That Sly Fox of a Bitch

1.

"Honey… ugh… please…"

At the voice coming through the phone, Kim Min-ho clenched his fist tight. I kept my mouth shut and watched how he handled it.

"This is Kim Min-ho. We spoke yesterday. Do you remember me?"

"Hah… hah…"

Slap, slap—

I frowned at the rough breathing and wet sounds that drifted through, however faintly. I had a pretty good idea what was going on.

"Building? Which building?"

"If I mention Kang Tae-ik, would that ring a bell?"

"Kang Tae-ik?"

He dragged the rest of the sentence out long and slow, then suddenly let out a bizarre moan.

"Guh-heuk…!"

Right after came the water sounds again, and a low mutter.

"This is why being dead is better…"

"Sorry? What was that?"

The voice had been so quiet that Kim Min-ho didn't catch it. But with my enhanced senses, I heard every word with perfect clarity.

Don't tell me he's fucking a corpse instead of a living person?

A wave of revulsion rose up my throat. I opened the window and spat. If I didn't do at least that much, I was going to throw up.

I was still grimacing at the sour taste in my mouth when the voice came again.

"Kang Tae-ik… that's the guy who wanted to trade a woman for food back then."

"That's right."

"But you said he was dead. You said the deal was off. And now you're coming back wanting to trade?"

Suspicion came first—but the fact that he was this curious meant he still had some lingering interest.

I wrote the message on the screen and held it up for him. He nodded and opened his mouth.

"I'm completely out of food myself. Some bastard cleaned out every convenience store in the area."

"Yeah, that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠checks out. I came up empty too."

"And I thought that girl I mentioned back then had run off from the building. But not long after he died, she came back. That's when the deal popped into my head again."

"So you grabbed her?"

"Yes."

"Hmm."

The water sounds came through the phone again. He was moving his hips while pretending to think it over.

"Hah… so… is she pretty?"

"She is. Once you see her, you'll be satisfied right away."

"I'd like at least one photo. You could be lying. Right?"

At that request, Kim Min-ho looked at me. He mouthed What do we do?, so I got up from my seat at once.

"R-right. Yes. One photo—just a moment. I'll take it and send it right over."

I opened ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the front door and ran up to the fourth floor. The two women were lounging on the sofa, chatting quietly.

"An Ga-hee."

"What? You're back early?"

"Welcome back."

I didn't even have time to return the greeting. I opened my mouth in a rush and explained the whole situation. An Ga-hee got up at once and sat down in a chair.

"Got any tape or rope? If the girl you're holding for a trade isn't tied up, it's gonna look weird."

"There's tape in here!"

So-hye hurried into the room and came back with a roll of black tape.

"Better cover the face a little, right?"

"Probably. If she looks too clean for a prisoner, he might get suspicious. And the clothes should be a bit dirty too."

"There's still a bloodstained shirt in the laundry basket. Want me to grab that?"

"Yeah, yeah. Bring it quick."

When she brought the clothes, An Ga-hee stripped off her shirt on the spot. Black underwear and skin like white jade came into view.

Oh.

From the outside she hadn't looked that big, but in just her bra, her chest was considerably full. Once she'd changed into the pants as well, she sat in the chair and put her arms behind her.

"Tie me!"

I tore the tape open in a hurry. While I was binding her arms to the chair, So-hye brought over some makeup.

"What are you doing?"

"I'll do some wound makeup. I learned it when I worked a part-time job a while back."

So-hye, showing talent in the most unexpected places. After roughly tying the arms, I looked at An Ga-hee's face—and it was genuinely convincing.

"Up close you can tell right away, but if we take a photo and send it, he probably won't notice?"

"Really? That good? Let me see."

"Hold on. Let me take the picture, send it, then I'll show you."

Click—

I snapped the photo and sent it straight to Kim Min-ho. He'd forward it to Park Chang-ho on his own. When I showed them the shot, An Ga-hee let out a sound of admiration.

"Yeah, looking at it from a distance in a photo, you really can't tell."

"Exactly."

So-hye's face flushed red. She covered her mouth and smiled softly. An Ga-hee peeled the tape off herself and stood up from the chair.

"Didn't you tie that way too loose?"

"Doesn't matter—as long as it looks tied. And you can't really tell from just the photo anyway."

"Fair enough."

"Alright. I'm heading back down."

I waved to them and returned to Kim Min-ho's place. When I opened the door, he was pacing the room mid-call.

"Even so, that's far too little, isn't it? You've seen the photo, Park Chang-ho. A woman this beautiful is hard to find anywhere—especially in a situation like this."

From what I could overhear, they were negotiating terms.

"Push a little harder."

I sat down beside him, and Park Chang-ho's voice came through.

"Ah, fine. Fine. Twenty packs of ramen and three cans of food. That's it. I can't give more than that. Without the fuck-hole, she's just a useless parasite bitch anyway."

"Well, true enough."

Kim Min-ho answered that way while still watching my face. When I frowned, he quickly changed the subject.

"Alright then. We'll go with those terms. When and where do we meet?"

"Tomorrow. I'll come to you. If I get unlucky and die to zombies on the way, that's a whole other problem."

"Understood. I'll expect you tomorrow, then."

"Smack, smack… Yeah. Keep that in mind. Package her up nice for tomorrow. Ugh…"

"Yes. See you tomorrow."

When the call ended, Kim Min-ho let out a breath and sank to the floor.

"…I was genuinely terrified he'd catch on."

"You did well."

Just successfully luring Park Chang-ho here was a meaningful result on its own.

"But is it really alright to meet him tomorrow, just like that? Shouldn't we prepare thoroughly?"

"There's nothing much to prepare. And if we give them extra time, who knows what might happen on their end."

Meeting while both sides were underprepared was far better.

"Understood. Then… will I need to join the fight tomorrow as well?"

"I'll leave that to your judgment on the spot. If it looks like you should step in, help out. If not, you're free to just watch."

Honestly, if a moment came where Kim Min-ho had to help? That would already mean things had gone thoroughly sideways.

"Understood. Then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes. Tomorrow."

I shook his hand and stepped out into the hallway. I hadn't even done much, so why did I feel this exhausted?

"What's all this~"

Steaming white rice, spam, a fried egg, and kimchi on top of it. For a world that had ended, it was an absurdly lavish dinner.

Hell, even before the collapse this would have been a meal I couldn't easily afford. For a broke student living alone, spam had always been too expensive.

"If you think about it, tomorrow's the decisive day. So I put this together. How is it?"

"Good. Really good. Tonight, we're probably eating the most luxurious meal on the entire planet. Mmm."

An Ga-hee beamed and sat down in her chair. I sat as well and picked up my chopsticks right away.

"Well then—let's dig in!"

"I'm eating."

"Yes. Enjoy."

I took a neatly sliced piece of spam and put it in my mouth. The salty hit came first, followed by the full flavor of the ham. That saltiness practically demanded rice, so I shoveled a mouthful in.

Chew, chew—

Damn, that's good.

I broke the soft-cooked yolk of the fried egg and mixed it with the spam. The rich taste of the yolk softened the salt just enough to create a perfect balance.

"Mm! Mmm…!"

As always, An Ga-hee stuffed both cheeks full and ate like she was starving. The moment food was involved, she turned into a complete child.

When dinner was finished, So-hye headed back to the kitchen to wash the dishes, and the two of us sat on the sofa.

"Ahh. That hit the spot."

An Ga-hee patted her stomach and leaned back against the sofa like some middle-aged man. With both arms draped over the backrest, she looked no different from one.

"Looks like you really did eat well."

I poked her protruding belly, and she scowled and covered herself with both arms.

"You shouldn't touch a lady's stomach like that."

"Weren't you sticking it out like you wanted me to?"

Sitting there in a white spaghetti-strap top like that—how was anyone supposed to resist?

"I was not."

"Sure, sure."

She pressed her lips shut for a moment, then spoke again.

"Hey. Think ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠we can actually win tomorrow?"

"What, are you nervous?"

"Of course I'm nervous. Did you see So-hye during dinner? She was clearly on edge the whole time."

I'd noticed that too. The way she kept glancing around and picking at her food made it look like she was dreading tomorrow's arrival.

"I know."

"Then why are you sitting here instead of at least trying to comfort her?"

"It's not a problem that gets fixed just because I say a few words, is it?"

In the end, the fear would only disappear once we dealt with the source of it—Park Chang-ho. If a couple of empty reassurances could have erased that kind of dread, it never would have shown on her face in the first place.

"God. You really don't understand women at all, do you?"

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

An Ga-hee stood up and sat herself down on my lap. She locked eyes with me and wrapped her arms around me. Her chest pressed flat against mine. I could feel her nipples—she wasn't wearing a bra.

"Like this. Yeah? You hold her."

The position felt almost like cowgirl, and her face flushed bright red. It was a little cute.

"And then?"

"A-and then… like this, yeah? Mwah…"

She gently pressed her lips to mine. There was no real heat to it, but I could feel that fresh, unpracticed quality unique to a virgin.

"You kiss her too. That's how you do it."

"That wasn't a kiss."

"Then what is a kiss?"

Desire glittered in An Ga-hee's eyes as she asked.

What a sly fox of a bitch.

Anyone could see through the act—but this once, I decided to play along.

"Mwah… mm… chup…"

I covered her lips slowly. First I traced them with my tongue, then sucked lightly. Then I pushed my tongue inside.

"Nnh— chup… mm… chrr… mwah, mwaaah…♡"

Her tongue flinched as if startled. I rubbed the surface of it with the tip of mine. When it tried to escape past her lips, I caught it between mine and sucked—mwah, mwah.

I felt the soft give of An Ga-hee's tongue against my lips and drew her saliva down my throat. At the same time, I locked my arms tight around her waist.

How much time passed? The sound of dishwashing from the kitchen finally stopped, and we naturally pulled apart.

"Haa… haa… haa…♥"

She rubbed herself against me, looking up with hazy eyes. The slight unfocus suggested she wasn't fully aware of what she was doing.

"Th-that's how you do it. Got it?"

"I think I get it. And I think I don't."

"You seriously…"

I lifted a hand and brushed An Ga-hee's chest. Just as I'd noticed earlier that afternoon, she was considerably full. The springy flesh under my palm made the corner of my mouth lift on its own.

"Nngh…♡"

She let out a lewd little sound, then caught my wrist—and gently pushed it away.

"The rest is for tomorrow. Tomorrow. Got it?"

With that, she pulled away from me at once. Before I could even grab her, An Ga-hee vanished with a smile on her face. I let out a long breath.

What a sly fox of a bitch…