Not Hurting Is Best
Little Grey had come down with orchitis at a young age, and day by day his testicles grew larger. Inflammation was creeping into them, filling them bit by bit.
At first, it didn't hurt. His brothers, though, were terribly envious. At the time, the other two had already been neutered; Little Grey was the only one who hadn't. That alone had been enough to make them jealous — and as his Precious Part swelled bigger and bigger, their envy only swelled with it.
He was proud. And then, one day, it started to hurt.
The three of them took turns telling the others what Little Grey had been like back then.
"It stabbed and ached and everything! Then Dad picked me up, and I went Yipe! and screamed."
"So Dad totally freaked out, scooped him up, and vanished."
"And then a long while later, Dad came home with him, right? And he was groaning and moaning about how much it hurt."
"That's how it went. So I wasn't jealous. I didn't hurt, after all."
"Me too! Not hurting is the best."
Kkotnimi, who had only recently suffered through a bout of anal pain, declared this in a booming voice. But the assembled company — the dogs and the cats — already had relief sitting in their eyes.
Whew, that was lucky, ong. My Precious Part never hurt, ong. Meaning it hadn't hurt before the surgery.
Whoa, that was close. Good thing I got taken in back then.
Wow wow, when I get home I should thank Mom!
Everyone was thinking how fortunate they were to have been operated on before it ever started hurting, when Ttangkhongi opened his mouth.
"Aye, not hurting is the best, it is. Isn't that so, little ones?"
"The elder hyungnim is right, ong! Not hurting is the best, ong!"
Whether one still had a Precious Part or not ceased to matter to any of them. Simply being able to live without pain, at ease, was the best thing of all.
From that day on, Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree had one more thing to keep an eye on. Ordinarily they would check whether their friends seemed themselves by scent or energy — but now they found themselves glancing under bellies as well.
The ladies, of course, were an exception.
"With Lady, you should only greet with your eyes, ong."
"That's right. Staring too closely would be rude."
"Hehe, that's right, yeah?"
Then one day, as they were looking over their friends, a Golden Retriever walked into Mongmong Animal Hospital. Three pairs of eyes curved into crescents at the same time.
"He looks just like Chaltteok, ong."
"He looks exactly like Injeolmi!"
"Hehe, a friend who looks just like our friends!"
The lively retriever brothers at Uriteul Shelter had sprung to mind, so even their greeting voices came out kind.
"Come on in, ong!"
"Hi!"
"Hehe, let's play!"
"……"
The retriever answered with silence. The three of them caught on at once.
He's hurting, ong.
Seems like it.
He's hurting?
They traded the thought with their eyes and went straight into observation. Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi, who had been up on the cat tower, whooshed down to the floor — and a moment later both their eyes went round as saucers.
"Th-they're huge, ong!"
"Whoa…!"
"What's huge?"
"They're the size of fists, ong!"
"Yeah, yeah! Super big!"
At the two cats' words, Sapsaree flopped over, and his eyes swelled as big as marbles.
"I-if they're like that, it hurts. It does, right?"
He said it in a tiny voice meant only for the three of them, but the retriever understood.
"Hnh! It hurts!"
Sapsaree sprang up at once. Then he clip-clip-clipped off at a quick walk, his hips cocked to one side, and the cats came bouncing after him.
The place the three of them arrived at was the treatment room where Lee Jun was. The door, however, was closed. They knew well enough not to interrupt at a time like this, so they sat themselves neatly in front of the door and waited.
A moment later, three pairs of ears pricked — and they bounced to their feet as one, as if they had promised each other they would. Right after that the treatment room door opened and Lee Jun stepped out, and the three of them poured the words over him in a rush.
"Hyungnim-ong! We're in trouble, ong! The new friend is hurting, ong!"
"They're huge."
"Hyungnim-ayo! It hurts! Make it not hurt, please!"
"A friend's hurting?"
"That's right, ong! The friend who looks just like Injeolmi is hurting, ong!"
"Yeah, yeah, Hyungnim, they're huge. It hurts."
"They're so huge! It hurts so much!"
The three of them answered in a hurry and headed for the lobby at a fast walk, the same clip they had used coming to the treatment room. Lee Jun followed them out at a clip of his own. Jang Sora saw him and spoke up.
"Director, Duri's guardian is here because he wants to change his food. And he says Duri's legs have seemed a bit uncomfortable these past few days."
It was Duri and Duri's guardian's first visit to Mongmong Animal Hospital, but Jang Sora spoke as if they were already familiar.
Ah. So that Duri is the one who's hurting. Lee Jun guessed as much from the sight of the three standing beside a Golden Retriever they had never seen before. If he asked straight out whether the dog was in pain, though, the guardian might be startled. He turned to Duri's guardian in a warm voice.
"Ah — has Duri not been eating well lately?"
"Ah, hello, Director."
Duri's guardian recognized Lee Jun at once — his face was known, to a degree, among pet owners — and greeted him, then went on, looking at the Golden Retriever standing beside him.
"Whether it's because the weather's gotten cold, or because his legs hurt, he's been eating a lot less. I was going to change his kibble anyway, and his joint supplements ran out, so I came for both."
"Is that so? And how old is Duri?"
"Five years old."
"I see. Has Duri ever had leg pain before?"
"No, he's been fine until now. But starting a few days ago he seems to be limping, so I'm worried it might be that disease."
"Hip dysplasia?"
Hip dysplasia — also called HD — is a skeletal disorder in which the hip joint that joins the pelvis to the femur is malformed, or deforms into an abnormal structure. It shows up commonly in large breeds, though small dogs can suffer from it as well. Obesity and nutritional imbalance play a part, but for the most part it is heavily influenced by breed-specific genetics.
They say half the Golden Retrievers in America have hip problems, so that about says it all. Of course a guardian would worry about something like that.
"Yes — this guy Duri really loves going on walks. When we go out he usually wanders around for an hour or two, but lately he seems to be struggling. So I thought, what was it? Penn something?"
"PennHIP testing?"
"Ah, yes. That sounds right. Our Duri should get that test, shouldn't he?"
"Let's do a physical exam first. PennHIP testing requires sedation or anesthesia."
"Anesthesia?"
"It's a test you do after relaxing the muscles. Ah, and that test uses a device called a distractor, which our hospital doesn't have. If we end up suspecting it, I'll recommend a hospital that has the equipment."
"Ah, I see."
"Then let's start with the physical exam."
Having said as much to the guardian, Lee Jun spoke to Duri.
"Duri, shall we walk over to the exam room?"
Duri, who did not yet know he could communicate with Lee Jun, only blinked and stood there.
"Sapsaree. Shall we take our friend to the exam room?"
"Okay!"
Sapsaree said to Duri,
"Friend, let's walk. Our Hyungnim will make it stop hurting."
"That's right, ong. Hyungnim will make it stop hurting, ong."
"Let's go. Go show Hyungnim where it hurts."
The cats told Duri to come along as well, and each time they did, Duri's ears pricked. Then, slowly, he started walking.
Step. Step. Step.
From behind, Lee Jun filmed Duri walking on his phone camera. He's barely swaying his hips, and he's not walking with his hind legs together either. The gait looks a bit awkward, but he doesn't seem to be struggling that much. From the walking alone, his hips didn't look like they hurt. Hmm. Since the walking doesn't look like a problem, it could be a tumor, like they said.
Lee Jun figured the three of them had found a large lump on Duri's body. Their sharp eye for observation wasn't a one- or two-day thing. Retrievers were a breed prone to tumors, so a tumor was what came to mind.
Once they were in the exam room, Lee Jun asked before he touched him.
"Duri, where does it hurt the most?"
Silence again. Sapsaree, who had followed them in, answered in his place.
"Hyungnim-ayo! Duri's are so huge! They hurt!"
"Where does it hurt?"
"Here, ong!"
"Here!"
Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi answered in chorus, pointing to the same spot. Four front paws and one snout indicated Duri's belly.
Hmm. I should keep a hernia in mind too.
A tumor, or a hernia. Lee Jun was narrowing the diagnoses when Duri opened his mouth.
"He understands what we're saying?"
"That's right! Hyungnim understands everything! Duri! Speak! If you speak, it won't hurt!"
"Yeah, tell Hyungnim. He'll make it stop hurting."
When Gkamnyangi tidied up Sapsaree's rambling, Duri's pupils wavered. Only for a moment, though — Duri let out a long, heavy sigh and leaned his head against Lee Jun's body.
"Ugh… thank goodness. It hurts. It hurts so much!"
For Duri, whose whole body hurt so badly, the fact that Lee Jun understood his words was not a marvel. Maybe, if he hadn't been in pain, he would have been shocked. Right now it hurt too much for that. The bigger thought was simply that he was lucky he could say it hurt. That was why Duri leaned against Lee Jun with a look of relief, if anything.
"Duri, can the doctor touch you a little, to see where it hurts?"
"Eek! I-it really hurts, though…?"
"Ah, no — I won't touch hard. I'll just touch like this to figure out where it hurts."
Lee Jun gave his back a gentle pat. Only then did Duri nod. Lee Jun felt here and there, and soon his eyes went wide.
"Y-you haven't been neutered?"
It hadn't occurred to him that Duri had never had the surgery.
"Seeing how big they've gotten, it's either orchitis or a testicular tumor…"
He hoped it was orchitis rather than a testicular tumor. Even if it was orchitis, though, he couldn't relax. If the inflammation spread through the whole body and progressed to sepsis, it would become a very critical situation. Still, it doesn't seem to be that far along, so…
A short while later, Lee Jun sat down facing the guardian.
"Hah. It could be testicular cancer?"
The guardian sighed, looking at the photographs Lee Jun had shown him.
"I can't say for certain, but I can't rule it out either. We should hope it's orchitis. And even if it is a tumor, we should hope it isn't malignant."
"……If we'd had him neutered in advance, it would have been fine, right?"
"Yes."
Lee Jun answered without waiting even a second. It was a disease that neutering could have fully prevented.
"The truth is, I was going to have him operated on. But they said this breed is prone to hip disease. So they said it's better to wait until after one year old if possible. So I was going to do it after he turned one, and then someone else said after surgery they can gain weight, and that's also bad for the hips…"
It wasn't wrong, so Lee Jun nodded.
"Hah. They say these guys have such good personalities and are so sweet, but they can get a lot of diseases — and it was true."
At Duri's guardian's string of sighs, the three who had been pressed right up against Duri's side met one another's eyes.
As I thought, we should have gotten rid of the P-Precious Part ahead of time, ong.
Th-that's right. We should have.
The two cats felt a rush of relief that their peanuts had already been snipped off. At the same time, they worried for Duri.
Why didn't they take them off? Poor thing!
Sapsaree, who had been neutered very young, felt sorry for the Duri in front of him.
While the three of them were worrying over Duri, Lee Jun spoke.
"We've only done the physical exam so far, so I'll speak after we run the basic tests. First we'll check with ultrasound, and if it's still suspicious, I'm planning to consider a CT scan as well."
"Yes, yes."
Fortunately, Cha Da-jeong, who looked at the ultrasound, offered the opinion that it was likely inflammation.
"I think so too."
Sharing Cha Da-jeong's reading, Lee Jun booked the surgery for that very evening. Jang Sora had a word for him.
"Director, if you book another surgery, when are you planning to leave work?"
"This'll be quick. And you know. With inflammation, taking it out even an hour sooner is the answer."
At Lee Jun's words, Jang Sora let out a shallow sigh.
"I know. I know that's how they don't hurt, and how they recover well. But I'm saying this because you overwork yourself too much, Director."
"Am I the only one seeing patients late? All the doctors are putting in the hours. Manager, you know how fast I do this surgery."
Lee Jun's hands were fast. Unless it was a special case like a cryptorchid, he could finish a male neuter in three to four minutes. There were even rumors that if he really hurried, it took a little over two. But that was only the physical time. Jang Sora knew just how carefully the man standing in front of her committed himself to every surgery.
"You pour yourself into every surgery, Director, whether it's big or small. That's what I mean."
"I'll go in."
Kim Jaeyeon said it as he walked over, and Lee Jun answered with a smile.
"Dr. Kim, you should go home. It's fine."
"Then let's go in together, Director. That fellow had a lot of pus showing — if we do it together it'll finish faster."
"That's true. Thank you."
"Aigoo, if I weren't here, who'd haul that fella around, huh?"
"Thank you."
Lee Jun was grateful for the juniors who wanted to go in with him even though he had booked the surgery at closing time.
A short while later, the surgery was over, and Duri smiled at the sight of the three who had come to visit him in the recovery room.
"Hyungnims! Thank you."
The shift from blunt informality to careful, grateful speech, and the warmth in his eyes, made it plain how thankful Duri was to the three of them.
"It doesn't hurt?"
Nod, nod. When Duri nodded, the three of them broke into bright smiles.
"Thank goodness, ong, Duri-ong."
"Doesn't hurt, so it feels good, right?"
Woof! Duri gave a small bark and grinned from ear to ear. He felt good too. Not having his Precious Part hurt was wonderful enough on its own — and on top of that, his hyungnims had come to see him and were happy that he didn't hurt.
Watching Duri smile, Sapsaree grinned a big ehehe.
"Ehehe, that's our Hyungnim! Duri doesn't hurt anymore!"
Watching Sapsaree show off about how their favorite Hyungnim, Lee Jun, had made Duri stop hurting, Hoesaegi and Gkamnyangi exchanged a look.
The Precious Part is precious, sure, but not hurting is even better, ong.
Yeah. You've gotta not hurt.
The two who had been in pain themselves gave their shoulders a little shudder, then giggled. Whatever it was — not hurting was the best.
Then the recovery room door opened, and Lee Jun came in beaming. Following his lead, the three of them opened their mouths wide in smiles of their own.
"Hehe, Hyungnim-ong. Duri doesn't hurt, ong."
"Hehehe, Duri's all better."
"Ehehe, Hyungnim-ayo! Duri doesn't hurt! That's why you're smiling?"
"That's part of it! I just heard some really, really good news!"
Lee Jun said it and scooped the three of them into a big hug. They didn't know what the news was, but the three of them in Lee Jun's arms were simply happy. Just being held by Hyungnim made them feel so, so good.
Duri smiled along with them.