Young-hee and the Pullocho

by Mark James Russell

  “Sanyeo, dear sister, please don’t be so quick to strike,” Ungnyeo soothed. “I know what it is to lose family. A brother’s loss is just as terrible as that of a son or husband. We should be merciful to my daughter,” Ungnyeo implored. Sanyeo, however, looked most unconvinced.

  All eyes turned to Gumiho, who relished the attention. Something cruel rested just behind her face. This is where I’ll see Fox’s true nature, she feared. Surely Fox will side with Snake, and Bum will be lost. Young-hee thought she might be sick. But then something like gentleness filled Gumiho’s eyes. “Sisters, I must agree with Bear,” she said. “This bear daughter has traveled far in a clearly noble cause. Even the heavens foretold of her visit. We should help if we can.”

  Sanyeo’s eyes narrowed, displeased. “You are siding with a human,” she said skeptically. “A true human?”

  “It is out of character, I admit. But I feel for her. And Ungnyeo was most convincing.”

  Sanyeo stared dumbstruck at her sister. Gumiho tried a kind smile. “Fine,” said Sanyeo, “if both my sisters want to help, I bow to your wills.”

  “Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you!” exclaimed Young-hee, taking Ungnyeo’s huge hand and kissing it. Ungnyeo blushed, unaccustomed to such emotion.

  Samjogo, however, was less enthusiastic. “I thought you said you didn’t know where any pullocho were,” said Samjogo. “Or wasn’t that true?”

  “None of my sisters would dream of lying,” said Gumiho indignantly.

  “It’s true, ‘Even the spirits do not know,’ as the old saying goes,” said Ungnyeo. “However, someone might help.”

  “What? Someone else?” asked Young-hee, seasick from rocking between hope and disappointment.

  “There is one possibility,” said Sanyeo, reaching for a yakgwa covered in a delicate floral design. Young-hee wondered if Snake was drawing out the subject just to annoy her. “If anyone knows where to find the ruins of the Sacred City and the sandalwood tree, it is Namgoong Mirinae, the astronomer and geomancer. She has the greatest collection of maps and star charts in the land.”

  “She is the one who told us you would come,” said Gumiho. “We sisters are not jeomjaengi who can foretell the future.”

  “I was married to a jeomjaengi once …,” said Ungnyeo.

  “And you do not want to know what happened to him, trust me,” said Sanyeo, trying to keep the conversation on track. “More knowledgeable about the strange contours of our land than any creature under heaven, Mirinae is also wise. Her huge stone home and workshop has the most fantastical inventions, books, and devices.”

  “Is it far?” asked Young-hee, worried how long the journey would take.

  “Not too far,” said Gumiho. “She lives atop the Lion Head Cliffs, a long day’s hard walk.”

  “Does it look like a lion’s head?” asked Tiger, finally finding something interesting in their conversation.

  “Not now,” said Gumiho. “The whole cliff face fell off in a storm, many years ago, but the name stayed.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad,” Tiger muttered.

  “Anyhow, that is fantastic news,” said Young-hee. “Thank you so much—for the advice, the shelter from the ghosts, the food and everything. You have all been very kind.”

  “Perhaps we could go to bed now,” yawned Samjogo. “It has been a long day and we want to start at first light, to reach that astronomer’s before dark.”

  “Very well,” said Sanyeo, ringing a bell to summon their short, mismatched servants. “We will have supplies ready in the morning.”

  “Well, this has been a delightful evening,” said Gumiho, holding out a sweet. “Would you like a yakgwa?” she asked Young-hee.

  “No, thanks. I’ll just go to bed, too.”

  “Suit yourself. Few can resist such a delicious treat.”

  Is she teasing me about Bum? Did I tell her how he was captured? Young-hee decided to ignore the comment, whatever Gumiho meant.

  The little golems led Young-hee, Samjogo, and Tiger to their rooms. As soon as they left their hosts, Samjogo regained his tongue. “The animal spirits sure have become so … domesticated. I was certain they would try something underhanded. Or, worse, that Bear would enlist me as her latest husband and victim. But it appears a few centuries of house arrest has changed the ladies.”

  “You were pretty quiet during dinner,” said Young-hee.

  “It was your conversation, your path,” said Samjogo. “It felt it more strategic to listen. And watch. Besides, everyone knows the Samjogo is not much of a talker.”

  Young-hee snorted. She thought him the chattiest person she had ever met.

  Back in her room, Young-hee happily found her clothes, washed, dried, and folded neatly. A few servants rushed about—three brass-faced golem changing candles, a stone one carrying a huge armful of cleaning supplies, a wooden one poking about aimlessly in the shadows. Youngee, Samjogo, and Tiger gathered around the madang courtyard.

  “The stars here are all so different here,” said Young-hee as they gazed up.

  “I am curious what maps and star charts this astronomer has in a land where unmappability is a defining trait, and locations are more ideas than geographic coordinates,” said Samjogo. “The stars are none too reliable, either. I once went traveling with a star for a few months. He was a silly thing, barely a flickering flame, not your regular astral body. He had lost his father’s three treasures and he promised me a great reward if I helped recover them. So we traveled to the sun’s lands …”

  “I’m sure it’s exciting, but can you tell us tomorrow?” interrupted Young-hee, suspecting the tale could last until sunrise. “I need sleep, and we need to start early.” Tiger agreed with a sleepy rumble, and they all retired to their rooms.

  Young-hee spread blankets on the floor and donned her own clothes—washed so quickly and emitting an indescribable flower scent. Her sleep was quick and deep, but her dreams were full of dark shadows and looming threats—the sort of nightmares that vanish instantly on waking, leaving only a lingering dread.

  Finally, just before dawn, Young-hee awoke to silence. Flickering in from the hallway, lamp light danced faintly across the top of the walls and ceiling. She was just about to light a candle when she realized she was not alone. A wooden servant stood motionless in a shadowy corner by the dresser. Her heart raced as the servant stepped into the soft orange light from the hall—revealing its wooden cheeks, painted red; its small, cheery, cherry-red mouth; and two pigtails hanging below its hat. “Boonae?” said Young-hee in surprise. “Is that you?”

  “Quiet, Ms. Young-hee,” said the masked servant. “We haven’t much time, and you and your friends are in much danger.”

  Overjoyed to see the girlish mask of Grandma Dol, Young-hee reflexively picked up the small servant and squeezed. “Boonae, how did you ever find me? Is Grandma Dol okay? Have you seen my brother?”

  “Careful, Ms. Young-hee,” said the familiar voice, emerging from the very different body. “We are friends, but this body belongs to a servant of the animal women and is not to be trusted.”

  Young-hee took a step back, instantly serious. The mask Granny Dol had worn at the goblin market was indeed seamlessly fused with the golem; it looked real, except that none of the hanok’s servants had blush-red cheeks. “Are we safe?” asked Young-hee.

  “I think so. These servants are simple magicks without much fight in them. But, still ...”

  “How did you find me?”

  “No time for that now. Much has happened since you started your journey. All manner of creatures are marshaling and the mountain fairies are on the march. Suffice it to say, Grandma Dol and Bassam have been finding out what they can and how to help you. A great crane spotted you here yesterday, but it took me a day to arrive and find a way in. The important thing is—I have two warnings for you. First, watch the skies. There’s a Storm after you.”

  “A storm? But the weather has been nice since I came to Strange Land.”

  “Not a weat
her storm. A Storm Lord, Nwaegongdo, is looking for you, like the ghosts. And when a Storm Lord comes, the skies will howl.”

  “Together?”

  “I don’t think the Storm Lord gets along with ghosts. But word of your quest and hunger for a pullocho are stirring old rivalries and ambitions. Your path is growing more dangerous.”

  “Oh, geez.”

  “Sorry I don’t have better news, dearie. But I have a second warning: Do not enter the Great Forest. I do not understand why, but Granny was firm that I tell you.”

  “Thanks. I guess,” said Young-hee. “I don’t really control where the path takes me, though. And there are trees all over this world.”

  “Just remember the message. Grandma Dol had a reason. And now, we have to do something about me. If I linger, the sisters will find me soon enough.”

  “Is that so bad? They are a lot kinder than I expected.”

  “No, they aren’t.” Boonae examined the room as she talked.

  “But they helped me.”

  “Maybe it seems that way, but I doubt it.” Boonae said, giving the dresser a shake. “Okay, I need you to push the dresser over so the top crashes onto me as hard as possible.”

  “No, that could smash you.”

  “That’s the point.”

  “I’m not going to do that.”

  “Quick. The rest of the servants will arrive in a moment.”

  “Can’t I peel you off and then break the servant?”

  “No. Unfortunately, the moment I separate from his face, he would control his body and doubtlessly inform the animal spirits that I was here. You must break the body with me still on it.”

  “Won’t that be dangerous for you?”

  “Yes, I fear it will be.”

  “Well, I won’t break you, just to help me out.”

  “There really isn’t any choice.”

  “There’s always a choice,” said Young-hee, defiant.

  Noises came from down a hallway. Servants were on the move. “Listen, Young-hee. You must do this and make sure the servant is well and truly broken. Judging by the dresser’s size, I’ll get cracked up pretty good, too. Collect the pieces of me and hide them in your bag. The animal ladies cannot know I was here. Hurry.”

  Young-hee walked reluctantly to the dresser and got a feel for its weight. “How is Bum, I mean, my brother?” she asked.

  “Not so great, to be honest,” said Boonae. “Now, don’t go looking like that. No crying. Your brother hates being that dokkaebi’s captive and is making the goblin’s life quite a trial. If your agreement had a loophole, the dokkaebi would have dumped Young-beom a while ago. He’s safe for now, but sooner or later that goblin will find a way to get what he wants. His kind always does.”

  Young-hee felt rotten. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I know, dear. But it’s not that awful. Really.”

  She heard heavy footsteps on the courtyard’s wood floor. As the servants drew closer, Young-hee closed her eyes and heaved at the dresser. It was heavier than she expected and she worried she hadn’t used enough force. But then, all at once, it toppled, slamming onto the wooden servant. And Young-hee’s friend. The servant smashed into chunks, splinters, and sawdust, instantly and completely lifeless. Boonae, too, now looked like a regular Korean mask, but busted into three jagged, lifeless pieces. The door slid open, and four very concerned and confused bronze servants entered. “What, what,” they said, over and over.

  Young-hee swept the three pieces of Boonae under a sleeve. “I’m so sorry. I lost my balance and knocked the dresser right onto your poor friend.”

  The bronze creatures looked the broken servant, then at the dresser, and then, suspiciously, at Young-hee. As she pushed the pieces further up her sleeve, one golem noticed, leaned forward, and reached to grasp at Young-hee. Just then, the other bronze servants demanded help righting the dresser and cleaning up the mess. Outnumbered, the suspicious golem returned to the pack and apparently forgot all about Young-hee’s secret.

  Young-hee slipped quietly out. Tiger and Samjogo were waiting in the courtyard. Discreetly slipping the broken pieces of Boonae into her bag, she joined them.

  “Good morning, Tiger,” said Young-hee, affecting good spirits.

  “Good morning to you, too, friend,” said Tiger cheerfully. If he noticed her reddened eyes, he thankfully said nothing.

  “What’s wrong with you?” asked Samjogo, less diplomatically.

  “I’ll explain later,” said Young-hee. She threw her bag over her shoulder and trudged off, with the servants leading them to the front gate again. Sanyeo’s hanbok today was light green with orange trim. As for Ungnyeo, it was immediately obvious to Young-hee that something was off, but only as she got closer did she notice Mother-Bear was sporting a black eye, with a couple of deep scratches along her neck.

  “Good morning bear daughter, bear-son, Tiger. I trust you slept well,” said Sanyeo, as inscrutable as ever.

  “Excellent, thank you, ladies,” said Tiger, his spirits still buoyed by having gorged himself so spectacularly the night before. “Just as the Diamond Mountains are best appreciated after eating, I, too, am most refreshed by your fine food and hospitality.”

  “The servants have prepared food for your journey,” said Ungnyeo, distractedly.

  “Excellent,” said Tiger, as Samjogo took the bag.

  “And now, we must say goodbye and wish you well on your quest,” said Sanyeo. She waved her hand and a stone servant opened the big doors to the inner lobby.

  “Not so fast, sister,” said Gumiho. “I fear the Ghost Queen and her servants lie in wait.”

  “Ghosts in the daylight?” said Sanyeo. “Show me,” she ordered the door guardians. As she looked through them, the eyes of the wooden bat on the back of the door glowed. “You are correct sister. Disturbing.” With a flick of her hand, she signaled the stone servant to close the inner gate.

  “That sounds bad,” said Young-hee.

  “Indeed,” said Gumiho. “Our servants will escort you to a secret exit, well away from the outside wall while my sisters and I talk with the Ghost Queen about protocol. Our hospitality does not end at our walls. You should be well on your way before the ghosts realize you are gone.”

  “Oh, thank you so much,” gushed Young-hee. “I’ve heard so many things about the animal sisters, especially about you, Fox. But you’ve all been so nice and helpful. You can be sure I’ll tell everyone how wrong those stories are.” Before Young-hee knew what she was doing, she sprang forward and actually hugged Gumiho. Fox was too surprised to move for several seconds, eventually raising a hand to half-return the enthusiastic gesture.

  “Yes, well,” said Gumiho uncomfortably. “That is kind. But you must be going. Please give Namgoong Mirinae kindest regards from all of the animal spirits.”

  “Goodbye sisters,” said Tiger. “I am happy to know our relations are much improved. Thank you.”

  Samjogo turned as if to speak, but decided against it and hurried after his friends. The stone servants escorted them quickly down a deep maze of corridors. Doors slid open and shut, madang courtyards appeared and were left behind. They rushed through an amazing but cold and cavernous hall.

  Eventually there were no courtyards or paper-covered windows let in translucent daylight. Up some stairs and down many more, the servants broke the darkness with metal-framed lanterns. Finally, at the end of a long corridor, was a heavy wooden door with a thick iron bitjang crossbar that took three servants and many heavy grunts to slide open. Then another set of wooden doors with fish-shaped doontae.

  The stone servant stopped at the top of a staircase pointing into the black. “You, go,” and repeated, “Here, go.”

  “Uh, hello?” Young-hee said. “Are you the guardians of this door?”

  “Hello dearie,” said the right fish, springing to life. “The bats at the front door told us to expect you, and that you needed a quiet getaway.”

  “Yes, something like that. You talk with the bats?”r />
  “Sure, guardians of in-between places often keep in touch. We’re never really in any one place, so in a way we’re everywhere. Or every nowhere. Or something like that. I was never terribly clear.”

  “That’s all very nice,” said Young-hee, trying to be patient. “But can you tell if it’s safe on the other side?”

  “Just a moment,” said the other fish. Its eyes glowed like the bat’s had. “All clear. No one around at all.”

  “Good. Then could you open up?”

  “But of course …” And with a moan, the bitjang slid away and the heavy door swung open. The flood of bright sunlight made Young-hee blink hard as her eyes adjusted and she saw a flowing stream and green rolling fields unfurl in all directions. The beauty contrasted with Boonae’s warning: There’s a Storm Lord coming after you.

  Young-hee thanked the fish for being such good guardians. They seemed to enjoy the flattery, or maybe they were just lonely, since a secret entrance might not get much use. As she ducked under the exposed roots of a huge willow tree that hid the door, there in the distance, Young-hee saw the profile a steep cliff topped with a building.

  “Doontae?” she asked.

  “Yes, dearie?”

  “Do you know the home of the astronomer Namgoong Mirinae?”

  “Of course. That’s it on the cliff. A fantastic place for a fantastic woman, I’m told. She is one of the most learned people in our land, with all sorts of amazing gadgets and devices.”

  “Thanks so much,” Young-hee said happily. She felt closer than ever to the pullocho—and to getting Bum back. Then she noticed the path was back again, leading her ever forward. “That cliff is our destination. Let’s go before anyone finds us again.”

  She stepped onto the path, as Samjogo and Tiger followed. It was a beautiful day.

  ✴ ✴ ✴

  In a lookout atop the hanok walls, the three sisters surveyed the valley below. Gumiho watched Young-hee, Samjogo and Tiger; Sanyeo watched Gumiho. Gumiho looked pleased, which displeased Sanyeo.