Chapter 54 - Darkmtl
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Chapter 54

“Really? Then let’s go to the zoo!”

At my positive response, Ha-yeon clasped her hands together and shouted with a voice full of joy.

“Yay! Mom, you’re the best!”

While the cool breeze from the air conditioner cooled our sweat, I pointed to the location of the zoo on the map with my finger. The zoo was a bit further inside the amusement park. It was a place you could reach by passing through a lush park walking path filled with flowers and trees. In other words, it was somewhat distant from here.

Not that it was a bad thing. After all, it gave us time to digest the piles of pork cutlet we had eaten. Walking along the path, admiring the flowers and trees while digesting wasn’t a bad choice. In fact, it was good. Of course, since we were going to the zoo, we might not have needed to digest, but still.

“Then let’s go, to see the animal friends!”

I got up from my seat. Ha-yeon, also excited, got up and tightly grabbed my hand. I approached the counter to pay for the pork cutlet we had just eaten. The staff greeted me with a smile.

“That’ll be 30,000 won.”

“Huh…”

However, perhaps because it was pork cutlet inside the amusement park, the price was quite high. Outside, you could easily eat pork cutlet for 10,000 won. But I couldn’t show weakness in front of Ha-yeon, so I pulled out my card without hesitation. Of course, my hand was trembling as I handed over the card. I just hoped Ha-yeon didn’t notice.

As soon as we arrived at the zoo entrance, a large arched gate with a sign that read “Land of Animal Friends” sparkled. At the entrance stood cute animal sculptures, and it felt like elephants and lions were smiling brightly to welcome us. Ha-yeon’s eyes widened as she looked around from the entrance.

“Mom! This really feels like a zoo!”

“It is a real zoo, after all~”

Perhaps this was Ha-yeon’s first time at a zoo. Come to think of it, it felt like my first time too. I had friends, but none close enough to visit a zoo inside an amusement park together. In fact, among South Korean students, not many guys have visited a zoo. After all, isn’t the zoo more of a date course for couples?

Usually, seeing animals lazily sleeping on rocks wasn’t that interesting. But today was different. Because I came with Ha-yeon. Just the fact that I came with Ha-yeon made the zoo start to feel fun.

After handing over the tickets and stepping inside, a vast zoo unfolded before us. Next to the entrance was a large map, kindly explaining the order in which the animals were located. Elephants, tigers, giraffes, monkeys—just hearing their names made me excited. They were drawn in a caricature style, doubling their cuteness. Of course, none were as cute as Ha-yeon.

“Mom, where should we go first?”

Ha-yeon’s cheeks were already flushed with anticipation. I smiled and pointed to the zoo map.

“Let’s go see the giraffes first. Giraffes have such long necks, so we can spot them from far away.”

“Really? Giraffes! I want to see them!”

It was my first time seeing a giraffe too. I had so many questions about giraffes. Why on earth do they have such long necks? Doesn’t that long neck get in the way? Of course, somewhere in a science textbook, it said that giraffes with long necks survived by eating leaves from high trees, but I still didn’t get it. And when I saw giraffes fighting with their long necks, it was scary.

They would whip their long necks like a whip to attack other giraffes. The dull thudding sounds were intense, but the giraffes didn’t seem to care and kept fighting. What was most surprising was their hind leg attacks. Lions attacking giraffes would often get knocked out by a single kick from a giraffe’s hind legs. No animal could withstand a kick from a giraffe weighing several tons—except maybe an elephant.

Ha-yeon hopped around, tugging at my hand. Anyway, since we decided to see the giraffes first, we were on the same page.

“Mom, look over there!”

As soon as we arrived at the giraffe area, Ha-yeon pointed with her finger. Beyond the fence, a huge giraffe was leisurely munching on tree leaves. Its long neck, elegant legs, and shiny brown patterns were impressive. Ha-yeon’s eyes widened as she spoke.

“Wow… it’s really big.”

With Ha-yeon’s small height, she had to crane her neck to barely see the giraffe. Even I, taller than Ha-yeon, couldn’t see the giraffe’s face clearly.

“Right? It’s bigger than what you see on TV, huh?”

I tried to act casual, but it really was huge. I heard giraffes can reach almost 4-5 meters in height. Even two very tall people standing on each other’s shoulders might not reach a giraffe’s face. And all that height just to eat tree leaves… it felt a bit underwhelming.

Of course, for the giraffe, it’s a great neck length.

The giraffe slowly raised its head, looked around, and then paused as if looking at Ha-yeon and me. Ha-yeon, finding it fascinating, clenched her hands and smiled brightly.

“Mom, the giraffe saw me! It made eye contact with me!”

“Maybe. Maybe the giraffe thought you were cute and looked at you.”

It really did seem like the giraffe and Ha-yeon made eye contact. Of course, the giraffe didn’t come running towards us or anything. After a while, it moved to another spot.

After watching the giraffe walk leisurely for a while, Ha-yeon, now curious about other animals, grabbed my hand and said.

“Mom, let’s go see other animals now! I want to see lions, elephants, and all the animals in this zoo!”

Ha-yeon, waving her hands excitedly, told me she wanted to see various animals besides the giraffe.

“Alright, alright. Let’s take our time.”

Today, instead of riding amusement rides, walking around the zoo didn’t seem like a bad idea. There were no height restrictions in the zoo. Outside, with Ha-yeon’s small height, there weren’t many rides she could go on. But here in the zoo, it was different. The zoo had no restrictions—whether you were short, young, or anything else. Everyone could equally enjoy seeing the animals.

We moved on, heading towards where other animals were waiting. Seeing animals in person, which I had only seen on TV, felt different. Animals are best seen in person. Watching them on TV or in books just didn’t have the same impact.

Our next goal was the Safari World exploration.

The zoo offered a bus ride where you could drive through the animals’ habitats and see them up close. Of course, there were fences to prevent the animals from entering the bus.

With just one window, it was hard to feel completely safe in this world of animals. Since lions lived in this habitat, there was a chance they might break the window. Although the lions in the zoo were less dangerous than wild ones, it was still important to eliminate any risk factors.

Why do amusement rides undergo strict safety checks? To thoroughly prevent any potential accidents. And given the nature of amusement rides, even one accident could lead to a major disaster.

The rides Ha-yeon and I usually went on were slow and not very high, but roller coasters or gyro drops went up high and then dropped, so safety was crucial.

Holding Ha-yeon’s hand, we headed to the ticket booth. To ride the safari bus, we needed to buy tickets. It wasn’t accessible with the free pass.


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I Picked Up the Main Character

I Picked Up the Main Character

주인공을 주워버렸다
Score 7.6
Status: Completed Type: Author: Released: 2024 Native Language: Korean
Since I entered the world of this novel, I’ve been raising the protagonist to enjoy an easy life. But the way the protagonist looks at me is a bit strange.

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