Dancing with a 구미호 Gumiho

The Story of the Legend Chapter 1

Joseon Dynasty
(May 12, 1592)

"Hey, get back here, you little brat!" screamed a market vendor, as a young girl about fifteen years old, ran away grinning to herself. The vendor ran out of breath, before he could catch her. He stopped in his tracks, hunched over and held his knees as he allowed his breath to catch up to him. He watched as the girl disappeared into the darkness of an alley way. He waved off the young girl, realizing it wasn't worth it and gave up. The young girl relaxed her back up against a wooden wall and stared at the apple she stole. She took a huge bite, satisfied by the taste of the fruit. She tried to savor each taste and each bite, before she gobbled it up hungrily. She wiped the sweat from her dark, ebony skin and blew a few strands of her dark, curly hair from her face. She leaned over and stared at her reflection in a nearby puddle. Dirt and grime was all over her face and body. She tried to wipe it away with the sleeve of her hanbok, but it provided no use.

The young girl has always felt out of place here. She had darker skin, curlier and thicker hair than all of the rest of the girls around her. She looked nothing like the others and many never let her forget that. Kali was the young girl's name and she hated how different she was. She had always wished that she looked like everyone else then perhaps she would look and feel beautiful. She angrily and in a frustrated manner, smack the puddle of water and distorted her reflection. She sat up against the wooden wall again in fetal position, her arms hugging her knees.

The gumiho took the form of a young man as he watched Kali eat the fruit that she stole. He eyed her, watched her every movement, hungrily as he hid himself in the shadows, like a predator stalking his prey right before devouring it. She was alone. It was the perfect opportunity to feast. It didn't seem like anyone would miss this girl.

The gumiho waited patiently, until he was about to strike. However, he stopped himself as the young girl smacked at the puddle and sat back down, hugging her knees. Faintly, he could hear the sounds of sniffling as the girl began to cry. The gumiho had noticed that the girl looked different from him and from everyone else, but he didn't really care. Food was food no matter the color, shape, or form. It didn't make any difference to it what she looked like. However, the gumiho pondered. "Perhaps that's why the girl is upset?" But it shook its head to get rid of the thought. She was food, nothing more. He didn't need to wonder about her feelings.

The gumiho was to attack again, but the young girl stood up, wiping the tears from her face on her sleeve. She dug into her hanbok and got out more fruit and some bread, looking at it, before stuffing it back. "Who was that for?" The gumiho wondered. The young girl checked to make sure the coast was clear, before bolting out of the alleyway. The gumiho didn't want to lose track of its prey, so it followed the young girl.

Nobody noticed him, not even the girl he was following. Kali was dragging her feet through the dirt, kicking up rocks. Some of the younger kids ran by, laughing and playing. The gumiho watched as they knocked her over and kicked dirt in her face, laughing at her, before running away. Kali stood back up, dusted off her hanbok, hair and wiped the tears from her eyes and mucous from her nose with her sleeve and continued on her way. The gumiho continued to follow her.

Kali made her way back home and upon entering, a young boy ran up to her and hugged her waist. "You're back, Kali!" Said the young boy happily as he dug his face into her stomach. "Kali?" Thought the Gumiho as he watched the scene in front of him. "Such a foreign name". The young girl he now knows as Kali, knelt down to the boy's eye level, patted his head as she dug through her hanbok and took out the fruit and bread from earlier and gave it to him. "There you go, Zane". The young boy grinned from ear to ear as he took it. "Thank you!" He told her gratefully, before running away to his room.

"Are you still stealing?" Came a weak voice from further into their home. From outside and through the window, the gumiho saw Kali walk over to a sickly woman, laying in her bed. "I don't know what you're talking about, mom". Kali sat down on the floor and in front of the bed. "I bought this food". She lied as she handed her mother the extra fruit and bread she nabbed. "Eat up. You haven't eaten anything in days. You need to keep your stamina". Her mother had a coughing attack, blood spurting from her mouth. "You know I'm terminally ill. I'm good as dead anyways". Kali wiped her mouth, before dipping another cloth in cold water and laying it on her forehead. "Don't say that, mom. You never know. Things might look up". Her mother had another coughing fit. "Rest up". She told her, caressing her face and tucking her in, before standing up. Her mother instantly went back to sleep.

The gumiho hid behind a tree as Kali came back out. A foreign feeling overwhelmed the creature. Humans would call it compunction. It was dead set on feasting on her, but didn't realize she had a sick mother and a younger brother who desperately needed her. What it felt was a first. The gumiho found itself intrigued by the young Kali and so continued to follow close behind her.

The sky was getting dark. Kali had made a couple of stops back to her home feeding her family, since the last time, before going back out and wandering around the village. This time she stopped in front of the pond and sat down on the grass. She played with the water with her hands, tracing circular shapes. She then looked up at the sky, fascinated by the stars. The gumiho didn't know why, but he just stood behind a tree located to her side and watched her. This would have been another perfect time to feast on the girl, but he didn't. He no longer felt the desire to. All he wanted to do was watch her. His back was against the tree and arms crossed against his chest as he slowly closed his eyes. He didn't know how long he rested his eyes, but the sound of Kali falling to the ground and whimpering, made him snap his eyes open. He looked over to see a group of adult men, even the one from earlier, harassing Kali, beating her up, stomping on her, smacking her with a wooden stick. Kali couldn't cry out anymore. All she could do was wince when the attack came, but eventually her body went numb. "That's what you get for stealing from us, you damn, ugly wench". Said the old man from earlier.

The gumiho grew apoplectic with rage as he watched these men gang up on Kali. He had no idea what came over him, but he couldn't stop it. Within a blink of an eye, he knocked all of the men on their backs, making them scream out in shock. Kali blinked in surprise and immediately sat up. She watched as finger nails grew into talons and watched a strange man turn into enraged fox. The fox ripped out the hearts from all of the men, before going for their livers. The men coughed out blood, before falling dead on the ground. Kali couldn't believe what she was seeing. She should be afraid and running away from the scene, but she couldn't. Her body was paralyzed. It wasn't with fear, but with inquisitiveness. She wanted watch, to see this creature before her eyes because she thought she will never see it again, waking up the next morning thinking it was a dream. She didn't feel an ounce of fear from watching the fox devour the hearts and livers of those men. After finishing his meal, the fox looked up, his glowing golden eyes stared over at Kali, blood dripping from its teeth. The fox then turned into a young human boy and stood over Kali. The two exchanged stares. Kali was mesmerized by his golden eyes. The boy held out his hand to Kali. She looked at it, hesitating, before taking it.

Another foreign feeling overwhelmed the gumiho. It was the feeling, the desire to protect someone else.

Deok Su Hyun snapped open his eyes and sat up from his bed. His whole body was drenched with cold sweat. He looked over to see a beautiful young Korean woman lying in his bed, his silk satin red sheets covered her bare naked body. He stared at both of his hands as he thought about what he dreamt. "Why dream that now?" He whispered to himself,  before sighing in frustration. "This is going to be a long day". He whispered again.