47. Polar Night

47. Polar Night

“Seol-gu!”

I arrived at the front door, waddling like a thick penguin. I called out to Seol-gu energetically….

“There’s nothing here?”

“Huh?”

For some reason, Seol-gu, who should have been sitting neatly here, was nowhere to be seen.

The front door was still closed. It didn’t seem like Seol-gu had opened the door and left in that short time, and I frantically searched the surroundings in a bit of a panic.

“Found him!”

After turning my head this way and that, what caught my eye was the white, plump tail of an arctic fox peeking out from behind a corner pillar.

Seol-gu was trembling behind the pillar, scared of Sister. But it seemed he couldn’t hide his huge tail. I approached Seol-gu, grabbed his tail, and lifted him up.

“Kkang!”

“Seol-gu, don’t hide, say hello to Sister!”

Honestly. I understand he was hiding because he was scared of Sister, but if he leaves his tail sticking out like this, he’ll be discovered. He can’t even manage his own giant tail properly; foxes are really something else. If Seol-gu were a wolf like me, he would have hidden his tail properly!

“Sister!”

“Yes.”

I ran to Sister, dangling Seol-gu. It was the monumental first meeting between Sister and Seol-gu. Calming my slightly pounding heart, I held Seol-gu out to Sister.

Seol-gu and Sister’s eyes met. A fox and a wolf meet.

Sister gently extended both hands and took Seol-gu. Then, slowly slipping her fingers through his pure white fur, she softly stroked Seol-gu.

“Good boy… there.”

“Kkang….”

Seol-gu trembled with fear, but he accepted Sister’s touch. Sister stroked Seol-gu’s fur with the gentlest and most meticulous movements to avoid startling him.

Seol-gu’s tail gradually relaxed. His tail, once filled with wariness and fear, was now filled with comfort. Sister moved her hands to gently knead Seol-gu’s ears, and I watched Seol-gu with narrowed eyes.

“….”

“Seol-ah?”

Thinking that Sister’s hands, which always stroked me, were now on Seol-gu, I felt a little… uncomfortable. I should have been in that spot. Sister should have been stroking my tail, not Seol-gu’s.

It’s not that I’m jealous of Seol-gu, absolutely not. I’m not a child who gets jealous of an unknowing animal.

It’s just that something isn’t quite right.

Just a little bit.

“Seol-ah… are you perhaps sulking because Sister is petting Seol-gu?”

“Hmph.”

Absolutely not!! As I said before, it’s just that I don’t quite like the current situation.

To deny it, I deliberately snorted loudly and turned my face away from Sister. Sister chuckled awkwardly, seeming a bit embarrassed.

“Come here, Seol-ah. I’ll pet you too.”

“Huk.”

Sister, holding Seol-gu in one arm, reached out the other and called me. Fearing that Sister’s arm might disappear, I ran quickly and hugged Sister.

As I was hugged by Sister along with Seol-gu, the fur hat that had been pressing down on my head slowly fell off. Sister had temporarily taken off the hat.

By the time my ears were revealed to the world again, it was after my hair had crackled with static electricity and exploded.

“Sister, my hair!!”

My white hair was sticking up towards the sky.

Sister chuckled and reached out to fix my hair. Surprisingly, the hair that had been reaching for the heavens immediately calmed down and settled as Sister’s hand touched it.

Sister gently stroked my hair and said.

“You don’t have to be jealous. Sister always thinks of Seol-ah first.”

“I wasn’t jealous.”

“Really? Hehe, my Seol-ah is so good.”

Rustle, rustle, the sound of hair being stroked. Laughter came naturally.

As I giggled, I happened to make eye contact with Seol-gu, who was right next to me. I smiled at Seol-gu, whose petting had been taken away, and then stuck out my tongue.

Meringue, meringue.

This is a double meringue.

“Kkang.”

Seol-gu soon broke free from Sister’s embrace and landed on the ground. He was still glancing at Sister, as if his fear hadn’t completely disappeared. I picked up Seol-gu and said.

“Seol-gu, you don’t need to be scared. Or, remember playing with me. I’m a wolf just like Sister!”

If Seol-gu realizes that Sister is a kind and wonderful wolf like me, his fear will lessen. That’s what I meant, but Seol-gu’s reaction was rather lukewarm.

“Kkyang….”

“What’s wrong?”

I can usually understand what Seol-gu says, but sometimes he says things that are incomprehensible. I tilted my head and then shook my head from side to side, clearing my thoughts.

There’s something more important!

“Seol-gu, anyway, let’s go out quickly!”

“Kkang!”

I held Sister’s hand tightly and went outside with Seol-gu.

“Huk….”

Outside… it was pitch black. It was exactly as Sister had said.

All I could see was the area right in front of me, illuminated by the house lights. The moment I took one step further, the world lost its color, and only blackness stretched out.

“Hold Sister’s hand tightly. Don’t let go, okay?”

“Yes….”

I tightened my grip on Sister’s hand. When Sister pressed the button on the lantern attached to her waist, the lantern emitted light, driving away the darkness.

Although the light was weak compared to the darkness that filled the world, it was the only light source we could rely on.

“Seol-gu, where do we need to go?”

“Kkang!”

The wind was so strong that my voice was drowned out. It was difficult to even keep my eyes open. Seol-gu barked in a certain direction, spun around in place, and looked at me.

It meant “follow me.”

“Sister, that way….”

“Yes.”

We began to move forward slowly, following Seol-gu. The house, which had been getting farther away, was soon completely hidden by the darkness, and the only light left in the world was us.

It’s a little scary. My tail is shrinking.

I started to feel like hiding in the snow. I had bravely come out to help Seol-gu, but now that we were outside, the polar night was scarier than I had imagined.

A strong and powerful wolf doesn’t get scared. But the situation was a little different now. Seeing the world filled only with darkness, even Sister was following Seol-gu with a stiff expression. So it’s not strange that I’m scared.

Seol-gu led us, staying just within the radius of the lantern’s light. Sometimes he went straight, sometimes he went in circles, and sometimes he walked right next to dangerous slopes.

Where on earth are we going? It would be great if I could ask Seol-gu. The fact that Seol-gu can’t speak is so frustrating.

Sister held my hand tightly with one hand, while with the other hand resting on her sword, she was watching her surroundings warily. Sister’s appearance, looking into the darkness and growling low… was scary.

At that moment, I heard a sound.

“Huk!”

“What?”

“In the snow…!”

I stomped my feet, not knowing what to do, and then jumped high into the air, landing with a thud in the snow.

A moment later, Sister grabbed my tail and pulled me out of the snow.

“It was a hamster!”

“….”

I showed Sister a hamster and said. The hamster seemed angry at being caught by me, squeaking loudly and protesting. The hamster’s mouth opened wide, and then….

“Kkang?!”

It bit my finger and escaped!

The hamster that escaped from me disappeared into the darkness in an instant. I rubbed my sore finger, tears welling up.

It was a hunt that only left scars.

“Let’s keep going.”

Sister brushed the snow off my clothes and continued to follow Seol-gu. Normally, she would have worried about me and blown on my fur, but given the situation, she couldn’t afford to be so leisurely.

“Hing….”

The nervously flickering light of the lantern.

Seol-gu kept walking without showing any signs of stopping. It was already slow going in the dark, and I worried we were going too far.

Seol-gu continued to lead us in unpredictable directions, just as before. While he seemed to be guiding us to a safe place, he sometimes led us down precarious paths, and occasionally we went in circles.

I opened my mouth worriedly.

“Is Seol-gu perhaps not good with directions…?”

He can go alone, but maybe he gets confused when he has to lead us. However, Sister shook her head at my words.

“Seol-gu is deliberately going the long way around right now.”

“Deliberately?”

“Yes. It’s difficult to fight in this dark night, so he’s taking a longer route to avoid being detected by other animals. That’s why we sometimes go in circles….”

“Huk….”

Goodness, Seol-gu was such a thoughtful child!

Just looking at his fluffy, wagging tail, he looks like the most foolish fox… I’m seeing Seol-gu in a new light. I decided to upgrade Seol-gu’s evaluation in my mind from ‘foolish fox’ to ‘slightly less foolish fox’.

“Kkang!”

After advancing for a long time through the blizzard and darkness, Seol-gu finally barked at us. We had finally arrived. I raised my head.

“Wow….”

Before us stood a giant cave.