How a Day at Mongmong Begins
It's a story anyone in the know already knows: a day at Mongmong Animal Hospital usually begins with Jang Sora walking through the door.
Ting-a-ling.
The bell sang out, clear and bright, and Lee Jun, Go Gi-jin, and Sapsaree came in with it. Each of the two men carried a pet carrier, and inside, Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi were loafed in the Sikppang Position, all four paws tucked neatly out of sight.
"You're in early again today, Manager Jang. Have you had breakfast?"
"Aigoo, Manager Jang, did you eat before you came in?"
At Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin's morning greetings, a smile bloomed across Jang Sora's face as she looked up from the reservation list at the front desk. Have you eaten? Such a simple thing to ask, and yet it was packed with genuine care—a wish that the night had passed safely, that no one was hurting.
"I did. I've even had a cup of coffee already. Have you two eaten, Director, Dr. Go?"
"Sure have."
"We have. Nothing unusual overnight, I hope?"
Lee Jun asked after schedule changes and anything else worth noting as he unlatched the carrier door. Go Gi-jin opened his as well, and Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi hopped out in a pitter-patter of paws and made straight for Jang Sora. Sapsaree was already there, rubbing his head into her arms.
"Aeohong!"
"Nyaooo!"
Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi came trotting over with their tails held high. The closer they drew to Jang Sora, the more the tips of those upright tails hooked into a gentle curve, and the corners of her mouth curled up, slow and warm. Who in the world could look at cats offering a greeting like that and not smile?
In another moment they were winding their small bodies around her legs. The tension in Jang Sora's face melted into a helpless, fond grin as she answered Lee Jun.
"No, Director. Everything's been quiet. The inpatients had a good night, too."
Report delivered, she turned her greetings on the three of them, her voice going high and syrup-sweet in a way that bore no resemblance at all to the one she had just used with Lee Jun.
"Aww, you guys~ Did you sleep well? Did you eat a nice yummy breakfast?"
And then, because she knew exactly which words they loved best, she added,
"Handsome Hoesaegi, dashing Gkamnyangi, and our brave Sapsaree!"
"Aeohong-iehong!"
"Niyaheohooo!"
"Meong-meomeomeomeoreong!"
The three of them threw their voices up in reply, faces split wide with delight.
Jang Sora crouched down and reached forward with the hand that had been stroking Sapsaree. Neither cat needed to be asked twice. Both pushed their heads into her palm at once—pet us.
Scritch, scritch, scritch.
She rubbed the two small heads, then let her hands slip down to scratch under their chins.
Prrrum, prrrum.
Purr, purr.
Pleased, round purrs rolled out of the cats, and beside them Sapsaree wagged his tail in easy sweeps and settled his chin onto Jang Sora's shoulder as if it were the most natural pillow in the world.
"That's a relief. They really do adore you, you know that?" Lee Jun said, smiling. "They were singing their hearts out the whole way here. All about getting to see Manager Jang."
"Oh, Director. If you say it like that, I'll actually believe you."
Jang Sora beamed at the joke. Honestly. The Director really does have a gift for making people feel good.
"I'm serious. Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi hopped into their carriers first thing and started stamping their paws."
"That's a fact. They sure did. Sapsaree was waggin' away right next to 'em, too. He'd look at the door, then look at us. 'Why aren't we leavin' already!'—that's exactly what it looked like he was sayin'."
"Oh, Dr. Go, not you too."
"I'm tellin' you, that's how it was. Keh-heh-heh. Manager Jang, you're a celebrity with these kids. A real celebrity."
On the heels of Lee Jun, Go Gi-jin's words sent the corners of her mouth climbing even higher. They really are the kindest people. Looking at the two of them smiling so brightly at her, Jang Sora was struck all over again by how glad she was to work at Mongmong Animal Hospital.
Go Gi-jin spoke up again.
"You said you had a get-together today, yeah?"
"I did." She laughed, already warming at the thought of seeing her old classmates for the first time in ages.
"Those zookeeper friends of yours will be there, then?" Lee Jun asked.
"They should be, yes."
Go Gi-jin's eyes went round.
"Well, I'll be! You've got zookeeper friends?"
"Two of them. I think they'll both come today. The zoos they work at are far enough away that they can't make it very often."
"Aigoo, two of 'em? That's somethin'."
Watching Go Gi-jin say it with his mouth hanging open, Lee Jun put in,
"That's rich, coming from someone who handles large animals."
"He's right! You should have seen my face when Dr. Go just casually scooped up Sugar the Pyrenees."
"Those kids are gentle and sweet, though. Can't compare 'em to great big scary wild animals, can you?"
"Fair enough… but you'd have made a fine wildlife vet too."
"Heh heh. You think so? If I get the chance, I'd sure love to study up on elephants."
Treating elephants meant learning them properly, as a subject all their own, and Go Gi-jin had just shown he had the will to do it.
"Ask Senior Yoo or Senior Cha about it. Daehan runs regular volunteer clinics in Thailand and India, you know."
That Daehan Animal Medical Center ran scheduled treatment missions not only across the country but overseas as well was already common knowledge among veterinarians.
Go Gi-jin nodded.
"Ah, that's right. They do."
"Yeah. If you get a chance to see them, ask."
"Will do."
His whole face lit up, and he giggled, pleased.
"So what kinda animals do your friends look after, Manager?"
"My friends? Let's see—one of them is in charge of the deer house, and the other handles ostriches and raccoons, from what I've heard."
"Aigoo, I bet they're adorable."
"They would be. Hard work, I'm sure, but rewarding."
"But Hyung-nim, you think those animals are all right in this heat?"
"Hard to say. I'd like to think the keepers and the vets there are taking good care of them."
"Yeah, I suppose so."
When Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin started worrying over the zoo animals, Jang Sora smiled.
"You two never think about anything except whether the animals are healthy, do you?"
"Well, that's the conversation we have every day, ain't it?"
"That's true. Wherever we go, looking at an animal and checking whether it's well is just the job."
Go Gi-jin and Lee Jun tossed the words back, grinning.
"You're one to talk, Manager, Manager."
"That's a fact. Our Manager Jang has never once walked past a sick animal without stopping."
"How could I just walk past a kid who's hurting?"
Even the thought of it tugged the corners of her mouth down a little. Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin both nodded.
"Fair point."
"That's right. You couldn't just walk on by."
"What time is the gathering today, Manager Jang?"
"We said we'd meet at seven, so I can go after work."
"Your clock-out today is…"
Lee Jun checked the schedule board and went on,
"Eight. If you leave then, you'll be much too late, won't you? Don't do that. Go at six. It's been a long time since you saw your friends."
"I'll be all right."
"Go early. Last time I went to a class reunion I got there late, and I felt awful about it. Everyone else had gone out of their way to make the time…"
"Do that. We've got plenty of other staff here."
"Manager, I'll stay. It's not like I've got anything to do at home anyway."
One of the veterinary technicians who had been straightening bags of kibble came walking over as he spoke, having clearly caught the conversation.
"You'll cover for her, Seung-jin?"
Jung Seung-jin smiled.
"Yes. It's only an hour later, no big deal."
"There you have it."
"Thanks, Seung-jin."
"Have we been standin' here talkin' too long? The kids have all vanished."
"They're already in the inpatient ward."
"Aigoo, they really are quick. I oughta head up to the second floor myself and do a round of the kids."
"Yeah. Let's do that."
They had come in so early that it was only just past eight. Morning meeting was at nine, so there was still plenty of time. As the two of them went upstairs, Jang Sora turned back to the work she had been doing: drafting the notice messages to go out to the guardians of the animals coming in that day. She had already confirmed everything by phone the day before, but these were a second check, just to be sure. She queued them to send as texts at nine, each one tailored to the visit—surgery, exam, wellness screening—with the things a guardian needed to know before they walked in the door.
"There. Now I just have to write the discharge notices."
A little later, with that finished, she stood and went up to the second floor. From nine o'clock they ran a briefing on the hospital as a whole, ten minutes on a good day, twenty at the outside. Communication among Lee Jun and the staff was already so smooth that that was plenty of time to go over the animals who had come in the day before.
The hospital now was a different creature from the one Lee Jun and Jang Sora had run between the two of them a year ago—so much larger that even with Lee Jun paying as close attention as he did, he could no longer personally see every animal and every guardian who came through the door. That was why he relied on his staff to help him keep a picture of every patient in the building. Jang Sora was no different. In that window of time she concentrated harder than anyone. From Mongi, who had come in on opening day, to the brand-new faces who had arrived only yesterday, she packed the information on every animal that had ever visited Mongmong Animal Hospital tightly into her head.
"So the ones scheduled for discharge today are Song-i and Geuru on the dog side, and Bebe on the cat side. Please call their people—yes, even though they were here yesterday. Ah, Manager Jang, would you tell Song-i's guardian to bring a hard carrier? She shouldn't be jostled just yet."
"I already arranged to lend them one of ours. I mentioned it yesterday, and they said all they have at home is a fabric bag."
"That's our Manager Jang. Well done."
When the meeting ended, the five veterinary technicians rose from their seats. The veterinarians would stay behind to plan surgeries and appointments; the five of them would go downstairs and continue a meeting of their own.
Back on the first floor, Jang Sora walked her staff through the day's work. They assisted the veterinarians during exams, helped with X-rays and bloodwork and a dozen other tests. They fed and medicated the inpatients, handled treatments, and took on the nursing. Reception fell to them as well—answering the phones, booking appointments, guiding arriving animals and their people, selling food and supplies. And at regular intervals they had to go out to the playground and keep an eye on the animals. In other words, they did a great deal.
And yet the staff at Mongmong Animal Hospital tended to work with genuine cheer. The benefits were good, and the pay was higher than at other clinics, but the most important thing was simpler than that: every last one of them loved animals. Lee Jun had left the hiring of technicians entirely to Jang Sora, and Jang Sora, who cherished animals no less than he did, had made one question her first priority—how much did this person care for them? The people she had chosen that way now listened to her with serious, attentive faces.
She reminded each of them of their tasks, then lifted her voice a little.
"All right. Let's give it our all today!"
"Let's go!"
They echoed her with bright voices and went back to their posts. And so the workday began.
Perhaps because it was Saturday, the morning was already bustling with people coming in for kibble, treats, and supplies. Jang Sora was attending to them when a mother and daughter's voices drifted over.
"Why do you want another food bowl? We already have one."
"But that one's bad for Momo. That's why we need a new one."
"What on earth makes a food bowl good or bad? As long as she eats well, that's enough. Let's just grab some kibble and a toy mouse and go."
"No, Mom. We have to change her bowl."
"Later, honey. We'll get one later."
The girl looked about twelve or thirteen. Jang Sora stepped toward the two of them as the conversation grew pointed.
"Can I help you?"
"Oh, no, it's all right. My daughter just keeps insisting we buy a food bowl, even though we have one at home." The mother laughed, a little awkwardly.
"Our Momo keeps scooping her kibble out and eating it off the floor. That's because she hates her bowl, right?"
A mother and daughter visiting Mongmong Animal Hospital for the first time. Naturally, there was not a scrap of information on file about any animal named Momo. She said 'toy mouse' a moment ago, so Momo must be a cat. Armed with that one basic fact, Jang Sora answered.
"Is Momo a cat, by any chance?"
The girl's face lit up.
"Yes! How did you know? Hehe, our Momo's a super pretty cheese tabby."
"Oh, so you have a cheese tabby. I bet she's a real sweetheart, huh?"
"Yes. When I pet her she purrs and closes her eyes like this."
The girl squinted, lids going heavy and pleased, and Jang Sora smiled. This Momo is living a life full of love. She could simply tell. The child adored her cat—and more than that, she had been watching even the way Momo ate, closely enough to notice a habit.
"Lucky you. Cheese tabbies are so popular."
"Hehe."
Jang Sora met the smiling girl's eyes, then opened her mouth again.
"So why do you think Momo scoops her kibble onto the floor to eat it?"
She turned the next question on the mother as well.
"Has she always done that?"
"I think so. We wondered if she just didn't like the food, so we came to pick out something tastier."
Ah. So that was why she had been standing in front of the kibble display.
"How old is she? Ah—before that, if you tell me what food she's been eating, I can recommend something."
"That would be wonderful."
"And before that, could I ask what the bowl looks like? Cats don't like it when their whiskers touch the sides, you see."
"Oh, is that so?"
"See, Mom. I told you Momo hates her bowl."
Convinced her point had landed, the girl unlocked her phone and held out a photo. A plump little cheese tabby beamed up from the screen.
"Do you want to see this? I got a video of Momo flinging her kibble with her front paw…"
"Honey. You're going to bother the teacher."
"Not at all. This is my job."
"Even so…"
The guardian looked apologetic, but a faint smile had settled on her face all the same.
"I'd heard Mongmong Animal Hospital was kind and wonderful, and it really is."
She muttered it half to herself, and the corners of Jang Sora's mouth curled up in answer. Then she turned her full attention to the video the girl was holding out.
The child had filmed Momo head-on. The moment the cat put her face to the bowl, just as the girl had said, the space between her eyes wrinkled. She might have tried again, but instead the cheese tabby lifted her head, scooped the kibble inside with a front paw, and flung it into the air. The pieces pattered down onto the floor. Momo gave a small, satisfied smile and set about crunching them up where they lay.
Looking at her figure, and looking at the way she eats—she doesn't hate the food. Jang Sora was thinking how fortunate that was when the girl's mother spoke up beside her.
"Um, miss. If we buy Momo food that actually suits her taste, she'll eat it neatly, won't she?"
"I think your daughter is right. Momo doesn't hate the food. She doesn't like the bowl."
"What? I paid thirty dollars for that bowl, you know."
The look on her face said it plainly: it was an expensive bowl, so that couldn't possibly be it. Jang Sora began to explain, her voice gentle and unhurried.