Aeoohong!
Aeoohong!
Nyaooho~!
More than a hundred cats filled the phone screen, meowing like a flock of twittering birds, their rumps swaying in time.
The scene cut.
A stretch of blue sky, lush green trees, and beneath them cats sprawled across a wooden platform. A few poked their heads out of holes that looked like oversized birdhouses, peering at the world outside.
It was a quiet afternoon at Cat Town in Evergreen Park, the cats at rest.
And the clip that followed was this: two cats wrapping themselves tightly around a skinny, withered black dog.
A hand drifted gently into the frame. The way it stroked the two cats and the dog was full of unmistakable affection.
The hand belonged to Cha Da-jeong.
Her fingers brushed over the phone, and she thought, I'm truly a happy person.
She was living proof that you could turn what you loved into a career — the success story of passion meeting profession.
Passion meeting profession meant making the thing you loved your job. Hers was veterinary medicine. Veterinary radiology, to be precise. From the X-ray machines every animal hospital claimed to have, to ultrasound, CT, and even MRI, her work was capturing images and reading them.
So did she enjoy that work?
Of course she did. That was why she had chosen the specialty.
But that was not why she was congratulating herself as someone who had successfully turned passion into a profession. The reason she held her head so high was that she got to live in the same space as the stars of those videos she had watched until they wore thin.
Hehe. I should hurry.
The trip from her house to Mongmong Animal Hospital took forty to fifty minutes. She never felt tired. The entire subway ride, she watched her favorite videos. From the park cats' bouncy little dances to the Cat Town footage, to Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi's heroic exploits, and the clips where Sapsaree joined in — the time melted away.
Passing through the subway turnstile, Cha Da-jeong thought, When I was working part-time at Oppa's hospital, the commute felt endless. Why does this one go by so fast?
Distance-wise, her brother's animal hospital had actually been closer. Back then, just getting to work had been enough to drain her dry. Now she didn't find it hard at all. If anything, the closer she got to Mongmong Animal Hospital, the faster her feet moved.
I wonder what the kids will be playing today.
Hoesaegi, who always looked at her with those sparkling golden eyes and that little grin, was just too adorable. Gkamnyangi, poking out his small black head and asking to be petted, was so, so cute. And Sapsaree, who would sidle up in that big body of his and rub against her in greeting — she loved that too.
They're all so cute.
Cha Da-jeong stepped into Mongmong Animal Hospital with a glad heart.
Ding-a-ling.
A clear bell chimed her welcome. It felt as if the sound itself were speaking to the state of her heart, and even the bell made her happy.
"Good morning, everyone. Have you had breakfast?"
Cha Da-jeong greeted the two doctors in front of her, Yoo Mu-hwan and Yeo Un-hyeok.
"Dr. Cha, welcome."
"You're early again today."
Seniors, and colleagues. Cha Da-jeong smiled as she answered.
"Of course. Has the director come in yet?"
She looked around as she asked. Yoo Mu-hwan knew perfectly well she was not asking about Lee Jun — she was asking whether Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree had arrived. He smiled as he answered.
"They're already here. They're probably in the inpatient ward."
At that, the corners of Cha Da-jeong's mouth curled up.
"He really does come in so early."
With that, she headed up to the second floor. There was a break room up there, and her own office, and the inpatient ward besides — she would get to see the three of them while she was at it.
Sure enough, the moment she reached the second floor, her mouth fell open. The three of them were just coming out of the dogs' inpatient room.
"Oh my. Did you sleep well, kids? Have you had breakfast?"
"Aeohohong!"
"Nyaoho."
"Mrr-ruff."
The three of them padded over, mumbling softly. And just as she had expected — Hoesaegi smiled brightly, his golden eyes sparkling. Gkamnyangi offered her his small head. Sapsaree came up, rubbed his body against her, and grinned.
Cha Da-jeong stroked Gkamnyangi's head and Hoesaegi's back as she spoke.
"Aww, look at you. You all got even more handsome today."
She said it calling each of their names, one by one.
"Hoesaegi got even more handsome, Gkamnyangi looks dashing, and Sapsaree is handsome and majestic."
As she praised them one at a time, their eyes curved even more. They were pleased. Watching them, Cha Da-jeong's own mouth curled into a smile.
How does the director know even this? How much has he studied animal psychology?
At first, Cha Da-jeong had thrown the word "cute" at them constantly. Back then, the kids had not been this warm with her. They had not seemed to dislike her, but they had looked dissatisfied.
When the director told me they prefer being called handsome and good-looking over cute, I thought he was joking...
And that was not all. He had said they liked being praised one by one more than being lumped together.
He's right, of course — I just never thought that far.
Cha Da-jeong had praised the three of them exactly as Lee Jun had told her to, and now she was showered in their love.
I'm so lucky. I get to see these little darlings every single day.
The doctors she worked with were wonderful people too, of course. Especially Director Lee — that goes without saying. Becoming colleagues with people like that was truly fortunate. But compared to getting to see the three in front of her every day...
Cha Da-jeong watched the three of them greet her and then pad off toward the cat inpatient ward, a contented smile on her face.
"Alright. I've soaked up plenty of their happiness. Time for me to get to work."
The clock read 8:10. There was still quite a while before the morning meeting.
"I'll grab a coffee and check my email."
She started every day by reading the radiographic images that came in by mail. But the first thing she always looked at were the normal radiographs and scans. She clicked the file labeled Normal.
Would someone who had earned both a master's and a doctorate in veterinary radiology need to look at these because she did not know what normal looked like?
She would not. You have to know normal to find abnormal — that was the early education her older brother, Cha Wuk, had drilled into her since her undergraduate days, roasting her over it without mercy.
She had been a first-year veterinary student. Not even the professional program — pre-vet, year one. Cha Wuk had thrown a thick, heavy dog anatomy atlas at her, along with a single X-ray, and told her to draw it exactly like the photograph. Without missing a single hole.
While her friends drank and partied to their hearts' content, she had to sit there crying and drawing. Pictures of bones. Memorizing every last bone name was the baseline.
She had truly, desperately not wanted to do it. But she could not bring herself to refuse. Even if she had, he was the kind of person who would have made her do it one way or another.
And there was one more thing. The rewards for listening were enormous. A man who wielded the stick and the carrot with perfect skill — that man was Cha Wuk. Thanks to him, she had been able to enjoy a comfortable college life, at least financially.
That damn capitalism, I swear...
In the end, what made her study was not Cha Wuk's insufferable personality. It was her well-padded bank account.
Anyway, thanks to her pain-in-the-ass older brother, she had already mastered anatomy — that devil's valley everyone else wailed about — and she breezed through the first year of the professional program. And now people from all over the country were sending her radiographs and scans, asking for her advice.
Coffee in hand, she sat down and looked at the normal images first. About ten minutes later, she checked her email.
"Quite a few came in."
Cha Da-jeong reviewed the photographs and scans sent from all over, attaching her advice as she went.
That was when a chorus of meows rose from her office. The sound was coming from her phone — the exact same ringtone as Go Gi-jin's. She turned toward it, frowning, and picked it up.
"Yeah, what?"
Cha Wuk:"Hey. Read a radiograph for me."
Cha Da-jeong:"What is it?"
Cha Wuk:"Anyway. Our Dr. Lee is off today."
Cha Da-jeong:"Got it. Send it over."
Cha Wuk:"Okay."
He meant Dr. Lee Jae-seok, head of radiology at Daehan Animal Medical Center. The siblings' call ended cleanly, without anyone asking how the other was doing.
An email arrived shortly after. Cha Da-jeong clicked it open and examined the files — photographs and scans. The moment she finished looking at the materials, she called back.
Cha Wuk:"Yeah. So?"
Cha Da-jeong:"Perforation. Two sites. You didn't call because you didn't know that. There are foreign bodies in two places. You'll need to confirm those and remove them too."
Cha Wuk:"As I thought. Two sites."
Cha Da-jeong:"Ten millimeters from the pylorus. There's probably vinyl or something stuck there. That's why it might not have shown well."
Cha Wuk:"Just as I thought. It was similar to that image Dr. Jin surprised us with before."
Cha Da-jeong:"Has Dr. Jin not come back yet? Well — if Dr. Jin were there, you wouldn't be asking me."
Cha Wuk:"Isn't that obvious?"
Cha Da-jeong:"Even if it's true... you really don't know how to give a compliment."
Cha Wuk:"Ahem. Anyway. Thanks."
Cha Da-jeong:"What's this? Don't tell me you're saying that because you want pictures of our cuties."
Cha Wuk:"Wouldn't mind if you sent some."
And with that, the call ended. Cha Da-jeong looked at the phone, the call already disconnected, and smiled.
"Our dear oppa... he's changed. Even saying thank you."
He had probably said it because he wanted pictures of the trio, but Cha Da-jeong was happy all the same.
"I'm in a good mood, so I'll send extra."
She forwarded several of the precious videos saved on her phone to Cha Wuk, then stood up. The morning meeting was about to start.
Cha Da-jeong left her office and was heading toward the meeting room — which doubled as the break room — when a notification chimed on her phone. Not from Cha Wuk. A message from Yoo Daehyun.
Just a few lines — and even that was enough to feel how grateful Yoo Daehyun was.
"Honestly, he's such a good oppa. Daehan Animal Hospital hasn't gone under thanks to this oppa."
"Daehan Animal Hospital going under?"
She turned around to find Lee Jun walking toward her.
"Director!"
"Is something going on at Daehan?"
"No, it's not that... Daehyun oppa contacted me to say thanks, that's all."
Lee Jun nodded at her words.
"Our Dr. Cha's readings are the best in the industry."
He said it with a proud face. Cha Da-jeong's cheeks flushed a little.
"Ah — thank you."
"It's just the truth. And I'm so grateful that a doctor like you works at our hospital."
Every word was so warm. She could feel the gratitude in it, and her own heart warmed in answer. Lee Jun asked her then,
"Daehan's radiology department is solid, but they must have tried to scout you, no?"
"Please. I'd rather stay at the university than work there. Under my oppa..."
Cha Da-jeong made a face of pure disgust, then went on.
"You already know, Director..."
"Why? He's rational, isn't he?"
"Rational, my foot. He's the type who grills people relentlessly. I like our hospital."
She answered looking back at Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree, who were toddling along behind them, a bright smile on her face.
"Well, I'm grateful."
Lee Jun smiled contentedly as he looked at Cha Da-jeong, thinking how lucky they were to have talent like hers working at their hospital. No matter how well you operated, diagnosis came first. You had to diagnose well to operate well.
With that thought, Lee Jun stepped into the break room. They started with greetings and went through the day's schedule. Brief symptoms were written next to each appointment. They read through them one by one, and in the middle of the meeting Lee Jun recited the seventh case.
"Cocker Spaniel, CM, six years old — hasn't been sleeping well for over a month? Breathing is also abnormal?"
At that, Yoo Mu-hwan spoke up.
"I took the call. They said the dog can't sleep properly at night, and the breathing is a bit off. We decided to check the bronchi and the heart."
"TC or HD is looking likely. Ah — and just in case, don't forget the HW test either."
Watch for tracheal collapse or heart disease, and check for heartworm infection as well. Yoo Mu-hwan nodded.
"Understood."
Cha Da-jeong listened to the two of them and started planning how she would take the X-rays of a Cocker Spaniel with possible bronchial or cardiac trouble.