Little Pink Starfish

After the fan meeting, which had various events, came the fan signing event for pre-selected participants.
The fans who got through fierce competition to meet Ibiwon in person were overwhelmed—some trembled, some cried, some didn’t know what to do.

One fan, shaking hard, stepped forward and burst into tears the moment they sat down.
They tried to say something, but it was hard to understand.
Even so, with trembling hands, they pulled out a gift they had prepared.
Ibi received the gift and gently comforted them.

“Oh no, don’t cry. You’ve got such a handsome face—you should show it to me properly. Come on, calm down.”

The male fan who had been crying opened his eyes wide.
When Ibi, smiling, pulled out a tissue and wiped his tears, his red face opened his mouth like a fish—but the time limit ran out.
He stood up, clutching the tissue like a treasure.

“Uh, uh, um, I—I mean, I’m really, really happy! Ah, I wasn’t going to say that—um, Biwon oppa, I really wanted to come today, and I got a ticket, so… ah, these are cookies and macarons I baked myself for you!”

“Really? I love macarons and cookies.
How did you know I like sweets? Thank you so much. I’ll enjoy them.”

He gently held the fan’s hand and patted them to calm down,
but that only made the girl fan even more excited.
“Of course, I know you love sweets! I’ll bake something else next time!” she said while crying and left.

“Hello! I’ve always wondered—Biwon-nim, you smell really sweet. If it’s not rude, can I ask what perfume you use?”

“I use one of the perfumes fans gave me. Hmm… what was it today? I can’t quite remember.
Can you recommend one you like? You smell nice too.”

Blushing, the fan stammered out a mix of perfume names and something that sounded like a love confession before being led away by security.

“Hello! My name is Kim Yejin. If you call my name informally, I’d really love that…”

The fan, full of hope, even wrote her name and handed it over.
Ibi carefully read it and kindly said in a soft voice:

“Yejin-ah, you worked hard to come all the way here.
Thank you so much for coming to see me.”

As he gave a big eye-smile, the fan squealed like a dolphin, handed him the gift bundle in both hands, and ran away.

Ibi continued calmly and kindly through the fan signing.
He comforted the sweet fans who came dressed up to meet him, trembling or crying.
Then—suddenly, a dark shadow flickered in the corner of his eye.

“Wow, tall fan,” Ibi thought with a smile as he looked up—
and instantly froze.

The first thing he saw was a black mask.
A man wearing a black hoodie pulled all the way up was looking down at him.
The man silently lowered his mask and then pulled back the hood.
He quietly sat in the chair.
Earrings and piercings dangled noisily from his ears.

Ibi quickly swallowed a small scream that reached his throat.

It was that man.

The hunter who, a few nights ago, had brutally hunted and killed the sosaengwon.

‘Why is he here?’

Ibi forced a smile on his face, but inside, he was completely shaken.
His calm heart started racing wildly.
Dropping that cigarette the other night really had been a mistake.

What should I do?
He glanced at Dongjitdal standing behind him.
Anyone could see this man was shady and suspicious,
but Dongjitdal didn’t seem to notice—he just blinked.
When Ibi looked again, he realized the man’s handsome face probably lowered people’s guard.

‘If he came to hunt me… no, no way.
There’s no way he’d hunt me here, with so many people around. He’s not that crazy.’

Still, sitting face-to-face with the hunter, Ibi’s pupils kept shaking.
Then, at last, the man opened his mouth.

“I’m a fan, Ibiwon-ssi.”

“…What?”

Ibi couldn’t believe his ears.
Did this hunter just say… he’s my fan?
While Ibi blinked in shock, the hunter started pulling something out.
Ibi flinched, thinking it was a hunting tool—but it was just a lollipop and a few photos of Ibi.

As Ibi stared blankly, the hunter looked back with a dumb expression.
There was no trace of the merciless killer from that night.

No way?

Did he really come just because he’s my fan? Not to hunt me?

The hunter handed him the lollipop.
Usually it was humans who got enchanted by Ibi—but this time, it felt like Ibi was the one enchanted.
He took the lollipop, dazed.
The man’s fingers brushed Ibi’s.

“I’ve wanted to meet you in person for a long time.”

The man slowly blinked his long eyelashes.
Ibi thought his voice sounded really nice—low and soft, tickling the ear like fluff, ringing like a tiny bell.
Unable to react, Ibi just automatically said, “Thank you,” and signed the photo.

Unlike other fans, the man seemed satisfied with just that.
He stood up with the signed photo, then suddenly stopped.
He took a deep breath and slowly turned his head.
Ibi’s spine chilled as their eyes met.

Quickly, Ibi picked up a big pile of sweet snacks from behind.

“I’ll enjoy the candy, thank you!”

The hunter looked back and forth between the sweet-smelling bag and Ibi, then quietly left.
Ibi’s smiling lips trembled.

Luckily, that hunter was one of the last fans.
The signing soon ended.
After a long farewell to his disappointed fans, Ibi hurried out with Dongjitdal and Sowol.

“That was a hunter!”

“What?”

Back at Dobi Entertainment, Ibi collapsed onto the sofa and panted—then suddenly sat up, shouting.
His ears were flushed red from excitement.

“Do you remember the last guy at the signing?
All black clothes, black mask, black hoodie…”

Apparently, the hunter had only made an impression on Ibi.
Dongjitdal and Sowol took a while to recall who he was.
Ibi let out a deep breath.

“I almost got found out.”

“Even if you did, it’s not a big deal, right?
Hunters don’t just go after anything unless they’re obsessed with revenge.”

“Yeah… maybe so.”

Still, every time Ibi saw that hunter, a shiver ran down his spine.
He didn’t know why.
Throughout the fan signing, he was nervous and afraid that the hunter might attack him.

He tried to calm his pounding heart and sank back into the sofa.
Just then, several young goblins gathered around.
They had just barely taken shape beyond their flame forms—looking like rubber balls, yarn bundles, or rolling leaves.

“Ibi! What does a hunter look like?”

“He’s this tall! With huge eyes and sharp teeth!”

“He carries huge swords and spears and goes hunting!”

The little goblins, who had never seen the human world, chattered noisily.
Ibi found them adorable and answered gently.

“No, he just looks human—and handsome.”

“What do humans look like?”

“They look like me.”

He let the small ones bounce on his shoulder and knees and answered seriously.
The little ones were always full of love.

“What does handsome look like?”

One tiny goblin got close to his face and asked sweetly.
Ibi, full of affection, gave a soft smile.

“Like me, of course.”

“I want to be a handsome human too! A handsome human hunter!”

The kids ran around noisily until Dongjitdal, arms crossed, stepped in.
He scowled and nudged them with his foot.

“Stop bothering Ibi.”

“Dongjitdal is scary! So mean!”

“Scaaryyy!”

“Dongjitdal is a dummy!”

The young goblins, who already feared Dongjitdal, ran off to where the employees were.
One staff member on a call waved them away, annoyed by the noise.

“Guys, quiet down. You’re too loud.”

“You bad human!”

“We won’t be quiet! We’ll be even louder!”

At Dobi Entertainment, there were humans working too.
Running an entertainment company required marketing, accounting, and management skills.
So the Mangryang King had quietly hired humans familiar with the system, without offending the celestial army.

“RAWR!” a tiny flame suddenly transformed into a scary, grotesque human head.
Even though it looked horrifying, the employee just waved it off like it was annoying.
Since the human didn’t react, the young goblins grew gloomy and returned to looking like fireflies.

Elsewhere, some older goblins were glued to a drama.
If you looked closely, there was a toad and a snake among them.

“Oh no, that’s not okay. Oh no.”

“What a terrible man!”

They clucked their tongues at the villain, and when Ibi appeared on screen, they clapped in joy.
In another corner, younger goblins puffed on cigarettes by an open window.

As Ibi watched these normal, daily scenes of Dobi Entertainment, he relaxed back into the sofa.

‘That hunter… what’s his other name?‘