A Bullfrog Bigger Than a Bull (3)
By the time rainwater had begun to pool on the dead bullfrog's slack, dangling tongue, a beat-up sedan and a lumbering truck were making their way toward us across the fields.
The moment they arrived, they parked haphazardly in front of the police car and, with the barest pretense of a greeting, sprinted straight for the bullfrog. Hunter or not — paunch, thinning hair, and all — the man was in such a tearing hurry that he nearly went sprawling on the slick paddy ridge.
"Well, well... someone's in a rush."
I clicked my tongue and walked over. He brushed the mud off his pants like it was nothing and planted himself in front of the frog.
"What's the hurry? Did the County Governor order you to put its head on a pike?"
"Do you have any idea how much I got chewed out? I took the Governor's call and ran out of the house in my underwear!"
"Well, who told you to be home?"
"I wasn't even on duty today!"
He barked it at me like he needed someone to take it out on, but what could I do? That was just the lot of a civil servant.
"...Just help me lift this thing, would you?"
"You're asking a delicate young lady to help you pick up that disgusting frog?"
"Oh, for crying out loud...!"
He looked so thoroughly defeated — too worn out even to keep being angry — that I couldn't help finding it funny. Pretending to give in, I grabbed the dead frog's front legs. The two of us heaved the giant thing up and tossed it into the bed of the truck he'd brought along.
A paunchy middle-aged man and a young woman with a rifle slung across her back, loading a giant bullfrog onto a truck like it weighed nothing. Quite the spectacle. The officers standing nearby just stared, then looked at each other and shook their heads.
Once the cargo was loaded, the Environmental Division officer went back to his car, rolled down the window, and called out to me again.
"Thanks. I'm gonna borrow your name for a bit, while I'm at it."
"If this is for TV, I'm gutting that frog and making a run for it."
"No, nothing like that. I just... need something to tell the Governor."
Obviously he was going to name-drop me to soften the beating he was about to take.
"Do whatever you want. Just make sure you pay me well for the frog."
"Don't worry about that. I'm out of here!"
"Sure. Take care."
Watching the Environmental Division officer and the frog-laden truck disappear into the distance, I couldn't help laughing. Even a D-Rank Hunter turned into a nervous wreck in front of the County Governor. I guess in this world, political power still sat at the top.
"Alright, we should get going too..."
"Huntsman Jang, would you like a ride?"
One of the officers spoke up first.
"Could you drop me at the Dohwang-ri Police Substation?"
"Of course."
I peeled off my mud-caked rain gear, gave it a rough shake, opened the back door of the police car, and dropped into the seat. The officers looked at me like they couldn't believe how naturally I'd just hopped in, then climbed into the driver's and passenger's seats themselves.
When we pulled up in front of the Dohwang-ri Police Substation, the officer in the driver's seat got out and opened my door for me.
Huh... that's odd. Usually the guy in the passenger seat does that.
The moment I stepped out, Inspector Park emerged from the substation, walked right past me, and started talking to the man who'd gotten out of the driver's seat. Then, all of a sudden, he bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
What? Who is that guy?
Only after the police car had driven off did Inspector Park let out a deep sigh and come over to me.
"Hey, you! If you're gonna cause trouble, at least know your limits! You used a Chief Superintendent's car like a damn taxi!"
"How was I supposed to know police ranks? Who would've thought someone like that would show up just to catch a frog?"
"What can you do? When a high-up politician starts cracking skulls, even the station chief has to get out there himself."
He sighed, then held his own umbrella over my head.
"Forget it. You did good. Come on inside."
"Oh? What's with the special treatment?"
"Give me a break. Anyone listening would think I spend all day giving you a hard time."
A ride in the station chief's police car, and an escort from Inspector Park on top of it — some luxury. I headed into the substation with rain still dripping off me.
Inside, I peeled off my wet rain gear and warmed up with a hot cup of coffee. Only then did I start to feel human again. The TV, which had been nothing but static thanks to the anomaly, had even switched back to the usual news channel.
"Good timing. The TV wouldn't even turn on this time — I was starting to think this one might actually be dangerous."
"Just the equipment division kids working themselves to death, that's all."
"But... you think other regions are sitting around drinking coffee this comfortably, like us?"
"Dunno. At least not Gyeonggi, I bet."
"Hmm, that so?"
That's when Officer Lee, standing next to Inspector Park, spoke up carefully.
"From what I hear, Seoul and Gyeonggi are even changing their armaments."
"Armaments?"
"They say they're going to take a more aggressive approach to maintaining public order."
"Honestly... if they've got gear that good, they could throw some our way."
Inspector Park grumbled, and I grinned.
"We've got a Huntsman who's cheaper and better than any expensive equipment."
"Equipment doesn't talk back."
"Oh? Then maybe this disobedient piece of equipment should go work in Chungbuk starting tomorrow?"
"Aigoo... just drink your coffee."
Inspector Park clicked his tongue. Officer Lee covered his mouth and snickered, and I hid a smile of my own.
How to put it... I'd thought this anomaly, with the rain and all, would play out like a horror movie. Instead, it had ended peacefully.
When morning came, the rain that had poured all night stopped as if it had never fallen. The ominously writhing sky cleared with it, leaving only a layer of dark clouds behind.
I'd stayed up all night, but aside from the time spent hunting down that noise-polluting bullfrog, I'd mostly killed the hours trading jokes with the officers. This anomaly had been a little different in atmosphere, but otherwise it was the same as always.
A siren announcing the end of the anomaly sounded faintly in the distance. On the news channel, they were wrapping up the emergency broadcast. The world was getting ready to return to its busy everyday rhythm.
I filled out the firearms checkout log, returned my gun to Officer Lee, and only then did the tension and exhaustion I'd been holding back hit me all at once. A huge yawn escaped.
I stepped outside the substation, stretched, and looked around. The buses that had been on standby all night were loading up elderly folks from other villages and pulling out one by one. Our own Dohwang-ri seniors were heading home too, some in their cars, some on foot.
And from across the way, three welcome faces — Hana, Poppy, and Bang-ul — spotted me and came running.
"Unnie!"
"Unnie! Are you okay?"
Hana and Poppy came pounding over, out of breath. Bang-ul bobbed along behind them in her water pouch.
"Yeah, I'm fine. You guys weren't too bored overnight?"
"No! The grandmas told us lots of old stories."
"Yeah. They said a long time ago, there weren't any beastfolk or mermaids."
Poppy said it like it was the most fascinating thing in the world, and Bang-ul nodded along.
"Eunseo, did the elders scold you a lot?"
The first thing out of my mouth was checking on Bang-ul, who'd probably spent the whole day feeling awkward at the village hall.
"No. The grandpas and grandmas told me not to do it again, but they smiled and forgave me."
"It's true! One grandpa took one look at Eunseo and tried to bow to her, saying a messenger of the Dragon King had arrived!"
Poppy giggled, and Eunseo flapped her fins inside the pouch in embarrassment.
"Hmm... I guess the older folks still aren't used to mermaids?"
That didn't seem right, though. Most of the elders treated beastfolk no differently from humans, and even the more exotic races got a shrug and an as long as they can talk, who cares? These days, that was just how the world worked.
"That grandpa was being sincere. He said a mermaid saved his life once..."
Of course. A sailor who'd been rescued by a mermaid.
That's when Hana shoved her nose into my clothes, sniffed, and suddenly whipped her head away in disgust.
"Hey, that's hurtful."
"Um... sorry, Unnie. You kind of smell like frog..."
"Ah... I was busy wrestling with some noisy frog last night."
"That frog last night? I just thought it was really close, so it sounded loud."
Poppy perked her ears, unimpressed, and Bang-ul — who I'd wondered might have understood the frog — just nodded.
"Hmm, I figured if anyone could hear something different in all that ribbiting, it'd be you, Eunseo."
"Eh? It was too far — I couldn't hear it either! It's not like I'm an Awakened or anything..."
Bang-ul waving her hands in a fluster was so cute that we all burst out laughing.
Bang-ul had been forgiven by the elders, and everyone was safe. It was finally time to go home.
"Alright, let's go home. I've been out in the rain all day — I need a shower."
"I'll boil some ramyeon while you shower, Unnie."
"Thanks. I'm counting on you, Hana."
Everyone who'd come out of the village hall headed home, and the four of us made our way down the empty road at an easy pace.
The moment we got home, I made a beeline for the bathroom before I'd even properly shut the front door. I stripped off clothes that reeked of frog, mud, and sweat, and stood under the hot water. Only then did I feel alive again.
From outside the bathroom came the sound of Hana pulling out a pot, and Poppy chatting away with Bang-ul. When I came out, a steaming bowl of ramyeon was waiting on the living room table.
"Unnie, eat it quick. The noodles'll get soggy."
"Thanks."
I sat at the table eating ramyeon, watching Bang-ul swim lazily in her tank and Hana and Poppy sitting side by side on the couch, watching TV.
I'd rolled around in a mud field and stayed up all night, but sitting here with a hot bowl of ramyeon and my smiling kids, every last bit of exhaustion melted away like snow.