Even without recalling the survival training he underwent during his military service, Jiwoon knew that the most crucial thing in his current situation was food. Yet, all he had to eat was two cups of instant noodles, one bottle of sports drink, and three cans of coffee.
“This is nowhere near enough,” he muttered. The scant provisions barely qualified as sustenance, leaving him uneasy. Perhaps that was why he desperately convinced himself he was still on Korean soil. Hunger was a terrifying thing—something he had learned all too well during his time in the military.
But this…
This is a different world.
Once that premise was set in his mind, Jiwoon’s judgment and actions became unexpectedly precise and coldly efficient. After all, he was an adult.
“Ugh, I’m starving…”
Since waking up, all Jiwoon had consumed was a single can of coffee. Unable to endure his hunger any longer, he gnawed on dry instant noodles. As he crunched on the noodles, he wondered, What about plants? Are they dangerous?
Jiwoon chuckled to himself. There was no point in pondering whether something was dangerous or not. Towering trees radiating ominous energy bore fruit too high to reach, and the few fallen fruits he found on the ground were either rotten or crawling with bugs—he had no courage to eat them.
The bushes, standing about three or four meters tall? Out of the question. Their tiny fruits, no bigger than fingernails and tinged red and black, didn’t look remotely edible. Even if they were, eating dozens of them wouldn’t fill him up. Most of the trees were half-rotted and swarming with insects anyway.
That left hunting. But that wasn’t easy either. The strange bird cries he occasionally heard while walking made him wonder whether he would eat them—or they would eat him. And he hadn’t even seen the birds making the sounds.
What about smaller animals, like rabbits or rats? Unfortunately, he hadn’t encountered a single one.
No, I must have been too focused on finding my way to notice any animal tracks or signs. This forest might be inhabitable to humans, but there’s no way it’s devoid of animals.
A forest this untouched by human hands would almost certainly have an ecosystem starting with small herbivores.
Wait… ecosystem?
Jiwoon’s thoughts froze. The presence of an ecosystem didn’t just mean small animals. It also meant predators—ones that could hunt him as easily as he might hunt a rabbit.
“Hm…”
Unnerved, Jiwoon instinctively glanced around. Fortunately, he sensed no immediate threat. Still, he couldn’t just sit idle. He rummaged through the pile of branches he’d collected for firewood to find something useful. Predictably, everything was too small or flimsy to serve as a weapon.
Though he couldn’t secure food right away, ensuring his safety for the night was top most priority. Jiwoon grabbed his flashlight. The dense forest was oppressive; even during the day, it had been dim, and now it was completely dark. Lost in thought by the campfire, he hadn’t noticed how late it had gotten.
Shaking the flashlight vigorously for about 30 seconds activated its LEDs, casting bright light several meters ahead. “Not bad. Definitely not a cheap knockoff.”
He searched the area until he found a branch about the thickness of his wrist and a meter long. Picking it up, Jiwoon muttered, “Firewood’s running low. I should gather more.”
With his flashlight clenched between his teeth, he scoured the ground for more branches and vines. Once his arms were full, he returned to the fire, grumbling, “This feels like Robinson Crusoe, except I’m older. Or maybe a modern-day 15 Boys on a Dead Man’s Chest scenario…”
He dropped the firewood and selected the sturdiest branch to crat a weapon. Drawing his Swiss Army knife, he began carving. Thanks to his military days, when he often made walking sticks during mountain excursions, he found it easy to shape the branch into a spear.
It wasn’t perfect—his small knife was hardly ideal for the task—but it beat using stones. Jiwoon silently thanked Changhwan, the friend who had gifted him the knife, as he worked.
Eventually, he finished. The result was a long, sturdy wooden spear with a sharp, rock-honed tip—suitable for both striking and stabbing in an emergency. Though far from the polished walking sticks he once made, it seemed reliable enough to fend off wild dogs.
With his weapon ready, Jiwoon found himself with nothing left to do. He had enough firewood, and while he was still hungry, there wasn’t much he could do about it.
He briefly considered reading a book but shook his head. What kind of situation am I in to think about reading?
“Let’s just smoke and get some sleep,” he muttered, tucking his flashlight and knife within easy reach. Stretching, he lit a cigarette and glanced at his watch. Past 9 PM. The alignment of the sunset and the time suggested he wouldn’t need to adjust the watch.
As fatigue from wandering the forest all day caught up with him, Jiwoon felt sleepy. Feeding more wood into the fire, he lay down near the flames and curled up to sleep.
Jiwoon was a light sleeper. Though he could fall asleep quickly and wake up refreshed even after a short rest, the faintest noise—like the vibration of his phone on a desk—could rouse him.
In the dead silence of the forest, the growl of a predator was impossible to miss.
Grrrrr!
“What… what was that?”
Startled, Jiwoon grabbed his spear in one hand and his flashlight in the other, leaping to his feet. The sound had come from the dark shadows ahead, where the firelight didn’t reach. The campfire was barely flickering, its flames dying out.
Jiwoon hastily turned on his flashlight, its beam slicing through the darkness. In its light, he caught a fleeting glimpse of something terrifying—a pair of glowing red eyes, glinting ominously before vanishing.
Swallowing hard, Jiwoon fought to steady his trembling hands. His body screamed at him to run, but he forced himself to stay put. The eyes had disappeared into the shadows, but he could feel it—the thing was still out there, watching him.
Gripping his spear tighter, Jiwoon stirred the fire with its blunt end, kicking dry grass and twigs into the embers. Flames sputtered and grew. If it was an animal, it would fear fire. Or so he hoped.
Sweat dripped down his back, and his legs shook, but he managed to keep the fire alive. The glowing eyes reappeared, fixed and unblinking in the distance.
“Stay calm, Han Jiwoon. Stay calm,” he muttered, adjusting his grip on the spear. His body instinctively settled into a stance that allowed for both stabbing and swinging—an instinct born of survival, not training.
Then, without warning, the creature charged.
Whoosh!
Jiwoon swung his spear with all his strength. For a moment, there was a dull thud, followed by a rough cry. The creature staggered back, and Jiwoon’s eyes widened as he finally saw it clearly—a hulking beast with dark, matted fur, sharp fangs, and an unsettling resemblance to both a wolf and a kangaroo.
Its crimson eyes narrowed as it snarled, saliva dripping from its maw. Jiwoon tightened his grip, bracing for another attack.
There had never been any record of a beast like this existing on Earth. If it did, someone would have to rewrite the entire animal encyclopedia.
Grrrr… Graaah!
The beast swiped its forelimbs through the air in a menacing display, letting out an intimidating roar directed at Jiwoon.
In that instant, Jiwoon aimed his flashlight directly at the creature’s head.
Graah!
Startled by the intense beam of light, the beast leaped back on its powerful hind legs. At a range of four or five meters, the concentrated beam from the flashlight was enough to make any creature instinctively close its eyes, especially one that had spent its entire life in the dim shadows of a dense forest. Encountering such artificial brightness for the first time was bound to be overwhelming.
This reaction gave Jiwoon a chance to collect himself. His heart was still pounding violently, but compared to when the beast first lunged at him, he felt a measure of composure returning.
“Come on, you bastard!” Jiwoon shouted, forcing his voice to sound as loud and sharp as possible.
He remembered hearing that even in battles between animals, victory could sometimes be decided by the ferocity of their cries. Imitating the beast’s growl, Jiwoon let out guttural cries of his own, Krrk! Krrk! Meanwhile, he continuously flicked the flashlight beam across the creature.
Grrr!
However, his attempts didn’t seem to intimidate the beast much. It kept growling and began circling him, cautiously narrowing the distance.
The standoff, brief in reality but feeling as long as the agonizing wait for an ex-girlfriend’s reply to a heartfelt confession, was suddenly broken.
The beast lunged, covering a staggering three-meter gap in a single leap, hurtling toward Jiwoon.
Graaaah!
“Damn it!”
This time, Jiwoon kept his eyes wide open. He had steadied himself since the first attack and knew that shutting his eyes could mean his end. With a reflexive motion, he thrust the spear he gripped tightly, aiming horizontally.
Swish!
The spear cut through the air but missed its mark, tracing a futile arc. As his strike failed, Jiwoon instinctively swung his left arm toward his face in a defensive move.
Thud!
The impact sent Jiwoon and the beast tumbling to the ground together. By some stroke of luck, the beast’s head, which had been aiming for his face, collided with Jiwoon’s wildly swinging arm. The collision caused the beast to lose its balance mid-air and fall right into Jiwoon’s chest, while Jiwoon, unable to counter the force, toppled over with the creature in his arms.
Graaah!
“Urgh!”
Man and beast hit the ground together, but the beast’s agility far outclassed Jiwoon’s. Even as they fell, its claws raked violently across his chest.
“Argh!”
But being so close made the attack less effective. Jiwoon clung to the beast’s neck with one hand and grabbed its thick mane with the other, yanking with all his might to throw it off.
Graaah!
The beast let out a furious roar, leaping free from Jiwoon’s grasp as he yanked out a fistful of its fur. Scrambling to his feet, Jiwoon grabbed the spear that had fallen nearby and took a defensive stance.
Grrr…
The beast, now enraged, bared its teeth, inching closer with murderous intent.
“Haah… haah…”
Breathing heavily, Jiwoon locked his gaze on the creature, fully aware of its speed. A single lapse in concentration, and he’d be finished.
Suddenly, without warning, the beast charged again, this time without any delay. Its attack was swift and relentless, unlike the earlier lunges that had given Jiwoon a brief moment to react.
Whoosh!
Jiwoon thrust the spear with all his might, slicing through the air just as the beast pounced.
Kyaaang!
A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the silent forest. The spear pierced through the beast’s abdomen, leaving it writhing in agony as it crashed past Jiwoon, grazing his shoulder in the process.
“Ugh!”
Pain flared across Jiwoon’s left shoulder where the beast’s claws had raked him.
Huff! Huff!
The beast lay on the ground, wheezing and thrashing weakly. It was clear that its end was near, though it hadn’t succumbed yet.
Ignoring the searing pain, Jiwoon approached, pulling the spear free. The creatures attack were weak, its claws barely grazing the air.
Thud!
Jiwoon stomped on its head with his combat boot, silencing its resistance.
“Die, you bastard! Just die!”
Jiwoon’s composure snapped. Overcome with adrenaline and rage, he repeatedly drove the spear into the beast.
Kreek! Kreek!
Its agonized cries faded, replaced by the sickening sound of flesh being torn. Blood sprayed, staining Jiwoon’s face and clothes, but he didn’t care.
“You worthless piece of crap! Die! Die!”
Thud! Thud!
At some point, the beast’s cries stopped. The only sounds left were Jiwoon’s breathless shouts and the rhythmic pounding of the spear against its lifeless body.
Then, suddenly, Jiwoon froze, his hands trembling. He threw the spear aside and let out a shuddering breath.
“Hah… hah… Damn it… What the hell…”
Tears rolled down his bloodstained cheeks.
He looked at the unrecognizable lump of flesh and fur before wiping his face with trembling hands. Slowly, his lips curled into a weak, bitter smile.
“I’m… I’m still alive…”
Jiwoon roughly wiped his face, smeared with blood and tears, with a towel and pulled out a pack of soju.
“Ugh!”
As he took off the top of his combat suit, a wave of pain he’d momentarily forgotten surged through him.
Stripping down to his T-shirt, Jiwoon glanced at his left shoulder. The last time he’d felt this kind of pain was when he was a kid and fell off the edge while riding a bicycle, cracking the back of his head. Back then, he had cried out of fear rather than pain. But this time, the pain itself brought tears to his eyes.
Opening the soju pack, Jiwoon cautiously poured some onto the wound.
“Argh!”
The cold alcohol stung like fire, amplifying the pain twofold. He nearly dropped the pack but clenched his teeth and retrieved a clean undergarment.
He wasn’t a survival expert, but he knew how infested wild animals could be with parasites. Thorough disinfection was essential.
After pouring about half the soju, Jiwoon wiped the wounded area clean with the undergarment.
“Damn it! You filthy beast!”
The curse slipped out involuntarily. Normally, Jiwoon refrained from swearing, believing that language reflects one’s character. But in moments like this, even a saint would curse.
Fortunately, the wound wasn’t too deep. Though a bit of flesh had been torn, leaving a scar inevitable, he was lucky it wasn’t worse.
“Ow, ow… phew.”
Once his first-aid was done, Jiwoon leaned back against a rock. It was around 5 a.m. according to his watch.
In any other place, the darkness would have started to lift around this time, but the forest showed no signs of dawn breaking. Muttering curses under his breath, Jiwoon lit a cigarette. The movement sparked pain in his shoulder again.
As he stared at the fire for a while, his gaze naturally shifted to the lifeless body of the beast, now reduced to a hunk of meat.
He remembered once beating a fearsome dog with a stick as a child and, during his military service, hunting snakes, rabbits, and pheasants for food. But this was different.
The fight earlier had been a battle for survival. If his wooden spear had been less forceful or missed, he might have been the beast’s meal instead of the other way around.
The thought sent chills down his spine. The idea of becoming food for a mere animal made him shudder anew.
Exhaling a long plume of smoke, Jiwoon spat in the direction of the beast.
“Trying to eat a human? Serves you right, you filthy mutt.”
After venting his frustration one last time, he stubbed out his cigarette and grabbed a suitable stick from the fire. With a flashlight in hand, he approached the beast’s carcass.
Squatting in front of it, Jiwoon ignored the foul stench of blood and flipped the body over.
Under the moonlight, the creature had seemed enormous in his terror. Now, limp and lifeless, it resembled nothing more than an oversized dog. Despite the matted blood and flesh, its mane appeared surprisingly soft.
“Damn it…”
Rummaging through the mane, Jiwoon scowled. Crawling insects teemed everywhere. Skinning the beast was a must, but the revulsion was unavoidable.
“Still, it has to be done. Damn it!”
When hunting and eating wild animals, caution was paramount. Simply skinning and roasting it wasn’t enough. Even domesticated dogs could harbor bacteria, so it was no surprise that a wild creature would be teeming with far more.
“Ugh…”
Jiwoon grimaced further but steeled himself. He dragged the beast closer to the fire, threw in every remaining branch and blade of grass, and watched the flames rise higher. Without hesitation, he shoved the beast into the fire.
As the fur burned, a bitter smell filled the air. Once most of the fur was singed off, Jiwoon retrieved the corpse with his wooden spear.
Most of the fur and the parasites clinging to it had been incinerated. Jiwoon pulled out his Swiss Army knife and slit the beast’s belly, extracting its organs.
After a long while, he managed to remove the contents of the beast’s stomach and chest. If there had been a stream nearby, he could have cleaned it more thoroughly, but this was the best he could do for now.
Switching between a razor blade from his shaving kit and his knife, Jiwoon carefully prepared the carcass. Surprisingly, the work wasn’t as difficult as he’d anticipated.
He flipped the gutted beast and pushed it back into the fire. The nameless animal’s meat began to roast, emitting a greasy aroma.
Though still dim, the forest was brighter compared to the pitch-black night when even a flashlight couldn’t reveal a foot ahead. Now, Jiwoon could make out his immediate surroundings.
After drinking a can of coffee, Jiwoon retrieved the empty can he had used the day before. Using his Swiss Army knife, he cut the tops off both cans.
Although the beast had plenty of meat, he couldn’t carry it all. In the damp forest, it would spoil quickly. Jiwoon ate as much as he could and cut the best-cooked portions to save.
He packed the meat tightly into the opened coffee cans, sealing them with the removed lids. There was no better way to preserve the meat in these conditions.
Still unsatisfied, Jiwoon fashioned sticks from small twigs, stripping the bark with his knife, and stored them in his travel bag. The meat inside would last him about a day and a half.
“Oh, almost forgot.”
Jiwoon grabbed the half-empty soju pack he had left near the rock the night before. Taking a sip, he gargled and spat it out before drinking another small mouthful. Then he sealed the pack’s opening tightly with a leaf.
He doubted it would spill much while walking, and two more rounds of disinfection would suffice. By then, the soju’s purpose would be fulfilled.
“Phew…”
After packing up, Jiwoon double-checked his gear and pulled out a compass to confirm the southwest direction. Using the wooden spear as a walking stick, he was finally ready.
Glancing back at the spot where he had fought for his life, Jiwoon saw the traces of the battle still evident.
He stared for a moment before resolutely turning away.
If he had seen his reflection, he might have been startled by his own steely and determined expression.
As he walked, Jiwoon thought to himself: The real struggle for survival might just be beginning.
The forest remained endlessly deep and dark.
(To be continued.)
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