episode_0008

[Episode 008] Turning Point of Fate.

“Is this the kingdom of rape, you son of a b****!”

Hoping the woodcutter would come to his senses, I flew towards him with all my might and kicked towards his face.

“Eeek! Ackoo-kookoo!”

The woodcutter, struck in the face, let out a ridiculous scream and tumbled down in a comical manner.

Ugh, what a vulgar fellow.

Let’s leave him aside for now and first comfort the woman who must have been greatly startled.

“Th… miss? Are you okay? Oh! Uh, please at least wear this.”

I turned my head without thinking, only to be flustered like a fool by the sight of the woman’s naked body illuminated by the moonlight.

It was fortunate that we couldn’t see each other’s faces.

It was dark, so at least I wouldn’t have made a fool of myself with my expression.

Quickly turning away so the woman wouldn’t notice, I handed her my coat.

“….”

The woman, standing there dazed without taking the offered clothes, soon sat down and burst into loud sobs.

“Sob! Huaaah! Huuueee….”

I understood the woman. She must have been very scared.

The dark night might have been a blessing for her too.

It’s embarrassing for anyone to show a crying face.

Approaching her, I covered her with the coat to shield her body.

“I have some business with that vulgar guy over there, so please stay here for a moment. It might get noisy, so cover your ears.”

“…Sob..sobsob…”

The woman, sitting with her head bowed and wrapped in the coat, nodded slightly in response to my words.

Leaving the emotional woman behind, I approached the woodcutter.

“Uh..uhh..uhhh,,, Uwaaaa!”

The woodcutter, still disoriented on the ground, saw me approaching and stepped back, screaming in terror.

“Oh, don’t come near! Who are you! I told you not to come close! Why are you doing this to me? Do you need money? Are you from the village? I-I’m broke and have no money, you know.”

What’s with this guy? Why is he acting like this? Seriously? What’s with that unjust expression?

I was actually the one feeling confused.

If caught trying to rob the slender woman, one should either feel ashamed of their nature being exposed or react with fear of getting into trouble for committing a crime, or pretend not to have seen anything and beg to be left alone.

But this guy seems to have no clue about what he did wrong, mistaking me for a robber instead.

Wow… This guy is really despicable, isn’t he?

Young men who have endured hardships in this difficult world because of scum like him must have suffered greatly.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

“How much have the pitiful men in my hometown suffered because of scum like you?”

Smack! Smack! Smack!

“What? Just because I’m a man, I’m treated as a potential criminal even though I did nothing wrong!”

Smack! Smack! Smack!

“It’s disgusting to be lumped together with dirty scumbags like you and receive insults, damn it!”

Of course, it’s the fault of those who insulted ordinary men along with criminals, but it’s because such scumbags exist in the first place that they could all be framed together.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Phew, phew… even hitting someone is a hassle… Wait, was this guy Han?

Han the woodcutter… Han the woodcutter… One woodcutter… Woodcutter Han?!?!

Ugh! Oh no! When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you!

If you think beyond that, beings with a mass greater than Earth may come rushing in with a thud and a thump!

Wake up! If controversy arises, this world could disappear forever!

…

Wait… where would controversy arise in such a third-rate novel? Haha. Who’s going to read this kind of thing…

I was momentarily stunned.

But that Han the Woodcutter guy…

Pausing for a moment from striking, I stared at the woodcutter. Did Hannamukun feel my presence? He flinched! His body trembled.

“Ugh! Stop, stop hitting… I was wrong… I’ll give you everything I have…”

Even after being beaten like that, this guy still thinks I’m a robber and acts like this?

I wanted to smash his head with the spear I was holding, but I suppressed the urge with superhuman patience.

Moreover, leaving a woman sitting barefoot in this cold weather without even a coat on was not the right thing to do.

First, I’ll just ask the question I intended to ask and then discuss the rest with the villagers at the magistrate’s office to decide on the punishment.

“You wretched old man, look up. Where did you kidnap the maiden from at this hour of the night? Which house? Tell me straight away; the parents of that household must be in chaos by now, you need to bring her back quickly.”

“….”

“Hurry up, it’s cold!”

Why is this guy suddenly acting like this?

The woodcutter was just staring blankly at my face, not responding to my question.

Come to think of it, the bright moon was shining on the woodcutter and me.

Oh, does he recognize me?

“… I get it now!”

“What?”

“That’s what it was… It wasn’t a robber!”

Why is he stating the obvious like that?

I couldn’t understand the woodcutter’s thought process at all.

In an instant, contorting his ugly face in a grimace, the woodcutter shouted,

“You! You audacious hunter! You came to steal my wife! No way! She’s mine! Never taking her away! She’s my gift! You scoundrel! Why are you eyeing another man’s wife!”

I thought there couldn’t be a more unsightly angle, but it seemed my imagination was quite feeble.

Charging towards me with an unimaginably grotesque face, the woodcutter was more terrifying than any horror movie I had seen.

“Why is this guy suddenly like this? What gift did I receive? Am I really eyeing your wife?”

Is he talking about that woman? Was he genuinely thinking she was his wife? That I had kidnapped her?

It’s shocking that he didn’t even consider the idea of kidnapping… And what gift is he talking about…

This is really dizzying…

“It’s my fault for trying to understand the mindset of this psycho, my mistake…”

I slightly twist my body to dodge the charging woodcutter.

Being a tiger (or intending to catch one) of a hunter, it’s ridiculous if an old middle-aged man like me can’t dodge him.

“You let other people’s children wander around freely, and why is that your wife? This guy is really funny. And who gives a person as a gift? Human trafficking? Then there must be one more bastard involved?”

“She’s mine! Never taking her away! A deer gave her to me! She’s mine!”

“…….??? What?… A deer?”

…!

At my words tinged with sarcasm, the woodcutter seemed to realize his mistake and abruptly stopped running towards me, covering his mouth with his hand.

…A long silence ensued.

As the events of that day replayed in my mind, a deep anger simmered within me at the hypothetical scenarios naturally emerging.

“Say what you just said again… What kind of conviction am I trying to hear from you right now? If this turns out to be true… You should abandon the thought of leaving here safely. Please… I hope my thoughts are wrong….”

As the thought that he could really die crossed his mind, the woodcutter, with a pale face, swallowed his saliva like a mute person who had just eaten honey.

“Say it again? Right now, you need to explain this properly…. If you don’t speak properly…. I might really be able to kill you… Answer well.”

Ah, should I just kill him?

“……”

“Yeah, it’s not about you having delusions or whatever the deer gave you as a gift… Let’s skip that…. What I’m curious about is whether the deer you mentioned is the one I was chasing….”

“……”

“Do you know where that deer is?”

“……”

The woodcutter remained silent as expected.

His boiling insides felt like they would burst at any moment.

“So…. You knew where the deer was and deliberately pointed in the wrong direction…? No, you were a stumbling fool, so you must have intentionally hidden it, right? You probably planned to swallow it whole.”

“……”

Silence revealed the truth.

As the truth dawned on him, anger surged through him, turning the dark places within him instantly pale.

If only he had returned home a few days earlier….

If only he could have taken some medicine with him….

The pain and sorrow he had suppressed and endured turned into rage.

Without even thinking of resisting those emotions, he surrendered himself to that torrent.

“You bastard!”

Thud! Thud! Thud! Crack!

He broke one arm.

“Aaargh!”

Thud! Thud! Thud! Crack!

He broke one leg.

“Uuugh! I’m sorry! I was wrong! Stop!! P-please spare me!”

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Crack!

He broke the remaining arm.

The sound of bones breaking echoed through the quiet mountain for a while.

The woodcutter’s pleading voice had now turned into a whimper.

“It’s because you’re fatherless! You fatherless brat!!! A child without a father! I’m… I’m an adult! For God’s sake, stop it! Stop!!”

It seems to be about how he persecutes himself as someone who hasn’t learned how to respect adults due to being fatherless.

Well, it’s not like he cursed my father, so I didn’t really care about the insults.

“You talk as if you have a father. You don’t have one either, damn it. Stay still, I have to break the remaining leg.”

It’s worse to be fatherless than to lack concepts, so why am I the one taking the hits?

It’s somewhat fortunate that he doesn’t know that our mother passed away…

No, if he had insulted our mother, I would have really strangled him, so he’s actually lucky.

Thud! Thunk!

After breaking all the woodcutter’s limbs, I finally stopped beating him.

“Ugh… Huhhh…”

The woodcutter only groaned intermittently with his eyes rolled back.

Suddenly, I realized that I had completely forgotten about the woman left behind.

If this guy goes back alive and recovers, who knows when another victim like that woman will appear.

Even after all this, these guys come back stronger after recovering and eat sweet potatoes. It’s a cliché.

I want to kill him, but….

He’s also a human being, and I didn’t want to kill a person. Just because you catch a lot of animals doesn’t make murder easy.

Although I’m annoyed by calling him a person, I hated the idea of dirtying my hands because of such scum even more.

So, even if he comes back to life, let’s make sure he suffers for the rest of his life.

First, I took away one of his legs so he couldn’t sneak into someone else’s house. That’s for the woman.

Then, I cut the Achilles tendon of his other foot.

“Aaargh!”

Thinking he had passed out, the woodcutter was in agony and regained consciousness.

This isn’t going to end here.

Next, I cut the tendons of the hand that led me astray. This is for me.

“Kkeueeuu…”

Foam bubbled from the woodcutter’s mouth.

The eyes looking at me were filled with longing, as if wanting to say stop here.

Can’t do that. Next is your turn.

This time it was a bit dirtier and I kicked it, raising my prestige.

“Kkeueeuu.. Kk!”

Did he realize what I was about to do?

The woodcutter’s face was urgent, but there was no intention of stopping.

He swung fiercely like threshing rice.

With a broken arm and leg tendons torn, the woodcutter never rebelled.

A stench vibrated.

Naturally smelly, mixed with urine and blood, the disgusting smell pierced the nose, making me not want to stay here any longer.

Now the rest is his fate.

Most likely he’ll become prey, and even if he survives, he won’t be able to act recklessly anymore.

Either way, I have nothing to lose. It might just get annoying.

Even if he dies and his mother pleads for her child, will they search in the prison? In this deep mountain? Never. I know well. If you’re broke and powerless, those fat officials won’t budge. Especially if it’s a guy with a bad reputation in the village,

Even if he returns alive and reports to the authorities, my guilt lies only in him being alive. He’s the one who loses.

Trying to kidnap a woman and coming back complaining after getting hit? Sprinkling salt on pickles happens in an instant.

I may have looked away, but it was all calculated.

Just keep quiet and solve problems when they arise.

Leaving the woodcutter behind, I approached the woman.

The woman was startled as I approached.

It seemed like she had witnessed everything I did to the woodcutter.

“… I’m sorry. Must have been scary… There was a favor I needed to ask the old man.”

The woman stared blankly at my face and just nodded slightly.

“Can you stand up?”

At my words, the woman tried to stand by touching the ground, but as her foot touched the ground, she made a sound and sat back down hesitantly.

The woman’s feet were bare.

If you were going to do something like this, at least make her wear clothes. Dragging her here barefoot like this?

After sighing, I squatted in front of the woman and offered my back.

“Get on.”

When I turned my head and looked back, our eyes met.

The woman glanced at me once, then lowered her head deeply.

Scary, isn’t it? How can you trust me? She was moments away from being kidnapped.

Moreover, I had just tortured someone to the brink of death… I must have been scared too.

But I couldn’t just leave this woman here alone. Was I supposed to leave this frail woman here all by herself!

I reluctantly stood up again and tried to reassure her.

“I understand. You must be scared.

But you can’t stay here, right? This is a very dangerous place.

I swear I won’t do anything harmful to you.

Once I send you home, I’ll leave immediately, and we won’t meet again. Just tell me the direction.

I’ll follow the direction you point to, and when you ask me to put you down, I’ll do so immediately.”

Saying that, I placed a knife in her hand.

“If I don’t go in the direction you point to, stab me with this.

I’ll carry you and walk, so if you stab me, I won’t resist, and then you can run away, right? Get on for now.”

After finishing speaking, I sat back down and leaned forward, and the woman, seeming hesitant, soon made a groaning sound and climbed onto my back.

There was a faint peach scent from the woman on my back.

“Thank you for trusting me. I won’t betray your trust. I am a wanderer. What is the name of the lady?”

After a moment of silence, the woman finally revealed her name.

“…Heesun. My name is Heesun.”

After that brief introduction, I followed the direction indicated by the woman.

*

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“Grr… You bastard! I will get my revenge somehow! I will go and kill you! You wretched woman! Enchanted by that parasite! Not even thinking about finding a husband! You dog-like woman!”

On the gradually brightening mountain, only a woodcutter who had become a beggar was muttering curses.

“You son of a bitch! Fatherless bastard! You scoundrel! Spreading your legs for anyone!”

As the woodcutter cursed the hunter and the woman for a while,

Thud, thud

A giant shadow fell behind him.

Instantly, chills ran down my body, and I stiffened.

‘Krrrrr…’

The rough breathing and stench coming from behind… The hot air stirring my hair

Despite his fearful heart, the woodcutter slowly turned his head.