He’s a Fox Ch 11

Chapter 11

The fox, who had been reading a fairytale with Yuri, subtly slipped away and headed into the hallway. As a seasoned hunter, Kangwoon discreetly followed him. With footsteps that seemed oddly cheerful, the fox made his way to his own room.

Watching the fox skillfully nudge open the door with a front paw to create a slit before slipping inside, the tiger waited just a moment. After silently counting to ten, he abruptly pushed the door open and entered. Shocked, the fox sprang into the air like a coiled spring. It was an overreaction for merely being startled by someone’s sudden appearance. He was definitely hiding something.

The tiger strode forward and grabbed the fox roughly by the scruff of his neck. The thick bridge of his nose wrinkled, and large fangs emerged from his mouth. Grrr! A thunderous growl, far louder than anything Yuri could manage, resonated throughout the room. Squeak! The fox let out a short scream and shut his eyes tightly.

The cushion purchased for the puppy was unusually puffed up. It clearly wasn’t a paper-thin object causing that volume. When the tiger tapped the cushion with his foot, his eyes narrowed at once upon discovering what lay underneath. A pile of snacks—jerky and dog chews—was stashed there in abundance.

‘What on earth…?’

They weren’t costly gold items or watches, not even bundles of documents, but mere scraps of jerky. The completely unexpected discovery left the tiger speechless. His bright yellow eyes stared at the ball of black fur he had gripped, as though trying to comprehend it.

As the silence dragged on, the fox opened one eye and made eye contact with the tiger, who was staring back in bafflement. After observing his mood for a moment, Hohyun gave a small whimper.

From Kangwoon’s perspective, he had followed a clearly shifty fox only to find him up to something inexplicable, but from Hohyun’s side, it was like lightning had struck from a clear sky. All he had done was hide a few snacks, yet the person who had silently pursued him was abruptly threatening him.

“I don’t know why you’re doing this, but I haven’t done anything wrong.” His jet-black eyes, like polished pebbles, sparkled with an expression of injustice and sorrow. The tiger, who had been rummaging through the stash with his foot to see if anything else was hidden inside, was utterly disarmed by how harmless the fox looked.

The reason behind it, or why he’d collected such things, could be considered later. It was the sheer quantity that truly stunned him. Even squirrels hoarding acorns for winter would likely yield to this level of stockpiling. Looking down at the fox’s round little head, Kangwoon murmured quietly,

“…I don’t think I ever gave you too little food.”

After all, hoarding behavior generally points to a perceived deficit. Kangwoon mentally reviewed whether he hadn’t provided enough meat at meals, and Hohyun hastily shook his head.

It wasn’t just that he was receiving enough—he was getting far too much. The entire reason the treat stash had grown in the first place was because his belly was too full to consume it all. Fearing that Kangwoon might now decide he hadn’t been feeding enough and double the serving size, Hohyun shook his head so vigorously it made a swishing sound. More food was definitely not what he wanted.

Seeing that emphatic shake, Kangwoon easily grasped the fox’s intention. In fact, the fox’s belly had swollen so much, it looked like an overinflated ball. Anyone could tell it had far exceeded its proper capacity. His belly made it clear—this wasn’t a case of hedging against scarcity.

“Then why the hell did you do this?”

Looking at the slightly frowning tiger, the fox responded softly. Kkyoo-woong, kkung. He seemed to be eagerly trying to explain something, but as expected, the tiger couldn’t understand a word. Still bound by the limits of interspecies communication, Kangwoon finally put the fox down. The moment Hohyun’s four paws touched the ground, he praised the heavens internally.

I’m alive! Oh, the glorious feeling of solid footing—I missed it so much. While Hohyun joyfully tapped the smooth wooden floor with his paws, Kangwoon bent down and gathered all the scattered snacks together.

Snacks left exposed at room temperature could easily become breeding grounds for all kinds of mold. It was a clear hygiene issue, and there was no question they had to go. The tiger briskly walked over and dumped both arms full of the treats into the trash bin. Hearing the snacks cascade away all at once, the fox jumped in alarm.

“Kkyaang!”

He hadn’t even tasted those yet! Gourmet, handmade treats fit for a tiger cub vanished into the cold metal bin in an instant. As the memory of the printed price on the packaging floated back, he instinctively thought what a terrible loss it was.

As a modest citizen with a bank balance that could only be described as adorably minimal, he couldn’t hold back his pained and obvious expression of regret. Seeing that, Kangwoon unconsciously clicked his tongue. It was a habit he’d developed from scolding Yuri when she acted up.

“You can’t hoard food like this in some hidden corner. What if bugs show up?”

At those words, the fox mentally slapped himself. All he’d thought about was how dried treats wouldn’t spoil easily—he hadn’t accounted for insects. Seeing Kangwoon’s stern face looking down on him and offering a warning, he was reminded again that this man was, after all, raising a three-year-old child.

Seeing the fox nod as though he understood, Kangwoon’s previously stiff face slightly softened. Just in case, he placed the trash can somewhere high, out of reach of the fox’s snout. Now that the problem was fully resolved, the tiger headed toward the door, and the fox naturally followed behind.

In truth, he wasn’t following—their destinations just happened to coincide—but to the tiger, it looked like he was tagging along. Aren’t foxes supposed to be trickier and more cunning? Perhaps due to the good meals and rest over the past few days, the fox’s overall body line appeared unusually round today.

Staring at the fluffy back of the fox’s head, Kangwoon slowly opened the door for him. Even though he could easily exit on his own, the fox stood still and waited politely. Having raised a tiger cub who would abandon even her guardian in a second to pursue whatever plan she had, this kind of courteous behavior felt surprisingly novel and strange.

After all, just standing around like this wouldn’t solve anything—so they exited the room. While heading to the living room where Yuri was, Kangwoon kept glancing back. His expression as he watched Hohyun hustling to match his much larger stride was oddly curious. His gaze lingered on the fox for quite some time. Whereas before he had watched with suspicion, now it was more of a puzzled fascination—wondering just what this creature was up to.

The next day. From early morning, a downpour so intense you couldn’t see a foot ahead came crashing down. Even the weather bureau hadn’t predicted such a sudden deluge, and Kangwoon issued a no-outing order to Yuri.

Though the young child hadn’t grasped the gravity of the situation and resisted briefly, once Kangwoon opened the front door and had her stick out her hand, she quickly gave up on going out. The rain beat down on her palm like slaps, and she seemed thoroughly shocked. Even a feline child, who clung to her routine religiously, couldn’t deal with the sheer force of the storm.

Since her expedition plans were ruined, Yuri quickly adjusted her morning schedule, deciding to play in the living room with the doggy instead. With a plastic-and-silicone toy stethoscope wrapped around her neck, she showed up with a notebook almost the size of her upper body in hand. Over her frilly nightgown, she wore a white cardigan.

Just the previous evening, she had been glued to Kangwoon’s side while he watched the news, staring at the doctors on the screen. It seems she had decided to play doctor. Watching the well-prepared child, the caregiver ran a quiet hand over his face. The clothes looked familiar, and he had a good idea where they came from. It seemed his closet had been raided.

While the large tiger fretted over what his closet must now look like, the child got to work.

“Han-jabun*, please come in.”

At the child’s call, spoken from the chair, today’s patient walked forward—“Moongmoo-ie,” the fox. Yuri saw the fox sitting obediently and flipped open the notebook she was holding.

“Your name is….”

“Gguk-kkaek.”

“So you’re Moongmoo-ie. Age, um…”

The child pondered briefly, then used the pen to draw three fingers on the paper. A three-year-old who only knew that one number beamed proudly as she tossed the notebook aside.

Now that check-in was complete, the toy stethoscope would begin its job. It couldn’t possibly be working, but Yuri still pressed it all over the black belly with a serious expression.

“Moongmoo-ie, your belly is hurting, huh!”

There hadn’t even been a gurgling sound, let alone signs of pain, but the fox, quick on the uptake, immediately rolled on the floor pretending to be in agony. His squeaky cries sounded so real that the child was briefly startled, dropping the toy and checking him frantically.

Although the act was soon seen through and the examination resumed, Yuri gently tapped the fox’s belly a few more times, then began wrapping it with bandages using her tiny toddler hands. As hair poked out between the white wrap, Kangwoon sighed.

‘Who did he swipe that from this time?’

He clearly hadn’t hired anyone insane enough to give a child real bandages as a toy. That meant it was something stolen from someone’s pocket. Still, the fox obediently rolled his body this way and that at the child’s gestures, seemingly unbothered by being bound beneath the wrap.

Watching the fox pour his heart into playing along, Kangwoon finally turned his attention away and called over the crocodile who had been silently observing them from a short distance.

*Footnote:

• “Han-jabun” (한자부운) is a childlike mispronunciation by Yuri. It’s not a Korean word but a phonetically playful call, possibly meant to resemble an adult form of address like “sir” or “patient.”