He’s a Fox Ch 6

Chapter 6

The word “laundry” wasn’t exactly appropriate for washing a living creature, but there was no better word to describe the current situation. The way he was shoved into the bathtub, had water dumped over him, shampoo squeezed out, and bubbles scrubbed all over—it was definitely closer to laundry than a bath.

Before he could even recover from the water suddenly poured over his head, his toes were being scrubbed clean. Overcome with humiliation, the fox let out a screech. Up to that point, it had still been bearable, but the crocodile’s rough hands eventually crossed the line. The moment he saw the hand approaching near his groin, his mouth reacted faster than his head. Hohyun bit the hard fingers and then let out a loud wail.

Startled by the fairly loud sound, the crocodile flinched. He told Hohyun to keep quiet, saying if their young lady heard him crying, there’d be chaos—but the fox still protested fervently. No matter what, he didn’t want to be at this age, having someone else scrubbing such sensitive areas.

He tried to argue that this was going too far, but Hohyun was a fox and the other was a crocodile. There was a gulf between them as wide as that between reptiles and mammals, so the crocodile didn’t understand a single word of Hohyun’s whimpering protests. Naturally, the negotiation didn’t go anywhere, and both sides ended up just saying what they wanted.

“Kyiiiing, kkuung, kyaeng!!”

“You little brat, can’t you sit still? What if you pass germs to our young lady because you weren’t properly washed?!”

“Kkiek!”

After a tense standoff, the two finally came to a compromise—sensitive areas like the groin would be rinsed with the showerhead only. It was a hard-fought victory after fierce resistance.

For the first time since he was a snot-nosed kid, the fox had his entire body washed by someone else and was completely exhausted. Now soaking wet, even the little bit of fluff he had was all gone. Looking so pitiful that even someone heartless might feel sorry for him, the crocodile gave a small word of comfort.

“Uh… just hang in there a bit. Our young lady’s just really into black puppies these days.”

The time was around three years ago. The youngest daughter of the Beom(tiger) family had been born. She was a late child, with a 30-year age gap from the eldest Beom Taeryeong and 28 years from the second Beom Kangwoon. The age difference was enough to make people click their tongues and say she was more like a child than a sibling, but Kangwoon quickly fell head over heels for the tiny bundle of fluff.

Unlike the towering and intimidating eldest and second sons who resembled their father, the third child took after their smaller-built mother and was exceptionally tiny—small enough to be held with one hand. When she wiggled around and smiled the moment their eyes met, how could anyone resist? In the end, Kangwoon took his baby sister everywhere and gave in to nearly everything she asked for.

With the full support of her parents and brother, the spoiled child developed a personality where she had to get her way. She didn’t throw tantrums or swing her fists, but she would persist until things went her way. And starting last month, the headstrong youngest of the Beom family began insisting on something—she absolutely had to raise a puppy.

It wasn’t even a “want to” but a definite “have to,” and while it was bewildering at first, her caretaker Kangwoon quickly guessed the cause. It was because of her favorite picture book.

It was a story about a baby tiger who befriends a black puppy and goes on an adventure. She loved it so much that not only before bed but any time she could, she brought the book asking for it to be read again and again.

Seeing how she mimicked every move the story’s protagonist made, it was clear she identified with the character—probably because she too was a baby tiger. The “puppy declaration” was part of that. After repeatedly watching the baby tiger in the book make friends with a puppy, she decided she had to have a black puppy friend of her own.

There was no way a child who couldn’t even wash herself could take care of a dog. If they brought one home, all the feeding, bathing, and other bothersome tasks would fall on others. Besides, the family wasn’t even that fond of canine types. They tried to dodge the request a few times. Eventually, the big tiger, who couldn’t stand hearing his sister sing about woofy woofs all day, set a condition.

“If you behave well for ten nights straight, I’ll let you have a puppy.” He thought she’d give up soon, since she was always getting into trouble, but surprisingly, she behaved herself, and he had no choice but to surrender completely.

That long-awaited puppy-fetching outing happened this morning. They couldn’t just go anywhere, so they had planned to visit a store run by an acquaintance. But due to a sudden urgent task, only the security staff were sent along, and that’s where the problem began. The baby tiger, distracted by the novelty of the unfamiliar place, slipped away from the crocodile and wandered into a scene of a crime involving trafficking of beastmen.

While the crocodile went off to search for the missing young lady, leaving the pre-prepared puppy behind, Yuri ended up choosing a black fox instead of a black puppy.

Listening to the crocodile’s summary while being shaken off with a towel, Hohyun let out a strong puff through his nose without even realizing it.

There were more than a few points he wanted to argue with. It was one thing for this household to spoil their child—that was their parenting style—but how could they be so careless as to let this happen? When raising a child, the number one rule was to never take your eyes off them. Accidents could happen anytime, anywhere, and in any way.

Though he didn’t speak a single word, just looking into his eyes made it obvious how dumbfounded he was. Avoiding the fox’s incredulous gaze, the crocodile averted his eyes. Switching to a new towel to replace the one now damp, he vigorously dried Hohyun off and let out a sigh.

“Still… they did say you’ll be let go nicely if you hang in there a bit…”

The affection of feline cubs was known to be fickle. Just like the toys she had loved before the picture book that now lay forgotten, her interest in her puppy friend would inevitably fade too. If they had brought home a real puppy as planned, Kangwoon would have been responsible for it regardless of Yuri’s changing interests—but there was no reason to keep a beastman with an actual ID number around.

Of course, Kangwoon had never actually said he would let him go nicely, but since he also hadn’t said to get rid of him once the interest faded, it was more or less the same thing. The crocodile chose to interpret it positively and gave the towel a vigorous shake. With the rather strong hand movements, the fox’s body teetered and wobbled from side to side.

Even after using three towels, Hohyun’s fur still retained moisture and remained damp. In the end, they had to take out the hairdryer—something they’d avoided due to the noise—before the densely packed black fur finally dried into a soft fluff.

Having successfully completed the task, the crocodile picked up Hohyun in one swift motion and trudged along. This time, even before the door opened, it was obvious what kind of room it was. Amid all the grayscale surroundings, the door painted in a soft sky blue stood out—it could only belong to the baby tiger, the root of all these events.

The crocodile gave a very soft knock and opened the door. The dozing baby lifted her head with a bright expression. With her tail perked up high, Yuri ran over excitedly. The crocodile, as if it were second nature, scooped up the baby into his arms.

Perhaps just being held was enough to reach her limit, as Yuri let out a small yawn. The baby, whose eyes were smeared with drowsiness, whispered into Hohyun’s ear.

“Moongmoo, tomorrow you have to play with Yuri, okay?”

“Kki-oong.”

When he nodded his head while wagging his tail, she finally seemed reassured and returned to the bed on her own. Relying on the soft glow from the bedside nightlight, the baby toddled over, pulled up the blanket herself, and quickly fell asleep. The crocodile tiptoed out quietly.

The third destination was a room a little away from the baby tiger’s room. The crocodile set Hohyun down in front of the door and opened it for him. The moment he saw the inside, the fox was startled and fluffed up his tail.

It was a room far larger than even a 4-pyeong(13.2sqm) studio or the accommodations at the logistics center. Judging by the scattered dog toys and the cushion in one corner, this must be the designated dog room—but to give an animal a room this size? One couldn’t even begin to guess how big the house must be.

As expected of a tiger. Clicking his tongue in disbelief, the fox headed to a secluded corner and curled up. The dog cushion was too fluffy, so in his original form, sleeping on the floor was more comfortable. Lying down in the dark room, memories of today’s events flashed by one after another.

It had been yet another unlucky day. But at least it wasn’t the worst. He hadn’t died, after all. Being a victim of a crime once in life—just being kidnapped was enough.

He worried about the people back at dorm 7 and his family, who must be shocked by his sudden disappearance. Would it be too much to ask to make just one phone call? Though he could only let out pitiful whimpers now, they were all canids like him and would likely understand him without trouble. His body, tense until now, began to relax bit by bit, and he drifted into a deep sleep.

Thus ended the first day of entering the tiger’s den.

The next day at dawn, far earlier than his usual wake-up time, Hohyun suddenly came to his senses. Someone was fiddling with his tail. Before opening his eyes, the fox gave a quick lick with his tongue. His nose, dried during sleep, was moistened again.

He slowly opened his eyes to see a pair of bright, round ones staring straight at him. The baby tiger, dressed in a light, flowing pajama set, smiled bashfully.

“Moongmooie, good morniiing~”

Yuri let out a joyful squeal and hugged the fox tightly. The loud “kek” that came out was involuntary—her affection, expressed without much control over her strength, was a bit rough for his true body. Still, it was a gesture of affection, so what could he do? As he braced himself and let his body go limp to endure it, a large hand gently pulled the baby away. Lifted high into the air, the baby let out another loud laugh.

“It’s oppa!”

The large tiger had made his entrance.