Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Won't Bite? (4)
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With a face full of determination, she reaches out her hand.
Her opponent is Lumi.
As her tiny hand touches the bridge of Lumi's nose, cheers erupt from the audience seats.
- Go Yoon-seul! You look so cool!
- That kid's super brave, huh? I wish my boy was that brave too.
- Must be even scarier up close. Hang in there...
Emboldened by the cheers, Yoon-seul grows even braver.
Rub-rub, rub-rub—
She strokes the dolphin in small circles, just like how she rubs my belly.
Lumi gazes at Yoon-seul and beams innocently.
Then, she dips her head halfway into the water.
Pffft—!
"Eek, cold!"
Lumi launches a water cannon attack at Yoon-seul!
But this 5-year-old is no pushover—she's a shark at heart.
She won't just take it lying down.
"Take this, you too!"
She places her hand on the water's surface, gathers a bit, and splashes it at Lumi.
Lumi grins wider, clearly delighted, and fires off another water cannon.
Pffft—!
"Ugh... it stings..."
Splash-splash!
Pffft—!
Pffft—!
An epic showdown.
Dolphin Lumi versus the 105cm shark.
The result?
"Yoon-seul-i lost..."
Lumi's complete victory.
No way a landlubber could beat a marine mammal in a water fight.
Lumi spins proudly in place, basking in her triumph.
- Alright, now that you've had fun with our sibling guests, time for Romi and Lumi to say goodbye. Say bye-bye~.
Romi and Lumi bow toward us at the trainer's command.
Yoon-seul, forgetting the bitter taste of defeat, nods eagerly.
The sight of dolphins obeying human commands tickles the heart.
"Yoon-seul-i knows you won this time, Lumi. Next time, Yoon-seul-i wins."
She issues a villainous declaration of rematch to Lumi before leaving the stage.
Just like the boss of Onui Restaurant.
**
After the dolphin show, we grabbed a simple meal.
We headed to a restaurant inside the amusement park.
The menu must've hit the spot for Yoon-seul.
"Munch munch... This is so yummy."
"It's called omurice."
"Omuwice."
Ketchup fried rice loaded with veggies, ham, and bacon.
Topped with a fried egg.
I've made omurice for Yoon-seul a few times before, but this place's version is a bit unique.
A swirling egg on top, drizzled with a subtle demiglace sauce for extra color and flair.
Not extraordinarily flavorful, but it scores high on visuals.
Cooking can be a show too. Eye appeal isn't just empty talk.
"Yoon-seul, should we add this to our shop menu next time? Omurice."
"Ooh! Then Yoon-seul-i can eat five bowls like Eonni too."
"Yeah? Then we gotta make it at the shop sometime. I'll remember."
"Okay, Oppa!"
I'm confident I could nail the taste too.
Amp up the rice seasoning a bit, balance the sauce—it'd be even better.
I savor the meal slowly, committing the omurice flavor to memory.
After eating and paying, we headed to the safari area.
Giraffes.
Rhinos.
Zebras.
Monkeys.
And more.
A spot to encounter all sorts of animals.
Yoon-seul seemed pretty satisfied, taking it all in.
She especially gawked at the giraffe.
"Yoon-seul-i can't grow that big, right?"
My little sister, already harboring massive growth ambitions.
But the animals didn't look all that happy.
That bugged me.
They seemed sick or something.
Glassy eyes.
Staring blankly at the sky or slumping against rocks.
We spotted that kind of behavior now and then.
At least Romi and Lumi earlier seemed happy with their trainers.
But that's just a surface impression.
No way for us to know how they really live or feel day-to-day.
We wandered the park a bit more until sunset.
Then us siblings headed home.
"Hmm... Oppa. Yoon-seul-i's worried."
"About what?"
"Animal friends stay there all the time."
"Yeah."
"Won't it be cramped?"
"Yeah, probably pretty tight."
"That's why. Yoon-seul-i thinks they all wanna get out."
If even my little sis sees it that way, their stress must be off the charts.
This was actually my first time at a zoo.
I'd been too busy scraping by to even dream of it.
But since Yoon-seul's gotten into animals lately, we stopped by.
Seeing it firsthand doesn't sit right.
Sure, can't say every animal hates zoo life.
And with all the demand, that's how it plants itself in the city as an amusement spot.
But those eyes... hard to just shrug it off.
For once, we came home from an outing feeling kinda icky.
To make up for it, I decided to whip up her favorite pork stir-fry.
She'd been craving it since we stopped opening the shop—finally getting to it after the trip.
And for practice, I tried the tornado egg too.
Perfect side to cut the spicy kick of the pork.
"Mmm... Been so long, tastes even better."
Our five-year-old old soul spears the egg with her fork, layers pork underneath, and pops it in her mouth.
Big bite too.
Her eating boss mukbang skills are leveling up—great sign.
Back at that family restaurant in the park, kids her age were throwing fits during meals.
Makes me realize how well-behaved our little one is.
[Narration: Cheetahs, part of the feline family, are incredibly gentle animals. They're often lumped in with more ferocious beasts like leopards or lions, but nothing could be further from the truth.]
TV on during dinner to fend off boredom.
Weirdly, it's a documentary channel with animals.
Usually at this hour with Yoon-seul, it's one of two: news or racing.
Tonight, she insisted—curious about wild animal life.
[Narration: ...That's why cheetahs maintain close bonds with locals in African regions. People don't flee or fear when one approaches. They know cheetahs pose no threat.]
The cheetahs in the doc look happy.
Worlds apart from the zoo pals.
Striding through grasslands, rolling in dirt with kin, standing firm on Africa's shimmering savanna.
Seeing that stirs interest, but also unease.
The zoo keeps replaying in my head.
"They live so happy like that normally. Animals do."
"Yeah, just learned that myself."
Yoon-seul climbs onto my lap mid-meal, claiming her spot.
Thump-thump.
Thump-thump.
She bonks her head on my chest, then looks up to meet my eyes.
"Oppa, can't we help somehow?"
"You mean the zoo animals?"
"Yeah..."
"Sorry, that's a tough one."
Way too big a scale for us to fix.
What even could we do to make them happier?
No clue yet.
Just busting them out? Nah.
Like the polar bears or giraffes who've spent ages there.
They've probably forgotten how to survive in the wild.
They're in a whole different league from these wild cheetahs.
"That's so sad."
Frustrated by the helplessness, Yoon-seul keeps thumping my chest.
It syncs with my heartbeat, like my heart's pounding twice as fast.
So infuriating.
I could beg the Sun-Moon siblings for a favor—might not solve it, but something.
But relying on them? Nah. They're "business partners," as they put it.
Right then, an intriguing ad banner pops up.
A single-line promo scrolling at the bottom of the doc channel.
"There might be a way."
"Hm?"
I grab my smartphone and search quick.
The nonprofit name plastered on the banner.
Search pulls up activity logs, reviews, the works.
I pore over it carefully.
When it started, how much they've done.
Seems legit despite being nonprofit.
Especially their big push: improving zoo welfare.
Not caging them in prison pens, treating lives like spectacles.
Instead, tailoring environments to each species' habits for comfort.
News says the government's watching and plans zoo upgrades.
"Donate... maybe?"
"Donate?"
"Yeah, this group's right here..."
I explain to Yoon-seul.
What they do.
What donating means.
She nods.
"So they help animals for Yoon-seul-i and Oppa?"
"Yeah, make 'em happier. News said so—should be legit."
"Okay! Got it."
Yoon-seul hops up, yanks open the dresser drawer, and rummages.
What she pulls out?
"Yoon-seul, that's from Uncle Ming-gu. For buying chocolate."
"Yeah... but he gave it. Yoon-seul-i saved it. Got tons of choco anyway, gonna buy more later. Saving it."
40,000 won.
Exactly four 10,000 notes.
Uncle Jeong Min-gu opens his wallet for her every shop visit. Fancy foreign chocolates or pocket money—she loves it.
Now handing over her hard-saved stash. Her whole fortune.
"Oppa, send this to the animal helpers. Say Yoon-seul-i says pwetty please."
"You sure?"
"Yeah! Yoon-seul-i's fine. Got Oppa. Got choco. Got Yu-mini. Got Rui too. So okay. But animals no have this, not super happy. Better for them."
"Gotcha. Then Oppa'll add some and send it so animals can be happier. I'll pass it on."
"Yeah! Thanks."
I take her precious 40,000 won and add 60,000 from my leftover quiz show winnings, making 100,000.
Head to the nonprofit site and donate.
100,000's no small sum.
For us siblings, anyway.
But the pride outweighs it.
No regrets like wasting cash.
Business is booming lately—life's stable.
Donor name: her name.
Extra comment field:
[Chang Yoon-seul - 5 years old]
[Hope you help animals be as happy as Yoon-seul. Thanks for making sure they live comfy. Fighting today too!]