Fox Hunt 36

“Who came, you said?”

Han Seolju’s eyes became fierce.

“Lee Seonghun’s father.”

“How dare that bastard come looking for the gaju?”

As expected, Han Seolju also remembered Lee Seonghun and his father well. Though they growled and fought whenever they saw each other, Han Seolju and Ban Hanseong were brothers, family, and friends who had grown up together since childhood. That’s why he’d blamed himself for not being there when Eun Seonmyeong beat Lee Seonghun to a pulp. He’d even caused a ruckus saying he’d kill him, going to find Lee Seonghun, who was hospitalized after being beaten by Eun Seonmyeong, with a hammer.

‘If I hadn’t stopped him then, he definitely would have gone and done more.’

Eun Seonmyeong, who recalled the memory of sweating quite a bit stopping Han Seolju, who rampaged like an enraged wild boar, shook his head. The anger of Han Seolju, who barely regained his reason at Eun Seonmyeong’s restraint, was directed at the guys who had received Lee Seonghun’s orders. The ones who had directly pushed Ban Hanseong. This time, Eun Seonmyeong didn’t particularly stop him. Rather, he hummed while watching Han Seolju break the guys’ legs. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth was Eun Seonmyeong’s way.

“It seems something happened to that bastard Lee Seonghun.”

“That bastard seems to have returned to Korea.”

He’d heard Lee Seonghun, who had been hospitalized for quite a while after being beaten by Eun Seonmyeong, went to study in America as soon as he was discharged.

“Seems so.”

“Anyway, you said something happened—did a ghost attach itself to him?”

“It’s my guess, but I think it’s a Goljinchung.”

“Goljinchung……”

Han Seolju, who had been sneering, swallowed a gasp at the word Goljinchung.

Goljinchung is a parasite that lives in bones, and is a type of yokai. A yokai insect, so to speak. Goljinchung at first crawls on the ground like very fine dust invisible to the eye, then burrows into the body of a weakened human and settles in the bones. Then it eats the marrow inside the bones to grow its body, then lays eggs in humans around the host. Humans infected with Goljinchung suffer terrible pain and eventually die with bones throughout their body crumbling.

Long ago, it was a troublesome bastard that was both hard to catch and didn’t die easily, to the extent that there was a record of sealing off an entire village where a youth infected with Goljinchung lived and burning it for three days.

“I thought it had completely disappeared, but I guess not.”

“As far as I know, it must have appeared for the first time in almost a hundred years.”

“Will you ignore it?”

Han Seolju asked cautiously. If the Goljinchung ate only Lee Seonghun and died, there would be no problem. But the problem was that Goljinchung infected those around. If the Goljinchung in Lee Seonghun’s body became an adult and started laying eggs in humans around him, it would become troublesome.

“I don’t care if Lee Seonghun dies and collapses, but if it’s really a Goljinchung as I expect, I’ll have to catch it and annihilate it.”

There was a high possibility of chain infection from Lee Seonghun to his father Chairman Lee, and from Chairman Lee to his company employees, so it had to be annihilated before it spread.

“Will you go find him?”

“He’ll come back. Since Goljinchung is a yokai insect, only an exorcist can annihilate it.”

No matter how many shamans he called, it would be of no use. It couldn’t be removed with exorcism rituals or divine power. In other words, currently only Eun Seonmyeong could eliminate it. Though Chairman Lee left in anger, he had no choice but to come back. Since he was someone who loved his child dearly, he wouldn’t be able to just watch Lee Seonghun suffer in pain.

Anyway, parents were the problem. Parents like Seo Hyeonjeong who raised Choi Myeongwon, or Chairman Lee who raised Lee Seonghun. They should teach that what’s wrong is wrong, but they raised them indulgently, so they grew into adults like social evils. Though he hadn’t seen Lee Seonghun for a long time, judging by Chairman Lee’s attitude, he didn’t seem to have changed much from before either.

“It’s not something I should say as a bongshin of an exorcist family, but I want to just leave him to suffer from the Goljinchung and die.”

Han Seolju said grinding his teeth.

“Same here.”

So he was thinking of dragging his feet and only eliminating it after he’d at least lost both legs and become crippled. According to what he’d heard from his father, the moment when function of both legs was completely lost and problems started in the arms was exactly when the Goljinchung became an adult.

‘A bastard like Lee Seonghun should lie down for life and live while ruminating on the sins he’s committed.’

It was when Eun Seonmyeong, who had no mercy to show to humans he’d designated as enemies, twisted his lips anticipating a reunion with Lee Seonghun.

“Won’t you say anything to Hanseong?”

Eun Seonmyeong, who frowned, let out a short sigh. Though matters regarding Lee Seonghun would surely be painful memories, he had no intention of hiding it.

“I should. I think Hanseong should know too. Go to Hanseong’s place today and tell him to stop by tomorrow or the day after.”

“Understood.”

“But what has Hanseong been doing lately?”

He hadn’t seen Ban Hanseong since the day he sent off the child ghost Lee Seungjin. There wasn’t even a single casual greeting text. Even on January 1st when the curse started. Of course, originally Ban Hanseong wasn’t the type to visit often or keep in touch attentively either.

“He seems to be digging into Seonjin’s youngest son’s corruption.”

He was talking about Choi Myeongwon. It was roughly as expected.

“Anyway, you’re getting along well with the Fire Fox without any problems?”

Han Seolju asked cautiously.

“Problems?”

Eun Seonmyeong, who uncrossed his folded legs, looked down at his right hand for a moment. He recalled unconsciously touching Shim Iyul’s chin because it was funny how he got fired up at being treated like a dog. It was also behavior unlike himself. Eun Seonmyeong was silent for a moment then answered Han Seolju, who was waiting for an answer.

“No problems at all.”

***

“What? Why isn’t he coming in?”

Shim Iyul, who was guarding the hunter’s empty house alone with no sign of anyone, grumbled in dissatisfaction. Eun Seonmyeong, who had gone out to the shop in the morning, hadn’t returned even after the sun had fully set.

When the sun starts to set, he should come in promptly and guard the house. For a human to not come back until it’s dark, not being modest.

In reality, it was only around 7 o’clock so it was hard to see it as very late, but since it was winter and the days were short so it got dark early, it somehow felt like the middle of the night. Shim Iyul, who had been pacing the small yard of the annex, came over to the main building. Then he went and sat on the daecheong floor. The traditional house was somehow desolate, being dark without lights on. It was just like when he’d lived alone deep in the mountains. Though various noises were faintly heard since it was downtown, and he occasionally felt signs of people coming and going through the alley, he didn’t know why he felt so desolate.

Come to think of it, since moving in to freeload at the hunter’s house, there hadn’t been many times he was alone. He’d been with the little ghost, the hunter, or Ban Hanseong. Sometimes they all gathered and bustled. When Eun Seonmyeong was suffering from the curse, though he couldn’t see his face, he’d at least been in the same house anyway.

“……”

Thinking about it, Shim Iyul had been alone more often than he’d been with someone. After his mother died, he’d only lived with Mr. Park for exactly 99 days, and other than that, he was alone. Naturally, being alone was familiar and comfortable.

So right now, having the hunter’s house to himself was very comfortable. Of course, that’s right. He wasn’t lonely at all.

“Ah, so comfortable~ Not lonely at all~”

Shim Iyul, who lay down on his back, shouted loudly that he was comfortable even though there was no one listening. Then he closed his eyes and rolled side to side.

“Are you a ball? Why are you rolling around?”

At the suddenly heard voice, Shim Iyul’s eyes flew open and he quickly stood up. Not knowing when he’d come, Eun Seonmyeong was looking down at him with a pathetic gaze. A smile spread unconsciously across Shim Iyul’s lips.

“What? Are you a thief? Coming without making a sound.”

“I guess there are people who deliberately make sounds when entering and leaving their own house.”

“Whether it’s your house or someone else’s house, you should greet when you come and go. That’s human etiquette. Hunter, you seem to really lack etiquette.”

Eun Seonmyeong frowned, dumbfounded looking at Shim Iyul, who spoke in a lecturing tone while clicking his tongue with his arms crossed. Who was calling whom lacking in etiquette?

“Yes, I’m back. Fox bastard, I need to go up so move.”

Shim Iyul, who had been sitting in the center of the daecheong, moved slightly to the side. Only then did Eun Seonmyeong, who climbed onto the daecheong, try to enter the room then hesitated. Though faint, he could sense the fox’s body scent—that is, pheromones.

“What did you do on my floor?!”

Eun Seonmyeong, who immediately covered his nose, asked urgently.

“Do? What did I do? I didn’t do anything.”

“Then why is your smell left here?!”

“What smell…… Ah, my heat came briefly earlier then left.”

“Why did you go into heat on my daecheong floor?!”

“You think heat is something I can control at will? It comes when it wants and leaves when it wants—what do you want me to do about it!”

“If heat came, you should have crawled to the annex! Why did you leave your smell in front of my room door and make a fuss?! I said I detest fox smell!”

“Oh my, is that so? Do you think I like the hunter smell? The hunter smell you left on my new bed is still there! I feel disgusted every time I sleep, you know?!”

“Wash it and use it!”

“You spray perfume on the floor!”

Shim Iyul, who yelled loudly, returned to the annex. Eun Seonmyeong looked at Shim Iyul’s back, which was blatantly showing he was sulking, with an unsettled feeling, then entered the room. Then, as Shim Iyul said, he came out with air freshener and sprayed it generously on the floor. It was good that the fox’s pheromones that made his body strange had faded, but his head throbbed from the artificial scent. Still, it was better than masturbating with aching hands because of the fox smell.

After sighing and showering, when he came out after changing clothes, he saw Shim Iyul lighting the stone lantern. He looked back at the presence then snorted. Then he threw what he was holding. When he caught it reflexively and looked, it was a shopping bag.

“I bought it roughly.”

Shim Iyul said curtly.

“……What’s this?”

“What are you going to do with your eyes?”

When he opened the shopping bag, there were clothes. Eun Seonmyeong recognized the logo immediately. After staring at the clothes for a while, Eun Seonmyeong raised his head and Shim Iyul preened.

“It’s a New Year’s gift. It’s really expensive. Of course, I didn’t choose carefully and just bought it roughly. You stingily gave 50,000 won as New Year’s allowance, but I’m a bold and generous fox.”

“Shim Iyul.”

At the voice of Eun Seonmyeong calling his name completely for the first time, Shim Iyul flinched for a moment. Feeling somehow like his heart dropped with a thump, Shim Iyul waved his hand and spoke in an awkward tone.

“It’s, it’s okay. You don’t have to say thank you. I won’t feel good hearing thank you from you anyway.”

“I wasn’t going to say thank you, but you’re getting ahead of yourself.”

“If, if you’re not going to greet me with thanks, why did you call my name?”

Shim Iyul, who felt awkward, grumbled.

“……Did you eat dinner?”

Eun Seonmyeong, who had been silent for a moment having nothing to say in response, asked in a slightly embarrassed tone if he’d eaten dinner.

“What if I haven’t?”

“I haven’t eaten either, so eat together.”

“If you buy me king crab, I’ll eat with you.”

Shim Iyul answered primly.

“You seem to have eaten dinner.”

Toward the back of Eun Seonmyeong, who turned around with an attitude of no lingering attachment, Shim Iyul urgently shouted.