New Year Wishes and a Parrot Named Choroki

"That's true. Anyway — I'm late saying it, but Jun, Suho. Both of you, stay healthy this year. No trouble, no accidents. And may everything you take on go well."

"I'm late too, but… Woo-jin, Suho! All the luck in the world. Stay healthy."

"Right. You two stay healthy too, and get everything you want. Ah — and if we're talking about what we want, it's our dream, isn't it? Building the Dream Animal Hospital. I'd be happy if we could at least break ground this year."

What he meant was that he hoped they could at least buy the land to put a building on. At Kwak Suho's words, both Lee Jun and Choi Woo-jin felt their mouths soften into smiles.

"Just thinking about it is a rush."

"Same here."

"Which is exactly why you need to take your health seriously, Jun. If you go down, our dream — the Dream — comes crashing down. Got it?"

"He's right. For the sake of our dream, you need to start looking after yourself."

Choi Woo-jin and Kwak Suho raised their voices, dressing Lee Jun down in the guise of New Year's greetings.

"Okay, okay. I hear you. You two look after yourselves too. Eat properly."

"You're the only one who needs to worry about that."

"I got it. I got it."

"Don't just say it!"

"While we're on the subject, let's eat. Jun, is there anything in the kitchen?"

"There should be. Chef Joo always leaves food out before she clocks out. I wanted a cup of coffee anyway — let's go."

"Alright."

The moment Kwak Suho and Choi Woo-jin stepped out of the director's office, their eyes went wide. Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree were sitting just outside the door, gazes bright and alert. And they weren't alone — Jjaek and One-eye were sitting there too.

"I don't think I've ever seen Jjaek and One-eye here before."

"Me neither. They're usually at the 2nd Floor Cat Playground, or sitting on that ramp over there."

Choi Woo-jin looked over the five of them, still startled, and spoke to the animals.

"Aigoo, look at you sweet things. You were sitting out here because you were worried about the director, weren't you?"

His gaze was so fond it could have dripped honey. Then he whipped his head around toward Lee Jun.

"You see how worried they've been, right? So take better care of yourself from now on."

"I know. Let's go."

Having answered Choi Woo-jin, Lee Jun turned to the five of them.

"Kids, we're heading to the cafeteria. We'll be right back."

At the mention of the cafeteria, three faces — no, five — broke into wide grins.

"Eat lots and lots, Hyung-nim-ong."

"Eat a lot, Hyung-ah!"

"Eat lots, okay? That means you're not hurting!"

Eating a lot was proof you weren't in pain, after all.

The three men headed up to the cafeteria, and the five animals trotted after them, grinning the whole way — but only as far as the entrance. Then they took up their posts in front of the door, just as they had before. They were still afraid Lee Jun might fall ill again.

The cafeteria was loaded with food.

"Rice balls, gimbap, bread — there's so much. This is heaven. Absolute heaven."

Choi Woo-jin's mouth curled as he took in the spread on the table.

"There are a lot of sandwiches, too."

Lee Jun had opened the fridge, and he said it as he pulled one out.

"Hey, Jun, don't eat that. Eat a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠real meal. There's yukgaejang — let's have rice."

"Ah, right. You guys eat the yukgaejang. That stuff is seriously good."

Having said so, Lee Jun set about brewing coffee — sandwich still in hand.

"Wait, Jun, you're eating that?"

"Yeah. I never know when a patient might come in. You two eat the yukgaejang."

"Your clinic hours are over."

"They are, but I haven't clocked out. How am I supposed to know when an emergency's going to walk through the door?"

Until you left for the day, you stayed on alert. That was Lee Jun's rule, and Choi Woo-jin clicked his tongue at it.

"Fair enough. That's us, I guess. If I'd known it would go like this, we should've clocked out and met somewhere else. Anyway, if you eat like that you're going to collapse again. Eat properly."

"I'm telling you, Chef Joo's sandwiches have insane volume. One of these and I'll be stuffed."

"That I'll grant you. Still, a proper meal's better. Oh! The soup's still hot. No need to reheat it."

Choi Woo-jin shook his head at Kwak Suho, who was happily ladling soup into a bowl.

"I will never understand how a guy with a palate that Korean manages to wander other countries like they're next door."

"It's a mystery."

"Right? Hey, Suho — yukgaejang for me too."

"Got it."

The three of them gathered what they wanted and sat down at the table.

"Jun, Mongmong Animal Hospital is heaven. Actual heaven. Being able to eat like this every day. The rest of us spend every evening going, 'What should we eat tonight?'"

"I know. Sometimes I come to Mongmong just because I want this food."

Kwak Suho giggled as he mixed rice into his yukgaejang.

"Must be nice."

"You should come eat too. Ah, wait — once you join, you'll be eating this every day."

"Oh! I hadn't even thought of that. Jun, let's get that hospital built already."

"Because you want to eat Chef Joo's cooking?"

"That, and a few other reasons. How's Chef Joo's condition, by the way?"

"She seems alright. Still, she shouldn't overdo it, so we brought on another kitchen lady. A lot of people use our cafeteria, after all."

"Good call. She feeds not just the Mongmong family, but all our seniors, juniors, and classmates too."

"I hope she stays."

"I'd like that too."

"Right? People like Chef Joo don't come along often."

"They don't."

Lee Jun agreed with Kwak Suho, and a thought rose in him. I really do have a lot of luck with people. No — not just people. I've got luck with animals, too. He could hear the five of them outside, murmuring among themselves, still worrying over him, and the thought settled in him warmly.

Good people, and good animals — he was surrounded by so many of both. It showed on his face.

"This radish kimchi is really good."

Choi Woo-jin had been wearing a look of pure satisfaction as he said it, but the moment his eyes met Lee Jun's, his expression went sheepish.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just eat a lot."

"You're so corny."

Choi Woo-jin ducked his head and went back to his rice. Lee Jun took a bite of his sandwich.

That was when Lee Jun's phone rang.

"It's Dr. Yeo. An emergency?"

Yeo Un-hyeok was on duty. If he was calling, the odds of an emergency were high. Lee Jun swiped the call icon to the right and spoke a little louder.

"Yeah, Dr. Yeo. I'm on the third floor. I'll be right down."

It was a request for help. Parrot cases were still beyond Yeo Un-hyeok.

"Got it. I'll be right down."

Lee Jun was already on his feet and heading for the door when Choi Woo-jin followed.

"I'll come with you. You said it's a parrot?"

"If the exotic-animal maestro himself is coming along, I'd be grateful."

"Maestro, nothing. Let's just go."

Choi Woo-jin's mouth had tugged up at one corner, as if the whole thing pleased him.

Down in the lobby, Yeo Un-hyeok was speaking with a man who looked to be a guardian. He brightened when he saw Lee Jun.

"Director, you're here. Director, this is Choroki's guardian."

The man took one look at Lee Jun and his face eased, as if he could finally breathe. He bowed.

"Hello. Please take a look at our Choroki."

True to the name, a clear acrylic carrier sat beside the guardian, and inside it was a green bird. The beak was yellow at the tip, deepening to orange as it rose — a parrot. Lee Jun knew, the instant he saw it, why they had come. It's the beak.

Beside him, Choi Woo-jin seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

"Aigoo, you poor thing. You must've had a really hard time. Couldn't eat, couldn't sleep… and that wound on the neck looks fairly serious."

It was the first thing Choi Woo-jin said upon seeing the parrot. The guardian's eyes went wide, and he stammered.

"That's right. Just as you said, our Choroki hasn't been able to sleep well. And he hasn't been eating properly, either…"

"I imagine not. We'll need to trim the beak first, and then take a look at the wound."

"And as I mentioned a moment ago, he hasn't been able to eat well, so… could you at least give him a nutritional shot?"

A bird picks up food with its beak and tucks it into its mouth. Parrots are no different. A parrot's beak, however, isn't pointed like a spear — it curves in a rounded arc. The upper and lower mandibles meet and lock, and that is how the bird grips its food. And a bird's beak never stops growing.

The same is true of wild birds, but in the wild the keratin wears down against stone and wood. Companion birds, on the other hand, often have no way to file their own beaks. When a beak that ought to wear down keeps growing instead, it eventually curls into a spiral. At that point the bird can no longer pick up food — and the overgrown keratin can gouge into the neck.

When a bird cannot trim its own beak, the work has to be done by human hands.

Choroki was exactly that case.

"Of course. Shall we go through to the exam room? And the doctor standing next to me is Dr. Choi Woo-jin. He's far better with parrots than I am."

"Choi Woo-jin. Veterinarian."

"Ah, yes. Dr. Choi. Please take good care of our Choroki."

The man already seemed to trust Choi Woo-jin, simply because he had read Choroki's condition at a glance. The way he greeted him was careful, almost formal. And that trust only climbed as he watched Choi Woo-jin work on Choroki's beak.

"I've never seen anyone trim this fast."

"It has to be fast. Otherwise Choroki gets terribly stressed."

Unlike the startled man, Choi Woo-jin answered in a calm, even voice, and never stopped trimming. Beside him, Lee Jun was keeping the parrot soothed.

"The speed surprised me, but more than that — Choroki's beak is coming out looking really handsome."

"You have to balance the length of the upper and lower mandibles. That's what lets Choroki pick up food properly."

Choi Woo-jin answered as if it were nothing, then added, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠almost offhand,

"Our parrot was extremely particular about his looks, you know."

If Choi Woo-jin trimmed Cha-cha's beak even a little off from what the bird wanted, Cha-cha would sulk. And once he sulked, he wouldn't come anywhere near Woo-jin for days. That's how this guy ended up a master of the trim, I guess.

Lee Jun thought of Cha-cha for a moment, then spoke to Choroki.

"Choroki, hang in there just a little longer. You're getting a really handsome beak. And it won't hurt."

Choroki understood him. He met Lee Jun's eyes as if to say he knew.

"What a good boy, Choroki."

The man — Choroki's guardian — looked from Lee Jun to Choroki to Choi Woo-jin.

"I think our Choroki likes you, Doctor. This isn't like him. He's being incredibly calm."

"He's probably just not feeling well."

"That's not it. The truth is, we went to another animal hospital first. I asked if they could trim him without anesthesia, and they said they didn't think Choroki could manage a trim without being put under."

"Unless it's a very light tidy-up, anesthesia is the usual approach. The sound of the beak being filed is unpleasant, and being held still for a long time is stressful."

"The thing is, about three months ago they anesthetized him for a trim, and he had a really hard time. He wouldn't come out of the anesthesia…"

That was why they had been referred to Mongmong Animal Hospital.

"And just as the reputation said… thank you. Doctor, Director."

"Choroki — did they put him under every time you had him trimmed?"

"Yes. He couldn't sit still, so they anesthetized him for every trim."

"That's why you put it off as long as you could."

And that was exactly why Choroki's beak had grown so severe.

"If you'd had him trimmed about once every three weeks, it would have been much easier."

"It grows that fast?"

"Yes. Then it's a simple job. You can even manage it at home. Of course, the best thing would be if Choroki filed it himself."

Listening to Choi Woo-jin, Lee Jun thought, When I get the chance, I should teach Choroki how to grind his own beak. And, in the same breath: If Woo-jin joined us, the range of what we could treat would get even wider. Anyway — time to treat the neck.

Choroki's condition had been bad enough that the wound on his neck was serious. Lee Jun treated it as he spoke to him.

"Choroki, you mustn't touch this, okay? And the doctor's going to give you medicine — take that properly, too."

In what felt like an instant the exam was over, and even a nutritional injection had been given. The guardian, Choroki gathered in his arms, could only marvel.

"Thank you so much. I never thought it would be over this easily."

"It'd be best if you came in every day for a while. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠If that's too hard, you can disinfect at home."

"No — I'll come tomorrow."

After the guardian left with Choroki, Lee Jun turned to Choi Woo-jin with genuine praise.

"That's Choi Woo-jin for you. Incredible. Trimming that fast — and Choroki didn't seem to be in any pain at all."

"Well… I learned that the hard way, getting pecked at by Cha-cha."

Experience, as always, was the best teacher.

"That said, looking at that little guy made me think of the one at Seoul Zoo."

"Which one?"

"A macaw with gorgeous coloring, just like Choroki. That one had a broken beak."

"Broken? So what did you do?"

"What do you think I did? I reconstructed it. Without a beak, it couldn't eat a thing."

"Good."

"They live in a flock, so birds with injured beaks turn up now and then. Every time, I'd bring them in and operate… Now that I'm thinking about it, I should go check on them. See if they're doing well."

"You should. Come to think of it, I just remembered Ddaenggeul."

"Ddaenggeul?"

"A monkey. As part of their behavioral enrichment, they tied his food to a string and hung it up — and he ate the string too, so I pulled it out with an endoscope. He was just a little guy back then. He must be all grown up by now."

And in that same moment, as Lee Jun and Choi Woo-jin were thinking of Seoul Zoo, Lee Jun's name was being spoken within its walls.