Alpaca (2)
Alpaca (2)
After briefly enjoying a cup of tea, we came back out to properly tour the place.
Following the farm owner's guidance, we stepped outside to look around the grounds.
"Where should I start introducing first?"
"Please save the alpaca for very last."
Wasn't the alpaca the highlight of this place?
Since we're seeing it anyway, I wanted to save it for last so I could remember the feeling of touching it for a long time.
"Haha, of course I have to show my daughter last."
"Ma'am, you call her your daughter too."
"Aren't all people who raise animals pretty similar?"
They used terms like older brother, older sister, and such as well, but treating them like your own children was probably the most common approach.
Adoption was giving birth through the heart, after all.
"Wow... there are horses too."
"It's common for a farm to have horses."
"There might even be camels."
"We do have camels. I'll show you later."
I couldn't believe they actually had them.
This farm seemed to have far more animals than I'd expected.
I never imagined there would be a farm of this scale in Seoul.
And it looked like they also offered weekend farm activities for families.
It was a surprisingly community-oriented farm.
"It's a farm, but there are a lot of machines here and there."
"That's a mixer. When we feed the animals, we mix feed with things like grain and such."
"Then they must grow up incredibly strong."
"That is the source of our farm's pride."
They sent out well-grown livestock by feeding them good food.
For a farm, you could call that both their dignity and their pride.
***
While looking around, I spotted a large cow and went over to see it.
It didn't seem like feeding time yet, but they said it was okay to give it some hay,
so I placed some into the cow's mouth with my tiny, fern-like hands.
Next to it, the calf looked like it was whining for food beside its mother,
and I couldn't help but smile at the adorable sight.
But where did they even get this hay from?
Even if they bought the feed, wouldn't sourcing hay be a problem?
"I suddenly got curious, how much does it cost a month to feed the kids here?"
"Hmm... when it's a lot, it can go up to 30 million won."
"Wow......"
How much did we as a couple spend on monthly living expenses?
Still, surely we didn't spend up to 30 million won a month?
While I was thinking such thoughts, Jeong Hwan-yi and Lee Min-ho were marveling and expressing their admiration.
"But things like hay don't cost much, so that helps keep the costs down."
"Then where do you get the hay from?"
"We buy it in bulk from dairy farms. After the harvest is finished, you know those round marshmallow-like things on the fields and paddies?"
"Ah... so that's how they're disposed of..."
"Rice straw is cheap, so we use it often. Though of course, we mix in things like Timothy hay, so we don't use it alone."
I didn't know what Timothy was, but she was probably talking about the green grass mixed in among this rice straw.
Anyway, maybe because it was a cow, it really seemed to enjoy its food.
When I stroked its head, it closed its eyes as if pleased, savoring the sensation...
It seemed like they really were clever animals after all.
"Cute.."
"Seong-hwan, you call every single animal you see cute."
"Did I... But cute things are just cute."
I diligently stroked the head of the cow that was contentedly munching the grass.
When would I ever get another chance to stroke a cow's head?
***
Next, we decided to go see the alpaca.
We had planned to make it the very last thing, but the owner took a call and something came up, so she had to go out later. We had no choice but to see it first.
The alpaca wasn't kept on the farm itself, but in a separate, private enclosure.
"As expected, the beloved daughter gets solitary confinement..."
"Hahaha, no matter how much you run a farm and look after the animals, playing favorites seems unavoidable."
The owner admitted it outright with a laugh as she pulled out the key to the enclosure.
When she opened the door and we entered, we found a fairly spacious and clean enclosure.
There was a large house where it could rest inside, and even a grass-covered playground where it could run around to its heart's content.
The alpaca was living the high life.
"But I don't see the alpaca."
"It's right there, isn't it?"
"Huh? Where?"
I tilted my head as I looked in the direction the owner was pointing with her finger.
That was because there was only something that looked like a white blanket there, not anything resembling an alpaca.
No matter how I looked, I couldn't see it, so I decided to slowly walk in the direction the owner pointed to confirm.
"You're saying it's here?"
"It's right there. Can't you see?"
"What on earth is there......."
Squish...
I pressed on it, thinking it was a cotton bed where the alpaca was lying down and sleeping, but it was unexpectedly plush.
This felt less like pressing cotton and more like pressing an animal's body.
"Whoa!"
Startled for a moment, I ended up leaping forward.
What I had thought was cotton was actually the alpaca, with its head pressed to the ground.
"Yoshi, did you sleep well?"
"Ppuu─"
The alpaca's cry sounded similar to a truck's horn.
Seeing its owner's face seemed to make it very happy.
I'd heard they were much smarter than dogs, but how smart were they exactly?
I suddenly became curious.
"Ma'am, just how much human speech can an alpaca understand?"
"Enough to express itself when it wants to go to the bathroom. And when it's hungry, it comes to find me and pesters me for food."
"Wow.... that must be incredibly cute..."
Dogs mostly stay inside the house, so for the most part they do their business on disposable pads.
But this alpaca was said to spend most of its time in front of the farm, not in the enclosure,
so it couldn't exactly just poop anywhere, could it?
It was so smart that it understood that.
I still didn't know if it was smarter than a dog, but it seemed to possess a comparable level of intelligence.
"Is there somewhere you can adopt an alpaca from?"
"Did it spark your interest?"
"No, well, it's not really that..."
As I told Jeong Hwan-yi and Lee Min-ho earlier, we couldn't raise an alpaca at home.
How could you raise an animal that comes up to my shoulders in an apartment?
Still, if it were possible, it seemed like it would be fun.
Putting Lil' One on top of the alpaca and going out for a walk.
"Unless you're adopting from a breeder, you'd have to bring them in from overseas. In that case, you have to bring them in as a pair. And it's 500 per head, so around 1,000 total?"
"Did you bring yours in from overseas, ma'am?"
"I adopted mine from a breeder."
"Aha... so that's why you only have one."
Well, A-ra and I planned to live in the city even when we got old, so we had no connection to alpacas.
For now, I had to pet it diligently and resolve the frustration of not being able to touch one on the program.
"May I touch it?"
"Yes, this child is already pestering me to be petted."
The alpaca slowly approached and pushed its head against my shoulder.
That action was so incredibly cute.
It seemed like it hadn't been long since it had been bathed; its fur felt fluffy and soft to the touch.
This was a texture you'd never get from a dog.
"Cute, right? You want to raise one, right?"
"Cough.... Honestly speaking, I do want to raise one."
It was so friendly with people too...
I felt the urge to pet it for a little longer.
"What should we do. I have to head out soon..."
"Ah, thank you for following us around today and showing us the farm."
"Thank you."
My friends and I bowed our heads in thanks.
No matter how much the Director had already paid for this, giving personal thanks was only proper.
"Next time, just come visit personally. People as polite as you students are always welcome."
"Th..then would it be alright if I came with my wife next time?"
"Of course. I'll give you my business card, so just give me a call before you come."
She pulled a card case out of her pocket and handed one business card to me.
With the firm intention of definitely coming back later, I took out my wallet and placed the card into the card slot.
***
"Director~"
"Seong-hwan, did you have a good visit?"
"Haa... I was disappointed I couldn't touch one directly on the broadcast, but I feel like that frustration has been resolved."
After returning from the farm, we went straight back to the agency.
It was time for Jeong Hwan-yi to clock in for work, and time for me to take A-ra home, too.
From what I'd heard from A-ra, she had overseas concert schedules to take care of...
It seemed like time I'd have to spend alone was coming soon.
"What do you mean? Why would Seong-hwan be alone?"
"Pardon? If A-ra Noona is busy with overseas engagements, I have to stay at home."
"No, no. Seong-hwan can just follow along, can't you? These days you can even take dogs on board the plane."
"Really...?"
"Of course."
What I was really asking wasn't whether you could take dogs on a flight, but whether she really intended to take me all the way overseas.
"Director... it hasn't been long since our semester started..."
"Ah, right. Seong-hwan is a university student too."
"What do you mean 'too'?"
It seemed she had completely forgotten that I was a university student.
I thought about teasing her one more time, but since she'd been tricked once, she probably wouldn't fall for it again.
It might just pointlessly expose my own shortcomings.
"Then it can't be helped. Seong-hwan will just have to house-sit at home with the puppies."
"Kkeung..."
The Director finished me off with that final blow.
It wasn't anyone's fault; thinking that it was just my fate drained all my energy.
But isn't going to university a good fate?
If I got caught making this kind of lament, it might cause a controversy.
"More importantly, where is A-ra Noona?"
"She'll be down soon. She's probably resting."
Just how hard had they been working her...
When we got home, I needed to give her a massage first.
A massage on her shoulders, legs, and buttocks.
Everything was probably all knotted up.