High Explosive Romance

Fatigue and Kitsune

Adam sits in his room, staring at the ceiling. His mind was tired but his body wasn't, keeping him awake. He groaned as he rubbed his temples. "God damn it, these women keep insisting on making my life more fucking complicated." He felt too many things making him feel overwhelmed and confused with everything. "What am I doing wrong? I thought I was being reasonable," he rolled over and looked at his family photo, seeing him, his parents, and even his sister. He stared at the picture, muttering as he looked at his parents who stood over him and his sister, "I bet you two would know what to do. You always had the answers and never held back too. Even if it was an uncomfortable truth". He stands up and moves his office chair away from his computer and towards the window to watch the field behind their house. His eyes wander to the fox and her kits lying by their den, which they had made by a tall spruce tree.

 He sits there as he comes up with names for the foxes, giving him a moment of respite from the turmoil in his mind from about Yukari and Park. He nods sharply as he figures out the name for the two kits. "I think Layla for the small fluffy one," his eyes dart to the slightly bigger one. He hums as he thinks, "I think Sebastian and for mama fox." He chews on his thumbnail as he tries to brainstorm until it rang. He snaps his fingers. "Ah ha!" he nods and points at the mother fox from his window. "Anastasia a lovely and mature name." He stood triumphantly as he finally figured out what to call his hopefully soon-to-be pets that he had always wanted since he was a toddler.

He hears a knock on his bedroom door "Come in!" He responded to the knock. His grandpa stood by the door as he opened it with a grin, "Grandson, there's a girl here for you". Adam cringed a bit. "God damn. .. What does she look like, or did she give her name? " His grandpa nodded and gestured downstairs. "Park Stealhwa or whatever it is. I don't speak Korean or whatever gook shit she's saying," Adam deadpanned at his remark. His grandpa shrugged, "What? I already had to deal with South Asians waaaay too damn much in my lifetime and it's been nothing but bad shit each time they were involved. .. like commies." He stood up and rolled his eyes, too tired to even retort to his grandpa or his tomfoolery. His grandpa grabbed his sleeve real quick before he could walk down the stairs "Wrap it before you tap it and I know how loud Asian women moan, so keep that shit down," he says with a grin. Adam sighs, "I'm not gonna fuck or anything, grandpa. She's probably wanting to chat or whatever the fuck she wants". His grandpa pats his shoulder and says, "I was your age once too. And back in the day, your grandma would stop by when we were teens and we..." His sentence was interrupted by his grandmother clearing her throat loudly and looking at him.

 His grandpa sighs, "You're no fun, Anne". Someone has to traumatize our grandson a bit," his grandma adjusts her glasses, "Vern," she says sternly to his grandpa. She stands up and playfully swats his grandpa's "Let the poor girl in, Adam. It's impolite to leave a young lady out in the cold, dear". Adam begins to walk and drags his feet. He opens the door to see Park standing there in some sort of kimono. .. He looked at her and said "Well. .. You look ready for a ball or some sort of tea party," he mutters. She looks down at him with a distressed expression; small black marks smudged the corners of her eyes, which appeared slightly puffy. She looked down and to the side. "We need to talk; it's urgent," she muttered, her voice sounding a bit choked. Red flags popped into his head as he'd never seen her like this before. Adam instinctively stepped aside and spoke, "We can talk in my room. " She quickly nodded and stepped inside, ducking slightly under the door frame. His grandpa mutters to his grandma, "Why didn't you tell me she was a fucking Gumiho? Jesus Christ," his grandma nudged him and muttered, "Watch your language or no love blossoms later." Adam nearly gagged at her words. He shook his head and looked at Park. "They are my grandparents. Vern and Anne Smith," he says in a tired tone.

 Park bows and speaks softly, "I'm Park Seolhwa. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Smith". Adam recoiled a bit at how she spoke; it was so formal and graceful that he wondered if she was royal or from a very prestigious family. His grandpa nods and looks at her. "It's a pleasure to meet you too," his grandma speaks up. Would you like a drink or a snack, dearie?" She shook her head softly. "I'm f-fine. But thank you, Missus Smith," Adams insides began to churn a bit as he felt uneasy. Something was off. He looked at her face and what he could see of her body, which wasn't much besides a very faint red mark on her right cheek. The make-up covered it well and it was barely visible. He held his tongue. "I'll show Park around and we'll be back down in a bit." His grandpa nods and gives a subtle thumbs up from his side. Adam looks at Park and gestures up the stairs, "Follow me, and sorry for the mess in my room. I've been having the boys over and teaching them how to maintain their gear" he mumbles the last bit from irritation as she followed him up.