SunByung Shorts

Little red fox

Sunny couldn't help but add a little skip on her usual walk going home. She just got her salary so she decided to stock on some raw fish from the market she passed by. Her smile grew wider looking at her purchase. Thoughts filled with the images of a certain living thing waiting for her in her apartment.

***

A green light accompanied by a beeping sound told Sunny that she punched the right code to her apartment. Opening, she was greeted by the usual silence she's been familiar with since moving five years ago. Everything is the same except for that red fox in her living room laying down on a makeshift bed beside her window. She's found the poor vixen shivering from the rain outside their complex and she did not have the heart to leave her alone and possibly get killed. Foxes are rare in South Korea and "rare" means a lot of money for poachers hence her worry. She knows she has to reach out to their local wildlife authorities so the vixen will be returned to her home but she wanted to make sure all is well before doing so.

"Hyominnie, I'm home." She decided to greet the fox with the name she's given — Hyomin.

The creature then gracefully opened her eyes and shifted her head to Sunny's direction, seemingly acknowledging her presence. The glow of the setting sun behind the fox gave an ethereal effect that made the girl stop in her tracks. It took a loud thud from the frozen good she bought to pull her out of the trance. Upon realizing what just happened, she lightly shook her head and gave a small smile to Hyomin. Picking up her item, she then proceeded on making dinner for both of them.

****

Making dinner for two was something new to Sunny. She never thought how lonely it was preparing a meal for a single person until she got some company two days ago. She let out a giggle at how silly that thought was. Her companion was a wild fox not a person but then again, she was still preparing for a meal for two. It did not take long for her to finish preparing the meal— a plate of raw fish cut into bite-sized pieces for the fox and a bowl of kimchi fried rice plus fried fish of the same size.

She had reached the living room and prepped herself in front of the table. Now sitting on the floor, she had put the fox's food beside her and called to the animal gently. She has been monitoring Hyomin's food intake taking notes if the fox can manage to eat more than she had since she came under Sunny's care.

That was then she noticed that it's raining. It will be a cold night. She was in a mood for a movie though as it was a Friday night. She has put the thought aside when she noticed Hyomin taking a piece and eating it. She proceeded on doing the same to her self prepared meal.

Sunny could not be happier when she found Hyomin's plate empty. She had prepared plenty of food and the fox has eaten much more than she initially did days ago. She had given the fox a bowl of water while she drank hers after their meal.

***

"You did good today, Hyominnie." She praised the fox, giving it a light pat on its head. After cleaning up the dishes and setting the table aside, she had gotten some blankets and pillows from her room and made her couch comfortable. Somehow, the fox has decided to stay beside her.

"Must be because it's cold." she thought. She had made herself comfortable, snuggling her pillows. Hyomin had also snuggled closer to Sunny — not that she minded. They lay next to each other while watching some animated movie Sunny has set for her movie night.

Sunny has found Hyomin's head tucked between her shoulder and head when she stirred awake. Glancing at her TV, she has noticed the end credits now rolling. She must have fallen asleep in the middle of the movie, she thought. Afraid that she might wake the sleeping fox up, she blindly reached out for the remote and when she did, she carefully turned the TV off making minimal movement. The fox smelled a lot like strawberry. This confused the still sleepy Sunny until she remembered giving the fox a warm bath after she successfully sneaked her to her apartment days ago and another quick one before she left her apartment to work in the morning.

She mumbled a soft 'You smell nice' and gave the fox's head a light scratch just like what one would give a dog. She knew she found the right spot when the fox leaned her head towards Sunny's hand when she scratched the base of the back of its ear. The comfort must have spread to her as she was struggling to keep her eyes open until she eventually succumbed to sleep the second time.

***

Sunny woke up from a faint throbbing from her left arm. It was lightly in pain and probably numb because of the weight it was supporting. The first thing that came to her sleepy mind was to not open her eyes as she can already feel how bright it would be as she has forgotten to put down the blinds last night. She then proceeded on moving her left arm to relieve some of the weight it was supporting. When did Hyomin become this heavy, she thought. She was sure that the fox weighed lighter last night. She then lifted her left hand to give the fox some of those body scratches. That was when Sunny, with her hazy mind, noticed something different. When her hand came in contact with the fox's body, instead of fur, she was greeted with warm skin. Not just any skin but a soft and smooth one.

She was pretty sure foxes have fur. She subconsciously checked if indeed they have fur by bringing her right hand to the same sweet spot she found last night. She had felt the vixen's ear and was satisfied with her findings: foxes have fur. She felt the warm soft breaths on her neck hitch as she gave the fox some scratches on the same spot followed by what seemed to be a satisfied sigh. This continued for a while until Sunny heard a faint sound of what seemed to be a moan. Foxes don't moan, she thought. This was enough to shake the sleepiness off of Sunny's mind. She opened her eyes and regretted the decision a second later as she was blinded by the sudden brightness of her living room. She felt the weight on her body get off and shifted to a spot beside her. Once her eyes adjusted to her environment, she had seen Hyomin has taken a sitting position beside her. She was pretty sure she was cuddled with a fox last night so who, for the love of the universe, was this beautiful lady sitting on her couch? The creature was giving her an awkward smile, clearly a bit uncomfortable with Sunny's open stare.

That was when Sunny noticed additional details she missed the first time she laid her eyes on the woman. She clearly has fangs and fox ears and tail. Sunny still could not believe what she was seeing. These only happen on those dramas she watched but clearly, this was happening in real life as she tried pinching herself and feeling the stinging pain.

Just then, the woman in front of her decided that it's time to speak.

"Hello, Sunny."

And it was the final straw for Sunny as she felt her world spinning with too much information that she was not able to process right now. She fainted.

---kkeut--

Okay so I did some editing because it's kinda, blocky but ended up fixing the grammar I'm sorryyyy~