Jongwoon excused himself from the circle of animals and went in search for the missing fox. The nine-tailed fox was seldom present for group meals. This time, Jongwoon was determined to find the antisocial fox.

The turtle wandered around town for a while before he spotted the purple-robed figure sitting amongst the trees, putting his mouth over a wooden flute and blew into it gently, a soothing and light melody vibrated around the forest.

Jongwoon waited for the fox to finish his piece before presenting himself in front of the fox.

“What are you doing here?” The fox with rose blond hair whipped his head around to find the jittery turtle standing only a few feet away from him.

“Umm… Why don’t you join us for dinner?” Jongwoon asked after contemplating for a while.

“Are you serious? Or are you joking?” The fox gave him a look like Jongwoon had just grown two heads.

“I’m serious…” Jongwoon pouted and twirled his fingers in front of him.

“How oblivious are you? No one welcomes me nor invites me to the Town meals. My presence would just lower down the mood. I’m just a nuisance in town.” He stood up and kept his flute into his robe’s sleeve.

“No, you’re not!” The turtle blurted out without thinking, his cheeks burning with embarrassment.

“I know you’re a good fox, and you’re not a nuisance…” He continued.

“Why do you think so?” The fox raised his eyebrows.

“I’ve seen it all. You went out of your way to hunt more food so that you can share it to the younger ones, secretly. I saw you once in the forest and you rescued Seulgi who was stuck on the tree. When Kyungsoo and the others went out to play, you would follow them secretly to protect them from predators. Is that not enough?” Jongwoon blabbered out, raising points one after another, all the while staring at the very interesting dirt ground. On the other hand, the fox’s slits widened half an inch after every point raised by the reptile.

“All the people in town have no clue. But I do, and I like you for it.” By the time Jongwoon finished his words, his face was burning brighter than the star. There were a few seconds of silence before Jongwoon saw the fox turning his heels and back faced him.

“You really think so? But look at yourself. You’re just a clumsy. Idiotic. And a dumb turtle. Which really should not be associated with the likes of me.” There was mocking in his tone.

“I am not someone you think I am. Just like what everyone thinks, I am the Nine-tailed Fox who is devious, despicable, and cunning. Nothing can change me. So, you really should hide back into your shell and roll back to them.” The fox shrugged, still keeping his back towards Jongwoon.

“You-” The vulpe was going to continue but stopped when there was a single sniff.

“I am really… sorry… *hiccup* Sorry… for *hiccup* troubling you… Kyuhyun…” Jongwoon’s voice was wrecked with sobs in between. Tears were streaming down his face silently and he can’t even see clearly anymore. He did his best to not let the fox know that he was devastated from his words but failed terribly. In order to run away from this failed confession, Jongwoon gathered strength to his legs and started running back.

“Hmph… Idiot.”