Seoul Kitchen: Chapter 33 (Patreon)

A Fox Asking For An Opinion

While chatting over coffee was relaxing, that wasn't why Kiwi came over. He still had an inbox that needed sorting and Kiwi had other things to do, job she needed done. Sitting by her side, he watched as the deluge of messages sorted itself out. Glancing to the edgerunner beside him as her eyes flashed with the streams of data, he was quickly reminded that she wasn't just a mere merc but a netrunner.

Connected to her through a cable, the barrier between the two was as thin as can get. For all intents and purpose, she had his life at the palm of his hands. One little stray daemon, one virus and he could die… but strangely enough, he didn't feel afraid. He was probably too trusting but he liked to believe she was a good friend. She did came over to help him with his tech problem.

By his expectations, and with the sheer amount of spam he received, it should be done in an hour or so he thought. "Done," the woman told him as she reached out and unplugged the cable to his neck. Not even ten minutes had passed and it was already over.

"Wait, just like that?" He asked in disbelief but the tidy inbox spoke for themselves; the messages were all sorted out. He knew it wasn't flashy and was definitely faster than he expected but still. Was he expecting a bit too much?

The woman smirked at the disappointed look over his face as she all to happily answered, "Yup," Patting him on the back, she then told him, "It wasn't as bad I thought it be to be honest," At least things calmed down.

He then blinked as a pixilated chibi Kiwi, with fox tail and all," waved at him from one of the folders in his inbox. "Made a bot to filter out the fanmails, phishing attempts and the likes. You can delete it later if you want," Seeing the chibi curl up and nap however, he was reminded on clippy. Maybe he can keep this one.

"Next time, get yourself another email or get professional help with hiring. HR companies are a thing," The woman lectured her as she grabbed her fourth cup of Macchiato. She really loved the idea of having unlimited coffee along with her free meals. It really wasn't an issue as he loved his friends happy… but maybe that's a bit too much coffee.

Narrowing her eyes at his worried glance, she pulled her coffee a bit closer to her chest. Snorting, he then nodded, "Yeah, I really should have done that," yet he didn't. Shoulders slumping, he admitted, "I thought I could save a few eddies by handling it myself but as you already saw…"

"Not really your fault to be honest," Kiwi replied as she reached for her pockets and pulled out a cigarette. Slipping it into one her vent's, she lit it before letting out a puff. Gazing up to the tower at the distance, she muttered, "They really gouge you on the prices with their package but they do get the job done."

As greedy as corporations were, they still provided their service. Now, if only they didn't charge people so much, maybe he'd like them a bit more. "Speaking off prices…" He trailed off as he glanced over nervously to Kiwi, "How much do I owe you?"

The netrunner returned the gaze with a deadpanned look as she grumbled, "... You're thinking that I'm gonna charge you an arm and leg, aren't you?"
Averting his gaze, he felt his cheeks heat up as he apologized, "... Sorry," He might consider her his friend but she did have a reputation.

Letting out a groan, she then reached before massaging her temples, "Remind me to punch Becca later," The woman gritted out as he gave her a pat on the back. He was definitely telling Bee to run for the hills. As he turned her attention back at him, he saw the her eyes lit up ans she fired out, "Besides, it's not like you can pay my rates even if you wanted to."

He narrowed his eyes as he glared back at the woman but he knew a bait when he saw one. Not even her wagging eye brow could break his resolve. It still hurts for him to get called poor though. As he nursed his bruised ego, she then asked him, "What I'm after is more of favor… or rather an opinion."

That had him pausing as he looked at her, "Oh?" Shifting his seat so that he was now facing her, he answered, "Sure I suppose? I'm not really sure how I can help but I'm more than happy to do so," Now he wondered what she wanted that meant giving up a favor.

Glancing around, she replied, "Not here," before gesturing inside his half closed Kitchen. Fidgeting in her seat as she blushed, she then added, "Please…"

He opened his mouth as he felt his cheeks heat up before an annoyed glared had them closing shut. Taking a deep breath, he then nodded. It's probably something innocent or silly, he told himself as he led them inside his shop.

Closing the shutters behind them, he then walked over before leaning against the wall. "So, what's this you wanted to talk about?" He asked, curious a what she wanted.

Looking back at the shutter, she then sighed as she slowly reached up for her hood. Clutching the hem, she paused for a moment before she pulled them down revealing her pale blonde hair and a pair of fox ears laying flat to the side of her head. He found himself staring as she took off her coat revealing a long fluffy fox tail.

Setting her coat aside and clutching her tail, she then asked, "S-so, how bad is it?"

He stood there for a few minutes, surprised at what he saw. As his mind finally caught up to what he saw, he had only two words to express his thoughts, "Oh wow," he whispered in awe as his eyes were drawn to the realistic animal parts. He knew exotics were a thing but seeing them was another thing entirely.

"God damn it, I knew I should have gotten rid of these!" She cursed as she sat down and covered her face, "I look fucking ridiculous!"

"What? No!" He called out as he reached out before flinching away at her heated glare. Raising a hand in appeasement, he then told her, "No seriously, they do! It actually looks cute," But she still held a disbelieving look on her face. Smiling back, he then grabbed a chair before sitting down beside her as he asked, "Now do I look like the type that'd lie to you?"

She looked away, glancing down on her lap as they sat in silence. "But if you're thinking of getting rid of them, I suppose it wouldn't hurt," He mused out loud before sighing, "Still, it's shame then cause those ears really look good on you."

Looking back at him, the net runner asked hesitantly as her ears perked up, "Really?"

He nodded back as he assured her, "It really does," He wasn't even lying when he told her this. He couldn't quite explain why but the fox ears suited her well. Looking up at the tail as it wagged happily, "Must have cost a fortune to have them installed. Biomods or Chrome?"

"Biomods," She answered before she added, "And not really. I actually got them at a bargain from a friend of mine," Taking a good long drag from her cigarette, she then sighed as she scratched her head.

"I'm not really sure what convinced me to get them," She admitted as she propped her elbow on her thigh and rested her chin against her palm, "I mean, your edit was stupid and all.. But it was cute and my drunkass self thought it'd be funny to have them on."

"One phone call later and next thing I knew, I had these, tail and all," he then said before slumping over and letting out a pained groan, "Fuck… why…"

He gave her a comforting pat as they sat there in silence. Glancing over at her exotic features, he paused before prodding the edgerunner, "Hey Kiwi."

Looking up at him with a defeated look on her face, she asked, "Yeah?"

"Mind if I touch them?" He asked back as Kiwi gave him a look. Flustered, he quickly defended himself, "They just look all fluffy and soft and I was curious if they'd feel the same," A bit childish of a reason yes, but they just looked so cool.

Grumbling for a bit, Kiwi then relented as she waved him off, "Fine," Sitting up straight, her tail stood in attention as she closed her eyes, "Lucy already had fun with them so why not?" Cracking an eye open, she then warned him, "Just… be gentle. They're still sensitive."

"Got it," He nodded as he gulped. Slowly, he reached out as Kiwi blushed. She let out an adorable squeak as his rough hands felt her ears. Tensing under his hold, he found himself in awe as he felt the fluff under his fingers, "They're far softer than I expected."

"Y-yeah," Kiwi whispered out as he found himself drawn in the softness of her ears. It was utterly unbelieve; it was as if he was touching a doll. Slowly, he felt her silken hair and marveled at the smooth transition.

"I can't even feel where it starts or ends," He whispered as he kept touching her, petting her even. Still, she remained quite even as he face turned an interesting shade of red. Emboldened, he found himself exploring her reaching for her tail, "Now I wonder…"

As soon as he grabbed it however, he felt her tense up before she let out the most lurid of moan. He froze as she reached up, clamping her palm over her mouth. Slowly, he pulled away as an awkward silence descended between them, "I'm going to take my hands off you now…"

Fidgeting in his seat, he glanced as both of them refused to meet each others gaze. Coughing, he apologized, "I'm sorry,"

Stiffly, she nodded as she gritted out, "Tell anyone about this and I swear I'll stab you," Her command brooked no argument. He was going to take this secret to the grave… or maybe he could share the memory to Becca, "Don't think about it!" She hissed out as if reading his mind.

Quickly nodding, he quickly assured her he had no such intentions. Yup, he was never going to speak about this ever again.

A/N:

It took me nearly 30 chapters but finally, Fox Kiwi is a thing. Rejoice and be at awe for Kiwi is now a Kitsune Exotic.