Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Overwork and a Countryside Retreat
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After Kongdori's visit, Lee Jun threw himself even more into his work.
He wished the pet owners coming to the animal hospital could have seen the radiant smile Kongdori had shown while talking with him.
He hoped they would understand just how much their pets adored them.
With that in mind, Lee Jun listened intently to every word from the animals who came in for checkups and relayed their messages to their owners with the utmost care.
As a result, his consultations, which had always been thorough, now took even longer.
On top of that, the number of patients kept growing.
The hospital had already been popular due to its reputation for skilled care, but now that Lee Jun himself had become famous, it was absolutely swamped.
"I'm sorry. All appointments for today are booked."
Jang So-ra apologized to the person standing at the reception desk, her face full of regret.
"We came from far away... Isn't there any way?"
"I'm truly sorry. I'd love to fit you in, but the director has been seeing patients non-stop since 9 a.m. without a break."
Jang So-ra repeated her apologies.
It was now 7:30 p.m., and there were still five people waiting in the lobby.
'Even finishing up with them will take past 8:30.'
Jang So-ra had arrived at work at 9:30 a.m.
Yet Lee Jun had already been in the middle of consultations. That meant he'd come in before 9 at the latest.
'The director is pushing himself too hard.'
Jang So-ra glanced worriedly toward the exam room.
"Well, no helping it then. Can you book us for tomorrow?"
"I'm sorry. Tomorrow's fully booked too."
"Tomorrow as well?"
"Yes, the entire week is filled up. How about next week?"
"Sigh, this is ridiculous..."
Just then, the exam room door opened. Lee Jun emerged with the owner and caught the tail end of their conversation.
"Manager Jang, squeeze them in as the last appointment of the day."
The owner's face lit up immediately at Lee Jun's words.
"Thank you so much, Director."
But Jang So-ra's expression soured in contrast.
She couldn't argue when the director had spoken up like that.
Still, she grumbled at Lee Jun.
"Director, you barely ate lunch... You're overdoing it."
This sort of thing kept happening.
That day, consultations finally wrapped up at 9 p.m. As they filled their empty stomachs at a nearby 24-hour hangover soup joint, Go Gi-jin spoke up.
"Hey bro, ain't ya pushin' too hard these days?"
"Overdoing it? This is fine."
"It ain't just a day or two. Keep this up and you'll get sick, ya hear?"
"How can I turn away the sick ones? I'll just head home twenty minutes later. No big deal."
Lee Jun glanced at Go Gi-jin as he said it.
"Sorry. Making you suffer because of me."
"Suffer? What'm I doin' anyway? It's you I'm worried about."
Go Gi-jin meant it sincerely.
He knew Lee Jun's routine inside out—from dawn till dusk—and it genuinely worried him.
Not only were there tons of consultations and surgeries, but Lee Jun was still meticulously updating charts and studying as usual.
And there was no way he was doing that at the hospital anymore.
'Bet he didn't crash till after 3 a.m. last night.'
Go Gi-jin had woken up in the night and seen light leaking from downstairs.
Just as Go Gi-jin said, Lee Jun was overworked.
"If ya collapse, it's a loss—not just for you, but for the animals too. Pushin' to see one more and then keelin' over? Pointless."
Go Gi-jin frowned at Lee Jun, whose face was sallow and weary from exhaustion.
Lee Jun gave a small smile at the sight.
"You rascal. Thanks for worryin'."
He meant it. With only two cats and one dog as his family, Lee Jun truly appreciated Go Gi-jin looking out for him.
Warmed by the feeling, Lee Jun bowed his head to dig into his soup.
But then—drip, drip.
Something hot trickled from his nose.
"Huh? Bro! Nosebleed!"
"Yeah."
Lee Jun dabbed it with a tissue and replied.
"See? What'd I tell ya? Your body's breakin' down!"
Go Gi-jin erupted, continuing on.
"So cut back the hours a bit. Or you'll kill yourself."
"Ah, got it."
That night, Go Gi-jin nagged Lee Jun about easing up until bedtime.
But the next dawn, a racket jolted Go Gi-jin awake.
Mrowr!
Nyaaow!
Woof! Woof!
Especially Sapsari, who rarely barked, was going off right by his ear.
"Hey, what's with you all suddenly? Sapsari, why're you barkin'?"
[Big trouble!]
[Hyung-nim...]
[Benevolent Brother's sick!]
The two cats and Sapsari shouted as they bolted toward Go Gi-jin.
He couldn't understand their words, but their frantic expressions startled him into rushing downstairs.
Thud thud thud!
As Go Gi-jin bounded down, Sapsari—who had arrived first and waited at the bottom—grabbed his clothes in his teeth.
"Huh, what's goin' on?"
Go Gi-jin let Sapsari drag him into Lee Jun's room.
"Ugh... Nngh!"
Go Gi-jin jumped at the sound of Lee Jun groaning in pain.
"B-bro!"
Go Gi-jin touched Lee Jun's forehead, then immediately dialed 119.
***
"Nngh!"
Lee Jun opened his eyes, and Kwak Su-ho, sitting beside him, quickly spoke up.
"You awake now?"
"You... what're you doin' here... this early in the mornin'?"
"Early? Do you even know what time it is? And before that—do you know where you are?"
"Where?"
At Kwak Su-ho's words, Lee Jun looked around and tried to sit up.
"No, don't get up."
"I-is this... a hospital?"
"Yeah. Know how high your fever was?"
"Mine?"
Come to think of it, he'd felt freezing cold in his sleep all of a sudden.
His head was spinning too. That's why he'd hugged the cats sleeping next to him tight...
"Anyway, you got sick and got hauled here."
"Nngh, what about the animal hospital?"
"Gi-jin's handlin' consultations, so you just rest."
"I'm fine. I gotta go now..."
Lee Jun tried to stand but staggered.
"Whoa..."
Everything spun.
Kwak Su-ho clicked his tongue at the sight.
"Tsk, told ya not to overdo it. You think we're still in our twenties? We're past seventy in dog years now."
"Nngh!"
If he wasn't dizzy, maybe, but in this state, he couldn't treat anyone.
'Yeah. Better to skip than make mistakes.'
Lee Jun slowly nodded at Kwak Su-ho's words.
"Yeah. I have been pushing too hard lately."
He admitted it honestly.
"So take care of yourself. Or you'll drop dead. Then what about them?"
Kwak Su-ho meant Gray, Shadow, Sapsari—and all the park cats.
"Well..."
Lee Jun had no comeback.
"So no more overdoing it from now on."
"But how can I turn away patients who show up?"
"Sure, but you can't treat every animal yourself. That's too much to take on."
"You're right about that."
Lee Jun nodded slowly, deep in thought.
He'd been thinking the same during recent consultations.
He couldn't handle everything. It had led to missing cases where he was truly needed.
Lying in the hospital bed, Lee Jun pondered his next steps.
'I should focus on what I can do. But for that, I need more staff.'
People he could trust—not exactly like-minded, but close enough.
'Our current setup won't cut it.'
Admissions were rising, so he and Go Gi-jin had been pulling all-nighters in shifts.
'Gi-jin must be exhausted too.'
Lee Jun's thoughts expanded from there.
Then Namgung Hyun arrived.
"I heard you were admitted and got worried, so I came."
"I'm okay. Just tired, that's all."
"That's a relief. Since you're overworking, how about taking a full week off this time?"
"Well..."
He'd just heard the same from the rounds doctor.
But deciding wasn't easy in practice.
Go Gi-jin alone couldn't handle everything, and asking Han Na-hyuk felt too guilty.
'He'll be busy prepping his own clinic soon anyway.'
Plus, he'd heard Han Na-hyuk was in Thailand then the US for opening prep.
"Ah!"
What if he expanded his own hospital?
Namgung Hyun's eyes widened at Lee Jun's sudden realization, and Lee Jun shared his idea.
"Expanding the hospital... Sounds good. You'd have no choice but to rest then."
"But I haven't found a spot yet, and I need an interior firm too."
It was a great idea, but not feasible right away.
Meaning, no rest.
"I'll take a few days off and get back to it. I'll look while working."
"Haha, what're you worried about with an expert here?"
Namgung Hyun turned to his accompanying secretary.
"Find a suitable spot for Director Lee to relocate Meongmeong Animal Hospital."
"Yes, sir."
"Ah, no. I just want to expand a bit."
Lee Jun knew all too well how grand Namgung Hyun's construction projects got.
'The medical center's one thing, but Our Yard's too big already. And the shelter.'
He didn't need that scale. Couldn't afford it.
So he came clean.
"W-well, I don't have that much funding..."
"Hahaha, didn't you sell that pearl? That's plenty. Leave it to me."
Namgung Hyun added one more thing.
"I know exactly why you haven't joined our medical center, so no worries."
And so, Lee Jun commissioned Namgung Hyun to expand the animal hospital.
***
Three days later, back at Meongmeong Animal Hospital, Lee Jun announced a temporary closure for rest.
"Good call, bro."
"You made the right choice, Director. Rest up properly this time!"
Go Gi-jin and Jang So-ra lit up at his decision.
"Exactly."
As Lee Jun nodded, Go Gi-jin eyed him with a suspicious look.
"Hey, I know that face—you're already thinkin' work. Bro, we gotta hire staff, oversee the interiors... You thought that, right?"
"Can't deny it. We do need to hire."
"Why worry? Call Jin-han at school, and the kids'll swarm. And Manager Jang can handle the rest. Plus, it's not just anyone—it's CEO Namgung takin' care of it. What you gotta fret over?"
Go Gi-jin was spot on. Lee Jun chuckled with nothing to say.
"Hearin' you, yeah, you're right."
"Exactly. So just rest up, bro."
"Yeah."
Lee Jun replied while petting Gray and Shadow.
Having been away from home for three days, Gray, Shadow, and Sapsari stuck close to him.
Watching Lee Jun, Go Gi-jin added,
"Nah, forget this. Bro, go to the countryside altogether. Gotta get you away from here. Otherwise, you won't rest."
"Right. Director, you'll end up at Our Yard or some shelter after a couple days."
"See?"
"Teacher, don't you have lots of rooms in the countryside?"
"My place?"
"Yeah."
"Plenty. Ah, that'll work. Bro, wanna come to my house? Eat good food, rest proper, then come back."
"Your house? Hongseong?"
"Yeah. Dad'll be thrilled if you come."
"Haha, no way."
"Nah, for real. Might throw a village party."
***
A few days later, Lee Jun headed to Hongseong with Go Gi-jin.
The cats got excited at the idea of a long car ride.
[Hyung-nim, goin' to see our ocean pals?]
[Friends, wait up! I'm comin'!]
The cats got excited at the idea of a long car ride.
[Heh heh, gonna meet those huge, awesome hyung-nims' friends.]
Sapsari buzzed with anticipation at the thought of meeting the ocean friends Gray and Shadow had mentioned.
He wanted to taste that Sogeum-iy, delicious water they described and feel sand sink under his paws.
With so much to see, Sapsari stared out the window the whole way.
Then Sapsari shouted.
[Th-there! Super duper huge! Hyung-nims' friends!]
The cats, dozing in the back seat, woke to Sapsari's fuss and peered out.
[What's goin' oooon?]
[Gasp!]
The cats yelped in shock and plastered themselves to the window.