The Yellow Raincoat (1)
“Uuuugh, I'm boooored….”
After dealing with the Snail Disaster, I spent an entire week rolling around in my quarantine room.
I read books, watched the news, munched on snacks, and generally lived like a lazy lump. Not that it was any different from my usual lifestyle, of course.
At one point, Jia came by carrying an armful of who-knows-what for my sake, and among the items were things for, what, animal fur care?
Of course, I put up fierce resistance at first! I mean, I'm far too lazy to do that sort of thing myself, which meant someone else would have to touch me, and that was even more unacceptable!
“Just once!”
“No!”
I argued with her, dodged her every which way, and even threw pillows in protest! So on the day Jia finally gave up and left, I wore a smile of victory and proudly swished my tail.
Then, about five days after she'd gone, Jia showed up with that stuff again. Naturally, I growled at her just like before.
“D-didn't I say no!”
“I know! But I can't give up! Therefore!”
Jia pulled something out with total confidence — and it was a limited-edition pudding!
The kind with extra sugar added compared to the original, topped off with the shop's secret sauce on top of that!
And apparently it was so incredibly soft that everyone who'd tried it said the same thing: eating it was like spooning down a sweet cloud!
The moment I laid eyes on it, I nearly lost my mind and lunged. But I barely managed to cling to the last thread of my sanity and asked her what she was scheming.
Still wearing that confident yet infuriating grin, she answered.
“If the fox grants my wish, I'll give you this pudding.”
“Uuurgh, you want to groom my fur badly enough to invoke the word wish?”
“Obviously!”
Jia answered as if I'd just asked her the dumbest question in the world. To me, of course, it was not obvious at all!
Why is she so persistent!
Still, I couldn't refuse right away and found myself agonizing over it. Snack or no snack — caught between those two options, I fell straight into a dilemma.
If I chose the snack, I'd have to endure something I hated. On the other hand, if I held out just a little, I could eat the snack.
But bending my pride for the sake of a treat? Unthinkable. Absolutely unacceptable.
So I agonized for a long, long while. Drool kept dripping from my mouth at the sight of the treat right in front of me, but somehow, somehow, I held out without lunging.
And so roughly fifteen minutes passed?
When I looked up, Jia was sitting in a chair, patiently waiting for my decision. And so I told her what I'd chosen.
“J-just a little. If it's just a little, I'll let you do it… in exchange for that pudding.”
“Yay! Thank you!”
In the end, my reason lost to my instincts. *Sniff!*
While I sulked over my wounded pride, Jia was genuinely delighted, handing the pudding over to me and then fetching her fur-care supplies.
“Okay, okay! Sit right here!”
Praying that Jia's perverted tendencies would stay firmly in check, I sat down on the chair with a slightly uneasy heart. And then Jia turned serious in an instant, transforming into a surgeon about to operate.
“Alright, here we go.”
Jia began by massaging my tail. It was a little — no, considerably — unpleasant, but since it was Jia, it was bearable.
“Mmhm~.”
“Haah….”
Humming under her breath, she finished the massage, and the moment she did, I let out the breath I'd been holding.
Seriously, having someone else touch my tail or ears is something I just can't get used to! I finally understand why animals won't let anyone near their tails!
Not that I wanted to understand it either!
While I was venting all sorts of complaints internally, Jia took out a spray can and aimed it at my tail.
The spray produced some kind of foam? She explained it let you get clean without any water at all.
“I'd originally wanted to wash you with water, though!”
“Wh-what?!”
“Ah! Tail, hold still!”
Shocked by her declaration, I puffed my tail straight up — but Jia grabbed it and pushed it right back down.
It didn't hurt, but my already unpleasant mood turned even worse. So I glared at her.
“Ahaha… I-I'll finish up quickly!”
Sensing my mood, Jia let her eyes dart away and quickened her hands. Even so, her careful, gentle touches made it clear just how thoroughly she'd prepared for this.
Truly devoted service to an Anomaly. Not that I thought it was a bad thing, from my perspective.
Before long she finished washing my tail and dried my fur with a towel. I was a little worried, though — because I couldn't help wondering whether it would really come out fluffy-dry.
Granted, I'd heard such things existed back in my human days. But I'd never used one even once, so I couldn't believe it until I saw it with my own two eyes.
Noticing my distrust, she whipped the towel away with a flourish and showed it off.
“Ta-daa~! What do you think? Pretty good, right?”
“Huh. Not bad.”
Whoa….
My fur really was fluffy-dry! Sure, less so than with an actual water bath, but this was still pretty decent.
So I was marveling at it, turning my tail this way and that to inspect it, when she grabbed my tail yet again.
“Not yet! There's more to go.”
At her declaration that we weren't done, I let the tension drain from my tail. She laid it back down and began brushing.
Her brushing was actually nicer than I'd expected — though I have zero plans to ask for it regularly.
…What. Got a problem with that?
Anyway, once the brushing was done, she pulled out a small spray, misted my tail with it, and worked it through the fur with light strokes so it soaked in properly.
For the finishing touch she combed through the fur one last time — and finally, finally, I heard those blessed words: it was over!
“Wow! Your tail's got so much more shine than before! What do you think? Behold, the skills of me, Han Jia!”
I looked my freshly groomed tail over from every angle. Her work was flawless — not a single thing to criticize. Besides, it had actually felt pretty nice while she was doing it, so I gave her my praise.
“Not bad, I suppose.”
“Right? Then next time—”
“No way!”
“Gwaaah!”
I hurled a pillow at Jia for talking nonsense. A strike straight to the face!
Hmph. Where does she get off casually setting up a next time?
Crossing my arms, I turned my head away from Jia and headed for the desk to eat my pudding.
It was, truly, a peaceful day.
Two days after all that, today.
I was watching TV — and there, being advertised, was a newly opened shop in Hongdae!
The place had been open for about three months, and every single visitor had nothing but praise for it. That's no easy feat, you know.
And so I decided that today, I would escape!
It's a bit far, sure, but I'll manage somehow!
“Fufufu. I wonder what it'll taste like?”
I smiled in anticipation. Besides, my tail was swishing along with me at full swing — what more could I say?
I marched straight up to the quarantine room door and, once again, broke it. But just as I was slipping out, Jia caught me.
“Ah! The fox broke the door again!”
“Eek. Jia, I'll be heading out for a bit!”
“W-wait a second! Where do you think you're going! And you promised to do my fortune reading today!”
Behind me, Jia's voice rang out, trying to snag me. But I was one step ahead, already gone — and made a beeline straight out of the research institute.
Once outside the institute, I pondered how to get to Hongdae.
“Hmm….”
As I mulled it over, my ears drooped in thought right along with me. The answer I finally arrived at was a taxi.
At first I considered the subway, but I'd be way too much of a public nuisance there, so I turned my sights toward a cab instead.
Except — problem. I don't have a cell phone. As I was wondering what to do, I spotted a taxi stand!
And here my ears and tail perked right up, apparently catching my drift.
I trotted straight over to the taxi stand. There were cab drivers waiting there, and the moment they saw me, they threw down the cigarettes they were smoking and bolted?
So I quickly flagged down a taxi. I slid smoothly into one that was just about to pull away and spoke to the driver.
“Take me to Hongdae, Mapo District, if you would!”
“Y-yes, of course, sir..!”
At my words, the driver trembled like a leaf as he drove. At first I worried we'd get into an accident, but he actually drove quite safely.
And so, enduring an awkwardly silent shared ride, I finally! Made it to Hongdae!
Took about an hour and a half, I think?
Anyway — success! I arrived in Hongdae!
I thanked the driver as I stepped out, and the taxi sped off as if fleeing for its life.
I stared at it for a moment, dumbfounded, then looked ahead. What I saw: frozen people. As shock, panic, and fear came slowly creeping up their faces, a mischievous mood rose up in me.
“Greetings, everyone! Are you all having a happy day, as I am?”
I raised my right hand high in greeting. My tail was swishing too, as if pleased to see people. But apparently the recipients of my greeting interpreted it in a rather different sense.
“Kyaa! S-Spoiler Fox!”
“R-run for it!”
Screaming, people began fleeing in every direction.
In an instant, the Hongdae streets descended into utter chaos — panic and pandemonium!
And I, the architect of this scene, laughed with delight.
“Fufu, this really is so much fun!”
After enjoying the sight of everyone scrambling away for a while, I set off toward today's goal once the streets had thinned out somewhat.
About ten minutes of walking brought the famous restaurant I'd seen on TV into view! If the broadcast was anything to go by, they'd be selling some seriously delicious tteokbokki!
My tail wagged like crazy with anticipation. And my ears, unable to contain my excitement, kept twitching upright on their own.
Okay, okay, I get it. You'll get a taste soon enough.
I calmed my ears and tail down. Then I stepped into the shop, now quiet and empty as the crowd dispersed. Thankfully, the door wasn't shut.
“Welcome to— Spoiler Fox?!”
“Ah, you'd be the owner, I take it.”
A man who appeared to be the owner of the shop greeted me. He had a friendly, easygoing face — though at the moment, his eyes were wide with pure shock.
Looking at him, I asked for one serving of tteokbokki. Of course, the poor man had sunk so deep into terror that he barely understood me.
“Ex-cuse me? Yes?”
“Tteokbokki, please! I'll eat here!”
“Y-yes, sir!”
He darted into the kitchen as if fleeing. He started exchanging words with the staff inside — and my ears caught every word of their conversation, perfectly.
“First, we escape through the back—”
“Just so you know, running would be quite unamusing.”
I raised my voice slightly, making sure everyone in the kitchen could hear the warning. At that, they smiled awkwardly and told me they wouldn't run.
Mm-hm. An excellent attitude.
Swishing my tail, I waited for the tteokbokki.
Before long, the long-awaited dish arrived.