Page 1 of Gumiho Kiss
Prologue
The best stories were the ones that made Hyun Soo a little frightened.Most of them involved goblin trickery or vengeful ghosts, but his favorite was about a great dragon.That was the one he begged his grandmother to tell him so many times he could recite it by heart.
This is how it went.
Long ago, back when the land of Jeoseung was young, all the magical races lived there in harmony.Gumiho, imugi, grim reapers, haetae, and even goblins.It was a realm of plenty, without hardship or strife, save for one thing: mortality.
Though some of the races were longer lived than others, all had to face this same truth, that their lives weren’t fated to last forever.To compensate for their sad fate, some hid away in their caves and valleys, doing all they could to preserve the time that was given to them.But others were more daring.
Jeoseung was not the only land they could traverse, for a magical gate existed that allowed one to pass into a second land known as the Realm of Eternal Blossoms.It was populated by fearful creatures who called themselves humans.And they were quick to kill that which they feared.
But the human realm wasn’t all bad.If a monster was cautious and didn’t allow his true nature to be discovered, he could enjoy luxuries unheard of in Jeoseung.For the shapeshifting races, the goblins and gumiho, hiding their true selves was fairly easy.The grim reapers, who walked between realms without needing a gate, could vanish before they suffered harm.These three—goblin, gumiho, reaper—found great enjoyment straddling both worlds, and often brought back treasures for their kinsmen to partake in.
Wars in the human realm were common, but the residents of Jeoseung knew better than to engage in their neighbors’ violence.Peace, equality, and kindness were all the magical races had ever known, and they had no intention of changing that.
Until the night immortality fell from the heavens.
It came in the form of a brilliant white star, which plummeted to the ground one spring evening.A kindhearted imugi happened to witness its descent and drew closer to investigate.As soon as he touched the mysterious star, he was infused with power.It bestowed on him great beauty, strength, and agelessness, transforming him from a mere serpent into a mighty dragon.
He was ecstatic with his good fortune and wished to share it with all of Jeoseung.He rallied the other imugi first, but as soon as one touched the star and accepted its blessings, some of the star’s brilliance began to fade.Fearful of what might happen if the star were to burn out, the great dragon hid it away, encouraging the other imugi to search the world for stars of their own instead.
To make up for his selfishness, the dragon freely offered his wisdom to those who needed it, helping the creatures of Jeoseung flourish.The only caveat he gave was that his words must always be used for good rather than evil.
One day, a crafty goblin came to him disguised as a nine-tailed fox, asking how one might obtain justice for a wrong committed against him.The dragon told the goblin to seek recompense for that which had been done, but the goblin explained woefully that his entire family had died and there was nothing that could replace what he’d lost.The dragon was filled with fury on the goblin’s behalf and demanded to know who was responsible.The goblin named the grim reapers, whose job it was to watch over the magical races, claiming they’d misused their authority to fill their own pockets, and his family had subsequently perished.The dragon, fooled by the deception, demanded that the grim reapers answer for their crime.
But the grim reapers denied all wrongdoing, incensed that a gumiho would tell such wicked lies.They fell upon their fox brothers, who fought back with all the ferocity they were shown.Thousands were slain on both sides, their blood spreading over the world.
The dragon watched from his cave, growing more and more sorrowful as the years passed and the war continued.Eventually, his remorse grew so overwhelming, he took his own life, leaving the star unguarded for the first time in centuries.
Which was what the goblins, waiting patiently in the shadows, had been waiting for.
As soon as the dragon was dead, they swarmed into his cave, searching tirelessly until they unearthed their prize.With the star now in their possession, the most powerful among them declared himself king of Jeoseung and demanded that the other races submit to his rule.
The haetae and imugi, desperate to have peace again, accepted the goblin king’s decree.But the gumiho and grim reapers were outraged, finally recognizing their true enemy had never been each other.The two races banded together against their oppressors, and with their combined might, they overthrew the goblins and banished them to the land of humans.
To keep the goblins from ever returning, they sealed the magical gate between realms, making it impossible for anyone but a grim reaper to pass safely in between.Thus, peace was restored, but it came at a terrible price.The magical races who spent too long in the Realm of Eternal Blossoms eventually forgot their commitment to honor and virtue, slowly transforming into the evil beings humans are right to fear.
“What about the star?What happened to it?”young Hyun Soo always asked.
But his halmeoni never gave him an answer.
Chapter1
The Fox
Early Joseon dynasty
Night belonged to thieves, killers, and foxes.Gwishin, being all three, glided through the darkness with almost silent footsteps, leaping from rooftop to rooftop like her ghostly namesake.
She had to be cautious.Police officers patrolled the streets of Sokju during curfew, and the city’s new magistrate, Hong Shik, had recently increased the security around his office even further.Thieves and mercenaries were more common around here than rats, but they weren’t what Hong truly feared.The guards he’d hired were well-trained, some even reputedly former assassins.Such skilled men didn’t come at a low price, nor were they necessary for the average criminal.
But Gwishin was no average criminal.
Some part of Chin Sun wondered if she should stay in tonight, lie low for a while.She’d almost been caught the last time she’d donned her face cloth and black hanbok, and with reports of Wokou pirates from the East lurking around the outlying villages, tensions in Sokju were higher than ever.If she waited a few weeks, Hong would relax a bit, and she would be free to roam the night again without fear.
Yet the promised reward was too tempting to ignore.If the intelligence she’d gathered was accurate, an illicit deal was going to take place in Hong’s office this very evening.A rumor was circulating that the pirates had infiltrated Sokju—and Hong was in league with them.
If that slug proved himself a traitor tonight ...
