ICON OF HOPE?

"NOONA, how did you do it?"

Eclaire blinked while looking at Graham's stupefied face, then she turned to the steel door that was now shut tight. "I don't know," she said, then she turned to Graham again. "I swear I didn't do anything strange. My finger just touched the door…"

"Noona, the door is not something you can simply push. If it's that easy to close, then we wouldn't have a problem in the first place," Graham said, then he gave her a suspicious look. "Are you just pretending to be weak all this time?"

She glared at Graham, then she punched his arm.

To prove that she wasn't pretending to be weak, she punched him as hard as she could. But the strength that she poured into her punch backfired. The future Wolf King didn't budge, but she thought she broke her fingers because they hurt as hell.

"It hurts," she complained while tending to her poor right hand. "Is your body made of steel or what?"

"I'm sorry, Noonim," Graham said, his face and voice filled with guilt. "My body is naturally sturdy, so…"

"Ah, whatever," she said, the pain in her hand subsiding already– thank goodness! It looked she just overreacted. Seeing that the pain in her hand disappeared easily, then it just meant she didn't break her fingers. "See what happened to my hand when I punched you? And you dared accuse me of pretending to be weak all this time?"

His face turned from embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Noona. I just asked because I wanted to make sure that my theory is correct."

"And what theory is that?"

His face beamed. "Noona is really a Luna!"

She read Graham's life story, so she had an idea of what a Luna was. Apparently, it was an existence that could help the Wolves grow stronger. "But can a Luna close a Cage?" she asked, confused since she didn't read anything like that in the "book." "If that's the case, then you and your people should have spent your resources on finding Lunas."

"Well, the Lunas in our world are nothing but a myth at this point since it has been generations since the last one appeared," he said, then he looked at her with sparkling eyes. It was as if she suddenly became an icon of hope in his eyes. "But I believe Noonim is more special than the Lunas I've read in the books."

"How so?"

"I don't know– I just can tell."

[This kid, really…]

She just let out a sigh, then she changed the topic when a worrying thought crossed her mind. "Graham, what will happen to the Lycan roaming around our city?"

For some reason, she suddenly felt nervous while watching Graham's awkward reaction.

"Oh," Graham said softly, then his shoulders slumped. "The Lycan… is stuck here since I don't think they're capable of opening the Cage on their own."

Eclaire groaned and covered her face with her hands. "Eottoke?"

What should she do now?!

***

ECLAIRE buried her face in the pillow and screamed.

As soon as they got home, she ran to the living room and 'dived' into the sofa. There was a raging storm in her head right now, and she wouldn't stop screaming internally.

[Stupid, stupid, stupid!]

She was berating herself for being stupid. Why did she close the door so carelessly like that? She didn't mean to do so, but she still should have been more careful in dealing with the door!

[Eomma, hurry up and come home!]

"Noona, I'm sorry…"

It was Graham.

She felt and heard him sit on the armrest of the sofa.

"It's not your fault so you don't have to apologize to me, Graham," Eclaire said, then she collected herself. She was the adult here, she mustn't lose her composure. With that resolve in her mind, she got up and took a deep breath. "I'm done scolding myself. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, we should think of a plan to stop the Lycan from hurting the people here."

"I will catch them, Noona," Graham promised firmly. "I promise I won't let the Lycan wreak havoc in this world."

She didn't want to admit this because she was used to being relied on instead of the other way around, but Graham looked reliable at the moment. It made her want to lean on him. To be honest, she didn't really like that feeling.

It wasn't Graham's fault, though.

[Like I said, I'm used to being relied on. So it feels weird that me, of all people, would want to rely on someone else.]

But what could she do?

She couldn't fight Lycans even if she wanted to.

"Noona, you read my life story, so you're aware I'm the weakest among my clan," Graham said as if he was embarrassed. His face was red, and he was scratching the back of his head nervously. "But I promise I'm not totally useless. As long as we're not inside the Cage, I'm confident I can win against a Lycan."

She never doubted Graham, though.

The narrator of his life story was confident in Graham's skills and abilities. Plus, she figured Graham wouldn't be prophesied as the next Wolf King if he were weak.

"It's probably my fault why a Cage has opened up in this peaceful world," he said, then his gaze fell to the floor. At this point, he sounded like he was panicking. "If I didn't cross this world, none of this would have happened. I should have stayed quietly in my world–"

"I trust you, Graham," she said, cutting him off from berating himself.

He raised his head, then his eyes turned gleam as if he was about to cry. "Noona…"

"I have faith in you, but don't be pressured too much," she said calmly. "None of this is your fault, so don't blame yourself."

His face beamed again, and he looked really touched by her words. "Noona, c-can I hug you?"

It looked like Graham gathered a lot of courage before he asked for a hug because his whole face turned a deeper shade of red. Plus, his pupils were shaking as if he was about to faint anytime. If she turned him down, he would probably collapse.

She opened her arms as an invitation for a hug.

But she wasn't doing this out of pity. She wasn't the type of person who would easily hug someone else just because they asked her to. But she wanted to comfort Graham– a lonely child.

[He must have been afraid all this time, and he's enduring it alone.]

"Come here, Graham," Eclaire said gently. "You're not alone anymore."

Graham smiled as if he was relieved, then he jumped into her arms.

[Wait– what?!]

She thought she was going to be crushed.

But much to her pleasant surprise, Graham turned into his cute puppy form when she jumped into her arms. So now, she was cuddling a baby wolf that looked like Husky. But she noticed something a little different.

"You've grown bigger than last time, Graham," Eclaire said happily. "I bet you'll turn into an adult wolf soon!"

Graham just 'woofed' energetically as a response.

[Cute!]

***

NOTE: Hi! Please consider ADDING 'MOONSTRUCK WOLF KING' to your LIBRARY. Thank you! <3