Is One-eye Cool?
Hoesaegi puffed a little snort from his adorable nose and spoke in the tiniest of voices.
"Gkamnyangi, ong. Sapsaree said One-eye is cool, nyaong."
"I heard it too."
Gkamnyangi gave his ears a vigorous shake with a hind paw, as if he'd just overheard something he was never meant to hear. Then he added,
"That One-eye guy was groveling to Sapsaree, thanking him for finding Jjaek. That's why he's acting like that."
"Is that what it is, nyaong?"
Hoesaegi gave his own ears a shake, just as Gkamnyangi had, and asked.
"Of course. Otherwise there's no way he'd call that guy cool instead of us. We're wearing these things that make such a cool sound."
Gkamnyangi gave the eye patch covering his eye a few taps. A rustle-rustle spilled from the sparkly patch, and Hoesaegi nodded.
"That's right, ong. We're the coolest, ong. Kuh-huh-huhng."
The scowl on Hoesaegi's face bloomed wide open. He lifted his chin with a swell of pride.
Courage restored, Hoesaegi strode forward and planted himself in front of Sapsaree.
"Sapsaree, ong. Is One-eye cool, nyaong?"
Yikes!
One-eye startled so hard his head snapped down.
"K-King Boss. N-no, sir. King Boss is the coolest of all, sir."
One-eye stammered it out, trembling — then his shoulders gave a violent twitch. He had caught Gkamnyangi's distinctly unfriendly stare. He rushed to add,
"Black Boss is incredibly cool too, sir."
Well, that much was true.
Jjaek, who had been watching the whole thing, gave a nod. Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi wore matching smiles of deep satisfaction.
That was when Sapsaree chimed in.
"One-eye is cool, he is. A super-duper cool cat, he is! Big brothers, that's right, isn't it?"
Sapsaree turned his bright, sunny face on Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi and asked it back — as if to say, wasn't what he'd said perfectly correct?
In that instant, all four cats' jaws dropped.
Jjaek's hung open because Sapsaree genuinely seemed to think One-eye was cool, and he couldn't believe it. One-eye's hung open because he had no idea how to wriggle out of this mess. And Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi's hung open because they were stunned that Sapsaree actually, truly thought One-eye was cool.
Sapsaree went on.
"Hyungnim said so, he did. One-eye has a big face and is a cool cat. That's what he said, he did."
Guh!
"H-Hyungnim said that, ong?"
"H-Hyungnim did?"
"That's right, he did. Hyungnim said so, he did. One-eye is cool, he is!"
The two cats, rocked by Sapsaree's hehe-grinning delivery, locked eyes.
Hoesaegi turned his head toward the door.
A little toss of the chin. Let's go outside.
Gkamnyangi nodded back.
Nod, nod.
A moment later the two of them slipped carefully out of the room. Not that they needed to be quiet about it.
Ah. So that Sapsaree fellow wasn't joking. And Meongmeong Teacher — he's got an eye for cats, hasn't he.
Jjaek was too busy being moved by Lee Jun and Sapsaree to care whether Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi left or stayed.
Yikes. I'm done for. They're going to wreck me.
One-eye, having seen the looks on Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi's faces, was shaking too hard with dread of what was coming to think of anything else.
And Sapsaree already knew they were leaving — whether they crept out in silence or stomped out making a racket.
Either way, Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi scurried down the corridor at a clip.
The place they arrived at was the playground with the walking path. The two of them claimed the very top of the cat tower in the corner.
"Hoesaegi. Speak."
"Got it, ong. Gkamnyangi, ong. Why would Sapsaree leave cool hyungnims like us and say One-eye is cool, nyaong?"
"How dare he compare that guy to us! His eyes have got to be broken!"
Gkamnyangi thumped a front paw down on the cat-tower platform.
"Seems that way, ong. Sapsaree's eyes seem a little off, ong."
"Right? If his eyes weren't broken, would he have gone and praised that One-eye as cool?"
Gkamnyangi crossed his paws with a snap, leaned his body against the post, and went on.
"Still, it feels bad. Leaving cool hyungnims like us to say that guy is cool."
"That's right, ong. I feel bad too, ong!"
Hoesaegi crossed his paws just as firmly and leaned against the cat-tower post the same way Gkamnyangi had.
"Hyungnim is weird too. He told One-eye he was cool."
"Hyungnim makes us sad, ong."
Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi had taken Lee Jun telling One-eye he was cool to mean that One-eye was cooler than they were.
The cats were so hurt and so angry they huffed and puffed, sshk-sshk, for a long while. Then, still huffing, Hoesaegi opened his mouth.
"But Gkamnyangi, ong."
"Speak."
"Is One-eye's face bigger than mine, nyaong?"
"Bigger? What's bigger? Yours is way— wait."
Gkamnyangi stopped mid-sentence and tipped his black head to the right.
Hold on. Hoesaegi's face is big, sure. But that time water hit that big face of his… hmm. It was still big, but compared to One-eye's face…
There had been a time he'd picked a fight with Hoesaegi, and it had rained. Both of them had been soaked through, and back then Hoesaegi's face had been smaller than it was now.
It was tiny that time Strong Hyungnim grabbed him and dunked him in the water, too.
Even after a bath, Hoesaegi's face had been small.
Remembering the way Hoesaegi's lush, splendid fur had plastered flat against his face and body when it got wet, Gkamnyangi arrived at a great realization.
Right. That's what it was.
He was still turning that over when Hoesaegi asked,
"Gkamnyangi, ong. What's the matter, nyaong?"
"W-well. O-of course your face is bigger. Obviously bigger."
"Of course, ong. My face is broad and very big, ong. Gkamnyangi, yours is also bi— ong?"
Hoesaegi had been about to say so — and then the image of Gkamnyangi and One-eye standing side by side rose in his mind.
One-eye's face looked bigger, ong.
But he couldn't say that.
"Gkamnyangi, your face is way bigger, ong. Stylish Gkamnyangi, ong."
"Hahahaha. And you're the stylish Hoesaegi."
Once again, the two of them piled praise on each other. That was when it happened.
From somewhere, a low and elegant voice drifted over.
"It's been a while, Lord Hoesaegi, Lord Gkamnyangi."
Yeolmu came toward them, her snow-white tail swaying, salang-salang.
"Yeolmu, ong. It's been a while, ong."
"Long time no see!"
Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi greeted her. On any ordinary day they would have unspooled a long greeting, praising the looks she so loved to hear about — but they were in no mood for that now, so the two cats' greetings came out remarkably short.
Blink, blink.
Yeolmu studied them, pale blue eyes blinking, and asked in that low voice of hers,
"You two look quite splendid. Your fur is so fluffy it looks far more magnificent than this cat's own. And… what is that covering your eyes? The sparkle is rather striking."
Yeolmu gazed steadily at Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi in their wig caps, then added,
"This cat… would like one as well."
Would like one.
From elegant, stylish Yeolmu, that was the highest praise there was — a genuine tribute.
At Yeolmu's compliment, smiles spread across the faces of Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi, whose tempers had been thoroughly soured. The pouts that had been sticking out tucked themselves back in.
The two of them, who had been sitting at a crooked slant, sprang up onto all four legs and beamed.
"Thank you, ong. Stylish Yeolmu has a good eye, ong."
"Heehee. Not at all. This cat merely said what she saw."
"That's right. Yeolmu's eyes are way, way cooler than that broken-eyed Sapsaree."
"That's right, ong. Yeolmu's eyes are beautiful and elegant, and her face is splendid too, ong."
Hurt as they were by Sapsaree, they heaped praise on Yeolmu without restraint.
"Heeheehee. Thank you for the compliments, both of you."
"It's not compliments, ong. We're saying it because Yeolmu is beautiful, ong."
"That's right. Yeolmu is beautiful."
At Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi's words, Yeolmu brought a front paw to her mouth and laughed.
"Hohoho. You two really know how to make a cat feel good. You two are truly cool."
At Yeolmu's praise, the faces of Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi, which had been so dark, brightened all at once.
"But Lord Hoesaegi, Lord Gkamnyangi. Do you happen to know where Lord One-eye is?"
Gasp!
The pupils of the cats, who had been luxuriating in the warmth of that praise, went round as coins.
"Wh-why are you looking for One-eye all of a sudden, nyaong?"
"Y-yeah. Why One-eye?"
The cats' hearts hammered. What if Yeolmu, too, thought broad-faced One-eye was cool? The thought had struck them both.
"He seems like a cool fellow. I'd like to have a conversation with him."
Thud. Hoesaegi sat down hard on his rear.
Flump.
Gkamnyangi collapsed right on top of the spot where Hoesaegi had gone down.
"Gkamnyangi, ong. You're heavy, ong."
Pinned underneath, Hoesaegi grumbled — but Gkamnyangi didn't budge. And Hoesaegi didn't complain any further. That was how devastated they were.
Even so, they knew where One-eye was, and they couldn't not tell her.
Hoesaegi answered in a voice with no strength left in it.
"He's in the big inpatient room, ong."
"Y-yeah. He's in there."
"Thank you, both of you. Well then."
Yeolmu slowly closed her round eyes in farewell. Then, with an elegant gait, she descended the cat tower and went out.
Hoesaegi watched until Yeolmu's figure had vanished, then spoke to Gkamnyangi.
"Gkamnyangi, ong. Is One-eye cool, nyaong?"
"Well. I don't think so?"
"I'm going down to the first floor, ong."
"Me too. Let's go play with the dogs."
The cats' eyes have all gone weird.
Thinking that, Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi headed down to the first floor.
On the first-floor playground, the dogs were sitting in a neat little row.
Ttangkhongi was there, and Kakkong-i, and Mongi. Song-i was there too. Even the Rascal Trio was in sight. Donggeuli was leaning against Kkotnimi's leg.
The moment Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi appeared, the dogs welcomed them.
"Hey there, youngsters. It's been a while."
"Hi, big brothers!"
"Hyungnim, you've arrived?"
The cats returned the greetings as they came in. Looking over the dogs, Hoesaegi asked,
"But why are you all sitting like that, nyaong?"
Ordinarily the dogs would have been bouncing on the balance balls, playing with a ball, or running around — so finding them sitting still was strange enough to ask about.
"We were having ourselves a conversation."
"What were you talking about, nyaong?"
"We were talking about young One-eye."
"What did you say about him, nyaong?"
"Oppa! One-eye oppa is super cool! That's why we were praising him!"
Did the dogs think One-eye looked cool too?
Dismay settled over Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi's faces.
"I-is that so, ong?"
"That's right. Young One-eye, and that young Jjaek fellow too — quite the impressive ones, they were."
"Th-that's right. One-eye is so cool and brave."
To Song-i, who had lost both eyes and lived timidly for years, One-eye's story of surviving on the streets after losing one eye had been deeply moving. To Song-i, One-eye was a cool, brave cat.
"Yeah! One-eye oppa's face is super big too! So cool. Heheh."
"I-is that so, ong?"
"Really?"
Cool, and brave, and a big face besides.
Those words lodged in Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi's heads. Their shoulders sagged, and they walked out of the playground.
"Is One-eye cool, nyaong?"
"I guess so. I don't think he is, though…"
"I think you're way cooler, Gkamnyangi, ong. You look cool, ong."
"Same here. You're way cooler, Hoesaegi."
The cats praised themselves again — but somehow there was far less force in their voices than there had been a moment ago.
Go Gi-jin came down to the first floor with cookies he'd received from Ju Mi-seon, and called the kids.
"Kids! These here are fresh-baked cookies. Come on over now!"
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
The dogs in the lobby came pouring over and lined up in front of Go Gi-jin.
Sapsaree, of course, took a place in line, and in front of him One-eye had claimed a spot as well. Jjaek was in the inpatient room.
Go Gi-jin tucked a cookie into each mouth, one by one, then turned his head this way and that, scanning the lobby.
"But where've those two gotten off to? Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi! Come eat these, will ya?"
Lee Jun, who had been organizing charts in the director's office, spoke to the two of them.
"Go eat some cookies."
"Don't wanna, ong. Not going, ong."
"Not going."
Sprawled in the corner of the exam room's cat tower, Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi answered in sulky voices.
"Are you two sick? You've been like this since this afternoon."
The cats gave no answer at all. They did, however, puff little snorts that made it perfectly clear their moods were foul.
That was when it happened.
Tap, tap, tap.
Someone was walking toward the director's office.
"It's Sapsaree, ong."
"Sapsaree. Tch!"
The two of them muttered it in voices that were still thoroughly sullen. Lee Jun was looking at them with a puzzled expression when Sapsaree came in.
A rich, toasty smell rolled in with him.
A soft tap sounded as something was set on the floor, and then,
"Big brothers. Eat this, you should. It's super tasty, it is."
"Not ea— oong."
Hoesaegi had been about to say he wouldn't eat it, then changed his mind.
Being in a bad mood was one thing. Food was another.
Thinking that, he jerked his head up.
Gkamnyangi was of the same mind.
"Well, he went to the trouble of bringing them. Can't not eat them."
So they crunched and crunched their way through the cookies Sapsaree had brought.
Watching them, Sapsaree grinned, hehe.
"Big brothers, is it tasty? I'm gonna go ask for more, I am."
Sapsaree swished his tail and went out, and Hoesaegi let out a long breath and asked Lee Jun,
"Hyungnim, ong. Am I not cool, nyaong? Are we not cool, nyaong?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Sapsaree said One-eye is cool, ong."
"Yeolmu said One-eye is cool too."
"Elder Ttangkhongi hyungnim said so too, ong."
"Song-i said so too. That Donggeuli kid too, tch. And they said Hyungnim said so too."
The cats, their mouths stuck out in enormous pouts, buried their faces against Lee Jun's legs and poured it all out, as if emptying every last drop of how wretched they had felt.
As Gkamnyangi talked, his words trailed off into more and more of a mumble. So Lee Jun didn't catch what Gkamnyangi said at the end.
"I see. So your friends said One-eye is cool."
Lee Jun said it as he gathered up the cats clinging to his legs, and the cats burrowed even deeper into his arms as they answered.
"That's right, ong."
"Yeah, yeah. Everyone says One-eye is cool."
"They're all such kind friends."
"Hmph!"
"Tch."
The moment Lee Jun called them kind, the cats puffed snorts of protest. Looking down at them, Lee Jun gave a little smile.
"But your friends never said you weren't cool, did they?"
The cats who had been burying their heads peeked their faces up. Then they tilted them to one side.
"They said One-eye is cool. They didn't say you weren't cool."
Nod, nod.
The cats bobbed their heads.
"That's right, ong. They didn't say we weren't cool, ong."
"They didn't say we weren't cool."
"Then One-eye is cool, and you two are cool too. You're the King Boss and Black Boss that all the cats respect, after all."
"That's true, ong."
"That's right."
The cats' faces brightened a little. Lee Jun set them down on the exam table and went on.
"Do you know why they said One-eye is cool?"
"His face is big, ong. That's why they said he's cool, ong."
"Hyungnim said One-eye's face is the biggest. That's why he's cool."
Stroke, stroke, stroke.
Lee Jun kept petting the cats as he continued.
"When they say One-eye is cool, it's not because of his big face. They're saying it because his courage is cool."
"Courage? I'm brave too, ong."
"That's right. I'm brave enough to pick a fight with this guy."
The cats said it with their chests puffed out, and Lee Jun answered with a laugh.
"Remember? One-eye stood in front of our animal hospital trembling, but he didn't run away. You two said everyone shakes when they see you, right?"
"Everyone shivers just looking at my eyes, ong. One-eye trembled too, ong."
"But he didn't run. Water was dripping here."
He meant the sweat that had soaked One-eye's paw pads.
"That's right. He was that scared, but he held on and asked you to find Jjaek. And that's not all. One-eye's one eye was hurting, wasn't it?"
"It must have hurt a lot."
Gkamnyangi, who had once rolled and rolled in so much eye pain he'd lost consciousness, picked that up. As he spoke, his eyes drooped at the corners, as if he felt sorry for One-eye.
"If you walk around squinting, it hurts here, ong."
Hoesaegi pressed his own head with a front paw.
He meant that walking around with one eye covered in sparkly cloth made you dizzy.
"That's right. But that guy keeps walking around squinting."
Nodding, Hoesaegi said,
"Hyungnim, ong. One-eye is amazing, ong. Even with water dripping, he didn't run, and even though it hurt here, he endured it, ong."
"Huh. So that One-eye guy is brave, and good at enduring. He's an incredibly amazing guy, isn't he?"
"That's right, ong. One-eye is amazing, ong."
"Yes. That's why your friends say One-eye is cool. But that doesn't mean you two aren't cool. Right? Cool Hoesaegi. Splendid Gkamnyangi."
Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi sprang up onto their hind legs and declared,
"Hyungnim, ong. One-eye is cool, ong."
"That's right. He's a really cool guy."
"Yes. And you two, who are even cooler than One-eye — what should you do at a time like this?"
"We should praise One-eye, ong."
"That's right! We should tell him he's brave."
Having reached their conclusion, Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi looked at each other. And they shouted at the same time.
"Let's go to One-eye, ong."
"Let's go to One-eye."
The cats hopped down from the table and trotted out.
It was nothing like the crouched way they had come into the director's office.
Heads held high, tails lifted straight up — they walked out looking every bit as magnificent as they were.