Goblin Library - Chapter 168

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 168.

I was wiping away the foam clinging to my feet after taking the foot mold when the Factory Employees came downstairs.
“Welcome back, sir.”
“Did you have a good trip?”
“It was so-so. Anyway, I brought back some foreign sweets. Pick whichever you like.”
“Sweets? If you went abroad, couldn’t you have brought back something nicer?”
“If you don’t like it, I won’t give you any.”
“No, sir. We’re grateful for them.”
Still, the exotic sweets were a curiosity, and as the Factory Employees picked through the candies in the suitcase one by one, the Shoe Goblin looked at Yu Tae-poong.
“What do you think of my shop?”
“It’s wonderful. The leather scent is… subtle and pleasant.”
The Shoe Goblin retrieved one of the shoes displayed on the wall and caressed it with his hand before speaking.
“Raw leather has a strong smell, but leather processed like this has a lovely fragrance.”
At the Shoe Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong looked around the shop. The walls were lined with countless shoes, and the display counter in the center of the shop held more.
“There must be hundreds of pairs of shoes just here.”
“About that many, yes.”
“But if you make custom shoes by taking a foot mold for each customer, don’t you sell the shoes on display?”
“The displayed ones are samples—we don’t sell them. After all, they were all made by our designers using their own foot size molds, so they’re uncomfortable for other people to wear.”
“Can’t other people wear them?”
“If the size is the same, they can wear them. But…”
The Shoe Goblin held out a shoe. When Yu Tae-poong took it, the Shoe Goblin spoke.
“Feel the insole of the shoe with your hand.”
At the Shoe Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong inserted his hand and felt the insole.
“There are some slightly raised areas on the bottom.”
“That’s because we shape the sole according to the contours of the foot. So when someone else wears them, those parts feel uncomfortable.”
The Shoe Goblin smiled and took the shoe back.
“Every person’s foot shape is different, like fingerprints. That’s why there’s only one custom-made shoe that’s right for me.”
The Shoe Goblin looked at Yu Tae-poong.
“One and only one, made solely for me. That’s what custom-made shoes truly are.”
“That’s a beautiful way to put it.”
“It’s also my sales pitch. When I say things like that, customers feel even more satisfied as they purchase their shoes.”
At the Shoe Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong nodded and then looked at Master Jang.
“How long have you known Master Jang?”
“Long… if you consider the span of a human life, you could say it’s been a long time.”
Then the Shoe Goblin smiled and spoke.
“He was my senior.”
“Your senior?”
Shoe Goblin spoke as he observed Yu Tae-poong’s bewildered expression.
“Among goblins, I’m on the younger side.”
Dung Carrier Goblin nodded in agreement.
“In human terms, you could call him a newborn.”
Shoe Goblin chuckled softly.
“Of course, there are goblins younger than me, but in this world, I’m still young. Western shoes only arrived in our country, and people didn’t start wearing them widely until less than a hundred years ago.”
Shoe Goblin smiled and looked at Master Jang.
“When I was born and realized my essence was shoes, I wanted to learn how to make them.”
“But you’re a Shoe Goblin—didn’t you know how to make shoes?”
“I didn’t. We are beings that exist simply by existing.”
“That sounds complicated.”
“It’s simple. You use a smartphone, but you don’t know how to make one, right?”
“That’s true.”
Dung Carrier Goblin interjected into their conversation.
“I know how to make dung carriers.”
“That’s just… a few pieces of wood hammered together, isn’t it?”
“What are you talking about? If you make it wrong, the balance is off and all the dung spills everywhere.”
Shoe Goblin shook his head at Dung Carrier Goblin’s words.
“I can make one.”
“You?”
“If I can make shoes, can’t I make a simple wooden carrier?”
Making shoes requires extremely delicate handiwork.
Because of this, as long as the process wasn’t overly complex, anything made by hand—including woodcraft—could be created.
Then Shoe Goblin looked at Dung Carrier Goblin.
“You can’t make shoes, can you?”
“Well… hmm! Not shoes, but I can make straw sandals.”
“Pfft!”
At Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Shoe Goblin shook his head slightly and spoke.
“Anyway, Master Jang was a senior at the workshop where I went to learn shoemaking. We both learned how to make shoes from the Company President. And through various circumstances, I discovered I was a goblin, and after that, we ended up running a shoe shop together.”
“You must have quite a story to tell.”
“Oh! Master Jang’s novel is in the Goblin Library too, so feel free to read it sometime if you’d like.”
“Master Jang’s novel is in the Goblin Library?”
“When Master Jang was young, he wanted to show that Korean shoes could compete on the world stage. That ambition suited my novel’s protagonist, so I wrote it.”
Shoe Goblin smiled as he looked at Master Jang and spoke.
“But then I discovered I was a goblin and stopped writing. How could I continue when the protagonist in my novel had met the author?”
“I suppose that makes sense. But how did you find out?”
I was curious how he discovered it, since goblins looked no different from humans on the surface. At my question, Shoe Goblin laughed and replied.
“It’s simple. When you spend enough time together, you naturally find out.”
“How?”
“Lately, pigeons spend more time on the ground than in the sky, don’t they?”
“That’s right.”
After all, whenever you visit a park, you’ll see countless pigeons wandering about, pecking at scraps of food scattered on the ground.
“Then can’t that pigeon fly through the sky?”
“That’s not the case.”
“It’s simply more convenient to walk, and easier to find food that way, so it walks. But when necessary or startled, it takes to the sky. That doesn’t mean the pigeon finds flying difficult, though. It’s as natural as breathing.”
The Shoe Goblin laughed and looked at Yu Tae-poong.
“That’s why you get caught if you know each other for too long. Even if a goblin blends naturally among humans and lives among them, they inevitably do things humans cannot, without even realizing it.”
“Ah… I see.”
For instance, you might carelessly open a door because you need to go somewhere urgently, only to find your destination unfolding beyond it instead of the path that should be there.
“I got caught when I was making shoes and absentmindedly reached out my hand for a tool.”
“Ah… so the tool flew to you?”
“It just appeared right in front of my hand. Hehehehe! Master Jang’s expression at that moment was priceless. He looked at me as if I were a ghost.”
Though truthfully, there might not be much difference between a ghost and a goblin.
“That’s why you’re bound to get caught if you know each other long enough. No matter how careful you are, you can’t be careful about breathing itself.”
As we were conversing, the employees carried in their luggage. Then Master Jang brought over a file folder.
“Once the foot mold is completed, please visit us again. We’ll verify that the mold was made properly and review the design once more at that time.”
“Didn’t we already look at the design earlier?”
“Earlier was merely to understand your preferences. Once the foot mold is ready, I’ll recommend several options that suit it better. You can choose from among those. And….”
Master Jang glanced at the Shoe Goblin before continuing.
“Since you are the first human friend and goblin friend to visit our shop, we’ll take excellent care of you.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll contact you once it’s completed.”
As he spoke, he extended the file folder, which Yu Tae-poong accepted and opened. Inside were personal details recorded.

***

The warehouse was bustling with activity. Today was finally the day when the shipment from Korea would arrive at the warehouse.
Five trucks were lined up in front of the warehouse, preparing to unload their cargo.
Vroom! Vroom!
Mahmoud’s forklift lifted the cargo one piece at a time and carried it into the warehouse.
Meanwhile, Salim and Hamad checked the incoming inventory of the goods.
Lee Gang-hun also examined the shipment, then noticed the Helpful Drivers waiting with bored expressions.
He set a large pot on a portable gas stove and brought in a water container that had been left outside.
The container outside held warm water. In this country, where the sun blazed mercilessly hot, leaving a water container outside naturally turned it into hot water.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Lee Gang-hun lit the flame, watching the faintly steaming water.
Then, smoking a cigarette, he approached the Helpful Drivers who were waiting for their turn and spoke with a smile.
“You must be bored waiting. Would you like some instant noodles?”
“Instant noodles?”
“Korean instant noodles.”
When Lee Gang-hun showed them the package of instant noodles in his hand, the Helpful Drivers exchanged glances with each other before nodding.
“Korean instant noodles taste good.”
“Isn’t it spicy?”
“Korean instant noodles are meant to be eaten spicy.”
Once the Helpful Drivers seemed to reach a consensus, Lee Gang-hun gestured. He led them to one side of the warehouse, confirmed the water was already boiling, and began tearing open the noodle packages.
“I did some trading in this country about ten years ago.”
“Ten years ago? That was during the civil war—it must have been incredibly dangerous. You were here then?”
“Yes, I narrowly escaped death from the rebels many times.”
“Wait, what kind of trading involves risking death from rebels?”
“My goods were in territory controlled by the rebels.”
“You didn’t actually go in to retrieve them, did you?”
“Ha ha ha!”
Lee Gang-hun laughed as he spoke.
“What merchant abandons his own goods? I went in with the forklift driver over there, loaded everything onto the truck, and got out. I nearly died that day.”
As Lee Gang-hun added the noodles to the boiling water, the Helpful Driver beside him tore open the soup packet and poured it in.
Lee Gang-hun called out to Mahmoud, who was operating the forklift, and the other workers.
“Come eat some instant noodles!”
“We need to unload the cargo quickly so you can all get to your other jobs,” Mahmoud said, looking at the Helpful Drivers. He meant they would eat if the drivers permitted it.
The Helpful Drivers chuckled at this.
The Helpful Drivers laughed softly.
“We’re all just trying to make a living here, so let’s eat.”
“Right. How long does it take to eat noodles? If cargo can be stolen in ten minutes, it was never mine to begin with.”
“Come on over then.”
At the Helpful Drivers’ words, Mahmoud finished stacking the remaining cargo and climbed down from the forklift.
Once the workers arrived, Lee Gang-hun took out kimchi from the refrigerator and set it out.
“If it’s not enough, I can make more, so eat at your leisure.”
Lee Gang-hun distributed paper cups and chopsticks. As the ramen finished cooking, people began ladling it into their cups and eating.
Lee Gang-hun casually struck up a conversation with the drivers enjoying their ramen.
『Do many goods still come through the harbor these days?』
『Plenty of them.』
『Indeed.』
『Do many items arrive from countries other than China?』
『Ah! So you’re curious whether these kinds of products come from other countries?』
One of the drivers glanced around as he spoke, and Lee Gang-hun nodded in response.
『Yes, what would you say?』
『Plenty of foreign products come in. Most are Chinese-made, though.』
Another driver eating ramen interjected with a knowing tone.
『Is that really what you wanted to ask?』
He then gestured toward the boxes and spoke.
『You’re asking whether equipment like what’s here comes from somewhere other than China, right? Am I correct?』
『That’s right.』
Lee Gang-hun nodded, and the driver smiled as he continued.
『They do come in.』
『Ah, so they do arrive.』
『Every so often, containers with non-Chinese goods come through. I once transported such items, and the merchants divided the boxes among themselves, taking several each.』
Lee Gang-hun nodded with evident interest at the driver’s account.
It seemed the small merchants who understood the Chinese goods issue were importing items from other countries and distributing them. They were peddlers in the truest sense.
From that conversation, Lee Gang-hun appeared to have discovered a new sales channel.

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