It was a Thursday, sticky and mean. The kind of southern summer day where the humidity crawls into your clothes and your soul. John Price, now infamous in select corners of the plushie, retail, and HFBoards universes, was running late for his shift at Dollar General.
His old 2004 Kia Sorento coughed to life in the parking lot of his low-rise apartment building, wheezing under the weight of two things: time and the sheer volume of plushies occupying its interior. From the dash to the backseat, every inch was occupied by polyester fur, beady eyes, and cartoon smiles. It was a fire hazard. It was also John’s
mobile sanctuary.
Strapped in next to him in the passenger seat, wearing a dollar-store Halloween hat and seatbelt was
Lee Joon-Hoomin, the prized Korean Moomin knockoff he’d fought for weeks to afford.
John didn’t just love Lee Joon-Hoomin. He
felt him.
And on this day, overwhelmed by stress, exhaustion, and the soothing aura of his plush companion, John made a
choice.
What Happened Next (According to the Police Report)
Deputy Ramirez had seen a lot during his 17 years in the field. Meth labs. Naked sunbathers. One guy tried to barbecue raccoons in a Walmart parking lot. But nothing prepared him for the sight of a 2004 Sorento doing 42 in a 25, swerving slightly between lanes on a quiet suburban road, while the
driver appeared to be engaged in… intimate behavior with what looked like a large stuffed hippo.
He pulled the vehicle over. Lights. Siren. The works.
When he approached the driver’s side, the smell hit first: Febreze, old McDonald’s fries, and something deeply synthetic.
Then he saw him.
John Price, red-faced, sweaty, and shirtless. Moomin plushie on his lap. Locked in what could only be described as a
moment.
“Sir…” Ramirez began, and then just stopped.
John froze like a raccoon in a fridge light.
“It’s not what it looks like,” he said.
“Then what the
hell is it?”
John hesitated. “Plushie-based meditation?”
The Arrest
He was arrested for
indecent exposure,
distracted driving, and
suspicion of being completely out of his damn mind.
The mugshot, posted hours later on local news, showed John wrapped in a Dollar General vest like a shawl, pouting slightly, arms crossed. In the corner of the frame, barely visible, was Lee Joon-Hoomin, now confiscated as evidence.
Back on HFBoards, someone posted the photo with the caption:
“Update: K-PuckFan88 arrested mid-game. Sources say it was a ‘plushie interference penalty.’”
It received 186 laughing reacts, 42 shocked reacts, and a 23-page thread debating whether this was finally the end of his credibility on KHL prospect threads.
Aftermath
Reggie fired him. “John,” he said, rubbing his temples, “you can’t be out there… getting sensual with stuffed animals while wearing our vest. People saw that vest.”
The plushie Discord temporarily banned him after he insisted his bond with Lee Joon-Hoomin was “platonic but complex.”
He spent two nights in jail. His cellmate, a guy in for unpaid parking tickets, asked no questions. Just quietly shifted as far away from him as the bunk allowed.
Epilogue
Back home, under court order to seek “therapy or at least some goddamn perspective,” John typed slowly into HFBoards:
“Banished from Dollar General, canceled by the plushie community, and slandered by local news. But mark my words: Lee Joon-Ho will make the KHL. And I will rise again.”
He attached a blurry selfie of himself holding Lee Joon-Hoomin, newly liberated from police evidence.
And somewhere, deep in the dark web of plushie fandom, a lone moderator whispered, “God help us. He’s posting again.”
And so he was.