Little Pink Starfish

They had just come out of the auction house. A man, who had been talking about the item he had just bought, turned his gaze toward Ebi and stopped. He was solidly built, with sharp eyes, but his complexion was pale, and there was a bluish tinge under his eyes. He looked Ebi up and down and quietly asked the person next to him:

“What is that? I’ve never seen it before. It’s very flashy.”

“It appears to be a peacock yokai called Cheongchi, Chairman.”

The man who answered immediately was dressed similarly to Saeon. His pants, top, and jacket were all black, with many pockets. Various weapons like daggers, talismans, and chains hung from his utility belt. He was a hunter. There were four more people like him behind him.

“If something like that came up in the auction, that would’ve been nice.”

Though he was treated like merchandise, Ebi didn’t even have the chance to be offended. He was still trying to figure out why that seemingly normal human was carrying the energy of Igok. Soon, the man lost interest in Ebi and walked past him.

Ebi then realized—the energy that man carried was too faint to be Igok itself. It felt more like a scar left behind after Igok had cast a powerful spell and passed through.

“What the heck is this…”

“What is?”

As Ebi came to his senses, Saeon had already returned. When he looked around, the yokai who had been annoyingly offering help earlier had disappeared.

“You’re back? What did you buy?”

In Saeon’s hand was something wrapped in red cloth. The moment he stood beside Ebi, half the stares that had been focused on Ebi scattered. Some people even went out of their way to avoid them. As Ebi peeked curiously, Saeon unwrapped the red cloth. Surprisingly, inside was a very long prayer bead string made of large wooden beads.

“What’s this for?”

“Well, I’ll have to figure that out. I think it’s for some kind of binding.”

Saeon wrapped it back in the red cloth and looked at Ebi. He was still waiting for an answer to the unspoken question: What were you so distracted by? Ebi glanced again in the direction the man with Igok’s energy had gone.

“That hunter targeting goblins… I think I just saw someone who might be the culprit.”

“Someone who might be the culprit?”

At first, he couldn’t understand why a human would have Igok’s energy. But thinking deeply, a memory surfaced. A human once dared to covet Igok’s blessing, kidnapped goblins as hostages, and ended up with both the blessing and the curse.

If that human’s descendants had continued to live, it made sense they would carry Igok’s energy. Their wealth to frequent a place like this, and the man’s poor complexion—it all lined up. Plus, he had several hunters knowledgeable about yokai under his employ.

What if they were trying to break the curse passed down from their ancestor? And if only Igok could break it—what method would they choose?

Perhaps… kidnap another goblin and use them as leverage to ask Igok to lift the curse.

“What do you think?”

“Sounds possible.”

Saeon agreed with Ebi’s reasoning. Usually, curses were lifted by the one who cast them. If it was the Mangryang King’s curse, humans wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

I need to go see Arang and ask for more details. Maybe I shouldn’t have bought that membership today…

But he needed gold to speak to Arang. He had spent all of it on a membership to Jusaya-mong today. Ebi agonized. Should he ask Saeon to lend him a little? If he put a gold nugget in his pouch, it would quickly multiply into gold toads or turtles.

But… I’ve already taken too much from Saeon today. A goblin must have some pride.

Fidgeting with the junk in his sleeve, Ebi sneakily glanced at Saeon’s indifferent face. Even though covered by a veil, Saeon always knew exactly what Ebi was looking at and often bought it for him as a gift. Suddenly, the veil felt extremely stifling. He wanted to look freely at Saeon’s bare face—without anything hiding it.

Just then, they were heading toward the exit when a commotion arose nearby. Turning his head, Ebi saw several yokai and humans gathered with serious faces in front of a store selling magic items. Thinking it might be an event, Ebi craned his neck and got closer. Soon, he could hear the murmuring crowd.

“What the hell happened? No one was sentenced to forced labor today.”

“You need witnesses for that kind of sentence… It’s invalid if fewer than two pairs of eyes see it. There’s a reason Jusaya-mong tells us to stick to crowded places.”

Forced labor? Witnesses? Ebi’s ears perked up.

“Who the hell dares kill people in Jusaya-mong? Was it a yokai?”

Curiosity surged. Ebi peeked through the crowd, trying to see. Just then, someone ducked their head slightly, and through the gap, he spotted what looked like a corpse. Ebi froze in place, then quickly turned away, covering his eyes. Saeon came close and gently lowered Ebi’s hand.

“Don’t worry. His neck was broken, so there’s no blood.”

“There’s a corpse, and no blood…? Really?”

Still doubtful, Ebi flinched. Only after confirming there was no metallic scent of blood in the air did he cautiously turn back. Conveniently, a few bystanders clicked their tongues and stepped aside, revealing the body.

The man was lying slumped under a bench. His neck was bent at a strange angle, with a deep, dark bruise, but as Saeon said, there was no blood. But something about his face was familiar. After thinking, Ebi remembered—it was the young hunter who had stepped on his robe earlier.

“So young… What a shame.”

Clicking his tongue in pity, Ebi sighed. For someone to silently break a neck in a crowded place like this—they must be highly skilled. The other hunters examined the body and shared their thoughts.

“Looks like someone broke his neck in one go and sat him on the bench. His body’s still warm—no rigor mortis yet.”

“You can twist a neck, sure, but snapping it clean like this? That takes serious strength. Look here. There’s a scrape on his ankle…”

As Ebi peeked in curiosity, Saeon called his name.

“Ebi.”

Then, quietly took his hand. Reflexively, Ebi turned to him. With a blank expression, Saeon offered:

“Wanna go eat something delicious?”

“Delicious? But I’m kinda full now…”

Ebi was still absorbed in the hunters’ deductions about the attack. They were concluding the culprit was tall, strong, and skilled at surprise attacks. Then Saeon suddenly reached out, cupped Ebi’s face, and kissed him through the veil.

Ebi’s eyes went wide. The nearby onlookers, witnessing this PDA at a crime scene, also gawked in shock.

“Ebi.”

Saunter called his name again. Though he only blinked a couple times, to Ebi, it looked like Saeon’s eyes had grown soft. When Saeon kissed him a second time, Ebi stopped listening to the hunters concluding:

“The culprit must’ve tied the victim’s ankle with a strong rope, dragged him, then killed him!”

Saunter gently peeled the thin veil from Ebi’s lips. He paused a moment, gathering his thoughts, and spoke slowly.

“I want to be alone with you, somewhere no one else is around.”

When your lover says something like that, you can’t say no. Rather than refuse, Ebi’s eyes sparkled and he gripped Saeon’s hand tight. So he’s finally acting like a proper human being. Just the other day he tried to kidnap me with a rice cake as bait…

Moved, Ebi quickly forgot all about the murder. Cheerfully grabbing Saeon’s hand, he declared:

“Now that I think about it, I’m hungry. Let’s go eat something delicious!”

Leaving behind the corpse being carted off, Ebi departed the scene hand-in-hand with Saeon.