, his revealed eyes showed that his very existence was that of a powerful predator.

At this incongruity, he twitched his eyebrows and opened his mouth.

“When did you settle on Baegaksan?”

At his first question, Horang frowned slightly and parted his lips.

“It’s been over a hundred years.”

“What about the previous Mountain God?”

“She left long ago, taking her husband’s soul with her.”

Theodore recalled the husband of Baegaksan’s Mountain God, who remained in his memories.

“So that’s how it was.”

She was a Mountain God who protected Namsan and even received the name Mokmyeok Daewang from the king, yet to think she ended up like that.

During a time so difficult that even the gods of mountains, to whom the nation offered rites, became wandering souls and departed, he too had left this land, so it wasn’t strange for another god to find their way to a place that was as good as empty.

Of course, that was that, but it was dangerous not to remember someone as strong as the Mountain God before him.

“Have you confirmed everything you’re curious about?”

“I don’t know what I don’t know, so I don’t know what I’m curious about, and thus cannot ask further.”

At Theodore’s reply, Horang’s eyebrows shot up.

“Then just ask what you know. I hear you’ve come looking for something?”

The tip of the pipe pointed at Theodore.

“Wasn’t it an item your grandfather entrusted?”

Theodore raised his teacup and swallowed another sip.

The more he drank the hazelnut tea, the more comfortable his body felt.

The sense of rejection he had continuously felt from the land was almost imperceptible. He wondered if the intensity of the pressure was even at level 1 now.

He let out a short sigh.

“More accurately, I entrusted it. I asked for a few sacred artifacts to be delivered to the owner of Baegaksan.”

“You mean to say you’ve been searching for mere sacred artifacts and caused such a fuss for the past six months?”

Theodore tilted his head, looking at Horang.

“They are items that contain memories.”

Sweet yellow smoke billowed from the end of the pipe in Horang’s mouth.

“Memories?”

“Yes. A child named Kim Hae-im should have delivered items containing my memories here, to the Baegaksan Sanshingak.”

His blue eyes narrowed.

“It seems they haven’t arrived, have they?”

Horang blinked his sharp-looking eyes and remained silent for a moment.

“At least not since I settled here. By the way, why did you send it here?”

If he had divided his memories into several, not just one, they must have been that important, and it was strange that he entrusted them to someone else.

Theodore swallowed the last sip and set down the empty cup.

“Well, as you can see, since inhabiting this body, I’ve been suffering from amnesia.

The only memory that resurfaces is the will to find them. But it’s certain that I sent them.”

He tapped his head with a finger.

Horang’s gaze narrowed, having not discovered anything conclusive. The claim of amnesia was at least not a lie.

The stench of a lie was so potent that it would instantly assault his nose.

Soon, his gaze was directed straight at Theodore. He flipped the pipe in his hand.

The ember that had flared in the bowl of the pipe was forcefully flicked out into the brazier beside them.

At the menacing movement, the shadow nestled at the ‘guest”s feet opened its mouth and revealed itself.

Its posture, puffed up menacingly, was extraordinary.

Looking at the viscous shadow, which seemed as if all things eerie and ominous had been gathered and melted together, the Mountain God twisted his lips.

“How long will you stay in this land?”

Theodore sent his shadow, which had leaped out in response to Horang’s aura, back to its place and answered belatedly.

“I haven’t set an exact time, but I wish to stay until I’ve recovered all my memories.”

“Oh? Then I’ll give you ten more days.”

As soon as a sound like a seal being stamped reached Theodore’s ears, Horang rose from his seat.

“I hope you recover your memories safely before you’re crushed to death.”

And as his hand swept through the air, Theodore was expelled.

***

“Teddy!”

Swallowing a short groan, Theodore turned his head following the voice from behind him.

His gaze immediately returned forward. He saw the alley, now inexplicably clean.

‘I was expelled.’

Even without visual confirmation, the pressure weighing down on his body made him let out a bitter laugh.

As soon as he left the Mountain God’s territory, the land seemed to reject him, as if telling him not to linger and to scram.

Still, compared to what he had experienced over the past four days, his body was easier to move, and he could breathe comfortably, even if it wasn’t as comfortable as he had felt inside.

Theodore straightened his back.

He looked at the shadow at his feet with distorted eyes, then turned around.

“Are you alright?”

Kang Haesu stammered, looking at Theodore who had vanished in an instant before his eyes and then suddenly reappeared.

His face looked as if he had seen a ghost.

“What happened…?”

“Nothing happened. More importantly, that lawyer introduced me properly. Please convey my regards to him later.”
Kang Haesu hesitated, then sighed.

“…I still don’t understand the situation, but alright.”

His expression clearly showed that since he was only working for a fee, he didn’t want to get deeply involved.

Theodore turned his head towards his secretary.

“Something good and something bad happened.”

Lee Sun’s mouth tightened.

Theodore swallowed a small, suppressed laugh, as if to say there was nothing to worry about that much.

“The good news is that we no longer need to search for the Bugaksan Sanshingak.”

Lee Sun, who had been listening intently to the mention of good news, frowned.

“Then what’s the bad news?”

Theodore glanced over his shoulder at the alley and continued.

“He said the entrusted items aren’t here.”

He recalled the vivid yellow that had stared at him so intently, yet indifferently.

It was the same as at the airport, but he had wanted to see its true form; it was a shame.

It seemed like it would have had a very beautiful pattern.

He wore a bitter smile at the coldness of the one he’d fallen for at first sight.

Then he added his final words to those awaiting his answer.

“We need to retrace Kim Hae-im’s whereabouts, within ten days.”

At the familiar name, Kang Haesu sighed.

“Kim Hae-im, you mean the person who was supposed to deliver the items to the Baegaksan Sanshingak.”

She was a person they had been tracking ever since they first received the request.

Finding someone from a hundred years ago was easier said than done; it was as difficult as sifting through a sandbox to pick up tiny beads.

Passing through the late Joseon period, the Korean War, the era of dictatorship, and the democratization movement, it was a near-impossible search.

They had initially assumed it wouldn’t work and had focused on finding the Sanshingak instead.

Setting aside the unbelievable things that had already occurred, a suppressed sigh made his chest heave at the impossible task given to him before he could even collect his thoughts.

Kang Haesu rubbed his forehead, as if to soothe a throbbing headache, then raised his head.

“But where did this ‘ten days’ come from?”

Theodore pointed at the alley with his finger.

“Because that’s all the leeway I could get.”

“What if we can’t find her within the period?”

Lee Sun immediately sought a method for a task that was already confirmed to fail.

“Then we’ll have to use the last resort.”

No specific explanation was given, but Lee Sun’s gaze involuntarily turned towards the alley.

“If he says he won’t meet us, won’t we be unable to go?”

Theodore jabbed at the ground with his toe.

“If it’s land where shadows fall, there’s no problem.”

After saying that, Theodore composed himself.

His body, stiff from the land’s expulsion, urged him to quickly return to the Mountain God’s side, but he had no choice but to leave.

After all, if he were to be slapped by a thick, jelly-like paw, his neck would surely snap.

“Then let’s do our best. For ten days.”

***

Sizzle―

The batter, dropped into the oil, instantly fried on the hot pan.

To the sound resembling the commotion of the pouring rain outside, Jeha hummed a tune.

“Noisy.”

Horang, who had been curled up on the floor like a rounded ball of dough, thumped the wooden floor with his tail.

“…Hair might get on the buchimgae.”

Jeha protested, holding up the spatula, but Horang paid no mind and raised his tail again.

He should have been sleepy, perhaps having grown accustomed to the sound of rain that had been falling for over a week, but today his eyes wouldn’t close, wide awake.

Horang soon shed his true form and stood up, his soft paw pads touching the floor.

“Hey.”

“Yes.”

Jeha, waiting for the edges to crisp up before flipping the pancake, replied without looking back.

Horang stared out at the main gate, visible beyond the office door.

“Did you clean up the alley like I told you to?”

The chive pancake, which had flown up from the frying pan with a flick, sizzled and stuck back to the pan.

“What did you say?”

“Did you clean the alley?”

Jeha’s head tilted sideways in confusion, then returned to its original position.

“No. That day, I went straight to Incheon Airport and just camped out there.”

His voice, pleading unfairness as if he hadn’t meant to avoid the work, grew louder, but Horang’s gaze cooled.

“I’ll clean it today.”

“Now.”

“Now is a bit…”

Jeha looked down wistfully at the chive pancake he had cooked with all his heart.

“Freshly fried pancakes are so delicious.”

“…If something happens, no snacks for a month.”

Jeha’s lips twisted into a smirk.

The uninvited guest who hadn’t come last time wouldn’t possibly come this time either.

He calmly nodded his head, then placed the now-cooked chive pancake onto a plate.

Then he stirred the new pancake batter once more and scooped it out with a ladle.

Leaving behind Jeha, who was filling the air with the smell of oil as if preparing for a feast, Horang headed to his bedroom.

“I’m going to sleep.”

“Yes! Good night―”

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

Behind the greeting that faded with the scent of oil, a small sound echoed.

“…sir.”

Before Jeha could finish his farewell, a knocking sound came from outside.

Horang’s yellow eyes glowed eerily.

“You must have misheard. My, that rain sounds powerful.”

Jeha let out a hollow laugh.

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

The second knock came. This time, a voice could be heard calling out, as if to ensure they didn’t mishear.

“Is anyone there?”

Horang bared his teeth.

“He’s asking if anyone’s here.”

“Indeed. There shouldn’t be anyone here. I wonder who they’re looking for.”

Jeha eventually tossed aside the ladle and left the kitchen.

He strode out, opened the door, and then opened the main gate, revealing the ‘guest’.

“Boss!”

Jeha exclaimed, his eyes wide in surprise.

Horang, who had been looking out through the full-length window that overlooked the outside, clucked his tongue at the platinum blonde hair standing outside the main gate, then let out a hollow laugh at the black hair that appeared behind it.

The human who had stepped into the Mountain God’s territory without permission nodded at the Mountain God.

“Oh, really.”

Horang frowned, letting out a sound that had escaped him involuntarily.