The Ink-Black Dog Yokai - (1)
Long ago, in the distant past when tigers puffed on pipes and played, there existed a yokai colder than ice and darker than pitch-black. Its name was the Ink-Black Dog Yokai, the monstrous beast of King Jungjong's era.
Autumn, the eleventh month. When the world was dyed in crimson fallen leaves, strange rumors began to spread through Hanyang, the capital of Joseon. "A black dog has appeared!"
The black dog in question was no ordinary beast. According to the rumors, it had mocked the royal family and escaped the grasp of Force Arts practitioners and Taoist masters without a single scratch. Naturally, most people dismissed the tale as mere gossip. After all, thanks to the benevolent king's creation of Hangul, the majority of yokai had already been eradicated. Creatures called "yokai" had become so rare that one might never encounter one in a lifetime, and Hanyang itself had no recorded history of yokai appearances. The people of Hanyang had begun to fear tigers more than these illusory yokai.
Kim Ja-heung, a scholar who had just arrived in Hanyang seeking glory, was among those who did not believe the floating rumor. While out at the market to procure food, he witnessed people huddled together, whispering about something. Finding the scene odd, he asked a merchant, who let out a deep sigh and replied, "My lord, a single black beast has brought no end of trouble to folk like us."
The merchant explained the situation. Every night recently, a "black beast" had been causing havoc. The creature was so swift that no one could catch it. Even a Force Arts practitioner who had personally come to the market and kept watch with wide eyes had failed to find the black beast. Suspecting that this "black beast" might be the rumored yokai, Kim Ja-heung pressed further. "Has anyone been killed or bitten by it?"
"The eldest daughter of the Baek household was bitten, but she recovered completely after nine days."
Recovering completely after being bitten by a beast in just nine days? Overcome by unbearable curiosity, Kim Ja-heung asked the merchant, "Could you guide me to the Baek household?"
"Of course, my lord."
The merchant led Kim Ja-heung to the Baek residence. Upon seeing the eldest daughter, Kim Ja-heung spoke. "She looks perfectly fine."
Kim Ja-heung had inwardly expected the girl to be half-mad. After all, he had never seen anyone bitten by a dog who remained unscathed. Yet the Baek daughter sat quietly on the wooden floor, her skin pale. Her pupils were empty. It seemed maggots had eaten through them. Kim Ja-heung thought her eyes were truly beautiful.
The bite marks on the daughter were indeed as the merchant had described—perfectly fine. Though her skin was completely torn open, dark red blood still bubbled and oozed forth, and the stench of rot emanated from the wound, to Kim Ja-heung's eyes, she looked perfectly fine.
Kim Ja-heung asked the daughter, "Are you feeling all right?"
"I am fine, my lord."
"Indeed. To remain so unscathed after being bitten by a dog—you must be a woman of formidable constitution."
"Thank you for the compliment, my lord."
Turning his gaze back to the daughter, Kim Ja-heung spoke again to the merchant. "Hmm, she really does seem perfectly fine."
"I told you so. How can a scholar be so full of doubt? Come now, the stench of rot is overwhelming—let us take our leave."
"Very well. It truly is a dreadful smell…"
Plugging his nose as he left, Kim Ja-heung thought to himself: Whoever takes that daughter as a wife, he does not know, but the Baek household is truly blessed to have raised such a fine daughter.
The history of dogs is intertwined with humanity's history of coexistence. Since ancient times, humans and dogs have lived in symbiosis. Human masters gave dogs love, while dogs offered humans boundless loyalty. Dogs are creatures that follow humans with particular devotion—so much so that the saying goes, "People may betray, but dogs never do." Because of this, even if a dog roams the streets, no human would think to be wary of it.
Seoul. A quiet hiking trail halfway up Namsan. A young couple, seemingly in their early twenties with bright futures ahead, walked hand in hand along the path. With no one else around, one might have expected some affectionate display, but perhaps because they had not been dating long, they merely held hands awkwardly while conversing.
Then, before them, a black beast appeared.
The young woman exclaimed, "Wow, a dog! Oppa, hold this for a second."
"Huh? Uh, okay."
"Here, come here, you cutie."
Knowing his girlfriend loved dogs, the man silently held the bag she handed him and watched with a warm smile as the woman interacted with the animal.
Lick. Lick. Lick. Lick.
The black beast licked the woman's cheek.
"It tickles!"
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The black beast began gnawing on the woman's mouth.
"Oh my, oppa. It must have been hungry. Is it tasty?"
"Yeah, maybe we should give it some food."
"It's fine. It looks like it's enjoying itself already."
Crunch. Crack. Snap. Chew, chew, chew, chew.
The black beast began devouring the woman's right arm with gusto.
"Ahahaha, it tickles!"
"Ye-seul, you shouldn't feed stray dogs like that. People will call you a crazy dog lady."
"But… it's so pitiful."
Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack.
"Chew slowly, okay!"
After a while of feasting on the woman's right arm, the black beast seemed to lose interest and turned its gaze toward the man.
"What, you want mine too?"
"Looks like it wants your left arm."
"Damn it, I won't be able to play games with both hands anymore."
"So what! This is a good chance to quit gaming, don't you think, oppa?"
"Easier said than done. I guess I'll have to find games I can play with one hand…"
Crunch. Snap.
"Ah… it's eating both arms now, damn it."
"Puhahaha! Oppa, you'll have to quit gaming now!"
Thus, after devouring the woman's right arm and the man's both arms, the black beast departed.
"Bye-bye, cutie!"
"…You really like dogs that much?"
"What, are you jealous of the dog right now, oppa?"
"N-no, that's not it…"
"Ehehe, don't worry! You're the only one for me. Come on, let's hold hands and walk."
"I don't have hands."
"Puhahaha!"
A few minutes later, the young couple met their end.
This is troublesome.
Upon arriving at the entrance to Namsan, I found far more people gathered than in the bustling streets below. Naturally, as I proudly walked on all fours among them, I drew everyone's attention.
Click. Click-click.
Why are so many people taking photos? This is clearly voyeurism, people.
"Is she a BJ?"
"Looks like she's filming for YouTube."
"Where's the camera?"
"Whoa, that body."
"I wanna grab that tail."
…Focus on the smells, not the voices.
Sniff. Sniff-sniff.
"Grrrrrr."
"What was that? Did she just make a fox sound?"
"That's a bit much for a concept…"
"Is she crazy?"
I'm certain. It's somewhere on Namsan. The scent has gotten stronger.
No. Taking a closer sniff, it wasn't just that strange, unpleasant smell. There was also… the smell of blood.
Damn it. Am I already too late?
The one silver lining was that the blood scent wasn't particularly strong. One person. Two. Ten. Maybe twenty. For a yokai to have appeared in the middle of Namsan, the blood smell was absurdly faint. To put it bluntly, even if it were a fifth-stage yokai rather than a powerful one, several hundred people should have already died by now.
Whatever the case, I have to save them. If they're not dead yet, I can still do something.
I began moving toward the direction of the blood scent.
By the way, did the yokai detection radar fail to activate again?
[Wheeeeeeeeeee!]
As if on cue, an evacuation order was issued across the Namsan area. It seemed the yokai energy hadn't been detected. Apparently, the director, Lee Ha-neul, and Hojun were helping me out.
Lee Ha-neul and Hojun's method of tracking Miho was simple. Since Baek Nam-hoon had instructed them to track the yokai using analog methods, they had adopted the same approach.
"Has anyone seen the seven-tailed fox cosplay girl?"
Starting from near the hotel, they decided to stop every passerby and ask. Whether fortunate or not, Miho's appearance was far too eye-catching, so there were plenty of sightings.
A street vendor auntie spoke up. "Ah, you mean the one with the great figure…"
"Yes, yes."
"She went toward Namsan on all fours."
"…On all fours?"
"Yeah. I thought she was crazy. Why would a girl with such a pretty face do something like that?"
"…"
Hojun and Lee Ha-neul simultaneously pressed their hands to their foreheads. At the very least, she could have walked on two legs…
Regardless, now that they knew Miho's direction, Lee Ha-neul immediately contacted her master.
"It's Namsan. Hojun and I will head there first, Master."
[W-wait, Ha-neul! This master will be right there…]
Click.
Lee Ha-neul coldly ended the call.
"…Is that okay?"
"It doesn't matter. She would've just nagged me to wait until she arrived anyway. Let's go. Miho's waiting."