TGHD Ch 12

“You’ve probably already been introduced, but they’re from our family and have just come to Seoul….”

“Oh, come on, I don’t need an introduction! Just looking at their face, I can tell they’re from the fox family!”

“I’ve heard rumors lately that other families’ beastfolk are more attractive than the foxes, but if they debut, that’ll be squashed in an instant!”

“Everyone, calm down….”

Guil tried hard to settle everyone down, but they were already too excited.

“They seem a bit older, but they’re a beastfolk, so no problem! We’ll just push the ‘ageless beauty’ angle, right?! Maybe people will find it more mysterious and appealing?”

“Cough, cough!”

At someone’s comment, Guil nearly choked and coughed as if he were about to lose his breath. Ryubeom, watching Guil’s desperate coughing, blinked in confusion. Was it really that surprising? Ryubeom found it more surprising that the idol members, the fox family, treated Elder Guil so casually.

Though the suggestion of debuting Yeohwi was curious, Ryubeom didn’t think it was entirely impossible. Out of all the beings he had seen, Yeohwi was by far the most beautiful, and even here on set, his appearance stood out effortlessly.

Meanwhile, Yeohwi approached and smiled warmly.

“Haha, thank you all for your kind words. But if you keep teasing me like this, I’ll get embarrassed.”

“Director! Look! He’s got a good voice too!”

As the fox beastfolk shouted, even other staff members chimed in, agreeing with comments about how the entertainment company’s CEO hadn’t recruited such a talent yet.

Guil’s face paled more and more, but when he made eye contact with Yeohwi, he coughed awkwardly and straightened up.

“Enough! Enough! Everyone should be focusing on the shoot, not fooling around like this!”

He waved both hands, quickly shooing away the crowd that had gathered. His voice was strict enough that everyone, with a small pout, began to scatter. But just as they were about to leave, they suddenly noticed someone standing next to him and their eyes sparkled.

“Huh? Who’s that next to him?”

“A newbie? Did you bring in someone new? They look pretty good!”

“No, absolutely not! Don’t even think about it!”

Though the person wore a hood and hat pulled down low, their presence was felt, even just from their visible jawline. Interest grew as people assumed they were a true rookie, but Guil, now completely panicked, yelled louder than before. The reaction was so intense that the beastfolk exchanged glances and then shrugged before backing off. The break had ended.

After everyone finally dispersed, Guil sighed deeply and spoke.

“I’m sorry you had to see such a noisy scene….”

“Huh? No, there’s no need to apologize to me….”

“You’re not really upset, are you?”

“…Is there any reason I should be upset?”

“No, of course not. That’s a relief then.”

Guil looked genuinely relieved by Cheon Ryubeom’s response. He let out a breath, placing his hand on his chest, as Ryubeom watched in confusion. Guil awkwardly pointed to where Yeohwi was standing.

“Anyway, I have some urgent business to attend to, so I’ll be going now….”

With that, Guil quickly made his exit as if fleeing. Ryubeom found it remarkable that the CEO himself had gone out of his way just to escort him here, and he stared at the door, now slammed shut. Yeohwi, who had come closer, smiled brightly and asked a question.

“Young master, what brings you here? Did you come to see me?”

“Yes.”

“…Really?”

“I told you yesterday I was worried about work. It was on my mind….”

When Ryubeom answered honestly, Yeohwi momentarily hesitated. Though Ryubeom could sense the playful tone in Yeohwi’s voice, he didn’t feel the need to beat around the bush about why he had come. Instead, what was on his mind was something else.

“But I’m glad to see you’re doing well. I didn’t need to come after all….”

Cheon Ryubeom had only planned to observe Yeohwi working from afar and leave quietly, but he hadn’t expected such a noisy reunion. It might have been break time, but seeing Yeohwi getting along so well with his colleagues made Ryubeom feel like he’d interrupted.

Looking back, from the moment he realized the filming location was at Hn Entertainment, he knew there was no need to worry. Yeohwi couldn’t possibly be ostracized at a company with so many fox beastfolk. That was obvious, given his personality, and from what Ryubeom had just witnessed, the fox family seemed to share a strong bond….

As a tiger, Ryubeom had never truly fit in with his own clan, so he couldn’t even imagine that kind of familial closeness. He had never experienced it. His first action upon joining his clan had been to kneel and beg in front of everyone.

His limitations would sneak up on him in moments like these.

“Anyway, since I’ve seen enough to know you’re fine, I’ll head ba—”

“No, young master. Actually, I was really nervous just now.”

Yeohwi spoke as if he had been nervous, though there was not a hint of tension on his face. Ryubeom shot him a suspicious look, but Yeohwi grabbed his arm before he could back away.

“It’s the first day, so I was feeling really anxious, but seeing you here made me relax instantly.”

“You didn’t seem nervous at all….”

“Well, I’m good at hiding it on the outside.”

Yeohwi answered smoothly and naturally guided Ryubeom along.

“Since you’ve come all this way, would you mind sitting and waiting for a bit? I think we’ll be done in about an hour, and then we can take a tour of the company together.”

“…Isn’t this your first time here too?”

“Exactly, so let’s explore it together.”

Before Ryubeom could respond, Yeohwi was already pulling him along. Though he could have shaken him off, he felt a little curious. Normally, he wasn’t interested in celebrities, but the ones he had just encountered seemed to shine, and he even thought they looked more stunning in person.

The tiger family didn’t think highly of beastfolk entertainers. More specifically, they hated Hn Entertainment. It was a business started by their rival, the fox family, that had grown far too successful. Ryubeom had overheard the elders talking once—Hn was a project personally led by the fox family head.

So, when the company showed signs of growth, the family quietly tried to interfere, but the public was too captivated by the charm of the fox beastfolk. Their appeal was too irresistible, and the company had already gained significant popularity, leading to the family’s failure. As a result, the family grew to dislike beastfolk entertainers even more.

They claimed that truly exceptional and admirable beastfolk didn’t need to fawn like that to earn the admiration of humans, and that fox beastfolk working as entertainers was disgracefully low-level work…

However, what was unfolding before Cheon Ryubeom’s eyes sparkled brilliantly. The continuous flashing of the camera shutters seemed to leave afterimages in his vision. Led by Yeohwi, Ryubeom was guided to a seat by the wall, where he watched the scene with fascination.

“Can you show just one of your fox ears?”

“Like this?”

“That’s perfect! Keep that expression!”

The photographer took pictures making sure to highlight the fox beastfolk member’s animal ears, which honestly surprised Ryubeom. He had heard that the fox family could all smoothly shift into human forms, but he didn’t expect them to strategically use their animal traits like that.

The tiger family criticized the fox family for being cunning, but in Ryubeom’s eyes, the fox family seemed incredibly adept at social adaptation. They quickly adjusted to the ever-changing modern world and even fostered a kind of idolization around beastfolk.

In a society that viewed differences as wrong, here was a company that embraced those differences as special.

“Shall we try this outfit next?”

“Let’s change the necklace and earrings to these…”

The members periodically touched up their makeup and swapped accessories and outfits. Staff bustled around them. Yeohwi, on the other hand, moved casually, almost strolling as if he were on a leisurely walk. Yet no one said anything to him. His relaxed demeanor seemed completely natural.

As Ryubeom scanned the area, he realized that most of the staff were beastfolk as well. Not just foxes, but also dog, rabbit, and deer beastfolk. Come to think of it, Hn Entertainment was known to have an unusually high percentage of beastfolk employees.

“……”

For some reason, it felt strange. The sight of beastfolk adapting to society in such diverse ways was unfamiliar to him. In a way, it even made him a little envious, but at the same time, it also gave him a sharp sense of alienation, as if he didn’t belong here.

For Cheon Ryubeom, who had lived his whole life in a closed-off family, this scene was too foreign.

If he had left his family and lived on his own, would he have been able to adapt to society like these people? His family had once tested him with the sagwido ritual and told him that if he couldn’t manage, he could just leave and live independently. They even offered a certain amount of financial support, but Ryubeom wasn’t sure if he could have survived and adapted, even with that support.

The bitter feeling of not belonging anywhere gnawed at him, making him shake his head in frustration. Maybe it was just because he hadn’t slept, and his thoughts were running wild.

‘If this keeps up, Changgui might come out….’

Whenever he felt down, the Changgui would sometimes appear. Ryubeom calmed himself, focusing on regaining control of his thoughts. If the Changgui appeared in this place, it would turn into utter chaos in an instant. He shuddered at the horrifying thought and quickly tried to dismiss it from his mind.

Not wanting to cause any trouble, Ryubeom decided to focus on the Han River case. Researching the case would help quiet his uneasy thoughts.

Cheon Ryubeom pulled out his phone and searched for the “Han River Mermaid.”

***

“…Young master?”

A soft voice tickled his ear, sweet like cotton candy, melting and gentle. Not wanting to lose that sensation, Ryubeom leaned his head slightly. Something warm touched his cheek, and he, in a daze, leaned into it… until suddenly, his eyes flew open.

“Ah.”

He had fallen asleep.

Startled, Ryubeom quickly assessed the situation. Yeohwi was in front of him, and the commotion from the filming set had already died down. The two of them were alone in the space. It seemed that everything had finished, and Yeohwi had been trying to wake him up, but Ryubeom had ended up leaning on him, sleepily clinging like a child.

Although he hadn’t slept the night before, dozing off in a place like this was incredibly embarrassing, and his voice trembled with awkwardness.

“The shoot finished quickly, huh?”

“It took two more hours, actually.”

“…I see.”

Yeohwi stared down at the back of his hand, momentarily looking at the spot where Ryubeom had rested his head with a cool gaze, before quickly replacing it with a smile.

“Don’t overdo it, young master. You’ve been looking up information on the Han River case, haven’t you?”

Next to Ryubeom, several sheets of paper were spread out, filled with notes he had jotted down about the Han River case. It was a habit of his to organize his thoughts by writing them down, so he had found some scrap paper to summarize the information. Even though all he had done so far was to record the locations where the mermaid had reportedly been sighted, the pages were already densely packed.

There were many rumors and eerie tales surrounding the case, which made their credibility questionable, but Ryubeom had picked the locations that appeared most frequently. As Yeohwi glanced over the papers with a concerned look, he spoke.

“You looked like you hadn’t slept when I saw you this morning as well…”

His dark circles had deepened since then, and his gaze seemed to ask if Ryubeom had pulled an all-nighter. Embarrassed, Ryubeom replied that he had slept—though it had been less than an hour, he did manage to get some rest.

“Didn’t you just return from Hyojomyeon yesterday? You could take it easy.”

“…It’s not like the sagwido can be closed leisurely.”

“Still, taking proper rest is important.”

Yeohwi smiled kindly as he said this, and Ryubeom felt a bit strange. In truth, just coming here felt like a break for Ryubeom, so being seen as some kind of workaholic made him feel awkward. Although he had searched for materials while sitting here, it wasn’t anything close to serious research.

Ryubeom awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, about to dismiss it as nothing serious, when Yeohwi spoke first.

“When I look at you, it’s as if you’re constantly being chased by something.”

“…”

“What is that ‘wish’ of yours that you’re working so hard for…?”

Though his tone was concerned, it also seemed to gently coax Ryubeom into sharing. Ryubeom blinked slowly and then turned his gaze aside. While he had grown somewhat close to Yeohwi, he didn’t want to talk about that. It was too deep, too dark, and even a bit shameful.

At the same time, he realized anew that he really had been acting as though he were being chased. Could it be that closing one sagwido and getting a bit closer to his wish had made him impatient?

Ryubeom quietly avoided answering.

“I was just looking into it for a bit. To pass the time…”

“Ah. You must have been bored just watching, huh?”

Yeohwi narrowed his eyes with a smile. As he smoothly filled the gap in the conversation, he sat down next to Cheon Ryubeom and asked another question.

“Does the tiger family dislike this kind of thing? Do they consider it vulgar?”

“Huh? No, not really…”

“You’re not very good at lying, are you?”

Thinking that this wasn’t something Yeohwi, a fox beastfolk working in this company, needed to know, Ryubeom had tried to hide the truth, but he was caught instantly. Flustered, he explained.

“The family places a lot of emphasis on tradition, so they do see it as a bit strange… but…”

The more he tried to sugarcoat it, the weirder it sounded, so Ryubeom eventually sighed and shook his head. It seemed better to just be honest.

“It’s not that they dislike this kind of work. It’s just that, in the past, the head of our family had a fight with the head of the fox family, so now they hate anything the fox family does. Though, now that I say it, it sounds like the same thing… But anyway, they don’t think it’s vulgar.”

As they talked, Ryubeom realized there was something else he needed to clarify. He worried that his attitude might have given Yeohwi the wrong impression. This was, after all, a company run by fox beastfolk, and falling asleep here might not have been seen simply as fatigue.

“And it wasn’t because I was bored that I looked up information about the Han River case. It’s just… I found it fascinating.”

“Fascinating enough to do something else?”

“…Yeah. It’s all so unfamiliar.”

It was so different from the world he had known. That unfamiliarity unsettled him, so he had consciously immersed himself in the Han River case. That was the only thing he felt he needed to focus on and return to.

Though Ryubeom left many gaps in his words, Yeohwi seemed to understand, smiling knowingly. He then spoke with a more serious tone.

“I think you could debut as well. Didn’t you almost end up in an audition today?”

“What? No, I just took a wrong turn…”

“The idols earlier said you had a good vibe. Don’t you think there’s potential?”

“I never planned on doing this, so why are you analyzing my potential?”

“If you became the first tiger beastfolk idol, everyone would be intrigued…”

“I’m telling you, no.”

When Ryubeom responded with disgust, Yeohwi laughed out loud. It was only then that Ryubeom realized Yeohwi had been teasing him. Ever since their trip to Hyojomyeon, it seemed like Yeohwi had been trying to joke around with him more. Ryubeom retorted with a scowl.

“Seems like being an entertainer is more your calling, Yeohwi.”

“Why is it my calling?”

“You’ve got a pretty face, you speak well, and you smile a lot. You’re perfect for it.”

“I appreciate you think so highly of me, but I’m too old and I’ve got three kids to look after…”

Yeohwi even pretended to wipe away imaginary tears, leaving Ryubeom momentarily speechless. On one hand, he thought Yeohwi wasn’t easy to deal with, and on the other, a sudden suspicion crossed his mind—maybe there really was someone who liked that sort of charm.

Shaking his head to dispel the thought, Ryubeom muttered.

“…You should be an actor, not an idol.”

“Could you say that to Guil? I think you’d get a really interesting reaction.”

Yeohwi laughed even more gleefully than before. Finally, when Ryubeom sighed in exhaustion, Yeohwi suggested they take the promised tour of the building. Ryubeom pointed out that he hadn’t agreed to anything, but Yeohwi pretended not to hear.

As Ryubeom was dragged along, he found the whole situation oddly strange. The fact that he was now naturally conversing with Yeohwi and that he didn’t even pull his arm away when Yeohwi grabbed it.

Yeohwi’s suggestion about debuting as a joke was absurd, but it stuck with him in an odd way, as if reminding him that there were other worlds beyond his own. That light and playful attitude had touched something within him.

His heart kept fluttering. Even though he had just woken up, this feeling couldn’t be due to lack of sleep anymore.

Cheon Ryubeom tried his best to ignore it.

Several days had passed.

Cheon Ryubeom had been keeping busy with a tight schedule. After leaving his family, he realized he hadn’t been training properly and concluded that his recent unsettled feelings were due to a lack of physical discipline. After all, he still hadn’t fully recovered from the internal injuries sustained in Hyojomyeon.

Thus, he started getting up early in the morning to train in the mountains near his villa and helped the triplets with their school routine in the afternoon. Fortunately, the three of them got along well enough that Ryubeom didn’t need to stay with them constantly. There was one time when a fire nearly broke out, but the neighbor quickly smelled the burning and rushed over to help.

So, while Ryubeom went about his own tasks, he kept one ear out for the triplets as he investigated the mermaid case and headed to the Han River in the evenings around the time Yeohwi would arrive. He wrapped up each day by organizing his research late into the night.

Because of this daily routine, he hadn’t had many chances to see Yeohwi, though he brushed off the faint feeling that he might be avoiding him. It was simply that his recent visit to Hn had made him realize how much his cultivation was lacking, and that was why he was focused on his training.

But this evening, Ryubeom ran into Yeohwi in front of his house.

He had just come outside after watching the triplets fall asleep and intended to quietly nod in greeting and pass by, but Yeohwi suddenly grabbed his arm.

“Sir, I heard you helped the other day when there was almost a fire at the house? Thank you.”

“Oh, the kids put foil in the microwave… but it was handled quickly.”

“As a token of my thanks, I’d like to treat you to dinner…”

“No, watching the kids is already part of my repayment.”

“Still, you’ve been kind enough to stay next door, and we haven’t had much of a chance to interact as neighbors.”

Though Yeohwi looked apologetic for being busy, Ryubeom shook his head. He hadn’t come here with the intention of fostering neighborhood ties in the first place.

As Ryubeom was about to walk away, Yeohwi grabbed him again and gently asked, “Sir, did you know there’s a fireworks festival at the Han River tonight?”

“Oh, yeah, I know. I was planning to go check it out today.”

“Really?”

Yeohwi’s eyes widened in surprise, as if he hadn’t expected Ryubeom to be interested in such a festival. Then, he smiled and asked with his eyes crinkling, “In that case, could I come with you?”

His request was made with a sweet smile. Cheon Ryubeom didn’t respond immediately, instead gazing at him for a moment before slowly nodding his head.

However, that night, when the two arrived at the Han River, the direction Ryubeom headed wasn’t toward the festival. While the crowd was busy searching for prime spots to watch the fireworks, Ryubeom pushed through the throng and headed somewhere else.

They eventually arrived at a closed dock.

When Yeohwi checked the location, he looked back at Ryubeom with a strange expression. The area was eerie, with tall trees densely packed around them and not a soul in sight.

“Why are we here?”

“Hm? I’m here to search for the mermaid…”

“…On a day like today?”

“Well, this area is usually restricted, but with the fireworks festival, the guards are focused elsewhere, so I purposely came today… Huh? Weren’t you planning to come today for the same reason?”

“…”

“If not, then… why else would you come?”

Ryubeom’s voice gradually took on a tone of bewilderment. Yeohwi’s expression, filled with frustration, left him feeling confused.

Yeohwi sighed and asked, “Weren’t we getting closer just a few days ago?”

“That’s why I didn’t tell you not to follow me…?”

The Han River mermaid story was so famous that Ryubeom thought maybe Yeohwi would be interested, too. He had hesitated about bringing him to a place where a sagwido had opened since it was dangerous, but tonight he only planned to do a simple search. Besides, after seeing Yeohwi’s composure when dealing with spirits in Hyojomyeon and his apparent talent for exorcism, Ryubeom had taken this as a sign of trust in inviting him to come along…

However, Yeohwi’s gaze had grown so cold that Ryubeom quickly started thinking. Did Yeohwi dislike mermaids? Ryubeom spoke awkwardly.

“Um, then… would you like to watch the fireworks here, Yeohwi? I’ll go search by the riverside.”

“Do you think you can see them from here?”

“You can see the sky from anywhere…”

“Don’t try to shift into some romantic talk all of a sudden.”

That wasn’t his intention. The more Ryubeom spoke, the more he felt like he was somehow becoming the bad guy. Yeohwi’s stare was making him feel strangely guilty.

In the end, Yeohwi sighed and shook his head.

“No, it’s fine. We’ve come all the way here, so let’s search together.”

“I can check it out on my own… but thinking about it, the place where the sagwido opened is dangerous, so maybe it’s better if I search alone…”

“You’re going to leave me alone in such a dangerous place?”

“No, it’s not that I’m leaving you behind.”

Once again, the word “leaving” came out of Yeohwi’s mouth, and Ryubeom felt wronged. He had been trying to be considerate, yet that look in Yeohwi’s eyes made it seem like he kept choosing the wrong option. Ryubeom suddenly had the urge to ban the word “leaving” from Yeohwi’s vocabulary.

Swallowing a sigh, Ryubeom nodded.

“Fine. Let’s move together. I was only planning to take a look around anyway…”

Since the fireworks festival had drawn large crowds, it wasn’t the right time for a noisy search. And in the first place, the exact location of the mermaid sightings wasn’t even clear.

The most credible place, however, was right here—the closed Wonjung Dock. In the past, people frequently visited here for river cruises, but after the incident that started the mermaid rumors, the dock had been shut down. This was where the rumor that “a corpse is discovered on the day the mermaid appears” originated, as the first body had been found here.

Although the area was briefly closed off, it had been written off as just another typical suicide along the Han River. But strange incidents continued to occur afterward. Corpses floated up, and people reported hearing “strange sounds.” Some claimed to hear a sweet, soft whispering voice.

At first, it was thought that the sounds were coming from the nearby shops, but testimony poured in from people who heard the sounds in the dead of night, long after all the stores had closed. The police, firefighters, and even marine biology experts were brought in to investigate, but nothing conclusive was found.

Because of this commotion, people stopped coming to the Wonjung Dock. The nearby shops also closed down, leaving the area eerie and desolate. About a year ago, a shark Suin invited by the city for safety management delivered the final blow.

“The saqi is growing stronger. A major incident might happen soon…”

A few days later, three bodies were discovered, and the city of Seoul officially restricted access to the area. Barricades and warning signs were set up, and guards were stationed to prevent anyone from approaching out of curiosity.

But Cheon Ryubeom wasn’t here out of curiosity, so he casually crossed the barrier.

“Oh, there are still guards at the dock…”

Ryubeom paused as he approached the dock. He had assumed all the guards had moved to the festival area since there were none at the barricade, but a few had stayed behind. Ryubeom crouched in the bushes and observed two humans standing there, yawning.

“Mermaids won’t come out on a night like this, right?”

“Well, if they do, I suppose they’ll just enjoy the fireworks.”

“Even if they sing, the fireworks noise will drown it out, so that’s a relief.”

“You’ve only been working here for three months, and you’re still scared of mermaids? You’ve never even seen one. I think that shark Suin was lying. Maybe he had a grudge against this area’s businesses.”

Judging by their casual conversation, the guards didn’t seem particularly vigilant. But the only way to the dock was through that entrance.

If only there were bushes there, Ryubeom could have used his stealth skills to slip past them. With his tiger lineage’s superior stealth abilities, he could suppress his presence and get through most defenses unnoticed. But the open space posed a problem. Perhaps he should create a distraction elsewhere to draw their attention…

As Ryubeom pondered this seriously, Yeohwi smiled and asked, “Would you like some help?”

“…How?”

Was he going to pull out a business card like he did in Hyojomyeon? Ryubeom gave Yeohwi a curious look, but to his surprise, Yeohwi extended his hand toward the guards.

Saaaak…

A faint sound of wind passed by, and suddenly a red glow spread along the breeze, hitting the guards squarely on the head. It was a spell fired like an air rifle. Startled, Ryubeom shot to his feet. Could Yeohwi’s idea of helping actually mean dealing with them…?!

“…Huh?”

But as Ryubeom stood up, he froze in place. The guards, hit by the red light, suddenly relaxed, their faces going slack. With dazed expressions, they started walking toward the staff lounge.

“I’m suddenly so tired…”

“Let’s rest for a bit…”

Ryubeom, blinking slowly in surprise, turned his head toward Yeohwi, who simply smiled that beautiful smile of his.

“The fox family knows many spells like this. We specialize in enchanting others.”

“Wow, I see…”

Ryubeom was genuinely impressed. Just like in Hyojomyeon, Yeohwi seemed to know many fascinating spells. The one he had just used was particularly useful, and Ryubeom even felt a bit envious. To use such spells so easily—just how many different spells did the fox family possess?

In the tiger family, most of the spells they learned were physical in nature. Things like binding spells, energy dispersal barriers, and tracking techniques based on predatory instincts. All the spells Ryubeom had used in Hyojomyeon had been of that type. Though, his skills were far from those of his cousins…

Yeohwi, with a gentle smile, offered, “If you’re interested, I could teach you?”

“Huh? No, that’s okay. I don’t need to go that far…”

Ryubeom shook his head in confusion. At first, he thought Yeohwi was joking, but this wasn’t something to be brought up lightly, even as a joke.

“Family spells are usually secret, right? If you share them carelessly, your family won’t look kindly upon it.”

“Is that really so?”

Even though Ryubeom was being serious, Yeohwi just smiled brightly. It was surprising enough that Yeohwi had casually offered to teach him his family’s magic, but did he realize that Ryubeom was from the tiger clan? If the head of the fox family found out, there might be consequences.

Ryubeom decided he would have to keep his mouth shut, even if Yeohwi was careless. He looked at him worriedly and shook his head. For some reason, Yeohwi even began to laugh softly.

Soon, they moved to the now-deserted dock.

The wind blowing in from the river was quite chilly. With few people around and no lights, the whole area felt cold.

“I don’t see any signs of gido…”

Ryubeom murmured as he looked around. The space was dark and eerie, but unlike in Hyojomyeon, there was no obvious abnormal phenomenon. It was just quiet. He didn’t sense any malevolent energy, either.

Even the guards earlier said they hadn’t seen any mermaids—was this not the place? Maybe the rumors were just a ghost story created from a mix of various accidents and rumors at the time.

But since he had come to confirm the “possibility,” Ryubeom cautiously examined the surface of the water. Yeohwi, who had been quietly watching him, asked a question.

“Have you learned anything about mermaids?”

“Oh, yeah. There’s a lot of material about mermaids. But one interesting thing is that Korean mermaids are quite different from Western ones.”

In the mid-Joseon era folklore book Eou Yadam, there’s a story about a fisherman who caught a baby mermaid on the coast of Gangwon Province. The baby mermaid was described as having the appearance of a four-year-old child with black hair covering its forehead, yellow whiskers around its mouth, and wrinkles on its hands and feet. When released, it swam away like a turtle or terrapin, which implies that the mermaids of Joseon might have had legs.

In later records of adult mermaid sightings along the southern and western coasts of Korea, most describe mermaids as four-legged creatures. While their faces were said to be pale and beautiful, similar to Western mermaids, in Joseon, they weren’t seen as enchanting monsters but rather as rare ‘beasts.’

“It seems like, in Joseon, mermaids were more like hunting targets than mystical beings. There were even rumors that mermaid oil was better than whale oil…”

As the Joseon era progressed, mermaids started being depicted as half-human, half-animal creatures. Records mentioned their tears turning into pearls, their beautiful singing voices, and light fabrics, but this was likely influenced by Western folklore that began entering Korea later. Before that, mermaids were treated almost like butchered meat in Joseon.

After listening attentively, Yeohwi gave a brief compliment.

“You’ve really done your research.”

“Information is important when dealing with monsters or evil spirits. It could be similar to Hyojomyeon—a creature might be mimicking a mermaid’s appearance for some purpose…”

Since the mermaid ghost story on the Han River was widespread, caution was needed. The more people believed in it, the stronger the fear that supported the monster or spirit. However, the more Ryubeom investigated, the more certain details puzzled him.

“Why would it be in the Han River and not the sea?”

If you go just a little further from Seoul, there’s the sea. So why the Han River? The average depth of the Han River is around 5 meters, and while the deeper parts are over 10 meters, it would still feel quite cramped. Ryubeom muttered seriously.

“Is it a freshwater species…?”

“…You’re oddly realistic in the strangest places sometimes, aren’t you?”