Chapter 118…
Freedom Dogs!
“Damn it!”
Running away, huh?
When the police sirens and flashing lights became visible, the guy called Beomcheon turned and bolted immediately.
No loyalty whatsoever.
“Boys, get him.”
Woof woof woof woof!
In an instant, half a dozen dogs lunged at the fleeing man, biting onto his pant legs and dragging him to the ground.
“Hey, hey, don’t be too rough with him. You’ll get in trouble if you hurt someone.”
I reminded them to be gentle — dogs that bite people can end up being put down.
While saying that, I went around opening the cages one by one.
As more and more dogs joined in…
“Wow. This is literally a dog riot.”
Countless dogs began howling as if declaring independence — like Caesar and his apes from Planet of the Apes.
Awooooooooo!
“This… what the hell…”
Trainer Park Sun-woo, who had been hiding from the chaos, and PD Kim Chang-sik, who’d come along to shoot some footage, stared blankly at the scene before them.
Woof!
“Huh? What’s that—?”
“Tie that guy up for me.”
A dog ran up to Sun-woo, wagging its tail wildly — with a rope in its mouth.
“Should I… tie him up?”
“You saw him swinging a weapon around, didn’t you?”
“Uh, yeah…”
No one objected. Everyone was so terrified that even when a dog came near, they trembled.
“M-Mr. Park! The dogs! They’re scary!”
Sigh…
Even while tying people up, Sun-woo wasn’t sure if this was really happening.
Meanwhile, PD Kim was filming every second of it.
“Hey! Any more rope?”
Another dog came trotting over to Soo-han, carrying another coil of rope.
“Oh, thanks, buddy.”
Woof!
The dog barked happily at his gratitude.
Watching the scene, PD Kim cautiously asked Sun-woo:
“Is… that even possible?”
“It’s not impossible, but…”
With training and emotional connection, such performances could happen — but this was their first time meeting Soo-han.
No one, not even a professional trainer, could have achieved this.
“Alright, injured ones, gather on that side. You’ll be the first to get checked at the hospital.”
As if they understood, the limping dogs obediently hobbled off to one side.
Whine, whine.
“Yeah, I know, you hate shots.”
Whine!
“Don’t worry, I’ll ask them to make it hurt less.”
Woof!
Sun-woo was speechless.
It really looked like he was talking with them.
Sure, dog owners communicate with their pets — but not like this.
Then PD Kim whispered:
“If we just leave that alone…”
“…Yeah.”
Both turned to look.
“Get away! Go!”
“Eek! I’m sorry!”
“It’s my fault!”
The tied-up thugs were being “punished” — the dogs were climbing on them and… peeing and pooping all over.
Since Soo-han had told them not to bite, this was their chosen revenge.
“Well, that’s karma. At least they’re not biting anyone.”
Then the police finally arrived.
“What the hell kind of zoo is this?!”
Lee Gyeong-woo, who entered first, shouted in disbelief.
The other officers stared blankly for a moment, then began calling in reinforcements.
Only two had arrived — apparently they’d come after the TV station reported the situation, but it was clearly far more serious than expected.
“Oh no… poor things.”
Shin Na-ra had tears in her eyes as she looked at a pile of dead dogs — about a dozen of them — that hadn’t survived before they arrived.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
Manager Park rushed over, checking me all over.
Once he saw I was fine, he sighed.
“Whew… you did all this?”
“Eh, a little?”
“A little?”
“The dogs did most of it. I just helped a bit.”
Park flinched and stepped back — because the dogs crowding around me suddenly perked up, wagging their tails proudly as if asking for praise.
All at once, it created a wind — or more like… a gust of dog fart.
“Wow, you guys seriously need a bath.”
Yeah, they didn’t exactly smell great.
“Soo-han…”
“Yes?”
“How are we supposed to deal with this mess?”
“Uh, why are you asking me?”
“Huh?”
Hey — isn’t the agency supposed to handle this kind of thing? When a star causes trouble, the company covers it up, right?
Apparently not. Park sighed again.
“Covering up a scandal is one thing, but this? How the hell could anyone hide this?”
“Yeah…”
Dogs everywhere.
People covered in dog poop, half-conscious.
And then—
“Ah…”
TV crews darting around, filming everything.
“Ha! This is gonna blow up online. One million views easy!”
“Mr. Lee, please share that drone footage later.”
Even one of the old entertainment veterans — now running a YouTube channel — was grinning ear to ear.
“This is gold!”
Lee Gyeong-woo even made an “OK” sign at me, winking like he’d already secured sponsorships.
Meanwhile, sirens echoed all around — more police were arriving.
“Hm… this is gonna be tricky.”
“Very. So, tell me what happened — I can’t help unless I know what we’re covering up. Did you break anyone’s limbs?”
“Uh… I think the guy still has his nose and teeth.”
“That guy’s arm looks dislocated, though.”
Oh, that.
“That was my friend’s doing.”
“Why?”
“Well, I kicked him a little and…”
“…?”
“My toe just assisted, okay?”
Park’s expression soured immediately.
Yeah, I felt a bit bad about that.
“What about the one foaming at the mouth?”
“Uh… that’s his own fault.”
“What?”
“I mean it! He electrocuted himself. Tried to use a stun rod and zapped himself instead.”
The trainer stepped in to defend me, looking exasperated.
“Anyway, what do we do now? There are too many of them.”
“Too many what?”
“The dogs. It’s great that they’re calm, but…”
He looked at me again.
Should I line them up in formation or something?
“Even if we send them to the vet for checkups, there aren’t enough shelters for them.”
“Oh…”
“So until we find placements, we’ll need a temporary solution.”
Sigh. Guess the work isn’t over yet.
“Say hi. He’s a good man.”
Kim Dae-seong froze as soon as he saw me walk in.
Woof woof woof!
“Oh wow, they’re so polite!”
“…”
Well, at least he admitted they were well-mannered.
“What brings you here?”
“Just stopped by on my way home.”
“…You could’ve just gone home.”
“You love dogs though, right?”
“…‘Puppies’ are the small ones.”
Four huge dogs wagged their tails eagerly at him, eyes sparkling.
“Yoo-cheon.”
“Yes, sir?”
Dae-seong called to Manager Park, who was hesitating outside the door.
“I think we need to talk.”
“But sir, you are talking with me.”
At this point, Soo-han’s words sounded like dog noises to him.
“What happened?”
“Uh… today’s show was Precious Woof & Me and…”
Suddenly, Dae-seong’s face softened — as if the word “variety show” turned on his patience.
“Oh, really? Okay, let’s take it easy then.”
“It’s not filming right now.”
“…Then explain.”
His tone immediately hardened again.
“Well…”
The explanation took a while.
“You rescued a bunch of dogs and brought them here because they had nowhere else to go?”
“Not just any dogs, sir! They’re the first canine independence fighters! The heroic Dogs of Freedom!”
“…”
“The Righteous Ten Dogs!”
Dae-seong resisted the urge to ask why “righteous revolutionaries” were being used to describe dogs.
He also noticed there were only four dogs present.
“They’re supposed to be ten, right?”
“You’re worried, huh, sir?”
“Yeah — about my future.”
“I already sent thirty-four to the chairman’s estate. The shelters were full.”
“…”
Wait — the chairman’s estate? As in Baeksan Group’s chairman?
Dae-seong just stared at him, speechless.
“You really are something else.”
“My apartment’s too small — and I already live with two ghosts.”
“…Good grief.”
Watching the wagging tails, Dae-seong sighed and muttered:
“Do they listen to commands?”
“Sit!”
All four immediately sat down.
“Salute to our new master!”
They raised a paw in salute.
“You said this was temporary!?”
“C’mon, don’t be cold. It’s just temporary. You said you missed Momo, right? I thought they’d cheer you up.”
“You… unbelievable…”
He wanted to yell but just shook his head and went inside.
“Damn it. How much dog food do I even have left?”
Watching him go, Soo-han grinned — and even Manager Park, standing beside him, couldn’t help but smile faintly.
“D-Dad… what is this?”
Vice Chairman Yang Byeong-man, who rarely called his father “Dad,” looked dumbfounded as he stood in the yard.
“Heh, heh…”
Chairman Yang just smiled serenely.
In his vast garden, about thirty large dogs were running around joyfully.
“What’s going on? Why so many dogs…?”
His father — who had never owned even a single pet — was now surrounded by them.
Hearing his son call him “Dad” for the first time in years, Chairman Yang chuckled softly.
“All this…”
“Yes?”
“…must be my karma.”
“Pardon?”
“Hahahahaha!”
Behind him, Chief Secretary Yoo Ji-gwang stood helplessly, not knowing what to do.
A few dogs came up and placed their paws on the chairman’s leg, wagging their tails gratefully.
Seeing their affection, tears welled up in the chairman’s eyes.
“…”
Vice Chairman Yang didn’t say another word.
As the dogs approached him too, wagging their tails, he understood one thing:
Some unstoppable force had brought this situation about — and somehow, he knew that force was the actor Woo Soo-han.
