The First Hunter Chapter 1: 2016 December 31st, At the Superstore (2)

  < Chapter 1. 2016 December 31st, At the Superstore(2). >

4. 

Kwaaah!!

This was a real monster. 

It was 190 cm in height with a bulked up muscular body that made it look shorter, its the neck was thicker than an average adult woman’s neck; the word monster would never be more adequate. 

The most monster-ish thing was the face. 

Its face looked burnt and between its thick lips were finger-length fangs that were greasy with human blood and fat. 

“uhhhhh!”

Of course, the monster was not the opponent for a middle-aged man who was pudgy and going into his forties next year. Someone whose only exercise was ‘screen golfing’ and had a beer belly; in other words an ordinary adult male. The monster was something he should be running his ass to get away from. 

Despite all of that, the reason the middle-aged man named Park Jaewoon stood in front of the monster was simple. 

“Hon, Honey!”

“Waaah, Dad! Dad!!!!”

He was standing in front of these two ladies. 

The most precious people in his life—his wife and daughter—were behind him, filled with panic and crying out with despair. 

‘Fuck, fuck, fuck…!’

If he ran away now, he would be losing what was more precious than his life. 

“Do-, Don’t worry! I’ll stop it! I’ll stop it!”

That was why Park Jaewoon was going up against the monster with only a tennis racket that he had purchased today, something that he bought after a new year’s resolution to lose weight.

Anyone would understand why he chose to stand against the monster, and it was something nobody would avoid doing. 

KWAAA!!

But that didn’t mean anything to the monster facing Park Jaewoon and his family. 

The determination Park Jaewoon showed didn’t give the monster any pause for concern.

In the monster’s eyes, they were just food for his hunger, waiting to be eaten.

Grrrrr!

When the monster imagined the taste of blood inside its head, it didn’t care about anything else. 

The monster stepped towards Park Jaewoon. 

Swing! Swing!

Park Jaewoon swung his new tennis racket, which he had never even touched before, at the monster.

“AHHHHH!”

The crying that Park Jaewoon made while wielding his tennis racket wasn’t actually crying, it was more of a scream. 

His frantic effort failed to leave even a tiny mark on the monster’s body. 

But it meant nothing to the monster.  

The monster was focused mainly on Park Jaewoon, thanks to his screaming, and Bhang Hyunwook was able to get close to the monster without getting noticed, 

BANG!

And he was able to hit the monster in the head with the bat. 

Bhang Hyunwook’s attack was pretty powerful.

“ARG!”

It was to the point where Bhang Hyunwook made an exclamation because of the pain in his palm from the hit. 

If it were an ordinary human, the skull might have been cracked or at least they would have reeled from the shock of the hit. That was how powerful it was. 

KWAAAA!

But this monster was stronger than the ones from before. The skin at the back of its head was so thick to the point where it prevented a majority of the harm that has been caused to the area.

It only caused more anger. 

The monster immediately turned, opened its mouth towards Bhang Hyunwook and let out a roar. 

KWWWWWAAAAAAA!

Not just a simple roar, but the strongest threat it could make!

‘gasp!’

Fear, pure fear. 

That fear immediately paralyzed Bhang Hyunwook. 

‘what, what the…’

It was like invisible chains were tied around him. 

Bhang Hyunwook even felt invisible claws grasping his heart inside his body.. 

That terrifying feeling froze Bhang Hyunwook while the monster decided to take its time after seeing this reaction.

It scanned him with its red eyes and tried to look for the special traits of the creature who attacked it. 

The look on the monster was the look of a predator looking at its prey.

‘Uhhhh…’

Bhang Hyunwook was terrified because of that, yet at the same time furious. 

‘This fucking monster bastard!’

He was scared. 

But the fact that he had to be food for this monster, treated like living meat on a table, made him feel more anger than fear.

And that anger triggered a strength located inside Bhang Hyunwook’s gut. 

Something stirred from his gut!

The feeling that started deep inside of Bhang Hyunwook soared, soared up like a bird with every breath he took. 

It started from his stomach, passed into his chest, beat off the claws that were holding onto his heart, then went up through his throat, out his mouth and made its presence known. 

“AHHHHHHHHHH!”

Like that, a roar came out of Bhang Hyunwook that was similar to what the monster had just now released.

At the same time, Bhang Hyunwook felt he had this unheard power, a refreshed feeling that was like right after getting out of a sauna came over him. 

His eyes also changed. 

His eyes glowed with a heated shimmer. 

Kwa?

At that moment the monster stopped his actions. 

The monster’s stare changed. 

It was no longer a stare of a predator to a prey, but rather a beast staring into the eyes of another beast.

It was like how a beast acted in front of another beast, the monster started to show it’s wariness and focused all its attention on Bhang Hyunwook. 

That was the moment when Kim Taehoon made his move. 

Very swiftly!

Kim Taehoon approached the monster from behind, which had stiffened with its nerves focused on one person. 

His presence was very minimal. 

‘Uh?’

Even Park Jaewoon, who could see Kim Taehoon approaching the monster, only noticed him after Kim Taehoon wrapped the monster’s neck three times around with a fishing line.

The technique Kim Taehoon used to wrap the monster with the fishing lines was brilliant. 

It didn’t look like it was his first time. Only if he practiced hundreds—perhaps even thousands of times—and actually applied that practice at least a hundred times would he be able to show that kind of skill. 

While wearing baseball batting gloves, Kim Taehoon put strength into his hands and pulled the fishing lines taut. 

Kwaaa!!

The vein on the neck of the monster started to swell. 

The monster reached for its neck and started to scratch, attempting to find the source of suffocation. 

Scratch, scratch!

But the fishing lines were already well into its flesh, it was hard for the monster to scratch it out or break with its short nails.

Kim Taehoon wasn’t going to show the monster any little mercy. 

Pulling the fishing line tighter, he also kicked the back of the monster’s knee. 

The monster who was like a giant log couldn’t help but bend its knees after the attack, and when the knee touched the ground Kim Taehoon leaned the monster back. 

Kaaak!

The ceiling reflection could be seen in the monster’s eyes. 

“Do it!”

Kim Taehoon yelled; the glow in Bhang Hyunwook’s eyes were gone. 

“Yes!”

Bhang Hyunwook followed Kim Taehoon’s order. He pulled something out of the backpack he was wearing. 

It was a bottle of engine oil. 

Bhang Hyunwook opened the cap as quickly as possible and put the opening of the bottle straight into the monster’s mouth. 

With that, Kim Taehoon loosened the fishing lines for a moment. 

The monster who was struggling to take that one breath to live, of course, inhaled big. 

Khuk!

At that moment, the monster felt…

Bursting disgust, a burning chest, and an instinctual sense of crisis. 

Of course, the monster’s instinct said, 

Spit it out!

But Kim Taehoon’s instinct said,

‘Never let go.’

To keep the fishing lines as tight as possible so the monster could not spit anything out. 

Kim Taehoon was, of course, loyal to his instinct. The fishing lines were once again pulled tight and the monster just shivered like it had lost the power to resist. 

Time passed like this. 

One second became ten, seconds turned into minutes.

The monster eyes dimmed, and the shivering stopped. 

“It looks dead now, doesn’t it?”

Bhang Hyunwook’s hand started to loosen the hold on the baseball bat while still being cautious. 

But even after saying that, the tightness of the fishing lines on the monster’s neck didn’t loosen. 

“Uh, Sir? Sir? It seems dead now…”

Bhang Hyunwook thought Kim Taehoon didn’t hear him, so he started to walk towards him. 

The distance between Bhang Hyunwook and the monster also got closer. 

When the distance was short enough to be within arm reach

KWAA!

The monster screamed for the last time and grabbed Bhang Hyunwook around the neck. 

“Huhhk”

Bhang Hyunwook made a similar sound to what the monster just made. 

But fortunately, that was the end.

The monster lost power in the hand that grabbed Bang Hyunwook and the threat of the monster had disappeared. 

Thirty seconds after that the tightness of the fishing lines was finally released. 

Kim Taehoon said to Bhang Hyunwook as he pushed the monster away.

“Dead, alive, you don’t get to determine that. I do.”

“Yes, Yes!”

Bhang Hyunwook responded reflexively, rubbing his neck that had been grabbed by the monster just now. 

But Kim Taehoon wasn’t looking at Bhang Hyunwook. 

Kim Taehoon spoke to Park Jaewoon who was collapsed on the floor and shivering to death. 

“Now your role is the janitor. The janitor cleans up whatever is on the ground. If there’s anything on the floor still alive, you have to kill it until it’s dead, that’s your job.”

Kim Taehoon stood up after finishing the sentence. .He looked towards an escalator that lead to level B2.

< Chapter 1. 2016 December 31st, At the Superstore  (2).> The end.

Chapter end