Hwindung-i and Cheongdung-i

"Will this spot do?"

"Hmm... It looks a bit tilted to the left."

"How about now?"

"Well, it's level, but I think it's a bit too low."

"Oh, really? Then how about here?"

"Ooh! Perfect!"

"Yes, that should do it."

At the long-awaited sign of approval, Dojin marked the spot with the pen he was holding.

Now, all he had to do was mount Cheongdung-i's new house right there.

And not just any house, but a specially crafted one sent directly by the Bird Association.

Dojin recalled his phone call with the president of the association a few days ago.

"A new hawk has settled down at our place," Dojin had said. "I think it's a Honey Buzzard, and I'm pretty sure I'm right. The image search matches, and it's been relentlessly eating hornets."

At Dojin's words, a hollow laugh escaped the lips of his caller, Choi Chan-seong, the president of the Korean Bird Association.

It wasn't that he didn't believe Dojin.

Ever since they met over the attempt to capture the goshawk, Dojin had never lied to them or gotten in their way.

It was just that the situation was so absurd, he couldn't help but react this way.

And for good reason...

Hawks are classified as birds of prey.

In the animal kingdom, they are apex predators. Naturally, they would never build a nest within another's territory.

The only exceptions would be a mate or offspring.

If any other raptor entered their territory, a fight was bound to break out.

"Yes, they're actually sitting right next to each other even now," Dojin replied.

Another hollow laugh escaped Chan-seong's lips at Dojin's reply.

For a split second, he even doubted the knowledge he had spent his entire life studying.

Is it because Hwindung-i is just that unusual?

Although they had failed to capture it, the association had been keeping a close eye on Hwindung-i.

Specifically, through the videos uploaded to Dojin's channel.

The problem was that their confusion only grew with every video they watched.

It was clearly a goshawk, yet its behavior resembled that of a pet dog or cat.

Especially when this man is involved.

The footage captured by the other security cameras installed at Sekki House was relatively normal.

It aligned perfectly with the hawk behaviors they had researched and documented so far.

But strangely, whenever Dojin was nearby, Hwindung-i seemed to malfunction.

Does it really think it's a puppy just because its name is Hwindung-i?

He couldn't help but wonder.

And now, a Honey Buzzard had allegedly nested at Sekki House as well.

No matter how he looked at it, this was not normal.

I want to observe them. Not through edited videos, but the raw footage.

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Chan-seong blurted it out.

"Excuse me? In the... nest?" Dojin asked.

Realizing his mistake at Dojin's hesitant tone, Chan-seong quickly backpedaled.

Asking to install a camera on someone else's property?

Even if it was for research, it was crossing a line.

Besides, hadn't Dojin already suffered for weeks because of the Bird Association?

If he offended Dojin, he might not even get the raw footage of Hwindung-i that they had agreed to share later.

Just as Chan-seong was about to hastily apologize, Dojin spoke up.

"Hmm... Well, there isn't a nest yet, so installing it wouldn't be hard. But I'm worried it might bother Cheongdung-i."

"Yes. Its feathers have a dark, bluish-gray tint, so I named it Cheongdung-i."

"Let's think about the camera after we build Cheongdung-i's nest. We haven't decided on the location or what materials to use yet."

Seeing that Dojin didn't seem to mind as much as he had feared, Chan-seong's mind began to spin rapidly.

Recalling his vast experience and the numerous methods used to observe birds, he quickly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠formulated a mutually beneficial proposal.

"A house for Cheongdung-i?" Dojin asked, surprised by the unexpected offer.

Chan-seong quickly followed up, not wanting to give Dojin time to refuse.

He was determined to seal the deal before Dojin could decline.

"Hmm..."

"If that's the case, I don't mind, but..."

Perhaps his desperation had gotten through.

Dojin's response was starting to sound positive.

Chan-seong seized the opportunity and pressed on.

"That was indeed a bit troublesome," Dojin admitted.

"Ah, that's perfectly fine. I wasn't expecting anything in return anyway."

Dojin shook his head at Chan-seong's apologetic tone.

He hadn't cooperated with any ulterior motives. More than anything, thanks to that incident, one of the main culprits who had tormented Dohee had been swept away.

Na Seok-uk had been arrested red-handed at the scene and was currently locked up in a detention center.

Since he was already on probation at the time, it had been decided that he would remain detained until his trial.

He'll definitely be sent to prison after the trial.

Having been arrested while on probation, there was no way for him to avoid prison time.

Maybe if he could pay a fine, but there's no way his family has that kind of loyalty to help him.

From what he heard, the association had raised such a fuss that the government officials had requested a rigorous investigation.

Dojin had only recently learned this, but investigations regarding endangered species were largely at the discretion of the enforcement officers.

Instead of the police immediately arresting someone for hunting an animal, the officials had to verify the incident first and then request a police investigation.

Because of this, many cases were swept under the rug depending on the region and the official in charge. But this time, Seok-uk had picked the wrong target.

The animal he had attacked was a Class 1 endangered species, and the Bird Association had witnessed it in real-time.

Naturally, the Bird Association flooded the authorities with complaints, prompting the police to conduct a far more thorough investigation than usual.

Did they say the fine would be at least thirty million won?

Although the maximum fine was fifty million won, considering Hwindung-i was unharmed, thirty million won was practically the highest realistic penalty.

And a fine of that size was an amount that the rest of Dohee's family couldn't scrape together even if they pooled all their resources.

Those scumbags probably can't even scrape together three million won, let alone thirty million.

While Dojin was briefly lost in thought, Chan-seong seized the moment to wrap up the conversation.

After a moment's hesitation, Dojin nodded.

Thinking about it, it wasn't a bad deal for them either.

"Alright, I understand. I'll make sure to send you the footage regularly."

Three days after that phone call,

Dojin received Cheongdung-i's new house,

along with several cameras sent by the association.

"But this feels like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a bit of an overkill,"

Dojin said with an awkward laugh as he looked at the birdhouse sent by the association.

Its overall appearance resembled a cuckoo clock.

The only differences were that it was carved from a single solid block of wood and had a dedicated slot to mount a camera.

Up to that point, it looked quite nice.

The problem lay in its size and weight.

It was nearly the size of a small desk, and because it was carved from solid wood, it weighed close to ten kilograms on its own.

Although they had chosen the installation spot with its specifications in mind, they couldn't help but feel anxious.

Dohee and Seungwan seemed to share Dojin's concerns, their expressions filled with worry.

"If we factor in Cheongdung-i going inside, it's going to be even heavier..." Dohee murmured.

"Should we switch to a lighter birdhouse even now?" Seungwan suggested.

As Dojin began to lean toward finding a different nest under their persuasion,

Kki-yak, kki-yak!

"Huh? Cheongdung-i?"

Cheongdung-i, who had been missing since morning, returned to Sekki House.

Clutched in its talons was yet another wasp nest. It seemed the bird had already eaten all the adult wasps, leaving only the larvae behind.

Kki-yak!

After circling in the air for a moment, Cheongdung-i spotted Dojin and the others and landed near them.

And then...

"Huh?"

"Oh?"

Exclamations of surprise and awe escaped Dohee and Seungwan's lips.

After landing, Cheongdung-i inspected the house sent by the association a few times before slipping right inside.

With that single action, all their previous discussions became completely moot.

The owner, Cheongdung-i, had chosen its home. What else ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could they do?

Now, they only needed to figure out how to secure that massive house as safely as possible.

Kki-yak!

With a short cry, Cheongdung-i took to the sky.

Watching the bird fly away, Dojin turned his head at the sound of a voice behind him.

"Did you swap out the memory card?"

"Yeah. Did you change the camera in the nest too?"

"Yep. That part was easy. The association really built this well."

The cuckoo-clock-like nest had a dedicated mounting space for the camera.

Placing the camera inside captured the entire interior without any blind spots, which had thoroughly impressed even Seungwan.

All Dojin and his team had to do was rotate and retrieve the three cameras sent by the association.

However, that was only for the nest camera. Dojin's task was slightly different.

"My goodness. I've seen plenty of cameras for cats and dogs, but this is my first time seeing one specifically for birds."

"They said it was custom-ordered by the association. The resolution is a bit low, but they focused on minimizing the battery size and weight."

Chan-seong hadn't just sent the nest and mounting cameras.

He had also sent a wearable camera and a harness for Cheongdung-i.

Though he hadn't explicitly said it, his intentions were obvious.

"He must want to observe the Honey Buzzard's ecology in detail. He showed a lot of interest during our last call."

"First Hwindung-i, and now this. That association is truly passionate about birds."

"Well, I suppose that's how one earns a doctorate and runs an association in that field."

"Hehe, I wish you'd get a doctorate too, Oppa. How about a degree in Animal Training?" Dohee teased.

"Pfft! What even is that?" Dojin laughed.

Dojin smiled as Dohee linked her arm with his, acting cute.

But the laughter didn't last long.

Once they checked the retrieved footage in the office, Dojin, Dohee, and Seungwan could only stare at one another in stunned silence.

Their faces were filled with undeniable awkwardness.

"Should we... really send this?" Dohee asked hesitantly.

"..."

"B-but shouldn't we? That's why the association sent us these cameras in the first place..." Seungwan stammered.

"..."

"But if we send this, it's going to cause a massive uproar. Honestly, even we, who watched it directly, are questioning if this is raw footage. Won't they think it's edited?"

"..."

At Dohee's point, Seungwan fell silent as well.

With Dojin already quiet and Seungwan now joining the silence, a heavy hush fell over the office.

After a brief sigh, Dojin finally spoke.

"...Let's send it."

"Are you sure it'll be okay?" Dohee asked worriedly.

She wasn't trying to argue, but she was concerned this video might attract unwanted attention.

She was worried it might stir up another controversy.

However, Dojin was firm.

"Let's upload the raw footage to our channel too. We'll make it clear that it's unedited. They're probably waiting for our video, so it'll look even stranger if we don't post anything."

"...That's true."

"Whew. Alright. I'll upload it to the shared cloud drive we set up with the association," Seungwan said.

Dojin nodded in agreement.

Whatever reaction the association had after seeing the video, there was no turning back now.

"President, Sekki House has uploaded the video."

"Oh! Really? Let's check it out!"

Hearing his secretary's announcement, Chan-seong quickly wrapped up his work and headed to the conference room.

He wanted to watch the video on the large monitor there.

I'm glad I sent them the highest resolution camera possible.

While the ultra-small camera worn by Cheongdung-i couldn't be helped, the resolution of the camera installed in the nest would allow them to see everything clearly without any pixelation.

"President, I heard the video was uploaded?"

"Your efforts are paying off immediately, President."

On his way to the conference room, several staff members who had heard the news joined him.

They wanted to watch the footage together.

They weren't about to miss such a rare opportunity to observe the ecology of a migratory Honey Buzzard.

With everyone's expectations running high, the first file sent by Sekki House began to play.

However, instead of the sharp, majestic Honey Buzzard they had anticipated, all they saw was a completely white screen.

"Huh?"

"What is this...?"

"Did they install the camera incorrectly?"

The unexpected opening frame threw the association members into confusion.

Even Chan-seong was so startled that he instinctively reached for his phone.

They say the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

He wanted to call Sekki House immediately to ask why the video had turned out like this.

Just then, the stark white screen began to shift.

"Oh? The screen is moving."

"Wait, so it wasn't out of focus?"

Because the screen was entirely white, they hadn't noticed at first, but looking closely, there was subtle movement.

And a moment later, the association members realized exactly why the screen had looked that way.

Kkya-ak!

Hwindung-i.

The very bird they had tried so hard to capture was blocking the camera lens.

Sighs of relief escaped their lips as they realized the camera wasn't malfunctioning.

However, the same question popped into everyone's mind.

Why is Hwindung-i in Cheongdung-i's nest?

Did it mistake the house for its own?

As they all shared similar thoughts,

a sight none of them had ever witnessed in their entire lives unfolded before their eyes.

Kki... kki-yak...

Kkya-ak!

"Wh-what is that?"

"Why is Hwindung-i...?"

Hwindung-i, having invaded Cheongdung-i's nest, was lightly stepping on Cheongdung-i's neck.

At a glance, it looked as if Hwindung-i was about to devour Cheongdung-i on the spot.

But Hwindung-i did no such thing.

Tap, tap.

Kkya-ak!

Kki... kki-yak...

With one foot pinning Cheongdung-i's neck, and the other foot lightly tapping Cheongdung-i's head, Hwindung-i looked less like a predator about to consume its prey and more like...

"...For some reason, that looks like..."

"...bullying?"

"Why does it look like hazing to me?"

At the comment of a staff member who had recently finished his military service, everyone focused on the screen again.

Perhaps because they were looking for it,

the video indeed began to look exactly like that.

The firm grip on the collar, the head-tapping meant purely to annoy...

Wasn't it a scene all too familiar to anyone who had served in the military?

"Uh..."

"It really does..."

"Haha... A goshawk... hazing a Honey Buzzard?"

Unlike before, the faces of everyone in the room, including the president, were now painted with utter bewilderment.