Little Pink Starfish

While Ebi was getting ready to leave for Gamun Mountain, the sun had already set. He let out a sigh as he roughly stuffed several yeonyanggang (sweet red bean jelly) into his pocket. The goblins were as loud and carefree as ever. It felt like only Igok and himself were truly worried about the two missing goblins.

“Where are you going?”

Igok suddenly appeared without a sound, chewing on a lotus-stem pipe. As the tall man bent over to peek into Ebi’s pocket, a shadow fell over Ebi’s head.

“Arang said he’d tell me who took the goblins if I bring something from Gamun Mountain.”

Ebi glanced up at Igok cautiously. Over the years, Igok had generally been overprotective of Ebi. Though it had gotten better lately, he might not allow something like this.

“You’re choosing hardship. It’s not like this is the first time goblins have gone missing.”

Igok said, annoyed, as he blew out a long stream of smoke. Maybe Ebi really was the only one who cared about the missing goblins…

“If I disappear, will you come looking for me, Igok?”

Ebi asked playfully. Igok looked at him with shadowy eyes. Sometimes, he had this distant, unreadable gaze. Thinking it might’ve been rude, Ebi shrank his shoulders, but Igok just clicked his tongue lightly.

“Don’t ask what’s obvious.”

“Hehe, right?”

At least it seemed like Igok was letting him go to Gamun Mountain. Feeling better, Ebi looked at Sowol. He asked if Sowol was going with him to the mountain. Immersed in her game, Sowol shook her head.

“Nope. That area’s outside my jurisdiction. If it’s not under me, it’s okay to mess around a bit.”

It was the most heavenly-bureaucrat kind of answer. She even immediately lost interest in Ebi again. Ebi, packing up some snacks, looked at Dongjitdal wondering whether to bring him. Dongjitdal, who had been playing the same game beside Sowol with competitive fire in his eyes, noticed Ebi’s look and quickly came over.

“I’m coming too.”

Ebi was just about to say “okay” after a brief pause when Soil, who had been quietly sitting there the whole time, suddenly stepped in and cut him off.

“No. If Dongjitdal goes, Sowol has to go too.”

“Why!”

Both Dongjitdal and Sowol yelled in protest. Sowol glared, and Soil sighed and started persuading Dongjitdal.

“Ebi usually has self-control, but you, Dongjitdal, usually don’t. So you’re staying here this time.”

Listening closely, it didn’t sound like persuasion—it sounded like picking a fight. Dongjitdal’s face froze in anger.

“Why don’t I have self-control!”

“Ebi hasn’t caused trouble for over a hundred years, but you mess something up at least once a year. When goblins cause trouble, the responsible Mangryang King pays the price. But if you mess up? Do you even have any gold?”

“I have what Ebi gave me last time!”

Dongjitdal rummaged in his pocket and pulled out three or four tiny gold toads. Ebi remembered giving him something bigger—who knew how it got so small. Even Ebi could see it wasn’t nearly enough. Soil scoffed.

“You’re one of the top three most dangerous beings in the area. Got it? You cause a problem without enough to pay for it? You’re going to jail. Heaven jail. Want to see what that’s like? I won’t stop you.”

Ebi almost tried to defend Dongjitdal, but stopped. Soil wasn’t wrong. And Ebi didn’t have enough gold to cover for him right now. As he avoided eye contact, Dongjitdal looked deeply hurt. Soil didn’t miss his chance and threw a binding rope that instantly wrapped Dongjitdal up.

Ebi! Ebiii! Dongjitdal cried out pitifully as Soil dragged him away tied up. Little goblins giggled and followed along behind.

“Well then, I’m off. Might take a few days.”

Ebi spoke cheerfully, as if nothing had happened. Igok, who had watched Dongjitdal’s mess with indifference, put down his pipe and gestured.

“Ebi, come here.”

When Ebi came close, Igok looked at him silently for a moment, then reached out. Even when his hand brushed Ebi’s cheek and fingers touched his lips, Ebi just calmly looked at his king. A bitter smile appeared on Igok’s face.

“Igok?”

“…Shall I go with you?”

At the unexpected offer, Ebi tilted his head. For years, Igok had led the crowd of wandering spirits with lifeless, tired eyes. Even as a king, he didn’t join in play with the goblins and just carried out his duty of protection.

“If you want to come…”

As Ebi hesitated, Igok leaned down. Ebi froze, holding his breath. Igok gently pulled Ebi’s head toward him and kissed his forehead. Warm energy flowed through Ebi’s whole body. Igok brushed back his hair, then stepped away. From the hem of his coat, blue flames flickered.

“Go on.”

He left behind that short, usual indifferent farewell and disappeared into the fire. Feeling strange, Ebi touched the spot on his forehead and stood there a while before slowly walking off.

🍬

Gamun Mountain was located in Gangwon Province. On the way, Ebi stopped at a rest stop and happily bought roasted chestnuts, potatoes, and squid.

According to his online search, there was only one large bamboo forest in Gamun Mountain. That worked out well for Ebi. He parked near the forest and got out, looking around. Except for a couple of graves, the place was deserted.

“Hm?”

Just as he was about to enter the bamboo forest, Ebi paused. Another black car was parked nearby. As he walked closer, he saw it was covered in dust, like it had been abandoned for a long time.

Thinking it was good there weren’t people around, Ebi almost passed by—but stopped again. Slowly stepping backward, he frowned. The driver’s side door handle was the only part with no dust—shiny and clean. This wasn’t an abandoned car—it just hadn’t been washed.

“They treat this car rough.”

So, someone was wandering around nearby. One human wasn’t a big deal. Even if they saw something strange, no one would believe them. The heavenly soldiers usually let that much slide.

The bamboo forest was dim and filled with yin energy. Yellow bamboo leaves were piled on the ground, and they rustled with every step.

Soon, Ebi found an old, abandoned house. Peeking in, it was clearly long empty—rotting and filled with heavy spiritual energy. But oddly, no ghosts were in sight.

“Come to think of it, that hunter’s house was like this too…”

Ebi muttered without thinking. The memory of that hunter he’d forgotten for a while returned. Tilting his head, he stepped outside to search again.

“Oh, found one.”

Things seemed to be going smoothly—near the house, Ebi found a silver Buddha statue. It was smiling strangely. He picked it up, blew the dust off, and examined it. Nothing seemed odd. He shoved it into the bag on his back.

A couple hours later, he found another statue. By sunset, he had collected three total. The bag, now holding three statues, was fairly heavy.

Once night fell, the bamboo forest became even more eerie. Ebi could see well in the dark, unlike humans, but still couldn’t find more statues. Deciding to search the next day, he returned to the old house.

To a regular person, the place would have been terrifying. But Ebi, not human, found it cozy. He dusted off a corner, lay down, fiddled with his phone, and fell asleep soundly.

The next morning, chirping birds woke him. Stretching with a yawn, he pulled out a cold potato from his coat and ate it. With a full belly, he jumped up.

“Time to find the rest of the statues… huh?”

As he lifted his bag, Ebi froze. It was much lighter than the night before. Narrowing his eyes, he opened it—only one statue remained.

“Two of them ran away?”

The bag wasn’t ordinary. It had a sealing function. Ebi glared at the silver Buddha. This one would definitely escape by nightfall, too. He shoved it back into the bag.

That settled it—he had to collect all seven in one day and get out of here. Determined, Ebi leapt to his feet and set off again.