The Newcomer vs. The Established
"Are you ready?"
"Y-yes! I'm totally ready."
"I'm ready too."
"Alright, here goes."
Nodding at their replies, Dojin opened the lid of the cage.
Instantly, the four little furballs, who had been itching to get out, burst from the cage and began scurrying in all directions.
It's a good thing I released them inside the rubber pool just in case.
If he had let them loose on the bare ground, they would have scattered to the winds by now.
Kkya-wook! Kki-wook!
"Calm down, you guys. You already saw everything from inside."
Despite Dojin's words, the little furballs—or rather, the baby otters—could hardly contain their excitement.
After being cooped up in the recovery room for nearly a month receiving treatment, they seemed thrilled to finally taste freedom.
But their excitement was short-lived.
Kkya-wook! Kki-yo-wook!
As the parents, who had emerged from a separate cage, barked a stern scolding, the pups quickly scurried over and lined up in front of them.
"Oh... look at that. The father's authority is absolute."
Kki-reuk.
When Dojin gave a thumbs-up, the father otter let out a proud, arrogant cry.
He tried to lift his head with a haughty air, but—
Kki-reu...
"...You should check your condition before acting so smug."
His neck caught on the protective collar wrapped around it, leaving him frozen in an awkward, strained posture.
Glancing to the side, the mother otter seemed embarrassed by her husband and slowly turned her body away.
Since she was also wearing a collar and couldn't turn her neck, she had simply rotated her entire body.
"I take it back. What authority?"
Kki...!
At Dojin's remark, the father otter froze solid.
He seemed quite shocked by the blow to his pride.
"Alright, now that you've calmed down, let's get you washed. You haven't had a proper bath because we were busy disinfecting your wounds, right?"
Dojin looked toward the outside as he spoke.
At that, Dohee and Seung-wan turned on the valves of the hoses they were holding.
Swoooooosh!
Kki-wook! Kki-reu!
The otters were startled at first by the water spraying from both sides.
However, they soon realized it was just water, an element familiar to them, and began to swim around with relaxed expressions.
"Sorry, but you two can't swim yet. Your wounds haven't fully healed."
Kki-reu... Kkii...
At Dojin's words, the parent otters grew visibly depressed.
Still, rules are rules.
Normally, the parents would have had to stay at the clinic for another week or two.
Dojin had only managed to discharge them early by promising to take full responsibility for their care.
But what could I do? The pups were ready to be discharged, and I couldn't keep those little things separated from their parents.
The baby otters had recovered completely and it was time for them to leave the clinic.
Thanks to the parents desperately protecting them, the pups' wounds had been relatively shallow.
If they hadn't bumped their foreheads trying to break through the side gate, they might have been discharged within a single week.
If the Good Doctor Animal Hospital were larger, it might have been a different story.
Although it was quite large for a veterinary clinic on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, it didn't have unlimited space in its treatment and recovery rooms.
In fact, they had to suspend other inpatient treatments after the otters were admitted.
Ultimately, the director had no choice but to approve the parent otters' discharge to free up space for other emergency cases.
Of course, this came with the condition that they return for outpatient checkups once every three days.
Kkik! Kki-rik!
"They really love the water. I guess that's why they're called otters."
"They're so cute."
Dohee and Seung-wan watched in fascination as the baby otters swam leisurely in the pool.
Dojin chuckled at their reaction and said,
"Of course. They aren't called creatures of fatal charm for nothing."
"Can I touch them just once?"
"Hmm, I don't know."
Dojin observed the otters for a moment at Dohee's request, then shook his head.
He could sense a lingering wariness from the parent otters.
This was true for most animals, but otters in particular would never allow humans to touch their young without absolute trust.
Dojin was an exception because he had visited them often and, crucially, had saved their lives. But the other humans had not yet earned that trust.
"I don't think today is the day. Let's spend a bit more time with them before we try."
"Aww..."
"..."
Dohee pouted at Dojin's words.
Seung-wan, who had been watching her out of the corner of his eye, quietly withdrew his hand as well.
He had planned to sneak in a pet if Dohee got to touch them.
"Are you going to take them to their nest after washing them? Are we going to raise them here permanently?"
"I'm torn. It would be safer to keep them here, but they are wild animals after all..."
"Are you planning to release them back into the wild, Dojin?"
"Well, shouldn't we? Especially since their global population is already so low..."
Kki-rik? Kkyu?
Did they understand what he said?
The pups, who had been swimming scattered around, suddenly paddled over to Dojin and began climbing up his pants.
"Huh? Hey, let go! You're getting my pants all wet!"
Ignoring Dojin's protests, the baby otters kept scrambling up.
Though not as fast as Samsaek-i, they made steady progress, eventually conquering Dojin's shoulders and successfully soaking him from head to toe.
"Pfft, it looks like they have no intention of leaving."
"Yeah, I know this. This is what they call 'being chosen,' right? Like when stray cats choose their owners."
Seeing Dojin drenched without even stepping into the water, Seung-wan and Dohee spoke as if they had expected this all along.
They had already seen many animals become part of the family in this exact manner.
Meanwhile, Dojin's desperate cries rang in their ears.
"Ah! Not my back! Hey, not my back! Ugh! Ah... this feels so gross..."
Was it peace of mind? Or was it the efficacy of the various nutritional supplements Dojin fed them?
Whichever it was, the parent otters' wounds healed at a remarkable pace.
They recovered so quickly that their outpatient treatment, which was initially expected to take up to two weeks, was completed in just six days.
However, the parents' recovery didn't bring only good things for Dojin.
Kki-gik! Kkik-kkik!
"Sigh... Again?"
Stepping outside after lunch, Dojin let out a sigh at the sight of the parent otters blocking his path.
This was far from the first time this had happened.
"Look, you guys are the parents, right? So shouldn't you be the ones looking after the kids?"
Kkik? Kki-rik!
Dojin spoke in a serious tone, but unfortunately, the otters had no intention of listening to him.
They scurried over to stand side-by-side in front of Dojin, patted his left and right feet once each, and then scurried away just as quickly.
"Sigh, I'm not a babysitter."
Dojin sighed again as the two otters vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.
He had been quite flustered by this behavior at first.
But after the second time, and then the fifth, he had learned to just accept it.
"Is it because they survived a near-death experience? They're so lovey-dovey. I wouldn't be surprised if the pups get a younger sibling soon."
The reason the couple left their pups with Dojin was simple.
In human terms, they were off the clock.
They were enjoying a date night after clocking out of parenting duties.
"Just try getting pregnant again. I'll compile all the footage of your dates and upload it for the world to see."
Their dates were indeed being fully recorded.
Despite making a big show of leaving their pups behind, their date spot never extended beyond the grounds of Sekki House.
I suppose they feel anxious going too far from the babies.
Thanks to that, the security cameras installed all over the property captured every single moment of their public displays of affection.
Dojin planned to send these videos to various otter research organizations, including the Korea Otter Research Center.
"I need to build connections in advance."
Dojin had only recently found out about it.
Various bird associations and endangered species protection groups in Korea had raised issues regarding Dojin and Sekki House.
The one that had stepped up to defend him was the Korea Bird Association, with whom he had already built a friendly relationship by sharing videos of Hwindung-i and Cheongdung-i.
Because they had quietly resolved the potential issues on his behalf, Dojin hadn't even known there was a problem.
And they didn't even mention it to me.
Any other organization would have bragged about their help and demanded greater favors in return.
But they hadn't.
They only asked him to continue taking good care of Hwindung-i and Cheongdung-i, and to keep sharing videos with them.
The Korea Otter Research Center, where he planned to send the otter videos, was also recommended by the Korea Bird Association.
Kkik! Kki-rik!
"Oh dear, you're out of the nest again."
Arriving at the newly constructed waterway while lost in thought, Dojin sighed as he looked around the nest.
"Seriously, I told them not to feed them stuff like this yet. They're too young."
Several dead nutrias and bullfrogs were scattered around the nest.
Hwindung-i and Cheongdung-i had caught and brought them over to feed the pups.
"Sigh, even the smallest one is bigger than the pups."
No matter how carnivorous otters were, it was impossible for such young pups to eat prey this large.
In the end, Dojin brought over a pair of tongs, gathered the carcasses, and left only the smallest bullfrog behind.
He planned to put the rest in Cheongdung-i's nest later.
After all, Cheongdung-i had his own recently hatched chicks to feed.
"Cheongdung-i and Hwanggeum-i can eat the leftovers."
Cheongdung-i would probably be baffled to find his own prey back in his nest, but Dojin didn't care about that.
"Now that you've eaten, go to sleep, you guys. It's not time for you to be active yet."
It was barely 1:00 PM.
For these nocturnal creatures, this was equivalent to 4:00 AM, so they needed more sleep.
While the adult parents could choose to sacrifice sleep for their dates, sleep was essential for the growing pups.
Kki-woo... Kki-woo...
"No, you've stayed up too late already. Get into the nest. If you don't, I won't come visit you anymore."
Yielding to Dojin's threat, the pups crawled into the nest one by one.
Soon, the sound of even breathing drifted from inside.
"Shall I head back now?"
He checked his watch; it was almost 2:00 PM.
An hour had already flown by.
"At least it took less time today."
Considering it used to take over two hours to get them to sleep, this was a massive improvement.
Just as Dojin was about to stand up—
Someone was walking toward him.
"Huh? What brings you guys here?"
Dojin asked Dohee and Seung-wan as they approached.
They had brought Ttorang-i and Bo-ri's family along with them.
Ttorang-i and Bo-ri stared intently at the baby otters, then let out cries.
Woof! Meow!
"Shh! They just fell asleep."
Woof, woof! Meeeeeow!
Despite Dojin's attempts to quiet them, Ttorang-i and Bo-ri showed no intention of lowering their voices.
In fact, they only barked and meowed louder.
"W-what's wrong with them? Did something happen?"
Panicking as the baby otters threatened to wake up at any second, Dojin quickly asked the two humans.
He couldn't help it, since the animals were ignoring his commands, which was highly unusual.
However, the reactions of the two humans were also rather strange.
"Well, I don't know. Why don't you think about it yourself, you neglectful brother?"
"Hmm, maybe they're doing this because there's a problem?"
"Wh-what?"
At their words, Dojin finally took a closer look at them.
He detected a hint of amusement in their tone, as if they were enjoying this situation.
Sure enough, though they tried to look away, mischief was written all over their faces.
What is this?
He understood the humans' intentions, but he still couldn't figure out why Ttorang-i and Bo-ri were acting like this.
Just then, Dojin spotted Samsaek-i and his siblings.
Unlike Ttorang-i and Bo-ri, who were sitting next to Dohee and Seung-wan, the cats were staring at the baby otters near the nest.
And in their eyes, he could see a clear mixture of envy and jealousy.
Wait... could it be?
A sudden realization hitting him, Dojin turned to the two animals who were still crying out.
"Are you guys jealous? Because you think I've only been paying attention to the baby otters lately?"
Silence fell instantly.
Ttorang-i and Bo-ri stopped making noise at once.
"I knew it."
He didn't need anyone to tell him he was right.
But now, the two animals were tentatively reading Dojin's expression.
They were checking to see if he was angry.
Seeing that, any lingering fluster Dojin felt melted away.
He chuckled.
Well, I have been so busy lately that I haven't been able to give them much attention.
Especially in Ttorang-i's case, ever since Sun-jam took over caring for her, she rarely got to play with Dojin outside of their neighborhood walks.
"Come to think of it, the weather has gotten quite cool."
Before they knew it, summer had slipped away and autumn had fully arrived.
Because Paju was a windy region, it could get quite chilly around evening.
"Should we go for a drive before it gets any colder?"
"A drive? All of us?"
"Yeah. If we go somewhere nearby, I think I can fit everyone in."
Although Dojin's vehicle was a truck, it had a spacious back seat, making a group drive entirely possible.
"The timing is a bit tight, but where are you thinking of going?"
"Well, with this weather... how about the Unification Observatory?"
"That sounds great. The distance is just right."
Since the Odusan Unification Observatory was also located in Paju, it was the perfect destination for a short drive.
Just then, someone tugged at Dojin's clothes.
"Huh?"
Meow~
A familiar weight and a familiar cry.
Samsaek-i had climbed onto Dojin's shoulder as if he had been waiting for this exact moment.
"Weren't you just over there a second ago...? And when did you guys get here?"
The kittens, who had been watching the nest just moments ago, were now all gathered at Dojin's feet, looking up at him.
Perhaps because of what he had just said, they were now all staring up at him expectantly.
"Sigh, alright. Let's go. Come here."
Meow! Meow!
As Dojin opened his arms, the kittens leaped into his embrace without hesitation.
Feeling left out, Ttorang-i whined in protest.
Woof!
"Alright, alright. Ttorang-i, I'll hold you when we get to the observatory."
There was a park near the observatory, which would be perfect for playing with Ttorang-i.
"Wait a second, let me grab a jacket."
"Oh, me too. Let's grab sunglasses and hats."
Seeing Dojin ready to head out immediately, Dohee and Seung-wan hurried toward the office.
Though they hadn't said it aloud, they too had been secretly hoping for an outing like this.
Come to think of it, is this my first drive since my regression?
Before his regression, even though he hadn't owned a car, he had occasionally rented one just to enjoy a drive.
Yet after regressing, despite owning a vehicle and having more than enough money to buy one, he hadn't gone on a single leisure drive.
Aside from picking up Chanarshanhu last time, his life had revolved entirely around commuting between Sekki House and the downtown area.
This won't do.
What was the promise he had made to himself after regressing?
Wasn't it to ensure his wife's happiness and build a warm, harmonious family?
I need to pay more attention to these things from now on.
In that sense, this first drive was important.
It would set the tone for their future outings.
"Oppa, we're ready!"
"We're all set too."
As Dohee and Seung-wan gathered Ttorang-i and Bo-ri's family, Dojin nodded and started the truck's engine.
"Alright, let's go."
Carrying Dojin's hopes, the truck began to roll smoothly down the road.