1000 Years Later
Sohee POV

I knew it would be impossible for him to have the edict delivered to his grave. After all, he could never find my home with out an escort and I had no intentions of showing him the way. What I didn't expect, was that he would insist on trying to have it delivered every year on the anniversary of his death.

Now, one thousand years have passed and they are still trying to deliver the silly thing. They've even made a game of it. Too bad they will never find the way.

"Sohee!" Jihyo, one of the young foxes from the village came running up to me. "They have a lot of people this year! What are we going to do?"

I could tell she was really nervous. Every year, more and more people come to try and find the grave. To throw them off the trail, we came up with a countermeasure. When they set off to find the grave, if they ventured too far off the path, a fox would appear and lead them back to the temple. We found it kind of amusing that they kept trying though.

"Don't worry, Jihyo" I patted her on the shoulder. "It doesn't matter how many people they send. We just need to keep an eye on them like we always do. If they get too far away from the path, we just have to lead them back to the temple." 

She nodded her head and we both left to go and meet up with the others. We divided into groups and took our positions. There were quite a number of participants that really tried to outwit us, but we were more clever. Plus, the moment they saw a fox run by, their instincts told them to follow us.

The day ended without incident, or so we thought. When I got home, I saw a young boy standing in front of Howon's grave. I looked around nervously, but there was no one else in sight.

"Hello" I said as I cautiously approached him.

"Hi" he waved at me.

"What is your name?"

"Howon" he said.

My eyes widened and I fell backwards and landed on my butt. His name is Howon?

"Are you okay, Noona?"

"I'm okay" I replied. "How did you get here Howon?"

"I was walking around the mountain with my family, but I got lost."

Noticing that it was getting late, I decided that it would be safer to keep him here for the night. "Are you hungry, Howon? I was just about to make dinner."

He nodded eagerly "I'm starving! I've been walking around all day!"

"Come inside and I'll make something good to eat."

After eating, I could tell he was tired, but he kept looking outside.

"Are you okay, Howon?"

"Why isn't there anyone else here?"

"Huh?" I was surprised.

"I've been watching, but I haven't seen anyone else walk by. Where is everyone?"

"Oh" I chuckled. "I live outside the village. No one usually comes by my house unless they want to talk to me." He nodded as he listened to my explanation. "It is getting late. We should get some rest now. After breakfast tomorrow morning, I'll bring you back to the temple."

"Okay" he said as he helped me clean the dishes and set up the bedding.

The following morning, as we were eating breakfast, Howon was gazing outside again. Suddenly, he asked "Who is buried there?"

I looked out at the grave and smiled sadly "The Fox King Howon."

The look of shock on his face was priceless. "Really?"

I giggled "Yes, that is his grave. Now eat up before your food gets cold."

We finished eating and Howon ran over to get a closer look at the grave while I washed the dishes.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked as I walked over to him.

"Is this really his grave? It doesn't look like the grave of a King. Shouldn't it be bigger and fancier?" he asked.

I chuckled a little. "I'm curious. What do they teach you about him in school?"

"Huh?" he cocked his head in confusion.

"What have you learned about him in school?" I pointed to the grave.

"Not much" he replied honestly. "Just that he was once the Crown Prince. Everything else they say about him is made up."

"Made up?" I giggled. "Like what?"

"Like he married a gumiho and stuff like that. You know, things that aren't real" he shrugged his shoulders.

I smiled at his words. So they think that gumihos aren't real. "Here" I said as I took off the necklace I was wearing. "I want you to have this" I said as I placed it around his neck.

"What is it?"

I tilted my head and thought for a moment. "This belonged to a very special person. Just like you." You are only the second person who has ever found my house, after all.

He looked down at it and smiled "You know what, I kinda like it. Thanks!"

"Come on" I said as I turned him towards the path. "Let's get going. Your parents are probably worried about you."

"Okay" he said as he happily walked beside me.

Young Howon/Hoya POV

When we got to the temple, there was a crowd gathered at the main entrance. "My boy is still missing!" I could hear my mother shouting at the monks. "Why aren't you out there looking for him?"

"Please calm down, madam" one of the monks spoke soothingly. "I'm sure your son is alright. Please be patient."

"Calm down! You expect me to calm down when my son is missing?" she continued to scream.

"Mom!" I shouted as I ran over to her.

"Howon!" she cried as she pulled me into a hug. "Where have you been?"

"The pretty Noona took care of me" I turned to where she was, but she was gone. "Where did she go?"

"What Noona? Where is she?"

"She was right there" I said as I pointed where I came from.

My mother kept hugging me and checking to make sure I was alright, but I was lost in thought. I really wanted to find that Noona again. When my Mother was satisfied that I wasn't injured and let me go, I ran to where I was standing with Noona.

I looked around and around, but all I saw was a fox staring at me.

"What are you looking at?" I asked it angrily, because I was upset that Noona had disappeared.

I swear, I saw it smile as though it were laughing. Then it stood up and walked back towards the mountain. Before it disappeared, it turned back and looked at me again.

"Goodbye Howon" I heard Noona's voice say and quickly turned to look for her, but she wasn't there.

By the time I looked back to where the fox was, it was gone.