Chapter 1

Chapter 1.

When a fox lives for a thousand years, it becomes a nine-tailed fox.

Nine tails are proof that one has become a divine spirit, and symbolize their authority.

On the other hand, there are those who, even after living for a thousand years, are unable to join their ranks.

They are the eight-tailed foxes. Those who failed to fully become one.

They spend their entire lives wishing only to become nine-tailed foxes.

_____________

[The protagonist with infinite potential to stand at the center of the world-

The new global idol audition Top Play ON is waiting for you.]

The man staring at his phone screen clicked his tongue.

Center of the world, my ass. Infinite potential, my ass.

It was the height of spring, in a residential neighborhood on the outskirts of Seoul.

A man who had only left his house when dawn was nearly upon him trudged up a winding uphill road.

Inside the convenience store bag in his hand, packets of ramen and instant rice knocked against each other with dull thuds.

It was around the time he reached the mouth of the alley that the man took out his phone.

He adjusted his earphones and scrolled through the songs packed into his playlist.

After going through the motions, the finger that pressed the home button moved toward the messenger icon out of habit.

Bank notifications, payment notifications, point accumulation notifications, National Secretary...

Of all these, only two had been sent by actual people.

One of them was the private message at the very top, whose red notification badge had disappeared long ago.

[Hello, Soyuseong! This is Pyo Junseong, the assistant director who worked with you on Catch Your One. I was wondering if you might remember me?]

[I’m contacting you because I have something I’d like to propose.]

[I’ll send you the relevant link first, so I’d appreciate it if you could check it and reply afterward. I’d prefer to speak over the phone if possible, so if you leave a time when you’re available, I’ll call you first! I look forward to hearing from you:)]

He had received it four days ago, but had not replied.

Apparently intending to avoid it again this time, he simply exited the app.

It had not been sent to the wrong person.

His name was indeed ‘Soyuseong,’ he had met the sender, a man named Pyo Junseong, several years ago, and the occasion had been an idol audition program called ‘Catch Your 1.’

The attached link also happened to be a recruitment notice for a new audition program that would soon air.

Though applications had closed several months ago...

‘...How long has it been since I quit being a trainee? Isn’t it rude to suddenly send me something like this?’

Something about standing at the center of the world, something about Play ON.

Right. That was why he had clicked his tongue.

He had once dreamed of becoming an idol, but after experiencing failure twice, it had already been quite some time since he gave up. Now twenty-eight years old, he was a listless, unemployed shut-in.

People might say he was still young, that he was at an age when he could do anything-

But a long bout of burnout had eaten away at him until he was rotting in some corner of the world, and he too had long since lost the courage to try.

Infinite potential, they said.

He shoved his phone deep into the pocket of his hoodie.

For the past few days, he had been avoiding replying in exactly this way.

Opening it on a whim, looking at it, tapping it, closing it, over and over.

Contrary to his negative thoughts, his actions were dripping with lingering attachment.

No matter how much he had given up, no matter how much he told himself he would never dream again, there was no way a desperate wish he had once held could be washed away so easily.

There was nothing in the sky when he looked up.

Not even the moon, not even a star, not even the blinking light of a satellite in the predawn sky.

There was no need to get sentimental now, but just as he tried to take in the sight for no particular reason.

“...?”

Something flashed dazzlingly and disappeared.

A shooting star?

Should I make a wish or something?

At the same time, a chill ran through him hard enough to make his hair stand on end. It wasn’t even cold.

The instant he turned around at the strange sensation-

“Grrrk, krrrk...”

A gaunt, rotting arm, empty eye sockets.

A mouth gaping wide as though it might swallow him whole at any moment...

Something with a horrifying appearance fit for a horror movie, something that could never be called human, appeared before his eyes.

The musty stench of rot assaulted his nose.

Yuseong recognized what it was at once.

A ghost, or a demon... or what people called an evil spirit.

Am I having a nightmare right now? Have I gone insane and started hallucinating?

His body, frozen stiff from shock, would not move. He swallowed his breath.

When he finally managed to lift his foot from the ground,

“-Where do you think you’re going?”

A solemn voice crashed down from the sky like thunder.

At the same time, a white light glittered like a tiny point. Like the shooting star he had seen earlier.

It vanished in an instant, then landed on the ground with a heavy thud.

“...?!”

Whitish smoke filled the surroundings.

The star standing at its center—or rather, the thing he had thought was a star—had eyes that shone fiercely through the smoke.

That’s...

...a person?

_____________

“How dare a mere evil spirit covet a human...”

A pale hand suddenly emerged from the smoke and gently grasped the evil spirit’s arm.

Without even managing to scream, it instantly turned to ash and vanished.

“No matter how fresh the soul and body right before your eyes may be... Isn’t that right?”

His tone was full of composure, as though he had foreseen this entire situation.

A low chuckle followed at the end.

Tap. Along with the crisp sound of dress shoes striking the ground, the smoke slowly settled.

“If I hadn’t been watching, this could have turned into quite the disaster. To think things like that still exist in this day and age.”

The pure-white coat draped over the man’s shoulders fluttered.

What a hopeless bunch, he muttered as the hand brushing back his snow-white hair was extended toward the dumbfounded man before him.

“Anyway, pleased to meet you. I know this must be a bewildering and shocking situation, but I sincerely hope you won’t faint.”

Yet Yuseong seemed more interested in something else than the hand held out in a friendly gesture.

For instance, above the man’s head, or behind his back.

“A nine... tailed fox?”

The instant those words came out, the man who had been called a nine-tailed fox burst into loud laughter.

The fox ears atop his head perked up, and his luxuriant tails swayed as though delighted.

“Yes, you saw correctly! Then again, could beauty like mine possibly belong to a human? My handsomeness is beyond description... Anyone can tell at a glance that I’m a nine-tailed fox.”

It sounded like narcissism, but nothing he said was wrong, so there was no rebuttal.

His outstanding appearance surpassed human common sense, and he possessed a mysterious air besides.

Even the pair of golden eyes glowing brilliant yellow were so beautiful that it was difficult to believe anything about him belonged to this world.

The man, his lips curved into an arc, placed a hand politely over his chest.

“My name is ‘Hwan.’ Call me Hwan. I hope you’ll feel free to address me casually. And your name is...?”

“...Mine?”

“Well, what else? Do you think I’d be asking for the name of some evil spirit I have no interest in? I’m asking the name of the person speaking with me right now.”

“Soyuseong...”

‘An easy name to remember.’

Hwan arbitrarily took Yuseong’s hand and shook it vigorously.

“To explain briefly, as you can see, I really am a nine-tailed fox... Ah, don’t worry, I don’t harm people. Things like eating their livers, or... you know? I mean I don’t do anything like that at all. Ha ha!”

After finishing, he studied the human’s reaction.

He was worried that this might be the point where Yuseong screamed, Aagh!

Because of that, he had already begun wondering whether he should cover the ears sticking out on top of his head or the ears on either side of his face first.

But what came out of Yuseong’s mouth was something completely unexpected.

“...But... now that I look, you only have eight tails, so calling you a nine-tailed fox... seems a little...”

“Ahem.”

Just as he said, no matter how carefully one counted, Hwan had only eight tails.

Picking a hole in things even in a situation like this. How cruel...

‘It’s a sore spot.’

Hwan needlessly stroked his smooth, whiskerless chin.

As though he could not care less about the other man’s feelings, Yuseong continued asking questions.

“...Is this some kind of hidden-camera prank by a YouTuber... or something?”

“No? This is really happening. Are you so shocked that you can no longer distinguish CG from reality?”

“Would you believe it if you were me...? You suddenly did all that, and then that happened...”

“Ah.”

At the look demanding an explanation, Hwan slowly nodded.

“The world is vast, and because it is vast, many different things exist within it. There are evil spirits like the one you saw earlier, and divine spirits... like me. Among them, you might say that we are beings who give humans opportunities.”

“...What? What does that...?”

Completely ignoring Yuseong’s question, Hwan merely gave him a wink before closing his hand into a fist and opening it again.

A transparent orb containing a mysterious light appeared within his palm and floated into the air.

“This is called a ‘fox bead’... It possesses the power to fulfill wishes. Put simply, you could call it a ‘bead that grants wishes.’”

“...Like a magic lamp.”

“Mm- Completely different, yet somewhat similar. You didn’t rub the bead yourself, but because at some point, somewhere, you made a wish with that degree of desperation, ta-da, it appeared before you. Do you understand so far?”

Yuseong did not answer.

Had he failed to accept the situation itself?

“Say your wish aloud. Then you’ll understand.”

Even when urged, his response was the same.

After hesitating for a while, he finally pushed Hwan’s hand gently away.

“Leaving aside whether I believe this or not, why... me, of all people? Why don’t you find someone more desperate than I am? And why would a nine-tailed fox do something like this...”

“There are reasons for all of it, so just accept it. There will be plenty of time to explain later.”

“...”

No response.

‘I knew he’d react like this. Humans are so suspicious.’

What was there to fear?

Hwan was not patient enough to simply watch such a reaction forever.

He stopped walking in slow circles and leaned down close to Yuseong’s ear.

“Now... listen.”

What flowed from his mouth was a dreamlike voice unique to foxes, one that no one else could imitate.

“I can grant anything you desire.”

“That’s a lie...”

“The bead will provide the power necessary to make your wish come true.”

“...What are the conditions?”

“To desire it desperately, and to pray for it.”

This was temptation.

An allure no human could endure.

Hwan could hear the heartbeat pounding as though it might burst.

Ah, he’s completely fallen for it. Completely...

Yuseong moved his dry lips.

“My wish is...”

At that moment, the wind blew.

The wind carried in long trails of mist-like smoke.

The smoke surrounded them.

It grew stronger and stronger, just before it completely obscured even their view of each other.

Hwan and Yuseong’s eyes met.

‘What on earth is happening?’

Surprisingly, the one who thought that was Hwan.

Because unlike usual, steam-like smoke was surrounding them.

“Wait, don’t say anything more-”

His urgent shout was swallowed by the smoke.

As were their consciousnesses.

Thud. Both lost consciousness and collapsed.

____________

“...Ugh.”

How much time had passed?

Hwan clutched his ringing head and pushed himself upright.

His vision spun dizzyingly, and he felt nauseous enough to retch.

Only after leaning against the wall and panting for a long while did he finally calm down enough to raise his eyelids with difficulty.

“Hey, are you... all right? This is my first time experiencing something like this too, so I didn’t respond very well...”

He stopped speaking midway through his incoherent muttering.

“...No, wait. Where did he go?”

For some reason, the human who should have been across from him was nowhere to be seen.

Even after looking around, all he could see was the white plastic bag lying haphazardly on the ground and the items that had spilled from it.

And they were right beside him...

Beside him?

Only then did Hwan realize that he had somehow moved to the spot where the other man had been standing.

“Why am I... What on earth is this?”

Soon, he also realized that the voice coming from his mouth was not his own.

And that was not all. His viewpoint was lower as well... Huh?

When he turned his head toward the glass door of a nearby building, the only figure reflected there was that human.

Messy hair, a carelessly thrown-on hoodie and baggy shorts, in any case, a scruffy-looking young man...

“...”

...Where did I go?

Why does it look like I’ve somehow entered this human’s body...?

His thoughts came to a halt.

He wondered if he had finally gone insane and was seeing things.

But it was real.

An undeniable reality.

He hurried over to the door and repeatedly examined his face and body by touch, but no tails or ears appeared.

There was only one exception.

His eyes were still Hwan’s own.

Even in the darkness, the golden pupils seemed to pierce through all things, radiating a mysterious aura.

“This can’t be...”

As though mocking him for finding the situation impossible to believe, the bead spun back around until it hovered directly before him.

[...]

Then it released smoke and formed a rectangular window.

It was a sight he had never seen before.

[State your wish.]

A question appeared as though someone were typing it.

[To become an idol.]

An answer.

Both sentences disappeared, and the same question appeared again.

[State your wish.]

...Is it asking me?

As though drawn by desire, Hwan blankly opened his mouth.

“To become... a nine-tailed fox.”

His stomach churned again.

His head seemed to lurch, and a ringing filled his ears.

Before he could steady himself and demand an explanation, the contents of the window changed.

[This is a trial.]

[Fulfill this human’s wish yourself, using your own power.

If you succeed, your wish may also be granted.]

[If you accept, place your hand on the bead.]

The Thousand-Year-Old Nine-Tailed Fox Idol

Author:

Yeon Hagyun

Published by:

Storyzak

Publication Registration:

No. 2020-000069

Address:

Unit 1807, Building A, Halla One&One Tower, 101 Gasan Digital 2-ro, Geumcheon-gu, Seoul

Telephone:

02-2101-2077

Fax:

02-2101-2078

Email:

fantasy@storyzak.com

UCI:

G720:N+A342-20260915021

Publication Date:

October 23, 2026

Copyright ⓒ Yeon Hagyun, 2026.

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This e-book has been published under a contract between the publisher and the author. Unauthorized reproduction, copying, distribution, or sharing without the written consent of both parties is prohibited.