The Bullfrog Bigger Than a Bull (2)
I've been lying there like a corpse for a while, but the frog's croaking sound that was about to make my ears fall off finally subsided. Cautiously raising my head, I scanned the surroundings, but there was no sign of a bullfrog of that size. I was about to get up, thinking I must have been scared for nothing, but if that thing really was right beside me, I'd be a fly heading straight into its mouth.
The bullfrog doesn't eat people, but the experience of getting sucked into its wet maw and coming out again is something I sincerely want to avoid. I slowly reached behind me to the bag, trying to pull out the thermal camera. Right at that moment, a "thud!" sound came from right next to me. As expected, my gut feeling was never wrong. I flattened myself again and had to endure the smell of mud for a bit.
When the thudding sound faded away, I carefully flipped the waterproof sheet I had tied to my back and put it on properly. Then, I turned on the thermal camera and started scanning the area. Since I was lying prone in the rice paddy, it was hard to secure a wide field of view, but at least within my visible range, there was no bullfrog. I poked the thermal camera slightly out from under the waterproof sheet, and like a worm, I started crawling back up onto the rice paddy.
If I really wanted to, I could have covered the distance in a few leaps, but even in the rainy season, sweat was pouring down my back. I was irritated, but the inside of this waterproof sheet, filled with sweat and steam, was like a first-class hotel compared to the disgusting, wet interior of a bullfrog's mouth. Finally, I felt the cool touch of the asphalt floor under my fingertips. I very slowly raised my head and scanned the surroundings.
It was raining heavily, so the thermal camera wouldn't capture everything perfectly, but at least I should be able to see the face of that bullfrog guy. Right then, a deafening "Kwaaak! Kwaaaak—" echoed, tearing at my ears. I slowly turned the camera in the direction the sound was coming from. In the thermal camera screen, although it was faint due to the rain streaks, the silhouette of what was obviously an oversized frog was captured.
The thing was facing away from me, staring blankly at the distant lights. "Haa... so I was the one who got scared alone after all." A sigh escaped me, but it was fortunate that it wasn't right beside me. How big the bullfrog was, with every step it took making a "thud" sound in the mud that could be heard all the way here, I didn't even need to estimate its size. I observed it for a while, checking how it moved and if there were other prey around.
After a while, it puffed up its neck pouch like a balloon again and let out a loud croak that made my ears ring. 'About every 15 minutes? That's an awfully long interval for a frog.' The thing on screen let out a big croak once, then extended its long tongue and panted for a long time. Since that massive body couldn't handle it properly, breathing was probably difficult. Whether a bullfrog breathes through its skin or mouth, just making the body bigger doesn't make breathing easier.
So, it would repeat actions like bellowing hard and resting for a while. I quietly turned off the thermal camera and put it in the bag. Then, following the asphalt road, I crawled silently towards the thing. It was when I had crawled to the point where the gun's range was still far. Unexpectedly, the thing suddenly turned its body towards where I was.
The tongue was already inside its mouth, and seeing the neck pouch swelling again, it seemed like it was about to croak once more. Right then. "Swish!" The tongue sliced through the air in an instant. And it smashed the side window of the old car parked far away and disappeared back into its mouth in an instant. Crash! The sound of shattering glass echoed.
Whether the tongue had glass stuck to it, it extended its long tongue painfully and shook it around. 'At least I need to get to the area with that car to properly shoot...' No choice. I started crawling into the frog's mouth little by little, literally. Since the bullfrog's tongue was so fast, its eyes were also not ordinary. The reason I kept missing when trying to catch the bullfrog with a butterfly net was because of its excellent motion vision.
But God is fair. It moves as fast as the tongue, but doesn't notice how slowly it approaches. I held my breath and crawled very slowly on the asphalt where rainwater was flowing, closing the distance. The bullfrog guy was just staring blankly at the car that had injured its tongue. Suddenly, its huge eyes turned towards me. I immediately stopped all movement and froze like a stone.
If it had been a neighborhood dog playing around, seeing me like this, it would have wagged its tail and run over thinking I was playing with it. It was that awkward and unnatural a camouflage. But at least to that bullfrog, I was just like the pebbles scattered on the ground or the pile of grass washed up by the rain. The thing suddenly stared at me in the suddenly appearing in its sight for a long time, then lost interest and turned its head back towards the distant sparkling lights.
I carefully loosened the gun on my back and held it in my hand, closing the distance again. 'Not a slalom training or something, what the hell am I doing...' The sight of me crawling in the rain while holding a gun was enough to make me laugh at the horrific memories from my military days. But, perhaps because of the two years of hell I went through, my body still remembered the sensations from back then. Following the military training, I crawled on the asphalt with my body lowered as much as possible.
And finally, I succeeded in closing the distance right behind the car that had been shattered earlier. Again, the thing let out "Kwaaaak—" and extended its tongue long, catching its breath. Now the distance was close enough that even with earplugs, my head was ringing. I took out the ammunition box from my pocket, which was stored in a plastic bag, and carefully loaded one bullet after another.
'Clang!' I was nervous that the sound would reach the thing's ears, but fortunately, the heavy rain pouring down covered the sound. I flipped the waterproof sheet over my body completely and poked only the muzzle out, aiming at the thing's head. Since I had used so many slug rounds for boar hunting, I loaded regular shot this time, but even ordinary lead pellets would be enough for that soft-looking bullfrog's head.
The gun wouldn't break even if it got a bit wet, but for the sake of it, I decided to wait for a slightly more perfect opportunity. A moment later, as the thing was about to puff up its neck pouch again, probably wanting to croak once more, I pulled the trigger right then. Bang! Ta-aang! The gunshot rang pleasantly in the rain, but due to the rain streaks, the lead pellet didn't seem to hit properly.
The thing, along with a painful croak, jumped straight towards me. "Ah... damn it!" Seeing it jump several meters in an instant, it was indeed a frog. But, could that massive body withstand the jump? The bullfrog that jumped lost balance in mid-air and fell face-first to the ground. Crash! Hearing the enormous sound, I quickly pulled the waterproof sheet off and stood up, and poured all the remaining bullets into the belly and head of the flipped thing.
Bang! Bang! Bang! After receiving the bullet barrage, the thing hung completely limp, leaving two holes in its belly and three in its head. "Damn... you really gave me slalom training because of you." I stuck out my tongue and kicked the dead thing for no reason, then took out the smartphone I had stored in the plastic bag. I was nervous that it might have gotten wet and broken, but fortunately, since it was the smartphone that Ppoppi used, it had waterproof function and didn't break.
I took a few evidence photos and cooled down the hunting heat while enduring the heavy rain for a while. As my body was starting to cool down in the rain, I saw the police car flashing its emergency lights coming from the distant road. Following the bullfrog's cry that had been howling all night, the loud gunshot sound must have surprised everyone quite a bit. A moment later, the police officers who got out of the car rushed towards me urgently. I greeted them with the gun slung over my back.
"Since the job's done, you came out?"
"As you know, our priority is securing civilian safety..."
"It's a joke. So, now I can stretch my legs and sleep?"
"Hahaha... Not even stretching my legs, the gunshot just now woke me up."
One of the police officers laughed heartily, looking at the dead giant bullfrog with its belly sliced open. "But what are you going to do with this guy? Cook it?" "By now, the county environmental division should be running here with their soles on fire." "Already? The sky is still flashing." "Well... because of this guy's cry, the county governor who happened to be nearby got so angry, ugh..."
Hmm... so this hunt ended up with a politician's breath in it. "Please tell the county governor later that Huntsman Jang made sure he slept well." "Haha! Understood." The cheerful laughter of the police officers next to the dead bullfrog with its belly sliced open, echoed in the night sky along with the pouring rain.