Chapter 15: The Warmth Beside Him

“Do it yourself, or inherit one.”

The winter servants born from the snowfields chose their own names. Among them, those born with great strength or winter-related powers sometimes inherited the names of their ancestors.

“Wolf-nim doesn’t give them names?”

“Not usually.”

Only the God of Spring gave names to his servants. The merfolk of Summer and the spirits of Autumn did no such thing. The Winter Wolf, too, only bestowed blessings upon the winter servants who came to him; he did not give them names or assign them duties.

“You chose your own name too, Wolf-nim? Did you receive a blessing?”

“I was born with it. A blessing? Well, I’m not sure.”

Could it even be called a blessing? Perhaps it was a curse.

The gods of the seasons had their names decided even before they were born, as though Mago had branded them herself. I-gyeol tried to picture the moment of his birth, now long faded from his memory, but soon gave up. It had happened too long ago.

“…Why were you inside the cave?”

The wolf had been sleeping soundly in that warm space. Yet he had been alone. Myeong fixed his gaze on I-gyeol’s beautiful face before speaking.

“Because I had to sleep.”

He had to, in order to restore the balance. I-gyeol gently stroked Myeong’s tiny head. The sensation was strangely addictive. When he rubbed the split ends of Myeong’s hair between his fingertips, they recovered into smooth, glossy strands.

“Why? Did someone tell you to?”

“I had to.”

“Didn’t you want to sleep?”

“It didn’t matter. I was tired back then, too. And I was sick of everything.”

It was something he did not want to talk about. The past was not yet over and continued to affect the present, and I-gyeol had yet to forgive Summer.

What could a child like this possibly understand?

Even so, I-gyeol answered Myeong’s questions and warmed his frozen body.

“I’ve felt that way before, too.”

“About what?”

“Actually, I didn’t want to do all those odd jobs. There was so much work that even if I spent the whole day doing it, I couldn’t finish everything. But… I thought I had to do at least that much to stay in the land of Spring.”

‘So I did it.’

Myeong looked down at his rough hands as he spoke.

“Wolf-nim didn’t really want to sleep either, did you?”

“Maybe I didn’t.”

I-gyeol ended the conversation, telling him to go back to sleep.

“Wolf-nim.”

“If you keep talking instead of sleeping, I’ll make you sleep outside.”

“I’ll stop talking. I’m sorry.”

Myeong rubbed his eyes and smiled.

He was happy just to be with the wolf. Even though they were in the winter lands, he wasn’t cold or lonely. If anything, he felt warmer here than he ever had in Spring.

Myeong lay down again and stared blankly at I-gyeol’s hair, dark as the night sky.

“…Wolf-nim must have found his meaning, right?”

“…”

Just before falling asleep, Myeong murmured one final question.

I-gyeol did not answer.

He had abandoned the search for meaning long ago. He had no answer to give the young servant.

Morning came.

Myeong woke with a body far more recovered than the day before and greeted the morning with a cheerful stretch. I-gyeol, however, frowned as he looked at the spit and blood staining his clothes. Regretting it now was already too late.

“I’m hungry.”

“…”

They had barely straightened their clothes before leaving the cave when Myeong suddenly grabbed I-gyeol and announced that he was hungry.

I-gyeol glanced up at the sky, then looked back down at Myeong.

‘Why am I walking around with this thing attached to me?’

He was properly playing the role of a nanny, a role he had never once asked for.

“If only I could have some candy.”

He had lost it without even getting to taste it, so he still felt a little regretful. Myeong licked his fingers, cracked and swollen from the cold, while imagining the sweetness.

I-gyeol shot him a sideways glare before striding forward.

Myeong hurried after him. Their difference in height made their strides vastly different. Before long, Myeong collapsed onto the ground, complaining that he had no strength left, and I-gyeol pressed a hand to his forehead.

“There should be a cornelian cherry tree nearby.”

Camellias might be difficult to find, but they should at least be able to find cornelian cherries.

I-gyeol gave Myeong a task.

Myeong took a deep breath and tried to smell the cornelian cherries.

“I don’t know.”

“Do you carry your nose around for decoration?”

“I’ve never smelled one before, so I don’t know.”

“I suppose all the servants of Spring are dead.”

I-gyeol scolded him for being a servant born beneath flowers yet being unable to find even that.

He forcibly pulled Myeong to his feet and pointed toward the east. Myeong understood the gesture and began walking in that direction.

I-gyeol’s large footprints continued to cover Myeong’s tiny footprints in the snow.

Myeong wandered along, his steps light and fluttering, until he soon spotted a cornelian cherry tree covered in snow. Red, frozen berries peeked sparsely through the leaves.

“Are these cornelian cherries?”

“Pick enough to eat.”

The landowner had given permission.

Myeong nodded and approached the tree. The branches bearing fruit were somewhat high, so Myeong climbed up the trunk with a grunt and began picking the berries.

I-gyeol sat beneath the tree and stared blankly at the snow-covered mountains.

He needed to divide up his power and seal it beneath the northern lands, but he did not know how long even that would last. The power of Winter was growing stronger without any apparent limit.

“Wolf-nim!”

“…”

“I’m falling!”

But not long afterward, Myeong’s scream rang out.

I-gyeol irritably looked up and saw Myeong dangling precariously from a branch.

“What should I do?!”

“Let go. You won’t get hurt anyway.”

“Will you catch me?!”

“No!”

The snow was piled thickly enough that he would not be seriously injured.

I-gyeol crossed his arms and glared at Myeong.

This little thing was asking him to do everything for him.

Yet Myeong was a servant who knew exactly where he could safely land. The wolf had already indulged him, and had even listened to his complaints about being hungry.

Myeong squeezed his eyes shut and shouted again.

He had a strong feeling that the wolf would definitely catch him.

“I’m going to let go!”

It seemed as though I-gyeol’s sigh was carried toward him on the wind.

Myeong released his grip.

And in the end, I-gyeol opened his arms and caught him.

A light weight landed against his chest.

“Phew.”

Myeong’s relieved breath brushed against I-gyeol’s chest. I-gyeol immediately pulled his arms away and dumped Myeong onto the snow.

Something about the air felt strange.

The child who naturally fell into his arms, and the wolf who had reluctantly opened them to catch him—both of them were strange.

“It hurts.”

“So?”

Myeong rubbed his bottom and pouted, but I-gyeol deliberately pretended not to notice.

“Please eat.”

It was a pouch filled with red cornelian cherries.

Myeong smiled and handed all the berries he had picked to I-gyeol.

I-gyeol shook his head, but Myeong kept holding them out, leaving him with no choice but to accept them.

What a stubborn little servant.

“Tastes awful.”

I-gyeol picked up one berry and tasted it, grimacing at its bitter, astringent flavor.

But Myeong only smiled brightly.

Then he grabbed a handful and stuffed them into his small mouth.

They tasted different from the berries he had eaten back in Spring.

After eating so many, Myeong’s lips were stained the deep red of the cornelian cherries.

I-gyeol’s gaze lingered on Myeong’s small lips for a moment before he frowned and turned his head away.

“Now let’s go look for the camellias again.”

“If only you would look for them by yourself.”

The ice flower was the price Myeong had to pay, and though it was difficult to find, he was still having fun.

Because he was no longer alone.

Because there was someone beside him.

Myeong walked ahead, listening to I-gyeol’s voice, which had now become familiar to him.

Leaving I-gyeol sulking behind, Myeong gathered some snow and tried to pack it together.

His hands quickly turned red from the cold, but he did not pull them away. He liked the sensation of touching the snow.

He wanted to make a snowman like the one one of his former companions had shown him.

Myeong tried to remember how it had been made and packed the snow into a ball, but it quickly crumbled apart.

Myeong sighed in disappointment and blew warm breath onto his frozen hands.

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