That's Right, Africa
"That's right. Africa."
"R-really? We really goin' to Africa?"
Go Gi-jin huffed great puffs of breath through his nose as he bellowed the question back, thoroughly worked up. He had always dreamed of watching a herd of elephants ambling at their leisure across a vast savanna. Of course he was going to get excited. Knowing that wish of his, Lee Jun moved to settle him down.
"Easy, easy. Sit down first. Let's talk sitting down."
"Yeah, Gi-jin, you're way too worked up. Sit."
Kwak Suho chimed in right after Lee Jun, both of them trying to talk the overexcited Go Gi-jin down.
"R-right."
Go Gi-jin dragged over the chair beside Kwak Suho and dropped into it, and Kwak Suho spoke.
"Bet he'd love it if we brought him along. The kid's got some serious strength."
"Yeah, probably. Strength aside, he's a large-animal vet. He'd be more useful than I would."
Cattle and pigs had plenty of hoof problems of their own. So wouldn't Go Gi-jin be far more helpful than Lee Jun himself? Lee Jun was looking at him with that thought when Go Gi-jin let out a long sigh and asked,
"But where's that poor thing hurtin'? Their feet? When we went to Seoul Zoo, y'know. Keeper Kim told us elephants suffer somethin' awful in their feet 'cause they're so heavy."
"There are some with foot problems, yeah, and apparently one whose tusk came out and has a serious pulp-cavity infection."
"That so? Ain't just the one of 'em?"
"The call came from a sanctuary. So it sounds like there are a lot of sick ones. The elephant with the pulp-cavity inflammation seems to be the biggest problem."
"Figured as much. Had a feelin' from the moment Hyungnim said Africa."
The excitement from moments ago had drained right out of Go Gi-jin. He let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Their skin's supposed to be real thick, too. By the time folks notice, it's already rottin' away on the inside, ain't that right?"
"The subcutaneous layer is over two centimeters thick, I hear. Some elephants even over three."
Lee Jun added, drawing on a paper he had once read by an elephant veterinarian.
"That's right. Plus elephants've got real thick soles to support their own weight."
"Ah, like a shock-absorbing cushion, then."
Kwak Suho tossed that in, and Go Gi-jin nodded and went on.
"That's it, exactly. The big ones weigh as much as eight tons, y'know. So the fat pad in the sole's real thick. But if pus fills up in there, the whole foot pad'd melt away, wouldn't it? And it ain't like we can just pick 'em up and carry 'em around..."
Go Gi-jin's face was full of pity, and he couldn't quite finish the sentence. Lee Jun and Kwak Suho both stared at him with their mouths open. Even with all that strength of his — he was actually thinking about picking up an elephant. The two of them looked at him, sharing the exact same thought. Completely oblivious, Go Gi-jin sighed and asked Lee Jun,
"So when're we goin'?"
"They're booking the flights for us. Oh, Gi-jin — have you had the yellow fever vaccine?"
"Sure did."
"You have?"
"Yep. Got it about two weeks after the rabies shot, I reckon."
"Rabies? Oh, right, you went on a volunteer trip too. Was that to Africa?"
Northern Thailand and places like India were high-incidence regions for rabies. Once the disease set in it was one hundred percent fatal, so anyone heading out on volunteer work in those areas always got the rabies vaccine beforehand.
"Nah. Dad told me to get 'em all while I was at it, so I did. Said you never know when you'll end up goin' somewhere."
"So thanks to Director Go, you're cleared to go to Africa."
"Guess that's how it shook out. After the rabies shot I was so sore I said I wasn't gettin' any more, and Dad gave me an earful. Grateful for it now."
"You actually get sick? A guy who walks around in short sleeves on a snowy day like this without catching a cold?"
Kwak Suho looked at Go Gi-jin strangely. Go Gi-jin quietly averted his eyes and answered.
"I didn't take to my bed or nothin'. I-it's just... I'm scared of needles..."
"What? A guy your size, scared of shots? Our Gi-jin's a big baby. A great big baby who's scared of needles."
At Kwak Suho's teasing, Go Gi-jin quietly changed the subject.
"I hear if you catch that, it hurts like hell?"
"I've seen someone who got it. Where was it... Tanzania? A friend I met there. His whole body went yellow and swollen in no time. Scared the life out of me. He made it, thankfully."
Yellow fever could pass mildly, but it could also bring high fever, headache, jaundice, even hemorrhaging. The fatality rate was high. You could die from it.
"Aigoo, so you really can die from it."
"Yeah, that's what they say. Anyway, both you and Jun have had the shots, so that's a relief. We can leave right away."
"Yeah, that's good. Before we go, I should get in touch with Park I-chan and at least learn the basics about elephants."
"We oughta."
"We're going to be busy for a few days. Handovers here, plus studying up on elephants. And while we're on the subject, I should tell all our staff to get their vaccines."
"Sending them on a paid vacation to Africa?"
Lee Jun jumped on Kwak Suho's out-of-nowhere suggestion.
"Oh, I like that."
"Aigoo, that's a fine idea. They all love animals, so they'd be over the moon."
"There's that, but thinking about it, a lot of places you'd go for training require a rabies vaccine. Even if you just want a month of training at an American university, some of them ask for a rabies antibody test result."
Lee Jun intended to keep learning for a long time to come. Veterinary medicine was advancing by the day. He wanted to learn better treatments so he could heal more animals. Diseases that could not be treated in the past were now being handled with better methods. And he had no intention of learning alone. He wanted the whole Mongmong Animal Hospital family to grow together.
"Once the rest of the staff are all here, we'll have more breathing room. Then we should send people out for training in turns."
"That's real nice, that is."
Lee Jun said to Go Gi-jin, who was speaking in a bright voice,
"You should think about where you'd like to go too, Dr. Go."
"Me too?"
"Of course. You're family, aren't you? You should go first. In order of who joined."
"Heh heh heh, that so?"
"Yeah. I'm thinking as long as a month, as short as two weeks, so if there's somewhere you want to go, start thinking about it. If you don't know, think about what you'd like to learn."
"Yep. And y'know, listenin' to the other doctors, a lot of 'em are interested in veterinary volunteer work. Even if it ain't for training, the rabies vaccine seems like a must."
"That's true. Hmm, it seems like a quiet day anyway, so should we tell them now? We need to mention that we're going to Africa too."
A short while later, Lee Jun's announcement drew a lively reaction from the staff.
"Whoa, our director's world-class now. World-class."
"Right? At this rate, are we even going to get to see him anymore?"
"Wouldn't surprise me. The doctors at Daehan Animal Hospital are ridiculously busy, aren't they? I heard they even have a private jet."
Someone had tossed that out. Cha Da-jeong picked it up with a laugh.
"Oh, come on. A private jet? A few times the client sent a private plane, that's all."
"That might've been Daehan's private jet. Maybe you're the only one who doesn't know, Dr. Cha."
"I-is that so?"
Cha Da-jeong played along perfectly. Everyone burst out laughing. In the warm atmosphere, the staff tossed out comments one by one.
"Director, another hard road's opening up for you. Though the animals who'll get treated by you will be happy."
"That's true. Seeing animals get better after the director treats them feels so good it makes your chest tight. But then you remember how much of the director's hard work went into it, and it gets heavy again."
They were glad the sick animals would be treated, but it pained them that Lee Jun was pushing himself so hard.
"That's right. It really is. That's why it bothers me."
Cha Da-jeong sighed, then went on.
"That's why I'm going to study hard. I feel like that's the only way I can help the director even a little."
"That's true. The better we get, the easier things will be for the director."
Suddenly the staff had shifted into study-hard mode, tossing around this and that. Lee Jun figured the timing was right, and brought up what they had discussed in the director's office a little earlier.
"So, about that. Now that more of you are here, I'm thinking of launching a training program starting this year."
"Training, as in..."
"Meanin' our director here says he'll send us wherever we want to go."
"R-really?"
"Yes. Once you've accumulated a year of service, I'll send you once. Two weeks for first-years, three weeks for second-years, four weeks for third-years. And this applies equally to veterinarians and technicians."
Wow!
Every last staff member clapped until their palms stung. Lee Jun waited for the applause to die down, then said,
"So, everyone — if there's a vaccine you need, get it when you have time. And give the receipts to Manager Jang."
"Yes!"
There was real energy in the reply from those who understood which vaccines he meant. It meant he would send them anywhere.
And watching the excited atmosphere with bewildered faces were the trio: Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree. Lee Jun had no intention of letting it pass. He was going to be away for a week, after all. He needed to tell them, or they would be anxious.
Back home, Lee Jun explained the situation to the three of them in detail, showing them elephants on television. The scene on the TV happened to be of an elephant standing. The elephant and two people were standing side by side, and the man's head only reached the tip of the elephant's ear. African elephants had larger, longer-hanging ears than Asian elephants. The elephant was enormous — a living giant.
The clever three immediately grasped just how huge an animal an elephant was. Hoesaegi, who had been sitting on the sofa, sprang to his feet and asked in an excited voice.
"Th-there are friends that big, ong?"
At some point, every animal had become a friend to the three of them. That was why Hoesaegi called an elephant he had never seen before a friend.
"Y-yeah. Way bigger than Seorak-hyungnim."
"That's right-dayo. Super big-dayo."
Gkamnyangi and Sapsaree both kept their eyes locked on the television, faces full of astonishment.
"Yeah, it's really big, right?"
"It is, ong. Super-super big, ong. But Hyungnim-ong, where does that super-super big friend hurt, nyaong? Do his eyes hurt, nyaong?"
"Is it his legs?"
Seorak's eyes had hurt, and Beongae's legs had hurt. They were asking with that in mind.
"There are friends whose feet hurt, and ones with pulp cavity — ah, meaning friends whose mouths hurt."
"I-if their feet hurt, that's bad, ong."
"Mouth hurting is bad too. They can't eat."
"That's right-dayo. But Hyungnim-ayo. If their feet hurt, what do we do-dayo? Does Strong Hyungnim pick them up-dayo?"
Back when Sapsaree had first come to Mongmong Animal Hospital, his legs had hurt so much he couldn't move. Go Gi-jin had picked him up whenever he needed to eat or go to the bathroom. Remembering that, Sapsaree asked Go Gi-jin, who was sitting beside him.
"Aigoo, you kids. Even I can't pick that one up. He's enormous."
Once again, Go Gi-jin looked at Sapsaree's face and gave the right answer. Lee Jun had seen this more than once or twice by now, and it no longer even struck him as remarkable.
"Hyungnim-ong. How pitiful, ong. A super-super big friend has to eat lots and lots, ong."
"That's right! They have to eat lots."
"That's right-dayo. That's how they get strong-dayo. So their tummies aren't hungry-dayo."
Having said that, the three of them dashed off somewhere.
"Hyungnim, where're those kids goin'? They didn't run off 'cause they're scared of the elephant, did they?"
"No way. They're probably fetching presents."
They had gathered armfuls of gifts for Seorak, and for Beongae too. Fans who still adored Hoesaegi, Gkamnyangi, and Sapsaree kept sending them presents. Most of those went to Uriteul Shelter or the Brave Ones, but they still had plenty left. Which meant the three of them were rich in gifts.
A moment later, the three of them came into the living room with happy, thudding footsteps. But it wasn't just the thud-thud — there was a dragging sound mixed in too. Each of them had a sack in their mouth, hauling it along. Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin immediately stood up and took hold of the sacks the three were dragging.
"You brought something this heavy? You should've said something."
"That's right. If you'd said so, I'd have gone and fetched 'em."
At Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin's words, the three of them beamed.
"Is that so, ong? Hyungnim-ong, let's go, ong."
"Yeah. That friend is super-super big. We have to give lots and lots."
"That's right-dayo. I'm going to give a whole lot-dayo."
What kind kids. They had every right to feel sad that Lee Jun would be gone for a week, and yet they were thinking of the sick friend first. A friend they had never even met. Lee Jun felt as if their warm hearts were healing him. Yeah. This is what healing is. Thank you, kids. You give me strength.
Cheered by the three's warm-heartedness, Lee Jun felt even more comforted by their decision.
"Hyungnim-ong, we'll guard Mongmong Animal Hospital, ong. Go and come back well, ong."
"That's right. Hyungnim, put out some beans for the super-super big friend. Then he'll grin."
"That's right-dayo. Hyungnim, make the super-super big friend not hurt-dayo. We'll guard Mongmong Animal Hospital-dayo."
While Lee Jun was away, the three of them would stay at Mongmong Animal Hospital instead of at home. On top of that, they were showing their determination to protect the hospital.
"Thank you. Since you thought of that, I'll go and come back well."
"That's right. We'll go and come back."
On the fourth day after the call from Africa, Lee Jun, Go Gi-jin, and Kwak Suho set off for the airport.