Goblin Library - Chapter 55

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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 55

“Lim Ok-beom was an Independence Fighter whose name was never recorded in history.”
“An Independence Fighter whose name was never recorded in history?”
Yu Tae-poong’s question prompted the Dung Carrier Goblin to nod.
“Among the people of Joseon back then, there were many who devoted themselves to the independence movement without anyone knowing. A local notable was criticized for squandering his wealth through gambling, but in truth, he was disguising his funding of the Independence Army as gambling to evade Japanese eyes. Ah! The Playing Cards Goblin’s story about that notable is his greatest masterpiece.”
“Such things really happened?”
Following the Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, the Pot Goblin added her thoughts.
“There’s also the courtesan Hong-ae.”
“Hong-ae?”
“She’s the protagonist of the novel 【Hong-ae】 that I wrote. Though her name wasn’t recorded in history, Hong-ae gathered intelligence from Japanese soldiers and Japanese officials at the kisaeng house, and the Independence Army launched numerous operations based on that information.”
At the Pot Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong asked.
“What became of her?”
“Sadly… she died without seeing independence.”
“She didn’t fight for independence to leave her name behind… but still, it’s bittersweet.”
At the two goblins’ murmuring, Yu Tae-poong asked.
“You’re goblins, yet you think such things?”
“They were born on the same land as us and fought for the same cause. They didn’t know of us… but back then, we and they were comrades.”
Yu Tae-poong smiled.
“If they’re people like that, I’d like to see their stories too.”
Yu Tae-poong, having spoken, adjusted his glasses with his finger and concentrated.
“Dung Carrier Goblin’s 【Lim Ok-beom】, Pot Goblin’s 【Hong-ae】.”
Whoosh!
Then a route to the locations of the two books appeared on Yu Tae-poong’s glasses.
Yu Tae-poong stood up to head toward the shelves but paused, looking at the two goblins.
“Since these are first serializations, upload only about five chapters, each around five thousand characters.”
“Only five chapters?”
Following the bewildered Dung Carrier Goblin, the Pot Goblin asked.
“But it’s already complete. Can’t we upload it all at once?”
“People prefer following a serialization. They don’t enjoy reading a completed work all at once. If you upload everything at once, most people won’t read it.”
“Is that so?”
“With internet novels, the quality of the writing matters, but so does the serialization strategy.”
Speaking, Yu Tae-poong moved toward the shelves. He then returned with two books: 【Lim Ok-beom】 and 【Hong-ae】.
When Yu Tae-poong returned, the two goblins were intently watching the monitor.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking if the view count is going up.”
“We uploaded it, but the view count isn’t increasing. Is this thing broken?”
At the two goblins’ words, Yu Tae-poong laughed.
“How many people do you think will see a post from a newcomer at this hour? If we wait, viewers will come.”
With that, I settled into my seat and opened a book.
‘Lim Ok-beom, the national traitor…’
Lim Ok-beom’s father had been a Japanese collaborator from the start. And not just any collaborator—he was a highly ‘competent’ senior one. That was precisely why Lim Ok-beom, despite being Joseon-born, could hold a prestigious position within the Joseon Governor-General’s Office. A background befitting his reputation as a traitor.
Yet Lim Ok-beom was secretly extracting information from the Joseon Governor-General’s Office and passing it to the Independence Army’s informants.
Because he concealed his identity so thoroughly, even the informants had no idea who was feeding them the intelligence.

***

Dressed impeccably in a Western suit, Lim Ok-beom entered the tea house he frequented after work with his Japanese friend Takeda.
“Your schedule never changes, does it?”
At Takeda’s remark, Lim Ok-beom smiled and settled into a window seat before responding.
“There’s nothing quite like a cup of tea after work to ease the mind.”
Takeda shook his head at Lim Ok-beom’s words and sat across from him. It hardly mattered to him.
Thanks to Lim Ok-beom, he could enjoy fine tea and Western pastries.
After ordering tea and pastries from a server, Lim Ok-beom gazed absently out the window.
Takeda followed his gaze. Beyond the glass, people and rickshaws moved busily back and forth.
Then a few passersby seemed to sense the attention and looked toward the window. Upon spotting Lim Ok-beom through the glass, they squinted, spat on the ground, and hurried away.
At the sight, Takeda’s eyes narrowed and he exclaimed.
“Those—those insolent wretches!”
But Lim Ok-beom merely smiled faintly. Takeda looked at him with bewilderment.
“They spit at you, and you find it amusing?”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“Because it means I’m doing my job well, doesn’t it?”
“Ha!”
While Takeda sat dumbfounded, Lim Ok-beom withdrew a notebook and pencil from his pocket.
Then he began writing something in the notebook.
“What are you doing?”
“Since they spat at me, I’m recording their descriptions to give to my servants.”
“Your servants?”
“They need to be caught and beaten, don’t they?”
At Lim Ok-beom’s words, Takeda stared at him blankly before bursting into hearty laughter.
“You’re truly ruthless. Ruthless indeed.”
Lim Ok-beom smiled faintly at Takeda’s comment and folded the notebook, pushing it aside.
Then, conversing with Takeda, he casually lowered his hand beneath the table and slipped it underneath.
As his palm brushed the underside of the table, a sheet of paper came into his grasp.
Tap, tap.
Carefully peeling away the paper that had been affixed with adhesive, Lim Ok-beom discreetly slipped it into his pocket.
“I need to visit the Bathroom for a moment.”
『Quite so.』
Lim Ok-beom, having excused himself to Takeda, slipped into the bathroom.
After confirming no one was nearby, he withdrew a slip of paper from his pocket.
Whoosh!

「1-4, 2-5….」

Numbers were scrawled across the paper. He studied them, then turned his gaze to the bathroom wall.
Chinese characters were written in small script across the antiquated wallpaper. Lim Ok-beom pointed to each character with his finger.
‘Jongno Police Station, Lee Geun-ho Prison Transfer Time, Urgent.’
Lim Ok-beom arranged the characters according to the numbers, committing the message to memory, then tore the paper into shreds and discarded it down the toilet.
When he returned to his seat, Takeda was already enjoying his tea and cookies.
『The cookies here taste wonderful no matter when you eat them.』
At Takeda’s words, Lim Ok-beom smiled and raised his hand slightly.
As the attendant approached, Lim Ok-beom spoke.
『One box of cookies—no, two boxes. Please wrap them for me.』
『Very well, sir.』
After the attendant withdrew, Lim Ok-beom took a sip of tea and spoke.
『Have them sent to Sumiko.』
『Phew! Much obliged.』
Takeda, smiling as he reached for another cookie, lowered his voice.
『But you know what?』
Sensing he was about to share something confidential, Lim Ok-beom leaned toward him. Then Takeda spoke with playful mischief.
『My wife eats more than my daughter.』
『Ha!』
Lim Ok-beom laughed heartily and replied.
『That’s precisely why I bought two boxes. Two women to feed, after all.』
『This is why the women in my household are so fond of you.』
Lim Ok-beom nodded at Takeda’s words and asked.
『Are there still many independence fighters these days?』
At the mention of independence fighters, Takeda shook his head as if to say not to speak of it.
『Just thinking about those independence fighters gives me a headache. We catch them, but there’s no end to it. There’s a Joseon saying that the mountains and rivers change in ten years, yet even after the mountains and rivers have changed several times over, I cannot fathom why they remain so stubborn.』
Observing Takeda’s disapproving expression, Lim Ok-beom nodded.
『That’s precisely why things remain as they are.』
『Indeed. Indeed.』
Watching Takeda nod in agreement, Lim Ok-beom took a sip of tea and spoke.
『With so many independence fighters about, the Jongno Police Station must be bursting at the seams.』
『We’re transferring them to prison quite frequently as it is.』
『You must be working hard.』
『What hardship do I endure? It’s the officers at Jongno Police Station who are truly overworked.』
At Takeda’s words, Lim Ok-beom fell into thought for a moment, then drained his teacup and rose to his feet.
“Let’s go to Jongno Police Station.”
“Huh! Are you going to buy them food again?”
“They’re people who work hard, aren’t they?”
At Lim Ok-beom’s words, Takeda finished the remaining cookies on the plate and stood up.
Lim Ok-beom paid for the tea and headed to Jongno Police Station with Takeda.

***

“So this is how they made contact.”
For the past few days, whenever Yu Tae-poong came to work at the Goblin Library, he found Lim Ok-beom’s book genuinely entertaining. The content was far too good to be mistaken for something written by the Dung Carrier Goblin.
Lim Ok-beom was cursed and shunned by most Joseon people. In a way, he was despised even more than the Dung Carrier Goblin.
This was because Lim Ok-beom went beyond simply working for the Joseon Governor-General’s Office—his private actions were thoroughly contemptible and deserving of hatred. At times, he even took the lead in harassing innocent civilians.
Yet behind the scenes, he obtained information the Independence Army desired through his own methods.
But… he never lived to see independence.

***

As usual, Lim Ok-beom stopped by a tea house and sat by the window. While quietly sipping tea and reading the newspaper, a flicker of confusion crossed his eyes.
He sensed someone sitting down across from him.
Could it be… a contact? That shouldn’t be possible.
The contact didn’t know who he was. He had made them swear never to try to learn his identity.
Once, the contact had tried to surveil the meeting place to discover who he was.
When Lim Ok-beom realized this, he withheld information for a month. Instead, he sent a separate message to where the contact was hiding.
If they tried once more to learn his identity, he would provide no more information.
While the contact didn’t know Lim Ok-beom’s identity, Lim Ok-beom knew exactly who they were.
They were an Independence Fighter he had secretly extracted from Jongno Police Station.
His own identity had to remain absolutely secret. Not because he feared being captured by Japanese police after the independence activists were caught and his secret was exposed.
But because he had to prevent the disappearance of the spies he had planted in the upper echelons of the Joseon Governor-General’s Office. Only then could he pass information for independence and help the Independence Army.
With his eyes still on the newspaper, Lim Ok-beom glanced forward. The man sitting across from him was someone he’d never seen before.
And…
Click!
A small metallic sound rang out.
Whoosh!
Lim Ok-beom’s face hardened as he looked toward the sound. A newspaper the man had brought lay on the table.
And between the pages of the newspaper, a revolver was visible.
“Hmm…”
The man spoke in a low voice, watching Lim Ok-beom exhale softly.
“Traitor to the nation, Lim Ok-beom. I will execute you.”
At the man’s words, Lim Ok-beom looked at him for a moment, then spoke.
‘I always knew death could come for me someday.’
But I never imagined it would be at the hands of an Independence Fighter.
Lim Ok-beom understood he would die here. His true identity was unknown even to his own contact handler. So even if he revealed everything to the Independence Fighter standing before him now, they would never believe a word of it.
Besides… a man attempting to assassinate a high-ranking official like himself could never be working alone.
Even if, by some miracle, he believed my words and spared my life, my identity would be exposed. In that case… death was the better choice.
To protect the other informants hidden within the Joseon Governor-General’s Office…
‘Do what you must.’
At Lim Ok-beom’s calm words, the Independence Fighter looking at him spoke.
‘Do you wish to apologize to our people before the end?’
Lim Ok-beom smiled.
‘I, Lim Ok-beom… lived diligently from birth and did my duty to the best of my ability. So… I have no regrets in this life.’
As he spoke, Lim Ok-beom gazed out the window. The sunlight streaming in was unusually warm and brilliant today.
Hoping that the sunlight of an independent Joseon would shine even more brilliantly than this, Lim Ok-beom smiled.
Bang!
With the sharp crack of the gunshot, Lim Ok-beom’s head bowed.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Independence Fighter pulled the trigger three more times, then shoved through the stunned crowd and bolted toward the bathroom.
‘Aaaahhhhh!’
‘Lim Ok-beom!’
‘Someone’s been shot!’
Amid the screams of the crowd, Lim Ok-beom watched the Independence Fighter flee. And in a voice growing fainter, he whispered.
‘May you… be safe…’

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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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