Sohwa sat comfortably settled with a book, munching on fried rice cakes and dipping them leisurely into golden mountain honey. The evening was quiet, the pages crisp beneath her fingers—until a strange aroma caught her nose.
She looked up sharply.
_Sniff-sniff... What is this wonderful smell?_
The pungent, all-consuming scent immediately made her fox ears pop out atop her head, unbidden. Sohwa craned her neck and sniffed deeply, searching for the source of this magical fragrance.
It was coming from beyond the door.
Swallowing hard, she leaped up and reached for the handle. But just as her fingers brushed the wood, it swung open from the other side.
"Oh—!"
She barely had time to gasp before she found herself swept into Dohvi's arms. At the same moment, that dizzying scent flooded her senses, wrapping around her mind like a warm, intoxicating fog.
_This wonderful aroma... its source is Dohvi himself._
"Mmm..."
Her newly emerged tail began to sway traitorously from side to side as Sohwa gazed up at him with clouded eyes.
He didn't seem at all surprised by her reaction—only raised one eyebrow slightly.
"What a wonderful smell..."
_The scent of Dohvi! I want it to stay on me forever!_
Wrapping her arms around his waist, Sohwa buried her face in his hard chest and rubbed against him shamelessly, her fluffy tail swishing soft and slow before his eyes.
Dohvi noticed the fox tail—so different from his own tiger's—and watched it with quiet amusement before asking calmly:
"Have you finished your rice cakes?"
"Mmm..."
Sohwa could no longer answer coherently.
Dohvi glanced past her and noted that half the fried rice cakes had vanished, and the rare mountain honey was long gone. A grin tugged at his lips as he began clearing away the plates and scattered books with his free hand.
As he moved around the room, Sohwa clung tenaciously to his belt like a cicada gripping a tree trunk. Then she began to slowly climb up his back, rubbing her cheek against the curve of his neck and whispering:
"Dohvi... you're the best... I adore Dohvi..."
His hands froze mid-motion.
His heart stuttered at that gentle, languid voice—so soft it seemed to melt directly into his ears. Although he had expected something like this, experiencing it in reality was something else entirely. Thrilling. Almost unbearable.
"You are mine..." she murmured against his skin. "Dohvi, you are all mine..."
Sohwa rubbed herself against his face, then began to gently lick his ear and the side of his neck. Her movements weren't explicitly seductive, but they were more than enough to send heat rushing through his veins.
"Come here."
Dohvi turned and wrapped one arm tightly around her—but at that exact moment, Sohwa seemed to dissolve into thin air, and only a small white fox remained in his palms.
"...Damn."
A long, heavy sigh escaped his lips.
He had known perfectly well what this might lead to. That was precisely why he hadn't rubbed the catnip directly onto his skin—he'd been terrified Sohwa would transform instantly into a fox the moment she caught the scent. Instead, he had poured only a small amount of the infusion into his bathwater and soaked in it.
_A very weak concentration... I was afraid there would be no reaction at all, but..._
"Mrrr... I adore Dohvi! You're **mine**!"
The white fox's jet-black paws twitched wildly with excitement. As soon as Dohvi loosened his grip even slightly, she scrambled nimbly up his arm, perched on his shoulder, and rubbed her small muzzle against his face with frantic affection.
"Dohvi! You're the best!"
Sohwa kept licking his lips and chin, and Dohvi could only respond with a bitter smile.
_That's it, then. There will be no mating tonight._
He resigned himself to his fate and made the bed with careful, unhurried movements. Of course, he placed only one pillow.
"Eh..."
Another heavy, deep sigh escaped him as he lay down on the silk sheet.
The fox who had just been licking his face now buried her cold nose in the crook of his neck and wriggled beneath his shirt, rolling across his broad chest like a spinning top gone mad with joy.
Her tiny claws dug into his skin, pricking and scratching, but Dohvi didn't show any sign of discomfort.
_Everything that's happening is my own fault._
He pulled off his shirt so that Sohwa could freely enjoy his scent without obstruction. The fox immediately began hopping around happily on his taut stomach, snorting with contentment.
"Dohvi! I love you! Your smell! **Wonderful** smell!"
She leaped lightly on her slender legs and landed with a soft thump, her black tail wagging playfully. Her dark ears looked especially striking against her snow-white body—those big, twitching ears that seemed impossibly endearing.
A satisfied smile spread across Dohvi's face. Sohwa's human form was beautiful and charming, yes—but she was just as lovely in her fox form.
Dohvi ran his hand gently over her body, starting from the crown of her head and trailing all the way down to the tip of her tail. The softness of her fur was reminiscent of the finest silk.
_How beautiful she is... Where else in this world could I ever find such a fox?_
Sohwa, having exhausted her initial burst of excitement, gradually quieted down. After pacing restlessly across his chest for a while longer, she finally curled into a tight ball and closed her eyes.
_I caused all this commotion... of course she's tired now._
With her muzzle buried deep in her own fur, she looked like nothing more than a real fluffy ball—white and black, impossibly soft. Her fur was so silken that Dohvi found he couldn't bring himself to lift his hand away.
"If it's good for you," he said quietly, barely above a whisper, "then it's good for me too."
While he stroked her with gentle, rhythmic motions, Sohwa fell asleep purring—a soft, contented rumble vibrating against his chest.
_There really is a special charm to winter nights like these._
Dohvi smiled in the darkness and closed his eyes.
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