Turns Out He's the Culprit
The clinic had wrapped up for the day, and everyone had gone home.
—Daaad! Ssal-i's all ready to gooo!
Ssal-i fluttered over with sparkling eyes and landed lightly on my shoulder.
Having transformed back into a sparrow, he was clearly geared up to head out.
—Hehe, when are we leaving? I already had dinner!
I gently scratched along his back, stroking the fluff of his tiny belly that he proudly stuck out, and said to him,
"How about just you going out today, Ssal-i?"
—Huh? By myself? You're not coming, Dad?
"Yeah. I've got a few things to check on tonight."
After the clinic closed, I'd been glued to the webtoon Jong-gyu had mentioned.
And the more I read, the deeper I got pulled in.
Not just because it was entertaining, but for other reasons.
—Pfft. Dad, you're playing around instead of saving your animal friends? Hmph. So disappointing.
Ssal-i pouted like he was sticking out his lower lip, twisting his beak away with a sulky huff. I lightly scratched his wing joint and continued,
"It's not just playing, Ssal-i. This webtoon has a ton of animals in it. But they're weird ones—a blue-and-gold macaw, a fan sulphur parrot, even a saltwater crocodile. Doesn't that strike you as odd?"
—What's so weird about that? Wait... hold on? All those animals... the ones you and I found...?
Ssal-i's eyes widened late to the realization, his beak dropping open.
—Oh, so you're saying all the animals in that webtoon are abandoned ones?
"It's just a hunch. Not every single one, obviously. Some overlap with the ones we've rescued, but others, like the elephant, are straight-up impossible."
Crocodile smuggling wasn't unheard of, though it was rare.
'But smuggling an elephant? That's absurd.'
Elephants, kings of the animal world, were extraordinary from birth—70 cm tall and nearly 80 kg.
Without magic, sneaking one across continents was next to impossible.
"That's why I want to dig deeper into the webtoon. So, could you scout around alone tonight for any other strays?"
—Ssal-i can do it! Leave it to me, Dad!
"Thanks. If anything happens, come straight back and let me know."
—Got it! I'll head out solo then!
With that, Ssal-i dashed to the rooftop and flapped into the night sky with heroic wingbeats.
I kept reading the webtoon, my expression growing more incredulous by the page.
What I'd first dismissed as a wild guess was now crystal clear after bingeing through the previews.
"...Turns out he's the culprit."
'Age of Animals'.
Despite its zombie apocalypse backdrop, the webtoon was called Age of Animals because the protagonist wasn't human—it was an animal.
Animals were immune to zombification, unlike humans.
As humans researched the secret, the animals had their DNA altered to learn human language and communicate like people, just like the apes in Planet of the Apes.
With human numbers dwindling, animals gained the upper hand.
The story followed Semo, a fennec fox, mediating peace between the clashing humans and animals.
About four years ago.
Even as he prepped his new series, O Deuk-han (pen name: TheKing) never dreamed Age of Animals would blow up like this.
"Strike while the iron's hot. Just hang in a bit longer, even if I'm beat."
His eyes bloodshot from under five hours of sleep, O Deuk-han's brush danced busily across the tablet.
Swish—swish swish—
In the early days of webtoons, when print comics were tanking.
O Deuk-han had struck gold as a pioneer in the untapped webtoon market.
But his debut was a flop, and it was all downhill from there.
As webtoon fans grew, they demanded better stories and direction.
O Deuk-han, stuck on daily gag comics, got chased down by college seniors, peers, and now even juniors.
The earnings from his first hit were sunk into his apartment.
If this one flopped too, it'd be the Han River for him—not the view, but the water.
So he'd poured everything into it: a story that skirted clichés without being too out there, fast pacing.
But what hooked readers were the hyper-detailed, adorable animals you rarely saw.
Swish—swish swish—
A great sulphur parrot dozing off on sentry duty.
A sulcata tortoise munching with its cute little mouth.
A fennec fox stretching in the morning sun.
Amid the tense plot, the lively animal cuteness exploded reader reactions.
No one saw it coming from the daily-life comic guy, and fans praised his growth beyond past glory.
"Phew. Poses are tricky. Maybe check on my models?"
O Deuk-han cracked his knuckles behind his back, stretched languidly, stood, and opened the door to the back room.
Creeeak—
Behind the soundproof walls, another door appeared. He opened that too, familiarly.
Creeeak—
"Dinner time, Mina."
In the dark room, dozens of eyes of every color gleamed.
—So... you're sayin' that TheKing fella's been dumpin' animals at Saetgang Ecological Park this whole time?
—Hmm. Can't ya just tell the cops? Ya got proof, right?
"Can't go to the police."
—Whoa, can't tell 'em? What's the holdup?
I'd binged the entire webtoon till dawn last night.
I'd considered reporting it right away, but the risks were too high.
"The overlap with abandoned animals is suspicious, sure. But without hard evidence, if the cops contact TheKing out of nowhere, he might stop dumping at Saetgang and go darker."
The plot pitted intelligent animals against zombifying humans, ramping up to brutal extremes.
Animals slashed with claws and fangs; starving humans slaughtered even their helpful animal allies like livestock.
Remembering scenes of betrayal and casual body disposal...
'Especially the cleanup scenes...'
TheKing clearly had ways to erase animals tracelessly from his own home if he wanted.
"Cops are... too risky."
Better to stop him now, while a shred of conscience kept him to park dumping.
"Look at the strays so far—minus Ellie and the sulcata tortoise, they're all tiny. Worst case, if he senses pursuit, he might escalate beyond abandonment."
—Bigger crimes...? Eek? Y-you don't mean...?
Not just Thunder—even the others paled, grasping my implication.
—Ahem. Spill it then. How can we help?
Kaos paused grooming his paw and asked.
"Listen up. No fixed schedule from what I've seen, but patterns: random spots from Saetgang entrance to the Han River end, times roughly 2 to 6 a.m. Focus patrols there."
No evidence for a report, no jumping to conclusions.
We had to catch him in the act.
Couldn't ignore CITES species dumped in our backyard.
—Hmm. Dawn hours? Only me and the cats can help—we're nocturnal. Thunder, Il-nam-i, others need sleep.
Kaos nodded at Nureoguman's point.
—Hunting's an issue too. Patrolling's fine, but food? Starve on lean nights? Tough on stamina. Same for Cheese and Goet-eo.
"Exactly. That's why I'm offering hazard pay."
—Hazard pay? Cash?
Thunder stopped gnawing his almond, eyes lighting up like peas.
"Money if you want, but do you need it? Means I supply food—no hunting needed during."
—Ooh? Sweet! Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds were delish.
Thunder hopped onto my shoulder, clapping like a seal. Il-nam-i, atop Big Rock, shook his beak calmly.
—Nice, but even so, we can't cover all Saetgang. Just Nureoguman, cats—four total? How?
The others nodded again.
"I know. That's why cats and Il-nam-i, Maeng-maeng-i, Thunder—you all. Transform to help."
—Transform?
"Yeah, like at the doggy villa. That way."
Ssal-i's power changed not just looks—voices, diets too.
Turn Big Rock crew into owls, nightjars? Diurnal becomes nocturnal, night vision included.
"Practice nightly then. Transformations first? Ssal-i."
—Hehe. Everyone, at attention! Line up—we transform in order!
And the midnight training began under the expert instructor.