Twenty Steps of Freedom
The moment the plane left the ground, Lee Jun's eyes were everywhere at once — watching Haennim-i, then the monitor reporting her vitals, then Haennim-i again.
It was the first time in her life she had ever been on an airplane, and he needed to be ready if the change in air pressure sent her condition into a sudden spiral.
Haennim-i, stay safe until we get there.
Whether his wish was granted or not, thirty minutes passed after takeoff without a single problem arising.
"Whew. We made it over the first hurdle."
"Sure looks that way. Numbers ain't budged at all."
Go Gi-jin studied the monitor and let out a breath of relief.
Kwak Suho, who had been quietly capturing the two of them and Haennim-i on camera, finally spoke.
"Jun, and I don't say this just because you're my friend — you're something else. How did you even think of this? No, wait. Anyone can think of it. Sure, thinking's the easy part. But actually pulling off something this incredible... You're amazing. You really are."
Kwak Suho looked at Lee Jun with a face full of pride.
"And what about you? You're the one who tagged along. Who even comes to a place like this with someone?"
"That guy right there. Him."
Kwak Suho grinned and pointed at Go Gi-jin. Then he went on.
"I want the whole world to know you're my friend. Everybody! I am — I am Lee Jun's friend! His friend!"
The other two burst out laughing.
Lee Jun grinned as he replied.
"You're ridiculous. But that ridiculousness took the edge off. Thanks, Kwak Suho."
He did seem a little more at ease than a moment ago.
"Well, Haennim-i's the one we should thank for holding on so well."
Kwak Suho smiled at Haennim-i, and Go Gi-jin chimed in.
"That's the truth. Our Haennim-i's a real champion, she is."
Lee Jun looked at the two of them gazing at Haennim-i with such relief, and a warm smile spread across his face.
"You two. Thank you. Truly."
He was genuinely grateful to the two who had willingly followed him into this reckless endeavor.
When Lee Jun had announced he would board the cargo container with Haennim-i, every official involved had been stunned. Sharing a space with a bear was shocking enough — but the fact that the bear wasn't even sedated had left them even more astonished. Once they watched the footage of Lee Jun treating Haennim-i, though, they came around. The videos of him treating marine animals on the beach in Gangneung had helped, too.
Even so, Lee Jun's choice was an extraordinary one. And so were Go Gi-jin and Kwak Suho, who had boarded right alongside him.
Whether their efforts had paid off or not, Haennim-i had boarded safely, and her condition was decent enough. "Decent," of course, had nothing to do with being healthy. It simply meant she was still holding on.
Haennim-i followed the three of them with a happy little giggle.
"Hehe. This is weird."
She meant the flight. Not scary — just strange. Lee Jun found her so endearing that he stroked her round head. Warmth traveled from that round head into his palm, and he wished he could feel it just a little longer.
Whether she knew his wish or not, Haennim-i swiveled her round head this way and that, looking around, then spoke again.
"But it feels really nice. Hehe, I like it... Banana Oppa's here, and Strong Oppa's here, and Click Oppa's here too. Hehehe."
So to the animals, Go Gi-jin really was Strong Oppa? And that "Click"...
The way Haennim-i looked at Go Gi-jin and Kwak Suho was the same way Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree looked at people back home, and the thought made Lee Jun's chest ache even more.
They're all the same kids...
With that thought, he said to Haennim-i,
"We like it too. Me, Strong Oppa here, and Click Oppa — we all like being with our Haennim-i."
"We...?"
"This. This is 'we.'"
Lee Jun pointed at each of the four of them in the container, then gathered them in with his arms as if wrapping them all in a hug.
"Hehehe. We're a we."
Haennim-i copied him, pointing at the three of them with her front paw, then pointing at herself last, delighted. Then she asked Lee Jun,
"Banana Oppa! Is Cheondungi a we too?"
"Of course. Cheondungi is a we, and Makdungi who was next to you is a we too. And Taebaeki and Teongteongi are a we..."
Lee Jun recited the names of the Somang-is who had lived with Haennim-i in Donghae, one by one. And then he added,
"They're all your friends."
"Yeah. Friends. Cheondungi friend, Makdungi friend... my friends..."
The strength in Haennim-i's brightly smiling voice was fading. Those bright, sparkling eyes were already half-closed. Watching her stamina drain away before his eyes, Lee Jun said,
"Haennim-i, wanna take a nap?"
A little shake of the head. Haennim-i shook her head in tiny, rapid motions.
"Banana Oppaaa... I don't wanna sleep!"
"You'll feel all refreshed when you wake up, though?"
"Hehehe, there's none of those here! I wanna look."
Haennim-i dragged her front paw in vertical lines through the air, laughing. She meant there were no iron bars in front of her.
This kid... even if there aren't any bars, what's there even to look at inside a cargo container...
But that was only Lee Jun's thought. Haennim-i insisted it was wonderful, that she wanted to look. Not having those vertical iron bars was just so, so good. She said this while forcing her drooping eyes wide open, determined to keep looking.
Still, staying awake like this would only make her condition worse — that much was obvious. Lee Jun began to persuade her.
"Haennim-i. You want to eat lots of yummy things and walk really, really far, right?"
"Yeah!"
"That'll take a lot of energy, won't it? After a nap, you'll get your strength back. Haennim-i, let's take a nap, then eat something tasty to get your energy up, and walk around a whole lot."
"Mmm..."
Haennim-i still seemed reluctant, but she gave in to Lee Jun's earnest pleading.
"Okay, okay! Banana Oppa. Then after I nap, I'll eat yummy stuff and walk a whole lot!"
"Yeah. Let's do that."
With that, Haennim-i let her already-drooping eyes slide gently shut. And just like that, she fell asleep.
Looking at her, tears welled in Lee Jun's eyes.
How wonderful it would be if she woke up with her strength restored, if her vanished appetite came back to life. But Lee Jun knew. That was impossible. Still, she needed to sleep, even for a little while, so things wouldn't get any worse than they already were.
Lee Jun kept stroking the sleeping Haennim-i. His touch was impossibly gentle, impossibly tender — as if she might vanish if he pressed even a little too hard.
A long flight of over ten hours, soaring toward a world of freedom. Even Lee Jun, who was perfectly healthy, was wearing down. How much harder must it be for Haennim-i?
Ten hours into the flight, Haennim-i's condition began to deteriorate rapidly.
"Hah... hah... hah..."
Haennim-i was struggling to breathe. Her liver function was plummeting to rock bottom, and ascites was filling her abdomen.
"We're going to have to drain the fluid."
"I'll get it ready."
When you breathe, the lungs expand and contract. It isn't the lungs themselves that do this — the muscles around the ribs and the diaphragm contract and relax, causing the lungs to inflate and deflate. But when ascites accumulates, the diaphragm can't contract properly. That's why Haennim-i's lungs couldn't expand, and why breathing had become so hard.
Lee Jun's hands moved fast. Beside him, Go Gi-jin's assisting hands moved just as quickly.
Draining too much fluid at once could send her into shock. So Lee Jun's hands were careful, measured. Then he administered the plasma and other medications they had brought along.
After nearly an hour of desperate struggle, Haennim-i's breathing finally returned. Lee Jun stroked the bear who had endured that grueling fight and let out a sigh of relief.
"Hah... Please. Just hold on a little longer, Haennim-i."
"...Okay..."
Haennim-i answered in a murmur. But everyone watching her knew. At this rate, Haennim-i would fall asleep without ever seeing the Animal Sanctuary.
No! I can't give up!
In her current state, having only just gotten her breathing back, any more medication would do more harm than good. So instead of further intervention, Lee Jun decided to put his faith in Haennim-i's will. One step. Even just one single step — so that Haennim-i could set foot on the sanctuary with her eyes still open.
"Haennim-i."
"Yeah... Banana Oppa..."
"...The place you're going, Haennim-i — there's land that stretches on and on, so wide. No matter how far you walk and walk, you won't be able to see the end."
"Really...?"
"Really. And the sky where the birds walk goes on forever too. In that sky, there aren't any ropes covering Haennim-i's sky."
"Then... what about my friends...?"
"There are lots of friends too. Besides Cheondungi and Makdungi, there'll be new friends. When you get there, friends you've never even seen before will welcome you."
"New friends...?"
"Yeah. Friends who walk across the sky, and friends who walk on the ground. And yellow friends, white friends, black friends too."
"Hehe... I can't wait."
Lee Jun kept telling Haennim-i about the sanctuary. Half of it was true, and half of it was a lie. But Lee Jun was willing to use even those lies if it meant helping Haennim-i hold on just a little longer.
"What else... is there...?"
"What else... Haennim-i's mom, who's been waiting for you for so, so long, will be there too."
"Really...? Mom's really there?"
"Yeah. Haennim-i's mom has been waiting for you for a long time."
"Oh... Mom..."
"She said she'll give you a great big hug when you get there."
"Mom... I want to see her soon."
Tears were welling in Haennim-i's eyes, just like Lee Jun's. Lee Jun looked at her and wrapped her in a warm embrace.
"Mom says she wants to see Haennim-i so, so much too."
"Hehe... I'm happy. Mom didn't forget me."
"Of course not. Haennim-i's mom said she's never forgotten you, not even once."
"Hehe... Really?"
"Really. So can you try to be strong just a little longer?"
"I'll... be strong."
Through the clear tears, a faint spark of life returned to Haennim-i's eyes. It seemed she might hold on a little longer.
But a long stretch of time still remained before they reached the sanctuary. Once they landed, they would still have to drive a long way to get there. No one could say for certain whether Haennim-i would last through all that remaining time.
Everyone kept their burning anxiety hidden, holding their silence — while Lee Jun and Haennim-i's quiet conversation continued to fill the inside of the plane.
Haennim-i's condition grew even worse. Now she could do nothing but barely blink her two eyes, unable to say a word. But Lee Jun kept whispering about the sanctuary into her ear. He had the unshakable feeling that if he stopped talking, Haennim-i's life would stop too. So he couldn't stop.
Whether it was thanks to Lee Jun's sheer will, or Haennim-i's own... Haennim-i kept the promise she had made, against all odds.
Her breathing was unsteady, and even those barely open eyes were growing cloudy, when at last the container door opened.
A thick, heavy steel door swung open with a great groan of metal — then a bang — and sunlight came flooding in. The moment that sunlight hit him full in the face, Lee Jun turned to look at Haennim-i.
This was not the critically ill Haennim-i from a moment ago. As if a miracle had taken place, Haennim-i slowly raised her ailing body.
And then.
One step. Then another.
She began to walk across earth so vast it couldn't be compared to the iron cage she had lived in her entire life. And when Haennim-i had walked about twenty steps —
"...Hehe. Banana Oppa."
"...Yeah. What is it, Haennim-i?"
"Thank you."
"..."
"But I think I have to go now."
"What are you talking about...?"
"Mom's calling me from over there. Hehe. Just like Banana Oppa said, Mom's been waiting for me for so, so long. I think I should go now."
"Mom...?"
"Yeah. Bye, Banana Oppa."
"..."
Lee Jun knew it in his bones. Haennim-i wasn't seeing things, and she wasn't delirious from the pain, either. Somewhere, truly, Haennim-i's mother — who had waited all this time — had come face to face with her.
And in another sense...
Haennim-i's body slowly listed to one side, as if leaning, and crumpled to the earth. But her expression was extraordinarily bright.
Whether that was because she had set foot on open land for the first time, or because she had seen the mother she had longed for so desperately — no one could know. The one thing that was certain was this: in her final moment, Haennim-i had been truly, deeply happy.
Even so, Lee Jun's tears fell without end.