Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Tae-pung felt a bit more comfortable with the Bamboo Sword Goblin, knowing that he wouldn’t withhold his wages, even though he was a goblin.

This was because, in his life experience, there was no one more annoying and infuriating than an employer who tried to cheat him out of his wages.

“You’re very reliable with handling wages.”

The Bamboo Sword Goblin nodded at Tae-pung’s words.

“You worked, so I pay you. Isn’t that obvious?”

“That’s right.”

As Tae-pung nodded with a smile, the Bamboo Sword Goblin said,

“Her descendants have been running this food business here for generations. I thought it would be better to support a familiar business, and since I come here often, they know about me from generation to generation.”

“This place must have been doing well to stay in business for so long.”

It wouldn’t be easy to run a business for more than a few years, even if the food was exceptionally good.

“Good fortune follows places where goblins frequent.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

The Bamboo Sword Goblin answered curtly and held out his glass, and Tae-pung poured him some makgeolli.¹Rice wine

“By the way, how did you have lunch?”

“I had a lunch box from a convenience store nearby.”

“From now on, come here for lunch.”

“Here?”

The Bamboo Sword Goblin nodded.

“The food here is good.”

He then emptied his glass full of makgeolli in one gulp.

Wiping his mouth, the Bamboo Sword Goblin said,

“Today must have been a very eventful day for you.”

“Indeed.”

Tae-pung thought that, without a doubt, there had never been a day as hectic as today in his entire life.

The Bamboo Sword Goblin nodded at Tae-pung’s answer.

“Don’t overthink things. You just got a job at a company where the boss is a goblin and the customers are goblins, that’s all.”

‘That’s the biggest problem.’

Tae-pung muttered to himself as the Bamboo Sword Goblin continued,

“Just work hard and do what you’re told. Then working with goblins won’t be so bad.”

“Understood.”

Just as the conversation seemed to come to a pause, the grandmother came out with the food.

“Enjoy your meal.”

“Thank you.”

Tae-pung bowed his head in gratitude.

The grandmother, setting the food on the table, asked the Bamboo Sword Goblin curiously.

“But how did you come to hire a human employee?”

The Bamboo Sword Goblin replied as he poured makgeolli into an empty glass.

“He’s a descendant of the old man with the bump.”

“Ah! The old man with the bump!”

Hearing the mention of the old man with the bump, the grandmother looked at Tae-pung with surprised eyes. At her gaze, Tae-pung smacked his lips and nodded.

“Hello, I’m a descendant of the old man with the bump.”

It might sound absurd to others, but since this grandmother already knew about goblins, there was no more appropriate self-introduction than this.

The grandmother smiled at Tae-pung’s introduction. It was a smile with a hint of pity.

“The boss talked so much about the old man with the bump, and now I finally get to meet you.”

Then, the grandmother looked back at the Bamboo Sword Goblin.

“You searched so hard for him, and now you’ve finally found him.”

The Bamboo Sword Goblin nodded at the grandmother’s words, then sighed and shook his head.

“What’s wrong?”

“This guy gave me a drink and a sandwich.”

“Ah…”

As if understanding what the Bamboo Sword Goblin meant, the grandmother looked at Tae-pung.

“So that’s why you didn’t have a bump.”

Tae-pung sighed and stroked his chin with his hand.

“I had it this morning, but he removed it.”

At Tae-pung’s words, the grandmother gave a softer smile than before, as if relieved.

“That’s a relief. Every time the boss read the story of the old man with the bump, he always said he would give him three bumps later.”

“Three?”

Tae-pung, startled, stopped touching his chin and asked with wide eyes.

“How can you put three bumps on a chin?”

“I asked that when I was young too… like this.”

The grandmother laughed as she pointed to both sides of her chin and then placed her fist in the middle.

“He said he would give him three bumps like this.”

Then she said to the Bamboo Sword Goblin.

“You waited so long to give him bumps, you must be disappointed that you received food instead.”

As if he still had some lingering regret, as the grandmother had said, the Bamboo Sword Goblin stared at Tae-pung for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“Not a big one, but should I give you a small one?”

Tae-pung hurriedly covered his chin with his hand.

“No way!”

The Bamboo Sword Goblin sighed and nodded.

“Even though it’s a bit of a bother, please make sure this guy gets lunch from now on.”

“Is that so hard?”

The grandmother smiled and handed Tae-pung a business card.

“If there’s anything you want to eat, call me around 11 o’clock. I’ll make it for you if I have the ingredients.”

“Thank you.”

Tae-pung thanked her and took the business card. Just then, new customers entered the store, and the grandmother said to the Bamboo Sword Goblin and Tae-pung once again, “Enjoy your meal,” and approached the customers.

The Bamboo Sword Goblin pointed at the food on the table and said,

“Try it. The food is delicious.”

“Yes.”

Tae-pung picked up a piece of hobakjeon and nodded. The crispy texture and the soft zucchini flavor blended well together, making it delicious.

“If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

At the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s words, Tae-pung asked,

“When is payday?”

When Tae-pung asked about his salary instead of something about goblins, the Bamboo Sword Goblin stared at him for a moment and then said,

“How practical.”

“What could be more important to an office worker?”

The Bamboo Sword Goblin nodded at Tae-pung’s answer.

“Payday is the 10th of the month, which is today next month.”

“The 10th…”

“The deposit will be made at midnight.”

A slight smile appeared on Tae-pung’s face as the goblin told him the exact date and time.

“Then how much is it?”

He had heard that he would be paid at the level of a large corporation, but he didn’t know the exact amount, so he asked to confirm.

“3.5 million won after taxes. Before taxes, it would be a little over 50 million won per year. It’s based on the starting salary of a new employee at S Group, so it’s not wrong to say that you’re getting paid at the level of a large corporation.”

The Bamboo Sword Goblin then looked at Tae-pung. Seeing him smiling brightly, it seemed like he was satisfied with the salary.

Nodding his head, the Bamboo Sword Goblin held out his hand.

Whoosh!

A small shopping bag suddenly appeared in the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s hand.

He pushed the shopping bag towards Tae-pung, who hesitantly took it.

“What’s this?”

“Something an office worker needs.”

Tae-pung looked inside the shopping bag. Then, with a bright smile, he took out the items inside one by one.

What came out of the bag was a Goblin Library employee ID card and a bankbook.

“Your salary will be deposited here.”

At the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s words, Tae-pung opened the bankbook. His name was written there.

“But how did you make a bankbook without me…”

Tae-pung was about to ask how he made it, but then he closed his mouth. It was a goblin, what would be the problem with making a bankbook?

Looking at Tae-pung, the Bamboo Sword Goblin pointed at the employee ID card.

“It’s an employee ID card that doubles as a corporate card. Keep it with you and use it to buy anything you think the library needs.”

“Corporate card!”

Tae-pung looked at the employee ID card with impressed eyes at the mention of a corporate card.

“This is the legendary corporate card…”

Seeing Tae-pung’s surprised eyes, the Bamboo Sword Goblin said,

“I heard that office workers these days have them, so I prepared one for you. Use it for meals, late-night snacks, taxi fares, and such. For larger expenses, attach the receipts.”

“Is it okay if I attach the receipts?”

“If it’s an item you can confidently attach a receipt to.”

Tae-pung smiled and nodded at the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s words.

“Understood.”

After answering in a bright voice and looking at his employee ID card, Tae-pung suddenly tilted his head.

The picture attached to the ID card was, naturally, of Tae-pung himself.

The problem was that he had never given the Bamboo Sword Goblin his picture.

‘Well, it’s a goblin, getting my picture is nothing.’

Tae-pung quickly accepted it with the thought, ‘Goblins can do anything,’ and drank his makgeolli, then picked up a hobakjeon and put it in his mouth.

It was delicious before, but now it tasted even better.

He had gotten a job at an absurd place called the Goblin Library, but for now, the working conditions were perfect.

Although he didn’t know what would happen in the future.

***

After finishing the company dinner with the Bamboo Sword Goblin, Tae-pung, his face flushed red from the alcohol, was in Mapo.

To be precise, he was at a fire station in Mapo, and to be even more precise, the fire station where Cha Im-beom worked.

Tae-pung stood still, looking at the lit fire station, as passersby walked by. Some of them glanced at him.

At first, he didn’t notice it. But as it happened repeatedly, Tae-pung tilted his head and looked down at himself.

There was nothing particularly strange.

“Do I smell?”

Wondering if the smell of oil from the jeon restaurant had clung to him, Tae-pung put his nose to his sleeve and sniffed.

He did smell a bit of oil, but it wasn’t that bad.

He examined his body, wondering what was wrong, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out.

However… that was because Tae-pung didn’t know much about luxury brands.

All the clothes, shoes, and accessories Tae-pung was wearing from head to toe were luxury brands. They were all very high-end and famously expensive products.

Some of the people passing by Tae-pung recognized the luxury brands and glanced at him out of curiosity.

After examining himself for a while, Tae-pung looked back at the fire station. And his eyes sparkled.

This was because a few firefighters came outside, stretched lightly, and then brought paper cups to their lips.

But then, something strange caught Tae-pung’s eye as he was looking at them.

Letters were floating above the firefighters’ heads.

‘What’s that?’

Wondering what it was, Tae-pung looked closely at the letters. Their identity was…

「Cha Im-beom」

「Oh Kyung-soo」

「Jo In-beom」

“Those are names?”

Moreover, they were the names of the characters from the novel he had read.

“What in the world is this?”

As he was looking at the people’s names with surprised eyes, a woman’s voice was heard.

“You’re here?”

Startled, Tae-pung turned his head towards the voice.

Standing before him was a young woman with a slightly round face and gentle, kind-looking eyes that drooped slightly at the corners.

But since Tae-pung had never seen her before, a puzzled look appeared on his face.

“Who are you?”

“Me? Ah!”

The woman exclaimed as if she had forgotten, then smiled and held out her hand.

“We haven’t met before, have we? I’m the Cauldron Goblin. You’re Tae-pung, right?”

At the mention of the Cauldron Goblin, Tae-pung looked at her with surprised eyes and hurriedly shook her hand.

“I’m Yoo Tae-pung. It’s nice to meet you.”

The Cauldron Goblin’s smile widened at Tae-pung’s greeting. A slight smile also appeared on Tae-pung’s face as he looked at her.

The Cauldron Goblin was a woman who truly suited smiles, to the point that her smile alone could make others feel good.

Of course… she was a goblin.

The Cauldron Goblin looked around the fire station and asked,

“After reading the book, you wanted to come here?”

“Ah… yes.”

Tae-pung nodded and replied.

“I wondered if the place I read about in the novel really existed.”

“It does.”

The Cauldron Goblin replied with a smile. As Tae-pung was looking at her, he suddenly noticed her outfit.

The Cauldron Goblin was also wearing a red fedora and a suit. Although it was a men’s suit, it looked very good on her.

“Do all goblins wear fedoras?”

At Tae-pung’s question, the Cauldron Goblin swiped her fedora with her hand and smiled.

“It’s just that this style of clothing goes well with a fedora. If I wear a dress, I change to a hat that matches it.”

As she spoke, the Cauldron Goblin placed her hands on her waist and twirled around.

“How is it? Does it suit me?”

“It suits you very well.”

“Right?”

The Cauldron Goblin laughed at Tae-pung’s compliment. Then, pointing at the people in front of the fire station, she said,

“Were you surprised to see names floating above people’s heads?”

“Yes!”

Tae-pung replied in a loud voice without realizing it, as if she had read his mind, and then asked,

“What exactly is that?”

The Cauldron Goblin laughed heartily at Tae-pung’s reaction, finding it amusing, and began to explain.

“We goblins write about living humans. You know that, right?”

“Yes, I do.”

At Tae-pung’s answer, the Cauldron Goblin looked at Cha Im-beom and his colleagues and said,

“So sometimes goblins who have read the book come to see the main character and other characters in person. To make it easier for those readers to recognize the characters in the book, after reading a goblin book, the names of the characters appear above their heads like this.”

Tae-pung admired the Cauldron Goblin’s explanation and looked once again at the names floating above the heads of Cha Im-beom and his colleagues.

“That’s amazing.”

As if pleased with Tae-pung’s reaction, the Cauldron Goblin explained something else.

—————

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