A few days later, they visited the appropriate office and completed the marriage registration process.
After that, they took both sets of parents to a baseball stadium, where they watched a game together and treated them to tasty helmet snacks. As they cheered with excitement, a gentle nodding motion beside them caught their attention.
“Dad, still not over the jet lag?”
“Your dad stayed up until 3 a.m. last night playing the game Juwon made.”
“This is insane.”
They say late bloomers are the scariest. After flying all the way to the U.S., their parents had become completely hooked on the game. They were even going around asking for advice on how to get in-game camera items to make content.
That pattern continued even the day after the baseball outing.
“…I mean, I really thought I’d focus on the family now and be a good son, you know? But they’re not even giving me a chance to be good.”
“Agh, stop talking to me. I’m in the middle of a quest, you’re making me mess up.”
When he mentioned the restaurant known for its great food was about an hour away, his parents waved it off and immediately grabbed their VR gear, saying they’d just eat something simple at home.
“…Uh, Dad? Turn on the noise canceling.”
“What’s that?”
“Here, give it to me. There’s a noise canceling toggle right here. Now you can’t hear me, right?”
“Oh, that’s nice. Thanks.”
Still in his gaming pose, his father gave him a casual wave.
Seeing both of his parents lying there in comfortable positions with their VR headsets on left him feeling slightly unsettled. It was the same scene before bed last night, the same when he woke up and went to the living room this morning, the same after lunch, and even now—unchanged.
“Is this normal? Isn’t there some system where the game forcibly shuts off after a certain amount of time? Like a pop-up saying it recommends logging out… or something…”
“There is.”
“And they’re just ignoring it? That’s total safety blindness.”
When he first gifted them VR headsets and told them to try gaming, they barely even looked at them. So why were they now squeezing out every last second to play? Just as he was about to shake his parents awake and drag them back to reality, Kessler’s voice stopped him.
“…But, Baby Fox. Aren’t you the same?”
“…Huh?”
“You ignore the warning pop-ups. And when people tell you in chat to take a break, you just close the chat and keep going.”
“Well, I am a pro…”
“You already gave them breakfast, lunch, and dinner… so what are you going to do by waking them up?”
“It’s not about doing something specific…”
He had made a decision to be a devoted son and even drew up a plan, but seeing his parents engrossed in the game the whole time made him feel irrationally anxious.
“I just wanted to… talk with them a bit.”
“You can always do that.”
“They can always game too, right? Back in Korea. But now they’re in the U.S.—at my in-laws’ place, no less! Isn’t this kind of rude?”
“That console? My parents gave it to them as a gift.”
“Well yeah, but still. This just isn’t right.”
Frustrated, he stepped out of the guest room and headed down to the first-floor living room—only to find Kessler’s parents in the exact same pose, connected to the game.
“…This won’t do. No one said filial duty has to be done in real life.”
He sat down beside them. Kessler quickly plopped down right next to him. Moments later, they logged into Last Shadow.
***
After the activation of the Fox Church, the most notable benefit granted to foxes was undoubtedly the “Fox House” in the plaza.
Each hexagon-shaped room, like a honeycomb, held a sleeping baby fox. The facility was designed by the skeletons as a gesture of care—to give baby foxes a safe place to rest or enter sleep mode (log out) while remaining in a semi-conscious state.
Yawning as I woke up, I checked for any messages or deliveries that had arrived during my absence—another extra service offered within the Fox House.
“Haaaahm.”
I was just about to leave after making sure I had everything I needed when a fox with a dignified air opened the door for me.
“Nyang.”
He gave me a kiss, bumping snouts with mine, then draped one of his front legs around my shoulders like a casual embrace as we walked together. It was Kessler’s unique take on an escort.
“Think the parents are at the camping zone right now?”
“Let’s go check, Baby Fox-nyang.”
During my time away, the welfare services for foxes in the Shadow Castle had advanced considerably. A fox-exclusive shortcut that doubled as a walking path had opened, complete with fox rest areas along the way, scenic spots perfect for fox selfies, and even a fox-only spring. Everything was well-developed and neatly in place.
After scanning a signpost, we entered the camping zone.
“It’s so packed, I can’t even tell what’s what.”
“They’re over there, nyang.”
I was about to give up and just wake my mother to ask her where they were, when Kessler tugged me in a certain direction.
“How’d you recognize them? You have them added as friends?”
“Just knew at a glance, nyang.”
Sure enough, once he said that, I could see it too—the color and design of the tent, the interior vibe—everything screamed my mom. But still, I hesitated.
“But there are five users over there. And four are foxes, one’s a human.”
“Just trust me, nyang.”
Kessler tapped at the air with his front paw—he was fiddling with his settings. Then, without hesitation or awkwardness, he strode straight ahead. Still uncertain, I trailed after him in a hesitant shuffle.
“We’re here.”
As Kessler approached, the human user immediately stood up and blocked his path to protect the foxes. But upon spotting me behind him, his face lit up and he opened his arms wide.
“It’s me! Assistant Manager Han.”
“Gasp! Poksup-nim!”
“Aren’t you going to say hi to me? Was I guiding them properly?”
Speaking in a deep, dignified voice with none of his usual nyang-speak, Kessler addressed the group of foxes. A man who looked vaguely familiar gave me a dopey smile and waved. Where had I seen him before…?
Oh right—last year’s massage chair fan signing event. The in-game avatar had a beautified face, so I hadn’t recognized him right away.
“Assistant Manager Han said he volunteered to be your guide because he’s a fan.”
“I figured as much.”
As Kessler whispered beside me, Assistant Manager Han cheerfully held out a white sheet of paper.
“Baby Pro, welcome! If it’s not too much trouble, could I get a paw print right here?”
“Of course. Hello.”
While I was stamping my paw on the paper, my parents—both logged in as foxes—greeted us warmly.
“Our little foxes are here, huh?”
“Seriously, Dad? Drinking here too? I can’t with you.”
My father, now a fox, had both front paws clasped neatly around a liquor bottle and was sipping from a straw. His belly had already grown noticeably round.
“What’s wrong with drinking in a game?”
“Because your gaming habits affect your real-life habits! Come on, let’s go. There’s a fox-only body scan machine over there—we need to check your health stats.”
I grabbed his front paw and tried to pull him down, but he didn’t budge. In the end, we both ended up tumbling across the ground. Both of us let out fox-like groans as we rolled.
“Look at these fat foxes making a mess.”
Mom looked down at our tangled mess with a deadpan stare, while Kessler’s dad laughed brightly and shouted, “Woo-rim wins!” Click click. Meanwhile, Kessler didn’t even try to stop us—instead, he busily snapped photos of the scene.
…They may have found it amusing, but I still wanted to show Kessler’s parents a more dignified version of myself. Pretending nothing happened, I took a seat with a serious face.
“Whatever. It’s a game.”
This explained why my parents were so hooked on it all day. Because in the game, you could drink as much as you wanted and simply log out—no health consequences. Watching my dad sneak sips while glancing my way, his chubby fox belly jiggling, I let my own belly flop down too.
“Alright, now that our baby foxes are here—shall we toast? To our bonds!”
Six foxes and one human huddled together and clinked their glasses.
“Son~ Dad said he’ll stop drinking for a week in real life if he gets to drink in-game instead.”
“Fine.”
They didn’t exercise, but I figured camping counted as physical activity, so I never made a big deal out of it. Occasionally, I’d say something when the camping content clearly turned into drinking content.
‘…Something feels off about how they’re enjoying this game.’
Yeah, I decided to respect it. Like Dad said, better to drink to your heart’s content in a game and pass out there than to do it in real life.
“We’re going to do a Shadow Castle tour now.”
“Babies~ want to come too?”
“No thanks, we’ll rest here for a bit.”
“Alright then, we’ll be back soon~”
We watched as the four foxes, escorted by the human user, departed in an orderly group for the Shadow Castle tour. Then we turned around—and the scene before us was just absurd.
Around the table where our parents had been sitting were piles of the most expensive liquor sold in the Shadow Castle. No way Mom and Dad had bought all that with their own in-game earnings… it had to be a gift from Kessler’s parents.
“Kessler, don’t go buying my parents drinks just to win them over. They need to learn to be self-reliant in their gaming habits.”
“Got it.”
After tidying up the space and settling in, it felt like the chaos of the campsite faded into the background, leaving only the quiet bubble of time shared between the two of us.
Crackle, crackle. The sound of the campfire was a soothing white noise.
I hugged the leftover bottles the parents had left behind, drinking slowly. It felt kind of romantic, kind of nice.
“Should we go camping like this back in Korea too?”
