No Time to Cry
Animals are extraordinarily sensitive to the atmosphere around them. The more their wild instincts remain intact, the more true this becomes.
In the midst of that stiff, heavy air, a sudden chomp-chomp-chomp of something being chewed rang out loud and clear.
It was Kkamnyangi eating.
Every gaze in the room snapped toward him in an instant. Sensing their eyes on him, Kkamnyangi slowly lifted his head and delivered a single line.
"Never seen anyone eat before?"
He snorted a puff of air through his nose, lowered his head, popped a rice dumpling into his mouth, and chewed it with thorough, deliberate satisfaction. Then, wearing an expression as if he owned the entire world, he spoke.
"Hyungnim, this is so good. After I eat, I'm gonna tell Teun-teun-i's mom thank you."
"Really? Teun-teun-i's mom will be so happy. If you tell her you enjoyed it, she might even say you're adorable and give you a tasty cookie."
"Really? Then I gotta eat fast!"
At Lee Jun's kind words, Kkamnyangi's tail went thwap-thwap-thwap, and he dunked his head right back down. Then he attacked his food with a militant chap-chap-chap—and with obvious, enormous relish.
Watching from the side, Hoesaegi suddenly spilled out a rapid-fire stream of words.
"Th-that's right, ong. I'll eat fast too and go see Teun-teun-i's mom, ong. I'll tell her thank you for the delicious food, ong. So I'll e-eat quickly, ong."
Having said so, Hoesaegi dunked his head and started crunching through his own food at speed.
"I-I'll follow the King Boss and the Black Boss as well."
"I-I'll join in too."
Following One-eye, even Jjaek and the rest of the cats buried their faces in their bowls and started eating, as if a speed-eating contest had broken out.
Watching the cats suddenly devour their meals with such noisy gusto, Sapsaree's eyes lit up.
"Teun-teun hyungnim's mom's cookies are so, so tasty. I'll eat fast too, I will."
So I'll tell Teun-teun hyungnim's mom it was delicious and get a cookie, I will.
Thinking that, Sapsaree added a word for the one who needed it most.
"Salgu! Eat fast, you should. Teun-teun hyungnim's mom's cookies are so, so tasty. Let's eat this and go."
A thrifty, thoughtful heart that even looked after Salgu. Sapsaree beamed a wide smile at him, then lowered his head and started on his kibble.
Then, one by one, the others joined in.
"I-I'll eat fast too."
"Y-yeah. Let's eat."
"That's right, ain't it? Once you've eaten and your belly's full, you don't think about a thing, yeah?"
The desire for cookies and the wish to look after Salgu combined, and everyone started eating. Salgu, too, slowly began to eat his kibble, grain by grain.
"You're all eating so well. But kids, Teun-teun-i's mom already went home. So you can say hello tomorrow."
Teun-teun-i's guardian, Ju Mi-seon, had already clocked out for the day. The next day was Chuseok, but Ju Mi-seon had volunteered to come into the animal hospital, saying she had nowhere else to go.
Even if you had nowhere to go, who would actually want to show up at work on Chuseok itself? But Ju Mi-seon didn't want to sit alone in an empty house on a holiday when everyone else was gathered together, laughing. Being at the animal hospital was far more comforting. She could see the cute animals, too. For those reasons, she had made up her mind to come in on Chuseok.
At Lee Jun's words, every ear in the room perked up. But that was all. They weren't disappointed. The rice dumplings going into their mouths right now were simply too delicious for that. So the replies came out leisurely.
"Got it, ong. Then I'll say thank you tomorrow, ong."
"Sure, whatever."
Already lost in the nutty, savory flavor of the rice dumplings, Hoesaegi and Kkamnyangi answered offhandedly.
"Alright, you good kids. But guys, I need to go check on some other friends right now. Is it okay if I go?"
Ordinarily, whether at home or at the hospital, Lee Jun watched the animals all the way through their meals. But with so many animals currently hospitalized, he was busy. So he asked for their understanding.
"Go on, ong. We'll all eat together, ong."
"We'll keep an eye on things."
They weren't eating alone—there were plenty of them—so don't worry about it. At Hoesaegi and Kkamnyangi's words, Lee Jun smiled.
"Alright then. Keep eating."
A brief melancholy had hung in the air, but the animals polished off every last bite with enormous relish. The joy of eating together, plus the rice dumplings Ju Mi-seon had made, had thoroughly stimulated their appetites.
Salgu was no exception. His bowl was already licked clean—even though the thought of not seeing his mom should have robbed him of any appetite at all.
Just then, Kakkong-i called out to him.
"Salgu, you done eatin'? Get over here. Come play with us. This is actually pretty fun, y'know."
Salgu turned his head. Kakkong-i, Jamong, and the Rascal Trio were waving him over with their front paws. Sapsaree was in the mix too.
If that Salgu fella plays hard enough, he'll forget all about it.
Kakkong-i figured that if Salgu played himself silly, he'd forget that his mom had left. So he intended to play with him until he was dizzy. Jamong and the Rascal Trio felt the same. Every last one of them was determined not to give Salgu a single moment to be sad.
At Kakkong-i's play proposal, Hoesaegi's eyes flashed. He'd spotted Kakkong-i batting a ball around with his stubby little legs.
Perfect, ong. If he runs around catching balls, his hunting instincts will wake up, ong.
And then he'd grow stronger. The corners of Hoesaegi's mouth curled up as he looked at the ball. Then he trotted over to the corner of the room and spoke.
"Kakkong-i, ong. There are more over here, ong."
Having said so, Hoesaegi flung the balls one after another—whick, whick, whick. A full seven of them. Then he added:
"It's more fun playing with a bunch of them, ong."
Because you'd have to run around even more frantically, and keep your eyes rolling. And that would make you even stronger. Thinking this, Hoesaegi curled his lips into a grin.
Kakkong-i heard him and had a great realization.
Whoa, Hoesaegi hyungnim, that's brilliant. If we do it like hyungnim says, that fella's soul's gonna get sucked right outta him.
Kakkong-i said to Hoesaegi:
"Hyungnim, you're right. Let's do it that way."
"Wh-what is it?"
When Salgu tilted his head and asked, Kakkong-i turned to Sapsaree.
"Sapsaree hyungnim, you tell him how it's done."
"Got it, I will."
Sapsaree nodded and explained the game to Salgu.
"You hit this and it goes over there, it does. Then Jamong hits it from over there and it rolls back, it does. Then you hit it again. You hit every one that rolls over. Hehehe, it's super fun, it is."
Sapsaree, a genius at play, tapped his front paw as he spoke. A small bouncy ball sat right in front of it.
At any rate, with his belly full, Salgu was a little less sad. He trudged over to join his friends.
Boing-boing-boing, roll-roll-roll.
When the ball rolled toward him, Salgu brought his thick front paw down on it with a thwack. Pure instinct. A moment later, another ball came bouncing, bouncing, bouncing toward him. Of course Salgu smacked it. After it happened a few more times, Salgu—who had always loved ball games and loved to play—got a spark of life back in his eyes.
Noticing the change in him, Sapsaree gathered a few more balls from nearby and said:
"Now let's roll all of these, we should."
The way they played wasn't just bouncing a single ball back and forth. It was the method Hoesaegi had described with gleaming eyes: bounce a whole bunch of them, and don't miss a single ball that comes your way.
"Hyung, Salgu hyung is new at this. If you throw that many, he'll miss them."
"That's right. Start with just three. If he does all that, he'll be wiped out."
"Is that so? Salgu can't do it?"
At Sapsaree's words, Salgu's competitive spirit suddenly flared.
"N-no. I can do it. I'll try."
"That so? You gonna be alright?"
"Yes!"
Boing-boing-thwack-boing-boing-boing-boing.
The game, restarted with three balls, had somehow swelled to twelve. Because Hoesaegi had found more balls. As twelve balls bounced nonstop off the floor, the heads of the dogs in the game—and the dogs and cats watching—whipped around in a frenzy.
Salgu was no different. The melancholy from moments ago had flown far, far away. All that remained was a fierce will to hit every last ball flying toward him.
What had started as a ball game meant to comfort Salgu so he wouldn't be sad had, before anyone knew it, become a serious match. Salgu moved his body without rest, determined to stop every ball.
Having finished his meal and climbed back up onto the cat tree, Kkamnyangi watched Salgu and smiled faintly.
Well, whether those guys have the wrong idea or not, they're burning the fat right off that Salgu fella.
The dogs had misunderstood Salgu's situation, but the result was helping with his diet. And that was good enough for Kkamnyangi. Thinking so, he watched the dogs' bouncy-ball match with the sound of balls hitting the floor as his soundtrack.
That night, the dogs who had moved their bodies to the limit fell into a deep sleep, making a tremendous racket.
Grrrk, grrrk. Kwee-wahh, ku-wah-wah-wah. Kraah, kraah.
Among them, Salgu's snoring was the loudest of all. Salgu was a brachycephalic breed, so his snoring had always been loud—but this was after an unusually intense workout. A completely different intensity from a leisurely stroll.
Ppyu-yoooong, ppyu-yoooong. Ppyu-wang, ppyu-wang.
Salgu's snoring was in a league of its own. Woken by the sound, Kkamnyangi let out a heavy sigh.
"Aigoo, that guy!"
Then Hoesaegi, sleeping beside him, spoke.
"Kkamnyangi, ong. Still better than him staying up and crying, ong."
"Well... that's true."
Kkamnyangi lowered his head and went back to sleep. As he drifted off, he even thought it was a bit like a lullaby. Before long, everyone was fast asleep.
Snoring so hard it seemed his nose might punch a hole through itself, Salgu thrashed even in his dreams, frantically batting away the bouncy balls flying at him. So thoroughly that the thought of his mom not being there never crossed his mind. Perhaps because of that, the sleeping Salgu's face was one of pure delight. It was the exact same expression he wore when he was having fun with a toy—the Salgu who loved to play, who loved anything fun.
The next day.
Half-waking, half-still-asleep, Salgu kept his eyes closed and reached for his mom's embrace out of habit. And at the fluffy, cushiony feeling, he nuzzled his face into it. Rub-rub.
Hehe, Mom...
Whenever he nuzzled his face like this, Mom would stroke his body with her warm hands and say, "Did our Salgu sleep well? Hungry? Let's eat."
But then—
"Salgu! You awake?"
Why did Mom's voice sound all barky? Hehe, Mom's voice sounds just like Sapsaree hyungnim's. Thinking that, he groggily opened his closed eyes—
"You up? Hungry, ain'tcha? Hang on a sec. Food's comin'."
"That's right. It smells so good, it does!"
Salgu jolted awake. He startled and looked around wildly.
Huh? Mom's not here!
At his mother's absence, Salgu realized the situation he was in.
R-right. M-Mom... she...
But there was no time to be sad.
"Salgu, ong. If you're up, come here, ong. Let's train the body before we eat, ong."
"Th-that's right. If you want to eat and live, a strong body is the best, it is!"
"Ain't that right? Salgu, come over here. Once you run around a bit, you'll feel great, y'know."
"That's right! Salgu, if you run on that, it's super super fun, it is."
Wallowing in self-pity and crying was a luxury you could only afford when you had the time. In that case, don't give him the leisure to be sad in the first place. The animal friends had resolved: the moment Salgu opened his eyes, they would keep him so busy he wouldn't have a second to feel sad.
Swept along by friends united in that determination, Salgu found himself standing on a bone-shaped balance ball before he knew it, legs trembling as he put strength into them. Beside him, Juhongi spoke.
"Let's bet on who can last longer!"
He could never resist a bet. Life flared in Salgu's eyes.
"I-I'll last longer."
"Oh really? It's your first time, so it'll be hard, you know."
When Juhongi smirked and stoked his competitive fire, Salgu's drooping jowls wobbled.
"I'll show you how strong my legs are!"
And so, the moment he woke up, the leg workout began.
"A game that makes the legs strong, ong. Salgu will get powerful, ong."
And then his mind would grow strong too, and he'd shed his crybaby Salgu self. Hoesaegi curled his lips, pleased that things were going according to plan. Kkamnyangi felt the same.
Whatever the reason, moving before a meal burns fat, so that's good. And I don't have to watch that guy blubbering, which is also good.
Kkamnyangi wore a satisfied smile as he licked his fur, lap-lap.
And so three days passed since Salgu had arrived at Mongmong Animal Hospital. In that time, Salgu hadn't had a moment's rest. The moment he woke up, he exercised, ate, and exercised again.
The exercises were varied. Balance ball workouts, bouncy-ball catching drills, grab-and-roll games with balls that went rolling by—and sometimes even a game of catching the fish-cake skewers the cats waved around. He exercised without pause, then ate. Then, exhausted, he collapsed into sleep as if he'd fainted. And when he woke, he exercised again.
On top of that, the snack-hunting game was exercise too. Lee Jun, worried the animal friends might get bored, had them hunt for snacks in a treasure-hunt game. Every bit of it was a game Salgu had never encountered, exercise he'd never done. And the volume of it was enormous.
Salgu threw himself in with his friends and enjoyed every last bit of it. He had no time to miss his mom and be sad.
Watching Salgu's bright expression, Kkamnyangi smirked.
"That guy. His smiling face looks way better."
"That's right, ong. A strong mind comes from a strong body, ong. Salgu doesn't whine about being hungry anymore, ong."
Hoesaegi was right. The kibble in Salgu's bowl decreased by one piece with every meal. But Salgu hadn't noticed at all. Just a few days ago, he'd been counting how many pieces of kibble had been reduced.
"So that's why you were doing that?"
At the sudden remark, Hoesaegi looked at Kkamnyangi.
"Kkamnyangi, ong, what are you talking about, ong?"
"You were looking at Salgu like this."
Kkamnyangi looked at Hoesaegi with the same gaze he'd used on Salgu a few days ago.
"Did I, ong?"
When Hoesaegi tilted his head, Kkamnyangi let out a puff of a sigh and said:
"Yeah. Back when those guys were sniveling that Salgu's mom had abandoned him."
"Ah, that time, ong?"
"Yeah. Don't tell me you were thinking the same thing they were?"
The words carried a hint of mockery. Hoesaegi gave himself a thorough shake—fluff-fluff-fluff—and his golden eyes glittered. Then he held his head high and answered.
"As if I would, ong. I knew Salgu's mom was trying to get his weight down, ong."
"Oh yeah? Then why'd you jump in with those guys and tell Salgu to hang in there?"
"He has to get stronger so he won't be a crybaby, ong. A strong spirit dwells in a strong body, ong. That's how he can stop blubbering and lose the weight, ong. That's why, ong."
Do you understand my grand purpose now?
Hoesaegi spoke with great pride, but Kkamnyangi wore an unimpressed expression.
"What's a 'strong spirit' got to do with losing weight? You just skip meals and exercise and it comes off."
"Wrong, ong. Look at him, ong. Salgu isn't crying, ong. He's smiling, ong. That's all because his spirit got stronger, ong."
"Whatever you say!"
Kkamnyangi answered offhandedly and went back to licking his fur. But he knew Hoesaegi was right.
Well, it is nice that the guy isn't crying.
Salgu's guardian came to pick him up. It had been six days since she'd boarded him.
"Salgu did well. He got along with his friends. And he didn't even look for his mom, you know?"
"Hahh, that's such a relief. Salgu is so clingy, I was really worried. That's why I'd never boarded him before..."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, he wouldn't even eat if I wasn't sitting next to him... So after I heard what you said, Director, I thought I couldn't keep going like this, and I worked up the courage to board him."
There might come a time in life when Salgu's guardian would have to leave the house. Preparing for that by teaching Salgu the habit of being on his own was important—for the guardian's sake, and for Salgu's. Lee Jun had told her as much before.
"You did the right thing. The older they get, the harder it is to build the habit."
At Lee Jun's words, the guardian nodded and replied.
"I knew it in my head, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It's thanks to you, Director. Still, I was really worried about boarding him for so long the first time. But when I saw the videos you sent, I felt so much better."
"Salgu is quite sociable, so he had a great time. Having friends around, he ate well too."
"Director, thank you so much."
At the guardian's thanks, Lee Jun smiled gently.
"Please wait just a moment. I'll bring him out. Oh—would you like to come with me?"
A moment later, when the guardian appeared in the hotel room, Salgu's eyes went as wide as they could possibly go.
W-woof woof woof woof!
Then he barked up a storm and threw himself into his mom's arms. The guardian held him and said:
"Did our Salgu do well?"
Whine, whine, whine.
Salgu put all the hurt feelings of the past days behind him and licked his mom. Then he grinned, hehe, his face bright. Looking at him like that, the guardian said:
"Director, our Salgu lost so much weight. My goodness, look at how firm his legs have gotten."
"He had a lot of fun playing with his friends."
"That's not all. He's not even whining. I can't quite put my finger on it, but he seems a bit more... dignified?"
"That's thanks to his friends."
Lee Jun, who had heard the whole story from the animals and knew the circumstances, smiled warmly.
"Thank you so much. Director, you even got his weight down and made our Salgu more grown-up."
"I didn't do a thing. His friends helped him, that's all."
"Oh my, Director. When you put it like that, it really does sound that way."
Listening to the guardian's thanks, Lee Jun thought to himself:
It's the truth. I didn't do a single thing. It's all thanks to them.
Lee Jun smiled as he looked at the cats, front paws patting together as they grinned from ear to ear, and the dogs bouncing up and down with delight.