The Class Reunion
Learning that So-eun had a superpower didn't really change anything. We never went around telling people she was the youngest Awakened Individual, either. Only our parents on both sides knew, so there was no reason for the news to spread.
Deputy Jang Il-woon might have looked like a frivolous man, but working for the Association meant he kept security airtight. Spreading a thing like that would obviously cost more than it paid, and as a company man he had no choice but to keep the secret.
Anyway, while we lived through those utterly peaceful days, So-eun grew with stubborn diligence. Every day she ate with enthusiastic little slurps and strained with all her tiny might, and before long she shot up.
"Papa!"
"Hahaha! So-eun said Daddy!"
"So-eun! Try saying Mommy!"
"Mama!"
"Kyaaa!"
And then, at last, So-eun moved past babbling and began spitting out words one by one. They were a little too shaky to call proper words, but the fact that she was finally calling for us filled me with a joy I could hardly hold.
Honestly, it made me happier than the day I learned I'd reached Supreme Rank and that my life was about to open wide.
Noona and I clasped hands and bounced around the room, coaxing Mommy and Daddy out of So-eun again and again. We kept it up until she wore herself out saying them, gathered Ilgito into her arms, and sank into a rumbling little sleep.
Even that wasn't enough for Noona. She put the recording on repeat and kept listening to So-eun say Mommy. I understood her perfectly, of course. I was doing the exact same thing.
Then, right in the middle of So-eun's Papa! looping over and over, the sound cut off.
"Answer the phooone— the phooone— pick iiit uuup—"
My phone was ringing.
"Haaah... interrupting at a time like this."
"You'll wake So-eun. Go take it outside."
At Noona's words, and at the sight of So-eun twitching in her sleep, I hurried out and looked at the screen.
"Hey. What's with the sudden call? I was having a great time."
"...A great time? Still burning through the honeymoon, huh? It's lunch."
"Don't be gross. I was playing with So-eun, all right? She finally said Mommy and Daddy. And you ruined that beautiful moment. How are you planning to make it up to me?"
"Oh, yeah? Then I'm not sorry."
"Not sorry? Then the curse of bird poop is coming for you. Go get crapped on by a bird while you're walking down the street."
"...When you put it like that, it's kind of a problem."
My friend's tone turned uneasy. Well, of course it did. He knew I could talk to animals, and worse, that I put them to work once I promised a reward. Nobody likes being told to go get hit by bird droppings—especially when there's a real chance it might happen.
"Admit you were wrong right now and I'll let it slide!"
"Just this once. I'm sorry."
"Fine."
"Tch."
I snickered at the banter, the first I'd had with a friend in a long while. It wasn't that parenting had worn me down, but a different kind of stimulation was fun all the same.
"So why'd you call?"
"Ah. We're having a class reunion next week. You coming? You've skipped it twice already. Said you were busy."
"Next week? When next week?"
"Friday evening. Everyone's grabbing a drink after work."
"Hmm..."
I thought it over for a moment. The thinking didn't last long.
"Okay. I'll be there. Text me where and what time."
"Yep. See you then."
Once I confirmed the call had ended, I stepped back into the room. What I found was Noona with most of her upper body shoved into So-eun's crib, as if the thing were sucking her in, just gazing at our daughter.
"...What are you doing?"
"Admiring our daughter."
She said it with such shameless confidence that I had nothing to offer. Right. How do you stop a mother from admiring her daughter? I sidled up beside her and spent a little while watching So-eun sleep, rumbling softly. Only when the awkward posture started hurting our backs did the two of us extract ourselves from the crib.
"Aigo, my back..."
"Oh, right. Noona. I've got plans next Friday."
"Plans?"
Noona, who had been patting her sore lower back, tilted her head.
"That call earlier was from my friends. They said there's a class reunion next Friday and asked if I was coming. So I said I would."
"A class reunion? Then go ahead."
Noona had known me since high school, so she knew my friends well. Maybe that was why the words class reunion earned her permission without a single objection.
As expected of a wife who trusts her husband—
"Then next Friday, So-eun is all mine!"
"..."
Whether she trusted her husband was anyone's guess. What was perfectly clear was how much she adored her daughter. I shook my head at Noona, who was already wearing a sheepish, can't-wait grin.
"Papa-pa!"
"Daddy's heading out. So-eun, have fun playing with Mommy."
"Uuu!"
Friday evening, the night of the reunion. So-eun reached for me, grumbling as if to tell me not to go, and I gave her a light kiss. Only then did she stop reaching and gently clutch the hem of Noona's clothes instead.
"Have a good time. Don't worry about So-eun."
"Honestly, you're better at looking after her than I am, so I trust you. I'll be back."
I gave Noona a light kiss as well and headed straight out. Since I planned to drink, I left the car behind and waited for the taxi I'd called ahead. It arrived in no time. I'd booked it through the app, so there was no need to give a destination, and the moment I got in, the taxi took off. Whether out of consideration for me or not, the meeting place wasn't far from home, and we got there quickly.
"Oooh! If it isn't our celebrity!"
I stepped out of the taxi and walked straight into the venue to find most of my classmates already there. I'd arrived right on time, which meant I was nearly last.
But were these guys even my friends? The moment they saw me, most of them yanked out their phones and started taking pictures. Exactly one of them offered a greeting. And even that was debatable.
"Did you come to meet a celebrity, or a friend?"
"Why split hairs? You're famous, and you're our friend. Both are true."
"Yeah, yeah. Quit yapping and strike a pose, will you?"
"Hey, hey, Seong-hwi. Take a picture for me."
Before I knew it, I was holding a fan meeting with my own classmates. They came up one by one for photos. One guy even asked for a handshake.
"Ha! To think the nation's first Animal Communicator is my classmate!"
One of them shouted it with pure delight, and the others started agreeing with considerable enthusiasm. In the end I had to take a selfie with every single person at the reunion, even the girls I'd only ever been awkwardly distant with.
But that was only the beginning. The ordeal known as a class reunion had just gotten started.
"Hey, Suhwan."
"...What."
"Where's your daughter? So-eun? I want to see So-eun."
"Are you insane? Why are you looking for my daughter at a class reunion?"
"You didn't know? Kid, I'm a fan of your daughter. I might've even joined the fan club."
"Hey! I'm a founding member of your daughter's fan club!"
The idea that my friend was a fan of my daughter left me unable to hide how absurd this was. And the guy was about to hand me something even more absurd.
"You know how babies eat that mush, right? Use this when you buy ingredients for it. Kids ought to eat good stuff. Feed her beef, or abalone, something like that. Don't go buying weird junk."
The self-proclaimed fan of So-eun—this so-called friend of mine—pressed two fifty-thousand-won bills into my hand, about seventy-five dollars in all, and wore a deeply satisfied smile while he did it.
"So-eun's eating just fine, so why don't you buy yourself some clothes with that? Aren't you embarrassed walking around in something full of holes?"
"Ha. Suhwan, you're hopeless. How do you not know vintage? That's why you're still a seven-million nobody. Shin Seven-Mil. Shin Suhwan is seven million, exactly."
"Are you crazy? Since when is Seven Million a dog's name?"
"My dog at home is named Seven Million."
"Lunatic."
At my friend invoking a dog that didn't even exist, my sense of reason packed its bags and left home. More than that, though, the feeling of our school days came rushing back, clear as anything. Now this was my friend.
And then, right as that old feeling washed over me, someone came scurrying up to my side.
"Shin Suhwan."
"Oh? If it isn't the Vice Prez."
"...It's been almost ten years since we graduated. How long are you going to call me Vice Prez? I have a name. It's Chae Su-jeong."
"The class president and vice president at graduation are the Eternal Class President and the Eternal Vice President. Just accept it. More importantly, your name was Su-jeong? Not Su-jin?"
At that, the vice president from our senior year looked utterly done with me.
"Anyway. So what is it?"
"Well, I was wondering if I could ask you a favor..."
"A favor? Just say it."
I shrugged. Whatever favor the Vice Prez had in mind, it obviously wouldn't be anything difficult. At most she'd want me to solve some animal-related problem. Shameless, sure, and she might even be angling to save on the fee.
What she said next was exactly what I'd expected.
"Some of us keep pets. And since they heard you were coming, they all brought them. Could you help out just a little? Most of it's curiosity, honestly, but a few of them... well, there are some problems."
"Why not. We're friends. A favor like that is nothing."
"Thank you!"
I nodded as I said it, and the Vice Prez lit up. Then she suddenly looked around and started shouting.
"Everyone! Shin Suhwan says he'll look at the animals!"
I stared at her in disbelief at the full-blown advertisement, but she paid me no mind and dragged me off to a corner. A little under ten animals were gathered there. They'd rented out the whole restaurant, but it seemed the animals had been restricted to a designated area.
"What a mess. A dog mess, literally."
"...The animal people usually keep is a dog. There are cats too, but the cat people didn't bring theirs."
Every animal my classmates had brought was a dog. It wasn't a little under ten animals gathered in that corner. It was a little under ten dogs.
"Cute, right? The one I have is that one. The Chihuahua in the middle. His name is Joe."
"Sloppy Joe."
The Vice Prez glared at me for the joke.
She hadn't named him that on purpose... had she?
I carefully turned my gaze to the Joe she'd pointed out.
"Hey there."
"Oong!"
Receiving a greeting from someone he could actually talk to for the first time, Joe looked thoroughly startled. His tail flapped, his whole body went stiff, and then he came barreling straight at me.
"You're a cute little thing. The dogs at my place are all pretty big, Natae aside, so tiny guys like you are honestly adorable."
I smiled as I gently stroked Joe, who'd come running up to me.
"Joe... Joe isn't mad?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"No, his temper is no joke. Nobody but me can lay a finger on him. You saw it earlier. Everyone else was around the edges, and he was the only one in the middle. Actually, I was going to ask you to do something about his personality."
At the Vice Prez's words, I thought back to a moment ago. Sure enough, Joe had been standing bolt upright in the center of the little room, and the other dogs had been watching him warily from the edges.
"That one is a thug, plain and simple! I only came because my owner did, and I nearly got beaten the second we walked in!"
Hearing the testimony of another dog in the same room, I understood her perfectly. Joe might have been acting friendly toward me just then, but in reality this little guy was what people so delicately call a psycho dog.