The weather was enjoyable. Above the cloudless sky the sun shone brightly upon the happy family who was on vacation. It was their first time in that part of the country and they were super excited about meeting the new place. The father drove in a peaceful silence, while his wife, on the passenger seat, peeled a tangerine to give to the children. The older daughter was busy being the trip DJ, she used her phone connected to the car's stereo and sang along to all the songs; the younger son was entertained playing on his portable gaming device, his tongue poked from his pursed lips while he frantically pressed the buttons.

The mother divided the peeled tangerine into two and called her kids. The ten-years-old boy asked for a moment because he needed to finish that phase; the thirteen-year-old girl gladly accepted the treat and kept singing, and sometimes dancing.

After three hours on the road, they arrived at a small village, where they would be staying for a couple of days. It was a place surrounded by woods, with natural beauty all around. They'd visit the famous couples of waterfalls nearby and an ancient temple located into the woods. The inhabitants were very welcoming and warm. The inn they'd be hosted in had a traditional architecture and for the two city kids it was an additional excitement.

Electronic devices were almost forgotten once they were free for the rest of the morning. The siblings liked to play together even though the older one was entering puberty. The two inspected the inn, then went out to explore the neighborhood. By lunchtime they were already friendly with the unties and grannies nearby. The lunch was taken at the inn and after a rest, the family headed to the nearest waterfall.

When they were returning to the inn, the girl spotted an orange-ish fur on a not-so-far bush. Thinking it could be, maybe, a fox, she took out her camera and snapped a picture. She thought about tell about it to everyone, but as soon as she saw the dinner table, she forgot about everything.

The next day, again they had the morning free. The boy went to the nearby woods to play, and the girl decided to stroll one more time in the streets nearby. She would take pictures of the houses, the people, the nature with her camera. Though she was a little timid, she managed to talk more with the ones she met the day before. Back to the inn for lunch, her mother asked her to go after her little brother since he didn't show up to eat anything in the mean time. The teenager nooded, but internally she was calling him ugly names; after all she was the one who had to go after him and she was already starving.

Through the backyard she reached the woods, and attentifully walked into it. Not longer, she found him crouched over something on the floor, and she could hear a faint whining. From over his head, she saw that beautiful fire-ish fur, very similar to the one she saw the day before. Fearing the worse, she screamed at him.

"Daehoon, what did you do?!" Her voice was a bit cracked, but it was obviously angry. The boy jumped on his place.

"Hyojin-unnie!" Daehoon retreated and tried to cover his dirty hands. Hyojin then managed to see what exactly was on the floor; and her fears came true.

"Come on, I'm waiting." She rushed him, kneeling next to the semi conscious fox. The boy squirmed with the tone. Hyojin analyzed the animal's body and found a tiny spot slightly bleeding.

"I... I.. Was just playing..." He stuttered. His hesitation gave him away, and his sister piercing glare made him flinch. In that moment he thought she was worse than mom and dad together.

"What is it in your hands?" Hyojin asked upon noticing his efforts to hide the hands.

"N..Nothing." Daehoon stuttered again. Hyojin straightened her eyes menacingly. Understanding she won't ever let this go, he showed the hands. He was holding an improvised slingshot.

"Daehoon! I just can't believe you! See what your little play did? You hurt an animal! You could have killed it! You would like that?!" Hyojin scolded her little brother, whose eyes widened with the implying, while finally inspecting the little wound. She sighed relieved it wasn't a serious injury. "Throw this away and go back to the inn. If I ever catch you doing this again, I'll tell mom and dad." She ordered him, and he was too afraid of her to disobey. Daehoon threw the slingshot far into the woods and ran back to the inn.

Hyojin then fumbled her pockets to check if she had anything she could use to cover the wound. She found a large bandana she really liked, because it was a gift from the sunbae she had a crush on; it was orange with black styled patterns. She had been using that a lot, and was planning to use it on her next rap performance at the school welcoming event. She sighed and thought she had to get another one. She also felt bad about the gift, because she knew she would never see it again; but someone needed it more than her now. With much care, she encircled the folded piece of clothe around the fox's thorax to cover wound. Hyojin felt the fox shiver when she tightened the knot.

"Please, forgive my brother." She asked to the animal, patting it's fur gently. "He is just a dumb kid. But look, you got a cool bandana! Don't lose it, okay? It's very important to me." The fox didn't react and just stood laying there looking at Hyojin, but the girl felt like the animal was looking into her soul. "Get well!" She actually was surprised by her own action when she leaned her head down and kissed the wet nose of the fox. A wave of embarrassment assaulted her and she stood up quickly. She then remembered her camera and decided to take a picture of the fox to remember that moment. With a last pat, Hyojin went back to her lunch, praying for everything to be okay for the fox.

After lunch, the whole family went to visit the famous shrine in the woods. It was a good two kilometers walk, but there were other people with them, families, couples, alone travelers, so the walk wasn't so tiring. The place was beautiful and had a somewhat mystic aura revolving it. Hyojin once more put her camera to work. A middle-aged looking monk received the group of tourists with a smile and a prayer.

The monk volunteered to show the temple around and tell the history of the place. Hyojin had her camera in hand all the time. They visited all sorts of room, but a room full of fox statues caught the siblings interest. The guide smiled at their curious faces and explained that the room was a tribute to all the foxes; since that forest is known to have a lot of foxes, and local tales relates the appearance of gumihos, the nine-tailed foxes who can assume a human form of a beautiful woman. He also said that the nature of such creature is a mystery, so we should treat every fox we find well because we never know if they are good or bad. Upon hearing that, Daehoon stiffened. Hyojin only wished that the fox they met earlier wasn't an evil gumiho.

After the guided tour, the visitants were allowed to stroll on their own. Hyojin and her family made offerings and prayed; the girl even returned to the fox room to ask forgiveness on her brother’s behalf. And she felt silly for believing in such stories, especially in her age, but a little precaution would never cause harm. Hyojin, then, sat with crossed legs on a veranda facing the forest. She inhaled deeply, the air there was so fresh. Looking at the forest, her mind couldn't spot to wander back to the fox and how the animal looked at her like it could see the deepest side of the being. Without noticing, her lips started to move on it own.

Hey foxy,

Your eyes I can't forget

An impression like this, is hard to get

So please, give my soul back

There’s always a place for everything to change

In a fraction of second, in your eyes I meet fate.

The one that I am and the one I should be, everything in my soul

with those eyes you saw me

the me I don’t know, the secrets I don’t show

in my heart there’s a storm

but you, my friend fox, with those eyes give me hope

Hyojin rapped absentmindedly. When she realized what she did, she tried to remember the lyrics, took a tiny notepad from one of her pockets, and scribbled it down. Unknown to her, the subject of her song was hidden in the bushes, hearing everything she sang. Hyojin enjoyed her peaceful moment until her father come and tell her they were leaving.

The walk back was less cheerful. Everyone was tired from all the walking, they’ve been doing it all day after all. There was no major accident, and the group arrived safely at the village. Oh there will always be someone who stumbles and scratch a knee or some other spot, but nothing serious really. The family had dinner at the inn and ended up retiring to their rooms due to tiredness.

Next morning, the whole family woke up early to visit yet another waterfall. This one was on the opposite side of the other they visited on their first day. The way though resembled a bit, mostly because of the trees and bushes. But there was something very different, near the track there was an old abandoned wooden hut, with broken windows, with no doors, and without half of its thatched roof. It gave a creepy vibe to Hyojin, still she stopped and took a picture of it. The family restarted their way to the waterfall afterwards.

The final destination was very pretty. There was a small cascade, and the sound of the running water was very relaxing. The rocks around made it possible to sit and enjoy the view. The pooled water was crystalline, and if you looked closely on the river bank your could see little fishes and tadpoles. Hyojin took out her camera and once again snapped on everything she found intersting. Afterwards she laid on a rock and enjoyed the nature's sounds.

"Hyojin-ah, we will walk down the river bank. Let's go!" Her mother called. The young girl groaned in tiredness.

"Umma, I'm tired... Can I stay? I promise I'll be here when you all come back. Don't we have to get that same track to go back to the village?" Hyojin asked, sitting up. Her mother looked at her father and they had a silent conversation. Hyojin hated when they did that, yet found amazing how they could comunicate without words.

"Alright. We won't take long. Don't go back on your own. Ok?" Her father complied. She nodded smirking, and laid back on the rock, interlocking her hands on the back of her head.

After her parents left with her brother walking down the river bank, Hyojin stared to observe the sky through the leaves. Everything was so peaceful, the sound of the running water together with the sound of the leaves and trees dancing with the light breeze. It was very relaxing and soon she was lulled into a calm sleep. She didn't know for how long she slept, but after a while, she felt a cold wetness on her left cheek. Hyojin immediately opened her eyes only to be greeted by orange-ish fur, and a warn, soft tongue the same spot on her face. She stirred and carefully sat up, crossing her legs, not wanting to scare the fox away. The animal didn't seem to be scared of her. Looking closely, Hyojin identified her beloved bandana, still tightly knotted around its torso.

The fox sat in front of Hyojin, curled the fluffy tail around its body, and looked into her eyes. And Hyojin felt it again, like that animal was seeing all her deep secrets, unfolding stuff even she didn't know. This sensation made her feel uncomfortable and she blusehd in the process. She smiled awkwardly more at herself, thinking it was silly to feel this way, and slowly reached out her hand to try to pet the fox. The animal sniffed the hand, and Hyojin could even see its nostrils twitching. The fox then nuzzled up against her hand, allowing the touch. Hyojin gently scratched under the snout, making it close its eyes in appreciation. Then, she slipped her hands to the ear, scratching it s bit roughly. The furred one seemed to be enjoying as for its head started to bend on the carresses direction. Hyojin giggled at the sight. At the sound of Hyejin's laughter, the fox opened its eyes, stared at her for a couple of seconds, and trotted towards her, sitting on her lap; surpring the girl.

With this, Hyojin lost her insecure about the fox, and started to pet it with both hands. The fox on its side, nuzzled and her face wherever it could reach. The girl would deliver light kisses over its face, not minding if the fox might be dirty. The atmosphere was soon filled with Hyojin's laughter and the fox's cute happy noises. The teen was really impressed by the smoothness of the fur. The previous day she was too worried and in a rush to notice it, despite having petted the anymal. Not much after this sassy intercation started, they heard voices, and Hyojin heard her brother calling out for her. It startled the fox, making it run towards the woods. She sighed at her brother, and when the three finally arrived, they asked why she was laughing alone. She just said she wasn't alone and told them about the fox, leaving aside the previous day's happening.

The family returned to the village safely, and got ready to leave to another place. There was another nearby city her parents wanted to visit. They parted after lunch and Hyojin felt like she wanted to come back another time. She definetly would never forget about the amazing experience of befriend a fox. Compared to that small village, the other city wasn't so warm and cozy.

Once back at home, the first thing Hyojin did was turn on the computer. She wanted so bad to check how the pictures turned out, she wanted to see the fox again. She patiently waited for the hundreds of pictures to be copied to the machine, and once it was done, she rushed her eyes through the tiny icons. When she found the orange-ish against the massive green she knew she had found it. But when she enlarged the picture, what she saw her. The he fox was there laying on the earth floor, looking at her. But around it there was a shiny orange-ish shadow, with apparently random patters, and around the tail, there were eight overlayed shiny lines spreading to all directions. She immediately remembered the monk's story about special legendary foxes.

Hyojin couldn't believe it was true.

Hyojin didn't want to believe she stumble on a gumiho.

A.N: Hello! HAPPY LE DAY! I figured it would be nice to post this today, because it is basically focused on her hahaha Also, I got caught up in watching gumiho stuff. There's a lot of sad stuff, but this story is cute and fluffy. I want happiness for our girl! How was it? I hope you enjoyed :3 The rap lyrics' credit goes to my Friend Haru! Thank you for the supportive comments, subscriptions, and the voting. See ya next part o/