Chapter 6
The bottom of the sack was wet, and whether it was his imagination or not, Jaeha thought he could smell blood.
“…Please don’t tell me you came all the way here looking like that.”
Seeing Jaeyoon’s appearance, which seemed likely to spark rumors about a murderer roaming the apartment complex, Jaeha felt like he needed to grab a mop and run out immediately.
Despite Jaeha’s concern, Jaeyoon wiped the dark red liquid from his cheek with the back of his hand and grinned triumphantly.
“No one saw me. Don’t worry, hyung.”
No one saw him, he says. With it still being so bright outside, how could he have possibly come without being seen by anyone?
“You. Really. Haah…”
Jaeyoon, who had left empty-handed, returned carrying what looked unmistakably like a pig. Perhaps he had taken it without the owner’s knowledge.
Belatedly coming to his senses, Jaeha pounded on Jaeyoon’s empty shoulder.
“Hey! I know I said we were short on food money, but come on! What are you doing bringing someone else’s pig here?!”
“No, hyung. It’s an ownerless pig.”
“Ack! It’s really a pig?!”
Pig theft. Illegal slaughter. Either way, his brother had committed a crime. All for some pork belly.
“I understand what you’re worried about, but it’s true. I’ll show you.”
“Aack! No! I needed meat, not to see a dead pig!”
Despite Jaeha’s intense refusal, Jaeyoon unwrapped the sack to show what was inside. Though thinking he really didn’t want to see, Jaeha squinted and his eyes widened at the sight of a pitch-black pig with only its torso remaining.
“Why is there a Jeju black pig here?”
“No, hyung. This is a magical beast that lives in F-grade dungeons. There’s a hidden dungeon in the nearby mountains, so I caught it easily.”
“Magical beast?”
“Ah, don’t worry. Even though I haven’t awakened yet, I can catch something like a Black Pig with a bit of skill.”
Dungeon. Magical beast. Awakening.
Jaeha was the game addict, while Jaeyoon only played casually. Wondering when his brother had become this obsessed with games, Jaeha looked at him with concerned eyes, but Jaeyoon was proudly displaying his prey like a cat showing off its catch.
“It’s a magical beast, but it’s similar to a pig, so it’s easy to catch and tastes even better. Later, Black Pigs became highly traded among gourmets.”
Saying it in English didn’t change the fact it was a black pig.
As Jaeha looked more closely with half-open eyes, he noticed the skin was completely black, and even the cross-section of the bones was pitch-black, reminiscent of a silkie chicken. He worried that perhaps his brother had captured some rare, newly-developed breed of pig. Meanwhile, Jaeyoon calmly adjusted the sack.
“This is really good for men.”
“…Let’s try grilling it first.”
Jaeha’s thoughts leaned toward making a bank transfer if the pig turned out to have an owner.
While preparing the meat that Jaeyoon had somewhat processed and brought back with only the torso, Jaeha genuinely began to worry about Monday. He became anxious about what his brother, who had brought home a pig just because of a mention of pork belly, might do at school. But he didn’t have any immediate solutions.
“Let’s grill it first.”
Sizzle.
Soon after placing the meat on the hot pan, a savory aroma filled the air. Anxiety and worry flew away as his appetite surged.
“Wow, how can meat smell this good?”
Unlike Jeju black pigs, this meat with its pitch-black skin looked ambiguous, but once it started grilling, the smell was incredible. Jaeha’s mouth watered involuntarily, and his hand holding the tongs fidgeted impatiently. He wanted to put it in his mouth as soon as the blood was gone.
As he watched the cooking meat intently, Jaeyoon approached with tongs and scissors. After cutting a large piece, Jaeyoon quickly brought the bright red meat to his mouth, startling Jaeha who reached out his hand.
“Hey, are you eating it before it’s even cooked?”
“It’s fine. It’s delicious.”
“It’s not about taste, it’s pork so you need to cook it thoroughly.”
“Black Pigs don’t have parasites or anything like that, so it’s okay to eat them medium.”
Though his faith in domestic food products was commendable, Jaeha couldn’t believe it. He patiently waited until all traces of blood were gone before putting a piece in his mouth, and at that moment,
“Holy… shit…”
The heavenly taste made Jaeha’s eyes well up as profanity involuntarily escaped his lips.
A taste he wanted to monopolize by partnering with a pig farmer.
A heavenly taste.
A taste that made him want to immediately summon his mother, who had followed his father abroad when he was transferred, despite being divorced.
‘If you were going to follow him anyway, why did you even divorce?’
Though it was hard to understand his mother, who was such a free spirit, her cooking skills were top-notch. The taste made him think they could make a fortune by starting a business using his mother’s kimchi and the meat his brother had brought.
“Does it suit your taste?”
“No, how can meat feel so bouncy when chewing but then turn so soft when your teeth sink in? What kind of texture is this? Wow, I just grilled it, but the meat juices are no joke. Wow, this is insane.”
The Black Pig’s meat had an exceptional texture from the moment it was cut. It was fascinating to experience what it meant for meat to be both soft and elastic.
It definitely tasted like pork, but dozens of times more delicious. It had a depth and umami that surpassed even good beef, plus the texture made him want to keep chewing.
“Wow, it’s really delicious. You should eat quickly too… Huh? When did I finish all this?”
“Tasty, right? There’s plenty, so eat more.”
While Jaeha smiled sheepishly after devouring all the meat on the pan in an instant, Jaeyoon added more. Seeing Jaeyoon placing the meat with his bare hands, Jaeha picked up the tongs.
“You eat the batch I’m grilling now. It’s really delicious, this black pig.”
“It’s a Black Pig, I tell you. And you eat all the grilled meat.”
“No thanks. Take out another pan and grill some for yourself… Hey! Why are you eating that raw?!”
When Jaeha turned to take out another frying pan, he saw Jaeyoon chewing on raw meat he had picked up with his bare hands.
“Oh shit, if you were that hungry, you should have said something!”
“No, hyung. I’m telling you, Black Pigs can really be eaten raw. When eaten raw, they even taste like fruit. This one has a subtle tangerine flavor.”
“How is that possible? It’s good enough if it doesn’t smell like blood.”
“I already drained the blood. Try it, hyung. It’s really delicious.”
Jaeyoon held out the raw meat he had bitten into toward Jaeha. When Jaeha grimaced and avoided it, Jaeyoon didn’t insist further.
Despite Jaeyoon’s strange behavior, which should have dampened Jaeha’s appetite, the rising savory aroma made him swallow his saliva. In the end, after frying kimchi and rice in the abundant meat drippings, Jaeha was so full he could barely breathe as he sprawled out.
“Wow, I can’t move at all. I feel like my stomach’s going to burst.”
“Hyung, you rest a bit. I’ll do the dishes.”
That might really not be my brother.
Jaeha doubted Jaeyoon’s identity again.
No matter what strange things he did, Jaeyoon was still Jaeyoon. He had to be his brother. But this case was different.
“You’re willingly doing the dishes? Without even being told?”
Volunteering to clean or do dishes first was absolutely not something his brother would do. It was even more unbelievable than him chewing and swallowing raw meat.
“Ah, right.”
With that thought, Jaeha quickly got up and took out a deworming pill from the medicine cabinet. Fortunately, one was left since he had bought an odd number.
“Take this.”
“Aah~”
Jaeha, who was about to toss the deworming pill onto the table, froze in place. He stiffly raised his neck, wondering if he’d heard correctly. Jaeyoon, who had been doing dishes at the sink, had turned his head toward him with his mouth wide open. Suppressing the urge to throw the pill at that brazen face, Jaeha put it down.
“Take it yourself.”
“If you don’t give it to me now, I’ll forget. Put it in my mouth, hyung.”
Jaeha clenched his fist at the inexplicable chill running down his spine. Holding back the urge to kick him out immediately, Jaeha stood next to the sink, remembering that Jaeyoon wasn’t in his right mind. He pushed Jaeyoon aside with his body and plunged his hands into the dishwater.
“Go take your medicine. I’ll do the dishes.”
“Then let’s do it together.”
“Ah, it’s too cramped. You’re as big as a mountain.”
“I’ll move over more. Let’s do it together, hyung.”
As if he had touched another wrong point, Jaeyoon’s voice became a little deeper and trembled. Even without looking, Jaeha knew Jaeyoon must have a hurt expression on his face.
Suppressing the desire to scold the annoying Jaeyoon, Jaeha scrubbed the dishes vigorously as if venting his frustration on them.
Eventually, two adult men awkwardly did the dishes together at one narrow sink.
“Done. Now step back a bit. And take your medicine.”
After what felt like a series of penalty games finally ended, and having even fed Jaeyoon the medicine, Jaeha was about to take a breath when he saw the disaster on the dining table and realized his oversight.
The pig was still almost intact after just one meal. The mess laid out on the table because it couldn’t be processed at the narrow sink was still there. Realizing that he had been focused on grilling meat and doing dishes with this behind him, Jaeha rolled up his sleeves again.
Fortunately, the head and internal organs had been removed, and all the blood had been drained, giving it the appearance of meat hanging in a butcher shop, so it didn’t cause much revulsion.
“I’ll put enough for two or three days in the refrigerator, and the rest… it’s a shame, but I’ll have to freeze it. Oh man, this would be a huge hit if we could sell it.”
“Not yet. If we sell it wrongly, we could get in trouble.”
“I’m just saying, where would I sell stolen goods anyway?”
“I keep telling you it’s not stolen.”
“If the owner shows up later, I’ll definitely pay them.”
Jaeha thought the owner might appear from somewhere, having lost such a peculiar pig. At Jaeha’s repeated remarks, Jaeyoon seemed genuinely upset as his voice fell flat.
“I’m telling you, it really has no owner.”
Despite his dejected face, Jaeyoon’s hands were busy processing the meat. Staring at him, Jaeha couldn’t help but smile.
If the meat being divided into zipper bags was, as Jaeyoon claimed, a “dungeon-bred Black Pig,” couldn’t he have shown that as evidence? Whether as proof of regression or as evidence of magical beasts’ existence, this single pig that Jaeyoon had brought could have been the answer.
“You said you’d show me evidence soon. If this is a magical beast, why didn’t you bring the head to show me?”
“This one grows poisonous herbs on its head. When it dies, the poison spreads to the body, so you have to cut off the head as soon as you catch it. In the beginning, when people didn’t know this, some Espers almost died.”
The answers flowed smoothly when questioned. It was clear that a complete worldview had been established in his brother’s mind.
“I’m used to it, so I’m fine, but I couldn’t bring something so dangerous to hyung.”
“Ah, I see.”
Jaeha responded casually.
No matter how far Jaeyoon intended to push this concept, his excuses were lengthy. If there were dungeons, he could simply take Jaeha there for proof, yet Jaeyoon kept making various excuses, appearing like a child with an overactive imagination.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
