The First Day of Family
Ian returned to the Dream's Shelter Inn and received a tray of breakfast from Grandma Masa before heading straight to room 205.
He set the tray down on the table, then carefully lifted the still-deeply-sleeping wolf pup from his leather bag. Without hesitation, he summoned four Perfect Bubbles and thoroughly coated both the child and himself with them.
For a moment, the two were completely covered in fluffy, bubbly soap. Then they emerged sparkling clean, radiating a fresh, crisp scent unlike anything before. The stains that had clung to the pup's fur washed away, leaving the silver strands as soft and lustrous as finely crafted silver thread, gleaming with an ethereal shine.
Ian hugged the jewel-like child tightly to his chest and lay down on the bed. The pent-up exhaustion crashed over him like a wave, making it impossible to keep his eyes open any longer. With a huge yawn, he sank into a deep sleep, wrapped in the pup's soft, warm body heat.
How long had he slept? Ian woke to the feeling of small hands gently squishing his face. Bright noon sunlight was now pouring through the window.
He blinked, clearing his blurry vision. In that instant, he met the silver eyes of the child staring at him from mere inches away.
“Little one, did you sleep well…?”
The child nodded. Then, without warning, he dropped a startling statement.
“I… need to go.” “Huh…?” “It’s urgent…” “What?! Hold on!”
Ian, still groggy from sleep, shot up from the bed like a spring. He scooped the child into his arms and rushed straight to the bathroom. After carefully pulling down the child’s pants and seating him on the toilet, Ian asked urgently.
“Can you handle it by yourself?” “Mhm.” “When you’re done, press this button here. Magic will activate and clean everything.” “Even my bottom?” “Yes, even your bottom!”
To respect the child’s privacy, Ian quickly stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door. Staring blankly at the closed door, a soft chuckle escaped his lips. It felt like he was already getting a taste of real-life parenting on their very first day together.
When the child toddled out of the bathroom, Ian made sure to take care of the meal first. It was a simple spread—bacon potato cream soup that had gone cold and two chunks of white bread—but the child had a hearty appetite. He accepted every spoonful Ian fed him, munching away like a baby bird.
Ian wiped the crumbs from the child’s mouth and showered him with endless praise.
“Aww, such a good boy. Our baby eats so well. You’re so adorable.”
A gentle silence settled between them after the meal. The child kept tilting his silver eyes upward at Ian, still finding his caregiver both fascinating and unfamiliar. Every time their eyes met, Ian offered the most harmless, kind smile in the world.
Eventually, the child’s small lips parted, and a cautious question slipped out.
“Um…” “Yes, go ahead and tell me.” “Why… do you say ‘you eat so well’?” “Well, it’s because just watching you eat makes me feel full. You look so pretty doing it. Hyung is incredibly happy that you enjoy the food so much.”
At that moment, the child’s large eyes began to shimmer with transparent tears. As if trying to confirm something he could hardly believe, he asked again in a trembling voice.
“Can I… really eat well?” “Of course you can. For babies, eating well, playing well, and sleeping well are the most important things in the world.” “Can I… really live?”
Those words made Ian’s heart sink with a thud. What kind of life had this child lived that he felt the need to ask for permission just to exist?
In the end, tears Ian had been holding back spilled from his own eyes. He forced his voice through a throat tight with emotion.
“Of course… Every child in the world has the right to live happily. Yes, you can live. You can live blessed every single day.”
Only then did the child burst into silent, heaving sobs. Ian, unable to hold back his own choking cries, pulled the child into his arms and wept with him. In this unfamiliar world, relying on each other’s warmth as they poured out their tears, the dark shadow that had clung to the child’s face finally lifted, replaced by a bright, clear light.
With his heart’s lock completely undone, the child began to share his deepest story in hesitant fragments.
“I… don’t have a name. Mom and Dad said I wouldn’t have one until I was seven. That’s how it is for the Moonlight Wolf tribe.” “I see. That’s okay. Now we can give you a proper name and my last name.” “Really…?” “Yes, really.”
Encouraged by Ian’s confident answer, the child carefully continued.
“And… they said being from the Moonlight Wolf tribe is dangerous. So I was with a scary uncle… We ran away together.” “Where is your uncle now?” “I don’t know… While we were running, someone came… He died in the forest. His head fell off with a thud… After that, I fell down the waterfall.”
The child’s dry, emotionless statement hit Ian like a hammer to the chest. Just imagining the horrific scene the child had witnessed made his vision swim. He barely steadied his trembling voice to ask.
“Were you okay? You didn’t get hurt anywhere?” “No… Wolves are good swimmers. I’m good at it too.” “…I see. You did so well. You escaped so bravely, little one.”
At Ian’s praise, the child broke into tears again and asked.
“Will… those people come looking for me again?” “No, it’s okay. You have hyung now. I’ll protect you no matter what.” “Okay!”
Ian gently stroked the back of the child’s head as if washing away his fears. Then he began seriously considering a name. All sorts of exotic names flashed through his mind, but finding one that perfectly suited the child’s mysterious aura wasn’t easy.
The child waited quietly like a little angel while Ian was lost in thought. The sight was so precious and lovable that Ian reached out to stroke his cheeks—when a flash of inspiration struck.
What was that angel’s name again? Michael… That’s it. What if I take one letter out and name him Miel?
Adding Ian’s surname River, the name Miel River was complete in an instant. It rolled beautifully off the tongue. Ian looked into the child’s eyes and whispered tenderly.
“From now on, your name is Miel River. First name Miel, last name River. Got it?”
“Kyaarrr— Yes! I’m Miel now!”
Miel burst into bright laughter and threw himself into Ian’s arms. The weight and warmth of the small life pressed against him made it feel undeniably real—they had become family.
In the deep forest marking the border between Gelian and Osmond territory, a man wearing a hood pulled low emerged through the pitch-black darkness without a sound. His movements made no noise—not even the crunch of fallen leaves—as if he were a bodiless ghost.
The man paused, carefully scanning the ground around him. He bent down and gently picked up something mixed in with the dirt, holding it up to the moonlight. A single strand of hair shimmered like silver thread, trembling at his fingertips.
He meticulously examined every trace around where the hair had been found, then pulled a small, marble-like communication stone from his pocket that radiated a cold aura. As he quietly infused it with mana, the stone’s surface glowed with an eerie blue light. A low, damp old man’s voice soon flowed out.
…Are you still tracking him?
“That’s right. I found a strand of hair near the northeast border of Gelian. It must have been carried naturally down the canyon stream flowing from Osmond to Gelian.”
Tsk. Even if he is the last bloodline of the Moonlight Wolf tribe—once called the strongest ancient beastmen—he’s still just a four-year-old brat. That dazzling silver fur would stand out anywhere. Hiding those traits in a major southern city won’t be easy.
“Not if someone is helping the child.”
Hmph. Such excuses won’t work. Remember that we hired you at great expense and that we hold the only medicinal herb capable of curing your daughter’s illness.
The hooded man’s eyes darkened heavily for a moment. A sharp killing intent—whether self-loathing or rage toward the coward who resorted to such threats—froze the forest air.
“…Anyway, I’ll contact you again if I find new traces or secure the child.”
The man cut the communication without waiting for the old man’s reply.
A heavy sigh scattered into the air. After staring into the forest’s silence for a moment, he pierced the distant woods with eyes as sharp as a predator’s. Elegant silver birches trembling gracefully beneath the moonlight came into view. He moved silently once more, and before long he had gathered every piece of information the forest held.
“Hoo… A silver child at the Silver Wind campsite…”
Soon the man’s form melted like night mist into the campsite’s storage and office building. He needed to check the guest list of those who had stayed and the information on the hired workers.
In the darkness that hung like the calm before a storm, the man’s finger began slowly tracing across the list.