Chapter 9

"Is the puppy's name Kami?"

After feeding Kami the formula, Eejang asked.

"Yes. It's a black-furred puppy, and I thought it needed a name since I'll be raising it."

"It suits her well. After all, it's nice and affectionate to call a pet by its name. But I haven't seen Kami's poop yet."

"I did feed her some milk just now, but she hasn't gone to the bathroom yet. Why do you ask?"

From Eejang's expression, it seemed he had something to say about Kami's poop.

"Hehe! I'm glad you came. Newborn puppies often can't poop on their own and need some help."

"Can't poop on their own? What should I do? If she can't poop, it could be a problem..."

I looked at Eejang in surprise.

Since it was my first time raising a puppy, I lacked common knowledge. Eejang smiled and said,

"You should gently massage Kami's bottom area to stimulate it."

"Massage her bottom?"

"Kami is still a baby, so her sphincter muscles aren't fully developed. If there were a mother dog, she would lick the puppy's bottom to help, but since that's not possible, you'll have to do it."

I finally understood.

Kami was like a newborn human baby and needed her mother's care to go to the bathroom.

"Will Kami give some signal when she needs to poop?"

"You'll figure it out by watching."

Right then, Kami started to whimper and seemed uncomfortable, as if she was saying, "I need to poop" with her whole body.

"Look at that. She seems to need to poop. She's whimpering because she can't go on her own, right?"

"I should help her quickly."

I picked up Kami and, following Eejang's instructions, gently massaged her bottom with my fingers. I wanted her to remember that this was where she should poop.

"Huh? She's tensing up her bottom?"

"Quickly put her on the newspaper. She's trying to poop."

As I massaged, Kami tensed up, so I quickly put her on the newspaper. She shivered and pooped.

Squish! Plop!

She peed and pooped.

Even though puppies are cute no matter what they do, it's important to praise them to develop good bathroom habits.

"Haha! Good job! Our Kami is so well-behaved!"

Kami seemed to react to my praise, and her bright red eyes sparkled slightly.

"Since she pooped, I need to clean her bottom."

I cleaned Kami's bottom with a wet wipe and put her back in the puppy house Eejang had brought.

Purr, purr—

Kami fell asleep quickly, probably because she was full from the formula and had a good bathroom break.

"She's so cute."

Eejang's eyes were full of hearts.

I also smiled, looking at the sleeping Kami. It was amazing how well she ate, pooped, and slept, just like a good puppy.

After Kami fell asleep, Eejang and I drank mixed coffee and talked about the pond I had found in the mountains.

"The pond was bigger than I thought. I plan to call it 'Kami Pond.'"

It meant the pond where I met Kami. Since the mountain and the pond belonged to me, I could name it whatever I wanted.

Eejang seemed to like the name I came up with on the spot.

"That's a good name. 'Kami Pond' sounds better than just 'pond.'"

"You said you went fishing there before. Are there really fish?"

"Hmm, yes. I used to go fishing there a few times with the old man who lived here."

"Then why don't we go together?"

Eejang wouldn't have told me about the pond in the mountains for no reason. He probably wanted my permission to go fishing there since I was the owner of the mountain.

Perhaps the old man missed fishing in the pond the most after he left.

Sure enough, when I suggested going fishing together, Eejang's face lit up.

"I'd like that, but can we really go fishing together?"

"Of course. You have your own things to do, so it might be difficult every day, but a few times a month should be fine."

"Hehe! That's great!"

Eejang's happy smile made me feel good too. I was grateful for Eejang's help with Kami and thought I would need his help in the future. It wouldn't be right to be too strict. Plus, fishing with a companion would be less boring.

"Since we've had a good coffee, I'll head back now. If you need anything, don't hesitate to contact me."

"Yes, sir! Be careful on your way back."

After Eejang left, I checked on the sleeping Kami and went to the shed in the backyard.

"I think I saw a fishing rod in the shed before."

When I was renovating the house, I had organized the items in the shed. The old man had left his things in the shed, so I kept the ones that seemed useful.

I thought I had seen some fishing gear.

"Ah! There it is!"

I found the fishing rod in the shed.

It was a bit dusty but in good condition, and it came with all the necessary tools for fishing.

"Wow! This is a good find!"

I smiled and examined the fishing gear before leaving the shed. When I came out to the front yard, Kami had woken up.

She must have heard me coming, as she was trying to crawl out of the puppy house.

As I tried to pet her, she kept licking my fingers.

"Are you hungry again?"

She had just eaten formula, so I was a bit surprised, but she looked at me intently and whimpered.

"Wait. I'll get the formula."

As I moved, Kami stopped whining and watched me closely.

Although I had only found her in the mountains a day ago, she seemed to have grown more attached to me.

Squish, squish!

I put the formula in a bottle and gave it to her. She drank it greedily, clearly hungry.

"Is this puppy going to become a chubby dog?"

Even as I said this, I couldn't help but smile at how she drank the last drop of formula.

"Even if you become chubby, I hope you grow up healthy and strong."

After feeding her, I wiped her mouth and gently rubbed her back to help her burp.

Then I massaged her bottom and put her on the newspaper in case she needed to go to the bathroom.

Squish—

This time, she only peed.

After putting her back in the puppy house, I went to wash the bottle. Taking care of a puppy was a lot of work, but it was nice to have something to do.

After disinfecting the bottle and looking at the sleeping Kami, I felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart.

They say animals don't betray their owners. I hoped she would stay with me as a family member for a long time.

Looking at her sleeping, I felt my eyes getting heavy.

Thump!

I lay down on the platform.

Being a hermit is good because you can rest whenever you want.

The wind was nice, the weather was good, and the fluffy white clouds in the sky were beautiful.

I thought it would be nice to take Kami to the platform on the roof when she grows up and look at the stars together.

*

It was time for dinner.

After a sweet nap on the platform, I was even hungrier.

While I was sleeping, Kami had been looking for something to eat, so I fed her formula first. She really had a good appetite. At this rate, the formula Eejang brought would run out quickly.

"I need to go to town tomorrow and buy more formula."

I also needed to buy more bottles since the ones I had were a bit old.

It would be easier if she could eat dog food, but since she was still a puppy, I had to wait until she grew a bit more.

"Should I have ramen for dinner?"

I opened the fridge and took out some kimchi.

Boiling ramen with kimchi made a good, hearty meal.

Boil, boil!

The ramen was ready.

I moved the pot to the table, ate the noodles first, then mixed the remaining broth with rice from the rice cooker. It was satisfying and filling.

Whimper, whimper—

Kami, stimulated by the smell of the ramen, was looking for something to eat again.

I had just fed her a full bottle of formula, so I was a bit worried.

"Is something wrong with her?"

But from the outside, Kami looked fine, and she was eating, pooping, and sleeping well.

Her good appetite was a sign of good health, so I decided to think positively.

"Let's see how she reacts."

I smiled at the whimpering Kami and decided to pretend I didn't notice.

I was curious to see how she would react.

"Look at this!"

Kami grabbed my leg and stood up.

She looked up at me provocatively.

Her attitude made me laugh. She had changed so much since I found her in the mountains.

She was too cute to resist.

"Let's eat, Kami!"

I quickly mixed the formula and gave her the bottle. She was growing quickly, and her bright red eyes were even more vivid.

She was definitely different from a regular puppy, probably because I found her in the mountains.

"What breed is she?"

Just then, after finishing the formula and burping, Kami started to whimper, possibly needing to go to the bathroom.

I put her on the floor and watched.

She crawled to the newspaper and pooped on her own.

Plop!

After a satisfying bathroom break, Kami looked at me with a pleading expression, hoping for praise.

"Our Kami is so well-behaved. She can poop on her own now."

I smiled and praised her, then cleaned her bottom with a wet wipe.

Our Kami is a genius.