Episode 3
Episode 3
After spending a somewhat troubled night, I stood in front of Daeun's house door from the morning, notebook in hand, and knocked.
Knock knock
'...Did I come too early?'
Even though the various events of yesterday remained in my memory as if I had dreamed them, I still couldn't believe it.
A notebook that suddenly appeared called the 'User Manual', the fact that Daeun is actually a Gumiho. And even the ears and tail....
"Yes, coming."
Fortunately, Daeun must have been awake, as she quickly came to the front door.
As soon as the door opened and her figure appeared, I offered a greeting.
"Daeun-ah, hello."
"Ah, Garim...? You came super early..."
"...The things from yesterday were anything but normal events. I was so curious I couldn't sleep."
...To be honest, the reason I couldn't sleep at night was because of Daeun's moaning, but there's no need to mention that.
It's not a lie anyway.
"Did you... bring the notebook?"
"Yeah, I brought it."
"Then... come in."
The front door opened wide, and I soon found myself back inside the space from yesterday.
Daeun led me towards her room.
Arriving right in front of her room.
The two of us went in and sat facing each other on the floor.
"..."
"..."
In that moment when we were both just sizing each other up,
"...Can I speak first?"
Unable to bear it any longer, I mustered the courage to speak up first.
Daeun made a slightly surprised expression.
"Mm-hmm, go ahead.."
"Right, the ears and tail I saw were real, right? I wasn't just dreaming, was I? And... what exactly is this notebook?"
I immediately poured out the doubts that had been on my mind.
Daeun nodded her head, then
"Careful, don't inhale the smoke."
Just like yesterday, smoke immediately burst out from around her body, and fox ears and a tail appeared.
The fox ears twitching as they listened to sounds, and
Swiish
The fox tail that came near my legs and swayed softly.
Seeing this, I could be sure that what I saw yesterday was absolutely not a mistake.
"...Do you, maybe, want to touch them again?"
"Huh!?"
At Daeun's sudden words, my face started to burn.
She also seemed flustered after saying it, quickly blushing and saying,
"Ah, no. It's just in case you, Garim, might not believe me! It's not because your hand feels good or anything...!"
She rattled off a flustered, rambling excuse.
Daeun, realizing she had even made a mistake in her excuse,
"Haaah..."
Hung her head low and couldn't seem to collect herself.
This appearance hasn't changed since we were kids.
"Ahem, ahem... Daeun-ah, since I can believe it now, you don't have to do that. Ah, by the way, this notebook, can you explain it?"
Deliberately clearing my throat to change the mood, I took out the notebook and pointed at it with my finger.
"Ah, right. I was going to explain that..."
Daeun quickly grasped my intention, took a deep breath, and then opened her mouth.
"Did you, by any chance, open and read it after yesterday?"
Open and read it, she says....
Actually, I clearly had more than enough time to do that yesterday, but for various reasons... I didn't have the leisure to read it.
I shook my head to answer her question negatively, and Daeun just nodded.
"It's about..."
"What is it about?"
"Uuuh... It's the G-Gumiho User Manual. The name is grand, but it's a book containing detailed information about Gumihos."
...A book containing detailed information about Gumihos.
Whoever wrote this, I have no idea, but one thing's for sure—they have no talent for naming things.
"What's the reason for giving that to me? The you I know... doesn't act without a reason."
I immediately voiced the part I was most curious about.
Even recalling reading a page or two yesterday, it seemed clear it wasn't some ordinary book....
Daeun made a terribly flustered expression at my words.
Judging by her expression, my question seemed to have hit a nerve.
"...You can take your time."
Anyway, I came early without even eating breakfast, so I have plenty of time.
It's also Sunday, and I don't have any particular plans.
Like that, for a few minutes, I sat quietly and waited for her to open her mouth.
"Phew... I'm okay now. I'll slowly tell you what I want to say first, whatever the reason is."
Rewarding the wait, Daeun said she would tell me everything.
I just nodded at her words.
"First, I'm sorry for hiding it all this time..."
Daeun suddenly started to get choked up.
"Huh? No, it's okay, don't cry."
Flustered, I immediately soothed her, saying it was okay and not to cry.
"Hoo-ung... I keep getting choked up without even realizing it myself...."
"...It's okay, you can explain it slowly."
"The reason I've been hiding it all this time is...."
"Yeah, what's the reason?"
"Normally I can hide it... but when my emotions are in turmoil, they pop out without me realizing it...."
I nodded, silently providing the answer in her stead.
A Gumiho, as the name implies, is a fox with nine tails.
A popular subject mentioned in various media, a creature of fantasy.
If you claimed to have seen one in reality... you'd probably be put in a mental hospital.
"Actually... Gumihos secretly live hidden among humans, on the condition that it's what they themselves want."
As if she no longer had any intention of hiding it from me, Daeun started to readily tell her story.
"Huh? Does that story mean that besides you, Daeun, there are many other Gumihos too?"
"Mm-hmm."
I was quite shocked by Daeun's story.
If what she said was true, it meant that conspiracies like Reptilians had melted into reality in a slightly different form.
"I-I see."
"Because among Gumihos, there are some who want to use human culture and lifestyle as they are. In those cases, they live blended in among humans."
"Aha..."
After talking like that for a while, a silence flowed between us for a moment before she opened her mouth first.
"Garim-ah, the reason I gave you that book is... I want to ask you for a favor."
Seeing her speak with a serious expression I'd never once seen in all our time living together, I grew tense as well.
"Yeah? What is it?"
Daeun, whose expression was clearly serious but who kept looking at me cautiously.
And then, slowly opening her mouth, she said:
"...Th-this, I'd like it if you touched my body!!"
She threw a bombshell statement right at me.
"...Huh?"
Wondering what on earth this was about, I asked Daeun again.
"What did you say?"
"Wu-uh... This is embarrassing..."
Daeun's face flushed bright red as she buried her head deeply.
Seeing her beat the drum and play the janggu all by herself right before my eyes, I could only be flabbergasted.
"...My request, can you grant it?"
"No, well... Could you explain a little more? I can't follow what you're saying."
Who would say something like, "Yeah, sure! I'll touch you!" after suddenly hearing such a crazy thing about wanting to be touched?
Unless you wanted to hold hands with the police and enjoy a happy prison life.
"Hoo-woo, hoo-eu..."
Both I and Daeun seemed to need a moment to calm down, so we maintained a brief silence.
Once we calmed down, perhaps only then did she feel embarrassed, as steam seemed to be rising in puffs from Daeun's face.
"Did I, what kind of thing did I say..."
"...It's bewildering, though."
"Wu-uh, it's not that kind of thing. No, well, it is but..."
"Calm down a little, Daeun-ah. Take a breath..."
*Sseup, hoo-woo.... Mm-hmm, I'm calm. I'll explain again."
I quietly just nodded my head and finished preparing to listen.
For some reason, I had to hear it first before deciding whether to grant the request or not...
"You know what kind of image Gumihos have in the world, right...?"
"Mmm... That they seduce people and drain their life essence?"
"Mm-hmm, that. Actually, that's a bit of a distorted story..."
"Distorted? You mean it's been passed down incorrectly?"
Daeun nodded her head without a word.
"It's true that Gumihos seduce humans, but that's... actually... because they have a lot of it."
Daeun's voice gradually grew smaller until I couldn't properly hear her last words.
"Huh? What did you say?"
"Hoo-eu-eu... Se-, sexual desire. They have a lot of it."
"...Sexual desire?"
"Mm-hmm, sexual desire..."
I was slightly surprised by this unexpectedly realistic reason.
So the reason they seduced humans was...
"...Because their sexual desire is so strong, some Gumihos who couldn't hold back pounced on humans..."
"...Ah."
At my short reaction, Daeun, feeling embarrassed, started to look at me cautiously.
"...I, too, being a Gumiho, have a lot of... sexual desire, that is."
"Mmm-hmm."
"Until a few years ago, even by myself... I could somehow manage. But after becoming an adult, it's absolutely impossible..."
As Daeun spoke, the outline of the situation gradually began to form in my head.
The request to touch her, the statement that being alone was okay until a few years ago but not now.
"...Gumihos, if they don't release their sexual desire periodically, it builds up and their bodies get sick and ache. So they have to release it, but...
For some reason, I felt like I could guess what Daeun's next words would be.
If I'm guessing right, probably...
"Garim-ah, I'd like... it if you helped... me release my sexual desire."
With those final words, Daeun curled her body up and started thumping the floor kong-kong.
...How am I supposed to handle this?