The Cost of a Dream

As the sky began to darken, Hoesaegi, who had been sprawled and rolling about on the cat tower, put a question to Lee Jun.

"Hyung-nim-ong, when's Song-i coming today, nyaong?"

"When Song-i gets here, we're going to show her around the first-floor playground today."

Gkamnyangi, lying in the fabric hammock, gave a lazy flick of the tail that hung out over the edge as he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spoke. Down below, Sapsaree, who had been gazing out the window, chimed in.

"That's right, I say. We promised to give Big Sis Song-i a ride on the wobbly bone, we did."

He meant the Fitbone, one of the balance trainers used for lower-body work.

There were all kinds — balance boards, balance discs, Fitbones — but they shared one thing in common: once you stepped on, your body started to wobble. How much you wobbled depended on the shape, the height, and how much air you'd pumped in, but every one of them forced you to find your center and fire the little stabilizer muscles you didn't even know you had. They were used as rehab for animals with joint trouble in the legs or spine, and to build muscle in seniors. Helpful, in any case.

The dogs and cats of Mongmong Animal Hospital, however, thought of these balance trainers as the best toys in the place, scrambling up onto them with glee. Sometimes they even turned it into a game of who could last the longest.

"She's coming tomorrow. She said she's got something to do today, so she can't make it."

"Really, nyaong? I was going to give her this, ong."

Hoesaegi sprang up and lifted something toward Lee Jun with his front paws. Wedged between them was a cookie — one of the snacks they had each been given after lunch.

"I was going to give her one too."

A paw thrust high through the hammock held a cookie as well.

"I, I…"

Clatter-clatter-clatter.

Sapsaree was suddenly very busy. He shot off somewhere, then came racing back with something in his mouth and set it down in front of Lee Jun.

A little dog chew.

"This is what I'm gonna give her, I am!"

Sapsaree said it with a bright, open grin, and Lee Jun looked at the three of them and smiled, quiet and fond.

"What good kids."

It was only a few words, but it was praise from the Hyung-nim they adored so much. All three of them smiled even brighter.

"Hehe, Benefactor Hyung-nim praised me, he did! He said I, Sapsaree, was a good boy, he did!"

"He said I was the good one."

"No, ong, he said I was the good one, ong."

The three of them squabbled, each insisting the praise had been theirs. But they knew. They knew it had been meant for every one of them. They just also knew that if they carried on like this, Hyung-nim would smile at them one more time.

And just as Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree had figured…

"Whoa, whoa! All three of you are good kids."

Hehe!

That was their Hyung-nim, all right.

The three of them looked at Lee Jun, grinning wide, their gazes full of trust and gratitude and a fierce, shining affection.

Then, all at once, the ears of the three animals who had been beaming up at him gave a twitch.

A spring, a whip-around, a scramble.

Hoesaegi, who had been lying down, bolted upright. Sapsaree, who had been smiling at Lee Jun, spun in place and locked his eyes on the window. Gkamnyangi, who had been sprawled in the hammock like a sea cucumber, shot down to the floor.

"Someone's coming, ong."

"Hyung-nim! It's a smell I never smelled before, I say. There's so much of it, I say."

"That's right. There's a lot of it. Hyung-nim, is he one of ours?"

The three of them stood with their noses working, sorting through the jumble of scents seeping in. There was a time they would have yowled about which territory was invading. These days, they had learned to ask Lee Jun first.

That was the effect of Cha Wuk and Yoo ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Daehyun, and all the various animal-hospital people, coming and going. Of course those people smelled of every kind of animal.

"Well. Who could that be?"

Lee Jun looked out the window, and the corner of his mouth ticked up.

"It's Junwon."

Baek Junwon. Lee Jun's classmate.

Lee Jun went outside to greet him.

"Hey, Junwon!"

"Jun, long time no see."

"You just show up without even a call?"

"Whew. I was just passing through the neighborhood, thought of you, and dropped by. You busy?"

He did not look like a man who had simply been passing through.

"I'm not busy. Come on in."

"Yeah, thanks."

The moment the two of them stepped into the hospital, the three animals came trotting up as if they had been waiting for this and started sniffing Baek Junwon over, huff-huff-huff. His face lit up.

"Oh wow — Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, Sapsaree!"

Baek Junwon's smile stretched even wider, and he sat right down on the spot.

"Ohh man, I never thought I'd get a welcome from these guys! Hey kids, good to see you, good to see you. Uncle here is this doctor's friend. His friend."

The three of them looked at Lee Jun. It was a look that asked whether the man in front of them was telling the truth. Lee Jun smiled and nodded.

"That's right. He's a friend. You know the kind doctor? The one who was scared of you? He's friends with that doctor too."

"Scaredy Hyung-nim's friend, nyaong?"

Hoesaegi asked it in a halfhearted voice, as if inquiring whether this was Choi Woo-jin's friend, and the light in those bright golden eyes seemed to dim a little.

"Eh… so he's Scaredy Hyung-nim's friend."

Gkamnyangi gave his head a shake, put on a look of having lost all interest, and padded over to Lee Jun. Whatever attention he had had for Baek Junwon was already gone.

Sapsaree, at least, seemed delighted by the new face, and stood beside them with his tail still waving.

"Hehe, he's the Hyung-nims' friend, I say! I've got lots of friends too, I do!"

Lee Jun could not quite see what his own friend showing up had to do with Sapsaree bragging about his friends, but Sapsaree was grinning and happy all the same. Watching the three of them, Lee Jun let out a small laugh and turned to Baek Junwon.

"Come on, let's go to my office."

"Before that, your hospital… nah. Let's go."

The two of them headed for the director's office. Lee Jun's eyes met Jang Sora's, and she mouthed, What drinks should I get? Lee Jun put the question to Baek Junwon.

"Coffee okay with you? It's evening, so maybe coffee's a bit much? I'd go out for something, but I don't really have the time right now…"

"Coffee's great. Come on, since when do we care if it's morning or night for coffee? Besides, it's not like I'm going in to work tomorrow."

"Hm? Oh, right — you're in the middle of getting ready to open. Completely slipped my mind. I've been so swamped lately ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I can't keep anything straight."

"Must be nice. Being that busy."

Baek Junwon looked at him with something like envy, and Lee Jun grinned as he answered.

"Hey, you try opening up. You won't even know where the days went. Anyway, when's opening day?"

"About ten days from now?"

"Congratulations. Make sure you invite me to the opening."

"Whew. Yeah."

"What's with the sigh when you've got something good coming? It'll go well, so don't worry."

"That'd be nice."

"Anyway, where's Taejun?"

"Taejun's at the site right now. They're in the final stretch of construction."

"Yeah?"

They talked as they walked, and by the time the exchange wound down they were inside the director's office. Once the two of them had settled into their seats, Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree came trotting after them and went to their own places. The two cats claimed good spots on the office cat tower, and Sapsaree sat on his cushion below it with his back ramrod straight.

Watching the three of them, Baek Junwon smiled.

"These guys really seem close."

"Yeah, they are. They're always stuck together."

"At night? You take them all with you?"

"Yeah. They even sleep all piled up together."

"That's amazing. You're really something else."

"I'm not the amazing one. They're the ones looking after me."

"Anyway. Don't the other kids steal that cushion? Or pee on it, or…?"

"No. They're all well-mannered. That kind of thing doesn't happen."

"I see. This really is the animal hospital you always dreamed of."

Baek Junwon let out another sigh as he looked at the three of them. His eyes were full of envy. And, underneath that, it seemed there was something he needed to say.

Baek Junwon had spent eleven years of school at Lee Jun's side. Six years of undergrad, five years of surgical graduate school. Among orthopedics, he had burrowed deep into knee surgery, and he had reached the point where directors of any hospital worth knowing were trying to poach him from one another. For a man like that to be sitting here sighing…

Well. I suppose anyone would have a lot on their mind with an opening right around the corner.

Lee Jun watched him. Then the door opened, and Go Gi-jin came in with a tray in his hands.

"Eutta, they said a classmate of the director's come by, so I came on over myself — and it's Hyung-nim Baek, it is."

"Gi-jin, you been well?"

"Course I have. I'm doin' just fine, I am. And you, Hyung-nim? Heard you're openin' up? Preparations goin' all right?"

"Eh, it's coming along, more or less."

"Congratulations, Hyung-nim. If you need any muscle, you just call me, y'hear?"

"Haha, thanks."

"Anyway, mighty glad to see you. Hyung-nim, you ain't leavin' early today?"

"Yeah, I wasn't planning to, but…"

Baek Junwon let the sentence trail off, but Go Gi-jin only laughed, easy and warm, and picked it up.

"Then I'll see you in a bit. Y'all talk now."

Go Gi-jin set the tray on the table and went out. Baek Junwon looked at the closed door for a moment, then let out a small laugh.

"Go Gi-jin. That guy hasn't changed a bit. But how's he doing with the patients? He only ever treated large animals."

"Oh, he's great. Really great. He was a little thrown at first, but he adapted fast. Large-breed dogs especially — he's the best. The best. He just scoops up Great Pyrenees like it's nothing."

"Wow, that's fantastic."

"It is. So even when the big dogs are hospitalized, it's honestly easy. We handle them the way you'd handle a cocker or a schnauzer."

"I'm really jealous of that."

"Yeah. Anyway, how's it going? Getting ready to open isn't exactly a walk in the park, is it?"

"Whew. Opening a practice is harder than I thought."

"It would be. Until now, you just told the director what you needed and it appeared, just like that."

"Ugh. Jun, how did you handle equipment when you opened?"

"Equipment? You already know. I opened with the bare minimum."

"Yeah, you did. Still, you were really something. How did you even think to set it up that lean?"

"I just worked with what I had, that's all."

At that, Baek Junwon looked at him for a long moment, then nodded.

"You're right. The opening costs were… way more than I expected."

"They always are."

"Exactly. If you think about key money and the deposit, opening on the second or third floor would be perfect, but it's a first floor, so… ah, come on, why are the deposit and key money so expensive?"

"And the equipment? I mean, sure, that's how you make a diagnosis, but still."

"Right, the equipment. Why is that so expensive too? I decided to buy the same DR unit I used to work with — the digital X-ray — and it still runs over thirty million won. So I looked at a step down, and the images just don't sit right with me."

"That's equipment for you. Anything you actually like is expensive."

Baek Junwon sank deep into the chair and nodded.

"I think you're right. Anything that looks decent is expensive, every single time. Ugh, and there's so much still to buy… You know as well as I do, Taejun and I are both dirt-poor. Not a silver spoon between us."

"You maxed out the credit?"

"Of course. Bank loans plus every last bit we've saved, and it's still tight."

"Everyone's like that. Before you open you want to buy this and buy that, but… you have to make peace with reality."

"…Yeah. We do."

Baek Junwon made a bitter face and lifted the cup in front of him to his lips.

"Haven't you finished setting everything up already?"

"We haven't locked it all in yet. We're still coordinating, but…"

"Yeah? You said you decided on the DR, so can't you just rank the rest by priority and go from there?"

"I'd love to. But Taejun is pushing the ultrasound so hard it's giving me a headache."

"The ultrasound?"

"Yeah. He says if we're going to get one, we should get one with good resolution."

"Well, sure, but. What is he trying to bring in?"

"Hell if I know. The one that guy wants is a hundred-million-won unit. A hundred million — it's not like that's a kid's name you can just toss around…"

"That's a massive amount of money. But why does Taejun want to spend that on an ultrasound? Honestly, a hundred million is an enormous sum for us, but in the ultrasound market, a hundred million doesn't even get you into high-end."

"That's what I'm saying. That's exactly my point. We're not even radiology specialists — how well are we really going to read an ultrasound?"

"To our eyes, a fifty-million-won unit and a ninety-million-won unit would look about the same."

"Exactly!"

"Of course it'd be nice to have a good one. But you have to think about what you can actually afford."

"That's what I keep saying. You know who I mean? Kim Insu. That guy loaded up on equipment for his opening, and from what I've seen, he's been struggling ever since."

"I heard about that too."

"I don't want to end up gasping for air like him. I want to start with enough ammunition to hold out until we've found our feet!"

Baek Junwon drained the rest of his coffee in one go, then went on.

"That's how you get to run a place by your own principles, like you do."

"That's a good way to think about it."

"Right. I don't want to be stomping my feet over the rent from day one."

"Then the practice is a lot easier to run. Tell him to get a reasonably priced ultrasound. Save that money, buy the other equipment, and like you said, stockpile a decent war chest."

"Ugh, you're right. There's so much we still need. We need a C-arm, we need a Ligasure, and an endoscope too… I'll push back hard on the ultrasound, like you said."

"Yeah, talk it through with Taejun. You know as well as I do — once you start getting greedy about equipment, there's no end to it. And you two are going to specialize in joint surgery anyway."

"That's true."

"Don't worry too much. It's not some strangers opening up — it's the two of you. It'll go well."

"Thanks, even if it's just words. Still, why is opening one little animal hospital this hard? All I want is to do the kids' knee surgeries well — no pain, no aftereffects — and yet it's always that damn money…"

Lee Jun watched his suffering friend and smiled, quiet and warm.

Baek Junwon was exactly the veterinarian he described: a man who lay awake thinking about how to get animals who'd had knee surgery discharged even a day sooner, and how to leave them with no aftereffects at all. These days, if there were no major complications, animals who had knee surgery with Baek Junwon were often sent home the same day. Guardians of pets too anxious to handle a hospital stay were endlessly grateful for it.

That kind of result had not come easily. Junwon had poured himself into the work, night and day. Kang Taejun had done the same.

Lee Jun, who knew their labor better than anyone, opened his mouth.

"It'll work out."

"Whew. I hope so. That aside, what do we do about the CT? I can't very well refer people out every single day."

He had said he was giving it up, but he still couldn't let go of the CT, and now he was whining about it.

"Just make a clean decision and refer them out. They can go to an animal medical center for a CT or an MRI, or you can set up a partnership with a big hospital nearby."

"You think that's better?"

"A hundred times better. Think about what it takes to actually get one. You have to bring in a specialist to read the images. There's the machine itself, the maintenance. You know how much electricity a single CT unit eats."

"I know. The thing burns through several million won a month in upkeep even if you don't take a single image."

"Exactly. Or just lease the whole lot. With the two of you, you'd have a real shot at making the numbers work."

"Come on. Even so, can we really do dozens of surgeries a month?"

"Hey — the hospital you two were at had surgery bookings packed solid for over three months."

"…That's true."

Baek Junwon gave a little shrug as he answered.

"And how many of those surgeries were the two of you doing?"

"A fair number. Usually about two a day, and three or four when it was busy."

"See? Have some confidence. Tough it out for a few years, and you'll be able to get every piece of equipment you want."

"Whew. You think so? Then I'll just open for now and think about it as we go. Anyway, are you happy?"

His mind seemed a little easier. He sank deeper into the chair as he asked.

"Me?"

"Yeah. I mean, are you happier now than when you were just doing surgery and seeing patients? Being a director is a lot of work, honestly."

"I am. I really am."

Lee Jun didn't hesitate for even a second.

"Well, you always did want to run your own animal hospital."

"I did."

"I want to make a hospital like yours too. A place where the kids can roam around at ease, and do as much rehab as they want."

"You will. If it's you and Kang Taejun, you can definitely build a hospital like that."

Lee Jun said it with absolute confidence — the confidence of someone who knew them both well.

Lee Jun saw patients until late in the afternoon, then left the hospital at five — a little earlier than usual. His destination was Baek-Kang Surgical Animal Hospital. As he drove, he muttered to himself.

"I should've been there on opening day. Sorry about that."

Baek-Kang Surgical Animal Hospital had opened a week ago. That day, Lee Jun had gone into an emergency surgery, and he hadn't been able to make it.

After about an hour behind the wheel, he arrived. He looked up at the big sign, a fond smile spreading across his face, and stepped into the hospital.

Lee Jun opened the door, and a loud voice carried out from inside.