Kkiiing… Kkiwoong, kking…….
“Why is this little bastard panting when he’s lying comfortably inside my shirt?”
Kkiwoong!
“What? You’re tired because it’s shaking? Are you kidding me? Then walk on your own two feet.”
Kkiuwoong!
“Why the hell is your mouth so foul? Who did you take after, huh?”
As they climbed toward Mulburisan, where the Taegohwa was located, Kkiwoong started whining. Dojin shoved a finger into his shirt’s front pocket. Kkiwoong shuddered, dodging the finger and curling up in the corner—just as Iri spoke.
“There are people up ahead.”
As Iri said, several middle-aged men and women were gathered near the summit of Mulburisan. Piiik-piiik! Kkyung-kyung! When a group of humans appeared, the little ones who’d been trailing after them scattered.
“Is Princess Bari one of them?”
“They’re ordinary humans. Princess Bari is probably busy traveling all over the world right now. Disappointed you didn’t see her?”
“Not at all. Being overly polite is exhausting, so I’m relieved she’s not here.”
Dojin strode toward the middle-aged group. They were startled when they saw Dojin and Iri.
“Well, what brings such young folks up here?”
Dojin answered smoothly.
“What else? We came hiking.”
“In those clothes?”
Iri, wearing everyday hanbok with sneakers, was one thing—but Dojin had put real thought into his outfit, thinking of today as a date with Iri. A white shirt, black slacks, polished black shoes. Completely out of place on a mountain.
“Yes. We climbed dressed like this. Are you locals, sir? Or part of a hiking club?”
“I work at the lookout here. These folks are my friends.”
Dojin glanced toward the lookout.
Right beside the forest fire watchtower at the summit bloomed the Taegohwa. It was a flower bed invisible to those without spiritual sight. A beautiful five-colored flower resembling a chrysanthemum—yet ordinary humans couldn’t see it. Somehow, that felt a little pitiful.
“So what are you students up to? You’re awfully pretty and handsome.”
“Are you celebrities? Is there some filming going on nearby? We’ve had a lot of celebrities come through lately.”
Dojin and Iri exchanged looks. Dojin smiled faintly and asked,
“Celebrities were here recently?”
“Yeah. You know Lee Seokjin, right? That really handsome actor who’s great at acting. Lee Seokjin came here. Twice, even.”
“……!”
Dojin hadn’t expected to hear Lee Seokjin’s name here and was visibly shaken. He immediately looked to his master—but Iri’s expression didn’t change, as if he’d anticipated this.
Come to think of it, it was only because the Taegohwa’s blooming had been unusually late that Iri felt an ominous premonition and came all this way. Dojin had thought, What could possibly be wrong?—and yet something clearly was wrong. Immortal Iri’s intuition was frighteningly accurate.
That was when Iri stepped closer to the group.
“Sir, please tell me in detail. When exactly did Lee Seokjin visit, and what did you talk about?”
Clear, jet-black eyes fixed on them. Unable to refuse, the man began speaking.
Lee Seokjin’s first visit had been four months ago. Mid-February, on a day when white snow lay thick on the ground. He’d come with a man who looked like his manager.
The lookout chief, delighted to see a famous person for the first time in his life spent in the countryside, struck up a conversation—just the kind of thing an ordinary citizen would say upon encountering a celebrity.
‘Is that really Lee Seokjin? Wow, you’re even more handsome than on TV. What brings you here?’
‘…….’
‘Hey. Mr. Lee Seokjin?’
‘Ah, you’re loud. Shut up.’
Lee Seokjin shot the man a sharp, irritated look. Unlike his warm public image, he was rude and arrogant. The chief let out a hollow laugh at the reality of a famous actor, while the manager scrambled to apologize.
“What was the manager like?”
“He had shaggy hair and wore horn-rimmed glasses… really skinny. Skin and bones, shoulders hunched like he was trying to disappear. Made him look downright pitiful. Must’ve been hell working under a celebrity like that.”
Lee Seokjin and his manager circled the area around the lookout once and left. They didn’t marvel at the open view, nor did they take any commemorative photos at the summit.
Listening, Dojin realized Lee Seokjin must have done something to the Taegohwa. From a human perspective, it’d only looked like a casual walk around the lookout.
“And then I forgot all about it—until the night before last! Lee Seokjin came back again, with the manager.”
‘What brings you here again at this hour? I thought you were a ghost.’
‘Ah… hello. I’m Lee Seokjin.’
‘Of course I know. Why’re you here again?’
‘…Well, the view seemed nice last time.’
‘What can you see in pitch darkness?’
‘True, haha…. By the way, sir, I was very rude before, wasn’t I? I’m sorry. I was too immersed in the role I was playing at the time….’
“He apologized so humbly, I thought he was a completely different person from four months ago. I even wondered if he came because he was afraid I’d post something online exposing his personality.”
“Did he walk around the lookout again?”
“This time, the manager walked around alone. Lee Seokjin just stood there, staring up at the night sky. He looked so pitiful it broke my heart….”
One of the older folks listening chimed in.
“Lee Seokjin’s great at melodrama. When he makes that sorrowful face, you can’t help but feel sorry for him.”
“That’s right. Even if he played a villain, people wouldn’t hate him. His face is just too gentle.”
“Didn’t you hear me? The first time we met, he totally blew me off.”
“But he apologized, didn’t he? If he said sorry, that’s enough. Don’t sulk like that.”
The conversation drifted elsewhere. Since they’d heard everything they needed, Iri and Dojin took in the scenic view briefly, said their goodbyes, and headed down the mountain.
Walking toward the Dragon Horse they’d parked at the foot, Dojin spoke.
“Master, I tried reasoning it out myself.”
“Mm.”
“Mid-February, right when the Taegohwa was about to bud, Lee Seokjin came and interfered so it wouldn’t bloom. The reason was obvious—he wanted to spread yin energy nearby and strengthen the Evil God.”
If the soul flower failed to bloom, less life energy would spread through the area, and no new little ones would be born. Without the little ones that purify the mountain, it would naturally become a creepy place steeped in yin energy. An Evil God would feed on that and grow stronger….
“But for some reason, he came back the night before last and took measures so it would bloom properly.”
“What do you think the reason was?”
“Either Maninsa and Berimos found another place where they could gorge themselves on yin energy… or maybe after you tore off one of his arms, he finally came to his senses.”
Dojin recalled the brutal, terrifying, yet undeniably cool sight of Immortal Iri back then.
“He probably thought, ‘If we don’t clean up the mess we’ve made, Immortal Iri is going to kill us all,’ and started going around fixing things.”
“Hmm….”
“What do you think, Master?”
“Well… if we’re talking about cleaning up, I agree with you.”
“Then that’s great! This thing’s been sitting in the back of my mind, nagging me, and now it’s resolved just like that.”
As they talked, they reached the Dragon Horse. Dojin got in and entered the shop’s address into the navigation system—but Iri paused halfway into the back seat and looked up at the sky.
“Master? What is it?”
“I think there’s an exorcist nearby.”
“…What?”
Dojin jumped out of the car immediately. Taking a guarded stance, he scanned the surroundings—but all he saw were little ones and wild animals. Had the exorcist used high-level stealth arts? As Dojin thought through several ways to expose a hidden presence, Iri spoke.
“They’re using sorcery very close by. We should go check.”
“Yes, let’s go!”
Iri glanced at Dojin, then kicked off the ground.
“…….”
Iri soared through the sky.
Kkiwoong….
Kkiwoong gazed in awe at Iri’s back as he vanished into the distance.
“Ah, shit.”
Dojin kicked off the ground just like Iri—
“Hey, hurry and follow Master! Hurry!”
—and leapt onto the Dragon Horse faster than anyone. He could float briefly, but unlike Iri, he couldn’t fly freely.
[(￣▽￣)”]
“Don’t laugh—move it!”
[(。_ 。)]
The Dragon Horse could track its owner’s location. Iri had retracted his wings to avoid drawing attention but hadn’t disabled the tracking function, so the Dragon Horse galloped swiftly after him.
***
From above, Iri looked down at a neatly constructed theme park. It was crowded with weekend visitors, but he immediately spotted his target.
A scrawny man with shaggy hair was crouched in a secluded corner of the park. Lee Seokjin was nowhere to be seen. Despite a bench nearby, the man crouched by a fence, drawing curious glances from passersby. It didn’t look like he’d cast a barrier or used stealth arts.
…Or perhaps he couldn’t.
Iri transformed into a great tit and descended toward the exorcist. The man muttered while staring into the bushes beyond the fence.
“Th-this is strange…. I, I should be healed by now. Wh-why, why isn’t it working?”
In his hand was an empty glass bottle.
The great tit fluttered onto the wooden fence. The exorcist noticed the bird and gave it an awkward smile, then looked back at the bushes.
“S-sorry. I, I thought I’d get better. I’ll, I’ll find a better medicine.”
Kkyuung. Kkyung. Kkyuung!
The one raging in the bushes was a hare-like little one yokai. One ear was torn, and the fur on its hindquarters looked severely burned—damp, as if it had been rained on.
