He’s a Fox Ch 79

Chapter 79

“Well. Until you stop parading around in that ridiculous form, I suppose?”

That was directed at Amur’s current state—technically human-shaped, and yet with ears and tail still visibly out as if to show them off. It wasn’t because he was in pain, nor inexperienced at transformation. There was simply no reason to keep redundant beast parts exposed, and yet his cousin constantly chose to appear this way.

When Kangwoon bluntly told him that his appearance was bizarre, Amur only snorted. To a Westerner, as long as the primary form was humanoid, extra ears or tails hardly mattered.

Neither changed. Neither intended to. Both had lived nearly their entire lives this way, and it was comfortable. True, Kangwoon had lately been keeping human form more often, but that was only because his fox seemed to prefer it that way.

Amur had no need to cater—Kangwoon wasn’t someone he needed to court. By the same logic, he ignored Kangwoon’s complaints altogether.

Like that, two tigers sat side by side, equally dismissing one another’s criticisms. Amur had come to state his purpose; Kangwoon, to get the unwanted visitor dealt with and ejected swiftly. With the intruder sprawling across his sofa like it were his family den, Kangwoon folded his arms, squinting.

“So. Why are you here today? We already talked yesterday, didn’t we?”

“Come now—don’t talk so cold, we’re family. Yesterday was yesterday. Today’s a new day.”

The sluggish tone drew Kangwoon’s eyebrow ever higher. He leaned back, waiting. Amur rummaged into his satchel, produced a thick file and began rifling energetically. Pages fluttered till he found the one he sought. Sliding it across the table, he gestured.

“Here. You recognize her?”

Printed on the center of smooth paper was a photograph: a pale woman staring forward with steady gaze. Grainy quality, but her face could be made out clearly. Kangwoon had never seen her. He masked the ignorance, answering with a question.

“It isn’t her you’re curious about, is it. What’s the real point?”

“Ah—that word again… what was it?”

From the beginning, both cousins had been forced to study each other’s tongue for the sake of “family communication.” Thus Amur had learned Eastern, Kangwoon Western. Both spoke fluently, but neither perfectly. Inevitably, rare terms still caused stumbles.

It wasn’t hard to guess what he meant—this happened yesterday as well. Kangwoon supplied the missing word himself, in smooth Western tongue.

“Human trafficking.”

“That’s it!” Amur snapped his fingers. “Yesterday, you flatly rejected your cute and charming cousin’s humble request, so I headed back. My former handler passed me this file instead. Apparently the trail leads to a shop owned by the woman on that page. Ring any bells?”

The phrase “cute and charming cousin” nearly made Kangwoon bark a laugh, but he caught the thread hidden beneath the pompous chatter.

Just yesterday morning he’d received a sudden message from his mother, Sara Luntie. She urged him to meet up with Amur, who had newly arrived in the East, and suggested they catch up. Kangwoon hadn’t cared much but complied for her sake. That same afternoon, the “cute and charming cousin” had conveniently followed him all the way back to his home.

In truth, Amur and Kangwoon were anything but close. They weren’t blood enemies tearing at one another’s throats like Kim Hyunseok and Kangwoon once had been, but “indifference” described it best. Pass on the street, exchange a nod, hear updates through parents now and then—that was the extent. For the younger to trespass on personal space could only mean he wanted something.

And that something was this—the trafficking scandal that had turned the East upside down some months prior.

Why, though, would a Western tiger concern himself with Eastern affairs? To understand, one had to know Amur Luntie’s background.

The Luntie clan had always stood as pillars of the Western nobility, and their sense of noblesse oblige was extreme. Those born to the house carried many obligations: for instance, everyone bearing the family name had to devote some years in public service.

When Kangwoon first heard this fact, he had silently thanked the heavens that his Luntie blood came from his mother’s side, not his father’s. If his father had been a Luntie, Kangwoon too would be shackled by meaningless posts unsuited to him.

Amur, of course, had no such luck. He began service two years ago—and unlike Kangwoon, he was surprisingly suited. He had held his post without trouble. Until recently. Sometime not long ago, Amur detonated a bomb in the quiet halls of his family, figuratively speaking. As a result, the Luntie prince had been exiled “temporarily” to the East under pretense of fostering interregional cooperation.

His punishment was to dig into this very human trafficking case.

Kangwoon already anticipated Amur would drag such nonsense to his door. Yesterday, in the study, Amur had pled, “An outsider has limits, so I need your local knowledge.” Kangwoon had instantly refused. At year’s end he had no time to mire himself in shadows.

Amur had retreated without protest, and Kangwoon assumed he’d chosen other avenues. He hadn’t expected that “retreat” to be tactical repositioning. That his cousin would keep hovering, persistent until he got what he wanted.

To end nuisance, Kangwoon needed to confirm Amur’s hidden intent. Narrowing his eyes, he studied him so sharply it felt like knives. Amur grimaced theatrically, raising his hands as if in surrender.

“You heard why I came, from Aunt, right?”

“…More or less.”

“I don’t even want to be here. I want back West. But there are two people who don’t want that. To split them apart, that’s the only way home.”

“And what does that have to do with trafficking?”

“It’s connected. Someone up high—our side—is involved.”

“…You mean you’re targeting a lion?”

At that Kangwoon’s flicked his ears incredulously. In the West, the “high officials” were almost invariably lions. From Kangwoon’s understanding, traffickers preyed only on targets unlikely to bring reprisal. That a lion—the very symbol of apex carnivore authority—was caught in the net, was baffling. He probed further.

“Which side?”

“Please. You know how thorough the man is. If he were perpetrator, I’d never even know—it’d be buried with his claws. He’s victim-side. His granddaughter got dragged in. Tried to rescue a friend, ended up caged herself. That’s what I pieced. So my goal’s clear: find her, fix this, get my ticket back. All I need is your cooperation.”

His pale golden eyes burned with stubborn light. Forced to the East, yes—but not meek. He would stir the world here if he had to.

Kangwoon saw it—and sighed.

He couldn’t stand having this cousin wander his home, especially not meeting Hohyun. The sight of the fox’s curious gaze earlier already burned behind his eyes. His temple throbbed. To resolve this quickly, best give Amur what he wanted. Only then would the pest finally scurry home West.

Having reached conclusion, Kangwoon finally gave voice:

“…Fine. Then tell me exactly what you need.”