21. Snow Wolf

21. Snow Wolf

In my dream, I was a magnificent wolf.

My home was a large house standing as high as the sky on the vast snowfield. I lived on the highest floor, Sister lived below me, and Dad and Mom lived below that.

Of course, there was also a room for my future sibling, whose arrival date was unknown. From one end to the other, there were a hundred of them.

“Hoo hoo….”

In the front yard, there was a small house. It was for a pet. And what is a pet, you ask? Without a doubt, it’s that foolish Arctic fox.

When I approached, the fox poked its head out with a “Kkang.” Wagging its big, fluffy tail, the fox ran towards me, and I, with an adult demeanor, picked it up and took care of it.

The fox was about my size when I was young. Now, I am much bigger.

As I carried the fox in my arms towards the house, I saw the sparkling transparent stone proudly displayed in the hallway. It was the stone I had designated as a family heirloom.

I smiled with satisfaction as I looked at it. I never got tired of looking at it….

“Huh…?!”

The fox jumped out of my arms and snatched the stone. The fox wagged its tail once, looked at me, and then… started running!

“Th-that’s mine!”

How can you take it back after giving it to me!

I quickly moved my feet. I ran down the hallway. The rooms for my siblings flashed by, and I ran out the back door, running and running and running, and then jumped into the snowfield to catch the fox!!

“Kkang!!”

… My head hurts.

If I had jumped into the snowfield, it wouldn’t hurt like this.

Blink, blink. As I blinked my eyes open and looked around, the snowfield was gone, and all I could see was my room, upside down. There was no large house I had built, nor my tall and dignified self. All that was there was me, with my head stuck in the floor.

“Hing….”

“Seol-ah, are you okay?”

“Yes.”

For some reason, Sister, who was in my room in the morning, looked at me falling from the bed and worried. But her words were just words; her twitching lips and suppressed laughter were clearly visible.

Good heavens, a wolf that talks in its sleep and falls out of bed. What kind of foolish wolf is that? It’s truly lamentable.

I covered my face with my tail. I was embarrassed.

“Seol-ah, what did you dream about?”

“A dream about running….”

“Did you run enjoyably?”

“Mmm….”

Sister spoke in a soft tone and stroked my head. I didn’t like Sister’s petting, as she still thought of me as a child, but my tail, unaware of my feelings, wagged left and right happily.

“I-I want to eat!”

“You have to brush your tail before you go.”

Unable to bear the embarrassment, I hurried out of the room, but my tail was caught with a whimper.

——

After the wolf-like combat eating, I sat on the sofa, patting my round, full belly with my hand. It made a hollow sound.

Sister sat next to me and said.

“Aren’t you eating too much?”

“No, I have to eat this much to grow as tall as you!”

“Ahaha….”

It’s a shame that I can’t eat any more than this due to my stomach’s limitations, even though I should eat much more. I suddenly remembered the giant piece of meat left over from Uncle Polar Bear’s house. If I had eaten all of that, I would have surely grown over a centimeter that day, what a waste.

After a moment of fiddling with a stone while waiting for my stomach to settle, I turned my head and looked out the window. The weather was quite nice. The wind was calm, and the snow was falling lightly, perfect weather for playing outside.

Okay, then this time, I’ll really try to build a giant snow wolf. Using my previous experience, I’ll build it incredibly large. So large that I can’t see it all even when I raise my head!

“Seol-ah, where are you going?”

“Outside!”

As I was dressing warmly to build the magnificent snow wolf, Sister suddenly blocked my path.

Since there was nothing to prick me, I confidently replied that I was going outside.

“Shall we go together?”

“Yes!”

My original plan was to surprise Sister by showing her the completed snow wolf, but it wouldn’t be a big problem even if Sister watched the creation process. After all, whoever saw it would be surprised.

However, it was a little disappointing that if Sister came with me, I wouldn’t be able to meet the fox. That fox only appears when I’m alone.

I was thinking of asking it about the stone’s identity if I met it… well, it couldn’t be helped.

As soon as I stepped outside, the cold wind swept across my face. But it couldn’t penetrate my thickly worn coat. I happily started rolling snow to create the super-sized snowball that would become part of the snow wolf.

Fortunately, warm and soft snowflakes were falling from the sky. The snowflakes made it very easy to create snowballs, and the snowball I rolled began to grow at an incredible speed.

The snowball surpassed my torso and soon reached the size of my tail. But I, strong and powerful, can easily move a snowball as big as myself.

“Be careful not to get crushed. Okay?”

“Yes!”

I heard Sister’s worried voice from above. It’s strange. I’m stuck to the snowball, so why is Sister’s voice coming from above? Anyway, wanting to test my limits, I continued to push the snowball.

Now it’s a size that can’t even be compared to my body. From beneath the snowball, which had grown as tall as Sister, I turned back and boasted to Sister.

“Sister, look! I can push something this big too?!”

“Really? That’s amazing.”

“Sister?! When did you start pushing?!”

I was startled and looked up. I thought I was pushing the snowball alone, but it turned out Sister’s hands were pushing it together. It wasn’t that I could push it because I was strong. Tears welled up in my eyes as I learned the truth.

“… J-just now! Seol-ah made almost all of the snowman, and I was just helping a little because I was worried Seol-ah might get hurt while showing off. Really.”

“Really…?”

“Of course! Wow, our Seol-ah is amazing. Seol-ah pushes snowballs that are hard for even Sister to push so easily!”

Clapping echoed. They say if you cry and then laugh, you’ll grow hair on your butt, but I couldn’t help but smile at the praise.

I, who easily push snowballs that even Sister struggles with… I’m so cool!

Perhaps I’ve found a new talent in addition to drawing. I quickly started making and rolling new snowballs. If I make more snowballs, Sister will be even more impressed.

“Eek!”

The faster I run, the bigger the snowball gets. For some reason, it seemed like the snowball would return to me even if I lost speed and missed it, but anyway, I kept running.

“Wow, Seol-ah, you’re really amazing!”

“Hoo hoo!”

Soon, the snowballs filled the front yard of our house. Sister clapped for me from above. My pride soared to the heavens.

Now, I should do what I intended to do.

I hugged the snowball with all my might and started grunting.

“S-Seol-ah? What are you doing?”

“I’m going to… lift this… and put it over there…!”

This giant snowball that amazed Sister is only a part of what I intend to make. My goal is something bigger and grander. A super-super-super-giant snow wolf made by combining these snowballs!

To do that, of course, I have to stack snowballs on top of snowballs. It’s by no means an easy task, but since I can push this large snowball, I should be able to lift it too.

“Grrr!”

“Seol-ah, there’s no need to do that, is there? It’s already big enough….”

“No, it needs to be bigger…!”

The snowball shook unstably. Sister looked at me beneath it with worried eyes, but there’s no need to worry. I am a strong and powerful wolf.

But it’s still not easy. Is it because there’s a huge difference between pushing and lifting? The snowball just wobbled and showed no sign of rising into the sky.

“Eeeek!”

“Seol-ah!”

Sister tried to stop me. But I can’t give up here. I will definitely create a super-super-super-super-super-giant snow wolf and receive everyone’s admiration!

Rang Seol-ah, the great sculptor, is creating a work that will go down in history here…!

“Uh, uh!”

“Seol-ah!”

In my haste, I repeatedly shook the snowball back and forth, and cracks began to appear in it. Snowflakes fell, obscuring my vision, and when I shook my face to regain my sight, the cracks were growing larger.

The snowball vibrated… growing larger like a crevasse forming in a glacier….

“Kkang!”

The snow fell on me.

——

“I wanted to make a really big snow wolf….”

“Don’t do anything dangerous from now on. Okay?”

“Yes….”

Kkae, kkaeng! I coughed. Fortunately, Sister’s quick action saved me, but the aftereffects of being trapped under the heavy snow were significant.

Even with Sister’s coat covering me, my body trembled. Is the dream of the great sculptor Rang Seol-ah thus frustrated? Oh, how tragic, the world abandons me!

“Shall we make it together instead?”

A ray of light shone upon me. I forgot about sneezing and sat up abruptly, nodding my head vigorously.

“Yes!!!”

“Then, let’s make it small this time so it’s not dangerous. Even if we make it that way, it will be perfectly magnificent and beautiful. Right?”

Although I desperately wanted to make something big, I had no choice. As Sister said, a small snow wolf would be pretty too. So, let’s adjust the plan a bit. Instead of making a small sculpture, let’s make a snow wolf family.

Father wolf, Mother wolf, Sister wolf, and me.

Since I will also grow as tall as Sister later, let’s make them similar in size. Okay, the plan is set, so all that’s left is to make it. Together with Sister, I began to sculpt the snow wolves.

That day, next to our house, stood four dignified snow wolves, side by side.