I Became the Wolf Man in a Grim Fairy Tale
The story goes something like this: A little girl is sent alone through the dangerous forest path where wolves live, after being given delicious snacks to deliver to her grandmother in the neighboring village. She ends up dying.
We all know Little Red Riding Hood.
“If we analyze the story of Little Red Riding Hood, the mother of Little Red Riding Hood had strong murderous intent toward her daughter.”
“Student.”
“Proving this, when Little Red Riding Hood faced the wolf, she didn't realize that the wolf was a dangerous being and told him her destination and purpose. This is evidence that she sent her young daughter alone without advising her about the dangers. The mother of Little Red Riding Hood—”
“Si-hoo student. Now that's enough.”
College general education class.
I chose Little Red Riding Hood for the assignment to analyze one classic fairy tale from both the perspective of the era and that of modern people.
“Si-hoo student. In the eyes of the era, you were spouting filthy talk, and now you're suggesting murder? Are you joking with me right now?”
“No, Professor. This is…”
“I know that young people these days like ironic things like gruesome fairy tales. Do you have to do that kind of joke even in a presentation? Si-hoo student. This isn't high school; it's university. You're an adult.”
Why didn't you say to write it from a modern perspective?
The professor who had been frowning since I brought the fairy tale as my topic turned serious and let out heavy sighs when I started talking about what the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood symbolized.
It wasn't filthy talk; it was the truth.
The female students in the same class just shrugged it off, but setting aside why a professor would challenge a standard interpretation.
“If you're going to belittle this interpretation as mimicking a gruesome fairy tale, why not just have us look at the classics from a modern viewpoint from the start?”
In the end, my presentation that day was a failure.
“What's so special about fairy tales?”
“Originally, I was going to use the Dangun myth as material.”
“Don't interpret our nation's founding myth through your negative perspective. You could have just used Greek myths or Shakespeare like everyone else.”
“How would I know about that? I only heard the names.”
“Yeah. You probably haven't read anything except textbooks and problem books.”
Before entering university, I had only studied and lived.
The only stories I knew were fairy tales from childhood or comics told by the guy next to me.
Having studied so hard to get here, this mediocre university was where I ended up, and I got scolded at home.
That was just my level.
“Honestly, the professor was too much. Do you remember the girl who presented after me? She wrote a BL novel as Romeo and Juliet and gave her a perfect 10 while laughing.”
“Is a perfect score 100 points?”
“No, 10 points. Is that even possible? And how do you even connect Romeo and Juliet as a BL story?”
Romeo and Juliet.
I know it's a love story. But since Shakespeare isn't in the Korean literature textbook, I don't know the plot.
Old stories in general have weird points when you look at them directly.
Actions that were fine in the era might seem strange now, so I understand, but seeing the guy next to me say that makes me think it's not the case.
“Honestly, compared to that, my presentation was better, wasn't it?”
“Haha. No, that wasn't it.”
“Why are you so serious?”
“Really. That wasn't it.”
It seems it wasn't.
The speculation that the mother of Little Red Riding Hood actually wanted to kill her daughter.
I didn't know about the other parts, but it was clear that she had prepared snacks and sent her.
After all, that wasn't particularly hopeful content.
And there are plenty of stories in fairy tales where parents want to kill their children. It's just that they were reinterpreted as stepmothers.
“What am I supposed to do about how it looks to me?”
“You damn gloomy friend. You came to university and can't live a bit more positively? You seem to be getting even darker after coming here.”
“I'm happier than when I was at home.”
“I don't usually say things like this. Look in the mirror and tell me. Every time I see you, I think it's fortunate that you're still alive. Are you sleeping?”
“……A little.”
Mirror.
At that moment, my face was reflected in the car window parked inside the school.
Scars from scratches and burn marks.
Dark circles hanging long under my eyes and my gaunt body made me look haggard.
Um.
It was no different from usual.
“I'm done, dude. I have to go to my part-time job.”
“I know, you bastard. You said it would be hard to eat dinner together.”
From now on, I'm doing part-time work.
With this appearance, there aren't many part-time jobs I can do. So, washing dishes at the bar in front of the school is my job.
When the door closes at dawn, I enter the dormitory study room to study, take a short nap, wash up, and prepare for class again.
I applied for a dormitory room, but I haven't spent more than 10 minutes in the room on weekdays. It's just a place to put my stuff and wash up.
At dawn, I don't go in and out on purpose so the people sleeping there won't wake up. On weekends, I can sleep better, but I don't sleep more than 3 hours in bed. I have to study to receive my scholarship.
Otherwise, I won't have tuition.
My parents don't support me.
My parents are still pushing me to retake the exam and go to a good university.
It's fine.
If I get good grades and graduate, there will definitely be something.
Studying while staying up all night and starving is familiar. I can endure it.
And this life right now isn't bad.
My childhood friend Sungho is also at the same university.
Recently...
“……Ah.”
The sky looks yellow.
That alone was something I had seen often. I must be exhausted.
Can't be helped. I have to go to the part-time job.
“……Hey……huh……Kang Si-hoo!”
The voice of a friend calling my name from behind.
But me.
Why is my vision so low?
-----
My body was shaking and I heard ringing in my ears.
But strangely, it didn't hurt.
“Hey Kang Si-hoo! Snap out of it! Hey! You crazy bastard, I told you to rest a bit…”
Did I fall?
With just that, the expression was serious, as if looking at someone about to die.
Actually, I didn't feel any pain.
Instead, it was warm and comfortable. Much more comfortable than lying on the bed, and my body felt lighter than when I was sleeping.
Instead, my vision was a bit reddish.
“Ah. So that's it.”
This is blood.
So, it's a nosebleed. No need to panic.
Sungho called an ambulance and contacted another place urgently.
My two eyes watching that were gradually closing, and his words were gradually not heard.
Am I dying?
“Open your eyes, Si-hoo……Eh? What, what is this!”
The body floating up suddenly.
I felt like it was sinking all at once. Like falling from a high place.
Other than that, no sensations were felt.
Like falling for a long time in a dark vertical shaft.
Am I falling into hell?
I had lived busily without doing anything to go to hell. Heaven must be high.
Ah...
I lived like a dog with all my heart.
Even when I die, I die like a dog.
**
Once upon a time, in a small village, the most beautiful girl in the world lived!
The girl's mother loved her daughter terribly, and the girl's grandmother loved her granddaughter even more terribly than the mother.
One day, the girl's mother filled a basket with luggage.
She sent her daughter to the grandmother's forest cabin.
The girl wearing a red cloak and carrying a basket passed through the forest and met a wolf.
The wolf wanted to eat the little girl right away, but since there was a strong smell of human scent in the forest, he couldn't.
Instead, the wolf asked the girl in red cloak where she was going. The cute little girl answered that.
“I'm going to meet my grandmother who lives in a sparsely populated place deep in the forest.”
The wolf smiled and suggested racing to see who would get there first, then ran at full speed. The grandmother was also going to be eaten!
It didn't take long for the wolf to arrive at the cabin.
He knocked on the door and called the grandmother.
He took a deep breath and prepared to imitate the frail voice of the red cloak.
“Grandma, I'm here.”
Crash!
At that moment!
The door burst open as if a bomb had exploded inside the cabin.
What came out wasn't the simple grandma the wolf thought.
“Oh ho. Our little one prepared a gift for this old grandma! Shall I loosen up a bit before meeting my little one?”
A muscular grandma with arms thicker than the wolf's head and height of 8 feet.
The owner of this forest. The big elder of the clan that had continued martial arts for a long time.
She put a red muffler around her neck and pounced like a tiger!
She ran on all fours, literally.
“Is there a grandma like you in the world!”
But unfortunately. As soon as the wolf saw the grandma, his wild survival instinct revived, and he had already fled when she put on the muffler.
For a wolf who tried a shallow trick to eat a child and a weak grandma, it was quite good.
“Ha! Ha! Ha! Running away is useless! This forest is our clan's training ground! I know it so well that I can run at full speed with my eyes closed!”
The wolf used all four legs to run, but he couldn't shake off the grandma chasing him who was doing handstands and somersaults.
Several times, the grandma who had disappeared predicted the path and lay ahead waiting. Even if she walked with her tongue, this wolf couldn't escape.
“Ah! That kid!”
Then, unfortunately! The wolf discovered the girl in red cloak playing while picking flowers!
When the girl in red cloak was playing, the wolf, who was desperately running, pounced.
When the wolf's big mouth opened and sharp teeth were about to bite the red cloak!
“Kyahaha! Wolf uncle, you can't believe what a stranger says. Mom didn't tell you?”
The girl in red cloak had the clan's inherited Arts of Red stored in a sword off-shotgun in the basket her mother had filled.
With the Arts of Red's ultimate technique, Boojum, she erased the wolf from existence!
Dear audience, remember this.
People walking around in red clothes in the dark forest should not be touched lightly.
**
“Ugh…”
Only after tasting the feeling of falling for a long time did I open my eyes.
Opened my eyes?
“What? Am I not dead yet?”
So I just fell asleep?
I fell and hit my head first, so it wasn't just falling asleep.
“Where am I…?”
But it's strange.
The place I woke up wasn't even a hospital, let alone a dormitory.
The wind was blowing softly and there was a smell of earth.
“Forest?”
Why am I here?
Perhaps I died and came to heaven? It would be nice if it was heaven.
“First, let's take a look around……Eh?”
Strange.
I couldn't get up.
No matter how many times I tried to stand up, I couldn't balance and fell.
Moreover, the hand I see now.
“Fur…?”
Wait, this is a wolf's paw.
I'm a wolf now.