“Looks like we need a second retrial for this.”
“This isn’t really anonymous. There’s data on who voted for whom, right? We’re so screwed….”
“Vote with your conscience, but when it comes to retaliation, it’s every man for himself.”
“If Yeo Woo-rim gets picked in the finals, Kessler looked like he was ready to set the whole place on fire. How the hell did you charm that uptight bastard?”
“Ugh, I don’t even know… At the very least, he’s not the kind you’d call deadweight… Wait… unless the Game Master’s a fan of Yeo Woo-rim?”
Everyone dismissed it as nonsense, but the idea still piqued their curiosity. Ever since someone floated the theory that “the Game Master is a fan of pro-gamer Yeo Woo-rim and rigged the setup accordingly,” the number of players frequenting the Cash Shop had skyrocketed.
“Ugh… why’s the Cash Shop so packed? It’s lagging like hell.”
—Holey Socks [SOLD OUT]
—FishyFishy [SOLD OUT]
—Beginner’s White T-shirt [SOLD OUT]
—Plastic Surgery Coupon [SOLD OUT]
—Fan Cert Badge [SOLD OUT]
—Basic Club [SOLD OUT]
—Hair Salon Voucher [SOLD OUT]
—Black Shorts [SOLD OUT]
A wave of users had begun imitating Yeo Woo-rim’s outfit.
‘I wanna be loved by Kessler too…’
Expedition Leader PeeledGarlicUnpeeledGarlic bit down on the fish-mouth accessory “FishyFishy” and pondered.
Dressed like a beginner, swinging around a wooden club and spamming teleport, he eventually arrived at the hair salon, only to sigh at the sight of the endless line.
At the very end stood a skeletal salon assistant, blankly handing out numbered tickets.
“How long’s the wait?”
—Seven hours.
“Ughhh.”
Players exiting the salon all sported identical hairstyles—Yeo Woo-rim’s.
PeeledGarlicUnpeeledGarlic grabbed a number from the hair salon and headed over to the plastic surgery clinic instead. But that place was jam-packed too.
“Hey, Expedition Leader.”
“Hey. Hello.”
Yeo Woo-rim—or rather, a half-baked version of him—greeted the Expedition Leader after finishing her surgery early.
“The hell you mean ‘hello.’ It’s me.”
“…Who?”
“GoriSsongssong.”
“Holy…”
“So? How do I look?”
GoriSsongssong was a female player.
Bouncing around with a fox tail and swinging her club, she looked so much like Woo-rim—yet not—that the Expedition Leader was at a loss for words.
Jung Da-hoon was equally shell-shocked. Everywhere he looked, it was Yeo Woo-rim after Yeo Woo-rim.
Yeo Woo-rims with narrower eyes, broader faces, bald Yeo Woo-rims, hairy Yeo Woo-rims… and then—
“Excuse me, may I ask for directions?”
“Wait, Bori?”
“Yep! Teehee, you recognized me?”
Even his girlfriend Bori had transformed into Yeo Woo-rim.
“It’s the trend now! And since Da-hoon started fangirling first, that makes you a trailblazer~”
“I’m gonna lose my damn mind.”
The whole world had turned into Yeo Woo-rim.
***
“What the hell are those airheads doing?”
Late at night, atop the city wall, Kessler looked down with genuine confusion.
I was just as dumbfounded watching with him. Right? What are they even doing?
Clad in outfits identical to mine, they bounced around like schools of fish, thrilled with themselves.
Kessler, who had been staring at them like they were something stuck to his shoe, turned his gaze toward me.
“Transform. Into your human form.”
He must’ve been frustrated that we couldn’t communicate properly.
“Do it here. I want to see it with my own eyes.”
Guess he was curious about the transformation process too.
Honestly, I wanted to hide and do it somewhere private, since transforming right in front of someone felt a little embarrassing—but just for today, I decided to go along with it. The red heart announcing our anniversary flashing at the edge of the screen as soon as the clock struck midnight kept bugging me.
Kessler had set a reminder message.
50 Days in Love♡
Your lover has sent you a special congratulatory message.
[You are my love, you are my destiny]
Reply for just 1,000 won.
Standing two steps away from him, I carefully pulled out a Jewel Ice from my rear pocket. Holding it gently between my teeth, I bit down on it.
“Are you eating your own droppings?”
The next moment, I swallowed hard. Gulp.
“It’s not droppings. I pulled it from my inventory.”
There was no dramatic burst of light or sound. No grand, flashy effect. I simply turned into a human where the fox had stood.
I looked at him. He looked at me.
“I missed you.”
“……”
When I was a fox, I wouldn’t shut up. Now that I was human, not a word came out of him.
“Should I not say things like that?”
“You can.”
Why’s he acting so stiff now? Ever since the misunderstanding that the surprise was a “50-day anniversary gift” planned by Jung Da-hoon and me, he’d been weirdly mellow.
“About Jung Da-hoon…”
“……”
“He’s my errand boy.”
In truth, I owed him a lot. But in front of Kessler, I had to phrase it like this.
“Just like he said, I hired him. Paid him half a year’s wages up front.”
If I’d said it was only a month’s worth, he might’ve killed him as soon as the month was up, so I blurted out half a year without thinking.
Since Kessler’s just a character inside a game, trying to explain how contracts and salaries work in the real world would’ve been pointless.
“Half a year? What if that bastard dies tomorrow? Did you at least get employment insurance? You act all clever, but seriously? Even I, with money rotting in my pockets, wouldn’t front that much. Go get it back.”
“That might be a bit difficult.”
“Why?”
“Pretty sure he already spent it all.”
“You recruited a reckless idiot like that? From now on, run everything by me first.”
“I will.”
Silence again. He kept watching the crowd of people pretending to be Yeo Woo-rim, then pulled out four tails from behind his back and attached them to my rear.
“Why’d you remove your tails?”
“I won’t anymore.”
I pulled out the remaining five tails from my bag and stuck them on. Full nine-tails—complete.
“Did you put them on me so people wouldn’t mistake someone else for me?”
“Why would I mistake you?”
“Everyone looks the same right now.”
I tilted my chin toward the crowd below as I spoke, but he just looked confused.
“They look the same to you?”
Apparently, he saw them differently. And to be fair, there were lots of subtle differences if you looked close.
Some users were even running impromptu side gigs with makeup kits spread out, fixing faces for a fee. A pop-up economy had formed.
“To my eyes, you’re the only baby fox.”
“……”
Why can he say that like it’s nothing? Hearing that nickname as a full-grown adult made my conscience itch.
“If you’re worried I won’t find you, just turn on location sharing.”
I thought we’d end up spilling our hearts to each other. But now that we were finally side by side, I found myself getting shy instead.
Still, if not now, then when?
Just as I was about to finally open up—
“I’m sorry.”
“Huh?”
Out of nowhere, Kessler apologized.
“For not recognizing you. For hurting you.”
“……”
“I used violence on someone weak. I’ve been reflecting on that a lot.”
“Ah… it’s okay. You didn’t know.”
I hadn’t expected him to be the one to say it first. Maybe, just like I’d prepared my own words, he had too?
“I realized a lot today.”
“…Like what?”
“While I was busy trying to accept you, you were preparing a surprise for our anniversary. Sure, the idiot ruined it and the whole event fell apart, but… I was touched. I felt how much you cared…”
“……”
“I won’t hurt you again.”
He stood tall, facing me directly as he made his vow. His dark hair fluttered like something out of a fairy tale, and the sunset painted a warm blush on his cheeks.
I gave a small smile.
The whole anniversary thing had been a huge misunderstanding, but I didn’t want to clear it up. Watching him make this kind of solemn vow… it was endearing somehow.
“I’m sorry, too. I confessed I was a fox, but then kept pretending I wasn’t. I know you got attached. That must’ve made it worse. But you didn’t hate me for it, and I’m really grateful. So… let’s get along from now on. Happy 50 days. And thanks for the message.”
I bowed my head in greeting. I could feel his gaze pressing warmly on the top of my head.
“……Me too.”
“Hm?”
“I missed you.”
Kessler muttered the words in a voice so small, it didn’t even sound like him. I almost thought I misheard.
I was about to laugh it off as something random—until I realized. It was his delayed response to what I’d said at the start of our conversation.
By now, the sun had slipped past the horizon. I couldn’t tell if his ears were red because of the sunset or because he was embarrassed.
“If you missed me, why’d you keep running away every time you saw me?”
…Zap. His sharp glare screamed, don’t push it.
Still, he answered.
“I was confused.”
“…I know.”
“I won’t run from you anymore, baby fox.”
Somehow, it felt like everything had finally been resolved. Which was great and all, but… could we please do something about that ridiculous nickname?
“……!”
Suddenly, he scooped me into his arms. The nine tails fluttered in the breeze, catching the wind like ribbons and carrying the sound of our laughter.
[System] : The master of the Shadow Castle gazes at you with deep affection.
‘Wait—no way…?’
