A Puppy-Shaped Cloud

A dog-shaped cloud drifted across a brilliant blue sky.

Looking up at it, Lee Jun thought of Teun-teun-i, who had always beamed with that ever-present smile, and of Kongdol-i, whose bright eyes would sparkle as he grinned.

I miss you.

A smile bloomed at the corners of Lee Jun's mouth.

It was a strange thing, really. Until just a year ago, the mere thought of Kongdol-i would catch in his chest like something lodged there, leaving him heavy and unsettled. He was sorry he hadn't treated him better. Sorry he hadn't spent more time with him. Sorry for everything.

More than ten years had passed since Kongdol-i left, and still Lee Jun's heart had been overflowing with apology. But now, though that apology remained, gratitude had settled in alongside it.

Emotions were a curious thing. The moment he began to think thank you, it was as if a dam had burst. The water that had pooled behind it swallowed everything in its path, and gratitude became a rushing current that swept him away.

He was grateful for Kongdol-i, who had always, unfailingly, shared his warm presence at his side. Grateful for the Kongdol-i who had always smiled so brightly at the sight of him. Grateful that he had lived healthy and well for more than a decade before the heart disease came.

Riding that current of gratitude, he realized that every minute, every second of the time they had shared had been days of thankfulness.

The truth is, I only made it this far because of Kongdol-i.

Those days of struggling to give Kongdol-i even one more day of life had become the foundation of the person he was now.

And then, an even greater gratitude.

To think I'd actually be able to talk with them...

Lee Jun chuckled as he watched the cats fidgeting in the distance. He'd been given this gift — he might as well put it to work.

He tipped back the last of his drink in one swallow, and a loud crunch sounded beside him. Go Gi-jin had finished off his thick iced cafe mocha and was chewing the ice.

"This place sure does make a tasty one."

Go Gi-jin set down his cup and grinned, his face so brightly, boyishly happy that Lee Jun couldn't help smiling along. That kid was always in heaven the moment anything sweet hit his mouth.

"All right. If we're done eating, shall we get going?"

The two of them turned onto the park path.

"Aww, this is somethin' else. Must be from the rain a few days back — the air's so clean. All this green, it's just lovely."

"It really is."

Go Gi-jin was right. The mountain was lush and fresh, a tender wash of green, with yellow and red blossoms showing through the grass and leaves.

"Aww, give it just a little longer and the cherry blossoms'll be out, won't they?"

Go Gi-jin's face lit up as he looked around, and Lee Jun walked beside him, taking in the same view. Far ahead, a cat sat perched in a tree.

There's one.

A smile of recognition crossed Lee Jun's face, and the cat seemed to spot him too — it dropped from the tree and came trotting over, then folded its eyes into happy slits and rubbed itself against his legs.

Mrrrow~.

Lee Jun stroked the cat as it let out a cry thick with joy, and asked gently,

"Have you been well?"

"Y'all been doin' all right?"

The cat answered as if delighted by the greeting.

Mrrrow!

Meow~.

Whether it was Lee Jun's voice that drew them or something else, cats came flocking in, and before long the two of them were surrounded by a ring of every color.

"Heheh, been a while, hasn't it, you lot."

Lee Jun plopped down on the ground and asked the cats,

"Let's see here. Nothing hurting?"

He stroked the cat that was already rubbing against his hands, his palms traveling over their bodies while his eyes assessed their condition — palpation and visual exam, all at once. Watching him, Go Gi-jin grumbled. It was a complaint steeped in affection.

"I just knew you'd go and do this. Don't you ever know how to take a rest?"

"And what about you?"

Go Gi-jin was holding a cat himself, a smile filling his whole face, and his eyes and hands were working through an exam of their own.

"Heheh, but they're just so darn cute."

Lee Jun laughed and answered right back.

"Same here."

The two of them checked the cats one by one, thoroughly. Finally, they checked Cheese, the Territory Leader, as well.

"Everyone looks all right."

Mrrrow!

The cats raised their voices in a chorus. Last winter, Lee Jun had built these cats a shelter for getting through the cold. It hadn't been as grand as what he'd done at Neulpureun Park and Bluebird Park, but it was a house that could keep off the snow and rain and the biting wind. Thanks to that, they had spent the warmest winter of their lives.

"I'm glad."

Lee Jun looked over the cats, who all seemed to have come through unscathed, and a contented smile settled on his face.

"Next time I come, I'll bring you something tasty. What do you want to eat?"

Mrow-mrow, mrrrow, mrrrooow~.

Instead of answering the question, the cats cried out that the warm Hiding Cubbies had been wonderful. For them, a nest where they could lie down in the warmth had been the greatest gift of all.

"All right, I hear you. This winter I'll get you an even warmer house. And next time, I'll bring the tasty stuff."

The two of them said their goodbyes and came down from the mountain. Lee Jun opened his phone and checked the time.

"Eleven twenty."

"Ain't even noon yet."

"True. So what now?"

"That's what I'm sayin'. How 'bout we just head home and play with the kids?"

"Shall we? We can grab them and take them for a walk in the park."

"That's a fine idea, ain't it? Yeah, let's. Weather's real nice too."

The two of them lived a life that ran from the animal hospital to home and back again, every single day. Even when time was handed to them, they didn't really know how to play — and the best they could come up with was a walk with the three.

"All right. Then let's boil up some chicken and go."

He was thinking of making a special meal for the park cats.

"Now that's a good one."

"Ah — how about this, then?"

"What's that?"

"We've still got plenty of time. Let's make the special meal for these guys today. We can go to Neulpureun and Bluebird tomorrow or the day after."

"That's a real good idea. Didn't sit right with me, just lookin' at 'em and leavin'."

Go Gi-jin had been thinking the same thing. He turned back with a wide, open smile. He was such a warm-hearted kid. Having someone like that beside him was a great strength to Lee Jun.

Lee Jun told the cats still seeing them off that he would be back before the sun went down, and then the two of them got in the car.

They stopped at the market to shop.

"Heheh, those rascals are gonna love this. Bet they've never had anythin' like it."

The menu the two of them had settled on was chicken porridge with sweet pumpkin. After a winter of huddled, shrunken bodies, they wanted to wake the cats up and put some strength back into them with a nourishing porridge. They would blend it, so it would be easy to digest, and there would be no shortage of moisture either.

"I'm sure they will."

Lee Jun smiled, remembering the way the park cats had gone round-eyed with wonder the first time they tasted the nourishing porridge.

"And for dessert, the beef they sent from Hongseong."

Dr. Go Panseok had sent over a separate cut of lean beef for Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree. They were planning to grill it and chop it fine.

"They're going to be stunned."

"I bet they will."

They talked back and forth like that all the way to Golmokjib. When they opened the front gate, the three of them had their noses pressed in a row against the living room glass door, waiting to greet them.

The sight of those three welcoming him pulled Lee Jun's mouth open all on its own.

"You three."

After Kongdol-i was gone, Golmokjib had become nothing more than a place to sleep. Now it had become a space overflowing with affection once again.

Go Gi-jin opened the front door, and the three of them came scampering over and bounced around beside Lee Jun. Only a few hours apart, and they were greeting him with their whole bodies. Warmth rose from somewhere deep in Lee Jun's chest.

He met each of their eyes in turn and said,

"We're having chicken porridge today."

The three of them understood him at once and let out a cheer of pure joy. Then they sat there waiting, licking their chops, while Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin made the porridge in the kitchen. Lee Jun could actually hear them swallowing — gulp after gulp.

And yet, the moment the porridge bowls were set on the table, they only stared.

Go Gi-jin was the first to ask.

"Aww, how come y'all ain't eatin'? Don't feel like it today?"

That was not it at all. They had been swallowing while it was being made, and they were still swallowing now. Drool even ran from the corners of Sapsaree's mouth. And still they wouldn't eat.

"Why aren't you eating?"

Woof!

Meow.

Mrrrow.

Each of the three said their piece to Lee Jun, and the smile on his face deepened.

"You're such good kids."

Watching Lee Jun stroke them one after another, Go Gi-jin asked,

"Hyung-nim, what d'you mean 'good kids'? And how come they ain't eatin'?"

"They want to give this to Cheese's group."

"Cheese's bunch... ah, those rascals?"

"Yeah."

"That's somethin' else. How'd they know we went to see 'em? Can they smell it on us?"

Go Gi-jin, who had no idea what Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree had been talking about at home, pressed his sleeve to his nose, sniffed, and tilted his head. Lee Jun passed along what the three of them had said.

"When Sapsaree was hurt, it sounds like those cats helped him."

"They the ones who found Sapsaree?"

"That too — but when Sapsaree was in so much pain he couldn't move, they stayed by his side. Brought him food, as well."

When Lee Jun had found Sapsaree, he had been collapsed in the brush as if dead. Just looking at Sapsaree's face, you could tell how grateful he had been to the ones who had kept watch beside him while he lay there unable to move, suffering in real time.

And those cats did all that, and never said a word about it.

Lee Jun had already been fond of the cat colony that had helped him find Sapsaree. After hearing it from the three at Golmokjib, that fondness only grew. Go Gi-jin felt the same.

"They're real good souls, ain't they?"

"They are."

Lee Jun answered Go Gi-jin, then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠turned to the three.

"We made plenty for them anyway. So eat up, and then we'll go."

"Where we goin'?"

Sapsaree tilted his head.

"To the place where the friends who helped you are. That's where we're going."

Awooo!

The three of them cried out with joy — and then immediately buried their faces in the nourishing porridge.

Chomp, chomp. Munch, munch. Slurp, slurp.

Listening to those happy eating sounds, Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin packed the porridge into a large thermos and gathered up the bowls. They brought special meals to the park cats at least twice a month, so preparing food for thirty-odd cats was nothing at all.

By the time the two of them finished and came out of the kitchen, the three were already waiting at the front door.

"Let's go-ong!"

"Let's go, Hyung-ah!"

"We're goin'! You wait for us!"

Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin had wondered, a little, whether Sapsaree might refuse to go because of the bad memories from his past. They looked at each other and smiled.

"Looks like he's doin' just fine."

"It does."

A short while later, the cats living at Bukhansan Ecological Park lost their minds over a nourishing porridge they were tasting for the first time in their lives. They ate in a frenzy, a chorus of greedy, blissful smacking, and Sapsaree, who had been watching them, came up to Lee Jun.

"Want some more, Sapsaree?"

Sapsaree shook his head and gave a low bark. He told Lee Jun that he was grateful — grateful that Lee Jun had treated the cats to this delicious food in his place — and looked steadily up at him. His eyes were full of thanks.

Lee Jun looked down at him with the same expression.

You've shaken it all off now, haven't you.

He was so glad. He was grateful to Grandpa Jang Pan-ho, who had helped Sapsaree find his way through the past, and grateful to the cats of this ecological park, who had stayed beside him when things were hard.

There really are so many good people. And so many kind animals, too.

He was grateful even that the gratitude itself kept welling up, spring after spring.

Lee Jun was looking at the cats with that thankfulness filling him when his phone rang.

"Hm? It's President Namgoong."

He answered at once.

"Yes, sir."

"Not at all. For once I'm out at Bukhansan with the kids."

They caught up for a moment, and then Namgoong Hyun came to the reason for his call.

Namgoong Hyun still dropped by Mongmong Animal Hospital now and then with Haeng-un-i. Haeng-un-i liked Mongmong Animal Hospital more than Namgoong Animal Medical Center — and Namgoong Hyun himself liked it too. That was why he visited often, and that was how he had learned of Ju Mi-seon's circumstances, and offered to look into a vacant unit among the company housing.

"Yes, sir."

"Thank you."

He sure made it sound like nothing. Lee Jun answered with a laugh.

"Even so, thanks are thanks."

Namgoong Hyun had eaten Ju Mi-seon's food at Mongmong Animal Hospital a few times, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he had fallen for her cooking.

"Tell me what you'd like, and I'll ask her."

Toast, gimbap, and tteokbokki. It sounded like a menu chosen so as not to put anyone out. Lee Jun's mouth curved at the thoughtfulness of it.

"Of course. When are you free? I'll let her know."

Lee Jun said that it would, and the two of them ended the call.

Go Gi-jin, who had been listening from the side, even clapped, he was so pleased.

"That sure worked out real well."

"It did. I'm so glad."

"That's what I'm sayin'. So our Chef Joo won't have to go far, right? Wait — this ain't some kinda scheme, is it?"

"A scheme?"

"Settin' her up with a house near the company and then askin' if she wouldn't like to come work over there..."

Namgoong Hyun had told Ju Mi-seon more than once, in a tone that could have been a joke or could have been serious, that she should come to his company.

"If she goes, she goes. Nothing we can do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠about it."

"That wouldn't do..."

"Why not? If the terms are better, she ought to go."

Lee Jun said it, but inwardly he was sure. Ju Mi-seon had said she would bury her bones at Mongmong Animal Hospital.

"Well, I s'pose you're right. But seein' how late she stays, bein' alone must be hard on her."

"I'm sure it is. Teun-teun-i only went to the Rainbow Bridge a week ago. At a time like this, being together is better than being alone. Chef Joo said coming in is good for her, too — getting some sun, talking with people."

"True enough."

"I told her to let me know anytime things get hard, so keep an eye on her for me too."

"Got it. Either way, this sure is good news."

"What a full day, though. The kids ate well. And we got good news too."

"Ain't that the truth."

The two of them looked out at the colony, chatting among themselves after finishing every last bit of the nourishing porridge and the pieces of beef. There in the middle of the ecological park cats, Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree were smiling, bright and open.