Chapter 51: Like an Arrow Shot Toward the Sky
The next morning dawned bright.
“Then we’ll take him for collection and, after the exams, transport him straight to Saemangeum Safari.”
“Yes, thank you.”
—Thanks, Doc Baek. See you again soon.
Yeah. Take care.
They say the world runs on money and power.
One call to Chairman Jeong Yong-gun, and the environmental ministry staff came and took Smith away.
“Director, what’s going on?”
Kim Mi-so, who had come out to the waiting room just in time to watch the scene, sidled up to me with her eyes sparkling.
“Oh, the environmental folks came to collect the stray wolf turtle.”
“I figured that much. But I overheard them as they left… Saemangeum Safari? Is that connected somehow?”
Our Mi-so wasn’t just great at her job—her ears were sharp too.
“Yeah. They’ve got great facilities there, right? So I asked the chairman for a favor.”
“A place the size of Saemangeum Safari would have plenty of room for a turtle enclosure, sure… But Director? Were you on direct-contact terms with Chairman Jeong Yong-gun?”
Her shocked expression made her already huge eyes look like they might pop out.
“It’s not like we chat freely… but he told me to reach out if there was ever something important he could help with within his power.”
“Whoa… direct line to Chairman Jeong Yong-gun? For real?”
“Hey now, our chief technician. What makes you doubt your technician like this? Not long ago, I fixed the Schivil couple’s love life and even got them expecting their second kid.”
Even my playful remark got a firm headshake from Kim Mi-so.
“No, but he’s famous for sayings like ‘I never give favors without compensation’ or ‘True friendships start with precise accounting.’ You got paid handsomely for the Schivil issue. So why would he grant you this extra special favor?”
I’d just been teasing, but today it wasn’t landing with Mi-so at all.
I got it, though. Just having Chairman Jeong Yong-gun’s contact was astonishing and bizarre enough.
“He did say that in exchange for his help, he might call on me when he needs something.”
“Whoa, really? Then it’s got to be at least on the level of helping the Schivils… Introducing a stray wolf turtle to a new home doesn’t balance the scales, does it?”
As Mi-so said, whatever task I’d take on instead of sending Smith to Saemangeum Safari wouldn’t be easy. The other party was none other than Jeong Yong-gun himself.
“Who knows. We’ll see when the time comes.”
I had no idea what help I’d provide or what he’d ask for. But it was fine.
Jeong Yong-gun was always the type to pay materially fair compensation for any favors.
What I’d get out of it? I could think about that later.
* * *
Early April arrived before I knew it.
Today was the day we headed to Saemangeum Safari for Animal Kingdom filming.
All because Jeong Yong-gun’s request had finally come in.
“Ugh… No matter how I think about it, raptors kinda scare me…”
Unlike her usual bubbly self, Reina let out sighs the whole way to the safari.
“I’ll handle Ssesko, so don’t worry. Reina, if you could focus on the indoor shots instead?”
“Directooor… I won’t forget this favor today!”
Today’s main filming subject—and the one Jeong Yong-gun had asked me to handle personally—was the male bald eagle named Ssesko.
Reina felt bad that I’d be tackling Ssesko alone, but inwardly, I was grinning. It actually worked out better for me.
Feels like it wasn’t that long ago… but it has been a while, huh?
It had been almost five months since my last visit in November to treat Sugar and Shushu.
Jeong Yong-gun’s request to treat the bald eagle—a U.S. national symbol—was for Anthony D. Fairmont, a heavyweight VIP visiting next month.
Fairmont, currently touring Italy after Israel, France, and Germany to secure a partner for seventh-generation fighter jet development, was the chairman of the world’s top defense contractor, Lockheed Martin.
From what Jeong Yong-gun said, Fairmont would visit five countries, including ours, to decide the final partner.
Deciding based on comparing each country’s bald eagles… What a bunch of weirdos.
If you’re wondering what a seventh-gen fighter has to do with bald eagles, well… who knows.
I couldn’t make sense of it either. Honestly, it looked like some spoiled shamanism-infused rich guy’s prank to me.
Anyway, Fairmont planned to check how the national symbol of America—the bald eagle—was faring in each rival nation: its condition, care, and so on, to find the best match for Lockheed Martin.
So before Fairmont’s visit, I had to whip Saemangeum Safari’s bald eagle into shape rivaling a native one soaring the North American skies.
But it wouldn’t be easy.
Because Ssesko was…
“You’re here, sunbae.”
“Yeah, Eun-seo. Long time no see. You’re guiding us again today? Aren’t you busy as section chief?”
The moment we arrived at Saemangeum Safari and stepped out of the van, my college junior and Animal Welfare Section 1 Chief, Choi Eun-seo, approached with a bright smile, as if she’d been waiting.
“Sunbae, section chief isn’t that big a deal. And… personally, my followers hit over six thousand thanks to Sugar, Shushu’s broadcast. Might as well milk your visit for all it’s worth.”
“…Yeah. Good for you.”
Her ventriloquist act, glancing around slyly, suddenly made perfect sense of Ssesko’s full story.
“Oh, right—before we see Ssesko, mind a quick detour?”
“Where to?”
“Uh, Smith. The one you got in through the chairman…”
“Oh, that wolf turtle?”
“Yeah. Thought I’d peek at Smith, Shushu and Sugar’s kid, and Bubble’s family while I’m here.”
I was curious if Smith, who’d lived crammed in that tiny tank, was getting along with his own kind for the first time in his life.
If Shushu and Sugar’s baby was healthy.
If Bubble was bonding well with his hippo mom and dad.
“Well… it’s possible, but I’d appreciate it if you held off. Request came from upstairs too.”
“What? Why?”
“After your last visit, visitors went nuts. Lots of families, so crowds mean accident risks. Upstairs wants you to prioritize Ssesko’s checkup.”
“Come on, I’m not some celebrity. Really?”
Eun-seo nodded with an awkward smile at my incredulous question.
“Weather’s warming up, so more visitors than last year when you came. Better head to the bald eagle enclosure before opening. Oh, let’s drop your stuff at your quarters first.”
“Sure. It’s not urgent anyway.”
Ssesko wasn’t a one-day fix like the Shushu-Sugar couple.
I’d be staying a month in the staff dorms inside the safari.
Plenty of time to check on the wolf turtles, Schivils, and hippos later.
After unpacking at my assigned quarters, we hopped back on the electric cart with Eun-seo at the wheel.
“Now, straight to the raptor enclosure. Unlike the African aviary, raptors are separated by species, so it’ll feel pretty serene.”
“Oh? So no continent divisions for raptors?”
“They’re grouped by continent sometimes, but each has habitats mimicking their natural environments.”
Eun-seo shook her head with a slight smile at Reina’s question.
“For example, nocturnal ones like eagle owls get artificial caves to rest days and hunt nights.”
“Wow… Saemangeum Safari always blows my mind every visit.”
“Heh, of course. Their motto is ‘More natural than nature itself.’ With the world’s wilds converging here, it’s bound to amaze. Even locals without pet interests get annual passes just for the scenery.”
I’d do the same if I lived nearby.
As long as no weirdos like Chun-sam the orangutan or the screaming owls were around, Saemangeum Safari was a healing panorama just to behold.
Hm. That it?
As I pondered Eun-seo’s words, a majestic bald eagle statue—wings spread wide, eyes sharp, evoking a U.S. government building—came into view.
Definitely the bald eagle enclosure gate. Past it, inside the grounds, a deep artificial stream flowed.
“Bald eagles live near coasts, rivers, lakes—fish and small waterfowl are their staples.”
“Whoa… That’s why the stream’s so wide… Deeper than the one in the African aviary?”
Eun-seo chuckled at Reina’s gaping reaction.
“It is deep. Dangerous if you fall in, so life jacket if you go near the edge.”
“Uh, I’m good, haha.”
“Heh, you’re surprisingly timid, Reina. Let’s head inside. The handler’s waiting deeper in.”
Lush greenery clustered around the stream-like waterway.
It evoked a lazy American mountain valley: casting a line, sipping coffee.
As we gazed at the picturesque scene in a daze,
“You’re here, Chief.”
“Yes. Handler.”
A man in handler gear, face haggard, approached Eun-seo. Our eyes, though, went to the sturdy, valiant bald eagle on his wrist.
The handler, holding a seemingly healthy bald eagle, turned to me and the Animal Kingdom crew and bowed.
“I’m Kim Do-hyun, bald eagle enclosure handler. Thanks for coming all this way.”
Kim Do-hyun’s dark skin couldn’t hide his sunken eyes.
“Nice to meet you. Baek Min-hyeok.”
“I’m Reina. Looking forward to working with you.”
The eagle on his wrist exuded dignity: white head feathers blending perfectly with its yellow beak.
After introductions, the handler stroked Ssesko’s back lightly and continued.
“This is Ssesko, our seven-year-old male bald eagle.”
“Pfft. S-sorry. I knew the name, but it cracks me up every time.”
Even as Reina burst out laughing, Kim Do-hyun replied flatly, expression unchanged.
“It’s fine. He was always timid back in the States, so we named him Ssesko hoping he’d grab hold of something properly.”
“Right? I heard he’s super skittish… How bad is it?”
“Feeding time anyway—better to show you. Send in the food.”
With a faint sigh at Reina’s question, Kim Do-hyun radioed someone. Soon, two assistants huffed over with a huge plastic tub full of water.
“Good work. Set it there.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Yep.”
The tub brimmed with big-mouthed fish.
A famous, common species I knew well.
“Largemouth bass?”
“Yes. Favorites for American raptors. Designated invasive here, so easy to source. We stock the stream behind with ones we catch nationwide—cuts feeding costs, win-win…”
“Handler, just the essentials, please.”
“Ah, sorry, Chief. Haven’t slept much.”
Clearing his throat under Eun-seo’s sharp glance, Kim Do-hyun cooed at Ssesko.
“Come on, Ssesko. Dinner time. You’re hungry, right?”
—Hmm…
What? Not hungry?
Despite the handler’s pleading tone, Ssesko just stared sternly, unmoving.
Hm. Waiting for a chance like Schivil?
I recalled Schivil standing statue-still for three hours.
Maybe Ssesko was biding his time too—
Splash!
A largemouth bass flopped out of the tub, landing with a thud before Ssesko.
—Kraaak! Wa-water… back in the water… damn… kek!
And the bald eagle Ssesko, seeing the flopping fish onshore…
—Kyaaaak! G-gross!
Let out a shriek and bolted skyward like a shot arrow.
This… won’t be easy at all, will it?