Please Let This Chuseok Pass Quietly
Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree sat in a neat little row in front of the living room window, gazing out into the night.
"Did someone come by?"
Cats and birds from the alley were always drifting in and out of Golmokjib. Some stopped by for food or water. Some dropped in to steal a nap. And sometimes a sick animal came seeking Lee Jun's help.
This did not look like any of those visits. If a sick animal had shown up, those three would not have been sitting so still.
Lee Jun walked over at an unhurried pace and sat down beside them.
Hoesaegi, who had been staring out the window, turned to Lee Jun and smiled. He gathered his front paws into a neat little circle.
"It's shaped like this, ong."
"What's round?"
The moment Lee Jun asked, Gkamnyangi and Sapsaree chimed in.
"It looks like Hoesaegi's eyes."
"That's right-dayo. It's exactly like Hoesaegi-hyungnim's eyes-dayo."
What the three of them were looking at was the sky beyond the window. Lee Jun tipped his head back as well.
Just as Gkamnyangi and Sapsaree had said, a round moon was shining brilliantly — as round as Hoesaegi's eyes.
Lee Jun gazed at it and murmured,
"It's already Chuseok."
"Sure is. Only a few days left now."
"Yeah. I hope this Chuseok passes quietly, without anything happening."
"Wouldn't that be just grand."
"Right. But are you really only taking one day off?"
"I'll just do the ancestral rites and come right back."
"Still. Won't your parents be disappointed?"
"Nah, they won't. If I brought the little ones along, maybe. You know what Pa told me?"
"What did he say?"
"He said don't even think about comin' when it's busy like Chuseok. Come when things are quiet, and bring Hyungnim and the little ones with you."
Lee Jun smiled wryly at Go Gi-jin's words.
"Hongseong gets busy during the holidays too, doesn't it?"
"It sure does. That's always when the sick ones start piling up, y'know."
"True. But you're going home for the first time in a while. Help with the grave-tending, walk around the ranch a bit. You'd get to see Taesan too. Take a few extra days."
That was when it happened. All three pairs of ears pricked up at once. Three heads whipped around, and six eyes locked on Lee Jun.
Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle.
"Hyungnim-ong. Are we going to Taesan's, nyaong?"
"Hehe, I want to see Taesan-dayo!"
"I want to see Taesan."
"We're not going. Just this hyungnim here is going."
"Why aren't we going, nyaong? I want to go too, ong."
"I'm going too."
"Me too-dayo."
Meow-meow, woof-woof — they suddenly had so much to say that Go Gi-jin turned to the three of them and asked,
"Y'all hungry? Autumn rolls in and the belly starts rumblin', huh?"
Sparkle.
All three pairs of eyes lit up at once, and they bolted for the kitchen. Go Gi-jin followed after them.
"Ain't you a bit peckish too, Hyungnim? We oughta eat somethin'."
"How long has it even been since we ate?"
"It's been three whole hours. What do y'all wanna eat?"
"Just give them one small treat each."
"Got it."
Lee Jun watched the four of them head for the kitchen and thought, When I get to work tomorrow, I should have Manager Jang send out the Chuseok precaution texts to all the guardians.
The next day, Lee Jun came in and did exactly as he had planned, giving Jang Sora her instructions.
"Manager Jang. You have that list of Chuseok precautions we put together, right? Please make copies and give them to the guardians. And send out the text alerts as well."
"I've already made the copies."
Jang Sora pointed to a thick stack sitting under the reception desk.
"That's our Manager Jang for you. Then I'll leave the texts to you as well."
Lee Jun brought it up during the staff meeting too, reminding everyone to prepare for the emergencies Chuseok always seemed to invite.
"You all know this already, but you're aware that pancreatitis cases spike once Chuseok is over, right?"
The holidays, when everyone overate rich, fatty food, were no exception for the animals. Even households that normally never shared table scraps with their pets had a way of slipping during the festivities, for one reason or another. And holiday food was, without exception, greasy and delicious. Jeon pancakes, galbi-jjim, songpyeon rice cakes, persimmons, pears, grapes, apples, chestnuts — there wasn't a dish on the table that didn't taste wonderful. Give a dog "just one bite" after not seeing him for so long, and those bites added up fast. In a house where the whole extended family had gathered, you could hardly chase everyone around telling them not to feed the dog. And even if nobody offered anything, the dog was perfectly capable of helping himself.
"Right. I really hope this year passes quietly."
The staff, who had been nodding along, began chiming in one after another, starting with Cha Da-jeong.
"Exactly. The fatty food is a problem, but I'd be happy if they just didn't come in having eaten grapes."
"Everyone knows grapes are a dangerous toxin, so I don't understand why we still get cases every year."
"I think it's because people believe grapes are good for you. They eat some themselves and then absentmindedly share."
"That could be it. And people have been eating a lot of Shine Muscats lately, so that might be making it worse."
At that, Lee Jun tilted his head.
"What does that have to do with it? Those are grapes too. They'd be careful with those, wouldn't they?"
"There are also people who don't even think of the raisins in bread as grapes, and absentmindedly feed their dogs raisin bread."
"We do get those from time to time. And with something like galbi-jjim, they know they're not supposed to give it to dogs because it's salty. What they don't realize is that it's not just the salt — there's garlic and onion in it too."
Cha Da-jeong pursed her lips as she said it, then went on.
"The kids suffer so much because of that. I've even treated a patient who got anemia from eating sundae, the blood sausage. We transfused the poor thing several times, but..."
Judging by her face, the outcome had not been a good one. Lee Jun saw the unhappiness in her expression and picked up where she had left off.
"That's why we need to put in a little extra effort. The guardians already know, but please tell them one more time."
"Yes."
"And I hope nothing happens — but just in case, I want emergency protocols locked down, and I want the endoscope kept ready at all times. Ah, and yesterday was Sunday, so if any patients went along for grave-tending, make sure you check them thoroughly for ticks."
"Understood."
"And, well. Since the director brought up grave-tendin', let me add a word."
Every pair of eyes in the meeting turned to Go Gi-jin.
"It ain't nothin' else, just — you go out in the fields these days and there's bees everywhere. Y'all know how vicious the bees have gotten lately, right?"
Everyone blinked at him. Bees were bees. That was the look on their faces.
"See, bee spawnin' season is August through September, so they're real touchy around then."
A collective ah went up from the staff.
"So that's why they get more aggressive around now?"
"That's right. Even in our Hongseong, this time of year we get quite a few folks bringin' in dogs with faces swollen up this big. Anyway, you go out in the fields before October, you gotta be careful. We get snakebites too, y'know."
"All right. As Dr. Go said, let's keep an eye out for patients coming in with bee stings. As for snakes... well. Any animal bitten by a snake wouldn't make it all the way here anyway."
And with that, the meeting ended.
They were heading back to their stations when Lee Jun heard the three of them calling for him.
"Hyungnim-ong, it's Aji, ong."
"Hehehe, Aji's here-dayo!"
"Aji's here! Aji!"
Aji, the black cocker spaniel who had once been so abused she was skin and bones and painfully timid, was living a happy life now with a wonderful guardian. The three of them were overjoyed that she had come. Lee Jun smiled at the excitement in their voices.
They must be happy to see Aji after so long. But is it already her vaccination day?
He was still turning that over as he walked toward the lobby when all three of them burst out at once, agitated.
"H-Hyungnim-ong, Aji's crying, ong."
"Aji's hurting-dayo. Why is she hurting-dayo?"
"That kid looks like she's in a lot of pain."
Voices that had been bright with delight only a moment ago had gone uneasy. Lee Jun felt the same way. Where does it hurt?
He was already walking quickly toward the door when Gong Jung-ah and her manager came striding up outside, fast. Through the glass, Gong Jung-ah's face looked frantic.
Lee Jun sprinted straight outside. The door chime jangled wildly.
He gathered Aji into his arms and asked Gong Jung-ah,
"Aji — was she stung by a bee?"
"D-Doctor, our Aji got st-stung by a—"
Gong Jung-ah had opened her mouth at the same moment he had, and then she stopped.
Aji's face was a little swollen, but not so much that you would notice it at a glance. And she wasn't a white dog — she was black. If her manager hadn't mentioned that there were bees around, Gong Jung-ah might still not have known Aji had been stung at all. And yet he had seen it immediately. Gong Jung-ah stared at him, startled.
"Yes, yes, Director. That seems to be it. This morning she was running around on a mountain in Yangpyeong when she suddenly screamed, and then she was like this."
"Understood."
Lee Jun carried Aji inside and called out,
"Bee sting!"
By the time he stepped into the treatment room, everything was already prepared. Yeo Un-hyeok, who had been standing by, spoke first.
"We'll start with the physical examination."
"Let's check the paws and the cheeks first. They always stick their noses in first."
Lee Jun's hands were already moving.
"The stinger's still in."
He found the stinger buried in Aji's cheek in an instant. Yeo Un-hyeok's face went blank with confusion. His hands, however, did not slow down. He plucked the stinger out with tweezers and was checking that it had come out whole, unbroken, when Lee Jun spoke again.
"There's one here too. And here."
The reason he could find all three so quickly was that Aji had told him where they were. Yeo Un-hyeok, who had no idea, could only marvel as he pulled the stingers free.
Our director is seriously amazing. How does he know instantly like that? Does he have X-ray vision in his eyes or something?
The thought was ridiculous, and he knew it.
"I don't think there are any more, but let's check thoroughly just in case."
The two of them searched Aji's body with care, then set a stethoscope to her chest, took her temperature, and measured her blood pressure. After giving her an antihistamine injection, Lee Jun studied her again and said to Yeo Un-hyeok,
"Redness is coming up on her abdomen. I think we'd better get her on fluids..."
"Huh? When did this appear?"
"It's coming up right now, I think. Dr. Yeo, prep another injection and get the fluids ready. Run blood work first."
"Understood."
"I'll go speak with her guardian."
Lee Jun stepped back out to Gong Jung-ah, who was waiting.
"D-Doctor, is our Aji... okay?"
"I can tell you that so far, she's all right. When a dog is stung by a bee, the allergic reaction usually appears within ten minutes to an hour."
"Th-then..."
"Her breathing looks fine, so it doesn't seem like her airway is swelling. Her mucous membranes aren't pale, and her blood pressure and respiratory rate are both normal."
"Hah... thank goodness."
Gong Jung-ah let out a long breath of relief. Lee Jun went on.
"Aji appears to have been stung three times."
"Th-three times?"
"That's why I think we should keep her under close watch for a while. It's rare, but shock can set in later, and she may pass blood in her urine."
"I-is that so? Then what do we do, Doctor?"
"A rash is starting to come up on her body, so we're preparing IV fluids now. I think it would be best to get plenty of fluids into her and stabilize her before you take her home..."
Gong Jung-ah was still processing that when Jang Sora hurried over and whispered to Lee Jun.
"Director — they say Aji might be going into shock."
Lee Jun left the waiting area in Jang Sora's hands and went straight into the treatment room.
Aji already had a line in. Her face was swelling steadily. Thanks to the injection they had given her only minutes before, though, her breathing did not look too labored.
"Hah. It's a good thing you brought her in so quickly."
"It would have been much better if she hadn't been stung at all."
He said it, but he understood how Gong Jung-ah felt. She's a busy woman, and she still tries to take Aji everywhere with her.
Gong Jung-ah had never been able to bear the thought of Aji suffering indoors the way she once had, so she took her out whenever she could. To the park. To the beach. To the mountains. And Lee Jun knew all of this through Aji — not because Aji told him directly, but because she told the three of them. Every time she came to the animal hospital, she would beam and brag about everywhere she had been.
Aji was admitted to Mongmong Animal Hospital that day.
"Aji, listen to the doctors, okay? I'll be here first thing tomorrow morning."
Gong Jung-ah spoke with worry written all over her face, but Aji swept her short tail back and forth and answered with a bright little woof, smiling wide.
Hehe. I get to sleep with the oppas for the first time in a while...
Aji had never forgotten the night Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi had pressed themselves against her sides and shared their warmth.
That evening, the three of them spoke to Lee Jun.
"Hyungnim-ong, we're staying with Aji, ong."
"That's right. We'll protect Aji."
"I'll stay with little sister Aji-dayo. Aji's face is all big, but she's weak-dayo."
Sapsaree had learned that a big face did not mean you were strong, and he said it worriedly, looking at Aji's swollen cheeks.
"That's right. Aji's face is big, but she's weak, ong."
"We have to stay beside her."
"All right, then. Stay here with Strong Hyungnim tonight."
Lee Jun said it, and then he clocked out and headed back to Golmokjib. He had just reached the crosswalk when the red light flipped to green.
Please. Let this year pass without anything happening.
If only the lights would stay green, like that one. He thought it as he crossed the street.
Meanwhile, Go Gi-jin, who had taken overnight duty at the animal hospital, was thinking the same thing.
"Please, this year really oughta pass without any trouble. That'd be better for the little ones, and easier on Hyungnim and all the doctors too..."
That was when the hospital phone rang. The staff member at reception was in the middle of a meal, so Go Gi-jin, standing right beside it, picked up.
A frantic call at this hour was clearly not good news, and the worry had been plain in Go Gi-jin's voice. He was just setting the receiver down when the bell on the hospital door shivered, and a middle-aged woman walked in carrying a Shih Tzu.
The Shih Tzu's name was Gamja — the living witness to the terrifying Castor Oil Meal Fertilizer incident.
"Welcome, ma'am~! Headin' down to the countryside today?"
Gamja was scheduled to stay at Mongmong Animal Hospital from the following day through the end of the Chuseok holiday. Go Gi-jin knew that, which was why he asked.
"No, we're going tomorrow. But this one — our Gamja threw up, so I brought him in."
"Gamja threw up?"
"Yes. I went out, and when I came back he'd thrown up three times."
"Aigoo, why'd that happen? Gamja, where does it hurt, huh?"
Go Gi-jin took Gamja into his arms, fussing over him, and the guardian let out a deep sigh.
"I think our Gamja ate all the dried squid in my son's room."