She is bestowed by him a wish of her own,
for he cannot take his object back alone,
she hesitates yet recalls a strange memory,
he is her guardian according to history.

~~~

Yoojung's POV

I stare at the man with a flustered expression. He also shares the same look as we continue to intently gaze at each other.

A long pause of dead silence takes over the room for a moment as we both slowly process the situation. There's a random stranger in my room... THERE'S A RANDOM STRANGER IN MY ROOM.

I widen my eyes with realization and open my mouth to scream, "AHHHH!"

"AHHHH!" the man yells back in surprise and takes a few steps backward.

I quickly grab the journal laying on the floor and hold it up in defense against the stranger, "Who are you and how the heck did you get inside?! I'll call the police on you for trespassing!"

He defensively raises his hands to shield himself, "I'd like to know that too! I don't know how I got here, I was at home just a moment ago when I suddenly appeared here out of nowhere!"

I hold onto the journal more tightly and scowl at him, "You're lying! You must've done something in order to get in here!"

He glares back at me, "I'm telling you the truth! Stop making it seem like it's my entire fault that this happened when you clearly saw how I appeared! If anything, I should be the one to know your identity! I'm an unarmed and innocent man while you're holding a weapon in your hands!"

I give him a judgmental look, "It's a journal, for goodness sake! I'm using it to defend myself against you!"

"That's still considered a weapon! I already told you, I don't know how I got here! Maybe you're the one who did something that caused me to appear here all of a sudden—" he pauses when he sees the shattered hand mirror lying on the floor. His eyes immediately widen upon seeing the object as he knits his eyebrows together, his mouth slightly dropping open in surprise.

I quietly observe him with a raised eyebrow. What is he doing? Don't tell me... is he planning to take it?

As expected, he hurriedly bends down and tries to take the hand mirror, however I'm much faster as I snatch it before he does. I wave the hand mirror in front of him with a skeptical glower, "So not only are you trespassing my place, you're also attempting to steal my stuff as well?”

He exchanges desperate yet vexed glances at the same time between me and the hand mirror in my hand, "That hand mirror belongs to me! And I can't believe how poorly you've been taking care of it! It's even more cracked now than before!"

I ignore his complaints and cross my arms, "Who are you? How and why did you appear here?"

He meets my gaze and for a little while, the room is peacefully quiet. He eventually ends our staring competition and sighs in a disgruntled manner, "My name is Park Jimin. Now that I've told you who I am, shouldn't you also tell me who you are?"

"No, you still haven't answered my other question yet."

He lets out another sigh as he rubs the back of his neck vigorously, "I'm also confused and annoyed just as you are. But seeing that you have my object, you must've somehow accidentally summoned me with your blood."

I look down and hesitantly stare at the hand mirror, "I summoned you... with my blood?"

"A Goblin can be summoned if its object has been stained by pure human blood," he explains further and points at the hand mirror in my hand, "That hand mirror that you're holding is my object, although I have no idea why it's in your possession in the first place."

I slowly glance down at my dad's box. It was in the box along with his other stuff. Why did Dad have this hand mirror in the— WAIT.

I pause for a moment and snap my head in his direction to meet his eyes, "Wait, did I just hear what I just heard? You're a—"

"Yes, I'm indeed a Goblin. The same kind of Goblins in Korean folklore," he proudly claims with a smug smile as he straightens his posture, placing his hands on his hips and posing confidently as if he's some superhero.

I stare at him in disbelief for a minute. His lies are getting more and more ridiculous. I lift up the journal in my other hand and start hitting him with it, "Aigoo, if you were going to lie in the first place, you should've came up with a better lie!"

He jumps back in surprise and raises both his hands to shield himself again, "Argh, I swear I'm telling you the truth— can you please stop hitting me?!"

He grabs my wrist in a firm grip and stops me from hitting him any further. He deeply stares into my eyes with a serious face, "I'm telling the truth. You saw me appear in front of you with your own eyes and that's considered impossible by humans. Surely if something like that is actually possible, then a supernatural creature can also possibly exist, right?"

I stare back at him with the same level of seriousness but I eventually break eye contact with him and instead glance at him holding onto my wrist. I lower my head so that he doesn't see me blushing.

"Is... there something wrong?" he asks.

I don't attempt to make any eye contact and instead quietly mumble, "Can you please let go of me?"

"Huh? Can you repeat that again?"

I bite my bottom lip impatiently and repeat my words a bit louder, "Can you please let go of me?"

"Ah... sorry," he apologizes before slowly letting go of my wrist. I finally look up at him and quickly notice a faint blush on both of his cheeks. It disappears in a short moment though.

"Do you believe me now?" he asks me softly. His sudden change in personality catches me a bit off guard.

"I... don't know. All of this is too sudden for me," I reply, uncertain of everything he had just explained to me.

"If you still don't believe me, I can prove it to you."

I raise a doubtful eyebrow at him, "How?"

"Remember when I said that you have my object? A Goblin's object is very valuable because it contains their spirit from their past life. If a Goblin were to lose their object, they must grant a wish to whoever is in possession of it as their punishment for being irresponsible. I can't get back my hand mirror unless I grant and fulfill your wish. So with that being said, I can prove to you that I'm a Goblin with your wish," he carefully explains, sounding a little desperate throughout his words.

"So you're saying that because I have your object, you have to grant me a wish?" I ask for a confirmation from him.

He solemnly nods. I lift up the hand mirror to examine it. If everything he's saying is true, what would I wish for? There's so much going on in my life, I don't even know what I want, "For now, I'll believe everything you just said for the sake of mutual agreement. But I don't know what I want my wish to be. I need some time to carefully think about what I want."

"That's fine by me. After all, a wish is important if it can change your life," he surprisingly agrees with no complaints, "But when you do have your wish ready, let me know."

I quickly nod and suddenly realize that I still need to start packing up. I let out a sigh, "Anyways, since we seem to agree about everything, can you please leave now? I'm a bit busy and I need to start packing up, or else my landlady is going to get on my case later."

"A-Alright then," he replies back with a confused look on his face. He slowly walks to the door and opens it, however he pauses to look at me again, "I'll be waiting for your wish then."

He then closes the door without saying another word. I let out a big huff and carefully place both the journal and hand mirror on the desk.

I slowly rub my forehead and sigh, "I must be going crazy from all of the stress."

Despite my complaints, I proceed to start gathering my belongings when the doorbell rings. I grumble and reluctantly drag myself to the door, "Ugh, what now?"

I sluggishly open the door only to see his face in front of me again. He flashes a sheepish smile, "Um hi."

I give him a dirty look and cross my arms, "What do you want this time?"

He rubs the back of his neck with a nervous laugh, "Can you tell me where the nearest bus stop is? I need to go home but I don't know where to find one."

A sigh escapes my lips, "If you leave this apartment complex, there's a bus stop that's five minutes away from here. Give me a minute, I'll draw it out for you."

I run back inside the room and quickly grab a piece of paper as well as a pen. After a few minutes, I finish drawing the directions and walk back to the door. I hand him the paper, "Here."

He shows me a small smile, "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Do you need anything else?"

"No, I think that's it."

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to start packing. So goodbye," I say and slam the door in front of his face before he can say anything back. I drag myself back to the room to start packing my things.

"Come to think of it, I never told him my name... nor asked how to contact him once I decide my wish."

+++

"Yoojung-ssi. Yoojung-ssi. Choi Yoojung-ssi!"

I immediately flinch hearing my name being called out loudly. I look up to see the professor with crossed arms. A look of both anger and disappointment resides on his face, "I'm very disappointed in you right now, Choi Yoojung-ssi. You were tardy to my lecture yesterday. You also can't seem to concentrate in class today after failing to answer my question."

I lower my head and grimace, "I'm deeply sorry for my rude actions, sir."

I can sense the whole class glaring at me as I hear irritated mutters from my classmates as well as the professor, who ultimately decides to give up on lecturing me.

"Can anyone answer my question that Yoojung-ssi has failed to answer? What differentiates Seokjong of Goryeo from Hojo of Joseon?"

Someone raises their hand up to answer the question. The professor nods at them as his displeased expression slowly disappears.

"Seokjong rose to the throne at a very young age, so he wasn't prepared to lead the dynasty on his own. Because of that, the Goryeo officials at the time were in charge of managing Goryeo until Seokjong was old enough to do it himself. Even though Goryeo was prospering in several ways, Seokjong wasn't able to lead the country successfully due to his inexperience. On the other hand, Hojo was known as a merciless leader during the Goryeo-Joseon War because of his violent massacres. But he showed himself to be a decisive ruler who improved and solved problems that Goryeo had during their reign."

As the professor acknowledges and accepts their answer, I quietly try my best to listen to the exchanging conversations he has with everyone else during the lecture.

I can't concentrate at all though. Everything from yesterday just keeps popping up in my head. I’ve been given a wish but I can't even decide what I want to wish for. Do I want to be a successful person with lots of money? An easy life with no worries? Happiness or a healthy well-being for the rest of my life? True love with my soulmate? People tend to wish for these things, right?

Yet those things don't quite appeal to me at all. I probably wouldn't be suffering if I wish for one of those things, but is it worth it in the end knowing that it wasn't achieved on my own? They just all seem too generic, too cliché, too vague.

The class eventually ends and before the professor tries to make me stay behind to lecture me more, I immediately dash out of the classroom and run to the nearest restroom.

I stop in front of an unoccupied sink and slightly pant from the running. I stare at myself in the mirror and think about what had happened yesterday. I cover my face with my hands, "Damn, why is this happening to me?"

I remove my hands away from my face and stare at myself in the mirror again. Fortunately, there's nobody in the restroom to witness me acting weird and crazy. I let out a sigh and proceed to walk out, but I stop when I catch a faint glimpse of something suddenly reflecting in the mirror.

The image in the mirror slowly becomes more and more vivid. I then notice a young woman in a hanbok talking to a young man who is also in a hanbok, yet his physical appearance is strange: blonde hair and pointy ears similar to those of an elf.

"Wait... is that me?" I widen my eyes in surprise realizing that the young woman is me. I shake my head and look at the young man instead. But I soon realize that the young man is the same person as the Goblin from yesterday.

Before I can say or react to anything, the "me" in the reflection of the mirror tells the Goblin something that catches me off guard.

"I want you to be my guardian while I am stuck in the Goblin Realm until I find a way to get back to my home."

The scene reflected on the mirror then disappears.

I rub my forehead as I mumble to myself, "I must be going crazy from all of the sleep deprivation. I just saw myself in a hanbok talking to the same Goblin guy from yesterday in the mirror. Wait, the wish."

I quickly flash back to what the Goblin had told me yesterday.

"If a Goblin were to lose their object, they must grant a wish to whoever is in possession of it as their punishment for being irresponsible. I can't get back my hand mirror unless I grant and fulfill your wish."

I'm assuming that what I just saw was a small memory of my past life since I've never met the Goblin prior to yesterday. It also looked like both me and the "me" in the mirror are around the same age as well, which should technically be impossible.

If everything that was shown to me in the mirror just now had actually happened in my past life, the "me" in the mirror must've said that for a specific reason. Most likely the same reason regarding being granted a wish by the same Goblin.

I frown. If we had already met in my past life when he was also a Goblin back then, wouldn't he have recognized me yesterday?

I let out an exasperated sigh. Looks like I'm going to be playing detective quite a bit from now on.

"I guess I know what I'm going to wish for now."

+++

I arrive home and immediately throw my backpack on the bed. I walk over to my dad's box and bend down to peer inside it.

In a few seconds, I spot the hand mirror laying on top of the books below it and carefully pull it out.

I tap my finger on my chin as I examine a faint hue of red on the crack where I had cut my finger yesterday, "If I remember correctly, he said that I must've accidentally summoned him with my blood using this hand mirror."

I stop tapping my finger on my chin and place it right on the said spot. I take a deep breath, "Here goes nothing."

I swipe my finger down with no hesitation and slightly wince from the small yet sudden pain coming from my finger. I remove my finger from the mirror and look at it. There's barely any blood coming out, but it's something.

I then place my finger back on the mirror and slowly move it around, staining the mirror with my blood.

Nothing happens for a minute, but the shattered hand mirror slowly begins to glow brightly just like yesterday. Before I know it, a faint silhouette begins to appear and when the shining light disappears, I see his face once again.

He grins at me, "So it seems you've summoned me once again. That must mean you have your wish ready— did you summon me with your blood again?"

He frowns upon seeing the new blood stain on the hand mirror. I give him a quizzical look, "Um, yes. Why?"

"Why did you summon me with your blood? Don't you know that's dangerous?" he scolds me, but his voice is soft and he looks slightly worried rather than angry or upset.

I raise an eyebrow, "Because that's the only way I know how to summon you? You never told me how I should contact you."

He facepalms himself and lets out a small groan, "You're right, I'm so stupid. I guess I was too caught up with the fact that I finally found my object that I didn't even care about anything else."

He pulls something out from his pocket, and when I get a clearer view of what he pulled out, it turns out to be a band-aid, "Show me where you got cut."

I hesitate for a moment, but I reluctantly show him my finger anyway, "Why do you have a band-aid with you?"

"Why not? I'm always prepared for anything, even if it means carrying a band-aid around in my pocket," he jokingly answers, to which I subconsciously smile as my reply.

He soon finishes wrapping my finger with the band-aid, "There we go."

I grin at him after seeing the band-aid's cute design, "So you do have your soft moments."

He playfully raises his eyebrow at me, "I can't tell if that was either meant to be a compliment or an insult."

I stick my tongue out in a silly manner and give him a sly smile, "Both."

He attempts to glare at me, but ultimately just chuckles and breaks into a smile, "Do you have your wish ready?"

I nod at him, "Do you promise not to judge me for what I'm about to wish for?"

He doesn't reply for a minute, but in the end, he nods back at me, "I promise."

"Then, my wish is for you to be my guardian."

Once a Goblin fulfills the person's wish and retrieves back their object successfully, they can return back to the Goblin Realm to reclaim themselves again.