A Macho Dog's Pride
Kkotnimi's tiny triangular eyes—like beans pressed into his face—bulged as if they might pop right out of his skull. Those eyes locked onto Doctor Bow-wow, blazing with accusation. Was this really happening?
He'd been channeling every last ounce of willpower into his rear end, barely holding a catastrophe at bay—
I-I was holding it in... I was just barely holding it in... ngh!
Then, all at once, his belly—his colon—lurched into furious motion. His lower abdomen churned and sloshed without mercy. Everything inside him was a hair's breadth from erupting.
"Aaaaagh...!"
Kkotnimi clenched his rear with everything he had. He'd thought there was no more strength left to squeeze, but somehow he found more. His four legs flailed in midair. The Strong Doctor holding him aloft said something.
"K-Kkotnimi, not yet, hold on just a little, just a little more."
"That's right. If you kick your legs, it'll be even harder to hold it. So stay still until I tell you to let go."
"...I can' hol' i'..."
Kkotnimi was gritting his teeth, trying to say he couldn't take it anymore, when a bright, clear voice pierced his ears.
"Oppa! Does it hurt a lot?"
Oh no. Right. That little one was here.
The situation had been so urgent he'd completely forgotten Donggeuli was in the room. The coarse fur along his spine stood straight on end. That's how badly it rattled him.
"...N-no, i' doesn' h-hur'..."
Even as he tried to insist it didn't hurt, Kkotnimi's face flushed a deeper and deeper red. Crisis was closing in by the second. Maybe that was why his muscles swelled even bigger.
"Wow! Oppa's gotten even bigger! I-I'm gonna get big like Oppa too, real soon!"
Donggeuli's sunny voice fluttered into his ears.
"...Ghk!"
Until a moment ago, he'd been holding it in because he knew emptying this sloshing mess would make his anus hurt. Now he had an even bigger reason to hold on.
Oppa. The first time in his entire dog's life anyone had called him that.
This little sister who'd called him Oppa—he couldn't let her see him looking pathetic. This was the kid who said she wanted to be big and strong like him. The kid who, even while foaming at the mouth, had insisted it didn't hurt at all.
That tiny little thing is shouting about how brave she is, and I'm gonna cry over taking a dump? Absolutely not!
Cornered, Kkotnimi found a superhuman strength.
Clunk.
Suddenly, it was as if a door had slammed shut on his anus. Peace.
"Hoooo..."
He let out a long breath, and Doctor Bow-wow's voice reached him.
"Donggeuli, don't move yet. Keep your head up a little longer and stay leaning against the wall."
"Okay."
Keep her head up?
At the strange instruction, Kkotnimi's head swiveled toward Donggeuli. She was standing with her body pressed against the wall, both hind legs planted, her head tilted up.
She even eats standing up.
Having to stand like that on those impossibly skinny little legs—where did it hurt on her? He didn't know where, but the way she did it looked so natural. Standing after meals like that couldn't have been just a day or two.
My butt's only been hurting for a little while and I'm already miserable. Donggeuli... that's so sad.
The thought that this creature, skinnier than his own legs, had been in pain for so long made the strength drain right out of him.
That was when it happened.
Grrrrumble!
The belly he'd barely managed to stop started churning all over again.
"U-uaaaaagh..."
He let out a groan, and suddenly Doctor Bow-wow's hand came to rest on his head. The doctor gently stroked Kkotnimi's head.
"Good job. You've held it long enough."
At the same time, his paws touched the floor. But Kkotnimi had no time to think about that. He dropped into an awkward, four-legged pooping stance.
And then—
Pwoooong~
Pudududududa!
An enormous sound swallowed the hospital room.
"Wow wow! Oppa!"
Whether it was a cheer or a cry of surprise, Donggeuli's shout stabbed into Kkotnimi's ear like a dagger. His face burned scarlet. But the sound still hadn't stopped.
Pzzzt, pzzzt.
It poured out, and poured out some more.
"He held it in real good, huh."
"No wonder it hurt."
"Ain't that the truth. How much must this little fella have been hurtin'!"
The doctors were saying something, but Kkotnimi couldn't hear them, and it didn't even hurt.
Crap, what do I do?
What if the little sister who called him Oppa started teasing him for being a poop machine? He was so consumed by that worry he couldn't think of anything else.
A-at least I didn't scream.
The one consolation in this situation: he hadn't whimpered about the pain in front of Donggeuli. Not that this situation was welcome in any way.
Urgh, why won't it stop?
Stuck in that awkward squat, Kkotnimi silently cursed his anus, which had long since escaped his control and was working overtime.
Then Donggeuli's bright voice rang out right beside him.
"Whoa! Did Oppa poop all of that?"
"Ghk!"
Kkotnimi was startled, but his anus was still hard at work.
"Whoa. Oppa's so cool."
Huh? What did she just say?
Psshew, pssheew...
Now, as his anus neared the finish line, a whistling, piping sound started up.
"Heehee, it's going psshew pssheew. I'm gonna eat lots and lots so I can poop a whole bunch like Oppa too."
Under Donggeuli's live play-by-play, Kkotnimi's already scarlet face turned a distinctly greenish hue.
"That's right. Our Donggeuli needs to start eating a lot too."
"Yes! Heehee, I'm gonna eat a lot and poop a lot like Oppa."
Donggeuli declared it at the top of her lungs. But there wasn't a trace of teasing or mockery in her voice. What filled it instead was envy, awe, and genuine admiration.
"Lots and lots... heehee."
Kkotnimi, his face still a mottled green, let out a helpless little laugh.
A little later, once everything he'd produced had been cleaned away, Kkotnimi felt limp and drowsy. His heart was at ease, and his belly didn't hurt.
My belly doesn't hurt, and my butt doesn't hurt either.
He was feeling so good, gazing down at his newly slimmed-down belly, when a large hand ruffled his head.
"Aigoo, look at this fella. Reckon he's gonna make it after all, huh? He's smilin'!"
"He will. His belly won't hurt, and neither will his anus."
"Well now, Kkotnimi. Feels good not hurtin' anymore, don't it?"
"Yes!"
For the first time in a long while, Kkotnimi answered with genuine joy.
"Kkotnimi, this is called an enema. We'll do this one more time, and then I'll remove those swollen lumps around your anus. Until then, you'll have to bear with a little pain."
"It doesn't hurt right now."
"Good. If it starts hurting again, tell me. I'll put ointment on it."
"Ointment?"
"That's right. It's medicine that makes it not hurt. Once we put that on, it'll hurt less, so let's get through the next few days with numbing ointment."
He didn't know what that was, but at the words "doesn't hurt," Kkotnimi beamed.
"Okay."
Then a thunderclap rolled from Kkotnimi's belly.
Grrrrumble, bang bang!
"Haha, this fella. He just emptied everything out, and now his belly's rumblin' up a storm?"
"I'd imagine so."
Kkotnimi whipped his head around, searching for the food bowl he'd left unfinished. But it was nowhere to be seen.
"I put it away. I'll give it back, so wait. Ah, no—Kkotnimi, come with me. If Donggeuli smells the food, she'll want to eat it. Kkotnimi, can you walk?"
Kkotnimi started to follow the doctor, then locked eyes with Donggeuli. She was gazing at him with sparkling eyes, smiling.
I don't want to leave her behind.
If he went off to eat and came back, she'd be so disappointed.
"I'll eat later."
His belly kept roaring in protest, but Kkotnimi walked over and sat down beside Donggeuli. She leaned against him.
"Heehee, Oppa's so huge!"
Watching her smile, Kkotnimi smiled too. His belly didn't hurt, his rear didn't hurt—being a little hungry was nothing. Smiling, he answered.
"Donggeuli is small and cute. Cute, so she's pretty."
It was the only thing he could think to say to the scrawny little kitten.
Leaving the two of them in the hospital room, Lee Jun chuckled.
"Those two. They're really something, aren't they?"
"Ain't that the truth. Never thought that big fella would take to Donggeuli like that. But Hyungnim, how'd you even get the idea to put those two together? I was real surprised when you said you were gonna keep Donggeuli in with that Kkotnimi. He ain't even a cat..."
"Kkotnimi was in pain. And they both have to eat a liquid diet. Honestly, it was for Donggeuli. She kept watching the other kids eat kibble so intently."
Donggeuli had originally been admitted to the cats' ward. The problem was the sound of kibble being chewed. Every time, she would press herself against the glass door and watch the other cats crunching their food, swallowing hard, murmuring over and over that she wanted to eat. Lee Jun, who could hear every word she said, couldn't bear to leave her in that room.
"She can barely eat anything, and she looked so miserable."
Donggeuli's diagnosis was esophageal stricture—a narrowing of the esophagus from various causes that prevents food from passing through properly. It can be congenital or acquired; in Donggeuli's case, she'd been regurgitating foam since she was a kitten drinking formula, so it was presumed congenital. That meant her staple diet had to be formula or liquid food. And even then, if she ate too much at once she'd bring it all back up, so it had to be small amounts, frequently. After every meal, her esophagus had to be kept upright for a while to prevent reflux.
It was hard on Donggeuli, and hard on her guardian too. The one blessing was that Donggeuli had a fierce appetite.
"I saw it too. She was meowin' and meowin' watchin' the others eat. How bad must a little glutton like that have wanted some?"
"That's why. The only place where you can't hear kibble being chewed is in there. Kkotnimi has to be on a liquid diet for a while anyway."
"Well, that makes sense."
And fortunately, the two of them had become friends faster than expected.
"They seem to lean on each other. It's really nice to see."
"Like an older brother and a little sister."
"You definitely understand what the kids are saying."
Lee Jun grinned at Go Gi-jin, and Go Gi-jin chuckled along.
"Anyhow, I sure hope those two get through their surgeries and go home safe. What's it called—Donggeuli oughta get to try some real kibble too, don't you think?"
"She will. Do you know why she's named Donggeuli?"
"Donggeuli? 'Cause her eyes are all round and pretty, ain't they?"
"That's part of it. Her guardian also named her that because they wanted to see her body get round and plump."
A name given so that a tiny, scrawny kitten would live long enough to grow big and round. True to that name, Donggeuli had made it this far—and she was going to get round.
Meanwhile, Donggeuli leaned against the front leg of Kkotnimi—owner of the physique she so desperately wanted—and giggled.
"Heehee, being with Oppa is the best!"
"Heh heh, I like it too. But Donggeuli... is it okay for you to sit like this right now?"
He was asking if she didn't need to stay standing upright.
"Yep! It's fine. I just have to stand for a little bit after I eat."
"That's a relief."
"Yep, 'cause Donggeuli is brave."
"Yeah."
Kkotnimi gently rubbed his head against Donggeuli's forehead. Just the tiniest bit of pressure.
"Heehee, Oppa! Oppa, I wanna eat a huge huge amount like you too."
"Yeah. Let's eat a lot."
You eat a lot, and I'll eat a lot too.
Gurgle.
Kkotnimi assumed the sound had come from his own belly and let out a fake cough.
That was a pretty quiet rumble, though.
Just as he thought that, another gurgle sounded—much louder this time. Then Donggeuli mumbled beside him.
"I'm hungry!"
"Me too."
Right on cue, the doctor came in.
"Kids, time to eat."
Kkotnimi got the same moisture-rich special meal as before, and Donggeuli, as before, was scooped up into the doctor's arms. Ravenous, Kkotnimi slurp-slurped his way through the liquid diet in a frenzy, then watched Donggeuli eat.
The slurp-slurp sound was the same. But only for a moment—then her meal was over. She'd eaten an amount he could have finished in a single bite.
W-wait. That's all she's eating?
This tiny, fragile little thing couldn't even eat a proper meal.
That's so sad.
Just as Kkotnimi was looking at her with pity, Donggeuli cried out.
"Oppa eats so much! I'll be able to eat like that after tomorrow too, right, Doctor?"
"Of course. After one more night's sleep, our Donggeuli will be able to eat a whole lot, just like Oppa Kkotnimi."
Watching the doctor smile at Donggeuli, Kkotnimi's head tilted to one side.
Is that true?
The doctor said it, so it must be. Kkotnimi found himself hoping that Donggeuli would eat a lot and grow strong.