Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Hello, Vet!
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Dogs in the kennel cages next to the building pressed their faces right up against the bars, wagging their tails furiously.
The ones who couldn't snag a spot up front stuck their heads out from behind or bounced up and down in place.
The dogs expressed their joy with their whole bodies, grinning from ear to ear.
"Why y'all so excited like this?"
Go Gi-jin beamed as he lifted and shook the treat box he was holding high.
"Is it 'cause of this?"
[Te, teacher, come on in!]
[We were waiting!]
[Heehee, hug us today too, teacher!]
The dogs grinned brightly and greeted Lee Jun, making Go Gi-jin burst out laughing as he spoke to Lee Jun, who was following behind.
"Big brother. These pups want this so bad. Give 'em one each on the way in."
"Yeah, let's do that."
Lee Jun replied to Go Gi-jin and accepted the dogs' greetings.
"Yeah, you all been good?"
[Yes, hehe, we missed you, teacher.]
[I missed you too.]
[Me three.]
The dogs were so thrilled that Lee Jun returned their greetings that they bounced up and down inside the kennels. In the chaos, they bumped into each other and stepped on paws.
[Ow, don't push.]
[That hurts! Go jump over there!]
Lee Jun's gaze deepened as he watched the packed kennels.
'The cutie pies can't get adopted, so the kennels are getting tighter and tighter.'
Lee Jun felt it firsthand as he entered the kennels and handed out treats to the dogs.
As the two men stepped inside, the dogs swarmed over.
"Line up."
Snap,
snap,
rustle.
In an instant, the dogs sat neatly in two rows.
"You're really somethin', big brother. Calmin' these guys down just like that. Heh heh heh."
Go Gi-jin gave Lee Jun a thumbs-up.
"Alright, treat time. But what do y'all like?"
Go Gi-jin said as he pulled treats from the box.
It was almost like talking to himself.
[I want that one.]
[I like the chewy ones.]
[I want the soft squishy kind.]
The dogs each voiced what they wanted.
They barked very softly, but Lee Jun wouldn't miss it.
"Open the bags and dump the contents into separate boxes. Then they'll pick what they want themselves."
"Huh? What if the strong ones hog it all?"
"These guys are good; they won't do that."
Lee Jun replied to Go Gi-jin and immediately addressed the dogs.
"Pick what you want. No greed, or your friends won't get any, got it?"
[Yes!]
The dogs barked once in excited unison.
"Alright, let's open the boxes."
Lee Jun opened the boxes he'd brought.
Soft sticks, toothpaste chews, dried chicken breast. Chicken breast rolled around sweet potatoes, big biscuit-style dog chews.
Go Gi-jin followed Lee Jun's lead, dumping the treats from each bag into separate boxes, letting out a shallow sigh.
"How're these guys gonna pick just one? They all look tasty!"
"It's fine."
Lee Jun stayed relaxed, while Go Gi-jin put on a stern face and added a word to the dogs.
"No fightin', y'hear?"
But contrary to Go Gi-jin's worries, the dogs each took just one treat and backed off.
Not just one dog—every single one kept it to one—and Go Gi-jin's eyes went wide.
"Why're y'all so good?"
Go Gi-jin praised the dogs with a grin, while Lee Jun swallowed a sigh inside.
The dogs, treats in mouth, bobbed with excitement, like they were hopping in place.
They wanted to run and vent their joy, but with friends lying down eating treats, they hopped carefully right there.
'Such good kids.'
Lee Jun thought he needed to build them a playground.
Back in the day, he'd have just thought it and moved on, but not anymore.
'Sell the pearl, and I could buy a corner of that nearby mountain.'
Namgung Hyun had set up a playground, but Lee Jun saw it as just a rest area.
'With the pearl money, buy land at the mountain base for their playground, and use the CEO's spot as a rest area for the little ones.'
With hope blooming, Lee Jun found the dogs crowding the kennels endearing.
Unlike the bitter days remembering Our Yard Shelter while watching cats roam freely.
Lee Jun smiled widely as he watched the dogs eat their treats.
After that, Lee Jun and Go Gi-jin wandered the shelter, giving treats to the animals and checking their health.
Before they knew it, time had flown, and the 'Together With Us' team arrived.
"You guys are here?"
"We came together. You got here early—aren't you tired?"
"I'm good. I checked off the ones to examine today on the charts here."
Everyone was amazed at first when they saw Lee Jun's pre-exam charts.
But now, it was just straight admiration.
"No matter how I look at it, it's incredible. How do you pinpoint the injury just from looking and palpating?"
In the early days of getting charts from Lee Jun, the members hadn't thought much of it.
But after repeatedly confirming that Lee Jun's noted spots were the injuries, they came to trust what he wrote.
Now, they practically revered his charts.
"Tell us the secret. How do you figure it out like this?"
One classmate asked while looking at Lee Jun's chart.
"Just accept it. Only Lee Jun can do it."
A senior with 25 years of clinical experience shook his head.
"Yeah, impossible to imitate Lee Jun."
Another senior nodded along.
"Either way, things are way better thanks to him, right? We can examine so many more quickly now."
"True. I always felt heavy-hearted leaving without seeing some."
"Me too."
"It's all thanks to Lee Jun. And the animal hospital's getting built because of him too."
"Right. Lee Jun, you're a real Haenguni charm. A total bokdeong-i."
"Yeah, really a Haenguni one."
Seniors, juniors, classmates—everyone praised Lee Jun.
"Alright, let's start exams based on these."
No neutering surgeries this week, so they dove right into checkups.
Lee Jun took a station and started examining when a familiar voice rang out.
"Director Lee, there you are."
Lee Jun turned toward the voice to see Namgung Hyun holding Haenguni with a smile.
"You're here."
Namgung Hyun had regretted not bringing Haenguni after seeing cats romp freely in Gangneung.
Knowing that, Lee Jun welcomed Haenguni.
"Haenguni, hey!"
[Hello, teacher.]
Haenguni, cradled in Namgung Hyun's arms, lit up at seeing Lee Jun.
"But Director Lee, you busy right now?"
"Something up?"
"Not really, but there's something I want to show you."
"Go on ahead, big brother."
Go Gi-jin said from the next station.
"Yeah, go."
Another senior nodded at Lee Jun.
"I'll step out for a bit then."
Namgung Hyun led Lee Jun to the construction site right next door.
The animal hospital was in full swing, but there wasn't much to see yet. He'd already seen the renders and blueprints.
Lee Jun was just thrilled that Our Yard Shelter's dedicated hospital was finally under construction.
"Now, off to the place you hoped for, Director Lee."
"The place I hoped for?"
"You'll see when we get there."
Namgung Hyun led the way with a confident smile.
After about three minutes of walking, they reached a spot enclosed by a wide wooden fence.
It looked like something out of an amusement park—nicely crafted wooden fencing.
"Here it is. Let's go in."
A large Our Yard logo on the roof, beneath it a sturdy wooden gate.
Lee Jun's eyes widened as he opened the gate and stepped inside.
"Wow...!"
The first thing that hit his view was the lush green lawn.
The lawn stretched wide, with log cabin-like structures dotted here and there.
There were shaded areas with tents, and low platforms under them.
"What do you think?"
"I... words fail me."
Lee Jun gazed at the beautiful rest area for a good while.
'I just thought anywhere with space for them to run would do...'
Lee Jun's eyes shifted from the rest area to Namgung Hyun.
"CEO, thank you."
"Haha. I did it 'cause I wanted to—what's there to thank?"
"No, once the pearl sells, I'll pay you back."
"Haha, I'll take the sentiment."
To go this far for animals—Namgung Hyun liked Lee Jun even more.
Lee Jun felt the same.
'From the park to the Gangneung villa—he really cares about animals.'
The two men's gazes held strong trust as they looked at each other.
***
The dogs who arrived at the rest area gaped in awe.
[Whoa...!]
[It's huuuge!]
[Ehehehe, what's this?]
[C-can I run around?]
[I wanna run!]
Standing before the vast lawn, the dogs fidgeted, dying to charge out.
[Good smells!]
[I know this scent.]
Their keen noses twitching in unison, the dogs sniffed the fresh grass scent of the rest area and beamed.
They itched to sprint and nose-work, but they held back, waiting for the command.
From Lee Jun—the teacher they trusted and followed.
"Run and play as much as you want."
The command dropped, and the dogs poured onto the lawn in a stampede.
[Wheeee!]
Thud thud thud.
The ones who'd been dying to run just bolted first.
[Sniff sniff. Smells so good!]
[Snuuuurf! Good smells~.]
The more laid-back ones strolled slowly, savoring grass, wood, and earth scents.
[Whoa whoa whoa! So fun!]
[Run run run!]
[Bet I can run faster!]
[What? Lemme try?]
The dogs boasted about who could run fastest.
And they didn't stop at words—they charged full tilt.
True sprinting.
All that pent-up desire to run exploded in a flash.
Thud thud thud thud.
Long-legged dogs shot like arrows,
Boing boing boing.
Short-legged ones like Kkakongi bounced along happily.
[Whoa, running without bumping friends...]
[Yeah, no walls when jumping.]
Awakened to their sprinting instincts, the dogs ran for ages. Then they spotted spots.
Crash clatter.
[I-I like this spot here. Gonna sleep here tonight.]
Impatient ones had already claimed platforms,
[Heehee! I'm the highest!]
[I-I'm higher!]
Others climbed log cabins to survey around.
The dogs roamed the rest area freely, sniffing earth, flowers, and wood, delighted.
But not every dog who entered was running wild.
Fox-like huge floppy ears twitching.
Chubby short legs flailing at the air.
Sundae the Welsh Corgi, famous for his bright smile and loaf butt, rolled across the lawn like a kimbap roll, blissful.
[Hmm, so fluffy.]
Pug approached Sundae, who was rolling.
Pug had been playing but was taking a breather.
[Hey, whatcha doin'?]
[Me? It's fluffy. Heh heh.]
Even as Pug asked, Sundae kept rolling and answered.
[Fun?]
Pug tilted his head watching Sundae roll, but he'd already decided.
If big bro Sundae's having fun, there's gotta be a reason.
Pug flopped next to Sundae and rolled too.
[Oh?]
But it was way more fun than expected.
Fluffy, with pokey grass bits prodding his back.
[Heehee, back's so itchy—almost went to dog star.]
Pug rubbed his back wildly on the ground in glee.
[Whoa~ Feels so cool.]
Rubbing his back like the teachers scratching it—Pug was ecstatic.
Nearby, Retriever pup brothers spotted them while running.
The Retriever brothers, who never passed up fun, eyes sparkled.
[I wanna try.]
[Me too!]
Injeolmi and Chaltteok-i dashed over, flopped beside them, and quickly mimicked.
Scritch scritch scritch.
Rolling side to side, they felt the soft earth's fluffiness and grass's prickly softness.
[Wow. Super fun.]
[Heehee, feels good. Like teacher petting our backs...]
Injeolmi and Chaltteok-i beamed as they spoke, and Sundae side-eyed them with a pleased smile.
[Right? Feels amazing!]
[Yeah, following bro's always fun.]
Chaltteok-i grinned back at Sundae.
His pink tongue lolled out laughing, sparkling in the sun.
[Bro! Teach us more fun stuff.]
[Yeah, teach!]
[Hmm, got it, little bros.]
[Hehe, bro! But...!]
Injeolmi, who'd been staring at the sky lying down, suddenly flipped and jumped up.
Sniff sniff sniff!
Nose twitching toward the entrance, Injeolmi bolted that way.
[Haenguni bro!]
[Bro!]
Meanwhile, Haenguni stood at the entrance, watching the dogs play enviously—then startled.
[Uh, uh...]
He was thrilled dogs were greeting him.
But the two big ones charging floppy-eared did scare him a bit.
Joy won out, though.
[Injeolmi! Chaltteok-i!]
Haenguni hopped toward the Retriever brothers too.