Total Chaos
—Right! The furball kid?
—Wrong!
—Right! That's a Korat!
—Wrong! Maeng-maeng's turn.
—Right! It's a cat!
—Bzzz~ Oh, come on, Maeng-maeng. I told you, it's not just any cat—it's the breed.
—Hmm... I dunno...
—Hehe. Since nobody got it, time to reveal the answer. It was a Ragdoll!
—Argh! It was right on the tip of my tongue! Tsk.
They should have arrived at the DdaengDdaeng Pool Villa before lunch, as planned.
But with Nureoguman, Maeng-maeng, Thunder, and Il-nam-i's repeated bathroom breaks and their nonstop chatter driving everyone nuts, the delay was unavoidable.
"...Ssal-i. Is it really okay to keep changing shapes like that? Didn't you say before it was hard to transform into other animals multiple times?"
He was trying to subtly tell Ssal-i to knock off the frantic shape-shifting—like a living demonstration of "actions speak louder than words"—but.
—Hehe, Dad! There've been a bunch of full moons since then already. I can switch back and forth no problem now!
Ssal-i, as expected, didn't get the hint.
"...Good for you."
Since none of the Big Rock crew batted an eye, it was clear Ssal-i had already used his Haetae transformation magic in front of his friends plenty of times.
...Black box. Gotta erase it for sure.
He was steeling himself to wipe that black box clean no matter what when they finally reached their destination.
Ssal-i let out a whoop at the lush green landscape ringed by wooded hills visible through the window.
—Whoa! Dad! We here yet? This place is awesome!
—Me too! Me too, wanna see!
—Maeng-maeng wanna see too!
—Quit fidgeting inside and let's go out. Somebody open the door.
"Everybody freeze. Ssal-i, Nureoguman. Paws off the door handle. Now."
—Now!
—That wasn't for you, Maeng-maeng.
—Daaad! Paws off!
Answers poured in from every direction at his single command. No way could he just let these guys loose outside right away.
But that wasn't the only reason he was holding them back.
Haa... gonna lose my mind. And I only just remembered this now.
The biggest problem he'd completely forgotten about in the chaos of travel had suddenly hit him.
"Too many voices at once is noisy, so from now on, only the animal I name gets to talk. I don't know what Ssal-i told you to get you to come along, but..."
—Right! Birthday party! We're here for Sar-i-hong's birthday bash!
—Yeah, we got invited.
Feral as they were, they didn't listen all at once. So he had no choice but to keep going.
"Got it. Thanks for coming to celebrate Ssal-i's birthday. But do you guys even know what this place is?"
—What else? A pool villa where humans and dogs hang out together? Walks and swimming in the private tubs.
"Right. And you know it's called DdaengDdaeng Pool Villa?"
Thunder puffed out his belly and cackled at the casual remark.
—Heh, c'mon bro. Ya think we're total morons? 'Course we know!
—We do! We know our own names!
"...And that 'DdaengDdaeng' means it's dogs-only?"
—F-for real?
—No way! Since when!
—Dad...?
It was obvious in that instant—not a single one, Ssal-i included, had known.
"Whew. I was so frazzled I only just thought of it myself, but this place is dogs-only, which means you guys can't go in."
The silver lining was that the villa was carved into the hillside, surrounded by thick grass and trees.
He explained that to them and continued.
"I'm grateful you came all this way to celebrate Ssal-i's birthday, but only me and Ssal-i can go inside the villa."
—B-bro! Then where we s'posed to go?
He pointed to the dense thicket of trees and grass.
"There might be other animals in the woods, but just for today, ask nicely and you guys spend it there on your own."
—That's too harsh, ain't it? Wh-what if there's a tiger or some big beast!
"No tigers, so don't worry. Maybe a wild boar or two."
—W-wild boar? Heard they're mean as hell!
"Could spark a turf war, so for now, stay put in the car. I'll unload the bags, talk to the local boss animals, get permission..."
—Hmm. Dad. Do we hafta? There's another way, hehe.
"Another way?"
A vague unease washed over him at the sight of Ssal-i sticking out his tongue with a cheeky grin.
—We all just play inside the villa together! Sneak in! Il-nam and Maeng-maeng can hop the fence easy, and Thunder and Nureoguman fit in the bags.
—Huhu. Ssal-i, you've grown up so well.
—Hm. Excellent judgment.
—Sar-i-hong so smart!
Excellent judgment, his tail.
His bad feeling was spot on.
"No way. Even sneaking in, it's dogs-only."
—Hm. Isn't that discriminatory? Dogs get in, why not us?
"...Il-nam. That's just how the place is built. Anyway, dogs-only means you can't go in."
He'd only stated facts, but the Big Rock crew's faces fell.
They'd been so focused on playing with Ssal-i, they hadn't anticipated this.
—Hmm... Dad. Then we just gotta be dogs, right?
"I've said it a million times: dogs only. And next to us are an egret, a titmouse, a raccoon dog, and a squirrel."
"Sir. Wouldn't I pass? Raccoon dogs are canine family."
"...You think that'll fly? By that logic, lions and tigers are felines. Wanna play with a lion?"
—Eek! Sc-scary!
—Daaad! Not that—we all turn into dogs!
"...What?"
Every time Ssal-i grinned today, dread filled him.
—Hehe. I said I've gotten way stronger, right? And it's a full moon tonight to boot!
"...Huh?"
—I can transform you all! Hehe, dogs solve everything! Ready, guys? Dog transformation!
Before he could stop it, Ssal-i's eyes spun wildly as he raised his front paws triumphantly.
"W-wait! Ssal-i, hold on...!"
Ssal-i's paws glowed bright as if infused with moonlight.
Whoa... today really is gonna drive me insane.
The blinding light surged toward Maeng-maeng, Il-nam, Nureoguman, and Thunder all at once.
—Whoaaa! So cool! Maeng-maeng! Maeng-maeng, your wings are gone!
—Whoa. And I'm this big now?
Il-nam and Maeng-maeng's wings vanished, Thunder bulked up noticeably, and Nureoguman's form shifted subtly too.
"Whoa... this is real... whoa..."
He checked his own hands on instinct—thankfully, he was unchanged.
He stood frozen, unable to believe his eyes, when.
Knock knock—
"Hello. For today's reservation... oh my?"
The kindly old man who'd tapped on the car door looked stunned.
"Everybody, mouths shut. From now on, I talk. No replies."
He'd probably frozen mid-greeting at the sight of the backseat crammed with furballs.
Min-hyeok ventriloquized their silence and stepped out.
"This really is veterinarian Baek Min-hyeok? I had my doubts from the reservation name alone."
Small mercy?
The villa owner clearly hadn't seen inside the car.
"Nice to meet you. I... have a bit of an embarrassing request."
"Ho ho, a request? From someone who does good work like you? Happy to help however I can."
"Something came up, so I brought a few extra dogs besides my pet. If possible, I'd like to pay extra to keep them together..."
"Oh, no trouble at all. Happens sometimes when owners bring more pups same-day. We charge by weight, though—what breeds?"
"Ah. Breeds?"
Too shocked earlier to check properly, he glanced back. What he saw:
Yorkshire Terrier (Thunder, presumably).
Miniature Schnauzer (Maeng-maeng, presumably).
Bedlington Terrier (Il-nam, presumably).
And a raccoon dog-lookalike mutt.
"Two small, two medium. Extra's normally 20,000 won for small, 50,000 for medium—say 100,000 total..."
"No need. Keep the change."
He handed over 150,000 won from his wallet. He already felt mortified enough for the unintended nuisance.
"Goodness, if you insist. Your reserved love nest is the standalone up ahead. Need anything, hit the mid-hill shop. Shall I show you...?"
"No need. I'll call if help's required."
"Ho ho, enjoy your stay then."
Only after the old man's kindly smile faded could Min-hyeok finally exhale in relief.
"Ah... life."
Woof woof woof! Woof woof!
Arf arf!
Yip yip!
Bow wow wow!
Awoo~
Of course, the relief was short-lived.
The surround-sound barking from behind made it obvious chaos was unfolding.
"Haa... I said stay quiet. Can't even hold it for a minute...?"
The moment he reopened the car door, his face twisted like The Scream.
—Whoa, bro! Check out these paws! Ain't it wild? Bouncy bouncy, ya feelin' it?
Thunder, he got the excitement, but could you just sit still?
—No wings feels weird! Fun though!
—No beak is weird too?
Maeng-maeng. Il-nam.
Yeah, wings and beaks gone is trippy, but did you have to chew the seats?
—Feels like I can poop way better as a dog. Nghhh.
Raccoon dogs and dogs squat the same anyway...
"......"
Faced with the utter pandemonium, he had no choice but to call Kang Ha-neul first.
"Haha, Director. Made it there safe?"
"...Sorry. I think that's what I need to say first."
"Sorry? What for...? Did something happen? An accident?"
Kang Ha-neul's booming voice echoed through the smartphone as Min-hyeok swept his eyes over the disaster in the car once more.
"The seats... I think I'll have to replace them. Ssal-i... kinda trashed them bad."
—Daaad! I didn't do nothin'!
In the end, selling out Ssal-i was the only option.