Jaeryeong Lee loved fish.
No, not the food! Doyoon, put away that tray of sushi! You know perfectly well that he loves them as living animals, like how people love cats and dogs!
"You seem really eager to get off work," Howard, a member of Cheongang's Action Squad, said to Jaeryeong.
Jaeryeong was literally hopping in place. "Gijoo-hyeongnim is taking me to the aquarium to see all the fishies!"
"You do realize that you're old enough to go to the aquarium by yourself, right?" Joowon slowly asked.
"It's more fun when my dad takes me to the aquarium!"
"Gijoo isn't your father," Doyoon said, "because he is literally only a few years older than you. Your brain must be broken."
"He is my son!" Gijoo angrily shouted. "I will do an adult adoption thingy, and then you'll no longer able to say anything about him not being my son! Come on, Jaeryeong, let's go to the aquarium!" He grabbed Jaeryeong's hand and led him out the door.
The two rode their bikes to the aquarium, paid for their entry, and entered the large building. Jaeryeong stared in awe as they explored the aquarium halls. They took their time examining each tank and all the animals within them. Gijoo made sure to take photos and film Jaeryeong's reactions.
Then, they came to the main event. It was a one day only event. What was so special about today? The aquarium was showcasing a live great white shark.
Jaeryeong screamed with joy and joined the other people crowding the viewing area. The seven foot long great white shark swam by and several photos were taken. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see something like a great white shark in an aquarium.
Once they were finished watching the great white shark and all the other exhibits, they stopped by the gift shop. Jaeryeong picked out one of everything that had a great white shark on it. He even got a giant great white shark plushy. Gijoo paid for everything.
The next day, Jaeryeong came to work as a sobbing mess. He hugged his shark plushy tightly as he curled up on the couch.
"Doyoon, what did you do to Jaeryeong this time?" Changhui asked.
Doyoon placed his lunch on the table and opened it, revealing fried fish. "Jaeryeong, you want some fish?"
Jaeryeong cried even more.
"Jaeryeong saw the great white shark exhibit yesterday," Gijoo answered, "and...great white sharks don't do well in captivity. They die within a few days, and the one Jaeryeong saw was just announced dead this morning."
Jaeryeong cried even louder.