I'll Save Him
"I'll begin the anesthesia."
The words had barely left Yeo Un-hyeok's mouth before Yoo Mu-hwan felt a flicker of regret.
He should have been the one to handle the anesthesia. Until now, only two people had ever administered it at Mongmong Animal Hospital: Lee Jun and Yoo Mu-hwan himself.
Was it really right to leave it to a rookie like that? No matter how well the man understood pharmaceuticals, Lee Jun had never once entrusted Yeo Un-hyeok with anesthesia. Should Yoo have allowed it?
But the moment Ttaengkkeu's ragged, choking gasps — the kind that sounded as if the little dog might stop breathing any second — began to settle, Yoo wiped the thought clean from his mind.
That wasn't what mattered right now. The small life lying in front of him had to be saved. That was the only thing he needed to do.
He swallowed hard and made a silent vow. I'll save him.
Then he took the endoscope in his hands.
"I'll begin."
Watching the monitor, Yoo guided the endoscope into Ttaengkkeu's mouth. The screen bloomed pink — the scope was advancing down the esophagus. Midway through, the pink tissue and foam on the monitor gave way without warning to a foreign object.
"Well now, there it is."
The bone that had been tormenting Ttaengkkeu was jammed tight, completely blocking the esophagus.
"Dr. Yoo, can you get it out?" Cha Da-jeong asked.
"I have to."
He didn't hesitate. Then he added, "Whether I pull it out or push it down, I have to do something."
Extraction was the best outcome. Pushing it into the stomach was the fallback. If they couldn't get the bone out through the esophagus, they could advance it into the stomach and wait. A dog with a strong enough digestive system might break it down on its own; if not, they would have to open the stomach and take it out surgically. That was a problem for later. Right now, this creature needed its airway opened. That was his job.
Yoo drew a long breath. The thought that there was no one here to help him made his hands tremble, just slightly. He filled his lungs again and repeated the words inside his head like a charm. Just do it like you always have. Just do it like you always have. Just do it like you always…
It was what Lee Jun had told him in this very endoscopy room, and Yoo murmured it like an incantation as he worked the forceps attached to the scope.
Pulling a foreign body with endoscopic forceps was never easy. Depending on the object's size and shape, you could scrape the esophageal wall, damage the tissue — even perforate it. A hole in the esophagus was a true emergency. And what Yoo had in the grip of those forceps was a bone. Not a small one, either: a bone that filled the esophagus completely. One wrong move and he could punch a hole straight through.
Still reciting Lee Jun's words under his breath, Yoo drew the bone out, slow and steady. It was only a few minutes. To Yoo, it felt like an eternity.
Then the bone began to emerge from Ttaengkkeu's mouth.
"We got it! That's it!"
Go Gi-jin, who had been holding his breath beside them the entire time, burst out with a shout of joy.
"Good grief, how big is this thing? How did he even swallow it?" Cha Da-jeong shook her head at the bone they had pulled from the esophagus, then turned to Yoo. "You did really well. Thank you so much, Dr. Yoo. You worked so hard."
"Not at all. We were lucky Dr. Yeo handled the anesthesia so well."
Yeo Un-hyeok picked up the courtesy at once. "I didn't do anything worth mentioning. I'll wake Ttaengkkeu now."
And just like that, Yoo Mu-hwan's first solo endoscopy was a success.
That evening, the moment Lee Jun finished his work at Namgoong Animal Medical Center, he came straight to Mongmong Animal Hospital.
"Dr. Yoo. You did well. You really did well."
"It wasn't me. I only managed it because everyone helped."
"No. Not just anyone can pull out something that size. And looking at this, you got it out clean — no esophageal damage at all."
Lee Jun praised him as he watched the recording of the procedure.
"Thank you. It's thanks to you, Director."
"Me? You did this. I can rest easy now even when I'm not around." Lee Jun smiled, a warm, easy grin. "I'll look after Ttaengkkeu. You go on home."
"No, I'll stay with him. I'm on night duty anyway."
"You sure you'll be all right?"
"Of course. Please go home and rest, Director."
"All right, then. Call me the second anything happens."
Yoo watched Lee Jun leave with the cats and Sapsaree, and a quiet pride swelled in his chest. That look in his eyes. He trusts me.
The joy of having earned Lee Jun's confidence carried him through the entire night. He didn't feel tired at all.
The next morning, Yoo stopped by the cafeteria to chase off the leftover drowsiness. Ju Mi-seon and the kitchen staff hadn't come in yet, but the cafeteria was always stocked with snacks for anyone who needed them. He poured himself a cup of coffee, picked up a piece of bread, and sat down.
He had just taken a sip of coffee and a bite of bread when the door opened. Yeo Un-hyeok.
"Dr. Yeo. You're in early."
"Ah — yes. I woke up earlier than usual."
Yeo collected coffee and bread of his own and sat down across from him.
"Thanks for yesterday."
"Yesterday?"
"For taking Ttaengkkeu's anesthesia. It made things a lot easier for me."
"Ah. Of course."
Yeo answered with a faint smile in place of anything more.
"How's Ttaengkkeu?"
"He's fine. I think he'll be ready to go home today."
"That's a relief. I heard that little guy ate something strange last year, too?"
"He did. He's just too gluttonous. The Director will probably give him a proper scolding."
"A scolding?"
Yeo's eyes went wide. Yoo, though, had his head down over his bread and didn't notice.
"Yeah. He probably won't do it again after that."
Yoo said it as if it were nothing at all, and Yeo's expression grew stranger still. If a scolding were enough to get through to them, we wouldn't have animals coming into the clinic in the first place. He'll prescribe something. He has to.
He would find out what that medication was. Yeo made up his mind then and there.
"Anyway — Director Lee seems to have high hopes for you."
"Pardon?"
"I told him you handle anesthetics extremely well."
Whatever scrap of inferiority Yoo had once felt toward Yeo, he had shed it completely. He smiled, bright and unguarded.
After Ttaengkkeu's procedure, Yoo threw himself into life at Mongmong Animal Hospital with a new kind of attachment. He would work hard enough to become the person Director Lee Jun needed him to be. With that as his goal, he met every task head-on.
Yeo Un-hyeok, on the other hand, could not say the same.
Reviewing charts in the exam room, Yeo let out a short sigh.
"He's not writing any prescriptions."
He had been certain Lee Jun would medicate the animals with behavioral problems. He had fully intended to find out what that drug was. But days passed, and not a single behavioral medication was used. He had gone through the charts. There was nothing suspicious. Except for the ones on psychotropics for actual brain conditions, nobody here is on psychiatric medication at all.
Which meant that at Mongmong Animal Hospital, not a single animal was being treated with drugs for a behavioral problem.
That can't be right.
At an ordinary neighborhood clinic, he might have let it go. Dogs on behavioral medication weren't that common. But this place was different. It was larger than a local practice, and Director Lee Jun's reputation meant the patient volume was enormous. And yet every animal that came through the door was well-behaved. None of them caused any trouble.
"This is too strange. This many animals, and it's this quiet. They don't run. They don't bark."
Yeo stood and went down to the first-floor playground. A glass window looked into the play area, so he could see everything without going in. He peered through.
There were seven of them inside. Three large dogs, one Dachshund, a Pomeranian with frail-looking legs, a Chihuahua far smaller than that, and a single cat. The cat was loafed on one of the big dogs' backs, all four paws tucked neatly underneath.
Only those three big ones are from the same household. The rest are all from different homes — and they're all this calm. Especially that burly-looking dog being so friendly with a cat. That's not normal.
Kkotnimi, and Donggeuli loafed across Kkotnimi's back, struck Yeo as deeply wrong. That cat looks completely at ease. They didn't grow up together. How are they that close? And a Bull Terrier sitting there that quietly doesn't make any sense.
In Yeo's eyes, the Rogue Trio exercising so meekly — not tearing around, not making a scene — was inexplicable. They don't even bark. There's definitely something going on. Something that isn't even written in the charts. There has to be something in the treats they eat here.
It was the same suspicion he had carried on his very first day, when he had come in for his interview. Yeo decided he would take a closer look at the snacks the animals were given at this hospital.
He happened to have a moment, so he walked out to the lobby — and found Jang Sora offering treats to Hoesaegi, Kkamnyangi, and Sapsaree.
"What do you guys feel like eating?"
One after another, without a second's hesitation, the three of them each picked what they wanted. And every single one of them chose not a bagged commercial treat, but a cookie from an airtight container.
They're turning down the Churu.
The cookies had Yeo's full attention.
The next day, he watched a Beagle carry a cookie off in its mouth. Then a Dachshund did the same. Cookie after cookie, the demand never let up, and Yeo drew his conclusion. There's something in those cookies. But what?
He approached Jang Sora.
"Manager Jang, those cookies seem very popular."
"Oh, these? Chef Joo makes them. The kids absolutely love them."
"Chef Joo?"
"Yes. She bakes them whenever she has time. I think they can tell they're made with good ingredients."
Just then, the Beagle from a moment ago tapped Jang Sora's leg with a front paw.
"Jamong wants another one, does he?"
The Beagle wagged his tail in what was clearly a yes and gave a small, soft bark.
"It's not that Jamong wants another one for himself," Lee Jun said, walking up from behind them. "He said Ttangkhongi wants one."
"Ttangkhongi?"
"They must have talked about Chef Joo's cookies at the park. Ttangkhongi said he wanted to try one, and Jamong's asking us to please save one for him for when he comes by later."
"Oh my goodness. He's looking out for his big brother?"
"Jamong's probably worried — there are only a few cookies left in the jar."
Ridiculous. Yeo was certain Lee Jun was making the whole thing up.
"Jamong, Teacher will make sure to save this cookie for your hyung Ttangkhongi."
Even Jang Sora had caught whatever this was. She was talking the same kind of nonsense.
And then it happened.
"Woof!"
Jamong barked a little louder, then rubbed his whole body back and forth against Jang Sora's leg. He did the same to Lee Jun. After that, as if he had nothing left to linger for, he trotted off toward the playground without a backward glance.
Yeo's eyes went wide. What was that?
He looked from the departing Jamong to the cookies and back again.
And it kept happening. Over and over. Is there something in those cookies? Why does every last one of them want those and nothing else?
Should he take one and have it analyzed? The next time he got the chance, he would. He decided that much.
Separate from all of that, Yeo still hadn't had a single opportunity to show what he could do. Wanting to uncover Director Lee's true nature is one thing. But if I want to stay at Mongmong long-term, I have to prove myself… That's the only way I'll get to write papers and earn my tuition…
From what his classmates said, there was no hospital like this one. The food is good, the people are good, the pay is good. Director Lee seemed a little suspicious, but setting that aside, it was a perfect place to work. Yeo wanted to last at least two years here without getting fired — long enough to cover his school fees.
And then, at last, an opportunity presented itself.
Yeo had just finished a consult and come out to the lobby when he found a guardian holding a Maltese in conversation with Jang Sora.
"I heard Director Lee Jun really understands how animals feel, so I came. Our Kkomi cries so much — you can correct that too, right?"
"Does Kkomi cry when she's left alone?"
"It's not that she's alone, exactly. There's another dog — Janggoon…"
"So she barks when people leave the house."
"Yes, that too — and she barks even when people are home. Though it's more like wailing than barking, really. She howls so desperately the neighbors think I'm abusing her. I can't even step out of the house. And look at this."
The guardian held the dog out for Jang Sora to see. Jang Sora's eyes went wide.
"Oh my — her paws are all swollen."
"She did this scratching at the door. Whenever we have guests, Kkomi barks so badly that we put her in a room until they leave, and she just barks and claws at the door the whole time."
"That's how her paws ended up like this."
"Yes. And recently she's started biting her tail, too."
A dog with separation anxiety so severe it had gone far past ordinary. This bad, they'll have to use medication.
Yeo was already moving closer when Jang Sora spoke.
"Please wait just a moment. I'll speak with the Director."
Yeo swallowed. What medication will the Director prescribe? He was dying to know.
Lee Jun came out, listened to Kkomi's history, and then turned to Yeo.
"Would you like to take this one, Dr. Yeo?"
What? I was waiting to see what you would prescribe!
Yeo shook his head.
"No, thank you. I'd like to learn by watching you examine the patient, Director."