He’s a Fox Ch 16

Chapter 16

Just once—please help me.

Unable to bring himself to actually scratch Kangwoon’s body, the fox instead tapped around the spot where the tiger was sitting.

Having watched Hohyun’s every move, the tiger set him down on the floor.

The moment his paws touched the ground, the fox happily bounded off toward the bathroom, then returned with a pair of bathroom slippers clamped in his mouth.

Since the wooden block wasn’t in sight, he had brought something else instead.

The words “Don’t put something you wear on your feet in your mouth” rose all the way to Kangwoon’s throat—

but thinking that the fox surely already knew that, he swallowed the scolding.

Well, there must be some reason for this.

The fox, having returned with a solemn expression, sat at the tiger’s feet and performed an odd little trick.

It was the “Act It Out: Telephone Edition” routine he had once shown to the crocodile.

Unlike the crocodile, who had fumbled a bit, the big tiger had no trouble guessing correctly just from watching the fox’s gesture.

“Phone? You want to borrow a phone?”

“Kki-aeng!”

Getting the answer so quickly filled the fox with relief.

Dropping the slipper to the floor, he began bouncing in place in excitement.

The tiger rummaged through his pockets—but instead of his usual readiness, they were empty.

Did he leave it in the study?

Clicking his tongue softly, Kangwoon glanced outside to look for someone passing by.

Sure enough—for Hohyun, it was a stroke of good luck—beyond the glass of the living room veranda, a group of beastfolk were walking by.

Striding over, the tiger exchanged a few words with them before returning, a black phone in hand.

“Here. Use it—but only while I’m watching.”

The fox’s eyes grew moist with gratitude at the unexpectedly easy surrender of the phone.

He wagged his tail so fiercely it made a breeze and bowed his head over and over.

He almost felt like kissing the tiger in thanks—though surely such a huge predator wouldn’t care for that.

Tapping the screen with trembling forepaws, he pondered deeply over who to call.

Not his parents—they’d panic before helping.

The eldest brother was preoccupied, worn out by his three energetic children—eliminate.

The second brother was tending to his pregnant wife—also eliminate.

His sister was the one most likely to get things resolved quickly, but… she’d probably “deal with” Hohyun afterward too—best to pass.

In the end, the only one left was his youngest brother—the most free and the weakest to Hohyun’s requests.

Resolved, the fox began dialing.

He had to use his forepaw just like before—

and this time, it wasn’t even a large tablet but a phone small enough to fit snuggly in a hand, which made it even harder.

Still, his accuracy this time was far better.

This was an opportunity that might not come again, and he was determined not to miss it—

even with round little paws, he miraculously made no typos.

If he’d been in human form, sweat would have been beading on his forehead.

Focused to the point that fireworks could have gone off in front of him without him noticing,

the fox carefully pressed each digit.

The tiger watched with deep interest as the fox’s forepaw trembled from how hard he was pressing, his mouth squeezed tightly shut—

like a hero fighting to save a world on the brink of destruction, though in truth all he was doing was entering eleven numbers.

Several minutes later, he finally completed his task and let out a satisfied “Kki-oong.”

His chest puffed out with confidence, fur round like a ball, he lifted his left paw high and, heart fluttering, pressed the call button.

Tururururur… the outgoing tone rang.

After about three loops of a familiar pattern the fox used to hum to himself, someone picked up.

[Hello?]

A bright, cheerful voice, as though life knew no shadows—his youngest brother.

In a rush, Hohyun blurted out the important part:

“Kking! Kkuuuu-ung, kki-ing, kkae-aek!”

Rapid-fire crying bursts, which, translated into human language, went something like: Bro—it’s me, Hohyun. I’ve been kidnapped by human traffickers!

He skipped over all the events in between, wanting to convey his current situation as quickly as possible.

In his mind, he’d hit all the key points—but the reaction he got was… strange.

[…? What… is this?]

The lively tone from seconds ago dropped instantly into something low and cold.

With that sudden chill, the call was cut off, click.

Of all the possibilities Hohyun had considered from the moment he got hold of the phone, this reaction had not been among them.

He stared at the screen, stunned.

The tiger, who had heard the other person’s tone even if he couldn’t understand the fox’s words, asked in puzzlement:

“That wasn’t someone you know?”

“Kkiiing……”

Unless he’d started cursing the moment the call connected—which simply wasn’t in the fox’s nature—then the problem was clearly on the other end.

Still in disbelief, Hohyun tried to call again.

But perhaps from his whole body going limp, his accuracy was far worse than before.

Missing the right buttons and whining as he tried to delete his mistakes,

he was finally rescued when Kangwoon took the phone, pulled up the recent call log, and redialed for him.

This time, the other party picked up so quickly there wasn’t even time to hear the outgoing tone—

and the reason became obvious from the irritated voice that came through:

[HELLO!!]

“Kki-kkook…”

[Hah… seriously… Look, I know this is voice phishing*, so will you stop calling? Unbelievable—using someone hard to reach to play games like this. Trying to make money off someone’s family—how does that feel? Let’s not live like that.]

With that curt rebuke, the call was once again cut off.

Staring down at the screen in front of him, the fox’s tail drooped.

It was partly because, while working, his youngest brother had been too exhausted to keep in touch often—

and partly because of the recent rise of voice-phishing scams, well-known enough to be on everyone’s mind.

And because his family had all personally experienced his misfortunes up close,

they were especially sensitive when it involved him.

An incident that might get only a mild “Are you okay?” for any other sibling

would often flip the entire household upside down if it happened to the youngest.

This habit of overreaction was why Hohyun had often waited until an ordeal was settled to tell them about it.

Now, with the addition of scam cases using AI to mimic the voice of relatives to trick families,

his youngest brother decided the call wasn’t from Hohyun at all—

but from a scammer impersonating him using an unfamiliar number.

To think that keeping things from them out of concern would rebound like this…

The dejected fox stared blankly at the phone screen.

Should he try calling someone else?

But what if the rest of the family made the same mistake?

The thought that this hard-won opportunity might go to waste made him sigh heavily.

Without thinking, his forepaw drifted toward his neck—

about to scratch hard out of sheer frustration—when the tiger, who had been watching the entire situation, swiftly caught it.

Fox and tiger locked eyes.

In those round eyes, sorrow swelled—so much so it looked like he might cry.

Feeling a sudden impulse, Kangwoon spoke:

“That collar—those slavers put it on you, right?”

“…Kkuung.”

The tiger fell silent in thought.

Until now, his reason for not removing the collar was to maintain control in case of unforeseen circumstances.

But now, that reasoning no longer applied—

and leaving it might only build resentment, which would eventually lead to needless problems.

The beastfolk trafficking den Hohyun had been taken from was run by someone Kangwoon actually knew—

specifically, a cousin who was an enemy of a friend.

They weren’t on good terms, but for that very reason, finding a way to remove the collar should be easy.

If he couldn’t manage it through a friend’s help, contacting the slaver himself was still an option.

The man was desperate enough to curry favor with Kangwoon that if he dropped a hint, he’d surely do something.

Of course, Hohyun couldn’t be left without any restraint whatsoever—some minimal measure would have to be taken.

Decision made, Kangwoon said:

“I’ll take that collar off for you.”

Releasing the paw he’d held, he watched the fox spring straight up in elation.

Take it off? Is that even possible?

Before he could even ask, Kangwoon added in a casual tone:

“But in exchange, you’re signing a contract.”