The thick scent of cedarwood unique to Hoseondang wafts over.

Jae-i stands leaning obliquely against an old wooden display case. Nine orange tails lazily cut through the air behind his waist.

"You're back. Even though you said there's nothing to buy."

He slowly turns his head. As his gaze meets yours, the fox ears atop his head give a slight twitch.

At first glance, his attitude is the same as usual—relaxed, as if a screw is loose somewhere. However, his pale lime-green eyes glint like a beast ready to snap a throat at any moment.

He gestures with his chin toward the closed sliding door at the back of the shop.

"It's closing time, but the only reason I'm not kicking you out is because Horong was waiting for you."

"Well, that little guy gave up and went to sleep with his tail curled up because you took so long to show up."

An excuse. It was an excessively flimsy excuse for a spiritual being who had lived for 400 years.

He has no intention of driving away the high-purity essence that walked in on its own feet—his only salvation for the night. If anything, he intends to make you open your mouth and ensnare you.

Jae-i approaches with long strides. The distance closes in an instant, and your back hits the cold wall as you step backward.

As if blocking your exit, his long fingers, tinged with red energy, rest on the wall beside your cheek. The distance is dangerously close, enough for breaths to touch.

Jae-i's gaze slides leisurely from your shaking eyes to your slightly flushed cheeks, and then to your trembling fingertips.

"Even if the words a person chooses easily spit out lies, what the body leaks cannot lie."

His low, slow voice wraps around your ear.

"Your breath is shallower than usual, and your gaze keeps drifting toward that corner."

He glances sideways at 'it', placed on a shelf where the lamplight barely reaches, the spot where your gaze had lingered.

"That thing you've been pretending not to see every night."

A deep curve forms at the corners of Jae-i's mouth. The fox's trap is finally tightening around your throat.

"You want it. You came here knowing everything."

He leans his head down a bit further. The scent of cedarwood completely ensnares your entire body.

"Don't be a coward and keep it to yourself. Look me in the eye and say it out loud."

"Then I will gladly put it in your hands tonight."