44. Polar Night

44. Polar Night

Does Sister know something about Seol-gu’s gender?

I tilted my head and asked. Sister paused for a moment before answering.

“Sister is only guessing too….”

“Guessing?”

“Yes.”

I’ve often seen Sister trail off like this. And every time, Sister never told me anything.

Even if I pestered her, she would just evade me by saying, ‘I’ll tell you when Seol-ah is older.’

She’ll definitely do the same this time. She’ll ask me about Seol-gu’s gender, amplify my curiosity, and then not resolve it.

She’ll beat around the bush and eventually try to distract me by saying, ‘Seol-ah, do you want to eat ice fruit?’ Then I’ll be unable to resist the temptation and fall for it!

I understand that there are adult reasons, but the situation where things never reach a resolution only builds up frustration in my heart.

“Seol-ah… how much do you know about arctic foxes?”

However, contrary to my expectations, Sister began to answer me. I didn’t expect Sister to answer.

To the somewhat surprising result, I stiffened with my tail perked up.

Ah, no. Now is not the time. I answered Sister.

“Arctic foxes are… um… small. And their fur is fluffy and soft, their ears are small, but their tails are huge. Oh, and they use magic!”

I brought up Seol-gu’s 3D model in my mind and described his appearance. Seol-gu is fluffy and cute. He looks like a young arctic wolf made twice as cute.

“Magic?”

“Yes! They sense danger in advance, and when I was hurt, they shone brightly and healed me!”

I expounded on Seol-gu’s abilities. Perhaps it was because I was talking about a close friend, my tail wagged involuntarily with excitement.

I chattered on about Seol-gu’s actions for a very long time, and during that time, Sister listened intently, focusing deeply on every word I said.

The fact that Sister was listening to me felt good in itself. I even took out a transparent stone from my tail and continued to chatter away.

As I chattered on, it was finally time to talk about the last time I met Seol-gu. After explaining about saying goodbye before the polar night, Sister smiled and stroked my head.

I smiled sheepishly and said.

“Give me a kiss too!”

“Okay.”

Sister kissed my cheek.

My tail wagged on its own. Fur fluttered. The moment I saw that sight, I froze, but Sister said nothing. I was worried she might make me wear a tail cover, but it seems okay for now.

“Seol-ah, you’ve become really close with Seol-gu.”

“Yes!”

Who would have thought that I, born as a wolf, would become friends with a fox? I never imagined it myself. Sister continued.

“Do you know anything else?”

“Anything else… um… Ah, Seol-gu has no friends other than me.”

“No friends?”

“Yes. I asked Seol-gu, and he said he had no other arctic fox friends… He must be lonely. I should be with him, but I can’t go outside right now….”

Moreover, Seol-gu has no mother, no father, no other family. I don’t know the lifespan of arctic foxes, but it’s clear that he must have wandered the snowfields alone for a long time.

Leaving Seol-gu alone like that, I am truly a bad wolf.

“Kkang….”

“That’s not true. Seol-ah is a good child for thinking of Seol-gu, right? It’s just… unavoidable right now.”

“Yes….”

Sister comforted me by hugging me tightly. My heart felt much lighter.

After a moment, Sister lifted me and sat me on her lap. Then, she slowly opened her mouth.

“Seol-ah, Seol-gu might….”

“Might…?”

I focused on Sister’s lips with anticipation. They were a pretty pink.

“He might be a special fox who helps Seol-ah.”

“Me?”

I asked, wagging my tail. Sister nodded affirmatively.

“Yes. He came all the way to our house to help Seol-ah.”

“Really…?”

I thought hard. Seol-gu, a special fox who helps me, that clumsy, foolishly smiling ball of fur? Even if he’s a magic fox who uses magic….

Hmm, I don’t think so. I shook my head in denial.

“No, Sister. I’m the one helping Seol-gu.”

“Ugh?”

“Because Seol-gu is a fox, and all foxes are fools. I, a wolf, must help him.”

Based on my observations of foxes so far, 100% of the specimens were fools. Therefore, all foxes must be fools. Of course, Seol-gu is the only specimen!

“All foxes are fools?”

“Yes!”

“Really?”

“Yes!”

After hearing my answer, Sister seemed to be trying to suppress a laugh. Her lips twitched, which bothered me so much that I reached out and grabbed Sister’s lips tightly.

“Mmph.”

“Pffft.”

Seeing Sister unable to open her mouth and muffling sounds, I burst into laughter. Unable to hold back, I giggled and removed my hand from Sister’s lips.

After I calmed down a bit, Sister said.

“Anyway, Seol-gu might be a special child. So, how about… Seol-ah, why don’t we look for Seol-gu’s friends together?”

“Seol-gu’s friends?”

But Seol-gu has no friends. At least, Seol-gu is likely the only arctic fox around here. Moreover, he himself said he doesn’t know any other foxes, so will we find foxes that don’t exist just by looking?

Sister stroked my head once and answered.

“Yes. Of course, there might not be any foxes other than Seol-gu, but if there are… we could make Seol-gu have other friends.”

“Hmm….”

A true wolf doesn’t turn away from a friend in need and helps them. If we can find Seol-gu’s friends, Seol-gu would surely be very happy.

“Huk….”

Then, will the fluffy balls of fur around me increase? If that happens, the rarity of my fluffy tail might decrease…!

“Umm….”

But even so, refusing Sister’s suggestion wouldn’t be right. No matter how important my giant tail is to my identity, I can’t abandon a friend.

“Kkang….”

I buried my body in my tail and let out a deep sigh. This makes me feel a bit hungry, like I want something to chew on. I should have saved some of the strawberries from earlier; it was a big mistake.

“Hmm….”

If I look carefully, maybe there are other fruits at home? It would be good to ask Sister. Now, if I turn around and ask Sister….

“Huuuk…!”

No, my thoughts shouldn’t stray. Isn’t this an important moment to think about Seol-gu’s future! I shouldn’t be distracted by food like a child.

“Sister, just one more strawberry….”

“Yes.”

But I ultimately succumbed to my intense appetite. Sister brought a few more strawberries from the storage room, and as the sweet and sour juice filled my mouth, I was able to think with a much better mood.

I nodded towards Sister!

“Let’s go find Seol-gu’s friends!”

“Okay.”

Sister gave me a gentle smile.

——

“Kkang.”

Regardless of the magnificent decision I made, my daily life remained unchanged. It was still dark outside, and I couldn’t find foxes just by staying at home.

Sister seemed to be busy with documents, but I had nothing to do. All I could do was occasionally answer the questions Sister asked.

Time was just passing by endlessly.

I sat on Dad’s sofa in a haughty pose. I stretched out my legs, raised my tail high, and crossed my arms. But this leader game didn’t last long.

It was boring because there was no one to play with. Sister, Dad, and Mom were all in their own rooms.

I had already played with all the toys Sister brought, so I was bored. I had drawn so much that one wall of my room was completely filled, and it was difficult to deal with.

The new fruits were also long gone. Unlike ice fruit, they were not fruits adapted to the northern environment, so I had to eat them quickly before they spoiled.

In conclusion, I was very bored.

“Kkaaaeng.”

I expressed my boredom by spinning around on the sofa. When I got tired of that, I ran around the living room once, and I even danced and sang.

But time doesn’t pass.

“Stone!”

It’s fun to look at the always transparent and sparkling stone for a day or two. I cleaned the stone thoroughly and put it back in my tail.

“Ball!”

Sometimes I threw myself onto the giant rubber ball. The ball’s elasticity would bounce me away, and it was definitely fun to skillfully control my landing point to land on the bed.

However, the problem was that, according to Newton’s third law, the elasticity also pushed the rubber ball away. After it once made a mess of my room, I decided not to use the rubber ball for such purposes.

“Seol-gu-ya….”

In the end, all that was left was an overwhelming amount of time.

The polar night is for a month. Only half a month has passed, and there’s still another half a month to wait. Good heavens, I have to wait as long as I’ve already waited. Unbelievable!

“Raaaang Seol-gu-uuuu….”

I called Seol-gu’s name with a vibrato. Even if I do this, the foolish fox probably won’t come-

“Kkang!”

“Huh?”

At that moment, I heard Seol-gu’s voice from outside the window.