NTH 125

Chaewoo, who had gone to the shed with Gu Minho, was startled. A large rooster and as many as seven hens were walking around inside the shed. Chickens were hard to come by deep in the mountains and were therefore extremely precious livestock, so Chaewoo’s jaw dropped.

“Did you catch these?”

“Yes.”

“Really? To give to me?”

When Chaewoo asked, full of expectation, Gu Minho turned his head away with a hwak, avoiding his gaze.

“If you don’t need them, I’ll take them back.”

“What do you mean, I don’t need them! I’m so happy I feel like I could fly! I need to build a chicken coop right away! And make a cozy nest for the hens to brood their eggs!”

A ghastly aura crept over Gu Minho’s face as he stared blankly at Chaewoo, who was happy enough to jump up and down. A sudden chill made the smile on Chaewoo’s face gradually fade.

“Wh-what’s wrong?”

Gu Minho spread his hand wide and held it out. It was much bigger than before, but to Chaewoo, it still felt the size of a fernbrake-like hand. He placed his palm on Chaewoo’s chest and pressed down gently.

“You can eat those chickens, but what shall I fill my hunger with….”

A chill ran down Chaewoo’s spine. Could it be that Gu Minho had come to eat his liver?

The first time they met again in several years….

Bringing eight chickens as a gift and then….

“If you want to eat my liver, then do so.”

Chaewoo said gallantly, puffing out his chest. A look of bewilderment appeared on Gu Minho’s face, which had been full of a chilly aura. He tensed his fingertips as if to dig into Chaewoo’s chest and brought his face close under Chaewoo’s chin.

“Are you saying it’s fine for me to tear your flesh and rip out your liver just like this?”

“Yes.”

“Why is that? You saved my life, braving danger. Shouldn’t you be trembling with a sense of betrayal at the shameless monster who is trying to repay your kindness with enmity?”

“Just as you couldn’t understand the human heart I possess, it is impossible for me to understand the innate nature of a monster you were born with. I can only accept it.”

Gu Minho’s face contorted in bewilderment.

“Accept it…?”

“Yes. If you want to be friends with a being you can’t understand, there is no other way. You are you, and I am I; because we can’t understand, we acknowledge each other as we are.”

“…”

“It doesn’t seem so bad to be eaten and become a part of your body to live for a thousand years. They say gumihos can live for over a thousand years, after all.”

“…You must truly be insane.”

“Perhaps I am. But to be honest, the desire to survive and continue to be your friend is greater than the desire to be eaten. I will be your only human friend, and you will be my only monster friend.”

Gu Minho’s expression changed to one of vexation. As if something displeased him, he pushed Chaewoo’s chest and went out of the shed. Closing the shed door and following him, Chaewoo called out to him teasingly.

“Hey, Minho. Have you decided to just leave my liver alone?”

“Be quiet. Just go catch a chicken.”

“How can I eat something so precious that my friend gave me as a gift? I’m going to take good care of them and let them have chicks so they can multiply into dozens. Ah, right, but what should we do about replenishing your yang energy? Should I go and catch a mountain rat for you right away?”

Gu Minho, who was walking with his back to him, stopped. Turning around, he glided in front of Chaewoo in the blink of an eye. He reached out, grabbed the nape of Chaewoo’s neck with a hwak, and before Chaewoo could even resist, he pressed his lips against Chaewoo’s.

“Heu-eup…!”

As a surprised Chaewoo opened his mouth, a hot tongue pushed its way in with a hwak. Gu Minho, who had wrapped his tongue around Chaewoo’s and taken all the saliva from his mouth, pulled his lips away and gave a satisfied smile.

“This is enough yang energy, so don’t you worry.”

It was a smile that truly made one think he was just like a fox.

“And that’s what happened.”

Having finished his long story, Gu Minho popped another macaron into his mouth. Jin, who was pouting his lips, spoke in a dissatisfied voice.

“Are you sure the kiss was really the end? Gumihos originally take yang energy through coupling, don’t they?”

“There are many other ways besides that. In fact, the kiss was just something I did because I wanted to tease this person.”

“Heu-eung…”

As Jin looked at him with unbelieving eyes, Gu Minho shot him a look full of allure.

“Or would you rather share your yang energy with me instead of this person? You are a human male too, and now that your parasitic soul has also vanished, you should have plenty of yang energy. When I couple with you, I will play the part of the woman.”

“N-no! Absolutely not!”

Jin quickly pretended to hide behind Jeha. Jeha stroked the back of his head.

“It’s all a joke. Minho hasn’t touched me even once since then until now.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Gu Minho, who was looking at them with a pathetic expression as if he were watching a pair of lovey-dovey cockroaches, reached for his teacup and suddenly shouted with a fierce expression.

“Hey, raccoon! What are you doing! The tea has all gone cold!”

Hwon, appearing from behind a nearby pillar as if he had been waiting, surprised Jeha and Jin. In his hand was a thermal carafe filled with hot tea.

“What’s so funny that you’re hiding there so slyly and listening to all of that?”

Hwon, not batting an eyebrow regardless of Gu Minho’s accusations, refilled their cups with warm tea.

“Because I rarely get the chance to hear about what happened to you, Master, before you met me.”

“Why do you want to hear about something like that?”

“If it is about you, Master, I wish to know everything without exception. And I hope that there is no one in this world who knows more about you, Master, than I do.”

Jeha and Jin’s eyes grew round, seeing Hwon speak at such length for the first time. Moreover, the content of his words even had the feel of a male lead obsessing over his lover; for the always taciturn and obedient Hwon, it was extremely out of character.

Even Gu Minho seemed a little flustered as he berated him, shouting at the top of his lungs.

“What is this slippery-as-an-eel raccoon child saying to give me the creeps! If you have the energy to care about such things, go and cook! For dinner tonight, I want to eat my fill of the Grade 1 Korean beef that Chaewoo brought!”

Hwon, smiling silently, bowed politely and withdrew. Jin, who was diligently cutting and eating his cake with a fork, asked as if he had just thought of something.

“By the way, that large gumiho that Yonggeol killed, was it your mom or dad, Mr. Minho?”

Come to think of it, even though they had interacted for such a long time, Jeha had never asked Gu Minho about the identity of the large gumiho. At first, he was deliberately careful because he didn’t want to remind Gu Minho of a traumatic memory, and later, so much time had passed that he had forgotten about it.

“Gumihos don’t have parents. That was my predecessor.”

“Predecessor?”

“Yes. A gumiho creates and raises a successor only about once or twice in a thousand years. They usually take them around and look after them until they’re about three hundred years old, but I lost my predecessor at a mere hundred because of that hunter bastard.”

That was a story Jeha was hearing for the first time as well. Jin, curious, launched a barrage of questions.

“Then do you have a successor too, Mr. Minho?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I didn’t make one because it was a hassle.”

“Isn’t there an obligation to make one?”

“They say you have to do it once in your lifetime.”

“How do you make one?”

“Usually, you choose a successor from the fox pack that follows you.”

“A fox pack that follows you? Then does that mean your successor could possibly come from among these kids?”

Jin pointed at the nine fox cubs teeming on his lap and around him. Gu Minho nodded his head with a reluctant expression.

“Yes. It’s a hassle to look for a successor elsewhere, so I plan to choose from among them.”

“Waaah…”

Jin’s mouth fell open in admiration as if he found it fascinating. Seeing Jin stroking Number One and Number Three, who were sitting on his lap, Gu Minho tilted his head.

“What are you thinking about to make you do that?”

“I was wondering if I could become like Jeha and Mr. Minho, who were friends for nine hundred years, with one of these kids.”

“…”

“If that’s possible, I’ll also try to accept the incomprehensible aspects as they are, just like Chaewoo said. Then we could become one-of-a-kind friends to each other and build a long friendship connected by trust.”

Jeha felt a little embarrassed and gulped down his tea with a hururuk.

It seemed that his personality when he was Chaewoo was better at saying cheesy things than he was now. If he had been Kwon Jeha, who was more influenced by reason than emotion, he would not have taken care of a heterogeneous being like a monster with such devotion, nor would he have prepared a hiding place and tried so hard to keep him alive, nor would he have stolen the hunter’s medicine and physically blocked him to let him escape.

Still, his feeling that he was glad Gu Minho was alive remained unchanged.

Although he was a cold, selfish, and fickle monster, Jeha had borrowed his wisdom many times throughout his life, and this time, he had received great help from Gu Minho in saving Jin. With just the matter of Jin alone, it could be said that Gu Minho had already repaid his debt of nine hundred years ago in full.

“Mr. Minho, do you still not trust humans even now?”

Jin asked, pausing from hugging Number One and rubbing his cheek against his face. Jeha felt like he knew what Gu Minho’s answer would be without even hearing it.

“Yes. I do not trust humans.”

“Aah…”

Jin nodded his head as if a little disappointed. Jeha prepared himself mentally.

“But I trust Chaewoo.”

Jin’s eyes sparkled. Jeha already knew what Gu Minho would say after that as well.

“Among all humans, I only trust ‘only Chaewoo.’”

“Oh…”

“That gentleman ordered me to. Where in the world would you find such a well-behaved, good monster? I think that when I die, I will probably occupy the best seat in paradise.”

When would Gu Minho forget those words? He didn’t regret having said them, but it was quite embarrassing, so he just hoped he wouldn’t have to hear them with his own ears anymore.

Pretending not to hear Gu Minho’s cackling laughter, Jeha tried hard to compose his expression as if nothing was wrong and swallowed the words he wanted to say to him internally.

Thank you. For trusting me back then. And for always staying in the same place so that I could easily find you even if I died and was reincarnated.

No matter how many times I am reborn, you will be my most precious friend.