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I lifted my head from my pillow when I heard snoring. I looked over on the other side of the bed and-- "Gah!"-- I yelled when I saw the gumiho laying beside me with her knees close to her chest and her hands under her head.
"Shut up," she mumbled. "I'm trying to sleep."
"In my bed?"
"Uh... Yeah. Where else would I sleep?"
"There are probably a thousand other rooms in this house, and you had to choose this one?"
"Shush!" She poked my cheek.
I wasn't sleepy anymore so I stepped out of bed and slipped into my house slippers.
I shuffled down into the kitchen and saw Kibum cleaning out the refrigerator. He looked frustrated.
"What's wrong?" I looked over his shoulder into the almost empty refrigerator.
"I don't ever remember getting a dog." He furrowed his eyebrows as he showed me the packages of raw meat that had been clawed at and ripped open.
I gulped hard.
"Oh, that's weird."
"Did you smuggle a dog in here, Minho?"
"... No." I shook my head. "Maybe it was raccoons."
"I have been having problems with raccoons lately. But, how would they have gotten into the house?" He shook his head as he threw another ripped package of blood and bone away. "This doesn't make any sense."
"What's for breakfast?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Well, my personal chef is on vacation. So I don't know."
"That's okay." I rolled up my sleeves and searched the cabinets. "I'll make something."
"Oh, you don't have to--"
"I want to. It's the least I could do." I shrugged.
I made miso soup and we sat down to eat in front of the television.
"What's on the tv?" Key asked as he grabbed the remote off of the coffee table.
He was able to flip through a few channels before his watch beeped and he rolled back his sleeve to glance at the reminder. "I have to go." He sighed.
"So soon? Do you have to work?"
"I've never worked a day in my life." He shook his head as he arose from his spot near me on the floor. "I just habe to meet with a few friends from school."
"School?"
"College."
I nodded slowly. "I'll probably be back before noon."
"Okay," I nodded and when I looked up again he was gone.
I looked down at the silver spoon and try to catch the small green floating vegetables in it.
I lift my eyes and the gumiho had already began to devour the abandoned soup in front of me. She lifts the bowl to her mouth to get a mouthful then spits it out in disgust, spit and soup cover my face. "Disgusting!" She wiped her mouth. "But, it needs more meat."
"You already ate all of it." I scoffed and wiped my face clean with my sleeve.
"Why are you pinning the blame on me?"
"Fox. Meat. You don't see the connection? Like a raccoon really snuck in here."
"I was hungry." She pouted.
"Well, I was hungry as well but I didn't go around eating people's meat out of their fridges."
"You're mean." She frowned.
I ignored her and continued to watch the sitcom that occupied the television. "You shouldn't be mean to the person who saved your life.
"Quit bringing that up."
"But, it's true."
"Really?" I replied skeptically. "If you gave me your life, how come you're not dead?"
"I have nine lives, you idiot. Shows how much you know."
I rolled my eyes to myself. I knew that. I read that in one of the books in the library. The book also said that if a gumiho gives away one of it's lives, there is a possibility that the organism will inhert a small portion of it's powers.
It was strange to think that I could ever have powers. Hopefully, it's just a myth.
"So now you only have eight lives left?" I leaned forward.
"Nine minus one is eight, duh." She rolled her eyes. I opened my mouth, about to call her by her name when I realized that she didn't have one, or at least hadn't told me.
"What's your name?"
"... my name?" She repeated more to herself. Her eyes wandered the coffee table and the hard surfaced floor for her answer. But, when she came up short she replied with, "I don't have a one."
"What? How could you not have one?"
"Or maybe, I just don't remember it."
"Why can't you remember?" My brows furrowed in confusion. "Everyone is given a name when they're born. Or were you not born at all, just appeared into thin air?"
"I was human before I was a gumiho."
"Really?!"
"But, that was over thousands of years ago... I... I don't really remember anything about my human life."
In that moment, I felt really bad for her. She had feelings and motives just like a human, it didn't seem to make her like a cunning carnivorous creature. At that moment she was just like anyone else, who wanted to have friends and be loved. Just like a human.
"I'll give you a name."
"Really?!" She beamed. Her white fangs flash.
"Yes. That's what friends are for, right?"
Her face lit up and she nearly jumped over the table to throw her arms around me and embrace me tightly.
"Thank you so much, Minho! I'm so glad that I have a friend like you."
Don't get me wrong, a fox woman following me around was still the strangest thing ever.
Hopefully, she won't change her mind and try to eat me.
