Haennim-i Went to Bear Star
Haennim-i went to Bear Star.
Not with empty eyes that cursed the world, but wearing a bright, shining smile.
Lee Jun was grateful that Haennim-i had held on, however she could. Thank you. Thank you so much, Haennim-i. If she had left for Bear Star without ever seeing the blue sky, without ever walking on grass-covered earth, without ever knowing this world as anything but a world of bars — he would have been truly, unbearably sorry.
Lee Jun sincerely mourned Haennim-i, who had departed on her journey to Bear Star.
On the plane home after that short yet long voyage, Lee Jun's group was busy. The grief had not yet faded, but this was a time for handling what remained rather than sitting with sorrow. What kept them occupied was, of course, the rest of the Somang-is.
Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin turned over every idea they could think of for making life even a little more comfortable for the Somang-is still left in the cages, while Kwak Suho edited the footage he had shot and, in between cuts, filled them in on everything he had seen and lived through. Thanks to Kwak Suho — a man who had chased animals to Africa, across the savanna, and to every corner of the world where they still lived — Lee Jun learned a great deal.
"Hmm. That should be realistic enough."
"As long as the bears get along. They can't be fighting."
That, Lee Jun was confident about.
Until now he had thought of nothing but founding an Animal Sanctuary. That would take enormous money first — choosing the land, the construction, the people to run it, and on and on. Just starting down that list had always made his breath catch in his throat.
But he decided to think a little differently. Start with what he could do right now. And when he reached the conclusion that "right now" meant improving the living conditions of the other Somang-is as well, he smiled. It was the first smile he had managed since sending Haennim-i off.
There are still so many Somang-is who are sick. So many who are old. Those Somang-is would go to Bear Star without ever having set foot on the ground. Before that happened, he wanted to let them walk on the earth — even if only for a single day.
On the flight home, Lee Jun laid out his plans for what came next.
When the long flight finally ended and they reached the airport, a familiar face was waiting in the arrivals hall. PD Park Joo-hwan and Writer Yeom from Animal Praise.
"PD Park, Writer Yeom. What brings you here?"
"Did you have a good trip?"
"Yes."
"Haennim-i…"
Writer Yeom couldn't finish the sentence. Given that condition, Haennim-i must have reached the end of her life — but she couldn't bring herself to say it.
"Yes. She left with a smile on her face."
"Ah. I see. You've all worked so hard."
PD Park told Lee Jun's group they had done well, but Writer Yeom only hung her head and nodded.
"It was a really wonderful place. Our Somang-is will love it."
"I'm sure they will. And Mr. Kwak, about…"
Animal Praise, along with other broadcasting stations, had asked to accompany them to the sanctuary. Kang Han-ul and Lee Jun had blocked that. There wouldn't have been room for extra people in the container anyway, and they had been afraid that Haennim-i, who had so little time left, would deteriorate from the extra stress. Instead, Kwak Suho had promised to capture it all on video — a promise that had come, of course, with the understanding that generous sponsorship for the Somang-is' welfare would follow.
Animal Praise had come through immediately with a large donation, and had promised to keep supporting them going forward. Since the program had already been working to raise awareness of the Somang-is' situation, the farmed-bear activists had readily agreed. So had Lee Jun.
"I'll send you the footage I promised in a bit, by email."
"Al-already…?"
"Yeah, there wasn't much to edit. And the rest of the smaller stuff will go up on my channel."
"Th-thank you. Then let's coordinate for a moment."
That was when Lee Jun posed a question to PD Park.
"PD, I've been thinking about something. Are you planning to continue the Somang-i special?"
At Lee Jun's words, PD Park's eyes lit up. Then he nodded so vigorously his head seemed about to fall off.
"O-of course. Director Lee and Animal Praise are family, aren't we? Then shall we head over to Mongmong Animal Hospital and talk more?"
PD Park grinned as he went on.
"And we can see our little cuties while we're at it."
"Y-yes, Director."
Writer Yeom chimed in.
"Shall we?"
She quietly clenched her fist and followed the group. Coming all the way to Incheon on the hope of seeing the little cuties again had, at last, been worth it.
After a long absence, they arrived at Mongmong Animal Hospital. Lee Jun stepped out of the car and let out a small laugh. He could feel eyes watching him.
Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree had their faces pressed flat against the window, staring at him, tails wagging so fast they looked ready to fall off.
"Hey, kids. Did you miss me?"
Aeohohong!
Niyaohong!
Meongmeong!
The voices were different, but they were all asking the same thing. How was Haennim-i?
"Haennim-i went to Bear Star with a smile."
The three animals' expressions dropped at once. As they seemed to wilt, Lee Jun opened the door and added,
"Haennim-i saw the blue sky, breathed the clean air, and even walked twenty steps on the grass. And then she went to Bear Star with a bright smile."
Only then did the three of them let out a sigh of relief. Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi wrapped themselves tightly around Lee Jun's legs, and Sapsaree rubbed his whole body against him, saying how glad they were — and that Haennim-i must have been grateful to him. And then they said this:
"I hope the other Somang-i friends get to step on the dirt too-ong."
"I hope they climb up in the trees and see the blue sky."
"Running far, far away would be so good-ayo!"
Alright. I'll do everything in my power to make it so.
Whether he was answering Haennim-i or the three of them, Lee Jun couldn't say — but that was what he replied in his heart.
Greetings of welcome went on for a while after that. Then Lee Jun's group, PD Park, and Writer Yeom moved to the cafeteria, and with coffee and desserts Ju Mi-seon had sent down in front of them, they began to talk. PD Park opened.
"Ah, Director. What kind of special did you have in mind?"
"How many episodes are you thinking for the Haennim-i special?"
"Well, I'll have to look at the footage, but it should be about three weeks' worth, shouldn't it? Before they left Donghae, on the plane, and at the sanctuary."
PD Park glanced at Kwak Suho as he answered. After all, Kwak Suho would know the volume of the footage better. Kwak Suho answered with a nod, and PD Park, satisfied, went on.
"After that, we'll film the Donghae kids relocating."
Having heard PD Park's full plan, Lee Jun spoke.
"Hmm, PD. I've been thinking of doing something for the Somang-is…"
PD Park's eyes sparkled.
"And what would that plan be?"
"Well…"
A week later, Lee Jun appeared in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province. It wasn't just Lee Jun — he arrived with activists from the Bear Sanctuary Project and staff dispatched by Namgoong Hyun. The place they went was, once again, a site with farmed bears. The Bear Sanctuary Project had already taken the bears here into their care; like Donghae, it was a farm already under management.
A ceiling went up, just as it had at the Donghae farm. As the ceiling was installed and hammocks went in along with it, the bears simply watched with curious eyes, without a hint of agitation. That was thanks to Lee Jun having explained it all to them in advance.
Once the hammocks they could lie in and sway on were up and the ceiling was in place —
Rrrrk.
A sturdy temporary fence was erected around the farm. Outside it, several veterinarians and police officers stood by with tranquilizer guns. Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin stood in front of the fence.
"We're ready. But are you sure you'll be all right?"
One of the activists asked, worried for him.
"Yes, I'll be fine. Don't worry."
Lee Jun bowed his head to the people, then stepped inside the fence. As everyone held their breath, he opened the cage. Fortunately it was a cage with a door, so he opened it easily, and went in with a mat he had prepared in advance.
Gulp. As the people tensed, the bear simply looked at Lee Jun from inside the cage.
A mat was laid on the floor, and a ball was set on it. Inside the ball was kibble — one of those behavioral enrichment toys that dispensed food when rolled. The bear hugged the ball and laughed, loud and round. Kuuweong.
"You like it that much, huh?"
Kueong kueong.
The bear said yes, and beamed at Lee Jun.
That day, the Somang-is of Hwacheon had a soft floor for the first time in their lives. For the first time in their lives they held toys, surrendered their bodies to the swaying hammocks, and drifted into a nap.
As Lee Jun watched them with a proud smile, PD Park approached.
"Director, you're truly remarkable. How did you even think of going in there?"
"I'm not the remarkable one. Our Somang-is, who've lived their whole lives in there, are the remarkable ones."
"Th-that's true."
PD Park felt sorry. He simply felt sorry for the Somang-is sleeping so comfortably inside those narrow cages. Once this footage aired, the viewers would probably feel the same way. That was what he thought.
"I will do everything I can to make sure Director Lee's hard work shines."
Meaning he would give his all in the editing. Having said it, he quickly corrected himself.
"No. That won't even be necessary. If we just air it as is, our viewers will understand. That they looked away until now because they didn't know — and that they won't do that anymore."
That was what Lee Jun had hoped for.
"If you do that, our Somang-is will be able to set foot on the ground that much sooner."
For now, Lee Jun intended to make sleeping more comfortable for the Somang-is remaining across the country. And after that?
Once I get this done quickly, I need to make them a yard.
A full sanctuary was still a distant story. But that didn't mean he could sit on his hands and wait. Before that, he intended to make them a small yard. Most of the land in front of the farms was rice paddies or unused lots. He would buy those unused lots — or at least lease them — and turn them into yards. It wouldn't be a vast haven, but at least they would be able to walk a few steps, smell the earth, and…
They'd be able to play, bumping up against their friends.
Lee Jun thought of his own home, Golmokjib. It wasn't large, but it was a house with a small garden where the three of them went out every day to roam and walk. He would let these Somang-is enjoy the joy of strolling in a little garden like that, too. Creating that environment would be hard, but he intended to make it happen somehow. If he did, then even Somang-is who, like Haennim-i, didn't have many days left would be able to step on the earth, smell the soil, touch the grass, touch the trees, and walk far, far away.
Time passed, and the Somang-is of Donghae flew through the sky and arrived at the sanctuary in Colorado. Just as they poked their heads out of the narrow kennels and looked around, Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi — who had been watching Kwak Suho's footage live at Golmokjib — sprang to their feet. Go Gi-jin, sitting beside them, sprang up too.
Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi clenched their little cotton-paw fists tight.
Niyaho! Niyaho!
Aehong! Aeo-hong!
They started cheering for the bears. Beside them, Sapsaree began to bark. Keong keong.
"Hang in there-ong! Somang-yaong! Hang in there-ong!"
"Hang in there! Somang-i! Hang in there!"
"Somang-i hyungnim-ayo! Hang in there-ayo!"
Clenching both fists tight, the three of them kept sending up a hymn of encouragement.
A moment later —
Thud.
A front paw touched the ground.
The Somang-i's eyes went wide. He looked back, then turned his head forward again, and tilted it.
Kueong?
Straw-covered earth. He was startled by a sensation he was feeling for the first time in his life. Soon the Somang-i burst out of the kennel.
Then — dong dong dong dong. Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi bumped their cotton-paw fists together, and Sapsaree bounced in place. Then they shouted at the top of their lungs.
"He's out-oooong!"
"He's ouuut~!"
"He's out-ayo! Somang-i hyung is out-ayo!"
The three of them shouted in voices louder than they had used in a long time.
The Somang-i walked the first two steps awkwardly, then soon strode forward with big steps, laughing as he went. Kueong heong heong. Then the other Somang-is came out of their kennels one after another, wearing the exact same expression as the first one to set foot on the ground. For a little while they were careful — and then they were wagging their rumps with joy, and they cried out together.
Kuueeeong~!
"There's none of this!"
They cheered that there were no bars.
Kuweng kuweng!
"It's wide, it's so wide, it's wiiide~!"
Watching the Somang-is cry out so joyfully — Kuueeeong! — Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi stood on their hind legs and danced a hip-wiggle, and Sapsaree bounced up and down in place.
Behind those three, Lee Jun spoke inwardly to the Somang-is.