Living with the Dangerous Beast-Chapter 82: The First Hunt

“Ah....”

Dohwi recalled the brown rabbit.

It was a few years ago.

He remembered hearing that the rabbit had taunted Sohwa and escaped, making him wonder if this was Sohwa’s way of getting revenge.

“She’s still alive?”

“Indeed. She’s been quite lucky to survive.”

“All thanks to a kind hunter who let her go.”

Dohwi’s fingers lightly brushed Sohwa’s hair, teasing her ear.

“And now, she even found herself a loving husband.”

“What’s the point? She still won’t be able to have a child.”

Sohwa clicked her tongue sympathetically.

It’s like asking a tiger to remove its claws—getting an orb from an Imoogi wasn’t easy.

Even Dohwi had nearly gotten into serious trouble himself when he stole the orb.

“Tsk tsk, it seems that poor rabbit couldn’t even recognize a proper mate and ended up with some strange guy who’s not even her kind.”

“....”

“I should have asked who her husband is.”

Dohwi couldn’t answer.

His eyes suddenly became serious as he stared at the spot where the rabbit had disappeared.

There was an awful, fishy smell.

A strange scent tickled his nose, oddly familiar, as if he had smelled it before.

‘...Could it be? No, that’s... impossible.’

Dohwi shook his head and dismissed the thought with a laugh.

“What are you thinking about so hard?”

“Nothing.”

Sohwa, with her cute face inches from his, tilted her head curiously.

“You’re making me curious! What were you thinking? Hm? Hmmmm? Tell me!”

“I was thinking about my first prey.”

“Your first prey?”

The lie slipped out easily, but Sohwa’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“When was that? I don’t think you’ve told me. What did you catch? Don’t tell me it was a rabbit too?”

‘Uh... Catching a mere rabbit hardly counts as a ‘hunt’ for me, honey....’

Dohwi subtly furrowed his brows.

“Well....”

Dohwi’s first hunt was a long, long time ago.

* * *

When he was still a young tiger.

Early one morning, after feasting on a few rabbits, Dohwi returned home to find Sohwa still fast asleep, even though the sun was already high in the sky.

He looked down at her lazily, a smirk tugging at his lips.

‘Sleeping in again... Fooling this fox is easier than falling off a tree branch.’

On Mount Yeewhang, a small hill he had never heard of, there wasn’t a single wolf, let alone a tiger.

Small animals were everywhere, making it a perfect place for a young tiger to fill his belly.

This place had a strange sense of peacefulness, sometimes ‘too’ peaceful, that Dohwi instinctively hid his true nature.

Still, he thought the fox he was living with would eventually figure out his secret.

But, fortunately, this silly, clueless fox had no clue what he truly was.

Being taken in by such a kind, gullible fox must have been a gift from the heavens.

Thanks to her, he grew stronger and roamed the hill freely.

Then one day....

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

There was a loud knock at the door.

Sohwa shot up, fearfully glancing around.

Dohwi, who had been up much earlier folding laundry, met her eyes with a puzzled expression.

‘Shh!’

Sohwa quickly raised a finger to her plump, crimson red lips that resembled that of a ripe cherry.

Not knowing what was going on, Dohwi chuckled and copied her gestures.

“Shh.”

Then, a pitiful voice called out to her from behind the door, full of urgency.

“Lady! Ms. Sohwa!”

Large antlers flickered over the wall, catching the sunlight.

The voice belonged to a male deer.

Pale with fear, Sohwa quickly tiptoed and hid beneath the low wall.

“Are you in there? Hmm, did you get the basket of peaches I left?”

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“I heard you like soft, fuzzy peaches, so I went to great lengths to get them. Did you enjoy them?”

“....”

“Young lady, I know you’re awake. Please, show yourself. I just want to see your face!”

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

The buck pounded on the door.

Sohwa cowered like a frightened rabbit during a thunderstorm, trembling as she huddled down.

“....”

Dohwi, watching quietly, glanced from Sohwa to the buck outside.

Waking up his clueless yet somewhat cute fox, who was sleeping peacefully?

For some reason, it annoyed him.

When he subconsciously clenched the laundry in his hands, the antlers outside drooped, and the deer turned away, disheartened by the lack of response.

“Sigh... I’ll come back later....”

The sound of hooves faded into the distance, and Sohwa let out a long sigh of relief.

That silver fox who owned this house was the most popular creature on this small hill.

Though they hadn’t lived together long, Dohwi quickly learned that Sohwa had many visitors.

Mostly raccoons, weasels, and cats—small, weak creatures like her—visited regularly.

But recently, the deer had started courting her quite persistently.

“He came all the way to the house.”

Sohwa glanced nervously over the wall, though there was no longer anything to see.