Shim Iyul couldn’t last even ten minutes in the annex and slinked back over to the main building. Actually, he felt a bit awkward so he thought about avoiding facing Eun Seonmyeong for a while, but the cold wasn’t cooperating.
Even seeing Shim Iyul return, Eun Seonmyeong didn’t say much. So he decided to act shamelessly.
“It’s so cold I might catch a cold. If I catch a cold, you’ll suffer, so I’ll have to stay here until you fix the boiler.”
“Why would I be the one to suffer?”
“Since I’m catching a cold because of you, you’ll have to nurse me.”
The homeowner Hunter has an obligation to be responsible for the freeloading fox’s health. At his attitude that was beyond confident to arrogant, Eun Seonmyeong let out a hollow laugh. It was absurd, but he didn’t particularly kick out Shim Iyul, who tucked his frozen red hands under the bedding and made a droopy expression.
Actually, throwing him out to the annex with a broken boiler in this kind of weather would be a terrible thing to do. Didn’t the old saying go that even if you hate a fox shivering in the cold, you must provide warm sleeping quarters?
“Aren’t you going to buy that Einspänner thing or whatever today?”
“My regular cafe closed. They said they’re resting temporarily due to personal reasons. Haa, I need to drink Einspänner in the morning.”
Shim Iyul made a dejected expression as if he’d lost all joy in life. Then he looked at Eun Seonmyeong with pleading eyes and asked.
“About how many days is ‘temporarily’ for humans generally?”
“It depends on the person. Could be two or three days, could be more than a week.”
“Ah, no way! Absolutely not more than three days!”
He’d try his hardest to endure until tomorrow, but thinking he couldn’t drink it longer than that already made him depressed. Eun Seonmyeong sighed toward the gloomy Shim Iyul.
“Go to another cafe. There must be at least dozens of cafes nearby, what’s the problem?”
“I already tried another cafe yesterday? It didn’t hit my taste buds like <The House Where You Are>?”
“Coffee tastes the same everywhere. Stop being picky. It was just sweet with no real flavor.”
To Eun Seonmyeong’s taste, who liked and regularly drank Americano among coffees, Einspänner wasn’t good. Eun Seonmyeong cursed Shim Iyul thinking ‘Why on earth are you crazy about this stuff, what strange taste’ while drinking the whole cup. Even though he drank it all without leaving a drop, he still couldn’t understand its appeal.
“Sweet and bitter! That’s the charm of Einspänner!”
It was when Shim Iyul got excited and rolled up his sleeves as if insulted, though it wasn’t even about him. Eun Seonmyeong’s phone rang. After checking the screen, Eun Seonmyeong answered.
“It’s me. Someone came? Ha, got it. I’m coming now.”
After ending the short call, Eun Seonmyeong’s expression wasn’t good.
“What is it? Who?”
“Seolju. He says Commissioner Kim came to the shop.”
If it’s Commissioner Kim, that’s the guy who came with the father of that scumbag not worth even calling trash who tormented the shaman.
“Why didn’t he come here instead?”
“He seems to be planning to ask Seolju to persuade me.”
“Persuading you would be faster though? Prematurely-aged Han Seolju wouldn’t do something you dislike.”
The Han Seolju that Shim Iyul saw was a man whose head was full of loyalty toward Eun Seonmyeong. Such a person wouldn’t try to do something against Eun Seonmyeong’s wishes.
“You talk as if you know Seolju well?”
“I also have good insight. I can tell just by looking.”
Eun Seonmyeong shook his head at Shim Iyul’s answer, who never missed an opportunity to brag about himself when given the chance, and took out an outer garment from the closet.
“I’ll call a repair technician soon, so stay here today.”
“Even if you throw me out to the annex, I’ll stick here.”
He has absolutely no intention of shivering in that cold room. Shim Iyul pulled his hands out from under the bedding. Then after climbing up onto the bedding and sitting, he wrapped the blanket around his body. He didn’t just wrap it but rolled the blanket around his body like a ball. Seeing that, Eun Seonmyeong clicked his tongue and said.
“Don’t get fox smell on it.”
“I said my heat is over!”
“Are you sure?”
“I said so.”
“What ends that quickly?”
Eun Seonmyeong acted irritably. When Shim Iyul, who was about to lie down, looked up questioningly, he said “Anyway, I’m going to the shop” and quickly left.
What? Is he dissatisfied that it ended quickly? When before he was treating him like a pervert, saying he’d tie him up with rope, telling him not to even think about touching him.
“But why isn’t he saying anything about last night?”
Like it was good, or bad, or unpleasant, or ecstatic, or well… let’s consider it as if it never happened, or sorry for fucking you, etc. etc. Anyway, shouldn’t there be some words? Why does he feel so annoyed? The more he thought about it, the more fury welled up at Eun Seonmyeong’s attitude that seemed calm as if nothing had happened.
If you had the honor of fucking a beautiful, charming, and perfect fox like me, shouldn’t you be so moved that you prostrate at my feet saying ‘It was so ecstatic, Fox-nim!’?
“Right. I’ll also treat it as if it never happened! I’ll really completely erase it from my head, Hunter!”
Shim Iyul, who snorted and shouted, pulled the blanket over his head. The blanket was naturally full of the Hunter’s smell.
‘How can I properly rest covered with such a terrible blanket? Just try not fixing the boiler.’
Shim Iyul’s eyes, who was grumbling, flickered shut. Just as he was about to fall asleep, footsteps were heard, and soon the door opened. When he lowered the blanket to just below his eyes and peeked, it was Eun Seonmyeong. Shim Iyul quickly closed his eyes. Eun Seonmyeong approached near Shim Iyul for a moment and looked down, then placed something on the side table before leaving quickly again. Only then did he open his eyes wide and look at the side table to see an Einspänner.
“…?”
Shim Iyul sat up with a dazed feeling and picked up the cup to suck it down. As expected, it wasn’t as good as <The House Where You Are>. Hmm… it seems similar though. If <The House Where You Are>’s Einspänner is 100 points, this is 99 points.
“Not bad.”
Shim Iyul, who memorized the shop name printed on the holder, drank the Einspänner with a pleased face.
***
“Hahaha, CEO Eun.”
As he entered the office, Kim Intaek waved his hand with an awkward smile. Eun Seonmyeong silently sat across from Kim Intaek. Then he stared at him in silence for a while. Whether it was because his mood wasn’t good, Kim Intaek looked even more disgusting today. To the point he didn’t even want to converse.
“You came to try to persuade me through Seolju?”
“That was the plan, but it didn’t work at all.”
Kim Intaek shook his head. He’d thought Han Seolju would be easier than Eun Seonmyeong, but he was completely wrong. Han Seolju was an even bigger wall than Eun Seonmyeong, like an impregnable fortress.
At Kim Intaek’s words mixed with sighs, Eun Seonmyeong raised the corners of his mouth and sneered.
“There’s no way Seolju would go against my wishes. Even though we didn’t interact often, you’ve been watching me and Seolju for fifteen years, yet after barely less than a month…”
He swallowed the words “You don’t even know as much as the fox.”
“CEO Eun, please be understanding. Help Chairman Lee’s son.”
“Why should I? Would a precious person’s son be suitable for lowly me, no better than a shaman scrap?”
Kim Intaek flinched at the sharper tone than usual. Kim Intaek suppressed the thought ‘Young punk’ and forced a smile.
“Wasn’t your attitude rude that day? His condition is getting worse day by day, and every shaman they call shakes their head, so Chairman Lee is very frustrated. He’s the family’s only son for five generations.”
I know. I remember when Chairman Lee appeared with a lawyer in tow and grabbed Eun Seonmyeong’s collar saying, ‘How dare a lowly bastard like you touch our family’s precious only son of five generations?!’ That precious only son of five generations tried to harm Ban Hanseong, who is an even more precious only son. The Ban family has only one son for generations.
“If he’s that desperate, let him come back and ask very politely. Hmm, if he kneels, I might be moved enough to clear my schedule.”
Eun Seonmyeong leaned back and crossed his legs while speaking indifferently.
“CEO Eun! He’s much older than you. To kneel!”
“For such a precious only son of five generations, can’t he even do that much? Must not be that desperate then?”
“He is desperate. Right now that household is like a house of mourning.”
“If he’s desperate, kneeling before me should be possible. How precious could his knees be? I have nothing more to say. Either let the only son of five generations die, or bow your head to me. Those two are all the options I can present.”
“CEO Eun, don’t be like that…”
“Seolju, the guest is leaving, see him out.”
The moment Eun Seonmyeong’s words fell, Han Seolju moved. Kim Intaek, who had been trying to persuade him a few more words, reluctantly stood up at Han Seolju’s threatening attitude that even contained killing intent. Then he said “I’m leaving” toward Eun Seonmyeong who wasn’t even looking at him, and moved his reluctant steps.
“I watched until he got in his car and left.”
Han Seolju, who returned shortly after, said.
“I see.”
“Will that bastard’s father come and bow his head to you, CEO?”
“He’ll come asking to save his son. Whether he’ll bow his head or not, we’ll have to wait and see.”
Chairman Lee is an arrogant person who thinks of himself and his family as royalty or nobility. With that personality, it seemed unlikely he’d kneel and beg before himself, whom he considers lowly. But there’s no such thing as absolute in the world. There was also a possibility he couldn’t rule out that he might hide his resentful feelings and hypocritically plead for that only son of five generations he cherished so much.
‘I’m curious to see what he’ll do.’
Whether he kneels or not, I’m planning to do the exorcism only at the very last moment though. Let him suffer plenty until then. He should suffer as much as Ban Hanseong had difficulty to be fair. It was when Eun Seonmyeong smiled wickedly.
“Gaju.”
“…”
“CEO.”
“What?”
“Did something unpleasant happen? You seem to be in a bad mood.”
“No. Nothing happened. Go out.”
After sending out Han Seolju, who was usually obtuse but unnecessarily perceptive today, Eun Seonmyeong got up from his seat. As he walked to the refrigerator, sighs flowed out endlessly.
“I must have completely lost my mind.”
Whatever the reason, it was absurd that he’d overlapped bodies with Shim Iyul, a Fire Fox, but thinking ‘Then we can’t do it anymore?’ upon hearing that the heat period had ended—he was… no, definitely very crazy.
Not only was he a man, but moreover a Fire Fox. A yosu, not even human. The more he thought he should gouge out from his head that he’d explored his body last night as an accident, the clearer the memory became. The sound of breath pouring toward him, the texture of skin touching his hands, the body scent that incited desire. The hot body temperature was too vivid.
Eun Seonmyeong, looking down at his lower half that was getting stiff again without any integrity, gulped down Jeong-ansu. He intended to drive out the Fire Fox that had completely occupied his head with Jeong-ansu, but it was completely useless. Only the innocent Jeong-ansu disappeared.
“I should go to Jirisan soon.”
To draw Jeong-ansu. There isn’t much Jeong-ansu left at home either, so he needs to visit Jirisan in the near future.
“Fuck, a Fire Fox is indeed a Fire Fox.”
Seeing how he felt like he was going crazy just from overlapping bodies. He felt like he could understand the feelings of those who fall under a Fire Fox’s spell and live and die with lifelong anhedonia. Eun Seonmyeong, who sat with his butt on the desk, frowned.
‘Did I maintain my virginity too long?’
Should he have just enjoyed it after the surgery like Ban Hanseong said? Since he’s already lost his virginity, should he enjoy it promiscuously even now? If he plays around indiscriminately regardless of men or women, can he drive out the fox from his head? All sorts of thoughts come to mind. A Fire Fox was too excessive a stimulus as the first partner for 30 years of virginity.
Eun Seonmyeong, who had been pacing around the office while clicking his tongue, flung open the door.
“Seolju.”
Han Seolju immediately approached.
“Yes.”
“The boil… never mind.”
Eun Seonmyeong waved his hand. Then he waved his hand to tell him to go, then sighed and called him back. He felt self-loathing at having momentarily thought ‘Should I not fix the boiler?’ They say sexual desire is as scary an addiction as gambling.
Eun Seonmyeong shook his head and said in a strong tone.
“Seolju, the annex boiler broke. Call someone.”
“Yes, understood.”
After hearing Han Seolju’s answer of understanding right away as always, Eun Seonmyeong closed the door. He had a premonition that the alliance with the fox would become even more difficult in the future.
