There's Another Door Beyond That Door
"There's another door outside that one-ong."
"Yeah. That means getting through there is going to be even harder."
"It will-ong."
The two clever cats knew perfectly well that slipping through two doors was far more difficult than slipping through one. And so they gave up on the door at once and set about finding another way.
Their lot: trapped inside a cage. Unable to move their bodies freely, they put their eyes, their noses, and their ears to work. Heads swiveled this way and that. Sniff, sniff, sniff—they sampled the air. Ears pricked and twitched as they strained toward every sound.
After a moment, Gkamnyangi stretched a front paw out wide.
"Hoesaegi. I think going that way would be the fastest."
The white cotton-puff of a paw pointed straight at the window. Hoesaegi blinked.
"But that window doesn't open either-ong."
"That's the thing! The best would be if that guy left the door open when he went out…"
"He won't open it. It's cold-ong. Whoosh—the wind would come in-ong."
"That's true."
The two of them wore grave faces as they sank into thought. Then a sound rolled out of Hoesaegi's belly.
Gurgle!
Gkamnyangi looked at him.
"I'm hungry-ong."
"Me too!"
Gkamnyangi's own belly answered with a rumble. He glanced at the bowl sitting beside them and licked his lips, then let out a sigh.
"Still, we can't eat it."
"That's right-ong. We can't eat it-ong. He made a face because we didn't eat-ong. Suspicious-ong."
"Yeah. Let's not eat."
"Let's not-ong. But I want water-ong."
"Me too. Hyungnim said we have to drink water."
When Gkamnyangi smacked his lips, Hoesaegi looked at him with a guilty expression.
"Gkamnyangi-ong, hang in there-ong. We're definitely getting out of here-ong."
The apology on Hoesaegi's face gave way to resolve. He felt so sorry for Gkamnyangi that he swore they would escape, no matter what.
We will get out-ong. And then I'll let Gkamnyangi drink water, lap lap lap-ong. I'll let him eat lots and lots of this savory stuff too-ong. I'll ask Hyungnim for so much of it-ong. Hyungnim-ong~!
I miss him.
The thought of Lee Jun sent a tremor through Hoesaegi's body.
A shiver.
He felt the vibration of Gkamnyangi trembling beside him.
"Gkamnyangi-ong, what's wrong-ong? Are you cold-ong?"
"No. I'm not cold."
He was, though.
Hoesaegi wrapped his long tail around Gkamnyangi's body. It was the same thing he used to do on freezing winter days, gathering up cats who shivered in the cold.
"This should make it a little less cold-ong."
"Thanks. But Hoesaegi, I can't hold it."
Hoesaegi was flustered. Never in his life had he imagined his plush, magnificent tail would be rejected. And on a freezing winter day, no less.
"Why-ong?"
He stared at Gkamnyangi with round, startled eyes—and Gkamnyangi suddenly stood up. At the same instant, Hoesaegi's face crumpled. The abundant tail that had been covering Gkamnyangi's body was sliding away. Then Hoesaegi forced out the words he truly did not want to say.
"…You don't like it… ong?"
His eyes went round as saucers as he asked whether Gkamnyangi hated his tail. Then he broke into a grin. He had figured out why Gkamnyangi had said he couldn't hold it.
Fsssssssh!
Gkamnyangi let loose a torrent of pee, muttering as he went.
"Ah, shit. This is gonna smell so bad. Augh, why isn't there any litter! Why doesn't this guy even give us litter!"
Then he fired a warning at Hoesaegi.
"Hoesaegi. You. Do not let your tail drop down there. Got it?"
Gkamnyangi, who was painfully sensitive to smells, wrinkled his nose in disgust. Watching him, Hoesaegi curled up the corners of his mouth.
Hehe. It wasn't that he didn't like me-ong. He just couldn't hold his pee-ong.
Having misunderstood all by himself and then cleared up the misunderstanding all by himself, Hoesaegi answered brightly.
"Got it-ong, Gkamnyangi-ong."
"Ugh. That's better."
Having finished, Gkamnyangi flopped down and grumbled.
"Ah, shit! It stinks. Locking us up somewhere with no litter—I just cannot stand this guy!"
"That's right-ong. He doesn't even have the basics-ong."
Gkamnyangi kept muttering that the kidnapper was a thoroughly rotten guy who didn't even have the basics. Time passed, and when Hoesaegi also peed just as Gkamnyangi had, the grumbling grew even fiercer.
And so the two of them huddled on the wire mesh until the morning sun rose. They had been crouched in the Sikppang Position, paws tucked under like loaves of bread, but before long they were sprawled flat on their bellies. They were so hungry they had no strength left, and they hadn't been able to drink any water either—dehydration was setting in.
Lying on his side, Hoesaegi mumbled,
"I'm hungry-ong."
"I'm hungry too."
"I want soft meat-ong."
"I want that sloshy, savory gravy."
"I want that too-ong. Lap lap lap, I want to drink it-ong."
"Me too!"
"Crunchy kibble is good too-ong. It's tasty-ong."
"The crunchy stuff that lets out a trickle of gravy is tasty too."
"That stuff is tasty too-ong."
He meant the food in the bowl.
"It is tasty. Well, honestly, everything Hyungnim gives us is tasty."
"That's right-ong. Everything Hyungnim gives us is tasty-ong."
"What's Hyungnim doing right now? He knows we're gone, right?"
"Hyungnim will know-ong."
"Yeah, he would, right? But what if Hyungnim thinks those cats they swapped in are us?"
"Hyungnim would never-ong."
"Yeah?"
"That's right-ong. And even if he did, it wouldn't matter-ong."
"Huh?"
"We just chase those guys out-ong."
"Ah! Right. We just beat those guys."
"That's right-ong. We just have to get out of here-ong."
"Yeah. If we just get out…"
Silence fell once more. All night long, Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi had cycled between bravery and despair.
And when the sun rose, the kidnapper opened the door and came in.
Bang.
The moment he opened the door, the kidnapper's face twisted.
"Ugh! What is that smell?"
He glared toward the cage the two of them were in, then walked straight to the window.
Clomp-clomp. Clomp-clomp.
At the sound of the kidnapper's footsteps, both cats scowled. Then they spoke with their eyes.
We should have told Hyungnim about that clomp-clomp sound-ong.
Yeah. We should have told Hyungnim this guy was watching us.
If they had, their great Hyungnim would have caught him for them. The two of them glared at the man, regretting that they hadn't. And then—!
Oh-ong? H-he's opening it-ong.
He is?
A whoosh of cold wind swept into the room. Hit by the freezing January air, the two of them shivered and exchanged a look.
Let's go that way-ong.
Let's run.
Yes, yes. Their eyes flashed with renewed resolve.
Clomp-clomp. Clomp-clomp.
The kidnapper walked toward them. Hoesaegi had a feeling he was going to hate that sound for the rest of his life. Then the unpleasant footsteps stopped, and an unpleasant voice took their place.
"Ugh, I'll have to leave this open until the smell clears. That aside, these guys haven't eaten a thing, huh? Hmm… first let's get rid of this nasty-smelling stuff."
Rattle. The kidnapper pulled the litter tray out from under the cage.
"What are you looking at-ong?"
"What are you looking at? Eyes down."
Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi glared at the kidnapper with sour expressions. And then—
Hissss!
Haaack!
They threatened him with the most terrifying faces in the world.
"Oh, look at these guys? Still lively, huh? That's a relief. I can send them off in a day or two. That said, even if I'm sending them soon, I should buy some litter. If I'm unlucky, pee might get in their fur. And while I'm at it, I'll pick up some of the stuff they like."
The kidnapper muttered to himself, then stood and walked away. While he headed toward the door, Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi were on pins and needles.
"Don't close the door-ong. Don't close the door-ong."
"Yeah, just go out like that, and leave the door open. Leave the door open!"
A click sounded, and as if they had planned it, both of them cried out.
"Let's go-ong!"
"Let's go!"
Scrabble, scrabble. Hoesaegi stretched his long, slender front paw out through the bars and pushed the latch on the cage door, while Gkamnyangi braced it so it wouldn't click shut. And then—clack. The door opened.
"Yeeeoow-ong!"
"Heh, heh, heheheh!"
The corners of both cats' mouths stretched wide.
"Gkamnyangi-ong, you go first-ong."
Wanting Gkamnyangi to escape first, Hoesaegi sidled out of the way of the opening.
"No. Hoesaegi, you go first."
"No-ong."
"Come on, you should go out and cover me."
"Ah, is that it-ong?"
It was not. Gkamnyangi had wanted to preserve the dignity of the legendary boss, Hoesaegi.
Regardless, Hoesaegi attempted the escape first.
Softly.
He set one paw down with care. Tail swaying gently, he scanned the surroundings, then set his remaining front paw outside as well. And just as he was about to pull his whole body free—
Clomp-clomp. Clomp-clomp.
The sound bored into his ears. That thoroughly, thoroughly unpleasant clomp-clomp.
Scramble.
Hoesaegi dove straight back into the cage and shut the iron door. And just as he was gingerly working the latch to lock it—bang!
The door flew open.
"Ack!"
"Eek!"
The sounds burst from both of them unbidden. But they had been so careful that the cries were extremely small.
Clomp-clomp. Clomp-clomp.
The unpleasant sound continued as the kidnapper approached. He even bent his head down.
Aaaah-ong!
Hooah, hooah!
They must not get caught doing this. If they did, escaping would become even harder. Nobody had taught them that. It was the kind of street smarts you simply picked up living a hard life on the streets. A place where you couldn't survive without wits—that was the street.
Hoesaegi gripped the not-quite-closed door with his front paws and pulled it tight. Gkamnyangi helped with one front paw as well. They kept this up, slightly turning their faces away from the kidnapper's lowered head, until the moment the freshly cleaned litter tray slid back into place with a click.
The kidnapper, having fitted the tray, looked at the two of them.
Hic!
Why—why is he looking at us?
The cats who had been avoiding his gaze now glared at him.
"You two, what do you like? I bought this 'cause they said cats go crazy for it—you don't want it?"
Hiss!
Hack!
The two of them hissed before they even knew they were doing it.
"If I starve you you'll eat anything, but then you might get fatty liver, so you need to eat something… cats really are picky eaters, I swear."
The kidnapper made that unpleasant sound again as he walked away. As the clomp-clomp, clomp-clomp grew fainter, a sigh escaped Hoesaegi's mouth.
"Phew-ong!"
"Whew. That was close."
Gkamnyangi let out a sigh just like Hoesaegi, then went on.
"Hoesaegi, you saved us. You picked up on the sound so fast."
Is that so-ong? Hoesaegi lifted the corner of his mouth slightly and changed the subject.
"Gkamnyangi-ong, let's go-ong."
"Yeah. Good thing that guy didn't close that door."
Patter-patter-patter. The two of them shot up onto the windowsill like streaks of lightning. Even in that brief instant their hearts hammered—what if the bad guy came back? And even after they reached the windowsill, they didn't act immediately. They carefully scanned every direction.
Their heads whipped this way and that, eyes flashing. After a short moment, they cried out at the same time.
"If we jump that way, we'll make it-ong."
"Let's jump that way."
Whoosh, whoosh. The two of them leaped toward the same spot.
It was freezing, and a bitter wind was howling, but they felt their bodies flush with heat. It was the thrill of a successful escape.
"We did it!"
"We did it-ong!"
At last, they had successfully escaped the place where they had been kidnapped. But it wasn't over yet. They had broken free of captivity, yet a treacherous journey still lay between them and home. They didn't bother saying that out loud, though. They had fastened the first two buttons—escaping the cage, then escaping the room. So they believed they could fasten the button of getting home as well.
"Let's go that way-ong."
At Hoesaegi's words, Gkamnyangi nodded. Then the two of them tore off in a frenzy.
Patter-patter. Thump-thump-thump. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—the scenery on all sides changed without pause, and the two of them ran without rest. As they ran, they exchanged information.
"That way-ong."
"Yeah. I can smell it. Let's go!"
They shared their thoughts as they ran. They ran and ran. Sprinting along, Hoesaegi noticed something.
Gkamnyangi is struggling-ong. Hah, hah—he's panting-ong.
This was when they needed to rest. Hoesaegi said,
"Gkamnyangi-ong. Let's rest over there for a bit-ong. My legs hurt-ong."
He didn't look tired in the slightest. Gkamnyangi guessed.
This guy. He's saying we should rest for my sake.
Gkamnyangi slowed down and answered.
"Hoo. Okay."
The place Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi stopped to rest was a tiny park, not even a quarter the size of Evergreen Park.
"I wish there was water-ong."
"There probably is."
Parks had a fairly high chance of having water. And as expected, there was water.
Spl… at!
There was water, but it was frozen solid, and Hoesaegi's tongue nearly stuck to the ice as he tried to drink.
"Hooah, hooah, hooah!"
Watching Hoesaegi flick his numb tongue and collect himself, the corners of Gkamnyangi's mouth drooped.
This guy. What kind of look is that for a legendary boss!
When they met Hyungnim later, he would make sure Hoesaegi got lots and lots of water that wasn't cold. But that was later. Right now was what mattered.
"I'll look for water."
Drinkable water. As he started to walk, Hoesaegi spoke from behind him.
"Let's go together-ong."
Hoesaegi came up beside Gkamnyangi and wrapped his long tail around Gkamnyangi's back. The tail draped loosely around his neck and body. That alone made his cold body warmer. The corners of Gkamnyangi's mouth slowly rose.
"Thanks."
"I'm grateful too-ong."
They had once been rivals. Well—Gkamnyangi had been the only one who thought so. Right now, it was really nice that there were two of them.
Thinking how much better it was to be two instead of one, they padded around looking for water—when a sharp voice rang out from far away.
"Who's there!"
Hoesaegi turned toward the sound, and standing there was a cat with vivid dark-brown stripes.