Chapter 13: The Snowstorm of Winter and the Dream of Spring

“I came here of my own accord.”

“In that case, then.”

Asha nodded and knelt before I-gyeol. With reverence, he pressed his lips to the tip of I-gyeol’s foot. No matter how hateful and ill-tempered his god was, he was still the only god Asha had. That powerful, radiant being would bring winter back to the world once more.

“Congratulations on your recovery.”

“Bring me news of Autumn and Summer.”

He could not sense the energy of the other seasons. That meant they had not yet been born. Even after sleeping for so long, the balance had still not been restored.

“Yes.”

With a powerful gust of wind, Asha departed.

Myeong stared wide-eyed at the spot where Asha had disappeared. There were not even footprints left behind in the snow.

“That’s amazing.”

“Why don’t you let go of my clothes first?”

The white hem of I-gyeol’s robe was firmly caught in Myeong’s grasp. Myeong carefully released it, but by then the pristine white fabric had already been stained here and there with blood.

“I’m sorry.”

“This is killing me.”

He wasn’t saying it casually. He genuinely felt as though he might die.

I-gyeol raised a hand and pressed it against his forehead.

‘Waking from my sleep too early. And now a young servant of Spring has dared to invade the northern land.’

I-gyeol stared at Myeong with a strange curiosity. He was a shabby little servant dressed in a rough hemp garment riddled with holes. He was still far from reaching adulthood, and even the spring energy within him was incredibly weak.

Yet he had endured the freezing snowstorm and made his way all the way into the cave.

He had entered the lake where winter serpents coiled themselves to sleep, yet somehow survived and returned carrying a worthless aquatic plant.

‘Does he have some hidden power?’

As I-gyeol stared intently down at Myeong, Myeong squirmed shyly.

“Hehe… It was a plant that grew underground. Could this perhaps be a camellia?”

Myeong politely held out one of the plants he had dug up.

His fingernails were cracked, and the backs of his hands were covered in cuts from the rough ice.

I-gyeol grabbed Myeong by the wrist and shook his hand, making him drop the plant.

“Why didn’t you go to the feast?”

“Huh?”

“I heard Spring held a feast. Why didn’t you go? Why did you come here instead?”

“…”

Pretending not to have heard, Myeong rotated his hand in circles before bending down to pick up the plant I-gyeol had thrown away.

“Hey.”

“Isn’t it a camellia?”

“Answer the question I asked.”

“Then I’ll go find another one!”

Myeong turned around and began running off without the slightest hesitation.

I-gyeol stared at his retreating figure in disbelief.

‘That tiny servant doesn’t even know enough to be afraid of a wolf, and he’s acting so brazenly.’

But Myeong had his own reasons.

‘There’s no way I can admit how shabby I am in front of a wolf who must be one of the most powerful among the winter servants.’

It hurt his pride a little too much.

‘Come to think of it, the full moon will be rising soon. Will I be able to return before the festival begins?’

The news of Spring reaching even the northern land had made Myeong increasingly anxious.

Like a young puppy, Myeong repeatedly crouched down, dug into the earth, and covered it again. The ground around I-gyeol’s feet became covered with weeds Myeong had dug up.

I-gyeol stood with his arms crossed, watching him with a stern expression, waiting to see how long he would keep going.

Myeong pretended not to notice his gaze and remained absorbed in his work.

Several hours passed.

Just when Myeong seemed ready to dig an entire tunnel and crawl all the way back to the Land of Spring, the darkness gathering around him startled him. He abruptly lifted his head and searched for I-gyeol.

“Wolf-nim!”

“Why? Why don’t you just dig a cave and live in it?”

Myeong had called out to him because the darkness frightened him, and I-gyeol, who was nearby, answered immediately.

He even praised Myeong, saying he seemed to have quite a talent for digging holes.

Myeong listened with one ear and let the words pass out the other as he dusted the dirt from his hands and straightened his clothes.

His fingertips were stained with red blood and blue-green plant sap.

“The sun has set.”

Myeong pointed toward the night sky that had descended upon them.

The cold he could never become accustomed to was beginning again.

Myeong blew warm breaths over his hands before approaching I-gyeol’s side.

“What an irritating little thing.”

I-gyeol was irritated that Myeong only came to him whenever he was frightened or needed something, but Myeong paid no attention and moved even closer.

He was the kind wolf who had given him his tail the night before.

‘Hopefully he’ll share that warm fur with me again today.’

Myeong already missed the soft, warm space that had felt like a spring breeze.

Before long, the blue moon replaced the sun and illuminated the white snow-covered mountains.

Then, one or two flakes at a time, snow began falling from the sky.

It was a heavy snowfall.

Myeong reached both hands high into the air, trying to catch the snowflakes.

“Wow.”

The power of Winter was growing abnormally strong.

I-gyeol waved his hand, attempting to disperse the energy, but the falling snow showed no sign of stopping.

With Spring also suffering at the moment, there was no other season capable of controlling Winter’s power.

“This is ridiculous.”

Feeling power even stronger than before he had gone to sleep, I-gyeol frowned.

The Winter Castle, located at the heart of the northern land, was already saturated with winter energy. If this continued, even the winter servants would be endangered.

I-gyeol grabbed the delighted Myeong, who was bouncing around excitedly, tucked him against his waist, and began searching for a nearby ice cave.

“It’s snowing.”

“I know.”

“I’ve never seen it fall so beautifully before.”

Myeong, who had only ever experienced harsh blizzards, smiled brightly at the gentle snowfall.

Under the moonlight, the white flakes fluttered and danced like flower children preparing for a festival.

‘If the God of Spring could see this, he would probably be happy too.’

Myeong felt guilty that he was the only one enjoying the sight.

“It’s not beautiful at all.”

This snowfall was the result of Winter’s overflowing power.

At any moment, it could turn into a storm.

I-gyeol split open space and moved rapidly toward the mountainside.

‘It would be disastrous if a winter storm spread across the other lands beneath this collapsing season.’

“Wolf-nim, don’t you hear something strange?”

“What sound?”

“Something that sounds like thunder…”

Myeong tapped I-gyeol’s arm and told him that he could hear a strange sound somewhere.

I-gyeol initially thought Myeong might have mistaken the sound of the wind for something else.

Then he sensed the movement of the mountain collapsing.

“Damn it!”

The mountain that had been peacefully sleeping beneath the immense power of Winter had awakened.

With a thunderous roar, the snow-covered mountain shook violently and seemed to stretch its limbs.

The snow piled upon it came tumbling down.

I-gyeol released his power, then immediately withdrew it.

‘There’s no guarantee I can control it.’

As long as he remained in the Land of Winter, I-gyeol could neither be injured nor harmed.

But Myeong was different.

The fragile servant of Spring would not survive.

I-gyeol tried to throw Myeong away from him, signaling for him to run.

“Wolf-nim!”

But Myeong shoved away the hand trying to throw him aside and instead wrapped his arms around I-gyeol.

‘He was someone precious whom I met in Winter. Perhaps he was my only friend.’

Myeong instinctively tried to protect I-gyeol.

The snow quickly swallowed both I-gyeol and Myeong whole.

I-gyeol felt Myeong clinging tightly around his waist and was overcome by a strange sensation.

‘A weakling like him thinks he can protect someone?’

With no time to spare, I-gyeol erected a wall of ice to lessen the impact.

The snow that had reached I-gyeol’s waist soon began melting rapidly.

I-gyeol did not particularly like using heat, but he had no choice if he wanted to rescue Myeong buried beneath the snow.

Soon, he grabbed Myeong’s pale ankle as it emerged from the snow and pulled him free.

Myeong’s eyes were tightly shut, as though he had fainted.

“You really are something else.”

I-gyeol shook him roughly as though dusting off his clothes, causing dirt and snow to fall from Myeong’s body.

He tucked Myeong against his waist again and spread a net of mist, clearing away the snow.

‘This is so damn troublesome.’

Even while grumbling, I-gyeol repeatedly glanced at Myeong’s face.

****

Warm sunlight.

A flower garden overflowing with vitality.

Surging spring energy.

Beneath the fluttering petals, the blades of grass whispered of life, while the clear river splashed and purified everything in its path.

Standing beneath a towering willow tree in a vast field, Myeong breathed in the scent of Spring.

It smelled of longing mixed with resentment and affection.

The place where he had been born.

But he could not call it home.

Home was a word Myeong was not allowed to use.

He had wanted to become a servant of Spring, but there had been countless reasons why he could not.

He had wanted to be loved, but there had been no one who could give him that love.

The days woven together by Myeong’s arduous life seemed to have no end.

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