The Fox: Something Scarier Than a Landslide
Why was Yerin here?
She'd clearly said she was coming tomorrow…
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, Naru."
I couldn't understand why she was apologizing to me.
The bag we'd promised about had already been stolen by the landslide and swept far away…
I couldn't even keep a promise. I was useless…
"Why…"
"It started raining, and I was worried about you."
"I… couldn't keep my promise… I'm useless…"
My voice was trembling.
I thought of my parents, who had always called me useless.
But Yerin said,
"The bag doesn't matter at all. I'm just so glad you're safe."
Even though I hadn't protected the bag, Yerin tightened her arms around me.
Maybe because I was soaked from the rain, she felt incredibly warm—but I still couldn't understand.
The warmth was unfamiliar.
Her touch was strange.
"Achoo!"
But a sudden sneeze made me miss the chance to ask.
"There's a lot I want to say, but shall we head back for now?"
"…Yeah."
Without meaning to, I answered obediently, and Yerin tucked me into her arms and immediately started climbing down the tree… or rather, she couldn't?
"…?"
"W-well, now that I think about it, I have a fear of heights…"
"Keng?"
At this sudden confession, I peeked down from Yerin's arms. The tree we'd climbed to escape the landslide was higher than I'd thought—scary.
"How do we get down…"
"Didn't you climb up, Yerin?"
"Yeah, I did, but…"
In the end, after hesitating for a long while, Yerin formed her wings and managed to float down slowly, like descending on a parachute.
"Are you scared?"
"N-no, I'm not scared."
"Your hands are shaking, Yerin."
"It's because I'm cold. You had your eyes closed too, Naru—weren't you scared?"
"N-not at all! Rainwater got in my eyes."
Yerin and I made excuses at each other, then snorted with laughter and headed back to the house where Boss was waiting.
And when I finally returned to Boss—
"Aeong!!"
"I-I'm sorry, Boss."
I got scolded with a smack from Boss's front paw.
Since I'd gone out without listening to Boss and caused an accident, I had no excuse even if I'd had ten mouths.
"I won't do it again."
"Aeong!"
Boss smacked my head one more time, then shook out his wet body.
Boss was a cat and hated getting wet, so he must have gotten soaked because of me.
I hurriedly wiped the wet Boss with a blanket for now, but the rain was growing heavier.
"Keng…"
Rainwater was starting to trickle into the rock crevice little by little. If I went in too, neither Boss nor I would be able to properly shelter from the rain.
Besides, I was covered in mud right now, so if I went in, I'd definitely dirty the house.
"It's a bit of a problem, isn't it, Naru?"
"…!"
Just then, Yerin—who had been shielding me from the rain with her purple, sparkling wings beside me all this time—spoke.
"Would you come to my place, even just for a little while?"
"But…"
In this situation, going to Yerin's house was clearly the better option.
But I had already refused once, and I hadn't even kept the promise to look after the bag.
Besides, I was covered in mud and thoroughly filthy right now.
Ah, one of my socks is gone.
I wriggled my dirty bare foot.
Right now I was a useless fox… even my proud tail was soaked with rain and mud, no longer fluffy, just dirty.
I was even more pathetic than when we'd first met—so why was she still offering to take me with her?
One question only bred more questions.
"You're wondering why I want to help you, Naru?"
"!!!"
"Did you think I could read minds or something?"
"Keng!?"
Amazingly, Yerin said exactly what I'd been thinking inside.
Could she actually be reading my mind?!
"Your face told me everything, Naru."
"M-my face?"
"Yeah, your thoughts were written all over it."
"???"
"Anyway, you don't have to worry. You don't have to trust me. But could you give me a chance?"
"A chance… I don't have anything to give…"
"No, that's not it. I'm not helping you because I want something in return."
"I don't really understand…"
"A chance for you to watch me a little longer."
"A chance to watch you, Yerin?"
"The questions you have right now—no answer I give would make sense to you. So you need to see for yourself."
"Seeing for myself means following you?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"So in the end you're just saying come with you."
"Even just until the rain stops is fine. Why I want to help you… why I saved you… if you see it for yourself, maybe you'll understand?"
"But…"
"I don't really know what you're worried about, or why you want to be alone. I don't know what kind of wounds you carry. There's so much I don't know about you either, Naru."
Yerin slowly held out her hand to me as she continued.
"So give me a chance. To me, and to yourself too."
There was no food in Yerin's hand, no clothes, not even cloud bread—but somehow it drew my eyes more than before.
"To myself too…?"
"Yeah, to you too, Naru."
The questions still remained.
But this once… just this once, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to take a chance. Slowly, I took Yerin's hand.
I was afraid I might regret it, but for some reason I couldn't let go of her hand.
"Kyaaaeng?!"
I regret it!!
I regret it so much!!!
Cursing the me who had briefly trusted Yerin, I desperately tried to run away.
"W-wait!! Don't thrash around, Naruuu!!"
"Boss!!!"
The moment we arrived at Yerin's house, I was immediately locked in a small white room.
And in the right hand of the Yerin who had trapped me was a terrifying whip-like torture device, while in her left hand some dangerous-looking poison was bubbling and boiling.
No matter how desperately I ran, trapped in that small room I couldn't escape, and eventually I was cornered.
"I trusted you… I was trusting you!!"
It felt like a déjà vu line, but I wailed with enormous betrayal.
I'd tried to bring Boss along too, but Boss said this was his territory and he didn't follow humans, so I came to Yerin's house alone.
I'd left my precious one-won coin with him as a protective charm because I was worried about Boss—but it turned out I was the one who needed the charm.
"Naru, calm down! It's not scary!!"
"Grrrr!"
"You've been on the mountain a long time and you got caught in the rain—you're covered in mud. You need a bath, Naru."
"I-I'll groom myself hard."
"No."
In the end I was caught by Yerin, forcibly stripped of my clothes, and subjected to water from the whip-like showerhead.
"Keng?!"
"There we go, good girl? It'll be over soon."
I didn't know why, but my instincts kept screaming that I had to avoid the water.
But with my physical abilities I couldn't escape, and water poured mercilessly over my whole body.
Thankfully it wasn't hot, but I still thrashed to get free.
"There, all done. Just a little more."
"Let me ooout!!"
"Aigoo, our Naru is being so good."
I ran hard trying to escape, but the foam that looked like poison swallowed up my head and tail, and everything got so slippery I couldn't run properly.
But I was a clever fox!
I used the slipperiness against her and escaped Yerin's grasp.
"Ah, wait, Naru!! You have to rinse the soap!!"
"Naru is free!"
Freed from Yerin's hands, I became a free spirit and tried to run—but I slipped and fell flat.
Then I spun around and around and slid right back to where I'd started.
"…"
"…"
"Ugh, preparing a trap like this is cheating!!"
"No, you just slipped…"
Caught again, I had no choice but to helplessly endure another water-pouring attack.
"Keng…"
And at last Yerin was able to take me out of that hellish pure-white prison.
"You did great, Naru."
I was hanging limp in Yerin's hands, drowning in betrayal and defeat—but the moment we left the prison, I slipped free from the unguarded Yerin.
"Naru!! Water!! You have to dry off!!"
Yerin tried to catch me too late, but with the slipperiness gone, nothing could stop me now.
Following my instincts, I raced all over the house, dodging Yerin's hands as she tried to grab me.
"Wait! If you don't dry off properly you'll catch a cold!!"
"Nooo!!"
Yerin chased me with a towel, but I wasn't falling for the Yerin who'd already betrayed me a second time.
I tried to escape and go back to Boss, but the door was closed and I couldn't get out.
Then there was only one method left.
"Hah… hah… you're so fast. Now let's dry you off and get some clothes on, Naru."
"Grrrr."
Facing her head-on in battle!!
I was a brave and strong fox!!
Take this!!
I bravely leapt up and tried to attack Yerin, but she caught me lightly and carried me off somewhere.
"There we go, good girl?"
Then she rubbed me thoroughly with the towel for a long while, and now she started attacking me wildly with a strange-sounding gun she'd brought from somewhere.
"Keng?!"
"We have to dry you properly with the hairdryer, Naru."
And so I was caught by Yerin and couldn't escape for a long time.
Thus the tale of the great fox, Lady Naru, came to this hollow end.