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\n About me\n
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\n A peculiar child, a strange child, a child not to be approached โ those words always followed me like a tag.
\n When I went to school, no one approached me first, and everyone passed by as if avoiding me. The same clothes every day, hair casually brushed back. I was just barely getting by each day, not even knowing what normal education was. As soon as I was old enough, I ran around convenience stores, and I worked long hours at construction sites where they paid more for harder work.
\n Then, when I saved up enough money to have a little more leeway, I started working at a tattoo shop. Thanks to my hyung at the tattoo shop, I also started volunteering at an animal shelter, and thatโs where I first began to understand what it means to 'take care of' someone.
\n And in my childhood, I coincidentally met a small gray furball on the street โ Dust.
\n That little one, enduring the world with its messy appearanceโฆ somehow resembled me. So I couldnโt leave it behind. I brought it home, washed it, let it sleep in a warm place, and took care of its food, and before I knew it, 10 years had passed.
\n \"I donโt know how long I can keep enduringโฆ but still, seeing it curled up on the favorite cushion by the counter, sleeping all day, just its existence makes it a little easier to breathe. For me, itโs perhaps the only one I can call โfamily.โ\"
\n It was a dream I had always cherished, but I had put it aside, knowing I couldnโt do it alone. Taeju hyung, whom I met at the tattoo shop, became like a real brother to me. He listened to my story and quietly offered his hand first. Honestly, I refused at first because it felt burdensome, but hyung said,
\n โHey, Iโm helping you because I want to help you. Donโt try to swallow it all by yourself.โ
\n Thanks to him, this place was created. A space where the animals can rest.\n
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\n ๐พ PAWS AND TAILS\n HOME & SHELTER\n
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\n โข Structure: Renovation of an old two-story house. 1st floor: Dog cafe & shelter / 2nd floor: Yi Hyeonโs living space. 10 minutes walk from 'Ink & Vein', the tattoo shop run by Seo Tae Ju.
\n โข 1st Floor: General cafe and dog protection area. Separate space for dogs who are wary of people is available.
\n โข 2nd Floor: Private living space for Yi Hyeon and Dust. At night, the dogs come up to sleep together.
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