With a trembling heart, I glanced at him. Kessler pressed his lips against my neck without a hint of surprise.
Something was wrong. I’d clearly asked them to cut the scene where I spoke in my “Fox” form. And yet, even though I had run my mouth constantly as the “Baby Fox-Lizard,” not a single line of dialogue made it into the footage. There must’ve been a miscommunication with the editing team.
Throughout the entire video, I kept glancing over at Kessler. I tried to read his reaction, but to my surprise, I felt relieved. He didn’t look shocked or disillusioned. He just watched me on screen like I was cute, focused intently.
“……Did you already know? That I could talk.”
“Yeah.”
And here I’d gone this whole time without saying a word, even when I passed through the Wall of Light.
“Then why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you call me out on it?”
“I just figured you should do things your own way.”
“…….”
Just as I was cringing with embarrassment, another hit came my way.
[I won’t be winning this game.]
[Why……? Are the eyes on you too much? Everyone’s probably waiting to see Baby Yeo Woo-rim shine……]
[You saw my score in the swamp zone, right? People were already saying that was rigged.]
[I’ve said over and over it wasn’t me. And if I do win, once the video drops, people will get it.]
Even the scene where I seriously worried about the “rigged gameplay” accusations got broadcast without a single cut.
Seriously… Isn’t this private territory? Shouldn’t they know to cut that out?
[-My name is Jung Da-hoon. Are you okay?
-My name is Jung Da-hoon.
-I am Jung Da-hoon…….]
And finally, the scene where I named my class “Jung Da-hoon” made it into the video.
While I sat there dazed, KO’d by the absurd editing, Haru burst out laughing, asking what the hell that was.
***
Post Titles:
Title: Yeo Woo-rim becoming a Jung Da-hoon-parrot is my new laugh button (43)
Title: I wanna slap that Baby Arctic Fox Lizard’s tail (14)
Title: Said he chose Undertaker because the game’s so close to death and all, but… (11)
Title: Claimed the game was too easy, so people might suspect it’s rigged… (35)
You’ve been grinding spirit runs for months since becoming an Undertaker… Then you were grinding bug extermination quests… After that you started running soul-recovery loops… And now you’re saying it was “too easy”…… huh?
└Guess pro gamers really do have a different standard
└Okay, so that’s what it takes to become a Nexus Champion
└I couldn’t do it. I was literally gonna puke
└Probably because his IRL job is gaming, he doesn’t feel the grind like the rest of us
Title: Apparently tried to leave the team just because a teammate works for the company? Didn’t wanna be a burden…… (47)
Should’ve just not joined in the first place, seriously. Did nothing so everyone else had to work double time. (Subject: the company employee)
└Kessler’s biggest achievement = getting bonked and chased out of the Shadow Castle
└Stop bullying the Fox Cheer Squad
└Blocked and muted
Title: Detailed stats just dropped on the public forum—top team’s average play time: 11 hours (29)
FYI: Poksup 6 hours, the handsome company guy: 2 hours
└So the rest of the team just gamed all day
└Wow, Poksup sacrificed his real life
└Only that Kessler guy got carried
└Doesn’t Poksup work 10-hour shifts even for his actual job?
└6 hours = 18 hours of pure grind time in gameplay terms
Title: Forget everything else, can we PLEASE do something about Jung Da-hoon’s cringe acting during Poksup scenes (26)
Title: Game world expansion timeline dropped 3 years earlier than the company predicted; classic Koreans (47)
Thought it was a hastily thrown-together concept, but guess they actually had a planned release date.
***
I turned off my phone. The footage showed everything that had happened while I’d been asleep in-game—Kebab turning scale minions into his army, conquering the world, and eventually our team finding the Wall of Light. There, we became literal sacrifices, throwing ourselves against it, and in an instant, beams of light scattered like rain across the world.
It was the ignition of the next playable zone.
Clap, clap, clap.
“Wow, that was awesome to watch.”
“……I feel dizzy.”
Instead of the rigging scandal I’d been worried about, an unexpected acting controversy broke out. For some reason, the world outside the game never unfolded the way I expected. Maybe I was too absorbed in gaming… or maybe all the gaming had dulled my social sense.
What people seemed to care about most was that the top-ranking team came from Korea.
“Bori, when’s the next season starting?”
“They said we can start right away. But since Woo-rim’s going on a trip and Kebab is taking time off too, I thought I’d try challenging Dual Mode with Da-hoon!”
“Hm… Just the two of you? There’s no, like, ‘having a baby’ feature or anything, right?”
“If there were, we’d already have a full soccer team by now—mmph.”
At Bori Noona’s cheeky reply, Jung Da-hoon turned red and quickly covered her mouth.
Confirmed: those two were still on fire.
“But where are you going, exactly? Woo-rim, didn’t you skip out on the company trip last time? I thought you weren’t really into traveling…”
“We’re going to the U.S. To meet Kessler’s mother.”
“Whoa.”
It felt like such a normal thing to say, I said it normally—but this time, it was Kessler’s ears turning red, just like Da-hoon’s. What’s with him? He’s usually so bold—why all shy all of a sudden?
“Wow…”
“And if time allows, we might end up getting married too…”
“Wait, really?”
“They say stable lives are important for pro gamers or whatever…”
At my added comment, Kessler, a little flustered, spoke up to everyone.
“Alright. If you’ve had your fun, it’s time to get going.”
“What are you talking about? It’s only one in the morning.”
“We have to sleep early.”
“Why?”
“Oh, because… um, our flight is tomorrow morning.”
“Huh? That soon?”
When I pointed at the white Arctic Fox suitcase, people blinked at me in stunned silence, then one by one started standing up.
“Dang, is it that late already…? Guess we should get going then.”
“Message us when you land! You two have a great trip. Tonight was seriously fun.”
After the crew left, I stayed seated for a moment, then snapped back to my senses and got up. I ruffled my hair, which was just about due for a cut, and began cleaning up the leftover drink cups and such.
That’s when Kessler hugged me tightly from behind.
“Was fun, right?”
“…I don’t think I could rewatch it.”
“Why? I downloaded it to watch on the plane.”
“Oh… You’re really gonna watch it?”
A scene flashed in my head—the baby fox version of me spitting out curses every other second. That dopey snout, still wet with milk, grinning cluelessly as it baked loaves of profanity…
“This is definitely grounds for a lawsuit.”
I ground my teeth.
Honestly, they should’ve pulled the whole broadcast. But Kessler had already downloaded the video.
I shut off the faucet and turned to face him.
Before or after watching it, his eyes hadn’t changed at all.
“Kessler, listen.”
If you think about it, the real problem was my roleplaying. I’d tried so hard to preserve some fantasy for Kessler—smiling calmly, cutely, in my baby fox form. Like I was offering him some fanservice.
I liked seeing his face light up, like he didn’t have a single worry in the world.
…But now my true self had been laid bare.
I bit my lower lip.
“It’s just, I…”
More than anything, I was embarrassed. When I couldn’t finish the sentence, his hand that had been fiddling with my ear moved down and started kneading my cheek.
No, I…
“I showed that side of myself… while in my Baby Fox form—”
I was about to continue, but Kessler suddenly grabbed my thigh and hoisted me up. I found myself seated on the kitchen island in an instant.
“Your face is red.”
He came closer and gently bit my cheek like it was a soft rice cake, leaving a faint mark as he did.
“God, I’m so embarrassed.”
“You’re adorable.”
His hand slid under my pants and started squeezing my ass.
“Are you seriously doing this while I’m trying to have a heartfelt conversation?”
“I am being serious.”
Kessler said it with a face full of mock gravity. I kissed the lips that landed softly on my brow and asked,
“Then why’d you pretend not to know? Did you really just want to let me do things my own way…?”
His plush lips traced my face, tickling my neck. The hand that had been on my butt moved up under my shirt, naturally stripping it away. My exposed skin was already marked with the signs Kessler had left.
“You squishy little fox.”
“……”
“Still don’t get it? No matter what you do, you’re always beautiful and cute. Whether you curse with that baby snout or say sweet things, I just want to kiss you and eat you up whole.”
Instead of answering, I unbuckled Kessler’s pants. Using both my hands and feet, I pulled them down. Kessler quietly gave in, lying back and watching me with a smoldering gaze.
It was foolish to think he’d be disappointed by something like that. I knew. It was just… I felt ashamed by myself.
He suddenly pulled me closer.
“Hold still. You’re not even fully undressed yet.”
“I don’t care. I just want to be close to you.”
Still holding him, I used my toes to push his underwear down. I was already used to the way he’d sometimes suddenly pull me into a hug mid-action, like this—it had become second nature.
Smooch, smooch. Kessler cupped my ass and pulled me into his arms. Kissing every spot his lips could reach, he carried me to the bed.
He kissed the tip of my nose and slowly undressed me, removing my pants and underwear until we were skin-to-skin, pressed flush against each other.
We stared into each other’s eyes, lips locking. Then we took a closer look at one another, touched, sucked, explored. Eventually, the position flipped, and I was now on top of him.
Like wild little animals craving warmth, our movements had gained rhythm. The air grew heavier, and the act of sharing breath became a form of primal consumption.
His cock, pressed tight between my cheeks, throbbed with contact. Sitting atop him, I laced my fingers between his and gripped tightly.
Clearly I was the one on top, yet the way he looked up at me felt like he was the one in control. His lips curled into a smirk.
“You want to fuck me that badly?”
Kessler asked, pausing the motion of his tangled limbs.
