Apocalypse’s Teacher

Chapter 79

"Chunsik...!"

Hyesung called for Chunsik.

Chunsik, still unable to regain its strength, remained buried within the blanket.

"Kkiing-."

Even the faint response seemed to carry a hint of struggle.

Hyesung's face showed a sorrowful expression.

I approached Hyesung and spoke.

"Chunsik still seems to be in pain and wants to rest. Can Hyesung understand?"

"Yes...."

"Now, it's almost dinnertime, so Hyesung needs to go wash her hands."

Hyesung wobbled to her feet and headed to the bathroom.

Only then did I exhale and look at Chunsik.

'Why is it acting like this?'

Not knowing much about animals, I felt at a loss.

"Hey, if you're going to act like this, it defeats the purpose of bringing you here."

Saying that, I stroked its head, and Chunsik's ears perked up.

"Woof...!"

It responded weakly, but even then, its tail wagged gently.

It seemed to be very fond of people.

The old man approached.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"I will. Ah, do you know what to feed this one?"

"What else? Just mix something up and give it."

The old man replied indifferently.

Still, I wondered if I should give it something like dog food, and as I furrowed my brows, the old man clicked his tongue and continued.

"This is why the younger generation doesn't get it. Dogs are omnivores. Just mix something up, and they'll happily gobble it up."

"You sound like someone who's raised a dog before."

"I have. When I was young, we had more than ten dogs at our house."

My jaw dropped.

Surprised, I looked at the old man, who snorted and continued.

"For your information, I was the third son of a landowner. Do you know how vast our rice fields were?"

The way he boasted was a bit annoying, but what he said was good news.

At least it meant he knew a thing or two about dogs.

"So, if I soak jerky and mix it with tuna, would that work?"

"Try it. Oh, but make sure to reduce the salt."

I nodded and looked at Chunsik.

A clearly white-furred dog that looked dirty and scruffy with yellow stains.

'They say mutts are usually healthy.'

I hope this one recovers quickly too.

*

Hyesung's expression brightened as she looked at Chunsik.

"Chunsik, eat well!"

"Right? Just like the old man said, it's really gobbling everything up."

Chunsik eagerly ate the mishmash.

As if it had never been lethargic, the sight of food made it spring to its feet and start eating.

Only then did I realize why Chunsik had been so weak.

'It was hungry, huh?'

Well, it must have gone two days without food while locked in a cage at the prison.

After all, I had taken care of every human who might have fed it.

"Chunsik, you're such a glutton!"

"Woof!"

Chunsik's tail spun like a propeller.

Before I knew it, the bowl it had been given was completely clean and even shining.

Chunsik stretched.

Then it toddled over and started circling around me.

"Woof!"

Hyesung followed behind Chunsik, circling around me too.

"Chunsik's tail is amazing!"

She couldn't seem to contain her excitement.

As the child and the puppy wandered around, a warm atmosphere started to form.

Chunsik stopped.

Hyesung followed and came to a sudden halt, then carefully raised her hand and reached toward Chunsik.

She seemed to want to touch it, but there was no way that would happen.

"No. Chunsik is still dirty, so we need to wash him before you touch him."

"Huh?"

"Woof!"

Chunsik clung to my leg.

It had finally regained its strength, but its droopy eyes still made it look sluggish.

'Can this one even be trained?'

Its dazed-looking face made me feel uneasy for some reason.

*

Washing it wasn't particularly difficult.

All I had to do was pour purified water over it, lather it with soap to scrub off the dirt, and that was it.

Seeing the dirty water stream out made me sigh deeply, thinking it must not have been cleaned in a long time, but I succeeded in the end.

"White!"

At last, Hyesung hugged Chunsik.

The now-fluffy and clean Chunsik panted with its tongue out, licking Hyesung's cheek.

Dayoon and Dabin, standing nearby, awkwardly petted Chunsik.

Perhaps nothing captures children's hearts better than small animals.

The heartwarming scene made me feel at peace.

Meanwhile, Gihyun approached me and asked.

"Mister."

"Yeah?"

"How are you going to train that one?"

The question, asked with a face still heavy with sleepiness.

I continued to ponder as I watched Chunsik struggle amidst the surrounding children.

"Right, how am I supposed to train it?"

I squinted my eyes.

Staring sharply at the seemingly dull Chunsik, I let out a thoughtful hum.

Then, Chunsik turned to look at me.

"Woof!"

It pushed away the children and clung to my leg.

"Woof!"

"Why are you so clingy?"

"Woof!"

Its spirited response was good, but this wouldn't do.

Thinking of the zombies outside that reacted to sound, this one needed to calm down a bit.

'Training, huh.'

As I continued my thoughts, I came to a conclusion.

'Let's start with something simple.'

You never know.

Those cultist bastards might have trained Chunsik to some extent.

"Chunsik."

"Woof!"

"Sit."

Chunsik's tail spun like a propeller.

What followed made me grab the back of my neck.

"Woof!"

Chunsik stood on two legs.

"Ohhh!!!"

Hyesung screamed with excitement.

Dabin and Dayoon jumped around, hugging each other.

About three seconds of bipedal walking.

I closed my eyes tightly and thought.

'We're screwed.'

I wondered when I'd get around to training properly.

*

"You give them a treat, waving it in front of their eyes. Each time they perform a specific action, reward them with a treat."

Dayoon read aloud from the book.

In front of her, Hyesung held boiled jerky softened in water, facing Chunsik.

A tense moment, as Chunsik's gaze was locked on the jerky, Hyesung shouted.

"Sit!"

"Woof!"

Chunsik stood on two legs again.

Hyesung widened her eyes in surprise and let out a "Heh," opening her mouth, then quickly made an "Oops" expression and tightly shut her eyes.

"This isn't it!"

Exclaiming so, Hyesung stuffed the jerky she was holding into her mouth.

"Whimper?"

"Jerky confiscated!"

Hyesung's cheeks moved as she munched.

Her expression softened and melted.

After swallowing the jerky, Hyesung turned to me and held out her hand.

"Another jerky!"

I narrowed my eyes and stared at Hyesung.

'Hyesung, do you just want to eat jerky yourself?'

She didn't need to eat the jerky just because Chunsik didn't listen, but Hyesung naturally devoured the jerky and then demanded more.

A cunning child.

Hyesung, who shows no mercy in front of food, was being herself.

Hyesung stared at me, brimming with excitement, while Chunsik stared at me with his usual silly expression.

'Is this right?'

I wondered if this was the right way to train.

Thinking that simple training could be approached as a form of play, I involved the kids, but at this rate, the purpose of training might completely vanish.

Should I exclude the kids from the training?

As I was thinking about this, Jinwoo approached.

"Mister, can I give it a try?"

"Huh? You want to try?"

"Yes!"

Jinwoo stretched out his hand and took a piece of jerky.

Hyesung's face fell, but what could I do?

This jerky wasn't made for Hyesung in the first place.

Jinwoo approached Chunsik.

He waved the jerky in his hand and gently patted Chunsik's head.

"Here, sit. Sit. Sit."

Speaking softly, he pressed Chunsik's bottom down.

Finally, Chunsik settled into a sitting position.

Chunsik's bottom twitched slightly.

Jinwoo firmly pressed it down again and repeated the command, "Sit."

Then he brought the jerky close to Chunsik's mouth.

"If you sit, you get it. Got it?"

Chunsik eagerly ate the jerky.

And then he shouted.

"Woof!"

Jinwoo reached out and took another piece of jerky.

This time, without adding any other actions, he said.

"Chunsik, sit."

Chunsik sat.

"Ohhhh...!"

Hyesung clapped her hands.

Dabin gaped in awe, and Dayoon looked back and forth between the book and Chunsik, bewildered.

I was just as surprised.

"How did you do it?"

Wondering how he managed to do this without having learned dog training methods before, I blurted out.

Jinwoo smiled and answered.

"I saw it in a comic book. I wondered if it would work in real life, so I tried it... and it worked? The author of the comic must have done some solid research."

"Ohhh...."

Just reading comic books, and they turn out to be useful in this way.

I suddenly felt a sense of relief.

Amidst that, a thought suddenly surfaced.

'Wait, if this is a comic Jinwoo reads....'

Suspicion flickered across my face.

I stared directly at Jinwoo.

Jinwoo flinched under my gaze, then scrunched up his face as if offended and replied.

"...Mister, no matter what, I wouldn't do that to a four-legged animal. A comic is just a comic."

"R-right?"

His resolute answer made me feel unnecessarily apologetic.

Scratching the back of my head, I apologized.

"Sorry. Your teacher worries too much sometimes."

"I'll let it slide this once."

"Woof!"

Chunsik rubbed his head against Jinwoo's leg.

Jinwoo patted Chunsik and spoke again.

"Sit."

Chunsik sat again.