Predator Alert chapter 6

Jeongseo felt exhilarated by the rare opportunity to go on a nighttime walk.

The words of his super-strong grandmother, warning his not to go near the Gangsan Hill area, were gradually fading from his mind.

He was intoxicated by the fresh scent of the forest and the earth, rolling his body enthusiastically on the nearby grass.

If someone had seen the sight of a long, slender body twisting and flying through the air, they might have thought it had rabies, but there was no one else around.

There were only the prey of the weasel. A rabbit stared in a daze at Jeongseo’s dazzling movements. his eyes flashed sharply, and he darted towards the rabbit.

Weasels are incredibly stealthy and ferocious hunters.

The rabbit tried to flee from the rapidly approaching predator, but it was already too late.

Jeongseo’s sharp teeth were about to sink into the rabbit’s neck.

Instead of biting down, he lightly touched the rabbit’s neck with his small hand.

The rabbit leaped away and darted off into the distance.

True beasts rarely hunt when they don’t need to, and for a beastkin like Jeongseo, there was no need to hunt in the wild when there was plenty to eat elsewhere.

However, his hunting instincts remained, and when the weather was nice, he loved to run around freely in the forest.

Eventually, as his body grew tired, he settled down in a nearby patch of grass to rest.

Staring at the stars and feeling the still chilly breeze, he began to recall memories from a very early age that he had long forgotten.

It was a bitterly cold winter day, and so much snow had fallen that the whole world had turned white.

Jeongseo, bored of waiting for his grandmother, who had gone into town, transformed into a weasel and headed into the forest.

Korean weasels usually shed their fur seasonally, turning a brown color that isn’t too different from their original coat.

But strangely, whenever it snowed, Jeongseo’s fur would grow a pure white coat.

However, it wasn’t a normal molt, as the white fur only lasted for a short time—from early December to the end of January—and then gradually turned back to brown in February.

Thus, whenever winter came, Jeongseo became one with the snowfield and roamed the forest.

Even with an eagle’s eye, it was hard to spot him, so he felt safe and secure.

It was shortly after the New Year, and the snow was falling so heavily that it reached up to Jeongseo’s calves.

As he enjoyed a brisk walk through the snow, he heard a soft whimpering sound nearby.

Following the sound, he came across a small child sitting under a tree, crying.

Cautiously, Jeongseo approached the child.

Squeak.

‘Why are you crying here?’

When he made a small sound, the child with jet-black hair shrieked in fear.

“Get away! You little rat!”

The child even waved their arms menacingly, causing Jeongseo to pause before turning around and walking away.

There was no reason to stay if he was told to leave.

But then a frantic voice called out from behind.

“How could you really just leave when I told you to?! Come back right now!”

Children could be so capricious, changing their minds on a whim.

Nevertheless, Jeongseo knew from experience that it was dangerous for a child to be alone in the mountains, so he approached once again.

Jeongseo felt that a conversation was necessary, so he transformed back into a human.

At that time, he couldn’t fully take on a human form, so patches of white fur remained on his belly and the backs of his hands. his ears and tail, of course, couldn’t be hidden.

Jeongseo endured the cold wind against his bare skin and did his best to speak.

“Did you lose your mind?”

“What? Why are you suddenly cursing at me!”

The child with black hair frowned for a moment and then suddenly started getting angry.

But Jeongseo hadn’t cursed at all.

This was just something his grandmother would say whenever he found Jeongseo lost in the mountains after sneaking off.

Jeongseo thought it meant, “Did you get lost?”

After a while, the child realized that Jeongseo wasn’t wearing any clothes.

“Aren’t you cold? Why are you naked?”

“I am cold. But if I don’t do this, the baby won’t understand what I’m saying.”

“…Who’s the baby?!”

Jeongseo pointed back and forth between himself and the child.

The child seemed to realize that having a normal conversation with Jeongseo was impossible and quickly got to the point.

“Take me down to the village at the foot of the mountain. I’ll give you any reward you want.”

It wasn’t a difficult task, so Jeongseo nodded and transformed back into a weasel.

The cold was unbearable in his bare human form.

Naturally, the child, who Jeongseo had assumed was human like his grandmother, also transformed into an animal.

A black cat.

Although it was a bit large for a kitten, with a long, sleek tail, a slender body, and pointed ears, it had the perfect yellow eyes of a black cat.

Jeongseo was surprised but didn’t show it. his grandmother had always said that when a weasel grows up, it can tear apart any cat.

Jeongseo deliberately walked more confidently down the mountain path and safely escorted the child to the village.

The child, who had diligently carried his clothes in his mouth, entered the village hall, and Jeongseo returned home.

He thought that would be the last time he’d see the child, but a few days later, he encountered the child again in the forest. This time, the child wasn’t lost and wasn’t crying.

“I’ll be here again tomorrow. And this, as a reward.”

The child handed his what seemed to be ten 10,000 won bills.

But since Jeongseo had no pockets to store money, he shook his head and only asked the cat to play with him.

The black cat did indeed come back the next day, and the two played, hopping through the snowy winter forest, more as their true forms than as humans.

Meeting the cat in the forest every other day became almost a routine.

However, Jeongseo soon had to leave for Seoul with his mother.

At that time, he was still weak and had several shortcomings compared to typical beastkin, so he usually spent winters in Seoul.

He should have told the child before leaving, but due to a forecast of heavy snow that could block the roads to Seoul, they had to leave three days earlier than planned.

Before leaving, Jeongseo hurriedly buried a letter, wrapped in multiple layers of plastic bags, at the spot where he always met the cat.

He believed that if the cat rubbed its body against the plastic, it would find the letter by scent.

In the letter, he had written his mother’s phone number and his own name, thinking that they could be considered friends now, not strangers.

But the cat never contacted him, and by the time spring came and Jeongseo returned to the countryside, he never saw that child again.

Back then, he was a bit resentful, but looking back now, he think that cat was probably just there for a little vacation too.

He didn’t know why memories from his childhood suddenly came to mind, but when they did, he felt an urge to visit the place where he had buried that note.

“Woof! Woof woof! Grrrr… Woof woof woof!”

That’s how he ended up in the situation he was in now. Honestly, he thought he’d be gone in a few days.

But the dog was still roaming around the mountain, and for some reason, it had become extremely aggressive.

It wasn’t wearing a collar, so Jungseo wondered if it had escaped from home. It was so scrawny that it looked like a stray.

No, given its large size, it might have even been a wolf.

He hoped it was a werewolf, but if it were, that would be a different problem altogether.

It might not be able to climb the tree now because it’s a dog, but if it transformed into a human and climbed up, he’d be completely helpless.

And a werewolf barking in the middle of the night?

It would definitely be a crazy person.

The weasel, perched on a frail tree branch, clung tightly to the trunk, fearing it might fall.

Tears welled up in Jeongseo’s eyes. If he climb down now, no matter how fast he is, he’ll definitely get caught.

Looking around, the tree he had climbed was too far from the others to jump across.

Unless I sprouted wings, jumping would probably result in a broken limb.

‘I shouldn’t have come this far!’

He was panicking, not knowing what to do.

Just then, he heard a car approaching from the road a little downhill.

The dog, which had been barking fiercely, suddenly went silent, its ears perked up as it looked down the hill.

As the headlights appeared and the car’s noise grew louder, the dog forgot all about the weasel and dashed towards the road.

It jumped right into the middle of the road, and the sharp sound of a car horn blared.

“Damn it! Is that dog crazy? Hey, if you want to die, do it alone! Get lost!”

The driver, clearly shocked, cursed loudly.

The dog, which had been so fierce, now had its tail drooping and stood hesitantly, not getting closer but not moving away either.

After swearing up a storm, the driver finally drove off, and the dog half-heartedly followed the car for a bit before stopping.

It was only then that Jeongseo realized where the dog had come from.

It was a traveler from a far-off place, an abandoned stray dog. The weasel quietly descended from the tree.

Being as stealthy as a weasel, it moved without alerting the distracted animal.

Jeongseo transformed back into a human and approached the dog.

The dog, which had been staring into the darkness after the car left, turned around at the sound of rustling.

It growled at the sudden appearance of a stranger but remained where it was, too exhausted to flee.

Up close, the dog was painfully thin and looked too weak to even bite anything.

“Hey, do you want to come home with me?”

Jeongseo asked, but the dog only kept its guard up.

Realizing that this might take a while, he cautiously transformed back into a weasel.

The moment he did, the dog lunged at him, probably thinking he was prey.

But now Jeongseo understood.

This dog had been stuck here for so long that it was starving and exhausted.

With quick reflexes, Jeongseo dodged the dog’s snapping jaws.

Then, keeping a safe distance, he teased the dog by wagging his tail.

The dog’s eyes lit up with a fiery determination as it missed its prey, but Jeongseo moved with ease.

A healthy dog would have been dangerous, but an exhausted one was not.

After days of denial, the animal finally accepted that its owner had abandoned it and became utterly weak.

The reason they abandoned it on a rarely traveled mountain road was probably because even the owner felt ashamed of what they were doing.

As the weasel dashed ahead, occasionally looking back at the dog, a resolute expression crossed his face.

The small weasel led the dog all the way back to the yard, carefully adjusting his speed so the dog would follow him.

As soon as they reached home, Jeongseo jumped onto the porch and transformed back into a human.

The dog flinched and curled up, startled by the sudden change.

Now fully aware that it was in an unfamiliar place, the dog tried to flee, but Jeongseo spoke as gently as possible.

“Are you hungry? Want some food?”

The dog’s ears perked up at the word “food,” despite its fear.