A Rabbit That’s Almost a Kangaroo
Thud, thud—the round log split apart and fell to the ground.
For the past few days, Juhwan had been cutting down large trees nearby whenever he had time and stacking them in one place. Then, during these bits of spare time, he would chop them into smaller pieces, turning them into firewood and storing them in the shed.
Before, he didn’t know what kind of trees he was cutting, but now, thanks to what Gus had taught him, he could choose wood suitable for firewood. All he had to do was look at the bark.
At a glance, they all looked the same—just similar-colored surfaces—but each tree’s bark had a different pattern.
Some were smooth, others looked like chewy fish cake, and some looked pitiful, like cracked dry rice paddies. Just as every human face is different, trees also had their own unique appearances—something Juhwan only realized after Gus taught him.
However, there was no way to tell whether they were oak trees or not. Perhaps he wouldn’t know until the season when acorns appeared.
The sky, which had been gray just moments ago, had brightened. Juhwan wiped the sweat from his face with the back of his hand and set down the axe.
It was about time for Dorothy to wake up. Teaching the child—who hated brushing her teeth—to use a wooden toothbrush was Juhwan’s job.
While Lizzy handled everything else, Dorothy would run around like a mouse whenever it came to brushing her teeth. She really seemed to hate it.
But for some reason, whenever Juhwan brushed his teeth, Dorothy would come beside him and imitate him. Seeing that, Lizzy had asked Juhwan to keep an eye on the child.
Juhwan chuckled, remembering how Lizzy had used gestures to make herself understood.
‘She was cute.’
Holding a wooden toothbrush and mimicking brushing motions, Lizzy looked like a child. And even while pretending, she seemed embarrassed by her own actions.
Next to her, Dorothy, who copied Lizzy because of him, was also adorable.
While waiting for the child to come out, Juhwan began the magic training he had been doing every day lately.
Calling it “training” was an exaggeration—he just stood still and thought, there’s something near my navel… try to rotate that something… and so on.
At first, he sat properly and struck a meditative pose, but he soon realized it wasn’t necessary. No matter how much time passed, he felt nothing. Nothing moved. He was just thinking. Still, it seemed to have some effect, so he kept doing it, though sometimes he wondered if there was a better method.
He could now easily heal bruises and other minor injuries, but not even a tiny spark of fire would appear. It felt like it would never happen. Maybe meditation only worked for healing magic.
Juhwan sighed lightly, imagined rotating something in his lower abdomen a few times, then opened his palm. As usual, he stared at it and muttered inwardly:
‘Fire.’
Of course, nothing happened. He wasn’t even disappointed anymore.
Still, he tried once more:
‘Fire Storm.’
He suddenly thought that if fire appeared, Dorothy would be very happy.
Healing magic was modest. It didn’t glow or make dramatic sound effects. Bruises simply faded quietly, or eczema on his fingertips disappeared.
Maybe that was why it didn’t really feel like magic. Lizzy seemed impressed, but Dorothy showed no interest.
Even when Lizzy tried to explain magic, Dorothy just nodded or tilted her head. If a child couldn’t see it, it didn’t impress them.
Juhwan lowered his hand in slight disappointment as he looked at his still-empty palm—when the door creaked open.
Dorothy came out, rubbing her sleepy eyes. Too bad. If fire had appeared, he could have shown her.
At that moment—
Something suddenly popped in his palm, and poof, a flame appeared.
It was small. Very small. Slightly bigger than a match flame, clinging to the tip of his finger, like his finger had become a lighter. He felt happy he could use fire magic, but at the same time, strangely disappointed.
“…”
At least he wouldn’t need flint anymore.
“Pa?”
A strange sound came from Dorothy. Her half-closed eyes widened into full moons.
“Daddy! Magic##fire####!”
Realizing what it was, she shouted excitedly and rushed forward, bringing her face dangerously close as if she might stick her nose into the flame.
“Dorothy, what if it’s hot?”
Juhwan quickly pulled his finger back, but Dorothy grabbed his arm excitedly and shouted toward the house:
“Lizzy! Mom! Mom! Fire###! Daddy##magic##!”
Footsteps sounded, and Lizzy came out looking flustered.
Seeing the small flame on Juhwan’s finger, her eyes widened. Covering her mouth, she began excitedly speaking about magic and fire.
Lizzy and Dorothy chattered rapidly with Juhwan’s finger between them.
“…”
In a world without proper medical facilities or even decent doctors, healing magic should be more amazing than a small flame—but maybe he was wrong.
He wanted to make the flame bigger since they were so happy, but it only grew to about the strength of a lighter at full output—and only after concentrating hard.
Maybe healing magic suited him better, or maybe fire magic was just harder. Or perhaps it was simply easier to use what he needed more. He had felt a greater need for healing than for fire.
Still, being able to use both was a good thing. It would be nice if he could eventually make a campfire.
After celebrating his tiny flame for a while, Lizzy and Dorothy went back to their tasks—Lizzy to housework, Dorothy to check the meat for some reason.
Left alone, Juhwan stared at the flame on his finger.
“…”
How do I turn this off?
Even when he thought go out, it didn’t.
“Off, extinguish, disappear…”
After muttering various words, Juhwan sighed and shook his hand like he was putting out a match.
Fine, I’ll just live with it until it goes out.
“…”
It went out.
Magic in this world is kind of strange. He couldn’t figure out where the switch was.
Juhwan waited for Dorothy to come brush her teeth, but she didn’t. Maybe she fell back asleep—or ran away to avoid brushing.
When he went inside, Dorothy was staring into the meat container with the lid open, looking slightly sad.
Curious, he approached. Dorothy looked up slightly.
“Meat#####small.”
“…”
The amount of meat had been decreasing, and it seemed to make her sad. Lizzy, working nearby, giggled.
Whether she heard it or not, Dorothy lowered her head again and stared into the container like a tragic actress, tears welling up instantly.
Sorry. Daddy will definitely catch a rabbit today.
‘Let’s do this.’
Gus arrived while birds chirped noisily in the mountains. He looked as usual—worn hunter’s clothes and a leather bag—but this time he carried a bow and quiver instead of just a knife.
“##Bow###bring##hunting##.”
Pointing to his bow, Gus spoke to Juhwan.
To communicate, you don’t need many words. Just a few common ones are enough. Juhwan nodded.
Up until now, they had never used bows on their trips. Juhwan had only practiced shooting trees at home with the two arrows Gus gave him. Surprisingly, he had talent—now he rarely missed at close range.
Yesterday, Gus had corrected his posture and praised him. It seemed he now thought Juhwan was ready.
“Okay. Bow. Bring.”
Juhwan replied with the words he knew and went inside. Following Gus’s instructions, he stored the two arrows lying down instead of upright.
He took the long bow from the wall, slung it over his shoulder, and tied the bamboo quiver at his waist.
As he placed the arrows inside, Lizzy rushed over and handed him a leather bag. Inside were dried meat and a water flask.
The rope that used to take up most of the space was gone. Though Juhwan hadn’t said anything, Lizzy seemed to realize a hunter didn’t need it.
Dorothy, who had been sad about the meat, ran over and stood beside Lizzy.
“Daddy! Have a safe trip!”
She shouted energetically, forgetting her sadness.
“Yeah. Be a good girl.”
“Yes! Dorothy good girl!”
“Right.”
She learned new words every day. Yesterday it was “good child,” today it was “good girl.” During these morning farewells, Lizzy stayed quiet—Dorothy was the one teaching Juhwan phrases.
She seemed delighted to be the teacher, constantly thinking of new words to teach him—though most were variations of “good,” “pretty,” and “nice,” likely reflecting her own desires.
When Juhwan patted her head, Dorothy leaned into his hand like a cat, rubbing against it several times before stepping back.
After greeting Dorothy, it was Lizzy’s turn.
“Be careful.”
“Lizzy… you too… be careful.”
He spoke slowly and carefully. Lizzy smiled, pleased. Whenever his pronunciation was wrong, she corrected him.
He lightly kissed her lips. Dorothy, watching, puckered her lips too—like an octopus. When he bent down and kissed her, he smelled meat on her breath.
This little rascal had been sneaking bites.
Glancing at Lizzy, she shrugged as if she already knew. It probably wasn’t the first time. Maybe Dorothy had been secretly eating even when he wasn’t around.
That might explain why the meat disappeared so quickly.
After saying goodbye again, Juhwan stepped outside.
The traps were deep in the mountains, far from home—a long walk away.
Before leaving, Gus handed Juhwan several arrows from his bamboo quiver.
Juhwan’s arrows had no tips, but these had long metal points.
Strangely, they weren’t the typical arrowhead shape used for hunting—like the ones Gus carried.
Seeing Juhwan’s puzzled expression, Gus just grinned and walked ahead without explaining.
On the way, Gus continued teaching—pointing out firewood trees, making Juhwan identify them, and sometimes stopping to look for rabbit droppings.
When Juhwan found pellet-like droppings, Gus made him study the surroundings carefully. Then he had him find droppings of other animals—since predators also hunted rabbits.
By the time they reached the traps, quite some time had passed.
The forest was quiet, as usual, except for occasional bird sounds. Juhwan assumed they hadn’t caught anything.
So when he finally saw the trap, he was startled.
Caught in it was a creature far larger and more vicious-looking than any rabbit.
The rabbits Juhwan knew were round-faced, short-eared, and cute—but this was completely different.
Its ears were long—maybe it was a rabbit—but they looked strange. Too long. Too bizarre.
Its face wasn’t round at all. It looked more like… a gangster kangaroo.
Somewhere between a rabbit and a kangaroo—much closer to a kangaroo.
Its legs were long and thin, unlike a chubby pet rabbit.
Overall, it looked like a rabbit that had evolved into a monster.
‘Is it because this is another world?’
Still… maybe that was a good thing.
He didn’t think he’d hesitate at all to kill it.