time for the weekly update uwu" i'll have to pack tomorrow, so here i am updating today! surprise!! feedback has been great so far (i thank nikittysan for the advertising haha XD). thank you so much for all the comments, subs and upvotes ;u; i'm glad i can share this with you guys. i found it funny to see what kind of ideas you had and where you thought this was headed. i think i can still surprise you guys :))

BTW DID YOU SEE WOOHYUN'S PHOTOSHOOT! I FELT SO ATTACKED BY HIS CHEST AND EVERYTHING! HOLY D: #dead

have we already reached 1000 years? is the fic over already and i'm just a troll?! can sunggyu math?

Sunggyu looked at the marks on the wall again and quickly tried to count the thin lines his claws had carved into the stone. There were too many to count. He noticed there were marks on the other side of the cave as well. How many-? I don’t remember. It can’t be-

“Woohyun! Are you there?” A voice called from far away.

The human’s dark expression lit up and in that moment Sunggyu just knew. It wasn’t just someone who looked like his dead lover from head to toe. No cruel joke or trial. The witch had promised to show him proof of her promise 28 days before the end of the 1000 year mark. Sunggyu felt unable to move, both mesmerized by the bright smile and frightened to the bone because he had almost missed the date. How could he have lost track of time like that? Of course the hunger had driven him insane for weeks sometimes but how could he forget to properly count the years? What if he had missed him? Sunggyu never asked how he’d find his lover again 28 days before the deadline, but he should’ve known the witch would make it happen no matter where he was. He didn’t expect to meet an adult Jumon though. How old was he? How many years ago could they’ve met already? There were so many things he wanted to ask.

Sunggyu took a step forward but suddenly Jumon – they called him Woohyun – ran out of the cave. The gumiho followed him until the edge of the entrance, stealing a glance outside. The young man was waving at a group of other men walking towards the cave. He ran towards them and gave each of them a hug. Sunggyu watched quietly. He wanted to do nothing more than run after Jumon, to wrap his arms around him and never let go again. The loneliness of almost 1000 years without his lover was overwhelming in that moment. But while he wanted to hug and kiss the human, Sunggyu felt the need to eat him – and the others – at the same time. He wanted to taste their flesh so badly. His stomach growled and the gumiho quickly pulled back into the shadows of his cave, although the sound was too quiet for a human to hear.

His ears twitched as he listened to the humans’ conversation. “Why are you drenched, hyung?”

“Geez! That must’ve been a crazy downpour. So weird we didn’t see anything...”

“I don’t know what happened either. One moment I was trying to take a picture of a squirrel with my phone and the next thing I knew it was raining cats and dogs.”

Sunggyu tilted his head to the side. What is he saying... It didn’t rain cats or dogs. That would’ve been strange. “Anyways, good thing your phone was still working.”

“Yeah. Sorry, guys, I know we wanted to camp out and all... Can we drive back home please?”

“Whaaaat? But, hyung-!”

“Stop it, Sungyeol! Are you feeling sick, Woohyun? You look really pale.”

“I’m fine, Hoya. Just...a little spooked. There’s some kind of bear or big cat in that cave that was about to kill me. I’m glad the rain stopped so I could leave.”

Sunggyu took a peek at them again. The humans used weird words sometimes and their clothing looked strange as well. When was the last time you saw anything but the cave and the forest? Centuries have passed. You know that time changes the way humans talk or dress. Back in the days, he always spent time with humans and learned to adapt to the new developments. Now, Sunggyu hadn’t been in touch with civilization for almost a millennial. How much had he missed?

“Okay. We’re going back home.” The human that talked had black hair and was the same height as Jumon.

The tall, lanky kid seemed outraged by his decision. “What? But what about the trip?! The male friendship bonding and all of that fun stuff! Sungjong, say something!”

“I think we should go home too. We can always do another trip in the future. Woohyun’s clearly in no state to sleep in a tent out here tonight.” That human was just as tall but their hair was bright like the sun. A foreigner? But the face looks Korean. Maybe a mixed blood...

“Thanks, guys. I’ll make it up to you. How about a big portion of my mom’s famous Chocolate Brownies?” Jumon offered. Sunggyu shook his head inwardly. That’s not his name anymore. His name is Woohyun now. He had no idea what brownies were but the other men seemed very excited by them.

The group started moving again suddenly. They took Woohyun into their middle and walked back into the forest. Sunggyu followed them without thinking. He left all of his stuff at the cave and trailed behind them quietly. The gumiho was a hunter and he could be very, very quiet. No one noticed him following. Sunggyu knew it was a bad idea but he also knew that he couldn’t lose sight of Woohyun. This world was big and he had no way of finding the human again. Surely the witch wouldn’t be as nice as to show him the way. She loved to see him struggle.

After a while, they reached the end of the forest. While the group easily left the trees behind, Sunggyu stopped in fear. There was nowhere to hide once he stepped out there. The land was flat and at some point green grass turned into something gray. He could guess it was some kind of human-made path, but he had never seen a path like that. His eyes went over to the human group again and he saw them approaching a weird black...thing. It was big and seemed quite intimidating, even to a gumiho like him. When the humans and even his lover started to disappear into the black object, Sunggyu panicked. What if it was some kind of weird animal that lured humans in and then ate them?

He ran out of his hiding place, towards the black monster. Just then it started to move and tried to get away. Sunggyu let his control slip and used his powers to get in front of it. The monster crashed into him without stopping and the force of the collision surprised the gumiho. He had fought a lot of strong creatures in his life, but when the black monster hit him, Sunggyu lost the ground under his feet. He crashed into the thing and the force made him fly over it. With a grunt, he landed on the floor and Sunggyu cursed loudly. How could it overwhelm me like that?! Damn it. I’ve become weak after fasting for so long.

His bones were hurting and his head was spinning. Sensations Sunggyu had never really felt before made him groan in pain. He was close to reaching 1000 years of fasting. Close to becoming a human. The idea of that weakening his abilities didn’t seem far off. The idea of being human scared him. Humans were vulnerable, weak and died so easily.

“Oh my god, Hoya! You ing hit him with your car!”

“! I don’t know where he came from!”

“He’s bleeding, guys!”

Hands touched him and forced him to turn around. Sunggyu had no time to wonder if his ears or tails were showing. The humans were looking down at him with a mix of worry and shock. His eyes found the one person important to him. He reached out with his hands to touch Woohyun’s – his Jumon’s – face. His hands couldn’t reach him though. Tears rolled down his cheek. “J-Jumon...”

“Oh god, he’s hallucinating. He must have a concussion.”

“Calm down, everyone! Hoya, call an ambulance please. We’ll probably need the police as well, so I’m going to call them. Sungyeol, get some ice from the cooler in the trunk.” The blond man ordered. The group dispersed, leaving only one person with Sunggyu.

The dark-haired man reluctantly grabbed Sunggyu’s outstretched hands and smiled. “You will be fine, don’t worry. Help is coming soon.”

“Jumon...” Sunggyu smiled back. The pain was of no importance to him. He was touching his Jumon. His beloved human. “’I’ve kept my promise.”

“Uh-“ The other man looked confused. “Look, I don’t know who this Jumon guy is. You were just hit by my friend’s car, so your memory might be a little fuzzy. My name’s Woohyun. Nam Woohyun. Can you tell me your name? Do you remember?”

Sunggyu’s heart ached. His lover was right in front of him, yet they were so far away from each other. He was the only one who remembered their past. Woohyun only had Jumon’s soul. What did you expect? His vision became blurry suddenly and Sunggyu groaned. “Are you okay?”

The world in front of him started to darken and fear grew in his chest. The gumiho grabbed Woohyun’s hands with all of his strength. “D-Don’t go. Don’t leave me. Jumo-“

Woohyun’s shocked expression was the last thing he saw.

It’s important to note that not all foxes become gumihos. Not every fox can get a thousand years old. It’s not just the problem of dodging the weapons of hunters or the sharp teeth of bigger predators. No fox knows how you’re chosen or why. None of them even think about it. Foxes are animals and they think in simple ways. Eat, sleep, mate and eventually die. They don’t wonder about the weather or what could be going on outside their forest. They have the cunning intelligence to hunt down rabbits and their instincts tell them which berries are fine to eat and which are taboo, but no fox has the capacity to think about something like “Is there a life after death?” or “Will I be reborn?”.

But some foxes are different. Sometimes they outlive their children and grandchildren, not understanding why, but after a few centuries their way of thinking changes. They become aware of the workings of the world. They know they are different. Some get excited, some quiver in fear, but all of those who live long enough will gain abilities beyond that of a simple fox. They become gumiho, nine-tailed foxes. They don’t know where the name gumiho comes from. They just know it’s what they’ve become. Now they can shift their form at will or use magic. Most of them decide to copy the looks of these tall creatures that like to hunt them down. Why? Because humans don’t hunt other humans. At least that’s what the foxes believe at the start. They learn from their mistake - eventually.

Sooner or later, a gumiho will eat their first human. In some cases they start out with animals but nothing quite beats the taste of human flesh. They quickly find out the human heart and liver are the most delicious. They also quickly come to realize that killing one human after another will make the other humans really nervous. That nervousness will eventually turn into hostility. Again, the gumiho learn from that. They learn they can die, though it’s hard for one human alone to do. They start becomin