Park Junhyeok's days were a repetition of the same routine.
Clock in in the morning, feed the animals, do health checks and clean the enclosures in the afternoon, clock out in the evening — an ordinary schedule.
A stable routine he'd been repeating for three years, and today should have been no different.
The only thing that nagged him slightly was that today was unusually quiet compared to other days.
"It's really calm today, sunbae."
"You, you......"
"I wish every day could be like this."
"Stop... please stop...!"
"Oh, right. I'm going to that restaurant you recommended — I reserved a table so I can leave on time and go with my girlfriend tonight."
"......"
Oblivious to the color draining from his senior's face, he went about his usual routine, counting down the minutes until he could clock out.
He'd fed the animals and finished the health checks, so there was just one hour left until he was off.
An hour from now, he'd go pick up his girlfriend at her workplace and head to the restaurant together, so he had to move faster than usual.
But today, of all days, time refused to pass.
"Ah, time really won't budge."
Junhyeok walked into the staff break room, dropped onto the sofa, and stared at his phone.
He thought about opening Myutube and watching some Shorts, but figured he'd lose track of time, so while he was debating — a streamer a friend had recommended popped into his head.
The name was Kim Jinwoo, wasn't it?
A streamer on Jjiriri who'd apparently received a divine descent and was supposed to be the real deal.
"Might as well watch that."
It'd be a scam artist, but whatever.
With that thought, he entered Kim Jinwoo's stream and watched with a bored expression — only to straighten up in his seat within five minutes.
Ten minutes in, he was speechless at the sheer absurdity of what he was witnessing.
"Is this an act?"
If it wasn't, the chain of events defied all reason.
From the cheating husband's hidden bank accounts to predicting whether someone would pass or fail an exam — how could any of that be real?
But it was too convincing to be staged.
The way he spoke and the other person's reactions — there was no way this was scripted.
'Can he actually see all of this?'
"I'm picking one person for today's free consultation."
Free — he was debating whether to try when it happened.
BLARE! BLARE! BLARE! BLARE! BLARE! BLARE! BLARE! BLARE!
"Wha—?!"
At the emergency alarm blasting through the break room, he bolted out reflexively. His seniors were running every which way.
Including his direct superior.
"Sunbae! What happened?!"
"B-Bear just escaped from the zoo!"
"What? Bear?!"
Bear.
The nickname of the Asiatic black bear housed in the northern zone.
Junhyeok sprinted after his senior toward the northern zone like a man possessed, and found dozens of zookeepers staring at the steel gate with shell-shocked faces.
A wide-open steel gate.
Just then, a voice crackled over the radio.
"CCTV shows it went over the north wall. After that it enters a blind spot, so we can't track it."
The team leader gripped the radio and spoke.
"Issue a civilian evacuation alert and request police and fire department response. We move immediately — gear up and start searching from the north."
At the team leader's command, the keepers moved in practiced unison.
Just as each of them turned to grab their equipment — The stream he'd been watching just moments ago flashed through Junhyeok's mind.
The streamer who'd nailed everything like he was possessed — Kim Jinwoo.
'Could he possibly help?'
Honestly, it was an absurd thought.
But the current situation was equally absurd.
Bear escaping, vanishing into a CCTV blind spot — none of it made sense.
Junhyeok pulled out his phone, opened the Jjiriri app, and sent a large donation.
― BearWithMe donated 100,000 won! ―
[PLEASE HELP ME!!]
"BearWithMe, come on in."
― Thank you!!
― Thank you so much!!!
― Boo, trash — you said it was free
― Oh come on, for 100,000 won you've got to do it lol
Wait — did he even have Daincode installed?
He checked his phone apps and, thankfully, he'd installed it beforehand to game with his friends.
He rushed to log in, entered the room the streamer had indicated, and heard his voice.
"Take your time and tell me."
"A bear escaped from the zoo!!!"
"......"
A brief silence followed, and Junhyeok held his breath through it.
'God, Buddha, Jesus...... please...... please help me......'
He prayed desperately in his head — and maybe it worked.
Through the speaker came the streamer's voice.
"About 200 meters east of the north wall — is there a stream there?"
Junhyeok mentally mapped the terrain and nodded.
"There is."
An area not open to visitors — a location only staff knew about.
"That's where it is. Behind the large boulder."
"I-I'll search there right away!"
Junhyeok clutched his phone, panting, and ran to the team leader.
"Huff, huff...... T-Team Leader......!"
"We're busy — just grab your gear first—!"
"The stream......! The eastern stream — I think we need to check there! They say it's there!"
"What? Are you sure?!"
"Yes, yes! Behind the large boulder!"
The team leader studied Junhyeok for a moment, then nodded and spoke into the radio.
"Search the area behind the large boulder at the eastern stream first! Contact police and fire department as well, please."
After finishing the radio call, the team leader turned back to Junhyeok.
"Assistant Manager Park."
"Yes!"
"Grab the tranquilizer gun. We move now."
"Yes, sir!"
Junhyeok dashed into the equipment room, snatched up the tranquilizer gun, and checked the cartridge.
His hands were shaking as he inspected it — Bear was the first animal he'd been assigned to when it first arrived at the zoo.
The little guy used to sniff and snort whenever Junhyeok brought food. All he wanted right now was one thing.
'Please don't be hurt.'
No harm to any people, and no harm to Bear.
Junhyeok grabbed his gear and sprinted outside. The team leader was already on the move with the squad.
"Hurry up!"
"Yes!"
Junhyeok ran after them, pressing his phone to his ear.
"Sir, we're heading out now."
"Got it. I'll keep watching just in case."
"......Are you watching right now?"
"Yes."
A chill ran down Junhyeok's spine at the streamer's words, but right now, there was no one more reassuring.
......He is human, right?
***
Following the other seniors, he veered toward the stream, and a narrow path thick with undergrowth appeared.
The team leader in front raised his hand to halt everyone.
"Assistant Manager Park, you were Bear's handler when he first came in, right?"
"Yes, that's right. I was reassigned partway through."
"Then will you take point? It'll be better if someone Bear recognizes approaches."
"The current handler is......"
"On vacation."
"......"
He didn't even want to imagine what would happen when the current handler got back, but Junhyeok judged that he should take the lead and stepped forward.
"Understood."
As Junhyeok moved to the front, police and firefighters fell in behind him.
He crept forward, each footstep as quiet as he could make it, phone pressed tight against his ear.
"I'm walking along the stream now."
"Go slowly. If you approach too fast, you might startle him."
"......Where is Bear right now?"
A brief silence.
"See the big boulder?"
Junhyeok raised his head at the question, and there it was — thirty meters ahead, a large boulder.
"I see it."
"He's behind it. Drinking water right now."
Junhyeok held his breath, raised the tranquilizer gun, and crept toward the boulder as silently as possible.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
The moment he rounded the boulder, he saw a black, round back.
Bear, muzzle buried in the stream water, gulping it down.
Did the animal have any idea?
That the zoo — and the entire surrounding area — had erupted into chaos?
When Junhyeok paused on the spot, Bear lifted its head, and their eyes met.
Bear's expression was the same as when it had first arrived at the zoo. Not a guarded look.
Just watching.
'You recognize me.'
Junhyeok slowly raised the tranquilizer gun.
Better to put Bear to sleep first than risk getting closer and making things worse.
"I'm sorry."
BANG—!
Hit by the dart, Bear staggered, its front legs buckled, and it slowly toppled onto its side.
It looked almost like slow motion. Junhyeok finally let out the breath he'd been holding, and his legs gave out.
Right on cue, his seniors caught him from both sides, and the team leader radioed in.
"Capture complete. Medical team, move to the stream immediately."
After the call, the team leader walked over to Junhyeok and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Good work."
"Thank you for your hard work, sir."
"Yeah."
With that, the team leader told Junhyeok to leave the rest to the others and went to check on the unconscious Bear.
Thankfully, it was just asleep from the tranquilizer. Junhyeok raised his phone again and spoke.
"We got him."
"That's a relief."
"Thank you for your help."
"Don't mention it."
With his seniors' help, Junhyeok shuffled over to the sleeping Bear and gently stroked its back.
Warm and soft beneath his hand — maybe it was the tension finally releasing.
Only now did the curiosity hit him.
"Sir, how did you really know?"
"I just saw it."
He just saw it......?
***
I could hear Junhyeok's breathing through the phone.
"Is that really true?"
"If it weren't, you wouldn't have caught Bear, right?"
"......You even know the name."
"Anyone could know that. It's the number-one trending search right now."
"Then......"
"Assistant Manager Park!"
"Y-yes, Team Leader!"
With that, click — the call cut off. Must be busy.
The scene before my eyes vanished too. They'd caught Bear, so that was a relief.
If they hadn't, it would've been a nightmare.
"Everyone, they caught it."
― Jinwoo, great work
― Whoa, he even catches bears now?
― If this is real, it's absolutely insane
― Did you not see the breaking news? They said the bear was captured
― Then what just happened was real?
― Yeah, it's real
[Viewers: 134]
A hundred and thirty-four.
The viewer count had spiked from the bear incident, but it didn't feel real that I'd made it.
Is this what social success feels like?
Just days ago, I was a stream with eleven viewers.
― Jinwoo, you okay?
― Why's his face like that?
― He's just zoning out
"Looking at the viewer count, I just felt like I'd achieved social success."
― 134 is not success
― Jinwoo, why are your standards so humble?
― Just make money with that ability
― He IS making money right now
― Anonymous donated 1,000 won! ―
[Jinwoo, give me some lottery numbers]
"Sorry, but I can't see things like that."
If I could, I would've bought a ticket myself.
― What about stocks or crypto?
― Anything that makes money?
― Or like some new miracle drug?
"Unfortunately, none of those work. If they did, I wouldn't be streaming in the first place."
― Lol fair point
― That's logical
― What? Are you saying money is more important to you than us?
"Do you want an honest answer? Or a nice-sounding lie?"
― Both are bad options
― Anyway, can you see the next person too?
― Jinwoo, I'm still in line
"That's it for today. My eyes are really stiff."
― If he says it hurts, nothing we can do
― Fine, take today off and do two free ones tomorrow?
― Yeah, this calls for two free consultations tomorrow
"Absolutely. Today didn't end up being free after all. See you tomorrow, then."
I pressed [End Stream] and leaned back in my chair. The stiffness in my eyes vanished as if by magic.
Does this only happen while I'm streaming?
Or is it the grandmother's energy? I couldn't tell.
But first, I should check the news.
"Let's see."
Brimming with anticipation, I pulled up the portal site on my phone. There was the headline.
[BREAKING] Escaped Asiatic black bear captured within one hour...... Zookeeper's quick thinking credited.
Where am I in this story?
......When I'm feeling down, I need to eat some fried chicken at least.
I couldn't withdraw the donation money yet, so the time had come to use the coupon I'd been saving.
Just as I was about to hit the order button, my phone rang.
Ring ring ring.
An unknown number. Who is this?
"Hello?"
"Is this Kim Jinwoo?"
A clear, low voice. It was the first time I'd heard it — but I'm not falling for this.
An unknown number, a stranger who knows my name?
One hundred percent voice phishing.
"No, it's not."
Click.