Training (1): Taming the Inner Beast
When I announced that I'd be tagging along to the meeting, the director immediately shut it down with a firm absolutely not. He couldn't guarantee my safety, apparently. There was no telling what kind of disaster might happen if I went all the way to Seoul, so I should just wait here like a good girl. Naturally, I didn't listen to a single word.
I'd already decided to head to Seoul. How could I possibly pass up the chance to explore the city? When I threatened to secretly follow them if they didn't take me, the director let out a long sigh and said, "...Fine. Do as you please. But there are conditions."
"Let's hear them."
"No matter what happens, you are not to use yokai energy in Seoul. Under no circumstances."
According to the director, Seoul was a pristine sanctuary that had never once seen a yokai outbreak in its entire history. Using yokai energy there would cause a national panic, so he pleaded with me earnestly not to do it.
"That's easy enough. I just need to stay in my spiritual beast form, right?"
"...Easy to say. But how exactly do you plan to control your charm? Do you have any kind of plan?"
"Ah."
"The charm you possess is far more powerful than you realize, Miss Miho. If random men keep approaching you and striking up conversations nonstop, how will you handle it?"
"Um..."
I was completely stumped. Right. How should I handle something like that? Should I say 'No thanks,' 'I can't,' or 'Please stop' in a firm voice? Or maybe buy a ring and pretend to be married? After all, the proper thing to do is leave married women alone. If I said I even had a kid, maybe they'd back off on their own.
"..."
Yeah, right. Just as the director said, the power of my charm was beyond imagination. It made sense, though. The ability had originally developed for the purpose of draining men's vitality. To do that effectively, it had to make countless men feel sexual attraction toward me.
Of course, it was a completely useless ability as far as I was concerned.
When I stayed silent with my mouth clamped shut, the director sighed again. "We're scheduled to depart for Seoul tomorrow. Find a countermeasure for your charm before the end of today and report back to me, Miss Miho."
"A-and if I can't find one...?"
"Then you'll have to stay behind. I cannot compromise on this."
"..."
He had a point, so I told the director I understood. Fine. I'd just train like hell for one day. I would find a way. I always did.
With that in mind, I turned to the two people who had been quietly watching the whole exchange. "Please train me."
Today, I was going to do some proper dog training.
...Of course, the dog in question was me.
In truth, if I were only going to Seoul to attend the meeting, there would be no need to train at all. I could just quietly climb into a pet carrier, have a black cloth draped over it, and there'd be no chance of civilians seeing what I really looked like.
However.
This was a rare trip to Seoul. The thought of staying cooped up in a carrier the entire time was unbearable. I wanted to go to a PC bang. I wanted to go to a karaoke room. I wanted to visit famous restaurants. Since I was going anyway, I wanted to enjoy everything before coming back.
Obviously, I couldn't wander around Seoul while released from my transformation. A white fox appearing in the middle of the city would already be huge news, but imagine if people saw I had seven tails. Anyone would immediately know I was a yokai.
Even in human form, my tails didn't disappear. Still, if I dressed it up as some kind of cosplay and carried a bag, I could probably pass it off. When I'd gone to Busan last time, claiming it was cosplay had worked perfectly, so I was confident this method would succeed again.
The problem was my instincts.
Even on the train, if I hadn't been chewing dog treats, wagging my tail, and making those growling noises, I might have been able to fool Hojun too.
Yes. That was the real issue. The charm was one thing, but there was a more urgent problem I needed to solve first.
My instincts. If I didn't want people to notice me, I absolutely had to train to suppress them. Looking back, the reason Hojun had figured out my true identity was all because of those damn instincts. If I'd eaten beef jerky instead of dog treats, if I'd made human moans instead of growling, I wouldn't have been caught.
In that sense.
Basic dog training number one: controlling my instincts.
The trainer in charge of lesson one was Lee Ha-neul.
Lee Ha-neul and I headed to the front yard of the Yokai Hunter Department. To watch our training, both male and female employees came out in droves, munching on popcorn as they observed us.
...It was a little humiliating, but if I didn't train properly now, I'd end up suffering far more embarrassing moments in Seoul. The stares seemed to bother Lee Ha-neul too, because she scratched her head and asked, "I said I'd help, but... what exactly am I supposed to do?"
"Have you ever raised a dog?"
"I have."
"Then just think of it as training one dog."
It wasn't self-deprecation. When I let my instincts take over, I really was no different from a wild animal. So I figured the same training methods used on dogs would be pretty effective.
Lee Ha-neul seemed to accept this logic. She soon pulled out a dog leash from somewhere. Wait, what?
"Then let's start with the leash..."
"...I'll have to pass on that."
"Why? Putting a leash on a dog is super important."
"I'm not going to bite anyone!"
"You bit Mr. Hojun."
"T-that was just because that idiot was being so annoying... A-anyway, no leash! Absolutely not!"
"Tch."
Why did she sound so disappointed? Putting a leash on a sophisticated intellectual like me? As if that made any sense.
The instinct suppression training finally began.
"Okay, Miho. Paw."
"..."
"Give me your paw. If you don't want to do paw, your tail is fine too. Oh, should we try that? Miho, do a cute trick! Do a cute trick for me!"
"Excuse me."
"Cute trick! Paw! Foot! Tail!"
"...Ha-neul. Stop messing around."
"Y-you caught me! Ehehe... sorry."
Cancel that. We hadn't even started yet. This wasn't instinct training. This was literally just dog training.
What I meant by training was something that would suppress the natural instincts of a canine animal.
For example.
"Miho, fetch!"
Yes. Like this.
When Lee Ha-neul threw the baseball, I moved according to my instincts. I didn't know why, but the moment she threw the ball, I felt an overwhelming urge to retrieve it.
"Huff huff huff huff. I fetched it."
"...That counts as failing."
"Ah."
Only then did I realize what I'd done. First of all, I'd run on all fours. Despite being transformed into an upright-walking human, I'd gone down on all fours. That alone was a training failure. On top of that, I'd carried the baseball in my mouth. What happened to my hands? Wait, never mind. My hands had been paws just now. Without hands, I had no choice but to use my mouth.
Overwhelmed by an indescribable wave of shame, I spoke again in a tiny voice. "...Again."
"O-okay... Miho, fetch!"
"Huff huff huff huff."
Once again, I acted on pure instinct. It took throwing the baseball about ten, twenty times before I could finally suppress my instincts.
Lee Ha-neul looked at me with a complicated expression. "This is harder than I thought... Your condition is really serious."
"...Yeah."
"L-let's think positively! At least it seems like the training is working."
"..."
Yes, the training was working, but from the perspective of the one who had to fight her own instincts, it felt like torture. Even now, I was going crazy wanting to fetch that baseball.
"Next up, food resistance training."
Rummaging around, Lee Ha-neul pulled something from her pocket. It was a dog treat.
"Okay, I'm going to put this on my palm, so don't eat it. Just wait..."
"Huff huff, yip, yip, yip!"
Chomp chomp. Chomp chomp chomp.
"I said don't eat it! Wait, wait..."
Lick. Lick.
"T-that tickles! Stop licking it all up!"
Lick lick lick.
After happily devouring the dog treat Lee Ha-neul had taken out, I licked her palm several more times before I finally came to my senses.
"..."
"..."
Lee Ha-neul and I stared at each other in silence for a moment. We both seemed to have reached the same conclusion: this was going to be an incredibly difficult training process.
Lee Ha-neul was currently very confused. The more she trained Miho, the more cognitive dissonance she felt about how she should treat her. Should she treat her like a person? Or like an animal? It was starting to get blurry.
'Her appearance is completely human, but every single thing she does...'
She was an animal. A dog. Through and through.
Watching a beautiful woman with breasts several times larger than her own crawling on all fours and panting was strangely stimulating, even for another woman like Lee Ha-neul. It almost felt violent.
Maybe it was because she was a fox yokai that drained men's vitality. Every little action somehow looked lewd. Even when she'd had three tails... no, six tails, it hadn't felt this way.
Lee Ha-neul figured it was all because of that damn charm ability.
The training was showing gradual improvement. When she placed a dog treat on her palm and shouted 'Wait!', Miho would drool all over the place but wouldn't lick her hand anymore. That alone was tremendous progress. Still, there were many parts that made it awkward to call her 'human.'
Conclusion: To suppress Miho's instincts, she would have to stay right by her side at all times like a handler. Or rather, like an owner.
"..."
"What?"
"Nothing. It's just... you really are like a dog."
"Is that a compliment?"
"As if."
Seriously. Lee Ha-neul was starting to think it might actually be better to just put a leash on her after all.