With the moon hidden behind the heavy clouds, Jongin glided through the quiet streets of Jeju on his motorbike and parked it behind an ancient tree. Removing his helmet, he carefully walked towards the designated meeting point but frowned when instead of seeing Chinsun’s lonely outline, there was one other person standing next to her.

“Why is he here?” Jongin uttered impatiently while readjusting his fingerless gloves.

“I insisted to tag along.” Baekhyun stepped in, not wanting Chinsun to be blamed for his actions.

Jongin raised an eyebrow, clear disapproval showering in his eyes and Chinsun intervened as they had no time to waste.

“He’ll help with the preparation and stay out of the way after. It’s safer than leaving him all by himself at home,” Chinsun reasoned. “What about Jongdae?”

“I gave him a drink with sedatives before I left so he’s knocked out cold,” Jongin replied nonchalantly.

Baekhyun gawked at the male while Chinsun remained unperturbed, having gotten used to the extreme measures that Jongin was willing to go to when Jongdae was involved.

“You brought everything?” Jongin questioned, eyeing the heavy backpack Chinsun was carrying.

Nodding, Chinsun opened the bag and took out the delicate deep red threads and the small bag of golden bells.

“This should be more than enough thread to encircle the cemetery twice,” Chinsun stated confidently.

“Alright then, I’ll insert the nails into the ground, then you and Baekhyun can do the rest.”

With just under one hour to set up the trap for the kumiho, Jongin promptly grabbed the sacred nails and the hammer, walking around the humble sized cemetery and slamming the nail into the ground every two metres while chanting Buddhist scriptures. Meanwhile, Chinsun tied one end of the the thread onto the first nail and Baekhyun attached a bell to it. Following the path set by the nails, Chinsun and Baekhyun encircled the cemetery with the red thread, setting up a barrier that the kumiho could enter but not leave.

To an untrained eye, the thread was barely noticeable due to the overgrown glass of the untended cemetery. However, the moment anything or anyone entered the circle, the bells would ring, activating the trap. Since they had no idea which tomb the kumiho would target first, they could not narrow down the area, and thus could only opt for making the whole cemetery a trap.

By the time they were done, Jongin already felt callouses forming on his hands despite wearing fingerless gloves, Chinsun’s jeans were stained with soil and Baekhyun’s back was aching in protest from being crouched down on the ground for so long. Nonetheless, Chinsun and Jongin were satisfied with the end product. Baekhyun being a complete layman, could offer no opinion on the matter so just followed whatever their reaction was.

“It’s almost time,” Jongin announced, glancing at his wrist watch. “We’ll hide in the church and keep an eye out for when the kumiho arrives.”

“We are hiding where?” Baekhyun screeched, digging his heels deep into the damp soil.

“It’s safe in there don’t worry,” Chinsun reassured the male, tugging his sleeve. “Let’s go inside now, it's almost midnight.”

Baekhyun allowed Chinsun to pull him towards the dilapidated church with reluctance, his feet dragging against the ground. Feeling impatient with Baekhyun slowing them down, Jongin raised his leg and kneed Baekhyun’s back, forcefully pushing him forward. This caused Baekhyun to accidentally bite his tongue in an attempt to not scream out loud. Ignoring Chinsun’s glare and how she was scolding his use of brute actions with her eyes, Jongin settled by the window that faced the cemetery, ready to launch an attack once the kumiho stepped into the trap.

Chinsun positioned herself across from Jongin, focusing on her tattoo rather than her eyes to sense the kumiho. Meanwhile, Baekhyun hugged his knees closely to his chest, making sure to produce the minimum amount of sound — even when breathing.

The time ticked by, and just as the minute-hand took the final step towards midnight, something in the air shifted and a haunting wind whistled through the cracks and gaps of the abandoned church. Chinsun tensed as her tattoo tingled on her arm, the white lines becoming tainted into a deep black to signify the ferocity and threat imposed by the kumiho.

Jongin squinted his eyes, focusing on the single figure that was approaching. Baekhyun held his breath, his eyes widening in disbelief at the sight that greeted him. Walking with great elegance was a woman adorning a white dress. Her long hair flirtatiously danced in the air; her dauntingly large nine tails swung freely from her back, fanning out like a protective shield around her body.

The moment the kumiho stepped past the red threat, the golden bells rang, activating the trap and sending out static electricity into the air. The kumiho swirled around, the tip of her tail getting caught in the formation of the barrier and she wailed in pain from the zap of pain. Jongin took this opportunity to jump out of the window and throw himself at the kumiho with his trusted kīla pointed towards her. Unfortunately, Jongin had underestimated the fox spirit as she easily fended herself with the swing of her tail, knocking Jongin in the ribs and sending him flying back. The impact was brief but still caused damage as Jongin coughed up blood the moment he tried to breath.