Welcome to Squirrel Town
Shake, shake, shake.
The squirrels weren't the least bit rattled by the swaying. If anything, they were beaming.
"Hehehe, this is the best."
"Heehee, there'll be trees, right?"
"They said there would. And we can make burrows, too."
"Heeheehee, I'm gonna dig and dig and stash a whole mountain of this stuff!"
"Me too!"
The squirrels grinned as they gazed at the enormous tub heaped high with acorns, chestnuts, and other food — faces like captains who'd just come home with a full hold.
"Hehe, I'm taking this with me too!"
One squirrel clutched a scrap of cloth tight in its little forepaws. The fabric was soft, plump, and wonderfully light.
"Me too! I'm taking this. I'm gonna sleep on it."
"Me too. I love it so much!"
The squirrel who chimed in rubbed the cloth all over its face, nuzzling into the softness.
Their eyes smiled, their mouths smiled, their whole bodies smiled. They were just that happy.
Then one of them spoke up.
"I want to take this, too."
It pointed at the wide blanket they were sitting on. Its friends' eyes went round.
"Y-yeah. That'd be so nice. It's so warm!"
"Heeheehee, we could all dive right in!"
"Right! It's warmer when we sleep together!"
"Yeah, yeah! Together — all of us together!"
Ever since the wildfire had swept through, the squirrels had survived by huddling close. They had lived as a group. They had hurt together, gone hungry together, and watched friends take their last breaths together.
They had been together the whole way.
And so the squirrels had come to love together.
A leisurely, comfortable life alone in a burrow was nice, sure — but still, together…
"It's so big, though. How do we take it?"
One squirrel said, looking worried. The squirrel beside it gave a dismissive little puff and stared at it like it was an idiot.
"Dummy! Just rip it up with our teeth and take the pieces."
Squirrels have strong teeth. Tearing a blanket wouldn't be hard at all.
"Oh! That's right, huh? Hehehe."
The squirrel stacked its two little paws and smiled so hard its eyes disappeared. It was just that happy.
Then a squirrel beside it asked,
"But if we tear it up and take it, it'll end up like this."
In its forepaws were a few small scraps of cloth.
"If you lay them out like this…"
It spread the scraps on the floor. They didn't become one blanket. They just sat there, separate, each piece going its own way.
"Aww! That's not it!"
The squirrel who'd first wanted to take the blanket scrunched up its face.
And just like that, the happy mood turned gloomy in an instant. Everyone had wanted that blanket so badly — to be together on that cozy blanket, to lie down and sleep together under that plump, warm blanket.
Yom-yom-i felt the same as its friends. No — because it had struggled so desperately for these friends, it might have wanted to be together even more than they did.
Yom-yom-i stuck out its lip in the same pout as the others. But only for a moment. Then its eyes lit up.
Yom-yom-i's dark little eyes sparkled as it turned to its friends.
"Guys, we do it like this."
And with that, it dove straight under the blanket.
The others followed at once. Not a single one asked why.
Once everyone had slipped underneath, Yom-yom-i said,
"Lift your paws."
Whoosh! The blanket rose.
"Now we just walk like this."
If they all put their strength together, they could carry it. The squirrels cried out.
"Waaah! This'll work!"
"Hehehe, Yom-yom-i is the best!"
The squirrels chorused in a chittering wave. Yom-yom-i was the best.
Yom-yom-i's shoulders puffed up with pride as it answered.
"Who am I? I'm Yom-yom-i!"
Yom-yom-i, the one who got all the affection from the Hyungnims' Hyungnim!
The squirrels crouched under the blanket, waiting for the moment they would stand up and carry it. And then the moment came.
The swaying floor went still.
Yom-yom-i sprang up and called to its friends.
"Friends! Get up! And lift your paws!"
Whoosh! The blanket rose. And at the same time, with a click, came the voice of the Hyungnims' Hyungnim they loved so much.
"Kids, we're here."
The squirrels chorused in a frenzy of chitters, bouncing up and down.
Lee Jun peered into the carrier with a puzzled look.
"I can hear them, but where are they?"
He looked more closely, and the blanket was heaving. Lee Jun grinned.
"You little rascals, already practicing going into a burrow?"
"No. We're taking this. This plump, velvety thing."
"We're taking it!"
Yom-yom-i declared proudly, and the others echoed it like a chorus.
"What? This blanket?"
"Yes! Hehehe."
Yom-yom-i answered with a huge smile. Lee Jun couldn't see its face under the blanket, but he could guess. Just from the voice, I can tell how happy they are.
Even as Lee Jun smiled, the blanket kept shaking. The squirrels standing underneath must have been hopping around. His smile deepened.
"But kids, what are you going to do with it once you take it?"
"We're going to sleep together!"
Yom-yom-i's voice was full of conviction. These little guys. He found it so endearing, the way they treasured one another.
"Who am I? I'm the Hyungnims' Hyungnim. I know exactly what's in your hearts. Don't you worry — let's go."
The squirrels' heads tilted this way and that. But their mouths curled up at the corners all the same. And their hearts went thump-thump-thump. Just hearing the Hyungnims' Hyungnim say that filled them with a strange, swelling anticipation.
The squirrels were swaying again — much more strongly than before. But they felt better and better. The scent drifting in through their noses was incredible. It was a smell the squirrels loved more than anything. The smell of the mountain. The lush, green scent from before the wildfire came pouring in.
"Th-that's the smell. Heehee, it's the smell of trees!"
"Leaf smell, too. Soft, crunchy leaves."
"Ehehehe, this is so exciting."
The squirrels under the blanket poked their little heads out, then peered through the holes dotted along the carrier.
And there it was. Dense trees. A thick carpet of fallen leaves. Patches of moss here and there.
Their dark eyes grew rounder and rounder… and then the squirrels let out a cheer.
"Woooooow!!"
"Wow wow wow!"
"H-home!"
They all pressed their faces against the carrier. From the outside, their faces would have looked completely squashed.
"That's right. Home."
"Wow, wow, it's home."
"Hehehe, it's home. Trees, hehe."
The squirrels were so delighted that Lee Jun's smile grew even warmer.
"It'll be missing a lot compared to your old forest, but once you settle in, you'll be able to live well enough."
But his words didn't reach them. The squirrels were already completely lost in the forest filling their eyes and noses.
Soon they came tumbling out of the carrier.
"Wow wow wow!"
"Ehee, eheeheehee."
The overjoyed squirrels bounced and bounded about.
"Heehee, trees. Trees. I'm gonna climb a tree."
"I-I'm gonna go over there. Hehe, where should I dig a burrow?"
The squirrels who'd been racing around started preparing for winter. It was cold now, so it was time to get ready for hibernation. They bustled about industriously.
"There's a hollow here!"
One squirrel called out. Then another, up in a tree, called too.
"Th-there's one here too. Hehehe, it's so soft."
"Heehee, there's one here too. Now we need to bring food."
As the squirrels each rejoiced over their new nesting spots, Yom-yom-i, standing beside Lee Jun, spoke up.
"Hyungnims' Hyungnim, thank you. Hehehe."
For finding us a home. Yom-yom-i left the rest unsaid, but Lee Jun understood. He smiled warmly at the little squirrel.
"You shouldn't be this happy with just this."
Bob, bob, bob. Lee Jun scooped up Yom-yom-i, whose tiny head was darting back and forth trying to figure out what that meant, and laughed.
"You little rascal, thinking all kinds of things with that tiny head. Come on."
Even cradled in Lee Jun's arms, Yom-yom-i kept bobbing its head. And a moment later…
"Wow wow wow wow wow!"
Yom-yom-i couldn't stop gasping.
"W-what is this? Where is this?"
"Your home."
At that simple answer, Yom-yom-i's breathing went ragged. It was just that stunned, and just that happy.
Pat-pat-pat-pat-pat. Yom-yom-i scrambled down from Lee Jun's hand to the ground. Then, just as fast — scurry-scurry-scurry — it climbed. More precisely, it climbed the squirrel tower built of logs.
Thirty little holes had been carved into it, and a large opening had been hollowed out below. Each hole was heaped with straw for bedding, and on top of that, a scrap of cloth — soft, warm, and plump — had been gently laid.
"Hehehe."
Yom-yom-i couldn't stop smiling. Ever since meeting the Hyungnims' Hyungnim, it felt like the laughter had never stopped.
Then, from somewhere, a rich, fresh scent came drifting. Yom-yom-i sniffed and sniffed, its mouth working. It had just stuffed itself with delicious food, but the smell of more delicious food made its mouth water all over again. Probably because it needed to eat a lot before hibernating.
Yom-yom-i followed the scent.
"Over there?"
It was coming from the far end of the cozy nest. Yom-yom-i froze in surprise.
"Wow wow wow!"
Another gasp burst out.
"Th-there's so much food."
Inside a hole next to the sleeping spot, acorns, walnuts, peanuts, chestnuts, pine nuts, grains, and more were piled high. And there was another hole — probably meant as a bathroom for when the squirrels were hibernating.
Last winter they had dug several holes in the ground to live in, and having several holes here too, just like then, was wonderful. They usually spent winter in burrows dug in the earth, but when that wasn't possible, they lived in tree hollows. No — this was so much better than a house dug underground.
"Ehe, ehehehe."
Yom-yom-i just couldn't stop laughing. Beaming from ear to ear, it wandered around the wooden structure. Every hole opened onto the same kind of cozy space it had seen first. Enough rooms for every friend to have a hole of their own, with space left over.
Last of all, Yom-yom-i went to look at the big opening.
"Wow wow wow!"
It bounced up and down.
"Ehe, ehehe~ It'd be so nice to sleep here with all my friends!"
A big blanket, and lots of little holes. There was probably a mountain of food in each of those holes, too.
Having finished touring Squirrel Town, Yom-yom-i came back to Lee Jun, beaming, hehehehe.
"Well? Do you like it?"
Yom-yom-i nodded so fast it looked like a toy with the switch flipped on.
"You little rascal. I'm glad you like it. This is your home for a while now. So settle in and make yourselves comfortable."
"Hehe, our home…"
Yom-yom-i, already up on Lee Jun's palm, pressed its little paws together and rubbed them, looking up at him.
"O-our home? Our home?"
"That's right."
Then Yom-yom-i bellowed at the top of its lungs.
"Guys, this is our home! Come see!"
Scritch-scritch, scritch-scritch. The squirrels streamed toward Squirrel Town in perfect order. And they reacted just as Yom-yom-i had.
"Hyungnims' Hyungnim! Thank you."
Chitter-chitter-chitter. Chitter-chitter-chitter-chitter! Their ringing voices echoed through the forest.
"That's right. Live well and stay healthy. Later, when the mountain where your home used to be looks like this, I'll take you back there."
"Hyungnims' Hyungnim! Thank you."
Yom-yom-i nuzzled its face against Lee Jun as it said goodbye.
Thank you for making us not hurt anymore. Thank you for making our friends smile again. Thank you for making sure we didn't lose any more friends. We're so happy we get to spend winter together with our friends, Hyungnims' Hyungnim.
So much meaning was packed into Yom-yom-i's short "thank you."
"Alright, then rest now. Ah, Yom-yom-i, you know, right? If you eat too much all at once, it'll hurt."
Meaning that with its gallbladder removed, overeating could cause indigestion.
"…Yes!"
A faint shadow passed over Yom-yom-i's face, which until now had been shining like the midday sun. But then it went hehehe again. Eating a little less was nothing — compared to starving and being in pain.
"Hehehe, Hyungnims' Hyungnim, go carefully!"
"Come again!"
"Hyungnims' Hyungnim, we love it so, so much! Thank you."
Lee Jun came down the mountain, seen off by the small, adorable squirrels. He looked back and waved several times, and the squirrels kept waving their little paws until he was out of sight.
When the squirrels had almost disappeared from view, Lee Jun called out.
"I'll come again!"
In that instant — chitter-chitter-chitter-chitter-chitter! The squirrels' ringing voices came back. Voices shouting that he had to come, that he absolutely had to come.
Lee Jun smiled softly, thinking of Yom-yom-i and the squirrels he was so fond of. These little guys. They'll like it even more when they go back to their original forest, won't they?
Hoping that day would come soon, Lee Jun set off toward Ko Pan-seok Animal Hospital — to go thank Veterinarian Go Panseok, who had prepared a home for the squirrels.