[BotB] Chapter 3

"Listen to me."

He warned her solemnly.

"No!"

Sohwa shouted sharply. Then he grabbed her tail and turned her body upside down as if there was nothing else to do.

"Let go! Let me go!"

She scratched his hand with her front paw and screamed at his unbelievably rude behaviour, but he was calm. He even started to sway her sideways gently.

Sohwa, feeling dizzy and with her precious tail hurting like it would fall off, eventually had to give in.

Just as he had done, Sohwa's long snout shortened, and the light silver fur that covered her body completely disappeared. Her black front paws turned into soft female hands, and her hind legs turned human legs.

A girl in a light jeogori* dress stared at him defiantly.

*The upper part of a hanbok.

"Are you done? Are you done now?!"

"Yes. Thank you so much for listening to me."

He smiled happily, as if genuinely pleased, and grabbed Sohwa's wrist.

Clang. Something filled her wrist with a cold touch. Sohwa was shocked.

What is this? Surprised, she looked at her wrist. A thick bracelet was on her wrist, and he was holding the chain connected to the bracelet.

"I was going to put it around your neck... but then, you wouldn't look human, would you? I would look like a hunter. -Like I forced you to stay."

Looking at Sohwa, who was gaping in disbelief, he smiled mischievously.

"That's not what our relationship is."

"If it's not that, then what is it?

Their conversation no longer seemed to flow logically. Since when did this guy become like this?

'In the past, he used to listen to my words as if they were absolute...'

Was it since he grew tall enough to reach the ceiling? Or since his hands and feet grew bigger than his head?

"Let's go to our house, Sohwa. Before the next heat cycle, I promise to get you a marital token. I promise."

He affectionately hugged her shoulder and stepped, presenting the unasked-for token.

"Plum, apricot, cherry, frog, sparrow... From now on, I'll only eat what you like, too. I'll do all the cleaning and laundry. Well, I've been doing it before, but I'll do it well from now on. So, you should keep me and live with me, right?"

"...."

"Look at this. No response again. If you keep doing this, I'll tie you up at home."

"What are you to me..."

"Don't worry about anything. I'll definitely make you happy. I promise."

He who stopped speaking knelt on the ground as if to prove his determination.

"Sohwa, you're the only one for me. You know that."

He brought her hands to his face and began rubbing his face against her lower abdomen as a beast would do.

"Please don't abandon me... I'll do well. I'll do well. Okay? Please keep me."

The one who was pleading desperately changed his gaze to a fierce one when Sohwa did not answer.

His brown eyes gradually turned golden.

"You won't leave, will you?"

"...."

The tiger's eyes shone brightly. It was especially terrifying in the middle of the night like this.

Sohwa finally gave in to his intimidation and slightly nodded her head. Then he, who smiled brightly, hugged her tightly.

"Thank you. If you abandon me again, I might really die."

It sounded exactly like, 'I'll eat you and then die.' Sohwa swallowed her dry saliva.

"Let's have a baby and live happily. For a lifetime."

"...."

Those words clung to her like terrible karma, circling in her head like a prophecy.

02. Picked It Up Because It Was Cute

Sohwa was born as a fox with a white body and a black tail. She had exactly eleven siblings. This was because they were 'purebred conception', conceived as beasts, not humans.

However, Sohwa’s parents could not take care of all eleven children. Unlike her red fox family, Sohwa, with her small size and strange fur color, had to leave the pack's territory at a young age.

She could not understand why she had to leave her loving parents and mischievous siblings at that time. As she grew up, she gradually realized. The pack had abandoned her.

So, she wandered around alone and finally settled in Ihwang Mountain. A human village was located far below the mountain slope, but it was tranquil as few footsteps were coming to the mountain except for an old grave keeper.

One morning, when she was picking food, such as fruits, bird eggs, and frogs, an ominous black kite flew in the clear sky. That day, Sohwa found a black animal dying as a hawk's prey.

There was a slight brown mixed in the fur; it looked less cute than a cat, and it was such an animal that it looked too adorable to be called a beast.