It was around the time his tree in Songhak had begun to be neglected that an old woman who had been offering prayers faithfully came to ask for a wish to be granted.

She said her one granddaughter seemed to have inherited a divine thread, and she asked that the thread be severed for the child, who was still only five years old.

Naturally, intervening in the fates of humans was a gamble even for a goblin. No one could predict what variables might arise if a divine thread were severed at will. And so, even in the face of her earnest prayers, he had maintained his silence.

But he had been so moved by her coming day after day without fail to offer her sincere prayers that he could not help himself, and had once struck up a conversation with her. That, in the end, became the bond between them.

One day, Yeon-ah’s mother left the child in Jin Sunja’s care. Jin Sunja, overjoyed that her daughter, with whom she had been on distant terms, had entrusted her granddaughter to her, would sometimes bring the child to his tree and sing the girl’s praises until she ran out of words.

But the child vanished without warning, and it happened in an instant.

The saving grace was that Seo Hwido, who had been visiting Songhak on his account, had pulled the child out of the river.

When the child said she had followed someone who had called to her, even the police were mobilized and a full search was carried out. In the end, the culprit was never caught.

The incident seemed to be settled for the time being, but her mother, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, flew into a rage at Jin Sunja and took the child away.

And not long after, Sunja realized it had not been a human who had driven the child toward death but stray spirits, and she came running to him, pleading through tears for a contract.

Her entreaty was that it did not matter what became of her own body, so long as her precious daughter and granddaughter were kept safe from harm.

In short, it was a cruel contract sealed at the price of Jin Sunja’s afterlife. Of course, since it was a contract born of a human’s desperate wish, the heavenly god did not intervene.

But what if Seo Hwido had not been here at that time? What if he had not found the child who had fallen into the river?

Baek Yeon-ah would not be standing where she stood now, and he himself would still be part of the tree, preserved in place alongside his club.

Of course, he was deeply grateful for that.

Yul watched Hwido draw deeply on his cigarette and smiled to himself.

“Wow… what a coincidence. But so what? Looking at how serious she is about the goblin tree, it seems like she has a desperate wish of her own. She can just make a contract with me. Simple.”

“A contract, you shameless bastard. Have you no conscience?”

A contract between a human and a goblin was a deal that was always a loss for the human.

Unlike a goblin who had nothing to lose, a human had to give up the cycle of life.

On top of that, the fate of a deceased contracted party rested entirely on the whims of the goblin, who held all the power.

If the contracted party had been one he was fond of, he could place their spirit back into the cycle of reincarnation, and from the moment that human was reborn, he could resume the bond with them.

In Jin Sunja’s case, his purpose had been to separate his club from the tree it was preserved in, so reincarnating her had not been possible.

There was, of course, a method other than a contract by which a reincarnated human could be found in an instant. But it was not a method he particularly wished to use.

That might have been a different story for the Seo Hwido of three hundred years ago.

Seo Hwido, who had always held himself apart, insisting he was different from humans, had lost the woman he had held dear and had his power sealed because of it. That pure devotion of his. Perhaps it was possible?

But looking at the state of him now, not even understanding what it was he felt toward Baek Yeon-ah, it all seemed like a very distant story.

“So what are you going to do with her, then? When exactly are you planning to lift that seal?”

“Wasn’t that why I’ve been here all this time? You said your little self had gotten hold of a clue.”

Yul turned over in his mind the journey he had taken after entrusting Seo Hwido with the tree that held his club, his other self.

“Right, I did. How the heavenly god decided to test you. How the seal can be broken. I think I’ve figured it out.”

“You talk too much. Want me to cut that tongue out?”

“Are you insane… the brand on your back, can you see it clearly right now? It’s still the same, isn’t it? It just keeps fading, never getting any clearer.”

“Phew…”

The smoke Hwido exhaled drifted through the air and then dissolved.

“So just listen. In the three hundred years since your power was sealed, what is the one thing you have never done.”

“Why would I…”

“The way I see it, the brand has been fading at the same rate as the years you’ve spent shutting humans out.”

“What a thoughtful load of nonsense.”

“Just hear me out. On this trip to Japan, I dug through some goblin texts over there. The stories are a bit different from ours. There was a goblin who had been preying on humans so relentlessly that the god over there turned him into a human outright. And what do you think happened after that?”

It was a point that made one curious about the ending. A goblin who had taken pleasure in preying on humans, punished by being turned into one.

“Go on.”

“The goblin who became human lived among humans and eventually came to learn what it meant to be human. And he met a woman he loved. The two married, and a child was on the way.”

“…A child?”

“Right, a child. Anyway, while the man was out working, goblins attacked the house. He lost the one he loved in an instant. In the end, that goblin who had become human went back to the god and begged. To be made a goblin again. That he would never harm humans again. That he had come to love humans, and would lay down his life to protect them. So what do you think happened?”

Yul patted Hwido’s firm thigh, which was right at his eye level, and continued.

“The god turned him back into a goblin. He was moved, seeing that a creature who had once viewed humans as nothing more than food had come to love them. From that point on, that goblin became a benevolent being who protected humans… well, it’s a folk story, more or less.”

“Moved, my *ss. Sounds like gods everywhere are missing a screw or two. And the revenge. He lost a woman and a child he cherished that much, and he just let it go?”

“He did. That’s what they say. What do you think the reason was?”

“What?”

“How could a goblin who had spent his whole life hunting humans make such a transformation into one who protects them. Love. The feelings he experienced himself as a human, he extended to others.”

“Ha, hearing it out loud makes it sound even worse.”

“I think whether it’s Japan or our country, the will of the heavenly god knows no borders. So you try loving someone too. Who knows? Maybe that brand of yours, faded as it is, will finally burn red.”

On the other hand, if the brand were left alone and faded away entirely, the power sealed along his spine might vanish with it, and Seo Hwido might be reduced to an ordinary human.

But he had no wish to see a friend of five hundred years become human.

Though the greater share of their time together had been spent snarling at each other like cats and dogs, if even that were gone, what would be left to make life worth living.

“You want your power back, don’t you? You said you were going to leave the human realm. Then wouldn’t it be better to try loving someone? It’s not like it costs you anything.”

He understood the contradiction in being told to love a human in order to leave the human realm. But whatever it was, it had to be tried.

“Oh, go to hell.”

Yul watched Seo Hwido curl his lips in disbelief and made up his mind.

Three hundred years since the brand was seared onto his spine.

The one woman Seo Hwido, who had never spared a glance for any human until now, was keeping by his side.

Whether what he felt toward her was curiosity, interest, or something closer to affection, there was no way to know. But he was going to play with fire on that bone-dry kindling and see what happened.

***

Bright sunlight fell across the mountain slope. Beneath the shade of towering trees that rose in every direction, he slowed his pace to match the steps of the woman who had paused to catch her breath.

Unafraid, it seemed, she had leapt lightly over a fairly steep stretch of ground and looked free of any worry or care. When he let a small smile show, Bun finally stopped and turned around.

“Please don’t trouble yourself over someone like me, my lord. You should go back.”

The mountain path had widened considerably, and perhaps reassured by that, her slight shoulders, which had been heaving with quick breaths, settled down.

Hwido fixed his gaze on the small feet in their worn-out straw sandals and spoke.

“Do you have more than one life? You climb a mountain path this rough, yet there is not a single person by your side.”

“I slipped out… I slipped out in secret. My lady has seemed quite low in spirits lately. And I am perfectly fine. I have always been sturdy.”

At the confident tone, Hwido looked quietly down at the ground near her feet.

“Is that so? Then what will you do about that snake at your feet.”

“…Pardon? P, please save me, my lord!”

Bun could not bring herself to look down, and her legs trembled violently. She was always cheerful even when faced with unpleasant tasks, yet the sight of her clinging to him in desperation was not unwelcome, and Hwido took one step closer toward her.

“P, please help me, my lord! Eek!”

Hwido swept her up into his arms in one motion. The way she trembled and held on was utterly pitiable. For reasons he could not explain, the feeling was not unpleasant, and he tightened his hold on Bun as he spoke.