Little Pink Starfish

The Value of Gold

The scholar dressed the goblin, who had learned to transform into a human, in his own silk robe. It suited the goblin’s delicate and graceful looks so well that he began teaching him to read. The first thing he taught was the goblin’s own name, and the second was his own.

But since everyone around kept calling him “Seonbi-nim, Seonbi-nim,” the young goblin often forgot his real name and would just chirp out “Seonbi-nim” instead. The scholar didn’t mind. After all, the goblin would be by his side regardless. With each passing day, the scholar’s affection for the goblin deepened.

One day, a man appeared in the scholar’s village. He had a long scar across his face, like a beast had clawed him, and his eyes were full of venom. He went around asking everyone about a lost item, then came to the scholar and showed him a drawing, asking:

“My lady’s glass bottle was lost around here. Has the noble seen it by any chance? It’s a precious, beautiful item that looks like this. I’ll reward you. We must find my lady’s glass bottle.”

That was when the scholar told his first lie.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t seen anything like that.”

🍬

The day Ebi was ambushed by hunters and Arang was badly injured trying to protect him, he returned to Dobi Entertainment and explained everything to Igok and Dongjitdal in detail. As a result, their dislike of humans—already deep—only grew worse. Dongjitdal even insisted on rejecting every human who approached from now on, and Ebi had a hard time calming him down.

The next day, Ebi went straight to visit Arang. Arang welcomed him, but his face was pale as he lay in bed. He said his body wasn’t well and he wouldn’t be able to do any divination for a while. Ebi told him not to worry and stayed by his side to take care of him all day.

But in truth, with Arang unable to read signs, there was no way to gather any clues. So the day after that, Ebi headed to Saeon’s house.

Saeon’s house hadn’t changed at all. It was still an old, dusty, run-down hanok. Ebi swore to himself that one day, he’d pick a day and completely remodel this dusty mess. When he found Saeon, he was sitting on the veranda of the main house, making talismans.

Maybe because it was a frequent workspace, the veranda was spotless and shiny. Sunlight broke into tiny sparkles over Saeon’s head. Especially his sharp nose and the piercing in his ear shone dazzlingly white. As Saeon calmly wrote each character with lowered eyes, his brushstrokes were so elegant that Ebi sat next to him, mesmerized.

Only after carefully finishing the last character did Saeon look up. He blinked once and greeted:

“Hi.”

Ebi smiled brightly and returned the greeting with “Hi.”
Saeon got up, went somewhere, and came back with something in hand: freshly steamed, soft millet rice cakes and dried persimmons. Ebi only thought he’d take a bite, but when he came to his senses, they were already completely gone.

Staring blankly at the millet powder on his fingers, Ebi turned his head—Saeon was quietly watching him. There were many types of blank expressions Saeon made, but today, it looked like one of expectation.

“…Ah!”

Ebi looked at the now-empty tray, then at Saeon, and something clicked. He leaned in and gave Saeon a kiss. Only then did a satisfied look appear on his handsome face. Saeon resumed writing with his red-stained brush, sketching out symbols and letters like pictographs.

“Don’t you have a photo shoot scheduled this afternoon?”

Sometimes, Saeon knew Ebi’s schedule better than Ebi did. As Ebi watched Saeon quickly and mechanically crank out one, two, three talismans, he brought up what he had come for.

“About last night…”
He laid out the story, then showed the portraits he had drawn.

“So, have you seen hunters like these?”

He had drawn portraits of the hunters who attacked him, hoping Saeon might recognize them. Saeon crossed his arms and stared at the “portraits” quietly. After a long pause studying the features, he said:

“Are these really supposed to be humans?”

“……!”

Shocked, Ebi dropped the drawing. He’d tried hard, but to Saeon, they must’ve looked like monsters.

Saeon rustled through a nearby pile of talisman paper and pulled out a few sheets of yellowish, nearly white paper. Then he poured black ink into the inkstone and picked up a fine brush. After looking at Ebi’s drawings for a while, he started asking questions.

“How exactly was the front of the hair? Cropped short… and you said the eyes looked sleepy?”

As Ebi described their appearance in detail from memory, three impressive composite sketches were soon completed. They resembled the hunters in his memory and were clearly far better than what Ebi had drawn. Whether it was learned or innate, Saeon was very skilled at drawing. As Ebi admired them, Saeon studied his sketches and shook his head.

“With just this, I can’t identify them. If you could tell me the weapons or spells they used, I might be able to guess.”

“I’m not very good at recognizing that kind of thing…”

Ebi looked glum. Afraid of seeing blood, he had shut his eyes—so he hadn’t seen much. But it seemed something else was bothering Saeon.

“There aren’t many beings strong enough to fight a gumiho. Even celestial soldiers would struggle. Maybe the immortal maidens of Gye-gung could match her.”

“The immortal maidens? Have you seen them? What do they look like?”

Heavenly soldiers were all beautiful like divine men and women, so Ebi was excited to imagine how impressive these maidens must be. But unexpectedly, Saeon frowned slightly, as if recalling something unpleasant.

“They hurt your eyes to look at.”

“Why? Do they have too much holy light or something?”

“They’re not worth putting in your eyes.”

Saeon spoke curtly and concluded:

“Anyway, that fox probably got hurt because she did something she wasn’t supposed to. Since she’s a shaman, it’s probably related to breaking a taboo.”

So that night, had Arang broken a rule as a shaman just to protect him? A shadow crossed Ebi’s face.

“Whatever attacked you probably wasn’t human either. There aren’t many hunters who can use that level of old sorcery.”

Ebi’s expression grew darker. He sighed deeply, concern on his handsome face.

“Goblins keep disappearing. One by one, they’re vanishing, and I have to sleep at night, so I can’t stop them. And for some reason, Igok-nim doesn’t seem to care.”

Saeon stared at Ebi’s gloomy face, then stood up. Thinking it was time to leave, Ebi stood too. But then Saeon moved behind him.

“What’s he doing?”

Ebi reflexively turned toward him, and Saeon side-stepped behind him again. They ended up walking in small circles. After a few rounds, Ebi stopped, confused. Saeon tilted his head and circled behind him again.

When Ebi stood still, Saeon approached closely from behind. As always, when he got close, Ebi’s neck hairs stood up. Warm breath brushed his neck, and strong arms wrapped around his waist.

Ebi tensed up, unsure what was happening. But Saeon just stayed like that. More precisely, he was hugging Ebi from behind—it felt like he was copying something he’d seen, a little awkwardly.

“Usually, when people feel bad, they seem to like this.”

He rubbed his lips gently against Ebi’s neck and asked:

“Do you like it too?”

Realizing that his boyfriend was trying to comfort him in his own way, Ebi’s gloomy mood faded in an instant. His efforts recommending romance movies and dramas had paid off. Overjoyed, Ebi turned around and threw his arms around Saeon.

“I like this kind of thing too.”

Saeon, being especially full of yang energy, made Ebi feel warm and happy when held like this. Seeing that smile, Saeon gave a faint smile of his own. Then he wrapped his arms around Ebi’s waist and lifted him easily. Even while transformed into a human with the weight of his current form, Saeon didn’t show the slightest strain.

Holding Ebi like he was going for a stroll, Saeon walked to the room in the inner quarters, where he stayed. One thing had changed since the last visit—on the floor was a soft mat Ebi had once created with his goblin club.

Saeon laid Ebi down on the mat and again pressed his lips to his neck. He gently kissed and licked his soft skin, pulling him closer as if to lock him in his embrace. Unlike before, there was no awkwardness. Saeon, when it came to Ebi, quickly grew used to anything.

“Mm… mnh, mm…”

As Saeon kissed him, Ebi trembled slightly. His tongue, soft yet firm, slipped inside and played skillfully with Ebi’s tongue and the roof of his mouth. When it came to anything physical, this hunter had a natural talent—and the awkwardness from their first kiss was nowhere to be found.