Since the day I first met the Fur Ball, the girl’s life changed a lot.
Among the small but significant changes, the biggest one was that a new presence settled in the hideout where the girl had always lived alone.
It was none other than the Fur Ball.
Since the Fur Ball received food from the girl, it seemed to form a bond with her, and no matter how much time passed, it wouldn’t leave her side.
The girl didn’t push the Fur Ball away, which had made the hideout its new home; instead, she welcomed its presence.
“Hehe, Myang.”
The girl named the Fur Ball ‘Myang,’ as it made that sound whenever it barked.
At first, Myang didn’t understand the name and just tilted its head, but after being called repeatedly, it came to recognize the name and would bark back happily.
Now, the hideout had gone from one resident to two.
With that increase in number, one significant change was that the number of mouths to feed doubled.
“Are you hungry?”
– Myang!
Myang had injured its eyes and couldn’t see.
Although it had once miraculously brought back a dead rat, it was generally challenging for Myang to find food on its own because of its condition.
Thus, the girl began to divide the food she found equally between herself and Myang.
When she was lucky enough to find a lot, they shared equally, and on the days when her luck ran out, they still shared whatever little they had.
Naturally, the amount of food the girl could eat was halved compared to before, but she didn’t feel any regret about it.
Myang was not merely a creature consuming food; it was much more.
Not long ago, shortly after the girl started living with Myang, she had a day when she rummaged through the trash bin of a restaurant in search of food, thinking that she needed to find enough not just for herself but for Myang too.
Upon returning to the hideout, the girl prepared to share half of what she found with Myang, but today, Myang showed a strong rejection towards the food.
It hadn’t been picky before, but just smelling today’s food made it recoil.
At first, the girl wondered if there was something unpleasant mixed in, but Myang wasn’t just behaving that way on its own.
– …!!! Myang! Myang!
When the girl tried to eat, Myang barked loudly, disrupting her meal with its fuss.
The girl couldn’t understand Myang’s sudden strange behavior.
However, whenever she reached for the food, Myang would tug at her clothes and whine, and eventually, eliminating any chance of eating, she had no choice but to throw the food away and go hungry that day.
The next day, the girl found dead rats foaming at the mouth where she had discarded the uneaten food.
Whether it was a coincidence or whether the restaurant owner had mixed something dangerous into the food to target the girl rummaging through the trash, Myang had detected it by smell and warned her.
After that incident, the girl completely trusted Myang.
Not only did she realize Myang had excellent abilities, but it was also an added bonus.
“Myang.”
– Myang.
The girl was out looking for food when Myang peeked its head out from her clothing.
Since that day, every time the girl went out in search of food, she brought Myang along.
It was so she could benefit from Myang’s abilities.
– Myang!
While the girl was busy rummaging through the trash bin, Myang barked softly.
The girl immediately stopped what she was doing and quickly moved away from the spot.
“……What was that? I could have sworn I heard something rattling around here. A rat, maybe…?”
And not long after, the restaurant owner appeared.
“Hehe. Myang, good job.”
– Myang!
Seeing the restaurant owner’s blank expression, the girl smiled and petted Myang’s head, causing Myang to make a happy sound.
Although Myang couldn’t see, its sense of smell and hearing were far superior to the girl’s.
So, whenever someone approached, Myang would signal the girl and help warn her.
Recently, Myang had been a great help in the girl’s food-gathering efforts.
Sharing half of her food with Myang was not at all a regrettable matter.
Of course, the girl wouldn’t have regretted sharing food with Myang even if it hadn’t been helpful.
“Myang, did you eat it all?”
– Myang!
Once they returned to the hideout with the food they had gathered, the girl shared it with Myang.
Holding Myang tightly, they took bites together, sharing equally.
The warmth coming from Myang curled up in her arms.
To the girl, Myang’s warmth was more precious than anything else.
“Myang, come here.”
After finishing their meal, the girl would spend some time talking with Myang.
The girl was learning to speak using a book she found while rummaging through the trash.
Perhaps because of her eagerness to learn, her language skills were improving rapidly.
“Myang, how’s it? The smell of alcohol. Danger.”
– Myang!
“That person from before. Danger.”
– Myang!
The reason the girl decided to learn to speak was that she wanted to tell Myang various things since it couldn’t see.
She wanted to share any knowledge she had with Myang, who couldn’t see.
Of course, that wasn’t her only reason for learning.
“Myang, today, on the way, I saw the sky. The clouds were beautiful.”
– Myang!
“If you could see it too, Myang, that would be great.”
The girl wanted to share the scenery she had seen with Myang.
Despite the city being filled with dangers, the sky and clouds she had seen were beautiful.
She thought it would be nice if Myang also knew about the beautiful scenery she had not recognized before.
So that each time she saw a similar landscape, she could recall the time she spent with Myang.
“Myang, are you sleepy?”
– Myang…
“Okay, let’s sleep.”
When they talked and Myang nodded off, they would both go to bed.
As she began to drift off, the girl opened a book, preparing for words she would share with Myang the next day.
There was a good word in the place she opened to.
Family, meaning the precious ones you live with.
“Myang, are you and I… family?”
– …
“Hehe.”
The girl asked playfully, but there was no answer.
However, she didn’t mind; she gently stroked Myang’s neck, which had already fallen deeply asleep, smiling.
Around Myang’s neck was a small flower-shaped ornament she had made for it.
In truth, the girl had never seen a real flower.
She had just thought the picture she saw in a book was pretty and made a crude attempt at crafting the shape somewhat poorly.
Therefore, even though the shabby flower ornament she had sewn together from rags couldn’t be considered pretty, the girl thought it was beautiful.
This was because she had a similar ornament on her own clothing.
That flower was a symbol of the bond between her and Myang, proving they were family; thus, the ragged flower that bloomed from the trash was the most beautiful flower in the world to the girl.
Lying there, feeling the warmth of Myang sleeping in her arms, the girl thought.
If only they could continue living like this forever.
While thinking that, the girl suddenly remembered a phrase she had learned not long ago that could be used in these situations.
What was it again?
Right, it was definitely…
“……Haengbokada.”
It was the word for ‘happiness,’ it seemed.
The girl was happy with each passing day spent alongside Myang.
Perhaps that was why.
She no longer felt hungry as she used to.
*
It rained.
“Myang, keep the house safe.”
– Myang!
That day, the girl was reluctantly forced to leave Myang alone in the hideout to search for food.
In the rain, Myang’s long suits—its hearing and smell became useless, and most importantly, she didn’t want Myang to get wet.
So, she left Myang behind and came out to find food.
With the rain falling, her destination was the usual restaurant, where food was easy to find.
“Oh.”
Today, she was lucky enough to gather a decent amount of food quickly.
She had been avoiding the restaurant owner lately, and perhaps they thought she had eaten the food mixed with rat poison since there was no interference this time.
Quickly securing her food, the girl thought about hurrying back to talk with Myang while listening to the sound of the rain, and she walked lightly towards the hideout.
However, what awaited her upon her return was
“……Huh?”
A completely destroyed hideout.
The girl felt her previously good mood plummet to the depths.
Had it collapsed because of the rain?
The hideout, which she had disguised to look like a pile of trash, had completely crumbled and now resembled an actual trash heap.
It was unfortunate that the hideout, which she had cherished for a long time, had fallen apart, but for the girl, the real issue wasn’t that.
“…Myang!”
The hideout could be rebuilt.
But Myang couldn’t be replaced.
With a pale face, the girl called for Myang and began to dig through the wreckage.
“Myang! Are you okay?! Myang!”
Thinking she had to find Myang quickly, the girl dug fervently into the fallen trash, oblivious to the blood on her hands.
But no matter how thoroughly she searched, she couldn’t find Myang or Myang’s corpse.
“Ah…”
Only then did the girl consider that Myang might not be here.
If that were the case, it would be hiding somewhere safe to escape the rain before the hideout collapsed.
Surely, it was alive and well.
The girl felt relieved that Myang wasn’t here and ran out into the rain to search for her.
“Myang! Where are you! Myang!”
But no matter how much the girl called out for Myang,
“……Myang.”
Myang was nowhere to be found.
Where could it have gone?
Had it left her behind?
While the girl was filled with such thoughts,
“Ugh, I’m drunk…”
She came across a drunkard under a tent set up in an alley.
At first, she intended to ignore him and continue her search for Myang, but when she spotted something in the drunkard’s hand, she froze in place as though nailed down.
“……Ah.”
The drunkard, picking at his teeth with a toothpick, had a tattered flower ornament hanging from it.
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