Chapter Text
You see, humans are terrible creatures. They treat other beings as lowlifes, arrogant because they are blessed with the gift of intelligence. They make others live under an unjust environment and expect them to be obedient and follow their rules. Humans created war; so adamant to reach their selfish desires that they would kill off their own kind just for the sake of it. Humans are liars; they tell the world that they would keep peace, yet they immediately turn back on their words. Causing misery and conflict because their wishes aren't fulfilled, so they destroy the wishes of others.
'Humans are selfish,' Kim Dokja thought as he watched from afar, the two children with ragged and dirty clothes begging the passing strangers for food. A girl and a boy; seeming a lot younger than the age of 12, with thin limbs, too thin. It was quite worrying, they seemed to have been starving for days. Yet not a single soul batted an eye towards them, this was not the first time Kim Dokja has seen such a situation.
Well, of course. Kim Dokja is a gumiho who has been living for thousands of years, his kind forgotten as he was the last of his own species. Nevertheless, he excels in his magical capabilities. Kim Dokja owns an inn, hidden deep in the forest. Not that he is trying to hide himself, he only finds it unpleasant to be around humans. Ah, but why would he run an inn? Humans make quite interesting creations, fortunately. His favorite was the combined pile of papers with ink-formed knowledge called a "book". He even had a library in his inn with various kinds of genres. Kim Dokja earns these "gold coins" from humans when they spend a night or two at his inn, which they are used as a currency for tradings and many more.
It was also the reason why Kim Dokja had went to the nearby town wearing a black cloak to cover his half-fox appearance, which was to buy necessary items (and books) for his business.
Back to the current situation at hand; the weather was cold, the telltale signs of an upcoming winter. 'These younglings won't even make it before the first snow.' he watched as the children went back into a dark and narrow alleyway. A twinge of uncertainty rises in his chest. Though he wasn't fond of humans, he is not a cruel being. Where were their parents? Were they dead, or have they abandoned their own kin? With the paper bags he was carrying, Kim Dokja follows them. He makes sure to blend himself within the crowd as to not appear suspicious.
He spots the children sitting at one of the corners, their figures slightly trembling. It was expected, since they have nothing around them to be used as a blanket for warmth. Kim Dokja grits his teeth, he cannot believe that he is sympathising with some human cub. No, he does not want to remember his early days when he was still a newborn fox spirit. Kim Dokja silently walks towards them. It was the boy who noticed first, eyeing him suspiciously until he was standing in front of him. The girl next to the boy did the same and hugged her knees.
"No need to be on guard." Kim Dokja said; pulling down the hood slightly until his face was shown. Soft black hair fluttering, fair skin, lightly pinkish lips and long lashes with greyish-blue eyes glowing under the moonlight. The children both widened their eyes as he sees the vertical-slit pupils on the gumiho's eyes.
Kim Dokja then crouches down, rummaging his hand in one of his bags. Two sweet pancakes were pulled out, still hot and its delicious scent wafted through the air. The pancakes vanished as soon as he handed them to the kids, how long has it been for them to survive without food? "Eat slowly-- you'll choke yourself!" The two obediently followed Kim Dokja's words, still taking big bites from the pancakes and leaving the concerned gumiho on how trusting they are towards a complete stranger.
As they finished, with smudges of syrup on their cheeks and hands; Kim Dokja sighed, taking out some tissues and gently wipe them off. "Thank you, ahjussi... you're actually the first person to ever treat us this nicely," the girl with dark blond hair was tearing up. The brown-haired boy looked like he was about to join in as well, and the gumiho panicked. He has no experience with children, so he cannot comprehend why they've started crying all of the sudden. "Please do not cry, young ones." Kim Dokja patted their heads, because he saw a lady doing so to her crying child as they stayed in his inn once. It seemed to have made them stop, somehow.
He pulled away to bring a hand on his chin. If he brings these kids to his inn, then he was breaking his own rule; which was to never bring any human into his inn other than for business. Since he was a gumiho, he would be put in grave danger if the common folk knows of his existence. Humans are curious, in a bad way. Because of this, when a guest comes to stay in the gumiho's inn; their memories are erased right away after they check out. No one needs to know.
Kim Dokja then looks at the children's glassy eyes, snot running down their noses. Partly disgusting, but he gives in anyways. "You are extremely malnourished, which is irritating. Hmm, I suppose you can come with me to my home."
"Really!?" Both of them shouted.
The gumiho put a finger on his lips, "Keep the tranquility of the night. My inn is very spacious, so I wouldn't mind to house you two."
"You run an inn?" The boy asked with, a look of admiration.
"Yes, now get under my cloak so you don't freeze yourselves to death."
He stands up, allowing the kids to shuffle into his cloak. If they felt nine fluffy tails around them, they chose to ignore it. Kim Dokja returns to his home as a caretaker that night.
-
A week has passed since he brought in the children. Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung, they told him their names; made his inn a bit livelier. It turns out they were left to the streets by their parents, and found each other along the way. The gumiho hopes whoever their parents were, will suffer a terrible fate. Now they look more healthy thanks to him, Kim Dokja makes sure to properly feed and wash them on a daily basis. He definitely did not spend hours in his library searching on how to take care of the youth.
When he told them that he was a fox spirit, the kids were not scared. In fact, they reached out to ruffle his fox ears. Kim Dokja almost went pliant at the relaxing sensation, much to his dismay. As his new helpers, they would tidy up the guest's rooms (which wasn't too messy thankfully) and greet new guests. Other times, they would play in the small garden behind the inn or learn how to read and write by the gumiho himself. It was really a pleasant atmosphere.
"Hyung!" Lee Gilyoung ran from the stairs to him, holding a crane origami in his hand. "Th-this is for you..." Kim Dokja's heart melted at the words, he truly was weakened by these children. "Thank you, Gilyoung-ee," the gumiho presses a soft kiss on the boy's forehead, whose face turned red. Shin Yoosung came to them right after, pouting while holding the same flowers. "No fair! I made the cranes first!"
"Too bad I was faster than you, blehhh."
"I'm going to steal your cookies next time!"
"Hey! Don't you even dare!"
"Alright," Kim Dokja gestures Shin Yoosung to come closer, in which she immediately does. He gives her a forehead kiss as well. "Thank you, Yoosung-ah." The girl smiled brightly, giving the origami to him. They ran back off to the 2nd floor, shouting to each other for a bet to see who can get his hug next. The gumiho looks at the paper cranes in his hand, perhaps he can place them on his drawer in his room.
There were no customers today, so he currently has a day-off. Kim Dokja glanced outside the window, the first snowfall had already started. He makes a mental note to clean the path outside when the snow gets heavy. The moment he was about to turn away, though; Kim Dokja saw a tiny figure not too far from his inn, it looked like a human-- no, it was a human child. Out and alone in the harsh cold. He quickly throws on a white coat from the handstand and rushes out the door, not caring enough to put on a disguise. If they prove to be a threat, he can just fend them off.
As he got closer, he sees the child sobbing. Black long hair tied into pigtails, the tear-tracks on the her cheeks. The girl looked up at the gumiho, completely aware of his fox ears and the nine tails behind his back. "Uh, ah--"
"What are you doing out here in the forest? It's dangerous, especially during this weather," Kim Dokja said, worry evident in his voice. The girl, somehow realizes he was not a threat and grabbed his arm. "My brother! Please, you need to help Oppa! He's bleeding!" The gumiho was shocked. An injured man? Just what were these humans doing in the forest? With no time to waste, he tells the girl to head inside his inn first. The kids seemed to have noticed his absence, as they were waiting at the entrance door. The girl runs to them, while Kim Dokja trudges deeper into the forest.
After 10 minutes, the gumiho was able to find the girl's brother. He was leaning on one of the trees, with blood patches around him in the snow. "Oh dear," he makes his way to the man, hastily checking to see the wounds. There was a nasty cut on the left leg and a large gash on his stomach. Kim Dokja lifts the man's face to examine if there were more wounds, when his jaw dropped. Who...this man looks like as if he was sculpted by the gods themselves. Dressed in black, with a sharp jawline; thick angular eyebrows, firm cheeks and tan skin. His black hair with hints of white snow. This man was too handsome, Kim Dokja slapped himself out of the trance. What was he thinking!? He's supposed to rescue here, hello!??
Taking off the coat, he drapes it around the man. He hovers his hand over the toned abs.... stomach! Yes, stomach! He used his magic to heal the open wound, blue light glowing under his resting hand. The gumiho repeats the same motion for the cut, and after that he tries to lift the man up which he fails. "So heavy," he grunted out, and attempts again before he gives up; using his powers to make the unconscious man light. Kim Dokja carries him on the back, turning around and make his way back to the inn.
Maybe this won't be his day-off, after all.