A/N: This is the final chapter in the three-chapter-sequence (Chapters 16, 17, & 18).

Now if you saw the notification in your email and thought 'OMG a seven thousand word smut chapter!' I hope you won't be too disappointed to learn that this chapter actually has zero smut in it, for reasons that should hopefully become obvious.

There is the anticipation of smut, however; there is also the aftermath of smut.

The first three sections (in italics) are flashbacks; I hope it's clear where they come from, but the first section is a continuation of Chapter 2 of Good Girl, Bad Fox; the second section is set not too long after Chapter 2; and the third section is a continuation of Chapter 10.

Tags: references to rough sex, dom/sub vibes, discussion of kinks and power dynamics, protective Rang, aftercare

Rang had been staring at the bathroom door, waiting for Ga Eul to rejoin him on her bed, for what felt like hours.

He'd put his shirt back on. If he didn't get to see what was under her pants, then she damn sure didn't get to keep staring at his scar.

But what was taking her so long? She was such a human, through and through—spooked by every little thing. All he'd done was plant a few kisses on her breasts and her stomach, and she'd bolted. He hadn't even been rough with her.

Rang sighed and crossed his arms as he leaned his head against Ga Eul's headboard.

Humans were agonizingly slow and sensitive. He didn't know how his brother endured it, though perhaps Yeon's lunacy had rubbed off on him. Or perhaps Rang was too intrigued by the idea that someone like him could have a soulmate, even a human one. If he'd been in any other person's apartment, he would have already left.

Suddenly, Ga Eul's bathroom door clicked open, and she emerged from her hiding spot, carefully composed and wearing a pair of white and purple floral pajamas.

"Sorry I took so long. I decided to change clothes. Do you want to, um, watch something?" Ga Eul twisted her hands together and eyed him cautiously.

Rang arched an unamused eyebrow.

So she wasn't even going to say anything about what they'd been doing before?

Well, Rang would say something. Rang wanted to pick right up where they'd left off, even if they didn't go any further. Rang wanted to bite her neck. Rang wanted to suck on her nipples. Rang wanted to make her burn with so much need that she would beg him to undress her all the way.

"No," he answered, giving her a vulpine smile. "Let's kiss some more."

A flustered expression crossed Ga Eul's face. She approached the bed and offered anxiously, "Or we could cuddle. Would you like to cuddle?"

"Cuddle?" Rang echoed the foreign concept.

Ga Eul nodded. Her eyes were hopeful, but cautious.

"I'm an evil fox, not a stuffed fox," he replied, expecting her to drop the subject.

Instead, she pressed, "Well, don't you want to try it once?"

Don't you want to try my face between your thighs once?

"No," Rang responded tiredly.

"Really?" Ga Eul's face fell.

"Really."

"Oh." She paused, biting her lip. "Oh, okay. That's okay." She tried to smile and failed. Unfortunately, she also began moving away from the bed. Rang watched her cross in front of him and make her way to the kitchen area. Suddenly, he had the troubling premonition that she was about to ask him to leave. Politely, of course, as befitted her personality. But also firmly, as befitted her personality.

Rang did not want to leave. He definitely didn't want her to ask him to leave. Not after all the trouble he'd gone to in order to be there in the first place.

Backtracking, he mentioned, in a decidedly casual tone, "Then again, I suppose I could try it once, like you said." He guessed cuddling was better than nothing; he'd at least get to touch her.

Ga Eul spun back around with a renewed sparkle in her eyes.

"Really?"

Rang nodded. He patted the spot next to him.

"You can show me how since you know all about it."

"Okay." Ga Eul rushed back over to her bed and climbed up next to him. She instructed him to lie flat; then she laid down next to him with her head on his chest and her arm around his waist. She arranged his right arm so that it lay across her body, and for a few moments, Rang let his arm stiffly rest where she'd placed it. The unfamiliar weight of her head and the stillness of their limbs jarred him.

He'd never been with someone who simply wanted him to hold them.

"Thank you," Ga Eul said, breaking the stillness with her soft voice.

"Hmm?"

"I always wanted to cuddle with my boyfriend."

Her boyfriend...

The word nestled in his chest. A pleasant, secure feeling blossomed from it and spread throughout his body as she settled herself more comfortably against his side. Rang flexed his hand and relaxed his arm, his irritation subsiding.

He was her boyfriend, wasn't he? If this was something boyfriends did, then, of course, he should do it, lest she forget who she belonged to.

"In that case," he answered, "let's cuddle every night."


Another night. Another cuddle.

As he spooned Ga Eul from behind, Rang tried to form a new plan of attack—one that wouldn't result in Ga Eul leaving the bed—though he wasn't sure how much sneakier or more seductive he could be. Each time they'd cuddled so far, she'd allowed him to slip his hand under her pajama shirt and touch her, but only up to a point. As soon as he trailed his fingers to her stomach, she abruptly had to use the bathroom or get water or tissues. He didn't know how much more of this teasing he could take—lying next to her, breathing in her scent, pressing his whole body to hers, yet not being able to do what he wanted to do to her.

To be fair, she hadn't actually told him 'no.' But it all spelled out 'no,' didn't it? The water breaks, the sudden need to pee...

Foxes were so much easier; they got right down to it without all this extended foreplay.

Except for his brother, the poor idiot.

Rang had a horrible boner for the third time that week, and it didn't help that, height-and-dimension-wise, Ga Eul's body fit perfectly into his. He wanted to do so many things to her! He was nearly vibrating with pent-up energy. Just that night, he'd had to lace their fingers together so he wouldn't grope her mindlessly.

Ga Eul shifted against him, her hips brushing his painfully erect cock, and he bit the inside of his mouth. He didn't like this. He didn't like this. He didn't li—

"You're really warm," Ga Eul noted, then yawned through the phrase, "You're making me sleepy."

Sleepy? Oh, how nice for you. Rang rolled his eyes.

"Go to sleep then," Rang snapped, and Ga Eul rolled over and tipped her head back to look at his face.

"Okay," she said hesitantly. "You don't have to keep cuddling me if you don't want to."

Good. Because he didn't want to. Rang had not signed up to be teased like this every night.

Except...the more Ga Eul stared at him, the harder it was to pull away. If he did, he wouldn't be touching Ga Eul at all.

And Ga Eul...well…she looked concerned that he would move. As if she were his lost puppy he was considering leaving to the whims of the cruel world.

"Of course, I'll cuddle you." Rang laughed nervously. How was he being so utterly defeated in his quest? Where was the fox he'd been all these years, the one who could convince any human to sell their soul?

Not in bed with Ga Eul, certainly.

"I'm your boyfriend. I'm also your pet fox," he assured her. Gently turning her back over, Rang wrapped her more securely in his limbs. He kissed the top of her head like he assumed a human boyfriend would do.

"Go to sleep, little human," he said, managing the directive without the attitude that time. He tacked the 'little human' part on the end just to remind himself that she was human. And she was also young and fairly innocent, despite the bite marks on her neck. Thinking of her that way helped his arousal, and after a while, he began to enjoy the cuddle as a protective gesture.

Ga Eul had been right about one thing. Cuddling was warm—maybe too warm, but also calming.

As he held her, Ga Eul went limp in Rang's arms and drifted off to sleep.

Rang soon followed.


The morning after their failed attempt at going 'all the way,' Rang had woken up with his stomach in knots. As he'd laid next to Ga Eul, trying to think of what would make her feel better, he'd lamely settled on 'cake.' Specifically, the ssaeng-cream cake they'd eaten together on their first date.

Now, he thrust out an open pink takeout carton at Ga Eul as she groggily sat up in bed. When she noticed the contents of the carton, her eyes widened, and she perked up.

"You drove all the way to the café this morning to buy me cake?" she asked, her features softening in adoration.

"No." Rang scoffed. Honestly, it was like she barely knew him. "I had it delivered."

"Oh...of course."

"Anyway, I bought you cake. You should eat it. Say 'ah.'" Scooping up a big bite onto the plastic takeout fork, Rang aimed it for her mouth.

Be okay, little human, he pleaded silently as she opened her mouth and accepted the bite. She chewed and swallowed and, finally, smiled at him.

"Thank you," she said softly. She scratched his head like none of the hurt from the night before had occurred.

Encouraged, Rang stretched himself out next to her and fed her the rest of the cake, pausing occasionally to wipe cream off the corners of her mouth. He tucked her head under his arm and drew her closer, coaxing her to lean against him.

He promised himself he would never hurt her again.

"Next time, try not to be so rough with me," he scolded her. "I'm quite an old fox, you know. You have to handle me gently."

"Huh?" Ga Eul lifted her head and met his eyes; then, seeming to understand his teasing, giggled as she put her head back down.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She patted his stomach. "I'll be careful next time."

"You better," he threatened. Sighing, he declared mournfully, "I may need a few days to recover."

Ga Eul stayed silent for a moment.

"A few? Does two sound agreeable?"

Rang smiled, glad she felt up to trying again.

"I guess I could manage two. But we should probably have some good food in the interim. To rebuild my strength."

"Deal."


"Jagiya!" Rang snapped his fingers in his girlfriend's face.

Her gaze landed on his.

"Are you okay?" He frowned, observing her fidgeting hands and the way her eyes wandered with unease. Ga Eul had been full of surprises that night, but just when Rang thought she couldn't surprise him any more, she'd gone totally silent and still, like a prey that had been cornered.

"If you really don't want to be on top, just say so," he offered, lightening his tone. "It was a suggestion, not a demand."

"Oh, um...sorry," Ga Eul began, "Some other time, maybe. Actually...I want some beer. Do you want some beer? I'll get two bottles. It's a little hot in here." She clambered off Rang's lap and made a beeline for the kitchen, leaving Rang with a deflating hard-on and a genuine sense of bewilderment laced with guilt.

Had he done something wrong? He couldn't remember anything, but he hadn't been fully aware for the past few minutes.

When he glanced over his shoulder, he saw that Ga Eul was hiding behind the refrigerator, and his guilt tipped over into irritation. He shifted back into his boxers.

Of course, she was hiding. She could go from being all over him to being skittish in a matter of seconds, and over time, he'd realized that wasn't a human thing; it was a Ga Eul thing, and it drove him crazy. And not in the nice way that seeing her in his shirt drove him crazy.

He loved Ga Eul, and he trusted Ga Eul, and he had been trying to accommodate her insatiable thirst for knowledge about his past, and yet...she was still pulling this shit.


Leaving the refrigerator door open to shield herself, Ga Eul popped the cap off her beer and guzzled down half of it. She wasn't a lightweight by any means, but maybe she could will herself to get drunk extra fast.

How had she gotten herself into this mess? She wanted to take it all back, from the first curl she'd put in her hair to the shameless things she'd whispered in Rang's ear.

"Ga Eul." Rang's sudden presence next to the fridge made her jolt, and she had no choice but to allow him to close the door, which left him standing beside her, uncomfortably close.

He was present-day Rang again, dressed in only his blue silk pajama shorts. He extended his arm to the top of the fridge and leaned his weight on it as he gave her a penetrating stare.

"What are you doing?" Rang pried the half-empty beer bottle from Ga Eul's hand and set it on the counter next to the unopened one she'd pulled for him. "You're hiding again, so what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Ga Eul didn't sound convincing. Avoiding his perceptive gaze, she wiped her mouth on his shirt sleeve. She'd re-buttoned the shirt, but she still felt exposed. Her cheeks burned.

Somewhere above her, Rang sighed.

"Then why are you drinking like you just saw Shin-joo naked?"

Ga Eul spared him a glance.

"Trust me, it's not a pretty sight. Now"—Rang grabbed her by the elbows and jerked her towards him—"if you don't tell me what's wrong right now, you won't get any cuddles for a week. I'll cut you off."

Ga Eul swallowed, detained by his iron grip; ironically, he was acting much like how she'd wanted him to moments before.

Still, she automatically scoffed.

"I don't believe you."

"Why?"

"Because then you won't get any cuddles for a week."

She'd thought he might laugh; instead, Rang scowled. He walked her backwards until she hit the kitchen counter; then he pressed into her personal space, like he did when he wanted to distract her from cooking. Except his eyes weren't gleaming; he wasn't being playful. He was simply fuming. And what came out of his mouth was a reprimand, not a flirtation.

"I thought you wanted us to be best friends. You wanted us to tell each other everything, remember? You said we were going to do that for a month. It was your idea." Rang gave her an unamused smile. "Then, little human, you don't get to do whatever this is—this thing you do where you suddenly stop talking and/or run away. So talk, damn it. Tell me why you ran away just now."

Ga Eul's cheeks were on fire. She wanted to press her face into the smooth skin of Rang's chest and hide from his stern gaze. But she couldn't look away. Damn him, he looked so striking when he was irate, like a flame in the night. Anger sharpened him; shadows gave his face more dimension.

Ga Eul clutched his loose shorts, rubbing the silk fabric over her fingertips. She didn't mean to be hypocritical. She hadn't meant to disappoint him. She just...just...

"I'm sorry I hid from you. I'm just..."—she rolled several words around on her tongue before she settled on one—"...embarrassed." She grimaced.

"Embarrassed?"

Ga Eul pinched the hem of his shorts.

"Earlier, I was working up the courage to tell you something, but I don't think you understood what I was getting at, and now I really can't tell you because it's too awkward." She dropped her gaze to her hands; seeking comfort, she circled her arms around his waist and clasped him tightly.


Instinctually reciprocating her hug, Rang frowned.

What could be too awkward? More awkward than all the things they'd already talked about? What hadn't he understood? How had they gotten from where they were two minutes ago to where they were now?

He had no patience to go around in circles guessing what it all meant.

"Just tell me what the hell is going on," he urged. "If I didn't understand, then say it plainly." He tipped her chin up. "What does my little human want? Remember, all your favors come with a one hundred percent discount." He smiled, and that elicited a small smile from Ga Eul.

"It's...well…" She swallowed, and this brought his attention to the faint bruises on her delicate throat, then back to her lips and the wine-colored lipstick their kisses had smeared. "Will you promise not to laugh at me?" she asked in a small voice, her hopeful brown eyes locked on his.

"How can I promise that? I don't know what you want to say."

"Please."

"Ga Eul, what is it?"

"It's…" He felt her tug on the waistband of his shorts; she was fiddling with them, folding the elastic band over and back again. "There's some things I've wanted to do for a long time with you."

"You mean things you always wanted to do with your boyfriend?"

"No, no, not like that!" Ga Eul rushed out. "I mean, things I wanted to do with you...just with you, um...in...in bed." Ga Eul blushed deeply.

Ah. Suddenly, her nervousness made sense.

Intrigued, he pressed, "Go on."

Ga Eul shook her head. Well, as much as she could shake her head with him gripping her jaw. He let her go, and she hid her face in his chest.

"Come on. Tell me. I promise nothing you say will shock me. I've been around far too long."

"You have to promise not to laugh at me or make fun of me," Ga Eul begged, the sound muffled by his chest.

Rang sighed, realizing he had no choice if he wanted to know.

"All right, I promise. Now hurry up and tell me."

"I think it would be easier if I showed you," Ga Eul replied, popping her head up.

"You mean like a demonstration?" He grinned.

"N-no."

Rang's face dropped.

"I wrote a list, if that's okay. Do you mind if I go get it?"

Rang wanted to pout about the lack of a demonstration, but his curiosity trumped his irritation. He readily agreed and set Ga Eul free to retrieve her list.

He grabbed his beer and returned to the couch. Reflecting on Ga Eul's earlier actions, he tried to figure out what she'd been trying to tell him, but he only concluded—again—that she wanted to try riding him based on all the grinding and general bossiness. Since this was obviously inaccurate, judging by her swift refusal, he had no confidence in any of his other observations.

Thankfully, Ga Eul soon returned with her list.

"Just one question before I hand this over." She pressed the mysterious piece of notebook paper to her chest.

"Ga Eul."

"Just one." She held up a finger.

"Fine. Make it quick."

"Earlier, I said I wanted you to rob me. I said I could be your prisoner. Why did you think...I mean, why did you ask me to be on top of you in that situation?"

Now it was Rang's turn to blush—internally, of course. Truthfully, he'd gotten too carried away by his fantasies, but Ga Eul didn't need to know that.

"You were on top of me," he answered. "You were literally on top of me. I assumed it was because you liked that position."

"I-I just wanted to get your attention."

"You got my attention when you walked into the room looking like that." He gestured to her outfit, and she blushed again. "But I'm not complaining about anything else." He smirked. "You can sit on top of me whenever you like, and if you don't want to ride me, you can do whatever you were doing. You can get yourself off and make me watch." Rang wasn't sure where that thought had come from, but as soon as he said it, he knew he would enjoy watching Ga Eul tease him. He'd never enjoyed teasing before, not when it happened to him. But being with Ga Eul had opened up a whole new world of pleasurable possibilities. Things he'd once considered completely undesirable were now...desirable. Very much so.

He wondered anew what was on her list. Before she could ask him any more questions, he snatched the paper away from her.


Sitting next to Rang as he silently perused her list, Ga Eul tried not to think about the many mortifying ideas she'd written on it, but they were stuck in her head regardless.

She wanted him to tie her up with ropes; she wanted him to drag his claws across her skin; she wanted him to rip off her clothes; she wanted him to pick her up and jerk her around and pin her.

She wanted him to give her orders, to be ruthless and cold and overpowering. To tell her exactly what to do and how to do it.

She wanted him to force himself on her and force himself inside her. To make her cum as many times as he wanted her to cum. To use her as he much as he liked, whenever he liked.

She wanted him to pull her hair more—not harder, just more. She wanted him to bite her more often. And manipulate her mind in other ways.

She wanted to be captured and owned, conquered and desired. She wanted to be the meal he devoured.

She wanted; she wanted; she wanted...


Rang wasn't exactly surprised by the contents of Ga Eul's list, but he also wasn't prepared for them.

He knew Ga Eul loved playing with fire and that, normally, that worked in his favor, but this time, it unnerved him.

How could he possibly keep her safe if she insisted on putting herself in precarious situations?

This was why he hated dealing with innocents.

He'd been so careful too; he'd been trying so hard not to scare Ga Eul or cause her any injuries. Before, he'd never worried about hurting his fox partners—they were all perfectly capable of defending themselves and not terribly susceptible to injuries anyway—but he'd also never cared much about them either. Not in the way that he cared about Ga Eul—his little human who bled from paper cuts. Did she even know what some of this stuff entailed? The physical and mental damage that could occur?

No, of course not. She was human, and, even worse, she was Ga Eul.

When he thought of all the ways playing rough with her could go wrong, it scared the shit out of him.

At the same time, reading her list was like reading a menu of all his favorite foods and realizing he'd probably never eat any of it ever again. Not if he planned on staying loyal to Ga Eul forever, which, of course, he did.

In that sense, her list was doubly torturous. There were many things on it that he wanted and very few things that he could have.

In the end, he could only say 'no.'


"No."

Rang handed Ga Eul's list back to her without even looking at her.

Stung by his abrupt rejection, Ga Eul held the paper loosely in her hands, wanting to crumple it. Rip it. Burn it. Bury it. The page that held parts of her soul. The page she'd slaved over, writing draft after draft until she felt she'd explained herself thoroughly. The page he'd insisted she show him.

Her shock gave way to mortification, then resentment.

No?

That was it? Just...no?

Somehow, that one syllable was worse than him laughing at her. It was more humiliating than any amount of teasing she could have conjured.

"No?" Ga Eul snapped. "You didn't like any of my ideas?" she asked, unable to keep the hurt out of her voice.

"I'm sorry, but no," Rang repeated, taking a careless swig of his beer as if he hadn't just brushed aside her deepest, darkest desires with a hand wave: No, thank you. Next.

"But Yu Ri said—"

Rang glanced at her, and she cut herself off.

"Yu Ri?" he frowned. "What does she have to do with this?"

Indeed, what did Yu Ri have to do with it?

Ga Eul hadn't intended to mention Yu Ri's name or reveal what the fox had told her, but at the moment Ga Eul could care less. She had to know why Rang had just flat out said no to her when she knew he liked that type of stuff. She'd promised herself she would be brave, even though she was super intimidated by him on this particular issue. She'd thought her boyfriend—if she ever got one—might have several years of experience on her, not six hundred.

"Yu Ri said"—Ga Eul took a deep breath and continued with conviction—"you used to do those types of things with other foxes. So I thought you might like to do them with me."

There. She'd gotten the words out. Now he just had to answer.

Rang shifted and took another swallow of his beer. Suddenly, he looked uncomfortable.

"I see. So this list is for me? You think this is what I want to do?" he asked, finally looking at her.

"No, not at all! I mean, yes, but...those are things I want to do too." Ga Eul tried to sound unquestionably confident. "I only told you because I was interested in trying them." She scooted towards him eagerly and grabbed the hand that wasn't holding his beer.

Frustratingly, Rang made no attempt to hold her hand; he didn't look happy about this development at all. In fact, he almost looked...disappointed.

"I see...Well...thank you for telling me, but...I've gotten bored of all that after so many years. You know how I get bored of things. I'm not interested anymore."

"Oh." Ga Eul frowned, certain this was a lie. She knew how he acted when something bored him—the pouting, the eye-rolling. But besides that, there was something about the way he'd said it—despite Rang being a professional liar, she'd picked up some tells after spending so much time with him. His tone gave him away, but he'd also given her too much eye contact. It had been too intense, as if he were daring her to challenge him on his statement. A normal person might give less eye contact during a lie, but Rang wasn't flustered by lies. He sunk into them like a second skin.

Ga Eul saw right through him.

"Are you sure we couldn't try any of them?" she asked. "Just once? Sometimes you like things better after you do them with me. You've said that before."

"I said that?"

Ga Eul nodded, but he didn't answer her question.

An awkward silence set in.

To fill it, Ga Eul confessed, "To be honest, it was really hard for me to ask for this." Holding his hand in both of hers, she squeezed it. "After I asked Yi Jeong Sunbae if he would date me that one time, I never asked him for anything because I didn't want to hear the answer if the answer was 'no.' But I want to ask you for things, and it's okay if you say 'no.' I can respect that. But I know you're lying to me right now about the reason. So what's the real reason you don't want to try those things with me? Is it because I'm inexperienced, and you think it would be bad?"

"What? No." His eyes narrowed.

"Then why? How can you tell me to talk to you, and then you won't talk to me? How is that fair?"

There was another pregnant pause, this one broken by Rang.

"All right, fine!" Rang tore his hand from her grasp. "I lied! This is a fucking buffet of all my favorite things!" He gestured to her list.

"Then why can't we do it?"

"Jagiya…" He gave her a soft, pitying look.

"Why?"

"You're human." He swept her hair behind her shoulder and soothed his thumb along her neck. His expression said this should have been obvious to her.

It should have been obvious that they were not the same.

Tears sprung to Ga Eul's eyes, and she flinched from his touch. She'd thought he didn't care that she was human. She'd thought he really considered her his mate, like an equal.

"You mean you wish I was a fox?"

"No." Rang seized her neck and held her in place. "It means you're human! Your body is weaker than mine. You literally can't do all this stuff!" He snatched up the list on her lap and cast it to the floor.

"What are you talking about?!" Ga Eul frowned. "Humans do that stuff too!"

"Yes, with other humans, they do. But this is different. I'm not human." Rang's jaw hardened. "I could stab myself with a knife or shoot myself with a gun, and nothing would happen to me. But if I run the edge of that paper across your finger, you'll start bleeding. I'm not happy about that. It's just the way it is. Our bodies aren't compatible. It's too risky."

Oh.

Well, of course, Ga Eul knew all about their incompatibilities. She knew he'd have to accommodate her some. He always had to, given his inhuman levels of strength and stamina. He always had to stop because of her, adjust things because of her, go slower, be softer, or completely abandon plans because her muscles hurt or her body was otherwise being uncooperative.

But still, just because she couldn't do everything, it didn't mean she couldn't do anything. He should know that too.

Ga Eul hated feeling like the weakest link.

"I understand." She nodded emphatically. "But what if we do modified versions of what you used to do? What if we're extra careful? Couldn't we do it then? I'll do anything you want. Just tell me how to do something, and I'll do it exactly like that. Like when you teach me taekwondo. Can't you just teach me the safest way to do something?" The words tumbled out, feverish and desperate.

"Sure, but I can't teach you to stop being yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you still pretend to be fine when you're not. I can't trust you to speak up for yourself. Do you remember the first night we…?" He twirled his finger.

"Fucked?" Ga Eul supplied.

Rang raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, fucked. While you were in the shower, I kept sitting there on the bed, thinking to myself, 'You son of a bitch, you hurt Ga Eul.' It scared the shit out of me!" Rang's brow creased with concern, and he shifted restlessly.

At that, Ga Eul sobered a bit. This was news to her. Not that he'd felt bad about how things had gone that night but that he'd actually been frightened.

Lee Rang frightened? Because of her?

Her heart melted; it flooded her ribcage.

"You didn't tell me to stop that night," Rang continued. "I stopped. And you didn't tell me you were upset. I just happened to hear you crying. You were hiding, remember?" He gave her a pointed look.

"I was hiding because I was embarrassed, not because of anything you did," she assured him. "I thought I should have been able to handle it. I wanted to prove to you that I was tough because I am." She pointed to her chest.

"That's exactly your problem! You don't need to prove anything to me! You should always protect yourself first and please me second. Don't you get it?! You're not a fox. You can't just...regenerate body parts. If I injure you because you don't say something is too much, how do you think that will make me feel?"

"But that wouldn't be your fault. You shouldn't feel bad because of something you didn't know."

"Even so, you think I could feel good with you lying in a hospital somewhere?"

Ga Eul swallowed her next protest. Though she didn't want to, she conceded he had a point.

"I won't do anything with you"—he shoved a finger at her—"if you can't tell me when something's too much or if I'm doing something wrong. Understand? I don't play with people who can't protect themselves. And I'm definitely not going to put my human girlfriend in a situation that could cause her lasting harm. So my answer is 'no,' and I'm not changing it."

"I can protect myself. I will! I promise!"

Rang eyed her doubtfully.

"Just give me a chance. What if we start with something very, very small, and you can see how I do, and then if you feel like you can trust me, we can work our way up?"

Rang squinted at her.

"Why do you want this so bad? Do you think I'll lose interest in you? I won't. I'm obsessed with you, not what you can or can't do in bed."

"It's not that."

"Then what is it?" He looked her over.

"For the same reason I like you stalking me and biting me. It makes me feel special."

"You are special."

"Yes...but when you bite me, I can feel it more. I feel…" Ga Eul tried to say the words without blushing. "...sexy and...desired, but also...owned." She looked down and confessed, "Maybe it's because Yi Jeong Sunbae jerked me around so much, but I always liked that you were so possessive. When you want something, you really want it, you know? There's nothing half-assed about you."


There's nothing half-assed about you.

With that last statement, Ga Eul lifted her gaze, and he saw the endless yearning in her eyes—please love me.

Pulling her to his side, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and touched his forehead to hers.

"You know, when people are starving, they eat grass. That doesn't make it food."

"Huh?"

"It means you shouldn't accept being used when what you really want is to be loved."

Ga Eul stayed silent for a moment, searching his face.

"But Rang, you do love me. I know you do."

"Yes, but I didn't always love you," he admitted. "I stalked you because I was bored, and you were interesting to observe and nice to look at. I bit you because I wanted to get into your pants. And yes, later, I apologized to you because, by then, I kind of already loved you, but just to be clear, it didn't start that way."

He paused, allowing that to sink in.

"Oh…" Ga Eul leaned back slightly, and Rang gave her space to move freely. "So, in other words, what you're saying is...at one point, you really just wanted to fuck me?"

"Most of the time, I still just want to fuck you," Rang noted with an unrepentant smile. To be honest, that problem had gotten worse the harder he fell for her. He'd been secretly leering at her for the past few minutes, despite their serious conversation. Her nipples showed through his shirt, the hem of which had ridden up high on her thighs.

"Okay!" To his surprise, Ga Eul seemed delighted by this revelation. "So then you understand. I just want you to fuck me, and I want you to do it this certain way. That's all this is. It's not that I think you don't love me unless you do this. I know you love me. And I'm not doing this to please you or anything. I know you're just trying to protect me, but please believe me when I say these are just fantasies. Even though I look like this, I have crazy fantasies like the next person. Probably crazier ones since I'm dating you. And I just wrote them out because I thought they would be fun." She took a deep breath. "But if you're too uncomfortable with all of it, I understand. I don't have to bring it up again. And if you still want me to try being on top sometime, I can do that later."

Turning away, Ga Eul leaned heavily against his side, and he cradled her head in the crook of his neck. She retreated into her shell, probably having said everything she wanted to say.

Rang considered her case.

On the one hand, her fantasies were certainly tempting; he'd love any excuse to treat her as his possession. On the other hand, it was hard to think about Ga Eul in the way he used to, before he knew all the things that made her laugh and cry. Before he'd made her laugh and cry.

In the beginning, he'd only cared about her comfort as a means to an end; he'd only meant to ensure she wouldn't leave him; when had he gotten so protective of her? Better yet, when had he begun to enjoy his protective role? He didn't even find her innocence annoying anymore. It was part of her charm. He liked teaching her things and watching her confidence grow. He liked how she smiled when she succeeded at something as simple as making him cum from a blowjob.

Rang screwed his face up. What was happening to him? He sounded like a proud human parent. How sickening.

He sighed.

Fuck it.

Bending over, Rang picked Ga Eul's list off the floor and scanned it again.

"You really like me being in control of you, don't you?" he commented lightly, unable to stop himself from smirking.

Ga Eul nodded.

"Foxes like making deals, so I'll compromise with you. You said you thought I could teach you this stuff like I teach you taekwondo, right?"

"Yes." She perked up and turned her face to his.

Rang studied her.

"What about this? We start with something small and work our way up, but there won't be any kidnapping or anything crazy. You're the student. I'm the teacher. Those are our roles. Understand? You have to learn the fundamentals first, and you have to learn how to communicate. Once I'm satisfied with your progress, you can move on. You can call me 'Sabumnim.'"

As he spoke, Ga Eul's eyes grew wide as saucers, and when he finished, she climbed on top of him and flung her arms around his neck.

"Thank you, thank you, Sabumnim! You won't regret this, I promise!"

"I'm already regretting it." Rang grimaced. "You better make damn sure you pay attention to what can kill you."

"I promise, I promise! You know"—Ga Eul leaned back to look him in the eyes—"you already flirt with me during taekwondo. You might as well teach me defense during sex." She smiled impishly.

"Like I said, I'm regretting this." Rang's own smile was pained. "Now, with my previous partners, there was usually some sort of power struggle, but eventually I would overtake them, and they would succumb. But I assume you don't want to fight me."

"Um, no. I was thinking more of a 'you can hypnotize me and do whatever you want to me' scenario. I wouldn't fight you at all."

"I won't hypnotize you," Rang stated firmly, "but I also won't make you fight me. You can be as submissive as you want, but you should be aware of what's happening to you at all times."

"Yes, Sabumnim." Ga Eul nodded. "So what am I going to learn first?"

"The most important thing, of course."

"What's that?"

"Your limits." He tapped her nose. "What you do and don't like. How much of something you can take."

"Oh, that makes sense...By the way, isn't there something you want?"

"Something I want?"

"Yes, something you want to do. Everything on my list is stuff that I want to do. I didn't mean to make it all about me," Ga Eul noted sheepishly. "Is there something else you want to try? Besides me being on top of you."

A few of Rang's more recent fantasies flew through his head. He didn't feel comfortable revealing them though; he barely felt comfortable having them.

"I think you've covered enough of my fantasies for now," he commented, grateful when Ga Eul accepted this explanation.

Surely, they would have enough excitement from now on that his newfound obsession with Ga Eul taking charge could be kept at bay for a while longer. Not that her being in his lap—on top of him again—aided him in that quest. It certainly didn't help when she pressed her body to his and shot him a wounded pout.

"You know, this whole time, I thought you went out with me because you liked me. You said so in your letter."

Rang chuckled; he breathed in the scent of her in his shirt.

"I did like you...but I mostly liked your ass. Don't be so naive." He slipped his hands underneath her ass and supported her by her hips. Fuck, he'd forgotten she was wearing a thong.

Ga Eul narrowed her eyes.

"Asshole."

"I still like your ass."

"Tch, you're an ass."

"Well, which am I? An ass or a hole in the ass? I can't be both."

"You are every part of the ass. If I looked up the word 'ass' in a dictionary, there would be a picture of your face." Ga Eul drew herself up in his lap, flushed and gorgeous with her tangled curls and smeared lipstick, and the look she gave him then could only be called 'superior,' and he liked her looking down her nose at him, even if he wouldn't admit it out loud.

Rang grinned.

"At least I'm not half of an ass."

Ga Eul visibly held back a laugh.

"No, you're not. You're definitely the whole package."