If I were to describe Rin’s expression right now, it would be exactly like when someone gets caught using the computer late at night while trying to hide it from their mom. She was attempting to press the power button of the multi-tap with her toes but ended up slipping.
I’ve always been caught before.
Which made me wonder.
What does it feel like to catch someone in the act?
Will there ever be a day when I’m in the position of the mom?
Finally, that day came for me too, and now I know exactly how it feels. It can be summed up in just four words.
Oh… Look at you!
“Rin, aren’t I asking you what you were doing just now?”
“Uh, uh? This shouldn’t be happening!”
Rin couldn’t even think about responding to my question and was instead stumbling over her words in confusion. Suddenly, realizing something, her pupils dilated, then she scrunched up her face in annoyance.
“Old Hag…!”
When her voice filled with anger reached my ears, I couldn’t help but sigh.
“Hmm, that’s enough.”
For the first time in a while, I used my absolute authority as the master. Chains emanating from me reached the shackles bound to Rin’s soul. Her movements came to an abrupt stop.
“Come out.”
Rin quietly got down from where she sat on me.
“I will prohibit the use of any powers until I say so.”
I completely blocked her abilities to prevent her from doing anything reckless and assessed the situation.
Rin acting suspiciously while I slept.
Me sleeping soundly and not feeling a thing.
The persistent fatigue I’ve experienced for the past few days.
It was simple.
“Rin, did you take my essence?”
“M-Master! It’s…!”
When I coldly narrowed my eyes and stared at her without a word, Rin who was about to desperately make an excuse, confessed right away.
“Y-Yes…”
There was no need to ask when it started. On the exact day we caught the PaGyeSeung, things had seemed off about Rin, and I began feeling increasingly tired.
The fox had tempted her on.
There was a reason I hadn’t seen her for some time.
Though someone who wouldn’t normally disappear had vanished, and I was about to look into it, it turned out she had been fueling Rin’s inner desires.
“Why did you do this?”
“Because they say the essence of someone a Gumiho is deeply entwined with fate is delicious… I tried it out of curiosity, but I couldn’t stop…”
Ah, the Gumiho’s temptation.
There was a reason I hadn’t seen her around recently.
Even though she was someone who wouldn’t disappear, she had because she was trying to stir desires inside Rin.
“Why did you hide it from me?”
“I thought you would hate me if you found out…”
“Did you do it knowingly?”
“…”
I took out a bead that I had kept in my possession from Yu Hwa. Whether it had fulfilled its purpose or not, it was cracked into pieces. It was Yu Hwa who had read the situation and helped me out.
It was odd. Though others might not know what was going on, it would suffice for Yu Hwa to just tell me directly. But she took this unnecessarily complicated approach instead.
Was there a reason?
It was painfully obvious, wasn’t it?
“Rin, did you threaten Lady Carami?”
Knowing that Yu Hwa’s ‘thousand-mile eyes’ could see through things, Rin’s manipulation by some kind of plot to threaten her was clearly evident. If it wasn’t for that, there’d be no reason for her to hand over something like a bead.
Rin lowers her head, answering with silence.
“Hmph.”
A laugh of exasperation escapes me involuntarily.
A wave of betrayal hits me, overwhelming and uncontrollable.
It feels like a tower I’ve carefully built is crumbling in an instant.
I’ve taken such good care of her, yet she puts me to sleep with sorcery and sucks my essence while I’m out, and to top it all off, she lies to me with ease.
‘Is this really not the time to think about freedom?’
Almost got tricked and killed, didn’t I? Is it possible to trust and continue like this? There’s no telling when she might do something strange again.
Of course, it’s just talk. There’s no way I’m abandoning Rin now. It’s impossible. But it’s equally impossible to just let this pass without resolving it.
For that, I’ll need to separate the Gumiho from Rin. She might fall to temptation again if the fox were to lure her once more.
‘I was meant to help the Gumiho ascend regardless…’
The situation being what it is, this seems timely. Though it’s unfortunate for Rin, here goes nothing.
I took a long breath out. Sensing my unease, Rin flinched slightly.
“To be honest, Rin, I can no longer trust you.”
“Master…”
“A slave that harms their master. There’s no point in even discussing this. Shall we end this? I don’t even understand why I must endanger my life for a slave.”
Understanding the implications of my words, Rin’s face turned deathly pale, as if all her blood had drained away. It seemed she had forgotten to breathe.
Moreover, I delivered the final blow.
“I must go to the Celestial Pavilion and inform Lady Carami. To ask her to reseal Rin in Baeyun Gorge.”
*
“I must go to the Celestial Pavilion and inform Lady Carami. To ask her to reseal the Gumiho in Baeyun Gorge.”
After making that announcement, Carami got down from the bed. She hastily began to prepare to leave, putting on her clothes in the dead of night. Her expression was stoic.
When Carami passed by her side, Rin just sat there, staring wide-eyed, dumbfounded. The single sentence she’d heard had thoroughly disarrayed her thoughts.
To seal her…
In Baeyun Gorge?
That dark ravine?
‘Sealing’ isn’t about living for hundreds of years eating only potatoes—it’s about losing everything, like the Gumiho attached to Rin’s soul.
Her body.
Her mind.
For a very long time. Even when the seal breaks and Gumiho eventually re-emerges as a one-tailed fox, there’s no guarantee it would even be Rin anymore.
What’s more, she was about to be sealed by the hands of her beloved master. To Rin, it was a despair far greater than death.
The realization hit her.
“Master, Master, wait! Just a moment!”
Rin rushed off the bed, almost falling. She knelt before Carami, desperately grabbing onto her pants. Tears welled up in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Master! I’ll never do it again!”
“I apologize, but I won’t fall for sweet words anymore. Clearly, without my command, you’ll put me to sleep and continue this behavior.”
“I will absolutely not do that! Please! Please don’t seal Rin away!”
“Hmph…”
Carami harshly brushed off Rin’s hand and said,
“Once trust is broken, it cannot be repaired.”
“Master…”
Carami added another line, more to herself than to Rin,
“If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have brought you along in the first place. After all, are you just a pink fox?”
“…”
Rin’s strength dissipated, the hand that clung to Carami’s pants falling limp.
Carami, the one who stood alone in her defense when everyone avoided and criticized her for being someone like Hongho, had casually dismissed her with words that felt like sharp knives piercing her heart.
Her mind wasn’t just stunned—it was blank, devoid of any thoughts.
Carami’s cold gaze as she looked down on Rin was too piercing.
Terror swelled within Rin at the prospect of being abandoned by him. She clutched her arms and trembled violently.
“Why… Why? Rin… Rin only did it because she likes her master… Why…?”
Rin muttered indistinctly, her lips trembling, her voice barely audible. A sweet, enchanting voice then flowed into her mind, breaking through her disintegrating resolve.
“Run away. Just running will do. You can escape from this fear.”
Escape…?
Something that she would have disregarded in the past, the Gumiho’s deceitfully sweet words, now felt like the only way out of this situation to Rin.
“Take my hand.”
The Gumiho’s hand extending from the depths of despair. The moment Rin reached out and grasped it,…
Snap!
The Gumiho pulled her hand hard.
Rin’s consciousness spiraled into an abyss.
While Rin’s mind was lost, the Gumiho’s consciousness surfaced.
Whoosh!
With seven tails extending like peacock feathers and her head thrown back to its fullest extent, as if reaching a climax of pleasure, she began trembling slightly.
Then, with a fluid motion,
Click.
Her neck returned to its original position. Though her consciousness was still vague, it was regaining focus. She blinked her eyes and tested her limbs, stretching out fully.
“Mmm~ This feeling. Having a body really is great.”
A spiritual form moves freely, but lacks any sensation. She can’t even feel the slight comfort from stretching.
Regaining the body’s sensitivities one by one, she glanced at Carami sitting across from her, her lips curling into a smirking curve.
“Hello? What should I call you? Master? Ah, sounds so cringy I can’t do that.”
Although the face and voice were the same, the atmosphere was entirely different. This wasn’t Rin—it was the Gumiho who had been seeking an opportunity to awaken from within her.
“Is the one who was provoking Rin you?”
“Provoke? I just gave her a little bit of information. All the choices were hers. Blackmailing Carami was unexpected, though. She’s really got some potential.”
The Gumiho nodded, satisfied.
“But you’re not as surprised as I thought you’d be?”
“It’s a common repertoire.”
The Gumiho, who had been lurking in Rin, always searching for an opportunity, would manifest her personality when Rin’s mental fortitude weakened or succumbed to force.
That the Gumiho had appeared was proof that Rin had reached her psychological limit.
“Perhaps I overreached?”
But it couldn’t be helped. To drive out the Gumiho, I had to ‘free’ her. To expose the Gumiho’s personality, I had to pressure Rin.
Well, if she did something wrong, she must reflect on it inside. Perhaps after she comes out, I’ll give her something she likes.
While Carami was thinking this, the Gumiho shook herself off and stood lightly. Rin’s eyes were red from crying earlier, but the Gumiho’s cheerful smile made for an interesting contrast.
The Gumiho attempted to use spirit power.
“Hmm, I can’t use my powers.”
“That’s because I stopped them. I’ll only allow their use when necessary. You could enter enlightenment if you’re not content.”
“Alright. I rather like this body I’ve acquired. It also seems like it’ll be fun, so I’ll stay with you for a while.”
With a delicate wave of her hand, the Gumiho was about to leave the room.
“Where are you going?”
“The next room. Rin used to sleep there occasionally, I think I need to check it alone for a bit?”
“What nonsense. You should sleep next to me.”
“Wh-What?”
The Gumiho, who until just now had been calm and collected, blinked, surprised by what she had just heard. Carami tilted her head with apparent ignorance.
“You need your tails covered.”
“How dare I…!”
“It doesn’t matter if you were a mighty Gumiho or a King of spirits. You’re my slave, aren’t you? You must obey my orders. Come on, my lord is cold.”
Carami grinned, showing a bright smug smile.
Well done coming here, girl.
Get out if you’re angry.
