Little Pink Starfish

“W-Wait a sec. I’ve got a shoot this afternoon, so if we do it now, it’d be a problem…”

Just a kiss was enough to make Ebi panic, and he tried to stop Saeon. When he pushed his lips away with his hand, Saeon stuck out his tongue and licked his fingers. The soft tongue pressed firmly between the tender flesh of Ebi’s fingers, making him flinch and hastily pull his hand away.

Afraid of what he might try next, Ebi quickly turned around and leaned his back against Saeon’s chest. He pulled Saeon’s arms around him and held his hands tightly so he couldn’t do anything further. Saeon obediently followed his lead and rested his chin on Ebi’s neck and shoulder. Ebi traced the scar on Saeon’s hand with his fingers and spoke.

“I’ve been thinking.”

“Mm.”

“I think we need to investigate those human descendants who were cursed by Igok-nim.”

Right now, they were the most likely suspects in the goblin disappearances. Part of him also wanted to see how those cursed humans had been living all this time. After a brief pause, Saeon twitched the fingers Ebi was holding and asked. His lips were just barely brushing Ebi’s ear, and the low voice alone gave him chills.

“From what I know, they’re pretty hard to approach. How do you plan on investigating them?”

“With my looks?”

“…With your looks?”

Saeon repeated the word awkwardly, like it was his first time hearing it. He turned Ebi to face him and carefully studied his expression, a strange glint in his eyes. Ebi quickly waved his hands.

“No, not like what you’re thinking! Look.”

Fwoosh—blue flames flared up, and a tiny bird hopped about. It fluttered over to Saeon’s hand and busily tidied its wings. The little bird pecked gently at his fingertip, then tilted its head. Then with another burst of blue flame, it became a small field mouse, and then again, a red fox.

“Cute, right?”

Returning to his human form, Ebi spoke seriously.

“From what I’ve seen, the thing that makes humans lower their guard the most isn’t beauty—it’s cute animals.”

Saeon, who had probably only ever used means like violence, stalking, and murder to hunt, didn’t seem to grasp the advantage of cuteness. But still, he nodded.

The face of “Ebiwon” was too well known to easily approach people. With Igok’s goblin bat, he could change his face to look like Ebiwon’s older or younger brother, but still—humans, no matter how pretty or handsome the person, always held a basic level of suspicion. Especially if it was a man.

But with a small animal, it was different. Even 500 years ago, and still now, humans were soft toward tiny animals. And Ebi had a special trick that made it even easier for humans to like him in animal form. After hearing the full plan, Saeon summarized:

“…So, you’re going to infiltrate their homes in animal form.”

“Animal?!”

Ebi protested. Saeon gave a little grin, amused by the reaction. Slowly, he corrected himself.

“I mean, in the form of a very cute animal.”

Ebi nodded confidently. Saeon, with his usual blank face, seemed deep in thought before asking:

“When are you going in?”

“In three days, on Thursday. I’ve got some prep to do, so I’ll go right after my shoot that day.”

Ebi glanced over to see if Saeon would object. But unexpectedly, Saeon nodded quietly.

“…Okay.”

Ebi had prepared himself to persuade Saeon if he tried to stop him—but now that he just said yes so easily, Ebi felt oddly disappointed. To shake off that feeling, he leaned his head against Saeon’s chest. It was so firm and muscular that resting his head right in the center felt just right…

“Since we might not see each other for a few days, want to go on one more date before then? How about Wednesday afternoon?”

“Sure. I’ll come pick you up at the set.”

Saeon, who had recently improved his manners dramatically, replied like a proper boyfriend. Then he gently stroked Ebi’s hair, making him go all soft and fuzzy.

A soft expression appeared on Saeon’s face too. His usually blank eyes now gleamed faintly. To a hunter who had always lived with his guard up since his first hunt, never letting anyone else touch him, these moments of lowering his walls and opening up were incredibly special.

That change reached Ebi, too. Feeling even more delighted, he cuddled into Saeon, then furrowed his brow.

“In a few days I won’t be able to see him. But I already miss him. What do I do?”

Even with him right in front of his eyes, he already felt the pang of longing. Love was strange. So this is what humans went through—sudden, inexplicable aches and tenderness caused by someone else.

Ebi, a goblin, welcomed this new and unfamiliar feeling deep into his heart.

🍬

“Dongji-ya, can I ask you something…”

As always, Dongjitdal immediately tossed aside whatever he was doing the moment Ebi started talking. A new boss record was just being set after the last one died. Ebi thought it was a good idea to wait until the fight ended before bringing it up.

“What is it?”

“I’m going to be away for a few days starting tomorrow. Can you refill my glass jar with candy while I’m gone?”

While transformed, his candy would be continuously consumed. He had filled it as much as he could, but he still needed a refill midway to maintain the form. Even with Dongjitdal helping, a week was the max. Dongjitdal nodded without a hint of suspicion.

Then he asked, a little worried:

“You’re not doing anything dangerous, right?”

“What could be dangerous for me? No matter what happens, I can come right back. My real body’s here, so I won’t break like the others.”

“…Okay.”

He still didn’t like the idea of Ebi wandering around alone, but he accepted it. Ebi, touched, hugged Dongjitdal tightly. Then he borrowed the prettiest memo paper he could find from the office staff and carefully wrote:

“Igok-nim,
I’ll be out for a few days to look for clues about our missing ones and maybe play a little.
—From Ebi

P.S. I’ll be borrowing the goblin bat too♡”

There. That should do it.

He placed the note next to his glass jar, where Igok would surely see it. Lately, Igok’s mood hadn’t been great, so Ebi couldn’t bring himself to say directly that he’d be gone for days. If Igok asked where he was going, he’d have to explain the whole plan—and that would definitely irritate him.

After adjusting the note’s position for maximum visibility, he realized it was time to leave for his shoot. He quickly gathered Dongjitdal, who was deep in his game, and Sowol, who was nodding off after gaming all night, and set out.

Thinking about filming made Ebi feel happy. Recently, the shoot for the historical drama Yusu had been going very smoothly. The cast and crew were diligent, and no accidents or issues had happened. The strong script, skilled PD, and rising performances from the actors—everything was perfect.

That’s why Ebi always felt excited heading to set. It wasn’t just because he enjoyed working with humans. There was someone on set he longed to see every day.

As soon as he arrived, Ebi looked around for that person. When he spotted him, his face lit up.

“Sunbaenim!”

Ebi beamed like a flower and ran straight toward Kim Eun-jun. Eun-jun had told him to just call him comfortably, but Ebi stubbornly stuck to “Sunbaenim” because it sounded like “Seonbi-nim.” Eun-jun, getting his makeup done, glanced at Ebi with smiling eyes—only to get scolded by the stylist.

“Sorry,” he apologized, then carefully mouthed a greeting.

“Biwon-ssi, something exciting today?”

“Just… thinking about today’s shoot made me happy. And the weather’s really nice too…”

Ebi trailed off shyly. Seeing Seonbi-nim was nice. And he had a date with Saeon afterward—also nice.
Eun-jun, now free after finishing makeup, rummaged in his pocket and handed out little snack bars to the stylist and Ebi.

“Thank you for the snack.”

Ebi smiled brightly and accepted it. The more time he spent with Eun-jun, the more his past memories came back. Unsurprisingly, there were many similarities to the Seonbi-nim of his previous life. Eun-jun liked sweets, couldn’t handle spicy food, was well-read, and skilled with various instruments. His gentle but upright character went without saying.

“You mentioned something wasn’t going well at home… Did it get better?”

“Not yet… But I think it might be resolved by the end of this week.”

“That’s good. When bad things happen in the family, it’s tough. When my sister was in a long divorce battle, just watching her go through it was painful.”

With his calm tone, Eun-jun offered quiet empathy. In the past life, Seonbi-nim was a noble who lived alone with no family—but this version of him had a family. He came from a well-off household. His sister, Kim Eun-young, was a fairly famous pianist. Especially when talking about his sister or nieces and nephews, Eun-jun’s eyes always grew soft.

“She went through a lot, but it all worked out, and now she’s living happily. I’m sure your trouble will be over soon too.”

Eun-jun’s heartfelt words made Ebi smile shyly and respond:

“Thank you.”