Plin Ch 4.12

Hugo, trying to calm his racing mind, gently called out to Plin, who was trembling like a convict awaiting sentencing.

“Plin.”

“Yes…”

“I guess I should say… thank you for being honest…”

Despite trying to be gentle, his words came out harsh.

“The mood was nice.”

Hugo frowned, his true feelings starting to show. His expression was one of blatant disgust, as if he’d smelled something foul.

“You have a knack for ruining things.”

“…I’m sorry. But I wanted to tell you now. Before it was too late…”

Plin answered slowly, pressing his fingernails into his knees.

“Before it was too late? Why? What difference would it make if it were a little later now?”

“Because…”

Plin hesitated. Hugo grinned, but there was no joy in it.

“I understand that every day is precious, but you could have considered the feelings of the person being used.”

“Huh?”

Plin must know that Ethan was behind yesterday’s kidnapping attempt. As a mere peddler fox, even if he had made enemies, they would have been small-timers. Only Ethan had the resources to mobilize dozens of people. It was an easy deduction.

Hugo swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue: “Did you think that since Ethan abandoned you, you might as well try to win me over properly?”

“Let’s stop pretending.”

Hugo sneered.

“Shall I be honest? You’re asking me to find Andrea before Ethan kills him, aren’t you?”

Plin’s eyes widened, as if struck by Hugo’s words. He stammered in protest.

“That’s not… what I meant. I wouldn’t dare ask you for such a dangerous favor… I…”

“You should have just begged me. What? You couldn’t deceive me any longer? Before it was too late? Haha.”

Hugo scoffed, his laughter hollow.

“You must have thought I looked like a fool, letting you play me with such obvious tricks.”

“It’s true. I-I really didn’t tell you to ask you about Andrea, I swear, I’m sorry.”

Plin apologized repeatedly, but Hugo turned his head away. The request wasn’t the problem. He was angry that Plin had pretended to be honest while hiding his true intentions. Especially now, at this moment.

“Who do you think was behind the kidnapping attempt?”

“…I think it was… Ethan…”

“I’ll ask you again. Why did you tell me this now?”

Hugo’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he asked, his face expressionless.

“…..”

“…I was happy yesterday. This morning, too, until just now. I thought we liked each other.”

His heart didn’t follow logic. Even after learning that Plin was Ethan’s pawn, his feelings had only grown stronger. There were times when he felt disgusted and irritated, but those feelings would vanish whenever he saw Plin. He was confident that he could make Plin genuinely like him.

Yesterday, when he thought he’d lost Plin, he’d gone mad. He was grateful, and Plin seemed beautiful and lovely just for being safe and sound. Facing the possibility of losing Plin, he realized something. He liked him a lot. Not just because he was a white fox, not just because he was a painkiller, but because he genuinely liked him as a person.

Their lovemaking last night had been primal, animalistic. He wanted to keep confirming the weight of Plin in his arms. He was as desperate as he was impatient.

He had believed that Plin, who came to him willingly instead of running away, was being sincere last night. He had thought, “So this is why people fall in love.”

He had thought he could finally shed the pretense of their contractual relationship. He had planned to confess his feelings.

How should he confess? When should he do it? He’d run simulations in his head, and he’d felt ridiculously happy. That’s why he couldn’t sleep.

Happiness is coincidental but fickle. If you grasp it too tightly and rejoice too much, it slips away.

He’d had a bad feeling from the moment Plin said he had a confession to make. His happiness had vanished as abruptly as a finished play.

“Is this what it means to like a fox? Being deceived, even though you know it… f*ck.”

Plin, red-faced like a child caught stealing, remained silent. Hugo, who had been waiting for some kind of excuse, stood up in exasperation.

He wasn’t sure what angered him more. The fact that Plin had tried to use him while he was blinded by affection, or the fact that Plin had ruined the first happiness he’d ever felt.

***

Returning to City Forest, Hugo was incredibly busy for several days. He had countless things to worry about.

The end of the year was approaching. It was also the time for quarterly closing, and he had to appear at the police station for questioning about his unauthorized flight, even if it was just a formality. He also had to investigate Ethan’s whereabouts and Andrea, whom Ethan was holding.

Unable to leave Plin alone, he provided him with a guest room at the main house and tightened security.

Winter deepened relentlessly. Amidst the busyness, his heart remained unsettled. He had told Plin he needed time to think. It was a way of saying they shouldn’t see each other.

And truly, he hadn’t seen Plin at the mansion since that day. He was holed up in his room, not showing even a hair, leaving Hugo to wonder what he was thinking and if he was even alive. Even though Hugo had asked for space, he hadn’t expected Plin to react like this.

“What did you expect, you idiot?”

Hugo berated himself.

At this point, he both wanted and didn’t want to run into Plin at the mansion. He didn’t know what his spiteful mouth might say that could lead to disaster, so it might be better not to see him at all.

He hated Plin.

And then, thinking about it again, he hated Plin. A dull ache pulsed in his chest, pinpointing the location of his heart.

Plin was probably at ease. The pain was probably one-sided. He wished the fox’s heart ached as much as his, but even if it did, it would be because of that damn Andrea, not because of him. This thought made his chest tighten again. Hugo rubbed his tired, burning eyes.

Knock, knock, knock.

At the rhythmic knocking, Hugo cleared his throat and composed himself. The door opened, and Thibeau entered. Having been recently discharged from the hospital, the bandages around his abdomen were still visible beneath his dress shirt. Thibeau reported immediately.

“Regarding Andrea, as you requested.”

“Hmm… yes.”

“Master, your eyes are watery.”

“Something got in them. Replace the air purifier.”

“Yes, sir. Understood.”

Hugo lowered his head and blinked away the tears.

“Yes… We’ve confirmed that Andrea Yamen, working at the Romun branch, is adopted. His name before adoption was Andrea Fallfox, and he stayed at the Saint Meitel Orphanage. His species is a snake.”

Thibeau got straight to the point.

“So, based on the data, Ethan wasn’t lying.”

“Yes.”

“That’s strange.”

Thibeau had said there were difficulties in finding Andrea because the records at Saint Meitel Orphanage had been erased. But not only had Ethan found Andrea very quickly, but he had also already employed him at The Scope Hotel, which he managed.

And that was two years ago. While Andrea’s transfer to Romun was recent, his employment date at The Scope Hotel was two years prior.

“Is there a possibility that Ethan manipulated the data? He could have disguised an orphan as Andrea.”

“I investigated that possibility as well…”

Thibeau opened the file he was holding on the desk. Andrea Yamen’s current photo, a high school graduation photo from a few years ago with the name ‘Andrea Yamen’ engraved, an adoption certificate issued by the Child Protection Adoption Agency with the name ‘Andrea Fallfox’, and a name change application submitted by his adoptive parents to the family court were laid out in order.

“If the evidence was fabricated, it would have been done 12 years ago.”

And that possibility was slim.

“…If that bastard is really Andrea, it’s really strange. His employment at The Scope Hotel isn’t a coincidence. It means Ethan has been grooming Andrea to catch a white fox for at least two years.”

“Yes. It’s too perfect to be a coincidence.”

Hugo’s obsession with white foxes was well-known, but most people, including himself, had considered it just a fetish. The fact that they acted as a painkiller for his phantom limb pain was something he’d discovered accidentally through clinical results.

Both Hugo and Thibeau fell into thought.

“Look into it further. This is suspicious. And… see if there was any contact between Plin and Ethan in the past two years. Confirm if they really only met recently.”

His heart ached as he gave the instructions.

“Yes. I’ll investigate further. However, on the day Mr. Plin claims he first made contact with Mr. Ethan, the newspaper received a call inquiring about the identity of the person who placed a missing snake ad. They asked if Plin Fallfox was a white fox.”

If that was true, it added credibility to Plin’s claim of having no prior contact with Ethan.

“I see…”

Hugo nodded and then suddenly asked.

“You said there was something you would report to me when I returned from the villa. What was it?”

“That… I’ve already reported it. Regarding the expedited interior work.”

Thibeau decided not to mention the recent discovery of a listening device in the office, similar to the one Plin had brought in.

He intended to continue the investigation and surveillance, expanding the scope to include everyone who entered and left the house, including Plin. However, he felt that it wasn’t the right time to report an incident that would remind Hugo of Plin’s betrayal yet again.

“Where did you say our lunch meeting is today?”

“The Pointinus Hotel. You’ve reviewed the materials, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

Hugo, looking tired, leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and lifted his chin. His cheeks were hollowed, and he looked noticeably thinner than he had a few days ago.

It wasn’t like him. His excessive immersion in work, his active participation in social gatherings he usually avoided, his seriousness about everything—none of it was like Hugo.

Thibeau opened his mouth to say something but then closed it. When experiencing romantic feelings for the first time, people tend to hold their partners to impossibly high standards and act self-destructively. His inexperienced master was suffering the pangs of his first love, a love that was also unrequited.

***