Judging by the sound, they must have bumped their heads inside as well before they finally wriggled their way out.
Go Okrim smiled and waved his hand. "Kim Haru-hyung, I was introducing the ducks to Hose."
Kang Hose nodded in agreement. "Yes, Mr. Kim. The little ducks are adorable. But they can’t swim yet, so Brother Go told me to teach them how to swim."
Kim Haru: "…"
For a moment, he didn’t know where to begin.
"If I’m not mistaken, Kang Hose, aren’t you much older than Gojo?" Kim Haru looked back and forth between the two. "Why are you calling him Brother Go like he’s your senior?"
Even if Kim Haru had remembered incorrectly, there was no mistaking their appearances.
Kang Hose looked like a man in his early thirties, while Go Okrim was clearly a young man in his twenties. Enjoy new stories from freewebnovel
Even if the former looked prematurely aged, it was absurd to think he was in his teens.
Go Okrim puffed up indignantly. "Kim Haru-hyung, I got here first, and he came later. Obviously, he’s my junior! What’s wrong with him calling me ’Brother Go’?"
"Exactly," Kang Hose said without hesitation. "Brother Go is so attentive and patient in showing me the ropes. He deserves my respect as a senior."
Well, if both of them were okay with it, Kim Haru decided not to interfere.
"So, what’s this about teaching the ducks to swim?"
At the mention of this, Go Okrim’s shoulders slumped. "I’m sorry, Hyung. It’s my fault for not raising them properly. I don’t know why, but these ducks just can’t seem to swim."
As he spoke, Go Okrim stepped aside, giving Kim Haru room to inspect.
"And you thought Kang Hose could teach them?" Kim Haru found the idea amusing. "How’s a human supposed to teach ducks to swim? It’s a completely different system."
This was precisely what Go Okrim and Kang Hose had been fretting over.
Before Kim Haru had returned, the two of them had been crouched inside the duck pen, cupping the little ducks in their hands and trying to place them on the water to show them they could float.
However, for some inexplicable reason, the ducklings either flipped over or flapped their wings frantically, leaping out of the water basin altogether.
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In short, none of them obediently stayed afloat.
Although the duck pen was slightly larger than the chicken coop, it still wasn’t spacious enough for two grown men to maneuver comfortably.
Hence, they’d had to squeeze inside halfway, awkwardly contorting themselves to work with the ducks.
Both of them had considered taking the water basin and ducks outside to work in a more open area, but after stepping outside and feeling the chill, they quickly abandoned the idea.
Taking the ducklings out of the warm pen on such a cold day would likely freeze them to death.
Besides, in a larger area, it would be harder to catch any ducks that managed to escape.
And so, the two of them had spent half a day in their cramped positions, making little progress.
At most, they’d gotten one duckling to float on the water, but even that duckling just floated stiffly, its little webbed feet frozen and motionless.
Go Okrim had tried to gently move its feet to mimic swimming, but they were so rigid he couldn’t budge them.
The poor duckling looked just like a non-swimmer trying to stay afloat—completely still, as if even the slightest movement would cause it to sink.
Kim Haru: "…Why not find something duck-shaped to float on the water as a demonstration?"
Like a toy duck, for instance.
Kim Haru wasn’t sure if that was the best solution, but it was the only idea he could come up with.
...
Go Okrim and Kang Hose finally let the poor ducklings rest.
They decided to follow Kim Haru’s suggestion to create a toy duck that could float on water, at least to show the little ducks that the water surface wasn’t dangerous.
Designing such a toy required some effort, and the two huddled together, whispering and brainstorming ideas.
Kim Haru left them to it.
The next morning, Kim Haru was jolted awake by his alarm.
To ensure he got up on time, he had set multiple alarms on several phones.
He placed one within arm’s reach, another on the bedside table just out of reach, and even tossed two at the foot of the bed.
One was left on the floor, and another sat on the bathroom sink.
These phones, aside from serving as alarms and running basic games, didn’t have much use.
They were charged daily for this sole purpose.
Dragging himself out of bed in agony, Kim Haru got ready for the day.
In the kitchen, the microwave held a plate of cabbage and pork dumplings, ready to eat after two minutes of reheating.
The dipping sauce—his favorite chili oil with a hint of vinegar—was already prepared and waiting on the dining table.
Go Okrim had made everything early in the morning.
Kim Haru was aware of his tendency to sleep in, while others were always up earlier than him.
Knowing this, he had granted Go Okrim access to the kitchen without needing his explicit permission each time.
Still, this was the first time Kim Haru had eaten breakfast.
Normally, by the time he woke up, it would already be time for lunch.
After finishing his breakfast and heading out, he found that the Cryo Wolf had already been fed by Go Okrim.
With Kang Hose lending a hand today, the task had been completed even faster.
The two of them were now rummaging through the pile of scrap materials behind the house, searching for something suitable to craft the toy duck.
Using wood was out of the question.
Neither of them had Kim Haru’s system-provided axe to deal with the mutated iron wood trees.
As for other types of wood, suggesting such an idea was practically suicidal.
They were in the middle of a mutated plant-infested area.