"Every step you take reeks of conceit."
A Gumiho - better known as a nine-tailed fox - is a legendary creature of Korean origin, well known for its folktales riddled with charms of deceit and lies. But that's not the only thing it is famous for.
Thi...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Chapter Nine
•
NAMJOON’S look summarised every possible description of disappointment as he watched me sheepishly clean up the mess that I made. Meanwhile, Namjoon scooped an unconscious Seokjin and heaved him on his shoulder. He spared me one dirty look before he turned away and walked out of the alley, Seokjin behind him, swaying like a pendulum.
“Wait!” I exclaimed, hot on his heels.
Determined not to give me any of his attention, he obstinately looked ahead, taking quick strides. This incensed me but I refused to give in and instead intensified my efforts to catch his attention, adding annoying, persistent questions to the mix.
“Say, what are you?”
He marched on; his walk would make any soldier green with envy.
“Hey, how is it fair that you know what I am but I don’t? C’mon Namjoon, I thought you were better than that!”
The frail attempt to guilt-trip him still didn’t manage to fetch his notice. Hilariously, Seokjin lay draped on his shoulder, not unlike a curtain. One might have thought that the intensity of his movements might’ve awakened the man. It also went without saying that Seokjin was almost as tall as Namjoon, if not as tall. We turned a corner and it was impressive that the broad man hadn’t hit a stray postbox by accident. Or whatever rested on footpaths these days.
“This silent treatment is really uncalled for, you know? I’m not that bad.”
And with what I would call sheer luck, Namjoon halted right then.
“Finally. With that kind of speed, even in disguise, I would’ve easily mistaken you for a Fire Dog or something.”
And only then did I notice just how tall Namjoon was. The man towered menacingly, his eyes narrowed into slits. Despite most of his body mass being covered because of Seokjin’s limp form, he managed to exude enough odour to make me back off.
“Geez,” I coughed, whipping out a lilac kerchief. “Calm down, I’m not interested in his liver - that’s so old-fashioned.”
Namjoon didn’t relent, his atrocious stank so strong that a passing mother-child pair waved their hands before their noses. In earshot, I caught the child saying:
“Mum, why does it smell like a dumpster there?”
“Dansoo, shush!”
I crossed my arms. “See? Even the humans are noticing. Think about the Law of Secrecy, hm?”
Namjoon let out a derisive laugh. “A Gumiho, preaching about the Law? You foxes are always on the news for ‘accidentally’ outing our existence!”
