Seoul Outing (2)

After checking into the hotel, Lee Ha-neul and I headed straight for Samseong Station.

Sniff sniff sniff.

I had developed a habit of smelling new places.

The pungent aroma of Seoul’s exhaust fumes that I was experiencing after nearly 2 years felt both repulsive yet nostalgic.

It wasn’t just the smell of exhaust fumes either –

There were scents of cosmetics,

Perfumes,

Human sweat,

And bungeoppang (fish-shaped pastry).

Yes,

The scent of human habitation.

Swish swish.

Swish swish.

Pff pff pff pff pff.

Naturally, the sight of people set my tails wagging.

Sticking close beside Lee Ha-neul, I began observing the passing pedestrians and vehicles.

Fortunately, despite being incarnated into a world ruled by yokai instead of the Korea I knew,

The fashion and vehicle models had not changed.

The food remained the same too,

With familiar brands everywhere.

Ah, that person made eye contact with me.

Smiling faintly,

Delighted by this rare encounter with an outsider male, I gave him a warm eye smile.

Yet he seemed flustered, his body jolting in surprise.

Soon after, he put on a resolute expression and

Strode over purposefully toward me.

Oh?

I had not anticipated him actually approaching.

Did he have something to say to me?

After a moment, the approaching male greeted us with a slight bow and bluntly asked:

“Excuse me, the lady doing the Gumiho cosplay. You were… looking at me just now, right…?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Encouraged by my affirmative reply, the man continued:

“Ahem… This, this is honestly a first for me, so it’s a bit awkward… But yes, I’ll say it. I’m quite attracted to you, so could I get your phone num…”

“Ah, I don’t have a phone number.”

“…Pardon?”

“I don’t have one. Sorry.”

“…”

Briefly wearing a dumbfounded look at my response, the man soon turned away with an unsatisfied expression.

I think I heard him mutter ‘fuck’ under his breath.

…How unreasonable.

What did I do to warrant that kind of reaction?

“Isn’t that right? You do encounter some strange folk. Are all Seoul guys like this?”

“You were the one in the wrong here, Miho.”

“Me? What did I do?”

“I saw the whole thing. Afraid of being mistaken for a non-fox, you deliberately foxy-flirted with that guy first. You even said you don’t have a phone number – of course he’d be pissed.”

“That was just stating a fact. And it wasn’t foxy-flirting, I was just greeting him warmly…”

How was giving him a friendly eye smile considered ‘foxy-flirting’?

Was this that trendy ‘inssa’ vibe or something?

I had no idea.

“Just don’t do anything that could be misinterpreted. Stay still, stay still.”

“…Okay.”

That she could not understand the warmth I felt encountering an outsider human…

Regrettable, truly regrettable.

Well,

Thinking back, my actions could be misunderstood, for

I was touring a proper city for the first time in nearly 2 years, after all.

My excitement was inevitable.

In any case, Lee Ha-neul and I strolled amidst the attention of many passersby.

I wanted to try this food,

And that food too –

The abundance of surrounding street food had my eyes spinning.

Yet the scent that most captivated me was,

Undoubtedly, that of bungeoppang.

Huff huff.

Huff huff huff.

Huff huff huff huff.

“…Miho, stop sticking your tongue out… And quit wagging your tail too.”

“Buy me some bungeoppang.”

“I’ll buy you some if you stop sticking your tongue out.”

Mm.

Heeding Lee Ha-neul’s words, I made an effort to keep my mouth firmly shut.

Though my tongue danced inside, straining for freedom, I kept my lips sealed tight to prevent it from lolling out.

As we approached the bungeoppang street stall,

“What the fuck!”

The expletive naturally slipped from my mouth, for

There were no red bean-filled ones.

While there were fish-shaped pastries filled with something dark-colored,

It was not red bean –

They were chocolate-filled bungeoppang.

Chocolate bungeoppang, what an absurd combination!

Bewildered, I asked the auntie selling them:

“Excuse me, do you not have any red bean-filled ones…?”

Upon my words, the auntie who had been ignoring us finally looked up and

Was startled first by my fox ears,

Then by my tails,

And finally by my breasts, before realizing ‘Ah, a cosplayer!’

Likely used to encountering cosplayers in this area.

She then scrutinized my body intently before smiling and replying:

“You must be a foreigner! Your pronunciation is so good.”

To the auntie’s words, Lee Ha-neul patted my head and answered:

“Yes, well… She’s a foreigner.”

“Oh my, aren’t you that girl I’ve seen on TV? What was your name again…”

“My name is Lee Ha-neul.”

“Ah yes, the Martial Artist Lee Ha-neul! Look at that, I’m still sharp enough to recognize someone!”

Indeed,

Lee Ha-neul seemed quite the famous figure even among the general public.

Well, fine, I got that she was famous, but

Why was she playing dumb and passing me off as a foreigner?

Red bean-filled, I said red bean-filled!

Seeing my sullen expression, Lee Ha-neul explained to me:

“Miho, who in the world stuffs red beans into bungeoppang? That would be grotesque.”

“What kind of bullshit…”

“Oh my, the foreign girl has learned some bad language. Don’t use words like that, you mustn’t.”

Honestly, a world where they put chocolate instead of red beans into bungeoppang?

This world was messed up.

---

Lee Ha-neul scolded me harshly.

So harshly that she even tugged on my fluffy ears.

“Ow, that hurts…!”

“Well, who told you to act up? Never, never do something like that again! Understood?”

“…Yes.”

“If you act out one more time, I really will go to a pet shop and buy you a dog leash. Not joking, I’m serious.”

“…”

After finally releasing my ear, Lee Ha-neul then firmly grasped my hand.

To explain why Lee Ha-neul came to firmly hold my hand,

We must rewind the perspective to 30 minutes earlier.

…

…

…

…

…

Munch munch munch.

Nom nom nom.

“Is it tasty?”

“…Palatable enough, I suppose.”

“For merely ‘palatable’, you’re eating quite a lot – already your fifth one.”

“…”

I concede it –

Chocolate and bungeoppang were a heavenly combination.

So delectable that I wondered why no one sold chocolate bungeoppang in the world I came from.

As I began touring Seoul while munching on the pastries, my tails began violently…rotating.

Not just wagging, but

Literally spinning like helicopter propellers.

Though Lee Ha-neul had requested, no, pleaded for me not to wag my tails, my tails were beyond my willpower to control.

It seemed Lee Ha-neul had given up on restraining them too.

No matter that there was a cosplay event in the vicinity –

Rotating tails were more than enough to draw the attention of passersby.

Not that mere attention was necessarily bad, but

Quite a number of people did approach to request photos with me.

Apparently, requesting photos from cosplayers was a cosplay culture of sorts –

Not considered rude behavior.

Adding to that, since the famous Lee Ha-neul was with me too,

Many people came up to us for joint photo requests.

Some asked about my tails as well, to which

I vaguely claimed they were overseas-ordered motorized tails.

Though I politely declined when asked “Can I touch them?”,

For the children’s innocent

“Wow, real tails!”

“Sister, can I touch them?”

I showed no mercy.

“Eek!”

One of the munchkins grabbed my tail tightly.

“Yeek…Woof! Woof! Woof! Grrrrrowl…”

“Wahahahaha! This sister is so weird!”

Barking sounds inadvertently slipped from my mouth.

Urgh.

I did not wish to reveal this, but

Fox tails were quite sensitive areas.

Stroking was fine, but having the tail firmly gripped like that made barks inevitably escape me.

…Since this was beyond my control, Lee Ha-neul did not scold me, merely shooing the children away as ‘little menaces’.

What tremendous strength they had for their size.

Though there was a minor incident, by firmly resisting my charm and instincts,

I could continue enjoying my Seoul outing.

As we strolled the streets, I encountered my first dog:

“Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!”

A large golden retriever.

The owner, apparently a Lee Ha-neul fan, requested to take a photo with her.

Naturally, I was the one put in charge of taking the photo.

“Okay, say cheese.”

“Grrrrrowl…”

“One.”

“Grrrrrowl…”

“Twooo.”

“Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!”

But why was this retriever

Constantly barking and baring its teeth at me from the start?

Weren’t retrievers renowned as a people-friendly breed?

This mutt, really.

Yes, let’s see which of us was the bigger mutt, shall we?

With my competitive spirit ignited, I

“Grrrrrowl…”

“Rrrrrrrowl…”

Set the phone down and began growling back at the retriever.

Pat pat pat.

The retriever assumed a flashy stance, extending its front paws defiantly.

How dare this pet defy a human by raising its paws?

Did it think only it could stand on two legs?

I could do the same, you mutt.

“Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!”

I soon transitioned from bipedal to quadrupedal posture and unleashed a furious barrage of barks at the retriever.

“Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!”

In response, the retriever bared its fangs as our growling standoff commenced.

“Boku, Boksil, why are you suddenly acting up! I’m so sorry, he doesn’t dislike people usually… So strange…”

The owner grabbed the retriever’s leash while

“Miho, why are you suddenly behaving like this! I’m sorry too, she doesn’t dislike people either… No, wait…”

Lee Ha-neul seemed to want to grab my leash too, but

I had no leash.

Hence,

This dog fight could be declared my victory in claiming freedom.

This was the superiority of humanity.

You wretched beast.