The Tiger Speaks
The next morning, Go Gi-jin took one look at Lee Jun's hollow, shadowed eyes, frowned, and opened his mouth.
"Eutta, our hyungnim didn't sleep a wink, worryin' himself sick over that Seorak fella."
"Ah, it's not that. These guys..."
They'd pestered him all night long to go see Seorak, that was why. But Lee Jun couldn't bring himself to say it, and the rest of the sentence died in a sigh.
"Hah..."
"Aigoo, look at these precious little sweethearts!"
"Huh?"
Lee Jun blinked at the sudden turn, but Go Gi-jin had already plopped himself down on the floorboards and was stroking all three of them.
"That's right, that's right. You three couldn't sleep neither, worryin' about hyungnim, huh? Eutta, such good kids. So good. Hyungnim stays up, so you stay up too!"
That's not it. I couldn't sleep because of them!
Lee Jun stared at the three of them, dumbfounded. They were giggling under Go Gi-jin's hands, clearly enjoying the attention — sleepy-eyed, but giggling all the same.
"Look how tired y'all are! Sleepy, ain't ya? That's it — eat your breakfast and go catch a nap at the hospital."
Aeoong, nyaooo~. Woof-mrrf.
The three of them made the most precious little noises and rubbed their heads into Go Gi-jin's chest. He gazed down at them with a look of pure pride, then lifted his head toward Lee Jun.
"Hyungnim, I'll grill up some meat real quick. You eat that and get your strength back."
"First thing in the morning?"
"What's morning or evenin' got to do with eatin' meat? When you're runnin' on empty, a hot plate of meat'll put the fire right back in ya."
"Don't you mean a bowl of hot broth?"
"Well, you gotta have the broth too. Ma sent a bunch of gomguk — that rich beef bone soup's still sittin' in the freezer. I'll warm some of that up as well."
"Ah — no, Gi-jin, I can't eat like that at this hour."
"Eutta, hyungnim! You gotta eat a lot. How else are you gonna have the strength to go see that fella?"
Go Gi-jin was already on his feet and heading for the kitchen. He glanced back to answer, then broke into a wide grin at the three animals trotting after him in a little line.
"You good little ones eat plenty too!"
"Hyung-nim, hurry up-ong. We eat fast and we go to Seorak-ong."
"Hurry up. Eat fast. We have to go to Seorak."
"Gotta eat quick-da-yo! We're going to Seorak-da-yo!"
Tails beating the air, the three of them disappeared into the kitchen. Lee Jun watched them go, then muttered his way toward the bathroom.
"We all lost sleep together, so how are those three so lively...? Ugh. Wash up. Just wash up and get to work."
A short while later, freshly washed, Lee Jun stepped out to find a mountain of meat waiting for him. His eyes went wide.
"What is all this?"
"It ain't much. Since it's morning, I only grilled a little. Come on, eat up."
The steak sizzled on the iron plate, filling the room with a rich, savory smell. It looked to weigh well over a pound.
How am I supposed to eat that first thing in the morning?
A sigh rose in Lee Jun's throat, but he swallowed it. Go Gi-jin had been up since dawn, grilling this for him. A sigh was the last thing that effort deserved.
"Well — thank you. But Gi-jin, this is a lot. You know I like to keep my stomach light before surgery."
"Ah, right, right, that's true. I just — you looked so worn out I clean forgot. Then just have a little. We'll eat plenty tonight."
"Then what about the rest of this...?"
"I'll eat it, what else?"
As if it were the most obvious thing in the world, Go Gi-jin sliced the steak on Lee Jun's plate clean in half and transferred it to his own. The thick cut already waiting there now had another slab of meat stacked on top of it.
Lee Jun's eyes widened for a moment. Then, with the quiet thought Ah. It's Gi-jin, his face settled back to normal.
For a guy like Gi-jin, that much is nothing.
Looking at the peculiar breakfast of steak and gomguk across the table, Lee Jun felt a fresh wave of gratitude for the man sitting opposite him.
I never even imagined a morning like this...
Breakfast? He had lived for so long without even thinking of eating at home.
And yet here was this change, delivered to a life like his. He sliced off a piece of steak, put it in his mouth, and the words came out on their own.
"This is good."
It wasn't politeness. It was genuinely delicious.
"Right? Dad sent a whole pile, told us to eat hearty. Eutta — speakin' of which, why don't we bring some to that fella too?"
"Bring him what, the steak?"
"What? No! That fella needs it raw. Tigers love chicken and beef, don't they?"
"Do they?"
"You never know. Maybe he'll eat this and start listenin' to hyungnim. When it comes down to it, the one who brings the food is always the favorite, ain't that right?"
"That's true enough."
Even without a shared language, a warm gaze and something to eat — that was enough to make friends with any animal. Lee Jun nodded, and Go Gi-jin shot to his feet and headed for the freezer.
"Better wrap some up before I forget."
The man moved fast. And he wasn't the only one.
"Hyung-nim, let's go-ong!"
"Hurry up. We have to put the drops in Seorak's eyes."
"That's right-da-yo! So it won't hurt-da-yo!"
Having licked their breakfast plates clean, the three of them were already standing at the front door, waiting for Lee Jun.
"We're not going straight there, kids. We have to stop by Mongmong Animal Hospital first and see the others. They're waiting for you too."
He mentioned the hospital on purpose, hoping it would settle them. And it worked.
"That's right-ong. Dangdang-i is waiting-ong."
"Yeah. I told our friends I'd teach them a new game."
"Ggungggung-i said he's waiting-da-yo. Ggungggung-i is waiting-da-yo."
"Did he? Then a promise is a promise. You have to keep it."
"That's right-ong. A promise must be kept-ong."
"Yeah. A promise is a promise. Can't be helped. We go to the Brave Ones' House first."
"That's right-da-yo. We go to the Brave Ones' House, then we go to Seorak-da-yo."
"And we have to visit the friends who are lying there sick, too."
At Lee Jun's words, all three pairs of eyes wavered. Thump — Hoesaegi sat down hard on the floor.
"Th-that's right-ong. We have to go to those friends too-ong."
Kkamnyangi and Sapsaree both wore the faces of creatures who had just remembered something enormous.
"That's right. We forgot something that important."
"That's right-da-yo. You can't forget important things-da-yo!"
Hoesaegi turned to Kkamnyangi.
"Kkamnyangi-ong, can we put the eye drops in later-ong?"
Kkamnyangi rolled his eyes, thinking it over.
"W-was that how it was? But we still have to keep our promise to our friends, so..."
A conflicted look crossed his face as he wrestled with it.
It's amazing, really. That a face that small can show every expression so clearly. Then again, if a head that tiny can hold thoughts that delicate, of course the face would follow.
Watching the changes flicker across Kkamnyangi's features, Lee Jun found himself thinking of Seorak from the day before.
Seorak would be just like them...
What he liked, what he hated, what he was grateful for, what hurt — and whether a thing would harm him or help him. He would know all of it.
So please, Lee Jun thought. Please accept the hands of the people trying to help you.
He was still looking at Kkamnyangi when their eyes met. In the cat's gaze was apology, and a deep, awkward difficulty. And then he put that feeling into words.
"Hyung-nim. Seorak's head is big and his body is big, so he can endure it. Let's go see our friends first."
Does having a big head and a big body mean you endure things well? Lee Jun didn't dare ask. He just nodded.
"R-right."
"That's how it is-ong. Seorak's eyes are big too, so he can endure it well-ong."
"Is that so-da-yo? If your eyes are big, you endure well-da-yo?"
Sapsaree asked, and Hoesaegi and Kkamnyangi nodded in perfect unison.
"That's right-ong. Look at Dangdang-i-ong. He hurt just as much as the big friends, but he endured it well-ong."
"That's right. Yom-yom-i's eyes are huge too, and he endured it well."
At that, Sapsaree struck the floorboards with a forepaw, as if a great truth had just dawned on him.
"That's right-da-yo! Dangdang-i and Yom-yom-i both have enormous eyes-da-yo. They're enormously, enormously brave friends-da-yo."
"That's right. So Seorak is brave too. He'll endure it well."
That Dangdang-i and Yom-yom-i were brave was a fact. Why they had entered this particular line of reasoning, however, was beyond Lee Jun.
Well. How am I supposed to follow all of their logic?
They had their own chain of understanding, whatever it was.
So please. Please let the three of you and Seorak be able to talk to each other.
Once he arrived at Mongmong Animal Hospital, Lee Jun threw himself into a packed schedule. He was worried about Seorak, and he wanted badly to treat him — but he could not neglect the work that was already his. To Lee Jun, every animal was precious. Every single one.
While he moved briskly between the operating rooms and the exam rooms, the three of them were busy too. They made the rounds of the wards, checking in careful detail whether anything had changed since the day before, and they cheered up the friends who lay there with their spirits low. Then they went to the Brave Ones' House and kept the promise they had made the previous day. They looked after the animals who came into the hospital as well, and the hours filled themselves.
Morning went, afternoon flew, and at last it was time to go to the zoo.
Kwak Suho had volunteered as driver. When Lee Jun loaded a cooler into the trunk, he asked,
"What's that?"
"A bribe."
"What?"
"Beef. I thought maybe if Seorak eats something tasty, he might open up a little."
"Well, they do lure animals with food. But why are these three coming? Are they even allowed at the zoo?"
"I got permission. You never know, right? Maybe they'll be able to talk to Seorak."
"These three?"
"They got along fine with the seals in Gangneung. Who's to say they won't get through to Seorak too?"
Kwak Suho's mouth fell open. He looked from Lee Jun to the three animals already settled in the back seat, then let out a long breath.
"How am I supposed to understand the depths of that mind of yours? Let's go."
"Yeah."
Unlike the day before, they hadn't left at a punishingly late hour, which meant the traffic was considerable. Every time the car stopped, the three of them stamped their feet. Lee Jun spoke to them.
"Sit and wait, kids. I know you're in a hurry, but the car's stuck. We can't go anywhere."
"That's why we run-ong. We go fast-ong."
"This thing isn't moving, so I'll run."
"That's right-da-yo. If I run, that'll do it-da-yo."
The car wasn't going, so they would run there themselves. A smile spread across Lee Jun's face — he had been turning over how he might get through to Seorak, and here was this instead. They didn't blame the traffic. They simply offered their own effort. That pure-hearted logic was what made him smile.
Right. Worrying won't change anything. Let's just get there and try. Show up and do our best.
They had prepared plenty, after all.
Watching the three of them stamp in place, Lee Jun sank back into the car seat. A moment ago he had been thinking how badly the traffic was crawling. Now, somehow, he felt unhurried. He listened to the three of them chattering away beside him, and before he knew it, they were at the zoo.
When he stepped out of the car, a surprising number of people were waiting. Lee Jun turned to Park I-chan.
"Has Seorak gotten much worse?"
The question underneath was obvious — is that why this many people are standing by? — and Park I-chan waved it off.
"About the same as yesterday."
"Then why hasn't everyone gone home...?"
By Lee Jun's standards they had arrived early. By everyone else's, it was well past time to have clocked out.
"They all stayed to see these three."
"Director Lee. Welcome."
"Ah — Team Leader Park. Good evening."
Lee Jun greeted Park Hyun-joon, Head of the Clinical Husbandry Team, a man he already knew.
"If you're worried about our kids, it's all right. They listen to me pretty well. The moment anything looks dangerous, I'll get them out."
"No, no. Everyone already knows those little cuties listen to Director Lee. I'm not worried."
"Then why...?"
"Our team leader is a fan of Hoesaegi and Kkamnyangi. He's fond of Sapsaree too."
Park I-chan answered for him from the side.
Team Leader Park Hyun-joon had a gravelly voice and the solid, powerful build that suited a wildlife veterinarian. The idea that this man was a fan of the three of them left Lee Jun, frankly, at a loss. He didn't let it show.
"Is that so?"
"Well, two birds, one stone. I get to see Director Lee's face after a while, too. That said, I'm not sure the little ones will be able to handle the disinfection."
As he spoke, Team Leader Park Hyun-joon turned his face slightly away. His ears had gone red. Fortunately, the evening had grown dark enough that nobody noticed.
"They'll do the disinfection just fine. They've done it before, when we visited a cattle ranch."
With that, Lee Jun opened the car door.
"Kids, will you wait here for a bit? I'll go to Seorak first and give him something tasty."
"Got it-ong. Give him a lot-ong."
"That's right. He has to eat a lot so it won't hurt."
"Suho, stay here with them for a while."
"Sure. Go on."
"We'll keep a good eye on them."
After Kwak Suho, the veterinarians who had been watching the three animals with shining eyes chimed in. Lee Jun left the three of them at the zoo's animal hospital and headed for the carnivore house with Park I-chan.
Keeper Ji Hyun-woo was already waiting.
"Has Seorak been eating?"
"This morning he only ate half his usual amount. And as you asked, we haven't given him dinner yet. Is that it?"
"Yes. We can give him this, right?"
Lee Jun handed the cooler to Keeper Ji Hyun-woo.
"This looks excellent."
"Will he eat it?"
"He'll eat it well."
"And I brought a little more than yesterday."
Lee Jun showed them the catnip and Feliway he had used the day before, then mentioned something he had only glimpsed on the way out.
"When we were leaving yesterday, Seorak seemed interested in the catnip."
"Yes. When I came in today, there was catnip on his fur."
The three of them entered Seorak's enclosure.
ROOOAR!
That terrible sound, right on cue. Lee Jun's shoulders flinched of their own accord, but he held onto a single thought — this is a sick animal — and stepped in front of Seorak.
Grrrrrrrr!
Seorak glared at him, savage and unblinking. Lee Jun tossed the catnip. He had flattened the bundles thin so they would slip easily between the bars.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Lee Jun, Park I-chan, and Ji Hyun-woo threw until they had nothing left.
The snarling tiger looked down at the catnip scattered across the floor of his enclosure. Then he walked over and sniffed it.
"Oh. It might actually be working."
Encouraged, Lee Jun called to him.
"Seorak. Feeling all right?"
Seorak had even started batting the catnip bundles with a paw. Then, all at once, he bared his teeth as far as they would go, launched himself forward, and slammed against the bars.
Clang. Clang-clang-clang.
GROOOAAR!
He locked eyes with Lee Jun and even clamped his molars tight, as if he meant to tear the whole thing apart. Lee Jun let out a breath.
"His eyes look more swollen than yesterday."
"You noticed that? In the middle of this?"
"I have to notice."
He had to treat him, after all.
"Let's try giving him the food. He's probably been starving because of me."
Lee Jun opened the cooler and called to him again.
"Seorak. You're hungry, right? I brought something tasty..."
Seorak, snarling, pacing in furious circles, heaved a glare in his direction. Whether it was because Lee Jun had spoken or because he had caught the smell of the meat, there was no way to tell.
Lee Jun looked at the keeper — a silent question of how to offer it.
"You can pass it through the bars here, but hold on a second. Just in case."
Keeper Ji stepped up beside Lee Jun with a long pair of tongs.
"Let me try giving it to him."
"Will you be all right?"
"I'm just giving him food."
So saying, Lee Jun pushed a piece of the beef he had brought through a gap in the bars.
Snap.
Seorak seized the meat in his jaws and yanked. Then he swallowed it in a single gulp. And then, once more — grrrrrrr.
A small hope stirred in Lee Jun.
"What if we try putting the medicine in while we give him the meat?"
"You think that'll work?"
"Let me try once."
Lee Jun climbed onto the same table he had used the day before. In one hand, a piece of meat. In the other, the eye drops.
"Seorak. Eat this."
He held out the meat, and the instant Seorak snatched it, he fired the drops.
It failed, of course. All it did was make Seorak angrier.
Watching the tiger drag in harsh, hissing breaths, Lee Jun groaned.
"How is he that fast?"
"He's always been that fast."
Catnip, failed. Beef, failed. Lee Jun sighed and stepped back outside. And as he came out, a sound reached his ears.
Until that moment, the only sound that had reached Lee Jun's ears had been a tiger's threatening roar. Now, for the first time, he had heard words.
The hope that rose in him then was of an entirely different order from anything he had felt so far. He wanted to turn around on the spot and talk to Seorak. But the atmosphere made it plain: if he went back in now, he would only make the tiger angrier.
Instead.
"Will our kids be able to talk to him? They will, right?"
Full of that hope, Lee Jun went back to the zoo's animal hospital. Then he brought the three of them with him to the carnivore house once more.
Tap, tap, thup.
Having been disinfected with painstaking care, the three of them climbed down from the cart the zoo veterinarians used on their rounds.
They look nervous.
Lee Jun spoke to the three of them, who stood with their mouths pressed shut.
"Will you be all right? If you're scared, you don't have to go in."
"I am Silver Rain-ong."
Hoesaegi answered with a face of absolute resolve. Beside him, Kkamnyangi stretched his neck long and declared,
"I am Shadow."
"I am Sapsaree-da-yo!"
Even Sapsaree put on a look of composure. Lee Jun cautioned them one more time.
"If you get scared, you run. Immediately. And do not, under any circumstances, go up to the bars."
"That will not happen-ong!"
"That's right!"
Thump-thump-thump.
All three of them struck the ground with their hind feet at once.
"Seorak-ong, we are here-ong."
"Seorak. If we put the drops in your eyes, it won't hurt."
"Seorak-da-yo, please don't hurt-da-yo."
Then Hoesaegi spoke to Lee Jun on behalf of the three.
"Hyung-nim, let's go-ong."
"All right."
Bold as anything, the three of them stepped into Seorak's enclosure.
A moment later, a roar so tremendous it seemed to shake the surrounding mountains thundered through the air.
ROOOAR!
In that instant, the three swaggering heroes vanished. Or rather — two of them did.
"Kyaaong! S-Silver— I mean, save Hoesaegi-ong!"
"Sh-Shadow— I mean Silver— I mean, save Kkamnyangi~~!"
Hoesaegi and Kkamnyangi bolted outside in a blind panic.
"Gueh... kyeong!"
Sapsaree collapsed where he stood.