Come Here, Friend

"Nngh..."

Go Gi-jin, who'd gone down along with the elephant, let out a groan. Lee Jun and Kwak Suho tensed, afraid he'd cracked his head on the ground in the fall. Their worry was unfounded. Go Gi-jin was making that sound because he was having the time of his life.

The baby elephant that had all but tackled him was rubbing its trunk all over Go Gi-jin's head and neck. For someone who loved elephants as much as he did, that alone would have been enough to send him over the moon.

But the calf didn't stop there. After rubbing its trunk indiscriminately over Go Gi-jin's head and shoulders, it flopped down right beside him.

"Whoa!"

The gasp escaped Lee Jun before he even knew it, his mouth falling open. Beside him, Kwak Suho, who'd been filming the elephants, was no less stunned.

"Wow. Oh my god..."

Kwak Suho kept capturing Go Gi-jin and the elephant on his action cam, letting out one marveling sound after another. George and the Reteti staff all wore the same look of astonishment.

None of that mattered to the calf. Lying beside Go Gi-jin, it started bumping its body against him — just the way Sapsaree would press up against Lee Jun in bed, begging to be petted.

If the onlookers were this moved, how must Go Gi-jin himself have felt?

"Hehehe, alright, alright. You want me to pet ya?"

Grinning so wide his mouth could barely contain it, Go Gi-jin stroked the baby elephant. The calf, apparently delighted, rolled fully onto its side and pressed its back snug against him.

Watching this, Lee Jun said,

"I think it's asking to be held."

"Looks like it."

Kwak Suho, standing beside him, thought the same. Sure enough, Go Gi-jin lay down on his side and wrapped the baby elephant in a full embrace. The calf began slowly pedaling its four legs — like it was riding a bicycle while lying on its side. It looked utterly, blissfully happy.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Everyone there was smiling. Happy smiles.

"Hehe, hehe. You little rascal, you're really somethin' cute."

The same words kept tumbling out of Go Gi-jin's mouth. That's how adorable the calf was, and how much he was savoring every second of this.

"That's right, that's right."

He hugged the elephant tight, then patted it with his hands — the exact same way Lee Jun would fuss over Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree at home. Honey practically dripped from Go Gi-jin's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes as he gazed at the baby elephant. The way guardians look at their beloved pets.

After holding the calf for a long while, Go Gi-jin sat up. The baby elephant followed, plopping itself onto his lap. Then, the way a pet nuzzles its guardian's hand with its forehead to ask for more pets, the calf rubbed its enormous head against Go Gi-jin's body.

"It really must miss its mom. Longing for her arms, I bet."

Kwak Suho said this as he filmed, then let out a quiet sigh.

"Of course it would."

Lee Jun agreed, looking over at the other elephants. They were all swaying their trunks, gazing enviously at their companion nestled in Go Gi-jin's arms. Seeing Go Gi-jin and their friend like that must have brought their mothers flooding back. Soft whimpering sounds rose from them.

To everyone else, it was just a chorus of little squeaks and whines. To Lee Jun, it was not.

Lee Jun's face tightened a little. They're all missing their mothers. They want to see their moms. Even with friends to play with, even with the Reteti team caring for them with everything they had — they still wanted their mothers. They still longed for those arms.

The moment he understood what the calves in front of him were feeling, Lee Jun's feet moved on their own. He sat down a little ways from Go Gi-jin.

Thump.

The elephants' trunks began to sway, curious. Then — thud-thud-thud, stomp-stomp-stomp — three calves started coming toward him. Uh, three might be a bit much. They were babies, yes, but they were still elephants. Elephants that already weighed over two hundred pounds at birth.

Watching them approach, he felt a mix of delight and worry — and then.

Whoosh.

An elephant walked right past him.

Stomp-stomp-stomp.

Another one went straight by as well. Lee Jun hadn't been their destination. The calves that had passed him walked straight to Go Gi-jin. The one already in his arms, plus the two newcomers — three of them were shoving their heads at him, asking to be petted.

The calf that had started walking last looked toward Go Gi-jin. Its three friends who'd gone ahead were already clustered around him. For a moment, those round black eyes filled with dismay, and it let out a deep sigh.

"No way. Baby elephants sigh too?"

Kwak Suho watched in fascination. George, standing beside him with the same expression, added,

"Looks like it's disappointed."

George's read was dead-on. The calf that had sighed approached Lee Jun with steps that had lost some of their earlier energy. Then, gingerly, it laid its trunk across his shoulder. Not the bold, hold-me, pet-me-please energy its friends had shown Go Gi-jin — a very timid gesture. The trunk resting on Lee Jun's shoulder was even trembling.

Not every animal is outgoing. Animals have lively personalities and shy ones, just like people. The elephant that had come to Lee Jun was clearly the timid sort. And yet it had approached a stranger — which meant it must have been truly, desperately homesick for its mother's arms. You really summoned up a lot of courage, didn't you?

Lee Jun wrapped the calf in a firm hug. He held it and patted its body — tap, tap, tap. The way his mother, whose face was now only a faint memory, had once held little Lee Jun and gently patted him.

Whether Lee Jun's heart had gotten through or not, the timid elephant wrapped its trunk tightly around his back.

Seeing this, George plopped down too.

"Alright, alright, I'll hug you too. Come here, kids."

But nobody came near him. George looked at the empty space around himself and raised his voice a little.

"Gah! I'm wounded. Kids, I can hug you too, you know! I'll hug you!"

Still, no one approached.

"Do you have any idea how many years I've poured into these elephants?! And I — I of all people — have no popularity with them!"

George lamented in despair. He was only a year apart in age from Lee Jun, and he'd spent a full decade since graduate school devoted to elephant research. Brooding over this sad reality, he looked at Go Gi-jin with naked envy.

And then.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud.

The calves that had only been watching started to move. They walked, carefully, carefully — straight to Go Gi-jin. Everyone watched. Lee Jun included. With every gaze upon them, the baby elephants lined up in a neat little row in front of Go Gi-jin, each one holding out hope of being held. They didn't shove. They just waited, trunks twitching in small, eager swirls.

A fond smile rose on its own. Lee Jun smiled at them too, then looked around.

With every last calf clustered around Go Gi-jin, the space in front of Lee Jun had gone wide open. His view stretched clear into the distance — and in that view, one baby elephant came into focus. It was standing in place, only lifting its front feet a little, over and over. This one's even shyer than the one I've got. Far shyer than the calf currently giggling under Lee Jun's hands. His attention drifted toward it, naturally.

And then. The calf enjoying Lee Jun's touch stretched out its trunk and waved it. And said, quietly,

It was speaking to the very elephant Lee Jun had thought of as the shy one.

"You told that friend to come over, didn't you?"

The calf lifted its head, looked where Lee Jun's hand was pointing — then startled, staring at him. A how-did-you-know look.

"Of course I know. Shall we go to your friend? Let's go play together."

At Lee Jun's words, the calf's face lit up. Then it ran — stomp-stomp-stomp-stomp — practically bounding. A completely different gait from the timid walk of a few minutes ago.

The calf that had been standing there blankly backed away as Lee Jun approached. But the one that had already received his touch said,

A giggling little laugh. But its friend had taken another step back. Wanting its friend to feel what it had felt, the elephant waved its trunk — the way a person would beckon with a hand. After a moment of that, the other calf stopped backing away.

Soon Lee Jun was stroking both of them with both hands.

Once they'd warmed to a human's touch, it wasn't long before they stopped turning down George's hands either. Plenty of calves were still waiting for Go Gi-jin, but Go Gi-jin only had two hands. The clever elephants actively pestered Go Gi-jin, George, Lee Jun — even Kwak Suho, who was still filming — for pets.

After some thirty happy minutes, Lee Jun's group left Reteti. Once in the car, Go Gi-jin looked back at the sanctuary, reluctant to go.

"Those little ones... they seemed mighty starved for affection."

"They would be. That young, how could they not miss their mothers' arms?"

"That's right. No matter how well the staff take care of them, they can't hold and pet every single one."

George, who knew the sanctuary's situation well, added the explanation. Too much work, not enough people. That was the story.

After filling them in on the sanctuary's circumstances, George called to Lee Jun.

"Jun."

"Yes?"

"Candice says she's really grateful."

Candice was the Reteti sanctuary manager who'd been so happy to see Lee Jun.

"For what?"

"The two you petted were terribly afraid of people. When Candice went to bring them in, there was a dead mother elephant right in front of them."

"They... they said that?"

"Yes. She died the same way Tata did."

"Those damn monsters!"

Go Gi-jin exploded. Lee Jun's and Kwak Suho's faces twisted too. Ah. So that's why they said they were scared. Lee Jun's heart grew heavy.

Whether he sensed Lee Jun's mood or not, George continued.

"But thanks to us, they seem a little better. She's glad they'll be able to live a bit more comfortably from now on. She said the staff would try to do anything for them and they'd just run away."

"That's a relief."

Answering George, Lee Jun thought of Tata Junior, and his heart grew heavier still. Tata Junior must be the same, right? Still — please, please be at a sanctuary. That was what Lee Jun hoped.

They scanned the surroundings the same way they had on the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠drive to Reteti, in case Tata Junior was somewhere out on that open plain. And before long, they arrived at the second sanctuary: Ian House.

Climbing out of the jeep, Lee Jun said,

"I hope Tata Junior is here."

"Wouldn't that be just wonderful? Please, please let it be here."

"Please be here."

The same thing that had happened at Reteti happened at Ian House. The baby elephants charged at Go Gi-jin. Surrounded by elephants, Go Gi-jin heard Lee Jun say with a laugh,

"Gi-jin, you should switch to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠being an elephant vet while you're at it. There aren't many elephant veterinarians, so they'd welcome you."

The elephant vets would.

"He's strong, the elephants love him — it's a perfect fit. Should we mention it to Jerome?"

Kwak Suho piled on from the side, and Go Gi-jin chuckled.

"Should I? Maybe I oughta give it a shot?"

"Yeah, you're perfect for it. Feels like you just found your calling."

Kwak Suho's eyes, even as he praised Go Gi-jin, were on the elephants — searching for Tata Junior. Lee Jun's gaze, however, had gone somewhere else. The ones here, George and Kwak Suho will look over anyway... Kwak Suho had an exceptional eye. If Tata Junior was among them, there was no way he'd miss it.

Lee Jun thought of the timid calves he'd met at Reteti — no, correction: the ones who'd been afraid of people. They'd lost their mothers the same way Tata had. Tata Junior might be hiding far off. Even if it caught its mother's scent, it might not come out — might stay tucked away, hidden.

Because that's what Tata had told it. Run. Run far, far away from the place that smells like Mama. Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree always keep the things I tell them. How much more would a calf keep the words its own mother said?

The area looked vast to the naked eye. Lee Jun put a pair of binoculars to his eyes and scanned. I'd like to walk around and look, but this will have to do for now. If a stranger approached, it might run even farther.

So instead of examining the elephants right in front of him, Lee Jun kept his gaze on the distance. As he swept the landscape, something gray showed faintly, far away. Hm? What's that? Looks like a hose, almost...

He focused on the gray something — and then, a slight movement. Two gray hoses.

No. Correction. Those are legs?

Dangling from above: a trunk. Barely visible below: legs.

It was an elephant.