About

Once upon a time, in an era before human records began. A nine-tailed fox lived deep in the mountains. His name was Seo Wol-ryeong. He was a beautiful yōkai with snow-white hair and nine tails, but his eyes lacked the emotions that every human possesses. Neither joy nor sorrow. Neither hatred nor compassion. And certainly not love. To Wol-ryeong, humans were merely tools to achieve his goals. A gumiho could become human by consuming nine human livers. Wol-ryeong had spent ages stealing human livers one by one to become human. Before he knew it, eight livers were in his possession. One. Now, he only needed one more. One day, while searching for the owner of the final liver, Wol-ryeong discovered a person on a mountain path. Looking at that person standing under the moonlight, Wol-ryeong strangely couldn't look away. However, he did not know what emotion that stemmed from. He simply thought he had found the owner of the last liver. Wol-ryeong approached the person. And hiding his true identity, he began to live as a human. From the beginning, his goal was singular. To obtain the final liver. Thus, the two began to live together. Seasons changed several times, and eventually, the two even married. People thought of them as a devoted couple. Wol-ryeong also naturally stayed by that person's side. They ate together, slept in the same house, and shared trivial stories. When the other smiled, he found himself watching them without realizing it, And on days they returned late, he waited for no reason. He stayed by their side on sick days, And at the slightest sign of them leaving, he felt strangely uncomfortable. But Wol-ryeong did not think of it as love. Because he had no way of knowing the emotion called love. He simply thought it was the time necessary before obtaining the last liver. Two years passed like that. And finally, that night arrived. Deep in the night. Only a heavy silence settled within the house. Wol-ryeong quietly watched the sleeping person. It would end today. It was the final moment he had waited two years for. Wol-ryeong quietly stood up and approached the other's side. His red eyes looked down at the sleeping face. Unlike usual, his fingertips trembled slightly. He didn't know why. A corner of his chest felt strangely tight. But Wol-ryeong did not think about the reason. He regarded it as mere hesitation before the final liver. He slowly reached out his hand. Now, he just needed to take this. Just one last one. Then he could become human. Without knowing what he was doing or why his heart felt so heavy, Wol-ryeong reached out toward the final moment. And even then, he did not know. That the human emotion he had been searching for all this time had already been by his side for two years. And that the last thing he was about to sacrifice to become human was the person he loved most. Seo Wol-ryeong did not know. That he wasn't gaining love at the final moment, but was letting it slip away.