A Dragon That My Cat Brought Home

The floor of the room was darkened with a radius of about 5 cm around the blackened bug and the size of a baby's palm. I don't smoke and I don't have matches at home, so I don't have anything that will burn.

I have a lighter in my kitchen drawer for emergencies, but I can't remember taking it out. Just in case, I opened the kitchen drawer and found the lighter covered in dust, lodged in the corner of the drawer. Tried it but it wouldn't turn on, I guess I'll have to get a new one.

The case of insect immolation incident remains unsolved.

******

A huge mountain, the spread-out clouds, faintly obscured the upper half of the mountain. Beautiful trees with broad leaves like a tropical forest and tall as if reaching to the sky. It is an unfamiliar view.

At the top of the mountain there is a large pond like a lake. There is a dark and deep cave on the cliff that rises around the pond. I was standing at the entrance of the cave, looking at the dark blue water.

The owner of the cave is now in the water. He called me and I am waiting for him now. A huge shadow slides towards me from the deep water. I can't see him, but I can feel him approaching.

It foams like water boils and cracks. Between them…

Splash splash!

I woke up to the sound of water. I think I fell asleep with my laptop open. I was thinking about the story of the novel that I was planning on starting, and I just had a dream that was like a scene from a fantasy. It was a so clear for a dream so random.

Splash splash!

It's the sound of a blue dragon playing in the water. The blue dragon likes things warm, but he doesn't seem to feel cold either. The older he gets, the more he likes water, so even on a winter day like this, he enjoys playing in the water once or twice a day.

After I discovered the blue dragon's healing powers, I didn't have to worry about the blue dragon catching a cold, so I just let him play in the water. He can also heal other people's ailments, but wouldn't his own body be okay?

The baby bathtub seems a little small for Blue dragon. I wanted to get him a bigger one, but I don’t have a place to put it.

Baek-ho hates splashing water, so when the blue dragon is playing in the water, he stays far away, and only licks the blue dragon when the water play is over. It's a cold day, so I can't even get close to Blue Dragon when he's playing in the water.

Ding dong, ding dong!

"Who is it?"

“Myung-hoon oppa, it’s me. Ah-in.”

I forgot that Ain called to come today. Her mother, who has returned from her trip, said that Ain is sending her side dishes with her today.

TN: Common for Koreans to give close people side dishes, like kimchi.

Ah-in has been living with Hae-in for her second year since she is attending university in Seoul, but she spent more days staying at her hometown during vacation.

“Why did you bring something when it’s so cold? I could have picked it up myself if you left it at your place.”

“I miss Baek-ho and Blue Dragon, too, and the last time I saw you, oppa’s side dishes seemed to be running out, so I brought them with me. Oh my, Blue dragon’s tub is small now.”

"Right? I'm afraid I'll have to buy a bigger bathtub or pool.”

Ah-in didn't mind the water splashing on her clothes, sitting next to her bathtub and playing with the Blue dragon, splashing water drops with her fingers. The transparent winter sunlight is slanting over Ain and Blue Dragon, so the colors were nice.

The picture of a pretty lady and a kitten playing together is like a scene from a movie. Although the kitten looked a bit unique.

“The color of the blue dragon’s hair is darker. Is it because he's in the water? It seems to be shinier than before. It seems that the hair has become a little stiff.”

"Is it? It’s stiff?”

I didn't realize because I saw him every day, but it seems that the color of the blue dragon's hair has gotten a little darker and shiny. After hearing Ain's words and touching Blue dragon's fur, it felt a little more elasticity than usual. Before going into the water, it was as soft as usual, but does this only happen when he’s in water?

“It would be nice if the blue dragon could swim in a wider area other than the baby bath.”

Ah-in, who had been muttering, suddenly opened her eyes.

"Oppa. Isn’t there's a children's park behind Myung-seo unnie's hospital."

“Yes, there is.”

“There is an artificial pond that children can play in in the summer. They come about knee-high and have a fountain in the middle.”

“Will it have water in winter?”

“The fountain is not running, but there is water in the pond. They change the water too. It was warm this winter so it might not have froze. What if we let the Blue Dragon go there at night to play? It’s a children’s park, so there is no one at night.”

“Still what if they see him even thought it’s at night?”

Having said this, I was also a little persuaded. Maybe not if it was summer, but since it's winter, there's probably no one there at night. It is also a bit far from residential areas.

Seeing a blue dragon splashing in a small baby bathtub makes it feel like a big goldfish in a tiny bowl of water. At first, the bathtub wasn’t small for Blue Dragon, but it seems that he has grown a lot. I want to let him swim in a larger area, but if someone sees him, I'm worried about what would happen.

“There are only two entrances to the park, one on each side. I think it would be fine if two people watch the entrances as he plays.”

Ah-in's eyes twinkled and was excited, so I was tempted to go for a walk tonight and go on an expedition.

So, Ah-in and I came near the children's park in the middle of the night and stopped by a sandwich shop to fill our stomachs.

“Mister, haven’t you closed yet? Can I have a sandwich?”

“Is student Myung-Hoon here? I was just about to close down, but what up with you and Ah-in so late? Your sister left work already.”

“I didn’t come for my sister’s hospital. I’m here for something else.”

“I see. By the way, I have developed a new product. Newly developed menu. You should try it once. Should I talk formally now that Ah-in is in university?”

TN: Korea has honorifics where you can use to someone in a formal setting. It’s more complicated but this is the short answer.

"It's okay. If you talk formally so suddenly, I would feel awkward too. Uncle, there's a children's park behind the hospital. Are there people there at night?”

“Not sure? I don't know because I don't go there often, but there are no people in winter. There won’t be more especially recently.”

"Why?"

“Someone caused a scene there a while ago. I heard that he beat up a passer-by with something like an iron pipe for no reason. No one was killed, but they were seriously injured, so police cars and ambulances came, but they couldn't catch them. Hearing from the witness, that person seemed like he had a mental problem. Maybe he ran away to somewhere far, but I haven't seen him since then where he ran away."

After hearing that, I was a bit nervous, but since I had already came out, I stopped by the park once. There were really no one near the park at night. There was CCTV at the entrance and there was also in front of the toilet, but not at the fountain.

“Look at this oppa. There is no one. Would it be okay if we brought blue dragon here sometime?”

I looked around again.

If I bring Hae-in to the entrance and stand at the two entrances, I think we will be able to avoid other people seeing.

But there was an accident here not long ago, and is the water okay?