There was a perfect spot for camping inside the Snake Rim cave. The ceiling of the cave was wide open, letting in plenty of sunlight, and there was a never-drying spring—perfect for rinsing lettuce or other vegetables for a meat party.
When Kessler was the first to discover the place and set up his tent, Bori Noona’s group followed suit and took a spot nearby. Then came Kebab, and next door to him was the SoftOnion family…
In the end, the area turned into a tent village, but of course, the prime spot belonged to us, the first ones to stake our claim. I crawled into Kessler’s tent and lay down on the baby fox-sized resting bed.
I set the game to auto-log out after one hour, recalling a user’s legendary tip about how, if you lay out the bedding in-game and close your eyes, you can actually get a great nap in real life too.
Neo City wasn’t far now. Whether I was in baby fox form or baby fox-lizard form, Kessler loved both. But because I had set up this roleplay concept where I couldn’t speak as a baby fox in front of Kessler at the start, there were now all kinds of inconvenient situations.
I wanted to get to Neo City and become human already.
Zzz…
Somewhere between all these thoughts, I drifted off. A pleasant weight and warm sensation settled over my curled-up body.
“Koya, koya.”
A hand wiped away the drool trickling from my snout.
When I opened my eyes again, Kessler was there, fast asleep while holding me in his arms.
***
As soon as I woke up, I started packing. We had booked a full-service move, but I still needed to pre-pack small valuables and delicate items.
“…But why does Kessler have more stuff than me? Isn’t this supposed to be my house?”
Maybe he heard his name. Kessler, who was brushing his teeth, walked over.
“You called me?”
“No, I was just marveling at how much stuff you have. Go finish your brushing.”
“’Kay.”
I went back to sorting the drawers. Why are there five different kinds of candle warmers? And what I thought was a bag turned out to be an LP player. He doesn’t even own any records…
“Huh?”
There was a character illustrated on the player and LPs in the corner. At first, I assumed it was some cartoon character—but then I realized I’d seen this exact design on Jung Da-hoon’s tent. It was a limited edition weverK player, released by the company to celebrate the seasonal championship.
The LP set even included the theme songs of the main champions—a collector’s item.
“….”
Now that I thought about it, those candle warmers too. I had wondered about the bulging part in the back—on closer look, it was a fox tail. There were white, black, and yellow versions… These looked like unofficial fan-made merchandise.
I opened the next drawer and found an even more serious collection of goods had begun.
“That’s my treasure vault,” said Kessler, now freshly washed and back.
“What’s this?”
“Oh, that’s a card deck. Want me to read your tarot?”
“And this?”
“That’s a mini figure set.”
“This one…”
“That’s a stealth keyring and washi tape for undercover fans of the Baby Fox Lovers Club. It was cute, so I bought it.”
“Where did you even get all of this? And seriously, we live together—what are you lacking that you had to go out and buy all this stuff about me?”
To be blunt, while I respected it, I really couldn’t understand it. Same with Jung Da-hoon, and now Kessler too. They hang out with me every day, so why do they need to collect stuff related to me? When you think about it, this merch is even more expensive than similar items with the same function.
“I’m not criticizing you. I’m just curious.”
“It’s my joy.”
“Really? But there are prettier designs out there, right? Things that match your taste more, or your room decor better.”
“These were made by people who love you, with that love reflected in the design. That’s why they’re more special than anything else.”
Kessler lovingly stroked the character of me with fox ears and a tail. With that much sincerity, I couldn’t push any further. Fine—if it makes you happy, that’s all that matters.
“Do you want me to keep organizing your precious stuff? Or would you rather do it yourself?”
“Hmm, then… can I pack your stuff?”
“You little—”
“I want to take care of your things.”
He called me “Hyung” out of the blue, like a preemptive strike to stop me from refusing him. I couldn’t resist that kind of boldness.
“Then do you want to organize the drawer under that shelf? Fold the boxes by the wall and use them to separate everything into compartments.”
“Got it.”
Kessler sat obediently in front of the drawer, but then stood up again right away.
“What is it? Do you need something, Kessler?”
“I need you.”
Then he lifted the entire drawer and moved it next to me.
“Baby Fox, want to sit on my lap while you do it?”
“Let me work in peace, will you?”
I’d just asked him to organize a random drawer, but now that I looked, it was full of old belongings. A game console, an elementary school diary, even a name tag I used to wear as a student.
Kessler stared down at my name tag, then held it up to his chest.
“I want to try that too.”
“What?”
“Wearing a school uniform and going to Lotte World and stuff.”
I’d seen something like that before on a list of “Things foreign tourists want to do when visiting Korea.”
“You really want to? But… aren’t we a bit too old for—”
“Jung Da-hoon and Jang Bori went too.”
And just like that, the age excuse crumbled—Bori Noona is two years older than me. Kessler looked up at me with eyes sparkling with anticipation. I sighed and gave in.
“Fine. Let’s go when the cherry blossoms bloom in spring.”
…How did I end up like this?
I’m not someone completely closed off, but I’ve always lived by a simple rule: if I don’t like it, I don’t do it. I didn’t even appear on my parents’ camping channel, which they ran for three years, until just recently… and come to think of it, that was also because of Kessler.
“This is insane.”
“Hm?”
Kessler was holding a photo album filled with pictures from my childhood. The way he turned each page slowly, carefully, completely focused—it was so cute that I couldn’t help but smile.
“You were pretty even as a kid. Those eyes are huge.”
In truth, that was an album I’d deliberately kept hidden. Kessler had once asked if I had any childhood photos besides the ones online, and I’d told him no.
Many of those photos were with my parents. I’d grown up surrounded by love, and for some reason, I’d felt guilty showing that. Because Kessler’s parents…
‘But it’s okay now.’
Because now I knew—he wouldn’t be hurt by seeing this.
As I sorted through the letters I’d received from fans, bundling them by size, the only sounds in the room were the occasional rustle of Kessler flipping pages beside me.
When I finished the last bundle, I reached out and gently rubbed the back of Kessler’s neck as he remained absorbed in the album.
“Is it fun?”
“…This one.”
Kessler pointed to a photo he’d been staring at intently. I followed his finger.
There I was, a child under a parasol with the sea behind me, smiling stupidly and making a V with both hands. And beside me was a sulky-faced boy looking straight into the camera…
“Is this you next to me, Kessler?”
“That’s me.”
“…”
We both stared at the photo in silence.
In front of the younger Kessler was a neatly built sandcastle. I knew roughly where this was. Kessler must have, too.
I rubbed my eyes and looked again. Of course I remembered this photo. The memory was faint, but it was there.
“If he’s that pretty, then take him and raise him! Just throw me away!”
That day, Mom and Dad had run into that baby boy on the beach and kept saying how adorable he was. I’d gotten jealous and blurted out those negative feelings… An embarrassing memory from my bratty golden-child days.
While I cringed at the memory, Kessler looked pleased.
“We must be destined, Baby Fox.”
He gently rested his face on my shoulder. At that moment, I couldn’t say anything. I bit down on my lower lip and cupped his cheek to keep him from lifting his head.
A rush of guilt swept through me.
“So that was you. You were the one who gave me shade that day.”
Kessler quietly caressed the edge of the photo. …That was the day he’d been abandoned.
“Do you remember that day, Juwon?”
“I do.”
I’ve always had a sharp memory, but to me, that day was just one among many. Which meant I only remembered fragments—blurry pieces. I hoped it was the same for him.
I was nervous. I wondered if my younger, thoughtless self had said something hurtful back then.
“I still have that blue parasol.”
“…You do?”
“You don’t remember giving it to me?”
Kessler lifted his head and looked me in the eye. I turned away quickly, but the redness around my eyes probably gave me away.
“I gave that to you?”
All I remembered was that, at some point, the blue parasol was gone and we had a new one.
“You stepped on part of my sandcastle and collapsed it—”
“Ha, I knew it. I really was a bratty little shit…”
“You gave me the parasol to apologize. You talked to me, said the sandcastle looked pretty, even asked to take a picture together.”
“I said that? You’re not just making this up on the spot?”
“I remember everything from that day.”
How deep the wound must’ve been for him to remember it all. And there I was in the photo, smiling so brightly, so clueless. What a heartless little punk.
“As long as I wasn’t rude to you, that’s all I care about.”
Kessler was someone precious—he shouldn’t have had to suffer from some thoughtless kid.
“That’s amazing,” Kessler murmured.
While he spoke, I desperately tried to recall that day. I think I got annoyed in the car. The negative emotions probably lingered in my memory because on the way home, my parents couldn’t stop praising that other kid—and I got jealous.
Feeling frustrated, I found myself rambling, spilling out the honest thoughts I could only admit now.
“If I could go back in time, I’d make sure not to leave you sitting there all alone like that. I’d scoop you right up.”
Forget about which family you might’ve ended up with or what kind of home—if I could go back to then, I’d take you with me and raise you at my side.
I pulled Kessler into a tight hug.
