Tails in a Tangle
"Let's pick it up and eat it!"
How was I supposed to untie our tails? I tugged and twisted the knot every which way, but it refused to come loose. It was just a simple loop, yet the tails clung together like they'd been glued. My own strength wasn't enough. I decided to ask the wise Sofia for help.
"Sofia, could you help me, please?"
"Why? Is your tail stuck?"
"Yes. It wasn't even tied tightly, but it won't come undone."
"Hmm… That is because…"
Sofia's gaze drifted toward Saebyeok. The black-haired girl sat expressionlessly at the table, saying nothing.
"Do you know something?"
"Indeed. Given time, the tails will loosen on their own."
Time would solve it. This had happened before, hadn't it? Since Sofia had never steered me wrong, I chose to trust her.
"We're stuck together again."
"Yeah."
Saebyeok flicked her tail. Mine, bound to hers, swayed along with it. Levinas watched the pendulum motion and tilted her head side to side in imitation.
"King, tie Levinas's tail too!"
"Um… Levinas's tail is pretty short. Might be hard to tie."
"No! Levinas's tail is actually long!"
"It is?"
"Yeah!"
Levinas grabbed her fluffy cotton-ball tail and gave it a tug. The tail stretched like taffy, growing longer and longer.
"What the—"
"······!"
How could a horned rabbit's tail extend like that? Saebyeok looked genuinely shocked—her ears and tail fur stood on end—though her face remained perfectly blank.
"Levinas, how is your tail stretching like that?"
"Horned rabbits are just like this?"
"R-really…?"
I turned to Sofia for confirmation. She nodded.
"A horned rabbit keeps a hidden length of tail tucked away inside."
"I see…"
I'd thought it was just a round puff. Turns out that was only the tip. Even I was a little surprised—though not as much as Saebyeok.
"King, can you tie it now?"
"Yeah. That should be long enough to—"
Wait. Did we really need to tie it? Before I could finish, Saebyeok reached over and started fiddling with our tails. After maybe ten seconds, she lifted her hands.
"Done."
"You tied it? Levinas's tail too?"
"Yeah."
All three tails were now knotted together. We had to face three different directions like some kind of three-headed asura.
"Sofia, we're in trouble."
"…It is fine. Time will resolve it."
"O-okay…"
I decided not to worry about it and just get back to what I was doing. The moment I picked up my pen and looked down at my notebook, the front door opened and Han Yeoreum walked in.
"Unnie's back—?"
Han Yeoreum's eyes went wide as she took in our tangled tails. She covered her mouth with one hand, but the dimples on her cheeks gave away her laughter.
"Summer, Levinas tied our tails!"
"Really? That's impressive."
"Yeah!"
Levinas giggled and snatched the remote from the table. Checking that it was already two in the afternoon, she quickly turned on the TV.
"Ah, it's time for Animal King."
Saebyeok's eyes sparkled. She loved the show just as much as Levinas did. Her tail began to wag so fast it was almost a blur.
"Oh my, you like Animal King too, Winter? I thought you weren't interested in cartoons."
"M-me?"
"Yeah. Your tail was wagging."
This wasn't me wagging—it was Saebyeok's tail pulling mine along because we were tied together. My eyebrows drooped in indignation.
"I'm not the one wagging it."
"Hehe, just teasing. Saebyeok's the one holding on and shaking it, right?"
"Saebyeok is?"
"Yeah. She's gripping it tight with her tail."
"Huh?"
So it wasn't actually tied—Saebyeok had just been holding on? The knot began to loosen the moment the realization hit me.
'Ah.'
Right then, it clicked. Saebyeok was completely absorbed in the cartoon. She'd forgotten she was even holding my tail because of the show. So that was what Sofia had meant by "time will loosen it."
'Saebyeok was just playing a prank.'
I thought about pulling my tail free while the kids were watching, but decided to leave it. Honestly, I didn't really mind.
**
That evening, Levinas wandered through the park just as the sun was setting, a long stick clutched in one hand.
"The great hero, Horned Rabbit!"
She sang the Animal King theme song as she walked, repeating only the parts about the horned rabbit.
"King still isn't here."
She'd been told to wait and that he'd come soon, so why wasn't he here yet? Levinas perked her ears, listening for any sign of Winter.
"Kyaa!"
"Krahaha!"
A woman's scream echoed nearby, followed by a man's villainous laughter.
"Hup."
That was the sound bad people made when they laughed. It had to be a villain tormenting an innocent person. Levinas's body trembled. She looked down at the stick in her hand. If she were the hero horned rabbit, she would definitely go fight. She had a weapon, so there was nothing to be scared of.
"You scoundrel!"
She raised the stick high and dashed toward the noise. What she found was nothing like what she'd expected. A group of young men and women were laughing and throwing cake at each other, smearing it all over their faces and clothes. Levinas couldn't understand why anyone would waste such precious cake.
'They're… laughing?!'
If they were laughing, then no one was being bullied. Maybe they were just playing, like the people who'd thrown eggs and flour before. Levinas lowered the stick she'd been brandishing. She was relieved there was no victim after all. Time to go find King again.
As she turned to leave, she caught a sweet scent on the air.
"Ah!"
Chunks of cake had fallen all over the bushes—some of them quite large.
'Thrown food!'
Levinas remembered the time people had played by throwing eggs and flour. They'd taken the thrown food home and cooked with it. Since this cake had been thrown too, it should be fine to pick up and eat.
Levinas sprinted straight for the fallen pieces and crouched down to stuff them into her mouth.
"Nom nom."
Sweet whipped cream! Fluffy cake! The bushes added a hint of the grassy flavor horned rabbits loved, making it taste even better.
"Wooow!"
Meeting people who played by throwing cake? They had to be the richest people in the world! Levinas crawled through the bushes, gathering every piece she could find. She was so focused on how delicious it was that she didn't notice the birthday party guests watching her.
"H-hey, little kid…?"
A man tapped Levinas on the shoulder as she munched on cake.
"Huh?!"
When she looked up, white cream and bits of grass clung to her lips. The man's pupils shook at the sight.
"Krahaha!"
The man—Kim Hyunwoo—let out that same villainous laugh from earlier.
"Why are you eating stuff off the ground…? I'll give you a fresh piece. Here, eat this…"
It was about half a slice. But Levinas firmly shook her head.
"No free stuff!"
"R-really?"
"Yeah! But thrown stuff is okay! Throw it on the ground for me!"
"······."
What on earth was this child saying? Kim Hyunwoo felt dizzy.
"Why do you want me to throw it?"
"It's fun!"
"F-fun…?"
"Yeah! Levinas will provide the fun in exchange for cake!"
"Hah…"
Was there really someone who enjoyed throwing food at kids? Kim Hyunwoo couldn't close his gaping mouth.
"But Levinas is curious about something."
"What…?"
"Why throw the cake?! Are you super rich?!"
"No, people just do this for birthdays…"
"You throw cake and play on birthdays?!"
Levinas's eyes went round. She couldn't comprehend wasting such expensive, precious cake like that.
"What do you do on your birthday, kid…?"
At Kim Hyunwoo's question, Levinas thought back. On her last birthday, she'd been scolded for not meeting her quota. Having never had a birthday party, she didn't understand what made birthdays special.
"Levinas worked on her birthday instead of playing!"
"Y-you worked?"
"Yeah! I was digging potatoes and got in trouble because I couldn't finish!"
"That's rough."
What kind of bastard made a kid work? As a working adventurer, Kim Hyunwoo wanted nothing more than to beat the person responsible to a pulp.
"On birthdays…"
Why did people play on birthdays? Levinas was about to ask when her ears shot straight up. She heard the footsteps of her favorite person in the whole world.
"King!"
"Sorry I kept you waiting."
"Not really. Levinas only waited a tiny bit!"
"Still, sorry for making you wait even a little."
Winter approached, her tail swaying gently. Levinas, unable to wait any longer, ran straight toward her.
"King! What do you do on your birthday?!"
"Birthday?"
"Yeah! The villain guy said people throw cake and play on birthdays!"
Anyone who chased fun would probably do that. But not Winter. Fun or not, she didn't even know when "this body's" birthday was.
"I don't have a birthday."
"You don't?!"
"Yeah. I don't know when it is, so I don't really do anything."
"Whoa! Same as Levinas! Levinas knows her birthday but doesn't do anything either, just like King!"
Levinas bounced with joy. Then she puffed out her chest toward Kim Hyunwoo.
"See?! Not doing anything on your birthday is the right answer!"
"······."
Dear God. Kim Hyunwoo clutched the symbol at his chest. A devout believer, he found himself resenting the divine for the first time in his life.