He’s a Fox Ch 10

Chapter 10

The fox trudged over and collapsed with a plop at the feet of the alligator standing a step away. Letting out a whining cry, Hohyun looked up, prompting the alligator to glance down.

“What is it now?”

Worried the tigers might wake, Hohyun whispered and tugged on the hem of the alligator’s pants with his mouth. He led the alligator to a desk nearby—he needed the pencil and paper on top to carry out his plan.

Since verbal communication was impossible, he would have to write. Hopping up onto the desk, the fox took the pencil in his mouth and began scratching out letters. After much struggling and groaning, he stared silently at the mess of squiggly lines on the paper. Even the author himself couldn’t make out what it was supposed to mean.

This wouldn’t do. Not even a professional handwriting analyst could decipher that mess. Stricken by the failure from the get-go, Hohyun groaned inwardly. He glanced around desperately, searching for alternatives—until his eyes landed on a tablet lying on the desk.

If analog failed, he’d go digital. Hohyun used his paw to urge the alligator to unlock the device, then tapped furiously at the notes app with his forepaw. But unlike fingers, paws lacked precision. After accidentally opening a few wrong apps, he finally managed to open the notepad.

He tried pressing with a single outstretched toe, even tapped with a claw. Still, the text was a disaster. He eventually resorted to using his nose. He’d heard even tongues could register touches—surely a moist nose would too. It worked, barely. Unfortunately, the accuracy was just as poor as using his paw.

[2ᅟᅥᆿ ㄹ훟ㅘ4존ㅅ사유]

Staring at the screen in dismay, Hohyun sighed. It was marginally better than his pencil writing, but still incomprehensible. Watching the fox’s relentless efforts, the alligator frowned deeply. He was clearly trying hard—but who could understand this?

Even that time he was buried in the ground with only his head sticking out hadn’t been this frustrating. The alligator pounded his chest, a dull thud sounding like a drum as his fist struck his tough skin. Was he angry? The fox, peeking up cautiously, soon set his jaw in determination.

He couldn’t let this fleeting chance slip by. It had already been a week since his last contact. His sudden disappearance would surely start to raise suspicions.

Ye family had witnessed Hohyun’s abysmal luck plummet past rock bottom for over 21 years. The moment they sensed something amiss, they would trace his last known steps—likely heading straight to his old residence. Eventually, they’d track him to the logistics warehouse and learn from the dorm residents that he’d vanished.

His aging parents might even collapse upon hearing their youngest son was missing. To prevent that, what he did now mattered.

As the fox whipped his head around looking for something useful, his eyes caught sight of a wooden block on the floor. It had probably been tossed aside by the baby tiger during playtime. The rectangular toy sparked an idea.

‘This is it!’

The fox rushed over and clumsily pawed at the large block, finally managing to lift it after dropping it multiple times. The alligator, observing keenly, wondered what on earth he was trying to do.

Due to his unskilled paws, the fox dropped the block several more times before finally bringing it up to his ear. From his slightly parted mouth, a familiar tune emerged—a ringback tone. After a short cry of “kkyung,” the fox began muttering to the block.

“Ki-woong, kkek.”

The sight was familiar, something any modern person would recognize. Realization dawning, the alligator clenched his fist.

“Ah! I got it! A phone!”

Hohyun nodded fervently, his expression proclaiming, “That’s the answer!” like a quiz show winner. The sense of triumph between them was palpable. But just as the alligator beamed, he belatedly grasped the fox’s request and shook his head.

“Nope, can’t do it.”

“Kkyaeng!”

“I know what you want, but I don’t have the authority. It’s a security matter. You need the boss’s permission.”

“Kkuung…”

At the firm refusal, Hohyun slumped. That was it, then. Fear aside, if only he could communicate, he might have begged with a sob story—but if he could do that, he wouldn’t have been miming with a toy block in the first place.

If it took this long to express just the word “phone,” how could he ever convey something like, “My parents will worry—please just let them know I’m okay”? If he had such a gift for communication, he’d have gone into interpreting as a career.

As the fox flopped to the floor, the alligator scratched his head. To comfort the dejected creature, he fished around in his pocket and pulled out a snack.

“…Wanna chew on some jerky?”

Looking up at the large piece of dried meat held near his snout, Hohyun nodded. After all that running in the garden and a round of vigorous washing, his stomach was completely empty. The baby had offered him a quail earlier during snack time, insisting he eat too, but he’d declined—he didn’t have the energy to chew something so tough back then.

Now, he gratefully accepted the jerky and gave a small cry of thanks. It wasn’t the alligator’s fault he couldn’t help.

“Kkiwoong…”

Even while disheartened, Hohyun’s politeness tugged at the alligator’s heart. He sighed and shook his head. Though he didn’t know the whole story, he knew where this fox had come from. It was that lowlife den that kidnapped beastmen and sold them for high prices.

Given his ragged condition, it was clear Hohyun hadn’t been on the selling side. On top of being abducted, he’d been dragged into a tiger den and mistaken for a puppy—anyone would feel sorry for him.

If only he could remove that collar. But it wasn’t hard to guess why the boss hadn’t said a word about it, making things tricky. From how he played so nicely with the baby without a hint of irritation, he didn’t seem like a bad sort at all…

The alligator resolved to look for an opportunity to at least mention the collar. Even if he couldn’t say it now, maybe he could sneak it in once the big tiger’s guard was down. Until then, the only thing he could do was rummage in his pocket and hand over the rest of his jerky stash.

Thanks to that, the fox received five extra pieces of jerky. Since they were intended for the giant alligator himself, Hohyun felt full after just one. Hugging the rest of the jerky in its pouch, he felt a bit more at ease.

He couldn’t finish them all, but returning them didn’t seem right either. It was a gift—how could he throw it away? As he stared at the growing pile of jerky on his paws, he slowly wagged his tail.

Maybe he should just hide it? Thanks to the baby’s habit of offering him a bite of everything, starvation didn’t seem likely—but one never knew. Hohyun never underestimated his own misfortune.

Looking back toward the living room, he saw that the two tigers were still sound asleep. He crept forward, and thankfully, the alligator made no move to stop him. He didn’t feel like he was doing anything wrong, but it still felt like something that needed to be done before they woke up.

Moving stealthily, Hohyun padded across the spotless marble floor, claws clicking softly. Since the doors all looked the same, he entered the wrong room four times before finally finding the one he had slept in the night before.

Nothing had changed since he’d left that morning. After a quick scan of the room, the fox lifted the dog bed and shoved the jerky pouch underneath. He then picked up the bed in his mouth and adjusted its position to hide the stash. A few nudges with his snout, and the concealment was perfect.

Unless someone got up close and sniffed, no one would know there was jerky hidden there. With his emergency rations safely secured, he felt a comfort akin to having started a savings account. Feeling satisfied, the fox left the room.

The alligator’s generosity didn’t end there. Despite his rough appearance, he had exceptional empathy. Every time his eyes met those of the skinny fox with visible ribs, he handed him food. On top of that, the baby tiger adamantly insisted during every snack time that this time, she must share with Moongmoo. As a result, Hohyun spent the entire day constantly chewing something.

Though he wasn’t in the habit of eating small portions, it was impossible to keep up with the digestive capacity of large carnivorous species. Inevitably, Hohyun’s secret snack stash continued to grow. But, as the saying goes, long tails get caught—his repeated trips to the room eventually caught the homeowner’s attention.

Unlike Yuri, whose happiness from running around with Moongmoo skyrocketed by the day, Kangwoon remained alert. He rarely left her side unless she was doing something inappropriate for her development or wanted to go outside. Consequently, he ended up observing the puppy next to his sister very closely.

At first, he’d paid no mind to the creature that cowered at mere eye contact. But the longer he watched, the more oddities he noticed. This black-furred animal kept disappearing and reappearing.

Given that there weren’t many places to go inside the mansion, it was undeniably suspicious. The fox came and went so quickly that Yuri never seemed to notice, but Kangwoon wasn’t so easily fooled. On the fifteenth time the fox vanished and returned, the tiger decided to follow him.