The Story of Becoming a Married Man in Another World

012 A Strong and Handsome Man

The rope was tied at the perfect height for hanging the wolf. The previous hunter seemed to have dismantled animals both indoors and outdoors. There were faint traces of what looked like blood on the rock next to it. The rope was still sturdy.

Looking around a bit further, there were several places that looked like they had been dug up and covered again. It seemed that the entrails were buried in the ground to prevent animals from being attracted by the smell of blood.

Juhwan went back to the cabin and took down the small knife from the wall. It looked dull, probably because it hadn’t been used for a while.

—

After splashing water on the whetstone in the corner of the workbench and sharpening it, he carried the wolf and headed back to the rock in the forest.

Juhwan placed the wolf on the rock and inserted a small knife near its anus. As he made an incision and pulled towards the wolf’s belly, the thick skin split open, revealing some slippery intestines. The feeling of it touching his hand was horrible.

‘It’s definitely different from just watching.’

Juhwan moved the knife again, holding back the urge to vomit.

His grandfather had repeatedly warned him to be careful not to burst the rabbit’s bladder, as it would render the meat completely useless. Naturally, he also had to be cautious of the areas containing feces.

At the time, it seemed like a completely irrelevant remark, but now, thinking back, his grandfather might have had a foresight that even he wasn’t aware of. Who would have thought that the nonsensical conversation back then would be so helpful now?

“….”

A bitter smile appeared on Juhwan’s face.

His grandfather was a blunt and clumsy man. Because he didn’t have a good relationship with his own children, Juhwan had hardly met his grandfather until his parents passed away.

In such a situation, suddenly living with his grandson must have been a great concern for his grandfather. He hadn’t been able to form a proper relationship even with his own children, so dealing with a grandson who suddenly rolled into the house would have been even more difficult.

In the end, the topic of conversation his grandfather found was about disassembling rabbits. He probably thought Juhwan was interested in it because he watched him work every time. In reality, it was for a completely different reason, but his grandfather never knew that until he passed away.

The sight of a small old man explaining how to disassemble a rabbit to a middle schooler twice his size must have been a bit bizarre. But that was his grandfather’s way of communicating.

Recalling what his grandfather did, Juhwan pulled the wolf’s skin with his left hand. If he made a mistake and the knife blade scratched the intestines, they would burst.

Juhwan pulled the skin away from the intestines as much as possible and inserted the knife in between. He cut the skin while pushing the intestines aside with his hand to create a gap. Despite it being winter, he was sweating due to the tension.

Having only watched and never actually done it, his hands were clumsy. The size difference between a rabbit and a wolf was significant. Relying only on his memory, he wasn’t confident if he could do it properly, as the position and shape of the muscles were different.

His movements slowed as he cut the muscles holding the intestines. He felt slower than a turtle.

The left arm that had been bitten by the wolf started to hurt as if it was being gnawed at. The bone ached, making it difficult to apply strength. His head throbbed.

Hoo, Juhwan took a deep breath. It would be problematic if he lost focus here.

Pain is not real. It’s just something the brain perceives. Even if the body is actually in pain, it can be blocked with anesthesia or painkillers, and there are people who can’t feel pain due to nerve issues. There’s a disease like that. In the end, everything a person feels is controlled by the brain. If he set his mind strongly, the pain would disappear.

Thinking that way and taking several slow breaths, the pain seemed to lessen a bit.

Juhwan moved his slowed hand again. But the work was still difficult. His grandfather made it look easy, but the actual work was much harder than he thought. He was truly relieved when he finally removed the intestines.

The wolf’s belly, from which the intestines had been removed, was filled with blood. He dug a bit of the ground with a shovel from the workshop and discarded the intestines and blood.

Next, it was time to skin the fur.

Juhwan hung the wolf upside down on a rope attached to a tree.

He inserted the knife from the belly he had cut open to the legs. He made a long cut on the inside of the legs almost to the tips of the toes, then made an incision around the ankles.

After treating all four legs that way, he pulled the fur from the hind legs. Occasionally, he used the knife to separate the skin and pulled again.

Although he wasn’t as skilled as his grandfather, the skinning was easier than he thought. He had expected it to be quite difficult, but it came off the flesh just by pulling.

However, that didn’t mean the skinning process was easy. The long incision on the belly made it more challenging. He thought it might be easier to skin the fur without removing the intestines next time.

The rest was easier compared to skinning. He cut off the white fat and set it aside, then removed the red meat. He stripped off as much meat as possible, leaving no part on the bones.

The pile of meat he had cut and placed on one side of the rock was quite substantial. He wasn’t sure, but he thought it might be enough to last for at least half a month, if not a whole month.

—

—

I was really glad that I didn’t have to feed my family with just the flour and oats in the bundle.

Feeding my family with my own hands. I never knew it could be such a joyful thing. A sense of pride filled my chest. It was a fulfillment that couldn’t be compared to receiving money from working at the company.

After that, I gently sprinkled snow and frozen soil to erase the scattered bloodstains.

“….”

Now, all that was left was to bring the meat and fur back home, but I had forgotten to bring a basket to carry the meat.

I didn’t want to leave the meat here and go back home. What if someone took it while I was gone?

As I was contemplating whether to wrap the meat in the fur and carry it, I heard the sound of footsteps on the ground.

When I turned my head, I saw Lizzy coming with a wooden bucket from the house. She was carrying the smaller of the two water buckets. It seemed she had been watching over Joo-hwan all along, as she ran over as soon as she finished her work.

Lizzy, who had been worried and frowning, was now smiling brightly. Despite the wound on her arm, she was happy that we had caught the wolf. Lizzy’s eyes sparkled as she glanced at the meat.

“….”

A smile naturally appeared on Joo-hwan’s face. Ah, this is really nice. In thirty years of living, I had never felt such a sense of pride.

Maybe I was a little anxious.

Can I really do this? Can I really feed these two people in a world I know nothing about?

I think there was always a worry in a corner of my heart.

But now, I felt a real sense of confidence. I can definitely feed these two. I can support my family. My heart felt as strong as a rock.

“Joo-hwan! ####.”

Lizzy said as she handed over the wooden bucket. Was she saying, “Here you go”? I bowed my head slightly, recalling what Lizzy had said. I looked into her eyes and spoke.

“Goama.”

I was mimicking what Lizzy had said before. Considering the situation, it must have meant “thank you.”

But Lizzy’s expression was strange. Her lips were tightly closed as if holding back a smile, and her cheeks were slightly puffed out.

“Go. Ma. Wo?”

Lizzy slowly said, as if asking if this was correct.

Joo-hwan looked into Lizzy’s eyes and repeated.

“Thank you.”

“….”

For some reason, Lizzy’s face suddenly turned red.

That’s strange. It must have meant “thank you.” Maybe it wasn’t “thank you” but “I love you” or something else. Perhaps it had an embarrassing meaning? I felt a bit unsure.

*

Her husband seemed like a smart person. Joo-hwan seemed to remember what she had said and the situation. When she brought the water bucket, he said “thank you” with a slightly strange pronunciation.

It was a bit odd, but it must have meant “thank you.” The way he spoke awkwardly like a child was somehow cute.

—

—

When Lizzy corrected his pronunciation, Joo-hwan immediately followed it accurately.

“….”

It might be the first time I’ve heard someone say thank you. I’ve never heard it from my parents or siblings. Of course, it was the same with my deceased husband and others.

Suddenly, I felt embarrassed. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t do anything worthy of such words. I just brought a water bucket, didn’t I?

When I’m with this person, I keep experiencing firsts. The first time we kissed, and when that memory came to mind, my face became as hot as boiled meat.

Oh my, oh my, from those lips, from that person’s tongue…. My face is hot. It felt like my blood was boiling and heating up.

But Joo-hwan looked at me with a puzzled expression, as if he had no idea what was going on in my mind.

Suddenly, a strange feeling arose in my heart. Has this person done such things, like kissing, with other women a lot?

As the sensation of his smooth tongue came to mind, my heart felt suffocated. Has he done that with other women too? Have other women tasted him?

For some reason, my heart hurts. It’s strange. It’s absolutely strange. I’ve never felt this way before, but my heart was shaking, and I felt like crying.

I don’t even know why I’m like this. My head naturally lowered. Seeing my strange appearance, Joo-hwan lowered his face to look at me.

When I smiled slightly as if deceiving him, Joo-hwan also smiled back. Then he started putting meat into the wooden bucket.

Lizzy was startled and quickly helped. It was naturally a woman’s job, but this man acted as if it was natural for him to do it too.

—

Lizzie walked past the child and went inside.

Dorothy stood outside waiting, and when Joo-hwan approached, she seemed to run towards him. The sound of footsteps was heard.

A moment later, the sound of a child groaning was heard.

Curious, Lizzie peeked through the window and saw the child adding her small hands to the bucket Joo-hwan was holding. It seemed she was trying to help lift the bucket.

At the door, Joo-hwan’s voice was heard saying, “Thank you, Dorothy.”

But a moment later, Dorothy came in with a slightly dejected face.

‘Ah! She was expecting her name to be called.’

Lizzie smiled unconsciously and approached the child. She placed her hand on Dorothy’s head and spoke softly.

“Dorothy, well done.”

The child’s face brightened instantly. If she had known it would make her this happy, she would have named her a little earlier.

‘But still, the name he gave her is better.’

Dorothy. It sounds really beautiful.

It seemed Joo-hwan had been watching the exchange between Lizzie and Dorothy from the door. He scratched his head and said to Dorothy.

“Dorothy, thank you.”

A big smile spread across the child’s face. It was the biggest smile Lizzie had ever seen. She seemed very happy.

Joo-hwan took the half-empty bucket and went back to the spring. Watching him carry the large bucket back and forth, he looked like a hero from a legend. Strong and cool, Lizzie thought.

—