A Day Out (2)
So-eun, who slept so lightly, was slowly drifting off to sleep while listening to Cheongho’s deep, rhythmic breathing.
But as I was drifting off, I woke slightly from the wind sound and fell back asleep, repeating the cycle until Noona poked me.
“…… Why?”
“Noo-hwa. Look here.”
I turned my gaze to where Noona was pointing with her finger, and the drowsiness that had been approaching me vanished instantly.
“What are those…?”
It wasn’t just that. Quite a few animals had gathered around the blanket we were on.
Some were probably squirrels or chipmunks, a few moles, several cats, and one weasel. Or rather, these days they say weasels appear often, so there’s one here too?
“Where did these guys come from?”
“While So-eun was sleeping and you started dozing off, they came one by one?”
Noona was in a leisurely mood, petting the dogs and giving them snacks.
“… Ah, I don’t know. I’m going back to sleep.”
Since it didn’t seem like there would be any problem, I relaxed my body and went back to sleep.
If something happens, Cheongho will handle it. There’s no one more trustworthy than Cheongho.
No reason to worry about it after coming out to breathe fresh air.
And as I thought, after about thirty minutes, when I woke up, the only animals around us were a few sparrows.
I set aside my thoughts about the animals that had approached us earlier and got up from my seat.
“I slept for a bit, but I feel really refreshed.”
“It can’t be helped. Did you even snore? Not heavily, just a little ‘nooo-oo’ level.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. So-eun heard it too. Right?”
“Ung! Nooo-oo!”
I couldn’t help but scratch my head awkwardly at the mention of snoring. Who knew I’d snore here when I don’t at home.
I decided to change the subject of the conversation.
“The weather is nice, and I slept once, so shall we go for a walk?”
“Walk? Um… So-eun-ah, shall we go for a walk?”
“I want to walk!”
At the mention of walking, So-eun jumped up, putting strength into her legs as if she was about to start walking right away.
I hurriedly folded the blanket, packed the basket, and put it in the car, then came back. It was better to go to the parking lot for a bit than to walk a full circle around Ganjeolgot with all the stuff.
With no bags, when I returned, there was a woman with Noona, the two of them laughing “ha ha ho ho”.
Upon getting closer, most of it was about how cute So-eun is.
“Eh? Noona, who is it?”
“You’re back? Come say hello. This is my friend. Her name is Ye-eun, you probably saw her when you were going to school.”
Noona explained that we came out to breathe fresh air and accidentally ran into her, so I nodded lightly and greeted her.
It felt like I’d seen her a couple of times when I was in school.
“Ye-eun-ah. We’re going for a light walk, want to come along?”
“Sure.”
I shrugged my shoulders at the two of them chattering “ha ha ho ho”, and approached So-eun to prepare for the walk.
I firmly fixed her shoes that were loosely tied so she could take them off anytime, and gave her two strings to hold with her chubby little hands.
Of course, those two strings were connected to the body leashes of Cheongho and the dog.
I told them to walk themselves to the desired place by holding the leashes.
“Ko!”
And So-eun, realizing that the preparation for the walk was complete, started walking with energy. Cheongho and the dog followed behind So-eun who was walking with big strides.
“Cute!”
Leaving behind Noona’s friend’s exclamation, I slowly followed behind So-eun.
So-eun, literally, walked diligently to the place she wanted to go.
The place So-eun mainly approached were the structures made to sparkle with light. Since it wasn’t something commonly seen until now, it was amazingly novel.
So amazed was it that So-eun let go of the leashes she was holding for the dog and Cheongho.
“Hee hee!”
And So-eun, who was rejoicing in the amazement, suddenly started running. She ran towards another structure located nearby.
As expected, the two dogs also followed behind So-eun. They bit the end of the string So-eun had let go of in her amazement and followed diligently.
The dog jumping “pol-jjak pol-jjak” and Cheongho quickly running reached So-eun’s side in an instant.
“Ajussi!”
Cheongho barked “meow” and extended the string he was biting.
So-eun realized that she had let go of the string, grabbed it and stroked Cheongho’s head.
After that, So-eun grabbed the string of the late dog who was jumping “pol-jjak pol-jjak” and walked with energy again.
She wandered around the structures, around the flower beds, and observed the people playing nearby, enjoying the walk.
But as So-eun was wandering here and there, she suddenly looked at something and ran to me.
“Appa! Look, look!”
So-eun ran to me, tugged at my pants, and pointed somewhere.
And when I turned my gaze to there, I frowned.
It wasn’t just that. There was a big pitbull terrier standing alone without its owner.
Since it’s a breed that belongs to the fighting dog category, people stayed away from it and kept a distance.
“Doggy!”
“Do you want to go see that dog?”
“Ung!”
At So-eun’s words, I hesitated for a moment but nodded.
If it was So-eun’s superpower, there was no need to worry, and with Cheongho there, even more so. Because I was confident that Cheongho could defeat any fighting dog, not just pitbull terrier.
Still, to be safe, I picked up So-eun and slowly approached the pitbull terrier.
And Noona’s friend, seeing this, started shouting with a panicked voice.
“What if something happens! It’s dangerous! That’s a fighting dog! Kyaa! There’s no muzzle!”
But the one who reacted to Noona’s friend’s shout was not me, but Noona.
“Don’t worry. Our dog won’t bite.”
“No, it’s not Cheongho that’s the problem, it’s So-eun!”
“… Not Cheongho, but what So-eun said? So-eun won’t bite. The probability of So-eun biting an animal is similar to winning the lottery?”
“What if the mom of the child says it like that. Aren’t you worried?”
“Yeah. It’s not like I am?”
While listening to the not-conversation from behind, I approached the pitbull terrier.
There was no trace of a muzzle, and I didn’t know if it had lost its leash, but a chain-like leash was dragging on the floor.
Who was this idiot who let a fighting dog loose without a muzzle?
“This is my territory, get out!”
And as I got closer, the pitbull terrier started growling low. It looked like it was saying not to approach at all, but I didn’t pay any attention to that threat.
Because the two guys responded instead of me.
“You told our kid to get out? You want to fight? You want your head smashed!”
“Sir, please wait a moment. I’ll fix this rotten brain of that guy and come back!”
Cheongho looked like he was about to charge right away.
“… You’re not a snack for that guy?”
The problem was that even the small dog guy was quite angry, but anyway.
I lightly loosened Cheongho’s body leash. Before So-eun got too close, I thought I should fix that rotten brain that’s threatening first.
“You’re dead!”
“No, don’t kill it.”
Cheongho, freed from the leash, rushed fiercely towards the pitbull terrier as is.
And the pitbull terrier, accepting Cheongho’s action as a challenge, braced its strong-looking legs and kicked the ground, running towards Cheongho.
The two guys started running hard towards each other, and the result of that collision appeared immediately.
“Kku-eo-eo-eo…”
The pitbull terrier that looked very strong rolled on the floor and was pinned by Cheongho.
“Arrogant, you’ll lose.”
Cheongho gently stepped on the pitbull terrier’s head and warned in a low voice. The warning seemed to have worked, as the pitbull terrier’s tail was tucked between its legs.
Seeing that, I approached and put So-eun down.
So-eun, standing on both feet on the floor, approached the pitbull terrier and gently stroked the head that had been stepped on by Cheongho.
As I got closer, the pitbull terrier didn’t growl, as if the superpower was working accurately, instead it licked So-eun’s palm with “chuck chuk”.
“Kya ha ha hang!”
So-eun, whose palm was ticklish, burst into laughter. Even if it was because she liked it, she didn’t stop stroking the guy’s body.
And while So-eun was enjoying petting the pitbull terrier, a man came running from far away in a hurry.
“Sorry, sorry! Did you get hurt?”
The man who approached looked at the pitbull terrier and So-eun, his face turning pale, and bowed his waist repeatedly. Judging by the muzzle in his hand, it didn’t seem like he had deliberately let it loose.
“You didn’t get hurt, but you should be careful with the leash. If it wasn’t me, someone else might have been badly hurt.”
“Yes, yes… Sorry! I was trying to put on the muzzle but suddenly it ran away… Again, I’m really sorry.”
The man kept bowing his waist and connected the chain leash of the pitbull terrier to the harness on his chest. Yeah, that way, it’s easier to pull with the whole body.
I held the pitbull terrier guy in case something happened.
“Don’t run away from next to your owner, put on the muzzle even if it’s uncomfortable, don’t attack people, and don’t attack other animals either. If you don’t, that guy will come find you.”
“H, hick! I will!”
The pitbull terrier was startled by my warning, looked at Cheongho, and showed even more surprise. Or was it that one hit was that scary?
Moreover, the guy urged his owner to go back quickly. It looked like he didn’t want to be close to Cheongho anymore. Even with So-eun there, he was trying to run away.
I chuckled and greeted the pitbull terrier’s owner, saying have a good day, and So-eun was waving her hand at the pitbull terrier.
“Shall we go to mom?”
“Ung, mom!”
So-eun, who seemed a bit regretful that the pitbull terrier had gone, smiled brightly at the word mom and ran towards Noona.
“Ah, don’t let go of the ajussi’s string!”
“I’m taking this too!”
The two guys left behind by So-eun again bit the end of their strings and chased after So-eun once more.
“Kyu-eok!”
Ah, the dog fell.
I picked up the dog that had fallen while running and tangled in the string, and approached Noona.
“So-eun-ah. We have to take care of these guys.”
“Ung!”
“Answer properly.”
I gave So-eun the dog’s string in her hand and smiled happily. And Noona and Noona’s friend, watching that, were also smiling happily.
Thanks to So-eun’s bright smile, we felt happiness to the fullest, and as the sun was setting, we returned to the cafe.
Fortunately, there was no problem that happened while we were away, so we could end with happy hearts.