A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! I wanted to also have a "Good Girl, Bad Fox" chapter ready for you today, but it took me until now to finish this chapter, so :/

Anyway, I hope you enjoy :) I will try to get that spicier chapter up soon!

The cardigan-clad human teacher wanted to talk to Rang. He could feel it. She was gathering up her papers and pencils extra slowly and glancing over at him every so often.

Ah, but why did she need to talk to him every time she came over?

And why did he keep sitting at this table and letting her?

He almost looked forward to their tedious conversations, and he was more bored than he thought he was, if talking to a human teacher was starting to look appealing.

"Mister Lee Rang?" Ga Eul addressed him, as predicted.

Ga Eul. He was even thinking of her by her given name now. Pathetic.

"Yes?" he replied, sparing her a careless glance as he minimized the game on his laptop screen.

"Would you like to hear a funny story?"

His ears perked up of their own accord; he was not not intrigued. Yes, he was definitely bored, and desperate to be entertained.

"Well, it's not completely funny," Ga Eul amended. "It's also a bit sad."

Hmm. Human sadness. Rang decided he was intrigued.

"Out with it then," he allowed, and Ga Eul's smile brightened, as though he'd granted her a wish.

"Do you know the locks at Namsan Tower?"

"Locks?"

"Yes, the fences and trees. With the love locks."

Love locks? Oh, those stupid padlocks that meant 'eternal love' or some other crap.

"What about them?"

"I have a coworker who left a lock there with her ex-boyfriend. Two months ago, they broke up after being together for three years, so she dragged me to the tower and made me search for the lock with her. It took us hours to find the right one. And do you know what I found out today? They're back together." The teacher laughed in a disbelieving way. "I think they're going to put another lock there." Cupping her hand over her mouth, Ga Eul continued giggling, but Rang merely lifted his eyebrows.

As expected, idiot humans being idiot humans.

When Rang didn't react much, Ga Eul tried, "Did you ever leave a lock there?"

"Do I look like someone who left a lock there?" Rang scoffed.

"Ah, I guess not. You look like you don't believe in superstitions much. Supernatural beings and all that."

Rang twisted his mouth, savoring her obliviousness, then smiled.

"Do you?" he asked, neither confirming nor denying her perception of him.

"I used to a lot when I was younger." She smiled sadly. "Not so much anymore."

"Why?"

"Just…" Ga Eul's gaze wandered; she shrugged. "I grew up, I guess."

Rang studied her. He could tell there was more to it than that, but the reason didn't interest him.

After a moment, he nodded.

"I think all the locks should be taken down," he commented just to see her reaction. He'd found it was fun to rile her up.

To his amusement, Ga Eul's eyes widened in alarm.

"Taken down why?"

"They're an eyesore, and they're stupid and pointless," he goaded.

"They're not pointless to the people who put them there!"

"Why do you care? I thought you said you don't believe in things like that anymore."

"Yes, but...even still, I think it's nice for other people to have things they believe in. Life can feel more...magical that way."

"Magical?" Rang snickered. Humans were so obsessed with being more powerful than they were. It was such a human thing to say.

"Yes, magical." Ga Eul shielded her chest with her belongings.

"You mean 'delusional?'"

"I mean 'magical.'" She narrowed her eyes at him. "It's not the locks that are special. It's...it's the idea that you have someone who's so special to you that you want to spend forever with them. That's what makes it magical. It's the feeling, not the locks. The locks are just a symbol."

After this declaration, Ga Eul paused, a silence which Rang did not intend to fill, though he was highly amused by how seriously she'd defended the ridiculous practice.

Her cheeks had colored a bit, and after a moment, she continued, with a note of apology, "Well...anyway…I guess you have things to do." Ga Eul gestured to Rang's laptop, the screen of which was carefully obscured. "Sorry if I bothered you. I'll see you on Thursday."

"Oh? I might be here," he offered noncommittally as he watched her retreat to the front door.

Another second passed, and he couldn't resist calling out, "Hey!"

"Yes?" Ga Eul turned.

"Tell your coworker to find her own damn lock next time."

"I will. Thank you." Ga Eul smiled at him as though he'd just said the one thing she'd wanted him to say all along, and a sudden warmth flooded Rang's chest.


Rang loved Ga Eul.

Well, this was a mind-fuck.

Not that Rang loved Ga Eul. He'd known that for a long time; he just hadn't been able to pinpoint why she had such an effect on him. It wasn't like they had anything in common, except that they liked to eat, and they liked to spend time together, and they had a dizzying amount of chemistry.

But now he knew what had been staring him in the face for months: he loved the way Ga Eul saw the world.

Even though he thought the way she saw the world often made no sense at all, and many of her observations were naive and misguided, he loved watching her watch the world, observing people and discovering new things. He loved her enjoyment of simple things. He loved how she could find good in almost anything—and, by extension, him. When he thought about it, that was the whole reason she'd caught his attention, little by little; the more she'd gotten to know him, the more she'd wanted to know him, and it had been such an opposite reaction from what he'd expected.

The first time he'd shown her his fox eye she'd seen beauty in it, and the first time he'd shown her his claws she'd touched them so delicately, like they were fine pieces of art instead of weapons. Special, she'd called him then, in an awestruck way. Like she couldn't believe she had the privilege of being his soulmate, as if it were a highly-sought-after position.

She always saw what she wanted to see. She was so easily persuaded. So soft. The things she wanted were so straightforward. He had told her those were her deficits.

You dumb little human, he'd called her the night before.

But, really, was there any other human in the world who would have looked him in the eyes, knowing everything he was, and told him they trusted him so much that he could manipulate them in any way he wished?

It was a foolishness that should be fixed, but he suddenly found himself wanting to beg her not to fix it. He didn't want Ga Eul's edges sharpened to points, for her teeth to become daggers, for her smile to become a weapon. He never wanted her to become like him. She was so beautiful the way she was; she reminded him of the two years he'd lived with his brother, when the world was still full of light and wonder, and he wanted to wrap her up in light and wonder and softness and sit her in one of those pillow forts she liked to build on rainy days and tell the world and all its cruelty to stay the hell away from her.

He wanted her to be strong, of course, but also, he never wanted her to have to be strong. He never wanted her to be alone again or hurt by someone she loved again. If there was anyone in the world who deserved to be cared for properly, it was Ga Eul, and he sure as hell wasn't going to leave it up to chance for someone else to do it.

He must have really been out of his mind the night before, telling her to go find someone else.

If anyone laid a finger on his soulmate, he'd snap them in two.

Your pancakes are too sweet. In asshole nine-tailed fox, that means 'I love you.'

Rang's words lingered in the air, hovering between him and Ga Eul like a delicate wisp of spider's web. If he reached for them again, he feared he might break them.

But Ga Eul hadn't yet replied, appearing stunned by his confession, so he needed to do something.

Jumping down from his stool, Rang drew Ga Eul into his arms and kissed her. First her lips; then her face; then her neck. As he kissed her more and more urgently, he chanted in his mind: I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you…

"R-Rang?" Ga Eul mumbled.

"Hmm?" Rang murmured into her neck, breathing in her familiar scent. Her skin was so soft just below her chin, and she was out of school now. He could bite—

"Rang," Ga Eul said, her tone increasing in firmness. She pushed at his shoulders, a signal for him to give her space. Just as his teeth were grazing her neck.

Rang made a whine of discontent but leaned back.

"Yes?" he asked, slightly out breath.

"Um...could we talk for a minute, please?"

Talk?

Rang scanned Ga Eul's body impatiently: her messy ponytail, her thin white t-shirt, the pajama pants he could easily tug down her hips.

Hadn't they done enough talking for one morning? Wasn't it time for what humans called 'makeup sex?'

"Didn't we already talk?" Rang tried, embracing her again. Pressing his mouth to her ear, he whispered, "I can do other things with my mouth." He kissed her earlobe, and he felt Ga Eul's body respond to him.

Unfortunately, her body and her mind seemed to be in two different places.

"I don't want to do this right now," Ga Eul answered softly, and Rang buried his face in her neck and heaved a sigh of frustration. He loved her and he trusted her and he wanted to rip all of her clothes off and eat her up. Was there really anything wrong with that? What could she possibly want to talk about that—

"Rang?" Ga Eul nudged his shoulder.

He slowly disentangled himself from her, but remained standing.

Brushing away a few wisps of hair that had fallen into her face, he repeated, uncertainly, "I love you."

Ga Eul pursed her lips.

"I know. You said that. That's why I wanted to talk to you. You said that I should tell you when something bothers me. That I shouldn't accommodate you." Ga Eul tilted her head as if seeking confirmation. And Rang really wanted her to accommodate him right then, just one last time, but of course, she was right, and he glumly nodded.

"Can I tell you what's bothering me right now?"

Rang nodded, a knot of discomfort forming in his chest.

For the first time that morning, Ga Eul's composure cracked, as though her cheery demeanor while serving him breakfast had all been an act. He could see the hurt in her eyes as clearly as the night before.

"If you love me, why did you try so hard to make me leave?" Ga Eul's voice broke. Her composure cracked further. "I can handle you being upset with me, but last night it felt like you were breaking up with me. Like you never wanted to see me again. And I don't understand how you can decide something like that so suddenly unless you were already thinking about it. Do you know what my worst fear is? That one day you won't want me anymore, and I won't know why. I won't even know what I did wrong." Ga Eul cast her eyes down and twisted her fingers together. "That's why I don't always say when something bothers me. I know it's a bad habit of mine, but...I just wanted you to want me to stay with you, so I thought I could accept things the way they were."

"Ah, I keep telling you to stop doing that," Rang scolded automatically. "Why should you accept anything? You're practically a nine-tailed fox."

Ga Eul looked slightly abashed by this comment, but instead of feeling vindicated, Rang only felt bad for making her feel worse.

When he spoke again, he confessed, "I've thought of us breaking up lots of times. But not me breaking up with you. It was always you breaking up with me. I just wanted to beat you to it. I thought if I beat you to it"—Rang swallowed—"it would hurt less. But I was wrong. It actually hurt more, making you cry, and I'm sorry."

"Rang…" Ga Eul lifted her head. "I'm young, but I'm not that young in human years. Most of my friends are married or engaged already. I wouldn't waste time with you just to break up with you. I'm not that type of person."

"But you're a rare good human. Good people generally like to be involved with other good people. You're a teacher. Shouldn't you know that?"

"Not me. I like being involved with you."

Rang smiled.

"Well, like I said, you're rare."

"I'm not as rare as you think I am. There are plenty of good humans—"

"But there's only one Chu Ga Eul," Rang argued. Only one that loves me.

"Well...I suppose that's true," Ga Eul conceded, but only stared back down at her hands.

When she continued to look distressed, Rang took her small hands in his larger ones.

"Foxes...only have one love for their whole lives. I promise I won't make you leave again. In fact, I'll be even clingier than before," he threatened teasingly. "I'll stalk you every day."

Ga Eul cracked a smile but still looked worried.

After a moment, she mumbled, "Promise?"

Rang nodded, squeezing her hands.

"I promise. I'll be your pet fox for life. You've been training me not to bite you, so I'll try even harder not to." Rang rushed out the words, hoping she could hear in his voice how serious he was.

A lone tear splashed onto Rang's thumb. Ga Eul swiped at her cheek and sniffled.

"Do I get to learn things about my pet? I mean, if I want to care for him properly, shouldn't he at least come with an instruction manual?"

Rang chuckled.

"I don't know about an instruction manual, but...I can teach you a little at a time." Rang paused, trying to think of something that would cheer her up, then added, bravely, "Would you like to see something now?"

Ga Eul nodded, and Rang stood. He continued gripping her hands tightly, to reassure himself as much as her.

"You said once that you wished you knew what I looked like when I was your age," Rang explained. "Would you still like to see?"

Ga Eul nodded again.

"Okay, then...watch carefully." Rang breathed deeply, and as he exhaled he transformed into a version of himself he'd never forget, though he'd been many versions of himself over many human eras. Presently, he wore the same blue hanbok he'd been wearing the day he'd met with his brother after many years. His hair had been long then, he remembered, and when he'd grown it to a certain length, the tips had turned golden like his brother's—another fox characteristic, something to set him apart. His hanbok, on the other hand, was nothing special. The material was of higher quality, but it was undecorated—he hadn't been a noble, after all.

Still, Ga Eul's entire face lit up with happiness, the way Soo-oh's lit up when he received a new toy.

"This is you?" she exclaimed, delicately fingering one of his sleeves. She looked him over from head to toe, enthusing, "You were really handsome. I would have had a crush on you back then too."

Rang laughed.

"I would have eaten you."

"Of course you would have. You wouldn't have been able to resist me," Ga Eul teased, then added, straightforwardly, "Will you also wear a hanbok when you marry me?"

Rang sobered up.

"When...when I…"

"I said I would answer your questions, so…Yes, I would like to get married one day, but only to you. And of course I want you to meet my parents. You don't have to like them, and they don't have to like you, but I do want you to meet each other. As for kids, I suppose I always thought I would have them, but if you don't want kids, I understand. At least, let's get a dog or a cat. Or both. And let's have a traditional wedding. Then it can be almost like we were together back then." Ga Eul smiled, and Rang's heart froze up for the second time that morning. Sometimes he really wondered how Ga Eul existed. It occurred to him that he had never seen her in a hanbok and that he would like to very much.

"Ah." He laughed to keep from feeling overwhelmed. "What is this? Are you proposing right now?"

"I'm telling you that you have to propose to me one day. And you have to meet my parents, whether you like it or not." She pointed sternly at him.

At that, Rang pulled a face.

"But human parents are so...so…" He couldn't even find a word to describe their awfulness.

"Even so, you have to meet mine. That's non-negotiable."

Rang squinted down at her, but finally relented. Meeting Ga Eul's parents was a small price to pay, he supposed, for getting to marry her.

"Fine. But I get a treat afterward. And I get to pick what it is." He smiled lasciviously.

"We'll see how you behave at dinner. Then I will decide the appropriate amount of reward."

"Don't worry, I'm used to acting. I can be a model son-in-law for one evening. But you know what would be easier—"

"You're not mind-tricking my parents into liking you."

"It's not like it would hurt them—"

"They're my parents. They're off-limits. Promise?" Ga Eul offered her pinky finger to him, and Rang eyed it mournfully but reached out and tapped his pinky to hers.

"Fine, fine. I promise. But that's enough promises for one morning. Nine-tailed foxes don't like those. It means we owe someone something." Rang shuddered.

"It's okay." Ga Eul smiled. "I'd rather cuddle with historical Rang anyway." She tugged at his hanbok.

"Historical Rang does not cuddle," Rang informed her. Showing her his past self was one thing; it would feel too strange cuddling with her in the clothes that he was probably wearing when...well...he'd done whatever he'd done to her in the past.

"But why not?" Ga Eul asked, looking totally bereft.

"Because...he just doesn't."

"That's not an answer."

Rang huffed.

"I'm going to change back."

"No, wait, wait, wait!" Ga Eul clung to his hanbok. "You don't have to do anything if you don't want to. It was just a suggestion. But sometimes I'd like to know why you refuse my requests. Otherwise, I'll just keep asking for things that make you uncomfortable. And that makes me uncomfortable."

"Of course I'm uncomfortable," Rang answered flippantly. "Cuddling in these clothes would be hot and stuffy. You know I don't like being hot." He also didn't like the way Ga Eul was staring at him, like she could tell he wasn't telling the whole truth. This, too, made him uncomfortable.

"Are you sure that's all you want to say?" Ga Eul asked, as though she could read his thoughts. Glancing aside, she bit down on her lip. "Remember when I said you blow off my questions sometimes? This is one of those times." Letting go of his hanbok, she picked at the corner of a pancake. "If you don't want to answer, just say so. But I'd like it if you could answer me. Otherwise…" Ga Eul shrugged. "Otherwise, I don't know how I'm supposed to get closer to you. I feel like...like...It's like you live in a mansion that's several stories high, but you've restricted me to the ground floor, and I'm not sure why. It's a little frustrating, to be honest." Ga Eul kicked at air and frowned like she did when she was frustrated. She had a specific frown for frustration, another for mild disapproval, another for extreme disapproval. Another for mock disapproval. "I'm not explaining this right," Ga Eul grumbled to herself. She paused to tear off a bit of pancake, then chewed it thoughtfully. Rang briefly wondered if she looked like that in her classroom when she was trying to explain a difficult concept to her students.

Suddenly, she burst out, "Remember when you wanted to sleep with me the night we got together, and I wouldn't let you inside my apartment?"

Rang nodded. That he remembered clearly.

"Imagine if, all these months later, I still wasn't letting you inside my apartment. Wouldn't that bother you? If you were still stuck kissing me goodnight and nothing else?"

"That sounds like a hellish level of torture," Rang complained.

"Well, that's how I feel every time you won't tell me something. It feels like you just shut a door in my face, and I can't get to where you are. I'm stuck outside."

Ga Eul appeared quite upset, and Rang supposed she had a point, but that still didn't mean he wanted to explain himself. Feeling even more uncomfortable in his hanbok, he changed back to his sweatpants and t-shirt.

"But I tell you plenty of things," he protested.

"You tell me surface-level things. You're very selective."

"Of course I'm selective." Rang scoffed. "Who would tell another person everything about themselves?"

There was a tense silence, and Ga Eul shifted her eyes and swallowed.

Oh.

"Except you." Rang voiced his thoughts aloud. "You would. Wouldn't you?"

It wasn't a judgmental question, just an observation he made because he knew her, but perhaps Ga Eul took it as an insult because she drew herself up.

"I told you. Soulmates aren't just lovers. They're supposed to be best friends too, and my best friend and I used to tell each other all sorts of things we'd never tell other people. It got to the point where we knew each other so well that we didn't even have to ask how the other person was feeling or what they were thinking. We just knew things about each other instinctively. It's so special when you know someone like that. You never feel lonely, and you always have someone to talk to if you're upset, you know, someone who will understand you. I thought my boyfriend and I could be like that too one day. But it's not very fun if you know my secrets and I don't know any of yours."

"Your best friend? Wasn't her name Geum…" Rang trailed off, forgetful.

"Geum Jan Di."

"You don't see her anymore." Rang arched the end of the sentence up like a question.

"Not much, no." Ga Eul looked back down at her plate, sighing. "Though now that I think about it, that's probably as much my fault as hers...Anyway, the point is, I miss being close to someone like that."

"You should call your friend," Rang scolded. "Aren't you always telling me to call my friends?"

Ga Eul smiled sheepishly.

"I guess so."

"And if you wanted a best friend instead of a pet, why didn't you say so? I've practiced being a cat so much, I cough up hairballs even when I'm human." He winced.

"Can't you be my pet and my best friend?"

"You want me to be your pet, your best friend, and your lover? Don't you think that's a lot to ask of an evil fox?"

"You said you have a sliver of goodness," Ga Eul insisted. "A sliver may be small, but it's not nothing. It means you're not evil, not all the way through."

Rang scoffed, but it was half-hearted. He didn't believe her, but that was such a Ga Eul thing to say—so utterly idealistic and optimistic—and since he loved her, he didn't want to disappoint her. He wanted to rise to her estimation of him.

"Please? Just try it for a month. If you don't like it, you can go back to being a cat." Ga Eul tilted her head, wisps of hair falling back into her face. She'd stopped looking like she was about to cry, and her eyes were wide and trusting and childish again. She hadn't put on any makeup yet, and though she'd originally caught his attention in an alluring black dress, every inch of her perfectly styled, he found he preferred her this way, her appearance as simple and sweet as she was.

"You're a very demanding little human."

"You're a very powerful fox. I think you can handle it," Ga Eul shot back. "You told me I'm too accommodating, so I won't accommodate you anymore. You said I should say I want. Well...what I want is to be your best friend. I want to know more about you than anyone, living or dead. Besides," she added slyly, "I think it's only fair that since you entered my mind I get to enter yours."

Despite his discomfort with that suggestion, Rang's lips twitched.

"You're beginning to think like a fox. I'm not sure that I like it...Anyway, good job." He patted her on the head, and Ga Eul beamed with pride.

"Does that mean you'll try it?" she asked hopefully, and it was on the tip of his tongue to say 'no,' but he closed his mouth instead.

Truthfully, Rang was not at all comfortable with this course of conversation. In some ways, he had been more comfortable knowing that Ga Eul would leave him one day because at least that was familiar, and he'd had a valid excuse not to indulge her constant queries.

Rang had never had a best friend, not in the way Ga Eul was describing. He'd had Yu Ri, who was definitely a friend, but it wasn't like he'd told her everything. Not his innermost thoughts and fears. Unless he was very, very drunk.

He no longer felt that he couldn't trust Ga Eul, but...he had survived for a long time by keeping everyone at just the right distance. Ga Eul didn't seem to want any distance, and he didn't know how to live like that. Just the thought of it was terrifying.

If she had left him, if he had found any doubt in her mind about loving him, that would have been predictable, but now that she'd decided to become a permanent fixture in his life, he couldn't predict how his life would unfold. The future was mysterious in a way that it hadn't been for a long time, which was both exciting and alarming. Exciting because Rang would finally have something new to look forward to, something he'd never dreamed of having. Alarming because Rang craved control even more than he craved excitement. He liked for his life to be interesting, but only to the point that he felt he could manipulate the situation if he needed to.

But now Ga Eul was turning back to her food and collapsing in on herself, the way she did when he took too long to answer her. He supposed this was his fault for telling her to stand up for herself. At least she was doing that.

Finally.

"I'd rather be a cat," Rang announced, then grudgingly agreed, "but all right. I'll try it. If that's what my little human wants."

Immediately, Ga Eul turned to him, a renewed sparkle in her eyes. She jumped down from her stool, looking even happier than when he'd shown her 'historical Rang.'

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." She gave him a hug that would have crushed his bones, had she been a fox.

"You're not going to do something weird now, are you?" He eyed her suspiciously. "Like get us matching friendship bracelets?"

Ga Eul laughed.

"No, no. Our couple rings are fine."

"One month. You said one month," he reminded her. "Then I can be a cat again."

"One month," she agreed, letting him go. She reached up and mussed his hair. "You're really sweet."

"I'll bite you," they both said in unison. Rang let the last syllable dissolve on his tongue, his mouth open in surprise.

Ga Eul smirked.

So she thought she could predict him?

"I actually will bite you. I'll bite you right now. Come here." Rang grabbed for her, but Ga Eul scurried away, shaking her head and giggling. She continued backing up slowly, glancing behind herself so that she didn't run into the couch, and Rang advanced towards her just as slowly, a fox stalking his prey.

"Oh, little human," Rang teased, morphing so that he was clad in black from head to toe; he knew she liked that particular suit the most. "Where do you think you're going? Come back. It's just good old me."

"I'm fine over here," Ga Eul replied, circling around the couch until she stood on the opposite side from him. He circled around the couch also, and she matched him step for step as they stared at one another across the piece of furniture.

"Do you know that foxes stalk their prey until they're within striking distance?" Rang remarked, making his voice at once ominous and seductive. "Then they rush at them suddenly and pounce. If it's a larger prey, the fox kills it immediately, but if it's smaller, they like to play with it a bit first." He grinned. "You know which type you are, my little human."

"Oh? Are you going to pounce on me then?"

"I will when you least expect it."

"But I always expect it. Besides, maybe I'm the one toying with you." Ga Eul backed herself into the wall, then purposefully went still.

"Meaning?" Rang slinked closer to her, cocking an eyebrow.

"I want you to catch me. I'm letting myself get caught." Ga Eul smiled at him as he paced right up to her until their toes nearly touched. Her pupils were blown wide as she tilted her face up to his—wide and sparkling beneath her delicate lashes; she looked aroused and, at the same time, wondrous.

Come here, her eyes said. Let's eat kimchi pancakes and wear wedding hanboks and have dogs and cats and kids. You're not a monster. You're not evil. You're my pet fox. You're my best friend. Her eyes said, See? See how the world can be a kind place?

The world is never a kind place, his eyes answered. He reached behind her and tugged her hair loose. But for you, I will make it kind. I will make it kind.

"I'll bite you," he whispered, like it was some sort of secret code between them.

"Okay," she answered, like she understood.