Hello Vet! How are you?

As people gathered and lined up, Gray one curled up the corners of his mouth.

“I am indeed impressive!”

“They’re gathering here just to see me.”

Kkamnyang raised his voice.

“No, I’m much more imposing and impressive!”

Inside the carrier, Gray one stood up to puff himself up and shouted.

Poof.

His head bulged through the mesh carrier.

“So cute!”

“He looks like a prairie dog scouting. Gray one is too cute.”

With attention drawn to Gray one, a furrow appeared between Kkamnyang’s brows.

He knew better than anyone that attention naturally gravitated towards a strong presence.

Not wanting to be outdone, Kkamnyang quickly stood up.

“I’m bigger!”

Just then, Go Gijin opened the zipper on top of the carrier, causing Kkamnyang’s head to poke out.

“It’s Kkamnyang!”

“So cute!”

The attention swiftly shifted to Kkamnyang, causing his eyes to curl into crescents.

『Ha, did you see that? Everyone’s looking up to me!』

With a triumphant expression, Kkamnyang looked over at Gray one and burst into laughter.

『Ha-ha, why do you look so ugly?』

Ugly!

Hearing such words for the first time in his life, Gray one was bewildered.

『W-what did you just say?』
『I said you look very ugly. That’s why people are looking up to me.』
『No, that can’t be! How dare you say the great Silver Rain is ugly!』

Gray one’s face pressed against the mesh, becoming more crumpled as he trembled.

“Look at Gray one. His face stuck in the mesh has become really cute.”

“Right, like an ugly doll. So cute.”

People laughed, observing Gray one’s face squished against the mesh like a steamed bun, with tufts of fur poking out.

Some people even took pictures, saying he was too cute.

Gray one felt a bit more at ease as attention returned to him.

Wanting to stand up like Kkamnyang, Gray one scratched the ceiling.

『I want to stand up too. I want to show my grand and impressive form!』

“Alright, Gray one, come out.”

Simultaneously, hyung’s voice and a strange sound rang out, and his head popped out.

Just a few scratches, and the obstacle was gone.

『I am strong too!』

With his confident expression returning, Gray one raised his head and meowed graciously.

『I am stronger.』

Kkamnyang exclaimed in defiance.

“What are you two doing now?”

『Don’t you think I am more impressive! Hyung thinks so too, doesn’t he!』
『Ridiculous, I’m bigger and more splendid. Vet-nim, don’t you think I am more handsome?』

Kkamnyang spread out his chest with its only tuft of fur puffed out as he cried out.

“Ha-ha, you two are so cute.”

Hoping to hear that he was more handsome from Hyung, Gray one and Kkamnyang were disappointed to hear that they were just cute.

Yet, disappointment didn’t suit them.

Observing the people gathered around, they thought, ‘They gave us treats’.

Recalling receiving many snacks from the staff at the filming site, Gray one pointed at Kkamnyang with his paw and shouted.

『Let’s have a bet!』
『A bet on what?』
『Let’s see who gathers the most treats!』
『Alright! It’s a bet!』

With fiery eyes, the cats stared at each other and shouted in unison to Lee Joon.

『Give us a sack!』
『A sack for treats.』

“A sack?”

『We’ll put the treats in it.』
『We’ll receive treats and store them in it.』

Once again, they shouted together, then leapt from the carrier.

They landed on a nearby chair.

『I wanted to go to that high place!』
『These leashes prevent us from reaching there.』

They sighed, glancing back and forth between the reception desk, where they initially wanted to go, and the red leashes on their backs.

“Oh dear. I forgot to give snacks.”

Someone in the line said, pulling out a bag of treats and offering it to Gray one.

Sniff, sniff, the bag emanated a delicious aroma.

Gray one, his eyes turning crescent-shaped, stated,

『I am more impressive!』

Gray one lifted his head proudly towards the person holding the bag of treats and meowed.

『You can take a photo!』

People began offering treats to both Gray one and Kkamnyang.

They both posed as majestically as possible, delighting in the sound of the clicks.

Their whiskers spread splendidly, and their eyes sparkled, with a serene smile on their serious faces.

The cats tried their best to exude their charm.

However, it was only for a short while before their expressions turned into pouts.

In the end, the cats climbed onto their Hyungs’ shoulders, meowing wistfully.

“You must be tired. Well done.”

“Well done. Come here, Kkamnyang, and rest.”

Feeling the hands of their Hyungs, Gray one and Kkamnyang whimpered.

『They gave us strange things!』
『It doesn’t even smell tasty.』

Gray one mumbled, lowering his head.

『We failed.』
『Indeed, we gathered them to give to our subordinates.』
『Paper isn’t edible.』

Sighing at the pile of paper, Gray one and Kkamnyang sighed deeply.

『Choosing Norang as the successor was a good decision. I am no longer impressive.』
『No, Gray one, you’re still impressive. You got a treat.』

Kkamnyang buried his face into the strong Hyung’s shoulder as he continued.

『All I got was paper.』

Tearing paper as a toy was fun with its rustling sound. However, paper was just paper, not edible.

『I’m outdated.』
『No, Kkamnyang is impressive.』

However, encouraging each other didn’t help.

Staring at each other in disappointment, Lee Joon laughed heartily.

“Hahaha, you guys.”

『Why are you laughing?』

Gray one gave the laughing Vet-nim a hard look.

『We’re so sad.』

Kkamnyang also looked at Vet-nim with his triangular eyes and continued.

『The food hung on the tree can’t feed our subordinates forever.』
『The white snow will come, and it’ll all be gone.』

The smart cats knew well that the food they had found was not much.

『Hyung said when we climb trees and dash through the desert impressively, we can get a lot of food.』
『That’s right.』
『This time, we practiced a lot with Kkamnyang to show off more impressively.』

Whenever they had time, they practiced climbing up and down the cat tower stylishly.

『But it was all in vain.』
『We are no longer impressive, so people didn’t give us food.』

The cats thought that because they weren’t impressive, people gave them paper instead of food.

『We won’t be able to get food. So, we’re sad.』
『Very sad.』

The cats whimpered with their lips pulled down.

“Wait. So, you think people aren’t giving you food because you’re less impressive?”

『That’s right.』

Hyung had said there were many people who liked them, far more than at the place where they met their sea friends.

Although it’s far, he had said that if they showed off their impressive forms there, they could gather a ton of food.

『I planned to give a lot of food to my subordinates and friends.』

Since they were no longer impressive, it was natural they wouldn’t be able to gather food.

That’s why the cats were disappointed.

“All this is food. People who adore you have promised to give it later.”

Unable to understand, the cats tilted their heads in confusion.

“Gray one, do you remember? I told you I’d give your park friends something delicious once a week.”

How could he forget those words.

Gray one’s eyes sparked as he replied.

『I remember. We all ate delicious meat together. We had tasty food together just yesterday.』

“Exactly. When I told you that, there was meat just for you.”

『There was. It was delicious.』

“Let’s eat it again next time.”

『Thank you, hyung.』

“Just like I said before, these folks promised to give you something delicious too. Right now, we’re on a trip, aren’t we?”

『That’s right. They said we’d get loads of food if we play impressively far away.』

“So, they’ll give it to you later.”

『Is that so?』
『Really?』

“Indeed. One of these papers can fill one of these carriers.”

『You mean that much?』

Gray one leapt into the air.

“Yeah, someone who likes you, Gray one, promised to give you that much. This paper states enough to fill two carriers. This one’s for three, and this one’s for one…”

As Lee Joon spoke, holding each piece of paper, Gray one’s expression grew brighter with each explanation.

『Hehe, I am indeed impressive.』

Seeing Gray one’s arrogant expression return, Kkamnyang stomped his paws and spoke.

『Vet-nim, how about my paper? Did I get food like Gray one?』

“Yes, you got a lot too.”

『Hehe, that’s good.』

Returning to his original expression, Kkamnyang tilted his chin up and laughed.

Nodding at each other, Gray one and Kkamnyang jumped down gracefully to the floor.

Gray one and Kkamnyang stood with their front paws neatly together and bowed toward the people.

『Thank you!』
『We’ll eat well.』

***

“Gray one, this is your spot.”

At Vet-nim’s words, Gray one examined his surroundings through the open holes.

Sniff sniff.

『It’s a new smell.』

Entering a space full of unfamiliar scents, Gray one’s instinct to patrol emerged.

『I need to mark it to show it’s my territory.』

He wanted to cover up other smells with his own.

However, since he was in the carrier, he couldn’t do so at the moment.

『With Hyung here, it’s fine. Kkamnyang is here too.』

And there was Click Hyung and Strong Hyung as well.

Gray one scanned his surroundings.

Through the holes, hyung was smiling and watching him.

『Hyung is watching me.』

Feeling reassured, Gray one looked around.

He noticed that while he could see Hyung’s face, everything else was enclosed, making him feel safe.

『Feels good. It’s like a cave.』
『Comfortable. I can only see Strong Hyung.』

Gray one and Kkamnyang sniffed the unfamiliar scents, eventually drifting off to sleep.

However, that was only for a moment, as the cats who had just fallen asleep suddenly opened their eyes.

『My body is lifting.』
『I’m falling!』

Surprised by the sensation of lifting, Gray one woke up, and Kkamnyang, feeling like he was falling, did too.

『Run away!』
『Escape!』

As they scratched at the mesh blocking their way out, a familiar voice called out.

“It’s okay. Remember when I mentioned flying to find food?”

It was Hyung’s voice.

Finally regaining his senses, Gray one replied.

『You did say that.』

“Now we’re preparing to fly.”

『Is that right?』

“Yeah. Remember how birds look when they fly?”

Gray one thought of birds spreading their wings to fly from a tree.

『They stand and stretch their front legs like this.』

Mimicking the bird’s flight in the carrier, Gray one imagined soaring into the sky, dispelling his fear.

『Feels like flying.』

What had seemed strange a moment ago now felt exciting, thinking he was flying like a bird.

『I feel like my head is falling down.』

“That’s because, Kkamnyang, you were lying the other way around.”

『Really?』

“Try moving your head to where your tail was before. Can you move?”

『Of course. For us cats, this is nothing.』

Kkamnyang easily turned around within the carrier.

『Oh, it really feels like flying!』

Kkamnyang, who had always envied birds flying, spread his front paws as wide as he could.

Thunk.

Even though the mesh stopped him from fully spreading his paws, it felt nice.

『Hehe, it really feels like flying.』

“Isn’t it nice?”

『It feels really good. Vet-nim, can we fly to the top of a tree too?』

“The top of a tree is nothing. We’re already flying very high. Gijin, lift the bag to show Kkamnyang the sky.”

With a lift, Vet-nim raised the bag high, showing the outside.

『Wow~. What is that? There’s a lot of sugar. Mong-i is there too. That’s Kkamnyang’s paw.』

“Those are clouds.”

『Clouds? They are so pretty. But Hyung, where’s the top of the tree? I can’t see it.』

Gray one shook his head, searching for trees and birds.

“The trees are below, so we can’t see them. We’re much higher than the trees.”

『Where are the birds?』

“We’re flying much higher than the birds, so we can’t see them.”

『Does that mean I am higher than the birds?』

“Yes.”

『Hehe, everything is lower than me. This is exciting!』

Gray one, seeing the clouds through the mesh, hopped on his paws.

But it was only for a moment before he spoke.

『We’re standing still. Why aren’t we flying!』

“We are moving. Now we’re flying like this instead of going up.”

『Feels like being on the ground. It’s not exciting anymore.』

Losing interest, Gray one buried his head into his body.

『I’m going to sleep.』
『Let’s sleep.』

Gray one and Kkamnyang dozed off, eating, peeing, and drinking water, enjoying a very comfortable flight.

『When do we get out of here! It’s boring.』

“We’re almost there. It’ll get interesting soon.”

『What’s interesting?』

“We’re going to land, and oh, remember when Kkamnyang said you felt like your head was falling?”

『I said that.』

“You’ll experience that. Oh, remember climbing the mountain?”

『I’m good at climbing mountains.』
『I’m good at running too.』

“Great. When you come down from the mountain, remember how it felt? Your body will lean down like that.”

And as Vet-nim mentioned, their heads began to lean downward.

Unlike during takeoff, the informed cats enjoyed the experience.

『Nyahong! Feels like running down a cliff!』
『It’s really fun.』

The cats enjoyed the descent of the plane.

And finally, when they landed, they exclaimed excitedly,

『Let’s fly again!』
『I want to fly.』