What a Terminally Ill Villain Needs Is an Arctic Fox Ch 06

Chapter 06

“As I said yesterday, it’s okay to take a bath, Gray. If you need anything, I’ll call you, so just wait outside.”

“I was just trying to wash the fox.”

Their eyes turned to the fox at the same time. The fox yawned loudly as if it was tired and buried its head in Kyle’s arms. The fox’s tail swished loudly.

“……I see. I’ll wash the fox too.”

“All right.”

Kyle and the fox went into the bathroom alone. The bathroom was filled with warm steam. The fox half-closed his eyes and sniffed the air, wondering if the steam was floating in the air. His ears perked up.

Kyle put the Arctic fox down on the bathroom floor to take off his clothes, but the fox hung on, looking embarrassed, as if it didn’t want to fall. The fox’s plump tail tapped the floor, as if it was feeling uneasy.

“Okay. Then let’s do this.”

Kyle sat down on the bathroom floor and took off his dirty clothes, starting with his top, while the fox sat on his lap. The yawning boy just now was watching Kyle take off his clothes with a sparkle in his eyes.

“Why are you so excited all of a sudden?”

Kyle felt a strange feeling under the fox’s piercing gaze and spoke bashfully. The fox raised itself from Kyle’s lap and stared at a certain spot. Kyle realized that the fox’s gaze was on the back of his neck and swept it with his palm.

Kyle’s brow furrowed at the stinging, rising pain. It was where the fox had bitten him earlier.

“I’m sick, are you okay?”

I should have found that sight annoying, but seeing the fox’s expression so harmless, I ended up wrinkling my nose and laughing.

“While you’re up, get out of the way. I need to take off my pants too.”

Kyle stood up, pushing the fox aside. The fox, who had been reluctant to leave like a child until just now, obediently pushed away and looked up at Kyle.

“…….”

He was about to untie the string holding his waist and lower his pants, but he stopped for a moment when he became aware of the fox’s overly shiny gaze.

“You…… are not.”

It was funny to tell the fox to look somewhere else, so Kyle took off his pants with a resigned look on his face. He even took off the thin underwear he was wearing underneath, and it felt very strange. He felt like he was being taken advantage of in a strange way.

Kyle, who had gotten into the bathtub first and checked the water temperature, spoke to the fox who was looking at him with his chin resting on the bathtub.

“Do you want to come in here too?”

The fox shook his head.

“You don’t like water?”

The fox blinked both eyes. It was a sign of affirmation.

“Even though you can’t come into the room with me if you don’t wash up properly?”

Actually, I didn’t think that these words would be a threat to the fox. However, the fox opened his eyes wide and sat up as if he was very surprised.

The fox jumped into the bathtub with a body that was comparable to that of a large dog, larger than the average fox. The water splashed and hit Kyle’s face, who was submerged up to his chest, and the water that had risen to the point of being dangerous overflowed as much as the fox’s body.

“…….”

Kyle ran his hands over his wet, flowing hair. The sudden splash of water was not pleasant.

However, Kyle, who had been slightly annoyed by the fox’s sudden behavior, just burst out laughing. The fox’s face, with its cotton candy-like fur now shrunken and unsightly, was so insignificant and cute.

“That’s why you’re really ugly.”

Kyle laughed heartily, grabbing the fox’s cheeks. The fox flinched as if it was hurt by Kyle’s words calling it ugly.

Kyle laughed happily at the splashing water droplets.

“Oh, it’s splashing water.”

The fox’s eyes narrowed as it watched Kyle take a defensive stance, his mouth slightly parted, and the animal’s howl, which sounded like a breath or a groan, sounded like laughter.

Kyle’s face turned strange as he looked at the smiling fox.

“Isn’t that a real person wearing an Arctic fox mask?”

At this point, I was confused as to whether I was with a person or an animal.

The fox grinned, raised both front paws, and jumped into Kyle’s arms.

“Ugh, stop licking.”

Then, the fox started to drool all over its lips, cheeks, nose, and eyes, so Kyle was startled and hugged it to calm it down. The fox’s tail was wagging so much in the water that it kept hitting its leg as it rose above its thigh.

“Ha, I really can’t stop you.”

Kyle smiled hollowly, looking into those sparkling purple eyes.

“Do you like me that much?”

The fox licked Kyle’s lips again in response.

“It’s going to wear out, it’s going to wear out.”

Kyle, who avoided the fox’s snout by tilting his head back, patted the fox’s head. Kyle, who was holding the fox in his arms like a baby, felt good about his touch and felt sorry for the rough feeling of the floor and the cloudy water.

“……I need to change the water again.”

I need to take another bath too.

Kyle got out of the bathtub with the fox in his arms and called Gray, who instead of sighing looked at the messy bathroom, smiled kindly.

“I’ll sort it out for you right away.”

From that day on, a fox-only bathtub was placed in a corner of the bathroom.

**********

As soon as the fox came out of the bathroom after bathing, it started running around with its fur still wet, and Kyle had to run around again to catch it.

The two of them dried their fur and hair together in front of the fireplace, then ate the dinner that Gray had prepared. The day quickly passed, and Kyle sat on the edge of his bed, looking at the dark night sky beyond the window.

“Time passes this quickly.”

The fox, who had already curled up in bed and was getting ready to sleep, approached Kyle, perking up his ears to hear him mumbling to himself.

The pure white fur shone especially brightly in the bright moonlight.

“Did you have fun today?”

Kyle asked, hugging the fox that had been burrowing into his arms so naturally, even though it had only been a day. The fox purred and nuzzled Kyle’s neck.

“Me too.”

Kyle also laughed softly, stroking the soft fur. But soon the laughter died down, and Kyle’s chin trembled. The emotions he had been holding back suddenly surged up, choking him up.

“It was fun.”

Kyle hugged the fox and buried his face in its soft fur.

‘It was so much fun, I didn’t want to die.’

He couldn’t forget the feeling of despair he felt when he saw the cursed mark again while changing his clothes, which he hadn’t noticed because he was busy taking a bath because of the fox. People say that when a person is about to die, their sick body suddenly becomes fine, so Kyle thought that he might not be able to open his eyes tomorrow morning.

But Kyle couldn’t maintain that faint and hazy feeling for long.

“Oh, a little.”

The fox rolled its feet and wiggled around in discomfort before slipping out between Kyle’s armpits.

“…….”

Kyle was speechless as he looked at the fox lying flat on his stomach, lifting the blanket with its nose and confidently taking Kyle’s pillow.

“Okay, let’s go to sleep.”

Kyle roughly took off the slippers he was wearing and pushed the fox away with his hand to make room for himself to lie down. He felt the fox’s dumbfounded gaze at him as he was pushed away, but he pretended not to notice and covered himself with the blanket and lay down. A soft ball of fur crawled into his arms.

Kyle couldn’t help but smile, as the warmth seemed to comfort him.

‘Even if I don’t open my eyes tomorrow, if I can die happily like this, that wouldn’t be so bad.’

Kyle realized that his decision to rescue the fox from Death Mountain was something he thought was for the fox’s benefit at the time, but ultimately it was something he needed to do.

Kyle realized more than ever that sometimes, dumb animals can be a greater comfort than people, and that just having someone by your side can give you the courage to not be afraid of death. Kyle closed his eyes, feeling his empty heart filled with warmth because of the fox.

‘If I have a tomorrow, I must say thank you to the fox.’

With that thought in his mind, Kyle fell into a deep sleep.

And after a while, the fox in Kyle’s arms raised itself.

The shadow behind the fox instantly changed into a human figure.

The man with snow-white skin, silver hair, and purple eyes caressed Kyle’s cheek with his long, thin, delicate hand.

“Why would you think about dying when I’m here, Kyle?”