WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ The Hunting Genius of the Japanese Colonial Era

Chapter 5

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One Strike

Go Tae-chon looked around, bewildered.

"It isn't a wolf... a-and it's here right now? Where? What's there?"

Instead of answering, Han Man-seok pointed with the tip of the rag-wrapped stick in his hand.

Under the chicken coop, in a spot hard to see, was a dirt hole, as if something had gnawed away at the ground.

"Wolves don't dig."

Still staring into the darkness of the hole, Han Man-seok added,

"It's a badger."

Go Tae-chon swallowed hard.

"A, a badg-er? What kind of beast is that... huh? A badger?"

"A badger."

"If it's a badger... that badger? You mean that... that raccoon-cousin bastard?"

Han Man-seok nodded.

Go Tae-chon was dumbfounded.

"Ah, fuck, are you kidding me right now!? A damn badger did this to a coop? And what, it's still here? Bullshit, if it's a badger it'd have run off already, no way it'd still be he-...!"

Go Tae-chon's words cut off.

Han Man-seok's hand had clamped down on his shoulder.

"Urk!?"

That iron grip dug into his shoulder. Go Tae-chon had no idea this limping, half-old man could be this strong.

Before he could even protest, Han Man-seok moved again.

Click, and the world went dark.

The pocket flashlight in Go Tae-chon's hand had been switched off.

"W-why the light..."

"Quiet."

Han Man-seok's palm covered Go Tae-chon's mouth. That grip was just as monstrous; Go Tae-chon could barely breathe, only muffled grunts escaping him.

Without even looking at the struggling man, Han Man-seok stared into the darkness and muttered,

"You can't hear it."

It sounded less like a man's voice than a growl, and Go Tae-chon stopped struggling.

Silence.

In that darkness, everyone's ears went razor-sharp. Every sound cut in.

Wind. Insects chirping. Birds. New leaves brushing against one another.

And then.

"Grrrk..."

From that very hole came a tiny sound. Claws scraping half-dry dirt, rough breathing.

The sound of a beast that roamed the wild forests around Seorak. Go Tae-chon, who had dismissed it as "just a badger," felt a chill run down his spine.

"Let go."

Han San obeyed at once. He released his father.

At the same time Han Man-seok stepped forward, he shoved Go Tae-chon hard behind him.

"Oof!"

As Go Tae-chon tumbled backward, a black shadow burst out of the hole with uncanny precision.

"Kyaaaak!"

Han San saw it.

Its snout jutted forward like a bottle gourd, nostrils flaring wide, and at a glance it resembled a boar. Its body was much smaller, but the ferocity in those pitch-black eyes was no less terrifying.

It really was a badger.

'Fresh out of hibernation and mean as hell.'

The instincts of a seventy-four-year-old hunter flashed like lightning.

'That's why it came down to houses without fear. It got a taste of chicken and came back for more.'

Any beast that developed a taste for human food had to be killed!

Han San raised the sickle in his hand. It was no hunting weapon, and in this darkness he was facing a wild animal that had exploded out without warning, yet he moved with astonishing speed.

But someone moved even faster.

His father.

Han Man-seok pulled back the step he had taken. He shifted his weight onto his uninjured right leg. Spreading his foot wide, he rooted himself firmly into the ground.

He twisted his waist.

He drove forward.

Whip...!!

The rag-wrapped stick in Han Man-seok's hand snapped like a striking snake, then bam, smashed squarely into the badger's brow. "Kking!" A thin yelp, like a dud firecracker. The badger flipped once in midair and hit the ground with a thud.

Its forelegs twitched twice, its caved-in skull shuddered, then its tail stretched out and it stopped moving.

"H-huh..."

Go Tae-chon sat there on the ground, mouth hanging open. He couldn't believe the skill he'd just seen from the same half-old man who had been limping moments ago.

Han San was just as stunned.

'Father...'

His body was long past its prime. One leg was crippled. And yet he had turned a charging mountain beast and killed it in a single blow?

'Most people can't even handle one mutt...'

Han San had known his father used to be a famous hunter. He remembered this was the man who had led them from Hamgyeong Province to Gangwon on that bad leg, and somehow kept the family fed afterward.

But this was the first time Han San had seen his father's skill with his own eyes.

It was incredible.

"Father, that was amazing."

Han San spoke with sincere admiration.

Han Man-seok silently slung the rag-wrapped stick over his shoulder. Then he patted inside his coat once, then again, twitched one eyebrow, and let it droop in disappointment.

'Ah.'

Han San immediately pulled something from his own coat and offered it.

"Father, this."

A tobacco pipe and loose tobacco.

Han Man-seok's drooping eyebrow rose again. Han San set the pipe to his lips, packed the tobacco, then struck one precious match and lit it for him.

Han Man-seok gave one nod and took a deep draw on the smoke his son had prepared.

"Hoo."

White smoke rose cleanly into the dark night sky.

Han San nodded to himself. He had packed it just in case while gathering the sickle and the rest.

If they were heading out in the middle of the night because of some bastard, wasn't there a good chance someone would want a smoke? Han San himself had been a seventy-four-year-old chain-smoker, after all.

Still, in this life, Han San planned not to smoke.

'It's not good for your body...'

He wished his father would quit too.

Of course, now was not the time to bring it up. Telling someone who had just finished work and lit up, "Smoking is bad for you," or "You should quit," wasn't concern for others. That was just self-righteousness.

There would be plenty of chances to say the right thing at the right time. Han San, who had lived two lives, had at least that much sense.

Unfortunately, those two lives had been granted only to Han San.

"Oh? What's all this~?"

A drawling voice came from behind.

Han San turned his head. A woman with languid eyes stood there, and beside her was a little kid in a shirt and suspenders.

"Oppa, you're here? I kept hearing noise, so this was it."

It was Mrs. Go. Not because her surname was Go, but because she was Go Tae-chon's wife, that was what people called her.

Just as Go Tae-chon went around at night with pomade in his hair, Mrs. Go called her husband oppa. In this slash-and-burn village, she was the only one who spoke like that.

"Whoa! Something's dead!"

Go Jin-dong, the kid from that house, snapped the suspenders on his shoulders and stared at the badger. Mrs. Go muttered, "This child, really," then casually walked up and poked the dead beast with her toe.

"Was this what made all the noise?"

"Uh... yeah... right..."

Go Tae-chon had been overwhelmed by Han Man-seok's skill, but his family's arrival gave him room to breathe.

"Scared? Of what~. More importantly, this, this... what kind of animal is this, oppa?"

"A badger..."

"A badger? Ah! The one that's good for your skin, that badger~!" Mrs. Go clapped, then slyly added, "Those are expensive."

Go Tae-chon's eyes snapped wide open.

"Right. Badger oil gets used in cosmetics... and if you take it to a herbal shop, they give, uh, a decent price, right?"

Mrs. Go beamed.

"Great. We made money, then?"

"Mm."

Go Tae-chon's usual slickness returned to his face.

This was his house, and his family was watching.

Most of all, the badger really was worth money...

"Right, our money." Go Tae-chon stood, dusted off his pants, and walked toward his wife, which meant toward the badger. "Well then, Mr. Han... Hunter Han. You worked hard, so now you can probably head back... now..."

Watching this, Han San felt a laugh rising.

What exactly were these people trying to pull right now?

"You enjoying this?"

"Huh?"

"I asked if this bullshit is fun for you. I'm not having much fun."

Go Tae-chon stared blankly for a moment, then his cheeks flared red.

"Hey, you little punk, huh? You've had a fucking mouth on you all night! Hey, you little shit, you... hey, what the hell are you doing right now!?"

"What does it look like? I picked up the badger."

Just as he said, Han San strode over and picked up the badger. "Oh my!" Mrs. Go stepped back in shock, but Han San didn't even look at her. He only weighed the badger in his hand.

"It's hefty. Lean from spring, but a badger's still a badger. Should still render some oil."

"O-oppa~ I, I got scared, my heart is... this, this is totally, the height of barbarism, I've never experienced this in the city..."

"Honey!" Go Tae-chon ground his teeth. "Hey, San, you little bastard, you... you putting that down or not!?"

Han San glanced at him.

"Can't do that."

"This bastard, taking someone else's stuff..."

"Why is this yours?"

"You little shit, for real! Hey! Look! If you have eyes, huh? Look at this coop! My expensive Leghorn chickens! They're all in this bastard's belly! It got fat eating my chickens, so I've got a share!"

Go Tae-chon was jabbing a finger now, neck veins bulging. Mrs. Go covered her mouth and shivered.

"Exactly~ Ugh, I, I really, just now, my heart... isn't this trespassing? This is our coop. You don't even have laws like that here?"

"Of course we do! San, you little bastard, this is my private property! If this were France, you'd be shot, shot!"

Go Tae-chon shouted. Even the kid in suspenders, Go Jin-dong, joined in yelling, "Shot! Shot!" The yard turned into a full-on street market brawl.

Go Tae-chon's voice kept rising.

"I'm serious. If those chickens laid eggs, how many trays would that be, and if they hatched chicks, how many chicks is that?

And this, blood splattered because this badger died. Cleaning this up costs money, doesn't it?

But me, huh? I don't charge for that. I'm generous. Why? Neighborly affection, that's why. Cold capital-ism, I don't do that. Why? Because I'm an intellectual!

I didn't say it out loud, but I was even gonna be big-hearted and give you one leg too..."

"Ha."

Inside that cold laugh, Han San felt he finally understood what had happened in his previous life.

Back then too, his father must have come with Go Tae-chon and caught the badger. Then, after listening to this family whine and throw a fit, he must have handed the whole thing over.

That was why he came home empty-handed that day.

Rage blazed in Han San's chest.

At his father? Not a chance. At these people, and at himself, the Han San who had slept buried under a blanket that night!

"Seriously."

Han San's low mutter cut through the noisy yard with a sharp whoosh.

The sickle in his hand, glinting blue in the moonlight, rose high.

"Uh!"

Go Tae-chon flinched. Han San stared him down and asked,

"You said chicken?"

At that ice-cold voice, Go Tae-chon recoiled a step.

"Y-yeah! My chickens are in that bastard's bel-"

"Then go find them."

Thud.

Han San drove the raised sickle blade straight into the badger's belly.

Riiip!

With a skin-crawling tear, the sharp reek of blood and the stench of guts burst into the air.

"Oh my god!"

Go Tae-chon's wife clutched both cheeks, and Go Tae-chon's face went deathly pale in an instant.

But Han San's hands didn't stop.

Blood sprayed across his face, but he didn't care. He shoved his hand into the split belly and yanked out the stomach, small intestine, and large intestine in one pull.

Smack, and the organs hit the ground.

The burst innards sprawled like popped water balloons, and clumps of whitish chicken feathers mixed with badger shit lay scattered across the yard.

"There they are. Your chickens, ajusshi."

"Y-you lunatic...!"

"I told you to find them. Pick them up. Hurry."

Han San flicked blood off the sickle blade into the air and stared straight at Go Tae-chon. Under the moonlight, the stillness in his eyes looked more ominous than the beast with its belly split open.

"Not picking them up? Why? I read a few books too, maybe some scientific process called fermentation happened in there and made them more expensive?"

"You crazy bastard...!"

"Crazy bastard?"

Han San took one step forward. Go Tae-chon flinched and took two steps back.

"Isn't the crazy one the guy who put an elder with a bad leg out front to catch something that might've been a wolf in the middle of the night?"

Han San's gaze swept over Go Tae-chon's nape.

"Want me to show you someone even crazier?"

Go Tae-chon's mouth sealed shut, as if glued.

A young man standing there drenched in blood, holding a blue-glinting sickle. And that young man's father, still silently smoking, the same man who had killed a badger in one blow.

It was like being doused in cold water. The heat that had surged moments earlier vanished like a lie, and Go Tae-chon could only stare at the clumps of chicken feathers at his feet.

"We're leaving."

Without waiting for an answer, Han San slung the badger over his shoulder. Blood ran down and soaked his back, but he didn't care. He stepped in front of his father and bowed deeply, with utmost respect.

"Let's go, Father. Mother is waiting."

Han Man-seok looked at his son for a long moment, tapped ash from his pipe, and nodded.

Behind the father and son as they walked away without looking back, only the Go family's breathing remained, faint as insect cries.

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