Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Buying All the Treats
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For a moment, a hush fell over the animal hospital.
The space wall was stocked with over fifty kinds of treats.
And he wanted all of them.
“……All of them?”
Jang So-ra was the first to speak.
Her questioning tone carried a hint of disbelief, as if unsure she'd heard right.
“Yes.”
“Then just a moment.”
Jang So-ra started taking down the treats from the wall one by one and putting them into bags.
The man spoke up again upon seeing this.
“Not one by one—could you give me everything on the wall?”
“……Please wait just a moment.”
As Jang So-ra went to grab an empty box for the treats, Lee Jun opened his mouth.
“Excuse me, sir. Instead of buying everything at once, how about splitting it up into smaller purchases?”
At Lee Jun's words, the man's eyes blinked in surprise. He soon nodded and replied.
“Ah, are you worried about running out of stock?”
“Stock?”
Lee Jun asked back.
“I mean, if I buy everything, you won't have anything left to sell, right?”
Lee Jun let out a hearty laugh at the man's words.
“No, it's not that. It's just that if you buy this much, it'll take forever to feed it all to them. There's also the storage issue.”
“It's fine.”
“But it's not fine with me.”
Even though the shelf life was a year, or up to two years for some products, how could anyone go through all this?
Unless they had dozens of dogs at home.
Namgung Hyun watched Lee Jun voice his concerns with an intrigued expression.
‘Most people would be thrilled at the sales boost.’
Namgung Hyun replied with a faint smile playing on his lips.
“So if we can finish them all, it's okay to buy everything?”
“Well, yes, but…….”
Just then, Jamongi approached Namgung Hyun and started sniffing.
[Whoa! So many smells. Must be a ton of brothers.]
Yu Ji-yeon startled and grabbed Jamongi.
“Jamongi! You can't do that. You'll scare the nice man.”
But Namgung Hyun chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.
“It's okay. I like beagles.”
“Even so, he's a bit too hyper.”
Having understood Jamongi's words, Lee Jun guessed Namgung Hyun's situation.
‘He must have a lot of dogs at home. There was that guardian last time who had twelve.’
Moreover, Namgung Hyun treated Jamongi very casually.
That meant he was used to fairly large dogs.
As Jang So-ra carefully packed the treats into boxes, Lee Jun said,
“Make sure to store them away from sunlight.”
“Yes, of course.”
Namgung Hyun answered, thinking to himself,
‘There won't even be time to store them.’
Meanwhile, chastised by Yu Ji-yeon, Jamongi no longer approached Namgung Hyun closely.
He just stood by Yu Ji-yeon's side, sniffing away.
Right behind Namgung Hyun, treats were lined up in a row on the wall.
To Yu Ji-yeon's eyes, it looked like Jamongi was twitching his nose because he wanted the treats.
‘Even through the plastic packaging? Dogs' noses really are something.’
Yu Ji-yeon smiled at Jamongi and spoke.
“Shall we go buy some gum and biscuits that Jamongi likes?”
The treats Yu Ji-yeon gave Jamongi were three kinds.
Toothpaste gum, biscuits, and soft sticks made from tuna and fish meat.
She had come to tell the director about Jamongi's dramatic improvement, since the soft sticks and biscuits had run out.
But the soft sticks seemed to already have an owner, so she planned to buy gum and biscuits.
The biscuits were on the feed display shelf.
As Yu Ji-yeon moved to head there, Jamongi didn't budge.
He was still staring up at the space wall.
It was a situation where anyone would think he was eyeing the treats on the wall.
Namgung Hyun smirked at Jamongi.
‘Such a strong-willed guy. Just like our Banji.’
Namgung Hyun recalled his companion dog Banji, who had crossed the rainbow bridge last year.
Banji chose her own treats.
When presented with five or six treat containers, she would paw at the one she wanted.
Once the treat was taken out, she would grab it in her mouth and head to her cushion or the sofa.
Before eating, Banji would always look up at him with a big grin.
‘She ate so well.’
Reminded of Banji, Namgung Hyun took one more treat still on the wall and said,
“Please ring this one up too.”
He then asked Yu Ji-yeon,
“Jamongi, right? Can I give this to him?”
“Oh…… sure.”
But Namgung Hyun had already torn open the bag.
Drool was already dripping from Jamongi's mouth.
Namgung Hyun smiled warmly at the sight.
Yu Ji-yeon gave an awkward smile too.
“Looks like one won't be enough. I'll just buy it myself.”
Worried for a moment that Yu Ji-yeon's awkward smile meant there was some condition preventing Jamongi from eating it, but that wasn't the case.
Namgung Hyun's eyes sparkled.
“Haha, no. Jamongi is so cute, I just want to buy him one. This is on me for Jamongi.”
With that, Namgung Hyun called to Jamongi.
“Jamongi, come.”
At the park, guardians sometimes shared treats with each other's pets, giving and receiving.
Recalling that custom, Yu Ji-yeon said to Namgung Hyun,
“Thank you.”
But unaware of the situation, Jamongi just waited, drool dripping steadily.
Seeing this, Lee Jun smirked and said,
“Jamongi. The nice lady says it's okay.”
[Hihi, really?]
“Yeah. Say thank you and eat up.”
The moment Lee Jun finished speaking, Jamongi barked a quick “Woof!” and snapped up the soft stick.
“Haha, what a guy. Eats like it's a blessing.”
Namgung Hyun watched Jamongi eat with a pleased expression, when Ttangkongi entered his view.
Ttangkongi was staring at them.
It was an unspoken rule not to discriminate when it came to treats.
“Ahem, can this one have one too?”
“Hohoho.”
When Ttangkongi's guardian just laughed, Lee Jun answered instead.
“That's one of Ttangkongi's favorites.”
“Ttangkongi, you should give treats to your brother first, but this uncle forgot.”
[Eh, it's fine.]
He said that, but he must have felt a bit left out.
“Here, this one's for Ttangkongi.”
[Hmm, well, I'll eat it.]
Ttangkongi coolly took the treat in his mouth and trotted straight to his guardian.
“Haha, both Jamongi and Ttangkongi…… The dogs at this clinic are so cute and full of personality. I'll come again next time.”
“Thank you.”
After Namgung Hyun left, Jamongi and Ttangkongi soon followed.
“Director, I've never seen a customer buy that many treats before. How many dogs does he have to need that much?”
“Must be quite a few.”
“Even so, he bought way too many. I hope he feeds them all properly without throwing any away…….”
“Yeah.”
Both knew how many animals longed for treats they couldn't have.
They hoped those treats wouldn't end up in the trash.
***
A week later, on Saturday, Namgung Hyun appeared at Meongmeong Animal Hospital.
“Everything from here to here, just like last week.”
“Oh my, again?”
Jang So-ra asked in surprise.
She knew better than to say that to a customer, but she couldn't help it.
“Haha, yes. Ah, I think I need some supplements today too.”
“Please wait a moment. The director is with a patient right now.”
He was buying supplements but waiting for the director's consultation instead of grabbing anything.
‘Like I thought last week, this is a really good place.’
Namgung Hyun thought he'd come to the right spot and replied,
“Yes, got it.”
While waiting, Namgung Hyun looked around the clinic. His eyes landed on framed pictures on the wall.
‘Hmm? There are paintings.’
Last time, he'd been focused on the beagle Jamongi and hadn't noticed them.
They depicted animals and people smiling broadly.
‘Not sure who painted them, but they really capture the vibe of this clinic.’
As Namgung Hyun admired the paintings, Lee Jun and a guardian emerged from the exam room laughing, their eyes meeting his.
Lee Jun's eyes widened slightly. He soon bowed his head in greeting.
‘He must be here to return them. But why is he still here?’
Putting the question aside, Lee Jun saw off the guardian he'd just examined.
Then, in a very quiet voice, he asked Jang So-ra,
“We're not doing returns?”
“Huh?”
“That gentleman over there.”
“No, he's here to buy more treats today.”
“What? Really?”
“He's buying treats and supplements today.”
What kind of person was he?
But he couldn't just ask a customer directly.
Lee Jun approached the guardian and asked,
“You're looking for supplements?”
“Yes.”
“What kind? Or rather, for which pet?”
“For the ones low on energy or really lacking nutrition.”
“For debilitated pets, these would be good…… Is the pet sick?”
“Some are sick, some aren't. Have the director pick supplements for the sick ones and the healthy ones.”
“You must be so worried.”
The sick ones would worry him because they were ill, and the healthy ones because he felt guilty for not caring for them properly amid the chaos.
“Yeah. They all deserve good homes, but it's not easy.”
“Pardon?”
“Yeah. And I can't take them all in…….”
“Are you fostering?”
Lee Jun asked if Namgung Hyun was doing temporary fostering for animals.
“No, I haven't started fostering yet.”
“Then you're sponsoring. That's wonderful.”
Lee Jun's voice brightened noticeably.
The mystery was solved, and knowing he was doing good work brought a smile.
“Actually, I'm the one receiving support.”
“Pardon?”
“See, my Banji passed not long ago. Ah, Banji was a beagle too, looked just like Jamongi.”
“Ah, that's why you doted on Jamongi.”
Namgung Hyun nodded slowly.
“She reminded me of our Banji as a puppy.”
Lee Jun understood Namgung Hyun completely.
He himself couldn't help but stare at every schnauzer.
A puppy schnauzer bouncing along would remind him of Kongdori as a pup.
A vigorous adult schnauzer made him envious.
An elderly one passing by worried him about illness, yet he couldn't look away.
Same feelings.
“I know someone who visits a nearby shelter on the anniversary of their dog's passing.”
“I see.”
“They're usually too busy as an excuse, but that day they load up on food and feed the animals. They told me to try it once.”
Understanding the heartache well, Lee Jun guided Namgung Hyun to the exam room.
“Honestly, I went with a light heart at first. Just thinking of feeding them one meal in Banji's place. But when I got home, their eyes stuck with me. So one time became two, two became three.”
“Such a good deed.”
“No, I'm the one being helped. Thanks to them, I don't have time to mope about Banji these days. My mind's always occupied. Haha.”
The following week, Namgung Hyun came back to Meongmeong Animal Hospital and bought heaps of treats again.
Lee Jun subtly suggested he might be overdoing it, but Namgung Hyun just said not to worry.
***
That Sunday, Lee Jun headed to Namyangju with members of the volunteer group “Together With Us,” which he'd been part of since undergrad.
Their destination: Our Yard Shelter.
“Lee Jun, why'd you bring so much?”
“It's been two months. Gotta feed them and give them some energy. The weather's nice, so their appetites should be up!”
“We've got plenty of food these days.”
Lee Jun's senior, the treasurer of Together With Us, chimed in.
“Really? Sponsorships must be up.”
“Yeah, there's this regular donor giving a lot. They come every week now, apparently. Brings armloads of treats each time.”
“Grateful for them.”
As they chatted, they arrived.
As Lee Jun got off the bus, someone called out to him.
“Hey? Isn't that the director of Meongmeong Animal Hospital?”