Chapter 9: An Injured Child 2
An Injured Child 2
“Ow...”
The policeman became worried as he noticed Jaehwang suffering from muscle pains. Carrying 100-pound compound protection and arrows was not an easy feat. The Gagseogs could carry 200 pounds with no efforts but, Jaehwang was not like them. Gripping onto things was especially difficult and his arm hasn’t gotten completely better after a year of rest.
His original plan was to hand over those pigs and then head back up the mountain but Mr. Song won’t let him.
“Oww.”
He couldn’t sleep because of his muscle pains and he then heard the sound of someone coming through the door of the room. Mr. Songs walked in so he hid under the blanket before he could see him.
“Oh?”
Mr. Song’s granddaughters opened the door and they saw Jaehwang who have just come out of hiding. The girl stood there with her hand on the doorknob and they exchanged an awkward look. Silence filled the place and one of the girls were staring at Jaehwang’s distorted face.
“...”
The burns on the right side of his face made it look hideous. Jaehwang just pretended that he didn’t notice the girl staring at the deformed side of his face. It had been two years since the accident and he’s used to this kind of reaction. But then, the girl took it too far.
“Gross.”
“Hey!”
The other girl with her told the girl not to be rude. She quickly covered her mouth realizing what she just said but it was already too late. Jaehwang wriggled his eyebrows. He wanted to lock himself up in the mountain cabin. He doesn’t like when people mention the scars on his face...
People ask about it a lot. Gagseogs would lose their arms and would easily still fit in but, why wouldn’t they do anything like surgery people would ask... The would ask why don’t they like surgery...
Jaehwang’s not stupid but he doesn’t know why they made that decision. He could clearly see the problem. he could get his face fixed but he doesn’t really care. But if his remaining eye started to go bad then he’ll have no other choice but to consult with a doctor.
But how would the surgery go? It would of course be very expensive. Besides, his face won’t just magically be ‘restored’ or ‘good as new’. He would have to go in very careful procedure and he would have to be kept asleep, that kind of treatment was even dangerous for a Gagseog. Even more so, dreaming would take a lot and he didn’t have a lot in him.
Anyway, now that his feelings are hurt, got up and left the room. She could try to apologize for what she said but she may not. He walked away and heard his granddad yelling at the girl.
“Listen here! You shouldn’t have said that!”
The pigs were all gotten rid off so Mr. Song went inside to see if Jaehwang was resting well and he overheard what they said. He’s usually really nice to them but he’s not happy about what they said to Jaehwang.
“Granddad...”
The girls tried to explain that it was an accident and it already made her feel terrible but Mr. Song wasn’t buying it. They then looked over and saw Jaehwang opening the door.
Click...
He’s all dressed in his hiking gear and packed with his equipment. He took his hiking boots off of the floor and puts them on and says goodbye to Mr. Song.
“Granddad, I’ll be going up mountains early today.”
“Jaehwang... Kids can be childish...”
He tried to stop him but Jaehwang just said goodbye and quickly left out the house.
He came to a place he thought of as home to rest is heart but wasn’t what he wanted it to be. He got hurt and angry. And he couldn’t say anything mean to others just because he’s unhappy.
After all, he was still young.
“Jaehwang...”
He disappeared before he could say anything else. Mr. Song puts a bag into his jacket and puts it on. Jaehwang caught a lot of wild pigs. Now they were in a slaughterhouse and a BBQ place selling it for $5.20 dollar per pound. He’s going to go tell Jaehwang that running away is not a good idea and apologize.
“Sigh...”
***
A few days have passed and Jaehwang was in the mountains, soaked in sweat as he held onto the bowstring.
He felt like his strength was being drained away at every movement but he focused on his breathing and kept on pulling.
“Hue.. Hue..”
TtuTuk...
After pulling, he saw the arrow hit the ground and he carefully controlled it little by little. The arrow that fell to the ground is not a normal arrow.
The arrow was made of iron and the string was a wire. It weighed about 30 kilograms... His dad used to use it as a training tool. Jaehwang used to use it a lot in the past, it really gives you muscles.
“Still as heavy as it used to be...Hue... Time to go and clean...”
He went back to the place with the other training gear to rest in the bathhouse as he cleaned them off.
Jaehwang took good care of the mountain cabin. After he finished cleaning, he gave his regards to the ancestral shrine before he went to the garden to do a bit of practicing. He would always feel refreshed after doing a morning jog and following it up with training.
He wants to go hunting wild pigs the next day but his ankle is still not in a good condition after jogging. An ankle is an important part of morning hikes but that doesn’t mean that he would just stop. He just decided to take it slow and avoid running as much as possible.
It was common knowledge for anyone who lived alone that one must take care of his own body. He stretched when he felt stiff and relaxed when he felt tired. But, there’s no way that he could keep going like this for so long. He would just have to forget about what happened at Mr. Song’s house. Of course it wouldn’t be an easy decision to make but that’s what would have to happen.
After 3 days of refreshing and resting, Jaehwang got back into the mountains to go hunting for wild pig. The days before he spent his time on the side of the mountain where his parents would always go. He caught some pigs there and then he went to the opposite side of the mountain to catch more. Those were the wild animals who damaged his parent’s grave so he couldn’t help but get mad every time he saw one.
He planned to bring the pigs back to the village after he finished hunting and he planned to move into the mountains by next year. Luckily everything he needed to survive was already out here. If a time comes where he needed to go back, he would just need to remember the path back to his parent’s grave.
“It’s freezing.”
It was especially cold on the upper mountain, he would stretch every hour to keep his body warm and cope with the cold. He suddenly remembered the story of a legend that descended from this mountain. His ancestors used to live here years ago and they told stories about how they would catch things like tigers and eat them.
They said that the thunder in the rainstorms would be so strong that it could split their houses. They had lots of fun stories from those times. He doesn’t remember them saying anything about dealing with monsters like people do these days.
Tuktuktuk... Papapag.
He heard the sound of something walking.
‘Perfect timing.’
He sensed that the wild pigs were close by. He took slow and quiet steps towards the old cabin so he could get his arrows and put on his compound protection. He was using the same arrow that his father used in the past because they were made especially for hunting wild animals.
Of course the wild animals they had in mind were not the wild pigs, they were for monsters. Hunting monsters is hard but shooting wild pigs in the head was all it took.
“Hu...”
Jaehwang gave a few light breaths and focused on where the sound was coming from.
He already pulled the string, ready for what could happen at anytime. It took up to 60 percent of his strength to pull for just the right moment.
“Huh?”
Jaehwang got a bad feeling about his surroundings. Was it something that a hunter should be worried about? Or was it just a simple anxious feeling? It was in the middle of the night so it was hard to see what was there. It could just be a wild pig but he has a weird feeling that it may be something else. Something that he needed to be very careful of... Jaehwang started to feel worried. And just then, a giant wild pig appeared.
‘It’s a male.’
A huge wild pig showed up, It was much bigger than the ones he had hunted before. It may be the biggest wild pig in the mountain town... He knew that he wanted to take the challenge, however, Jaehwang didn’t pull the string.
It was an unplanned situation. He had to think it out, this pig could be the worst enemy of the mountain village. Its mouth was foaming like crazy and it was galloping around for no reason. It didn’t look like the others, it must be their leader.
An Injured Child 2, The End.