Little Pink Starfish

“If we’re not going to keep hunting… should we go somewhere else?”

Ebi hovered beside Saeon and gently suggested it with a sweet voice. As Saeon looked up while retrieving the snare from the small oni, he asked, “Somewhere else?”

“Isn’t there a nice spot on this mountain? Somewhere with sunlight and blooming flowers.”

Ebi smiled brightly in front of Saeon and made a flower pose with his hands under his chin. But since Saeon just stared blankly and didn’t react, Ebi’s flower pose wilted a bit. His face looked vacant at first, but now that they were closer, it seemed more like he was deep in thought.

Then Saeon stepped in and kissed him again. Surprised, Ebi’s “flower hands” fell limp, and Saeon picked one of them up and said,

“Let’s go.”

You sure you’ve never dated before…? Ebi followed behind, hand in hand, a bit suspicious.

The place they arrived at had plenty of sunlight and even some blooming flowers. One side of the sloped ground ended in a cliff, so the view was wide open and the breeze gentle. Goblins liked mountains as much as humans did, so Ebi was thrilled. He suddenly rummaged through his clothes and pulled something out.

“I brought this just in case!”

What popped out was a black wooden club. Saeon’s brow twitched, clearly recognizing the typical goblin image.

“Don’t tell me that’s…”

“Tada! It’s a goblin bat!”

In folktales, it was said to produce gold and treasure when struck—but that wasn’t its actual function. It was an item that helped goblins amplify their magic. It originally belonged to the King of Spirits, Igok, but he never cared about it—left it lying around or let other goblins play with it like a toy. Even if it was lost outside, the next day it would quietly reappear in Igok’s hand.

Igok didn’t use it simply because he didn’t need to. He was powerful enough without it.

Ebi plucked a leaf, placed it on the ground, and tapped it with the club. Thunk. With each tap, the leaf grew until it was big enough for two people to lie on. One final thunk and it turned into a soft, green mat. Ebi even summoned a fluttering canopy and pulled out some light refreshments before putting the bat away.

“Sit here.”

Ebi patted the mat with both hands, calling Saeon over. Saeon sat on the leaf-made mat and ran his hand over it curiously.

“It’s not an illusion… Is this permanent?”

“Mmm, unless you undo it with the bat, yeah.”

The goblin bat couldn’t create something from nothing, but whatever it modified became permanent. Ebi had another reason for making this mat—he wanted to give Saeon’s run-down house at least one fresh decorative touch.

Saen sat beside Ebi and shifted quietly. Spending time like this—peaceful and relaxed—seemed foreign to him. But after a while, he loosened up. That’s when Ebi finally began his real background check on his mysterious boyfriend. Besides being an odd and slightly scary hunter, Ebi realized he didn’t know much about Saeon at all.

“How long have you been living in that house?”

The breeze ruffled Saeon’s dark bangs. He sat with one leg bent and the other stretched out.

Ebi gently patted the bent knee. Saeon looked at it with mild curiosity, then let it be. No signs of tension. But when Ebi leaned his head onto Saeon’s thigh, he flinched slightly. Clearly not used to such close contact. He would have to get used to it from now on.

“…Probably since I was very young.”

Ebi remembered that Saeon had said before that he had no parents. So he’d grown up without knowing what a family was. Still, he couldn’t have lived all alone in such a place from infancy. Humans weren’t like yokai—they couldn’t survive alone when newborn.

“Um, who raised you?”

Ebi asked cautiously, not wanting to stir up any hidden trauma.

“A hunter took care of me.”

“Ah, so that’s why you became a hunter too. Then did you start after graduating school?”

“No. Just… from when I could. I never went to school.”

“You didn’t go to school?!”

Ebi sat up in shock, and Saeon gently pushed him back down. Apparently, he liked the feel of Ebi lying on his leg. He even started stroking his hair.

Back in the old days, kids would work on farms as soon as they could and marry young. But now every child had to go to school. Ebi knew that neglecting education could even get a guardian charged with abuse.

“You do have an ID card… right?”

“Made one a few years ago. It was a hassle.”

Ebi fell quiet. If Saeon hadn’t even been registered at birth, his childhood probably hadn’t been a happy one. Yet Saeon didn’t seem troubled by the questions or burdened by any bad memories. Just in case, Ebi switched the topic.

“Wanna make an SNS account? I can show you how!”

Even when Ebi snatched Saeon’s phone, installed an app, created an account, and added himself as a friend, Saeon didn’t mind. After setting it to private and uploading a picture of them together, they were lounging around when—

Saeon’s fingers, which had been stroking Ebi’s hair, suddenly touched his ear. He tapped along the rim with his fingertip, then gently circled it with his thumb. The sensation was both ticklish and spine-tingling, making Ebi shrink his shoulders.

Pretending to fiddle with the phone, Ebi glanced sideways. Saeon kept touching his ear repeatedly as if memorizing the shape, then slowly moved down to the back of his neck. To a spirit like Ebi, a human’s warm temperature felt especially nice. Saeon leaned down, casting a shadow over Ebi. A few dark bangs fell across his forehead.

Calloused fingers traced Ebi’s neck and cheek. Then, cupping his jaw, Saeon used his thumb to press Ebi’s lips open. When Ebi cheekily licked the thumb, Saeon’s gaze shifted.

He leaned in and kissed him again.

His thumb slid into Ebi’s mouth, pressing down on his lower jaw. It was soft, yet firm and assertive. Saeon explored inside Ebi’s mouth without resistance.

“Wait, hold on…”

Ebi tried to push him away, but as before, Saeon didn’t budge. And with that aggressive energy building, he even grabbed the hand that touched his chest.

“Stay still.”

“No, I mean… I’m not saying no. Just, uh, let’s at least put up a barrier or something—like that talisman from before.”

I don’t want anyone seeing this, Ebi muttered with a sheepish smile, tugging Saeon’s hand. Saeon, who had been looking down at him with cold eyes, softened his gaze.

Being with Saeon felt like handling a wild animal that had never known human touch. Thinking of him as someone unaccustomed to socialization, Ebi could accept his occasional forcefulness. In truth, it wasn’t unpleasant. In fact…

Soon Saeon stepped away to attach some talismans to nearby trees and returned. Ebi lay calmly on the mat, looking up at him, eyes glinting playfully in the soft sunlight, lips curling gently.

Saen stepped onto the soft mat. He passed Ebi’s feet, thighs, then stopped at his waist. The way he stood over Ebi—between his legs—was intimidating and dominant, despite their affectionate relationship. It felt like he wanted to pin Ebi down.

Saen slowly bent his knees and sat on top of him. His whole body was solid muscle, and heavy. Ebi gasped. Maybe it was just because of where he sat…

“You’re kinda heavy…”

Saen didn’t respond. He simply brushed Ebi’s cheek and neck with a blank expression.

His touch and gaze carried curiosity toward his partner—this “partner” he had never known before. Even though he once said he didn’t like Ebi because he was rare, but because Ebi called his name, it was clear that curiosity hadn’t disappeared.

Knowing that, Ebi tried to convince himself that this platonic atmosphere was fine—but couldn’t help feeling slightly disappointed. Then suddenly, a mischievous urge bubbled up. Ebi reached out and began tracing Saeon’s body just as he had been traced.