It was a bright night with heavy snowfall.

The man, fleeing with a baby hidden in his arms, collapsed at the entrance of the orphanage after being shot.

“Over there, catch him!”

With his last ounce of strength, the man pushed the baby under the iron gate of the orphanage.

Afterwards, the baby watched with moist, clear eyes as the man was caught by the police, beaten with clubs, and fell.

It snowed all night.

The snow piled up, burying the baby.

The person who discovered the baby was the orphanage director. She stepped on something while opening the gate.

A small sound came from under her foot. Something was wriggling.

“……”

The director frowned deeply.

Surviving in this cold meant it wasn’t human.

“Damn yokai bastards! They left another one secretly! I said we’re not taking any more yokai!”

The orphanage already had 4 yokai and 1 half-breed.

They were inherently vile and difficult to handle. They often stole things or beat human children, causing the director headaches.

“It’s hard enough to feed and clothe the human children, and now another yokai…”

That’s when it happened.

Her eyes met the baby’s in the bundle.

The director’s eyes widened.

The baby was beautiful.

Normally, all babies are pretty. But this baby was special.

The baby giggled.

With long, thick eyelashes dusted with snowflakes like rice cake powder, the baby waved its hands in the air as if asking to be held.

Surely not.

The director hurriedly unwrapped the bundle and flipped the baby over.

A soft, plump tail like a willow branch swayed through the torn pants.

It wasn’t just one tail.

“One, two, three, four… eight, nine.”

A radiant appearance. Nine silvery-gray tails.

“A gumiho…”

There was only one reason the director, who disliked children, had run an orphanage all her life.

She could make money under the table. For decades, the director had been pocketing donated funds to line her own pockets.

This gumiho would surely attract the attention of sponsors.

*

The baby instantly became the director’s number one asset.

Gumiho are born with unparalleled beauty.

This baby was no exception.

It would surely grow up to be more beautiful than anyone else.

These days, it had become trendy among noble and wealthy families to adopt yokai, feigning benevolence publicly while privately disdaining them.

Since it was for show, they were very selective in choosing which yokai to adopt. Not just any yokai would do.

They wanted ones with a backstory, talent, or exceptional looks. Being a topic of conversation was even better.

Such yokai were more precious than human children.

And now, a gumiho.

Adopting a gumiho, known to be nearly extinct due to frequent kidnappings for their beauty, would be perfect for boasting about one’s hypocrisy in the media.

The director took photos of the baby and sent them to all the orphanage sponsors.

The responses poured in. Everyone was clamoring to adopt the baby immediately.

Just by casually mentioning that many people wanted the baby, competition ignited among the sponsors.

The donations they pledged soon exceeded hundreds of millions.

After promising to send the gumiho baby to one wealthy family and returning, however, a truly unfortunate incident occurred.

A scorched cradle.

The baby, who had never cried before, was wailing in agony. That precious face was ruined by burns.

And the eyes. Those once sparkling pupils had lost their unique vitality.

“Director, there was a fire on the first floor. It didn’t spread much, but we couldn’t save this one…”

The director rushed to the hospital with the baby in her arms, trying to stay calm.

Gumiho bodies are powerful. It will regenerate…

But the doctor shook his head.

“Even for a gumiho, it’s difficult to regenerate when injured so severely at such a young age.”

“So you’re saying it will grow up with this face?”

“That’s most likely the case.”

The doctor was right.

The baby did not recover. Despite spending a fortune on treatment, the damaged face healed into an ugly scar.

The adoption by the wealthy family was canceled.

The piles of donated goods in front of the orphanage had to be returned. The same went for the large sum of donations deposited in the bank account.

The director was furious to the point of exploding, having to deal with all of this.

Everyone at the orphanage watched the director nervously.

Some of the caregivers moved the baby’s cradle to the darkest corner of the orphanage to avoid the director’s wrath.

Poor baby. With its mouth damaged and unable to properly swallow even water, it wouldn’t last long.

It would die soon.

Everyone at the orphanage thought so.

Several years passed.

The baby survived.

Now nine years old, this little gumiho wore a name tag given carelessly by the orphanage: Kim Ye Rin.

But no one called her by name.

“Fox cub!”

“Weren’t you all supposed to be extinct? Are you the only one left?”

“Get away! Your tails are shedding fur everywhere!”

“I heard gumiho are supposed to be pretty, so why do you look like that?”

The children taunted her at every opportunity, pulling on her tails.

Kim Ye Rin wrapped her nine tails tightly in bandages and hid them under her skirt.

But the bullying didn’t stop. She was often beaten and always had her snacks stolen.

Gray days without any light continued.

Having never felt happiness since birth, she didn’t even know this was a difficult life.

Then one day.

A shocking event occurred that would change Kim Ye Rin’s life in an instant.

They said a guest was coming to the orphanage.

“Did you hear? Choi Yoon is coming.”

“The Choi Yoon I know?”

“Yeah. The one whose picture is on your desk. The one you look at for prenatal education? You know the commercial Choi Yoon shot for Haeu recently? They’re sending a lot of those too.”

“Is it tasty?”

“Processed food is all the same. Just typical big company taste.”

“The director must be happy about saving on the kids’ food expenses. …What? You’re still not going away?”

One of the caregivers spotted Kim Ye Rin and shouted angrily.

Kim Ye Rin flinched and shrank back, but couldn’t take her curious eyes away.

Processed food?

It was a word she’d never heard before.

That day at lunch, Kim Ye Rin encountered this so-called processed food for the first time in the cafeteria.

What is this?

She poked at the brown lump with her fork and spoon.

It’s meat. What kind of meat?

She took a big bite.

The warm, thick morsel filled her mouth to bursting.

The sticky brown sauce coated her tongue sweetly and saltily with a satisfying weight.

She chewed slowly. The tender meat fibers could be felt.

Kim Ye Rin’s eyes widened, and she paused for a moment before chewing again.

The thick meat melted smoothly with the sauce and slid down her throat in an instant.

Delicious!

She swallowed hard and licked her lips.

The sweet and salty sauce was regrettably warm.

Is it okay for it to be this tasty?

She looked down at her plate, clutching her fork and spoon defensively.

The brown lump of meat with tooth marks seemed to smile back at Kim Ye Rin.

What’s this called?

Kim Ye Rin asked the child sitting next to her.

“What’s this called?”

“Don’t talk to me! You fox!”

After returning her tray, she went to ask a caregiver.

“Teacher, what’s the name of the delicious meat we had for lunch today?”

“Go away! Can’t you see I’m busy?”

Kim Ye Rin gave up on getting an answer through polite methods and went to the back yard garbage area to overturn the trash bags.

Flat yellow packaging boxes tumbled out.

Each box had a picture of the meat they had eaten for lunch printed on it.

She slowly read the letters at the top.

3-minute hamburger steak.

Afraid she might forget, she read it again carefully.

3-minute, hamburger, steak.

Hamburger. Hamburg flower.

In May, white and red Hamburg flowers bloomed in full across from the orphanage in the residential area.

They were so lush that picking up fallen petals filled both hands, and before you could even bury your nose in them, the strong scent made your head spin.

The delicious meat has such a pretty name.

At that moment, hamburger steak blossomed like a flower in Kim Ye Rin’s life. Emitting a bright light, it shot up like a rocket in her heart and became a full moon.

Just the faint sweet smell from the box was enough to fill her empty, shabby heart with satisfaction.

That’s when it happened.

Someone rushed into the garbage area, covered Kim Ye Rin’s mouth, and hugged her tightly against the wall.

“Yoon!”

“Choi Yoon! Where did he go again?”

“That way, that way!”

Several adults ran past outside the garbage area.

Kim Ye Rin stiffened and rolled her eyes to look at the other person.

Softly curled, lively hair. A straight forehead. Cheeks with pretty dimples were pleasantly plump, making him look about Kim Ye Rin’s age or slightly older. Yet the facial contours extending to the chin were unusually delicate for a child.

Their eyes met.

The boy smiled sweetly.

Then he pointed at something with his hand. It was the hamburger steak box that Kim Ye Rin was clutching tightly.

“Is that me?”

Come to think of it, the hamburger steak in the photo wasn’t alone. It was with a model.

The boy was holding a plate with the hamburger steak in both hands, smiling brightly.

She had been so focused on the meat that she hadn’t noticed who was holding the plate.

Small letters were lined up below the box.

(#BOLD)/Exclusive model Choi Yoon/

Kim Ye Rin looked up at him again.

Choi Yoon was also staring down at her. The smile gradually faded from his pleasant face.

Kim Ye Rin thought he would push her away. Or curse at her.

She didn’t mind. It was common.

She just wanted to get out of his arms quickly before being hit.

As she was about to twist away hurriedly, it happened.

“But you…”

Choi Yoon gently grasped Kim Ye Rin’s wrist and pulled it to his chest.

His clear brown eyes gazed at her affectionately.

“…have really pretty eyes.”

The skin that touched was soft and warm, and smelled entirely pleasant.

Choi Yoon brushed Kim Ye Rin’s eyelashes with his fingertips. He murmured in admiration.

“It’s like there are little black pine trees growing inside your eyes.”

Right after, the adults barged in.

Even as he was being carried away by an adult, Choi Yoon waved his hands wildly at Kim Ye Rin like a cheerful puppy.

“See you next time!”

It didn’t seem like there would be a next time.

Left alone, Kim Ye Rin was dragged to the director’s office.

“This is why I shouldn’t have taken in something like you!”

She was hit ten times on the calves with a switch for the crime of rummaging through garbage and being with Choi Yoon.

“Get out right now! Not even grateful for raising you! If Haeu cuts off their sponsorship because of you, I’ll really kill you then!”

By the time she crawled out of the director’s office, she had long since lost the hamburger steak box she had wanted for the first time in her life.

She curled up small against the hallway wall to catch her breath. Her beaten, swollen calves burned like fire, she was short of breath, and cold sweat broke out.

But her heart floated lightly.

The whole world was pink.

Kim Ye Rin admitted she had fallen in love at first sight.

Not with Choi Yoon, but with the hamburger steak he had advertised.