Little Pink Starfish

The date with Saeon at Jusaya-mong that day was very successful. They didn’t find any goblins, but Saeon seemed quite satisfied, and Ebi was also very happy. Saeon even walked Ebi right up to the edge of Igok’s land.

After waving goodbye to Saeon until he disappeared, Ebi went straight to return the borrowed clothes to Han-sae, the peacock yokai. After explaining in detail how many people at Jusaya-mong had admired the beautiful peacock outfit, it was already deep into the night.

“I should stop by Arang’s before heading back.”

For a human, visiting someone at this hour near midnight would be unthinkable, but for yokai, visiting during the day is often more impolite. On the way to Arang’s, Ebi scraped together the last of his gold from his pocket and drooped his eyes.

“It’d be nice if Arang offered something like an installment plan…”

Or maybe he could take Igok’s goblin bat and give it a good pounding? Sometimes, if lucky, it would double the amount. But when he thought about it, even with luck, it only meant a handful of gold flakes would become two handfuls. If the “Ebiwon” bank account hadn’t been managed by the company, it would’ve been emptied long ago. Goblins had little concept of saving, especially when they didn’t crave material things and gold just appeared in their pockets every day.

He was just kneading the gold dust in his pocket into a small pebble-like lump when Ebi suddenly turned around and tilted his head.

“What was that…”

It felt like someone was watching him. But when he looked around, the street was quiet and empty. Because he looked back, he accidentally dropped some of the gold flakes. Ebi began walking again.

After walking for a bit, he spotted a man sitting at a table in front of a convenience store that had closed early. The man wore a black cap pulled low and was dressed all in black. It reminded Ebi of Saeon. He already knew why Saeon only wore black—because blood and filth often got on him during hunts, and black helped avoid drawing attention. Now, whenever he saw someone in black, he automatically wondered if they were a hunter.

Just as Ebi passed by, the man on the bench stood up and began walking slowly. But strangely, his footsteps barely made a sound. Just like Saeon’s.

“Don’t tell me he’s a hunter too…?”

Ebi started walking faster. But the man kept following behind. After about five more minutes, Ebi suddenly remembered—this street wasn’t usually this empty. Just then, he stopped walking. A woman came out of an alley ahead, and her eyes glowed blue.

“Hey, are you Ebiwon?”

The woman, who might’ve been a human or a yokai, flicked her cigarette to the ground and asked. When Ebi looked back, two more people had appeared. He was now surrounded by four people.

“Your impression’s strangely vague… But yeah, this is Ebiwon.”

Still not fully understanding the situation, Ebi looked around. He had never experienced something like this in his life. Hesitantly, he opened his mouth.

“Just in case you don’t know, I’m with Dobi Entertainment. So, uh…”

“We know, Mr. Ebiwon. That’s why we’re hunting outside the Mangryang King’s territory. Guys, grab him.”

Before the woman even finished speaking, the hunters all pulled weapons from their coats. At the same time—clang!—a sharp metallic ring echoed. Clang, clang, it rang three times, and then a red line appeared on the ground. Clearly formed by a spell, the red line connected the streetlights and buildings, forming a giant octagonal shape.

Standing inside it felt oddly stifling. It felt similar to when Saeon placed a talisman on him. Just in case, Ebi tried transforming—but, of course, it didn’t work. He couldn’t bring himself to attack humans, so he panicked and flailed. When one of the hunters threw something, he darted aside in fear—only to get ambushed by another hunter from behind.

“Ah!”

Ebi cried out as he tripped and fell flat on the ground. A hunter immediately rushed in, pulling Ebi’s arms behind his back and tying them. He laughed in disbelief.

“This thing’s really a yokai?”

“If it walks around in daylight, it’s definitely not a goblin. Anyway, the chairman said to catch it, so it’s not human for sure. Don’t let your guard down.”

After nagging, the woman walked toward a car parked by the roadside. Meanwhile, Ebi frantically looked around, trying to figure out what to do. When the woman seemed fully distracted, he cautiously looked up at the hunter pinning him.

Their eyes met. The hunter smirked, and Ebi quickly lowered his gaze. Curling up and acting pitiful, he whispered:

“Um… your knee is crushing my leg. It really hurts…”

“Oh, uh, sorry.”

The hunter, looking flustered at Ebi’s pitiful gaze, moved his knee off Ebi’s thigh. A moment later, his fellow hunter scolded him—“What the hell are you doing, idiot? That’s a yokai!” The man scratched his head awkwardly.

“Guess he really is a yokai if he can charm people like that.”

Ebi hadn’t meant to charm him intentionally, so he felt a bit wronged. Just as he considered deliberately charming them for real, the blue-eyed hunter returned with a large, stinky sack. Realizing he was about to be stuffed into that sack, Ebi’s eyes widened with sorrow.

“Are you really going to put me in there?”

“Yep. You’re really going in.”

The hunter stood Ebi up and wrapped his whole body tightly in red rope. Even before entering the sack, he felt suffocated.

“These people might know where the missing goblins are. And my real body’s with Igok, so I should be able to escape eventually. But the biggest problem is…”

Ebi’s eyes moved to the red string on his ankle—the gold bell Saeon gave him. What if Saeon comes looking for me? No matter how capable Saeon was, it would be tough to handle this many humans alone.

Just as the hunters were about to cover Ebi’s head with the sack, thick fog rolled in from down the street and quickly enveloped the area. The hunters instantly drew their weapons. Wariness filled their faces. They were experienced enough to know—this dense, ominous fog only appeared when a powerful yokai was nearby. Ebi, however, welcomed the fog and lifted his head.

A deep, silent stillness spread. Only the occasional sound of hunters swallowing could be heard—then suddenly, BOOM!A loud crash echoed. They turned to see the hunters’ parked car crushed, as if something massive had stepped on it. Swearing erupted.

“A yokai showing up in the middle of the city like this?”

“Doesn’t seem like that one did it.”

A hunter motioned toward Ebi and spoke. Ebi quickly shook his head with an innocent face. Unless it was Igok, there was no way he could summon fog like this. A faint slithering noise echoed as something long and pale slid along the road. When a hunter turned quickly to look—it was gone.

“A snake?”

“Be careful. Feels like more than one.”

Lying flat on the ground, Ebi squinted. Unlike the humans, he could clearly see through the thick fog. His goblin vision followed forms invisible to human eyes. But it seemed he wasn’t the only one who could see.

“That woman… she’s not human, is she?”

The blue-eyed woman’s gaze followed the same points as Ebi’s. Though she missed a few times, she clearly knew what she was watching.

“It’s not a snake. That’s—”

But before she could finish, a long, white, twisted shape sliced through the air with a sharp whoosh. A hunter yelped and barely dodged, falling backward. The ground where he’d stood caved in. Then a cold, clear voice echoed from all directions—both elegant and eerie.

“It’s been years since hunters dared act up on my land.”

From the fog, yellow beast-like eyes shimmered. Long vertical pupils disappeared and then suddenly reappeared in completely different directions. Countless white tails swirled through the mist, each moving independently like separate beings.

“Fox yokai! At least a Chilmiho (Seven-Tailed Fox)!”

“A Chilmiho’s no problem—we can hunt that!”

Excited voices echoed, but quickly faded. Ebi clicked his tongue and shook his head. A fox yokai’s strength increases with its tails—one tail to many, the power grows exponentially. And this wasn’t some Chilmiho.

The heavy fog sank low, revealing a massive beast’s shape. The white fluffy tail traced the red lines of the octagonal seal, circling around as if embracing an invisible, round sphere.

“Humans, yes—this may not be the Mangryang King’s land.”

Its tail, soft and graceful, flicked away all weapons with ease. Talismans that touched the fur burst into blue fox fire. The hunters turned pale.

Weak yokai might fall to bullets, but true yokai couldn’t be killed so easily. Only enchanted weapons worked—and now, even those were useless. What could they do?

The white tails closed in from all sides. Crunch! Something shattered in the air, and with a sharp crack, the red octagonal seal flickered and vanished. Ebi immediately turned into a small field mouse and leapt into the fox’s fluffy tail, hiding completely within.

“But you didn’t know—this is fox territory.”

The hunters finally realized they were dealing with something far more dangerous. They backed away in fear. Yellow eyes narrowed from above, staring down at the terrified humans. One hunter, exposed to the heavy spiritual pressure at close range, began bleeding tears from his eyes.

“Even uninvited guests are still guests. It’s only proper to offer them hospitality.”