The Missing Marble
For hundreds of years it had lingered inside a human body, so its spiritual energy had grown murky, yet it still appeared relatively intact.
The fox marble glowed with a faint light, as if welcoming its owner. Shin-wol’s spiritual power contained within it stirred in recognition.
If he reclaimed this marble, it might not restore him to his former glory, but it would be enough for him to ascend as a Ten-Tailed Fox.
If he killed the child before him, would he be able to take the marble back?
Slaying a child who offered her face without the slightest suspicion would be easier for Shin-wol than crushing an insect.
Her neck was as slender as a tree branch; one twist and the fragile human would die instantly.
Yes. In that case, it would be better to—
His voice was so soft that even Yeo-won could barely hear it. The beautiful face slowly contorted, and the hand resting over her eye began to tighten.
“Ah…”
With a short gasp, Yeo-won’s mouth fell open.
Shin-wol’s fingers looked as though they might pierce her eye at any moment, yet she felt no urge to pull away, as if spellbound.
Where his hand passed, heat bloomed. It did not hurt, but her eyes stung strangely.
Come to think of it, the ghosts that had chased her had also fixated on her eyes.
Was there some connection?
Yeo-won stared blankly at Shin-wol’s face, lost in thought.
His expression had twisted so miserably that she could read it clearly now. His fingertips pressed firmly against the skin beneath her eye.
By now the pain should have been sharp, yet Yeo-won offered no resistance.
It was obvious she was terrified, but she did not flinch.
As she tilted her head back as far as it would go, an image from the distant past overlapped with her in Shin-wol’s vision.
My lord!
A child who resembled an apricot blossom flickered before his eyes.
How needlessly alike. Shin-wol squeezed his eyes shut as if to deny the memory, then turned away.
Cheong-sil, who had been holding his breath on Yeo-won’s knee, sprang up.
With those words, Shin-wol left the room. Yeo-won brushed the lingering ache around her eye and stared blankly at the place where he had vanished.
After Shin-wol departed, Cheong-sil bustled about preparing a meal.
Yeo-won insisted she had no appetite and that it was fine, but Cheong-sil declared he could not disobey Lord Shin-wol’s command and dashed outside anyway.
Some time later he returned with a round bowl clutched in his mouth.
“I have brought it-seumnidayo.”
He set the bowl before her and pushed it forward with a front paw. The fluffy paw that touched the bowl was stained with dirt.
Apparently preparing the food had been strenuous; Cheong-sil panted with his pink tongue lolling out.
It was both pitiful and touching that such a small creature had gone to the trouble. Even without appetite, she lowered her gaze to the bowl, intending to force down a few bites.
“…What is this?”
Inside the luxurious jade bowl, something mottled green and black writhed.
“It is rice-seumnidayo. I specially caught only the things Cheong-sil likes-seumnidayo.”
Cheong-sil wagged his tail with a proud expression.
“It was difficult to catch, but a human helped Cheong-sil, so I worked very hard-seumnidayo!”
His golden eyes sparkled as he spoke, like a child seeking praise. For a moment Yeo-won was struck speechless.
She looked down again, doubting her own eyes, and the confirmation made her squeeze them shut.
No matter how she stared, they were grasshoppers.
Dozens of them, legs and wings broken to prevent escape, wriggled inside the bowl.
Yeo-won’s face drained of color. She clapped a hand over her mouth. Her appetite fled so completely that nausea surged in its place.
At least she was relatively unafraid of insects; anyone else might have fainted.
But not fearing them and eating them were two entirely different matters.
“You want me to eat this… now?”
Yeo-won barely suppressed the urge to vomit. Cheong-sil tilted his head.
“You dislike it-seumnidayo? But it is delicious…”
The innocent reply left her speechless once more.
She had no idea where to begin explaining. At the same time, she suddenly remembered that a fox’s diet naturally began with insects, then moved on to small mice or rabbits.
Yeo-won looked down at the fox with clear displeasure before finally speaking.
“…Most humans cannot eat insects.”
Cheong-sil froze as though struck by lightning. Then he asked again, incredulous.
“Th-then what do humans eat-seumnidayo?”
“Everything except insects.”
There were preferences and distinctions between staple foods and side dishes, but this explanation would suffice for now.
The sparkle in Cheong-sil’s eyes dimmed into gloom. Only then did Yeo-won understand why his paws were stained black. Digging through dirt outside would do that.
She had briefly wondered whether offering bugs after a hundred years of life was simply a form of torment, but his expression suggested otherwise.
“Did Cheong-sil make another mistake-seumnidayo…”
His upright tail drooped limply. The perked ears flattened. The sight was adorable, yet it did nothing to improve the writhing grasshoppers before her.
“Lord Shin-wol was right-seumnidayo. Cheong-sil truly is useless-seumnidayo…”
At the self-mocking words, Yeo-won’s expression softened a fraction.
Come to think of it, her grandfather had once said grasshoppers were best enjoyed fried.
And among insect dishes, grasshoppers were considered quite tasty. If she at least cooked them…
Yeo-won narrowed her eyes and peered down. At that exact moment the grasshoppers began thrashing wildly.
No. Absolutely impossible.
With an expression of pure revulsion, Yeo-won turned her head away.
“I’m sorry. Could you bring me a cup of water instead?”
“Understood-seumnidayo!”
Cheong-sil’s face brightened at the request and he bounded out of the room.
Yeo-won pushed the bowl as far away as possible, then slowly surveyed her surroundings.
The room was several times larger than her own home, lavishly adorned with scrolls and fine porcelain. It was so spotless, without a single speck of dust, that it seemed as though someone still lived here.
As she looked around, Cheong-sil returned with water.
He had brought it in a bowl rather than a cup, but after the grasshoppers, this felt almost endearing.
Yeo-won drank the water in large gulps.
The vivid sensation of it sliding down her dry throat and into her stomach made her whole body shiver.
Once the storm inside her passed, her mind finally began to work rationally again.
She wiped the moisture from her lips and spoke with care.
“Um… may I ask you something?”
“It is Cheong-sil-seumnidayo.”
“All right, Cheong-sil. You’re not human, are you?”
Asking now felt foolish, yet she had to confirm it.
For twenty-eight years Yeo-won had lived by denying such beings. Acknowledging the fox before her would mean accepting every ghost she had ever seen.
“Cheong-sil is a fox-seumnidayo! A Seonho training to become a Gumiho-seumnidayo!”
Cheong-sil spun in a happy circle as he answered. It was the expected reply, so she was not surprised, yet his cheerful ignorance somehow felt irritating.
“Cheong-sil, may I ask a few more questions?”
The fox’s eyes sparkled as he looked up at her. He seemed moved, as if no one had ever asked him anything before.
Cheong-sil leaped onto her lap and nodded vigorously.
“You may ask-seumnidayo! And I will specially allow you to touch Cheong-sil’s tail-seumnidayo!”
He wagged his fluffy tail from side to side with pride. Yeo-won gave a small laugh and gently stroked the soft fur.
“Thank you. Where are we?”
“This is Lord Shin-wol’s Myoilgung-seumnidayo!”
“Myoilgung… Then what sort of being is Lord Shin-wol?”
“Lord Shin-wol is a magnificent person-seumnidayo!”
At the name, Cheong-sil’s voice rose with excitement.
“Lord Shin-wol is the greatest among all spiritual creatures, a Great Gumiho-seumnidayo! No one can match his spiritual power or sorcery, so he was once called the closest to the Fox Ancestor-seumnidayo!”
“I see. I don’t understand the details, but he sounds impressive.”
Yeo-won offered a half-hearted reply while organizing the information in her mind.
In short, he was an extraordinary Gumiho. Yet one point nagged at her.
“But why did you use the past tense? Is he not like that now?”
Cheong-sil’s ears drooped noticeably. He fidgeted with his pointed snout.
“That is… because he said he no longer has the marble-seumnidayo.”
“The marble?”
This time Yeo-won’s eyes sparkled.
“All Gumihos possess a marble-seumnidayo. The fox marble is essential to becoming a Ten-Tailed Fox… Lord Shin-wol said he cannot ascend because his marble is gone-seumnidayo.”
An ominous chill swept over her. Even so, she could not leave the question unasked.
“Why doesn’t he have the marble…?”