‘Even smiling is a problem. He scolds me for acting coy at every turn. Life as a freeloader is pitiful, so pitiful.’
Shim Iyul, who was grumbling inwardly while rubbing the area around his mouth where Eun Seonmyeong’s hand had touched, tilted his head. However, it was puzzling that no words followed after that.
“But what?”
“It’s nothing.”
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing. I’m going to wash.”
Eun Seonmyeong, who stood up, opened the mother-of-pearl chest to get clothes to change into. The first thing that caught his eye was the knit Shim Iyul had bought him. The clothes he said he bought roughly fit as if tailored to his body. The color was also exactly his favorite.
‘He has a good eye.’
Eun Seonmyeong glanced back at Shim Iyul, who was muttering in a tone that said he didn’t care if heard, “Why do you stop talking mid-sentence? Making me curious. Really has a bad temper. I really hate people who stop talking mid-sentence.”
“I can hear everything.”
“I said it for you to hear.”
“When badmouthing others, it’s polite to do it quietly by yourself.”
“Whatever. I don’t need to follow etiquette. But, hunter you…”
“Me what?”
“Uh… it’s nothing.”
“Say it.”
“I said it’s nothing.”
Shim Iyul waved his hand at Eun Seonmyeong as if telling him to just go wash. Then he picked up the phone Eun Seonmyeong had placed on the desk and pretended to diligently read the webtoon again.
“Who was it just now who was grumbling that they really hate people who stop talking mid-sentence?”
It was the Fire Fox Shim Iyul, freeloading at Eun Seonmyeong’s house. Shim Iyul flinched and looked up to argue.
“You also stopped talking mid-sentence and made me frustrated! I was getting revenge.”
Eun Seonmyeong looked down at Shim Iyul, who was talking about revenge, with narrowed eyes for a moment before entering the bathroom. Hearing the sound of the door closing with a thud, Shim Iyul let out a groan. He had almost humiliatingly asked first, ‘Why aren’t you saying anything about last night?’
Of course it was good! I’m a Fire Fox after all! Since he mixed bodies with me, even if not now, as time passes he’ll keep thinking about it and want to do it again, but I’ll coldly refuse. You think I’ll make the same mistake again? My heat cycle is over too?
Shim Iyul, who snorted loudly as if for someone to hear, began focusing on the webtoon to calm his mind. But he couldn’t concentrate on the webtoon that had definitely been quite interesting. His attention kept drifting to the bathroom.
‘He’s washing for a long time. Is he peeling off his skin?’
Eun Seonmyeong, who had gone to wash, returned after a long while. Pretending he hadn’t been waiting, when he looked up, he saw Eun Seonmyeong wet with moisture. He was already quite handsome for a human, but perhaps because he was wet, he looked about 0.1 grams more handsome than usual. So he must have stared without realizing it.
“Why are you staring?”
At Eun Seonmyeong’s question with furrowed brows, Shim Iyul, who came to his senses with a start, turned his head sharply and said.
“When are you going to fix the boiler?”
“I made a reservation. But they said it might take several days because reservations are backed up due to the cold wave.”
When Han Seolju called, they said they couldn’t send a repair technician right away because boiler freeze repair requests were backed up due to the extreme cold wave. Han Seolju, who conveyed this, said with disgust, “I really hate this, but tell him to use the Sarangchae. I’ll go back and disinfect the entire Sarangchae. Every corner thoroughly. I’m good at disinfecting!” Only then could Eun Seonmyeong recall that the Sarangchae was empty due to Han Seolju’s absence.
“Then I guess I have to sleep here for a while.”
“……”
“You’re not going to kick me out, right? If I catch a cold…”
“A cold, for a yosu? You’re so weak. Who’s protecting whom? I won’t kick you out, so just shut your mouth for a moment.”
Because every time you speak, I keep looking at your lips for no reason.
“Now you won’t even let me talk?”
When Eun Seonmyeong looked at him with displeasure, Shim Iyul pursed his lips to make them very small and asked, “Did you eat?” At that sight, Eun Seonmyeong, who almost laughed, cleared his throat and answered with a straight face.
“Not yet.”
“Then let’s eat. I’m in the mood for Korean beef today. Normally I only eat two servings, but today I’ll order one serving for you.”
“What does this guy take me for, really? Order two servings. Grade 9.”
Eun Seonmyeong, who led Shim Iyul to a nearby Korean beef sirloin specialty restaurant after he asked if it was really okay, if he wasn’t overdoing it, that he could treat, ordered eleven servings from the start. Shim Iyul, who had declined saying “What do you take me for, a pig,” “no need to overdo it,” “I only eat a little,” devoured nine servings by himself as soon as the meat came out. He had seen it often, but it was still an impressive appetite. He wondered where all that amount went in that body that didn’t seem to have much flesh. Was it because he needed to absorb human vital energy but couldn’t, so he ate that much? He should look up the fox section of the yosu encyclopedia in the storage like he had thought before.
While walking home thinking such thoughts, Eun Seonmyeong suddenly furrowed his brows. Come to think of it, he had never said he’d treat, yet he naturally paid for the meal himself, which was absurd. Eun Seonmyeong, who was about to say something about how natural it was to mooch off him, just smiled when he saw Shim Iyul contentedly rubbing his stomach. Then he gritted his teeth in annoyance. There were more than one or two glances directed this way. It was something he always experienced when walking with Shim Iyul, but it didn’t feel good.
To shake off the glancing looks, he quickened his pace, and Shim Iyul, who had been following leisurely, hurried after him shouting, “Hey, let’s go together!!” The two practically ran home.
“I’m out of breath. Why are you running?!”
“Running is my choice, so why did you follow?”
“Because you were running, I ran along. Humans really have no manners. If you go out together, you should come back together.”
Eun Seonmyeong looked at Shim Iyul saying, “I ran to come together and it seems like the food’s already digested,” and without realizing it, reached out to pat his head. Then, surprised by his own action, he stiffened his expression and stepped back.
Shim Iyul was just as flustered. Opening his eyes wide and looking as if to ask what he just did, Eun Seonmyeong replied coldly.
“You’re always touching me, so is there a reason I can’t do the same?”
“Uh, no.”
“……”
“So…”
“I’m going to the study. You sleep or whatever.”
Eun Seonmyeong went up to the main hall and turned left. Shim Iyul, who had been standing dazed with his palm on the crown of his head where Eun Seonmyeong’s hand had touched, headed to the right of the main hall. Shim Iyul, who entered Eun Seonmyeong’s room, went to the bedding and sat down with a thud.
“Almost had a heart attack… My heart is properly attached, right?”
Shim Iyul placed his palm on his chest. He wasn’t quite sure, but it seemed to be properly attached since it was beating thump-thump-thump. Ah, is it the heart that beats? But why is the heart beating like this? The heartbeat was pounding so loudly that he felt like he couldn’t breathe.
***
The fifth village where he settled after wandering around following the loss of his mother was a small village that lived mainly by hunting and gathering medicinal herbs. The small village, which wouldn’t even reach a hundred people including newborn babies, originally had no wariness toward outsiders, and naturally showed even more excessive goodwill toward Shim Iyul. Among them, the kindest was Mr. Park.
The eldest son raised under a single mother, he had four younger siblings. He smiled innocently, saying he couldn’t even get married because he had to feed his mother and siblings, and his face looked particularly kind. He wasn’t a handsome man who would brighten one’s vision, but he had an appearance that seemed to naturally calm an angry heart just by looking at him. Not only his appearance but his actions were also pure, and his way of speaking was the same.
He rarely raised his voice and always smiled affectionately. He also cherished his family greatly. That’s what attracted him. It seemed like Mr. Park would never betray him. So he chose him as his companion, who kept hovering around anxiously unable to speak easily while showing his feelings of liking clearly on his face. After holding a wedding ceremony for just the two of them, they also set up a household in a remote mountain away from the village.
During the time they lived together, Mr. Park was consistently kind and gentle. He always checked Shim Iyul’s mood and tried not to say even a single word carelessly. Of course, they sometimes argued over very trivial matters, but they reconciled before long. The one who asked for reconciliation first was always Mr. Park.
Day by day, he came to trust him more and more, and gave more and more of his heart. After a hundred days passed, he was going to tell him about the ginseng field. He wanted to tell him that from now on they could live as rich people together. He wanted to tell him that he wouldn’t have to suffer anymore to support his family, that they could all be happy.
Shim Iyul discovered the ginseng field when he left home looking for the soul-returning stone. Knowing well that material goods were necessary to live in the human world, he bragged to his mother after returning home. His mother affectionately stroked Shim Iyul’s head as he boasted that they were now rich, saying, “Sometimes even good humans crumble before material greed. And the fewer people who know about treasure, the better. So only tell one person you can truly trust and rely on.” Shim Iyul chose Mr. Park as that one person. He was going to stay silent for exactly a hundred days.
Whether it was because of what happened with the first woman he had chosen as his companion, or whether he thought he needed a grace period to be certain of his second choice, he wasn’t quite sure why he set a hundred-day period. He just thought about a hundred days was necessary, and he was going to tell him like a gift on the exact hundredth day. He wanted to give wealth to the poor man.
And he was betrayed the day before.
“……”
Shim Iyul, who woke from sleep with a cold feeling due to the dream, saw Eun Seonmyeong in his eyes. When did he come? Since he had fallen asleep before he returned from going to the study, he couldn’t tell when he had lain down next to him.
Since two adult men were lying on a single-person bedding, their faces were naturally close due to the cramped space. Shim Iyul took the opportunity to appreciate Eun Seonmyeong’s face for a moment while he was awake. The face holding the moonlight that came through the window papered with Korean paper had clear contours. Perhaps because of that, he looked about 0.001 grams more handsome than when he came out after washing with wet hair earlier. He had a completely opposite appearance from Mr. Park, whose features had been soft. His way of speaking was completely different too. Unkind, cold, and ill-mannered.
‘But he’s still a human.’
One who could stab a betrayal knife in the back at any time. Moreover, this guy is a hunter. Not only that. They were just in a contractual relationship temporarily united due to a common enemy.
Shim Iyul thought, ‘I’ll never trust humans a hundred percent again,’ and closed his eyes. Then he sneakily burrowed into Eun Seonmyeong’s embrace.
I’m just using him as a 36.5-degree heater because it’s cold.
He muttered to himself even though no one asked. It felt annoying that the ill-mannered hunter was warm.
