Gasp. A human!
Its heart felt like it shot up to its throat and then plummeted to its feet. The fox’s tail puffed up like a feather duster. Did they see me? Since they’re not moving, not yet…
Huh?
Looking closely, they weren’t humans. Those things were just cold chunks of metal. Phew, thank goodness. Just as it breathed a sigh of relief at the fact they weren’t human and was about to move forward again—
Thud thud.
At the faint footsteps heard from far down the corridor, its triangular ears perked up like lightning.
This time it’s real. Real, humans.
Though it had firmly resolved to boldly bite even their nose and run away if it encountered humans, when that moment actually arrived, the fox’s legs trembled.
‘Wh-what do I do? They’re really coming!’
The fox, floundering in panic until its vision went white, discovered one open door. There was no time to hesitate. The fox quickly pushed its body through that gap. The moment it entered the door, all kinds of smells stabbed at its nose at once.
Among the smell of dust as if untouched by human hands for a long time and the musty smell of old wood, there was a strange chemical smell that was oddly sweet yet sharply prickling at the tip of its nose.
What is this?
It was definitely not a pleasant smell.
The fox raised its head to examine the surroundings more carefully. The room was pitch black, but unlike humans, it wasn’t a big problem for the fox, which had sharp vision capable of distinguishing the outlines of objects even in darkness.
The fox slowly adapted its eyes to the darkness and began to grasp the room’s appearance. In the fairly spacious room, things covered with cloth were placed sparsely, and glass bottles of unknown identity were faintly sparkling as they caught the light.
…What is this place for?
An uneasy premonition seized it. It tried to leave at the unsettling feeling, but couldn’t go out because of the footsteps drawing closer. The footsteps were clearly heading toward this room. Instead of leaving, it needed to find a place to hide.
“…!”
It was the moment it stepped deeper to avoid the human coming here. It held its breath.
Numerous ‘shadows’ stood in the room. A massive bear looking down at it with eyes so vivid as if alive, a wolf crouched as if about to pounce at any moment, and deer with only their heads hung on the wall like trophies.
They definitely weren’t alive. But those gazes were so vivid it was as if their souls were captured.
The fox’s pulse began racing madly. A chilling cold flowed down its spine.
It wanted to run away from this cursed space immediately. It didn’t matter whether there was a human outside the door, a starving lion, or what was waiting. It was better to face such danger than this place where things that once lived and breathed were now hardened like lifeless statues. At least they were alive.
But its legs were too heavy to move, as if sandbags were attached. Its muscles had become hard as stone from fear.
“So you were here.”
A voice suddenly came from behind.
The small body jumped in shock. When it turned its head, a man was standing there. His face was dim as he stood with his back to the light seeping through the door crack. But it knew just from the smell. It was that man.
The man who had saved it twice. But at the same time, the untrustworthy man who had stabbed something strange into the scruff of its neck.
The fox backed away. The owner of this room was surely that man. It didn’t know who he was or where this was. But it was certain. Instinct warned it.
If caught by him, it’s the end.
“Grrrrowl…”
When it bared its fangs to express hostility, he raised both hands upward as if surrendering.
“Calm down. I told you I won’t hurt you.”
“Kyeng!”
Lies! Who would be fooled again?
The fox made a growling sound from deep in its throat. Its gaze moved ceaselessly. It desperately searched for an escape route, going back and forth between where it was hiding and the taxidermy filling the room.
But everywhere its gaze reached, only lifeless eyes could be seen. Animals with dead eyes. Each time its eyes met theirs, the fox couldn’t move forward and only backed away. Then it noticed something strange. He was no longer approaching and stood motionless in that spot.
Did my threat work?
The fox was flustered. This was the first time its threat had worked. Perhaps due to its small build, or because its growling sound was insignificant, it had never worked even once.
But looking closely, he didn’t seem frightened. Rather, after carefully observing the fox repeatedly glancing at something, as if realizing something, he briefly muttered “Ah.”
“Are you scared because of these things?”
He muttered while scanning the objects placed throughout the room once. They were various types of animals, starting from wolves to deer.
“These are just dolls made of wood. They’re not real animals.”
However, the fox didn’t believe it.
Not real? You think I’ll believe that after seeing those vivid eyes?
When the fox didn’t let its guard down easily, he moved first. The fox was momentarily startled, thinking he was approaching it, but the place he headed wasn’t toward it but the window beside. When he drew back the curtain, bright sunlight poured into the room.
The light suddenly pouring into eyes accustomed to darkness stung. It reflexively squinted while waiting to adapt. After a few seconds, its pupils began contracting to match the brightness, and though everything appeared white and blurred at first, outlines gradually emerged.
What was revealed under the sunlight wasn’t the horrible corpses the fox had thought. Unlike their appearance in the darkness, they were crude-looking wooden sculptures.
Fake? Really… fake?
The fox approached the sculpture with a dubious expression. It even smelled it to confirm his words.
The distinctive smell of animals couldn’t be felt. Instead, it smelled of dry wood. And the unfamiliar smell of polish or coating applied on top. Only the mixed smell of wood and paint stimulated the tip of its nose.
They really were fake.
Only after confirming they were precisely carved models rather than taxidermy did the fox breathe a sigh of relief. It had simply mistaken them because each strand of fur was meticulously carved and painted to look real.
“See, you’ve confirmed it, right? Then come here. Let’s go back. If you wander around carelessly, you’ll get lost.”
While the fox’s attention was captured by the sculpture, its heart seemed to stop at the voice that suddenly came. When did you! When it hurriedly turned around, he had already approached right behind it and was staring directly at it.
The first thing that captured its gaze was his hair. It subtly held light as if made by pouring platinum, and the eyes revealed beneath sparkled enchantingly like melted pure gold. It was as if two suns were facing the fox.
Normally, it would have been naturally drawn to such warm and beautiful radiance. But now was different. The fox backed away again. Resentment about being stabbed with the sharp thing still remained.
“Won’t you come?”
The fox just pressed its lips tightly together and glared at him. As if saying with an expression: Why should I listen to a human who deceived me? I really won’t listen to any human’s words ever again.
“Alright then.”
When the fox showed no sign of movement, he didn’t persuade any further either. He withdrew his hand and stood up from his spot.
And then he just left, leaving the fox behind.
Huh?
When he obediently retreated, the one flustered was rather the fox.
He’s leaving like this?
It had definitely wanted him not to come close. One part of its heart still felt that way. But when the sound of his footsteps really grew distant and the sound of the door closing was heard, the suddenly arrived quietness felt unfamiliar.
Did he really… leave?
He kept coming to mind. Those deep, warm eyes looking down at it. That warmth when he carefully extended his hand. Why did it feel this way? A strange emptiness pierced its chest, as if it had missed something important, or pushed away something necessary.
Looking back, he was almost the only human who had treated it kindly. Though he deceived it and stabbed it with something strange, seeing as it was still alive, it didn’t seem to be with bad intentions. Probably.
‘No! Get a hold of yourself!’
The fox that suddenly came to its senses shook its head vigorously.
Humans are all the same.
They’re cruel beings who kill innocent animals and destroy forests and nature. There must be a reason for his current kind behavior too. It might be a kind of scheme to eat it.
Raising pigs is to eat pork, and raising chickens is to eat chicken. So him treating me well must definitely be a scheme to eat me later!
Having concluded this, the fox put strength in its legs and approached the door. It had to leave before he came. The door was closed, but it was okay. It knew how to open it now. It could just hang on the doorknob like when leaving the room the first time.
The fox stopped in front of the door and lowered its body. Like before, it wiggled its bottom and jumped toward the doorknob. At the same time, someone opened the door from the opposite side.
