A/N: A few notes before we begin:

There's a super cute artwork of Ga Eul and Rang by hotteoki_ I had commissioned on my Instagram page, in case you missed it. (My insta username is the same as my name on here.)

I set out to write a six chapter fic and just kept adding to it without a firm sense of when it would stop. This would have been fine if I'd bothered to look at a Korean school calendar while I did so (or even a regular calendar because I created unlimited time between September and December). But anyway, the point is...I've gone back through my chapters and oh-so-slightly modified things so the timeline makes sense. It doesn't affect the plot, but hopefully the timeline will make sense now for anyone who starts reading this story from the beginning.

Basically, chapter one is set in early May, and we are now in December. Soo-oh is in Ga Eul's class for a second time; he had to repeat a grade since he missed so many school days before he got adopted by Shin-joo and Yu Ri.

I (finally, embarrassingly) learned that Christmas is a couples' holiday in Korea (instead of a family holiday like it is in the U.S.). I and my numerous Christmas fics stand corrected, but it worked out for the purposes of this fic.

I will not have much time to write for the next month, so let's just say chapter twelve will be posted in October.

In the meantime, I hope you like long, overly fluffy chapters to make up for all the angst I've been feeding you :)

A reminder that this chapter is completely in Ga Eul's POV.

Ga Eul had made it to winter break. Another school semester down in the books.

On Friday, she'd gone out with her coworkers to celebrate the start of the break and had too much to drink. On Saturday, she'd nursed the worst hangover of her life. On Sunday, she'd gone grocery shopping and had dinner with her parents like she did every week, and now she was bundled up in the security and comfort of her bed at four on a Monday afternoon. It was a standing tradition of hers to spend the first day of her break as cut off from the world as possible, so she'd bought plenty of snacks and had planned a solitary drama watch party. Unfortunately, Ga Eul hadn't been able to concentrate well on her family drama all morning, and the afternoon wasn't treating her much better. Currently, she had the show paused in the middle of an episode while she stress-ate honey butter chips and mulled over her romantic life decisions for the hundredth time that day.

So have you met your lifetime match?

Not yet. But when he shows up, I won't let go because I'd regret losing someone like that for the rest of my life.

Ga Eul had been so sure of herself that day, paddling in paradise beside Yi Jeong, when she'd said those words. But the older Ga Eul got, the more she realized that life was ever more complicated than she'd anticipated growing up. Even something that seemed pretty reliable, like a match made by a divinely ordained charm, came with loopholes.

Like, for one thing, her match not wanting to be matched with her. Or, for another thing, her match being a criminal with a rap sheet longer than her resumé—though, to be fair, her resumé was frustratingly short.

As it turned out, Rang was a bad guy—a bad fox—in every sense of the expression. Only he wasn't bad because he had rude mannerisms or wore edgy clothing or cursed a lot. He was bad because he had committed actual crimes against actual people, some of whom could have been her had she been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Shin-joo and Yu Ri had confessed this bit of information reluctantly and were quick to reassure Ga Eul that he wasn't any danger to her. That, in fact, he had transformed considerably in the past year or so.

Their efforts to explain Rang's change of heart were partially rewarded. Having known him as she had, Ga Eul didn't think he'd harm her—at least not in any physical way—and she'd seen firsthand how even the most cruel, prideful people could change through her interactions with the F4. However, there was a difference between Rang having a grudging tolerance of humans and wanting to be tied to one for the rest of his existence, and if any part of his reaction to learning she was his soulmate was honest, she had a feeling Rang was more of the grudging tolerance opinion. It would make sense. She remembered how he barely endured her presence at first. Maybe he'd only started sitting in the room with her while she tutored Soo-oh because she'd had the charm in her purse and he'd felt compelled. According to legend, nine-tailed foxes could be compelled to do anything if they owed a large enough favor; maybe the charm worked the same way.

Obviously, Ga Eul couldn't know any of this for certain, especially not now that she'd promised she wouldn't look for Rang again.

Maybe it had been foolish to give up her one chance for answers, but there was something about coercing Rang to say how he felt about her that made his words feel less real, even if the words themselves were technically honest. She wanted someone to want to be with her enough that they would say how they felt about her of their own free will.

Was that really too much to ask?

Ga Eul groaned, melting under her covers. She wanted to curl herself up like a cat under her pillow and hide there until school started again.

It didn't help that it would be Christmas in five days. Over the years, she'd grown numb to the couples' holiday; she'd tried to pretend the day didn't exist and she didn't have to be alone for one more year. In a strange way, it had been easier when Yi Jeong had first been in Sweden and she could daydream about all the things they'd do together when he came back. Once that idea had totally disintegrated, she'd only had a disembodied someone to dream about, and that wasn't nearly as satisfying. It wasn't satisfying at all to picture herself eating a romantic dinner or ice skating or exchanging gifts with an invisible person.

Ga Eul had considered going on one of those dates her mother had offered to set her up on—she thought it might clear her head to talk to someone new—but she hadn't felt like going through with it yet. The wound was too fresh, so she was giving herself a month to lament what could have been but after that no more. Placing a time limit on her grief, however arbitrary, would at least force her to move forward in the right direction. Namely, away from Rang.

Maybe she'd get another cat over the break. She hadn't felt up to it since Milo had passed away, but she supposed the cat would be a good addition to her new beginning. Part of her hoped the black and white cat who'd visited her before would come back to stay, but she hadn't seen him in the past few weeks. He'd disappeared as quickly as he'd come into her life, and she hoped that meant he'd found his original owner or someone else who would care for him properly. She still had no idea how the cat had gotten out through the window in her bathroom when she hadn't remembered opening it in the first place.

Sitting up lazily, Ga Eul grabbed another chip and munched around that thought. On one hand, the day had passed so quickly that Ga Eul was still in her pink-and-white-striped winter pajamas. On the other hand, the day was passing so slowly that Ga Eul would need to run out for more junk food before the sun set.

A knock on her apartment door roused her, though it wasn't so much a knock as a light rapping. A very timid knock then. She wondered who in the world could be seeking her out. Her parents would have called first, and most anyone else she knew either didn't know where she lived, knew not to disturb her, or had no reason to drop in unannounced.

Ga Eul padded over to the door in her white slippers and peered through the peephole. She saw no one.

Knitting her eyebrows in confusion, Ga Eul wrapped her new light purple coat around her pajama-clad body. Once she felt sufficiently safe from embarrassment and the elements, Ga Eul opened the door.

Once again, she saw no one, neither directly outside her apartment or in the immediate vicinity. However, a large envelope lay on the ground in front of her door, the type of envelope one might put important documents in. Her name was written on the front of the envelope in large, bold letters. The script reminded her of Rang's distinctive scrawl—she'd seen his handwriting several times when he'd helped Soo-oh with his worksheets. She snatched up the envelope.

Her assumptions were confirmed when she flipped the envelope over and saw the lined yellow sticky note that had been stuck to the back; it read, I answered your little questionnaire. If you are unsatisfied with my answers and desire to know more, I will be at the same coffee shop where we last met each other until ten o'clock this evening. Any later than that will probably be past your bedtime. Although I guess you're on break now. I went to your school but...never mind. Lee Rang.

Inside, Ga Eul shook out the envelope's contents, instantly recognizing the taped remains of her contract as it fell onto her kitchen counter. That document was paper-clipped to a second piece of paper—her list of questions. The list only took up a small space on the page, however, the remainder of which was covered with Rang's handwriting.

He'd answered her questions. Every last one.

Leaving the contract on the counter, Ga Eul sank down onto her bed and swept her eyes over the page.


Did you like being my friend before you found out we were soulmates?

I liked beating you at video games. I liked exchanging crazy stories about Soo-oh with you. I liked that you never got offended by my jokes, although I think you must have an incredibly dark sense of humor. I liked it when you showed me pictures of your life and when we ate dinner together. I liked watching you teach, how you'd get so animated when you explained something. It was cute. I even liked saying 'hello' and 'goodbye' to you.

I hated you asking me questions about myself then, and I hate it now because I hate being honest. But if you want to be my friend again, I will let you annoy me with your questions as much as you like, and that's the truth. But to be clear, I still might not answer them. :p

Or did you ever pretend to like me just to get something from me?

No. But for a while, I thought you were pretending to like me. I thought no one could possibly be as nice as you and mean it. I thought you were being friendly with me because of Soo-oh or Yu Ri or Shin-joo or because you had this idea in your head that being a good person meant being nice to everyone, even people you didn't like. Humans have annoying ideas like that sometimes. Anyway, after a while, I realized you were serious. I know what deception looks like, and you aren't it. Maybe this is stupid, but I think you're the warmest person I've ever known.

Shin-joo said you kind of hated humans in the past. Is that why you don't want me to be your soulmate?

Humans irritate me. You irritate me too but...in a good way...like I never want you to stop. You're pretty; I think that helps. It's not that I don't want you to be my soulmate. But if you know anything about me from Shin-joo, then you probably know I don't deserve to be yours.


With a lump in her throat, Ga Eul skipped down to the bottom.


Have you ever been in love?

No. I'd probably be bad at it. But for the first time in my terribly long life, I want to see what it's like. I guess that's because...I like you.

If you don't meet me today, I'll assume you truly don't want to see me again, and I'll make sure to destroy the charm so you can meet someone who doesn't have to sign a contract to tell you they like you. You were right; you deserve someone like that.


The words swam in front of Ga Eul's eyes, but it took a tear dropping on the page for Ga Eul to dab at her eyes with her coat sleeve.

I like you.

You're pretty.

I think you're the warmest person I've ever known.

I even liked saying 'hello' and 'goodbye' to you.

Ga Eul smiled through her tears, remembering how dismissively Rang had greeted her at first. Eventually, though, he'd begun smiling and teasing her when she came in. Finally, she'd realized that no matter how early she arrived for Soo-oh's lesson, he'd already be sitting at the dinner table with his laptop like he was waiting for her to show up. That was what had given her the courage to ask him to go out with her. Then he'd said no, and she'd been totally thrown off. Then she'd run into him weeks later, and he'd apologized. Then there was the whole incident with her hands. Then she'd spoken to Yu Ri and Shin-joo. Then she'd walked out of his apartment. And now this.

Rubbing her fingers over Rang's writing, Ga Eul leaned her head back on her headboard. She bit her lip. She swallowed, forcing her heart back down to her stomach.

What the heck was she supposed to do with this?

Of course, Rang hadn't said any of this when she'd been set on leaving him the other day; he'd waited an entire week to contact her, and then he hadn't even hand-delivered the note to her; he hadn't faced her like a mature person would; he'd scampered off like a frightened child, leaving her to deal with this revelation alone.

Some might say he'd sabotaged his own good intent, but Ga Eul chose to give a more generous interpretation of his actions. He was scared, as much a coward as Yi Jeong had been, but he hadn't had to answer her questions at all. He'd patched back together the contract she'd written up. He'd made himself owe her a debt, and that was no small thing. She doubted he made himself vulnerable to many people, but he'd chosen to be that way with her.

But was it enough for her to give him another chance?

Ga Eul wasn't sure—she could tell he was trying, but she honestly didn't know if it would be enough. He'd admitted himself that he didn't think he'd be good at having a relationship, and she wanted to avoid more relationship drama if she could help it. Besides that, she couldn't help but be reminded of the time she'd walked away from Yi Jeong only for him to reel her back in and make that vague promise to her, which turned out to be worth nothing. This could be the same thing in different packaging.

What was the saying? People only want what they can't have.

But…

Rang was her soulmate, and it was the sweetest gesture a guy had ever given her. Much better than a saxophone concert. He hadn't done it to show off. His confession was only meant for her eyes.

Only meant for her. Hadn't she said she wanted something like that? She thought she'd said that to Jan Di once.

Ga Eul checked the time on her alarm clock. She had less than six hours to decide what to do.

Dropping her gaze back down to the page of questions, she started reading again from the top, crying a little more as she did so. When she finished, she read it again and cried again. Read and cried. Read. And cried.


By the time Ga Eul left her apartment, it had started snowing, and the wind had picked up, whipping Ga Eul's hair in her face as she trudged to the bus stop. A thick blanket of snow coated the city in a luminescent white that glittered in the light from the street lamps and store windows. When she arrived at the café, two minutes before ten, she saw couples of all ages chatting inside, huddled over cups of coffee. The steam rising from the hot liquid matched the puffs of air Ga Eul blew out as she surveyed the scene through the floor to ceiling windows, right before she opened the door. An assortment of cakes greeted her when she walked inside, the display to her right advertising a couples' discount on desserts. There was a fairly long line for coffee at the front, but she wasn't there for coffee; she was there for a nine-tailed fox. So instead of grabbing her usual iced Americano—yes, she drank them iced even when it was below freezing out—Ga Eul ducked around the crowd at the door and headed for the tables.

Thankfully, Rang wasn't hard to find; he was sitting by the window in the same seat he'd occupied the last time she'd come there. Seeing that he hadn't noticed her yet—he was staring dismally into the small white porcelain coffee mug in his hand—Ga Eul took a moment to study him in his white dress shirt, tan sport coat, and dark jeans. Unlike the last time they'd met in the café, his hair was meticulously styled away from his face, accept for that little bit of his bangs that always crept over his forehead on the left side. With a serious, downcast look, he swirled the coffee in his cup and took a small sip, then lowered the cup onto his white porcelain saucer. She didn't think she'd ever seen him look so grim; he must have really been worried that she wouldn't show. Ga Eul's heart skipped a beat at that—suddenly, she felt guilty for making him wait so long—and she took a few steps towards his table.

When he noticed her approaching, his demeanor changed instantly. An expression that was not quite a smirk and not quite a smile came over his face, as if he was still deciding whether to be playful or serious. But his eyes gleamed like they'd landed on a hidden treasure, and when she realized the treasure was her, she smiled back.

"I knew you would wait until the last minute to show up," Rang commented as she drew closer to the table. "Humans are predictable that way." He reclined casually in his chair and raised his eyebrows mockingly like he was talking about the predictability of the weather, but Ga Eul saw right through the act. He was nervous.

"Honestly, I wanted to see if you would still be here," Ga Eul confessed, halting in front of the table. She held the envelope he'd left for her in her hands, clutching it to her chest. Rang was studiously not looking at it, instead focusing all of his attention on her face.

"Well, since I figured you would get here so late, I've actually only been here for about"—he checked the flashy Rolex on his wrist—"ten minutes." Rang crossed his arms, then uncrossed them and reached for his coffee, which he had drained down to the dregs.

"Oh, really?" Ga Eul asked. "Should I check that with the barista?" Without glancing behind her, she pointed toward the counter.

Rang said nothing, but his calculated calmness told her all she needed to know.

"Thought so," Ga Eul remarked.

"I have nothing to prove to you," Rang said.

Just then, a waitress—no, one of the baristas, actually; they didn't have table service at the café—approached the table and asked if Rang wanted another coffee. The young girl—honestly, she must have barely been out of high school—made eyes at Rang like he was a movie star and injected a bit too much eagerness into her request for Ga Eul's liking.

"Oh, no. No, thank you." Rang's words tumbled out as he shooed her away, and Ga Eul resisted the urge to smirk as the girl's advances were rebuffed. And, god, when had Ga Eul gotten so possessive?

Perhaps she should chalk it up to watching all those girls flirt with Yi Jeong over the years. After all that, she had a damn right to be possessive. But possessive over what? Ah, that was the question, wasn't it?

Another coffee? Ga Eul mouthed once the barista had stalked off to a nearby table and all but thrown herself, sullenly, into a chair. The girl looked to be on her break.

"I don't know what she's talking about. I'm like a VIP customer here. I come so often they think I never leave." Rang said it with a slight smile, like he wanted Ga Eul to see straight through his meticulously crafted facade. And she did. For the first time since she'd known him, she felt like she really saw him. Ga Eul smiled.

"I really didn't expect to see you again."

"I went by your school, but no one was there."

"We're on break. It just started." Ga Eul set the envelope down on the table and slid out the chair across from him. "You could have handed this to me in person, you know."

"I thought you'd be more curious to open it this way," Rang replied. "And then you could make your decision in peace."

Liar, Ga Eul thought. You were scared to see me. But she said nothing. She unwrapped her fluffy white scarf, then took off her matching hat and earmuffs. Lastly, she peeled off her white gloves and her light purple coat before she sat down. She'd opted for a simple white turtleneck and tan trousers over her thermal wear, but she'd softly curled her normally straight hair.

"You dyed your hair," Rang noted, probably to change the subject, but it was true. As a consolation to herself, she'd gone to the salon and gotten her most drastic hair coloring to date: a light coppery color that was currently en vogue. The hair stylist had told her the color made her look more mature; she'd hoped it would make her feel more mature too, but it hadn't helped in the salon when she was crying over fashion magazines while the hair color set, and it wasn't helping now as she sat across from Rang. Still, she hoped it made her look impressive, like she knew what the hell she was doing.

"I had the same style for a long time. I thought I'd try something different," she replied, shrugging.

"It looks good on you." Rang smiled approvingly.

"Thank you. I wasn't too sure about it." She let out a self-conscious little laugh and touched her hair, then dropped both of her hands into her lap. A surprised yelp from outside caused Ga Eul to glance out the window at a group of teenagers shuffling past the coffee shop, shoving each other and talking over one another as they went. She rubbed her hands together and blew on them; her extremities were still so cold. She knew she should say something about the contents of the envelope on the table, but it seemed awkward to rush straight into that, even though that was the whole reason for her being there. Ga Eul bit her lip. The whir of the coffee machines and the clink of other patrons' glasses clumsily filled the silence.

"Would you like some coffee?" Rang asked, sitting up straighter.

"Um...maybe just a hot chocolate? I still wake up on school time even when I'm not in school."

Rang nodded and called over the barista that had spoken to him earlier, and Ga Eul couldn't help the twinge of satisfaction she felt as he asked for a drink for his friend. A few minutes later, Ga Eul had a steaming hot chocolate set in front of her. The sweet liquid burned her tongue when she took a sip, but the heat seeping through the mug into her hands comforted her. She felt more relaxed after she'd taken a second sip and set the mug down on the table, cradling it with her palms.

"Why did you do this?" Ga Eul nodded toward the envelope, and Rang's gaze slid over to it, then back to her.

"I'm a fox. I'm in the habit of fulfilling human requests when there's something in it for me."

"There's something in this"—she gestured at the envelope—"for you?"

A smile played on the corners of Rang's mouth.

"You're here, aren't you?" There was an edge to his voice as he said it, like he was someone used to getting exactly what he wanted. Perhaps his tone should have scared Ga Eul, along with the dark glint in his eyes, but it didn't. She felt unbelievably calm. Maybe she trusted him because he was her soulmate. Maybe she trusted him because he was Rang. Or maybe deep down she craved danger the way some people craved love. So much so that having both things combined in one person irresistibly appealed to her. It doesn't matter, she thought. It all leads to the same outcome.

"I'm here," she answered carefully. "That doesn't mean I've decided anything though." It was a lie, but he didn't need to know that. She wanted to feel him out a bit before she let him know she would give him a chance. But since she had given herself a month to get over him anyway, she'd decided—secretly, to herself—she would give him a month to impress her. At the end of the month, if she was happy with him, she would stay. If not, well, that would be it. That would really be it.

"Can I ask you a question?" she asked.

"Another one?"

"Well, normally that's how people get to know each other." Ga Eul tapped her fingers on her mug. "They ask questions. Besides, you said if I agreed to be your friend again, I could ask you all the questions I wanted." She sipped her chocolate.

Rang pulled a face.

"I did say that, didn't I?" He threw back the last of his coffee like he was taking a shot. Once he'd shoved his empty mug and saucer to the side of the table, he said, "All right, go ahead then."

"Why do you think we're soulmates?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's just...I think I understand why you're my soulmate, but I don't understand why I'm yours. I feel like, in order to be the soulmate of a nine-tailed fox, I should have some special powers or something, but I can't think of anything. As far as I know, I'm pretty ordinary."

"I don't think you're ordinary, but I have a theory about that."

"Oh?" Ga Eul blushed at the compliment.

"I'm not a full-blooded nine-tailed fox. I'm half-human." Rang shrugged, his fingers drumming the table. "I guess that's why I got matched up with a human."

"Oh. You mean, one of your parents was human?" Ga Eul took another sip of her chocolate.

Rang nodded.

"My mother was a human during the Joseon Dynasty, but I can do anything any other nine-tailed fox can do." That mischievous grin resurfaced. "I can even beat my half-brother at baduk, and he was the Mountain Spirit of Baekdudaegan."

"Your brother is a mountain god?!"

"Was. Centuries ago. And he's really not that interesting. He even chose to become human so he can die for the most mundane reason. Old age." Rang rolled his eyes, but she could tell he cared about his brother. She could hear the fondness in Rang's voice even as he made fun of him.

"What's his name?"

"Hmm?"

"Your brother. What's his name?"

"Why? Think you're going to uncover more dirt on me by going to him?"

"No. He's your brother. Of course, I want to know his name. Stop being so paranoid."

Rang squinted at her like he didn't believe her, but he finally let her know his brother's name.

"Lee Yeon," he said. "He's married to a human now. They just had a little girl...Want to see a picture?"

"Oh, yes." Ga Eul nodded enthusiastically, and he pulled up a picture on his phone. He flipped it around so she could see a baby wrapped in a pink knit blanket and a tiny pink cap.

"Aw, she's so cute," Ga Eul gushed.

"She's all right, I guess. As humans go." Rang took one last lingering look at the photo, then stuffed his phone back in his coat pocket.

"She's adorable," Ga Eul insisted.

"It's because she's related to me," Rang explained.

"Uh-huh." Ga Eul sipped more of her chocolate.

"So...why am I Chu Ga Eul's soulmate?" Rang continued, training his piercing gaze on her.

"Huh?"

"You said you knew why."

Ga Eul flushed, flustered. She hadn't thought that remark through.

"Oh, that...um...it's just that you're...you're kind of my type," she confessed haltingly.

"You like nine-tailed foxes?"

"Uh..." Ga Eul laughed nervously. "Not exactly."

Rang raised his eyebrows, and after a moment of silence, she realized he was waiting for her to tell him what her 'type' was.

And god, this was embarrassing. She couldn't look him in the eyes as she said it.

"Asshole on the outside, teddy bear on the inside. Dangerous. Hot," Ga Eul admitted shyly, staring into her hot chocolate. "The type of person who would let a comment like that go to their head." She flicked her eyes back up to him then, daring him to make fun of her. Sure enough, he was grinning like a cheshire cat, his eyes gleaming fiendishly.

"You think I'm hot?"

Ga Eul coughed.

"Um...well..."

"Of course you do," Rang answered for her. "Humans always find foxes handsome. It makes it easier for us to seduce you."

Rang chuckled and gazed out the window at passerby, like he was picking out his next victim or something. He looked all too smug with himself, perched statuesquely on his chair. Ga Eul had to say something to throw him off balance. She couldn't be the only one embarrassed at the table, and she didn't like thinking that she'd been seduced, as though falling for him had been something that had happened against her will.

"You know, I think you could be a model or an actor. Besides being handsome, you have an expressive face."

"Really?" Rang beamed.

"Yes," Ga Eul continued sweetly, "and you're conceited enough too. Like someone who would enjoy having pictures of himself everywhere."

Rang scoffed.

"Hey. You think just anyone can look upon this face and live?"

"No...But apparently I can," she stated calmly. Then she took a deep breath and forged ahead with what she'd come to talk about. "So I read your letter. You must really like me to have written all of that."

Her verbalizing how much he'd revealed in the letter unsettled him, as she'd figured it would. The self-satisfied expression dropped from his face, and he shifted in his chair.

"Why were you so convinced I didn't like you?" Rang asked, turning the subject back on her.

"You mean besides you slamming a door in my face?"

"I apologized for that."

"Weeks later."

"I did it for your own good."

"What on earth does that mean?"

"It means what I said in there." Rang gestured to the envelope, then dropped his gaze back down to the table as he noted, "You could do better than me." He picked at something crusted on the table, looking almost as grim as he had when she first entered the place, and she realized he'd been completely honest when he'd said he didn't deserve to be her soulmate. Maybe that was why he'd been so shocked by the news.

"Well, I didn't know you thought that," Ga Eul answered softly. "You could have been nicer about it. It was very confusing."

"You still haven't answered my question," Rang insisted, bracing his arms on the table and leaning towards her; he was changing the subject again, but he looked so uncomfortable, like he knew what he'd done was wrong, that Ga Eul decided to let it go.

What had he asked her?

Oh, yeah. Why she'd thought he didn't like her.

"When I went to talk to Shin-joo and Yu Ri," she explained, "they told me how you went off on them when you found out we were soulmates. They said they thought you didn't mean it, but they're your best friends. Why would you lie to them? And even if you lied to them in the moment, why would you go so far as to move out and not talk to them for weeks and—"

"I had a grudge against my brother once," Rang interrupted, "so I sold him to the tenth god of the underworld for a pair of special glasses that can show people's past incarnations." Rang smirked. "You underestimate how petty I can be."

Ga Eul considered this. Selling his brother...that sounded serious enough, but Rang's eyes sparkled with mischief, and, obviously, his brother had come back from the underworld if he'd just had a kid, so maybe that was the type of practical joke that centuries-old foxes liked to play on each other.

"Well, Shin-joo did say you're like a...a five-year-old that has money and superpowers."

"Remind me to take back that kimchi refrigerator I gave him." Rang grinned, a new idea lighting up his eyes. "Or I could just fill it with dirty socks. That would drive him crazy. Five years old, my ass." Rang looked quite satisfied with his little plan. Ga Eul wasn't sure if he was being purposefully dense or if he really didn't see the irony in his statements. Nevertheless, she couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her. When he noticed her laughing, he looked even more amused, fondness creeping into his features, like he'd finally found someone who understood his sense of humor.

Recomposing herself, Ga Eul said, "I also...You said you were evil. I wanted to know why, so I asked Yu Ri and Shin-joo. They didn't want to say anything at first, but I pestered them until they told me about all the people you killed. I kind of guilted them into telling me because of the whole fox thing, so please don't get mad at them. Shin-joo told me you once beat him up real bad and almost crushed him with a car compactor."

"I did."

Ga Eul nodded.

"But then he said that you weren't so bad. Not nearly as bad as you try to be. Annoying, maybe. Immature, and a bit selfish. But overall not so bad. And, I don't know, coming from someone you once tried to kill that was pretty impressive to hear. Plus he'd even let you live with them. So I didn't come to your apartment to find out what you had done. I knew that. I just wanted to find out why you were so freaked out at the prospect of being with me."

"I'm a mass murderer," Rang stated bluntly. "I promise whatever Shin-joo and Yu Ri told you, they don't know half of what I've done."

Ga Eul wasn't sure what it said about her that she didn't run out of the cafe at that admission; maybe she was even crazier than she gave herself credit for, but at least Rang seemed to want to be honest with her. That was something.

Also, he'd said it like he expected her to run. Like he was daring her to do it, even. Maybe to prove his point that they didn't belong together.

"True, but you didn't do any of those things to me." She tried to corral her thoughts on the subject, to make herself understand why she could look past that so easily. Why she still wanted to try things with him. "You were really nice to me the other night, and maybe I'm a bad person for thinking like this, but everyone needs someone to care about them. Otherwise, they'll just continue to be worse and worse people. I like to think everyone deserves a second chance in life. I like to think people can change. Just because someone did something they regret in the past, it doesn't mean they deserve to be punished forever. There has to be a limit to suffering somewhere."

"Why do you always sound like my brother?" Rang asked, and there was that fond look again. Maybe that was what he liked about her even if he didn't realize it—she reminded him of his brother.

"I can only judge what I see in front of me, and what I see is..." She couldn't finish the thought. What she saw in him—at the moment it wasn't sight exactly, just a feeling. Rang felt like the hot cocoa she'd now successfully drained from her mug. Rich and sweet, but slightly bitter. Dangerous when raised to the right temperature but, under the right conditions, comforting and warm.

"What you see is what?" he asked.

"A five-year-old with money and superpowers," she answered flippantly, unwilling to put a name to a feeling she'd only just begun to understand. "What powers do you have, anyway?" If he could change the subject whenever it suited him, so could she.

"I'll show you later," he said. "Would you like anything else? Dessert?"

"Are you getting dessert?" she asked.

Rang nodded.

"Then I'll share with you. Just ask them for extra cutlery."

"I don't share my food," Rang answered immediately, and her face fell, so he amended, "but I suppose I'll make an exception...just this once."

Ga Eul smiled.

"I'd like that. Thank you."

Rang disappeared for a few minutes to order the dessert, and she took that time to figure out what she wanted to ask him when he got back. When he reappeared with a slice of ssaeng-cream cake and plopped it down on the table along with two forks and an extra plate, she smiled, seeing he had picked out her favorite dessert without even knowing it.

Or maybe he was just taking advantage of the couples' discount the café ran on those cakes during Christmas, but he didn't look like the type of person to concern himself with discounts.

He split the cake precisely down the middle and slid Ga Eul's half over to her. Then he sat back down, but before he could take a bite, Ga Eul impulsively reached over and swiped a large bite from his half and popped it daringly into her mouth.

It had the desired effect. He stared up at her, mouth agape.

"You're playing with fire," he informed her.

Ga Eul swiped a little bit of whipped cream off the top of his cake and sucked it off her fork.

"Actually, I'm playing with whipped cream," she said, giggling when he gave her a murderous scowl. But, much to her amusement, he didn't retaliate. He didn't touch her half of the cake.

"This is why I don't share my food," he noted sulkily and dug into his cake, his fork clanging harshly against the plate.

"This is why you've never had a girlfriend," she retorted.

"How do you know that?" he challenged, waving his fork around. "You said I'm handsome. You said I could even be an actor." He shoved a piece of cake into his mouth.

"You said it in your letter. You said you'd never been in love."

Rang swallowed.

"What does that have to do with me having a girlfriend? You think everyone has relationships for love?"

"No. But I think you like being alone. I don't think you would break that for just anyone."

"You seem to think you know a lot about me."

Ga Eul shrugged and took a bite of her cake. She chewed thoughtfully, then set her fork down.

"There is one more thing I would like you to tell me."

"What is it?"

"Why do you like me?"

Rang paused, a forkful of cake halfway to his mouth.

"Didn't I answer that...on the paper?"

"Yes, but...I want you to tell me in person." Ga Eul smiled encouragingly.

Rang tore his gaze away from her; he toyed with his cake, making quite a mess of it, for so long that she thought he wouldn't answer. But then he spoke, his voice quiet and serious, the way it had been when he talked her down from her panic attack and worried over her hands.

"In the forest," he began, drawing up a forkful of whipped cream and sponge cake as if he were dredging up an ancient memory, "when it gets too quiet, you start feeling like something is going to jump out and attack you at any moment. Because why else would nature fall so silent? What do the birds know that you don't? I don't like quiet much. I know one thing only. If you're not the one doing the hunting, then you're most definitely the one being hunted...But...you're quiet...and calm...and soft, like rain. You're the only quiet I've ever known that's comfortable."

Ga Eul wasn't sure what she had expected Rang's answer to be—that she was pretty or nice or something equally vague—but that had been such a beautiful reply it brought tears to her eyes. Beautiful and sad. What had happened in Rang's life to make him so...on guard all the time? She'd had an inkling before that he didn't trust many people; maybe there was a reason for that— some deep, gnawing pain inflicted long ago. Maybe that was why he had lashed out at others. His expression made her want to give him a hug, but she had a feeling he wouldn't want her sympathy. A heaviness settled between them, and she broke it the way she thought he would, maybe in the only way he would appreciate, with a joke.

"Are you sure I'm not hunting you? I did track you down at your apartment."

Rang broke out of his trance and gave her a secretive smile.

"Yeah, that's true. You snuck up on me. Good job. That's difficult to do."

She smiled back.

"It's strange," he said quietly, his eyes lazily drifting over her face. "I of all people should know how useless it is to fight fate."

Ga Eul felt a blush creeping over her face again. When he looked at her like that—like he couldn't believe she was real—she thought his gaze might burn through her.

"I don't think we're here because of fate," she replied softly.

"You don't?" Rang raised his eyebrows. "But you're the one who had the charm."

"But Yu Ri didn't give it to me until after I'd already met you. And even though you were kind of annoying that first time...and the second time...I thought you were cute," she admitted.

"I knew it!" Rang cried emphatically. "I knew you had a crush on me!"

"It was not a crush. It was a...I was making an observation that you were...pleasant to look at."

"Crush."

"You can't talk. You wrote me a sappy letter."

"That you asked for."

"Well."

"Well."

Rang had that shit-eating grin on his face again, like he was beyond delighted to have caught her out, and Ga Eul's face burned even more. She distracted herself by finishing off the last of her cake and reassembling her thoughts.

"Look, um," she began once she had polished off the remains on her plate and had nothing else to prevent her from speaking, "if we're going to try being soulmates or...whatever...you can't only be nice to me when you feel like it. You can't apologize for something weeks after the fact and think you don't have to make up for it. And you can't just storm out and disappear because something I say strikes a nerve. I like your letter. It's just...saying something doesn't prove it's true. You claim that you like me, but you still need to prove that to me. I have a very quiet life, and I like it that way. I had to deal with a lot of drama when I was younger, and I don't want my life to be exciting. I don't want any drama."

"I can't promise you no drama," Rang answered. "Foxes attract drama, but...we mate for life, and we're very possessive over our companions. So I can least promise I won't be running off to the other side of the world, and I won't want anyone else. You'll be stuck with me...as long as you want, I mean. I can't promise you I won't stress you out. I definitely will. I'm that type of person. But I can give you good stress, like a cat."

"Don't you mean 'like a fox?'" Ga Eul asked.

"No. Foxes can give you very bad stress. Just ask my brother. He killed his wife."

"What?!" Ga Eul's heart plummeted to her stomach.

"Not now." Rang swatted the question away like it was an irritating gnat. He scooped his fork into the blob that was his cake. "In her past life. She was possessed by an imoogi because of him. She made him do it."

"You're not making a very convincing case for me being with you."

"Calm down. Why would an imoogi want to possess you?" He smiled like now she was just being silly.

"Oh, wow, I don't know," Ga Eul countered, watching him dig greedily into the cake. "Because my boyfriend is a nine-tailed fox."

Rang's head popped up, his mouth full. He chewed rapidly and swallowed, then stared at her, expectant.

"So I'm your boyfriend now?" he asked.

"Um...well...that's..." Ga Eul fumbled around for the right words. She looked down at Rang's demolished cake and found them. She snatched the plate away from him. "If you were my boyfriend, you'd give me the last bite of cake." She scooped up the remaining cream-coated crumbs and stuffed them into her mouth.

Rang laughed.

"You're cute when you're mad," he said.

"I'm not mad. I'm serious. How do I know this isn't all an elaborate ploy to eat my heart or something?"

"Did I say anything about eating you? I wouldn't do that to my soulmate. I'm not that twisted." Rang actually looked wounded by the insinuation.

"Well, let's get one thing straight. You're not allowed to eat any humans as long as you're with me."

He squinted at her, annoyance painting his features, but eventually he sighed and muttered something that sounded like damn cooked meat.

"I don't take ultimatums from humans, but fine," he conceded. "It was getting boring anyway."

"And...and no more...whatever you've been doing."

"What do you mean, what I've 'been doing?'"

"I don't know, but I know you've been doing something." She eyed him warily and pointed her fork in his direction. "You look guilty. And I'm just telling you not to do it anymore."

"How could I do anything when you're threatening me with that fork?" Rang shuddered. She lowered the utensil, scowling, and he laughed.

"You're cute."

"I'm serious," she repeated.

"You're cute when you're serious."

Ga Eul rolled her eyes.

"I'm not trying to be—"

"See! There. You look like you want to choke me," Rang continued, looking strangely thrilled at the prospect. "I'd like to see you try."

"Careful what you wish for," she warned, trying to ignore the way her stomach flipped when he looked at her that way. "You're a fox. Shouldn't you know that?"


It was still snowing when they finally left the coffee shop, and Rang offered to drive Ga Eul back to her apartment. Any nervousness he'd had when she'd first entered the coffee shop must have melted away during their conversation. His ever-present smirk had returned, accompanied by that air of self-satisfaction he always wore, as if he expected everyone he encountered to act upon his every whim. He looked like someone who would ruin her, and she realized with a little alarm—and no little anticipation—that she wouldn't mind being destroyed.

When they arrived at her apartment complex, Rang parked his car and opened her car door for her; then he followed her up to her apartment without any bidding. The walk up was quiet but not uncomfortably so. At least not until Ga Eul reached her apartment door and realized she had to say goodbye to him and she didn't quite want to—or, rather, she didn't know how to. A bow? A hug? A kiss?

"Um, well," Ga Eul began awkwardly, shuffling around so that her back was to her door and her front was to Rang. A light snow still fell, flecking his lustrous black hair and the broad shoulders of his dark overcoat. She tried desperately not to let her eyes stray to Rang's mouth. Despite that she wanted him to kiss her—and she did; she'd decided that the moment she got in the car with him—she had no idea how to initiate such a thing successfully. She didn't know where to aim her mouth or if it should be closed or slightly open. She thought about closing her eyes, as that would seem less awkward and that was what people did in the movies, but then she thought no, no. If she couldn't at least see what she was doing, she'd probably do something embarrassing, like kiss his chin or the side of his mouth or his nose. A few dozen horrible scenarios entered Ga Eul's head as she stood there, frozen, trying to work up the nerve to do anything.

In the end, none of those things happened. Instead, Rang swept his hand behind her head, digging his fingers into her hair, and pulled her closer. One second she was gaping up at him, and the next second he had his lips on hers, tugging them gently. Her eyes fluttered shut. For a man or a fox or whatever he was, he had wonderfully soft lips. For the first few seconds, she let his mouth do all the work, unsure of how to move her own without getting in the way, but when he pulled back long enough for her to open her eyes a bit, she pressed her mouth to his and tugged his upper lip between both of her lips. Then she repeated that with his bottom lip and kept going, imitating what he had done to her. Rang's mouth moved with hers. Pushing her against the door, he pried her lips apart with his tongue and oh god, was this what making out felt like? Why had she never done this before?!

One of Rang's hands slipped around her back while his other hand remained in her hair, his fingertips rubbing circles into her scalp, and when she shivered, it wasn't from the cold. Rang's mouth tasted like strawberries from their dessert earlier, and his body felt so warm she wanted to wrap herself in it. He smelled like the expensive cologne she'd come to associate with him—a woody, warm scent that reminded her of the forest on a balmy summer day with sunlight dappling the trees. Fitting for a fox, she supposed. If she were stretched out in that forest right now, sunning herself on a blanket, she couldn't have possibly felt any more cozy. All other thoughts and sensations fled; she couldn't think of anything but him.

Abruptly, Rang stopped kissing her, though he kept her pinned to the door with his body. Grateful she could still soak in his body heat, Ga Eul gulped in air like she'd been underwater.

"Aren't you going to open the door?" Rang murmured into her ear. His hot breath whispered over her earlobe and made the hairs on her neck prick up—the fine hairs right below those long strands Rang currently had his fingers entangled in. He flexed his fingers, and his grip on her hair tightened, then loosened again. This, too, made Ga Eul shiver—a wave that crashed through her chest down to her abdomen. Everything was heady and bright, and she felt like she might float on up to the stars above their heads.

"Huh?" Ga Eul rasped, struggling to calm her breathing.

"Unless you want to do everything out here, but I think that's illegal. For humans, at least."

He kissed Ga Eul's earlobe, then her neck under her ear, and it took a moment for her brain to catch up to his words; all she could think was how glad she was that she hadn't put her hat and earmuffs back on, instead of stuffing them into her purse; it took a moment, but finally she blinked away the foggy state that had overtaken her when he'd started kissing her.

"Sorry?" She pulled away slightly and turned her head so that she could look at his face. "Everything?"

"Everything that normally comes after kissing," he filled in, as if it were obvious. His eyes had gone dark, so dark she could hardly distinguish pupil from iris, and his breath came out in uneven puffs. He looked like he might devour her, and she couldn't deny it excited her, but she really hadn't expected to end up here, and if they took things even further...well, she wasn't ready for that. Not yet.

Ga Eul placed her hand on Rang's arm and carefully removed it from around her waist, grateful when he didn't protest. He stepped back, not too far but far enough that their bodies were no longer touching.

"That was my first kiss," she said carefully.

Rang' face was blank.

"Yes," he noted enthusiastically. "What's the problem?"

"Uh, well..." Ga Eul's face heated up. "The problem is that, um...I don't want to do my first everything in one night." And how did she know for certain she wanted to do that with him? "Th-there's an order to things, you know?" she continued. "First you go on a date. Then if you like the person, you go on another date. Eventually, if you really like someone, you become a couple— "

"Do you have any idea how short your lifespan is? You don't have time for that, and since I'm stuck with you, neither do I," Rang argued.

"S-stuck with me?"

"And if you didn't want me to come inside your apartment, then why did you let me follow you up here?"

Ga Eul huffed and pursed her lips.

"I don't...I don't know. I thought you were walking me up like last time. You know, like a gentleman."

"I'm not a gentleman." He laughed and casually folded his hands into his coat pockets as he said it, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Well...

"Obviously," she retorted. "You could have at least bought me a full meal before you suggested something like that."

Rang scrunched his face and scratched his neck like he did when something bothered him. Come to think of it, he kind of looked like an actual fox scratching his...No, that was absurd.

"You humans are so weird. You have such short lives already. If you want something, why don't you just take it instead of standing around waiting on all these traditions?" Rang cocked his head, and now that she'd seen a red fox in her mind's eye also cocking its head, she couldn't unsee it. Weird. Too weird. And besides the point.

"There is a point to dating, you know," she patiently explained. "That's how you get to know someone. To see if you could be with them long-term. Which I think definitely applies in our case."

"I know of a few ways we can get to know each other right now," Rang volunteered, grinning like the devil.

Ga Eul flushed as she said, "I don't...I don't think so." Her throat was dry from the cold air and all the kissing they'd done. "Not tonight."

Rang looked crestfallen, like a kid who'd had his favorite toy snatched from under his nose.

"But why?"

If anyone else had pushed her on it, she would have pushed back against them. Hard. But she sensed that Rang wasn't just disappointed she wasn't inviting him into her bed yet; he genuinely thought that was the next natural step in their relationship. She had a strange urge to hug Rang, but that might send him the wrong message at the moment. Why did he have such a cute face? She actually felt sorry for him. He reminded her of one of her students when they got reprimanded, with his wounded eyes and a pouty face that made the cutest dimple appear on his chin.

"Look, I like you, but I want to be sure you won't screw me over. So will you do me a favor and just...let me get comfortable first?"

Rang eyed her skeptically. He twisted his body away from her and glanced out into the night, appearing to weigh his options. He turned back after a moment, a sort of amused acceptance in his eyes.

"Fine. I'll wait. But maybe so you can get comfortable faster"—he made a twirling motion with his finger—"we can go on a date every day of your break."

Ga Eul's eyes widened.

"Every day?"

Rang nodded.

"You can show me what humans find so fascinating about these 'dates,'" he prompted.

"Every day?" Ga Eul repeated. It was kind of a crazy idea, but no one had ever looked so excited at the prospect of hanging out with her before. Her first boyfriend in seventh grade had lasted a week. Her second boyfriend, Su Pyo, had hardly taken her on any dates at all. And Yi Jeong...well, he'd only hung out with her when she'd shown up randomly at his pottery studio. "You sure you want to see that much of me?" Ga Eul asked.

Rang shrugged and answered, "I have nothing else important to do," and maybe it wasn't the most romantic statement, but Ga Eul got the feeling he meant it. He truly had nothing else to look forward to. Just her. He must have been lonely since he'd moved out by himself. It broke her heart a little because she knew what loneliness was like. Maybe that had drawn them together—their shared need for companionship.

Ga Eul did have other things to do during her break—pre-planning her lessons among them; she'd even started planning a brief girls' trip with Jan Di but had yet to finalize anything. The cautiously hopeful look in Rang's eyes made her forget all of that. She found herself saying, "Okay. A date every day until I go back to school. But just to warn you, some of those dates might be short, and I might have to—"

Rang cut her off with another soft, lingering kiss.

Pulling back, he replied, "It's okay. Just make time for me to kiss you. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Oh...Okay...Tomorrow." Ga Eul smiled.

Backing away, he gave her a little wave, which she returned.

"Wait! You don't have my number!" Ga Eul exclaimed, suddenly realizing that she'd never given it to him.

"Actually, I do," Rang said, continuing his retreat. "I got it out of Yu Ri's contacts a long time ago." Rang spun on his heel. "I'll text you my number so you have it." She watched his retreating back, not terribly surprised that he would do something slightly creepy for the pleasure of feeling close to her. He really was a kid that way, and she was strangely okay with it. She had a fox. Her very own fox.

"Oh...Oh...Mister Lee Rang! You know what I just remembered?!"

"Yes?" Rang asked, turning back to her from where he now stood at a distance.

"It's Christmas on Saturday. I always wanted to be part of a couple on Christmas." She bounced on her toes, unable to contain the excitement in her voice.

"Rang," he called out.

"What?"

"If we're a couple, you should just call me Rang."

"Oh." Ga Eul smiled, feeling warm again despite the freezing temperature. "Rang...Um, good night then."

He smiled back at her, softer this time.

"Good night, Ga Eul."

A/N: For guest reviewer (Sue): I'm glad you are enjoying this story. Sorry Good Girl wasn't your cup of tea. I understand it's not for everyone, but it was a lot of fun to write. As for your request for Yi Jeong kissing Ga Eul instead of them getting interrupted by the phone, it looks like our interests align because I actually would not write smut for that scenario; I just don't think that would match with Ga Eul's character well, and in that particular situation I wouldn't write smut for the sake of smut. I can't promise anything because I'm not writing much SoEul right now, but if I do write it, I'll put it in my This Time We're Not Pretending series (no smut there!). Thanks for the request :)

For guest reviewer Tekla: I may do some extra one-shots of Ga Eul/Lee Rang after this story finishes. There will definitely be one smut piece. ;)

For guest reviewer who asked for romantic scenes: We have arrived! :)