May This Laughter Last

The little one resting in Lee Jun's palm was, even among wild animals, the frailest of the frail.

If he so much as let out a sigh, this sharp-eyed creature would surely tremble with anxiety. And if that happened, its friends would grow anxious too.

That wouldn't do.

Lee Jun knew all too well how vital an animal's state of mind was to its recovery. He forced the sigh that had been trying to escape back down his throat.

He raised his voice a little.

"You've been through so much, Yom-yom-i. Your paws must hurt badly, huh?"

The moment he mentioned the wounds everyone already knew about, Yom-yom-i shook his head rapidly from side to side.

"No, sir! They don't hurt at all!"

Even with a body that must have been exhausted from roaming in search of food for his friends, Yom-yom-i still shook his head no.

Lee Jun gazed at the little squirrel with warm eyes and stroked his head and back.

"That's right. Our Yom-yom-i is so brave."

His body must have felt as heavy as lead, must have ached all over — and still he had gone out looking for food. How admirable that was. His paw pads and legs must have stung and burned — and still he had walked on, stout and uncomplaining. How it wrung the heart.

The three companions seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"That's right-ong. Yom-yom-i is a brave friend-ong. Hurt as he was, he still went looking for food-ong."

"Mm-hmm. What an amazing friend. Doesn't even let out a whimper."

"Yom-yom-i is brave, yes he is! He talked right up to the hyungnims, he did! Didn't even run away!"

"He is amazing, isn't he? But Yom-yom-i, I think you're going to have to be a little braver still. If you all want to go to Mongmong Animal Hospital, you'll need to get into bags like this. Do you think you can bear it?"

He was still turning over how to explain a travel kennel in terms these tiny creatures could understand when the three stepped in.

They would be going into something like a big burrow to get to Mongmong Animal Hospital, they said, and that burrow-thing would rock and sway. But there was nothing to worry about.

A simple, crystal-clear explanation.

Lee Jun looked at the three of them, thinking, They're better at this than I am, when—

"Yes, sir!"

Yom-yom-i answered in a ringing voice once more, then turned to the squirrels.

"Friends! Is that all right?"

Chip-chip-chip-chip-chip!

The squirrels lying or sitting on the blanket answered in bright little voices.

"Thank you, you guys. But someone as big as me will have to come along too. Is that all right?"

"Yes, sir!"

There was not a trace of fear or doubt on Yom-yom-i's face as he answered.

It struck Lee Jun all over again: once these little ones decided to trust you, they held onto that trust until the very end.

He picked up his phone at once. But the call wouldn't connect.

So that's why they told me to use the walkie-talkie.

He reached Go Gi-jin on the radio he'd brought with him.

Lee Jun estimated the weight of the squirrel in his palm.

Around a hundred grams, give or take? Looking at his frame, he used to weigh more than this...

A bitter expression crossed his face for a moment. Then he swept his gaze over the rest of the squirrels. None of them looked heavier than Yom-yom-i.

The biggest of them, at most, would be about Yom-yom-i's size.

"Most of them look to be around a hundred grams. There are twenty-two of them, so three medium kennels should be plenty. Two would probably work, but if they're going to lie down comfortably, three would be better."

"Ah, and Gi-jin."

"When you come, bring a shovel too."

The voice in Go Gi-jin's reply had sunk.

He had understood at once why Lee Jun wanted a shovel.

After signing off, Lee Jun went straight back to treatment.

To the squirrels who could still swallow, he gave water. I'd rather put fluids in through a vein, but that could cause problems during transport. For now, subcutaneous will have to do. To the ones who were struggling even to drink, he administered subcutaneous fluids.

Here, too, Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree did their part.

"Friends, I tell ya! If you get Kongkong, it doesn't hurt!"

"That's right! Kongkong is really, really good."

"That's right-ong. I got Kongkong too, and it brought me back-ong."

"Same here."

When even Gkamnyangi, following Hoesaegi, said he had received the drip and lived, the squirrels were deeply grateful.

"Thank you. Hyungnims' Hyungnim!"

Thanks to the three of them, Lee Jun was able to slip the fluids into the thin, delicate scruffs of the squirrels' necks.

The response was immediate.

As the faces of the squirrels who had received the fluids grew easy and calm, Yom-yom-i cried out.

"Hyungnims' Hyungnim~~! Th-thank you. My friends are smiling like this! They're not even making kii~ kii sounds!"

Flushed with excitement, Yom-yom-i beamed a wide grin up at Lee Jun.

This little guy. He's making the exact same face they are.

The squirrels who had been grimacing and whimpering before the fluids now had smoothed-out faces, the corners of their mouths lifted.

He had given them painkillers along with the fluids.

Here, too, Lee Jun was putting into practice the quality of life he was always emphasizing.

Nobody likes being in pain.

He was checking to make sure he hadn't missed anyone when a cry reached him from somewhere.

Wawak! Wuwawak!

A bizarre, unearthly wail.

"This sound...?"

It wasn't human. A wild boar, maybe? Lee Jun tensed for an instant.

Then it came to him.

Ah. A water deer?

That famously startling, loud, raucous cry of a water deer — anyone hearing it for the first time jumped out of their skin.

That was it. No question.

He was about to get to his feet with that thought when the squirrels were already trembling violently, bustling into motion. Those who could still move scrambled to hide under ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the blanket they had been lying on. Some of them burrowed into Hoesaegi's long fur and vanished.

Actions driven by pure instinct.

Gkamnyangi was already up on a high rock, surveying the surroundings, and Hoesaegi was about to dash out after him. In truth, he had been ready to run even before Gkamnyangi.

But with squirrels tunneling into his body, Hoesaegi stayed right where he was, crouched low.

His body couldn't move — but his eyes were razor-sharp.

Kyaooo!

Hoesaegi growled, openly broadcasting warning and the will to attack.

Lee Jun spoke to him.

"Easy, friend. Friend."

At Lee Jun's words, Hoesaegi stopped growling at once.

"A friend-ong?"

"That's right."

"I've never heard a sound like that uweee before-ong."

Hoesaegi tilted his head, mimicking the water deer's cry, and from atop the rock Gkamnyangi spoke.

"I've never heard it either. Somang-i's friends went kkuo-kkuo."

"The cow friends went eummeohoong~ ong."

Hoesaegi added that, then went on.

"But he seems like a really big friend-ong."

"That's right! A huge, huge friend..."

Gkamnyangi tilted his head, then his eyes lit up.

"Hyungnim! It's Taesan's friend! The cow-friends' friend!"

"That's right-ong, the pointy friend-ong."

"Yeah! The pointy friend that says meheheho!"

At the mention of a goral, Lee Jun smiled. Inwardly, he was a little impressed.

"Close, but not quite. And you guys — we're here, so you don't have to tremble."

He was still soothing the shivering squirrels when the water deer abruptly stepped into view.

The cats started. The squirrels were already hidden — under the blanket, in Hoesaegi's fur, or behind Lee Jun.

"Uh-uh-uh! Hyungnim-ong, that friend has a pointy right here-ong. But he's hurting-ong."

"Ugh! He's got pointies in his mouth, but his leg hurts."

The cats worried over the water deer, whose great canine tusks jutted sharply down from beneath its muzzle.

The water deer kept darting glances toward Lee Jun's group while snatching up the grain, fruit, and seeds scattered on the ground and gobbling them in a desperate hurry.

A creature that lived on grass and tree roots, it ate the fruit and seeds with obvious relish, as if it were starving.

It showed no sign of wanting to run.

Lee Jun spoke to it.

"Your leg hurts a lot, doesn't it?"

The water deer went on eating, utterly absorbed. But its ears flicked and twitched, so it seemed the words were reaching it.

Lee Jun tried again.

"Eat slowly. You'll make yourself sick."

The same response as before.

This time Hoesaegi stepped in.

"That's right-ong. Eat slowly-ong. But Pointy-ong. Does your leg hurt-ong?"

The water deer slowly lifted its head, looked at Hoesaegi, and answered.

"It hurts, wak."

"Our hyungnim will make it so you don't hurt. Pointy."

When Gkamnyangi chimed in, the water deer tilted its head.

Then it asked back.

"It won't hurt, wak?"

Watching a water deer that did not tremble even with the cats and himself right there, Lee Jun thought, It must know instinctively that we're not a threat. Even with me here. Or maybe it's in too much pain, and too hungry, to even think that far.

He was studying the water deer with that in mind when Hoesaegi spoke to him.

"Hyungnim-ong. Give Pointy-friend the Kongkong too-ong."

"That's right. Let's take this friend to Mongmong Animal Hospital too."

Ah — no, you guys, we can't take every last one of them. He'll have plenty of friends of his own.

And among those friends, there would be many who were hurting too.

But he couldn't just leave a creature with an injured leg either.

Doesn't look like a tibia fracture — more like a fissure.

If the shinbone wasn't broken, only cracked, a cast and rehab would be enough for it to run again without trouble. If it was broken, a fixation surgery would do it.

Either way, the water deer's quality of life would improve beyond any comparison with now.

In the wild, health was survival. Directly, inescapably.

Knowing that — how could he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠walk away?

He was still caught in the dilemma when the water deer spoke to him.

"You can make it not hurt, wak?"

Watching the cats talk to Lee Jun, it seemed to have figured out that he was the one who made the hurting stop.

Hope welled, bright and trembling, in the water deer's dark eyes as it looked at him.

There was only one thing Lee Jun could say to a creature like that.

"Thank you, wak. My friends are hurting, wak."

Just as I thought.

Lee Jun found himself at a loss.

He had promised to heal the one in front of him, so he would take it and treat it.

But what about its friends?

He did not want to look away from hurting animals and pretend he hadn't seen. But reality was stacked with too many constraints for that.

The biggest was space — there simply wasn't any. The other was that there weren't enough veterinarians to treat them.

Our staff are already overloaded as it is... Ah. Should I contact Woori Hamkke?

That thought was still turning over when, in the distance, Sapsaree came running into view. Which meant Go Gi-jin was pounding along behind him.

In that instant, the water deer gathered itself to flee. Lee Jun spoke quickly.

"It's all right. He's our friend."

"That's right-ong. It's Sapsaree-ong!"

"Sapsaree is a good boy."

The water deer, still hunched, its neck drawn in, asked,

"A friend, wak?"

"That's right. So just relax."

At Lee Jun's words, the water deer settled.

This little guy... how much must it hurt, how hungry must he be...

Hurting enough, it meant, to suppress the instinct to run.

Lee Jun spoke to it.

"Hang on just a moment. Then it'll hurt less."

He gave the water deer a painkiller. Like the squirrels, it seemed to have already decided to trust him, and yielded its body easily.

After the injection, Lee Jun said,

"Good boy."

It was the water deer's first shot, and like the squirrels, it responded fast.

"Wak! Ah, it's stopping hurting, wak."

The water deer gave a small wok-wok of laughter, delighted, and in that moment Sapsaree came running from far off, calling out.

"Hyungnim! Strong Hyungnim is coming~!"

Then Go Gi-jin came thundering up — thud, thud, thud — but the water deer and the squirrels stayed perfectly calm.

They had already experienced the miracle Lee Jun had worked for them.

A moment later Go Gi-jin appeared in front of them, and his face tightened.

It was the same expression Lee Jun had worn when he first looked at the squirrels. Gi-jin drew a great breath, swallowed, and spoke.

"Aigoo, you little ones. You're somethin' else. Really somethin'. You did real good."

Remarkable — for still being alive. That was what he meant.

Go Gi-jin was praising the lives that had survived.

"But hyungnim. What're we gonna do with this fella?"

He looked back and forth between the travel kennels in his hands and the water deer, and went on.

"He ain't fittin' in this one here."

He meant the water deer.

"That's why I'm stuck. It won't be just this one."

Gi-jin thought for a moment, then opened his mouth.

"Reckon so, huh? Can't take all of 'em with us, can we? Then hyungnim, let's leave these ones with my Pa."

"...... Director Go?"

"Yes. Pa treats the gorals, don't he? Them and these're pretty much the same."

"Would that be all right, though? He's already so busy."

"It'll be fine. When he heard we were comin' this way, he said to call anytime if we needed anything. Can't get a signal here, so I'll phone him once we're over yonder."

"Ah, right. Let's get these little ones in first."

Lee Jun opened the kennels Gi-jin had brought. And then he marveled.

"Wow! You laid blankets in?"

Three layers, even.

"This rascal here's the one to thank."

Gi-jin stroked Sapsaree.

"Hehehe, the friends love this, they do!"

"This little fella Sapsaree went and put the blankets in with his mouth, he did."

"And you, catching on from that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— that's impressive too."

Gi-jin gave a wry smile and stood up.

"We oughta bury 'em, yeah?"

"Yeah. Let's bury them."

The conversation with the squirrels had already finished before Gi-jin arrived.

"They'll want to watch too."

"Reckon so."

The two of them moved the kennels — with all the squirrels inside — to a spot where the little ones could see clearly what they were about to do.

The squirrels watched Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin lay their friends in the earth.

Some murmured goodbye. Some sobbed. Some held their crying in.

In all their different ways, the squirrels saw their friends off.

After they had carefully filled the pit with soil, Gi-jin brought a fairly large rock from nearby ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and set it over the top.

The squirrels looked at the two of them with grateful eyes.

And then, all together, they cried out.

"Hyungnims' Hyungnims! Thank you!"

Of course, to Go Gi-jin it would have sounded like nothing but chip-chip-chip-chip.

"All right. Let's go."

Lee Jun carried a kennel in each hand. Gi-jin carried a kennel in one and the water deer in the other, and they started down.

Beside them, Sapsaree, Hoesaegi, and Gkamnyangi trotted along, rumps swaying with every step.

They were giddy with the thought that their hurting friends wouldn't hurt anymore.

Before long the squirrels were calling out along with them. As if they were singing, the animals cried out hope.

Listening to that song-like harmony, Lee Jun made a wish.

Please... let me heal every last one of these children...

And in his praying ears, a bright, cheerful voice rang out as if it were singing — chilok-rol-rol.

It was Yom-yom-i's voice.

In that instant, Lee Jun drew a deep breath.

This time, please...

May that little one's laughter last a long, long time.