He’s a Fox Ch 22

Chapter 22

“When you’re in human form, I wonder what you look like.

Now that the obstacle’s gone, why don’t you transform right away?”

The fox’s tail, which had been wagging briskly, came to an abrupt halt.

At the airy, cheerful tone of the suggestion, Hohyun doubted his own ears.

Transform? Right now?

Transformation, after all, was the act of changing one’s physical body—

not some magical process that conjured clothes out of nowhere.

And at the moment, he was still in the tiger’s arms.

Which meant that if he changed shape now,

he’d essentially be sitting stark naked in the embrace of a predator—

putting on a full frontal show for a wolf he’d never met before and a tiger whose first name he didn’t even know.

The horrifying mental image made him scream inwardly.

Ugh!

They were beastfolk themselves—they had to know this.

So why say something like that…?

Flattening his ears and lowering his body,

he ended up pressed snugly against the tiger’s forearm.

Even Kangwoon, listening from the side, couldn’t fully mask his distaste.

He looked at his old friend as if he’d gone insane.

Transferring the fox from his left arm to his right,

it was obvious he was trying to get the little creature as far away from the man across from him as possible.

The wolf hastily explained himself:

“No, not here! In a room—in private!”

Unintentionally, he’d just told someone he’d just met to strip,

and now he was flustered enough to break into a sweat.

Kangwoon gave his friend a disapproving glare before carrying the fox into a nearby room.

It was a guest room, just a short ways from the living room—

close enough to see from there when the door was open.

He set the fox down inside.

When Hohyun hesitated, looking as if to say Do I really have to?,

the tiger reassured him with a pat.

“Kking.”

“I know he worded it weirdly, but we do need to check you’re physically fine. Just try.”

It wasn’t as if Hohyun wanted this—

thanks to the collar, he’d been stuck in fox form for a long while,

and it was possible something might have gone wrong.

Put that way, it made sense that Kangwoon wanted him to transform here for a quick check.

Hohyun nodded, pushed the door shut with his forepaw,

and the tiger stepped back to wait.

The transformation itself shouldn’t take long,

so it was more efficient to wait here than return to the sofa.

About a minute later, the door cracked open again—just enough to fit a head through.

The first thing visible was black hair—

the same jet-black shade as his fox fur, falling untidily across his brow.

Beneath it, round eyes met Kangwoon’s gaze;

their dark irises had a tinge of green, and there was a small beauty mark under the left one.

Lips pursed as if to speak, the young-looking face was soft with baby-fine down.

“…Underage?” Kangwoon murmured, before he could stop himself.

He hadn’t thought Hohyun’s behavior seemed especially mature before—

but his appearance was even younger than expected.

At those words, the gently drooping foxlike eyes lifted at the corners, a spark of indignation in them.

“I’m an adult!”

Ironically, that reaction only convinced the tiger. Definitely young.

In his mind, Hohyun was pegged at twenty, give or take a year.

Only truly young people, after all, bristled at being called young;

with age, most took it as a compliment.

As he gave a short laugh, the fox realized his slip.

He’d been treated like a kid for so long by his older siblings that the protest had come out on reflex.

Pulling himself together, he started to say why he’d only stuck his head out—

and paused.

How was he supposed to address him?

He hadn’t signed the contract yet, so “boss” felt weird.

Calling him hyeongnim like the other big guys did didn’t fit,

and “hyung” (big brother) was far too familiar for someone he barely knew…

After a moment’s deliberation, he ventured cautiously:

“Uh… it’s just… I don’t have any clothes.”

“….”

So that’s why he was only peeking out.

The fox clearly feared he’d be told to come out like this,

his anxiety plain.

Kangwoon sighed.

“There’s a wardrobe inside. Take anything that fits and put it on.”

“Oh—okay!”

This was a fully furnished guest room,

so basic furniture like a bed and mirror were joined by some spare casual clothing.

It was exactly why he’d chosen this room—

besides ventilation, the wardrobe door was usually left open,

so the clothes should have been visible as soon as Hohyun entered.

Apparently, he’d been too distracted to notice.

Brightening, the fox ducked back inside.

The moment the door shut, Kim Hyunseok—waiting on the sofa—clicked his tongue.

“Wow, Beom Kangwoon… where’d you leave your conscience?”

Deprived of context, Kangwoon had no idea what that was supposed to mean,

and frowned deeply.

He was about to ask when the door opened again—

this time revealing the fox in proper clothes.

But, as most of the mansion’s guests were large carnivore-types,

the spare clothing was enormous on him.

Dressed in a white shirt and black trousers far too big for him,

he looked like a kid wearing his dad’s clothes.

Everything was on the verge of slipping off,

but just barely passed for “oversized fashion.”

Kangwoon, eyeing the way Hohyun had to hold the waistband up, clicked his tongue again.

“First thing, we need to buy you clothes.”

“Huh? No, you don’t have to do that for me—”

“I was going to take Yuri shopping soon anyway. Don’t worry about it.”

Looking up at him with wide eyes,

Kangwoon could almost see the small fox he’d been minutes ago.

He reached out to give the top of the young man’s head a light, two-fingered pat.

The familiar touch—something he’d experienced a few times as a fox—

loosened Hohyun’s tension just a bit.

As the tiger strode away, Hohyun found himself touching the spot,

running his fingers through the hair he’d just patted.

With nothing in particular to do to “prepare” to go out,

he turned toward the living room—

where his bright eyes met the direct gaze of Kim Hyunseok.

His tail, until moments ago high, faltered and drooped.

In the Eastern regions, most people reacted negatively upon first meeting him.

The wolf’s response so far had been friendly—

but maybe that was only because the tiger had been standing right there.

The fox tensed slightly.