When he gets here... I'll say hello... tell him to sit down.... Should I order some cake or something? No. He'll probably be too nervous to eat cake.
Then he immediately reconsidered.
But will he even be nervous? He's always so calm and composed.
That was right. The person Hae Dam would be interviewing today was none other than his landlord, Ji Jeongwon.
These days, Hae Dam enjoyed a feast at Jeongwon's apartment every single day, eating until he was completely full. Even so, he still occasionally grew dizzy or had his vision go white. After repeatedly losing track of animals he'd only just managed to find because of these episodes, he had finally admitted defeat and decided to hire an assistant.
Landlord
February 10, 10:55 p.m.
Detective... I heard a rumor that you're looking for an assistant. Would it be all right if I applied for the position?
Somehow, on the very day Hae Dam had decided to hire an assistant, he'd received that message from Jeongwon.
He'd seen it so late that he hadn't replied immediately, worried his landlord might already be asleep.
He'd returned home well after midnight that night, only to find Jeongwon wide awake, reading a book with intense concentration.
It was titled You Too Can Be an Animal Detective, written by Gyeontam, the first animal detective in the industry to reach one million subscribers.
"You're home? Good work today."
"Squeak."
Hae Dam promptly climbed onto Jeongwon's lap. He settled into a comfortable position, nibbling on the ginseng root Jeongwon offered him.
As he stroked the white weasel, Jeongwon spoke quietly.
"Today, I applied for a job I've always dreamed of having. I've decided to stay here instead of emigrating, so... while I'm taking time off from university, I really want to do this work and learn as much as I can from the experience."
Hae Dam already knew his landlord had abandoned his plans to emigrate. He'd been nestled in Jeongwon's arms when the young man accessed his department's website on his laptop and submitted his leave-of-absence request.
But he hadn't known that working as an animal detective was Jeongwon's dream job.
Since when? He barely knows anything about animals!
"It's the first thing in my life I've ever truly wanted to do. I really hope they give me a positive answer. I think I'd be terribly sad if I didn't get the job..."
Feeling the pressure mounting, Hae Dam tried to spit out the ginseng root in his mouth.
Jeongwon promptly pushed an even thicker root toward his snout.
The hungry weasel couldn't resist the temptation and ended up eating both.
The following day, Hae Dam sent a text as soon as he left the apartment.
He suggested they start with an interview.
And now, three days later, Hae Dam had arrived at their agreed meeting place first, twenty minutes ahead of schedule.
In truth, he'd been so nervous that he'd spent the previous hour wandering around a nearby park.
If the applicant hadn't been his landlord, he probably wouldn't have been nearly this anxious.
Perhaps it was because he was living under the man's roof.
He felt as though he absolutely couldn't afford to make a bad impression. In fact, he almost felt like he should be the one asking, Are you really sure you'd be willing to work for me?
His landlord appeared five minutes later.
He, too, had arrived early, a full fifteen minutes before their appointment.
What's going on? Are they filming something?
He's so handsome....
Holy crap. Is he a celebrity?
Jeongwon looked faintly irritated by the whispers following him as he approached Hae Dam's table.
He walked straight toward it without the slightest hesitation, as though he'd known exactly where Hae Dam was sitting before he even entered the café.
Hae Dam sprang to his feet.
"Hello!"
"It's been a while, Detective. Have you been well?"
"...Yes, thanks to you."
Hae Dam had absolutely no idea he'd just called the man Master.
"What would you like to drink?"
Holding his card, Hae Dam walked over to the ordering kiosk.
Jeongwon chose chamomile tea. Hot.
Oh, the landlord must like chamomile too! At home, he usually drinks tea with some complicated Chinese characters written on it. I've got whole boxes of chamomile at home. Maybe I should bring him some sometime.
He had no idea that the price of the brand he usually drank and the brand Jeongwon drank differed by three zeros.
Once their drinks were ready, they returned to the secluded table Hae Dam had claimed.
Jeongwon glanced at the plain water sitting on the table. His lips parted slightly, then closed again.
He sat down with a gentle smile.
Meanwhile, Hae Dam picked up his phone and secretly consulted the interview questions he'd prepared in advance.
What am I supposed to do now? Oh, right. Motivation!
"Please tell me why you applied for the position of animal detective's assistant."
Jeongwon answered with effortless fluency.
"I originally had no particular interest in animals, but after I started keeping a weasel, I became interested in them. As I learned more, I discovered just how many pets go missing unexpectedly and never find their way back to their families.
"When a pet goes missing, an entire family's everyday life comes to a standstill. The little sounds of them eating their food disappear. When someone opens the front door, there's no longer the patter of paws racing to greet them. And yet the empty hiding house and worn-out toys remain, because no one can bring themselves to put them away....
"I want to set those frozen moments in motion again. That's why I applied."
Hae Dam clapped a hand over his mouth.
That's so moving. What do I do?
His nose tingled, and his eyes grew hot.
A rush of emotion welled up in his chest.
He'd had no idea his landlord cared so deeply about the everyday lives of pets and their human families.
Don't cry. Hold it together. The next question is....
"Do you have a driver's license?"
"I drove here today. I currently have a Class 2 license, but if you'd like, I'll obtain a motorcycle license and a Class 1 license as soon as possible."
"Sometimes the job requires working at night."
"When I think about all the pets out there shivering on the streets, I doubt I'd be able to sleep at night anyway."
"You might occasionally encounter very large dogs."
"The bigger they are, the more there is to love."
Perfect!
Hae Dam was already completely won over.
In fact, Jeongwon had passed the moment he gave his first answer.
"Lastly, I'd like to ask you a few questions about animals."
Anyone hoping to work as a detective needed at least some basic knowledge of animal breeds and behavior.
"Which of the following foods should dogs never eat? Chicken, salmon, sweet potatoes, or chocolate?"
Even though I came up with the question, it's horrible. A dog eating chocolate? I don't even want to imagine it.
Jeongwon gazed steadily at Hae Dam before answering.
"Chocolate."
"Next question. Is it better to keep hamsters together in the same enclosure or house them separately?"
"Hamsters should be housed individually."
"Most of them hide within a radius of two hundred meters. They're often found in the basement or parking garage of the same building."
"Every answer is correct! Excellent!"
For the past three days, whenever Hae Dam returned to the apartment, he'd found Jeongwon poring over reference books about animals.
He'd studied so diligently, and now he was answering every question with ease.
Hae Dam was impressed.
That's a Korea University student for you.
"Does that mean I got the job?"
"Yes! Please, I'd love for you to be my assistant."
"Thank you. I look forward to learning a great deal under your guidance, Detective."
Hae Dam's voice had risen a little with excitement at the prospect of spending entire days with someone he liked, even if the arrangement felt somewhat intimidating.
Jeongwon, by contrast, continued speaking in his usual soft, measured tone.
The landlord really is so calm and composed. I guess he wasn't nervous at all. I was the only one getting worked up....
Apart from the time Hae Dam had ridden up and down on a crow's back and their first encounter while he was in human form, his landlord had always been perfectly composed.
Still, I think I handled that interview really well. I was professional. I didn't fumble around or anything.
Proud of how well he'd conducted his first interview, Hae Dam curled both hands into little fists beneath the table.
A smile appeared on Jeongwon's lips.
That night, Jeongwon stroked the white weasel sitting on his lap, happily chewing a ginseng root.
"I got the job I wanted. Tomorrow's my first day. I'm nervous, but I'm excited, too."
"Squeak."
"I'll have to work hard so I don't cause any trouble. I really want to get along with the person I'll be working for."
"Squeak."
"I understand we're the same age, but he's already accomplished remarkable things in his field. I really admire him."
"Squeak!"
"To be honest, I want to get close to him. Like really close friends. Do you think that could happen?"
"..."
"Why aren't you answering?"
Jeongwon asked repeatedly why the weasel had gone silent only at that last question.
But the little creature pretended not to hear and simply kept gnawing on its ginseng root.
The following day was Jeongwon's first day of work.
The two set off before dawn, traveling along the Gyeongbu Expressway in Hae Dam's car.
Jeongwon was driving.
His driving was steady and smooth, just like his personality.
It really is comfortable having someone else drive.
Relaxing in the passenger seat, Hae Dam replied to work emails and researched the location they would be visiting.
It was a residential neighborhood, with a stream nearby and a low wooded hill immediately behind it.
If even Mr. Myotam couldn't find the animal after an entire week, we have to consider the possibility that it went up into the hills.
Myotam was an exceptionally capable detective.
He'd begun working long before GemTube became popular and already had thirty years of experience.
Even now, he maintained only a blog, without using videos to promote himself.
Because he resolved most cases on his own, he called Hae Dam's emergency rescue service far less frequently than other detectives did.
Yet the previous night, even this veteran had submitted an urgent request.
It had already been a week, he said, and he hadn't found so much as a trace.