Little Pink Starfish

When Ebi dawdled and didn’t want to get up, Sowol glared fiercely. Just as Ebi reluctantly began to rise, something small and fluttery like a grass dragonfly flew in from somewhere. Sowol, frowning, reached out her hand, and it landed on her palm, sparkling like a firefly.

That was a courier typically sent when a yokai caused a huge incident and the celestial soldiers stationed nearby urgently needed help. Ebi’s face lit up. Noticing this, Sowol clicked her tongue and glared at him again.

“Don’t go anywhere. Today, come straight back to the office!”

With that, she casually grabbed Dongjitdal, who had been standing beside Ebi, by the collar and yanked him forward. Caught off guard, Dongjitdal was dragged along and shouted angrily.

“What the hell are you doing?! Let go of me!”

“It’s time to repay your gold debt, Dongjitdal. More precisely, your bail. Work it off. Or head up to that prison in the sky…”

Sowol’s voice was eerie. Apparently, Dongjitdal had caused some kind of trouble somewhere again. Since Dongjitdal wasn’t a goblin, he couldn’t produce gold. So whenever he caused a mess, instead of being taken to the heavens, he worked for Sowol and Soil as a substitute. Dongji gave Ebi a desperate look.

“But… Ebi finished work early today too…”

“He’ll probably keep finishing early from now on. What kind of excuse is that?”

Ebi gave Dongjitdal a sympathetic look. He fished through his pockets, but all he found was a pinch of gold dust, as he had spent his gold recently getting advice from Arang. Still, he gathered it up and handed it to Sowol, who released Dongjitdal’s collar and instead held his arm in a slightly more respectful manner. But it seemed the fact he was being taken away wouldn’t change.

“Ebi, Ebiii!”

Dongjitdal called his name in a sorrowful voice as he was dragged away by Sowol. Ebi waved at them. At that moment, his manager, who had been busily answering calls, turned to Ebi with a troubled face. Worried something had happened, Ebi asked gently,

“What’s wrong? Is something up?”

“I think I need to head back. A sudden meeting came up… Um, it might take a while. I really have to go now.”

The phone buzzed urgently again. In a clear rush, the manager stomped his feet, told Ebi to go back on his own, and quickly left. Ebi, a bit stunned, murmured,

“Everyone’s just leaving me alone and going off, huh?”

As he trudged away, feeling like all his effort dressing up had been for nothing, a familiar figure caught his eye. It was Saeon. Ebi’s face lit up again.

Saeon was staring intensely at something with an expressionless face. What was he looking at so seriously? Either way, Ebi was glad he had dressed up today. Instantly switching gears, he quickly tidied up his hair and clothes, about to run up to Saeon—but then paused.

“Wait, should I be the one to surprise him this time?”

Among the many things goblins liked, pranks were top-tier. Especially surprising humans—Ebi, of course, was no exception. And since Saeon had always been the one surprising him, he wanted to return the favor.

A mischievous smile crept onto Ebi’s face as he finished his short deliberation.

🍬

Red blood dripped from the crown of the head, staining the floor. The stench of blood was so thick it was almost toxic, but Saeon didn’t even frown. It was a scent all too familiar to him. A groaning growl echoed from above.

Even with blood soaking him, Saeon didn’t blink as he pressed forward. The blade, digging in, caught on a tough tendon. Twisting the blade, he forced it deeper. With a gush, blood spurted out as the massive body that had cornered him lost strength. Thud… With a gurgle of blood-foamed breath, the enormous bear toppled over sideways.

Blinking, Saeon shook the blood from his lashes, then opened his hand. A few red dot-like piercings were embedded in his palm. He flicked at them with his nail, and the piercings clattered to the floor. Blackened instantly, they gave off shimmering heatwaves like steam before vanishing into the air.

After every ritual hunt (Ganjae), extreme dizziness always followed. Embedding piercings in his body was like bleeding continuously. But that dizziness, too, was familiar. Clenching and unclenching his numb hand, Saeon pulled out another blade.

He had done it countless times. Skinning and butchering the beast was skillful work. While he worked, small cubs hiding in the grass appeared, crying and wandering. Using cubs as bait was always one of the most effective tactics.

A couple of the cubs bit at his clothes, but Saeon ignored them and continued. He didn’t spare them out of pity. Letting the cubs live meant there’d be future monsters to hunt. Whether they grew into full beasts or were eaten by others.

After tearing off the bear’s horned forehead, he cut into its organs, hitting something hard. He pushed his hand in without hesitation. When he pulled out what he wanted, it came with half-melted white bone and filthy, discolored cloth scraps.

Last month, a fairly well-known hunter had been eaten by this creature. When Saeon heard, he immediately targeted this bear—not for revenge, but because it had likely swallowed the hunter’s magical tools.

As he retrieved a square wooden tag and a round canister from inside the bear, Saeon’s entire body was soaked in blood. Grabbing an especially annoying cub by the scruff and tossing it, he scared off the rest. Once he finished his work, Saeon packed the goods into his sling bag and stood up.

Before leaving the mountain, he rinsed off at a nearby stream. Just enough to avoid scaring people. The stink of blood remained.

Since removing beast scents after hunts was important, Saeon went straight to a motel to bathe. Filling the tub with steaming water and dissolving black tablets released a strong pine scent. He tossed his clothes and submerged himself up to the neck, thoroughly washing away the blood stench.

Leaning back with arms over the edge, his tall body curled beneath the rippling water. His well-muscled, scar-covered body bore countless marks. Today’s battle left new ones—multiple punctures on his shoulder where the bear had bitten.

Still buzzing from the intense fight, his groin was visibly aroused, though he ignored it. Instead, he skimmed his hand across the tub’s bottom and retrieved the wooden tag and canister. Once he confirmed they were clean of blood, he stood up. Water surged and overflowed.

After rough first aid on his wounds and drying off, Saeon stepped out of the bathroom. Since the hassle of leaving blood-soaked clothes behind once caused trouble, he now wrapped them in plastic. After packing away his hunting clothes and changing into clean ones—mostly black so stains wouldn’t show—he heard a faint click.

Saon froze. Only his dark eyes slowly scanned the area, stopping at one point.

It was the round canister he’d retrieved from the bear.

Wearing just pants, he picked it up. As he listened closely, the click sounded again. On close inspection, Chinese characters were engraved beneath the lid—unseen before due to blood.

“…Jeongyeok Palgwaedo.” (The Fixed Eight Trigrams Diagram)

Realizing the engraved principle at a glance, Saeon twisted the lid sideways. The clicking stopped and a sand-like shhh sound came out. Turning it again, it grew icy cold. Another turn, and acrid smoke spilled out.

Satisfied with this useful find, Saeon smiled faintly. Placing the canister down, he finished dressing. All his clothes were near-black—not because he liked the color, but because it didn’t show blood.

As he packed his bag, his phone screen lit up. A short message had arrived:

[Urgent Request: Jupyo (red leopard-like beast with a long tail), Seomyo (small mouse yokai)]

It was another emergency request, like usual. But unlike usual, a hint of disappointment crossed Saeon’s face. Tapping his screen, he accessed a website. The bulletin board was empty except for official posts.

He typed three characters:

Goblin (도깨비)

Just as he started his car, an alert rang. A reply had already come in to the post he’d just made.