Contrary to his expectations the Jaguar didn't take a bite out of him. It only licked him. Actually it felt like it was cleaning him. The Lions would clean their cubs.
Lee Hyunjin was absolutely horrified/baffled and his entire being became completely stiff. He definitely didn't like it when the drool was dripping down his face but now he was covered in it!
Lee Hyunjin could only shed tears silently as he was given a 'good' washing.
After that the jaguar set him aside. It placed him in the corner of the cave behind itself. Shielded from the wind and rain coming threw the entrance. From these actions, Lee Hyunjin concluded that the jaguar was most likely female.
"So... you're not going to eat me?"
The big jaguar yawned and rested its head on its paws ignoring him entirely. Lee Hyunjin counted the seconds till a whole hour had passed then he stealthy made his way out of the cave after being sure the jaguar was asleep.
Because of the loud and heavy rainfall he judged that the jaguar would not hear his footsteps so he ran again in the direction of the lake.
The rain washed off the saliva along with its smell and that made him feel much better. "Does it think I'm it's child?"
Lee Hyunjin clicked his tongue and shook his head to get rid of the absurd idea. There was no way it would think that!
Whilst running he thought that maybe he could hide in a tree but then remembered the pretty teacher saying that some cats are also quite flexible and can climb trees....
Jaguars were among those that can so he quickly threw away the idea. Since the jaguar didn't plan on eating him he should put escaping aside for now and deal with more important issues.
He was hungry!
But just before he could reach the lake, he had a realisation.
He knew nothing about living in a forest let alone what was edible and what wasn't. Another problem was even if he did, the plants here were all weird! They were all glowing different colours even the fruits on the trees are strange! He couldn't recognise any of them.
Lee Hyunjin continued towards the lake. Maybe he could attempt fishing (which he also knew nothing about) at least then he'd get some food.... but he'd need to roast the fish and he can't do that in the rain.
Then could he make a fire in the cave? Would the jaguar be okay with it?
He doesn't even know how to light a fire in the forest! Where were all the convenient things? The stoves and lighters?
The internet! If only he had it he could search up what was edible in the forest.
Lee Hyunjin once again experienced the feeling of hopelessness. He turned back with his mood dampened and dejectedly made his way back to the cave. At least the jaguar was warm and he wouldn't freeze to death... maybe if it really thought he was it's child it could get him some food.
Completely depressed, Lee Hyunjin failed to notice that something was following him.
By the time he was aware of it another animal, little smaller than the jaguar was standing in front of him. It growled hungrily as it salivated.
Lee Hyunjin was sure that this one definitely wanted to eat him.
A fear different from the one he felt towards the jaguar made his legs go weak. He fell back onto his behind, his trembling eyes locked on the creature that looked like a wolf.
Why were the animals here so big? Did they feed them growth hormones?
Lee Hyunjin was shaking as the wolf drew closer to him. He could clearly see its sharp jaws.
The wolf pounced and Lee Hyunjin immediately reacted, shuffling back as fast as he could.
The wolf snapped its jaws at him, trying to get a good bite whilst he tried to escape.
Unfortunately
In the process it managed to bite down on his right leg.
When Lee Hyunjin heard the sound of his bones crunching his brain at first couldn't process what was happening and he was momentarily frozen.
But as the canines of the wolf grazed his bone the pain jolted him awake powerfully and a blood curdling scream ripped from his throat.
The pain made him feel like he was going mad. As if his whole leg was ripped from his body. Lee Hyunjin looked into the green eyes of the wolf-like-creature that had released his leg and was moving towards his throat.
He shuddered in terror. It was something he'd never experienced. He suddenly thought that he shouldn't have left the cave. It was the safest place to be right now but he was in the forest in a world he didn't know with no allies or family to cry to.
Just why?
Just why?
Why?
Why?!
His life was already bad but at least it wasn't like this.... He never asked for anything, he never asked for this so why?
At this moment Lee Hyunjin truly hated himself more than anything. Why did he have to be Lee Hyunjin? Why him?
The wolf was about to bite down on his neck when a low rumble resounded near them.
Lee Hyunjin was now very, very familiar with it even though he'd only spent a day with the owner of that growl. He couldn't be more happy at this moment.
Did it really come to save me?
The pain numbed his senses and his consciousness started to flicker. All of this was too much for him.
The jaguars growl sounded closer and closer and the wolf changed position. It stood in front of Lee Hyunjin as if saying this was its prey.
The Jaguar wasn't having it and after circling for a bit the two got into a fight.
It was a short fight. The jaguar was bigger and more powerful so once its jaws clamped around the wolf's neck the game was over and the wolf's neck was snapped in half.
Lee Hyunjin looked at the jaguar that was approaching him cautiously. It sniffed at his broken leg then looked up at him. The jaguar tilted its head and Lee Hyunjin felt his heart thumping.
Their eyes met and for some reason Lee Hyunjin noticed the colour of the jaguars eyes
They were bright amber...
The jaguar walked around Lee Hyunjin then picked him up with its teeth.
The pain in Lee Hyunjin's legs intensified at that moment and his consciousness blacked.
.
.
.
When he again woke he was laying on his back in the cave. His body was shaking, he felt sweaty, weak and cold. Lee Hyunjin feebly shifted his gaze around.
He could see the head of the big jaguar near his legs and he instantly realised what it was doing. The jaguar was licking his injured leg.
His lips parted and his raspy voice sounded, "... you're not going to eat me right?" Lee Hyunjin was actually momentarily scared that might happen.
-Grrrr
"Sorry..." the pain was horrible, he couldn't even muster the strength to sit up.
Lee Hyunjin cried.
The jaguar didn't know what to do, licking his wounds didn't seem to work for him the way it did for itself so it just sat next to Hyunjin and closed its eyes.
"At this point if you promise it won't hurt then you can eat me..."
The jaguar made a sound similar to a snort then turned its face away from him.
Lee Hyunjin found it laughable, it didn't even want to eat him.
That night, Lee Hyunjin developed a fever and his consciousness kept flickering.
He vaguely remembered the jaguar licking him before leaving and coming back time and time again.
Lee Hyunjin also recalled his memories from his home world.
~*~
Lee Hyunjin was a college student and not one with high prospects. His grades were like the rest of him just barely climbing over the passing mark like a worn out animal clawing at the edge of the cliff so it doesn't fall to its death.
He didn't have any friends or family to speak of in high regards just a few distant relatives who'd come around one or twice in a few years and a few college mates who only knew him because they either sat next to him or because they were in the same assignment group.
It was already a miracle that he even entered a college like Jinyoung technical college (J-Tech) where he chose a course in culinary arts.
Now that he thought about it... he only chose culinary arts because his mother had said she liked his cooking even though what he served her was practically charred.
Lee Hyunjin remembered how she smiled at him and patted his head which at that time had a mop of fluffy curly hair that straightened out later.
"Jin-ah, you did very well today. I loved it."
Lee Hyunjin felt the air around him shift, becoming colder and it snapped him awake. The jaguar must've moved away again.
At this point he really hoped the jaguar would just eat him and end his suffering.
He was sick and starving and in pain, was there a worse combination in the world?
Lee Hyunjin looked toward the cave opening. Light was flooding in and the shadows cast from the leaves of the trees trembled slightly.
It was morning and the rain had stopped. A day had passed.
Lee Hyunjin thought that he should try to get up.
There was no strength in his arms let alone his legs. Lee Hyunjin's attempts to get up were really pathetic and painful.
After struggling for half a day he managed to crawl up to the wall of the cave and lean his back against it.
Lee Hyunjin immediately regretted his actions. Now he could see his leg very clearly.
That wolf had done a good job shredding it. As a Culinary student he would give it an A for such fine work.
Lee Hyunjin frowned deeply at the sight of his leg. He supposed it didn't fester much because the jaguar kept licking it but really, would he even be able to walk at this rate?
Speaking of, where did the jaguar go this time?
Whenever it left and Lee Hyunjin was conscious he would count the seconds till it returned and the longest was two hours but it had long past two hours.
After ripping up the top part of his sack like robe, he used it to tie up his leg all the while grunting and not restraining the tears in his eyes.
Not too long after the Jaguar returned and to his surprise it had a bunch of colourful plants in it's mouth.
The jaguar dropped the plants near him and waited. When Lee Hyunjin didn't move it pushed the plants closer to him then sat down resting it head on its large paws. The gaze in its eyes seemed a bit sad.
Lee Hyunjin gulped, "this is for me?.... to eat?" He asked even though he knew it wouldn't respond.
"Erm... thank you," he reached out and picked up the bunch of plants, some of them even had the jaguars saliva on them but lee Hyunjin didn't feel like being picky after all he was extremely hungry.
When the jaguar saw he was about to eat, it turned away from him as if it didn't care about him.
But from time to time, the Jaguar would peek behind like it was checking on him.
Lee Hyunjin laughed inwardly, this Jaguar had some attitude problems. It was very big and scary but it seemed like it was also rather cute.
Taking a bite, after examining the plants Lee Hyunjin found that they had a stinging sour taste but he was too happy about there being food to go in his stomach to care.
For the first time since his arrival, he felt that he was lucky to have woken up in the cave with the jaguar.
(A/N: If you like this story please remember to vote and leave a comment! See you in the next chapter!😁)