Sun-jam and Ulbo
Two weeks later.
The group was able to leave the quarantine facility safely.
It was a relief that no confirmed cases had emerged, preventing their quarantine period from being extended.
Woof, woof!
Meow!
"Huh? What's that sound...?"
"Oppa!"
"Dojin-ssi."
Stepping into the main building, Dojin turned his head at the familiar voices and cries.
"Oh? Did you come to meet us?"
A smile spread across Dojin's face at the sight of the two women and the animals waiting in the lobby.
Everyone he had missed during the quarantine was right there.
Although they had talked on the phone frequently, there was an emptiness that calls alone couldn't fill.
"Please introduce yourselves. These are the existing staff members who will be working with us from now on, and they're practically family to me. You know them, right? They're Shan-hun's family."
Surprisingly, the first person to step forward at Dojin's introduction was not Shan-hun.
"Hello. I am Altani. I am Chanarshanhu's wife."
"Ah, you're Shan-hun's wife. Hello, I'm Dohee. Na Dohee. I'm Dojin-oppa's girlfriend."
"Ah, the Boss's future wife! Nice to meet you."
"Future wife... Ehehe! Nice to meet you too!"
Dohee's face flushed red, seemingly embarrassed by Altani's words.
Seungwan, watching her with an amused look, introduced herself next.
"Hello, I'm Seungwan. Nice to meet you too."
"Dohee, Seungwan! I will remember. My Korean is still clumsy, but I will learn quickly. Nice to meet you. Let me introduce my family."
Having finished her own introduction, Altani naturally began introducing the rest of the family.
"These are my husband's younger siblings. The younger brother is Begter, and the younger sister is Obei."
As Altani finished speaking and gave them a look, the two stiffly frozen youths quickly bowed their heads.
"He... llo."
"An-yol ha-se-yo."
"The two of them cannot speak Korean well yet. I will teach them quickly."
"Oh, no. You can take your time learning. Nice to meet you, I'm Dohee."
"I'm Seungwan. Like Dohee said, there's no need to rush."
Shan-hun's siblings looked at Altani.
They wanted her to translate what the two women had just said.
Seeing this, Altani, who had originally planned to tell them later, translated for them right away.
At that,
Tears welled up rapidly in their eyes.
Their eyes grew watery in an instant, and—
Bow!
They bowed their heads once more.
"...you."
"Kind..."
Though the words were hard to understand, Dohee and Seungwan could somehow tell what they were trying to say.
Their intentions were just that transparent.
Just then, Altani stepped in again.
"..."
Her voice was low but firm.
Realizing how they must look, Begter and Obei quickly wiped their tears and lifted their heads.
As expected, the shadow leader of this household is Altani.
Dojin, watching the situation unfold from behind, nodded to himself.
He hadn't spoken with her much.
However, he had been able to get a general sense of the family dynamic during the car ride here.
Is that what a wise mother and good wife is like? No, she might actually be a bit scary.
At a glance, it seemed like Shan-hun, the head of the household, decided all the family matters.
But upon closer inspection, it was all made possible by Altani's quiet support.
Whenever the siblings frowned at something Shan-hun said, Altani would quietly soothe them.
And when only the couple remained, she would gently persuade her husband.
Upholding the patriarch's pride in front of the family while guiding him on the right path behind closed doors—she was the very definition of a wise wife.
Growl~
Growl~
Dojin chuckled softly at the sounds coming from nearby.
It was a sound he had heard plenty of times in the car.
To cover for Begter and Obei, who were flustered by their rumbling stomachs, Dojin stepped forward.
"Shall we eat first? We barely ate anything at the highway rest stop so we could have a proper meal here."
In truth, it was a lie.
Because of the COVID-19 situation, they couldn't sit down for a proper meal, but they had bought and devoured all kinds of takeout food like walnut cakes, tteokbokki, and seasoned potatoes.
Since Shan-hun's family eats so well...
It was like the urge to keep feeding grass to a rabbit happily munching away.
For some reason, he just wanted to feed them until they were stuffed.
But judging by the stomach growls, it seemed he had failed in that goal.
"Really? That's great! We were waiting to eat with you too."
"The nutritionist specially prepared beef short ribs because Shan-hun was coming."
"Beef short ribs? I love that!"
At Seungwan's words, Shan-hun, who had been standing quietly next to Altani, had his eyes light up.
He knew exactly how delicious the food at Sekki House was.
Among them, beef short ribs were a particular favorite of Shan-hun and his family.
First of all, it was meat, which was already a pass, but the unique seasoning of the ribs eliminated any gamey smell, allowing them to eat endlessly.
Slurp!
Just thinking about the beef short ribs made his mouth water.
Seeing this, Dojin immediately led the group to the cafeteria.
"Oh? It's Shan-hun! Good to see you! Welcome back!"
The kitchen lady they ran into upon entering the cafeteria welcomed Shan-hun warmly.
To a cook, is there anyone more precious than someone who eats their food with gusto?
In that sense, Shan-hun and his family were practically idols to the kitchen staff.
"Hello! We came to eat!"
"Aigoo, of course we have to feed our Shan-hun. We made beef short ribs and japchae today, so eat up!"
"I like japchae too. But is there a lot of meat?"
He said he liked japchae too, but anyone could see through him.
Shan-hun's true target was the meat.
Or to be precise, the quantity of the meat.
Since he was someone who could easily devour ten servings of beef short ribs by himself, he couldn't help but worry about the quantity.
As if understanding Shan-hun's concern, the kitchen lady laughed and said,
"Aigoo, you worry too much. When have we ever run short on food? We've set aside a separate portion for you and your family, so don't you worry."
"Haha, thank you!"
"Geez, is it really that good?"
"Yes, I love it."
"Hoho, come on over. You must be starving."
The kitchen lady led Shan-hun straight to the serving counter.
At that, greetings for Shan-hun poured in from all directions.
The kitchen staff and the nutritionist were the loudest, but some members of the security team who had grown close to him also chimed in.
And watching them, Dojin felt a strange sense of alienation.
"...What is this? I just got out of quarantine today too."
"Pfft! Why? Are you feeling left out?"
"Give up. Anywhere else maybe, but in the cafeteria, no one can beat Shan-hun's popularity."
The two women comforted the dejected Dojin and pulled him into the cafeteria.
After all, the cafeteria's beef short ribs were a favorite of theirs as well.
Thus began a meal that set a new record for Sekki House since its opening.
Zero leftovers.
Despite the excellent taste, the cafeteria usually had some leftovers because they always prepared food in abundance. But today, for the first time, the leftovers completely vanished.
Of course, everyone knew that the ones responsible for this result were the five Mongolians who had newly joined Sekki House.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Meow!
Mew!
Mrrip!
"Oops, sorry. I couldn't help it either."
Visiting the playroom for the first time in a while after lunch, Dojin was receiving his punishment for his long absence.
Not only Bo-ri, but also Samsaek-i and the other kittens, who usually played scattered around the room, swarmed him and began to pester him.
"Hey, I still video-called you guys every day—ouch!"
Dojin, who was trying to gently pry off Jam-bo who had fallen asleep biting his ankle, had to stop mid-sentence when Samsaek-i nipped his nose.
Among Bo-ri's kittens, Samsaek-i was the most clingy and demanding.
Since he was usually glued to Dojin, he hadn't been able to hide his anxiety and restlessness the entire time Dojin was gone.
Whenever Dojin video-called, Samsaek-i was the one who would press closest to the screen and rub his head against it.
If the quarantine period had been extended, it would have been a disaster.
Jokes aside, Samsaek-i might have actually broken out of the playroom.
Woof, woof!
"Yes, yes, sorry to you too, Ttorang-i. Oppa won't let this happen next time."
Ttorang-i was also in the playroom.
The dog, who usually didn't enter the playroom, had followed Dojin inside, showing just how much his absence had affected the animals.
Sniff, sniff!
"Okay, okay, I get it, so just a second."
His movements restricted by Ttorang-i constantly nudging him with her head, Dojin finally sat down on the floor.
As if they had been waiting for this moment, the animals pounced on him.
Ttorang-i settled on his lap, Bo-ri snuggled into his arms,
and the others claimed his shoulders, head, calves, and so on.
As if they had pre-assigned their spots, they all climbed up at once and fell asleep.
"...What is this? A new form of torture?"
"Pfft, you can't help it. You brought this on yourself, Oppa."
"I'm innocent. What was I supposed to do back then? It's not like I could just run away."
At Dojin's defensive reply, Seungwan, who was laughing and filming the scene from behind, chimed in.
"You can't help it. They say if you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight."
"But I have no intention of becoming king... and this isn't a crown."
"Oh, really? It looks like the cutest crown in the world to me, but I guess you think differently, Dojin-ssi?"
With those words, Seungwan began filming the animals perched all over Dojin one by one.
Her camera movements seemed to protest, 'They're this cute, and you're complaining?'
Meow?
"...Never mind. It is a crown."
Dojin, letting out a sigh with a bitter smile at Samsaek-i's meow from atop his head, heard a familiar kitten's cry from a distance.
Mew-waaaang!
"Huh? That sounds like Ulbo."
Sensing something was off, Dojin checked the animals piled on top of him.
One Golden Doodle.
One adult cat and four kittens.
The panda-faced kitten that should have been here was nowhere to be seen.
"He's not here. Ulbo, that little guy. Where is he crying all by himself again?"
He was already the one who cried the most and the most frequently among Bo-ri's litter.
With his unique cry and the black patches around his eyes that made him look like a panda, Dojin had always taken extra care of him.
Unlike his handsome and pretty siblings, he had a strangely pitiful and aggrieved face.
Perhaps because of that, he was the one who followed Dojin the most after Samsaek-i, so Dojin had assumed he would be here...
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.
Just then, the sound of tiny footsteps echoed from behind a pillar.
As the footsteps rapidly approached and the owner of the sound revealed herself, Dojin called out her name without realizing it.
"Oh? Sun-jam?"
The cute girl with pigtails was Sun-jam, the daughter of Shan-hun and Altani.
The girl, who was five years old in Korean age this year, was carefully cradling a kitten much smaller than herself.
Mew-waaaang!
Pant, pant...
"..."
Panting as if she had run in a hurry, Sun-jam held out the still-crying Ulbo toward Dojin.
"Did you bring Ulbo because you were worried? Because he kept crying?"
"..."
Nod.
As if understanding Dojin's body language, Sun-jam's small head nodded.
Mew-waaaang!
"Aigoo, give Ulbo to me first."
Taking the sorrowfully crying Ulbo from Sun-jam, Dojin began to soothe him.
The animals that had been piled on Dojin had all climbed down by now.
With their hearing being far superior to humans, there was no way they hadn't heard Ulbo's cries and Sun-jam's approaching footsteps.
They're so reliable.
Though they had let their guard down now after seeing Sun-jam's face, just moments ago, they had been glaring toward the source of the noise.
Setting aside the fully grown Ttorang-i and Bo-ri, even the young Samsaek-i and his siblings had tried to protect him, which naturally made him feel warm inside.
Mew...
"Yes, yes, why were you crying this time?"
Once Ulbo calmed down a bit thanks to the continuous patting, Dojin asked.
Mew...
"If you heard my voice, you should have just come here. Why were you crying all by yourself over there? You startled your big sister."
With those words, Dojin turned Ulbo's head toward Sun-jam.
After a moment of hesitation, the kitten rubbed his head against Dojin's chest one more time and then padded toward Sun-jam.
Mew...
"..."
"He's saying he likes you. Give him a hug."
Dojin spoke to Sun-jam, who looked flustered as Ulbo rubbed his head against her leg.
Of course, body language was essential this time as well.
Squeeze.
Understanding Dojin's meaning, Sun-jam carefully lifted Ulbo and held him in her arms.
She didn't forget to pat his bottom, just as Dojin had done.
Purr, purr...
"..."
"..."
The sight of Ulbo purring happily and the little girl looking proud as she held him was like a picture-perfect painting.
However, watching this scene, Dojin and the others couldn't hide their heartache.
She ate her food so heartily, though.
Even though it was far too much food for a mere five-year-old, the way Sun-jam had munched and swallowed the beef short ribs made her look like a doll.
At a glance, one wouldn't even notice anything was wrong with her.
...I should look for a hospital in the city.
Shan-hun had mentioned it before.
That the child had been hospitalized because she was sick a few years ago.
Although he didn't know the exact diagnosis from her hospitalization, he knew at least one aspect of Sun-jam's current condition.
Mew...
"..."
The daughter of Shan-hun and Altani could not speak.