Until the Voice Returns
He couldn't say when it had started, but something had felt off whenever he ate.
He'd be chewing, and before he even realized he was swallowing, the food would slide right down his throat. And yet if he didn't concentrate — if he didn't put real force into his throat — the food would just sit there in his mouth. It was strange. But a little focus was all it took to get a proper swallow down, so he let it be.
A few days passed. Swallowing started to sting. The food wouldn't go down properly, either. He'd still been able to force it if he concentrated — until even that became too much.
That was when it began. A wet, rattling gurgle started up in his throat. Before long, his mouth filled with sticky gunk that kept coming no matter how much he spat it out. Then his throat felt like it had closed up entirely — and that was when his voice started to change.
One time, before Jjaek even realized anything was wrong with his voice, he said something to his subordinates.
Gyaok. Gyaororok. Gyaooo.
His subordinates gazed up at him in awe. There happened to be kittens nearby, and they figured he'd softened his voice on purpose so as not to startle them. Under the weight of those admiring stares, Jjaek panicked — because that was the moment he understood his voice no longer sounded like his own.
Watching him fluster, his subordinates laughed with delight. Nyaoho! They thought the flush on his face meant he was pleased by the compliment.
Even then, Jjaek told himself it would pass in a few days — that his real voice would come back. It was nothing but a wish. Dawn came and dusk fell, again and again, and the strange sound settled in as if it had always belonged there.
Jjaek despaired.
The charisma he'd always worn like armor was gone. And if that was gone, his subordinates would have no reason to follow him.
He decided to hide until his voice returned. And that night, Jjaek left the pack.
But his voice didn't get better. It only got worse.
And it wasn't just his voice. Swallowing food through that throat of his grew even harder. To make matters worse, he couldn't even intimidate anyone with a cry like that.
A fearsome face. A hulking frame. And a cry so full of presence it made other cats tremble. When Jjaek showed up armed with all of that, everyone used to slink out of his way — even after the legendary boss, Hoesaegi, had beaten him to a pulp.
But once that cry that could crush a cat's spirit from a distance was gone, more and more of them started picking fights. Something about his eyes rubbed them the wrong way, they said. Whatever the reason, the brawls piled up, and even when he managed to hold onto his food, eating it was a struggle.
He couldn't eat properly, so his strength failed him, and sometimes he lost. And when he lost, there were days he didn't even get a glimpse of food at all — on top of already being unable to swallow what he had.
And so Jjaek wore himself down.
His voice didn't come back. His stomach stayed empty. And more than anything, he missed his subordinates.
He was lonely.
The pain and the hunger were hard enough, but what Jjaek found hardest of all was enduring that bone-deep loneliness.
And the person smiling in front of him had understood that. The person he hated and feared most of all.
Maybe that was why his feet simply started moving. He just wanted to go to those big hands and lean against them.
Jjaek walked slowly forward and pressed his head into the large hand in front of him.
A firm, gentle pressure.
The moment his forehead touched that palm, warmth flooded through his whole body.
Hngh...
The tears just came.
"There, there. It hurt a lot, didn't it?"
A slow, steady stroking. His head shook in small, fine tremors.
Th-this feels good...
This was Jjaek — the cat who used to bolt the instant a human appeared, scrambling away in pure disgust. And that same Jjaek pushed his head in a little further.
Shake, shake. His head — and his whole body — trembled more than before. He liked that trembling so much that the corners of his mouth curled up. It was the first time he'd smiled since his throat had gone rough and strange. Maybe it was because he felt so good; his face grew warm, too.
Jjaek didn't even notice the tears rolling down one by one. He squeezed his eyes shut and sank into the comfort of it.
That was when he heard it.
"Kh-hh... B-Boss...!"
The voice he'd wanted to hear more than anything — One-eye's voice.
The moment my heart eases up, he's the first one I think of.
As if he were right there beside him.
Jjaek remembered what the person stroking him had said a moment ago.
Doctor Bow-wow said he'd make me better.
Even a human-hating cat like Jjaek had heard the rumors. He knew the person in front of him was the teacher who could talk to them. He knew he was the teacher who made sick kids well.
If my voice just gets better, I'll be able to see them again.
One-eye. His subordinates. All of them.
The corners of Jjaek's mouth were already lifted, and now a laugh bubbled up. His lips trembled, soft and fuzzy.
And then — a sudden rush. Someone threw their arms around him.
By all rights, his fur should have bristled, his mood should have soured, his teeth should have bared, his eyes should have rolled wild. And yet, without him meaning to, his front legs reached out and hugged back. Just like the other. It was the most natural thing in the world.
Huhh...?
His nerves didn't even spike. Had he gone too slack? Jjaek unwrapped his paws and looked at whoever was holding him.
"Wh... you — you're One-eye?"
"Kh-hh! B-Boss, you're alive. This One-eye knew you were alive, sir. Booooss... euheongheong... waaaaah!"
One-eye went beyond teary-eyed. He clutched Jjaek tight and wailed.
"O-One-eye..."
Jjaek held him back, tears falling in fat drops. His strange voice didn't even matter. He'd been too lonely, too exhausted, and he'd missed him far, far too much for that.
Gueok. Gueok. Gueok.
For the first time since leaving his subordinates, he cried out loud. As freely as anything in the world.
Lee Jun scooped up the two cats, who'd cried themselves hollow, and started walking toward the animal hospital.
Sway, sway, sway.
Held in Lee Jun's arms, Jjaek peered down this way and that. A huge dog was walking along beneath his paws. And beside the dog, two cats trotted along with light, bouncing steps.
The legendary boss didn't attack me.
Jjaek, who'd gotten thrashed every time he crossed paths with Hoesaegi, felt deeply strange. The golden eyes that had looked at him a moment ago had felt strange, too.
He didn't look like he was going to attack.
Just meeting those terrifying eyes used to make his hind legs go weak. This time, that feeling never came. The Shadow boss walking alongside them was the same.
That eerie Shadow didn't attack me either, even looking right at me.
Jjaek had always picked a fight the moment he saw those two. The territory they ruled had the most food and was the safest. As a boss, claiming a place like that for his own had been the natural thing to do. So they, in turn, had always bristled and bared their teeth the moment they spotted him, ready to fight.
But they weren't trying to crush him now.
Weird.
It was weird, too, that the two of them almost looked... relieved to see him. And weirder still —
I feel relieved too.
It was a strange thought, but he had the sense that those two had been reassured by the sight of him.
Have I gone a little crazy from being so worn out?
He thought that — and then it hit him.
Did they swallow up our territory while I was gone? Is that why they think I'm one of their subordinates now?
That wasn't it at all. But Jjaek believed it.
No way. Not a chance. Our territory, my subordinates — I protect those. Just wait. The second I get better, I'm taking my territory back.
And for that, he needed his voice first.
Doctor Bow-wow said he'd make me well. I'll just tough it out until then.
Jjaek glanced to the side. In the time they'd been apart, One-eye had gone gaunt.
They gave you a hard time while I was gone, didn't they. Just a little longer. Hold on a little longer.
Once his voice came back, he would take back their precious home — Songi District. He swore it. Cradled in Lee Jun's arms, Jjaek clenched his small, pitiful cotton-ball paws tight and made his vow.
The moment Jjaek entered Mongmong Animal Hospital, his whole body went rigid.
There were so many people. The people he hated more than anything.
So many humans — and l-look at that. Why are there so many of those dog bastards?!
They were definitely going to take one look at him and start barking their heads off. Jjaek forced his stiff front legs up to his ears and clamped both of them shut with his two cotton-ball paws. Then he scrunched his face into a scowl. Naturally, every hair on his body stood on end.
And yet... it was strangely quiet.
Woof-woof, ruff-ruff, grrr. Every kind of racket ought to have been going on.
Huh? Why isn't there any noise?
That was when it came. A burst of noisy chatter.
There it is. Jjaek sighed and clamped his cotton-ball paws even tighter over his ears.
"Oh my, this little spotted one is just too cute. That broad face — what am I supposed to do with him!"
"Wait, Dr. Cha, you like the ones with the wide, flat faces?"
"I do. They're just so adorable."
"He is pretty cute, yeah."
"Aigoo, this fella looks just like the one we've got back in Hongseong. Same broad face and everything."
The world swayed.
All of a sudden the floor felt like it was shooting up toward the sky. His eyes spun. And then — a lurch. His body really did shoot up into the air.
And then —
"Aigoo. This poor fella's wasted away to nothin'. Pitiful, really."
When Jjaek came back to his senses, he was being held by a strange person.
In an instant he bared his pointed teeth. His sharp claws came out too.
Shink!
Then he flung his cotton-ball paws wide. Jjaek stretched his mouth as far as it would go, flashing his fangs in a threat.
GYAOOOOK!
That was when —
"Aigoo, this fella's voice is completely gone."
"We'll have to check whether it's laryngitis or if polyps have formed."
"Got it. C'mon then, Spots."
GYAOOOOK!
"I-I'm Jjaek!"
"Sure, sure. You want us to make you better real quick, that it? I hear ya."
"I said it's Jjaek!"
"Aigoo, this fella's just so sweet. Throat's gotta be hurtin', and here he is mumblin' thank-yous?"
Thump-thump!
Frustrated beyond words, Jjaek punched Go Gi-jin's shoulder. Go Gi-jin grinned and stroked him.
The world swayed again. Once more Jjaek felt the ground rumble and the sky cave in.
Not that Go Gi-jin noticed. He let out a big, hearty laugh.
"Aigoo, this fella's just full of charm. Even doin' that kkuk-kkuk-i on me. Heh-heh, I bet folks have been spoilin' you rotten."
Urgh!
Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi were so startled their eyes went twice as wide. One-eye's did too.
Go Gi-jin looked at the three of them and chuckled.
"Now don't you kids go gettin' jealous. This fella's just sick, that's all. I'll hold you later too, I promise."
"H-hey, Strong Brother-ong, it's fine-ong."
"Y-yeah. You don't have to hold us. Just hold that guy all you want."
Sidling backward, Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi retreated. Then they broke into a quick, scurrying walk and shot straight up the cat tower.
Which left One-eye.
B-Boss. Forgive me. Do not forgive this one, who did not know you were ill.
One-eye looked up at his boss and nothing else, his eyes welling.
Go Gi-jin scooped him right up.
"Aigoo, you cryin' 'cause I won't hold you?"
"Perfect. Let's examine that one too."
Jjaek and One-eye, both in Go Gi-jin's arms, went into the exam room.
From the cat tower, Hoesaegi waved a front paw.
"Hang in there, Jjaek-ong."
"It'll hurt, but it's all for your own good, so bear with it."
Gkamnyangi offered the two of them his own words of comfort.
Bang.
The exam room door closed. And then the sounds that followed.
Gyaook. Gyaogakgakgakgak.
GYAOOOK! Gueok-keok-keok-keok.
Jjaek had made up his mind: if it meant getting his voice back, he would do anything.
He had never imagined, even in his worst dreams, that something this terrifying would be waiting for him.
Shhhk.
Something sharp and gleaming came flying at him.
"AAAAAAAH! S-somebody save this cat!"
Jjaek screamed, and thought —
Doctor Bow-wow is a liar. A liar. I knew it. You can never trust humans.
Doctor Bow-wow, who'd told him in the gentlest voice in the world that he would treat him. That same Doctor Bow-wow had deceived him. He wasn't going to treat him. He was going to send him to Cat Star.
Kh-hh, th-this was that Hoesaegi bastard's scheme.
Jjaek twisted this way and that, looking for a chance to run. Give him even the smallest gap and he was confident he could bolt. But he couldn't budge.
U-uuugh.
It felt like a boulder was crushing him. No matter how hard Jjaek tried to wriggle out a gap, there was none. If anything, his body was being squeezed even tighter.
Hahh. So this is where it ends...
Fine for me. But One-eye at least has to get away.
Jjaek looked at One-eye. One-eye was looking up at him from below, eyes welling. Jjaek cried out to him.
One-eye, run...
That was what he wanted to say. But no voice came out. Even a moment ago, strange as it had sounded, he'd still been able to speak.
Kh-hh. I... I never should have trusted a human... I got completely played.
Voiceless, Jjaek signaled One-eye with his eyes: run.
But One-eye only looked at him, tears falling.
Y-you idiot. You should be running. Why are you staying by my side...
Thud. Jjaek couldn't finish the thought. His head dropped.
