He’s a Fox Ch 110

Chapter 110 Side Story 5

No one minded the fact that no one could approach Hohyun. The only person who might have found it regrettable, Kangwoon, was excluded from Yuri’s watch list. The problem was that after several days apart, Yuri refused to be separated from Moongmoo Oppa and moved as a set with him, making it impossible to approach Yuri either.

The crocodile, suddenly under a no-approach order, clutched his head and slumped to the floor. His face recalled the time a baby tiger’s claws had raked his cheek.

That evening, the very day Yuri plunged a reptile into despair, Hohyun witnessed something strange. At Yuri’s request, they had gone to fetch toys when he spotted a large tiger standing stock-still by one side of the kitchen. Too substantial to overlook, the presence made the fox turn his head—and he noticed a familiar item. After rummaging briefly through faint memories, Hohyun recalled what it was.

“Nothing special—I was just wondering if I should go for castration.”

It was that very medicine from the day he had heard such unforgettable words, the one Kangwoon had silently chewed and swallowed. He already knew what kind of drug it was, but the actions that followed made Hohyun instantly sense something was wrong.

One, two, three… The number of pills tumbling from the bottle onto his palm was not normal. Even at a glance, it was more than last time. He might have been a layman in medicine, but he knew that wasn’t right.

He immediately tried to rush over, only to belatedly realize there was a baby tiger dangling from his calf, scuttling his attempt. Whatever the issue was, it didn’t seem wise to let the child witness it. By the time Hohyun slipped away from Yuri’s eyes and reached Kangwoon, everything was already over.

He had never experienced rut himself, so he hadn’t taken the pills personally, but thanks to steady sex education since childhood, he wasn’t ignorant of what Kangwoon had swallowed by the handful. It was common knowledge even to children that while the drug helped regulate surging impulses, long-term use could cause several side effects.

Given how often he was taking it to the point of being sickening to watch, side effects were inevitable. After that, Hohyun observed Kangwoon more closely than usual and soon noticed several abnormalities.

First: his food intake had dropped markedly. Normally, their baseline meal sizes differed by at least a factor of two. Partly that was due to innate stomach capacity, partly to the energy required for a body in motion. A quantity of food once awe-inspiring to behold had visibly decreased.

He knew in theory that appetite loss was a representative side effect of the drug, but worry was unavoidable. Watching him barely pick at his meals while swallowing his pills on schedule, Hohyun let out a long sigh.

Second: his overall body temperature had risen. It had always run high, but this time it was extreme. One late afternoon, when the tiger sidled up to him whenever there was a chance, the fox felt an abnormal warmth and, uncertain but concerned, pulled a thermometer from the first-aid kit. Beep—the panel displayed 28.2°. With a result too high to pass off as a mild fever, Hohyun clenched the thermometer and raised an objection.

“Boss.”

“…Mm.”

“Could you stop taking the medicine?”

Sitting quietly at his side and doing as told, Kangwoon immediately shook his head. Stop taking it? Those were the words of someone who didn’t know why he was taking it. With no room for debate, his instant refusal left Hohyun anxious and eager to persuade him.

Medication should make something better, yet nothing seemed to be improving; what possible benefit was there to keep taking it; if that was the case, then don’t block the rut at all. His points were not without logic, but Kangwoon was adamant. Like a puppy unaware of a tiger’s fearsome nature—exactly that. The tiger gave one gratuitous nibble to a soft cheek and stood up. With no will to compromise, the first round of talks ended there.

After all, why had he taken the drug to begin with? Because he might fail to suppress his impulses and harm Hohyun. It was only natural that he wouldn’t be swayed.

But Hohyun’s view was equally firm. A failure to regulate impulses didn’t turn Kangwoon into a different person. He wasn’t something that would snap at the slightest touch, so what of it? Besides, Hohyun was Kangwoon’s lover. Wasn’t he the proper partner to share a rut with? While Kangwoon struggled with that upright assertion, the prescribing physician delivered a statement that effectively took one side.

“Since increasing the dosage further would be serious, rather than blocking things indiscriminately, we recommend relieving it little by little.”

Just as it’s better to open the floodgates than to endure blindly when waters swell from a downpour, the advice was for Kangwoon to release instead of simply enduring. At that prescription, Hohyun rejoiced, and Kangwoon’s face turned a shade more complicated. Buoyed by an expert’s words, Hohyun pressed his advantage, and in the end, he won the otherwise pointless argument.

On the afternoon of the day the dosage was reduced, heat crept over Kangwoon’s body, making him grimace. Seeing the uncharacteristically sour mood, Hohyun grew slightly tense. After taking Yuri to her room earlier than usual, he headed to Kangwoon’s room, now more familiar than his own.

Upon entering, he saw Kangwoon sitting quietly on the bed. Wearing only a robe, his gaze was a little hazy, and Hohyun felt a twinge of nervousness. The hands that moved to hug Hohyun’s waist hesitated and stopped. He seemed to be consciously restraining contact.

Watching Kangwoon clench and unclench his fists, Hohyun hesitated, then reached out. With that initial touch, heat flared quickly, and the massive body drew near until it filled his vision. It was an intimately close contact, as if making up for all the distance they had kept for the sake of restraint.

So tightly pressed together not even a needle could slip between, their movements were laid bare to one another. Gulp. Feeling the flexing muscles, Hohyun swallowed quietly. The tiger, whose eyes showed not a shred of patience, rolled his hips deeply.

With each motion, what was pressed between them inevitably rubbed. A hard, straining shaft dragged against soft thigh. At the explicit humping, Hohyun’s face flushed scarlet. Without needing a mirror, he sensed blood flooding his face from the burning heat and bit his lower lip. Unable to master his embarrassment, he covered his face with both arms; over his closed forearms, Kangwoon pressed his lips, pleading softly.

“I want to see your face…”

The ragged breaths between his words revealed just how aroused he was. After a brief pause, Hohyun lowered his arms. Seeing the face flushed with mingled mortification and excitement, Kangwoon parted his lips at once. Squelch—wet and unyielding, the kiss began with relentless insistence.

There was no trace of leisure in the way he overlaid and covered Hohyun’s lips, retracing their shape. When Hohyun tried to pull back for a breath, the tiger sensed the movement and brought a hand to the back of his head. As hot skin threaded through hair and touched scalp, Hohyun shivered.

With his airway completely blocked, his limit arrived quickly. Though Kangwoon knew Hohyun’s lung capacity better than Hohyun himself from their many experiences, he loathed to retreat. Just a little more… a little more… In the end, he only lifted his mouth when Hohyun flapped in desperate need of air.

Catching his breath in gasps, Hohyun’s lips drew Kangwoon’s tenacious gaze, and an idea came to him. Some conditioning would help. Given the situation, the plan’s details were only a rough frame, but he meant it. If Hohyun had heard, he would have protested that this wasn’t about cardio endurance at all, just a difference in innate lung size.

The image of a fox springing up popped into his mind automatically. With a rumbling chuckle, Kangwoon lowered his head again. In the meantime, somewhat recovered, Hohyun melted helplessly under a kiss softer than before.