Home Gallery Wattpad Upvote monsteracademy   "To put it clearly, I'm going to a school filled with monsters?" FOURTY: The Nine-tailed Fox You stopped playing with the tablecloth and gawped at Kai. This would have been the right moment to ask questions. He was opening up, and he just told you something very important. But you couldn’t. You just sat there, frozen, your mind black, your heart thumping loudly against your chest. He rested an arm on his knee and raised his hand near his face. “I killed him with this very hand. I could still remember how my fingers dug into his chest, how I could feel his heart beating in my hand,” he said, looking at his hand as though he didn’t recognize it. Then he suddenly snapped it close into a fist, making you flinch. And for a moment, you could almost imagine his brother’s heart, crushed in his hand. He put his hand down and gazed back at the distance. “So it doesn’t matter whether I cut classes or not, whether I can be the best at anything. He was right; I’m nothing but a shame. No matter what I do, I’ll never be a good son. Not to him. Not to anyone. Did I answer your question?” He looked your way, staring at you straight in the eye. You opened your mouth to speak, but you couldn’t find the words to answer him. You could only stare back, but even that was getting harder to do with each passing second. His stare remained glued on you, his eyes searching yours. A gentle wind breezed by, lightly breaking the almost deafening silence as it softly rustled through the leaves of the nearby trees. Kai smiled, the loneliest smile you have ever seen. “I’m not worthy of your worry,” he said, laying back down on the floor and rested an arm over his forehead just above his eyes. You tore your gaze away from him and hung your head low from shame. Suho was right. You shouldn’t press on matters that had nothing to do with you. When you bugged him about it you knew you were probably asking for fire, but you didn’t expect for him to give you a bomb. You shouldn’t have asked, because now you didn’t know what to do. You thought of Hye Bin, your best friend back home. What would she do if she was in this situation? Whenever you were down or when you were in situation where you didn’t know what to do, she would know just the right words to lift you up and stir you into the right direction. She had always known what to do. How you wished you could be like her right now, just this once. Neither of you said anything. The silence was agonizing, and you knew you won’t be able to breathe for another second if it continued. You watched him again, not expecting for him to be also looking at you. “Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t tell you about it so you could give me that look,” he said, slightly smirking. “Gumiho,” you mumbled. “What?” He asked in confusion, moving his arm away from his forehead so he could look at you better. “Back then at the courts, you had a lot of tails. You’re a gumiho aren’t you?” You felt horrible. And stupid. He clearly didn’t want to talk about what happened from the way he kept on avoiding the subject but you kept on pestering him about it. And though he was trying to act cool, you knew what he told you was a sensitive topic. But here you are, avoiding it. Kai probably told you one of his darkest secrets, and the first word you said was gumiho. I’m the worst. “You think I’m a gumiho just because I had a lot of tails?” Kai replied, not seeming to mind. “I don’t know any other creature that has those many tails.” “Well, you’re right,” he chuckled. “I’m a gumiho.” “So you really are a fox,” you said and managed a smile. “I had no idea those folklores about gumihos are real.” “Not everything.” “Like?” “For one, we’re not liver maniacs.” “Oh,” you chuckled. “I really don’t know where humans get those crazy ideas about monsters. Humans are weird,” he muttered. “Hey, can I see your monster form?” Kai gave you a puzzled look, as though he was wondering if he heard you right. “It’s okay if you don’t want to show me,” you said. “It’s fine but, are you sure?” He asked, rising into a sitting position. You shrugged, smiling. “Araso. I don’t usually show my monster form to other people but,” he said, standing up, “since you requested,” he smiled his usual roguish smile. He suddenly jumped off the roof. You stood up on instinct and out of shock at his sudden action. You didn’t know how it happened; it was too fast for your eyes to see, but when Kai landed, a large, white beast stood below in place of a human boy. You could have easily mistaken it for a wolf if not for the nine white tails that were floating behind it. And he was huge, probably larger than a bear. He had strange but beautiful reddish markings all over his body – on his forehead, on his chest, at the edge of each of his tails, on his paws, and a large one on his back that ran from the base of his neck down to his waist. He padded around the rooftop in a swift and graceful manner, the muscles on his strong legs contracting with every move. He suddenly leapt upwards and landed in front of you, growling. You stumbled backwards and landed on your as you gaped at him, your eyes as wide as your open mouth. He laughed, his loud voice echoing like soft thunder. He circled around you in that small space on the roof, all the while keeping his large red-orange eyes fixed on you. Those eyes. You followed him with your gaze, taking in the majestic details of his monster form. He stopped in front of you, staring at you with those beautiful eyes that looked like fire. You realized that he was really huge. His head alone was probably three or four times the size of your own head. You slowly lifted a trembling hand, reaching out to touch him. Kai crouched a little since you were still seated on the floor. You were not sure if your legs had the strength to stand up. He lowered his head so it would meet your outstretched hand. You in a breath as your hand touched his muzzle. His fur was soft, and warm, just like his healing light a while ago. You finally stood up while also reaching out your other hand to touch him. Even as you were standing, Kai’s monster form was still taller than you. Your face was just leveled with his chest. You rested your hand at the side of his face and glided your other hand from his nose up his long snout. You caressed the soft fur on his forehead, tracing the strange markings with your fingers. You moved your hands to his ears which were larger than your hands, and they twitched when you touched the tips, making you pull your hands back. You focused back on his eyes. He was still looking at you, his eyes inviting, with that familiar mischievous gleam they have in his human form. You touched his ears again, and breathed a fascinated laugh. They were soft and squishy. You gently squeezed them in your hands. “Ya, I’m not a house pet in case you have forgotten,” he chuckled, his voice rumbling again. But you were sure his mouth hadn’t moved. “Are you...speaking inside my head?” “No,” he chuckled. “But your mouth didn’t move. How are you speaking?” “We’re not those silly Disney animals,” he laughed. “This is just the way it is.” You gave an astonished ‘oh’. You slid your hands down his neck, and down his chest where there was another set of markings. Kai continued to watch you while he let your hands explore him freely. “Isn’t this the part where you run to a restroom and throw up?” He teased. “Not this time,” you lightly laughed. You moved your hands towards his jaw, and traced them down his long snout just below his mouth, touching the sharp edges of what you were sure were large fangs. “Aren’t you scared?” He asked. “Ani. You’re beautiful,” you breathed, now unconsciously the sides of his neck. “But I’m not the beautiful creature that you think I am,” he said, laughing softly. “I’m a monster.” From the way he said monster, you knew he was not referring to his biological nature. He was referring to himself as a person. “No you’re not,” you answered, unconsciously clutching at his fur. “You don’t have to try so hard. It’s okay to tell me. I’ve heard it too many times from other people. I’m used to it. And they’re right. What kind of person kills his own brother? So just say it Joo Ri. I’d rather hear what you really think. I’m a repulsive murderer.” You looked into his large, beautiful eyes. The mischievous gleam was gone. And you knew. By the way he looked when he relived his brother’s death; how his voice subtly trembled as he spoke about it; and by the pain that’s now clearly in his eyes. You knew he’s in pain. He has always been haunted by these shadows of his past. But what made it look so painful, was the way he was acting as though nothing’s wrong. You couldn’t bear to look at him any longer. Your chest was aching. And staring into those eyes which held all the emotions he wouldn’t show was tearing at your heart. You just found yourself standing on your toes as you s your arms around his neck, pressing the side of your face to his chest. “Ya...,” you heard him murmur. “You’re the one who shouldn’t try so hard. No one would be okay with that, babo.” Kai tensed up, startled. But you were too lost in your own feelings to notice. “I don’t care what other people think about you. The person I came to know is an annoying idiot who loves getting into trouble. He seems smart, but he acts more than he thinks when it comes to his friends, getting him into more trouble. And he’s erted, which makes him more annoying. But what’s most annoying is how he pretends he’s alright even though he really isn’t,” you said, pausing a little, trying to regain control over your slowly quivering voice as you tried to fight the tears which were threatening to form at the corner of your eyes. “But even so…even if he drives me nuts every time, I really like that idiot. Because I know he’s a wonderful person deep inside. That’s what I think. And I also think that it’s okay not to be okay. So stop trying to act cool, you dummy,” you said, hugging him tighter. Kai didn’t answer, nor did he move. You could only feel his heart beating fast against your ears. You didn’t know when it happened. But the next thing you knew, he was no longer in his monster form and you were hugging his smooth human neck. He s his strong arms around your waist, pulling you closer to him into a tight hug, his chin resting on your shoulder. “Kai...,” you breathed in surprise. He slid one of his hands up your back, tangling it with your soft, wavy locks. “Let me stay like this. Just for a little while,” he whispered. You relaxed and lowered your hug around his shoulders, lightly clutching at his uniform. You buried your nose on his shoulder, closing your eyes. If only you could take even just a little of that pain away. You felt useless. “I’m sorry,” you whispered. “No. Don’t be,” he answered, gently clutching at your hair and burying his face in them. The two of you stayed that way for you don’t know how long until the bell rang, breaking the spell. You jolted at the sound, like an alarm clock waking you up in the middle of a dream. Suddenly you were too aware of the awkward position that you two were in. And, for some reason, you just noticed that you were finding it difficult to breathe. “Kai...I can’t...breathe,” you muttered with difficulty. Kai slowly released you from his embrace. You subtly took a few steps back. He stared at you for a while with an expression you couldn’t read. Then he finally smiled, that unfamiliar gentle smile, while tucking a few locks of your hair behind your ear. “You shouldn’t ever wear your hair like that.” “B-but you were the one who b