TFTVGD 01

Chapter 1 …

Every time the seasons change, the mountains put on their most beautiful makeup to greet the heavens.

Along the eastern edge of the Korean Peninsula lies the Taebaek Mountain Range, stretching long like a tiger’s backbone. Among its peaks, Seorak Mountain is known as one of the most famous. When autumn arrives there, visitors line up to see the mountains dressed in their colorful attire.

The hikers, wearing clothes even more vibrant than the autumn foliage, move up the mountain in colorful streams, as if rivers flowing down from the sky were somehow flowing upward.

It reminded me of a very old story.

Once upon a time, just like those people climbing as high as their feet could take them, there was an imugi—a lesser dragon—that waited a thousand years to ascend to heaven.

But as luck would have it, a curious young girl playing by the lake happened to see it. Startled, she let out a cry.

Startled by her scream, the imugi dropped its yeouiju—the magical orb needed to become a dragon—and failed to ascend. Furious, the imugi cursed the girl, turning her into a fox.

And the protagonist of that story… was me.

Not the imugi.

I was just the curious girl who went “Wow!” once—and for that, the bad-tempered snake cursed me into becoming a fox.

Pitying me, the heavenly god revealed one way to break the curse.

If I became a nine-tailed fox—a gumiho—and formed a hundred-year bond with a human man, gathering his spiritual energy over 100 nights, I could become human again.

‘And that was already a thousand years ago.’

I thought I’d accomplish it quickly. But the imugi’s curse didn’t end with me simply becoming a fox.

“I won’t be satisfied until you experience the same suffering I did!”

Who could have predicted that damned snake would interfere every time I tried to become human?

I failed countless times over the past millennium. This time, I really thought I’d found a good man. He had a handsome face, a kind heart, and he genuinely liked me. Even when the imugi tried to interfere, his affection didn’t waver. I thought this time, I could really return to being human.

‘Seems that damned snake has evolved over the past thousand years, too…’

In the past, it used to just sow discord openly. Now it’s leveled up—it seduced the man I was going to marry in a much more cunning way.

‘We’d already set the wedding date, too…’

He claimed he was short on wedding funds and offered to grow the money I’d saved up through investment. But in truth, the imugi had lured him, pretending to introduce a “great investment opportunity.”

In the end, he squandered all my savings and ran away.

I sat perched on a tall tree, leaning back and watching the endless line of hikers making their way up the mountain.

“Excuse me, how much farther to the top?”

“Just a bit more. Keep going!”

“You said that 30 minutes ago!”

“No, really! You’re almost there. Come on, you’re young!”

Listening quietly to strangers encouraging each other—people who would brush past one another in life for less than ten seconds—made me feel…

Though I wore a human form, I didn’t belong among them. I had no place to go, and nowhere to return to.

‘When will I finally become human?’

My thousand-year-old wish, once faded with time, seemed to regain color.

Just as my throat tightened with unexpected melancholy, a bright, clear voice rose from below the tree.

“White Fox, I’m here!”

Beneath my trembling feet stood a roe deer with wide, sparkling eyes.

The gloom in my heart disappeared instantly, and a smile spread across my face.

I leapt down from the tree and, like some grand sovereign, asked the roe deer sternly,

“Did you get the information I asked for?”

“Seven circles—831.”

“Good. Excellent.”

From my pocket, I pulled out my most precious treasure.

A small, rectangular world. A modern human essential—my smartphone.

There were many mountains, but I’d settled in Seorak for one reason:

Blazing fast Wi-Fi.

Because so many people came and went, every shop had good Wi-Fi.

“0000000831…”

I entered the Wi-Fi password the roe deer gave me.

As they say, “When there’s no tiger in the cave, the fox becomes king.”

After settling in Seorak with no “owner” around, all the mountain creatures treated me like a divine being.

‘What could be better than being treated like royalty while browsing the internet?’

Honestly, isn’t this the life humans dream of most?

‘Well, I may not be human, but I’m living a life humans would envy. No need to mope.’

I curved my lips into a grin, finished entering the password, and hit “Connect.”

But—

[ Incorrect password. ]

My brows furrowed at the unwelcome message on my phone screen.

“Hey! The password’s wrong!”

I glared at the roe deer as if I’d kill it on the spot.

“Are you sure you got it right?”

“I told you exactly what I saw!”

“Be honest! You were just grazing nearby, weren’t you?”

“No!”

“Don’t lie! I heard you bawling just a moment ago!”

“I wasn’t…”

“You insisted—insisted—INSISTED on doing it yourself, so I let you!”

I scolded the roe deer as I grumbled.

“I have to buy a lottery ticket today!”

The roe deer’s shiny eyes grew wet with tears.

“Oh woe! How unjust for this poor roe deer!”

It suddenly stomped the ground with its forelegs, startling me into hunching my shoulders.

“I, a humble creature, memorized those numbers for your illiterate self—and you dare blame me?!”

“But the password’s wrong.”

“I almost got hit by a car trying to read that string of numbers for you!”

Hearing that made me feel a little guilty.

“If you’re going to play at being a celestial being in this ownerless mountain, at least look after the lowly creatures!”

Apparently, the roe deer had been bottling this up for a while.

“What kind of fox acts like this! It’s against the heavenly order!”

What was with this deer quoting laws?

‘Seriously. It’s clearly your mistake.’

I thought for a moment, then tried replacing the number 8 with the letter B.

[ Connected. ]

Ah. It didn’t know English.

“Oh, Heavenly God, please witness the injustice this poor roe deer has suffered!”

“Why are you calling the Heavenly God over something so petty? He’s too busy to come down for this.”

Not that I could call him anyway.

While I was soothing the agitated roe deer, the sky suddenly darkened. I looked up.

Gray storm clouds were covering half the once-clear autumn sky.

As hikers hurried down the mountain to escape the sudden weather shift, the clouds began to shift into a distinct shape.

“Lazy fox.”

A booming voice split the clouds like thunder. It was the Heavenly God.

The moment he appeared, the roe deer ran off at lightning speed without a single glance back.

‘Always acting tough and then bolting at the first sign of trouble…’

I kneeled halfway down, folding my hands neatly on my hanbok skirt, paying my respects.

“You’ve arrived.”

“I told you to become human, and yet here you are, hiding in Seorak, bullying animals.”

Damn it. He came to nag, of course. But I had prepared excuses for this very moment.

“Seorak has beautiful scenery and many visitors. I was watching for opportunities to meet humans.”

“Opportunities? You’ve been glued to that thing.”

He pointed at my smartphone.

“It’s to quickly catch up on human society…”

“And what exactly are you learning from ‘Hot Memories with Him’?”

I widened my eyes and opened my mouth in shock.

‘Wait. How does he know about that?’

It was the romance novel I’d been reading lately.

“Did you wait a thousand years just to read erotic novels?”

It felt like I’d been smacked. I was indignant.

“It’s not erotic! The title’s just clickbait!”

I’d bought it and read it—it wasn’t smut at all!

“Silence!”

His thunderous voice made me lower my head again.

“A mere fox lives for a thousand years and only grows more cunning.”

Aren’t foxes supposed to be cunning?

“Instead of trying to become human, you spend all day hunched over that thing.”

My neck wasn’t hunched though.

“Other gumiho meet men, marry them, and gather their energy just fine. Why are you the only one dawdling?”

Why compare me to others?

“Whenever you descend into human society, you get exposed.”

That was 300 years ago!

“At least 200 years ago, you managed to marry. These days, you don’t even get close.”

Ugh. If nagging could build a tower, his would reach the heavens.

It was like relatives at holidays asking when I’m getting married and what’s wrong with me.

If he’d at least offer a dowry, but no, just criticism!

“Even at the foot of this mountain, there are many men desperate to find wives. They’re even willing to pay.”

“……!”

“I’ve heard they spend money to find brides.”

What kind of advice is this?!

“Why should I marry just anyone?”

I couldn’t hold back anymore and lifted my head high.

“I’ve waited a thousand years for my partner! I want to marry someone I truly like!”

“Then go find a human!”

“Do you have any idea how harsh modern Korean society is?!”

It’s not like I want to live here as a mountain hermit forever. —Though being queen of Seorak is nice—

I came here because that scammer bankrupted me.

“How am I supposed to meet men while being chased by debt collectors as a bankrupt?”

It was hard enough just living like a normal modern person.

“I need to get new ID and prepare everything from scratch! That’s not something you can do overnight! It takes time!”

I could forge documents, but then the imugi would surely interfere again.

“And why are you doing all that here, in Seorak?!”

“Do you think I have money left after rent and living expenses? Even breathing costs money!”

Living in human society only drains money. That’s why I came here to hold out.

“So you plan to spend your days in this mountain, reading novels endlessly?”

“Endlessly? Excuse me, this is my time to heal my wounded heart.”

“Heal…?”

“At least in novels, even the side characters are handsome! Even villains have tragic backstories! You can understand them!”

I’ve lowered my standards plenty, and yet every time, the imugi messes it up.

And honestly, I get why the imugi’s bitter—but a thousand years of sabotage?

“Novels always end with good triumphing over evil. If you’re kind and try your best, you get a happy ending.”

You’re the heavenly god—why did you make reality so awful?

It’s not like I haven’t tried. It’s not like I’ve done anything bad.

“Honestly, if real life were like novels, I would’ve become human ages ago!”

The frustration I’d bottled up exploded like a volcano.

I’d grumbled before, but I’d never been this angry. I expected him to get even angrier, but instead—

“Is that so.”

He looked at me with an indescribable gaze.

That look cooled my rage like magma hardening into stone, leaving only awkward discomfort.

“Lazy and foolish fox.”

Ah, I’m done for. Did I go too far?

He gestured, and my smartphone floated up into the air.

No way—he’s not going to destroy it, right? I still have a contract on that thing.

“If that’s where you find ‘healing,’ then let’s see if you can become human there.”

Oh. So he’s not breaking it. Phew…

“…What?”

“There, the imugi won’t interfere. In a world of poetic justice, as long as you live righteously, you should have no problem becoming human.”

“Wait…”

“If you fail to become human within one year, you will live as a fox forever.”

From the floating smartphone, a brilliant light poured out like a bundle of shining cloth.