Kim Tae Rin folded the portable chairs scattered around the yard one by one and tucked them under her arm. She carried four at a time to store them in the shed.

She brought the geranium pots that had been left out in the yard to soak up the sun inside the restaurant.

While organizing the leftover ingredients, washing dishes, wiping down tables and fluffing chair cushions, Kim Tae Rin thought of Choi Yoon.

As if trying to erase even fleeting memories without a trace, she scrubbed the sink and faucet vigorously.

She swept the wooden floor, worn smooth by passing feet, more thoroughly than usual and polished it with an oiled cloth.

By the time she boiled and hung out the dishcloths, raindrops began to fall one by one.

Amidst the rattling wind, she diligently went up and down between the first and second floors to lock all the windows before she could finally take off her apron. She sat down alone, still clutching the apron.

It was the same table where she had sat across from Choi Yoon just hours ago.

She still couldn’t believe she had actually met him. For two days in a row, no less.

It felt unpleasant and unfamiliar.

Her phone, retrieved from the service center, buzzed suddenly.

(#bold)/M Plastic Surgery./

As soon as she saw the caller ID, Kim Tae Rin jumped up.

“Doctor!”

– Oh, you startled me.

“Why are you calling only now! Do you know how long I’ve been waiting!”

– I’m dying busy, you know. Can’t you tell from me calling at this hour?

“You saw the news, right?”

– Yeah. Choi Yoon was amazing. There was a lot of talk about him skipping filming or whatever, but to think he went to do something like that. Isn’t that your neighborhood, Tae Rin?

“Yes. I actually got to see plenty of him today.”

– Wow, our Tae Rin got a real eyeful.

“That’s not the important thing right now.”

– The atmosphere has changed quite a bit, hasn’t it? Who would have thought people would become so lenient towards yokai in our lifetime. Is it that everything Choi Yoon does just looks good to them? Since when did supporting yokai become trendy.

“I’m about to die here.”

– It wasn’t something that could have been stopped by protests in the first place. It would have been implemented eventually. It just happened sooner because of Choi Yoon.

“I need to leave this place.”

– I was looking into that, actually. I’ve been looking, but…

“I won’t be a burden. I’ll manage to scrape together the money somehow. Just make the connection for me.”

– What money does someone who just barely paid off their debts have? Forget it. I’ll cover it.

“Absolutely not!”

Kim Tae Rin waved her hands in refusal. She had already relied on him so much that accepting any more would surely send her to hell for the sin of shamelessness.

“The price must have gone up a lot, right? All the disguised ones currently in the country must be thinking the same as me.”

– I guess the asking price is the price. But money isn’t the issue. The brokers have all but disappeared. You know how one got caught recently and a whole string of them were arrested? Everyone’s being cautious since then.

Damn it, Kim Tae Rin rubbed her forehead roughly.

“If I’d known it would turn out like this, protests and all, I would have looked into it earlier…”

– You did your best. You even made actual contact. If it wasn’t for that damn scammer, you would have left this country long ago… Just thinking about how they took your passport, making it seem like everything was set, only to disappear after screwing both of us over…

“Let’s not talk about that. It makes me want to throw up.”

It was chilly. Kim Tae Rin took off her shoes by pushing them off with her heels. She curled up on the chair, lifting her feet onto it.

– How’s your body?

“The medicine isn’t working.”

– Try increasing the dose. You’re taking one and a half pills now, right? Take two.

“Yesterday I woke up and my ears had popped out.”

Kim Tae Rin mimicked fox ears above her head, then quickly lowered her hands. Even knowing she was alone, she habitually lowered her voice.

“Do you think I’ve developed a tolerance from taking it for so long?”

– Whether it’s ears or fangs, you can control them yourself, putting them in and out. The problem is the tail. If it comes out, put it back in.

“You said removing the manifestation point would make control easier. Since I cut off the tail, it’s not normal that my ears keep popping out on their own, and lately my tail stump has been aching and my ears keep coming out by themselves…”

– Just keep taking it for now. Take it. When was your tail-burning date originally? Winter, right?

“I used to do it every December, but last year the cycle suddenly sped up and it was in October. Should we do it early once?”

– Too early. Let’s wait until fall. It’s only May now.

“What if it suddenly grows back?”

– What do you mean, what if? You’ll have to cover it with a skirt and come up to Seoul to cut it off.

Kim Tae Rin buried her face in her raised knees.

– Don’t rely too much on the medicine. It only slows down the regrowth of your tail, it doesn’t turn you into a human.

“I’m worried it might pop out if I sneeze in front of customers. Don’t talk about it so casually like it’s someone else’s problem.”

– Don’t worry. You’ve hidden it well all this time.

She sighed and rested her chin on her hand.

The wind was ominous.

“Doctor, do you remember that?”

– What?

“A long time ago, more than 10 years ago, when that gumiho…”

– Escaped and came down to the village and killed everyone? Is that where you’re living now?

“Yes. What if the medicine stops working and suddenly all nine tails pop out, along with some latent violence or something exploding inside me…”

The tailbone she had been cutting and burning every year since she was eighteen ached dully. Suddenly, the scent of blood filled her nostrils. She had been unconsciously chewing the inside of her lip. When she swallowed, it tasted acrid.

“What if I lose my mind and kill someone…”

– You sure know how to worry. So you admit it too? That yokai are violent? Do you want to kill people? Want to eat their livers?

“Absolutely not!”

– Just because you’re a gumiho doesn’t mean you’ll kill people. Didn’t I tell you before? That gumiho was just that kind of creature, and there was a clear motive. You’re living just fine, aren’t you? Why are you so full of worries? You used to be so plucky.

“I’m anxious because suddenly the medicine isn’t working and last year my tail grew early…”

– Don’t worry too much. Try taking two pills and if it’s still strange, contact me then. I can’t answer calls during the day, so text me.

“Okay…”

– Hey, and did you give my number to other yokai? Why am I suddenly getting so many inquiries? Just the other day, two dokkaebi…

“I haven’t given it to anyone who’s asked.”

– Don’t give it to anyone else. I started this when I was poor and paying off hospital debts, and now I’m doing it out of loyalty, but the crackdowns are getting worse by the day and the cost of bribing the police is greater than the surgery fees I receive.

“It’s not me, I’m telling you. And anyway, no one will inquire now. What fool would spend money when everyone will be exposed once the full investigation starts?”

– That’s why it’s happening more. They think this is their last chance. Everyone’s desperate. The circumstances are pitiful, really.

She couldn’t answer.

– You were the same, weren’t you? When you first came to me. Saying you didn’t care if you got caught.

It was then. Kim Tae Rin suddenly straightened her back.

Footsteps.

“Anyway, please look into some brokers for me. I’ll prepare the money.”

She hung up and suppressed her breathing. She focused on her hearing.

Although her senses had dulled the more she cut off her tail, her five senses, still superior to humans’, picked up the unfamiliar sound keenly even through the harsh wind and rain.

It gradually got closer. It was clearly different from the various presences she had become accustomed to while running the restaurant for years.

Definitely an outsider. All the dangers she had faced while living alone flashed through her mind.

When the presence came right up to the restaurant, Kim Tae Rin silently stood up from her chair.

Kim Tae Rin grabbing a large frying pan from the counter and the stranger knocking on the restaurant door happened almost simultaneously.

Instead of asking who it was, Kim Tae Rin pressed her body against the kitchen wall.

She turned her head to look out the window, half-covered by a curtain.

The pitch-black view seethed with pouring rain.

As her eyes adjusted to the harsh darkness, the person standing in front of the door revealed a faint outline.

A tall man stood there, getting soaked by the pouring rain without even an umbrella, and raised his hand again.

Though he could have banged loudly, he knocked politely once more with his knuckles.

Then he wiped his face broadly with his sleeve. His face was revealed at an angle.

Choi Yoon.

Kim Tae Rin slowly lowered the frying pan she had been holding high.

Choi Yoon? Why did he come? Did he leave something behind?

Kim Tae Rin pressed her forehead against the glass window and stared intently outside.

Choi Yoon had turned his head, so she could no longer see his expression.

Only the outline of his chest, rising and falling as if he was breathing heavily, was visible like a shadow.

Kim Tae Rin narrowed her eyes.

It was then that thunder and lightning struck.

Boom, crash!

A flash of light. Her vision turned white.

For an instant, Choi Yoon stood out starkly in the light.

The front of his clothes was pitch black.

The beige sweatshirt that had been clean earlier in the day was now covered in mud. His pants were equally dirty.

When she raised her gaze again, Kim Tae Rin noticed a long wound on Choi Yoon’s forearm.

He’s hurt.

Kim Tae Rin threw the frying pan onto the counter.

“Come in now!”

She ran and flung open the door.

Hot humidity rushed in along with the clamorous sound of rain.

Choi Yoon, facing Kim Tae Rin, visibly relaxed. Without stepping inside the restaurant, he opened his mouth to say something. His still polite voice was heard intermittently through the pouring rain.

“At this late hour… I’m sorry. Just for a moment inside…”

“Come in, quickly!”

Kim Tae Rin gestured urgently towards the inside of the restaurant as she stepped aside.

Thank you, Choi Yoon bowed slightly and carefully entered.

Kim Tae Rin closed and locked the door.

The fierce sound of rain subsided considerably.

Only the sound of rainwater dripping from Choi Yoon’s entire body and his excited, warm breath were clear.

“Are you hurt? Let me see.”

“Did someone come?”

“There’s no doctor nearby, so… What?”

“Did someone come? The police or anyone…”

Then Choi Yoon turned around and hastily locked the door.

Before she could ask why, Choi Yoon roughly wiped his lips and stared intently at Kim Tae Rin. His face was cool.

“How much time is left on our lease?”

“About half a year… Why? What’s going on?”

“Tae Rin, do you need money?”

Kim Tae Rin stared at Choi Yoon with wide eyes. Why he was asking such a question wasn’t really important.

Kim Tae Rin had been under financial pressure for a very long time. She always had to be frustrated and frustrated again because of lack of money. Nevertheless, she had never been as desperate as she was now.

She was in dire need of money.

Enough money to bypass the complicated procedures illegally and leave this country in one go.

“I do.”

“How much do you need?”

“The more the better.”

Choi Yoon’s eyes, which had been quite sharp, softened slightly. He made an expression that was hard to tell if it was a smile or not. It was relief.

“That’s good. Money is the one thing I have in abundance. I’ll give you as much as you want, or even more.”

Choi Yoon stepped closer.

As his shadow engulfed Kim Tae Rin’s entire body, only his gaze staring intently at her remained clear.

“May I make use of you?”