SAFBIAN Ch 33

Chapter 33

 

The fox’s body temperature was higher than a human’s. The soft flesh that touched his hand was tender, and the way it blinked with its fur slightly wet kept reminding him of “his own.”

Phew…

Haban rubbed his tired eyes with a hand.

Dori lay sprawled on the sunlit floor, drying his wet fur.

Contrary to the ridiculous imagination, the purpose of the bathtub had simply been to bathe the fox. Of course, Dori had hated it enough to dig in his claws and resist getting into the water…

‘Then shall we go in together?’

That threat had made him retreat with his tail between his legs. It was because Haban had grabbed the knot of his clothes like he might undress right then and there.

‘Ugh…’

Dori furrowed his brow with his eyes closed.

He had bathed a few times in human form recently, but he hadn’t expected how unpleasant it would feel to be washed in his fox form. Water had seeped between every strand of fur, and his whole body felt heavy.

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t know you guys hated it this much when I watched those streams.’

He now fully understood why Mongi and Soondol, whom he used to watch as an online pet sitter, used to tuck in their tails and run at the sound of bathwater.

‘Still, I guess it feels good to be clean.’

It was nothing like washing with just two small buckets of water. The water had been heated warmly and scented with fragrant oils. If Haban weren’t around, he would have turned human and soaked himself in the tub for a long while.

‘Ugh, damn it. Now I’m thinking about it again.’

Dori pouted.

The moment that unruly man put his hand between Dori’s legs, he had been so shocked that he jumped right out of the water. Of course, he’d been caught and put back in the tub immediately, but it had been a huge shock—he’d never thought anyone would touch him there in his life.

Even a few plums hadn’t been enough to ease his anger, so he had sat with his back to Haban, sulking. Then Haban offered beef for dinner.

Dori wagged his tail.

“You seem happy. And after all that fuss you made while I was bathing you.”

Sitting in a chair with a book, Haban reached out a hand. His sleeve was dark with moisture, soaked from washing and drying the fox himself.

Dori hesitated briefly before getting up and pressing his head into that palm.

‘I can’t live like this, always feeling uneasy.’

How startled he’d been, thinking the plot was aligning with the original story. If things kept progressing like the novel, how many more times would he be shocked?

Compared to his determined resolution to change the ending, his plan had been too simple from the start. From the moment he met Haban—whom he had meant to avoid—everything had been thrown off track.

‘Time to start Plan B.’

That lingering question: What did Haban think of him, the white fox?

Dori rubbed against him affectionately.

“…What are you thinking about?”

Haban put down his book. Seizing the opportunity, the fox jumped into his lap. Pressing his front paws to Haban’s chest, he nudged his nose forward until it touched the man’s firm chin.

‘…This is definitely strange.’

As the novel’s main lead, Haban possessed unrivaled martial arts skills. Even so, he shouldn’t be this unguarded with a wild animal.

‘And don’t even get me started on his personality.’

He was supposed to be so ruthless and terrifying that no one dared challenge him. If that were really the case, he wouldn’t be holding Dori so comfortably, supporting his bottom gently instead of tossing him away.

As Dori blinked slowly, Haban’s black eyes softened.

“If you’re done playing, sit still. You’re making it hard to focus.”

‘See? He even shifts his legs to make space for me.’

He pretended to be indifferent, but the subtle strokes of his hand and the way he prevented Dori from getting down…

Could it be…?

‘Is this some kind of penalty? Like, he was supposed to find a human, but he found a fox instead? His emotions are the same, but the object has changed?’

The character “Dori” in the novel never realized it, but every reader did.

Haban had been sincere about “Dori” from the beginning. He hadn’t known what his feelings were, so he hadn’t realized it was love. Not knowing how to express it, he ended up hurting Dori.

‘Which made it all the more infuriating. They could’ve just talked things out. Said, “I like you,” “Stay by my side”—but instead he locked him up, forced him, and…!’

Even recalling the scene where Haban only regretted it after Dori died made his nose sting.

At any rate, it seemed like the plot was following the original…

‘Then is he going to start obsessing over the fox now?’

Dori opened his eyes lazily.

“You must be sleepy already. Your eyes are barely open. Well, I suppose that’s natural for someone still growing.”

Haban stood up, holding the fox. Dori’s now-fluffy tail wagged in panic.

‘No! I’m not sleepy yet! I want to play a little more!’

Dori clung to his sleeve with his claws.

Step by step, the closer they got to the bed, the more Dori struggled. But Haban remained cold, shaking his arm in annoyance.

Rip!

The precious silk garment tore cleanly before he could resist further.

Sliding off, something snagged. Dori’s claw caught on the round loop of the bracelet on Haban’s wrist, and as the bracelet slipped off, the fox flipped backward.

‘…Huh?’

His back felt light. Dori flailed his legs in the air. Meeting Haban’s frozen expression for a brief moment, the fox squeezed his eyes shut.

‘I’m falling!’

It wasn’t a high place, and he was still a fox—how badly could he be hurt? Just a little pain, that’s all.

He had gotten hurt often, whether from people picking fights because of his albinism or from bumping into materials at construction sites while hauling supplies.

Pain was nothing new to him. Compared to those times, this was nothing.

In a brief moment, Dori became strangely calm. But instead of his back hitting the floor, he felt the sensation of strong arms catching him. Blinking slowly, the fox opened his eyes.

“You… seriously!”

‘…Haban?’

“What are you thinking, closing your eyes like that?!”

Dori was more surprised by the face filling his vision.

Why was he yelling? It couldn’t be out of concern.

Maybe it was because he’d torn Haban’s expensive imperial robe? Even if he liked the fox, nothing could compare to those luxurious garments.

Dori felt a little hurt.

‘You… I really hate you.’

His muzzle pouted in sorrow.

Meanwhile, the fox’s paw still held tightly to Haban’s bracelet, which sparkled in the light.

Wonwoo placed a bowl filled with dark black medicine on a tray. He glanced around briefly. Once he confirmed no one was nearby, he quickly pulled back his sleeve.

A small flask, the size of two fingers. When he shook it lightly, he could tell the amount inside had decreased noticeably.

‘It’s not a deadly poison, so it should be fine…’

The colorless, odorless poison had been hard to obtain but wasn’t very potent.

It was typically used to make death appear natural. First came a fever, then coughing, and with continued use, the person would gradually waste away and die.

But in very small amounts, like now, it would only cause mild cold symptoms. Even that, Wonwoo had watered down heavily in case the elderly elder couldn’t handle it.

Wonwoo gripped the bottle tightly in hesitation, then slowly loosened his hand.

‘Honestly, I want to dump the whole thing in. But if he dies, that would be a problem.’

Every decision in the village needed the elder’s approval.

The red foxes of the village were so blindly loyal to their leader that their attachment bordered on obsession. Losing their elder would throw them into chaos.

Which made things even more troublesome.

If the elder’s seat became vacant, Wonwoo—being both married to the elder’s child and the strongest red fox in the village—would naturally be expected to take the position.

But Wonwoo had no intention of doing that. Stuck in this village, living each day in torment without his partner Dori, the very thought of sitting in the elder’s seat made his skin crawl.

His gaze sharpened.

Poisoning the elder’s medicine wasn’t hard. Pop! He uncorked the vial and let a few drops of the transparent liquid fall in. The pitch-black medicine showed no change, still dark and calm.

Sniff sniff. He smelled it, but there was no noticeable difference. Just in case, Wonwoo stirred the medicine evenly with a small spoon.

‘Almost done now.’

Both the excuse to leave and the preparations were in place.

As he set the spoon down, Wonwoo carefully reviewed his plan.

The village had been in uproar over a theft—he had been the culprit. He’d taken advantage of the moment to steal the sacred object at the village entrance and buried it beneath the rock where he had last seen Dori.

Waiting for the merchant caravan had made him so anxious.

As expected, the foxes were shocked when they discovered the sacred object missing. While they were running around in confusion, Wonwoo quietly spread the rumor that Dori might have been the thief.

Worried that the elder, upon waking, might ruin things, he kept feeding him the poison.

Thanks to all that effort, the village was now gripped by fear. Some were angry at Dori, others clamored for someone to retrieve the sacred object.

That too had all been orchestrated by Wonwoo.

The stolen item had been unearthed, carefully wrapped in silk, placed in a box, and handed to the caravan to deliver to his room. By now, it should’ve arrived.

‘Living in the mountains dulls your brain.’

Pathetic. That sacred object held no real power. Why would Dori steal something with only symbolic value?

‘Made it easy for me, though.’

Wonwoo tucked away the empty vial and straightened his sleeve, then stepped into the hallway with the tray.

Ever since the elder collapsed, the house had been eerily quiet. The mood was heavy, and even those visiting the sick elder walked without a sound, making it hard to tell where someone might appear from.

So he had to be careful—extra careful.

“Hey there, Wonwoo.”