The Sweetest Misunderstanding
Gkamnyangi narrowed his eyes to slits and fixed them on some point along the playground wall. Not that he was actually looking at the wall. Those hazy eyes of his were riding a time machine inside his head, flying straight back into the past.
Gkamnyangi had always been bursting with confidence.
A round face, plump in the cheeks, thick in the jaw.
A terrifying voice that, with a single KYAAAAOOK!, would send any rival cat flattening itself to the ground.
A fierce gaze that, with just the slightest flash of his eyes, would set all four of their legs trembling like aspen leaves and force their heads down low!
Gkamnyangi had feared nothing.
That was why, even when he came face-to-face with the number one himself — Silver Rain — he would round his eyes wide and glare. And then lose. Every single time.
Heh heh. If I so much as lifted my tail with a flourish and let fly, they'd all come swarming.
If he hiked his hips up high, raised that magnificently outstretched tail, and sprayed his pheromones onto a tree or a rock, the nearby ladies would come flocking in a rush.
Cats have an extraordinarily keen sense of smell, and their ability to detect pheromones is outstanding. That is because they possess a second nose dedicated to the task.
Right behind the front teeth are two small openings called the vomeronasal organ, and through it cats take in pheromones and determine exactly whose they are and where that cat lives.
Cats who check who has come and gone along the paths they travel — Gkamnyangi had always assumed they were doing it because they were smitten with his magnificence.
Ahh. Back then I really was… the most popular cat of all…
Gkamnyangi's face, which had been lost in that rapturous recollection, turned fierce in an instant.
His nose seemed to broaden, the space between his brows jutted up, and those hazy pupils sharpened into a piercing glare.
If — if only that hadn't been the case!
He glared as if an enemy had appeared right in front of him — then his gaze dropped.
Down to the place on his flat belly where the fur grew in sparse little tufts.
The sharp light in his eyes faded by degrees. He looked down at his own belly with a pitying gaze. The same gaze he had just turned on Salgu.
If it hadn't been for that, Lady Lara might have gone strolling with me under the moonlight. Ah! That's right. That was it.
It wasn't that I was less popular than that Hoesaegi bastard! I — I… yes. It was because I ended up with a body like this! Yes. That was it!
Gkamnyangi's expression, which had been quietly resenting the neutering surgery that had stolen his precious thing, suddenly brightened. He bumped his two small, insignificant white front paws together with a little kong.
That's right! That guy — that Hoesaegi — back then his ears were definitely standing up pointed!
In the days when Gkamnyangi had circled around Lady Lara, aching to go on a date with her, Hoesaegi's two ears had both been standing up in little peaks.
Which meant he hadn't had his precious thing taken away.
Gkamnyangi — and cats in general — regarded a clipped ear as the mark of having had one's precious thing stolen.
But back then, when Hoesaegi had been close with Lady Lara, his ears were still pointy-round. Meaning his peanuts hadn't been snipped off!
Gkamnyangi, however, had failed to realize something.
That back then he hadn't seen Hoesaegi up close the way he did now — he had been looking from far away.
And that the fur growing densely in front of and behind Hoesaegi's clipped ear had made the ear look pointy-round.
In other words, Gkamnyangi had simply been mistaken all on his own. Whether during those moonlight strolls with Lady Lara or now, Hoesaegi hadn't had his precious peanuts either.
But sometimes a sweet misunderstanding is better than a harsh truth.
Gkamnyangi looked over at Hoesaegi and curled the corners of his mouth. It was the leisurely smile of a victor.
It wasn't because I was less magnificent than that guy!
The reason Lady Lara had made that choice back then — choosing Hoesaegi instead of Gkamnyangi — was because that Hoesaegi still had his precious peanuts.
Yes. That was it. And after that guy got it done too, Lady Nana chose me instead of him. Ah! Those moonlight strolls with Lady Nana were like a dream…
Lady Nana, whom he had met at the welfare center when they went out for therapy volunteer work. In a situation where both of them had lost their precious things, she had chosen him over Hoesaegi.
Heh heh. Meaning I'm more magnificent than that Hoesaegi.
Having arrived at this great realization, Gkamnyangi's expression was utterly radiant. His eyes sparkled, bright and sure.
The Gkamnyangi who, mere moments ago, had been thinking he was sad because his precious peanuts had been snipped off — that Gkamnyangi was no more.
He had beaten that Hoesaegi, whom he had considered a sworn rival for so many long years, and he simply felt good.
Watching Gkamnyangi giggle to himself, Hoesaegi asked,
"Gkamnyangi-ong, you think so too, nyaong? It was good back then, but it's good now too — that's what I mean-ong."
What kind of nonsense is that?
That was what Gkamnyangi wanted to say in response to Hoesaegi's stupid question. But a magnanimous cat had a duty to look after the little ones.
"Ah, well. Something like that."
Leisure brimmed in Gkamnyangi's answering voice.
Watching them, One-eye's remaining eye shone bright as he spoke.
"As expected of the King Boss and the Black Boss, it is. Whether you've got your precious peanuts or not, you're strong, and you're the bosses. I was so furious and so wronged back then, I was."
Hey, I was furious too, you know? But thinking I'm more popular than this guy has put me in such a good mood.
He couldn't say that, though. Not after One-eye had spoken of being wronged.
The senior cat Gkamnyangi tucked those words deep in his chest and said,
"Well, that's how it is. But One-eye — what were you so wronged about?"
That big-faced, broad-headed guy, I mean.
If you've got a big face and a hefty build, you've already got the looks advantage going for you.
"W-well, getting caught was infuriating, and more than anything…"
One-eye trailed off and looked at Jjaek. Jjaek raised a front paw and scratched his head.
"Well, it's all in the past…"
The dogs who had already gathered, along with the two cats, rounded their eyes and stared at the pair of them.
"Jjaek-ong, what's in the past-ong?"
The thing everyone was curious about. Hoesaegi asked it straight out.
"It's nothing."
"It is something! O-our boss lost his precious thing because of me. If it hadn't been for me, even now… sniff!"
One-eye suddenly made a sniffling sound. Tears were welling up.
"Why are you still thinking about that? You and I are together now, and that's enough. Our underlings are all fine too."
"Even so… If I had just run away properly back then, it would've been fine. I'm sorry."
One-eye said that to Jjaek, then turned to the dogs watching them, and to Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi.
"Our Boss Jjaek got caught on purpose for my sake. When I got caught and screamed, he just…"
At One-eye's words, everyone's eyes went round. Their mouths fell open too.
They were stunned by the revelation that Jjaek had gotten caught on purpose.
Hoesaegi was no exception.
He looked at Jjaek, his golden eyes gleaming.
A brief silence settled over them. Then Hoesaegi asked,
"Jjaek-ong, did you get caught together because you were afraid One-eye would be scared-ong?"
"Yes, well. I was worried this guy would get hurt…"
Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi knew that One-eye had always been at Jjaek's side, ever since his eye had started to hurt. And they knew the terror of being caught without knowing why.
That was why the two of them understood, all too well, what an extraordinary thing Jjaek had done.
The look in Hoesaegi's and Gkamnyangi's eyes as they gazed at Jjaek changed.
"Jjaek-ong, you're a boss-ong!"
A true boss, he meant.
"Jjaek, you're amazing!"
Words that came from the heart — Gkamnyangi tossed them out. The giddy feeling from moments ago, of thinking he was far more popular than Hoesaegi, had already gone far, far away.
Jjaek's noble act of risking his life for a subordinate. Before that, popularity was nothing at all.
"That's right-ong. Jjaek was truly magnificent-ong. One-eye-ong, your boss is the best-ong!"
"It's Jjaek, it is! Jjaek is amazing, he is!"
When Sapsaree bounced in place as he spoke, Jamong bounced too, and so did Haru. Ttangkhongi bounced in short, low hops as well, joining in the praise.
"Young Jjaek did a truly remarkable thing, he did."
In the midst of that suddenly warm atmosphere, the playground door burst open.
"Whoa! Are we doing that jumping game today?"
Among the Rascal Trio, the Bull Terrier Kkotnimi came bounding in, his tiny bead-like eyes sparkling.
Behind him, Juhongi and Jageun Hoesaegi came bounding in too.
"Hyung-nims! How do you do?"
"Hehe, hyung-nims, let's play together!"
To the three who came charging into the playground in high spirits, Sapsaree said,
"Little brothers! We were praising Jjaek, we were! Jjaek is amazing, he is!"
The moment Sapsaree spoke, the three rascals went quiet in an instant.
The footsteps that had been charging in wildly grew meek, and they lined up neatly in front of Sapsaree.
Then they bowed their heads with a kubuk.
"Hyung-nim, how do you do!"
"Hyung-nim, we're here."
"Hyung-nim!"
Looking at the three of them, Sapsaree beamed.
"Hehe, you're here, you are? Let's play, let's play!"
Sapsaree was glad the big guys had come.
"But hyung-nim! Jjaek hyung-nim… what happened?"
"Jjaek saved One-eye, he did! He had his Precious Part snipped, he did! He did well, he did!"
The three of them spun in bewildered circles. They couldn't make sense of what Sapsaree was saying.
"S-so Jjaek hyung-nim had his precious thing snipped, and that's… a good thing?"
When the Welsh Corgi Juhongi asked Sapsaree back, the Siberian Husky Jageun Hoesaegi piled on.
"Th-that's impossible! I-it hurt so much, though?"
Remembering how he had rolled around in agony after the surgery to have his precious thing snipped off, Jageun Hoesaegi shuddered from head to tail.
"That's why it's amazing! Right, Sapsaree hyung-nim?"
When Kkotnimi asked, Sapsaree nodded.
"Jjaek is amazing, he is!"
In truth, they didn't know whether it had hurt or not. They had only heard that he had made an enormous decision for his subordinate.
And they had guessed how amazing it was from the looks on Hoesaegi's and Gkamnyangi's faces.
Swept up in the playground's atmosphere, the three rascals came to think of Jjaek as a great cat.
Then, recalling their own neutering surgeries, they each poured out a comment.
"Wow! I really! Hated it so, so much, and it hurt. And I couldn't even spread my legs this high! Tch!"
Juhongi lifted a leg out to the side. As he grumbled in the so-called "peeing" pose, Jageun Hoesaegi scoffed at him.
"Hey, whether you lift your leg or not, it's the same for you, you know? If you're gonna lift a leg, lift it like me!"
Jageun Hoesaegi spread a leg out wide to the side. The leg swept right over the top of the short-statured Juhongi. Instantly, Juhongi's face flushed red and purple. His snout, which had been white, turned the same orange as the rest of him, and he twitched his mouth and shouted,
"Hmph! Says the drama queen."
Then he said, loud enough for everyone to hear,
"Hyung-nims! Do you know how much of a drama queen this guy is?"
Mm-hmm. We know.
Not just the dogs — Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi nodded their heads vigorously too.
Because they remembered when Jageun Hoesaegi had competed with the Beagle Mungchi over who was in more pain.
Jageun Hoesaegi had had a crack in his leg, and Mungchi had broken his, had pins put in, and been hospitalized.
"B-back then, Hoesaegi hyung-nim… hap!"
Jageun Hoesaegi had been about to protest how unfair it was, but after meeting Hoesaegi's flashing eyes, he clamped his mouth shut as if he'd had a seizure. Still feeling wronged, though, he hung his head and went on.
"I-I was really in pain then! I was in so much pain that my Precious Part disappeared… so it hurt so much…"
At Jageun Hoesaegi's words, Hoesaegi tilted his head.
"Jageun Hoesaegi-ong, it wasn't that it hurt because your Precious Part was gone-ong? It was that your Precious Part was gone because you were in pain-ong?"
"Yeees…"
Not understanding what that meant at all, Hoesaegi tilted his head again, right then left.
The rest of the animals were just as lost. Everyone had woken up to find their Precious Part gone, and it had hurt. But it had disappeared because they were in pain?!
Then Kkotnimi dashed off somewhere. He came back with a small ball in his mouth. Small, they said — but it was a fairly large ball.
He set it down in front of the friends gathered in a circle and said,
"This guy's Precious Part was this big!"
In that instant, every animal in the playground had their eyes go — and this is no exaggeration — as big as the ball sitting in front of them.
Then thud, thud, flop. The sound of bodies collapsing to the ground.
Hoesaegi, too, flopped down and said to Jageun Hoesaegi,
"Jageun Hoesaegi-ong! You win-ong!"
You are absolutely not Little Grey-ong.
But those words didn't quite make it out of his mouth.
Because if they did, his own name might change.
That cannot happen-ong! It's the precious name Hyung-nim gave me-ong!
Hoesaegi kept his mouth tightly shut and stared at Jageun Hoesaegi.
Then Jageun Hoesaegi's heart began to pound.
H-Hoesaegi hyung-nim is telling me with his eyes that he'll scold me if I don't talk!
Gulp. Having experienced firsthand just how formidable Hoesaegi's persistence was, Jageun Hoesaegi swallowed, then opened his mouth and began to stammer.
"S-so, you see. It hurt so much here. But I hid it. Because these guys were so jealous!"