Plin Ch 2.8

Since he was a child, abandoned by the fox pack for being a ‘white fox’, Plin, who wandered the streets with only a backpack, found a body much smaller than himself. At first, he thought it was a small, strangely shaped rock, but it was a snake in hibernation due to the extreme cold.

The child’s black eyelashes and hair had long, thin icicles. He looked like an angel that had fallen from the sky and frozen.

‘Baby, wake up. If you sleep any longer, you might not be able to wake up. Be good, okay?’

He touched the pale cheek, which was so white that it had a bluish tinge, and was startled by the coldness. If it weren’t a snake, it would have already been dead. He woke it up from hibernation by embracing its ice-cold body, held its hand, and walked for a long time. Some days they begged, some days they starved, and then they entered an orphanage together.

Andrea was the life he had saved, his younger brother with whom he had shared hungry times. The only person who considered him, who was nothing, as an older brother and relied on him.

Plin couldn’t get his act together for days. He read the 50-page document about Andrea over and over again. The corners of the paper were frayed, but he kept reading it.

The document was so detailed that it even recorded that Andrea was the MVP as a rugby player in high school. He was good at sports and had excellent relationships with his peers…

It was strange that he didn’t cry. He thought that if he really found Andrea, if he could only hear that he was alive, he would cry his heart out and be able to let go of all the pain in his heart. Was he in disbelief that it was real because it felt like a windfall?

What was the identity of this pain that suddenly settled in his heart, even before the joy of finding his brother?

He thought that if he lived honestly, he could live well on his own, even if it was hard. But maybe that wasn’t the case. The world was never easy on him.

No one had ever helped him in his life, but this time, a wish floated up that he wanted someone to reach out to him. To think that in this situation, all he could think about was ‘someone’s help’, Plin realized his own weakness and held his head.

First, become close with Hugo. Delete the message immediately after receiving it —E.

He deleted the message with trembling hands. It was the first directive he had received from Ethan’s underling since he met him.

He felt like he could do anything if it meant he could see Andrea again. That’s why he had poured money into a dubious detective agency that only gave him false hope and spent all the money he earned on newspaper ads whose effectiveness was questionable.

Considering how desperate he was to get even a scrap of news about Andrea, he should have become a faithful subordinate as Ethan instructed… but he was reluctant and scared.

To become close… and then what? What would they ask of him?

Since he was a child selling gum on the streets, Plin was acutely aware of the dangers. Thanks to that ability, he had never been swayed by abnormal temptations.

For Plin, there was no value that took precedence over survival. His life was so busy just trying to survive each day safely. For safety, he thoroughly avoided fraud, gambling, the black hand, and entertainment. Naturally, he had no involvement with the world of gangsters who lived by intimidation.

The man who said he was Ethan von Ydrohan’s subordinate definitely had a barbaric smell. They wanted him to do as they wanted, but there was no guarantee that they would really let him see his brother. It was unrealistic to think that such people would keep their promises.

However, it was not the act of a brother to prioritize his own safety over saving his endangered brother. Andrea’s angelic voice echoed in his ears.

‘I only have Plin. We’ve become a family. I love you, Plin.’

Poor Andrea… Foolish Plin Fallfox… What are you hesitating for?

Plin, who had been sitting there blankly, got up mechanically when it was time and packed his basket. Plin walked step by step towards The Scope building, not even noticing that people were glancing at him.

He entered the building through the main entrance, carrying the basket, and took the elevator. He stared blankly at the red numbers on the indicator panel changing from 1 to 2 to 3.

“Oh, Plin… I only heard about it, pfft. Official peddler… congratulations, pfft!”

“Isn’t that ear warmer hilarious, no matter how many times you see it, pfft!”

“Why are you guys laughing and making our Plin feel awkward, ahem…!”

People looked at Plin, who was wearing ear warmers with [The Scope Official] [★Peddler Plin★] embroidered in Gothic font, and greeted him or laughed, but Plin was lost in his own thoughts and couldn’t respond.

When he got off on the 7th floor, he walked around like a ghost and made his deliveries. His usual bright business smile was nowhere to be seen, and he just placed the morning deliveries with drooping eyebrows and mumbled in a small voice.

“Plin’s… Fox Drink is here… Thank you… again today…”

With his ears and tail drooping so low that they almost swept the ground, Plin quickly finished delivering to all floors, taking the elevator.

In The Scope building, Plin’s mind was filled with only one thought: ‘How do I get close to the executive director?’ How was he supposed to get close to someone who was so arrogant, perverted, and suspicious of him every time he delivered, and who picked fights with him?

However, when he arrived at the 19th floor, his worry was in vain. Plin couldn’t meet Hugo that day.

“The executive director called in sick today and didn’t come to work.”

Hearing what the receptionist said, Plin was dumbfounded. That meticulously built, solid, and large body could also get sick… It was natural for people to get sick sometimes, but he tilted his head in wonder. He was a man who seemed like he would never get sick.

“Ah, you didn’t hear the news.”

“Yes…”

Even though he wasn’t the type of person to be considerate enough to notify him in advance of his absence so that he wouldn’t make a wasted trip, the receptionist asked as if it were strange.

Leaving Hugo’s undelivered Fox Drinks in the basket, Plin entered the elevator again.

***

The snow that had been falling heavily throughout the afternoon turned into drizzle by late at night.

<S*x bomb, s*x bomb, you’re my s*x bomb♡

And baby you can turn me on♩♪>

Screeech—. He parked roughly but perfectly, and when he turned off the engine, the cheerful music that filled the car stopped.

The man, who had been singing along to the music while driving, hummed the lyrics ‘s*x bomb’. He twirled the car key ring on his index finger. The explicit lyrics of the old popular song were still stuck in his head.

When he got out of the parking garage, he frowned at the rain falling on his head. He was too lazy to get an umbrella from the trunk, so he decided to just get wet, but when the cold raindrops fell on his head, he felt unpleasant.

Every time the heavy body walked with a thud, footprints were left on the slushy, half-melted snow. He hadn’t walked many steps, but his shoes were already getting wet.

Pat. Pat pat.

In the sound of the drizzling rain, he suddenly felt a chill. There was no one around in the residential area late at night. Even the light pooling under the yellow streetlights was forlorn, and the man slightly hunched his shoulders. It was strange to feel this ominous feeling, which he didn’t usually feel. Maybe it was because there was no one around and it was raining. He looked around uneasily. He thought no one was there, but he felt relieved when he saw someone behind him also quickening their steps.

The man, as if he had remembered something, chuckled, “Ah,” and took out his cell phone. Raindrops fell on the phone screen, but he roughly wiped them off with his sleeve and checked if there were any new messages.

On the dark night road, only the blue cell phone screen shone brightly. He had already been captivated by his message box, even stopping in his tracks, even though he would be home if he just walked along the roadside for 5 minutes.

07:23 So, how much will it cost? It’s certain that you’ll open your hole, I just don’t know the price.

I think you sent this to the wrong person. 07:27

07:27 It’s you, right. Plin Fallfox. Do you think I’d get a fox’s phone number wrong?

Please don’t do this. 09:10

“Please don’t do this.”

The man, for some reason, read aloud the message he had received. And he stuck out his thick tongue and licked his lips. For a moment, he imagined, like a pervert, that the peddler was licking his lips with his wet tongue. His lower body became stiff, and he exhaled a puff of air.

He put his cell phone in his jacket and rubbed his hands together. In his opinion, there was something special between Plin Fallfox and himself. He could tell just by looking at the way he usually looked at him. He shook his head once and rolled his tongue in his mouth once.

Thwack—!

It was then. At the sudden blow, the heavy body collapsed helplessly onto the snow-covered road.

The man, who had been hit in the head, tried to turn his head, his lips, shiny with his own saliva, trembling. The man’s fingers twitched a few times. But in less than a minute, he lost consciousness.

A large puddle formed under the man’s large body, where it had made a dent in the snow. Raindrops fell on his body, drip, drip.

The sound of a bat rolling on the asphalt ground echoed.

***