The Victory March
Only a little while ago, his subordinates had sat stiff and awkward before a feast table at Evergreen Park, every delicious scrap of food imaginable piled high in front of them. Faces locked into sullen scowls, they had huddled together far off to one side, drawing a hard line between themselves and the Evergreen cats.
They had even been twitching their mouths in distaste.
And now those same subordinates were smiling — smiling as they looked at the Evergreen cats standing clustered right beside them.
And that wasn't all.
The way they gazed at Norangi carried something close to reverence.
Hup!
Jjaek sucked in a sharp breath, and a flood of feelings crashed through him all at once.
The first among them was gratitude — gratitude toward Norangi, to whom he had only just given his thanks, for saving him in the first place.
When he had been beaten to a pulp, the one who had appeared like a savior and pulled him from the brink was Hoesaegi.
But Hoesaegi's arrival — the arrival of their allies — at that life-or-death moment had not been luck. It had not been coincidence.
It was thanks to Territory Leader Norangi's cool-headed observation, and the upright report he had made.
He could have seen Jjaek and One-eye slipping out of Evergreen Park and simply shut his eyes, pretending he hadn't. After all, Jjaek was the leader of the very cats who had stirred up trouble in Norangi's own colony.
There was no reason for a leader like that to care where they went. But Norangi hadn't looked away.
And so.
King Boss and Territory Leader Norangi are both my benefactors.
And if Norangi would look upon Jjaek's own subordinates with that same upright gaze, then they too would be able to live in Evergreen Park, treated fairly.
As long as my boys aren't discriminated against, then...
Jjaek recalled the regret that had gnawed at him while that black-coated bastard beat him, while that bastard's underlings laid into him.
The regret that he hadn't been strong enough — that his subordinates had never been able to live somewhere good because of it.
If his subordinates could have read his thoughts, they would have said it wasn't true. Not for a second.
They might have gone on for hours about what a good leader Jjaek was to them.
Anyway, Jjaek settled the decision he had been hesitating over.
Wouldn't be so bad, getting absorbed into Evergreen.
He was, after all, still the leader of a colony. And so, right up to the moment of deciding, he put on airs.
Not Please take us in as Evergreen family — but Well, if they'll have us, I suppose we could give it a try. That kind of bluster.
Evergreen: the undisputed peak of every cat colony in the region.
Becoming a member of that peak wasn't merely "not so bad." It was something to celebrate.
But Jjaek used the words "wouldn't be so bad" to prop up his own colony's standing, just a little.
All of this, of course, was happening only inside Jjaek's head. Still, thinking it made him feel a little taller — him and his boys both.
That said, the boys look all right from the outside, but...
Appearances weren't everything. What were they really feeling?
They were grateful for now — but those rough-edged cats of his might well refuse to bow their heads and join another colony.
I should talk it over with them. A decision this big, I shouldn't make it alone.
Just as he reached that conclusion, Hoesaegi's cry rang in his ears.
Aeoh-ho-ho-ho!
Nyang-nyarang-nyang-nyang!
Ue-ue-oh-ho-o-ho-ho-it!
The cats let out cries of joy with everything they had.
"And above all, we owe our thanks to Territory Leader Jjaek of Song-i Park for holding out so well. Everyone, praise Territory Leader Jjaek!"
Gkamnyangi looked at Jjaek, smiling as brightly as a cat could smile.
And at the same time—
Waaaaaaaah!
A roar like thunder burst out once more.
Leader Jjaek! Leader Jjaek! Leader Jjaek!
Every voice became one, chanting his name.
The sight of it moved Jjaek so deeply that his pupils trembled and trembled, and his whole face flooded with joy.
"Ah...!"
As Jjaek stood there flustered, with no idea how to respond, Hoesaegi came padding over with a rolling gait and lowered his stance.
"Jjaek-ong, lean on me-ong."
"...Pardon?"
"You can barely walk right now-ong. So I'll support you-ong. Let's go-ong."
"Ah, no, I can walk on my— ugh!"
Jjaek tried to surge to his feet, and his knees buckled. There was no strength in his legs.
"See-ong? Lean on me-ong."
"Th-then I shall escort you, sir."
One-eye, standing beside them, spoke up — and this time Gkamnyangi cut in.
"One-eye, you can barely walk yourself. You lean on me."
"Ah, no, sir. I'm quite all right, I am."
A polite refusal. Gkamnyangi paid it no mind and plastered himself right against One-eye's side.
Then he wrapped his tail around One-eye's belly. That alone would take some of the weight off the injured hind leg.
As Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi supported Jjaek and One-eye, Jjaek's subordinates came rushing over in a pack.
"We'll escort him."
"W-we'll support him."
Hoesaegi had been about to say it was fine, then answered.
"Very well, then-ong. If it gets hard, say so-ong."
He stepped aside as he said it, and just as the subordinates moved to support Jjaek, Jjaek hesitated.
Hoesaegi caught the look at once.
"Jjaek-ong, you're hurt right now-ong. Think only of getting better-ong."
"...Yes."
It was the truth, so he answered — but he was worried.
If Song-i Park sat empty, wouldn't another invader come pouring in? That was the fear.
Hoesaegi saw straight through it.
"Jjaek-ong, no one will come here for a while-ong. Don't worry-ong."
"That's right. By tonight, the whole district'll know Silver Rain crushed those bastards. What's there to worry about?"
Gkamnyangi said it while looking at the fallen invaders.
The bodies of the cats lying on the ground twitched, little by little.
Their leader, too. He seemed to be coming around. And the ones who had fled hadn't been able to abandon their leader entirely — they were crouched far off in the distance.
"No one will come for a while-ong. And if they do invade again..."
Hoesaegi looked toward the cats hiding in the distance, his eyes flashing, and let out a roar — no, a cat-roar.
A cat-roar upgraded far beyond what it had been before he met Seorak!
Hoesaegi's cry thundered through Song-i Park until the whole place rang with it.
Kiyooo!
Kieh!
The hidden cats flattened themselves to the ground, trembling, and even the cat troops startled and shook from head to tail.
Hoesaegi's golden eyes swept over the terrified cats.
Heh. Thank you, Lord Seorak-ong.
Having learned a proper lesson from Seorak, Hoesaegi curled the corners of his mouth into a smile.
Dum-da-ra-ra, dum-da-ra-ra, dum-da-ra-ra!
The cats stepped out with their left forepaws — tap — and followed with their right — tok.
It was a march overflowing with the joy of victory.
So much so that one might have mistaken it for a ball unfolding beneath the moonlight on a late night, with a spring breeze stirring softly through the air.
That was how light the cats' steps were, how bright their faces.
Only a few hours ago, when the feast had been laid out, they had still been split into factions: Evergreen cats and Song-i cats.
But the column returning to Evergreen Park was nothing of the sort.
Evergreen cat or Song-i cat, they had become one.
In truth, the column had been that way from the moment they set out for Song-i Park.
They had united around a single goal: drive out the invaders occupying Song-i Park.
And now that the goal had been achieved, they were bound together even more tightly than before.
The victory march that had begun at Song-i Park carried all the way to Evergreen Park.
Arriving in front of Cat Town, Hoesaegi called out.
Uoooooh!
The cats cheered — very quietly — and Hoesaegi continued.
"Territory Leader Jjaek and Vice-Captain One-eye, I will ask Meongmeong Hyungnim to make it so they don't hurt-ong."
This time a slightly louder cheer burst out.
Of course it did — they were worried about their swollen leader and vice-captain.
"So you all rest without worry-ong. The blankets are warm-ong!"
Uooooh!
A little louder still.
"We're going-ong!"
At that, a few cats stepped forward. They were the Song-i Park subordinates who had been supporting Jjaek and One-eye on the walk over.
"We'll escort them."
"Leader, please lean on me."
"No-ong. You've had a hard time coming this far-ong. I can support them-ong."
"That's right. We'll take them, so you all rest. You've worked hard."
Gkamnyangi chimed in, and the two strong cats supported Jjaek and One-eye with ease as they returned to Meongmeong Animal Hospital.
And in front of the door, they called out.
"Hyungnim-ong! We're back-ong!"
"Hyungnim! We're here!"
Before the two of them could even announce their arrival, Sapsaree already knew and barked.
Meong-meoreong-reong-reong-reong!
At that sound, Lee Jun came out.
It was his day off, but Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi had said they would play at the park until sunset, so he had been waiting.
Lee Jun hurried to open the door — and froze in shock.
"Jjaek, One-eye! What happened to you?"
The cats who had been giggling with delight just a little while ago were, in a matter of moments, in a terrible state.
Swollen faces, wounds all over their bodies, and bloodstains besides.
On top of that, neither of them could even stand properly.
One-eye was a little better off, but it was six of one, half a dozen of the other.
Jang Sora, who had been in the lobby, and Go Gi-jin, who had just finished a consultation, were equally stunned.
"Oh my goodness, you two!"
Jang Sora's face filled with shock as she ran toward the entrance.
"Eome, look at the state of ye! Ye were gigglin' away just a minute ago, weren't ye? Who did this? Who went and hit our precious babies, huh?"
Go Gi-jin's nostrils flared, looking ready to charge off after whoever had done this to Jjaek and One-eye.
Lee Jun had a thousand questions of his own. Just as Go Gi-jin had said, these cats had been perfectly fine a little while ago, and now they had shown up beaten to a pulp.
Where had they been hurt? How?
He had a mountain of things he wanted to ask.
But more important than any of that was treatment.
Lee Jun spoke to Jang Sora.
"Manager, could I get a cart, please?"
He meant a stretcher cart — a mobile bed.
The mobile beds here were far smaller than the ones human hospitals used for patients. You could almost call them trays.
Anyway... the two of them looked so battered it was impossible to tell where they hurt.
If he simply picked them up, he might put pressure on an injury. For that reason, Lee Jun judged it better to move them by cart than to carry them to the exam room in his arms.
"Yes, yes."
Jang Sora ran to fetch the cart.
"Ah, and a blanket too."
"I've got that right here."
Jung Seung-jin, who had been standing fidgeting at the sight of the two cats, pulled a blanket out from under the reception desk.
Jang Sora soon appeared with the cart. Lee Jun carefully gathered Jjaek up in the blanket Jung Seung-jin held out and set him on the cart.
It was only a brief moment, but Jjaek felt it.
How precious he was to Lee Jun — to their Meongmeong Teacher.
Lee Jun's hands were that careful.
After setting One-eye on the cart as well, Lee Jun pushed it forward and said,
"Let's get you treated first. It hurts a lot, doesn't it?"
It did hurt. But the moment they were held in Lee Jun's arms, both of them felt a warmth settle in their chests. They felt safe.
Because they thought: it won't hurt anymore. Meongmeong Teacher will fix us.
And so they answered like this.
"Ah, no. It doesn't hurt."
"I'm all right, I am. I can bear it, sir!"
"Doesn't hurt, my foot! If it hurts, you have to say it hurts. That's how Teacher knows where to treat you. You want to get better fast, right? Where does it hurt?"
Oh! So that's how it is. The two of them answered Lee Jun's question with earnest honesty.
And so Lee Jun was able to check them quickly — because he focused his examination on the places they said hurt.
Yoo Mu-hwan, who had been in the exam room, and Cha Da-jeong, who had been in the radiology room, showed the same reaction as the family in the lobby.
They examined the two cats as thoroughly as their shock demanded, and then everyone exhaled in relief.
"Phew. Well, that's a mercy, at least."
Nothing was broken, and none of the wounds were deep. Still, they would need treatment for the bruises and the clawed-up scratches.
The reason One-eye had been limping on his hind leg was a sprained ankle.
A sprain meant the ligament connecting the joint had been stretched beyond its allowed range.
The overstretched, damaged ligament had become inflamed, and that inflammation was what caused the pain.
"One-eye, it'd be best if you don't use this leg for a few days. For the time being, let's not walk — just stay still."
One-eye startled.
"I-I can't walk?"
"No, you can walk. One-eye, it hurts here, right?"
Lee Jun pointed to One-eye's injured leg.
Nod, nod. One-eye expressed that it hurt by bobbing his head.
"That spot's going to swell up more and more. Meaning it's going to get all chubby. But if you move around, it'll get even chubbier. And the pain will get worse, too. It hurt more when you were walking a little while ago than it does now, didn't it?"
"Yeees..."
It had. The more he walked, the more he ran, the more it had hurt.
"You'll get a little bean of a shot, take some medicine, and rest, and you'll get better."
"...Then, may I walk?"
"Sure. Once it doesn't hurt anymore, you can even run."
Hehe. What a relief.
A smile bloomed across One-eye's broad face.
Beside him, Jjaek let out a long breath. He had been tense the whole time he listened to Lee Jun's explanation.
"Hoh, what a relief!"
A smile bloomed on Jjaek's face, too, just like One-eye's.
"Anyway, you need to rest, so if you need to pee or you want a drink of water, don't even think about moving — just tell us. We'll pick you up and take you."
"I'll stand guard-ong."
"I'll stay beside him too."
Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi volunteered themselves as nurse-cats.
"I'd be grateful if you would. You two, Jjaek and One-eye absolutely need to rest, so make sure they get plenty of it."
"Understood-ong!"
"Mm-hmm."
Lee Jun looked at the cats answering him and thought.
Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi... I should take one of them outside and ask what happened.
He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again.
No. Better to ask the ones it happened to.
Having changed his mind, Lee Jun said to Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi,
"You two, Teacher needs to have a little talk with Jjaek and One-eye. Can you go play outside and come back when Teacher calls you?"
"Understood-ong."
"Mm, Hoesaegi, let's go."
"Right, let's go-ong."
Once again, neither of them asked why. They simply went outside.