"You're not supposed to play with Hwayeo, or else the yokai will co for you at night."
"Is that true, Hwayeo?"
"Kyeng?"
"See? Even Hwayeo agrees. Co on, let's go."
The mother fox pulled her child away from the young Hwayeo, who waved cheerfully, unaware of the true aning behind their words. The Hoyo clan barely gave Hwayeo a second glance, treating her like a background figure. Occasionally, however, soone would approach her.
"Hwayeo, could you go lure the yokai out for us? We need to go hunting."
"Kyeng!"
Hwayeo, eager for the attention and happy to be spoken to, responded innocently.
As she prepared to leave the fox den, a gust of wind made her hesitate. Despite answering quickly, she couldn’t shake the fear creeping up inside her. She thought about asking soone to accompany her, but the hunters just smiled, tilting their heads as if they didn’t understand.
"What's the matter? Is sothing wrong?"
"Kyeng..."
"Night will fall soon. If you delay, even more yokai will appear. You need to hurry and finish before then."
Unable to read the true intent behind their smiles, Hwayeo only saw kindness. Without further hesitation, she dashed out of the den.
And so, Hwayeo beca the fox den's convenient tool.
She was used to scare children into behaving and also as bait to lure the yokai for hunting expeditions. She couldn't speak and never said no, making her the most convenient tool they could imagine.
That night, Hwayeo returned after fulfilling her role. By the ti she had shaken off the yokai, the sun had long set. When she arrived back at the village, the hunters had returned well before her. The village was filled with the sll of roasting at—clearly, they were celebrating a successful hunt.
"Oh, you're back already."
"Kyeng!"
"Good job. Here, eat this and rest a little."
Excited by the thought that she might get to eat so at tonight, Hwayeo’s hopes were dashed when the man tossed a few shriveled, bug-eaten potatoes onto the ground. She blinked, staring at the rolling potatoes, before looking up again—only to see the man already walking away.
He didn’t look back even once as he returned to his house. Shortly after, she could hear laughter and cheerful voices coming from within, seeping through the windows.
Sitting on the ground, Hwayeo waited.
"Kyeng."
She lowered her head and began eating the potatoes.
Days like this repeated endlessly, and Lin, who had been watching silently, let out a small sigh.
"So annoying."
She had expected sothing special, but instead, the sa aningless scene played out in an endless loop. And she couldn’t intervene.
Whenever she tried to leave Baekun Valley, she found herself back at the fox den. It was as if sothing here needed to be resolved before she could move forward.
But what could she possibly resolve in this tiny fox den? It wasn’t hard to guess. Lin headed underground.
Following in the elder’s footsteps, she easily found the shrine.
There, unlike before, there was no dust. And sitting on the altar, she saw a fox. It was a familiar yet unfamiliar sight.
The fox tossed the golden fox bead around like a toy, its irreverence almost offensive. But anyone who knew her wouldn’t think it disrespectful—for this was the true owner of the bead.
The fox, who resembled Lin yet was larger in every way—especially in the chest—and had nine tails instead of Lin’s five, greeted her.
"Hey there, little one. Did you co for this? Too bad—it’s mine."
"Is there a need to call ‘little one’? You are ."
"Don’t get it twisted. I never lived in such a pathetic way, never craved affection, and I was never weak like you."
"Then why were you sealed away? Wasn’t it because you were too weak?"
"......"
The Gumiho fell silent, and Lin smiled triumphantly.
"If it were , I wouldn’t have been sealed away. What a weakling~"
"Shut up, or I’ll break this bead."
"Touchy, aren’t we?"
Lin stopped teasing her, knowing it would be problematic if the Gumiho actually followed through on her threat.
Though the Gumiho denied their connection, Lin knew better. The ease of their conversation, the familiarity—they were undeniably the sa.
Even if she didn’t particularly like it.
"Lin doesn’t want to end up old like you."
"If you hang around ugly creatures long enough, you’ll turn out like this."
"Ugly creatures?"
"There were so... the ones who betrayed and pledged themselves to the heavens."
The Gumiho’s gaze drifted far beyond the shrine’s walls, and Lin had a vague idea of what she was thinking about. But Lin quickly dismissed the thought—what mattered now was the fox bead.
"Lin’s in a hurry. My master is waiting outside."
The Gumiho looked at Lin like she was so kind of slimy creature stuck to the ground.
"Why are you looking at like that? It’s annoying."
"A Gumiho as soone’s slave... I can’t believe this is real. Even after all these years, this is still the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Maybe I should just take over your body and kill you..."
Lin’s face twisted into a scowl at the Gumiho’s muttered words.
"If you try that, you won’t survive either."
"I’m just a remnant spirit. If I try that, it’ll just hurt you, not ."
Even as she spoke the truth, Lin’s expression remained resolute, as if she’d go as far as self-harm to prevent it. The Gumiho smirked, savoring Lin’s emotions like a predator tasting prey.
"Alright, enough fun."
Having enjoyed herself, the Gumiho hopped off the altar, holding out the fox bead.
Lin, suspicious but eager to take the bead, reached out, only for the Gumiho to toss it behind her.
"Ah!"
Lin let out a frustrated cry as the bead slipped from her grasp. But before it hit the ground, it landed gracefully on one of the Gumiho’s tails.
The Gumiho twirled her tail teasingly, playing with the bead.
"You...!"
"You’ve got such a range of expressions. You’re nothing like at all."
The Gumiho laughed, then held out the bead once more.
This ti, Lin cautiously accepted the bead, eyeing the Gumiho warily. For a mont, she thought it was going to be easy—but as soon as she touched it, the sa brilliant light from before exploded from the bead.
The space around them began to warp.
"What’s happening?"
"You’re going back to where you belong."
"What was the trial?"
"The trial was to impress . And you did."
A trial based on the Gumiho’s whims? Lin found that infuriatingly arbitrary, but even though she’d passed, it left a bitter taste in her mouth.
The Gumiho chuckled, clearly amused by her frustration.
"Now, off you go. You can see your precious master again."
With that, light filled Lin’s vision, and the space around her twisted until it completely collapsed.
With a burst of radiant light, the shrine was illuminated once more. Lin’s body was engulfed by the glow, and then, like a snake shedding its skin, the light cracked and peeled away, leaving fragnts in the air.
The glow faded.
Lin blinked slowly, her senses returning to the musty sll of the real shrine. She was back.
"It’s over, isn’t it?"
Behind her, Karamir and the elder stood, looking just as they had before she’d touched the bead. Though it had felt like a long ti, it seed the trial had no effect on the real world.
"Looks like it."
"Congratulations. You’re now a six-tailed fox."
Lin checked her tails—sure enough, she now had six. Not only that, her body had grown too.
Her figure had matured noticeably, with her curves becoming more prominent, even through her clothes. She was one step closer to the Gumiho she had just seen.
Lin glanced down at her chest.
"They were bigger, though."
Would she grow like that when she beca a Gumiho?
Not a bad thing. As a Gumiho, she could use her charm as a weapon—a powerful tool to seduce her master.
"The fox bead is gone."
Lin looked at her hand. The bead she had been holding had vanished, but she could feel it.
"It’s inside ."
The fox bead had been absorbed into Lin’s own. She could feel an unfamiliar energy swirling within her core.
It was warm, like the sun, but with a shadowy undertone—a fragnt of the Gumiho’s power.
Hmm... Is this your master? Not that impressive.
A voice echoed in Lin’s mind, startling her. The ethereal form of the Gumiho slithered out of Lin and wrapped herself around Karamir like a snake.
His face is alright, and I sense the World Tree’s energy. Interesting, but nothing more. The rest of him is... lacking. He won’t last long like this.
"W-What are you doing here?" Lin exclaid.
What do you an? You took my power, didn’t you? What, did you think it was free? I’ll be borrowing your body for a while to see the world.
"You didn’t ntion that!"
Contracts are all about reading the fine print, kid. If you don’t like it, give it back.
Even if she wanted to, Lin couldn’t. The Gumiho’s power was already mixed with her own, inseparable.
The Gumiho knew that, of course, which is why she was so smug about it.
"What’s happening?" Karamir asked.
"What’s happening? The Gumiho is here!" Lin shouted.
"The Gumiho’s always been here," the elder replied calmly, looking directly at Lin as if she were the Gumiho.
The elder couldn’t see or sense the Gumiho at all.
Only you can see because you’ve inherited my power. No one else can.
"I can see you," Karamir said.
Huh?
The Gumiho blinked in confusion, locking eyes with Karamir. He could clearly see her.
Why can you see ?
"I’m Lin’s master. Anything to do with Lin, I know about."
...I see. You’re connected by that soul chain. That explains it.
The Gumiho's assessnt of Karamir shifted slightly. He wasn’t an ordinary man, after all.
But she almost pitied him. He’d soon learn the hard way just how foolish it was to enslave a Gumiho.
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