We'll Always Be Here
Shake. Shake.
Kongdol-i shook. Geumdal-i shook. Cha-cha shook. Haennim-i shook. Every last smiling animal was trembling. And far in the distance, the trees trembled too, and the grass with them.
An e-earthquake.
A chill swept through Lee Jun's chest. An earthquake, in a place this beautiful?
N-no.
These kids had only just begun to be happy. They had suffered so much, writhing in pain, and only now were they living with those bright, unclouded smiles. He could not let them bear the agony of an earthquake. Not them.
Lee Jun shouted with everything he had.
"K-kids! Everyone, get down! Press yourselves to the ground!"
But not a single one of them listened. They just kept giggling, bright as ever.
"P-please listen to me. Kids—!"
Panic overtook him. He bellowed at them like a scolding and lurched to his feet.
In that instant, the shaking in his vision went still.
Kongdol-i, Geumdal-i, Haennim-i—they were all smiling, perfectly steady. Brighter than a moment before.
Or rather… they were turning transparent.
The déjà vu that had brushed him earlier came flooding back, and Lee Jun's eyes trembled.
"K-kids…"
His voice shook with a thin, frightened edge.
"Hehe, Hyung-ah!"
"Hyung!"
"Oppa! Banana Oppa~!"
The children answered that trembling voice without fail, still beaming, still growing more and more transparent.
N-no. Kids…
What am I supposed to do if you disappear? What about me? What am I supposed to do?
Grief surged up from somewhere deep in his chest, and the world before him threatened to blur.
I can't. I can't cry.
They were already fading. If they slipped any further out of sight, he would lose them. He would not allow that. Not ever.
Lee Jun forced his eyes wide and stared at the animals in front of him.
Kongdol-i. Geumdal-i. Haennim-i. Teun-teun-i. Nuri…
Wait. Where's Cha-cha?
The thought snagged him, and the eyes he had pinned so desperately on the animals in front of him finally swept the space around him. Then they flew wide.
"K-kids…?"
He was flying.
To be precise, Lee Jun himself was not the one flying.
Wings had sprouted along the sides of Kongdol-i, of Geumdal-i, of Haennim-i, of Teun-teun-i, of Nuri, and of every animal that had clustered so closely around him—and those wings were beating. The children were holding him tight, carrying him through the air.
And a little ahead of them, Cha-cha was beating his wings too. Wings that shone like jewels.
Lee Jun's heart hammered against his ribs. Over that wild pounding, he looked down at the place they had left behind.
It was still shaking.
The trees, the grass, the flowers, and the broad rock they had been sitting on—all of it still trembled.
He understood then.
The earthquake had not stopped. These children had lifted him up and flown him to safety.
Even as he stared downward, Lee Jun and the animals were already soaring farther, higher. And at some point, his heart grew quiet. Once it did, the flight became a joy.
A wind that was cool and warm at once rushed over him, and he was flying with the kids he loved. The feeling was almost unbearably good.
"Ah…!"
He even began to feel as if he himself were the one with wings.
He was drinking in that freedom—higher, and only higher—when a strange scrap of speech suddenly surfaced in his mind.
M-my body's floating-ong! I'm f-falling!
Lee Jun blinked. It felt exactly as if he had heard someone cry those words in a panic.
Who was that? Who said that? Kongdol-i?
Kongdol-i had never said anything of the kind. And that way of talking was not Kongdol-i's. Not even close.
He was still turning the question over when another line rose up behind it.
Heheh, the trees, the birds—they're all below me-ong! This is so exciting-ong!
Whoever it was stamped their feet like mad when they said that, they were so happy. Who was it? It definitely wasn't any of the kids here.
And then Lee Jun's eyes flew wide.
"Ah—that's it. Hoesaegi!"
Yes. It had been Hoesaegi. Hoesaegi had said those things the first time he ever rode an airplane. That was it. But… who was Hoesaegi?
The questions were still chaining one after another when Kongdol-i, who had been clutching Lee Jun's leg as they flew, came fluttering around in front of him, beating those translucent little wings.
Lee Jun did not wobble at all. The other animals were holding him fast as they flew.
"Hyung-ah! The kids are waiting. Over there—they're waiting and waiting for you."
"…For me? Who?"
"Pffft. My little siblings."
"Little siblings? But all your siblings are right here."
Lee Jun answered while looking at the animals whose eyes were still fixed on him, even as they flew.
"Geumdal-i's here, Cha-cha's here—everyone's here. The youngest too."
"I am not a little sibling! Hyung, I'm the King Big Brother!"
Geumdal-i burst out at the top of his lungs, and Cha-cha shot back at once.
"Don't make me laugh! Kongdol-i's the hyung. You said Kongdol-i was the one who welcomed you! He welcomed me too, so that makes Kongdol-i the hyung."
"Oh, come on! I lived with Jun-hyung longer than you did! That makes me the hyung, doesn't it?"
"Fine. You said it yourself. Then I'm the even bigger hyung. I was with Jun-hyung, and with our hyung, and with your goofball hyung, longer than any of you."
"Gooofball? Did you just call our hyung a goofball?"
"You're the one who calls him goofball hyung!"
"That's for me to say, not you! Then what's your hyung, huh? A scaredy-cat? That scaredy-cat hyung who shakes like a leaf the second he sees me!"
"What did you just say?"
Geumdal-i and Cha-cha were at it again, and everyone else gave their heads a cute little shake from side to side, letting out the same small sigh. Here we go. They're starting.
Kongdol-i only flicked an ear. He did not even glance back. He just stretched a front paw straight out ahead.
"Hehe. There are so many of them down there too, Hyung-ah. My little siblings."
He looked down as he went on.
"My cute, kind, wonderful little siblings."
Then he lifted his head and looked at Lee Jun again, that bright smile still on his face.
"They're waiting so, so much for you. They're waiting for you to come back. My little siblings…"
"Little siblings? Down there?"
At Lee Jun's question, Kongdol-i only smiled. And then he said something that had nothing to do with the question at all.
"Hey, Hyung-ah. You know… I had so much fun playing with Sapsaree at our Golmokjib. He's a bit of a goofball, but he's so kind. He calls me King Big Brother, pffft!"
The moment Lee Jun saw that laughing face, three figures rose up at once.
Ah. That's right. Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, Sapsaree… Yes. I think they came to me just a moment ago, too.
Once those three had surfaced, other animals began to follow, slowly at first and then in a rush. Among the many faces that returned to him, a Maltese who had once suffered with something caught in his throat rose up without warning.
Mongi. The Maltese. The very first one whose words had ever gotten through to him.
And then the old regulars of Mongmong Animal Hospital came back to him.
Ttangkongi, Kakkong-i, Kkotnimi, Jamong, Yeolmu, Mongsil… that's right, and Haeng-un-i too.
The moment Haeng-un-i appeared, Uriteul Shelter followed in a flash, and after that the memories kept welling up, one after another.
The faces of the Somang-is who had been with Haennim-i. Yom-yom-i and the squirrels layered over them. And then Dangdang-i, and Ggungggung-i…
That's right. The Brave Ones!
It was not only the ones they had already rescued. Even now, there were hundreds of thousands of Brave Ones down below who still needed a helping hand.
Life sparked in Lee Jun's eyes, and restlessness rose with it—because down there, right now, there were so many animals who needed someone.
"Pffft. So go, Hyung-ah. I'll be here. We'll always be here. So go do everything you want to do."
Kongdol-i said it as if he had stepped into Lee Jun's heart and come back out again. Smiling.
"Yeah, hyung. Tell our hyung too. Tell him to do everything he wants and have an amazing, amazing time."
"M-me too. Tell our goofball hyung. Tell him to eat properly for once."
"Tch. You're still calling him goofball hyung!"
"Shut up."
Kongdol-i ignored the two of them squabbling and spoke to Lee Jun.
"That's right. Hyung-ah. Make sure you eat well. Drink lots of water too. And sleep soundly. Got it?"
Lee Jun let out a small laugh at that.
"Those are the things I always used to tell you."
"Pffft. That's right. You did. So I always tell my little siblings the same thing. Eat well, sleep lots, drink lots of water."
"That's right! That's why we're so bright and alive!"
"Yeah. That's why we get to look up at the sky every day and dream. Because we're bursting with life. So you eat lots too, hyung. Sleep tight!"
"Hyung, hyung—you sleep lots too, and tell our goofball hyung to sleep lots as well."
"Hyung, hyung. Sleep lots."
"Meongmeong Teacher, sleep lots and eat lots!"
"Meongmeong Teacher~~! We'll eat lots and sleep tight here!"
All at once, every animal was laughing, waving their front legs.
Flutter, flutter—those beautiful, transparent wings beating.
Which meant the paws that had been holding Lee Jun had let go.
But Lee Jun did not fall.
In that moment, as the little cluster of adorable animals shone like jewels, a great jewel came bouncing, waving its front paws. Legs so transparent now that only their outlines remained.
"Hehe, Banana Oppa! Eat lots and lots! Sleep tight! I'll eat lots and lots and sleep tight here with all the oppas and unnis!"
"So don't worry about us, Hyung-ah. Live well. And Hyung-ah… be good to my little siblings."
"Y-yeah!"
He wanted to tell them not to go. Not to disappear. But somehow, this was the only answer that felt right. So Lee Jun said it again.
"Y-yeah. Kids, don't worry. I'll take good care of your little siblings."
"Pffft. I know. Because you're our Hyung-ah."
"That's right! You're Meongmeong Teacher!"
"Well, he's Jun-hyung. He'll do fine."
"Because he's King Big Brother Kongdol-i's hyung-nim."
As every one of them put their trust in him, Kongdol-i pulled Lee Jun into a tight embrace.
"Hyung-ah. Then let's meet again much, much later~~!"
Kongdol-i's warmth came first, and then the warmth of every animal folded around him, soft and complete.
Before he knew it, Lee Jun was gathered into all of them, and the warmth was so good that he closed his eyes. It was too snug. Too warm.
And he answered.
But strangely, no sound came out. He could barely hear, either.
Kongdol-i seemed to be saying something. Haennim-i too. But it was only a hum, a low buzz, and he could not catch a single word.
Instead—
"Doc. When's our hyung-nim gonna open his eyes? You look at him—he's perfectly fine!"
"He will. Let's wait a little longer."
"Aigoo, that's what you said yesterday too!"
"Gi-jin-ah, let's just wait. The tests all came back clear."
"That's why I'm even more worried. If nothin's wrong with him, why won't he open his eyes?"
At those two familiar voices, Lee Jun's eyelids gave a faint twitch.
And just as strength gathered in his eyes, his body shook—exactly the way it had when he thought an earthquake had begun.
"Hhk, hyung-nim! Please open your eyes already! How long are you gonna stay like this? Hyung-nim!"
In that instant, everything came back to him.
Ah. That's right. My body suddenly tilted, and I collapsed. And this is a hospital.
The thought arrived together with the particular smell of a hospital, filling his nose.
Lee Jun opened his eyes at once. Go Gi-jin was right in front of him, his brow knotted tight. He had been holding Lee Jun by the shoulders.
Beside him stood Choi Woo-jin, wearing the exact same expression. A little farther off, Kwak Suho wore it too.
And there was someone in a white coat. A doctor, probably—Lee Jun had just enough time to think it before Go Gi-jin's voice cracked through the air.
"Hahk!"
His friends' startled voices tumbled after it.
"L-Lee Jun-ah!"
"J-Jun-ah. You with us?"
"…Mm. How long was I out?"
Lee Jun spoke as he tried to sit up, and they all answered in one voice.
"D-don't get up."
"Stay down. Lie back."
"Th-that's right. Stay lyin' down, hyung-nim."
"He's right. You mustn't sit up so suddenly."
Lee Jun looked at the people pouring worry over him and smiled, quiet and warm.
It was a smile full of how glad he was to see them, and how much he had missed them. And there was one thing more in it.
If I pass on what those kids told me, these idiots are going to be so happy, aren't they? That one—Woo-jin. He might even cry.
It was a smile bright with that small, eager hope, too.
Lee Jun wanted to tell his idiot friends right away what Cha-cha and Geumdal-i had asked him to pass on. But it had to wait.
"So you're telling me I slept for four whole days?"
From the moment he collapsed to the moment he opened his eyes, a full four days had gone by.
"That's right. You have no idea how worried we were."
"Yeah. Everyone was a mess. The tests all said there was nothing wrong, but you just wouldn't wake up."
"This lunatic Woo-jin—I thought he'd actually lost it. You should've seen him grilling the doctor."
"Th-then what was I supposed to do? All they kept saying was there's nothing wrong, so just wait, he'll wake up!"
"And that means you had to torment the doctor into handing over the test results?"
"They said there was nothing wrong! And this guy still wouldn't get up! So I was checking whether they missed something!"
"Aigoo. Do you know what this idiot did? He even dragged Cha Da-jeong in here and told her to read your tests—aigoo!"
"So? What! They're supposed to give you those records anyway."
Choi Woo-jin and Kwak Suho went at each other right in front of him, and Lee Jun felt a laugh rise. Their faces overlapped with Geumdal-i and Cha-cha.
They've been watching this since they were little, so of course…
He was looking at the two of them with that thought when Go Gi-jin spoke up beside him.
He paid their squabbling no mind at all. Well—he did let out a very small sigh.
Watching even that, Lee Jun wanted to laugh again. Because that, too, looked exactly like the animal friends shaking their little heads from side to side as they watched Cha-cha and Geumdal-i go at it.
But at Go Gi-jin's next words, the smile on Lee Jun's face faded.
"Hyung-nim, you have no idea how worried the kids are. They won't eat. They just keep cryin'!"
As he said it, Go Gi-jin pulled out his phone.
"Call 'em! Tell 'em hyung-nim woke up! And it ain't just them, neither. The doctors at the animal hospital are worried half to death too. Ah—no. I'll dial and put you on."
"Y-yeah."
He wanted nothing more than to bolt upright and make the call himself. But at Go Gi-jin's insistence, Lee Jun stayed reclined on the bed and watched him dial.