A Place for All of Them
Lee Jun wasn't the only one worried about where the dogs in the floating cages would go. PD Park Joo-hwan wore a look of genuine dismay as he spoke.
"This is... a lot more than we expected, isn't it?"
"I know. We had no idea there were dogs all the way in the back, too."
Writer Yeom, who had come ahead with PD Park on a preliminary survey, chimed in with the same troubled expression. And no wonder — even a rough count put the number at around ninety. That was a world away from fifty.
"Is there... somewhere for all of them to go?"
"We're going to have to start over from scratch. Director, Uriteul said they could take up to twenty, right?"
Writer Yeom asked Lee Jun, phone still in her hand.
"Yes, they did. They said they might be able to stretch it to thirty, but..."
It had only been a short while since Lee Jun had started thinking about buying land. Namgoong Hyun had promised to look into a suitable plot, but there had been no word yet. Even if they secured the land, they couldn't move the dogs there immediately. Kennels would have to be built. At the very least, they would need a wall before they could bring anyone over.
The wall was meant to keep the dogs from wandering off and getting lost, or from being hit by a car — a necessity for their safety. A wall was the foundation of a snug space where they could live in peace, free from the stares of strangers. So he had no intention of throwing up some see-through fence as a cheap substitute.
The fact remained: Lee Jun had not yet secured a home for ninety dogs.
So what had he been thinking when he came here?
A few days ago, the basement renovation at Mongmong Animal Hospital had been completed. "Renovation" was a generous word for it. The space had originally been fitted out as a Pilates studio, so despite being a basement, it was surprisingly pleasant. Better still, the floor was hardwood with built-in heating — an excellent facility for getting through a cold winter in warmth. At any rate, the basement was ready for the dogs to move in right away.
The problem was that it would be far too cramped to house all of them.
While Lee Jun was turning it over in his mind, Go Gi-jin spoke up, his face scrunched as if the same worry were giving him a headache.
"Hyung-nim, even if we squeeze 'em into our basement, we're lookin' at thirty at most, ain't we?"
"Probably. Maybe five or six more if we really push it? Even that would be better than here, but they'd be cramped."
Lee Jun had originally planned to house about twenty to twenty-five in the basement and have the rest stay at Uriteul Shelter temporarily. Then, once they had land, he would build them a proper home there. But the numbers had blown past every estimate.
"Reckon so. These ain't little ones, neither. It'd be packed tighter'n bean sprouts in a steamer."
The basement at Mongmong Animal Hospital could have comfortably housed a hundred animals the size of Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, or Kakkong-i. But the dogs in front of them were large breeds.
"An' the puppies'll be growin' by the day, too."
Lee Jun nodded at Go Gi-jin's words.
"If we send thirty to Uriteul, what about the rest of 'em? We can't just leave 'em here, can we?"
"Of course not. There is no way we're leaving anyone behind."
Lee Jun's answer was firm.
"We're not going to have some of them sleeping belly-down on a warm floor while the others take the full brunt of a wind that cuts to the bone. These kids have all suffered enough."
And these dogs were already family — comrades who had lived and died together. Lee Jun did not want to split them apart.
How am I supposed to separate this bright-eyed little one from that one over there?
Lee Jun's gaze found the brave Boston Terrier who had shown, through action, that he would sacrifice himself for his friends. The Boston Terrier was surrounded by a pack of Tosa dogs. Among them was the Tosa who had once shoved the Boston Terrier aside to stand in the doorway. The Boston Terrier — and the Tosas, too — were grinning with their mouths open. They still looked a little bewildered, but they were smiling.
I can't split those ones up.
Knowing what these dogs had been through, Lee Jun wanted, as much as possible, for all of them to live in the same place. That ache spilled out of him as words.
"You guys don't want to be scattered either, do you?"
At Lee Jun's words, a few of the dogs tilted their heads. Among them was Ggungggung-i, who had been glued to Go Gi-jin's side. Lee Jun explained it more simply to Ggungggung-i, who was looking at him with his head cocked.
"We're planning to take you somewhere nice. But the place is small, so we can't take all of you."
Lee Jun turned his head and pointed at a floating cage a little ways off.
"See that other room over there? Just think of it as being very, very far away."
That was when it happened.
Ggungggung-i startled violently and dropped his head. Then he flattened himself against the ground and began to tremble, paws shaking. Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin both jumped.
"Wh-what's he doin'? Is he seizin'?"
Go Gi-jin dropped into a crouch to check on Ggungggung-i. Lee Jun did the same. And then Lee Jun heard Ggungggung-i's tiny, mumbling voice.
Th-that place is too scary. Please, I don't want to go back there!
Only then did Lee Jun realize what he had done. Beyond where his finger was pointing lay the place Ggungggung-i had been trapped only a short while ago.
"Ah—!"
Lee Jun apologized to Ggungggung-i.
Ggungggung-i's trembling eased a little, but he still wouldn't lift his head. Lee Jun spoke to him gently.
"You had something tasty just a little while ago, right? It's a place where you can eat like that every day. A place that isn't cold, and where the floor doesn't have holes punched all through it."
Was it the promise of tasty food that got through to him? Or the part about a floor without holes?
The face Ggungggung-i had buried against his own body lifted a fraction. Lee Jun, already down on one knee, met his eyes. Looking into those terrified eyes, Lee Jun said,
"Ggungggung-i, how does it feel here? Different from over there, right? It hurts less, doesn't it?"
He was asking what it felt like to have his feet on solid ground.
"Woof!"
Ggungggung-i answered as if he were happy.
"That's right. You're never going to live in a place like that again. Where you're going, there's nothing like that."
Ggungggung-i's face lifted a little more, and his body slowly uncurled. The terror in his expression gradually gave way to relief. The other dogs, who had been watching Ggungggung-i with concern, felt his feelings pass through to them as well. They all grinned, looking at Ggungggung-i — and at Lee Jun sitting beside him.
Lee Jun pressed the advantage and asked the dogs for their thoughts.
"Kids, would it be all right if we were apart for just a little while? Like I said, you're not going anywhere strange. You're going somewhere good — it's just that the place isn't big enough for all of you."
The dogs looked at one another with forlorn faces. Some glanced at the dogs right beside them; others looked toward friends still in the floating cages a little farther off. They flared their nostrils, sniffing — sniff, sniff, sniff — wearing expressions of quiet regret.
To these kids, "goodbye" has always meant goodbye forever.
Unlike the animals who visited Mongmong Animal Hospital — who played together, said goodbye, and met again a few days later — these dogs had never known a parting that came with a reunion. That was why they looked the way they did. Lee Jun tucked away the bitterness on his face and went on.
"We'll be together again before it gets hot enough to make you pant. So let's live apart for just a little while, okay? And — would it be all right if things are a bit cramped? It'll still be better than here."
If the best option wasn't available, you had to find a way with the next best.
That's right — that place!
As he was talking to the dogs, a place came to him: the large-dog playground at Uriteul Shelter. Lee Jun thought of turning the playground built for Uriteul's big, beloved dogs into a temporary home for these ones.
We can use shipping containers as temporary kennels.
Lee Jun's spirits lifted as if he'd just been handed an army. When he suddenly smiled, Go Gi-jin asked,
"Ah, were you thinkin' of Hongseong too, Hyung-nim? Well, Pa did say to bring 'em on over if they really ain't got nowhere else to go."
Apparently he'd called home, worried after watching them wrestle with where the dogs would go. Lee Jun was deeply grateful for that kindness.
"How can I impose on Director Go any more than I already have? I'm already grateful — and sorry — that he treats injured wildlife and feeds them on top of everything else."
Wild animals injured in forest fires, or left without a home, were already living at veterinarian Go Panseok's ranch.
"It ain't just Pa, neither. The other directors said to bring some over, too."
"The clinic directors over there?"
"Yessir. They said they couldn't take a whole lot, but four or five each wouldn't be a problem."
"Oh my — those are truly kind people."
The words Lee Jun had been about to say came out of Writer Yeom's mouth instead.
"I already knew Director Go was a good, generous man, but this is... he's a truly good person. And the other directors, too."
PD Park Joo-hwan, who had exchanged greetings with veterinarian Go Panseok in Hongseong, spoke with a moved expression.
"They'd all be like that. Folks who spend every livin' day lookin' at animals..."
Meaning they all loved animals.
"But Gi-jin, I don't think we'll need to take them up on it this time."
Go Gi-jin's eyes went wide at Lee Jun's words. So did PD Park's, and the writers'.
"Huh? They got somewhere to go? Where you sendin' 'em?"
"Uriteul."
"Eh? We're already sendin' thirty over that way, ain't we?"
"That's right."
"Aigoo, Hyung-nim, you must be so worn out you're gettin' mixed up. We were worryin' about the ones that ain't goin' to Uriteul or our hospital, remember?"
Go Gi-jin looked at Lee Jun with concern, then turned to PD Park and the others.
"Our Hyung-nim's been real tired lately, that's all."
Meaning he'd just talked nonsense.
"Is Director Lee always this busy? Honestly, I keep wondering when the man even sleeps."
"Right? He's just too busy."
Writer Yeom piled on. Everyone looked at Lee Jun with sympathy. Even to the Animal Praise team, it was obvious he was working far too much.
"Director, once this busy stretch is over, please rest. Health comes first. One wrong step and you're gone — just like that."
PD Park said it with genuine worry, and Go Gi-jin chimed in from beside him.
"That's what I'm sayin'. Our Hyung-nim's a workaholic, I tell you. Ain't that right, Hyung-nim?"
"I'm fine, I keep telling you. I work because I can handle it."
A faint smile touched Lee Jun's lips as he answered. He was grateful to have people who worried about him like this. And to those people, Lee Jun shared his idea. They would be glad — they were just as worried as he was about where the dogs in front of them would go.
"Uriteul has a playground for large dogs. Not the shelter itself — the playground."
"Ah, the place where the big sweethearts run around? On the mountainside?"
"The one Director Lee built, you mean?"
"Yes. I'm thinking of borrowing it for a while."
Borrowing his own land? Lee Jun's wording was a little odd, but they all assumed it was just fatigue talking. But Lee Jun meant it exactly as he'd said it. He intended to ask the big dogs who used that playground for their understanding, and borrow the space for a while.
"I'm thinking of buying shipping containers and having them live in those. The playground already has electricity, so we can heat them, too..."
"Oh my! I never even thought of that. Director, you're amazing."
"Haha, you're right. That option was sitting there the whole time. I was wondering if we'd have to go looking for a shuttered farm or something."
"Whew, Hyung-nim, that's a real fine idea you had. If we put 'em over that way, treatin' 'em'll be easy, too."
"That's right — Uriteul has a clinic."
"Then I'll look into the containers. It being winter, there might be quite a few used ones on the market."
"Yes, Writer Yeom, please look into it quickly. About how many units are you thinking?"
Lee Jun, who had been listening to the Animal Praise team, cut in.
"Um, are shipping containers very expensive?"
"Pardon? It depends on the specs, but the kind these kids would live in shouldn't be that expensive."
"Is that so? Then maybe they don't have to be used ones?"
He'd assumed Writer Yeom had mentioned used containers out of consideration for his wallet.
"Oh, Director — you can't get new ones right away. There might be some, perhaps, but..."
"What?"
"I believe they're made to order. And we need them immediately."
"R-right, of course."
Lee Jun, who had assumed you could just buy them and have them delivered, was flustered.
"And used ones won't have that new smell, which is actually better. These kids deserve to live smelling something nice from now on."
Writer Yeom added to PD Park's point.
"New ones smell like new."
At the implication that they could even get sick-building syndrome, Lee Jun nodded firmly.
"I see."
And so a home for ninety dogs was decided. All that remained was to take them there.
Which left the question: who would come to the animal hospital, which dogs would go to Uriteul, and which would go to the containers at Uriteul's playground?
But how do we handle the examinations?
He intended to take them in order of who was sickest. For that, examinations had to come first.
Lee Jun gazed at the dogs, lost in thought.