He’s a Fox Ch 12

Chapter 12

“Juwon. Didn’t you say before that you knew a dog?”

He was referring to when, during a meal, Hohyun had mentioned something about a dog beastman after seeing him act stuffed. Since the topic had been brought up not too long ago, the crocodile could easily recall what was being referred to.

“Huh? Ah, yes! But why do you ask?”

“It’s nothing serious. I was just wondering if it’s normal for dogs to hide food at home when they get some.”

The crocodile, who had no idea that the fox—who had been unable to finish more than half the snack personally given to him and hid the rest in his room—had been caught red-handed by the tiger, hurriedly answered.

“If it were an actual dog, maybe. But if we’re talking about a beastman, absolutely not.”

The dog beastman he knew would sometimes have his instincts surface when drunk and lose reason, but in his normal state, he would never do something like bury food in the ground just because he was full. Unless it was an extremely young beastman or one whose instincts couldn’t be controlled, there was simply no reason for it.

No matter how beast-like they might appear on the outside, they were still social beings taught etiquette and manners. There was no reason to hide something when they could simply put it in the fridge.

Hearing this only made Gangun more perplexed. Then why on earth was that guy doing it? His gaze fixed on the ball of black fur. After recovering from his stomachache, the fox had been diagnosed with an eye condition, which was why he was keeping one eye closed and whining pitifully. And now, adding to the stomachache and eye condition, he had flawlessly pulled off a tail injury as well, earning high praise from the baby tiger, who had been both audience and doctor.

“Moongmoo* is sooo cute!” (*Korean baby-talk for barking, like “woof-woof.”)

The baby squealed and hugged him tightly, and the fox’s face was filled with pride as he licked the baby’s head. His commitment to this suspiciously realistic pretend play was baffling even to Gangun.

Of course, everyone besides the fox also poured their heart and soul into playing with the baby. The others were family—his younger sister—so it was natural for them, and the subordinates were employees paid by the employer to take care of the only sister, so that was understandable. But the fox’s case was different. They hadn’t even known the baby for long, so why go to such lengths? The more Gangun observed the black fox, the more curious he became.

As he stared, the fox, who had been proudly standing up, suddenly slipped. He had stepped on the bandage wrapped around his belly without realizing it had come loose.

This wasn’t just a minor misstep; he fell hard. The fox groaned in pain, flailing his legs from where he lay on the floor, checking whether his joints were still intact. It seemed like falling wasn’t exactly new to him. The crocodile muttered quietly, “Jeez, be careful, will you?” and Gangun silently agreed.

At first, Gangun had assumed the fox was just clumsy, but over time, it became clear that wasn’t the case. By the time night fell, the fox had already fallen three more times—once on the marble floor, once while climbing down from a chair, and once on a mat.

To prevent him from falling, mats had been laid across the entire hallway, secured firmly at the edges so they wouldn’t slip. The mats didn’t even budge under the weight of a massive bear, yet somehow, the tiny fox managed to make them slide with his little paws. It was beyond comprehension.

And the inexplicable accidents didn’t stop there. When the window was opened, sudden gusts of wind would blow dust all over him. When he went into the garden, he would somehow end up drenched by water.

Over time, though, the fox developed his own coping strategies. Whenever he walked over slightly uneven ground, he dragged his feet to prevent tripping. And if he did fall, he would immediately roll his body so his back landed on the ground, minimizing injury.

He dragged his feet so much that he practically swept up every speck of dust on the floor. His fur was so black that, rather than turning dark, the dust stuck and made his paws look white. The crocodile grumbled while washing his dirty paws, but the fox looked proud. Avoiding extra baths was, in his mind, a victory worth celebrating.

In addition to anti-falling strategies, the fox also devised a plan to avoid surprise water attacks. When he heard the sound of water, he would stealthily hide behind the other beastmen. Since they were all bigger than him and had legs thicker than his entire body, the method worked remarkably well. It was hard to believe this was the same creature who used to cower and flatten himself at the mere sight of a large shadow passing by.

Watching the fox hide behind others’ legs, Gangun could more or less guess the reason. In a place teeming with intimidating predators, a tiny creature like the fox naturally attracted hands wanting to pet him. It was clear everyone found him irresistibly cute, and it was impossible to stay scared under such circumstances. Bit by bit, the fox was adapting to life in the tiger’s den in his own way.

But the peaceful days didn’t last. Hohyun’s streak of bad luck, which had been quiet for a while, began to grow again. The incident happened exactly three weeks after he had first met the tigers.

When he opened his eyes that morning, the crocodile was nowhere to be found. At first, Hohyun assumed he was somewhere in the house, but even after breakfast, there was no sign of him. For someone who usually stuck to him like an NPC in a game, the crocodile’s absence was strange. Yet the two tigers seemed entirely unbothered.

The larger tiger blinked lazily, as if overcome with drowsiness—or maybe just not fully awake yet. Watching Gangun exude such a languid air, Hohyun tilted his head in puzzlement.

In a normal workplace, you’d assume someone was just off for a day if it was a holiday, but from what he’d observed, the people working in this house didn’t seem to have days off at all. Not only the crocodile, who was always glued to the baby, but even the other large beasts he occasionally saw never seemed to come or go like normal employees.

If today’s absence was really due to a holiday, that meant the crocodile got a day off only once every three weeks. If that were true, the owner of this house was a pretty ruthless employer.

Meanwhile, the fox sitting by his feet had no idea that Gangun was silently debating whether the master of the house was a heartless tyrant. Gangun continued to stroke Yuri, who was sprawled on his belly, absentmindedly. The baby would scold him with dissatisfaction if he stopped, so even while nodding off, his hand kept moving.

At that moment, as the fox pondered the unsolved mystery, the master dozed while stroking his sister, and the baby tiger purred in bliss, heavy footsteps echoed from down the hall.

The loud scraping sound accompanying each step made it obvious it was the crocodile. In this house, the only beastman with a tail long and heavy enough to drag along the floor was the massive reptile. Sure enough, the familiar crocodile emerged from the hallway by the entrance. His long snout was strangely reassuring today. Hohyun wagged his tail and hurried over to greet him.

The crocodile responded by ruffling the fox’s head with his thick hand. The slightly rough patting made Hohyun sway side to side. As he did, he noticed yellow fur clinging to the crocodile’s pants.

The only creature in this house with yellow fur at that low height was Yuri. So Hohyun assumed it was just the baby’s fur, but the baby tiger thought otherwise. Slipping eagerly out of her brother’s arms, Yuri exclaimed,

“Uncle Woni smells funny!”

“…Huh?!”

It was like being struck by lightning out of nowhere. The crocodile, flustered by the sudden accusation, frantically buried his nose into his arm, sniffing himself. But recognizing one’s own scent was never easy, so he didn’t notice anything strange. He racked his brain for possible reasons.

It had been raining a lot lately. While the others complained about the damp heat, for a semi-aquatic reptile like him, it only heightened the urge to swim. Since he was too busy following the lady during the day, he had snuck out to the pool at dawn. Maybe the smell of fishy water had clung to him then?

Hohyun also sniffed diligently from the side but couldn’t detect anything unusual. Then Gangun, who had been quietly resting his eyes since Yuri left his lap, casually offered the answer.

“Smells like a cat.”

“Ah. I must have run into one on my way in. Lately, the gardeners have been feeding them, so they’re everywhere.”

“…Kitty?”