I Regressed and Became Too Good at Brewing - Chapter 47

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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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Episode 47. Hops and Hope (3)
The fact that this sound was inaudible to ordinary humans like Jin-woo and Eun-chae was certain proof that its source was a goblin.
According to Song-ha, there were broadly two conditions for a goblin to come into being.
One was that this place had been operated as a brewery from long ago.
If not that, then it would have been born from the brewery owner’s near-infinite affection.
“Did you perhaps do something similar before running the brewery here?”
“No. I was a full-time housewife, and my husband worked in sales for a mid-sized company.”
“And the previous owner of this place—did they run a brewery?”
“Oh! I heard it was originally a brewery that made Makgeolli.”
That was it.
In the case of Seonunsan Bokdeung Farm before, a young goblin had been born because Young-gil’s affection had seeped deeply into the place.
But this case seemed somewhat different.
From the look of things, a goblin must have already established itself here from the time when the Makgeolli brewery had existed.
And now, that goblin was crying out in pain.
For now, I turned my gaze toward where the sound was coming from.
The groaning sound came from the innermost part of the brewery, a dark corner of the large walk-in refrigerator that kept the beer fresh.
“Would it be all right if I took a look inside for a moment?”
At my question, Jin-woo nodded somewhat bewilderedly.
“Ah, yes… that’s our aging room and cold storage, but…”
I went straight to the refrigerator door and stepped inside.
The cold chill wrapped around my entire body, but all my senses focused on the dark crevice in the corner of the refrigerator where beer kegs—large, stainless steel sealed beer containers—were stacked.
And there I could make out a small goblin huddled in that space.

“What in the world is this…”
But this goblin was nothing like any I had seen before.
Song-ha and Mok-tong, who had settled at Songhadan, and Hyo-gi, who had recently joined them, each had their own distinctive appearance and dress—so distinct that my eyes could barely distinguish them from humans.
The same was true of the goblin at Seonunsan Bokdeung Farm.
But what about the goblin before my eyes now?
“So small.”
First, its size was remarkably tiny.
Unlike the other goblins, which had been human-sized, this creature was so small that even standing upright, it wouldn’t reach my knees.
If it had been just that, I might have simply thought, “Ah, a short goblin,” and moved on.
“It’s… fading away.”
Like smoke rising from dry ice and then vanishing into air, this creature too was trailing wisps of vapor from its body.
What’s more, the tips of its fingers and toes had become translucent, flickering as though they might disappear at any moment.
“How on earth did it come to this…”

Perhaps it had sensed a human presence nearby.
The creature opened its tightly shut eyes.
With its yellow hop-vine-like hair tousled and its yellow clothes—the color of barley beer—rustling as it shifted position, its face came into view.
A goblin with a strangely exotic appearance.

The creature, which had been on guard for a moment, suddenly gripped its small belly with both hands and began writhing on the floor, moaning.
Strangely, around its belly swirled a thick, murky gas-like aura.
As if something that shouldn’t exist was clogged inside, accumulating pressure within.
“Are you all right?”
When I spoke, the goblin clutching its belly started in alarm, opening its eyes wide.
Its foam-like yellow eyes were brimming with tears.

“It’s a long story. But right now, it seems you should focus on your own condition.”

Pain found it again, and the creature rolled about frantically.
It seemed impossible to have any proper conversation like this.

“What exactly happened?”

Stammering and groaning through the pain, the goblin explained what had befallen it.
After hearing the full story from start to finish, I couldn’t help but cry out.
“Then naturally this would happen!”
And indeed it would, for all of this trouble stemmed from a problem this goblin had brought upon itself.
* * *
‘Nobody’s coming……’
This was how Hwang-gu’s days always went.
When he first regained consciousness, this place was a Brewery that produced makgeolli.
It didn’t turn out vast quantities, and the taste wasn’t extraordinary either, but it served as the neighborhood’s gathering place.
Hwang-gu was born from the affection and love those people held for one another.
But as time wore on, fewer visitors came to the Brewery, and when it finally shuttered its doors, Hwang-gu found himself alone in this place.
That had been decades ago.
He sat on the cold floor of the abandoned Brewery, waiting for someone who might never arrive.
‘But things should get better now!’
A young couple was supposed to move in here soon.
He’d even overheard them mentioning that they both made alcohol!
Though he didn’t know what this beer was, given that it used grain and fermentation, it had to be some form of drink.
‘If it’s alcohol, I should help with all my might!’
Hadn’t he always watched the previous owner make spirits?
Well, even if much time had passed and the tools had changed, the principles of making alcohol couldn’t have.
‘A human after so long. Heh heh.’
At first, things were wonderful.
The couple truly loved their craft.
They kept the Brewery immaculate and never stopped researching ways to make tastier alcohol.
Though they couldn’t see him, Hwang-gu was always right there beside them.
Then one day came.
‘Hmm… the flavor doesn’t seem quite right……’
‘You’re right. Should we add more hops?’
‘Adding too much could cause problems. Let’s adjust gradually and see what happens.’
Even after considerable time, the novice brewers couldn’t produce alcohol that satisfied them.
That’s when Hwang-gu had an idea.
If he secretly helped them with all the knowledge he’d gained making spirits over the years, surely they’d both become happier.
The solution Hwang-gu came up with was quite simple.
‘Back when I made makgeolli, adding more nuruk always made it taste better!’
The more nuruk went in, the faster the alcohol would ferment—that was only natural.
So Hwang-gu added plenty more nuruk.
Of course, since this was a Western spirit, it didn’t look like ordinary nuruk.
It was greenish, like grass, which struck him as curious.
But since the couple always added it at the very end and fussed over it so carefully, what else could this green substance be but nuruk?
And at first, this strategy brought real success.
‘Wow! This is it! This is the one!’
‘If we refine it a bit more, it’ll be perfect!’
‘Heh heh! Since they’re happy, I’m happy too!’
When he secretly added more green nuruk, delicious beer came out just as he’d expected.
After that, Hwang-gu made a habit of adding extra green nuruk to every batch the couple brewed.
Then one day came.
‘Tsk… I won’t be able to get the yeast we’ve been using. We’ll need to source it from somewhere else.’
‘What’s the status?’
‘It’s the same strain. Let’s try it for now, and if it doesn’t work, we’ll switch.’
The moment they switched to different yeast, the problem began.
How long passed as Hwang-gu waited, secretly adding his usual extra green nuruk and hoping delicious beer would emerge?
‘Urgh… why does my belly hurt so much?’
Hwang-gu’s stomach gurgled as if he’d eaten something he shouldn’t have.
But even a goblin could withstand this much pain.
If only it had happened just once.
‘Ughhhh… my belly keeps aching……’
When a goblin’s belly hurt, it meant contamination had spread through the fermenting alcohol.
In such cases, the remedy was to add more nuruk.
So Hwang-gu did what he knew best—he added more green nuruk.
But……
‘Gaaaaahhh! It hurts too much! Ahhhhh!’
The contamination had grown far worse than before.
The human couple noticed the change first.
‘Ugh… why did the taste turn out like this?’
‘What could it be, then?’
And in that same moment, the regular customers, unable to stomach the beer’s altered taste, abandoned the brewery one by one.
Hwang-gu was a dokkaebi born from the warmth people held for one another—their desire to serve, their care.
As the people departed, Hwang-gu’s power began to wane noticeably.
Even in pain, he’d strained himself trying to restore the beer’s flavor, but now even that had become impossible.
And his belly, swollen so terribly that he could no longer move at all.
That was when Hwang-gu made his decision.
Since he was dying anyway, he would restore the flavor of beer that the couple longed for one last time, then fade away.
His body had shrunk for that very reason.
He’d poured an excessive, almost reckless amount of power into the effort.
‘And yet… I’ve failed…….’
But the beer’s taste only grew worse with each passing day.
And then came that final moment.
Hwang-gu felt it instinctively.
Once today passed, he would cease to exist.
“Are you alright?”
A human who could see him!
In all his long life, he’d never encountered such a being.
Yet why did this bring him such comfort?
A comfort as if he were standing before the Dokkaebi King himself.
Perhaps it was the peace he hadn’t felt in so long.
He asked for his help.
Simply—truly—he hoped this young couple, who had remained by his side, would find happiness.

“So, in other words…….”
Yet for some reason, the human’s expression grew grave.
Hwang-gu was about to speak, anxious unease creeping into his heart, when—
“The yeast changed, and in all that, you ended up using more hop, didn’t you? Every time something went wrong, you added more?”

“Then of course it would turn out like this!”
Hwang-gu.
Nearly sixty years since his birth.
For the first time in his dokkaebi life, he was being scolded by a human.

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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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