MDOF | Chapter 1.5

A slender back, walking listlessly, cast a long, crimson shadow that seemed to hold the darkness behind it. Seonwoo, with his back to the shadow much darker than under the midday sun, crunched on the end of the ice cream stick in his mouth as he crossed the cooling asphalt. The paper bags in both his hands swung heavily.

When Seonwoo subtly suggested he should bathe since he hadn’t done so in a while, Yeon replied that being a divine beast meant he didn’t need to wash. But this was a human’s home, Seonwoo insisted strongly, shoving Yeon into the bathroom to wash before he used pet shampoo. Since there were no clothes that would fit Yeon after his bath, Seonwoo was on his way back from buying some based on his eye measurement.

Sweat trickled down his spine, and though he wanted to go into his regular café, he dragged his feet because the overly friendly part-time worker made him uncomfortable. Still, the ice chocolate there was really delicious, with homemade whipped cream…

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Is it because he’s a divine beast that he can’t eat anything? If he could, wouldn’t he like something sweet?

As Seonwoo grabbed the café door, almost as if he were being sucked in, the part-time worker’s face lit up noticeably. She greeted him with a tone higher than usual and kindly asked, “Would you like an ice chocolate with extra whipped cream?” but then hesitated.

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“Today… two of them.”

If he doesn’t eat, I’ll just eat both. Her hand paused as she took the card he offered.

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“Are you meeting a friend?”

He’s too old to be called a friend. Though, looking at his appearance, he could pass for a university student.

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“He’s my hyung.”

“Ah, I see. I’ll get it ready quickly!”

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‘Hyung’ is a pretty safe title, right? Seonwoo thought, cooling off with the strong blast from the air conditioner after saying the unfamiliar term out loud.

Hyung… There was something similar. All he could remember was the chilly gaze from a round, rosy-cheeked child’s face that didn’t match at all.

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Thanks to him, he was living well without money worries, so he had no major complaints, but the contemptuous look in the hazy memory wasn’t pleasant. I was young back then too.

Worrying that the ice chocolate in the rustling vinyl carrier might melt, Seonwoo quickened his pace.

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—

“Try it. You can eat this, right?”

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For once, Yeon, who had been lounging around in human form, looked at him with a serious expression, as if to say, ‘What on earth is this?’ For him, the idea of drinking what looked like muddy water was incomprehensible. Seonwoo, seeing Yeon’s tail stiffening, barely suppressed a spreading smile.

“Don’t you like sweet stuff?”

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Looking up at the sound of slurping, Seonwoo had a straw in his mouth, raising his eyebrows. Yeon’s nail tapped the glass with condensation, then he carefully grabbed the cup.

“Hey, don’t blow it! Drink it through the straw.”

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Seonwoo exclaimed in horror as he saw the bubbles and whipped cream filling the cup start to expand. Yeon, obediently following his words, had his ears perked with tension, but soon they twitched, and his tail began to sway left and right.

‘Must be to his taste.’

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“Try it on after you drink that. I bought it without knowing the size… Oh, the fur! Really?”

The amount of fur on the bed wasn’t just from his tail; it was an indication of how much Yeon had been rubbing and yawning in his fox form right before Seonwoo returned, leaving traces of a heavy nap.

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The Seonwoo, who had been kind until a moment ago, was gone, and now he was pushing Yeon’s tail, still holding the straw in his mouth, roughly under the bed, grumbling as he stuffed the blanket into the dryer.

“You don’t care about cleaning, and if you do this, I can’t live with you. At least show some respect between roommates!”

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“Roommates?”

“Housemates, housemates! Oh, I just cleaned.”

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Seonwoo grabbed Yeon who was trying to escape under the bed to avoid the loud, clanging vacuum cleaner. Shaking with frustration, he placed the fur ball on the cushion and started cleaning.

“I don’t like that.”

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“What, the vacuum cleaner?”

He handed Yeon the paper bag, not intending to entertain his complaints. Right, most furry creatures hate vacuum cleaners.

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Unable to watch Yeon just staring blankly, Seonwoo started to unwrap the packaging. The rustling sound of tearing plastic made Yeon’s ears flap lightly.

“Try it on, I’ll wash it if the size is right.”

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Yeon was wearing a faded blue hanbok top. Despite the clear signs of time’s passage, his elegant beauty was not concealed, so Seonwoo hadn’t noticed how worn out the clothes were. That top must be over 500 years old, right?

“Hurry up.”

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Reluctantly, Yeon undid the strings of his hanbok, revealing flawless, pale skin. Seonwoo had thought Yeon was just pretty, but the revealed chest was quite muscular, drawing his gaze. The deltoid wasn’t overly pronounced, but the triceps and biceps had a nice volume, and the veins stood out vividly against his pale skin along the elongated forearm muscles, giving a deep blue hue.

Having only seen his slender wrists covered by loose clothes, Seonwoo had assumed Yeon was skinny, but as the blue hanbok hit the floor, revealing a well-developed back and pectorals, Seonwoo couldn’t help but let out an unswallowed exclamation.

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“Wow.”

The well-defined lats and pectorals, along with the distinct abs, belonged to someone well-trained. The indented waist was so slender, it seemed like the ideal body type for those who cared about fashion. If not for that beautiful tail swishing behind… huh?

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“Wait a second. How do you wear pants?”

“What do you mean?”

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“You have a tail.”

“Oh.”

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Yeon, checking his tail with an indifferent face, turned his head, and the tail vanished momentarily. Seonwoo couldn’t contain his outburst of frustration.

“You could make it disappear? You, knowing how much I struggle with the fur…!”

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“It’s uncomfortable without it. At home, I should be comfortable, right?”

Is this my home or yours? Not cleaning… The irritation vanished when Yeon looked at him with an ‘Are you done?’ face after putting on all the clothes. Just wearing an oversized white plain T-shirt and jeans, he effortlessly made those around him who had taken pains with their appearance seem lacking. Seonwoo could only admire him purely.

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Yeon, looking down at Seonwoo, who was making an ‘O’ with his mouth, felt strange. He didn’t understand why he had to change clothes, nor could he fathom Seonwoo’s ongoing grievance with his lush tail. He could change these rags with a snap of his fingers using his divine power.

Yielding to Seonwoo’s insistence, Yeon silently tried on all the clothes coming out of the paper bag, then released a puff of white fur, signaling he didn’t want to be bothered anymore, and Seonwoo put the discarded clothes into the washing machine.

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With the washing machine’s hum as background noise, Seonwoo stared blankly at his phone, occasionally glancing at Yeon, who had his face buried in the cushion, only his tail sticking out. Judging by the steady rise and fall, he seemed to be asleep.

Familiar with the motion, Seonwoo zoomed in on the screen, revealing a dark forest. He pinched and swiped with his thumb, still feeling conflicted. His resolve to die hadn’t changed.

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Even though more people seemed to recognize him lately, the fact that he’d lived the last 19 years alone didn’t change. Even if someone acknowledged his existence when he returned to school after summer vacation, he didn’t think he’d feel happy about it now. The thought of entrusting his life to Yeon if he were to die surfaced and sank repeatedly like bubbles in water.

How would Yeon react if he voiced this thought? He’d probably just raise an eyebrow, say “Oh, okay,” in that indifferent way of his, like someone just waking up from a long sleep. And that very nonchalant response was what Seonwoo wanted.

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He didn’t want anyone to make a fuss over his death after the fact. With this thought, Seonwoo’s brown eyes sank deeply.

‘Yeon needs to go out for a walk…’

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A vague smile appeared and disappeared on Seonwoo’s lips as he spotted the white mass at the edge of his blurry vision.

—

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Todododo

A small friction sound crossed the room as nails hit the wooden floor. The pleasant sound of claws landing effortlessly from under the bed, without any shake. The eyes, as if made from gathering all the darkness, stared blankly at Seonwoo, who was lost in sleep, before the small paws crept onto his chest.

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Seonwoo, disturbed by the tickling of hair on his nose, frowned and shifted. Yeon, without much effort, placed his head against Seonwoo’s chest, his paws supporting him. Lowering his pointed ears, the slow, steady heartbeat was clearly audible.

The glossy black nose sniffed, searching for the scent.

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The scent had grown slightly stronger, stirring up an appetite, and the fox’s teeth, now visible, disappeared into the pale snout.

Though hungry, he wasn’t desperate enough to force down something not fully ripe. For some reason, when he woke up from sleeping in this embrace, his divine power, though just a speck, was restored. So, although it had been quite some time since Yeon had taken to sleeping in his arms every night, Seonwoo hadn’t noticed due to his deep sleep and sensitive nature.

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Before, his divine power had been sufficient throughout his body. The absence of the bead taken when he was sealed, along with the long-lost supernatural abilities, made it unpleasant that he had to languish all day.

How much longer would he need to wait for this scent to fully mature? Surely, he would be able to laugh with satisfaction at the sense of fullness like he had devoured a well-prepared feast. Why did this human smell so delicious?

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He inhaled again. Amidst Seonwoo’s faint body scent, a subtle fragrance emerged, piercing his sense of smell.

How did this little human end up in the underworld? How did he manage to break the seal? Yeon was curious about him, but the time he was awake was short, and he lacked the energy to ask such trivial questions. Moreover, while awake, the human was constantly making noise with pieces of metal and busy clearing away his fur, leaving no room for conversation.

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Even at this pace, filling up with vital energy would take too long. He needed to find a way…

Maybe he should just eat whatever he comes across, even if it doesn’t suit his taste. Yeon licked his lips as he surveyed Seonwoo with half-open eyes.

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His patience was usually long, but that was when there was no temptation. Being so close to a scent that kept pulling at his tongue, he might end up swallowing this little human without realizing it.

I should fill my stomach a bit tomorrow. The white eyelids slowly covered Yeon’s obsidian-like eyes.

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