64. Errand

64. Errand

“Kkang.”

“That’s….”

The moment Uncle met Seol-gu for the first time. Uncle’s eyes widened.

I… honestly thought Seol-gu would disappear before Uncle appeared. I thought that if I turned my head back to Seol-gu after looking at Uncle, Seol-gu would have vanished without a trace.

Perhaps it was because I was holding Seol-gu tightly, or perhaps it was simply because Seol-gu didn’t avoid Uncle.

The possibility that Seol-gu didn’t know Uncle was coming briefly crossed my mind. It seemed unlikely that Seol-gu, who could sense the dangers of the North Pole, wouldn’t notice Uncle approaching, but seeing him stick out his tongue and wag his tail foolishly made it seem plausible.

“Is this Seol-gu?”

“Yes.”

Uncle strode over and came next to me. Then, he bent his knees and looked down at Seol-gu. Uncle was so large that his shadow completely covered both Seol-gu and me.

I felt a slight sense of intimidation.

“D-don’t eat Seol-gu…!”

Fearing that Uncle might mistake Seol-gu for prey, I hugged Seol-gu tightly and squeezed my eyes shut.

“Why would I eat him? He looks like he wouldn’t even be edible.”

“Eeeh….”

Instead of eating Seol-gu with a “Kuaaang,” Uncle reached out and began to vigorously stroke Seol-gu’s fur.

He doesn’t eat him because he’s not edible.

It was true, but how should I put it? Wasn’t it an insult to his pride as potential prey?

Seol-gu’s size isn’t that small at first glance. It gets even bigger when you include his super-sized, fluffy tail. However, most of this size is taken up by his long, soft fur, so his actual body is quite small.

Considering that he has inedible parts like bones inside his body, the amount of calories one could get from eating Seol-gu was unimaginably low.

And what about the difficulty of hunting? Catching Seol-gu, who moves with the quickness characteristic of a fox, is not easy even for me, a wolf. If I were to seriously try to catch him, I might succeed eventually, but if all I got was a ball of white fur that’s not edible, it would be a huge waste.

When you put it that way, Uncle’s words were quite reasonable. But somehow, I didn’t feel comfortable. It felt like he was demeaning polar foxes.

Why would I, a wolf, react to a statement demeaning a fox? I don’t know either. Perhaps it’s because Seol-gu is my precious friend and pet.

I guess I want to defend Seol-gu as much as possible. I wanted to restore his dignity as potential prey.

So, I shouted at Uncle, who was stroking Seol-gu.

“O-our Seol-gu, he might not have much on him, but he tastes good!”

“Have you eaten him?”

“No….”

I failed. I couldn’t restore Seol-gu’s pride.

If I had eaten Seol-gu earlier, I could have refuted Uncle’s words. But I had never put Seol-gu in my mouth and “waralala-ed” him before. Of course, I didn’t know if Seol-gu tasted good or not.

I’m sorry, Seol-gu!

Next time, I’ll have to try putting at least Seol-gu’s tail in my mouth beforehand.

Anyway.

“Uncle, you shouldn’t touch Seol-gu’s body like that…!”

Separate from proving that Seol-gu is not edible, I wanted to separate Seol-gu from Uncle.

Because Seol-gu is very shy.

Seol-gu, who gets scared whenever he sees a polar wolf, wouldn’t be afraid of Uncle, even if he’s a polar bear. He might even get scared by his immense size and start crying “waaah.”

That wouldn’t do, no.

It’s my fault that Seol-gu couldn’t escape from Uncle because I was holding him. So, I have to help Seol-gu.

That’s what I thought when I said it, but….

“Kkang.”

“He’s quite round and cute.”

“Huh…?”

For some reason, Seol-gu wasn’t scared at all and was happily accepting Uncle’s rough petting.

This is a completely unexpected situation.

If it were the Seol-gu I know, as Uncle approached, he would have bristled his tail, trembled, and cried “Kkang kkang” asking for my help.

Even looking again, and again, Seol-gu and Uncle seemed to be getting along very well. Anyone who saw them might mistake them for having known each other for a long time.

“S-Seol-gu…?”

“Kkae-aeng….”

Seol-gu licked Uncle’s hand with a happy expression. Then, he playfully nudged Uncle with his tail, showing that he didn’t dislike Uncle at all. He even seemed to enjoy playing with Uncle.

“Unbelievable…!”

My, my Seol-gu…!

… Although it was a bit shocking, it wasn’t really a big deal. What’s wrong with Seol-gu being friendly with my acquaintances?

I slapped my cheeks and regained my composure.

“Seol-gu, why did you suddenly come to me?”

“Kkang!”

Seol-gu was definitely at home when I went out for the errand. But now that he’s here, looking for me, it must mean he has something he wants from me.

Perhaps he just wanted to play.

“Kkang kkang! Kkang, kkang kkang!”

“Really…?”

I exclaimed with a surprised expression. Then Uncle asked.

“Can you understand what he’s saying? To me, it just sounds like ‘Kkang kkang’.”

“Me too!”

Of course, it sounds like “Kkang kkang” to me too. I’m not a fox, how could I understand Seol-gu’s words?

“Then what is it?”

“I was just pretending to be surprised.”

I grinned and touched my mouth with my hand. It was a pose that made me want to say “So cheesy♡.”

Then Uncle playfully bonked me on the head.

“You’re annoying, kid.”

“Kkang….”

It hurts.

It was a bonk with no mercy. Given the size difference between Uncle and me, was it okay to hit me with such sincerity?

Woo woo.

This wicked bear, giving his all against a child!

I silently protested against Uncle in my heart. It was at that moment that Seol-gu tugged on my tail.

“Kkang kkang, kkang!”

“Yeah, why? Are you telling me to follow you?”

“Kkang.”

What could possibly be happening?

I can now understand a little why Sister wanted to teach Seol-gu to write. Because all day long he just cries “Kkang kkang” and I have no idea what he’s saying.

“Kkiiing.”

“Okay, okay! I’m coming!”

When I stayed still, Seol-gu started pulling my tail. I thought, ‘How much can a fox pulling a tail hurt?’ but it was unexpectedly painful, so I quickly surrendered and stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“Kkang kkang.”

“Over there? Got it.”

Seol-gu lifted one paw and pointed in that direction. I couldn’t see anything special from here, but perhaps there was something only Seol-gu could sense. Like the mechanical earthworms.

As I started to get ready to leave, Uncle asked.

“What is it? Explain it before you go.”

“Seol-gu wants to go over there. Do you want to come too, Uncle?”

“Why?”

“I don’t know why!”

How can I guess the thoughts of a non-verbal polar fox? All I can do is do what Seol-gu asks.

I pulled Uncle’s hand, and he reluctantly followed behind me. I followed Seol-gu, who was leading the way, so we moved forward like a train composed of Seol-gu, me, and Uncle.

“This place is….”

Following Seol-gu, we arrived at the ice lake where Uncle and I had gone fishing before.

At that time, due to the laser beam attack from the mechanical eel… or worm, there was a huge hole in the middle of the lake, but now, a month later, it was covered with ice as usual.

However, as if the scars hadn’t completely disappeared, the ice where the laser beam had hit looked relatively thin and weak.

Crunch, crunch.

When I lightly tapped that spot with my toes, I could vividly feel how weak the ice was.

I seem to be safely within the safety line… but Uncle Polar Bear, being so heavy, would fall right through as soon as he stepped on it.

Uncle looked around and said.

“So, why did we come here?”

“I’m going to find out now. Seol-gu!”

I called out to Seol-gu. Seol-gu was standing precariously on the weak ice, his legs spread wide and trembling because the ground was slippery.

Seeing Seol-gu’s thin legs trembling, I felt a little sorry for him.

The ice made a “crack-crack” sound whenever Seol-gu tried to adjust his posture.

Finally, Seol-gu looked back at me.

His face was begging for help.

… Sigh, this is why foxes are no good. Why are you going onto the ice when you know it’s weak? You should just stand in a safe place like me.

“You idiot. Why are you standing there?”

I approached Seol-gu. Then, I scooped Seol-gu up.

“Kkang kkang!”

“Yes, yes, don’t worry, I’m here!”

I confidently patted my chest.

Then, a “crack-crack” sound echoed from below.

“Uh….”

I subtly put force into my feet that were on the ground. Then, a loud “crack-crack” sound echoed. When I put force into my other foot, a similarly precarious sound was heard.

“Just a moment….”

What did I say earlier?

Did I say I was barely within the safety line?

In a state of being precariously balanced on the edge, what would happen if the weight of one fox were added?

“Kkae, kkae-aeng….”

My legs trembled. My tail stood on end.

“Oh, Uncle!!!”

I cried and asked Uncle for help.