Daddy-Long-Legs from Hell

Author's Note

“There are so many secrets I don’t want to get out.
Still, I wish at least one person would listen to what I have to say.”

Ahn Mi-woon, a middle school student who desperately wants a soulmate
A 'devil' man appeared before him, offering to be his friend.

『Daddy-Long-Legs from Hell』 was published as the 123rd volume of the Consonant and Vowel Youth Literature series.
The author of this book, Jeong Seo-hui, has previously presented a profound narrative in her previous work, Dream Catcher, where realistic stories such as school violence are harmoniously blended with action fantasy.
In this work, the author mixes the fantasy element of the "devil" with themes commonly discussed in young adult literature, such as relationships with family and friends and growing up, to help young people approach familiar themes in a completely new way.

The main character, 'An Mi-un', is a child who is hated by his grandmother who raises him alone, but is not hated by his friends. He is a second-year middle school student who passionately likes the idol 'Awesome Boy', but pretends to be a fan of 'Wonder Boys', the group that Ye-jin likes, in order to get closer to her friend 'Ye-jin', whom he admires.

Mi-un, who was walking to school as usual, almost gets into a car accident in front of the school, but survives with the help of a man who looks exactly like her best friend, Roy.
Miun imagines that the man who saved her and disappeared and her own curiosity about him are similar to the novel 'Daddy-Long-Legs', and decides to call the man 'Daddy-Long-Legs'.

During the moral performance assessment group formation time, Miwoon is so caught up in his imagination, recalling his fateful encounter with Daddy-Long-Legs, that he misses the opportunity to join Yejin's group.
He feels a little upset at Yejin for not calling him, but he spends a hectic day with Yuna, who has a strange rumor about her, Jeonghyeok who looks like an elementary school student, and Minwoo who is always eating something, all in the same group, crying and eating mustard.

As Mi-un was returning home with a heavy heart, feeling regretful that he could not be with Ye-jin, he caught sight of his grandmother and Daddy-Long-Legs talking.
Mi-un, who was surprised by the unexpected combination, asks her grandmother who that man is, but her grandmother, with a dark face, only says, "a debt collector," and does not give a detailed explanation.

I rested my chin on my palm and began to lose myself in my thoughts.
Of course, the male lead is Roy.
He's wearing a white shirt and black suit pants, just like the man who saved me.
Roy jumps to save me from being hit by a car.
Her bleached silver hair flutters in the wind.
He held me in his arms and said, “Be careful.
“It was almost dangerous again,” she whispers in a sweet voice.

_In the text

A few days later, the kids from Miun and Moral Performance Assessment go to Yuna's house to do their homework.
And when Miun finds out that Yuna is a fan of Awesome Boy just like him, he becomes close to her very quickly.

But still, the only friend Miwoon truly wants, the friend he hopes will be his soulmate, is Yejin.
Besides, Miun had been spending his days feeling anxious because he felt that Yejin was slowly growing distant from him.
On the way home, Mi-un, who was dancing while waiting for the traffic light to change to erase the loneliness that kept bothering her heart, slips on the road again.

But just before he hits the car, time suddenly stops and Daddy-Long-Legs appears and saves Miun.
When the surprised Miun shouts out who he is, the old man tells him that he is a demon who grants wishes if a price is paid.
There is also talk of doing work that protects the hatred that is attached to the contract.

“You were acting strangely on the street and almost got hit by a car, and I had no choice but to use my magic to save you, and you found out I was a demon.
So it's your fault."
I even watched you dancing on the road.
My face turned red.
To hide my embarrassment, I raised my voice and asked in a questioning tone.
“Were you watching me the whole time? Were you following me?”
“That’s my job.”
“What’s going on?”
“Faithfully fulfilling the contract with the contractor.”

_In the text

“I just want to enter his world.”
“So you are just telling me what you feel?
“When it’s good, you like it, and when it’s bad, you hate it.”

It was a ridiculous story, but at that time, the time around me had really stopped by the devil uncle.
When Mi-un, excited by the explanation that he is a wish-granting demon, says that he wants to have a perfect friend, the old man says that Mi-un's definition of 'friend' is strange, but promises to be his friend.


In this way, Miun and the old man have a good time going around here and there as 'friends'.
That is, until a photo of the two of them secretly taken at a cosmetics store spread on social media.

Because of that photo, bad rumors about Miun and the old man spread around the school, and Miun became depressed because he couldn't stand the attention of those around him.
While worrying about Miwoon, Yejin wonders who the old man is, and cannot bring herself to call him the devil, so she tells him that he is her uncle, but the rumor does not easily disappear.


The dictionary definition alone wasn't enough to make the old man understand what I wanted.
If the other person were speaking English, they would have said 'friend', but when I asked them what a friend was while talking in Korean, it was difficult to explain.

“Well, when I’m happy, I’m happy with you, when I’m sad, I’m sad with you, and when I have worries, I tell you about them.
Also, we share hobbies, eat delicious food together, go shopping together… … .”
The longer I spoke, the more distorted the old man's expression became.
“Is that what a friend is? That would be too much of a burden.”
“Why are you a burden? We’re friends.”
“Aren’t you looking for someone who feels the same way you do?”
“Yes, in a way, that’s true.”
“How is that possible when the other person isn’t you?”

_In the text

Who started the strange rumor about Miun? What are the true feelings of Yejin, who always smiles but gradually drifts away from Miun? What is the true relationship between the grandmother and the uncle? The story arouses countless questions and moves toward a shocking, heartbreaking ending.

Just as the merciless reality of school violence was expressed through 'nightmare' in the previous work 'Dream Catcher', in 'Daddy-Long-Legs from Hell', 'lost memories' are connected to 'love', leading to a major twist.
In this way, the fantasy elements in Jeong Seo-hui's works are incorporated without being excessive, so that the story flows naturally, and even young people who do not like fantasy novels can read them without feeling burdened.


This novel also comforts the hearts of teenagers who, in a school life where studying and grades are the shackles of their ankles, see their friends as their world and an outlet for them to share their difficult feelings, and those teenagers who feel hurt and alone by such precious friends.


In fact, teenagers often suppress their true selves and wear masks to spend time with their friends in the hopes of having the perfect friend.
But since no relationship can last forever, there will inevitably be times when you fight or grow distant from a friend you loved so much.
The process of the illusion of a 'soulmate' that I clung to even while abandoning myself being shattered is as painful as the world collapsing.

Even when it feels like we're left alone in the world, is there someone who will watch over us? This novel reassures readers that such a person certainly exists.
They might be a partner you never cared about before, or a family member you found tiresome because they kept nagging you.
Regardless of our attention, they stand very close by, always looking at us with warm eyes.


I hope that, along with 『Daddy-Long-Legs from Hell』, who is a devil but more human than anyone else, young people will discover their own Daddy-Long-Legs, those who value their 'true selves'.

I will always pray that we can all live without losing what is precious in this life that is like a rough storm.


_From the author's note