Chapter One: The One Who Forgot
The museum was quiet that evening — too quiet for Seoul.
The dim halls of the Yonggwan Folklore Institute smelled of parchment, cedarwood, and ancient dust. Rows of forgotten gods stood behind glass; their once-feared names now etched onto tiny placards no one read.
But Ji-eun read them.
She always did.
She had this strange affinity for the broken myths, the twisted tales of tragic deities and beasts that once ruled over man. She said nothing, but felt everything. It wasn't the facts that drew her in — it was the grief in their silence.
Tonight, she stood before the exhibit labeled:
> "GUMIHO: The Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit"
The statue behind the glass was breathtaking — a stone-carved figure of a man cloaked in fur, tails curling behind him like flames. His eyes were narrowed, mouth curved in a smirk that was both seductive and sorrowful.
The inscription read:
> Once worshipped, then feared.
The gumiho lives between worlds — beast and man.
They wait for hearts they've lost, or revenge they have yet to take.
Ji-eun tilted her head.
"Do you believe in love that survives death?" a voice whispered beside her.
She startled, stepping back. A man stood next to her — tall, elegant, and completely unannounced.
His voice was smooth, deep. A little too familiar.
His face… was unfair.
Pale like moonlight, sharp jawline, eyes like burning amber — and ancient. Not old, not tired. Ancient.
Like someone who remembered centuries instead of birthdays.
He was staring at the statue, not her.
"You work here?" he asked.
Ji-eun blinked. "Yes… how did you—?"
But he was already walking.
Smooth steps. Confident. No hesitation.
She followed instinctively, pulled toward him like a tide to the moon. Something about him made her stomach twist — not in fear, but recognition. As if her body knew something her mind didn't.
He stopped at a sealed exhibit.
Behind the glass sat a silver dagger, curved like a fang. Its plaque was old and scratched, but readable:
> "Soul Fang" – Believed to be a mythical weapon forged to sever the soul from the body. Said to have been used by a betrayed gumiho during the War of Spirits, 1379."
The man's eyes darkened.
His fingers — long, graceful — reached for the glass. And then…
The alarm exploded.
Red lights. Sirens. Footsteps pounding in the hallway.
Ji-eun turned toward the noise for a split second.
When she turned back—
He was gone.
---
That night, she dreamed of fire.
Forests burning. Screams. A palace in ruins.
A man on his knees, blood dripping down his cheek, his nine tails scorched black.
> "Sae-ri…" he whispered.
"Why did you betray me?"
She woke up gasping. Her sheets were tangled around her legs, her skin coated in sweat, her pulse hammering like a war drum.
But it wasn't the dream that shook her.
It was the three long, white fox hairs lying neatly on her pillow.