V

The chilling wind disturbed the bunny none, merely tickling the fur of the bear that rested adorably next to her. But with the chilling wind came the leaves wafting through its current, but no sign of humans magically appearing from thin air. The houses hosted no one, full of that gloomy loneliness with no one to make the houses look lively. The streetlights shined like there was no tomorrow, flickering in some areas and shining with an off, yellowy color in others, the bus stop deserted and empty with a bus that would never make its rounds, the entire town waiting for the humans...

And yet, no one was there.

The sun made its graceful entrance, ready to wow the world and noting that the humans were curiously missing still, but it did not stop it one second. Cool atmosphere from the crisp wind gave way to the warmer weather, letting it have its time of the day. 

Joohyun was first to rise, stretching and yawning adorable the moment her eyes fluttered open to welcome the bright day before her. The brightness blinded her for a few seconds, making her look around cautiously to process that she was no longer home but outside in someone's backyard. Then, the big furry bear beside her surprised her just for a second, realizing a moment later that this was just Kang Seulgi. The big, adorable bear who was absolutely knocked out asleep. There was no need to fear. This was her friend. Fear and wariness gave way to sudden energy and happiness. Suddenly, her bones and muscles danced and twitched, springing her up from her spot -- giddy, happy, curious. 

Today was a brand new day, the world open to their curious eyes. “Seulgi!” Joohyun said happily, unable to stop her body from hopping about around her in excitement. Her entire body had woken up and now she wanted to wake Seulgi up. “Seeeul! Time to wake up!” She said, finally landing on the bear’s tummy, feeling it rising and falling steadily and nearly knocking her off balance. “Bear?” Head tilted, she patted the bear’s chest. “Bear!”

“Uuuhhh?” Said the bear, disoriented and still with her eyes closed shut. “Wha--where, do--.”

“Seulgi?” Joohyun said, patting again. “Wake up.”

Finally, Seulgi’s heavy eyelids gave way for the brand new adventure ahead. Through her busy mind ran a myriad of thoughts that came and went, one of them being the possibility of waking up alone once again, or maybe opening her eyes and finding herself surrounded by trees and without her family once again. But such doubts and thoughts were flicked away when Seulgi looked down, seeing the excited bunny smiling down at her -- visibly more comfortable, well rested and ready to explore. “Ah, Joohyun!”

“Hi,” Joohyun said softer this time, hopping off of the bear. “Did you sleep well?”

Seulgi grinned, her sharp fangs showing once again but not frightening Joohyun none. “I did, slept like a cub!” 

“That’s good,” Joohyun giggled, hopping around -- unable to contain her excitement.

The yawning bear ran her hand through her fur lethargically, patting herself. “And you?” Seulgi asked. “I… I thought you’d leave.”

Shaking her head, Joohyun replied. “I can’t leave a friend behind.”

That seemed to wake Seulgi up fully, making her sit up abruptly. Seulgi’s ears twitched and her grin grew ever brighter, her eyes becoming lovely crescents akin to the moon. “You called me friend!” And so the bear celebrated, clapping her paws together.

Joohyun couldn’t help but to rub her head and laugh at the adorable display. This meant that Seulgi had her first friend, a friend from a different species no less! And Joohyun too made a friend, especially now that her master was gone.

Speaking of which, this morning was heavier in atmosphere, the air charged with tension -- a threat of the storm that was supposed to be forecasted yesterday. Among the charged air, however, was the lingering question from both Joohyun and Seulgi.

Wandering about the modest town, the strange human things that you and I are so used to looked outlandish and bizarre to the young bear who was still infinitely curious of the humans and their rituals -- whatever those rituals may be.

Hanging from the fur of Seulgi’s fluffy head, Joohyun sat atop her broad shoulders, watching the world from a higher view. It all looked so different, like diluted, far, but closer to the sky more than ever. Sitting on a kitchen counter or a table was no match for this strangely enchanting look.

“All these cabins--.”

“Houses,” Joohyun swiftly corrected.

“Yes, houses. All of these had people in it?”

“Some aren’t houses,” Joohyun said softly to the curious bear, rubbing her head -- right between her perky, wiggling ears. “Some are stores.”

“Stores?”

And so Joohyun explained what it meant. Exchanging goods for coins and cash, repairing goods, etc. It was all a vast world of rituals, in Seulgi’s mind, and it was so fascinating how different it was. The rumbling stomach from the bear entered the conversation, making the two friends laugh and veer towards a bakery. The door was left open and nothing had changed from the day before. The clock ticked away, the store smelled like less-fresh bread and the cakes in display remained immobile, sweetly in place and tantalizing to the eyes.

It definitely caught Seulgi’s eyes, as her voracious appetite didn’t seem to die down with the myriad of bread. Seated on the counter was Joohyun still biting into the bread slowly and carefully, savoring every bit of it. “You eat a lot,” Joohyun teased.

Seulgi peaked her head out from inside the cabinets with the icing of a cake smeared over . “I do?”

“Yeah, I have never seen anyone eat this much.”

“Ah,” Seulgi paused to chow down another slice of cake messily, yet adorably. “Momma said we had to eat a lot to grow up strong and healthy, especially before winter.”

“Why?”

Seulgi looked at her curiously, then understood that not all animals had the same cycles as her -- like her brother once said. “We hibernate during winter, a big long sleep before the spring comes.”

“We don’t do that,” Joohyun shook her head, smiling. “It’s interesting though.”

“You don’t hibernate?” Seulgi asked, just noticing the mess of icing and cake in her hands and claws.

“I don’t think so.”

“Did… Did your master hibernate?” 

Joohyun tilted her head for a second. “I think she did,” she nodded. “At least she did one time. She wouldn’t get out of bed and couldn’t stop sleeping. Master’s friend came every now and then to give me my food, but she wouldn’t move at all. I think she was hibernating.”

Human affairs were still quite unknown to Joohyun, so she never truly realized that her master was never truly asleep but rather… unmotivated, a bit ill. Had her master looked at Joohyun in the eye at the time, the poor bunny would’ve understood that something was wrong. However, blissfully unaware, the bunny kept on moving until her master ‘woke up’ and Joohyun made sure to give her all the love in the world after. Master had never been happier.

“Hibernating makes you save energy, but I always eat up plenty after I wake up.”

And that explained her voracious appetite.

“My master seemed very happy after she woke up,” Joohyun noted, smiling fondly at the memories that seemed so long ago.

“Then she hibernated well!”

But where is she? Joohyun said to herself in her head. To admit that she missed her was… strange, it felt so strange. What was this feeling?

“I hope she’s okay,” Joohyun mumbled.

Seulgi blinked a few times with her head tilted. “I’m sure she will be, right?”

Joohyun didn’t know about that, but her silence spoke for her. She wished her master to be okay and clung onto Seulgi’s own optimism.

And with that, Seulgi chowed down the next cake like nothing, savagely like the wild animal she was. But of course, that made Joohyun laugh. "Eat slower!"

"Why?"

"To taste it better!" Said Joohyun. 

Seulgi tilted her head and her ears perked up with curiosity. Taste it better? She has been tasting things wrong? Eating slower… 

Joohyun resumed quietly eating her bread, nibble after nibble, savoring every inch of the sweetish treat and sighing in delight after every gulp. And so Seulgi mimicked her with another slice of cake, watching carefully and slowly. She gave it a modest bite and she chewed slowly, letting the cake truly melt away in and letting the icing work its sweet magic. Then and only then she understood what she meant by 'taste.'

She let every flavor hit her stronger than ever before, knocking her backwards with this revolutionary sensation like a powerful gale or the strong current of a waterfall. It made every little hair of her body dance, it made her feel incredibly happy -- a sensation that she didn’t get too often from just eating something slowly, but rather eating a good chunk of it.

“Oh my god, this tastes amazing!” Seulgi said as she gave the cake another truthful bite, humming and savoring every bit of it slowly. 

Joohyun couldn’t help but to give her a proud, motherly-like smile, watching Seulgi discover the world of flavors right before her eyes. At least she had Seulgi to make her company, Seulgi who would not dare to leave her side. Seulgi who was a wonder ready to be discovered and ready to discover.