Little Pink Starfish

Just then, the squishy celebrities who were going to film today’s variety show with Ebi arrived at the set. Ebi jumped up from his seat and greeted the actors with a big smile. Thoughts about Saeon had long since faded. After laughing and chatting with the humans, his heart melted warmly. One of the humans nearby took a deep breath to smell something and asked with a curious face,

“Biwon, you always smell so good. What perfume is that?”

“It’s not a store-bought perfume. I had it custom-made.”

Ebi answered softly, as it was a question he always got when he was with humans. Just as Ebi was drawn to the warmth of humans, humans were drawn to the sweet scent of Ebi. While chatting before filming began, an actor he had recently grown close to spoke shyly.

“The weather is so nice. If today’s shoot ends early, I might go for a beer.”
“Would you like to come too, Biwon?” the actor asked shyly.

Ebi found them cute and was just about to say yes without hesitation when—

“Hello, everyone.”

A stranger’s voice came from behind, and Ebi turned his head. The actor who had been inviting Ebi for drinks opened his eyes wide.

“Hello, Kim Eunjun!”
“Sorry I’m a little late. Looks like everyone’s here already.”

Ebi remembered—only now—that he’d been told Kim Eunjun would be joining this variety show shoot. Since they had never met before, Ebi stood up reflexively with a polite smile. The man he’d only seen in pictures or videos smiled brightly behind him.

“Nice to meet you, Senior Kim Eunjun. I’m Ebiwon.”
“Nice to meet you too, Biwon. Let’s do our best for today’s shoot.”

Kim Eunjun was a friendly and handsome man with a picture-perfect smile. Though not quite as famous as Ebiwon, he was still a well-known and popular actor. In Ebi’s past experience, famous actors were usually arrogant, had “celebrity disease,” or had bad personalities—but Kim Eunjun was as well-mannered as people said. Ebi generally liked all kinds of humans, but something about Kim Eunjun’s first impression made him even more likable.

Right after their greeting, a staff member came over and said filming would begin soon. This variety show wasn’t really the kind that actors of Ebiwon’s level usually appeared on. But Ebi didn’t care. He hadn’t become an actor for fame or money.

“Okay, let’s begin shooting soon!”

With both Ebiwon and Kim Eunjun present, the PD smiled brightly, feeling sure of high ratings already.

The variety show’s concept was celebrities living together in a remote location with various themed setups, handling food, clothing, and shelter themselves. This time, the setting was a historical drama filming site. As Ebi looked around the empty set, he suddenly felt like he had gone back in time. Memories of the scholar came back naturally.

While lost in memories and filming, it soon became mealtime. Dongjitdal and Sowol, who had been waiting nearby, came straight over to Ebi.

“Were you two fighting again?”

Seeing Dongjitdal’s grumpy face, Ebi made a troubled expression. Though they followed him around under the titles of manager and stylist, in reality, they didn’t do much. They either stared at Ebi or spent time bickering. Or more precisely, Sowol enjoyed teasing Dongjitdal.

“Don’t you dare touch Ebi.”

Whatever they had been talking about, Dongjitdal glared at Sowol. Despite being hundreds of years old and having a massive body, his behavior was sometimes childlike. Sowol smiled slyly and poked Ebi with a fingertip. Dongjitdal bared his teeth with a click and growled, as if he wanted to bite that finger off.

“Gasp! Oh no! I touched Ebi again! Like this, like this, like this!”

Playing along, Ebi acted dramatically hurt and stumbled around. Dongjitdal got angry but soon gave Ebi a resentful look for teasing him too.

Before Dongjitdal could burst into tears, Ebi quickly stopped and comforted him.

“Alright, alright. I won’t do it again. Let’s just go eat. You’re hungry, right?”

Ebi walked toward the food truck with slightly sulky Dongjitdal and cheerful Sowol beside him. Since he didn’t need to watch his weight like other actors, he loaded his tray as he liked and sat at a table. People came over and asked if they could sit with him, and Ebi gladly said yes.

“Huh? Biwon’s manager always eats only salad.”

One staff member spoke up, watching Dongjitdal munching on just salad. They looked curious, wondering if the actor and manager had their diets swapped. Ebi smiled.

“Our manager is a vegetarian.”
“Ah, I see. Doesn’t even eat eggs?”

As curious eyes turned toward him, a chill passed over Dongjitdal’s face.

“Right! He only eats fruit and plants. His body can’t handle other things. He has something like a protein allergy.”

Ebi quickly answered in Dongjitdal’s place. Even among goblins and yokai he had known for a long time, Dongjitdal was picky—but with humans, it was even worse. So Ebi subtly moved Dongjitdal to the background and drew attention back to himself. As people chatted with Ebi and forgot about Dongjitdal, he enjoyed the meal.

“There aren’t any seats left—mind if I sit here?”

Ebi looked up to see Kim Eunjun smiling a little awkwardly, holding a tray. A staff member eating with Ebi quickly stood up.

“Of course! I’m done anyway. Sit here, Eunjun.”
“Ah, thank you for giving up your seat.”

With his polite tone and actions, Ebi’s liking for Kim Eunjun grew even more. Ebi had always liked kind and respectful people, and Kim Eunjun seemed like the perfect example. He sat properly, had a graceful air, and even held his chopsticks neatly.

“Biwon, want to get some coffee?”

After eating, Kim Eunjun nodded toward the coffee stand. Ebi didn’t refuse.

“Then… please add lots of sugar.”
“Oh, you like sweet stuff? Me too. I get scolded by my manager all the time for it. What kind of coffee do you like?”

Though not talkative, Kim Eunjun had a way with words. Every word showed culture and manners. He had a broad knowledge and deep understanding, making conversation enjoyable.

Even during filming, his considerate nature showed clearly. He always smiled and never took his stress out on others or showed irritation. To Ebi, who had seen all kinds of humans, it was surprising. Usually, people as famous as Kim Eunjun always had some kind of personality flaw.

As filming at the historical drama set wrapped up, Kim Eunjun approached Ebi with a gentle smile and held out his hand.

“It was fun filming with you today.”
“Me too. I hope we meet again soon.”

Ebi sincerely shook hands. Then Kim Eunjun looked around and lowered his voice.

“We might meet again next month. Here.”
“Here?”

When Ebi asked, confused, Kim Eunjun just winked like it was a secret and walked off. Here—at this historical drama set? Wait, Ebi tried to recall next month’s schedule… but Dongjitdal wasn’t much help with scheduling, and his actual human manager was busy talking with the PD. As Ebi tried to remember, an AD quietly came over.

“Isn’t Eunjun so sweet?”

Ebi smiled and nodded.

“Seriously, he’s just… the nicest. Of course, you’re really kind too, Biwon. But it feels like he was just born that way.”

The AD gazed fondly at Kim Eunjun’s retreating figure and said he regularly donated and volunteered. Apparently, he once strongly opposed a director who forced a female actress into an inappropriate scene, and was disliked because of it.

Then, suddenly, Ebi snapped his head around, his eyes going blank.

“…Scholar?”
“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. He does kind of feel like the Scholar.”

Talking with the AD snapped him back to reality. What did Arang say again? That Ebi would get to meet the Scholar again soon. He’d always worried about how long “soon” would be. How could he have not realized until now?

Ebi’s Scholar had truly been a good person. Not just to Ebi, but to everyone. He shared what he had, helped those in trouble, and was loved by the village. He had saved and cared for Ebi when he was about to disappear, unable to become even a goblin after his glass bottle broke.

“Um, Biwon?”

The AD called his name again, flustered, as Ebi suddenly blanked out mid-conversation. But Ebi barely responded.

He had waited so, so long for this day. Ever since the day the Scholar died, he had believed only in the promise that they would meet again.

If the Scholar had reincarnated… he would be exactly like Kim Eunjun. Could this be the end of that long wait? Unable to hide his joy, Ebi’s face lit up and his heart raced. He softly said the name again—

“Kim Eunjun…”

Those precious three syllables that might belong to his Scholar.

Pinky says: Ebi sounds better.