The Nine-Tailed Fox's First Heartbreak
The atmosphere is suffocating, as if these really are the people who came out to drink together. Since earlier, we've been silently refilling our glasses and sipping in turns, and after being told not to look, my awkwardly fixed head feels like it's slowly stiffening up.
"..."
I brought her here for what reason.
Right. I'm curious about that too.
Clink.
She had been staring blankly at the light reflected in the glass while rolling the ice in her empty cup, then glanced at me and frowned.
Why not...
She didn't want me to misunderstand? Why would I? And I'm not even particularly angry.
Clack.
The hand rolling the glass stops.
Then why am I so annoyed right now. Did I really get jealous? Ha, that's ridiculous.
Thud!
She slammed the glass down hard enough to make a sound, filled the empty cup to the brim, and downed the strong liquor in one go.
"Huu.. This is annoying."
"..."
Why again.. I was just sitting still.
"Still, I don't get it. Since we're here, let's just drink."
".. Yes."
At this point, it really feels like bullying.
After silently filling and emptying our glasses a few more times, Master, who had been watching the Field Team Leader unbutton a couple of buttons on her shirt as the alcohol warmed her up, mutters inwardly.
It's about time.
What is about time? It bothered me, but Master just said that one line and turned his gaze away as if nothing happened, doing his work. I thought it was nothing special and picked up my glass, but I must have been too quick to relax.
Thud.
"??"
"..."
She had been drinking enough that it would be strange if she wasn't drunk, but I naturally thought she would control it appropriately. From the first order, seeing bottles lined up, I wondered if she had confidence in her drinking capacity.. Above all, she had physical abilities far superior to humans.
"Hey."
Her voice clearly called me, and her gaze was straight at me, but seeing her flushed face from the alcohol and slightly loosened eyes, I instinctively knew this woman was drunk.
She's frowning while looking at me, but because her eyes are unfocused, there's no real hostility, making her face look rather cute.
".. Are you drunk?"
"No."
"..."
".. No, yeah. You're supposed to drink to get drunk anyway."
She said no at first, but it seems she realizes she drank a bit carelessly. Since she has some awareness, it might be good to stop her from drinking more at this point.
"You on the other hand.. look fine. We drank about the same amount."
"Is that so?"
A little mistake is okay, so I kind of want to get drunk, but since I'm with Undine, any toxin above a certain level is decomposed in my body. I have some buzz, but getting more drunk is out of my hands.. Besides the slight coating of alcohol in my throat and a floating feeling, I don't feel much.
"It's expensive-looking liquor, so I feel a bit sorry like this."
"Ah, that's not what I was talking about."
"...?"
It wasn't?
"My body scent tends to excite males."
"Ah."
If it's that sweet smell I catch whenever I'm near her, I've gotten somewhat used to it, and thanks to Undine, it's not unbearable. Above all, maybe because I'm not in an environment where desires build up right now. I remember at first being dazed by that sweet scent and meeting eyes, completely losing my mind. The team leader said my mental resistance has become unusually strong, but I don't feel the change well, but this might be one reason why I'm okay now.
Of course, even now, my gaze keeps being drawn to her simply because she has such beauty that she seems to brighten the surroundings alone even in this dark bar. She clearly possessed the looks fitting for a nine-tailed fox that bewitches people and devours their livers; this is unavoidable.
"Right now, we're this close, even meeting eyes, and with some alcohol in... You still look fine."
"That is.. so...?"
Whether that's a complaint or something surprising. Because of her persistent gaze, there's nowhere to put my eyes. By chance, she had unbuttoned a few shirt buttons earlier, revealing a glimpse of her full cleavage, and the sensation from when she crossed her arms earlier comes to mind, messing up my thoughts.
Feeling hot, she sweeps back her beautiful black hair from the forehead, lets out a sweet sigh, grabs my wrist holding the glass, and places it on the table.
"Why, why.. why are you doing this?"
No matter how I think about it, her condition today was strange, so honestly I'm flustered. Suddenly making a drinking appointment, constantly being prickly, but it doesn't seem like she's particularly angry at me. Yet her inner thoughts are as disorganized and confused as mine, so the part where I can't grasp her intentions is unsettling.
"... You, you're good at listening to stories."
"Yes?"
For now.. I am a counselor, but suddenly? While thinking that, she opened her mouth without waiting for my answer.
"Just, I suddenly wanted to tell an old story."
"... An old story?"
"That, it's not that old, maybe when this place was still called Hanyang."
.. That seems pretty old. At least before I was born.
"... What's with that expression."
"What expression are you talking about.."
I was a bit stunned that it wasn't that old, and it must have shown. I realize anew, but the selfishly beautiful woman in front of me was definitely a non-human classified as a yokai.
".. There was a human I liked before, and I think he probably liked me too."
"That is..? That's good."
I wondered what story she was going to tell, but the background is way before my parents were born. Yet she uses the word "before" well. Plus, is this a love story?
"Yeah, it's good. It was a fitting opportunity to realize that even a mere yokai can harbor affection for a human."
Excited to have grown nine tails and finally gotten the human form I so desired, I ran down to the village, and the person I happened to meet was really kind.
"But nine-tailed foxes.. feed on human energy, right?"
"Right. He was the young master of a noble family in that village, and at first, I only thought about how to bewitch him and fill my stomach."
I thought it might have been rude, but she accepts it nonchalantly. Maybe because she's drunk, she chooses to continue the story obediently, trying to recall that time she doesn't remember well now.
"Then did you come to harbor goodwill?"
"Yeah, I don't know well either. Suddenly, I thought I didn't want to take anything from that person."
Something heart-fluttering. The moment a man-eating nine-tailed fox first falls in love, this would be popular even as a drama.
"... So what happened?"
"Well, after that, I went down to the village a few more times to meet him, and each time we met and talked, I thought we had quite an intimate relationship. Closer than friends."
He couldn't easily calm his face that flushed in front of me, and was always eager to give me something.
"Yeah, so I confessed first. That I was a nine-tailed fox."
"Yes.. No, why? It was going well?"
Maybe the viewership was low, this sudden development was unexpected. Whether because she was drunk or because now it doesn't stir much emotion, she was speaking in such a calm voice that I was flustered by the sudden turn.
"I didn't want to deceive the person I liked."
"That is.. right."
The Field Team Leader's first love, what kind of person was he? I'm very curious. I don't know if it was because he was the first person she could interact with after gaining human form.. Anyway, I want to praise the nine-tailed fox's honesty now, but this development is nothing but unsettling. If there's such a scene in a drama, from the next episode, there will definitely be a storm that's hard to skip. And usually, the frustrating male lead deepens the conflict.
".. At first, he thought it was a joke, so when I showed my tail, his face turned white and he got furious."
He asked if I deceived him, if I was trying to eat him. If I really intended that, I wouldn't have revealed my identity in the first place.
It must have been bewildering, but this is.. frustrating. He kicked away such a big opportunity right in front of him without knowing. .. Am I feeling jealous right now? No, I should just say it's a pity. The Field Team Leader is so pretty it's a waste to give her to a man.. and every time she gets annoyed, the surroundings break pitifully, but she's a much more sincere personality than the team leader.
".. It's frustrating."
"He was a frustrating man. People in the old days didn't have much flexibility."
Even the Field Team Leader admits it. Well, yeah. So what happened then.
"So? What happened after that?"
"He scolded me, saying how dare I deceive and toy with him to steal his soul."
In fact, those who smelled the scent from this body, especially males, would act like they'd offer their livers and gallbladders just by meeting eyes.
"I wanted to say no, but I couldn't say it like that. I thought all men were like that. Whether he liked me because of my bewitching scent and eyes or because our hearts truly connected.. I couldn't tell if it was real or not."
I couldn't tell.. That must have been it. And I also first guess that if that person was an ordinary human, he would have been bewitched. Facing a nine-tailed fox with such looks and being exposed to her traits, any male would defenselessly offer their heart in an awkward posture.
"Even so, that's.. So, what about you, Field Team Leader?"
"I.. ran away. I was angry and sad, and disappointed, so after that, I rarely went down to the village. Well, the house where that person lived stayed in that spot for quite a long time... He must have had lots of kids and lived well, then buried somewhere sunny."
She's speaking calmly right now, but after hearing it all, this is the story of her first heartbreak because she was a nine-tailed fox. In this dark bar, with a Joseon background.. I didn't expect to hear such a private love story.
".. So I'm looking for a man who won't be bewitched even if he smells my scent or meets my eyes. I'm curious what real love is like."
"..."
Real love, even middle school girls who are very interested in that side would be embarrassed to say directly, but she says it well. She's drunk so not in her right mind, but there really was someone who says such things. ... Even though she's a nine-tailed fox.
"Huh."
But something suddenly occurred to me.. The person who isn't affected by her scent or eyes, .. Isn't that me?