Flowers | Tale Of The Nine Tailed [Lee Rang]

Chapter 3: Thristle

With the permission given by my master, I was able to roam around the mountains and somehow ended up on Mr. Lee Yeon's property. However, I stopped at the sight of a familiar figure running toward me. When I caught a full view of it, a smile was immediately plastered on my face as I bent down to pat the puppy.

"Blacky, where did you go?" A voice entered my ear. Looking up, I was greeted by a boy.

I narrowed my eyes at him as the dog, oddly similar to the one I've found ran to him wagging its tail and pointing his head towards my direction.

The boy finally looked up as another taller figure appeared.

"Mr. Yeon?" I asked getting more confused by the sudden mountain spirit's presence.

That led Mr. Yeon to introduce me to the new owner of the dog that the owner named 'blacky.'

The boy's name is Lee Rang and he is Mr. Yeon's half-brother, was the same age as me, and was clearly of higher standing than I was. With his toothy grin and chubby cheeks, I could only conclude that he wasn't much of a threat, but I wasn't too keen on having him stick around.

I have to admit, I am selfish, I was known for being the youngest fox to ever lived among the spirit mountains, and having discovered another one made me uneasy. I was far too comfortable with the attention fixed on me for the first years of my life, so I was left in shambles upon the realization that this Lee Rang could potentially steal my spotlight in one sweep.

"Hello, Ahri!" the boy greeted cheerily. He stuck his hand out making me wonder how he could be so reckless and bubbly as he pleased.

I'm pretty sure I looked the opposite: unease and shyness heavy in my throat, but managed to take my hand out and shake his. He had a weaker grip than I had expected, and it gave me a small burst of superiority that I was stronger than him.

Eventually, Mr. Lee Yeon thought it was a great idea to leave me and his brother alone. I decided to walk to make a distance but he kept following me and asking if we could be friends despite my threats.

What made him suddenly stop is when we reached an entrance of a certain forest. It looked gloomy and dangerous. I took a step forward because of the curiosity that spark within me before the boy yelled, "No don't go there."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"It's dangerous."

Seeing him like that brought satisfaction to my cruel soul. I had an idea.

"I'll be your friend," I started. "If you play at this forest—" I pointed at the forest in front. "—with me."

And that would soon later be a great mistake. His eyes widened for a moment but hesitantly obliged, something that I did not expect.

As the saying goes, those who are proud will be humbled. Because as soon as we were halfway buried within the forest, some creatures, that Lee Rang called 'the undead' came to attack us.

With the magic taught to me, I barely managed to get the two of us out because for some reason Lee Rang couldn't fight.

The moment we stepped out and into the safe zone AKA Mr. Lee Yeon's part in the mountains, we both took a deep breath. Noticing the blood trailing down his leg, I kneeled and put my hand on it, healing it in the next second. He remained silent making me utter my next words.

"I'm sorry," I said not meeting his eyes. "I should have listened to you."

When I finally did, he had a smile on and nodded. I, later on, learned this, he grew up with the comfort of his mother and soon after Mr. Yeon thus making him have this bubbly personality. I wonder why he is still able to smile after everything his mother did to him.