Haru Comes Home
A few days later, a car pulled into the lot in front of Mongmong Animal Hospital, and three people stepped out: Jang Pan-ho, Yoo Yeonju, and Jang Su-jeong. All three wore expressions of barely contained excitement.
"Haru will settle in well, don't you think?"
At Yoo Yeonju's words, Jang Pan-ho nodded his agreement.
"She'll be just fine. Mom, Dad, you'll look after her, won't you? Honestly, I can't wait to see our little one."
With that, they headed inside. Jang Sora greeted them warmly.
"You've arrived!"
"Hello, Manager. This is our daughter. She tagged along the moment she heard we were picking Haru up."
"Oh my, did she? Haru is a lucky girl — already wrapped up in a whole family's love."
Yoo Yeonju smiled and picked up the thread.
"I just hope she adjusts well. I'm a little worried."
"She will. Please wait here a moment — I'll go fetch her."
As Jang Sora headed up to the second floor, Jang Su-jeong looked around.
"The kids aren't here, though?"
"Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi?"
"Yeah. I thought we'd get to see them too..."
A flicker of disappointment crossed Jang Su-jeong's face as she glanced about. Then Yoo Yeonju spoke up, her voice bright with excitement.
"Oh my — they're all coming down together!"
"Huh?"
At the words coming down, Jang Su-jeong's head turned toward the stairs of its own accord, and her eyes went wide.
"Oh my goodness..."
Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi were padding down the ramp beside the stairs, paws going thump-thump-thump. A Yorkshire Terrier followed after them, and last of all, Sapsaree descended with careful, measured steps.
This was not the Sapsaree who usually came bounding over, tail whipping wildly at the sight of Jang Pan-ho. He walked slowly, matching Haru's pace, as though he were personally escorting the little Yorkshire Terrier.
Watching him, Jang Pan-ho spoke.
"Heh heh. Look at that fellow. Quite the gallant gentleman."
A deep smile spread across Jang Pan-ho's face. Sapsaree was admirable — and so was Haru, walking toward them at the front. Fear still lingered in those large eyes, but the huddled, shrinking creature they had first seen on the street was nowhere to be found.
A moment later the cats came to a halt before them. Haru arrived next and slipped neatly into place between the two cats. Sapsaree took up position behind the three of them, and then, as if they had rehearsed it, all three looked up at the visitors at once — beaming, as if to say, Look. We brought her back safe and sound.
When Yoo Yeonju scooped Haru into her arms, the three animals' mouths curled into grins, and they rubbed themselves against the couple's legs. Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi wound around Yoo Yeonju's calves; Sapsaree pressed against Jang Pan-ho's hip.
"Oh my, oh my, you darlings!"
Jang Su-jeong was beside herself with delight. Jang Pan-ho was no different.
"Wow, Mom, Dad, you were right. Why are they so affectionate?"
Jang Su-jeong gazed at the three of them as though honey might drip from her eyes. All three people were laughing together when Lee Jun appeared.
"You've arrived."
"Yes. I just hope Haru settles in well at home. I'm a little worried."
"Don't worry. She'll do just fine. These are Haru's medications. Give them to her once a day."
"Will she take her medicine all right? We used to give it with a syringe — should we do it that way?"
She meant the method they had used with Janggoon: mixing powdered medicine with water and administering it through a syringe.
"Haru takes her medicine well. You have the nutritional supplement you took home, yes? Mix it with that and roll it into little balls — she'll eat them right up."
"Oh my, that would be so much easier. No need to force it down."
At Yoo Yeonju's words, Lee Jun smiled and looked at Haru.
"Haru, you'll take your medicine well, won't you?"
Woof!
She answered in a tiny voice, and Jang Su-jeong laughed.
"Oh my, it really seems like Haru understood that."
"Haru? I thought you were going to call her the baby of the family."
At Jang Pan-ho's remark, Jang Su-jeong answered with a smile.
"Well, I thought about it, but Haru is a good name too. I like the idea of her living every single day with a smile like that. And besides... the director gave her that name."
"Haha. Just as your daughter said — I hope Haru lives every day with a smile."
The three of them listened to Lee Jun's remaining instructions regarding Haru for another ten minutes or so, then left the hospital.
"Haru, take care and live well."
Then came the voices.
"Aeohong!"
"Nyaong-nyaong!"
"Woof woof woof!"
The three of them were saying something to Haru. And from a little farther off, more meows drifted over. Two cats came walking from the foot of the stairs, tails swaying lazily as they looked this way — though they did not come all the way over. From a short distance, Jjaek and One-eye were bidding Haru farewell.
Haru wagged her stubby tail and barked — woof, woof. Having said goodbye to the animal friends she had grown so attached to in just a few days, she climbed into the car, seen off by Lee Jun and her companions.
Before starting the engine, Jang Pan-ho turned around and spoke to Haru, who was huddled inside the carrier.
"Haru, we are going to our home now. So even if things jostle a little, do not be afraid."
Yoo Yeonju and Jang Su-jeong's eyes widened at the unexpected words. The mother and daughter in the back seat exchanged a glance. What's gotten into your father?I have no idea. They were astonished by Jang Pan-ho's sudden, uncharacteristic thoughtfulness.
But Jang Pan-ho himself had not given it a second thought. He had watched the way Lee Jun spoke to the animals, and without realizing it, he had learned. Lee Jun always explained things to the animals before doing anything. Of course the animals could not understand the words. And yet, after hearing his explanations, they always looked at ease. Jang Pan-ho had thought it strange — but after seeing it enough times, he had begun doing the same thing quite naturally.
He drove even more carefully than he had on the way there, and they arrived home.
Once they were inside, Jang Su-jeong opened the carrier door and spoke to Haru.
"Haru, this is your home now. Make yourself comfortable."
"That's right, our Haru. Let's grow happier with every day that passes."
Yoo Yeonju followed Jang Su-jeong with her own blessing, but Haru — who had only half-emerged from the carrier — stood frozen stiff. She neither stepped out into the living room nor retreated back inside. She simply stood there, eyes darting.
Jang Su-jeong reached a hand toward her.
"Haru, this is your home now."
When she spoke and made to draw Haru out, Jang Pan-ho opened his mouth.
"Leave her be. She will come out on her own once she decides it is safe."
"That's right, Su-jeong. Leave her. The director said she'll find everything unfamiliar for a few days. If we try too hard to be friendly, it'll only scare her more."
"But... she looks so pitiful."
His daughter's word — pitiful — needled Jang Pan-ho a little. They had brought her home because she was pitiful. What was he supposed to do if she was still pitiful now?
He sank down onto the living room floor, a short distance from the carrier.
"Haru, look. That is your bed. And over there is where you may relieve yourself. That is your water bowl. All of it is yours, so use it as you please."
Haru surely could not understand — but Jang Pan-ho explained everything there was to explain. He rose from the floor and spoke to the two women.
"Let us leave the carrier here for the time being. It seems to be the place she feels safest."
"Yes, all right."
The three of them left Haru in the middle of the living room and sat down at the dining table. All three pairs of eyes stayed fixed on the living room.
After about ten minutes, Haru — who until then had done nothing but tilt her head and look around — stepped out of the carrier. She took a cautious step, turned her head to scan the room, took another step, and checked her surroundings again. In this way she walked carefully over to the cushion: the one Jang Pan-ho had called Haru's bed.
She buried her nose in it and sniffed — sniff, sniff, sniff. Then she walked a little farther, toward the water bowl, and Jang Su-jeong cheered her on in a small voice.
"Haru, aren't you thirsty? Have some water."
She spoke very softly. And then it happened. Haru, who had been sniffing at the water bowl, startled violently, scampered back, and vanished into the carrier.
"Oh my, I think we startled her."
Yoo Yeonju shot Jang Su-jeong a look as she said it. Jang Pan-ho added a word of his own.
"Why must you interfere? The little one will manage on her own."
But even as he said it, Jang Pan-ho felt a pang of regret. The poor thing must be thirsty. He spoke to Haru, who had ducked into the carrier with only her head peeking out — in his heart, of course. There is no one here who will harm you. So while you are here, think of this as your home, and be at ease.
As he watched her with those thoughts in mind, Jang Su-jeong spoke.
"Haru, this is your home. Don't worry about a thing. Just be comfortable."
She said it in a voice much quieter than before — the very words Jang Pan-ho had wished to say — and her face was clouded with apology. She believed it was her fault that Haru had stopped exploring the living room.
Haru remained motionless inside the carrier for longer than they had expected. The three of them ate a quick meal, after which Jang Su-jeong left the house.
"Mom, I'll come by this weekend. Dad, I'm heading out."
"All right. Go on."
"Haru, big sis is leaving now."
Once Jang Su-jeong was gone, the couple retreated from the living room to their respective rooms — Jang Pan-ho to his study, Yoo Yeonju to the master bedroom. Before she went, Yoo Yeonju had set out Haru's food. Three bowls had been prepared: one holding the wet food Haru had been eating at Mongmong Animal Hospital, one holding kibble, and one holding treats.
"Haru, we'll be in our rooms, so eat whenever you like. And you heard, didn't you? That's your bed over there. But if you don't want to be alone, you can come into the room."
Yoo Yeonju went into the master bedroom, leaving the door half-open. Jang Pan-ho did the same, leaving the study door slightly ajar.
That day, the couple stayed in their rooms as much as possible, avoiding the living room. Every bit of their attention, however, was trained on it.
Tap-tap-tap.
Whenever they heard Haru's footsteps, they thought, Ah. Haru is walking around the living room, and smiled with quiet satisfaction.
Lap, lap, lap.
When they heard that sound, they thought, Haru is drinking water, and felt at ease.
Time passed, and the next morning the corners of Yoo Yeonju's mouth lifted as she got up. Haru still had not come out of the carrier. But there were traces that she had peed, and traces that she had eaten from the bowls. Half the wet food was gone. The treats, which had been cut into pieces the size of a pinky nail — ten of them — now numbered eight. The dry kibble, all fifty pieces, remained untouched.
"Oh my, our Haru ate. Was it tasty?"
She spoke softly, but the joy in her voice was unmistakable. Hearing it, Jang Pan-ho came out into the living room and asked.
"Haru ate, did she?"
"Yes, a little. And she peed, too."
"That is a relief."
Jang Pan-ho turned his gaze toward the carrier. You little thing. What is there to sneak around for when you eat? A hint of wounded feeling colored the look he gave it. At the hospital she had wandered about so naturally.
Before bringing Haru to their home in Bulgwang-dong, the couple had visited Mongmong Animal Hospital every day. They had spent an hour, sometimes two, with her in the second-floor playground, and she had moved about freely then. She had even played with Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree. And now she was hiding herself like this. Tsk. What is there to be so afraid of?
Yoo Yeonju was thinking the same thing as her husband. She felt a little hurt. After nestling so comfortably in my arms, too. After looking so at ease, held close. But she did not let it show. If she did, she felt certain the tiny little one would only shrink further into herself.
That day's routine was the same. When the couple came out into the living room, Haru ducked into the carrier. When they went into their rooms, she explored the living room, her footsteps going tap-tap-tap. When she found the food bowls empty, she ate as well. The couple listened to the sound of her moving about and felt at ease.
And so the day drew to a close. Yoo Yeonju spoke to Jang Pan-ho, worry in her voice.
"Haru needs to take her medicine. What should we do? If we catch her and force it, she'll hate it, won't she?"
"Of course she will. The director said she would eat it if we mixed it with the supplement. Try doing it that way."
"Do you think she'll eat it?"
"Well. Let us try, at any rate."
The nutritional supplement they had bought at Mongmong Animal Hospital was sticky, like jam — sticky, yet oily enough that it did not cling in clumps. Yoo Yeonju made small balls from the supplement and the medicine, then rolled them in the supplement once more. That way, she thought, the smell of the medicine would be less noticeable. She ended up with four balls, each the size of a soybean.
That night, Haru's food bowls numbered four: the same three as the day before, plus one containing the medicine balls.
"Do you think she'll eat them?"
"She will."
The couple went to bed holding onto that hope.
The next morning, smiles bloomed on both their faces.
"She ate them."
"She did, didn't she."
They were delighted to see that not only the medicine balls but the food bowls as well were a little emptier than the day before. And then it happened. Peek — Haru poked her head out of the carrier and looked at the couple. They smiled even more broadly at the sight of her. But they did not praise her, for fear it might make her self-conscious.
The day that followed unfolded much like the one before. The only difference was that, while the couple were in their rooms, the sounds from the living room came a little more frequently. Tap-tap-tap. The sound of Haru walking around the living room.
That night, as Jang Pan-ho lay down to those footsteps, he murmured softly.
"That Haru. I hope she settles in soon."
"Don't you? I wish she'd start wandering around comfortably as soon as possible."
The couple drifted off to sleep with the sound of Haru's footsteps as their lullaby, leaving their doors open as they had the night before.
In the deep of night, a small head peeked into the master bedroom. Tap-tap-tap. Haru walked in, each step careful and quiet. After glancing around for a moment, she made her way to the little staircase they had set against the bed. She climbed it and looked at the couple.
She lapped once at Jang Pan-ho's hand. Then she walked back down the steps, and with small, padding footsteps, went to her place.
Not the carrier — the cushion Jang Pan-ho had told her was her bed.