Little Pink Starfish

“If it’s okay, won’t you come to the piano recital that day? My older sister is a pianist, and she’s personally a fan of you, Biwon. She’ll be really happy if you come.”

“A piano recital sounds nice. I’ll definitely make time to go.”

“Thank you, Biwon. I’ll definitely treat you to a meal sometime.”

Being treated so kindly and warmly, Ebi wanted to say I’m the one who’s thankful to Eunjun. Ebi carefully tucked the recital invitation Eunjun gave him into his chest. It was just a single piece of paper, yet on the way to the makeup team for his wound makeup, he hummed cheerfully without realizing it. Watching all of this nearby, Dongjitdal had a displeased look on his face.

“Going to play with humans again?”

“Do you want to come too, Dongji? You’ve never been to a piano recital, right?”

“No thanks. I don’t listen to lame things like human performances.”

Dongjitdal snorted and sharply turned his head. Sowol, who was at least two heads shorter than Dongjitdal, patted his head like he was a cute younger sibling, and Dongjitdal smacked his hand away with an annoyed expression. Watching the two of them bicker made someone come to Ebi’s mind, and the corners of his mouth slowly lowered.

‘That aside… is Saeon not coming today either…?’

Ebi looked around with a somewhat sullen face. Since their first date, Saeon hadn’t come to see him for several days. Though he got replies by text or phone, he couldn’t bring himself to ask why aren’t you coming to see me? He wondered if maybe the first date wasn’t that great for Saeon.

…But it didn’t seem like that. Remembering what he saw of Saeon that day, Ebi shook his head. Wondering if Saeon wasn’t showing up because of the many eyes watching, Ebi got up right after finishing his makeup.

While deliberately walking through quiet spots and sneaking glances at people wearing especially black clothes, he bumped into a staff member carrying a heavy load. The heavy box fell to the ground with a loud thud, and Ebi was startled.

“Ah! I’m sorry! Oh no, you dropped it because of me.”

Panicking, he hurried to pick it up, and the staff member asked him for help. Ebi’s eyes widened.

“Sorry, the load is heavy—could you help me for a moment?”

“…Yes, of course!”

Ebi quickly picked up the box and followed the staff member. After weaving between cameras and people, they reached a secluded spot. The staff member put the box down, and Ebi did the same. Then, suddenly, Ebi jumped onto the other person.

“Why haven’t you come all this time!”

Though he threw his whole weight into it, Saeon—disguised as staff—caught and hugged him stably. It had only been a few days, but Ebi was so happy to see him again that a big smile spread across his face. With a slightly urgent motion, he took off Saeon’s cap, revealing his sleepy-looking eyes. Ebi wanted to see that handsome face directly.

“I watched the things you recommended.”

“You don’t mean you already watched all of them?”

Ebi’s eyes widened as he smoothed Saeon’s hair flattened by the cap. He’d recommended over twenty great romance movies and dramas, thinking Saeon knew nothing about dating. He asked just in case—had Saeon spent all those days just watching them? Saeon nodded.

Ebi’s face brightened into a wide smile.

“Thank you so much for watching them.”

It wasn’t something he had to watch, but the fact that he did it for Ebi touched him deeply. Ebi affectionately clung to Saeon, who had crescent-shaped eyes. Then he noticed a familiar talisman attached to a pillar—definitely placed there by Saeon—and confidently kissed him. As he whispered “Did you sleep properly while watching all that?” and touched the teardrop near his eye, a sudden thought occurred to him.

“Saeon, do you happen to know anything about a human-shaped yokai with glowing blue eyes?”

“A human-shaped yokai with glowing blue eyes?”

Saeon paused to think and then replied firmly.

“You can’t identify them just from that. If it’s human-shaped, it can just be a disguise, and glowing eyes can be faked easily too.”

“I see…”

Still, just in case, Ebi described it more in detail and talked about the glowing blue-eyed being that’s been attacking yokai. Surprisingly, Saeon already knew about it. Apparently, unlike yokai, humans had something called the Hunter Association, so they actively shared information. Suddenly worried, Ebi sighed and muttered,

“My kids… I hope they haven’t been sold off somewhere as strange antiques…”

Just then, as Saeon was removing Ebi’s gat and touching his topknot, he suddenly spoke.

“…Then how about a second date?”

“Huh? A second date?”

He was always up for a date, but the shift in conversation was sudden. As Saeon placed the gat back on Ebi’s head and tied the strings himself, he said:

“There’s a place where you can see all kinds of yokai and strange items. If it’s a weird antique, there’s a good chance it’ll show up there. Items possessed by goblins are rare, so collectors go crazy for them.”

Ebi’s ears perked up at that. He thought they might even find goblins that Igok hadn’t yet recovered. New kin were always welcome.

“What kind of place is it?”

After tying the strings, Saeon gently smoothed Ebi’s black hair under the ears with his thumb. As Ebi tilted his head, the gat tilted too. What’s this? He’s being really sweet today…?

“Wednesday evening.”

“…Huh?”

“I’ll tell you if we meet Wednesday evening.”

Saeon’s eyes carried a cold glint as he said it. Only then did Ebi realize. Ah, Saeon heard the conversation I had with the scholar-nim…! But instead of being angry about eavesdropping, this terrifying hunter was being jealous—and Ebi found that rather cute. He cleared his throat.

“Does it have to be Wednesday evening?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, then where should we meet Wednesday evening?”

Pretending not to know anything, he asked to meet, and Saeon’s sharp gaze softened. Unable to resist, Ebi kissed him filled with affection. Normally, something like that would be unthinkable on a set, but Saeon’s monster-repelling talisman was truly a lifesaver.

“When you leave the land you stay in every day, I’ll come get you.”

Ebi’s eyes widened.

“You know you can’t enter Dobi Entertainment, huh?”

“No hunter wouldn’t know that.”

Then he must know about Igok, the King of Wandering Spirits, too. Ebi realized anew how vulnerable he was to this kind of information. Saeon, a human, knew far more about yokai than Ebi did. It was all thanks to living comfortably under Igok’s protection.

What would’ve happened if he hadn’t joined the king after losing the scholar-nim? He suddenly thought of the yokai Sogwi who, during their first date, had been so hungry he’d picked bugs off the ground to eat. The wealth gap between yokai was even worse than that between humans. Humans help the starving. Yokai steal even the last bite or eat you whole.

The only thing that could stop a yokai’s natural instincts was immense love for a child or a mate. But yokai rarely held such feelings. Instead, when such emotions bloomed, they were deeper and more enduring than even human hearts—rare and precious.

Before returning to set, Ebi gave Saeon a kiss filled with that kind of love.

🍬

Thankfully, Eunjun didn’t get mad when told there was a sudden schedule conflict. He simply suggested, politely, that they should definitely have a meal together sometime.

Whether it was thanks to a rich ritual or the PD’s skill, the first shoot ended with both actors and staff highly satisfied. After getting performance feedback from the director and writer and practicing scenes with the lead actors, time flew by.

Which meant Wednesday evening had finally arrived.

While Dongjitdal and Sowol were glued together competing with bloodshot eyes over score records, Ebi quietly slipped out of the company. Igok’s domain spanned roughly a 1km diameter centered around the company. During the day, humans could come and go somewhat freely, but yokai without permission couldn’t approach. At night, not even humans could enter. If someone entered without knowing, they’d naturally find themselves walking out again.

After casually walking out past the boundary, Ebi sat on a bench nearby and waited for Saeon. He’d made his presence hazy on purpose, so even if people walked right past, they wouldn’t recognize his face. Not even five minutes later, a black car appeared.

‘Hmm, judging by all the dust, that’s definitely Saeon’s car…’

It looked even dirtier than last time. The windows were perfectly clean, but what’s the use? The car body was a mess. Before Ebi could stand, Saeon opened the door and got out. Ebi smiled and waved lightly.

“Hi, good evening.”

“Good evening. Get in.”

Saeon gave a short reply and opened the passenger door for him. Ebi was moved inside. So the dramas and movies worked after all. He wasn’t moved by the act itself, but by the feeling of Saeon doing it for him.

He never expected someone to open the door for him, but wanting to savor the moment, Ebi got in without a word. After buckling his seatbelt, he glanced at Saeon and asked,

“By the way, do you… like dust and cobwebs?”

“Are there people who like that stuff?”

“I mean, yeah, but your car is kinda… really…”

Ebi trailed off. It was probably the first time he’d been criticized like this—maybe it was the first. Saeon slightly raised his eyebrow.

“This is the only car I have right now.”

“What about a car wash?”

“When you’re hunting, car washes are meaningless.”

Right, for hunting, a sturdy car is best. Ebi understood. He was relieved Saeon wasn’t someone who liked dust and cobwebs, just someone who valued practicality. Saeon seemed to fall deep in thought, then turned the wheel.