Until a Good Guardian Appears
When Jang Pan-ho and his wife returned home, they had gone quiet. Just a few hours earlier, the atmosphere between them had been warm and cheerful.
"Hahh..."
"Haa..."
Jang Pan-ho sat on the living room sofa; Yoo Yeonju sat in the master bedroom. Both of them sighed. Sighs had taken over the couple's house.
While the two of them sat sighing, the sun went down. All at once, Yoo Yeonju looked out the window and started in surprise.
"Oh my, is it already this late? Sujeong said she was coming today..."
Their daughter, Jang Su-jeong, had moved out and lived in Gwacheon, near her company. On weekends, if she had nothing particular going on, she would come to the Bulgwang-dong house and stay the night.
Yoo Yeonju came out to the living room and spoke to her husband.
"Dear, Sujeong said she wants jeon stew, so I'm going to make that. What about you? We have some cod — shall I make you a cod stew?"
Leftover Chuseok pancakes — round meat patties, pollack pancakes, mushroom pancakes, five-color skewer pancakes — simmered low and slow with a whole head of well-aged kimchi. That jeon stew always found its way onto the couple's table after the holidays, a beloved treat Jang Pan-ho enjoyed as well.
But as he grew older and his digestion began to weaken, he no longer sought it out. Even when it was served, he would habitually take just a couple of spoonfuls.
"No, I'll just eat the same as you. But Sujeong's coming today?"
A spoonful of excitement had been stirred into Jang Pan-ho's voice as he asked — she had been here all through the holiday, and she was coming again?
"Yes, she says she is. After eating home cooking for a few days, she says she's craving it again."
Yoo Yeonju's voice was bright as she answered.
"That kid. When she's home, her mother tells her and tells her to eat, and she barely touches her food..."
"I suppose living on her own taught her that nobody cooks like her mother."
While Yoo Yeonju prepared the meal, the two of them talked now and then, but both steered clear of what had happened that afternoon. They spoke mainly of their daughter, and in the meantime the food was ready.
"She should be here any minute..."
The instant Yoo Yeonju finished speaking, a beep sounded and the front door opened.
"I'm home. Wow, that smell is incredible."
Jang Su-jeong clapped her hands, beaming.
"You ate this just a few days ago and you're that happy about it?"
"You bet. I could eat this every day for a week — no, a whole month. Mom, anything I can help with?"
"Just need to dish up the rice, so go wash your hands and sit down."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"You come sit too, dear."
Soon the three of them started eating.
"Ahh, now this is the taste. This right here."
Jang Su-jeong let out sounds of delight as she ate the stew. Watching her daughter, Yoo Yeonju smiled softly.
"Eat plenty."
"I will. Oh, but Mom — didn't you say you were going to Mongmong Animal Hospital this afternoon?"
Yoo Yeonju had texted her daughter during the day, saying they were on their way to Mongmong Animal Hospital. Jang Su-jeong was remembering that.
"Ah, we did go."
"Were Sapsaree and Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi there?"
"Yes, they were."
"Then why didn't you send pictures? I was looking forward to it — I thought you'd send photos of them."
Jang Su-jeong was a fan of the three of them too. She was even a Bokjumeoni member.
"Oh my, look at me. I didn't even take pictures. We were with them for a whole hour."
At Yoo Yeonju's words, Jang Su-jeong's eyes narrowed. What's this? Something feels off. But she couldn't quite put her finger on what.
Jang Su-jeong glanced at her mother, then turned her gaze to her father, Jang Pan-ho.
"Dad, you didn't take any either?"
"Ahem. Well. That happens sometimes."
Jang Pan-ho's awkward answer. Jang Su-jeong ladled a generous scoop of stew onto her side plate and thought, This is definitely a little weird. She didn't let it show, though. Instead she spoke in a slightly more exaggerated voice.
"Mother and Father must have been so captivated by our little cuties that they couldn't even take pictures?"
"I'll take some next time."
Jang Pan-ho answered quietly.
"Of course you will."
Left with nothing to say to their daughter's remark, the couple ate. Then Yoo Yeonju suddenly said,
"I wonder if that little one ate..."
"She probably did."
"She would have, right? She didn't eat then because people were watching, I suppose?"
"Hrm..."
Listening to her parents' conversation, Jang Su-jeong caught on. That's it. That's it! They must have seen a sick animal at the hospital. And it seemed the sick one wasn't eating well. They must be remembering when Janggoon was sick. Thinking that, Jang Su-jeong asked as if in passing,
"So where did they say it hurt?"
In that instant, a curtain of silence fell over the dinner table. When both parents shut their mouths at the same time, Jang Su-jeong felt awkward and added,
"It's not our little cuties who are sick, is it?"
"Oh my, what are you saying? Don't even say that as a joke."
"Your mother's right. You shouldn't say things like that even in jest."
When both parents frowned at once, Jang Su-jeong shrank her shoulders a little and said,
"Ah, I'm sorry. You two just looked like you weren't in a good mood, so I wondered if maybe..."
"It's not that. On the way to Mongmong Animal Hospital today, we found a Yorkie and took her to the hospital."
"A lost dog, maybe?"
"Seems like it."
"Did she have a tag?"
"No."
Yoo Yeonju shook her head, then told her daughter what had happened that afternoon.
After hearing the whole story, Jang Su-jeong let out a sigh.
"Aigoo, I hear most lost animals never find their owners... What's going to happen to her?"
The number of abandoned animals each year exceeds a hundred thousand. That is only the figure recorded in the animal protection management system — who knows how many more are actually abandoned. So Jang Su-jeong's words had a point. It was simply the reality of it.
Jang Su-jeong let out a short sigh and went on.
"But Mom, what happens if nobody comes looking for that Yorkie? Does she go to a shelter or something?"
"Hoo, that's the question."
Yoo Yeonju hedged.
"Director Lee must be in a tough spot. He can't take in every pitiful animal and raise them all himself."
"I feel bad. We made him worry for nothing. He's busy enough as it is."
"But you can't just pretend you didn't see a little one wandering the streets. You did the right thing, Mom. And Dad said he'd cover her treatment costs, right?"
At his daughter's words, Jang Pan-ho nodded.
Bolstered by her daughter and husband's support, Yoo Yeonju went on.
"Still, it seems Director Lee knows a shelter. He said it's in Namyangju, and they don't euthanize there? What was it called..."
"Uriteul."
"That's right. Your father has a good memory. They say Uriteul takes responsibility for the animals all the way through. They keep them and find them good homes — that kind of place."
"I hear our Director Lee even goes there to volunteer."
When Jang Pan-ho chimed in from the side, Jang Su-jeong sighed.
"Hoo, Director Lee — treating animals, volunteering... Even if he had two bodies, no, three, it wouldn't be enough. When does he even rest?"
"That's why this mother of yours feels even worse."
Yoo Yeonju sighed along with her daughter and added,
"That Yorkie looked exactly like our Janggoon. I think that's why she pulled at our hearts even more."
"Kh-hrm."
Jang Pan-ho let out a loud, forced cough at Yoo Yeonju's words. He had been thinking the same thing, and that was precisely why his heart felt even more unsettled.
Jang Pan-ho stood up from his seat.
"I'm finished eating."
"Oh my, you won't have more?"
"I'm fine."
"Then I'll peel some fruit, so just wait a moment."
"Don't worry about me. Eat slowly."
With that, Jang Pan-ho sat down on the living room sofa. Naturally, he picked up the remote and turned on the television. The news happened to be on, so Jang Pan-ho fixed his gaze on the screen.
Jang Su-jeong glanced from the table toward the living room and said in a small voice,
"Mom, instead of all that — couldn't we just bring her to our house?"
Startled, Yoo Yeonju spoke in an even smaller voice. Thanks to Sapsaree's efforts, they could talk about Janggoon freely now — but bringing a dog into the house was an entirely different matter.
"What are you saying? Your father will hear you!"
"No, I don't mean keep her forever. Just look after the Yorkie until her guardian shows up. You said it yourself — Director Lee's going to have a hard time. And you added one more thing to his plate."
"You...!"
Yoo Yeonju shot her daughter a look, but she couldn't think of anything else to say. Because her daughter was right. And yet she also didn't feel that what she had done was wrong. Thinking that, words came flooding out.
"If I hadn't taken that Yorkie to the director, she might have gotten badly hurt. How could I just leave a little one like that?"
"That's true too. You did the right thing there, Mom."
"You're going back and forth now?"
"No, I mean I would have done the same thing."
"Hoo, that's what I'm saying. Worry this way, worry that way."
"Still, I think worrying after bringing her in is the right kind of worry, Mom."
At her daughter's words, the crease between Yoo Yeonju's brows eased a little.
"Mom, then should I take her to Gwacheon?"
"Gwacheon? Your place?"
"Yeah, there's something called fostering — you look after an animal temporarily until a good guardian appears. I was thinking maybe I could keep her until then. Director Lee would feel a bit more at ease too."
"Absolutely not! A girl who's at the office all day — what kind of fostering is that?"
Suddenly Jang Pan-ho's voice cut into the mother and daughter's ears.
"Dad! Weren't you watching TV?"
"I can hear you."
"Honestly, your hearing is ridiculously sharp."
"So don't even think about it. Someone who gets off work as late as you do would just end up neglecting her."
"Then you take her, Dad! Don't you feel sorry for her? I haven't even seen her and I already feel bad."
"Kh-hrm!"
Jang Pan-ho quietly got up and went into the master bedroom.
His heart was not at ease.
The next morning, an awkward atmosphere hung over the breakfast table.
Jang Su-jeong didn't mention the Yorkie at all. Neither did Jang Pan-ho or Yoo Yeonju. The three of them finished the meal without much conversation, then sat together for dessert as well. Nobody was frowning, but nobody was speaking warmly either.
After draining the last sip of her coffee, Jang Su-jeong said,
"Mom, I'm going to step out for a bit."
"You're not going home today?"
"Come on, no. I'm going to scrape every last bit of Mom's cooking before I leave. I'll go tomorrow evening."
When Jang Su-jeong said that and went into her room, Jang Pan-ho spoke to Yoo Yeonju.
"Dear, when are you going?"
"Where... ah, Mongmong Animal Hospital? Hmm, around two. If we go too early the staff will be busy."
"All right, then."
Time passed, and the couple arrived at the animal hospital around two. Lee Jun happened to be taking a short rest after lunch.
"You've arrived?"
"Yes, Director. How is the little one? Has anyone come looking?"
"No, nobody. We registered her as a stray yesterday, and I sent a group text to our district veterinary association, but there's been no word at all."
"I see."
"Ah, and just a little while ago, Haru ate. Just a tiny bit, but she ate."
"Haru?"
"Ah, yes. I named her on my own. I put my wish into it — that she'd only stay here for a day before going home."
Lee Jun's eyes held a quiet earnestness as he explained Haru's name. It was the look of someone who truly hoped for that.
How could a person think so purely?
Jang Pan-ho gazed steadily at Lee Jun. As he looked at him, he suddenly recalled a scene from the television program Animal Praise — Lee Jun in tears.
He must have had to let go of so many precious animals. This young man. His insides must be all torn up. And yet from morning till night he still poured himself into treating animals.
He was thinking that when a voice reached him.
"Haru's here."
Jang Sora appeared, holding Haru.
"Haru!"
When Yoo Yeonju called her name, Haru's eyes went wide and her short tail wagged like a little bell.
"Oh my goodness. Haru's wagging her tail."
"She must be drawing strength from seeing the two of you. Until now her tail had been hanging limp."
Listening to Jang Sora and Lee Jun, Yoo Yeonju took Haru in her arms. Just as the two of them had said, Haru seemed glad to see Yoo Yeonju — she rested her small head against Yoo Yeonju's chest, all the tension leaving her body. And the corners of her mouth curled up, just slightly.
"Oh my goodness, our Janggoon..."
Yoo Yeonju stopped mid-sentence, but Jang Pan-ho understood exactly what she meant. Their dog, Janggoon, would go completely limp when you held him, rest his face against you, and smile. Just like the Yorkie Haru right in front of them.
Yoo Yeonju found Haru both pitiful and adorable, and she kept stroking her, murmuring,
"A little one this precious... how did you end up like this... We'll find your home soon. Don't you worry."
Watching this, Jang Pan-ho asked Lee Jun,
"Ahem, Director, my daughter mentioned something called fostering. What is that, exactly?"
Words flowed from Lee Jun's mouth — the same explanation his daughter had given the day before.
"I see. Are there any qualifications, or anything of that sort?"
"The qualification is that the people fostering have to love the animal. That's the qualification. And if you take her in, you can't just abandon her somewhere when it gets hard."
"That goes without saying."
"Then that's all you need."
"I see."
Jang Pan-ho looked at Yoo Yeonju and said,
"Dear, are you confident?"
It was a question for his wife, but Jang Pan-ho himself knew he was really asking himself.
"O-of course. Naturally. How many years have we been pet guardians?"
When those unexpected words came from her husband's mouth, Yoo Yeonju was flustered. But the expression on her face as she answered was brilliantly bright.
"Ahem. Is that so?"
Jang Pan-ho turned his head to look at Haru and said,