Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Waving Paws
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Shake, shake.
Six big and small paws shaking back and forth appeared in the rearview mirror.
Lee Jun let out a shallow sigh and said,
“Looks like Taesan and the others really bonded.”
“Of course they did. We’ve been meeting up and playing every single day for almost a month.”
Go Gi-jin continued, his eyes full of reluctance.
“We can at least call and check in on each other, but those guys can’t even do that. How much do you think they miss him?”
“Yeah, probably.”
That was likely why the three of them were plastered to the windows, waving goodbye.
The trio waved their front paws, telling Taesan to eat well, stay healthy, and take care.
Lee Jun smiled faintly as their words reached him crystal clear.
He felt a mix of admiration for their loyalty to a friend and pity for their heartbreaking sadness at parting.
“You guys.”
The three kept waving to Taesan until the car came to a stop.
A short while later, they arrived at Go Pan-seok Animal Hospital.
They’d had a farewell party the night before, but they’d stopped by one more time to say goodbye properly.
Screech.
As soon as the car pulled up in front of the hospital, people came out to greet them.
Veterinarian Go Pan-seok and his junior vets.
Gray, Shadow, and Sapsari hopped out of the car and were welcomed warmly by the hospital family.
“Everything alright?”
Go Pan-seok was asking if the emergency house call he’d rushed out on at dawn had gone well.
Go Gi-jin and Lee Jun had wanted to join him, but he’d waved them off, saying it was their departure day.
That’s why Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin had taken the trio to the ranch for a proper send-off.
Go Pan-seok, cradling both Gray and Shadow with a big grin, nodded.
“It’s all good now. Dang, you were supposed to just head out—why’d you come back?”
“To say goodbye properly.”
“We already did that.”
Go Pan-seok had said his farewells while heading out on that dawn call.
“Come on, that doesn’t count. We’ve gotta do it right.”
Go Pan-seok chuckled heartily, clearly pleased.
“Fair enough. Nice to see these little ones one more time, thanks to you.”
He hugged the cats tighter and went on.
“When’ll I get to see these cuties again? Same goes for you, big fella.”
Go Pan-seok shared his reluctance with Sapsari, who was rubbing his face against him.
“Don’t Mom and Dad miss you? Mom said she’s sad she won’t see you guys.”
“We can call and video chat, right? What’s there to miss?”
“It’s just a figure of speech.”
“That’s why you gotta call often. Your mom’s gonna miss you.”
“Got it.”
As the father and son aired their regrets, Lee Jun exchanged greetings with the junior vets.
“Senior, thank you so much.”
“You helped us out a ton.”
The juniors expressed their gratitude one by one, but Lee Jun waved it off.
“No, no—I’m the one who should be thanking you. I learned a lot.”
The juniors had picked up plenty from Lee Jun on small animal care, but he’d learned just as much from the Go father-son duo and the team about large animals.
‘I never even knew they raised this many Hanwoo cattle along the west coast…’
Lee Jun had assumed cows just toughed out subzero temps, but he’d learned Holsteins suited Daegwallyeong’s climate, while Hanwoo thrived on the west coast.
The dairy cows everyone knew as “milk cows” were Holsteins, best suited to temps between -10°C and 10°C.
Hanwoo, on the other hand, preferred 10°C to 20°C.
“If you’ve got questions from treating large animals, hit me up anytime.”
“Thank you. Just hearing that makes me feel solid.”
“Haha, glad to hear it. And…”
Lee Jun looked at the juniors warmly and said,
“Thanks.”
“Huh?”
“Everyone’s chasing small animal gigs these days. So yeah, thanks for this.”
“Haha, that’s mighty motivating.”
Go Pan-seok, overhearing from the side, laughed. Lee Jun bowed to him.
“Thanks for everything. I owe you big time.”
“Heh heh, owe us? Treat it like home—come anytime.”
Go Pan-seok eyed Lee Jun steadily.
“…Got it.”
“Same goes for your mom. Door’s always open.”
Go Gi-jin’s mother had been nagging Lee Jun to visit often in the days leading up.
“Thank you.”
“Word is you hired two more folks at the hospital?”
“Yeah, one for radiology and one for internal medicine. They’ll be joining soon.”
“Good call. Don’t try to do it all solo—take breaks too. That’s how you last.”
The advice from a vet who’d walked the path for 35 years wasn’t lost on Lee Jun.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You do that. Oh, and Lee Jun—Mr. Lee.”
“Yeah.”
“If you take these kids under your wing for three years, they’ll be half as good as you, easy.”
Meaning they’d learn half his skill.
“They’re already great.”
“Yeah? Well, take good care of ’em anyway! Work ’em hard.”
“Dad, I work my tail off already!”
“Work smart, not just hard!”
“Dang, I do!”
Thwack!
Go Pan-seok smacked Go Gi-jin’s shoulder—loud enough it sounded like a real wallop.
“Don’t just talk—make yourself useful. Got it?”
Not waiting for a reply, Go Pan-seok cleared his throat.
“And, ahem.”
“Go ahead.”
“You said the new hospital’s bigger?”
“Not huge, but yeah, roomier than before.”
“Then how about sending our interns your way?”
He gestured to the junior vets.
“Interns?”
“Yeah. Down the line. We’re gettin’ more kids like you here, but we can’t just skim the surface forever! Gonna need sharp ones like these more and more.”
Go Pan-seok pointed to Gray, Shadow, and Sapsari.
They were training for large animal work now, but who knew the future.
He wanted to open doors for his juniors.
Lee Jun looked at Go Pan-seok with eyes full of respect.
“They’re welcome anytime.”
Go Pan-seok smiled faintly.
“Thanks for that.”
He scooped up the cats surrounded by the hospital crew and loaded them into the back seat.
Go Pan-seok personally hooked their harnesses to the pet safety seat tethers, then stroked their heads with affection overflowing.
“Stay healthy, eat well. You hear?”
Meow, mrrow, nyaow—the cats replied, so he hoisted Sapsari next to them and connected his harness the same way.
“Taesan’s gonna miss you somethin’ fierce.”
Woo woo!
Sapsari whined his regrets too. Go Pan-seok laughed.
“Good kids! Safe travels! Stay healthy!”
Meow.
Nyaow.
Woof!
The three wished Go Pan-seok the same—stay well.
They overflowed with the same reluctance as before.
Only difference: they couldn’t turn around.
But the trio had a secret weapon.
Their noses.
As if on cue, they all sniffed the air deeply, waving their paws.
“Dang, these kids are somethin’ else. Can’t see me, so they sniff me out and wave hi. Wait, no—this calls for video!”
Go Gi-jin, not driving, whipped out his phone, filmed the trio, and sent it to his dad.
A text pinged back soon.
-Dang, why’re these kids so full of heart! Cutie pies!
Sometime in the last few minutes, Go Pan-seok’s profile pic had switched to the three waving their paws.
***
As the car turned into the alley leading to Alley House, the three pawed excitedly and sniffed the air greedily.
Sniff sniff.
Taking in the beloved hometown scents, joy radiating from every inch of them.
Lee Jun felt the same.
“Home.”
“Sure is. Dang, been livin’ here so long it feels safe already. Heh heh heh.”
“That’s me—you’re not stir-crazy?”
Lee Jun pictured the wide-open ranch fields and asked.
“Eh, it’s fine. We can always go back. Just worried ’bout these guys. They ran wild at the ranch every day, y’know?”
“They’re probably just like you.”
Lee Jun grinned, hearing the three yipping and meowing about how great home was.
Gray, Shadow, and Sapsari hopped out, darting to the yard corners in delight.
Then they raced inside and lit up even more.
Lee Jun chuckled at the three bounding through the house in bliss.
“Heh heh, glad they’re happy. Was worried they’d wanna stay in the country. Oh right—Dad said call when we got here.”
Go Gi-jin dialed Go Pan-seok.
-Yep, good to hear you made it. How’re the kids?
[Right here.]
Go Gi-jin switched to video and panned to the three.
Meow.
Nyaow!
Woof woof.
Lee Jun watched them greet Go Pan-seok and thought,
‘I can set up video calls with Taesan later.’
Remembering how sad they’d been saying goodbye to Taesan, he planned to make it happen soon.
***
Meongmeong Animal Hospital had moved to a spot just a five-minute walk from the old one.
The next morning, Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin arrived.
Lee Jun had popped in often for equipment setups, but it was Go Gi-jin’s first time.
A huge whoop escaped him.
“Whoa… Big Bro, this is insane!”
“Told you.”
“Dang, how’s it so pretty?”
“Even better inside.”
“Yeah? Let’s check it out.”
“Alright, let’s go in.”
Pushing the big glass door, the familiar bell chime rang out.
“Keh heh heh, that bell makes it feel like our hospital already.”
As Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin stepped in, Jang So-ra came bounding over with a beaming smile, heels clicking.
“Director! Go Doctor!”
“Manager Jang!”
“Manager Jang, you holdin’ up okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. All good.”
As the three exchanged hellos, the bell chimed again.
All eyes turned to the door as someone entered and bowed.
“Seniors, good to see you.”
It was Yu Mu-hwan, the new vet joining them.
“Hey, Yu—you’re early.”
“Yu Mu… keh heh, no—long time, Yu!”
“Hello.”
“C’mon in, don’t stand there.”
“Got it.”
Yu Mu-hwan walked over and stood beside them. Lee Jun tilted his head.
“Wasn’t official start the day after tomorrow?”
“Right. Came early to settle in.”
“Good timing.”
“That’s our Prepare-for-Anything Yu!”
Yu Mu-hwan’s nickname was Prepare-for-Anything Yu. At first, Lee Jun thought it was a play on his name, but no.
It came from his thorough prep for everything.
“Nah, just looking forward to working together.”
“No, I’m the one asking. With you here, our internal medicine’s leveling up.”
Eom Jin-han had highly recommended him when Lee Jun sought a vet, and Yu Mu-hwan’s rep for meticulous diagnostics preceded him.
“You’re too kind.”
“Haha, let’s do great things. Wanna tour the lab? Flag anything missing.”
“Sure.”
As Yu Mu-hwan headed to the lab, the bell chimed again with a bright, clear voice.
“Hello! Seniors! Cha Da-jeong here.”
The one striding in with a booming intro was another junior of Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin.
Cha Da-jeong, in charge of radiology.
They’d recruited her along with the new CT machine.
“Come on in.”
“Whoa, Cha Da-jeong! How many years’s it been?”
Unlike Lee Jun, who’d already said hi, Go Gi-jin lit up at seeing her after ages.
“Go Senior, long time! You good?”
“Doing great. You?”
“You know it. Where’re Gray and Shadow?”
Huge cat lover Cha Da-jeong scanned the hospital for them on arrival.
That’s when Yu Mu-hwan, emerging from the lab, flinched—shoulders jumping. He craned his neck, peering around as he stepped out.