After the Meeting
Ten minutes after Miho and Hojun started their drinking battle, Lee Ha-neul sipped her beer and turned to the director beside her.
"They really can hold their liquor."
"They can. I just hope they don't end up hurting themselves."
"Leave them be. They're both adults."
"Miho is two years old."
"...She looks like an adult on the outside."
Watching Miho drink, Lee Ha-neul felt a pang of guilt. Miho had put on a brave face at the meeting, declaring she would handle everything, but the way she was guzzling alcohol suggested she was carrying her own share of pressure.
It had been over a month since Lee Ha-neul started spending time with Miho. Though short, the period had been filled with so many life-or-death moments that their bond had grown as strong as a thick mooring rope.
Lee Ha-neul didn't want to burden Miho. She hated seeing Miho shoulder all the responsibility. More than anything, she wanted to see Miho wagging her tails and playing in the yard rather than throwing herself into danger to protect humans.
But Miho was, at this point, the only one who could stand against the goblins. Lee Ha-neul couldn't tell her to rest easy.
Her thoughts growing heavy, Lee Ha-neul gulped down more beer despite her weak tolerance. Drinking to escape reality only made her face it more clearly—what was the point? For now, she would drink and forget her worries.
"I think I won. You can stop now."
"Ugh... hic. No, I'm still... hic... fine."
Ah. The match was decided. Hojun, who had downed five bottles of soju, looked remarkably steady—perhaps he had a yokai living in his stomach that thrived on alcohol. Miho, on the other hand, was clearly completely wasted. Hojun had won the drinking contest.
They hadn't talked much, but it had still been a pleasant time. Lee Ha-neul spoke up to wrap things up.
"Let's clean up. Hojun and the director can head back to your rooms. I'll take care of Miho."
"Hic... I can... drink more...!"
"Alright, alright. We'll drink more together, just the two of us."
Hojun, who had been glaring at Miho with an arrogant expression, started to rise—when suddenly, thud! He toppled over. Pushed by Miho.
It happened in an instant. Miho had thrown her voluptuous body at him, tackling him to the ground.
"What the—shit, what the hell?"
"Heh... hi. Ehehe..."
As strange sounds slipped from Miho's mouth, a single word flashed through the minds of the three people present: Instinct. The instincts of a fox yokai were trying to break free completely.
One of alcohol's most notorious side effects was mood alteration. That was why people said things they normally wouldn't when drunk. It gave courage to the timid, removed inhibitions from the cautious, and turned the wise into fools. Thanks to this effect, Miho's instincts had completely unraveled, leading her to pounce on Hojun.
Miho was a fox yokai with multiple tails. The true instincts of such a creature went far beyond acting like a dog. A fox yokai's real nature was to pounce on men. She had evolved for that very purpose—possessing a passive charm ability to captivate them, a beautiful appearance to win their hearts, and a seductive body to tempt them.
With her instincts fully unleashed, Miho began actively using all three weapons to drain Hojun's vital energy. The director was already struggling to stay sane under her charm, but Lee Ha-neul, being female, was unaffected. She shoved her hands between Miho's armpits and tried with all her might to pry her off Hojun.
"G-get off him, Miho!"
"Hah... hah... hah... hah..."
"Let go, damn it!"
Miho's grip on Hojun was so strong that even Lee Ha-neul, a physical force master, couldn't pull her away despite using her full strength. Naturally, Hojun rejected Miho.
"Hey, you crazy—get off me, you lunatic!"
"Heh... hi."
If it had been any other man, he would have succumbed long ago. Fortunately, Hojun was a genius Taoist master who could maintain protective Taoist arts around the clock, and he had plenty of experience with women. He didn't fall for Miho's seduction.
...Or so one might think. Miho started undoing the front of her clothes. Hojun was still a man, and there was a limit to how long he could resist such overwhelming physical temptation.
The situation was on the verge of exploding. In the end, Lee Ha-neul grabbed the goblin club she kept by the bedside and swung it.
Thud. Crack.
[You shall faint.]
Using more than half her qi, she barely managed to knock Miho unconscious.
"Huff... huff... huff... It's... done...! Hojun, are you okay?"
"...Yeah. Sure."
Hojun wore a displeased expression. Lee Ha-neul wondered if it was disappointment as she roughly tossed the unconscious Miho onto the bed. She made a silent vow: she would never offer Miho alcohol again.
* * *
"What happened?"
"I told you, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."
Miho was curious why her clothes had come undone, but she didn't want to press Lee Ha-neul when she was reluctant to answer. She let it go.
By the time Miho and Lee Ha-neul woke up, it was around ten in the morning. Hojun had already left for the Taoist Association. They hadn't even said goodbye, and now that he was gone, Miho felt oddly wistful. She must have grown attached to him despite everything.
Well, she would visit the association soon anyway. Pushing aside the feeling, they headed for Jirisan.
The moment they arrived, Miho immediately tucked away four of her tails. The sudden drop in her field of view felt strange. Walking around with seven tails out was starting to feel more natural now... even if she still hadn't adjusted to the weight of her chest.
The instant Miho hid her tails, Lee Ha-neul squealed with delight and hugged her tightly.
"Yes! This is the Miho I know! Seven tails was way too creepy!"
"...Stop petting me already."
"Why? You like it too."
Well, it wasn't unpleasant, but something about Lee Ha-neul's touch felt like it carried a darker desire, making Miho uncomfortable.
"I still can't believe such a cute kid did something so vulgar last night..."
"Huh?"
"There, there. It's nothing, little miss. There, there. Want big sis to buy you some cola?"
"...Yes."
Being treated like a child wasn't exactly pleasant, but her body was honest. How could she resist cola?
When they returned to the Yokai Extermination Office, the staff greeted Miho warmly.
"We saw the news. The community's going crazy."
"Videos of you are topping the trending charts on every platform."
And so on. Miho asked the 7th-rank staff member Kim Myungho, who was excitedly explaining everything.
"So... the reactions are positive, right?"
"Of course! Who would say anything bad about you? If anyone did, I'd personally—"
"Myungho, can I borrow your computer for a bit?"
"O-of course! Use it as much as you like!"
Curious about how people were reacting to her, Miho went straight online. Searching for "Fox Miho" on the video platform brought up a flood of clips showing her crawling on all fours with her rear sticking out.
"...Are you sure the reactions are good?"
"Absolutely! Look at the view counts on your fan cams. They've already passed ten million."
"Then why are the titles like this...?"
The titles read things like: Fox Cosplay Girl Barking Like a Dog While Crawling on All Fours.
...They could at least fix the titles now that there was an official announcement. It was embarrassing enough to make her face burn, but she didn't regret what she'd done. She'd been worried people would hate her, but if the reactions were positive, that was enough.
She could save them with pride now. Yeah.
After a quick round of greetings with the office staff, Miho stepped outside to return to the Hidden World. There were plenty of things she wanted to ask Sangun, and she missed Depo after so long. She even found herself longing for the thick scent of ink unique to the Hidden World.
Like it or not, the Hidden World was undeniably her home.
Lee Ha-neul, who had come out to train on the mountainside, accompanied her to the entrance. But then a small problem arose.
"...Weren't there only supposed to be one entrance?"
"...No. That can't be right."
"This isn't some hidden camera prank, is it?"
"..."
It was as if someone had remodeled the place while they were gone. There were now two entrances leading into the Hidden World.