He’s a Fox, But Got Puppy-Rescued - Chapter 2

It was on the way back after finishing work, just like any other day. The only difference was that, instead of heading to his lodging, he was going out. When he started getting ready to leave, Mr. Hwang, who shared the same lodging, was startled.

The raccoon beastman, who said he had a child the same age as Hohyun, opened his mouth in surprise at the sight of the fox youth—who normally never went out and stuck close in their cramped lodging—preparing to leave. Hohyun scratched the back of his head and gave an awkward smile, feeling a bit embarrassed since the man, who usually laughed off most things without showing surprise, was now visibly taken aback.

“I need some documents… I’m going to the community center.”

There were documents required when handing out résumés. Inside lodging number 7, which housed beastmen of the canine family, there was no one unaware of Hohyun’s circumstances. Mr. Hwang, who already knew well that Hohyun was working hard to get a new job, nodded in understanding. However, understanding aside, he left behind a few words of concern.

“Hmm, is that so. Be careful out there. I saw the news this morning—these days, the world’s a scary place.”

“Oh, I saw that too. You mean the human trafficking, right?”

“Yeah, that one.”

Trends come to all kinds, without discrimination. Sometimes it’s food, sometimes clothes, other times music… And recently, there was a trend that had emerged with alarming heat—human trafficking.

To call a crime a “trend”—someone might ask if you were out of your mind, but there wasn’t a more fitting way to describe it. What else could you call something that was spreading like wildfire across both rural and urban areas?

As the anchorman said that trafficking was on the rise, he had shown photo after photo of the victims, and just thinking about it made Hohyun sigh deeply.

As if life wasn’t already hard enough, now one had to worry about becoming a crime victim too. The only small comfort was that Hohyun narrowly qualified as a medium-sized beastman. Trafficking victims were typically small-sized beastmen or children.

Though Mr. Hwang must have known that, having seen the same news, he still seemed worried, repeatedly telling him to be careful afterward. He even mentioned how most of the people in the lodging wouldn’t be there today.

“Looks like everyone’s going out except me.”

“Really? Then even he went out? You know, the one who’s always in the lodging?”

“You mean that Jeong guy? He left right after work. I saw him heading toward the parking lot.”

Hohyun was genuinely shocked. It wasn’t strange for the others to go out, but there was one person whose outing was hard to believe.

There was a dog beastman who had moved into lodging number 7 about a week before Hohyun. Other than working, his main routine was curling up in a corner of the room and staring at his phone.

While Hohyun also rarely went out, this dog beastman was entirely closed off from social interaction. Not only did he never leave, but he also didn’t even react when spoken to. And now he had gone out? What day was it today? Even Mr. Hwang seemed visibly intrigued as he talked about it.

As they chatted about trivial things, the shuttle bus began approaching from a distance. Built on the outskirts of the city due to land prices, the logistics center operated a shuttle bus three times a day for the workers’ convenience—6 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 7 p.m. People began boarding the village-bus-sized shuttle one by one. Hohyun said goodbye to Mr. Hwang, who had kept him company, saying he’d see him that night, and got on the bus.

With about ten people aboard, including Hohyun, the bus drove smoothly toward the city. Upon getting off at the stop, he headed toward the community center two blocks away. After retrieving the necessary documents from the unmanned issuing machine at the first-floor entrance, everything seemed to be going fine—until the way back.

While passing through an alley with the file folder in hand, a scream—likely from a child—rang out. The piercing shriek that seemed to tear through his eardrums instantly brought back the morning news. Photos of dozens of missing persons flashed through his mind, sending chills down his spine. Swallowing dryly out of tension, Hohyun instinctively took a few steps back.

‘Should I call the police? But what if something happens in the meantime?’

Normally, he would have just dialed 112 and left it at that, but the voice he heard sounded far too young. It seemed likely that the child hadn’t even entered elementary school yet… Thinking that a kid around his youngest nephew’s age might be in danger, his civic conscience held him back.

He usually avoided trouble, quickly fleeing when sensing danger, as he was prone to getting involved in incidents. But this time, it felt too serious to just walk away. Still, charging toward the sound without knowing the situation was also risky… Not yet having grasped what was going on, Hohyun stood frozen, hesitating in place.

He wrestled with his thoughts for a moment before pulling out his phone with a resolute expression. Just in case, he entered the police station number into the keypad and carefully stepped into the alley.

His heartbeat thudded loudly in his ears. Perhaps from the extreme tension, his concealed tail popped out. He tried pressing it down with his hands to tuck it away, but the fear-driven emotion only made it curl tighter between his legs.

Struggling to keep the tail from getting in the way, he forcefully dragged it down with his hands as he cautiously moved forward. His ears stood alert, concentrating on the direction from which the scream had come, but he couldn’t hear a single sound. The surroundings were eerily silent.

It was so quiet, it made things scarier. He would’ve preferred some kind of noise. The fine fur on his tail stood on end, bristling all over. He had gone quite deep into the alley, but it was completely empty. The only things present were some illegally dumped waste.

As he looked around, Hohyun spotted a familiar face in the next alley over. It was the dog beastman known in lodging number 7 as “Jeong.” Now that he thought about it, someone had said he’d gone out—had he also come here after hearing the scream? They weren’t particularly close, but just seeing a familiar face gave him some comfort.

While Hohyun noticed him, the other didn’t seem to have seen Hohyun. He was in the middle of struggling with his phone. From the distance, Hohyun couldn’t hear what was being said, but the tone seemed rather aggressive. Was he reporting to the police? Hohyun wagged his tail slightly and moved closer—and then got struck in the back of the head.

Whack! A powerful dull impact spread from the back of his head. Since it hit a vital spot, his consciousness started to blur.

“-Too… much…”

“Th… the wh… white… fox….”

A low voice crawling along the ground and another slightly higher one were having a conversation. Through his blurring vision, Hohyun saw someone’s foot stepping on his phone. He hadn’t even finished paying off the installments…! That was the last thing Hohyun remembered.

How much time had passed? For some reason, his entire face felt damp. Something slightly moist yet soft was brushing against his cheeks and chin. That texture—without a doubt, it was a tongue. It had to be the doing of his youngest niece, Seon-i, who had just turned five this year. His older nieces, Jun-i and Jin-i, had grown distant since they got older. Half-asleep, Hohyun muttered.

[Seon-ah, Uncle’s going to sleep for ten more minutes. Go ask your dad to play with you….]

As if scolding him for mumbling in his sleep, a loud bark pierced his eardrums. It was a fiercely bold sound, far too valiant to have come from his normally quiet niece who didn’t make a peep even when she fell down.

Startled, Hohyun opened his eyes and locked gazes with two round, bean-like eyes. Springing up in shock, he realized those black beans were actually the eyes of a small puppy.

What the—? Why is there a puppy…? Still unable to grasp the situation, he stared blankly, only to hear a shrill chirping like that of a bird. Not just that, but the smells of various animals began to invade his nose.

Dog, cat, rabbit, hamster… It felt like he was in a zoo or something. As the fox looked around, his mouth dropped open.

Animals of all kinds, more than he could count on both hands, were trapped in narrow cages.

Listening to the little puppy’s murmurs, Hohyun was struck by a thunderous realization. He had become a victim of the human trafficking featured in the news.