Click! You're Gorgeous
"One-eye, you..."
Lee Jun had been about to ask whether Manager Jang had dressed him up too, but the words died in his throat. What came walking in looked like a little girl, bubbly yellow hair tied up in pigtails.
It was Jjaek.
His eyes slashed upward at a fierce angle, and his face was mapped with what looked like knife scars—no, claw marks. One glance was all it took to think, Yeah. This one has a temper. That was Jjaek's face. And yet, with every tiny, measured step, the yellow tufts of fur—no, yellow hair—tied off in pigtails bounced and dangled. The details were exquisite. At the base of each pigtail hung a red heart bigger than his own paw.
A costume that clashed with that face in every possible way. A laugh burst straight out of Lee Jun.
"Pfft!"
Kwak Suho was no better.
"Ahahaha—oh my god, this kid... I'm dying. It does not match that face. But the fact that it weirdly kind of works makes it even funnier!"
"That's exactly what I was going to say. Hahahaha."
The two of them threw their heads back and roared, and Jjaek laughed too.
"Eheheheh."
That only made them laugh harder.
"Ah, that's devastatingly cute. So cute. It really doesn't suit him, so why is it cute?"
"And those pigtails bouncing every time he moves? Manager Jang, where on earth did she even find this stuff?"
While the two of them were cracking up over Jjaek, Hoesaegi tilted his head.
"His face is even smaller than mine-ong. And he's not wearing a vest-ong."
"Y-yeah. Super, super small. But the hyungnims are laughing."
There was an edge of alarm in both Hoesaegi's voice and Gkamnyangi's. The creeping dread that Jjaek might actually look cooler than they did.
"Heehee, that's why they're laughing, dayo. We went 'whoa,' dayo! We're the cool ones, dayo!"
Sapsaree's explanation was simple and airtight. The two cats' front paws smacked together with a little thup.
"S-so that's what it was-ong!"
"Ohh. Sapsaree, you're amazing."
"That's right-ong. Sapsaree is amazing-ong."
Sapsaree grinned at the praise, wearing the kind of face that would have made Bokshil the poodle laugh and call him a total goof if she had seen it.
Be that as it may, Jjaek was in an excellent mood. Hehe. Woof Hyungnim laughed when he looked at me! His heart went pit-a-pat, and he broke into a wide, delighted grin.
"Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, Sapsaree, Jjaek, One-eye! You're all so cute. And so cool. All right, kids—go on up to the playground and play as much as you want."
Not a single name was left out. All five mouths curled up at the corners.
A jingling trot, a clattering dash, a scramble, a dainty step, a toddle. Each in their own gait, they headed up to the 2nd Floor Cat Playground—where, as it happened, Kkotnimi and Donggeuli were already waiting. The other two of the Rascal Trio were downstairs playing with the dogs; Kkotnimi had come up to the second floor specifically to be with Donggeuli.
Both of their eyes went huge. Their mouths dropped open at the same time.
"Wow! Wow wow wow! Oppas!"
Donggeuli gathered her two impossibly tiny front paws and gave them a Paw Clap.
"S-so, so cool! Heeheehee, Oppas! You look amazing!"
Her round eyes sparkled as she gazed up at the five of them. Kkotnimi's eyes were doing the same thing—those tiny triangular eyes shining, bright and earnest, as he stared. The difference was that Donggeuli's little body bounced up and down while she clapped, whereas Kkotnimi had all four legs planted hard against the floor.
Not that he looked like a rock, or a statue. The muscles wrapping his whole body surged and receded, surged and receded. His snorting grew fierce. That was how excited he was.
Donggeuli bouncing for sheer joy. Kkotnimi wearing the exact same expression—and standing stock-still, like a stone guardian.
Watching the two of them, Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi let their mouths curl into matching grins. Then, from the playground entrance, they took off at the same time.
The rainbow tassels on Hoesaegi's vest streamed in the wind. He looked like a majestic lion galloping across the savanna, mane flying—except it didn't match the face at all. Not that it mattered. It was too cute.
And if they were being honest, Gkamnyangi had him beat on cute. Every stride set them fluttering: the huge, glittering petals encircling his face flapped and rippled. The faster Gkamnyangi went, the faster the sunflower petals streamed forward and whipped back. Flap-flap-flap-fla—
It would have been even funnier from the front, but the view from behind was plenty ridiculous on its own. That, however, was strictly Lee Jun and Kwak Suho's opinion. Donggeuli and Kkotnimi—and Jjaek and One-eye besides—wore looks of pure rapture. The cats were spellbound by the glittering tassels and petals; Kkotnimi was lost in awe at the unrestrained sprint itself.
Whether they knew they were being watched or not, the two cats—tassels streaming—took flight in an instant.
Whoosh!
A burst of color fluttered up and up, tassels dancing. Then the tassels gave a little shiver: the cats had landed on the cat tree. But they weren't done. They launched again. The tassels fluttered, settled, and then another leap, another landing. Two or three jumps later, Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi were seated at the very top of the cat tree.
Three cats paw-clapped so fast their front paws blurred. And Kkotnimi—who had been so still he could have been mistaken for a dog-shaped sculpture—drove all four legs off the floor at once.
THUMP—!
He landed, then bounced again. THUMP, thump-thump-thump. Unable to contain himself, Kkotnimi sprang and sprang, then scrambled toward Sapsaree, who was already at the cat tree, bouncing in place in front of it.
"Oppa! I-I wanna go too."
Donggeuli hop-hop-hopped after him. Jjaek and One-eye came running right behind. Every time Jjaek leaped, the yellow tufts of hair fluttered sideways.
"I mean... Jun, what did I just watch?"
"Them jumping?"
Kwak Suho shook his head at Lee Jun's answer.
"You really haven't got a shred of aesthetic sense in you. You watch a flight that gorgeous, that beautiful, and that's all you have to say? My mistake for asking. I should've asked Gijin. That guy's got some actual feeling in him."
He shot Lee Jun a look that said, How are you two even the same kind of veterinarian? Then his gaze drifted back to the animals—specifically to Donggeuli and Kkotnimi, who were still staring up at Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi, and to Jjaek and One-eye in their adorable little wigs.
"Looks like they loved it as much as we did."
"Yeah. They loved it. And I think they're a little envious, too."
"Of what? The outfits Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi are wearing? The hats?"
"That'd be it. Animals have always loved anything bigger than they are. And those two put on a pretty spectacular jump."
"I was envious too, honestly. You could feel the freedom in it."
"That's exactly it."
Lee Jun's voice jumped so suddenly that Kwak Suho startled.
"What is?"
In truth, Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree had asked him to call Kwak Suho over—they wanted to film a video for the dogs raised for meat. Unable to tell that part, Lee Jun offered a truth with the subject left out.
"The freedom. We're filming this for the freedom of the dogs raised for meat."
"Right. How badly must those kids want to run? How badly must they want to eat something that actually tastes good?"
Lee Jun let out a short breath before he answered. It was a wry, tired sound.
"Would those kids even know what that is?"
"True enough, I guess. You'd have to have tasted something good before you'd know to want it. You'd have to know what walking is—what a walk even is—before you'd want to run and play."
"Exactly."
"All right, Jun. Let's buy the land. Let's buy land and give those kids their freedom."
"Yeah."
"...There's going to be a lot of them, though, isn't there?"
"I read somewhere it's over five hundred thousand."
Kwak Suho's eyes went wide.
"That many?"
"There's data putting it over seven hundred thousand, too. And I promise you it's more than that. There are so many who've never even been counted."
"Aigoo... when are we ever going to save that many kids?"
"There are a lot of people who think the way we do. They're already out there doing rescue work."
"That's true, but..."
"They've said they'll start punishing unauthorized slaughter, so things should get better little by little."
"Hah. Yeah. That's something, at least. Just you wait, you bastards. I'll report every single one I see."
Lee Jun laughed and picked it up.
"Manager Jang said the same thing. Anyway, be careful. Don't go alone."
"She said that too?"
"She said she'll go around with her friends. And for the record, our Manager Jang graduated from animal science."
"Then her friends must be a pretty hardcore bunch."
"They are."
The conversation got no further than that.
Ae-o-hong!
Nyaaaaoook!
Hoesaegi's and Gkamnyangi's cries rang out sharp across the playground.
"Cool Hyungnim-ong, click me-ong."
"That's right. We have to get lots and lots of paper."
"Ah, sorry, sorry. Cool Hyungnim's going to click you now."
"Me too, click me too, dayo!"
Sapsaree bounced in place as he shouted, and Donggeuli tilted her head. Then she asked Kkotnimi,
"Oppa!"
"Huh?"
"What's a click?"
What was it, anyway? What was this "click" that those gorgeous hyungnims were shouting about?
Kkotnimi rolled his tiny eyes, thinking it over—and that was when all three of them answered at once.
"It's being gorgeous-ong."
"It means you get lots and lots of paper."
"Hehe, it's a click, dayo! I'm gorgeous, dayo."
At their answers, Donggeuli lit up and plastered herself against Kkotnimi's leg.
"Oppa! Oppa, you get clicked too."
"H-huh? M-me?"
"Yeah! Oppa's so cool! You're cool, so get clicked."
A flush rushed over Kkotnimi's pale face, turning it pink.
"M-me...?"
He was still wearing that wide, dazed grin when Hoesaegi spun a full circle on a cat-tree platform and dropped down to the one below.
"Donggeuli-ong. I am the gorgeous one-ong."
Gkamnyangi strutted next.
"Hmph. So Donggeuli still doesn't know how gorgeous I am."
With that, he turned in a smooth circle down to the next platform, then spun and spun again as he landed on the floor.
Donggeuli's eyes went round as coins. She paw-clapped furiously and cried out,
"Gkamnyangi Oppa! So, so cool!"
"Hmph. Naturally."
Gkamnyangi tossed her a smug little smile, the look on his face saying, Impressive, right?
"But Kkotnimi Oppa is the best! Oppa! Get clicked!"
Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi were still wearing identical looks of wait, why? when Donggeuli went on.
"Kkotnimi Oppa has the biggest poops! They're thiiis big."
"Donggeuli-ong, I can't poop that much-ong."
"Same here."
"That's why Kkotnimi Oppa is the coolest!"
Well. They couldn't win at that. Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi accepted it.
Kkotnimi's face, on the other hand, went scarlet. The faint pink from a moment ago was gone; he was red as a beet.
"N-no, that isn't what being cool means..."
He wanted to hide. He couldn't. A small, precious Donggeuli was staring at him with her eyes round as full moons, and there was nowhere to go.
Watching the two of them, Kwak Suho spoke up.
"That Bull Terrier and the cats seem really close. Same household?"
"They're close, yeah, but they're from different homes."
"Yeah? Jun, let's film them too. The combination's great. They're going to come out ridiculously cute."
"You think?"
"Yeah. Except..."
Kwak Suho looked Kkotnimi and Donggeuli up and down, then finished the thought.
"Those two aren't wearing anything, so it looks a little bare, doesn't it?"
"It kind of does. Hold on a second."
Lee Jun went downstairs and asked Jang Sora for help.
"Donggeuli and Kkotnimi too?"
"Is there anything that would suit Kkotnimi?"
"Oh, please. Of course there is. Anything would look cute on these kids, honestly, but... ah, Director!"
"Yes?"
"It's cold out anyway—how about Rudolph hats?"
"We have those?"
"Of course we do. We have everything. There's a fish-bun hat and a watermelon hat, even."
A short while later, Donggeuli emerged as a Christmas tree, and Kkotnimi as Rudolph.
"Hehe, it's so warm!"
Small, skinny Donggeuli seemed to love the hat; she kept patting it with her tiny front paws. Watching her, Kkotnimi smiled. Hehe. Donggeuli likes it. He loved seeing the small, precious Donggeuli smile. And she wasn't hurting.
The embarrassment from a moment ago flew clean away, and he gave his hips a little wiggle. The tassels hanging at his waist went swish-swish-swish. Colorful tassels swaying at the waist of a Bull Terrier wrapped in thick, bunched muscle—Kwak Suho's grin climbed all the way to his ears.
"That completely un-cute face, and then that kind of cute on top of it. Same with the yellow-haired kid. Jun, why does Meongmeong Animal Hospital have so many cute kids?"
"There are even more. You have no idea how cute our kids are!"
While Lee Jun was talking with Kwak Suho, Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree exchanged a look. Then they called out to Lee Jun.
"Hyungnim-ong, give us food-ong."
"We want snacks."
"Lots and lots, dayo!"
Lee Jun laughed as he answered.
"Worked up an appetite after all that running, huh? Hold on."
The three of them watched him head out of the playground, and they grinned. Their eyes were shining.