A New Variable Emerges as the Eight-Tailed Fox Appears Before Kim Hye-yoon No Tail to Tell Faces a Dramatic Shift in Fate

A new presence capable of overturning destiny has emerged in the SBS Friday–Saturday drama No Tail to Tell. The being in question is an eight-tailed fox known as the Palmiho.

In episode five, which aired on January 30, Eun-ho, played by Kim Hye-yoon, and Kang Si-yeol, played by Lomon, climb the mountain once again in search of another nine-tailed fox. Standing before them is a mysterious woman who looks exactly like Geum-ho, portrayed by Lee Si-woo. She introduces herself as a fox cultivating spiritual discipline in the mountains, only for the shocking truth to be revealed. She is an eight-tailed fox, the Palmiho.

Photo by No Tail to Tell

Earlier, Eun-ho is gripped by anxiety after dreaming of Kang Si-yeol being stabbed in the chest on a ranch road. Suspecting it may be a prophetic dream, she nevertheless tries to dismiss it as nothing more than a nightmare, reminding herself that she has already become human. Spending the night together at a lodge at the foot of the mountain, the two gradually open up to one another and grow closer. Yet fate soon begins to veer in an unexpected direction.

The next day, fully equipped, Eun-ho and Kang Si-yeol head back into the mountains but lose their way on the rugged terrain. Their phone battery dies, and even their map goes missing. To make matters worse, Kang Si-yeol tumbles down a slope and injures his ankle. At the moment of crisis, a woman appears, asking, “Shall I help you?” She is the Palmiho.

Seeing the same face as Geum-ho, Eun-ho bursts into tears, but the Palmiho reacts with innocent confusion, as if she knows nothing. Overcome with a mix of emptiness and anger, Eun-ho walks away and vents her emotions toward the sky at the edge of a cliff.

The three later gather inside a fox cave. Kang Si-yeol confesses that he deliberately sought out the Palmiho in hopes of borrowing her power to reverse fate. However, her abilities are limited to healing his injured leg and lighting a fire. Declaring, “I am not a nine-tailed fox. I am an eight-tailed fox,” she admits that she has not yet reached a level capable of changing human destiny. Instead, she reveals her own desire to become human as soon as possible, just like Geum-ho, stirring complex emotions within Eun-ho.

Several days later, upon returning home, Eun-ho and Kang Si-yeol are confronted by an unexpected figure, Hyun Woo-seok, played by Jang Dong-joo. Fearing that the Palmiho’s clumsy magic might reset fate, he rushes back from the United Kingdom. He offers Kang Si-yeol a belated apology and asks to remain like this for just one more week. Kang Si-yeol replies, “Do whatever you want,” heightening the subtle tension between them.

At the decisive moment, the Palmiho once again becomes a variable. She reveals that she has discovered a way for Eun-ho to return to being a nine-tailed fox and for Kang Si-yeol to reclaim his original destiny. Sensing something ominous, Hyun Woo-seok realizes the gravity of the situation as the atmosphere among the three shifts abruptly.

The episode also depicts Lee-yoon, played by Choi Seung-yoon, recalling memories of a traffic accident from nine years earlier. Upon realizing that Kang Si-yeol was the victim of that accident, Lee-yoon begins to dig into his past, foreshadowing yet another looming crisis.

Episode six of No Tail to Tell airs tonight, January 31, at 9:50 p.m. on SBS.

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