Little Pink Starfish

—Welcome to Jusaya Mong. All conflict is prohibited in all areas of Jusaya Mong. Please keep this in mind. We hope all customers have an enjoyable time.

As they went upstairs while sharing the nectarine they bought earlier, the announcement played again. Ebi tilted his head.

“‘Conflict is prohibited’ means don’t fight, right? Then what happens if you fight here?”

He had been wondering. Yokai were generally aggressive, often trying to dominate, control, or eat others. Especially if the target was a weak human, they usually just gobbled them up the moment they saw them.

“If someone starts a conflict in front of many people inside this building, they’re immediately sentenced to forced labor and spend the rest of their life building Jusaya Mong. Or they pay bail.”

“This place is still under construction?”

Saeon explained in detail. According to him, Jusaya Mong was a giant tower that had been under endless construction since ancient times. Those who caused conflict inside the tower were dragged away by an irresistible invisible force and put to forced labor. At first, the tower was empty, but because of the no-conflict rule, yokai and people slowly gathered, and a market like this formed naturally.

Ebi was quietly impressed by the depth of knowledge. How can someone be this biased in what they know? You didn’t know anything about SNS or dating, though…

Since he was here, Ebi also made a membership token. It was called a membership card, but all you had to do was pour enough gold into a mother-of-pearl box on each floor, and it would spit out a copper coin. Ebi, curious about who exactly was using these donations and forced labor to build the tower, walked on.

The higher they went, the fewer exaggerated ads there were, and both the quality and price of the goods went up. Ebi, having spent all his gold making the membership card earlier, just stood there stunned. Then Saeon silently took gold out of his bag and bought things for him. By the time Ebi’s wide sleeves were stuffed with snacks and trinkets, it was time for the auction to start.

The auction was held in the basement level 1. It was a large circular stone structure that made you wonder if it was normally used as a colosseum. The seat Saeon brought Ebi to seemed like a kind of VVIP box, separated by partitions. Ebi couldn’t tell if Saeon was just really rich, or if, judging by how yokai and humans flinched when they saw him, his fame as a hunter was that great.

The auction followed rules similar to the human world. The difference was that rare yokai or humans considered delicacies were openly sold. There were also sacred little gods crying endlessly, decorative human-faced fish, and baby snakes born with holes all over their bodies.

“How is it? See anything that looks like a goblin?”

“No…”

The auction was exciting, but no matter how hard he looked, Ebi didn’t see anything that looked like a goblin. A little disappointed, he leaned his head against Saeon’s shoulder. Saeon lifted his hand, pulled back Ebi’s veil, stroked his cheek, and kissed him. The warm affection lifted Ebi’s mood.

“I feel like I’m the only one who had fun today.”

He hadn’t come to have fun in the first place. He came hoping to find a clue about a missing kin. But now that he’d spent the day enjoying himself, he felt a slight guilt. Saeon glanced at the auction items from time to time but didn’t seem very interested.

“How was your day? Was it fun?”

“Not really.”

Saeon gently pushed Ebi’s veil back with the back of his hand, barely touching Ebi’s face as he spoke. Ebi’s guilt grew a little more, and he smiled awkwardly with wide eyes. While rubbing his cheek against Saeon’s hand, he asked:

“Sorry. Let’s do something you like next time. Except hunting… Is there somewhere you want to go?”

Saeon looked silently at the soft, pale cheek pressed to his palm. He moved his hand as if handling a rare item, carefully pressing the cheek, then answered:

“Not really.”

How could a boyfriend be this uncooperative about dates! Ebi was slightly shocked. Maybe Saeon didn’t even want to date in the first place? The thought made Ebi nervous.

He really liked Saeon. But at the same time, he still had doubts about Saeon’s feelings toward him—more precisely, doubts about Saeon’s identity as a hunter. Saeon’s way of thinking was clearly not like a normal human’s.

“Wherever it is, it’s all the same. I…”

His sentence dragged off slowly. Beneath white eyelids, his dark eyes were half-closed. Ebi realized, Saeon had been deeply focused on him the whole time—throughout the auction, maybe even since they first met today.

Maybe even from before that.

Saeon was memorizing Ebi’s appearance and habits with his eyes, and feeling the texture and coolness of his skin with his hands. At first, the touch was purely observing and identifying, but gradually, emotions crept in, becoming rich and intimate. Even though Ebi had shaken hands and hugged countless humans, the way Saeon touched him felt unfamiliar.

“As long as I can stay like this, touching you, it doesn’t matter what we do or where we are.”

As he said that, his handsome mouth curled into a satisfied smile. Seeing that smile, Ebi’s anxiety melted away. For the first time, he felt like he was beginning to understand Saeon’s feelings for him. It was a foreign and strange feeling to Ebi—probably just as unfamiliar to Saeon himself.

Ebi realized he was building a new and precious relationship with Saeon, something he’d never had before. A relationship where everything was the first for both of them—such a bond was joyful and happy. As he gently touched the faint smile at the edge of Saeon’s lips, Ebi smiled sweetly.

“The auction’s over. Shall we go?”

“Yeah. I don’t think there’s anything else to do here.”

They were almost out of the red corridor connected to the premium seats when Saeon suddenly stopped. He stared blankly into the distance, seemingly lost in thought. It was a dazed expression Ebi hadn’t seen in a while.

“Saeon?”

“There’s something I need to go buy… Stay around here and browse a bit while you wait.”

There were areas in Jusaya Mong that humans or yokai couldn’t enter. Thinking it might be one of those, Ebi waved his hand gently, telling him to go ahead. Saeon started to walk off, then stopped again and came back to say seriously:

“Even if someone offers you something tasty, don’t follow them.”

Ebi laughed, thinking it was a joke—but then lowered his smile awkwardly. Is this not a joke? He looked at Saeon with questioning eyes. Saeon answered silently: Not a joke.

“Of course I won’t follow them…”

“Even if they offer sorghum rice cakes, you can’t go.”

He wasn’t a baby goblin who’d follow just anyone for a rice cake. After a moment’s thought, Ebi replied in a sweet voice:

“Yours are the tastiest, so I won’t follow anyone.”

Saeon finally looked relieved after hearing that. It was kind of cute. Eating rice cakes too happily could be a problem, huh. But my boyfriend is cute, so whatever…

After Saeon disappeared into the crowd, Ebi leisurely started walking. His long teal peacock feathers dragged behind him, pausing when he stopped to look, and spreading with a soft clatter of ornaments whenever he twirled, drawing people’s eyes.

“A souvenir shop in an auction house…?”

He was browsing it, wondering if this place was copying human society too much, when suddenly he flinched and turned his head. His wide eyes darted around in panic.

“Igok-nim?”

It was because he had felt Igok’s energy nearby. Ebi was flustered and didn’t know what to do. The sharp, chilling energy unique to the Mangryang King was unmistakable. At this distance, Igok had probably sensed Ebi’s energy too.

“I-Igok-nim must’ve come to watch the auction too! What do I do!”

The energy was getting closer. Saeon might return any minute. And both Igok and Saeon weren’t exactly sociable types. If they fought, would they get dragged off to forced labor? What would happen to me? How much gold would it take to post bail?

Clearly flustered, Ebi walked back and forth in his flashy feather outfit, drawing a lot of attention. A horned yokai passing by politely asked him:

“Need any help?”

“No, it’s fine.”

Just imagining the two of them fighting made Ebi’s heart pound, so he quickly waved his hands. His trailing sleeves fluttered like butterfly wings. The yokai’s eyes glazed over from the strong yin energy Ebi gave off. Yokai weren’t only able to charm humans, after all.

“It seems like you’re in trouble…”

“I’m really fine…”

While he was refusing the offer, the energy of Igok was suddenly right behind him. Ebi stiffened, turned slowly—and froze.

It wasn’t Igok behind him.

Surprisingly, the one giving off the Mangryang King’s energy… was a middle-aged human man.