Yeonwoo and Geon, who were fully prepared for hunting, wandered deep into the mountains, searching for traces of a tiger that had been left behind.

Even as they ventured deeper into the mountains, Yeonwoo couldn’t shake off the events that had just occurred with Geon.

The sharp gaze that had targeted the prey. The sweet voice that echoed in the ears.

The warm body temperature felt on the back and the breath that brushed against the neck.

The strong scent of musk emanating from the embrace and the scent of burnt wood.

The more Yeonwoo tried to forget, the more vividly the sensations of Geon came to mind.

“Why do I keep thinking about it?”

Despite needing to focus on tiger hunting, why does Geon’s image keep intruding into Yeonwoo’s thoughts? Yeonwoo slapped his cheeks with both hands.

At the hunting gear store, it was only the superior looking out for the subordinate.

Even when shooting an arrow, it was only the superior correcting the subordinate’s posture.

It was an ordinary and common thing for a superior to take care of the subordinate.

Knowing this, Yeonwoo’s heart didn’t calm down, and the warmth in his heart did not cool.

Yeonwoo spoke to himself while pressing his forehead against a nearby tree.

“Calm down… Let’s calm down!”

It was an effort to somehow erase the distracting thoughts from his mind.

At that moment, Yeonwoo felt a slight, sticky sensation on the tree trunk he had grabbed.

“…?”

Upon closer inspection of the suspicious sensation, there were markings on the trunk as if scratched by sharp claws.

Even someone unfamiliar with wild animals could tell that it was a trace made by a creature.

Yeonwoo immediately called Geon.

“Nari, could you come over here for a moment?”

As Geon approached, Yeonwoo pointed to the marks on the tree trunk and spoke.

“Look here. Normally, animals like cats or bears sharpen their claws on trees, right?”

Having hunted small animals before, Yeonwoo was familiar with the traces of various animals.

Although he had never seen tiger tracks directly, comparing them with the traces of cat-like animals made it easy for him to identify their characteristics.

“Considering the height and depth of the marks, it doesn’t seem to be a size that a bear could create.”

Just by looking at the deeply engraved claw marks on the tree trunk, it was difficult to determine which predator it was.

But upon examining the next set of tracks, Yeonwoo became increasingly certain that a tiger had passed by.

“But this is even more conclusive evidence.”

Next, as Yeonwoo pointed to the ground near the tree, there appeared to be excrement that seemed to belong to an animal.

“One side is pointed, and the opposite side is round, suggesting it’s from a cat species. Since a bear couldn’t make something this large, I think it might be a tiger.”

As everyone examined the evidence, it became clear that it was indeed from a tiger.

Nodding his head, Geon bent down and closely observed the grass around the excrement.

The grass seemed pressed down, as if a tiger had walked over it.

“Judging by the degree to which the grass is pressed, it hasn’t been long since this place was left. It seems like this is the path the tiger takes around here.”

Geon surveyed the surrounding terrain and spoke.

“Now that we know the tiger’s path, let’s set traps around this area.”

“Yes!”

As Geon spoke, they began the task of setting traps in earnest.

First, they set snares and traps with sharp teeth on the path the tiger frequented.

The moment the tiger got caught in the snare, the thin wire would entangle it, and stepping on the trap would cause sharp teeth to bite into the tiger’s paw.

They also created a trap with a lightning rod, placing a heavy stone on top as a bait with a piglet.

If the tiger touched the lightning rod while trying to catch the piglet, the heavy stones on top would fall and crush the tiger.

Finally, the two dug about ten pits and inserted spears into them, aiming upwards.

If the tiger fell into the pit, the sharp spear would penetrate its body.

As Yeonwoo gathered leaves to camouflage the holes, Geon opened his mouth while covering the holes.

“By the way, this is quite impressive. Not many people can identify animal tracks.”
“I’ve never caught a tiger, but I’ve hunted quite a few small animals,” Yeonwoo said, covering the holes alongside Geon.

“You seem to be quite good at reading tracks,” Yeonwoo continued.

“I’ve been hunting occasionally too,” Geon replied.

Casual conversation flowed between the two.

“You also seem to know quite a bit about herbs. You’re quite skilled,” Geon complimented.

“Haha. Not that skilled, but being busy with survival made me learn various things,” Yeonwoo replied.

Feeling pleased with Geon’s praise, Yeonwoo chuckled awkwardly. He never expected that the various skills he acquired for survival would come in handy.

Suddenly, an unexpected topic emerged from Geon.

“Your sister was good with herbs too.”

“What?! My, my sister, you say?”

“Yes.”

Abruptly discussing Yeonho, Geon unintentionally made Yeonwoo stumble over his words.