Another Tale Of A Nine Tailed

Chapter 13: Misery

Yi Jeong followed his brother through the now dark forest. He had never been able to see that good in the dark, but now he had developed a natural night vision and it was amazing.
The nature around him felt like home and sometimes, he even thought the trees were whispering to him.

Yeon stopped in the middle of a glade and turned around. "Watch!"

Yi Jeong stopped too and watched his brother close his eyes and spread his arms like he wanted to summon something, but nothing happened. Yi Jeong looked around curiously and suddenly, a tiny light appeared, followed by another and more and more fireflies surrounded him and brightened up the place.

"Whaa.." Yi Jeong said in awe and reached out, but couldn't catch one.

Yeon peeked through one half opened eye and when he saw his brother's reaction, he opened both eyes and smiled. Yi Jeong looked like a child who saw a Christmas tree for the first time and his heart almost exploded of pure joy. He hastily wiped away a tear and sat down on a rock, enjoying the moment a little longer, before he finally broke the silence. "There's a whole new world waiting for you, little brother."

"Will I be able to do that, too?" he asked excitedly and Yeon scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. You have to be a mountain god for stuff like this. The forest remembers me, I can call it." he paused and then added softly: „How do you feel? Does it feel familiar to be here?"

Yi Jeong looked around and let his fingers glide over some leaves within his reach.
"Yes, yes I think it does. It feels natural to be here, if that makes sense. Also, I can see in the dark!" he smiled.

"You can do so many more things. But one step at a time."

"Wait.. does this mean I can watch Woo Bin when he sleeps without turning on the light?" Yi Jeong grinned and Yeon answered with a wink.

Yi Jeong wrapped his arms around himself and sighed.

"Are you cold?" Yeon asked but he shook his head with a little smile. "I wish he could see this.."

"You can show him next time."

"But it's not cool if you do it.."

"I can do it while you pretend you do it. I always made you look better than you actually were."

"What? No you didn't..." Yi Jeong said slightly offended and Yeon laughed. "Of course I did. Seeing you happy was more rewarding than showing off."

Yi Jeong's featured softened and he huffed. "Guess you really were a good brother."

"Of course I was! I still am.." Now Yeon was the offended one, but it wasn't holding on for long.
"You can ask me anything you want. Is there anything you want to know about Rang?"

Yi Jeong was lost in thoughts for a moment. He thought of Woo Bin and how he didn't want to know about his own past and how worried he was. Considering if it was important to know those things without remembering them, he decided that he wouldn't ask for more, eventually. He wasn't on his own and Woo Bin's opinion mattered just as much as his own.

"Until I remember on my own, I think I would like a new start. I am a new me, but I think having a brother wouldn't be too bad. We can bond over you, teaching me all the fox-stuff, right? When I look at you, I want to hug and hit you at the same time. Does that sound right?" he asked and Yeon laughed.

"Yeah, that sounds just perfect. By the way, we should start digging to get the burrow ready, soon. I start to get tired."

Yi Jeong looked into Yeon's dead serious face, who needed to bite his tongue to not laugh at his little brother's expression.