Amy had just finished brushing her hair—the slow, careful kind of brushing that K-drama heroines always did before dramatic events happened. She admired the neat strands in her mirror, gave herself a little nod of approval, and prepared to crawl into bed.
Her window was open. It always was, because her room faced the forest, and she liked the sound of crickets. It made her feel like she was in one of those countryside romance dramas where the city boy gets lost and suddenly falls in love with the girl who can cook rice better than anyone else.
Just as she was reaching to turn off the light, a long, low howl drifted in from the woods.
Amy froze.
Wolves.
That was impossible. Wolves were about as common here as aliens running a convenience store. Her town's most exotic wildlife was the occasional hedgehog that got lost in the bushes behind her neighbor's laundry line.
"Must've been a dog," she whispered.
Still, curiosity was stronger than reason, so she shuffled to the window. The forest stood there in its usual dark, leafy silence. Nothing unusual. Amy leaned on the windowsill and tilted her head up at the moon.
It was big tonight, bright and round. The kind of moon that made her sigh and wonder when exactly her Korean prince would finally descend from the sky. Preferably one with good hair, broad shoulders, and the tragic backstory of a chaebol heir forced to marry a woman he didn't love—but who would then, of course, fall for Amy instead.
She was lost in her little fantasy, already imagining the slow-motion scene of him landing gracefully in her room (with background music, obviously), when she heard it—
A rustle.
Amy blinked, leaned forward, and squinted. Something was moving in the shadows near the edge of the forest. For a moment, she caught sight of it: the tip of a tail slipping between the bushes.
Her heart skipped.
"Oh! It's just my fox!" she whispered, grinning.
She'd been leaving scraps for the little thing for weeks, and it had gotten brave enough to lurk near her window sometimes. The tail was sticking out just far enough for her to see… except, instead of the fox's usual fluffy white tip, this one gleamed faintly silver.
Amy frowned. "Huh. Did you dye your hair or something?"
She shook her head, and waved dismissively. Probably just the moonlight playing tricks. Nothing to worry about.
Yawning, she shut the window and flopped onto her bed, pulling the blanket over her head. Within minutes, Amy was drifting into sleep, completely forgetting about howls, tails, and any other strange things lurking outside her window.
Because tomorrow, she decided drowsily, she would definitely meet her Korean prince.
And hopefully, he wouldn't be covered in fur.
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