He’s a Fox Ch 4

Chapter 4

 

She was a little girl with adorably tied twin pigtails. Was she around three or four years old? So small and dainty that it seemed miraculous she could move at all, the child was impeccably dressed in a little dress and shoes. Like a living doll, she gazed at Hohyun with sparkling eyes.

 

With a slightly unclear pronunciation but brimming with energy, the girl shouted with gusto and came dashing toward him. Her skipping steps overflowed with excitement. But as she bounced along, her form gradually shrank until she turned into a small bundle of fur.

 

Seeing the tiny beast pup clad in a now-oversized dress, the fox forgot he was running away and widened his eyes in shock. Fur in a tangerine hue close to yellow, marked with sharp black stripes—there was no pretending not to recognize it. It was a small tiger, its vivid patterns impossible to ignore.

 

The fox’s mouth fell open as he realized the identity of the esteemed guest he’d only heard of in rumors.

 

A tiger… the esteemed guest is a tiger?!

 

Since ancient times, the society of beastkin had always differed slightly from that of humans. As human society evolved and began to build laws based on concepts like human rights, morality, and ethics, beastkin society, both then and now, continued to place “strength” as the highest virtue. The strong devoured the weak. The survival-of-the-fittest principle had always been the ideological foundation passed down from their ancient civilization.

 

In such a society, being born with the traits of a carnivore was essentially a privilege that set one ahead from the very beginning. Herbivores were more numerous than omnivores, and carnivores were stronger than herbivores. Barring exceptions like elephants and hippos, the apex of the food chain was always occupied by large carnivores—almost like a mathematical truth.

 

Lions, wolves, eagles, orcas… and among them, tigers were undoubtedly considered the finest of all. Unlike other species whose hierarchical ranks shifted with the tides of time, tigers had never once lost their position at the center of power.

 

During his time at the beastkin auction house, Hohyun had encountered plenty of carnivores. To raise a sentient being as a pet, one had to be not just wealthy but obscenely so. As mentioned before, carnivores had the advantage when it came to acquiring wealth in beastkin society.

 

It had crossed his mind that the guest might be a carnivore, given how esteemed they were said to be—but never in his wildest dreams did he think it would be a tiger. One of the rarest species in the world, with fewer than a hundred believed to exist worldwide. His mind went blank.

 

The baby tiger came closer, approaching the stiffened Hohyun, who seemed frozen as though malfunctioning. The little one plopped down beside him with a soft thud. Then, stomping her feet, she began to babble incoherently—“mwoong,” “maeng”—in words unintelligible to Hohyun, a canid.

 

Perhaps she was too young to know that in order to speak to a beastkin of another species in beast form, one had to transform. Or maybe she had simply forgotten. Snapping out of his daze, Hohyun came to a realization.

 

The esteemed guest who was to visit was a tiger—meaning this baby tiger or her family was undoubtedly the one. There was no way a child young enough to babble had come alone, so either way, a guardian had to be nearby.

 

The fact that such an important guest was around—important enough to have staff on strict watch since the previous day—meant someone would surely come looking for her. And in Hohyun’s current situation, desperately trying to escape, that wasn’t exactly welcome news.

 

Still, he couldn’t just leave the child here. The place was being used as a makeshift storage area, with piles of cargo stacked high and broken shards of glass scattered about. If any of that were to fall, it would be a disaster.

 

Let’s just drop her off near the main road and keep running.

 

Hohyun gently bit the scruff of the baby tiger sitting beside him. The tiger, who had been busy wagging her tail and babbling to herself, froze the moment she was lifted.

 

Among felines and canines alike, young beastkin descended from species whose mothers carried them by the scruff would become docile when lifted this way. Crying or restless babies would instantly quiet down.

 

Thanks to this, childcare difficulty had a way of being slightly lowered. The fox, who had benefited from this more than once, thought of his nieces and nephews back home and began walking carefully. He spotted the tiny shoe that had fallen off when the baby transformed, lying on the floor, but having no hands free to grab it, he gave up neatly.

 

Even as a child, she was quite large, likely because of her species. Carrying a baby that was half his size with his mouth made his gums ache. Just walking was hard enough—if he had to run, he’d probably bid his teeth farewell. But this was no time to worry about that. At least no one was around to see. If he also had to dodge people’s gazes right now, he’d simply give up altogether.

 

The tiger swayed gently in his grip, her tail occasionally flicking. Just then, the fox’s perked ears whipped sideways. He heard the sound of something heavy running in their direction.

 

Human traffickers? Bracing himself to lose a few teeth, Hohyun prepared to bolt when a massive figure emerged. A long, thick snout, sharp teeth visible even with his mouth closed, and rugged, scale-covered skin—an enormous crocodile beastkin appeared. The fearsome-looking crocodile widened his eyes upon seeing the baby tiger dangling from Hohyun’s mouth.

 

“Young Miss!!”

 

There were three beings in the scene: a huge crocodile, a scruffy fox, and a tiger in a dress. Among them, the only one who could be addressed as “Young Miss” was this tiny little one. The crocodile’s loud exclamation seemed like a lucky break. Figuring this man must be her guardian, Hohyun prepared to drop the baby and bolt—but the man, rushing in with the force of a freight train, scooped up the child and kicked Hohyun away in one smooth motion.

 

Though it seemed like the man had meant only to push him, the momentum from running had turned it into more of a kick than a nudge. Struck out of nowhere, the fox tumbled with a pitiful “yelp,” rolling weakly along the ground. The baby tiger, witnessing this, cried out loudly.

 

“Moongmoo!”

 

Instantly transforming into her humanoid form, the young tiger lady burst into rage, her fluffy paw swinging down with fury. Sharp claws emerged from her soft fingertips, raking across the man’s face. The poor crocodile, whose only crime was removing an unknown creature from the Young Miss for her safety, now had fine scratch lines across his scaly cheek.

 

“Gyaaah!”

 

“Are you hurt? Why were you with that dirty beast?” the crocodile began asking, only to scream in pain. His thick hide barely showed any damage, but the expression on his face was one of utter shock as he dropped to the ground.

 

“The Young Miss… actually used her claws on me…”

 

Muttering on the floor, he looked absolutely pitiful. The baby tiger, who had just smacked down a massive reptile, huffed and let out a growl meant to be threatening. But with her tiny body, it came out as more of a “wuooong” than a true “grrr.” She even hissed silently once, then flailed hard.

 

“Put me down!”

 

Her wrathful expression clearly warned she wouldn’t sit still unless released, and with a defeated look, the crocodile gently set her down. The moment her feet hit the floor, the baby tiger dashed to the fox and wrapped him in a tight hug. Wearing a solemn expression, she made a grand declaration.

 

“Moongmoonie, Yuri will protect you.”

 

No, really, it’s fine. I’ll just go home now… Hohyun desperately wanted to refuse, but all that escaped his mouth was a pitiful whimper. Seeing how miserable he looked only seemed to strengthen the child’s resolve.

 

Damn this collar!

 

Realizing communication had failed, Hohyun scratched furiously at the collar with his hind paw. The internal needles jabbed into his skin, causing pain he already knew would come—but he was just that frustrated. Despite the harsh scraping, the collar held firm, as always. It was enough to drive him mad.

 

Trying to slip away from the baby tiger, Hohyun was suddenly scooped up again—this time by the crocodile, who had also picked up the child. Figuring the girl might throw a fit if he didn’t also carry the fox she’d taken a liking to, the crocodile decided to bring both. Of course, he couldn’t let some filthy stray remain close to his Young Miss forever, so he carried one in each arm.

 

His judgment was apparently correct, as this time, the baby tiger snuggled in quietly. Unfortunately, Hohyun’s opinion wasn’t considered at all. Caught completely off guard, his ears folded back in distress. Clutched in a forearm thicker than his torso, the fox was taken off to who-knew-where.

 

The crocodile, unable to mask his gloomy expression, boarded a car with the unfamiliar fox and the Young Miss in his arms. Even to Hohyun, who knew nothing about cars, it looked expensive. The engine started, and the baby tiger, now cheerful, began to chatter excitedly.

 

Pretty flowers, I like butterflies, do you like Moongmoo too?—those kinds of things. The collar kept him from answering, but ignoring her wasn’t an option either, especially with the crocodile watching.

 

Conscience also played a part. Ignoring the innocent child’s questions made him feel guilty. So Hohyun, doing the best he could within his limits, responded earnestly. Though his replies were just a series of “kkyuu,” “kaeng,” “kkeaeng”—sounds no one present could understand—they were enough to satisfy the young tiger. The more one-sided the conversation became, the stiffer the striped tail sticking out from under her dress stood.

 

Eventually, overwhelmed by emotion, the baby transformed again. Her rumbling purrs echoed loudly, the kind that would bring a smile to anyone listening—but Hohyun’s complexion only grew paler.

 

Inside his round head, a storm of thoughts brewed. Should he have just run the moment he first saw the baby? But the place had been filled with obvious hazards. No matter how much of a stranger she was, no decent person could leave such a young child alone in a place like that.

 

Yes, I just did what I had to. I did nothing wrong!

 

His drooping tail lifted again. Hohyun raised his head, resolute, the very picture of a man with a clear conscience. And then—one hour and twenty-nine minutes later—when he met the child’s guardian, all that confidence shattered to the ground.

 

After a long ride, they arrived at a mansion so grand it left him speechless. It wasn’t about the number of floors—it was just massive. Compared to an average house, even the front door seemed 1.5 times bigger. Hohyun felt overwhelmed just looking at it.

 

Unaware of the fox’s shriveling spirit, the crocodile strode confidently inside. As they passed through a long corridor and entered an unfamiliar room, Hohyun understood why the house had to be so large.

 

The first thing to catch his eye was a pair of golden-yellow eyes. The contrast between the iris and pupils was unnaturally distinct. Over dark orange fur that bordered on brown, bold black stripes were sharply visible. The towering figure, easily over two meters tall, wore clothes that made it clear this was not a wild beast but a sentient beastkin.

 

With a homeowner that size, the oversized front door now made sense. If Hohyun had seen this scene on a screen, he might’ve admired how cool it looked. But right now, there was no screen between them—only bare, raw presence. The fox trembled and flattened himself to the floor.

 

And yet, to stand against this overwhelming beast—a true lionhearted warrior emerged: the baby tiger, all 35.4 centimeters of her. So tiny she didn’t even look like the same species, she marched forward and shouted loudly.

 

“Mwaoong!”

 

The adult tiger furrowed his brow. Whatever the baby had said, his expression made it clear it wasn’t something pleasant. His thick tail, as wide as a human forearm, swished irritably. From the look of it, he was in a very bad mood, and Hohyun quickly grasped the situation.

 

In short, it was like this: a child had picked up a stray animal from the street and brought it home. The guardian was not pleased. Understandably so—no one welcomes an unexpected resident without prior notice. But the real problem was…

 

I’m the stray she picked up.

 

The tiger’s stare was so intense it felt like his skin was burning. There wasn’t a soul alive who wouldn’t be afraid under the gaze of a large carnivore. Hohyun certainly wasn’t one of the exceptions. At this moment, only one thought echoed in his mind:

 

Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying.

 

Name: Ye Hohyun. Age: 21. Special status: On the verge of being forcibly relocated into a tiger’s den. The fox, now about to be hired as a pet on short notice, whimpered miserably. A truly pitiful sight.