Animal and I

When I was little, my home was deep in the mountains.

We lived with goats, chickens, dogs, rabbits, pigs, and cows, and the hillside behind our house was always full of birds.

Animals recognize people too. Especially cows and goats—they’re herbivores, and their eyes looked crystal clear.

We couldn’t use a tractor on the sloped fields, so we used cows to plow. The roads weren’t paved, and there were no cars. Instead of trucks, ox carts carried everything.

One of my friends even rode his cow like a horse.

Raising a cow at home was a big deal.

Every morning, before preparing breakfast for the family, my father would feed the cow first. Because someone always had to care for it, he couldn’t leave home for even a single day all year.

A cow’s pregnancy lasts 10 months, just like humans. When a cow was giving birth, my father would cut the umbilical cord and catch the calf, just like an animal doctor.

I used to go to the barn to pet the newborn calves—they were so cute.

In the mid-1980s, Korea began importing beef and pork, and prices for cows and pigs dropped dramatically.

 

Since then, Korean farmers have stopped raising them.

If I had enough land and time, I’d love to raise cows and pigs as pets.

Of course, that’s just a dream.

When I was a kid, no one had pet cats.

They were all stray or feral cats.

So, I don’t have any special memories of cats.

I still remember something from 1982, when I was in 4th grade.

Our dog had puppies, but when I got home from school, they were all gone.

My mom said she gave them all away.

I was so upset—I even tracked down one of the homes and brought a puppy back.

Then, about ten years ago, my friend’s cat had kittens and gave me one.

the kitten slept peacefully all the way to my place.

I’ll never forget how warm and soft it felt.

I didn’t think I could raise it in an apartment, so I left it at my parents’ countryside home.

Every weekend, I’d go visit just to see the cat.

It used to sleep next to me sometimes, though it usually curled up and slept in a quiet corner of the main room.

Then one day, something strange happened.

That cat, who always slept alone, curled up between my parents and slept there.

The next morning, it was gone.

my mother searched everywhere—and finally found he curled up beneath the eaves of the storage shed.

When my mom touched it, she realized it had already passed away.

It had been with us for seven years.

Its sudden death broke my parents’ hearts.

They’ve never raised another cat since.

I live on the second floor of an apartment.

Every spring, apricot and cherry trees bloom outside the balcony.

This past April, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom—just breathtaking.

I always think the view from my window in spring is the most beautiful in the world.

One day, a pair of tits (small songbirds) started nesting on a cherry branch.

We made eye contact all the time.

Then something amazing happened.

They built a nest on the balcony window ledge and laid eggs—seven of them.

They hatched about two weeks ago, and now the parents take turns caring for the chicks.

I bought some grain from a feed store and placed it near the nest.

But they didn’t eat it—turns out, tits are carnivorous.

They only eat insects.

Swallow chicks have yellow mouths, but tit chicks have pink mouths.

They’re growing so fast now.

I often make eye contact with the parents from the balcony.

They’re incredibly smart—they recognize me, and sometimes they even seem to wink with their curious little eyes.

Right now, this tit family is my closest and dearest friend.

This wasn’t just chance.

It feels like a gift—something meant to be.

To have this kind of happiness in my life…

I hope we stay healthy and live together for a long, long time.