Little Pink Starfish

“The kiss has nothing to do with it! I’m not mad because of that!”

“Then what is it?”

Ebi started to speak but stopped and pressed his lips tightly together. That wasn’t something he could explain. He couldn’t say that he’d gotten hurt because he was suddenly smitten after being told, “I like you because you’re a rare monster that tastes sweet.” And he didn’t want to, either.

Ebi quickly regained his composure.

“I’m not mad.”

“But you said you’re not mad because of the kiss?”

“Anyway, I’m not mad, and I don’t want to talk about the reason!”

Crossing his arms even more firmly, Ebi then nodded toward his ankle.

“And I said, untie this.”

“Your skin’s pale, so red suits you well.”

Saeon said that and came closer to Ebi. He casually knelt down, and Ebi almost jumped back in surprise but managed to hold still. While Saeon fiddled with the string knot, Ebi stared at the sky, then glanced down.

The round, black crown of Saeon’s head was in the perfect spot for a head pat. His lowered lashes looked like soft crow feathers, and the piercings and earrings lining his ear somehow made Ebi want to flick them.

As Saeon stood back up, Ebi quickly looked away. A silence fell between them.

“If you’ve got nothing else to say, I’m leaving.”

Ebi, unable to bear the moment any longer, spoke first. He glanced behind him, wondering if Dongjitdal had lost patience and was charging in. Saeon, maybe misunderstanding, stepped forward and blocked Ebi’s line of sight.

“You’re really not going to tell me why you’re mad?”

“And what would you do if I told you? What exactly do you want from me, coming here today?”

“Well… I did want to get an autograph.”

Saeon answered obediently without trying to hide anything.

“And I wanted to hunt you.”

The way he looked at Ebi, it was like he was dissecting him piece by piece with his eyes. Sharp, focused, tracking every move. Just like when he’d seen him fighting the face-stealing jiju. Strategizing how to catch the target…

Meeting that gaze, Ebi felt a chill go down his spine. It was the same feeling as when Saeon had tied the trap around his ankle. Being looked at purely as a monster to hunt—Ebi felt anger, but also a strange thrill.

Ebi was starting to realize that this thrill came from the fact that, for whatever reason, Saeon was interested in him. Normally, love between a yokai and a human was one-sided—from the yokai. Ebi had never imagined it would happen to him. He bit his lip and sighed deeply. Was it just something bound to happen if one liked humans?

“If you want to hunt me, go ahead.”

It was basically saying, try if you can. Saeon looked at Ebi with a blank expression. Maybe because he usually hunted at night, his skin was pale. His deep eyes cast long lashes over black irises.

“I don’t know how to catch you yet. I’ve caught a few dokkaebi before… but I’m still not sure.”

Saeon seemed genuinely serious about figuring out how to hunt Ebi. Even though Ebi had feelings for him, he was starting to wonder if he’d gotten himself into something really troublesome.

“What are you going to do with me once you catch me? You said dokkaebi don’t even give you good loot.”

Ebi asked, not hiding his displeasure, and immediately regretted it. He remembered that Saeon once said he enjoyed the act of hunting itself. Maybe dokkaebi weren’t fun, but day-dokkaebi were different?

“First, I want to keep you by my side.”

“What, you gonna cut off my head and hang it on your wall?”

Ebi remembered the massive tiger head hanging on the wall of Saeon’s outbuilding. Was he planning to hang up his glass jar next? Either way, as long as Igok was guarding it, Saeon wouldn’t be able to get it.

“No. What I’m going to do is…”

Saeon paused for a while, thinking hard, as if he hadn’t actually planned what to do after catching Ebi. Finally, he said:

“I’m going to strip off all your clothes.”

“…What.”

That answer caught Ebi completely off guard. Am I really into this kind of weirdo? Even if Saeon was a rookie hunter, he was clearly an odd one.

“You’re going to take my clothes off and… do what…”

Yokai generally didn’t have much shame or fear about nudity. Even if they looked human, their true forms were often beasts. Dokkaebi were the same—they barely had a sex drive and were often innocently naked. But after living among humans so long, Ebi had grown used to human moral standards. His voice became very uncomfortable.

Of course he’s a human male in his prime, Ebi thought while glaring at him. Then Saeon said:

“I want to check if you taste sweet in other places too.”

“…That’s all you want to check?”

Ebi took a few steps back. Am I seriously in love with this kind of crazy hunter? Thinking it over, he realized… yeah, he still liked him. Saeon thought again for a moment, then said blankly:

“I want to check slowly over a long time.”

That sounded like he wanted to keep Ebi naked and lick and suck him for eternity. Ebi stepped back a few more times. Face blazing red, he snapped at Saeon.

“You… you can’t just say stuff like that! You really… have no common sense or manners!”

“Then how should I say it so it’s common sense and has manners?”

Saeon seemed genuinely curious, and Ebi was once again at a loss for words. No matter how you phrased it, I want to keep you tied up and lick you forever was not something that could be said politely. Most humans had at least that much sense. And the manners not to say it out loud.

Ebi just stared at Saeon without saying anything. Then, after thinking hard again, Saeon opened his mouth.

“Ebi, I want to…”

Ebi looked at him, half in dread, half in anticipation. Saeon slowly finished his sentence.

“I want to make you my candy dokkaebi.”

Ebi blinked. Unexpectedly, this was more pleasant to hear than I want to trap you and suck you everywhere. But it also hit him like a shockwave. His heart pounded wildly.

“No!”

Candy dokkaebi? Was he really calling him that ridiculous name? Ebi’s sweet scent came from his spiritual power, not because he was made of candy. The sweetness might also be from his power. Either way, Ebi’s true body was a glass jar. He said firmly:

“There’s no such thing as a candy dokkaebi.”

Only old, human-used objects could become dokkaebi. Candy could never become such a thing. It would melt away from being handled.

“Then… a dokkaebi candy…”

“Don’t switch the order! A dokkaebi candy is even worse!”

To Ebi, “candy dokkaebi” and “dokkaebi candy” were completely different things.

And now, it really was time to go. If Saeon wasn’t going to do anything right now, then Ebi had to get back to being EbiOne. Even when Ebi backed away three, four steps, Saeon didn’t follow. Instead, he raised a hand and waved lightly.

“Bye. See you again.”

Ebi didn’t answer and turned around, practically fleeing.

Dongjitdal and Sowol were waiting a bit off in the distance. Dongjitdal, whose face had been full of fury, finally relaxed when Ebi returned. Ebi wondered why he hadn’t come running earlier—turned out Sowol had him tied up.

“Why are you so late? He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”

“No, not really. We just talked.”

After confirming there were no injuries, Dongjitdal seemed relieved and growled for Sowol to untie him. But Sowol held the rope tighter and studied Ebi’s face closely.

“He was pretty handsome. How did you meet?”

“Just kinda… at a fan meeting and filming site…”

“He says he’s a fan,” Ebi mumbled and walked ahead quickly. It wasn’t really a lie. He’d come to a fan meeting, had photos of Ebi in his room, and even asked for an autograph. That made him a fan, right? “I seeee,” Sowol said, eyes glinting like she knew everything. Then suddenly, she tilted her head.

“I hear a bell?”

“A bell? Where?”

Sowol tilted her head, then looked down. Ebi also glanced around the ground. But he didn’t hear any bell. Dongjitdal, who was headbutting Sowol’s leg while sulking, had the same confused look.

“Strange, I definitely heard a bell… Wait, Ebi, can you walk again?”

Ebi looked confused but took a step. That’s when Sowol realized the source of the bell and called out, “Ebi!” pointing at his ankle. Ebi followed her finger—and his eyes widened.

Attached to the red string, which he thought Saeon had untied, was a tiny golden bell.