The Black-Furred Dog Yokai (1)

Once upon a time, in an era when even tigers smoked cigarettes,

There existed a yokai colder than ice, darker than pitch black.

Its name was the Middle Beast of the Jungjong era – the Black-Furred Dog Yokai.

---

In the autumn month of November,

When the world was dyed crimson with fallen leaves,

An uncanny rumor began spreading through Hanyang, the capital of Joseon.

“A black dog has appeared!”

This ‘black dog’ was no mere beast, however.

According to the rumors, it mocked the royal family and eluded Martial Artists and Spell Masters unscathed.

It moved with explosive speed, flitting about before their very eyes yet never caught.

Naturally, most dismissed these rumors as mere hearsay.

For in the past, through the enlightened king who created the Korean alphabet,

Most yokai had been exterminated.

‘Yokai’ had become creatures one could scarcely witness in a lifetime,

With no history of their appearance in Hanyang either.

The citizens of Hanyang had grown more fearful of tigers than trifling specters like goblins.

One among those disbelieving the unfounded rumors was Kim Ja-heung, a scholar newly arrived in Hanyang to take the gwageo civil service exam.

Kim Ja-heung had ventured to the market in search of food when he witnessed crowds gathering and murmuring about something.

Regarding this curious scene, Kim Ja-heung inquired with a stall vendor who then sighed deeply, saying:

“Good sir, the woes facing us merchants due to this black beast are far from trivial.”

The vendor then explained the whole story to Kim Ja-heung:

Recently, a ‘black beast’ had been appearing nightly to wreak havoc,

Yet no matter how they tried to catch it, the tiny creature was too swift to capture.

Even Martial Artists personally guarding the market could not locate the black beast.

Suspecting this ‘black beast’ might be the rumored yokai, Kim Ja-heung asked the vendor further:

“Has anyone been killed or bitten by this beast?”

“The eldest daughter of the Baek household was bitten, but recovered fully after a week or so.”

Puzzled how one could recover so quickly after being mauled, Kim Ja-heung said to the vendor:

“Could you please guide me to the Baek residence?”

“Of course.”

The vendor then led Kim Ja-heung to the Baek residence, where Kim observed the eldest daughter and remarked:

“She seems perfectly fine.”

He had inwardly expected the girl to be half-deranged,

Having never witnessed someone so hale after a dog attack.

Yet the Baek daughter sat calmly on the wooden floor,

Her complexion pale, her pupils vacant – likely from maggot infestation.

Kim Ja-heung found her eyes remarkably beautiful.

As the vendor claimed, her bite wound appeared perfectly fine despite her skin being turned inside-out, darkly discolored, and still oozing fresh blood while emanating a putrid stench from the mangled area.

To Kim Ja-heung’s eyes, it seemed just fine.

He asked the daughter:

“Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine, good sir.”

“I see, so sturdy a maid to appear so hale after a dog attack. You have admirable fortitude.”

“You flatter me, good sir.”

Turning to the vendor again, Kim Ja-heung remarked:

“Ah yes, she does seem perfectly fine.”

“Did I not say so? A gentleman like yourself should not be so doubtful. Now that the stench is becoming overpowering, we should take our leave.”

“Indeed, it is quite a foul odor…”

Blocking his nose as he departed, Kim Ja-heung thought to himself:

While unsure who would want to marry such a stoic girl,

The Baek household was truly blessed to have raised such an enduring daughter.

---

The history of dogs mirrors that of human coexistence itself.

Since ancient times, humans and dogs have existed in a symbiotic relationship –

The human masters giving love,

The canine beasts giving unwavering loyalty in return.

There is even a saying: ‘Humans may betray, but dogs never betray’, underscoring how obedient dogs are towards people.

Thus,

No human would think to be wary of a mere stray dog wandering the streets.

On a seldom-trodden trail midway up Namsan Mountain, Seoul,

A young couple estimated to be in their early 20s strolled hand-in-hand, appearing to be newly dating given their shy awkwardness.

With no one else around, public affection would have been possible, yet they merely held hands and made conversation.

Before them appeared

A black beast.

The young woman, spotting it, said:

“Aw, a doggy! Oppa, quickly hold this for me.”

“Huh? O, okay.”

“Here boy, come here boy!”

Knowing his girlfriend loved dogs, the young man obediently held her bag with an indulgent smile as he watched her interact with the canine.

Lick lick.

Lick lick.

Lick lick lick.

The black beast licked the woman’s cheeks.

“Heheh, that tickles!”

Chomp.

Chomp chomp.

Chomp chomp chomp chomp.

The black beast began gnawing on the woman’s mouth.

“Oh my, oppa. Looks like he was hungry. Is it tasty?”

“I guess we should give him something to eat then.”

“Nah, he seems to be enjoying his meal just fine right now.”

Crunch.

Slurp slurp.

Gulp.

Munch munch munch munch.

The black beast began ravenously exploring the woman’s right arm.

“Ahahahaha, it tickles!”

“Ye-seul ah, you shouldn’t be feeding strays like that. You’ll get called a dumb bitch at this rate.”

“But… I feel bad for him.”

Slurp slurp.

Slurp slurp.

Slurp slurp slurp slurp.

“Chew it slowly!”

After feasting on the woman’s right arm for a while, the black beast seemed to lose interest in her and turned its gaze towards the man instead.

“What, you want mine too now?”

“Looks like he wants your left arm?”

“Geez, guess I won’t be gaming with both hands anymore.”

“So what? Why not just quit gaming altogether, oppa?”

“Well, it’s not that easy. I’d have to find games I can play one-handed then…”

Crunch crunch.

Gulp.

“Ah… He’s eating both my arms too, dammit.”

“Puahahahahaha! Looks like you’ll have to quit gaming now, oppa!”

And so,

After devouring the woman’s right arm and the man’s両arms,

The black beast departed.

“Bye bye, cute doggy!”

“…You really like dogs that much?”

“What, are you jealous of the dog now, oppa?”

“N, no, it’s not that…”

“Eheheheh, don’t worry! You’re the only one for me. Now let’s go, hand-in-hand.”

“I don’t have hands anymore though?”

“Puahahahahahaha!”

A few minutes later,

The young couple perished.

---

This was troublesome.

Upon arriving at the Namsan entrance, the crowds vastly exceeded anything in the downtown area,

And as one brazenly crawling about on all fours amidst those throngs, I naturally drew the attention of all.

Click click.

Click click click.

Why were there so many people taking photos?

This was blatant gawking, people.

“Is she a BJ?”

“Looks like she’s filming for YouTube.”

“Where’s her camera?”

“Wow, what a body.”

“I want to grab those tails.”

…Focus on the scent, not the comments.

Sniff sniff.

Sniff sniff sniff.

“Grrrrrowl.”

“Did she just let out a fox cry?”

“That’s taking the concept a bit far, isn’t it…”

“She must be crazy.”

It was certain –

The source was somewhere here on Namsan.

The scent had grown stronger, but

Upon careful sniffing, it was not just

That peculiar, unpleasant odor, but also…

…The smell of blood.

Damn.

Was I already too late?

The only consolation, if it could be called that, was

That the blood scent was not overpoweringly strong –

Indicating perhaps only

One,

Two,

Ten,

Twenty casualties at most.

Far too faint for a yokai rampaging in the heart of Namsan, truthfully.

To put it bluntly,

Even a mere Stage 5 yokai should have resulted in hundreds dead by now.

Regardless of the circumstances,

As long as they were not already deceased, I could still save them.

I began moving in the direction of the blood scent.

Speaking of which,

I wondered if the yogi radar had again failed to function this time.

[Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!]

Ominously, an evacuation order echoed across Namsan at that very moment.

It seemed the yogi had not been detected, so

The director, Lee Ha-neul, and Ho Joon must be aiding me behind the scenes.

---

The method Lee Ha-neul and Ho Joon used to track Miho was simple:

Since Baek Nam-hun had instructed them to locate the yokai through analog means, they too adopted an analog approach –

“Excuse me, have you seen that ‘7Miho Cosplay Girl’ anywhere?”

Starting from near the hotel,

They began stopping and questioning every passerby one by one.

Fortunately or not,

Miho’s appearance was extremely eye-catching, resulting in

An abundance of witness accounts.

A street stall auntie spoke up to them:

“Ah, was it that girl with the great figure…”

“Yes, yes.”

“She went crawling on all fours towards Namsan.”

“…On all fours?”

“Yes. I thought she was some crazy person at first. Why would such a pretty young lady behave that way?”

“…”

Ho Joon and Lee Ha-neul simultaneously facepalmed.

If only she had walked on two legs instead…

In any case, they now knew which direction Miho had headed, so

Lee Ha-neul promptly contacted his master:

“It’s Namsan. Ho Joon and I will go on ahead first, Master.”

[W, wait for me, Ha-neul! This master will join you shortly…]

Click.

Lee Ha-neul coldly ended the call.

“…Is that okay?”

“It’s fine, he’d just nag us to wait until he arrived anyway. Let’s go. Miho will be waiting for us.”