The Short, Struggle-Free Life of the Cheerful Lee Si-bong _007

Author's Note _525

My dog, small and sad like a speck of dust in the corner of the room
A noble bloodline among the nobles raised in European royal families… …
What adventure brought you to me?
Is it really for your good to live with me like this?

Lee Si-seup, Lee Si-bong's guardian, is a young man in his 20s who has not yet established his own path in life and is wandering.
After losing their father in an unexpected accident, the family of the deceased is left with deep emotional wounds that are not apparent on the outside.
This is because Lee Si-bong is implicated in the death of his father, who brought him home and doted on him, calling him “our youngest child.”
Even though she understands in her head that Lee Si-bong is not at fault, she cannot forgive him in her heart. Living with her mother, Si-seup is always concerned about what her family thinks even when she wants to love Lee Si-bong to her heart's content.
Shi-seup, who became dependent on alcohol to escape reality, always took care of Lee Si-bong by carrying him around with him.
Even though Lee Si-bong's appearance resembles that of a stray dog, he becomes shabby and miserable.

While Si-seup was receiving the worry and pity of his younger sister 'Si-hyeon' and his friends, he relied on Lee Si-bong and continued his rehabilitation within a small living space. One day, a breeding company called 'Ancien House', which specializes in Bichon Frises, appeared in front of him.
The chief breeder there, Michelle Kim, tells Shiseup something surprising.
The investigation revealed that Ishibong was of noble bloodline, once raised by European royalty, and is now the 'King of Bichons', one of only a few left in the world.
Michelle Kim offers a considerable amount of money in exchange for taking over Lee Si-bong, and persuades Si-seup by telling him that Ancien House guarantees luxurious facilities and systematic, comfortable care for Lee Si-bong.

Although he thought it was a ridiculous suggestion, Si-seup's feelings became complicated as he visited the Angsiang House with Lee Si-bong and watched the passionate affection shown by the company's representative, Jeong Chae-min.
Si-seup, who is not confident in his own life, feels like he is holding on to Lee Si-bong instead of supporting him to have a better life.
Her love for Lee Si-bong is a true, unashamed love, yet why does it always seem to be judged by its superiority? To verify the truth of the Ancien House's claims about Lee Si-bong's lineage, Si-seup traces his father's whereabouts around the time he adopted him as a child, only to encounter yet another shocking revelation.
Among my father's acquaintances, there was a 'human Lee Si-bong'.
The secret behind the name of Lee Si-bong, which was thought to be formed by the character 'si' along with the characters 'si' and 'sihyeon', begins to be revealed, and the novel truly moves forward toward an eventful epic.

A wounded and wandering human, a pure and cheerful dog
In the turbulent epic connecting Spain, France, and Korea,
The story of two beings who become each other's inseparable companions.

The narrative is then divided into three main branches.
The narrative closest to the present is the story of Lee Si-seup tracing the story behind Lee Si-bong's name and finally coming face to face with the truth.
It is revealed that the father of the trial was once a member of a factory labor union, but despite the persuasion of those around him, he took voluntary retirement and was asked by his colleague, Lee Si-bong, who took his place as a union leader and went through all kinds of hardships, to lend him money using a puppy left at a dog farm as collateral.
This narrative confirms the heart of a father who protected his dog to the end, calling it by its name as a companion and feeling a sense of atonement. It vividly depicts the individual expressions of people who live with the tragedy that occurs in an absurd society and the pain that comes with it.


The story of how Bichon Frise Lee Si-bong ended up being abandoned at a dog farm is related to Jeong Chae-min's past story.
Jeong Chae-min, the CEO of Angsiang House, invites Lee Si-seup and tells him a long story to express how much she cares for him.
Jeong Chae-min, who grew up in an affluent environment, went to study abroad in France during her youth, where she met a poor Korean artist couple, Kim Sang-woo and Park Yu-jeong.
One day, two dogs with European royal blood appear before them.
Jeong Chae-min, Kim Sang-woo, and Park Yu-jeong join forces to bring the dogs they have cared for with love back to Korea, but their hearts eventually break apart after a conflict of love, jealousy, and money.
The story of poor people who aspired to art and their conflict with their dreams and compromise with reality, and the process of hidden love being distorted over time, are revealed in a poignant and passionate narrative.


So why did the Bichon Frises that lived in the royal family end up with such a shabby lineage?
The reason, says Jeong Chae-min, is related to the popular uprising that broke out in Spain in 1808.
The clock turns back to the monarchy, and the narrative, extending further into the past, tells the story of Manuel Godoy, the Prime Minister and Queen of Spain, who served as the queen's mistress and the voice of the people.
In an age of survival of the fittest, Lee Si-bong's ancestral puppies were political assets bestowed to solidify hierarchical relationships, a pretext to meet a loved one in a respectable manner while hiding one's feelings of affection, and a sacrificial offering to be trampled before the human who represented an era was overthrown.
This magnificent narrative, which follows the downfall of Manuel Godoy and the tragic end of his beloved dogs, exposes the enduring cruelty of humans who exploit and even sacrifice animal lives as a means to fulfill worldly desires.

You are by my side like a miracle right now
The small and precious things that give us
Helpless emotion

And at the point where these three narratives converge, the narratives of Lee Si-seup and Lee Si-bong, who had been wounded and confined in a small world, begin to move.
At the desperate moment when Lee Si-bong is about to fall into the clutches of Michelle Kim and Jeong Chae-min, the novel provides an epiphany not only to Lee Si-seup but to all who have read the story.
I need to cherish more the person who came to me after such a long time and countless stories.
We try to judge our pets' happiness by human standards, but no other being can measure someone else's happiness.
Now, Si-seup, who is ready to love Lee Si-bong to the fullest, runs to get him back.

Of course, Bichon Frise Lee Si-bong will remain an unknown being to Lee Si-seup, whom he will never fully understand.
The dog will instinctively demand something regardless of the human's situation or feelings, and if someone appears who satisfies that instinct more, the dog will immediately turn its gaze and wag its tail.
But wouldn't it be enough for someone who feels transparent joy just from the fact that "these children, who are cheerful and know nothing, who are honest and honest itself", and dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians, who fill their short lives with love and die without a struggle, unlike humans who have "an uncanny knack of turning love into a struggle," are now miraculously by their side?
Can't we be happy together even if we don't understand each other?
This form of life, in which one loves others without expecting anything in return, is perhaps the understanding of 'different species' that Lee Ki-ho reached after writing about himself, others, and the world in novels.

Author's Note

Actually, the name of the dog that has been living with us for eight years is Ishibong.
Every time I looked into Lee Si-bong's dark eyes, I felt like telling him a story, but it ended up getting this long.

Novels may not be the right genre to talk about dogs.
But it's still a valid genre for asking humans to take responsibility for their dogs.
_Lee Ki-ho