He’s a Fox Ch 113

Chapter 113 Side Story 8

“The youngest, where do you think you’re going.”

“I earn money too…”

“And?”

“…No. Thanks for the meal, noona.”

At the glare, he immediately tucked his tail and surrendered with a meek whine, and Suhyeon, smiling in satisfaction, jerked her chin toward Ihyeon.

“Kiddo, you can walk, right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Then wait outside first.”

I’ll handle the bill, so keep that dimwit in line. At the instruction, Hohyun reached out and helped Ihyeon to his feet. Even as he swayed, Ihyeon managed to stand. It was a mercy that he still had some awareness; otherwise, Hohyun would have been tempted to shut his eyes and abandon him.

Hohyun went outside with Ihyeon and waited for Suhyeon near the entrance. Perhaps because some people were out for a smoke after finishing their meal, a harsh smell drifted from somewhere. He wanted to move away from the cigarette smoke, but he currently had a very large lump attached to him. In the end, he gave up on moving and simply enjoyed the cold air while staying put.

A cutting winter wind whooshed by, and the alcohol-warmed skin grew cool in an instant. Just then, Suhyeon, having finished paying, came out and spoke.

“We’re heading home—me and Ye Ihyeon. What about you, baby brother?”

“……”

After a brief debate, Hohyun reached a conclusion. Going to the tiger’s den in his current state seemed unwise. If he fell asleep on the way, it would be trouble; more than that, it wasn’t a sight fit for a baby to see… The big tiger, who hired selectively on the grounds that the baby might imitate what she saw, would hardly appreciate someone stumbling in reeking of liquor.

At a time when he needed only to build goodwill, it was right to avoid anything that would cost him points. So he decided to spend the night at the family home.

“I’ll sleep over too. It’s late anyway…”

“Fair. It’s about the last train time. Then I’ll get out the bedding—sleep in his room together.”

The room he used to occupy had been repurposed once he tried moving out on his own. Nodding and agreeing to share a room with Ihyeon, Hohyun slowly fished out his phone.

Even tipsy, he decided he should inform his employer, who might be waiting for him to come home. He pulled up Kangwoon’s contact and cautiously typed, one letter at a time. Despite his determination, his alcohol-slowed fingers strung together a message so garbled it was barely legible, but with his vision spinning, Hohyun didn’t notice and hit send.

While he was messaging, Ihyeon, leaning against his shoulder, listed sideways. The third brother reflexively caught the fourth just before he toppled, his face twisting with displeasure; focused on his phone, Hohyun missed what happened right beside him.

Seeing that he was definitely waiting for a reply, Suhyeon clicked her tongue softly. Judging by his expression, he had messaged the very person who’d made him mope all through dinner; at this hour, a quick reply was rare. Before she could tell him to stop wasting time and head home, Hohyun’s face lit up as he looked at the screen. Ihyeon, drooping against Suhyeon’s shoulder, glanced over and added a word.

“Oh, it’s a call.”

“……”

That was fast—too fast. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he’d been holding his phone, waiting, the whole time. While Suhyeon reassessed the odds of the kid’s romance actually working out, the person responsible for that reassessment posed a question.

“Can I answer?”

“Go ahead.”

The moment Suhyeon gave permission, Hohyun tapped the call button. As he raised the phone to his ear, the person on the other end had no trouble guessing his current state.

“Did you drink?”

“Hel—hello, yes. With noona, and hyung… How’s Yuri?”

With his pronunciation slightly loosened, he rambled out more than was asked, then suddenly remembered the baby tiger and asked about her. He assumed she’d be asleep by now, but the answer surprised him.

“Yuri’s still at the family home. Mother said she wants a sleepover with her youngest daughter for the first time in a while, so I’ll pick her up tomorrow.”

“I see…”

There was an unspoken complication—that Beom Jaegwon’s two days of appointments had been cleared for the mother-daughter night—but unaware of it, Hohyun thought simply. If the baby wasn’t at home, then returning drunk wouldn’t be a problem. Having done the math, he quickly spoke.

“Uh, boss. So… can I come over?”

“Nothing stopping you. Do you have a ride?”

“Uh—hold on.”

It was a slightly awkward hour. Buses still ran near the family home, but there was no guarantee they ran near his destination. As he opened a browser to check schedules, Kangwoon spoke first.

“If not, shall I come pick you up?”

“……!”

At the unexpected offer, both Hohyun—on the line—and Suhyeon—listening beside him—went wide-eyed. Hohyun was simply startled by the option he hadn’t considered; Suhyeon was narrowing her eyes to read the other party’s intent.

The way he offered to come to who-knows-where without a beat of hesitation suggested he wasn’t exactly indifferent. Watching her younger brother blurt out their location with a flushed face, Suhyeon’s eyes narrowed. If the fourth brother, dozing on her shoulder, had seen it, he would have breathed fire—but thankfully, Suhyeon’s tendencies leaned toward benign neglect.

She would have liked to stay long enough to see the person on the other end pick up the youngest, but given Ihyeon’s state… If he fell asleep like this, she’d be stuck carrying the burden alone, so they had to head home. She tapped lightly at Hohyun’s foot to get his attention.

“Then I’m going with Ye Ihyeon. Text when you get—no. Let me know tomorrow when you wake up.”

“Mm.”

Seeing his eyelids droop, she corrected herself. As he nodded, she suspected she might not hear from him even the next day. Silence may be golden, but after drinking himself into such a state, any family would worry. Still, it felt wrong to micromanage an adult sibling, so she resolved to broach it gently after some time and reached out—scrubbing his hair roughly—then hoisted Ihyeon and headed off.

After his sister and brother disappeared, Hohyun, left alone, staggered toward a streetlamp. It felt rude to loiter in front of the entrance during the busy dinner rush. Leaning his back against the lamppost, he stood only a moment before the cold got to him and his body drew in on itself. His shoulders hunched, and soon he was practically crouching when a large shadow fell over him.

He raised his head, but the streetlamp’s glare was too strong to make out the face.

“Who is it?”

With booze and backlighting conspiring, he couldn’t properly see the person right in front of him when they reached out to take his arm and help him up. Startled by a sudden move from someone he couldn’t identify, Hohyun jerked his arm free. Already pitched forward, he flailed; the precarious balance collapsed at once, and he landed on his tailbone.

“Ack!”

Though his clothes were thick enough for winter, the impact was too much for such flimsy cushioning to absorb. His backside, slammed onto cold asphalt, throbbed with a sharp, stinging pain. As he bit his lip against the ache, the burly figure—essentially the cause of the incident—clicked his tongue softly and offered a hand.

Hohyun eyed the large hand thrust under his nose as if to say “take it and stand,” with deep suspicion. In these grim times, kindness without reason was rare. Given everything he’d been through, it was hard to believe he’d be the recipient of such a rare event.

Having nearly been dragged into MLM schemes or religious groups more than once, he didn’t stop eyeing the stranger. Meeting the full-on frown he aimed up at him, the other let out a breathy, incredulous laugh.