“Hey, get lost.”
Arriving at <The House Where You Are> to buy Einspänner, Shim Iyul discovered a wandering ghost near the cafe. The wandering ghost, which had been drooling while stealing glances at Lee Jinkyung like a hyena spotting meat, flinched at Shim Iyul’s cold words then disappeared smoothly. Only then did he enter inside, and Lee Jinkyung greeted him with a smile.
“Welcome. Why didn’t you come yesterday? You’ll have an Einspänner today too, right?”
“Yes. I went somewhere. An Einspänner, a warm vanilla latte, and…… one iced Americano too, please.”
The vanilla latte was for Hanseong. The iced coffee was…… Eun Seonmyeong’s, and though he didn’t take his order, he was just buying it for him. If only he and Ban Hanseong drank, Eun Seonmyeong would feel left out. When there are three people, you can’t exclude just one person, right?
‘Because I’m a considerate fox.’
“Please have a seat. I’ll make them right away.”
Lee Jinkyung’s face as she hurriedly began making the drinks was brighter than expected. It seemed she was handling the death of the black cat bravely. Shim Iyul walked around the cafe leaving yogi in every corner. It was to prevent wandering ghosts from freely entering. The talisman would prevent them from trying to steal Lee Jinkyung’s body, but it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared just in case. During the alliance, he’d be stopping by almost every day, so he intended to protect Lee Jinkyung.
“Are you keeping the talisman well?”
“Yes. I put it safely in my wallet. Thank you so much.”
Sincerity could be felt in Lee Jinkyung’s voice. Shim Iyul just nodded once.
“Here are your drinks.”
Three drinks came out in a carrier. Shim Iyul handed his card to her, who insisted she wouldn’t accept payment.
“You even gave me a talisman. I won’t charge you until today. From tomorrow, I’ll charge you strictly.”
“……Then let’s do that.”
Shim Iyul, who ended up getting his card back, left the cafe and then opened his eyes wide upon discovering Eun Seonmyeong standing outside.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came for AS.”
Eun Seonmyeong cleared his throat and said.
“To Lee Jinkyung-ssi?”
“You even know her name.”
“I asked before.”
“You even call her Lee Jinkyung-ssi by name?”
What’s this?
“If I’m going to call Lee Jinkyung-ssi, I’ll call her Lee Jinkyung-ssi—what else would I call her? That’s what names are for.”
Shim Iyul tilted his head. Eun Seonmyeong’s tone, which seemed upset, was puzzling.
“If you know someone’s name, you call their name…… is that it?”
“Isn’t that obvious? What’s the problem?”
“I also have a na……”
“……What?”
“I should go in and see if the cafe owner is okay.”
Eun Seonmyeong, who had unconsciously been about to say he also had a name, hastily cut off his words and turned toward the cafe.
Damn, so what if I have a name? Was I going to ask the fox bastard to call me ‘Seonmyeong’? Why am I having such crazy thoughts so often lately?
“There was a wandering ghost lurking around, but I chased it away so it should be fine. But do you even make AS visits?”
“Thorough aftercare—that’s the Eun family motto.”
Eun Seonmyeong, who made up a non-existent family motto on the spot, gave his attention to the carrier in Shim Iyul’s hand. There were three coffees.
“Drink it. I’m paying back my debt.”
Shim Iyul took out the iced coffee and handed it over, speaking bluntly.
“Iced on such a cold day—real classy.”
“You also bought me iced.”
“That’s because you drink only iced every day.”
“Iced is the truth for Einspänner.”
Shim Iyul demonstratively drank the iced Einspänner and raised his head. Drinking cold coffee in cold weather felt like his insides were freezing, but it was still delicious. His face relaxed from happiness.
Eun Seonmyeong glanced sideways at Shim Iyul, who was happy over just one cup of coffee despite being a fox, then drank the iced Americano.
A cold, bitter taste spread in his mouth. It was the taste he always drank, the one he enjoyed drinking, but today it seemed particularly bitter. Maybe he’d already gotten used to the Einspänner after drinking it just twice.
‘Really, they’re staring so damn much.’
He always felt it when he was with Shim Iyul, but indeed a Fire Fox is a Fire Fox—wherever he went, he drew people’s gazes. That had been bothering him lately. Enough to make him want to get angry and tell them not to stare. Just as the glancing gazes increased and his mood felt like it was being hacked to pieces, his phone rang.
“Yes.”
His voice answering the phone was aggressive, as if revealing his low mood.
— CEO Eun. It’s me.
He almost let out a curse. When his mood was already filthy, it was Chairman Lee.
“What is it? How did you get my number?”
— I asked Police Commissioner Kim.
“Ha, Police Commissioner Kim……”
— More than that, I sent someone to your office, but they said you were on a business trip. When are you coming? I’d appreciate it if you could come to my house as soon as you arrive.
Unlike when he’d told him to kneel and he’d gotten angry and left, his voice was much softer. As expected, it seemed Lee Seonghun’s condition was getting worse.
“It seems you’re ready to kneel.”
— Must you really do that? I’m old enough to be your father!
“Whether you’re old enough to be my father or grandfather, if it’s a situation where you need to kneel, you have to kneel.”
At the cold words, a groan of “Keuung” indicating discomfort was heard.
— ……Come and take a look at my son’s condition. I’ll try to accommodate what you want as much as possible.
After a moment of silence, Chairman Lee slipped away like a snake and absolutely didn’t directly say ‘I’ll kneel.’ His intention to make various excuses and have him treat Lee Seonghun first, then change his attitude, was readable. Eun Seonmyeong twisted up the corners of his mouth.
“Let me at least see him.”
How far had it progressed? It was time to check how much time was left—he’d been thinking it was time.
— I’ll send a car. When are you coming up? I don’t know what it is, but ask for understanding on that side and even this afternoon……
“I’ll go in my car tomorrow morning.”
— Listen, CEO Eun. This side is urgent……
“I’m hanging up.”
Eun Seonmyeong cut off Chairman Lee’s words in the middle and hung up the phone.
“Was that him? The guy who tormented Hanseong?”
When Eun Seonmyeong nodded, a chilly smile spread across Shim Iyul’s lips.
“I’ll see a good show tomorrow.”
Human suffering was Shim Iyul’s pleasure. Especially the suffering of a poor-quality human like Chairman Lee was bound to provide very chewy pleasure.
Looking at Shim Iyul, who was excited like a child before a picnic, Eun Seonmyeong laughed briefly and said:
“I’m looking forward to it too.”
To the reunion with that bastard. He had high expectations for what kind of reaction Lee Seonghun would show when he saw him.
“Will you take the shaman tomorrow too?”
“……Tomorrow I’m just going to check his condition, so Hanseong doesn’t need to come.”
He planned to take Ban Hanseong on the day he went to exorcise.
***
“By the way, don’t we need to check if the boiler is working properly?”
Ban Hanseong, drinking warm coffee alone, asked. Come to think of it, he’d only heard the repairman’s words that it was repaired well but hadn’t actually checked. It didn’t seem like Eun Seonmyeong and Shim Iyul, who hadn’t even known the boiler was repaired, would have checked either.
“You confirmed it was definitely repaired, right?”
Remembering Han Seolju who had asked repeatedly, Ban Hanseong stood up. He thought he should check even now.
“It should be working. They said they repaired it.”
“Still, you never know. It’s the room our Fox-nim uses—what if it doesn’t work again?”
Ban Hanseong, who put down the empty cup after finishing, dragged over the indifferent Shim Iyul. Shim Iyul showed an attitude of whether it was repaired or not, then couldn’t resist Ban Hanseong’s urging of “Hurry!” and headed to the annex. Perhaps the repairman had left the temperature turned up—the annex floor was piping hot.
“It seems to be repaired well. It’s warm.”
Ban Hanseong, in a prone position, felt satisfied while feeling around the floor here and there.
“Right. It’s warm.”
Shim Iyul’s attitude, sitting on the edge of the bed and gauging the warmth of the floor with the soles of his feet, remained indifferent.
“Since it’s this warm, you’ll be able to sleep comfortably in the annex again starting tonight.”
“……Right.”
He was annoyed that the repairman came yesterday of all days. If he’d been there when they came, he would have bribed them to process it as unrepairable.
“Uhuh, nice. The floor should be warm after all.”
Just as he narrowed his eyes in annoyance at Ban Hanseong lying sprawled on the floor muttering like an idle person, Eun Seonmyeong, who had been standing on the veranda, entered the room and kicked Ban Hanseong. Ban Hanseong, who shouted “Ayat” while clutching his side, jumped up and protested, “Why did you kick me!”
“It was an accident.”
“An accident? A shiilsoo? Anyone could see it was deliberate!”
“You could say that too.”
Eun Seonmyeong answered nonchalantly. Seriously, who told you to talk nonsense? And why did you suggest checking if the boiler was working properly?
Ban Hanseong, whose only crime was telling the truth, clutched his side and moaned for quite a while.
“Why are you being so mean?!”
“Go home now.”
“I don’t want to. Why are you telling me to leave already? I’m going to play with Fox-nim, eat dinner, and then go.”
“Leave.”
“After I’m done playing, I’ll leave even if you cling to me not to go!”
Ban Hanseong, who snorted, ran to Shim Iyul and provoked Eun Seonmyeong, saying “Fox-nim! Later when gaju isn’t around, let’s order delicious food just the two of us and have fun badmouthing gaju.”
“Ha, when I die later, you’ll be bored with no one to badmouth—how will you live?”
“Th-then I’ll find other pleasures……”
Ban Hanseong stopped speaking mid-sentence.
“You……”
Shim Iyul also opened his mouth then closed it again.
“Me what? Why are you stopping mid-sentence?”
Eun Seonmyeong looked puzzledly at Shim Iyul, whose pupils were shaking as if greatly shocked by something.
“It’s nothing.”
Shim Iyul shook his head and bit his lip. Come to think of it, didn’t Ban Hanseong say that before? That the gaju of the Eun family had been short-lived for generations. He’d been forgetting, but as soon as he heard the words ‘ten years,’ he thought ‘Right. That hunter is short-lived,’ and immediately his heart became heavy. As if a heavy lump of metal had been placed on his chest.
Ten years might be a long time by human standards, but for Shim Iyul, it was a short time like an instant. In other words, it meant Eun Seonmyeong would die in the blink of an eye.
What did it matter to him whether a mere hunter lived or died? Even trying hard to think coldly, the stuffy feeling wouldn’t go away.
