Ga Eul couldn't wait to get home.  It had been a busy day at school and she had met some old friends from school for dinner.  While it was usually nice to see them, it had been particularly awkward this time.  They had all given updates about getting married or having kids, whereas she could only give vague answers about her boyfriend.

-- Flashback --

“Ga Eul, isn’t it your turn to get married now?  Are you seeing anyone?”  All eyes landed on Ga Eul expectantly.

“Um…”

“Of course she is!  Just look at her face–it’s glowing like she’s in love!  Tell us all about him.  Is he nice?  What does he do for a living?”

“Yes, he’s nice…”  Only to me and a couple of other people.  And sometimes to kids.  Mostly.  “And it’s a bit hard to explain what his job is.”  Because he stopped murdering and manipulating people and now spends his free time stalking me.  With my permission.

“Hard to explain?  Is he from a wealthy family, like the F4?  Or is he a jobless freeloader?  You’re so nice it’s easy to imagine someone taking advantage of you.”  

There was an uncomfortable silence.  Mari had always been overly nosy and, Ga Eul suspected, a little jealous of her connection to the F4.  Luckily Ga Eul didn’t have to respond.

“Mari, why do you have to say it like that?  Who’s as wealthy as the F4?  Maybe he just does one of those technical jobs that no one understands.”  Everyone nodded, though Ga Eul could tell that Mari had planted a seed of doubt in them.

“What I really want to know is, is he hot?”

To this Ga Eul could nod without hesitation.   All her friends giggled and whooped.

“Here’s to having a baby before the wedding!”  They all raised a glass in cheer.

-- End flashback --

Thankfully, after that they had stopped asking her questions about Rang, her misbehaving, six-hundred year old, very, very hot, half-human half-nine-tailed-fox boyfriend.  While she wasn’t embarrassed of him, she was loath to introduce him to her friends.  She couldn’t imagine what that interaction would be like, but she also wanted to keep him to herself for now.

The restaurant wasn’t too far from her apartment and the weather was nice, so Ga Eul opted to walk.  The exercise helped her to work off her annoyance.  As Ga Eul passed by a convenience store, she quickened her pace.  A group of inebriated men were sitting at a table in front, talking loudly.  She could feel their eyes on her.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t escaped danger as one of them obstructed her path a few meters away from the convenience store.

“Hey pretty lady!  Why are you walking by yourself?  Why don’t you let me take you home?”

“No thank you, I’m fine by myself.”  Ga Eul stiffened up and started to reach into her purse, but a second guy grabbed it off her shoulder before she could find her pepper spray.

“You don’t have to be scared.  We’re nice guys.  In fact, you’re lucky you met us.”

“Please give me my purse back,” Ga Eul said as firmly as she could, though panic rose in .  If she yelled loud enough perhaps someone nearby could hear her.

“I don’t think she likes you, Dong Hyun.”  A third man guffawed at the guy who had first accosted her.

Dong Hyun ignored him and grabbed her purse from his friend.  He rummaged haphazardly through it, dropping some of her belongings on the sidewalk.  “Let me just get your number then we’ll let you go.”

Ga Eul would have given up on her purse and run away, but they had her surrounded.  She nervously glanced around her, looking for a way out.  She spotted a stray cat, an old man pulling a wheel cart full of recycling, and a pair of middle school boys across the street probably walking home from a late night study academy.  She quickly made a bet in her head and told the men, "You'd better stop right now or my boyfriend is going to hurt you."

The men looked around and laughed, "What boyfriend?  How about I be your boyfriend?"  

Rang was usually alone and he would never do any work voluntarily, so Ga Eul looked straight at the cat and said, "Rang, try not to put them in the hospital. It's going to be a big hassle, and I have an early day tomorrow."

"Why can't I just kill them?  Fine, but you owe me some ice cream."  The voice came from the direction of the old man with the wheel cart, but the old man was staring at his cart in horror as a cardboard box transformed into a devilishly handsome man with a glowing eye.  Rang briefly looked into the eyes of the old man and the two boys.  They fell into a trance and walked away, presumably having their memories of the scene erased.

"Turn around, I don't want you to have to witness violence.  You do have a busy day tomorrow."  Rang winked at Ga Eul.

Ga Eul obediently faced away from them, and after a brief scuffle she turned back to find Rang looking over a pile of men all in various bruised states.  Rang’s left eye glowed once more as he growled menacingly, "Now whenever you see this lady you'll be so afraid you'll piss your pants.  Too bad you won't know why."

Sure enough, all three of them soiled their pants as commanded.  They scrambled to their feet and ran, their steps uneven from intoxication.

Rang grinned cheerfully as he watched them escape.  Ga Eul noted that he appeared more amused than when they watched their favorite comedy variety show.  When her harassers disappeared, Rang turned to Ga Eul with concern.  Holding her by the shoulders, he examined her face.  “Are you okay?”

Ga Eul was still a little shaken up, but having Rang’s confident presence soothed her nerves by a great deal.  It was useful to have a stalker boyfriend sometimes.  She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest, breathing in his familiar fox scent.  “I’m okay now.  Thanks for coming to my rescue.”

Rang held her to him firmly.  “I’ll always protect you.  Next time I get to kill them, though.”

Instead of shocking Ga Eul, his declaration comforted her.  He was very much corrupting her.  After a long space of time, Ga Eul let go and looked up at her criminally handsome criminal of a boyfriend.  She reached up and patted his head.  “Thanks to you, there won’t be a next time.”

After Rang helped Ga Eul collect her belongings, he held out his arm.  "Shall I the lady home?"

She took his arm and giggled, "Really, a cardboard box?"

"I was tired and wanted to take a nap.  Do you know how extremely boring it is to listen to a group of women chatter?” He rolled his eyes.  “Next time I can be your lipstick and you can carry me in your purse.  Then you can put me on your lips whenever you miss me."

“How would I miss you if you’re always around?  Besides, my purse would be too heavy with you inside it.”  And people would think she was crazy if they saw her talking to her favorite Strawberry Peripera lip tint.

Rang pouted.  “Humans are so weak.  That grandpa was so slow I almost didn’t catch up to you in time.”

Ga Eul sighed.  Imagine what her friends would say if she told them her boyfriend was a cardboard box?  "I'll settle for an unemployed boyfriend.  Let's go home, Rang."