Plin Ch 3.3

After Thibeau left, Hugo stared at his message app for a long time. He had already read it so many times that he had almost memorized the content.

PLIN [Executive Director, this is Plin. I’m contacting you because I was wondering if you might be free this Friday evening] 10:29

If only the karmic pain hadn’t come… Yesterday, he had to quickly suck and devour the fox to deal with the urgent karmic pain, and in the end, he missed what he was going to say.

And now he says he won’t even deliver directly anymore. Because he’s embarrassed? That was a cowardly excuse.

Stop with the embarrassing bullshit and get your ass to the 19th floor right now.

The fox showed his precious face about 10 minutes after he sent the message. If he hadn’t come, he was planning to go find him himself and drag him back by the scruff of his neck. Since he was receiving reports on the fox’s whereabouts and who he was in contact with in real-time, locating him was no problem.

Sitting comfortably in his chair with his back deeply reclined, he asked somewhat sharply.

“Why are you avoiding me?”

“I told you, because I’m embarrassed.”

“You were avoiding me even before you got your c*ck sucked, you were happy to give me that excuse.”

The fox stood silently, his hands clasped together as if he were being punished. Even in this submissive pose, a certain stubbornness could be felt.

“……”

“Did I interfere that much? Can’t I say that much when we’re dating?”

“We’re not really dating.”

“…That’s hurtful.”

Hugo’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he pursed his lips. Plin looked straight at him, not seeming to back down.

“…It’s just my job. You don’t have to worry about it—”

He called him out to try to smooth things over, but the fox drew a line on his own and ignored his feelings. No matter how much he tried to accommodate the fox, who was his painkiller, this made him angry.

“You’re not very good with words, and you live a haphazard life. So, your reality is like a sewer. If you work hard, what’s the point? You have nothing left, and you have no future. Do you think your life will get any better in the future? It’ll be the same as it is now. You’ll be ignored and exploited by people your whole life.”

It was harsh. He wondered why he was being used by someone like Ethan, and if he was going to be a spy, he should at least do it properly. The bug he had received was too easily discovered, which made him upset. The resentment he had been suppressing also flared up.

Plin, who had been quietly listening with his lips tightly pressed together, looked at Hugo and spoke. He didn’t even blink, and he didn’t avoid his gaze, but his voice was slightly breathless.

“I know I’m poor now and that people look down on me. But no matter who you are, the future is unknown… No, you’re not going to be with me in the future, so don’t worry about it. Don’t mistake a contract relationship for a real one.”

“Ha…”

His bold words made him laugh.

“You have big dreams, don’t you? Who’s mistaken? Me? With you? You’re the one having delusions, don’t you think?”

“…If you’re done talking, I’ll be going. I’m busy.”

It was completely ridiculous. Who was this guy? Was he playing hard to get?

The fox turned around and left without anyone stopping him.

Should he be angry about this? He couldn’t even put a name to the emotions swirling inside him. It felt like a solid stone he had been firmly holding in his hand had suddenly turned into sand and slipped through his fingers. A sense of betrayal, loss, and absurdity were mixed together inappropriately. Hugo clenched and unclenched his fist, which had blood vessels prominently raised, trying to digest this absurd sense of loss.

In the lingering feeling, the image of the moisture in Plin’s eyes remained as an afterimage.

***

It was a night of festivities, with families and lovers gathered for the festival, their eyes sparkling like stars in the sky. They had happy faces. Amidst them, a man walked alone through the festival grounds, his desolate back particularly forlorn.

People dressed in traditional outfits, consisting of brightly colored fur coats, fur shoes, and fur hats, often passed him by.

The Snow Festival originated from people gathering to play winter games to pass the cold, dark, and long nights of winter. As a tradition passed down from long ago, the festival had a special meaning for the people of this city.

It was a festival that often became a staple of childhood memories and conversation topics. However, Hugo had no childhood memories of the Snow Festival. When he was young, he was sick even more often than he was now, so he was overprotected and rarely went to places where crowds gathered. It was also because the young Hugo often showed his bad temper in places with many people.

Even though he usually didn’t feel the cold, he felt a chill in his heart, both in front of the fox’s house and on this festival night. Something cold and viscous was crushing his heart, and it was quite tingly and uncomfortable. It was hard to tell if it was pain or not, just a faint sensation similar to pain. But it kept bothering him, making him feel nauseous. In a way, it was similar to karmic pain, in that he didn’t know how to deal with it.

He knew it was just a white fox, not even his ideal type, but he couldn’t understand why it made him feel so bad, so annoyed, so angry.

Just then, the ground was soft from the snow that had fallen for days, and the warm lights of the festival illuminated the cool color of the snow.

Passing by the ice sculptures in the shape of igloos built here and there, passing by the sounds of children laughing as they rode on sleds and dog sleds, Hugo found Plin three hours later.

The booth was located in such a remote corner that neither the dazzling lights of the festival, nor the traditional music, nor the noise of the children reached it.

It was already late at night, with the crescent moon high in the sky. Looking inside the tent from the outside, he could see that the makeshift plastic tables where the goods were displayed were sparse. It seemed that quite a lot had already been sold.

And the fox, who was dealing with five or six people, looked… dejected as he had never seen him before.

He smiled as if trying his best to serve the customers and spoke kindly, but his ears were drooping, and his fluffy, furry tail was also drooping, not moving at all.

Had he ever seen the fox like this before? Was something sad happening, or had many difficult customers come and gone, or had he suffered a loss by giving away too many free samples? He looked very… tired.

At the entrance of the orange tent, there was a banner that read “Plin’s Fox Love Drink,” and next to it, a banner with the misspelled “ICAN DOIT” hung side by side.

“The spacing is really…”

Hugo complained, but he took a picture with his phone as if to capture the impressive scenery of the festival.

He walked in, lifting the banner. At the same time, a couple left, their hands full of the things they had bought. As he appeared, people glanced at him. He was a tall man with a unique atmosphere that made people wonder what species he was, and he was wearing a long coat on this cold day, showing off his long figure, so it was inevitable that he would attract attention.

Some people whispered, “He must be a model.” Such words were very easy for Hugo to hear. He had excellent hearing.

He must be an actor, since he was too handsome to be unrecognized, they guessed. He thought that his face must be outstanding even when hit by the cold wind, and he approached Plin, who was organizing his wares.

The space was dark and cramped. The smell of oil from the outdoor heater that was blowing hot air filled the air. In a corner, bending over and opening a box, the fox’s tail, drooping powerlessly, made him want to hug it.

When the new box was opened and placed on the table, Plin finally noticed Hugo.

“Oh…”

Their gazes met awkwardly. They both blushed and cleared their throats alternately, and Plin’s tail wagged a little. Hugo frowned, trying not to look at the tail, even though his gaze kept being drawn to the furry thing.

As soon as he frowned, the tail stopped moving.

“Is business going well?”

“…Yes.”

“But why are you so down?”

“I’m not really down.”

Plin started to take out the drinks from the box and arrange them. The basket was full of free energy candies for promotional purposes.

<Energy candy to make the long Snow Festival passionate! It’s also good for those who are feeling down.>

What kind of promotional line is that? He wondered if he should eat one of the energy candies since he was feeling down, and then he asked Plin,

“When are you closing?”

“In about two hours. We sold out faster than I thought. I’ll bring more tomorrow.”

“You’re closing up shop once it’s all sold?”

“Yes.”

There were four or five customers who seemed to be concentrating on the conversation between the two, pretending not to. The atmosphere was awkward, but Plin answered Hugo’s questions as sincerely as possible. Occasionally, his tail would wag, then stop, then wag again, then stop.

“Then I’ll buy it all.”

“I can sell it all.”

Plin said, his eyes wide.

“I know.”

“……”

“You’re a capable peddler, after all.”

Plin’s nose twitched, and he almost tilted his head but stopped. Hugo, noticing the subtle movement, took a large step closer.

He whispered so that only Plin could hear.

“What I said earlier.”

“If you’re going to say something strange while I’m working, please leave.”

“I’m sorry.”

Hugo apologized, looking genuinely embarrassed.

“……”

It was the first apology he had ever made in his life, but Plin didn’t react.

“I didn’t mean what I said. I wasn’t thinking straight. I was just, upset that you kept avoiding me.”

“…You did.”

“What?”

Hugo’s hearing was excellent, so he didn’t have to ask again. It was just that the fox’s pronunciation was bad.

“You were trying to stop me from doing business… You said something about maintaining dignity.”

Plin’s ears were also red as he spoke. And in a small voice, he added.

“But really… business is good. These days don’t come often.”

He hadn’t thought that far ahead, but it was a valid point. He was a member of the owner’s family. It wasn’t fitting to have his lover running a stall at a festival.

So the fox wasn’t avoiding him because he didn’t like him, but because he was afraid he would stop him from running his stall?

He hadn’t even considered that the energy candy might actually work, but his mood improved.

“I don’t think poorly of you working as a peddler, you know.”

Since he had given him the title of official peddler, it wasn’t a problem for him to sell drinks at the festival.

“…Really?”

“Of course, it will take a lot of effort and luck to escape poverty with this, but I… respect that.”

Hugo spoke carefully. He hoped that his words would ease the fox’s mood, just as his mood had improved.

“I’ll buy the rest. I can afford that much.”

“But…”

“I’ve never been to the Snow Festival before. Let’s play after you close. Okay?”

At his coaxing tone, Plin nodded without realizing it.

It was the voice of Andrea, whom he remembered from when he was young, saying, ‘Plin, I’ve never been to the Snow Festival either. Let’s go play there. Okay?’