The rain pattered softly against the narrow streets of Insadong as Seo Hana tucked her umbrella under her arm and stepped beneath the crooked awning of a dimly lit shop. The sign above the door read "Taemin's Curiosities" in elegant gold script, almost hidden beneath moss and ivy. It wasn't on her research list. In fact, it didn't exist on any map.
Her fingers tingled.
"This is it," she whispered, heart racing.
She was researching ancient Korean fox myths for her folklore thesis—specifically, the elusive gumiho. But something had pulled her here, like a thread tugging her soul.
The shop bell chimed as she entered. The air inside was thick with sandalwood and secrets. Antique clocks, jars, and porcelain fox figurines lined the dark wood shelves. In the farthest corner, a glass case shimmered faintly, as though touched by starlight.
And beside it stood a man.
He didn't look like a shopkeeper.
Tall, refined, and otherworldly handsome, he wore a long black coat and silver scarf. His pale hair shimmered like moonlight, and his golden eyes locked onto her with a curious glint.
"You're not supposed to be here yet," he said calmly, voice deep and smooth.
Hana blinked. "Sorry, I—uh—am I intruding?"
He smiled faintly. "That depends. Are you here for a fox?"
Her breath hitched.
"I'm... researching gumiho folklore. I saw your shop and—"
"You didn't see it." He stepped closer, and the room seemed to hum. "It called you."
Behind him, the fox-shaped pendant in the glass case began to glow.
Hana took a step forward, drawn to it instinctively.
"I wouldn't touch that if I were you," he warned.
Too late. Her fingers brushed the glass—
A blast of light erupted.
Images flooded her mind—nine tails in a burning forest, a kiss beneath a blood moon, her own voice crying out a name she didn't remember.
Then blackness.
The last thing she saw was the silver-haired man staring down at her with eyes no human should have.
And whispering softly, "So it begins again."
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