After the Movie Screening
The meeting — (5) After the Movie Screening. I had the dubious honor of seeing my face plastered all over the TV news once again. The headline was especially long-winded. 'Mysterious Helper, Fox-Eared Woman Appears at Cinema with Lee Ha-neul… Focus on Relationship with Force Arts Master Lee Ha-neul Who Resolved the Namsan Incident, Lee Ha-neul's Side States [Unable to Comment]…' This time they even got Lee Ha-neul's face in the shot with mine. Of course. Come to think of it, she was a well-known public figure too. No matter how much I hid my ears and tails, my hanbok and her very existence were bound to draw attention like magnets.
In the end, I got an earful from the director. He issued a strict order that I wasn't allowed to step one foot outside the hotel until the meeting began. It was pure hell. For the first time, I could kind of understand how dogs felt when they begged to go for walks. Being trapped in that tiny hotel room for two whole days nearly drove me insane. Actually, I think I was already halfway there.
"Woof woof woof!"
"Bark bark!"
"Woof woof!"
"Meow!"
"Keeeeeek!"
Thump thump thump thump thump thump.
The frustration of being locked in this closed space was far worse than the fear of getting my butt spanked by Lee Ha-neul. I dug my nails into the wall and scratched like crazy. I even yelled at the window, "Ah, I wanna get laid!" I almost drew a map on the bed… but I couldn't quite bring myself to go that far. Anyway, I seriously thought I was losing my mind. I never imagined I'd start missing the musty smell of Jirisan's Hidden World. Ah, I wanted to stuff Depo in my chest and run around the Hidden World again. I miss Depo.
…Anyway. This hellish life ends today. Today. The meeting finally resumes. Unlike last night, I received a proper invitation this time. I walked out of the hotel with my back straight and my head held high, accompanied by Hojun, the director, and Lee Ha-neul.
"Slouch a little. Your tits look even bigger like that."
"…"
I told him to watch his language. During this meeting, I need to strongly suggest they make me an ID. Once I have proper identification, I can sue Hojun. The charges will obviously be sexual harassment and molestation. Just you wait, you perverted bastard. I'll make sure you end up eating prison food soon enough.
Unlike the last meeting, the conference room was dead silent. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. The directors of the nationwide Yokai Hunter Offices who had never met me before were nervous because of all the wild rumors about the 'spiritual beast fox.' The Force Arts users who had fought alongside me were nervous because seeing me filled them with indescribable joy. The effects of my charm still hadn't completely worn off.
Well. Even if the charm had completely faded, my face and figure had the power to make most men turn their heads at least once. Some might have simply fallen for me at first sight. While they were thinking such carefree thoughts, Baek Nam-hoon, the Minister of the Yokai Hunter Department, was racking his brain over how to best conduct the upcoming conversation with me.
He had heard information about me from Hojun and Lee Han-ul, but…
'She acts like a dog… I can't picture it.'
Their description of me as 'dog-like' was hard to believe. Of course, the Minister didn't distrust them. It was simply impossible to imagine. According to them, my personality was exactly like a pet dog at home. Baek Nam-hoon was approaching sixty, yet in his fifty-nine years of life, while he had seen plenty of people with nasty, dog-like tempers, he had never met anyone whose personality was so extremely similar to an actual dog. That was why he was so troubled.
He patted his pocket. Inside was premium dog gum, brought on Hojun's advice that 'she likes it when you give her some after she answers well.' …He couldn't help wondering if it was really okay to treat a sentient being like this — especially one said to be a powerful spiritual beast. Still, if his most trusted subordinates swore she was dog-like, he had no choice but to believe them.
A short while later, they entered the conference room. The first thing that caught his eye was, of course, her stunning beauty. He thought she truly lived up to her reputation as a fox spiritual beast with the power of 'charm.' She looked around the room and opened her mouth.
"Hello everyone! I'm Miho! I'm two years old, my favorite things are cola, chicken, and dog gum, and the things I hate are…"
"M-Miho…!"
His disciple tapped her shoulder repeatedly to stop her. Miho simply shrugged as if to ask what the problem was and took her seat. Once she sat down, her white tails sticking out in every direction immediately drew everyone's attention.
…She's wagging them like crazy.
Everyone in the conference room thought the same thing. She really does act like a dog.
I told them everything I knew. Thankfully, whether it was because I had sacrificed myself to defeat the goblins, because I had healed the injured, or because of my spiritual energy, they weren't completely hostile toward me. In fact, they seemed to like me. I was suddenly grateful that most of the people gathered here were men.
Honestly, I didn't know that much anyway. Every yokai, goblin, and even Sangun that I'd met had a habit of speaking in vague, roundabout ways. Of course, I didn't mention the Taewang Singi. It was my instinct as a fox yokai. I had a strong feeling that I shouldn't talk about the Taewang Singi with them.
So, to sum up my story…
"In short, we're pretty much fucked."
Yes. We were fucked. The goblins had shown themselves again, and powerful yokai were running rampant. If this wasn't a fucked situation, what was?
When I finished speaking, someone raised their hand and asked me a question.
"I'm Jeong Seung-hyun, director of the Hallasan Yokai Hunter Office."
Oh. Hallasan. I've always wanted to visit Jeju Island someday. Sniff sniff. By the way, I think I smell dog gum somewhere. Where is it coming from?
"So, spiritual beast fox, you…"
"You can just call me Miho."
"Ah, understood. So, to summarize what Miss Miho said…"
He held his breath for a moment, then continued while breaking into a cold sweat.
"…You're saying you expect similar incidents to keep occurring in the future?"
"No."
"Phew, thank go—"
"It's not an expectation. It's a certainty."
"…"
The atmosphere in the conference room grew even heavier. Even though it was just testimony without any evidence, three yokai estimated to be at least Rank 2 had appeared in succession, and goblins — thought to have gone extinct over five hundred years ago — had reappeared. No one took my words lightly.
After that, I was bombarded with questions. I answered everything I could. Have I ever killed a person? I said I'd never even injured anyone, let alone killed them. Then Hojun shoved his finger in my face. …Okay, fine, I did bite Hojun's finger once.
Why do I save people? I answered that there didn't need to be any special reason for a person to save another person. It was my way of telling them how I saw myself and what my identity meant to me.
What did I think of goblins? Simple. 'Enemies.'
What did I think of yokai? This was also simple.
"I'm a yokai myself."
"Whoa…!"
My thoughtless answer caused quite a stir. Hojun and the director broke into a sweat explaining on my behalf. Thanks to them, I was finally able to rest my mouth after a full thirty minutes of the meeting.
"So… you're saying you're both a yokai and a spiritual beast? And you expect us to believe that?"
"Want me to show you?"
"Show us? How would you…"
"Like this."
In an instant, I pulled in four of my tails. The crowd panicked as the mature woman suddenly transformed into a little kid. Then the yokai detection sensors started blaring.
Weeoo! Weeoo! Weeoo! Weeoo!
They panicked a second time.
"Ta-da! Yokai mode activated!"
"…"
Uh. Um. Why is the mood like this? Maybe I shouldn't have shown them…?
… … …
Sniff sniff. Ah, smelling the dog gum clears my head. Where the hell is it coming from?
After the yokai sensors went off, the muscular middle-aged man who clearly held a high position made a hurried phone call somewhere, desperately explaining the situation. That guy was the one Lee Ha-neul called her master. He didn't seem like a government official. He was probably the highest-ranking Force Arts user.
Once things calmed down, it seemed people had run out of questions for me. They all wore awkward expressions. I could roughly guess what they were feeling. They understood I was friendly toward humans, but they were still struggling with whether they should trust a being that wasn't human.
Finally, the muscular middle-aged man who had remained silent throughout the meeting spoke to me.
"I am Baek Nam-hoon, Minister of the Yokai Hunter Department."
Whoa, shit. So he was the Minister.
"Miss Miho, I have a question."
Gulp.
I swallowed hard. Unlike the others, he had stayed completely silent during the meeting. He probably didn't trust me. Well, it made sense. A rigid government official wasn't likely to look favorably on a non-human spiritual beast. I was a little nervous. This was the Minister's question, after all. It was sure to be sharp and hit right at the heart of the matter.
Then came the Minister's question.
"Do you happen to like dog gum?"
"Yes!"
I answered with my tongue hanging out, drool dripping, and my tail wagging furiously. So you were the source of that dog gum smell!