Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: A Visit from Kongdori
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Sapsari's suggestion made Kongdori's eyes widen.
{All... of us...?}
Nod.
Sapsari nodded.
{Hmm...}
Kongdori rolled his big, dark eyes around.
'The super senior bro is thinking about what to say first to the benevolent brother.'
Having been in that exact spot himself once, Sapsari knew just what was going through Kongdori's mind.
He had wanted to thank the benevolent brother for saving his life, but he'd spent ages agonizing over where to even start.
Sapsari recalled that moment and waited patiently.
Kongdori stayed quiet for a while, but watching him didn't bore Sapsari at all.
It felt just like relaxing peacefully by the benevolent brother's side.
Sapsari gazed at Kongdori ahead of him with a laid-back expression.
The super senior brother, with his long, fluffy fur, sparkled brightly.
He'd seemed like a bad intruder at first, but now that Sapsari knew he was the super senior brother, he looked like one incredibly cool bro.
'A super duper cool bro.'
Sapsari chuckled to himself as he watched Kongdori.
All the brothers were cool, after all.
'Gray bro is cool, and Shadow bro is awesome too.'
Sapsari himself was pretty cool-looking but didn't realize it—he was just thrilled that all his brothers were so handsome.
Kongdori finally spoke to the chuckling Sapsari.
{First, I want to say good morning to big bro.}
[Let's go!]
As Sapsari jumped up to head inside, Kongdori shook his head.
{Not yet. Big bro's still sleeping.}
[Oh yeah.]
{And I want big bro to pet me.}
For a moment, Sapsari didn't know what to say and just swallowed hard.
'The super senior bro can't be touched.'
Silence hung between Sapsari and Kongdori for a bit.
Then, as if reading Sapsari's thoughts, Kongdori spoke up.
{It's okay. Thanks for talking with me.}
Sapsari shook his head side to side.
[No, I like it too.]
He meant he enjoyed chatting with Kongdori.
{Pfft, you're such a good boy. Sapsari, you head in and get some sleep now.}
Kongdori lifted a front paw to point at the house.
But Sapsari didn't want to go inside. He wanted to stay with Kongdori longer. It felt like he had to.
[I'm staying with the super senior bro.]
At Sapsari's reply, Kongdori's short tail wagged happily.
{Pfft, alright then? Wanna play with me?}
[Yeah! I wanna play.]
Sapsari played around the yard with Kongdori until the sun came up.
***
The next morning.
Woof! Woof woof woof!
The alarm blared in Lee Jun's room, and out of habit, he groped around for the clock.
That's when it happened.
Click!
It went silent right away.
"Our Kong... dori's such a... good boy..."
Lee Jun mumbled as he dropped his hand.
"Bro... just a bit longer... no, it's Sunday today... so tired..."
As he drifted back to sleep, mumbling, Lee Jun's eyes suddenly snapped open.
He had definitely fumbled for the clock, but he didn't remember actually touching it.
Yet it had turned off on its own.
"The clock!"
Was it broken?
Frowning, Lee Jun bolted upright.
Truth be told, this clock was a gift from his grandfather.
One day, Grandpa had come home beaming, saying he'd found an alarm that sounded just like Kongdori's bark, and gave it to him.
That's why, even though everyone else used phone alarms, Lee Jun had stuck with this one all these years.
And there was another special reason for Lee Jun.
Whenever the alarm went off, Kongdori always turned it off for him. Then, about ten minutes later, Kongdori would lick his face until he finally woke up.
Kongdori hadn't done that from the start.
He'd figured it out on his own after seeing Lee Jun turn off the alarm, fall back asleep, then panic later about oversleeping.
Either way, this alarm clock held precious memories sealed inside for Lee Jun—like a treasure.
Lee Jun got out of bed and looked at the clock.
But there was Sapsari, grinning right in front of him.
[Benevolent bro, sleep more. I'll wake you up.]
What?
Lee Jun's eyes went wide.
"You?"
[Yep! Go back to sleep.]
Not quite believing it, Lee Jun asked,
"Did you turn this off?"
[Yep! I did it!]
Sapsari replied proudly.
Watching him, Lee Jun remembered how Kongdori used to strut around proudly after shutting off the alarm.
"You little rascal! Good boy."
Lee Jun petted Sapsari as he asked,
"But Sapsari, did you already go out to the yard?"
He could feel a chill on Sapsari's fur under his fingertips.
[What? Already went to the yard?]
[This early?]
Gray and Shadow, who had been dead asleep on the bed until just now, jumped up. They hopped down to the floor and dashed out of the room.
"Oh man, what's with you guys? Why are you scratching at the windows like that? Did you hide something good out in the yard or what?"
Lee Jun asked Go Gi-jin as he headed out.
"Gi-jin, didn't you open the windows?"
"Windows? I'm just now trying to open 'em?"
Sure enough, there was the click of the window latch as Go Gi-jin spoke.
"That's weird."
Lee Jun tilted his head and went to the kitchen. Out of habit, he glanced at the small door under the one leading outside.
The infamous Kongdori door.
It was made so Kongdori could come and go freely.
Smart Kongdori would tap the ring beside it if he wanted out.
The little hatch would swing open, and he'd head to the yard. When he was done playing and came back, he'd tap it again to close.
It hadn't opened once since Kongdori passed.
And it was still firmly shut now.
Step, step, step.
Lee Jun walked over to it. No real reason—he just did.
His eyes widened again as he approached.
Three leaves had fallen right under the door.
"What the...?"
Lee Jun cocked his head, but a faint smile—not quite a cry or a laugh—formed on his lips.
'When Kongdori went out to play in the yard and came back, he'd bring in leaves or dirt like this...'
But these leaves were different from those.
The ones in front of him were clean. Untrodden.
They were like the leaves Kongdori deliberately brought in on his paws.
Kongdori would often fetch a leaf in his mouth, drop it at Lee Jun's feet, and grin ear to ear.
As if it were a gift.
And when Lee Jun picked up the leaf—with its tooth marks—and smiled, Kongdori would wag his stubby tail like crazy and grin back.
'Probably three leaves—one for Grandpa, one for me, and one for Kongdori himself.'
Remembering that, Lee Jun picked up the three leaves from the floor.
They had neat little tooth marks on them.
"No way..."
Did Kongdori come by during the night and leave these as a gift?
Of course, Lee Jun knew better—Kongdori, who had gone to the Dog Star, couldn't have come back.
But it didn't feel bad. Honestly, it felt good.
He didn't know why these tooth-marked leaves were here, but they made it feel like Kongdori was right there beside him.
Just then, Sapsari wagged his tail beside him and grinned.
Looking at Sapsari, Lee Jun muttered half to himself,
"Sapsari, did you run into Kongdori by any chance?"
[I did!]
Sapsari wanted to say not only that, but that he was right there now, and answered quickly.
But his bark got drowned out by the strong brother's voice.
"Sapsari, come on out already. They're waiting for you."
[Sapsari, come out!]
[Sapsari, why aren't you coming?]
Lee Jun spoke to Sapsari, who was looking at him.
"Go take a lap around the yard."
But Sapsari replied to Lee Jun,
[Nope. There's something more important. Benevolent bro, let's go over there.]
Sapsari pointed to the second floor.
"There?"
Nod nod.
Sapsari nodded, then spun in place.
Seeing that gesture for the first time, Lee Jun's head tilted again.
'That's what Kongdori did when he wanted to go somewhere with me...'
Lee Jun's eyes narrowed.
He'd heard something like this before, back at the Sapsari research center.
Sapsari dogs can sense energies we can't.
Of course, it was old folklore—like how they ward off ghosts and bad luck.
But right now, it hit him strong: maybe Sapsari really had met Kongdori.
Not chased something away, but actually seen him.
'Might explain why he's been spacing out and saying weird stuff—maybe he saw Kongdori.'
Once that thought clicked, Sapsari's behavior the past few days made sense.
'Is it true? Kongdori...'
Thinking of Kongdori, Lee Jun headed upstairs with Sapsari and asked,
"Did you lose something up here? Did the strong bro's ball roll under the bed or something?"
But Sapsari didn't answer and just quickened his pace.
Tap tap tap.
Sapsari reached the second floor and stopped in front of a door.
Not Go Gi-jin's room—it was the one Lee Jun had used as a study when he was a kid.
Now it was more like a storage room for junk and books.
Sapsari pawed at the storage room door.
[Let's go in here.]
"Why here? Ball get stuck inside?"
Shake shake.
Sapsari shook his head and stared at the door.
Creak.
As soon as Lee Jun opened it, Sapsari trotted inside.
He rummaged through the piles of books and clutter for a while, then came out with something in his mouth.
Plop!
Lee Jun's eyes widened at what Sapsari dropped on the floor.
It was a worn-out cat plush toy.
"This is..."
The first toy ten-year-old Lee Jun had ever bought for Kongdori.
Little Lee Jun had wanted to give his lonely friend at home something to play with when he and Grandpa went out.
So he'd saved up his pocket money from Grandpa and bought a plush the same size as Kongdori back then.
And there it was, right in front of him.
"Why was this in here...?"
Kongdori's absolute favorite toy.
But one day it just vanished, so Lee Jun figured it had ended up in the trash.
He sat on the floor, hugged the plush, and stroked it.
[The super senior bro said he loved this toy so much.]
"Super senior bro? ...Oh!"
That must be what they called Kongdori.
A faint smile tugged at Lee Jun's lips.
"...You really met Kongdori, huh."
While Lee Jun stroked the precious plush, Sapsari squeezed in and fetched something else.
This time, it was a piece of paper.
"Whoa, this was in there too?"
Lee Jun's face lit up again.
It was a photo from the day Kongdori first came home.
In it, Lee Jun was beaming while cradling a Kongdori just a bit bigger than his palm.
The corner was torn, and there were tooth marks here and there.
But even that made Lee Jun happy—it was proof of Kongdori.
[The super senior bro called it treasure. The best treasure in the world, given by his favorite big bro.]
It didn't make logical sense.
But now Lee Jun was convinced Sapsari had met Kongdori.
How else would he find this?
"Yeah?"
Lee Jun's gaze grew distant as he asked again.
"Kongdori's doing well, right? What did he look like?"
Lee Jun stroked the photo as he spoke.
And watching that scene...
{Big bro!}
Kongdori threw himself into Lee Jun's arms.
Of course, Lee Jun felt no impact from the hug, nor could he see Kongdori like Sapsari could.
But strangely, in that moment, he felt the familiar weight of Kongdori leaning against his left side.
Lee Jun reached out with his right hand to pet where he felt Kongdori.
Kongdori grinned and wagged happily.
Sapsari's eyes went wide watching.
[Benevolent bro, you can see the super senior bro Kongdori too?]
***
That night, Lee Jun had a Kongdori dream for the first time in ages.
Kongdori came bounding over, grinning ear to ear.
-Big bro! Felt so so good when you petted me.
He was so thrilled he spun in circles as he spoke.
"Kongdori..."
Lee Jun couldn't bring himself to say he was happy.
Kongdori—the one he'd longed for so much—was right there, but he hadn't seen him.
Hadn't even touched that fluffy, soft fur.
Just felt a vague presence.
-Hee hee, love the little bros. They're all such good boys.
"Yeah, they are. Good boys."
It was the truth, so he could say that.
-Hee hee, big bro, Gray looks just like my precious plush.
Lee Jun had been surprised too.
He'd realized it that morning with the plush Sapsari brought out—it looked just like Gray.
Probably bought it back then because the fur matched Kongdori's.
-Sapsari's fur and eyes are like mine too.
Lee Jun had to agree.
"Like the plush Grandpa Shadow got you?"
-Pfft, yeah. They're all precious little bros. Makes me happy you smile because of them.
"Yeah, those guys are fun, huh."
-Big bro, get along great with them. And with any others too.
"Yeah. It's all thanks to you."
-Nah, they all love you. They say thanks. So big bro, you take care.
"Yeah, and you? You doing okay?"
-Yeah, oh right. You know, big bro?
"What?"
-How grateful I am to you. Thanks to you, I'm doing super super great. And...
"That's a relief."
But why hold back?
-...Might not be able to come back again.
"Why?"
Lee Jun's eyes widened.
-Big bro, take care. And thanks!
"K-Kongdori!"
Lee Jun called desperately to Kongdori, who sounded like this might be goodbye.
But deep down, a relieved thought crept in: he's going somewhere good.
Torn between relief and heartache, Lee Jun stared at Kongdori without blinking.
Kongdori, who had been backing away, came running back and leaped into his arms.
Fluffy. Warm and soft Kongdori was there.
Lee Jun hugged him tight.