A Feast Greater Than Any Other
Just as the family of Mongmong Animal Hospital lit up at Lee Jun's plan, Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree had gone downstairs to the Brave Ones' House.
Open that door, and a wide space unfolds — a place where the Brave Ones sit together with their friends, play the new games they have learned, or pile up to sleep when the night feels too lonely to spend alone.
Right in the middle of that space stood three animals, with the Brave Ones ringed around them.
Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi had climbed onto a large beanbag — one of the many cushions Lee Jun had set out for the Brave Ones' behavioral enrichment. Sapsaree and Ggungggung-i had dragged it out to the center.
Even with two cats standing on it, they were a drop in the ocean against the Brave Ones' bulk. But the Brave Ones were kind. They all lay down around the beanbag, eyes sparkling, and fixed their gazes on the cats above them.
Jjaek and One-eye were there too, sitting a little apart from the clustered center. One-eye, who like the Brave Ones had his eyes locked on the middle of the room, whispered to Jjaek with a face of genuine awe.
"Captain, the King Boss and the Black Boss are truly magnificent, they are. They don't yield an inch even to those huge fellows."
"Because they're Silver Rain and Shadow."
"Ah……."
Silver Rain and Shadow. In the space of those two names, everything fell into place. And it was true. Even under the gazes of a pack of dogs who outweighed them ten times over, Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi stood utterly unbowed.
"It looks as though they're looking down upon their subordinates, it does."
Jjaek answered without a shred of hesitation.
"Yeah."
He had been thinking the same thing — though not quite the same as One-eye. That isn't a look that merely resembles a boss watching his subordinates. That is a look that sees them as subordinates, in truth.
Unlike One-eye, Jjaek was a boss himself. He did not command the armies of the legendary Silver Rain or of Shadow the Second-in-Command, but a boss was a boss. And seen through a boss's eyes, those two cats were truly watching over their people, taking care of them.
Jjaek was sharp. Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi really were looking at the Brave Ones that way — with the eyes of someone who has just found a powerless, backer-less newbie shivering in a corner, too hungry even to eat.
A cat boss and a dog boss are somewhat different. No — they are very different. For dogs, the one who leads the entire pack is their boss. A cat boss, on the other hand, keeps the peace so that cats from other territories do not invade. That is a cat boss's work, because cats live independently. Hoesaegi did not. The subordinates who entered his territory, he cherished and looked after. Gkamnyangi was of a similar nature. Perhaps that was why the two of them had made names for themselves as a legend, and as the great cat who stood against a legend.
In any case, the two cats wanted these oversized newbies to settle into the territory as soon as possible. The best and fastest way was to live it themselves. The second-best was to live it through someone else.
They have to eat more-ong. Otherwise they'll go achoo-ong.
To Hoesaegi's eyes, the Brave Ones were far too thin. Send them out to the park on a cold day like this, and they would catch a cold for certain. A cold, to cats, was as dreaded as the plague itself. So taking these withered Brave Ones outside was far too soon. Once they were healthy, then they could go out and run.
Gkamnyangi was thinking along the same lines. Once Hyungnim pokes around a bit more and they stop hurting, then we'll take them out.
The Brave Ones had lived in raised wire cages, so walking naturally was hard. Their paw pads were swollen, and a life spent in a place where walking itself was difficult had left their joints stiff. Watching that gait, Gkamnyangi had decided their legs must hurt. So once they were all better, they ought to be taken somewhere wide and let loose to run. And before that, they should be told what a park was, and what a mountain was. Then they wouldn't be afraid.
With scared subordinates, you have to explain every last thing-ong. Then they won't be frightened-ong.
Hoesaegi thought so too. And so the two of them told the Brave Ones what a park was like, and a mountain, and the wide white-sand beach they themselves had seen.
The dogs, hearing it all for the first time, were utterly spellbound, their eyes shining bright.
Hehe. They say it's super wide. This place is really wide too, though…….
Dangdang-i, lying at the very front and hanging on every word, tilted his head. Their house already felt enormous. He could hardly believe there was somewhere even bigger.
Around the time the stories moved from the park to the mountain, Ggungggung-i asked a question.
"But Hyungnim, I don't know what 'high' means."
"Yeah! What is it?"
"You walk like this-ong."
Hoesaegi sprang up and mimed climbing with his front paws. But a mime was only a mime, and the dogs still tilted their heads.
Gkamnyangi shook his head slowly and let out a long sigh.
"Hmph! Of course they don't get it when you put it like that. Kids, Strong Brother has picked you up and taken you up there before, right?"
They had all been carried to the first floor and the second for examinations, so they nodded.
"That's what high means. You go up from here, like that."
Ah. So that was a high place. As understanding dawned on the dogs' faces, Gkamnyangi wiped his forehead with a front paw. Then he looked at Hoesaegi with supremely arrogant eyes, a look that said, You couldn't explain it like that, could you?
But just then came the sound of footsteps, and Hoesaegi turned toward the door, missing Gkamnyangi's expression entirely.
A moment later, two people appeared. Lee Jun and Kwak Suho.
Ggungggung-i sprang to his feet. Lee Jun was a benefactor too — but Kwak Suho was the one who had pulled him out of a moment balanced on a knife's edge. How could he ever forget a savior like that?
Ggungggung-i bounded over and threw himself against Kwak Suho.
Kwak Suho staggered, and laughed.
"Haha, you. Why are you so strong?"
He wrapped Ggungggung-i in a fierce hug.
"I love it! I love it so much! You're so strong! That's my Ggungggung-i~!"
Kwak Suho was just as glad to see him. He would have been grateful for nothing more than the fact that Ggungggung-i was still breathing — and here the dog was, smiling, welcoming him. He was grateful, and so proud.
After squeezing Ggungggung-i tight, Kwak Suho hugged the other Brave Ones too, and stroked them one by one. He knew well that affection among animals had to be shared fairly. Not a single one was left out. And as he petted and held them, he spoke.
"Jun, let's get some pictures of them."
"Pictures? Sure. Might as well, since we're here."
"That's the plan. But what I meant was we should shoot them like a diary."
"A diary?"
"Yeah. Look at them. Can you believe these are the same kids who were in that place back then?"
"No. Not at all."
"Right? Tomorrow they'll be different again. The day after, too. I want to record them getting more at ease, day by day."
Kwak Suho watched Lee Jun nod, then asked, as if the thought had just struck him.
"What were they doing just now, anyway? It looked like they were holding a meeting, the way they were all sitting in a ring."
"Playing, probably."
That was what Lee Jun said out loud. Inwardly, he thought something else. They were probably teaching them the hospital rules or something.
While he was thinking it, Hoesaegi chattered at him in a string of meows.
"No-ong. We were telling our friends about the park-ong. Gkamnyangi told them about the mountain where Yom-yom-i lives-ong."
"That's right. But it went like this."
Gkamnyangi cocked his head.
Sapsaree jumped in.
"The mountain is high-dayo! You run and run-dayo! But they don't know-dayo!"
In short: they had never seen such a place, never gone and played there themselves, and so they could not understand.
A glint came into Lee Jun's eyes as he looked at the Brave Ones.
"Yeah. That might actually work."
"What might?"
"I've been worrying about how to take them outside, to be honest. If we load them into crates, they might panic thinking we're sending them back there. If we just clip on leashes and try to lead them out, they'll refuse to go."
"So what's the method?"
"We let them study it on video first. Suho. You've got a projector, right? Bring it over and show them mountains and parks and the like. You've got tons of Africa footage too."
"What?"
And so the Brave Ones spent ten straight days watching park and mountain videos, with Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi as their gifted instructors.
And at last, the day of the real thing arrived.
From first thing in the morning, the Brave Ones' House was a steady stream of chatter that would not let up.
"Hehe, we're going. I'm going too!"
"Mm-hm. I want to walk and walk. The teacher who saved us said we shouldn't run, so I'll walk."
"Me too. I want to walk all the way to the end over there."
The thought of going to that vast space they had only heard about and only seen on a screen was almost too good. That alone would have been enough to make them happy — and they were wearing winter coats besides.
For the first time in their lives.
Dangdang-i, of course, was already wearing the vest Gkamnyangi had given him. Over it he had been bundled into a thicker padded winter jacket, and he giggled with delight.
"Heh, heheheh, it's weird, but I like it!"
"M-me too. It's so, so weird. But it's warm."
"I'm warm too. Dangdang-i looks so cool. Right, friends?"
Ggungggung-i was the one who praised him.
"Hehe, thanks. But you look great too, Ggungggung-i. You look so handsome. You too, Challang-i."
"Heheh. I love it. I really don't want to wear it — but I also don't want to take it off."
It was the first time any of them had ever worn clothes, so they were uncomfortable, and part of them wanted to wriggle out of the coats that very second. And yet, now that they had them on, they were warm.
It was a different warmth from the warmth of the Brave Ones' House. The coats themselves were a gift — but so were the warm hands that had dressed them. And so the Brave Ones loved their winter coats.
Even the thought of going out the door did not frighten them. They looked forward to it. So they all smiled, wide and bright. In the middle of that, Dangdang-i let out a small huff.
Every gaze swung toward him at once.
"Huff. Our friends would love these too, though……."
"……Yeah. Parang-i trembled so much. I wish Parang-i could wear one."
At the mention of a friend who felt the cold more than anyone, they all went quiet. In that quiet, Ggungggung-i answered in a low voice.
"Should we give these to Parang-i?"
It was the first winter coat he had ever owned. Even so, Ggungggung-i wanted to give it to Parang-i, who felt the cold so badly.
"It isn't cold here, so……."
"Right. We don't need these. Let's give them to our friends. They might be shivering right now."
"Yeah. We can do without them. Let's give them to our friends."
Just as the opinion was swelling that they should send the coats to friends far away, someone blurted it out.
"I miss them……."
"Me too."
"What are they doing? Are they eating well?"
"We're doing so well here……."
The smiles slipped from the Brave Ones' faces as they wondered how the friends they had not seen were getting on — because they missed them, and because they were so comfortable here, and their friends might not be.
The three who had been with them spoke up as if calling out.
"I'll ask Hyungnim-ong."
"Y-yeah. They'll be fine. I'll ask Hyungnim."
"That's right-dayo. He's our Hyungnim-dayo. Don't you worry-dayo."
And just as they said it, Lee Jun opened the door and came in.
"All right, everyone. You all ready?"
"Hyungnim-ong, are our friends' friends doing well-ong?"
"Hyungnim, are their friends eating well? Are they not hurting?"
"Hyungnim-ayo. Aren't the friends' friends cold-dayo? We have these-dayo?"
The three of them poured it out in a rush, their faces full of worry. Lee Jun looked at them and smiled, soft and sure.
"They're doing just fine."
That simple answer from Lee Jun. The mouths of the three — and of every Brave One — fell open. Because his heart had come through completely.
"All right, all right. Let's go, everyone."
Hoesaegi walked out at the front, proud and unhurried, and Gkamnyangi followed behind him. Dangdang-i took the place after that, and after Dangdang-i came Ggungggung-i.
And behind them, without a single dog taking a single step backward, every last one of them walked forward, and forward. Even the stairs, they took on foot.
Contrary to every worry, the Brave Ones climbed into the waiting car without trouble and slipped themselves neatly into the crates. The last to go in were Jjaek and One-eye.
Before they boarded the truck, the two of them looked somewhere with wistful eyes. It was the window of the 2nd Floor Cat Playground.
They gazed at it for a few seconds, then hung their heads and climbed onto the truck.
"Now that we've made up our minds, let's do this right and come back."
"Yes, Captain."
They exchanged that odd little conversation as they did.
A short while later, the truck left the parking lot and drove hard, and they arrived at their destination.
The moment they reached an unfamiliar place, the Brave Ones' bodies hunched in on themselves. Ten days of lessons had been a powerful thing — but the fear that rose from instinct was not so easily argued with.
And so, even when the truck door opened, even when the crate doors were flung wide, the Brave Ones did not move. Not even after the three had told them it was a good place.
Go Gi-jin looked at the Brave Ones, who would not budge an inch, and spoke.
"Aww, reckon I'll just have to carry 'em myself."
"Hold on a second. If just one of them finds the courage, the rest will come out easy."
Lee Jun called the name of the dog the Brave Ones all leaned on.
"Dangdang-i. Everyone's watching you."
The name of a small dog with a great heart.
At the sound of his name, Dangdang-i's ears pricked. His head tilted this way and that. Lee Jun simply watched him. He did not tell him to come out. He did not go over and tap on the crate. He waited, in silence.
How much time passed, no one could have said. Then Dangdang-i poked his face out of the crate.
He looked around with only his face showing, and then, as if he had found his courage, he stepped out with the greatest care.
Carefully, one step, a long look around; another step, his head turning this way and that.
But no one rushed him. Lee Jun, watching, and Go Gi-jin beside him, only looked on, barely breathing, their faces full of smiles.
Then came a quick pit-pat-pat-pat. Gkamnyangi walked over to Dangdang-i and stood beside him.
Gkamnyangi took a step forward, and Dangdang-i took a step. Gkamnyangi took another, and Dangdang-i followed.
Before anyone knew it — pat-pat-pat-pat-pat — the two of them were walking as if they had broken into a run, and then they were in the two men's arms.
Dangdang-i into Lee Jun's. Gkamnyangi into Go Gi-jin's.
"Aww, look at you. You did real good."
After that, there was no need to say a word.
Everyone came out of the truck on their own and followed the path Dangdang-i had walked.
As the dogs moved forward after their friends, their expressions grew a little strange. Faces as if they were thinking of something; noses flaring.
The careful steps grew hurried. Tails that had been hanging low slid upward, then began to sway and dance.
At last, in front of a great door, the dogs started stamping their feet. Ggungggung-i and Dangdang-i even thumped the door with their paws — thump, thump, thump!
Then the other dogs pawed at the door too, loosing full-throated howls.
Awoooooo!
And in that moment, a great howl burst from inside the door as well.
Wooooooo!
Just as the two howls wove into a harmony, the door opened.
The eyes of Dangdang-i and Ggungggung-i, who had been at the very front, went huge. Their mouths fell open as wide as they could go.
The friends they had missed so much came tumbling toward them, and the Brave Ones ran to their friends as well.
"Friends!"
"You guys!"
Some ninety dogs were, in an instant, one joyful tangle.
Lee Jun looked at the dogs — all in similar clothes, all smiling in the same way — and spoke to Go Gi-jin beside him.
"Nah. Not a chance in the world."
While Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin stood smiling at the Brave Ones, the Director of Uriteul walked over to them.
"Haha, it's been a while. Director Lee, Dr. Go."
"You've had it rough, haven't you?"
"Good to see you, Director."
As the three of them exchanged greetings, more people came walking over — the staff who ran Uriteul Shelter, and Jang Sora and Jung Seung-jin, who had come ahead to prepare the party.
Jung Seung-jin said, smiling,
"My goodness. They haven't even been apart a month, and it already looks like a family torn apart finally finding each other again."
"It's the first time in their lives they've ever been separated. Of course they're overjoyed."
Jang Sora answered with a smile in her voice. Then Lee Jun spoke.
"That's right. For them, being parted always meant being parted forever."
The words that came from Lee Jun's mouth. Everyone at the shelter knew what they meant. They all looked at the dogs with solemn faces.
Just then, Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree came up to Lee Jun and grinned. Lee Jun smiled back at the three of them. Then he opened his mouth and spoke to Go Gi-jin.
"Gi-jin, let's get ready."
"You bet."
The two of them went outside the shelter and soon came back, their arms full of enormous boxes.
Hoesaegi shouted.
"Friends-ong, wait-ong!"
Not his usual Line up!, but Wait! — and with his mouth full of the treats packed in the boxes, he ran as if he were flying.
Gkamnyangi did the same, and Sapsaree too.
Jjaek and One-eye, who had done nothing but heave sigh after sigh until they arrived, now darted this way and that with treats in their mouths, running as if they had been doing it all their lives.
Because this was exactly why they had resolved to come all this way.
With the five animals' swift, dazzling movements, treats piled up in an instant before some ninety Brave Ones.
And as the treats piled higher, the Brave Ones swelled too — not their bodies, unlike the act Sapsaree had put on in the video, but their hearts.