Living the Good Life?
Two weeks after returning to Sekki House, the first good news of 2021 arrived for Dojin and his companions.
"Congratulations. She's pregnant."
"Whew..."
"Wow, congratulations!"
"That's wonderful news."
At the words of the director of Good Doctor Animal Hospital, not only Dojin but also Do-hee and Seung-wan erupted in cheers.
Meanwhile, the actual subject of the pregnancy news was staring at the three of them as if they had lost their minds.
...?
Ttorang-i, who had just returned yesterday after spending two weeks at the Paju Stray Animal Protection Center, found this entire situation utterly baffling.
"Congratulations, girl. You did it."
Woof?
Ttorang-i tilted her head at Dojin's praise. She had no idea what she had supposedly succeeded at.
But her confusion didn't last long.
"Who's a good girl? Our Ttorang-i! You did so well!"
"Congratulations! You're going to be a mother now."
As the shower of compliments continued, Ttorang-i's tail began to twitch. Eventually, unable to contain her excitement, she started hopping up and down on the spot.
"Since she's in the early stages of pregnancy, she needs to be careful," the director advised. "Light exercise is fine, but please avoid excessive activity. For the time being, hold off on walks and baths."
Hearing the director's words, Dojin and the others straightened up. Caught up in the excitement of Ttorang-i's pregnancy and her cute antics, they had momentarily forgotten where they were.
"Are there any other precautions we should take?"
"A dog's pregnancy isn't all that different from a human's. Her appetite might fluctuate due to morning sickness, and she might experience sudden changes in her food preferences."
"We should stock up on supplements beforehand, then."
"That would be wise. Especially since this is Ttorang-i's first pregnancy, she might be confused by the changes in her own body. She could get stressed by the unfamiliar sensations, so please keep a close eye on her."
"Um..."
Do-hee, who had been listening quietly to Dojin and the director, timidly raised her hand.
"When will we be able to see Ttorang-i's puppies?"
"Oh, right. I heard you can see them with an ultrasound these days..." Seung-wan chimed in, remembering.
The director nodded in agreement. "Yes, we can check via ultrasound starting from the fourth week. It's a necessary procedure to monitor the pregnancy anyway, so you'll be able to see them then."
"Wow, so the ultrasound will show everything? Like how many puppies there are and what their genders are?"
"It's possible. Though determining the gender will take a bit more time."
Do-hee and Seung-wan's questions continued for quite a while.
Although the two of them had listened quietly during the initial examination, the official confirmation of the pregnancy seemed to have triggered an explosion of curiosity.
Naturally, Dojin had no choice but to take a step back.
"...You heard him, right? No baths and no walks for the time being."
Whine...
At Dojin's words, Ttorang-i slumped onto the floor, looking utterly dejected. Both were things she absolutely loved.
Although they had been bathing her less frequently since winter started, she still went on a walk at least once a day. Above all, the realization that she wouldn't be able to see Sun-ja Hal-meoni for a while made Ttorang-i even more disappointed.
"Just bear with it for a bit. Once the early stage of pregnancy passes, you can go on walks again."
Whimper?
"Yes, really. You don't think we'd keep you cooped up in the room for the entire pregnancy, do you? So just hang in there for now. That way, you can give birth to healthy puppies."
Woof!
As if satisfied with Dojin's answer, Ttorang-i threw her head back and barked. However, the moment they arrived back at Sekki House, her mood plummeted straight back down to rock bottom.
"I've confirmed the payment. But the amount was quite a bit larger than expected...?"
"Ah, that's a bonus. Consider it a token of my appreciation for working through the end of the year and finishing ahead of schedule."
"Ah! In that case, thank you so much."
At Dojin's words, the contractor's face lit up. In truth, he had been hesitating on whether to bring it up until the very moment he spoke.
The discrepancy in the amount was too large to ignore, so he had to mention it, but with the economy being so bad, the words hadn't come easily.
I didn't even bring it up out of honesty, just because I was worried it might cause trouble later...
In the end, it was a happy resolution where everything worked out. Except, that is, for the dog that had been whining incessantly for a while now.
Whiiiine...
"No matter how much you whine, the answer is no. You promised at the hospital just a moment ago."
Whiiiine...
Whine...
Despite Dojin's firm stance, Ttorang-i refused to give up. Instead, she clung tighter to his leg, raising the pitch of her whines.
She gave him the classic, pity-inducing look unique to large dogs, but unfortunately for her, it had no effect on Dojin.
"Tsk! No!"
Clicking his tongue, Dojin nudged his leg slightly to shake Ttorang-i off. She let out another dramatic yelp, but Dojin didn't even blink.
He could see right through her little tricks.
"This brat, trying to take advantage just because she's pregnant. Hey! No!"
Whine...
"Let's go, Ttorang-i."
Only after Dojin put on a stern face did Ttorang-i finally give up and back away. Then, as if she had been waiting for this moment, Sun-jam appeared and led Ttorang-i away.
Do-hee, who had been watching the scene unfold, asked worriedly, "Are you sure she'll be okay? Ttorang-i looks really sulky."
She knew firsthand how troublesome Ttorang-i could be when she was sulking. Now that she was pregnant, Do-hee couldn't help but worry.
I'm sure it won't happen, but what if Ttorang-i completely turns her back on Oppa because of this?
Sometimes, Ttorang-i held grudges even longer than Samsaek-i or Bo-ri. Yet, Dojin, the one directly involved, didn't seem concerned at all.
"It's fine. She was just acting until the very end."
"Acting?"
"Yeah, because she wanted to go in here." Dojin pointed behind him.
It was a building that had been expanded and remodeled from a detached warehouse—a brand-new welfare facility for Sekki House, completed just today.
"No way, she shouldn't even know what that place is yet," Do-hee said, puzzled.
As far as she knew, the building had only just been finished and had never been used. Even she had only heard about it from Dojin and hadn't stepped foot inside yet.
If even she was in the dark, it made no sense for Ttorang-i, who had been away at the shelter for two weeks, to know. However, Dojin's subsequent explanation made Do-hee realize she had miscalculated.
"They turned on the water inside to test it. She probably heard the sound and caught the scent. I heard they sprayed disinfectant, too."
"Ah."
Sound and scent. For a dog as smart as Ttorang-i, those clues were more than enough to figure out what the building was.
After all, inside was a bathhouse, one of Ttorang-i's absolute favorite places.
"Since we're here, this is perfect. Let's go in together."
"Wh-what? Go into the bathhouse... together?"
"Uh... should I excuse myself?"
Were they shocked by Dojin's unexpected suggestion? Not only Do-hee but even Seung-wan couldn't hide their embarrassment. Seung-wan was even taking slow steps backward, looking ready to actually leave them to it.
"...What on earth are you thinking? You two have dirtier minds than you look."
"Huh?"
"B-but you clearly said... let's go in together."
"Sigh..."
"..."
"..."
At their responses, Dojin let out a theatrical sigh. When he shook his head with exaggerated disappointment, the two girls' faces flushed bright red.
Oh no, what do I do? Oppa shouldn't misunderstand.
Shoot, I made things even weirder by saying something so strange...
Unlike the two who were flustered by this unfamiliar side of Dojin, Dojin himself was barely holding back his laughter.
Seeing them like this is pretty refreshing.
Before his regression, Dojin had never been able to tease them like this. In fact, the two of them—especially Seung-wan—used to tease him quite often, and Dojin had never managed to get proper revenge on the younger girl.
Seeing Seung-wan so flustered gave him a strange sense of satisfaction. However, he decided to end the joke there.
"I meant we should go in for the final inspection. Since it wouldn't be right for me to go in and check the women's bath."
"Ah!"
"I... I see."
At Dojin's explanation, the two nodded in understanding. Of course, they couldn't stop their faces from turning red again out of sheer embarrassment.
"This is much more professional than I expected."
"I know. Who would have thought that old warehouse could turn into this?"
"Aside from the size, this is barely any different from a proper jjimjilbang."
At Dojin's words as they entered the building, Do-hee and Seung-wan, who followed him in, nodded in agreement.
To be honest, they had been a bit worried when he first announced he was expanding the isolated warehouse between the parking lot and the vegetable garden. But seeing the final result, Dojin's decision had proven correct once again.
"But this is seriously amazing. How is this the same warehouse? Does an expansion usually go up this fast?" Do-hee asked, looking around in wonder.
The warehouse she remembered was a single-story concrete building of about 350 square feet. But this place was easily several times larger, with separate entrances leading to the men's and women's baths.
Even with her limited knowledge of construction, she could tell this went far beyond a simple expansion. And as expected, Dojin's explanation proved her right.
"Well, I call it an expansion, but it's basically a brand-new building. We only kept a portion of the original warehouse and rebuilt everything else from scratch." Dojin tapped the nearby wall.
It turned out to be a much bigger project than I anticipated, but I'm satisfied with the result.
Originally, Dojin had envisioned a bathhouse with a single large tub that could fit about ten adults at once, along with a few dozen showerheads. But when he actually tried to proceed with that plan, a problem arose.
If I build it like that, the female staff won't have a place to go.
Although the male-to-female ratio at Sekki House was overwhelmingly skewed toward men, it didn't mean there were no women. There were Do-hee and Seung-wan, and counting Altani, Chanarshanhu's family, and Hui-su, that already made six.
When he factored in the female security staff and the kitchen ladies, he had no choice but to revise the bathhouse design.
Adding more baths meant they needed extra changing rooms, and to accommodate the number of users, they had to increase the number of tubs, which ultimately required expanding the physical footprint. The result of dozens of blueprint revisions was this very building.
A three-story building with a footprint of 3,500 square feet, boasting a total floor area of over 10,000 square feet.
At this point, it's practically a dedicated bathhouse facility.
Considering the number of people who would use it once it opened, calling it a public bathhouse was no exaggeration.
I'm glad there are construction companies using modern modular building techniques now. Otherwise, the construction would have dragged on for several more months.
Dojin had only recently learned that contractors using advanced modular construction methods had been on the rise for a few years. Not only was it faster and safer than traditional methods, but it also featured built-in earthquake resistance while being over thirty percent cheaper.
Thanks to this, while high-rise apartments or commercial villas still used traditional methods, low-rise buildings and residential houses built with these new techniques were rapidly increasing. This very building, after all, had been completed in just fifty days.
"I'll check the men's bath. I'll leave the women's side to you two."
"Got it!"
"Leave it to us."
Hearing their replies, Dojin opened the door marked with the character for "Men" and stepped inside.
"Oh, this looks exactly like a real bathhouse."
An exclamation of admiration escaped Dojin's lips as he surveyed the space. The area past the door was identical to a standard men's changing room.
Plywood lockers with keys dangling from them, a wooden platform in the center of the changing room with nail clippers and an ashtray on top, a large TV and a fan mounted on the wall, and shelves near the entrance stocked with hair dryers, cotton swabs, and cheap lotion. It looked as if they had plucked a local town bathhouse and replicated it here down to the last detail.
"At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a bath attendant hiding somewhere." With this level of detail, it felt entirely possible.
Creak.
"Whoa."
Entering the bath area, Dojin let out another soft exclamation. Unlike the changing room, which felt slightly unnatural because everything was brand new, this area was the epitome of a bathhouse.
"They said they filled the tubs on purpose. Is that why?"
The tubs were filled to the brim with water for the final inspection and leak check. Thanks to that, the steam filling the room enhanced the authentic bathhouse atmosphere even further.
Taking off his socks and looking around the bath area, Dojin smiled when he saw the "Animal Bath" section in the corner. Although he had put effort into the design of the entire building, he had paid extra attention to this specific area.
"This should be big enough for the kids to splash around in, right?"
Equipped with a tub the size of a queen-sized bed and specialized brush showers, this section was a dedicated zone for Dojin's pets.
"Strangely enough, all of our animals love swimming."
Except for the hawk trio, all the animals at Sekki House loved water. They didn't just like it; they were absolutely obsessed. Setting aside the otters and Ttorang-i, even the cats—Bo-ri and Samsaek-i's siblings—refused to leave the pool once they got in.
"They say you have to accumulate good karma for three generations just to meet one water-loving cat. If that's the case, how much karma did my ancestors build up?"
Counting the mother and the kittens, there were six water-loving cats in total. With that kind of luck, one of his ancestors must have been the helmsman of a turtle ship.
Leaving the bath area, Dojin continued his inspection. He finished checking the cold plunge pool in the basement and the sauna on the second floor. Just as he was about to head outside...
Squeak, squeak! Squeeeak!
"...No way."
Hearing the noise coming from the first-floor bath area, Dojin turned back. A very familiar cry echoed from inside.
Creak.
Perhaps because they heard the door opening, the cries suddenly cut off.
But Dojin didn't stop. He was determined to catch the culprits red-handed.
Passing by the various hot tubs, Dojin reached the corner of the bath area and pulled open the partition without hesitation.
Scurry!
Dojin saw a pair of black, furry animals, slightly larger than his hand, scurrying backward. They seemed startled by the sudden opening of the partition.
But that only lasted for a moment. As soon as they recognized Dojin, they relaxed and approached him, acting cute.
Squeak? Squeak, squeak?
They quickly circled Dojin's legs, standing on their hind paws to tap his calves to show their affection. However, Dojin's stern expression remained unchanged.
"...Oh, look at you two. Living the good life, are we? You dump your pups on me, disappear, and now you look healthier than ever."
Squeak?
At Dojin's scolding, the father otter, who had been patting Dojin's calf, tilted his head. He looked as if to say, Is there a problem?
The mother otter, playing nearby, didn't seem to have a care in the world either, rolling around on her back and showing her belly.
Seeing the couple act so brazenly made a vein throb on Dojin's forehead.
Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused me?
The otter couple had dumped their pups on Dojin as usual and then vanished. Because of them, Dojin and his companions had to take on the unexpected burden of raising baby otters.
As winter set in, the pups had fallen ill one after another, to the point where all of them had to be hospitalized in December.
Well, thanks to that, they were actually safe when the boiler exploded, but still...
If the parent otters had been around in the first place, the pups wouldn't have needed to be hospitalized. Dojin had even gone so far as to convert a first-floor classroom into a dedicated space for the baby otters.
Yet, these so-called parents, showing up after two whole months, were acting completely carefree. Dojin couldn't help but feel his blood boil.
Squeak? Squeak, squeak!
The parent otters squeaked as if trying to soothe Dojin, telling him everything was fine. Dumbfounded by their behavior, Dojin spoke.
"You two, wait here for a moment. I'm going to go tell the others that you're back."
By now, Do-hee and Seung-wan should be finishing up their inspection of the women's bath. If he took any longer, they might start worrying about him.
However, when Dojin walked out into the lobby, the awkward expressions on the girls' faces told him that something had gone wrong in the women's bath as well.
"...What is it? Did something happen over there too?"
"Over there? Wait, did some animals get into the men's bath too? Was it Ttorang-i?"
From Do-hee's response, Dojin put a few pieces of the puzzle together. The issue in the women's bath was also animal-related, and at the very least, it wasn't Ttorang-i.
Then the culprits are obvious.
Among the animals at Sekki House, they loved water, but it wasn't Ttorang-i. The parent otters were here, and the baby otters were sleeping in their room. That left only one group.
To confirm his suspicion, Dojin asked, "Did Bo-ri and her kittens get in?"
At Dojin's question, Do-hee and Seung-wan nodded. Their faces still held a mix of awkwardness and disbelief.
"Sigh, those little rascals..."
He could understand the otters, who had been living outside. After all, the doors weren't locked. But Bo-ri's family was a different story.
"How on earth do they keep opening closed doors and slipping out?"
Ever since Samsaek-i's escape, they had been extra careful about locking up, but it was useless. As Dojin pondered how he would have to secure the doors next time, he suddenly chuckled. Come to think of it, the situation was quite hilarious.
"...In the end, the animals got to inaugurate the bathhouse first."
It was built as a welfare facility for the humans, but the pets were the ones who got to break it in. The real issue was that Dojin was already far too used to this kind of thing.
"Since it turned out like this, let's just open it starting today."
"Huh? Are you sure?"
"There might still be defects we haven't noticed yet."
At Do-hee and Seung-wan's concerns, Dojin pointed toward the baths. "Those guys just personally certified the safety of the facility. If it's approved by them, shouldn't that be guarantee enough?"
"..."
"..."
Dumbfounded expressions crossed the girls' faces at Dojin's logic. The problem was, they couldn't find a single flaw in his argument.
Chuckling at their reactions, Dojin made the final call. "Alright, the bathhouse is officially open starting today!"
Squeak! Squeak, squeak!
As if they had understood Dojin's words, the parent otters began to squeak in celebration from inside the men's bath.