He’s a Fox Ch 21

Chapter 21

“Oh, so you’re the one…”

The part he’d left hanging in the air bothered Hohyun. “The one”?

It wasn’t the sort of phrase you could easily use for someone you were meeting for the first time.

It felt like the other person already knew something about him—so what exactly had he heard that made him put it that way?

Fortunately, the man was a fellow canid, which meant Hohyun could communicate with simple whines and yips.

Ears perked sharply, he was just about to ask—

—but the baby pounced in first, her voice full of pride as she gave the simplest possible introduction.

“Hyunie-uncle, this is Moongmooni!”

“Your name is Moongmooni? That’s… unusual.”

“Nooo, Moongmoo!”

“Moong…?”

“Moong! Moo-ni!”

Even after repeating herself several times, it was clear the man still wasn’t getting it.

Puffing out her cheeks in frustration, she thumped her little fists against her chest—not in anger, but in sheer exasperation.

It was undeniably cute, though Hohyun worried she might actually run out of breath at this rate.

With a soft murmur, the fox offered a hint.

“Kki-woong-aek.”

“…Ahhh—Moongmoo!*”

“Yes! That’s right!”

The satisfied curve of her lips in that moment made Hohyun think of Kangwoon—

the way she lifted just one corner of her mouth was exactly like the tiger’s smirk two days ago.

For all their differences in features, it was uncanny.

The fox and the unnamed beastman both smiled warmly at the excited cub.

Then, still chuckling, the man tilted his head.

“But… why is your name ‘Moongmoo’?”

“Uh…”

A muzzle far longer than a dog’s, a luxuriously full tail, pupils with pointed slits—

there stood a fox that looked nothing like a puppy.

It was only natural to wonder why he would be called “Moongmoo,”

but to the child, the question seemed like the biggest intellectual puzzle in the world.

Her features grew grave, as if contemplating a global riddle.

Seeing she clearly had no idea what he actually meant, the man quickly took back the question.

“Sorry—uncle asked something silly. Plenty of people name their dogs ‘Choco,’ so why couldn’t a fox be named ‘Moongmoo,’ right?”

“He’s not a fox! Moongmoo is Moongmooni.”

“Right, right—Moongmoo.”

He nodded obediently at her firm insistence, as one long familiar with the iron will of the Beom family’s youngest.

Sliding sideways to avoid blocking her on the floor, the guest smoothly shifted the topic.

“Princess, can you go tell your brother that Hyunie-uncle’s here? I’ll wait in the living room.”

“Mm! Okay!”

Mission accepted, the little one darted away down the hall.

Hohyun followed—not keen on being left alone with someone he’d just met.

The young tiger’s brother was in his study, handling business matters that morning,

and they were barely halfway to the door when the sound of pounding footsteps reached them.

Sensing it, Kangwoon emerged from the room.

“Oppa!”

In her haste to reach him, the cub tripped over her own feet.

Even with the soft mat beneath her, the fall was hard—enough to make the fox let out a sharp “Kkaek!” in alarm.

The others, however, remained perfectly calm.

The tiger said nothing, simply waiting for her to get up.

With the same wordless resolve, the little one bounced back to her feet and jumped into her brother’s arms.

“Y’know, Hyunie-uncle’s here.”

“Hyunseok Kim? …He said he’d be here in the afternoon.”

Hearing about the visitor, Kangwoon hefted the cub easily with one arm—

and then abruptly stopped in mid-step.

Glancing down at the black-furred figure on the floor watching him, he scooped the fox up with his free hand.

He’d been handling the action of lifting him—hand sliding under the belly—so often lately that both movements and grip had grown natural.

The fox, for his part, relaxed into it without the slightest tension.

In the living room, the wolf sitting on the sofa opened his mouth wide in amusement when he saw not just the cherished little sister, but also a fox cradled so casually in the tiger’s other arm.

The sibling he expected—the fox, not at all.

And judging by the way the fox hung there without a hint of unease, this clearly wasn’t a first.

Grinning broadly, the wolf waved.

“Long time no see, President Beom.”

“Don’t start with ‘President.’ What I asked for—?”

“Of course I brought it. Do you know how much trouble it was? Kim Kyung-seok, that bas— I mean, that guy made such a fuss.”

Mid-slip, the wolf clamped down on the curse, having caught eyes with the bright little cub.

His tone warped awkwardly as he sent an urgent look to the overprotective brother—

Is this safe for kids to hear?

The item in question was necessary to keep his promise to the fox: removing the collar.

It so happened that the tool was in the possession of a human trafficker—the wolf’s cousin—

and he had brought it at Kangwoon’s request.

The collar could be taken off without issue, but it was a nasty piece of work lined with inward-facing needles.

After a moment’s thought, Kangwoon decided it was decidedly “Not Rated for Under Twelve.”

He passed the cub to the crocodile standing behind him.

“Oppa has to talk to uncle about work now, so you go to your room for a bit.”

“M’kay.”

Taught not to interfere while her brother was working, she agreed readily.

Just before heading off, she instinctively reached for Moongmoo—

only for Kangwoon to stop her.

Today’s guest had come here because of this fox—and having him follow the cub out would defeat the purpose.

“Moongmoo will go later.”

“Why?”

“Hyunie-uncle has something to give him.”

“A present?”

“Yes, a present. So go with Juwon-uncle for now.”

“Okay.”

With a brief glance of curiosity about the supposed gift, she departed without fuss.

The fox waved a forepaw to see her off, then noticed the wolf looking back at him with interest—gaze flicking between him and the tiger’s arm.

At that, Hohyun finally realized he was still in Kangwoon’s grasp.

It had been so comfortable, he’d forgotten entirely.

Unknown to him, the wolf was watching closely, entertained.

Patting the tiger’s arm lightly with his paw, the fox tried to signal to be set down—

But Kangwoon clicked his tongue softly, a small note of admonishment.

“Stay still or you’ll fall.”

Well, a forearm as thick as his torso did make it safe enough…

With his chin, Kangwoon pointed at the wolf—who in turn reached into the shopping bag he’d brought and produced an object.

Seeing what lay in that pale, jointed hand, Hohyun’s eyes flew wide.

A collar release tool!

“Oh—you actually know what this is. Most don’t.”

“Enough talk—just get it off already.”

“Such a rush… fine, hold still.”

Clicking his tongue at his friend’s impatience, the wolf set the rounded device to the notch in the collar at the fox’s throat.

The protrusions fit perfectly into the grooves, and a creaking sound came as he began to twist skillfully.

“This’ll sting a bit when the needles pull out—just bear with it.”

“Kki-woong.”

For the relief of finally losing this damn thing, he could bear much worse than “a bit.”

Hearing the assent in his tone, the wolf held the fox’s head steady with one hand and worked the mechanism with the other.

Clack!

The snug collar loosened instantly.

Setting the tool aside on the sofa, the wolf carefully spread the ends of the collar,

the inward-facing needles withdrawing one by one from the fur and skin of his neck.

For the first time since his abduction, the weight and pressure were gone—and an immense sense of liberation flooded him.

Unconsciously, he let out a long breath.

His hind paw began to rise—to scratch at the indented fur—

but the tiger’s grip stopped him.

Better not to irritate the skin, even if no injury showed.

Chastened, he lowered the paw again.

By then, both collar and tool had been shoved into the shopping bag,

and the wolf addressed him with open friendliness:

“Ahh, that already looks better. How long were you wearing it?”

“Kki-uuh. Kkuk.”

“Wow… that long? You’ve been through a lot. Putting something like that on a person… scum, right?”

“Kkyak!”

It had been far too long since he’d had a proper conversation.

Yes, there had been that phone call with his youngest brother—but that… fiasco… didn’t count.

Tail wagging like mad, the fox gave an enthusiastic greeting, and Kangwoon’s expression cooled fractionally.

The tail that had been lying loosely along the sofa began swishing down and side to side.

The fox in his arms didn’t notice, but the wolf across from them saw everything—

and finally confirmed what he’d half-suspected earlier.

Grinning in private amusement, he deliberately pitched his next words to the fox in an even warmer tone.