“No way, are you calling him an old-version fox? Why can’t he talk? Come on, Pro, repeat after me. Hello, my name is Fox, Foxyo—”
Nyang.
Even after clearly hearing Jung Da-hoon’s careful pronunciation as if telling me to mimic him, only “nyang nyang” sounds came out of my mouth.
“Our Woo-rim’s just a baby.”
While I tilted my head in confusion, Kessler gently wrapped his arms around me.
“So what if he can’t talk? As long as our hearts connect, that’s enough, right?”
Nyang!
“That’s not the point… It’s a botched patch, isn’t it? Is that really something a general manager should let slide?”
“I might let it slide.”
Kessler answered nonchalantly as he softly stroked my long tail, chuckling to himself in satisfaction.
“Having a real-deal fox here really livens things up. Ah, but more importantly…”
Bori Noona’s face darkened all of a sudden.
“Sorry, but… could you possibly lend me one of your fox tail hairs? Ever since I assassinated the leader, I just can’t lower my hostility level no matter what I do.”
“Nope. …What do you think?”
Though he had immediately said no, Kessler turned to ask for my opinion.
As I silently contemplated, Kebab—who had been rummaging through the cash shop—brought over a team item.
“Use this in team chat. Since you can’t speak, this should make things easier.”
“Ooooh…”
As everyone’s eyes focused on my front paw, I began tapping rapidly.
[Yeo Woo-rim]: Let’s just leave the city.
[Kessler]: ?
[Yeo Woo-rim]: You can speak, so explain your situation.
[Kessler]: Got it.
“Kessler-nim, what situation?”
“I’m about to get kicked out too.”
“Why? You’re the champion, aren’t you?”
“Some stuff happened.”
He dodged the question. Guess he couldn’t bring himself to say he assaulted a skeleton?
With two members of the party at risk of expulsion, it was time to get to the point.
[Yeo Woo-rim]: We’re all leaving the city.
“Huh? But if we leave, we’ll die… Are you saying we should re-game?”
[Yeo Woo-rim]: I’m not saying we give up on the game. I’m suggesting we go to another city.
Among the flood of messages that had appeared after account merging, one in particular stood out:
[System]: You’ve received an invitation to the ‘City of Gratitude Swamp.’ Snake Rim misses you terribly.
Nyang.
I pulled out the card from my deck and showed it to them.
“Whoa… Oh? Are we really going to that city?”
[Yeo Woo-rim]: Yup. After merging accounts, I found the invitation.
[System]: ‘Kessler’ has liked this photo.
Everyone’s voices grew louder. Just when things were starting to feel bleak, a new path had opened.
“Let’s go right now!”
Naturally, the most excited one was Bori Noona. She eagerly pushed Kessler’s back, urging him to move, but he didn’t budge.
“Why not, Juwon-ssi? Don’t wanna go?”
“Wait a bit. Let me pack for the trip.”
“Packing? What, grabbing your fox photo collection?”
“How’d you know?”
“Please. It’s so obvious. Go!”
“Go ahead.”
“Bye-bye, Fox.”
After their goodbyes, we headed straight up to the honeymoon room.
Kessler, as if giving his final farewell, looked around the room he’d painstakingly decorated using the “Today’s Home” app. The hot air balloon mobiles hanging from the ceiling and the colorful wooden furniture gave the room a warm, cozy feel.
Even after collecting the last of his photos, Kessler didn’t immediately leave the room.
Nyang?
“Just wait a sec.”
Soon the door opened, and the black marketeer with one eye covered came limping in, petting me affectionately.
“Quit playing with the fox and pay for the goods. Is 3,000 enough?”
– It is, all in cash please.
“Good, hand it over properly. We’ve got to buy baby fox snacks for the road.”
– Buy tasty baby fox snacks too! I’ll even pay more!
Nyang.
Naturally, Kessler pocketed the snack money for me.
Since the skeleton was holding me while conducting the deal, I unwittingly became the centerpiece of this shady underground transaction. They were clearly preparing to leave this city behind—liquidating everything that wasn’t legally theirs to pay off debts from a wedding they had no business affording.
Debts only grow with time, but the sin of selling off furniture you don’t own stays fixed. If you were going to do something bad, this method at least gave better returns.
‘Feels like checking out of a luxury hotel after selling all the furniture, then fleeing overseas.’
“Well then, take care.”
– Gol gol.
After the illicit trade was done, Kessler scooped me into his arms.
There were two luggage bags. And Kessler had two hands.
“Let’s go, baby fox.”
But that wasn’t a problem. He stacked the bags, laid a soft blanket on the top one, and set me down gently. Then, lifting the stack all at once, he carried us out.
– Baby fox, where are you going?
– Baby fox, don’t leave.
– Hope we meet again.
After saying goodbye to the kind skeletons who had grown fond of me, we headed for the train platform.
“Baby fox is here! Let’s go, let’s go!”
The team members who had been waiting ahead waved at us excitedly.
“But Pro… Can we all get on? There is only one ticket?”
Nod.
I’d already confirmed. If it had been solo mode, it would’ve been one ticket, but since we were in squad mode, the whole squad had received tickets.
“So… we’re the first ones to leave this place?”
“Looks that way, Kebab-ssi.”
Soon after, the train arrived.
– Fox, fox!
The ticket inspector—his bones gleaming from a fresh polish—happily grabbed my front paw like we were old friends.
“Hello, everyone~ Skeleton travelers~ Heading far?”
– Clack clack.
“How long did they say the ride would take? Might be a while, so I’m logging off for dinner!”
“I’m going to take a nap too.”
“Okay, see you later.”
While everyone slipped into sleep mode, I checked the synced information.
Your skills and stats have rusted over time.
But as someone who understands scent, you can always change classes to a perfumer.
Smellbone is waiting for you.
– Available class change: Perfumer
I had hoped that maybe my previous job would be preserved under some kind of baby fox exception—but no such luck. I was starting again as a level 0, ordinary baby fox.
Soon I entered sleep mode and returned to reality.
Stretching and removing the headset, the first thing I saw was the top of Kessler’s head. As soon as I reached out and pulled him into a tight hug, he tumbled over, rolling with me, and when I brushed his bangs up, he stared up at me silently.
Haa… This bastard really has such a pretty forehead when his bangs are pushed back.
I looked around for something to pin it up with—like a laundry clip or something—but quickly gave up, wondering what the hell I was even doing.
“I’m hungry. Let’s keep it simple. How about pizza?”
“It’s cold today.”
“Then delivery?”
“No, I meant dress warmly. What should I wear?”
It was that transitional season where it was easy to catch a cold. In-game, I used to take care of a constantly sick Kessler. In reality, it was the opposite.
I always caught colds during season changes, and my condition would frequently tank. To prepare for major tournaments, I tried building immunity with vitamins and regular workouts—but it was useless. I guess I was just born to catch colds more easily than others.
Ever since I made a huge mistake in the qualifiers five years ago, I started practicing how to maintain my gameplay even while sick. Taking fewer meds. Enduring with sheer willpower.
Then, after I started living with Kessler, he freaked out when he saw that. Said I was insane. He physically kept me from sitting in front of the computer and forced me to rest.
“I really appreciate the concern, but don’t criticize me. This is my routine. If I bomb the tournament, are you gonna take responsibility?”
“I will.”
“You can’t.”
We clashed a bit in the early days of living together because of that. But weirdly enough… eventually, I stopped getting sick so often.
Kessler claimed it was because he filled me up with positive energy—or “yang” as he called it—and honestly, considering how much better I felt living with him, maybe he wasn’t wrong.
“Wear this.”
“You’re gonna wear the same thing? Matching outfits?”
Nod.
Kessler pulled out a black coat from the dressing room and helped me into it, then took out the exact same coat for himself. He really tried to make everything couple-themed… Every time I saw how unbothered he was by public perception and how open-minded he acted, it was clear he’d grown up in a very accepting environment.
We were on our way to a pizza place but got lured by the smell and ended up walking into a barbecue restaurant. We’d had meat for lunch, ate more meat in-game, and now dinner was meat again—one carnivorous day.
“I’ll grill it for you.”
I wasn’t particularly great at grilling either, but I wanted to play the hyung role in things like this.
Kessler quietly let me take the tongs, but once the meat was cooked, he carefully picked the best pieces and fed them to me. After we finished the meal, we went for a walk to help digest.
The jogging trail I ran every dawn looked even more beautiful after sunset.
“Can we hold hands?”
“There’s no reason we can’t.”
He subtly took my hand beneath our coat sleeves. Before we knew it, we arrived at one of our usual outdoor cafés.
The fact that he, as a castle lord in-game, enjoyed lemonade at open-air cafés was no coincidence. Kessler often worked at cafés known for their good lemonade, so we’d frequently hang out together at places like this.
“Time flies when I’m with you.”
At my words, Kessler paused mid-sip from his lemonade.
“That’s what worries me. What if a hundred years just flash by like this? Should we just move into the game and set up life there for real?”
All I said was that time passed quickly, and now he was worrying about the next hundred years? Judging from his expression, he might be half-serious. Live inside the game together… not the worst idea, really.
“Living happily and dying at the right time—that’s a blessing too.”
He’d been resting his cheek on the wooden table, staring at me. At that, he turned his head away.
We were sitting side by side looking out the window, so I now saw the back of his round head.
“What… You didn’t like what I said?”
“You could’ve just said ‘let’s do it.’ That was so unromantic.”
I quietly ran my fingers through his hair.
“Aw, someone’s being a grump.”
“A hundred years might not even be enough.”
“Still, no means no. But while I’m alive, I’ll love you like mad.”
I held his face in my hands, turning him back toward me. He stared at me, repeating a single word.
“Like mad?”
A sparkle flickered in one of his eyes. Then he stood, grabbing his takeaway cup.
“Let’s go.”
“Huh? Why, where?”
“You said you’d love me like mad.”
How does he twist my words like that? I pretended to hesitate for a second, then got up.
“Why are your hands so warm?”
“My middle leg’s even warmer right now.”
“You crazy bastard. Where’d you even learn to say stuff like that?”
“I’ve always talked like that.”
“Since when? With who? Where? When?”
Apparently enjoying my barrage of questions, Kessler chuckled and pulled me close by the shoulder.
That’s when a KakaoTalk alert chimed.
Mom
(Airport photo)
Son~ Mom’s in Korea~
“My mom says she just landed in Korea. Don’t be shocked if she suddenly shows up at our place.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
“Your mom said she wants to shoot a camping video with me soon.”
“Are you trying to kill your back? Camping? I don’t even have time. Tell her no for both of us.”
I waved my hands frantically. Camping might look romantic and fun on the surface, but once you’re actually doing it—it’s brutal. Not to mention, I didn’t want Kessler going alone either.
I was swamped right now, with gaming and more gaming.
Kessler stood there silently, gazing at me. I looked back at him.
He didn’t seem like the social type, and yet he got along with people surprisingly well. It was honestly fascinating. He even exchanged Kakao messages with my mom, whom he’d only recently met, and lately, Jung Da-hoon had been praising him more and more… Watching him, it seemed like he actually had quite a few friends.
“Apparently they’re about to hit 500K subscribers.”
“Really? Last time I checked, it was still in the 200K range.”
Curious, I visited my parents’ camping channel for the first time in a while.
└ Daughter-in-law here~!
└ Mother and Father, you look so sweet!! You love dakgalbi, huh~ We need to go to Chuncheon with Woo-rim oppa and treat you guys hehe
└ The stove was a gift from my hubby!!
└ Mother, you’re so gorgeous
The comments were a cozy haven for future daughters-in-law. It was adorable, but I quickly scrolled past them because I felt Kessler’s eyes on me.
Then—
“What is this?”
Day-trip mukbang camping with my son’s friend, Watch Poksup video, Poksup song, Watch Poksup opening ceremony together, Poksup parent reaction, Yeo Woo-rim, Forest Café
Kessler’s face was on the thumbnail. What the hell? They weren’t just chatting on Kakao? When did he go there?
My parents had been flying in once or twice a month to regroup—must’ve been then.
