You Won't Hurt Anymore
"This is our Mongmong Animal Hospital-ong."
"You guys aren't going to hurt anymore."
"That's right-ayo. Yom-yom-i's friends won't hurt anymore-ayo."
The three of them looked almost radiant as they told the squirrels that now that they had come to Mongmong Animal Hospital, Woof Hyungnim would make them well — and then the hurting would stop. Every last one of them believed in Lee Jun without a single crack of doubt.
These kids, honestly.
Lee Jun found them so endearing he couldn't help a small smile, then set about moving the squirrels to the inpatient ward. Yoo Mu-hwan and Kim Jaeyeon, who were on night duty, came with him. Cha Da-jeong pitched in as well.
"By the way, Dr. Cha, why didn't you go home?"
"I wanted to do the readings."
She had stayed so that the moment the X-rays and ultrasounds were done, she could interpret them.
"You could've just done that when you came in tomorrow."
"They've been in pain this whole time. The sooner we can treat them, even a little, the better, right?"
"That's true. Thanks."
"It's nothing."
The room they arrived at was the second-floor inpatient ward. The space that had once been a cafeteria and break room had been moved up to the third floor, and Lee Jun had turned the vacancy into inpatient rooms — the kind where a guardian could stay overnight with their animal.
For the moment the ward stood empty, and the squirrels were brought in. Jang Sora had already taken Lee Jun's call and prepared everything down to the last detail.
"Oh, you laid the bedding out nicely. Cushions too. Wait — you even found pouches?"
Lee Jun stared at the Hiding Cubby pouches, the kind made for creatures as small as hedgehogs, and blinked in surprise. Mongmong Animal Hospital did have pouches, but only a single one, kept more for appearances than anything. The ones in front of him numbered ten.
"Director Kwon from Life Love brought them over."
"Senior Kwon did?"
"Yes. Dr. Choi was going to deliver them, but apparently he had a ferret tumor-removal surgery."
"Ah, of course. So he packed up everything they had over there. I'll have to call him in a bit. Anyway, this room looks wonderful. You even set out the water bottles properly."
"Manager Jang and the staff hauled everything up here as fast as they could."
Judging by the look on Yoo Mu-hwan's face as he said it, the staff had decorated the room gladly.
"I'm grateful."
"Well. They said they wanted to wait until you arrived, so I chased them all out."
"Good. Once the work's done, they should rest."
While Lee Jun talked with the doctors, the squirrels climbed out of the travel kennels and settled into spots that pleased them. The ones who could not move, Lee Jun carried himself — to wherever each of them wanted to be.
A few asked for a pouch or a cushion, but most chose to stay together on the wide blanket spread across the floor. The blanket itself had been laid over a thick mat, so it was wonderfully soft. That was Jang Sora's thoughtfulness: she knew perfectly well that wild animals, too, wanted a nest that was safe and cozy and plush.
Once every squirrel had found its place, they burst into a bright, cheerful chorus of chitters. It was their way of saying thank you to Lee Jun.
"Thanks for telling me you're comfortable. Rest for a bit, then."
Lee Jun called the three over.
"I need you to show them where to drink and where to go to the bathroom. And if one of the friends who's lying down needs to pee, you come tell me."
"Got it-ong."
"Leave it to me."
"Hyungnim-ayo! I'll watch over the friends real good-ayo."
Having entrusted the squirrels to the three of them, Lee Jun stepped outside and called Kwon Min-jun, the director of Life Love Animal Medical Center.
It was well past eleven at night, but he knew the man would not be asleep. Sure enough, the line barely had time to ring before a voice came through.
"Lee Jun. You worked hard."
"Hard work, nothing. I'm just sorry I couldn't rescue more of them."
He let the truth of it show.
"I figured you'd feel that way. Next time I'll go too. I was just too swamped today."
"I'd be grateful if you would. And thank you for today. You sent over so much bedding, so many water bottles and pouches."
"We're lucky our hospital even had that much. I'll be by tomorrow, and I'll send more then."
Vendors who handled supplies and feed typically visited an animal hospital about once a week. What he meant was that the exotic-animal supplier would be delivering to Life Love Animal Medical Center the next day.
"Ah — then would you ask that owner to stop by our hospital too?"
"Want me to?"
"Yes, please."
"All right, then. Anyway, how are the kids? As it happens, Dr. Choi already left to head over. He should be there soon."
"Woo-jin is?"
"That's right. You said it wasn't just one or two squirrels, didn't you? Choi will be a real help. I told him not to come in here tomorrow — stay there and treat those kids."
Ah, of course!
Lee Jun had been planning, the moment he hung up with Senior Kwon, to send an SOS to Choi Woo-jin, who had far more experience treating exotic animals than he did. And the man was already on his way.
He was grateful to Choi Woo-jin. He was grateful to Senior Kwon Min-jun too.
"Thank you. I want to tell you not to say that, that we shouldn't be imposing on Life Love — but the situation isn't one that lets me."
"Hahaha. Of course you should. This isn't just your problem alone. I'll try to swing by tomorrow if I can find the time. Anyway, you worked hard. And keep working hard. Even if I told you to go home and rest, you wouldn't."
"Thank you. Please get some rest."
"Yeah."
The instant Lee Jun hung up, another call came in. Choi Woo-jin.
At night the hospital's front door was locked. There was an emergency bell beside it, and whoever was on duty inside would open the door when it rang. Choi Woo-jin called Lee Jun instead of pressing that bell — in case the sound startled the animals already admitted.
"You here?"
"Huh? How'd you know? The kids aren't even out here."
Meaning the three of them were not sitting in front of the glass door. If they had been, they would already have told Lee Jun that Choi Woo-jin had arrived.
"I was just on the phone with Senior Kwon. He said you were on your way. I'll open up — hang on."
The first thing out of Lee Jun's mouth when he greeted Choi Woo-jin was thank you.
"Thanks. I heard you had a surgery. You must be exhausted."
"That's not work compared to what you've been through. How are the kids?"
Choi Woo-jin came in carrying a box. It would be full of the medications and equipment you needed when you treated exotic animals.
"Every last one of them is dehydrated and malnourished, what else."
Choi Woo-jin nodded. He had expected as much.
"Three of them are critical — those need IVs and treatment right away. Five look like they have skeletal problems. And one's jaundiced. Ah — I mean that's just from what I could see with my own eyes. We'll know the details once we actually run the tests."
Lee Jun's face was not good when he mentioned Yom-yom-i.
"Where's Suho? Did he leave?"
"Yeah. He kept saying he wouldn't go, so I made him. He installed a camera in the kids' ward before he left, though."
"That guy. I bet he won't even sleep once he gets home. He recorded footage today, right? He's going to edit it."
"That's what I think too."
Lee Jun answered thinking of Kwak Suho, who had dug in his heels and insisted he would stay and help somehow. That man was almost certainly home by now, burning through the footage, hoping his subscribers would watch and understand just how terrifying a forest fire really was.
Before they knew it, the two of them were standing in front of the inpatient room the squirrels had claimed as their own.
"You know, right? They pick up on our feelings like they've got a sixth sense."
"Of course I know. I won't look shocked, and I won't even sigh."
"Thanks. Give me a second, then."
Lee Jun meant to go in first and tell them about Choi Woo-jin. He opened the ward door with that in mind — and Yom-yom-i beamed up at him.
"Hyungnims' Hyungnim! Thank you. Your friend came to make our friends not hurt, didn't he?"
Those glossy black eyes were shining. Yom-yom-i's whole face was nothing but hope.
"Th-that's right. You heard?"
"I told them-ong."
"Well done."
Lee Jun looked at Hoesaegi, who had answered with such pride, and his expression went fond. It was the slightest shift in his face, but Hoesaegi caught it at once. He lifted his chin and preened.
This is exactly why I have to watch myself around these kids.
Thinking that, Lee Jun called Choi Woo-jin in.
Choi Woo-jin was a veteran veterinarian in his own right. A squirrel who could barely lift its head. A squirrel whose burns were still weeping. A squirrel that could move all four limbs but had wasted so thin the bones showed through. Every squirrel in the room looked like it was in pain. They would be, in fact.
Choi Woo-jin smiled at them anyway.
"Kids, I'm here! To make sure you don't hurt anymore. So just believe in me!"
He sure had a talent for talking like a cult leader. And in front of the squirrels, no less. But Choi Woo-jin was not the least bit embarrassed, and he did not so much as frown at the sight of the hurting little ones. He had been talking to his companion parrot, Cha-cha, since he was a boy. Speaking to animals was simply what he did.
"We believe in you!"
"Please make us not hurt!"
"Ooh! Hyungnims' Hyungnim's friend!"
Lee Jun's eyes went wide at the squirrels' passionate welcome. He found himself wondering if this was why the man was called a master of exotic animal medicine.
Squirrels who trusted Lee Jun, and who believed in Choi Woo-jin as if they were holding him up on their shoulders.
After that, the examinations moved fast.
A squirrel's legs are terribly thin. The veins are fine and hidden, which makes drawing blood a trial. For Lee Jun and Choi Woo-jin, that was not a problem. The two of them finished the blood draws in no time.
Choi Woo-jin was impressed.
"I figured we'd only manage to draw from maybe five of them, but we got way more than I expected."
"Did we?"
"We did! All right — now we do X-rays and have a look with the sono."
They ran X-rays and ultrasounds on every squirrel, not a single one skipped. The ones who had finished their exams were already resting back in the ward.
Yom-yom-i spoke up with a proud little face.
"Hehe. I got poked-poked right here too, just like the Hyungnims."
Hearing that he had had blood drawn and gotten a shot, Hoesaegi curled the corner of his mouth.
"That's right-ong. Yom-yom-i's won't hurt there much longer-ong."
Hoesaegi pointed at Yom-yom-i's paw and smiled.
"That's right. You're going to be bursting with energy now."
Gkamnyangi declared the shot's effect with total confidence.
"Hehe. Yom-yom-i-ayo."
Sapsaree just looked at Yom-yom-i and smiled, picturing him so full of strength he was practically bouncing.
Choi Woo-jin brought the last squirrel of the exams back to the ward and spoke to all of them.
"That must have hurt. You all did so well."
"Yes! The Hyungnims told us to stay still. So it didn't hurt. Hehehe."
"Outstanding! I know you'll keep taking your shots like champs. Why? Because I believe in you."
Lee Jun's face burned at Choi Woo-jin's shameless speech. The squirrels, though, answered at the top of their lungs, their eyes shining bright.
Chip-chip! Chip-chip-chip!
Choi Woo-jin answered them in kind.
"Chip-chirook chip-chip chip-chip-chirook!"
That was when the squirrels grew even more passionate.
Chip-chip chip-chip-chik chit-chik chip-chip!
Listening to those bright sounds that were almost a song, Lee Jun stepped out of the ward, looked at Choi Woo-jin, and shook his head.
"I cannot figure you out."
Meaning he could not figure out why the squirrels had answered that bizarre noise of Choi Woo-jin's. The moment Choi Woo-jin had made those unearthly sounds, the squirrels had all cried out together, We'll be good!
Lee Jun stared at him, fascinated.
"Who cares whether they understand or not? As long as they trust me while they're being treated, that's enough. Right?"
"Yeah. That's right. That's how you get better results."
I can understand their speech, so it's not that strange you'd be communicating with squirrels either.
"Let's go. The test results should be out by now."
"Yeah. I really hope the treatments are straightforward."
Meaning he hoped there were no critically severe patients among them. A tautness settled over both their faces as they headed into the diagnostics room.
And one thing more.
Please, Yom-yom-i. Don't let it be too bad.
Even if it was, he would treat him and save him. That much was certain.
Lee Jun asked Cha Da-jeong, who was printing out the result sheets.
"How are the kids? Ah. Did you happen to look at Yom-yom-i's results?"
When he asked Cha Da-jeong about Yom-yom-i's condition, Lee Jun's fist tightened, just slightly.