Pandora's Box (The Legend of the Magical Storybook)

The Power of the Sun & Moon

Moon Shindal was supposed to be the subject drained of life by the first gumiho, Min Gyohan. But he had thwarted her and it wasn't soon after that Dal Luna gifted him a magical storybook of which contained the story origin of the wicked fox with nine-tails.

She gave this book the name "Pandora's Box," which symbolized the curse connected with it.

The spirit of the moon told him to keep the book safe within the palace's grand library. She could not stay with him, as he needed to rule the kingdom now. However, the book contained the curse put upon the gumiho by them, entrapping her spirit within the confines of the ghost forest, Gwisinsup.

However, one morning, Moon Shindal, now king of Dal Wang-gug, worried that the gumiho would eventually find a way to get free. A thought hatched in his mind and blossomed into him rushing down to the grand library.

He found and snatched the magical storybook and cracked it open to the first empty page he could find after Dal Luna's story.

Then he unearthed a pen and put it to the book.

He thought that maybe he could either write about helpers that would aid in protecting him or draw Dal Luna to him so that he could express his fears to her and they could talk about what to do.

But, when the pen touched the paper, a swirl of sparkling magic soared out, whipped around his hand and caused it to glow.

The thoughts within his mind were quickly inscribed upon the blank paper - words that formed:

"Moon Shindal worried that the gumiho would break the curse and find a way to come after him. So he needed help."

Shindal looked around him, shrugged and wrote more. He created mythical beast after mythical beast.

He made the daekkabi. A trickster goblin creature that would guard the drawbridge and entrance to the kingdom of the moon.

He made the daltokki. A selfless, sacrificing rabbit that drew on the energy of the moon.

He made the chollima, fearless winged steeds and kirin, who would be loyal and faithful. He also made the royal guardian haetae (or haechi), a chimera-like beast that sat outside of the palace's doors.

Shindal even thought up the fearsome dragons, thinking that they would protect Dal Wang-gug as well. The gangcheori and imugi.

And finally, he created another character. His plan was to craft the mighty fifth king of Hell, ruler of the realm of darkness, Gamangnara. He was meant to punish the gumiho, should she happen to escape.

But...all that was written from Shindal was:

"The mighty fifth king of Hell, ruler of the realm of darkness, Gamangnara, Yunma was created."

And that is all...for it was then that Dal Luna came to discover that Moon Shindal, King of Dal Wang-gug and precious blessed moonchild was found lying on the floor of the library. He'd suffered a fatal heart attack.

The magical storybook, lying by his hand.

Dal Luna closed the book, not bothering to look at the contents and shoved it back into the slot in the shelf, where it would remain until Princess Soogook, an ancestor in the future of Moon Shindal's family would stumble upon it with Jeong Jinho.

After all, Dal Luna was busy. She and her sister, the spirit of the sun, Sol Sunhae had to work tirelessly to thwart the ridiculous and insane attempts to steal them to bring light to the Realm of Darkness by Yunma's pet hellhounds, bulgae.