85. New Friend

85. New Friend

Creak, creak, my head turns.

Sister was staring at me blankly from behind.

The smile that was always on her face was gone, and it was scary.

“Uh, Sister.”

“….”

Huk.

What should I do?

She seems really angry.

Countless thoughts flashed through my mind. The 8 years I’ve lived since birth, and the memories of my past life, which weren’t very good, played back in sequence.

This is what they call a “life flashing before one’s eyes.”

I didn’t really want to know this.

As I drifted back in time endlessly, I finally recalled the memory of my birth.

The very moment I was born, crying “waaah” in my mother’s womb.

How happy I was then.

Days spent laughing, playing, and enjoying myself, loved and loving my family, without any worries about the future.

I caused a lot of trouble and made many mistakes, but still….

It was a pretty good life!!

“….”

Wait a minute.

If I say it like this, it sounds like I’m going to die here. It’s not that bad, though.

I don’t know why my thoughts keep straying to weird places. I shook my head left and right, then slapped my cheeks to snap out of it.

“Hoo….”

A true wolf finds an escape route even when death is looming.

To overcome this crisis, my small but brilliant brain began to spin furiously.

Finally, I opened my mouth to Sister.

“W-want to touch my tail?”

“….”

I stuck out my rear and wiggled, my tail swaying invitingly. I’d bet anyone couldn’t resist touching this swaying, alluring tail.

As I expected, Sister was drawn by the movement of my tail and walked towards me. I marveled at my own intelligence in my heart, and Sister reached out her hand towards me.

Everything is going according to plan.

Now all that’s left is to fully enjoy Sister’s hand gently stroking my tail….

“Kkae-aeng?!”

Instead, Sister cupped both my cheeks with her hands.

Then, she pulled my cheeks sideways with a long, drawn-out motion.

“Rang Seol-ah.”

“Kkae, Kkae-aeng!”

“Didn’t I tell you not to wander off without a word?”

My cheeks stretched endlessly to the left and right.

It felt like pulling on chewy, sticky marshmallows. I was amazed at the elasticity of my own cheeks, wondering how far they could stretch.

Sister tapped her tail displeasedly and shook her hands, which were holding my cheeks. It hurt.

“Waaah-aae-aae-ang!”

“Do you know how surprised I was when you suddenly disappeared? Really….”

Streeeetch.

Streeeeeeeeetch.

My cheeks stretched freely with the movement of Sister’s hands. Seeing my cheeks, which looked like mozzarella cheese, Lucy, who had been peeking at me, gasped.

Sister finally released my cheeks when tears started to well up in my eyes.

“Hmph….”

My skin was red and hot. I rubbed my burning cheeks and swallowed my tears.

Should I be relieved that my cheeks didn’t stretch like loose clothing?

“Kkang kkang.”

As I picked up a handful of snow from the ground and rubbed it on my cheeks, Seol-gu suddenly pushed past me and went to Sister, crying “Kkang.”

Seol-gu rubbed his face against Sister’s legs as if to assert his innocence.

Could it be….

“Seol-gu… are you betraying me?!”

“Kkang.”

The “Kkang” seemed to say that one must solve their own self-inflicted disasters.

Although it’s just my interpretation of Seol-gu’s nuance, it’s probably a 90% accurate translation.

“Seol-gu, you…!”

The overwhelming sense of betrayal.

My cheeks hurt so much that I felt like diving into the snow, but my so-called friend was betraying me and trying to charm Sister.

Is it true that foxes are foxes, no matter how foolish they are?

You cunning, sly fox!

As I sat hunched over, sobbing, Sister lifted Seol-gu and said.

“Seol-gu.”

“Kkang.”

“You did something wrong too, you know?”

“Kkang?!”

Suddenly, Seol-gu’s cheek was caught in Sister’s hand. Sensing something was wrong, Seol-gu tried desperately to escape from Sister, but the tiny fox Seol-gu couldn’t break free from Sister’s grasp.

Soon, the furball stretched out.

This was truly… indescribable except with the word “chewy and soft.” Even the mochi from my past life couldn’t compare to Seol-gu’s cheeks.

“Kkae-aae-aeng!”

“You should have stopped Seol-ah when she tried to go off on her own. What were you thinking, following her like that?”

Seol-gu’s cheeks were twisted up and down, just as I had been moments ago. Seol-gu cried out, but Sister scolded him without yielding an inch.

Serves him right, hee hee.

Betraying a wolf and running away only leads to more suffering. It’s a fitting end for a cunning fox.

“Kkang….”

“Hee hee, they say you’re a silly fox, a si-lly fox.”

I teased Seol-gu, who looked listless after escaping from Sister, and was now slumped over. Of course, my cheeks were still bright red, but teasing Seol-gu was more important than the pain.

Seol-gu, too weak to even respond, cried “Kkang…” and hid in my bag.

Hee hee.

Big dummy.

“Seol-ah, so why did you come here?”

“Ah, that’s….”

After closing the bag lid so Seol-gu could rest, Sister asked me.

I waved my arms, legs, ears, and tail around, explaining to Sister why I had chased Lucy.

When I finally finished explaining that I had introduced myself to Lucy here, Sister put her hand on her forehead and let out a very, very, very deep sigh.

I was worried the ground might collapse, so I instinctively looked down.

Sister reached out and ruffled my hair vigorously.

“Seol-ah, I won’t stop you from going somewhere. Just tell me, okay? Just tell me.”

“Sorry….”

“Sigh….”

Another sigh followed.

Sister didn’t scold me any further.

… Is it just my imagination that I feel like she’s given up on correcting me?

Sister removed her hand from me and looked at Lucy, who was standing awkwardly next to us, sweating profusely. Lucy stiffened upon seeing Sister’s face.

“Are you Lucy?”

“Yes….”

“Yes. Seol-ah caused you some trouble, didn’t she? I heard you fell earlier, are you hurt anywhere?”

“Ah, no. I was the one who peeked first….”

Seeing her stuttering, it seems she’s intimidated by the tall and handsome older sister. It seems a strong and kind wolf like Rang Seol-ah is needed here.

I positioned myself behind Sister and began to wag my tail, visible only to Lucy.

Sway, sway.

Fluffy, fluffy.

Wiggle, wiggle.

“Pfft….”

“Lucy?”

“Ah, ah, no, it’s nothing.”

As expected.

It was just a coincidence that my tail wagging didn’t work on Sister earlier. Look, it’s working perfectly on Lucy.

Lucy, who had been stiff until just moments ago, melted away with my encouragement. After having a good laugh, Lucy seemed to be able to speak a little more comfortably in front of Sister.

“It’s good that you’re not hurt… Seol-ah, did you apologize?”

“E-eung?”

The moment Sister turned around, I quickly stopped dancing.

… This somehow reminds me of a game I played as a child. You know, that game where you dance when the teacher isn’t looking. I don’t know the title.

“They say Seol-ah pounced on Lucy. It was a misunderstanding, but you still need to apologize, right, hmm?”

“Eung.”

Sister lifted me and placed me in front of Lucy. It meant I should apologize to Lucy right away.

I cleared my throat.

“Lu… Lu….”

“Lu?”

… If I joke around here, Sister will surely scold me, right?

I have many things I want to say, but I decided to apologize properly to Lucy.

“Lucy, L….”

“Seol-ah, don’t joke around.”

“I’m not joking!”

Sister reprimanded me, thinking I was going to joke around. But I had just decided not to joke, so I couldn’t hide my unfairness.

This is like… deciding to stop playing and start studying, but at that exact moment, Mom opens the door and scolds me for not studying.

When I expressed my unfairness, Sister’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. I puffed out my cheeks to show that I was sulking.

“I, I’m sorry. I thought Seol-ah was trying to joke.”

“Boo.”

“I’m really sorry.”

Sister kissed my forehead.

Although I was very sulky, it felt a bit awkward to remain sulky in front of someone else, and Sister’s sincerity was well conveyed in the kiss earlier, so I relaxed my expression and nodded.

… Will this make me look more mature?

“Okay. Then let’s go now. Father is waiting.”

“Ah….”

As Sister reached out to take my hand, Lucy let out a sigh. It was a very brief moment, but the wolf’s ears clearly heard it.

“Lucy?”

“Ah, ah, no….”

“Do you want to play with Seol-ah more?”

Lucy shook her head, but her true feelings were clearly visible on her face.

Hoo hoo… So childish. If it were me, I would have hidden my feelings very well.

“… Hmm. Then.”

“Huh?”

“Seol-ah, Sister and Father will go get lodging, so why don’t you play with Lucy?”

Sister said, looking at me. Upon hearing that, Lucy’s and my eyes widened.

“Is that okay?”

“Yes. Lucy, do you want to play more with Seol-ah?”

“Yes…!”

As Lucy replied with a bright smile, Sister let go of my hand. Then, she stroked both of our heads and said.

“Then go play. Sister will come find you later.”

“Yes…! Uh, but how will you find me?”

Playing is good, but how will she find me? When I asked that, Sister chuckled and buried her nose in my crown, taking a deep breath.

“Kkang!”

“Sister remembers Seol-ah’s scent very well, so don’t worry. Sister will come find you before sunset, so if Sister doesn’t come by then, ask Seol-gu for help. Okay?”

“Yes!”

“Alright, then… Lucy, have fun playing with Seol-ah.”

“Yes!”

Lucy and I waved goodbye to Sister. Seol-gu, who was in the bag, also poked out his tail and waved at Sister.

It was time to play.