Sandstorm (Sapung), Tiger Mom (Hohuanmama), and After – (2)

What I saw were dozens of microphones and dozens of cameras.

I was standing on some kind of podium in the middle of downtown Sejong, clearing my throat into the microphone.

Ahem.

Ahem.

Is this voice okay?

Ah, yes.

“Microphone test.”

When I spoke into the mic:

“Ooooooh…”

“Quiet, quiet!”

“Everyone, ask questions in order!”

“Who are you to boss us around!”

The reporters started getting riled up.

It was a chaotic interview scene.

So, how did this situation come about?

We need to go back 30 minutes.

---

The fact that Miho and Yi Haneul appeared in the center of downtown Sejong quickly spread through online communities.

It started on the Miho Gallery and Miho Channel, but soon Miho sighting posts rose to the real-time top posts.s fear the unfamiliar, but if that unfamiliar thing was Miho, the story changed.

Miho’s appearance was exquisite, by human standards of beauty.

No, saying it was merely exquisite would be an understatement.

No idol, actress or model could compare to Miho’s beauty.

Of course, that was only natural, as Miho was a fox yokai born to captivate men.

On top of her already beautiful looks, Miho’s ling nature also increased her appeal.

And she even protected humans from yokai.

It was only natural for people to take great interest in Miho.

Most media outlets actively monitored online communities to keep track of trends.

When ‘Miho Sejong Sighting’ posts appeared, various media companies hurriedly dispatched staff and helicopters to Sejong.

The reason was simple – to get an interview with Miho.

---

How many were there?

It looked like over thirty at a glance.

Mmm.

After taking a photo with one high school girl, I took photos with over thirty more people.

Once I started taking one, I couldn’t stop.

The one who put a stop to the endless photo line was Yi Haneul.

“Alright, alright! That’s enough! I appreciate your interest, but let’s stop the photos here!”

Ah.

These uselessly sharp fox ears.

“Your manager?”

“She’s not even a celebrity, why would she have a manager?”

“Isn’t that Yi Haneul?”

“Who’s Yi Haneul, you weirdo?”

I could hear every unwanted comment too.

How embarrassing for me.

Well, I should have been more diligent with my Martial Force artist activities.

After pushing through the crowd of hundreds, we first went to a nearby meat restaurant to fill our hungry bellies.

Yi Haneul poked at the meat while sighing:

“I didn’t expect it to be this much… You get it, Miho? We’re going straight to the hotel after eating.”

“But I haven’t properly enjoyed myself yet…”

“With that many people around, what is there to enjoy? No more, we’re done.”

“…Okay.”

It was my first downtown outing in a long while, but the crowds were so overwhelming that we had to cut it short.

What a letdown.

“Maybe I should come to downtown in my two-tailed form next time.”

When I said that, Yi Haneul flinched before grinning perversely:

“Two-tailed Miho… Eheheheh. Ah, right! If it’s two-tailed Miho, I can carry you on my back or in my arms! That works.”

“I was just joking.”

“No, why! You just don’t want to show me your two-tailed form again!”

“That’s not it.”

“R, reconsider. Don’t you want to properly look around downtown? This is a genuinely good method. If you’re in two-tailed form, just wear a hat and carry a bag, and you can easily conceal…”

“But I can’t suppress my yoki in that state.”

Below six tails, yoki rather than spirit energy leaks from the body.

Through repeated training, it might be possible to emit spirit energy even in the two-tailed state, but regardless, wandering downtown in that form now would be suicidal.

This person was utterly obsessed with ‘two-tailed Miho’.

It was starting to feel a bit unsettling.

Anyway, feeling disappointed, I stuffed the still raw meat into my mouth.

If I thought of the raw meat as yukhoe, it tasted quite good.

It almost seemed more delicious than cooked meat.

After eating, we hurriedly headed for the hotel.

It was only 7 PM, too early to hole up in the hotel as Yi Haneul said, but the crowds were too overwhelming.

As we pushed through the crowds towards the hotel:

“Ms. Miho, Ms. Miho!”

Someone urgently called my name.

What was this?

It didn’t seem like they were just calling for a photo.

“I’m reporter Hwang Sang-chul from ABC, would a brief interview be possible?”

Ah.

A reporter, I see.

An interview…

An interview, huh.

Sure.

I had no reason not to accept.

I did want to share my perspective with people, so this worked out perfectly.

I looked at Yi Haneul to seek permission.

Though he made a disgusted expression, he eventually nodded resignedly.

…

…

…

And so this situation unfolded.

I only intended to accept an interview from ‘ABC’ media, but then:

BBF.

KFH.

RRS and more.

I had no idea there were so many media and broadcasting companies with three-letter acronyms.

Yi Haneul was already heaving dejected sighs beside me.

But well.

It was just a simple interview.

Yi Haneul whispered to me while rubbing his dry eyes:

“…Miho, this is a live broadcast. Be careful what you say, got it? Absolutely no mentioning the word ‘yokai’, no ‘goblins’ either, just no mentions at all!”

“Huh?”

A live broadcast?

These media bastards played me.

Even if I wasn’t human, wasn’t this going too far in disrespecting me?

I felt a bit annoyed.

If they had at least told me in advance it was a live broadcast, I wouldn’t have gotten so annoyed.

Well, fine then.

Since it was a live broadcast.

I would properly mess with these unlucky media bastards.

---

Shiver shiver shiver shiver.

Shiver shiver shiver shiver.

Shiver shiver shiver shiver shiver shiver.

The one trembling was Yi Ha-neul, the Principal of the Jirisan Yokai Extermination Office.

He watched the TV with an incredulous expression.

No.

I had sent them to Sejong to exterminate yokai, so why were they suddenly holding a nationwide press conference?

Please.

Don’t let there be any slips of the tongue.

While Miho was a highly intelligent fox yokai almost indistinguishable from humans, so she should be careful with her words…

He still couldn’t help but worry.

If there was one consoling point:

The Miho on screen didn’t seem tense at all.

Rather, she appeared to be enjoying herself.

Pababababababak.

Swish swish.

Her seven tails were swishing about vigorously.

Soon, the interview began.

When one of the reporters asked for a self-introduction, Miho spoke:

[Hello, I am the S-class cool beauty, nice body, top-tier hottie Miho in this region.]

[…Pardon?]

[Shall I reintroduce myself? The S-class cool beauty, nice…]

[Ah, no, it’s fine! N, next question…]

Ah.

Yi Ha-neul thought:

This was probably a disaster.

---

The media tended to utterly despise profanity and internet memes.

They altered brand names and censored swear words.

Don’t misunderstand.

I wasn’t the one who started it – they did, by playing me.

So I began selectively using only the phrases and words I knew the media would hate, drawing from all my knowledge.

“Yes, so my favorite dog food brand is Dog Friends. That’s the most delicious. If you order from A-Mart, it’s 15% off, but if you order from EatsFood, it’s 20% off, so everyone should order from EatsFood. Have you tried eating dog food with milk? It’s quite the summer delicacy, and if you add ice too and eat it…”

[L, let’s move on to the next question!]

“Eh, but I wasn’t done yet.”

It went something like that.

Pababababak.

Swish swish swish swish.

My tails began swishing wildly.

A sign that my mood was soaring.

Serves them right.

How dare they hold a live broadcast without informing me, someone who transcends heaven and earth?

Still, I did my sincere best to answer the questions properly.

I just spoke a bit frivolously, not evading or dodging the questions.

Since I had vented some stress, I supposed this much was fine.

The interview, which started with light questions, eventually progressed to weightier ones:

[This morning, a powerful yokai appeared in this Sejong city, and recently, strong yokai have been consistently emerging. Is this mere coincidence?]

A heavy question.

I answered honestly:

“No, it’s not a coincidence.”

Rustle.

Not just the reporters, but all the onlookers rustled restlessly.

[In other words, there is a possibility that powerful yokai will continue to appear in city centers like this…]

“Not a possibility – it will definitely keep happening, over and over.”

Murmurs murmurs.

My answer seemed quite shocking, leaving the reporter who asked me momentarily speechless.

While concealing the truth could sometimes prevent chaos, thoroughly hiding the fact that yokai were emerging was akin to toying with human lives.

The venue grew noisy.

It was time for a punchline.

“But you don’t need to worry, because…”

Flash.

Pababababababak.

I manifested thousands… no, tens of thousands of fox fires.

Spirit energy was a warm, wondrous power.

Instead of being startled by my sudden action, people marveled at the fox fires.

Gazing at the cameras, I delivered the final punchline:

“Be it yokai or some weirdo, I’ll beat them all down for you.”