Goblin Library - Chapter 56

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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 56

Yu Tae-poong exhaled softly as he turned the final page.
“Ahhh….”
It was deeply moving. Though he had lived bearing the curse of a traitor, Lim Ok-beom was a true patriot.
Even the Independence Fighter who had shot at him—he hoped they would escape safely….
Still lingering in the afterglow, Yu Tae-poong gazed silently at the book when he suddenly felt a gaze upon him.
Looking up, he found Dung Carrier Goblin watching him with an expression on the verge of tears.
“Brother?”
When Yu Tae-poong looked at him in confusion, Dung Carrier Goblin slapped his own face and laughed.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Yes. Very much… It was deeply moving. My heart feels so full….”
“You’re the first being to feel such emotion upon reading my words. That’s why… my heart is so moved as well.”
Dung Carrier Goblin smiled.
“To think my writing could stir such feelings…. I’m glad I chose to write.”
At Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong looked at him, then gently caressed the book.
“Some say our nation’s independence was due to American nuclear weapons… but I believe it was because there were righteous patriots who strived for our nation’s independence.”
Some claim that Korea achieved independence not through the efforts of independence activists, but purely thanks to America’s atomic bomb.
They say that without the nuclear bomb falling on Japan, there would have been no independence.
But because such independence activists existed, independence was achieved. Without them, foreign powers might have judged that Koreans lacked the will for independence and left the peninsula as Japanese territory, or made it a vassal state of America or the Soviet Union.
“Because there were such people who desired and strived for independence, independence was achieved. I don’t think I could have summoned such courage.”
If I had been in Lim Ok-beom’s situation? Then I would have immediately tried to persuade the other person, saying ‘I am also an independence fighter. And so on and so forth…’.
In such circumstances, surviving by any means is a choice for one’s homeland, and dying by a Joseon person’s hand rather than a Japanese person’s—isn’t that a dog’s death?… I would have fabricated such self-justifications.
But can this be called mere self-justification? Logically, I don’t think there’s a flaw in the reasoning.
After pondering briefly, Yu Tae-poong shifted his gaze to Dung Carrier Goblin. Dung Carrier Goblin’s eyes glistened with joy.
“But I have a question.”
“What is it? What is it?”
“The text does explain it, but… wouldn’t it have been better to persuade the assassin rather than simply accept death?”
Yu Tae-poong continued, looking at Dung Carrier Goblin.
“If he had persuaded him and survived, he could have done much more for independence, couldn’t he?”
At that, Dung Carrier Goblin gazed at the book, seeming to ponder for a moment, then drew out his goblin club and waved it lightly.
Whoooosh!
“Ask him directly.”
With a pleased expression, as Dung Carrier Goblin spoke, Yu Tae-poong looked at him in bewilderment. At that very moment, the book opened by itself.
Fwip!
And on the final page, words began to inscribe themselves.
「Thank you for viewing me so favorably… hmm… is ‘favorable’ the right word? It feels awkward to call it moving… Anyway, thanks. I’m Lim Ok-beom.」
Startled by the words appearing on the page, Yu Tae-poong looked at Dung Carrier Goblin. When Dung Carrier Goblin smiled and nodded, Yu Tae-poong bowed his head toward the book.
“It was truly moving. Because there are people like you, Lim Ok-beom, I feel I can exist as a Korean. Thank you so much.”
「I appreciate you thinking that way. So… Joseon, or is it South Korea now?」
“Yes, it is.”
「Has South Korea become a happy nation?」
At Lim Ok-beom’s question, Yu Tae-poong nearly answered “yes” before catching himself.
Happiness is relative. Having tasted society’s bitterness more than once, it felt wrong for Yu Tae-poong to call South Korea a happy place.
Why else would the term “Hell Joseon” even exist?
Yet to deny it felt equally wrong… though the man before him was a fictional character, he had fought and died for Joseon’s independence—truly for the happiness of the Joseon people.
It was difficult to readily tell such a person, “South Korea is not so happy right now.”
After a moment of thought, Yu Tae-poong spoke.
“It’s difficult to answer whether South Korea is happy. However, it has become a nation where one can pursue happiness through earnest effort.”
「A nation that pursues happiness… I see.」
Yu Tae-poong spoke while imagining that if Lim Ok-beom were before him now, he would be smiling.
“A question arose as I read the novel.”
「Ask away.」
“Though the novel explained it… I wondered if it wouldn’t have been better for you to persuade the assassin and live.”
「Is that so?」
“If you had lived, couldn’t you have continued sending high-level intelligence from the Joseon Governor-General’s Office to the Independence Army? Of course, even if your trained informants remained in the Governor-General’s Office… wouldn’t it be harder for them to gather information than you could?”
「….」
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, Lim Ok-beom expressed his contemplation with ellipses before answering.
「Assassinating a high-ranking traitor like myself would not have been prepared by him alone. His comrades would have surveilled me for months, mapping out all the places I frequented. Assassination isn’t simply a matter of taking a gun and firing—bang—and it’s done. Months of intelligence gathering are necessary to carry out a single operation.」
The writing paused briefly before continuing.
「After such investigation, they would have chosen a date when success seemed most probable… if he had returned without killing me, he would need to explain this to his comrades, and naturally my identity would become known to all of them. I had to keep my identity hidden.」
“But they’re also Independence Fighters—why would they need to hide it? After all, if he attempted to assassinate you thinking you were a traitor, isn’t he a comrade?”
「Just as I was a spy for Japan, there are Japanese spies within the Independence Army too. The likelihood that my identity would leak to those spies is considerable.」
“What if you told only trustworthy people?”
The book inscribed words as Yu Tae-poong tried desperately to create reasons why Lim Ok-beom could have lived, regretting his death.
「Who would have suspected that a vile pro-Japanese collaborator like me was a spy for the Independence Army? I, a high-ranking official of the Joseon Governor-General’s Office and one of the wealthiest men in Joseon. Why would anyone think I’d become a spy?」
“That’s….”
When Yu Tae-poong couldn’t continue, Lim Ok-beom wrote again.
「It’s the same logic. If someone like me could be a spy, then within the Independence Army, someone who appears to anyone as ‘this person is a comrade worthy of trusting with one’s life’ could also be a spy.」
The writing paused before continuing.
「That’s why I had to die. That way, Japan wouldn’t learn that there’s a spy for the Independence Army in the Joseon Governor-General’s Office. And when I die, the Japanese will trust the Joseon people in the Governor-General’s Office even more… my death is not a meaningless one but rather seeds of independence sown within the Joseon Governor-General’s Office.」
At Lim Ok-beom’s words, Yu Tae-poong sighed.
“I spoke because your passing seemed so unfortunate.”
「In my time… many died that way.」
The phrase “in my time” is what people commonly call an old person’s habit of speaking. Yet to Yu Tae-poong, those words sounded profoundly sad.
「Still, I have no regrets. Born as a Joseon person… I lived earnestly for Joseon and acted earnestly. So I have no regrets. Ha!」
Lim Ok-beom laughed and then wrote again.
「And… while alive, I was somewhat afraid and lonely, but strangely, now that I’m dead, I feel unburdened.」
“Do you feel relieved?”
「Takeda… though he was Japanese, he was truly a good-hearted and wonderful person.」
“But, from the book’s content, wasn’t his job to arrest Independence Fighters?”
「I am Joseon, and he is Japanese… he simply did his duty diligently. So one cannot judge good and evil by that alone. At the very least, Takeda treated people according to the law. He didn’t distinguish between Japanese or Joseon—he only judged by whether they followed the law.」
At Lim Ok-beom’s words, Yu Tae-poong nodded. Indeed, the book contained an episode where Takeda imprisoned a Japanese man who had beaten a Joseon person for assault.
He didn’t discriminate against Joseon people. That’s why he treated Lim Ok-beom, a Joseon person, without prejudice and maintained their friendship.
「I exploited such a friend’s loyalty to obtain information from him, so my heart was never at ease. Moreover, never knowing when this spy work would be exposed, even while smiling, my insides were constantly burning. And I felt such remorse toward my fellow countrymen who suffered from my traitorous acts… So when I was shot, my heart felt at peace. I thought, now this hellish life is finally over.」
As Yu Tae-poong read Lim Ok-beom’s writing, he spoke.
“You must have suffered greatly in your heart.”
「I couldn’t reveal my feelings to anyone… and I was so afraid I might leak the secret in my sleep that I could never sleep deeply.」
Yu Tae-poong lowered his head.
“You truly endured so much. And I am truly grateful.”
When Yu Tae-poong offered his sincere thanks, Lim Ok-beom, who had been silent for a moment, wrote again.
「If my descendants in the Afterlife heard such words, they would have been truly delighted.」
And no more writing appeared.
Yu Tae-poong called out to Lim Ok-beom in confusion.
“Doctor?”
Then Dung Carrier Goblin shook his head and spoke.
“I’ve used up too many view counts.”
“Ah…”
Yu Tae-poong looked at the book. The conversation had gone longer than expected, and it seemed Dung Carrier Goblin had exhausted all the view counts he could bear.
“I’m sorry. My book hasn’t been read by many people, so I couldn’t accumulate many view counts.”
“No, that’s not it.”
Then, turning to Dung Carrier Goblin, he spoke.
“That was truly excellent writing.”
A bright smile spread across Dung Carrier Goblin’s face.
“Did you like it?”
“Yes, I did. If the serialization goes well, it would be wonderful as a drama adaptation too.”
“A drama? Hahaha!”
At the mention of a drama, Dung Carrier Goblin burst into genuinely delighted laughter.
“If my writing were to be adapted into a visual medium, that would truly be wonderful. Ah! And if it does get produced, I’d love for actor Seo In-beom to play the role of Lim Ok-beom.”
“Seo In-beom?”
“Seo In-beom resembles Lim Ok-beom.”
At Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong recalled Seo In-beom. He was a well-known leading male actor.
“Doctor Lim Ok-beom must have been quite handsome.”
“He was handsome.”
Dung Carrier Goblin answered thus and smiled contentedly. Dung Carrier Goblin was in better spirits than ever.
Yu Tae-poong had truly enjoyed reading his book.
Whoosh!
Then a book slid toward Yu Tae-poong.

Hong-ae
Author: Pot Goblin

“Our Hong-ae is a good one too.”
At Pot Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong nodded and was about to open his book when he glanced at the laptop monitor the two goblins were watching.
They had been maintaining their serialization steadily. Following Yu Tae-poong’s advice, they posted about five chapters on the first day, and from then on, they uploaded one chapter’s worth of content per day.
So now there were ten chapters serialized….
But the view counts were dismal. Both of them had view counts for the first chapter that didn’t exceed thirty, and from then on the numbers dropped steadily until by the tenth chapter it had fallen below ten.
As for serialization performance… no, at this level it couldn’t even be called performance. But….
“Oh! Pot, you went up by one.”
“Great! Now it’s ten! Huh? Your first chapter views went up by one too?”
“Oh! Really. One person came in.”
The two goblins were delighted over a single view count increase.
Watching the two goblins like that, Yu Tae-poong shook his head and opened the book Hong-ae.
And a smile appeared on Yu Tae-poong’s face.
“Wow….”
Yu Tae-poong held out the open page to Pot Goblin.
“Is this Hong-ae?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, Pot Goblin took her eyes off the laptop and looked at the page.
On the open page was a portrait drawn in ink. It was a beautiful woman dressed elegantly in traditional Korean clothing.
The woman with eyebrows and nose bridge drawn as if with a brush stroke, Hong-ae possessed a beauty that suited the aesthetic standards of the present era.
Looking at Hong-ae’s portrait, Pot Goblin smiled.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Hong-ae.”
“The portrait is drawn so beautifully. Did you draw it, Pot Goblin?”
“I have no talent for drawing. It was drawn by an artist who loved Hong-ae. I simply captured it like this.”
“I see.”
Yu Tae-poong stared at Hong-ae’s portrait and asked.
“But she looks very young.”
The woman in the picture was quite elegant and beautiful, but she also appeared very young.
“Young? No, that’s not it. She was just a woman of that age, that’s all.”
“Not young?”
“When that portrait was drawn, was she seventeen?”
At the mention of seventeen, Yu Tae-poong was startled and looked at the portrait again.
‘A courtesan at seventeen?’

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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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