Hambaek Flower Restaurant - Chapter 34

If I had known this would happen, I should have bought a smaller size.

It was regrettable but unavoidable. After putting the empty bowl in the sink, Kim Tae Rin lifted a bag of feed from the storage and took it to the backyard. She put it in a rusty drum and set it on fire.

It pained her to destroy with her own hands this precious food that had no fishy smell, was perfectly balanced in nutrients, and was convenient to quickly slurp down when busy, but this was just the beginning.

Going around the restaurant, Kim Tae Rin swept into a garbage bag whatever items she used when transformed into a fox.

She mercilessly sorted out the cute ceramic food and water bowls, marble cooling mat, dog chews she enjoyed as snacks, and expensive handmade treats she had been saving.

She nearly cried when pulling out the pink dog cushion hidden under the bed.

This cushion was a gift from Park Jae Sun on the day she was finally discharged after barely surviving her first surgery, groaning in pain.

‘What’s this cushion for?’

‘Now that your tail is cut off, you won’t have a tail even when you transform into a fox. Not only that, but because the manifestation point of the tail was artificially removed, your supernatural power will be weakened.’

Kim Tae Rin nodded.

‘So when you turn back into a fox, you’ll become very young. You can’t transform into an adult fox without a tail. At best, you’ll be a tiny fox cub.’

Kim Tae Rin was shocked. Now she would no longer be herself. Truly.

‘It will be unfamiliar and difficult. You may feel powerless, like you’ve become weaker. But it’s good to spend time as a fox at least once every three or four days.’

‘I’ll have to be careful. In that state, if anything dangerous happens, I won’t be able to deal with it at all…’

Park Jae Sun nodded.

‘You’ll be more vulnerable to danger than when you were an adult. Now your teeth and claws will all be small. No one will be scared even if you growl. They might just hug you thinking you’re cute.’

He gestured with his chin at the shopping bag containing the cushion.

‘That cushion will be perfect when you rest as a fox.’

As Kim Tae Rin bowed and turned to leave, Park Jae Sun called out to her again.

His blunt words still vivid in her mind.

His tone and expression showing clear sympathy despite trying to keep his distance, down to the soft sigh.

‘Don’t hate yourself too much.’

Kim Tae Rin stroked the soft, worn surface of the cushion several times.

Should she keep it instead of throwing it away?

It was a memento. Her resolve kept weakening.

As long as Choi Yoon didn’t enter the bedroom, there was no risk of being caught, right?

When she curled up on the cushion with her muzzle tucked against her belly, she slept so well.

Clutching the worn cushion tightly with both hands, she imagined the worst-case scenario.

Though Choi Yoon had encountered Kim Tae Rin as a baby fox, it wasn’t a particularly dangerous situation. In fact, Choi Yoon didn’t seem to connect Kim Tae Rin with the fox.

The young fox looked so innocent, and at the time Choi Yoon would have thought Kim Tae Rin was sleeping in the bedroom, so he wouldn’t have assumed they were the same.

But if it happened repeatedly, it would be a different story.

Choi Yoon was sensitive and saw situations holistically. He would figure it out soon.

The baby fox not growing even a span despite being at an age for rapid growth, the bare rump without a tail, Kim Tae Rin’s inevitable absence every time the fox appeared.

It wasn’t just Choi Yoon. She had encountered Han Seo Jung as a fox three or four times too.

Han Seo Jung had casually asked if that young fox that came to eat occasionally had no mother, why it wasn’t growing, and if his sister had seen it too.

Her heart froze. She could only give vague answers. That it came down sometimes when hungry, that it seemed to have a mother, that it might not be the same fox but different ones.

Han Seo Jung was no fool. He wasn’t easily convinced. He said it had no tail every time he saw it. So it must be the same single fox.

She barely managed to laugh it off, saying maybe it couldn’t grow because it couldn’t eat properly, that he’d give it food whenever it came, but cold sweat ran down her back.

And today, to make matters worse, it even got a name. Hambok.

And in this situation, there’s a dog cushion in the bedroom?

If someone asked its purpose, she had no good answer. Saying she hugged it to sleep was ridiculous.

“…”

Thinking that far, memories meant nothing. She stuffed the cushion into the garbage bag. She dragged the bulging bag out to the backyard.

The drum was still burning vigorously. She dumped the items onto the half-burned feed bag.

When the fire began to die down with nothing left to consume, she poked the bottom with a stick. She checked repeatedly to make sure everything had burned well, not even a scrap of label remaining.

She put the unburned items in a garbage bag and took them to the dump below the alley.

With this, Kim Tae Rin had emptied out everything precious to her. It didn’t hurt much.

It was always like this.

The town was bustling with people, which slightly flustered Choi Yoon. When he casually asked while sending a package at the post office, he was told it was market day.

After loading the camera he bought into the car, Choi Yoon pulled his hat down further.

He had just seen a flea market opening near the marketplace. They were selling handmade clothes, bags, accessories and such.

Deliberately blending in with the crowded areas, Choi Yoon looked around to see if there was anything worth buying.

He was examining a neat apron with soft colors at one stall when his phone rang.

As soon as he answered, Yoo Ji Ho shouted.

− Bro! I really, while watching, wow, if we upload this it’ll be a huge hit, right?

Though the beginning and end were cut off, Choi Yoon understood well enough what Yoo Ji Ho meant.

Choi Yoon had recently gotten Kim Tae Rin’s permission to film a test video. He had briefly captured on camera for about 10 minutes Kim Tae Rin taking orders and serving food during a busy afternoon with many customers.

He had sent it to Yoo Ji Ho to get a general sense of how the footage looked, and it seemed he had just watched it.

“I told you she’s pretty.”

− It’s beyond pretty. I firmly believe that tenant is a shapeshifter. If she’s not a shapeshifter, why isn’t she a celebrity? She’d be raking in money! Even if she can’t act, just doing commercials…

Choi Yoon laughed out loud without realizing, then suddenly flinched. He was flustered. He wasn’t sure if his mood was so elated because it was the first time someone agreed with his suspicion that Kim Tae Rin might be a shapeshifter, or if he was pleased to hear Kim Tae Rin called pretty.

He composed his face that kept trying to relax stupidly.

− I can see why you suspect she’s a gumiho. She’s beyond human level.

“That’s what I’m saying.”

− But when I asked around at the Supernatural Management Center, they said it’s not just gumihos that have stunning looks. Apparently some snake spirits are also born with an aura that can bewitch humans.

Choi Yoon paused in selecting the apron. Adjusting his grip on the phone, he quickly pushed through the crowd. Standing in a quiet corner, he asked back.

“Snake spirit? All the snake spirits I’ve seen were ordinary.”

− Seems it’s a rare jackpot. You said Kim Tae Rin’s pupils were normal, right? Not vertically slit?

“They’re not.”

− And she’s not wearing contacts? I couldn’t be sure from the video. They looked really black.

“Those are her own eyes. They’re extremely pretty eyes, but definitely not wearing contacts.”

− For snake spirits, the manifestation point usually appears in the pupils. But in rare cases when it’s not, there might be scales remaining on the body. That’s why there are especially many shapeshifters among snake spirits. If scales manifest on the inside of clothes, it’s easy to hide. No need for surgery.

Choi Yoon rubbed his forehead. It was a direction he hadn’t considered before.

“A snake spirit. So she might not be a gumiho? Either way, I guess I need to see for myself in the end.”

He felt uneasy. Though he knew that was the surest way, he wished there was another method.

− It’s behind the ear, right? If you look there, you might see one or two scales slightly raised, with a color slightly different from the skin.

“Ah, if it’s behind the ear, that shouldn’t be too difficult. I can just glance from the side.”

− Brush her hair aside saying there’s something in it.

“I don’t need to actually touch behind her ear with my hand, right? I don’t want to make physical contact like that.”

− You don’t need to touch. You’ll know right away by looking. The boundary is distinct. The color and texture are different.

“Okay.”

Choi Yoon took a deep breath. He strongly urged:

“Be careful not to leak Kim Tae Rin’s face. Not until I say it’s okay to release it.”

− Only I’ve seen it. I’ll be careful not to let it slip out.

“It absolutely must not leak. If Kim Tae Rin turns out to be a shapeshifter, we’ll have to exclude her from filming and start over from scratch. We can’t work with a criminal.”

− You be careful. Personally, I hope she’s not. It’d be a shame to lose this opportunity. With you and that woman in the same frame, we could edit it with our feet and it’d still be good.

“We can’t use a shapeshifter just because her face is too good to waste. Let’s proceed, but I’ll confirm one way or another in a few days, so we’ll start then.”

− Alright. You bought more cameras, right? Since we don’t have a separate filming team, we need to install them as thoroughly as possible. Set them up according to the installation plan I sent you, test them, and if there are too many blind spots, adjust the angles on site right away.

“Okay.”

− And how will you send me the footage?

“I can’t give it to you in real-time. It’s everyone’s first time filming except me. I’ll check each day’s footage every night, cut out any private parts or sections that shouldn’t go out, and send it to you. The residents have their privacy.”

− Sounds good. I’ve put together the best editing team in the industry. Working on PR contacts now.

“You’ve managed well. Any interference from Lee Kang Woo?”

− Not yet. He must be busy. Lobbying before the presidential election.

After ending the call, Choi Yoon approached the stall again. He picked out the apron he had noticed and paid for it. Once he had one in hand, others caught his eye.

“For your girlfriend?” the merchant asked friendly. Choi Yoon nodded vaguely while checking if his mask was on properly.

“If that color suits her well, this would look good too. Feel it. The fabric is nice.”

When Choi Yoon saw the dress the merchant recommended, he reached out and took it without thinking.

For something made and sold at a countryside market, the color and design were quite neat. Above all, it seemed like it would suit Kim Tae Rin well.

He was about to open his wallet when a cardigan caught his eye. When he came to his senses, both hands were full of shopping bags.

He was dumbfounded at himself. He had only meant to replace the current apron which looked too worn before starting filming.

He had almost forgotten his original mission.

Just as he was about to head to the parking lot, Choi Yoon turned back to the flea market. He carefully examined a stall selling accessories.

He mentally tried several on Kim Tae Rin from his memory. The answer came easily.

He picked up a small, sparkly pair of earrings.