116 – Haildo Appears on TV with Nymphs! #3
“Hmm, this is a painting drawn by Illinois…! Its price is 100 million…! At this price, it’s practically free…! Are we filming well…?”
Illinois showed his self-painted picture to the broadcasting team who had come to his house.
It was a drawing made with crayons and paints, titled something like “Squirrel” or “Self-Portrait,” full of feeling.
The woman who looked a few years younger than me, Producer Kim Ae-ho.
She nodded and said while looking at Illinois’s painting, “I see. It’s a wonderful picture.”
She probably has a generous and kind nature.
Soon, Inoi also came over, holding her piggy bank high in front of the camera.
“This Inoi has collected a lot of sponsor coins…! Mysterious coins have been popping out from under the bed and refrigerator…! If I scratch like this….”
Swish-.
Inoi’s specialized tool, the scratching hand.
With that taken from the neighbor’s grandma, Inoi scratched under the bed and the refrigerator.
“Yikes…! There’s nothing today…! But surely something will come out tomorrow…! It must be a gift sent by kind-hearted people for this Inoi…!”
Unfortunately, it seemed that broadcasting the process of mining mysterious sponsor coins did not come to fruition.
“What adorable nymphs. So, where are the animals we should film today? I’d like to see the animals─.”
“Oh-. If it’s the animals, they’re right here. Kkungkkung, Ahn Ahn, Bang Bang.”
Swish-.
At my call, the animals appeared stealthily from somewhere.
They were very cute animals, and just watching them brought a heartwarming moment.
Kkungkkung…!
The most active was the prime squirrel, Kkungkkung.
Squirrel Kkungkkung clung to Producer Kim Ae-ho’s pants, climbing on her body, or even scurrying up on top of the camera crew’s hats.
Seeing this, Producer Kim Ae-ho admired it.
“They seem a bit bigger than the squirrels I’ve seen in pictures online!”
“That’s right. Kkungkkung is a prime squirrel. The term ‘prime squirrel’ means the best among squirrels. He can do things like this. Kkungkkung, breathe fire!”
Grrrr…!
Whoosh-.
Kkungkkung breathed a little fire from his mouth.
Soon, the filming team exclaimed, “Wow.”
I felt good in various ways.
Since Kkungkkung was being praised, my shoulders also lifted.
So I decided to show Ahn Ahn, too.
“Ahn Ahn is excellent at doing laundry and washing dishes. Can you see the stacked bowls here? They’re the bowls that Illinois left in the sink after eating cereal.”
Swish…!
Soon Ahn Ahn began washing dishes while getting splashed with water.
The sight of the golden ant washing dishes was quite surreal, and even I, who had gotten used to it, found it astonishing.
The filming team watched this in admiration.
“Wow, a real ant is washing dishes?”
“Can it do laundry too?”
“It does laundry, cleans, and cooks. Honey ants like things to be clean. Our house almost can’t run without Ahn Ahn. Should I show you something more amazing? Bang Bang.”
Swish-.
I lifted the RGB spider Bang Bang, who was curled up on a cushion, with my hand.
Producer Kim Ae-ho soon looked surprised.
“Wow, this is a spider, right!? A venomous spider. I’ve never seen anyone raise a spider like this and let it roam free! I had a tarantula when I was a child, but… doesn’t it bite or anything?”
Producer Kim Ae-ho seemed a bit worried upon seeing Bang Bang.
Unlike Kkungkkung and Ahn Ahn, whose ecologies as squirrels and honey ants were widely known, Bang Bang was a very rare individual, a ghost spider, a subspecies of wolf spider.
Honestly, a spider the size of a palm could appear frightening at first glance.
“Bang Bang doesn’t bite people. It’s very gentle and docile. It dances and sings too. Watch closely. We need to get a good shot. Here-. Bang Bang.”
Swish-.
Bang Bang trembled a little on my palm as if it was just waking up.
Swish-swish-.
When I stroked Bang Bang’s back, the ghost spider began to sing, as if enjoying it ─ “Hioong, hioong” ─ while greeting me by waving its front legs back and forth. The sight was very innocent and looked like a moment from a fairy tale.
“Wow, that’s really peculiar.”
“A singing spider? You probably won’t find someone who has filmed such a spider on any program in the world.”
“I’ve never seen something like this before.”
Seeing the astonished filming team made my heart swell with pride.
On a whim, I also wanted to show Kalilnoi; however, it seemed that Kalilnoi didn’t like people and was not coming down from the roof.
“Aren’t they all wild animals?”
At that moment, someone spoke to me.
He was a man who looked to be in his 40s, wearing glasses and with a grayish hair.
“Haildo. I’m Bang Saeng-hyun, the director of the Wildlife Research Institute. I’ve heard that all these animals were brought from nature.”
“Yes. They were all brought from the wild. Some of them took quite a bit of effort to train. Especially Kalilnoi and Bang Bang were quite shy….”
“Wild animals are naturally wary of humans. However, if you live together for a long time, their wildness diminishes, and they also forget how to be independent. That’s not good for the animals.”
We went out to the yard.
It was to train the animals to cultivate their wildness and independence.
Swish-.
Director Bang Saeng-hyun took something out of his pocket, and it was a live grasshopper.
“Here-. Normally, a wild spider would have to catch and eat this thing.”
Swish-swish-.
Director Bang Saeng-hyun shook the grasshopper here and there.
However, Bang Bang didn’t even look at the grasshopper.
That was only natural.
Bang Bang eats dew, honey, or the sugar water I provide.
Bang Bang ran away at the sight of the grasshopper instead.
Bang Bang…!
“A spider running away from a grasshopper. It has lost its wildness. If left in nature, it might not be able to hunt by itself. This squirrel doesn’t eat mealworms either.”
Kkungkkung saw the mealworm wriggling in front of him and hissed…! His tail fur bristled. This meant Kkungkkung was very upset.
It seemed like he was saying, “How dare you tell me to eat this?”
“What does this squirrel usually eat?”
“Well, it eats macadamia nuts. It also eats treats given by the neighborhood elders, strawberries, watermelon, grapes, apples, anything that humans eat, really.”
“I see. Becoming accustomed to human food can lead to such results. This means it will take a huge amount of time to cultivate wildness.”
Soon, Director Bang Saeng-hyun brought a tank full of mudfish.
He extended it out in front of Kalilnoi, who was resting in the shade of the yard.
“Now, let’s try hunting.”
Flop, flop-.
The mudfish were flopping around.
Kalilnoi showed little interest in them.
“Look. If this were a wild owl, it would be hunting. But it’s not doing anything. That’s not good. How do you usually feed this owl?”
“I roast beef and give it to him. That’s the only thing he eats. But Kalilnoi is actually not an animal, but a large nymph. A nymph of a big animal.”
“Nymph? A large nymph?”
“Nymphs that grow alongside the gods can sometimes grow very large. Kalilnoi reportedly grew due to influences from being raised with the moon goddess in the Moon’s Forest….”
“I see. But other animals aren’t nymphs, right? They are all wild animals.”
“That is true.”
I felt somewhat like a criminal.
Am I really infringing on the instincts and wildness of these animals?
“It’s best to return animals that originally lived in the wild back to nature. Let’s train the animals raised by you, and return them to nature. Until then, we’ll air a special program.”
What!? Returning Kkungkkung, Ahn Ahn, Bang Bang, and Kalilnoi?
I was quite shocked.
Soon, Producer Kim Ae-ho also spoke as if she was surprised.
“Director! We just came here to film today, right? We agreed on that! To air a special program like this on short notice seems a bit out there!”
It seemed the opinions of the PD and the director were clashing.
The director, however, stood firm and said decisively.
“Animals are happiest when they are in nature. Squirrels, honey ants, amazing spiders, and this owl should all be returned to nature. That is the right thing to do.”
I began to have many thoughts.
Kkungkkung, Ahn Ahn, and Bang Bang.
Though I thought I had spent a considerable amount of time with them, I had never asked myself, “Is it really okay for them to stay with me?”
Am I keeping animals that should live happily in the wild trapped, causing them to lose their wildness?
Swish-.
The research institute director now pointed at Inoi with his hand.
“Nymphs are the same. I’ve heard that nymphs are nature’s fairies. Isn’t it pitiful to see nymphs being eroded by the artifacts of the 21st century? I think they too must be released back to nature.”
As the director said, nymphs were originally the fairies of the 21st century.
They were fairies living in a forest and mountains where clear streams and brooks flowed, and Inoi longed for such nature while tending his vegetable garden and planting trees.
He also missed his hometown.
The director’s words made me think deeply.
Are nymphs truly happy in the 21st century filled with back alleys and buildings?
At that moment, Illinois suddenly got very angry.
“Are you suggesting to take away the latest nymph tent from me…? I, Illinois, shall not return to the nymph-hating nature…! Nature is not funny…!”
Is nature nymph-hating?
I was taken aback by the strange flow of the conversation.
Inoi also looked shocked as if struck by lightning.
“Yikes…! If I return to nature, I would have to rummage through trash cans again because I would be hungry…! Don’t take away my comfy bed, water purifier, and shower…!”
Inoi trembled with rage.
I had never seen Inoi this angry before.
Soon, the furious Inoi clenched a fist and shouted.
“I will hit this wicked nymph-hater…! No one has the right to take away today’s joy from me…!”
“Of course…! Our nymph sisters are already feeling very good in the 21st century…! We shall punish this nymph-hater…! Let’s do it…!”
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud-.
The nymphs began to hit Director Bang Saeng-hyun mercilessly.
“The act of abandoning me to nature…! This clearly violates the Nymph Conservation Act promised by Abraham Lincoln…! I will sue you…! Please call my lawyer…!”
“Stop telling that wicked nymph-hater to return to nature…! Don’t even ride a car, cover yourself with leaves, and eat meat raw…!”
“Aaaah~!”
