Was it because the love and friendship I experienced in Thailand had been so intense in many ways?
From the very start of the season, our teamwork had been exceptional, and that momentum didn’t waver even after summer training ended.
Every Monday morning, we held team meetings on our own without needing the coaches to gather us, and on weekends, small groups of two or three would often meet up for meals.
The second season for Team weverK, having stepped up another level, was well underway.
The sticky summer passed, and autumn arrived. Then autumn left and winter came. And as winter neared its end, another championship trophy was added to the display case of the company our team belonged to.
After a glorious undefeated win in the Winter Season, the entire first-string team shot two commercials.
Granted, it wasn’t the cosmetics commercial DealMeat had been hoping for…
One was for our company’s online mall, and the other was for fried chicken.
Normally, with appearance fees being what they are, it was rare for the whole team to do a commercial together, but the synergy we’d shown this season made it happen.
After claiming the Winter Season trophy came a two-week break.
“Haaa~m……”
After finally getting a good rest in a while, I woke up to find over 300 messages piled up in the team group chat.
I considered ignoring them, but as the team captain, I figured I shouldn’t be slacking, so I started skimming through them diagonally.
“Mmmgh.”
As I read the messages, Kessler, who was wearing matching couple pajamas with me, curled one leg tightly around mine in his sleep.
Since he took time off to match my break, it was almost eleven in the morning and we were still lazing around in bed together like this.
I kissed the sleeping guy on the forehead a couple of times, and even in his sleep, Kessler smiled faintly.
Married life was going smoothly.
I carefully got out of bed and ate cereal mixed with milk, protein powder, and nuts while catching up on all the unread messages.
Congratulations on our victory were pouring in from all kinds of acquaintances.
I created a thank-you message template and sent it out in bulk, then checked the Last Shadow group chat.
Jung Da-hoon
Are you busy, Hak-beom-nim?
Ju Hak-beom
Yes
Jung Da-hoon
What are you doing?
Ju Hak-beom
Watching Pro’s highlight reel from this tournament
Jung Da-hoon
Lol I’ve watched it over ten times too
Ju Hak-beom
bbb good stuff
Jung Da-hoon
I’ll need help later with Shadow Unraveling—could you lend a hand?
Ju Hak-beom
I’ll gather an elite skeleton squad and bring them to you
The group chat was lively as ever. Shadow artisan Jung Da-hoon was working to raise his skill level to Master, and Ju Hak-beom—practically the commander of the Shadow Fortress—was offering his full support without hesitation.
Then I read something a bit surprising.
[Congrats on reaching Master, Hak-beom-nim!]
Ju Hak-beom
OMG Pro!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!! I’m touched
[Also, thanks for enjoying my highlight reel]
Ju Hak-beom
I should be the one thanking you… for showing us such a badass performance
Spreading the teachings of the Fox Church even to the city of strict souls, Neo City, he had earned the title of “Legendary Fox” and officially reached Master in his profession. At this point, regardless of who the previous Fox was, it was safe to say the generational shift had taken place.
[I’m on vacation, so I’m thinking of running the Last Shadow one last time]
Ju Hak-beom
I’ll give you my full support. Just let me know what you need
[Still supplying alcohol to my parents, right?]
Ju Hak-beom
Nyang?
[I told you not to give them any more, LOL]
Apparently, after my parents got hooked on Last Shadow late in life and shared that news with their subscribers, people had been sending them booze and camping gear nonstop.
These days, my parents had even bought a camera in Last Shadow and were uploading videos titled “How to Enjoy Forest Leisure in-Game,” and every now and then, I’d spot ridiculously expensive liquor in the background.
Turned out, Ju Hak-Beom—the highest authority in Shadow Fortress—had gifted it to my father.
Ju Hak-beom
Grown-ups need to be spoon-fed, after all.
[Feels like my fans are fulfilling my filial duty on behalf me.]
Ju Hak-beom
Don’t look at it that way. I mean… it’s not like I gave it for free……
Technically, it was a quid pro quo bribe.
During my hiatus, my dad would pick random days to release childhood photos of me to the fans, steadily feeding them content.
Oh, and the whole “Yeo Woo-rim founded the Fox Church” controversy…
That naturally resolved itself as the season began.
When enraged Last Shadow players who’d been duped by the Fox Church stormed our teammates’ livestreams, spamming comments like, “Ah—please talk some sense into Woo-rim-nim,” someone responded, “Woo-rim hyung’s busy training right now,” and showed a live feed of me practicing solo.
Title: Who the hell is the impersonator? (2)
Title: That voice is an exact match and you’re saying it’s not him? (16)
Title: I knew something felt off—Poksup-hyung isn’t as much of an attention-seeker as that guy. (56)
Title: Makes sense. Our Poksup usually stays low-key unless it’s Nexus. (34)
Title: He said he’s been so busy strengthening team synergy this season that he hasn’t even had time to play. (31)
Once users realized I wasn’t the Fox Church cult leader, they ran to the skeletons begging, “That fox is a fake!”
But it was no use.
Ju Hak-Beom’s skills had reached such a high level that his influence over the followers was too strong—their faith didn’t even crack.
“Baby Fox. I’m awake.”
“You’re up, honey? Come sit next to me.”
“Mm.”
As soon as the warmth beside me vanished, Kessler stumbled out of bed and nuzzled his cheek against the crown of my head.
I pulled out the chair beside me for him.
“Let’s eat.”
It was our usual routine. I handed him a transparent bowl with milk and protein powder already mixed in.
But Kessler just stared at me, his face still foggy with sleep.
“Want me to feed you?”
Nod.
I figured this was just the charm of dating someone younger, so I scooped up a spoonful to feed him—
but he shook his head.
“What? Didn’t you say you wanted me to feed you?”
“Feed me… from your mouth to mine.”
“Kessler, did you brush your teeth before saying that?”
“Even if I didn’t, I’m a clean person.”
“I don’t care—get up.”
I grabbed him and dragged him to the bathroom.
I handed him a toothbrush and squeezed on some toothpaste. Then he mimicked me and did the same.
Naturally, we ended up brushing side by side.
“Truth is, I hadn’t brushed yet either.”
“Hehe. Let’s smear soap bubbles on each other’s faces.”
I thought, God, the things we do in the morning, but it was fun in its own way.
Especially when he knelt down and tilted his pale face toward me, asking for some lather—he looked downright adorable.
I’d only meant to feed him breakfast, but ended up brushing his teeth and washing his face too. We sat down at the table again. As Kessler started eating, I began organizing my thoughts for what lay ahead.
If I wanted to extract Ju Hak-Beom from the Fox Church, I needed a replacement idol to fill the void. For that to happen, Shadow Ceramist Jung Da-hoon had to reach Master level. While I’d been focusing on my main role, Kessler had been playing Last Shadow, so he was up to date on the situation.
“Think Jung Da-hoon will hit Master soon? I heard he’s doing the Master quest.”
“Oh, that thing.”
As I asked, I checked the group chat and saw Da-hoon still fumbling with various materials, asking Hak-Beom for help, but nothing seemed to be working.
“What seems to be the problem?”
“They say you need to pour sincerity into the piece.”
“Sincerity?”
I put some fruit on Kessler’s plate, signaling him to elaborate.
“They say if you sculpt a rabbit, you get a rabbit shadow. If you sculpt a squirrel, you get a squirrel shadow. But since he’s trying to sculpt the one pretending to be you—Ju Hak-beom—it keeps coming out as a fake, throwing errors. They say the sculptor’s mindset matters.”
“Then wouldn’t it work if he sculpted me—the real one?”
“Exactly.”
“Well, that’s perfect. Then why hasn’t anyone asked me to log in?”
“They’re trying to solve it without you first. They’ll call you if it comes to that.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? I’m right here.”
“They said sculpting a shadow takes over 100 hours. They can’t have you standing around that whole time. So they’re apparently looking for a herb that boosts sincerity or something.”
“……I’m logging in.”
Whether in team life or social life, this was always the issue—
I tried to be approachable, but everyone found me intimidating.
Haru
Woo-rim said he’s logging in—when’s he coming?
Haru
Hurry up!! You said you’d give me the sunglasses!!
Well, aside from a few exceptions.
The moment I logged in, I rolled out of the camping room in a rush. I stood up, dusted myself off, and threw on dark sunglasses in case any skeletons passing by might recognize me. Then I walked briskly along the newly maintained Fox Path.
I already knew where the ceramics studio was, since I’d aimed for the “Shadow Ceramist” job during alpha testing.
Meow, meow-meow.
And finally, I arrived at the pottery workshop… Wait, what? It wasn’t the run-down studio I remembered. It looked more like a corporate building, on the scale of a major company.
With the High Priest Fox Ju Hak-Beom offering full support, the number of Ceramist Skellies had clearly exploded.
–Gol, gol…… gol.
I walked straight in and climbed the stairs to the CEO’s office.
The guard Skellies, who’d tried to block me thinking I was just another fox, bowed their heads the moment I tossed off my sunglasses.
–Ba-by Fox gol-gol-gol
–Such a dashing Fox on parade!
And finally, the door opened—
and Jung Da-hoon, who had been sculpting a shadow, looked up in shock as our eyes met.
