“Sarge Han, it’s me, open the door,” Hyungseok said into the interphone.
Maru replied that the door was open. He opened the door and went inside. The desolate-looking living room had not changed. There were only simple pieces of furniture and some books placed throughout. It was when he took his shoes off and took a step inside that he found something that was different. There was a sound of something scratching against wood before a dog popped out into the living room. The dog that came over to his feet with its tail rotating around like a propeller started rubbing its body against him as though it had missed human interaction for a long time. He was slightly confused but still reached out his hand. As he was patting the dog’s round head, he saw more dogs rushing out. One, two, three… there were four dogs in total. He wasn’t that well-versed in dogs, so he didn’t know what species they were, but he knew the one that rushed over to him first: Border Collie. He recalled having seen on TV that they were smart dogs. These dogs ranged from tiny ones the size of his forearm to large ones that would be taller than him when they stood up.
“What’s up with all the dogs?”
Hyungseok looked at Maru, who was sitting on a chair in the living room. He was eating with dark patches under his eyes as though he was a salaryman who had stayed up for three nights.
“Unrejectable guests.”
“Guests?”
“My president’s dogs. Things happened and I’ve been taking care of them.”
Hyungseok threw his bag on the sofa and started playing around with the dogs after sitting down. There was one that bit his pants and shook its head, one that sat on his lap, as well as one that was chasing its own tail on the spot round and round. When he tickled the chin of the dog that was sitting obediently in front of him, he saw that his pants were now covered in fur. In less than five minutes, the black pants had turned into fur pants. Maru, who was eating lifelessly, stood up and walked into a room before coming back out again with tools in both hands. He came back out with a hairbrush and a tape cleaner, also known as a sticky mop.
Here – Maru said as he handed him the brush and the sticky mop. He accepted it for now. He couldn’t exactly reject something from a man who looked like he was about to collapse at any moment.
“Please take care.”
Of what, he didn’t need to ask to know. Maru staggered over to the dining table and picked up his spoon. Hyungseok could already picture what happened in this house for the past few days. The tireless dogs must have dashed around everywhere, scattering fur, and Maru would have chased after them in shock. Han Maru was known for his cleanliness even in the military. There was no way he could have accepted dog fur scattered across his house.
“I’m surprised you’re still alive. You should have been at war with fur the whole day, right?”
“Rather than a war, it was a one-sided massacre, and I was on the losing end.”
Woof – one dog proudly boasted its voice. It was a large one with a lot of white fur, and it seemed to be saying that it was the general responsible for that massacre. Having heard the brave cry of the general, Maru sighed.
“I should have asked about the meaning behind his ominous smile when he left the dogs to me. I’m to blame for accepting.”
“It’s not like you can reject. But these ones are so cute, it must be worth living with them. What’s the species of this one?” Hyungseok asked as he pointed at the large dog that kept raising its front feet and attacking him.
The eyes that were large enough to capture the entire scenery of the living room were full of mischief. This thing was asking for a hug with its huge body, and the amount of attention it wanted was seriously no joke.
“Samoyed.”
“Samoyed? What a cool name. It’s cute too. The large snout makes it look like a wolf. Does it howl?”
He grabbed the flesh on its stomach and shook it from side to side. The dog opened its mouth wide as though it felt good.
“It’s a cute and proud fur generator. It makes as much fur as its own body size, and honestly, I can’t understand how that works. Even after all that fur fell out, it still gives out fur. I wonder if all the food it ate went to its fur.”
Listening to Maru’s grumbles, Hyungseok stroked the samoyed with a brush. Even though he just stroked the dog from head to toe once, a bunch of fur fell out. He wondered if that was it and tried brushing again. A bunch of fur fell out again, making him worried that the dog might be balding. In just two brush strokes, he became afraid of brushing it again. Maybe this thing was shedding its fur just like snakes shedding their skin.
“I guess not just anyone can raise big dogs, huh.”
“Brush them while you’re still here. That one’s quite obedient in your hands. It keeps biting me when it’s in my arms, so I can’t even brush it properly.”
“I was wondering why you sounded so delightful when I called you. So you needed someone to look after them?”
“If I get work from someone else, the best thing to do is to hand it over to someone else. I’ll listen to one thing that you ask from me. Please take the dogs out for a stroll. I’ll clean my house in the meantime.”
Hyungseok took the dogs outside. When he walked to the Han river with two large dogs and two small dogs, he was at the center of attention. The popularity of the samoyed was unparalleled. Children and adults alike approached him and asked if he could touch the dog.
“They’re not my dogs. They might look docile, but they might bite you, so I don’t think you can touch them.”
He had to treat them preciously since they were JA Production president’s dogs. He was led, and sometimes dragged, by the dogs for around two hours before they managed to return to the house. Although he had confidence in his stamina, it definitely wasn’t comparable to the four energetic dogs. As soon as he opened the door, he lay down on the sofa. The dogs didn’t seem satisfied with the stroll and dashed around tirelessly. In fact, the stroll seemed to have stimulated their wild nature within, and they ran around even more energetically than before.
Hyungseok looked at Maru standing there in a daze with a duster in one hand. The dogs that jumped around while smiling were a stark contrast to the sighing Maru. It looked like a scene out of a sitcom.
“Why did you bother cleaning? You knew it was going to be like this.”
“For the ease of my heart.”
Maru closed all the doors. Hyungseok could see a sense of tenacity from the fact that even though he might have given up on the living room, he could not give up on the other rooms. He put on an apron that had fabric on the front and started brushing them. He seemed like a housewife looking after mischievous children.
“Mr. Han Maru, I’m sure you will be loved by your wife when you get married.”
“If you have the energy to talk, come and brush them with me. They’re in their molting season, so I must keep brushing them.”
“I brushed them so much before, do I have to do it again?”
“Don’t underestimate the amount of dog fur.”
Maru’s words contained a sense of tragic beauty. So he has been fighting desperately – Hyungseok thought as he put the border collie on his lap and picked up a brush. He wordlessly brushed its fur before remembering the reason he came here.
“Oh yeah, I came here to give you a present. Why am I working?”
“Brushing them is already a present. You don’t have to give me the present you brought, so just brush those guys well. My president is quite picky when it comes to all things, but he’s unforgiving when it comes to dogs.”
“Looks like your president loves dogs.”
“Rather than the dogs themselves, I’m sure it’s because of a certain someone he’s reminded of.”
“A certain someone?”
“Something like that. Don’t stop brushing. They’re more valuable than us.”
Hyungseok pulled out the patch of white hair stuck in the brush and put it on the side as he spoke,
“Hey, which celebrity, women I mean, do you like the most?”
“I don’t have one.”
“Don’t give me that. How about Lee Younghwa? The symbol of sexiness.”
“Nah.”
“How about Lim Jungyeon?”
“Not really.”
“How about Kim Suyeon?”
“Oh, she’s the worst.”
“Why is Kim Suyeon the worst? That noonim is pure, daring, innocent, and even intellectual. She’s one of my ideal women.”
“I can admit that she’s daring and intellectual, but calling her pure and innocent is an insult to those words.”
“Hey, do you have something against her?”
“Stop asking and keep brushing. I’m going to pull out all of their hair since you’re here.”
Maru’s eyes had flipped. The samoyed kept biting the hand that brushed it without knowing what its temporary owner was going through. After watching the confrontation between the desperate man and the mischievous dog, Hyungseok spoke again,
“Then how about Han Gaeul?”
Maru, who always answered immediately until now, stayed silent for the first time. His actions turned unnatural like a robot that had encountered a calculation error. The samoyed on his lap twitched its nose. Brush me properly, its eyes seemed to say.
“Not bad.”
For an answer that took ages, it was a little too lukewarm. Hyungseok believed himself to be more well-versed in women than most people. When it came down to romantic relationships, he was knowledgeable enough to give other people consultations. Maru, who looked like the forever-reliable big brother from the time he was in the military, looked like a person of his age for the first time. Oh? Hyungseok put down the border collie and took out the autograph from his bag.
“Do you know what this is?”
“What is it?”
The autograph of the celebrity that’s not bad.”
Maru’s pupils widened. Hyungseok smiled at the obvious response. He didn’t know Maru would be so flustered.
“You met her?”
“I only met her. I also got an autograph from her. With your name on it, too.”
“My name?”
He gave him the autograph paper that had Han Gaeul’s hickey on it. Having received the autograph paper, Han Maru turned into a dinosaur that had just come across the ice age. He didn’t budge even when the samoyed bit his arm. Hyungseok thought that even if an earthquake occurred or the floor suddenly caved in, he would fall in that posture.
“Do you like her that much?”
“What did Han Gaeul say after hearing my name?”
“She asked what you did, saying that she can write a proper word of encouragement if she knew it. She’s such a kind woman. Not only is she pretty, she’s also pretty at heart.”
“So, did you tell her that I was acting?”
“I did. I even promoted you, saying that you were quite popular in Daehak-ro. There’s a reason why Han Gaeul wrote those words on it. ‘Let’s act on the same stage,’ isn’t that good?”
“So you told Han Gaeul that Han Maru is a fan, did you?”
“Yep. You were smiling so delightfully when you were watching that video before. Oh, was it someone other than Han Gaeul?”
After staring at the autograph for a long while, Maru spat out a sigh. He looked pretty serious.
“What is it? Did I do something wrong?”
“Nope, you did nothing wrong.”
“Then what is it? Did I go overboard?”
“It’s not like that. I just… I just thought that this God is pretty nasty.”
“God? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“There’s someone like that. A damned God.”
Maru, who was looking at the autograph like a vassal in the middle ages who was just given a poison pill to swallow, suddenly stood up from the spot. He inserted the autograph on the frame of his family photo behind the TV.
“The present… you like it, right?” He asked carefully.
“It’s a terrible present. And the best one.”
“Which one is right?”
“Both of them are right.”
Maru reached out for the autograph. He slowly stroked down on the autograph like he was touching a precious piece of pottery.
“Hyungseok.”
“What?”
“What do you think a person feels when they step off the cliff, knowing that it’s a cliff?”
“Why are you walking off a cliff? You shouldn’t be going in the first place.”
“Yeah, that’s a clear answer.”
Maru pulled out the autograph and flipped it around so that only the blank part could be seen.
“I received a present, so I must give you something in return.”
“That was nothing. Just give me some food.”
“Is food all you need?”
Hyungseok was about to reply again but stopped. He saw the seriousness in Maru’s eyes when he asked back. Perhaps this is what it would be like to see the genie of the lamp.
“I heard you were shooting a drama, right? Put me in there. Not something grand, just as a minor character or something. But hey, can I even ask for this?”
He thought that it wasn’t plausible at all. It was just something he said in order to break Maru’s poker face. Naturally, the answer should be a n….
“If you have confidence in your skills, I’ll try telling the producer about you. He’s someone I know. But that’s all I can do. The rest is up to you.”
He got an unexpected reply.
“R-really?”
“I don’t like joking around with things like this. Especially to a dude.”
Hyungseok threw away the brush and ran over to Maru before hugging him.
“Han Maru, no, hyung-nim! I’ll serve you well in the future.”
“Excuse me, stop bullshitting and keep brushing,” Maru said as he hit Hyungseok on the neck.
