I Became a Druid Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – The Case of the Cotton Punch

“Hey, Ha-eun. I quit my job.”
“…What? What are you talking about all of a sudden? Did something happen?”

My sudden bombshell declaration, dropped casually while sipping coffee, plastered my girlfriend Ha-eun’s face with a look of deep concern.
But instead of reassuring her, I simply grinned.

“…Su-hwan, have you gone crazy?”
“No, Ha-eun. Isn’t that a bit harsh? You’re asking if I’m crazy?”

“Well, how could a guy who quit his job suddenly start laughing like that be in his right mind?”
For a moment, I thought, ‘Well, she has a point,’ but right now, I couldn’t agree with her.

“Anyway, what’s the reason you quit your job all of a sudden?”

“Well, there is a reason.”

“It’s not something serious, right? Was someone harassing you? Did you get into a fight?”

“No, Ha-eun. I keep telling you, I’m not a kid anymore…”

“Stop with the nonsense and just tell me. What’s going on?”

She urged me with a determined look, demanding an explanation. I couldn’t help but smile again and opened my mouth to speak.

“Well, the truth is… I awakened a superpower a few days ago.”

“…A superpower? Don’t you already have one?”

“I do. But it’s useless. Seriously, how is being able to perfectly adjust water temperature a superpower?”

My words erased the worry from her face and made her smile.

Of course, she already knew about my superpower. After all, she was the one who used it the most.

“Useless? Do you know how great it feels when I soak in perfectly warm water after a long day? It just melts away all the fatigue.”

I shrugged.

“But so what? It’s not like I’m going to go around adjusting people’s bathwater.”

“Why not? There’s a guy who sets cutlery for a living, so why not someone who adjusts bathwater?”

“Ugh… mine’s not at that level. You’re not exactly upset when I don’t adjust the water, are you?”

At that, she subtly turned her head.

Sure, the warm water felt nice and relaxing, but it wasn’t a dramatic change. It was good to have, but not something you’d miss terribly without it.

“So, what’s the new superpower you’ve awakened? It must be a huge deal if you quit your job.”

“Aren’t you dodging the topic?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Now tell me about this superpower.”

Laughing quietly, I reached into my pocket and handed her a neatly folded piece of paper.

“A superpower verification application? Let’s see…”

When you awaken a new superpower, you receive a verification form to assess its level. Ha-eun immediately started reading the application.

She skimmed over my personal details—since she already knew them well—and focused on the section where the type of superpower was listed.

“Animal Communicating? This… It can’t be that, right?”

“Hehehe… Why wouldn’t it be?”

As her face began to show signs of shock, I grinned even wider, feeling triumphant.

There weren’t many people with the superpower of Animal Communicating, but those who had it were all famous and wealthy.

“Really? Seriously? For real?”

“Yeah. It’s real. And it’s probably top-tier. A few days ago, I was walking home from work, and someone called out to me. When I looked, it was a stray cat calling me.”

“A stray cat? What did it say?”

Since Ha-eun loved animals and regularly watched animal-related videos on MeowTube, her curiosity was piqued.

“It said, ‘If you don’t want to get your ass beat, hand over some food.’”

“…”

“No, I’m serious!”

Under her cold, disbelieving gaze, I hastily defended myself.

If I let this drag on, I’d either end up getting painfully pinched, or worse, have to deal with a sulky girlfriend.

“On my way home from work, I was feeling a little hungry, so I bought a sausage and was nibbling on it. Then it saw me eating and demanded some. When I didn’t give it any, it actually gave me a real cat punch!”

“Hmm… hard to believe.”

“Wow, that’s unfair. Oh, I know! How about we go to your parents’ house? We might even be able to talk to Cotton Punch*.”

“…Should we?”

Ha-eun seemed intrigued by my suggestion.

Cotton Punch was the name of the Maltese dog her parents kept. When they first got him as a puppy, he was so small, about the size of her father’s fist, that they named him Cotton Punch.

Anyway, Ha-eun, who showed interest in my suggestion, quickly drained the half-full coffee with a slurp and stood up.

“Let’s go!”

“Oh… You’re pretty decisive.”

“Shut up! Yeong-ji! I’m heading out for a bit!”

Ha-eun, unable to resist her curiosity any longer, grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the café.

‘But I haven’t finished my coffee yet… My poor coffee…’

I gazed longingly at the coffee disappearing in the distance.

○ ◑ ● ◐ ○ ◑ ● ◐ ○

“Oh my, my dear son-in-law is here! So, did you come to ask for permission to marry today? If it’s you, I’ll say yes, but you’ll need to get her father’s approval.”

“Ahahaha…”

As much as I appreciated her warm welcome every time I came, I still couldn’t quite get used to her bringing up marriage every single time.

“Mom!”

“What is it, you brat! You’re going to be thirty soon, you know that, right? You need to get married!”

“I’m still twenty-nine! And it’s not even a holiday, so stop talking about marriage! I’ll handle it!”

“Stop putting it off when you already have a guy! You’ve been dating for ten years and done everything already, so just have the ceremony! Are you going to wait until I die to give me grandkids?”

“Aaaaah!”

Ha-eun screamed and plugged her ears, clearly done with listening to her mother.

Though I could hear Ha-eun’s mother sighing, I knew better than to get involved. No matter which side I took, nothing good would come of it.

I needed to change the subject—for my own survival.

“Uh, Mother, is Cotton Punch around?”

“Huh? Why are you asking about our mutt?”

“Well…”

I gave her a brief explanation.

I told her that I had developed a superpower, the ability to communicate with animals. Mother, too, showed keen interest.

‘That curiosity is definitely genetic.’

I chuckled softly as her reaction mirrored Ha-eun’s earlier. Following Mother, who eagerly led the way, we entered the living room.

Clack-clack-clack!

“Huff, huff, huff!”

As we passed the entrance and entered the living room, we were greeted by a Maltese dog wildly wagging its tail and running towards me.

“No matter how much you raise them, whether it’s daughters or dogs, it’s all for nothing…”

“Why’s he acting like this all of a sudden? He’s seen Su-hwan before and used to ignore him.”

And yet, the Maltese had run up to me, planted its paws on my knee, and fixed its gaze on me.

It wasn’t Ha-eun’s mother, who took care of him every day, or Ha-eun, who visited occasionally to play, but me that he had run to.

Mother looked a bit disappointed, and Ha-eun appeared utterly confused. I awkwardly scratched my cheek, unsure how to respond.

It wasn’t my first time seeing Cotton Punch, like Ha-eun said, but this was the first time he acted like this.

‘You ignored me all this time, and now you’re going crazy for me?’

It was definitely strange to see a dog that wouldn’t even come close unless I had a treat, now wagging his tail furiously right by my side.

“Does the animal communication superpower also come with a bonus ability to make animals like you? What’s going on with Cotton Punch?”

“I don’t know. There are only a handful of people with animal communication powers in the world.”

I shrugged my shoulders in response to Ha-eun’s comment and gently stroked Cotton Punch’s head.

There was that peculiar feeling of soft dog skin, with bones just underneath, typical of petting a small dog.

“More, more! It feels great! Keep going!”

The moment I touched Cotton Punch’s head, human words spilled from his mouth.

No, rather than human words, the dog’s whining and whimpering sounded to me as if it were speaking in human language.

Normally, this would’ve been a shocking event, but thanks to my experience with the stray cat a few days ago, I calmly handled the situation.

“Alright, alright. I’ll keep petting you.”

Cotton Punch’s happy expression made me settle down on the floor and gently stroke him all over.

“What? What? Did Cotton Punch just ask for more petting?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow…”

Even though I didn’t say much, Ha-eun looked between me and Cotton Punch, clearly amazed.

Her mother, however, reacted a bit differently. She looked intrigued but also like she had something she wanted to ask.

“Mother? Do you have anything in particular you’re curious about?”

“Well… A few days ago, Cotton Punch suddenly ripped up the sofa. Could you ask him why he did that? It’s been bothering me because he never acted like that before.”

Mother’s words instinctively made me glance toward the corner of the living room, where the sofa stood.

“Wow.”

I couldn’t help but be impressed.

The lower part of the right armrest was completely shredded. The leather was torn all over, exposing the wood and other materials inside.

“Ugh, just looking at it makes me sigh.”

“Haha… Let me ask him.”

Feeling awkward as Mother let out a deep sigh, I turned my gaze back to Cotton Punch, who was still watching me.

“Hey, why did you do that? You turned the sofa into a rag.”

“Master did wrong! She said if I acted cute, she’d give me a treat, but she didn’t. I did everything I could, and still no treat!”

“…”

I couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Mother after hearing Cotton Punch’s response.

“What did Cotton Punch say?”

“Well…”

Seeing Mother’s eager expression, I hesitated before deciding that there was no point in hiding the truth.

“Oh my goodness! So that’s what happened! Oh, poor Cotton Punch, how could I make it up to you?”

“Mom, seriously? Lately, you’ve been getting really forgetful.” Ha-eun teased her.

“You brat! Why are you looking at me like that! Do you think I’m getting senile? I was going to give him a treat, but then your aunt called, so I forgot!”

While petting Cotton Punch, feeling guilty, Mother turned her attention to Ha-eun, who had been giving her a skeptical look. And so, the barrage of scolding began.

Starting with “you weren’t like this when you were younger,” and ending with “raising you was pointless,” it was clear from just listening that Ha-eun was suffering through it.

I turned my gaze away from the verbal barrage hitting Ha-eun and focused instead on Cotton Punch, who, unlike his owner, was quietly enjoying the petting.

Note:
1) Balance Patch: A gaming term used metaphorically here, meaning adjustments made to balance life or abilities.
2) 솜주먹 pronunciation ‘Som Ju-Meog’ also means cotton fist or cotton punch is Ha-eun’s family dog.