He’s a Fox Ch 24

Chapter 24

“See! This is why I keep getting confused!”

“What nonsense have you been spouting since earlier? We’re heading out now, so you can go too.”

Not knowing what Hyunseok and Hohyun had been talking about, Kangwoon gave his ear a flick with an irritable air, issuing the verbal equivalent of kicking someone out.

At being told to “go home,” Hyunseok’s face immediately knit into a deep frown.

“What? No way! I came out today specifically to play with our princess.”

“…Not to deliver the thing I asked for?”

“Well, that too, obviously. But if I was just dropping something off, I’d have sent it by courier or sent someone else—why would I bother coming all the way here?”

The way he even lifted his chin as he made his case was impressively brazen.

Kangwoon brushed it off without much interest.

“Sure, thanks for that. Now get going.”

“No chance! Do you have any idea how much Kyung-seok will badger me if he finds out I came to your place?”

“You think your cousin will just leave you alone if you hang out with Yuri?”

Kangwoon was well aware of Hyunseok’s cousin, Kim Kyung-seok.

Not that they had any personal association, but anyone near Hyunseok could hardly avoid knowing of him.

There’s the saying “When a cousin buys land, your stomach aches with envy”—but in Kyung-seok’s case, it went beyond that;

he was the type to show up and cause a scene when a cousin bought land.

If Hyunseok was doing well in any way, the man would race over to throw a wrench into it.

There was no way such a person would sit quietly while his cousin got friendly with a tiger—and indeed, Kyung-seok put a lot of effort into interfering any time Kangwoon and Hyunseok met.

It was an ongoing thing.

What goes around comes around—after being burned multiple times, Hyunseok had come to loathe his cousin.

When he’d heard that this time Kangwoon wanted something from him that was connected to that cousin, he’d rushed to snatch the release tool and deliver it in person—

worried that otherwise, Kyung-seok would use it as an excuse to pull something on Kangwoon.

Nodding quickly at the mention of his cousin’s obsessive behavior, Hyunseok’s face took on a weary expression at the mere thought—

then brightened again as he tried to persuade the tiger with a cheerful tone.

“Besides, thanks to Yuri, I’ll be gaining dreams and hope.”

“She’s not going to play with you anyway.”

“Huh?”

“You saw earlier. She was so focused on Moongmoo she didn’t even glance at you.”

“Mmm…”

At that, Hyunseok recalled how the baby tiger had acted.

True—the way she stared without blinking, she probably wouldn’t notice or care even if her uncle fussed over her right next to her.

If anything, they’d be lucky if she didn’t get annoyed at him for getting in the way.

“But… who exactly is Moongmoo—oh, Mr. Hohyun? Then why do you call him that?”

“Because I didn’t know his name. And if I don’t call him that, the Little General gets mad.”

“Ah… I see.”

He could picture it clearly—arms jammed onto her hips, brows scrunched tight, and holding out until things were “corrected” to her satisfaction.

Knowing well the stubbornness of the three-year-old youngest Beom sibling, Hyunseok let out a long sigh.

“Ugh, still… Ah! You said you were planning to go buy the princess’s clothes anyway, right? And since clearly Yuri and Mr. Hohyun can’t stick together right now—”

“…So?”

“I’ll go around with our princess instead!”

“…”

Kangwoon thought it over.

Given that the baby currently felt wary of the fox, splitting into two groups was the only real option.

He couldn’t exactly have her moving around with just security detail, so his initial plan had been to pair the crocodile with the fox… but that felt like a shaky choice.

This was about someone who managed to tumble and roll plenty back in beast form—when his reflexes and reactions were at their best. In human form, he’d likely be worse, not better.

Hyunseok, on the other hand, could be trusted to look after Yuri—meaning Kangwoon could keep the fox with himself.

…But thinking of this “kid” who hadn’t even noticed the clearly visible wardrobe earlier, he reached a decision and accepted the proposal.

“Fine—but drive separately.”

“Ah, true.”

Recalling how the child seat took up half the car’s back seat space, Hyunseok agreed immediately.

What was so hard about that?

Having secured what he wanted, the wolf burst into boisterous laughter.

“We’re going to the department store, right? Should I tell them to be ready in advance?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll buy all kinds of pretty outfits to suit your princess’s taste, so don’t worry about her—”

(A wicked grin here.)

“—and focus on picking out good clothes for Mr. Hohyun.”

The tiger, catching the sly “go have a nice romantic date” tone, gave a low, growling threat filled with irritation.

Date? Kangwoon had absolutely no intention of doing anything that could be paired with such a word concerning the “kid.”

Just hours ago, the other had still been on four legs, and no amount of mental gymnastics could make him see the fox as anything but early twenties at most.

The only analogy for their relationship was that of a pet dog and its caretaker, at best.

The rumble in his throat was Kangwoon’s way of telling his friend to knock it off—

and Hyunseok, hands raised in mock surrender, backed down.

Even with the fox himself having said outright they weren’t a couple, the wolf still found his childhood friend suspicious.

There’s no way Beom Kangwoon acts like this to someone without a reason.

Of course, the tiger in question seemed entirely unaware of what he meant.

If Hyunseok kept pushing, the tiger might just cancel bringing him along—so before he could say anything else, Hyunseok darted out the door.

“I’ll see you there!” he shouted, vanishing quickly.

Watching his friend disappear, Kangwoon swished his tail in displeasure.

Only once the wolf was fully gone from sight did he head to the garage.

Of the multiple cars parked there, only one had its engine running.

No one was in view outside, so he assumed everyone was already on board—

and sure enough, when he got closer, the scene made him smirk faintly.

Yuri, strapped into the child seat, was sitting pressed right back against it.

The crocodile was at the wheel.

The fox was in the passenger seat, eyes fixed outside the window—though the way his face lit up upon spotting Kangwoon suggested his tail was wagging furiously out of sight.

Opening the door, Kangwoon got in beside the child seat, and the baby’s hand fluttered in a beckon.

“Oppa.”

“Mm.”

“Yuri’s got something to say.”

Happy to oblige his little sister, Kangwoon leaned in to listen—

though in the close quarters of the car, whatever she said would be easily overheard by those in front.

Neither the crocodile nor the fox moved a muscle, sitting straight and staring forward,

but their attention was trained firmly on the back seat.

Completely unaware that “Moongmoo” was listening as well, the cub began explaining her theory.

“Yuri thought about it, y’know.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You know Moongmoo, right? Why’s he in his room?”

“Moongmoo’s right there in front of you.”

“No! Moongmoo’s just a little bigger than Yuri—but that him is way bigger.”

Kangwoon glanced at Hohyun in the front seat.

When they’d faced each other at the house earlier, he’d guessed the young man was about 180 centimeters tall.

For a mid-sized species like a fox, that was on the larger side—but still well smaller than a big-cat like himself.

So he couldn’t exactly agree with her that Moongmoo was “bigger,” but for such a tiny younger sister, it wasn’t an impossible take.

He gave her an answer simple enough for a three-year-old to understand.

“Yuri’s bigger now than you are in tiger form, right? Same goes for Moongmoo.”

“Mmm…”

The cub’s little face scrunched with conflict.

She didn’t disagree, but the sense of strangeness wouldn’t quite leave her.

Still—the mental scale seemed to tip, even if just a little, toward “yes, that’s Moongmoo.”

Evidence of this subsiding doubt came as her body, which had been sunk deep into the child seat, lifted closer to upright.

While she pondered, the crocodile smoothly pulled away from the curb.

Keeping perfectly to the speed limit despite his massive size,

he soon had them in the city proper.

With more buildings and cars, the cub’s attention shifted to the outside world,

her mouth hanging slightly open as she pressed to the window to watch.

Hohyun, sensing her intense gaze lift away from him, risked a glance back.

Seeing her entranced by the scenery, he couldn’t help but smile despite his earlier concern.

What was so fascinating about such an ordinary view?

Each breath she took misted up a tiny oval on the glass, dissipating and reforming with her small, soft exhales.

Watching Yuri watch the world, time seemed to fly—

it felt like barely five minutes before they reached their destination.

From the gleaming exterior alone, the department store drew a soft “Wow~” from the cub’s lips.

Tiny lights twinkled above, reflected in her eyes,

and Kangwoon, seeing her pupils dilate more and more in the window’s reflection, quietly scooped her up in his arms.

If left to her own devices, she would 100% decide to “hunt” the sparkles.

As he parked near the entrance, Hyunseok—already waiting—hurried over.

Though they’d set out around the same time, his earlier arrival suggested he’d pressed the gas hard to beat Kangwoon here.

Beaming like he owned the world,

the wolf stepped up to the crocodile and whispered: