Little Pink Starfish

Ebi spent time with Saeon until evening. Though Saeon didn’t have a TV, he did have a computer, so they picked a romance story to watch together. It was only after night fully fell, with owls crying loudly, that the date ended. While getting into the car parked at the foot of the mountain, Ebi thought: That was a clumsy first date… but pretty bold.

Bold, and fun too. His lips curled up into a soft, relaxed smile.

He drove back to Dobi Entertainment, thinking about the time he’d spent with Saeon. While tapping the steering wheel at a red light, a shape glowing with blue flames caught his eye.

“What’s that? One of our kids?”

In the distance, two small dots of floating blue fire swayed beyond a dark alley. It was dangerous nowadays, so they shouldn’t be wandering around like that. What if humans saw them? Ebi quickly parked on the side of the road and got out of the car.

“Hey, are you trying to get scolded by His Majesty? Whoever you are, if you keep roaming around like that, you might get stuck in Igok’s sleeve for a whole month as a probation spirit.”

Ebi looked around and walked into the alley. But soon stopped. The two blue lights weren’t goblin fires. They were human-shaped, strange beings with glowing blue eyes. As soon as they met Ebi’s eyes, they dashed into the darkness and disappeared.

Ebi ran after them, but only saw a bustling street full of lights and people. The blue eyes were nowhere to be seen.

“What was that just now…?”

Ebi tilted his head. He didn’t know of any being with glowing blue eyes like that. He made a note to ask Saeon next time. Right before getting back into the car, Ebi turned around one more time, feeling oddly uneasy.

Could that be the thing taking our kids lately…?

Worried, Ebi took a full lap around the borders of Igok’s domain. Unauthorized humans or yokai couldn’t enter that space—only goblins were free to come and go. Thanks to the patrol, he managed to find two little goblins playing at a park near the company and brought them back.

When he returned, Igok was gone. Dongjitdal sat slumped on the sofa but jumped up when Ebi walked in.

“Ebi! Where were you?”

“I had plans with someone today.”

As always, Dongjitdal looked sour whenever Ebi came back from meeting a human, then sniffed the air.

“Smells like oak leaves?”

Ebi recalled the oak leaves he used earlier when making the mat with the goblin bat, and quickly shoved the little goblins into Dongjitdal’s arms. Dongjitdal scowled and glared at the kids.

“You went out again, didn’t you?”

Still bad at shapeshifting, the little goblins—looking like leaves or fuzzy fluffballs—chattered while denying it.

“No, we didn’t! We stayed home!”

“Yeah, right. You were definitely caught sneaking around by Ebi.”

Scared of Dongjitdal, the goblins squirmed in his arms, avoiding eye contact. But Ebi had handed them over for a reason.

“Do you guys want to keep bothering Ebi? If you keep causing trouble, you’ll all get kicked out!”

Dongjitdal scrunched his face like a demon and roared. The kids burst into tears, wailing as he threw them onto the soft sofa like ragdolls. They rolled across it, sobbing loudly.

Ebi comforted the now squashed goblins, patting them like freshly steamed rice cakes. Then he gave a warning to the others too.

“Going outside is fine, but never step outside Lord Igok’s land. Got it?”

Thanks to Ebi’s daily warnings about hunters, the goblins seemed to understand now. He added one more unusual piece of advice:

“And if you see something with glowing blue eyes, run away.”

“Something with glowing blue eyes?”

Soil, who had been quietly reading a book nearby, responded. Ebi nodded, pulling out Igok’s goblin bat from his sleeve.

“On my way back, I saw something human-shaped with glowing blue eyes. I don’t know exactly what it was…”

“Couldn’t it be a human using spells?”

Ebi crossed his arms and thought for a bit, then shook his head.

“No, it didn’t feel human.”

Humans have a kind of brightness that yokai don’t—a warmth of life. Soil stroked his chin and gave rare information.

“Remember how yokai have been getting attacked lately? One survivor said they saw something with glowing blue eyes. It’s probably the same one.”

“Something with glowing blue eyes…”

Ebi frowned deeply. Yokai getting attacked wasn’t rare. Humans hunted yokai, or yokai devoured each other to grow stronger. But goblins were different. Killing or eating a goblin gave no benefit. So they had lived in peace for ages.

Sowol, who had been listening seriously, nodded.

“I know about almost all yokai… but I’ve never heard of a humanoid one with glowing blue eyes. Maybe it’s…”

He rubbed his chin, looking serious. Curious, Ebi and Soil looked at him. But suddenly Sowol grinned wide.

“Maybe it’s a brand-new kind of yokai! Ah, just thinking about it makes me happy…”

Seeing him giggle from pure joy, Dongjitdal looked disgusted and Ebi subtly stepped away, creeped out.

Either way, it was something to take seriously, so Ebi sternly warned all the goblins again. That night, he even walked around the building, counting them all one by one before bed.

But the next morning, after a deep sleep, he woke up to find that one goblin had vanished again.

🍬

Today was the first shoot for the historical drama Yusu. When Ebi arrived, the director and crew were setting up a ritual table. In the center of the large table was a smiling pig’s head, with lots of food and fruit offerings.

Producer Jung, who was in charge of Yusu, believed in superstitions. So the offerings were many and generous. He even set up a fancy folding screen and added hand-carved chestnuts before bowing with sincere devotion.

As the humans prayed for the show’s success, the food became infused with positive energy. Local spirits swarmed in to eat the energy and gave blessings in return—less accidents, better inspiration, more focus, and so on. Ebi watched the energy-soaked food and swallowed his spit.

Looks delicious…

He stood politely, just waiting for the food-sharing time. He especially eyed the chestnuts. As soon as the ritual ended, he popped one into his mouth. Then, sneakily, he ate a second one while crunching cheerfully, holding another one out to Eunjun.

“Want a chestnut? It’s really tasty and nutty.”

Ebi looked so happy munching that Eunjun smiled softly and took one.

“I was a bit worried earlier because you looked down… but I’m glad you seem better now.”

“…Something bad happened at home a few days ago.”

Ebi sighed softly. One goblin had vanished recently, and he’d been so stressed. Even though he warned them so much, one still slipped out during the night. CCTV was no help—without a body, goblins didn’t show up on camera.

“Oh no… I hope things work out. If you need help, tell me anytime. Even if I can’t help, I’ll listen.”

Eunjun’s gentle, sincere voice made Ebi smile without realizing it.

“Just hearing that means a lot.”

Then suddenly, Ebi stared blankly at Eunjun. For today’s shoot, both were in costume—but Eunjun’s look triggered old memories.

Eunjun wore a jade-colored robe over a white top, with his hair in a topknot and a black hat—he looked exactly like someone from Ebi’s past life. Ebi almost called out, “My scholar…” but barely held it in.

“Mr. Biwon, if it’s okay, can I post our photo on my SNS?”

“Yes, of course! Go ahead!”

They took a photo together in their scholar outfits, and Ebi’s mood soared. He even took some more with the producer and crew. Ebi loved all the projects he worked on, but because it was with “his scholar,” Yusu felt extra special.

Even with NGs, no one got upset—everyone was cheerful and filming was fun. During a break, Eunjun approached Ebi.

“Mr. Biwon, are you free Wednesday evening?”

Eunjun leaned politely toward the seated Ebi and asked gently. Ebi, who would’ve made time even if he didn’t have any, smiled brightly and nodded, “Yes, of course.”
Anyone could see he was completely smitten.