Plin Ch 2.20

Plin was busy since the early morning. He usually took a bath in the evening, but he woke up earlier than usual in the morning to take another bath.

And before leaving the house, he meticulously cleaned his ears. Ear cleaning was Plin’s least favorite process. When he put the cold liquid medicine into his furry ears, he could hear the sound of water droplets rolling around, which echoed in his eardrums.

When his inner ears were all wet, he would grab his ears, fold them in half, and rub the fur inside. Then he would hear the thump, thump sound of liquid friction, which always gave him goosebumps.

“Achoo!”

Even though it was water that got into his ears, his nose tingled. Plin sneezed reflexively and shook his head to get rid of the water that had invaded his ears. Droplets of the medicine splashed on the mirror.

“Ah, I have to hold it for thirty seconds.”

Plin wiped the mirror and cleaned his ears with cotton. It was a tedious process, but he was worried that if he met him in the morning and he whispered in his ear or something, he might smell the sweet scent of his ears.

With colorful balloons in his heart, Plin carried the heavy basket and headed to work on a winter day, which somehow felt cozy. It was a snowy day. He had a lot of luggage, with the basket and an umbrella, but his steps were light.

He received an enormous bundle of gifts in the morning. It was only the second time in his life that he had received such a proper gift. The first was the ear muffs he was currently wearing, which were said to be embroidered stitch by stitch by a master craftsman, and the second was this.

100 sausages, various rare tropical fruits he had never tasted before, steak meat with bones attached, macaroons, and pretty breads.

He kept smiling without realizing it. As Plin walked, he wagged his tail from side to side. The tip of his tail kept sticking out from under the umbrella, and only the tip of his tail had snowballs stuck to it. Plin didn’t even notice.

He was aware that it wasn’t a situation to smile about and that being this happy about a gift seemed a bit lacking in self-respect. But being aware of it didn’t change how he felt.

Plin confidently took the elevator and pressed the 19th floor. He always visited the executive director last, but today he wanted to see him first.

“Plin, good morning!”

“Yes, hello. Good morning.”

“Plin, you look bright today?”

“Yes, I do.”

The people who rode the elevator with him spoke to Plin, the official peddler with a slight blush on his face. The executive director used the entire 19th floor as his office. They exchanged glances, thinking, ‘There’s definitely something going on between them.’

When Plin arrived at the 19th floor, he greeted the receptionists. The receptionists greeted Plin with awkward expressions.

“The executive director just went into a meeting… If you give me the drink, I’ll put it in his office.”

“Ah… he’s not here? When will it end?”

“It’ll take at least two hours.”

“I see…”

“Would you like to leave the drink?”

Plin was debating whether to make the other deliveries first and wait for the executive director, or just leave the delivery with reception and see him during the evening delivery.

If I wait, will it look bad? If I’m too happy about the gift, will I look greedy and insincere? But I want to express my gratitude in person. Plin tilted his head from side to side, thinking about various things.

“I’ll come back after delivering to the other floors.”

After much deliberation, he left with a subdued voice, but just then, one of the receptionists received a call and politely called Plin back.

“Mr. Fallfox.”

“Yes?”

“I received a call saying that you can wait comfortably in the office. After you finish delivering to the other floors, you can wait for a while, and the executive director will come.”

Just a moment ago, the tone had been subtly condescending, but the sophisticated attitude and gentle voice were a stark contrast. Plin was taken aback by the sudden change in attitude and fiddled with his thigh for a moment.

“Ah… yes, thank you.”

“I apologize for being rude earlier. I didn’t know you were lovers.”

At those words, the others were surprised, but they quickly composed their expressions. Plin, the person in question, was also surprised, as if he were hearing someone else’s story, and his eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly, and a little later, he managed to control his facial muscles and closed his mouth. We agreed to this. It’s starting already.

He had accepted the executive director’s proposal, though awkwardly, so for the next three months, he and Hugo would be ‘publicly in a relationship’.

Until winter passed and spring came. It was only a contract relationship, but he wondered if the winter, which had always been harsh to him, would show a slightly different color.

Plin got on the elevator with a dazed feeling. He still had a snowball attached to the end of his tail.

While roaming the building, delivering to almost every floor, the snow attached to the tip of his tail melted and dripped onto the floor. If it had been the usual peddler Plin, it would have been something that would have drawn many people’s glares, but no one dared to point it out.

It was a company where word traveled fast. In the meantime, there had only been suspicions about the relationship between Hugo and Plin, but finally today, the following information was actively exchanged through each other’s messengers.

19th floor reception official / Executive Director and peddler Plin’s relationship is confirmed. The Executive Director told us to treat his boyfriend, Plin, with the utmost respect when he comes to the 19th floor, and if we treat him like we did before, we should be prepared to lose our necks. It seems the Executive Director liked him first. The specific details seem a bit exaggerated, but the relationship is confirmed. ps. Keep this to yourself

When Plin finished his deliveries and went back to the 19th floor, the receptionists treated him with great hospitality. He was ushered directly to the office like a VIP, and inside, he was offered comfortable sofas, delicious snacks, fruit, and tea. They even asked if there was anything uncomfortable, and when he said no, they gave him a towel.

“Why the towel?”

Plin asked, not knowing what it meant. He wondered if there was some etiquette among rich people to perform some kind of procedure with a towel before eating snacks. Like tying the towel around your head, or hanging it around your neck… It’s not embarrassing not to know, so he asked what he should do.

“Your tail is wet. It has no other meaning. I’m sorry, but we don’t have a dryer right now, shall I get one for you?”

“Oh? It’s really wet. I didn’t know. Thank you for the towel.”

“Then rest comfortably.”

After the person left, Plin sat in the quiet office and pressed the towel on his tail to absorb the moisture. How did he not know this? He must have been distracted by unnecessary happiness since the morning.

“Huu… Get a grip, Plin Fallfox.”

He was a little foolish. He liked it a little that people were being kind to him. He liked it even more because it seemed like it was because the executive director told them to. He knew that it was just because of the executive director’s needs and that it was a contract relationship, and that he shouldn’t get carried away by this charade, but his heart softened, making him feel pathetic. Maybe he had been too starved for warmth all this time.

Plin looked around the executive director’s office. All the spaces Plin had experienced so far were vast. The mansion, which was like a museum where you had to walk for a long time from the entrance to reach the actual entrance, and this office. Was it because he was a large dragon?

He was curious like a fox and wanted to look around, but he just sat still. He might be misunderstood for no reason, and there might be CCTVs. Plin looked up at the ceiling corners where CCTVs might be. He couldn’t find anything, but you never know.

A snowy landscape unfolded through the large window. There was a heavy snow warning on that day. If it were summer, it would have been a tedious rainy season. It was a cloudy day with no distinct rays of light, even in the morning. The sweet fruits and snacks prepared by the reception were, of course, all devoured.

The falling snow was slow to observe. His body shook several times, then slowly leaned. Full and with his blood sugar levels elevated, the fox sat on the sofa and dozed off, curling his tail. The towel slipped from his hand and fell to the floor. He was still holding the tip of his tail with both hands.

“Darling, you’re here?”

At the cheerful voice, Plin woke up with a start. Perhaps because he was a little surprised, the angles of his normally loosely standing ears were neatly aligned at 90 degrees. The fox, who had just woken up, had a considerably disheveled face, with a bright red mark on his cheek from being pressed against the sofa armrest.

“Good morning…”

“Do you usually sleep with your tail curled up like that?”

After a meeting that lasted over two hours, Hugo sat down close to Plin. He smelled the scent of the expensive cologne that rich people use. The colognes used by rich people were generally a bit strong and unique. It wasn’t a comforting smell like that of soap sold in a mart, but it was a memorable scent.

“Sometimes.”

By now, his tail was completely dry. However, it hadn’t been dried with hot air, just had the moisture removed, so the fur was wavy. He thought it looked a little unkempt and ran his fingers through it like a comb. But the wavy fur remained.

“Wait a moment.”

Hugo got up from the leather sofa and took a brush from his desk drawer. He always took care of his appearance, so he always had basic grooming supplies like a brush, wax, and razor on hand.

Hugo, with the brush in hand, wrapped one hand around Plin’s tail. The fox didn’t resist and gave him his tail. The dense bristles of the brush swept through the fur.

“Did you shower this morning and not dry it properly?”

As he brushed his tail, Hugo glanced at Plin and asked.

It was an unfair accusation. He had not only showered and dried it thoroughly but also cleaned his ears. He had even slept 30 minutes less because of it. Plin was suddenly upset.

“I dried it well. I got it wet on my way to work this morning.”

“Ah.”

Hugo answered as if he understood, drawing out the single syllable.

“You must have wagged your tail and got it all wet with snow, darling.”

‘Don’t you dare say it’, his eyes seemed to say, but he kept his mouth shut. Then, he grabbed his tail so tightly that it hurt, and he finally answered.

“…Tails don’t do what you tell them to.”

“I know. You told me that before.”

He casually replied and started brushing again. He firmly grasped the tail to keep it from moving, sectioned off the fur according to the grain, and brushed it in order. In the silence, the focused touch was careful.