The old dragon wasted no time when it was time to take her into the main city the Goemuls called the actual Goemul Realm, not what the outsiders thought it was.
He stepped outside and immediately shifted into a massive red dragon.
They didn't ride Goemuls for transportation here though. Not usually. In fact, this realm had everything humans had. Only, the old dragon had flown here in a rush when he heard the Oenunbaki's cry, and he couldn't bring his van behind.
Seraphina was in awe as she climbed onto old Max's back with the Dokkaebi's help. She had only seen dragons in books and art, but never up close.
Now, she was riding one. At six years old.
Wasn't life just… precious?
Worried that the little girl might get air sick once they were flying, the Dokkaebi sat her on his lap, straddling him in a hug-like position, her head to his chest.
Seraphina stiffened.
It felt too intimate. But she was small, and easily lifted into that position by the large green man. Reading his mind helped—he meant no harm.
Still, he noticed her frozen posture and added: "The air is full of flying ants that bite children's faces. If I don't press your face to my chest, they'll bite you, you'll fall ill… and die."
He didn't hesitate to speak of death to a kid. The kid was in the Goemul Realm after all, where she can die anytime.
Soon, they were up, flying in the air. The wind rushes past them in a steady, high-altitude rhythm. Then, they were steady, flying for some time. No flying ants.
"Green Uncle, did you lie to me about the air ants?" she suddenly asked, her cheek squished to his chest. She needed to think about anything else, anything to distract from how unexpectedly nice the Dokkaebi smelled. He smelled like sour wine.
His body was surprisingly soft and hot too, and that was distracting as well. His body was too warm for a monster. She almost wanted to hug him tighter.
The Dokkaebi's lips thinned when he heard what she called him. Green Uncle. He didn't mind though. She was just a child.
"I did," he replied confidently. He spoke seriously. "There are no ants. I lied."
And in his heart, he added, '…so you could relax against me comfortably. I won't hurt you. Yet.'
Seraphina bit back a laugh. His answer was cute. Suppressing a smile, she teased, "You know lying is wrong, right, Green Uncle?"
The Dokkaebi tilted his head, pondering seriously. She was just a kid; maybe he should be more careful with what he said. But then he replied, "No. Lying isn't wrong. I lie all the time, and I'm fine. Let me teach you this… lying is good."
A spark of amusement lit up Seraphina's small face. Teach her lying is good? He was a strange one. His heart said one thing, but his mouth said another...
"Sometimes," he continued, "you'll be in serious trouble. If you tell the truth, you'll be punished. Or worse. Isn't lying the better choice then?"
Seraphina actually saw the logic in that.
If this green man had been around earlier, maybe he would've taught her how to lie better. She would've lied about those vegetables turning into frog-beast meat. She could have blamed Levy—he was mischievous enough to be believable.
So many situations... like when Elias told her to steal beans from Lady Madeleine, the holy ones used to ward off evil, because eating them would drive the evil out of her. She hadn't been caught, but she still confessed when the academy investigated. And they had beaten her for it.
"Green Uncle," she said, pretending to be innocent, "once, I was really hungry and I stole beans. I still told the truth, and they beat me a lot! Have you ever eaten beans before?"
Of course he had. When he visited the human world, they often threw beans at his face when they saw a green man. Especially around temples. They believed they were punishing him, a demon.
Goemuls didn't do well with beans too, so they weren't even grown in the Goemul Realm. Some monsters were demonlike, so they would often get affected. But not him.
Now, hearing the little girl talk about them with such longing, and how they'd punished her for something so small... something tugged at his heart.
"I'll get you beans," he blurted. "Whenever you want them."
Seraphina's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Do you think I'd lie to you, little Rose?" he snorted. He liked the sound of that—little Rose. Feeling strangely proud and wanting to boast some more, he added, "In fact, when you're fully recovered, I'll bring you a whole pot of beans. A big one."
She looked at him with confusion at first, then awe… and then her big blue eyes welled up with tears.
The Dokkaebi: "..."
Was she really about to cry?
Of course she was. This Dokkaebi wasn't just treating her like she mattered, he was promising to spoil her with beans. What they had literally given her a good beating for. He was so focused on her that he hadn't even noticed she'd just spoken about her past. Not once did he pause and say, Wait, did you just remember something of your past?
Seraphina almost wanted to call him a fool in her heart… but maybe he was a fool she liked. She was never going to let herself slip again. She would stay in character until the end of her game.
"If you smear my shirt with your salty tears, I'll throw you off this ride," he warned dryly.
Seraphina: "..."