I Became the Emergency Food Supply of the Bear Family - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 2

At the sudden appearance of a ferocious beast, the wolves raised their fur and lowered their bodies.
—Hey.
The Pack Leader called out to the bear.
—Hey, you there, bear.
—…….
—Come on, at least say something.
—…….
The bear did not respond.
In the heavy silence that followed, the wolf clicked his tongue awkwardly.
‘Is that bear… not a Humanoid Beast?’
The Humanoid Beasts of Gildlou could communicate even in their Animalized state. It was something like Telepathy—hearing the other’s voice resonate directly in your mind.
It wasn’t explicitly described in the story, but he’d learned it through direct experience. Though he still had no idea how to initiate the contact himself.
‘I tried, but it didn’t work.’
He’d attempted to speak to his parents in this world when they were Animalized, but it had been useless. He didn’t know why. No matter how desperately he wished, no matter how many times he repeated it in his mind, his voice never reached them.
But now was hardly the time to dwell on that.
The Pack Leader began closing the distance, stepping forward inch by inch toward the bear. His golden eyes fixed on the beast with unmistakable threat.
—Look, this one’s our prey. If you don’t back off politely, we’ll—aaaaaaah……!
The Pack Leader never finished.
A single swing of the brown bear’s arm sent him flying far into the distance.
—Pack Leader!
The wolves watched where their leader had vanished, letting out a collective howl, before turning their attention back to the bear.
Grrrrrrr.
Baring their fangs in threat, more than a dozen wolves charged at the bear in unison.
But.
Whimper! Squeal! Shriek!
Each time the bear swung an arm, drove a fist, or lashed out with a claw, wolves flew through the air in groups of two or three.
Even the massive arctic white wolf was nothing but a pup before this creature.
In moments, the wolves had all vanished beyond the forest or been hurled onto the Snowfield.
‘That bear just made a mockery of the arctic wolves…’
Who in their right mind designed a teddy bear like that? There’s nothing cute about a monster like that! And where the hell did this bear come from all of a sudden?
‘Did it come to eat the wolves?’
A fleeting hope.
Whiiiiish.
In the howling storm, the brown bear suddenly turned its head.
Those golden eyes gleamed even through the blizzard, fixed directly on him.
‘Why… why would you do that…?’
O God.
Could you not simply let this wretched creature, who seeks only to accept Fate and live in peace, be?
Even as resentment flared toward the heavens, Na Bom was already frantically searching for escape.
He’d definitely seen it on video before. A method to survive bear encounters.
First: play dead!
Since his body was so caked with snow that he couldn’t move anyway, lying flat on the Snowfield would easily make him look like a corpse.
And with his white fur, he might not even be distinguishable from the snow itself.
Thinking this, he clamped his eyes shut.
Each time the bear’s paws struck the ground, vibrations rippled through it. No doubt—the creature was approaching.
Please. Please just walk past me.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
But contrary to his desperate hope, the bear’s footfalls stopped directly in front of Na Bom.
Flinch!
The gaze he felt from above made his body instinctively curl inward. And at that moment—
Hic.
Once.
Hic.
Again.
A hiccup escaped him.
With each hiccup his body trembled violently, and the snow covering Na Bom tumbled away in cascades.
First strategy: failed.
Then the second approach: back away slowly and flee!
According to the professor on YouTube, this was the most effective method.
Na Bom gathered all his strength into his left hind leg instead of the injured right one, and pushed himself upright.
Never lock eyes with the bear. But keep watching it constantly. If he turned and bolted, he was finished. So if he just retreated like this…!
But as Na Bom backed away, the bear advanced without hesitation.
For every ten steps Na Bom gained in distance, the bear closed it in a single stride.
‘I’m done for.’
That left only one last resort.
Na Bom planted his feet and splayed his front legs wide to either side.
Shifting his weight onto his hind legs to stand on his toes, he arched his back and felt his fur stand on end. In that posture, he locked his gaze onto the bear’s eyes—the very ones he’d fought so hard not to meet.
It was an animal’s way of saying: attack me and I won’t go easy on you.
But.
Tremor-tremor-tremor-tremor-tremor.
Watching Na Bom posture and threaten while trembling like an aspen leaf, the bear simply tilted its head.
‘It doesn’t even understand that I’m threatening it.’
In that moment of absolute despair, as the world seemed to spin—
Na Bom saw clearly: the bear was reaching out its massive arm toward him.
Damn it all.
Na Bom lost consciousness.

***

“I’m sorry, dear.”

A voice reached him.
Soft as the newly changed bedsheets but as melancholy as a hospital room on a rainy day—that achingly familiar voice.

“Please look after Naeul a little better, won’t you?”

Naeul.
Right. That was today, wasn’t it? The day Mom, Dad, and little Naeul were supposed to go to the amusement park together.
I, confined to this Hospital Room, could never have dreamed of such a thing. So I’d told them to go ahead—but why was Mom here instead…?
‘Oh. Because of me.’
A thin breath slipped past the Oxygen Mask covering my mouth.
In my blurred vision, I thought I could see Mom’s back.
Slowly, I reached out my hand. My arm extended toward her.
It was strange. This body that wouldn’t move no matter how desperately I willed it—why was it obeying me now?
My fingertips touched her wrist.
Mom, I tried to call, but my voice wouldn’t come.
Yet Mom turned to me at once, and—

“Sigh……”

She breathed out a long sigh.
Na Bom remembered his final moment.
His mother’s face as she gazed at him—so worn, so tired.
The deep sigh that escaped her chapped lips, laden with overwhelming relief.
‘Yeah. That’s good.’
Now you don’t have to suffer anymore, Mom.
You can rest easy.
I’m dead now.

At the faint touch, he turned to look at the rabbit.
On the Bed lay the rabbit, turned on its side, pressing its small paw against his wrist.
The rabbit’s mouth moved slightly, but only a shallow breath came out. The eyelids covering those round eyes were lifted just the tiniest bit.
It had woken.
“Sigh……”
As the man gazed at the white rabbit and exhaled, the rabbit closed its eyes again. Its thin-furred nose twitched, and then something streamed down from beneath the rabbit’s eyes.
Tears.
“…….”
The man watched the silent weeping rabbit without moving.

***

‘Hot.’
It had been winter just moments ago, but now it felt like summer had come. He could feel sweat seeping out through his fur.
Was this heaven? Or hell?
After thrashing and groaning for a while, Na Bom suddenly opened his eyes.
It was a ceiling he’d never seen before.
Following the line of the canopy clearly made from fine fabric, he could see the Bed he was lying on.
Now Na Bom understood why he’d been so unbearably hot.
‘How many layers are there?!’
Even a rough count showed more than five thick Blankets covering his entire body except for his face.
He tried using both front and hind paws to pull the Blanket back, but it wouldn’t budge. In the end, he had to twist his body and swim his way out from under the covers.
I nearly died.
Whoosh.
A sigh escaped through his slightly parted triangular mouth.
Once the initial relief faded, Na Bom surveyed his surroundings frantically.
An expansive Bed—about half the size of his own home. Beyond a sofa, a fireplace had a cheerful fire lit, and the exotic-patterned Tapestry hanging on the wall was clearly of fine make. And—
‘My hind leg.’
His right hind leg, which had been bleeding from wolf claws, was now wrapped tightly in Bandage. As if someone had treated it.
‘……What on earth happened?’
He’d been certain the bear’s strike would be fatal. So why was he alive? And where was he?
In any case, he couldn’t stay in a place he didn’t know. Most of all, his animal instincts were screaming at him to flee.
This room was saturated with an ominous scent. There was no doubt—
‘The smell of a predator.’
The primal terror he’d felt when first meeting the wolves. He’d sensed it through his nostrils—that the creature was a hunter.
Limping on his injured hind leg, he began moving urgently. He grasped the sheet edge tightly, thrashing for some time before his paws finally touched the floor.
He crawled frantically toward the door.
Scratch-scratch-scratch-scratch!
He clawed desperately at the door, but it wouldn’t open.
Stay calm. Panic accomplishes nothing.
Na Bom took a deep breath and prepared to jump. His hind leg throbbed, but he couldn’t give up now.
Bound!
He leapt from a standstill, stretching his front paws as far as they would reach.
The jump was successful. As his front paws grasped the doorknob, hanging precariously, the door began to creak slowly open.
Thump.
He fell and landed on his rear, but felt no pain at all.
‘Get out of here, fast.’
For whatever it was worth, he was still half a rabbit.
Leaving a door open for a rabbit—how careless.
Chuckling silently to himself, Na Bom scurried away quickly.
However this place was, he’d escape with rabbit speed!
But how much time had passed while wandering this Corridor?
Na Bom was already breathing hard and heaving.
‘How massive is this place?!’
Thump-thumping his front paws in frustration as he favored his injured hind leg, Na Bom looked around.
Somehow he’d wound up back in front of the very room he’d started from. This was a complete maze!
‘……!’
Then. Heavy footsteps sounded.
There was more than one person—he could hear human voices mixed between the footsteps.
And the footsteps were coming toward him.
‘This is bad!’
Unable to sit still, Na Bom squeezed his eyes shut and hurried back into that room.
The moment his body pressed flat against the door, it swung open with a creak.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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