Chapter 36: Bullfrog Bigger Than a Bull (1)
After poking Bang-ul's pocket, we arrived at the Dohwang-ri Village Hall, and as if it had been waiting, rain began to fall from the sky.
Nureongi and Ppoppi jumped out of the car and immediately dashed into the hall.
Bang-ul, who had been in the back seat, had somehow slipped out of the pocket by now and was waddling after them in the splashing rain.
When Bang-ul entered the hall as well, the gloomy outside was contrasted by the laughter of the elders welcoming the children inside the hall.
Although a dangerous dimensional anomaly was approaching, I hoped these guys would become a small joy for the elders.
I parked the truck in front of the Dohwang-ri Police Substation and entered it.
Inside the substation, all the police were listening to Inspector Park's briefing with their pistols holstered.
"Ah, right on time."
"If you were late, how much would you get scolded?"
"What can I do? You're the strongest in this neighborhood."
It was Inspector Park's kind of humor, but the other police there only slightly lifted and lowered the corners of their mouths as if forcing a smile.
"Why are you all like this? Last time during the anomaly, you laughed and got through it fine."
"Haa... that's true, but since the rainy season and the anomaly are coming together this time, everyone must be tense."
Inspector Park sighed deeply and looked at the whiteboard.
Following his sloppy handwriting, I roughly grasped the situation.
The content wasn't much different from usual.
Alternating to guard the outskirts of the village and protect the elders and civilians.
It was just that if it weren't for the rainy season, it would be the usual anomaly.
I leaned against the wall and waited for Inspector Park's briefing to end.
After the briefing ended, everyone stood up, put on their raincoats, and started heading outside.
For some reason, Officer Lee handed me a gun first.
"Finally, you got some sense?"
"Hahaha... because Inspector Park assigned the firearm duties to me."
Smiling awkwardly at the flustered Officer Lee, I smiled back too and slung the gun on my back, then filled out the weapon checkout form.
And as always, wearing the old vest with the police patch torn off, I was about to take the ammo box and leave when the rain pouring outside slightly annoyed me.
"Can't you give me a raincoat too?"
"It's reflective, so it should be fine."
"Ah... I see. Then I'll wear mine, but can you give me a tarp at least?"
"Got it. The tarps are stacked at the entrance, so take one."
"Alright, take care."
I picked up a large green tarp from the entrance and came outside, where the rain was a bit heavier than before.
Returning to the truck, I rummaged through the back seat and found the camouflage raincoat that had been crumpled from being pressed in Bang-ul's pocket.
When I put on the raincoat, a bad smell of sweat and mold hit me.
The damp, sticky lining clung to my skin, but since it was good timing, I couldn't use an umbrella.
I adjusted the gun on my back, wrapped the ammo box in plastic and put it in the vest pocket, then got out of the truck.
With the rain falling and the dimensional anomaly flickering, the whole world felt hazy as if submerged in water.
The rain makes me feel sensitive too, huh.
I snorted and walked towards the village entrance.
It seemed the warning messages arrived on time, as there were no cars coming into the village except a few buses carrying the elders who had evacuated from other villages.
I spread the tarp as a wall at the village entrance blockade, and it looked like my own small tent.
I brought some sidewalk blocks rolling around nearby to fix the corners, so at least I wouldn't get rained on all day.
"Isn't that too much? Only you are so comfortable?"
One of the police inside the patrol car opened the window and shouted.
"Public servants who protect the country and civilians who just came to help can't have the same status."
"...You know you can't just ride the police car without permission, right?"
This guy is treating the police car as a hostage now.
In the end, I rolled up the tarp and threw it roughly under the eaves of the nearby shops.
Then, the police in the patrol car burst into laughter.
"This is tactical camouflage. It's not sucking honey."
"We don't do military operations, Huntsman Jang."
The police who kept teasing me till the end were annoying, but since they were trying to relieve tension like that, I decided to let it go.
For a while, I stood in the rain alongside the police who got out of the patrol car, but fortunately, besides a few vehicles that had evacuated, there were no other people coming and going, and no weird monsters loitering.
It was just the flickering night sky that spoiled the mood.
I listened to the rain sound endlessly and checked if the ammo was wet.
I hoped this anomaly would pass peacefully too.
"Quack! Quwaaaak!"
As it was getting a bit boring, a weird croaking sound like a frog or pig came from far away in the darkness.
The police startled and tried to grab their pistols at their waists, so I extended my arm in front of them to block.
"Calm down. The bullfrog is excited because it's raining and croaking."
"Compared to that... the sound is really loud, though."
"It seems it grew bigger from the anomaly. It's fine, they'll dry up and die on their own when the rain stops."
Even if the frog-like guys grew, they would be at most large dog level, and most of those kinds dry up and die after the rain stops and the sun comes out.
Even if the anomaly forced them to grow, since nature rejects them.
The police who heard my words sighed in relief and relaxed their posture.
But that damned bullfrog kept croaking at intervals of a few minutes, breaking the quiet night.
"...The noise is getting louder and louder?"
"If you can't see it, it's fine."
"Haha... yeah, right."
"The soldiers are all busy guarding the city or more important places, so we don't need to deal with this noise complaint, do we?"
"Um... it's a bit of a patriotic speech, Huntsman Jang?"
"Haha... you know~"
"I really can't beat what you say."
"If you win, bring some warm coffee when you take over. I'm cold standing in the rain too."
"Yes, understood."
We listened to the guy's regular croaking as if it were a noisy alarm and kept staring at the flickering night sky.
As the rain became heavier and the streetlight flickered, Inspector Park's voice came from the police radio.
[Jang Sajeong, come to the substation.]
"Understood."
[Got it.]
"Should I make coffee myself?"
"Haa... that's my life."
My plan to get a warm coffee and drink it was shot down by Inspector Park properly.
Curious why he suddenly called, I entered the substation, and since this anomaly was peaceful, he was sitting in his seat without his hat.
"Ah, you're here?"
"What's the matter?"
"You heard that frog's croaking too, right?"
"Yeah. It was croaking regularly like an alarm."
"It seems the frog size has crossed the line."
"Really? Even if it does, when the rain stops, it'll dry up like dried frog."
"But... there's a ruckus on the other side."
"Why? Because of noise pollution?"
"Just because it's noise pollution, you can just say 'hey, this guy!' and pass it."
"It seems the guy's croaking is so loud that it even makes car alarm sounds."
"Haa... it seems it's really croaking hard. Did you get the size?"
"From roughly shooting with a drone, it seems like a person? A bull? Or maybe even bigger."
"So, you're telling me to go and shoot bullets into that frog's croaking hole?"
"What can I do? The higher-ups are in a panic asking to handle it."
Anyway, since the job came in, I had to do it.
I took down the gun on my back, checked it once more, and slung it again.
"I'll handle it and come back. The distance to the other side is walkable."
"It says it can tear your eardrums, so take a few earplugs."
"Thanks. And I'll take another tarp."
Inspector Park threw a few orange earplugs from the drawer.
I caught them lightly and came out of the substation.
Hah, now it's frogs too... I guess I have to move or something, really.
Even if I grumbled like that, nothing changed.
I took out the bag from the truck and the thermal camera and headlight I had prepared for night hunting.
And using the streetlight and the regular noise pollution croaking of the bullfrog as a compass, I started walking in the rain.
As I walked following the streetlights, the frog guy's croaking became louder and louder.
The neighborhood dogs that couldn't be taken during evacuation were whining beyond the fence, and occasionally, a few deer running away from the forest startled by the sound were seen.
Even so, this was just like drinking a drink on a rainy day and going home, so I wasn't particularly scared.
As it turned into a rice paddy with a wide field, lights came into view from far away.
People living in places with more people are anomalies, and they don't even turn off the lights. That's why everyone says city, city.
"Quack! Quwaaaaaak!"
The frog guy, welcoming my arrival, was croaking almost like gunfire now.
I took out the earplugs from my pocket and plugged both ears.
I tied the tarp to my back and cautiously moved towards the paddy field.
While slowly walking on the paddy field and looking around, the frog croaking that could tear eardrums burst out.
I reflexively dropped flat on the spot.
"Damn... the thermal camera is expensive."
I lay in the paddy field full of rainwater for a while, holding my breath.