Goblin Library - Chapter 1

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 1

Yu Tae-poong was walking through Han River Park.
Trudge, trudge….
His footsteps were heavy and forlorn, unbecoming of a man in his mid-twenties.
He was returning from an interview at a company where he’d applied for a position. It would take several days for the results to arrive, but I already knew the outcome.
The atmosphere had been nearly identical to every other company interview I’d attended—the ones where I’d been rejected.
With that, I exhaled a long sigh and surveyed the park around me.
Young couples sat on the grass, chatting and eating delivery food, enjoying themselves without a care.
‘Those were good times.’
Just two years ago, I used to come to this park with my junior colleagues, crack open beers, and devour fried chicken. It was a carefree season, a time when life felt effortlessly pleasant.
Perhaps back then, someone had watched me and thought the same thing: ‘Those are good times.’
Just as I do now.
Smacking my lips, I shifted my weight and sat down on a park bench. I gazed blankly at the park and the river before opening the briefcase I’d been carrying.
Though I called it a briefcase, there was hardly anything inside—just my phone, wallet, and the beverage and sandwich I’d just purchased from the Convenience Store.
There were three beverages. I’d originally planned to buy just one, but there was a two-plus-one promotion, so I’d grabbed three cans on impulse.
After retrieving the drinks and sandwich, I gazed back at the park when I suddenly sensed a presence and glanced to my side.
Beside me stood a man who appeared to be around my age, also gazing at the park.
Like me, he wore a suit, but notably, he had a fedora on his head.
‘Is he wearing it for style?’
Thinking it suited him rather well, I turned my attention back to the park.
Weekday morning, 11 o’clock….
The fact that a man around my age was sitting here watching the park at this hour likely meant he was in a similar situation to mine.
And I hoped he was. It was a petty emotion, really—not wanting to be the only one struggling.
Feeling a twinge of self-disgust at such a thought, I shook my head slightly and, pulling a beverage from my bag, quietly extended it toward him.
“Beautiful weather, isn’t it?”
At my casual greeting, the man glanced at me briefly.
“….”
Feeling a small wave of embarrassment under his silent gaze, I smiled and pulled out two more beverages from my bag to show him.
“The Convenience Store had a two-plus-one deal. I was going to buy just one, but single items are expensive anyway, so I ended up grabbing three.”
Offering an awkward explanation, I quietly pushed the drink toward him.
“If you don’t dislike it, please have one.”
At my words, the man looked at me and then at the beverage. What I’d offered was an iced Americano.
His gaze shifted to the other drink I was holding. Because of the cross-purchase promotion, different flavors from the same brand were in my hands.
“You like sweet things.”
His casual tone caught me off guard for a moment, but I offered him the other beverage as he seemed to prefer.
“Ah… then please have this one.”
I handed him a caramel macchiato, which he accepted. He then opened the lid and took a sip.
“Delicious.”
I laughed at the Goblin Man’s words.
‘Is he older than he looks?’
I was a bit taken aback when I first heard him speak so casually to me, but strangely, it didn’t feel unpleasant.
It simply felt… fitting.
Soon after, I tore open the sandwich—a jumbo egg sandwich, with two sandwiches packed inside the vinyl wrapping.
I offered one of them back to the Goblin Man.
“If I eat both, I’ll be far too full.”
At my words, the Goblin Man looked at me before accepting it.
“I’ll eat well then.”
At his casual, natural tone once more, I glanced at him and shook my head slightly.
Then I bit into the sandwich and gazed out at the park, stealing another quick look at the Goblin Man.
He too was eating his sandwich and sipping his coffee while looking out at the park.
Following suit, I turned my gaze to the park in silence. After finishing my sandwich and coffee, I stuffed the trash into my bag.
“Then next time….”
I was about to offer a light farewell—”see you again”—but I shook my head instead.
“I hope good things come your way.”
At my words, the Goblin Man looked at me sharply.
“Why me?”
“Pardon?”
“You could have shown this kindness to others. Why me?”
At his question, I fell silent for a moment before smiling and answering.
“It’s not really kindness, but… you just seemed similar to me somehow.”
“Me? Similar to you?”
The Goblin Man tilted his head and looked me over from head to toe.
“Similar?”
He shook his head slightly as if the very idea was absurd.
Then he studied me intently before opening his mouth.
“Do you like goblin stories?”
“Pardon?”
“Goblins. They show up in dramas these days.”
“Ah… that drama, yes. I’ve seen it. It was entertaining.”
At my response, the Goblin Man nodded and spoke.
“Do you know the story of the old man with the boil?”
“That’s a famous fairy tale, isn’t it?”
“Good that you know it. Then you won’t feel wronged.”
I looked at the Goblin Man with confusion as he spoke in riddles.
‘Is this man insane?’
As I tilted my head in bewilderment, the Goblin Man spoke.
“When you wake up tomorrow, you’ll have a boil.”
“What?”
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The Goblin Man finished speaking and turned to leave, then paused with an “ah” and looked back at me.
He reached into his jacket’s inner pocket and pulled out a business card, extending it toward me.
I accepted the card almost reflexively.

「Goblin Library」

The words “Goblin Library” were embossed in silver lettering on black paper.
I lifted my head, puzzled by what this could possibly be. Confusion flickered across my face.
The man who had been standing right in front of me just moments ago had vanished.
I glanced around frantically, but no matter how hard I searched, the man was nowhere to be found.
‘What is this?’
After staring bewilderedly at my surroundings for a moment, I shook my head and slipped the business card into my wallet. I gathered the plastic bag and empty can the man had left behind into a larger bag and continued on my way.
As I resumed walking, I suddenly heard laughter from two men passing by on the side.
“What’s that?”
“Kids these days… isn’t that the same prank we used to pull back when we were young?”
My gaze shifted toward the direction the two men were pointing and laughing.
A Male Student stood there, facing the Han River.
But then…
A piece of paper was stuck to the backpack the Male Student was wearing. Something was written on it, but the distance was too great for me to read it clearly.
However… it was unlikely to be anything kind.
Papers like that were typically attached with ill intent.
I quickened my pace toward the student. As I closed the distance, I could finally make out what was written on the paper attached to his backpack.

「I’m an idiot—please hit me」

“Tsk!”
I clicked my tongue softly and slipped behind the student, deftly plucking the paper from his bag.
Snap!
Rustle!
Though my touch was gentle and the sound barely audible, the student reacted instantly.
“Ah!”
As the startled student spun around, I smiled and spoke.
“There was something stuck to your bag. I just removed it. No need to be alarmed.”
“Oh….”
Relieved that I was a stranger, the student noticed the paper clutched in my hand and asked.
“That is….”
Crinkle. Crinkle.
I crumpled the paper into my fist and spoke.
“Just a flyer.”
I added with a smile.
“So many of these get delivered to Han River Park that they end up everywhere.”
“Um….”
The student hesitated, unable to respond properly.
In the silence, I opened my briefcase while watching the student. I wanted to give him something encouraging. Inside, a single beverage remained.
‘Good thing I bought the two-for-one deal.’
I offered the drink to the student.
“Here, take this.”
“No, that’s alright.”
“It’s fine. Please take it.”
After my persistent urging, the student reluctantly accepted the beverage.
“Thank you.”
After observing the student for a moment, I spoke.
“Sometimes school feels like hell, doesn’t it? Teachers who are absolutely demonic, classmates you never want to see again… It’s because of those kids at school.”
As the student looked at me, I continued.
“When you meet those kinds of people after graduation, they all seem pathetic and weak.”
“….”
At my words, the student lowered his head and said nothing. Seeing this, I shook my head.
“What good are my words anyway? Just think of me as some meddling stranger passing through.”
I finished speaking and turned to leave. As I walked, I glanced back at the student.
He was staring blankly at Han River again.
I shook my head. There was plenty of advice I could give to a kid suffering from bullying and school violence.
I could tell him to fight back every time they hit him from behind or harass him, that if he kept it up, they’d eventually stop. But advice is easy to give—actually following through is never simple.
Everyone knows that not smoking or drinking is good for your health, yet almost no one actually does it.
‘School violence is the problem, the real problem.’
I shook my head slightly and continued walking. The business card I’d received from the Goblin Man had already slipped from my mind.

***

I opened my eyes in my apartment and felt a strange heaviness in my head.
No, more precisely, my jaw felt weighted down.
‘What’s this? Did I sleep wrong?’
Muttering to myself, I scratched at my jaw with my hand.
A soft, muffled sound.
“Huh?”
My angular jawline should have scraped roughly, but instead something heavy and rounded brushed against my fingers.
It was almost as if….
“What?”
The sensation felt more like scratching my backside than my chin. My face went rigid as I swept my hand across my jaw.
Something soft and lumpy came away in my grasp. I seized the mass with both hands and bolted toward the bathroom.
And then….
“Ahhh!”
I screamed as I saw my reflection in the mirror. On my chin hung a lump the size of a fist.
“What is this?”
Staring at the growth with wide eyes, I wondered if it was swelling and pressed it from different angles with my fingers.
But it was far too large to be mere swelling. It was the size of a fist, after all.
And it appeared overnight after a single night’s sleep? It made no sense.
Wondering if this was a dream, I squeezed the lump hard with my fingernails.
“Ow!”
The sharp, intense pain startled me into pulling my hand away and checking the mirror again.
My fingernail marks were clearly visible on the lump.
Unable to grasp the reality of the situation, I stared blankly at my chin in the reflection.
After a long moment, I finally came to my senses, hurried out of the bathroom, and got dressed.
“A hospital…. I need to go to a hospital.”
There was no way I could live with such a grotesque growth that would draw whispers from anyone who saw it. I had to get to a hospital immediately and have it surgically removed.
Once fully dressed, I grabbed my wallet and rushed out of the apartment.
The moment I stepped outside, I opened a taxi app on my phone. No matter how distressed I was, I wasn’t so out of my mind as to take public transportation with this thing on my face.
Besides, I was in a hurry.
“Come on, hurry up.”
As I muttered and walked, a yellow sports car caught my eye—a luxury sports car with a horse emblem I’d only seen on television.
But what truly captured my attention wasn’t the sports car itself, but the man looking at me through its lowered window.
It was the man I’d seen at Han River Park yesterday.
And the moment I saw him, his words from yesterday came flooding back.

-When you wake up tomorrow, you’ll have a lump.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————