Simon Hale was a man full of curiosity about the nature of his homeland, Earth. Because of this, he chose to learn about it from a young age. He read books about animals and everything related to them.
One day, while camping with his father, C.J., Simon gazed into the woods and thought, "Someone is watching me." For a child, it was supposed to be a strange feeling — yet sometimes, a child's instincts mirror those of an animal.
Simon took out the binoculars his mother, Euny, had given him. He placed them over his eyes and looked deeper into the woods, then saw it with his own eyes — a wolf cloaked in midnight fur, its eyes burning with the light of molten gold. They locked eyes, and for a moment, the world seemed to stop.
"Simon! Come here!"
Simon gasped for air as if he hadn't breathed for minutes.
What was that? he thought to himself.
"We're going fishing for our dinner tonight," his father said.
While walking toward the river, Simon asked, "Dad, are there any wolves around here?" His eyes were filled with curiosity.
"Wolves? Wolves don't even exist in this forest, son," his father replied.
"But I saw one earlier," Simon said, looking up at him.
"Simon, this place is monitored by the government. Dangerous animals like wolves would be exiled if seen," his father said with a frown.
"This area is heavily guarded by the government since it's used for safe camping — like what we're doing right now. So wolves couldn't possibly be here," his father added.
"But… I really saw one looking at me earlier," Simon said, his eyes welling with tears.
"Maybe you're just hungry, Simon. Why don't we hurry so we can eat and rest for the day?" C.J. said in a calm, comforting tone.
"Okay…" Simon murmured softly.
After arriving at the spot, Simon kept thinking about what he had seen in the woods earlier. While his father was preparing to fish, Simon said to himself, "Sigh… I swear I saw a wolf," his expression tinged with sadness.
"Simon, come here," his father called gently, noticing that his only child had been looking so down since earlier.
"I'll teach you how to fish," he said with a dazzling expression.
"Okay!" Simon replied, feeling comforted by his father's actions.
As his father taught him how to fish, Simon felt something again — someone was gazing at him. Unconsciously, he lifted his head and looked straight at the side of the lake where they were fishing.
Once again, Simon saw the wolf he had seen earlier. And once again, the world seemed to stop moving as their eyes locked.
After a few seconds, the wolf slowly turned around. It looked like it was walking through the shadows and began dissipating, fading like smoke. Gradually, the world started moving again.
"And that's how you set up your rod," his father said, unaware that his son had not been listening at all.
"Simon?" his father asked, noticing his son staring at the other side of the lake.
"Simon?" he asked again, now with concern.
"SIMON!!" his father screamed as his son still did not respond.
"SIMONN!!" At last, his son finally responded.
Simon immediately began gasping for air like a fish tossed out of water. His father started panicking, unsure why his son was acting that way.
"Oh my god, my son… what have you seen?" his father thought to himself, feeling a chill run through his entire body.