Chapter 3: My cat does a ‘Dragon-Jub’ (3)
"Take it to the vet sometime and get him checked out."
"Yea. Nothing is probably wrong with it, right? No tumors or something."
"In terms of weirdness, what could be stranger than no belly button? I was surprised back then, so I don't think I'll be surprised by anything I see now. Don't worry too much and just bring it."
Noona smiled, patted my shoulder, and pet Baek-Ho and the baby's hair before returning home. The little baby was playing around, clinging to the tail of the white tiger, not paying attention to my worries.
After waking up, instead of just eating and sleeping like before, it runs around. It's skilled at following round Baek-Ho, and the baby also sleeps in the Baek-Ho's arms because it likes Baek-Ho. Yeah, he's the one who brought it home, so he will also have to care for the baby.
Just looking at the sight of a tiny baby sleeping sobbingly buried under the chin of a large Baek-Ho in a sunny place under the autumn sunlight makes me feel mushy inside. What if there is no belly button, and what if there is a lump on the head? Just grow up a healthy little baby.
******
Meow!
I woke up to the sound of Baek-Ho's startled cry and then jumped up and screamed.
Our little baby fell into the water!
A bowl about the size of a bowl of naengmyeon was used as a bowl for Baek-Ho's water, and the little baby was bobbing in it. A four-week-old can literally drown in a plate of water and die. I thought it wouldn't be able to climb up that water bowl; I was too careless.
"Baek-Ho! What are you doing not taking the baby out!"
Walking on my knees, I dove for the water bowl
Huh?'
Our little baby! Are you swimming around instead of drowning in the water? The little boy, pounding his feet and fluttering, looked at me, making a Piyang?' sound as he laughed. I'm sure he just laughed.
Cats hate water. With very few exceptions, most cats don't like bathing and jump around like they want to kill me if I do. Even the innocent and clever Baek-Ho hates bathing I couldn't help but laugh at how pleasantly the little boy was sitting in the water bowl and playing with the water.
"Are you exceptional? A cat that likes to play in the water."
I calmed down from my shock and brought a towel.
We ask about Baek-Ho's breed because they think Baek-Ho is a British Shorthair. They said the baby must be a Russian Blue when they first saw it. They said, he's a brishot!' the first time they saw Baek-Ho.
It is not a bad thing to like a breed dog or a cat. Everyone can have a favorite breed, and just as people like dogs and cats, there are people who don't like them. The reason I don't like this couple is that they have no manners for animals and for people as well.
I saw them pass by another dog owner who was taking a native Hwanggu puppy for a walk in the park, and as soon as he saw Hwanggu, they hated it and held their Bichon Frize in their arms like they were aristocrats, scared of it hurting their little young master.
TN: Hwanggu is similar to a Shiba
TN: Bichonn Frize is a small fluffy white dog
"Why are they raising such a street dog in Seoul. They have no class."
TN: Seoul, the capital of Korea, is one of the cities richer people tend to live in.
They also say it loud, so the other dog owner must have heard it. But the Hwanggu dog owner isn't an asshole, so he must have just walked by acting like they didn't hear anything.
It's not like that when managing and raising a dog such as Bichon Frize well. They don't care about its health, letting it walk without a leash, and when it goes missing, they accuse other people that they stole their dog and are a nuisance. With pity, I ran around the neighborhood to find it for them, but since then, I have suffered from pretending to know the couple.
I once sheltered a stray cat with a broken leg. As expected, we ran into each other on the way to the hospital, but at that time, I did not know the nature of this couple very well, so I answered all their questions promptly.
"Oh my. It's a stray cat? Isn't it dirty?"
"If you have a broken leg, just euthanize him. There is no need to have surgery for it? The person who wanted to adopt it? They must have a lot of money."
"Whether it's a dog or a cat, you should have a dog you can show off."
They say they have a history of sending their former dog to a shelter because it was ill.
I sometimes think someone who thinks of animals as ornaments are even worse than someone who doesn't like animals in the first place.
******
Let's shake off this bad feeling. I bravely headed to my sister's veterinary hospital.
Finally, on the day of the hospital check-up. Will our little baby's secret be revealed today?