He’s a Fox Ch 7

Chapter 7

 

 

Like a farmer harvesting radishes in the field, the large tiger picked up the little tiger with ease and blinked slowly. Perhaps because it was morning, he looked a bit more relaxed than yesterday. With his eyes half-open, Kangwoon muttered.

“Yuri, you have to eat first.”

His voice was dripping with sleepiness. They said nocturnal species are always tired in the morning, and it seemed tigers were no exception. Maybe that’s why it sounded more like he was talking to himself than to the baby. Like he was reminding himself that it was time to feed the baby.

It must’ve been incredibly hard to get up, but he fought off the drowsiness and the very first thing he did was make sure his younger sibling had breakfast—his dedication was truly admirable.

Perhaps eating right after waking up was an unspoken rule, because the baby didn’t protest. The tiger got up silently and began to walk with heavy steps. Thanks to the baby saying the puppy should come too, the fox ended up joining the procession. Hohyun cautiously followed the long striped tail.

Like everything else in this house, the dining table was unusually large. Surrounding it were several equally oversized chairs and one tiny chair just right for a baby. Sitting in her own chair, Yuri urgently pointed to the seat right next to her.

“Moongmoo goes here! Eat with Yuri!”

Hohyun quietly sat where the little tiger master had designated. Of course, the chair was too tall for him to climb on his own, so the crocodile lifted him up. Sitting with his front paws neatly together, he waited as a small bowl was placed in front of Yuri. Inside the bowl, decorated with cute patterns, was baby food.

The smell of the porridge, made with various meats and a bit of finely chopped vegetables, brought back a forgotten hunger. The fox, who hadn’t eaten a single kibble thanks to the personality of that dog beastman, smacked his lips. Would they give him kibble here too? Actually, would they even bother to give him kibble…?

With his stomach about to stick to his spine, this was a serious matter. As Hohyun was seriously wondering whether he’d get food or not, the baby tiger cleaned out the bowl given to him. Kangwoon wiped his little sibling’s mouth and stood up.

“Oppa’s going to go get some meat, so Yuri, be good and wait.”

“Okay!”

Having just watched the baby tiger polish off all her food, Hohyun couldn’t hide his shock. The bowl was smaller than an adult’s, sure, but it had been filled nearly to the brim. Wasn’t that enough? He wondered if it wasn’t too much food for the baby’s tiny body, but the big tiger, thinking it wasn’t enough, handed Yuri a huge snack just before leaving.

It was a processed bone snack made for young beastmen before their permanent teeth came in. Giving a hard, big snack to a teething baby so they could chew freely was something Hohyun had done before too, but puppies usually only got a piece a quarter of that size.

Yuri held the snack, nearly as big as an adult’s forearm, in both hands and started gnawing away. Her canines for chewing hard things were already quite large and sharp. Watching the little baby in front of him, Hohyun was reminded once again that this was indeed a predator.

‘Definitely a tiger.’

Hearing the crunching of bones, he could almost imagine the taste. The large piece of dried meat must get more flavorful the more you chewed, and the bone would release a nutty taste the more you gnawed at it. Even though he knew it was food made for babies, his body—starved for two days without a single kibble—began to drool uncontrollably.

He now had one more thing to do as soon as he got out of here. Dash to the snack aisle at the mart and buy all kinds of treats to stuff himself full. Just as he was making that firm resolution, his stomach growled loudly. Yuri, who had been chewing on the bone, perked up her ears at the sound.

“Moongmoo’s hungry?”

“Grk.”

Hearing that he was hungry, Hohyun’s tail wagged slightly at the thought that the baby might tell the adults and get him some food. But after thinking for a moment, the baby’s decision was a bit unexpected. She suddenly put the bone she was holding down on the table.

The crocodile, who had been quietly standing behind, flinched and quickly grabbed the bone. He was just worried about hygiene, but how would a three-year-old know that? When Yuri saw her goodwill gesture toward the hungry puppy intercepted by someone else, her eyes flared with anger.

“That was Yuri’s, and Yuri gave it to Moongmoo.”

“Well, you see…”

“Moongmoo said he’s hungry. If you take it, then Uncle Wonie’s a bad grown-up.”

Faced with fierce criticism, the adult couldn’t find a proper excuse and returned the bone to its place.

‘No! Dry it a bit more first!’

The fox looked desperately at the crocodile, but the cold-blooded reptile avoided his gaze in silence. The only person who could stop this stubborn baby tiger with his own logic was currently in the kitchen, preparing meat. As Hohyun was left in a bind, the baby tiger looked at him with expectant eyes.

“Yuri’s okay, so Moongmoo can eat this!”

Sorry, but that was a hard no. No matter how hungry he was, he didn’t want to eat something chewed, sucked, and bitten by a baby he’d only met a day ago. Setting aside the indignity of an adult taking a child’s food, it was just unhygienic… But the baby seemed full of determination not to take no for an answer. To make matters worse, Hohyun’s stomach kept growling noisily.

Just before Hohyun was forced to sacrifice his dignity, fortunately Kangwoon returned. Carrying a plate piled high like a mountain with meat, the tiger paused upon seeing the standoff that had occurred in his absence.

The fox, ears lowered in distress, the half-eaten snack in front of him, and the youngest sibling staring at the fox with sparkling eyes. Taking all that in, Kangwoon quickly grasped the situation. He approached nonchalantly and spoke to Yuri.

“Yuri, what are you doing not eating your snack?”

“Moongmoo said he’s hungry. So Yuri gave him yum-yum.”

“Yeah? That’s very kind. But it’s time for breakfast now, so let’s stop with the yum-yum.”

“Mm… okay.”

The baby quietly nodded at her older brother’s words. Thanks to Kangwoon’s skillful persuasion, Hohyun’s face brightened. As the fox raised his ears again, saying it felt like ten years were added back to his life, the crocodile swiftly cleared the bone off the table. This time, the baby didn’t say anything.

As soon as Kangwoon judged that things had settled down somewhat, he called over a beastman who had been waiting nearby and told him to bring another bowl, then began arranging what he had brought on the table.

The small bowl was placed in front of Yuri, the large one in front of Kangwoon, and the extra bowl, which came later, was set in front of Hohyun. Then he began distributing the meat in order. After filling the small bowl to the brim with meat, Kangwoon took about a third of the remaining meat and placed it in front of the fox.

The baby, catching a whiff of the slightly fishy scent, opened her mouth wide. Kangwoon pushed his own bowl aside for the moment and began tending to his younger sibling first. Hohyun, feeling like he wasn’t even being noticed, hesitated and glanced around nervously. Unsure whether he should start eating the meat he had received, he only took a bite after seeing the big tiger pick up his chopsticks. Having only eaten dried kibble for so long, the sudden intake of protein brought tears to his eyes.

And it wasn’t just a figure of speech—he truly cried. Tears streamed down the fox’s cheeks as he hurriedly swallowed the meat. Amid the baby’s munching sounds, a small whimpering sob slipped in. Hearing the sound, Kangwoon turned his head and clicked his tongue softly. As expected, seeing a creature barely half his size crying so hard that his eyes were soaked tugged at his heart a bit.

He couldn’t let the baby see that pathetic scene. Not because it was unsightly, but because who knows what kind of fuss she’d make if she did. Before the baby, who was too focused on chewing to notice anything else, could spot the tearful fox, Kangwoon quietly pulled out a tissue and vigorously wiped the fox’s face.

Surprised by the sudden scrubbing, the fox tucked his tail between his legs. But the one who wiped him down acted like nothing had happened and went right back to tending to Yuri’s meal. Since no words were exchanged, Hohyun also silently ate his meat. It had been a long time since he felt this kind of happiness, but the problem was the sheer amount of food.

True to his large and healthy physique, Beom Kangwoon consumed roughly 4kg of meat in one meal. So naturally, giving away a third of that meant the portion was massive. Hohyun’s weight in his original form was 7.3kg. Even if he had starved for days and his stomach was completely empty, there was no way he could eat meat amounting to over 15% of his body weight.

About halfway through, he was completely stuffed. He wanted to leave the rest, but if he did… In his mind, he imagined the house-sized tiger swinging his tail in displeasure. “I shared my food and you can’t even finish it?” A low, thunderous growl rumbled in his imagination, and his fur stood on end. In the end, Hohyun began forcing the remaining meat down with tears in his eyes.

As he crammed in the food, the fox’s paws began to twitch without him realizing it. It was a natural instinct of canines to try to bury leftover food for later. Watching in place of the older brother, who was busy feeding the baby, the crocodile’s expression grew peculiar. A dog beastman he knew used to do the exact same thing when he got full from drinking too much.

It was too painful to just let it continue. If the fox ended up with serious indigestion, that would be a problem. He couldn’t very well take a creature in that form to a hospital, and he definitely didn’t want to take a beastman to a veterinary clinic either. Quietly, the crocodile approached Kangwoon and whispered in his ear.

“Uh, hyungnim…”

Listening carefully to what the odd behavior of the fox might mean, Kangwoon calmly reached out and removed the bowl in front of Hohyun. Contrary to Hohyun’s expectations, he didn’t get angry, which made the fox breathe a huge sigh of relief. Since clearing the dishes usually meant the meal was over, the baby opened her eyes wide and asked.