Chapter 51

50. Taesang and the Wild Boar

The winter trip was quite fun. Especially since there weren't many people around, it was nice that Taesang could have a longer leash. It would have been even better if he could have been let loose, but since this wasn't a garden, he had to be content with this much.

Taesang seemed to like the new place, sniffing around here and there. Although he had heard that tigers, being territorial animals, dislike unfamiliar places, Taesang didn't seem to be one of them. Even though he was a white tiger, there seemed to be something different about him beyond his species.

"Phew. Do you like it that much?"

"Meow."

Taesang looked relaxed using the spa pool at the cottage. After bringing the cold Taesang into the warm pool, he seemed to enjoy it, purring contentedly.

'He made a loud noise to intimidate the moles. I wonder what skill he will learn at his first growth stage. Probably an attack skill, right?'

Usually, he only showed his playful side, but when danger arose, he bravely stepped forward to intimidate the moles. Moreover, when Taeju realized the danger, he immediately rushed to help. Taeju thought that Taesang might have gained an attack skill at his first growth stage.

'His front paws are very strong, so maybe he'll learn a skill like slashing with his paws. Or maybe a skill similar to a lion's roar?'

After hearing an explanation about the growth of summons from Hana, Taeju started to pay attention to Taesang's growth. Of course, it would be fine even if he didn't grow, but he was a little excited to see how cool Taesang would become if he did.

"Taesang, I'll buy you some supplements. The good ones."

When they return to the garden, he should choose some supplements for Taesang to eat. He had benefited greatly from supplements before. This time, he planned to give him a variety of types.

After drying Taesang's fur and returning to the accommodation, Taeju was stopped by a prospective writer from the next room.

"Excuse me."

"Yes?"

"Um, be careful."

"Huh? About what?"

The news was that a wild boar had appeared behind the cottage on the mountain. A hungry wild boar in winter, with its young, had been ravaging nearby fields. They were warned not to go out when it got dark as it would be dangerous. Taeju thanked the person for the information and returned to the accommodation.

"Taewoo? Yeonwoo?"

He looked for the kids to tell them about the wild boar, but they weren't in the accommodation. They had been talking about filming while having a barbecue, and it seemed they had gone out to film. He called them, but they didn't answer. It was common for them to put their phones on silent during filming.

The sun was still up in the sky, but winter days get dark quickly, so it would soon be dark. In such a remote place, many dangers arise when it gets dark.

"Taesang, come here."

He put a winter padding on Taesang. When they went out earlier, he had only intended to take him to the spa, but since he didn't know how long it would take to find his siblings, he needed to keep him warm.

Although it seemed excessive, Taeju packed quite a few items in his backpack before leaving the accommodation. Blankets, hand warmers, emergency medicine, a thermos, and a flashlight. He packed everything that seemed necessary. He called his siblings one more time before leaving, but they still didn't answer.

"It would be nice to have a hiking pick or something."

He looked for something that could be used as a weapon but couldn't find anything in the cottage. After a moment's thought, he went to the parking lot. He intended to take out an umbrella that made him feel like he needed to teach someone manners when he held it.

He swung the umbrella handle a few times in the air and looked satisfied. Since it had a bulletproof function, it could be useful in an emergency.

"First moles, now wild boars. This isn't even an action movie."

Despite liking the umbrella, he was honestly flustered. He had been threatened by moles in the garden not long ago, and now wild boars in reality.

He had seen news about wild boar sightings, but he had never thought he would be involved. He knew that they would come down to houses when food became scarce in the middle of winter, but it seemed a bit early.

Although it had snowed early in this northern area, it was only mid-December. The snow was only partially accumulated, not to the point where it was difficult to find food.

"Taesang, let's find where the little brothers went. Do you know where they went?"

Taeju hoped for Taesang's tracking ability.

"Sniff. Meow."

Taesang started to move, apparently having found the scent of the little brothers. He held the leash tightly and followed behind.

"This way?"

It seemed they had gone along the walking path behind the cottage. The path led to the residential area behind the mountain. It passed over a small stream and around the base of the mountain. There was also a road connected to the path in the middle.

'Fortunately, they seem to have followed the narrow path I saw when we came in. I wonder what they're filming that they're not answering the phone.'

While chasing along the path, Taesang suddenly veered off the path. Judging by the footprints in the snow, it seemed they had entered the mountain halfway without going all the way to the residential area.

Taeju loosened Taesang's leash. It seemed impractical to keep him on a leash in the mountains.

"Let's go."

"Meow!"

He heard a strong response, but Taeju couldn't start moving. He burst out laughing suddenly. The image of hunters with backpacks and hunting dogs came to mind.

Although the situation was the opposite of tiger hunting, it somehow felt similar. Carrying a long umbrella and leading the tiger Taesang into the mountains, the feeling was even stronger.

Taeju, feeling a bit excited, took a shooting stance with the long umbrella, making a small 'bang' sound with his mouth. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he quickly looked around. Fortunately, no one had seen him.

"It's so cold. Let's quickly find the little brothers, Taesang."

Feeling embarrassed, he urged Taesang.

*

Taeju found Taewoo and Yeonwoo halfway up the mountain. They were quietly filming something on a tree branch. Fortunately, there were no signs of wild boars nearby.

'What are you filming?'

'Oh, brother. It's a dormouse.'

They were filming a dormouse moving up and down the tree. They were filming the dormouse carrying fallen fruits to a hole in the tree, holding their breath.

'Phew. Really.'

Taeju draped the blanket he brought over the two, who were squatting. It had been at least two hours since he had taken Taesang for a walk and washed him. It seemed they had been filming the dormouse the whole time.

After covering them with the blanket, he took out hand warmers and gave them to them. He also gave them the thermos and looked around.

The ground was covered with fallen leaves and patches of snow. The thorns of chestnuts were visible among the leaves, indicating that there were chestnut trees nearby. There was plenty for the dormouse to eat around here. He understood why they had chosen this spot.

After filming for about ten minutes, the dormouse didn't come out of the hole, so the two got up.

"Ouch, my legs are stiff."

"My feet are cold."

"How long have you been here?"

Checking the time, they realized they had been filming the dormouse for an hour. They looked surprised. Although the dormouse was cute, they hadn't realized they had been filming for an hour in the cold.

"We followed it from the path below."

"We lost it once, but found it again and kept filming."

They started to excitedly explain about the video as if they were making a documentary. Taeju, who had intended to tell them about the wild boar, just listened to their story and urged them to hurry.

It had only been about thirty minutes since they left the cottage, but it was already getting dark. To avoid slipping on the mountain path when it got darker, he encouraged them to keep walking without stopping.

"Taesang, let's go down."

"Meow. Sniff, sniff, sniff."

He had heard that tigers can smell objects up to 500 meters away. It seemed Taesang had smelled something.

Information about wild boars came to Taeju's mind.

'Don't make loud noises and take cover on rocks or trees.'

He looked around but couldn't find any rocks to climb. The trees were also not thick enough. Taeju led his siblings in the opposite direction of where Taesang was alert.

'Shh. Don't make any noise. Let's quietly go down the mountain. There seems to be a wild boar.'

'Wild boar?'

'Yes. Let's hurry and go down.'

Taeju urged them, but they insisted on bringing Taesang.

'Taesang is very fast. It's better for us to run quickly.'

They reluctantly agreed to Taeju's words and started to go down the slope. Taeju watched them go down and then turned to the direction Taesang was in. Although the wild boar wasn't visible yet, it seemed to be nearby since Taesang was still alert. He was prepared to carry Taesang and run if necessary.

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of the wild boar approaching was heard. Taeju turned his head to check how far his siblings had gone. They were not as far away as he thought. Seeing this, he signaled them to hurry. They nodded and continued down the mountain.

Taeju also planned to take Taesang and hide before the wild boar arrived. As he approached Taesang to pick him up, Taesang subtly avoided his hand and moved.

The wild boar appeared. It was smaller than expected, about the size of a medium-sized dog, and seemed to have been separated from its group.

"Grunt."

When Taesang growled, the wild boar turned its body towards him. They stood facing each other for a while. Taeju couldn't interfere and watched from a few meters away. He was ready to jump in if the wild boar attacked Taesang.

'Rather than me getting hurt, it's better for me to get hurt. He's still young.'

Taeju was surprisingly calm. The wild boar being smaller than expected and his experience with the slime king and moles helped him maintain his composure.

Moreover, the umbrella in his hand, though not a weapon, could be used as one. It was a bit short, but it was enough.

The wild boar, seemingly underestimating Taesang's threat, became increasingly agitated. It seemed they were going to have a fight.

'Damn. Just go away.'

"Hisss."

The wild boar, breathing heavily, lunged at Taesang.

Taeju had been timing it.

Three, two, one.

As the wild boar passed in front of him, he stabbed its neck with the umbrella.

Thud!

"Oink!"

"Grunt."

Taesang pounced on the wild boar knocked down by Taeju's blow. He hit the wild boar's head several times with his front paws and then bit its neck. Finding it difficult to bite with his small mouth, he let go and bit the nose.

Seeing this, Taeju quickly approached and stabbed the wild boar's neck again with the umbrella.

The wild boar, trying to get up, fell to the ground again.

Taesang bit the wild boar's nose to prevent it from breathing.

Taeju continued to attack the wild boar without stopping. He struck the neck and legs, aiming for areas where the impact would accumulate.

"Huff, huff."

"Meow."

The wild boar, seemingly unconscious, didn't move. Its chest was rising and falling, so it didn't seem to be dead, but with its front leg injured, it wouldn't be able to attack again.

"Phew. Taesang, come here. Let's check your body."

"Meow."

Apart from being covered in mud, Taesang didn't seem to be injured. Relieved, he started to think about what to do with the wild boar.

"Where should I report this? 112? 119? The Forestry Service?"

Since the wild boar wasn't a criminal, Taeju decided to report it to 119. He tied the wild boar's legs with his sweat-soaked neck scarf. Although it seemed unconscious, he wanted to prevent it from getting up. He quickly tied all the hind legs while keeping an eye on the wild boar.

After tying the wild boar, he called 119 and reported the location. Since he couldn't remember the name of the mountain, he gave the name of the cottage and said it was behind the mountain.

Taeju ended the call and immediately sent a text to his siblings saying he was okay. He also sent a photo of him holding Taesang. The chat room quickly filled with messages. Before Taeju could reply, various worried messages appeared. Finally, after calling and reassuring them, they calmed down.

He turned on the flashlight from his bag and waited. Soon, the firefighters arrived.

"Hehehe. It's real. How did you catch this?"

"This one, even though it's a baby, weighs over 20kg."

Taeju handed the wild boar over to the surprised firefighters. When they asked how to handle it, he asked them to take care of it and returned to the cottage.

'Taesang is definitely a tiger. Not backing down even when facing a wild boar. We really go through a lot.'

Reflecting on the start of the wild boar hunt, it didn't seem like Taesang had acted out of instinct alone. It seemed he had stepped forward to protect Taewoo, Yeonwoo, and Taeju.

If he had acted out of hunting instinct, he would have killed the wild boar. But as soon as the wild boar was incapacitated, Taesang stepped back and stood in front of Taeju. Moreover, he didn't let his guard down even when Taeju tied the wild boar's legs with the neck scarf.

"Even though you're still so small... Thank you, Taesang. But next time, let's just run away."

Taeju dried the sleeping Taesang, who had fallen asleep in the warm water, with a towel and expressed his gratitude. Although Taesang was almost a year old, he hadn't met the conditions for his first growth stage and still looked young. Moreover, due to the camouflage skill from traveling between realities, he had the appearance of a cat.

Yet, he faced the wild boar to protect the group. It was a dangerous situation, but his heart was truly grateful. Of course, he firmly resolved not to let him off the leash again.