I Died from Overwork, Reborn as a Gorilla (1)
"Aigoo... I must be crazy... Yeah, totally crazy."
I collapsed onto the break room sofa with my leaden body, as if it were a bed, and roughly flung my sweat-soaked, suffocating vet scrubs aside.
My condition was a wreck.
My chest felt tight, hot breaths leaking out, my eyes stung like they'd been grated on sheet metal. Worst of all, my head throbbed like it was about to split open.
Three days.
Exactly 72 hours without a wink of proper sleep.
Three days ago: treated a polar bear with a broken foreleg.
Two days ago: removed a tiger's diseased left eyeball.
And just now: came back from treating a deer whose antler had been driven into its body during a rutting brawl.
"Still, saved another one."
Pride swelled in me despite my broken-down body and utter exhaustion—after all, I'd pulled through for a creature with such a grim prognosis that euthanasia had been on the table.
I was a special animal vet, traveling the nation's zoos to treat beasts like tigers and bears.
I'd always loved animals since I was a kid and dreamed of becoming a zookeeper. But one day at a zoo, seeing a suffering elephant sparked the urge to heal it, so I became a special animal vet instead.
I'd achieved my dream, but reality was merciless.
Korea has plenty of vets, but over 80% focus on pets like dogs and cats.
Those handling livestock make up less than 10%.
And ones like me, for exotic animals?
Endangered ultra-rare species, basically.
The fewer of us there were, the more each one had to shoulder—hundreds of animals apiece.
A hundred bodies wouldn't have been enough.
Screeech...
"You asleep? Hey, grab something to eat before crashing."
Right on cue, my colleague—the one who stuck around late like me—pushed open the door.
Everyone else had left, so he was a rare breed too.
"Not yet."
"Your voice sounds like it's on its last gasp. Gonna have to haul your corpse out."
"Delivery?"
"Damn right. No strength left to go buy anything."
I forced my heavy eyelids open and called out to my colleague, who was already ordering.
"Coffee, donut, veggie sandwich—with wine vinegar and olive oil."
"That again? Eat some meat for energy. Thinks he's a herbivore."
"Meat doesn't sit right—digestion's shot. It'll come straight back up."
"With that mountain-man build."
"Elephants are herbivores too."
We sat shoulder-to-shoulder on the sofa, resting in silence until the delivery arrived. Then we shoveled in our orders like fueling up a machine—our first meal in forever, just to stay alive.
Riiiing!
My phone blared an urgent ringtone.
Screen showed Seoul Zoo. Shit, something blew up for sure.
As I hurriedly swallowed to answer, my colleague snatched the phone first.
"Yes, what's going on?"
His face grew stonier by the second.
"Yes... yes... We'll head out right now. Forty minutes tops."
I gulped down my food and asked the guy who'd hung up.
"What? Who was it?"
"I'll handle it solo. You crash."
"Tell me what happened."
"Sigh... Female gorilla at Seoul Zoo's in labor, but she's stuck—can't deliver."
"...I'm coming."
"Dude, three days no sleep—you know that, right?"
"Ate, so I'm good. Butt out of my health. I'll nap en route."
I ignored his protests, threw on clothes, hopped in the car, and passed out instantly.
I'd only shut my eyes for a moment—or so it felt—when we'd arrived.
My body was still heavy as lead, my head like a boulder had dropped into it. Zero recovery.
"Holy crap, did we teleport?"
"Quit bullshitting. Snap to it or keep sleeping."
"Cold water first."
I splashed my face awake and beelined for the gorilla enclosure.
Scrubs on, I checked the female gorilla writhing in agony on the floor. A worried keeper filled me in.
"Ughhhh..."
"Waters broke five hours ago. Gomiri's contractions stopped—she's slumped over."
"No ultrasound here. Prep for vaginal exam."
I clocked the issue right away: Gomiri was in dystocia from malposition.
"Stabilize breathing first, light sedation."
Sedated her enough to keep her from thrashing, draped a cloth, and started the exam.
Gloved up, I eased my arm into her birth canal. Felt it—as expected.
No fetal head at the entrance. Legs first: breech birth.
"How's it look?"
"No head. Legs presenting."
"C-section?"
"No way—both die in this state. No time for deep anesthesia; it'd tank the fetus's heart rate."
"Then what...?"
"Manual correction. Tight space, but uterus still pliable."
I delicately repositioned the fetus for proper delivery, fine-tuning with subtle sensations.
Success at last.
But the delay took its toll—the newborn gorilla wasn't breathing.
"Apnea! Ambu bag, now!"
"On it!"
While he prepped, I dangled the baby gorilla upside down, letting gravity drain the cold amniotic fluid and mucus from mouth and nose.
Splatter...
Good—blockage cleared.
"Dry towel! Hurry!"
"Here, here!"
Onlooker keepers handed over towels; we wrapped the baby and roughly rubbed its back and chest.
Mimicking a mother's grooming to stimulate the central nervous system, kickstart breathing.
No dice. Golden hour ticking down.
"Ambu, quick!"
"Got it!"
"Oxygen in—pulse check."
"...Faintly there."
"Perfect. Respiration's all we need."
I fitted the mask over the tiny nose and mouth, manually pumping air.
Too hard, and fragile lungs rupture. Total focus, feather-light precision.
My hands pressed and released rhythmically. Hiss, hiss. The only sound in the tense enclosure.
Sweat soaking my back, I kept at it, desperate for a breath. And somehow, my plea reached the heavens—a faint sound in my ear.
"Guhk... kuhk."
Airway cleared, lungs inflating with a raw groan. Rougher than any human baby's cry, but the most beautiful sound of life.
Instinctively, it clutched my scrub hem and shook its head.
Haha, it lived.
Finally crying. Triumph and relief washed over me.
As I grinned to announce success to the keepers and my colleague...
The floor rushed up oddly close.
"Hey, stay with me!"
My colleague shrieked shrilly, shaking me roughly.
Ah, I'm collapsing. Overwork, huh?
Whatever. No family, no girlfriend in this life. No regrets dying now.
Scary, sure. But saving one life first? Heaven's gotta be mine.
Vision fading to black, two voices whispered in my ear.
'Thank you.'
One was a clear woman's voice.
The other—
'Ehey, such a waste to let this soul go... You pushed too hard. Diligence is virtue, but this was stubborn greed.'
A bizarre sigh, ageless and genderless.
'Ah, perfect! Send it there. I'll handcraft a rebirth body to match the soul. Good luck.'
Darkness swallowed me.
Criiicket... whoooosh.
Cicadas chirping, leaves rustling in the breeze tickling my ears.
'I collapsed for sure. Hospital? No—grass.'
Something felt off. I slowly opened my eyes.
True enough: smack in a dense forest, trees towering everywhere.
'What the—why's everything so damn tall?!'
Panicking at my drastically lowered viewpoint, I glanced down at my body.
Black fur everywhere.
"Kiik... woo? Oof!"
Sh, shit—what the hell is this!
Horror beyond shock exploded from me, but what came out was an alien cry.
'Why'd I wake up in this body?'
Overwork collapse, weird sensations, now this: I was a baby gorilla.
'Wait—that voice I heard.'
The thankful words, then the mysterious one. Some god or devil had meddled with my overwork death for sure.
This is insane! I loved animals, yeah!
But I never wanted to become one!!!
"Kiiiiiiik!!!!"